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Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 6A

Jun 17

Dandesigning, playtesting No Comments

On Sunday, June 6, 2010 I ran a Skype playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.61 with Lance Allen of Wolves Den Publishing and Lenny Balsera the Lead System Developer for the Dresden Files RPG by Evil Hat Productions. The audio is posted as episode 7 of the Designer vs. Reality podcast, so listen first if you want to avoid spoilers.

The star charts indicate that Lance’s seed is the protagonist seed and my first seed is the antagonist seed. The young man is a great protagonist, and we decide that he represents a farming community. We notice a potential connection between the star metal and the sword the antagonist is looking for, and between the lake of fire and the valley of fire. We decide that the lake of fire is in a cavern underneath the protagonist’s homeland, now known as Red Valley, and that there is a star metal sword in it which channels the powerful, dangerous magic of the Valley of Fire into a human guardian. The antagonist’s older brother is this generation’s proper recipient of the power. The antagonist wants the power for himself, but since he is not the proper recipient he will try to get it by taking the sword directly, which will unleash the uncontrolled power and destroy the community. The protagonist seed’s “future father-in-law” aspect leads us toward a romantic “get the girl” opening for the protagonist’s story, and we decide that the capstone of that could be the tarnishing of a silver wedding ring, an omen that will send him off to consult a sage and confront the bigger problems of the world. We pick the holder of the power from the previous generation, waiting to hand it off to its new recipient, as the supporting character. Since the power may not be successfully handed off, depending on how the antagonist and supporting character progress on their plot, we decide that the protagonist’s ultimate goal will be to extinguish the lake of fire, eliminating the threat once and for all.

Lance’s Protagonist:
Julian of Red Valley (visual reference: Paul Bettany)

d8 – Doggedly Stubborn
d6 – Genuinely Goodhearted
d6 – Country Boy
d4 – Mysterious Ring
Plot: Get the girl, Discover the significance of the ring, Extinguish the lake of fire.

Dan’s Antagonist:
Prince Gerhard (visual reference: Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin in Flash Gordon)

d8 – Cold and Calculating
d6 – Accomplished Liar
d6 – Peerless Duelist
d4 – Prince of the Realm
Plot: Assassinate the firstborn son, Discover the location of the sword, Get the sword.

Lenny’s Supporting Character:
The Elder, current wielder of the magic of the Valley of Fire (visual reference: Bruce Spence)

d8 – Flame Magic
d6 – Wizard’s Staff
d6 – Been There, Done That
d4 – Short Temper
Subplot: Find a recipient for the magic of the Valley of Fire.

Chapter 1
Spotlight: Lance 4. Dan 4. Lenny 10.
Adversity: Lance 8,3. Dan 10,8,6.

The Elder storms into the palace of Cresthaven, demanding an audience with the crown prince. [I spend my 10 to introduce my Prince Gerhard character into the chapter and activate two of his traits: Accomplished Liar and Cold and Calculating.] Gerhard lies [I'll be rolling a d6 for my Accomplished Liar trait] that his older brother Steffan is out among the poor of the city and The Elder should search for him out there. [Lenny spends his 10 to activate his Been There, Done That and Short Temper traits.]  The short-tempered Elder [Lenny will be rolling a d4 for his Short Temper trait] demands that the crown prince be brought to him, since he has already journeyed far and is in no mood for further inconvenience. [Roll dice for exchange 1: Lenny 4 vs. Dan 1. Lenny wins and my Accomplished Liar is exhausted. Lenny bumps his Short Temper up to a d6.] The Elder shouts Gerhard down, demanding that the crown prince be brought to him at once. Gerhard offers apologies and suggests that The Elder wait in the dining room while they fetch the crown prince, calculating [Cold and Calculating d8] that The Elder will overindulge as usual and eat and drink himself to sleep. The Elder’s long experience [Been There, Done That d6] should let him handle it [Roll dice for exchange 2: Lenny 2 vs. Dan 4. I win, Lenny exhausts. I bump Lenny's Short Temper back down to d4], but he notices that the cooking has improved considerably since the last time he was here, stuffs himself, and falls into a deep sleep.

