Dresden Files RPG: Part 3 - Review

This is the third part in a series about the Dresden Files Role Playing Game. Part 1 and Part 2.

The final part of this series is going to be about the session and some thoughts about the game itself, though not a full blown review - this is hardly a lesser known setting and/or system.

What I Could Have Done Better

My biggest struggle with the single session format is simply that my planning does not work that way. Previously I have been able to carve off enough extraneous plot to really hone in on a particular experience and story. That didn't happen so much during this session. The plot itself was rather complicated, weaving multiple, disparate stories and events together into a single event. From there the repercussions of actions would unfold.

This is all nice academically and the players were interested in the plot and the various threads. However, there were a lot of threads with complexity, depth and nuance, flavor pieces that weren't strictly necessary, and interesting characters to interact with. All good, but simply too much for the purpose of the session.

All of this lead to some uneven pacing at times, even though things never slowed down. It would have unfolded better as a slower burn game with more time getting involved in the city and the factions, themes and threats therein. Part of my feelings on uneven pacing (you would have to ask the players how they felt) reflect cutting a number of scenes and events that would have given more depth to what was happening, including most of the action scenes and the building tension surrounding the initial catalyst for action.

The end of the session was particularly rushed as I tried to provide the essential framework from which to hang all of the events and make some sense from them. I don't generally care for that level of exposition; I specifically do not like having some NPC faction with all of the answers (which is what I tragically had to introduce at the 11th hour to move that along).

My sincere hope is that the players realize I never intended that, but it was a sacrifice for the sake of some level of closure. To their credit, I had no doubt they would put all of the pieces together and come to all of the realizations on their own. It's always great to play with players that can synthesize all of the information provided from various contacts and events and be the group that has the answers. This group was on the ball and made effective choices at every turn - it was pretty awesome from my perspective. If any of you are reading this, thanks, it was an excellent game that you gave to me.

Mechanics

FATE, with Dresden Files in particular, is all about the Fate Point/Aspects interaction. The essential premise is that players are rewarded for portraying flawed individuals and being in character. This has some particular requirements, however. Specifically, you must be interested in that metagame - creating Aspects that aren't just fitting, but are useful. Where Tags and Compels will come when you want them, not when they will irritate you. Also, a strong sense of character going into the game is a must. You simply cannot create a semi-generic character with a few notable details going into the game to get very much out of it.

I know a lot of players (and sometimes am one of them) that has a general concept and wants to see what emerges from play. This system does not support that well, or even at all. It does provide some of the finest game play for those looking at a non-traditional character (perhaps the most useful characters in my session were the reporter and the aging loremaster) and those with some distinct frailties in the nature.

All of this points to investment in that character. Dresden Files also has investment in the city. Both of these things I love in running a game and in playing. The thrillers that I adore running generally thrive on a large cast of characters, players with a strong sense of who they are portraying, and some rigorous depth to the setting. For a one shot, none of this is particularly practical.


Again, to my players' credit, they quickly adapted to the implied backgrounds. Building some vague ties with each other, creating a sense of self from the Aspects, and generally running with things. That being said, the Aspects that I created wouldn't necessarily be what they would create. This is my own fault. Since they weren't their Aspects, it could be tricky at times to figure out what was implied there, how it was supposed to work, etc.

I like to think that all of the Aspects I wrote were flavorful (it's also worth noting that I think 8-tracks are going to make a come back). However, sometimes flavor comes at the cost of use, and nowhere was that more true than most of the characters' Trouble. (For those who don't know, Trouble is specifically an Aspect that is used to compel and make you do something stupid - it should generate a lot of Fate Points for you.) While they all said something about the character, and indeed represented possibly their greatest obstacle, there wasn't a lot done with them. Again, my fault here.

All of this demonstrates the importance of sitting down for a session and creating characters that everyone is invested in, not just you. That first session will make you care about all of the PCs at the table because you know about them, you played a hand in bringing them to life. They won't just be playing their own game, but you can be helping to create fun for each other. That's a helluva thing.

What I (Think) Went Well

The most important thing went well, way more than all of the other things listed above: everyone had fun. No matter what else goes on, that is what really counts.

Everyone was involved, contributed, and had things to do. No one character could resolve everything on their own. The strong niche protection that I engaged in when making characters certainly helped in that - as well no one was stuck with anything truly useless. Though some of the action characters had less to do than originally intended due to scenes (entire plots) that were cut (which I feel bad about, really bad).

Despite my issues with Aspects, I think that everyone quite liked their character (though I could be wrong). With some minor (or major) overhaul, they would have been set. Everyone worked well together, and even the characters that had similarities in skills used those to synergize rather than work at counter purposes. That last one may be more of a testament to the players than me, however.

I was honestly a little surprised by how well received the low power level I used was received. There were a few reasons I made the decision to go with Feet in the Water (20 skill points, 6 refresh). First, I wanted to cut down on the number of powers and stunts so that referencing the book was minimal. It would give each character a distinct focus and the low skills force everyone to rely on each other more than they may have to in a higher powered game. Another reason is that the lower power level makes Aspects more important - there are less bonuses and Fate Points going around. This may have worked against me a little. What it did do was give the mortal characters a more prominent role - the ability to have control over your success was pretty huge.

Note cards! Man, I love note cards. For a game like FATE and a setting where keeping notes on people, places, events, threats, etc, they are perhaps the most useful play aid out there (Fate Points might beat them out, but barely). I have generally had a positive response when you provide something tangible to use. Whether it is to record Aspects that you have discovered, or just some general notes.

A stack of people and places also directs attention from wondering about all of the things that might be relevant, directing it to specific people and places that are relevant. This does create a downside: it can also limit the scope of thought from what else might be relevant to solely what is at hand. I try to nip that one in the bud early by introducing more locations as they become relevant, clearly indicating that they do not have the whole story yet.

Red cards are generally used to indicate a mystery or immediate threat. This is something going on that demands attention. For games where there is a lot going on and multiple plots unfolding, these are useful to remind everyone what they are dealing with, keeping the details in a central place, and more easily allowing for potential relationships between these threats to be established.

My general impressions were that the players enjoyed the plot and the local color that they met during the session. The entire affair would have benefited from editing it down and cutting the extraneous material. While that would have created a neater package, I don't know if that would have improved the experience at all. This is definitely a story that would have played best as a three to five session mini-campaign. That would have given all of the plots a chance to breathe and all of the characters time to shine. Above all else though, everyone had fun. I cannot go back to that point enough, because it really is all that matters. People got together, had some drinks, some food, and had fun. Awesome.

