[Agon] - Fun & Death on the Island of Skyros
Darcy Burgess:
I recently had the pleasure of teaming up with my pre-fatherhood gaming group; we got together five days ago. We started early (10am), and in a nod to days of yore, had planned on "all-day gaming"; RPGing up until supper time, and then changing gears to some board game fare. We'd settled on Agon as our RPG for the day, and I'd prepped The Island of Skyros and attendant NPCs ahead of time.
I've been excited to play a proper game of Agon for some time, and it was with great enthusiasm that I opened the day by reading the "What the Players Do" section on page 9. I made sure to emphasize the fact that the real competition was between players, and that my job as GM was to provide a level playing field for them to get their game on.
I don't think that anyone believed me, but there's only so much exhorting you can do, right?
Early play was a little meandering, as the players settled into their characters and poked at the system in a somewhat tentative fashion. It also took a little while for the fact that I wasn't going to "hide" the quest objectives away from them to dawn on two of the three players. They spent a fair bit of time just discussing what they'd do rather than doing it. This wasn't 'in-character' planning; it was meta-gamey planning, in a "nah, we can't do that - he'll just move the dingus, and then we'll have to go find his mcguffin". Again, I tried explaining to them that the only thing that could "hide" stuff from them was the dice. However, my words carried a decided lack of credibility, and it wasn't until the first few contests were resolved (some favourably for the Heroes, some not), that the even-handedness of Agon's resolution system began to take hold.
At least, that's my perception of things.
The initial meandering pace of play was left behind once Glory started getting doled out. It wasn't long before players started making out-of-character comments along the lines of "Right, so we need to make everything a roll, all the time. That way, there's more Glory!" This was great -- it showed that John's design had engaged their competitive sides. The hunt for Glory was on, and everyone was mixing it up.
Due in large part to my inexperience with the game, I didn't have a real sense of how long a quest should take for me & mine. From the moment that the players latched on to a specific quest (the Quest for the Heart-Stone) to its completion took us about 5-6 hours of solid play. By the end, I was starting to wear down, and I think some of the players were beginning to tire as well. This wasn't weariness per se; rather, I found that it was analagous to the deep-muscle burn I remember from cross-country running, way back in Grade 4. Agon is hard work, but it's rewarding.
In addition to a number of minor rules questions (which I'll handle in a separate thread), there were two major issues that cropped up in play that I really needed to address.
Narration Rights
Other than during Achievements, I can't find any guidance regarding who narrates what once a contest roll is made. Do non-achievement rolls follow the same formula (Antagonist sets up the contest, and the Aggressor has the narration rights?) as those in Achievements?
We settled on the Antagonist holding the "rubber stamp" of narrative authority, and I was always keen to hear from the players.
The Wound Track
When I first explained the nifty "you only check off the box of the wound level" mechanic, all the players were enthused. They were even more enthused when I explained the "wound sliding" mechanic. This is cool stuff!
Except it's not. At least, it wore on us by the end of the game. Here's why:
It's next-to-impossible to score the high-enough rolls to land a level 4+ wound in a single strike. However, the players, all hopped up on the competitive goodness that is the rest of the game, were constantly open-ending their attack rolls in an effort to do single-hit take-downs. And then, they'd follow it up with a "Right. I completely forgot again that I just can't do that. Not without a horseshoe shoved up my Aenis..."
So, we discovered that combat in Agon essentially boils down to "who gets the last hit out of six", not "who can maneuver for the best hit". How do the players compete over that -- it seems to me that the pertinent subsystems are too intricate to form a suitable playground for functional competition. However, I'd love for someone to point out to me what we weren't doing.
Conclusion
We all had a good time, and were really into the game until that wound track realization dawned on us. Even then, I know that I was still enjoying myself. The wound track wasn't a deal-breaker for me. We were all bummed over it, and we even went back through the rules to make sure that we weren't missing something. However, we couldn't see a procedural error on our part.
Darcy Burgess:
Hi,
In the interests of easier cross-referencing, here are the minor rules questions.
Darcy
John Harper:
Hi Darcy,
Sounds like solid Agon play to me. The tentative opening is common for new groups. I'm very happy to hear that they grabbed on to the necessity of conflicts and rolls for Glory. The game was built to address the "resolution avoidance" of some types of old-skool play.
You didn't miss anything regarding narration rights. It's not spelled out in the book and is meant to be left up to whatever method your group prefers. Antagonist rubber stamp is what I do, too.
I have something to say about the wound track, brinksmanship, and competition during battles, but I'm going to hold off for now and let other people chime in.
Valamir:
Our group also wound up disappointed that the wound scale turned all the combat into a war of attrition.
I'd love to play again, so I'm looking forward to your thoughts on that subject, John.
Noclue:
Kill stealing...for Glory!!!!
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