The monks live in small cloisters, because there’s less competition from peers when there are fewer peers. Small cloisters of the first three levels grow apples to distribute to the countryside. During the day, the monks when not out righting wrongs, tend the apple orchards. During night, they bunk with their cloister on the appropriate level. Cloisters span multiple levels.

When there is wrong in the world, the overlords assign a cloister a task designed to fix the wrong, and the best performing and most loyal monk from the cloister is rewarded a higher level. During all tasks each monk must deliver 10 apples, one of their sacred duties. Failing to force the 10 subjects to eat one apple each when on tasks results in banishment, death or worse.

Those that die during a task are demoted to level one and resurrected using resurrection magic, the only form of magic allowed by the overlords. A monk can only be resurrected six times before the flesh gives out and transforms to sticky mush.

You are a monk. Your name consists of two words that describe your worth in the world; you were given this name when you joined the cloister. The first word is an adjective, such as: dirty, hairy, homely, little, fat, yellow and windy. The second word is a noun, such as: ground, snow, hair, sky, wind, tree, moss, rock and dirt.

You are good at three practices from this list: awareness, heal self, blankout, gentle touch, climbing walls, finding and removing traps, moving silently, hiding in shadows, hearing noises and whispers, reading secret languages and opening locks.

Although armor and weapons are outlawed, monks don’t use them anyway, so you would never use any armor or weapon at the risk of vanquishing. And no monk worth his name would ever use forbidden magic even if the gods were alive to grant that power.

As a child, you were given to the cloister by your poor parents as a gift to you to allow you some level of comfort in your life.

You have six resurrections left and you live on level one.

Your goal in life is to become The One, the Holy Overlord of Level 36.

The gods don’t exist; they were vanquished by the overlords.

The gods are worms, and the gods are alive and present. They live in apples. When ingested, they control minds. Only those that are strong in mind can resist, and those that can resist, can use the magic granted by the worms.

The gods are divided into three factions: dogmatists, wildernessists and wizardists. Each faction wants to control the tower and thus the world, but they have slightly different goals and methods and spells. All the monks are infected, including you (but, luckily, you can resist their mind control. Don’t tell anyone, because resistance is punishable by banishment). The worms of your own kind know if you’re infected and know how you should act, so you better act the part and don’t use magic when another monk can see you. Reporting magic use is a way to rise in level. Only you can know what type of worm infects you. Because you can resist the worm, you can’t tell what kind of worms infect other characters.

Goal: To enlighten the world through the dogmatic following of dogma.

Methods: Spread the word through scripture.

Spells:

Although, you can uses spells granted by the gods – worms – you can’t select which one you want to use. The worms still are able to grant only those that they wish to give you, and they do so grudgingly, which makes the spells likely to backfire. At the start of an overlord’s task, you will know which spells the gods will grant you.

Monks of higher levels can use more spells.

• Level 1 Monks can use one level one spell.
• Level 2 Monks can use two level one spells and one level two spell.
• Level 3 Monks can use two level one spells, two level two spells and one level three spell.

Spells work once per task. If you gain a level during a task, the gods will give you new level appropriate spells you can use during the task – even if you already exhausted your allotted skills.

When the overlords vanquished the ghouls, gods and ghosts, they outlawed the guilds and societies. All trades are trained by the monks and everything that is is from the tower. There are no guilds and societies. Anyone suspected of being part of a guild or society that doesn’t or does exist is subject to banishment or death or worse.

The five biggest guilds and societies are: the Thieves’ Guild, Mercenaries’ Guild, the Secret Society for the Destruction of the Worm (DoubleSDW), the Government in Exile and the Liberation Front. Each society has different goals and methods.

Your parents were part of a guild or a society and immune to the worm. They gave you to the cloister to help infiltrate the tower. Tell no one your guild or society. When the overlords assign you a task, your guild or society will contact you with instructions.

