OK! GM'ing 3:16 for the first time today, in a long session with 4-5 scenarios. Setting it up like that to really get the feel for the game.
Translating parts of it to Norwegian, to make the verbal flow of the game better for me and my Norwegian players. Sitting with the translation at this moment, with 3,5 hours to go until gamestart.
Haakon: after our last clash in this game you are set up for some really easy promotions, of course, so you will have tons of responsibility on your young and immature shoulders (heh-heh).
Anyone here know what the "TRMs" are? And the "mitt/ball"?
I led this game for my first time today, from 12.00 to 22.00, after translating the core-stuff this morning. In that period we played 6 planets, three preplanned and three made up on the fly (the rules for making scenarios is very simple and effective).
It was a very nice and tight session! Satisfied players and GM!
Will post a more detailed AP here if any is interested, another day. A bit spent now. :-)
Made use of a tool I found in THIS THREAD, for making NPC's. Very workable and nice! Used fools for having offisers being bonkers, and that made for some really weird situations during play.
Bought the pdf on the net, and paid for a nice copy in a local store (more expensive than bying the book fromt he net, but I did not have the time).
Translated ranks and some other core stuff to Norwegian (friday night and saturday morning), and made a new PC-sheet in Norwegian.
Set up the game in my basement, with raw concrete walls and specially designed black fields on the table for proximity and character-overview (always use a Char-overview when GM'ing).
Using well known Norwegian author names for the planets. :-)
Scenario 1: Operation Ramble/Transporter Behn - Derogative briefing: newbies, sent out to deal with a drunken crew aboard a transporter - aliens in human forms (ambush), low AA - first drunken adults, then "sane" adults, then enthusiastic children, PCs ambushed every time - very well received, paranoia, blood, wounds, tight
Pleasure planet Bringsværd, sex with simBroads
Scenario 2: Recover the plans/Planet Bjørnson (based on scenario from the 3:16 scenario-thread) - Derogative briefing: newbies, sent out to recover some plans on "lifeless" planet - lieutenant comes along, but is distracted, orders PCs to recover plans - aliens advanced humanoids with 3 arms and guns, high AA - straightforward fighting, reduced visibility, heroic action from one PC in final battle (strength) - technical challenge to save datacubes after final battle - nerve, wounds, heroism and jubilant PCs when datacubes is saved and plans not compromised
Pleasure planet Bringsværd, sex with simBroads, some quarreling amongst PCs
Scenario 3: Pure Pleasure/Planet Bringsværd - The pleasure planet needs to be cleared ("Slaughter those pathetic serving bugs! No problemo, si?") - serving bugs no problem, but artificial aliens BIG problem (the planets "simBroads" gone bad), medium AA - the simBroads worked as ambush, but had rapid movement as special ability, and made for wonderful fighting - fighting interpersed with resisting civilians who were summarily executed (niiice) - bloody, brutal, "real wounds from lovers", tight and very-very high fucked-up factor
And after the last mission they travelled to the new base, and lo and behold: Pleasure-planet Bringsværd! Ooops! As the guys arrived in the new base-system, the new pleasure-planet was already up and running, with the same simulated halfglobes of terran cultural terrain (mostly beach-culture). The "greek globe" was the guys favorite, and it was in place, with new simBroads and all, but they did not want to go there anymore! So I informed them about the "PvP-globe" (the people vs people globe where no simBroads were in use). They preferred that one, even though "everything always gets complicated and messy with real women" ...
Scenario 4: Green Insanity/Planet Ibsen - first planet in the new sector, characters briefed as normal, tough troopers now - swamp-planet, plant-aliens (trees and flying jelly-plants), armored, medium AA - the drop ship sank in the swamp and the PCs did not help get people out, so the captain (!) sent them on a bad scouting mission - going far out, night in the jungle, wet and nasty, and no aliens, but then someone fired a gun: SCREENS FULL OF RED BIPS! ALIENS EVERYWHERE!!! - wet and strange, and claustrofobic, fighting a battle to get back to the drop-ship, relief when sighting own troopers (phew)
Back on mothership; E-Hammer, captain Andersen impressed with the guys (the way they came back), one of them making friends with the captain (highest result on NFA). Dinners and good vibes!
