Mortal Coil SF

(Friday, 8-Midnight)

For this game, the Players and GM collaborate on a Theme Document, describing the setting, how much magic there will be, and how it works. To actually set a fact, however, someone has to pay a magic token. If it's the player, the GM describes the price or limitation. If it's the GM, the players describe the price or limitation. It also costs a token to activate a magical power for a session. Tokens spent to activate a power come back in the following session; tokens spent to create a fact are gone forever.

I bought Mortal Coil at Origins last year, and I wanted to see it in action. Note: The book has very explicit art, both in terms of violence and nudity. (I consider this not offensive, but gratuitous, rather like the art in one of White Wolf's old Vampire supplements. Your mileage may vary.) My conclusion is that I enjoyed playing it, and I really like the process of creating a Theme Document. There are enough fiddly bits that I probably shouldn't gm it.

One of the players, Storn, pushed for a science fiction setting, explaining that he'd already done Unknown Armies and the Tim Powers thing. He wanted to see how far the system could be pushed. I was a bit skeptical, but I didn't want to block the idea either. So, I asked how we were defining science fiction, as there were some types I was fine with, and some I really didn't want to deal with.

Somewhere in there, someone noted that the Stereotypical Indie Quote is "I failed! That's so awesome!" And my notes say "Forbidden City Cop", which I think was a movie recommendation.

We decided on a Serious High Magic setting. The characters would be a team, perhaps working for a corporation, but on the frontier. Magic was common, sort of like computer programs, but programmed magic was never as good as the raw stuff. There were AIs, but AIs couldn't create new magic. The Enemy was the Aliens and those who collaborated with them.

We discussed giant robots as high tech golems, and I debated between a Jewish wizard and a living ship. Folks suggested I combine the two, but I decided not to, going for the tortured AI who wanted desperately to Be Creative.

As near as I remember, the players were

Brennan Taylor-- GM

Martin Gille -- Brick, special weapons. Passions: Duty: Company can do no wrong. Love: Fiery Explosions. Hate: Diplomacy.

Shreyas -- medical officer with biomagic, Templar. Passions included Fear: The Aliens are right.

Storn -- Eric Stark, First Contact specialist, human translator, communications. Passions included Love: Communication with aliens and Love: The living ship, aka The Mortal Coil

Rick Anderson -- Taoist with a networm -- lab team. Fear: The networm is a bad thing.

Mike -- Shadow / stealth / lighttaker. I think this was a description of powers, not a character name.

Me -- The living ship / AI, The Mortal Coil. Passions include Fear: Not being truly creative. Duty: Keep everyone in ship (on team) alive. Hate: Boredom. Love: Pure creativity.

Passions can give bonuses in conflicts, and there is an upper limit of 5 points worth of passions. There are no dice; the system is pure resource management.

Me (to Rick): Are you a crazy Taoist or a sane Taoist?

Rick: I'm as sane as any with a networm.

The basic premise was that the aliens could summon up planet-eating demons, and had sent one to destroy Earth. The group was looking for the exorcism spell.

Me: How common are these planet eating demons?

Brennan: I would say not.

Shreyas: Oh, they're down every alley.

At this point, we had some Facts about how magic worked.

Fact: Aliens summon demons.

Price: Humans can't do it.

Fact: Aliens can banish demons.

Price: If demons are allowed to remain, they break loose.

Fact: FTL exists.

Price:

Player: Like, "It doesn't work near planet eating demons?"

Player: Gee, thanks.

Non magical facts:

Aliens are beautiful jelly fish.

Fact: Aliens supposedly have a world where their powers come from, but they will not visit it. It's taboo to them.

Me (looking at my abilities): I'm an okay battleship, but a kickass living ship.

Stark: We call it home.

MC: I aim to please.

Stark: So, why won't you go out with me?

MC: We are out -- way out.

Stark: So get out of your mainframe and come on a date with me.

So, we had learned where the system with the planet that might hold the exorcism spell and the secret of the aliens' powers was located. We had to slip in without being noticed.

Fact: One of the PCs, I think the one with shadow powers, can cloak things up to the size of the ship.

Price: Anyone cloaked can see into the demon world.

The demon world was described as being shadowy and disturbing. I asked how The Mortal Coil saw the world.

Fact: Computers can't see demons.

Price: If magic is injected into the spectrum, the ship can see them.

Also, The Mortal Coil could see through the Taoist's eyes. However, seeing demons just meant seeing them the way the humans did.

We got to the correct system, which had 13 planets, 1 asteroid belt, and random moons.

Fact: There are no demons in this solar system. This is a holy place.

Price: The reason the demons don't come here is that they're afraid of what's down there.

Unfortunately, getting closer was tricky, as the alien commander on duty here was bored. Very bored. So, he passed the time creating an intricate web of detectors, so that if any excitement, like, oh, a ship trying to slip in, ever happened, he'd notice and be able to react.

