#Gm'ing intent

[stresshyperdeath]

When GM'ing, consider the following:

Redact the use of "Are you sure?" when a player does something : Makes the player feel like they've picked the "wrong" course of action

Ask "What is your intent?" : Gets right to their meat and potatoes

[ballastmcgee]

Me looking at the tumbleweeds surrounding GM'ing Intent: You didn't deserve this cruel fate.

GM'ing Intent: Then why don't you-

Me, knee-deep in Movie Campaign ideas and plots: Sorry were you saying something?

[solanj]

Gatewatch&Co playing DnD

Jace

Jace is the forever DM. His plotlines are extremely well thought-trough and his puzzles are exquisite. Prefers detective-style stories and is great at setting up the intrigue. Players never can guess too early. He knows ALL the rules. Is prepping meticulously. He is that type of GM that will hand out actual letters or trinkets to players, if they happen to find them. Every NPC, every plotline, every bit of PC's backstories are accounted for and weaved into the planned narrative. (Of course it all always end up completely derailed) Actively uses illusions for both descriptions and combat and everyone just LOVES that. Still insists on having actual minis, though. After some persuasion from the party agreed to use telepathy to tell players the "only your character knows that" info, which drove his intrigue even further.

Chandra

Chandra usually plays a hotheaded sorcerer. Gender and age may vary, but the sorcerer always falls for whomever Nissa is playing at the moment. Is the most enthusiastic of the group and the #1 reason Jace's thought-through plots get derailed. Because she always invents something crazy and drags the rest into it and even she never knows what her character is going to do until she opens her mouth to declare it. Due to it has the most dead characters among the party - Jace isn't a harsh GM, but he never fudges his rolls. Chandra doesn't sweat it, though, she just brings a new sorcerer next session. She generally ensures a goofy, light-hearted atmosphere and doesn't like it when stories go too dark or dramatic. Never waits for others to make a plan before heading into combat. Has the quickest combat turns.

Nissa

Nissa only agreed to play because Chandra was SO enthusiastic about it that Nissa just hadn't the heart to say "no". She ended up loving it. Doesn't speak much at the table (and her characters are always the quite ones), but has the most carefully crafted backstories. Only uses third-person style, but never speaks out of character during the play time. Actually knows the rules very well and never blunders, but also never engages in rules arguments when they happen. Once all the revelations from her backstory come through her character ends up being everyone's favourite, remembered for a long time.

Gideon

Gideon only plays because he thinks that a common bonding activity such as this is great for the Gatewatch's dynamics. Is usually the one to bring in snacks and to help Jace tidy everything up after the session. Plays martial tanky protective characters, usually goes with the options that PHB recommends. Likes to strategize in-game. Isn't good at roleplaying but is trying his best and everyone appreciates it. Was actually sad when Liliana left the party since her character made it easier for him to engage in conversations and decision-making due to her teasing and provocative nature. (No one knows if that was intentional on her part)

Teferi

Teferi prefers GM'ing but doesn't have the time to prep and run the whole campaign. So he usually runs rather short adventures. He leans towards more humorous style and is a great improviser. Likes to give his players maximum freedom and allows them to goof around all they want, but still manages to make the plot work. His NPCs are usually witty, he does different (and often exagerrated) voices for each of them and players tend to engage into social side of the game a lot because the dialogue scenes with him are just so enjoyable. Loves to mess with the players. Adds red herrings, makes NPS pretend to believe the player's bluff only to reveal the truth at the best possible moment later, hands out tricky magical items (most players learned to NEVER draw cards from unchecked decks, but there is always Chandra...). He is placing the most bizarre and memorable mimics and hilarious traps. But does all that in good faith and with good humor, to make the players thrilled but not annoyed. And it works!

Kaya

Kaya plays exclusively rogues and she probably tried every build possible. Is the min-maxer of the party. Is known for completely decimating the encounters that Jace planned to be extra challenging. Was often splitting the party at first, but agreed not to after some persuasion. Doesn't roleplay much, though she enjoys spectating others do it and never tries to force them to the next scene. LOVES Jace's puzzles and usually finds an unorthodox but interesting and convincing way to solve them. (That's probably why Jace can't really be annoyed with her despite her minmaxing) Has the best luck for crits in combat, but the worst for disabling traps.

