madwabbit
First Post
Buttercup's Baby: S. Morgenstern's Glorious Examination of Courage Matched Against the Death of the Heart.
Part One: Fezzik Dies
...
(A note from S. Morgenstern: Yes, it's true, Fezzik dies. The following is a quick summing up, because an explanation would take too long. You might consider reading it. Or not ... I can't make you. But it might make things a bit clearer for you about how and why Fezzik dies. So, you should probably read it. Or not. Your choice.)
[sblock]After the long fall, Fezzik lay at the base of the mountain, his back broken, dying. Clutched tight in his massive arms lay Waverly, the child of Buttercup and Westley, her eyes twinkling and sparkling, excited by the wonderful falling game they had just finished playing. She was safe -- he had caught her and saved her. Of course, he thought to himself, it was a shame that he was going to die, but when the skinless-faced madman had thrown her off the mountaintop, the giant jumped after her without hesitation, plucking her out of midair, and wrapped his giant body around her tiny form to cradle her and cushion her fall.
And it worked! Being a giant sometimes came in handy, Fezzik thought, other than the whole now really-hurting-bad-and-going-to-die thing.
Despite the pain, he managed a smile at her, asking "How you doing, keeed?"
Waverly smiled back at him, eyes bright. "Again?"
Fezzik smiled, shook his head, and coughed, agony wracking his body. "No, not just yet, keeed. This time you made me overtired, for a change! Your mother would be so surprised at that. I just needa rest for a second." The child nodded, the slight look of disappointment in her eyes turning to concern. She shrugged, and burrowed deeper into the giant's arms, warm there against the cold mountain air, drifting off to sleep, the lasting effects of the potion the madman had given her.
Fezzik pondered what he should do. Once he died, the child would be left alone in the middle of this strange wilderness to where he had chased the skinless-faced madman, and there was nothing he could do to protect her. And she was too small to fend for herself, he knew that.
As always, Fezzik soon realized that he just wasn't smart enough to figure out what to do. If it was Westley laying here with his back broken, he would know what to do. If it was Inigo, he'd figure something out. Buttercup would know in her heart what to do.
Not Fezzik. He only knew that went things went wrong that he should go back to the beginning. But Fezzik could not go back to the beginning again... not this time. So, he did all he could do: he laid there, keeping the child warm and safe, waiting until someone else would come along and tell him what to do. Or die. Whichever came first.
He didn't have to wait for long. He heard the man's soft footsteps walking slowly and warily towards him. "I'm not dead yet," Fezzik said loudly, "but I think my back is broken so I can't get up to fight and then kill you, much as I'd like to. So you don't need to pitter-patter all quiet like a little mousie."
Fezzik watched the skinless-faced madman approach, pulling his cloak's hood back from his face (Note from S.M.: well, what would have been his face other than the fact that there were no recognizable face parts, not even a mouth ... but I digress) as he stood over the giant. Fezzik looked up towards where he thought the madman's eyes were. "If you're going to take the keeed now, I would like you to kill me first."
"Oh, is your pain that great?" said the madman, mockery obvious in the sibilant sounds coming from somewhere that Fezzik assumed was a mouth. "What do you know about pain, just because you fell off a mountain? Are you now begging me for mercy to end your suffering? Some brave giant you are, at the end of your miserable life, proving to be naught but a coward begging for death to ease his pain. But my big hulking goat-smelling brute, you don't know what it's like to feel true pain. TRUE pain!" The madman raised his fists in the air, shaking them at the sky.
Fezzik grew angry, attempting to rise and fight, but his effort caused only an extremely painful spasm of coughing, and he knew it was no use. He caught his breath and then sighed. "No, you small, crazy, ugly no-faced man, I don't care about my pain. I just can't bear to see you take the keeed from me. You've come all the way down the mountain to find us, and I don't think you're going to kill her after all that. I think you knew that I'd jump after her, and that you knew she'd be safe with me wrapped around her, but that I'd be dead once we hit the rocks. But I'm not dead yet -- sorry about that. I wasn't trying to stay alive and ruin your plan. But there's nothing I can do now to stop you from taking her. All I'm asking is that you kill me so I don't have to watch. That would break my heart in addition to me dying, and that just doesn't seem fair."
There was a moment of silence as the madman and Fezzik looked at each other.
The madman paused for a moment, looked up to the sky, and then nodded to himself. "Perhaps, with a heart as big as yours, you have known true pain despite your lack of brains, or will know it if I broke your heart as well as your back. You're not as dumb a brute as I was led to believe, giant."
"I have my moments, it seems," said Fezzik. "And I'm sorry I called you crazy and ugly, but I bathe everyday in the whirlpool, so I know I don't smell like a goat. I only called you those names because you made me mad. So... will you please kill me now?"
