"Fall of Magic" Replay from GenCon

Part 1: Ravenhall

Host: The idea is that magic is dying, and the Magus is dying with it. We travel together to the realm of Umbra, where magic is born. Why is magic dying? Who is the Magus? What is Umbra? Why are we going there? These are things that you are going to create together as you play the game.

With that in mind, you're each going to make a character. Characters in Fall of Magic are made by picking a name off this name list. Everyone choose one name.

Harp: I kind of like Harp. I'll take Harp.

Host: Harp it is.

Vago: I'll be Vago.

Caspian: I'll take Caspian.

Piccolo: I'll be Piccolo.

Host: Fantastic. Next, you are each going to choose a title for your character. So, for example, you could be an apprentice or a golem or a raven of Ravenhall, or a hero of Barleytown, or a knight of Stormguard--any combination of two things from that list. Unlike the names, it's totally fine if multiple people have the same title.

Vago: And the titles aren't restricted to the location?

Host: The titles are restricted to the location. So, those three things are from Ravenhall.

Vago: I'm a fugitive of Stormguard.

Harp: I'm going to be a scholar of Istallia.

Caspian: I'll go with apprentice of Ravenhall.

Piccolo: Do we have anyone from Barleytown yet?

Host: Not yet.

Piccolo: I'll be a swineherd from Barleytown. Barleytown represent.

Host: Then you will each choose one of these tokens to represent your character. The fifth, unchosen token will represent the Magus, who is a character that you all share.

[Everyone chooses tokens. Piccolo takes the river/ocean. Harp takes the candle. Vago takes the sword, and Caspian takes the raven. The tree is left over.]

Host: Which side would you like to be face up for the Magus we have--this tree, or [turns coin over] this tree?

Caspian: Oh, it's like, in bloom and withered.

Harp: Magic is dying; maybe we should go with the withered one.

Host: So it shall be. The Magus starts at Ravenhall, which is where our journey begins. On your turn, you're going to take your character token, and you're going to place it on one of the scenes at the Magus's current location. You're then going to describe that scene to us from the perspective of your character. Beneath each scene is a story prompt with an additional element that you must use before your scene can end. When you're done, just go ahead and pass the turn to the next player. We'll just go clockwise.

I'd like to now ask for a volunteer to take the first turn. Who'd like to go first?

Vago: I'll go first. I've got a scene idea for the bridge. Do I put my coin there?

Host: Yes, place your token on the bridge and then show us the bridge from Vago's perspective.

Vago / The Bridge: Your Face in the River

Vago: Vago's perspective of the bridge when we enter scene is actually from the underside. The water's not super-high; he's up on one of the banks, and in the distance you can hear baying hounds. He's on the run from slavers, whom he's escaped from. He's looking up at the underside of the bridge. It's moss-encrusted. Maybe not moss--lichen. He's taking a breath down here. He wipes his face with some cool water. He's hoping to have just a moment of respite because he's been on the run all night. It's just after daybreak.

Does somebody happen by in the water, or on the bridge itself, and maybe notice him? Does anybody have any ideas for that?

Host: Does anybody feel like their character might be there? Plus, it's fine to have just a little introduction or vignette.

Harp: Sorry, I don't have enough firm ideas yet.

Host: It's okay for this to be just a short vignette, and then it'll come back around.

Vago: Sure, that's fine.

Host: So would you like to end that scene there, or is there anything else you want to talk about with the baying hounds?

Vago: Maybe the sound of the hounds is getting closer as he finally succumbs to exhaustion and can't take another step. He winds up face-down in the river. I forgot I had to do that.

Caspian: Oh, "your face in the river"?

Vago: Yeah.

Piccolo: I'd like to do something with the scrying pool.

Host: Do you guys want to go counter-clockwise?

Harp: I'm fine with that. I'm third either way.

Caspian: Sure.

Piccolo: How far back can I start?

Host: It's up to you. Whatever feels right.

Piccolo / The Scrying Pool: Why You Serve the Magus

Piccolo: I was born sixteen summers ago. Most children, when they are born, are given the name of an ancestor in Barleytown. The man who raised me either didn't know--

Host: I'm just going to step in for a second. Always first start by describing the place, and then go ahead and go into your story. What's the scrying pool like? What are you doing there right now? And then you can flash back in your imagination if you like.

Piccolo: The scrying pool is an area where the forest around it is rather unkempt, but the clearing inside of it is pristine. The stone of granite is as clean as the day it was quarried, and it makes a perfect circle. The water inside is rarely troubled by storms, by wind--by anything, really--and the legend is that it will show the future, the past, and what is important to the person who looks upon it if they throw in coins.

I came to this place because sixteen summers ago, I was left at Barleytown and named Piccolo by the man who raised me. I was raised to be a swineherd, but last year, I became troubled by dreams, sleepwalking, strange daydreams. Eventually, my foster father told me to leave and not come back until I had come to some resolution. I wandered until I heard of the legend of the scrying pool, and I came there. The scrying pool, despite the legend, showed me nothing; but when I looked up from it, I saw the Magus, who told me that if I followed him, I would learn about myself.

That's all I've got.

Host: Whenever you feel like you're done, just go ahead and pass to the next player.

Piccolo: I pass.

Harp: Alrighty. I'll take the menagerie.

Harp / The Menagerie: The Last Time You Saw Real Magic

Harp: The menagerie as not as wondrous as it used to be. It was a gift to the city of Ravenhall from the first Magus, and once upon a time, it contained exotic and amazing animals from anywhere you could imagine. Some said that some of them even came from the world of magic itself. It used to be that every cage held a new wonder, the like of which you would never see anywhere. Now those animals--well, no one really knows what happens to them. You go there one day and something that's been there as long as you can remember just isn't in its cage anymore, and something far more ordinary has taken its place. Now, the children don't know the difference; they're just as happy to see lions and tigers and peacocks and things that exist in the ordinary world. But those who have been coming here for a while realize that something is being lost.

The centerpiece of the menagerie, the thing that everyone would come to see, was a bird that sat on a perch eight feet high. Each feather in its tail was eight feet long and touched the ground. As you watched them, there would be a play of shimmering light and shadow, and sometimes as they rustled together, there would be the sound of music in the air, and they would change colors with the light.

That was real magic. I saw it yesterday. The bird is not here today.

Host: That felt like such a scholarly description of the menagerie.

Harp: Thank you! [laughs]

Caspian / The Bridge: Your Face in the River

Caspian: Caspian's at the bridge. It's a white, pristine, alabaster bridge, and he's leaning on his elbows over the edge, looking into the river at his own reflection. His face is really dour. He thinks of the Magus and the pain he feels inside. It's not a sharp pain; it's a dull pain, kind of like when you miss somebody, but it's constantly growing. He and the Magus both feel it, and it gets worse over time.

