From The Sea, Episode 1

Last night was the first episode of our Primetime Adventures miniseries about pirates in Madagascar, currently titled "From The Sea." (Pirates of the period would identify themselves by replying with this phrase when someone asked where they were from.) It felt good to get back into the swing of things, and while there were rough patches, overall I was happy with how things went.

A few notes:

• We love flashbacks, especially for establishing character background. I think fully half of last night's scenes weren't set in the "present" of the show.


• In a good example of stakes-setting, when Jassa (Christina's character) was dragged before the Emperor, we let the cards decide if he was virtuous or practical. (It turned out to be the former.) Then, when I got the high card, I narrated that it was his virtue that saved his life. That's how PTA conflicts seem to work best.


• In a not-so-good example, Ted was correct that the "does William get to the treasure hold first" conflict didn't quite work. I think that was not just because of the stakes but because my narration didn't give the failure any teeth.


• I got caught between my desire to stick to history (Henry Every sailed for the Bahamas after his only raid in Indian Ocean) and the players' expressed desire to not be in charge of the ship. Plus I started to disregard the Law of Conservation of NPCs. But things eventually turned out right.


• Five episodes seems like it's going to be right length for this show, hitting a nice compromise between our conflicting desires to stretch things out and to get things done.

Some fun fictional developments and questions:

• The half-brothers William (Ted's character) and Wooz (Roy's character) share some type of instinctual psychic link.


• Fatima (Wooz's love interest and Jassa's sister) thinks New York is ruled by a Sultan.


• How did Jassa a.k.a The Turk get to be a part of the crew?


• Who is the Moghul pirate hunter, and what's his connection to Jassa?


• What's Every's plan?

Tune in next week to find out more!