[The Quiet Year] Breathes the Sea (game thread 1)

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UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

quote:

For a long time, we were at war with The Jackals. Now, finally, we've driven them off, and we're left with this: a year of relative peace. One quiet year, with which to build our community up and learn again how to work together. Come Winter, the Frost Shepherds will arrive and we might not survive the encounter. This is when it will end. But we don't know about that yet. What we know is that right now, in this moment, there is an opportunity to build something.

This is Breathes the Sea (game 1), a game of The Quiet Year for the following people:

UnCO3
Tyrannosaurus
megane
Dog Kisser

This is our turn order. Our setup thread is here.

Who are we?
Our community lives on a ragged coast that is beautiful and deadly in equal measure, wracked with storms and intermittent eerie calms. To the North is the shimmering sea and the legendary Smoking Isle; to the South is the glimmering jungle filled with flowers and predators. We survive off farmed kelp and the molluscs and fish our divers catch beneath the waves, though our farms have fallen into disrepair since the start of the war with the Jackals. Much of the nearby seabed is thickly forested with coral, by and large jagged and bone-white and concealing both food and treasures from the days of old. The wondrous night-time tide of blue light we call the Captured Stars is little consolation.

Mysteries abound � from the Oo to the West, where maneaters roam, to the mighty sunken Vessel in the bay to the East, piled high with ancient technology and poisonous to the water around it. We find ourselves ignorant and ill-favoured � we know nothing of the before times, and the gods have abandoned us. Beauty cannot fill empty stomachs.

At the very least, there�s plenty of clean water.

How do I take my turn?
First, you access the Roll20 tabletop and draw a card from the current season's deck. This will tell you to do something, often answer a question.

Second, you resolve the oracle instructions, changing the map and performing actions as necessary.

Third, you reduce the count of every Project by 1. When a Project reaches 0, it's finished � whoever started it describes how it ends. Projects that end prematurely due to the oracle's instructions are described by whoever drew the card.

Fourth, you take your own action (unless the oracle says that you don't act this turn) � Start a Project, Discover Something New or Hold a Discussion:

If you Start a Project, pick an appropriate duration from 1 to 6 Weeks and draw it on the map (or add an image).
If you Discover Something New, add it to the map.
if you Hold a Discussion, start out with a question or a statement. Everyone else then gets to make one statement representing a sentiment in the community. If you started with a question, you then end with another statement. Add a red dot to the map near the subject of the Discussion.

Fifth, you export the map from RealtimeBoard as an image.

Sixth, make a post in the following format:
Season and Week
Oracle question
Resolution to Oracle question, with image if you used one
Resolution to finished projects, if you started them
Your action, with image if you used one
Updated map
Projects list (mark out Projects that reached 0 this turn with e.g. bold or sirens)
Abundances list
Scarcities list
Contempt list

Game Tips

Make every turn count! We only get 40-50, so they all need to meaningfully move the story forward. Make use of existing characters where you can, and introduce and name new ones when they add something new. Say where the windfall of food comes from. Tell us the stranger's name. Reintegrate, change our circumstances, add new details, push the story forwards.
Resources are there to influence how we play, define what's reasonable for the community to do and guide their actions, rather than as traits to be min-maxed.
Abundances and Scarcities are only for when we have far more or less of something we need. Otherwise, we have just enough (or it's not important).
Intangible Resources (e.g. mercy) can be great themes, but if we focus too much on them the story can become ungrounded.
Keep it short � 2-3 sentences is good for an action or oracle resolution.
Characters are important, but the game is about the community as a whole, not just a few people.
Everything that happens must come from player actions and card draws. There are no free actions. You can add immediate consequences, but not longer-term follow-ups (unless you use another action/card).
If a card tells you to take an action (e.g. Start a Project), you still get your normal action on top of that unless explicitly told that you don't. If a card asks you to draw more cards, do so even if you cross over into the next deck.

