I was thinking yesterday about the narrative trope of Sylvie in the first season of Loki dodging the TVA by hiding in apocalypses and how that was actually really clever. That got me thinking about how this game is a post-apocalypse game funded and published during an "apocalypse" of sorts, and now I'm doing the character for it in the midst of another one.
"Apocalypse", of course, is a relative term (and this is actually what I was noodling about Loki). Sure, most of the time when we think about it, especially in the context of "post-apocalypse," we think about world-ending events. But I always thought it would be interesting to do a game (or a story, whatever) about an "apocalypse" hewing closer to the literal meaning of the word, which of course is "revelation." I even had some ad copy in mind: "This wasn't an apocalypse. An apocalypse is a revelation, and we've learned nothing."
I thought about that in the context of a game inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle (I always wanted to do a collection of four smaller games inspired by Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, and two other Vonnegut novels, maybe Breakfast of Champions and Sirens of Titan, but there's a lot to choose from), but of course then I was cancelled and stopped making games. In any event, Vigor: Into Dust is a post-apoc game published in 2020 when COVID was the apocalypse du jour, and now here it is five years later (meaning it's been gathering dust, lol, for five years, which isn't uncommon) and we're in the midst of a very different sort of apocalypse.
I don't know what any of this means. It was just in my head.
The Game: Vigor: Into Dust
The Publisher: Stitchcraft Press
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
Strange title aside (I mean, it makes sense in context, but I don't think it's particularly evocative as RPG titles go), Vigor: Into Dust is actually kind of a nifty-looking game. It doesn't define the "World Before" other than to say that it was big and bright and shiny by comparison. In the "now" of the game there's an oppressive Hierarchy, and people can use "the Dust" to do magic. A lot of the particulars are defined at the table, success or failure on rolls is defined in the context of improv ("yes, and", "no, but" sorts of things). It looks like a proto-version of games like Rebels of the Outlaw Wastes and even Wildsea, actually. I'd run it, I think, though it falls into that unfortunate space of being a game I would run, but there are games that do similar things that I'm more excited about. But that's all one, as they say, let's make a Lead (as in "Lead Character").
It might be obvious that each of these steps contains multiple sub-steps (actually, the book says as much right below this list), so it's not a three-step process, but I'm not gonna split hairs. "Writing a sketch" is basically concepty kind of stuff, and there's not really anything firm about it - I could choose Journey (class, more or less) or some history, here, but I don't really have something in mind. Choosing a Journey would probably kickstart things. I could also grab a theme song. Yeah, sure, let's do that. (I'm not using the song that's in my head, which is Del Amitri's "Empty," because I used it waaaaay back here for an Orpheus character).
That's a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" by Meg Myers. That's pretty damn evocative. Ooh, how about my character is an ex-Hierarchy operative. Not a soldier necessarily, but maybe an officer in charge of an outpost in the wilds. A group of...outsiders, I guess raided his outpost to steal supplies, and his people captured a couple of them. And then two nights later, the other ones came back to liberate their people, and one of them died in the process. But there's my character, watching this camaraderie and love between these filthy people living in the wilds, and wishing that he could trade places with one of them, because his life, while safe and secure (as much as it can be in this weird, Aberrant-filled world) is boring and stale. His name is Ishayn Dormell.
(If I were actually playing this game, this character would either have to already have left his position or the first session or story would have to involve him leaving and pulling a Zuko and joining up with the PCs. I'm not sure which way I want to go for my purposes today, so let's move on.)
So what's next? Roleplay prompts! Threads, Natures, Roots. These are kind of core concepts of the character. There are three slots under each one on the sheet, do I need three of each? No, it says to answer as many as I want, but then each one only gives one question. Grr. Is there an example of chargen? There is not, but there are some pre-gens in the book, and they all have two of each (except one, that only has one Root). So apparently it doesn't much matter, so I'll just do what feels right.
OK, Threads. Goals, obligations, interests, quests, events that pull my character in a given direction, according to the book. Well, based on the pre-gens, these can be pretty immediate, so let's say Ishayn's top priority right now is Escape this gilded cage. I can't think of another one just at the moment, so let's move on to...
Natures! Instincts, thoughts, impulses, outlooks. These things are probably really in flux for Ishayn, so I think I'll put I am not what I thought I was and Fall back on my training.
And then finally, Roots. These are core relationships and foundational beliefs. Well, obviously, The captured rebels is a big one. These don't have to be people, though, so I think that another one for Ishayn is going to be The gate to the outpost. It seemed insurmountable, but Ishayn is coming to realize that it's just a gate, a thing someone built. It can be un-built.
Approach! These is basically a way to delineate points spread for the rest of my stats. I think that Ishayn might want to be more a "passion over practice" kind of fellow, but "practice makes progress" makes the most sense right now.
Well, Vigor starts at 6, that's easy. Let's think about Qualities (Brawn, Finesse, Guile, Presence, Understanding). Hmm. I think Ishayn wants Understanding, but shouldn't have it yet. I'll do the 1/1/2 spread, and put one into Brawn, one into Finesse, and two into Presence.
Pack Type! These are sets of equipment that are categorized by one of the seven Journeys, but I don't have to take the Pack Type that aligns with my Journey (which is good, because I don't know the Journey I want yet). I think that Ishayn is probably going to have either soldier stuff (which would probably indicate Cuff) or he's getting ready to flee and has stuff for survival in the wilds (which would be Point). I think I'll go with the former.
I get a Prized Asset, too. I think for Ishayn it's a Tattered Leather Jacket that he took from the body of the dead intruder after the rescue op. He knows he might have to return that to someone someday, but it fits him so nice...
Right, now I get to choose a Journey (which in turn determines what Waypoints I have access to; Waypoints are special abilities, basically).
Well, Ishayn obviously isn't a Fold, Hook, Seam or Sift (medic, face, mystic, or ranger, respectively, in very brief). Bind (crafter) also doesn't make a lot of sense. Cuff (warrior) is OK, but not my first choice, but it's either that or Point (leader/strategist). Let's have a look at those two.
I think Ishayn aspires to be a Point, and normally I'd say he's a Cuff, but since these are meant to be narrative plans rather than purely character classes, I think I'll say that his journey is The Point. Interestingly, there's no place on the sheet for this. But I can pick a Waypoint (just one), and I'll take Not On My Watch - if another Lead drops to Vigor 0 I can spend some of mine for them.
And that's basically it! I picture Ishayn as maybe early 30s, young enough that this assignment is a stepping stone but old enough that it makes sense. He's gone from being decisive and steady to flighty and temperamental since the incident, and I'm sure his soldiers have noticed. I picture him as being played by Oscar Isaac, I think.
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