Well I got to run my second game using BASH, this time kicking off a solo campaign for an old buddy of mine. It is loosely based off of the World of Darkness setting and the character (Wayne Anderson) is a professor and paranormal investigator in a world where true magic doesn't yet exist.
He was really impressed how quick he was able to build a character that fit his concept (25 pts, Telekinetic and Sensory powers), and also how quickly he was able to grasp the mechanics (about 2 minutes worth of explanation; we fudged a bit here and there).
I had a hard time figuring out the balance between a challenging encounter and him just blowing away enemies in a round or two, but I liked how his non-combat powers really opened up the setting for him (he could scan for paranormal activity and began to discover vamps and lycans and such; he started getting very paranoid!).
I'll post a full write up later, but the premise is that he was "taken" by some dark force, taught some magic and escaped back to our world, the only "mage" in existence. A few days later magic is revealed to the world and all * breaks loose, leaving him trying to figure out how to save himself, his friends, and the world at large. Good times!
Thanks Bashman for this game, it rocks!
NOTICE: This site has been archived. All content is read-only and registration is disabled.
A new site is being built and the Basic Action Games Discord server is an active hub for discussion and games.
-Admin
A new site is being built and the Basic Action Games Discord server is an active hub for discussion and games.
-Admin
World of (BASH) Darkness
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
Wayne Anderson: UT professor and paranormal investigator who has telekinetic and sensory powers. You can read the background stuff on the other thread titled mage something or other.
Day 1:
Wayne stepped off the Path into a park in Austin, exactly where he last remembered being before he was taken. In front of him was a young woman dressed in 60's hippy garb surrounded by various Wiccan ritual trappings who was very pleased with herself that she had just summoned an elemental to do her bidding (Wayne). Wayne, terrified of the fast approaching Hunter and his Hounds, warned her to run and quit trying to "bind him to her service". Wayne ran but the girl froze in the face of the six large "hounds" that emerged from the trees. Fortunately for her they were only interested in their prey and left her unmolested.
Wayne turned to face his pursuers when he realized he would not make it to the parking lot (where his car was still sitting). The Hounds had very human-like eyes and hands; in fact they tended to run more on their back legs. They also had leather collars that were covered in Fae glyphs. After a brief fight that left two of the Hounds dead, a massive man appeared on the trail, covered in shadows and carrying a spear and a horn, with antlers sprouting from his head. He sounded his horn and recalled the Hounds to the Path just as the sun rose and erased any sign of the forest, the path, or the ten foot tall man. Wayne realized that the bodies of the two fallen Hounds were in fact two men who looked like hunters (camo, orange vests, etc). They still had leather collars on.
Wayne got the girl to quit screaming and return to her car (a VW bug). She was pretty freaked but agreed to meet him the following morning. Wayne tried to come to terms with the idea that he had escaped, that despite over three years of servitude he had only been gone from this world for a weekend, and that he couldn't remember much of his time in the faewilde. He decided to head home to his modest apartment and think things through. He sensed a ghost was inhabiting a nearby unit but it was none of his concern.
He spent a few hours pouring over his notes and tried to recall what had happened. A knock at his door set off a mild feeling of danger. He looked out front and saw a teen thug standing on his doorstep looking nervous and holding a cup in his hand. After a few more knocks the kid tossed the cup and walked quickly down the street. Wayne started gathering his things and was preparing to slip out when his phone rang. A muffled voice asked if he was home but Wayne just hung up and slipped out the patio but not before he sensed the presence of some active magic and a return of the (slight) feeling of danger.
He started to make his way to a spot where he could watch over his apartment when a strange liquid was dumped over his head smelling of clover, ginger, and some other more foul smelling bits. He spun around and found himself face to face with a very smug Master Grayson, leader of his "circle" of investigators and general *. He explained to Wayne that he had dumped a potion that would reveal a being's true nature over his head; Wayne knew it was some b.s. concoction that only succeeded in making his clothes stink and forced him to take another shower, but Master Grayson seemed satisfied that Wayne was in fact himself.
