The Forge Archives

My reason for posting this session of play is that I am curious to see if anyone else has had a similar experience.  So here goes...

The Players

Brian, Dave, Matthew - all guys that I roomed with for a couple of years out of high school. (I've gamed with them for eight years now...)

Brian was the GM, he keeps track of both player and character concerns really well and incorporates them into play.  He always has a plot in mind, but it's far from immutable.

Dave played Sorvan, an alien, whose race was conceived jointly by him and Brian.  Kind of a cross between a Klingon and a Samurai, with some conservative Christian morals thrown in, much like Dave himself.

Matthew played Taylor Westen, though he denies stealing that last name from the gaming company. (my bad!)  He tends to enjoy having equipment that solves all of his problems.

I played Sol Kelstar, a young Jedi knight with an absolute hatred of Rodians.  (Damn, even as I type this I begin to realize that I enjoyed Premise long before I knew what the hell I was doing....)  His hatred of Rodians stemmed from the fact that his lover was killed by one.

The Situation

Our little group of intrepid adventurers are chasing around the Galactic Empire after a cloaking device (or at least the plans for it), rumored to be held by a rogue inventor.  Apparently he had developed it and then disappeared mysteriously.  During our adventures, we (fools!) entered a heavily fortified Imperial compound, in our misguided search for information as to his (the inventor) whereabouts.  Getting in was the easy part...

In the ensuing battle, Taylor went down, shot in the back.  (I'll give you two guesses as to why he was shot in the back....)  Sorvan and I (Sol) thought he was dead.  (Another reason to take the First Aid skill....)  So we took off.  After several more adventures involving Sol and Sorvan, they received information that Taylor was not dead, but being held on Imperial station near the planet of... (drumroll please)  Kosh.  (See my handle for foreshadowing.)  So, we decided to rescue him.

Sol owned a Skipray Blastboat, though his piloting skills were somewhat dubious, which made getting docked to the station a little easier.  So, disguised as an Imperial magistrate and his alien slave, Sol and Sorvan snuck onto the station....

The Action

Arriving on the station, Sorvan and I passed through security with some stolen credentials.  We headed to the mess and casually scanned the area for a higher ranking officer.  One was present, and when he finished his meal and left, we followed.  He led us to a large conference room, full of people.  Deciding that he would stick out, Sorvan hid in an utility room down the hall.  I wandered in and tried to blend in.  Eventually the meeting was called to order and several presenters spoke.  From their topics, it became clear that the base had scientific goals, not a military purpose.  When it finally adjourned, Sorvan and I reunited.  We still had no idea how to find Taylor...

Meanwhile, on the same station, Taylor woke up with amnesia.  He remembered little of the events in the Imperial compound.  He was unsure of where he was.  He got up, found some clothes and while putting them on, discovered that his spine was metal.  At that instant, a female doctor came into his room.   In answer to his inquiries, she informed him that he had an experimental artificial spine and spinal cord.  If it proved successful, it would be developed for use on injured Imperial troops.  However, she informed him in a whisper, she was not sympathetic toward the Empire.  She wanted him to help her escape.  Of course, he agreed to help her because he wanted to escape as well.

So, Taylor and the doctor (Alysssa) snuck off toward the docking area, where Taylor wanted to steal a ship.  Sorvan and I returned to the mess area, which happened to be near the docking area.  Quite suddenly, the station was rocked by turbolaser fire.  Immediately,  Sorvan and I scrambled back to our ship, why troops and technicians scurried to their battle stations.  Fortunately for Taylor and Alyssa, they arrived at the docking bay at the exact moment.  We all scrambled aboard and took off.

We didn't get far...  A group of fighters chased us down as we tried to escape to the far side of Kosh.  Unfortunately, my piloting skills proved inadequate and we were forced to crash land on the planet.  A shuttle landed near to our crash and we were taken prisoner by what looked to be Imperials.  We were taken back up to the station.

We were placed under guard in a control room adjacent to the docking bay.  We were tied down securely to various stationary items (like pipes and such).  Suddenly, the power flickered and the station lost gravity.  Our two guards began floating.  When the power came back on, both fell.  One struck a console with his head and died, while the other hit the floor and lost consciousness.  Immediately Sorvan strained through his bonds and untied the rest of us.  Taylor immediately suggested that we steal another ship and make a break for it.  I pointed out the results of our last attempt and suggested that we lay low and observe the situation for awhile.

Everyone else agreed with me, and we snuck out of the control room.  We hid in another alcove in the docking area and watched.  When large numbers of stormtroopers began to arrive, we fled deeper into the station.  Some of them gave chase.  Thus, began an extended session of flight and fight that resulted in Alyssa and I becoming separated from Taylor and Sorvan.  They headed back to the docking area, eventually stole a ship and escaped (though not that easily).  There was reason for this; the perpetrator of the attack wanted me, not them.

Alyssa and I battled back toward the docking bay as well.  Suddenly, upon turning a corner, we were surrounded by a group of silent alien creatures, glowing slightly with a fiendish light.  Quickly, one grabbed Alyssa.  I was not unfamiliar with these creatures, as we had encountered one before in a previous adventure, but that one had proved to be indestructible.  A tall figure stepped from the shadows.  He bowed and announced himself as Lord Lucien, master of the Sith.

