Some time ago I bought the PDF of the Mythic Game Master Emulator.  Last night I finally gave it a try in an off-the-cuff game with two players.  I still acted as the GM, but with no prep, no adventure, and no idea what would happen (or even how this would work out).  I wanted to see how the GM Emulator felt in actual play.  Because I wanted to focus on that, I decided to go with a very minimal system.  I picked Risus.

In the interest of brevity (and to avoid inflicting my painfully amateur pseudo-fiction on you), I'm going to completely gloss over the details of role-playing and combat.  I'll stick with broad descriptions of what happened in play.  

I told the players they had complete freedom to choose the genre.  I was a bit disappointed that they decided to stick with the well-worn path of a generic Tolkienish fantasy world.  I was also surprised when their PC creation took a comical turn.  They made an axe-wielding dwarf that acts without thinking and has a drinking problem and a beautiful and charming elfin pricess with a compulsive love for shiny things and a talent for archery.  The Dwarf's name is Urist and the Elf's is Princess Faewyn.  (I suspect the lighthearted approach was a combination of the influence from Risus and also my "pitch" for the session, which was basically a quick anything goes one-shot just to try out the Mythic GM Emulator.)

As part of the PC creation, I instructed them to write down three NPCs their characters knew, which could be friends, family, enemies, rivals, or whatever.  (I should have also asked them to write down one goal, but neglected to -- fortunately, that didn't come up in play, though.)

Since we had nothing at all planned, I used an event to kick-start us.  It came up:

NPC Positive
Move Evil

I rolled to a random NPC from the six the players had written down.  It was  Urist the Dwarf's NPC enemy, Ferminae the Elf Warrior.  We consulted the Fate chart:

Q: Did Ferminae steal something from the Dwarfs? [Likely] -- Yes

We decided that, in a thouroughly evil move, the dastardly Ferminae had infiltrated the Dwarven citadel and stolen the Royal Ale of Hirsute Puissance.  (While perhaps not the best or most creative interpretation of the event elements, it was the first thing that was suggested, and we ran with it.)  We asked a follow-up question:

Q: Did Ferminae steal the recipe for the magical ale? [50/50] -- No

Ferminae had stolen the ale itself, but not the recipe.  We decided that Ferminae was also an enemy/rival of Faewyn the Elf, to create a connection between the two PCs.  


Scene 1 In which Urist lead a small delegation of dwarves to the court of the Elfin Queen to report the theft and request elfin assistance in the magical ale's recovery.

Chaos Factor: 5
Threads: Recover the magical ale

Urist and his delegation of four dwarfin warriors travel to the lands of the Elfin Queen and are brought before her assembled court (which included Princess Faewyn, the elfin PC).  Urist drunkenly demanded justice, but was rude and insulting to the Queen (and to elfkind in general, actually).

Q: Does the Elf Queen take offense? [Near sure thing] - Yes
Q: Does the Elf Queen order her guards to seize the drunkard and clap him in irons until he learns some respect?  [Somewhat likely] - Yes

The Queen ordered her guards to seize Urist.

Q: Do the other dwarfs move to defend Urist. [Very likely] - Exceptional Yes.

As soon as the elfin guards start forward, the dwarfs execute a wild counter-charge, and pandemonium erupts in the court.  Faewyn, who desired to use the dwarfs against her rival, Ferminae, attempted to intervene, but even her storied charm and diplomacy went unnoticed in the chaos.

The five dwarfs had little chance against the entire elven court, and were swiftly overcome and imprisoned in the deepest and most ancient prison caves of the Elfin Queen.

** Scene End **
New Characters:
Dwarf Delegation
Elfin Queen
Elfin Guards
Elfin Courtiers

New Thread (Urist):  Get out of the elfin dungeons

Chaos Factor:  Moves up to 6



Scene 2 Intended Setup - Faewyn visits the dungeons to speak to the dwarfs.

Faewyn intended to speak to the dwarfs and offer her assistance in negotiating their freedom, seeing them as a useful foil to be used against her hated rival.  However, the MGME (Mythic GM Emulator) gave us a random interrupt event:

Event: NPC Action (Cruel Danger)

Randomly checking the NPCs came up with Faewyn's cousin, Chandar.  The player hadn't written down any details about Chandar, so we decided he was in league with the dastard, Ferminae, and that he wasn't a first cousin, but a more distant relation. (We could have used the Fate chart, here, but what the player suggested sounded fine, to me, and I didn't think about asking the chart.)

Q: Does Chandar have magical abilities? [50/50] - Exceptional Yes

So Chandar was a powerful elfin wizard!  We decided he wished to kidnap the dwarfs and take them to Ferminae, where they would be tortured until they revealed the secret recipe for the Ale of Hirsute Puissance.

