Hackfinder - Pathfinder with a Story Gaming Emphasis

This was my first experience with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Previously, I played 4E D&D for 4 1/2 years. Since we played "Hackfinder", a version of Pathfinder that Jerome Virnich created that involves more roleplaying scenes with NPCs, I didn't really learn that much about the difference between Pathfinder vs D&D. Two of the players were Pathfinder veterans and they work for Goblinworks and Pat (who's also in the D&D Next game) had played Hackfinder before.

Before we launched into it, we each created several NPCs that ranged from Timmy, Velt's 10 year old son, various Guild heads, Frey, a cult leader, Yana, a brothel mistress, and Simeon, a snake oil salesman. Much of the information gathering was accomplished by having scenes with NPCs that were played by anyone who wasn't in the scene as a PC.

During two of the smaller battles, half of us who weren't in the battle played the NPCs that they were fighting. It was fun to be involved in the scene and we weren't so invested in our PCs that we felt like we were being traitors. However, for me, who had a bit of hard time reading the NPC sheet stats and how to do battles, it was somewhat of a challenge.

Jerome Virnich - GM
Me - Velt Render, male, pampered rich Halfling who ran away from the Mainland, learned how to be a rogue by paying for lessons.
Pat - Lok, female, born in the lost colony settlement, grew up feral, works as hired muscle.
Stephen - Doc Splody, male, traveled around the world to learn more about alchemy.
Tork - Chetan, male, 3rd incarnation, works as bookkeeper for the shop.

The settlement of Ardis was founded by people who were escaping the mainland for religious reasons, entrepreneurs looking to profit from exporting the various goods of the area, or just people who were looking to make a new start. The surrounding forest was extremely dangerous, full of large kaiju and a mysterious madness that seemed to befall anyone who spent too much time in it. The four guilds that make up the settlement are:

• the Vice Guild, who maintain the black market and the hired muscle, 
• the Alchemist Guild, who supply the drugs, other remedies, and explosives, 
• the Fish Mongers Guild, who treat the ocean and nearby river as their personal playground, keeping the settlement supplied in fish and the fish extract needed to make a popular drug.
• the Blacksmith Guild, who make the weapons and build the structures that make up the settlement.
• the Quarriers Guild, who manage the quarries.

Velt, Lok, Doc Splody, and Chetan all work for the Alchemist Guild at Rainbow Remedies. Velt gathered information, Lok was the muscle, Doc Splody was the shop owner, and Chetan kept the books.

Rainbow Remedies Shop Sign

Image created by Stephen Cheney

Several rumors had been floating around and as is their wont, everyone congregates at the local tavern to suss out the truth from the falsehoods. The most tantalizing rumor, that the Vice Guild was throwing a big party, turned out to be the rumor that was verifiable, and everyone manages to secure entry into the exclusive event.

At the party, the Vice Guild unveils their newest product, moss ale. Moss, gathered from within the forest, is one of the drugs used within the settlement and is a popular export. Simeon, the snake oil salesman, claims to be able to cultivate the moss to make mass production feasible. The moss ale is delicious, light, and produces ecstatic euphoria. Several people have problems that they need help with and in return, they mention interesting tidbits of info.

• Catherine, the caterer, needs to impress as many people as possible with the food because her business is not doing well. Unfortunately, she stained the front of her dress. Magic is used to "clean" her dress for a few hours and she mentions that she saw a fire burning on the surface of the water some ways down the shore.
• Lucretia, head of the Alchemist Guild, wants to know which consortium one of the merchants is from. Lok intimidates him into telling her and Doc Splody confirms it by recognizing the merchant's monocle. She told them that she heard that the Vice Guild set up a camp deep in the woods, at the outskirts of the abandoned settlement.
• Yana, the brothel mistress and Velt's date at the party, wants to hook up with one of the merchants. Velt begrudgingly helps her make an introduction, and she mentions that one of her girls was hired by a merchant and might be investing lots of money into the Vice Guild if the moss ale pans out.
• Fal, a hired muscle, wants to steal a barrel of the moss ale to sell it. Lok unwittingly helps him but in the morning, he's found floating in the port. Before his untimely death, he tells her that one of the ships that sailed into the settlement for the party was filled with a small mercenary company of rangers and survivalists that disembarked down the coast and were equipped for a long stay in the woods.
• Anton, friends with Velt and head of the Vice Guild's muscle, needs help to kill his brother, who is the head of the mercenary company, Velt falsely promises to help him. Anton tells Velt that the Vice Guild wants to expand their operation in the settlement and are going to level the Low Quarter (the slums of the settlement) for their land.
• Simeon, the snake oil salesman, is being praised for his method of cultivating the moss but he wants help with a get-rich-quick scheme. He tells them that he just gave the Vice Guild a plant growth potion and he has no idea how they're cultivating the moss.

