Good lord, it's the RPG of Russell Hoban's later works!

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a.k.a. morgue

I also realised after hearing the radio yesterday that it covers about half of Phil Collins' creative output over the years.

Yeah, quite aside from the whole 'mysterious woman' angle there seems to be an awful lot of cinema out there that takes the tagline "They Went Looking for X and found... themselves!" You could put practically anything in the X spot. Love, Money, Santa Clause, the Missing Nolan Sisters, Lacunarity, The Fifth Element, An Empty Parking Space, Cornflakes, The Sixth Beetle, The Moon Landing, Doctor Livingstone, The Fountain of Youth, A New RPG, Clean Underpants, A Cure for the Common Cold (seriously I could go on like this all day) a Tube of SuperGlue that's not Gummed Up, Farley's Rusks, Obsession: A Fragrance by Calvin Kline, The Last Unicorn, The First Cuckoo, The Gold of Cortez, the Head of John the Baptist, the Head of Alfredo Garcia...

I think I'll stop there. The point is, it seems to be possible to find yourself while looking for almost anything except yourself.

Ash

I couldn't nail what the subconscious inspiration for this waas until last night. I remembered I'd watched the Seven Year Itch on TV about 2 months ago. Ah, sweet clarity. That had been gnawing at my brain.

Now, thinking the game through I have a few things to add that should clairfy the procedures of endgame, for when players finish before others, and so on.

I've had just over 300 downloads of zuzannah in the week since I posted it.

I was talking with Steve about it last night and he's up for giving it a try out, though he is naturally sceptical that it will work. I think it might be played as screwball comedy or black farce, we'll see.

People are always mad for freebies. I got a similar response when I released Myriad for free.

Ash

(1) Does a player have to roll in the scene that they started? They have to pick a dice type at the start of the scene but do they have to use it?

(2) When a player picks a dice type for a scene and fails is the dice still permanently allocated to that stat as it would be (I assume) if they succeed? Do they have to use the same dice on future attempts to resolve that sort of scene (assuming they don't humiliate themselves).

(3) If a player initiates a type of scene, say family, at a particular stage and fails, they need to try that stage again for their next scene. Can they use the same type (i.e. family) again? Must they? Can they use up all their scene types on repeated attempts to resolve the first round and then not be able to start any scenes?

(4) When a player rolls a dice in another player's scene they then have to assign it to a stat. Is that the stat which the scene framer chose? Either way they don't get to use that dice again? Or do you not cross off a dice if you use it in another player's scene, even though you allocate it.

(5) As an extension to (4) if I declare, say, a Leisure scene, and all the other players have already used up all their dice, or have participated in a Leisure scene either as the framer or as another player, then no one can participate, right? In that case how does the scene work?

Even assuming all players succeed at each scene they initiate by the end of the first round with 5 players a minimum of 10 dice out of the total of 20 have been used (1 each for each scene initiator, and 1 each for each player that opposed, assuming only 1 opposed), and each player has participated in 1-2 types of scene. That doesn't leave enough total dice for the rest of the game, or enough scene types, unless I am missing something?

http://www.solipsist-rpg.com/

Excellent, here are my answers. I think you've inserted a rule in your head, which when removed will solve the problems.

You are only forbidden from rolling a die type after you use it to successfully advance on one of your own scenes. Even after that there is once circumstance that you can roll it one further time: when you are compelled into the scene by the player to your left.

So, bearing that in mind...

(1) Strictly no, but then they would automatically fail that scene, which is not good for their character. I can't see an advantage or reason to not roll, but if at the end of the scene the player chooses to fail then I guess they can. If no one opposes them then they win the roll, though the actual dice roll is moot.

In short, the player picks the type of scene (Family, Money, whatever), allocates a die to that ability and will roll it to determine if they succeed in their scene goal.

(2) Yes. My intention is that if you pick Family and d4, then that is the chosen strength of your Family for that character. You've locked it in. (Allowing that to change introduces blocking by other players always plumping for a free d10 against you and then switching it to another die on their turn.) My thinking is that if you make Family, say, d4 then you are forced to always have that as the weakest aspect of your character.

(3) If you fail a scene type then you must attempt that scene type again on your next turn. You don't have to use the original characteristic though, though you can if you want (maybe everyone has now succeeded at Family and can't roll dice against you now). Though, if Family failed maybe it's time to try Money (and a larger die)...