He looks up at the horizon. It's a split of color between the white bridge and the grey stones on the horizon. The droplets of rain start to break up his reflection in the river as he hears the baying of hounds. He turns and wonders what's going on. It kind of breaks him out of his trance of thinking about the pain inside for a few minutes.

[to Vago] I'll give it back around to you.

Host: Do you perhaps see the body of Vago sliding into view? Do you want to explore that?

Caspian: Yeah, you know what? I think--

Vago: Could be. I'd be carried downriver, then.

Caspian: I think that's what it is. He spins on his heel when he hears the baying of hounds, and then he hears a splash. He was hearing the rain hitting the water, and it was almost musical, just a light patter, but then he hears a sploosh. He looks over and sees the body of a man floating completely on top of the water.

Host: What do you do when that happens?

Caspian: That's a good question. [laughs]

Staring at him, he thinks for a second to jump over the railing, but he's a kind of tall, knobby kid. He doesn't have that kind of strength in him. He was never the kind of kid to climb a tree or to play rough-and-tumble with the other kids in town. So he reaches inside, and even though it really hurts, he moves the water slowly. The ripples just slowly push the body towards the shore, and it washes up on the bank of the river.

Host: What do you do then?

Caspian: Holding his side, Caspian walks down the bridge to get help. This man is going to need, maybe, some medicine; maybe he's injured. Something is going on.

Host: [to Vago] It sounds like it's your turn.

Vago: Oh!

Host: You have an option now. If your character token is already on the map, you may opt instead to move the Magus to the next location. But don't feel like you need to rush. In this game, I would expect maybe to get to Barleytown and spend a little time there. This is a great opportunity for you to figure out who your characters are and how they relate to each other, while you're in Ravenhall. So I would advise you not to advance the Magus until you feel like it's time to go.

Vago: Okay.

Host: So it's your turn now. Go ahead and choose any of these things.

Harp: I have a question. Since Caspian's scene involved Vago, and Vago's up next, could he also elect to continue that scene?

Host: Yes, you could very well, if you like. If I was playing Vago in this situation, things that come to mind: one, a conversation could very well have happened in that last scene if you'd chosen to, but as you left it, I might think, "What am I interested in? What do I want my character to do? Do I want to show myself being helped?" Or maybe I just want to head to the interesting part, cut ahead to where I'm recovering and having a conversation with somebody.

Vago: I think I'd like to advance time a little bit and have a scene in the rose gardens.

Host: Fantastic.

Vago / The Rose Gardens: Beautiful/Legendary/Fierce

Vago: My character has had some time to recover. He'll be standing and pacing impatiently. He's got some clean clothes. [pause]

Host: Remember to begin with the physical description of the place.

Vago: Thank you. The rose gardens themselves are the Magus's rose gardens. He likes things to be beautiful; he likes things to be a reflection of the beauty that this world can be. But things, just like the Magus himself, are starting to slip there. Whole plants aren't dying out, but they're just not as full of flowers as they once could have been. The buds that would open up like two hands are now more like just a thumb and not getting much bigger than that. They'll fall off and grow again.

My character doesn't seem to notice that very much. From his perspective, this is a garden of thorns. Every bramble is potentially just another cage, keeping him locked in. He is not comfortable here, pacing. He's here because ... would somebody like to play the part of the Magus?

Harp: I will, sure.

Vago: So I think the Magus enters.

Harp: All right.

Host: Could you describe the Magus entering, please?

Harp: The Magus enters. Let's see ... the Magus has not been seen for a year in the town. It is known that he is still in the town, and everyone would know if he were dead. So people know that nothing has happened to him, but he has not shown his face. For as long as anybody can remember, he has looked about thirty-five. When he enters now, you see that his face still doesn't look older, but his hair has gone silver, so maybe you don't recognize him at first.

Host: Earlier, Caspian mentioned that both he and the Magus had a pain in their sides. Is that at all visible or noticeable?

Harp: Sure--he's limping a little bit, as if it may be affecting his legs now. He is simply dressed, and if you didn't know what he looked like, you might think he was the gardener. [laughs] In fact, I dunno, maybe you do! That's up to you.

Host: What is the Magus doing right now?

Harp: [to Vago] He doesn't notice you right away. He is looking at the bushes and measuring the buds with his fingers and shaking his head.

Vago: Vago will take notice of the Magus and approach.

"They say this is your garden."

Harp/Magus: "I should certainly hope so, because it is my garden."

Vago: "This whole place is your home?"

Harp/Magus: "Of course. I do not begrudge visitors, but I like to know when they come."

Vago: "Thank you for your hospitality."

Harp/Magus: "Very well. And to whom do I have the pleasure of giving my hospitality?"

Vago: "My name is Vago."

Harp/Magus: [thoughtfully] "Vago." He looks at you appraisingly. "That's a good name."

Vago: "Thank you."

Harp/Magus: "Why are you here?"

Vago: "I have ... business. My travels brought me here. I'm passing through."

Harp/Magus: "You're lying."

Vago: [laughs] Yes, Vago's lying.

Harp: Well, the Magus might know that!

Host: Absolutely.

Vago: "I ... I'm a slave."

Harp/Magus: "Ah. And?"

Vago: "And I don't want to be a slave."

Harp/Magus: "And?"

Vago: "And I've taken enough of your time. I'm very sorry." He feels the pressure; he's obviously very uncomfortable under your eyes. The Magus must be looking at him very earnestly.

Caspian: With that unblinking stare.

Vago: Yeah, and Vago is very much averting his gaze.

Harp/Magus: "Don't go. I may have need of you. You may stay here."

Vago: "Thank you. What would you have me do?"

Harp/Magus: "Nothing, for the time being. Or if you want to make yourself useful, see what you can do with these roses."

Vago: "I thought these were thorn bushes."

Harp/Magus: "I don't blame you for thinking so. The flowers are not what they used to be."

Vago: "What can I do to help?"

Harp/Magus: "I'll be damned if I know," he says under his breath.

Vago: "I can't do much harm, then, can I?"

Harp: [to Piccolo] Let's see, you're serving the Magus, aren't you?

Piccolo: Yeah. You probably just came from there.

Harp: I'm going to--no, let's see. He probably wouldn't just call you; he would have a way of letting you know he needs you. He, um...

Vago: He snaps his fingers, and you can hear it wherever you are.

Harp: Sure. He snaps his fingers and says, "I will have my--" Let's see, what would he call you?

