DON'T REST YOUR HEAD! Really, it will be eaten.

I know I have not posted anything in a LONG time but nobody is reading this anyway. ;)

I have started a game of Don't Rest Your Head by Fred Hicks and published by Evil Hat Productions. I have had the game for awhile and have been really itching to play it. It is an "Indie" game with a very Dark City feel to it. So with a lot of "We have to try this game!!", my girlfriend and a couple friends created characters. Now the game is centered around a nightmare world where the characters are insomniacs that lose it and gain superpowers called Madness Talents (in a very small nutshell). Character creation is fairly simple with a player answering a number of questions and creating an Exhaustion (a real world ability you EXCEL at) and Madness Talent. Choosing a Madness Talent was by far the most difficult process in character creation for us. We did not know how much we should define at the start what a talent can do. We decided to go with a word or phrase and when discuss using the talent as the need arose in game. Also, the words in all capitals below are from the DRYH character sheet.

So without further ado, their creations...

MY NAME IS... Jonas Brice.
AND I AM .. an architectural student.
WHAT'S BEEN KEEPING ME AWAKE? The stresses of failing out of school. The approval of my father for my career choices.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU? I just lost my senior design/architectural project.
WHAT'S ON THE SURFACE? A nervous, clean cut young man with a mostly sunny disposition.
WHAT LIES BENEATH? A deep hatred and fear of my father. A man hiding pent up frustrations.
WHAT'S YOUR PATH? To find my goddamn project before the end of the semester.
RESPONSES: 2 FIGHT, 1 FLIGHT.
EXHAUSTION TALENT: Memory Recall.
MADNESS TALENT: The God of Architecture.

*****************************
MY NAME IS... Billie Fordeck.
AND I AM .. a law student.
WHAT'S BEEN KEEPING ME AWAKE? In order to keep up with my studies, I became addicted to meth to stay awake.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU? A masked man assaulted me. He tried to rape me but ran away when a car passed by. I was left with a torn shirt and bruises everywhere.
WHAT'S ON THE SURFACE? A high strung overachiever; driven and physically pulled together. I have no time for dating so sometimes I come off as a bitch.
WHAT LIES BENEATH? A scared little girl wanting to prove herself to her parents and the world, but always finding herself lacking
WHAT'S YOUR PATH? Find who assaulted me and take revenge.
RESPONSES: 1 FIGHT, 2 FLIGHT.
EXHAUSTION TALENT: Persuasive Speaking.
MADNESS TALENT: Belittle (by being condescending or insulting I can deflate others either physically or emotionally).
****************************
MY NAME IS... Kesi Mahgoor.
AND I AM .. a transient gypsy.
WHAT'S BEEN KEEPING ME AWAKE? The recent suicide of my father. I am now in "survival mode" trying to fend for myself while being homeless and alone.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO YOU? I was trying to console my wailing infant. The infant is suffering from a deficiency of birth (mental and physical). I just put my hand over its face to stop the crying. In shock I discard the tiny body.
WHAT'S ON THE SURFACE? A street smart girl. I am whimsical, exotic and kind.
WHAT LIES BENEATH? I am terrified of being sent back to Alexandria, Egypt. However, I am more afraid of spending the rest of my life alone and hungry. No apparent options or obvious solutions.
WHAT'S YOUR PATH? To make a real life for myself and come to grips with my father's death. To reconcile my guilt over the murder of my child.
RESPONSES: 1 FIGHT, 2 FLIGHT.
EXHAUSTION TALENT: Poetry.
MADNESS TALENT: The Darkness Within.

There they are in all their flaws (the characters, not the players). As of this post, we have played the first session so I will discuss it soon.