Tuesday, April 17, 2012

L is for Legend of the Five Rings

I took huge strides forward as a Gamemaster running my L5R game.  I didn't call it an Open Table, but that's what it was.  Anyone and everyone was welcome every other week for over a year.  I never knew if I'd be running 6 players or 18, on any given session.  And I loved it.  It pushed me, it made me tell better stories, and it reminds me what my capabilities are as a GM, 14 years later.

Players sacrificed themselves nobly for Honor and Clan.  A Shugenja of the Void, miscast a spell and slaughtered his comrades as punishment by the Kami, and he hid it to save face.    And the survivors never spoke of it or asked him about it, so he could.  My wife led the Crab to mighty victory and ignominious defeat.  Her band became legendary for it's barbarism and heroism.  The pursuit of rare, delicious pickles was the focus of a whole session and drove a Samurai to leave his Clan and seek refuge as a simple monk.  A great Hero died in mere moments from a cruel, careless shot from a bandit's bow.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way"
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

I'm thankful to everyone who spent even a moment at my table, teaching me how to be a better Gamemaster.  Inspiring me to entertain them and teaching me new ways to tell them a story.  Every game I've run since, that I've planned and plotted, lives in this game's shadow.

Sayonara Rokugan.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I consider this one of my peak gaming experiences. I miss it.

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