And here we have our first full town for D. Vincent Baker’s Dog’s in the Vineyard. The gang learns a few good lessons this session. Namely, there’s pretty much no stopping a group of Dogs when they team up, and no matter how bad you don’t want your cousin to be a Sorcerer, sometimes you just have to face facts.  This town was created by Jason Morningstar, and is based on the true story of Olive Oatman. When Jason found out I was running his towns, he shot me an email warning that a few of his early town designs aren’t the most ideal. I thanked him for his concern, but went ahead anyway.

Since then, I’ve done a LOT of reading on the lumpley forums on The Forge about town design, and gotten a bit of play under my belt. I now know what Jason was concerned about. I’m not sure if it comes through in the recording, but this town lacked the tension of some later ones I’ve run, and I know exactly why: The situation was too clear, the antagonist too one-sided, and the problems of the town hadn’t escalated to Hate and Murder yet. Vincent recommends ALWAYS designing a town up to Hate and Murder. I learned a lot from running this town, and my second town is one I made myself, and I think really hits all the right spots for what a town should be. Stay tuned for that!

Relevant Links

• Dogs in the Vineyard
• Vincent Baker’s Blog
• Dogs in the Vineyards Forum
• Kevin’s Post on the DitV Forum about this session.
• January Branch Document
• Jason Morningstar’s awesome play aids
• Mouse Guard
• Wheel of Time
• Detect Evil
• Carnivale
• Deadlands
• Unknown Armies

Crunchy Bits!

• Dogs in the Vineyard Session 2: 2 Hours, 51 Minutes
• Dogs in the Vineyard Session 2 Part A:  Minutes
• Dogs in the Vineyard Session 2 Part B:  Minutes
• Dogs in the Vineyard Session 2 Part C:  Minutes
• Intro Music from the soundtrack to The Proposition by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (the composer, not the comic writer)
• Outro music from “When The Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash.

The gang spends a good 45 minutes ranting and raving about how awesome In A Wicked Age… is.

Relevant Links

• Lumpley Games
• In a Wicked Age…
• Sword And Sorcery
• Tanith Lee
• Jack Vance
• Robert E Howard
• Iron Age
• Marvel Comics Conan
• Lumpley Games Oracle Generator
• Misspent Youth
• Duel of Wits
• Emily Care Boss
• Mouse Guard
• Conflict Flow Chart
• The Dreaded D&D 3.5 Grapple Rules
• The Dreaded D&D 3.5 Attacks of Opportunity Rules
• Abulafia
• Silver Age Comics
• GURPS
• Grey Ranks
• Spirit of the Century

Crunchy Bits!

• Discussion Episode 15: In A Wicked Age… Review 50 minutes
• Intro and Outro Music from The Prince of Persia by Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood published by Ubisoft.

CJ takes the reins as GM this round and much fun was had by all. By this session we’re all pretty comfortable with the rules and conflict flows quickly and freely. This session would prove to be Brandon’s day, as his now-corrupted character from last session wrecks an impressive swath of havoc and madness across two countries, laying low the armies of the Crimson Khan. Despite Dan, Kevin, and CJ all ganging up against him, his dice were too hot and the Maw of Madness consumed all.

Oracle:  The God Kings of War

Dan chose: A staff of white wood, summoner of lightnings and the War Magus who wields it.

The very first time that a certain young soldier, impressed against his choice and wanting nothing more than to return to his home, has killed.

A flock of hunterbirds, sharpbeaked, clever, and dreadful, and their master.

A token indicating that its bearer speaks for the high general.

Roles

Dan: Rafa Ban, Genius of flame.
Particular Strength: The complete metaphysical understanding of all forms of fire. (Double Potent)
Best Interests: To persuade the Mouth of the Abyss to consume the lands of the Crimson Khan, my sworn enemy, and burn the enemy army to cinders and scatter their ashes.

Brandon: Zaheil, the Maw of Madness
Particular Strength: Touch of the Abyss (reality bending powers) (Potent) (Far Reaching)
Best Interests: To eat the Storm Magus and release the Old One residing in his Staff. A descendant of an old enemy is near, he will be consumed like his ancestors finally were.

Kevin: Ekurzakir War Mage of the Crimson Khan, Master of the Stormcrows.
Particular Strength:  Staff of Lightning (Potent) Stormcrows (Far Reaching)
Best Interests:  Steal the secret of fire from Rafa Ban, Direct the wrath of the Abyss unto the heretical Uesirans.

NPCs

Adar, Descendant of the mighty Ninja Dervish Darius.
Particular Strength: Wakizashi (Potent)
Best Interests:  Complete my duty and find my way home. Preserve my homeland.

Relevant Links

• In A Wicked Age
• Lumpley Games
• Conflict Flowchart
• “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
• Plasma Ball
• Ramuh
• Confucius Hat
• Palpatine
• Fables
• Trail of Cthulhu
• Monster Burner

Crunchy Bits

• In a Wicked Age Session 3: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 3 Part A: 50 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 3 Part B: 55 Minutes
• Intro and Outro Music from The Prince of Persia by Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood published by Ubisoft.

