Your browser does unfortunately not support Web standards, and this Web site looks MUCH better in a Web standards compliant browser, although the content is still accessible to any browser or Internet capable device.

The Shadow of Yesterday

Lambert's Quest for Redemption


TSoY One-on-One

Due to real life asserting it's ugly face, our game group was down from four players to two. So it's 1-on-1 between my friend Dahlman and I for the foreseeable future.

We looked at several games, some new and some old favorites. We quickly decided to try something new. First we created a two-fisted pulp hero for Spirit of the Century and were psyched to play, but while hanging out one day we started reminiscing about old AD&D campaigns. We leafed through several old adventures and talked about sessions of old. This fueled us to do some old THAC0-style gaming, using the cool bits, but not the structure of some old classic AD&D adventures.

In particular we once again found ourselves flipping through the many maps of the Temple of Elemental Evil, with Dahlman asking me about the adventure's backstory (for the hundredth time) and me saying that it really didn't have much of one. Regardless, we're itching to explore the rest of that darn place, given how we TPK'ed on the first level.

I have followed the discussion concerning "Burning THAC0" at The Burning Wheel forums, but coming of a BW campaign we wanted something else. We now started looking at various fantasy games, and as big FUDGE and FATE fans decided to try The Shadow of Yesterday. TSoY is optimally designed for 3-6 players, but knowing this going in we have our expectations set straight.

A lot of TSoY mechanics support involving other characters, such as when Refreshing Pools, or the use of Gift Dice, but we won't let this hinder us. We each took two Gift Dice, and allow Dahlman to freely pass Gift Dice to me as the Story Guide (SG, or GM in most games), when he wants to applaud something cool I'm doing, and I do the same towards him. The mechanics for Refreshing Pools will ensure that our story's Story Guide Characters (SGCs, or NPCs as they're called in most games). This should make our story rock, especially in combination with the ultra cool of TSoY!

A big reason for picking TSoY is that, as far as I recall, the game's designer, Clinton R. Nixon, designed TSoY to be similar to D&D 3.5, but delivering the stories he wants out of gaming. You quickly equate TSoY Secrets to D&D Feats, the three Innate Abilities in TSoY to the three Saving Throws in D&D, as a couple of examples. This was perfect for our purposes.

The fact that TSoY's Keys, let the player decide how he earns Experience Points (XP), ensures that we get the story focus we're after. We are also big fans of the system's conflict resolution and Bringing Down the Pain mechanic. All conflicts are resolved with just one roll of the dice (per player in opposed conflicts). The player has the option of Bringing Down the Pain if he isn't happy with the outcome of the conflict, which moves it to detailed task resolution with a set intent stated at the start of the conflict. You can only kill named characters during Bringing Down the Pain, so the SG can push as hard as he wants during the game, it is up to the players to decide when they stake their character's life.

Prep

We decided to take Dahlman's favorite old AD&D, D&D 3.5 and The Riddle of Steel character, Lambert the Paladin. We fast-forwarded his story a decade and a half since we last left him. He's now in his mid forties, turned decadent, alcoholic and generally down on his luck. He's down in the gutter, out of shape, without his holy powers and has been stripped of his office. Our story will focus on his attempts at redemption.

We are not using Near as the setting, nor The Kingdoms of Kalamar, which is where we last left Lambert. We are instead going with a city without a name, and a strictly generic old-fashioned AD&D setting. Since we only have one player, we haven't bothered working up any cultures in our game world. Cultures are very central to Near, the official setting of TSoY and tie directly into the mechanics.

Please note, we don't have any the usual D&D expectations. We are merely stealing some of the cool stuff out of a couple of published scenarios and will be using them as Key Scenes in TSoY. Compare it to the comment about "a knife fight under a waterfall" in the game's guidelines to play prep. Cool and flavorful bits are all we're after, that's all.

Lambert wants to turn his life around and redeem himself, but is conflicted about how to accomplish this. He is a joke of his former self, a drunken joke of a man, bragging about adventures of old, with nobody believing him anymore.

As Dahlman just separated from his girlfriend at the moment of play, I was intent on using this to power our game. His ex was moving out as we were at my house playing. My idea was having the one person in the world that's still sympathetic to Lambert being a mirror image of sorts to Dahlman's ex-girlfriend.

