Character: ETO Halo Bright
AKA: Halo Bright, Eto Bright (See Below)
Player: Adam Dicsktein
System: Star Rain Days in Meteor City
The exact translation of the game's title might also be Star Rainy Day in Meteor City or Stars Rain Down on Meteor City as my translation software and Google Translate don't always agree. Plus, there are multiple Japanese websites listing it slightly differently (possibly due to typos). My friend Yasa seemed to translate it as 'Star Rain Days in Meteor City' so that's what I'm going with.
Nature: One-Shot. Online over Discord. Roughly four hours. Five players and a GM.
Gamemaster: Yasahiro Sato
Circa: January 1st, 2025!
Origins: What felt like a last minute idea to me was actually a well planned event by Yasa. He and a small group of friends intended to meet on New Year's Eve, go out to a favorite local restaurant, eat, drink, and then return to their homes to log on to Cocofolia (a Japanese Online Gaming tool and Virtual Tabletop similar though more expansive than say Roll20 - See Notes) to play a TRPG.
After reading my post on unusual genres or genre takes I'd like to explore, Yasa decided Star Rain Days in Meteor City would be the game. That was way back on December 9th! He purchased it, read it, and a few weeks later had an epiphany! Get Adam (me) in on it.
He came up with a character he specifically wanted me to play and sent me an email on the subject. I said yes; how could I pass up this chance? The only problem was I couldn't figure out Cocofolia as it is generally used more in Asia than in English speaking countries. After a discussion and an attempt to get it working, Yasa said it was OK if we used Discord.
Overview: Normally I do the character's Backstory entry before the Overview but in this case it makes more sense to introduce the game and the scenario's premise before the character. He's a doozy so I don't mind keeping you in suspense. *Giggle*
Star Rain Days in Meteor City is a tabletop RPG about living in a small-ish city whose night sky hosts a most unusual phenomenon, not unlike the Northern Lights of Canada. For reasons scientists can not yet figure out, a surprisingly large number of meteors and other space debris streak across the evening skies on a regular basis such that it often looks like its raining shooting stars.
The Player Characters are Observers, people living in Meteor City who know the truth, a least in part. Meteor City is secretly a Spaceport for Extraterrestrial Visitors arriving and leaving the Earth. Some of the citizens of Meteor City are aliens themselves, working in hidden shops, restaurants, and travel offices that facilitate and accomodate the various Star People stopping over on our little blue marble.
It's a cozy, slice of life Men in Black. It's a Sci-Fi themed Kiki's Delivery Service. Its my new obession.
Of course, our session began as very laid back and ended up FLCL.
Backstory: A group of university students living in Meteor City are gearing up for a small, intimate party at the house of one of the group named Takashi. Takashi, or Taka for short, has his house to himself as his parents are traveling abroad. We first encounter everyone as they are shopping in a sort of mall/market area, each looking to bring something for everybody to enjoy at the party, as well as a gift for Taka for hosting.
(Within moments we learn a little about everyone and the dynamics between the four friends. Very well handled by Yasa and portrayed by the players).
While looking for special sweets, two of the friends - Yoshi (Male) and Reimi (Female) - notice a strange, blonde haired boy who appears lost and confused. Yoshi suggests helping the kid out but Reimi is weary. After all, the four friends are all Observers, people who know about the strange goings on in Meteor City and they might accidentally reveal something to this stranger. Yoshi chides her for her cold demeanor (apparently typical of Reimi) and says, "All the more reason to talk to him. Maybe he's a 'Visitor'."
Meanwhile, Sakura (Female) and Takashi (Male) are looking for drinks for the party. Sakura goes on and on about having enough beer, which Takashi humors whiles also blushing. He is attracted to Sakura and knows he can't drink even half as much as she can. Sakura then says she has a great idea; she knows of a store that carries, um, very unique beverages. Taka gets nervous but she convinces him to follow her down a back alley to a hidden shop. As they walk - really she runs and he gets pulled along behind her - Taka eyes Yoshi and Reimi walking over to a foreign boy with blonde hair.
The pair greet the stranger in a polite and friendly manner - well, Yoshi does - and ask if they can help him. Though he looks young, the two friends estimate he is close to them in age once up close. The boy introduces himself as Halo Bright, although he begins by saying "eto..." (See Notes). Reimi from that point forward calls him 'Eto Bright', and Yoshi thinks she is being mean by teasing him. Bright explains he is looking for the Golden Evening Star. The others don't seem to know what he's referring to.
