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Wow!  That's the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Universalis.  Ralph and Mike, Universalis just takes my breath away!

I can honestly say I've never had more fun gaming than I did tonight in my first Universalis game.  I've always known something was missing from my gaming and tonight I found out what it was:  the true freedom of shared creation.  

Thank you so much for creating Universalis.  I am having the time of my gaming life with it!

Now on to the game.

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We used the default of 25 Coins to start with and a Refreshment rate of 5 Coins.

Our game preparation phase looked like this:
1.  Story Element:  Post-Apocalyptic Setting.
2.  Story Element:  No spaceships.
3.  Story Element:  Some household androids went berserk and turned on humans.  
4.  Story Element:  No aliens.  
5.  Story Element:  Food and water are scarce.
6.  Rules Gimmick:  Dice used against a Component during a Complication are always added to the Opposing Dice Pool.
7.  Story Element:  Mutants exist.
8.  Story Element:  Modern firearms exist but modern technology (like cell phones) have been lost.

NOTES ABOUT GAME PREP:  We actually used the Negotiation phase of the Challenge mechanic right away.  Most of us were imagining a post-apocalyptic setting similar to "The Postman" while another player was starting down the "Mad Max" path.  The Challenge mechanic really helped us all get on the same page and avoid problems later during play.  

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SCENE 1

The location is a lonely street littered with rubble in a ruined city at dusk.  A man in a long black leather duster with dark sunglasses is walking down the street.

A woman walks up to him and asks him if he's the one she's supposed to meet.  He quickly pulls a revolver and puts it to her head.  He wants to see if she'll sweat under the pressure or if she's an android sent to kill him.

The woman ducks under the revolver and does a diving roll behind a large dumpster.  A vicious mutant dog comes out of a building behind her and crouches for an attack.

The woman backs into the street.  The man levels his revolver at her.  The mutant dog jumps for her throat, but the man blows the hell out of the dog in mid-leap.

The man lowers his gun and looks to the woman.  "Yeah, I'm your man.  Let's get out of here.  The street's no place for a lady," he says.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 1:  I was just blown away at how quickly and easily the Complications leap out at you.  Complications really drive the action.  We used a Complication when the man pulled the revolver on the woman, and again when the mutated dog attacked her.  

The great thing about Universalis is that you are forced to get to the point of the scene quickly because you have to buy the Components you use in the scene.  This really encourages you to keep the scene tight and the story flowing.

The mutated dog was actually a Sub-Component of the Mutated Animal Master Component.  You never know when you'll need a pack of Vicious Mutated Squirrels. :-)

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SCENE 2

The location is a ruined diner at midnight.  The man, Lee Edwards, and the woman, Alinda, are sitting and drinking coffee.  In the background, a young couple are sitting, drinking coffee, and talking.

Alinda tells Lee that the leader of her community, Chief Romano, went out looking for food a couple of days ago.  He never returned.  She tells Lee that the community wants to hire him to find the Chief.  

Lee says he'll take the job "if the price is right."

Alinda offers Lee her horse, but he tells her a horse is just another mouth to feed.  He wants a share of the food that Chief Romano was after.  Alinda agrees to it.

The scene fades to black.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 2:  Going into this scene, none of us had any idea why the woman, Alinda, was meeting with the man, Lee Edwards.  We didn't even have a clue what to name them.  It just all kind of fell in place rather nicely.

We used another Complication when Alinda and Lee were negotiating the price of his "services".  Complications are a lot of fun!

And my wife decided to use "Fade To Black" to end this scene.  I'm sure it's because she thought I'd return to the scene later and up Lee's reward for taking the job. :-)

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SCENE 3

The location is the street in front of the abandoned warehouse that Chief Romano was looking for food in.  It's dawn.  Lee Edwards is standing in front of the building.

Lee looks both ways but the street is clear.  He walks up to the warehouse door and kicks it in with his size 13 snakeskin boot.

Alinda comes running around the corner of the building and tells Lee that she's coming with him.  Lee argues with her, then shoves her to the ground as he sees movement out of the corner of his eye.

A bullet whizzes by Lee's head.  Lee sees a man running through the warehouse.  

Lee shoots the man, wounding him.  Lee follows the blood trail and traps the man between the wall and rows of crates.  The shooter is the young man from the diner!

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 3:  The Complication really drives the action in this scene.  

The cool thing about this scene is that I was running low on Coins, so I tried to think of a way I could reuse a Component without creating a new one.  That's what gave me the idea to use the man from the young couple in the diner as the shooter.  I still ended up defining him as a new Component, but I doubt I would have thought to link him to the scene if it wasn't for the Coin economy.

