Author: Douglas Mota

Originally shared by Jay Iles

We’re getting to the stage of playtesting for Mirrors In the Ruins, and Douglas Santana suggested we give you the choice of a playbook to look at. Here’s the four Family playbooks that we’re putting into Mirrors – let us know which one you’d like to see most!

“another designer” here to tell you of an ongoing project! 😉

Join us to discuss content and plan future releases.

http://ufopress.co.uk/2016/06/09/legacy-mirrors-ruins/

Legacy: Life Among the Ruins Actual Play Report

[long post alert!]

The Set Up

Prompting players to each add an element to each question.

“What was the world before like?” – near future Earth, ravaged by climatic change.

“What is the homeland like?” – dramatic aurora boreallis effects, cold.

“What signs of the old civilization remain?” – large and isolated SETI facilities, dangerous ruins of cities.

“How did it fall down?” – societal collapse brought by widespread famine, unstoppable fungal infection (zombies?)

“What monsters and hazards did it create?” – a new Ice Age, the surprising return of megafauna!

After a little debate we decided the Homeland was in a coastal area of Alaska.

The game started with three families: Cultivators (mere ranchers with good access to genetic engineering), The Enclave (scientists who evacuated to large data storage facilities and geothermal stations) and Lawgivers (military personnel one step away from barbarism).

And the characters were respectively: The Hunter (tamer and hunter of megafauna), Seeker (in a clearly super advanced suit) and the Sentinel (a ranger patrolman with a skull fetish).

First Session

We drew the map adding threats and locations. The group ended up rescuing a group of refugees from degenerated natives. However the refugees had come from a city dangerously infected by the Spores. Meanwhile, a pack of dire wolves prowled the territory left unguarded on the flank of the refugees arrival. They acted with unusual coordination and rampaged at will. The refugees revealed that these wolves were responsible for the collapse of their original community. The session ended in a cliffhanger on the menace they really represented.

Rulewise things could have been better. We were all still holding on to a “roll-by-round” ratio and a brisk and immediate narrative tempo that didnt feel right. Also, we didnt end up using Treaties as we could, mostly because the group was in a very cooperative vibe. It was unclear how characters would gain Tech.

Everyone was really satisfied by the world building though!

Second Session

I started the session telling players to zoom out the timeframe – forget about rounds and minutes, think days and weeks. Also, I emphasized that Characters should cooperate, but always with the good of their Families as a priority – the game between Families IS competitive.

Everything. Felt. Right.

With these small changes the story (and the system) felt original and smooth. The transition between Character actions and Family actions became clearer. Also, I asked players to draw a new map, in order to record the events of the last session and new areas and threats.

The refugees were a trojan horse, spreading the Fungal Infection on purpose. Worse, those killed by it raised as biological drones under a sort of hive mind command. The Lawbringers were the most hardly hit, but the Sentinel dug up until help arrived. The Enclave Read the Wind to find out that hidden parties were using biotechnology to wirelessly control both fungal zombies (we used the organic drones for a while hehehe) and wolves. The Characters joined forces and brought down the zombies, relieving the Lawgivers. While the Cultivators captured and dissecated the wolves, reverse engineering the organic droning tech.

The Age Turned in a smaller degree than proposed by the book, only 4 years. But we all were thrilled to feel how the story progressed!

The Enclave faced some tough times, but persevered in usual fashion: isolating themselves and amassing a huge amount of (7!) Tech on the process. The Lawgivers helped everyone they could, and despite losses and many a hard battle they start the new age owing no one and with plenty of resources. In a twist the Cultivators Claimed by Force (with general spend of Treaties with other Families, for support) the tribal degenerates and applied the newfound tech on them, suddenly gaining a attack force and new lands. The ranchers changed dramatically by using all their moves to alter themselves and their operatives.

Mere 4 years…

And now the identity of the mysterious attacker behind the drone army has been unveiled.

Folks, does any one know of a Community for Legacy: Life Among the Ruins? How many of you own this game? Have you played it?