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So Bryan Hansel posted a funny RPG poem over here. He actually urged others to post their own, but since this is a pretty challenge-heavy forum, I thought I'd bring that challenge to the forefront.
The challenge is simple:
Design a role-playing poem - that is, a 15-minute role-playing game. It must take no more than 15 minutes from start to finish, including reading the rules.
The role-playing poem is a very versatile form, especially suited for exploring situations, themes or concepts that aren't well-suited for a whole evening of play. Some are absurd, some experiential, some silly and some artsy. You can see some examples here.
[EDIT]
Competition rules
The challenge ends on June 20. At that time, a jury of Norwegians (picked by me) will select the Bestest Role-Playing Poem.
The criteria will be: Fun, originality, and adherence to the form (bloated monstrosities lasting 20 minutes or more, for example, will have a hard time winning).
The winner will be announced here at Story Games, and on the Nørwegian Style website.
The award: A bar of Firkløver, most Norwegian of all chocolate!
[/EDIT] -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeMay 20th 2008
You're on, Norwegian! Is the challenge open-ended, or will it end on a specific date? Is there a prize? Maybe some candy? I work better when motivated by Firkløver! -
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Wow! Read that Dr. Seuss Roleplaying Game, and it is really great! My wife recently started reading those books for our children, in English, so the whole thread brought two parts of my life together. Nice!
But to the point: I accept the challenge! I will design a roleplaying poem, in English, for your perusal (and play). Watch out! It will hit this thread shortly! -
Posted By: Jason MorningstarYou're on, Norwegian! Is the challenge open-ended, or will it end on a specific date? Is there a prize? Maybe some candy? I work better when motivated by Firkløver!
Ah! The challenge turned into a competition. I've edited the original post - now there are competition rules! And yes, Firkløver is involved. -
You're going on with our idea for a competition then, Matthijs. Good! I'm not going to participate in the competition, but will post a poem here anyway (and will be most glad to sit in the jury, of course). Maybe Martin BG will be a good third party to a jury, M?
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ONE FOOT IN THE WILD
- a roleplaying poem by Tomas HV Mørkrid
You need 4-6 participants in this poem. Read these rules for all to hear, before starting the poem.
The players are friends going on a wilderness trek togehter, staying the nights at open cabins.
Use your own names, but let all other facts and relations in the poem be fiction. Keep that in mind and play for fun.
START
Sit down in a circle. Take of shoes and stockings, and place them in front of you, for all to see, in the center of the circle. It is important that all players have naked feet in this game. I know it may make you nervous, but you have to dare it. Please!
Choose a timekeeper. He/she note the time. The poem is to last for 15 minutes.
THE SONG
Find a song all of you know, and sing the first verse of it. This is your "wilderness-song". You will end all scenes in the poem by singing this around the fire of a cabin. Each time you sing this song the day ends (and a night goes by before the next scene).
THE SCENES
Each scene in the poem symbolizes one day on your trek in the woods and/or mountains. You play as many scenes as time allows. All scenes will consist of two major elements: nature and footwear. You start the scene with a dialogue on nature, then it shifts into a dialogue on footwear, and it ends by all of you singing the wilderness-song. Anyone may initiate the shifts of the scene, and all must adhere to the shifts.
- Nature: all comments on the scenery should be positive, describing how you experience the landscape and/or the weather, letting the other characters know in which way you enjoy it. Follow up on comments: if one player say it rains, then you may comment on how the rain washes you face, or how droplets drop from the branches. Be positive! Communicate enjoyment!
- Footwear: all comments on shoes/socks should reveal some truth about your relationship to the man/woman whose footwear you comment on. These relationships may be troublesome or positive, or both, and you may initiate romance. Your relationships may change and develop during this part of the dialogue, but remember to keep all comments related to footwear in some way.
THE FINAL
When the timekeeper announces that it is time to end the game, you will play the final. Start with the timekeeper, and go clockwise around the circle. One by one you will stretch out and take hold of two feet, and make an announcement. Each player will do this in turn. When it is your turn, you may do the friendship or the romantic final.
- Friendship: grab one foot each of two players, and tell them how your friendship with them deepens due to this wilderness trek. Look them in the eyes, smiling, while doing this. Let go of the feet to end your announcement.
- Romantic: grab both feet of one player, and tell him/her that the two of you become lovers/sweethearts/spouses after the trek. Look the player in the eyes, smiling, when doing this. Let go of the feet to end your announcement.
When all have had their final, you sing the wilderness-song, and the poem ends. Give some hugs and thanks, and go wash your hands.
Have a nice trek! -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeMay 21st 2008 edited
AFTERNOON DELIGHT
By Jason Morningstar
HOW TO PLAY
This poem requires three players. Read the character descriptions and choose who will play who. Set up a couch or bench and sit ANGELA and BETTY on it. DUNBAR should be in the next room with his timeline and a watch. DUNBAR’s job is to start the scene, call stuff out at the appropriate times, and end the scene. ANGELA and BETTY can do whatever they want.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
BETTY
It’s a hackneyed story – grad student falls in love with prof’s mind, prof falls in lust with grad student’s body, cue the violins. That was your story. He used to tell you stories of his wife – some harridan more in love with her job than with her husband, preferring a marriage as dead as dirt over setting him free. A cruel woman. James was an indifferent lover but oh, that brain of his. The phrases he turned. They were a powerful aphrodisiac. Maybe too powerful – an hour ago you accidentally reverse-cowgirled him to death.
ANGELA
You knew there was somebody, and that it would end badly, but you’d always thought he’d have better taste. A cheap motel? One of his research assistants? Heart failure during sex? Which part is the most humiliating, and which is the most hurtful? So many questions, layered like the blackest comedy on top of even blacker grief. Because you loved James, despite his flaws, despite his arrogance, despite, well, everything. He didn’t deserve to die, but his heart was as weak as the rest of him. At least the police had the decency to call you before sanitizing anything.
