Microscope Initial Thoughts

Last Thursday I played my second game of Microscope, by Ben Robbins,  a very free-form storytelling rpg. I'd like to talk about my initial reaction to it,. Perhaps later, I shall do a larger review as I have a better grasp of the system.

The short: I liked it, if it sounds interesting you should buy it here.

The slightly longer:

Microscope is basically a extremely large scale group storytelling game, it feels like a writers workshop/improv game. I won't explain too much of it, as that would give the game away, but basically you create a beginning and ultimate end of a free form story, (so no dice rolls, no GM or referee) and then through the games' rules, flesh out major events, time periods, and act out small scenes along the way.

This is what it usually looks like.
Photo Credit

I explained the gist of it to some of my other table top pals who hadn't played it,  and a big question some had was: if it's so free-form, why have rules at all? Why not just story-board and create scenes as a group? While the rules are light, the ones in place are extremely effective in guiding play, forcing you to think outside the box. The order in which dictates who contributes to the story, what topics are going to be focused on, and who is going to be who in a scene is carefully laid out, forcing the group outside their comfort zones, creatively speaking.

It works well, I could see it maybe being good for collaborating on a world/setting with your players, and then using another system to enter the setting, but because after the initial discussion on the themes of the game and what will be focused on/banned,  you can add whatever you want, kill whoever you want, it can easily go off the rails. This is very much part of the fun, but unless your pals are die-hard dramatics, things are likely to take a silly turn, no matter the seriousness of the game.

Another note, I think this is a very good way to get someone who is not as comfortable with role-play or improv to get comfortable contributing ideas to a narrative, etc. I'd throw it on the pile of "great games to start a group off with" (other examples being Everyone Is John, and Dread) 

1d6 Weird Things Around The Wizard's Tower (Plus 1d10 fish tanks)

I love wizards, they fuck everything up for everyone. Something about a high-level nerd who has abandoned all morality in the quest for arcane power strikes me as hilarious.And naturally, for my very gonzo style nothing gets me goin more than a wizard tower fulla random stupid shit. Here's a list of that. I went kinda over-board with the fish.

1. Floating fish tank- a ball of water floats around the room, with fish or other exotic sea creatures in them. Great for studies or other brooding spots. Not so great for parties (lots of dead fish).
There are a bunch floating around the room, wide circular arcs:

• Standard exotic fish, not harmful, but getting smashed into one hurts like hell (1d4 damage) and you have to live with the death of a fish on your hands. Unless otherwise noted, all glass bowls do this damage when either knocked into or used as a throwing weapon. 
• A razor fish  in just a floating sphere of water, no glass. Inside is a small island with a toy castle and some (real) gold pieces. Smashing the ball around won't pop it, the enchantment that holds the water is inside the castle, and must be dispelled. It would be difficult to hit the piranha  inside, as the dispersion of the water flows around strikes in unpredictable ways. No glass means being hit by it doesn't hurt, but sharing a square with it means taking 2d6 plus a chance to bleed, cutting yourself on the razor fish. 
• A bowl with a very poisonous jellyfish (fort save or slowly paralyze 'till suffocation), nearly invisible to the normal spectrum of light, making the bowl seem empty. There's a shiny diamond hidden in the sentiment of the bowl. 
• Waterless tank full of colorful hermit crabs. Each actually is a vessel for a potion, eating a crab will count as "drinking" the potion. Red is for Healing, Blue for Resistance to Cold, Green for Cure Disease, and purple for Hermit Crab Empathy (a turn for each crab eaten, doing nothing but sobbing loudly for your crimes)
• A wishing fish. The wizard caught the wishing fish and let it go, and then wished for it to stay in this bowl forever. This makes the bowl indestructible and immovable in its wide arc moving through the room. It stares at you knowingly, and pityingly. 
• Space Lobster. Its tank is a perfect square, and is full of acids essential to the creature's survival. (3d6 damage instead of normal on a contact smash). The lobster dissolves out of this dimension when the glass is broken. 
• Sentient Coral, there are a few of these things floating around, and if all removed and combined in a larger container, it becomes a powerful psychic being. Very polite but very evil. 
• Scroll Fish: Spell scrolls or a copy of the wizard's spellbook, written on thin white fish with long bodies. Impossible to read unless given a specific type of fish food, then form into the right order. The fish food is hidden somewhere else in the tower. 
• Angry water elemental - if glass is broken it will be freed. 50% of ally or enemy. 
• Mantis Shrimp - Glass is as tough as Adamantine. If broken or somehow opened, the Shrimp becomes giant. God help you. 

