Here is my take on this challenge. Hope you like it!:)
The Book of Heroic Exploits
“There is a legendary ancient book said to be lost in the mists of time. The book inspired the heroes of each era to do great feats just by coming into contact with the book. In fact the book was so instrumental in driving out the forces of chaos that they(the forces of chaos) conspired to destroy it. They succeeded but not fully. The book was destroyed but its fragments were scattered to the four winds. In time the fragments were forgotten.
But sometimes a person will come into contact with a fragment of the book, and although it might not give the same powers as the heroes of old it can ignite the spark of heroism and purpose that can turn men and women into heroes.
I am the wanderer and I was tasked with wandering the world to find all the fragments of the book of exploits. It seems that you have found one yourself. Don’t worry I’m not going to take it away from you. Just by being exposed to the book the spark has already been ignited in you. All you have to do is live up to the challenge. For you see, although the fragment can ignite heroism, it is itself powered up by the exploits in its pages. As a founder of a fragment your first task is to gather friends from whose exploits the pages of the fragment will be decorated.
Stories will be told, and bonds will be strengthened.
What is needed to play the game:
-a notebook, stuff to decorate it with and make it your own
-something to write and draw with
-an open mind
-internet connection to exchange stories with other groups
The Game
Overview
This game is inspired by superhero comics mythology, and role-playing games. Basically in this game, the players are secretly heroes trying to do good things for their communities after they have been “exposed” to a fragment of the Book of Heroic Exploits. What good things they do depends on the player currently holding the fragment and what “power” he currently has.
“Art imitates life”
Each player’s heroic exploit in real life will be drawn by the player into the book. It depends on the player how he will interpret his actions in real life on paper. The only important thing is everything that the player puts in his page must have at least a basis in real life:
example: A player’s hero has the ability to fly. The player interprets this as seeing things from a higher angle. He gives a friend suggestions on how to solve a problem by looking at it from anothers point of view. After completing this exploit he then creates a story in his page like this:
“Eagle man soared over the skies of the city and saw a pedestrian in need. He helps the pedestrian and saves the day!”
It is also encouraged in this game that the player adds illustration to his story regardless of artistic ability.(He can ask his friends to teach him how to draw!)
Mentoring
After completing a quest and putting in on the “fragment” the player must pass on the fragment to the next player in the group. Before doing so, the player must analyze what he has learned so far from he’s experiences and writes down the lessons on his page so that the next player can learn from it. He also decides what kind of power the next player will have and offer tips on how to interpret it.
Hero for a day
Each time a player holds the fragment, he must answer the question: “If I had this power only for a day what good can I do with it?”. A player is only allowed to keep the fragment for a day, so challenges should be doable within that amount of time. A player should give himself a challenge that he can do within a 24 hr time span.
Inviting new players
Anyone can join the game when it has started provided that the fragment has at least rotated between all the starting players. Afterward each player will have the option of passing it to the next player or inviting a new one in. The new player won’t be allowed to invite new players in until she has at least completed 2 quests.
Rules Summary
1.Create the fragment:
-This is just a simple notebook, sketchpad etc. The players are allowed decorate it as they see fit and make it something they can be proud of. If there are already a lot of people playing the game they can exchange fragments to see how each group interpreted the powers.
They can also look at this to have an idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhuman_features_and_abilities_in_fiction
2) Determine first player
The players randomly determine who the first player will be and what his power will be.(Just one!). The beginning player is handed the notebook(the fragment) and the game can begin.
3) On a players turn he needs to do the following in a span of one day:
a) Interpret the power and what he can do with it in real life. He can for example interpret
super strength by helping his neighbor carry grocery bags. Just stuff like that.
b) After doing his quest he writes it down and draws it in the notebook without revealing the act he did in real life. What he draws in the notebook will be a representation of his real life act in the comic book world. He can do with his story whatever he wants(magnify his actions if he wants to). Of course he should also try to entertain his peers with his story.
c) Analyze his actions and what lessons he learned during that day. The lesson need not be connected to the quest. If he thinks there is an important lesson in an encounter he had during that day he should write it down for the next player to read.
d) He chooses a power from the list or thinks up a new power for the next player and offers suggestions on how to interpret it in real life.
e) He passes the note book to the next player
Repeat steps A to E for all succeeding players continuously until the pages of the notebook are filled with the players exploits.
Game design notes:
- I wanted this game to have the potential to build communities. An online forum or Facebook group is
possible wherein each group who gets a hold of a “fragment” can upload pics from its pages.
- If its possible the exploits should be hidden. It will be a challenge to do good things without people knowing you are the one doing it, like real superheroes.:)
