From: Zachary Vance Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2021 09:37:41 +0000 (-0800) Subject: setup X-Git-Url: https://git.za3k.com/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=7b30906ed1ae2099ac7cce6ab12fadf47e780cf2;p=za3k.git setup --- diff --git a/archive/ninjas.md b/archive/ninjas.md index f004cee..071f5e7 100644 --- a/archive/ninjas.md +++ b/archive/ninjas.md @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Written: 2021-02-08 by Zachary Vance. Version [1](/archived/ninjas1.md) 2 Audience: *Ninjas Ninjas Ninjas!* is not for complete beginners to storytelling games. There is very little guidance from the rules about what story to tell or how. -Each player controls a young journeyman ninja taking his/her/their final ninja exam. The three ninjas work together as a team to accomplish their goal. At all times one ninja is in **Front**. Front is the "player" who is actively deciding what to do, while the other ninjas throw problems at them and reward them with points. +Each player controls a young journeyman ninja taking his/her/their final ninja exam. The three ninjas work together as a team to accomplish their goal. At all times one ninja is in **Front**. Front is the "player" who is actively deciding what to do, while the other ninjas throw problems at them and reward them with points. Who is in **Front** switches often. New events and challenges happen rapidly, and which player is doing what shifts quickly. Storytelling focuses on the ninjas being cool, and quick progress. Detailed description always illustrates just how COOL the ninja team and their moves are. It DOESN'T talk about the scenery, plot details, motives and emotions, or whether the enemies are also cool. @@ -29,27 +29,20 @@ I've designed the rules to introduce complexity gradually. Feel free to progress ## Setup (option 1, quickstart) One player shouts "Red!". One shouts "Blue!". One shouts "Green!". They immediately start playing. -- The Place is feudal Japan. There are no fireballs, cell phones, guns, or foreigners. Ninjas are super-humanly stealthy, quick, and skilled. Generally the tone is realistic. +- The Place is feudal Japan. There are no secret techniques or ki. Guns and foreigners don't appear in the story. Ninjas are super-humanly stealthy, quick, and skilled. The tone is semi-realistic. The team are not good people. They are paid, loyal assassins. +- The Team consists of + - **Red** starts as **Front**. Red is extra stealthy. No one knows what they look like under their hood. They favor knives and darts, don't talk, and are never squeamish. + - **Blue** is tall and extra fast. He is a bow master who dispatches enemies before they see him. He makes decisions quickly and takes initiative under pressure. He wears a short, practical robe and is a good liar. + - **Green** is a tactical genius, and physically strong. She talks slowly and favors a long katana. She wears padded armor and keeps her hair long. - The Mission is to assassinate the head of a manor without causing property damage, or inconveniencing any house servants. Guards and other family members may be killed. -- **Red** starts as **Front**. Red is extra stealthy. No one knows what they look like under their hood. They favor knives and darts, don't talk, and are never squeamish. -- **Blue** is tall and extra fast. He is a bow master who dispatches enemies before they see him. He makes decisions quickly and takes initiative under pressure. He wears a short, practical robe and is a good liar. -- **Green** is a tactical genius, and physically strong. She talks slowly and favors a long katana. She wears padded armor and keeps her hair long. - (Game 6-10) If you want a timer, set it for 30 minutes. -### Setup (option 2: custom start) -One player shouts "Front!" A second player shouts "Team!". The slowest player is Mission. -- First, **Front** chooses the **Place**. Do ninjas have naruto powers or they realistic? Are there cell phones? Is your team good or bad? Where does the exam take place? -- Second, decide the **Team**. Come up with three ninja characters, each different. Everyone else picks a ninja--whoever grabs it first gets it. The **Team** player gets the remaining ninja. Whoever grabbed the very first ninja is in **Front**. I recommend naming ninjas Red, Blue, and Green, and having each player be the same color game to game. -- Third, decide the **Mission**. What exactly do the three ninjas have to accomplish for their final exam? How complex the mission is determines how long the game will be. -- (Game 3-10) Remember, **Front** assigns Roles before you start. -- (Game 6-10) If you want to set a timer, **Mission** matches the timer to the mission complexity. 