Posts Tagged ‘audience participation’
Campaign Frame: Aethertide
April 29th, 2011
Yesterday on Twitter, I was hit with a campaign idea for a Mage: the Ascension. Long-time followers know I love love love me some old Mage. This idea drifted from there, but rather than talk about where this idea came form, let’s just get into this campaign frame (meant for any game that seems like it’ll handle the job).
Aethertide
Reason is Heresy. Conviction is Everything.
The Pitch
Start with “Mage: the Ascension, ten minutes from now.”[1] Add in some Caprica and sprinkle in some Max Attax from Unknown Armies. Then rock out with your cock out.
The World in Brief
The Technocracy got their way: the Umbra is closed and magick’s mostly dead. Paradox is barely an issue anymore — paradox spirits can’t come in, and it’s more work just to get something to work in a sleeper’s view than to get it to work right.
The Technocracy had a plan. It worked, and now they’re as dead as we are. But they were able to pull off one final stroke of magickal genius. AIs are able to exist right in front of sleepers. They walk around in automation bodies. The soulless, magick-resistant automations are continuing the Iteration. If you have flash, you should be fearing them.
Who You Are
You’re the last remaining Tradition Mages, rallying around the networks created by the Virtual Adepts & Sons of Ether. There are some renegade Technocrats as well, who realize they’ve cut themselves off as much as they’ve everyone else.
You’re also part of a plan, a cell in an operation codenamed Aethertide. You can bring back Ether, open up the Umbra, and spark magick back in the world. It’s risky; the Iterations are onto you. It might not work; a world-wide magickal effect was damned hard to pull off before. But goddamned, you must try!
What Just Happened
The Umbra closed off a year ago, at the same time the Iteration went publicly online, unveiled by {Blanking On A Cool Corporation Name}. Everyone who was Awake was hit hard–some died instantly, mostly those with advanced Arete. Most of us went into comas. A couple hundred of use are Again Awake and have been able to contact each other. The Sons and Adepts started the Neural Network, a network that cannot be accessed by machines. From there, theorists have begun work on Aethertide.
The world is getting used to friendly robots serving them in stores and cafes, just like they got used to Google and Twitter and Yelp and Craigslist telling them about things to discover and trust and try. That’s all part of the current Iteration.
What’s Happening Right Now
- There is a hospital in South Africa that has a elderly Zulu woman on life support. {Corporation Name} is providing them with free medical automations. Naturally, the world is celebrating this. But one of our own is in there, on life support. They say she’s an Oracle of Mind, who stayed behind. They say she’s part of the Neural Network’s backbone. If that’s true, soon the Iteration might have a way to tap into our last freedom.
- The earthquake in Japan was no accident. It was an attack against a {Corporation Name} plant — one that went too far. That splinter group is planning further attacks. They say it’s necessary, but they’re hurting thousands of people. And if they keep going too far, they’ll disrupt the Forces piece of Aethertide.
- There is a place in the heart of Russia that’s a wellspring of Prime. We need it. They need it. Our shadow war has been going on for three months in {Some Cool Location Name}. Commander Mehra needs reinforcements, especially those who know how to work very old Etherite technology (and most of them are still in comas).
What’s Looming in the Near Future
William McDouglas, a New World Order bastard, said that we have until May 21, 2011. That’s when the “next Iteration” is scheduled. {Corporation Name} is scheduled to unveil their newest consumer-level products at their expo that weekend.
That gives us barely four weeks. And the brightest of us are still in comas. Damn it to hell.
This is what Reason brought us.
The time for Reason is over.
Welcome to the Uprising of Conviction.
Welcome to Aethertide.
Audience Participation
What else has recently happened? What rumors are there about what’s going on right now? What else should we fear about in the near future?
Hey! If I get comments from ten other folks with ideas, I’ll post some more thoughts on Aethertide.
Which I got! There will be more Aethertide soon. But keep commenting with ideas! Some will find their way into a future post…
- Ryan
[1] Thanks to David Hill for that line.
Posted in Role-Playing Games | 
Tags: aethertide, audience participation, campaign frames, mage the ascension | 
17 Comments »
Audience Participation: What’s My “Must-Read” Post
April 19th, 2011
I’ve been told by a few people that I should submit my blog for this year’s ENnie Awards. So I’ve looked over their rules regarding e-submissions, and here’s where I’m stumped:
- Podcasts and Blogs: You must send a link to your site and specify one “must-hear” episode or one “must-read” article/issue. The judges will select another “must-hear” episode or one “must-read” article/issue that they all listen to/read. Each judge will then select another episode/article/issue.
