Racing Mode
Scene
As we enter into a new Scene, we need to test our expectations. Which are, basically, that we’re about to race. Me and all the racers I’ve mentioned so far in the story. And I’m supposed to Job for Joe. But before I roll a d10, I have to note a little bit of a problem.
Okay, so, at the base level chaos factor of 5 (I know it’s 6 now but just for discussion’s sake), when we roll to test our expectations for the upcoming scene, there’s a 50% chance of no change to our expectation. We run it as just as we thought we would. There’s a 30% chance of an Altered Scene, which means we have to change something about the scene. Could be big, could be small, but the scene is otherwise the scene we planned on. And then there’s a 20% chance of an Interrupt Scene. Which is where things kinda go off the rails. Both on purpose and a little bit by accident. In this game specifically, Gravity RIP, the expectation is that we’ll have two parts to the game: Story Mode and Racing Mode. I have a hard time imagining Racing Mode as anything but a single scene. I mean, we could do but I think it would end up making it unnecessarily complicated. There’s no reason why Story Mode couldn’t be more than one scene so, like, the possibility of an interrupt scene doesn’t break the system or our progression or anything.
With the situation being that the expected scene is the race, if we get an Interrupt Scene, it could turn out that there’s still more pre-race stuff we need to cover and do a scene involving that. Another example of a possible interrupt scene is that we all get teleported off world for the race like normal but end up on a death world somewhere and have to work together to survive and escape. There’s no mechanical problem with either thing. But here’s what causes some friction. In the first instance, I don’t want to do anymore stuff outside the race. I’m ready to get on with the race. This is partly because I feel like that part of the fiction is complete and partly because that’s how this game is set up. It’s pretty specifically built for the story mode to be a loose way to segue your characters and their rivals settling their differences on the track. The race is the meat of the game. In the second instance, while I think that might be a cool scene starter for a whole session or small story arc in the larger game, I wouldn’t really want that kind of thing to occur more than maybe once or twice in the entire adventure. We’re talking weeks, months, or years of gametime without it but in an emulation system that has it occurring twice in ten scenes…something that could well happen within a single four hour session one week. I want to be clear. This isn’t a criticism of Mythic. It’s great this kind of option exists within that emulator’s framework. And Mythic is very straightforward about being a toolbox, not a list of laws etched in stone. We’re free to toss what doesn’t work out for us. So I’ll still roll for expected scene tests and I’ll only go with an Interrupt if it fits the context or the direction I want to go in the story. Otherwise, I’ll treat it like an Altered Scene instead.
So, to it then. I roll and get a 4, which is within the CF and Even, so generates an Interrupt Scene. As I’ve noted, I’m ready to race, so let's treat that as Altered instead. I decide to roll on the Scene Adjustment table and get a 5, for Remove an Object. The first thing that comes to mind is Lancer. I want some context, so I’ll roll on the Objects Meaning table and I get “Empty” and “Multiple.” So I think something has happened to some of the racing teams, namely us. Some of our clones aren’t present and my current impersonator is missing. So the Lancer can’t be fielded. That’s a bit of a problem since I told everyone last night I’d be racing today.
One of the things Team Spectre does to show off its wealth and standing is to teleport its drivers in separately from its racing machines. It’s also an opportunity for me to play to the crowd. One minute I’m standing in the paddock, looking over at the bright pink racer that’s technically mine but which I have never driven and wondering where the current Spender Shine impersonator has gotten to, and the next I’ve been teleported a couple of seconds behind The Wraith, my actual RIP Racer.
We’re far out from Vobrade now, on a planet called Mionides. They call the track we’re about to plunge into “The Burrows.” It’s a series of mind-numbingly complex, claustrophobic tunnels that criss-cross each other in a knot-like, labyrinthine mess underground. Occasional caverns punctuate the overall distance of the track intermittently. The tunnels are wide enough to admit maybe three racers side by side at a time, though they do narrow at points. That keeps the race competitive but tightly controlled. The caverns become these crazy free-for-alls where drivers jockey for better positions heading back into the next stretch of tunnels. I’ve raced it a couple of times but I spent several hours studying maps of the layout after my…encounter with Rico last night. They never tell you what the track is going to be. You find out when you ‘port to it. They like the chaos this brings to the overall race because of the unprepared drivers. The best drivers study all 24 track layouts religiously…and a few others besides (since you never know which world makes it to the universal stage next). But, of course, when you have well-informed contacts like Stryker, you don’t have to study quite so hard. More time for…fun.