They returned to Wayne's apartment and the Master tried to understand what had happened to Wayne and the other three investigators but he wasn't willing/able to reveal much. Master Grayson then directed Wayne's attention to the local news that was reporting that two men had been found murdered in the park that morning and that they were in fact a pair of missing hunters from other states and had been gone for some time. Grayson asked if he was involved and Wayne said he would explain everything the next day. Grayson finally agreed to give Wayne 24 hours to figure out what was going on and he left.
Wayne holed up at the Omni for the rest of the day doing some investigating online.
Day 1:
Wayne stepped off the Path into a park in Austin, exactly where he last remembered being before he was taken. In front of him was a young woman dressed in 60's hippy garb surrounded by various Wiccan ritual trappings who was very pleased with herself that she had just summoned an elemental to do her bidding (Wayne). Wayne, terrified of the fast approaching Hunter and his Hounds, warned her to run and quit trying to "bind him to her service". Wayne ran but the girl froze in the face of the six large "hounds" that emerged from the trees. Fortunately for her they were only interested in their prey and left her unmolested.
Wayne turned to face his pursuers when he realized he would not make it to the parking lot (where his car was still sitting). The Hounds had very human-like eyes and hands; in fact they tended to run more on their back legs. They also had leather collars that were covered in Fae glyphs. After a brief fight that left two of the Hounds dead, a massive man appeared on the trail, covered in shadows and carrying a spear and a horn, with antlers sprouting from his head. He sounded his horn and recalled the Hounds to the Path just as the sun rose and erased any sign of the forest, the path, or the ten foot tall man. Wayne realized that the bodies of the two fallen Hounds were in fact two men who looked like hunters (camo, orange vests, etc). They still had leather collars on.
Wayne got the girl to quit screaming and return to her car (a VW bug). She was pretty freaked but agreed to meet him the following morning. Wayne tried to come to terms with the idea that he had escaped, that despite over three years of servitude he had only been gone from this world for a weekend, and that he couldn't remember much of his time in the faewilde. He decided to head home to his modest apartment and think things through. He sensed a ghost was inhabiting a nearby unit but it was none of his concern.
He spent a few hours pouring over his notes and tried to recall what had happened. A knock at his door set off a mild feeling of danger. He looked out front and saw a teen thug standing on his doorstep looking nervous and holding a cup in his hand. After a few more knocks the kid tossed the cup and walked quickly down the street. Wayne started gathering his things and was preparing to slip out when his phone rang. A muffled voice asked if he was home but Wayne just hung up and slipped out the patio but not before he sensed the presence of some active magic and a return of the (slight) feeling of danger.
He started to make his way to a spot where he could watch over his apartment when a strange liquid was dumped over his head smelling of clover, ginger, and some other more foul smelling bits. He spun around and found himself face to face with a very smug Master Grayson, leader of his "circle" of investigators and general *. He explained to Wayne that he had dumped a potion that would reveal a being's true nature over his head; Wayne knew it was some b.s. concoction that only succeeded in making his clothes stink and forced him to take another shower, but Master Grayson seemed satisfied that Wayne was in fact himself.
They returned to Wayne's apartment and the Master tried to understand what had happened to Wayne and the other three investigators but he wasn't willing/able to reveal much. Master Grayson then directed Wayne's attention to the local news that was reporting that two men had been found murdered in the park that morning and that they were in fact a pair of missing hunters from other states and had been gone for some time. Grayson asked if he was involved and Wayne said he would explain everything the next day. Grayson finally agreed to give Wayne 24 hours to figure out what was going on and he left.
Wayne holed up at the Omni for the rest of the day doing some investigating online.
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
Wayne hit upon the idea of searching for some local person to help him make sense of what has happened. He ended up running across the Austin Wiccan Meetup.com site where Summer was listed as a member and the summoning spell he suspected she had used was posted in the files section (along with a hundred other bogus encantations; * most of her spell was b.s.!). Interested, Wayne contacted Dan Silverleaf, high priest of the Austin Wiccan Circle.
Dan Silverleaf turned out to be an amusing dead end. He was a joke among his coworkers at some fast food joint and he dismissed pretty much everything Wayne knew to be factual and instead tried to convince him that some gamer-geek view of the supernatural was true. Good times! Oh and it was the first time Wayne found himself in the infamous Starbucks!
