[Everlasting Empire] Power 19

[Malcolm Craig]

For quite some time now, I've had an idea for a game called Everlasting Empire. A game of quintessentially British heroes and heroines in a future where the Empire still thrives and is stronger than ever. Influenced by  H G Wells, Arthur C Clarke, Dan Dare comics, Sherlock Holmes, C S Lews and so forth. My main problem was, after sribbling down some notes over a long period, leaving it, coming back, going away again, writing Cold City, then returning to EE, I wa stuck as to how to make it work as a game. However, a recent moment of inspiration and some wise words from Gregor Hutton (of Best Friends and 3:16 fame), set me back on track for actually maing something of those scattered ideas.

Taking all of this into accout, I felt that the Power 19 could be a useful tool for me to distill some of the disparate thoughts and gain initial feedback on some of the concepts behind the game.

1.)   What is your game about?

Everlasting Empire is about British heroes fighting to uphold the Empire.

2.)   What do the characters do?

The characters are all 'British' (or, at least, from one of the colonies of the Empire). They are British secret agents, freebooters, explorers or others types of character striving to uphold, advance and defend the British Empire.

3.)   What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?

The GM frames scenes, introduces Major NPCs and plays the roles of adversaries and allies. However, the players can also bring lesser NPCs or additional colour into scenes through the use of Story Points. In scenes that do not involve all of the player characters, the group is encouraged to farm our NPC roles to non-involved players.

Even though the GM frames the scenes, the text will encourage the entire group to formulate and suggest scene that appeal to them and further story, whether they focus on the group as a whole or a single character.

4.)   How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

The setting is unashamedly Anglo-centric, monarchist and rooted in the world-view of the period from around 1890 to 1940. Even though the game is set in the year 2055, the flavour of the text and the language used is redolent of the high water mark of the British Empire, when Britain was the pre-eminent power in world affairs.

The setting presents Britain not only as pre-eminent on Earth, but also amongst the stars. It mirrors real world situations from the past, where Britain has most of the most valuable colonies and thrives upon the trade and goods that flow to and from them.

Many groups are presented as enemies of the Empire, trying to bring down this glorious edifice upon which the sun (literally) never sets. These range from Republicans and Socialists within Britain itself to Australian and Canadian separatist movements, to the firebrand communists of the USSR and the influential anti-monarchists of the German Empire.

It goes without saying that history in the universe of Everlasting Empire took a radically different course from that of our own: The Great War was much shorter, World War 2 never happened, the Russian Revolution took place much later, America did not become pre-eminent and science advanced much more quickly. The reason behind this is the landing upon Horsell Common, just outside Woking, England of an alien spacecraft. This is a shameless lift from 'The War of The Worlds', wherein the cylinder that lands is not the herald of an invasion from Mars, but a lone derelict spacecraft. British scientists gradually reverse engineer the technology and scientific advancement moves in leaps and bounds.

5.)   How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?

Creation begins with the groups coming up with all the elements for their Situation Sheet that asks questions such as:

Who are we?
What are we doing?
What is the tone of this game?
Where are we?
What is this place like?
Who opposes us?
How long is this game going to last?

Only when this step has been created (and it's my intention to make this part of the text quite extensive and give as many hints, tips and examples for a play group as possible) can the group move on to character creation.

Character creation reinforces the style of the game and what it is all about by encouraging players to come up with heroic, flamboyant descriptions and colourful traits for their characters. Questions that must be answered at the very start of character creation are things like:

Who am I?
How do I serve King and country?
Who are my social superiors/inferiors?

Characters are also defined by Attributes, Motifs, Motivations and Traits.

Attributes cover Acumen, Daring and Action and provide the basis for any dice pool in a conflict (as discussed in question XX).

Motifs are pieces of descriptive imagery about the character that says something about who they are, the way they do things. Think of it as a visual 'shtick. One motif is always key to any character, and that is the Smoking Motif. The Smoking Motif must be to do with smoking, as every character in Everlasting Empire smokes. It can be the way they grind a cigarette butt under their heel, the manner in which they wave their pipe in an argument, the fluttering of eyelashes behind a veil of smoke from a slim cigarette holder and so forth. Smoking Motifs are even more powerful than normal motifs and give two extra dice if they can be brought into a conflict, rather than the normal one die for bringing a motif into a conflict. The Smoking Motifs stems from so many heroic or romantic characters of the influential 1900- 1940 period smoking, and smoking lots.

