Actual Play – Project Breather @ Fright Night ‘08
Tonight was Wellington’s Horror Con, Fright Night. I ran a Hot War game I like to call Project Breather.
At it’s heart Project Breather is about the horror that comes from with in people, and that the monsters are not just the ones with the crazy powers and disfigurment. The horror from within was the theme I tried to promote through out the game, by placing the characters in situations where they could let their darkest side loose.
There are 5 characters in Project breather, and different to the book I had them as members of an agency called the Office of Internal Affairs rather than members of the Special Situations Group. The team is:
Captain Brad Harris – An American Air Force pilot
Lieutenant Julian Stevens – Royal Naval Intelligence
Samantha Askew – A former journelist
Sargent Jock Smith – A London policeman
Herbert Jenkins – A disgraced politician
These 5 were asked to go into SSG, and basically dig up dirt on their operation under the guise of an audit. All things considered it doesn’t take long and the investigation begins. In the course of the investigation the team find out that certain Doctor has suspected of a rather horrible crime and that the SSG are trying to cover it up. Obviously they do everything in their power to uncover what actually happened.
Firstly in preparation for this event I ran through this game twice. And I don’t think these run throughs were all that great. They didn’t suck, but they were missing something. However they were valuable experiences as they helped me farm ideas and scenes that happened in the actual game. In the game tonight all (even though it ran a little long) those little titbits I’d picked up along the way meshed really well. I had a real sense of the London portrayed in Hot War as well as a greater understanding of what had to happen.
I can’t speak for the players, but I think that the pace of the game went really well. I was letting little bits of information slip through out the game that lead to a growing sense of understanding and dread as they realised what was happening. But at the same time there were enough unknowns that they still had “Oh fuck” moments at the end. It’s a real shame that we got cut off as I think I might have been able to take out a couple of them given another 1/2 hour.
I also used the players suggestions and questions to shape the adventure around them. I had written the backstory of what had lead to this situation, however I hadn’t actually written the story of how the situation is resolved. In a game like Hot War with so much collaboration written into the game mechanics I think this is crucial for running succesfully.
I had a blast running this game and hope the players enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope to have it uploaded for others to use at some point soon.
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