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SCENE 4

The location is the interior of the warehouse a few moments after Lee Edwards found the shooter.  Lee Edwards is facing the shooter.

Alinda runs up and stops beside Lee.  Alinda is shocked and asks the shooter, Richard, why he is shooting at them.

Fire fills Richard's eyes as he smirks.  "You'll never stop him.  He's too powerful.  Soon he'll rule the entire city."

"Who in the hell are you talking about, boy," asks Lee.

"The Reverend.  The Reverend's going to take it all and I'll be right there with him.  I've been Chosen," says Richard proudly.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 4:  Here's a good example of extending a previous scene.  We also made pretty good use of dialog during this scene.

We called it quits for the night, but we had so much fun that we're playing again tomorrow night!  We can't wait to see where the story goes from here.  

The really cool thing is that we all looked back on this session and we can't tell who contributed what.  It all just flows together so well and really becomes a cohesive story.  I would never have believed you could achieve that in a game.  Great job, Ralph and Mike!

Roy

A great tip is to use index cards for Components during play.  That way you can use a card file and build up a Component library if you're going to keep playing in the same setting.  Index cards also make it really easy when you're transferring control of the Components; just give the correct player the appropriate Component index card and away you go!

Roy

Roy, I'm speechless.  Really.  I can't begin to describe how pleased I am with your results.  For a long time while designing this game Mike and I were wondering if we'd be the only ones who'd ever want to play it.  Between Lael's group and yours...man, its good to hear.

"Never had more fun gaming"...I can't imagine a game designer ever hearing higher praise than that...I'm truly humbled.

I'm as eager as you to hear the rest of the story you've come up with.  I look forward to putting it up on the site when you're done.

QuoteRoy, I'm speechless. Really.

What?!?  Is it possible?!?  :-)  You're slipping, Ralph.  You're slipping.

QuoteFor a long time while designing this game Mike and I were wondering if we'd be the only ones who'd ever want to play it.

You are not the only ones that want to play this style of game.  I guarantee it.  

I will be a torchbearer of Universalis for years to come.  I will happily tell any and every gamer I meet how great it is.    

Quote"Never had more fun gaming"...I can't imagine a game designer ever hearing higher praise than that...I'm truly humbled.

My gaming has been steadily moving in this direction for several months now, including experimenting with shared setting creation.  But I just couldn't get it to gel the way you and Mike have, Ralph.  The reward system in Universalis is just about perfect.  That's no small feat you've accomplished.

I almost hate to trivialize Universalis by calling it a game.  It's really a powerful framework that can be used for any social endeavor that requires structure.  It just blows my mind that you guys have managed to accomplish this so eloquently.

I felt like a light bulb was going off with every page I read.  I wanted to shout "Yes, that's it!"  

Playing Universalis has not only been fun, it's been liberating and educational.  The lessons I've learned will carry over into every RPG I  play.  Thank you!

Roy

Quote from: RoyI will happily tell any and every gamer I meet how great [Universalis] is.

Hey, why stop there?  Tell everybody, not just every gamer!  I for one plan on making some new converts with Universalis by advertising it as a "party game" along the lines of the surprisingly popular comic-book exquisite corpse* things people really do at parties around here.

--JB

*An "exquisite corpse" is an old writer's game where you write a paragraph, then pass on the story to the next writer; the page is kept folded so that only the single previous paragraph is visible.  I'd say that in many ways Universalis is more of "exquisite corpse with rules" than an RPG without as much focus on PCs.  But, convergent evolution and all that.

How many players did you have?
I'd like to compare impressions of the differences in group sizes... my first tests will be 2-3 people.

First 3 player test was delayed due to scheduling....

Bob McNamee

QuoteHey, why stop there? Tell everybody, not just every gamer!

JB, you're absolutely right!

QuoteHow many players did you have?

We only had 3 players for this session, but I'm going to try to get more players involved soon.  I think a persistent setting with 6 players would be great.

Roy

I can only repeat what Ralph said, Roy. Thanks for your enthusiasm.

As for play, lets take a close look. I claimed for quite a while the title of "World's Best Universalis Player". That said, I was the only person who'd played it a lot. I think that its clear that I've lost that title to one of our many great players. These play posts are excellent.

Quote6. Rules Gimmick: Dice used against a Component during a Complication are always added to the Opposing Dice Pool.

You've been doing your reading. Went right for a Gimmick right off the bat. Interesting choice. Could you explain this a little more? What did it entail exactly, and why did you put it in?

Quote8. Story Element: Modern firearms exist but modern technology (like cell phones) have been lost.

