Category: The Watch RPG Community: Discussion

So we finished the Watch this week.

So we finished the Watch this week.

So we finished the Watch this week. Just wanted to thank Anna and Andrew for such a great game. “That was amazing, but intense” was a comment as we did the epilogue and cool down.

This is now my benchmark for PbTA and ranks in my top three experiences of running a game. Does everything I want as GM/MC as right up to the end I didn’t know how it was going to end.

Here’s a taste of what my Shadow on the Stars players are in for:

Here’s a taste of what my Shadow on the Stars players are in for:

Here’s a taste of what my Shadow on the Stars players are in for:

> Blaster, Laser Sword, Rifle, Starfighter, Armor. What makes your gear unique? Choose 2:

□ Your blaster is magical, but legend says it’s cursed

□ Your laser sword is crafted from the Tree of Life

□ Your rifle is famous, with a name and reputation

□ Your starfighter is large, tough, and intimidating

□ Your armour is light and menacing

Note: This game has to be special. Why not let my players have a fucking laser sword if they want one? It doesn’t mean you’re a Jedi, but it does mean you want to be an awesome swordswoman in a futuristic setting.

Thinking about how The Watch is organised, and this is what I came up with.

Thinking about how The Watch is organised, and this is what I came up with.

Thinking about how The Watch is organised, and this is what I came up with. It’s very much an ideal situation, and the actual situation on the ground is going to be quite a bit different from this. But ideally…

The smallest unit is the squad (or patrol), of 6–8 people, commanded by a Corporal.

A platoon is four squads, about 30 people, commanded by a Sergeant.

A company is four platoons plus a “platoon” of specialists, those tending the mules for the baggage train, and all of that. About 150 people, commanded by a Commander (assisted by a few Lt Commanders).

A Watch is four companies, about 600 people, headed by a Watch Captain.

There are larger groups, but that’s for sorting out later.

Spent the evening working on a science fiction version of the Clan Lands map for The Watch: Shadow on the Stars, my…

Spent the evening working on a science fiction version of the Clan Lands map for The Watch: Shadow on the Stars, my…

Spent the evening working on a science fiction version of the Clan Lands map for The Watch: Shadow on the Stars, my BBC game this year.

Great fun. Been working so much lately, I forgot what a joy it is to prep for games I’m really excited about.

The map is a giant color image of the Andromeda galaxy. Instead of town, each player will choose a planet on the map and sketch out the world they are from. I love the suggestive map icons on the map in the book. For this I’m using things like a black hole, a space citadel, and some different symbols to inspire locations in the story.

The player sheets are nearly done. I just have to do more work on reskinning the PC equipment and such.

A good night’s work. 🙂

2 Items.

2 Items.

2 Items.

1. Anna and Andrew: I’m reskinning The Watch for BBC. I will of course give credit to the actual creators, but other than credit, do you have any issue with me reformatting the game materials handout (character sheets, basic moves) into a sci fi look and feel? My goal is to change as little as possible while switching genres. I do not intend to publish, just to run an epic game.

2. Just submitted for Big Bad Con 2018:

The Watch: Shadow on the Stars

A re-imagining of The Watch as a space opera action adventure. There will be dogfights, explosions, dramatic sacrifice, and cinematic framing devices.

The Union of Free Worlds is under attack by an implacable foe from another galaxy. One after one, worlds are falling to the Shadow Legion. It’s up to the women of The Watch to stop the tide of darkness. The Watch is the UFWs new elite defense force, the best of the best from every world. Commandos, pilots…the free peoples’ last defense.

6 players

8 hours

Two questions:

Two questions:

Two questions:

How long has it been since the Shadow appeared/how long have you found useful for your campaigns? I’m trying to set up a little backstory for NPC’s that might be useful for first session.

AND

What things should I keep an eye out for Resist the Shadow? I know the things about women seeing other women as competition and the use of violence or intimidation to achieve what you want, but I’m worried about missing things. Any examples or ideas would be appreciated!

Thank you! As a nonbinary person I’m very excited about this game.

Hello everyone.

Hello everyone.

Hello everyone.

Well we finally managed to get to it. Several months later than intended my group and I managed to start our campaign of the Watch.

