Journey to Nowhere - Game Thread

[Love]

Hmm that was actually murders that also I could make, i just didn't pay attention that it was another assassin in there.

 

[Splime]

Turn 8
So, this was the first battle, and there were some interesting battle plans. Now, the overwhelming strategy was to hide inside the caves and snipe. The only problem with that strategy is that it doesn't give you much view of the enemy, and allows them to launch some explosives into the caves. Which is just what they did. That's when I introduced the critical wound game mechanic, which included flipping a coin to determine whether they would live or die. (Seeing Chand's post here, this coin flipping will likely be removed for JtN II.)

Basically, whenever I see specific battle plans (they weren't too specific here, but my response was the same) I try to turn it upside down and throw something it wasn't ready for. In this case, it was rockets.

Turn 9
This was the turn that Jeremy Bentham got killed. BananaLee wanted to kill the Ronin too, but the Ronin had super-powerful senses, so there wasn't really a good opportunity for it. This was mainly a recovery turn though, since there was just a fairly large battle.

Turn 10
When everyone found out about Jeremy Bentham going missing, I was amazed how nearly everyone called him a traitor. I thought it seemed like he had been murdered, but I guess not... In fact, if The13thRonin hadn't sent in the order to find Jeremy Bentham, you guys never would have known. Hell, Benjamin Cook may have been able to kill more of you, if he didn't screw up trying to kill the Ronin...

Turn 11
After the crazy scene between the Ronin and Benjamin Cook, I was really hoping to finally see some NotW-style lynchings, but was surprised to see a majority go against it. Fortunately, Chandrasekhar sent in the order to kill Benjamin anyway, so that issue was resolved. Then there was my question to oyzar about whether to go against or for the rebels, which might have decided the course of the game.

Turn 12
Finally, the last turn. I was contemplating making another, but I thought this would be a good place to pause the game for a while. After I saw The13thRonin's massive battle plan, I started to read, and then thought, "too much work", so I came up with the retreat and ambush idea. If there had been some sort of diagram, I might have been able to follow the plan more closely, but in dense paragraph form, I realized I'd have to find a workaround. I also had to figure out how to kill off about half of the group to make for a tight ending, and so Alen's rocket launcher helped there.

In the end, I now have the perfect start point for JtN II... and at least a month before it happens (probably more).

 

[LightFang]

Well, since my character lived, I'm not showing you his information.

But I will be eagerly awaiting JtNII. I also concur with the points already said; it should be longer, so we can develop our characters more meaningfully.

Edit: Also, Splime, I'm just curious, how did you determine the character roles? I found it especially fitting that CCRunner got a Scout.

 

[CCRunner]

Spoiler Character Role :

CCRunner, you are a Scout. Your skills have to do with traversing land, and gathering intel based on the land. That's your basic role, and it is now your turn to figure out the following, based on this role:

- A Special Ability
- A Main Weapon
- Extra Equipment
- Basic Character Info (name, age, sex, etc)
- Character Story

Please PM me with this info, along with anything else you think would be useful, once you have determined it.

Some Examples I've thought of:

Spoiler :

- You could be a former hunter, skilled at tracking down prey. When you joined the rebellion, you were especially good at chasing down the enemy when they were hidden, and determining when they were about to strike. Your ability is to sweep the area silently, and determine any activity nearby or far away. You carry around 5 modified bear traps, that can be strategically placed to slow down any enemies coming in from the distance.

- You could be a former hiker, traveling the country on foot to survive in the wilderness. Your special ability is to determine the living conditions of the area, as well as those of nearby locations. This has been especially useful en route to attacking royal outposts, often located in the middle of the wilderness. You carry a shovel, useful for digging wells and trenches.

- Whatever else you can think of

Your ideas will not be final — I have the final say whether something is permitted, and you can always modify your character up until they enter the game. As of now, there is no deadline for these character plans, because not every slot has been filled up. Good Luck!

and my character....