After the party, the Vice Guild floods the market with moss ale. However, it seems like people are starting to act strangely, seeing things where there is nothing. And this is affecting even those who haven't touched any moss ale. Mother Comfort, a healer/wise woman of the Low District, fears for her district and wants the moss growing operation to be stopped. Meanwhile, Frey, leader of the Cult of the Dark Tapestry, has been trying to recruit Lok the whole time and wants them not to interfere with the moss growing. Timmy, Velt's son, comes down with a touch of the madness and Velt and Doc Splody decide to go to the Low District to find Mother Comfort, who might be able to cure Timmy. Lok and Chetan stay behind at Rainbow Remedies to look after the shop and Timmy.

When Velt and Doc Splody arrive in the Low District, they find it ablaze. They manage to defeat fire elementals and chase off a Bloodfire sorcerer though Velt was sadly unprepared for a fight with fire and had to resort to using his slingshot with apples scrounged from a nearby market stall. "How do you like them apples?" might have been said.

Back at the shop, Lok and Chetan successfully defend against looters though the percentage of spiders increased exponentially. When Lucritia, head of the Alchemist Guild, hears about the fire, she's convinced it's the work of the Vice Guild. Velt, Lok, Chetan, and Doc Splody are dispatched to the rumored mercenary camp to investigate and put an end to their whole operation. The camp is a four day march away.

Along the way, they run into a group of fungal apes and fungal badgers, all seemingly acting weirdly slow and breathing madness spores all up in their faces. They make it to the Dark Shrine without any further mishaps. Six obelisks make up the shrine and the moss growing and harvesting is happening in the middle. The mercs look like they've been constantly fighting off the kaiju. As if on cue, a fungal T-Rex crashes through the forest and starts stomping and eating the mercs. Everyone but Lok, feral as she is, thinks it's a good idea to watch the chaos from their safe vantage point, but Lok immediately climbs down and joins in on the fight. It's a little painful, but they manage to take everyone out, including the T-Rex, who is a bit clumsy and has a hard time keeping its balance due to some conveniently placed grease by Chetan. Yeah, we had a T-Rex on its back, flailing around for a while.

Unfortunately, almost immediately after the T-Rex is finished off, there's a low rumble from the middle of the Dark Shrine and a fungal Frey bursts out. Looks like she's some sort of extraplanar queen now and starts doing some dark evil eldrich fungal zombie shit on the dead mercs.

Everyone is low on the healths, except for Lok, who manages to get mind controlled by Frey and starts going to town on her allies. Chetan is taken out. Doc Splody spends most of the time on the verge of dying while being tentacle hugged by Frey. He's double-fisting potions and throwing all sorts of defoliant, and whatever else he has in the bag at the fungus that's penetrating his skin. Velt scampers around, sling-shotting whenever possible, and manages to turn invisible at last minute, the edges of blacking out creeping in his vision. Luckily, this breaks Lok's mind-controlled mission of attacking her allies and with a rage that would quell the sternest of hearts, she ends Frey with a slash of her great sword.

As the moss is systematically destroyed, the madness recedes from the minds of the townsfolk. It takes some time for the settlement to fully recover, and everyone is more wary of the moss from then on, but with the Cult of the Dark Tapestry destroyed, it seems like the world is safe for the moment.

Summer Recap

It's the last week of the summer months and while I hope there's still several weeks of nice/warm weather ahead, I thought it'd be fun to recount what has probably been one of the most physically active spring/summers I have ever had.

April 25 - I started the Zombies, Run! 5k training and haven't looked back since. This one change has drastically impacted my fitness level and paved the way to doing so much more without feeling like I want to die. Who knew running 3 times a week would make such a difference?

May - Started the process to get Lasik, specifically PRK done. Went to St. Louis and got to go to City Museum, which was mind-blowing and I discovered I like to crawl around in tiny spaces. Went to 4 SIFF movies, all of which were amazing.

June - Went to the Anamanguchi show, moved to First Hill, went hiking for A's birthday (and ran down part of the trail), and went to Go Play NW, where I played 7 story games in 3 days.

July - On the 4th of July, I did a run to Madrona Park and then took a swim, and then spent like 6 hours in the park. Went river tubing in Leavenworth, went paddle boarding in Ballard, did the Be the Match 5k run in Portland, which I managed to raise over $500 for, took two trips to Olympia, went on a 3 day backpack camping trip and hiked 24 miles.

