Hiatus

Goodness! Seems like things have slowed down to a crawl here during the break. Probably because they have. We've all got reasons why we've been extra busy, sure, but things have started to slow down a little for me anyway, so let's relight the pilot here and get some things cooking. Does anyone have anything BW they'd like to bring up? I would also like to get the ball rolling on the discussion concerning the video conference BW game that Brent and I are going to get set up.

Burning Bridges Game #9

Allright, guys, the game was amazing and I couldn't have hoped for a better finale. I am especially amazed at how everyone really strove to attend the game and give their all: Brent was sick and had a railing cough; Dave was there playing for 3 hours after he said he'd have to stop to study for his final in the morning; Weston missed half of the game and still hauled ass over to have a super-dramatic finish. I'm not sure about Jenna, but I'm sure she had to fight zombies or something on her way over. You guys are super and I am proud.

The game itself was extremely dramatic, and a lot of stuff started happening that we decided we'd have to bring up here on the blog. First of all, I'd like to mention that I don't intend for the season 1 finale to be the end of the game. So long as Brent and I are able to coordinate some kind of online something or other, it'll continue to live on. Last night he and I were talking on Skype chat just fine despite his connection being SIUE dial-up, so I am hopeful.

Right, quite a list. First of all, there are people whose beliefs need to change. Jack had one or two we thought might need to be modified, as well as the Duchess and Count Tristam, if I remember correctly. Father Gregory, also. Wow, I guess that's everyone! Amazing. I don't remember the exact Beliefs that were changing, so whomever had one that they had considered, throw it out here. I'll probably drop a post later just to go through each character's sheet to reexamine their beliefs.

What else was there, though? We need to finish writing up Anna, but that's the only other point of business I recall. I get the feeling that I'm forgetting a lot, though, because honestly I was falling asleep at the wheel on the way home. Hey, sometimes it happens.

Hey, I just want to say that this game was extra, extra dramatic. I don't think I've played with any group who is this excited about just getting down to raw characterization, and it is brilliant. However, I'm left with glowing curiosity about what direction the characters will move in now that they've broken out of their molds in so many Artha-producing way? Brent mentioned that Jack is going to become more revenge-minded; this is the sort of thing I'm talking about. Also, how hard does everyone think it should be for Count Tristam to become Marquess? It'll definitely make it harder for him to chill with the Green Men at all, so his promotion would have to mark a radical shift in the scope of the game. Who knows how long the Green Men are even going to be around, though? It could be that they no longer hold with the goals Jack has in mind.

Lastly, I don't know how long it's even going to be before we have another game. I'm sure that everyone's going to be busy over break, since Dave is going to be gone for a chunk of it, and Brent has to get settled in at his new home before we even start testing out different ways to connect. But, even without any games, I know that at least Brent and I will be on here talking about Circles tests.

Burning Anna

Brent and I have had a few BITs discussions for characters here, and they're all, you know, tough-as-leather men-at-arms and ex convicts/sailors/military etc. So, I'm looking forward to having one for Lady Anna! Now, really, a discussion oughtn't to be had without the contribution of the man whose Belief created Anna in the first place. But... maybe just this once we'll leave Dave out of the loop. I don't want a lot of Beliefs like "Count Tristam is strong and handsome and I want to have his children" or Traits like "smoking hot" and "sex addict." :P

Hold on a second, I might be putting the cart before the horse here. Does Anna even have her lifepaths yet? I know Brent sent me a link to her Google Page, but it was empty save for theme music. What have you got for me, Brent?

Burning Bridges Game #8

I would have posted sooner, but this is the first time I've had reasonable access to the internet in several days.

Anyway, not to belabor the subject, since we did spend some time twittering already, I thought the last game was absolutely a blast. Despite some holdups (entirely my ungracious fault) we were able to really have an explosive game. Like I said to Brent, I see no reason why they can't all be good; I will continue to strive to provide a fertile ground for this.

I think I went through everything I had scheduled for the last game, so I'm thinking the next one will be properly climactic. Surprisingly, there isn't much homework for the next game, which makes Brent's workload easier I suppose. But, that leaves us to discuss how the game is going to end next week. Does anyone have any strong feelings about how they want things to turn out? I already have a flowchart worked up, and a scenario that I have in mind, but I don't like to be the kind of GM who thinks his ideas are better than anyone else's. Be assured, I'll be examining all the characters' BITs, but I thought the season finale warranted some extra discussion.