DUNBAR
You’ve seen this before and it is pretty awkward. Citizen indulges in a little illicit slap-and-tickle and pops a gasket in a seedy motel, leaving a bunch of people to pick up the pieces. Including, unfortunately, you. Officer on the scene, waiting for a fucking homicide detective to come check this one off as accidental, lab guys in to take some photos, then the meat wagon. There goes your afternoon. At least it’ll make a funny story later.
DUNBAR’S SCRIPT
START
Tell the two women to sit tight, somebody is on the way to ask them some questions. The lab guys need to finish taking some photographs and a homicide detective needs to visit the scene before the ambulance arrives. Nothing to worry about. Five minutes, tops. Leave the room but remain within ear-shot.
TWO MINUTES
Supervise the lab techs without leaving the room. If you have a camera, use the flash a few times. Help them roll the corpse over after they get the photos they need, zip him into a bag.
FOUR MINUTES
Have a heated exchange via radio without entering the room. Explain to your sergeant that you’re stuck waiting on some Homicide guy at the Star-Lite Motel, that a citizen’s laying there dead with a condom dangling from his Johnson while his wife and girlfriend are sitting there. Yeah, both. Yeah, lucky guy, right, not a bad way to go.
SIX MINUTES
Stick your head out and offer the women some coffee from the in-room coffee machine. Apologize for the wait.
EIGHT MINUTES
Without entering the room, have another conversation via radio, this time with the homicide detective. Explain the situation with some profanity mixed in, tell him you’ve been waiting all day, you’ve got some distraught citizens waiting, answer some fairly specific questions about the state of the body and how it got that way. Promise you’ll write it all up.
TEN MINUTES
Enter the room and apologize to the two women. Tell them you’ve got their names, addresses, and statements, and that they are free to go. Tell them James will be taken to the county coroner’s office as soon as possible. Apologize for the delay. Leave. -
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I'm in! I'll playtest my idea tonight and shall share it with you shortly :)
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Hm ...
I had my misgivings about this impromptu contest, and it seems like I were right: the thread drowns in the forum and the contest dies away. Little activity here.
So: we may resurrect it, or we may go back to the original plan: to announce and arrange the Roleplaying-poem Design-competition in august or september.
What say you?
Anyways, Santtu; please share your poem with us! I'm looking forward to it! -
Posted By: Tomas HVMHm ...
I had my misgivings about this impromptu contest, and it seems like I were right: the thread drowns in the forum and the contest dies away. Little activity here.
So: we may resurrect it, or we may go back to the original plan: to announce and arrange theRoleplaying-poem Design-competitionin august or september.
What say you?
Ah! I'd forgotten that we'd discussed this briefly earlier - sorry about that! Well, now that this competition has been announced, we'd better go through with it - although it does seem like Jason is going to have an easy time of it - if Santtu doesn't post something, that is. -
Wait, does that mean I shouldn't finish and upload my roleplaying poem, in an attempt to win a chocolate bar?
Because I love chocolate. So much. -
Hey! Come on Joe, post it! And let's see if we can get this thing glued to the top of the forum.
All designers: THIS COMPETITION IS ON!
Make your poems and post them here! Would-be designers: a poem is short and easy to write, a nice way to explore your abilities as a designer, and a very nice way to explore design-tools. To make a full game, have someone play it, and get the reactions, that is invaluable for any designer.
GOOD LUCK! -
I'm taking this seriously you know :) I encountered some problems in early play test so I'm making changes. Should be done tomorrow.
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Jason: I like your game, even though I see some elements I perceive as weaknesses.
- First: to place one of the players in another room; is that really necessarry? I believe the game would benefit from that player (if not the character) being present in the room with the other two.
- Second: could you possibly make room for the investigator to make choices other than wording/tone, and possibly open up for a conflict between investigator and women? -
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CommentAuthornortherain
- CommentTimeMay 25th 2008
So guys, this is great because I had a great idea for such a game yesterday. Only thing is, could anyone explain rpg poems to me? -
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Some RPG poems here:
Norwegian style; the poems
ROLE-PLAYING POEMS
A "role-playing poem” is a very short game, in which the idea is to investigate a mood or scene, or something of limited scope. The reason I created this genre/form/thingy is that ordinary role-playing games tend to shun certain moods or scenes. This is done by good reason, usually. A lot of ordinary moods and scenes of a human life are not suited for an ordinary role-playing game. Still I believe that many of these moods may be interesting to sniff at, and have created role-playing poems to facilitate that.
The game “Stoke-Birmingham 0-0″ is an example of how the poetic idea of these games may be promoted. My very first play session with this game created 15 minutes of sore and anxious mood with surprising depth. The players all experienced that their head got heavier and their backs more bent during the game. The lack of energy in the characters dominated the players and their interaction. It made for a strong experience.
Role-playing poems are very simple to write. A set-up for 15 minutes of play is all you need. The very first time I wrote RP-poems I wrote three. One day after posting the idea on the web, three more designers had made their first poems. The simplicity of it makes it ideal for both novice and experienced gamedesigners. For the novice it is a great experience to actually finish a full game design, to see players enjoy it, and to get the feedback. For the old fox it is a great way to experiment with any novel idea of games design, or to play around a bit more than in ordinary design.
That's how I understand role-playing poems. Don't limit yourself to my meagre understanding of it. Go kill some illusions!
Yours sincerely, Tomas HV Mørkrid -
I'm in, but I have to finish a course I'm taking, so the June 20th deadline will be fantastic. Should have time to try it out also. I'm taking a course that involves two to three role-playing scenes a day that last about 15 minutes, and then one larger scene that lasts about 30 minutes to an hour. Very interesting and I may try to incorporate some of that.
