The Anarchy Burner - Almost Completed Version

The Anarchy Burner
'Tis the year of our lord, 1135. King Henry the First, The King of England, The Ruler of Normandy has passed. His only heir is dead, before King Henry died he had his barons swear to support his daughter, Empress Maude (widow of Emperor Henry the V of the Holy Roman Empire) to be The Lady of the English, Ruler over England.

Upon news of King Henry’s death, his nephew, Stephen of Blois came to London. With him came a legitimate claim to the throne; with the support of barons, and the church he usurped the throne from The Lady. Thus began a civil war, which would last for nineteen winters. This is the Anarchy, a time when Christ and all his Saints slept.

As players, you will be playing nobles from a single house. Before the game, we have the responsibility of fleshing out your houses fief and your character’s relationships with England's various people. While we stock the fires of Anarchy, remember, this game is not about recreating history but about playing in it’s spirit. The game is historical fiction. We use history to provide the context, and the focus; upon which a theme will emerge. Our shared fiction does not have to be bound by the demands of historical accuracy, we can and will change the details to add a dramatic twists and to better suit our story’s needs.

This is a game of tragedy. The tragedy of choice; between one’s personal needs, the needs of kin, the needs of community, and the needs of society. The consequences of your decisions is what will drive the game. Together, we will setup the fuel and the spark, and in play we will watch it smolder, burn to the ground. Leaving nothing but the ashes of the past behind.

Summary of Setup
- Openly talk about ideas, follow the questions, answer and discuss. Build a character concept out of the questions, or say your concept and work with the questions. Remember, this is our story. But also keep in mind, we are playing within a situation and a setting. In that regard, think of the GM as a guide. Who will keep you within the framework.

- The Nail That Sticks Up Is Hammered Down. As a group we must reach consensus, however sometimes one person is not in agreement. The polite thing to do is, modify your desires and bend to the will of the group. I exaggerate, just speak out on why it feels badwrongfun to you. Hell its probably just a miscommunication on my part anyhow.

- No secrets between players, but keep them between characters. Burning Wheel lends an authorial authority to players. We are all creating a story after all.

The Anarchy Burner (Draft)

Preface: This is for my upcoming Burning Wheel/Chronica Feudalis/etc game, I want to run through out the summer. I've drafted this setup document (minus questions, because I plagiarize from the Clan Burner from "Blossoms are Falling") for my group to lookover and setup the game. Give feedback, and ask questions if one desires.

The Anarchy Burner
'Tis the year of our lord, 1135. King Henry the First, The King of England, The Ruler of Normandy has passed. His only son is long dead, before he died he had his barons swear to support his daughter, Empress Maude (widow of Emperor Henry the V of the Holy Roman Empire) to be his sole heir, The Lady of the English.

Upon news of King Henry’s death, his nephew, Stephen of Blois came to London. With him came a legitimate claim to the throne; with the support of barons, and the church he usurped the throne from The Lady. Thus began a civil war, which would last for nineteen winters. This is the Anarchy, a time when Christ and all his Saints slept.

As players, you are playing nobles from a single house. You will be tasked with fleshing out your fief and your relationships with England's various people. This is game is not about recreating history but about playing in the spirit of history. Its a game of historical fiction, we use history to provide context, and focus upon a theme which emerges from our interactions with it. Our shared fiction does not have to be bound by the demands of historical accuracy, we can flub with the details, maybe deliberately to add a dramatic twist or two.

This is also, a game of tragedy. The tragedy of choice, between one’s personal needs, the needs of kin, the needs of community, and the needs of society at large. The consequences of choice is what will drive the game. Together we will setup the fuel and the spark, and in play we will watch it smolder, burn out. Leaving nothing but the ashes of the past.

