*wakes from her coma* Seriously! Pulled an all nighter at Dragonflight from 9am Saturday to 5am Sunday. All I can say is my stepdaughter’s love of Munchkin is going to require I get a room for next year’s con. I slept over 30 hours from getting home til like 9am on Monday. Good thing I took the day off!

Unlike years past I wasn’t relegated to simply keeping an eye on the aforementioned sd. I love her to bits but I’m a gamer stuck watching games its like being at a buffet and having to watch someone else eat. Not so cool This year was a MAJOR departure.  She discovered the fun world of Larping! If she’d have let us she would’ve done nothing but larp the entire freaking weekend (minus her Munchkin game and tournament).

But her larping (which was with a solid group and well supervised) allowed me to get games in on my own! YAR while the hub and I did some gaming together as well. (btw Revolution was super fun!) But I attended a panel with a good friend and the sd on a Retrospective of the Roleplaying Hobby. It was really nice to see Peter Adkinson (though I think the hub would’ve liked it more since he lluuurrrvvveeesss card games *cough* Magic well and Skaff Elias for that mattes as well) and I was personally peached to see Jonathan Tweet. Tim Beach wa also there and I’m not too proud to admit I had no idea who he was until later and at that time went …Oooohhh *facepalm* It really was nice hearing their take on the past and contributions of the founding fathers of rp. And of course because we gamers can’t stick to a single topic a little about their gaming currently as well

I would like a standing ovation because I didn’t totally go fangirl on Tweet and tell him I loved his work on 3rd ed D&D. Or if not that at least a pat on the back. Especially after he made a comment that there were changes in 4th ed that he envied not thinking of. Made me want to side track the entire thing and ask which ones (and I made my resist derail conversation roll thank you).

Aside from that however I did some different card and board games all weekend. Ironically, I label myself a roleplayer and never do any rp at the con ever. Mostly because I love other gaming and I get my rp in every weekend, but almost never card or board games. Man I really wished I had the fort. to survive a midnight to 8am session of Arkham Horror with ALL expansions. Go Cthulhu!

Hats off to a few people! Marcus who is lead MIB for Steve Jackson games. Totally awesome run if Munchkin Quest. And to his bearded cohort who ran us through Revolution! Super fun and I totally missed your name! The guys that did the pick up Pandemic game with us. Oodles of fun.

You know I think I liked the panel best. I didn’t always agree with their points of view. Or perhaps I disagreed with one guy in the back of the room wearing red that disliked 4th makes it too easy on the gm to prep for a game…yeah I’ll just say I like it easier and leave it at that. But it is nice to hear the older crowd talk about it all. Reminds me  that I really am a whipper snapper having come to the hobby less than… at almost exactly 15 yrs ago. Imagine the heyday of rpg was when I was a baby or at least really young (1980s). Honestly, should’ve made more panels like the one on Tabletop games in a Digital Age…next year! I swear more next year!

Edit: If you ever wonder what Zhavi looks like IRL my picture is in the pics they posted @ Dragon Flight’s Site. Telling you which is too easy you have to figure it out Where’s Waldo style!

Dragonflight will once again be offering a convention T-shirt.

Custom designed by Rob Carlos for Dragonflight XXX!  You can see the design below.  VEEEEEERY cool!

T-shirts are available in Small, Medium, Large, XL, 2X, and 3X sizes.
The price for a shirt is only $15 for Small, Medium, Large, XL.

$16 for 2X, $17 for 3X and $18 for 4x.

Pre-order your t-shirt online by logging in here and continuing to the Con registration page.

You can also purchase a T-shirt at the registration desk during the convention.

Dragonflight has just received  a very generous donation of 500 copies of “The CrossRoads of Eternity RPG” from Arcadiam Games!  Each book retails for $24.99 and we are giving them to you for FREE with your paid con registration.  Of course, only the first 500 get them.  All pre-registered attendees are guaranteed a copy!  Thank you Arcadiam Games!

http://www.arcadiamgames.com/

Episode 25 of the Seattle Geekly podcast talk about Dragonflight and interview Ken Cassady (Convention Director) and Wilhelm Fitzpatrick (Events Manager). The interview starts about 15 minutes into the podcast.