Interrupt Scene Setup: Chandar intercepts Faewyn in the tunnels leading to the prison and attempts to magically charm and compel her to free the dwarfs.

Chandar stopped Faewyn in the tunnels and attempted to charm her.  He succeeded, and instructed her to free the dwarfs and bring them to the forest glade at Blue Rock.  He would clear the way for her, but if she ran into guards, she should use her royal authority (she's an elfin princess, after all) to brazen her way past.

Q: Does Chandar's spell last more than a day?  [Likely] - Yes

** Scene End **
New Characters: None
New Threads (Faewyn): Break the charm and take revenge on Chandar
Chaos Factor: Moves up to 7



Scene 3 Intended Setup - Dwarves test the Elfin security

While all this other activity was going on, the dwarfs used their mining and mechanical knowlege to test the strength of their prison.  

Q: Do the dwarf's find a weakness in their prison? [Very Unlikely] - Exceptional Yes!

Well, that was unexpected.  Not only do the dwarfs discover a weakness in their prison, they discover a long unused (forgotten?) secret tunnel with access to other cells and chambers on the level, including the storeroom where their weapons and gear were placed!  By the time Faewyn arrives at their cell, the dwarfs have already armed themselves and taken off down the once secret, but now revealed tunnel. All they left was some graffiti, including, "Did you forget you contracted out the construction of this little warren to us, you tree-hugging hippies?"

Faewyn pursues them.

Q: Chandar's magical compulsion can't be broken -- Faewyn must take the dwarfs to Blue Rock -- but did he leave a loophole that would allow her to *tell* them she's under a compulsion?  [No Way] - Yes!



** Scene End **
New Characters: None
New Threads: None, and Urist removes "get out of prison" thread
Chaos Factor: Down to 6



Scene 4 Intended Setup - Faewyn attempts to persuade the dwarfs that she is their ally, and tells them about Chandar's compulsion upon her.

Swift-footed Faewyn soon catches up to the dwarfs.  With some difficulty, the charming pricess manages to persuade them that she means them no harm, wants to help them, et cetera.  She reveals the magical compulsion to the dwarves.  After a brief discussion, a foolproof plan is formed.  She will lead them to Chandar, they will subdue him and force him to lift his spell on Faewyn and lead them to the dastard, Ferminae!

Q: Is anyone with Chandar at Blue Rock? [Very likely] - No

** Scene End **
New Characters: None
New Threads: None
Chaos Down to 5



Scene 5 Intended Setup - The PCs subdue Chandar at Blue Rock.

Faewyn successfully snuck ahead of the noisy dwarfs and got into position with a clear line of sight to where Chandar waited.

Q: Does Chandar have magical defenses prepared? [A sure thing] - Yes
Random Event from rolled doubles: PC Negative (Abuse Business)

Uh oh.  The PC was randomly determined to be Urist.  His "business" at the moment was executing the plan to subdue Chandar.  We decided that he just couldn't restrain himself when he saw the elfin wizard.  He "abused" the plan by immediately screaming "Charge!" and rushing to kill Chandar.  The other dwarfs milled about in confusion for a moment as Urist raced ahead.

Chandar's defenses activate, and a writhing mass of thorny vines erupts from the ground, grabbing at Urist.  Chandar gestured and shouted, causing more thorn-studded plants sprout up and form a deadly wall between him and the dwarfs.  Faewyn fired her bow, but aimed to wound, not to kill.  Her arrows came as a surprise to the distracted wizard, and he was hard pressed to use his power to deflect them and to defend against the dwarfs, as well.  An arrow got through, and then another!  (Faewyn's support made all the difference, here.  Without it, I think Chandar would have had the advantage over the dwarfs.)

Urist was completely entangled and bleeding, but other dwarves hacked their way to the wounded wizard and knocked him to the ground.  Physically, he was no match for dwarfs, and he was soon bound and gagged.  Faewyn approached him and made sure his wounds were not life-threatening: they were not -- the arrows went exactly where she wanted them.  He seemed shocked that she shot him at all.  Her slight pang of guilt was chased away when she thought about the compulsion he forced upon her.  Urist and the other entangled dwarfs were freed.

** Scene End **
New Characters: None
New Threads: None
Chaos Down to 4


We stopped there, for now.

AFTER ACTION REPORT

Going in, I was cautiously optimistic. Both players were dubious, at first, and the GM Emulator felt a bit awkward to all of us, but after the first scene or two it smoothed out and we were well into the swing of things.  I could tell everyone was having a good time during the game, and after we wrapped up both players confirmed that and said they wanted to continue the adventure next time we play.  Not bad for a zero prep not-so-serious "let's give it a try" one shot.  

