The Runic Storyhour: An Oriental Adventure in The Dream

Old Fezziwig · Sep 24, 2002

Broccli_Head said:
What happened to the dwarves, and Ocean?

I hope Rune doesn't mind me answering this, but:

Originally posted by Rune
Times, regretably, change and players come and go. I have a bit of catching up to do, but I can tell you that as of this date, some of the players have moved away and will not be rejoining the game, save as guest characters.

These include the player of Ocean, the player of Chameleon and Drunken Dwarf, and the player of Swift and Strong Dwarf (although we hope to get him back by January).

Hope this helps!

Best,
tKL

Rune · Sep 24, 2002

Thanks for the clarification, Kajamba Lion.

In case Broccli_Head was asking about the characters, however, I'll say a few words.

The dwarves disappeared in the warehouse when the assassin-beast was killed in a death-related reality shift. The fabric of the Dream ripped open to swallow the body of the assassin and got the dwarves, who were nearby, with it.

The players and PCs assume that they are in the Nightmare.

Killing things.

This, I should note, happened before either of the players moved away.

Ocean, on the other hand, was last seen at the party in honor of the "heroes." The player had to commit to other priorities in her life (her novel and a book of essays) and felt that her creativity was being tapped by the game when she needed to apply it elsewhere (which, should, I suppose, be flattering).

The character is still very much a part of the world, however, so don't forget about her (as the other PCs surely will-- memory in the Dream being a fleeting thing, you know). The players and PCs, in fact, don't have a clue what happened to her. Did she go back to her son? Did she go off on some other errand? Was she ever really there to begin with?

If we ever make it to Act III, you may find out.

Also, bear in mind that this story is still about three and a half sessions behind, or so. A complete lack of notes and a feeble memory has hindered the updating process, but it will be a little while before I can tell you what the current cast of characters is.

Also, in about one and a half sessions, things get strange. The game...er...starts over, so to speak, with Piratecat's own Of Sound Mind.

I've started a seperate thread for it (some time ago, actually), because I'd hate to spoil such a wonderful adventure for people who haven't yet run or played it, but I'll link to it again when the time comes.

Rune · Sep 27, 2002

Joshua Randall · Sep 27, 2002

Your skill is obvious. I bow to your talents.

Rune, m'man, I am in awe. I've been playing RPGs off and on for 20 years, and I've never played in or GM'd one as distictively different as The Dream. Major kudos.

I am curious. How much of the background buildup did you leave in the hands of your players? For example, did the players of the dwarves and halfling get to decide on the cultural background of those races? Did the players ever get to make up their own reality shifts? Or did you maintain control in the interest of, er, consistency? (If such a word applies.)

Joshua Randall · Jun 27, 2003

B-B-B-BUMP.

Lela · Jul 5, 2003

New reader wonders about new updates.

Rune · Jul 5, 2003

Re: Your skill is obvious. I bow to your talents.

Well, I have a lot of hopes and grand ambitions regarding this game, but the problem is that the game fell apart, and I was never (so far) able to pull it back together. I think using modules was ultimately a bad idea, given the pace that I had hoped to proceed at.

I do have news, however. I am currently trying to pull in regular players for the renewal of this campaign and hope to be able to start things up again, soon. On that note, any readers who are in my area (Berea, KY) are welcome to apply for inclusion in the game as players, as long as you're sure you can commit to a weekly game (schedule as yet undetermined).

I have more news, but I don't want to spill it yet. Let's just say that I'm embarking on a massive project, which will see this story hour (and maybe others in the future) converted to a different format. It may take a long, long time to do, so we'll see how it goes before I go into detail.

I also have a few very rough concept sketches of the main characters from session 1. I'm not much of an artist, but I think I'll scan them and attatch them to this thread, anyway.

Now, to answer a question:

Joshua Randall said:
I am curious. How much of the background buildup did you leave in the hands of your players? For example, did the players of the dwarves and halfling get to decide on the cultural background of those races? Did the players ever get to make up their own reality shifts? Or did you maintain control in the interest of, er, consistency? (If such a word applies.)

I provided guidelines and let them flesh out the rest. They never got to make up their own reality shifts, although, since I was playtesting the rules, my method of doing them altered from game to game, sometimes. Likewise, their presentation somewhat shifted through the games.

Oh, and thanks for the compliments!

Rune · Jul 6, 2003

Okay, here are some very rough sketches of characters from Session 1.

Lela · Jul 6, 2003

Re: Re: Your skill is obvious. I bow to your talents.

Rune said:
Likewise, their presentation somewhat shifted through the games.

Care to give us an example?

Gobbletom · Sep 28, 2004

Hey man! This is ol' Druken Dwarf trying to catch up with you guys. I will be in town soon and thinking of getting a group together for a weekend of gaming. I think RootbeerGnome is up for it too so hit me back. Gobbletom1@yahoo.com and let me know what's up.

Talk to you later man.