Motivations are the things that drive the character, which force them on. They can be deeply held beliefs, things from a dark past, optimistic notions or all manner of things. As long as a Motivation is something that drives the character forward.

Traits are things the character can do, physical or mental aspects of their makeup, skills and learned abilities. Description of traits is encouraged to be appropriately full of bravado and derring-do! "Shoot pistols" is a dull trait but "Handy chap with the old service revolver!" is much more in keeping with the theme of the game.

6.)   What types of behaviours/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?

The game rewards a style of play which involves derring-do, bravado, heroism and playing up to all the stereotypes of the quintessentially 'British' character.

7.)   How are behaviours and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?

If, during the course of the game, a player does something that other players find splendidly in-keeping with the themes of the game, then they can gift them additional Story Points to be used as and when the gifted player sees fit. The nature of the conflict resolution system also encourages these behaviours by making the narration of Motifs, Motivations and Traits and essential part of the procedure.

8.)   How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?

As mentioned above, the GM frames scenes, but the entire group is encouraged to collectively suggest and discuss scene. Players can input colour and characters into the scene through the use of Story Points and can take the roles of NPCs in scene where their own characters are not present.

Upon the conclusion of a conflict, the overall narrative authority lies with the winner of that conflict. However, other players can 'buy' narrative authority through the use of Story Points.

9.)   What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)

From the very start of the game, everyone must participate in the creation of the arena in which they will play. From the situation sheet onwards, everyone should be engaged and have input in the game. Characters are larger than life heroes and heroines with a particularly British flavour. As the game progresses, everyone has the chance to input into what is going, through conflicts, the addition of colour to scenes, narration and the player ability to come up with scenes themselves.

10.)   What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

In a conflict a base pool of dice equal to a chosen attribute are rolled. A result of 5 or 6 is a success. You'll always be rolling against opposition, whether it be another player, a GM controlled NPC and player controlled NPC or whatever. In order to gain more successes, you can start narrating in Motifs, Traits and Motivations, which allow the rolling of an additional die for each one of these (apart from the Smoking Motif, which gets 2 dice) Each additional 5 or 6 is another success. At any point one side can gracefully withdraw and concede victory to the other side. Even though they are the loser in this case, they get to hold on to one of their successes (if they have any) for the next conflict they are involved in.

The difference in the number of successes between the sides determines the level of consequences each side gets. The winner gets positive consequences equal to the number of successes, the loser takes negative consequences equal to the number of successes.

11.)   How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?

They reinforce what the game is about by encouraging the use of Motifs, Motivations and Traits to add description, colour and character to the game. For each roll of a die, the player or GM must add appropriate description and flair.

12.)   Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?

They advance via the mechanism of the consequences of conflict, as mentioned above. Although there are varying grades of consequence, they can pretty much be decided into 3 levels, depending on whether or not they last for a scene, and entire session, or a complete story arc. This applies to both positive and negative consequences. A character may have a broken arm for one session, but by some miracle, the next session it's totally healed!

13.)   How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

It adds further description to the character and further things that can be brought into both conflicts and the story as a whole. In the manner of resolute British heroes throughout time and space, a broken arm may be troubling for a short while, but it won't bally well stop us getting on with job old chap!

14.)   What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?

I want it to create a jolly good time for all concerned, with plenty of what-hoing, gesticulating with pipes and Complaining In The Strongest Possible Terms!

15.)   What areas of your game receive extra attention and colour? Why?

The culture and society of the period in question. I'm trying not to do a totally straight translation of British attitudes of the 1900 – 1940 period, but give it little twists and turns here and there. But, obviously, it does draw very heavily from the period, so additional detail needs to be given about standards, ethics, cultural mores, styles of dress, entertainments and social class. Social class is particularly important here, as within the setting there is still great social stratification and a lot of the "I am superior to him, I am his better. But he is superior to me, he is my better" way of thinking.

16.)   Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?

The thought of people playing dashing British heroes and heroines racing from planet to planet in an art deco spacecraft or racing across London in a sleek monorail to capture Professor von Kaiser before he can execute his evil pans to blow up Lord Witteringbourne!

17.)   Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?

It's the first game o have smoking as a part of the conflict resolution system. I think.

18.)   What are your publishing goals for your game?

The end goal for the game is to produce it for sale as a digest-format book and PDF.

19.) Who is your target audience?

Those who have a penchant for the work of H G Wells, the Quatermass stories of Nigel Kneale, characters like Sherlock Holmes, Dan Dare and Bulldog Drummond. Also those who enjoy slightly pulpy, maybe slightly camp at points, free spirited adventure where a mans best friend is his cigarette case and adventure lies just around the corner!

