Rules"Ye Olde Rusty Lantern" (a storytelling game)
Based on rules posted on Ackanomic by Jason Orendorff [link]
[Synopsis: the players (called Bards) are dealt a hand of cards. Each card bears a word or phrase describing a possible story element. The Bards take turns telling parts of a tale, playing cards by bringing the corresponding story elements into the yarn. When a Bard finishes the story by tying off all the loose ends and playing eir last card, e wins.]
Equipment:
some cards (to be provided by the Barkeep)
Ale (generated as needed)
a solid wooden table and benches
The Barkeep
The Barkeep is the person who started the game. If e leaves the game, then another non-player must step forward and take over the role before the game can continue.
At the beginning of the tale, the Barkeep shall announce the number of benches and the names of the Bards who will start the tale.
(The Barkeep is considered the referee of the game.)
Bards
The Barkeep may not be a Bard. Anyone else may join (becoming a Bard) at any time, unless there are already as many players as benches. Any Bard may leave at any time. If it is a Bard's turn when e leaves, e is considered to have passed. The Bards are all imagined to sit around a table in the Barkeep's tavern, so whenever someone joins, the Barkeep shall choose a place around the table for em to sit.
There must be at least two Bards for a tale to proceed, and no more Bards than benches; any time this is not the case for a particular instance of Ye Olde Rusty Lantern, that tale is suspended until the requirements are both met. (In the meantime, Bards are free to join or leave, but no cards may be played.)
Cards
The Barkeep shall privately make (or obtain) a long list of story elements before starting the game. Each story element is represented by one card. During the game, each card is either in the deck, held by one of the Bards, on the table, or burned. They all start out in the deck. The Barkeep keeps track of the cards. Each time the Barkeep posts a public update of the game, he should post the number of cards held by each Bard (but not which cards are held by whom), list the cards lying on the table, and tell whose turn it is. Each Bard receives seven cards upon joining, unless the Barkeep specified an alternate number at the start of the game. When a Bard leaves, eir cards return to the deck.
When a Bard receives cards, the Barkeep chooses them randomly from the deck and sends them to that Bard via private message. If there are not enough cards in the deck, the Barkeep shall either end the tale (lamely) or add story elements to his list of cards. A card is added to the deck for each new story element. The cards are then handed out as needed, and the tale goes on.
If the Barkeep disappears and must be replaced, then the new Barkeep must make up eir own list of story elements, and each Bard must contact the Barkeep privately with the contents of eir hands.
Gameplay
As soon as the Barkeep is ready to begin, e chooses a Bard to go first and names em publicly. It is that Bard's turn.
On eir turn, a Bard either tries to make a play, or passes. If e successfully makes a play, it is still eir turn. When a play is denied (which happens, alas, to the best Bards from time to time) or the Bard passes, play goes to the next Bard, clockwise around the table.
Passing
A Bard may pass explicitly. Also, when the Barkeep notices that a Bard is asleep (i.e. it has been eir turn continuously for three days or more, and e has not tried a play in all that time) and posts a message to that effect, that Bard is considered to have passed. When a Bard passes, e receives a card.
If a Bard is asleep(i.e. passes by default)for three of eir turns in a row(or more), then the Barkeep may announce, at the same time as announcing that e is asleep, that that Bard has gone Under The Table. At this point the Bard is removed from the game, and eir bench is considered empty.
When a Bard passes explicitly, e may announce that e is discarding one of the cards from eir hand, naming the card. That card is burned.
Plays
A Bard attempts a play by posting a message in the designated DA community. The text of the message should be a reasonable amount of suitable prose to add to (or start) the tale (150 to 300 words, or the length of previous segments, are good guidelines). If the Bard has any cards, the last line of the message should specify one of them.
The Barkeep shall then reply, either verifying that the play was successful, or denying it. E may, in addition to verifying the play, announce that the card thus played is a new Loose End. This is done when, in the Barkeep's opinion, an interesting element is added to the game and isn't resolved right away: a villain is introduced; a map is found; a prophecy is made. When a card becomes a Loose End, it goes on the table, face up. When a card is successfully played, but doesn't become a Loose End, it is burned. [The tale isn't complete until all the Loose Ends have been tied off.] When a Bard attempts to play a card but is denied, the card is burned, and the Bard receives two cards to replace it.
The Barkeep may deny a play for any of the following reasons: it is incomprehensible; it is a non sequitur from the previous bit of the story; it is not in the spirit of the game [e.g. the Bard is blatantly and rudely playing to get rid of cards rather than for the fun of the story]; it is too long or too short; the Bard has cards, but none of them is specified; no card was specified, and no Loose Ends were tied off; the play was attempted more than three days after the beginning of the Bard's turn; or a card was specified, but the text didn't bring it into the tale.
That last reason begs some explanation. The text of a play is required to bring into the story the ideas specified on the card. [e.g. If a card bears the word "disguise", the Bard may play it only if he works a disguise into the story.] It's a matter of taste how central an idea must be in order to qualify. Generally, it is insufficient simply to discuss an item (it must be present), to mention the possibility of an event (it must take place), or to have a character talk about another character in dialogue (he must actually be introduced.) In any case, the Barkeep's reply is final.
The Barkeep may, in addition to verifying the play, announce that one or more of the Loose Ends on the table have been resolved. This means that the most recent play has tied off those parts of the story. A Bard receives one Ale for each Loose End tied off by eir play.
Interruptions
A Bard may try to interrupt any play attempted by another Bard, either before or after the Barkeep replies to it, by announcing the interruption, along with the play being interrupted and the name of a card the interrupting Bard holds. [The idea is that the story element on this card is, by coincidence, a part of the story that the current Bard is telling; the interrupting Bard now takes over the tale.]
An interruption never causes any of the tale to be discarded. Neither does it have any effect on the success or denial of any play currently being attempted. When a play and an interruption are both being attempted, the Barkeep must reply to the play first (regardless of which message e received first).
The Barkeep shall reply to each interruption, either verifying that it was successful, or denying it. If the interruption is successful, then it is immediately the interrupting Bard's turn, and the Bard who was interrupted receives a card.
The Barkeep shall deny an interruption if the card specified is not one the interrupting Bard has. In this case, one card is dealt to the interrupting Bard, as a penalty.
The Barkeep shall deny an interruption if the story element on the specified card was not sufficiently mentioned in the interrupted play. In this case, the card is burned, and the interrupting Bard receives two cards to replace it, as a penalty. Again, what qualifies as a sufficient mention is up to the Barkeep, but in this case e is encouraged to be lenient.
If an interruption is not denied for either of the above reasons, the Barkeep shall deny it if it comes too late-- that is, either the interrupted play was attempted more than three days ago, or it has already been successfully interrupted with a different card. In this case, the card is burned, and the Bard who attempted the interrupt is dealt one card to replace it.
Winning
A Bard wins when all of the following are true: e has no cards, e was the last to make a successful play, there are no Loose Ends, and there are no unprocessed Interrupts. If the story isn't quite "done" yet, the winning Bard may finish it however e pleases. Once that's done, the tale ends.
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