I went to this last night and I had a really awesome time. This was my second-ever foray into Old World of Darkness, so I had extremely little-to-none knowledge of the setting, and even less of the system. We got given character sheets that found the right balance between being decently detailed but not overwhelmingly long, there was a setting handout that summed up the basics, and all of it in handy booklet form for easy reference during the game. The characters for the non-regular players of the campaign were all well set up so that we had no in character knowledge of the situation in Auckland, which was great as it made me feel confident I was able to come in without needing knowledge of the regular campaign (I was from Transylvania, what would I know about Auckland?) There was a very simple system that required no White Wolf knowledge whatsoever that involved Persuasion, Investigation and Resistance. There were a couple of other mechanics, particularly to do with the election of the Archbishop, but it was all pretty smooth flowing and non-immersion breaking.
The venue was very nice, and I was really happy there was water available, these talky games tend to dehydrate you, and because it was quite a small room, it felt packed with people. There was a great vibe the whole game that everything was moving fast, there was a lot of intense politicking, and a feeling that things were moving and shifting around you constantly. I wasn’t bored at all which is unusual given the type of game (in most theatreforms and White Wolf games there tends to be a point in the night where I either run out of things to do or I am at a complete loss as to how to proceed), I had plenty of goals to work on, plenty of in character relationships that enriched these goals (I was trying to get away from my sire…but I was terrfied of him because he was a terrifying elder! Delightful angst that conflicted with my goals!) and more importantly, I had some leverage with which to actually achieve these goals. That last one is usually a difficult thing to nail in theatreforms. It’s all well and good to tell people “You’re trying to achieve X” but giving people things that other characters actually want with which to accomplish X is normally somewhat neglected.
And of course, a lovely crowd of people. I got to roleplay with people I always enjoy roleplaying with, people I haven’t roleplayed with in ages, and people I’ve never roleplayed with before who turned out to be awesome.
Despite being somewhat apprehensive about being talked into another World of Darkness set game, I thought King’s Gambit was a really excellent theatreform that drew on the best aspects and flavours of the World of Darkness setting without overwhelming its players.
Thanks, Chris and Kirsten!
