Mayday Plays - Doomed To Repeat, Campaign Diary #3 for Ep. 24 "Dead Calm"

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

Sergio spills the beans and talks about how Mayday mitigates long breaks between campaign arcs, creating space for things to slow down, letting the players take over for a while and other secrets you shouldn't know about! This is the final public campaign diary, as future episodes will be released only on Patreon. We've got merch! https://ko-fi.com/maydayrp (t-shirts and stickers) Thanks for checking out our channel! We offer a bunch of art, music, and behind-the-screen access on our Patreon; https://www.patreon.com/maydayrp, including access to our discord server! We started as a podcast! Listen to us @: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mayday-plays/id1537347277 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5vdTgXoqpSpMssSP9Vka3Z?si=73ec867215744a01 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mayday-roleplay Here are some of our other socials; Twitter: https://twitter.com/maydayroleplay Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maydayrp/ Website: https://maydayroleplay.com/ Thanks for your support! 00:00 Intro 00:42 Taking Breaks 3:00 Asking players 4:40 Handling disorders 5:43 Tension & Release 7:50 Avenues of Exploration 9:29 Tuck & Ruhi 11:05 Merit and Hyde 13:31 Boomer & Warp 14:11 Tuck's dream 15:18 Things devolve 16:58 Final moves 18:19 Outro

Hey everyone, Sergio here with campaign diary 3 for episode 24 of our Delta Green campaign doomed to repeat. Firstly, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been patiently awaiting this installment since November of last year. We had initially planned for a December release for episode 24, but the holiday rush caught up with us. And then January was always intended to be a month off for May Day. February threw us a curveball with some personal matters delaying the mixing process further.

But here we are, finally in March. Moving forward you can count on a regular monthly release schedule for each new episode throughout the rest of the year. While we're on this subject, let's talk about breaks. It's a situation that often crops up in home games. A holiday or some other interruption keeps the group from gathering for an extended period. The concern, of course, is that we might forget

crucial plot points or lose track of where our characters last left off. Sure, some diligent note taking might mitigate this risk, but let's be honest, those meticulous notes can start resembling gibberish after a few months of not reading them. With Doom to Repeat, our recording schedule typically allows for a 3-6 month hiatus between story arcs. That's a lot of time between games.

It's a rhythm that we've grown accustomed to, however. A break to recharge, followed by the meticulous editing and mixing process, during which we often rediscover the episode, having forgotten most of its details. And once Eli works their magic on it with sound effects and mastering, we release it into the world, experiencing it anew sometimes for a third time. I find recording our gameplay to be invaluable for cementing the events in my memory. While I do like to prepare for our sessions, I'm not one to take copious

notes during gameplay. I just get too engaged in the narrative as it's happening. Having a recording to refer back to afterwards truly helps me retain the nuances of what happened. If you're like me, struggling with note taking during gameplay, consider seeking permission from your players to record the session. Alternatively, recording your thoughts immediately after the game can also be effective in recollecting what occurred and planning for the next session. You might be surprised by the disparities between how the game plays out in your mind versus what the recording captures. Either way, a great tool to learn and grow.

After these breaks, it's always intriguing to witness Mayday jumping back into the action as their agents. There is a palpable sense of nervous excitement coupled with players reacquainting themselves with their characters' voices. Even I have my own nervous tics, often manifesting by overriding for the first session. I'm intrigued to learn about your strategies for combating memory loss of campaign details after prolonged breaks with your group. What's the longest period that you've experienced between sessions of the same campaign? Let's dive into dissecting the latest episode. Perennial has successfully navigated the perilous scenario Sentinels of Twilight, a feat I

noted as one of the more challenging resolutions. They regain a few grains of sanity, and with Mia in their custody, they book it in an attempt to evade the authorities. A tale has old us time for Perennial. During the drive I seize the opportunity to slow things down and delve into each agent's inner thoughts and emotions. It's an immersive technique I and a lot of GMs employ to engage both players and their characters, allowing them to articulate their mental landscapes in game.