Piccolo: Attendant?

Harp/Magus: "I will have my attendant see to your needs."

Vago: "I have no needs, Lord--Emperor--Highness--"

Harp/Magus: "You are rather in need of a bath."

Vago: "Oh, I, uh..."

Harp: [to Piccolo] You can come in any time you want here.

Piccolo: So should I move my token?

Host: I think we're still in the same scene, because [to Vago] remember, before the scene even ends, you're going to have to describe one of the characters as beautiful, legendary, or fierce--yourself or one of these other three.

Piccolo: I enter. "Yes, Magus?"

Harp/Magus: "This fellow, Vago, will be residing here for some time. See that he gets a bath. He may want to do something with the roses; I don't know."

Piccolo: "Shall I bathe him at the river?"

Harp/Magus: "Not the river, I think."

Piccolo: "Very good."

Harp/Magus: "By the smell of him, he's already been there."

[to Vago, laughing] Oh gosh, you have this puppy-dog look!

Vago: He's feeling very ... like, this is somebody who never met the eyes of his betters, so he's very much like, "Oh, yeah, thank you."

Harp/Magus: But in any case ... "Find a place where he can have a bath and get him some food."

Piccolo: "Certainly. Vago, is it? A pleasure. My name is Piccolo. Come on."

Harp: And the Magus will wander away unless you guys need him for anything.

Vago: "Piccolo? That is a powerful name."

Piccolo: "That's the name that they gave me. I'm afraid I don't know what my parents named me."

Vago: "You say 'they'? You mean the men of the wolf?"

Piccolo: "No, a man of Barleytown that raised me. I'm a swineherd--I was. The Magus ... well, I'm his attendant now, so I will help you."

Vago: "Sorry. Among my people, Piccolo is said to be an icon come down from the mountains, a wolf-headed thing. You should be eating pigs, not herding them. You may be a wolf."

Piccolo: [Not sure how to react, so he changes the subject] "Huh, so this is the garden. It's beautiful."

Vago: "If you say so." [pause] "Where do I bathe?"

Piccolo: I can find an inn for him in town?

Host: Yes, that sounds good. It may be a good end for the two of you. It sounds like you...

Vago: I meant to imply that he was legendary, yes.

Host: Okay, cool. So go ahead and write down "legendary" on Piccolo's card.

Vago: You can write it if you'd rather.

Host: Actually, no, he cannot, because it's your opinion, not his.

Vago: Oh, okay.

Piccolo: Ooh, legendary!

Caspian: It's magically binding.

Host: Could you talk again, just for a second, about why you think Piccolo is legendary? Just tell us?

Vago: The name itself holds power among my people. It was said that Piccolo would be almost a monstrous, wolf-headed sort of being that would come down from the mountains to prey upon the weak, to cull.

Host: Nice. So Piccolo now has that association in your mind?

Vago: Yes.

Host: So again, the next scene does not have to be the bathing scene. It could be if you like, if that's interesting to you.

Vago: We can skip the shower scene.

Piccolo: Yeah, I can skip that.

Harp: You can even move the Magus if you want.

Caspian: You still have the option to move the Magus to Oak Hills.

Piccolo: [placing token] The rose gardens.

Piccolo / The Rose Gardens: Beautiful/Legendary/Fierce

Piccolo: An odd property of the rose garden seems to be that although it's not terribly big, two people can wander through it and never meet. Maybe it's magical, maybe that's just coincidence, but that's always been the way it has been. In better times, when the nobility would wander it, many feuds were averted by this strange property.

As Piccolo wanders through the rose gardens, he doesn't see it, as Vago does, as thorns, but as something dormant, something powerful, something ready to bloom again. [pause]

Host: Piccolo, you said you're sixteen, right?

Piccolo: Right.

Host: So you're a young man. What are you doing here right now? Why are you in the rose gardens?

Piccolo: Something drew me here. After taking Vago to bathe, something drew me back here, and I don't know what it is.

Caspian: Could I step in in this scene?

Host: Absolutely.

Caspian: So I'll say Caspian is sitting on the edge of an old fountain that's full of some loose leaves, just kind of kicking his feet. He looks up. "So how's our guest?"

Piccolo: "Doing well, thank you. Um, you're the Magus's, um ... the ... um ... you ..."

Caspian: "His apprentice?"

Piccolo: "Yes."

Caspian: "I am indeed."

Piccolo: "Not to belittle your ... I'm sure you're powerful. I just ... I'm sorry."

Caspian: "That's quite all right." [pause] "They are dormant--the vines, the leaves. They used to sprout on their own and bloom. They're smaller now. Sometimes the Magus says that the only thing that will get them to bloom now is the blood of the fae."

Piccolo: "I had dreams back in Barleytown. It feels like a dream in here."

Caspian: "It can be. Even though they don't look like much, the buds of the roses have a scent to them; it plays tricks with the mind. If the Magus had time, he would teach me how to grind them up and make them into medicines to cure sadness, make people love. It could be something like that."

Piccolo: "A noble goal. Thank you for sharing this with me. I ... I'll have to think upon it. Thank you."

I'm going to say that Caspian is beautiful--not so much without, although I'm sure he's very nice, but within. His goal of curing people with medicine.

Vago: And on some edge of the rose garden that you guys couldn't see because of its inherent properties, Vago was shoveling s*** out of a wheelbarrow that he got from the latrines.

Piccolo: The inverse property is that people who are supposed to meet will meet.

Host: Oh, nice.

Harp: Let's see, where do I want to go? Or do I want to move the Magus? The problem is, I haven't hooked up with the rest of the group yet, really.

Host: We can jump ahead and establish why you're with everybody later, so if you feel like it's time to go, we'll be able to make it work. But there's no hurry.

Harp: I also kind of don't want to play the Magus twice back to back, because then I feel like I would have too much influence over his characterization. So I think I will try to do another one with Harp. I think what I'm going to go for is the scrying pool.

Host: All right, tell us about the scrying pool.

Harp: A quick question for whoever had that scene last time--

Piccolo: Me.

Harp: Did you say the scrying pool was still working? I forget.

Piccolo: It's still almost supernaturally beautiful and clean and pristine. It didn't work for me.

Vago: Not the way you expected, anyway.

Harp / The Scrying Pool: Why You Serve the Magus

Harp: So I am at the scrying pool--which, indeed, is supernaturally clean, pristine, and beautiful--and I have come surreptitiously with a little cup, because I want to see what happens if I drink some of the water. I am alarmed at the way things like the menagerie are fading and the fact that the Magus has not been seen for a year. It is obvious to everyone that something is not right in Ravenhall. As a scholar, I am distressed, and I feel the wish to do something about it. I take it almost personally that this is happening in the world at this time.

