Actual Play - Reel Adventures - Candy Cane Calamity

Posted by: Iain McAllister On: Nov 27th 2009 edited

Session 1: Candy Cane Calamity

Ran this game at Indeicon 09. The group consisted of 5 players which I was a little nervous about as I have not really tested the game with a larger group. Only one of the players had any previous experience of the game.

The Pitch
The film ended up being an animated film where all the heroes were animals, mostly ugly or unpleasant ones like hippopotamuses, skunks etc. and the nemesis was a Disney style pink princess come to make everything cute and fluffy whether they liked it or not. I had changed the pitch mechanics recently so that 'Setting & Plot' and 'Characters and Scenes' sections were more integrated and it worked well.

After fleshing out their characters by adding background, stakes and resources we had:

Miley Cyrus as Princess Claire Bear, nemesis, not evil just misunderstood and wants to make the world the bestest ever.

Steven Seagal as Pink Skin Rodriguz, a naked mole rat, ex special forces, angry veteran with a heart of gold.

Sean Connery as Pep-pey the skunk, seeking recognition for his noble race and a place for them in society.

Ice-Cube as Nick Nut (aka Patch), a black squirrel, saw too many friends disappear in the service of the Princess and has now joined the movement to fight back against her.

Robert Downey Jnr. As Pete the Puffy-faced Hippotamus, runs a taxi service, pies and his brightly covered scarf.

Action!
Now we had everything we needed, we did a quick title sequence involving images of the world as it is and the rainbow that the Princess will arrive on arcing over the landscape.

Act 1
This act kicked off with an action scene as Claire Bear invaded the Pie Shop where all the heroes were either working or picking up lunch. A quick action scene later and they were all aboard Pete's put-put van thing and trundling along the rainbow. An encounter with the Princess' minions along the rainbow led to some nifty scarf work and the deployment of the 'magnetron' in Pete's put put car, and our heroes fell, safely, from the rainbow to the world below.

Arriving at the cow's temple there was a little colour had, as the cow explained that the rainbow could only be broken by the collection of three sacred pots of gold held about the world. Just as the cow finished its explanation Clair Bear's bunny ninjas attacked and the heroes found themselves in a desperate struggle. Just as all seemed lost, a portal opened outside the window of the cow's dojo and the heroes flung themselves through it, only to find themselves near the home of the leprechauns.

Act 2
The leprechauns are holding a bit of a disco in the middle of the forest when our heroes arrive. After a bit of a natter the heroes get the leprechauns to agree to a dance-off for the gold. A combination of our hero's pure hearts and the fact that the little fellas are completely pissed, allows them to make off with the gold and jump through the next portal to the pirate ship.

Arriving on the pirate ship the heroes heard the lilting sounds of Princess Claire Bear's laughter, as a pretty, pink galleon filled with bunny pirates pulled alongside and let loose. During the conflict the Princess reveals that she has Patch's son, who had earlier been subjected to the terrifying Cute-an-ator. His pink fluffy tail, blowing in the wind, and his wails carrying between the two ships, patch went for the princess, only to be captured as she is driven off. The heroes can only stand and watch as her ship escapes.

The fighting over the remaining heroes got down to the serious business of finding the gold pot on board they so desperately needed. The crew of the ship were not going to give it up so easily, and challenged them to a drinking, jigging and singing contest. The heroes decided who would be best for each challenge and took the lizard crew on (this played out as 3 action scenes in a row directed by different people), winning admirably in all 3 and claiming the pot of gold for their own.

As the crew got a little upset about their gold being taken, Pink Skin Rodriguez had a vision from the sacred cow telling him to jump overboard. All the other heroes seemed sceptical of his plan but they threw themselves from the plank regardless and sunk to the deep dark waters below. They see a portal to the next objective materialise, only to be attacked by some Clown Fish trying to get in their way. Some nifty scarf work from Pete allows the heroes to escape and make their way to the next objective.

Meanwhile, back in the castle, Princess Claire tortures Patch by putting him in a giant fondant fancy and threatening his whole family with the cute-an-ator treatment.

Need to split this into 2 posts here.

Posted by: Iain McAllister On: Nov 27th 2009 edited

Act 3
Approaching the bank in a business like fashion, actually dressed in a suit, the heroes were met by a quite startling amount of red tape and the machinations of middle management. Realising that they needed all 4 of them to break into the bank the heroes prepare to rescue Patch from the clutches of Princess Claire.

Pink Skin Rodriquez hatches a daring plan and our heroes our off in Pete's put-put van. They screech into the castle, defeating minions left right and centre and snatch Patch from under the nose of Princess Claire. Their rescue completed they make their way back to the bank and tunnel their way in to the third pot of gold. The rainbow taken care of, the heroes make their way to the final confrontation with the Princess. On the way they are waylaid by the Princess' final trap, an illusion of the world each of them wants. As some struggle and others succumb, the illusion slowly shatters and the heroes break free, finally ready to take on the Princess.

Finale
Wave upon wave of minions, comes down upon our heroes, the cute-an-ator is deployed and the castle defences set upon them. Our skunk friend sacrifices himself to save the others, and let them tackle the Princess. Despite their loss, the heroes defeat the princess, scoring a triumph over her at 5 victories to 4, and wrapping things up by narrating her parents into the scene, who arrive to take her home.

The finale over with, the last thing to do was have an epilogue for each hero. Pete went back to rebuild the pie shop, Patch reconnected with his family, Pink Skin Rodriquez buried the remains of his unit that he had discovered in the bowels of the castle and Pep-pey was revealed to have survived and be planning his own invasion of the world with an army of skunks. Potential for a sequel.

Cheers

Iain