Fiasco!

[sparkletwist]

Who's up for a Fiasco?

The basic idea of the game is crazy capers, poor impulse control, and all kinds of trouble. The basic game's tone is designed to resemble a Coen Brothers film, but I'd like to have an Asura-themed fiasco... so the whole thing will be a bit more audacious and probably involve more collateral damage. Everyone plays their characters and collaboratively creates a story, with a few simple rules to help shape events. There is no GM, but I will act as facilitator-- keeping the mechanics moving and acting as a tie-breaker in case there is no group consensus when one is required.

I'd like to set it up here and then play it on IRC at a time that is good for everyone. I'm looking for 2 to 4 other players. It's specifically designed to be a one-shot, as characters are created on-the-fly and probably meet a terrible fate by the end of the tale.

If you've never played before and are interested, here's a basic summary of the rules:

[ooc=Fiasco rules]
Fiasco is played in five phases, the Setup, Act One, the Tilt, Act Two, and the Aftermath.

During the Setup, we will roll four dice for each player. Two of these dice are white and two are black, but the color isn't important now. These dice are placed in a pool at the center of the table, or, for this game, will be listed on the screen.
On your turn, pick up one die and use its value to determine a general relationship (e.g., Family) between your character and another character. It's not important that you know anything about your character right now-- they will be fleshed out by the character relationships, needs, locations, and objects that you choose.
The next player can then use another die determine a general relationship, or, if one is already decided, use a second die to fill in the specific nature (e.g., Family - Brother/Sister) of that relationship. Each character will have relationships with two other characters.
Characters who have a relationship defined can choose instead to add a Need, Location, or Object to that relationship, defining in the same way: one die for general, one for specific.
The last die is wild: ignore its actual value and choose whatever number you want.
A game should have at least one Need, one Location, and one Object, but in a four or five player game, there will need to be an extra detail, and this can be anything-- an extra Need for four players and an extra Object for five is recommended, but this is not set in stone. It's important to note that the Need, Location, or Object is applied to the relationship, not an individual character. It should suggest or enhance some aspect of the relationship between the two characters.
Hopefully, as this web of character elements is taking shape, ideas for the characters and what could possibly happen in the coming fiasco are beginning to emerge; at this time, you should name your character and start filing in the blanks.

Once all of the characters are created and a basic idea of what is about to take place has taken shape (but don't pre-plan too much of course!) it's time to begin Act One.
The first player chooses to either Establish or Resolve.
If you want to Establish, you set the scene: decide what your character is doing, what other player characters are there, and assign NPCs to anyone not playing an active character. If you have a link between your character to the other character, figure out how the relationship, need, location, or object comes into play. You can also use locations and objects from other people's relationships as long as you can figure out how to work them in. You don't need to involve everybody in every scene, but it's more fun to not have to sit out, of course. The group then plays out the scene, no stats theater style. As it plays out, everyone else in the group decides whether it ends well or badly for you. If someone is left out, let them take the lead in making this choice. If it ends well, take a white die and play out success. If it ends badly, take a black die and play out failure.
On the other hand, you can choose to Resolve. If you opt to resolve, then the group instead creates the scene for you-- the facilitator can take the lead here if the group is a bit stumped. You're essentially thrown into the situation and have to roll with it, but you get to choose how it ends for you. Either choose a white die and play out your success, or choose a black die and play out your failure.
After you have received your die, give it to someone else.
Act One ends when half of the dice are gone.

During the Tilt, new events happen that create further trouble for everyone. Roll the dice you've been given during Act One and subtract black from white: the highest and lowest players will choose the Tilt elements.
Then, roll the dice that remain in the center of the table and use them to choose two Tilt elements.
The player with the highest positive total chooses one general category, and the player with the lowest negative total fills it in and chooses another category, and finally the previous player fills that one in.
[spoiler=Tilt Table]
1 - Mayhem
(1) An out of control rampage
(2) A frantic chase
(3) A dangerous creature gets loose
(4) Magnificent self-destruction
(5) Cold-blooded score-settling
(6) Misdirected passion

2 - Tragedy
(1) Death, out of the blue
(2) Somebody's life is changed forever, in a bad way
(3) Pain, followed by confusion
(4) Death, right on time
(5) Confusion, followed by pain
(6) Death, after an unpleasant struggle

3 - Innocence
(1) Somebody is not so innocent after all
(2) Innocent people wander into the situation
(3) The wrong guy gets taken down
(4) Collateral damage, and lots of it
(5) Love rears its ugly head
(6) A well-meaning stranger intervenes