Goals: Accumulate wealth and power.

Methods: Blackmail, theft and assassination.

Goals: To return wars to the realm, so they can get paid again.

Methods: Cause conflicts between villages and the tower.

Goals: To destroy the worms.

Methods: Destroy the apple orchards, stop the distribution of apples and deworm people infected with the worm.

Goals: Restore the government of the people to the land.

Methods: Subvert any action taken by the tower and install representatives of the Government in Exile in every village.

Goals: To liberate.

Methods: Mixed and confusing.

Weapons and armor are outlawed, so you would never use them, but those that do use weapons and armor have an advantage in any physical conflicts that might befall them. The overlords have forbid physical conflicts unless carried out by tasked monks with special permission. No one dies in the realm to physical conflicts.

Armor: shield, leather, scale, chain, banded, plate

Weapons: Axe, blackjack, club, hammer, mace, staff, dagger, spear, sword, blowgun, bola, rock, sling, whip

To play this game, you make a character by doing the following. Record this on a sheet of paper or index card.

• Write your character’s name.
• Pick three practices.
• Pick an armor to wear or not.
• Pick one weapon or not.
• Pick a worm type (keep hidden by writing it on the backside).
• Pick a Guild or Society (keep hidden by writing it on the backside).
• Draw six empty circles and write “Resurrections Remaining” by them.
• Draw ten empty apples and write “To please the overlord, I will promote health by providing one apple each to 10 subjects when on task.”

When playing a character, you will do anything and everything to gain a level including killing other characters. You will act in accordance to your worm’s type and attempt to accomplish its goals in order to disguise your resistance. You will complete the task assigned you by your Guild or Society. You should avoid an assassination attempts. And you should always obey the overlords and carry out their instructions perfectly because if they find out that you disobeyed you will be banished, killed or worse.

During the game, you say where your character goes, what your character does and how your character reacts. When you say that you’re going to do something, it happens successfully, unless you’re trying to harm someone, use a weapon, cast a spell or do something that directly relates to any task. If you’re doing either of those, you’ll roll three six-sided dice. One will tell you if you were successful, one will tell the overlord (GM) what the gods think about your actions and what your guild or society thinks about your action.

You will die during a game and you may die often. Sometimes within just a few minutes of when the game starts.

When the overlord asks you to roll the dice, you will roll three dice. A 1-2 on a die means that the action failed or the gods, guild or society disapproves. A 3-4 means that it only half succeeded. 5-6 means a total success. Rolls of 1 may mean death and triple 1s always means death.

Horse and Bayonets is story game for four or more people based on the Pinnacle Empty Quiver 2.0 gaming engine.

Download: Horses and Bayonets

Zombies Are Cute is a free story game for 3 to 6 players.

Download Zombies Are Cute Now!

Some inspiration:

• Writers dice
• Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park

Received a Game Chef 2011 Runners Up Award

In order to claim the title as England’s Bard, Shakespeare travels back in time and kidnaps Chaucer’s daughter, Agnes. As ransom Chaucer must go into exile and not write The Canterbury Tales. From his death bed, King Edward III dispatches a small group to accompany Chaucer while he searches the Royal Forest for Agnes.

Set Up

Gather four to eight players (actors). Go to a room big enough for all eight to walk around. Set up a row or two of chairs for the audience at one end and designate the rest as the stage.  When an actor isn’t playing a character in a scene, he sits in the audience. Everything else happens on the stage and all actors project to the audience. Print out 10 character sheets and enough actor sheets for the number of players. Cut up a bunch of scrap paper the size of Post-it Notes. Grab one mug and pencils for everyone. Print out the game.

Characters

Divide out the characters to all the actors. King Edward III plays a small part, so his actor should get another character. Agnes is bound to certain scenes, so her actor should also get another character.

