Crescendo and the Undying Sun!

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 6

 

Shadowdark Taught Me Much

Running Shadowdark last night was a blast! Thanks to everyone who played with me. I definitely had a good time, and realized I had been running Crescendo as a "conventional" RPG for too long, and that I hated doing it that way. We'll get back to what that means in a bit, but for the moment, just put a pin in that.

The Method Behind My Madness

So this time, we’re going actually break down what I’m doing when I make the prompts I use for my players to respond to. I have a calendar and astrology I use to generate them, which is in the Heranyt setting. I use themes derived from the astrology of my setting to make prompts for the players.

• The three universes in rough orbit with Arvoita.
• The month's theme
• Whether Eous is waxing or waning
• The brightest planet in the sky, whether it's waxing or waning.

Yes, I will attempt to explain what I'm talking about.

The End of an Age

One of the things unique to Heranyt is that is part of a multiverse set up... all of which move in orbit around each other. These universes will bleed into each other, slightly. All Heranyt campaigns, from here on out, are when the orbits of the three universes closest to Arvoita (where Heranyt is) change. So we always start with three universes in conjunction, and then at some point I decide when the change begins.

Conjunctions at the Beginning

At the beginning of The Dragon's Fire, we had three Daughters (universes) in conjunction:

• Paritay, the Loving Daughter. She's leaving orbit, which means love and sexuality are just flat out bad. Weak.
• Kilpaya, the Daughter Who Competes, usually thought of as war. She's in full orbit, which means competition and warfare are good and actually solve problems.
• Jaoday, the Indulgent Daughter. She's the one who dispenses plenty. She's the one coming into conjunction, which means that providing and  giving fixes things... at a steep cost.

Conjunctions Now

But, at some point, it has to change. And now is the time. So we "move" everything down:

• Kilpaya, the Daughter Who Competes, is now leaving orbit. Warfare and competition is now bad, and its consequences are just a disaster.
• 
  
• Jaoday, the Indulgent Daughter. The problems of the world can now only be fixed by giving and being generous.
• 
  
• Sarray, the Grieving Daughter. She's about discipline, structure, and giving space to sadness. She's now coming into orbit, which means her ways solve problems, but at a steep price.

Nothing is Painless

Changing conjunctions should be painful. And this one's gonna be. Just the change, on its own, should do something. So we're going to lump that atop whatever's going on this time.

A comet streaks through the sky, and the earth quake, cracks open right through Sota City, draining the lake around it into the Undermaze, releasing the undead army into the land above. The Undermaze is flooded.

The Rest of the Astrological Times

• Starting in March (Kakusa), we move to communications as a theme.
• The bright planet in the sky is Ihanaus, which is ascendant, which means its theme is “good” or “strong”. Ihanaus is about love and sensuality and loyalty.
• Eous, the fell  green moon that hangs over the planet Heranyt, is waned, so we get a “good twist” in there somewhere.

Key these Themes to Locations

So I take these themes/beats and apply them to whatever locations the players are at. And, this time, they all are in the same location, as far as the scale is concerned.

Kaksusa 2-6

The Undermaze Proper

A comet streaks through the sky, and the earth quake, cracks open right through Sota City, draining the lake around it into the Undermaze, releasing the undead army into the land above. The Undermaze is flooded. This drowns everything and everyone right below the lake, unless you take actions to save those around you, but that will give you a level 1 Concusssion.

Players all either drown or spend Fate to reduce Exhaustion level 6, that's a Mortal Condition, so it impacts HP.

You're all washed further down into the Undermaze. You're back together. Somehow. You're in a giant underground lake, and it's cold as hell. Level 1 Hypothermia, which is Mortal.

A queensling finds the three of you, pulling you all out of the lake. There's soft phospherescent muhshrooms nearby, granting you light. As she stands above the three of you, she vanishes.

Raphael 

Raphael burns Fate to refuse the Exhaustion, so the level 6 mortal exhaustion never takes hold. When the lake collapses into the Undermaze, he moves with the current instead of fighting it, keeping control and guiding himself and the others through the rushing water.

As he’s thrown toward the rocks, Raphael turns his body and takes the impact on his shoulder and arm, protecting his head and avoiding a concussion.

Once dragged from the lake, he immediately forces himself into motion—wringing water from his clothes, rubbing his arms, and staying on his feet near the faint warmth of the phosphorescent mushrooms. By keeping his body moving and his blood circulating, the cold never settles deep enough to become hypothermia.

So Raphael walks away soaked and battered, but without Exhaustion, concussion, or hypothermia—pure stubborn survival backed by Fate.

King Melny

I spend a fate so the exhaustion never takes hold, after washing up, I make sure to reveal what I know to my friends. I do the same as Raphael. Always staying busy.

Addressing My Issues

Crescendo is a game about theme and analogy, via challenging Beliefs. A game about Wolfe shouldn't be plot-focused.  I enjoy the Archetypes system I came up with, but honestly I want images. They do analogy and theme in a way that no table of text can do, and frankly I got tired of having to use my brain to get to my gut, when I could just look at a conceptually-rich image and just... feel. That's where I'm at my best.

Enter the tarot deck, which I had been given as a Christmas present. I think it was a gag gift? I mean, Kyle and I have shared interests in esoteric stuff, and so that was probably Kyle just giving me something light and fluffy.

The System

This is actually pretty simple. We divvy up some of the Major Arcana, based upon the Beliefs, and put the rest back in the box. We use those to ponder some themes, and use them to inspire Hitting the Books. The Minor Arcana are used to help adjudicate outcomes, based upon how the player's actions match the Myth and their Beliefs.

I pulled out some Major Arcana that represented the gods most active in the player, generally around 9-12. At the end of each Chapter, I'll draw a Major Arcana and just... sit on it. Pull it out, over the week, and look at it, ponder the image, just in and of itself. Since the Arcana was derived from the Belief, that will actually put in ideas about challenging the Beliefs themselves.

The goal is to provide an environment that makes acting upon Beliefs dramatic. For all you old-school types, I am literally taking your principles and trying to apply them in a spiritual/anagogic context. The Weaver is trying to produce an anagogic environment for the players to thrive in. This is because, if you focus on the Beliefs themselves, you'll burn out. Trust me, did that with Burning Wheel, and I have no interest in going back to nitpicking someone's verbiage to death.

True conversation happens by way of analogy. So let's just do that.

Chapter 6, Kaksusa 7

So last night nobody showed up for the first 45 minutes! Jesse messaged me about 35 or so minutes into the stream and went "Can we do tomorrow?" and I told him, "No, we can't, because I have four kids and they'll be adapting to Daylight Saving's Time tomorrow." I was coming up with a "Just the Weaver" Chapter ideas...

And then Jesse showed up.

Like a freaking boss.

I pulled out the Tarot deck.

And we got started.

Reflections

Having conceptually dense images to look at and flip up during the session really helped me stay on track. This was, by far and away, the closest deliberate execution for weaving Crescendo I have ever done. And it ended extremely well. I love how Jesse engages things, and it was great just playing off of him.

Making something genuinely new and unique is hard, folks. But man, that was gameplay that actually stood alongside the more literally-minded Shadowdark. I still feel like I've barely touched the surface of what the narration/interpretation gameplay of Crescendo can do. And I can't wait to try and sharpen that next time!

Addendum

There are times when you can feel that an epic is coming to a close. And that has begun. Melny has declared his identity, and the only question now is whether or not Jesse can keep that up. Tasha's getting ready for it. I think Cal will be ready, but he's gotta get working internet to get Alistair there.

The end of Crescendo is when players start declaring who they are, not what they believe. It's a fine difference, but it's important. When that starts happening, the end is upon you.

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 5

By this point I was getting used to the rhythm. 

Sononn 17-28

Sota City

Legion manages to take over a number of the prostitutes, who throw themselves into the gigantic pit into the Below City, said to lead to the Apocalypse Ship. They fall without a sound. The soldiers managed to stop many of them, but were forced to kill some when they suddenly grew claws and lunged. A few of the soldiers proposed to their favorite whores... and somehow it worked?  At least for the ones who say "Yes!" They're married by the priests, quickly and then those soldiers were released from duty for the rest of the week. 

Raphael

Raphael watches it all with his jaw tight and his patience thinner by the second.

He leans on his spear, eyes flicking from the pit to the soldiers to the weddings, brows knitting. "I leave the city alone for five minutes," he mutters, voice dry as dust, "And Legion starts throwing brides and demons into the same problem."