Thread Rules

Post within 24 hours when your turn or a Discussion comes up, or let us know you're writing it. If you don't, you'll be skipped to keep things moving.
No OOC chat about the narrative content of the game (utility stuff like questions about the Roll20 tabletop is fine).
Remember to describe your finished projects (unless they get terminated prematurely) � this will usually happen on someone else's turn.
Only draw your card when you've got time to post, just in case you draw, don't have time after all and get skipped.
When you take a Contempt token, name the action that caused it.
During Discussions, just post your statement whenever you can rather than in the turn order.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2018 21:17

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 18:11

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Spring � Week 1

quote:

A young boy starts digging in the ground, and discovers something unexpected. What is it?

Pule often swims near the Vessel despite warnings that the water there will kill him one day. Perhaps he is strong, or just lucky. Either way, he survived swimming so close that he found something strange under the thick layer of muck on the Vessel�s surface.

A door. It opens. Even he didn�t have the strength of will to enter immediately, so he returned to tell the rest.

Action � Start a Project: We won�t last long without our staple food. Everyone bands together to replant and transplant edible kelp from across the bays into the once-carefully tended gardens by our shore. It will take time, but we should be able to avoid serious starvation.

Projects: Revitalise the kelp farms (4)
Abundances: potable water
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (0), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ Apr 29, 2018 21:19

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Note: Remember to add a red dot near the subject of any discussion. I've added one for this one, though.

The gods have abandoned us already. We have nothing to fear from them!

Spring � Week 5

quote:

What natural predators roam this area? Are you safe?

Dreadful creatures live under the North horizon � sharks are the least of our concern out at sea � but if we�re safe if we don�t stray far from shore. No, the real threat is the manifold, many-formed maneaters from the Oo. They make their home there, but they hunt up and down the bay. When we travel West we go in armed groups wielding torches � to go alone is suicide.

_{A nightmare.}

Action � Start a Project: The gods do not favour us now, and a great storm is coming � who knows what will happen if they remain so angry and aloof? The elders say young Yota must go under the waters to atone for her misdeed and save us from divine wrath. They will oversee the ceremony, but Yota must go down alone. Some of the younger men will stand guard on the shore. If she returns, then the gods favour her. If not, then they only favour us.

Projects:

Revitalise the kelp farms (0) :siren:

, Prepare homes for storm season (3), Return the cursed remnant (1)
Abundances: potable water
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods
Contempt: UnCO3 (0), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

Project completed: The kelp grows thicker now in our gardens. Times ahead will still be lean, but that only makes us all the stronger.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2018 22:06

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Project completed: Yota returns late at night, gritting her teeth and holding back tears, the flesh of her left forearm swollen, gnarled, and blood-red. She doesn't understand why it happened beyond that "the water is bad there", as the elders say - but the elders know. She has been punished by the gods, but allowed to go free. It is a sign of good will.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2018 22:59

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

It should still finish - the homes will be prepared for storms - but it doesn't have to finish exactly as intended when it was started, e.g. we could have fewer than expected, only enough for some families or groups within the community. Perhaps shelter will remain a Scarcity, but not for all.

# ¿ May 1, 2018 08:38

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Spring � Week 9

quote:

A charismatic young girl convinces many to help her with an elaborate scheme. What is it? Who joins her endeavours? Start a project to reflect.

Action � Start a Project: Asoese is patient and intelligent. Where fools rush in, she takes her time. This time, her idea is revolutionary.

So the Vessel is poison to us � then we just have to create armour against the water. Our land is littered with seemingly-inconsequential debris from old times that we could fashion into such wear. Do this and we can freely descend into the Vessel, uncover its secrets, and perhaps put a stop to the curse.

It�s a tantalising thought, but the best many of us can do is scavenge for the materials she needs and let her do her work.

Action � Discover Something New: It starts with a cough, then foaming at the mouth, then blood from the nose, eyes, and gums. Over a week, Pule is completely bedridden with the agony, and many of those who swim closer to shore are complaining of rashes and blisters. Did we not satisfy the gods with Yato�s actions? Did they not demonstrate their forgiveness? Perhaps the curse truly is among us. Either way, we can no longer take clean water as a given.

Projects: Prepare for a raid on the Oo (4), Create a crude diving suit (3)
Abundances:
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, shelter
Contempt: UnCO3 (0), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 2, 2018 11:21

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Why inflict more strife and misery on ourselves when we could just take the star-watchers' gods?

