Tales from the Rocket House
Looking back at the swashbuckling system I mentioned in Column 15, I noticed that it had three major components, based on two major intentions of the game. The game's first intention was that it work for swashbucking action, and column 15 covered that pretty well. But looking back, I realized I didn't really touch on the other major intention of the system: that it be suitable for quick pick-up games. Specifically, that gamers with only a passing familiarity with this system could go “From Zero to Gaming in Thirty Minutes.” That has a nice ring, doesn't it?
The game system was designed not only to handle stunting quickly and easily, but to handle character creation and scenario creation quickly and easily. In more concrete terms, this is the plan:
1) Those present decide who will play and who will be the GM. In our first playtest, I was the GM, since I wrote the game, and Eric, the player, didn't know the system yet.
2) The players and GM decide, if they haven't already, what genre they're going to play. Medieval is easier to handle than later periods, for a pick-up game of this sort, but whatever works. Allowing for comedic elements helps greatly, since anything put together this quickly is going to have a few minor holes, and lack a certain amount of depth. A sense of humor makes this much more enjoyable. We chose a combination of (to use Ron Edwards's words) “D&D Fantasy” and modern-day reality-tv celebritrash, and we called it “The Lords of the Bling,” because we could.
3) Each person, including the GM, names one thing they want to have show up in the game, taking turns until the GM says “okay, that's enough.” We chose, among other things, ankle biter gnomes, a minor infernal type (an imp in this case), banana slugs, gnomish power armor, and Bjork (Bjork worked especially well, as I like her and my player hates her. I modeled an enemy enforcer after her, so I got to play “Army of Me” during the session, and Eric's PC got to kick the Ice Elf's butt)
4) Then the GM and Players separate for a few minutes. During this time the players create their characters and the GM creates the scenario outline (understanding that improvisation is not only encouraged, but necessary). The GM can also help the players create their characters if they need help.
The standard character abilities setup is: one ability at Outstanding: 6(+3), two at Very Good: 5(+2), and Three at Good: 4(+1). There are additional options, but that's the basic outline. There is a list of “Suggested Traits” for players to choose from, and they also have the option to pick off-list Traits, with GM approval. Equipment is based on the character's Traits, but it's similarly simple.
I put together a scenario in which the PC had to rescue Paris Sylvan, granddaughter of inn and tavern mogul Conrad Sylvan, from the clutches of Paracelsus, the purple-coat wearing Imp. He'd taken her to his fortress, a mountain filled with gnomes that he had enspelled into doing his bidding. His bidding, currently, was to manufacture a delicious, addictive confection, the chocolate banana slug. With the profits this delicious, if disgusting, candy provided, he would be able to buy the world – to heck with conquering it! In addition to the gnomes, Paracelsus had an Ice Elf chief of security who wielded twin scimitars and bore a strange resemblance to a well-known Icelandic pop singer from the 1990's. On the upper levels, hidden in Paracelsus's library of crossover fan fiction, was a hidden cache of gnomish kangaroo-shaped power armor. At the top of the mountain fortress, Paracelsus waited with Paris Sylvan, ready to destroy our hero. Ridiculous, yes, and not exactly an enduring fantasy classic, but it was fun to play through.
Eric rose to the challenge, creating flamboyant Dwarvish hairdresser called “Rick” (his given name is “Slab,” but he didn't like it much), who wielded a giant battle ax, a comb, and barber's scissors. He was an Outstanding 6(+3) Hairdresser, a Very Good 5(+2) Actor, and had Very Good 5(+2) Toughness, Good 4(+1) Strength and Good 4(+1) Fighting, as a result of his Dwarven physique and upbringing, and Good 4(+1) First Aid, as a result of mandatory CPR and First Aid seminars at the salon.
A Bit of Analysis
In this and future playtests, we discovered a few things. First, it is almost impossible to put together a satisfying mystery in under thirty minutes. I should have known that, but I didn't want to assume anything. The kinds of adventures that work best are the kind that are simple, straightforward, and slightly linear. In other words, though the players may thing of different, “outside the box” ways to solve the problem, they don't have to follow a trail of clues to figure out what the problem is.
“Adventure” really is the key here. Dungeon crawls, rescue missions, heists, battles, sabotage/covert ops, getting from point A to point B intact, escaping from the evil warlord's island, and Enter the Dragon ripoff tournaments can all work. Mysteries, complex political intrigues, debates, and so on typically require a greater amount of GM preparation than can be expected from a thirty minute (or less) process. The GM has veto power over any type of scenario he or she thinks will be ill-served by snap preparation, and should not be scared to use it. The game will be infinitely better if you play to its strengths, trust me.
In Closing
I outlined how the adventure turned out in Column 15. The important thing is that it took us less than 30 minutes to get ready. It was the first time anyone had ever played this game, and it worked. We went from nothing to playing the game in under thirty minutes.
Even if the particular mechanics and stunting system I described in Column 15 are of no interest to you at all, this pick-up game setup could be, since you could use it with any mechanics that allow for quick character creation, such as FUDGE or Risus. Enjoy!