Mask firmly in place, I turn stiffly to the audience and survey them slowly. I take one giant step up onto the hood of The Wraith and slowly survey them again, this time in the opposite direction. As The Spectre, I’m clothed head to toe in black leather. Not even an inch of my skin shows, covered by a body suit beneath all the leather. The get up is hot as hell but every aspect of the persona has been carefully crafted to project a sense of the unnatural. Even that step up onto the hood I just did there is meant to give the illusion that I am monstrously tall. Regular people just don’t move like that. In reality, it’s just several hours of practice and stretching. The metal mask is simple, though it does change with each new driver. I suggested that was folly, bound to tip someone off that we weren’t actually all the same dude but the corpos decided to veto me and lean into the whole rebranding thing. The last guy’s mask had a crudely painted skull on it. Mine is matte black but the eye holes have been filled in with Heads Up Display Projectors layered into a ghostly white mesh weave. I even had them make sure the eyes glow in the dark.
Time for the signature move. I raise my hand to point at them and move my hand over the crowd slowly back and forth, so as to seemingly personally point at each audience member. Then I fold my fingers in, stick my thumb out, and drag it across my throat in the threat of murder. All before turning my back on the audience and jumping back down to the track. Predictably, the crowd goes fucking wild. The freaky thing is that some of those sick fucks actually did fantasize about me slowly choking the life out of them. Among other things.
I popped the window latch and slid in over the top of the grating before pulling it back up and latching it in place. Immediately, my radio crackles to life. “Hey, fuckstick!”
I turn my head to look at the radio in surprise. This is an unfamiliar voice for the Spectre but I know her well. I just got a warning from her last night that I was bad for me. I look up and scan the pit and staging areas off to the right of the track and, sure enough, there’s Stryker staring daggers at me through my windshield. I nod at her and flip several switches to power up the Wraith. The powerful machine roars to life and lifts up off the track. I have an image to maintain, after all.
“I don’t know what happened to Spender or why he isn’t sitting on the track right now with you but I swear by all the Saints…if he’s hurt or dead because of you…well, you creepy fuck, I’ll take you out myself.” I believe her, too.
I lean forward, leather creaking and press the talk button. “Good luck,” I say and then slowly raise a thumbs-up. I’ve no worries about her recognizing my voice, since it’s vocoded. The Spectre sounds like a hammer taken to a pile of rough gravel. But by all the Hells if I don’t feel pretty crummy about it. I watch her turn and slam the radio into the chest of one of my techs before storming off back to her area. He stammers an apology as I stare at him from across the track. “You’re fired,” I tell him. He goes sheet white but I’ve already turned my attention back to the track. The matter at hand. The race. The race is all while you’re racing. Elsewise you end up dead.
Starting Grid Positions
Let’s determine where we’re all sitting. In an unreal turn of events, I’m sitting in 1st place. That’s not going to show off the system super well so I’ll just pretend that’s a 3 instead. Where is Rico? 16th. Good, well away from me. And Joe? Dead last. Got my work cut out for me. I’m honestly not sure how I can help them from the other end of the grid.
I just realized that while I have stats for Joe, I don’t for Rico. Let’s pin that down. We know that Rico drives for the Hydraulic Hellions. I’ve been imagining them as a clean group. They win with speed and skill and never do anything underhanded. Some people underestimate them for this, perceiving it as weakness. Those people die ugly. I figure all their drivers are pretty popular with the audience. Some folks doubt the sincerity and some folks just don’t like good, clean racing and all those sorts of people form a core of people opposed to the team. Message board posts abound with conspiracies about how the League has the Hellions all picked out to be the golden boys and girls and how all the races they’re in are scripted. John Cena shit. All nonsense of course (this fiction, not that one, I understand wrestling isn’t real, don’t at me). In any case, I think each of the Hellion Drivers drive a vehicle named after a River in Hell. Rico’s is the Acheron, a well balanced machine painted with a reflective mirror coat and a flame motif around its hood. Acceleration 1, Weight 1, Integrity 9. Curious, I just rolled on the Background table and got “racing to support family.” This guy really is wholesome, huh?
