Musings

This game and the system it runs on are on ongoing experiment. Over each session, I’ve tried out new elements or stress-tested existing ones, iterating on my tools and growing as a GM. Every 1-3 hour session is followed by a 2-4 hour period of collaborative analysis and feedback. This page is a place to dump some of the thoughts players and I have had along the way.

The thing forms itself; I am the medium.

Current Focus

Things have gone Seinfeld -> Frasier -> Community, edged towards Regular Show, but are correcting to somewhere between Scooby Doo, Twin Peaks, and Murdoch Mysteries. Paranormal elements providing a narrative backbone to support character exploration, development, and interaction. Horror as a straight man.

Initial Concept

Seinfeld RPG

As it was spoken, I knew it had to be done.

First crutch I reached for was the open table. While minimizing scheduling headaches, the format also lets me play with a wide mix of people (better test data) and fits in quite well to the sitcom format with a rotating cast of occasionally returning characters. Second, this was a great excuse to mess with Sentiment: a system very close to my heart. I was very eager after recently having run a short 2+1 session test with the system proper (in 0.7 beta). The attributes underlying the whole system crystallize and empower meaningful character with accessible simplicity. Accessible enough, I hoped, to work at an open table with inexperienced players.

To accomplish the grander vision, I had a few primary goals for system, setting, and execution:

Sessions

Listed in reverse order (most recent on top), a brief summary and lessons learned from each session I’ve run so far.

#4 - Dungeon

A few points of feedback from the previous session focused on the lack of narrative foundation, missing both a concrete plot hook and established sense of place. Overcorrecting, I wanted to try a dungeon. Did not prep a dungeon, just some general ideas. This was extremely stressful but paid off extremely well in that certain parts worked very well and other parts really didn’t.

Gave players disposable characters: Claire and Becky. First two attributes were prompted with “your favourite school subject” and “a sport you played”. Their relationship was provided as: “People think you are best friends from childhood… decide what that means for you”. This worked very well.

A secretive dungeon dweller the PCs just glimpsed as they entered and saw watching them as they left did wonders. A direct combat with 4 feral hogs really didn’t work with the system or vibe. Killing the endearing NPC in an avoidable trap on a failed roll a PC succeeded on was fantastic.

Lessons

Hook

Players started stepping off a yellow school bus into the late November snow of a small local farm for come hands-on experience for one of their mandatory college AG courses. Farmer Joe presents strangely aggressive long-haired piglets, prompts class for an explanation. NPC Hog Man introduced to comment (unplanned).

#3 - Moleman

This session was the first directly in the heart of the school context, without much thought to how that could function as a narrative support. Put some characters in a bottle and shake it. Character interactions snowballed into something wonderful eventually, but took some time to get there.

Lessons

Hook

Mandatory safety course, only players showed up.

#2 - First Day of School

What I was initially planning as the first proper session after the initial test. Tried to go in with as little prep as possible: no hook, unmade characters. This was a test of offloading prep from myself onto players using onboarding materials. Had to take extra time before the game to introduce the system and get characters together but it still worked.

Lessons

Hook (unplanned)

PC working at a coffee shop, checked in on by boss before other PCs show up.

#1 - Pilot

The initial session of this game was an extension of my prior 2+1 session system test. Primary focus on each character’s internal monologue, I would continually prompt and prod players for why they were doing certain actions and how they felt in response. This background role is what led to my use of the term facilitator rather than GM or referee. While I adore this style of play, it has become clear that most players don’t enjoy it as much as I do, especially at an open table with less experienced role-players.

2+1 sessions means 2 group sessions lead with an individual onboarding/tutorial/character building session one-on-one with each player. This initial session can be short, but allows you to introduce a system, germinate a character, and implicate them in a greater narrative. For any long term format, I still think this is the best way to get things started. It is also far too of work to schedule and run one of these with as many players and characters I might have. Just for the first session, I wanted to construct ideal conditions to test the concept.

One key thing to test was my revisions to the core dice rules. Even in the final session, players were at times confused by what to roll. This is, to an extent, unavoidable. Sentiment rolls actions with on a d20 modified by values from one of your d6 attributes with responses totalling all attribute rolls. My main change and attempt to address this was to remove the d20 entirely. You have 3 dice and 2 rolls. Either roll them all and pick one or pick one and roll it. This “demake” is an attempt to simplify the system as much as possible without losing the core identity of character attributes.

Lessons

Hook

The first onboarding session gave me an older student with property looking to rent it out a basement suite to another student. I played an NPC inspecting the unit under false pretences, leasing it twice to both other players.

First player moves in with the key he got in the mail after signing a lease online. Second player moves in using key she got from in-person walkthrough, finding the first. Third player comes downstairs to find two young people in his basement that he didn’t rent his home to.