Virtual Session

Back in 2000, I asked a player to bring his digital camera along to a session of The Fear to record a typical evening playing. This is for the players who were there, the girlfriends who wonder what the hell we do each Tuesday evening and for religious cultists to gather evidence of witchcraft.

The Fear were an incredibly good group, that created their niches quickly and gelled easily. The background of the group were vigilantes operating in Dorian, on a planet called Acerine Prime. As a group, they were often brutal and quick to make decisions, but whatever they did, it was done in style. The requisite 5 players showed some very different styles of play:

The Players

• Fish

  Playing Icar since year dot, his character began working at right angles with the team. He essentially used the team for profit for half of the game. He also used his extensive self-created connections to aid the team, but they never really trusted him after they found out half their decent contacts were Fish's character is disguise and half the trouble they were in was his fault! Quite often, the players would joke that Fish was the one telling Rob (the GM) the plotlines. This wasn't always true.

• Pete

  The Fear didn't have a leader. They had Pete, the driving force and style guru. Stubborness and style beyond normal human parameters, Pete was responsible for the team staying aliveand looking cool while they did it. So miuch style, in fact, that Pete had to create new firing skills to meet his desire for style.

• Byrnie

  Byrnie was the team diplomat (in 2012, he still is). No matter what the argument was between the rest of the group, Byrnie could find the middle ground. He could find the middle ground of a sphere, come to think of it. The only time Byrnie failed was when Pete's donkey-like stubborness kicked in. Byrn was responsible for taking many of the photos here, so thanks to him!

• Dwain

  Any team needs an argument engine and Dwain was it. Any side of the argument that could be taken, he take it, often switching sides half-way through. His Icar experience was excellent as well, allowing seemingly cast-iron, but essentially pointless arguments to hold ground against the rest of the team. His character was quite often attributed to saving the group / planet / system.

• Tamas

  Tamas played Icar on a completely different level to the rest of the team. His blinding intelligence and ability to think plots through in the minutae of detail allowed him to perplex the rest of the team with possibilities and consequences of their actions. This suits Icar quite well, but reduced the amount that could be achieved in a session due to the weighing of numerous possibilities.

• Rob

  The GM. Me. With big hair. The one who put up with the other lunatics for 3 hours a week.

• 
  The GM Arrives
• 
  The GM begs Andy, the porter, for a room
• 
  Pete arrives
• 
  Medina, purvey of food on the edge of taste
• 
  Now in the room, Pete and Byrn devour the grub
• 
  Tamas Arrives
• 
  Fish listens to the scene being set, correcting Rob
• 
  Byrnie - extreme close up
• 
  Rob explains a rule, Fish does not look impressed
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  The team, intent on damage
• 
  Fish decides what skill to get next
• 
  Fish and Rob leave the room for a chat
• 
  The GMs seat is empty - there is plotting going on
• 
  Fish considers the stupidity of the team
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  Dwain hopes the situation looks better off when standing
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  Rob smiling - the players have cocked up
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  The Fish dice bag
• 
  Tamas invents yet another plausible but complex scenario
• 
  In an odd turn of events, the team conspire against Fish
• 
  The plotting continues
• 
  Tamas enjoys the deviousness of Petes mind
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  Fish wonders if the team is about to get themselves killed
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  Dwain colours
• 
  Rob foresees the end of the team. Again.
• 
  Rob keeps timelines on track
• 
  The Fish is laughing, the team is about to be conned out of something.
• 
  Petes standard response
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  Dwain listens on as Tamas notices the camera for the first time
• 
  Pete digs heels in
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  Dwain, unimpressed by the whole thing
• 
  Rob watches his hard work get shot repeatedly in the face
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  The team
• 
  Byrnie explains the obvious to Dwain
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  Tamas is not sleeping, he is checking the notes on the inside of his eyelids. He just wants you to think he's sleeping.
• 
  Fish tells them how it all works, Rob mentally makes a note.
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  Fish worries as Pete has a fit
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  Dwain in mid-quip, smug-mode engaged and turned up to full power
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  Rob sets the scene
• 
  Tamas makes notes, not in English or Hungarian, but in mathematics
• 
  Pete, in profile
• 
  Byrnie weighs up the options
• 
  Tamas, about as close as you ever might want to get
• 
  Pete tells Tamas to shut up, otherwise we will be here all night
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  Fish, dreaming up a new way to screw the rest of the team over
• 
  Dwain pops another valium
• 
  Pete watches another plan fall apart
• 
  Fish loves it when a plan comes together
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  Rob laughs at his plotlines - how wrong they were
• 
  People start packing up
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  Feet
• 
  Rob is always the last to leave
• 
  And now, the end is near