Summary of Setup
- Openly talk about ideas during play, follow the questions, answer and discuss. Remember, this is our game. Consensus is a must, however as GM I will ensure the game stays along the theme. Think of me as a guide, I will keep you within the boundaries to ensure the game remains consistent with itself.
- Openly discuss character concepts during creation. DO NOT SET ANYTHING IN STONE! They can change, morph as we play. Feel free to make characters who don’t like each other, or who support one another.
- No secrets between players, but keep them between characters. The games I run, will reward this authorial level of play.

Musings on middle earth...*stream of thought ranting*

I miss The Cimmerian, the single greatest fantasy literature blog I have ever read. I recommend going through its archives, the quality of articles is fairly good through-out. Today, I'd like to talk about how middle-earth shaped how I viewed fantasy. Also these entries from THE BARBARIANS OF MIDDLE-EARTH were the catalyst to such thoughts.

I like Tolkien, quite a lot actually. My early readings of Tolkien were untainted by a lot of the fantasy culture (the exception being the Rankin Bass cartoons), hell I was in 2nd grade when I read the Hobbit and tackled Lord of the Rings soon after. The imagery and feel of the blood-stained battles, and the world-weary people of Middle-Earth as seen through my young minds eye has left a very distinct impression.

The images faded with time, an overexposure to fantasy tropes and I was plain getting older. It was years until I seriously returned to Tolkien & I rediscovered the sombre beauty of middle-earth, and the terrible carnage of the wars between the Light & the Dark. The Children of Hurin rekindled my love of high fantasy, and for Prof Tolkien's genre-defining world. I would return to the rest of his works with an open, and more mature eye than I had in the past. His writings weren't fairy tales, in a bright shiny world that certain people would like you to believe (oh, you read this "on campus in the sixties"). Nor wasn't it the overly simplicstic, morality tale, with two-dimesional characters others would lead you to believe (angsty teenagers, pedantic asshats*).

*I completely own being a pedantic asshat, still am at times too.

The works of Tolkien were written in the tradition of sagas, folk tales, and the ancient chronicles. His stories are tragic in nature. They are about mistakes, endings, and new beginnings birthed through pain.. All punctuated with moments of levity, wonder, and romance. His stories are very human at their core, told through a historians eye (with a linguist ear).

But this brings me back to the articles, The Barbarians of Middle Earth. The writings bring for a side of Tolkien's writing that are apparent the those who really read, but seem to be lost on the teeming masses, the humans of Middle Earth were not "white teethed, Knights in Shining fucking Armor saving damsels in distress". By Crom, this glossy view of medieval inspired cultures piss me off. They were the Saxons, the Scottish, the Irish, The Gauls, The Franks, hell the damn Normans! Our ancestors (for white people) were not NICE folk. Yes, they had culture, yes they were probably quiet friendly. But in NO WAY were they bright and shiny, herp-de-derp bullshit gah!

I have no idea where this popular idea of Middle Earth came from...other than campus on the sixties. Then again, I was even a twinkle in my Mom's eye at that point. So maybe I'm off base. No, Middle Earth is even being differently trivialized. Have you seen the myriad of games? Magic that has nothing to do with Valar or Melkor. Orcs are nothing more than icky nasty mooks to be killed, instead of creatures filled with hate who are threats to the people of Middle Earth. Pretty boy elves who ride shields down stairs. Comic relief Scottish Dwarves. Oh, and combat being a relatively bloodless affair with no real consequence. NIPPLE HELMETS! Gah, no one gets Tolkien Elves write. Have you read the Poetic Edda? Fuckers not effeminate or passionless.  They are full of passion, they sing rousing battles hymn, lament the tears of the many fallen. THEY CLIMB MOUND OF BODIES!

I'm an o'erbrimming with da fire and fury. I end without really making a point!

Projects!

Things I'm working on that may (or may not) be posted...

Alternate Artha Rewards for Burning Wheel!

Penny Dreadful: A story game about spotlight hogs monsters destroying scenes.

Swords & Savages: Robert E. Howard inspired historical adventures! Hard men/women who lived hard lives.