The prep was basically just creating the worn down version of Lambert for TSoY, and me re-reading the TSoY rules. I didn't prep any SGCs or events, but had some old AD&D adventures at hand for cool bits. The only thing I came up with before the game was the opening scene.

Lambert Lejonklo

"Lejonklo" means "Lion Claw" in Swedish.

Concept

Downtrodden, both morally and physically, ex-paladin.

Pools

Vigor: 3, Instinct: 2, Reason: 6

Secrets
Keys
Abilities
Development

Session One

2007-08-30

In the Gutter

The opening scene saw Lambert being helped out of the gutter by sweet Adele Niel, the young, pretty waitress at his local watering hole. She asked, "Sir Lejonklo, please get up, can I help you home?" Lambert being severely hungover and reeking of booze decides to kiss her, with the intent of bedding her.

Since Dahlman was concerned with Lambert just getting off, I proclaimed that Adele had the Key of Love with Lambert. I stated that she's at least half Lambert's age and set the stakes to Lambert crushing her heart by acting like the drunk he is — after having sex with her. Dahlman was using Savoir-Faire (I) at Unskilled, but with a penalty die due to his condition, while Adele used React (I) at Competent. I forgot to award it at the time of play, but this scene was worth 2 XP.

Lambert and Adele had some sloppy sex. After Lambert got off, he lumbered out of bed and reached for some coin. "Here's some gold, now leave me be," he said and handed her some copper coins. So used to dealing with street-workers that he did this out of habit, while rummaging through his filthy, little one-room apartment for something strong to drink. Adele ran out of his apartment barely dressed with tears streaking down her face.

Adele Niel

Concept

Young, cute barkeepers daughter, with a crush on Lambert.

Pools

Vigor: 2, Instinct: 3, Reason: 1

Secrets
Keys
Abilities
Development

Disgusted!

Lambert locates an earthen jug of moonshine, and takes a deep drought, but catches a glimpse of himself in the cracked mirror on his wall.

We now had a conflict to see if Lambert would realize how much he had just hurt Adele and if he could give up the drink or not. Dahlman used Lambert's Adept Resist (R) ability, he asked for a penalty die due to his sorry state, but I also awarded him a Gift Die for his great description of Lambert's thoughts of seeing his disgusting self in the mirror.

Disgusted with his mirror image Lambert throws the jug into the mirror promising himself that that's the last time he had a drink. He now tries to clean himself up to go and apologize to Adele.

I can't quite recall what ability Lambert rolled in this conflict, but it was most likely something he was Unskilled at, and he failed miserably. This left him with penalty dice for the next conflict.

Lambert sets off to apologize to Adele, with a bad comb-over, washed pits but wearing a soiled shirt, still reeking of booze, and snatching a handful of flowers, roots and all, from some flower box on the way.

The Singing Nightingale

We join Lambert outside the Singing Nightingale. His favorite haunt and about the only dive in town that still serves him. Adele's father, and barkeep Saugrin Niel intercepts him on the doorstep. Saugrin does not want to let Lambert see Adele, and decides to throw him out the door.

Lambert's intent is to convince Saugrin to back down. He used Diplomacy (R) and his Secret of Speciality (Diplomacy) to get Saugrin to give up without a fight, but I gave him a penalty die due to the circumstance. Saugrin used his Adept Scrapping (V) ability.

Lambert once again found himself face down in the gutter, but without Adele to pull him to his feet. He sadly limped home.

Evicted

Lambert's landlord Mrs. Zunker is outside his apartment building with some goons. They're throwing out his belongings in the street, while stuffing anything of value into a small donkey cart. On top of the pile is his plate armor.

Lambert tries to persuade them to give it back to him, but Mrs. Zunker wants the money she's owed, "I will melt this old piece of junk and get a few coins for the metal."

We enter a conflict where Lambert tries to use his Diplomacy (R) to bargain with them to get to let him keep the armor, while Mrs. Zunker and her goons wants it for overdue rent. Mrs. Zunker used her Adept Resist (R). The scene was worth 1 XP, but I forgot about it during play. Lambert once again lost, but was not satisfied and Brings Down the Pain!

To be continued...

Here we ran out of time, Lambert took 1 Harm during the first volley of the extended conflict, but then we had to wrap up.

I hope you enjoyed reading this actual play session report,

Yoki

Session Two

Read Session Two of Lambert's Quest for Redemption.

Links