# ¿ May 3, 2018 16:00

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Project completed: The suit is finally ready � little more than gum-sealed leather and hammered, salvaged metal with a wooden bellows attached to a long, flexible tube, but it works in the water. All we need is a willing diver to enter the Vessel.

Spring � Week 13

quote:

What important and basic tools does the community lack?

All our instructions and traditions are passed on through spoken, not written word. We have powder paints and inks, yes, but we can only daub signs and create paintings. There�s only so much you can say in images.

Action � Discover Something New: A great white bird glides far, far overhead, emerging from the high haze to the North and vanishing likewise into the Southern horizon.

Projects:

Prepare for a raid on the Oo (0) :siren:

Store water for times of hardship (2)
Abundances:
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, shelter
Contempt: UnCO3 (0), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 3, 2018 18:31

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Summer � Week 4

quote:

A project finishes early. What led to its early completion?

This is no time to feast. Our ancestors are choking on the black waters of the bay, and the maneaters are making a counterattack. Some say we must beg the Gods� forgiveness � others say we should not forgive them for the hardship they put us through. These trials will eat us alive one way or another if we do not devote ourselves to overcoming them.

Action � Hold a Discussion: Death to the Gods.

Projects: Penetrate the Vessel and recover old knowledge (3)
Abundances: seafood, fresh water
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, shelter
Contempt: UnCO3 (0), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 5, 2018 19:41

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

I'm taking Contempt.

# ¿ May 6, 2018 18:12

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

We have nothing to fear from gods who are dead and gone.

# ¿ May 7, 2018 08:00

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Summer � Week 8

quote:

Something goes foul and supplies are ruined.

Add a new Scarcity.

One morning we awake to a horrific sight � much of our kelp farm has turned black and frail and is bitter on our tongues when pulled from the water. It�s not long before the entire farm is washed away by sea currents. All we can do is watch. Few want to speak for or against the gods in the wake of our impulsive decision to destroy the totems, though Lanuola, one of the few holdouts, has whispered darkly against Pule, Yota, Asoese, and now Isileli. It is retribution, she says; it is war.

Action � Discover Something New: The great white bird comes back the next night, and silently glides right over us as it did before. We come out of our shacks and tents to watch, and it�s plain to all that the creature flies lower than it did in Spring. What does it hunger for? Hopefully not us.

Projects:

Investigate the star-watcher village (0) :siren:

, Smelt unholy metal using ashes of the totems (3)
Abundances: seafood, fresh water
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, shelter, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 7, 2018 15:55

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Summer � Week 11

quote:

An unattended situation becomes problematic and scary. What is it? How does it go awry?

Murder! Slaughter! Our ancestors have been slain and the tide stains the white sands red. Those who were awake early that morning heard the terrible roars of a great beast upon the waters. We know well where evil creatures come from.

Action � Start a Project: We are armoured, but not armed. Isileli and Asoese combine their experience and ingenuity and set to work making us cruel weapons, clever weapons, things to hurt and burn and kill.

Projects: Build shelter (1), Follow the tracks (2), Forge weapons (3)
Abundances: fresh water
Scarcities: pre-war knowledge, gods, shelter, kelp, seafood
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (0), megane (0), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 10, 2018 00:51

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Save him and keep him under close watch.

# ¿ May 10, 2018 07:50

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Taking Contempt.

# ¿ May 11, 2018 06:31

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Autumn � Week 4

quote:

Someone sabotages a project, and the project fails.

Who did this? Why?

Someone set Iosefa free the night before the ritual! There is darkness between and even within families until Pule steps forward. He is withered and burned, but his eyes glimmer with a different fire. No more sacrifices, he says. Tal, Sano, Lanuola, and the others try to speak, but he denies them. No more sacrifices. He stalks off into the night, withered and burned and whole. Over the next few days we see him in the far distance, on the shore near the Vessel, watching over it from the shade.

Action � Start a Project: There are more pressing matters at hand, in any case. Our scouts set out to track the maneaters, to find their nests and hunting paths. When we slaughter them, we will do so with one terrible cut.

Projects:

Forge weapons (0) :siren:

, Track the maneaters (2)
Abundances: fresh water, seafood
Scarcities: gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (1), megane (1), Dog Kisser (0)

Removing Contempt for the sabotage.

