Road to Romance - Metatopia Playtest 3
By Alex White
- 19 minutes read - 4023 wordsPlayers
- Jonathan Bagelman
- Lilith White
- Anja Smith
- Robin Russell
- Brennan Taylor
Safety Discussion
We like to start with a safety discussion to make sure that we are all on the same page about elements which we would like to see (or would not like to see) in a game. Something which is new for this kind of game is the 'spiciness' level of a romance. We decided to cap the spiciness level at ‘sensual’. So our stories might be wholesome, sweet, or sensual, but not venture into ‘steamy’. In the event I don't think we ever progressed beyond 'sweet'.
The adventures take us through six chapters of our story plus an epilogue. My five players sat in a circle and each played the protagonist of their own story, the paramour of the player to their right and the trouble of the player to their left. While playing, we ran the introduction for each story, the encounter for each story and so forth. For the purposes of writing up the stories here I have collected each set of chapters together to make cohesive stories.
Stories
- Wartime Thriller with wounded paramour under time pressure
- Sci-Fi Thriller with a tortured artist paramour and misunderstandings
- Medieval paranormal romance with a captivating paramour and a love rival
- Victorian Rom-com with an independent paramour and a busybody
- Adventure thriller romance with an astonishingly beautiful paramour and a dangerous ex
Shot Down by Love
A Wartime Thriller with time pressure
- Protagonist: Lt Tommy McIntyre, RAF pilot. His problem is pride, and he needs forgiveness. Played by Jonathan.
- Paramour: Carol, resistance fighter, a wounded hero. Played by Lilith.
- Trouble: Time pressure, played by Brennan.
Introduction
It is WW2, in the skies over France. Tommy McIntyre is an RAF fighter pilot escorting bombers. There is a desperate dogfight and he has to bale out over occupied France. Time is running out as the nazis try to catch him. His pride is wounded as he shouldn’t have been shot down. He needs forgiveness because the bomber he was protecting was shot down too and they were captured. Perhaps McIntyre can rescue them? We see a montage of the bomber crew being captured, McIntyre meeting up the resistance and starting to work with them on plans.
Encounter
We see Tommy in a basement used by the resistance to meet safely. He is preparing for a rescue mission to recover the bomber crew. He sees Carol, whose arm is wrapped in a sling. She waves off the medic and comes over to Tommy. She is concerned for his loss, and will do everything in her power to help. Tommy is encouraged by this offer. The sound of tank tracks rumble by outside.
Carol eyes him up and down and says “You’re very brave”
“You’re brave too”
“Not brave enough…”
Complications
We see them outside the prison, as Tommy and Carol are preparing to go in. They can see a division of troops are moving into the area, so they are going to need disguises.
They take out a couple of guards and steal their clothes, but she finds it hard to get her wounded arm into the clothes, and can’t hold her arm properly without the sling. Tommy thinks this is going to give them away, and tells her that she can’t come with him. She is a little resentful that Tommy has told her to stay behind.
First kiss
They return after successful scouting. They find themselves hiding in an enclosed space. Close to each other. Very close. Carol says “I’m sorry that I didn’t leave, but I remembered that my arm was injured because I went alone…”
“Dinna fash lass” Tommy replied “I was very appreciative of your company”
Carols eyes linger on his face, her good arm is brushing gently against his arm. “You’re going to get your people back. You’re going to be able to make amends for your mistakes”.
She squeezes his hand, and he pulls her in for a kiss. “For luck”.
Catastrophe
In the midst of the operation, they are sneaking the POWs out of the location on a truck and they reach a checkpoint and it all goes south. Tommy and Carol are both dragged out of the truck and taken off to be interrogated separately.
Happily ever after
The interrogation is interrupted by an RAF raid. The bombs rain down, the German guards run to the shelter and leave them to die, but one bomb blows out the side of the prison block. They are able to escape and recover their missing bomber crew too. We have a montage of them meeting up with the resistance again, travelling across France, over the Pyrenees, into Spain, following the well-worn escape trail. Tommy and Carol work together well, and they end the adventure arm in arm, and completely in love.