For shits and giggles, let’s toss in Austropteryx and Particle. We’ve already determined what Aus is (a pterodactyl lady) but let’s get some more details. Haha, it looks like she drives the Brutal News (great name for a racer), which has a shit Acceleration of -1 and a god-tier Weight of 3, for an Integrity of 11. So a big spiked truck. She drives for the Young Admirals. She was a wealthy fan, it turns out, with the means and motive to join the circuit. I think she’s bankrolling the Admirals. I like the idea that she recruited a retired racer to manage her team, a Doc like figure (how many Cars references am I gonna make in this Death Race rp game?). We’ll call him Buster Barnes. Aus starts in 11th.
Now, Particle. Dude’s driving the Righteous Vindication, a drifter type sportsmobile with a rapid Acceleration of 2 and a Weight of 0, for Integrity 8 base. He drives for Viva Acid and he’s a Sentient Gas Cloud. Jesus christ, could these drug jokes be any more accidentally on the nose? When he’s awake, he’s overstimulated and he’s a military veteran, infantry. I see the obvious path but I’m not gonna tread it. Instead, I think I’ll go with something more familiar. Hooray for manic episodes. Particle is up and down. I think Team Viva Acid has a surplus of drivers. All moderately competent. Particle is dangerous and skilled but only when he actually races. He’ll start in 14th.
I glance down at the tracking readout as all the Racers come online. Fucking great. I’m up top and literally everyone else is in the back half of the pack. I might maybe be able to pull off looking like I’m getting outraced part of the way falling back in the pack but there’s no way it looks like anything but a murder contract if I hang all the way back. I’m going to have to aim for the middle of the pack and hope Joe does the rest. Rico coming up on me will make me nervous but hopefully we can get away with little more than trading paint. Doubt it, though. Rico is like the rest of them. Hates this me. Saints, if he only knew. The countdown starts as the icy realization hits me that Rico might gun for me this race if Stryker convinces him to try. The final beep sounds the clarion call and I drop the Wraith into gear and punch the accelerator.
Heli-Cam, Lap 1
For my part, I’m going to retreat to 10th. I can’t afford to dick around getting to the middle of the pack and the jump is the best place to get away with the maneuver without drawing too much suspicion.
Before I figure what Rico is doing, I need to ask the Fate Chart whether he’s gunning for me or not. I think this is Likely, since Stryker seemed so pissed. 70, yes. Fuck. He’s probably riding higher on emotion than she is. Alright, let’s roll his progress. 3 + his accel of 1 is 4 vs a Pushback of 5. He fails to advance and remains in 16th.
Joe will attempt to advance as well, obviously. They roll a 6 + 0 for their acceleration vs pushback 2. They could move up to 14th and take 2 damage or they could trade that damage for spots. Leviathan is heavy, so I figure they’re just smashing their way up the order. They’ll take the 2 on the chin and pull up in 14th.
Aus is in 11th and while I think she probably relies on smashing other drivers into pulp to advance up the ranking, pulling that off from 11th is tricky. She’ll try to advance, rolling 5 - 1 = 4 vs 6, and fails completely to get the truck moving fast enough.
Particle’ll come into conflict with Joe this lap unless he moves forward, so that’s what he’ll try to do. A low roll of 1 + the Vin’s decent acceleration of 2 is 3 vs. pushback 3. He actually can advance but I don’t think he wants to eat 3 Integrity right out of the gate, so he’ll do 2, which is a quarter of his racer’s body. The little sportscar gets beat up as it pushes to 12th.
To sum up, I drop to 10th, Rico stays in 16th, Joe pushes up to 14th, Aus sticks to 11th, and Particle pulls up 12th. Positions determined during the Heli-Cam phase aren’t finalized until after everyone has had a chance to state their intentions and roll. Then it’s just a question of bookkeeping and the montage I’m about to deliver to sum up the overall events of the lap so far. The Manoeuvers Phase (brit spelling, lol) will come after, zooming in on the individual car to car tussles of the lap.
