Burning Sanctuary - Session 0

We gathered with an initial situation in mind. A civil war is ramping up and the characters have each declared sanctuary at an abbey.

We had a new composition of players, some that have never played together. There was a bit of back and forth on characters to play. Lots of noodling on the mechanics.

The session was very low-key, toddlers romping around, eager to play and see what the grownups were doing.

We ran out of time to dive into beliefs and instincts; But things were drawing close. The character lifepaths ended as:

• Scout < Conscript < Hunter < Village born
• Doctor < Student < Temple Acolyte < Noble born
• Smuggler < Merchant < Shopkeeper < Village born (at least from memory)
• Elder < Thinker < Student Tinkerer < City born

Two of the players leveraged the online Character Burner to assist in the character process.

At this point, my understanding of the character backstories are:

• The elder is from a village neighboring Shrewsbury, and was outspoken against King Stephen and the siege.
• The scout just learned that sanctuary was an option and deserted.
• The doctor worked in the city of Shrewsbury.
• The smuggler, likely Welsh, is a trade magnate.

Only one of the characters is “combat” savvy. It is the Scout; The one with the character trait “Flee from Battle” and an instinct to always be in the back rank.

Observation

People were quick to dive into the book and think about building their character. It was a much more personal affair. I did not feel like I was facilitating the collaboration for character creation. In the future, I think having further constraints will help bring focus to the character creation.

I’ll also consider seeding a few constrained beliefs – but not lifepaths. I wrote a few quick sketches for kick starting a Burning Wheel campaign:

• To Save a Would be King
• The Bargain of Burgundy
• Entering Dwimmermount
• The Black Plague

The scope of these 4 situations is perhaps more urgent than Burning Sanctuary’s initial situation; The framework of belief prompts helps point characters in directions without removing their ability to interpret them.

In hindsight, a bit more collaborative world and situation building may have been appropriate. Character creation felt somewhat isolated. I wasn’t facilitating the back and forth conversation.

Once we wrapped up I sent out some guidance to work on character’s beliefs:

• A belief paired with actionable things
• Tied directly to the situation of play
• Designed to drive characters towards action and conflict

I also pointed them to the Burning Wheel Belief Workshop.

I’m looking forward to this Burning Wheel; My favorite Role Playing Game (RPG 📖) sessions have always been those that strive to avoid physical combat. This group is ill-prepared for any physical combat.

They are, however, quite ready for Duel of Wits.