• King Edward III, King of England: Temperamental, kind, warrior, on his death bed.
• Chaucer: Poet, government bureaucrat, gets a gallon of wine a day for free from the king, future author of The Canterbury Tales.
• Agnes, daughter of Chaucer: Courtly, aiming for status, looking for a good marriage.
• Sir Duncan, a chivalrous knight: Armored, tough guy, all chivalrous, courtly and such, but worried about his place with the new king.
• Rolaund, a constable: Enforcer of forest law, eater of wild boar, cool ‘stash, loyal to the King through all.
• Fitch, a serjeant-in-fee in the King’s Forest: Patroller of the forest in exchange for land, vigilant offender catcher, weasel.
• Brook, a ranger: Poor, underpaid, grubby enforcer of forest law, a woman hiding as a man.
• Shakespeare, playwright: Pompous, insecure, fame-loving fool with a good sense of the language.
• John Dee, astronomer, magician, consultant to Queen Elizabeth, friend of Shakespeare: Crazy, off his rocker, too smart for his own good, genius, time traveler.
• The Friar, poor holy man: Twisted, corrupt, knows the dark arts and owes Chaucer one.

Minor Characters

There might be minor characters or groups of characters in a scene. If so, any actor that plays one gains a move.

Playing

You play a role-playing play in acts and scenes. Each play has five acts, which each contain a number of scenes. At scene’s end you get to make one move that influences plot elements of the next scene. You use your character(s) to dialog with other characters and get their actors to support your move. The other actors can support you, oppose you or ignore you in support of their own move.

You also play out any plot elements required by the scene by acting out in dialog and actions. Imagine being in a Shakespearean improv play. If you play your character that way, you’re doing it right. A scene ends when you finish acting out all the plot elements and all the actors are ready to make a move.

Moves

At the end of the scene, write your move on a small slip of paper and put it in a cup. You can use any extra moves that you earned or save them for later. After everyone puts their slips into the cup, remove them and make the necessary changes to the next scene. You make one of four moves at the end of a scene:

1. You can pull a lever or hold it in place, which turns a plot element on or off in the next scene. If you pull a lever and no one tries to hold it in place, it happens. If you pull a lever and someone holds it in place, it doesn’t happen. If more actors pull it than hold it, it happens.
2. You can rotate a dial right or left, which changes the intensity of a required plot element in the next scene. Other actors can rotate it too.
3. You can support another actor’s move. I.e. you’re going to pull the same lever.
4. You can oppose another actor’s move. I.e. you’re going to keep a lever in place.

Special Moves

During a scene, you can play any of these special moves:

1. Enter: Enter a scene that didn’t feature your character at the curtain’s rise (beginning of a scene). Say something as an aside to the audience once you arrive. Agnes can’t do this move. You can only do this once per character.
2. Exit: Leave a scene. Agnes can’t do this move.
3. Soliloquy: Relate your character’s inner thoughts, relationships and goals to the audience, but not the other characters. Allows you to add one plot element of your own making to any future scene in acts 1 to 4. Include this as part of the soliloquy. Note: The plot element cannot be specific to any character. Make it general such as falling in love, showing hate, a death, a river full of fairies, etc. It can’t be or counteract a plot element already in the scene. Note 2: You cannot do another soliloquy until another actor steals the stage with a soliloquy.
4. The Dark Arts (John Dee and The Friar only): Once per game, completely change any scene in Act 2 to 4. During the change, all the actors pick a side, either John Dee or The Friar. Each side introduces one plot element and the scene is played with only those elements in the new setting.

Plot Elements

Each scene contains a number of plot elements, some can be turned on or off via lever, you can change some in intensity, and you must include others. If a scene has a plot element, you must incorporate it somehow. For example, if the scene includes “Love” then the characters in the scene must somehow work that into the scene through action or conversation. Maybe they’ll talk about father and daughter love, or maybe one of the characters falls in love. If it’s an element it must happen. You and the other actors must improv how.