When one of the possessed lunges and gets put down, Raphael exhales through his nose- annoyed, not surprised. But then he noticed the copules actually working, preists scramling, rings slapped on fingers, he tilts curiously. "... that shouldn't work," he says, flatly. A beat. "I mean, good for them but still. That's not how possession usually responds to romance.

He straightens, rolling his shoulders, eyes narrowing at the pit. "Alright, Legion," he calls out under this breath, sassy edge creeping in. "But if you think I'm letting this turn into a city-wide speed-marriage apocalypse, you're about to be very disappointed."

The Undermaze, Sota Cluster

The remaining bulls go out to fight the queenslings, who now have an army again. They have to bring the Solidified Flame in to break holds over the bulls who haven't died.  That kills many of them, just outright. The queenslings are driven away, but the losses are bad.

Alistair

The best offence is a good defense. I work wit hthe minotaur leadership to set up a heated "funnel". Because of the size and inreasing frequency of attacks, we strategized   a plan to collapse tunnels and set up murder holes  to redirect and slow attacks as best we can. We will clog the labyrinth with their corpses- if we must.

The Undermaze Proper

King Melny is... adopted.. by a large insectoid thing, who won't let him leave, but won't let anyone else harm him. For those two weeks the thing feeds Melny, regurgitating stuff full of squirming... somethings... into Melny's mouth. Is Melny hallucinating that? Who knows? But he has to eat something.

The insectoid thing loses its head to a mate. And she chases King Melny further into the depths.

King Melny

Mel would continue to find his way out. After escaping the last creature, he would carefully trace his way through the caverns. I would at times try and see if Junior (a creature King Melny had summoned and has a mystical connection with)  could be contacted through our bond to see if I could trace my way up.

He never comes.

Chapter 5, Kaksusa 1

Cal's internet was still out, and Jesse was MIA (turns out he accidentally fell asleep), so we ran with Tasha again! And it was awesome!

Reflections

There's cracks showing up for me, but I can't put my finger on them. This is fine, but there's a spark missing, and I don't know what it is yet. Time to wait and see it play out some more!

Demons' Blues: Book 1, Chapter 4

Demons' Blues: Book 1, Chapter 3

Demons' Blues: Book 1, Chapter 2

Demons' Blues: Book 1, Chapter 1

Demons' Blues: Hero Creation

 

a

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 4

Sononn 9-15

Sota City

The Ascension Rite Argenti absolutely purge all Ferren Descension Rite traces. Descension Rite clergy who will not switch their allegiance to the ecclesiarchs of the Argentum Empire are driven off, and the worship spaces are reconsecrated. Some of the Ferrens respond by fornicating with whores in the reconsecrated places, defiling them. All Ferrens have their cut in half, with the penalty for Ferren desertion increased to public drawing and quartering.

Raphael

Raphael didn't rage. He smiled.

While the Argenti priests were busy chanting and repairing sigils, he strolled through the freshly reconsecrated  grounds, like he was inspecting a new throne room. He game a slow, amused clap.

"Creative", he murmured. "Desperate, but creative."

Then he had the whole place scrubbed clean again. Not in anger. In style. Silver braziers relit. Banners hung higher. Incense thicker than before. If they wanted spectacle, he'd give them something worth kneeling to.

When the pay cuts were announced, Raphael didn't stiff beside the officers. He leaned. Arms crossed. Watched the Ferrens swalow their pride like fine wine. He caught the glaring. The ones pretending not to. The ones thinking about running.

"Desertion? Drawing and quartering? Publicly? Oh," Raphael said to no one in particular, "now this is getting interesting." That night he doubled the guard- not dramatically. Just a few quiet shifts of power. Loyal Argenti in key corridors. Supply lines sealed tight. Sanctums locked down like a vault. Not because he feared rebellion. Because he wanted to see who was bold enough to try.

And if someone did?

Well.

Raphael always enjoyed a little bit of curiosity.

Undermaze- Sota Cluster

A creature calling itself Legion possessed a bunch of minotaurs and attacked the reamining unpossessed minotaurs. They were pushed back and killed. The remaining minotaurs were seriously injured, and were unable to travel. The nearest cluster was many miles away. There was nothing to eat, and King Melny was just... gone.

Alistair

I use my healing sword to get anyone injured healed enough to start an evacuation effort.

Undermaze Proper

King Menly outraced stray queenslings, some of who were possed by Legion. Lultiple monsters came at King Melny over the next few days.

King Melny

Meny killed and ate what he had to, raw. If possible he would kill kill everything possible to find a way out. Unfortunately, this gives Melny Hallucinations 01.

Chapter Four- Sononn 16 to 17

Cal still didn't have internet, and Jesse was unreachable (probably passed out, given that he stays up pretty late to play with us). So we went... and. Well. Tasha did something just completely and unreasonably epic.

Reflections

We got a shorter wait time between sessions, and it didn't disappoint here either. We got to do something really epic (which is Tasha's bread and butter), without having to worry about how we got there during the session... because we had already gotten there.

1:1 time is awesome. It just is. I'm hooked.

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 3

Passouan 11-17

The players had split from Chapter 2: King Melny, Alistair, and Wolf going into the Undermaze, and Raphael staying in Sota City, since Tasha had missed the session. So I started writing two prompts: one for Sota City, and the other for the Undermaze.

Sota City

The human element has lost half its contingent, with Lord Sylvain running away with his "camp follower", Vivienne, to parts unknown. The remaining contingent is paid to stay there by Lord Auguste, who is loyal to King Melny, but he's gonna run out of cash in a month.

Raphael

I stayed on the walls as Sylvain fled, watching half the humans vanish with him. I marked the roads to Sota Fortress and counted Auguste's coin, knowing it wouldn't st the month. With the month of Sonno closing in, I began preparing for the day the humans fail, so their would collapse would not take us (the elves who had recruited Raphael) with them.

Undermaze- Sota City Cluster

The minotaurs captured King Melny, Alistair, and Wolf very quickly, along with the half-dozen children they had rescued. The minotaurs were infuriated that Alistair and King Melny had broken their vow to never reveal the secrets of the Undermaze, even for children's safety. They considered abandoning King Melny and Alistair deep under Sota City, by the Apocalypse Ship. If The Outsider wanted them to survive... they would.

The rival minotaur, Artur, broke into the prison with his bulls, and rescued all of them on Passouan 17.

Passouan 18-30

Unfortunately I couldn't host the next week. We had a family trip to do. So I wrote up a new set of prompts for them to answer. With kids getting sick the next week, I decided to extend the timeframe the prompt happened under.

Sota City

The Knight (the death knight leader of the infinite zombie horde that's always streaming out beneath Sota City), comes under a flag of truce and declares those mortals who work under him won't be eaten. He offers clear and obvious terms: lieutenants in his army and full protection. 

Lord Auguste promises any who accept this offer will be shot immediately. Some still manage to desert to the Knight.

Parties are held on the walls to taunt the undead who can't get up there without help from the dragon.

Raphael

I don't debate. I act.

I kick a chair off the wall, wine falling below, and draw steel just long enough to make a point. I glance from the Knight's tidy little flap of truce to Auguste's execution promises and sigh:

"Immortality with benefits or loyalty with a firing squad," I say dryly. "Hard choice," I wave my blade at the gate. "If you're going to leave, do it quickly. The dragon hates late exits."

I grab a fresh drink, lean back against the battlement, and toast the dead below. "Sorry boys, private party."

The Undermaze

Artur is poisoned by an ex-lover, and collapses. An insurrection is led, but ARtur's supporters bring out Solidified Flame and use it to break the will of the insurrectionists. The victory is celebrated, tense as it is.

Alistair

I attempt to use the sword (which heals what it cuts) to save Artur (Weaver note: success!).

During the week, I spend time with the insurrectionists, mostly just to listen to their grievances so they can be brought forward so the responses and reasoning can rectified.

King Melny

King Melny spent time with Alistair, but to see how he could manipulate the minotaurs.

Sonnon 1-7

... and then we lost another week. This one was more due to total scheduling SNAFUs, along with kids going to bed way too late. So we're coming up on a month with no actual play sessions! I was pretty discouraged. It also didn't help that I had been getting news of multiple family members coming down with cancer amidst everything... and just wanted a break. And couldn't get one. But, I figured "What the hell, why not," and sent out another pair of prompts.

Sota City

The Argentum Empire has arrived, with a full army... and are taking over the human part of the operations from the Ferrens. Forcibly. Any commoner who disagrees is exiled. Several knights would wouldn't accept a commission in the Argenti army are publicly executed.

There's a real supply chain now.

The Argenti are much more... sensual.. than the dour Ferrens. They bring plenty of women, openly, and the ensuing debauchery for the Festival of the Solar Trial, when Telos begged for the children Arvoita before the betrayed Outsider) shocks the Ferrens, who at least keep their whores hidden in their tents.