Sakura and Takashi walk up with bags full of beer cans and bottles with odd looking shapes and labels. Yoshi and Reimi ask if their friends are familiar with the Golden Evening Star and unfortunately they aren't. Bright seems sad or at the very least a bit frustrated and Sakura suggests they invite him to their party and try to sort it out. Yoshi backs her up while the other two question inviting a total stranger to Taka's house for a get together of long time friends (in fact, Sakura's suggestion is a major faux pas in Japan. No one would do that in this way but the player said Sakura doesn't care and often ignores proper social ques and conventions.). Sakura pouts, then pleads, and because of his crush on her Taka caves in.
The Highlights: We jump ahead to the group, including Bright, preparing food and making lively small talk in Taka's house. Not being from Japan, Bright seems clueless about many customs and the others have fun filling him in. All but Reimi, who spends much of the time staring at Bright to the point of unnerving him. There was even a hilarious moment where Bright goes to get ice out of a freezer in the basement and turns on the light only to see Reimi standing there holding a big bag of ice in her hands. I as the player made a squeaky yelp that made everyone laugh hard. A startled Bright says, "Eto...eto...thank you?", nervously takes the bag - which he almost drops its so heavy and cold - and then hurries back upstairs.
This is followed by a number of character moments and gags out of a typical Japanese Rom-Com anime, though adjusted for the games tone of coziness mixed with a touch of melancholy. The group of Japanese friends start drinking, first beer and sake, then Sakura pulls out the weird stuff from the hidden shop. Bright seems to only drink water. There was a moment where Yoshi offers him a beer, Sakura insists, and Taka scolds them thinking Bright is way too young. "No, I just look young", I say , "I'm likely the most mature person here". Everyone laughs.
Just then, the night sky lights up with fireworks both man-made and natural, as Meteor City's New Year's celebration merges with its famous rain of falling stars. One in particular pulses as it descends and Reimi drops her drink as she stands and stares at it.
The flashing meteor lights up Bright's eyes and he points, "There! That's it! The Golden Evening Star!" Taka, Sakura, and Yoshi look at each other dumbfounded. "That's my ride home! Oh my, I must hurry. Thank you all so much for this evening. It was so special. I will never forget it. I will always remember your kindness and friendship, even if I should live a thousand, thousand years...which I likely will." At that, Halo Bright began to glow with a golden shimmer and transformed into...
Halo Bright of The Legacy of Sirius
"Not so fast", muttered Reimi. "Your people destroyed those who created mine and I am sworn to vengence!" Reimi's body goes through a complex transformation of its own, revealing her to be a battle ready android armed to the teeth with everything from eye beams to missiles!
Reimi 3 of the Mechane of Mars
This was immediately followed by the other players and I exclaiming a collective WTF?!?
It was so brilliant. I was the obvious alien, so obvious that everyone pretty much figured out the mystery of who I was almost immediately. This...this came out of no where and yet all the signs were there! Reimi was alluring but cold and distant. She didn't trust me right from the start. She seemed indifferent to my plight and was always watching me. She could easily lift and hold a big bag of ice in her hands without issue. So good! SO GOOD!
I would later learn that yes, I was the alien everyone was supposed to focus on; there had to be an alien character in this outer space conspiracy setting and it only made sense to make it me, the actual foreigner in the group. Reimi's player was given her character and said, "When the alien is revealed, know that your species of androids from Mars doesn't like this alien". It was the Player who suggested, "Ah yes, long ago that species killed off the people who built the androids." Perfect.
As Bright and Reimi battled, their fight spilled out of the top floor of the house and into the New Year's Eve air as they leap and floated off nearby rooftops. I could fly (though not especially fast), she could not, but her attacks were only barely held back by my magical powers (mostly Shield and Change Fate). The others went to all kinds of lengths to protect me and try to make Reimi stand down, from throwing things in the way of her attacks to playing her favorite song to calm her down (or cheer her up?). It was madness - wild and wacky Anime fun at its best.
