Talk Trash 2Nite: first draft

[talysman]

ok, I need to catch up on all the game design ideas that are waiting to be finished, so I've finally gotten the "Jerry Springer" rpg to the point where I can request comments. I'm calling the game Talk Trash 2Nite for now. here is the first draft of the rules. what I'm mainly looking for is other common trash talk show motif (more appropriate adjectives/stereotypes/problems or kinds of events.) I'm still trying to figure out how to impliment makeovers, DNA tests, or weight-reduction surgery, or even if those need special rules.

Talk Trash 2Nite

a GMless role-playing game of complaints, surprises and low-class combat

required for play: scratch paper for character sheets, pencils, several d10s, and a deck of standard playing cards.

chargen: give your character a name, brief description, stereotype, and problem. stereotypes are made of a relationship plus a modifying adjective. the relationships are:

[*]husband/boyfriend
[*]wife/girlfriend
[*]"ex"
[*]parent/grandparent
[*]in-law
[*]sibling
[*]teen
[*]friend
[*]neighbor
[/list:u]
the modifying adjectives are:

[*]lazy
[*]sneaky
[*]flirtatious
[*]nagging
[*]controlling
[*]jealous
[*]meddling
[*]rebellious
[*]greedy
[*]wasteful
[/list:u]
you choose your character's stereotype as a relationship to the character of the player sitting to your right -- so if that player is playing an adult female character, your character can be the "flirtatious husband", "controlling mother", "rebellious teen son", or "jealous boyfriend". the player to the right then assigns a problem to your character, selected from this list:

[*]addict/alcoholic, including addiction to food, gambling, etc.
[*]deadbeat or irresponsible
[*]abusive, violent or destructive
[*]appearance problem (slutty dresser, grossly overweight, etc.)
[/list:u]
the problems listed are general problems, but they must be described in a specific way when assigned. thus, your character may wind up with "sex addiction", "unable to keep a job (irresponsible)", "gets in bar fights (violent)", "dresses goth or punk", and so on.

once the characters are described and their relationships worked out, assign ability scores: assign 3 to either Shock or Pity, then set the other ability as 2.

the last step is to remove the jokers from the deck and shuffle the cards. each player draws two cards, laying them face-up on the table. during play, each player's hand will fluctuate, ranging from one card to several cards, but each player must always have at least one face-up card. you should also have room on the table for a discard pile as well as the draw deck.

play: whoever has the highest face-up card gets to go first; play proceeds clockwise. the object of each player's turn is to add to the imaginary sleazy talk show's events, based on die rolls that match the cards in the player's hand. the suits of the cards each have a special theme:

[*]clubs: fighting, physical abuse
[*]hearts: love, sex
[*]spades: insults, lies, verbal abuse
[*]diamonds: money or property
[/list:u]
on their turn, players roll several ten-sided dice, based on either the Shock or the Pity score. if the players want to describe something horrible that happened to their character, they roll a number of dice equal to Pity. if they want to describe something extreme their characters did, they roll dice equal to Shock. if they are going to roll Pity, they can discard one heart or diamond to get a one-time bonus of one extra die to roll; if they are going to roll Shock, they can discard a club or spade to get this bonus.

the player rolls the dice and checks the results, counting a 0 as a 10 (if teh dice are number 0 to 9). if the player has a card with a numeric value matching one of the dice rolled, the player can work the theme of that suit into a description.

the player's description of the action must be given as dialogue, and must match the tactic the player selected at the beginning of the turn (Shock or Pity.) some examples:

(1) player has 6 of hearts, rolls Shock dice and gets a 6:
the player says "my baby daddy don't know I been sleepin' around with his best friend!"
(2) player has a 3 of diamonds, rolls Pity dice and gets a 3:
the player says "you think my son is all innocent and stuff, but last week he stole my watch and sold it to buy videogames!"

every die result that matches a card is a potential earned point of success. players get the matching points if: (a) they are able to work each matching theme into a description; and, (b) another player doesn't "steal" the point.