The opener off the jump for the Burrows is a death defying vertical dead-drop that plunges deep into the earth before connecting to a downward spiral corkscrew. Racers need to split off into openings along the sides of the corkscrew, following the tunnels that level out more or less horizontally and lead away from the pit. Those racers that aren’t fast enough find themselves meeting a very pointed end. I allow the Wraith to deadfall straight down the middle of the pit, a tactic I’ve seen other drivers try before. It doesn’t work well thanks to the drag of wind resistance and the blowback from other racers pulling ahead on the track accelerators buried in the walls. It’s a rookie mistake on this track. Not only are you mistakenly giving up speed, you have to time your re-entry onto the track perfectly to slip into a tunnel without going splat on the surrounding wall, something that’s far easier if you’re already riding the track. The free fall is a stupid risk for little reward, a trap built right into the opening stretch. But I can be forgiven for not knowing. The Spectre has only raced this track twice before and, frankly, he doesn’t seem like the studious type. I’m not worried about the re-entry, though, and the fall time gives me a chance to see what the others are up to as I settle comfortably into the middle of the pack in 10th place.
I’m pleased to see Joe doing his due diligence, blowing past most of the back pack to settle into 14th. As he crests the lip of the pit, his unique racer bends easily and hugs the wall with each section of its long body. From there, it slithers downward as if swimming hard and where its movement doesn’t pull it forward in the ranking, its momentum is more than enough to smack a few of the more cautious racers aside with abandon. I watch him slip past Rico, who maintains his starting position conservatively. For a moment there, it looks like Rico is going to take the risk and take the mainline but he slides to the side at the last second just as the big fish sails past. The tightness in my chest eases somewhat as my quarry approaches and my friend keeps his distance. My friend? Is that what we are? No, stop it. You’re not Shine right now. You’re the Spectre. Be the Spectre. My fists tighten around my steering wheel, leather creaking.
I see Aus pull up behind me in her big rig. That’s going to be a problem. And Particle pulls up behind her. Saint, these two are a double threat. I wasn’t even sure Particle was going to be in it today after what I saw last night. But I guess he’s feeling froggy today. I’m going to need to get them past me or follow Joe forward. Either way, my best hope of dealing with either of these guys is to let them deal with each other.
Once you know the tunnels, racing the Burrows is a relatively uneventful country drive. Most drivers will take the nearest tunnels, creating a cramped spectacle of bumper cars. Easy enough to avoid all that mess, and even get ahead, if you pick the right tunnels. You might not even encounter another soul until you all empty out into one of the three major caverns. A lot of overtakes happen there but tunnel choice can put you out front, undamaged, more than any mid-air scrap between the stalactites. I’ve always thought it was a bit gimmicky but the audience loves spectacle more than technical so it is what it is. I’m not trying to get dinged up, so I consciously choose some of the slower out of the way tunnels to maintain my middle of the pack positioning and avoid a scuffle.
Manoeuvers, Lap 1
Maneuvers zooms in on the daring, second-by-second action of one dramatic and notable part of the Lap. I have a few options here. I can slam my car into the racer ahead or behind, I can attempt to block the racer behind from getting ahead, or I can attempt to overtake the racer ahead. I’m not dumb enough to try to smash into or defend a smash from a vehicle literally called the Brutal News. I need to avoid Aus for now. I figure if I can successfully overtake, I can fall back again a few spots in Lap 2 to square up with Joe. It’s notable that right now I have a single Radical Die stored (‘cause all new characters do). I think if I can pull this little maneuver off, it’ll look natural and that’ll qualify me to store a second (you can only store two and they’re awarded by the GM for good rp, taking initiative as a player, and clever play…clearly, we’re going to have to make some judgment calls in this regard as we go along as a soloer). But first, let’s quickly see who is occupying 9th place.
Looks like Rhinocerok (a man made of sentient rock) drives Jaeger (a very fast A3 but weak I-1, W7) racer. The tables tell me he’s “determined” and “the incarnation of evil.” He drives for the Dying Glimmers. I think Rhinocerok is a Heel. He fashions himself a hunter and his racer a seeker. Together, they form one hell of a dangerous missile. One that rarely misses. There’s not much chance the big rock man survives a full on crash at these speeds but he can take a beating in the cockpit that other drivers never could, so he can afford to treat his racer like a cudgel. I think, too, that there’s a kind of fatalism at play here. The Dying Glimmers are a collective of last chance drivers with literally nothing to lose. Some team drivers race in the hopes of dying, for glory or personal reasons, and some team drivers simply don’t care about the possibility (I think Rhino is one of these). Their fanbase is a mystical, pseudo-religious group who believe we are all but almost imperceptible glimmers in the vastness of the universe and we should act like it. Very goofy nihilistic stuff.
