We just finished our sixth session and the first all together since ruleset 3.

We just finished our sixth session and the first all together since ruleset 3. In summary, most of the rules worked great and I felt like I finally got a strong grip on presenting and resolving clocks. Warning, long report ahead.

After dealing the Lampblacks a devastating blow for the Red Sashes in their first session, and eventually destroying them entirely, the Red Sashes were at war with the Crows for supremacy in the district. After a number of setbacks, Lyssa of the Crows was backed into a corner politically and agreed to duel Mylera after obtaining some sort of secret weapon. The night was to be the climactic showdown of many sessions’ play. Expecting foul tricks, the group had previously combined the efforts of their elite shadows, and their own investigations to determine that Lyssa had: 

1. Stationed sharpshooters to kill Mylera in the event that the duel went poorly.

2. Set explosives in shipping containers to destroy the Red Sashes either way.

3. Obtained a weapon, a bloody soaked giant cleaver, that manifested a malevolent and powerful spiritual presence.

4. Abducted a bunch of drugged out hobos and had them imprisoned somewhere nearby. 

I started an eight segment clock called Lyssa’s preparations to serve as a “scoreboard” for the players and to show how much progress they were making and two eight segment clocks for Lysaa and Mylera’s duel which were advanced when time appropriate and as a complication for low rolls. Additionally I made an Alarm clock as they went in stealthily which would have made all their efforts harder if filled.

Preparations 1, 2, and 4 above got their own 4 segment clocks which the crew tackled together at first and then split to cover more ground according to their skillset. Because the group was responsible for the state of the drugged out prisoners (long story) and seemed really interested in the malevolent spirit I gave it more power, and allowed the crew to assist Mylera by distracting its attention and depriving it of its soul sacrifices (the drugged prisoners). The crew worked their way through the clocks just in the nick of time as tension escalated and banished the malevolent spirit. Mylera chopped of Lyssa’s head and the Crows were routed.

Using the clocks as generic descriptors of obstacles to be tackled, (Snipers, Explosives, the Imprisoned) gave the players enough direction to see what opportunities were there for taking, and let them have the fun of deciding how best to tackle them. It was long and involved, but then this was the showdown they’ve been working towards for months. The duel and alarm clocks really ratcheted the tension, and I saw the players constantly discussing what level of risk to take and how fast they had to move as we reached the conclusion. The whisper took it upon herself to distract the spirit and nearly died, but it was a high point for her player to contend with such a dangerous spirit and hold it down long enough for the rest of the crew to come out on top. There was waaaay more action than we were used to, but I think it was fictionally appropriate and the players enjoyed it. The only negatives out of the session were that after the emotional roller coaster no one wanted to deal with the entanglements, and with half the group suffering level 2 or higher harm and plenty of stress the recovery rules seem to lead to trying at least 2 scores with harm on the tracker. I’m going to use this as an opportunity to begin introducing new factions who want a slice of that sweet Crow’s foot pie, but I might let them take a few easy scores while I give them signs of an approaching threat. It was a great session!