It's all too easy to overlook such moments of introspection. I mean you're juggling so many plays as a GM and you just want to make sure your game isn't dragging. But taking the time to do this serves as a crucial touchpoint for maintaining immersion and player investment. By asking the players to let us inside the mind of their characters, you empower players to vocalize inside the mind of their characters, you empower players to vocalize their characters' inner turmoil, ensuring their continued engagement and attention. Moreover, it affords a brief break for you to gather your thoughts, jot down notes, and truly attune yourself to the evolving narrative of the characters. Admittedly,

I still find myself needing gentle reminders to incorporate these kinds of check-ins. So if you occasionally overlook them, don't sweat it. It's all part of the process. My rule of thumb is to check in with characters after a major plot point or an intense beat of action. On that drive, we learn that all of the agents are suffering. They're wounded or have lost enough sanity to have gained disorders.

Tuck wrestles with megalomania. Merit battles depression. Warp with OCD. Boomer faces not only an enclosure-related phobia, but also a new conversion disorder. And Hyde navigates Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. These are all profound and genuine struggles that countless individuals confront daily. As an actual play we bear a heightened responsibility compared to the average home game to approach these depictions with sincerity and respect. It's

imperative that we avoid portraying these issues flippantly, and that requires research and thoughtful consideration. While I don't think this level of consideration is always necessary for home games, I would urge handlers to engage in open discussions with their players when their characters acquire one of these disorders. Doom to Repeat thrives on a carefully orchestrated rhythm of tension and release. With each successive encounter, the agents find themselves in ever-escalating levels of horror, teetering on the brink of survival or succumbing to the darkness. With perennial surviving Yosemite, it was time to let the foot off the gas and let them

have a moment to lower their guard. I've observed that my players love these moments, and I do too. As a player myself, I understand the thrill of emerging from a harrowing mission and being able to reconnect with those intricacies between our characters. It's during these breaks from the action that we can delve into those lingering moments that often take a backseat to the plot. Sometimes I look forward to these quiet moments more than the action. So it's important that I let the players have time to breathe.

I've learned since arc one that we can always edit stuff out, so might as well let them have their time. The agents arrive at the Airbnb settling in for the night as they mull over their next steps. Here is where I think the players really shine. They're so good at laying out what is at stake for them and their different opinions about how to proceed. Not to mention the wonderful tension that arises when they disagree on how to proceed. I also acknowledge that sometimes they just talk themselves in circles. This is common analysis paralysis that most tables experience. Matt Coville has his quantum orc theory to spur players into action, but this time it's different.

I'll let them argue and take as much time as it requires. This is their time. They don't know this. Maybe they unconsciously feel it. But I have decided that at a specific time tomorrow morning, things will change for the agents. Maybe irreversibly. So I keep the foot off the gas and see what the players get up to when they are left alone. As the conversation turns to Tuck's abilities, she presents a compelling case for their utility,

highlighting how they've likely played a crucial role in the team's survival. Through Ruhi, Tuck's NPC wife, I subtly introduce a potential avenue for solving Tuck's dilemma. Ruhi mentions Ansel Incorporated, the entity that funded Tuck's surgery, linking it to March Technologies, a connection that doesn't escape the agents' notice. I'm trying to lay down clear avenues of exploration for the players. Go down this path and you can solve this problem. This game design of feeding the players particular avenues is how I like to run Doom to Repeat. We tout in Ark 1 that Doom to Repeat is a sandbox style game, but to be honest, it's

never really been a sandbox. The agents have always had options, but those options are intentional, never random, leading the agents exactly where I need them to be. Almost like a certain king in yellow. If they decide to find a way to help Tuck, it will all tie into the scenario Viscid. Now, I won't get your hopes up, we don't really get into Viscid due to in-game reasons, but my philosophy for the game has always been to leave these avenues for them to explore. Sort of like what we did with A Victim of the Art in ARK 2, where I bring the sandbox