Also, I would like to welcome Jenna to the inner circle of active contributors here on the blog. Cheers! You may have started posting right before the last game of the semester, but that just gives you extra integrity.

Duchess's New Belief?

Look! I'm contributing!

Regarding the Duchess's new belief, I'd like it to be something that would at least come in play a little in the next game. Except, I don't have any direction in mind to take the belief/the character. Does anyone have any ideas? Like, any?


By the by- I love the current song choices for Jack and Madeline. Yeah Yeah Yeah and Azure Ray FTW.

In anticipation of game # 8

I just want to stop to say how much I appreciate all of you participating in this game with me, and how much I'm looking forward to the next two games. Hopefully they'll both turn out as well as I'm imagining. It'll be hard to do everything I want to in just two games, but I'll try. I do wonder how much more complicated things can get for Count Tristam before his head explodes. XD

Burning Daemon

When it was suggested that the Sergeant Pike might be possessed, out came the die of fate. Thusly we now have a daemonically corrupted minor villain on our hands. Exciting? Yes! However, this daemon possessing him needs his BITs.

A daemon's generic beliefs are:

We are Righteous; dissent is no crime.
We will be avenged.
Men are fools, and are to be used.

Now, I don't see any reason why these can't be modified to better fit the bill. And, that doesn't say anything about his instincts. As far as those go, Brent, exactly how much influence does a possessing daemon have over his host? The extent to which he can influence Roger would alter how I would word his instincts.

Burning Bridges game #7

Ah, I know what I like, and what I like is Circles tests. Lots of good ones here! Brent successfully made a Circles to find his old master, who will appear when and where I wish (mwahahaha) and Kaitlin was able to find some cheap weapons for the Green Men and their flush of new recruits. Other than that, the events were somewhat mundane... still, for a slow session, it was tons of fun. I'm really looking forward to the next one, though.

Well, we have a couple of things to talk about betwixt games. Now, I know Brent is chomping at the bit to burn up some more minor characters, from Jarl the King's Justice to his old master Joseph the Green to Lord Winchester the estate manager, and more! And, we'll have lots of lively discussions about their BITs, I'm sure.

There were some other things that we mentioned we'd have to talk about on here that I just don't recall. I ought to have written them down whenever it was mentioned, but my mind was elsewhere. Anyway, anything else anyone wants to bring up that I forgot, awesome!

Burning Sheriff

Moving on to another BITs session! Tom technically needs some work yet, but I'm still posting comments in his BITs discussion, and you can too. For now, though, we have a new antagonist who has survived for one game without the Count Tristam riding out to cut him down: The thoroughly vile new sheriff. Brent's got his lifepaths all worked out, and he'll have a google page for him shortly which I will post with the other non-player characters.

So! This is one of the few important characters introduced who are not one of the players' relationships, but really I don't have any better an idea of who he is than anyone else. All I know is that he's just as ugly inside as he is out, always looking for an opportunity to be cruel to others (hence the predatory trait.) The Prince Gerard saw that this man was not encumbered by morality, whose loyalty was bought simply by being given an opportunity to practice cruelty. The Prince also knows that the sheriff is not a mere sociopath. Having at least a masters degree from the school of hard knocks, this man is opportunistic and shrewd, perfectly suited to retrieving the Prince's tax money at any cost. That's what I get, anyway! But let me hear everyone else's impressions.

There's also the small matter of his demonic possession (Oh die of fate, you are supreme!) I'll have to talk more about that with Brent, so we can get an idea of what the rules are like for that. I would almost rather his possession be very subtle, and perhaps he isn't even aware of his metaphysical affliction. I dunno. That's also up for debate.

Game # 6

Another super game. I was a little fried from not having gotten much sleep, so I was afraid it would turn out differently, but Burning Wheel really is impossible not to enjoy. I don't know how that could ever happen!

Anyway, I'm still tired, so I won't mince words (though I dearly love to mince words.) There are several topics up for discussion!