Vraska

Vraska rather often misses the sessions due to guild and/or pirate business, but she tries her hardest to have free spots on her schedule during game nights. Is probably the most dedicated member of the group. Grows very attached to her characters and once the campaign ends she never returns to the same archetype, so that the impression wouldn't dilute. And because of it she doesn't have a "type", though her characters are always brave and have troubled pasts. Is the one to commission the paintings of her characters (and sometimes the rest of the party too). Is also quite the shipper (no matter if the character in question is her own, party member or NPC), but keeps it to herself, only sharing with Jace sometimes. She tells Jace everything about her character in the beginning so that he can play it when Vraska has to miss a session.

Ral

Ral played every class in the game that he could more or less convincingly make into a charming bastard. Is prone to hogging the spotlight, but does roleplay so well and is so charming that others let it slide. Often insists on using some homebrewed rules (which he keeps reinventing right during the conversation), giving Jace a headache. Jace gave in once, but during the next several sessions he made sure to stage the situations so that every possible side effect of said homebrew came to bite Ral in the ass (yes, it's where most of his prep time went). Now they usually settle on just some minor changes for Ral's character. Is #2 reason for derailing Jace's plotlines. Unlike Chandra he does this absolutely intentionally, and Jace knows it, but sees as a challenge. His character is the one, to whom all the "curiosity" magic items go. You have no idea what a dedicated Izzet mage can do with a simple unmoving rod. Jace actually throws extra stuff his way just to see what crazy application Ral will come up with.

Liliana

Liliana played a couple sessions once. She made a point of derailing the plotline in a discreet way while staying strictly in-character. Also she made Jace fluster whenever he had to play through a conversation with her via NPC. Decided that it was fun but ultimately not worth it in the long run. (To Jace's relief) Since she never actually plays Jace can discuss with her his plans and plots and sometimes he asks for her input on the villains. Sometimes he even invites Liliana to act out a villain in the dialogue-heavy session and she is VERY convincing. Her villains are always the ones players love to hate. From time to time she GMs oneshots and prefers intrigue- and drama-heavy stories, often horror, that may or may not be inspired by her long and varied life experiences. She isn't a stranger to fudging the rolls or overriding the rules if she feels that the situation calls for it. Is very good at reading the table and the undisputed master of putting her players in heart-wrenching situations faced with tough decisions. They usually love it, but Chandra refuses to play with her anymore because "don't we have enough of that shit IRL?!" She sometimes contemplates running a full WoD campaign, but always decides against it in the end.

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Feel free to add your ideas!

[rpgsandbox]

A special kind of magic happens when kids gather around a table to play a fantasy role-playing game. Legends are born, friendships are forged, and they begin to experience real-world personal growth.

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Suitable for cognitive age 9+, including teens and adults.

2 to 4 players recommended, plus one adult that acts as the facilitator. (Game Master)

Players must have basic listening and verbalization skills.

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Facilitator's Guide - For parents, therapists, and Game Masters, our best practices on running fun and effective therapeutic gaming groups.

Player & Game Master Guides - Quick-start rules and playing guides for players and Game Masters.

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Dice (4 sets) - One for each player, one for the Game Master. Enough to run a 3 player game out-of-the-box.

Character Sheets - 4 popular hero archetypes, each with their own unique abilities.

Game Cards - Not required for play, but helpful aids for both players and Game Masters - Visualization, quick-reference rules, and spell cards.

Game Tokens - Visualization aids for working with the included map.

Reusable map - whiteboard marker friendly.

Please note: Artwork shown is work-in-progress and may be subject to change!

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Game to Grow - Adam Davis (MA Ed) and Adam Johns (LMFT)

Critical Core is brought to you by Game to Grow, a 501(c)(3) organization that runs tabletop RPG therapy gaming groups every week. Founders Adam Johns and Adam Davis are distilling 7 years of experience and best practices into the Critical Core project so that the benefits of intentional gaming can be spread to an even wider audience.

Virginia Spielmann (MSOT) - Executive Director of STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder in Denver, Colorado.

Virginia is a British trained Occupational Therapist with more than 20 years experience working in pediatrics. Virginia co-leads the development of the Critical Core Project, defining the system within the established DIR Floortime™ framework of developmental intervention.

mcgarrybowen Greater China - creative agency

The Critical Core project was initiated and co-created by creative agency mcgarrybowen Greater China as part of an ongoing program to provide creative solutions for social good.

ICDL - The Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning

A not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting each person's development to their fullest potential. ICDL was formed over 20 years ago to be the official home of DIR® and DIRFloortime, recognized as the next generation of evidence-based intervention for autism and other developmental challenges.