August - Went blueberry picking twice, saw Wagner's The Ring Cycle (4 operas in a week), went to a wedding then an elopement party, did the Electric Run 5k and managed to not twist my ankle running at night, did two days in a row of biking 12-14 miles and then did a 30 mile bike trip around Bainbridge Island, complete with cheese and wine tasting and a picnic. And I wasn't even sore the next day (except obviously my butt).

And of course, rounding out August with PAX!

I'm proud of myself for taking the initiative and signing up for all of these interesting events. I don't think I've wasted a single day. Every day has been an opportunity to explore, to experience new things, and to be enriched. I've gotten rid of an amazing amount of artifacts and it's allowed me to start being more aware of what I want to keep and what I should throw away.

Am I worried I'm going to burn out? Not really. I've also learned to take it easy and not focus so much on goals. I don't need to compete against myself and I'm trying to not think about competing with other people so much. Hopefully the fall and winter months will afford me with some time to play some games and read some books :)

139 "Friends"

Quick check-in on my goals for the year:
1. Play more story gaming tabletop games.

I got to go to some Saturday story gaming and play Metrofinál, which I've been wanting to play for over a year now and playtest a new story game about the garden of Eden. I think it's far enough along in the year to expand this goal to include all tabletop games. 

2. Taking hip hop classes Run a 5K.
The last four set of hip hop classes didn't go as well as the first set...I only went to one class. However, I've decided to take up doing 5Ks and am doing a training program! So I'm also going to modify this one as well. I'm not going to change it to "exercise more" because it's too vague. If I can get in some pull ups along with my running, great, but that's not the goal.

3. Going camping.

No progress on this one. I went to Antigua and they had lots of mosquitoes. It's starting to get warmer though, so I'm expecting to be able to go camping a lot more.

4. Doing the dishes after I make them dirty.

I have my pot and steamer in the sink right, but I think as long as I do them before I go to bed, it'll be fine. I think this will be more of a challenge once I move and we start cooking more.

5. Getting rid of stuff.

I'm pretty much going to be forced to get rid of things here soon, but packing up what I definitely want to keep still hasn't happened yet. I don't feel especially unmotivated to do it, but I haven't done any sorting yet either. I think the sheer mountain of a task that is going through all of the things that I've acquired throughout my life so far and taking less than half is pretty daunting. I have gotten rid of a lot of clothes and dishes so far though.

6. Playing more video games.

I've been pretty unsuccessful in this, I was going to play more Walking Dead tonight but ended up writing this blog instead. I'm also at this exact moment coordinating with W on playing Borderlands 2 next week.

7. Blogging more.

I've suddenly developed an interest in slam poetry and poetry in general. So I might do some of that here.

8. Being less jaded.
Related to the previous one, I fell out of writing poetry at some point in college, I'm not sure why anymore, but the sense that it was silly nonsense that stuck-up people wrote to be obtuse was kind of how I felt. But I've always loved e.e. cummings poems. The playfulness, the breaking of all the rules, those aspects of poetry appeal to me. And who am I to judge someone's creative outlet?


I feel like I'm in a holding pattern right now. I have this looming sense that I should be getting ready to move and am trying to spend more time at home to do whatever tasks that come with that, but so far, haven't actually done much that feels "move-y".

I've been burning off most of my moodiness with the running (though I think I'm going to need to start doing "real" runs outside at least once a week or so) but have been losing some sleep. Not because I have a hard time falling asleep, but because I've taken to lying awake, mulling over my life before I'm finally too tired to keep on thinking.

My life is full of people. Awesome and interesting people. And I count myself lucky to be included in the circles of these people. I'm constantly surprised by the insights that my friends have about me. Apparently it doesn't take long or much to realize certain truths if you start hanging out with me. Like the fact that I have a mild competitive streak. That I can be reckless. That I'm blunt, sometimes to the point of being cruel. And that I like being on the go and going to weird events, but that if I really like you, I will make time for you. Does that make me loyal? Or just good at managing my time?

Either way, I'm on the cusp of meeting a lot more people that don't fall into any of my current circles, and I'll have to think carefully if I want to spend more energy trying to merge circles, or if it's fine to naturally segregate. Mostly, I wish all of my friends got along and that way, I could hang out with everyone all the time. But alas, most activities cannot handle more than six or so people, and often even less. If everyone I knew wanted to do everything that I wanted to do, this would be a problem, but luckily, everyone has their own lives and can't be bothered to let me dictate their free time, as delicious as that would be.

