Back at it! Beginning of this week had a lot going on, but now we've...got less going on! (whoooo)
The Game: Cabal
The Publisher: Corone Design
Degree of Familiarity: None, I've read it.
Books Required: Just the one.
In Cabal, you play a corporation. Like, the players collectively come up with the corporation, which is as shadowy and arcane as they like, and then you go on missions, creating specialist employees to play as part of that mission. It's an interesting concept, and the system is percentile-ish, which is...not jarring, exactly, but just a little strangely trad in presentation? I don't know, it's possible I've been living in PbtA too long. I haven't played this game, so I dunno, I'm sure it works perfectly well at the table. (I must say, though, that reading it, it didn't scream "run me.")
Well, enough of that. Let's get to work! Normally I would collaborate with the other players to make a corporation, but since it's just me, it's just me.
Step One: Name. What's the name of my organization? I have to admit I'm feeling influence by the Kingsman movies. The first one was better, the sequel wasn't terrible but it wasn't as tight, but I did like the kind of parody-level American portrayal in the Statesmen (yet another thing that our current political situation has ruined). I think I want my organization to be a next-level world-influencing/espionage kind of thing, although I might not have the points to be as badass as either the Kingsmen or the Statesmen. I'll call the organization Fulcrum, Inc.
Step Two: Type. Kinda already answered this; Fulcrum is "espionage/conspiracy."
Step Three: Mission Statement. I want Fulcrum to be the "shadowy conspiracy influencing world events" kind of thing. They're not malicious and they're not, like, driven by something stupid like religious faith (I mean, that might not be stupid in-setting anyway), but they probably do have a bit of self-interest going on. Their mission statement is "changing the world but keeping the balance."
Step Four: Assign Attributes. I get 300 points to split between 11 Attributes, only I get 20 free in Finances because money money money make the world go 'round. Let's see.
Well, I'd like to be Secrecy up to at least 70, but that's gonna eat a bunch of my points. Eh, fuck it. Let's do it.
I want Resources, Influence, and Specialists to be high, too. Facade and Pressures can be pretty low; I think Fulcrum is largely unknown to the mundane populace. Let's put those latter two at 5, and put the first three at 50 each. I've spent 230, meaning I have 70 to go, and I still have 5 to go. Well, crap. Let's put 5 in Prestige (65), 20 in Knowledge (45), 20 in Loyalty (25), 10 in Finances (for a total of 30) and the remaining 15 in Foundation. That's pretty weaksauce, but hey.
Step Five: Logo/Uniform. The Fulcrum logo is easy; simple line over a circle. The uniform is basic black with grey trim, but Fulcrum doesn't put a lot of emphasis on conformity of appearance.
Step Six: Detail Employees. I get 50 team points because that's my score in Specialists. Do I need to do anything with that? It looks like I would make an employee before a mission, but that the Board of Directors (the hypothetical other players and I) would make some decisions about where to spend those 50 points. I don't think I need to do that here, though?
So, I think I'd rather think about Fulcrum a little more. Fulcrum is a conspiracy, it's just not a very old one. It's probably a remnant of another intelligence agency - it's got a decent showing in terms of personnel, but they aren't especially loyal, they're mostly in it for the payday. They are, however, very good at staying off the radar. That limits Fulcrum's options for making money and staying solvent, but they can zip in, fulfill surgical-strike agendas, and zip out. That does, however, leave their agents mostly relying on their wits. I think that Fulcrum remains mysterious and aloof even from their employees, presenting the facade that they're more influential than they really are.
And I think that's me done, actually.
