We Regret to Inform You (The GM is Dead)

[Jonathan Walton]

So here's the big project I'm working on for Rogue Publishing.  I'm just getting ready to tackle the mechanics, which will ideally evolve over the course of the campaign.   Thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

I'm going to be breaking this into parts when I post it.


PROPOSAL:

We Regret to Inform You
(The Gamemaster is Dead)

A GM-Less Mystery Campaign Suitable for Any Game

By Jonathan Walton


GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

In "We Regret to Inform You," players take on the roles of Characters in a roleplaying game.  When the Gamemaster is mysteriously killed by one of the Players, the Characters must attempt to determine who the murderer is and prevent the killer from striking again.


METHODOLOGY:

Since the GM is "dead" during the course of the campaign, the players guide play by taking turns reading from the campaign book.  A situation is described and then the players are asked to roleplay their way through it.  After the situation is resolved, players return to the book and continue on from there.

Though the book will not be structured like a "Choose Your Own Adventure," with different pages to turn to for each possible outcome, neither will it be totally linear.  The situations are set up in broad, general terms and are intended to provide motivation and tension, rather than to completely shape the plot of the campaign.  Since each group will treat a given situation differently, the campaign will seem completely different each time it is played, even though the situations are the same.  Encountering a situation is like drawing a card in a Poker game, depending on what has happened before, the same situation could either help or hinder you.

Experienced players' knowledge of the situations and the order in which they occur should not affect play (this is theoretically at this point, and should be thoroughly playtested).

[Jonathan Walton]

OUTLINE:

0. COVER (pic: http://www.godmachine.org/deadgm/Cover.jpg)

I. INTRO & PRE-GAME SHOW (pic: http://www.godmachine.org/deadgm/Intro-Pregame.jpg)

The instructions begin with this chapter, which is entirely directed towards the buyer.  This is the only part of the document that is not to be read aloud in the course of the game.  Content to be covered includes:

- Intended Audience.  "We Regret to Inform You" is intended for experienced roleplayers.  Just how experienced doesn't really matter, but some experience is necessary.  Additionally, the text of the campaign assumes a basic fluency in gaming culture.

- To Read or Not to Read.  If you go ahead and read this volume cover to electronic cover, you will still be able to participate fully in this campaign.  Still, if you want to experience the true thrill of embarking into the unknown, you should stop reading (at the very least) by the end of the Prelude.

- Reading the Instructions Aloud.  Explains the basic mechanic of the campaign, getting the players to take turns reading from the instructions.  Offers a few ways that this could be accomplished, especially if the document isn't printed out.

- Number of Players.  This game works best when you have a significant number of players involved.  You could play it with as few as 4 people, but, in most cases, it will be much more interesting with 5-8.  More than 8 players is certainly possible, though it is not recommended, especially if none of the players have played the campaign before.

- Existing vs. New Campaigns.  One of the best things about this campaign is that it tacks onto whatever game, genre, or system you want.  This part of the Introduction will explain, in some detail, how to either 1) use this campaign as part of an ongoing one you're already involved in, or 2) create a brand new campaign for the express purpose of running "We Regret to Inform You."

- Including the Ex-GM.  It can be an ordeal for former-GMs to find their proper place, one where they are not tempted (simply out of habit) to assert unnecessary control of the game.  Also, there's the question of how the GM's new character fits into the existing party of adventurers.  Since the ex-GM may be a little rusty at being "merely a player" and the other players may not be sure how to treat "the GM's character," one of two tactics could be employed: 1) treat the GM as a new player, just now joining the game, or 2) get the GM to take on the role of an established NPC, who'll be treated as a PC for the purposes of the campaign.

- The Ideal Playing Space. The players should find a setup that allows them to meet in pairs or small groups to discuss things privately.  They'll either want a large enough space that Players can whisper in separate corners and not be heard, or a central meeting area with several side rooms for private discussions.  We're talking a Diplomacy setup.

- Game Materials.  A list of what you'll need to play: character sheets, dice, pencils, pens, a deck of index cards, several small envelopes, an opaque bag (to draw cards out of), print-outs of certain parts of the instructions, etc.