Put these in a room with a random encounter and hilarity should ensue. 

2. Chess Robots- Two large sophisticated robots (or golems if you wanna go that way) sit blocking the entire room with their large computational bodies and a small board game between them. They are equally brilliant and cannot beat each other.

A turn may take decades of computing and the robots will NOT tolerate any risk of the board pieces being jostled. This is reinforced with save-or-die death rays, which will be calmly explained to newcomers.  They are happy to provide passage across the room for knowledge of other games.

Additionally, they have not learned the concept of cheating, which they will be very thankful for, and use to break a dead-even, decade long tie. Return visits after teaching the bots cheating will result in the bots continuing on as normal, but with their death rays trained on each other as a deterrent.

3. Forgotten Experiment - Gnashing teeth on twitching hooves, its braying and pleading for death. It probably cannot die. It would happy to help you kill the wizard, but it breathes noxious gasses and words come out in a broken version of the spell tounges - making its speech always unrecognizable.

4. Vacuum Room - completely devoid of atmosphere, probably being used to assist with temperature control in some experiment somewhere in the tower. Or, as always, perhaps just for the hell of it. The doors are unlocked but sealed tight, with a sign that says "Warning Do Not Open" in a magical, understandable-by-all rune. Opening leads to a explosive decompression. Strength to grab on to something or get smashed for like, 5d6 damage or something. Put breakable shit in here if you want to be more mean.

5. The Thing in The Box - It is large and made of metal. There is something inside. It cannot speak, but it does tap from the inside of the box. Somewhere there is a book which can translate the morse code. It can answer questions and the first few will be very reliable and useful. The next few will be useful, believable lies. The ones after that will be lies spun so well that when they go horribly wrong, it won't seem The Thing's fault. It's a slippery slope after that. You'll probably wind up becoming a wizard.

6. Dusty Workout Room -  Abandoned and pathetic sets of weights litter the room. An animate training dummy weeps, for it has not known any living contact in a century. Fairly powerful magical melee weapons just lie around. If the wizard finds out you were in here, they will hunt you down out of shame.

Hirelings and Loot, Everyone Loves Random Tables

Ehh it's been awhile, i moved to philadelphia, i got some new jobs, but i also got some things coming up, promise.

1d4 Strange Hirelings
These fellows are all non-combatants, you pay them a flat fee, if they were to fight, they would want a share of the treasure.

1. Jerry "Packem Good" and his donkey, Stealin’ Dan.
 Teamster. Packs stuff really well, comes with one donkey supplies  Helps carry stuff, and does so much more efficiently. The exact benefits of this are up to you, but the guy is really, really good at his job. Can manage also a convoy of lifters.
Cost: 1 Silver a week, plus food expenses.

2. Chug the Mutant: Dumb idiot with large brow. Does basic lifting, shoveling, hard work stuff. Very cheap, does better if being managed.  Has two brothers, Thug and Rhug that can also be hired for the same price. (3 Copper a week)

3. Lemmy the Linkgirl: She's a sickly orphan with a bad cough. Lantern/Torch Bearer. Cannot do heavy labor or carry lots of equipment. Probably not contagious, but everyone seems really eager to send her out on an expedition.
 Cost: I dunno, just feed 'er.

4. PUZZLE WIZARD: Suicidal super genius. "Wants to kill himself but we talked him into solving one more puzzle before that."  Will not help in combat, will only solve one issue, puzzle or way around some trap before blowing his fucking brains out. If he is killed in a way that doesn’t involve a swift suicide he promises “I’ll fucking curse the fuck outtaya, and not in a fuckin good way everyone respects!” (He's not joking, come up with the most fucked curse you can think of)
Cost: Wants 300 platinum for his next of kin, a hardworking niece in a distant city..Can feed himself with FOOD MAGIC.

1d6 Loot Table:

1. Dimensional Slide Ring
A ring with an inset numbered slider, the farther you go up, the farther you are removed from this dimension, both you and enemies have a miss chance of up to  75%. The ring turns very slowly. Turning it past 75 gets you sucked into another parallel dimension forever. Turning it past 0 "grounds" you in this world more, probably as dimensional anchor. 

2. A Map to Two Relics of The Past
A an old map lead you to a dusty field deep in the desert. Excavation of this area will lead to the discovery of a strange metal box, with a vampire inside. The box is actually a well preserved  1957 Plymouth Belvedere, if not destroyed immediately, the vampire will demand to know if "gasoline has been invented yet" The mechanics of the car will be worth thousands, but let's be honest, your players are just gonna try to drive it.