Spoiler :

- A Special Ability : Able to uncover hidden enemies while staying hidden
- A Main Weapon : Arctic Warfare Sniper Rifle
- Extra Equipment : Six () modified bear traps
Name: Ryan Hall (he’s an American distance runner)
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Family: None, parents died, never married
Character Story: All his life, Ryan has been living in the shadow of his loving Uncle Ben, an ex-soldier for the empire. As a child, Ryan received lessons from Ben in general survival skills as well as Ben’s specialty of sniping. When the empire started to openly oppress its people, Uncle Ben resigned his post and joined the growing rebellion. Unfortunately, Ben was killed in the assault. Ryan grabbed his dead uncles trusty rifle, a few of his bear traps from his numerous hunting trips, a handgun and some food and ran off into the hills with a few of his friends intent on continuing the rebellion.

Is that good? It’s the first time I’ve ever written a character biography or anything like it.

 

[Splime]

Character Roles were actually assigned randomly, if you'll believe that...

By the way, these are the roles that I made, without any names:

Scout
Vlatixan Spy
Repairman
Hunter Gatherer
Interrogator
Brewer
Carpenter
Healer
Thief
Weaponsmaster
Dirt-Poor Rebel
Naturalist*
Vlatixan Pilot
"Railroad Worker"

*I didn't make this one

See if you can match the names to the roles!

 

[Diamondeye]

CC is scout, Banana is Vlat, Chand is a repairman, Winston is Hunter/Gatherer, Rhawn is interrogator, Tailless is brewer, Lightfang is carpenter, Love is thief, I was the weaponsmaster, Oyzar is the pilot, Charles the Naturalist, and Ronin the "railroad worker"...

Thomas could be any of the two last, but I'd guess thief, which leaves Icekommander as the poor rebel?

 

[Splime]

Close, 10/14 correct.

 

[Love]

I was the doctor/ healer.

What did you get thief from?

 

[Diamondeye]

I messed up my brains while typing, I knew Love was the doctor/healer. Duh.

I guess, with 11/14 then, I missed three of these four: Chand, Icekommander, Winston and Thomas...

 

[Winston Hughes]

Mine should be obvious.

 

[Diamondeye]

You saying that makes me think "dirt poor rebel", since I guessed hunter/gatherer before..?

 

[Winston Hughes]

You mean the filthy overcoat, bad smell, poor social skills, and scrawny dog weren't enough?

While I won't give away Dickie's full back-story, the following should make things clear enough:

Spoiler :

Dirt-Poor Rebel.
Name: Benedick 'Dickie' Barrow
Age: Late-30s (but looks at least 50).
Sex: Male
Profession: Gentleman of the Road.
Appearance: Short, thin, and very dirty, with matted grey/brown hair and beard.
Smell: Unpleasant at best.
Clothing: A tatty and ill-fitting suit; once grey, now brown. A pair of well-worn but surprisingly sturdy boots.

Main Weapon: A battered old bolt-action rifle, which Dickie calls Delilah. As a firearm, Delilah is inaccurate and unreliable. However, she excels as a walking stick, tent pole, and occasional golf-club.

Extra Equipment: A scrawny dog named Dazzler, who has the following traits/abilities:

(i) Rabbit Catcher - If there are rabbits around, he'll be sure to catch one to share with Dickie. He may not be so keen on sharing with others, though.

(ii) Shrewd - Dickie believes Dazzler to be an excellent judge of character, and will be extremely mistrustful of anyone the dog takes a dislike to. Whether or not the dog really posesses such a skill is another matter.

(iii) Loyalty - Dazzler and Dickie always look out for one another. Anyone who tries to harm the dog will feel the butt of Dickie's rifle. Anyone who tries to harm Dickie will feel a sharp biting sensation in their nether-regions.

Note: Since both are used to living on very little, Dickie and Dazzler can comfortably survive on one man's rations.

Story

...