5-30 minutes is a good range. - ## Front One ninja is always **Front**. The are the current team leader and decide what the team does. Attention is on Front. Front's team accomplishes tasks quickly, in cool ways, and then quickly goes to the next step of the plan. - Front should describe both what the team does, and what's happening in the world. - Ninjas are cool, skillful, deadly, quiet, efficient, they cheat constantly, and they have perfect teamwork. The point of the game is for the ninjas to show off being as awesome as possible. -- Front should change often. Whenever Front thinks another ninja should take charge, they just yell "Red, Front!" and now the Red ninja is in Front. The old Front throws a **star** to the new front. It's coolest if Front puts another ninja in charge when that ninja would be able to handle the situation or next step of the plan better. +- **Front should change often.** Whenever Front thinks another ninja should take charge, they just yell "Red, Front!" and now the Red ninja is in Front. The old Front throws a **star** to the new front. It's coolest if Front puts another ninja in charge when that ninja would be able to handle the situation or next step of the plan better. - Front can and should introduce minor new obstacles, such as walls, moats, and individual peons. - If Front tells you to grab a bucket of water, your ninja runs to the well without hesitation--a ninja team trusts each other completely. When members of the team other than the Front do something, they answer "Yes, Front!" or describe it very quickly without detail: "Green runs to the well and tosses Red a bucket". Keeping responses short keeps the attention on Front. - Front describes what the team does, but they don't explain why. Other players should make an effort to understand Front's plan so they can continue it. Ignoring the previous Front's plan would be lame, and ninjas aren't lame. @@ -57,13 +50,13 @@ One ninja is always **Front**. The are the current team leader and decide what t - (Games 1-2 only) If team has accomplished the main mission, Front shouts "PASS!!". The ninjas have passed their final exam and won the game. The game is over. ## Stars and Exam Score (game 1 only) -- Don't keep track of how many stars you have. -- Sometimes you will throw a star. You always throw a star **to Front**. You never throw a star as Front. +Sometimes you will throw a star. You always throw a star **to Front**. You never throw a star as Front. +- Each ninjas has several ninja stars. Don't keep track of how many stars you have or throw. Just get in the habit of throwing them. - Your exam is pass/fail only. When you accomplish your mission, you pass the exam. -## Stars and Exam Score (game 2-10) +## Stars and Exam Score (game 2+) Stars -- Each player starts with three **ninja stars**. Track of how many ninja stars by counting on your fingers. If that doesn't work for your group and players lose track, pass around nine nickles instead. +- Each ninja starts with 3 **ninja stars**. Track how many ninja stars you have by counting on your fingers. If that doesn't work for your group, pass around coins instead, starting with three each. - Sometimes you will throw a star. You always throw a star **to Front**. You never throw a star as Front. - When you throw a star, you lose a star, and **Front** adds a star. - Your goal is to throw stars as quickly as possible. @@ -73,13 +66,35 @@ Exam Score - At the end of the game, **your score is the number of stars you threw**. My recommended method is to guess. If you want to keep track, make a tally mark whenever you throw a star. This is your individual score. The team score is the sum of the individual scores. - (Game 6+, optional) The ninjas **fail the final exam** if the timer runs out and they haven't won (I suggest 5 to 30 minutes as a good limit). They also lose one point from their team score for each minute that passed before they sucessfully passed their exam. +## Roles (game 1-2) +There are no roles. All players introduce any problems and award any points (explained below). + +## Roles (game 3+) +**Front** is the team leader. During setup, they assign each player a unique starting **Role**--**Goal**, **Enemy**, or **Cheat**. Players can no longer arbitrarily throw problem and point stars. Instead, they throw stars based only on their Role. + +At first start slow, and review a **Role** every time you get it. Use the cheat sheet below. Explain to Front why you're throwing them a point star. After a couple games, players should memorize