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CommentAuthorColin_Fredericks
- CommentTimeMay 25th 2008
I've been playing a lot of Arkham Horror recently, which explains this deviation from my usual genres. I'm not sure if this one fits under the time limit, as I've done zero playtesting.
The Thousand Dark Young
Deal out an entire deck of standard playing cards evenly amongst the players.
Each player writes down three Fears that define their character. These are kept secret. The character must also have a name and a job description, which are public. All characters are citizens of the City, and are all in the Nightclub when the Thing arises.
All players describe scenes of horror, terror, fright, etc. that drive the characters towards an eventual confrontation with the Thing From Beyond. Each sentence you speak allows you to play a card. The player with the Ace of Spades goes first.
Cards must be played in Uno style, matching the last card in suit or number. Jokers are wild and are never "set" to a specific value or suit. If you can no longer play, you may choose to pick up the current top card and stop speaking, or be Devoured, leaving the game and taking your cards with you in a final terrible scene. In either case, play passes to the left.
All scenes should drive towards the ending, wherein a veritable horde of Horrible Creatures from Beyond eat the city and everyone in it. When in doubt as to what to do, add unnecessary creepy description to something important, or describe what a character does in reaction to something you've mentioned, and keep play moving. The core of the game is what happens to your characters and how they react when forced into this situation with each other and without their loved ones.
If you describe a character's Fear, her player may put down a card right then and describe a brief reaction. Multiple fears can come up at once for multiple characters, with every player involved putting down a card if able. If you can, play an extra card as and describe the awful stuff that happens to the character, which stops somewhere short of killing her. Perhaps it's just a little scare, perhaps she loses an arm. Cross off Fears as they occur, so that none are brought into play more than once.
Whomever "goes out" first (gets rid of her entire hand) is the last to be devoured. She may narrate, for one final minute, the horrific deaths of the other investigators before it all goes black. -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeMay 25th 2008
Thanks Tomas! Those things you find weak I find strong - in my mind it's "about" the two women, and the third role is just there to push and prod them without getting involved in their conflict. So before I'd enlarge that third role, I'd remove it entirely. I don't think the exercise would suffer much if it were taken out. -
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I løve a good firk, I think I'll have to give this a go:
Hero Caves!
This roleplaying poem requires three or more players and some counters. One player is the Caves, another is the Whimsical Hand of Fate, and the rest of the players are Heroes. You may need a large number of Heroes.
First, put fifteen tokens into a pile marked "challenge", and give ten tokens to each Hero.
The game begins with the Caves player describing the first room in the caves. There should be some kind of challenge in the room, like "a horde of angry orcs" or "a fiendish trap". The Caves player should outline the nature of the challenge, describe it with some detail, and two to four choices about possible responses to the challenge. Each choice should be numbered.
For example:
Challenge: A horde of ravening orcs:
1. Wave your torch at them, hoping to scare them away with the light.
2. Draw your blade and engage them in battle.
3. Flee through the jagged rocks.
4. Attempt to negotiate.
The Whimsical Hand of Fate must write down two numbers - one which is the "right" answer, and one which is the "really wrong" answer. The WHoF must also secretly bid a number of tokens from the "Challenge" pool.
The Heroes then must all make their choice about which option to take. They may argue "in character" about which choice to take, or try to split the group between the options. Once they've all decided, and written down their choice, the WHoF reveals the "right" answer.
Anyone who chose the "right" answer doesn't lose any tokens. These players may narrate their success briefly.
Anyone who chose a "wrong" answer loses as many tokens as bid by the WHoF. They may narrate how their hero barely survives (or dies) as a result of their choice.
Anyone who chose the "really wrong" answer loses double the number of tokens bid. They may narrate the devastating consequences of their choice.
If any player loses their last token, their Hero is dead, and they must narrate this.
Finally, the Caves player nominates one player who gave the best or most interesting narration, that was truest to the Caves' imagination of the scene. That player regains three tokens.
Repeat until the WHoF is out of tokens, or all the Heroes are dead. -
Jason: I understood as much, but I see the third player as a puppet (not much fun in it). Maybe you could automate that character? Maybe the whole game could be published as a 15 minutes soundtrack-rpg for 2 players, with the third character only as a voice on the track?
The Thousand Dark Young: I like the theme, but not the mechanics (me being a bit conservative about making play as simple as possible).
Hero Caves: I really like the random right/wrong-answers! Hilarious! But the mechanics may be a bit heavy, with all that writing and so on (why not wagers hidden in your hands?).
Great work guys! Nice to see you taking the challenge head on! Really good! -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeMay 26th 2008
Tomas, a voice track you played would definitely work. That's a cool idea! -
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Posted By: Tomas HVMHero Caves: I really like the random right/wrong-answers! Hilarious! But the mechanics may be a bit heavy, with all that writing and so on (why not wagers hidden in your hands?).
That's a good point. I thought about a few different ways of doing it, like the WHoF lays down a playing card and you've gotta match the suit, and things like that, but in the end I thought you'd always want to write it down. If it were only two choices each time that would be fine, but with four it's harder to remember.
I think it's important that the WHoF is not random. There'll be some pattern that the player is using, some criteria, probably what they find most amusing. The players are guessing that, not just random numbers (though close to it). They're also guessing what the Caves' player is going to like, so they're kinda being pulled in two directions, which is something I try to do in all my game designs.
You're right that the writing is a bit much though, and I think the game would only get through two or three iterations in fifteen minutes, whereas you probably need four or five, maybe. -
My entry:
HOSPITALITY FAMILY SHOWDOWN
Host vs. Guest
Pick two sides, randomly or let them self-organize. You want the sides to number roughly the same.
If no intrinsic Host/Guest role exists in your situation, flip a coin to determine which role goes to which side.
Pick a team name, corresponding to a natural element of creation…animals, weather, landscape, etc. Each team comprises a Family, under that "name".
Guests knock on the imaginary door.