Dresden Files RPG: Part 2 - Characters and Setting

This is the second part in a series about the Dresden Files Role Playing Game. Part 1 and Part 3.

Here are the last of the characters, along with some information on the city and the setting. After the game, I will provide a recap along with some thoughts (maybe even some from the players).

Characters

High Concept: Unseelie Changeling Lorekeeper
Trouble: Time is a Thief to All Things
Background: The Family Business
Rising Conflict: Insatiable Thirst for Knowledge
Your Story: A Fine Line Between Old Friends and Enemies
Guest Star: "I Call them Silver and Cold."
Guest Star: "Where I Haven't Been is a Shorter List, Sir."
Average: Alertness, Discipline, Endurance, Investigation
Fair: Craftsmanship, Guns, Scholarship
Good: Contacts, Resources
Great: Lore
Powers/Stunts: The Sight (-1), Soulgaze (0), Inhuman Speed (-2), Filthy Lucre (-1)

The request for this character was frighteningly similar to a mortal that appeared in a previous Dresden Files game I ran. Learning what I did from that experience, I tried to apply that and make something that should work in a wide variety of circumstances. The high Lore without any magic is always problematic, but with the changes I am making to the Nevernever (anyone with Lore can get there), it will be more useful. 

On the whole, this is broadly a dark Indiana Jones character well past his prime, but still in it. As usual, I tried to give an implied background that has a lot of empty spaces to fill. He's wealthy, urbane, and there is a hint of violence and skullduggery about him.

High Concept: Winter Court Squire
Trouble: If Violence isn't the Answer, We Need a New Question
Background: Semper Fi
Rising Conflict: Nine Frozen Laments to Give
Your Story: Never Trust a Spy, and This City is Full of 'Em
Guest Star: Cloak and Dagger, but Mostly Dagger
Guest Star: Fast and Terrifying as a Hurricane
Average: Driving, Fists, Might, Stealth
Fair: Alertness, Guns, Intimidation
Good: Athletics, Endurance
Great: Weapons
Powers/Stunts: Marked by Power (-1), Item of Power (+1, Frozen Lament), Claws (-1), Inhuman Speed (-2), Supernatural Recovery (-4), The Catch (Fire), No Pain, No Gain (-1)

The request for this character was a dishonorably discharged soldier that has no clue what is going on. Also, a badass. As a part of the setting, the city is neutral ground which means that no official representatives of any faction can act there - thus, no Knights. So a special position, the Squires, were created. They have the backing of their Court, but have no officially been imbued with the trappings. Just an Item of Power to help them along. Frozen Lament is a brace of shards of ice/throwing knives.

This character's implied background is significantly more sparse. She's a badass and in a completely new situation that she mostly copes with through violence. It's simple and brutal - if this were a long-term campaign, I would not expect her to live long (except for that amazing recovery).

High Concept: Changeling Journalist
Trouble: Revenge is a Dish Best Served... Period
Background: St. Louise de Marillac School for Troubled Children
Rising Conflict: Nothing Can Keep Me From the Answers
Your Story: Knows People that Know People, and They Are Bad People
Guest Star: In Way Over His Head, but He Can Swim
Guest Star: Ear to the Ground, Nose for the Truth, Eyes on the Prize... You Get the Idea
Average: Burglary, Performance, Scholarship, Stealth
Fair: Alertness, Deceit, Empathy
Good: Contacts, Rapport
Great: Investigation
Powers/Stunts: Capable Researcher, Hairpin Maestro, Quick Eye

This character was a late addition and the concept played with many of the areas that other characters had already explored. Which was something of an issue for niche protection. They also wanted to be unaware of their powers. Despite being labeled as a changeling, I used the Pure Mortal template. That would make their powers active through Aspects for the time being and give a greater mystery to their parentage. The implication here is that they are supernatural, just no indications in what way. I think that should be an interesting way to handle things and will encourage some supernatural implications to the Aspects.

The implied background here is a very troubled orphan who has made some ugly friends over the years. Currently he is a driven journalist, though has an unsavory past and connections. Hopefully there isn't too much mechanical and thematic overlap with some of the other characters.

The City

Given the nature of the game, a one shot, I'm not going to invest quite the level of time in creating this setting that I normally would. This includes removing the cooperative elements which can help to bring everything to life and give significant player investment in the setting from the word "Go".

I had previously mentioned that there are parts of the setting that I will be changing. From the standard Dresden Files, things are going to be significantly darker and more broken. The various supernatural factions will have more sway over humanity and the White Council is hopelessly out of touch and entrenched in bureaucracy and politics that move glacially. There very natures encourage a "wait and see" attitude. Which is what I am using to explain in part why they aren't involved in these happenings.

The supernatural factions have greater investment in this world because the Nevernever is less it's own thing and more echoes of our world. The layers closest to the "real" world are a little stranger, layers on top of what we would normally see, but containing memories of what used to be, crowded in the landscape. Particularly strong emotions or events may still live in these layers and can cause them to wear thin. This tends to have an affect on everyone in the area. The deeper you go, the stranger and more abstract it becomes. The dark Nevernever is a place of dreams and the subconscious. Many of the supernatural factions that don't fit in (particularly the fae) call these places home as they struggle to fit in the world unnoticed. The changing of society trickles to them and they find nothing more fascinating than our world. Our world where the eddies and ripples fundamentally change the landscape of their own over time. It is our dreams, hopes, fears, love and darkness that give them strength and power, and there is nothing more that they want than to continue being a part of that. Which, of course, means controlling it as best they can.

Portland is something of a mecca for this. An amazing triumph with such power and promise that the dangerous battles from long ago made it a terrifying place to be. Since the Accords were drawn up and it declared a place of neutrality, it has flourished and all parties have benefited (perhaps the fae more than others, but still). They distance between our world and the dream is very thin there, and the dream extends further than most imagine. There are depths that even the "native" denizens do not realize, in their own hubris.

Theme: A city of bridges, physical and meta-physical.

