BY KIRT A. DANKMYER UNSUNG TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to Unsung Role-Playing 7 Aftermath 28 First Principles 7 Treatment 28 Details 8 Chapter Six Roles 8 Endings, Death, and Retirement 30 Getting Started 10 End of an Evening 30 Chapter One Death 30 Everything Has a Beginning: Protagonists 11 Last Chance 30 Recap 11 Other Last Chances 31 Concept 11 The Final Gift 31 Traits and Descriptors 11 Retirement and Endgame 31 The Final Trait 12 Chapter Seven Chapter Two Setting Suggestions 33 Playing the Game: The Basics 14 Cops 33 The Rule of Drama 14 Robbers 33 Checks 15 Wild West 34 The Rule of Currency (and Savagry) 16 Soldiers 34 Chapter Three Noir 35 The Heart of the Game: Gifts and Lapses 18 Special Forces 35 Suggestions 18 Espionage 35 The Rule of Gifts 18 Science Fiction 36 Lapses 19 Post-Apocalypse 36 Voluntary Evil and Heroism 20 Time Travel 36 Doubling Down 21 Cyberpunk 37 Gift Points 22 Fantasy 37 Chapter Four Horror 38 The Bones of the Story: the Mission System 24 Superheroes 38 Rationale 24 Soap Opera 38 Goals 24 Disaster 39 The System Itself 24 Chapter Eight Retirement Points 25 Premise and Credits 40 Chapter Five Premise 40 Shootouts: Battle and Aftermath 26 Credits 40 Theory 26 Inspiration 41 Practice 26 Glossary 44 The Rule of Sacrifice 27 Index 47 "I've Been Shot" 27 Down or Tagged 27 All text copyright 2005 by Kirt A. Dankmyer. All rights reserved. Some artwork copyright Paul Daly, used with permission. Ditto any other artist's artwork, really, but Paul inisted I say that. Once, when I was little, I really wanted the action figure for the robot dog in Battlestar Galactica. My mom couldn't afford it, so she helped me shoplift it. It's really the only time she ever encouraged me to do something dishonest, and I think she did it out of love. Also, I like monkeys. INTRODUCTION TO UNSUNG ROLE-PLAYING

Candy lined up her shot, secure in her sniper's nest. She had a clear shot at the perpetrator's hand, and the gun in it. But just as she squeezed the trigger, he moved. As Candy's shot rang out, the perpetrator fired at the hostage he was pointing at, and she went down. "GODDAMN IT," shouted Candy over her radio, to the rest of her SWAT team. "YOU LITTLE… STAY STILL!" "Civilian down," said the squad leader, over the radio. Candy aimed for the hand again, but one of the hostages -- one of the bank's tellers -- kept getting in the way. She was tempted to shoot through the teller to get to the perp. The perp kept running around, shooting randomly. A wonderful headshot opened up. She didn't have permission to take it, and the way the guy was moving, it wouldn't last long. She took a deep breath. This isn't appropriate behavior, she thought, because she knew she was going to take the headshot anyway. The squad leader moved in closer to the bank, along with the rookie, Billy. "You ready, kid? Candy, what are you doing up there?" Candy muttered something obscene under her breath and then audibly: "I’m taking him down. Dead." The man in the bank looked up, mouthed "oh no" and then his head exploded like an overripe tomato. Experienced Gamers If you've played a role-playing game First Principles before, there's a chance you're rolling your Unsung is more like the sort of game played with action figures, eyes and about to skip this section. models, or toy guns than with chess sets or sporting equipment. It is a Don't. Seriously. game of creativity that takes place in the imagination. Overall, the Unsung encodes some assumptions in rules of Unsung are for playing out a story about personal this section that are different from a lot of role-playing games, particularly some of responsibility in moments of great stress. The object of the game is to the more popular games like Dungeons tell a story of this nature with your friends that is interesting and and Dragons and Vampire: the compelling. Like improvisational theatre, the rules of the game don't Masquerade. Yes, I know you've heard that determine winners and losers so much as help channel and spark claim before, but this isn't a matter of just creativity. It's co-operative, not competitive. genre or some tweaks to the skill system. On the other hand, if you've played It's easier than it sounds. If any one player runs out of ideas, the something like OctaNe or Sorcerer or My other players in the game can take up the slack. Also, each player is Life With Master, some of this is probably not only an author/actor in the game, but part of the audience for the old hat. other players. If the story the players come up with doesn't reach the Regardless, if you do skip this section, level of Shakespeare (or even prime-time TV), if it rambles, if it takes pay close attention to the Gift and Lapse system, and the Retirement system. Those several sessions to tell, or if it's finished in a half-hour -- that's okay aspects of the game are highlighted by sub- as long as everyone has fun playing and is satisfied with the story systems for reason, and unlike a more thus told. traditional RPG, your primary interface to While this book is longer than the rules for checkers, chess, or most the game is not your character, but the Gift boardgames, it's more a guidebook than a rulebook. The basic rules system.