Project completed: The weapons are ready. Soon we will make this land ours and ours alone.

Projects: Track the maneaters (2)
Abundances: fresh water, seafood, weapons
Scarcities: gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (1), megane (1), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 12, 2018 21:49

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Someone made that effigy and burned it deliberately. It must have been an experiment.

# ¿ May 13, 2018 23:14

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Project completed: We know where they nest and where they hunt. Now we are the predators. Our retribution will be swift.

Projects: Bring back the Jackals (2)
Abundances: fresh water, seafood, weapons
Scarcities: gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (1), megane (1), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 14, 2018 20:52

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Autumn � Week 8

quote:

A group goes out to explore the map more thoroughly and finds something that had been previously overlooked.

The Captured Stars are not all dead! While scouting out the maneaters, a scout saw that familiar light of life in the inlet over from our home. It is dim, but it lives.

Action � Discover Something New: The white bird is back. Many hide in their homes, but a few of the braver among us stand and watch it glide above. After it passes we make sure everyone is accounted for.

Projects:

Bring back the Jackals (0) :siren:

, Ascend The Scrapers To Meet The Parish (2)
Abundances: fresh water, seafood, weapons
Scarcities: gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (1), megane (1), Dog Kisser (0)

# ¿ May 15, 2018 11:15

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Old gods kill with poison, new gods kill with fire.

# ¿ May 16, 2018 08:59

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

The gods have reclaimed it. Watch the seas.

# ¿ May 16, 2018 14:19

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Autumn � Week 12

quote:

The weakest among you dies. Who�s to blame for their death?

Everyone is so caught up in celebrating and cowering and debating that we don�t realise Pule�s disappeared until he washes up on the dead tide, having clearly perished days ago. The last anyone remembers is him looking out towards the deeps with a severe expression, as if he was standing sentinel. We begin preparations for his sea burial at once.

Action � Start a Project: We must go to visit the Parish. They may hold the answers to our questions about the great white bird, or at least a new point of view. A small delegation from the Jackals will come too, as a show of good faith.

Projects: Visit the Parish on the Scrapers (3)
Abundances: fresh water, seafood
Scarcities: gods, kelp
Contempt: UnCO3 (1), Tyrannosaurus (1), megane (1), Dog Kisser (0)

Note: We�re approaching Winter, where one of the cards announces the arrival of the Frost Shepherds and the end of the game. When that happens, the game ends immediately � you just post the oracle text. I also like to link some music in, but that�s up to you.

# ¿ May 16, 2018 19:40

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Tell stories. Isn't that what we always do?

# ¿ May 17, 2018 07:58

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Losing Contempt.

# ¿ May 17, 2018 20:51

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

Winter � Week 3

quote:

The Frost Shepherds arrive.

The game is over.

# ¿ May 17, 2018 22:37

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

The game is over and conversational restrictions are lifted!

Well, that's one of the more unambiguously positive endings I've seen to a game of The Quiet Year.

# ¿ May 17, 2018 22:41

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 18:11

UnCO3: Feb 11, 2010; Ye gods!; College Slice

A few thoughts while I have a moment:
I think the Vessel may have been dormant rather than dead, and our interactions and the storm eventually reactivated it, including some kind of autopilot or simple AI that plotted it on a course for the safer depths to hibernate again. It seems more likely that it's an advanced piece of technology like the white bird, since the sea levels rose and yet the Vessel is found in a shallow area that wouldn't have been covered until (relatively) recently (and the Vessel-making facility was level with the current sea), so it couldn't have been too old.

As for the white bird, I think it's on a collision course - again, on some kind of autopilot, whether or not it was inhabited. It flew North to South on a course that occasionally intersected with the community given the rotation of the earth and didn't interact with anything, except it was running out of power, dropping lower and lower, and would have eventually hit the surface.

I really like the Parish as an accidentally-suicidal cargo cult waiting for rescue from the sky, and yeah, I figured the Star-watchers just upped and left.

# ¿ May 18, 2018 21:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Game Room > [The Quiet Year] Breathes the Sea (game thread 1)