The Fine Line: Strength in Differences

By Scott Bingham

                Hey all! This is the Fine Line with yours truly, the newest of the wizards at the Flying Pincushion, and this is Farscape week. Now before this week I had caught perhaps a small snippet of the show and even that wasn’t enough to spark enough of a memory. However I spent quite some time catching up and watching my way through Season 1 and I’ve enjoyed the series thus far. The universe of Farscapeis vast in creativity and endless in opportunity. At some point in time I feel I’ll want to run a campaign wherein I can do just about whatever I please because of the endlessness of my setting but for now a single continent or world will satisfy my needs. For the point of this Fine Line discussion however I would like to bring up an age old conversation that takes place between the players and the DM.

                Player A: “I’d like to play a wizard this time around.”

                Player B: “Alright. I guess I’ll be the meatshield and keep you safe. Fighter for me.”

                DM: “Who wants to play the Dex-based hero?”

                Player C: “I will! I’ve never played a rogue before.”

                Player B: “We still need a healer.”

                Player D: “I’ll be a cleric. Don’t worry.”

                DM: “Perfect! You’ve got just about everything covered.”

No. No. No. No. Stop it.

For many adventuring parties and dungeon masters there seems to be this incessant need to fill roles, to meet a certain status quo when filling out character sheets. Everyone has a job, a predetermined part that “must” be filled. Usually this is centered on combat and overall such a practice it is something that I outright despise. One of the last things any DM should do is encourage limitations on their players. Rather we should encourage our player’s creativity and thrive on the opportunity to stretch our own. Encounters become so much more interesting when each player has a different solution to the problem.

In Farscape season 1 the crew of the Leviathan Moya is as diverse as the come; KaD’Argo the barbarian whose solution to most problems is to smash and break and ask questions never, Aeryn Sun the fighter who comes from the very race responsible for imprisoning the others, Pa’uZhotohZhaan the pacifistic cleric who spends a good measure of her time naked, Rygel the XVI who acts as both diplomat (when he has to) and royal pain with an ego large enough to fill a star system and, my personal favorite, John Crichton the could-be-bard who prefers to find a non-violent resolution to difficulties and yet is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

It is indeed a pleasure when members of the party get along and have a solid synergy about them. Perhaps their alignments match up or they hold some of the same beliefs or practices. Still one of the more powerful motivators for role play is conflict and the crew of Moya is full of it. There are different beliefs, stereotypes, alignments all over the place, and no clear reason as to why the crew stays together at all. It’s not uncommon to find the Moya’s crew nearly at one another’s throats and yet there is a deep, undeniable trust that exists underneath all of the posturing and harsh words. Crichton in particular does his part to bring the conflicting party members closer together with both his actions and his words. That is the sort of thing that gives an adventure depth when the supposed meta is broken and players create characters that can be individualistic and altogether memorable. They don’t have to get along and honestly it is a much deeper connection between players when something more than matching alignments or happy-feel-goods keeps them together.

To draw upon Farscapewe will examine the episode Exodus from Genesis. Whilst traveling through the Uncharted Territories the crew of Moya narrowly dodges being discovered by a Peacekeeper Marauder housing a team of commando specialists. As they pass on and the Moya moves beyond the debris field that hid them something from the cold of space slides undetected into the Leviathan.

The party soon discovers the Draks, small insectoids that are capable of taking DNA samples and replicating it perfectly, creating copies and clones of the existing crew. In order for the Draks to give birth heat is necessary and as such the temperature inside of Moya is steadily increasing causing the cold blooded Aeryn Sun to succumb to heat delirium, a condition that if left untended or unchecked can cause a fate known as living death. At first the crew sees this as an attack but Crichton manages to broker a deal through Zhaan with the Monarch, the mother/queen of the Draks now living inside of the ship. Whereas D’Argo was all for killing every last bug in a one Luxan war Crichton in his brilliance moves in a different direction. The heat will be reduced, good news for Aeryn, and the Draks allowed to complete their birthing cycle before returning to space.

Unfortunately the Peacekeeper commandos find Moya and infiltrate the Leviathan. The five man team begins a sweep and comes across some of the clones gunning them down mercilessly. The Monarch in response cranks up the heat and believes the attack to be a violation of her agreement with Crichton. Now it’s Rygel who acts the diplomat meeting directly with the Monarch and securing an alliance to get the commandoes off of the ship. At the risk of losing Aeryn the heat is turned up even further reducing the commandoes to delirious, incapable sweat-sacks. Crichton, D’Argo, and the Draks work together to Intimidate the commandoes and send them off with their tails between their legs with stories of why you don’t mess with the crew of Moya. The Draks complete their birthing cycle and return to space parting on excellent terms with Rygel and an understanding with the other members (all of which survived) of the crew.