7 most of the time, using the character to shape the story and keep the tale fun for everyone. There is no one "main" character, but a handful of protagonists, more like Law & Order or Homicide: Life on the Streets than T.J. Hooker. One participant is the game moderator. The moderator does not usually control a protagonist, but controls all other characters most of the time. The game moderator helps interpret rules, set scenes, and of the game are pretty straightforward, so the adjudicate disputes. To borrow a metaphor from Ron remainder of the text covers situations that might not Edwards (author of the Sorcerer role-playing game), come up, advice on how to play a game, and optional the game moderator is like the bassist in a rock band, ideas for different and interesting ways to play. This providing structure and pacing. book is your ally. The rules were designed to support It is generally assumed in these rules, for a story in the Unsung mode of personal simplicity, there is only one game moderator at a responsibility. time, though you are always welcome to experiment. Below is a brief and fragmentary transcript of what Details one might hear during a session of Unsung. Don’t A game of Unsung takes the form of one or more worry about understanding exactly what is going on evenings with your friends -- however long it takes to (particularly the jargon, which will be explained in tell a communal story. detail later). Just understand that the participants are In practice, a given evening’s entertainment is sort using verbal description, rules, and dice to create a of like a cross between an improvisational radio play shared imagined space where the story takes place, and a sort of gambling game -- but different. Unlike a and that this fragmentary transcript is just a faded radio play, the actors and audience are the same reflection of that. In brackets is some short people, always participating. The rules may resemble explanatory text, but again, don’t worry too much if a dice game in some areas, but even where there is a you don’t understand all of it; if it doesn’t make sense competitive edge or a game-based challenge, the right now, just ignore the stuff in brackets. ultimate goal is the production of a story. The basic situation is this: Anne is the moderator. In essence, all of these techniques are used to Bob, Cindy, and Dan are all controlling protagonists, create a shared imagined space where the story takes which, in the game, are part of the same SWAT team, place. dealing with a hostage situation at a bank. Anne: Candy’s shot lands next to the perp in the Roles bank, who then shoots the woman, who is trying to If the goal is to create a group story, why have flee from him. She falls down. rules at all? Well, first of all, a certain amount of Cindy: Candy shouts over the radio: pleasure comes from surmounting challenges created "GODAMMIT! YOU LITTLE… STAY STILL!" through the rules system, not to mention that the Dan: "Civilian down," Donald shouts over the random elements in the rules can spark creativity. radio. More importantly, the rules are designed to provide Anne: The perp starts firing wildly around the structure. The rules facilitate the types of stories bank. Okay, so Candy is still aiming for the perp’s Unsung is meant to tell: gritty tales of personal hand, right, Cindy? responsibility. Cindy: Well, Candy would rather go for a headshot, To this end, each player takes on a certain role. The but orders are orders… majority of players will each create a persona -- a Anne: Heh, the sniper is begging to do a headshot, protagonist. Each player will control that character go figure… 8 Bob: Oh, I have a Gift for Candy! [Bob has an idea for an addition to the scene that forces a moral choice on Cindy’s protagonist, the Text Conventions sniper Candy Tyloni. In Unsung, this is called a Gift.] Generally speaking, large swaths of text Anne: Go ahead, Bob. in italics represent an example. You don’t Bob: As the perp is flailing about, his hand is eclipsed by one of need to read it to understand the text, but it the bank tellers, in order to shoot the gun out of the hand, Candy will helps. If a word that isn’t normally capitalized have to shoot through the teller… turns up in Capital Letters, that means it’s Cindy: That is so evil... being used as a game term with a specific Bob: Your call if you want it… meaning within the rules. All the Game Dan: The proper response to that is: "Thank you, I am evil." Terms should be self-explanatory from Bob: Thank you, I am evil. their use, but there’s a glossary in the back in case you need help or a reminder. Anne: So, Cindy, do you accept the Gift? You can always veto. Anything in a sidebar, like this, is either [Both the moderator and Cindy have to accept the Gift before it commentary or optional rules. Both can be becomes "reality" for the purposes of the story.] quite safely ignored, particularly optional Cindy: I accept. That sounds interesting and realistic. rules. It is suggested that you at least try Anne: 1 Gift Point for Bob. [When a player accepts a Gift, the playing with the "base" rule sets before you start introducing variants. The point player offering the Gift gets a Gift Point, the uses for which are of the optional rules is to introduce outlined later in these rules.] variants that might enhance a certain style Anne: So, okay, Cindy, give me a Responsibility check. [Cindy of play, which might or might not be to must roll lower than or equal to her character’s Responsibility score, your group’s liking. which is a numerical rating that represents how morally responsible Keep in mind that sidebars aren’t part of the main text, so don’t let them distract Candy is, and how much control Cindy has over the character during you from the flow of text. times of stress.] *Cindy rolls dice, gets a 20* [A 20 is always a failure in Unsung. The Example Regardless, Candy’s Responsibility is much lower than 20, so Cindy As you read the book, be sure to come rolled too high.] back to the example to the left and on the Anne: LAPSE. And you can add one Retirement Point to Candy’s previous page. Things that go on in this total. [When one fails the Responsibility check after a Gift, the example make more sense the more you understand the rules. character Lapses, and makes a morally bad choice, determined by the vote of the other participants.] Cindy: ...DAGUH! Anne: Or you can re-roll for one Gift Point… [This is one use for Gift Points.] Cindy: I’m out of Gift Points. This involves the Instinct modifier, right? [Cindy is a little unclear on the rules.] Dan: This involves us getting to say exactly what Candy does, when she takes the "easy" way out… Bob: Head shot. Dan: Head shot, oh yes. Anne: I’ll vote for the headshot -- there’s even a twisted justification: it saves the civilian, who she had to shoot through for the hand shot… Dan: Exactly. Anne: I’ll narrate the headshot itself, unless anyone objects. Keep going with the story, though. Cindy: Candy takes a deep breath, thinking: This isn’t appropriate 9 behavior. She hunkers back down and -- Ahh hell. Screw it. She aims for a headshot. Bob: Billy waits for a signal from Donald to head in. Dan: Donald moves in close, taking Bob with him. "You ready, kid? Candy, what are you doing up there?" Cindy: Candy mutters something obscene under her breath and then audibly: "I’m taking him down. Dead." Bob: As a shot rings out from above, a drop of sweat flies lazily from Billy’s brow as he turns to see the target. Anne: The man in the bank looks up, mouths "oh no" and then his head explodes like an overripe tomato. Brains everywhere. Bob: Billy blinks in amazement. Anne: Erik says, over the radio, "What the hell?" Getting Started To play Unsung, first you will need at least three friends that you want to creatively explore the theme of moral responsibility with, so there are at least three protagonists and one game moderator. You will need something to take notes on (so you don’t forget an important detail, to the detriment of the story) and a twenty- sided die, also known as a d20, available at most hobby stores. The group will need to decide what kind of game to play (cops or soldiers), create protagonists, and begin, with the game moderator setting the first scene. (Details on creating protagonists, and using them in a scene, are in the following chapters.)

Can’t Find a Twenty- Sided Die? If you cannot acquire a d20, you can simulate one with a normal pack of cards. First remove all the Jokers, Jacks, Queens, and Kings. Shuffle and use this shortened deck. Black cards are worth face value (Aces low) and red cards are worth ten over face value. So if you draw a Three of Spades, you "rolled" a 3, while an Ace of Hearts means you rolled an 11. Be sure to reshuffle (including the card you just drew) after each draw.

10 CHAPTER ONE EVERYTHING HAS A BEGINNING: PROTAGONISTS

adopt the idea. Recap As mentioned in the Introduction, the group must Traits and Descriptors decide what sort of game to play. There are several Every character has five basic Traits, listed further suggestions in the back of this book. Generally, the below. Traits numerically represent certain aspects of protagonists of an Unsung story are police officers or the character, codifying them on paper in a way that soldiers, people who are forced to make life-or-death can be used to interact with the rules. choices as part of their job. Also, for each Trait, you should pick an adjective, The examples will assume a game involving Anne noun, or phrase (called a Descriptor) that relates to as game moderator, as well as Bob, Cindy, and Dan specifically what one would think of when as the players that usually control a particular considering the character and that Trait. It may be an protagonist. In this game, the protagonists are all explanation of what that Trait is for that character, or members of the same SWAT team. This is only an the way the character is when succeeding in a task example – don't feel that your game has to be the based on that Trait, or just a personality quirk same, or even similar. associated with that Trait, even a catch phrase. Everyone except the game moderator will need to The Traits (and sample Descriptors) are: create a protagonist, a "main character" they will be SAVVY represents the character's knowledge, controlling most of the time. education, and experience. It can represent anything from a formal college education to "the school of Concept hard knocks". This Trait covers any situation where The most important thing is to have a relatively the protagonist has to figure something out. Savvy is solid concept of the kind of character you want to relevant to first aid, situations where a character play. What is this character's role in the group? What needs to recall important trivia, when driving a car, sort of person is this character? What sort of moral and when remembering a procedure or law. Sample system does the character subscribe to? Descriptors include: "Fresh Out of the Academy" Discuss this with the other players, and the game's "Street Smart" "Well-Read" "Old Enough to Know moderator. Brainstorm. Make sure everyone is Better" comfortable; you are as responsible for everyone SENSE is the character's ability to acquire and else's fun as your own. process information, whether on a conscious or While discussing different character concepts, unconscious level. It's perception, mental quickness, Anne mentions that the SWAT team the group has and raw, uneducated intelligence all rolled into one. been building has no sniper. Cindy says she would Any situation that involves spotting something or like to fill that role, but as a sort of outsider – sizing something up or thinking quickly uses this someone assigned to the team, but not regularly part Trait, such as noticing an ambush, smelling odd of it. Bob likes the idea of some additional tension in chemicals in the air, driving a car (use the higher of the team, and says so. Playing off of this, Cindy Sense or Savvy), applying new knowledge, getting suggests that her sniper, which she is going to call under cover, and reacting to a pulled weapon before "Candy Tyloni," also works for the Mafia, being anyone else. Sample Descriptors include: "Spotting engaged to a man who is secretly part of the Mob. Ambushes" "Fast-Thinking" "Intuition" Dan and Anne both seem to really like this idea, GUTS is the character's ability to deal with and Bob doesn't seem to mind, so Cindy decides to horrible, disturbing things, and the ability to remain

