GenCon 2017 Inspiration (Part 3)

The GenCon 2015 event started out with a kick in the crotch, a slew of bloody noses, and cyborg nightmare ensconced in glowing blue orbs of light. The players had made it back to Canyonside and were now dealing with the ramifications of the events of the technology that was recovered by the U. S. Government from the previous events.

The primary development was the evolution of the little town of Canyonside into a hub of the new Maglev Rail system that was sprouting like a weed and connecting the major cities of San Diego, Canyonside, Chatanooga, and Washington D. C. This new prosperity put the little town on the national map and led to the introduction of a new villain, Dieter Kauffman, and his henchman Vindrick.

The Storyline Transition…

Historically, players have just kind of rolled with the punches and not followed these story lines or cared. Last year, however, several players emailed me with queries that can be summed up by three questions. With all of these open questions from the players and the multitude of endings, I thought I would lay down the canon results from last year’s event here. Well, at least SOME of them…gotta keep a few surprises…

Spoilers, Answers, or Just Red Herring?

First, let me assure you that the “Vampires”, the Terminators, and anything that might show up for 2017 and 2019 are all connected to the past events and these connections will be elucidated in-game as we approach the 2021 GenCon event. The connections are already laid down, but the specifics as to how they relate to the story line are not, as they will depend on the PCs’ actions after each convention. In general, if all of the groups achieve a certain outcome, it automatically becomes canon. If two or more groups achieve a two or more outcomes, I try to weave them together so that they both can happen. If this isn’t possible, I look at the players’ reactions to the outcomes of the action scenes that led to the result in question. The players who were the most boisterous at the table, the most creative in their scene resolutions, or the most HiBRiD in their attitudes always win out and determine canon. Since every year there are one or two groups that go over the top, it is relatively easy to make these judgments.

Now, to answer the questions.

Question 1: What finally happened to Vindrick and Kauffman? (Was Vindrick slain on the Magev train outside of Chatanooga or in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building? Was Kauffman slain in the rotundra of the Capitol Building or did he get away, laughing mockingly at the PCs as he flew away flying away in a Hujrat Alfa helicopter towards GenCon 2017 to once again terrify the PC?)

Vindrick was indeed slain in the final scene in the Rotunda of the Capitol building. Kauffman, however, did manage to escape on a Hujrat Alfa helicopter, laughing at the PCs and cursing their foiling of his plans in the process. That is the second NPC that has escaped the clutches of the convention players since 2009. You all may want to keep a count...

Question 2: Were Vindrick and Kauffman Vampires? Is this some World of Darkness crap? Are tragic teenage vampires and werewolves going to vent their spleens, lust, and angst on one another?

Kauffman and Vindrick do have characteristics of vampires. Those players paying attention probably noticed through play that they are weaker in bright daylight, they are affected by certain materials and unaffected by others, and they have mentalic abilities that they use to control minions and attempted to use to control PCs in some cases. Knowing that several supernatural (magic?) phenomena have occurred in the game, there is a possibility they are, but I won’t reveal that here…you and your friends will have to come to play to find out.

If they are, I PROMISE you this (hint, hint, hint…): they need to be staked! There is no tragic, Goth, love story bulls*** that Anne Rice, White Wolf, and the multitudes of lemmings seem to drool over. They need to be staked. Period. There is a reason “The Coreys”, Wesley Snipes (If not being played), George Clooney, Buffy, Hugh Jackman, James Woods, and Daniel Baldwin were on that MagLev as NPCs.

If they are not vampires, you all may want to stake them anyway, just to be sure.

Question 3: Where did the Terminators come from? Is this a continuation of the Portal story?

The Terminators are indeed an extension of the Namenlos Welt game world. In that world, there is a series of semi-sentient humanoid robots know as LiRAs. LiRAs are instilled with the Zeroth Law as well as the classic Asimovian Three Laws of robotics.The LiRAs were the original keepers of the Macrossean people designed to ensure their survival. When the portal device was created, they were the ones sent through first to determine if the portal worked. They agreed to go under the pretense of saving human lives, but actually went for their own purposes.

The addition of the Terminators to the scenario resulted from a combination of factors. At the time of the first few play-testings, we noticed the “GothKids” failed to pull the action from the Bloodsport Opening Scene to the first Exposition Scene. Inspired from the release of Terminator: Genisys just prior to the convention, I overlayed the LiRAs from a back story that had been left out in 2009 for simplicity reasons, and play-tested it to solve the problem. The  scene worked in all three play-tests to help push the action, so we made them a permanent addition to the initial and final action scenes. They also served as bookends for the scenario in general. They also fit in with the Kauffman back story that will be elucidated a bit more in the 2017 game.

Conclusion

Well, that is it. The 3-part inspirational rant is officially over. Now, back to prepping the scenario for playtesting!

Next up: I will be providing the HiBRiD stats for several creatures in games past, a few new Aspects that will be making their appearances in 2017, and a few things to take with you all to your own games. While the stats provided will be in HiBRiD stat blocks, they should be easy enough to translate into your own games, should you wish to do so. Shoot me a note/tweet/email if you need help; I'll be glad to help..

Until then, keep rolling dice and slinging Ite'....