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Game to Grow is a not-for profit 501(c) company, and our donations are allocated to helping run game groups for kids across the Seattle region. Kickstarter is important for two reasons:

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Do I need prior experience with role-playing games to run Critical Core?              No. Critical Core is a 'rules-light' tabletop RPG, and the instructions will be designed to help brand new Game Masters quickly learn how to facilitate games that are enriching and fun. We are also planning to release video guides and tutorials to help you out!

I'm already playing tabletop RPGs with my kids!

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Kickstarter campaign ends: Fri, April 26 2019 8:00 AM BST

Website: Game to Grow

[toasttz]

From the Tabletop X

Shit yeah! I'm totally alive! It's not that our games stopped or anything (though our D&D GM was ready to throw it all at the wall, he has decided to soldier on). Just that I've gotten wrapped up in other things. Like, uh, GM'ing! Yeah, remember, like, a year ago when I started this series and mentioned I really like Shadowrun? We kicked off a Shadowrun 5e game! So, today's special 10th-ennial extravaganza will be Shadowrun talk time, or me at the opposite side of the table. To begin, our players' runners: Troppo - an Australian who ventured to Seattle in search of work once a military injury (several lost fingers) had him on a medical discharge. His role in the party is infiltrator. Which gives him license to trivialize otherwise-challenging moments in my campaign by stealth-killing all the enemies I made for them. Later ends up dating a Johnson after a particular run. Still active as of this writing. Then there's Big Iron - our street sammy. An ex-cop who was put on indefinite administrative leave when she became known as Knight Errant's personal walking PR disaster - effectively the sixth world's version of the Demolition Man. However, as part of the conditions of this arrangement, she had to be on-call when KE needed her for anything. She became a runner to make ends meet and kind of became the Team Mom. And lastly is Clockwork. Clockwork is a decker who runs hot or cold - either hyper-compotent and hacking the planet, or getting thwarted by an OSHA-compliant stairwell (not joking about this) with no inbetweens. Rare flashes of brilliance illuminated the short and underwhelming career of a runner who, as of the most recent update, was sent to the hospital because his overweight girlfriend sat on his face. As the GM, I refuse to issue apologies or excuses. Mostly because, God damn man, you could've done SO MUCH BETTER! Oh yeah, I realize there is a canon runner named Clockwork. Well, we didn't know that going into it, so he got to fly under the radar on that. If he had actually hung in there, I planned on having the canon Clockwork troll him at some point. So, to start, we're all new and Sixth World is out of reach at the time (and debuting late at our local shops), so I decide to pitch the classic: a Stuffer Shack run. Seattle, 2080, early nostril-freezing early January. Big Iron goes into said Stuffer Shack, getting herself some snacks and condoms (in order not to look "lame"). The boy at the counter sleepily rings her up, just in time for Troppo - Spider-Manning his way up to a rooftop in order to eye a gang of elves acting shifty outside the store. This leads to the first glitch of the game - the elves glitch in their attempt to notice Spider-Troppo. Elf 3: Whoa! Look! That pigeon is fat! Elf 4: Who cares?! Focus! Troppo: Troppo sits in silence to watch these crazy elves, taking only minor offense at being called a fat pigeon. One of the elves goes around the side to start hacking the security (which isn't exactly top-notch), and the other three enter and declare themselves the "Daggerbacks" - an elven supremacy movement looking to expand the glorious empire of Tir Tangaire (and sucking at it). Big Iron attempted to take the high road and offered them a chance to reconsider this terrible decision, but they scoff at the offer and a shootout ensues. This goes poorly for the elves (and would've gone worse for them, had I properly read about how this system handles damage! Shadowrun is a ruthlessly kill-y system!) as Big Iron sends the three scattering, one diving for cover, one wounded who slumps into a wall, and the leader with a baseball-sized hole in his torso, blown backwards into the store's front door. He is then grabbed by a colossal, Troll hand, which firmly affixes to his head, causing him to drop his firearm in defeat. The owner of the hand is Oscar, a former coworker of Big Iron who "just so happened to be in the neighborhood" at the time and lent a hand in arresting them. Oh yeah, and Clockwork traced their network activity and arrived at the scene in the nick of too late. Troppo ultimately intimidated their decker into absolute surrender, lifting a coupon for "SUSHI RAINBOW - NOW WITH REAL FISH!" and his deck off him in the process, causing him to flee - claiming to never really care about the Tir - without deck but with soiled pants. The firefight inside dies down not long after. Cashier: You shot it, you bought it! Big Iron: Now's not the time! By sheer coincidence, the other elves had SUSHI RAINBOW coupons on them as well - my subtle shove towards a meet-up place. Big Iron and Troppo meet en route, having established they did work together in the past. Before long, we were all together, meeting at SUSHI RAINBOW, its owners being Japanese immigrants, Yoshi and Rinko Watanabe and their