Finally, as the Golden Evening Star began to beam me aboard and mysterious figures approached to read everyone the riot act for 'disturbing the peace' (See Notes), I gave a speech above mistakes, consequences, and what the true Legacy of Sirius was - paying for the terrible actions of our ancestors and feeling lost in the galaxy. Reimi stopped, gritted her teeth and replied how although her programming made her attack a Sirius Legacy alien, Reimi 3 didn't hate Halo Bright. She acknowledged that he was kind, sweet, helpful, and she wished things could have gone differently.
"Honestly" said Bright with a melancholy smile, "Given the history of our peoples, it went the best it could." Bright departed in a thin streak of glimmering yellow light as Reimi, now joined by the others, watched his 'star' fade into the nighttime sky.
Cut to the four friends on a Taka's roof with a telescope, Reimi back to 'normal', toasting to a better tomorrow.
Game Info:
This character sheet might not make a lot of sense without more detail on the system but its basic mechanics are really simple:
To accomplish something, roll 2D6 and add the appropriate Stat/Attribute in an attempt to meet or beat a difficulty number. Want to jump over a fence? 2D6 + Physical. Trying to read a map? 2D6 + Mental. Attempting to overhear a nearby conversation? 2D6 + Sense. Can you make friends with the frightened alien child? 2D6 + Connect.
With the right Features, Conditions, and/or Items you might receive bonus D6 which is rolled along with the base 2 and the result of all three added together.
There is a lot more to it than that though, with an interesting game mechanic economy that I find quite cool. Again, I'm sure I'll cover that in the future.
Notes:
Reimi was played by Kei.
Sakura was played by Sachiko
Takashi was played by Ryōsuke
Yoshi was played by Isamu.
Halo Bright is a member of the alien species known as The Legacy of Sirius (or Sirius Legacy), extremely long lived beings who once ruled a vast space empire. The empire fell long ago and now the Sirius Legacy are scattered across the galaxy. In the rulebook they are said to look identical to Humans. Neither I nor Yasa liked that so we workshopped an alternate appearance. I suggested that they were in disguise as Humans and their true form was a glowing angel. Together we came up with the final look.
Reimi 3 is a member of a race of androids known as the Mechane of Mars. Reimi came up with the idea that those who built the Mechane were wiped out by the Sirius during the days of the empire.
'Eto' is a word used in Japanese to indicate thinking or searching for the right words. It is the equivalent of 'umm...', 'hmmm...', or 'er...' in English. Playing the part of a lost alien tourist, I opened many sentences with eto. As I know the Japanese love wordplay, it is revealed during the session that Bright thought it meant 'ExtraTerrestrial Observer'. He misunderstood its use and thought it was an honorific.
When its mentioned near the end of the game that people are likely coming to investigate the lights and sounds of Bright and Reimi's battle, it was implied this might not be the Meteor City Police. In the game's setting there is something called 'The Navigator Act' that allows for the spaceport hidden within the city to exist but prohibits aliens from allowing themselves, their abilities, and their technology from being seen by normal Human society. Someone - who exactly was never clear - may have shown up to prevent the commonfolk from seeing a blazing golden angel fighting an attractive android combat-doll. Does Meteor City have its own Men in Black?
Yasa and the other players made their version of Meteor City feel so real so quickly and easily I couldn't help but be impressed. Turns out that two of the players were originally from smaller cities; one growing up in a suburban town and the other coming from the coastal city of Choshi in Northwestern Chiba Prefecture. Apparently the city in this session was strongly influenced by Choshi.
Chiba Prefecture - Choshi highlighted in yellow.
Cocofolia is a fascinating online Virtual Tabletop that is especially popular in Japan, Korea, and a number of other countries. Among the interesting features of this tool is the ability to support still or animated illustrations representing the Player Characters and/or GM run NPCs. Most of these are 2D images and not as animated as say, VTuber models but they appear or move when the player speaks and it creates a very different experience from what we see on Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds.
The rules of the game are really interesting and I will very likely cover them in a future post. This post is long enough (Sorry).
Legacy: The biggest lasting legacy of this session was that I purchased Star Rain Days in Meteor City and hope to run it with ones my groups as soon as Yasa and I finish translating it. I would absolutely love to GM this sometime later this year.
Really sorry this one is so long folks. It could easily have been twice the length as there is so much I have to say about the experience, the players and their characters, the system, and just...just...WOW! Not sure how I'm gonna top this.
...but I'll try.
AD
Barking Alien