I have never been able to do magic myself. I am interested in it; I love to see evidence of it whenever I can. But I was not born with the gift of magic, and that has always distressed me. So I hope that if I drink from the scrying pool, perhaps that will put some magic into me and I will be able to do something to halt the decline that Ravenhall seems to be entering.

So I edge my way up to the pool. It's late afternoon, about the time when people are going home for supper, so I figure this is my best chance to get at it undisturbed. Carefully, I bring the little cup up behind my back, sit down on the edge of the pool, dip it in behind my back unobtrusively, look around, and quickly drink it down when I'm sure nobody else is looking. And, once I've done that ... [pause]

Host: This could be a good example of a time when you might want to ...

Harp: Hand it off to somebody else? Yeah, let's do that.

Host: You can always say no if it doesn't feel right for your character.

Harp: I'm hoping this will lead to why I serve the Magus. I'll just say that much. So if anybody wants to help me get there, I would welcome it.

Piccolo: I can help you.

Harp: Okay.

Piccolo: After drinking the waters, you fall into a slumber, and in this slumber, Harp walks in and talks to you.

Harp: You mean Piccolo?

Piccolo: No, Harp.

Harp: You mean, myself walks in and talks to me.

Piccolo: Yes.

Harp: Okay!

Host: Something's different about this Harp, though. What is it?

Piccolo: She drank the water; it's a fountain of self-reflection now.

Host: I was just thinking it might be fun if this Harp was much older, or much younger, or scarred, or something.

Vago: Maybe it's her idealized self, how she views herself. Just an offer.

Piccolo: Harp walks in, and she's wearing wizard's robes--ornate ones.

Harp: Oo, okay.

Piccolo: Sometimes she's walking with a stoop. At other times she's shorter, and the robes seem baggy and loose on her, and she's younger. Her age fluctuates. "Hello, Harp."

Harp: "Hello? What--where--hello? Have you ... come to ... tell me ... something?"

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "You've come to tell you something. I've come to tell me something."

Harp: "You're me, then."

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "Yes."

Harp: "Me as I might be or me as I will be?"

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "That's tough to say. I came here to drink the waters, hoping it would give me magic. Unfortunately, as we find out, magic is not as simple as that. Sometimes symbols that we think make sense do, and sometimes they do not. We drank the water, and it became self-reflection."

Harp: "I see."

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "But if you want to be a wizard--well, you're already a scholar. You know many things that others don't. You have this ability. But if you wanted to unlock the true magic, there's only one place to go. There's only one person to talk to."

Harp: "I think I know who you mean. Who I mean. I mean, you're me, so I know. You mean the Magus, right?"

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "Yes."

Harp: "Well, that makes sense. I suppose I should have thought of that."

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "We know that he hasn't been seen in quite some time, but his apprentice still walks the land. As soon as you wake up, he should be at the bridge. Give or take. I know we'll run into him, because we do run into him. But the rest is pretty uncertain, so ... well, I won't share too much; it will be a surprise. Everything turns out okay, though."

Harp: "Just tell me one more thing. Is my nose really that big?"

Piccolo/Dream!Harp: "Umm ... sorry."

Harp: [laughs] I think that's the end of the scene.

Host: Probably.

Harp: And that is why I serve the Magus.

Part 2: The Oak Hills

Caspian: I think it's time for the Magus to move to the Oak Hills.

Host: Everyone take back their tokens.

Caspian: So this is in the Magus's words?

Host: Yes, so when you play the Magus, show us who they are, what they're thinking, and how we travel together. Just as you would your own character.

Caspian: Okay.

Host: And you're going to describe to us the Oak Hills first, and eventually the ending of summer.

Magus / The Oak Hills: The Ending of Summer

Caspian: The Magus is looking out of his tower over the hills. He furrows his brow and makes a dour face. He walks over to a large wardrobe and pulls out a long, thick cloak with a fur trim along the top. Then he turns, and Vago will be there. He says to Vago, "Are you a traveling man?"

Vago: "I've ... crossed some roads, sir."

Caspian/Magus: "The Oak Hills?"

Vago: "Not before."

Caspian/Magus: "It's time."

Vago: "Your slippers, sir?"

Caspian/Magus: "No. Not the slippers, not the sweeping, not the garden. This is the last summer."

Vago: "And what comes after next spring?"

Caspian/Magus: "For you, perhaps another summer."

Vago: "You don't mean that."

Caspian/Magus: "I appreciate the pleasantries, really, Vago. But we must ready for travel--you, myself, the boys, the scholar."

Vago: "All right. I'll arrange your horse and the coach then."

Caspian/Magus: He stares out over the hills, and the way he sees, it isn't just the hills from a distance; he sees closer. It moves in, and he can see the workers in the fields. He can see the wheat moving and growing and reaching its height. He's like, "Yes."

Vago: "The coach."

Caspian/Magus: "Yes, the coach. All the provisions we can carry."

Vago: "A long trip?"

Caspian/Magus: "My last."

Vago: "Oh."

Caspian/Magus: "Yes."

Vago: I back out of the room and close the door behind me.

Caspian: As you close the door, he's looking off in the distance, and he can see a tree. It's a very stout oak with a very broad trunk to it, and as he's watching, the leaves he sees, just on the edges of it, just slightly start to turn brown and golden. He turns back on his heel and goes to the door.

Harp: You get to describe Oak Hills too, don't you?

Host: I think that was the description.

Harp: Oh! Got it.

Host: It was a little unorthodox because he was describing it from a distance, but it's going to be fine, because now we'll still be there.

Caspian: Sure.

Vago / At Dawn: Your Morning Ritual

Vago: I think at dawn, Vago's morning ritual would consist of...

Host: First...

Vago: Oh, sorry. At dawn. They've been a few days on the road. The inn that they're staying at is in a nice, rolling part of the Oak Hills. It's wooded nearby; you could miss the place if you weren't looking for it. A few other people are staying at this particular inn. Vago tries to be up early, but the innkeeper is up earlier somehow; does this guy sleep? Pots are clanging downstairs. Bacon smells throughout the place just over the stables. Light is just breaking across the canopy of trees.

Vago wakes up. They've been traveling for a few days now, and the Magus insists on covering as much ground as possible. He seems like he's got somewhere to be, more so than enjoying his leisurely trip, so Vago does his best to get horses ready. He comes down and visits with the innkeeper for just a moment.