If an element happens directly to an actor’s character, the actor gains an extra move until he uses it. An element can happen to any number of characters.

The Death of a Character

Characters can die (except for Shakespeare or Chaucer). John Dee and The Friar have powers to revive any character as a ghost or a ghoul. They’ll do it for a favor which you can negotiate during a death scene which occurs in a dark room with just John Dee or The Friar and your character. Death scenes are like others, but only special moves work.

The Purpose of Acts

Each act serves a purpose in our play. As actors you try to complete the purpose by the last scene. At the end of each scene, one random member of the audience becomes a critic who assigns an arbitrary rating to the scene and states whether or not it accomplished its purpose. He cites a reason for the decision and awards one character something to put on his acting resume. Each actor gains the arbitrary rating his resume. Think Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Act 1: Establish the Shakespeare vs. Chaucer conflict and sides. Set up the relationships and emotions.

Act 2: The sides make moves against the others.

Act 3: Make it look like Shakespeare might win.

Act 4: Chaucer’s side acts but stops short of victory.

Act 5: One side wins.

Actors

In a sense, the players play two characters at once. They play a Shakespearean actor playing a character in a play. Each actor wants fame, which in turn, helps them gain larger roles in the future. Therefore, they want large ratings from the critics for scenes in which they act. The actors with the highest ratings are most famous, and can excel in the areas for which a critic gave a reason. When an actor plays his character and pulls from his acting resume something a critic said was good, he gains a move.

Act 1 Is Different

In act 1, actors use their moves to throw any level or turn any dial for any scene in acts 2 to 4. In the scene they appear, they must tell the audience what they want by the end of the play, which is filled out on the character sheet. This can change if an actor plays a plot element on his character. Plot elements are also more specific in Act 1.

The Play

Act 1, Scene I Behind the Globe

At curtain: Enter Shakespeare and John Dee. Agnes sits bound and helpless on the ground. The Friar hides in an alley.

Plot Elements:

1. Shakespeare and John Dee discus their plan to make Chaucer not write The Canterbury Tales.
2. The Friar now knows the plan.
3. Agnes laments her situation.

Act 1, Scene II King’s Bedroom

At curtain: King Edward III (in bed), Chaucer, Sir Duncan, Rolaund

Plot Elements:

1. King Edward III assigns Sir Duncan and Rolaund to Chaucer’s quest to find his daughter.
2. Sir Duncan and King Edward III talk about his status and the king’s passing.
3. Chaucer and Rolaund talk of trust and family.

Act 1, Scene III The King’s Forest

At curtain: Enter Rolaund, Fitch and Brook

Plot Elements:

1. Rolaund recruits Fitch and Brook to help find Chaucer’s daughter.
2. Love
3. Jealousy

Act 2, Scene I The King’s Forest

At curtain: Enter the King’s Team. John Dee hides behind a tree.

Plot Elements:

1. Lever: Rash Action (default: on)
2. Lever: A band of monks (default: off)
3. Dial: Heavy Planning, Planning, Talk about What to Do, No Planning (Default: Planning)

Act 2, Scene II A Rented Room in the Secluded Village

At curtain: Agnes tied to a chair. Enter John Dee and Shakespeare.

Plot Element:

1. Dial: Interruption by Brook dressed as housekeeper or not (default: housekeeper)
2. Lever: Love (default: on)
3. Deception
4. Hidden

Act 2, Scene III The King’s Forest

At curtain: John Dee behind a tree. Enter Chaucer and Sir Duncan. Rolaund and Fitch at a fire.

Plot Elements:

1. Forsworn
2. Lever: Show Power (default: off)
3. Dial: The fire is explosive, magical, a viewing portal to Agnes (in scene then), warm. (default: warm)

Act 3, Scene I Secluded Village Fair

At curtain: Brook meets Fitch at a booth. Shakespeare in a booth looking at goods. The Friar watches Brook from afar.

