WotG: Romancing Tigers

I haven't discussed my Weapons of the Gods game, something I should remedy.

Anyone who knows me probably knows of my love of Weapons of the Gods by now.  It's a slick, sleak game that, while not without flaws, consistently provides for interesting combat, player involvement in stories, and tangled intrigues, encouraging exactly the sort of play that I want out of a game.  After my overwhelmingly positive experience with Weapons of the Gods and the Newton group, I felt it was time to spring it on the Eindhoven group.

Where Newton is filled with power-gaming, wish-fulfillment adventurers, Eindhoven is all about intrigue, drama and very stylish combat. Unsurprisingly, three of our 6 players are courtiers (if we land the 7th, she'll be a courtier too), with a single scholar, and two (just two) warriors.  And yes, we have another kung-fu courtesan (male this time.  Also associated with the Jade Dragon Society.  Those Jade Dragons and their prostitution, I swear...)

Romancing Tigers, thus, will be a political game.  I drew considerable inspiration from Smiling, Proud Wanderer and Red Cliff, and so I hope to have a multi-layered game where what seems to be going on is only a thin veneer over what's really going on, and that our battles are more often solved with a simple cup of tea than martial excellence.

The game will feature three major cities: Orchid Tea City, the beautiful and heavenly capital of vibrant Southern Liang (Home to the Dong), Perpetual Peace, the ancient, decaying and prestigious old capital of Hanzhou (Home to the Hell Clan), and Dragon Bennison, a ruthless and oppressive city ruled by a fierce general within the Jin Empire (Home to the Nan Clan).  At first, we'll merely introduce each location to the players, moving them along with a swiftly flowing story, then we'll unleash the real plot, and set the players loose on it.  In a way, it resembles Slaughter City in its location-based game design, though it will begin a little less free.

Tomorrow will be our second session, and hopefully, we can finish our introduction and move on to the "real" beginning of the story.