The Play's the Thing With Which We'll Determine the Ownership of the Pig

Thoughts about the play...

... it should showcase each member of the League's talents. Since 'acting' isn't among them, this should prove interesting.

... mainly, they can dish out and take physical punishment, so the play should feature a lot of unsimulated combat. Ideally, the first few rows should get spattered w/blood. This appeal to those audience members who miss the bloodsports.

... it's in line with the overall goal to bring a 'new realism' to the Port stage.

... the 'storyline' should follow the League's exploits, with no mention of the Codpiece God. If it chooses to reveal itself during the performance, we'll ad-lib. Also, it's miracle in the Pit will be ascribed to Treasure.

So Odanais will bring magic to the stage, literally. Maybe Penelope can shoot something off someone's head. Heyoka will provide Method acting and feats of strength.

What else can we do??!

Mallus wrote:

Ideally, the first few rows should get spattered w/blood. This appeal to those audience members who miss the bloodsports.

Yeah, and whatever else people tend to get splattered with when Yatagan is fighting.

gridley wrote:

Yeah, and whatever else people tend to get splattered with when Yatagan is fighting.

Surprisingly, I hadn't considered introducing pornography to the Port's stage. Yatagan does have all that highly-eroticized labor propaganda lying around...

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Maybe Penelope can shoot something off someone's head.

Penelope would be very happy to show off her archery skills, I'm sure!

Penelope wrote:

Penelope would be very happy to show off her archery skills, I'm sure!

Excellent. At the play's finale she can shoot pork buns off our stand-in for Clagoff's head.

Hmmm, should Heyoka play Clagoff, or Yatagan? If we tell Heyoka he's Clagoff he might hurt himself.

Vox will...hmmm. You know, I'm not sure what he'll do. He's got a ritual that will make someone's voice carry clearly to everyone who can see him -- only lasts for an hour, but I can't imagine that this will be a very long production.

I must consider this matter carefully....

Wait, who is playing the pig? El?

Mallus wrote:

Maybe Penelope can shoot something off someone's head.

That sentence works much better without the word "something."

Are there any condemned criminals who we could 'borrow' from the magistrates?

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Hmmm, should Heyoka play Clagoff, or Yatagan? If we tell Heyoka he's Clagoff he might hurt himself.

Asking him to play either would hurt his poor little brain.

Atlatl wrote:

That sentence works much better without the word "something."

You're right.

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Are there any condemned criminals who we could 'borrow' from the magistrates?

So Heyoka is the casting director?

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Asking him to play either would hurt his poor little brain.

I meant that (Heyoka or Yatagan) should play Clagoff. But the idea of Heyoka impersonating Yatagan is pretty funny.

I suppose, though, for the sake of true artistic collaboration, Heyoka should write his own part. Can he write?

Should we use our real (character names), or create obvious pseudonyms? I like changing Clagoff to Jagoff. And Yatagan already has a nom de poem "Onan Ruckus". Following in suit...

Odanais Dare can be Henri Transgress.

Penelope can officially be The Black Burqa.

Heyoka Jumps-Off-Mountains can be simply 'Swims-in-Lava'.

Captain Artichoke should definitely be Commandant Carrot.

Asarlai can be 'Old Surly'

The dwarven death-cultist can be 'The Little Death'.

And for Vox, we could steal from Penny Arcade: Grimm Shado.

Mallus wrote:

And for Vox, we could steal of Penny Arcade: Grimm Shado.

I am fully prepared to take it to the limit.

Rolzup wrote:

I am fully prepared to take it to the limit.

Isn't that the motto for this campaign?

Since Scott started this thread off for actual play planning, I figured we might as well use it for working out what the play will involve. Not that I expect you to have a detailed plot or anything, but any details you can come up with will help me prep. So, to that end, a few questions:

1) What does the play begin with? The rescue of Treasure at the docks from Evil Captain Jagoff? Something else?

2) What does the play end with?

3) What salient scenes from the history of the League will be showing up? Obviously the battle at the docks is one and I gather Odanais fighting "sexy wraiths" is another. What else? Is the battle with Hans Pitir to feature too?

4) All of you will be acting, right? Or is anyone going to focus on off-stage work, which will be needed?

5) Where does the musical/Bollywood element come in? Or is it everywhere?

I'll come up with more questions/comments as they occur to me.

Scene One: Treasure's Baptism and Rescue at the Docks

Scene Two: Pig Meets Dog

Scene Three: Suffer the Little Children to Come to Treasure

Scene Four: Treasure Descends into the Underworld

Scene Five: Treasure Pig Superstar

As Odanais continues working on the musical score, he becomes more and more convinced that they should hire a chorus to perform the songs.

shilsen wrote:

1) What does the play begin with? The rescue of Treasure at the docks from Evil Captain Jagoff?

Yes. It begins on the docks with a musical number whose lyrics are taken from Yatagan's highly eroticized labor propaganda, sung by female docksworkers too poor to afford much clothing.

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2) What does the play end with?