The madman looked away from the giant, up at the sky, and again nodded to himself. He reached down and lifted the now-sleeping Waverly from the giant's arms, wrapping her once again in the blanket from the bed where he had kidnapped her.
"No, alas, giant, I cannot. You are right, that I do not wish the child dead, and yes, I knew the only way to defeat you would be to push you off a mountain ... or get you to jump off yourself. After all we've been through, even I will concede that you deserve a good death. It seems, however, that I cannot give that to you. So, please do not beg for it now, as it might spoil our new-found spirit of comity."
The madman turned and started to walk away, as Fezzik puzzled over the meaning of the word comity. The man stopped, looking up at the sky yet again, and then nodded. He turned back to the giant. "Before I go, I have a message for you from an old friend." The madman's voice changed abruptly, from its quiet and sinister sibilance to an all-too-familiar angry nasal voice: "And now I leave you, you great ox of an oaf, just as I found you in Greenland: friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless!" The cruel laughter of Vizzini echoed harshly in Fezzik's ears.
"And soon," the Vizzini voice continued, "you will be lifeless, as you die, and you will die alone. If, however, your great big dumb heart keeps you alive longer than I think it might, then perhaps your friends will find you just before you expire, and you'll have a last desperate gasp left in you to tell them once again to never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! And with their child in my grasp, death is definitely on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ... ha."
The voice stopped. The madman shook his head, as if clearing it, and then looked into Fezzik's eyes. A moment of silence again passed between the two, and the child stirred briefly in the madman's arms. He looked down at the child, looked back at Fezzik, nodded to himself, turned away, and left Fezzik to die alone. [/sblock]
Summary: A skinless-faced madman has kidnapped Waverly, the daughter of Westley and Buttercup, apparently killing Fezzik in the process. Westley, Buttercup, and Inigo Montoya (fresh from his first tour of duty as the Dread Pirate Roberts), along with two or three other interesting characters, take off in hot pursuit of the madman, from their home on One Tree Island, through the Wilderness of Woe, into the Swamp of Slime (only slightly more perilous than the Fire Swamp), and across the Serpentine Sea to the shores of Sicily ... and the slopes of Muncibeddu, the Mountain of Perdition! (Note from S. Morgenstern: there might have been a stop or two along the way at other alliterative Places of Peril ... or it's quite possible the whole story takes place in Venice. The translation from the Ruritanian is unclear).
Players: Up to six players will play various characters taken from or based upon S. Morgenstern's book "The Princess Bride" (some of you might note that a relatively obscure and minor film was also made, based upon the book). Those players contemplating the game should consider that a longtime familiarity and love of the book or movie is essential for your enjoyment of this game (and the enjoyment of everyone else playing as well). You don't need to have memorized the book or movie, or anything like that -- you just to need to be relatively familiar with one or the other, and you need to have loved one or the other, in order to make the story, the characters, and the world come alive.
System and Such: This game will use Chad Underkoffler's PDQ# system, a swashbuckling-intensive version of the system that powers Truth & Justice and The Zorcerer of Zo. The system uses a lot of descriptive elements (lots of cool words to described things, people, and abilities), but you don't need to have a degree in literature to play. No previous knowledge of the system is required to play; six-sided dice, pre-gen characters, and a brief overview of the rules will be provided. You simply need to bring your imagination, enthusiasm, and a willingness to bring the awesome for yourself and everyone else.
Characters will be chosen sometime between now and Gameday. The dramatis personae will be Westley, Buttercup, Inigo, Someone Else**, and two other Someone Elses***.
Players
1. Fraisala
2. Cassander
3. MP
4. Queenie
5. Archon
6. OPEN
Alt 1.
Alt 2.
** Note 1:[sblock]This Someone Else is Fezzik. Fezzik does, in fact, die... well, almost. Just as True Love brought Westley back, along with a timely administered miracle pill, the thought of dying alone and suffering True Pain throughout Eternity convinces Fezzik that he's being lazy just laying there with a broken back, and that he needs to not die just yet. And, of course, he also gets a miracle pill timely administered as well when his friends find him. But his back hurts, a lot, and his heart's on the verge of breaking because he was unable to keep Waverly rescued after saving her.
[/sblock]
*** Note 2:[sblock]These Someone Elses are likely (1) another mysterious masked swordsman/woman who is NOT Westley or Inigo, and (2) an apprentice Miracle Man or Witch-in-Training.[/sblock]
Disclaimer:[sblock]Not that I'd ever imagine exercising said right, but I reserve the right to refuse admission to a registrant into the game. Also, if there are not at least four (4) persons registered prior to the Gameday, I WILL cancel the game.[/sblock]
Part One: Fezzik Dies
...
