OPEN | LILITH Board Game Club: First Meeting

[likemybooks]

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.

Comments

[likemybooks]

Right. So, if you're going with the backstory, we can begin the story. [He opens a binder with his notes to the first page.] You are at a town festival, with all the high born and low born people in attendance. The evening has just begun, there are bards performing in every tavern, and food is served. There are some nobles who stick to the expensive restaurants and some of the poor thay prefer the bawdier crowds, but you, personally, are allowed to be anywhere.

So, let's start with your name and what your character is doing in this moment.

[asafepairofhands]

Yeah, that's fine. Uh...

[Ratchet is not the most creative guy on the base, so he flounders a little.]

My name is um. Verity. [A very human name.] And I guess I'm looking for the medical tent so I can help out?

[likemybooks]

[An unusual but pretty name for a fantasy character.]

Alright. You find the medical tent, which is a white tent with a sign labeled "Healing" on top, so anyone in a rush can find it. The inside is empty save for someone getting a cut on their arm treated. They're on a cot in the back, and you see some of thr healers chatting in a corner. There's a sense of nervousness in the air. One of the nurses notices you enter and walks up to you. She says, "Oh! Are you here to help? The night is coming, and we worry that all of the carousing and rowdiness will lead to many more injuries than we can handle."

[asafepairofhands]

"I am here to help," I tell her, and I... familiarize myself with the place? Learn where stuff is and what supplies we have in case we do have a lot of injuries and I need something in a hurry.

[likemybooks]

She smiles, and she looks extremely thankful to have some extra help while everyone else is celebrating and carousing outside.

Alright. With a cursory look, you find where the basic supplies are. It's all things to treat light wounds, drinks for hangovers, your typical medicine. Actually, go roll for perception, just to see if you find anything else.

i'm on a dnd retreat so i'm rolling actual dice for this

[asafepairofhands]

I rolled a sixteen. [Ratchet squints at his character sheet.] Plus... two. So eighteen? What does that mean?

we are deep in the roleplay

[likemybooks]

That means you did pretty well! The higher you roll, the more successful you are. Basic challenges in this world require you to get at least 10 points, but that's not the case for a daring adventurer. Anyway, back to the story.

[He cleara his throat.] With an eighteen, you find ledger in one of the drawers and get a better sense and where all of the equipment for specific injuries are. And I'd say you also know where to find any specific medicine quickly.

And as you're exploring, one of the nurses keeps watching her from her seat by the entrance. Each time you look her way, she quickly diverts her eyes.

[asafepairofhands]

[Ratchet frowns, considering, then nods.]

I go up to her and ask if there's anything I can do to help her, since she's been looking at me. I'm not rude, but I want an answer.

[likemybooks]

I didn't give you a proficiency in intimidation, so she wouldn't be too scared of you, but you look like you're an experienced cleric. She's speaking very nervously when she says that wasn't meaning anything by that, bit that she's generally worried about the day and new people. She leaves it vague unless you try a different avenue.

[asafepairofhands]

[Ratchet considers this before nodding, then changing tack.

I apologize to her and tell her I'm self-conscious because I'm new, that's all. I... ask her if there's anything in particular she's worried about.

[likemybooks]

She says it's nothing, but...alright, so you don't need to roll insight, buts she's definitely worried about something.

Actually, roll perception again, since there are other things you could do.

[asafepairofhands]

...six. [Ratchet looks up at Tary, his mouth slanting.] Probably not enough, right?

[likemybooks]

Oof. [He looks so disappointed, but that's how the dice roll. You can't share everything you prepared if your players don't notice it.] No. It's the same as ever. Nothing else to see here.

So I guess you'll just wait there until the first patient shows up, right? Unless you have other plans.

[asafepairofhands]

No... no, I'd wait for patients. [He hesitates.] Should I be doing something else?

[likemybooks]

It's your character, and the world is your oyster. You're free to do whatever you want and I'm supposed to revise the story based on your decisions.

No, really, I created a detailed description of the festival in case you wanted to stall the main plot.

[asafepairofhands]

[Ratchet laughs a little, looking surprised.]

Seems like a lot of work for something people might not use. I don't want to stall the main plot, what happens next?

[likemybooks]

I like doing that work. [Taryon grips the pad of paper with his extensive notes on worldbuilding and backstories of important NPCs that take up entire pages. He's a nerd, he loves this stuff.]

Fine, then. You work throughout the afternoon, but then once it starts getting dark, two people rush in. There's a human man dragging in his companion, a dwarf. The dwarf has a bloody wound on his chest, that he's clutching, and the man looks to you in desperation. "Help! Help us, there's a beast on the loose!"

[asafepairofhands]

[Ratchet nods, before his eyes widen.]

Oh, hell. Uh... there are plenty of healers in the tent, so I run outside to try to find the monster? Wait, can I even fight?

[likemybooks]

Check your character sheet, you have all of your weapons and spells on there.

[Taryon pushes the binder to the side to point at the second printed page on Ratchet's side of the table.]

Under here. I recommend the bow and arrow for more range and damage.

[asafepairofhands]

Okay, good. Shooting I can do. Right, then I run to try and find the whatever-it-is that's hurting people and see if anyone else needs help.

[likemybooks]

Hold on, first, you just run out of the tent and see people running away from one of the plazas. You draw your bow and arrow as you run in the opposite direction of the crowd. As you turn the corner, you see...

[A pause as he picks up a figurine from underneath the table.]

A wyrmling! It's basically a very young dragon, but it's spitting fire at food stalls and snapping at people and animals. You see someone on the ground with a bleeding leg, unable to move, about 40 feet away from the wyrmling, since you're specifically looking for people to help.

[asafepairofhands]

[Ratchet nods, then thinks for a moment.]

If there are already people fighting the wyrmling, I go to the person who's injured. If nobody is fighting the wyrmling yet, I fire on it. What dice do I roll?

[likemybooks]

Hm... [Taryon was hoping that Ratchet would make the decision himself, but that's on him for not predicting what his players would do. It doesn't occur to him that Ratchet is thinking as an experienced soldier would.]

So your character's priority is to fight it, or to heal the person? Because most people are running or trying to put out fires. And since you're the main character, your first action will determine how your fight goes. You can call for other people to help, there's-- yeah, let's say that there are guardsmen working on leading people to safety, so you're not entirely alone. You can either let them be, roll to command them...and remember, your character background is nobility. You hold some bit of authority.

[He pulls out a sheet of grid paper: a bigger one with the street layout drawn in marker. A mishmash of figurines representing the crowd, the injured person, and the guards are scattered around.]

How about this. Roll for initiative. It's a good time to go over combat.

[asafepairofhands]

Okay... [Ratchet peers over at the map and nods approvingly.] That's really helpful, thanks. I rolled... a 10 for initiative. I'd try to get the guards to help me fight the wyrmling and I rolled a... nine. So probably not so much.

[likemybooks]

Just a moment. The guards get an initiative of... [He rolls the die, and his brow furrows.] Oh. That's just an eight. The wyrmling gets a 15, so...you still get to yell at the guards. And by the way, your noble background gives you a proficiency in persuasion. You meet the DC with that bonus.

As you cry out for help, the guardsmen hear your elegant and refined pleas for assistance. I'll say that one of them stays behind to help the crowd while the other will come help you. It'll be one round before he reaches you.

Right now, the wyrmling sees that you're daring to challenge him! He rears back and spits a glob of fire in your direction! The injured man manages to roll away from the attack, but you have to roll dexterity to see if you can dodge. And - you're an archer. You add three to your roll.