Also features an overview and interview about the costuming convention Innocente Seraphim (InnoSera).

Hosts Shannon Flowers and Matt Hammond will be at Dragonflight on Saturday, participating in the 2PM panel on Podcasting & Gaming, along with Ogre Whiteside of Stabbing Contest and Mickey Schulz of Geek Girls Rule!

The pre-convention program for the 2009 edition of the Dragonflight convention is now posted.  It offers a snapshot of the games scheduled to date.  It’s sure to change quite a bit by the time of the convention but hopefully it will whet your appetite!

Have you seen the new ads for Dragonflight on Metro Seattle buses? I think they look pretty darn cool. They’re reminding you that the oldest game convention in the Northwest — celebrating its 30th edition this year! — is coming in just four weeks. You can pre-register for $40 for the entire weekend until July 31; it will be $50 at the door. Day passes and children discounts available.

Dragonflight is looking for someone to oversee the LAN and computer gaming at this year’s Dragonflight.  Perks include free admission and lodging for the convention, plus unending fame and the gratitude of many convention-goers.

Anyone interested should contact Ken Cassady

DRAGONFLIGHT XXX

The Dragonflight Convention started in 1980 and is one of the longest running gaming conventions in the Pacific Northwest. This event gathers together more than 500 players and GMs to play in or run some 300 events spread over three days in August. Here is a list of what we offer:

• Board games
• Role-playing
• RPGA
• Miniatures
• LARP (Live Action Role-playing)
• Networked Computer Games
• Card games
• Seminars
• An auction featuring all kinds of gaming collectible
• Vendors from around the Seattle area, including Game Stores, Game Companies, Artists, Online Magazines, and other resources that are related to gaming.

Most of our events are geared toward adult and young adult players, although a growing number each year are designed just for younger players (ages 8 and up).

This year’s guest speakers will include

- Seth Johnson: lead designer for Heroclix, author of the RPG Sketch, support material for other RPG systems.
- Tim Beach: tons of mid-90s D&D stuff (Dragonlance, Al-Qadim, Planescape, Dark Sun, etc)
- Austin Searles: Designeder of “Badlands of Orgoth”.
- Matt Picio: contributor to Ad Astra Games Attack Vector: Tactical and Saganami Island Tactical Simulator 3D space combat games.

See what’s happening at this year’s Dragonflight!

Sign up to run games for Dragonflight
Information for GMs
Volunteer at Dragonflight!

Registration
Register for Dragonflight online
Full weekend rates
(through July 31) Adult/Child under 12: $40.00/$20.00
(at the door) Adult/Child under 12: $50.00/$25.00

Daily rates
(Friday, August 7) Adult/Child under 12: $30.00 / $15.00
(Saturday, August Adult/Child under 12: $35.00 / $20.00
(Sunday, August 9) Adult/Child under 12: $35.00 / $20.00

Twitter account: http://twitter.com/dragonflight
Friend us on Facebook

I will be running a game of “Urchin” starting at midnight on Sunday the 18th. Urchin is a crazy storygame which involves playing crazy homeless people who live under the subway system in New York. I ran it at midnight at last year’s Conquest and I also ran a midnight game at Dragonflight. It’s a lot of fun, but I think it should always be played late at night when you’re really tired.

Here’s the description of the game from RPGNow.com:

Urchin
By Clint Krause
Based on the Independent Film by John Harlacher

Far below the streets of New York City, the outcast struggle for survival. This is Scum City. Nothing here is certain, but there are those who say that paradise is not far away. Will you be the one to lead us all to Agharta?

Welcome to Urchin, a role-playing game of survival against the odds, based on the independent film by director John Harlacher.