"Thank you. Yes, we'll be leaving very early today. No, nothing you've done wrong. No, no, don't worry about it; everything's fine. I'll see to the horses. Please arrange for breakfast. A small breakfast. We'll be leaving very shortly. --No, again, nothing you've done wrong. Please stop. I'll be back."

He sees to the horses; they've been brushed down the night before, but saddling takes a while. Making sure that the horses are fed and watered in the morning is all part of what Vago does every day now, and he'll take the horses out of the stable, tie them up outside, and then go to see to the Magus.

He takes the breakfast from the trays downstairs up the stairs with him. Here comes another one of his weird, wistful looks over the horizon. Get ready for it.

[pause]

I keep on forgetting the importance of the location when I start doing my scene.

Host: It's an easy thing to forget. But it makes it feel much more potent, doesn't it?

Vago: It really does, yeah.

Piccolo: So as of the end of your scene, we were just leaving, then?

Vago: Just about to leave, yeah.

Host: And as always, don't feel restricted by that.

Piccolo: Okay.

Piccolo / Making Camp: Wealthy/Cunning/Kind

Piccolo: It's the first night of our journey. We've made camp. It's an open field, but the Magus still travels in style. There's a large tent for him and his apprentice and a smaller tent for Vago and Piccolo to live in. Harp had joined us not too long ago and has a tent of her own, as befitting a scholar. Piccolo has just finished pounding in some tent stakes and was going to report to Caspian that he's finished when he runs into Harp.

Harp: Okay.

Piccolo: "So, have you spoken to him yet? To the Magus?

Harp: "Uh--"

Piccolo: "I mean, I know you've spoken to him, but have you spoken to him yet?"

Harp: "No, I haven't. It may sound silly, but he makes me nervous."

Piccolo: "I think that's natural. I think he makes everyone nervous. He's probably the most powerful man in the world."

Harp: "Well, yes, thank you. You've just explained why he makes me nervous, but now he'll make me even more nervous if I think about that, so, um ... But I suppose I've got to find a way to do it somehow. Maybe if I ... well, how did you wind up serving him?"

Piccolo: "He found me, at the scrying pool. He's just got a way about himself. I'd approach him plainly. If he wants to talk to you, he'll talk to you. I mean, he's powerful, but he's not pretentious. He's just the Magus."

Harp: [to herself] "Interesting. Does he find everyone at the scrying pool, I wonder? Maybe he's the one who scries there."

Piccolo: "Well, anyhow, you seem like you do okay for yourself. You're a scholar--does that mean you went to the college at Ravenhall?"

Harp: "Well, originally I came from Istallia. I wanted to go to Ravenhall because of course I'd heard of all the many wonders of the city. So I studied very hard and tried to arrange to be in the right place at the right time so that I could be seen to be studying hard. I suppose that isn't very credible of me, but I always felt that I wasn't quite as clever as everyone else, you see, so I had to make up for it in some other ways."

Piccolo: "If you're looking to learn something, I suppose there is no better place."

Harp: "No. And you certainly have done well in the time you've been there."

Piccolo: "Thank you. You know, when I first met him, I couldn't bear to even meet his eyes. I think it's been good for me. I think I've become a bit more confident. So hopefully we'll all find what we're looking for."

Harp: "Yes. Yes. Approach him openly--wow. Well, I suppose that's not very different from standing in front of the headmistress with my book open."

Piccolo: "I mean, you are a noble, right?"

Harp: "Well, minor nobility. As nobles go, not much to speak of."

Piccolo: "I've seen nobles. They always seem like they belong somewhere. So just act like you belong; just don't insist upon it."

Harp: "Thank you."

Piccolo: I'm going to mark her with "wealthy."

[Harp passes her character card to Piccolo, and he adds "wealthy" to it.]

Vago: Because to a pig farmer, she is incredibly wealthy?

Piccolo: Yeah.

[Piccolo passes Harp's card back to her.]

Harp: Thank you. And now it is my turn, eh? All right.

Harp / The Harper's Road: Who You Left Behind

Harp: So, another day as we are traveling along the Harper's Road, I notice ... let's see, it's getting to be late summer. I notice, off to the side of the road, a plum tree with big, ripe plums on it and suggest that we stop and refresh ourselves with the fruit, since it appears to be just growing by the way and doesn't seem to be part of anyone's orchard. I can see that these are the kind that have the yellow flesh and are very sweet. The taste of that reminds me of when I was a little girl running about on a day very similar to today with the son of the master of our stables, who was about my age. When we were children, we were inseparable. Many a time, we would climb the plum trees behind the house. One would climb the tree and throw the fruit down to the other, and then we would scamper off somewhere and enjoy it in secret.

We were allowed to play together until we were about eleven years old, and then somehow, mysteriously, he wasn't allowed to see me. His father would tell me that he was very busy, and after that went on for a month or so, suddenly he was sent away to be apprenticed at another family's home. Not too long after that, I was sent away to the academy. But I've always wondered what happened to him. I suppose probably he's somewhere, married with eight children by now, but I think wistfully about him.

Caspian: Plum-shagging duty probably falls to these two [indicating Vago and Piccolo]. Do you insist on climbing the plum tree as a matter of reminiscence?

Harp: I would be perfectly willing to stand underneath and hold my skirts out to catch them.

Host: The people may just be thinking about plums. [?]

Harp: So I can be standing there, and you can be throwing the plums down to me.

Vago: I've just climbed up there, shaking a branch.

Harp: I'll dash around trying to catch them. Actually, despite making her a little bit wistful, this actually really cheers Harp up. This is probably the first time you have seen her laugh like this.

Vago: "You must like plums!"

Harp: "I love plums! Get some more!"

Vago: [To Piccolo] "This branch."

Caspian: On to me?

Harp: Yes.

Caspian: Okie-dokie. Doo-de-doo ... we're going to move on again.

Host: You actually, unfortunately, cannot yet, because your token's not on the board.

Caspian: Oh, right! I'm cheating.

Piccolo: Are you trying to blitz us, son?

Caspian: I know! I was like, "Let's move it along!"

Host: And double Magus, huh?

Harp: We also weren't going to have a scene from Caspian this round.

Host: If you're in a hurry to move on, just have a short scene.

Caspian: Eee ... okay. I'm just trying to think. That was the problem, you see; I planned ahead.

Host: I know.

Caspian: I'm a fool.

Host: Sorry, sorry.

Caspian: No, that's cool.

Host: The key is, when you're feeling like "Oh man, I don't know what to do," just put yourself somewhere and start describing it. Let the scene naturally unfold.