Scenario 5: Cosmic Dogs/Planet Kielland - characters briefed as experienced and tough troopers, by lieutenant that is questionable - desert-planet, aliens are six legged dingoes with gaping mouths, ignore wounds, high AA (me being more confident on how to create and handle the aliens now) - the lieutenant splitting his command in three, the PCs as one unit going north, and then west to meet up - first fight: "dingoes" getting hit, falling (due to shock) and standing up again (ignore wounds), and again, freaked out the PCs - communication with other units gives only desperate shouting (lieutenant cracking up in battle) - tough on players that they have to shoot the bugs at least three times to kill them, so sergeant orders E-vac (one dead)
Back on mothership; E-Hammer, the captain really pissed on the sergeant for leaving his superior officer on planet, not by regulations. Captain A. asks his friend in the unit about it (under 4 eyes), and the player state that the sergeant was overreacting. So the sergeant gets demoted to trooper, and the friend of the captain gets to be new sergeant (from trooper). This ends in a BIG YELLING MATCH between players! (no one picking on me, the evil guy in the machine.) They are picking on each other, exchanging threats and making the game come alive even more! Great!
And then: lieutenant getting demoted due to him being such a weak leader in combat (cracked). One player gets to talk with the captain on feast, but fail to impress him with thoughts on leadership, so the same "friend of the captain" gets promoted to lieutenant! What!? Three fucking steps of promotion between planets!!! (other players oogling me, indicating nepotism! Huzza!)
Scenario 6: Crazy Cosmos/Planet Hamsun - characters called in especially by the captain, to witness debrief of other unit - looking down through bullet proof glass on three men, obviously mad, rocking and pissing and moaning - "doctors" coming in, taking the madmen one by one on table, interrogating them, but only gets singing (oo-a-hallelujah) - last man sings like a siren, making the doctors go mad as well, PCs turn of speakers and is saved - Captain Andersen briefs them: the son of the major is missing in action on the very planet these men came from, no one would normally go down there (planet would be bombarded), but the major has ordered a rescue mission, you are chosen, be careful and do this right, but bring him back! Captain (and major) placing great confidence in new lieutenant! (nervy) - players take caution to install sound protection in helmets - planet with electrical storms (no energy-weapons), no communication (isolate PCs, due to el), aliens floating sirens, middle AA - the lieutenant going down with only his personal unit (to keep scenario focused on players) - fighting aliens, one PCs forgets to turn on sound protection, and is in danger of getting mad, others fares well (giving them the benefit of the sound protection idea) - finding singing madmen from earlier expedition close to drop ship, none is son of major, searching drop ship (and fighting all the time), and then they find him (singing), gives him a sedative and brings him back to mothership.
Major takes debrief! Very pleased! Promotes the friend of captain Andersen to captains rank! Good job, my friend! You've done me a great favor! Later on the new captain is celebrated, and the majors son comes along, all fine (an expensive operation has saved him, not an option for ordinary troopers), and the wife of the major leads all officers aboard in singsong to the captains praise (a song she has written herself, on a known tune, and definitively NOT a sirens song), the captain involuntarily insults her, and the gamesession is ended
(had to give them a looming shadow to think about for the next session)
Very well received! Players satisfied and more than willing to play again! Me being a bit more mellow. Will come back to my analysis later. Have a good night!
I had great fun, playing the veteran Trooper "Fist", an emotionally stunted soldier and since I was the only one who had played it before, I had a bit of a advantage. When Sergeant Mattis got promoted to Lieutenant I rode his coattails to Sergeant (from corporal). It also deflected some heat from myself as I had forced weakness on the corporal and gotten him demoted, all while I got a cushy promotion to Corporal. As the Lieutenant got promoted to Captain I was forgotten entirely. ;)
I very rarely GM other games than my own, but from the moment I played this I knew I had to GM it too. I had to see first hand how it worked, to draw any tools and tricks from it for use in my own games. ;-)
And we had a ball playing it! We will follow up with a new marathon-session later this month. I can't promise as detailed a report from that session, but will surely write something here.
Would you mind very much, Gregor, if I at a later date asked for your permission to translate and publish the game in Norway? Only toying with the thought, of course ...
That sounds great Tomas. Fun that you want more of is great isn't it?
I was catching up with an old-gamer friend of mine at the weekend and we were chatting about 3:16. We last played some dreadful WoD stuff years ago. I'd given him a copy of the book and I was so jazzed that it was the kind of game he was looking for too. It took him back, like me, to earlier games in our youth where we just kicked back and had fun. Who knew?
My old pal and Gm is not very active GMing any more, so I get to play very little. I talk rpg's a lot, and gm them even more, but I sure miss those golden moments of the early days; when anything we did in the games was new to us.
Still: to gm a new game with strong focus and nice depth to it, is good too.