Train reading and Redvers Manor
Jan. 19th, 2014 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyHaving received a fair number of books for Christmas, I've been reading my way through them. Over the last fortnight I have finished three on the train.
Last weekend I played in a re-run of Redvers Manor. This was![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bateleur and quisalan's AndieCon game, with a number of changes and additions. The characters were old friends meeting at the old family home of one of them along with a historian; they turned out to be character types that occurred again and again across history. The players were jezzidue (The Guide), Christelle (her first roleplaying game - Redvers member), smiorgan (Former Order of Lazarus), triskellian (Scholar), Alistair (Templar) and myself (Mystic).
We visited four periods in history and it became gradually apparent that we were jumping into the bodies of the most appropriate people present with the aim of stopping a ritual of the Order of Lazarus. This ritual was about saving an ancient non-human race from extinction and the last part was conducted by the final priest (Hthtril, I think). The ritual brought back the ancient god of that race (Thalin- Korn, I think) to re-establish them in the galaxy... with the side-effect of killing the human race. The Order of Lazarus were involved because they expected to be rewarded and given rulership of humankind (this wouldn't have happened). Our job was to stop it; assuming we figured it all out in time.
The game system was percentage dice (risk) and a d6 (magic). This worked pretty well in most places, but occasionally I was left feeling that we were at the mercy of the dice rolls. Particularly in the last fight. However, it had the advantage of being simple - I gather the Con group were drawing tarot cards all day.
We started off in Redvers Manor in the present (well, 2013 anyway) with a strange machine humming and the watch of The Guide responding. We plugged one into the other and managed time travel. For the time travel parts we jumped into hosts who we knew a little about (a change from the Con game where the players knew nothing about their hosts).
First stop was 1328. This was both the easiest and the most difficult. The easiest because it was probably the most straightforward - one man was plotting to kill another in a ritual - and the hardest because we had no idea what was going on, what our role was or anything else. The historical roles were fairly straightforward and the setting was a quietish day at the house of the victim (Redvers Manor of course). Sadly, we failed and the Lord was sacrificed.
We returned briefly to Redvers Manor in the present to gather our wits and have a chat. Then off again.
Our second visit was 1516, to a masquerade ball. This was more difficult as it involved politics and sticking to the characters of our hosts. The atmosphere was tense and there was a dance of vices (instead of the usual dance of virtues). However, we got to grips with the situation, stopped the ritual and freed a priest from the basement. I personally enjoyed my role in this era as I got to do some fortune reading and developed a good grasp of my character's powers (unsurprisingly seeing into the future and mindreading). All the characters had abilities that they could develop across their past personas and I think mine were the easiest to get to grips with, in part because my present day character also had hints of them.
Back to Redvers in the present, then off again.
Visit number three was the most atmospheric and my favourite. This was 1668 and we played witch hunters, exploring Redvers Manor to remove the ungodly elements from it. This was a horror sequence, finding people turned into automatons and battling them. After a while we stopped opening every door as we did not want to kill any more innocent people. We did find the ritual and we did end it. This was a difficult one for my character as she was not supposed to use her powers (being a reformed witch and everything) but they were so useful for the scenario. I think I got her through it without arranging an execution in her future.
Back to the Manor in 2013, then off again.
The final visit was to 1886. We helped an elderly scientist and his mystic flame reconnect and build the time machine we were using. We also rescued a would-be victim from a gardeners shed and thus stopped the ritual. This was the longest visit as it took a long time for us to get to grips with what was going on, not least that the house was full of the Order of Lazarus disguised as servants. However, we succeed and my own mystic character managed a personal triumph of a combat success (knocking out the bad guy) when I belatedly realised that I was the third person with our two combat experts. This, when I was playing a mystic; tarot cards don't do a lot of damage in combat.
Back to the Manor in 2013 and just the little matter of stopping the final ritual and saving the world. Outside were the (present day) Order of Lazarus with guns and the big demon dude (nine foot tall, etc.). Inside were candlesticks and wine bottles. Apparently also broad swords, but most of us wouldn't have had a clue how to use them anyway. So weapon of choice? The car. We climbed in, turned ignition keys and the fight was on.