So that's the Power 19 for Everlasting Empire. One thing I am very curious about is how a very fundamentally 'British' and wholly anglocentric and monarchist game would be viewed. Would it be difficult to play or would apropriate guidance, modd and tone setting within the text make it a lot easier (a lexicon of peculiar terms is something that most certainly will be included) Being something of a Scottish socialist republican (in the general sense, rather than the particularly American sense, for the avoidance of doubt), it's an interesting exercise to present a setting and ethos which is wholly at odds with my own. Then again, I do love the dashing heroics of Dan Dare and similar characters, so maybe it isn't so odd.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

So that's the Power 19 for Everlasting Empire. One thing I am very curious about is how a very fundamentally 'British' and wholly anglocentric and monarchist game would be viewed.

-One thing I'd have to ask is if this is actually a problem.  Do you think, even if your game were anglocentric, it would hamper play?  On the other hand, if the game is anglocentric, does that help you better reach your target audience for the game?  In my oppinion, I didn't see anything that struck me as overly anglocentric, at least no more than most other games.  I'm just curious to see how much of an issue you think it might/might not be.

Peace,

-Troy

[Anders Larsen]

Hi

Interesting concept, will properly be a very fun game.

I would really like to hear more about the 'situation sheet' and how it is used doing the game - could you possible give an example?

- Anders

[David Berg]

uphold, advance and defend the British Empire.

As a player approaching this game, I'd want to have some really catchy reasons why this is desirable. 

The Empire is just plain great in all ways, the Empire faces severe threats from enemies who are Really Evil, the Empire will give me wealth/power/status if I serve it, there are specific missions which benefit me personally and the Empire in general at the same time, etc.

If I quickly found something along these lines to latch onto, I'd keep reading.

[Malcolm Craig]

So that's the Power 19 for Everlasting Empire. One thing I am very curious about is how a very fundamentally 'British' and wholly anglocentric and monarchist game would be viewed.

-One thing I'd have to ask is if this is actually a problem.  Do you think, even if your game were anglocentric, it would hamper play?  On the other hand, if the game is anglocentric, does that help you better reach your target audience for the game?  In my oppinion, I didn't see anything that struck me as overly anglocentric, at least no more than most other games.  I'm just curious to see how much of an issue you think it might/might not be.

Hi Troy,

Perhaps anglocentric was the wrong term for what I was trying to express (although the game does present a fundamentally anglocentric view of the world). Pro-empire? Pro-monarchy? Maybe slightly unsure of the term I'm searching for here. However, the thought that was in my head when I was writing the above was that the British Empire was not always a force for good, at times being a force for persecution, theft and so forth. In the context of the game, however (and as an alternative history) the Empire is represented as fundamentally a force for good, a noble and wonderful institution that must be upheld in order to benefit the subjects that make it up.

The characters are all staunchly pro-empire, pro-British, with attiudes rooted in a time gone by. Some of these attitude are slightly unplatable: the inherent superiority of the Briton, covert and overt racism and so forth. Then again, I fear that I may be over thinking this. EE is fundamentally a slightly pulpy, scientific romance of heroes in space defending what they see as good.

Perhaps I fret needlessly. I had similar concerns whilst writing Cold City (the use of Nazism as a major theme within the game and the potential for players taking on the role of former Nazis or hardline Stalinists), yet these concerns have proved to be unfounded. In fact, such things have lead to some very powerful and effective stories. So, thanks for bringing this up. I think it has actually crystalised a lot of stuff in my mind and served to allay some of the worries I might have had.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Malcolm Craig]

Interesting concept, will properly be a very fun game.

I would really like to hear more about the 'situation sheet' and how it is used doing the game - could you possible give an example?

Hi Anders,

The situation sheet is pretty roughly sketched out at the moment, but I see it as a fundamental part of play, in that it allows, from the very start, everyone at the table to get down what they want from the game, how long they see it lasting, what the goals are an so forth. I've been influenced in this by such things as the Theme Document from Brennan Taylors 'Mortal Coil' and the Shock Grid from Joshua Newmans 'Shock:'.

Before the group even starts playing the game proper or creating characters, there's a need to sit down and discuss exactly what everyone wants from their game of Everlasting Empire. This is the time when everyone in the group should pitch in their ideas for the game, set out what they would like to see, the adversaries they would like to come up against and the style of game they'd like to play. There's also the opportunity to lay down how long the game will last, whether is be a single session or many weeks of story creation.

