MISERY BUBBLEGUM EXAMPLE OF PLAY

GM: Okay, what have we got for characters, folks?

Tom: I want to play a killer nano-tech cyborg that's been sent back in time to protect someone at the high school. He takes on a form of a scrawny little kid, but when he gets into combat he totally flips out and turns into a giant chrome werewolf.

GM: Cool! So, does he know anything about dealing with high school?

Tom: Oh, no. He's totally clueless about that sort of thing. He just knows paramilitary tactics. Actually asking girls out on dates? Totally beyond him.

GM: Even cooler. Poor sap. We'll give him a serious working over, I'm sure. Does he have a name?

Tom: Uh… God, I hate making names. Dieter. His name is Dieter.

GM: Any thoughts about how you'll be assigning his stats?

Tom: Well, he's good at everything. Can I have sixes in all my attributes?

GM: Sure thing. Sounds like he's ready. Anne?

Anne: Clarice is driven. No, like, really driven. She's determined to become class president this year, even though she's only a sophomore. Nothing will stand in her way. At least nothing smart. Not twice.

GM: Okay, I find it disturbing that I am more scared of the perfectly normal crazy sophomore than I am of the time-travelling werewolf cyborg.

Anne: Nerve 4, Passion and Insight both 1.

GM: And now I'm utterly terrified of her. She's just going to cause trouble wherever she goes, isn't she?

Anne: Don't worry, I'm willing to share the Misery around. I won't be stingy.

GM: I could probably ask more about her, but I think the less I know the easier I'll sleep. Jeff?

Jeff: I don't know. I'm not feeling inspired like the rest of you. Are there any recommended characters?

GM: You could be just a normal guy, assign some numbers, and then see how he grows and changes as everyone else impacts him.

Jeff: Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I guess I'm game. So… Mark. Mark just wants to get through high school relatively in one piece. He's not particularly good at anything, except drawing but he keeps that a secret. And whenever he tries to be cool, things never quite turn out.

GM: Sounds like a low Nerve attribute then, yes?

Jeff: Low attributes on everything I think… maybe a high Insight, though he doesn't really know it yet.

GM: How high? How about really high? Like six Insight, two Passion and Nerve.

Jeff: Sounds good to me. He's not quite the walking catastrophe that Clarice is, but he screws up plenty.

GM: So, Mark, Clarice and Dieter. Plus whoever else I make up. Sounds like we have ourselves a cast. Now everybody give out two dice to every other player. Including me, of course.

Tom: You? You're not a player.

GM: ExCUSE me? Am I not here? Am I not playing?

Tom: But… you're the GM. Anne and Jeff, they're players.

GM: And because of that they're going to get to screw with your character mercilessly. And so am I. Fork over the damn dice.

Anne: Does that mean you give each of us some of your precious GM dice?

GM: Uh….

Jeff: Give! Give! Are you not a player?

GM: Yeah, I guess I am. Okay, here you go.

Dieter:
P-6: DDD
N-6: DDDD
I-6: DDD
Influence: MMGGCC

Mark:
P-2: MM
N-2: MM
I-6: MMMMMM
Influence: DDGGCC

Clarice:
P-1: CCCC
N-4: CC
I-1: CCCC
Influence: DDGGMM

GM:
Pool - 3: Gx10
Influence: DDMMCC

GM: Okay, so the school elections are coming up. But first there's…

Anne: Clarice would like to commit a crime.

GM: Uh… what?

Anne: Clarice would like to deface and destroy the banners and advertisements of all rival claimants for her rightful place as ruler of the school council. Can I do that?

GM: Well… err… Okay, so first you'd have to break into the building after hours. That would take a lot of Nerve.

Anne: Ah well, forget it then. I'll do it later, when she has more Nerve-dice on hand. Carry on.

GM: Right… uh… casting time for the school play.

Jeff: Mark stays well away from that. Time in the spotlight is the last thing he needs.

Tom: Dieter too avoids anything that might lead to visual records being stored for his enemies from later eras to peruse at their leisure.

Anne: Clarice wants to push Mark into signing up to try out for the lead role in the play.

Jeff: WHAT? Are you crazy in the head with craziness?