The game includes:
- Foreword by director John Harlacher.
- A unique, no-prep game system, designed to force players to be proactive.
- Secret paradise realms! Crime families! Neo-Nazi youth cults!
- Ideas, advice, and more!

Curious about the movie? Check out the official website at www.scum-city.com.

Finally here’s my report on the game we played at Dragonflight:

I played “Urchin” with Mark, Clint, a woman friend of Clint’s, and a guy who just came in and joined us when he heard what we were doing. Urchin is a system where you have two stats, mind and meat, and three talents, which can be anything you want. You roll two di six and keep the highest for your mind and meat pools.

Mark played Clutch McGurkin a fellow who had the following talents:

• I am not a bum.
• Wait, wait, I read this in a magazine.
• I think I’m related to this guy.

Clint played Spaceman. His talents were:

• I’m an alien.
• Your human laws don’t apply to me.
• I have a ray gun. (really a remote control)

Clint’s fried played a nameless woman who was obsessed with shoes. She later became known as Priscilla. Her talents were:

• The past is golden.
• If the shoe fits, wear it.
• I have a coupon for that.

The fellow who came to join us had the following talents.

• I’m Elvis.
• A tinfoil hat to keep out the mind control rays.
• I know Ka ra Te !

During his first scene Mark aka Clutch decided to go get the materials to make something. He managed to make it past the junkyard dog without too much trouble and got the parts he needed. He then proceeded to rot his mind in making a plus one Atl-Atl.

Priscilla then decided that she wanted to go to the local mall and visit a shoe store. She started sneaking around the store taking the shoes of people who were trying on new shoes. She managed to steal three singles before the clerk came over to confront her. Priscilla fled from the clerk after a short argument and then managed to get away pretty easily from the security guard known as Fat Frank Miller (yes, he hates it when kids make fun of his name.)

During his scene, Spaceman decided to do a little begging on the streets and managed to make a dollar by being very strange. It was a good thing that someone made a little money or they wouldn’t have been able to pay the light bill.

The next two scenes were Clutch doing a little begging and Priscilla doing some very profitable dumpster diving back at the mall.

It was during Spaceman’s scene that the guy who played Elvis showed up.Clutch suggested to Spaceman that they work together and go try to rob a convenience store. Spaceman said, “No, Spaceman thinks we should find one of those schoolgirls, you know those Catholic schoolgirls, and steal what’s in her lunchbox.” Clutch looked at him a little dubiously and then decided he was up for it, even though it seemed pretty perverted. When they got there, it turned out that the “schoolgirl” was really a hooker. As the gm, I added that “she” was a hooker dressed like a schoolgirl. I think it was the woman playing Priscilla who suggested that “she” was a transvestite. I agreed that the hooker was actually a large black man who went by “Jamaica Jane.”

Clutch and Spaceman tried to intimidate Jane into giving them what was in her “lunch box,” but she wasn’t going to be intimidated by two crazy men. After lots of rotting of people’s mind pools, they decided to move on to a meat contest. It was at this point that Elvis decided that Jane was actually his wife Priscilla and to fight on her side. Jane had a meat of 5 so was able to defend herself until Clutch and Spaceman beat her down enough that she decided to give them her last dollar.

Jane had thrown her shoes at the beginning of the fight, not wanting to fight in high heels. The other Priscilla tried to steal them, but Jane managed to hang on to them and flee the scene, raving about crazy people. Elvis decided to follow his love and convince her to give him some more money. He managed to drive her into madness. She ran away to become part of ScumCity, and also a cannibal.

When Elvis had finished his turn and not managed to find any more money from Jane, the shoe-obsessed Priscilla decided to scrounge in the mall dumpsters for food. She managed to find a half-eaten hotdog, some movie popcorn, and part of a doughnut. She ate the doughnut and offered the other two pieces of food for trade. Elvis took her up on it for the hot dot.

