The first two posts about DramaSystem can be found here:
How to write up the scenes has been tricky proposition. I could try to cover lots of detail from each interaction, but that’s not my goal here. Add to the fact that the games seem very dense with the number of scenes. The first session had eleven scenes in addition to character creation, while the remainder are averaging sixteen scenes a piece. As much as I want to share all of the juicy details of these games, the wise move is to keep it brief.
Session 01 – Scene 01
The theme of the first session is Panic, and the first scene is a conference scene (involving all PCs) called by the GM (myself). The crew of henchmen are relaxing at a bar / part-time strip club called Mamacita’s. A large Cuban woman known as Mamacita tends the bar while the group chats about upcoming plans. Our four PCs are in attendance: Mr. Killjoy, the muscle of the operation; Polly Anna, the mad inventor; A.K.A., the master of disguise; and Lefty, the prototypical henchman.
The group awaits the arrival of their boss, a super-villain known as the Iron Mask. Her gang consists of three crews: the Ironworks, which are her personal elite unit; the Sadists, run by her cruel second-in-command, the Marquis; and the PCs crew. As a new group, they’re relatively low on the pecking order.
Their attention turns to a television showing a damning news story:
Reports say that the Iron Mask’s SUV was taken out in a pitched battle downtown between her, the police, and a named hero called Bastion. Queue an interview with Bastion, a guy in his twenties with curly blonde hair and a soul patch. He casually talks of how he flung a sports car into the Iron Mask’s vehicle, causing it to explode. He then finishes by promising to hunt down and end the threat posed by the Iron Mask’s gang.
The group discusses how best to save their hides and how to recover from this. In addition to the four established PCs, we have three other henchmen in attendance: Cuffs, Nubs, and Treads (names quickly dreamt up by players). They talk some of the initial plan – the reason why Iron Mask was coming to meet them. They plan to rob a gambling boat that cruises out miles from the coast to skirt local laws. There are fears that the plan could be compromised, but with Iron Mask likely out of the picture, the crew needs all the cash they can steal.
The Marquis is another concern. While not as potent as the Iron Mask, he’s what’s considered a “Name”, definitely more powerful than any of the PCs. There’s discussion of if they should flock to his banners, as surviving as henchman without a Name is a risky proposition. Lefty says there’s no way he intends to wear ass-less chaps like some of the Sadists. That wisdom is enough to convince the crew for now. They split up to reconnoiter their mission and keep a low profile.
[This was an establishing scene. No petitioner, no award of drama tokens.]
Scene 02 – A.K.A. and Mr. Killjoy
A.K.A. talks with Killjoy about their situation and the need to identify themselves. He talks about naming the crew and how they need to proceed. Killjoy rebuffs him, saying that they don’t need to do that, especially with no firm evidence of the Iron Mask being dead.
[Dramatic scenes work on the concept that one character is the petitioner, where he wants some form of emotional reward from another character. If they succeed in getting what they want, that is their reward. The granting player, meanwhile, is rewarded with a drama token. If the petitioner is denied, then the petitioner is awarded a drama token. In this scene, A.K.A. was the petitioner, and was denied. He gets +1 Drama Token from the table (as Mr. Killjoy has none). ]
Scene 03 – Polly Anna and Lefty
While checking out security for the targeted boat, Polly Anna discusses using bombs instead of the agreed-upon EMP detonation to shut down security. She doesn’t want to kill passengers per se, but bombs would leave a lot less to chance. Lefty talks her down, getting her to promise not to blow up the boat.
[Polly Anna was the petitioner and denied. +1 Drama Token from the table.]
Scene 04 – Lefty and A.K.A.
Lefty meets with A.K.A. to discuss the upcoming job. He brings up concerns about Polly Anna, asking A.K.A. to intervene in hopes that she’ll listen to him. A.K.A. thinks it unnecessary, but concedes the point and plans to accompany her during the job.
[Lefty was the petitioner, and is granted. He has no tokens, so A.K.A. receives +1 from the table.]
Scene 05 – A.K.A. and Polly Anna
A.K.A. uses his talents at subterfuge to grant him and Polly Anna access to the ship with her equipment. They go over the plans, with A.K.A. stressing that this should be simple and non-lethal. Polly Anna doesn’t understand his reluctance to violence, her sociopathic traits coming to the fore. To placate him, she agrees that her EMP device will just shut down engines, computers and the like, nothing more.
[A.K.A. was the petitioner, and gets his way. Polly Anna receives +1 token from A.K.A.]
Scene 06 – Mr. Killjoy and Lefty
Posing as passengers, Killjoy and Lefty board the ship without issue. As they’re queued in line, they both receive an audio message on their phone.
“Now that our Lady is gone, order must be re-established. You have three days to present yourself to me. Those who fail to do so shall be considered rogue.”
The image for the message is the black and red cat o’ nine tails symbol that they’ve seen used by the Sadists. Neither is happy to hear the Marquis’ message. They agree that this will have to come before the group before they decide which way to go.
[This scene was called by myself, the GM. I didn’t have a petitioner in mind, so there was no exchange of drama tokens.]
Thoughts
We were feeling our way through this new system, so there were scenes that weren’t especially dramatic. I think everyone did great, and this group has naturally proactive players, but we are accustomed to the GM controlling the setting and plot flow. Without that guidance, things felt odd at first. Most importantly, everyone was having fun.
Early on, we established that A.K.A. is a true shape-shifter instead of just a crafty guy with outfits. The series pitch generally expects the minions to be non-powered, so we discussed it briefly. The player is not an abusive type with story or the rules, so there was no worry of him breaking the game. His plan was to potentially use the ability to mimic distinct PCs or NPCs to create more drama. In Scene Two, his guise is that of a clichéd sorority girl. Killjoy can always see through his forms though, so he just thinks him weird.
Next up, we’ll get to our first procedural scene, the Boat Heist.
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