Hosts open it, and begin the harangue, starting Round 1.
Round 1
First Hosts speak, Guests listen. Then they trade.
Round 2
Same, raising the eloquence stakes.
Round 3
Hosts concede, Guests listen. Guests accept, Hosts listen.
Goals:
Goal for Host: Play down the Host’s home, hospitality, wealth. Play up the Guest’s importance, fineness, and too-high of station for the Host’s home. Convince the Guests that they won’t feel satisfied with staying at the Host’s home, only capitulating in Round 3 if the Guests persist.
Goal for Guest: Play down the Guest’s station, importance, fineness. Play up the Host’s. Convince the Host team that the Guest team will feel satisfied with staying at the Host’s home, only capitulating in Round 3 if the Hosts won’t back down.
Options:
“Mentors” - Pick one Speaker and one Coach for each side. The Speaker only says what the Coach whispers into the Speaker’s ear.
Extra Rounds - Raise the stakes by adding rounds. Additional option; give each side its own secret round to “take a fall in”.
Styles - Pick a style for the sides to emulate. “Rhetorical”, “Musical”, “Rhyming”, etc. -
Hospitality Family Showdown: I really like this idea! I believe anyone will be able to have great fun playing down themselves, and playing up the other "family"! Especially if they relate this game to their own families. However: the writing seem to be a bit too complex, explaining the game in a confusing way. Sell your idea first: start by stating what the game is all about. And sharpen/simplify the text from there on. Maybe a stake would be in place: something not-very-important the groups/families stand to loose, but something that may symbolize the defeat by being given over to the winning family in a simple ritual.
Good work, Willem! -
Willem, I really like your interpretation of an improv game as a role playing game. I'm with Tomas though, in thinking that the way it's written up is a little confusing. I think there's a tension between how the rules text emphasises competition ("Goals", "teams", "capitulate"), and the fact that there's no actual competition in the rules of the game (no actual way to win or lose). I think that might be a problem with the design in general - the unresolved tension between competition and creation. That's partly my own taste in gaming speaking though.
I'm really enjoying reading these. I think they're really good for isolating a single type of design or mechanic, and showing the effect of that in isolation. Very educational!
EDIT: Also, please expect "Hero Caves! Second Edition" soon. -
Thanks guys. I kinda just had to get it out of my head. It definitely could stand some cleaning up and focusing.
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This is my first post. Hello everyone!
Boredom
Choose the most boring person to read the rules. This is boring.
This is a game for 5 or more people. It lasts for 15 minutes.
The sole purpose of this game is to make you feel bored.
The setting:
It's Saturday night. Party night. You all agreed to meet but didn't establish what you should do. You feel the evening pass by slow. Very slow.
You all have suggestions on what to do. They are all boring, or just not good enough.
The game:
In the game all players make suggestions on what to do. The most boring player starts. After a suggestion everyone should be quiet for about 30 seconds.
When you are quiet try not to do much. Play with your cellphone (it's boring). Read covers on boring books. Try to find a stain on your shirt. Avoid eye contact.
When the time has passed all the other players should come up with reasons to why they don't want to do the activity. Maybe it's to expensive, to far away or the place is closed.
After this have one minute of quiet, then the next person makes a suggestion. Have the "suggestion, quiet, answer, quiet, suggestion" round for the rest of the game.
Dying of boredom:
It you feel the boredom is too much you can choose to die. Don't make a big fuzz. Even dying is boring.
The game ends after 15 minutes or if all players have died from boredom. -
- CommentAuthorder.hobbit
- CommentTimeMay 27th 2008 edited
The Conquest
The Conquest is an RPG poem about an epic battle between good and evil. Well, as epic as you make it. In this game there are five fixed scenes, which last two minutes each. Every scene has a fixed topic and is narrated by one of the players.
Preparations
To play this RPG poem, you need some kind of game money (poker chips, monopoly money) and an egg-timer (2 min).
Hand every player the same amount of money.
Playing one scene
As mentioned above, each scene is narrated by one player. It is decided by bidding which player has the right to narrate, i.e. the topic is announced and every player may bid some or all of his money to be the narrator of the following scene. The bidding continues until one player placed the highest bid and none of the other wants to surpass him.
He then has two minutes (measured by the egg-timer) to narrate according to the topic. The other players may not interrupt him. After the time is finished, the narrator has to stop immediately and all the others rate his narration as being disastrous (-2), bad (-1), average (0), good (1) or excellent (2). The points are added up and written down. If the same player narrates more often than once during the course of the game, his values are added up.
The scene progression
The progression of scenes is as follows:
1) The Evil - Describe the evil. What is it? Where does it come from? How does it affect the world?
2) The Hero - Describe the hero. How was he/she affected by the evil? Why should he be willing (or not) to fight the evil? What are his special abilities?
3) The Confrontation - How do Hero and Evil clash for the first time? Why is the Evil not overcome (which it is not, we have some rounds to go yet!) How do Evil and Hero change due to this clash?
4) The Weakness - What is the weakness of the Evil, and how does the Hero find out about it?
5) The Attack - How does the Hero use the Weakness to finally overcome the Evil? How does he obtain all neccessary items to do so, how does he come close enough to the Evil?
After these scenes are told, the highest rated player (concerning the rating from disastrous to excellent) may narrate the ending:
6) The Victory - How does the Hero overcome the Evil? How does he continue his life? What does he do with the spoils of war?
Summary
1) Hand out money, start with the first scene.
2) Bid for the narration-rights of the current scene.
3) The highest bidder narrates for two minutes.
4) He is rated for his narration by all other players.
5) Continue at 2) with the next scene, until the fifth scene is told.
6) The player with the highest rating narrates scene 6.