Jagoff and his ship being blown up. Then something descends from the sky. Either ghostly Jagoff dressed in sequins singing the praises of Treasure after being reborn in her glory. Or an airship, a la Miss Saigon. This is to take Odanais into the sequel, where he finds his sister.

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4) All of you will be acting, right?

Odanais, Heyoka, Penelope and I are, at least. Yatagan volunteers play all the villain roles, since can take the most damage and is the most offense.

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5) Where does the musical/Bollywood element come in? Or is it everywhere?

The entire thing is a musical.

gridley wrote:

Scene One: Treasure's Baptism and Rescue at the Docks

Scene Two: Pig Meets Dog

Scene Three: Suffer the Little Children to Come to Treasure

Scene Four: Treasure Descends into the Underworld

Scene Five: Treasure Pig Superstar

Nice The following is Yatagan's outline for the play.

Act 1
-- Musical number on the Docks, with scantily-clad dockworkers ("We Shall Overcome").
-- The Rescue of Treasure (big fight!)
-- Back at the Hall, short song singing the praise of Stephan Petard for not blowing us or the rioters up (all classic Dragonborn art was pro-State propaganda)
-- An evil spirit named Bag O'Faces tries to take Treasure, is driven off, but not before revealing Treasure is a god and cursing her.

Act 2
-- League seeks guidance from the Temple of the Dog. Pig Meets Dog. Heyoka's big number.
-- Next morning, Treasure wakes up with no face!
-- League attacks Bag o'Faces evil lair (1st use of fireworks)
-- Bag o'Faces flees into a pit leading into the Underworld (at no point is Madame Glossop mentioned).
-- Rot Rustlers and sexy wraiths attack! Odanais's big number.
-- Bag o'Faces is found, defeated, Treasure face recovered. Odanais wears it out of the Underworld. One sexy wraith 'converts' and accompanies Odanais.

Act 3
-- Captain Jagoff hires Rat King to steal Treasure back.
-- Rat King and henchmen are mauled to music, a la West Side Story
-- Rat King is dismembered via archery while tied to a wheel. Penelope's big number!
-- Rat King (now played by "L"'s corpse) is stuffed full of explosives and hurled onto Jagoff's ship, blowing it up (2nd, bigger use of fireworks).
-- Finale.

Note: at no point is the Codpiece God mentioned, except for all the crude cyphers and other numerological stuff Yatagan threads through the text.

Mallus wrote:

Nice. The following is Yatagan's outline for the play.

...

Okay, that's just brilliant!

This may be a stupid question, but should I roll anything for Yatagan's attempt at writing for the stage? I was thinking that since he's writing all the villain roles for himself, his skill at Intimidate might apply and Diplomacy for the League parts, because he wants the audience to like them.

Also, since time's so short, Yatagan is cribbing all that he can from his poetry, so most of the non-singing parts are in heroic couplets.

Mallus wrote:

This may be a stupid question, but should I roll anything for Yatagan's attempt at writing for the stage? I was thinking that since he's writing all the villain roles for himself, his skill at Intimidate might apply and Diplomacy for the League parts, because he wants the audience to like them.

Since you guys are not trained actors and Yatagan's not a playwright, I was figuring that the success of the lines would come down more to performance (and by that I don't mean good acting) issues rather than aesthetics and dramatic quality. But sure, to give us a sense of how Yatagan's material is going to come out, give me four checks. Diplomacy, Intimidate, a straight Cha check and a straight Int check.

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Also, since time's so short, Yatagan is cribbing all that he can from his poetry, so most of the non-singing parts are in heroic couplets.

Speaking as one of the very, very few people in my entire department who can actually read heroic couplets with pleasure, let me just say - OW!

shilsen wrote:

Speaking as one of the very, very few people in my entire department who can actually read heroic couplets with pleasure, let me just say - OW!

I read them and think 'this sounds fucking stupid', which is why they're appropriate for Yatagan.

OOC: rolls in the order listed: Diplomacy - 31, Intimidate - 26, CHA - 24, INT - 5. So it's got really likable heroes, scary villains, it's charming, and utterly stupid. Perfect!

The member 'Mallus' has done the following action : Dice Roller

#1 'd20' : 20

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#2 'd20' : 13

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#3 'd20' : 18

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#4 'd20' : 4

Mallus wrote:

I read them and think 'this sounds fucking stupid', which is why they're appropriate for Yatagan.

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OOC: rolls in the order listed: Diplomacy - 31, Intimidate - 26, CHA - 24, INT - 5. So it's got really likable heroes, scary villains, it's charming, and utterly stupid. Perfect!

Wow - you couldn't have got the numbers more appropriately if we'd just picked them! That is just perfect.

shilsen wrote:

Wow - you couldn't have got the numbers more appropriately if we'd just picked them! That is just perfect.

Now all Yatagan needs is a bunch of actors to ruin his idiotic masterpiece!

Mallus wrote:

Now all Yatagan needs is a bunch of actors to ruin his idiotic masterpiece!

Aha! That's why you're using the other PCs instead!