First of all, the Duchess of Bath needs a new Belief. Before she had a Belief saying that she would escape from her arranged marriage with Gerard, which she pretty much has. It's possible that she is still not entirely free of Gerard's power structure, but really holding on to that belief at this point would be dead weight. So, a new and better Belief is in order!

Secondly, the Duchess' new trait, Free Bird, has yet to be defined. Whether it be a character trait, a call-on trait, or a die trait, and to what extent it will be advanced, also ought to be determined. Mostly I'm looking for Brent's input on this one. Because, well, he has the books. XP

The only other thing I can think of is the burning of the new sheriff. He probably has a different title than Sheriff, which I'll figure out later. Anyway, he needs a name and some really ugly BITs. Since the Die of Fate determined that in some regard some part of him is infected with demonic influence, I think we'll have some crazy good times with those. I'll probably make another post just for him in a bit; maybe when I figure his name out. Brent, let's see those sexy, sexy lifepaths.

If there's anything I left out, be sure to say!

Burning Tom

Well, everyone, I really thought that the last post about burning up Francis prompted some really good discussion about his beliefs. But, he kicked it! And no one is more broken up than I. However, I so enjoy working up Beliefs that we're just gonna go ahead and serve up the next feller.

Jester Tom is the Little John to Jack O' Bedlam's Robin, the man who is the most prominent bandit next to the leader. We know that he wears a cloak reminiscent of a Jester's habit, that he has the Louis Wu trait, and that he's the son of a tailor. But, the rest of him is a mystery! As it appears he'll be an important side character, let's open the floor for his beliefs. Who knows, maybe he'll start earning Artha and turn into a badass?

The next guy in the list might be the villainous agent of Prince Gerard sent to oversee tax collection. Will he be nefarious enough to warrant a thorough burning?

Burning Francis

Wow, was game 4(?) amazing! Thrills, swashbuckling, playing off Beliefs - it was everything BW is meant to be!
On topic, though - we talked last night about burning up David's brother, Francis Lancaster. So let's do this thing (light this candle!). Let's use the blog here to establish Francis's BITs and his basic backstory. I'll post a proposed lifepath set probably tomorrow - I just wanted to get this up now.

Burning Bridges games #1-3

Allright, ladies and gentlemen, some time has gone buy and we've had a few snippets of games to draw material for discussion from. Firstly, to recount the story so far:

In game #1 we followed the hardened brigand Jack O' Bedlam as he snuck into the small village of Homlet to find out when the next tax collection was going to move through the area. Despite performing his reconnaissance successfully, Jack ran afoul of some guards looking to make some trouble. In a back alley they crossed swords, the duel ending with one town guard slain by witchery and the other fleeing to sound the alert. A short chase ensued and our protagonist Jack was brought down by the taxing effect of his own magic spells. The adventure was brief, but it was extremely helpful for the purposes of Brent and I getting a feel for the most basic of the basic rules. Standard tests, Versus tests, Linked tests all were made and tests for advancement were awarded. Instincts were called into play. We also got to see how the Sorcery rules worked out, and let me just say that they are badass.

Game #2 opened with Weston's character, the assiduous priest Gregory, catching wind of Jack's imprisonment via the Green Men, and the ensuing rescue mission. Through overwhelming priestliness and bombastic religious oration, Gregory was able to bewilder the guards. Eventually claiming to be taking personal responsibility for the cleansing of the sorcerer's blackened soul, Gregory convinced the guards to allow Jack to be removed to the Black Forest, where he of course was freed and allowed to recover from his treatment in the town prison. Returning to the Green Men in this fashion, Jack told them all when the next tax raid would take place, and the brigands sent word to their sponsor and companion, Count Tristam Lancaster of Merioneth, played by Dave. The hot-blooded count donned his mask and joined with the Green Men on the night of the raid. Under the cover of darkness they set their trap for the tax carriage, stepping out from the cover of the trees to ambush Prince Gerard's men. After a brief and fierce battle the Green Men had broken their enemies; those who surrendered were told to flee for their lives and to tell the tale of the Green Men of the Black Forest. Man, good stuff, lemme tell you. Anyway, we waded through a lot of good stuff this time. We got into Fight! Martial Combat, we got into Weapon Mechanics and Anatomy of an Injury, we worked up a little Faith, made a few Resources tests, some fiddling with Armor, and it was awesome.