Raphael

I stood on the edge of the celebrations, armor on, eyes everywhere, while the Argenti drank, laughed, and claimed the camp. I made sure the supply lines held and the executives stayed a finished business. Festivals make people careless - so I stayed sharp, counting blades, watching loyalties shift, and preparing for whatever happens after music stops.

The Undermaze- Sota Cluster

The queenslings, a race of beautiful women made out of stuff darker than shadows, seeking anything warm to drain, happened upon the minotaur cluster. They drained several of the bulls of their warmth, creating undead thralls of them. They struck during the feast of the Solar Trial, and if not for the festival it would have gotten worse. They were driven away... and then the funnels began.

King Melny

"I can fix her".

I would most likely stay out of sight and observe. seeing what can be seen and what could possibly be learned from the encounter. As well as see what would be used to my advantage.

Alistair

Alistair was a part of the team driving away the queenslings. Light will touch all.

Chapter 3, Sonnon 8

Finally, we had an opportunity to play!

And it all seemed to fall apart.

Tasha had an emergency she had to take care of, right then and there. Cal's internet was out as part of an ongoing issue, and he still couldn't play. So, I asked Jesse if he "just" wanted to a 1v1. Normally Jesse doesn't do those. He likes the interplay between the people. But it had been so long.

And what happened was pure gold.

Reflections

Honestly, folks, since Christmas has been rough on me and mine. There's been a ton of illness, terminal announcements, and games just haven't run. I know what would normally be happening right at my tables if something like this hit: the steam would be slowly coming out of the campaign. It just would.

That isn't what happened. Quite the opposite. We just kept running the off-session prompts, let time pass organically, and when even one freaking person could get on and play, we had a blast. The momentum of the campaign didn't stall, it didn't even stutter. I have never seen anything like this, period. If anything, momentum continued to build, even with more missed sessions and real-world tragedies!

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 2

The Dragon's Fire: Book 3, Chapter 1

Heranyt Playtest and The Dragon's Fire - Passouan 4 , 5 and 6

I like reading setting books. I like having a coherent set of vibes that I can just lean into on evenings where I don't feel like reading something more "substantial". Just soak in the vibes.

I hate using setting books while running games. I hate it because there's either too much lore or not enough, and it's impossible to just use the lore immediately. I don't know anyone who personally used a setting book as it was "intended", and the only people I know of who sorta did were using 4e DnD books, which have a lot of crunch in them: using the setting book changed the game itself, so they used the book.

So I decided I wanted to actually make a setting book that could be used, as-is, in a game of Crescendo... which meant that Crescendo needed to be done. And it is. We're getting the text firmed up, which is why it's in Ashcan, but the game's mechanics are done.

So I decided I wanted to make a setting book. Which meant actually making something I would use at the table. This time I decided to try and document what I'm doing in a somewhat public fashion. For funsies.

What I Look for in Designing a Game

The simplest measurement I have for when I design a game or game supplement is that it gives back much more than you put into it. My time is valuable. If the process for playing a game doesn't yield something that's obviously going to be worth my time, I don't want to design it. Or play it.

Now Hold Up

That doesn't mean that the game doesn't take skill or time to master. Or even that the game is easy. I make hard games. Crescendo is a very difficult game to master. The initial entry is quiet low, but once you realize what the game is doing... it takes a long time to produce truly epic results. But the process is extremely rewarding while you do it. It's a process that's fun and challenging.

The Heranyt Setting

So, why my homegrown setting? Simply put, I know it. I have played in it for a long time, and feel comfortable with how much lore should be put in, and what I use. Also, this may come as a surprise to some, but I make my games and stuff so I can use them. For my own amusement. So if I am going to make a setting, it's a setting I am going to use. For me. And that means Heranyt, if I'm going science-fantasy.

Playtesting

Now, the big thing that I insist upon is that setting books fundamentally change how the game is played. It's not merely a skin, it's a different way to play that system. I have absolutely no want or need to make a setting that doens't fundamentally change things.. but I couldn't think of anything. I knew things were missing from the Crescendo experience, but then suddenly-

1:1 Time (It's John McGowan's Fault)

 

- I freaking read "The Living Campaign", by John McGowan, a nice guy who decided to write about how 1:1 time could be useful. For those of you who don't know, 1:1 is an older concept in Dungeons and Dragons, which says that game time is tied to real-world time. Sessions of play are more or less when you check back in with your characters and do something dramatic. 

Something about this setup clicked with me. Wolfe stories weren't quite this formula, but the idea behind all Wolfe stories are that there's something huge going on the background, and it is "the plot". The story is about what happens to the characters when the plot hits them... and then leaves. 

So 1:1 time wouldn't look like in Crescendo what it would in DnD, and that's fine.

The Procedure

Heranyt has some light gameplay astrology to it: the seven planets hang in the sky, and they affect things. 

How Does the Situation Progress?

I would roll a d20 for the scale of the event that day:

1: The situation is totally screwed. Downfall.

2-8: The situation gets worse.

9-14: The situation doesn't get worse.

15-19: The situation slightly improves.

20: The situation improves dramatically.

The Initial Situation

I made a calendar that told me when the principle planet was ascendant (doing good stuff) or descendent (doing bad stuff). For weather, I know that the general location we're at is actually decently similar to my own, so I just check the weather for the day at my house.

How Does the Situation Progress?

I would then check to see if Eous the Evil Moon was ascendant (screwing up the initial bad situation) or descendent (making the situation better). 

The Resolution

I would reference a random line from my journal, to see how it all ended up.

How This Looks So Far

So, here's what we got so far. I s tarted on January 4th, which on my calendar is the 4th of Passouan. It's technically winter, but the locale's in the more southerly climes, relatively close to a gulf. So it's actually decently warm. Here's how the plot's progressed at Sota City, where an uneasy alliance of men and elves keep back the eternal tides of undead attack.

4th of Passouan

Two days from now is The Drowning of Telos, when he was said to have met Elpida, the Flame Eternal. 

Unfortunately,  on this warm and temperate day  General Juhani, a popular elven leader, dies protecting his elven guard from a surprise attack led by the dragon and The Bride. Morale is very low amongst the elves. There wasn't even a body left.

Kuri

So, Kuri responded with two accounts: a historical account and one from the standpoint of her character, Raphael. I didn't anticipate this. I was overjoyed. Both were okayed, given that Raphael's survived run-ins with actual gods before.

Account of the Witness 

On that same day, the one who would later be named in the Wars to Come stood among the elven host, sworn neither to command nor retreat. They felt the turning of fate before the dragon was seen, and raised warning even as shadow fell upon the terraces.

When the attack came, they fought to hold the line beside Juhani’s guard, drawing steel and spell alike. They survived the firestorm only by chance—or by design unknown—cast to the stone as the General made his final stand.

When silence returned, it was they who first rose, and it was their voice that called the living together amid the ruin.

For this reason, the chronicles name them not as a savior, but as the Last Witness of Juhani, from whom the true account of the Fourth of Passouan is known. This what I have written or in historical addendum brain today I can change it up if need be.

Raphael

I stood among the guard when the air turned wrong, warm as a forge without flame. Two days remained before the Drowning of Telos.

The dragon came with the Bride. General Juhani placed himself before us and was unmade. No body remained—only scorched stone.

I fell in the fire.

I did not burn.

When the dragon withdrew, I alone rose where I had fallen. The host was broken, and mourning was decreed.

Fifth of Passouan

Kuri- Raphael

The day before the Drowning, on this day, a hundred of the elves sailed to the stars, hearts shattered by the death of Geneal Juhani. Defenses against the horde are worse than ever before. An envoy has been sent to the wolves of Serpent Forest, and prospects look good. 

I keep watch.

While others mourn or flee to the stars, I walk the walls and count what still stands. I test blades dulled by neglect, trace runes that no longer answer as they should. Juhani is gone, and with him the certainty of command—but not my purpose. I listen for the drums of the horde in the distance and for the answer that may come from Serpent Forest. If the Wolves answer the envoy, I will be ready to meet them. If they do not, I will be ready to hold the line. Either way, I do not leave. My survival—and this stand—were never accidents.

I remain not by chance, but by design—set aside to remember what others were meant to forget.

Sixth of Passouan

It’s a warm winter’s day, the Drowning of Telos is today. Heavy rains cancel the festivities for off-duty soldiers. Drunken debauchery amongst the humans follows, elves are disgusted.

Kuri-Raphael

Rain drums the eaves where I stand still.

Below, humans drown in ale and noise,

laughter rotting into shouts.