Anne: "Come on, Mark! It's exactly what you need to draw you out of your shell!"

Jeff: "I like my shell. Shells are nature's defense mechanism. Creatures that go outside of them get eaten."

Anne: Okay, I'm declaring a difficulty of three for Clarice to make a moving, passionate speech. And I'll start off with one die, and I roll… a six. "You aren't a snail, Mark! And there's nothing to be afraid of out here. Look around you, you're surrounded by friends."

Tom: Hey, where are we anyway? Cafeteria?

GM: Gym class, waiting to climb The Rope.

Jeff: Yeah, surrounded by friends… and irony. If I let her have her passionate speech, does it bind me to anything?

GM: Right now she'd get the success, but it would have no effect. No meaning, other than that she gave a good speech.

Jeff: "Whatever."

Anne: I'm rolling another die of Passion. This one's a two.

GM: Ouch! So that gets her some meaning, plus she's now generating Misery.

Jeff: So? She deserves to be Miserable.

GM: And if you don't spend anything then she'll have to be, even if she wins. Her dice will be the only ones she can assign Misery to. But she'll also get to offer some Traits for you, and determine whether you sign up for play auditions.

Jeff: Aw hell no. Rolling four dice off of Insight, to know her well enough that he suspects an ulterior motive. Which, I'm thinking… Clarice? That's a difficulty of 2.

Anne: Yeah, she's transparent that way.

Jeff: Ack! Crummy rolls. Three ones and a three.

GM: Actually, those are great rolls. It can be hard to get much meaning on something as easy as a difficulty 2 You lucked out… enough to beat her out soundly.

Jeff: Yeah, but she's still getting her pretty, passionate speech, so I'll still be miserable.

GM: If you care you've got more dice to spend.

Jeff: Yeah, I care. Rolling a fifth die. Thank you very much, Anne, for forcing me to this. Thank you straight to hell.

Anne: Always eager to please.

Jeff: A four. That'll beat out your meager victories. I control all!

GM: You going to narrate something, oh all-powerful emperor of the cosmos?

Jeff: Oh, yeah. "Look, I know you're not in this for my best interest."

Anne: "Hey, that's a hurtful thing to say!"

Jeff: "You just want someone on the inside of the play, because She is going to be there, and you want someone to scope out the competition."

Anne: Oh, now I'm intrigued. I won't roll any further. Clarice's passionate speech is interrupted. Take it away.

Jeff: Okay, take your own Misery back, thank you very much. I'm offering you a Desire and a Threat: "Public Acclaim" and "Jessie Thomas."

GM: You used Insight, and Clarice's Insight is only a 1, so you need a one Meaning to create things on her. Your primary Meaning is three, your secondary is one, so you can go crazy, even with that low total.

Jeff: "You wanted to be the first freshman ever to be elected class president, and Jessie took your little pipe dream away from you. And, face facts, she's going to beat you this year as well. So I'm not really interested in being your man on the inside when whatever hare-brained scheme you come up with next comes crashing down around your ears."

Anne: I'll admit, I am very much feeling the Misery here.

Jeff: Well I'm feeling the lopsided dice pools. I guess that Threat will be primary. That means I have to shift these five dice into Nerve, where I'll never manage to spend them in any reasonable period of time.

Anne: Whereas I get my remaining one die back in Passion. Do what I do, create Misery for other people and spend them all in one big clump.

Mark:
P-2: MM
N-2: MMMMMMM
I-6: M
Influence: DDGG

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CC
I-1: CCCC
Misery: C
Influence: DDGGMM
Provisional: Desire: Public Acclaim [C]
Provisional: Threat: Jessie Thomas [C]

Jeff: We'll see.

GM: Well, speaking of Misery, Mister Hunton, the Gym teacher, yells out "Come on ladies, I'm growing old here!" Hey, Anne, what's Clarice's last name?

Anne: Willoughby.

GM: "Willoughby! Show your girly-man friends here how to climb The Rope!"

Anne: Here Jeff, I'll take your bribe and use it to pay you to activate Jessie as a Threat.