Subjectivity in Reward Systems: Less is best!

Games I'd like to run...

My current game is going to die. *blam* I'm working nights. *blam blam* My shifts are 12 hours long. *kick* I work 7 or more nights in a row. *stab* My off nights aren't on game day. *stabity stab* Oh, this will be going on for two months. *bury*

My game is buried alive, I'll exhume the damn thing when I get the chance...but it is as good as dead. So now I can fantasize about what I will run next...


Dogs in the Vineyard: Recently, I found out I am strong Mormon roots on my Mother's side. This fact alone re-sparked my interest in DitV. I would love to run a western with no gonzo elements, also Town Creation would force me to really delve into prep, which is something I avoid doing. 


Poison'd: Its a D. Vincent Baker lovefest! Actually, I would love to see what happens with a full crew of dirty pirates, with players who are more than willing to go that far. Besides I get the chance to be Satan!


Sorcerer: I've ran Sorcerer once, it was a really interesting experience. I played with a bunch of lazy fuckers, who hate making decisions.* Forcing them to do so, really scared the fuck out of them. By far the most effective horror game I ever ran. However, I would love to run Sorcerer from a more interpersonal level (I've ordered Sex & Sorcerer) and really get some good bangs going. 
*I'm not refering to the Sword & Sorcerer game I ran. That was a fucking disaster. 


Summation: Interestingly, each of these games would force me to work on certain GM skills I lack. Yes, I can improvise like a mother fucker, but can I hit upon emotional situations. My issue is this. I see mechanics as the pure source of adversity, instead of creating tense story situations. Where a choice will lead to different outcomes, which will then lead to the use of mechanics. I see mechanics as the means to the end. Oh, you've made a choice! Bam! I'll make it SUPER HARD! Little to no color, players end up feeling like I'm out to screw them over. [This comes from my hardcore Hackmaster background, and my rejection of all things illusionist.]


Anyway, I will not have time to write anything for a long while. (Hell, I'm not editing this post. I don't got time too.) So game with savagery!

Good roleplay, a savage definition. [Ver 1]

Now Justin, you can't say what good roleplay is? Well it turns out I can! 

Good roleplay, a savage definition: You play to the games' premise from an emotionally honest, and consistent center. You abide by the agreed upon rules. You don't squash other people's engagement. This applies to player and GM, who are bound by the social contract of good roleplay. Disagreements with the rules, the premise, or other players should be discussed, and brought to an understanding before play begins/resumes. 

What does this mean...

• You shouldn't play every game the same. Each game wants you to behave differently at the table. You should embrace this, and exploit during play! You'll find that playing different games, in different ways, can be enticing and exciting.
  
• Abide by the agreed upon rules. See that? Agreed upon, that means you can change/ignore rules if you the group agrees too. Don't cheapen the game by violating what has been agreed upon. I will personally kick you in the nether regions.
  
• Everyone is responsible for everyone's enjoyment, and their own. It isn't the player's responsibility, it isn't the GM's responsibility. Basically, orgy rules! If the game isn't your cup of tea, talk about it, adjust your expectations or barring that come back when the game changes.
  
• If you have an issue, bring it up. We should all be civilized enough to discuss our differences. Don't DON'T shun a player because they bring it up during the game.

This is a high-standard, that I often fail to live up to.  Hopefully though, I'll be able to put it into practice more often (and have other people too). I encourage feedback, so we can even further nail down the definition. 

Gotta get out of here.

I have decided. By fall I will either be living in another city (Seattle-area or Portland-area) or I will be visiting a foreign country. I can't stand this town. The only good things are my friends, and they tend to move. There is nothing for me here but a career as a security guard (as I go to school) for the next few years.

I'll have a lot in savings by end of summer, and I'll have worked at my job for over a year. I will be able to swing a move, and if I find a job squeeze by for awhile.

So much for working on my creative projects tonights. Haha.