Oh yes, I was there too (GM Q&A)

[The sweeping monk]

Ask away.

[Kitsuki Ketsudan]

First, thank you, thank you, thank you for running this game and testing out new ideas--and for putting up with me amid it!

Second, what inspired using this particular plot? That is, why a "I should probably get me some students" story?

[The sweeping monk]

Second, what inspired using this particular plot? That is, why a "I should probably get me some students" story?

Having the game takes place in a remote monastery was a simple way for me to keep it casual: A neutral ground, where allegiances didn't really matter, where the PCs would be relatively shielded from the torments of the world whatever their background was, and wouldn't have to walk on eggshells to not anger a high status person.

Sensei Wu is actually a random prize card from the CCG. You know, these cards winners were asked to name, and for which they usually say the first thing that went through their mind at the time (a thing for which I don't blame them, especially with the state of the story in Celestial/Emperor). The character in question only has a a few not very interesting lines about him on the wiki, but the simplicity of the name, and its potential for puns (Wu/you), stuck with me.

Bō are ones of the weapons with the least Deadliness in 5th ed, and, while I had no idea what the rest of the game would be about, I thought having a pretext for fights to be done using a bō rather than swords would be a good idea (far less chances of losing a body part).

And because the brain works in strange ways, the neurons containing these random bits of trivia connected with each other, and Wu, monk and sensei of bōjutsu, happened.

[Soshi Naoko]

Thanks for running and pushing at the job of squishing 5e into PbP effectively. I've enjoyed interacting with the game and the NPCs. Thanks for creepy sand skull. XD

Did the background plots operate more or less as expected?

Plans for future games?

[The sweeping monk]

Did the background plots operate more or less as expected?

There was only two active plots really:
Hiro and Haruhi
Wu's and not Wu's shenanigans

The rest was more thought as background elements to make the place feels more alive, and possibly as hooks the players could grab to develop their characters more easily. Mixed success in that regard likely because, like a lot of things this game, they were overthought, too complex and not malleable enough to adapt to the person facing them.

The fact most information about plots were distilled through the Tidbits, that the Tidbits were too random, and a weird dosage of intended and accidental misdirection, also made things a little weird to be honest. Hiro was an open book (I swear) while Haruhi remained confusion incarnated, and Wu mixed both aspects at once.

There were also a few plotholes I had previously missed that were emergency fixed during the game proper, but not without causing some ripples.

I'll drop the biographies of all NPCs by tomorrow and then everyone will then be able to judge how far from the coast the ships have sailed.

Note that I actually appreciate things going off rails when it's at the PCs' advantage (I've actually stolen a few good ideas from IC theories and integrated them in the endgame). However, I felt like the shadowy plot was too often a web from which the players had a hard time escaping.

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Plans for future games?

Ideas are never the issue. Concepts for small games going through my head at the moment:

Safari

The Emperor has heard of the strange animals living beyond the edge of the Empire, and now the clans are competing to capture the most extraordinary beast for his zoo. Action set in an Unicorn outpost far to the west.

First phase of gameplay would be information gathering, either through direct exploration or by discussing with the local guides and travelers. Semi-cooperative, as the preys would be unlocked depending on collective result, but the "best" information gatherers would get first pick about which one to pursue in the next phase.

Second phase would be also semi-cooperative, as the players organize into groups, each focused on a different prey, and about the delicate exercise of capturing alive wild animals.

Since the main gameplay is already information-based, opportunities would be used to be small advantages in subsequent events instead.

Path of Waves character options would be allowed.

Before the wall

In a time period before the wall is completed, a Shadowlands horde manages to force its way north. All samurai of goodwill nearby gather to stop it. The PCs are in charge of the protection of a small village in the zone that horde has spread into.

Fully cooperative gameplay, mostly apropos logistics (build defenses, train ashigaru, procure weapons, etc.) with of course a bit of fighting here and there. Opportunities would be a secondary scoring mechanism whose effect will vary from event to event (example: in an event about foraging for jade, successes would determine the quantity of jade, and opportunities grant semi-random potentially useful items).

Yes, I count this as chill, as monsters aren't nearly scary as, let's say, Winter Court courtiers, and wounds/death are less of an issue in a short game.

The light of dawn

A pilgrimage turns wrong after a statue of Amaterasu is accidentally damaged. The PCs find themselves trapped in a region cursed with eternal night until the slight is pardoned.

Cooperative. Artistic and spiritual events mostly, with some light investigation (thieves taking full opportunity of the obscurity) and intrigue (how the statue got damaged and co).

Opportunities for Tidbits as in this game. In general, recycling the elements that were underused this game.

Core + Celestial Realms

Etc.

However, I'm not committing to anything before taking break. And, usually, when I'm say I'm taking a break, at least six months pass before I give a single thought to the thing I put aside.

[Soshi Naoko]

All neat ideas if/when they show up.

It's been a while since there was a good co-op game. With 5e's Assistance rules, that seems like interesting territory to explore at some point.

[Kaito Maya]

I greatly enjoyed the small game format and thank you for having run it for us.

[Kakita Sumire]

Thank you for creating this game - small game formats are (usually) ideal for me because I can get caught up in RL and lose days in big games, so I thought this would be perfect (how wrong I was....RL still got me )