Some years later, when the authorities started to crack down on the growing homeless population, Dickie made the decision to leave the city of his birth once and for all. Collecting up his meagre possessions, he took to the road, and vowed to keep moving until he found somewhere safe from the accursed Empire. Over the next decade, he would wander from place to place, stopping only a day or two in each town or village he visited. At some point on this journey, he came across a small puppy left abandoned in a cardboard box. Naming it Dazzler for the sparkle in its eyes, Dickie adopted the pup, and took it with him as he hit the road once more. Over the years that followed, the pair of them developed a powerful bond of friendship and trust.

It was pure chance that led Dickie to be in Areville at the time of the revolt, and, as trouble began to stir, his first instinct was to take the quickest route out of town. However, before he could make his escape, he was confronted by a pair of guardsmen, who raised their weapons in his direction. In a flash, Dazzler leapt forward and sunk his teeth into one of the guards, who fired wildly into the air. Panicked, the other guard turned and tried to take aim at the dog, but succeeded only in shooting his own man in the neck, before taking a heavy blow to the back of the head from Dickie's rifle-shaped walking stick.

As more guards appeared and began to open fire, the tramp and his dog fled down an alleyway only to find themselves facing a dead end. Turning back around, Dickie raised his rifle and loaded a round into the chamber. If he was going down, at least one of those bastards was going with him. At that moment, however, a voice came from behind: "Quick, come this way!". Looking over his shoulder, Dickie saw a young man staring up at him from a ground-level window. After ushering Dazzler through the narrow opening, he slid himself down into the dark basement.

As they were led across town to the rebel lines, Dickie contemplated the future with mixed emotions. Life on the road wasn't so bad, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable at the idea of working with other people. Nevertheless, these rebels seemed like good and genuine people, and the idea of striking back at the Empire gave him a sense of purpose otherwise lacking in his life as a wanderer.

Dazzler looked up at him, as if to ask what the plan was. Dickie nodded, winked, and said softly: "We'll go along with them... for now."

 

[Diamondeye]

So in that case, you are the poor guy, Icekommander as thief, and Thomas as the gatherer..?

 

[Splime]

So in that case, you are the poor guy, Icekommander as thief, and Thomas as the gatherer..?

Correct! (Unfortunately, there is no prize.)

 

[Diamondeye]

What? I want my cookie!

Seriously, though, thanks for a nice game, I am looking forward to the DGJ.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

Hm... I see what you mean about needing to kill people when it's explicitly in player orders and they have the means to do so, especially when said player needs to kill everyone for his objective. I think that a good solution, if you throw a similar problem at us next game, would just be to make the game longer, so the deaths can come less frequently... or even better, make it so the mole doesn't have to kill everyone - rather, he just has to hurt the rebel cause. That way, you can establish him as a bad dude for killing 100 NPCs, without losing any of your dedicated players.

As for my own game, I'm thinking that the main difference will be that it won't be centered around one group like this one is. Instead, each character is going to start off alone, though events will conspire to clump them up into distinct groups based on their actions. This should solve the other obstacle to player participation that showed up in this game: when there's only one or two interesting decisions to make in a turn, and a dozen players are in the group making the decision, they'll generally just leave it up to their leader. It should also have some more details stats for each player - karma, experience points, some basic physical attributes, and such.

 

[The13thRonin]

Yes... I died epically... Sorry for the massive battle plan... Thought you might like it... Hope my death doesn't exclude me from JtNW V2.

Oh and PS - If you guys tried to tie me up I outlined another plan that involved taking the Dr hostage at gunpoint and retreating into the woods where I probably would have attempted to kill you all... Good times .

 

[Splime]

Nobody's death excludes them from JtN II. Of course, it might be difficult for your character to play, but you can always play a new one.

 

[The13thRonin]

Nobody's death excludes them from JtN II. Of course, it might be difficult for your character to play, but you can always play a new one.

My character foresaw the consequential breakdown of the master plan and arranged to have a stunt double step in to kick *** in his place...

Somewhere... Somehow... The Ronin watches Splime through a scope and laughs.

 

[BananaLee]

Of course, it might be difficult for your character to play,

But it's possible right?