11 CHAPTER TWO PLAYING THE GAME: BASIC CONCEPTS

At the start of any given session (one reasonably continuous block of play on a given day), every player gets a Gift Point. (See the Gifts and Lapses chapter for more information on Gift Points.) In general, the game starts with the game moderator framing a scene: In essence, the game moderator describes the "opening scene", like in a movie or the start of a TV show. The game moderator describes everything except what the protagonists are doing – generally, the players describe what the protagonists are doing at any given moment, though the moderator might start them out in a particular situation. It is the game moderator's job, with the help of everyone else, to provide conflict and pacing for a given scene, and to decide when a scene is over. The other participants generally control the protagonists, describing what they do, but the game moderator generally describes the results of those actions (but see the section on Checks below), though the game moderator can certainly hand such duties over to another player as desired. There aren't any turns, people just talk when they need to, though if things get too raucous, the game moderator can impose a little structure as needed. The game continues in this way – the game moderator describing what's going on, the other participants describing the actions of the protagonists with the game moderator generally (but not always) narrating results, scene after scene, until the story resolves to everyone's satisfaction, or the evening ends. For a long story, it might be best to consider an evening's entertainment as one "episode" or "chapter" in the ongoing story. It may seem hard to decide when a scene, story, or evening should end, but if you've read a book, seen a movie, or watched TV, you already have an intuitive sense of what constitutes a scene. The point of having the game moderator frame scenes is to skip the boring bits and get straight to the drama, and to keep things somewhat coherent and logical. The Rule of Drama So the question is: Where do dice come in? Well, the most Rule of Jared important rule for rolling the dice is called the Rule of Drama, and it's In very early playtests, the Rule of pretty simple: Roll only when it's important. If, in order for the game Drama was originally called the Rule of to get going again, the squad car needs to get fixed... it gets fixed. No Jared, after Jared Sorensen, who wasn't roll needed. Roll only when success OR failure has an effect on the the first to propose the rule but is one of game. Roll when there is tension, when you aren't sure whether a its most vocal proponents. Just giving credit where it's due. character's success or failure would be the most interesting. When

14 rolls are made is generally the game moderator's call, though a player "Appropriate Trait" can always request to roll even if the game moderator says the player Use the descriptions of Traits given in doesn't need to. Chapter One to figure out which Trait Also, one should only make a roll when there is a reasonable applies. Below are some common actions, chance of failure in the game moderator's opinion -- one does not organized by Trait. SAVVY: Figuring something out that usually need to roll in order to walk across the room, no matter how requires logic or book-learning dramatic falling down might be. (Though the player controlling a SENSE: Knowing which way to dodge given protagonist might choose to have the character mess up a bullet/noticing and getting to cover, something that's "easy", if the player feels it is dramatically noticing an ambush appropriate.) GUTS: Doing anythting violent (firing a gun, throwing a punch), hiding or Checks supressing fear or disgust MEAT: Surviving wounds When a protagonist wants to do something that the game moderator RESPONSIBILITY: Avoiding Lapses feels requires a roll, the player rolls a twenty-sided die, seeking to roll (see p. 18-19), getting someone to trust equal to or under the appropriate Trait for that player's protagonist, you, getting someone to believe you such as Guts in order to successfully shoot someone. This is called a INSTINCT: Doing something sneaky (being silent, sneaking up on/shadowing "Check". someone), being creepy and/or The game moderator, based on the guidelines in the previous intimidating chapter, decides upon the Trait that should be used for a given Check. As a shorthand for a particular Check, the rules might refer to, say, an Critical Success "Instinct Check", which would mean a Check where the player is This rule is entirely optional, due to the required to roll equal to or under the Instinct score of that player's fact it makes the game more complicated. However, some people might find the protagonist. extra detail it provides to be interesting. When the Check is successful (i.e. is under or equal to the Trait), if Under the Critical Success rule, if the a degree of success is needed (such as when invoking the Rule of player rolls a number exactly equal to the Currency, below, or for descriptive purposes: more successes means a Trait in question, it's considered a critical more spectacular result), the number rolled is the "degree of success: The player should be allowed to describe a spectacular success on their success". The higher the degree of success, the better the character character's part. A critical success has a did. degree of success of 22. In other words, a higher roll is always better, so long as it is a It may bother some groups that when a success in the first place. Trait is equal to 1, that if the check In fact, if the degree of success is 10 or higher, the player should be succeeds at all then the result is always a critical. Or it may bother the group that allowed to describe what happens, rather than the moderator. the chance of critical success is always the Sometimes the game moderator might want a "degree of failure". same. In that case, use the "Threat That is, she may want to know how badly the character failed when Version" of the Critical Success Rule: If the player rolls over the character's Trait. The degree of failure is the result would indicate a critical success, equal to 21 minus the number rolled. The higher the degree of failure, it is not a sure thing, but merely a "threat" of critical success: the player the worse the character failed. must make another Check Again, if you fail a Check, a higher roll is better. against the raw, unmodified Bonuses or penalties may be applied to a Check by the Trait. If that second Check is GM, to represent an unusually easy or difficult task, to successful, the original Check is represent a degree of opposition, or as a result of the Rule a critical success. If the second Check fails, the first Check is of Currency (see below). They usually vary no more than 5 in treated an ordinary success. either direction, though extremely difficult tasks might have a penalty as high as -10. A bonus is a temporary increase to the Trait in question for the purposes of that one Check only, and a 15 CHAPTER THREE THE HEART OF THE GAME: GIFTS AND LAPSES

Multiple Gifts Suggestions If a Gift would A player may want to add details to a scene, challenge more than just to make the scene more interesting. While one player's character, such a detail is subject to veto by everyone then all the players involved in the scene (including the game involved (and, as moderator, whose job it is normally to produce usual, the game moderator) may veto such details), it can be used as a device to make – and if any one of the game more interesting in general. them vetos, the Gift Assuming no one vetoes the suggestion, it doesn't happen. On becomes "reality" for the game. the other hand, the However, if a suggestion presents a moral player offering the Gift gets one Gift challenge to a protagonist, it's a special case: A Point for every Gift. character involved in the Gift if it is The Rule of Gifts accepted (except that This rule is designed to allow players to player's own highlight another player's character and gain a character). Similarly, if reward for doing so. When giving a Gift, a multiple players come player adds a detail or situation to a scene that up with a Gift idea challenges another player's character (character, together, they all earn not player) in an ethical, moral, or emotional Gift Points if the Gift is accepted, each way. Any detail not covered yet by the game moderator is fair game earning the same amount of Gift Points one player would've. for a Gift. The game moderator has the right to veto the detail, but is This is a Gift? encouraged not to do so. The player whose character is being It may seem to some people that the challenged may also veto, in which case it is not added to game person accepting the Gift gets nothing. reality. Otherwise, the situation happens as the player describes, and This isn't true. In improv, if someone adds the player who described the situation gains a Gift Point. something to your character, even something "negative", it's considered a Any detail that challenges one of the protagonists in a ethical, gift, and one simply incorporates it into moral, or emotional way is a Gift, even if it comes from the game one's character and moves on. The idea is moderator, who can normally add details to the game at will. The any new detail, good or bad, makes a player whose character it affects can veto any Gift-worthy situation character more interesting. It is from this from the game's moderator, in which case the game moderator cannot improv practice that the Rule of Gifts gets its name. The person getting a Gift may add that detail to the game. The game moderator cannot earn Gift not get a Gift Point, but they get spotlight Points, but otherwise it is like a normal Gift. Similarly, you can give time and an opportunity to develop their your own character a Gift, assuming no game moderator veto, but you character through adversity. earn no Gift Points for doing so. During a firefight with some gang members, Bob decides to give Cindy a Gift. He describes a young gang member – no older than 14 – running away from the scene of the crime, wearing the colors of a

