Mayday Plays - 🐊 Backchannels by Backwards Games, Session 0

Episode Date: September 16, 2023

Some of the Mayday family tackle the new southern gothic horror ttrpg from Backwards games! Watch Lev, Zak, Eli, Vince, and Caleb discuss what to expect from the 2 part adventure, their character connections, and what kind of pirate crew they'd like to be! The Backchannels Kickstarter begins at the start of October so we'll be sure to update this link once it drops! 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 including Vegas By Night 1-on-1 sessions 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! Broadcasted live on Twitch -- Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/maydayroleplay

Hello friends! Welcome to Madei plays! Back channels, the fantastic new setting from our friends over at Backwater. Set in southeastern United States and the Caribbean in all of those lovely wonderful explorative places. We have our wonderful crew for this one shot. I love, I'll be your captain, I guess? I don't really know. What I'm gonna call myself in this one. And we'll just go around in the usual order, everyone, introduce yourselves. There's no Amanda here, so I go. Nope. Oh, yeah. Caleb James Miller. He loves.

And my working character concept, I don't know if it's going to change, but we'll see. His name is William Bitemuller, and I'm going to be playing the smuggler archetype. We'll see how that goes. I am Eli. I will be playing the Storm Brewer archetype. Okay, folks, on Vince, I will be playing the spy archetype name TBD.

TBD determined not the initials TBD. That's fair. That's good, that's good. Good. Clarification. Finally. I'm Zach and I am going to be playing a swashbuckler and I'm really tempted to make my characters

initials TBD now, but we'll see. I love it. Yeah, so this session zero, we're just gonna kind of build our ship, build our crew, and build all of our relationships in. So you guys are going to have a ship because you are pirates. Okay, so I guess first off, what we're gonna be deciding as a crew is the kind of ship we want to have. is the kind of ship we want to have. We're starting out in the Florida Keys, which have since the end of times kind of

been taken under water and then built back up in a series and just like shipwrecks that have kind of coalesced into a city. There is the opportunity for us to have a wooden vessel that's like a galleon or like a size warship. There's a, we're not like a warship but like a like a schooner. There's a word. There's an opportunity for kind of cobbled together motorboats that are in kind of a formation if you will. Any really like boating type of object you would like to have as your ship is possible. So does anyone have any any big feelings about it? Do we have vibes we want to hit with

our ship? What do we think of? What does bigger this ship mean? Like bigger the crew in personnel that we have or is this going to be the four of us manning? You'll have a commensurate number of deck hands. If it's like a scooter, you'll probably have two deck hands you guys may have to. If you decide you want to worship, which seems insane, but seems also like something you would do, you could have like, you know, a big crew

that you guys would be like in charge of everything. I'm not advocating for a worship. I hope that's clear. I don't want you guys to pick a worship. I don't know, worship. No, not a worship. I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it. I don't like it.

I shouldn't have been said that. That's on me. That's on me. I mean, if I don't know what's on the table, what it sounds like worship is on the table. It doesn't. It is on the table. It's on the table.

We're trying to see what exactly, like, where the ship part is in the book. I haven't found one. Okay, that's what I'm just like, okay, if we're really, if we're going on vibes here. We're going on vibes entirely. I haven't seen a ship section in the book, so I'm just saying we're making a ship. You guys get a ship and you can make it to your heart's content.

That's cool. Is anyone here in the military? Did we steal the ship? No, fuck no, I'm not in the military. No. For the ballad show or anything like that? Great. Okay.

In fact, I mean, I should be a, I need to be a front with all of you right now. My character took this, you know the little like disadvantages in the book, or whatever? The like hindrances, I forget the name of those things. My guy took, is notorious, meaning that like being around him, everyone sort of knows he's a piece of shit, and he is a piece of shit. So that piece of shit, them should probably contribute to this ship in some way.

So if we are in a military vessel, we almost assuredly stole it. It could be like a piracy thing, like somebody stole a while ago and now it's their ship and it's been repurposed and now we're just on it. Yeah, that could have been some kind of heist that you wanted to check with your captain.

