Author Topic: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)  (Read 709852 times)

Cthuluzord

  • Global Moderator
  • I dream in graph paper lines
  • *****
  • Posts: 385
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #60 on: February 22, 2011, 02:35:22 PM »
Thanks a ton, guys!  That stuff is just what I needed.  Here's the mission briefing I plan on giving players.  Tell me what you think.

[spoiler]To: Q
From: Andrea
Subject: A Night at the Opera (attachment: Cyrano de Bergerac)

STATUS: PARROT reports breach of GREEN BOX 224, hereafter DESIGNATE as PACKAGE at 0246 hours Jan 4th.  DESIGNATE “Zookeeper” CONFIRMS at 0815 Jan. 5th. A-Cell BLIND on the ground due to weather.  Q-cell ABORT current OBJECTIVE. New mission LOAD-OUT found in TRANSPORT with one FRIENDLY Pvt. W.

MISSION PRIORITIES: CONTAINMENT of PACKAGE is highest priority.  Agents should take all care to maintain OPERATIONAL SECURITY.

TARGET ONE: Establish CONTACT with “Zookeeper.” 

CHALLENGE: “Would you like to go to the zoo?”
AUTHENTICATE: “Yes, but only if I can stay outside.”

TARGET TWO: Establish HOME PLATE at “Zookeeper’s” office and move to ASSESS PACKAGE. 

TARGET THREE: TRANSPORT PACKAGE to HOME PLATE. 

TARGET FOUR: Split into two units

UNIT ALPHA: PLAY ZEPPO.  GO SECURE using hardline modem at HOME PLATE and INVENTORY PACKAGE.  Warning: minimum intelligence encouraged.  Beware TOME ROT

UNIT BETA: INVESTIGATE surrounding area for signs of NORWEIGIAN contamination.

TARGET FIVE: A-Cell will DECLARE THREATS from BOX 224.  Units REGROUP and REASSESS with new intelligence.

TARGET SIX: If HOSTILES present, Q-Cell CLEARED HOT for 48 hours until ALPHABET SOUP DEPLOYMENT.  ELIMINATE THE VECTOR

MISSION SUCCESS:  PACKAGE SECURED and OPERATIONAL SECURITY maintained until DUCK SOUP specialist arrives.

MISSION FAILURE: If no NEW PICTURE established via HOME PLATE hardline by 0500 Jan. 8th, CYCLOPS will place BLUE/BLUE BIRDS in the air and SEPPPUKU PROTOCOL will be in effect for Q-cell and all relatives.

(Scrubber software will initiate automatically in one minute)
[/spoiler]

Tadanori Oyama

  • Extreme XP CEO
  • *******
  • Posts: 3897
  • The Full Time GM
    • View Profile
    • Full Time GM
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #61 on: February 22, 2011, 02:47:02 PM »
It has all the mix of real information and head scratching that I've come to expect from a Delta Green mission.

I'd suggest having a "plain language" copy behind the screen and letting the players who want more information try to decode the message, especially if the character their using isn't from the same coding background.

Making them work to get fairly basic information helps to reinforce one of my favorite axiums of Delta Green: "Delta Green's security is more important than your life".

AmishNinja

  • I am worth 100 points in GURPS...ladies
  • ***
  • Posts: 189
    • View Profile
    • NaturalOne
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #62 on: February 22, 2011, 03:19:46 PM »
I like it provided that the cryptic nature of the message plays a significant role in the game. Problem solving and code cracking is a lot of fun, and fits in very well with investigation style games - especially DG. Well done on the DG code lingo. I'm very interested to see how this runs.

clockworkjoe

  • BUY MY BOOK
  • Administrator
  • Extreme XP CEO
  • *****
  • Posts: 6517
    • View Profile
    • BUY MY BOOK
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #63 on: February 22, 2011, 05:42:30 PM »
I'd sign up for the DG emai list and post the message there. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/dglist/

The hardcore DG nerds will finetune the message for you and you can email specific members for advice so I won't be spoiled.

Tadanori Oyama

  • Extreme XP CEO
  • *******
  • Posts: 3897
  • The Full Time GM
    • View Profile
    • Full Time GM
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #64 on: February 23, 2011, 02:28:12 PM »
Relistening to Andrew's Fortune. Whatever the next noir game, I want to see the return of the desk cop who tackled Cody. I envision a small man with glasses and short wild hair, fresh sandwich wrapper in hand, leaping onto his desk and using it as the platform to launch himself at the savage thug.

Mckma

  • President of the Apparatus of Kwalish fan club
  • *****
  • Posts: 1538
  • Sometimes Murphy's Law needs to be enforced
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #65 on: February 23, 2011, 03:46:58 PM »
A big thank you to Caleb and Aaron.  Bryson Springs is one of the best APs to date...

Joven

  • I dream in graph paper lines
  • ****
  • Posts: 394
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #66 on: February 23, 2011, 05:30:49 PM »
Just kinda wished it ended with Tom arresting Aaron for stuff he can't remember.