18 gang that the mafia family she's associated with is feuding with. It Social Lapses would be a simple thing for Candy to "accidentally" hit the kid and Sometimes a Lapse doesn't have to be help out the Family a little. Cindy accepts the Gift, and Bob gains a as extreme as a shooting. Depending on Gift Point. the situation, it can be equally brutal for If a Gift is accepted, the player whose character is morally the character to accuse a fellow police challenged must make a Responsibility Check or else the character officer or soldier of being gay given how homophobic the military and some police engages in a Lapse. forces are. Do not overlook the possibility that a character's Lapse may involve an Lapses acid tongue rather than a fist. Also, don't Under stress, it is difficult to maintain one's sense of self, to forget cowardice. Sometimes the worst remember to think about the moral implications of one's actions. It is thing you can do is run away, particularly much easier to act on instinct. when innocent lives are at stake. If there is a stressful situation going on, usually as set up by a Gift, Where the Hell Did That the game moderator may call for a Responsibility Check, especially Come From? when there is an obvious advantage to an ethical compromise. If the Check succeeds, the character acts as the player wishes. If the Check When a Lapse happens, what your character does during a Lapse is a gift fails, the character suffers a Lapse. The GM should modify the Check from the other players. It may seem odd, according to the situation; it is easier to resist shooting an unarmed but it's true. If they give your character a stranger than someone you just saw kill one of your companions. Lapse that is extremely in line with your When suffering a moral Lapse, the player loses control of the character, they're showing their enjoyment character. The character takes the easy way out. The character kills a of the concept. If they have your character act in a way you wouldn't expect, they're prisoner rather than taking the prisoner with him, fires at civilians, or adding something to your character. A whatever seems appropriate at the time. Usually the most brutal or Lapse can be an opportunity to discover ruthless action, in context, is taken. Sometimes it is just a matter of something about your character that even chickening out. Sometimes the worst thing to do is to run away, you weren't aware of. Either way, it's a gift. abandoning your companions. Remember the All of the players of the game except the player whose character is Toymaker's Joy? experiencing the Lapse, including the moderator, vote on what the character would do, based on the situation and the character's It may annoy some players that they background. The moderator breaks ties, but the player who normally lose control of the character during a Lapse. This is not a punishment, it's a runs the character has no say whatsoever. chance to bask in the toymaker's joy: It's Since there are no pre-set options to vote on, a brainstorming fun to watch other players play with the session, taking into account the character and his options, usually character you made. Also, remember that precedes the vote, where everyone discusses possible things that the your character Lapses, you are not character can do. The character's player is encouraged to participate in helpless. Even if your character is dead, you can still give Gifts. Gifts and this discussion, but ultimately has no control once the issue finally suggestions, not the characters, are the comes to vote. primary interface to the game. The player whose character is suffering a Lapse is encouraged to Just To Be Clear help add details to the Lapse, to make it more meaningful, while maintaining the spirit of what the vote. In fact, everyone is Gifts can only given to Protagonists. If encouraged to add details to the character's story to enhance the effect you want to put supporting cast (regardless of who is in control) into a morally of the Lapse, though the one veto power the player whose character is interesting situation, you can suggest that, in the middle of the Lapse has is over such details, if not over what but it is not a Gift. the character actually does. By default, the player of the Lapsing character describes the Lapse, and the player is encouraged to create, and elaborate on, the internal justification for the Lapse. 19 CHAPTER SIX ENDINGS, DEATH AND RETIREMENT

purposes of the Last Chance and other rules relating End of an Evening to death, this is the same as dying. There will often be a point where the group will Regardless, it is up to the group if a new character want to stop and continue later. Perhaps you are at the is built like a starting character, or if the character logical end of an "episode" or a "chapter", or perhaps starts out with some more points for Traits. This is a you've just run out of time. Regardless, you want to judgment call that should be made at the time it end the session and continue at a later date. comes up. Generally, there is nothing wrong with At the end of any play session where a character starting out with a "weaker" character in Unsung, as had a Lapse, the player who normally controls that such a character can contribute as much as any other character makes final Responsibility Check. If it to the story, and the player has the same ability to succeeds, the character realizes that he's suffered a give Gifts. moral lapse, and reacts to this fact in future sessions, Retirement points are lost when a character dies or as the player feels appropriate. If the Check fails, is otherwise permanently removed from the game. reduce the character's Responsibility permanently by However, the new character starts with a number of 1 (and raise the character's Instinct by one); whether Retirement Points equal to the currently-active the character notices or not is up to the player. If a character with the lowest number of Retirement character Lapses a lot during a given session, the Points. game moderator may choose to penalize the Check. The end of a session is a good time to spend Gift Last Chance Points to change character Descriptors or Traits, Death should always have impact in an Unsung though technically this can be done at any time. game, and the players are encouraged to make use of Also, though it is the end of the session, remember Gift and any other mechanics in the game to make that at the start of every session, each player gets a this so. Note that impact is not the same thing as Gift Point. This is given out at the start rather than "meaning." It is possible for a character to have a the end of the session to encourage the player to use "meaningless" death from a gangbanger in the it during the session in question. middle of the ghetto, so long as another character -- a Ending a session is just a temporary hiatus for protagonist or a moderator character that interacts everyone involved. There are two ways a character regularly with the protagonists -- is affected can permanently leave the game: death or retirement. emotionally by it. One way emotional impact is encouraged is Death through the Last Chance, a variant of the Rule of Player character death is not the end of the game Gifts. for the player. Unspent Gift Points are associated In any situation where the character is about to go with the player, not a particular character. Down (and therefore risk death), even after failing In fact, a player should not feel obligated to create a the appropriate Check, or even after failing the final new character immediately. The player can continue check for character death, the player of that character to give Gifts and receive and use Gift Points even can invoke the Last Chance. without a character. Remember, it is the Gift system In essence, the player describes a new detail to the that is your true interface to the game. scene, even a slight change to the situation, even up Also, certain events – like hard jail time – might to a few seconds retroactively (unlike a normal Gift). also logically remove a character from play. For the This detail must be such that it could save the

30 character, but at the risk of a Lapse for one of the protagonists – not necessarily the character getting the Last Chance. The game moderator or any player whose character is present in the New Protagonists scene may veto the Last Chance. Also, a character that goes Down New characters start with the same and/or dies as the result of a conflict with another protagonist cannot number of Retirement Points as the active character with the lowest number of use the Last Chance. This is not to encourage fighting between Retirement Points. protagonists, but because any fight with protagonists is likely already fraught with emotion, so there is no need to add any -- or to take Always A Last Chance away the sting of having killed a comrade. The rule where there is no Last Chance Candy has been shot by a gang member, and goes Down. Knowing if another protagonist is involved was the she has a high penalty to her Meat check from Candy being Tagged cause of some bitterness during one earlier, Cindy opts to invoke the Last Chance. She describes how playtest. I stand by the original design of the game, but if your group feels it is too Candy pushes Billy (Bob's protagonist) in the way of incoming fire, harsh, feel free to allow the Last Chance avoiding being hit but causing Billy to be hit instead, an action which regardless of circumstances. certainly risks a Lapse from Billy, and probably even a Responsibility But At A Price check for Candy. No one disagrees with the detail, so the Last Chance becomes fact. If the group is worried about over-use of the Last Chance, use this optional rule: Other Last Chances Invoking a Last Chance costs a Gift Point, or every use of the Last Chance for a Note that any other player can try to save another player's character character beyond the first in a given using a Gift or suggestion, but such Gifts or suggestions are subject session costs a Gift Point. to all the normal rules, including vetoes. This means that unlike a Even More Final Rewards Last Chance, the detail added cannot be slightly retroactive and not even a small detail about the scene can be changed -- just added to. Under this optional rule, when someone On the other hand, if the saved character is morally challenged by the other than the player whose character died earns a Gift Point using the Final Gift, the Gift, the player who suggested the Gift gets a Gift Point, as normal. dead character's player also gets a Gift Point. The idea here to further reward a The Final Gift player for creating a character interesting On the other hand, if the player does not invoke and moving enough to warrant the Last Chance, once one is sure the character is honoring by the other players. dead, there is the Final Gift, another variant of The Campaign Rule the Rule of Gifts. At the time of the character's This optional rule is for games death, other players gain Gift Points by that have a particular honoring the character somehow. A player "thrust" to them, such as could narrate a montage of the character's life. taking down a particular Another could soliloquize over the body about drug lord. In essence, his feelings for his lost comrade. Another could narrate some effect Endgame cannot be declared unless the Retirement Point minimum is met and a on the soldier that killed the dead character. Any of these are subject particular in-game condition is met, like to veto by the player of the deceased character and the game "take down Fat Charlie or die." moderator, but otherwise earn the player honoring the dead a Gift This can also be accomplished by a Point. Even the player whose character died can earn a Gift Point this "gentleman's agreement" between the way. players not to end the game "too soon", or it can be done by setting the Endgame Retirement and Endgame condition to a very high amount and giving a huge Retirement Point bonus to At the end of any session where a character has at least 50 all characters on a goal's completion. Retirement Points, a player can declare Endgame. That is, at this

