synflux | OPEN | LILITH Board Game Club: First Meeting

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critical role: taryon darrington

OPEN | LILITH Board Game Club: First Meeting

WHO: All Outsiders
WHAT: Board Game Mingle
WHERE: LILITH Base, Library
WHEN: Some time in the middle of March
WARNINGS: N/A

The Games.
For those that remember the question posed on the network nearly two months ago, now is about the time that Taryon promised to put together a splendid party centered on games played around the table. A "board game" party, if you will.

And if you forgot, then a large sign with "BOARD GAME CLUB MEETING SPONSORED BY TARYON DARRINGTON STARTING 3PM AT THE LIBRARY" on the residential floor will inform you.

The upper floors, thankfully, was not as damaged as the lower portions of the base, leaving enough space for Taryon to add two more foldable tables from storage and additional chairs. There is a deck of cards and few simple board games stacked on one of them: chess, checkers, Battleship, Monopoly (please be civil, Taryon might cry if you lose the pieces), and the like. There are also a few newer boxes with more complex rules for those into games involving tracking multiple resources and cards Taryon already has a set for Settlers of Catan and Risk prepared from the very start

A small table (actually, a repurchased stand) is reserved for the Mahjong players. Doty, the automaton, has been ordered to stack them neatly facedown into a pristine cube. If he weren't a machine but for precision, it would be superhuman impressive.

On a separate table are the tabletop role-playing games. In the past, Taryon has donated to a kickstarter for a small-scale roleplaying game...that is completely forgot about after he died. Its arrival in the mail came to a surprise, and he had to read the clumsily written rule pamphlet twice to get a handle for the gameplay mechanics. Or roleplay mechanics, seeing as there is a system for rewarding players that have a conversation about pre-determined topics. Hopefully everyone will agree on how it's played. Otherwise, there's some good old-fashioned Dungeons and Dragons oneshots he'll be happy to DM.]

The Refreshments.
He didn't order any heavy meals, but Taryon and Doty made a long snack run at the nearby convenience stores to buy drinks and snacks. As much as he would have loved to bring wine, by the time he bought ten varieties of daifukus, he realized he went over his food and drink budget.

He hopes no one complains about the lack of sustenance, although a few hours into the games, he stands up from his seat: "Not that I'm hungry or anything, but if anyone wants to chip in with some money, I can order something!"

Whatever cheap food they get, one can eat it either during a game or while relaxing in other parts of the library - or they can just read a book and try to deal with the noise of victorious and defeated players.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Astarion has been digging through the board games provided, most seemed childish or asinine, but one he felt held promise with some change of rules.

He invites you to join him in a game of Guess Who, but his rules for it are thus:]

None of these simplistic rules for children and morons. If your opponent asks if your person is wearing a hat and they are, you're immediately a loser. And why would you ever choose a woman, unless you only have a quarter of a brain?

Instead, we shall ask thoughtful questions. "Does your person suffer a year-long stint of piles?" Or, "Does your person long to bathe in the blood of his family and ascend the throne?" And you try to choose who you think best suits these subjective questions.

There may never be any winners, but imagine the thrill you would feel if you did win! So, will you join me?

[He gestures to the board set up on the other side of the table, smiling a most charming smile.]

((OOC: We will play this for real, but ICly! Save this image of all the horrible goblins that are the Guess Who folks, and mark off the characters you think fit the answers. And yes, it is possible to win Subjective Guess Who, though I personally have always been a loser. If you have any questions, feel free to DM me!))

But that's now how the rulebook says we should play it...

[Sure, it's not a complex role-playing game dependent on strict adherence to the mechanics and commonly accepted rulings, but the point of this game is to keep it simple.

Alright, so it was designed for children forming basic logical deduction skills (Taryon knows he was advanced compared to his peers in his youth), but the point stands.]

Are there rulings as to how descriptive you can be? I imagine a paragraph of narration is out of the question.

A. The Simple Game

Ooh, this will be fun! [Taryon takes out the small rules pamphlet, the cards, and several playmats from the Rising Hope RPG, a new game that was just developed thanks to the funding of hundreds of backers and a convincing marketing campaign.] I have no idea what this is like, just let me check out the rules...

[He's halfway through the second page when his excited expression relaxes, his eyes darken, and his brow furrows. Some of the rules aren't exactly...clear. Maybe he's misreading? He flips through the other pages, then returns to the front.]

Oh, well. [Setting the pamphlet aside.] I'm sure it'll all make sense once we start playing.

B. Dungeons and Dragons - threadjacking welcome

[Now for the real shit.

Taryon rubs his hands together. His hand-drawn dungeon maps: check. Miniature figurines he collected from shops over the past few months: check. A story: check. Character sheets: check.]

I have some prepared ones, actually. But I think it's more fun if you come up with your own character. Tell me. [Leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands.] Who are you playing?

[Otherwise he has characters sheets that are obvious expies of fantasy novel protagonists. Maybe you really want to play Frodo or Legolas instead.]

