[OOC] Word on the street

[Wynamoinen]

Frog and Roe can decide if Cole and Victor would want to be seen collaborating with the Choppa Boys on your turf, under your nose. Yes, all this would happen off screen (though it you want to flashback one aspect or another in your first post of the next thread, that's cool) and then we'd start at the Colliseum. And yes, Roe, the Colliseum is not on Andre's turf - it's across the river, maybe 12-15 minutes away.

It's not a huge deal if we don't immediately have a reason for Cole and Brassa to be there. I can just assert you're there, and you can explain when the time comes. It's interesting that Vis suggested Brassa might be interested in Agent Kensington. I was actually thinking that Kensington was particularly interested in Victor, after the previous night's activities and Farhad's role as a past informant against Victor. So between the scene at the Blue Room and the shared connection to Kensington, Brassa and Victor might have things to talk about.

Outline of my plans: I'll start the end-of-session move to close out scene 1 either tonight or tomorrow. We can do the session move here in OOC. Then I'll boot up scene 2 over the weekend.

[Wynamoinen]

OK, let's close out scene 1 officially. It's time for the End of Session Moves! Please think about the following questions. If you've got an answer to either or both, please post here.

1) Did you learn something meaningful about a faction? If so, mark Faction for that faction (remember, this is how you advance!) and decrease your score in a different faction by 1. Explain how your relationship to this faction changed.

2) If you someone did you a favor at cost, tell the group; you own them a debt. If you did someone a favor without redress, tell the group. They owe you a debt.

For the second item, I guess I'd add "... and we haven't done this already" to both of its elements. I feel like we had this conversation a few times before - Victor and Brassa once, and Andre and Anne another? IIRC, you've already exchanged debts in those cases, so this move isn't about doubling that up.

[Elanir]

As you say, Wynamoinen, I don’t think that either point is relevant as far as Anne is concerned.

[Roekahs]

I don't think I have anything new for Victor here.

[wodine]

@Wyn Farhad was trying to be owed a debt by Mr. Farley, I think this is when I'm supposed to declare that, yes?

If not then I think +1 mortality (for interacting with all the Coliseum plebs) and -1 wild from not interacting with any of my fellow wilds this session.

[Wynamoinen]

I don’t think so? I think Farhad’s last move was a Persuade roll. The result of that was that Farley was persuaded, but he claimed a Debt over Farhad. I don’t think that interaction was a situation where Farley perceived anyone was doing him any favors, which is one thing this move is trying to resolve: the existence of any uncompensated favors.

As far as the other option, you can mark faction just based on storytelling AFAIAC. Can you tell a story that Farhad learned something new about Mortality in this scene? What was that new thing? Please tell us here. Given a such a lesson, yes I think making mortality and docking Wild can make sense. Not a lot of dragon-based drama yet…

[wodine]

Farhad's original intention was to hold the information over Farley that he was selling people out to the missionaries. Black mail is such a dirty... But accurate word.

That's alright though I'll craft a narrative probably over the weekend.

[Wynamoinen]

Next scene is up!

If you still want to make an end-of-session move for scene 1, please take the time you need to do that, still, and get those sweet sweet faction points. I don't intend to pre-empt that with the new scene. I just want to move the in-character action on.

[hafrogman]

Originally Posted by Wynamoinen

1) Did you learn something meaningful about a faction? If so, mark Faction for that faction (remember, this is how you advance!) and decrease your score in a different faction by 1. Explain how your relationship to this faction changed.

2) If you someone did you a favor at cost, tell the group; you own them a debt. If you did someone a favor without redress, tell the group. They owe you a debt.

@Wynamoinen To clarify, are we marking the faction? Or increasing it? Book seems to imply +1/-1 to the factions.

Originally Posted by Urban Shadows, pg. 78

At the end of every session, if you learned something meaningful about a Faction, increase your score in that Faction by 1 and decrease your score in a different Faction by 1.

If it's just the +1/-1 I'll probably pass. There could be an argument made for mortality increasing (due to my new reputation as a master criminal) and wild decreasing (as Justice is clearly out for blood), but I think I'll wait to see how the repercussions pan out.

Also, are we doing session start moves with the start of the new session?

Originally Posted by Wynamoinen

@Roe and Frog: I have still not enumerated or "statted" or valued what you took in the heist. I can do it as it either becomes important to your scene (if you guys sit down to talk it out) or as it becomes narratively convenient for drama .