- Pacing.  "We Regret to Inform You" can be completed in a single session, as long all the Players are willing to move quickly.  However, it is more likely that the campaign will take place over several sessions (hence, it being dubbed a campaign).  This section will detail suggestions for running differently-paced campaigns, depending on how much time you have available.

[Jonathan Walton]

II. PRELUDE (pic: http://www.godmachine.org/deadgm/Prelude.jpg)

This is where the group begins reading the document aloud.  The Prelude portion of the game is intended to set the tone, prepare for rest of the campaign, and get the players in the right frame of mind.  Content to be covered includes:

- The Story So Far.  The Players met at the GM's house for a Saturday Night game session.  However, before the game was able to start, the GM was mysteriously murdered by one of the players.  Now, since all the players have been carted off for questioning, their Characters must get to the bottom of this mystery, capture the killer, and prove the innocence of the other players.

- How to Read This Out Loud.  Basic instructions for the players who haven't read or played in this campaign before.  The instructions will be passed around and each player will have a chance to read them out loud to the others.  Players should try to read slowly and carefully, so everyone can understand what's going on.

- Timing.  The story takes place over a week of real time, Sunday morning to Saturday evening.  Each day can either be played out over the course of a session or in a single hour.  By this point, the group should know which way they'd rather run things.  If not, they should take time to figure the timing question out.

- Filling out the Campaign Record.  In the course of filling out the Campaign Record, each player is given a Nickname, which is what he/she should be called for the course of the campaign (to de-personify the player, who, for example, might become "The Goth" instead of "Jake").  The only definite is that one player must be "The Rules-Lawyer," but other examples will be given, in case the players have trouble coming up with ones on their own.  Nicknames can either be appropriate (reflecting the player's normal playing style) or completely inappropriate (a reserved player suddenly becomes "The Munchkin").  Either way, it should be amusing.

- The Clues.  Certain aspects of "We Regret to Inform You" resemble a sick and twisted cross between Clue and an episode of Scooby-Doo.  During the Prelude portion of the campaign, each player is given 8 index cards to fill out secretly, including:
  -- 2 Who? Cards, with the player's Nickname written on them.
  -- 2 What? Cards, listing a potential murder method (both the same).
  -- 2 Where? Cards, listing a possible murder site (both the same).
  -- 2 Why? Cards, listing a reason why the GM might be murdered (both the same).

Once this has been completed, one of two methods can be employed to secretly determine how the murder was, in fact, carried out.  1) The Traditional Method: The four different card types are shuffled separately, one is drawn randomly from each group, and the final 4 cards are placed in a "secret envelope" in clear view.   2) The Newfangled Method:  All the cards are shuffled together, 4 are drawn randomly from the mixed deck, and those 4 are place in the "secret envelope."  In either case, the cards placed in the envelope become the "facts" of the case.  The rest are placed in the "evidence bag," to be used later.  NOTE that not only do the players not know the contents of the envelope, but also, in the case of What?, Where?, and Why? Cards, they don't even know what the possibilities are and will have to figure that out by questioning/threatening/extorting/bribing the other players.

- A General Outline of Play.  There are a fair number of "clues" left in the "evidence bag."  Each Character will be allowed, at the very minimum, to draw one clue for each "day" of the campaign.  This means that, by Saturday, the last day of the campaign and the anniversary of the GM's murder, the Characters will have eliminated all of the "circumstantial evidence" and should be able to determine the circumstances of the murder.  Any Character who, by Saturday Night, determines all 4 crucial "facts" about the case, will have a chance to catch the murderer and win the game.  However, whoever determines it earliest will get first chance.

- Solving the Mystery.  Each Character gets a "secret envelope" of his/her own.  Once they think they know what the details of the murder are (or, discover that their own player is the murderer), they should write this on a card and seal it in their envelope.  Then, in front of everyone else, they should write where they fall in the order of sealed envelopes ("1st" to write & seal, "2nd," "3rd," etc.).  Once an envelope has been sealed and submitted (placed with the sealed "facts" of the murder), it cannot be taken back and redone.  In the final confrontation with the killer, the envelopes are opened in order, so whoever gets the correct information in first will have the best chance to capture the murderer.

