Imagine

I think it’s about time the group started to settle down somewhat. I don’t know how you feel but I feel like we still are too unsecure and unsettled with our group. I am now satisfied with my NPC’s but I still sense some uncertainty in the group, and I mean all of you and not only Foppa.

I don’t know why, can be that I’ve been half-sick and stuff the last two times we’ve played but even so I think it’s about time to push forward. I think that my demand on your imagination and creativity part might be too high since you don’t use it as I’ve told you to do.

We need more flow and speed and maybe it’s all due to the lack of single sessions. Whatever it is I will allow for one more open session, and then I’ll get the ball start rolling according to my plan. A plan which will limit the freedom I tried to give you this early and instead taking control to push things forward.

I will use an old model I used before, although there will be differences this time. I’m speaking of the Alothor, Avielle, Raven group – Actually there were two more, but I don’t count David Henriksson, Robert Gran and Andreas Forsberg since they weren’t that active.

During this time I used a model with main sessions and in-between duo-sessions. I decided what and where they took place but that time I also had made all characters to be connected, it won’t be like that this time.

No, this time I will do it much differently and with a different purpose too. The purpose is to give the characters a burst and hopefully develop a more natural connection between them. And to give sided information which you will have to use later in the group sessions.

For example. Let’s say I have a Duo-session where Hibiki and Keisuke are in a settlement for their Shin. I explain and have events and things to happen there. And then on the group sessions the Group finds themselves in an abandoned settlement which some raiders have taken shelter and they are going to kill or whatever¹ then most of the appearance and stuff like that would be Hibiki and Keisuke’s responsibility. And then I don’t mean that they decide exactly how things look like but more to use the environment to play their characters, or even answer questions.

This brings me to a vital topic. Try not to ask me questions of that nature. Everything which I have left out, is up to your fantasy and your imagination. Do not ask questions such as precise locations or whereabouts of something but act on what you think you know. EVEN if you have misinterpreted things. I will MAKE it happen if it doesn’t have too big importance, and in such situations I will probably have tried to describe it better than a casual description.

For example, last session Ankan asked where Paul had gone. This question is irrelevant even if his action is dependant on this. I always have a clear picture in my mind when I describe but even so it’s possible to change it. I’ve explained this many times, if you need something to be in some specific place you should just act on it or not say a precise location and just use references which makes it possible to interpent as one wish. The only thing that is needed is that the things you consider vital for your action is in your action description.

Example;
You are in a room with only one exit and the room only has some mats on the floor and some simple shelves on the wall, which are mostly empty. Standing in front of you is an enemy who isn’t hostile because he consider you harmless and captured.

You think otherwise and while he’s having his Evil Monolog as all evil culprits have you decide you want to run! But how?

You have several options, many which you could ask me for more precise description if they would work or not. You choose to try to knock him off balance by pulling one of the mats.

“I grab a hold of one of the mats and pull as fast and hard as I can so he falls”

In this moment I imagined the whole floor completely covered with lots of mats but you saw one or three simple rugs and imagined him standing on one, maybe on the edge, whatever. In this moment I will have to change my imagination to make this work, and sure I would do it, but not without rolls. You would still need the speed and the moment of surprise to do this, but otherwise I would let you do it and change it so it fits. And without even uttering a word just;

“Do you have Surprise Attack? You get 1 per level on REF. Roll FOR against his AGI, he falls to the ground.”

“I make a run for it!”

And so on. It’s the same with positions.

Say you see three men on the street, you are going to take a bag out of the hand of one of them. I say that they are standing like one in front of the other two, which are shoulder to shoulder. I never mention who have the sack and I never mention if they have their backs at you or anything. Then you just act by positioning them as you need them to be to act.

“I hide with some passing peasants and when I’m close enough I dash between them and grab the bag from the lonely guys hand and continues to run into a crowd.”

“You don’t find a crowd”

“I look for somewhere to escape”

“Roll AWA, you have a penalty of -1 but a bonus of 2 per level in Search”

You get the point. Decrease the questions and act on your own. Yes this will still require your imagination, and most of all it will require SPEED. I wont let you take too long with your decisions or I will make them for you by changing the situation. I can also just take your character as I know it and make the action. If I want some more flow and not just failures because of your lack of description and imagination.

Like someone says; “I hit him with my sword” (…)

I say; “You do a downward strike at him which hits him over his chest that rips a fine line over his vest.” More description in a simple roll with simple consequenses.

I’ve noticed that most of the time when you do this you are like;
“I take my sword and try plunge it through his jaw and up in his head!”

In most cases I just want to answer, you try to do this action but he blocks your attack and counters. I don’t really know how to make you understand how you should do, but you should more describe the act than the consequences’ or your desired consequences’.

Well, you can describe simple if you want too, and you can do acts which I will re-describe but know that for every act and every move you make on your own I will try to award it with stones as well as other stuff which might be of use to you.

Think of that, if you remember it. I will probably say it many times since people have so much on their mind that they seem to forget what I’m saying all the time. Don’t worry; it seems to be a common occurrence. I guess I just say too much or I’m just so boring people forget it instantly.

Best regards,
Herid Fel

1. I might very well use this ↩