Lessons From a First-Time GM: Burning Wheel, Session Two

Introduction
Part 2 of my every-once-in-a-while series about my first-ever attempt at running an RPG campaign.

My group is playing The Burning Wheel, and they have a newbie GM to contend with. Here be monsters.

Last Time On The Burning Wheel
You'll recall that at the end of our last session, the players had murdered a noble family and burned their home to the ground. It's all right, though, they had it coming. A bit of elaboration may be in order.



The party, such as it is, consists of:

• Reginald P. Hopelessness, a mad summoner recently escaped from Detroit's maximum security gulag


• Ben Anjerries, a lounge singer aboard the Impiritus, the Eastern Empire's finest commercial airship


• Sergeant Horatio Van Dyke, of Pacifica - a former officer of the law and present dissenter


• Gwendolen "Kennedy" McGovern, a pirate captain from Southcape who is looking for a fresh start as a pirate captain

The aforementioned dead nobles had committed an unforgiveable offense against Ms. McGovern, and in true role-playing fashion, the rest of the party joined in the festivities. The events of the first session, however, were immediately and severely retconned. They were, essentially, the vague, meandering motions of an alternate reality, dimly perceived.

Enough practice. On with the show.

Session Two: Who's In Charge Here?
The second session, or the first real session, began with the prison escape of Reginald Hopelessness, mad summoner, cultist, and fugitive. His was the first of many sub-plots I needed to quickly tie together. You see, I had created a rather large world, and given the players free reign to dictate their origins and motiviations. Accordingly, they conspired to place themselves as far as is humanly possible from one another. One in Pacifica, one in the Eastern Empire, one in Detroit, and one in Southcape.



To stave off inevitable player boredom, I quickly paired the players up. Gwendolen (from Southcape) was tasked with a highly profitable undercover mission in the Eastern Empire, and given the magical gift of fast travel. Ms. Anjerries and Ms. McGovern were accordingly paired in short order and thrust into the slightly dull but not entirely hopeless social aspect of Burning Wheel.

The mad summoner, pinnacle of hopelessness if there ever was one, was lucky enough to meet a grizzly woodsman in the dismal reaches of Detroit. The woodsman took a liking to our hapless hero, and would serve as a kind of bumbling guide to Mr. Hopelessness for the remainder of the session. They would not have far to travel, but many humorous adventures would be had.

Meanwhile, in the far west, Sgt. Van Dyke had received ill news from the Empire, mortal enemy to his homeland of Pacifica. The news was carried by a Roden (rat-person from the Burning Wheel setting) NPC with whom he paired up for his much longer journey from Pacifica to NORAD. Along the way they spotted an NPC who would play a larger part later in the story.



Following a series of humorous adventures, Mr. Hopelessness and his friend found themselves quite close to the Eastern Empire when a pair of events occured. First, they were accosted by bad men who wished them harm. Second, they encountered a strange western man and a giant talking rat. Battle and fire and misunderstandings ensued.



Closing Thoughts
At the end of the session, the players had not quite congregated, but they had (in no particular order):

1. Burned down another house


2. Fought a bat


3. Stealthily secured a posh job


4. Killed several men


5. Flown in an airship


6. Bargained with a hobo


7. Burned down a stable


8. Gotten a pedicure

All in all, it went much smoother than the first session, and while we didn't make it quite as far as I had hoped, I think we made it as far as was reasonable. Stay tuned for Session 3.