GM: As Clarice grasps the rope she hears "Absolutely! I want to see this legendary underclassman girl I've heard so much about in action." Jessie is lounging insolently by the door in that way that only Seniors can manage. Everyone looks at her, then looks at you.

Anne: And I roll… of course… a six for her Threat. But at least that's my Misery die back in play, if I can beat her at her own slimy little game!

Jeff: I could have sworn this was Clarice's game, and Jessie was just better at it.

Anne: Shut up. Rolling… urgh… this is Nerve, isn't it?

GM: The Rope cares neither for your passion nor for your insight. All it requires is raw, unfettered guts. Of course, with her mocking slouch, Jessie will be opposing you with Nerve.

Anne: Clarice insisted her father string up a rope in their back yard, precisely so that she could obsessively practice to avoid shaming herself. So the ease of this is a three. Oh, and she occasionally uses it to hang Jessie in effigy. So, irony, y'know? I roll a three and a one. Ack!

GM: The difficulty of The Rope is legend, and Jessie's presence has reduced the head of the football team to tears before. Their combined ability to oppose you is spectacular. Difficulty of two. I roll a five, a five and a six.

Anne: ACK! And that six counts for her. Damn it all! There's absolutely nothing I can do, is there?

Tom: I could roll one of my influence dice for you, but… honestly… I'm more interested in helping define your character at this point.

Jeff: Likewise.

Anne: Fine bunch of friends you are. Oh how I long to dump some Misery on that pretentious, lazy, tall little witch. But not today.

GM: Clarice gets halfway up the rope, but she's so tense that she's gripping to hard. When she reaches overhand, the rough surface tears at the skin of her palm. She gasps, and slips down a foot, the rope lacerating her hands. As her skin burns with pain, she blinks back tears and tries to make another overhand reach. But the pain overcomes her, and she slides down the rope to bump ignominiously on her ass.

Anne: Any Misery off of that?

GM: One point for the active Threat.

Anne: I see. This isn't just about humiliation. It's about being humiliated in front of her. It's about hatred.

Jeff: Yeah, because that's healthier.

Anne: I get a primary meaning at one point, then nothing for secondary, right?

GM: Yep. Half of 1 rounded down is nothing.

Anne: Bumping my Threat to level 2. Oh how I loathe her.

GM: I think we all get that, yeah.

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4:
I-1: CCCCCC
Misery: C
Influence: DDGGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1

Jeff: You're… you're not going to sit on that Insight and spend it in a reasonable, controlled fashion, are you?

Anne: I don't know… I'm feeling a vast and powerful revelation coming on.

GM: Jessie, by the way, has grabbed a first aid kit, and is rushing to help.

Anne: "Don't touch me! I don't need your help!"

Tom: Dieter is interposing himself. "Hey, why don't we just give her some space, huh? I mean, the girl has her pride." Trying to come across as reasonable, but serious about this. Clarice is a friend, and he doesn't want her subjected to this. I'm rolling my three dice in Passion. It's a pretty hectic situation, and Dieter really isn't the big public speaker, so I'll put the difficulty at five. I roll 3, 6 and 1.

Anne: Does the six threat die effect this?

GM: Only you.

Anne: Cool.

GM: Jessie is doing her Class-president take-charge thing, difficulty of three. She'll roll three dice of Nerve: 5, 6 and 1.

Tom: Wow. She has the devil's own luck with dice.

GM: You getting in on resisting this, Anne?

Anne: No, I think Clarice is stunned by this whole "Miss Goody-two-shoes" routine of Jessie's. Surely people aren't buying that?

GM: She brushes past you, barely even registering that you exist, and bends to take Clarice's hands and start spreading ointment. "This will sting for a little bit, but only a little." And it's true.

Tom: I've got four and two for Meaning, right? Is four enough to match Jessie's Passion?

GM: Just.

Tom: Okay then, my primary is a Desire for her: "Help people."

Anne: You sick, twisted bastard. That's not what she's really like!

Tom: Ah, you don't know a thing about what she's really like. I'm offering Clarice a Role, "Second best."

Anne: You are a hundred different kinds of dead man, Tom.

Tom: You'll take the Role though, won't you?

Anne: I'm considering it. It would be something to rebel against.

