First post here, so let me start by saying how much I love this game. Huge thanks to John Harper, I’ve never had this much fun while GM’ing ever before and the players loves it as well.
But let’s talk about flashbacks. A beautiful mechanic, and very much open for player interpretation in the rules. So how far can we take it? How far can we use flashbacks to change the story?
In our campaign so far, the players are still not being very creative with flashbacks. They mainly use it very practically to overcome obstacles, just like it is described in the game. But as a GM I’ve been having ideas for how flashbacks could drastically change the game. Ultimately I believe flashbacks could be used to completely change the whole narrative, by presenting alternative information and additional events that we weren’t aware of. Like the revealing of Keyser Söze’s identity in the end of the Usual Suspects, or Sherlock Holmes fake death in season 2 of Sherlock.
So here comes two possible flashbacks, let’s discuss if it’s a good idea or not.
1) The players have finally sat down to parley with Baszo Baz, in a bar full of lampblacks. There’s bad blood between the crews, and after a couple of harsh remarks from mr. Baz a player draws his hidden gun and shoot Baszo in the face. Just as I describe how twenty lampblacks draw their weapons and attack, a flashback is called for. The player tells of how she last night met Mylera Klev from the Red Sashes in a dark alley. She looks at Mylera, nods, then says «ok. We’re going there tomorrow. When you hear the shot, attack with all you’ve got.». They have a good standing with the Red Sashes, but what was just a parley suddenly became an assassination or assault plan. I love it and would have said cool, although I would have had the player roll a consort. Mylera might just come in a little too late.
2) The players have kidnapped poor Baszo Baz, and after a daring escape through underground passages they are cornered by the pursuing lampblacks. Baszo also wakes up and although chained up, he fights and makes the whole situation pretty desperate. The leech flashbacks a crazy setup of a torcher and a battery plus some fire grenades and a fire bomb goes of, burning the lampblacks and Baszo severely. Seconds later one of the players have got enough and cuts Baszos throat. The remaining lampblacks run away, swearing revenge another day. This scene happened in play. But what if this flashback then came up? Ok, we’re in a storehouse with Baszo yesterday, no one else is there. He’s saying «so don’t ask why; but this is what I want you to do. Make it look like you kill me. Make it look real. If some of my guys have to go down, so be it. Afterwards I’ll tell you my plan.» Then another scene where Baszo is given a fire protective oil that he smears all over his face, and at last an alternative shot of when the whisper cut his throat, showing how they used a bag of goat blood right underneath the knife faking the throat being cut. So Baszo is alive and after the flashback he looks at them and goes «A little too real maybe? Well we’ve got no time to lose.»
As a GM one might not allow players to take control of NPC actions like this, but as flashbacks are suggestive, meaning the player can suggest it and then get an approval or not, I still think it’s ok for a player to suggest it. Then it is of course up to each GM wether they would approve of the flashback or not. But my point is that it is within the rules to suggest such radical flashbacks.
I’ve briefly mentioned this way of thinking about flashbacks to the player playing the spider, and he thought it would be a great way to actually play the criminal mastermind. So my last question; could there be a game mechanic that helps the spider create these kind of flashbacks?
Would love to hear if anyone has any cool flashbacks they’d like to share as well.