The next day, Gerhard tells The Elder that the crown prince tried to meet with him during the night but The Elder wouldn’t wake up for him, calculating [d8] that The Elder will be too embarrassed to cause more commotion. The Elder, his anger evident [Short Temper d4], says that his business is more important than any affairs of state that might be occupying the prince. [Roll dice for exchange 3: Lenny 4 vs. Dan 2. Lenny wins, I exhaust. Lenny bumps Short Temper to d6]  The Elder flies into a rage that intimidates Gerhard. [I spend my 8 to activate Accomplished Liar]. Gerhard lies [d6] that there is a fire at the granary and The Elder should go put a stop to it. Still angry [Short Temper d6], The Elder says that his business is far more urgent and important than a fire. [Roll dice for exchange 4: Lenny 6 vs. Dan 3. Lenny wins, I exhaust. Lenny bumps Short Temper to d8]. The Elder calls Gerhard on his lie. [I spend my 6 to activate Cold and Calculating]. Gerhard admits that he was trying to distract The Elder, claiming that the crown prince is afflicted with plague and they’ve been hiding him in a plague-house in the city. Gerhard begins leading The Elder to a plague house, calculating [d8] that he’ll be able to lose him in the crowd. The Elder gets angrier and angrier the longer the journey takes [Short Temper d8], complaining the whole way. [Roll for exchange 5: Lenny 3 vs. Dan 4. I win, both exhaust. Since there are no active traits to bump I get one bonus point]. Gerhard leads The Elder to a plague house and then slips out the back way. [I need to present more adversity, but I have no active traits and no story dice to buy more, so Lenny wins the chapter and gets to narrate the conclusion]. The Elder, fuming, realizes that Gerhard is up to something and vows not to be fooled again. [Lenny won the chapter as the spotlight player so he advances one stage along his plot.]

Chapter 2
Spotlight: Lance 20. Dan 7. Lenny 6.
Adversity: Dan 4,2,1. Lenny 15,8.

Julian is in Red Valley on market day. He has arranged a meeting with Klaus in order to ask permission to court his daughter. [Lenny spends his 15 to create and introduce Klaus. The 15 would normally allow Lenny to activate four character traits, but since this is a new NPC that hasn't been statted out he gets less traits than usual due to the creation tax. Since the future father-in-law mentioned on a seed the creation tax is one, so Lenny gets to activate three traits instead of four. He chooses Protective, Artisan, and Gruff.]

Klaus
d8 – Protective
d6 – Artisan
d6 – Gruff
d4 – Hardy Folk

Klaus, protective of his daughter Astrid’s heart [d8], orders Julian to shop for her to prove that he knows her well. Julian realizes what a daunting task this is, but stubbornly [d8] goes forward anyway, trying to find things that she would actually like [Genuinely Goodhearted d6] rather than things that would impress her father. [Roll for exchange 1: Lance 5,1 vs. Lenny 5. Lance wins bus Lance exhausts. Lance bumps Klaus's Protective to d6]. Julian walks through the marketplace, selecting items which are simple but of good quality, knowing that’s what Astrid prefers. Klaus is impressed, but says that Astrid is a craftsman’s daughter [Artisan d6] and appreciates fine workmanship. He orders Julian to tell him which of the items would make the best gift [Protective d6]. Julian eyes the items while fingering the silver ring in his pocket [Mysterious Ring d4], knowing that’s the gift he’d truly like to give to Astrid. [Roll for exchange 2: Lance 1 vs. Lenny 2,1. Lenny wins, both exhaust. Lenny bumps Country Boy down to d4]. Julian doesn’t have the nerve, and Klaus pounces on his hesitation. “No man who lacks conviction will have my daughter!” Klaus, never one to mince words [Gruff d6] says, “If you have something to show, you should show it.” Julian reluctantly pulls the ring from his pocket. “I would choose to gift her with this, but I think the most important thing I can offer is that I was born of this country and know the woods, know the hills, know the farms [Country Boy d4], and would give her the true heart of a Red Valley man.” [Roll for exchange 3: Lance 2 vs. Lenny 1. Lance wins, both exhaust. There are no active traits, so Lance gets a bonus point.] Although Klaus doesn’t grant permission to court Astrid, Julian can tell that Klaus is warming up to him. Klaus says, “Son, when I was your age, I courted my wife by breaking into her father’s stable, stealing his best horse, and running it ragged across the country daring him to stop me. You’re a nice kid, but I want to see your spirit. Now buy these things and give them to my daughter.” He walks away, leaving Julian holding a bunch of items that he’s not sure he can afford. [Lenny had story dice to activate a trait to offer more adversity but Lance was out of traits and didn't have story dice to activate more, so Lenny wins the chapter. He narrated the conclusion and, since he won a chapter as adversity player, he gets to add an extra spotlight die to his plot track. He takes the d12 for his second plot stage, the one he's currently working on.]

Chapter 3
Spotlight: Lance 12. Dan 9. Lenny 12,10.
Adversity: Lance 8,1. Dan 11,10,1.

