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[The Quiet Year] On the Verge
Endless_Serpents
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
We have always been on the verge of the end.
Great monuments would tell of it,
were they not so weathered by the ages.
We were on the run from the Dawn’s Men,
but now, however briefly, respite. A chance,
one quiet year with which to flourish, to learn
what it means to be a community.
Come Winter, the Second Veil with envelope the sky
and we might not survive the encounter.
This is is when the game will end.
But we don’t know about that yet.
What we know is that right now, in this moment, there is an opportunity to build something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zUwyphN0dE&list=PLysDEbJjdAUMWi8RDibJYxRGUpb6JW6Pa&index=9———
What is this?
This is a map-drawing game. You collectively explore the struggles of a community, trying to rebuild after the collapse of civilisation*. It's a game about community, difficult choices, and landscapes. When you play, you make decisions about the community, decisions that get recorded on a map that is constantly evolving. Parts of the map are literal cartography, while other parts are symbolic. Players work together to create and steer this community, but they also play devil's advocate and introduce problems and tensions into the game.
*Consider broadening your scope of what this means. It doesn’t have to be after our civilisation.
More details, snakes!
Okay, so I’ve got this deck of regular playing cards, and each suit is for a season (Heart = Spring, Diamond = Summer, Club = Autumn, Spade = Winter). Each card represents a week, and each card has two questions on it. On your turn, pick the one you want to answer and do whatever else the card implies—name a person or location, fire back a question at the group, that sort of thing. Doing this shapes this world and the people in it one week at a time. The cards will be shuffled within their respective suits.
Our year will take place over 40 or less weeks because I’m ditching some cards to speed up this game. The game will end when the King of Spades is drawn, signalling the Second Veil. Anything after that will be purely speculation as we wrap up and chat about the game.
Can I play?
You can! Plus tomorrow I’ll add something of an instruction manual to the next couple of posts. I, um, just decided to post this way too late in my day to write any more.
I'm looking for 2-5 players for this game. I’ll be the host, pulling cards, updating the map for those without the means to do so, adding extra narration, more context and otherwise helping out.
Skim this thread for an idea how it goes:
https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/244652/the-quiet-year-autumn-clubbing/p1
+3
Posts
The Quiet Year can be found readily online, and is only five bucks from the authors site. That said, here’s what you need to know.
Before we start:
Sketching Terrain
Before the game begins, we must establish some facts about the community and what its surroundings are like. We begin with a brief discussion. This can be as simple as someone saying, "How about a community on a busted oil-rig?" and everyone else nodding in agreement. At this point, each of us should introduce one detail about the local terrain. When we introduce our detail, we then sketch our contribution onto the map—or I’ll do it for everyone, I don’t expect everyone to have art apps. There is something fun about how messy a group map can get though! These sketches should be rough and simple, leaving lots of blank space for additions during play. The community itself should be fairly large on the map, perhaps occupying a third of the sheet. Unless otherwise stated, assume that our community has 60-80 members.
As an example, a group might decide to set their game in a forest. The first player introduces the detail:
"Alright, the forest is full of young, spindly trees.' The next player adds, "And it's nestled within a steep mountain range." The third player adds, "We've taken up residence in an old mining camp. The final player
says, "And the trees in this area have all been clearcut." As details are added, the players draw them on the map.
Establish Resources
Together we’ll hash out resources the community has access to; one in abundance and at least a couple as scarcities. As we play resources will fluctuate up and down as they’re used up and scrounged back from the land.
Some examples:
On your turn:
[*] I begin by presenting any map updates, and bring the project timers down by 1.
[*] I draw a card and present you with a choice - Situation A OR Situation B.
[*] Make your choice, describe what happens.
[*] Take an action. Pick one from:
[/list]
Discover Something New
One of the action types is Discover Something New.
Introduce a new situation. It might be a problem, an opportunity, or a bit of both. Draw that situation onto the map.
Whenever things seem too controlled or easy, we can use this action to introduce new issues and dilemmas. When individual characters get introduced, we’ll give them names.
Some example situations:
• There’s a dried-up well located at the edge of town.
• Mangy wolves have been slinking around the woods.