Game #3 was short, but several things were established to allow the next adventure to open smoothly. Among other small things, Jack and Tristam began to have weapon training in the forest, and the next tax shipment was established.

All in all, I think that things are coming together a lot better than I would have imagined. I really liked the background that everyone has worked up; everyone's characters are super-exciting to me. I know I say that a lot, but I just can't get over it. I especially like the group dynamic that is being set up. It's obvious that Jack and Gregory are going to have some interesting interplay, as Gregory is extremely pure in his faith and Jack has had his dragged through the mud. Add in the madcap thrill-seeking Count and things are bound to get wild. My favorite part is that each of the characters have such disparate interests, somehow bound together by somewhat similar goals. It's so different from the group dynamic I'm accustomed to, where characters work together just, you know, for whatever reason, just because there are some lootz to get or some monsters to kill or some shit. I feel like these characters have really strong personality, thrown into greater starkness by the contrast between one another. I... I just wish I started playing Burning Wheel sooner! XD

So, in the next game we'll be bringing in some of the most sexy of supplemental rules, such as Circles and Duel of Wits (fingers crossed). After that we'll have covered pretty much all the important stuff.

That's about it. If anyone has anything they feel ought to be added, please amend my inattention to detail. Also, if anyone feels that the game writeups ought to be more thorough, as I did leave out a lot of details, let me know. I'll definitely spend more time in the future with what I feel each character's highlights for a session were, and I'll probably discuss what all the artha was awarded for.

Pre-game session #2

Well! Last night saw the second pre-game session. Progress was slow, but it sounds like Weston is pretty much finished with his character, so things are pretty much ready to go. If in fact you are totally ready, Weston, go ahead and submit your char info to Brent so he can make a Google page for it. Anyway, Brent and I also made a few practice rolls, and let me tell you that they made me extremely pumped up. I might not have shown it, because I was mighty tired, but I'm glad we got to make some rolls that night even if they were fake. :D We talked about each of the different kinds of tests, we talked a lot about character advancement, and we did some talking about Sorcery tests. All of these are probably going to come up in the first game, so we were just making sure we had a handle on things. It's a good thing we did, too because we already hit a hitch involving a briefly explained rule in the magic section and a spell that Brent has. Needless to say, Brent has already made a post on the Burning Wheel forums, so we'll see what Luke Crane and all the other regulars have say.

Another matter we addressed is that of attendance; we briefly acknowledged the fact that two games a week seems to be too much for some people, so it looks like we're gonna play the ol' switcharoo game. Which, I mean, I guess is allright. I suppose it's for the best. And, I mean, I'll still be gaming once a week. And honestly, the two week a game thing was starting to wear on me a little, too. I just have this thing where if I commit myself to a game, I like to see it go somewhere. The fact that so few of the games I involve myself in get anywhere is precisely the reason I'm usually so unenergetic about running games. Atleast I know that Brent is always willing to match me point for point when it comes to enthusiasm. So, we'll see how far this game can go, and hopefully we can work out some kind of feat of technological awesometude that will allow us to have games even after Brent moves. See, that's how I like to think of a game's lifespan; I want to see Jack confront the wicked Prince Gerard, I want to see Count Tristam have a The Graduate like wedding-crashing scene, where he and Lady Anne escape on a bus, etc. Without having to have it all in the first session. So, I will continue to be eternally optimistic.

What's that, reader? Did I make this blog just to ramble about random crap? I reserve the right to do so sometimes.