(4) If you wish to roll against another player on their scene then you have to allocate one of your own available dice against whichever stat they picked. So Bob has a Money scene and allocates d8. We get to the roll and you can choose to (a) not roll, (b) allocate a die to Money and roll it. The only restriction for you is that when you want to use that die type yourself it will have to be with Money. You only lose the ability to roll that die if you win your own scene with it. The cost of choosing to thwart someone else is that you have to decide your own dice allocations earlier than usual.

(5) If people have dice allocated to Leisure then you know what they will potentially be rolling against should you choose a Leisure scene. That may influence what die type you allocate to it at the start of the scene (or what you choose as your characteristic for the scene). If someone has succeeded with Leisure then their die type can't be rolled (unless you have to compell them in). A player without a die to roll can drop in and play in the scene but ultimately their somebody/nobody's opposition to you will be thwarted (you can roll a die, they can't). Still, I see it as an opportunity for that player to immerse a little and take part in the scene.

Does that help? I've maybe muddied the water so do shoot back any responses to that.

What's missing I think are the end conditions for repeated failure. Perhaps you can only ever humiliate yourself once per level or it's over? That is maybe too harsh?

Oh, rerolls via humiliation. Two ways to do this. The wrong way is that on a reroll everyone rerolls. The intended way is that on a reroll only the scene framer rerolls (i.e. you see what everyone else has already rolled and humiliate yourself if you think the chances are good on the reroll of beating them).

Anyway, you have...
Four dice: d4, d6, d8, d10.
Four characteristics: Family, Money, Leisure, Work.
Four types of scene that get closer and closer to zuzannah.
To get through the four scenes you have to allocate each dice to only one of your characteristics and hope that they roll your way to allow you to reach the final scene type, and hope that you win it or it is on a characteristic where no one can oppose you (except the compelled player to your right)...

No no, the waters are not at all muddied, though I think the rules could be clearer on the fact that your dice is only used up by a success. I can see that it doesn't say that a dice is used up in someone else's scene (now that I look again) but it doesn't say it isn't either.

So if I understand right, to get all the way to the final type of scene you will have had to use all 4 characteristics and dice, since each successful round will have used up one of the available characteristics. If you fail with a given characteristic then you can try again at that type of scene with either the same characteristic or any other you have not yet used to win a scene.

I can see that it could potentially mess up if you get to go last in later rounds and just pick scenes where you can't be opposed. I'd have to see that in play. (Weren't you inviting me and John around? :P)

Also your rewording of humiliating makes much more sense, I couldn't see what advantages it had over just doing the scene again.

And thanks for taking the time to read it and post those questions. Like I said, in my head it's all clear (well, sort of), but I think the wording is pretty murky at the moment. I was struggling to get across the point in the doc as written.

Humiliating wasn't clearly explained and I feel there is going to be a need to define an endgame for the case where, say, two players have tried and failed at the final scene but the other two are endlessly stuck and now refusing to humiliate themselves to end the game. If you can see that.

So, yes, I have badgered Steve to play it too at some point so consider yourself on the playtest group (and no doubt to turn up in the Example of play).

:-)

Steve had a good suggestion about somehow making recurring characters that you could play on other people's scenes, and see if they emerge as sympathetic empowered characters (effectively we would be giving someone else's wife our Family dice to protagonize her against her husband or something).

...not this week, but next onwards might be a chance to play this. Or at WarpCon for sure.

John told me he just invited himself round to see your newly guest-welcoming house, should I just do the same? :) I'd love to try this, at your house (not the emphasis here) quite soon, before Nerdinburgh if possible (so I can borrow Sorcerer and Sword if you have it).

http://www.solipsist-rpg.com/

What night is good for you next week? Or the end of this week?

Sorcerer & Sword is sitting on my shelf waiting to be collected.

I'll ask Victoria about times, but I guess I could do Tues, Wed, Thurs next week, or maybe come over on the weekend?

http://www.solipsist-rpg.com/

Maybe also an idea to bring it as a backup for Nerdinburgh, Gregor, in case of games finishing early etc. I know Joe M will bring a couple as well, and I will have Psi Run and more goodies handy.

Per

http://darkplaces.squarespace.com

I'll bring it along for sure.

Oh, I have Psi Run too and I plan to get a game of that soon. I also planned to do Know Thyself but Ryan's public self-flagellation over it and decision to junk it and do-over isn't helping me move it up my list. (Though, having read through it over Christmas I'm keen to see what it does and how.)