Our company has a lot of regulations about information safety; the biggest being that you need to lock your computer if you’re not in your cube. If you don’t, you get in trouble.
In order to appeal to the younger crowd, our only young security staffer printed out memes and stuck them up all over the office.
The funny part is that they’re older memes; things like “one does not simply” and “I too like to live dangerously” so it’s hard to take them seriously.
Tldr: my office is full of memes because that’s the only way you can talk to us millennials
Tomorrow, I’m going to run a very unusual session of Exalted.
The PCs are lost on a strange, empty ocean, with only a vague destination to aim for and a handful of rescued prisoners for a crew. Something is preventing them from regaining Essence or Willpower, and it could be weeks or months before their trial is over. The challenge is one of endurance, both physical and psychological, as they attempt their crossing under starless skies and try to discover what strange fate has befallen them.
I’m hoping to resolve the whole voyage in a single session, which has required me to do a lot of unusual planning. The trick is going to be keeping the pacing fast by focusing on quick vignettes to convey the passing of time, making sure the players understand the actions they can take at any given stage, and focusing on the resource-management angle instead of on any one challenge.
I think I’ve got enough prep to see me through this. I’ll post again tomorrow or the next day to let you know how it all went.
Well, many hours later, I’d say the session went very well!
Turns out I’d over-prepared, which was a lot better than under-preparing. The short scenes worked great, and the pacing mostly remained quite quick. The trickiest part was juggling everyone’s screen time to make sure everyone had a chance to get their scenes in. I’d also forgotten to mention that two of my players went into limit break at the start of the session; they didn’t do anything catastrophic, but their state of mind helped contribute to the overall mood.
Overall, I think the thing that sold it most was the atmosphere. Things remained entertaining throughout, but we started from a place of confusion and worry, then slowly escalated to dread as the details of their situation were gradually revealed. When they finally escaped, everyone was positively giddy with relief, and it was a joy to see. Overall, I found it to be a hugely enjoyable session. I’d do some things differently next time, but the overall concept has potential.
Please and thank you re: exalted and not getting into it.
I feel like without the proper contextualization and conversation that “getting into it” on this hellsite would make you look like some sort of bad guy in the way that you are not. Contrariwise, it would make me look like some sort of bad guy in the way that I am not.
The last thing I want to do is misframe either of us in this nonsense.
This week in RPGs has been my characters, the social diplomats, meeting situations that they aren’t willing to talk or compromise on;
And characters normally itching for a fight holding them back and being like, “No wait, let’s hear them out.”
A Quiet Respite 