Back on track! Next session will definitely get to the actual game, even if only one player. I'll just have some solo-quest action with them, give them 10-15 Artha points, and have a blast. Before the game really gets off the ground, I would like to briefly go over each element in the hub and the spokes of the Wheel. A lot of the rules will be introduced on a case by case basis, even the very simple ones. An obvious statement, sure, but it's not everyday one breaks into a new game system. So, we'll talk about different kinds of tests, character advancement, and Artha to begin with. Once the game starts, we'll get a feel for what it's like rolling tests out, and we'll talk about Let It Ride and some other rules involved with them. Hell, we might not even make it to any of the rules on the rim of the Wheel, but I get the feeling like we probably will get in to Sorcery and Range and Cover, maybe Injury... golly, just talking about those is going to take a lot of time. The first few games are gonna seem slow, since we'll practically be breaking every time someone wants to do something in order to learn the rules together. Fret not! It will be freakin' sweet. :D

Beliefs

Allright, now, beliefs are something I've had a little trouble with myself. They're easy to approach. I mean, it's easy to imagine that your character does in fact believe in something. But, it takes a little something else to make them into Beliefs (can you hear the capital letter? What do you mean this is a textual medium?)

One of the most important things to consider is that the primary in-game use of beliefs is to generate Artha for your character. New to Artha? Well, in short Artha is something like a drama point system; you use them to do affect your rolls positively and to shrug off penalties from injury, stuff like that. Anyway, Artha is given to characters for a lot of reasons, but a big one comes from the Beliefs. If a character acts in a way that reflects their Beliefs, it nets them Artha. This is one of the reasons why the unimpeachable Mr. Naylor and I keep using the word 'actionable' in reference to a functional Belief; you have to know how and when they'll be able to generate bonus points. Something like "I believe in love, it's all we've got" might be fine for Elton John, but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it as a GM.

Now, with that in mind, it kind of irks me to think of Beliefs in strictly mechanical terms. For me, they're one of the tastiest, most delicious representations of character development, story advancement, etc., as well as being excellent sources for progressive role-playing and needlessly excessive drama. For that reason, I don't like to think of them as things that turn the Wheel and give you sweet Artha. Instead, I think of them as your character's primary motivations. Sure, a character will have all kinds of beliefs that shape them, but the motivations that really define them and affect every single thing they do will get the capital letter. Whenever something happens that causes your character to react (conflict) you would look to your Beliefs to guide your behavior. In such a fashion, don't get too worried about writing up a belief that doesn't have an immediately obvious mechanical breakdown. As long as you and the GM are clearly on the same page about what a belief means, the wording isn't as much of an issue. I mean, I'm lookin' at Monsieur O'Bedlam's beliefs here, and they're all written up with the same thought-action syntax. And that's fine, right, especially considering that he got them OKed on the BW forums, I'm just saying that it's not essential.

Anyway, another thing that I have had to think about a little bit is what Beliefs are not. Firstly, beliefs are not Instincts. Whenever I was looking through the Artha section, I was telling myself, "Okay, Beliefs are special because when you behave in a way that brings your Beliefs out onto the table, you're rewarded for it mechanically." If you get too specific about it, though, and start thinking like, "when this happens, my character does this in response." You're starting to get away from what Beliefs represent. That sort of if/then is the domain of the Instinct. Although Instincts are modeled to be extremely specific (If someone spits on me I flip them the bird), there's a broader difference. Beliefs are not intended to railroad your character into certain behavior sets; it's not good to have a Belief that's too vague, but it's not good to have one that's too specific, either. Also, Beliefs are not set in stone. Characters who find themselves in situations that force them to take a cold hard look at their Beliefs are free to modify them as they see fit, or drop out Beliefs for new ones. And, if these changes occur in-game in a dramatic and believable fashion, then you can get all kinds of fabulous Artha (talkin' 'bout those Persona points, hells yeah.)

This last point is another reminder; Beliefs are not Traits. Traits are intended to be somewhat more static, having more to do with the ingrained qualities of a character than their outlook or their life journey. So, okay, some Traits are like 'missing an eye' or whatever, and you'd never get that mixed up with a Belief. I'm not talking about those. ;P There's a part of the discussion in one of the links at the bottom of this post that talks about it a little more fully, but essentially if you write up a Belief that you never intend to change that represents only one facet of your character, then it might be better as a Trait.

Are you asking me why I'm talking about Beliefs when everyone already has their character's Beliefs all written up and done with? Well, you cynics, I've just been thinking a lot about Beliefs and their role in the game, and my responsibilities as a GM in interpreting them. I've been thinking about the marriage between the conceptual aspect of the Beliefs and their role in the process of playing one's character and the mechanical aspect of their generating these bonus points, and the way I ought to lean in my arbitration of such. Really, some gaming will help my thoughts to coalesce immensely, but I want to have a productive way of thinking about them beforehand.