AmishNinja

  • I am worth 100 points in GURPS...ladies
  • ***
  • Posts: 189
    • View Profile
    • NaturalOne
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #67 on: March 03, 2011, 03:03:10 PM »
Latest podcast episode: thanks Caleb for bringing up my comment on the Bryson Springs about telling players how they feel. It sounds like we interpreted the subject differently - I was sort of lumping in the "you're terrified" thing with other forms of dictating that I've seen in games. In that sense I wasn't trying to break into the philosophical question of "what controls your emotions?", I was focusing more on GM practice within a game. I agree that generally people don't have control of their own emotions, but if you're effective at narrative (and boy are you ever), it seems unnecessary to tell players how their characters feel. If a game is scary, it's scary.

It's not a bad awful terrible monster GM thing to do (like refusing to let PCs take control of other PCs, ROSS PAYTON), just extraneous (kind of like the extra rolling thing). I could see telling players how they feel in some cases ruining the mood (it didn't in yours, mind you). Like if you spend a few minutes narrating a scene where an NPC is dying, and the players are visibly stricken by this, and you suddenly break out with, "you feel really depressed" - I somehow think that'd ruin the mood a little. In the case of a tense situation, it seems like it'd be more effective to narrate something purely involuntary, like a character's heart rate increasing or a bead of sweat running down their forehead.

Lastly, I hope you aren't taking any of this the wrong way. I just find this subject interesting and enjoy the discussion. I'm not the kind of guy that would sit in on one of your games and write every tiny flaw in a notebook and then give it to you at the end. I'd be super honored to play in one of your games, no foolin'.

Cthuluzord

  • Global Moderator
  • I dream in graph paper lines
  • *****
  • Posts: 385
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #68 on: March 03, 2011, 04:14:37 PM »
No offense was taken at all! I thought it was a great comment and so brought it up.  It even inspired a mechanic for the next ADW game I'm writing.  I'm telling characters how certain objects make them feel on tiny notecards as a clue mechanic; they can then share that info to get closer to solving the mystery (their own identities!) or play close to the vest and use the information to manipulate other players.  I don't know if it will work or not, but I wouldn't have come up with the idea without the comment.

...And I totally misinterpreted that comment!  I thought it was interesting before, but now that I know you meant it as a "show don't tell" criticism, I downright agree with you.  That's fiction writing 101 stuff, but for some reason, I only think of it when I'm actually writing something.  But as you point out, the use of imagery to convey emotion is as important, if not more important, in an off-the-cuff RPG narration.  I overlooked that and will focus on it more in the future.

So all in all, thanks for giving a damn enough to give constructive criticism at all. That's very flattering and I'll take all of it I can get, from everyone. I'm new to this GM thing and want to get better.

Shallazar

  • Oregon Trail 13 Superstar
  • *****
  • Posts: 610
  • I AM TOM!
    • View Profile
    • Never do Nothing
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #69 on: March 05, 2011, 12:38:58 AM »
listen to the community, some great doos and don'ts lie within.
I wish I was Tom.

Granted, you are now Tom.

Mckma

  • President of the Apparatus of Kwalish fan club
  • *****
  • Posts: 1538
  • Sometimes Murphy's Law needs to be enforced
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #70 on: March 05, 2011, 01:43:45 AM »
listen to the community, some great doos and don'ts lie within.

'Tis true.  I've gotten a lot of help myself.  Everyone has their own great opinions/experiences to share...

Cthuluzord

  • Global Moderator
  • I dream in graph paper lines
  • *****
  • Posts: 385
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #71 on: March 10, 2011, 04:58:53 PM »
For those interested, it looks like I'll be running two sessions of a A Dirty World at Gencon: Friday and Saturday at 10:00 am (all times tentative).  I'd love to play with some of the folks I've only ever encountered on the forums, so come on by and help me earn some Arc Dream booth credit!

Here's the description that will be in the catalogue.

The Dangers of Fraternization
Berlin, 1946. The once mighty city lies in ruins, controlled jointly
by powers that are Allies in name only. Identical mother-infant
murders take place on either side of the Russian-American border, and
now a third newborn has gone missing. Soviet NKVD and the U.S. Army
military police launch a joint effort to find the killer, centered
around a burlesque club that’s a hot spot for the resurgent German
underworld. In danger of losing their investment, the crime bosses of
Berlin suddenly find themselves as eager to find the murderer as their
occupiers. Can this hasty alliance find justice, or will it implode
under the weight of national intrigue, old grudges and human greed?

Salkovich

  • I walk between the rain drops, tommy gun and katana in hand
  • *****
  • Posts: 805
  • Concupiscent Piranha of the Apocalypse
    • View Profile
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #72 on: March 10, 2011, 05:15:48 PM »
Dammit. One more reason I hate that I can't be at Gencon.

These had better get recorded.
"It's heresy. Burn the heretics." - Ross Payton NEVAR FORGET
"If you are asked, 'Would you like Abraham Lincoln', your answer is always YES."

Tadanori Oyama

  • Extreme XP CEO
  • *******
  • Posts: 3897
  • The Full Time GM
    • View Profile
    • Full Time GM
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #73 on: March 10, 2011, 05:30:48 PM »
Sorry man, I'm going to be a table over from you running Wild Talents. So I can't be in yo' game dewg. But I promise to make my table be as disruptive as humanly possible while your playing, if that helps.

clockworkjoe

  • BUY MY BOOK
  • Administrator
  • Extreme XP CEO
  • *****
  • Posts: 6517
    • View Profile
    • BUY MY BOOK
Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« Reply #74 on: March 10, 2011, 05:36:01 PM »
I'll run a RPPR player/fan only game on thursday night - another huge clusterfuck of course :D