Playtest info

[amiel]

I finally got down to it, myself and the space monkeys.
First the social contract, we decided to do a fantasy game. We also decided on few silly elements. Next, component building. I've been paying attention to this board, so I told the other players how important this step was. And we never got past it.
We spent three hours building components. We now have a stack of twenty components and a promise to play again soon.
I would call it a failure in some ways, but we had a lot of fun.
                                                      -Jeremiah J Davis

[Valamir]

Wow...three hours building Components...I've never seen that before, you must have really worked at them.

I wouldn't consider it a failure though (unless at the end you were like "this really sucked").  One of the ways to play Universalis is to start off with a predefined setting.  For example, one of our groups chose to play in the world of Vampire: The Masquerade.

They took the easy way out.  What I call the "Inspired by" method.  As veteran V:tM players they knew all of the clans and NPCs and the like, so rather than spend time creating them all they just Created them on the fly when they needed them, and bought for them Traits appropriate to the that setting at that time.

The other way of doing it would be to actually Create dozens of Components in advance.  Instead of being "Inspired" by the world of Star Wars, you actually start by Creating the Millenium Falcon and buying SW appropriate Traits for it.

You basically did this latter method (what I call Full Conversion), although instead of converting an existing setting, you worked up a new one of your own (I assume it was a new one anyway).

That simply means that when you play next you'll have a foundation to start from that most Universalis games don't (we haven't used the pre-defined setting very often ourselves).

So give me some details on these Components you Created, I'm intrigued.

[Mike Holmes]

Yeah, lay it on us. What did you take three hours making? Does it sound like a Fantasy setting that would be cool to play in? Did you create any characters in there? Or was it just world level stuff like the nature of magic, etc. Did it go well? Were there any problems with the session, or things that could be improved?

I think that you took the notes from the Forum too seriously (or perhaps your players took your admonishments too seriously). The cautions of late were against beginning with too few Game Structure elements like mood and premise, and such. You really need very few Components per se to begin (I like to create a character and a scene right off and just build from there). You didn't spend three hours on just Game Structure, did you (that would be interesting to hear about; I can't imagine more than say fifteen minutes of such chatter)? Interestingly, Ralph's pacing mechanic Add-On in version 6.1 would have forced you to start story play, eventually.

As a note, many people have suggested using Universalis as you have to create a world in a collaborative manner, and then using other RPGs to play out the game. Not that I'm suggesting this here, please playtest it out some more if you can with some actual story creation. But eventually, maybe, or perhaps with another world later that you decide to use for this purpose, before-hand.

Mike

[amiel]

What did you take three hours making?

What we ended up with:

three kingdoms(one matriarchal)
two major god
the "council of lesser gods"
one "shire"
a religious festival which is celebrated in all lands
an elite class in one of the lands
seven characters (all involved in love triangles and quadrangles)
a sea
[/list:u]

I think that you took the notes from the Forum too seriously (or perhaps your players took your admonishments too seriously).

Perhaps, but we had fun. Also, part of the issue was that a lot of the components we made were outgrowths of replies and such we were making to other components.
Example:
Sarrah made a component made a matriarchal "kingdom". In reply, I a made a misogynistic god.
Also, I have a question:n exactly which chips go into the complication pot and which go back to the bank?
                                                        -Jeremiah J Davis

[Mike Holmes]

Hey, if that's where gameplay took you, then cool. Like Ralph said, if it's fun then you're playing it right.

I sort of skipped ahead in my questioning. What Game Structure stuff did you agree on that led to what you got? Did you decide on a Fantasy setting? And then romance for mood? Etc. And did people stick to whatever conventions you set up? Or did thngs just drift to where they were.

Did these components have lots of traits, or did they only have one or two apeice? How many traits did the most detailed character end up with? (I'm still reeling that you created seven characters and all this setting, and nobody felt the urge to start a scene)

And you didn't mention any problems. Perhaps only using Component building you just didn't run into any complexities that would cause any problems? It all went entirely swimmingly? Or are you just waiting to hit me with the bad news?

Just to satisfy the pure gamer in me, what was the coolest name created?

Mike

[amiel]

Mike Holmes:

What Game Structure stuff did you agree on that led to what you got? Did you decide on a Fantasy setting? And then romance for mood? Etc. And did people stick to whatever conventions you set up? Or did thngs just drift to where they were.

From our social conract:
Sarrah: Hourly Payout
JJ(me):Big fantasy setting w/wars, no extremely silly elements
Rob(Sarrah's fiance, btw):War between magic and non-magic, fantasy world should be unique and distinct.
We all agreed to these elements. The weird love triangles and such just evolved.
Mike Holmes:

Did these components have lots of traits, or did they only have one or two apeice? How many traits did the most detailed character end up with? (I'm still reeling that you created seven characters and all this setting, and nobody felt the urge to start a scene)

Lots of traits. I think the highest number of traits for a character is Alexan with six, some of those at levels two and three. The main reason that we kept making stuff was we wanted to fill in gaps.
Mike Holmes:

Component building you just didn't run into any complexities that would cause any problems? It all went entirely swimmingly? Or are you just waiting to hit me with the bad news?

It went fairly well, I would say, but I think we were putting too many coins in the complication pot...we had trouble understanding this aspect. Other than that, it was rather smooth.
Mike Holmes:

Just to satisfy the pure gamer in me, what was the coolest name created?

Personally, I favor Ketesh. Ketesh is the moon goddess.
                                    -Jeremiah J Davis

[Mike Holmes]

Cool stuff.

The weird love triangles and such just evolved.

Let me guess, one player had one charactr in love with another, and then the next picked up on it and said, "But, though x loves y, y loves z." I love that "just evloved" effect. Absolutely may favorite part of the game.

It went fairly well, I would say, but I think we were putting too many coins in the complication pot...we had trouble understanding this aspect. Other than that, it was rather smooth.

The latest edition cleans all that up. So I think we've addressed any issues you mght have had. I hope you get into other parts of the game so you can see how they go, and find any hitches there.

Personally, I favor Ketesh. Ketesh is the moon goddess.

Tre Swoot! I gotta get some actual play in. We should be running a game this weekend.  :-)

Mike