There is a certain sense of pride that comes when our players not only have to role play out a situation or disagreement but want to. Yes they may get in each other’s faces, compare egos, throw some insults, or even fight but in the end that deeper, underlying connection, the one less understood, is far more desirable than the standard “we travel together because we’re a party” reason. As I continue to watch Farscape I am still doing what I can to understand just what that connection is. It’s real. It’s there. It’s attainable. So the next time around you’re organizing a character creation go ahead and add in some conflict. Encourage your players to break the meta and write their own story rather than follow in the footsteps of the status quo.

You’ll be happy you did. Even during the fist fights.

The Fine Line: Detailed Descent

                                     Image by aissatan and taken from www.DeviantArt.com

By Scott Bingham

                “This is the place I told you to expect.

                Here you shall pass among the fallen people,

                Souls who have lost the good of intellect.”

                So saying, he put forth his hand to me,

                And with a gentle and encouraging smile

                He led me through the gate of mystery.

                Welcome back to the Flying Pincushion! This week’s theme of the poetic work of Dante, The Inferno, was altogether an enjoyable read and a conduit of inspiration in my own work as a DM. The topic for this piece is a discussion on the use of detail in our storytelling and the effect it can have on our players’ overall gaming experience.Details can be both a powerful point of interest in our storytelling and a mass of jumbled chaos that does little more than distract from what is truly important. In the instance of interest we take a close look at Dante’s The Inferno and the way in which the setting is presented in each of the Circles of Hell.

As Dante and Virgil travel together lower and lower through the depths of wailing and torment the most human response would be that of horror and fear. If any of my characters were to make such a journey (one has in fact) the overall play personality that I would bring to the table would be that of sheer terror and paralyzing revulsion. However because of the nature of detail used in describing the manner and method of each Circle’s tortured souls and their various punishments Dante feels wonder. He is impossibly pulled into the scenes of horrific and eternal damnation because of how brilliantly and beautifully these depictions are painted for him. Things that are so ugly, so grisly, so incredibly repulsive and yet Dante is drawn deeper and deeper into Hell as his curiosity and very interest is piqued.

This is a tool used graciously in the case of The Inferno to ensure that Dante involves himself in the story. Detail, when used properly, can turn the heads of our players and cause them to question and to investigate. Imagine for a moment what sort of difference that can make. Let us go the Third Circle of Hell, the one meant to punish those great Gluttons of the mortal life, for such an example. First, the version purposefully lacking any sort of hook.

As you awaken you find yourself on the floor of the Third Circle of Hell. Virgil explains that this plane is meant to punish the Gluttons. Off in the distance you see the three headed Cerberus torturing souls and Virgil calmly waves for you to follow him.

Boring.

I am in the Third Circle of the torments.

Here to all time with neither pause nor change

The frozen rain of Hell descends in torrents.

Huge hailstones, dirty water, and black snow

Pour from the dismal air to putrefy

The putrid slush that waits for them below.

Here monstrous Cerberus, the ravening beast,

Howls through his triple throats like a mad dog

Over the spirits sunk in that foul paste.

Absolutely chilling. Already there has been a sense of dread established and an innate desire to avoid the creature Cerberus at all costs. A picture has been painted for us as to the nature of these souls eternal torment and we wish more than ever to tread carefully. When you as a Dungeon Master can help your players to see what you are describing it becomes that more real for them. Personally I find it easier to be involved, interested, and participating when in my mind’s eye I can envision the scene laid out before me. I’d take extra care on where I set my feet in such a scene and keep my eyes on the beast Cerberus.

Now to the other side of things. Details are a profound and strengthening factor in our storytelling particularly when used to describe something that before would appear so small and insignificant. However such a thing must be used in moderation. It’s easy when telling our tale to our players to get lost in the details and forget that there are more important things to be accomplished. Sometimes a thing can be simple because it holds no value in what we’re trying to accomplish with our players. Sometimes a room is simply that; a room. There is a table, a bookshelf, and a chair. No embellishment needed for this room means nothing. It’s simply a room.

