I want to have an RPG adventure in a casual, when-you-have-time format. Other games can do this easily, and I want to bring that ease to pen-and-paper RPGs. I know that may seem a little weird, maybe even a little counter-intuitive to what tabletop RPGs are. Maybe it is. But here's what I do know: when I have free time to play a game, I want to play a role-playing game, a REAL role-playing game, where my character is more than stats. I want to tell a story, and have my actions in the game have a real, fundamental aspect in shaping that story. And I would like to do that with all of YOU!
So I want to run Dungeon World via Twitter. Here's how it would work:
-Players would make their characters by themselves, either on a document online, or hand-written, then taking a photo of the hand-written character sheet and sending it to the GM (myself), or simply scanning it.
-Players would make brand-new Twitter accounts as their characters. For example, John makes Grognar the dwarven warrior. He would also create a Twitter account in Grognar's name. As GM, I would have a separate, GM Twitter account (@GM_Gibbs, currently). These accounts would ONLY follow the GM and the other players in the game, and when the game/campaign is over, the accounts would unfollow each other, freeing the GM account to focus on other games with other players.
-After characters are made and players are ready, the GM starts with a tweet describing the situation. The players would respond with tweets detailing their characters' actions. Events that require specific action by one particular player would get the @ tag, e.g. "The orc charges you, @Grognar! What do you do?"
-Character tweets would narratively describe a character's actions. A separate tweet with the hashtag #combat, or #skillroll, or whatever, would follow with the game rules. Following the action above, John would tweet back on Grognar's account with "I stab the orc with my sword as he charges me!" He would follow that up with a second tweet, "#hackandslash Rolled a 9; rolled a 6 for damage."
-The GM would then interpret those numbers and send a narrative tweet back. The GM would incorporate the rules if he has space; if not, he will use a similar hashtag. "You stab the orc through the stomach, but he pushes through the stab and slashes you for 4 damage!" OR, "You stab the orc through the stomach, but he pushes through the stab and slashes you!" and a second tweet, "#hackandslash Grognar is hit for 4 damage."
-Longer narrations, either by the GM or the players, would be done in the form of emails sent to everyone else. For example, the players enter the city of Greenwood. The GM, rather than attempting to describe the entire city in a single tweet, instead sends an email to all the players, going on for a couple of paragraphs about the sights, smells, and sounds of the city, as well as a few options for what the players may want to do in the city. Then, the GM would put out a tweet saying "Read the "Greenwood" email I sent you all and tell me what you'd like to do."
-Player-to-player interactions can be handled in a couple of different ways. The players could communicate to each other directly through Twitter messages, or they could email each other. Or, rather than directly communicating, they can simply tweet their actions and let the GM sort out the order of things. Unless a player implicitly says otherwise, a GM can assume that players will always want to work together sensibly and as a team.
I have never tried something like this before. I have NO idea if it will actually work. I want to find out, though.
So who's with me?