In any case, let’s see if I can surprise him. I roll d6+A versus his d6+W. We both roll 3s, so I get a 4 and he gets a 2. I move into 9th and he drops to 10th. The book says we move down the place order until all players and rivals have gone. Could interpret this that Rhino now gets to go before we move on to Aus. But I would rather keep this moving slightly faster and keep it “player facing.” Meaning that Rhino’s focus/seconds of action in the Manoeuvers phase are taken up with him being surprised by me passing and trying to stop me, in this case unsuccessfully. Now that he’s part of the narrative, though, he can act later. Dunno if that’s how it’s supposed to be but I can’t seem to find an answer, so that’s how I’m doing it for now.
Note: I went back through the book afterward and looked online some more for any scrap of info and I got the vague sense that I was misinterpreting the word Rival and conflating Rivals with other, more regular NPCS. I might gather that the intention here is just for the GM to track the bully who tough talks the PCs before the big race but not really anyone else. There are definitely rules for spawning in new racers and, as I do here, you can definitely just track those racers…though it might be a bit tedious to do despite the simplicity of the stats/rules. But, again, I got the sense that you’re supposed to narratively brush them aside in favor of high octane rapid action descriptions. Maybe it's the mechanism mechanic in me that’s screaming at me to not do that. The game almost seems too simple if so, more on that in a bit.
Aus is next and she’s gonna do what she does best, slam ahead. Poor Rhino, I run him and she smashes him with her big old truck. This is Weight vs. Weight. Again, Rhino matches tit for tat but his little missile-mobile doesn’t have the girth to hang with the big dogs. Both roll 5s, giving her 8 and him 4. He takes -2 Integrity, putting him at 5. She rolls a 4 on the followup, so he either takes most of the rest of his Integrity or he bows out, falls back a space, and lets her take 9th. He does the latter. Can’t achieve the mission if you’re dead. Brutal News to receive, indeed.
Particle will use this momentary distraction to attempt to follow Aus and slide past Rhino with an Overtake. Acceleration 8 vs. Weight 1, he easily does so, taking 11th and pushing Rhino back to 12th.
Joe has taken a bit of damage already but they’re still sitting pretty at I8. So I think they’ll slam the racer in front of them in hopes of knocking them back down the order. Well, who is this second new addition to the race?
Looks like it’s Flo Galahar driving the Gallimimus (A2, W0, I8) for the Honourbound. I’m starting to reroll too much on G-RIP’s tables, so I’ll supplement with Mythic and such. In terms of Alien Species Descriptors, I got “Wings” and “Defensive.” On Character Appearance, “Old” and “Dainty.” Alright, that’s good enough. It’s coming together now. The gallimimus is a type of dinosaur, notably the one they use for the herd sequence in Jurassic Park. It’s name means chicken mimic. Flo’s name, plus her chosen ship, plus the wings…gotta be a bird-person. I think the Gallimimus has a long neck atop which sits the cockpit and below which sits powerful twin engines. Probably more evocative of an origami crane than anything. Flo’s a…dancer, I think. She’s skittish, drives defensively, translates her skill as a dancer to the racer like it’s an extension of her own body. She’s a mid tier driver. Good, but never takes risks, claws in a stable income but never swings for the fences. Close to retirement. For funsies, I think the Honourbound as a team are a non-profit who undertake races on behalf of charities. A rare sight these days. Unsurprisingly, they don’t get cut any slack for it.
So Joe is going to try to slam her. They roll an abysmal 1 for 3 total while she rolls a very defensive 5. Joe takes 2 more damage and is down to I6.
Showtime is last. He needs spots, so he’ll try an overtake. He’s further back as well, so we need yet another racer. Who do we got?