31 CHAPTER SEVEN SETTING SUGGESTIONS

Below are some ideas for settings to use with indeed, from the LA Law model to the legal half of Unsung. In essence, it's a list of thumbnailed stories the Law and Order model. that you can tell in your games. By no means should Potential Missions: arresting a perpetrator, dealing you feel limited by them; they are just suggestions. with a hostage situation, responding to a call for help, At the end of each section is a brief list of potential getting to and defusing a bomb, stopping a sniper, missions that one might engage in when playing a prosecuting a criminal, solving a murder, game in such a setting. After that, there will be a investigating internal corruption, covering up internal more detailed example mission, which lists the corruption, tracking down a burglar, breaking a drug mission and the factors for that mission – but leaves ring, stopping a gang war ranking those factors up to the game moderator. In Detailed Example: The protagonists have to arrest some cases, I'll mention TV shows or other media a famous "gangsta" rap star for drug charges while he that might be inspirational for that setting. More is visiting his ex-wife deep in gang territory, in the details on inspirational material can be found in the slums. The arrest has to go down now because he's Premise and Credits chapter. hard to track down otherwise, and because he might leave the local jurisdiction if he was aware of what Cops was up. The factors are speed, stealth, equipment, One of the settings that works best for Unsung is and publicity – the latter in the sense of avoiding police officers. In particular, I've found a game publicity. surrounding a SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) team to be especially practical and fun. For one thing, Robbers it allows one to focus on the high-pressure situations On the other side of the coin is playing a criminal. that Unsung thrives on. Secondly, you can put all the Unsung works the best in an "honor among thieves" protagonists on the same team. Aside from a SWAT sort of situation, such as when the protagonists are team, any form of "special unit" works for this style members of or connected to the mob, like in The of play, from the sort of team you see in Law and Sopranos or The Godfather and its sequels. Order: Special Victims Unit to the "anti-gang" unit in Similarly, a touch of the exotic can be added, while The Shield. adding a different kind of honor, by having the The primary alternative is the "detectives and their protagonists be members of the a Japanese Yakuza partners" model, like Law and Order or Homicide: family (think Crying Freeman) or a Chinese Triad Life on the Street. The problem with this is it sort of society, like in Hong Kong action movies such as A separates the group out if there are more than two Better Tomorrow or The Killer. protagonists, though it can work with some care, Also, the "team of specialized crooks" model switching between scenes so everyone can share the makes for a good short-term game, based on the spotlight, and those not involved giving Gifts to those model of The Usual Suspects or even Ocean's Eleven. that are. Potential Missions: killing a target, protecting an A good game can also be made out of beat cops, so important criminal personage, negotiating with long as one is careful to frame the scenes to focus on another criminal organization, robbing a casino, the interesting bits. Rookie cops, in particular, have a getting revenge, setting up blackmail, intimidating a lot of potential. witness, dumping a body, finding a buyer for stolen Ranging out a bit, a game centering on lawyers – goods, wiping out a rival gang perhaps a law firm – could be very interesting Detailed Example: The protagonists have to