Enjoy! -
Boredom: I like the idea of simulating the gang that do not find anything to do a saturday night. I've been there for certain, some 20+ years ago. I believe the pauses will be agonizing long in this game, so I would recommend giving the players more stuff to work with, stuff that may produce boredom in other ways than through sheer inactivity. To die of boredom is a nice idea, if only you stress that the player must stay at the table, agonizing over his boring death in silence. ;-)
The whole game Boredom reminds me of Stoke - Birmingham 0-0, my own game of ordinary people on a pub in England. It also reminds me of my game The Dull and The Dramatic (DnD), on a family sitting in front of the telly. I've used almost exactly the same tool of prolonged silences in that game, in the dull-part. -
Posted By: Simon CI'm really enjoying reading these. I think they're really good for isolating a single type of design or mechanic, and showing the effect of that in isolation. Very educational!
Ja! They are! Poems like this are easy to read, and easy to design, and make for very good exercises. And some make for very good games too.
Very nice to see so many of you trying your hand in this! -
This is my take, if you don't understand how it works, give it a go and you shall. This requires quite esoteric people with loads of guts. I hope you enjoy.
Shards
Mechanics: Do exactly as record playing suggests.
Game play: Follow the rules below. The one reading this paper / screen / what ever, should read everything below out loud.
Rules:
- Check the time and set an alarm 15minutes away.
- Play some record, any kind will do but surreal ones are preferred.
- Walk to rest of the players if any.
- Follow the music, react to the music and take everything it states as true and do as it says, if it says anything.
Play report:
First game, three people. Record, FM3 - Buddha Box
Everyone wonders around and for some reason everyone started meditating at around 7minutes to the game, spontaneously and simultaneously. That continued until end. Amazing experience!
Second game, seven people. Record, NIN - Ghosts II
People draw insanely on walls and floor, until they all dropped dead. One by one. Strange one, since I didn't expect that at all by that album. Nice but didn't work as well as first game.
Third game, twelve people. Record, Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Insen
Bass made people jump, clicks made them move as robots, suddenly it came to stop and everyone was just standing still. Making eye contacts and whispering stuff to each other in non linguistic way. This was amazing game.
Fourth game, three people. Record, John Zorn - Astronome
This drove everyone mad, insane, completely out of their minds. They kissed, yelled, hugged, fought. When time was up everyone was exhausted and speechless. -
Shards: simple and challenging! I like it! I don't care if it reads like an impro-session. The gamesmith has posted it as a roleplaying poem, and that's all fine and swell with me!
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So much stuff! Wow! We've got, what, eight poems so far? I'm working on finding a good jury.
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CommentAuthorDave Cleaver
- CommentTimeMay 28th 2008
A Moment on the Subway
A Moment on the Subway is an RPG Poem for three players, that takes place in the ten minutes after two people have noticed each other for the first time. It's love at first sight... now what?
There are five roles in this RPG Poem. Two of the players need to play the two lovers. The third player will play the friend, the drunk, and the business man. Props will be used to distinguish which role the third player is currently playing. Grab a bottle for the drunk, and a briefcase or cellphone for the business man. The exact prop used is unimportant, as long as all of the players know which role each one represents.
The Lovers
Take a moment to decide on the details of the lovers. Ask some simple questions that will help you to get a basic feeling for these characters. What are the genders of the two lovers? How old are they? Don't spend more than five minutes getting a feel for the characters. Revealing details in the scene, can be more fun than making them up ahead of time.
The Friend, The Drunk, and The Business Man
The friend, the drunk, and the business man exist to introduce complications for the interactions of the lovers. When you are holding the prop for a role, then you are currently playing that role. Put the props to full use, take swigs from the bottle, or talk loudly on the cellphone.
The friend role has no prop, so when you aren't holding the bottle or the briefcase/cellphone, than this is the role that you are playing. You can decide whose friend you will be before the scene starts, or you can wait until play begins. If you decide to wait until play starts, be sure to make your choice very clear in your first few statements.
Playing the Scene
The scene begins just after the lovers have first noticed each other. Play proceeds with each player acting out what their characters say and do. After ten minutes, one of the lovers needs to get off of the subway. The scene and the game ends at this point. -
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A Moment on the Subway: Wow! This reads like a little jewel of a game! Exciting theme, good use of characters, and good ending (sensing a dilemma coming up there). It may strengthen the game to give some hints on things to do, but I'm not sure ... Maybe the game is perfect as is. A playtest will tell!
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I like the ending of Subway. How do the players decide who has to get off? Do they just let it emerge during play, or should it be pre-determined somehow?
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CommentAuthorDave Cleaver
- CommentTimeMay 29th 2008
Posted By: MatthijsHow do the players decide who has to get off? Do they just let it emerge during play, or should it be pre-determined somehow?
Right now, I've been leaving it up to the players. It can emerge, or they can try to figure it out beforehand. Also, I think I left it open enough that both of them could get off of the subway. -
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- CommentAuthorAnders Nygaard
- CommentTimeJun 2nd 2008
Mundus
You need a timer, at least three players and straws. One short, one medium and one long straw. For more players, add more long straws.
Draw straws.
The short straw states a scientific fact about a world.
The medium straw tells you something interesting related to this fact.
The long straw(s) takes turns describing what it looks, feels and smells like from a personal point of view.
When everyone has contributed something, pass the straws to your left.
The game ends when the timer is at 15 minutes.
Example
Short: The planet 2M1207 Centaurus orbits a red, M-type star.
Medium: That means all the plants would be black, to absorb as much energy as possible from the weak light.
Long: Their leaves are soft, like velvet.
Long: They smell like burning rubber.
Or:
Short: The Orcs of the Rotting Plains have a taboo on eating meat from nonsentient creatures.
Medium: To get enough protein, they eat their dead, and keep kobolds for their meat.
Long: My grandfather tasted of ash. I remembered that he fought in the Dark Lord's war. I felt his strenght like a fire in my gut. -
Mundus: nice one, Anders! I wonder how it would be to play ...
