Hi,

A friend and I were talking about an alternative way to get the game started and one idea that we came up with that sounded like it might be interesting was this:

Start the game as normal with rounds of setting creation. Start each player with 50 Coins or so. Create as much of the setting as you can and then break from the game. Components that can be created at this time are Master Components, Locations, Facts, and Rules Gimmicks. Characters and specific items cannot be created at this time.

Before the next session, each player has a set number of Coins (150 or so) with which to create additional components. During this phase, Characters, Items, and Locations can all be created.

When the game gets together next, each player is given the normal allotment of Coins, to be used only for framing scenes, declaring actions and introducing components that have already been created.

We would probably need to have some kind of negotiation phase over the components that were created by each individual player to keep things in line with the rest of the story.

Anyway, it's kinda rough, but I thought I'd throw it out there for others to think over and see if any better ideas or refinements are suggested.

Later,

Lael

Lael,

I like this; it would be particularly good for those recovering GMs who really get into intricate world-building.

I wouldn't worry too much about a special negotiating phase; I think it's somewhat like a closed-bid auction. With the players knowing that their wonderful creations could be Challenged if they were outside the Mood, Theme, or other aspects of social contract, I would expect the "homework" elements would probably be done fairly conservatively.

--JB

Excellent idea. A lot of people have stated an interest in doing just this sort of more intensive world building.

Here's a dangerous secret. You can always vote yourself more Coins. Somebody once said that if a democracy ever discovered that it could vote itself more money that it would be the end of that democracy (or somehting like that). But in Universalis, very careful application of this principal is actually not a bad idea. Lots of times I've proposed rules gimicks that gave everyone a bunch of Coins. Either to change the pace of the game, or for some specific purpose. In this way, players who do not challenge such gimicks are "voting" themselves more money.

Given that you only get Coins after scenes, it totally stands to reason that one could vote themselves more Coins for extended startups. And I really like your homework idea. Make it "use em or lose em" so that if they don't spend them all they are out of luck. Gives incentive to participate.

This goes back to an earlier idea we had whcih we'll be putting in as a rules add-on soon. The idea was that players could either be hired by the Bank to do certain work or they could do so on a freelance basis. For example, if a player volunteers to be the recordkeeper for the game, you can "vote" him a stipend of 5 coins a game (or whatever you deem equitable). Or if a player brings in poetry or art they can be "voted" coins to remunerate said efforts. In fact, said Coins can be offered on the condition that they only be spent on defining the things portrayed in the art in question.

Whatever makes sense. The Coins are the economy from which the story is purchased. This does not have to be constrained to normal RPG uties, but can extend to whatever you think is good. For example, if the group appreciates music with their play, a player can be assigned DJ duty. The advantage of doing this through the mechanics of Universalis, is that you formalize the contract thus making the player in question more bound to said duties, and more likely to perform them well in order to recieve a better recompense.

Fun stuff.

Mike

Lael, you're really in tune with the Universalis possibilities. Actually what you've described was once explicitly part of the game as an option. In fact, one of the hardest things for us when making the game was trying to draw the line between settling on the core of the game and continually adding all kinds of cool customizations like this one.

Ah, finally found the place.

Ok. first all, how's it goin Lael:) Now to business.

Components that can be created at this time are Master Components, Locations, Facts, and Rules Gimmicks. Characters and specific items cannot be created at this time.

Noah Wan wrote: While I agree with this, I feel that certain lead characters could be created in this phase. it would give us the hero(es) and villan(s) to work with and improve. While suprise heros and villans (i'm spelling it wrong I'm pretty sure of it) can make for an interesting game, with the two already established it would give a direction to work towards and maybe some more ideas. Also it eliminates the possibility that everyone brings a bad guy and is disappointed when he can't be played that way.