Tom: I'll sweeten the deal: Both of my Influence dice on Clarice go as a bribe on the Role.

Anne: Urrghh…

Tom: I think I'll only bribe our GM once though.

GM: Yeah, you don't have to twist my arm too much to take that. I rather like it.

Tom: And I transfer my dice from Passion to Insight. So next I think it will be time to go after Mark.

Dieter:
P-6:
N-6: DDDD
I-6: DDDDDD
Influence: MMG

Jeff: What? Why me?

Tom: Because I can get a great big starting trait of four if I get enough Meaning against your Insight.

Jeff: Uh… what? Okay. But, I mean… why me?

Tom: Because Mark is a bit closed off, and with this much Insight maybe Dieter can see what turbulent desires he's hiding under that cold exterior.

Jeff: He's not really… turbulent, you know.

Anne: He will be when we're done with him.

Tom: It's like a makeover!

Anne: Before that, though, I've got some dice itching to go after miss I'm-so-perfect. "Oh, I get what this is about," Clarice says as she pulls her hands back. "You beat me out in last years election, but you figure you should get to do that and still be all buddy-buddy with me, huh?" Clarice stands up, glaring at Jessie. "Well it doesn't work like that! Sure, I was second-best last year, but that doesn't mean I'm giving you a free ride this year. I'm going to destroy you!" She's trying to look impressive and forbidding… which, given that she's fifteen and just fell on her ass, that's not easy. But she's Clarice. So the difficulty is a four. I'm taking my two dice from the Role, and spending one to activate it.

Tom: Woot! I knew you would embrace mediocrity!

Anne: Only as a setback. Rolling my GM influence die, I get… a two for the Role matching die. Then I have seven dice to roll off of Insight.

Jeff: Whoa! Don't you want to keep any of those on Insight for later?

Anne: I really don't. A 6, 3, 2, 5, 1, 6 and 3.

GM: The Jessie Threat cancels both of those sixes.

Anne: Hate her with the heat of a thousand suns. But my two is matched by my Role die from having been second banana. That gives me eleven points of Meaning at the moment.

GM: Poor Jessie. Her ability to resist your naked aggression is very poor. Her difficulty is a five. I'll roll three dice off of her Nerve: a one, a four and a six. Then she's taking her bribe to create the "Help People" Desire, which starts at level four. Tom, here's the die payment. She's activating it, rerolling her one and Clarice's one and two.

Anne: AHHH! What's she doing? Does she want me to succeed?

GM: It's just the way she is. Her one gets a four. You get a four and… another four. Wow. Lots of fours. So it's 4, 4, 6 for Jessie, and 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 for Clarice… plus the two cancelled sixes. You win success with three dice, but Jessie wins meaning with eight to your six.

Anne: Yes! Misery for the foolish Jessie! SUFFER! That's, what… one for the threat, one for exceeding my Insight, one for using my Role but not defining meaning and… urgh… one for her having used her Desire and not succeeded. So four points of Misery. She turns away from Clarice in obvious fear, tears welling up in her eyes!

GM: And she only rolled three dice. So at least one of those goes to you.

Anne: Exactly one! Three misery to her, one to me. A worthy bargain!

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CCCCCC
I-1:
Misery: CC
Influence: DDGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 1

GM: Okay, I've got an eight Meaning so I'm buff enough to bribe Dieter with something. Tom, I'm using one of my influence dice over Dieter as a bribe on Role "Cross-time protector of Jessie Thomas." Her unwillingness to sink to Clarice's level just reinforces Dieter's sense of duty. He must keep her safe until she can become the leader that the future needs.

Tom: Oh wow. That's evil.

GM: Why thank you.

Anne: She doesn't need a protector! It's all a sham, I tell you! She's slime! He should be protecting me! Or maybe Mark, or something.

Jeff: Hey, leave Mark out of this.

GM: And her secondary Meaning is a four, which is still enough to match Clarice's Nerve. She'll bribe you for a level four Threat of your own Recklessness.

Anne: Ooooh… I must admit, I like that a lot.

GM: Okay, Jessie is fleeing the room. Anyone want to try to chase her down?

Tom: Dieter will track her down later. Not going to blow my cover now.