The Muse of Mars
A sci-fi Thriller with misunderstandings
- Protagonist: Sonya, a comms specialist who has control issues and wants security. Played by Lilith.
- Paramour: Crow, a tortured artist who is looking for a new muse. Played by Anya.
- Trouble: Misunderstandings. Played by Jonathan,
Introduction
We are on Mars. We can see a domed city and there is a sandstorm blowing outside. We zoom in on a person in an EVA suit walking out to a relay tower. There is a comms communication “Sonya, get back inside, it is too dangerous “
She replies “No, I can handle this, let me do my job”
After she repairs the array we see her get back, get chewed out by her boss and then retires to her apartment. On the face of it there is a cosy little space for her, but the bills are building up. That overtime work and hazard pay isn’t cutting it.
Encounter
Sonja goes to the Martian clubs to blow off steam. She is taller than average, which attracts attention but she is ambivalent about. Martian thump music is playing, red dust falls from the rafters. She is dancing, and then when she takes a break at the bar her phone pings. Someone has sent a digital sketch of herself on the dance floor. The angle is super flattering to her and accentuates her height beautifully, in a way that she hasn’t seen before.
Glancing around there is a figure dressed all in black, with a growing stack of glasses and a drawing tablet. She walks over “did you send me this?”
Crow looks up from his drawing and says “Oh good, it worked, can I get you a drink? My name is Crow. I’ve been stuck in a rut with no creativity for ages, then I saw you on the dance floor and I was inspired. Bartender? My tab - whatever she wants” he gestures wildly.
Sonya feels seen in a way that words haven’t got through before. The rendition of her is vibrant and feels more real than her image in the mirror. They fall into deep conversation.
Complications
It is some time later, and Crow has sent some insistent messages about his desire to draw her again. There is a misunderstanding with scrambled comm signals. Sonya thinks she has messaged Crow to say “you don’t get to tell me to do a damn thing. You don’t get to take priority”, but misdialed, and is actually sending that message to her boss when she writes those words!
Crow is sulking because he doesn’t get a reply and thinks he is being ghosted.
Sonya’s boss is furious with Sonya and she doesn’t really understand why, but she’s being put on extra duties with no overtime.
First kiss
Sonya is at the club again. It’s getting late. She’s upset because she was reprimanded over the message she accidentally sent to her boss. She is on probation now, and texted Crow for a meet and talk.
Crow is running late, and apologises. They know they’ve messed up, and takes on her tab from the bar tender. She says that Crow doesn’t have to do that, but Crow insists. Apparently he has just sold a major art exhibition to someone on Earth. It’s a LOT of money.
So money isn’t a problem. The problem is that he F-ed up with her, and he needs to fix that.
Sonya says she can’t spend all her time being his muse. She has bills to pay and needs her job.
“You don’t have to pay those bills. I’ve got them” Crow says.
“I can’t ask you to do that”
“You didn’t ask. I offered. I make art, and then it’s gone. But what is the point of art without the heart… The people on Earth will buy my art because they want exotic stuff from Mars. But that doesn’t matter. You matter”
Sonya leans in and kisses him.
Catastrophe
Crows art shipment doesn’t arrive at earth. There has been a mix-up and it has been sent out to the outer planets. As a result of this the advance Crow has had is cancelled, and Sonya’s bills remain unpaid.
She had trusted Crow and it has all gone wrong.
Happily ever after
The missing art shipment doesn’t arrive at Earth, but is found by an eccentric millionaire collector in the outer planets who loves it and meets the payments. Crow is able to make the payments for her bills just before she is evicted.
Sonya resolves the job issue by quitting, and taking control of her life by settling into her secure relationship with Crow, with whom she lives happily ever after.
We wonder whether she asks Crow “to draw her like one of his Venusian girls.”
Which Witch?