3. Scroll of Summon Banana
Actually a scroll of Summon Hungry Gorilla. 

4. Small Box of Connections
Plastic Brick phone with a few numbers on the back, each a extrademensional advisor on the other end. 1 out of 6 chance of breaking for good after each call. Calling each number is as follows:

• Mancierge: Old sounding fella, knows good restaurants and spots in any populated area, but he takes a long time flipping through his notes. However once you go, within 1d6+2  weeks it will be filled with aging retirees and no longer cool ever again. 
• Lawyer: Lawful Evil, but contractually has your back. Perfect for selling your soul or wishes with suspicious genies, "*sigh* sir, just put satan on the phone please." 
• Crisis Negotiator, excellent negotiator in any situation, but put off if it's not really an emergency. 
• PUZZLE WIZARD's ghost from the afterlife. See above but he's super mad that he still has to do this shit now that he's dead, but that's the trouble with being the best. Will never solve puzzles at this state, only give one hint per call. 

 5. Letter from yourself
It's real, and it has some useful advice, particularly a warning about something to come. One free reroll that is available for 24 hours after reading.

6. Jet Black Teeth
These teeth have arcane writing all over them, and if a magic user replaces their teeth with them, they get a extra permanent spell slot. These were the teeth of an old, evil, but well known spellcaster, a few people may remember him, and may have mixed reactions to you wearing his teeth.

Speed of Light Moths.

I had this idea for a room in a dungeon while I was in the shower, I have no fucking clue what to do with it, but let's flesh it out.

Spooky

So it's a room, plain stone, with a door on the
opposite end. On the door, are some moths. Moths are the menacing cousin of the butterfly. They are formed up in the shape of an 8 or maybe in an infinity loop. Upon going through the room, the moths are disturbed, they flutter around the room in a panic. Exiting through the opposite door only leads to finding yourself back at the original entrance to the door. The moths once again in place, in the same shape, and any other changes to the room seem to have reset. However, before the players react, the moths fly off the door, a little quicker than when they were originally disturbed, the door flies open, all without any action from the party.

Following through the opposite door again leads to the same results, but with even more drastic results.

 What's going on in here?
 Each time the group heads through the other door, they return to the room, but any force that acted on anything in the room is repeated but with compounding multiplication. So the moths get disturbed once, and the force that disturbed them is still there the next time the room is entered (their little wings beating against the door, the door opening, etc.) Eventually, (and it only takes a few more passages through the door) the moths will rocket towards the players like tiny missiles, massive groves will appear in the ground where people walked, the door will likely smash itself off its hinges. God forbid they did something like hit a wall or use a bomb.

How do they escape? I'm not sure. Maybe they can just walk back out the door they came in from, at any point during the loop. Maybe there's a secret trap door that's hidden somewhere in the room. I kind of like it as just an interesting way to use a dead end in my next dungeon, maybe just a thing the players can experiment with, and then use on a monster or to help with a puzzle later on. Maybe chuck some coal in there, and with enough work and care, they can turn it into a diamond or something.

Maybe make the room larger, with multiple doors, and only a correct sequence through them lets you out, any other just compounds the force as above. Stick some mundane things in the room like a little stream, and within a few walks through the room, the river is now a massive canyon, or the water is moving at speed of a pressure washer.

The Sound and the

When The Church, on its 2nd Grand Crusade slew the Titan Bard Apology, the massive god being let out its voice in a long and low howl. This howl crossed the globe, passed by the Capital of The Dove and smashed The Burning Cathedral's western spire before disappearing forever. This was the first, and greatest, sound elemental.

It's cool because animals kinda give emotion to noise too. 

Sound Elementals are noise given emotion and basic "life" the same as other elementals. However what distinguishes a Sound Elemental from say, a Fire, is that the emotion which formed it can vary in far more drastic ways. We attribute feeling to fire and water and etc. Fire is warm, angry, passionate but it isn't intrinsically any of those things, we assign emotion to fire in our poetry and metaphors. Sound is really just another thing, a bunch of waves that vibrate our ear bones and shit. But we give it emotion, from a haunting tune, a warning growl, a love ballad.

So sound elementals are born with a variety of purpose, though often it is by accident. As I keep discussing magic is linked to everything in Oris, so sound elementals can come from thin air when the circumstances are right. Usually these circumstances are: get powerful quantities of magic and emotion, and expose those to sound of some kind. This births the sound elemental.