You seemed to have a good mix of the proscriptive, and prescriptive. I may have to do an essay on that. In defining what sort of story you want to tell, having some of each is often just the ticket to get the idea agreed upon by everyone.

QuoteNOTES ABOUT GAME PREP: We actually used the Negotiation phase of the Challenge mechanic right away. Most of us were imagining a post-apocalyptic setting similar to "The Postman" while another player was starting down the "Mad Max" path. The Challenge mechanic really helped us all get on the same page and avoid problems later during play.

Pretty natural, using the challenge mechanic. Isn't it. Most players would just do the negotiation stuff anyhow. We've just provided a more formal framework for it, and allowed for the next logical step should negotiations fail.

QuoteSCENE 1

The location is a lonely street littered with rubble in a ruined city at dusk. A man in a long black leather duster with dark sunglasses is walking down the street.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 1: I was just blown away at how quickly and easily the Complications leap out at you. Complications really drive the action. We used a Complication when the man pulled the revolver on the woman, and again when the mutated dog attacked her.

The great thing about Universalis is that you are forced to get to the point of the scene quickly because you have to buy the Components you use in the scene. This really encourages you to keep the scene tight and the story flowing.

The mutated dog was actually a Sub-Component of the Mutated Animal Master Component. You never know when you'll need a pack of Vicious Mutated Squirrels. :-)

Well done. Yes, Complications are intended to do just that. I think, however, that you caught on to it quicker than many would. And the scene sets some tone for things, and gets stuff rolling. Again, great job.

QuoteSCENE 2

The location is a ruined diner at midnight. The man, Lee Edwards, and the woman, Alinda, are sitting and drinking coffee. In the background, a young couple are sitting, drinking coffee, and talking.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 2: Going into this scene, none of us had any idea why the woman, Alinda, was meeting with the man, Lee Edwards. We didn't even have a clue what to name them. It just all kind of fell in place rather nicely.

We used another Complication when Alinda and Lee were negotiating the price of his "services". Complications are a lot of fun!

And my wife decided to use "Fade To Black" to end this scene. I'm sure it's because she thought I'd return to the scene later and up Lee's reward for taking the job. :-)

"Just fell into place". I love to hear that. It's the weirdest thing about Universalis. Despite being one of the creators of the story, and having all sorts of control, you never really "create" the story ahead of time. It just happens as you play. I can't describe this effect enough to people who've never played Universalis. When I get done playing, I always get this "Wow, where'd that come from" feeling. I was there, but I don't remember plotting anything out. Somehow it just happens. Weird. I think that is the coolest thing that we've tapped into Universalis. Very much by accident, actually. I had no idea that this effect would occur either.

QuoteSCENE 3

The location is the street in front of the abandoned warehouse that Chief Romano was looking for food in. It's dawn. Lee Edwards is standing in front of the building.


NOTES ABOUT SCENE 3: The Complication really drives the action in this scene.

The cool thing about this scene is that I was running low on Coins, so I tried to think of a way I could reuse a Component without creating a new one. That's what gave me the idea to use the man from the young couple in the diner as the shooter. I still ended up defining him as a new Component, but I doubt I would have thought to link him to the scene if it wasn't for the Coin economy.

Again, you've caught on instantly on how to make things go. It is very much a design goal to limit Coins to get this sort of reintroduction to occur.

QuoteSCENE 4

The location is the interior of the warehouse a few moments after Lee Edwards found the shooter. Lee Edwards is facing the shooter.

NOTES ABOUT SCENE 4: Here's a good example of extending a previous scene. We also made pretty good use of dialog during this scene.

Nifty. Glad you got in some extended honest-to-goodness first person play. I've been quoted as saying that Universalis is not a role-playing game. But I think that people misinterperet that to mean that you don't get to portray characters. Which is not the case at all. You get to portray them as much or as little as you like.

QuoteWe called it quits for the night, but we had so much fun that we're playing again tomorrow night! We can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

Can't wait to hear the results.

QuoteThe really cool thing is that we all looked back on this session and we can't tell who contributed what. It all just flows together so well and really becomes a cohesive story. I would never have believed you could achieve that in a game.

Again, it seems like you've taken to it like a fish to water. Which makes me very happy. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Mike

Quote from: Roy
We only had 3 players for this session, but I'm going to try to get more players involved soon.  I think a persistent setting with 6 players would be great.

Sounds cool.

There is a point of balance in mumbers of players. It will, of course, depend on the players themselves, and how active they want to be. But more than six players (I've done this twice), gets to the point where the creativity is distributed so much as to start to diminish the feeling of ownership. Not that this can't work. But in practice people start to partition off small parts of te story for their own attention.