Anne: Let her go. Cry-baby.

GM: Okay, she's gone. The class turns to look at Clarice meaningfully.

Anne: Feh! She wants to stand there, totally unmoved by the ridiculous melodrama that Jessie put on for the class. Rolling four dice of Nerve against difficulty five. 3, 1, 1 and 1. Wow, that sucked.

GM: I'll roll my remaining die of Influence over Clarice, to represent Jessie's echoing sobs. And then a die for the glaring gym class. All against a Shame, Shame, Shame difficulty of four. Clarice is pretty shameless. I get a four, and a three. So that's one victory. Which is one more than you.

Anne: Yeah. I can live with that. Two points of Misery, yeah?

GM: One for the threat, one because, with my Influence die, you've got five of your dice on the table, to your Nerve of four.

Anne: Clarice looks around, as everyone glares at her. Her face colors as the blood rushes to her cheeks. "What?" she yells, defensively. "She had it coming!"

GM: Even Mister Hunton just shakes his head sadly at how insensitive Clarice is being.

Jeff: Ouch. When the Gym Teacher thinks you were too hard on someone.

Anne: She had it coming. Anyway, I've got a six meaning total, so my primary meaning is to finally reclaim that threat die. So at least that's one point of Misery I'll be spared. Then I'll use the secondary to boost my Second-Best Role to a two.

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CCC
I-1: CCCC
Misery: CCCC
Influence: DDGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 2
Provisional: Threat: Her own recklessness - 4 [C]

GM: That sounds like that scene, yes?

Anne: Absolutely.

Tom: Yeah, I'm done there.

GM: Tom, you said Dieter was going to track down Jessie, right?

Tom: Yep! That should be easy for him… got all those nano-cyber-werewolf senses and sensors.

GM: Well, it's a crowded high school, and everyone is still staring in the direction she ran, because she's popular and crying. I'm rolling three dice off of Jessie's Insight at difficulty five to try to find a perfect place to be ignored. I get six, four and five. Two victories. And that's more than her Insight of 2, so there's a point of Misery going around here, too.

Tom: Not a problem. I've got six dice in Insight, but I don't think I'll need them all. I'll start with just four, at difficulty four: one, four, four and six. Hmmm… that gives me victory but not meaning. Which, now I think of it, sounds perfect.

GM: You find her hiding up on the roof, sitting there with her knees drawn to her chest, trying to get back under control. She takes the point of Misery?

Tom: Hell no! Dieter takes it, just seeing her in that state.

Dieter:
P-6:
N-6: DDDD
I-6: DDDDD
Misery: D
Influence: MMG
Provisional: Role: Jessie's protecter 6 [D]

GM: Your stats are so high that there isn't enough meaning in this to do anything important to you, and I don't see raising her Desire off of this. So Dieter's found her… what does he do now?

Tom: Has she noticed him?

GM: She's in no shape to notice anything right now.

Tom: "Uh… Jess… Miss Thomas?" Dieter says, very awkwardly.

GM: She startles. "Oh… uh…" She rubs her eyes, and tries to put on a happy face. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, uh… Dieter."

Tom: Dieter glows, just knowing she knows his name.

Anne: I think I'm going to be sick.

Jeff: Shush! This is all your fault for being mean to Jessie!

Anne: Jessie this, Jessie that… She's an NPC!

Jeff: You're heartless.

Tom: Okay, time for a bald-faced lie. "Well, I guess this isn't a good time, but… well… I really want to try out for the play."

Anne: WHAT?

Tom: Anything for Jessie. "It's just, I'm… well…" He gestures helplessly to his scrawny and disheveled appearance. He shakes his head. "I guess it was a stupid idea."

GM: Oh that's brilliant. What's your difficulty?

Tom: A convincing lie on top of his cover story? That's a difficulty of five, at the least. He's not used to this social stuff. I'm rolling four dice of Nerve: 1, 1, 6, 6.

GM: Nice!

Tom: Eh, I didn't get squat for meaning.

GM: Well I'm rolling three dice on Insight, difficulty of… oh, this is really transparent given the timing.

Tom: Yeah. It's crummy timing.

