First ever game of Macchiato Monsters last night!

First ever game of Macchiato Monsters last night! (I didn't use the adventure I'd been posting about, as that's probably four or five hours and sessions with this group are very short, two hours of gaming usually, and I'm trying to wrap each session I run now on a true blackout.)

Just a couple of hours over Skype with my lifelong Canadian friends (whom I will not tag here because spoilers) who live in Japan. Character creation is smooth as butter, if a great challenge to the brainbox for old-schoolers. I mean chargen does take a bit of puzzling out for newbies -- rolling one EACH of d20 to d4 on the equipment tables, the lack of spell lists, the difference between dX ratings and ΔX ratings, etc. But that's all to be expected; this is an arcane system compared to relatively straightforward engines like D&D, RuneQuest, Harnmaster, CoC, etc. The risk die concept itself, especially as regards trade, is sophisticated -- and a massive winner IMO. Eric, you've done a great thing expanding the Black Hack usage die as you have.

Anyhow, the setting is one level of a massive tower. We'll call it The Giant's Tower. It's thus basically a city or town with a roof high overhead. Pretty crimey. The guys built a mercenary and a moneylender to gamblers, each of which are pretty crimey themselves. I decided it was well and good that they be able to easily sell basic chargen gear, so off to the friendly pawnbroker Bon.

The usage die, as I'd hoped, immediately created an engaging minigame, precipitating trades of chargen gear for cash, and then moneychanging a chargen ingot of Δ4 Platinum in order to buy some good weapons with silver. Life savings being risked in pursuit of bigger payoffs, in the form of dark business!

One moment I really liked is when Ed's moneylender wanted to sell his chargen polearm and leather shield. Bon traded a Δ6 copper for the voulge, and said "I'll take the shield, but about all I can give you for it is a tip."

The giving of the tip (for which see below; "The Fisherman" has found out about the new discovery of a Well and is hiring crews to find it) wrapped the session. And thus we are set for next time.

By the way, I used a bunch of the die drop tables to generate plot, faction, etc, and they worked like a charm for me. Really, really great. Here's what I came up with:

Adventure Locale

Gravity Trap Claimed by Rival Factions
Locale: A Lady's Chambers
Danger Level: 13. Special Precautions Needed
Ways In or Out: Only with a certain person or creature

Plot elements

Pixie Pranksters & A Poisoned Gift
Twist: Violence is Not An Option
Verb/ Motivator: Steal because of a Curse

Factions

Faction 1: A gang of Cutpurses
Twist: Known Blackmailers
MO: Direct and Violent
Power: Δ6 (2 Dozen, Noticeable)
Immediate Goal: Have someone Killed

Faction 2: A Dead Priest-King (Queen: see Locale above)
Twist: Not serious: only in it for the booze nights
MO: Subtle and Sneaky
Power: Δ10 (Powerful)
Immediate Goal: Best another faction

Bringing It Together

The men are contacted by a certain acquaintance to meet. Need to find the Chamber of Queen Madwa because it's come to light that it is a Well -- a traversal point to another Level in the Tower. Contact is sending several crews out. If find, and get back with directions and having cleared the way, get a reward of Δ6 Gold.

Strategy: talk to an expert.

Clue: Find the Little Ones in the Abandoned Vault of Speakers. They know of Madwa.

Clue: another group altogether is trying to find the Well, because they want to kill a personage on that level.

A friend you know tells you that to see an ancient spirit like Queen Madwa, and thus [ed: interact with and/or confirm the identity of ]her, you'll need to take the magicking of Ether. Get the magicking of Ether from the Little Ones, who live in the Abandoned Vault of Speakers. Because of an ancient curse, one cannot ask for the magic, but once one has audience one must steal it from them. The magic is a drink, which may poison the taker.

....Anyway!

From the laziest referee in Canada to the laziest referee in France,

Thank you.