On a cold winter's night, four adventurers huddle around their campfire and ready themselves for a mighty adventure... tomorrow.
You can download a zipped HTML page of this poem here; you can download the plain reStructuredText source file here.
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In the last action-filled and heart-pounding session of your favourite fantasy role-playing game...
Your four adventurers—cruel Brabantio, murderous Zorka, hideous Markkov, infernal Hob—hacked, clambered and clawed their way up the snowy sides of the great glacier Jormungbad! Their destination? The Icy Mountain Halls of the Frost Giants! Their quarry? Why, none other than the King of the Frost Giants himself—Braggadir, Slayer of Jarmulkost, Reaver of the Frozen Seas, Beloved of Hela!
Lo! The Icy Mountain Halls of the Frost Giants lie one league hence... but 'twould be madness to sally into the Jaws of Jormungbad without first camping a while to draw breath, fill rumbling bellies with meat, and rest weary limbs in uneasy slumber. And so, in the cruel shadow of Jormungbad, your party has made camp for the night; watches are set, spellbooks are studied, and a meagre campfire flickers in the biting winds.
At least, that last bit is what you might have narrated if you were actually playing your favourite fantasy role-playing game.
In this game you'll never role-play the venture into the Icy Mountain Halls of the Frost Giants to challenge Braggadir, Slayer of Jarmulkost, Reaver of the Frozen Seas, Beloved of Hela; that's because this poem is concerned only with role-playing that winter's night huddled around a flickering campfire.
What hopes burn hot in the hearts of these brave heroes? What cold fears gnaw at their bellies? What tasks occupy frozen fingers and numbed minds on that blasted glacier? What destinies await these adventurers on their return? What cruel wounds received on the bloody ascent need tending?
In this role-playing poem we stay the usual headlong rush into adventure in order to savour the richness of the role-play, for that is what is best in life.
Each player will role-play just the one character, so dole out the character sheets randomly or have players pick the character that takes their fancy; put any character sheets that won't be used to one side. You'll need one deck of ordinary playing cards to share.
Have one player deal out three cards face-down to each player, including themselves. Once every player has been dealt their cards and placed them in a face-down stack in front of 'em, you might like to close your eyes and just take some time to think about your character, their quest to slay Braggadir, and the cruel winds that howl about 'em; if you do take this time, make it brief: it should only last for a minute or so.
Play proceeds as a series of scenes, starting with the character possessed of the deepest voice, and proceeding clockwise. When it is your turn, you're the Spotlight Player! Each scene starts with the flop of the top card from the Spotlight Player's wee stack of cards. The Flopped Card must be placed face-up in the middle of the table so that everyone can see it.
The Flopped Card...
The value of the Flopped Card is used to look up a result on The Really Awesome Tables; the result will suggest something interesting for your character to be thinking about, talking about, or doing during the scene.
If the Flopped Card is...
The Spotlight Player looks up the value of the Flopped Card on The Really Awesome Tables. The Spotlight Player must then read aloud the result so that everyone playing knows what it is. The result must then be used to inform your role-playing in that scene. You are at liberty to interpret the result from The Really Awesome Tables as you like.
It's Dawn's turn. She flops the top card of her little stack of cards and places that card face-up in the middle of the table. The Flopped Card is the 8 of Diamonds. Consulting The Really Awesome Tables, Dawn notes that the result is *An unlit campfire, battered by rain and lashed by cold winds*.
Plain Old Scenes are just like the regular scenes you're used to from other role-playing games. The Spotlight Player sets the scene with some narration that establishes where the scene taks place and which characters are present in the scene. You then role-play the scene, engaging in dialogue and narrating your character's actions.
Remember to use the result from The Really Awesome Tables to guide your scene-setting and role-play. You can also incorporate the character's Traits and/or any of their Equipment. Some of the results from The Really Awesome Tables will require another player to role-play another character such as a ghost or a ghoul: the Spotlight Player nominates another player to play any such characters.
The number on the Flopped Card also tells everyone the *maximum* duration of the scene in minutes: this duration is only here so that scenes don't grind on and to lend a sense of urgency to the role-play. Scenes are played out in real time, so if the Flopped Card was a 7, then you'd role-play for *at most* 7 minutes; a watch or other timing-device can be useful here.
Barrie is the Spotlight Player. He is playing Cruel Brabantio. The result from The Really Awesome Tables is *A bitter moan about the weather*. Barrie narrates the following:
"A cold wind roars through the campsite, threating to snuff out the guttering flame of the campfire. Huddled around the warm flames are Brabantio and Markkov; a little way to the east in the shelter of a great slab of overhanging ice, Hob and Zorka are struggling to pitch a tent."
"'Curse this infernal weather! 'tis unnaturally cold!' Brabantio pulls his furs tighter around him."
Markkov's player Susan then pipes up with narration of her own:
"'Pah! 'tis not so cold as when we bested the Snow Queen in her Palace of Ice.' Markkov spits on the fire."
Role-play continues in this vein until the scene ends.
Soliloquy Scenes give the Spotlight Player the chance to share an emotion or thought; use them to give everyone an insight into your character's state of mind, plans, or mood. Only the Spotlight Player speaks during a Soliloquy Scene. Soliloquy Scenes don't have a prescribed duration; typically they'll just be a minute or so long.
As with Plain Old Scenes, the result from The Really Awesome Tables must be used to colour and inform the Soliloquy Scene.
Dawn is the Spotlight Player. She is playing Hideous Markkov. The result from The Really Awesome Tables is Another character's quirk makes you smile. For her Soliloquy Scene she narrates the following:
"Huddled deep in his furs, and pressed tight against the infernal Hob for warmth, a slit of a smile cut across Markkov's pinched face. 'The hellish warmth of these devils is a blessing in such cold climes.'"
Yep, narration as short as that in Soliloquy Scenes is just fine.
When every player has exhausted their cards, the game is over.
Cruelty and Iron are the common elements threaded through these characters.
— A Mercenary Warrior Of Fearsome Reputation
Traits: Pious, Scarred, Jovial, Persnickety
Equipment: A Lady's Scarf, An Ivory Horn, A Suit of Shining Red Mail, Iron Rations
— A Magician Of Puissant Skill, His Body Cruelly Warped By One Too Many Infernal Bargains
Traits: Crippled, Greedy, Calculating, Charismatic
Equipment: Pouch of Scented Herbs, The Iron Staff of the Archmagi, Your Imp Familiar, 20' of Stout Rope
— The Cruel Priest Of An Even Crueller God
Traits: Vengeful, Afraid, Obese, Ill
Equipment: The Scalps Of Seven Frost Giants, A Cold Iron Holy Symbol, A Heavy Canvas Tent, Sacrificial Robes
— An Enslaved Devil Summoned From A Plane Of Cruel Torment
Traits: Fearless, Immortal, Unhappy, Mocking
Equipment: A Bone Flute, An Iron Penny, A Sack of Broken Tent Pegs, Scroll of Summon Bountiful Feast
Here is role-playing in which the awesome cool of braving a hellish dungeon and besting a mighty foe will never be played at the gaming table; the action is wholly inwards-facing, directed at the characters and their emotions about the events on the morrow.
This poem was prompted by Matt West's post on theRPGSite concerning delayed gratification at the gaming table. The name of The Really Awesome Tables is a nod to the wonderfully named Really Scary Table from Matt's untitled science-fiction role-playing game.
Do write and tell me all about your character and what he or she did on a winter's night. If you create your own Characters or Really Awesome Tables, send them to me so that I can include them in the game.
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