the Roles, and just yell "Point!". + +If team has accomplished the main mission, **Goal** shouts "PASS!!". The ninjas have passed their final exam and won the game. The game is over. + +| Role | Problem | Points +|-------|-----------------|--------------------------| +| Goal | Goals change | Goal/Boss, Quick | +| Enemy | People, Event | Cool, Obstacle | +| Cheat | Surprise | Skill/Clever, Cheat/Trap | + +## Role Swapping (game 1-9) +Each player keeps the same Role through the entire game. Make sure to try a new role each game, so you learn all the Roles. + +## Role Swapping (game 10+) +When you run out of stars and swap with Front, you also permanently swap **Roles** with that player for the rest of the game. You may swap many times during a game. + ## Problem Stars (game 1-2 only) The other two players throw problems at **Front**. They throw a **problem star** to introduces a boss, spot or trigger a trap, have a special event or twist happen, or have the goals shift on the team. When one of the other players introduces a problem, they shout "Problem" and explain the problem, throwing a **star** to **Front**. **Front** only introduces smaller problems, and doesn't throw **problem star**s to do it. ## Problem Stars (game 3-10) -Front doesn't introduce problems using their Role--only the other two ninjas throw **problem stars**. With Roles, no one shouts "Problem" any more. +Front doesn't introduce problems using their Role, but continues to introduce small problems as Front. The other two ninjas throw **problem stars**. With Roles, no one shouts "Problem" any more. Here's what each role does by throwing a **problem star**: - **Goal**: introduce a new goal, or shift an existing goal. @@ -119,22 +134,14 @@ Here's when each role throws a **point star**: - The team does something skillfully or in a clever way - The team cheats or sets a trap -## Roles (game 3+) -**Front** is the team leader. During setup, they assign each player a unique starting **Role**--**Goal**, **Enemy**, or **Cheat**. Players can no longer arbitrarily throw problem and point stars. Instead, they throw stars based only on their Role. - -At first start slow, and review a **Role** every time you get it. Use the cheat sheet below. Explain to Front why you're throwing them a point star. After a couple games, players should memorize the Roles, and just yell "Point!". - -If team has accomplished the main mission, **Goal** shouts "PASS!!". The ninjas have passed their final exam and won the game. The game is over. - -| Role | Problem | Points -|-------|-----------------|--------------------------| -| Goal | Goals change | Goal/Boss, Quick | -| Enemy | People, Event | Cool, Obstacle | -| Cheat | Surprise | Skill/Clever, Cheat/Trap | - -## Role Swapping (game 10+) -- When you run out of stars and swap with Front, you also permanently swap **Roles** with that player for the rest of the game. +### Setup (option 2: custom start) +One player shouts "**Place**". A second player shouts "**Team**". The slowest player picks the **Mission**. +- **Place** is also **Front**. +- **Place**: Do ninjas have Naruto powers or they realistic? Are there cell phones? Is your team good or bad? Where does the exam take place? +- **Team**: Come up with three ninja characters, each different. The **Team** player picks a character last. I recommend keeping the same names **Red**, **Blue** and **Green** for the players across games, regardless of characters they select. +- **Mission**: What exactly do the three ninjas have to accomplish for their final exam? How complex the mission is determines how long the game will be. +- (Game 3-10) Remember, **Front** assigns Roles before you start. +- (Game 6-10) If you want to set a timer, **Mission** chooses the game length. 5-30 minutes is a good range. ## More Players -- Ninjas Ninjas Ninjas requires at least 3 players, but it probably works with more. You need one Role per player. Come up with your own Roles. Each Role needs at least one Problem Star, and at least one Point Star. If you have good Role ideas and try them out, send it to me! -- Example: **Stealth**'s Problem stars introduce Traps and Events (**Enemy** is no longer in charge of Events). **Stealth** throws Front a Point Star if the team does things stealthily, or without causing collateral damage. +- Ninjas Ninjas Ninjas requires at least 3 players, but it probably works with up to 5. You need one Role per player. Come up with your own Roles. Each Role needs at least one way to throw **problem stars**, and at least one way to throw **point stars**. If you have good Role ideas and try them out, send it to me!