gyaru daughter, Honoka. Since we were playing with few players than normally constitutes a full runner team, I made a few NPCs to help fill any niches that needed addressing. Honoka was a technomancer and had skills like auto mechanic and gunsmith. And, due to an amusing typo (AKA: Clockwork's persistent illiteracy), a new team of runners was born: "Hey, guys! Someone's biting my runner handle!" complained Friend Octopus. "You really need to change it, dude," Observed Radical Larry. "You're one to talk," sighed Sexy Penguin. "All of you, shut up and focus. This bomb isn't gonna defuse itself and if it goes off, we'll lose the entire shipment of irridium discs!" scolds their leader, Disco Panda. Anyways, back in Seattle, we learn Yoshi and Rinko are retired runners who still have contacts throughout the city. Rinko agrees to bring the runners on on a regular basis, provided they assist with a little issue that's been plaguing them for a while: The Silver Knives. A gang of over-the-hill mostly-mages, who are going around and harassing people as of late in the area. I learned many of the foibles of GMs that day. On account the first leg of the run (a shoot-up down a narrow corridor/alleyway) was trivialized by Troppo Spider-Troppo'ing down on them and assassinating them. For reference, I use the dice that came in the Sixth World Beginner's Box - cuz they're super cool - and these geezers were glitching left and right. So, having made complete work of that, the runners got to the main event - a raid on their warehouse compound (where they would be paid for each of the gang necklaces of each head they popped) and were assigned an NPC shaman, Fallen Snow, an Amerindian Shaman who had a... very special master spirit. I used Shark from the core book as the basis and... well... Go to Youtube, and search for "Lumpy Touch Movie Sonic". Once again, as GM, I never make apologies. Except in one run. But that was only half my fault. Fucking stairs, man. Not even once. Well, I underestimated them again and, though the gangers had a numbers advantage, Troppo and Fallen Snow were stealth/assassin builds and Clockwork was given the rival in the form of the 1337 H@X0R, an elderly, experienced hacker who was learning computers before the previous Great Crash, well up to 2080. Fallen Snow then reveals her spirit as Wendigo (full name: Wendigo of the North), who proceeds to beat the hell out of and then subsequently eats the gangers as they go. Now, a small excerpt from our game: "Snow thrusts her arms out to the side as she glows dimly, as two disproportionately long, clawed hands extend up, then out, landing on the ground and pushes up a lumbering, terrifyingly large spirit. Its head is clad in a goat's skull, but its eyes still seem to bulge and protrude from the sockets, as if they are being squeezed. It has a massive set of jaws and ever-convulsing skin that paradoxically seems to hang limp off the spirit's frame. "HEY GUIYS!" the spirit announces itself in an echoing, unearthly voice, "I'm STARVIN' over here!" “Jesus fuck, Snow,” Troppo says under his breath, without taking his eyes off the sprawling enemies. "Wendigo. By our contract. Kill the Silver Knives. Oh, and don't swallow their necklaces. We need those," Snow demands. "Does that mean... WHAT I THINK IT MEANS?!" the spirit cackles. Snow sighs, rolls her eyes, and replies, "Yes. You may eat them. Don't belabor the point. We're in a hurry and outnumbered," “Jesus FUCK, Snow,” Troppo repeats, with greater emphasis this time. Clockwork gasps "Holy shit" Snow rests her eyes for a moment with a sigh. "When gangers killed my family... my magical 'spark' ignited. And I screamed for anything that would give me revenge. And I summoned a Spirit of Hunger," "OH BOY OH BOY, YOU GUYS! It's like a buffet line! Sure, the meat's tough and been under the heat lamp too long, but there's SO MUCH TO TRY!" Wendigo guffaws as his legs manifest and he rises to his full height. After Clockwork used his gun to off a guy in meatspace, Wendigo even pried, "Are you gonna eat that?!" with a sadistic laugh. Clockwork won (narrowly), just in time for the BOSS FIGHT to stomp in - a cybered-up ork with raw strength to spare. When he threw Wendigo across the warehouse, even Big Iron strongly considered the better part of valor. Boss: Well, well, well... I go out for one night on the town with the missus and I come back to find everyone in my branch has kicked their damn oxygen habit... Troppo: Well, to be fair, it's a bad habit to have. Everyone who has it eventually ends up dead. Boss: Too true. Too true. Especially in this day and age. So, you busted up my joint. Least I can do is tell you my call sign. Y'er, uh, runners, yeah? You got call signs, I wager. Mine, when I was a young man, was Wrecking Ball Big Iron: GET SOME, GRANDAD! (Proceeds to open fire wildly). Wrecking Ball: (Dodges, much to the team's horror). The old way it is, then. This was not a fight I had any intention of making easy on them. Hell, I was even going to give them the chance to use social combat to escape. But Big Iron cast the first stone and thus, the battle was underway. But with a bit of teamwork - and a review of how armor works in the game - they were able to beat him - and obtain a specially ranked insignia off his necklace with a color ranking - a green jewel. Rinko paid the team handsomely. The team then got the chance to go back to SUSHI RAINBOW and rest a while. Not long after, I assigned their next run - in what would come to be known as the COFFEE RUN. Join us there as we also DRAW DICKS ON MUSEUM WALLS! And meet a SUPERHERO TEAM! See you there!