GM: Difficulty of three. Three, six, three.

Tom: Ah crap. Okay, I'm spending my Influence die on her to activate her "Help People" Desire. Rerolling my ones. I get a four and a six. Excellent!

GM: So that's a point of Misery because she exceeded her healthy Insight, and another point because you used her Desire and she didn't succeed. Where do they go?

Tom: I take them both. I've taken advantage of her good nature in order to lie to her. Even if it's for her own good, I feel like crap. And I… oy… I don't have any Influence dice to bribe her for a new Role. Can I offer one of my own dice as a bribe?

GM: Sure. Then if she takes the Role she gets influence over you.

Tom: Which totally works. Okay, bribing her with Role: Mentor. I don't think I can do anything with my secondary meaning… it's only a two, and I worked off of nerve. The single die I have left to reclaim goes in Passion.

Dieter:
P-6: D
N-6:
I-6: DDDDD
Misery: DDD
Influence: MM
Provisional: Role: Jessie's protecter 6 [D]

GM: Well she's all tremendously helpful. "Oh, Dieter, you'd be great in the play! If you're worried about your appearance, we could go neaten you up a little. It's just a skill, like any other. You can pick it up with a little help." She's immediately rolling into a Passion-based attempt to shuffle you downstairs and give you a makeover. Given her managerial and fashion skills I put that difficulty at a three.

Tom: Dieter can't put up any effective resistance. Difficulty is a six, and I'll roll off of Insight.

GM: Okay, rolling two dice of Passion. Four and five.

Tom: And I'm rolling three dice of Insight: one, four, one. I suppose it'll do.

GM: So by the time of the play auditions… Dieter's still scrawny, right?

Tom: I am so not changing form just to audition for the school play.

GM: Just checking. But he's looking much more presentable… almost, dare I say it, cool. There's obviously a scene where the drama club doors open and Dieter sweeps in, showing off his new hairstyle and chic jacket for the first time.

Tom: With Jessie looking on proudly from the wings.

GM: Of course. It goes without saying.

Tom: My Primary meaning is addressing her "Help People" Desire. I'm rolling out of her Misery: a three, which doesn't total above the value, and another three which does. So I get those two dice as Influence. And then I'm offering "Selflessness" as a Threat for her, with one of the dice I just gained.

Dieter:
P-6: DDDD
N-6:
I-6: DD
Misery: DDD
Influence: MMG
Provisional: Role: Jessie's protecter 6 [D]

GM: Some of the girls are snickering. "Isn't that Dieter?" "Yeah… you can dress him up, but a freak is still a freak!"

Tom: I just have to sit and take it.

GM: Yeah, but Jessie doesn't. Difficulty six, for her, to actually yell at someone. Rolling from Passion.

Tom: She's going to yell at them? Jessie doesn't yell at anyone!

Anne: Sure, that's what you think, but when someone gets in her way….

GM: She's giving you a die to activate her Mentor role, and taking the die you bribed on it. She'll roll that for Role, and get a five. Now she's rolling five dice from Passion.

Tom: YOW!

GM: A five, a four, a two, another two, and a three.

Anne: Oh wow… that's more than her Passion score, right? There's Misery to be had here, yes?

GM: Certainly.

Anne: Can Clarice show up in time to be opposition?

GM: By all means. Though I should point out that she's going to fail even without your help.

Anne: Ah… good point, that. Never mind, I'll let her self-destruct on her own.

Tom: Oh, no way. I'm opposing her. I'll roll my two dice off of Insight, against his difficulty of two to try to be inconspicuous. "Jessie, no!" he says as she comes tearing across the room toward them. "They aren't trying to tease me… its you they're trying to get at." I roll a five and a six.

GM: So she just glares at the girls. "You're on my list," she says coldly, then turns away from them.

Jeff: Jessie has a list?

Anne: She's always had a list!

Tom: And, of course, I will take the Misery myself.

GM: Jessie owes you. And she knows it. "I'm sorry," she whispers, "I'm only making things worse for you, aren't I? I just wanted to help." Meanwhile, the girls are still sneering. "Oooh, does Jessie have a boyfriend?" "Or maybe it's her pet. She has a pet freak!" I've got twenty one points of Meaning, so I've got pretty free rein on making things. I'll offer you Role: Freak.

