When talking about the next storygame we wanted to play, my buddy threw out this moment as something that captured his imagination. Watch this to understand where my head is at:
Let’s play in the world of Samurai Jack.
It’s a world brimming with style, stuffed with action tropes, and overflowing with anachronism stew. This science fantasy of a samurai lost in a sci-fi land reminds me of how Electric Bastionland, by stating “everything is here”, gives so much creative space to play in by widening the genre aperture.
But this is a game you couldn’t do as a traditional RPG.
Jack is a lone PC, the center of the screen. He goes on adventures, usually by himself in hopes of returning to his time to defeat the evil Aku. If you have more than one GM and one player, no can do.
And there are other difficulties. Take the episode from the clip above as an example: Jack has no lines and doesn’t show up until the last 2 minutes of the episode. The rest of the time the bounty hunters are discussing their plans to kill Jack before culminating in the final showdown. Can’t do that one in the typical RPG framing; it’s too experimental.
And many decisions Jack makes aren’t always “maximally efficient” compared to players drip-fed XP and gold to behave as self-interested actors. He gives up chances to pursue Ake to save people. He undergoes challenges not for any extrinsic reward but because it makes for a good story. It becomes tiring as a designer to always orchestrate and write up rules for why players should be interested in playing the game rather than just inviting them to partake in something dynamic and captivating. “Let’s tell a story: it’s about a swordsman lost in a dark future of bounty hunter robots.”
So I’m writing a Samurai Jack storygame on this scrap of internet paper. Consider this your primer.
Rules
Start with the scenario.
Say what happens next.
There is no turn order and anyone can add to what happens.
Build on each other’s ideas!
If there are uncertainties or disagreements, roll some dice.
The Master of Ceremonies may veto before dice are rolled.
Wrap things up when the scenario ends.
Weirdly, I’ve written up the “golden rules” for storygaming some time ago, but before each game, I still have no problem writing them again, altering the wording slightly. If you’ve been following the Primetime Audioventure podcast, it may become apparent that dice rolling has become rather lax (and even non-existent). This is reflected in the handwave-y resolution rules. At the table, I’d be just as open to rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, or even tic-tac-toe as our system of resolution of choice, as long as we agree to it.
I also just like the rule “build on each other’s ideas!” The exclamation is key. It’s a rule of excitement and collaboration: “let’s jump in together!”
Just for fun, I broke up the GM role into several overlapping responsibilities. It’s something I did in the Hogwarts matrix game, having abstract roles like “magic” and “monsters” and “the school” to break up the responsivities of adjudicating the magic system, how the monsters behave and what their abilities are, and the specifics of the school’s layout. It gives a focal for these things that Samurai Jack cares more about and gently nudges participants to keep in mind:
- Master of Ceremonies (spotlight, resolution, safety)
- Master of Art (color, mood, landscapes)
- Master of Moments (cinematography, scenes, resonance)
- Master of Genre (anachronisms, mutations, motifs)
- Master of Characters (descriptions, voices, motives)
- Master of Action (stakes, violence, environment)
They’re vague on purpose. As Captain Barbossa would say,
Scenarios
Normally, I would list the characters and locations and maybe some kickers (dramatic moments that could be brought in to answer “what happens next?”), but I rather like the empty space these scenarios/episode synopses invite.
1) An old friend of Samurai Jack’s is overcome by a symbiote of Aku. The encounter brings back memories of Jack’s village days.
2) A wounded Jack seeks shelter in a bustling city from the Viper Brood before he can hope to repair his sword and turn the tide against his hunters.
3) Samurai Jack is tricked to going too far back into the past… to the age of dinosaurs! Little does he know that a young Aku dwells in these prehistoric days.
4) A young warrior stole something precious from Aku and needs Samurai Jack’s help to escape the pursuing skeletal bounty hunters.
5) A breeder regrets assisting Aku, pledging to help Samurai Jack rid the world of their most destructive creation.
6) Jack travels with a blind, elderly ronin as they exchange old battle stories. Only in the end are their true identities made known.
EDIT: Actual Play is Actually Here!
This has been turned into a full actual play by Kyle Burger and myself. We did scenario #3 from the above. 🙂
Fin
Go hog-wild.
DREAMING DRAGONSLAYER 