Instant Game is copyright © 2007 by Animalball Partners. All rights reserved. Users may print and copy this document for personal use only. The Instant Game document was created entirely with Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat. All graphics used herein are either clipart used under the MS Office terms of usage or else are believed by the document’s publishers to be within the public domain in the United States. Authors: Animalball Partners Supplemental writing: Cazmonster, DMDarcs, Eliahad, FlameBlade, Jeff Hauze, Konsaki, Thorn, Threadbare Editing Assistance: FlameBlade, Nicephorus, Thorn, Todd Zircher Playtesters: Brasky, Cazmonster, Eliahad, FlameBlade, Kai, Mike, Pdyx, Reika, Roblogic, Serious Paul, Silverwolf, Tahlvin, & Thorn. And special Thanks to Caz Granberg for having the brass ones to run a “Random Zombie Game.” A note on cultural bias Instant Game is intended as a tool with which to build whole worlds and stories on very short notice. As such, it relies heavily on specific genre conventions, cultural archetypes, and a pool of “common knowledge” that we hope gives all of our players a common frame of reference to start from. In order to pack in all the information we want, we often take rather glib shortcuts in our descriptions, trusting that the gentle reader will divine our intent from context, and we certainly don’t sacrifice conciseness and expediency for the sake of political correctness. For example, in the example of the glossary entry for “Ocean going ships,” we describe them from a specifically Western and European viewpoint in the context of when double-masted caravels came into use. We fully recognize that other cultures also traversed oceanic distances in more primitive craft. However, to explain such a concept within the confines of a glossary entry would entail far more effort than we, the lazy partners at Animalball, are willing to invest. So just take everything with a grain of salt. And enjoy. Table of Contents Introduction 2 Possessions 21 Appendix II: Sample Settings 88 Sample Game: The Rail 4 Other Traits 22 Sideworld 88 Instant Game Barebones 5 Game Balance & Power Levels 22 Belching Black Smoke 89 The Instant Tables (Tables) 7 Action Resolution 23 Cronodelphia 89 The Instant Tables (Descriptions) 12 Declare Action 23 Her Majesty’s Cleaners 89 Using the Instant Tables 13 Assign modifier 23 Rockefeller Fortress 90 The Cold Start 13 Roll Dice 24 Blood & Iron 90 The Instant Challenge 14 Interpret Results 24 Fantasy Depopulated Earth 91 Not-So-Instant Game 14 Action Sequences 25 Pacifica 91 Theme Games 15 Opposed Actions 26 Firewire 92 Instant Gaming 16 Status, Fatigue, and Injury 26 Dust to Dust 92 Instant Characters 16 Combat & Injury 26 Machine & Myth 93 Character Creation 16 Situational Rolls 28 Prison Planet Earth 94 On-the-fly Development 16 Instant Karma 29 Prehistoric Mutants 94 Traits 17 Appendix I: Instant Glossary 30 The Flight of Angels 94 Skills 18 Clan Baravel 95 Attributes 19 Titans of Pangea 96 Powers 20 14th Century London Plague 96 Introduction What is Instant Game? Instant Game is a tool for creating and playing new RPG settings on the spot. With the Instant Game charts and our flexible Instant Game rules set, you can roll up a completely original setting and plot, create and develop characters “on the fly,” and be ready to roleplay in just a matter of minutes. We know that seems incredible on its surface, but it is also a wonderfully real possibility. Instant Game is painless, as well as being some of the most exciting and challenging gaming you’ll find. 2 How does it work? The steps to creating an Instant Game are simple: 1) The Gamemaster (GM) rolls on the Instant Charts provided to get Instant Setting rolls and Instant Plot rolls. 2) The GM (usually with help from the other players) then puts the Instant Setting elements together to create a coherent world. 3) The GM assembles the Instant Plot elements into a workable storyline. 4) The GM explains the setting and any needed character guidelines to the players. 5) The players create Instant Characters based on our simple character creation rules. 6) Then play. We’re not kidding about this. Get your gaming group together with no preparation whatsoever ahead of time. Throw some dice, consult our Instant Tables, and in 30 minutes or so, you can have a complete and novel roleplaying setting ready to roll, with a plot and characters and everything. It’s surprisingly a lot simpler than you think. But what is an RPG? For the most part, Instant Game assumes that most of its players will be persons who have at least some roleplaying experience. As such, much of the text assumes that participants already have a working knowledge of basic gaming conventions and terminology. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. For those who may be new to the industry… a very brief primer: On his website, www.darkshire.com, John H. Kim characterizes roleplaying games by the “My Character Wouldn’t Do That” test: In many games you have a character which is really a token without personality. For example, in the boardgame Clue™ your token is a suspect in a murder mystery. In a video game, your token might be a fighter pilot. In my opinion, the difference between a token and a role-played character is this: Hypothetically, a person watching the game looks over your shoulder and suggests a move, and your reply is "No, my character wouldn't do that." If this happens, or is capable of happening, then at some level you are playing a role- playing game. This simple distinction puts a world of difference between RPGs and other games. And that’s just it: while Instant Game does have rules and guidelines for how to run the game and settle disputes, the heart of it is the players assuming the roles of characters and acting within the game/story as they feel their characters would act. It’s like a childhood game of Let’s Pretend, but with codified rules so that every altercation doesn’t have to end with, BANG—I got you!... No you didn’t!... Did too! You’re dead now!... Am not! It just grazed me!... etc. How roleplaying works: In Instant Game, one player assumes the role of gamemaster or GM, while all the rest are players who take on the role of a single character within the game (a “player character” or PC). It’s up to the GM to act as guide, narrator, and referee. While everyone at the table helps put the story together, the GM is the final arbiter of what is or isn’t a part of a particular world or setting. The GM narrates the setting and describes the actions of all characters not controlled by other players (these “non-player characters are also referred to as NPCs.) Working together, the GM and players use the Instant Tables on pages 6-10 to create a world in which to set the story. Then the GM uses the tables to further create a basic storyline or plot while the players each create a character for them to play within this world. As gameplay progresses, the GM will describe the setting and what is going on. The players will each describe how their own character acts within the story, and the GM provides the responses of the environment and NPCs. Whenever conflict arises, it may be required to roll dice and follow the action resolution rules on pages 23-25. Using the dice: Instant game uses two types of dice, six-sided (d6) and ten-sided (d10). The six-sided dice are always thrown three at a time (3d6) and then added to get a total result ranging from 3 to 18. Most 3d6 rolls will also include some sort of modifier, such as -5, +1, or +6. Simply apply the modifier to the 3d6 result. This can result in a negative number. You must have two ten-sided dice, and they must be unique so that it is easy to tell one from the other—usually just using two different colors is sufficient for this. The ten-sided dice are used in pairs to generate results from 1 to 100. The first die represents the tens digit, and the second die the ones. Thus, if you roll a 7 and a 4, the result is “74.” A result of double zero equals “100.” 3 Sample Game: The Rail No bull, I just took out my randomizer and rolled up a new Instant Game to use with the introduction. These are the rolls exactly as they came out, followed by my development process for those rolls over about 30 minutes of work: Setting/Tone: Lost Civilization/Gothic Opposition: Spies Things: Special Ops, Mass Transit Plot Action: Steal (Religious) Alliance Tech Level: Galactic Empires Plot Action: Discover (Alien) Soldier Place: Orphanage Enter our players: They are an elite team of Rail Service I was good with Gothic Lost Civilization, but then I get Special Investigators. They are now riding the Rail, SpecOps and Mass Transit? OK, I have no idea how to carrying the first Olivan-inbound request in four work those in. And the optional tech level and place don’t centuries. Their status is encrypted, so if there really is help at all. I decide it's a mess and I go to reset the anyone planetside at Olivan, they will have no idea randomizer... WAIT! At the last second, before I can push anyone is coming. F9, something in the back of my head says, "I think this can work." I've learned to listen to that voice, so I'm What they will find is an abandoned Rail station, but with patient with it: signs that someone has been there.