When detailing something of importance however we must take special care. Our stories matter to us most of all above anyone else and so it’s easy for us to get excited and at times a bit carried away in our telling. A scene of greatness can be too much for in our episodic expression of an incredible scene we run the risk of forgetting where the spotlight should shine; on our players. They are the heroes and need to know that as their DM we are interested and invested in them. For any and all who have taken the time and pains to fill out a character sheet and to write a backstory it’s nice to know that our storyteller appreciates our small contribution to building a living, breathing character to explore their world.

Consider detail as you would a spice; don’t dump the entire shaker into the mixture. Add just enough to flavor the meal and make it that much more enjoyable. Use too much and one’s appetite quickly becomes lost in the overwhelming, overpowering tang of far too many words.

Dante’s The Inferno does a masterful job of using detail in such a way that Dante’s character (which is himself oddly enough) is interested and involved, two traits that we long for in our players. Such use of detail prompts Dante to ask questions and to make skill checks all the while venturing further and further into the story and the very bowels of Hell. He feels the necessary fear and disgust at the twisted and tangled mess that is eternal damnation but the sense of curiosity that he feels is the one that we love most. Why else would he stop to speak to the various tormented souls that he meets or turn to Virgil with questions and curiosity in his eyes?

Details, especially the little ones, can make or break a scene in our story. Maybe the tiniest bit of embellishment ends up playing a crucial role in the grand finale or consistently resurfaces, drawing the party closer and closer to sinister undertones. In any case the use of details in moderation is the lesson to be drawn from this week’s Fine Line. U

The Fine Line: Point of Interest

By Scott Bingham

     Happy Wednesday and welcome back readers! This is the Fine Line where topics relating to the role of the Dungeon Master are reviewed and discussed, primarily the duties of a DM lying outside of the rules. Last week was a unique opportunity to go over the ideal player with our theme of The Hunger Games, the gamer that DM’s alike dream of.  In our last discussion on the Fine Line we went over the actions taken by the player behind Katniss Everdeen that were above all admirable and displayed her own depth of character.

               

     With this in mind and considering what we have talked about I know move to this week’s theme, Doctor Who. Now my taste in the various fictions and stories is eclectic and as a self-proclaimed member of the geek community I am a huge fan of the Doctor and his exploits. My favorites in particular are the Ninth and Tenth portrayed by Chris Eccleston and David Tennant respectively. For this piece we will focus on one of my most beloved of Tennant’s performances, Silence in the Library.

     The Doctor and his companion Donna respond to a plea for help found written on the slightly psychic paper. The Tardis carries them to the Library, an entire planet devoted to every book to ever be in existence. When I die and move on from this world I really hope my journey carries me to such a place. In any case, the Doctor very quickly realizes a major issue with the expanse of the Library and the planet itself. It’s empty.

     A quick scan performed by the Doctor reveals that the only humanoids upon the planet are himself and Donna. A broader search shows that there are a million million lifeforms on the planet and yet there is silence in the Library. As the Doctor and Donna begin their investigation a pair of messages are passed on to them from whoever it was that last occupied the Library.

Run. For god's sake run. Nowhere is safe. The library has sealed itself. We can't— Oh, they're here.

Count the shadows. For god's sake, remember. If you want to live, count the shadows.

     In the words of the Doctor, “So that’s why we’re here.”

     Before we progress further let us discuss the phenomenal character that is the Doctor. Though possessing average stats in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution the Doctor more than makes up for it with his ungodly score in Intelligence and his more than above average stats in Wisdom and Charisma. He is a master of utilizing his strengths, avoiding combat almost entirely by using a quick tongue, a sharp wit, and uncanny cleverness to work his way around and through problems. The Doctor is in essence the sort of player I can only fantasize about.

     Now as the DM of such a being you face a daunting task. Yours is the role of the challenger, the means by which the incredible intellect is put to work and exercised. Your story must possess enough curiosity, enough mystery, and enough difficulty to maintain the interest of a vastly intelligent character such as the Doctor. Best of luck.

     What makes the Doctor such an incredible player and such an interesting character? It’s his ability to break the meta and to think outside of the box. Once again he has average stats in half of his ability scores and so he relies upon what he does have often solving problems in a manner most of us wouldn’t even think of. He is constantly making checks and asking questions to gather as much information as he can and the DM does a wonderful job of providing every bit of information sought after. Knowledge is power as they say and the Doctor is the master of it.