- Tone and Style of Play.  "We Regret to Inform You" will have a tendency to be less serious and more informal than one of the group's typical campaigns.  If you normally play dark and tense, poking fun at that would probably be a good idea.  If you typically play fast and loose, reigning in the chaos may be your biggest task.  As there is no GM to keep order, the group must find a new way of working together to achieve their goals.  The instructions are designed to encourage this, but this requires that the players buy into what the game is trying to do, not stubbornly refuse play along.

- Staying Focused.  Much of the campaign involves playing with the typical distinctions between player & character, IC & OOC, fantasy & reality.  This magic is broken if players move too far beyond the scope of the game.  Sure, "The Munchkin" can make comments to "The Rules-Lawyer," but if Dave and Suzy start taking about last week's Karate class, much could be lost.  You don't have to stay IC all the time, but try to keep your OOC comments restricted to things related (in some vague sense) with the game.

[Jonathan Walton]

III. SUNDAY (pic: http://www.godmachine.org/deadgm/Sunday.jpg)

Every day, the group begins by doing their "Daily Chores":

A. Clue of the Day. Each player secretly draws one clue from the Bag of Evidence.  This will give them one of the cards that is NOT in the envelope.  Whether this is of any real help or not is questionable (at least, early in the game).  It is only when a significant number of "false evidence" has been cleared away that the "facts" of the murder become evident.

B. Reading the Newest Letter. Each day, the Characters receive a letter from the Rules-Lawyer, describing the Players' ongoing tribulations and how the investigation is going.  This should be read aloud to officially kick off the day's events.

C. Morning Discussions.  The Characters will be given a period of time to discuss things, either together or in small groups/pairs.  This is their chance to try to get information out of each other, by whatever means they can, and plot against any Characters suspected of being in league with the killer player.

As such, Sunday's instructions include:

1. Daily Chores.  Described above.

2. The Memorial Service.  A LARP-like part of the game where Players and Characters get a chance to interact and scheme, all while honoring the spirit of their noble fallen leader, the late Gamemaster.

3. Field Trip: Dice Hunt.  Field trips, which always wrap up each day's activities, are chances for the Characters to step back from all this "murder mystery" business and go adventuring in the gameworld.  Of course, this isn't as easy as it sounds, especially without a GM.  More importantly, the GM's Dice have gone missing, so no one can roll for anything.  The first adventure involves hunting down the GM's Dice, artifacts that now hold incredible godlike power.

IV. MONDAY (pic: several cupped hands holding the treasured dice)

Monday's instructions include:

1. Daily Chores.  Described above.

2. Reenacting the Crime.  The Characters reenact the events of the murder by playing the boardgame "Don't Kill the GM" (a twisted parody of Cheapass Games' "Kill Dr. Lucky"), using the late GM's newly-acquired dice as pawns.  The winner(s) get to draw another Clue Card.

3. Field Trip: What Ever Happened to Whatshername?  Monday's fieldtrip tries to answer the question "What happened to all the NPCs after the GM died?"  
   
V. TUESDAY (pic: several hands pointing accusingly at each other)
VI. WEDNESDAY (pic: ?)
VII. THURSDAY (pic: ?)
VIII. FRIDAY (pic: ?)

Likewise, Tuesday-Friday's instructions are in the format:

1. Daily Chores.

2. Murder-Related Activity.

3. Field Trip.

- The Murder-Related Activities are meant to be fun, somewhat silly, and a chance for the players to get more information on the events of the crime.  The Field Trips are supposed to slowly get the players used to GM-less gaming, and will definitely be a challenge to write.  However, if I slowly add complications (like dice rolls, dealing with NPCs, etc.) as the "days" go by, I shouldn't run the risk of loosing anyone.

- Once I actually get down to writing out the campaign, these events should fall into place.  However, since I have yet to fully write out the events for Sunday or Monday, planning ahead for Tues-Friday is a little difficult, since I intend to build on what has happened before.

IX. SATURDAY (pic: ?)

As you might expect, Saturday's instructions are somewhat different:

1. Draw Any Remaining Clues.  Maximum of one per player.  First pick goes to players who haven't yet sealed their envelopes and players with fewer cards. Lastly, if there are still questions, give priority to those listed first on the campaign record (starting with the Rules-Lawyer).

2. Final Fifteen.  If any player requests it, the entire group gets 15 minutes to sort everything out.  Once those 15 minutes are over, all players must seal their envelopes.

