The day after the prank, which The Author should totally rewrite, because it didn’t read as a proper or even fun prank from the way he wrote it and the readers deserved better, Penny was getting ready for a meeting. Her people had called other people and now her whole week was packed full with meetings with shot callers from RPG tabletop game companies and their entourage. Also, for some unknown reason I, The Author, previously wrote board games, when I clearly meant tabletop as we all know they are two totally different things. So, anyways, today Penny had a meeting with the people from Dungeons and Dragons and to get ready she took the 3D scanner she stole from Big Hero 6, fabricated some holographic projectors and foldable holographic board and then went shopping. She bought all Dungeon and Dragons editions, rule books, dice, modules, monster manuals and monster and player action figures. No way am I calling them figurines, toys or anything else undignified. And when she had everything she needed, she went to the company to get everything ready before the other party arrived.
The D&D people had agreed to the meeting this soon only because they had heard about all the different toys the company had put to the market in so short a time and were interested what was next. Maybe their next project could be beneficial for them or at the least they could prepare something if they knew what was coming next. They certainly weren’t prepared for what came next.
Penny was sitting at a table close to the corner of the rom and had a D&D game unfolded at the table. She had character sheets, modules, dice and action figures ready. Sitting next to her was the company’s lawyer and next to him their Chief Marketing Officer. The newcomers took their own seats and waited for Penny to explain what the meeting was all about. Instead she asked a very strange question.
-Who here had DM experience? I just bought the game and have no idea what I am doing.-
Maybe because the question was asked out of the blue or because they wouldn’t be able to continue the meeting if Penny didn’t have what she needed, Patricia held out her hand and volunteered to be the Game Master.
-Neat. Use the folding holographic board for the campaign and speak in this microphone when explaining things not aimed at the players. Everyone else choose one of the characters I made while waiting.-
Everyone chose a character and Patricia started them on their adventure, but as soon as she started talking in the microphone, everything around them started changing. They weren’t sitting in the room they were previously in, but a tavern in some town out in the country and all around them were adventurers, rogues, bar maids and loud atmosphere. Everyone sitting around the table, except Penny, was surprised at the change of scenery and were speechless for a moment, but quickly one of the guests shook his surprise and asked what was going on.
-Quiet, it is time to introduce ourselves.-and immediately she slipped into her role, changed her voice a little and spoke again.-I am Rankster, a sneaky rogue.-Penny then showed her character sheets to a camera on the table and all her clothes transformed in the ones written on the sheet. She then proceeded to explain her skills and everything else she needed to explain and The Author didn’t research previously.
The others were surprised again and were wondering what kind of dark magic was in effect here, but then remembered that they didn’t believe in magic and quickly decided it was some kind of new technology. And seeing the expectant look in Penny’s eyes, they followed by introducing themselves one by one, then also showing their character sheets to the camera and transforming. Then the DM continued with the story.
-A stranger approaches the adventuring party from the corner of the room, which was previously hidden in shadows.-and just as the words left her lips, the corner of the room darkened, then a figure left the shadows and started approaching their table, while the corner of the room brightened and took on normal colors and shade. The DM was a little shocked to see her words mirrored by the world around them and stopped narrating for a moment, just enough for Penny to slip out of character and explain some things.
-The Dungeon Master can of course be located in another room and speak to the players through speakers in the room and follow their actions through a camera, but for this demonstration this will do.-
That shook the DM out of her shock and she continued her narration and the actions of all the NPCs. Soon the party of adventurers accepted the quest and fast traveled to another location and everything around them changed again. This time they were at a path, just at the entrance to a thick forest. The narration continued and the scenery around them moved onwards, as if the players themselves were moving through the forest and then, just around a bend a monster appeared. Or it should have been, but instead it was just a static monster action figure.