The evening was growing late so the professor decided to head off to 6th St to hit his normal haunts. At some point he decided to scan the busy street for supernatural presences and for the first time he came to realize that vampires (of a sort) do in fact exist and they really like 6th St, especially a bar named the Black Rose (suitably gothic of course!) He wasn't feeling good about the situation and at least one vamp had taken an interest in him, but he carried on and hit Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.
At Pete's he ran across his first survivor of the faewilde (beside himself), Carla Simmons. She was a porcelain skinned girl (literaly) with a voice as beautiful as her face (that was strikingly pretty despite her cheek appearing to be shattered and cracked). After having to wait all evening and talk his way past her brother who served as her hulking bodyguard, he got her to meet him at Starbucks! They talked and she told him a bit about herself and basicaly told him she was sorry that he was going to have to live a life on the run from now on since the fae tended to come after those they had lost. She also revealed a bit about why the fae are interested in mortals and why Wayne can't remember much about his captivity (she says its a blessing not to know).
Wayne left and returned to his car, walking past the Black Rose on his way. The vamp that had taken an interest in him earlier invited him inside and implied he didn't know what he was missing. The mage politely declined and returned to his hotel, thus ending the first day of his return.
Dan Silverleaf turned out to be an amusing dead end. He was a joke among his coworkers at some fast food joint and he dismissed pretty much everything Wayne knew to be factual and instead tried to convince him that some gamer-geek view of the supernatural was true. Good times! Oh and it was the first time Wayne found himself in the infamous Starbucks!
The evening was growing late so the professor decided to head off to 6th St to hit his normal haunts. At some point he decided to scan the busy street for supernatural presences and for the first time he came to realize that vampires (of a sort) do in fact exist and they really like 6th St, especially a bar named the Black Rose (suitably gothic of course!) He wasn't feeling good about the situation and at least one vamp had taken an interest in him, but he carried on and hit Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.
At Pete's he ran across his first survivor of the faewilde (beside himself), Carla Simmons. She was a porcelain skinned girl (literaly) with a voice as beautiful as her face (that was strikingly pretty despite her cheek appearing to be shattered and cracked). After having to wait all evening and talk his way past her brother who served as her hulking bodyguard, he got her to meet him at Starbucks! They talked and she told him a bit about herself and basicaly told him she was sorry that he was going to have to live a life on the run from now on since the fae tended to come after those they had lost. She also revealed a bit about why the fae are interested in mortals and why Wayne can't remember much about his captivity (she says its a blessing not to know).
Wayne left and returned to his car, walking past the Black Rose on his way. The vamp that had taken an interest in him earlier invited him inside and implied he didn't know what he was missing. The mage politely declined and returned to his hotel, thus ending the first day of his return.
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
Day 2, Tuesday at the Omni Hotel
Prof Anderson got up and went to the IHOP where Summer, his inadvertent savior, met him to get some answers. Once again, Wayne didn't have a lot to offer but Summer was pretty * emotionally resilient and became more interested in how to throw would be attackers through the air than getting any closure to the previous day's events. Wayne and Summer agreed to a deal; Wayne wanted to know where and how Summer came up with the summoning spell (because it was obvious she really didn't have a clue how magic really works) and in return he would show her how to move objects with her mind.
Summer led him to a library in Austin and proceeded to pull half the Wiccan collection off the shelves, marking a page or two in each and pointing bits of passages that she had thrown together to create the spell. Once again it was obvious she didn't know what parts were necessary and what parts were rubbish, but she had lucked into creating a true summoning spell, though it became obvious later that it was a fluke that it had worked this time. The members of her Wiccan group had long ago dismissed her spell as nonsense.
It was getting close to time for Wayne to answer to master Grayson so he called him up and had him meet them in a local park. Summer, Wayne, and Grayson went down a trail a ways and Wayne tried to spell out to them everything he knew but Master Grayson was incredulous of Wayne's claims of being a "true" sorcerer. Wayne gave them the words and tried to help them learn the proper way to speek them, generally a tedious process but Grayson picked up on it fairly quickly (though was still having trouble doing it consistantly). Summer was hopelessly off base, gesturing wildly and insisting on using foci from her enormous shoulder bag she carried everywhere.