3. Examine the Facts.  Open the envelope containing the "facts" of the murder.  If, at the start of the campaign, you used the Traditional Method of picking cards for the facts envelope, the murder should now be clearly explained: Killer, Murder Method, Location, and Motive.  If you selected the New-Fangled Method, it's up to the players to figure out just how the murder took place, since the facts might not make obvious sense ("The GM slipped in The Garden and fell on a Chainsaw and a Vorpal Blade, all because of his guilt about how messy The GM's Bedroom was.")

4. Open the Character's Envelopes in Order.  Starting with the one marked "1st" and continuing down the line, open the envelopes in order.  If one of the Character's figured out the killer's identity before the killer's Character did, the murder has been apprehended!  If not, tipped off by his/her own Character, the murder has managed to escape justice.

X. END (pic: ?)

[Jonathan Walton]

NOTES:

There are a couple of things that I'd like to work into the campaign, and may still be able to do (as I write the thing), but couldn't quite nail down in time to meet the proposal deadline.  Chief among these is a way for other players to die in the course of the investigation (victims of the murderer among them), to give a sense of urgency to the events.  I came up with several possible methods, but couldn't find one elegant and simple enough to gel with the rest of the campaign.  Since people are going to be tacking these rules on top of the ones they normally play with, I want things to stay as simple and intuitive as possible.

Additionally, the events of Saturday are currently very boring and anticlimactic.  Yes, I finally came up with a way for the campaign to end, but I'm not satisfied with it yet.  Much work will need to be done to wrap up the campaign in a way that is satisfying and exciting.  Once I get a group of people together to do some early playtesting, I should be able to nail down the Clue Card mechanics, which will help me determine how the final events should play out.

If you have thoughts, suggestions, or possible solutions to my problems, tack them up here or e-mail me personally.

Later.
Jonathan

<Jonathan.Walton @ oberlin.edu> REMOVE THE SPACES.

[deadpanbob]

Jonathan;

This is a very interesting concept.  I have some questions, things that aren't immediately clear enough to penetrate my density.

This is essentially a game outisde the game?  Like the play within a play concept but reversed, right?

So the GM is dead, and the players (who are known to the Characters only by their nicknames "The Rules-Lawyer" etc) are gone.  

This leaves the Characters, and by this you mean the actual characters of the planned RPG session interrupted by the GM's death, to 'step out' of the 'imagined' world of the RPG and into the 'real' world of the players to solve the crime?

Or is the Crime solved by the Characters within the 'Imagined' world of the planned RPG campaign?

Pending answers, I have only 1 suggestion, relative to your question about better final resolution to the Crime.

I think that all of the Players should be gathered together by the Characters - and then each Character gets to act out the traditional, movie/tv mystery "I've gathered you all here because I know who did it..." scene.

The other Players play themselves - the implication being that the acting Character's Player is innocent.

Or, to muck things up even more, each player takes on the role of a different Character than the one they ususally play during the campaign, and for this murder mystery, the Player could end up being accused by his own Character!

A very complex idea that may require a whole new set of vocabulary to deal with...

Cheers,

Jason

[Jonathan Walton]

This is a very interesting concept.

Thanks.  It's meant to be equal parts "How to Host a Murder," "Clue," Brechtian absurdist theater, and whatever game the group is currently playing.  My task is to make all that into a logical whole.

I have some questions, things that aren't immediately clear enough to penetrate my density.

No problem.  If I had taken the time to explain everything in DETAIL, this document would have been dense enough to stun a moose.  I figured that I would eventually have some explaining to do.

This is essentially a game outisde the game?  Like the play within a play concept but reversed, right?

More like a game within a game, unreversed.

There are some bizarre metagame elements, but it's not really like Powerkill, where the action takes place on top of the existing game.  Instead, I'm basically moving the metagame stuff that usually takes place (bickering amongst the players, OOC discussions of the game) and injecting it into the IC plotline.

So the GM is dead, and the players (who are known to the Characters only by their nicknames "The Rules-Lawyer" etc) are gone.  

Oh, the Players are still around.  But the Characters don't have any direct way of contacting them and don't really know much about them, since everything outside of the game is OOC knowledge.  However, the Players know everything about the Characters, making the Characters that much more paranoid and vulnerable.  After all, who knows if the Player who plays you (the Character) is actually a murderer?