I'm thinking as they become 'narratively convenient' might be more entertaining. That said, the tire has already been placed on my car (which I will state once I get around to my session 2 post). Up to you if it's anything more than a perfectly normal tire.

The only real idea I'd had from a mechanical perspective was not neccessarily statting everything, and linking the more random stuff to my workshop feature. Like if I want to make something with the "holy" tag, and you say "Okay, you're going to need to find a priest or priestess who's willing to bless it for you." I counter with "Perhaps there's something in the pile 'o loot that might work as a substitute?" and you decide "Yeah, there's an old saint's fingerbone in a reliquary" or you tell me to take a hike. We put a hold 2 or 3, spend 1 kind of limit on it to reflect when I've run out of useful stuff.

[Wynamoinen]

Ah, yes, thanks for the chance to clarify, I've been under a mistaken impression. I think you're correct that this is NOT a time to mark faction. I thought that by moving a faction rating up, you automatically marked faction. But that does not seem to be the case. The move literally needs to say "mark faction" to mark faction (or you need to cash in a debt, honor a debt etc.)

Though that said: triggering an intimacy move allows you to mark faction! Vis, you had an intimacy move - Lito is Mortal. Andre and Anne (both Night) had an intimacy move as well, yes?

Sounds good, Frog, with respect to the items. That's a good prompt/reminder for me, too, to think about these items in terms of their tags rather than just "urban shadows +1"

I was not planning on doing a session start move for this scene - I think it flows pretty naturally out of the last; we don't need a new set of rumors or hooks quite yet.

[jbear]

Sorry, juggling too many plates at the moment.

Anne made an intimacy move which Andre accepted.
I think it was Anne who did the learning about whatever faction the Missionaries are from. I imagine she would report back with all she learned when the possessed guy arrives. So not sure if that counts in terms of advancing with a faction.

Andre cashed in Anne's debt. Andre probably feels he owes Farhad for his role playing as his manager which landed him the match ups. So Farhad can take another debt there if he likes, although Andre would probably have some expectation for Farhad to keep playing that role up until the main event to help him navigate things if Farhad calls in that debt.

Going to read the post now and hopefully get my post up.

[wodine]

Farhad will accept and is going to go Paul Bearer on this place if there was a match scheduled without notifying him.

[Wynamoinen]

OK, well, if you've played with me before, you've heard this story before.

I want to check in with everyone in the game. I had advertised a once-per-week pace. We have not hit that pace... well, sort of ever. For the new scene, half of us hit that pace and half of us have not. I am aware that this is a source of frustration for some in the game (I'll cop to a bit of that, myself). And for others, it might be a signal that they are not feeling engaged or interested.

So, I want to carve out some space for discussion. If you don't feel willing and able to maintain participation in the game, I get it, and I do not judge. I'd much prefer you simply say so. Maybe we can fix something, or maybe the game isn't sustainable. If the current pace is a problem for you, I'd like to hear that as well. If it's both a problem, and not likely to change soon... well again, maybe this isn't the right time and place for the game. I'd prefer we talk about this and come to a mutual agreement, than let things sit and slide.

It's always a compromise, keeping everybody interested and engaged. But I don't think we're keeping everybody engaged right now (both the people who would prefer more posting, and perhaps folk who don't feel able to post weekly). We can only make things better if we know what the issues are, and if they are "fixable."

[jbear]

I'm not sure to what degree I am responsible for the slower-than-advertised pace. If it's to a high degree, I apologise if I have caused fellow players to feel frustrated.

Iron DM has absorbed some of my bandwidth recently (and could continue to do so every other week up until December), as has the Rugby World Cup. It's the final of the Rugby World Cup this weekend, so I will have a chunk of my bandwidth back by Sunday.

All said, I should still be able to maintain a once-per-week pace. I am new to the approach of Urban Shadows, being much more used to a 'group-focused' style of play, but it's interesting and I'm definitely enjoying the fresh take.

I personally do not have any issues and apologise again if I have caused any.

[wodine]

-- It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me

I admittedly have a hard time staying invested in a character and a game at a slower than once a week pace.

I'm happy with the game thus far, but at 2-3 posts a month I have to invest a lot of time really remembering who Farhad is, what's going on and what all has happened.

Normally in my games, I mandate a once per week and just skip the players who didn't post, but that is easier in Pathfinder and Naruto than it is in any PbtA game, especially this one.

I'm open to suggestions, but I would prefer trying to stick closer to once/week. Otherwise I will eventually lose interest no matter how interesting the game is. I know me. And if that means I need to step away after this scene then that's the way the cookie crumbles.