The return of ... SCAVENGER HUNT ON INFINITE EARTHS!?!?!?
Attention: fan-fic writers, role-playing gamers, writers willing to spend some time being silly and good-natured folks of all strips up for a lark.
So ... it's like this. In 2005, I perpetrated the silliest thing I have ever done on the Internet. In the Internet community Sages of Chaos, which is one of those online role-playing game communities, where people play a wide variety of fictional characters, I set the players out on a game called Scavenger Hunt on Infinite Earths, wherein people playing characters such as The Black Panther, Bill from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Deadpool, The Shade, Milk & Cheese and The Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland scoured the the multiverse for a number of rare items, including the contents of the lost Library of Atlantis, on microfiche; A compression coil for a Firefly class transport vehicle and the original text of the Shanshu Prophecy. They were set off on their quest by The Monitor, from DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths, who was revealed eventually to be the Goddess Eris, in disguise. It was all very silly. There were more than a thousand posts, all told. It was much, much fun.
At the time, I said I'd do it again someday. And ... well ... I'm kind of up for it again. But Sages of Chaos seems a bit quit these days. But I think it can still be done, just as ridiculous as the first time, but maybe with a tad more structure. (Which is to say, some structure.)
I've got ideas. If I can get a dozen people that are interested in playing a silly game that will involve some rather outlandish storytelling, I'm willing to do it again.
Still sketching out rules, but here's the rough outline:
1.) Characters: Players can play any character from fiction or real life, including themselves or a character of their own invention. Once we know who's playing, they'll be split randomly into teams. (Real-life characters may be disallowed if it appears there is an intention to libel living people.) THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE OF EACH CHARACTER IN THE GAME. So one Buffy, one Doctor, one Harry S. Truman. Whatever. First come, first serve. Claims can begin NOW.
2.) The Quest: Players will have to write out a story of how their character obtained the item on the scavenger hunt list. That story will have to be posted SOMEWHERE on the Internet. It doesn't matter where. They can create a blog for their character, post it in an open Facebook message, put it in a series of Tweets. Doesn't matter, so long as it's somewhere anyone can read it.
3.) Keeping score: Players will post a link to their narrative of their character in a designated blog post. The moderator (me) will keep a running tally, and post the scores per team once a week. (This time around, I figure it'll take about a month, so no one has to rush through writing things. Remember, the more you write, though, the more points you score.) Extra points will be awarded for particularly excellent storytelling, whether it be hilarious, gripping or whatever. Likewise, points will be deducted for lameness. (Writing, "I walked into Target and bought the Infinity Gauntlet" will get you no points, whatsoever.) I may enlist judges toward these last goals. Or possibly just take opinions. We'll see how it goes.)
All in all, it's meant to be fun, nerdy and silly. It's an exercise in both individual and collective storytelling. There will be an overarching narrative that will make less sense than a Rob Liefeld comic.
So. Whattaya say? Anyone up for some silliness?
So ... it's like this. In 2005, I perpetrated the silliest thing I have ever done on the Internet. In the Internet community Sages of Chaos, which is one of those online role-playing game communities, where people play a wide variety of fictional characters, I set the players out on a game called Scavenger Hunt on Infinite Earths, wherein people playing characters such as The Black Panther, Bill from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Deadpool, The Shade, Milk & Cheese and The Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland scoured the the multiverse for a number of rare items, including the contents of the lost Library of Atlantis, on microfiche; A compression coil for a Firefly class transport vehicle and the original text of the Shanshu Prophecy. They were set off on their quest by The Monitor, from DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths, who was revealed eventually to be the Goddess Eris, in disguise. It was all very silly. There were more than a thousand posts, all told. It was much, much fun.
At the time, I said I'd do it again someday. And ... well ... I'm kind of up for it again. But Sages of Chaos seems a bit quit these days. But I think it can still be done, just as ridiculous as the first time, but maybe with a tad more structure. (Which is to say, some structure.)
I've got ideas. If I can get a dozen people that are interested in playing a silly game that will involve some rather outlandish storytelling, I'm willing to do it again.
Still sketching out rules, but here's the rough outline:
1.) Characters: Players can play any character from fiction or real life, including themselves or a character of their own invention. Once we know who's playing, they'll be split randomly into teams. (Real-life characters may be disallowed if it appears there is an intention to libel living people.) THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE OF EACH CHARACTER IN THE GAME. So one Buffy, one Doctor, one Harry S. Truman. Whatever. First come, first serve. Claims can begin NOW.
2.) The Quest: Players will have to write out a story of how their character obtained the item on the scavenger hunt list. That story will have to be posted SOMEWHERE on the Internet. It doesn't matter where. They can create a blog for their character, post it in an open Facebook message, put it in a series of Tweets. Doesn't matter, so long as it's somewhere anyone can read it.
3.) Keeping score: Players will post a link to their narrative of their character in a designated blog post. The moderator (me) will keep a running tally, and post the scores per team once a week. (This time around, I figure it'll take about a month, so no one has to rush through writing things. Remember, the more you write, though, the more points you score.) Extra points will be awarded for particularly excellent storytelling, whether it be hilarious, gripping or whatever. Likewise, points will be deducted for lameness. (Writing, "I walked into Target and bought the Infinity Gauntlet" will get you no points, whatsoever.) I may enlist judges toward these last goals. Or possibly just take opinions. We'll see how it goes.)
All in all, it's meant to be fun, nerdy and silly. It's an exercise in both individual and collective storytelling. There will be an overarching narrative that will make less sense than a Rob Liefeld comic.
So. Whattaya say? Anyone up for some silliness?