if another player has a card that matches one of the cards the current player is using in a description, that player can "steal" (cancel) that point by stealing the spotlight. to steal, the stealing player must discard the card being used and add an appropriate commentary (Shock for Shock, Pity for Pity, using the theme of the suit played.)

again, the "steal" card must match the same number as the card of the player being stolen from, but there is one exception: face cards can be used to steal from any other card of the same suit. a face card is special, because it introduces an NPC into the story: jacks represent kids (including unborn kids) and queens and kings are adults of the appropriate gender. the suit of the face card does not have to be used as a theme; instead, the stealing player works the NPC into the story in some way, perhaps having the NPC appear onstage and start a fight. for a jack, the stealing player can opt to surprise another player with a secret pregnancy.

when a player has earned one or more points of success, the points can be spent either to increase the attribute (Shock or Pity) that was just used, or to draw an additional card (one for each point, if desired.) new cards may be kept hidden until first used, after which they remain face-up. this allows players to keep each other guessing who has an NPC they can play.

if a player has no matches on the die roll, the player must still contribute a bit of dialogue. it can be anything that ties into the stereotype or problem of any of the other player's characters, or it can build on something mentioned earlier in the "show". the player earns no points for this.

the player can opt to play and discard an NPC, if possible. playing an NPC on your own turn earns one point of Shock or Pity; it can't be stolen unless another player discards a face card and brings in another NPC.

once a player has either 15 Shock or 15 Pity, the game is over. that player's character has earned the audience's approval or disapproval and is the most "interesting" guest on the talk show.

[Mike Holmes]

This has me laughing.

On this:

I'm still trying to figure out how to impliment makeovers, DNA tests, or weight-reduction surgery, or even if those need special rules.

I'd develop a single subgame to cover them all. Basically, once during the show a player should be able to pull one of these out as a gambit (once period, not once per player). Essentially, make this a tactic that only benefits a deperate losing player. Risky for all, but something that can dramtically turn the tables on the winning players. That way it'll only come out if the game isn't close (and therefore interesting), and will act as a balancing mechanic.

Mike

[Ron Edwards]

Hi John,

I suggest talking to Paul Czege about some of the feedback he's received about Nicotine Girls, which included some terms like "essentializing" and "disempowerment." A few more games like this (which now that I think of it includes Elfs), and we'll have a nifty Theory discussion to start in a month or two.

Best,
Ron

[talysman]

Ron,

I'll certainly talk to Paul about it. I think he wants to talk about it anyway... we had a brief email exchange back when I dropped some hints I was working on this game.

you know, I didn't think of it being similar to Nicotine Girls or Elfs at all, although I can see a certain resemblence (you're thinking of how the players want their characters to "lose", right?) however, I was thinking more of Toon at the time.

Mike,

This has me laughing.

thanx!

also, thanx for the subsystem suggestion. I'll think about how to do that, but I am also considering the possibility of a special rule rather than an entire subsystem -- something that works like the surprise guest rule.

one possibility I have to keep in mind is that I may simplify some of the mechanics. I originally conceived the idea (here) as an rpg aimed more at the mainstream.

I could see keeping this basic structure for several other similar games, merely changing the color and a rule or two to make a "Celebrity Quest" game, for instance, with players trying to get their names in the paper, or a "Talk Show Trash" game with players trying to get on a horrid talk show (like Jerry Springer).

(I passed on the idea of making this a "boardgame/rpg", although that idea is still intriguing.)

anyways, I see d10s as a slight accessibility problem, if I really wanted to pursue marketing a game for the not-usually-role-players. d6s would be better, and cards without dice would be better yet, although dropping dice entirely will change the feel of the game.

if I were to switch to d6s, I could assign a special meaning to 7,8, 9, and 10, similar to the way face cards mean guest appearances. however, this might be straining the system a bit, since I already have people trying to remember that spades=insults and verbal abuse as well as themes for all the other suits.

anyways, I think I can playtest the game as is in about 1-2 weeks, then make decisions what to change.