I do not drink. I watch—

count guards, note shadows, feel the night shift.

An elf turns away in quiet disgust.

I stay, sober with memory,

waiting for the rain to end.

Conclusions So Far

Only one of the four players has provided responses so far. I don't know how that's going to go, come game time and only one of the four players has been tracking things.

But I think this is the best way forward. I may have to figure out what that means, practically, but it's definitely... it feels right. This is amazing. I love it. I just need to figure out how to channel it to others. 

We'll see how this works!

Eating Crow: Positive Design and Mustafar

Eating Crow is when I admit a previous blog post was wrong, and why I think it was. This is a continuation a previous post. I recommend reading it. 

The Mustafar Duel is one of the big influences on Crescendo. Two brothers who have been molded by their experiences, who thought they meant the world to each other, only to discover they value their ideals more. This kind of moment should be happening in Crescendo all the time! But, in my years of playing, it has never come up since the metacurrency is dropped. 

Why?

Metacurrency is one of the chief tools of what I call Positive Design: do a thing and get rewarded for doing it! This triggers the Pavlovian response, and players then go for those kinds of actions instinctively. It’s a powerful tool. But this kind of design has a downside: it can short-circuit the soul. People just start chasing the kick. So, for a long time, I removed metacurrency rewards from Crescendo and focused on Negative Design, which allows players more inherent freedom. This sounded like a good idea. And I think Crescendo is a great game as it is in part because I focused on making the game inherently fun, without the dopamine kicks. Gameplay is smooth and easy and surprising. No session of play is like another. As it stands, Crescendo is by far the best long-form “storygame” I have ever seen.

But. There’s not even one Mustafar match, in a game about Heroes possessed by Beliefs. And that’s not how that’s supposed to work. Heroes are uneasy allies normally, or passionate friends/enemies. Crescendo not doing that experience is a critical flaw.

So what gives?

Well, it turns out I messed up. See, certain actions are just inherently unpleasant. Sticking to your Beliefs past the point of opposing another player is one of them. So the dopamine rush incentivizes you past the discomfort. And there are moments that should happen in Crescendo that are very uncomfortable. Like almost killing your brother. 

So, here’s how I changed the game. About a week before editing begins. It’s fine.

Fate Points

This is a metacurrency that can be spent to reduce the Margin during a Defy (which keeps the setting from changing in huge ways) or reduce an incoming Condition’s level, one for one. 

If you beat a Defy by 3, you can spend 3 Fate Points to make the Margin 0, instead.

So if you get a level 6 Lonely Condition (which would kill your Hero), you can spend 5 Fate Points to make it a level 1 Lonely Condition instead.

 You may cancel a Crescendo (a huge plot twist which has enormous consequences) for 8 Fate Points. Hit the Books to see what strange thing happens instead.

End of Chapter 

Go through each Belief. If there are multiple Players, go to a different Player each time. 

- Did you act on the Belief in a way that created trouble for others, particularly the other Players? If so, record a Bullet Point (a sentence in your Journal, which counts as XP for advancement) and take a Fate Point. 

- Did you act against a Belief in a way that created trouble for others, particularly the other Players? If so, record two Bullet Points. One is the action, the other is why you did it. Take two Fate Points. 

-If there are multiple Players, did your actions cause another Hero to receive a Condition? If so, take a number of Fate Points equal to the lowest level of Condition received. Write the Belief you acted upon to harm the other Hero as a Bullet Point.

- If you change a Belief voluntarily, take a number of Fate Points equal to the number of Chapters (sessions of play) you held it for.

Normally I would be reticent to allow Fate Points to be taken for acting on or against all your Beliefs. The dopamine kick would be very strong, and players would start gaming the system for Fate Points instead of actually role playing. 

But Crescendo has an answer for this: the Journal! 

You have to write the action down, forcing the more rational part of the brain to tun on alongside the dopamine lover, which is definitely one of the most human things one can do. It turns from “press button get pellet” to “I did something meaningful and here’s a pellet!” Humans are rationalizing animals. The more often you can get both halves of that existence to turn on at the same time, the better your life.

A further knock-on effect is that the Weaver can really take the gloves off. Role playing is a social activity, and giving out Conditions hits the “feel bad” center in the brain. Players, however, now have a means of lowering the sting, should they choose, using resources they earned. Defies, which can be extremely tumultuous, can be used only when the player actually wants to. Players have more control over the story… provided they mess things up themselves. From victimizing to empowerment!

Positive Design got a bad rap from me in the previous post. Not all actions are inherently pleasant, even if they’re very important to the experience, and therefore Negative Design can’t do much with them. In these cases, Positive Design can smooth over the rough edges, incentivizing actions that Negative Design simply can’t address. It’s a rough lesson to learn, but a vital one.

Creating Roleplaying Opportunities

The other week I played DCC for the first time. It was a blast. I had a wonderful time. Three of my level zero wusses died in the first session, in hilariously awful ways. Blood was flowing, we were solving puzzles and trying to survive... and boy was I failing. But I noticed something while we were having a great time: we weren't really roleplaying, as I had come to understand it. Again, I had a blast! I was engaged! But it wasn't like we were truly RPing.

This isn't a complaint. It's more of a meditation. A processing. Please keep something in mind: I have been playing either Burning Wheel or Crescendo constantly for going on... ten years? I have been steeped in very deep, narration-heavy, roleplaying for a very long time. I don't say that as a boast. It's a fact of my life, and in order for this post to make sense, you have to know that.

Now, I am a firm believer that systems influence people. I think it's possible to encourage people into roleplaying more, into any system, with just a few modifications. After thinking about it, here's what I thought of:

Whenever possible, hook mechanics into roleplaying.

You can't make a fictional world in an RPG without the rules the players agreed to. Throwing the rules out actually makes the world incomplete. I've found that the more you bring the rules into roleplaying itself, the better the roleplaying itself is.

Hold any possible skepticism for the moment. Here's some ideas on how you do it. 

Use Their Player Classes/Archetypes/Backgrounds to Describe Scenes

Whenever you're done describing a scene, ask each player to add a detail that would interest their someone of their class, archetype, or background. Let the players add to the scene. Let them help you tie the noose.

Players Must Justify Success

If a player doesn't narrate why they should succeed in their action... they don't. It's not "Roll for it", it's "No". That simple. 

Rolling comes up, generally speaking, if the GM feels that the plan given by the player might be plausible. This one little rule will almost entirely do the trick, just on its own. If you require actual narration, with an attempt to solve the problem before them, players will do it. 

Justify Advantage When Rolling

Rolling should never be neutral. Either the player has justified having advantage on the roll or they get disadvantage. 

This comes down to system choice, of course, but the general mechanics of most RPGs can be fit to this rule pretty easily. This rule keeps the player engaged in the fiction, even as they pick up the dice. It's a small trick, but it keeps the flow of narration going. Be more merciful than not. Rolls are usually instigated by the GM, not the player, so if you're forcing a player to fend for themselves and then not be terribly lenient about them responding it's actually going to kill engagement. Let the players feel like they're rising to the occasion.

Let Them Narrate the Loss of HP

Or whatever negative stuff you have in your game. If something happens to the character (like gaining Stress, losing HP, gaining Conditions), ask them what that looks like for their character. Players naturally want to use the system to describe their characters. Let them! They'll invest if you let them do it.

Conclusion

The idea that the fictional world is complete without the rules of the game doesn't really work, because it doesn't. You aren't just playing make-believe, you are using a ruleset to guide make-believe. Bringing the rules into the fiction, to make it an aspect of roleplaying, makes the overall experience more cohesive. The rules are in the world. You bring the rules in, and the loop is complete.

The Real Point of Crescendo

I close my eyes. And remember. The first time. Didier, dark elf, had finally killed Aliana the Succubus. He filled her with arrows. When her body didn’t vanish back to the Nine Hells like it should have, Didier cut her open. 

A blue flash. A sonic boom way above. The others murmured in concern. What omen was this?

Didier didn’t care. 

You see, Didier’s wife, Ilia, was dead. Aliana had killed her. And now that Ilia was dead Didier had nothing left. He pulled the burning rubble together to make a pyre. He dragged the desecrated corpse atop it. Called his bear companion to him. Stroked it. Leaned into its nuzzles. 

And then cut its throat. 

The bear fell upon the pyre without a sound. Blood poured. Iron steam streamed to the heavens. Sparks followed. 

Didier knelt in his friend’s corpse. He added his howl to the smoke, steam, and sparks. He screamed to the Nameless Raven Queen, in her frozen castle. He demanded the soul of Aliana never rest. That her myriad schemes bear no fruit. Didier thrust his knife to the spark and smoke-choked darkness above, feet driven like stilts into the bloody depths of his bear, and demanded that he be heard. Now!