(A note from S. Morgenstern: Yes, it's true, Fezzik dies. The following is a quick summing up, because an explanation would take too long. You might consider reading it. Or not ... I can't make you. But it might make things a bit clearer for you about how and why Fezzik dies. So, you should probably read it. Or not. Your choice.)
[sblock]After the long fall, Fezzik lay at the base of the mountain, his back broken, dying. Clutched tight in his massive arms lay Waverly, the child of Buttercup and Westley, her eyes twinkling and sparkling, excited by the wonderful falling game they had just finished playing. She was safe -- he had caught her and saved her. Of course, he thought to himself, it was a shame that he was going to die, but when the skinless-faced madman had thrown her off the mountaintop, the giant jumped after her without hesitation, plucking her out of midair, and wrapped his giant body around her tiny form to cradle her and cushion her fall.
And it worked! Being a giant sometimes came in handy, Fezzik thought, other than the whole now really-hurting-bad-and-going-to-die thing.
Despite the pain, he managed a smile at her, asking "How you doing, keeed?"
Waverly smiled back at him, eyes bright. "Again?"
Fezzik smiled, shook his head, and coughed, agony wracking his body. "No, not just yet, keeed. This time you made me overtired, for a change! Your mother would be so surprised at that. I just needa rest for a second." The child nodded, the slight look of disappointment in her eyes turning to concern. She shrugged, and burrowed deeper into the giant's arms, warm there against the cold mountain air, drifting off to sleep, the lasting effects of the potion the madman had given her.
Fezzik pondered what he should do. Once he died, the child would be left alone in the middle of this strange wilderness to where he had chased the skinless-faced madman, and there was nothing he could do to protect her. And she was too small to fend for herself, he knew that.
As always, Fezzik soon realized that he just wasn't smart enough to figure out what to do. If it was Westley laying here with his back broken, he would know what to do. If it was Inigo, he'd figure something out. Buttercup would know in her heart what to do.
Not Fezzik. He only knew that went things went wrong that he should go back to the beginning. But Fezzik could not go back to the beginning again... not this time. So, he did all he could do: he laid there, keeping the child warm and safe, waiting until someone else would come along and tell him what to do. Or die. Whichever came first.
He didn't have to wait for long. He heard the man's soft footsteps walking slowly and warily towards him. "I'm not dead yet," Fezzik said loudly, "but I think my back is broken so I can't get up to fight and then kill you, much as I'd like to. So you don't need to pitter-patter all quiet like a little mousie."
Fezzik watched the skinless-faced madman approach, pulling his cloak's hood back from his face (Note from S.M.: well, what would have been his face other than the fact that there were no recognizable face parts, not even a mouth ... but I digress) as he stood over the giant. Fezzik looked up towards where he thought the madman's eyes were. "If you're going to take the keeed now, I would like you to kill me first."
"Oh, is your pain that great?" said the madman, mockery obvious in the sibilant sounds coming from somewhere that Fezzik assumed was a mouth. "What do you know about pain, just because you fell off a mountain? Are you now begging me for mercy to end your suffering? Some brave giant you are, at the end of your miserable life, proving to be naught but a coward begging for death to ease his pain. But my big hulking goat-smelling brute, you don't know what it's like to feel true pain. TRUE pain!" The madman raised his fists in the air, shaking them at the sky.
Fezzik grew angry, attempting to rise and fight, but his effort caused only an extremely painful spasm of coughing, and he knew it was no use. He caught his breath and then sighed. "No, you small, crazy, ugly no-faced man, I don't care about my pain. I just can't bear to see you take the keeed from me. You've come all the way down the mountain to find us, and I don't think you're going to kill her after all that. I think you knew that I'd jump after her, and that you knew she'd be safe with me wrapped around her, but that I'd be dead once we hit the rocks. But I'm not dead yet -- sorry about that. I wasn't trying to stay alive and ruin your plan. But there's nothing I can do now to stop you from taking her. All I'm asking is that you kill me so I don't have to watch. That would break my heart in addition to me dying, and that just doesn't seem fair."
There was a moment of silence as the madman and Fezzik looked at each other.
The madman paused for a moment, looked up to the sky, and then nodded to himself. "Perhaps, with a heart as big as yours, you have known true pain despite your lack of brains, or will know it if I broke your heart as well as your back. You're not as dumb a brute as I was led to believe, giant."
"I have my moments, it seems," said Fezzik. "And I'm sorry I called you crazy and ugly, but I bathe everyday in the whirlpool, so I know I don't smell like a goat. I only called you those names because you made me mad. So... will you please kill me now?"
