The Pie Room
I wasn't going to do one of these, because I didn't think I had any particular "style." But then I realized, to my chagrin, that I kind of do...
The Pie Room
A game for one GM/NPC and an infinitely expansible ball of PCs
*****
INTRODUCTION
We're all familiar with the classic, bare-bones dungeon encounter: a 10 x 10 room with an orc. Normally, the orc would be guarding a treasure chest -- but this one is guarding a pie!
What happened to the treasure?
What kind of pie is it?
What sinister force is twisting this innocent dungeon to their vile will?
Find out... in The Pie Room
PREPARATION FOR PLAY
Each player should choose some pre-existing character or person that they want to play. This is much easier than actually creating new ones. Characters may be drawn from fiction, mythology, history -- whatever, really, so long as the GM isn't doing any of the work.
Each player must then come up with up to four "powers" that are appropriate for their character. These "powers" may also be called "spells," "abilities," "tricks," "miracles," etc. -- we recommend using a different term for each character, just for the hell of it. There is no practical limit to what these cantrips can do, but each one should be carefully presented to and approved by the GM. If a player is stuck coming up with appropriate moves for their character, the GM should feel free to suggest that they consult the source material or wikipedia, or failing all else just switch characters.
Players should create a physical character sheet for themselves that includes both their character's Limit Breaks and also their "statistics." We recommend the standard D&D 2nd Edition set, but players may choose their own favorite system (WoW, Fallout, etc.) as these will not actually be used in gameplay at any point.
RULES OF PLAY
The game lasts for an hour, or until the pie is eaten, destroyed or otherwise put beyond the reach of the PCs.
As the game begins, the PCs have just entered the 10x10 room, and the door has sealed behind them. The lights come on to reveal an orc standing in front of a small table with a fresh blueberry pie on it. A malevolent laugh comes from nowhere and echoes briefly through the chamber.
The PCs now attempt to gain control of the pie.
Action immediately pauses, as the GM/orc laboriously walks through characters all attempting to use their abilities at once. Characters may speak, pausing combat indefinitely (even in the middle of a round). Initiative should be determined at some point.
CHARACTER MATERIALS
See "Preparation for Play" above.
GM/NPC MATERIALS -- PCs don't look here!!!!!!
Okay so you'll be playing the orc -- feel free to make up a name for him, or not. Until the PCs walked in, he was guarding a treasure chest, and he doesn't know what happened with that and the pie, so he's pretty annoyed about all that but he still doesn't want to let the PCs past him.
Your abilities are pretty much whatever, you know. You're an orc. You're really hard to physically kill or injure, and you're really fast so they can't just run past you. Basically you're a wall, but you should wait and see if they come up with some clever or interesting solution. If they think of something creative, you can allow them progress towards the pie, like now maybe you're in a tug-of-war or something.
It's okay to talk to them if they initiate conversation, but you shouldn't start one.
Oh and yeah there's some other mysterious force behind all this, let's say maybe Loki or Coyote or someone totally unexpected like that. I have no particular idea how the players could access this metaplot, but feel free to let them be creative!!! Probably if they figure out this stuff, you can turn it into a meta-game where the players are now playing D&D players trying to escape a cursed gaming session or some shit, I don't fucking know.
The Pie Room
A game for one GM/NPC and an infinitely expansible ball of PCs
*****
INTRODUCTION
We're all familiar with the classic, bare-bones dungeon encounter: a 10 x 10 room with an orc. Normally, the orc would be guarding a treasure chest -- but this one is guarding a pie!
What happened to the treasure?
What kind of pie is it?
What sinister force is twisting this innocent dungeon to their vile will?
Find out... in The Pie Room
PREPARATION FOR PLAY
Each player should choose some pre-existing character or person that they want to play. This is much easier than actually creating new ones. Characters may be drawn from fiction, mythology, history -- whatever, really, so long as the GM isn't doing any of the work.
Each player must then come up with up to four "powers" that are appropriate for their character. These "powers" may also be called "spells," "abilities," "tricks," "miracles," etc. -- we recommend using a different term for each character, just for the hell of it. There is no practical limit to what these cantrips can do, but each one should be carefully presented to and approved by the GM. If a player is stuck coming up with appropriate moves for their character, the GM should feel free to suggest that they consult the source material or wikipedia, or failing all else just switch characters.
Players should create a physical character sheet for themselves that includes both their character's Limit Breaks and also their "statistics." We recommend the standard D&D 2nd Edition set, but players may choose their own favorite system (WoW, Fallout, etc.) as these will not actually be used in gameplay at any point.
RULES OF PLAY
The game lasts for an hour, or until the pie is eaten, destroyed or otherwise put beyond the reach of the PCs.
As the game begins, the PCs have just entered the 10x10 room, and the door has sealed behind them. The lights come on to reveal an orc standing in front of a small table with a fresh blueberry pie on it. A malevolent laugh comes from nowhere and echoes briefly through the chamber.
The PCs now attempt to gain control of the pie.
Action immediately pauses, as the GM/orc laboriously walks through characters all attempting to use their abilities at once. Characters may speak, pausing combat indefinitely (even in the middle of a round). Initiative should be determined at some point.
CHARACTER MATERIALS
See "Preparation for Play" above.
GM/NPC MATERIALS -- PCs don't look here!!!!!!
Okay so you'll be playing the orc -- feel free to make up a name for him, or not. Until the PCs walked in, he was guarding a treasure chest, and he doesn't know what happened with that and the pie, so he's pretty annoyed about all that but he still doesn't want to let the PCs past him.
Your abilities are pretty much whatever, you know. You're an orc. You're really hard to physically kill or injure, and you're really fast so they can't just run past you. Basically you're a wall, but you should wait and see if they come up with some clever or interesting solution. If they think of something creative, you can allow them progress towards the pie, like now maybe you're in a tug-of-war or something.
It's okay to talk to them if they initiate conversation, but you shouldn't start one.
Oh and yeah there's some other mysterious force behind all this, let's say maybe Loki or Coyote or someone totally unexpected like that. I have no particular idea how the players could access this metaplot, but feel free to let them be creative!!! Probably if they figure out this stuff, you can turn it into a meta-game where the players are now playing D&D players trying to escape a cursed gaming session or some shit, I don't fucking know.