I struck out with my lightsabre at the inferno creatures, but they proved as indestructible as I had remembered.  Lucien offered to let Alyssa go in return for my obedience.  Angerly I refused, and swung viciously at a creature.  It flashed out of existence!  Quickly I realized that only through the Dark Side could I destroy these monsters.  I lunged toward the one holding Alyssa captive and destroyed it with my anger.  She fled... and then stopped.  Lucien smiled and thanked her for delivering his prize.  I was betrayed!  In my rage I began destroyed the creatures, but Lucien's lightsabre stopped me.  We began a furious battle, but suddenly I stopped and lowered my sabre.  Trembling, I felt the Dark Side fill me....

Some Observations

I have always enjoyed Brian's style of ignoring rules when appropriate and switching into more of a Drama style of conflict resolution.  I didn't have to roll to hit the creatures or fight Lucien, I had to roll to determine whether I fell to the Dark Side.

At some point during that final conflict, instead of letting Sol die (which was what he "should" have done) I decided that I wanted him to go over to the Dark Side.  Seeing another woman that he had begun to care for in a deadly situation was the perfect spark to ignite his anger.  When she betrayed him, it was like gasoline on that fire.  All of his ideals were flushed down the drain.

Until this point I had played Sol as I thought a Jedi should be played, even though I gave him that hatred of Rodians.  I didn't realize that I enjoyed exploring that conflict within him until the scene with Alyssa and Lucien.

Any comments are welcome....

Cheers
Jonathan

Very cool. The back and forth at the station, leading up to the face-off with Lucien, seems like so much stretching of yarn. I've been thinking about past play experiences myself, lately; trying to isolate narrative structures by contrasting play that worked with play that didn't. I hope to use these ideas to (1) distribute work-intensive duties and (2) generate player-investing story.

In terms of the structures I've isolated so far, I'd describe your play log as follows:

*********
Dilemma
Rogue inventor cloaking technology falls into Imperial hands; could provide a military advantage.

Objective
Recover the cloaking technology.

Approach
Break into the Imperial compound and take it.

Resolution
Taylor shot down and left for dead; mission abandoned; party escaped.
*********

*********
Dilemma
Word reaches Sol and Sorvan that Taylor is alive and held prisoner.

Objective
Rescue Taylor.

Approach
Sneak aboard (using assumed identities), locate Taylor, free him and escape on the Skipray Blastboat.

Resolution
After entering the station unchallenged, Sol and Sorvan fail to locate Taylor.

Development
Rebel sympathizing doctor frees Taylor; they join the party at the docking bay.

Complication
A group of fighters pursue ship flight.

Resolution
The ship is grounded, all are captured and returned to the station.
*********

*********
Development
Power failure causes the prison guards to be dispatched; Taylor manages to break his bonds and loose the party.

Complication
Waves of stormtroopers pursue the party.

Resolution
Taylor and Sorvan split off and escape on a ship. Alyssa (the doctor) and Sol are driven deeper into the station.
*********

*********
Complication
Sol and Alyssa were are confronted by Lucien and a ring of inferno creatures. Alyssa is captured.

Point of Choice
Lucien offers fealty in exchange for Alyssa's release. Only the Dark Side would enable Sol to destroy the inferno creatures.

Choice
Rejecting Lucien's offer, Sol uses anger to destroy Alyssa's captor.

Revelation
Alyssa is revealed as Lucien's accomplice.

Choice
Enraged at the betrayal, Sol slaughters the inferno creatures.

Resolution
A duel with Lucien ends with Sol subdued into mastery by the Dark Side.
*********

I think the developments that begin the third scene (as I've chaptered your log) stand out as incidents that moved play from stagnation to a continuation of the approach.

I wonder whether it's critical to declare a player's thematic interest via character belief. It sounds like Brian caught you right, though you may not have had "risk anger to protect the innocent" written down on your character sheet. I wonder if the Dark Side recognizes a defense of entrapment?:)

Another thing that interests me: it sounds like Sol just got a taste of sin to press a third option, and it was the revelation of betrayal that carried him into final descent. The reason I emphasize this point is that I've heard it argued: to address premise, you have to present a choice that can't be ignored. Well, the choice of "swear fealty or let this woman die" meets that criteria, but the choice of "suffer indignity without incident or fan it to anger with which to slaughter your oppressors" is less direct; though, obviously, no less effective.

Just noticed your main question. Yes, I've definitely had experiences like this, i.e. GM bends the rules to allow a more thematically relevant resolution.

In a 1st ed. AD&D campaign, the party was having a showdown with the main demon. He was handily kicking everyone's ass, and it was only a rage that caused him to charge into the demon-slaying sword. A spirit escaped as his corporeal form disintegrated.

One player's whole reason for joining this quest was to get even with that big, red bastard, and he even had a special amulet of soul stealing to capture the demon's essence. But he had already acted in the round, so too little, too late. According to the rules. Well, fuck the rules, I thought. So I let him spend a cool point I'd awarded earlier (for selfless conduct) to time his action for the opportunity. I still made him roll for the capture, but he got it.