4 - Guilt
(1) A visit from the authorities
(2) Betrayed by friends
(3) Somebody develops a conscience
(4) Greed leads to killing
(5) Someone panics
(6) A showdown

5 - Paranoia
(1) An old rival arrives to settle a score
(2) What seems like dumb luck isn't - things are afoot
(3) Two people cross paths and everything changes
(4) A sudden reversal (of status, of fortune, of sympathy)
(5) Something you stole has been stolen
(6) Somebody was watching, waiting for their moment - and it has arrived

6 - Failure
(1) A stupid plan, executed to perfection
(2) Something precious is on fire
(3) A tiny mistake leads to ruin
(4) A good plan comes unraveled
(5) You thought it was taken care of but it wasn't
(6) Fear leads to a fateful decision
[/spoiler]
Act Two works the same as Act One, but you keep your dice instead of giving them away.

Finally, during the Aftermath, roll all of your dice, and subtract black from white again.
A very high positive total or a very low (high absolute value) negative total is good. Totals near zero can spell disaster.
This means characters that have been winning all along (lots of white dice) will continue to win, but characters who have taken a beating the whole time (lots of black) will also come out ahead. Characters who have had a lot of ups and downs will suffer a disaster.
Go around the table and create a montage of your character's ultimate fate: Each die represents one event, all of which should add up to shape the total outcome.
Each event should be of the approximate form, "This is <your character's name> <doing something>," quick, colorful, and focused on that character. The actual flow of time can take place in close to real time or over many years, depending.
You can use your dice in any order, and the value of the individual dice doesn't matter, only the color. A white die represents a generally positive event, a black die represents a generally negative event.
If you're satisfied with your montage early and someone else needs an extra die or two, feel free to pass them over.
[spoiler=Aftermath Table]
This is a bit simplified from the standard Fiasco Aftermath table, mostly because it was hard to really distinguish between some of the outcomes on there.

+13 or more = You win big. Everything you wanted, you get, and then some. You're the king, or queen, or whatever. Enjoy it!
+10-12 = Pretty good. It's likely not going to be everything you hoped for, but, all in all, you're still a winner. Time to relax.
+8-9 = Average. You probably end up about the same as where you started. Not better, but not that much worse either. It's a hell of a story to tell, that's for sure.
+6-7 = Learned the hard way. You're probably on your way to prison, or your reputation is wrecked, but at you might come out of this a better person?
+4-5 = No chance for improvement. The only thing you really learned here was the depths of your own failure. You're definitely incarcerated or your life is otherwise destroyed.
+3 = Utterly crushed. Your enemies gloat and you are powerless to do anything. You are completely ruined and you will never be the same.
+2 = No future whatsoever. You're probably dead from a self-inflicted wound, or just dead on the inside after realizing how badly it has all gone.
+1 = Complete and utter failure. Everyone you care about is dead and everything you care about is gone, and you kill yourself shortly thereafter.
0 = The worst thing ever. Death is too good for you. Any other fate on this list is too good for you.
-1 = Complete and utter failure. You're dead, and it's gruesome and slow. You took a lot of innocent people with you, unless that was your goal-- then it's just you, dead all by yourself.
-2 = Dead, dead, dead. You're more than likely dead, and it wasn't some noble sacrifice, because you completely failed, too. At least it was probably quick.
-3 = Misery. You're probably missing limbs or other body parts, which, since you're an Asura, will grow back... awkwardly and painfully. What won't come back is your dignity.
-4-5 = Very rough times ahead. You've suffered some nasty physical or mental trauma, and it's really too late for you now to do anything but tough out the consequences of your total failure.
-6-7 = School is in session. You didn't learn your lesson until it was too late, but at least you learned. You're going to suffer, but there's some hope for redemption... eventually.
-8-9 = Meh. You took a beating but you came out of it. You might have solved your old problems but you have some new ones now. Things changed, but nothing really changed.
-10-12 = Not so bad. It wasn't the easiest going, but somehow things worked out in the end. All's well that ends well, right?
-13 or less = Awesome. Somehow, all of your failure aligned to bring you unexpected success, while the fallout rains down on other people. You're calmly walking away from explosions without looking at them.
[/spoiler][/ooc]

[ic=A sample fiasco setup]
[note]This is based on an Asura campaign that I ran not too long ago. In a real game of Fiasco, these characters would not be created in advance, but rather fleshed out as their Relationships and other details emerged.[/note]
The four characters are:
- Vincent, a Latorian nobleman and a Paragon.
- Charo, an Agahzan boy who has recently become an Iron Demon.
- Kyra, an agent of the Progenitor Alliance.
- Kali-Murti, an ancient Revenant with an evil agenda.