• There’s a broken-down waterwheel a mile upstream.
• Strange wailing noises come from the forest at night.
• A self-declared prophet arrives.
Hold A Discussion
Another of the action types is Hold a Discussion. You can choose to open with a question or a declaration.
Starting with you and going clockwise, everyone gets to weigh in once, sharing a single argument comprised of 1-2 sentences. If you opened with a question, you get to weigh in last. If you opened with a declaration, that’s it for you.
A discussion never results in a decision or summation process. Everyone weighs in, and then it’s over. This is how conversations work in communities: they are untidy and inconclusive affairs.
Each discussion should be tied to a situation on the map. When a discussion ends, mark the situation it is attached to with a small dot.
Some example conversations include:
• Should we retaliate against the bikers? (Or, if
leading with a declaration: We should abstain from retaliation or violence.)
• Could we use the school-bus as a sleeping area for the village children?
It’s important that we stay concise. If any of us feel like we have more to say on a topic, we can always hold another discussion about it at a later point.
Start a Project:
The final action type is Start a Project. You choose a situation and declare what the community will do to resolve it. There is no consultation about this idea - the community simply begins work.
Some example projects:
• We’re converting the mineshaft into a cold food storage.
• We’re killing those wolves.
• We’re going to sacrifice a newborn on the night of
the full moon, to appease the Windwalkers.
As a group, quickly decide how many weeks the project would reasonably take to complete (minimum 1 and maximum 6). Remember that you are a small community. It isn’t easy or quick to build a house or repair a waterwheel. Do you have the necessary tools and expertise to do this? Be generous with your assumptions, but do remember that scarcity and difficulty are the norm. If a project would reasonably take longer than six weeks to complete, it will need to be completed in stages.
Contempt
If ever you feel like you weren’t consulted or honoured in a decision-making process, you can take a piece of Contempt and place it in front of you*. This is your outlet for expressing disagreement or tension.
If someone starts a project that you don’t agree with, you don’t get to voice your objections or speak out of turn.
You are instead invited to take a piece of Contempt.
Contempt will generally remain in front of players until the end of the game. It will act as a reminder of past contentions. Its primary role is as a social signifier. In addition, you can discard it back into the centre of the table in two ways: by acting selfishly and by diffusing tensions.
If you ever want to act selfishly, to the known detriment of the community, you can discard a Contempt token to justify your behaviour. You decide whether your behaviour requires justification.
This will often trigger others taking Contempt tokens in response.
If someone else does something that you greatly support, that would mend relationships and rebuild trust, you can discard a Contempt token to demonstrate how they have diffused past tensions.
*Just make a note of it in your posts. I’ll keep track of it too.
Pacing
At the beginning of the game, we’ll only have a basic sketch of the landscape. From this humble place, a rich tapestry will emerge. How, and at what pace?
The cards of Spring will ask us a lot of questions, which will establish more about the landscape and the inner workings of our community. We should use Spring to become familiar with the mechanics and structure of the game. There won’t necessarily be a lot of tension or conflict during Spring, and this is fine.
In Summer, larger threats and greater progress will both emerge. We’ll begin to define our community through our actions, and some seeds of discontent will likely be sown.
In Autumn, danger and failure become more visible and serious. This will be the most trying season.
In Winter, the community will continue its work and preparations, and as players we will contend with the dramatic irony of knowing that the Second Veil could emerge at any moment.
If ever the map feels lacking or the community seems to have domesticated the world around it, we can introduce new dilemmas. What happens when a dam bursts? Who must go looking for the reindeers that fled into the frigid night?
And uh... Sorry the last one fizzled out
PSN: TheBrayster_92
The person who put forward the project, or the one whose turn it is?
How I’ve been running it is the one whose turn it is.
It’s faster, it may cause unexpected results, and it may generate contempt, a concept that in my limited experience doesn’t really turn up often.
That said, by the rules you can only actively work against the community if you have contempt to spend, therefore when you determine project results on your turn usually you’re going to narrate something as good, but perhaps different, than the person that put forward the project.
When you look at it that way it’s just smoother, right?
On the Verge
Alright! I reckon now is a fine time to set up our little piece of this world. Anyone else can join at this point in the game, but three is magic by me.