[angiesoie]

An ending point for the blog [August 2019] A scrapbook eventually runs out of pages, and the scrapbooker eventually has to shut the cover and call the project: complete. It was going to take something very important to me to come along and take my attention away from Dream Girlfriend, and this year that something arrived with the announcement of Shadowrun Sixth World.

https://www.catalystgamelabs.com/2019/05/01/shadowrun-sixth-world-an-all-new-edition-of-cyberpunk-fantasy/

The core rule book is scheduled for release some time in August; When it is released, I plan to reassign all my free time towards learning the system with the long term goal of GM'ing my own game. It will become, simply put, my new hobby. When that time comes, daily posting will cease on this blog. I will still be around to look after the blog and beat away the bots and NSFW notes with my broomstick.

My experience running the “angiesoie” blog I love this blog. It is the first blog I ever tried to run with the intent of making other people’s walls more cute, nice and positive. I made the scrolling experience on the scrapbook feel the same as my favorite blogs. If I could change one thing, I would make it a main blog. The lack of features and opportunities for community interactions is too much to overcome for a side blog.

Thank you everyone, whom have taken time to enjoy the content I put out in this blog! Angelina Soie appreciates, and thanks all of you! That being said, there is still over two months of posts to come before we call this project: complete. Thank you for your time.

[ballastmcgee]

The First Meeting.

The last of my three(ish)-chapter series exploring the beginning of The GM'ing Intent AU. These will be the base canon for how they all met.

Thog was looking over the personal map he had created for the Campaign he was going to host.

Meadeshire was the fruit of him taking everything he did know about RPGs and then putting his own brand of cynicism in it.

He had already made all the encounters he had planned and had the players OCs ready in the way they would be introduced.

Now all he had to do was wait for everyone to show up.

Taking the opportunity he had while he was alone he practiced the monologue he had written as an introduction. He wanted to be absolutely sure he wouldn't stutter or screw up any pacing.

Hearing a knock at the door, Thog got up and unlocked his deadbolt.

A tan boy (although his birth certificate would say he was a young man) stood at his doorstep.

"Come on in Gregor. You're the first one here." Thog motioned to the table he had set up in his living room, choosing not to comment on why he knocked instead of ringing the doorbell. "Want something to drink while we wait?"

"Water please." was Gregor's somewhat timid answer.

Thog gave Gregor a hard pat on the back. "Don't be so formal. You don't drink, I get that. One Water coming up."

Gregor recoiled at the sudden touch, but relaxed immediately. "Oh thank God. I didn't want to come off as rude."

Thog grinned as he got a bottle of water out of his fridge and tossed it to Gregor. "Don't worry about it. You're my guest and whatnot."

Gregor twisted off the plastic cap and took a swig. "Ahhh, good stuff."

Thog looked at him with an odd expression for a second before shrugging it off. "Anyway, yeah, uhmm. Sit wherever I guess." He gestured back to the table and couch next to it. "Couch's a piece of shit so don't worry about sitting down gingerly "

While he was getting himself a beer, Gregor sat on the couch and continued to drink his water.

"Ashe, that one I was texting at the coffee bar last week, told me she was on her way a few minutes ago so she'll be here fairly soon." Thog informed Gregor as he flopped down on to the old sofa.

"What about Markus? He say whether or not he was in his way?" Gregor was a very punctual person, making sure he would always arrive at least a few minutes early to anything he had planned, ten in this case. The session having been scheduled for eight minutes from the current time and him having been the first to show up bugged him.