I think Brick tried to slip out in a shuttle and be stealthy, but he didn't succeed. A bunch of sleek, trailing jellyfishlike ships moved in on him and on The Mortal Coil.

Fact: Brick can make Runic Torpedoes, and there are some on board the Mortal Coil, which the ship can use.

Price: It's not as good as when Brick does it himself.

Mortal Coil: It's not the same when he's not there doing it with me.

Brick did a lot of damage.

Brick: I play the explosion over and over

Quote with forgotten context:

Mortal Coil (to Erik Stark): In your dreams.

While Brick was trying to dodge the ships, the rest of the crew came up with a desperate plan for the Mortal Coil.

Fact: Eric Stark is an illusionist.

Price: Demons are not affected by illusions.

Eric Stark would create an illusion of the ship being destroyed in an attack.

Someone (because it had to be said): Man, that's mad! It'll take split-second timing!

Fact: The Mortal Coil can enhance magic, but not do it herself.

Price: Disables the Mortal Coil. It drains the battery.

This allowed the Mortal Coil to help Stark succeed.

Mortal Coil: You must learn how to harness your energies better.

Stark: Yes, dear.

The commander seemed fooled, and Brick certainly was. Nevertheless, somehow, everyone wound up going to the planet which held the key -- Mortal Coil, one or two alien ships, and Brick's shuttle.

From space, it looked like everything went black on the planet. However, on the planet, everything looked normal and fairly earthlike, and the atmosphere was breathable.

Fact: Demon energy is being pulled into the planet.

Price: All that demon energy is being stored somewhere.

We went to the true South Pole, where there was a Cyclopean Dead City.

Someone: Maybe there's some garbage here.

Someone: Or zombies.

Stark (of whoever was the security officer): Paranoid -- I like that in a security officer.

Mortal Coil: I am Born of Man.

All ships and the shuttle headed down into a hole.

Fact: The hole cuts off all tech.

Price: Except the AI.

This price was added so that I could continue being active by having The Mortal Coil activate her holograph illusion, programmed by Stark to be gorgeous.

Everyone landed safely. One of the alien jellyfish came out of its ship. It stopped in front of what seemed to be a statue and started moving, as if worshipping. It seemed to communicate by changing colors.

Fact: Linguistic magic allows all types of communication. The Voice of the Void.

Price: It can't communicate with demons.

So, as Stark tried to communicate with the jellyfish alien, the shadow guy decided to be stealthy.

Fact: Magical Invisibility suit -- light reflection.

Price: He's insubstantial as well as invisible, out of phase, and starting to move into the demonic realm.

Stark: Photonic communication! What is the jellyfish's attitude?

Stark: Whatever you do, don't flash red. Red Bad.

Someone: What's bad wrong fun with this planet?

We learned that the apparent statue was actually the First Being. It was taboo to the aliens to communicate with it. Naturally, we wanted to do just that.

Fact: The first being is interested in talking to you.

Price: It wants you to take it off planet.

The First Being looked like an ideal version of the observer. So, Mortal Coil saw a truly creative living ship.

Someone: Stop being sarcastic to the first being!

Stark: Sorry. My first being is perfect and understands sarcasm!

Mortal Coil: So, taking the First Being with us would be like transplanting a tree.

Stark: Do you wonder why I'm in love with you?

Mortal Coil: No.

Stark: My heart -- pain-- blow up the universe.

We asked what would happen if we took the First Being with us.

First Being: Everything will be changed.

Someone: Could you tell us how everything will be changed?

The First Being: You would die before I finished.

Mortal Coil was all for taking the First Being with them, as was Brick, this being clearly the goal of the mission, to him. A couple of the others vehemently objected, and conflict broke out.

Someone: The end of the universe and we're shooting each other.

Brick (as player looks at Passions): He's disloyal to the company, he's ignoring the mission, and I haven't seen any bright lights in an hour.

There were four PCs involved in shooting or other fighting conflicts with each other. Mortal Coil and Stark were doing something different.

The Mortal Coil tried to merge with the first being. Storn and I seemed to click onto the same page.

Stark: I try to grab her, but my hands go right through the holograph.

Stark desperately uploaded everything he could about love to The Mortal Coil, hoping thereby to get her to give up her plan of merging. Storn and I compared our totals. He was ahead.

I added all of my remaining resources, creating a tie.

Mortal Coil: Don't stop me -- join me!

Stark decided that was cool enough that he didn't want to use the rest of his resources. So, there was a three-way merge.

Brennan: And, indeed, everything changes.

Me: But it changes with love!

Stark: I want to communicate with aliens. A woman AI -- what could be more alien than that?

Lisa (as a ballad pops into my head): The devil is worse than ever woman was.

Interlude

I inadvertently picked up Geek Points. While waiting for my midnight game, I was vaguely listening to a conversation with the following oft-repeated line: Silver don't turn lead, Herd.

After a few times of hearing this, I placed the quote, and said, "That's got to be NightLife -- I love that game." After all, I used it for much of the background for Cthulhupunk.