Plot Elements:

1. Dial: Clue, red herring, corruption (Default: red herring)
2. Lever:  Jealousy (Default: On)
3. Failure

Act 3, Scene II On Stage at the Globe

At curtain: John Dee holding a skull. Chaucer, Rolaund and Sir Duncan appear in a cloud of smoke.

Plot Elements:

1. Magic
2. Dial: Love, betrayal, falling from grace, anger, revenge (Default: betrayal)
3. Death

Act 4, Scene I Village Tournament Grounds

At curtain: Fitch, Rolaund, The Friar and Chaucer watch the games

Plot Elements:

1. Join
2. Lever: Sword fight (Default: On)
3. Lever: Death (Default: Off)

Act 4, Scene II A Rented Room in the Secluded Village

At curtain: Brook climbs a ladder to the window; Shakespeare sits in front of a bound Agnes. The Friar throws open the door. Sir Duncan bursts through the wall.

Plot Elements:

1. Love
2. Lever: Death (Default: on)
3. Dial: Poison, sympathy, lying, jealousy, back-stabbing (Default: back-stabbing)

Act 5, Scene I Village Tournament Grounds

At curtain: All characters

Plot Elements:

1. Death
2. Freedom
3. Betrayal
4. Exile

Character Sheet

Fill out your character sheets in the first act.

Actor Sheet

Name:

Score:

Critic Awards:

Character Sheet

Character’s Name:

Role (from description):

Personality (from description):

I love/hate/detest/am jealous of ___________________________(name character).

I want this by play’s end: _______________________________________________

Something that I will never do is*: _________________________________________

*If you do it, you gain an extra enter move, or you can bring someone back from being a ghost or ghoul.

New Squad
Helicopter (Ops Team Six)
Squad Description: This squad specializes in the insertion via MH-60 helicopters using the latest technology to spoof enemy radar installments for deep penetrating missions behind enemy lines. Answers directly to the President.

Squad Talent: They gain a bonus of +1 to any Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition rolls when they make contact with their CIA support teams.

Squad Skills
Titanium Trained: When a Steel Dice roll fails, a character can re-roll it once if he says why he’s so tough. (Note: Your team is expected to do everything twice as fast.)
Hard Core: Once a mission, he keeps a lost Steel Die.

High-Value Target Behind Friendly Lines
Mission Type: Direct Action
Situation: After years of intelligence gathering, we have identified the hideout of our most wanted enemy. Unfortunately, it’s behind the border of a friendly country, and we suspect parts of the government are knowingly harboring him. We cannot secure permission for an incursion without risking him slipping through our fingers, again.

The Mission: Journey by helicopter hours beyond the border, land within a high-fortified three-story compound protected by limited windows 12- to 18-foot walls. Capture or kill the target. If killed, retrieve the body. Bring home any further intelligence, such as files, computers, etc.

Final Situation: Win by capturing or killing the target in Threat Level 7. Fail if the timer goes off before Threat Level 7.

The Catch: This is a timed mission. Set a real clock for 40 minutes. After character creation and Reconnaissance, start the clock. The game ends in failure if the target isn’t killed or captured by the time the clock runs out.

Bosses: This mission has two bosses. One in TL6 and one in TL7.
Boss 1: Combat: 5
Last Boss (Target): Combat: 3

Random Events: When the team reaches a new Threat Level from TL 2 to 6, roll 1d6. 1-3 No random event. 4-6 Random event.
Event Threat Level 2: Helicopter goes down. Team is okay, but might be stranded if they can’t get another helicopter in.
Event Threat Level 3: Attacked from a high position. Only ranged combat possible at a -1 modifier for the entire team.
Event Threat Level 4: Blocked. The enemy has successfully barricaded the path.
Event Threat Level 5: Human shield. The enemy is using a woman as a human shield.
Event Threat Level 6: Ambushed. All combat is within close-quarters or one-on-one.

