Elena Turduck and the Ghosts of Odysseus

Had the 5th session of the Gaslamp Romance game yesterday and the general consensus was that the new rules worked well. Less hunting around on the character sheet (but still some - I think Synergies and Specializations are necessary but they do mean a little more hunting), much cleaner damage resolution, and the use of the poker chips meant I had a physical drama point reminder in front of me. No real 'inventing' scenes yet so jury's still out on the mini-game mechanics, but everything else is going in the right direction.

Rachel commented that this session she felt much more comfortable with Nadia - it was clearer to her what her character was meant to 'do'. I don't know if the new mechanics and sheet had anything to do with that, but I think it had a little. Since the PCs are currently on the submarine of a roguish smuggler and his furry first mate Nadia quickly manipulated the captain into seducing her; this meant that he wouldn't be aiming his charms at naive and politically important Elena or being cut to ribbons for interrupting Bella the mad french chef. It also let her plant a listening device in his room, reorganize the ships communication tubes so he can't spy on her and plant a cache of her gear underneath his bed for emergencies. Later in the game when she lacked a rifle she let one of Anton's soldiers take a shot at the enemy and then grabbed his rife and took over as a much better shot.

I think the other players felt comfortable with it as well - Asha finally got to show off some of Bella's knife skills, and she was certainly the one driving the Foglio-iztion of the episode with our heroes in diaphanous robes and taking baths in streams and whatnot. It ain't Girl Genius without a little cheesecake. The plot was a mash up Most Dangerous Game, Book XI of the Odyssey and Forbidden Planet that came together nicely. I'll give more details when I have time, but the look on Diane's face when she figured out what was going on was wonderful.