March - ing On

We're two months into 2013!
Time to do a recap of how my goals are going:

1. Going to more story gaming.

This weekend is ECCC! I'm hoping to get some short gaming sessions in on Saturday.

2. Taking hip hop classes.

I finished my group of 4 classes and am about to start another 4 class bloc next week.

3. Going camping.

Have been unable to go camping so far, it's been too cold, but I have done some outdoorsy stuff, like going shoeshoeing. That was a nice adventure.

4. Doing the dishes after I make them dirty.

I've been bad about unloading the dishwasher, but actually cleaning pots and stuff that I've used while cooking has still been going well! I like it.

5. Getting rid of stuff.

My pile of things to get rid of has stayed about the same, and I still have it all. I think I'm going to need to decide how important getting any money for the items I'm trying to get rid of is. Because the main roadblock is putting items on Craigslist and going to thriftshops to see if they'll take any of my clothes for $.

6. Playing more video games.

Have played two sessions of Ni no Kuni, which I love, both because it's gorgeous, and because I've been able to be "in the know" and the cool kids club of raving over it. Still have Mass Effect to finish, chpt 3 of Walking Dead, and numerous other ones, but I've also started sessions of Borderlands 2 with W. It's been nice taking our time and actually trying to follow along with what the story is.

7. Blogging more.

Not doing so great on this one :). I think I've been too busy and not at home to really have time to sit down and think, but I had a really great and long convo with P last night over dinner that fleshed out a lot of thoughts and feelings I've been kicking around about appearance and clothes, so maybe I'll try putting that down sometime soon.

8. Being less jaded.

I don't recall anything that has happened recently to trigger my "ugh" reaction, but I think I am still trying to at least make the most out of my time and consciously spend my time. I think one of the things that might be good to keep in mind is that there are constantly new people coming into the world and they have to learn all of the awesome things from scratch. It's unfortunate that some people are just not lucky or privileged enough to be exposed to all of the wonderful things and have an opportunity for themselves to decide if it is actually wonderful or not.

And it's unfair of me to lord it over an unfortunate that so-and-so is crappy and lame because I've gotten to try it...it's kind of like I'm giving away spoilers for life and living. It's an obviously insecure and hierarchy-posturing thing that I do and if there's anything I've learned from this last year of soul-searching, it's that I am well-loved, people care and think I'm awesome. No matter how much I change and explore different facets of being me, I have enough support to succeed. And also importantly, I've come to realize and learn to accept that things in life are not set in stone. I do have power over my life and my choices and they don't need to be dictated by others.

Nigellians (Microscope - Story Game)

If this Microscope game seems a little bare, it's because we only had time for one Lens, which was totally fine. I look forward to picking it up again sometime and fleshing it out a bit more :) It'll be really interesting to play a multi-session game. Give everyone some time to think over the history and maybe where they want to take it and then come back to it with a new set of eyes.

***
Our history was about the invasion of aliens who give us amazing technology, back when we were only at the Industrial Revolution-stage. The prime minister of Britain, Nigel Wilcox, manages to convince the world leaders to cooperate with the aliens because they discovered that the aliens were deadly allergic to a specific type of bacteria.

In later years, the followers of Nigel's philosophy and teachings have become powerful in the newly advanced world but hidden behind the idyllic façade are disturbing ripples of abuse of aliens, abductions of humans, and extremist groups.

One of those extremist groups are the Nigellians, extremists of Nigel's way of thinking, who believe humans are recklessly using the technology given by the aliens.  They plot to use the aliens' weakness to drive them from the planet, but in so doing, end up dooming humanity and in the end, mankind is obliterated.
***

I think the scariest and most exciting part of Microscope is the fact that huge, major plot points and world blocks are laid by one person, with little to no say from everyone else experiencing the story. That kind of power the first few times is overwhelming and feels wrong, you're just thinking, "Really?  You want me to come up with the big secret? I'm pretty sure whatever I come up with is not going to be as cool as what you could come up with."

But the surprise is that most of the time that's not true.

The story just needs to be told. And because whatever you say is going to be a surprise to everyone else, it has that added, "Oh I didn't see that coming" overlay, which is really what makes stories interesting. You listen to someone else tell a story because you want to know what happens next. In Microscope, and most story games, each time someone steps up and drops in a piece of the puzzle is the best part and what you need to keep in mind, is that there's going to be plenty of opportunities for everyone else to do the same, if not in this game, then in others. And the same goes for you. If whatever pops into your head at the moment doesn't seem like the coolest thing in the world, so what? This is just one story. And the rest of us are here to back you up.