The madman looked away from the giant, up at the sky, and again nodded to himself. He reached down and lifted the now-sleeping Waverly from the giant's arms, wrapping her once again in the blanket from the bed where he had kidnapped her.
"No, alas, giant, I cannot. You are right, that I do not wish the child dead, and yes, I knew the only way to defeat you would be to push you off a mountain ... or get you to jump off yourself. After all we've been through, even I will concede that you deserve a good death. It seems, however, that I cannot give that to you. So, please do not beg for it now, as it might spoil our new-found spirit of comity."
The madman turned and started to walk away, as Fezzik puzzled over the meaning of the word comity. The man stopped, looking up at the sky yet again, and then nodded. He turned back to the giant. "Before I go, I have a message for you from an old friend." The madman's voice changed abruptly, from its quiet and sinister sibilance to an all-too-familiar angry nasal voice: "And now I leave you, you great ox of an oaf, just as I found you in Greenland: friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless!" The cruel laughter of Vizzini echoed harshly in Fezzik's ears.
"And soon," the Vizzini voice continued, "you will be lifeless, as you die, and you will die alone. If, however, your great big dumb heart keeps you alive longer than I think it might, then perhaps your friends will find you just before you expire, and you'll have a last desperate gasp left in you to tell them once again to never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! And with their child in my grasp, death is definitely on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ... ha."
The voice stopped. The madman shook his head, as if clearing it, and then looked into Fezzik's eyes. A moment of silence again passed between the two, and the child stirred briefly in the madman's arms. He looked down at the child, looked back at Fezzik, nodded to himself, turned away, and left Fezzik to die alone. [/sblock]
Summary: A skinless-faced madman has kidnapped Waverly, the daughter of Westley and Buttercup, apparently killing Fezzik in the process. Westley, Buttercup, and Inigo Montoya (fresh from his first tour of duty as the Dread Pirate Roberts), along with two or three other interesting characters, take off in hot pursuit of the madman, from their home on One Tree Island, through the Wilderness of Woe, into the Swamp of Slime (only slightly more perilous than the Fire Swamp), and across the Serpentine Sea to the shores of Sicily ... and the slopes of Muncibeddu, the Mountain of Perdition! (Note from S. Morgenstern: there might have been a stop or two along the way at other alliterative Places of Peril ... or it's quite possible the whole story takes place in Venice. The translation from the Ruritanian is unclear).
Players: Up to six players will play various characters taken from or based upon S. Morgenstern's book "The Princess Bride" (some of you might note that a relatively obscure and minor film was also made, based upon the book). Those players contemplating the game should consider that a longtime familiarity and love of the book or movie is essential for your enjoyment of this game (and the enjoyment of everyone else playing as well). You don't need to have memorized the book or movie, or anything like that -- you just to need to be relatively familiar with one or the other, and you need to have loved one or the other, in order to make the story, the characters, and the world come alive.
System and Such: This game will use Chad Underkoffler's PDQ# system, a swashbuckling-intensive version of the system that powers Truth & Justice and The Zorcerer of Zo. The system uses a lot of descriptive elements (lots of cool words to described things, people, and abilities), but you don't need to have a degree in literature to play. No previous knowledge of the system is required to play; six-sided dice, pre-gen characters, and a brief overview of the rules will be provided. You simply need to bring your imagination, enthusiasm, and a willingness to bring the awesome for yourself and everyone else.
Characters will be chosen sometime between now and Gameday. The dramatis personae will be Westley, Buttercup, Inigo, Someone Else**, and two other Someone Elses***.
Players
1. Fraisala
2. Cassander
3. MP
4. Queenie
5. Archon
6. OPEN
Alt 1.
Alt 2.
** Note 1:[sblock]This Someone Else is Fezzik. Fezzik does, in fact, die... well, almost. Just as True Love brought Westley back, along with a timely administered miracle pill, the thought of dying alone and suffering True Pain throughout Eternity convinces Fezzik that he's being lazy just laying there with a broken back, and that he needs to not die just yet. And, of course, he also gets a miracle pill timely administered as well when his friends find him. But his back hurts, a lot, and his heart's on the verge of breaking because he was unable to keep Waverly rescued after saving her.
[/sblock]
*** Note 2:[sblock]These Someone Elses are likely (1) another mysterious masked swordsman/woman who is NOT Westley or Inigo, and (2) an apprentice Miracle Man or Witch-in-Training.[/sblock]
Disclaimer:[sblock]Not that I'd ever imagine exercising said right, but I reserve the right to refuse admission to a registrant into the game. Also, if there are not at least four (4) persons registered prior to the Gameday, I WILL cancel the game.[/sblock]
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