In Short
Remember the last time you wanted to run an RPG based on your favorite TV show?
Primetime Adventures is designed to handle exactly that – running RPGs that resemble TV shows. In particular, it wants to simulate TV shows that focus on character growth and personal drama. This can include science fiction action, soap opera, crime drama, and anything else you care to try. With a simple, easy to learn playing card mechanic,
Primetime Adventures focuses on group storytelling and bringing all of the fun of a TV show to the gaming table.
The Good: The short campaign structure, spotlight episodes, and other mechanics are clever. The book is very readable and sure to fill the reader with cool ideas. Extensive examples make the game easy to understand and run from just a single reading.
The Bad: The core game mechanics are very simple and unlikely to satisfy those who want more strategy and fiddly bits in their game mechanics.
The Physical Thing
This 112 page 5.5 x 8.5 softcover showcases above average production values for its $20.00 price tag. While the editing is great and the artwork, while uncommon, perfect for the product it’s the formatting that really rocks here. The book is very easy to read and understand. Examples are clear, ideally separated from the main text, and easy to follow alone or as an ongoing adventure. In terms of simple presentation I consider
Primetime Adventures to be at the top of the game.
Given the product’s small size, its detailed table of contents is more than adequate. It fully makes up for the lack of an index.
Under the Cover
Primetime Adventures kicks off where a group will – by discussing how to brainstorm an idea for a series. Where will the show be set? What do we want? What do we not want? Through a little Q and A the players will generally come up with an idea for a show.
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Example: My series, Heavy Metal Robot, is about a near future AI living out its life in a cyber shell trying to find the musical notes that will unlock a new level of existence. The band is composed of a variety of strange misfits, from uplifted animals to a vat grown drummer, and the series generally focuses on what it means to be human.
The show will follow a fairly standard darker tone anime formula. Shows will generally be serious, but sometimes will be pretty bleak. After delving into darkness the next appropriate scene or episode must have a more light hearted tone.
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Once the premise is decided upon the players will have to issue roles and build characters. One player takes on the role of the Producer (GM) while the others build the Protagonists (characters, stars) of the show. Character creation begins by defining a core issue that the character is trying to deal with. Primetime Adventures does an excellent job of showing how this applies to many current TV shows.
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Example: I’m going to portray Trans, the robot and lead guitarist for the band. His issue is a modified version of the Self Worth example, let’s call it “Who Am I?” Trans is trying to find a place in a world where new forms of intelligence are just emerging and having to grapple with this very question.
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Each character has 1 each of Edges and Connections, and 1 extra pick from either group. Edges are often professions or statements about what a character is. They encompass a broad variety of training and skill. Connections represent friends and allies. Both Edges and Connections may be used in play for a bonus (1 extra card for every Edge or Connection invoked in a scene) but each Edge and Connection may only be brought into play a number of times equal to the character’s Screen Presence for that Episode (more below). Thus, these are both powerful and frequently used resources, but they do have their limits and they won’t be brought into every Scene.
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Example: I decide that Trans has the Edge “Band Leader” and the Connection “Dr. Sapient, programmer and band manager.” That leaves me with one more Edge or Connection. I decide to take another Edge, “Big, Powerful Robot” to finish things off. Both of my chosen Edges can be used in a wide variety of situations, and Dr. Sapient is sure to be helpful throughout the Season.
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At this stage the group needs to decide how long the Season is going to last. A campaign, or Season, in Primetime Adventures is typically 5 or 9 sessions. Once the number of sessions is determined the Screen Presence for each character must be set. Every Episode (game session) will involve each of the Protagonists (characters) having a Screen Presence of 1, 2, or 3 to reflect how influential the Protagonist is in that episode. 3 represents a spotlight Episode, and the player of the Protagonist will have a larger pool of cards to play with (and thus a larger chance of kicking butt). 1 represents more of a supporting role, and the player will have the least ability to influence the outcome of the story. Each Protagonist has just one Episode where their Screen Presence will be 3.
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Example: I want Trans to have a very slow developing story with major things at the end. This game is going to be 5 Episodes long, so I have 1, 1, 2, 2, and 3 for Screen Presence to distribute among the Episodes. I choose to go with 2, 1, 2, 1, 3. Trans is the band leader and needs to get some screen time right off the bat, but after the first episode things tend to focus more on the supporting characters and their issues until the very end.