It's vital that all decisions about the game are noted down on the situation sheet, as it is the document that is referred to in play if there is a query about the tone, style or content of the game. With a well defined situation sheet, all the chaps and ladies round the table can be confident of having a topping game!

Elements of the Situation Sheet

As I said above, this is very rough at the moment and I haven't really detailed too much, but it gives a vague idea of where it is heading. I've detailed some elements with examples, others simply have a single line at the moment.

Who are we?

This is the very foundation of the situation that will be played out over the course of the game. Who are the characters? This doesn't refer to names or details like that at the moment, simply what kind of people they are overall, what interests do the represent and so on.

Example:

The group sits down to play and muses upon what kind of people they'd like their characters to be. Joe suggests daring secret agents defending the good name of the Empire on a far colony world. The other players broadly agree, but Iain chips in that he's like to see some action in space, so perhaps they are interstellar agents and the game takes place on more than one world. Everyone likes this idea, so the basis of the character group is set.

What are we doing?

The next stage is to look at the kind of things the characters will be doing in the game, what kind of conflicts they get themselves into, what kind of tasks they carry out. This can be fairly general and broad based or can be very specific and detail a single mission that the group must undertake during the course of the story. Are they a group of boffins on the trail of a stolen rocket? Are they dashing heroes and heroines defending the very fabric of their beloved Empire? Are they glamourous but dangerous freebooters plying the spacelanes under letters of marque from His Majesty?

Example

Now that the group have decided on who the characters are, they get round to thinking about what they will get up to during the course of the interstellar adventures. Matt would like the game to be focussed on one major theme, the hunt for a group of colonial separatists who stole the secret XB-531 bomb plans. The group like this as a plot thrust and it gets noted down on the Situation Sheet.

What is the tone?

Absolutely vital to the game is the tone that it will strike. If one player would like a fairly gritty, noir-ish game while the GM is set on having things light and farcical, then there is going to be some dissatisfaction around the table. Everyone should come to an agreement about what the tone of the game is going to be. This part of game creation can also involve such things and themes or concepts that the players would rather not see in the game.

The default tone of Everlasting Empire is one of square-jawed heroism and firm belief in the goals and aims of the Empire. However, this can easily be subverted by having the group exist in opposition to Britain or to have seen the shades of grey in society and not be as enamoured of the Imperial methods as they once were.

Example:

Iain says that he'd like things to have the tone and atmosphere of a Sherlock Holmes story: slightly sinister, with shadowy antagonists and secret organisations. On the other hand, Joe was more keen on a light hearted, somewhat pulpy game in the style of 1950s comic adventures. Matt falls somewhere in between, looking for humour but with a certain amount of grit and dark shadows. After some discuss, the group comes to a consensus: There will be sinister organisations and time of high drama, but the overall feel will be one of stiff-upper-lip derring do, the characters being larger than life figures acting with great gusto!

Where are we?

Where will the action take place? What are the key locations?

Cities, towns, planets, spacecraft, orbital stations, etc.

What's this place like?

Descriptions of the places, maybe a few key locations, all can be further added to as the game progresses.

See 'Creating Place' for further detail

What are our goals?

What do the characters want to achieve as a group? Are their goals simple or complex? Group goals should be achievable but should also provide the grounds for some great story, thrilling dangers and enthralling challenges. Having the goal of "Successfully set up a potato farming business on New Albion" is not a particularly exciting goal to set for a group. However "Infiltrate and disband the terrorist group using New Albions thriving potato farmers union as a cover" is a lot more interesting and engaging.

Who opposes us?

At this point the group should come up with a handful of major adversaries that they will come up against in the game. These can be people, organisations, malevolent creatures, rogue robots or all manner of antagonist. It's a good idea to have no more than four or five major adversaries, unless the group is planning a particularly long series of games.

See 'Creating People' for further detail.

How long is the game going to last?

This final question leads (rather neatly, don't you think?) into a further discussion contained within this volume, that of scenes, strips and steries. Prior to reaching that particular discussion, it is worthwhile thinking how long you want you game of Everlasting Empire to last: will it be 4 weeks, with maybe one session per week? Will it be totally open ended? Will it just consist of one session of a few hours? This is entirely up to the group as a whole.

Division of play: Scenes, Strips and Series.

Scene: A single situation
Strip: A session of play
Series: A number of strips covering a defined story arc

That's roughly what I have sketched out at the moment and should give a vague-ish idea of where it is heading. There are further, more detailed elements to be added such as the creation of people, places and so forth.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Malcolm Craig]

uphold, advance and defend the British Empire.