A paranormal medieval romance with a love rival
- Protagonist: Tara of Stonewall, who bears the shame of the times she failed. Played by Anja.
- Paramour: Lady Marie Albans, a woman of almost unearthly charisma. Played by Robin.
- Trouble: Sir Cedric, a rival for the affection of Lady Marie. Played by Lilith.
Introduction
Tara of Stonewall is seen in the dark woods. There is a child crying in the woods, with fey creatures bearing down on them - but Tara is there with pre-christian magic which fends them off and she rescues the child. Tara takes the child back to Stonewall, the free town of merchants and traders, and accepts her payment.
She returns to her house on the outskirts of town. There are herbs and plants all around. She is clearly exhausted. She feels guilt and shame for the times when she failed against the fey. She won’t give herself time to rest now. She needs some joy in her life because the fight is day in and day out.
Encounter
Tara lives outside the wall because she is persecuted by the church. She is appreciated by individuals but doesn’t have a welcome inside the town boundaries. At home she hears a very insistent knock at the door.
The Lady Marie Albans is standing outside. She has wild blonde hair, eccentric clothing and a frazzled look to her. She says in a Scottish accent “You’re the witch”. It’s a statement, not a question.
“And you’re standing outside a witch's door. What do you need?”
“I need a witch. Can I come in?” She swans in. “Here’s the deal. Someone has stolen something from me that I need to find. It’s the kind of thing that I can’t go to the watch about. It’s a magical charm of mine. So I need someone who can sense that magic. It’s been hidden from me (rude)”
“I don’t work for free…”
“What sort of payment do you want? I can pay in whatever you want”
Complications
Tara and Marie have gone out to start searching for the missing necklace when Cedric the noble shows up looking for Marie.
Cedric asks how she is, and Marie says in a too-hurried way “I’m fine, I’m just fine, nothing’s wrong, nothing’s ever wrong”
He asks to be introduced to Tara, and recognises her as a witch. He is being extremely polite to her.
Marie asks him whether he has seen the lapis necklace, and he hasn’t, but she accepts his offer of help in looking. He is after all polite, wealthy, well connected.
First kiss
A little later Tara and Marie are outside the village. While Cedric proceeds into the village, Tara decides to cut to the chase. “How’s your craft?”
“That is a complicated and dangerous question” Marie replies, “and we are complicated and dangerous people” magic sparks from her fingers. “I’ve got enough to keep me going for now, but without that necklace I’ve lost my connection to home, and that’s where my magic comes from. So I really, really need to find it”
Tara says “Your block will be a hard scry, as I don’t have a strong connection to it. But if it’s connected to you, there is a way I can get a stronger connection to you” Tara looks at her, and both of them know what she’s talking about.
Tara leans in for a kiss, Marie takes control of the moment by gripping her chin and pulling her in. “Right,” she says “Now let’s get to work”
Catastrophe
Cedric finds the missing necklace in Tara’s cottage, and brings the evidence to Marie - clearly Tara has stolen it and is trying to trap her! In that moment Marie looks betrayed.
Happily ever after
Tara chooses to use powerful magic to prove her innocence, calling upon invocations to enforce justice in this place; that the guilty might be consumed in flame and the innocent saved. A conflagration erupts, surrounding Tara and Cedric with fierce magic flames. As the magic fades, we see Cedric burned and dead, and Tara standing there scorched and somewhat surprised. She felt that the blood of children she had not been able to save in the past would require justice to be enacted on her too, but perhaps not?
Marie says “we are not defined by our failures, but by how we learn from them” and she pulls her towards her for a deep, loving kiss.
A Victorian Adventure
A Victorian rom-com with a busybody
- Protagonist: Sophia Bradwell. An insecure shopkeeper in London, out of place because of her yorkshire accent. Desperately wishes for a life of adventure. Played by Robin.
- Paramour: Anne, an adventuress. Played by Brennan.
- Trouble: Lady Rosamund, the owner of the shop and a busybody who wants to run Sophias life for her. Played by Anja.
