#UntoldBG
Finally finished writing up my first solo play of the awesome Untold: Adventures Await
This is set in the world of Scooby-Doo (using the Scooby Doo "StoryWorlds" dice set), but with a new character, independent from the usual Mystery Incorporated, Scooby gang. I included all of the Series Guide, Episode Guide, and Character Profile as well as the actual play.
Hope you enjoy Ghosts vs. Grimwhistle Episode 1: The Wicked Witch Doctor!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pT2N5_8B-K9kD_j_IWLn6eAnFkA-0lYfUDv9aS3Lp-c/edit?usp=sharing
Great write-up, Russell Tripp. Out of interest, do you ask the questions and take actions before summarising the scene in writing?
ReplyDeleteRory O'Connor Thanks. In actual practice, there's a mixture of when questions are asked/actions are taken/notes are written down. I just do each whenever they seem appropriate. For example, in the first scene, I didn't actually ask all the questions at once, before taking actions. I just thought they made a little more sense written down that way. The write-up comes from a combination of notes taken during the actual play (lots of them) and memory of what happened.
ReplyDeleteDuring play, though - both solo and group - I (and the others I've played with) summarize the answer to a question or the results of an action before going on to another question or action.
This is great. I got my copy of Untold last week but haven't had the time to sit down and play. I'm hopeful to get a chance tonight.
ReplyDeleteYour write-up was an excellent demo of the game, and a great read. I look forward to reading more. Thanks very much for sharing!
Cool! I just picked up Untold at PAX Unplugged and have been really enjoying it. It's just what I needed to get my long neglected Story Cubes rolling. However, I feel like the reaction cards don't quite work for me. Sometimes it's obvious what the "And" or "But" should yield in the story, but then you draw a smiley from way out in left field. How do you guys feel about that? Is your story better or worse for having to discard your first idea to accommodate an emoji? I admit, sometime discarding the first idea is the right thing to do. Has anyone bolted on an alternative reaction system or otherwise generated their own tweaks for Untold?
ReplyDeleteMorgan DiBello I'm still using the reaction cards, but yes, I totally get what you're saying and have experienced it as well. I have made a couple of other changes for solo play (still playing pretty much RAW for group play).
ReplyDeleteI'm not using the result cards. Instead, I'm using a d6. 1=No, and ; 2= No ; 3 = No, but ; 4 = Yes, but ; 5 = Yes ; 6 = Yes, and.
The reason I'm doing that is because it felt better to me when using one of my character's "Specials" to add + 1 to the roll in order to make a success more likely instead of completely random.
The other change I made for solo play only is the use of the "+ Idea" tokens. Now I have 2 additional "+ 1"s I can use during the episode.
Russell Tripp Get out of my head! That’s exactly what I was thinking (d6 and +1 for the specials) as I was reading the writeup. I was curious what mechanic came into play when hacking the keypad for the roof door... good to know!
ReplyDeleteNow, about combat...
Oh this play used the outcome cards. It was during this play that I thought about changing it. I just haven't had time to write up my second episode ( "The Gallant Ghost" ) yet.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to use a completely different resolution system in a separate series of plays because those will actually be playtests of my own RPG design to test mechanics, including combat. I think Untold may be perfect for this because I can generate play sessions without needing to get a group together for these early stages of my design. It's essentially using Untold as a GM emulator.
Ryan B I actually just had another thought about how to give the "specials" a mechanical effect, but keep the Outcome cards in the game. Instead of converting to a dice mechanic, a "Special" lets you draw two Outcome cards and you choose the one you want.
ReplyDeleteStill thinking about options with the Reaction cards. I do like how they push the creative thinking - and how they limit you. I've long been a proponent of the idea that creativity doesn't just improve with limitations, but actually requires them. Still, I just kind of really want to hack Reactions into something slightly different - but still using the cards, although I don't know what yet...