Last Saturday night saw us hosting our Weegie dysfunctional family Christmas dinner. We enjoyed a fine feast of gammon and muchos cheese. Afterwards Marie and Gemma demanded to watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing, so the boys escaped to get some gaming action.
After I stole victory in a game of Munchkin, we decided some role-playing might be in order. Dan wanted to play Jurgen – his Rolemaster character of over a dozen years. Matt, who GMs the Rolemaster campaign featuring Jurgen was not up for running a fight on the fly (though he has done so in the past). So instead we decided to play Contenders, but set it in the world of Aerios (where the Rolemaster campaign takes place). Dan and Matt both thought it would be cool to explore Jurgen’s past, which has been alluded to but never fully revealed in game. Russ and I were also playing. Russ regularly plays his assassin Marius alongside Jurgen. I play in a different campaign run by Matt in the same world and time-line.
So the setting for our Contenders game was a coastal town in the country of Tanab. There was some background that could already be brought in – mainly the yakuza-like Kobassi gang who ran the town. We didn’t use any NPC fighters, because I couldn’t be bothered to track their stats. We got through a whole game in about three and a half hours - quicker than the Strictly Come Dancing final!
+++Characters+++
Jurgen – Dan.
As the most established character Jurgen was fairly pivotal. In his latest (RM) incarnation Jurgen is a sadistic witch-hunter with psychopathic leanings. So Dan had Jurgen begin with a fair bit of Pain, strong Power and Conditioning but minimal Cover and Technique. Jurgen’s Connection was Grandpa Darkmane, a local butcher in debt to the Kobassi gang.
Uncle Gabby – Matt
Matt tied things together by playing Jurgen’s Uncle Gabby (who had already been established in the RM campaign). Gabby was a drunken bum who used to be a decent wrestler. Gabby had good Technique and Conditioning, but lacked Power and Cover. Gabby also owed the Kobassi gang big bucks. His home was his Connection.
Zalhash the Slapper – Russ
Russ played a foreigner, his ship had run aground stranding him in Tanab. A thin wiry Arab, he was a skilled martial artist, specialising in a slapping style. Good Tech and Cover, but average Conditioning and weak Power. His Connection was his boat, as he hoped to return to his homeland.
Sarius – Me
I played Sarius, a Gharshi (lizard-man) hunter who had just arrived in Tanab. Sarius was a good all-rounder, but not as powerful as Jurgen or fast as Gabby. Sarius’ Connection was a shape shifting priestess at a nearby temple, who worshipped a lizard deity.
+++The Game+++
Submitted by JoE PrincE on Tue, 25/12/2007 - 22:45.
Things got going fast. In the first Scene Jurgen declared a Threat against Zalhash. The Kobassis demanded the foreigner take a fall against Gabby. It was great to see Dan step it up straight away and try to screw Russ, as only players who are good friends can do. This move was fairly reckless as it saw Jurgen spending his only Cash and Hope.
Meanwhile Sarius was turning the feline population of the town into attractive headwear. The lizard’s cat-hats sold well.
Gabby was reluctant to fight, having been living at the bottom of a bottle for some time. Then despite Russ’ best efforts and Jurgen handing weapons to Gabby, the fight ended in a draw. Zalhash despaired as the enraged Kobassi gang burnt his boat to cinders. Leaving the Arab Hopeless and Connectionless.
From then on the game got even better. There were lots of fights and we fared pretty much the same winning some and losing some. All the characters trained and gabled lots too.
The relationship between Jurgen and Gabby was really interesting – it started off fairly well with the two helping each other but rapidly disintegrated after Gabby lost money he had bet on Jurgen. Some other plot stuff came up from the RM campaign regarding Jurgen’s infant half-brother and potential incestuous relations between Gabby and Jurgen’s mother (Dan Dan Dan). Gabby really started trying to get his life back on track – his Training Scenes involved just staying off the booze. He was repaying the debt gradually and things were looking up – until Jurgen descended into darkness and dragged Gabby back down with him. Jurgen only visited Grandpa once and that went badly – he had just kicked the shit out of Gabby. For Gabby it came down to the last fight as to whether he’d get a good outcome. Unfortunately Zalhash brought the Pain and slapped Gabby back down into the gutter.
Zalhash had a chequered path too. After losing his boat he briefly connected with an old hooker, but things went quickly sour there too. Helped by Jurgen insinuating Linda was a transvestite. Zalhash met a carpenter who agreed to build him a new boat. His fighting form was erratic too, his slapping technique was not effective against the lizard’s scaly hide, but Zalhas often out-manoeuvred Darkmane. In the end however, Zalhash achieved an ambivalent outcome remaining in Tanab and becoming a fisherman.
Sarius’ story had a few twists and turns too. Alongside early success in the ring, he decimated the population of domestic animals nearby, turning dogs into boots. The Gharshi’s crowning achievement was breaking into the governors home and fashioning his prize Siamese cats into kites. However when he visited the temple they were horrified at his treatment of animals and he went away crestfallen. Sarius returned to the temple with lots of cash, determined to change his ways. The priestess gave him a new name ‘Timothy Cat-Friend’ and Sarius vowed to protect cats in the future. With Hope and Pain equal all that stood between the Gharshi and a good outcome was Jurgen Darkmane…
Jurgen started off with no Hope – and pretty much stayed that way! Dan plays Jurgen as a dark fucked up crazy bastard and during the game he dived straight into the Pain. Jurgen nearly always fought dirty, often drawing his broadsword in fights. Pretty much the only fights he won were when he brought the Pain, so any Hope gained was negated. He only visited his Connection once, and that went badly. As his Pain skyrocketed, he made sure the other PCs (especially poor Gabby) felt his monstrous presence. So going into the final fight he had a 6 point Hope deficit – there was no chance of a good outcome for Jurgen. In a bizarre twist this climactic fight was scheduled for a single round so you can guess what that means…
Jurgen fights dirty and pulls a pistol! Sarius fights dirty and pulls a crossbow! They both bring the Pain. 16 cards to 14. I get lucky with 11 successes! Dan gets luckier with 12…Bang! Jurgen shoots Sarius in the throat; the bullet passes straight through and wounds one of the Kobassi lieutenants. Twang! The crossbow bolt nails the referee. Jurgen dives in the river and takes off without a backward glance. Sarius/Timothy dies in the sand. The Kobassi gang pillage the temple and slay all inside. Then they execute Grandpa Darkmane, leaving his shop a smoking husk and his head on a spike.
The game was great, lots of fun and action, despite being a bit dark as Dan put it. No shit Dan. Typically of Contenders the two characters who were actually trying to change for the better came off worst! Everyone enjoyed it and it was good to see a young Jurgen outside of his usual campaign, no saner but different. The game filled in a few blanks and fleshed out the world for all of us.
I heartily recommend using characters from other long running campaigns in a Contenders game! Any of you lot done something similar?
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JoE
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Prince of Darkness Games
Rock N' Role-Play....
Wow
Submitted by Gregor Hutton on Wed, 26/12/2007 - 17:25.
That sounds great. I've done switcharounds where mid-campaign we've played a short (3 or 4 week scenario) of the "other side" which foreshadowed the next bit of our campaign (i.e. we were able to see that the enemy were far better prepared than we had been led to believe). But I've not done anything like this. It's a great, low-prep way to get some fun gaming in -- and with a group that already has a common setting and have views of the main character the game is hanging on.
When I saw his name was Jürgen, I knew it would end badly for him. :-)