2013-05-24 : A Doomed Pilgrim
The Sundered Land: a Doomed Pilgrim in the Ruins of the Future
I'm a warrior seeking peace and an end to bloodshed. I'm on pilgrimage across the Sundered Land to the Temple To No Gods in the distant City of Gulls. My pilgrimage has brought me to the Ragged Forest, inhabited by monsters who dress in human skins. My goal is to pass safely through and continue my pilgrimage.
You all, my friends online, play the world. Your goal is to see me to my doom, instead of safely on my way. You're allowed only to directly answer my direct questions, though, so you might not be able to do it.
The Rules
1. Only answer my questions.
2. If you don't already know the answer, make something up.
3. Keep your answers short.
4. If your answer's disruptive, I'm allowed to delete it.
5. Otherwise, I'll use the first answer somebody gives. I'll note it in marginalia.
If you want to signal that you're following this thread, please feel free. Please use the sentence "no gods watch over you" to do so.
Ready? I'll start:
1. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Oh, before I start, 2 things.
1. I've got a parallel discussion thread going over on G+, here. For now, let's keep discussion there and/or in marginalia here.
2. This is an announcement that The Sundered Land is now available for purchase!
2. On 2013-05-24, Meg said:
No gods watch over you!
3. On 2013-05-24, Denubis said:
No gods watch over you!
4. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I came into the Ragged Forest just at dawn today. It's now midmorning. I've kept respectfully to the path, when I can find it; I know that this won't protect me.
I have a long knife hidden under my shirt and instincts honed by a life of violence.
I've just come to a brook in the forest, heavily shadowed by trees overhead.
Something warns me of approaching danger. What warns me? Anyone should answer.
5. On 2013-05-24, Benhimself said:
A flock of ravens, laughing at an imminent fate you cannot see.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
6. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I stop where I am, go perfectly still.
Do I feel watched?
Anyone should answer!
7. On 2013-05-24, Meg said:
Not by human eyes, but the woods are aware of you.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
8. On 2013-05-24, pjamesstuart said:
The blossom petals floating on the water have torn edges and no smell.
9. On 2013-05-24, Elias Helfer said:
No... not watched... but something is listening to every sound you make.
10. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
What do the woods look like here? What does my path look like? I have to cross the brook to continue; what does it look like on the other side?
Anyone should answer!
11. On 2013-05-24, Marshall said:
The bank is steep and rocky.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
12. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
What else? Anyone should answer!
13. On 2013-05-24, Jeremiah said:
The trees are tall and dense here, blocking a lot of sunlight. There's a lot of undergrowth so you can barely keep track of the path, which is really more of a game trail leading to/from the brook.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
14. On 2013-05-24, Elias Helfer said:
The path on the other side looks far more worn than on this side.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
15. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I keep my hand away from my knife. I don't betray that I'm armed.
I step out into the water. My feet are bare.
Does anything weird happen?
Anyone should answer!
16. On 2013-05-24, Meg said:
Dozens of tiny fish immediately swarm your feet - it feels like a rough file being dragged back and forth over the skin.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
17. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I'm cool. I take another deliberate step. Am I bleeding?
Anyone should answer!
18. On 2013-05-24, Meg said:
You will be in another three steps. Or another minute if you stand still. Also, the feeling of wild animals all around you is quite strong.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
19. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
How far to the other side? Will I be out in three steps?
Anyone should answer!
20. On 2013-05-24, Elias Helfer said:
It'll take four
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
21. On 2013-05-24, Mads Egedal Kirchhoff said:
No gods watch over you...
22. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Well I'm not getting eaten by damn little fish, of all things. I bound ahead. I lunge the rest of the way across the brook and scramble up the other bank.
Does anything stop me?
Anyone should answer!
23. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
No gods watch over you.
24. On 2013-05-24, Benhimself said:
A wolf, on the far shore, eyes glowing bright green, stands waiting for you at the top of the bank.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
25. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Okay now that DOES stop me.