33 silence, ideally through intimidation rather than For that reason, more modern wars work best for murder, a witness for an upcoming trial that the Unsung. Both World Wars, the Korean War (think of Family is concerned about. A spy inside the police the more serious moments of M*A*S*H), the Boer department has tipped the Family off as to where the War, and, of course, the Vietnam War all make good witness is, and the protagonists have to take care of subjects. There is a host of source material for the the problem before the witness is moved again. The Vietnam conflict in particular, from Full Metal Jacket factors are speed, stealth, willingness to use lethal to Platoon to the "soldier coming home" story of force on the witness, and willingness to tangle with Born on the Fourth of July the police. If you're willing to get potentially political, assuming some sensitivity on the part of everyone Wild West involved, the recent two U.S./Iraq wars make As a sort of sub-genre of either "cops" or excellent source material. This is especially good if "robbers," there's the Wild West. The protagonists one of the players doesn't want to play a soldier, in could be an outlaw gang, or a sheriff and his posse, that an interesting protagonist can be made out of a who were often no better than an outlaw gang. A reporter embedded with a particular unit. game featuring a team of freelance bounty hunters For that matter, a small press team assigned to a has a lot of potential, as well. war zone can make an interesting set of protagonists, Unsung works best for gritty versions of the genre, as such people can rarely avoid taking sides, but such as seen in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly or there is more freedom of action for such characters. The Unforgiven. Also, consider the religious angle: The modern era aside, some older wars have a lot anyone who has studied the history of the Mormons of potential. The Hundred Years War, in particular, knows that that religious sect went through a very was filled with all sorts of conflicting loyalties and "Wild West" period in establishing themselves. moral choices, charged by a warped (by modern The concept of the frontier is eternal, making this a standards) sense of religion, politics, and glory. Also, good genre to mix with others. there is a lot of potential in the Roman Empire… Potential Missions: robbing a train, capturing a Don't limit yourself to real wars, either, if that's not wanted outlaw, establishing a homestead, rustling your thing. Wars from fiction, or futuristic and/or cattle, protecting homesteaders and their assets, fantasy wars created by the group from whole cloth, getting revenge have a lot of dramatic potential as well. Consider Detailed Example: The protagonists are trying to Tolkien's War of the Ring from the perspective of the find a wanted outlaw with a bounty on his head, and grunt soldier, or even from the perspective of an orc return him dead or alive to appropriate – paying – in Sauron's armies, or one of the small knots of men authorities. The factors are willingness to deal with who served the Lidless Eye. Indians, willingness to spread around cash to get Potential Missions: ambushing the enemy, information, willingness to get rough (for both scouting, engaging an enemy force, pacifying the information and for dealing with the quarry), populace, engaging in propaganda, spying, supplies (how much you take with you), and horses sabotaging enemy resources, recruiting, investigating (as in quality and care thereof). war crimes, guarding an important asset Detailed Example: The protagonists are supposed Soldiers to infiltrate an enemy base and sabotage its War is hell, and there are a lot of moral choices to generators. The factors are resources (i.e. equipment make during war. Since World War II, people have and supplies), intelligence (both gathering realized that "I was just following orders" is no intelligence and using it in planning), speed, and longer an excuse. Plus the advantage is all the valor (as in, how willing to die are you in order to protagonists can be part of the same unit, usually a accomplish the mission). squad, or even a working group of commandos. 34 Special Forces Special Forces deserve separate mention, as they are sort of halfway between police and soldiers, since they are often called upon to deal with terrorism. From America's Delta Force to Germany's anti- terrorist GSG-9, Special Ops operate in a gray area that is excellent fodder for Unsung, as long as the emphasis is on realistic situations. (Unsung is not suited for Tom Clancy-style dwelling on minutiae.) The important thing is the drama inherent in doing something like secretly organizing a coup. The main appeal is the variety – Special Forces do everything from slitting the throats of the enemy to anti-terrorism to intelligence. Potential Missions: stopping a weapons of mass destruction program, rescuing hostages, training foreign guerrillas, engaging in deep reconnaissance, seizing a key enemy installation, engaging in psychological warfare, fighting guerrillas, degrading enemy intelligence gathering, creating spoof intelligence, rescuing prisoners of war, engineering a coup Detailed Example: The protagonists have to parachute into a position deep behind enemy lines, Noir plant charges in key positions in the enemy camp, What makes better Unsung material than the and return alive. The factors are morale (including detective novel? This is the genre that defined the unwillingness to leave a team member behind), "gritty", after all. equipment, intelligence, stealth, valor, endurance, and Put the protagonists to work for the same detective speed. Who said being Special Forces was easy? agency in 1920s New York city, turn up the heat, and Espionage simmer. Everything else practically writes itself. Watch a few Bogart films to get the feel, and be Any war needs intelligence. But even when there sure to read a couple Raymond Chandler novels to isn't a war going on, spying continues. get a sense of twisted plotting. Unsung is most suitable for gritty, Cold War and Potential Missions: investigating murders, post-Cold War sort of games. The James Bond take investigating fraud, tailing unfaithful spouses, on the genre is a little over the top – and too morally avoiding a murder rap simple, fun though it is – for Unsung. Instead, Detailed Example: The protagonists are supposed consider movies like The Spy Who Came In From to prove a rich husband's infidelity, at the behest of the Cold and Ronin (the movie with Robert DeNiro). his wife. The factors are sheer stubbornness (as in a The best espionage games for the purposes of willingness to get to the bottom of a case no matter Unsung focus on a flashpoint, a situation where what), suspicion (as in having a cynical evaluation of enemies become friends and vice-versa, and no one people's motives), and violence (as in the willingness knows what person to trust, as everyone's loyalties to use violence and/or the threat of it). begin to shift. Potential Missions: photographing vital 35 installations, attempting to cultivate a long-term planet to join a civilized structure, dealing with mole, acquiring corporate secrets, setting up refugees, smuggling, investigating corruption, blackmail, recruiting agents, stalking a known spy, shutting down an illegal cloning operation, creating raiding an enemy spy ring, spreading disinformation, life, teaching a robot about emotion, researching a sabotaging an asset, spreading propaganda, guarding primitive culture without damaging the culture, an important person, kidnapping, extracting a engineering a robot rebellion friendly person held by a hostile force, arranging a Detailed Example: The protagonists have found out coup, plugging an intelligence leak, smuggling, that their primary informant in the shadow war hacking computers against invading aliens is, in fact, one of the shadowy Detailed Example: The protagonists have to aliens disguised as a human. They have to protect him assassinate another spy before the spy leaves Paris against his fellow aliens, who have found out his with certain information. Of course, they have to find treachery... or kill him so he doesn't double-cross him first. The factors are money (this includes money them. The factors are caution (trust no one), violence for bribes and for equipment), discretion, and co- (as in willingness to use it), stealth and loyalty. ordination (as in how closely the team members are in sync with each other). Post-Apocalypse This is a sub-genre of science fiction that deserves Science Fiction special mention, sometimes straddling the line Really, it's unfair to try to categorize all the types of between SF and the Wild West as well. After science fiction out there. It's a genre that's too wide to civilization has collapsed – due to war or something cover all at once. else – what do you do? In a lot of ways, for the purposes of Unsung, The issue of what you're willing to do to survive, as science fiction is best combined with some of the well as the issues that often crop up in the genre types of games already covered. Combine the Wild involving people attempting to re-establish West with SF and you get Firefly. Combine science civilization, put it right in this genre right in the fiction (and a touch of horror and espionage) with middle of the sort of themes Unsung is meant to "cops" and you get The X-Files. In fact, the whole explore. Not to mention the sort of gritty atmosphere "conspiracy" genre makes for excellent Unsung most examples of the genre encourage are an material, as loyalties shift and strange revelations – excellent match for Unsung. which make excellent Gifts – change the map of In general, we're talking the literary treatment of character connections. the genre, rather than the usually more gonzo Science fiction works best with Unsung when there cinematic treatment of the genre. We're talking A are issues of morality, society, or honor involved. Canticle for Leibowitz, Damnation Alley, "A Boy and Think Andromeda, Babylon 5, Dune, Downbelow His Dog", Day of the Triffids, and Alas, Babylon… Station or even Star Trek (some of the time), as not Six String Samurai, Terminator or Zardoz. In role- opposed to more morally black-and-white stuff like playing games, a lot of inspiration can come from Star Wars, Battlefield Earth, or the Lensmen series. The Morrow Project and Twilight 2000. The potential missions listed below are only a Potential Missions: finding sustenance, finding smattering of the things the genre can support – use needed technology (like a water chip), acquiring the freedom provided by the genre to create "thought weapons, protecting crops from raiders, protecting a experiments" and unusual moral situations that are village from gangs, rescuing someone from mutants, not possible in real life. Consider, for example, the carrying mail to another survivor community, rights of "created" life-forms like robots and transporting medicine, preventing the genocide of a genetically engineered beings. new intelligent species, sabotaging weapons left over Potential Missions: negotiating first contact, from the Last War dealing with alien diplomats, getting a particular Detailed Example: The protagonists have to find 36 and sabotage a live, unused nuclear weapon that is being worshipped Powers by a group of mutants. The factors are respect for mutant life, stealth, This is less a type of game into itself as technical know-how, willingness to use violence, and willingness to it is an add-on that is relevant to the more negotiate. fantastic genres. In essence, I'm suggesting a way to handle super-normal "powers" in Time Travel Unsung, from psychic powers to magick to cybernetic implants, as such powers are Another science fiction sub-genre worth mentioning is a time travel common in some genres. story. The main advantage is the palette: a wide variety of potential The problem with protagonists with the situations throughout history, and some unusual dilemmas: Is killing sorts of "powers" or super-normal abilities Hitler actually a good idea? that set them off from "normal" people is that they can take a lot of focus away from One interesting take on this genre is to combine it with espionage, the moral center of the game. One way to and have the protagonist characters all part of an organization that is prevent this is to specify that whenever battling another time-travelling organization, each with their own one of these powers are used, that there goals regarding the timeline. should be a Responsibility Check – at a Potential Missions: killing Hitler, saving Hitler from an lesser or greater penalty depending how powerful the special ability is – or else the assassination attempt, correcting one's own mistakes in the past, character Lapses. This returns the focus to preventing a robot rebellion in the future, creating a backup copy of the moral choices the character makes. the Library of Alexandria When one can read minds or fire bullets Detailed Example: The protagonists have traveled forward in time from one's hand, the temptation to use that to assassinate the man who will be instrumental in leading the Robot ability unethically is very strong. Some groups might even use such a roll in Rebellion. The factors are ruthlessness, equipment, and caution situations where the protagonists greatly (which includes an unwillingness to perturb the timeline more than is outclass their opponents technologically, necessary). such as a colonial-age game where the protagonists are "pacifying" Cyberpunk tribes that don't have access to Anyone who is familiar with this sub- firearms. Another, less "high focus" possibility is making a genre of science fiction knows how it relates rule that using supernormal to Unsung. A slowly decaying society, powers doesn't trigger a Lapse, dehumanizing tech, and a mission-based but rather earns you a criminal underworld: What's not to love? Responsibility Check at the end Though somewhat 1980s in its orientation, of the session, just as if you Lapsed, with possible nearly all the major themes of cyberpunk literature – especially as Responsibility loss. One might also want exemplified by William Gibson's work – cut straight to the core of to charge a Gift Point or a Retirement the sorts of issues that Unsung is concerned with tackling. And the Point every time such powers or issues of corporations out of control, and its effect on people on the technology is used. bottom rungs of society's ladder, is still relevant today. Also, here might be a chance of death upon using one's powers. Maybe a Meat And don't forget the post-cyberpunk treatment of such themes, such Check when using certain "unusual" as the splintered society in The Diamond Age. Nanotech can be just abilities, or else the character goes Down as interesting for setting up moral issues as cybertech, and computers (or is only Tagged, if you're feeling nice). are more relevant than ever. Or perhaps the group might create a Potential Missions: breaking into a corporate data vault, special "Power Point" rule. One Power Point is gained whenever a protagonist kidnapping, extracting a person held by a hostile corporation, uses a psychic power or whatnot. When a acquiring black market technology, founding a safe enclave, certain number of Power Points are protecting family from corporate exploitation, starting a rebellion reached (perhaps determined by the GM in Detailed Example: An anonymous bigwig has hired the secret), the character's head explodes, or protagonists to break into a secure corporate facility and steal a the character dies or is forced to Retire in some similarly spectacular fashion. 37 hyperintelligent breed of fauna that's been genetically game, makes excellent Unsung material. Consider a engineered there. It is best to use the "Lone Wolf" game where the protagonists have become vampires, option with this mission, with each protagonist and now must figure out how to survive without listing his priorities separately. The factors are team becoming completely inhuman. Inspiration can come co-ordination, equipment, stealth, intelligence, and from the novel Sunglasses After Dark and the willingness to sacrifice another team member to sequels, for example. achieve the goal. On the other hand, consider a game where the protagonists hunt vampires… who turn out to be Fantasy surprisingly human. There is a lot of Unsung We're talking wizards, elves, and magic. Like SF, potential there. Is what the hunters are doing actually this is a very broad genre, and covers a lot of ground. right? Is it okay to kill, even "monsters", if the When it comes to fantasy, the best match for monsters have feelings like humans do? Unsung is something low-magic and down-and-dirty, Also, consider the "thriller" part of the genre. with a certain amount of moral ambiguity. The Hunting a serial killer makes for an interesting version of the genre where the good are very good Unsung story, particularly if the killer preys on those and the evil are very evil are not a good match, the protagonists would consider to be society's instead we're talking something more morally grey, "undesirables." Also, consider the difficulties in like in the Conan stories or the Fafhrd and the Grey tracking and defeating a supernatural serial killer, Mouser stories. If you want more magic, moral such as in the movie Fallen. issues still have to have some relevance, or at least Potential Missions: destroying a vampire, finding must be greyer, such as in Nine Princes in Amber or prey, finding safety, banishing a demon, dying Elric of Melnibone. without becoming a monster, investigating a Like science fiction, consider mixing with the supernatural death, acquiring revenge on a other genres mentioned so far. A mercenary company supernatural force, finding defenses against psychic in a fantasy world certainly encounters a lot of powers interesting situations, for example… Detailed Example: Figure out what's been leaving Potential Missions: rescuing a princess, stealing a bloodless corpses all around town and stop it from magickal sword, preventing a war, assassinating a killing again. The factors are speed, caution (as in prince, guarding a king, binding a spirit, starting a being careful with one's own skin), and the war, banishing a god, raiding a village, acquiring willingness to deal with demons to gain information... slaves, rescuing a unicorn Detailed Example: The protagonists are planning Superheroes to break into a wizard's tower and steal a gigantic In a lot of ways, the world of a comic-book ruby that is rumored to be stored there. The factors superhero combines all the genres mentioned so far, are stealth, magick, planning, and valor. though in a way that sometimes tends to overwhelm the game in bizarre detail. Horror For the reason, as might be expected, Unsung Again, this is a rather broad genre. Unsung works works best on the postmodern low-power end of the best when there is more than just fear involved, or genre, from gritty vigilantes like the Punisher to else the game just degenerates to a lot of Guts something like the Wild Cards series of novels or Checks. It's not just a matter of running from the The Watchmen. monster, as it is deciding if you should leave your It's like the classic Spiderman quote: With great friends behind in order to escape the thing that's power comes great responsibility. That's the heart of chasing you. a good superhero game using Unsung. Also consider "Personal horror", where the characters have the fringes of the genre, such as Martial Law. become tainted by the more horrific aspects of the Potential Missions: thwarting a bank robbery, 38 CHAPTER EIGHT PREMISE AND CREDITS