• Aspect: Crossing Over
• Face: Ed, The Troll Union - Post 205
• Face: Mugsy, Street Roots - Homeless Newspaper
• Location: The Troll Union and Street Roots, Burnside Bridge (Worlds Collide)
• Location: Diablo's Pizza (Dangerous Questions)
• Location: Charles Mortimer Thannet, The Pi Shoppe (To Die for Pies, All Slices $3.14)

Theme: While everything seems great on the surface, underneath it is rotten, also a play on the City of Roses

• Aspect: American Beauty
• Face: Tsing Tsong, Clenched Fist Tong
• Face: Sergei Desnova, The Boyars
• Face: Nicodemus Whatley, The Whatley Family
• Location: Donny A, The Acropolis ("Harmless" Fun)
• Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square (Filthy Heart)
• Location: International Rose Test Garden (Unfettered Vision)
• Location: Mistress Bodica, Spartacus (Unchained Appetites)

Threat: A neutral meeting ground, a city of spies

• Aspect: Spark in a Tinder Box
• Face: Kincaid Thomas, Supernatural Fixer
• Face: Leslie Allen, Summer Court Squire
• Location: Oolong, Chinese Garden (Eye of the Storm)
• Location: Jet Black, La Luna (Darkness Growing)
• Location: Larry, Pier 451 (Port of Ill Repute)
• Location: Thomas Peasemill, Powell's Books (Knowledge is Cheap, Wisdom is Pricey)

Dresden Files RPG: Part 1 - Characters

This is the first part in a series about the Dresden Files Role Playing Game. Part 2 and Part 3.

A good friend is in the area to visit family and friends. To celebrate his return, I offered to run a game for him, his wife, and other local friends. Any game he wanted. Well, there are a lot of options, but he has never played a FATE game. So a one shot using the Dresden Files RPG was the winner.

In my planning for this game, I decided to do all of the prep work myself. This includes making the city and the characters. While this decision can take a lot of what is great about the collaborative city and character creation out of the picture, given the time constraint (one session), there couldn't be the time devoted to that activity to make it worth it, nor would there be the same payoff in the end from that investment. Additionally, I could ensure that the characters presented show some different aspects (hah!) of FATE, provide niche protection, and not run afoul of anything that would slow game play to a crawl (magic, I am looking at you).

The city is Portland, Oregon, March 2010, in a setting that is loosely inspired by the Dresden Files. My intended audience isn't incredibly familiar with the novels, so relying on the details from that would have little payoff and more likely prove frustrating for those not as familiar with the source material. This is good because it also allows me to change some of the underlying assumptions and ultimately remove the magic system. While wizards are integral to the Dresden Files setting and one of the more innovative pieces to the system, they require a significant degree of system mastery to make work and I would rather keep the game moving than continually stop to address how to use the powers.

Beyond just magic, there are a number of setting elements I intend to play around with, and will likely address them in a future post. For example the Nevernever. While I like it as presented, I'm going to try it more as a reflection of the cognitive memory of humanity and the world with different levels. At the layer closest to the world, it is a reflection of the world that remembers what once was. Perhaps old buildings that are no more still exist, you just have to shift a little deeper. The further you get, the stranger things are and the more primal the expressions are. Hopefully more on that later.

Each of the players was asked for a summary of what kind of character they would like to play. From there, I did all of the heavy lifting and putting the pieces together. While putting a character together may be a snap for some, I've seen players struggle with the options and particularly Aspects. Writing good Aspects is not an easy task and I will make no claims at being good at it. As I mentioned above, making each of the characters means that I can tailor certain events to bring them together and ensure that they will have something to do.

The first two characters that I got proposals for were a gargoyle and a Kenzi-expy. For the former we chatted a little bit and used the idea of a gargoyle timelessly perched on and guarding a building for inspiration. The latter was pretty straight-forward and well supported with the system.

High Concept: Gargoyle Guardian
Trouble: Man Out of Time
Background: Faded Memories of Another Life
Rising Conflict: Bound to the City
Your Story: "There is only one way this can end - I will find them."
Guest Star: Body of Stone, Heart of Flesh
Guest Star: When a Door Closes, Just Go Through the Wall
Average: Athletics, Intimidation, Lore, Scholarship
Fair: Alertness, Discipline, Investigation
Good: Endurance, Fists
Great: Might
Powers/Stunts: Psychometry (-1), Human Form (+1), Inhuman Strength (-2), Supernatural Recovery (-2), Supernatural Toughness (-2), The Catch (Magic, +2)

I'm trying to give an implied background that the player can fill in the details from. The goal here was to create a supernatural investigator that has been pulled through time and moved from city to city. Whatever city he would call home, he would be a part of it and unable to leave. Waking when needed and returning to sleep. Over time their number dwindling. He would also be a powerhouse, able to change into a stone wrecking machine when needed.

High Concept: Fast-Talking Street Rat
Trouble: "It seemed like a good idea at the time!"
Background: Hidden Talents
Rising Conflict: Old Debts, Repaid with Interest
Your Story: Sharp Eyes, Sharp Tongue
Guest Star: "I've never been in a tight spot I couldn't get out of."
Guest Star: Semi-Charmed Life
Average: Empathy, Investigation, Presence, Weaponry
Fair: Alertness, Burglary, Stealth
Good: Contacts, Rapport
Great: Deceit
Powers/Stunts: Ear to the Ground, I Know Just the Guy, Pick-Pocket, Takes One to Know One

Again, I was trying to give an implied background and letting the player decide what this all actually means. My biggest goal here was to give some very useful Aspects since that is a mortal's primary advantage - Fate Points. She has some good stunts and maintains a reasonable Refresh of 4. 

Our Last Best Hope: Part 2 - The Mercury Key

This is the second part in an ongoing series on Our Last Best Hope. Part 1.

In the first part some key elements of Our Last Best Hope were discussed, particularly those which make it unique and highlight how it emulates the disaster movie genre. This will focus on the setting up of the session we played.

To get started, we needed a Mission (where), Crisis (what), Limit (why) and Plan (how). Everyone wanted to go to space and fight aliens - no real discussion, it was a done deal. A Crisis similar to Prometheus was on the table soon afterwards: aliens created us and now want us dead. Why? It hardly matters, but we are going to need big guns and something inscrutable to stop them. From here it started to get a little weird, maybe go off the rails, maybe get awesome. Aliens in space was too obvious. These aliens were doing something in the center of the Earth, and we had to stop them there.

Now we have our Mission (Earth's core) and a direction to go for our Crisis. Inscrutable devices need equally ambiguous names. Numerous ideas were tossed around the table, but discarded because they were not pretentious enough (we're doing science!), or too scrutable. It wasn't long before the Mercury Key was said enough that it became our de facto inscrutable device.

This lead us to a slight speed bump: we forgot what was going on at the center of the Earth; d'oh! Well, aliens need an invasion and an alien invasion into the center of the Earth needs... another alien device! Of course, it's so simple! Our Mercury Key will do something that we barely understand with an alien wormhole-thing and stop the invasion, but the invasion has already started! Time is of the essence! Also, the alien wormhole-thing that will open and bring the main force needs a name that is clearly a match for the Mercury Key (what is that thing anyway?). We got stuck on Rubicon for a while - don't worry, you'll see it again. In the end, there was really only one name that was clearly the other piece to the Mercury Key: the Infinity Gate. 

