We played Sorcerers and Sellswords this past Monday. It went well, and it went gonzo pretty quickly.

We played Sorcerers and Sellswords this past Monday. It went well, and it went gonzo pretty quickly.

We played Sorcerers and Sellswords this past Monday. It went well, and it went gonzo pretty quickly.

The game took place in alternate Hawaii. A society of coral-dwelling merfolk were holding a banquet in the party’s honor, because they’d rid the island of an invasive lizard people. Before too long, the shapeshifter discovered the princess of the clown anemone merfolk was missing from her anemone throne. The only clue was a pendant of the lizard folk. The lizard folks’ pendants could only be given willingly–otherwise it’d reduce to ash. This only further mystified the party, and angered the clown anemone king.

Long story short, the pyromancer set off the volcano to force the cross-species lovers out of hiding. The shapeshifter had to rescue the lovers from lava and boiling water. The fighter accidentally invented surfing to escape the lava. The rest of the party found a high spot to wait out the lava.

Once they brought the princess back, we held a round of epilogues. The lovers eventually brokered a peace between the two societies. The party set up the islands as their vacation spot, and started inviting humanoids from the continents. The influx of tourists doomed the delicate environment both societies needed for their survival. (Hey, the party picked doomed as their flaw, so that was my interpretation).

14 thoughts on “We played Sorcerers and Sellswords this past Monday. It went well, and it went gonzo pretty quickly.”

  5. Awesome. I love it! Thanks for playing the game and especially for sharing your story!! Gonzo is, I feel, always a danger with rules-light systems. I made my peace with it way back when I was playing InSpectres a lot (when it first came out). In some ways going Gonzo is a good symptom – it’s an indication that players feel free to invent and have fun with the narrative. At times it can be a little annoying, however, if the game becomes a venue for showboating or outright silliness. The only real checks to that in S&S are table/social dynamics and, mechanically, the GM’s power to withhold the “prepared” and/or “expert” die if a character tries to do something too improbable, wacky, or goofy. Sounds like you had a cool session. I love that the resolution was a brokered peace and that you found a way to use the parties “doom.” That was a fantastic move on your part and it feels realistic to me (as realistic as you can get in a Romizard and Jelliette kind of story). 🙂

  6. Awesome. I love it! Thanks for playing the game and especially for sharing your story!! Gonzo is, I feel, always a danger with rules-light systems. I made my peace with it way back when I was playing InSpectres a lot (when it first came out). In some ways going Gonzo is a good symptom – it’s an indication that players feel free to invent and have fun with the narrative. At times it can be a little annoying, however, if the game becomes a venue for showboating or outright silliness. The only real checks to that in S&S are table/social dynamics and, mechanically, the GM’s power to withhold the “prepared” and/or “expert” die if a character tries to do something too improbable, wacky, or goofy. Sounds like you had a cool session. I love that the resolution was a brokered peace and that you found a way to use the parties “doom.” That was a fantastic move on your part and it feels realistic to me (as realistic as you can get in a Romizard and Jelliette kind of story). 🙂

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