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 Post subject: Once Upon A Time I....WTF....
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 2:23 am 

Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:30 pm
Posts: 194
Okay, I've got to ask... WTF is up with 'Once Upon A Time In Metra'?! That module...the descriptions within...are just...messed up. I'll be honest, I was disturbed by a lot of the box text and I wasn't the only one at my table. Aren't we going for PG-13, at most? This one was at least an R rating...


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 Post subject: Re: Once Upon A Time I....WTF....
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:36 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:06 am
Posts: 2109
Location: Portland OR
I liked the mod Once Upon A Time in Metra ... I played the mod with adult friends and a couple of us were veterans of the campaign and could explain to the others that visiting them would be a cross between the Borgia's and Dracula's castle. So I not only didn't blink at a lot of the mature themed horror, I would have been disappointed if elements of it hadn't been there.

If i did have a criticism of the mod it would be that it expects the PCs to work for the val'Baucisz. For many League PCs that could be a deal breaker. Once hired the PCs are then expected to do the bidding of the new Satrap...why they would do his bidding when he isn't paying the bills is a possible plot point of contention. Or not ... A lot of that also comes in on how the judge runs the mod. Our table didn't have these problems, Tukufu was perfectly happy to play dumb in exchange to possibly poke around in the val Baucisz secrets ... And the mod didn't disappoint there either.

On the other hand your point is well taken. This is not the module I would choose to showcase the campaign to new people who are first learning about the campaign. If I were judging this mod with younger kids at the table then I would definitely soft peddle some of the elements in the mod. Noticeably the dinner scene and the two slaves in the basement. Notes on how the author wanted these elements to be handled with a younger crowd might have been useful.

I think the content of the mod may push the envelope but ultimately stays in good taste. Perhaps a note in the blurb could/should have noted that it touches upon mature themes?

_________________
Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage
. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the Phoenix
Formerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen


Last edited by val Holryn on Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Once Upon A Time I....WTF....
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 5:31 am 

Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:30 pm
Posts: 194
Let me put out there that I'm not generally offended or bothered all that much by graphic things - I play Cards Against Humanity and adore the wrongness of that game - but the level of mature subject matter has been inching higher and higher over the years. I don't really have a problem with it, but Arcanis has always been a game accessible to the masses, including kids. That's hard to do if the game has to be listed as MA-17 - or there about.

Players get in on the act, too. There's one player that pushes the 'Larissian hedonist' far beyond the boundaries and I won't sit at a table with him any longer.

We need to grow the campaign and if we can't include younger players for fear of the text in the mod or player behavior, that's a problem.


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 Post subject: Re: Once Upon A Time I....WTF....
PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 9:18 am 

Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:03 pm
Posts: 179
Location: Mahwah, NJ
val Holryn wrote:
I liked the mod Once Upon A Time in Metra ... I played the mod with adult friends and a couple of us were veterans of the campaign and could you explain to the others that visiting them would be a cross between the Borgia's and Dracula's castle. So I not only didn't blink at a lot of the mature themed horror, I would have been disappointed if elements of it hadn't been there.

If i did have a criticism of the mod it would be that it expects the PCs to work for the val'Baucisz. For many League PCs that could be a deal breaker. Once hired the PCs are then expected to do the bidding of the new Satrap...why they would do his bidding when he isn't paying the bills is another possible plot point of contention. Or not ... A lot of that also comes in on how the judge runs the mod.


Hi Eric,

I am glad you enjoyed the mod. I realized when writing this scenario that having the PCs working for the val'Baucisz family would be a hard pill to swallow which was one of the reasons why I had a third party NPC (a prominent League dignitary, at that) in the Introduction advising the PCs to cast their personal feelings aside and see the 'greater picture' . As far as the portion in which the PCs are expected to work for the Satrap, I had written the dinner scene (as open ended as it was) with the purpose of setting the tone on how horrible the val'Baucisz are. I followed it up with the encounter with the Satrap, portraying him as a sympathetic, vulnerable NPC, a veritable sheep in a den of wolves. The bills were still being paid by the val'Baucisz with very little change in job function.

As for the scene in the basement, I wrote it to elicit a particular response/emotion in the players/heroes. I leave it to the wisdom of the Chronicler to tone it down depending on the makeup of the table. If one leaves this event with a newfound revulsion of this particular val'Baucisz NPC or the clan entirely, then I have achieved my personal goal as the author.

_________________
Joe Cirillo
Legends of Arcanis Assistant Campaign Director


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