This leaves the Characters, and by this you mean the actual characters of the planned RPG session interrupted by the GM's death, to 'step out' of the 'imagined' world of the RPG and into the 'real' world of the players to solve the crime?

Or is the Crime solved by the Characters within the 'Imagined' world of the planned RPG campaign?

The latter.  The Characters face the frustrating task of trying to solve an OOC crime from an IC position within the game.  This is where all that Brechtian absurdity comes in.

I think that all of the Players should be gathered together by the Characters - and then each Character gets to act out the traditional, movie/tv mystery "I've gathered you all here because I know who did it..." scene.

The other Players play themselves - the implication being that the acting Character's Player is innocent.

This is frickin' brilliant.  I was already going to have a mini-LARP portion of the game take place at the GM's funeral.  Where players would alternate between playing The Player and The Character, mingling with the other Players and Characters.

Bringing that element back for the final confrontation would be a nice touch.  It would make the ending much more interesting and climactic.   It would also highlight the points in the campaign where IC and OOC merge for short periods of time (an instability reculting from the GM's death?).

Or, to muck things up even more, each player takes on the role of a different Character than the one they ususally play during the campaign, and for this murder mystery, the Player could end up being accused by his own Character!

This suggestion I'll have to think about a little more.  I don't know how most players are going to feel about giving up their treasured PCs to be played and mocked by another player.  For people who've played shared-character games like Universalis, it's not much of a stretch, but I don't think most D&D or Rifts players would go for it.

A very complex idea that may require a whole new set of vocabulary to deal with...

Another one of my problems is trying to distinguish the players from the Players without making the distinction too strong.  After all, even though Jim may not actually be "The Rules-Lawyer" or "The Munchkin" in your actual game, it's playing with those IC and OOC distinctions that forms the basis of the campaign.  Making the distinction too clear could ruin the entire effect.  Making it too murky will be unnecessarily confusing.

Later.
Jonathan

[deadpanbob]

Jonathan:

First, for the purposes of this discussion:

The Players = the actual players of the game

The Stereotypes = the nicknamed players from the perspective of the Characters (the GM, the Rules-Lawyer)

The Characters = the characters as defined within the RPG that was planned for the saturday where the GM was killed.

The Campaign = the in-game universie (the IC univerise) of The Characters

The Mystery = the in-game universe of The Stereotypes (i.e. the OOC world as perceived by The Characters)

So, you have The Players directly portraying The Characters in The Campaign trying to solve a mystery about the mostly absent Stereotypes without any way to directly affect The Mystery.

The one-level-removal of The Players from The Characters seems to make this difficult unless you adapt some way for the The Stereotypes to be personified.  You might consider something like Elfs, where The Players desires are considered as strongly as the Characters.

An idea like the Shadowguide from WWGS's Wraith: the Obilvion might work, with one Player/Character combo has to deal with a third influence, The Stereotype - which of course nec. means that no Player will be playing the Character that they would normally play in the Campaign (that would be the Stereotype - Shadowguide - as played by the Player who actually does play the Character in the Campaign).

See, this makes my head hurt just thinking about/talking about it.

Also, you'll need to have some way set up for the Character's to find out what's going on based on in Campaign events.  The universe starts to fray at the edges b/c the GM is no longer there to power it with his will.  NPC's will act either totally randomly, will not act/react at all, or will repeat the last thing they were doing over and over again.

Perhaps the Characters figure out what's going on because they are unable to move within the Campaign - meaning that they have to stay in one location within the Campaign to figure out who killed the GM.

The events of The Mystery would probably need to have analogues within the Campaign that the Characters could decipher in some way to be referring to events that are nec. outside their purview.

This is going to be really challenging.  Imagine a being who exists in 5-Dimenions....It's difficult, isn't it?  In 4-Dimesnions, you can imagine a being who exists not only physically, but constantly across all time (ala Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen).  But 5-Dimesnions?  What would such a creature be like, and how would we, in our 3/4-D world ever be able to catch a glimpse of its passing and be able to make any guesses about what was going on in his 5-D world.

I think this could go somewhere fun, but with this level of abstraction, you are going to have to create a lot of concrete (paradoxically) rules about how The Characters can solve something that exists entirely outside The Campaign in every sense of the word from entirely within the Campaign with no way to interact with the Mystery.