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-I didn’t have time to animate the monsters, so I just scanned them from the module I bought, but with a little time we can make them appear totally realistic.-
-I need you all to roll for initiative.-
And just as she said this, dice appeared in all the players’ hands, just waiting for them to roll them. Penny took the first roll and soon everyone else followed, giving them the sequence in which they would take turns. The following battle proceeded with more rolls of holographic dice, every player taking turns on the attack and several minutes later, the monster lay slain. There was EXP granted, loot taken and then Penny took a seat at the table and everyone else followed.
-I called this meeting not just to play a game, but to come to a mutually beneficial agreement on something. I want to use our new technology to construct a facility, a tabletop RPG arcade if you want to call it, where groups of players can play campaigns as the one we just did. I want to start with one facility and test the waters and if it is popular enough, build a few more in cities where Live Action Role Players gather and where tabletop conventions are held. I just need your company to give us permission to use your game for that purpose. I have called meetings with other popular tabletop producers all throughout the week and plan to propose to them the same thing. Now, let’s talk numbers.-
Hearing the explanation for the meeting, the lawyer and CMO knew what was expected of them and quickly constructed a game plan for how to proceed. Penny had great ideas and even greater abilities as an inventor, but she had almost no business or negotiation abilities, so she relied on Jenny and the other people in her company to achieve her goals and they were starting to get accustomed to the way she did things. The two of them took charge of the negotiations, arranged future meetings to discuss the proposal after the two sides did a more thorough research on the subject and could throw some vaguely accurate numbers in their discussions. The D&D people left with a lot to think about, but with positive view on the proposed project. Penny’s people on the other hand started preparing for the meetings she had planned for the rest of the week. At least now they knew roughly what to expect and for what to prepare.
When Penny got home after the meeting, she took a short nap to recharge her mental batteries and when she woke up, started planning for her meeting tomorrow. Today she had rushed things a little and hadn’t even looked up how the game was played and only skimmed the guides before the meeting. Now, she had time to prepare properly. She asked A.I.C.A. or more accurately Elena, to call around and arrange for a DM for every meeting with every tabletop game developer, after all she couldn’t expect people from her company to have DM experience for every one of them. Next she looked up how the games were played, characters created and the rules. She found some art about the games and tasked the AIs with animating some of the monsters and other enemies and work on some item designs. Everything she needed for tomorrow was ready just before it was time for her to go to bed and she was very satisfied with the results.
The meeting the next day started almost the same way, but instead of walking in the meeting room, the people from the next company walked directly into the world of their game. Penny again distributed character sheets she had filled and discussed with the new DM they had hired for the day. The people she had invited to the meeting just stayed at the door and stared with shock at where they were, completely paralyzed by the disparity between the rooms, the one they were in and the one they were in now. Penny giving them something to do, meaning giving them the character sheets to hold and choose from, snapped them out of their stupor and back to the present. What followed was one very animated and by that I mean animated monsters, effects and environments, game by the end of which Penny hoped she would have her guests’ approval to use their game in her new facility. Then, when everyone sat on their chairs again, she gave the same pitch as yesterday and the discussions between her people and their people began.
During the rest of the week a lot of such meetings were held and a few campaigns played. Around the third time everything repeated, she left everything to her marketing person to deal with. She had already done most of the work by entering the rules of the games and leaving the characters, enemies and everything else to her AIs and all that was left was to pitch the idea to the holders of the rights for the games they wanted to use. Some agreed almost immediately and they only had to agree on the details before signing an agreement. Others were a little harder to persuade, but she could see they were on the verge of cracking and agreeing to discuss terms. Now she just had to find a property to build on or convert and already existing building. She already had experience with installing such systems in Valentina’s company and at the army base, so she was positive she could do it in time for the unveiling of the game console and at the same time present the facility using the same technology.
The last to work days, Penny tasked her people to find her and purchase a suitable chunk of land or building in a good part of the city, where she would build her facility. She gave them her requirements and unleashed them to search for something suitable, meaning she didn’t want to waste her time doing it herself. Now she was free to spend the weekend coming up with some good prank to pull on some unsuspecting victim and then laugh maniacally as they suffered.