Question for everyone to discuss:
1. Where is the community located? What is the terrain? Keep it simple for now.
2. What are notable features of the local landscape? Try to keep this within eyesight of the community.
My suggestion is that the community is located in the mountains. Perhaps not particularly dense or steep, hospitable enough to be survivable and perhaps even comfortable, if a little lacking in other areas.
2. What are notable features of the local landscape? Try to keep this within eyesight of the community.
There is a lake, not too far from the settlement (West?), also safely nestled in the mountains.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Notable feature: An impact crater in the side of a peak, somewhere off to the east which occurred in the distant past. Whatever hit, it was large enough to shear off one of the nearby peaks on arrival. The impact also half-collapsed the peak above the crater, and we've been calling this pair of peaks the Broken Teeth for longer than anyone remembers.
Everyone!
What do we have in abundance?
What couple of things are scarcities?
This’ll be a quick discussion, but ultimately I’ll arbitrate your answers.
Water and/or Metal. Reasoning - we're in the mountains, maybe we were originally a mining settlement (or set up shop in an abandoned one). Being next to a lake naturally would provide water, it's just whether we want that resource to be something worth tracking or not as the game goes on.
Scarcity:
Food - far less tillable soil in the mountains, if any at all. Likewise, not much wildlife if there isn't much space for anything to grow.
Defenses - If the community just moved in, there may not yet have been time to set up any defenses. Or maybe the community just hasn't needed them... so far, but that's changed.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Wild goats. They're stubborn survivors, they climb scary good, and they're useful for milk and meat if we can hunt them down and wrangle them.
Scarcities:
Outside contact. We're up in the mountains, which means there's probably not another community close by overland routes.
Magic. Whatever it was, we left it behind when we came up into the mountains.
(If Magic isn't appropriate for our setting here, change it to Technology. They're basically the same thing, right?)
Water could be an interesting abundance if it has more uses than to drink. Maybe water ties back in to magic? Or the community farms, or will farm, via the lake? Plus, by setting it as something we’re monitoring, it can become a scarcity…
Provisionally, here’s the start of the map:
Couple of points:
- By defining we’re in the mountains, I think that necessarily means there’s a lowlands beyond the mountains. No details as yet.
- The map can expand beyond these borders, I just wanted to keep it tight for now.
Off to work gang, I’ll see where we’re at in 12 hours. Keep it up!
There's a deep, deep sunken desert valley, tucked in secret between mountain ranges about a day and a half's journey north of the village. The valley is an arid, desolate place, treacherous to traverse and bearing little of value...but at the deepest point of the valley lies a small, self-sustaining, beautiful oasis, considered a holy place and named for the person who died in its discovery: Cyngar's Pearl
Rocks, Minerals, Limestone: this place was definitely a mining colony of some sort at one point, and it's clear why- there's ancient tunnels to be found dotting the whole region . What isn't clear is why those who came before left...
Sunlight- you'll witness two days of sunshine, on a good week, followed by days of grey clouds and The Rains. It certainly helps in not needing water, but the mountain passes all transform or becomes impassable, certain tunnels become flooded, and after two weeks of this the mood around camp can become downright dour. The Rains mainly seem to "miss" Cyngar's Pearl, save for the occasional bog/sinking sand situation
The resources that are most important to the community rest as follows:
Ore (abundant)— Rolling metal and minerals into one here. The mountains offer up all manner of raw materials, more than enough for this little community.
Food (scarce) — With the community only just set up they aren’t prepared or learned on how to sustain it with what little the mountains have.
Defences (scarce) — They might actually be in a defendable position, eventually, but they sure don’t feel protected right now.
Magic (scarce) — I’m more interested on how you interpret this that anything I have to say.
As time goes on, items may be added to, or removed from, this list, with their scarcity or abundance changing likely more than once. But for right now, these are the biggest things the community finds themselves worrying about.
Some background details:
Dark Days — I really like mrpaku’s idea of it being a dark, rainy place with regularly flooding caves. Let’s keep that.
Isolation — I also liked Nips’ idea, but this can be kept as a vibe, since we have enough to deal with already. It might come back as a resource as we play.