I'm just below it, yeah? Standing barely out of the water with my feet bleeding on the rocks, crouched down, looking up.
What do you do with wolves! I avoid eye contact. I look at its body, not its face.
What's my best escape route? If any?
Anyone should answer!
26. On 2013-05-24, rayotus said:
No gods watch over you
27. On 2013-05-24, Ben Lehman said:
You can't run from a wolf. You're in no position to fight it. You must convince it you are no threat, or befriend it.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"*
BL go "You should be going..."*
VB go "To do that..."*
VB go "...which, hell..."*
*click in for more
28. On 2013-05-24, Jeremiah said:
No escape route. You either retreat through the fish or deal with the wolf.
29. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
To the left are some rocks jutting up from the forest floor, covered in moss. There's a narrow gap between them that might let you scramble up on top of them and out of the reach of a wolf's jaws.
30. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I do make eye contact with it now. This is weird, maybe, but do I see humor in its eyes? Recognition? Wariness? Otherworldliness? Anything?
Anyone should answer!
31. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
That's weird. Those are... your mother's eyes.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
32. On 2013-05-24, Jeremiah said:
Otherworldliness. The wolf is the forest's guardian.
33. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I stare, caution forgotten.
What does the wolf do?
Anyone should answer!
34. On 2013-05-24, rayotus said:
She howls ... calling to the others.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
35. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Yeah, that's enough for me.
If I go back in the water, are the fish going to kill me?
Anyone should answer!
36. On 2013-05-24, Ben Lehman said:
They'll just bite your feet off, but you'll probably live until you bleed out.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
37. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Well then.
I compose myself. I stand up. I look up at the wolf. I address her respectfully. "Mother, guardian. My way takes me through your place. May I pass?"
What does she do?
Anyone should answer!
38. On 2013-05-24, Adrian Thoen said:
She looks to the rocks, where the tight gap is. She growls a soft, low growl.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
39. On 2013-05-24, CarpeGuitarrem said:
no gods watch over you
40. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I follow her gaze.
What's over there?
Anyone should answer!
41. On 2013-05-24, Alex D. said:
A cave; something glitters or flickers deep inside, but the entrance is toothy and moss-covered.
42. On 2013-05-24, Stras said:
Like the wolf, and the stream, it is just a gap in the rocks. But as your eyes whisk about the stone and gap, you see the shadows move. And you realize that there are shades, hungry as the fish, waiting, able to squeeze through in the shadows enough to feed, or ride a beast.
43. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I pick my way over. I could squeeze into the space but I definitely don't do that. I look in, I try to see what's glittering in there.
What is it? Anyone should answer!
While we're here, any sign of the other wolves yet? Anyone should answer!
44. On 2013-05-24, Alex D. said:
I can't speak to the shine, but you hear soft yet insistent padding, coming ever closer.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
45. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
So what about the shining thing in the dark crevice? Anybody should answer!
46. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
A few other wolves, grey and white, have appeared, gathering about the mother. They all watch you with intensity.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
47. On 2013-05-24, Ben Lehman said:
It is a crown.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
48. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
A crown!
I don't want a crown.
I leave it. I turn back, start to clamber up the slope toward the wolves.
What do they do?
Anyone should answer!
49. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
They circle and growl, trying to make you go back to the crevice.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
50. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Not doing it. I explain to them very respectfully in low tones that they're going to have to find somebody else to be their king or whatever eery biz this is.
I make my slow, patient, steady way through them.
Do they stop me, attack me, or do they (however reluctantly) let me past?
Anyone should answer!
51. On 2013-05-24, Alex D. said:
A sudden crowing comes out from deeper in the forest; the wolves heel back and appear, though it's hard to read them, fearful. You can pass, if you dare it.
This makes...
VB go "Thanks!"
52. On 2013-05-24, Adrian Thoen said:
The Wolf with your mother's eyes blocks your path, stepping in front of you whenever you try to go around. Her strange green eyes lock onto yours and you cannot look away from her commanding gaze.
