Post by brassjester on Jul 19, 2011 22:27:42 GMT
The Dream Masters
This is an account of my first Game of DWAiTaS that I ran for my son Ben and his two friends Harry and Matt, with my daughter Lisa along helping. The Game started in media res, with them not knowing what was going on, or even what Game they were playing!
(up to last week they had been playing Starblazer Adventures)
This 'keeping them in the dark' was deliberate as it formed the atmosphere of the prologue to the first episode.
Prologue
Ben reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. He then reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. He then reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. And so on, over and over again. Occasionally he glanced to his right, where a man in a uniform sat at an identical machine, doing an identical task. Beyond him were many others, male and female, young and old, all seated at identical machines, all doing an identical task. He quickly looked back, to twist the dial again, before the punishment came. He risked a glance left, where a man, dressed in unfamiliar clothes, sat at an identical machine, doing an identical task, and beyond him, many others, all doing an identical task.
Ben felt sure he ought to know who the man in the uniform was, but could not risk asking him. In the same way, he ought to know the man in the unfamiliar clothes, so unlike the jumpsuit that Ben wore.
'Damn!' He had misaligned the dial and his machine had buzzed. He felt the pressure build at the back of his head, inside his skull, and the terrible nightmare flooded into his mind.
Later, now recovered and back at work, Ben concentrated on keeping his machine running correctly. Another transgression and he would not get the dreams that night. It was then that he heard the sound, a terrible groaning sound. Not sure if it was part of another nightmare, he concentrated on his machine. The sound stopped and on the walkway behind him appeared a blue box, with a flashing light on the top.
It was as if a fog had been cleared from their minds. Ben glanced across to his friend, Space Sergeant Harry Roberts, and across to Greg Masters, the man who said he was from Earth from many years ago. They all knew where they had been, on Space Satellite Helix II, site of the Vortex Experiment. Looking around them, this was still Helix II, but what were these machines, and what had they been doing? One thing they all remembered were the terrible nightmares.
Running up the walkway came one of the Overseers, waving at them. Normally blank-faced, she appeared very agitated. Roberts went to pull his stun pistol, only to find it missing. As the Overseer reached them, she gasped "Stay still! Only chance at the moment. Must talk before they notice"
Behind them, in the blue box, a door opened and a tall young man looked out.
"Hi. What's going on?"
(Cue Theme Music)
Game Notes:
OK, it reads a bit railroady, but there were some fun things going on. I had Ben, Matt and Harry sit in a circle and play a game. It's an electronic thing, a bit like the old 'Simon Says'. A cube, you have to press the correct coloured face and it gets faster. They passed it round, pressing the right face, until someone lost (the cube buzzes and says "you lost" (it was one of Ben's Christmas presents some years back)). They 'got the nightmare' (= lost a Resolve). Lisa was acting as Overseer, ensuring that they didn't cheat, or hang onto the cube longer than they should etc. They could ask what was going on, or talk, or do whatever they liked (except not play the cube), but they had to keep passing the cube round. At this point, they didn't have Character Sheets (the characters were pre-genned by me, based on their Starblazer characters), so only Lisa knew we were playing Doctor Who.
I let them play for three goes of the cube, before having the TARDIS arrive. The sub-space distortion of the arrival broke whatever control was over them; Lisa was pre-warned about what was going on (reasons for this to be revealed) and so acted when she saw that the others were free-willed again. At this point I handed out the character sheets and actually played the DW theme in the background as I talked through the Game system (briefly). At this point the Doctor stuck his head out of the door of the TARDIS (currently an NPC, but will be played by Lisa's husband Jon), said his catchphrase, and that's where we ended the session.
(BTW: If anyone is old enough to own a copy, this is loosely based on a story in a 1966 Dr Who Annual!)
This is an account of my first Game of DWAiTaS that I ran for my son Ben and his two friends Harry and Matt, with my daughter Lisa along helping. The Game started in media res, with them not knowing what was going on, or even what Game they were playing!
(up to last week they had been playing Starblazer Adventures)
This 'keeping them in the dark' was deliberate as it formed the atmosphere of the prologue to the first episode.
Prologue
Ben reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. He then reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. He then reached out and twisted a dial so that two needles lined up exactly. As he did so, with his left hand he pressed a red button and stamped down on a pedal, then used his right hand to pull a lever. And so on, over and over again. Occasionally he glanced to his right, where a man in a uniform sat at an identical machine, doing an identical task. Beyond him were many others, male and female, young and old, all seated at identical machines, all doing an identical task. He quickly looked back, to twist the dial again, before the punishment came. He risked a glance left, where a man, dressed in unfamiliar clothes, sat at an identical machine, doing an identical task, and beyond him, many others, all doing an identical task.
Ben felt sure he ought to know who the man in the uniform was, but could not risk asking him. In the same way, he ought to know the man in the unfamiliar clothes, so unlike the jumpsuit that Ben wore.
'Damn!' He had misaligned the dial and his machine had buzzed. He felt the pressure build at the back of his head, inside his skull, and the terrible nightmare flooded into his mind.
Later, now recovered and back at work, Ben concentrated on keeping his machine running correctly. Another transgression and he would not get the dreams that night. It was then that he heard the sound, a terrible groaning sound. Not sure if it was part of another nightmare, he concentrated on his machine. The sound stopped and on the walkway behind him appeared a blue box, with a flashing light on the top.
It was as if a fog had been cleared from their minds. Ben glanced across to his friend, Space Sergeant Harry Roberts, and across to Greg Masters, the man who said he was from Earth from many years ago. They all knew where they had been, on Space Satellite Helix II, site of the Vortex Experiment. Looking around them, this was still Helix II, but what were these machines, and what had they been doing? One thing they all remembered were the terrible nightmares.
Running up the walkway came one of the Overseers, waving at them. Normally blank-faced, she appeared very agitated. Roberts went to pull his stun pistol, only to find it missing. As the Overseer reached them, she gasped "Stay still! Only chance at the moment. Must talk before they notice"
Behind them, in the blue box, a door opened and a tall young man looked out.
"Hi. What's going on?"
(Cue Theme Music)
Game Notes:
OK, it reads a bit railroady, but there were some fun things going on. I had Ben, Matt and Harry sit in a circle and play a game. It's an electronic thing, a bit like the old 'Simon Says'. A cube, you have to press the correct coloured face and it gets faster. They passed it round, pressing the right face, until someone lost (the cube buzzes and says "you lost" (it was one of Ben's Christmas presents some years back)). They 'got the nightmare' (= lost a Resolve). Lisa was acting as Overseer, ensuring that they didn't cheat, or hang onto the cube longer than they should etc. They could ask what was going on, or talk, or do whatever they liked (except not play the cube), but they had to keep passing the cube round. At this point, they didn't have Character Sheets (the characters were pre-genned by me, based on their Starblazer characters), so only Lisa knew we were playing Doctor Who.
I let them play for three goes of the cube, before having the TARDIS arrive. The sub-space distortion of the arrival broke whatever control was over them; Lisa was pre-warned about what was going on (reasons for this to be revealed) and so acted when she saw that the others were free-willed again. At this point I handed out the character sheets and actually played the DW theme in the background as I talked through the Game system (briefly). At this point the Doctor stuck his head out of the door of the TARDIS (currently an NPC, but will be played by Lisa's husband Jon), said his catchphrase, and that's where we ended the session.
(BTW: If anyone is old enough to own a copy, this is loosely based on a story in a 1966 Dr Who Annual!)