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Anders, is "scientific fact" the right term? The meat-eating taboo doesn't sound very scientific to me. (Loved "My grandfather tasted of ash").
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the science of anthropology, of course! Or should I say "orcopology"? ;-)
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Nine games so far, in the competition! And still some weeks to the 20eth. Very nice!
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The jury has been chosen! The jurors will be:
- Erlend Bruer, creator of "The Father" and head of Hyperion (page in Norwegian), an umbrella organization for fannish associations with some 12,000 members.
- Erling Rognli, co-creator of "New Voices in Art" and RPG theorist (scroll down the page).
The jury has two weeks to read, discuss and possibly play the games after the competition ends. The three best poems will be announced in this thread and on the Nørwegian Style website. The winner will, as mentioned earlier, receive a bar of Firkløver chocolate. -
- CommentAuthorAnders Nygaard
- CommentTimeJun 3rd 2008
Yay for the Erls!
"Scientific" was the first thing that came to mind, really. I'm thinking something general, something specific, and something immediate. I'll put my doubts about the term aside on the grounds that i'ts amazing what kind of fact can pass as "scientific" if you put your mind to it.
Now I want to write a big, lavishly illustrated book called Orcology. It would, of course, be bound in this: http://www.skinbag.net/code/presse-dossier.php -
Ah, isn't that typical: Matthijs telling me the two of us should stay out of the jury, and making me believe in him too (me, the old bugger so eager to be a juror for once in my life). Erlend and Erling are two Norwegians very much in tune with both modern and classical RPG-design, and very well equipped to pick a winner in this competition! I look forward to their evaluations and final judgement, and the games still to hit this thread.
Go make poetic RPGs, people! -
ORCOLOGY
- a roleplaying poem with scientific depth
NEED
- 3 to 5 eager players
- some "strange" item to explore
- white labdresses (not compulsory)
- a room to play in (don't have to be secluded, an audience is actually good)
- a high table to stand around
- 15 minutes of free playing time
YOU
- you are scientists
- this object is your newest find
- it is clearly of orc-origin, and it will revolutionize the science of orcology
- orcology is a new field in modern science, and a reality-changing discipline
START
- place the object on a table between you
- the object is unique, and should be handled with utmost care
- discuss the object in particular, and orcology in general
TRUTH
- all claims on the object history are true
- all claims on orcology in general are true
- all claims on the history and relationship between the scientists are true
LIES
- once per. game each player may raise his/her index-finger
- when an index-finger is raised the last claim is untrue
- no index-finger may be countered by another index-finger
- any player may raise questions or cast doubt on a claim that has been fingered
- but only the player raising the index finger knows the real truth of the fingered claim
END
- the end is near when 15 minutes have passed
- you will then, on a count of 1-2-3, point your finger at another player
- the player with the most fingers poiting at him/her will deliver the conclusion of your discussion
- you will all nod sagely to this conclusion, and congratulate him/her on the profound insight given
Have a nice game! -
Fifteen minutes with something greater
This is a poem for one person. It's divided into three short stages.
1. This evening, when you go to bed, find something greater than yourself to talk to. Talk to that greater thing about the good things that have happened today, and think about how they came about. Say thanks if you want to.
2. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, find that greater thing again. Talk to it about the day that will come and the things you will do.
3. At some point during the day tomorrow, bring about a good thing - something you know you will be thankful for in the evening. Afterwards, send a little sign of happiness to the greater thing.
The greater thing you use can be anything. A belief system. A god. A political system. A common soul. The good in yourself. -
Love it! Will do!
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Love in the time of fantasy
This Poem for two players deals with the wonderful situation of being in love in a wonderful fantasy-world.
All you need (is love!) to play is a coin and fiveteen minutes of time (3 minutes per chapter).
First Chapter: A new world
First of all, both players chose a name and race for their character. There are orcs, gnomes, dwarfes, elves and humans. It is not necessary to chose the same race.
Then add five facts or locations to your world.
Examples: a huge dark forest, a necropolis, the warmage's army is coming...
Second Chapter: Falling in love
After the elder player has chosen head or tails, flip a coin to decide who starts. The beginning player tells where the story begins, where, when and why the characters met and how his/her character falls in love with the other.
The other player does the same, when the first finished.
Examples: Once upon a time there was a young orcish lad and a beautiful human girl, it was a warm midsummer day and the winds were blowing through the leaves of the big tree standing in the middle of the market place, when their eyes met...
Third Chapter: Only problems
But love's not easy! In this chapter, the other player begins, and describes all the problems his/her characters love will provoke in his enviroment/family/race/folk/faction, what they will do and how s/he will react.
The second player is doing the same in turn.
Examples: Think about Romeo and Juliet!
Forth Chapter: The disaster
Flip a coin to decide the beginning player for this chapter. The first player describes a fantasy-typical epic catastrophe, that threats and changes the whole world, especially the factions/folk/families of our characters. Introduce the menace, first consequences and how the world react.
The other player frames a concrete scene during the chaos of the disaster, where the two characters met and have to interact with each other. This is scene has to end in a cliff-hanger!
Examples: A dragon awakes, burns the city and haunts all virgins, the shadow-orcs are coming over the mountains and plunder everything, during the earth-quake caused by the giants meeting, one of the two characters is about falling down a bridge, the other character is coming to help, slips and is now hangig also down the bridge, when suddenly a giant is standing under them...
Last Chapter: Resolution (Happy End?)
Flip a coin: Head will mean love, happiness a happy end for the story, tails says more disaster, hate, desperation, death or whatever you find adequate for the ending of your little love affair.
Flip another coin to decide who is going to tell all this. S/he has to continue where the last scene has ended and to tell the big final!
Afterwards, the other player holds the epilogue and narrates what's happening with the world.
Examples: ...and they lived happily ever after.