So yes, yes, warship. Yes, somebody stole it, but it seems like a minute since it was stolen. Do you guys remember those old iron clad ships where it was like wooden ship except for the part that reaches over the surface of the water was like iron. If you search up iron clad right now, I think that would be an interesting idea for a ship. I actually, there's something for this and the way that my character has decided to look that would be good to have a reflective surface on the bottom of the ship Hmm So So we're thinking an iron platt ship that we stole. Yes

Okay, great Was it in good condition when you saw it or was it kind of a piece of shit? I mean we're pirates it might as well be a piece of shit right? Yeah our piece of shit. It's doing it's doing it's best. Like it was a damn fine vessel until we got to it. Yeah so it was nice when you got it and now it's kind of gone downhill. Oh, yeah Okay, how long have you guys had the ship? Two years there you go two years Maybe that's why it's not the notoriousness of it. Yeah, maybe that's why it's in such shitty shape

as that people try to take it back. Yeah, all I love that. Yeah, it'd be fun. Wow, yeah. Yeah, you guys have invaded for a while. Eli says Navigator. Oh, Navigator is a title for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, that was, that was a, or it was a, lives GM name. Well, that was, that was a, or was a, a, lives, a GM name. We'll get to, we'll get to ship duties. We'll get to ship duties in a minute. I was gonna say that's a good question. Yeah. But we do need a navigator.

We do need a navigator. So you have an ironclad ship. It was nice when you got it. I like the idea that like, the ship is in such disrepair that we had to like add sales to it. Because traditionally on an ironclad, don't need them, they're like half-submarine,

but I think it's so fucked at this point. I like, yeah. That we had to like turn it back into a traditional boat, yeah. It's like the people that like van life, but yeah, it's a worship we stole. Yeah, what's the name of your ship? I turn it to random pages, but I pick a one. Do they have an ironclad name generator? I do, if they do, we have to stick to it.

Hold on. Yes, let's find out if they have an ironclad name. Folks drop it. So I did find a word. It's what? It can't be what we do. This is a book of old plant cures by the way. And the word is stinking Jacob. At the stinking Jacob, I want it. It's made into a tea and mixed with honey for an unspecified sickness. This stinking Jacob is kind of hilarious. Is that the name it started with or is that the name you guys changed it to when you stole it? That's true. That could be what's what the name is on the side and we've since done things to it. We stole this thing. Yeah, that was the name of the...

Stinking Jacob Steelers? It's good. The pride of the... So that's the name... So maybe that's the name we named it after we stole it because like the admiral or like the guy in charge It was like maybe his name was Jacob. So we named it the stinkin' Jacob's like a fuck you. I like that That's how they keep finding us and that's in criminy. Yeah, that's true. He's a good point. Yeah, nobody said we were smart Yeah, well, what would be the original name? Yeah, well, what would be the original name though? Oh, I don't know. Fucking, let's look up some bullshit, more shit names.

But I was gonna say, are the bad guys also the people we would consider the enemies of Puerto Rico, which is a few people. There's a trading company, right? Like there's like the Providence Trading Company, which is like the new India Trading Company, I think, kind of. There are semi-anties that you're going to fight at some point, potentially. Maybe actually, we're sure because you start in a bar fight, you're going to be fighting some Yankees. Good. Yes. Good, good. Um, let's see, the battle cat is the name of, uh, of a ship. Oh, uh, the Trivail. That's a good one. Trivail is feeling itself.

Yeah, it's gonna be right pinkies up the name. Now it's the Stinking Jacob Bastard. It's the Trivail. It's been written out. Or's the Stinking Jacob Basant. It's the name. It's been written out. Or is the Stinking Jacob? Amazing. Okay. Is there anything else we want to add about our ship?

Do we have specific quarters of everyone kind of like Pu pile and root in a room together. If it's a worship I want my own room. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm Bunts. Or we know how big is this ship actually? How big is the iron club? That big.

Yeah, it's not like a galleon. Like a galleon would have like crew quarters. It's almost like a submarine. Oh, I guess we're all together. Yeah, it's like part submarine part Regularship. It's like, oh, you know that stupid, No, it's stupid fighting. You know right at Disney.

Yeah, it's just like that. Like that. I'm imagining like Torbus bunk beds in a hallway. That sort of obviously, okay. Fantastic. Are there any specific rooms you want? You'll have a kitchen, you'll have like a gunnery, you'll have, I don't know if that's

what they're called, but I'm calling it a gunnery where all the guns are. You'll have the helm storage, the bilge. I think that's a thing on ships. Arching crafts room. The bottom part, mate. Honestly? Yeah. I think I like, yeah. Or like a repair, like it'll probably be whatever the bottom floor of the boat is.

You're not kind of hang. Yeah. Yeah. Navigate like a map room for navigation. We got to have somewhere to smuggle, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, there's got to be like, seeker compartments and shit. Yeah, you can definitely have some secret compartments. I trust you guys to make them fair in the moment.

