So one of the things I like to do as I’m getting hype to run or play a game (run, in this case – my first time, but I’m just gonna hyperventilate into this paper bag and it’ll be fine) is to consume some appropriate media and view it through the lens of the game, so I can really start to grasp how I can use the system to convey what I want it to.
I happened to watch me some John Wick last night, for instance, and that’s where I started. So I’ll consider things like playbooks (John’s a pretty maxed out Cutter, who dipped for Reflexes, Tough as Nails, and probably Vengeful; I pictured Marcus as a Hunter), how they’re accomplishing things (John’s old list of friends and contacts, old favors in the underworld’s economy), and interesting risks and consequences (an old friend working the front door of the club).
Notably, there was a lack of downtime in the film, so clearly John’s player was being super careful with Stress. (Or he was using the old rules with the abilities which let you clear stress on crits. 😉 )
Am I the only person who does this? Not just looks at media, but specifically frames it in the rules to see how to make it work? What other great ideas from scenes have ended up working super well when looked at through that lens?
This is absolutely how I consume all media. For Blades it was Peaky Blinders and Penny Dreadful, along with Dishonored, of course. I got ideas for creepy imagery from Coraline, Mirrormask, and the dream sequence of The Fall. This is probably one of my main ways of doing between session prep: slotting what I’m seeing in my media into the mechanics or aesthetics of the games I’m running!
I don’t know; the scenes between the killing could definitely be seen as Obligation vice being indulged. Maybe he’s taking trauma and clearing stress that way but making sure to eliminate the obstacles when he does trauma out?
I’m not sure John’s player was being careful with stress. I think he was just perfectly prepared to lose his character and take trauma to get his goals.
On a side note, I allow starting characters to take a point of Trauma in exchange for a special ability or personal cohort. So for someone like Wick, I would allow the cutter to take 3 Trauma (it was time to retire) and start with 4 special abilities.
Alfred Rudzki Hitchcock – I still need to check out Peaky Blinders but sadly my time is limited. Shame, but it’s on the list. I can’t lie though, when I was watching Penny Dreadful and That Seance Scene hit, I turned to the person with me and said, “So…. is that a crit success on an Attune, or a crit fail? I can’t tell here.” 😉
Andrew Shields – Hah! I’ll keep that in mind if my players need to make second characters down the line. I kind of treated the movie as a sort of reunion game. “Hey, remember those characters who retired and you miss that game? Okay, bring them out of retirement, like five years later. Let’s do this thing.”