THE END
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sorry for the long examples, so much fun!
my favorite is orcology! :)
and the thing where you have to touch each others feet! :D :D :D -
This is my entry for The Role-playing Poem Challenge. The haiku is mine and was published in the May 2008 edition of the World Haiku Review. Hopefully, its use doesn't disqualify the game. Let me know. If so, I'll remove it.
Lost Wedding Ring
a game for 4 to 10
lost wedding ring-
fireflies flicker across
the field
You Are: Married or Recently Not. You pick. But there should be some of each.
You Have: Lost your wedding ring.
It Is: Dusk turning to night.
Someone Has: Placed a ring somewhere in a big field.
You Have: A flashlight.
The Ring Placer: Takes two minutes to tell a story about how the ring has special meaning. A story about the wedding, about the engagement, about life, about love, about death, about family, about kids, about why this ring can't just be replaced.
You Must: Find the ring.
On Each Minute: The Ring Placer picks one player and calls out, "[Player's Name], have you found it?" The player then tells a quick story about loss. If divorced, it must be about the loss of their marriage. If married, it must be about the loss of the past and how the relationship has changed. No more than 30 seconds. This must be loud enough so all players can hear it. After ten minutes of searching, stop.
After Searching: Everyone comes together and sits in silence while thinking about loss. The Ring Placer reads the haiku from above, and then hugs each player one at a time. After this, the players can hug each other.
If the Ring is Found: Rejoice. The Ring Placer reads the haiku from above, and then opens a bottle of red wine and all celebrate with cheers to the Ring Placer. -
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 8th 2008
this is a very beautiful idea.
do you wish for each person to put in only one entry?
i feel like i have a few good ideas.
i will certainly do at least one, i am very excited about everyone's games!
thanks,
-jackson -
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NO need to limit yourself to only one idea, Jackson. Go game!
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Children Monks: A role-playing poem
A game for 6 to 10 people.
You play holy reincarnated monks as children found by the monastery and destined to become great leaders. Children will be children. To break you of your childhood, the master monks have given you a plate of peas to count while blindfolded. You'll spend the day counting peas in order to break you of your childhood.
Set-up: Get a timer that ticks and set it for 15 minutes. For each player, fill a bowl full of dried beans, peas, or something like that and give it to them, and wrap a blindfold around their eyes. Wrap them in a blanket made to look like a robe. Sit the players on the floor, cross legged, in a circle.
To play, for fifteen minutes the players must loudly hum “Ohm Ohm Ohm Ohm,” and throw peas at each other. When a player's plate is empty of peas, they must feel around on the ground for peas to throw. At no point may the players stop humming “Ohm Ohm Ohm Ohm.” If a player has to converse while looking for peas, the player may vary the pitch and sound of the "Ohm Ohm Ohm Ohm."
Once fifteen minutes is up and the alarm goes off, the players stop exactly where they are and someone removes the blindfold. You are now enlightened. -
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 11th 2008
ah, good. the juices shall begin to flow (out of my pen).
btw, Children Monks is the most psychotically inventive thing i've read in a while.
i'm going to get a campaign together starting this weekend. -
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Posted By: reineckeLove in the time of fantasy
I really like this poem! It is fantasy, my favourite genre, and it is a very funny/serious take on it. Will play!Posted By: BryanLost Wedding Ring
First I thought this was dumb, and then I read it again, and found it be quite charming.Posted By: BryanChildren Monks: A role-playing poem
Talk about dumb! This tested my ability to believe any meaningful gameplay possible. I've been tested, and came out (after the third read) as an enlightened man! I really want to do the silly things proposed by this game, and be enlightened! Give me a bowl of peas! Blindfold me! Will play!
Really guys! This is developing into a tremendous thread! -
okay, I think I read the intent wrong, but I like what i came up with
Rhyme and Riddle, a Role Playing Poem.
In the beginning there was riddle and rhyme
for it was how the gods passed the time
But now the gods have absconded
and the good folk are desponded
So along came a rhymer
who wrote this here primer
To help you pantomime the sublime
This game they played in the earliest days
Was in fact a metaphrase
The gods may have had power unbounded
but it was with rhyme they astounded
Couplets, Triplets, Quatrains and more
The more rhymes the better, in peace or in war
to change reality use rhyming reciprocality
What you rhyme becomes true
even in the darkness a grue
In a funny sort of way
the other's control your day
and use this to attempt to conjole
your name or clues from you, like from a troll
if they do then your threw.
But you ask how can I do this, I'm just a dunce
just try it now, you get it at once
but before we begin we cannot forget riddle
you'll have to forgive me I began in the middle
our little game begins with our friend
The riddle and again at the end
For Rhymes to work the riddle must also
It is to the riddle the rhyme must all go
Riddles build characters, and scenes not at random
but work with the rhymes they do so in tandem
Make a rhyme about yourself, a hidden name
That other's using rhymes attempt to obtain
but if your name is found then your character is bound
If your character is bound they are half-souled
at the whims of another, their will is controlled
But nothing can stop the rhyming
It just takes good timing
so steel your resolve
and their riddle solve
Then you've finished riddle and rhyme. -
- CommentAuthorAnders Nygaard
- CommentTimeJun 14th 2008
I love the idea of putting the rules in rhyme. But I'm used to reading the emotional content in poetry, rather than looking for the mechanics. I find that trying to figure out the rules in this form is beyond me. I'm unaccountably ashamed to ask, but could I have a nice, tidy numbered list of what we're supposed to do in a game of Rhyme and Riddle? -
Five more days, people! Competition ends on June 20.
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 16th 2008
i know! tonight's my work night!
you'll see great stuff this eve (or tomorrow morn),
you've got my word! -
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@ all the authors (&jury or anyone else)
Do you allow me to translate and publish your poem in a pocketmod (non-commercial of course, printing your name/nick under the work and naming story-games.com)? -
I completely support Reinecke's idea! However, every author will have to give his/her personal consent, of course.