Introduction
There is a charming little London shop front, as if from a children’s story. We follow a beautiful well-dressed woman going inside, and she dumps her bag in the arm of the shop assistant inside the door and sweeps inside. Meet Sophia Bradwell. We see a montage of the life of this poor shop assistant. People shoving dresses at her, complaining shrilly at her “No not that one, the other one”, dumping more stuff on her. Her face is getting longer as the day goes on.
As the day ends she sends the last customer off with her cheery Yorkshire accent. “Have a lovely night, thank you for coming” and leans back on the door and slides down to the floor with a look on her face that says “what have I done?”
There is a knock on the door and Lady Rosamund, the landlady peers in. “Are you open dear?”
“Oh yes, just wait a minute” and Sophia jumps up and opens up again. Lady Rosamund gives a whole spiel of gossip, and asks how Sophia is doing then completely ignores her and leaves. Sophia collapses again. Her life is busy and wretched. She is surrounded by the beautiful and well put together people and in contrast she feels like a nobody with nothing.
Encounter
A woman comes to the shop who isn’t dressed like most of the women who arrive here. She is dressed like an adventuress. Very practical clothes with a slightly masculine look but cut for a woman. She is looking through hats.
“Can I help you find anything?”
“I’m looking for a practical outdoor covering. Travelling overseas on a European tour”
“Well, this one will work well, I can take the bow off so it doesn’t clash with your ensemble”
Sophia is feeling quite flustered in the face of this self-assured woman who is going to be travelling the world. She runs into the back of the shop, looking for things to trim the bow.
The woman takes the hat, and invites Sophia for tea. Sophia thinks that would be wonderful. The woman turns the shop sign to ‘closed’ and says “Come with me”.
Complications
Sophia is coming back after the tea, and finds Lady Rosamund waiting. The happy look on Sophia’s face crashes off as sees her landlady by the closed shop door.
Lady Rosamund had heard gossip around town that Sophia has been having tea with the libertine. Sophia denies all knowledge, but Lady Rosamund continues with her earnest desire to look after Sophia and protect her. Doesn’t want people to get the wrong impression, the thought of hanging around with that sort. She has wild ideas. She is a suffragist for goodness sake.
Doubt has been sown in Sophia’s mind. Is it socially dangerous for her to be associated with this adventurous woman?
First kiss
It’s a while later. There has been a push and pull, a back and forth, and Sophia has been scared off a little. But right now they are in Kensington Palace Gardens. Anne is talking about Tibet and Sophia says “I wish I had your life”.
Anne looks at her and says “Well, I hate doing things by myself. Why don’t you come with me?”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I do”
“Just walk away from my shop and my landlady and traipse across the world with you?”
“Exactly”
“Why me?”
“Because you are delightful”
“You can’t possibly mean that. You are amazing, incredible, iconic. You are the most incredible person I’ve ever met!”
“I think you will be an amazing adventuress if we get you out of your shell”
“You can’t know how badly that’s what I’ve wanted. To see the world…”
Anne reaches out her hand to Sophia, and then pulls her in for a kiss.
Catastrophe
Lady Rosamund saw that kiss! She is the biggest gossip and busybody in town. Sophia arrives back at the shop and Lady Rosamund is very disappointed. She doesn’t know whether she can continue to let the shop to someone who is associating with such a radical person. She is also going to let the geographical society know about these improprieties. Sophia will have to return to Yorkshire.
It is all for Sophia’s own good.
Happily ever after
We see Anne, with her bags packed for her next trip going up the boarding ramp of a steamer. Off to her next destination.
Sophia comes flying up the pier behind her, bags and everything slung over her back.
She gasps out breathlessly “She threatened to throw me out and I told her where she could stick her lease! I want to come with you! I want everything! I want adventure and excitement and I want you. I want YOU. More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my own life”
Sophia grabs Anne and this time it is Sophia that pulls Anne in for a kiss. Then they board the ship together.