And honestly, that's something I need to keep in mind too. I feel like story gaming is kind of like flag football sometimes. When someone is running at you or you're running after someone with the ball, what you really need to do is focus, and I mean REALLY FOCUS on reaching your hand out, and grabbing that damn flag. None of that half-assed flailing. Or worrying about if you're running fast enough, or if you're going to hit into the person. None of that really matters. And in story gaming, plot points and major reveals are that person with the ball. They're coming at you and it's your responsibility to focus and just reach out and grab it.

PAX 2011

Another year, another PAX Prime.

This was the most relaxed PAX I've ever had. I've finally boiled down PAX to what really matters: Friends & Indie Games.

We actually all (minus 1) sat down together at the Tap House Grill and had lunch together. Right in the middle of the day, during normal lunch hours, not to mention the exhibition hall being open. And the food was really good. And we had beers. Like adults. It was a real defining moment: we'd all done this song and dance before and there was no reason we needed to run around frantically, subsisting on junk food and being sleep-deprived.

I didn't even put on makeup for two of the days. Previous PAXes were focused on getting free T-shirts, the majority of which I never wear and fit me poorly, silly swag which sits untouched in bags, and playing up my role of being a hot gamer chick.

I'm hoping that this year's epiphany flows over to my IRL existence and that I can try to cut out some of the things that I used to think were important, but that I don't really need. Boil it down to the things that really matter. And what does really matter? Seems like sleep matters less and less because it's the only way I can hang out with more people.

Writing matters to me. I read somewhere that you have to get to a point where you can't NOT write, when not writing is like dying. I've always been focused on writing something amazing, and that's where it ends. But writing is one of the things that I do that I am genuinely proud of. I re-read good pieces and marvel that it was wrought by my hands and despair that I'll never reach that potential again.

I refuse to believe that I reached my creative genius in high school.

Thoughts on Fiasco

I was finally able to make another Story Games Seattle Meetup last Thursday. Poor Zach had to wait forever for the bus and then walk 25 minutes home. He didn't get home until 7.

I on the other hand, got to have a relaxing dinner of crepes (#9), at Crepan Crepe World and then headed over to Gamma Ray Games. Fifteen people showed up! Two groups had to go across the street to The Capitol Club, and I was in one of those groups. I really wanted to try out a game of Shock or Polaris, but since I had brought along my book of Fiasco, I felt like I should learn how to play something that I own.

I watched some friends play a game of it during PAX and it really didn't spark my interest that much. The game that I played had lots of rabies and heroin in it and honestly, I was kind of bored during some of it. I'm not a huge Coen brothers fan, I'd rather my movies have a little less coincidental weird shit.

However, this was my first experience playing a game with complete strangers. We got along pretty well. And that's saying a bit since I hate lots of people. I wasn't sure I was going to get along with them at first, but after they loosened up a bit, it was fine. Definitely one of the drawbacks to story gaming for me because it's a slippery slope to outright hostility for me once I get rolling.

But if I like you, it means you're pretty awesome.

Story Gaming

My second time at story gaming was as enjoyable as the first and I think one of the main reasons I enjoy it so much is that it's a chance for me to exercise my creative skill in an enforced manner. I have horrible writer's block/creative anxiety and it frustrates me because I feel like I am a creative individual but cannot express it.

I love that the elements I drop into the world that we're collaborating on become integral pieces. I love surprising myself with what comes out of my mouth. I'm surprised, but not overly so because as soon as my brain thinks of it and it starts coming out of my mouth, there's this feeling that it fits, that this is what is supposed to happen, like I'm on the outside watching and as an astute observer, can guess at what is coming next. It's all about not thinking too hard, intuition, and being flexible. I am unsure what my next sentence will be, but I have the feeling that if I just go with it, it'll turn out really cool.

This isn't my first time at this story-thing rodeo. I've been listening to others tell their favorite stories and telling my own favorite stories for decades. One of my good friends back in middle school was a fantastic storyteller. I loved hearing his stories, even though I'd heard them time and time again. It got so that I knew when he was skimping on details and when he was really launching into it. I would sometimes start laughing before a funny part, in anticipation.

But then, it's not really anyone's first time. We're asked to tell stories every day, often mundane ones, "What did you do today?" "Nothing much."

My own style of storytelling is full of facial expressions, exclaimations, and expectant pauses. But I never embellish. I occationally tell the stories of my friends if they're not there, or if they don't feel up to it.

What is the key to becoming friends with someone? Listen to them tell their stories, tell some of your own, and then go and create stories that the two of you can tell others. The more fantastic and interesting the stories, the faster you'll bond.

Basically, story gaming is genius.