The Earth's core is the Infinity Gate and we have to stop the Earth's core! Messing around with two alien devices that we cannot possibly understand and have names like Infinity Gate can in no way go wrong, right? Perhaps another team will need to come after us to clean up the mess that we make down there. Sequel?

Our Mission and Crisis are now complete: Long ago the Progenitors created humanity and they are returning to fix their mistake. Earth's core is the Infinity Gate, a wormhole device that will allow them to sunder our world. Some of their kind are already here.

Nice. To the Limit.

Since we only have one Mercury Key (it's hard to be inscrutable when you can make more), that is easy, but to make things worse, we decide that we are also the only ones that can use it for reasons that we don't understand. It likes us. Or hates us. Hard to tell. The Limit: We only have one Mercury Key to shut down the Infinity Gate and we are the only ones that can use it!

Part of the plan is done, we have a Mercury Key, but we don't know much about what we're doing besides that. It seemed pretty clear that we had written ourselves into a corner - we wanted an alien invasion with the shooting and comrades dying in arms to a power ballad in refrain, but we were staring down the barrel of a long commute through lava. It's hard to justify mounting weapons on something that is swimming through lava because lava. If it can survive in lava, what can we do to it? When in doubt, crib from the best. Obviously the aliens have wormholes and have created a network of passageways through the mantle, Webways if you will, though the grunts call them the "Antfarm".

The Plan: We will use their Webway (the "Antfarm") to travel through the mantle to the Infinity Gate, where we will use the Mercury Key (which we don't understand fully, so nothing can go wrong, right?) while dealing with heavy resistance. And lava.

With all that in the bag, we were onto making characters. There are four roles (doctor, engineer, scientist and soldier) and each brings something slightly different to the table. Having four people, it was pretty obvious that we needed one of each. After a name and a background, there were some specific decisions we had to make. First, the Touchstones: "what you brought with you" and "what you left behind". These Touchstones will come out when resolving Threats and will be brought up later when it's more mechanically relevant.

Our cast at this point:

• Doctor - Dr. Mohammed al-Rashid: Medical doctor and cultural advocate, Mohammed al-Rashid enjoyed a certain fame for his efforts to reclaim and maintain archeological sites in his home of Dubai. An optimistic and soft-spoken man, Dr. al-Rashid became unexpectedly involved in the struggle for human survival when one of his sponsored dig-teams unearthed the strange and other-worldly Mercury Key. Though unfamiliar with the advanced physics necessary to understand the device, Mohammed was attached to the project to prevent exposing the secret to the world. Mohammed’s methodical intelligence and unflappable faith in Allah proved to be a valuable asset to the project, and when the mission was announced he was the first to volunteer. He has brought with him only his eternal faith, and left behind his surrogate family. 
• Engineer - Ms. Konaka Takanishi: A technological genius who became involved in the project to shutdown the Infinity Gate by designing and constructing the equipment the crew would use. The repair driod was her greatest creation and proved invaluable in all of her pursuits. Konaka is the daughter of the powerful Takanishi zaibatsu, and working with technology is her way to escape her family's influence. She has brought with her a tricked out quantum laptop, and left behind her psycho ex-boyfriend.
• Scientist - Dr. Martin Blank: Brilliant physicist known for his strange theories, eccentricities, and cult celebrity status gained from appearances on the History Channel's Ancient Aliens. Dr. Blank's work has always been surrounded by rumors and he claimed was often seized by a government prior to publishing as a "game changer", often to much derision. He was out of the public eye for years until he reappeared prior to the emerging crisis with the "Progenitors" as he calls them. He claims that his greatest achievement is MIMIC and may know more about the Mercury Key than anyone else. A man gripped by fears, regrets and secrets, he reluctantly leads the crew to the Infinity Gate. He has brought with him all that remains of his family, and left behind the litany of his failures.
• Soldier - Pvt. Richard "Brick" Rodney: Bred in middle America and fed on wholesome corn, meat and love for his country. Brick is down to earth and unflappable, and beyond making some very poor choices over and over at the craps tables, he hasn't done much with his life. That being said, he is exactly the sort of man you want with you when facing the end of the world. He is willing to make the hard choices and will sacrifice whatever is necessary to do the most good. He has brought with him all of his fallen squad mates' dog tags, and left behind his crippling gambling debts.

Turns out there was only one character actually interested in making it out alive.

The final parts of character creation were to choose two other characters, one that makes you Crazy and one that keeps you Sane, write down a Fear, and a Secret you don't want any of the other crew to know. Since there's no point in writing any of this down if it's not going to come up, interesting is a good place to go. Entertaining if that fails.

Here is what we came up with for the Fears and Secrets:

• Dr. Mohammed al-Rashid: Fear - Getting trapped in a cave-in. Secret - The Mercury Key may have broken months ago and possibly won't work.
• Ms. Konaka: Fear - That technology will fail and faith will be needed. Secret - Father is trying to marry me off to political leaders for money and power.
• Dr. Martin Blank: Fear - This all might be a part of the Progenitor's plan. Secret - The crew are human/Progenitor hybrids and I have been working with them in secret.
• Pvt. Richard "Brick" Rodney: Fear - Letting anyone else die. Secret - I sacrificed the rest of my team to halt the alien advance.

Now we get to choose our toys, er "Assets". We wanted a variety, though Brick made a compelling argument to just take lots of different guns. It is also suggested that you take a variety of Assets since you will likely be facing a variety of Threats. True to form, we all chose something related to our role: armored encounter suits, dimensional scanning equipment, heavy weapons and a repair droid.

The last thing before starting was for each of us to create a Threat. It's both fun and weird to create the very things that will be your downfall, but it certainly is strong encouragement to at least make your life interesting. There would be no long slogs through 10' x 10' rooms full of faceless orcs aliens. Well, not only that. It certainly did help to imagine the various awesome ways in which the crew could take on the Threat and use your Assets to do so, also prey on Fears of the crew, and generally have things go spectacularly wrong.

Having hand-crafted our doom, the brave crew set forth with the Mercury Key to close the Infinity Gate at the Earth's core. Morale was high and it never would be again.

Next, the first part of the actual play for our session: Crossing the Rubicon!

Psi*Run

In Psi*Run you play a psychic with amnesia (also called a "runner") that has just escaped during a crash. While evading the chasers (the NPCs that will be chasing your runners) and coming to grips with your strange powers, you are trying to regain your memories because that is the only way you will be able to bring this to an end.