Eventually, the bad guy was run over (smiorgan got him) and the ritual was disrupted. Sadly, we lost a friend - Alistair's character was ripped apart by the demon. So, a mixed ending for us players.
All-in-all, a good game that clearly had taken lots and lots of prep. I loved the concept, all the historical detail and particularly the third section, but it's always sad to lose a party member. Particularly to a dice roll (I believe Mr Demon got 01).
The way the game had been planned involved everyone (except Alistair) staying overnight. With the twins in the house as well this meant cooking for ten. It was nice to sit around drinking at the end of the day with everyone, particularly as it was mainly people I don't see much of. Not least because the guests had kindly brought some rather nice bottles along for the occasion. However, overall things only just worked out with cooking pots straining to the limit to hold pasta for ten. Plus I think the sleeping arrangements were functional rather than providing the best night's sleep ever. So the logistics manage a score of "just about, but straining"!
Finally, yesterday, was Alistair's Star Wars game. We spent most of it being double-crossed by Hutts and employees of Hutts and dealing with a Krayt Dragon in a pit (well, I say "dealing", we jumped out of the pit!). We now know a little more about ourselves and a great deal more about Hutt palaces. Also, I discovered I was probably "closest to the Dark Side" by the number of people I had killed using the force. Apparently not too close yet though.
Since last weekend, I've come down with a cold-like illness that has mostly blocked my good ear. So I'm short of hearing and hope it returns soon. At least by the time of my big meeting on Thursday.
- When the Devil Drives by Chris Brookmyre - This is the sequel to Where the Bodies are Buried which was my favourite book of last year. Turns out that I like this one even better. This sequel continues to following the same character groups around (mainly a private detective and a policewoman) and the new mystery - the missing actress - has some lovely twists and turns. I guessed half the punchline this time.
- A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge - It's always tricky to review a book when you know the author, but I'll have a go anyway. It's clearly a Frances book, a good mix of hyperactive characters, weird places and complex politics. I really liked the main character Neverfell and her constant rush through Caverna and its deadly politics. It's a good plot and the threads all come together very nicely. It's my favourite Frances book of the four I've read.
- Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed - This one was from bateleur and is the first book of this author. It's a little hard to describe, but it's got a lovely Eastern fables feel to it. It's described as "Book One of the Crescent Moon Kingdoms", but is fortunately a complete story in itself. It has some interesting characters - a mixture of people on the verge of retirement and young apprentices. It's also has an appropriate setting in the City of status-awareness, called Dhamsawaat. Highly recommended.
Last weekend I played in a re-run of Redvers Manor. This was
bateleur and quisalan's AndieCon game, with a number of changes and additions. The characters were old friends meeting at the old family home of one of them along with a historian; they turned out to be character types that occurred again and again across history. The players were jezzidue (The Guide), Christelle (her first roleplaying game - Redvers member), smiorgan (Former Order of Lazarus), triskellian (Scholar), Alistair (Templar) and myself (Mystic).We visited four periods in history and it became gradually apparent that we were jumping into the bodies of the most appropriate people present with the aim of stopping a ritual of the Order of Lazarus. This ritual was about saving an ancient non-human race from extinction and the last part was conducted by the final priest (Hthtril, I think). The ritual brought back the ancient god of that race (Thalin- Korn, I think) to re-establish them in the galaxy... with the side-effect of killing the human race. The Order of Lazarus were involved because they expected to be rewarded and given rulership of humankind (this wouldn't have happened). Our job was to stop it; assuming we figured it all out in time.
The game system was percentage dice (risk) and a d6 (magic). This worked pretty well in most places, but occasionally I was left feeling that we were at the mercy of the dice rolls. Particularly in the last fight. However, it had the advantage of being simple - I gather the Con group were drawing tarot cards all day.
We started off in Redvers Manor in the present (well, 2013 anyway) with a strange machine humming and the watch of The Guide responding. We plugged one into the other and managed time travel. For the time travel parts we jumped into hosts who we knew a little about (a change from the Con game where the players knew nothing about their hosts).