Tom: OUCH!

GM: And Desire: Fit in.

Tom: Double OUCH!

Dieter:
P-6: DDDD
N-6:
I-6: D
Misery: DDDD
Influence: MMG
Provisional: Role: Jessie's protecter 6 [D]
Provisional: Role: Freak (6) [D]
Provisional: Desire: Fit in (6) [D]

GM: That sounds like a good time to switch back to Anne and Jeff, right?

Tom: Yeah, I'm going to need some time to get my mind around the new situation.

GM: Okay! Anne, Jeff, where are Clarice and Mark?

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CCC
I-1: CCCC
Misery: CCCC
Influence: DDGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 2
Provisional: Threat: Her own recklessness - 4 [C]

Mark:
P-2: MM
N-2: MMMMMMM
I-6: M
Influence: DDGGCC

Jeff: I figure Clarice is still trying to convince Mark to go out for the play.

Anne: Sounds good to me. I'm trying to hop up on Mark's shoulders and brutalize him with a choke hold until he says "Uncle!"

Jeff: You are crazy! "Get off of me, you nut-case! You only weigh like, what, twenty pounds? You're going to get hurt!"

Anne: "Never! Not until you submit to your destiny! Hear the siren call of the stage!" Oh, and I'll take the provisional threat of Reckless.

Jeff: Figures!

Anne: So I'm rolling Misery dice until the total four: Ack. A four on my first roll. Well that was anticlimactic.

Jeff: I guess recklessness just doesn't get in your way all that much. Anyway, I'm rolling two dice of Passion to resist her sleeper hold. But Mark isn't a fighter, particularly, so his difficulty is four. I roll six and two.

Anne: Nice split. I'll roll three dice of Nerve on her sheer gall trying to wrestle him into submission. She's tiny, even though she's spunky, and this is a really crummy way to try to get someone to do your bidding. Difficulty five. Five, two and six. Nice!

Jeff: Mark protests and sputters until she gets him wedged into a corner. Eventually he calls out "Uncle! Uncle!" And there's a point of Misery because you're being so reckless, right?

Anne: Yes, and you're taking it, thank you. I wish I had the chance to address the Threat, but you win the tie on the Meaning, so it's to you to say what it all means.

Jeff: Primary is a Desire: People do your bidding for Clarice. Secondary is Role: Unrestrained crazy-girl, also for her obviously. A die of Bribe on each.

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CCC
I-1: CCCC
Misery: CCC
Influence: DDGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 2
Threat: Her own recklessness - 4
Provisional: Role: Unrestrained crazy-girl - 1 [C]
Provisional: Desire: People do your bidding - 1 [C]

Mark:
P-2:
N-2: MMMMMMM
I-6: MM
Misery: M
Influence: DDGG

Jeff: Okay, Mark wants to paint a persuasive mental picture of Clarice as the star of stage and screen. "Look, Clarice, I know that you think I'd enjoy this, but that's only because it's something you'd clearly love! Why don't you quit trying to live your dream through me, and reach out and seize it yourself?"

Anne: You know, I don't really feel like opposing that. Go for it.

Jeff: Cool. Two dice of Nerve on evoking the lure of the footlights. Difficulty of… uh… five. He's still disoriented from the choke-hold. I get a six and a four. Cool! I'm reclaiming the die from her Reckless threat, since I've stopped it from causing us more misery in this scene. Does that mean I get it as Influence?

GM: Yep. You reclaim it to your sheet.

Anne: Clarice gets a dreamy look in her eyes. "That's right," she says. "I'm the one who should be up in the spotlight!"

Jeff: My secondary meaning is to place that die right back as a Bribe on the Second-Best role. "Well," he says, "I suppose you could have some sort of supporting role. I hear Jessie's pretty big into the drama club."

Anne: "So what? SO WHAT? I can out-perform that bean-pole, stick-figure little wanna-be actress with my eyes shut!"