The system for this game is simple, easy to grasp and will largely propel the session on its own momentum. You'll just need a few printouts, 3x5 cards and a sharpie, some tokens and a pile of d6 (at least 6). The printouts that you will be using are character sheets, the risk sheet and the chasers sheet.

Each game will involve having the GM and the players decide what kind of themes you want to play with, both for your powers and whatever secrets will be associated with this run (e.g. power origins, government conspiracies, who you really are, etc.). This isn't expressly necessary, but this conversation really seems to focus everyone's attention and keeps things from diverging wildly. This is particularly true if two players are trying to tell very different stories, which can be awesome, or it can be messy and incoherent. That discussion will get everyone on board and significantly help direct character and chaser creation, which can be difficult for some given how open-ended it is, and there isn't much to help direct your thoughts.

Making a character starts with the character sheet. It has everything you're going to need on it from creation, throughout play and onto the endgame. The book, which is slender at 60 pages and a small shape (~8 x 6), does an excellent job of relating all of the creation steps through numerous examples throughout the text, often with completed examples in sidebars. To start you pick a name and apparent age, what your powers are, what you see when you look in the mirror and then choose your questions (these are what you explicitly do not know about yourself, but through answering them will tell your, perhaps others', and the game story).

The book suggests that you leave your powers (it is worth noting that psychic powers aren't a requirement and a group of fallen angels is just as supported as rogue psychics from Push) vague rather than specific and I agree. It keeps what exactly you are capable of a mystery to everyone, but a strong theme and some implications goes a long way; e.g. searing light that leaves me empty. What you see when you look in the mirror is a creative way of describing what you look like, perhaps with some interesting implications (e.g. I cannot help but stare at my eyes and wonder), consistent with how you will see yourself for the first time - what with the amnesia.

Answering your questions will be your ultimate goal, though odds are that you will not be the one giving the answers. It is really vital that your questions interest not only you, but everyone else in the group so that they have a stake in who you are. At least one should relate to your powers (e.g. why does my light leave me?), one should relate to your strengths and weaknesses (e.g. why can I never meet her eyes?), and at least one should relate to your immediate, past, or current circumstances (e.g. who is Deacon Priest?). Everyone will have the same number of questions (four to six), but not all questions need to be decided right away, besides the three aforementioned. The number of questions that each character has will heavily influence how long the game goes; the more questions, the longer the game. If you want a one-shot, I would strongly suggest that you have no more than four questions.

The GM will start by taking care of the chasers and filling out the chaser sheet. The chaser sheet is useful the first time and is really just a way to organize thoughts, but after that a sheet of paper with a nice blank area I have found to be more than sufficient. On the sheet you keep track of all of the public information about the chasers, their look (e.g. black suits and mirror shades), methods (e.g. ruthless efficiency) and powers (e.g. preternatural awareness). On one of your notecards, the chaser card, make some secret notes that keep with the themes from the chaser sheet and provides imagery, items, events, whatever to keep things moving forward and hangs things on (e.g. black basalt, no eyes, The Revelation Device, Dr. Cypher).

From here you are ready to get started, which means laying the first card in the trail, the crash! The trail are the locations the players have traveled to which the chasers will be following. Every player should have their own distinct token that will be used to show what location they are at, this is particularly important if players ever branch off. From here the system takes over and the first thing to remember is that no one gets to take two actions in a row. In fact, I prefer to have everyone take an action before someone gets to go again, it helps to ensure that everyone has a say and doesn't feel overshadowed. I crafted some tokens to keep track of just this from red and white poker chips. Every player begins at the crash! having just awakened with no memories, the inkling of strange power and questions. Oh yeah, and you're being chased.

This is the point where you begin to interact with the system. Whenever you want to take a significant action you roll some dice. A significant action is defined as one where something can go wrong, shows off how awesome you are (possibly at making things go horribly wrong, but that's for you do decide), could trigger a memory, takes time and focus, and/or might expose you to danger. The number of dice you roll is based on the number of true statements from the following: I'm exceptional, I want to do something important, this might trigger a memory, the chasers might catch up, I am using a psi power, and/or I am risking harm. The first four are always true and all of these are on your character sheet for easy reference. You start with four dice, but can have up to six. If you are using a psi power and/or are risking harm, things might go sideways more spectacularly, but you have more control over how your decisions are made. Here's an example of two risks:

Reveal:

• 6: Runner has a memory that answers one of their questions. Player has first say.
• 4-5: Runner has a memory that answers one of their questions. Other players have first say.
• 1-3: Runner has no memory triggered. Player has first say.

Psi:

• 5-6: Power causes no trouble. Player has first say.
• 3-4: Power surge: people may be injured, things may be broken - it would make local news. GM has first say.
• 1-2: Power goes wild: people may be dead, things are destroyed - it would make national news. GM has first say.

Once you've rolled your dice, you will place them on the risk sheet. The risk sheet is a handy reference that guides you through your decision making process based on what you rolled on your dice and the consequences for a given result on each risk (it may sound complicated, but it couldn't be more simple in practice). The risks that are always in play are goal (do you accomplish your goal?), reveal (do you remember anything?) and chase (do the chasers advance?). If you used psi and/or harm, then the psi;(do your powers cause trouble?)and harm (are you hurt?) risks are in play for that action as appropriate.

You may note that you are rolling more dice than you can place, which means you get to drop your lowest die. The exception to that is if you are hurt and impaired. If you are impaired you lose a die before you roll, so you have to place all of the dice. If you are doubly impaired (you've been hurt and impaired twice), you have to lose your highest die after your roll. That is pretty rough and means that things are going to be in a bad way very soon.

Each risk will also dictate who has first say over the events. Typically this is the active player or the GM, but not always. If the chasers ever catch up with a runner, different risks will be revealed instead of chase. It changes the tone of what is going on.

This is why it is important that your questions are interesting to not only you, but the other players as well. There is a good chance that they will be answering most of your questions for you. This really works for me as it builds a stake for each player in all of the other characters, so they are fans of that character and invested in their story, and through that tying all of the stories together. In practice, at least. Sometimes it can get messy, but that is where a brief discussion before getting started so that everyone is cribbing from the same notes can go a long way to creating something that is a little more coherent. That isn't going to work for everyone, naturally.