Caspian / By Firelight: A Comfort from Home

Caspian: We're camping in a clearing by a forest, so we're surrounded by trees. Caspian is sitting on a stump right near the fire. He reaches into a pouch on his belt, and he pulls out some seeds and some acorns that he's looking at and smiling. He looks over to Vago; Vago is sitting against a tree, just kind of whittling away at a fallen twig or branch.

"They make me think of potential--what they'll grow into."

Vago: "It takes a long time."

Caspian: "They grow up big and strong. They last many years."

Vago: "Without undue interference, yeah. Maybe one of them will be a boat."

Caspian: "Maybe. That's potential too, in its own way. So maybe after things are dead and gone, they can still be useful. I don't think that's sad."

Vago: "Would you like to be a boat?"

Caspian: "It is nice to travel."

Vago: "It's nice to have roots too."

Caspian: "You've spent a lot of time running."

Vago: "Not long enough, I suppose. I spent too long in one place--the wrong place."

Caspian: "Well, sometimes you have to lift up your roots."

Vago: "I'm a free man. [Gesturing] Open sky ... no shackles ... shoes. The Magus is a good man."

Caspian: "He is."

Vago: "He did this. This will last once he's passed."

Caspian: "That's up to you. That's your potential."

Vago: "He thinks this is his last summer. Does he know everything that will happen? Does he know when his demise will come?"

Caspian: "Who's to say? Some people try to see the future, but I think it's just because they're afraid of the past. The scrying pool only shows you what always happens. It's only what we do with our hands that will change it." He puts the seeds back in the pouch. "Maybe we'll cross the ocean."

Vago: "I've never seen the ocean."

[Caspian gestures that he is finished. Vago places his token on "Making Camp."]

Vago / Making Camp: Wealthy/Cunning/Kind

Vago: The night is quiet. The fires have died down. The moon is high in the sky. There are crickets and nightingales very, very gently chirping and singing. Vago, who had been asleep, bolts upright and runs out of the tent into the cold night. This will wake Piccolo. He runs several paces outside of the tent and then stumbles and falls to his knees.

Piccolo: "Vago! What is it?"

Vago: [Gasps, then comes to himself] "Piccolo. I'm sorry."

Piccolo: "No, what is it?"

Vago: "A dream. I ... I thought I heard dogs."

Piccolo: "I've been awake for a little while. Actually, I was going to go swimming in the river. It seemed like a nice night for it."

Vago: "You go ahead. I don't want to go to the river."

Piccolo: "But I didn't hear dogs. You're safe here. I don't know exactly what chases you, what hounds your spirit, but this is probably the safest place you could ever be in."

Vago: "Then it's a shame we're leaving in the morning."

Piccolo: [laughs] "Let me clarify; I think that with the Magus is probably the safest place you could ever be."

Vago: "Then it's a shame his time is passing."

Piccolo: "Mm. As it does."

Vago: "Do you know--has he spoken to you? Does everything that he sees come to be? I asked the apprentice, and he said, 'Who's to say?' Something about fearing the past. I don't understand."

Piccolo: "When I first met him, he said if I followed him, I'd understand myself. It hasn't happened yet. But ... you've got to enjoy things while they last. Don't worry too much about what will happen, because you'll miss out on the good things that are happening. We had a good time today catching the plums, just the three of us. What will happen to the Magus will happen to the Magus, and what will happen to us will happen to us. But if I hear of anyone chasing you, I'll let you know. That's the best I can do for you. Sorry."

Vago: "That is an excellent kindness, and I will take it. Thank you. And with that in mind, I think I will eat the last of the plums while they last." I eat a plum and go to bed.

[He writes "kind" on Piccolo's card.]

That was very reassuring. Thank you.

Piccolo / Harper's Road: Who You Left Behind

Piccolo: Harper's Road is near a river, and it's, as rivers go, relatively clean. It stays warm even when the weather turns cold for a spell. The year before I left, on a full moon, I would swim with the neighbors' daughter. We didn't really tell anyone, but it's something that we did. Then one night, it was a full moon, just like it was tonight. We were swimming, and she saw something, and then she ran home; she never talked to me. I think that's part of why my foster father sent me away. But I still like to swim. The night, the moon--it's so beautiful.

One of the things that I took with me was a pendant. It wasn't made by a goldsmith or a silversmith; it was just made by the town blacksmith, and it was just a memento, one of the few things I took with me when I left. But even in the warm water, even on a night like this, it just feels so cold, so cold around my neck.

Vago: Is that cold comforting to you, or is it--?

Piccolo: No, it's just bitter cold.

And that's a short one; that's all I got.

Harp: All righty. I think it's time to move to Barleytown.

Part 3: Barleytown

Magus / Barleytown: The Hospitality of the Barley Lord

Harp: After a certain space of time traveling in the Oak Hills, during which time the nights grow longer, the air grows cooler, and the trees start to burst out into color, we come into Barleytown just in time for the harvest festival. Although Barleytown is ruled by a noble family--actually, no, let's scratch that. Barleytown is built around this abbey, and the abbot is the de facto ruler of the town. But every year during the harvest festival, they appoint the Barley Lord, who reigns over the city in a mood of revelry, permitting things the abbot would never allow. Think the King of Mardi Gras. And so we arrive just in time the enjoy the hospitality of the Barley Lord.

The Magus, being long-lived and extremely powerful, has residences for himself in pretty much every major city, and so he has a house in Barleytown that we can all go to. It's a chance to sleep in real beds for a change and cook in a kitchen and so forth. The Magus actually seems to cheer up a bit as we enter the town. He perks up a little, looks a bit animated, and announces, "I thank you for coming with me; I know I have been a bit silent on the road. But you all are young. Enjoy the pleasures of Barleytown." He gives--probably not Harp, because she's on sort of an unofficial basis, but to the rest of you, he gives some money and says to go and enjoy yourselves.

He himself is going to go and visit the abbot and consult with him. At the abbey, they pretty much stay indoors and let the revelry go on outside for as long it lasts, because they understand people need to let their hair down once in a while. They will be hearing confessions for weeks afterward of what everybody did.

[She looks at Caspian, indicating that she is done. Caspian places his token.]

Caspian: We'll be in the Inn of the Axe and Fiddle.

Caspian / The Inn of the Axe and Fiddle: A Song of Your People

Caspian: The inn is loud, very loud, especially on the eve of the barley harvest and such. I'm thinking loud music, lots of raucous laughter. Caspian's sitting at the bar, looking excitedly at a big, wooden mug that's filled with a frothy foam at the top. Vago's there, looking at him like, "Huh?"

"They tell me this barley brew is what all the farmers work for year-round, that this is their happiest time of year--that you can taste all of their work and effort in the craftsmanship of this brew."