"He called ahead and said he'd be here a few minutes late. Something about a weird old man bugging him caused him to miss his bus." Thog answered while stretching, also annoyed at the inconvenience.

Gregor pondered the ideas this caused to come to mind before saying, "I hope that doesn't become a problem. Markus seems like a nice guy." 

Thog took another swig, then shook his head replying, "Nah, he'll be fine. He might seem weak, but he's the type of guy to have a secret black belt and not tell anyone about it."

Gregor nodded knowingly. 

The doorbell chimed.

Getting back up, Thog opened the door to his bleached-white haired friend.

"Yo, I heard there was a party!" Ashe exclaimed, giving Thog a quick hug. 

"You know me. Alma de la fiesta." was Thog's sarcastic dismissal of her boundless energy. "You know where the fridge is. The snacks are off-limits until we start."

Gregor slowly took his hand out of the large bowl of trail mix, taking a mix of nuts and berries with it.

Pretending he didn't see that, Thog decided to make sure they both knew when they would be entering.

"Okay, Gregor. You are going to be in jail, right?"

"Yes. I will be sitting in a cell, falsely accused."

"Alright. Ashe you're in the you-know-what, right?"

Finishing her slow sip of refrigerated beer, Ashe nodded.

"Good. Then everything is ready for when Markus gets here."

At the mention of his name, a knock and doorbell ring simultaneously got Thog's attention.

Thog checked his watch. Five past 6:00. True to his word, Markus was now officially, fashionably, late.

Thog opened the door where Markus was grinning widely, and, to Thog's surprise, an old man.

With an exasperated sigh Thog asked, "Markus, what the hell? Like, seriously. What the fuck?"

Markus simply shrugged, his arm wrapped around the one beside him, and said with a wide smile, "This is Old Man Inis. He says it's Irish for 'island'."

The elderly man stepped up with an equally impressive smile on his face. "Well hey there! You must be Thog. Markus told me so much about you!"

Thog glared at Markus. "Next time you bring uninvited guests I'm leaving you on the doorstep."

Markus nodded somberly, walking in with the old man at his side.

Inis looked around the room and locked eyes with Ashe, "Oh hey there Aesling! Care for the Old Inis special?"

Ashe covered the vaguely shocked and embarrassed expression she wore with her hands. 

"You fucking know this geezer? Small world, huh, Aesling", knowing Ashe's full name as something to tease her with, Thog decided that the old guy was alright and would be allowed to stay. Turning his attention to Inis Thog asked, "What's the Old Inis special?"

Inis bared a toothy grin and responded, "Well y'see back in the 40's during the Second World War. We were stationed in Germany for..." Inis trailed off, still explaining, but at an extremely low whisper.

"Man, Ashe you know some weird fucking people." was Thog's blunt assessment of him.

Gregor, somewhat impatiently, cleared his throat, "That's everyone. I'm going to sit at the table now."

Thog nodded and everyone sat at the seat put out for them, aside from Inis (for he had no chair), and Thog, who went to grab one for Inis.

After rummaging around for a bit Thog came back with another chair and placed it beside his spot as GM and Markus's chair. 

After thinking for a moment after everyone sat down Thog looked at the oldest among them, "Hey, uh, Inis. There's going to be a point they're in a bar. Do you want to play the innkeeper? Just so you aren't left out?" 

Without a moment's hesitation Inis gave his cheerful "Sounds like a role I could play well. Gladly."

"Well alright then."

Thog cleared his throat.

"We live in a world carved by adventure, crafted by heroes and sages whose great deeds have defined generations." Thog began, as practiced.

"You come now to the Free Isles because you, too, share the spark of courage, the belief that this world must be defended — that mysteries must not remain unsolved." 

Everyone at the table stared, enraptured by Thog's web being spun.

"This is the beginning of your chapter in the ever-growing legend of humanity." 

Thog cleared his throat and started shuffling some papers and spoke in a somewhat gravelly voice.

"That was a uhh. A little speech by our house Narrator. If I could get a, uhh, round of applause. Gentlemen."

Everyone seated obliged in the request, giving a few quick claps of their hands.

"Thank you. Thank you."

Thog took a sip of his beer.

"Well, welcome to Meadeshire, that's just a small taste of what we've got in store for ya."

[ballastmcgee]

The Team is Formed

Sipping his black coffee( he couldn't stand all the frappucino crap, whereas Markus was already on his second) Thog was busy texting one of his very few friends.