With that we're ready to go. The turn order stands at:
@The Brayster
@Nips
@mrpaku
I will tag each of you on your turns, if anyone Holds a Discussion on their turn, please follow the same order and tag the next person down when you have made your statement.
From this point on, OOC collaboration and discussion will be kept to a minimum. Please bear in mind that on each players turn, they are in 100% control of the narrative at that point. Discussions need to be kept to the Hold a Discussion action, and the discussion of project duration for a new project. Remember, if you feel you aren't being heard in these cases, feel free to declare contempt. You are as much an influence over the community as anyone else, which also means you represent a part of the community that isn't being heard. If anything is unclear, @ me.
You asked a question but didn’t sign up, so I’m in limbo with you. If you’d like to play, even just occasionally, I can fit you in.
Resources:
Ore (abundant)
Food (scarce)
Defences (scarce)
Magic (scarce)
Projects:
None
Contempt:
None
Week One: Spring!
@The Brayster you draw the six of hearts! Your choice is as follows!
Are there children in your community? If there are, what is their role in the community?
OR
How old are the eldest members of your community? What special needs do they have?
Pick a choice, explain it, and take an action.
Yeah, okay.
I would like to play too.
The children of the community are assigned work detail of some variety from the moment they turn 11 years old. The community assigns them work based on their current age, size, speed and relative strength. These duties can vary - some help to look after the younger children when the adults are away to mine. Others are load bearers, carrying buckets of ore and water. The smaller, more nimble individuals are often used to squeeze into small spaces in the mines, to help prospect areas that might be worth excavating. Others still help to keep watch, keeping an eye out for potential danger to the settlement and send runners to the working adults if anything seems awry.
Action: Start a Project - Build a Perimeter Wall.
It is high time the community got around to taking its defenses a bit more seriously. It will not do to simply lock our doors if danger approaches, we need to deter the approach in the first place.
My proposed duration for this project is 4 weeks
@Nips
PSN: TheBrayster_92
I reckon we could do this in 3 weeks with some planning.
( @MrPaku and Nips to weigh in on timing before Brayster decides )
@MrPaku
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Resources:
Ore (abundant)
Food (scarce)
Defences (scarce)
Magic (scarce)
Projects:
Build a Perimeter Wall: 4 weeks
Contempt:
None
———
Week Two: Gathering Clouds
@Nips you draw the ace of hearts! Your choice is as follows!
What group has the highest status in the community?
What must people do to gain inclusion in this group?
OR
Are there distinct family units in the community?
If so, what family structures are common?
Pick a choice, explain it, and take an action.
What must people do to gain inclusion in this group?
The Wranglers, as of this moment, have the highest status in the community. These people being the ones going out onto the craggy mountainsides to herd and hunt the wild goats for food. It's a perilous task! The climate and extremely uneven terrain conspire against anyone that would prey on the goats, and so those Wranglers that have shown sufficient skill to bring back quarry to the community have proven their speed, agility, and willingness to risk their lives to provide what little food to the community that we can find.
Of course, inclusion in the group is simple: bring even a single wild goat, dead or alive, back to the camp. Again however this task is treacherous and dangerous at best, and most people that decide to try quickly realize why the Wranglers are a relatively small group among the larger community.
I'm going to Discover Something New
A Wrangler tracking a small herd to the south spotted small cave holes in the mountainside a half-day's travel from the community. The holes are no bigger than man-sized, and roughly shaped; it is hard determine if they're natural or carved from the distance the Wrangler spied them.
@mrpaku Your go!
Resources:
Ore (abundant)
Food (scarce)
Defences (scarce)
Magic (scarce)
Projects:
Build a Perimeter Wall: 3 weeks
Contempt:
None
———
Week Three: Persistent Rain
@mrpaku you draw the king of hearts! Your choice is as follows!
A young boy starts digging in the ground, and discovers something unexpected. What is it?
OR
An old man confesses to past crimes and atrocities. What has he done?
Pick a choice, explain it, and take an action.
Or maybe you say a boy finds something, which is a sort of freebie ‘discover something new’, at which point you might spin off that to making a project. Say how long it might take. Listen to everyone’s response, then finalise the time it’ll take to make.