First stop was 1328. This was both the easiest and the most difficult. The easiest because it was probably the most straightforward - one man was plotting to kill another in a ritual - and the hardest because we had no idea what was going on, what our role was or anything else. The historical roles were fairly straightforward and the setting was a quietish day at the house of the victim (Redvers Manor of course). Sadly, we failed and the Lord was sacrificed.
We returned briefly to Redvers Manor in the present to gather our wits and have a chat. Then off again.
Our second visit was 1516, to a masquerade ball. This was more difficult as it involved politics and sticking to the characters of our hosts. The atmosphere was tense and there was a dance of vices (instead of the usual dance of virtues). However, we got to grips with the situation, stopped the ritual and freed a priest from the basement. I personally enjoyed my role in this era as I got to do some fortune reading and developed a good grasp of my character's powers (unsurprisingly seeing into the future and mindreading). All the characters had abilities that they could develop across their past personas and I think mine were the easiest to get to grips with, in part because my present day character also had hints of them.
Back to Redvers in the present, then off again.
Visit number three was the most atmospheric and my favourite. This was 1668 and we played witch hunters, exploring Redvers Manor to remove the ungodly elements from it. This was a horror sequence, finding people turned into automatons and battling them. After a while we stopped opening every door as we did not want to kill any more innocent people. We did find the ritual and we did end it. This was a difficult one for my character as she was not supposed to use her powers (being a reformed witch and everything) but they were so useful for the scenario. I think I got her through it without arranging an execution in her future.
Back to the Manor in 2013, then off again.
The final visit was to 1886. We helped an elderly scientist and his mystic flame reconnect and build the time machine we were using. We also rescued a would-be victim from a gardeners shed and thus stopped the ritual. This was the longest visit as it took a long time for us to get to grips with what was going on, not least that the house was full of the Order of Lazarus disguised as servants. However, we succeed and my own mystic character managed a personal triumph of a combat success (knocking out the bad guy) when I belatedly realised that I was the third person with our two combat experts. This, when I was playing a mystic; tarot cards don't do a lot of damage in combat.
Back to the Manor in 2013 and just the little matter of stopping the final ritual and saving the world. Outside were the (present day) Order of Lazarus with guns and the big demon dude (nine foot tall, etc.). Inside were candlesticks and wine bottles. Apparently also broad swords, but most of us wouldn't have had a clue how to use them anyway. So weapon of choice? The car. We climbed in, turned ignition keys and the fight was on.
Eventually, the bad guy was run over (
smiorgan got him) and the ritual was disrupted. Sadly, we lost a friend - Alistair's character was ripped apart by the demon. So, a mixed ending for us players.All-in-all, a good game that clearly had taken lots and lots of prep. I loved the concept, all the historical detail and particularly the third section, but it's always sad to lose a party member. Particularly to a dice roll (I believe Mr Demon got 01).
The way the game had been planned involved everyone (except Alistair) staying overnight. With the twins in the house as well this meant cooking for ten. It was nice to sit around drinking at the end of the day with everyone, particularly as it was mainly people I don't see much of. Not least because the guests had kindly brought some rather nice bottles along for the occasion. However, overall things only just worked out with cooking pots straining to the limit to hold pasta for ten. Plus I think the sleeping arrangements were functional rather than providing the best night's sleep ever. So the logistics manage a score of "just about, but straining"!
Finally, yesterday, was Alistair's Star Wars game. We spent most of it being double-crossed by Hutts and employees of Hutts and dealing with a Krayt Dragon in a pit (well, I say "dealing", we jumped out of the pit!). We now know a little more about ourselves and a great deal more about Hutt palaces. Also, I discovered I was probably "closest to the Dark Side" by the number of people I had killed using the force. Apparently not too close yet though.
Since last weekend, I've come down with a cold-like illness that has mostly blocked my good ear. So I'm short of hearing and hope it returns soon. At least by the time of my big meeting on Thursday.