I'm such a I'm such a laid-backed yeah I'm sorry I don't give you guys more guidelines or like bumbers but I'm like I trust you only good for us we're not sad about it what's wild is there are no limits and we will still yeah yeah we'll find a way. We're our worst enemies. We'll find the wall. We always find the wall. Run into it. Yes, absolutely.

For a ship precise, I'm going to say you probably have like three deck hands. If you want to have input into who they are, you're welcome to or you can have me just make them. Whatever's best for you. Can I request an astrology bitch? I will write down an astrology bitch. Three, Jack, three, hands, one, astrology bitch. Any degree at all. Can we get a mysterious old man please? You want a mysterious old man, please? You want a mysterious old man, great. Yeah.

You can think about it as we transition into some character relationships. Unless there's anything else that anyone wants to talk about with the Stink and Jacob. We don't need combat ship on this ship. Do you think? Oh, I mean, you guys have some guns on the ship. Like, I'm gonna say you have like, yeah, cannons. They are in fact cannons on the ship. Oh, cannons, good ones.

You have like, I'm gonna say you have a cannon on either side, so one for one starboard. So, or actually, let's go into some crew position. Do you have a captain, Captain Ani Amokha? She's in her life, 40's-ish, tall, dark hair, like, statue-esque, and what's the word I'm looking for? statue-esque and what's the word I'm looking for? Descerning. Yeah, she's hot.

Yeah, but like it's like- It's like- It's like- Carries like a sword. That's the word God. I'm such a mess today. Carries a sword at one side and like a pistol at the other. Kind of like your classic

pirate lady, she's a badass Pretty fair as Captain's go So we're gonna need a first mate a carpenter of power monkey and An navigator between the four of you and a navigator between the four of you. So who wants to look, think about that, and if anyone has any opinions? So, for my concept, I used to be a captain, used to have my own ship, and have sent lost

both of those positions. And so I think that he would have a bizarre sort of like whenever she is not around, I am the captain sort of thing. And he also has a steering ability, so I was thinking maybe Navigator like he obsessively takes the helm every chance he gets sort of thing I don't know if that works with everyone else yeah go for it. All right good William is our Navigator yes William everybody call him is our Navigator. Bite so. Bite amazing. It's a last name again. Uh, molar, but spelled M-U-L-L-E-R

So first mate Powder monkey carpenter Carpenter Carpenter yes, fantastic first mate Which leaves our spies the powder monkey Hell yeah, you have all been an established crew for a while You've had this ship as you said for two years So let's

Forge some relationships with in the crew and also with the captain. Who do you think has been with the crew the longest? Colleen. Bite. Yeah, I think maybe Bite has been around a long time. He has been trying to work desperately to get out of being disgraced and losing his own ship.

And so I think he's been pallying around trying to act like he's all about this place but saving every penny he makes to buy back his own ship. That definitely makes sense and you are fairly compensated for the incredible smuggling work you do under the captain. Do you think you have a good relationship with her, a working relationship with her? Do you guys clash a lot? Do you kind of run in the same circle? So, Bite is like I don't think anyone can actually know who Bite is. I think that he is so masqueraded by layers of bullshit that it's very difficult to even interact with him at a surface level. There is never a moment that he is not violently drunk or dying of syphilis.

He is just sort of... These are things you know now. Just sort of in this smoke screen of different lives and half-truths and then the truth I hit so hard they sound like lies So it just depends on whether she takes a lot of stock and people being real and if she does she probably hates them But if she doesn't she probably loves them because he is the most fake individual you've ever met. I think the reason you've lasted this long with your captain is that she understands how many layers of bullshit there are and is starting to get a beat on who you are beneath all of that. I love that.

I don't think she's necessarily like your bestie, but I also think that she respects the position you've been put in by losing your ship. Yeah. And also the work that you do for her crew. Does that sound fairish? Yes. ship and also the work that you do for her crew. Does that sound fairish? Yes, I mean, Bite is a character that desperately wants to be selfish but is not very good at it. And so I think that she sees that. Not kind of what I was

incredible. Very cool. I will have things to talk to you about later. Cool, cool, cool. Um, the who do you think is the newest on the crew? I mean, I feel like if y'all, if the ship is falling apart, you probably have to find a carpenter that would take probably nothing and just didn't leave. And that's where I'm gonna say also their name is Lomo Tari work Lolo Lolo or Lono Lomo Lomo Lomo Incredible um, I think they they just got on to this shit great you um onto this shit. Great. We'll see if you've been around a couple, maybe like a a mission or two. Yeah, a few months. Yeah, a few months. Why do you stick around?