Silence. 

Everyone looked at me. 

 “Well, Mr. Dungeon Master?” Jedd’s voice was soft. But unyielding. I realized I had to talk. What do you say to such a thing?

“Lightning. It comes down. Engulfs your blade. The pyre is destroyed in a roar. No bodies are ever recovered.”

A silence enveloped the eight people around the table. We ended the session. 

I painted that scene. It still hangs on my wall.

Not too long after, I ran my first campaign of Burning Wheel. The first session revolved a young princess discovering her fairy godmother, a tall and black-haired beauty, had an evil twin sister, who had angered the forest gods. Slighted them. Stolen from them. 

And the gods demanded recompense. 

The evil twin couldn’t be found. The princess  and some of her retinue searched and searched, but they couldn’t find her. She had escaped. The gods would not be mocked. They wanted blood and suffering. So the fairy godmother offered herself in her wicked sister’s stead. 

What followed I can’t adequately describe to you. I will try. But forgive me, I failed before I started. 

The princess begged the gods for more time. She was refused. She pleaded. And pleaded. This was more than her friend. The fairy was closer to her than her own mother! Surely something could be done! The gods said there was no more time. The princess offered herself. The gods told her she wasn’t worthy without a second thought. And so, ever so patiently, the fairy godmother talked the princess into letting her go. The princess’s voice never rose. It never broke. But the confusion. Oh, the confusion! The fairy godmother had done nothing wrong! Why should she pay for her sister’s evil? There was no answer. Eventually the princess gave in. With one last smile and a lingering squeeze of her hand, the fairy godmother walked into the dark forest. And she vanished. Without a sound. She just winked out. 

I can’t tell you what that room felt like. I can tell you eyes were wiped. A few got up hurriedly for a smoke break. Two of the players were Marine infantrymen, whose feet had trod Afghanistan. And they wept louder than the rest of us. They had absolutely no issue with grieving the bravery of the princess as her innocence died. 

A few years later, and I played in a game of Torchbearer. A rarity, to find me playing! I wound up playing… surprise!  A paladin! 

… who was on the lamb for killing his parents. He claimed they drank from some cup, and when they did their eyes… changed. Something uncanny went into them. And when they talked their voices weren’t their own. He slew them on the spot. And then ran. He had killed the king and queen, you see. 

In one of the dungeons he was captured by a band of snakemen. They had never met him before. So, when they declared Sir Charlemagne was to undergo trial by combat for murdering his parents, there was a bit a shock. 

Out Sir Charlemagne strode into the ring, sword in hand. He lunged. And got smacked in the face with the flat of his own sword. The snake man said if the paladin could land even one blow, he would be acquitted. Again Charlemagne lunged. This time he was pricked with the snake man’s sword. I got frustrated. Kyle kept changing the difficulties of the moves! He announced that he was! 

“Why did you kill your parents, paladin?”

“They weren’t themselves! They were evil!”

“Oh? And how did they show you?” The flat of the blade almost broke Charlemagne’s nose with a SLAP. 

“They… they were different!”

“So what?”

And I felt it. This moment where Charlemagne’s confusion and mine fused. I realized Kyle was trying to tell me something. Something important. Vital. This creeping feeling of gravity overcame me. The next few words would be a turning point for me, as a person. I don’t know why they were, but everything funneled into this one moment. 

“Do you think you made a mistake?”

“Wouldn’t that make me evil?”

“Are you not still a paladin? Do the gods not still hold your vows? Are your prayers, even now, answered?”

I laughed. Charlemagne lunged. And this time he cut his target. The snake man gave Charlemagne his own sword as a gift and released him, a justified man. Later, Sir Charlemagne would drink the same draught his parents had. His eyes were opened. And he sacrificed himself to make Ragnorak a beginning, not just an end. 

These are all the kinds of moments that become myths and fairy tales. There’s so much not said here! How Didier and Ilia had helped steal Aliana’s cambion child, and how Aliana had sworn revenge. How the princess and her soldiers found the evil twin and offered her to the gods, who gave back the good fairy godmother. How Sir Charlemagne had danced with the Eve of the new world before he died, unknowingly opening her womb so life could continue. And so much more! 

These were journeys that took years. The weight of unspoken time is so thick and loud that it almost eclipses these words. 

Oh, you want a story I got from Crescendo! You noticed! 

There was a young man named Sorin. He was a forester, and he realized the soil was impoverished. There were trees with fruit which gave magic energy when consumed. And they were dying. So was the planet. So Sorin went on a quest to find out how to save the world. 

Along the way Sorin rescued his one and true love, Andrea. She had been captured by satyrs. They couldn’t get Andrea back to her husband, Marius. Sorin knew Andrea loved him still. And he didn’t make a single move on her. They would get her home. He promised. 

And then one day they watched helplessly as Marius was strapped to a rocket and launched at their home city, leveling it. Andrea swore revenge. Sorin comforted her. And didn’t make a move on her. Andrea wanted him to. But Sorin knew she grieved more than she knew. Eventually, Marius came stumbling out of the woods. One of the dark gods had rescued him off the missile. Andrea was beyond relieved! They reunited, finally! Very soon, she was pregnant. 

And Sorin… Sorin tried not to think about it. He was King Sorin now, you see. He had talked a mountain elemental down from destroying the people who had killed his own city, and they made him king! King Sorin tried to bury himself in his work. To help those he could in an increasingly dark and awful world. But then things started happening. A rebellion was beginning to form around Marius, who wanted nothing to do with it! But some force was twisting his every word and gesture. If Marius so much as stubbed his toe, the people took it as a demand for revolution. 

Another mountain elemental and a mysterious meteor-man attacked King Sorin’s city. He went out, axe gifted him by the shield-maiden of war in hand, and this time he slew the mountain. And the meteor man. In succession. Sorin began to return home as a hero. 

Only to find his city burning. See, somehow Andrea had gotten infected. Possessed. It had gestated within her. And she had begun infecting others with her curse.They were taking over. King Sorin begged the creature he still hoped was Andrea to come back to him. To Marius! But the thing laughed at him. Andrea was gone! Marius told Sorin that thing wasn’t his wife, and if he didn’t act then all she had fought for would perish. 

So King Sorin, Mountain-Fighter, slew the Dark Queen, who was piloting the meat-sack that was Andrea. His magical axe, which could make mountains bleeed, was more than sufficient. Those under the Dark Queen's spell were freed. The people rejoiced in their brave king… who stood over the corpse of the only woman he ever loved. 

During the celebratory feast, Sorin saw Marius slip off. When caught up with, Marius admitted he couldn’t do it anymore. His every word was twisted into an act against his best friend. And now Andrea was gone. He wished he had died on the rocket, and he was going to go do what should have been done a while ago. 

Sorin asked Marius if he was really going to destroy yet another surviving part of Andrea. He promised that they would break the curse on Marius. They would rebuild. Andrea’s memory would be honored. And with that, they sat and looked at the quiet sunset. Their rebuilt city sat behind them, celebrating the life they had been given, whether they deserved it or not.

That’s a dramatically condensed version of 38 sessions. But there. That’s King Sorin, Mountain-Fighter. 

There's a Point to All This, Right?

I guess?

I don’t share these stories terribly often. Other RPGers talk about their grand goofiness, and I generally let them talk and laugh with them. Their stories are fun! I like hearing them! But I’m rarely in the mood to talk about how little Celeste, the cambion Didier and the others rescued became a vibrant and loving young woman. She’s wasaaaaay down there in my soul. She still lives. And she’s gotten me through some times! Or how, when Sorin was sitting with Marius, I could almost see the sunset the two of them were looking at. And that I saw it through Marius's eyes, in the moment. These aren't just... shared.

If you like the sound of that, I got good news: there’s a game made specifically to make these kinds of moments! Just show up moderately conscious. And you will get that and so much more. I will teach you how to run it. 

So. 

Um. 

The text isn’t done. 

But the rules are, and together we can make this game, which already means so much to me, mean something to a lot more people! Come on over to the Discord! We got regular games running, a sorta shambly-but-functional text, and a lot of passion! 

Thanks for reading, either way!