On the other side of the spectrum, less than four means that you rely on each players creativity a bit much. Players can get a bit streched out trying to come up with more. You tend to see more cliches, for example as play comes around to these players more often than might be optimum.

It seems to me that five is an excellent group size (note, more than what I like to roleplay with in other games). Still somewhat intimate, but not so small as to be uncomfortable. All in all, its very much a YMMV, sort of thing, however. I suggest playing with multiple sized groups and seeing what works.

As always, keep in mind that a game of Universalis usually does not require the same group of people to be present to continue. You may want to ask a player who may not be present at the next session, it he minds the story progressing withought him or her. But, assuming that they don't mind, you can proceed with the same story with different size groups of differing compositions, and see what works best.

Mike

Hey, everyone!  I just posted the final part of our story here.

Roy

QuoteRoy Wrote:
6. Rules Gimmick: Dice used against a Component during a Complication are always added to the Opposing Dice Pool.  

QuoteMike Wrote:
You've been doing your reading. Went right for a Gimmick right off the bat. Interesting choice. Could you explain this a little more? What did it entail exactly, and why did you put it in?

Well, I created the Rules Gimmick to address the text on page 33 in the section "Drawing On Traits".  The text I'm referring to is:

QuoteEach applicable Traits 1 die to be added or subtracted from an appropriate Dice Pool.

While I'm sure the rule works well under most circumstances, I can see a situation where you only have 1 die in the Dice Pool and someone reduces you to zero dice by using one of your Component's Traits as a Flaw against you.  So I addressed it before play even started.

I would also rather increase the flow of Coins into the economy by adding the dice to the opposing Dice Pool rather than remove Coins from the economy by subtracting it from the appropriate Dice Pool.  

QuoteMike Wrote:
Pretty natural, using the challenge mechanic. Isn't it. Most players would just do the negotiation stuff anyhow. We've just provided a more formal framework for it, and allowed for the next logical step should negotiations fail.

Yes, the Challenge mechanic is very natural and we would probably do it anyway.  However, I really like the fact that you've made the players conscious of it and provided a structure for it.    

QuoteMike Wrote:
"Just fell into place". I love to hear that. It's the weirdest thing about Universalis. Despite being one of the creators of the story, and having all sorts of control, you never really "create" the story ahead of time. It just happens as you play. I can't describe this effect enough to people who've never played Universalis. When I get done playing, I always get this "Wow, where'd that come from" feeling. I was there, but I don't remember plotting anything out. Somehow it just happens. Weird. I think that is the coolest thing that we've tapped into Universalis. Very much by accident, actually. I had no idea that this effect would occur either.

You're absolutely right.  In fact, I went to the table tonight with a few ideas of where I wanted the first scene of the evening to go, but it went a totally different direction even though I won the bid, framed the scene, and took my turn first!  I never expected it and it was great!

What's really great is to see the players slowly connecting the loose ends from previous scenes.  You get a lot of cool plot twists just from that.

QuoteMike Wrote:
Again, you've caught on instantly on how to make things go. It is very much a design goal to limit Coins to get this sort of reintroduction to occur.

You guys are geniuses for including this in the game.  The game economy is perfect.  It really encourages you to get involved, originate Complications, and pump up the Dice Pools with interesting Traits.  Just plain genius.

I don't know how I couldn't have caught on instantly.  Universalis is so well organized and so well written that I could see the nuances in action as I was reading a section.  Well done!

QuoteMike Wrote:
I've been quoted as saying that Universalis is not a role-playing game. But I think that people misinterperet that to mean that you don't get to portray characters. Which is not the case at all. You get to portray them as much or as little as you like.

I'm glad you brought this up.  Literally everything is the game is designed to allow you to become as involved as you want.  If you want to drive the story, spend those Coins.  If you prefer to sit back and introduce a plot twist every now and then, be frugal with your Coins.  You've managed to really overcome one of the greatest social hurdles in gaming:  getting self-conscious people involved at a level they feel comfortable with.  You deserve a Gamer's Humanitarian Award just for that!

Roy

Again, Roy, thanks for the overwhelming endorsement.  :-)

Now on to read the conclusion!

Mike

Wow, any more of this and people are going to start thinking I'm logging on as Roy to plug myself ;-)

Seriously, thanks again for the endorsement.

Sorry guys.  I don't mean to gush, but damn Universalis is fun!  Oh wait ... must ... stop ... gushing!!!

Seriously, you both deserve the compliments.  You've done an amazing job.

Roy