Stuff Needed For Play

• Three to five players
• Three coins with one side gold and the other lead
• List of ingredients
• Download: The Alchemist — Latest copy of the rules formated to fit on one sheet of paper.

Set Up

Each player names his minion. Use a name such as Grout, Toady, Slimy, Drip, and Olaf. A minion always refers to himself in third person.

The oldest player starts first and turns proceed clockwise.

How to Play

On your turn, you’re the alchemist. The player to your right is your minion. The player to your left is the toil.

Step 1: Tell the minion what to get by saying “Minion ________, get me a ________.” Use any ingredient not circled or crossed off the list. The minion says, “Yes, master. You are my ________, and Minion _______ ________ you.”

Step 2: Flip three gold coins.

Step 3: Make the story according to the coin flip.

Three gold sides: The minion says a sentence about how he found the ingredient and brought it to the lab. The alchemist describes what the ingredient looks like in flowery prose. Circle the ingredient.

Three lead sides: The toil says a sentence about how the minion screwed up and lost the ingredient forever. The alchemist describes what punishment he inflicts. Cross the ingredient off the list.

Two gold, one lead: The minion says where he found the ingredient in one sentence. The toil says a sentence about an added toil to get the ingredient. The minion says a sentence about what he did to complete the toil and bring the ingredient home. The alchemist teaches a lesson on how to avoid the toil.

One gold, two lead: The toil says a sentence about what toil stands in the way. The minion says a sentence about what he does to solve the toil. The toil says how some new toil comes about. The alchemist says a flowery lament about how hard it is being an alchemist. A special circumstance occurs. Demote the minion to “Sub-minion.”

Step 4: End of turn. The next player goes.

Special Circumstance

In a special circumstance, the last toil remains unfinished, so the alchemist sends a new minion out to help finish it. If he does finish it, he becomes “Master Minion.”

Step 1: The minion and the toil trade places at the table and the minion becomes the toil and the toil becomes the minion.

Step 2: The alchemist flips two coins.

Both coins agree: The new minion says a sentence about how he helped finish the toil and retrieved the ingredient. Circle the ingredient. The alchemist praises the minion and promotes him to “Master Minion.”

Coins disagree: The new minion says a sentence about how he finished the toil. The toil says a sentence about how he lost the ingredient despite finishing the toil. Cross the ingredient off the list. The alchemist turns his back to the minion for the next turn.

Step 3: End of turn. The next player goes.

Ending the Story

The story ends when all the ingredients are either circled or crossed off. Each player describes  in a sentence what happens as the alchemist adds an ingredient to the potion. Go around the table until he adds the last ingredient. Use a conjunction to join the sentences.

The Conclusion

During the conclusion, you finish up the story in one of three ways:

Made Gold: If more ingredients are circled, then the alchemist made gold from lead using the found ingredients. Each players says a sentence about what his minion did with his cut. Any Sub-minions get only half his share in gold. A Master Minion gets twice his share.

Miracle: If more ingredients are crossed off, flip a number of coins equal to ingredients circled. If all coins come up gold, then the alchemist made gold in secret. Each player says a sentence about how the minion got abandoned.

Got Lead: If more ingredients are crossed off, flip a number of coins equal to ingredients circled. If any coin comes up lead, then the alchemist ended up with lead. Each player says a sentence about how the alchemist punished the minion for his failure.

Ingredient Lists

To set up, randomly pick out objects from the dictionary or make up an odd number of objects. Here’s a seven ingredient list leaning towards the humorous. You could be very serious about this, too. The length of the list equals the number of turns.