After a bit a large, burly man came hiking up the trail and the party turned to see who was coming. He paused and sniffed the air at which point Wayne reached out with his senses and detected the feral aura that surrounded the stranger (he quickly assumed he was a lycan). Master Grayson, sensing danger, cast his spell of invisibility and left the pair to fend for themselves but the stranger simply turned and walked quickly back down the trail.
Wayne and Summer opted to blaze a trail through the cedars and cacti rather than risk walking into an ambush. Just as they neared the clearing that led to the parking lot they caught sight of a large gray wolf passing near them, intelligent eyes watching them pass. Wayne called out to the beast that they meant no harm at just about the time Summer fished a revolver out of her purse and looked as though she was going to shoot. Wayne stopped her and got her in her car before she could get them both shredded by a wolf the size of a motorcycle. At that point Summer decided that she needed to introduce Wayne to Dan Silverleaf, the head of her order and set up a meeting at a local mall just as soon as Dan's shift at flipping burgers was over. I don't remember why Wayne agreed to the meeting because he was already convinced he was a dunce, but he agreed to meet him again nontheless.
(cont.)
Prof Anderson got up and went to the IHOP where Summer, his inadvertent savior, met him to get some answers. Once again, Wayne didn't have a lot to offer but Summer was pretty * emotionally resilient and became more interested in how to throw would be attackers through the air than getting any closure to the previous day's events. Wayne and Summer agreed to a deal; Wayne wanted to know where and how Summer came up with the summoning spell (because it was obvious she really didn't have a clue how magic really works) and in return he would show her how to move objects with her mind.
Summer led him to a library in Austin and proceeded to pull half the Wiccan collection off the shelves, marking a page or two in each and pointing bits of passages that she had thrown together to create the spell. Once again it was obvious she didn't know what parts were necessary and what parts were rubbish, but she had lucked into creating a true summoning spell, though it became obvious later that it was a fluke that it had worked this time. The members of her Wiccan group had long ago dismissed her spell as nonsense.
It was getting close to time for Wayne to answer to master Grayson so he called him up and had him meet them in a local park. Summer, Wayne, and Grayson went down a trail a ways and Wayne tried to spell out to them everything he knew but Master Grayson was incredulous of Wayne's claims of being a "true" sorcerer. Wayne gave them the words and tried to help them learn the proper way to speek them, generally a tedious process but Grayson picked up on it fairly quickly (though was still having trouble doing it consistantly). Summer was hopelessly off base, gesturing wildly and insisting on using foci from her enormous shoulder bag she carried everywhere.
After a bit a large, burly man came hiking up the trail and the party turned to see who was coming. He paused and sniffed the air at which point Wayne reached out with his senses and detected the feral aura that surrounded the stranger (he quickly assumed he was a lycan). Master Grayson, sensing danger, cast his spell of invisibility and left the pair to fend for themselves but the stranger simply turned and walked quickly back down the trail.
Wayne and Summer opted to blaze a trail through the cedars and cacti rather than risk walking into an ambush. Just as they neared the clearing that led to the parking lot they caught sight of a large gray wolf passing near them, intelligent eyes watching them pass. Wayne called out to the beast that they meant no harm at just about the time Summer fished a revolver out of her purse and looked as though she was going to shoot. Wayne stopped her and got her in her car before she could get them both shredded by a wolf the size of a motorcycle. At that point Summer decided that she needed to introduce Wayne to Dan Silverleaf, the head of her order and set up a meeting at a local mall just as soon as Dan's shift at flipping burgers was over. I don't remember why Wayne agreed to the meeting because he was already convinced he was a dunce, but he agreed to meet him again nontheless.
(cont.)
-
Dustland
- Cosmic Hero
- Posts: 1158
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 11:00 pm
- Location: Austin, Tx
- Contact:
Thanks! Its funny, I'm not a "super heroes" kinda guy, the pbp game on here is my only experience with the genre, but I absolutely love that you can use the rules to make just about any game and players can create effective characters of just about any nature they wish (within the confines of the campaign).
I also like that I can show a player the basic rules and start playing within ten minutes; I actually ran across a mention of BASH while researching RISUS so that shows you my love of flexibility and simplicity. You have a great system here sir!
I also like that I can show a player the basic rules and start playing within ten minutes; I actually ran across a mention of BASH while researching RISUS so that shows you my love of flexibility and simplicity. You have a great system here sir!
