Ensemble: New Twisted Confessions Project

[Lxndr]

All the game ideas I've spent years considering, I'm still considering, but meanwhile, another idea has come at me like a thief in the night, and has pounced.  The result, a roleplaying game called Ensemble that I'm ready to do alpha-test playtesting on. 

The draft can be read here:  http://www.twistedconfessions.com/files/Ensemble.pdf and any comments would be very well-received.  I'll post more after it gets playtested.

[Mike Holmes]

Alex, how would you sell me this game? What's it "about?"

Oh, and can a foil for a protagonist be somebody they haven't met yet as play starts?

Mike

[Lxndr]

Alex, how would you sell me this game? What's it "about?"

Oh, and can a foil for a protagonist be somebody they haven't met yet as play starts?

Mike

Mike,

Yes, a foil can definitely be a character they haven't yet met as play starts.  I've made this clearer in the text.

As for how I would sell this game... well, I really hope I get a group of rabid, eloquent fans, as I find my enthusiasm over things and my attempts to sell them to people often makes them less likely to want to try them.  (I believe Fastlane would have sold better had it people trying to sell it besides me).  Still, I'll try.

Ensemble allows everyone to have and play a protagonist - and also allows everyone to play other characters, including the antagonists, depending on the scene.  With spotlight and scene-framing roles both hopping around like hot potatoes, it gives players numerous chances to be on both sides of the line.  Plus, it's fun!

[Lxndr]

Playtest posts for Ensemble are currently happening here.

[Lxndr]

The new version of Ensemble is available.

Click here

[Thunder_God]

Link is broken.

[Lxndr]

Link is fixed!

[Lxndr]

Ensemble has been gutted and revised, not in terms of rules foo, but instead organization.  A fictitious example-of-play has been added, cribbed from the various playtests I have logs for, and the rules have been re-organized so they'd show up and get explained in roughly the same order that a person would come across them in the game.  Those of you who've read Fastlane might notice the playtesters from that example (Allison, Bill, Charles and Darren) have been re-used. They're just such nice names, and it's a harmless little easter egg.

Get it here

There are some minor changes.  Antagonists are now called 'major characters' and triggers are now called 'themes'.

[Lxndr]

Hot on the heels of the GenCon playtest and general discussion, a new version of Ensemble rises.  The example of play has been changed slightly to show off the rules a little differently, a small introduction has been added, and another destabilizing influence has been added to the distribution of blocks - I noticed things were coming to rest at an equilibrium too easily, and this should change that.

Get it here.

Please, if you read it, give me feedback.  If you play it, post about it!

[Lxndr]

Ensemble playtesting!  Available here.

[Lxndr]

Based on the playtesting mentioned above, the Ensemble document has been updated with new rules for Interludes (a.k.a. "zero scenes" in that playtesting).

Get it here!

Also please, if you have read this document, or even better have played it, please tell me your thoughts on its contents.  Either post here or start a new thread, I'm happy either way.

[Mike Holmes]

I think glossary might be in order, considering all the special terms, and their very ideosyncratic usages. I mean, Scene and Theme are pretty obvious, but beats and interludes and such might not be as easy to recall.

You might also put first useages in bold or something. Or even bullet point key terms with summary's at the end of sections in which they are explained. So a person who wants to understand a term can find this sort of listing easily, and can have their memory refreshed without having to read a ton to find the right part.

Mike

[Lxndr]

A new version based on playtesting at GenCon 2007 has been posted!

[Mike Holmes]

Just finished reading the new version, and I have a question:

You note that the seating arrangement is not set in stone... can anyone ask to change seats at any time? Wouldn't it just be easier to have some sort of control marker in that case? Or is it important to be between two specific people?

Mike

[Lxndr]

It's not so much important to be between specific people as it is to play foils of the people you are near. So if you want to play someone's supporting character, you have to get physically nearer to them. This way you will always be close to the person whose character you are supporting.