Design Journal: Conflicts and Pitches

I don't remember the Burning Wheel campaign Suihkulahde terribly fondly. On the one hand, it has some of the best world building I've ever done for The Wanderers' Psalms. On the other hand, the kind of  worldbuilding I did was completely outside the scope of Burning Wheel. Burning Wheel is entirely about the players' Beliefs. That's the GM's job. And when I want to play in that style, Burning Wheel is absolutely the best at it. But Gene Wolfe had added a new element: the world was its own thing. When the characters weren't looking, the world was having its own adventures. Reading a Gene Wolfe book was like walking on top of an iceberg. It was vital you kept your feet and it was cold and those things mattered... but you were still on an iceberg. 90% of the darn thing was unknown to you. Pretending that the unknown parts of the structure (i.e., currents and whatever behemoths swimming around the iceberg) were unimportant was an absurdity.

I could honestly write forever on the philosophical and ideological differences between Crescendo and Burning Wheel. But that would be criticizing the giant whose shoulders I stand on. I am where I am because of Luke Crane, after all.

And besides, I want to tell the story of how I came up with my solution, which is now in Crescendo.

The Tarot Map

I started by considering system-neutral house rules. I decided to lay out the Major Arcana of the Tarot in a randomized order. The players were always in the middle of this map, with that Arcana being "the current problem". The cards in the ring closes to the center, four in all, were situations that benefited from "the current problem". If things got hot enough "the current problem" would be cycled out to the edge, and one in the immediate ring would move in closer.

I hated this. It was too cumbersome. I didn't like having to come up with twenty some odd conflicts, only about five of them really mattering. And, frankly, I could barely keep track of more than three. So, obviously, this was not the answer.  I wanted to be able to walk, play, and then walk back out. I wanted a game, not another job on top of my job on top of my wife and kids.

Maybe, at some point, a few years after the fact, I'll revisit this idea. But it sure isn't now.

The Chronicle and the Drunk Rule

I decided to only have three Conflicts going on. It was the most I could keep track of at the table. I decided I would focus on "just" these three things, and  then journal between sessions about what was going on in the background. Simpler, for sure, and I like working on some stuff between sessions and all that.

It was during this time Kyle and I came up with the Drunk/Tired Rule: if you cannot play a game while drunk or tired and feel better for it afterwards, it is a bad game. Games are supposed to rejuvenating. Not just distracting, rejuvenating! This proved to be a turning point in my design, and what would eventually lead to Crescendo itself.

And this chronicling nonsense wasn't it.

Maybe if I was single, or without children, I'd have time to really write it all down between sessions. Focus, you know? But by this point I didn't want to do that. If I wanted to write fiction I'd write fiction! And I didn't want to do that, I wanted to play a game that had a story that came out of it! It was too much work for what I wanted to do.

Hitting the Books

At this point I figured that writing something down was the way to go. I needed a mechanic that would help generate unexpected results, results that could indicate that 90% the players weren't interacting with while they were on the iceberg. That's when I remembered the process of searching random passages in Virgil. For thos that don't know, if you want an answer to something, it was said that you could find your answers by opening a book of Virgil's, closing your eyes, and putting your finger down. Whatever your finger lands upon is the answer.

So why not do this with a book while playing? And make a journal, where you can control what goes into it, and thus make it a genuine mechanic?

So everyone opens their journals to where they know there's writing, closes their eyes, puts their finger down, and then reads whatever their finger landed upon. The GM then free associates all these prompts into whatever information they require.

The OSR does this with tables all the time, why not do it with journals or books? Not only does this make players write things down, but it provides an avenue of gameplay that is qualitative, which is what TTRPGs are all about! And this allows an incredible kind of player agency, one which subtle, but powerful: the ability to tweak the GM's subconscious. You get to program your GM! How is this not

Testing has not been completely free of problems. It was necessary to codify the rules for Hitting the Books a bit. But the tone, the feel, is exactly what I was going for. There's an odd coherency that increases as time goes on. The story has a rhythm and tone that are unexpected, but not overly so. And frankly, writing the story out is fun!

Conflicts and Pitch

Hitting the Books, however, was not the end of it. Hitting the Books is a mechanic, a means, not the goal itself. Fortunately, KISS is king. There's three Conflicts, which are future tense statements:

Mother is learning how to exist.

The wolves will invade Serpent.

The Guild will change how the city Serpent exists.

Notice that what these statements mean is up for debate. It's flexible. Open. 

But when do the Conflicts shift? That's what Pitch is for. Pitch is a counter attached to each Conflict. Pitch increases whenever it's addressed in a scene, (by 1-3) and all Conflict Pitches increase by 1 at the end of every session.

Whenever a scene ends, the Conflict that the GM used is rolled against with a D20. If the GM rolls equal to or lower than the Pitch, an Opportunity comes up to end the Conflict. Whether they do or not, given the Opportunity, is up to the table. After the Opportunity is addressed, the GM either modifies the Conflict or writes a new one, and resets its Pitch to zero.

Conflicts and Pitch, combined with Hitting the Books, eliminates prep while creating a mysterious narrative. You write your three Conflicts. The Pitch tells you the chances of that Conflict blowing up at any time, and it constantly builds. You just engage the players where they're at, and overarching setting stuff gets injected randomly via Hitting the Books, forcing everyone to make meaning for themselves.

People like doing this.

It's good for them.

And isn't that kinda the point?

 Crescendo is a truly amazing experience. I can't wait to share it with y'all.

Design Journal: Crescendo's Beliefs

There is no mechanic I love more than Beliefs. Pioneered by Luke Crane's Burning Wheel, Beliefs are a subjective statement made entirely by the players. They're used to determine scenarios in the game, making the story tailor-made to what the players want it to be about. The sheer utility of this mechanic can't be understated. Players get to write what they want. The GM gets a statement they get to interpret. Inherently creative, Beliefs give back far more than what are put into them.

There is no mechanic that is even close to a Belief. 

Period.

This is a blog post about how I almost gave up on Beliefs for my game, Crescendo.

Two (Necessary?) Asides

As a quick aside, there's a saying in the art world: don't make portraits of those you love. I love the works of Gene Wolfe. I am trying to capture the feeling I get when I read his books. This is objectively not a good idea at any point. It's a harder project for my emotional attachment. Things that should be obvious can't be. More time is spent is because I can't have an objective view of this design.

As an additional aside, there's a large elephant in the room: Burning Wheel. Anyone who reads more than a few posts of this blog is going to discover that Burning Wheel is my favorite game. Beliefs are my favorite mechanic in gaming. A lot of my thoughts on designing Crescendo are, inevitably, going to be about taking Beliefs and adapting it to my vision. Which means that Burning Wheel is going to come up a lot.  Crescendo isn't a hack of Burning Wheel, but it would be stupid to pretend that Crescendo doesn't owe a lot to it. A great deal of time has been spent repurposing Beliefs from the ground up, (usually) to the confusion and (sometimes) delight of my playtesters.

What is Crescendo?

Crescendo's central conceit isn’t a simple one: as character changes so should setting and vice versa. The game is principally based on the works of Gene Wolfe, which are intensely subjective, mythological, and cosmic. If you're going to do a Gene Wolfe game you have to have an intense subjectivity and soaring scale, which form each other. This is Crescnedo's by-line, its mission statement, is:

Belief Has Consequences

Okay, that's nice, but what does it feel like to play Crescendo? That's all very pie in the sky, but what am I going for?

Excellent question! Crescendo feels like this:

One movement causes a series of ripples in a pattern that nobody understands... until they pull back and see the full implications. Players each create a Hero whose Beliefs create consequences and the Lore Weaver (LW) creates a Setting for the Heroes' consequences to play out upon. These consequences are unknown even to the LW beforehand. Nobody knows where the ship is going. All you can do is ask "Well, what do you believe? And should that change?"

Heroes have Beliefs, Traits, and Scruples. Beliefs are what drive the Hero, Traits are how the Hero acts, and Scruples are hidden doubts/obligations that mess them up. The Setting has NPCs with simpler Beliefs, Locales and Histories that chronicle recent events, and Conflicts which rage across the Setting. 

The Journal

All participants have a journal, where they log their history and events of the session. The journals are used in a mechanic called Hitting the Books: everyone opens to a random line in their journals, closes their eyes, puts their finger down, and reads aloud their selection. The LW interprets these randomly picked prompts into whatever piece of information that's needed, primarily plot twists. And then everyone writes their interpretation of whatever the LW just said into their journals.

I cannot understate how much Hitting the Books impacts play. No one is driving. The Lore Weaver isn't called a Game Master because he's not in control of where things are going. He's given prompts and says "Well, this seems like a good idea right now". Nobody is driving. If there is a single way that Crescendo has genuinely changed the face of roleplaying games, Hitting the Books is it. 

There's various triggers throughout the game to record more lines in your journal. Once you record enough lines you can advance, gaining/ improving a skill or a relationship with an NPC.