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@Matthijs
Sure! Everyone has to say "yes, you have my permission"
But even if there are only a handful of authors it would be a pretty thing, this pocket mod.
The Licence-Question: w/o licence or with cc (non-commercial, name)
-> Size of a pocketmod: 1 piece of paper (2 sides) <- very few space for licences! so 1 CC for all is the word.
but. i'll wait until the challenge is over. -
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2008
what time, in what time zone on june 20?
... i want that firklover so bad! -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2008
Give it up fool, the Firkløver is mine. -
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THE BELIEVERS
by Chris Bennett
You are each playing characters who have had some sort of contact with UFOs, and are preparing for the imminent arrival of aliens on Earth. Are they going to be friendly?
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE?
Whoever has the longest hair should go first.
Take no more than two minutes and explain why your character believes in UFOs. It can be as simple as some strange lights you saw in the sky; or as complicated as an alien abduction where you were scientifically experimented on. But be as descriptive and emotive as possible. What did it feel like to you? How were you affected by the experience?
It helps if you base your character's experience on something that really happened to you as a person. Perhaps a weird experience or dream that you had, or a secret fear or question you have. Try to make it personal.
While the first player is describing their belief, the other players should be writing down single words or phrases they hear that are evocative to them. For example, you might write down "light gray skin" or "spinning lights" or "scared out of my wits".
If the describing player takes longer than two minutes, the player to their right should gently remind them to finish up.
After the first player is finished, go clockwise around the table. Every player should have two minutes to describe why they believe. Everyone who is not talking should continue taking notes of what is interesting to them.
Note that you do not need to incorporate the notes you have taken when it is your turn to describe. Keep those notes for later.
A PAUSE
After the last player is done describing their experience, everyone should take a full 60 seconds to reflect. Don't look at your notes or talk to the other players. Just sit quietly and think about the arrival of the aliens. The player who spoke last can gently note when the time for reflection is finished.
THE ARRIVAL
The youngest player at the table should announce the arrival of the aliens. Don't think too much. Just say what is in your head, and use the notes that are in front of you. Say only a few sentences, and then stop talking and look directly at another player.
The player who was looked at should take up directly from that sentence and continue talking, trying always to bring in the notes that they took. When they are finished they will stop and look at a third player.
This should continue until each player has had the chance to talk at least two or three times.
The DEPARTURE
Then all of the players should close their eyes.
Each player should hold out their arm straight in front of them, bring careful to not touch others. Hold your hand palm up if you choose to go with with aliens. Hold your hand palm down if you choose to stay on Earth.
When all players are done, everyone should open their eyes and see who has left and who stayed behind. -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeJun 17th 2008
Hello! Jason's wife here! Usually, everything he reads on storygames is super boring and obscure to me. But this thread is fantastic! I love that you are all making games that are so wide open and short and easy to understand. I particularly like the Boredom game and Mundus and the Pea Game. Those things are like Fluxus happenings. Excellent!
Your friend,
Autumn -
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(deleted my pathetic attempt at humor)
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BTW, thank you Matthijs for allowing me to get 'The Believers' down on paper. It's been sitting in my head for well over a year!
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Posted By: Autumn Those things are like Fluxus happenings. Excellent!
Wow, that's true, isn't it? I've been thinking a bit about happenings and RPGs lately - inspired by, among others, an article called Kaprow's Scions (read more here). There are some striking similarities - gathering a bunch of people to perform a structured activity, motivated by fun (or "fun", or just the desire to try something new). -
Posted By: Jason MorningstarHello! Jason's wife here! Usually, everything he reads on storygames is super boring and obscure to me. But this thread is fantastic! ... Those things are like Fluxus happenings. Excellent!
Hi Autumn! Nice to see a spouse getting excited about the RPGs of her nerdy husband ;-)
Your friend,
Autumn
I expect games like these; simpler and with more variety in themes, to be of greater interest to the general public, maybe greater than the interest among gamers, actually.
These games are widening our scope of what a game really is. By doing so they surpass the conformity of classical games and dive into the open territory of a more intuitive and humane interactive exploration. I love to be part of such a movement!
And, of course: lucky you with a wise wife, Jason! -
Posted By: jackson teguwhat time, in what time zone on june 20?
... i want that firklover so bad!
Before midnight, in your very own time zone. -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeJun 18th 2008
Hey all, I'll point Autumn back here to read your replies. If she wants to talk more she'll have to get her own account! -
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 19th 2008 edited
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~jackson tegu is my Firkl
over~ -
That chocolate has hazelnut in it, you know. And delicious soft and tasteful milkchocolate. I say this only to those of you not yet finished with your poetic RPGs, in an effort to help you make a last desperate run for completion!
There is one piece of nirvana to be had! Only one! -
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CommentAuthorJason Morningstar
- CommentTimeJun 20th 2008
By the way, Autumn is glad nobody made fun of her, and when I suggested she register, she said, and I quote, "Ugh!" -
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The fine folks at EndGame in Oakland were kind enough to let me give away some copies of my role-playing poem 'The Believers' during Free RPG Day this Saturday. Yay!!
I know the contest is finishing up today and I've already made my submission (above). But if anyone has any last-minute edits or suggestions to improve clarity, I'm not printing the copies until tomorrow morning.
Thanks!!! -
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CommentAuthorjackson tegu
- CommentTimeJun 20th 2008
hey, hey, hey.
i volunteer to check "the believers" over for you, chris. but right now i gotta get out in the sunshine, a rare enough thing around these parts.
and if you would, Jason, correct Autumn's belief that we are in fact a group of heartless jackals. and by that i mean, i certainly won't razz someone on these boards until they have A D&D 3.5e SUPPLEMENT TITLED WITH THEIR NAME.
which is to say, check these monsters out- -