Surprise me!
A squall falling upon the east-facing hills of the village causes a sudden, minor cave in. No one is seriously hurt, but during the events an effigy of hacked-together goat bones, dried leathers, and rodent skulls (with a roughly-made, red paint covering all) is discovered in a hidden recess, clutching a small and ancient iron dagger. The place is quickly identified as a sacrilegious Shrine to Groya, the (once-known) agricultural Goddess of Death, Destruction, Decay, and (it's adherents fiercely argue) Rebirth. A brief investigation reveals the cave to be the current habitation of Elder Havadr, pillar of the community, who immediately takes responsibility for the Shrine and surrenders himself to authorities.
Standing before the village, a bound and unrepentant Elder Havadr claims that "the Lady" has brought them all from their former circumstances to "weather the coming storms", "separate the wheat from the chaff", and "grow the people like flowers from a burgeoning Dogwood". The village murmur amongst themselves: such talk had once been straight-blasphemy, and punishable by death. Whispering voices insist that such heathen-worship has called down The Rains...summoned the "Things" which carved those strange runs which the Wranglers discovered to the south...must be punished severely, and now. Others in the crowd...quieter, perhaps, and more anxious...nod along slowly but surely to the Elder's words...
Let's Hold a Discussion!
I believe that, though our previous laws may call for Elder Havadr to be summarily executed for his worship of the false "Goddess" Groya (a controversial law then, and now), such brutal measures would only lead to tension and strife between the people in these decidedly delicate times. Groya has always (and likely always will be) been worshipped by a select and undesirable few. But, we cannot let the fatalism of her adherents infect the majority, or we will lose our Hope
Therefore, I propose we Exile Elder Havadr from the village to set a firm (but progressive) example, and continue our No-Tolerance policy for the religion of the Fell-Goddess Groya
The Elder, and his beliefs, are dangerous. The fact that we are in this situation at all is likely a result of the gods being displeased with us, and seeing this, it is easy to see why.
The fate of the elder may be further discussed, be it execution or imprisonment, but he must not be allowed loose to spread his evil elsewhere.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
In hiding this worship Havadr has betrayed the community. At best he deserves exile, if not a punishment more severe.
We have lost our magic and been thrown from our home, and for what?
The old traditions made us strong.
The old laws only protected that which is now already dead.
And if ever there was a time for rebirth, it is now.
Do not let the old laws further scatter us.
Resources:
Ore (abundant)
Food (scarce)
Defences (scarce)
Magic (scarce)
Projects:
Build a Perimeter Wall: 2 weeks
Contempt:
None
———
The Imprisonment of Havadr
Given that this decision did not involve a project I think we can agree his prison is nothing more than a shallow cave with some shoddy bars put in place. He needs to be fed and generally cared for, so he must have contact with several people throughout the week. With food and magic still scarce I think Havadr, willingly or not, is going to cause problems down the line.
———
Week Four: Thunder and Lightning
@discrider you draw the eight of hearts! Your choice is as follows!
An old piece of arcana is discovered, broken but perhaps repairable. What is it? What would it be useful for?
OR
An old piece of arcana is discovered, cursed and dangerous. How does the community destroy it? At what cost?
Pick a choice, explain it, and take an action.
They had been chasing the goats in and out of the whispering holes for a good half day, until chasing one over the crest of a hill to the north-east.
When they came to the top, they found a flat stone table. Waist high. Unsupported. Rounded and perfectly smooth.
Aside that, the ground cover had given way to rock in a perfect circle around the table, a good two Wranglers in radius.
And the goat's tracks had gone around too...
The story moves swiftly through the small community, but the more interesting response came from Havadr, when he received his daily ration.
"Lodestone,", he grunts, in between bites.
He indicates upwards, waggling his fingers, "Probably fixes the weather"
Start a project
We can't hope to sustain ourselves on these barren mountains without securing our food supply.
Frankly, we should be penning the goats, but to the objection of the Wranglers, I propose Fishing Notoofta Lake.
We'll need to find string for nets and create shallower pools to find fish in.
I'm thinking it will take five weeks minimum.
@Nips
@mrpaku
@The Brayster
PSN: TheBrayster_92