I’m stumped because I live in my head and I just vomit forth whatever I’m thinking about. I’m sure some posts have resonated with folks more than others. So, your mission, should you choose to accept it: Which of these posts from last year (starting May 1, 2011) is my most “must-read” post? Why?
If you help me pick my post, I’ll likely by you a drink at a con, whether I actually get nominated for an ENnie or not. Because this sort of thing is drink-worthy.
My posts from the last 12 months:
- May 2010
- July 2010
- August 2010
- September 2010
- October 2010
- November 2010
- December 2010
- January 2011
- Goals for 2011
- Making Sympathetic Antagonists
- Mutant Healing Aspect
- Thoughts on Opportunities
- Happy Changes with RPGPodcasts.com
- On Luck and Wisdom
- GMs Seminar at Endgame, March 19th 2011
- Internal vs World Compels
- Don’t Define with the Negative
- Panels at DunDraCon 2011!
- A Tool for Leverage Masterminds
- How Our Covers Look In Stores
- You Don’t Own Your Message
- February 2011
- March 2011
- Audience Participation: Your Convention Kit
- Critique: “Be” Advice
- How to Crap on Your Readers with Smartphones
- How to Better Utilize Facebook as a Blogger
- Ways To Afford An Editor
- Audience Participation: How Have Editors Helped You?
- I’m a Game Advocate!
- #HappinessIs Leverage-on-Leverage Action
- The Fallacy of Punk
- Play-Review: Microscope
- Thoughts on The Long Game
- Interview about Drifting Games
- Folks I Admire: Chris Hanrahan
- A Strange, New Realization
- Concept to Shelf Episode 2
- Advice for New Bloggers
- April 2011 (so far)
- The Lasting Effects of April Fools’ Day
- Finding Your Break-Even Point
- Mythender Quick Peek: Warrior & Crusader
- Valley of the Shadow of Overcommitment
- Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Awesome
- Thoughts on Implied Setting vs Stated Setting
- Origins Award 2011 Nominations
- Reminders I Need
- Folks I Admire: Will Hindmarch
- What Doesn’t Kill You…
Again, a huge thank-you in advance to everyone who helps me out here!
- Ryan
Audience Participation: How Have Editors Helped You?
March 11th, 2011
Today, I’d like to ask writers who have worked with editors: How has working with an editor helped you?
In response to yesterday’s post, Graham Walmsley asked on Twitter for people to tell him how to make his released books better, to understand what we editors do[1]. I thought about doing that at first, but a good night’s sleep gave me another idea.
Writers: praise an editor you’ve worked with and talk about something in you work — a concrete thing, ideally — that was made better because you involved an editor. And please name your editor when you do, if they’re cool with that.
Thank you!
- Ryan
[1] Edited because I fucked up
Audience Participation: Your Convention Kit
March 2nd, 2011
Hey gang! It’s time for another post about one of my favorite topics: convention GMing! And this is an audience participation post. Talk in the comments about what you bring with you to conventions.
Here’s what I try to remember to bring, related to gaming:
- Pencils
- Index cards (I go through A LOT of index card, for notes, name texts, small character sheets, status & aspects, etc.)
- Character sheets for games
- Sharpie (good for name tents)
- Dice for the games I’m planning to run
- Tokens of various sorts
And stuff for personal care/health, related to being active for 18 hours four straight days:
- Gum. Keeps the throat moist.
- Water bottle.
I’m going to stop there, for now. What do you try to remember? What will you try to remember in the future?
- Ryan
Audience Participation: Con GM Problems
December 21st, 2010
Hey! So, in a new segment I’m calling “Audience Participation,” I will ask you guys for some input! Here goes.
Let’s assume, hypothetically, that I’m working on a book with some really cool people about being a convention GM. Yes, hypothetically. And we’ll assume that you’re the target audience for this book. With all that in mind:
Please give me one or two problems you’ve encountered as a convention GM that you wish someone would have given you advice about beforehand. It doesn’t matter whose fault the problem was — yours, someone at the table, someone totally unrelated to the game, or no ones at all. And it doesn’t matter if you know now how to deal with the problem or if it still plagues you. (I’m looking a lot for the latter, but problems you’ve solved are problems that other people still have, so that works.)
Include as much detail as you’re comfortable with. If you’d rather email me than comment here, you can to so at: AudienceParticipation@RyanMacklin.com, with the subject line “Audience Participation: Con GM Problems”
Thank you!
- Ryan