Finally it was Spaceman’s turn. In the mind part of the fight with Jane, he had gone all the way down to zero and gained the belief that he knew the way to Agartha. His goal was to get out of New York. He told the others that if they could make it to a cornfield where there were crop circles, they would be picked up by the spaceships and taken to Agartha, the Promised Land. He also declared that the nearest cornfields were in New Jersey. By sheer force of personality and the fact that everyone thought it sounded like fun, the group decided that they would all go to New Jersey via subway.

They attempted to sneak onto the subway. Both Elvis and Clutch made it past the transit cops without any trouble, but Spaceman and Priscilla were spotted.Elvis and Clutch went back to help them and after a fairly short fight, they defeated the transit cop. Elvis stole his badge and gun, Clutch stole his radio, and Priscilla stole one of his shoes. Then they ran to catch the train. I had Clutch roll to see if they were trying to catch the correct train, and it turned out they were going in the opposite direction. Instead of to New Jersey, the train was heading for Harlem.

Elvis soon cleared out the entire train, except for one NYU student, who stayed in his seat reading his text book and listening to his iPod, by waving his newly acquired gun and badge around and announcing that he was the “King at Arms.” Elvis headed for the front of the train and after discussing things with the driver, who told them it wasn’t safe to turn the train around, they headed north towards Connecticut.

It was Priscilla’s turn and she announced that it was three days later. The group had somehow made it to the Corn Palace in North Dakota. We decided that they probably had hopped trains and gathered a large group of hobos along the way, not to mention having kidnapped both the train driver and the NYU kid. They had to be wanted by the FBI.

We went on to Spaceman who decided that actually they were not in the Corn Palace at all, but were really in Bellevue being treated and medicated. Mark aka Clutch suggested that the name of the head psychiatrist was Sanjay Agartha. When scumers go to Agartha they are really getting the mental help they need. Everyone announced who they were originally. The best part was that Elvis was really Elvis. He had developed Turrets and had to leave the stage.

From now on, whenever I run Urchin, the true Agartha is going to be Sanjay Agartha.

The 29th edition of the annual Dragonflight game convention just ended on August 10. Emerald City Gamefest provided support, filling several staff positions and organizing another Story Game Lounge.

ECG people provided volunteer and event coordination, assisted with role-playing coordination, donated volunteer time, took photos, designed and published the program, and organized the raffle.

Perhaps the most visible ECG contribution to Dragonflight XXIX was organizing a Story Game Lounge like the one we had organized and had been so popular in February at ConQuest NW. This edition of the SG Lounge was also very popular, running non-stop into the wee hours of the night with games like Universalis and Urchin.

Congratulations to Dragonflight for exceeding its targets in terms of attendance, number and types of events run, and general participant satisfaction!

Like last year, ECG members are providing manpower to help organize Dragonflight XXIX in August 2008.  Also like last year, the convention will be held at the Bellevue Hilton.

There will be role-playing games (RPGs), board games, card games, miniatures games, live-action role-playing (LARP), tournaments, and the famous Dragonflight auction.  We’re supplying people to help with event management, RPG coordination, volunteer recruitment and outreach, and photography.  We’re also organizing a Story Game Lounge, just like we did at ConQuest NW last February.  Stay tuned for upcoming announcements of special events.

See you at Dragonflight XXIX on August 8-10!

Our 4th of July sale was a great success. We earned enough money selling new and used games at the Metro Seattle Gamers clubhouse that we are able to secure the rest of the time needed for the Gamefest at Northgate Community Center on November 15th!

The previous two years we used the space up at Third Place Commons in Lake Forest Park. As nice as that was, we’ve outgrown that space and have decided to move into nicer digs. Thanks to the sale, and our other activities with ConQuestNW and Dragonflight, we’ve earned enough money to pay for a really nice space.