So, what do you guys have to say about Beliefs? Do you want to tell me that everything I just said is wrong and that Beliefs are something totally different? Please do so! Do you just want to cry to the world that Beliefs are awesome? Go for it! Beliefs are something in BW that especially tickled and teased me, so I'd love to talk about them.

ps. Here are some serious links that Brent dug up like a beautiful truffle-smelling pig. If Beliefs are as exciting to you as they are to me, then these links might make you swoon. Make sure you're sitting down.

Belief Workshop
BTO and Abzo bash out Beliefs
Cawshis' Belief workshop
Luke and Thor brainstorm Beliefs

Character finalization session

Before I get started, if this is your first visit to this blog, then stop reading this and go read the first post; it'll give you the gist of what's going on here. :D

Anyway, yesterday was the scheduled date for the character finalization meeting. For those of you who weren't able to make it, but also for those of you who could, here's a recap of last meet's events. The impeccable Mr. Mocabee was able to hammer out a solid character concept, and there isn't a lot more in the way of mechanics that he'll need before he's finished. I would say that everyone's characters are almost done; we've just got a little more to do before they're all polished and shining. This is, of course, excluding Mr. Naylor, who was finished with his character before I even knew what was happening. I think that one of the fuzziest areas remaining involves Beliefs and Instincts, on both the conceptual and functional level. That's probably the subject I'll bring up on this blog next, since it's one of my favorite parts of the game, aside from being a crucial aspect of the game system.

Other than that, in retrospect I can't help but feel the session was kind of shaky. Dave had a metric shitton of homework he had to do (although he's virtually done with his character) and Adam was unfortunately indisposed. Now, I understand that sometimes sessions just happen to fall under an inauspicious configuration of celestial bodies, and never manage to build up any steam; still, in the heart of my brain some concern began to form that this will be the fate of each and every session scheduled. As such, I'm going to try to work harder to get all the gears running smoothly, because I feel that this is one of the GMs responsibilities, but I'm still interested to hear if anyone has any feedback in this area, or even if you all just think my concerns are unfounded and those of a simpleton.

Don't get me wrong, though, I still think it was an exciting session. Weston's character sounded really cool, and definitely got me even more fired up for the game. All the characters so far have come out really interesting, and fairly bursting with potential for game-driving conflict. I also think that there's going to be a very interesting group dynamic; the characters are all pulling in the same direction for the most part, but their motives are all very different. So, high-fives all around, guys! I don't know about you, but I am really pumped up.

Welcome to Blog!!

Allright, guys, this is the blog for Burning Bridges! The url name 'pontes incensiones' is the latin translation of the same title, I just used it because burningbridges.blogspot was taken. The image on the left is Ixion, a Greek myth figure who was condemned to eternal torture bound to a wheel of fire. I'll probably change it later (Brent wants a picture of the Green Man.)

The main purpose of this blog is to provide a place for everyone to discuss the game in a way that doesn't require us all to be around the gaming table. What I'm hoping it will do is promote interest and eagerness for the game, and also to provide a place to manage anything that would otherwise take time away from when we actually sit down to game. Also, me being the big nerd I am, I'm going to try to incite all kinds of discussion on various elements of the game that I always seem to talk to Brent about, that I'd like to give everyone the opportunity to get in on. And, anytime I feel like thinking out loud about the game in a nonspecific way, I'll do it here. You guys all will be invited to have the power to make posts of your own, but please make sure they're at least tangentially related to the game (Do I even have to say it? XD)

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing what you'd like to see up on the blog. We have a handy sidebar on the left that links to online character sheets; the inscrutable Mr. Naylor was gentlemanly enough to provide the first one. While I don't expect everyone to do so, I actually kind of do. If you absolutely have no interest and are not a team player, then I'm certain Brent will be willing to do it for you. For those of you who haven't finished your character writeup yet, just keep it in mind. Other than that, we can link to other Burning Wheel pages online that have relevance (the rules for nature spirit summoning come to mind.)

I don't have much else to say atm; I'll probably post something game-related before too long.