mention here, but in particular, I'd like to mention the Premise following: Mike "Grognard" Holmes for excellent "Are morals a luxury?" suggestions regarding the Death section (including Unsung aims for a situation where the characters the Final Gift), not to mention the suggestion for the are struggling to uphold a system of morals in a Retirement system, and for being reality police. difficult situation. That is, one is not free until one Nathan "Paganini" Banks for a discussion that spends time thinking and acting according to one's inspired the "Death" section. Tim "Sidhain" Kirk for morals, rather than relying on knee-jerk reactions, the original Mission system. Jack Spencer Jr. for which are as much a prison and anything made of some suggestions about combat. Ralph "Valamir" stone and iron. Mazza for all sorts of advice, even if I didn't take it The Lapse system and the Gift system are, indeed, all. Alexander "Does It All" Cherry, for helping the heart of the game. What happens when you lose streamline the Gift system and Gift Point system, not control? How do you deal with it? How about when to mention some refinements of the combat system you're given the opportunity to become a hero? and ideas for the "Powers" sidebar. Jon "Grader" The moral and ethical issues that the game is Lemich for suggesting several optional rules intended to be useful in invoking include but are not (including the Campaign Rule), and for serving as an limited to: unpaid editor, along with too many to mention on the • racism Forge. • sexism I'd also like to mention the games that influenced • jingoism the design of this game: Fading Suns (for its basic • homophobia (heterosexism) dice mechanic). Sorcerer (for the Rule of Currency). • classism Vampire: The Masquerade (which influenced how I • globalization (and provincialism) handled Lapses). Pendragon (which influenced the • animal rights (including the issue of what it Responsibility vs. Instinct mechanic). OctaNe (which means to be human -- SF is good for this) inspired the Rule of Drama). Dungeons and Dragons • autonomy and self-determination (both 3rd Edition (which influenced the optional "threat" individually and in government) rule for criticals). • the interface between ethics and politics This game is dedicated to my wife, everyone who • scientific ethics (progress and technology) has risked their lives for something they believed in... • honor (especially in the face of violence) and those who risked their lives even without • basic respect for others ("gentility") something to believe in. Special thanks to my • the ethics of force playtesters: Dana "Sniper" Bartilucci, Alexander Yes, these are controversial, hot-button issues, and "Gift" Cherry, Mike "Ricky" Holmes, Joshua "Frixy" I'm aware of this, and sensitive to this. It is expected Kashinsky, Howard "Geek" Kellick, Jon "Roach" that the players will handle these issues, if and when Lemich, Jamie "Imperative" Lynn, Scott "Cleaner" they come up, in a mature and sensitive fashion. Mathis, Andrew "Cigar" Portner, Russ "Gamist" Rosin, Colin "Paladin" Sandel, Emily "Ewoks" Credits Shoop, and James "Irish" Spahn. In general, I'd like to thank the regulars of the I'm also very pleased by my artists: Paul Daly, Forge (http://www.indie-rpgs.com) for their Michael Franchina, Benjamin Gonzalez, "Gifny" comments and suggestions. There are too many to Richatas, Bradley K. McDevitt, and Michael Yatscar.