Fed up dealing with functionaries, The Elder returns to the palace, expecting to talk to the king directly, [I spend my 1 to  introduce Prince Gerhard and activate his Cold and Calculating trait] but he finds Prince Gerhard sitting on the throne. Believing that The Elder’s pride is his weakness, Gerhard calculates [d8] that he can humiliate him in front of the assembled nobles. [Lenny spends his 10 to activate Wizard's Staff and Flame Magic]. The Elder pounds his staff [d6] on the ground, sending up a blast of magical flame [d8], saying that he is immensely powerful and should not be trifled with. [Roll for exchange 1: Lenny 4,1 vs. Dan 6. Dan wins, Lenny exhausts. The only active trait is already at its maximum die size so I get a bonus point.] Gerhard says, “Don’t you remember that you met my brother last night? Have you gone senile? Is this what we have to look forward to, a foolish old man who’s lost his wits, with more power than he knows what to do with?” Clearly, Gerhard’s plan to undermine The Elder with the nobility is working, and he is confident that he can push as hard as he wants because he believes that The Elder would never strike down someone of royal blood [Cold and Calculating d8]. [Lenny spends his 12 to activate Short Temper and Been There, Done That] The Elder, having dealt with politicians before [Been There, Done That d6] suggests that if he is losing his mind the proper reaction is fear and obedience [Short Temper d4]. [Roll for exchange 2: Lenny 6,4 vs. Dan 4. Lenny wins, neither exhaust. Lenny bumps Been There, Done That to d8]. The nobles realize that The Elder is dangerous and should not be mocked. [I spend my 10 to activate Peerless Duelist and Acoomplished Liar.] Gerhard leaps from the throne, draws his sword [Peerless Duelist d6], and holds it to The Elder’s neck. Calculating [d8] that The Elder is bluffing, Gerhard says, “You think you’re the only one with a temper, old man? Perhaps you’d better rethink what you’re saying.” The Elder rolls his eyes, wishing that the children who rule kingdoms would learn not to trifle with wizards of his power [Been There, Done That d8], and his anger nears the boiling point [Short Temper d4]. [Roll for exchange 3: Lenny 2,2 vs. Dan 7,6. Dan wins, Lenny exhausts. (I should have bumped something here but didn't do it explicitly, since I knew the chapter was winding down)]. The Elder sees the cold look in Gerhard’s eyes and knows he won’t back down. Twenty years ago, The Elder would have easily been able to defeat Gerhard, but today he isn’t so sure. Is he too old for this? He backs down and apologizes for creating such a scene. [I win the chapter as adversity player, so I take a d10 spotlight die for my first plot stage].

Chapter 4
Spotlight: Lance 19. Dan 6,4. Lenny 6,3.
Adversity: Dan 12,11,1. Lenny 6,4.

Julian, hoping to prove himself worthy of Astrid, is out hunting a predator that has been taking out local livestock. [I spend my 1 to introduce a passive environmental threat: hard and trackless ground]. There aren’t any tracks on the cold, hard ground [d4]. [Lance spends his 19 to activate all four of his traits] A country boy [d6] like Julian knows more ways to track than just studying footprints [Roll for exchange 1: Lance 2 vs. Dan 4. I win, neither exhaust. I bump my Hard Ground to d6], but they don’t seem to work either. With no way to track it across the hard ground [d6], Julian stubbornly [d8] begins checking every place the thing might attack. [Roll for exchange 2: Lance 4 vs. Dan 6. I win, neither exhaust. (Looks like I forgot to bump a trait)]. [I spend my 11 to introduce an active threat, a wolf.] The cries of a wolf [d6] are heard in the distance across vast stretches of hard, stony ground [d6]. Julian, a stubborn [d8] country boy [d6], starts running after the sound as hard as he can. [Roll for exchange 3: Lance 4,1 vs. Dan 3,1. Lance wins, both exhaust]. Julian sees it and gets off a shot with his bow, mortally wounding the wolf. It takes off into the woods and Julian follows the blood trail to find the creature dead just outside a hole in an embankment from which he can hear pitiful sounds. [I spend my 12 to bring Klaus into the chapter. Since it's plausible but unexpected for him to also be out hunting for the wolf I pay a plausibility tax of one, so I can only activate one trait instead of two. I choose Protective]. Klaus, also hunting the wolf to protect [d8] his family, steps out of the woods. “So, Julian,” he says. “Are you going to kill all of them?” Julian isn’t comfortable with the idea of killing the pups [Genuinely Goodhearted d6]. [Roll for exchange 4: Lance 6 vs. Dan 1. Lance wins, I exhaust. (We forgot to bump a trait again)] “No, I’ve eliminated the threat,” Julian says. “These pups can be relocated, and then it will be up to nature whether they live or die.” Klaus doesn’t say anything, but gives Julian his hunting vest to wrap up and carry the pups, an unspoken gesture of approval. Julian moves them to a new den, far enough away that they won’t threaten the community. [I don't have any active traits or any more story dice, so Lance wins the chapter as the spotlight character. He advances one stage along his plot.]