Once a player has answered all of their questions (if you didn't fill them all out during character creation, you will use reveals to ask new ones), that is when the endgame begins, called the Crossroads. The player that starts the Crossroads gets to pick from the available endings first: Home, turning the tables, on a quest, hidden, trapped, lost, or making a discovery. Then each player, moving from most to least answered questions, picks an ending; no one can have the same ending. From there the GM decides the order the endings play out and the players narrate how they play out. I like to write the each ending on a notecard and the order for them to play out on the back ahead of time; it gives the player that picked it an immediate cue to where their ending will be taking place in the overall sequence and they can begin planning accordingly. Sometimes a brief note to offer some more structure helps; e.g. "#1, you die in this one" on Turning the Tables and "#7, this is the happy ending" on Home.

My only real criticism for this game is with the Psi risk above. I've found that it has no mechanical teeth behind the consequences. All other risks clearly list the consequences for the decisions that you make, but all of those for Psi require some significant buy-in, and given the limited nature of the game not all players will have that. It often becomes a place to dump poor rolls so that avoiding chasers and harm are fairly straightforward. If you're playing conservatively and only gaining reveals when you can afford to, this becomes even more of a problem.

Towards that end I've found modifying the 3-4 and 1-2 levels slightly to give the consequences to those actions that make them more risky. For 3-4 I include "Cannot play a die higher than 4 on one of Chase or Hurt risks" and for 1-2 "Cannot play a die higher than 2 on one of Chase or Hurt risks, or cannot play a die higher than 4 on Chase and Hurt risks. Hurt can now become a risk at the Runner's choice". It worked to really increase the drama and Things Going Horribly Wrong with groups that tended to be very careful to always stay well ahead of the chasers and have little regard for the carnage they left in their wake. This broke the immersion and illusion of competence on the part of the chasers, who could not follow an arrow straight line of devastation.

Another option that I found useful was to allow another runner to take the harm in place of the acting runner in exchange for first say in that action, including the GM say. This seems to get players more into a place of working together, willing to sacrifice for each other, and aware of the potential consequences of their risks. It also grants more opportunities for the players to take control of the narrative, but at a cost.

All summed, I think that this is a great little game. Four questions is an excellent number for a long evening and more will give multiple sessions to wrap everything up. I highly recommend this for some structured cooperative storytelling and really wrecking some major metropolitan area.

Grimm: Part 5 - Happily Ever After

This is the fifth part in an ongoing series about Grimm. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Actual Play

Continued from Before...

In conversation it is revealed that ;Prince Charming needs a princess, assuming because he is a prince and that's the sort of things that princes need, and the children need help, because they are children and that's the sort of thing they generally need. A deal was struck that they will help him get a princess and he will help them get Lance back. Towards this new common goal of princess acquisition, they venture off towards a castle, hoping that it is not the one covered in vines and flowers because there is something decidedly ominous about it. More details are revealed regarding what transpired on his previous quest to find a princess lying around. It went badly. Very badly. Though this mostly goes without saying, what with the cage and the Not Quite Dead status. He had set about trying to save Beauty from Beast who decided that being a prince was not as awesome as being Beast, to which it seems Beauty agreed. Unfortunately this means Beauty was not really in the mood for "saving" and Prince Charming found himself at the crossroad.

After some travel which reveals that Prince Charming may not be altogether right in the head, the group sights their destination: castle covered in vines and flowers, of course; thorns and roses upon closer inspection. Sophie collects a flower and finds that it bleeds when cut, though she is not to be deterred from the pretty. The drawbridge seems to have been constructed in such a way that keeps would-be rescuers out, instead of trapping denizens of the castle inside - i.e. the normal way. Prince Charming warns of a dragon that he will keep occupied while the children set about finding a princess in need of rescue inside.

Wishing upon a star, Sophie's imagination causes the roses to grow within the castle, cutting the ropes holding the drawbridge up, which is to say that the roses grow a lot. A really frightening amount of growth. As the drawbridge crashes down, the children advance with trepidation, except for Charlotte who indicates that the castle is "scary" and the outside, even with cannibals, is less so, also the prince who might not be sane enough to be afraid, let alone suffering from a slight case of trepidation, at this point. Naturally Prince Charming immediately races to face the dragon, denying any need of assistance. The children reluctantly leave him to his certain doom fate, of particular reluctance is William. The children find the interior of the castle to be filled with roses and thorns of a certain dagger-like quality, in addition to the remains of previous would-be rescuers. They also find a grand hall filled with webs and finery. And a Volkswagon-sized black widow with the head of a queen and a red hourglass on her abdomen that is slowly ticking down.

Mustering all of the manners she can, Quinn befriends the spider-queen and cuts a deal: the spider-queen will not eat them if they find a bottle with a web and a tiny figure with the body of a woman and head of a spider and then, very specifically, burn it the web and the figure. Not smash, crush or cut, but burn. Seizing the opportunity to not be eaten, the children agree and venture to the first of three towers.

The door to the tower, however, is locked. Luckily Roland learned a particularly interesting set of skills at public school and makes short work of the lock. Inside they find a room coated in dust, but for finger and hand prints. Being suspicious of this new and terrible world, and rightly so, they look carefully and see hands waiting in ambush. When the jig is up, the hands fly out to attack. Despite nearly choking poor William out, the children manage to make short work of the hands, especially through the combined efforts of Roland and Elena.

Searching the room yields a skeleton under the bed with no hands, but clutched in the arms is a jar filled with fireflies. Or tiny fairies upon closer inspection. Not what they were looking for, but still useful or at least neat! They return without their initial prize and the spider-queen indicates that while she doesn't want to eat them, she has little choice. Also, she likes eating children. Suitably encouraged, they set off to the next tower.

Outside the tower they find numerous frogs that could be described as "razor bladey" hiding in the massive growths of brambles infesting this castle. Hoping for some kind of fairy godmother-like assistance, they pry open the jar and unleash the fairy horde. It turns out that horde is an accurate description as the savage fae make short and brutal work of the frogs, pausing only to feast on the still warm (or even alive!) flesh of their amphibian foes. With that chilling sight fresh in their minds, the children proceed to the tower in which they discover the jar in question.

While William disassembled his binoculars to inflict the kind of death that a child with a focusing lens and ants specializes in, the children inspect the jar more closely. Inside they see the web which seems to be the home for a tiny woman with the body of a queen and the head of a spider. She presses her hands mournfully to the glass of the jar. Getting cold feet from the humanizing antics of what would have momentarily been their victim, they decide to get answers from the queen.