Getting an immediate reply of, "U got 🔥? Why?!? U were great!!!" Thog smirked.

Ashe's constant support of his poems were a constant he lived for. Having someone tell him he was good and mean it was really validating. 

Composing his response, he decided to make it plain and simple,"Yeah, it sucks. They gave my position to some anonymous blowhard." 

"Well I'm going to send an email." Ashe's matter-of-fact tone coming across very plainly.

Again, a small, satisfied, smile appeared on Thog's lips. 

Taking a large gulp and badly burning his tongue Thog decided to broach the reason why he'd messaged her. 

"You ever played a tabletop RPG b4?"

"Yeah, a couple a times. Why? u want to play? Nvr pegged u 4 the type."

"I met this guy at improv." Thog turned to face Markus and took a picture and then sent it. "Kinda weird but he sold me on the idea. I'm gonna host u wanna join?"

"Yeah, sure. Just say whether or not we'll be making characters in advance or at the table."

Thog let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure whether or not she'd agree and none of his other friends would agree to join something like this. "Created in advance, it would help if you told me what type of person you'll have as soon as possible."

After about a minute of typing her response came. "She'll have some weird powers but for the most part she's a healer and does weird empowerment stuff. I'll text you l8r when I figure it all out."

"K. Thanks. I'll do my best to make sure it ain't trash."

Thog put down his phone and looked back at Markus.

"She go for it?" Markus asked after finishing his drink.

"Yeah, now all we need is someone to play the character that can actually kill monsters." Thog stared into his cup, watching the steam rise.

The barrista cleared his throat. "Uhm. Not to sound too nosy but I'd love to do that."

Thog raised an eyebrow but got up and stood at the counter. "Alright. You have an idea of how your character is going to be?"

With an eager grin the young man started an in-depth explanation. "He's a professional monster-hunter and his alignment is Lawful Good. He believes in doing the right thing no matter what."

Thog gave the coffee-brewer a once-over and extended his hand. "Welcome to the group. Here's my number. Text me his backstory when you get off your shift... What was your name?"

"My name is Gregor Hartway. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice meeting you too." he turned around to look at Markus, "I'm outta here Markus, see you next Saturday."

"I'm looking forward to it." the snazzily dressed young man called back as his new friend left the shop.

Previous Chapter

[ballastmcgee]

The Party's First Member

The instructor looked at the overfilled room. For how little it had been advertised he was pleasantly surprised to have such a great turnout. The problem lie in that his planned icebreaker wouldn't mesh with such a large group.

"Alright, everyone think of a number 1 to 5. When I call your number of choice come up. Find someone in the group with you and start a scene. Remember 'Yes, and' to whatever occurs."

Continuing his instructions he said, "Once you feel like you've done something good your team of two is allowed to go. This way you can get a feel for the person you'll be working with at these meetings."

In patches the large mass became five smaller sections, which then shrunk into duos.

A handsome blonde young man was approached by multiple people hoping to get to know him a bit...better, all to be turned down. He saw no spark in them.

Markus kept going through the rest of the fours looking for anyone with a decent creative capacity. 

No, nope, close but not relaxed enough. Everyone he inspected didn't matching his standards. Either they slouched a bit, dressed too well, or were just to eager to match Markus's style. 

Thog, on the other hand, was being avoided like the plague. Coming here pissed off probably wasn't the best idea. Even when nothing was wrong people had a hard time approaching him. So one ready to throw down at the drop of a hat? Yeah, he was having difficulty finding a partner.

After getting avoided yet again, he started to head for the door, quitting while he still had an ounce of dignity.

Then he was nearly tackled by the one getting all the offers.

"W-wait."Markus said between gasps for breath. "Let's be partners."

Thog stared at him. While entertaining this guy wasn't on the top of his list of things he'd enjoy, he was giving Thog a shot where nobody else was.

"You're, whew I did not expect to be running give me a sec." Markus held his hand up while he took slow, deep inhales and exhales. 

"I'm what?" Thog prompted through gritted teeth.

"You're perfect." He said standing straight up. "Dressed semi-casual, like me, you obviously like the Arts or you wouldn't be here, and the aura you're projecting! You must have a really deep and brash personality to go with all that angst."

Thog's brow twitched. 

"Let's just set the goddamn scene." he resigned.

Markus pumped his fist in the air, "Alright, I'm a Doctor and you shall be....?"

"...A loved one of the patient. The place is a hospital."