     Now back to the Silence in the Library. Right from the get-go the Doctor is told exactly what he needs to know in the two messages; there is something dangerous in the Library, count the shadows, and to run. All of that from two short messages. Throughout the entirety of the adventure the Doctor refers to this information and it saves his life and also aids him in discovering what really happened within the Library.

     A quick Knowledge check reveals the ‘villain’ in this particular investigation the Vashta Nerada. The knowledge that the Doctor possesses about such creatures is chilling.

The Doctor: Almost every species in the Universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. 'Cause it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada.

Donna: What's Vashta Nerada?

The Doctor: It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark.

     With the arrival of an expedition of archeologists the Doctor’s task becomes that more daunting. Now he has more than just himself and Donna to protect from a vicious and unforgiving, unseen enemy. He quickly displays the manner in which the Vashta Nerada feed tossing a chicken wing through a patch of shadows. Instantly the meat is devoured leaving only the bone. The Vashta Nerada hunt by attaching themselves as an additional shadow effectively giving their next meal two shadows. However the Doctor is ever so confused as to how the Vashta Nerada came to be on the planet considering that they live primarily in forests hatching from spores found in the trees. Scary stuff. The warning to run now is even more prevalent than before.

     As the story continues onto part two, The Forest of the Dead, the Doctor is being chased by the Vashta Nerada. Fed up with his lack of information he whips around and confronts the empty suit of a recent meal, one of the archeologists, telling and even coaching the Vashta Nerada swarm within to communicate with him. An interesting attempt but it works and he speaks with the predator about how they came to be here.

             Vashta Nerada: We did not come here.

The Doctor: Well of course you did. 'Course you came here.

Vashta Nerada: We come from here.

The Doctor: From here?

Vashta Nerada: We hatched here.

The Doctor: But you hatch from trees— from spores in trees.

Vashta Nerada: These. Are. Our. Forests.

The Doctor: You're nowhere near a forest. Look around here.

Vashta Nerada: These are our forests.

The Doctor: You're not in a forest. You're in a library. There's are no trees in a— Library. Books. You came in the books.

     This is what makes the Doctor such a phenomenal character and the player behind him so amazing and fun to story tell with. At the beginning of the adventure the Doctor was only given tidbits of information. However as he continued to display his ability to ask questions and to think outside of the box his DM appropriately rewarded him with more information and knowledge concerning the mystery of the Library. This is what we can take from Silence in the Library and from Doctor Who in general.

     When our players get creative and show us that they are capable of breaking the mold and utilizing their own level of creativity we should reward them. This article stands as the polar opposite of Speak No Evil, my recent piece on The Evil Dead (2013) wherein the players didn’t ask hardly any questions or make any checks and simply didn’t play the game or become a part of the story. The Doctor however is an incredible character with such depth and his brings his own organic creative element to the story that one can’t help but shower him with his tool and means of solving the mystery; knowledge.

     We don’t solve the problem for our players. That’s up to them. The Doctor is the one who figures out how the Vashta Nerada came to be in the Library and on an even deeper level what happened to the people who had gone missing whilst on the planet. When our players ask the questions and play the game and break the meta we give them what they need to succeed. The rest is up to them.

The Fine Line: Depth of Character

                                   Image by myfreakinlife and taken from www.DeviantArt.com

By Scott Bingham

                Welcome back and welcome to the New Year! As the newest member to join the wizards of the Flying Pincushion I must express my thoughts on their magic. Such talent, such ability has truly been a remarkable experience to be a part of and I consider myself extremely lucky to be among their number.

                For this week, our first real week of return for the magical wonderings and musings of a gamer, I would like to pick apart an aspect of table top role playing that is often overlooked and/or soon forgotten without a second thought; the NPC. Now why on earth would a non-playable character, a bot, have any sort of value when the heroes are present? What can one gain from the influence or participation of a character that isn’t even a character? They can’t be that important… Can they?

                The Hunger Games gives us some very strong examples of the value that an NPC can hold over gameplay and the overall experience that our players will have. For this piece we will focus primarily on two NPC’s that really struck me as I read through the first book of the series;Cinna, KatnissEverdeen’s stylist, and Rue, the 12 year old female tribute from District 11.

