[Game Chef 2011] Chaucer's Daughter Lost

[Bryan Hansel]

Elevator Pitch: In order to claim the title as England's Bard, Shakespeare travels back in time and kidnaps Chaucer's daughter, Agnes. The ransom is that Chaucer must not write The Canterbury Tales. From his death bed, King Edward III dispatches a group that consists of knights, a constable, serjeants-in-fee, and a ranger to accompany Chaucer while he searches the Royal Forest for Agnes.

Ingredients used:

• Daughter: Chaucer's daughter Agnes.
• Exile: Shakespeare is trying to force Chaucer into writer's exile.
• Nature: Takes place in King Edward's royal forest

Guess what? You get to pick a character class.

• Chaucer (there can be only one): Poet, government bureaucrat, gets a gallon of wine a day for free from the king, and the logistics of delivery.
• Knight: Armored, tough guy, all chivalrous, courtly and such.
• Constable: Enforcer of forest law, eater of wild boar, cool 'stash.
• Serjeants-in-fee: Patroller of the forest in exchange for a fee, vigilant offender catcher.
• Ranger: Poor, underpaid, grubby enforcer of forest law in lands not in the forest anymore.

Yes! Alignments: I think I'm going to steal them directly from 1st Ed. AD&D

Mechanics or something like that:

I'd like to work in something about jealousy being deadly, rash action causing problems, and hiding true feelings. There will probably be acts or something. I may write the entire game in Middle English, but probably won't be that motivated, but it would probably gain brownie points from an English Prof. In order for Shakespeare to understand Middle English, he probably needs to put a fish in his ear. And how in the world did he go back in time? H.G. Wells?

[Wilper]

It feels like you have a mild gonzo feel to your game.  Could it be that Shakespeare stole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla s time machine? :-)

Another "period" candidate time traveler is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus

[Bryan Hansel]

Nostradamus had a time machine?

[Jonathan Walton]

There's always Elizabeth's court magician, John Dee.  I'm sure he could whip up some time travel.  Maybe he really hates Chaucer!

[Joel P. Shempert]

As President of the local PDX chapter of the Society in Support of Having More John Dee in Shit, I approve JWalt's suggestion.

Peace,
-Joel

[Bryan Hansel]

I'm all about John Dee, but would have John Dee and Shakespeare rubbed shoulders?

Anyone that has a beard like John Dee is golden in my book.

[Bryan Hansel]

Me thinks that in Act 1, the players (not characters) are assigned an alignment randomly. As the game goes on, the players (actors) get to play the role of the different characters. They play them according to their alignment. For no other reason than just because.

[Joel P. Shempert]

I'm all about John Dee, but would have John Dee and Shakespeare rubbed shoulders?

Anyone that has a beard like John Dee is golden in my book.

In a Geoffery Chaucer time travel forest adventure? Why the hell NOT???

[Bryan Hansel]

Well, put it that way and it makes sense.

[fjj]

Hi Bryan,

Can you motivate the use of Alignment in this game?

I'd been pondering a good use for this infamous design feature for a long time - I am curious to what you think it will bring to this game.

/Frederik

[Bryan Hansel]

There would be mechanical stuff that forced the use, but I'm at a huge loss for the rest of the mechanics to accomplish what I want to accomplish, so even though I love the theme and ingredients of this Game Chef, it might be the first that I skip since I started doing this. <---and that's a long sentence with many conjunctions.

As far as bringing to the game, a weird "gonzo" feel just because.

[Bryan Hansel]

For what it's worth, these are the mechanics. I'm not sure if they really tell you how to play. Do they?

Chaucer's Daughter Lost: a lost Shakespearian Role-Playing Play

In order to claim the title as England's Bard, Shakespeare travels back in time and kidnaps Chaucer's daughter, Agnes. As ransom Chaucer must go into exile and not write The Canterbury Tales. From his death bed, King Edward III dispatches a small group to accompany Chaucer while he searches the Royal Forest for Agnes.

Set Up

Gather four to eight players (actors). Go to a room big enough for all eight to walk around. Set up a row or two of chairs for the audience at one end and designate the rest as the stage.  When an actor isn't playing a character in a scene, he sits in the audience. Everything else happens on the stage and all actors project to the audience. Print out 10 character sheets and enough actor sheets for the number of players. Cut up a bunch of scrap paper the size of Post-it Notes. Grab one mug and pencils for everyone. Print out the game.

