Jo
Works for me.
Can we use the library?
Felix
It’s a bit cold on the main floor at night, but if you’re comfortable in one of the meeting rooms downstairs, we can do that.
Jo
I’ll be there. Here are the links for tickets and hotel. Get a Sat/Sun pass, since we’re driving all day Fri and Mon.
Felix
Thanks. Can’t wait.
Jo
And here’s Merry being a dingus. Par for the course for him, really.
Felix
His tummy looks very soft.
Jo
It’s the softest
That Tuesday, Felix watched Jo unpack books and papers from her tote bag, his leg bouncing beneath the table. He was anxious to learn and do well at this sample game. She would be bringing him to a convention with all her friends from home, and he didn’t want to embarrass himself, or her, in front of them.
He’d never been the kind of person, even as a kid, who imagined himself fighting dragons or being a superhero. He never wished to visit the Shire or travel through time and space. Not that he didn’t have an imagination—he was very good at imagining certain things, particularly where Jo was involved. He simply didn’t feel the need to escape into a fantasy world when the real world was more deserving of his attention.
But he was going to try. For Jo, for his job, for Tito, and for himself. Maybe he would fall in love with MnM; he’d never know if he didn’t try.
Jo handed him a small bag of bright yellow dice and a piece of paper. The paper looked something like a blank spreadsheet, a log with many rows and several columns labeled along the top.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“That’s your logsheet for SWOP.”
“Swap?”
“S-W-O-P. Sibylline Wastes Organized Play,” she explained. “It’s the official ruleset for public MnM events. Cons always follow SWOP rules and use SWOP adventures to keep things standardized. The logsheet is for tracking your level, gold, and magical equipment.” With a flourish of her hand, she continued, “And since I happen to be a SWOP-certified GM, we can use this game to make Graxalos level two before Indi-Con. That way I can show you how leveling up works, and you’ll have more game mechanics to try out at the con.”
“I think I got all of that,” he said.
“I’m also going to play my warlock, Veena, in addition to GMing. That’s technically not allowed, but I wanted to give you another character to interact with and let you see how spellcasting works. Don’t tell the SWOP police.”
Felix watched her rearrange her papers, muttering to herself, and felt a sense of awe wash over him. “Thank you, Jo. You originally only gave me an hour a week, and this has become a lot more. I hope you know that I appreciate it.”
She scoffed, barely glancing up. “I’m pretty sure Friday doesn’t count. Because, you know. There was a tornado.”
He shook his head but let a bemused smile settle on his lips. Someday. Someday she’d accept a compliment from him at face value.
“Ready?” The glee in her voice was the cutest thing Felix had ever heard.
“As I’ll ever be.”
With a deep breath, she began. “Graxalos, you and your friend Veena are walking down the street. You two have been friends for a while. She’s a merfolk warlock devoted to a powerful fey creature of the Undersea. The two of you have been doing odd jobs around town. The townsfolk know you to be reliable and strong, with abilities well above the average person. You’re the muscle, and she’s the magic.”
Felix grinned. Not totally swept up in the story yet, but he could picture the scene Jo painted with words. A small town, not unlike Ashville. A main thoroughfare with small shops on either side. A reptilian biped like the dragonkin illustrated in Core Rules walking alongside a creature that resembled Ariel from The Little Mermaid (the version with legs).
“As you two are walking,” she continued, “you see someone up ahead. You recognize him as Chauncey. He owns the cattle farm at the edge of town.”
An image of Tito, the cattle rancher that Felix knew best, came to mind.
“He spots the two of you,” Jo continued, “and runs over. ‘Grax! Veena! You gotta help me!’”
He burst out laughing. Jo had suddenly become a completely different person, flailing her arms and speaking in a horrible Southern accent. She gave Felix a smile and kept going. In Chauncey’s voice, she told a melodramatic story of a cattle theft the night before. Speaking as Grax but using own voice, Felix offered to help find the thieves. Jo’s demeanor changed again as Veena agreed. Her voice went high and girlish, and her eyes widened like an ingenue from a classic Hollywood movie.
Felix was floored by how quickly she could switch from narrator to Chauncey to Veena and back again. How the fuck was he supposed to be a GM? He couldn’t do character voices. He wasn’t an actor. Hell, he could barely imagine the story without relying on things from real life.
Despite his doubts, he found himself relaxing into the game the longer they played. Jo made it easy, cracking jokes and teasing him as Veena as if she and Graxalos were old friends. Together, the two characters tracked the stolen herd to a hideout in the woods. Grax kicked in the back door on a room full of cattle rustlers, and a fight immediately broke out.
They rolled for initiative to determine the turn order. On Felix’s turn, he had Grax punch one of the thieves who had attacked first and injured Veena. He rolled his yellow d20, and Jo declared it was high enough to hit.
