Gaming and a Movie IX
As mentioned in the previous journal entry, I promised I would post about last night's gaming session.
The Friday night gaming group had decided that they wanted to play the Continuum: Roleplaying in the Yet time travel rpg once more, and since I love the game, I was only too happy to comply. One of the things I really like about the game is that it is a "realistic" time travel rpg that requires both the players and the GM to "step out of the box" when it comes to all sorts of roleplaying mindsets and the like. I've never considered that all that unusual, since after all, that's what's required to do a decent time travel game, right?
Anyway, a bit of information about the characters and their home, what's called a Corner in the game. The player characters are operating out of "A Stitch in Stone", a Corner in Ottawa, Ontario circa 1996-2010. The Corner is located in a bookstore called Basilisk Dreams Books (and the corner's home base is also a residence on 5th Avenue). Aside from the player characters, the Corner has a mix of interesting and eclectic people. Their Mentor is a strange one; he runs the bookstore they operate out of, and has a fondness for old science fiction series and movies, and goes to sf conventions throughout spacetime.
As for the player characters themselves, a bit of information is probably appropriate here. Some would call them interesting characters, others would call them eclectic. You choose. :) Kathy is playing Delia Hewitt, a computer programmer and an aficionado of the SCA. SteveB is playing David Taylor, a bookstore clerk from 1950's Chicago who had some problems Down and moved Up to Ottawa and became part of the corner here. Nick is playing Edward Mantolo, a Spanish Canadian policeman, with a record as a bit of a hardcase. Tom is playing Gerard Colombe, an electrician by trade and something of an engineer. Finally, Joanne, the relative newcomer to the Continuum game, is playing Jean Anderson, a waitress at the local Starbucks who aspires to be more. Pretty mundane characters, right? Now give them the power of time travelling Gods, and awwwaaaaaay we go!!!
The player characters were going about their normal business when they each spotted a relatively attractive young woman watching them. Before they could get to her, the young woman disappeared. Later, back at the Corner, the characters found the young woman waiting for them at the Corner, talking with their Mentor. While the Mentor warned her to be careful how she handled the situation, the young woman told the characters that her name was Violet Jones, and that they had to protect her younger self from "what is to come". Baffled, the characters continued on about their business after Violet left, although Delia decided to span around a bit and see what she could learn about stuff. By doing so, she somehow fragged herself and two of her chronies! While the Mentor assigned the other characters to do some research on the fragging, he took Delia aside and told her that he was taking her on a "jaunt", and said that she could rendezvous with them the next day at 9:30 pm, at the Corner. Before she could react, he spanned away with her!
Suffice it to say, the rest of the game session involved the player characters having to figure out what was going on, without the help of their Mentor, while Kathy's character had to deal with a little "crisis" of her own. She met her chronies at the scheduled rendezvous, and the group learned a pair of somewhat shocking truths about the situation. I finished the session with the players all talking about how they were going to deal with matters. Everyone agreed they had a pretty good time, but it did take a bit of time to get used to the Span and Yet cards once more, although they've had good practice. Joanne, still somewhat new to Continuum, continues to be taught and trained by the Mentor, and the other player characters are also taking a bit of a hand in keeping her on the straight and narrow, so to speak. Joanne said she is still enjoying the game, and made a joke or two about her Yet and the like. :) Kathy is still wondering what I'm doing with them in terms of her little "side trip", but I'm keeping mum on that one (as she may be reading this post!). Good session, overall.
After the gaming session was over, the players watched another film noir. I gave them a choice of three films as per usual, and they decided to watch Railroaded! (1947), a pretty good film directed by Anthony Mann and starring John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, and Hugh Beaumont. The plot of the film is pretty much what it sounds like, with an innocent being framed for a crime that he didn't commit, but it has some nice twists and turns. The gamers liked the film, even if Joanne and Nick said they had seen the film before on a TCM marathon or some such. Kathy liked the film, saying that she really felt for Sheila Ryan's character, and she was never sure whether she was really falling for the bad guy or whether it was all part of the plan to save her brother. The group did conclude that it was a good film, but didn't rate up there with the great films noir.