As a player approaching this game, I'd want to have some really catchy reasons why this is desirable. 

The Empire is just plain great in all ways, the Empire faces severe threats from enemies who are Really Evil, the Empire will give me wealth/power/status if I serve it, there are specific missions which benefit me personally and the Empire in general at the same time, etc.

If I quickly found something along these lines to latch onto, I'd keep reading.

Hi David,

The things that you outline in your post will be there in spades.The Empire is being attacked by enemies who are Really Evil (at least, from the point of view of citizens of the Empire), from pulpy criminal masterminds to entire nations, sometimes acting in concert.

According the perceptions of the characters, the Empire is the greatest force for good in the world. It preserves the freedom of millions and is a brave and noble institution that has stood for centuries. This is personified in the person of the King and the characters must, as loyal Britons, serve King, country and Empire. To do anything less would mean acting like a poltroon, a coward, ingrate and some form of deranged anarchist bent on bringing down the Empire.

As mentione in the character creation section, there is the question "How do I serve King and country?". This directly asks the question: What do you do to support the Empire and why do you do this? There me be the need for further detail in this, but I hope that the basic theme is there.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Anders Larsen]

I can see how the situation sheet can lay the basis for the game, and it will give the player plenty of opportunity to the form the game they want to play.

I just have a few questions/comments:

When the players answers the question "What are we doing?", it seems like they then have answered the question "What are our goals?", or are goals something more personal?

I am curious about how the elements from the situation sheet is used in the rest of the system. I can see that the players will use it when they create their character, and the GM get the major antagonists from the sheet. But the tone of the game do not seem to be reinforced by the rest of the system. I am thinking about something like giving a bonus if a player set stakes that reinforce the tone of the game. 

It also seems to me that it could be interesting if the players get some reward when they engage in some of the plot elements.

Another thing: how do you pace the game? If it is decided that the game should last four sessions, how can you then make sure that the proposed plot last exactly the four sessions.

- Anders

[Malcolm Craig]

When the players answers the question "What are we doing?", it seems like they then have answered the question "What are our goals?", or are goals something more personal?

Hi Anders,

I would see the goals as being something more personal to the characters, but I can see the crossover between the two questions. There is a certain roughness about the situation sheet setup at the moment and I'm hoping that some playtesting will round it out more fully and make it more useful to a group. I can easily see some of the questions changing, both in form and function.

I am curious about how the elements from the situation sheet is used in the rest of the system. I can see that the players will use it when they create their character, and the GM get the major antagonists from the sheet. But the tone of the game do not seem to be reinforced by the rest of the system. I am thinking about something like giving a bonus if a player set stakes that reinforce the tone of the game. 

It also seems to me that it could be interesting if the players get some reward when they engage in some of the plot elements.

These are both interesting points. From the limited scribbles I have so far on the system, there is reinforcement of the themes and tone of the game through the mechanics. Again, it's pretty rough at the moment, but there a good core there. However, one thing this has forced me to think about is: is there the need for a question regarding tone? I'm heading in the direction of removing that question entirely, as the tone of the game (derring-do, British heroes in space, etc) will already be laid out by the game. Why, therefore, would there need to be a question about tone?

I think you point regarding engaging in plot elements and player reward clarifies some of the things I've been thinking of in terms of assignment of Story Points during play. Use of elements from the Situation Sheet could lead to being awarded additional Story Points and so on.

Another thing: how do you pace the game? If it is decided that the game should last four sessions, how can you then make sure that the proposed plot last exactly the four sessions.

As the plot will develop from the situation sheet and the characters themselves, then the number and length of scenes, strips and series can be controlled. Obviously games can run on longer than intended but if number sof scene are planned out in advance, then this could work. Obviously, some groups will not like such a structured form of play and, again, this could change radically when I get into the playtesting phase. My recent experience with other games, where we explicitly said "The stories of these character shall be told over 4 sessions" worked very well. There was no feeling of having too much or too little time. It's a question, I think, of tranlating such experiences into formal advice within the text of the game that can be effectively used by groups to structure their play.

Thanks again for your further comments and questions.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Jason Morningstar]

Hey Malcolm,

Have you looked at Full Light, Full Steam yet?  It has a technique called "engineering the situation" that works very well for allowing players to craft, well, situation.  I like your approach and can imagine a lot of fun interaction as those questions are hashed out at the table. 

The term "strip" seems like an odd choice - why not call it session?