Unfortunately we had a bit of a technical failure when we recorded our “real” session 2. Only an hour or so was saved, so in actuality this is session 3. Fortunately the serial nature of In a Wicked Age stories gave us some considerable leeway. There shouldn’t be any problem picking up with the narrative here. Dan picks up the GMing mantle this time around, and we  start off in the city of Kal-Nirar, where Demon Lord Nirar has been ruling for many generations. Nirar was Kevin’s character in the previous session, he started off as a Merchant Prince who made some sorcerous deals in the name of vengeance. Little is left of his humanity now as unseen forces move against him…

Oracle:  The Unquiet Past

Kevin chose:The son of a great tyrant, born crippled and denied his inheritance.

A scholar and antiquarian, unmindful of danger.

A thick gold ring, torn by a powerful sage from a demon’s ear.

The captain of a foreign troop, sent to collect tribute.

Roles

Kevin: The Demon-King Nirar, formerly a merchant prince of the city now called Kal-Nirar.
Special Strength: Minions of the Pit (far-reaching)
Best Interests: To retrieve the ring containing my soul; To send the Red Horde screaming back to their cowardly masters.

CJ: General Darius of the Red Horde
Special Strength: The Ninja dervishes of the Red Horde (potent).
Best Interests: To survive my negotiations with Nirar and convince him I’m only there for the tribute; To find some weakness in the demon-king’s armor (such as any random phylactery or disloyal heir that might be sitting around).

Brandon: Zaheil
Special Strength: The demon ring, which makes him invisible and silent.
Best Interests: To learn the secrets that power the gate – so other uses may be found for it; To make a blunder out of the Red Horde’s envoy, just like I did 20 years ago when I stole their ring.

NPCs:

Dem Ashur, blind and disowned son of Nirar.
Special Strength: The power to jump through shadows, and see shadows for what they really are (far reaching).
Best Interests: To banish my father and claim my throne; To steal the ring and seal the gate.

Relevant Links

• In A Wicked Age
• Lumpley Games
• Conflict Flowchart
• Ptolus: City by the Spire
• Hardcore History Podcast
• Radiolab Podcast about Genghis Khan
• Marvel GI Joe comics
• Vincent’s rules hack to play Conan in a Wicked Age.
• Tom Bombadil
• Prince of Persia again – but Sands of Time this time.
• Sword +5, Holy Avenger
• The Mouth of Sauron
• The Wizaaaaaard

Crunchy Bits

• In a Wicked Age Session 2: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 2 Part A: 54 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 2 Part B: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
• Intro and Outro Music from The Prince of Persia by Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood published by Ubisoft.

We’ve all been champing at the bit to dig into Vincent Baker’s games, and due to its popularity as a one-shot party game, the crew decided to go with In a Wicked Age first.  These sessions were an absolute blast, and everyone came away a pretty big fan. For IAWA, we changed up our format a bit: we all GM’d one session each, starting with Kevin.  Check it out!

Oracle: God Kings of War

A cask of honey wine, tribute to a fierce bandit queen.

The arrival of unexpected and improbable allies, in darkness.

A genius of flame, imprisoned within a brass mirror.

The campsite of a traveling army, not long deserted.

Roles

Dan: Rafa Ban, Genius of flame.
Forms: Covertly d4, Directly d12, For Myself d6, For Others d6, With Love d8, With Violence d10
Particular Strength: The complete metaphysical understanding of all forms of fire.
Best Interests: To get free of the mirror. To burn Eric’s twisted soul to ash.

Brandon: Kadashman-Enlil, leader of a destroyed army, holder of the brass mirror.
Forms: Covertly d6, Directly d10, For Myself d4, For Others d8, With Love d6, With Violence d12
Particular Strength: The last of the divinely infused royal bloodline, who can draw from the strength of the people to Inspire, Lead, and Overcome the worst odds.
Best Interests: To remove Eric the Bitter from the land.  The bandits will take advantage of my defeat; I must end the bandit-queen’s tyranny when she shows her face.

CJ: Zahir the Blade, the Bandit-Queen’s Champion and lover.
Forms: Covertly d6, Directly d6, For Myself d8, For Others d4, With Love d10, With Violence d12
Particular Strength: The Training of the southern assassins.  A series of complex meditations culminating in a single strike.
Best Interests: To convince Kadashman-Enlil that we will help him. To steal the mirror and trade it to Eric for our safety.

NPCs:

Ku-aya, the Bandit Queen
Best Interests: Kill Kadashman-Enlil while he is still weak.  Use the foolish noble remnants to drive Eric from the land.

Eric the Bitter, icy warlord, with his warhammer Gutar-Mag
Best Interests: To smash the prison of Rafa Ban, sundering his spirit.

Relevant Links

• In A Wicked Age
• Lumpley Games
• Conflict Flowchart
• Cadash
• Story Games Names Project
• Planescape: Torment (Ignus)
• The Darksword Trilogy
• “A little too close to Narnia”
• The North Wind from Fables
• A Song of Ice & Fire
• Wheel of Time
• Final Fantasy X (Auron)
• “Kirk shoulder grab”
• Green Lantern: Blackest Night
• The King-Priest of Istar and the Cataclysm
• Prince of Persia (the new one)

Crunchy Bits!

• In a Wicked Age Session 1: 2 Hours 26 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 1 Part A: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
• In a Wicked Age Session 1 Part B: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
• Intro and Outro Music from The Prince of Persia by Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood published by Ubisoft.