Expectations and Responsibilities: The Ebb and Flow of RealD&D

 Last week I talked about a small, but specific instance of play involving RealD&D, TNB, and the FoW. The response within the Urf clubhouse was mixed: lots of elbow nudging and "you got me good" with a few "this might as well be cheating." There were frustrations and miscommunications; everyone is invested in our games. What sets Urf apart from the conventional is Brotherhood. Lines were drawn, expectations managed, and none of it is personal! The health of the Campaign(s) and Club are paramount!

Unfortunately, events that transpired right after that post left Stanson in an odd spot. That's a possible discussion for another time.

Ebb and Flow

It's a lot of fun to talk about the high points in a game and build excitement, but those highs would not exist without the lows: the Ebb and Flow of RealD&D. Some sessions are fairly by-the-numbers affairs; hit a dungeon, hit a lair, do some exploration. What sets the Real apart from the Fake is the mindset. Why are you aiming for that score? What will you do once you have it? The leveling treadmill can only be satisfying for so long, and nobody cares about how you gained 3 HP (or are stuck at Lv3)!

You need to be driving what you can, involving other players (friend or foe) whenever possible. The best part of a RealD&D world, a living world, is knowing that you're not bottlenecked by a single force (the "Forever GM"). But where and how do you start? Myself, I just jump right in. I pick a character or faction that I like (for any reason) and attach myself to them. It is no substitution for play, but it gives me a foundation to work from.

With that said, here are some examples:

• Kirk, Cleric of Forseti favors Fost, Cleric of Odin for Jarl of Bloodfall (there were several options). We discover the famous Golden Idol, resulting in a wrestling match for who to sell it to: the Taxman or Odinite. Kirk wins this and solidifies Fost's reign as Jarl. All I did was make a choice (Fost) and commit to it. This, and the rewards that came with it, were a high point. 
• Another high point was the Siege of Bloodfall. The players and their factions were all moving in anticipation of the BloodStein. The energy was through the roof; Will we win, will we lose, will we manage to shift things in our faction's favor? If you've read the post, you know the results were mixed; because RealD&D doesn't stop moving!
• Battle with the Painted Dragon! Who knew that the mural would animate and attack us? Good thing we had a couple magic items to cut it down, including some that came from the mural itself! Kirk nearly died right after to some Hobgoblins (Orcs?), but we got back and realized we'd gotten a legendary dragon slaying sword!

There are many more high points (and threats!), but these are intermingled with the typical dungeon crawls and exploration; not always profitable or forward moving. I myself have felt pretty stagnant and lost of late, just supporting the other party members while looking for opportunities to kick back into gear. Could be that I'm not being proactive enough, or that my own concerns (cleansing the Fist) fall to the wayside of more immediate threats.

I digress, let me talk about a low point that was necessary:

Prior to the Siege of Bloodfall, Broderick the Neon (uce?) headed to the nearby city to ask for aid. He made a deal with a group of mercenaries that he would scout 15 miles around Svarthold and provide a map in reward for their services. The deadline is August 1st. The ticking clock lead to a variety of downtime actions on Broderick's end and last night's session.

The session itself was overland mapping, a couple fights, and the discovery of a couple towns or other points of interest. Why do I call it a low point? I was pretty checked out for most of it. I'm no Ranger, and as a Cleric my role is predominately support and combat medic. A role I typically enjoy, I should add. Nonetheless, we fulfilled our duty and I believe managed to complete the map.

Now for the fun part! Having a bit more information about the area and cross-referencing various pieces from the other players (and rangers), we found ourselves some more session targets. We're creating our own hooks and continuing to drive the game! In a sense, even our low points are high points! We've still got a gnoll army to deal with, an evil sword to destroy, and dragons to slay; perhaps these new hooks will aid us in those endeavours!

Put Simply

It takes time for things to stew, pieces to move, and resources to build. There should always be movements, even minor ones, building to the next event. Moreover, the PCs should be involved in any way they can. This investment sometimes leads to frustration. What cannot be said, however, is that our games are unsatisfying.

Addendum: But Wait, There's More!

While the Olds and OSRheads were gnashing their teeth (do they still have them?) this week about 1:1 time, and the theorycels were heavily breathing over the perfect brick placement on their homebrew castle in a campaign they'll never play, the Living Urf was gaming.

Bloodfall runs on Tuesday and DT is resolved on Fridays. As you've already read, I've been stagnant and just trying to find something to latch on to. One of our Rangers had info about a Troll Lair, but no details. Thanks to a handy Palantir, all I had to do was get eyes on the place for a little bit. Unfortunately, we (Thorgal and Kirk) ran into a brigade of Elves... and they were angry! They demanded we disarm and surrender for questioning!

There is a lesson here, one about being overly possessive of a character (ala conventional play) or a fear of loss. It can be a difficult obstacle to overcome, just as our losses in life; but I want to tell you something. Have faith! You can break the shackles holding you back from growth! And if you can do that in a game, you can apply it to your life!

You see, Kirk is a human cleric modeled off a vague notion of Viking fiction (13th Warrior, mostly). Elves, and really most faerie folk, are soulless creatures that steal children and replace them with abominable changelings. The Bros and Living Urf are well-read in Appendix N, and this knowledge affected my decision. A brigade of soulless abominations vs a single viking. The smart play would be to surrender my weapon and hope to live another day, and perhaps there are people that like those sorts of novels. Not me. My vikings must die in battle, be carried by Valkyries to meet in Odin's hall and feast and battle in Valhalla!

You can guess what choice I made. You can also guess the results. What I want to focus on, as part of our lesson in loss is: the Clubhouse, the community, our Bros. It's not about you, not necessarily about your character. It's about the Legacy you've built.

Let me leave you with Thorgal's statements, one for fun and the others in-character.