Storyline: The Cat and the Hen

We’re finally gonna play Storyline after about eight months… Life can be difficult sometimes.

Using the rules I discussed earlier, I will test out how the rules apply. Any tweaks will go into a later game I will play for Halloween.

The first thing I notice is that there’s two Stories to play out, as indicated by the unique backs and the numbers that dictate a set progress. I also have limited table space, so this will be a bit awkward. I will be using CRGE-Kai for these games.

Once upon a time, there was a [CAT] who lived in a [VILLAGE]. Unfortunately, our hero had a problem. He was very [HUNGRY]. Our hero wanted to [ESCAPE] the problem. So our hero took his favorite [MUSKET] and set off on a journey.

So, it seems we have a basic Puss in Boo- Puss with a Gun style scenario here. The cat is starving and he believes that he’s better off going outside.

[Q: Is the village undergoing a famine? Purpose: To Knowledge. A: 28]

No, it’s just basically that he doesn’t get a lot of food. Okay, so he begins the journey by leaving the village, discarding the card in the process, and instead goes to… the desert. Welp, this is gonna end badly.

[Q: Does the cat find something yummy to eat? Purpose: To Endings. A: 99, Surge bringing it up to 101.]

Yes, and, unexpectedly: [3, To Conflict] (let’s see if a random event will spice this twist up).

• Event Focus: 64, PC Negative.
• Event Meaning: 91 & 26, Pursue the physical

Our cat friend ends up getting trapped by bandits, ending the scene with turmoil and chaos going up by one.

[Scene Roll: 3]

[Incident Roll: 12]

Yep, this is most definitely an obstacle.

• Obstacle Type: 9, a PC moves closer to his goal. This is kinda accurate because the cat found food which I can assume belongs to these bandits.
• Trihex: 463, 144, & 326, Relaxing boundary fine

Hmmm… So, I think these bandits aren’t that bad of people. In fact, let’s draw an NPC to see who runs these guys.

A hen… A hen runs these guys. A sick hen. He gets a 2, so he’s a reoccurring character. We can assume that these animals can talk to each other, so the hen will come to speak.

• NPC Mood: 71, neutral
• NPC Bearing: 7 & 3, Secrets
• NPC Focus: 28, Skills.

This is where I see Act 1 begin:

Our hero soon met a curious [HEN] in a far off [DESERT] who sent our hero on a quest to [CLEAN] a [MIRROR]. It seemed a simple task, but a [MAGICAL FAIRY] was standing in the way.

The hen tells him about how his skills in marksmanship might help them finally get rid of the Fairy. The cat agrees, but only if he gets a cut of the food. The hen accepts and they prepare for the raid. Chaos goes down, Turmoil goes up.

[Scene Roll: 8]

No scene interrupt. So, Cat, Hen, and the bandits roll up on the Fairy’s domain, a hut, where the goal is pretty obvious. Hen commands his troops to raid the hut.

[Q: Does the Fairy have magical defenses? Purpose: To Conflict. A: 91, Yes, and]

She has golems that decimate the bandits with ease. Cat and Hen take this distraction to head to the back of the hut, assuming she is busy. Now, they’ll roll stealth.

[Q: Does Cat and Hen get in okay? Purpose: To Conflict. Odds: Likely. A: 43 (the Likely made it 53) Yes. SC goes up by 1]

They manage to sneak in okay. They have a clean shot at the Fairy.

[Q: Does the Cat manage to kill the Fairy? Purpose: To Conflict. Odds: Very Likely. A: 51, with Very Likely bumping up to 66, with the Surge making it 68. Yes]

Random Event time!

• Event Focus: 72, PC Positive.
• Event Meaning: 75 & 40, Refuse Exterior Factors

With the fairy killed, the Golems break down and the duo manage to clean the mirror.

[Q: Is the mirror magical? Purpose: To Conflict. Odds: Sure Thing. A: 75, Odds making it 95, SC making it 99]

Here we go again! Yes, and unexpectedly…

• Event Focus: 12, NPC Action
• NPC Focus: FIXED, It’s the mirror.
• Event Meaning: 61 & 9, Oppress Evil

Oooh, evil as in us or evil as in the fairy?

[Roll: 2, Tying Off]

This implies that the Mirror thinks the Fairy is evil, since tying off means things need to be resolved (as in tying off loose ends), but we need to ask…

[Q: Are we the evil? Purpose: To Conflict. Odds: Impossible. A: 8, minus 25 is -17. So, no and unexpectedly, Roll: 3, to conflict?!]

So, the mirror doesn’t believe we are evil, but holds us in contempt for killing the fairy and refuses to be cleaned. We need to get someone else to clean it for us before it can grant the hen riches beyond its wildest dreams.

So, off we go to recruit a charming character, ending the scene with Chaos going up and Turmoil staying as it is.

[Scene Roll: 1.]

[Incident Check: 10]

This is a digression, so it will come later into the scene.

• Incident Type: 4. The task becomes laborious.
• Trihex: 652, 362, & 422, welcoming kick late

So, I guess the Cat and Hen hold tryouts and the guy who they accept is a wise crow, however, a villager kicks the cat as they leave. Ouch.

[Q: Does the kick injure him? Purpose: To Endings. A: 11]

No, and…

• Event Focus: 85,NPC Negative
• NPC Focus: FIXED, it’s the villager.
• Event Meaning: 6 & 70, Triumph Extravagance

In fact, the cat got the last laugh by shooting off the villager’s leg… Now they have to beat it before the villagers try to lynch the gun-toating cat. Scene ends, Chaos and Turmoil go up.

[Scene Roll: 2]

Scene interrupt.

• Event Focus: 40, Move Toward A Thread
• Thread Focus: 1, escape hunger
• Event Meaning: 32 & 88, Delay Illusions

Okay, so, I think one of the major things I realized is that I end up playing to the story’s “storyline” rather than drawing them and trying to play them out. Don’t get what I mean? This is supposed to be Act 2:

During the journey, our hero(s) meet a charming (and wise) [CROW]. Together, they confront the villain (the fairy) in a [HUT]. With their cleverness and wits, the pair managed to [KILL] the villain.

It’s just that it occurred out of order.

[Q: Does the Storyline get fractured because of this? Purpose: To Endings. A: 85]

Yes, and the story ends immediately. Which, I mean, kinda is what’s happening right now. Watch:

The quest was completed, and our hero was rewarded with the Legendary [TIMID GLASS SLIPPER]. No longer unhappy after the journey, our hero had become [LAME]… Well, it makes sense if you’re walking around in glass slippers… Our hero decided to settle down with their companions in a lovely [COTTAGE] and they all lived happily ever after.

It’s kinda weird how the story manages to play out just like how the storyline’s meant to play out, but the sequence was out of order. The Fairy was killed before the Crow was recruited. Like, I consider it to be preserved, since there was no real derail like I expected. We killed the villain, we got something cool, done deal.

If the storyline is meant to be fractured, let’s negate the “cat goes lame because of the glass slippers” and instead give him his damn meal already.

Overall, this was an interesting framework and everything clicked in as I had written with the sole exception of realizing I was playing out the storyline without even looking. I’m also noticing I’m going ham on the random events. The idea to curb on them is there, but I think it’s manageable. Well, that was a fun experiment. Bon Voyage, gamers.

Advertisement