For the July 4th Holiday I'm working on an idea to generate an over-the-top action movie adventure using a madlib mechanic.
I'm wondering if anyone else has worked with similar random adventure generation ideas and if anyone might have some ideas or advice on things.
Here is a sample of what I have.
The PCs are all together at/in/on a Public Place(1) where they are/are doing An Activity(2).
((RP introduction scene ~30 seconds for each PC))
…when suddenly a/the Person(3) appears being chased by a bunch of _Type of Mook(4)_s on mode of travel(5). With the (4)’s is a adjective(6)Profession/type of person(7) wielding a weapon(8) who seems to be the leader. The _(4)’s manage to corner the (3) near the PCs and the (7) demands the (3) surrender or Consequence(8).
((Fight scene PCs try to save (3) from (4) and (7). ))
I've run a number of really fun con games where the 3-5 players picked their archetypes at the start and told me their melodramatic hooks. Then I improvised the rest of the adventure.
However something like this takes the improvisation even further! Seems great.
I've been working on something similar involving a deck of cards with a mix of simple objects and locations on them (space, jungle, dinosaurs, a briefcase, a shark, race cars, a nightclub, etc.). I plan on dealing each player 3 cards. They pass one to their left and one to their right, then choose one card to hand me. I'll then use those cards plus their melodramatic hook (hopefully tied in some way to the card they handed me) to inform the location, possible foes/allies, and general plot of the story.
I'll probably have a second set of ready-made foes and setpieces to drop the card elements into, just to make it easier on myself.
I hope to test it out at the next local convention and see how it goes.
OK here is a quick and dirty post of my notes so far...
1 A public place outdoors
2 An Activity
3 A kind of person
4 An unusual kind of person
5 A mode of transportation
6 Adjective
7 A profession
8 Something held
9 A dire consequence
10 A powerful organization
11 Choose 1: Good or Evil
12 An ancient civilization
13 Item used every day
14 A dead historical figure
15 A hiding place
16 A Secret Base location
17 A scary adjective
18 Evil People
19 A profession
20 A powerful adjective
21 A clue
22 A business in the city
23 A villainous chamber
24 A villainous goal that is NOT take over the world.
The PCs are all together at/in/on a Public Place(1) where they are/are doing An Activity(2).
((RP introduction scene ~30 seconds for each PC))
…when suddenly a/the Person(3) appears being chased by a bunch of _Type of Mook(4)_s on mode of travel(5). With the (4)’s is a adjective(6)Profession/type of person(7) wielding a weapon(8) who seems to be the leader. The _(4)’s manage to corner the (3) near the PCs and the (7) demands the (3) surrender or Consequence(9).
((Fight scene PCs try to save (3) from (4) and (7). It ends with the PCs rescuing (3).))
(3) expresses their undying gratitude for the save and explains…
If (11) is Good: …that they are an agent of (10) and are protecting the (13) which was forged in ancient (12) to grant great power and the (10) was really founded to protect the (13) and things like it by (14), but they shudder to think of what might happen if the (13) falls into the wrong hands. He has hidden it in (15) and implores the PC’s to help him recover the (13) and get it to his people at (16). When they get to the (15) they are confronted by the boss a (20) (19) and his (17) (18)s.
((Fight scene PCs defend themselves, but the (19) gets away with the (13) kidnapping the (3).))
The PCs find (21) was left behind which leads them to (22) ((Tell them where the clue leads but make the PCs come up with the logic here)). There they find a (23) where the (19) with his henchmen and (3) are about to use the (13) to (24) and then TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
((Fight scene: Beat up the Boss!))
If (11) is Evil then …that they are being pursued after they discovered the (13) which once belonged to (14). (3) goes on to explain that (10) want the (13) so they can summon (14) from the Great Beyond and use them to take over the world. (3) then guides the PCs to the (16) where the (10) have taken the (13).
((Fight scene PCs bust into the secret base and stop the (10)’s plans ultimately confronting the (19) in their (23). The PCs win but (3) steals the (13).))
After the fight the PCs are told by the dying (19) that the (3) is the real bad guy. They die pointing out (21) before they can say anything really helpful. However the PCs soon discover that the clue is what they needed to lead them to (22) just in time to fight the undead (14) as they are forced to do (3)’s bidding which is to (24).
((Fight scene with PCs vs a very powerful undead (14) and appropriate mooks.))
Once the PCs beat the undead (14) they explain that their soul is trapped by (3) and they won’t be able to rest until they are stopped. It tells them where to look for (3) in (15). When the PCs reach the (15) they find the (3) having summoned and absorbed (14)’s essence becoming a (17) (3). He explains that this was their plan all along and that their real goal was to absorb (14)’s essence and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
((Fight scene beat up the Boss!))
I like the idea of creating an adventure on-the-fly using a set of story cards. A couple that have piqued my interest recently are The Oracle Story Generator and the Story Engine card decks.
The Oracle Story Generator could be limited due to its focus on high fantasy tropes. Also, it looks to be a way to structure a story beforehand, and not at the table.
I'll look into The Story Engine card deck to see if it is more broad in scope and can be applied to different genres, and whether it would work for improvised adventure development at the table.
Anyway, anyone else using any type of story cards to generate improvised adventures at the table?
There's a card-based heist game (called 'The Score', by Steve Darlington) currently in the KickStarter phase where the heist generation process could work well for FS2.
For the past couple of months, I've been working on a set of Oracles and House Rules for solitaire Feng Shui. It's not quite the same thing as a Mad-Lib adventure, but has some similarities. Random generators for fight scenes and connective tissue and GMCs. I'm sure I'll post it to these forums when it's in a state worth sharing.