Holes In Thoughts: Wires & Games

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Wires & Games

This whole 'working from home' thing is proving to be terribly convenient: I don't think I've ever had the freedom to simply visit a relative without major concern for work. Something I could get used to.

Yesterday, we stripped the wires from the truck today and posted progress on the Dodge forum I visit (link).

Then, I went with Jordan and did some Star Wars role-playing. I refused pretty much flat-out to play someone else's character, and played a 'one-off' NPC. It was the first time I'd played a one-session character, and the first time I'd gamed in about two years.

The party was stuck on a planet and more or less at the mercy of a young man who owned the planet through gambling at Sabacc. My character wasn't a gambler, but a businessman who was at the table. The rich young man who owned the planet (Henry) had broken the heart of my character, Rigel, four years previous. Rigel determined to make money by slowly earning the trust of Henry and taking key parts of his business, which was primarily in mining the type of crystals used to make light sabers. The planet was uncharted and the only planet with these crystals not under the control of the Sith - making it very valuable, and also making it important that it be kept off of the Sith's maps.

Before the game, Rigel uncharacteristically poisoned Henry, and sought to make the game last as long as possible, knowing the young gambler wouldn't quit unless he had lost or won. Of course, Henry wasn't nearly as skilled as a gambler poisoned; the party and Rigel fleeced him fairly thoroughly before the party realized why the famed gambler was doing so poorly. Unfortunately for Rigel, one of the party members sensed that Henry had been poisoned, and successfully used the Force to prevent his death.

Having already won 25% of his profit, and realizing that Henry wasn't going to die, Rigel framed
the party for Henry's poisoning, but bought their safety in exchange for their (impressive) winnings. In exchange for Rigel's support in mining the crystals, ships to get off of the planet, and Henry's 'mercy,' the party was required to give 50% of their profits and charged with keeping the planet anonymous. They would also have Rigel's small spy network to help them.

Win-win. I had a lot of fun coming up with all of that in-game. Plus, the GM now has several extra tools with which to move the players: my spies, their debts to me, their obligation to keep the planet secret, and the fact that their vehicles are now 'on loan' instead of their own (barring sale and meaning they have to pay for them if they are destroyed).

Labels: games, in-laws, Jordan, role-playing, truck

posted by Steve @ 10:10 AM

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