Which does not go so well. The queen is very tired of waiting and while never particularly shy about her true nature, volunteers that she had her husband and the step-child in the way of her throne removed and she will be damned if these children will stand in her way any further. As time in her hourglass grows short the sacrifice is burned, returning the queen to her lovely and imperious form. The queen demands that William and Roland retrieve appropriate attire and accessories for her from her rooms and they are only more than happy to help. Perhaps the queen's words fogged their mind. Perhaps she was simply very, very pretty. Nonetheless, they do as they have been bid and Roland brings some extra jewelry just in case she wants something else. And just in case she doesn't, then he can keep it around... in case she wants it later... or doesn't... or something. (He stole it.)

At this time the children and the queen's desires align as they all wish the princess to be removed from the castle, though perhaps for differing motivations. So the children go to rescue the princess, who is naturally in the highest room in the tallest tower in the most inaccessible part of the castle. On the way the children make use of their vantage to see how the battle between Prince Charming and the dragon goes. Remarkably well, it seems, with the prince largely giving as good as he gets and delivering to the dragon's snout a thorough drubbing.

Continuing to the top of the tower they find a very small door and a table with two bottles, one with red liquid and another with blue liquid. Through vigorous application of childlike curiosity without regard to consequence, the very special children determine that the red liquid makes you small, while the blue liquid makes you big and through proper mixing you can reach just the right size to pass through the door. Sophie's knowledge of cooking and Roland's complete disregard to side-effects allow him to open the very small door and venture into the room on the other side.

Within the room he finds a spinning wheel and webs everywhere, something about it reminds him of two very lonely best friends who only have each other and a mutual love of weaving. Sad. Also there was a crystal coffin! Though the top appears to be ajar with vines growing inside. Upon returning to his normal size, his inspections reveal that the princess in the coffin is pierced all over by the thorns and seems to have been sucked dry like a juice box. Mmmm... juice box.

With that unsettling news, Sophie uses her chalk to make another door (more child-sized) into the room and now everyone wants to see the body. After much poking and prodding, William pronounces her "very dead" and doesn't think that first aid will alter this situation substantially. Having no breath or pulse. Also no blood. The children were somewhat at a loss of how to proceed when Quinn's cellphone rang, such tremendous reception!

Her fairy godmother was calling while shopping at Nordstrom, just wanting to let Sophie know that perhaps she should let the nice Prince Charming know since he might die in that fight with the dragon over nothing and the dragon as well is guarding a well kept corpse and might have better things to do. Seeing her fairy godmother's wisdom and shopping prowess, Sophie races off to dispense with indiscriminate advice!

Which does not go so well. The queen is quite elated, naturally. The dragon and the prince stop their now pointless conflict, neither wanting to continue as the prize was never the death of an honorable foe over a corpse. The dragon, saddened by the news, departs to find something else to horde. Prince Charming takes this all rather less well. His sword clatters to the ground as he drops to his knees, obviously in some kind of shock. Perhaps losing his mind entirely; it has been showing signs of wandering off as of late.

The children begin to make plans for an alternate princess to rescue and remember that Charlotte declined to venture into the castle with them, it was "scary". Turning to find their youngest companion, they see that Prince Charming has indeed found his princess. He smiles his most charming smile at her and pulls a figurine from his pocket, placing it on the ground as it turns into a magnificent winged steed. Easily pulling himself into the saddle he reaches down and scoops her onto the back. With that Prince Charming and his princess, Charlotte, fly off into the sunset on the back of a white, magical, winged horse. Perhaps it was an abduction.

The queen laughs at the children and makes them a one-time offer: she will return them home if they so desire. She walks to her mirror and speaks the words of power that open a gate to home. She smiles a delighted grin as the children decide that they will return home to rest and gather resources to rescue Charlotte and Lance. Stepping through the mirror, taking the magical sword with them, the very special children find themselves returned to their home. Though it was only five children that trudge silently down that forest path.

Epilogue

It has been a year since you emerged from the Black Forest at the end of that very special day. Your parents were worried, but their worry was tinged with a wild-eyed fear. During that time you have seen councilors, psychologists and therapists to come to terms with what happened. How impossible it was. How you invented those fantasies to come to terms with the terrible things that happened to Charlotte and Lance. Their bodies were never been found. You have never been able to find whatever it was that took you to the Grimm Lands, if it ever actually happened. Even the magical blade of silver and moonlight, the proof you brought back, is not how you remembered. The inscription reads "Replica" and "Made in China". It is also pitted and rusted from age and disuse and looks less like a blade of legend and more like the Anduril knock-off at the local Spencer's Gifts. Maybe you haven't given up, maybe you still return to the Black Forest with those who traveled with you before whenever you can escape from your parents' vigilant gaze. Maybe you haven't given up that flicker of hope against hope, belief against belief, that you didn't imagine it. That you can still go back and make it right. That you can bring about the Fall of the Rotten King...

Grimm: Part 4 - Once Upon A Time

This is the fourth part of an ongoing series about Grimm. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 5.

Actual Play

Prologue

Once upon a time, there were seven very special children, though they didn't know they were special yet. They lived in what they thought of as a very normal town, but it was not normal; it was a very special town. This special town was located next to a very dark place, so dark all of the kids called it the Black Forest. At the beginning of this tale we find our very special children celebrating the eighth birthday of the youngest of their band, Charlotte, who very much so thinks of herself of a princess. In fact, that is all that she wanted for her birthday - to be a princess. On this special day she was granted her wish as she blew out all of her candles in one breath (even the trick candles). What none of these very special children knew on this special day is that it would mark the beginning of an adventure. One which would leave them all changed, for better or worse. One that would mark the beginning of Humpty Dumpty's Second Fall. One that would remind all of them, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.


Cast of Characters

Roland, the Bully (4th grade)
Sophie, the Dreamer (4th grade)
Elena, the Jock (4th grade)
William, the Nerd (4th grade)
Quinn Valentine, the Popular Kid (4th grade)
Lance, Sophie's older brother (6th grade, NPC)
Charlotte, William's little sister (2nd grade, NPC)

When gathered together the kids of this town were much like any other: they would constantly dare each other to perform more and more outlandish feats. And no feat was more outlandish than to travel to the Black Forest and retrieve something as proof that you had been there. Naturally the more impressive the proof, particularly from deeper and farther off the path, the greater the fleeting respect from their peers. This was the situation that our special children found themselves in, and since it was Charlotte's birthday and she was a princess, she wanted the prettiest thing ever from the center of the Black Forest. She had heard that there was a ring of rainbow fairy stones. As every little princess knows, nothing is prettier than a rainbow fairy stone, whatever that may be.

The Black Forest has a sinister reputation for a reason, even if the children didn't know it. It isn't unheard of for animals and even people to go missing under its darkened canopy. Parents, even those without a superstitious bone in their body, always forbade their children from going into the Black Forest unattended. And children, even those comprised entirely of superstitious bones, wanted nothing more than to go into the Black Forest unattended.