Bastion X-77 racing in the Ace Wyvern (A0, W2, I10) for the Young Admirals. Ah, so Austropteryx’s teammate. I think for this solo game, all the races will have 2 racers fielded per team. If you can’t field a driver/racer, the League Organizers fine your team and put in a filler racer piloted by a filler robot in your place. Which is probably what happened when my “Shine” didn’t show for my team. We’ll just pretend the filler has been in here all along somewhere. Now, if you can afford it, upgraded robots or even A.I. guided robots (like our Bastion here) can be put in place of live drivers. It’s a way to shore up spots if your team is low on roster or if you want to minimize risk of loss of life. Aus is loaded, so, robot it is. His Wyvern has flanged, reinforced wings flanking a long central cockpit with spiked ends. The racer’s engines are nestled up under its wings near the central body of the cockpit, so the machine isn’t really safe for organics to drive. Gets too hot in there.
Overtake is Acc vs. Wgt. Showtime pulls a 3 versus Bastion’s whopping 7. Not a chance in hell. So Bastion gets a free Slam, Wgt vs. Wgt. 4s each, but Bastion has the heavier car by 1, so Rico takes 2 Integrity, dropping Acheron to 7. Bastion is all about this, rolling a 6 on the follow up. No doubt that forces Rico back a spot rather than take almost all of his remaining Int. Puts Showtime in 17th.
I gotta play this real cool. Austropteryx is riding up on me and it isn’t hard to divine her intentions. Hell, getting me as a kill ramps up any driver’s rep, for sure. Like hell am I going toe to toe with her souped up big rig. I need to get ahead. I can use the tunnels to spoof the audience into believing my inevitable fall back next round. I yank the wheel and ride the Wraith on its side past some wicked looking stalagmites in cave two. In my rearview, I can see Aus smash right through them. I shake my head…no respect for the course. There are a couple of tunnels ahead and, while I could take the extreme scenic route above, I don’t have any guarantees Aus won’t follow. I need to give her another target.
How fortunate for me, then, that Rhinocerok’s immediately recognizable Jaeger drops down from the ceiling just ahead. Knowing the golem, he’s hyper-fixated on another target, so he won’t see this coming. I gun it and slam the stick through its paces, using the momentum from leveling back out horizontal to spiral up under him and directly into the tunnel ahead of us both. I throttle down as I plunge into the tunnel’s initial straightaway, getting the racer under control as I follow the curvature of the tunnel wall to spin back down to level with gravity standard. I can just imagine the pissed off pile of rocks putting dents in his cockpit right about now but I have no time to muse on it. Weaving through the undulating tunnels at breakneck speeds requires concentration enough, but the tunnels leading to cave three form a kind of high enclosed berm collectively. Drivers that take that one-eighty uwee at too many Gs tend to pass out and end up splattered along the tunnel walls. Another trick of the track. I ignore the cars behind me for the moment to focus on expertly weaving my way through. Speed is key but it must be tempered with control. Normally, through these sections, I’d need to be faster than everyone else but slow enough to pay the track its proper respect. This time out, I still need to match pace naturally with Joe, so I take it a little more slowly and cautiously. I can see other racers leap forward on my readout.
Meanwhile, behind me, Aus does exactly what I expected her to do and smashes full on into Rhino. She really is in a good position for her vehicle. No one around her is in the same weight class so she can drive with impunity. Rhino falls back to recover and, when I finally glance down at the readout, I see that Particle has taken advantage and flown past him during the distraction.
Back in the midst of cave two, Canniblast tries to roll up on the dainty old bird lady, Flo. I curse under my breath as they fall out of sight. Damn fool, what does he think he’s trying to pull? Never underestimate a woman who has the patience to make doilies as a hobby. Everyone knows Flo is a lifer. You skip lifers. Or use other racers against them. You never go head to head with one. It’ll just end up in a frustrating waste of time for you. Aaaaand, sure enough, Joe gets smashed back. He’s not limping yet but his indicator has turned yellow so he’s in the midrange. Come on, Joe, you fuck. I need you to pull your own weight here.
I lost track of Rico a bit of time ago but my crew is in my ears telling me how Aus’ teammate is holding him back. He’s hit but he’s fine, holding down the back pack now. Fine by me, he’s a goodly distance away now. We’ll no doubt get closer next lap, but hopefully not by much. I have a chance to check my readouts and process the reports my crew is feeding me on the long straightaway through cave three. Then it’s back into the tunnels, curving upward into another uwee and we all keep pace as we burst out onto the surface. The crowd is roaring as their favorite racers come exploding out from the underground and take off like a shot across the wide open, dry baked desert toward the Grid and the next drop.