Seems like a tough challenge.

Okay, one other thought...how about the game of Telegraph.  You'd need at least 4 players to make this work.  A Character can only act based on the orders of The Stereotype who is in turn only able to act based on orders of The Player.  Player A controls Stereotype B (protrayed by Player C) who control Character C (portrayed by Player D).  Of course, than each Player will be controlling at least one Stereotype and one Character.  Then, each Player can only get the Character to do something by secrectly telling the Stereotype who then has to secrectly relay the information to The Character.

Only actions taken in the Campaign would be portrayed in front of everyone.  Characters would start to talk about things happening in The Mystery, because the Campaign is the only place that The Stereotypes can safely discuss the events of The Mystery - but they will only do so as directed by The Players - or so The Players beleive.  Because the Stereotype doesn't have to give exaclty the same orders or even remotely the same orders to The Character.  And The Character, as portrayed by yet a third Player, may not want to do what the Stereotype said to do either....

This strikes me as way overworked - and potentially really time-consuming.  I guess I"m not going to be able to provide much help.

It sound like such an intriguing idea, but I can't conceive of a way to make it work.

Cheers,

Jason

[Jonathan Walton]

The Players = the actual players of the game

The Stereotypes = the nicknamed players from the perspective of the Characters (the GM, the Rules-Lawyer)

The Characters = the characters as defined within the RPG that was planned for the saturday where the GM was killed.

The Campaign = the in-game universie (the IC univerise) of The Characters

The Mystery = the in-game universe of The Stereotypes (i.e. the OOC world as perceived by The Characters)

Okay.  That'll help clear up some of this confusion.  Still, I don't think I'd want to use terms like those within the text of the game itself, but I'll have to come up with SOMETHING to keep the game from collapsing into itself from the sheer mind-bending strangeness.

So, you have The Players directly portraying The Characters in The Campaign trying to solve a mystery about the mostly absent Stereotypes without any way to directly affect The Mystery.

YES!  That's it, exactly.  However, since The Stereotypes supposedly know everything that the Characters know, if the Characters are able to discover who the murderer is, the Stereotypes will know as well.  Theoretically, the Stereotypes can then capture the murderer or inform the police.  However, there is the complication that one of the Stereotypes is also the murderer, so if the Murderer's Character discovers that the other Stereotypes are on to him, he can try to escape.

So basically, the Characters can't affect The Mystery DIRECTLY, but they have a great deal of INDIRECT power.

The one-level-removal of The Players from The Characters seems to make this difficult unless you adapt some way for the The Stereotypes to be personified.

Well, like I said, in certain points of the game, the Players will be playing the Stereotypes as well as the Characters, so they will get personified eventually.

I'm not sure how Elfs handles this, but I'll definitely look into it.

As far as Wraith's Shadowguides go, we're not really talking about the same thing here.  Let me see if I can explain why...

In a standard roleplaying game the Characters have no idea that they're controlled by a Player (or, in this case, a Stereotype).  The Character's personality is fixed, not in the sense that it doesn't change, but in the sense that it doesn't fluctuate randomly based on the desires of the Stereotype.  Characters are expected to act consistently, as if they were real people and not contructs created for the purpose of gaming.

In "We Regret to Inform You," the GM's death triggers a realization on the part of the Characters that they are simply contructs within a roleplaying game.  However, even though they know this about themselves, it doesn't make them feel any different.  To use a real world comparison, whether humans have free will or not, it certainly SEEMS that we do.  The same applies to the Characters, who don't SEEM to be controlled by The Rules-Lawyer or The Munchkin or any other Stereotype.  They SEEM to be acting consistently.

I think if we pulled a Shadowguide-like effect, it would simply add another layer of removal between Player and Character.  We'd now have Player -> Stereotype -> Character, which would be a little too much for most people to handle, I think, especially on top of all the other weirdness that we're going to throw at them.  It also makes the Stereotypes less mysterious and adds all sorts of problems trying to keep IC and OOC and OOS (out-of-Stereotype) knowledge seperate.

So, basically, I decided a while back that I think it's much simply to have the Players play the Characters directly, and just have them wonder about this intermediate "Stereotypes" level that's removed from the rest of the game.