Our first session was a Defend the Fort Ironbriar. It flowed as designed with players still a little unsure about everything. Roles were made and narration happened. Everyone seemed to get into their characters well (rarely a challenge for my group thankfully). One character had Mila, an NPC get captured as a consequence.

Corporal Maegara the Raven decided that they would immediately move into a rescue mission for Mila. Lyeda the Fox performed a ritual, and her spirit guide showed her where Mila had been taken in the aftermath and confusion to the battle.

This ended up being a small “mini-mission” and ran smoothly. They were able to rescue Mila before the sorceress was able to perform some dark ritual that will corrupt the surrounding lands and Mila seems to have suffered no lasting effects.

They went back to fort Ironbriar and had their downtime.

The squad is now followed by large black birds, about the size of American Ravens but with serrated beaks and barbed talons. The squad does not seem to really care though. Ravens are a common site after a battle and they are near the front where all manner of creatures are warped. (Thank you Bryanna for the Raven inspiration from your own game at BigBadCon)

Downtime went well. There were some touching moments and some moments of strain as nightmares plagued Kylara the Wolf’s sleep. The NPC Deshi checked in on her and though Kylara felt more weary than before her sleep, she seemed to appreciate Deshi’s concern.

This ended our game on Friday the 6th.

The second session started with the mission to Guard a Supply Caravan. The town of Tickle Creek (thank my player Mike for that name lol) is suffering a debilitating illness. The squad is sent with medical supplies and a mandate to conscript any likely candidates for the Watch.

It’s a three day ride to Tickle Creek and on the second day the squad sees smoke to one side, at least a few hours out. The smoke is strangely colored and the squad faces a choice. They end up splitting the squad. Two of the most competent NPCs Tyla and Mousic continue with the Thason caravan. The remainder of the squad go to investigate the smoke.

Lyeda the Fox is scouting ahead with their NPC scouting partner Dalu. They report a caravan has evidently been taken and the wagons are what is causing the smoke. 6 Hollowed warriors are in the area and the squad quickly handled the situation. During the battle Lyeda realizes that her scouting had failed partially and there were several sentries joining the battle from their flank. Lyeda and Dalu rush to cover the flank and in the ensuing fight, Dalu is wounded.

Lyeda feels ashamed and guilty for the failing and the shadow takes hold of them. In the aftermath of the short skirmish Lyeda rounds on Dalu and dresses her down for Lyeda’s own failure. Dalu is hurt and the rest of the squad is shocked. Then it’s discovered that another half dozen Hollowed left this location and moved towards the town.

Their own caravan is now in danger.

We had gone really long on the initial part of the mission. So the next portion was really brief and the other force was taken care of and they were able to rejoin their caravan.

At this point a couple of our players were getting very tired so we decided to do Downtime at the beginning of the next session.

So one thing that has come up is that I have 5 players, so two people are always on “Watch their Backs”. Because some of my players tend towards “optimal” performance, it’s unlikely that they will change up the mission roles going forward until there are some compelling reasons. Add to this that the characters filling the other three roles have actually been rolling superbly, the two players on WTB have felt a little removed. They’ve only really been able to make a difference on one occasion.

I am thinking that one thing I can do is that after the main roles have all narrated the battle and the scene is set, I can let the WTB players have a few moments to narrate their own characters roles in the fight.

Are there any other things you can recommend to help those players feel more engaged throughout the mission?

Overall the game is going well. I have abandoned much of my prep work on the shadow and I am just letting what the players seem to find uncomfortable guide me in what to showcase.

One thing that seems to be a challenge is that the players really want to nail down a specific attack strategy and specific actions during a mission like you would in a more traditional RPG. We had a conversation at the end of the last game and I think they are starting to understand we need to let go of these assumptions and just let the narration stand without trying to nail down all the details before they narrate their scenes.

Do you see that a lot?

Hope you are all well.

Gearing up to run a campaign of The Watch for a group I put together originally for Masks.

Gearing up to run a campaign of The Watch for a group I put together originally for Masks.

Gearing up to run a campaign of The Watch for a group I put together originally for Masks. The way the group came together resulted in 7 players.

With Masks I would run three games a month. I would split the group and run two games of 4 players (with one player playing in both games) and then run a giant game with all 7 players. Somehow I made this worked for Masks.

I plan on doing something similar for The Watch. However, The Watch’s mission structure makes this a little tricky with 7 players.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?