Vago: "I can't imagine these people being any happier than this. Look at them all. No burdens. Even the innkeeper who's giving out the beer--he's so happy to do it."

Caspian: "What do you think, Piccolo?"

Piccolo: "Oh, uh, you know, I haven't had as much opportunity to taste the beers as maybe the two of you have, but it certainly warms my belly."

Vago: Harp wasn't given any money by the Magus in her unofficial capacity, but did she come out anyway?

Harp: Oh, yeah. Ever since the incident with the plums, she's let her hair down a little bit.

Caspian: They drink for a while at the inn; everybody's up at the bar. It's funny because, maybe about a beer or two in, Piccolo's like, [drunkenly] "Okay, this is, this is really good stuff." He's kind of ...

Vago: He's on his way down.

Caspian: He's on his way down, and as we keep drinking, everybody's getting drunker and drunker, but Caspian just keeps smiling, like "Oh, all right, this is what we do." He's drinking just as much as anybody else; it just doesn't seem to faze him. As the band stops, people are at that point where they sing along to anything. He says, [to Vago] "Do you have any songs--songs of your people, from where you come from, where you 'picked up your roots'?"

Vago: "My people didn't sing. My people weren't permitted to sing. My people were under the whip, and if we sang, they would have taken it that we had spirit at all, let alone good spirit. It wasn't permitted. I've heard song, but never a song that I would revere enough to repeat."

Caspian: "I see. Innkeeper, perhaps another barley brew for my friend Vago. Quite all right, quite all right. Harp, perhaps you know a song--a song of your people?"

Harp: "You want to hear a song of my people?"

Caspian: "I would."

Harp: Harp has had a few. She's probably the type who turns pink when she gets alcohol, so she's very flushed and is just at the stage where her inhibitions are about ready to go. She sings a song that is full of double entendre, something along the lines of "There was this woman who owned a farm, and she had this strapping young lad and was saying 'You want to stack my barley for me?'" This is an actual Irish folk song.

Caspian: I believe it.

Harp: Only it's in Gaelic, so you'd never know it was filthy.

Vago: You just have to assume, because it's in Gaelic.

Harp: Yeah. So she sings that and isn't even embarrassed. She'll be tremendously embarrassed tomorrow, but right now, no.

Caspian: She's just feeling the beer?

Harp: Yeah.

Caspian: [to Vago] "That's a nice song, wasn't it? She had a servant, like Piccolo--a big, strapping boy who moved her barley for her."

Piccolo: "I've got a song."

Caspian: "Good! A song of your people?"

Piccolo: "Yeah."

I start singing a song about how, long ago, Barleytown wasn't cleared; it was a huge wood. There were people coming from far away, the people who had lived in Barleytown. They were fleeing--who knows? Disease, war, famine. They came to the forest and started clearing it. The men of the forest were strange men--beautiful, but strange; they were resistant, but they made a deal with the people who came, saying, "If you allow your daughter one day to marry my son, then I'll let you clear this area." It was made in earnest, but years later, the man tried to renege, and it led to a battle at Swine Hill. In the end, the man agreed to have his daughter married, and she was taken away and never saw him again; but once in a while, you see people who, they say, are descendants of the forest men.

Vago: "That song had a lot of words. Are you from here?"

Piccolo: "Yeah."

Host: Maybe even, as you're singing the song, other people join in, because they know the words.

Caspian: If it's a local one, yes.

Harp: "You're quite the scholar of local history."

Piccolo: "Not much on the writing as much, but that's how we keep our records, through the song."

Vago: "That is good tradition."

Caspian: "A book or a scroll, but from the heart ... you'll write one one day. I know it, Vago."

Vago: "I can't write."

Caspian: "But your heart beats, and you're not under the whip anymore."

Harp: [drunkenly] "Did you say you can't write? That's so sad!"

Caspian: "Innkeep, another beer."

Harp: "I'll teach you to write. You've gotta write!"

Piccolo: "Harp, why are there so many of you?" He falls off the stool.

Caspian: "No more beer for him."

Vago: "We're going to have to take him home."

Caspian: "Indeed."

Harp: That was fun. That was the first scene we've had with all four of us, I think.

Caspian: Yeah. I was like, "Let's get everybody in so we can mix it up."

[Vago places his token on the market.]

Vago / The Farmer’s Market: What You Need for the Journey

Vago: The following day, Vago is charged with provisioning, so he's here in the market. The market is sort of dreary right now. People had been full of revelry the night before, and people tonight are probably going to be exploding again, but for right now, they're hung over and quiet. People are toned down.

The farmer's market is kind of an open area. There are buildings, but there are stalls out in front. He's walking along--again, slowly, because his head hurts too--making purchases here and there. He stops by the blacksmith. The clanging at first is echoing in his head, and then, in the back of his mind, the baying of hounds is echoing as well. He thinks, If they come--or if anything else should come--I should be armed. Vago will take some portion of the money that he was given by the Magus and buy a spear. He will perhaps return back carrying a sack of goods over his shoulder and a spear in his right hand.

Unless anybody wants to react to that, I think that's fine for that scene.

Host: I just want to check in a little bit. We have about about twenty more minutes left in the slot, so let's go ahead and do a couple of scenes so that everyone has a chance to do a scene in Barleytown with their characters, and then we'll take a moment for questions.

[Everyone agrees. Piccolo places his token on Swine Hill.]

Piccolo / Swine Hill: A Battle Fought Long Ago

Piccolo: Long ago, Swine Hill was just that, a place where people would muck their swine and have them roam, but after the battle, nothing would grow there. But in the mud, there was a great deal of making or baking of, almost like tablets, but in the ground. This is sort of another historical record. Piccolo has taken Harp here because she's a scholar, to show her the historical record of this. "These people weren't writers," I'll say. "This is pictures. I don't know the word for it, but all these are just pictures, history with pictures."

Harp: "It's amazing!" I look at the expanse of tablets.

Piccolo: "Here you can see the deal being made. Here you can see the building of the old abbey. Here you can see when the deal was broken. And this very large one, this is the battle itself. Notice the detail."

Harp: "The workmanship is exquisite! How old are these?"

Piccolo: "I can't say, only that they're very, very, very old."

Harp: "Amazing. Do you suppose they were made with magic?"

Piccolo: "I don't know. But one thing that I never noticed before--I guess I just never knew--this figure here, doesn't this look like the Magus to you?"

Harp: "It does! But it's hard to tell what his function in the scene is. He's standing off to the side, and that gesture--is he disapproving? Is he influencing it? Or is it just something that the artist thought looked nice?"

Piccolo: "All I know is, if it was him and not just a predecessor, he must be very, very old."