I’ve always been a huge fan of dragons and dragon stories. There’s something about these incredible beasts that just captures the imagination like no other. So many authors have entranced our minds with tales of dragons or included dragons in their stories and they’ve all added their own spin on dragon-lore. You might call Anne McCaffrey the queen of Dragon literature. She’s written more than just a series…it’s more of a saga…it’s called Pern. And it’s fantastic. The first trilogy that she wrote is The Dragonriders of Pern and the first book is Dragonflight.

It would be hard for me to give a synopsis of this story. There is so much involved in this story even though it’s not all that long. It’s a traditional fantasy set in the world of Pern. Dragonriders look after the world, protecting it from destructive threads that fall from the atmosphere as a red star passes. In return, the cities of the world support the dragons, their riders, and their Weyr (the caves in which they live). However, it’s been so long since the red star has passed that the cities no longer believe that it is a threat and will not pay their tithes. Meanwhile, the dragon queen is dying and has laid a new queen egg and the dragonriders are on a search to find a new Weyrwoman, a companion to the queen who will soon be hatched. They find her in Lessa, a young girl from the town of Ruatha. Lessa is an amazingly strong character with a very determined mind that frustrates her mate and the Weyrleader, F’lar to no end. But she will prove to be an assett to the cause. She has gifts that have not been seen in Pern in a long time.

The dragons that McCaffrey has created are simply amazing. Ramoth, Lessa’s queen is simply beautiful (from what I pictured). She goes into such vivid detail when describing her dragons and we as readers share the same bonds that the humans share with their dragons. And when we witness the first hatching, we can’t help but hold our breath and then feel warm and excited. Truly breathtaking stuff here!

If you’re into fantasy and haven’t read these yet, I’d consider it a must read. It’s most certainly a staple of fantasy literature and the defining series of dragon literature. And she’s still publishing these Pern books! In fact, if I’m right, I think her son has even tried his hand at a Pern book or two. I’ll most certainly be returning to the other two books in this series and I’m sure I’ll continue on from there. I know this is one of Deslily’s favorite series and you can read her review of this one here and she gives such a better review than I ever could!

(Cross-posted to RPG.net.)

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the PDF version of this game from the author and publisher, though I liked it enough to buy a print copy out of pocket.

Malcontent Games’ Seven Leagues is a charming, streamlined role-playing game intended to emulate fairy tales.

Style

This 126-page book is laid out in horizontal 9″ x 7″ (225 mm x 175 mm) format. It’s lavishly illustrated with classic (and happily, public-domain) art, including illustrations by Gustave Doré, Edmond Dulac, Edward Abbey, Arthur Rackham, Piranesi, etc.. The two-column layout with comfortable margins is pleasing to the eye, and the fonts are well chosen. The PDF and the colour print version are lovely; the black-and-white print version is a bit disappointing because many of the images don’t look good in greyscale.

The writing style is clear and straightforward, and manages to be evocative without getting overblown. The editing is very good, which is always a nice surprise in a role-playing game. The overview of the tone, themes, and key elements of fairy tales is very interesting and provides good advice on giving an adventure the right feel.

There is a short table of content and no index, but the game is short enough that it’s not difficult to find what you’re looking for. In a few instances, I would probably have organized the material slightly differently, particularly in the case of a few entries that might be shuffled between Part 1 and Part 2, but nothing egregious.

Substance

Once Upon a Time: The System

Character Creation. Character creation is quick and simple. As well it should in a fairy-tale setting, it consists of seven elements — since as the author points out, the three most significant and symbolic numbers in fairy tales are three, seven, and thirteen.