So I did take of the of the like flaws. There's one, what's the one? Devil's Mark took that and I think they, like I think this was, this is like their unpaid internship. So like they, they know this is a good place to get experience and they want to, but also they have this thing about reflective surfaces. Like I don't think that they can appear in them. I don't think they're, I think they're a human person.

But I think this is a part of the Devil's Mark that they have. But they are also like, if not covered in like bits of glass like into their costume, like they've got. It's either like mirrors or like that blue glass that you see in trees that you're not supposed to fuck with. Yeah. That's on their person. So I think just having that is like not great

for the workplace. And this is one of the places that Talbright said. Great. Our spy and our storm brewer, did you guys join at the same time? Did you guys join at different times? Same time? Yeah, it was cool at the same time. I'm going to go with that. Did you know each other beforehand or did you just happen across the crew at the same time? Oh. What do you think of Eli? I don't know if we knew each other. Yeah. Yeah.

Was it a good relationship you had before this or was it an acrimonious one? I think it was a good one. Yeah. You were friends traveling for a while? Yeah. Like my guy, his big thing is he's been spying on the on the trading companies Yeah And I'm this probably the friend he met along the way

You have you have you each have certain skills that you are Useful at C for so I'm sure that I'm sure that your relationship is his thread because of that as well. Why do you stick with Captain Anaya Mokha? That's a good question. Your first mate, Eli, with your storm brewer, how do you think that kind of came about? How do you think you got the position of being first mate? They just recently lost their first mate, so they needed somebody. And since I have no vested interest in like what her overall goals are, and I have a very,

I guess, maybe good intuition enough to be a first mate. I've been, I've been given the job. Nice. Have your relationship with Vince's character and Vince yours with Eli's changed since you came on as this crew, as a part of this group? I don't think so. And I think the reason the reason my guys sticking around is it's a great way to get to go to new places and get information and have access to information. So whether it's ships they hit or it's ports they dock in, it's a good way to kind of keep moving

and keep tabs on the trading companies and see what's going on. And he probably got the powder monkey role simply because kind of like here, it was the last one, on the trading companies and see what's going on. And he probably got the powder monkey roll simply because kind of like here, it was the last one anybody picked and so he drew the short straw and so he's the powder monkey. Nice. All right, of the four of you,

who do you get along with the least? We'll start with Caleb, which of your crewmates do you get along with? Well, I think it'd be interesting if maybe it was Eli, just because Eli is first mate, and I think that maybe Bite wanted the position, but the captain would, you know, bite makes it very clear that he'd rather be captain. So the captain didn't want him that close.

Thinking there might be butaneer, something. And so I think there's- I don't feel like knowing that you're a computer. She's probably like, I need you in this room because not everyone could read maps like you. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so I think that there's maybe some Harvard resentment. I also think it'd be interesting if Eli didn't necessarily know that bite the Harvard resentment.

Like Eli's father. Yeah, like, yeah. He's for a mother bite. Exactly. Like, it's super chill and he is just seething in the background. That's my thought. Hopefully that works.

Is the man who moved to the assistant? Exactly. Yeah, yeah. He's got some Dwight shoot. To your region of mind. I love it. To me. I love it.

Yes, I'm just super down. It's amazing. Eli, who does your stronger get along with the least? This isn't necessarily the dislike them, but maybe just someone that you haven't spent a lot of time with, someone that

you don't agree with the way they are on the ship, whatever it is. I mean, maybe outside of the you don't agree with the way they are on the ship, whatever it is. I mean maybe outside of the probably, since I don't know anything about, since the carpenter is the most newest person, it probably be them. Yes. Just out of unfamiliarity and until familiarity is like built, there's a distance. Yeah. Yeah.

Let me see if there's specific, I'm so year for it, but let me see if I can find something specifically to make that. I think that fun. I think it's just like, like the the um, your archetype is pretty much literally the wind in our sales. Yeah. And I think I keep putting shit in the sales. Like, I'm really convinced that I could like develop something to make the ship go faster. And I'm almost like tying rocks to the sales. Like not doing that but I'm not moving us forward. Okay, yeah. It's counter intuitive builds.

We're like, well, an iron clad ship is also steam powered or like it's it's got it was like one point of steam power chip. So maybe you're trying to repair it so that you could Get the shit moving faster, but that was also part of the gimmick of why I was the first mate Was it because I was like always bringing good? You know, yes good air Yeah, like bringing that good air and I'm like and then if I am Replay me Yeah, I think I think I'm convinced that I'm like yeah But like just because you're here to put the wind in the sales and then that'll be gone like you can do something else

I think it's really hot or like, yeah, that's where the beef is. That's when the crying started. Oh my God, it's so good. There's more than once that the captain comes and like puts you on separate corners of the ship and is like, hey, you have to chill out. You gotta chill.

