A game event that you are still proud of.

A recent game of Coriolis: The Third Horizon filled me with a certain pride. The PCs had just completed a major mission and were recovering in hospital, a bit unsure of where they were, how they’d got there and what was next. The Horizon had heard of their exploits; they’d encountered a certain something that gave them both notoriety but also had many factions after their services.

The aim of the session was simple: present them with a series of patrons and get them to choose one for a series of missions which would make up part three of The Last Cyclade (book two of the Mercy of the Icons).

I tried very hard to balance these patrons and their offers, making them all appear somewhat reasonable and attractive, and I think this showed in the genuine quandaries that the players had - to go with smaller factions and perhaps have more autonomy, or sign up with larger players who perhaps would demand more and the missions would be higher risk.

Ultimately, the players surprised me by backtracking on an out-of-character group decision, as more Birr and a good negotiation with one of the bigger players swayed them and sent them down a completely different path to one I’d envisaged.

The players praised the session for pushing them into hard decisions and to alienating certain factions; they felt like they’d earned the choice they’d made and that it was a real choice, with real consequences- a lovely bit of RPG non-combat across two hours.

I really enjoyed this session, not least because of the players’ engagement, but because I placed choices in front of them, played it out based on their reactions and didn't feel once that I was pushing them down one path or another. A really collaborative session that opened up future sessions in a completely surprising way, which I’m sure the players and I will enjoy.

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