Clarice:
P-1: CCC
N-4: CCC
I-1: CCCC
Misery: CCC
Influence: DDGMM
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 2 [C]
Threat: Her own recklessness - 4
Provisional: Role: Unrestrained crazy-girl - 1 [C]
Provisional: Desire: People do your bidding - 1 [C]

Mark:
P-2:
N-2: MMMMM
I-6: MMMM
Misery: M
Influence: DDGG

Jeff: Hey, as far as I'm concerned, that's it for the scene. I just wanted her off my back.

GM: Well, if you'll allow me to interject. Mark is just managing to get his breath back when a hand slams down in a hard grip on his shoulder from behind. "Hey, Mark, I'm a little short for lunch. How much money have you got?"

Jeff: This is a shakedown, isn't it?

GM: Uh… yeah. Ralph is standing there, resplendent in his varsity jacket and rippling pectorals, trying to intimidate you. Three dice on difficulty three. Four, three and two.

Jeff: And here's me with way more Nerve than I can healthily use. Thank God for misplaced aggression. Mark slaps Ralph's hand away. "Well, sorry Ralph! Maybe you'd be a little less short for lunch if you ever actually brought your own money, instead of just scaring it out of everyone around you. Sad fact is, you caught me on precisely the wrong day, now just BACK OFF!" Five dice of Nerve on a difficulty of five to stand up to the bully. 3, 5, 1, 6, 4.

Anne: Whoa! Glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that.

GM: Well, you beat him out solidly for both Victory and Meaning.

Jeff: He takes the point of Misery I generated. I've got eight points of meaning… does that mean my secondary at four is enough to create Traits on this guy?

GM: Yes it does. His Nerve is a four.

Jeff: Perfect. Offering my two GM dice, first on "Threat: Insecurity," then on "Role: Bully."

Mark:
P-2:
N-2:
I-6: MMMMMMMMM
Misery: M
Influence: DD

GM: Wow… that really consolidates your dice on Insight, doesn't it? Ralph flushes red with anger and raises a fist to pummel you.

Jeff: Oh… and my keen insight into the human condition only tells me precisely how badly I'm about to be hurt. Of course. This is what I always knew would happen at the end of my little "tell off the bully" fantasy scenario.

GM: Rolling six dice of Passion, at difficulty 3 to pummel the weakling. 6, 2, 1.

Anne: I'm opposing, with three dice of Nerve at difficulty five. Tiny little Clarice jumps straight up in Ralph's face, punching and spitting and, yes, head-butting. 5, 4, 6.

GM: Yow! Okay, Ralph's taking the bribe and calling on his Bully role. I roll it for… 1. That's a nice match, which will get me the Meaning.

Anne: Oh yeah! Roles! I'll take my Crazy-girl role. I roll my GM influence die for… a four! Take that! I will have meaning and success!

GM: Indeed you will. Nothing much I can do about it.

Anne: Ralph falls backward in terror, with Clarice all but climbing up his chest. He flees several steps, then turns back and glares at Mark. "We'll finish this later, when your pet psycho isn't around to protect you, punk!" Clarice takes a quick step forward, and Ralph and his buddies flee in an instant.

Jeff: "Wow… just… wow, Clarice. Everything I've ever said, ever thought about saying… I take it all back."

Anne: "What? What were you going to say, and didn't?" Clarice says, brushing her hair back into place impatiently. "You know what, that's your whole problem, Mark. You say things like that, and set yourself up to be a target." That's "Role: Target", by the way.

Tom: BWAHAHA! It's so TRUE!

Anne: "If you want to survive in high school, you can't afford to hesitate. He who hesitates is lost."

Jeff: Let me guess: "Threat: Hesitation"?

Anne: Exactly.

Clarice:
P-1: CCCCCC
N-4:
I-1: CCCC
Misery: CCC
Influence: DD
Threat: Jessie Thomas - 2
Desire: Public Acclaim - 1
Role: Second Best - 2 [C]
Threat: Her own recklessness - 4
Role: Unrestrained crazy-girl - 1
Provisional: Desire: People do your bidding - 1 [C]

Mark:
P-2:
N-2:
I-6: MMMMMMMMM
Misery: M
Influence: DD
Provisional: Role: Target (4) [M]
Provisional: Threat: Hesitation (4) [M]