This was also the first time I'd ever run Risus.  It's perhaps too rules light for my tastes, but there's no question that it worked well with this style of game.  The players were split on Risus.  The Dwarf player thought it was okay, but something with a bit more detail/crunch would be better.  The Elf player thought Risus was great, and preferred it over using a heavier system.

Both players said they liked the way the session was so strongly focused on their characters: bringing in the NPCs they created, breathing unanticipated life into their backgrounds, et cetera.  They also liked the completely unexpected twists and turns, and how and adventure came to life out of nothing.

I had fun, too.  The game felt quite a bit different from my usual RPG sessions, but different isn't necessarily bad.  It moved very quickly, and seemed "looser," if that makes any sense.  Actually, it felt quite a bit like the times I've played stuff like The Pool, but without as much player control over the twists and turns of the session -- they're interpreting and reacting to events, but not directing them.

After we wrap this one up, I'm very curious to see how this would work with a game like MRQII, and with a less lighthearted approach.  I think the BRP/d100 system would be an intuitive fit.  Combat would be a lot crunchier and more detailed, but I think that would be okay.  Also, MRQII combat is deadly, but fights tend to end with enemies being incapacitated or unable to continue more often than outright slain, and I think that would work well with the kind of game the GM Emulator seems to bring about.  Lastly, the MRQII character creation system includes background and family generation that is *perfect* for the Mythic's GM Emulator's tendency to inject random characters and threads into the adventure.

Anyway, I consider it a success.  This is definitely going into my gaming toolbox, and I plan on trying out some different ways of using it.  While it's not going to replace my usual approach, I can see the GM Emulator making no-prep gaming a much more common (and satisfying) activity for me.  And I can also see using it as a creative tool when I'm prepping for other games. Pretty cool.

Thanks for the write-up. I also picked up the pdf (plus the expansion) just to have a look see - on another board someone said they mostly used it to teach themselves new rulesets, which sounded like quite a neat idea.

Anyway, although I haven't tried it, it sounds like for those 'has anybody got something they can run' moments, this is well worth investing the time in learning how to use.

Quote from: Derabar;462394Thanks for the write-up. I also picked up the pdf (plus the expansion) just to have a look see -

I don't have the expansion, but I may pick it up at some point.  Do you think it seems worthwhile?

Quoteon another board someone said they mostly used it to teach themselves new rulesets, which sounded like quite a neat idea.

Yeah, I could see that working quite well.  I'm not very interested in solo play, but that's an angle I hadn't considered.

QuoteAnyway, although I haven't tried it, it sounds like for those 'has anybody got something they can run' moments, this is well worth investing the time in learning how to use.

I have owned it for some time and just never gave it a shot.  I'm glad I finally did; it worked better than I expected.

Quote from: Derabar;462394... on another board someone said they mostly used it to teach themselves new rulesets, which sounded like quite a neat idea...

That sounds like an intriguing idea!  When I have to spend time away from my Toronto group this autumn (grumble, job, grumble), I may try the Mythic GM Emulator for this very reason.

Having used the engine, what would be your prediction for using it for GM-less play?

Quote from: Angry_Douchebag;462897Having used the engine, what would be your prediction for using it for GM-less play?

I don't think it's a great leap to move from what we were doing, where I was acting as the GM, to completely GM-less play.  As GM, I took the lead on framing the scenes and suggesting questions to put to the fate chart, but I also encouraged the players to offer up suggestions and questions, and as the game went on they became increasingly comfortable with that.  That being the case, I don't think it would be jarring if I created a PC and started acting more in a player role, as well.

I do think starting off with me as the GM was the right choice.  It gave some stability and familiarity to what was already a little different and odd.  (Groups where the players are more experienced with a collaborative style of role-play might feel comfortable right out of the gate, though.)  I suspect that in some groups, even without a GM, you'd probably end up with one or two players that tended to take more initiative in framing scenes and asking questions and such.  The line gets a little blurry.

For solo-play, I think the GME would probably feel different from what I think of as a role-playing game; I think it would feel more like writing a story.  That's not necessarily, bad -- in fact, it might be pretty interesting.

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;462433I don't have the expansion, but I may pick it up at some point.  Do you think it seems worthwhile?

Wrote a reply to this but I must have forgotten to post it after previewing. Doh!

I'm afraid I haven't got round to reading the supplement I just figured it was cheap and if it added more options it was probably worth having - see how weak willed I am when it comes to buying game stuff.... If I get round to reading it I'll add to the thread.

For a more positive contribution, I stumbled across this at random:

http://artifex0.50webs.com/GMEmulator.swf

A Flash implementation of the Emulator. Probably won't make sense unless you've also got the book or pdf, but potentially useful, especially if you use a tablet for gaming.