Lee Short's Newsreel mechanic

[rylen dreskin]

I recently read a little about the Newsreel mechanic Lee Short has as part of his game "The Star, The Moon, The Cross."    Perhaps my search-fu is weak, but I only found one reference on site.  Has there been any discussion about it?

If not, the Newsreel is a tool for developing and animating a games setting.  SMC uses a Tarot based fortune mechanic, only a small part of which is used here.  The players have a common pool of face up Tarot cards which is always kept full.  One player begins by selecting a card to inspire a "Headline", a broadly worded description of a contemporary or historic event.  Play goes clockwise with the others picking cards to inspire further definition of the event.  Once play reaches the first person, that news story is finished and the next player clockwise starts a new one.

I think this is clever and promising.  This will help everyone know about the setting.  Also, since players decide how events unfold, players will most likely care about them.

My questions, has anyone worked with this?  Are there any Actual Play examples? 

What sort of bad things happen if this is removed from SMC?  [Aside from Tarot having a different feel from that games native mechanic.] 

How could this work in an already detailed setting?  Especially where most players initially do not know that setting?

Rylen

[Osmo Rantala]

I have never heard of the product you mentioned, but concerning your question about how the tarot and the system you mentioned would work in another, already detailed setting (if that's what you meant), I have this to say:

I would imagine tarot cards and the system you mentioned to work perfectly well in (almost) any setting, because they can be interpreted in so many ways (plus, they are cryptic without being silly), but when it comes to already defined settings, you should have the players already know the details (or, at least, the basics) of the setting, unless you are all ok with having an unaccurate interpretation of the setting when it comes to "official" setting details.