"A hospital...On The Moon!" Markus lowered his face and took on a somber look.

"I don't know how to tell you this but I'm afraid the operation. Well, it didn't fail but..." He trailed off to let Thog interject.

"W-what's wrong? I-is my son alright?"Thog asked in-character, extremely concerned. "Let me see him! Take me to my little boy right now!" he demanded furiously.

Markus raised his hands in defense. "Sir, your kid's fine, it's just that he's been up here in Space so long that his bones are much too brittle. He'll never be able to walk on Earth again."

Thog looked devastated under the weight of the "news". If someone had never met him and heard his son would become a cripple and only had his reaction to gauge it, they'd be sending their condolences.

Thog fell to his knees, "My son won't be able to walk ever again."

Markus stepped in with a look of regret, "Sir, I assure you his legs work. If you were to stay in a location with artificial gravity he'd be fine. Just not Earth or any system close to its strength."

On command, tears began to stream down Thog's face and we're accompanied by convincing sobs.

Markus was thrilled with how great Thog was and that he'd been able to single him out. 

"That was great. My name's Markus." He said reaching his hand out as Thog got back up.

"Thog." he replied, accepting the shake with a firm grip.

Markus winced a little but endured it. "Well Thog, I, for one, believe that our scene was great." he beamed. "And according to the rules that means we've done all we need to."

"Well that was a complete waste of time. That only took five fucking minutes."Thog's natural sneer came back. "This was supposed to be half an hour."

"Well when you have someone that can cry on command and a natural liar the deck is stacked in your favor." Markus responded. "Speaking of. You did great! How long have you been acting?"

Thog mulled it over. "Lying is closer to what I do as well. And for quite some time I guess."

"Well I would love to play a tabletop with you sometime. You seem like you'd be pretty good at it."

Thog frowned. "Isn't that nerd shit? Dungeons and Dragons and whatnot?"

Markus looked extremely offended. "Tabletop Roleplaying games are storytelling adventures, not 'Nerd Shit'.

At storytelling, Thog's eyes lit up. "So I could use them as a creative outlet is what you're saying?"

Markus shrugged, "Well yeah, that's what they're for when it comes down to it." 

Not even listening anymore, Thog was already heading to the door. "Let's discuss while we go get some coffee."

End of Chapter Two.

Chapter One

[ballastmcgee]

The AU Begins.

@averymerrymorning gave me the idea of how the trilogy acted in GM'ing Intent, which led to the idea of writing out how the group came about.

The journalism major looked up from the article about some recent scientific discovery some student had made she was writing. A young man with greased jet black hair looked down at her with a smile and held a small folder of completed poems.

She frowned.

"Oh. Thog. I knew there was something I was forgetting to do." she looked around the cluttered space given to her as an "office". For someone that wrote so much, she was having a surprising amount of difficulty trying to find the right words.

Seeing her negative reaction to what was usually a weekly open arms deal, Thog's expression soured. "Don't spare me. Just say whatever it is." If there was bad news to be heard he might as well get it over with.

Eilen sighed. "You're being replaced. There's this anonymous writer that's dropping by short stories that are amazing. Sorry."

Thog just stared at her unblinkingly. He'd been replaced. Just like that. He'd contributed to school paper for three months, and this was the thanks he got.

Drawing a deep breath Thog responded, "Fucking whatever, man. Your loss."

He hoped that sounded good enough. If he made it seem that his work was better than it was maybe he'd get a bit more run-time.

"I just want you to know I had nothing to do with it." Eilen looked up at him one last time before going back to her computer to continue typing, "The decision was purely the Editor's."

Thog deflated. 

He left the office dejected and cursing this mystery writer. 

Well since that was a wash he might as well head on to the improv class he had. Nothing else he had planned.

End of Chapter One

Chapter Two is here.

[ballastmcgee]

In case anyone wanted to know about GM'ing Intent designs here's a Convo me and @averymerrymorning had a few days ago. And when I say Thog looks the same I mean he literally dresses the same as in-canon because of how Modern non-Thug Alarani clothing is.

[ballastmcgee]

For the gming intent au, I'm guessing Colvin is either a huge jjba fan, or has never even heard of jojo and just accidentally made the perfect spoof character

Now see. I personally have a lot on my plate and thusly have never watched JJBA but as an internet denizen I’ve learned some from Osmosis. I feel like that probably would be one of this Colvin’s favorite shows, yes.

[ballastmcgee]

There we go. Additions and deductions will be made as necessary.

Feel free to use for fics, art, I don't care.