Characters

Divide out the characters to all the actors. King Edward III plays a small part, so his actor should get another character. Agnes is bound to certain scenes, so her actor should also get another character.
•   King Edward III, King of England: Temperamental, kind, warrior, on his death bed.
•   Chaucer: Poet, government bureaucrat, gets a gallon of wine a day for free from the king, future author of The Canterbury Tales.
•   Agnes, daughter of Chaucer: Courtly, aiming for status, looking for a good marriage.
•   Sir Duncan, a chivalrous knight: Armored, tough guy, all chivalrous, courtly and such, but worried about his place with the new king.
•   Rolaund, a constable: Enforcer of forest law, eater of wild boar, cool 'stash, loyal to the King through all.
•   Fitch, a serjeant-in-fee in the King's Forest: Patroller of the forest in exchange for land, vigilant offender catcher, weasel.
•   Brook, a ranger: Poor, underpaid, grubby enforcer of forest law, a woman hiding as a man.
•   Shakespeare, playwright: Pompous, insecure, fame-loving fool with a good sense of the language.
•   John Dee, astronomer, magician, consultant to Queen Elizabeth, friend of Shakespeare: Crazy, off his rocker, too smart for his own good, genius, time traveler.
•   The Friar, poor holy man: Twisted, corrupt, knows the dark arts and owes Chaucer one.

Playing

You play a role-playing play in acts and scenes. Each play has five acts, which contain a number of scenes. During a scene you get one move to make to influence plot devices of the next scene. You use your character(s) to dialog with other characters and get their actors to support your move. The other actors can support you, oppose you or ignore you in support of their own move.

Moves

At the end of the scene, write your move on a small slip of paper and put it in a cup. After everyone puts their slips into the cup, remove them and make the necessary changes to the next scene. You can use any extra moves that you earned. You make one of four moves at the end of a scene:
1.   You can pull a lever, which turns a plot element on or off in the next scene. If you pull a lever and no one opposes you, it happens. If you pull a lever and someone opposes you, it doesn't happen. If more actors support you than oppose, it happens.
2.   You can rotate a dial, which changes the intensity of a required plot element in the next scene. Other actors can rotate it further or backwards.
3.   You can support another actor's move. I.e. you're going to pull the same lever.
4.   You can oppose another actor's move. I.e. you're going to keep a lever in place.

Special Moves

During a scene, you can play any of these special moves:
1.   Enter: Enter a scene that didn't feature your character at the curtain's rise (beginning of a scene). Say something to the audience once you arrive. Agnes can't do this move. You can only do this once per character.
2.   Exit: Leave a scene. Agnes can't do this move.
3.   Soliloquy: Relate your character's inner thoughts, relationships and goals to the other actor's, but not the other characters. Allows you to add one plot element of your own making to any future scene in acts 1 to 4. Include this as part of the soliloquy. Note: The plot element cannot be specific to any other character. Make it general such as falling in love, showing hate, a death, a river full of fairies, etc. It can't be or counteract a plot element already in the scene. Note 2: You cannot do another soliloquy until another actor steals the stage with a soliloquy.
4.   The Dark Arts (John Dee and The Friar only): Completely change any scene in Act 2 to 4 once per game. During the change, all the actors pick a side, either John Dee or The Friar. Each side introduces one plot element and the scene is played with only those elements.

Plot Elements

Each scene contains a number of plot elements, some can be turned on or off via lever, you can change some in intensity, and you must include others. If a scene has a plot element, you must incorporate it somehow. For example, if the scene includes "Love" then the characters in the scene must somehow work that into the scene through action or conversation. Maybe they'll talk about father and daughter love, or maybe one of the characters falls in love. If it's an element it must happen. You and the other actors must decide how.
If an element happens directly to an actor's character, the actor gains an extra move until he uses it.

The Purpose of Acts

Each act serves a purpose in our play. As actors you try to complete the purpose by the last scene. At the end of an act, one random player becomes a critic who assigns an arbitrary rating to the act and states whether or not it accomplished its purpose. He can cite a reason for the decision. Each actor gains this on his resume. Think Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Act 1: Establish the Shakespeare vs. Chaucer conflict and sides. Set up the relationships and emotions.
Act 2: The sides make moves against the others.
Act 3: Make it look like Shakespeare might win.
Act 4: Chaucer's side acts but stops short of victory.
Act 5: One side wins.


The Play
Act 1, Scene I Behind the Globe
Enter Shakespeare, John Dee, Agnes (bound and helpless) and The Friar (hiding in the trees)

Act 1, Scene II King's Bedroom
Enter King Edward III (in bed), Chaucer, Sir Duncan, Rolaund

Act 1, Scene III The King's Forest
Enter Rolaund, Fitch and Brook

Act 2, Scene I The King's Forest
Enter the King's Team

Act 2, Scene II A Rented Room in the Secluded Village
Enter Agnes (tied to a chair), John Dee and Shakespeare

Act 2, Scene III The King's Forest
Act 3, Scene I Secluded Village Fair
Act 3, Scene II On Stage at the Globe
Act 4, Scene I Village Tournament Grounds
Act 4, Scene II A Rented Room in the Secluded Village
Act 5, Scene I Village Tournament Grounds

[Bryan Hansel]

Rough draft completed: http://www.emptygamebox.com/chaucers-daughter-lost-a-lost-shakespearian-role-playing-play

I hope that others are getting close.