Good night, overall. :)
And now, off to make a bit of lunch. Soup and a salad, methinks...
The Friday night gaming group had decided that they wanted to play the Continuum: Roleplaying in the Yet time travel rpg once more, and since I love the game, I was only too happy to comply. One of the things I really like about the game is that it is a "realistic" time travel rpg that requires both the players and the GM to "step out of the box" when it comes to all sorts of roleplaying mindsets and the like. I've never considered that all that unusual, since after all, that's what's required to do a decent time travel game, right?
Anyway, a bit of information about the characters and their home, what's called a Corner in the game. The player characters are operating out of "A Stitch in Stone", a Corner in Ottawa, Ontario circa 1996-2010. The Corner is located in a bookstore called Basilisk Dreams Books (and the corner's home base is also a residence on 5th Avenue). Aside from the player characters, the Corner has a mix of interesting and eclectic people. Their Mentor is a strange one; he runs the bookstore they operate out of, and has a fondness for old science fiction series and movies, and goes to sf conventions throughout spacetime.
As for the player characters themselves, a bit of information is probably appropriate here. Some would call them interesting characters, others would call them eclectic. You choose. :) Kathy is playing Delia Hewitt, a computer programmer and an aficionado of the SCA. SteveB is playing David Taylor, a bookstore clerk from 1950's Chicago who had some problems Down and moved Up to Ottawa and became part of the corner here. Nick is playing Edward Mantolo, a Spanish Canadian policeman, with a record as a bit of a hardcase. Tom is playing Gerard Colombe, an electrician by trade and something of an engineer. Finally, Joanne, the relative newcomer to the Continuum game, is playing Jean Anderson, a waitress at the local Starbucks who aspires to be more. Pretty mundane characters, right? Now give them the power of time travelling Gods, and awwwaaaaaay we go!!!
The player characters were going about their normal business when they each spotted a relatively attractive young woman watching them. Before they could get to her, the young woman disappeared. Later, back at the Corner, the characters found the young woman waiting for them at the Corner, talking with their Mentor. While the Mentor warned her to be careful how she handled the situation, the young woman told the characters that her name was Violet Jones, and that they had to protect her younger self from "what is to come". Baffled, the characters continued on about their business after Violet left, although Delia decided to span around a bit and see what she could learn about stuff. By doing so, she somehow fragged herself and two of her chronies! While the Mentor assigned the other characters to do some research on the fragging, he took Delia aside and told her that he was taking her on a "jaunt", and said that she could rendezvous with them the next day at 9:30 pm, at the Corner. Before she could react, he spanned away with her!
Suffice it to say, the rest of the game session involved the player characters having to figure out what was going on, without the help of their Mentor, while Kathy's character had to deal with a little "crisis" of her own. She met her chronies at the scheduled rendezvous, and the group learned a pair of somewhat shocking truths about the situation. I finished the session with the players all talking about how they were going to deal with matters. Everyone agreed they had a pretty good time, but it did take a bit of time to get used to the Span and Yet cards once more, although they've had good practice. Joanne, still somewhat new to Continuum, continues to be taught and trained by the Mentor, and the other player characters are also taking a bit of a hand in keeping her on the straight and narrow, so to speak. Joanne said she is still enjoying the game, and made a joke or two about her Yet and the like. :) Kathy is still wondering what I'm doing with them in terms of her little "side trip", but I'm keeping mum on that one (as she may be reading this post!). Good session, overall.
After the gaming session was over, the players watched another film noir. I gave them a choice of three films as per usual, and they decided to watch Railroaded! (1947), a pretty good film directed by Anthony Mann and starring John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, and Hugh Beaumont. The plot of the film is pretty much what it sounds like, with an innocent being framed for a crime that he didn't commit, but it has some nice twists and turns. The gamers liked the film, even if Joanne and Nick said they had seen the film before on a TCM marathon or some such. Kathy liked the film, saying that she really felt for Sheila Ryan's character, and she was never sure whether she was really falling for the bad guy or whether it was all part of the plan to save her brother. The group did conclude that it was a good film, but didn't rate up there with the great films noir.
Good night, overall. :)
And now, off to make a bit of lunch. Soup and a salad, methinks...