Harp: "He must indeed."

Piccolo: That's all I got. Do you want to continue? Anything else?

Harp: I think that's a good place to leave it. It leaves a lot of things open for possible interesting future developments.

[She places her token on the Old Abbey.]

Harp / The Old Abbey: Confession

Harp: The next day, Harp is going to the old abbey, to have a look around it as a historical site. [To Caspian] Somehow or other--it's up to you how this happened, but she's going to go with Caspian. Because we haven't had a scene together.

Caspian: No, we haven't, actually. All right.

Harp: So, we are given the freedom to wander about and look at it after I express that I'm a scholar and interested in it, or who knows, maybe you're there to talk to the Magus.

Caspian: Sure. Well, I'll follow along because you say you're going to the old abbey, and I'm like, "Oh, the Magus speaks with the abbot on occasion in private. It would be nice to see the abbey."

Harp: "I've heard it's a fine example of early architecture. It dates from shortly after the founding of the town, I believe."

Caspian: "Interesting. Let's see it."

Harp: So we walk about; we check out the towers and the chapels. We're allowed to climb the bell tower, where we can get a view of the whole town spread out beneath us, and the fields that are golden with barley, and everything that looks really gorgeous. Somehow, the mood just seems right, and Harp just blurts out, "I have something to confess to you. I've been terribly envious of you."

Caspian: "Why?"

Harp: "Your position as the Magus's apprentice. Were you born with magic?"

Caspian: "It was a bargain, as it were. The Magus often talks about how non-magical folk--'the bright children,' we call you, because your lives ... You don't understand. You believe we have the gift, but we see it as you--you're the ones with the gift. You're not the first to come in and try to drink from the scrying pool, thinking that it would give you visions ..."

[Harp hangs her head. The others laugh.]

Piccolo: She's embarrassed.

Host: Bright red.

Caspian: "... or it would help you to gain power or whatever it is that you seek. But in order for me to gain the gift, as you would say ... My mother, you see, she was very sick. But a bargain was struck with the Magus that she would pass peacefully in the night, and I would carry on after he would be gone. Though I have abilities, or I can change the world around us, there is always a cost, a great cost, and I must confess I envy you."

Harp: "A cost to you, or to someone else?"

Caspian: "To us. It's always a great personal cost."

Harp: "But surely, if you can do good things, isn't it worth it?"

Caspian: "Absolutely. But pain is a hard thing to hold onto, to try to bury. It always comes back, like a bad dream. I envy you because you're a scholar. You've lived; you've seen so much. With the gift that's been given to me, I don't see the world the same as you, and it's difficult for me to explain; I just don't have the words."

Harp: "I see. [Sighs.] Well, they do say that half the world always envies the other half."

Caspian: "The grass is always greener, as they say."

Harp: "Is that what they say where you come from?"

Caspian: "A traveler once said it. I'd never heard it, myself."

Harp: I'm okay ending the scene there.

Caspian: That's fine.

Post-Game Wrapup

Host: Now we're going to take a moment to reflect. We're going to go around in a circle, and when it's your turn, feel free to share a moment you enjoyed, an appreciation of another player, some piece of advice, perhaps an epilogue for your character, where you see your character going, something that challenged you, something you might try differently, or an emotion or memory the game prompted.

I'll just go ahead and go first. I just want to say thank you so much for sharing this beautiful story with me. It was lovely. I watch people play this game a lot, and to me, it's kind of like watching my favorite TV show over and over again, but it's different every time. There were so many lovely moments right from the beginning, so I just wanted to thank you all.

Group: Thank you!

Vago: I had kind of mentioned to you earlier, I found it challenging to set the scene before I put my character into it. When you play most roleplaying games, you're so invested in "How does my character fit into this? How does he react to this?" But forcing the setting of scene first really fleshes it out for the rest of the table to envision what's happening. That's cool to do as a player instead of putting that burden on a single GM. I think that was a cool aspect, and that was something that was challenging.

Caspian: Whoo, man, I don't know where to start. If you could come back to me ... Jesus, I'm just drawing a blank now. It literally blew my mind.

Harp: I have played a fair number of indie games, and I'd say this is the kind of experience that I like to get from them, where you have all kinds of detail and the story goes in unexpected directions. You get really deep characterization, don't you?

Host: Yeah.

Harp: I certainly had no clue when I just wrote down this stuff [she holds up her card] what kind of character I was going to wind up being.

I don't know if I should say this, but I had an idea how the story might end up in my mind.

Host: You can say that.

Harp: Well, based on the conversation with Caspian, my idea is that the reason magic is dying is because the Magus is doing something to take it out of the world, because it's not really a blessing. So that's his gift to you, that he's going to set you free from having to follow after him.

Caspian: Oh!

Host: I like it.

Caspian: Yeah, yeah.

Harp: Poor Harp, but oh well. She'll learn.

Piccolo: I really liked that one scene where we were all in the inn. That was the only scene where all of us were together, and I think that was something that, if we didn't do it, then something would have been lost.

Harp: Yeah, it kind of anchored the whole thing.

Vago: It put the party together as a party.

Piccolo: Yeah.

Vago: [To Harp] You ended your comment with "Poor Harp," but Harp is the scholar that got to report and watch the Magus taking magic out of the world. Nobody else gets to see that. You're going to go down in history.

Harp: That is true.

Host: You're going to write a thick philosophy on this.

Piccolo: And sometimes what you need isn't always what you want.

Caspian: I think just the interplay off of players, and stuff like that ... I'm becoming more and more of a fan of collaborative storytelling games just for that, that you don't have any expectation on you that you have to be "Okay, I'm always this character" or "I'm always doing this," or whatever. Having to set up a scene and direct other players and just bounce ideas off each other--I dunno. I don't have the words. [laughs]

Harp: I love how they've made the prompts just specific enough to get your mind working, but there are so many different ways any of these could go. Can we see what the rest of the scroll looks like?

Host: Sure, check it out.

[They unroll the scroll and all exclaim over it.]

Harp: Wow. It felt like we were progressing pretty well through a story, but now I see we barely started.

Caspian: We barely scratched, yeah.

Harp: How long does it usually take you to play through a whole game?

Host: When I play, usually three three- or four-hour sessions. Not as long as a D&D campaign. I would call it short-form.

Vago: Sure, because you're not going to be stopped by rolling dice out in combats.

Host: You get a lot done. It's like two years of D&D campaign packed into three sessions.

Harp: What's really cool is, you could do this same thing with a different set of place names and get a totally different story.

Host: You'll find the next time you play it, it's going to be completely different. Every time.