Diplomat’s Dilemma
A contemporary thriller with an evil ex
- Protagonist: James, a diplomat assigned to Prague. He has unresolved anger, and wants recognition for his work. These two things may be connected. Played by Brennan.
- Paramour: Diana, an breathtakingly beautiful local woman. Played by Jonathan.
- Trouble: Anatoli, a russian mobster who is the ex- of Diana. From her point of view, not his! Played by Robin.
Introduction
James is a British diplomat in Prague. We see him meeting Anatoli, and paying him a large sum of money. Anatoli is dismissive and not threatened at all by James, who is paying off the Russian mob.
“Here is the final payment”
“Do you think this takes you off the hook?”
“I’m hoping”
“We never forget our contacts James. We will see you again”
We see James gritting his teeth with his unresolved anger, “OK, Anatoli” and after Anatoli leaves he punches the wall.
James wants recognition as a good diplomat, and he’s been overlooked in the past.
Encounter
It is a party at the embassy. Diana walks in and she is breathtaking. She has a little black dress and long black hair cascading halfway down her back. She walks right up to James.
“You are the diplomat I hear”
“Your outfit is amazing”
“It’s expensive but worth every penny. I like the best. Fine clothes, fine cars, fine… men - like you.”
James gets a little flustered, but then offers her a drink. She takes a martini, shaken not stirred. He tries to be charming, and she hangs on his every word.
Complications
Diana and James are deep in conversation when Anatoli materialises out of the crowd in a very sharp suit. He puts his arm possessively around Diana. “Good evening, Diana”, and she replies “Good evening, Anatoli. So good to see you again”
Anatoli turns to James “James, my friend, you show up in the strangest places, with interesting company. May I have a word with you in private?”
Anatoli guides him out of the main ballroom and out to the terrace, then puts his hand on James’ shoulder. “You don’t know what you are getting yourself into my friend. I suggest you don’t proceed any further along this path”
“What path might this be?”
“You don’t think I didn’t see how she was looking at you? She is the most beautiful woman in the room. But I look out for what is mine, and SHE… is mine”
First kiss
This is more clandestine scene. Diana and James are meeting in secret in a cheap apartment which James has rented. They have been exchanging sexy texts and it is getting dangerous for them, even though Diana has a burner phone.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up” James says. “I’m really scared about Anatoli”
“Anatoli thinks he owns me, but nobody owns me” Diana says, her chin lifted proudly. “Maybe something needs to be done about him”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Well, I can get close to him…”
“He’s a very dangerous man. You have a plan”
“Yes - you will need to distract him though.”
“What does a woman like you see in a man like me?”
“Anatoli has spoken of you and I was intrigued…”
James starts to feel the recognition that he is looking for. She puts her hand on his shoulder, he puts his hand on her waist and pulls her in for a long, lingering kiss.
Catastrophe
Anatoli takes James for a walk. Down by the canal. It isn’t a walk James can refuse to take. Anatoli has that “I warned you to walk away and you didn’t” conversation - and coshes James round the head and throws him off the bridge and into the canal!
Happily ever after
We see Anatoli and Diana face to face in a room. Anatoli is red-faced and shouting at her, telling her that he has murdered James.
Suddenly James bursts in, soaking wet. Anatoli turns and draws his gun; James grabs his arms and they wrestle with the gun which suddenly goes off. For a moment both bodies collapse and lie still, then James alone rises, shakily.
Diana flies into his arms. “We must flee the country, my love” and thats what they do, together.
Playtest Insight
The personified troubles were easier to work with than the abstract troubles.
Definitely like the idea of a ‘Comeuppance’ chapter where the trouble is resolved.
Sometimes we didn’t manage to lean into the theme as much as we expected. For instance the Muse of Mars was due to be a thriller, but it didn’t really have thriller elements brought into it. Perhaps a reminder at each chapter to lean into the theme of your story, and for the trouble to reflect the theme as well.