The only thing even comparable are FFG's narrative dice, except Hitting the Books is cheaper and more creative. The dice are only marginally faster. Hitting the Books is also qualitative: success and failure aren't really a part of it, but bring in completely unexpected elements from past recordings. The more you play, the more eerily coherent the experience becomes, as past events factor into the present, creating more lines to choose from in the future. Hitting the Books sets up play loops that can last for tens of sessions before closing with a snap... creating a new loop.

Or, as one of the playtesters commented: "Reintegration is one hell of a drug".

Beliefs

The first thing I tried to do was to provide incentives for interacting with Beliefs, Burning Wheel style. And that would be reasonable for me to try! I'm a Burning Wheel vet! People will do what they're rewarded for. Right? Well, hold up. Burning Wheel's by-line and mission statement is

Fight For What You Believe

So, if you cause trouble for what you believe, you will be rewarded. This change at the core has been the hardest thing for me to navigate. Crescendo, if it's to stand on its own two legs, has to be its own thing from the ground up. Beliefs in Crescendo have to be fundamentally different from what they are in Burning Wheel.

Two and a half years have been spent trying a lot of different things with Beliefs, to the point where I was advised by some to just torch the Beliefs, outright!

Well, I did that, Robby, and that game's called Brick!, which I'll release as well. Probably first. We'll see. 

The problem, of course, is that Crescendo is about Belief and Setting in the style of Gene Wolfe. And I am going to see that through.  NPC Beliefs are based off the players'. 

But is that really enough? Heck no.

Belief is Perception

But that wasn't enough for me. It didn't feel Wolfe enough. And I really was about to just pitch them. Robby could be right. It hurt my pride, but I had to admit he might be right. Humility's good! It's fine! Fine...

Ironically enough Herbert came to my rescue.

In Children of Dune Herbert writes that information comes in two parts: Trivia and Message. Trivia was the base information that was in the world. The Message was what the recipient interpretated the Trivia into.

The lightning flash that lit up the interior darkness can't be understated.

What Herbert stated, Wolfe does. Most of his works feature this translation of Trivia into Message, using their preconceptions. Anyone who has read even a page of Wolfe knows this to be true. But Wolfe doesn't stop there. Wolfe doesn't just transmit Trivia to Message. Wolfe Shades. When the Message is assembled, the assembler discovers additional Trivia that doesn't fit what they believe.  It sticks there, an unknown that can't be quantified. Sometimes that Shade is an aspect of the Problem they hadn't anticipated.

And sometimes it's the Lord God Himself, wanting to have a word.

Suddenly, I knew how it had to go. Two and a half years, going on three, and suddenly it clicked: Beliefs were a Player tool for helping create Problems with the LW. The LW could present Trivia, pieces of information that might imply a context, but that's it. The Players then use their Beliefs to turn the Trivia into Messages. And then the LW adds a Shade to each Message. The Player then gets to write this modified Message down as a Bullet Point in their Journal. The Players must make at least one Message, and may make up to three, one for each of their Beliefs.

Putting it Together

All that's well and good, but what does it look like?

Hey everyone, meet Sir Mal, one of the example characters in Crescendo! He's the bastard street rat of a noble, found and restored to his place as a knight. Here's what you need to know about Sir Mal to understand what I'm writing:

Sir Mal

Beliefs

Beliefs are what Sir Mal uses to help construct Problems and are so used by the LW  to further complicate Sir Mal's life. Beliefs are what Sir Mal is willing to burn the whole world down for.

 

1. My father knighted me as he lay injured on the battlefield. I didn’t need his recognition to known honor and bravery are their own reward.

2. Once I came into manhood, I realized that no woman, even the queen, could resist me long. If she lifts her skirts, she’s fair game.

3. One day a knight, Sir Alain, came into the slums where I picked pockets, and told me that he was my father. To this day I’ve never met a kinder man.

 

Scruple

A Scruple is a hidden reservation or taboo a character has which holds them back. They're used to add Shades to Problems and to trip up Heroes during play.

You cannot trust the other nobles to do the right thing.

Traits

Traits are aspects of a Hero that either make you more powerful for acting on them or which make you weaker for ignoring them.

Charming, Nihilistic, Impulsive

Climbing a Tower to Get Royally Laid

Sir Mal has decided to deflower Princess Genevieve, for a multitude of reasons. He's climbed the tower where she lives and finally gotten in through the open window.

Paul the LW tells Alex, Sir Mal's player, that the Trivia for the current Problem are the soft candlelight in Princess Genevieve's room, Princess Genevieve just pulling a shift over her head, offering the briefest glimpse of perfection etched in flesh, and the open window Sir Mal just crawled through.

Alex's first Message is that Princess Genevieve has seen him before, as she was there for his formal knighting, from his first Belief! She's a bit shocked to find that he's climbed into her window, but she's not scared. Paul adds that Princess Genevieve isn't just not scared, she's calm, her pulse doesn't look like it's budged even a little bit. Alex writes "Princess Genevieve isn't even shocked to see me. This will be a fun night!" as a Bullet Point in his journal.

Alex's second Message is that his charming smile has never not made a woman weak in the knees, and that's definitely what's happening right now. Paul adds that Princess Genevieve lightly brushes a pendant of Elpida, The Most Holy Flame (wait did it glow slightly? Gotta be a trick of the light), but she doesn't break eye contact with Sir Mal. But yes, she looks very happy to see him. Alex writes "Princess Genevieve has one of those purity necklaces. But I can tell from just a glance she's mine."

Alex's third Message is that he leaves the window open, and in fact he doesn't really get off the windowsill, causing Princess Genevieve to relax even further. Paul adds that there's the sound of King Julian ranting and raving just outside Princess Genevieve's door... which she locks, factoring in Sir Mal's Scruple. Alex writes "King Julian really has lost his mind, and Princess Genevieve seems to think it's more sane to be locked in with me than out there with him. Excellent."

Remember...

All those Bullet Points can now come up again. There's always going to be fallout from constructing this Problem, regardless of how it's resolved. It might be next session, it might be forty sessions from now, but these Bullet Points always have a chance on forming the current situation.

Here's the Rope

Someone is going to point out that, even if Crescendo is just for one to three Players, things can get overcomplicated quickly! If three Players do this once per Belief  that's nine Bullet Points that everyone has to record. Not only could that take forever but that would be a very thorny, if not outright unwieldable, Problem.

And you're right.

So what?

If Players want to go overboard, whose fault is that? The designer? Or the player? I can't stop people from doing stupid stuff. I've found that people stop when they want to stop. If you approach the game in the way intended it's not a problem. Pretending that I can make someone approach the game in a healthy way is.. well.. laughable.  It would take so much work to construct a Problem in an unhealthy manner that I don't particularly feel that I need to safeguard it much. Journaling takes a bit of work. If you're playing the game, it's because you want to. So you'll automatically know when to stop.

In Conclusion

It's been a journey, but I finally got the Beliefs done! You use Beliefs to construct Problems with the Lore Weaver. The LW uses them to further challenge the Players by putting them in ethical trolley problems. And when the Players change their Beliefs, it sends ripples across The Setting, causing truly unexpected changes to the story. There's this amazing interplay between the subjective nature of the Beliefs and the incredibly bonkers changes in the world and the plot. You say what you are willing to burn the world down for and the world just convulses in response, mashing the incredibly person and epic together.

If any of this sounds amazing to you, come and join us the Die Young Games Discord Server! Crescendo is in its last stages of editing. There's sessions of it running. The people are great. So come on over!

The Meeting of the Telvrans: Session Two

So on the morning of the session Prince messaged me: something had come up and he only had about an hour to do the session. I told him that Crescendo could handle an hour easily. So all the below happened in fifty or so minutes.

Last Time...

The soldier Girard had been given a chance to avert war with the dryads... only to succumb to their wiles at the last second. Will he ruin his chance to save Fort Falls?

The Seven Dooms

1. Not all post-medieval information we have is true, especially gunpowder and antibiotics; people are at the mercy of nature.

2. There is a flame of goodness at the center of Heranyt, linked to the hearts of all creatures on the planet. This is not so for other planets.

3. Some beings have set up their own anti-flames, anti-points of light. They are corrupted and horrific beings, who try to destroy those not like them.

4. The elves fly amongst the Ring of Tears, the sub-orbital remnants of their continent. Strange things are said to live there.

5. The dryads of The Glade will go to war with Fort Falls.

6. La Fourchette will be abandoned, even with oncoming winter.

7. The dwarves will provoke Fort Falls into a war.

The rules of Crescendo dictate that the player picks one of these Dooms for the Judge to challenge them with. We're still on number five from last session: "The dryads of The Glade will go to war with Fort Falls."