And this is how our group of youngsters find themselves within the confines of the Black Forest unattended but for Lance, the eldest at 11, but far from the wisest. Their journey deeper into the woods became subtly more sinister as the boughs blocked more and more light and the path became less and less path-like. The peace of nature was replaced by the menace of nature and songbirds turned to crows. As is the way of things, it became pitch black before there was light again and the children began to suspect that they were no longer in the forest they had entered.

Continuing their travels, Sophie, always prepared for arts and crafts, decided it was an excellent idea to mark their way. Applying a day-glo yellow washable marker to a nearby tree lead to series of startling discoveries: trees can talk, they are surly, do not enjoy fine art, have awfully toothy maws and are hungry. Also slow. Capitalizing on the final trait, the children made their escape to a road with hungry but slow tree giving chase until it became too discouraged by how slow it was and how not slow the children were and soon the children found themselves at a crossroad.

At the crossroad was a large hanging cage and a signpost pointing in the four directions. To the left was "Princess - In Peril", forward was "Princess - In Peril", to the right was "Princess - Safe In Peril" and finally, the way they had come "Seven Children - In Peril". While deliberating their options, they were verbally accosted by a severely emaciated character within the cage who claimed to be "Not Quite Dead Pete".

Not Quite Dead Pete also made some claims regarding the peril to the right (quite perilous) as well as the fact he was not alone in his cage, "Dead Pete" and "Really Dead Pete" were also in there. Not very good conversationalists, because they were dead. Except during the full moon, but they still didn't like to talk about the causes of their death, evidently a sensitive subject, though each had met their particular fate in a different direction at the crossroads.

Deciding that Dead Pete was obviously a man of vision during his life, these special children embarked in that direction. Which was to the left. As they traveled, they could not help but detect a rotten odor in the air as the night sky became visible. Nor could the man in the sky fishing for Pisces off of the crescent moon be missed. Continuing, the road sloped down and provided a commanding view of the area, including a castle in the distance wrapped in vines and flowers.

It was around this time that a beam of moonlight was cast down and illuminated a sword within a stone. All being familiar with the Disney classic of roughly the same name, the very special children decide to have a go at pulling the sword from the stone. In the end, it was Lance that claimed the silver blade as his prize. Written in moonlight, an inscription read "The child with this sword shall herald the Fall of the Rotten King." Feeling very satisfied with their acquisition, they continued. Their satisfaction was to be all too short-lived.

Not long after claiming this treasure, a strange sound could be heard approaching. The clanking of metal, but not the sound of hooves. A group of horses mounted on knights rode forth and at their lead was a twisted figure in horrifying armor to match the horrifying form underneath - the Ugly Duckling. He brought his horses to a halt and demanded the sword and in return he would spare their lives. Full of the bravery that only children that have never felt fear can possess, they rebuked the Ugly Duckling, particularly Quinn who remarked on just how ugly he was. The Ugly Duckling is not one to suffer such an insult without retaliation, and after a great deal of impotent sputtering ordered his horses to slay the bearer of the sword and take the others alive for the king.

The Bully's threats had no effect and Elena's fastball was no use against their armor. Even the magic of William and Sophie (and something very strange happened with Sophie's magic, something that would come back to haunt them) did little to stop the Ugly Duckling and the king's horses and the king's men. Lance bravely stood before his charges, as he was the oldest and also had a badass sword and was some kind of hero of legend. Unfortunately for Lance, he was not the hero of this story. The Ugly Duckling's lance pierced his chest easily and he fell to the ground as the Ugly Duckling squawked in triumph, ordering the king's horses to seize the other children.

Sophie used her chalk to draw a door on a tree to somewhere else and opened it for other children to escape. Brave Elena ran back just in time to snatch the sword and through the door before it closed on her. It was then they found themselves being regurgitated from a suddenly very full and even more upset tree decorated in day-glo yellow. Again they ran as the tree sought to regain its senses regarding the sudden reappearance of what it had hoped would be dinner, just moving the wrong way out of it. Again, the tree learned a valuable lesson about being so very slow as the children escaped its maw again, quite literally this time.

Hearing the Ugly Duckling and the king's horses and the king's men approach, the children hid within the woods. "I can smell the sword, it is here somewhere," the Ugly Duckling pronounced (poorly, he has quite a speech impediment). "It is of no matter," he continued, "they will come to us with the sword because this one is still alive and he will be in the dungeon until I have flayed all of the skin from his bones." Knowing that the children were near, he laid his trap for them. Also, the Ugly Duckling was tired and a little lazy and he does not get paid for overtime.

Breathing a collective sigh of relief, the realization dawned upon our special children of what just happened. Gritting their teeth, they soldier on and after some travel in a direction, they see a cheery camp on the road. William, with the aid of his trusty binoculars, identifies the camp as belonging to jolly dwarfs with food and drink. Motivated by their stomachs and a desire for safety, the children move to greet the encampment.

Upon arriving, they see the noses were a little longer than was initially thought, with awfully long ears, red bowler hats and rather large, pointy teeth. Now correctly identified as redcaps (a particularly ravenous and messy breed of goblin), the children once again find themselves in a fight or flight situation. They run with a slim head start and find the crossroad once more. Deciding that another body certainly couldn't make anything worse at this point (right?), Sophie "finds" a key. Using this artifact created by her over-abundance of imagination, she quickly frees Not Quite Dead Pete and the children make an escape with their new companion and the redcaps close behind.

The chase seems to come to an end when the children and Not Quite Dead Pete reach a clearing with a large stream that turns rapidly into a waterfall as it goes over the very steep cliff. The redcaps, sensing victory at hand, let loose a great cry and charge the children. It is then that Quinn opens her parasol and hops off the edge of the cliff to float down slowly and safely under the power of her imagination. The other children quickly grab onto her, forming an impromptu and dangly ladder of sorts, descending enough that they plummet safely into the water as their strength gives out. Quin and Charlotte, naturally, land safely on the shore.

Upon surfacing, the children cannot seem to find Not Quite Dead Pete. However, there is a beautiful man in a white woolen long coat with golden piping, white breeches, black riding boots, a white vest trimmed in gold, a white silk shirt and crimson cravat, and long platinum blonde hair tied with a red ribbon who is more than happy to help them out with a charming smile. He introduces himself, or more correctly re-introduces himself, as "Prince Peter Charming", and a hint of madness dances in his blue eyes.

To be continued...