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Note that distributing Screen Presence at the beginning helps the Producer and other players come up with ideas to help focus the Episode on a particular Protagonist’s issue ahead of time. Primetime Adventures also allows players to narrate a few second clip showcasing an event from the next episode, and knowing Screen Presence can help to forecast situations and actions that make sense.
I have my character, with just a few simple values, and I have a game concept. Now all I need are the rules! The rules come into play during conflicts, which occur in Scenes. While the game begins with a Producer described Scene, after that it passes to the spotlight (Presence 3) character and then to the other players. Typically a player is going to lay out the details of the way they imagine the scene unfolding, building up some sort of conflict. Where the scene is located, who is involved and what are the stakes (that is, what can be gained or lost from victory or defeat) are all decided upon. Then the cards hit the table.
First, be aware that the Producer only has a set amount of Budget to spend on buying cards to use. This Budget is determined by the Screen Presence of each Protagonist, and while the first card is always free for the Producer after that there’s a mild resource conservation element. Second, the players each have a pool of points called Fan Mail that they get for generally doing cool and entertaining things. This is the meta mechanic in Primetime Adventures and it is used to give a character a bonus when they really need it. Fan Mail may also be used to enter a scene that a character isn’t otherwise involved in, so if a player really wants to join a scene then they can.
Cards are dealt and revealed based on, for the players, Screen Presence + (1 for every Edge or Connection being used in the Scene) + (any points of Fanmail spent). The Producer gets 1 card + 1 card for every point of Budget spent. Players whose characters are not in the Scene may spend Fan Mail to add cards to either side. Once everyone has spent points and has a total then the cards are dealt and revealed. Red cards are worth 1 point, black cards are worth zero, and the side with the most points wins.
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Example: Trans has been preparing for a big performance where he hopes to convince the listeners that he’s more than a machine – that there’s a soul behind his voice. The scene is a big rock concert where Trans is rocking and singing his heart out. My Stakes are that if I win then Trans really moves his audience and scores a victory in pop culture for transhuman rights. The Producer suggests that if I lose then the performance falls flat and results in a lot of negative spoofs on the internet that really hurt his cause.
This is in an Episode where Trans has a Screen Presence of 2. By default, then, he has two cards. I bring his Band Leader Edge into play, for obvious reasons. I also bring Dr. Sapient into play – he’s arranged for the whole performance to be at a famous concert hall that’s sure to impress the audience and carry Trans’s voice especially well. That gives me a total of 4 cards.
The Producer begins with 1 card and may add more from his Budget. This is a pretty important Scene, so the Producer chooses to add 3 cards. Finally, one of the other band members is impressed with the Scene idea and spends a point of Fan Mail to add a card for Trans.
The Producer’s cards come up: 10 of Clubs, Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, 5 of Spades. Two red cards, so two successes. Trans gets a 5 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, and 3 of Clubs. He also gets two successes. All other things being equal, Trans lost this conflict. When the two sides are equal then the side with the most Hearts wins. Fortunately, the extra card spent for Trans comes up a Jack of Diamonds. I win my Stakes and Trans emotionally moves his audience, just as he had hoped.
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It’s a simple, fun system that’s easy to learn and play immediately. But with a system so simple, what else does Primetime Adventures offer? First, there are a few other rules I’ve not gone into here that add a little bit more to the rules – but not a lot. Second, the book is absolutely filled with exciting ideas for how to bring great TV shows and roleplaying together. From the way you present a scene to what drives good TV forward, PTA is all about creating entertaining group narratives. Finally, this book is absolutely loaded with examples. Ongoing examples, one shot examples, example TV shows, clear examples of all the mechanics in play – you will not be confused in the least while you’re done reading Primetime Adventures.
My Take
I adore
Primetime Adventures. The mechanics, such as Screen Presence, are clever but remain simple and easy to work with. The advice on bringing TV to the RPG world is top notch. The examples are comprehensive and clearly answer all of my questions as I read along. The only negative thing I can find here is that some consumers may not enjoy the simplicity of
PTA’s game system and the abstractness of the conflict resolution. If you want tactical options and crunchy mechanics then this game won’t work for you, but if you’re looking for a top notch game for telling stories about your favorite TV shows that never were then pick up
Primetime Adventures!
Review Summary