40 Inspiration Below is various media that helped inspire Unsung, and might About Ivanhoe Unbound help inspire you as well, organized by the type of media. This list is Let's be honest: Ivanhoe Unbound is a just a smattering, and doesn't even cover all the media mentioned in tiny, tiny RPG imprint. I'm the sole owner the previous chapter, just the "highlights". (if you can call it that) and author. To give credit where credit is due, I'd like to thank Television Ivanhoe Productions (a LARP (live-action Andromeda. Although it has gone downhill as of late, this series, roleplay) group I'm associated with) and fellow LARPer and graphic designer Jim particularly in its first season, mines a lot of golden veins of Olsen for a name and a logo, though I Unsung-worthy material. Consider the main character's nearly- modified both to suit my tastes. hopeless quest to restore a lost civilization, or Rev, a religious If you enjoyed this game, you might pacifist of a species that arguably comes very close to being born to want to check out the website, if you didn't evil, and the Nietzscheans alone present all sorts of moral buy the game there in the first place: http://ivanhoeunbound.com questions. This show is an excellent example of how science fiction If you want notification of new Ivanhoe can illuminate unusual moral choices in a "thought experiment" Unbound titles, sign up for the Yahoo kind of way. group (email mailing list), here: Homicide: Life on the Streets. This series, warts and all, inspired http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/IvanhoeUnbound the cop angle for Unsung. It's a shame it's not on anymore. The show is a good example of how to handle an ensemble cast, and proof that nothing drives a plot like murder. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. And speaking of murder, it's notable that this series has a lot of it, despite being about sex crimes. This series is a model for how to handle some very hot- button topics in a tasteful but dramatic fashion. The Shield. If any TV series is must-see Unsung material, this is it. I think every major character Lapses at least once per season, and in some cases as often as once per episode. The feel of this series is very much like an ideal Unsung game. Movies Apocalypse Now. Seriously, if you want to play Unsung in war mode, you need to see this movie. It shows how one big Lapse can drive an entire story. Casablanca. That's one Hell of a moral choice, there at the end of the film. Or is it a Lapse? Chinatown. This is the best modern take on the classic noir genre. I rather like to imagine it like a Gift-giving session gone amok, as the connections become more and more twisted. Full Metal Jacket. A lot of people stop watching the movie after the training sequence, but both halves are worth watching, though the first half is superior for Unsung purposes. Platoon. If you need more inspiration for what can happen during Lapses, go no further than this movie. Oliver Stone may have directed better films, but not for the purposes of highlighting the issues so close to the heart of Unsung 41 of ways, this is a science fiction novel for people who Books hate science fiction. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, A post- Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny. This cyberpunk nanotech novel of fragmented society and novel, and the ones that followed it, shows how to finding meaning, this novel begs to have an Unsung handle the idea that power corrupts stylishly and game based on it. If science fiction isn't your thing, well, and how to keep things very human even in a Stephenson's Zodiac brings a lot of moral issues to world-spanning fantasy plotline. the fore when considering the environment, and is as Paradise Lost by John Milton. Read Lucifer's fresh as today's headlines. speeches for ideas on how one can rationalize a A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Lapse afterwards and turn it into a revolution. Barbara W. Tuchman. This book is non-fiction, but is Religion is a well that has been under-tapped for better reading than a lot of the fiction I could dramatic purposes, for fear of controversy, but it has recommend. This book is why I think the 14th a lot of potential for an interesting Unsung chronicle. century is as good as the modern day for a game of Consider the religious climate that caused Milton to Unsung. Fans of fantasy should read this for a dose of write in the first place. reality, a reminder that the real world is much more Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A Collins. The complicated than anything anyone has imagined. way Sonja Blue is stuck between two worlds, This is not a boring book of history – it's totally between the inhuman and the human, is prime accessible to a layman and exciting as well. Unsung material. And Sonja Blue does it so much Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock. Frankly, more stylishly than the imitators that followed. The anything by Michael Moorcock is bound to examine other Sonja Blue novels are worth checking out, as moral questions, though often in an oddly detached well. way. Sort of a yin to the yang of Zelazny, Moorcock's Elric books examine what it means to be human by Comics contrasting it with the inhuman. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Batman, at his best, is wonderful for bringing a moral dimension to comics. This book, forming an "end" to the Batman mythos, is the best place to start. Just a Pilgrim. Religion, morality, and trying to survive after the Earth has become a desert. Could you ask for anything more? Preacher. Now available in trade paperbacks, Garth The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Ennis's magnum opus shows how not to lose Actually, any Dashiell Hammett novel will do. This humanity when things get supernatural. Keep an eye classic detective novel is wonderful Unsung material, on Cassidy for some serious Unsung-worthy material. full of tough moral choices and menace. Sin City. Film noir never looked so good, in this The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. And if you tale of revenge and redemption. If you don't get want your games even more twisty, check out Unsung ideas after reading this, you ain't human. anything by Raymond Chandler. This novel is a good The Watchmen. This series examines the superhero one to start with -- its twistiness can inspire several in a serious and moral way. Some consider it flawed, games. but it still blazed a trail that's influential to this very Neuromancer by William Gibson. This is the day, and it cuts to the moral heart of the superhero cyberpunk novel. All the Unsung-worthy issues that I genre. mentioned in the last chapter for cyberpunk are touched on in this novel. If you haven't read it, read it Games now, even if science fiction isn't your thing. In a lot For this section, I'm just examining games that 42 inspired the feel of Unsung, rather than the check out this Jared Sorensen mini-supplement for mechanics, which was already covered in the Credits the Sorcerer RPG. section. Sorcerer. Ron Edward's game was one of the first Fading Suns. It didn't just inspire the core to seriously ask the question: What is Humanity? mechanic for this game, it contains a setting filled And are you willing to give it up? Ron Edwards with just the sorts of issues Unsung is concerned influenced this game in more ways than he can know. with. Mix Dune with the Roman Empire and the Vampire: The Masquerade. For all its warts, I Fourteenth Century with a science fiction veneer, and return to this game again and again. When you you get a Passion Play worth experiencing. consider vampirism as a metaphor for the human GURPS. Not the game itself, but the sourcebooks. condition, just "turned up to 11" as it were, the GURPS Cops, GURPS SWAT, GURPS Special Ops, connection to Unsung becomes clear. In some ways, and GURPS Espionage are all invaluable in Unsung is an attempt to strip the supernatural and collecting the dry facts needed to run certain kinds of exaggeration away from that metaphor. Unsung games, presented in an engaging and game- ready fashion. This is the dirty secret of the GURPS sourcebook: half the people who buy a given sourcebook don't play GURPS, but appreciate the research the GURPS team does for gaming purposes. Check 'em out. The Morrow Project. Though it shows its age, this game has an interesting premise: The protagonists are teams of people cryogenically frozen during the 1980s, revived after a nuclear war to try to bring back civilization. The potential for moral conflict, in the form of modern morals verses post- apocalypse pragmatism, is great. The game itself dwells a little too much on equipment and fighting, but the moral conflicts are there, especially in some of the scenarios written for the game. Schism. If you intend to run an Unsung game with psychic powers, be sure to 43 GLOSSARY

This section defines several of the game terms used version of Dungeons and Dragons, and is very different in aim in Unsung. Also, it defines several terms in common and in how it is played. use in other role-playing games – including common Degree of Failure: If a Check is over the modified Trait level, abbreviations – in Unsung terms, for experienced the degree of failure is 21 minus the number rolled. The higher gamers and people who are dealing with experienced the degree of Failure, the worse the character screwed up. A gamers and want to know what the heck they're higher roll is always better. talking about. Degree of Success: If a Check is under or equal to the modified Trait level, the degree of success is the number rolled. Adventure: This is sometimes used to refer to what Unsung A higher degree of success indicates a more spectacular success. would call a Mission, and sometimes used to refer to what A higher roll is always better, so long as it's a success. Unsung would call a Session. Sometimes it refers to a pre- created, published scenario, of which none exist for Unsung. Descriptor: An adjective, noun, or phrase that one would (Games that rely more on defeating tactical challenges, such as associate with a given character and a given Trait. Appropriate Dungeons and Dragons, have more need for such things.) Descriptors grant bonuses on Checks. See the Protagonists chapter and the Basic Concepts chapter for more details. Attribute: A lot of games use the word "Attribute" for what Unsung would call a Trait. DM: See "Dungeon Master". Some people have the habit of saying "DM" when they mean "GM". Botch: A Critical Failure (see below). Drama, Rule of: See "Rule of Drama". Campaign: A series of game sessions combined in one overarching story. A series, or "book" of connected games, Dungeon Master: This is the term used in Dungeons and usually featuring the same characters and/or the same continuity. Dragons for the game moderator.

Check: When a player tries to roll equal to or under a Doubling Down Rule: A way to increase the bonus gained particular Trait on a twenty-sided die to determine success or from an Instinct Check, at the risk of a Lapse. See the Gifts and failure. Lapses chapter for details.

Class: Some games use this to refer to a particular game- Down: When a character is effectively out of a fight, either mandated role or job, with certain game-mechanical effects. unconscious or in a blind, useless panic. See the Shootouts Unsung does not use classes. chapter for details.

Critical: A Critical Success or Critical Failure, depending on Endgame: A chance for everyone to narrate a reasonable context. ending for everyone's characters. See the Endings, Death, and Retirement chapter for more details. Critical Failure: A seriously, spectacularly bad failure, a botch. These exist in some games, but not in Unsung. There's Final Gift: A way of earning a Gift Points by commemorating plenty of trouble and angst to go around without having to create a fallen protagonist. See the Endings, Death, and Retirement more at random... chapter for more details.

Critical Success: An amazing success. These exist in Unsung Game Moderator: The person who runs non-protagonist only if an optional rule to allow them is being used. characters most of the time, frames scenes, maintains pacing, and tries to prevent the story coherent and non-contradictory. Currency, Rule of: See "Rule of Currency." Game Moderator Character: Supporting cast. A GMC is a d20: A twenty-sided die. By extension, a d6 would be a six- character that is usually (but not always – see the uses of Gift sided die, etc. Points) controlled by the game moderator.

d20 System: This is NOT the system Unsung uses, though Gift: A situation added to the game by any participant that Unsung uses a d20. It's the generic system used in the current morally challenges a protagonist. A form of Suggestion. 44