Girac's Beliefs 

1. Superiors should be obeyed. 4 RP

2. It is natural to use force to advance your own interests. 7 RP

3. You should stick by your comrades. 0 RP

Beliefs have health, called Resilience Points. If you fail rolls it hurts your Beliefs, and there are also Resilience Rolls, which target RP as well. A Belief being at 0 RP is bad news, we'll get to that in a second!

Girac's Traits: Loyal, Quick to Anger 

Girac's Sign: The Warrior

 The Poem is what the immortals are up to, in the background, while the session goes on. It changes every few sessions. Here's what's going on in the background, as we play:

The Poem

Sing to me, O Muses!

Of man-killing Sota

And the zenith of his rage

With his resentful fist of iron

Sota smote Tuntemata

he split and crackehis silver skin

And nightshade blood rained from the heavens

Before Sota then came The Inquisitor (Viivoty)

And queried "Why then have you smote my son?"

Sota laughed: "How could I not, given what we are?"

It was the last dryad that Girac fell prey to, the seventh one. It was an impressive feat, one that would have gone down in the history books had anyone else known, but Girac just couldn't resist... and she was more than happy to comply. She drew near to kiss him.  Girac's mind locked up; he refused to defile himself with this dryad, no matter the cost! 

So whenever a Belief drops to 0 RP, the player has a choice: to keep the Belief or to change it. Prince chose to keep his Belief "You should stick by your comrades". The Belief immediately charged to its full 7 RP.  

1. Superiors should be obeyed. 4 RP

2. It is natural to use force to advance your own interests. 7 RP

3. You should stick by your comrades. 7 RP

The question after that was whether or not something awful happened as a result of this critical decision.

Prince had to roll a two or less on a d20. If he succeeded, he could do something awesome with his Sign (the Warrior) confirming the Belief. If he rolled three or higher, he'd get a ton of XP, but he'd have to do something awful with his Sign (the Warrior) to contradict the Belief. Like, something really bad. Really really bad. Something that would haunt him for years bad.

Prince failed, rolling an eight. This got him to a total of 65 XP, which Prince could spend immediately. Prince increased his Resilience Die to a D7, Willful Stat to a D8, and his Stoic specialization to a +05. Prince spent all his XP.

But now Girac had to betray his loyalty Belief, which would give him a level three Mental Condition ("Betrayed Fort Falls to a dryad" level 3)  and the Doomed condition. A mental condition is an event that troubles you, increases your Stress, and will open up more opportunities for provoking Saves. 

Doomed is the worst condition in the game: it makes you unable to spend Stones (the metacurrency in the game, vital for winning rolls), and if you keep running into situations that would get you Doomed again you get serious physical injuries, which hastens your death.You cannot get rid of Doomed until your Stress is lower than your total Trait levels (so 2 in this case). So Prince had to get rid of his two Conditions ("Ensorcelled by a Dryad" +1 Stress, and "Betrayed Fort Falls to a dryad" at +3 Stress), before trying to get rid of Doomed.

So Girac is now in serious trouble.

Girac pushed the dryad away, in a daze, telling her he would give up information about the fort if only she would stay away from him! He threatened to kill her if she didn't listen.

The dryad drew back, desirous of Girac, but intrigued.

Girac told the dryad about the east gate (the forest they were in was north-west of the fort). It was currently being rebuilt, with a guard that wasn't even close to adequate, because of an illness that had struck the guards.

She smiled, and withdrew, leaving Girac alone. He felt sick in his soul, that somehow, something had abandoned him in that moment. He shook his head. He had to go and give his testimony. He re-entered the ring of yew trees, which had previously give him so much strength.  The Queen of the Dryads stood before him, in the mingled lights of the twin moons. Girac told the truth: the man who had attempted to violate the queen was not of their race, and no one at the fort would have done a heinous thing like entrapping a dryad soul. None of the men there would know how to do it and none of them were of such low character. All dryads were satisfied. 

A run through the woods later and Girac was outside the gate. The dryad told him she didn't want to see him again, and Girac heartily agreed. And then she was gone, vanished into the forest. Girac looked up at the sky. He was very late; hours had gone by. The guard who had been so jovial with him before was not jovial now. Girac told him a version of the truth: he had been captured by dryads, and was afraid he had revealed information about the fort to them, but he couldn't be sure, because he'd blacked out. The lie was believable enough, and the guard grew pale. Girac insisted in the morning they both raise concerns about the guard level on the east gate, and the guard (who reluctantly gave his name: Theo) agreed, although not happily.

The next morning Girac went to the Temple of the Eternal Flame to try and atone for the sins he had committed the previous night. The Temple of the Eternal Flame was an enclosed cube, with no windows. Inside, at the center, burned a single flame, at the bottom of a series of steps. During more formal services these steps would be submerged in water, with the flame floating atop in an oil lamp. The water was drained at the moment, so the stone steps led down into a depression in the ground. 

A young priest stood by the dark entrance. Girac held out the money (all the had left from his soldierly pay) he needed to pay for a sacrifice, and the priest vanished into the gloom, reappearing with fine dove few minutes later. They went down into the depression together, towards the flame that burned in a large oil lamp. The priest cut the dove's throat, removed the feathers, and  skewered it on a spit. The priest took a long look at Girac, handed him the spit, and went back up the stairs, telling Girac he could tell something was really on Girac's mind and the extra dove wouldn't hurt. He climbed down a moment later, another live dove in his hand. One slit of the knife later and the dove hang in his hands, dead. Into the flame the skewer went, and the priest cooked both birds, saying prayers for Girac's soul, begging the Eternal Flame to burn the sins from him. After a few minutes they ascended the steep steps together, and left the temple, which was by the wall of the fort. The priest ripped the heads off and tossed them over the wall in a ceremonial flick. Together the two ate from the cooked birds, and Girac felt as a weight left his chest... but not all of it. Something was still wrong. The priest, seeing something was still amiss, kindly told Girac that the Flame had consumed it all, whatever it had been, and that he could trust the sacrifice. Girac mumbled a few excuses and thanks and left.

So if you offer a sacrifice to the immortals in the form of Wealth you can heal one entire Condition per Wealth point given up (normally you only heal levels of a Condition, not the whole darn thing). Prince only had one Wealth, so he could only get rid of one of the two Conditions he had. I decided to throw him a favor and have the priest give another dove, out of a concern for what was clearly a troubled and conscientious individual. Healing Conditions gives you XP, in this case 12, as well as allowing Prince to fully heal two Beliefs:

1. Superiors should be obeyed. 7 RP

2. It is natural to use force to advance your own interests. 7 RP

3. You should stick by your comrades. 7 RP

So Girac is about as good as he's going to get, Resiliency-wise, even if he is still Doomed.

We were almost out of time, so we decided to handle getting rid of Doomed next session. We'd have Girac go and get Theo, to go and make their report about the east gate.

Girac found Theo, and told him it was time to go report their concerns about the east gate to their superiors. But Theo had lost his nerve; he told Girac that he smelled a set up of some kind, and that if Girac was so afraid of what was going on at the east gate he could tell the superiors, alone. Girac told Theo he could take all the credit, it would look good if Theo took the lead! 

I decided I was going to push on the "Superiors should be obeyed" Belief that Girac had been dancing around. Was he going to keep up with his shenanigans, or was he going to back down and just tell the truth to his hierarchy?

Prince had Girac push on with the shenanigans.

A Save was provoked.

Prince, because Girac was still Doomed, couldn't spend Stones on the roll: it was his Willful stat plus his Falsehood (D8+2) versus my raw D20 roll. Given how wild a D20 can be, Prince hoped for me to roll low.

I didn't. I got a 19. He got a 9. The margin of failure (10) damaged his Belief about obeying his superiors, reducing it to zero. I asked Princed if he wanted to keep the Belief, and he laughingly said he didn't.  Another Crisis Point was invoked: Prince rolled a six, failing the roll by four.

But Theo, with that uncanny sense of the enlisted, knew he was being asked to help cover up  a situation that would come back to haunt him. He grabbed Girac and shook him, yelling, drawing attention to them. Something in Girac's troubled soul snapped.

Originally Prince wanted to just have Girac headbutt Theo, but I reminded him that failing a Crisis Point required an action that would haunt Girac for years. 

Girac put the iron dagger Master Girard had given him into Theo's neck; Theo bled out quickly.

So now Girac has a corpse he has to worry about, in addition to what's surely about to be a dryad invasion of some kind, which he would be responsible for. 

All in under and hour.

If you want a closer look at the Crescendo ruleset as it currently stands, go on over to the Discord and download the document, free!