What are you doing? To my sails? So close. I'm so close. We just need to try it one more time. The wrong way. We almost, we almost think. Yes, yes, yes, and it was bad.

It happened bad. Even 10 generally. Obviously, lead is not the material for was bad. Even 10, generally. Obviously, lead is not the material for this vessel. I know that now. I know that now. And I super impressed with all that you've been able to do.

However, yeah. And that's off the list. I've stopped ordering lead. Now we will have to do something with the lead that we did order. But after that that no more Give it to the Yankees. I don't care Vince do you have a person that you think you

Have have the most Issues with the least yeah probably bite. Yep. All right. Well wait until bite comes back Yeah, probably bite. Yep, all right. Well, wait until bite comes back. Yeah. Probably bite. Oh, boy. Because my guy, so the idea I picked for him is romance.

So he's a romantic. He's a little, I don't want to say hoity-toity, but it's like there's a certain brutish uncouthness to Mr. Bite. So. So, who do you think? Is that fit? Brutish uncouthness to Mr. Bite so That fits yeah, it's I I like to think it's not just limited to woo woo It's limited. It's it's you know the romance of of the journey of you know

Venturing to ports unknown and meeting the people there. A lot of things. Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately, Caleb, we were talking about it and my guy that I'm an amod, you know, and that I have some animosity towards the probably bite. Now that tracks... That tracks... What did he do besides what he already did? I think it's just a clash of personalities.

You know, my guy may be low-born, but he's a spy driven by romance as his ideal, so he's probably... I don't want to think quitey toyty, but there's definitely a conflict in personality styles. Bear. Yeah, that makes sense. He is smelly at me. Yeah, awesome. It just makes me smell the meat. Yeah, awesome. And lastly, Lomo, who do you have the biggest beef with? I feel like we may have established. I was gonna say, I wanna complete the circle though.

And I think it is the spy. Okay, but I'm like, I'm trying to think, I think it might just come down to the fact that like you're in charge of the explosives and I would like access to them Got it. Oh God every time I try This new kid is in the way fully been here longer than me This new guy is the new guy. Stopping. Yeah.

Oh, man. And I'm trying to convince you to let me ask you out before I give you access to the explosives. Yes. Ah! Ah! Oh, that's gonna be fun. That's gonna be stupid.

Let's go. Let's do it. Let's do it. Good. Um, on a similar vein, does this crew care about each other? Let's do it. Let's do it. On a similar vein, does this grow care about each other? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We all hate each other for different reasons, but... D.F. Right. And I think when you're out there, the understanding is like,

look, this is all you got. So this is all you got. So, this is it. Amazing. Yeah, I think as much as by this capable caring he does. Yeah, and that's like the number one rule, right? Like no matter what kind of flack is between you all, the goal rule is you never fuck over the crew. Yeah.

Honestly, I think that's all I really wanted to cover. Is there anything else anyone wants to touch on and may not anyone wants to disclose anything else anyone wants to ask? Boba Boba, just that I've got that notorious thing going about me, so we may run into some issues. I will, we'll be starting on a bar fight and it will likely be your fault. Of course. I'm from

St. Augustine so I'm going to be looking to see if I can like infuse some of the city's lore in there. I thought that was really cool. Oh shit. Are you from St. Augustine too? I sure am. I'm saying Augustine too. I sure am. Even more recently for me. Yep. Yep. What anyone mind the name Rodrigo? I love it.

No. No. No. I don't know. Okay. Rodrigo. So we've got Rodrigo, Lomo, an unspecified stormberer name as of yet, which is more fun honestly not knowing, and William Bite Mueller.

Oh, the Anglicized version, because I don't want to utterly try and fail like a Spanish accent or anything along those lines, so we'll go with Roderick, then the Anglicized. Yeah. All right, Roderick, then the endless eyes to be out. Alright, Roderick. Roderick, Lomo, a question mark and a bite. Fantastic, thank you, friends. Thank you guys for joining us. You can check out the Backpungal Kickstarter.

I believe it's live now. I need to check with Alex, but it should be live. Check out their Kickstarter over at Backwords, TTRPG on Twitter. Lovely human beings makes this game, and I'm so excited to run some chaos for you, Boone. Thanks for checking it out, friends. Bye! Bye, y'all! Bye y'all.