Sound Elemental
They don't look like anything, you can only hear them. A love based elemental may sound like a flowing beautiful song, or just a warm note, a elemental birthed from fear may just be a shriek, a war ballad elemental might be thundering footsteps, or a ball of insults. Stats are difficult, and vary on the situation, they don't have HP, never have particularly high INT, but strength, dexterity, and charisma would vary on the situation and type of elemental.

Movement: "Flight" 60ft, perfect.
Attacks: 
Too loud and too close
The simple art of making people deaf, when someone with eardrums or similar audio receptors is near a sound elemental, and the sound elemental is actively hostile to them, they take 1d12 damage. On a 12, fort save or have your eardrums burst.

Slam
Sound waves have very little control over the environment, but can manipulate small bits of matter, but unless the elemental is particularly strong, whipping this matter at people is going to do nothing. Let's say the slam is a 1d4 + STR (With the average elemental's strength usually being a -4)

Mass Embolism 
Powerful enough Sound Elementals (usually ones borne from hate and war)  can cause major organ damage with their sheer volume, fort save or 1d12 CON damage. On a twelve, roll a d20, if that crits, the target has a severe stroke and is dead.
Alternatively, special bred quiet assassins can achieve this same effect not through volume of sound, but through ultrasonic vibrations.

Naturally, bards are the biggest users and creators of sound elementals, they can be used as weapons, messengers, ambiance adjusters, and more. But more often than not, these elementals are made by accident. Big musical shows often spawn plenty small versions of the creature. Traumatic events associated with noise also can bring forth the elementals, sites of war or large explosions.

There are also plenty of incidents of magically powerful youth creating a sound elemental from a song or other passionate expression, and then it proceeds to blow the eardrums out of the local bully, or breaking every glass in the farmer's daughter's room with a romantic violin shrill.

In general, a rampaging sound elemental can be a good plot hook, they require some unconventional tactics to fight.

Fighting sound elementals
Can't be done in the usual sense, physical attacks simply have nothing to hit. No, not even magical ones. Nevertheless, they need to be dealt with occasionally. Locating them can be tricky, they're fast, invisible, and can blend in to background noise quiet easily, especially in crowded places. Players would do well to follow not a specific sound, but certain sounds that are associated with the feeling that is being searched for. The argument coming from nowhere in particular

Firstly, they can be tricked. The average elemental is not intelligent, it is emotion, not reason. They are fooled by disguises and play acting. A lusty sound elemental may be tricked by it target just telling it, "yes, I am very much in love with you now". A more violent elemental just needs an elaborate death scene by one of your party members in a wig with a bunch of pig's blood spread around.

Drowning: you gotta be loud, loud enough for the elemental to be unable to remember itself. Dilute it with white noise, scream, beat your shield. Got a elemental speeding around the city? Start ringing ALL church bells. The poor thing will just start imitating the bells and dissolve into them, like a cube of sugar into a pond.

Existentialism: A critical part of a sound elemental is being heard. Sound exists when we aren't around, obviously, but if a elemental is convinced it cannot be heard, it can break itself apart.

Bard Spell: Summon Sound Elemental (Level 1-5)
Summon a Sound Elemental which will perform a task until it is completed (Gm's discretion). The higher the level, the higher the intensity of the sound, the longer its duration, and the more complex commands it can be given.
Level 1: Emotion or verb ("Kill", "Defend", "Merriment", "Anger") Lasts for a minute or two, or a single action or attack.
Level 2: Emotion or verb + subject ("Protect me", "Seduce Jessica", "Calm dog") Lasts for a few rounds, or three or four actions
Level 3:Full sentences worth of commands, bonus points if in prose. Lasts until the end of combat, or about an hour, can perform multiple actions.
Level 4: Full sentences, lasts most of the day, can perform a complicated task with multiple steps.
Level 5: Any type of command, interpreted very well, basically just manifested will of the spellcaster. Extreme duration, can operate for a few days unless destroyed.

Alternatively a elemental can be given the name of a song at any level, while effectiveness and actions will be determined by the GM.

Most people assume the Bard Titan Apology's elemental was a sound of vengeance and fury against the church. After all, the Burning Cathedral was nearly destroyed when its spire collapsed, and to this day the harmonics in the building make your eyes water.  It was actually just a sound of primal fear, however, the emotion was "Escape death!" and the elemental just happened to knock over a bunch of stuff on its flight away. It still exists, on the southern primordial planes of the moon, a whimpering note recurring within the massive bones of his mother's womb.