Hi, welcome back!
I played Act 1 almost entirely in Calypso, and the Intermission in Starforged. Act 2 was played in a variety of games, mostly one that I kitbashed into a printed zine called ==>. I also played PET (Player Emulator with Tags,) The Ground Itself, Mausritter, Anamnesis, Neo Crystal Elegy, The Depths Of This Forest, Sleuthsim, and Microscope (specifically Echo, an expansion from Microscope Explorer.) I also lifted setting material and inspiration from various adventure modules, particularly Sun King’s Palace, Ultraviolet Grasslands, and Acidic Deadly Lands.
In terms of the physical artifacts of play, I started using a fresh new journal: it’s black, with pretty gold filligree and a little cloth bookmark. Most characters are assigned their own pen, which makes busy pages quite colorful. I write densely in it, about 40 pages worth for Act 2. I also played some games live with other players to begin and end Act 2.
I’ve had responses that the narrative writeup aspect is more interesting to readers than the gameplay details. I’ll keep the game mechanics to a minimum in Act 2, only mentioning them when they’re especially important to how something turned out.
Two important things to know about ==> gameplay:
One is the resolution mechanic. When I want to roll to find out what happens when a character acts, I note:
- λ (what they want)
- > (how they do it)
- μ (what they risk.)
If they roll a 4+, they get what they want but the risk comes to pass; on a 6+ they avoid the risk. Lambda is aspirational, mu is dangerous: that mechanical idea would grow into a worldbuilding idea. (and lambda-arrow-mu looks like turning the letter from up to side to down. neat!)
Another is that it’s built around “Risk Dice” of variable size that step up a level (Rd6>Rd8>Rd10…) or step down (Rd6>Rd4>0) when they roll very well or very poorly. Larger dice make success results more likely, but they can only grow by using and rolling them as part of a pool, risking stepdown. Player characters are made of Risk Dice representing their tags: personality traits, identities, powers, treasures, relationships. They gain new tags and change existing ones when someone else tells them who they are; or, with difficulty, when they decide that for themselves.
This is how I represented the player characters in ==> at the start of Act 2:
Ruby.
Ruby Goslyn, timelostPlayboy (she/her)
- Traits: Teenager d6, Creative d6, Rude d6
- Bonds: Axel d6, Sonya d6, Weaver Bennu d6, Azræl d4
- Treasures: Flight Cloak d6, Glamor Labyrinth d6, Summoning Shout d6
Axel.
Axel Xemnas, mindsetAmbassador (ze/zir)
- Traits: Teenager d6, Ambitious d6, Meticulous d6
- Bonds: Mdub d6, Lucia d6, Polite Heritor d6, Sully d4
- Treasures: Oscillispecs d6, Mother Ship d6, Party Cannon d6
Iris.
Iris Hanley, erstwhileImperatrix (she/her)
- Traits: Teenager d6, Evocative d6, Handy d6
- Bonds: Beau d6, Pony d6, Ancestor Siren d6, Lucia d4, Laika d4
- Treasures: Prismatic Lamp d6, Balefire Sanctum d6, Birdie Wing d6
Beau.
Beau Curtis, orphanOuroboros (he/him)
- Traits: Teenager d6, Wants to Win d6, Musical d6
- Bonds: Azræl d6, Iris d6, Wind Fish d6, Axel d4, Ruby d4, Pony d4, Mdub d4
- Treasures: Earth Savior d8, Wailing Amp d6
morningWard.
Mdub Gaming, morningWard (she/her)
- Traits: Teenager d6, Flagbearer d6, GameGRL d6
- Bonds: Axel d4, Beau d4, Pony d4, ?Who d?
- Treasures: Giants’ Pennant d8, Pure Parasol d?
Robony.
Robony, [BOT] stringedMaven (it/its)
- Traits: Robot d6, Channel d6, Autonomy d4
- Bonds: Sonya d4
- Treasures: Black Ribbon d6, [EX] Turbine d6
Sonya.
They don’t have game statistics of their own, but also present and brought into the Medium are Ruby’s Chenoweth classmates Sonya (she/her) and Sully (he/him), Axel’s “rival” Lucia (she/her) and dog Laika (he/him), and Beau’s best friend Azræl (he/they).
Lucia.
Several other important characters are built in PET (Player Emulator with Tags.) These are characters whose expected role is to guide and command the player characters through their adventures. Their PET stats are used to decide what they tell their player characters to do. It’s very meta. They are:
Flaxen Factotum, Eggplant Scrivener, Cornflower Dæmon.
Eggplant Scrivener (she/her)
- Agenda: Selfish. Cares about keeping their character intact and about amassing something of value, like wealth, experience, or powerful items. Ask: what here is of value to them and how do they seize it?
- Focus: Building. a focus on building up, whether that’s a community or a friend, on figuring out how to move forward, together. Empathy.
- Tags: Restless, Arrogant, Creative
Flaxen Factotum (he/him)
- Agenda: Virtuoso. Plays skilled characters or ones that demonstrate system mastery; wants to show that off. Motto: “if all you’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. Ask: how can this character demonstrate their strength?
- Focus: Helping Hand. a focus on helping others, on understanding emotions, to negotiate from a position of understanding. Sympathy.
- Tags: Invested, Assertive, Smart
Cornflower Dæmon (she/they)
- Agenda: Author. All about history and character development, but focused on their own character and pet NPCs. Ask: what in their backstory can negatively affect or motivate them, and how do they act because of it?
- Focus: Rebellious. a focus on fighting authority, on creation, especially creating something that the team won’t approve of or maybe even won’t understand. Marching tomy own beat.
- Tags: Curious, Whimsical, Ruthless
Polite Heritor (he/him)
- Agenda: Safe. Wants to play the game they signed up for, do what’s on their character sheet, and avoid extremes in rules & story. Ask: what is the most expected thing to do here?
- Focus: Conforming. a focus on fitting in, on running with the pack, on enjoying being part of the team or knuckling under authority, for now. Safety in numbers.
- Tags: Peacemaker++, Indecisive
Polite Heritor, aka Ponysprite.
On to the show!