53. On 2013-05-24, Ben Lehman said:
She's not mad, just disappointed.
54. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
I do dare to pass.
I step past the last wolf and start to walk away from them. I'm back on my pilgrim's path. Whatever's crowing out there ahead of me, deeper in the forest, I'll deal with it when it comes.
The end!
Thanks for playing, everybody!
55. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Discussion welcome! Questions, comments?
56. On 2013-05-24, Ben Lehman said:
Was pushing towards, like, non-horrible violence breaking the spirit of the rules?
57. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
No!
Your goal is to see me to my doom. However you think best, go for it.
58. On 2013-05-24, Jeremiah said:
So, looking at the rules, if I'd been you, I think I would have kept going, since it seemed there was more danger past the wolves so maybe that made getting away ambiguous.
Maybe I'm parsing the rules too finally?
What about that triggered you to end it there?
59. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
That would have been a legit call too, for certain.
I ended it because I was past the wolves, so I'd gotten my character into danger and out again, which is what I'm playing to do.
Rather than saying "I soon leave the Ragged Forest behind me," which I was entitled to do, I decided to acknowledge the monsters still out there! I may even come back to this character next time I play.
60. On 2013-05-24, Jeremiah said:
Great answer, thanks! That helps a lot as I'm about to start a game elsewhere on the internet.
61. On 2013-05-24, benhamill said:
I so wanted him to put on the crown and, like, turn into a weird wolf-king spirit or something. Doom, but not death. Heh.
62. On 2013-05-24, Alan said:
It's not clear to me from this game or the rules when to call a game done. Is the expectation one enemy encounter? It feels right to the protagonist's player? The other players provide an answer that clearly suggests reaching and end of the place (perhaps encouraging the protagonist's player to ask leading questions in that direction)? Something else?
63. On 2013-05-24, Vincent said:
Alan: When you've gotten your character into danger, then either died (obviously) or gotten out again.
This is up to your judgment as a player. The skill to cultivate is pulling the trigger. Do you think you've gotten your character into danger, and now out of that danger again? Then pull the trigger! Call it a game and take the win.
64. On 2013-05-24, Keith said:
Just got these. Combat for Doomed Pilgrim is a little unclear to me. Specifically, it talks about re-rolling and rounds, but I can't parse how to link the first roll to any future rolls. How does that work?
65. On 2013-05-25, benhamill said:
My interpretation is that you roll, incorporate the result into your next post and ask the question. If the answer means you're still in combat, that's the next round.
66. On 2013-05-25, Vincent said:
Correct!
The second time you roll the dice, that's the second round. The third time would be the third round.
67. On 2013-05-25, Keith said:
Ah, okay! That makes sense.
68. On 2013-05-25, Keith said:
One more!
In the Caravan game, Hazards have four elements, two of which are victims and bystanders. What do we do with that information? What kind of victims or bystanders? Like, NPCs who are nearby, who get caught up in things, or what does that mean?
69. On 2013-05-25, Vincent said:
Oh sure. When you create a hazard, create its previous victims and its bystanders. They're up to you. They might be bones in the dirt and people who refuse to go any further because of the stories they've heard, for instance.
You can use its victims and/or its bystanders to warn the characters before an attack. "You see bones in the dirt. What do you do?"
70. On 2013-05-25, summerdown said:
The games look interesting and I'm looking forward to playing them. Could you let me know how many players they need? Eg, are any of them ok with just two people?
71. On 2013-05-25, Vincent said:
There'll be some mechanical hitches with one-on-one play. Like, in the Caravan Guards, sometimes the other players vote on your character's action. If there's only one other player, the vote collapses to "the other player chooses." Things like that.
If you're prepared to deal with those kinds of things as they come, the games should work okay for two, but they'd be better with three.
At the other end, Meg's played the Caravan Guards and the Night Watch with herself plus five, and it went okay. I don't know what the practical top end would be.
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