I'm not saying I couldn't be convinced that there's a better way to go about it, but I haven't seen evidence of that yet.  I'd be up for doing a Shadowguide like effect if I thought it would add something significant and not make things overly complex.

See, this makes my head hurt just thinking about/talking about it.

Hopefully in a good way :)  New-fangled ideas take a while to get comfortable with, which I hope means that this is going to be breaking some new ground.  It's never as rewarding to do something easy.

Also, you'll need to have some way set up for the Character's to find out what's going on based on in Campaign events. <snip> The events of The Mystery would probably need to have analogues within the Campaign that the Characters could decipher in some way to be referring to events that are nec. outside their purview.quote]

Definitely.  Actually, you just gave me a sweet little idea:

What if, as the GM was being murdered, his last act was to bind the details of his death into the fabric of the game world, so the Characters actually do have the ability to find out about the murder by decoding the clues the GM left behind?  That would give real reasons for the Characters to stay engaged with the world, even as it was dying, and to act quickly, since the clues could easily be erased by the collapsing Campaign (which would be slowly fading away, without the GM to support it).

NPC's will act either totally randomly, will not act/react at all, or will repeat the last thing they were doing over and over again.

The NPCs are one group that I need to deal with soon, and I haven't really made up my mind on that point.  Should we have some of the Players step in to take on the roles of NPCs?  Should all the NPC's just vanish or stand motionless or act randomly (once we have dice to determine their actions)?  I kinda feel like the Players shouldn't step in to play NPCs, at least not immediately.  That adds yet another layer of IC-OOCness that would complicate things early on.  Maybe one of the quests could be for a McGuffin that could allow Characters to control NPCs directly.

Perhaps the Characters figure out what's going on because they are unable to move within the Campaign - meaning that they have to stay in one location within the Campaign to figure out who killed the GM.

Ooooo... Good idea!  And you said you weren't going to be of any help ;)

Maybe the Campaign world doesn't really exist, except for those places that the PCs happen to be at the moment.  Without the GM to narrate their journey to other locations, their current location simply fades into grey at the edges, keeping them in once place.  Another McGuffin, however, could allow them to create new locations.

Actually, one idea I thought about playing with was having a series of McGuffins, starting with the GM's Dice, that would allow the Characters to take more and more control of the Campaign itself.  Basically, in effect, I would be slowly getting the group used to GMless play, by killing off the GM and then slowly allowing the Characters to take on the GM's power and responsibilities.  Your suggestions have made it more clear that this could actually work.

This is going to be really challenging.  Imagine a being who exists in 5-Dimenions....It's difficult, isn't it?  In 4-Dimesnions, you can imagine a being who exists not only physically, but constantly across all time (ala Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen).  But 5-Dimesnions?  What would such a creature be like, and how would we, in our 3/4-D world ever be able to catch a glimpse of its passing and be able to make any guesses about what was going on in his 5-D world.

Great example.  How can the Characters imagine a world outside the Campaign?  Well, that's part of what makes this so fun/mind-boggling :)

Okay, one other thought...how about the game of Telegraph.  You'd need at least 4 players to make this work.  A Character can only act based on the orders of The Stereotype who is in turn only able to act based on orders of The Player.  Player A controls Stereotype B (protrayed by Player C) who control Character C (portrayed by Player D).  Of course, than each Player will be controlling at least one Stereotype and one Character.  Then, each Player can only get the Character to do something by secrectly telling the Stereotype who then has to secrectly relay the information to The Character.

Wow!  That'd a really great concept for an experimental game, though I don't think that's something I'd want to use here.  Still, SOMEONE should take that and make it into a game.  It definitely deserves exploration.

Is anybody listening to this?  STEAL THIS IDEA!

It sound like such an intriguing idea, but I can't conceive of a way to make it work.

Hey, making it work is my problem :)

You've been an amazing amout of help.  Just talking out ideas with other people forces me to get clearer about what I want and what I don't want.

Thanks muchly!

Later.
Jonathan

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm just going to bump this back up, to make sure it doesn't fall off the page, since I'd love to get a few more comments before I move to draft out the continually-evolving mechanics that I hope to use.

Still, after this, if no one has anything to say, I'll stop taking up space :)

Later.
Jonathan