• Choose a Name, of course.
• Pick a player-created descriptive Aspect, such as “a fairy princess” or “a mighty warrior”.
• Distribute 13 points among three Virtues, each rated 1 to 7: Head (mental), Heart (social/emotional), and Hand (physical). The Virtues are reminescent of the division used in many games, from White Wolf’s mental, social and physical attributes to BESM/Tri-Stat’s Body, Mind and Soul stats.
• Pick a number of Charms (magical abilities) equal to the character’s lowest attribute. Charms are always expressed as active phrases countaining at least a noun and a verb; for example, “Casts illusions with magic sand,” “Lies shamelessly,” or “Animates forest plants to carry out his will.” Charms generally simply work, although under certain circumstances (e.g., when two characters are using Charms against one another), they may require a roll to determine final effects.
• Characters may also have optional Taboos, limitations or hindrances which provide interest and can be used to increase their number of Charms; for example, “Hideously ugly” or “Charms don’t work by day.” Taking two taboos allows the character to have one more Charm, up to a maximum of four Taboos for two extra Charms.
• Each character also has a Legend, a short text describing the character that helps explain what his or her Virtues represent. The player can underline a number of keywords equal to the character’s lowest Virtue. (More on keywords later.) For example:

Morko, the Bogeyman, exists primarily to punish the wicked, and to “scare straight” children and adults who are on the verge of becoming wicked. He likes to do this by creating nightmares that show possible futures of pain and torment if the wicked person doesn’t adopt better ways.

• A character’s Fortune is expressed by two polar facets: Luck and Curses, which can be used to modify rolls. Starting player characters (“Protagonists”) have no Fortune but can accumulate it in play.

Roll 13. The engine on which Seven Leagues runs, called “Roll Thirteen”, is a simple system using a d12 plus a Virtue (score of 1 to 7) plus circumstancial modifiers (+3 to -6) and narration bonuses (0 to +3) versus a standard target of 13. Guidelines are provided for the circumstancial modifiers, by task difficulty. For example:

Jill wants to climb a magic beanstalk. The GM decides that this is not too hard because the stalk is large and steady, and assigns a modifier of +2.

The narrative modifiers depend on how well and interestingly the player narrates the character’s actions. A well-delivered description gets a +1, an exceptional use of a character trait or exploitation of an opponent’s weakness merits a +2, and a stunning effect or fantastically clever description gets a +3.

Rolling a 1 on the die is always a failure, and rolling a 12 always indicates a success.

Keywords. The keywords are used in a very similar way to that found in HeroQuest. In each Tale (generally an episode), players may add – not remove – a feature corresponding to a character Keyword to the story. It must consist of a place, a person, or a thing. For example:

Annie, who plays Marissa (a waif), declares that the next village will be home to a kindly old woman who will take her in. The GM has control of the new character.

Conflict. Challenges and conflicts involving dice are handled in three stage. First, the Ouverture: the opponents make a Courage roll (based on Heart), establish victory conditions (stakes), and identify applicable circumstance modifiers.

Next, Crescendo: the two sides (either two players or a player and a GM) take turns narrating Embellishments, i.e., descriptions of actions and story elements very similar to the descriptions in Wushu, for which the GM gives Narrative Bonuses. This exchange begins with the winner of the Courage Roll and the two sides take turns until both are satisfied, usually getting two to four Embellishments per side.

Third comes the Finale: each side rolls a 12-sided die, adds the appropriate Virtue, circumstance modifiers and narrative bonuses, and compare results. The highest roll wins, but a total under 13 is always a failure, so it’s possible for both sides to fail to achieve their victory conditions, just like it’s possible for both sides to succeed if the one with the lower total (who would otherwise be defeated) rolled a 12 on the die.

The consequences of defeat are largely up to the GM; in addition to failing to achieve victory conditions, the GM may declare that a defeated character suffers a consequence such as maiming, loss of Luck, acquisition of a new Curse, loss of a Keyword, acquisition a new Taboo, loss of a Virtue point, or loss of a Charm.

The Opposition. Antagonists are created pretty much like player characters (Protagonists), although they are not limited in their Virtue scores or number of Charms and Taboos. The other category of dangers and challenges that can be encountered consists of Disasters. These are forces of nature, impersonal events, and inanimate challenges such as A House Fire, A Poisoned Apple, or A Terrible Storm. They receive very simple descriptors that include an Aspect, a Calamity rating ranging from 1 to 13, and Penalties (consequences ranging from mildest to most severe.)