1. Pickle
2. Pixie dust
3. Exercise machine
4. Pool water
5. Pancakes
6. A newt
7. Elephant

Serious objects:

lead • tin • iron • copper • mercury • silver • gold • phosphorus • sulfur (sulphur) • arsenic • antimony • vitriol • quartz • cinnabar • pyrites • orpiment • galena • magnesia • lime • potash • natron • saltpetre • kohl • ammonia • ammonium chloride • alcohol • camphor • sulfuric acid (sulphuric acid) • hydrochloric acid • nitric acid • acetic acid • formic acid • citric acid • tartaric acid • aqua regia • gunpowder • carmot • blue vitriol • vinegar • salt

Two Player Variation

One player takes the alchemist and the toil role, and the other takes the minion. They switch when the turn is over.

Write a Story Variation

Write down every sentence said and see what it reads like.

Acknowledgments

While not a complete ripoff of Daniel Solis’ Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple and his Leftovers, it definately uses lots of it.

Actual Play

• Pixie dust, a newt and an elephant. Oh, my.

We ran into one problem early on. The rules for wandering around in the darkness are crap and the game went down the toilet. I swear I was Dung Mastering a perfect game when Kingsley ended up with a turd of a roll that forced the bullshit out into the open, and it really hit the fan. He kept calling me a shitty DM. Just then the wife interrupted and saved the night when she brought in plates of S.O.S. Usually, I like this English treat, but for some reason it tasted of buffalo chips. Ben got the runs.

Back in the game, the characters made a movement into the sewage system where they were almost overwhelmed by the smell of nitrogen when stepping into the layer of Giant Bat Dragons. Covered in guano, they mucked around until they fell into a troll’s compost pile. They failed a flatulence check, which woke the trolls, who tied the adventurers up and made them sit in the corner on stools. Soon, with several successful ca-ca rolls, Kingsley managed to escape, but not before he was poisoned by night soil. On the edge of death, he finally found the cure, a dingleberry. I about crapped my pants, because even though I know the system, I didn’t see that one coming — it came on so fast.

Overall, it liked the system. It’s a mother of a game. I describe it as a traditional game after a cold enema. The designer flushed out the bad and kept in the good.

Pitch: An high-impact, unpredictable, rare event is about to change human history. A Black Swan event hides beyond the horizon.

Set Up – World Sheet

Decide the setting. The time in history. What’s going on with the world. What type of world it is. Can be anything from modern times to historical times to fantasy to sci-fi. Write this stuff down on a World Sheet.

Characters:

• There are 36 (6d6 used like a d100 roll) characters. Maybe more. If more, figure out how to randomize it.
• Each has a designation (6d6 — One is 11. One is 12. One is etc…).
• Each has a name made of occupation and last name (General Lenish, Operative Rand, Stockbroker Tulley etc…). Each has power within his realm. It can be anyone that might impact human history.
• Each has a too-be-determined affiliations.
• Each has a relationship with other characters represented from 1 to 6 (1 bad. 6 good.).

Character Sheets

A character sheet probably has a place for designation, name, affiliations and relationships. The relationships should have a seven word note behind it so the next player knows something about the relationship. Plus a place for notes. You probably keep each character sheet within file folder labeled with the designation.

How to Play

At first, everything is one-on-one and turns last for five minutes. Each player randomly selects a character (6d6). If it’s a first meeting, each player rolls 1d6. That’s the starting relationship to play. At some point that players decide meetings might get larger. At some point, randomly selecting characters might not make sense, so the players can decide who plays who when.

During a turn, they answer:

• Why they are meeting?
• If they are affiliated and what that is? Don’t need to reveal any affiliations to the other character.
• What decisions are made?
• What actions do they set in motion, help along or hinder? If any. Within their realm, of course.
• How does the relationship change? It can only move one point in either direction or stay if it’s 1 or 6.

For five minutes or more if the players need it, the players stay in character and answer the questions without saying what the questions are. When finished record the conversation, date it and paper clip it to each character sheet. You can record, video tape or transcribe the conversation. Or write the gist as the players decide.

Event Sheet

If an action is set in motion, record and date it. Record when it’s helped along or hindered. Write when it changes.

Continue

Play continues until an event changes human history.