philosophy back is that if the agents don't follow down that avenue, the meta narrative will push on without them. Viscid will simply become an outlaw mission, and maybe the perennial agents will catch glimpses of it on the news as it develops. Again I plan to pull no punches till the morning so I start finding a way of wrapping up the evening. Usually asking what everyone does before bed is a good start. Lev as Tuck decides they want to spend it exploring their increasingly complicated relationship

with their wife Ruhi. Ruhi is one of Tuck's bonds. A bond that Lev values deeply and adamantly refuses to exploit. To Lev, this bond symbolizes a steadfast love that endures despite the horror. Tux Thru Line has always revolved around the question can she balance her work life as a Delta Green Agent with her role as a wife. In Arc 2 it was teased when Warp and Merit came to dinner. Now that Mia has entered the picture, the question is becoming a lot more difficult to answer.

I don't know how the bond isn't lost one way or another. If Tuck dies, there's no bond to track. If Ruhi dies, Tuck automatically loses that entire bond, just scratched off the character sheet. Ruhi is now willingly in a very dangerous situation. Again, going back to why I gave Tuck these powers. Can she protect everyone? If Tuck refuses to let Mia go, then Ruhi's safety will be in jeopardy. If Tuck leans into her powers, she might lose both bonds and her humanity in the process. That moment where they are whispering to each other before bed, promising to protect one another,

feels like a kind of goodbye. I mean, later on in the episode, they do separate. I'm just really thankful that I have Lev in the driver's seat for this amazing character. Another great moment is between Merit and Hyde. Now, before I go any farther, I'm just really thankful that I have Lev in the driver's seat for this amazing character. Another great moment is between Merit and Hyde. Now before I go any farther, let me start by saying I'm going to talk about a major spoiler here.

So if you don't want anything spoiled for you, skip ahead to the next section. Ok, so you know how I said Merit and Hyde a second ago? Well it's really Merit and Seeks. That's right, everyone's favorite personality has forced his way into control when Hyde failed their sanity check back in Yosemite, when they saw the proto-Shoggoth. We decided last arc that Hyde would have enough time and therapy to be able to resist most attempts to switch over to Seeks. Only when they are lied to and learn of it was the parameter. But seeing the shoggoth was a special circumstance. Because Hyde has seen a shoggoth before. I

won't say more than that for now, but know that until they go to sleep, Seeks is in control. You'll understand now why Hyde insisted on staying awake and risked hitting a dangerously low amount of willpower. So with that context in mind, we realize there's another layer to what Merit and Seeks are talking about. Merit desperately wants there to be a purpose to their suffering, and Seeks tries to convince him that though the suffering is difficult to quantify, it can be used, directed like a weapon at the things they are up against. Merritt has really been struggling since arc 2, losing his job was devastating and killing Joe didn't help. But underneath all that there is Seeks, who is subtly

manipulating Merritt into leaning into his violent nature. I think what's cool is that without consciously knowing it, the players are literally discussing the question every agent in Delta Green asks themselves. Why do we do this? Why do we risk our lives in silence? The answer is simply because someone has to. Even though it's just pushing Armageddon off for tomorrow, it's better than Annihilation today. It's the heart of Delta Green, so I'm really proud that my players got there on their own.

Caleb asks for a human intelligence check to see if Hyde is really who they say they are, and I ask them to both roll privately. It should be obvious in the recording that Merit succeeds, and has a pretty strong assumption that this isn't Hyde. Let's see how things play out between these two in future episodes. I like Boomer's detached approach to the whole evening. She wants to shower, she wants to wash it all away, and she insists that the others do the same. In a way, their argument makes sense. They all need to rest, but Boomer's personality is always avoided. do the same. In a way, their argument makes sense.