Character Growth. The players need to keep track (on the dedicated space on the character sheet) of every successive narrative bonus they receive. These cumulative bonuses are the currency used as “experience” in the game. In addition, characters whose story is resolved or have been transformed through the story may be allowed to change their Charms or Taboos as appropriate.

The Hut on Chicken Legs: Setting

Although I will not dwell long on this chapter, I greatly enjoyed reading it. It discusses the nature of Faerie, its seven Provinces, and some examples of its many Domains.

The seven Provinces delineated are a creation of the author but solidly rooted in mythology; he provides a coherent structure on which to drape the stories. The Provinces are the Caverns of the Dead; Gloomwand, the quintessential dark forest (think Myrkwood and you’re not too far); Gothga, the city of crossroads, where all paths lead; Underhome, a dark underground fairyland that reminds me of the home of the Mountain King in Peer Gynt; The Clockworks, a mechanical city of wonders; the Oasis of the Burning Sands, an Arabian Tales fantasy land; and the Ice Range, the land of frost and eternal winter.

The descriptions are interesting and evocative, and many story seeds and intriguing characters are sprinkled throughout. Each province has an Aspect and three Influences that may provide circumstantial modifiers to certain actions that either are particularly appropriate or go against the nature of the Province.

Domains are smaller regions that do not have an independant existence like the Provinces, but form around a Dominant to which they are linked. An example would be a glade that formed around a powerful forest fairy. Domains and Dominants reflect one another’s character.

This chapter also discusses portals to the Mortal Lands (Kissing Points), Sorcery, Antagonists, and player Troupes (the latter being an example of element I would have preferred to see discussed in the previous chapter instead.)

Tales: Three Sample Adventures

The sample adventures are The Emperor’s Painting, You Only Live (Happily Ever After) Twice, and The Ass’ Skin. I have not tried to run any of them, though I used them as inspiration. The first and the last contain enough material that they should probably be run as multi-episode series; the other was written for a convention and can probably fit in a one- or two-episode format. They provide useful examples of story structure, Antagonists, Domains, and Disasters.

Actual Play

Game Preparation

I have used Seven Leagues to run a mini-series (“One if by Land, Two if by Sidhe”) based on the Fables comic book from the DC Vertigo line; the player characters were all Fabletown inhabitants in New York, dealing with the commotion of the incipient rebellion of the Thirteen Colonies in early 1776. I have also run a single-episode convention game (“Atlantis Under the Sea”), where the player characters were inhabitants of the sunken city of Atlantis defending their home from Leviathan. The actual play report of the convention game is posted here on RPG.net, including my approach in planning the scenario.

The game is very unconstraining for a GM; rather than worrying about system issues, you can concentrate on story elements. Indeed, it is these story elements that will support what crunch there is. The rules are dependant on what has been created through narration; if a Domain has been introduced where treachery and despair are strong, then actions taken in this direction will gain a mechanical advantage. If the Domain is one of heroism and fealty, then these themes instead will provide the mechanical bonus.

Because it’s so easy to create Antagonists and Disasters on the fly, Seven Leagues lends itself well to improvisation and to sharing control of the story with the players. On the other hand, I think it works best if this improvisation rests on a clear structure, even if it’s a very simple one or if you have to rearrange that structure mid-story. By all means, let the players run off in an unforeseen direction, but make sure you have in mind the elements of the tales that need to reappear. This will give a more unified feel to the story and will help guide the players’ invention.

Character Creation

While the convention game was great fun, it did not allow the players an opportunity to make their own characters. In our Fables mini-series, people clearly enjoyed making their own characters. The process is very simple in itself; the main challenge for a lot of players is to come up with a coherent character concept since, unlike “traditional” games, there isn’t a list of pregenerated skills or archetypes to guide choices.