                Let’s begin with Cinna. After Katniss goes through the appropriately horrifying experience of being washed, scrubbed, and waxed she meets with the man who will be her stylist for the games. Now up until this point Katniss has had a very stereotypical view of the people of the Capitol. The inhabitants border on the slightly insane or obsessed when it comes to their appearance, opting for whatever look or alterations to their bodies that they view as true beauty. When she meets Cinna however his appearance is very clean and simple with only a light application of gold eye liner to accent the golden flecks found in his eyes. His quiet demeanor and natural calm appeals to Katniss and she gravitates towards Cinna as both a counselor and an anchor amidst all of the stress she is undergoing with the fast approach of the Hunger Games. Cinna’s expression of his artistic work is memorable and may even be considered to be contrary to those who have gone before him.

                Just before Katniss is to enter the very arena of death she is alone with Cinna. He helps her with the outfit she’ll be wearing for the duration of the games and the two of them share a very personal and intimate moment.

                “Do you want to talk, Katniss?” Cinna asks.

I shake my head but after a moment hold out my hand to him. Cinna encloses it in both of his. And this is how we sit until a pleasant female voice announces it’s time to prepare for launch.

Still clenching one of Cinna’s hands, I walk over and stand on the circular metal plate. “Remember what Haymitch said. Run, find water. The rest will follow,” he says. I nod. “And remember this. I’m not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you.”

“Truly?” I whisper.

“Truly,” says Cinna. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. “Good luck, girl on fire.” And then a glass cylinder is lowering around me, breaking our handhold, cutting him off from me. He taps his fingers under his chin. Head high.

Now let us remember that this is an NPC. Katniss is the hero here, the player, the person who matters. And yet to her Cinna means so much more. This is a friend, a valued companion, an embodiment of trust and strength. Cinna’s quiet calm and ease of mind has helped to bring peace to Katniss despite standing alone before the unforgiving nightmare that is the Hunger Games. And in that moment when in Catching Fire Katniss is to enter the arena once more we mourn with her when Cinna is attacked and dragged away by Peacekeepers. Katniss does not forget Cinna and nor do we. There’s value in that.

On to Rue. In The Hunger Games Rue is described as small, quiet, and quick. When Katniss looks upon this tiny tribute from District 11 she sees her own young sister Primrose for whom she volunteered to replace in the Hunger Games. Rue is clever and resourceful despite her youth and warns Katniss of a nest of tracker jackers that our hero effectively drops on the heads of the Careers. She again comes to the aid of Katniss when they ally themselves together and Rue helps to heal Katniss’s stings from that same attack. Seeking to even the playing fieldKatniss and Rue come up with a plan to destroy the Careers’ food supply and the ensuing display of pyrotechnics is indefinitely a well-played skill check on the part of Katniss.

As Katniss returns to the forest in search of Rue she hears the screams of a child. Running through the woods she finds the tribute of District 11 trapped in a net just before a spear wielded by another tribute pierces the small girl’s body. Katniss doesn’t even hesitate to bring the boy down and she rushes to the aid of Rue but it’s too late. Rue is dying and in her last moments asks Katniss to sing for her.

Throughout her short lived friendship with Rue Katniss felt the desire to safeguard those who stand in need. It’s the very reason Katniss volunteered in the first place to protect her younger sister from the horrors of the games. As Katniss sits next to the still body of Rue she reflects upon something Peeta had said earlier.

Then I remember Peeta’s words on the roof. “Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to . . . to show the Capital they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” And for the first time, I understand what he means.

In an effort to strike a blow against the Capitol, to make them feel responsible for the death of Rue, Katniss gathers nearby wildflowers and wreaths Rue’s body in them to show them that she will not be a pawn to be moved and acted upon. Her actions with this NPC leads to a riot in District 11 and moves Katniss closer to the undertones of revolution that hum quietly throughout the first book of The Hunger Games series.

The player behind KatnissEverdeen has managed to do something that I dream of and hope for with my own players. She has placed value on something that doesn’t necessarily matter in the world and displayed a certain depth of character that is nothing if not admirable. Often times in a party setting a member of said party will die and will be asked to reroll a character. How many of the other heroes mourn the loss of their companion? How does the death of a friend and ally affect their psyche or perception of their journey? Does the death of a player hold value in the eyes of others?

In the examples discussed Katniss places value in the deaths of these two non-playable characters and by doing so has displayed her own measure of value to the DM. She is not simply playing a character in a table top game; she is her character. To have such a player is a dream come true for any storyteller. There is value in our players and when they display the measure of their character we enjoy their characters that much more. Such a thing makes for a story worth telling.