They all need to rest. But Boomer's personality is always avoided. It's always, let's put it off till tomorrow. Clearly, Boomer still wants out and Amanda is really playing that up. Warp obsessively checks the doors and windows of the home, and Zack does a great job of leaning into this disorder. I like their decision to sleep under the cushions of the couch, a call back to her star fishing

under the mattress in arc one. At the end of the night, the decision is made to head to San Francisco and to speak to Delilah Sands, a potential outlaw connection they learned through Joe Dewant. Tuck realizes that she has taken guardianship of her sister without signing any paperwork, so if the program doesn't get them, the regular authorities will. This is why Tuck

pulls Boomer aside and asks the hacker to forge some documents for her and Mia. It seems Tuck wants a get out of jail free card if plans don't work out. This will become relevant again later. That night, Tuck has a dream. A dream of being a man at an army picnic with his family. It's another hint at the sentience behind what she is becoming. The memories of a soldier once known as Daniel Uly. Again, if you have read Visted,

you know that Uly is a part of Tuck because Tuck was given a form of ARD-15. And I reasoned that as her powers manifest so too will Yuli's will over her. The next morning the peace and quiet comes to an end. After quizzing Mia for most of the morning, Merritt gets a phone call from Mallory. She says she needs to speak with the group and wouldn't you know it, she's right outside the airbnb. I expected the agents to be defensive, but I did not expect things to devolve so quickly.

I always planned a team of three with Mallory, Agent Zia alongside her for up close protection, and the two snipers in the tree line, agents Steel and Jade. Full disclosure, this was the final episode we had to edit Samayel out of. In the original recording, Samayel decided to hypnotize Zia using some of his hypergeometry, while Mallory was outside talking to Merritt. When we removed Samael entirely from the edit it left a gap as now there was no one to use hypergeometry on Zia. We decided the change that affected the story the least would be that Mia be the one who affects Zia. It's not her stat block but it served the story and needed to happen. She vaporizes him later so I figured it made sense for the narrative.

Listening back to the episode I can get why the choice might come off as the handler just wanting to start trouble. But I assure you the decision to attack Zeal was always the player's choice. The truth is I desperately wanted to relay some very important information to the agents through Mallory. She's not really here for the kid. that's something new in the mix for her. I was planning for this moment to be a reveal of an important narrative avenue of exploration for the agents. But that got pushed till the next episode because guns were drawn. Tuck fails another sanity check after Hyde shoots Zia and Tuck hulks out. This time her strength score increases to 20. If you read the rules on Tuck's abilities you'll know that if one more of her attributes

goes above 18 she will begin to change and have permanent mutations. Her dex is at 16 so I just have to be patient. A fight breaks out and I decide to end the episode on a cliffhanger because you always leave them on a cliffhanger. I realize that this conflict could have been avoided. I could have just let the agents wake up in the morning and go to San Francisco. But we're in the end game here, and the avenues to explore are closing. We're heading in a very specific direction due to the agents actions, so sometimes you

have to bite the bullet and deny your players everything they want. I still think there are avenues to redeem themselves, possibly even engraishate themselves into the program. Plus Mallory does have something very important to tell them, and I so badly want to talk about what she needs to tell them with you, but I just can't until our next episode. Just know that the premise for the entire arc hinges on what the players are about to find out. I'll save it for next time because then we'll have lots to talk about.

I want to end the video by announcing that this will be the last public campaign diary for Doom to Repeat. May Day really wants to commit to growth this year and all of our peers place content like this on their Patreon. So starting with episode 25 and beyond, you can expect to only find these diaries at patreon.com forward slash maydayrp, where you can get access to it and a ton of behind the screen content for only 5 bucks. You'll still be getting Doom to Repeat and the majority of our shows completely free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

But here's three episodes of my campaign diary that serve as a great example of the caliber of extra content we offer. And I hope it convinces you to join us. We've got a lively discord full of friendly folks who love talking shop. We've started running games for our patrons again. Lots of reasons to join. That's it for now. Thanks for watching.

Stay safe. I'll see you next time.