I highly recommend group character creation, or at least group discussion, to help people create Protagonists that work well together and with the genre. Unlike some other RPGs, this is not a game that works well with the “A rock troll, a pixie, and a tengu walk into a bar…” approach. Guidelines should be established regarding what will work and what won’t, either by the GM or through group discussion.

For example, in “One if by Land, Two if by Sidhe” we obviously used the Fables premise and setting, but in 1776. Therefore any legend that wasn’t circulating in some form at the time was not usable. The roster we eventually ended up with included the Headless Horseman (but no Ichabod Crane, since Washington Irving had not written about him yet), the Bogeyman, Molly Whuppie, a down-on-his-luck Thor reduced to a has-been drunk, and John the Conqueror.

Narrative Modifiers

Both in this game and in my mini-series, I find I have trouble giving different narrative modifiers for players’ contributions. I tend to give +2 all around because I hate having to say “Player A, that was really good, have a +3; Player B, that was OK, have a +1.” Moreover, a speech which for a tongue-tied player is an awesome bit of narration worth a +3 may be completely banal and worth a +1 for a more glib player. So I just even things out, although that may not be the best option.

Another challenge related to narrative bonuses is that players need to track the bonuses received since their accumulation is what takes the place of character experience. I always have a hard time doing the bookkeeping for this sort of thing in the middle of the action when I’m playing, and apparently my players have the same problem. As a result, they frequently forget to make note of assigned modifiers and therefore miss out on advancement. I sometimes round things a bit at the end of an episode to make up for this problem.

These mechanic challenges aside, both the series and the convention game produced excellent narration from the players. People were full of ideas and, as soon as they saw they could freely add to the story, took off with it. They enjoyed adding challenges for their own characters, which was entertaining and made for richer stories.

And whether from the themes and motifs, the players’ cleverness or pure luck, things seem to work out right. For example, in the actual play report I link to above, the characters’ Charms, which I had written without a pre-conceived idea of how the story would evolve, seemed to be used at the dramatically appropriate moments. I had no idea whether the Charm “Can undo any knot” or “Cannot be moved from a spot when clinging with both feet” would ever be useful, but they both turned out to be key to defeat the villain of the play in a dramatic pile-up.

High Trust

Like many other games similarly based on shared narration, this game requires a good deal of trust and respect among players and GM. The effects of narration can be sweeping and unforeseen, and a lot is left to the participants’ judgement. This means it’s great fun with the right group, and hell in a group where expectations and tastes are not compatible.

It’s important to select players carefully when planning a series, to discuss the group’s expectations at the time of character creation, and to handle disagreements with courtesy and respect. This is the kind of game where everyone should be thinking about how to make others look good.

Campaign Styles

While Seven Leagues revolves around fairy tales, this is should be construed in the widest possible sense. Several of the examples in the book are based on Greek, Celtic, or Norse mythology; others inspirations include literature such as the works of Shakespeare and Spencer. Don’t feel like this system is dedicated to Disney-esque stories; it’s excellent to play urban fantasy in the style of Neil Gaiman, Emma Bull, or Charles de Lint. Movies like Labyrinth, Ladyhawk, Pan’s Labyrinth, or The Dark Crystal would also make good inspiration.

Any magical, fantastic setting that is bound by rules different from those of our world, but bound nonetheless would probably make a good candidate for a Seven Leagues game. It’s a great choice for non-gamers who want to play something in the style of their favourite urban fantasy book for the first time.

Summary

This book will please people who enjoy role-playing fairy tales: fans of The Zorcerer of Zo, Faerie’s Tale, and Mythic Russia, for example. It will also likely appeal to those who enjoy do-it-yourself abilities and systems where narration provides a mechanical advantage, such as Wushu, HeroQuest, or Dogs in the Vineyard.

People who prefer well-defined effects, deterministic target numbers, and fixed skill lists, or who are not attracted to fairy tales, will likely not enjoy the game.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the game and so did my players; I recommend it as a good introduction to RPGs for newcomers and children.

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