have been in or adjacent to the ttrpg hobby for over 30 years in some sort of capacity ranging from bright eyed player to host of a mini convention at Critical Hit Games. If you take ccgs into account, I have traveled the length and breadth of the Midwest and attended close to 50 gatherings of geekdom. Not many to some as I have kept mostly isolated here in Iowa City. But I have never been a GM until last week. Read Part 1 HERE.
Session Two – Goblyn Market; A Wicked Wig in Bonmont
On a quick side note: because this is a demo affair the players will always have enough time to accomplish their goals. However, this bunch was not content until the tension was ratcheted tight! So, with a random roll the Tootle Pip began (began!) the game at six leaving very little time for dalliances! It was a great suggestion by the players and I will probably steal this for future events.
In session two Sallow the gluttonous brute badger, Lotti the greedy prankster bat, and Squeak the angry possum thief are indebted to loosen up the town of Bonmont. This group also started in the parliament seeking the wig of an unjust person. For their scene building they introduced Jonathane the sandwich maker. (It is my experience players will latch onto one their creations and they will kite around the adventure, scene to scene drinking in the chaos.)
Lotti started off strong by being caught trying to steal a furious barristers wig. Rumors of the demon of parliament still haunt the streets of Bonmont. Luckily Squeak managed to nab the item in question and abscond with it as Sallow intervened with her menacing aura.
Next the merry band was off to the cathedral to defrock Orville after discovering his vice of seething anger AND the only reason he shut down the tipple houses was because, Donetella, the love of his life left him for a bar owner. The calming scene was set during a baptism as the acting governor took confessional. As carriages were being sabotaged, collection plates lightened, and scurrilous rumors being spread that Orville was the father of the child being baptized came the MOMENT. Every session has a couple. Goblyn Market is designed to enable these dramatic scenes in storytelling that explode into chaos. Orville was called to answer the accusation by the questioning father. He flatly denied knowing her much less in the biblical sense. In a deft bit of roleplaying Lotti leaned into his ear and said, ‘Just like Donetella’ triggering his vice. The table erupted as Orville jumped the pew and began beating the innocent man in a flurry of violence. The curtain closed on the scene secure in the knowledge Orville would be stripped of his position.
After a nice bit of deception and bait-and-switch at cafe Sauce Box, Zimmerhan was goaded into (with help of donning the bedeviled wig!) writing a song about how if he had his way he’d eat truffled bacon all day and let the world go to rot in a wonderful waltz. Inspired in part by the hulking form of Sallow gorging himself on two plates of every entre. The goblyns retired to Matilda’s Parlour as a suitable place to summon the Empress. In a masked celebration as fairies, witches, and other betwixt descended onto the city to complete the ritual of rejuvenation.
Season Three – Party First/Twilight War; Dead Drop
Dead Drop is one of the supplied adventures in the Twilight War rulebook. The mission started off easily enough by talking/bribing their way past a couple guards to remain undercover. The interior of the decrepit cathedral featured an impromptu gathering of the Dungeree Gang hosting the Grey Market, a caged and gagged prisoner suspended from the ceiling, and a curious collapsed flooring where they tried to mount a machine gun turret to dissuade shenanigans.
Their goals were:
- Intercept a mysterious package between two rival nations.
- Apprehend an identified spy that is part of the dead drop
- Bring in an undercover agent safely acting as part of the gang
What happens next reads like a John Woo fever dream so I’ll only hit the highlights. One of the players (for the first time ever!) sees through the subterfuge of the fake handoff, correctly spotting the real package being stuck to the bottom of a pew. They were able to ignore the faux shell game as three identical agents ran in three different directions. In a play to keep their cover hidden they knock out a sweat stained guard inside a confessional booth. That’s about when the nest of ghuls caused the real chaos.
One character escaped with the identified spy. One managed to sneak their way past the ghuls in the underground catacombs to safety with the mysterious package. One agent simply walked out the front door as they pointed out that their final compatriot had a gun. The last agent was riddled with bullets after revealing the big bad which had never been accomplished before for this scenario.
After running Dead Drop at this convention I have to say it is my favorite one-shot I have written. It has given me a new design AND play philosophy called the spaghetti. In part because you are just flinging stuff at the wall to see what sticks. But also, it is enjoyed best when it is a MESS! I originally thought the players would systematically work through the three objectives with laser like focus and that’s how I wrote it.
In actuality there are side hustles, daring plans, and ultimately a mad dash to apprehend the correct counteragent as blood is sprayed everywhere by the undead. Every time you think the party can’t handle one more thing, do the thing. It leaves a lasting impression, makes the successes shine brighter, AND also emphasizes that failure is ok if not inevitable sometimes. It also sets up amazing jump off point for a future missions.
Final Word
Not only did I have a ton of fun running the sessions I got to meet several nice folks! Everyone was so nice and eager to learn new systems. I don’t think I’ve felt as proud of something I’ve written until then. People stayed for until the next sessions began just asking me questions about my games. I got an invite to another convention (which I will 100% be attending to run games). I found out about an awesome indie-game group in Chicago that I probably won’t ever be able to attend but it sounds amazing. I have a contact to run a game at our local library. Oh, and I got a few sales too!
After it’s all said and done, I am a believer. If it weren’t for my dizzy spells, I would have made even more connections at the after-convention festivities. Hopefully next year when it’s going to be hosted in my backyard of Iowa City!