[Ratchet was reluctant to come to this thing in the first place, but he needs to get to know more people if they're going to trust him to treat them, so he folds up into an ambulance and sends his hard-light avatar out to see what this board game thing is all about. He finds a table and sits down, then turns to Taryon as he asks a question.]

I'm Ratchet. I'm one of the new medical staff, so... I guess I'll play a healer?

[Taryon's eyes light up as this older man - a newcomer, voluntarily asks to join. And to think, he was told that these sorts of nerdy games were for kids! He clasps his hands together.]

That's perfect! I have a cleric prepared just for that! Those are the healers, by the way. Here. [He presses a finger against his temple as he works on sending a copy of the character sheet for a wood elf cleric: domain of war, devoted follower of Sune, a pure-hearted healer whose faith kept their spirits up during a time of troubles in the kingdom. Classic Final Fantasy White Mage vibes.] So you'll start off with some healing spells, and as an elf, you gain proficiency with a bow and arrow, so you're not helpless if you're in trouble. I wrote the background myself, but you can change their backstory as long as it fits their abilities.

[Ratchet frowns, but Taryon shouldn't take it personally, that's just how his face is.]

Do they have to be a devoted follower of anything? Can't they just heal?

[Ah, so this is a frowner. Taroyn refrains from telling Ratchet that doing this excessively will add wrinkles to his face and make him seem older.]

Well, no, they get their powers from their god. See, anyone could do a medicine check - although their success depends on whether or not they have proficiency in it - but clerics get the really good spells. And you get these really awesome powers like divine intervention at higher levels, but - hah - that depends on whether you guys want to do more sessions together.

Huh. [Ratchet doesn't look thrilled about this for a moment before his face softens and he shrugs. It reminded him of Drift, which was nice in and of itself, and it was only a game.] All right, then. My conjunx is more into this woo-woo stuff, but I'll bite. How do we start?

It's not fake. I mean that the game is fake, but it's like this where I'm from. I know a cleric that can astral project herself anywhere in the world. [It's more complicated than that, but from Taryon's perspective, Pike is a powerful warrior with a terrifying presence that belies her wise and caring nature.

Yet, as he reviews the map, he has to ask:] Is a conjunx...a good thing? Is it like an organization?

Oh. Uh, sorry. I didn't mean... y'know. I didn't know it was real where you come from.

[There's an awkward pause, but thankfully Taryon asks another question.]

Conjunx endura. It's like... [He thinks for a second.] It's like a husband. It doesn't serve all the same social functions, but that's the closest I can think of.

[Taryon briefly lowers his head, which resembles a mix of an understanding nod and a meek reaction — it’s still strange to hear the very notion of magic and divine beings to be considered a fantasy.]

I…have many questions about how that would work, but I think those can wait until after the game.

[He figures this must be some sort of obscure and culturally specific function in the human society Ratchet is from but—] I’m Taryon Darrington, by the way. Your dungeon master for tonight.

You can ask. If it's too personal, I'll tell you.

[Ratchet nods at Taryon, brisk and businesslike.]

Good to meet you, Taryon.

A pleasure. Now... [He pulls out a shoebox of figurines: not all are from official sources, but he's had to gather what's available, including spare game pieces from other games.] Find one that would best represent her character.

[And as he goes through the box, Taryon thinks of which question to posit first.]

So...is it purely some sort of emotional relationship without the legal benefits? The other way around? I'm not quite getting it.

[Ratchet looks at the pieces and picks a red-looking one just out of habit.]

It's pretty much the same as a human marriage, we just don't do it to procreate. New Cybertronians are made by our planet, not by relations between two mechs. There's some legal benefits, too, to make medical decisions and things, so it's not just emotional. It's like... tying your lives together for good, or for however long they last.

Ah-- [There are so many points Taryon wants to bring up, that some human marriages are not done in the name of procreation. That many do it for love. That (excuse you), Taryon thinks romance is an awesome reason to want to spend the rest of your life with someone. That's something humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves, everyone...

He squints at Ratchet, trying to figure out what he is, if he's not a human? Aasimir? If he's in his LILITH-provided human disguise, why wear it here?

And what exactly is a Cybertronian?]

You come from a rock?

I feel like I should have clarified earlier. I'm not actually a human person--this is a hard-light avatar I'm using so I didn't come in here and cause a stir or break anything small by accident. I'm actually fifteen--well, ten feet tall and inorganic.

So, yes. Occasionally things called 'hot spots' ignite on our planet, Cybertron, and that's how we're made. You should come see me in the medibay at some point if you have the time--I wear my regular form there and only use my holomatter avatar if necessary.

You're...that's the disguise technology they LILITH has, right? [It's not, but yeah. If he's fifteen feet tall, he definitely must be disguised.] Then, what are you made from? Are you a being of stone? Like a Titan? I can see why you thought it would be safer this way.

Oh, I had this already, actually. I'm ten feet tall now but that's because LILITH shrunk me a little--I'm usually taller and I wouldn't have been able to get through any of the doors, or clear the ceilings for that matter.

I'm made of metal. Metal and wires and electricity and a spark.

Subjective Guess Who

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Tabletop Game Nerds Here

D&D

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B

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Catan, because we must

a; this is gonna be good

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