Standings at the end of Lap 1
Spectre in The Wraith (I9/9), 9th Place
Austropteryx in the Brutal News (I11/11), 10th Place
Particle in Righteous Vindication (I8/8), 11th Place
Rhinocerok in Jaeger (I5/7), 12th Place
Flo Galahar in Gallimimus (I8/8), 13th Place
Joe Canniblast in the Leviathan (I6/10), 14th Place
Rico “Showtime” Espinosa in the Acheron (I7/9), 17th Place
A Note on Recorded Gameplay for Gravity RIP
To be clear, here, my enthusiasm for the game is not dimmed. I wouldn’t have bought the game if I didn’t like it. Buuuuut, perhaps my initial optimism for running it as a gameplay was a bit overstated. I had a lot to do IRL and so what should have taken me no time at all took me longer and maybe, maybe, that’s part of it. But I think it would have done anyway. It’s a funny old thing how something that can go so rapid sitting at a table, something so intuitively grasped and simple, something that can be calculated and modified and configured on the fly and at a glance, can be somehow still so…well, not tedious, but significantly more drawn out than it’s tactile counterpart playstyle when recorded as a gameplay/APFic (Actual Play Fiction, term coined by Tavon Gatling and Margot Hutton over on the Ironsworn Discord, I use it casually because nothing I do here compares to the seriousness of their works). If you’ve made it this far, note that you’ve read seven pages of 10 pt. font for each Mode (story and racing). Granted, a lot of that is my endless blabbing, but I mean, still.
There’s a thing that happens when a system is a little or a lot too simple. The mechanisms become something for your hands to do while you make up cool stories with your friends. This is fine. I repeat, for those deadset on turning narrative games versus OSR/Retroclones into the new dipshit version of edition wars discourse which all boils down to telling people how they should have fun with their games, this is fine. Anyway, it’s toss a die, toss a die, toss a die, toss a coin, toss a die, etc. That lack of granularity can trivialize the mechanisms to the point where you might start to wonder why they’re involved at all when you could just be free form roleplaying. I could talk for hours about this but I’m not gonna, beyond the scope of this post, yadayada, so on and so forth. I want to say that I think this game has *juuuuusst* enough levers and switches to keep the mechanics from becoming trivial. I could do what I’ve done here using nothing but the Mythic GM Emulator, of course, or I could make it all up like a writer instead of a game player but I think the rules here have given my mental hands enough to do in between writing scenes. Hope that gives some insight into my thoughts here.
Also, this needs said…even though I swore I’d stop making disclaimers and excuses a long time ago…I’m fully aware that the tone of this game is way, uh, edgier and serious, I guess, than the tone presented by the game’s actual author in his own AP on youtube (Again, go watch that, it’s fun). Trust me, contrary to all appearances, I don’t take myself so seriously. This is just sort of the mood I was in, it was writing and characterization I wanted to try, and I’m not exactly ever out to re-invent the wheel anyway. These, uh, car puns doing anything for you?
Side note on writing/polishing: I’ve settled into a pretty comfortable position here. I know others who post gameplay reports and APFic and whatnot put a little more effort into going back and polishing things up a bit. They use writerly techniques to add in foreshadowing and characterization and to fill out plot (or fix plot holes). Stuff like that. I don’t really (though I might go back and revise something that has been poorly or problematically worded to make it right). No doubt you’ve realized. I am absolutely doing more writing/journaling in these gameplay records than a person might do typically. I know some folks who keep a bullet list of event summaries. This is fine. I like the writing exercise even if I’m really not very good at it. So this is how I do it. If I were running a game at my table for my group, plot holes might (and probably will) occur. There will be so many moments after a session when I realize a missed opportunity. Something I wanted a character to say or do, a clue I wanted them to find, a location we forgot to visit, etcetera. Sometimes I’ll straight up retcon it and give the players this missed info free of charge. Other times, I work around it and make something else up instead. The game environment is not the same as the fiction environment, even though they are fusing here. So I’ll do the same thing here. This is more game-story than story-story. I have so many words to write about the use of the word “story” too but I’ll leave that alone for now also.
Next: Episode Two
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