Vincent and Charo have a Relationship of "Classy Paragon noble and Wild new Asura."
Between them, they have a Need to "Be a hero, because nobody else can."
They've discovered Kali-Murti's evil plot and are bent on stopping her. Unfortunately, nobody else believes that Kali-Murti is even a threat.

Vincent and Kyra have a Relationship of "Assassin and Target."
Between them, they have a Location of "Wandering about the busy Agahzan bazaar."
Kyra blew up an airship that Vincent was aboard in order to create a general state of panic in Agahza, so authorities would be on high alert when Kali-Murti attacked.

Kyra and Kali-Murti have a Relationship of "Bitter enemies."
Between them, they have a Need to "Win this battle, no matter what the cost."
Both of them are willing to do whatever it takes to destroy the other one, regardless of collateral damage.

Charo and Kali-Murti have a Relationship of "Same origins, but clashing personalities."
Between them, they have an Object of "Ruinous Insubstance."
They are both Asuras with powers of destruction. However, Charo tries to suppress his dark urges, while Kali-Murti thrives on death and misery.
[/ic]

[Weave]

I'm, of course, completely up for this (schedule pending). Count me in.

How long does one game typically last? Is this something we'd do over a couple hours, or over a few sessions? I imagine the generation process takes a little bit of time.

[Xathan]

As long as schedule allows, I'll be in! Just need to pick a character

[sparkletwist]

You don't really "pick" a character as such; the character generation process is sort of iterative and collaborative. It's something that can be done before play starts.
The actual session is a one or two-shot. They estimate around 2.5 hours for real life play so with IRC being a bit slower it might take two sessions, or just one 4-5 hour one if we can get a big block of time. Doing character generation ahead of time would help, too.

As for time, weeknights are fairly good for me (Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays work best) and my weekends are usually flexible enough I can free up whatever time as long as I know ahead of time.
Depending on when people sleep, some weird late start time might work too, because I've been keeping kind of late hours lately.
(Even if we don't have a long block then, if we get can get a couple of nights close to being in a row, that would work too)

[Xathan]

You don't really "pick" a character as such; the character generation process is sort of iterative and collaborative. It's something that can be done before play starts.

OH! I was confused - I missed the word "sample in the IC box.

The actual session is a one or two-shot. They estimate around 2.5 hours for real life play so with IRC being a bit slower it might take two sessions, or just one 4-5 hour one if we can get a big block of time. Doing character generation ahead of time would help, too.

Sounds good to me! nice little chunk of time.

As for time, weeknights are fairly good for me (Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays work best) and my weekends are usually flexible enough I can free up whatever time as long as I know ahead of time.
Depending on when people sleep, some weird late start time might work too, because I've been keeping kind of late hours lately.
(Even if we don't have a long block then, if we get can get a couple of nights close to being in a row, that would work too)

My work hours have changed, so I can do Monday and Thursday evening (after 7PM CST) so long as I have advanced noticed not to schedule things those nights (I can also do Wednesday, but that wasn't on your preferred list. Tuesdays are out.) Weekends are kind of shot for me for the foreseeable future, my new hours line up pretty well with all my existing social obligations, leaving me little remaining freetime on those days.

[sparkletwist]

I made a doodle to try to schedule this!

http://doodle.com/hqa83kawp5w78pqg

[Xathan]

I added to the doodle!

[sparkletwist]

Also, I'm not sure if the time zone support is working right, but if not, all times are CDT.

[Xathan]

Also, I'm not sure if the time zone support is working right, but if not, all times are CDT.

Oh, good, I don't have to change anything. :P

[Weave]

I'm in EST and so far it looks like the only day I could swing that Xathan could also swing is Wednesday, and that's just too late for me. Xathan, are there any earlier times for you next week?

[Xathan]

I'm in EST and so far it looks like the only day I could swing that Xathan could also swing is Wednesday, and that's just too late for me. Xathan, are there any earlier times for you next week?

Wish I could, but I don't get back from work on any of those days until 7pm cst. I could swing Thursday, I've realized, but again the earliest I get on would still be 7. Saturday is booked by my weekly Dresden game.

[Weave]

What time on Thursday works? I generally get to sleep around 10-10:30 EST, so 8 your time would be pushing it but I could give it a try (if that's a time that works).

Also, weekly Dresden game? Jealous.

[sparkletwist]

I think, either way, we can start with character building, which works fairly easily on a forum anyway.
(Complete pbp Fiasco is possible as a last resort, but it's rather slow, so I'd much rather try to set up an IRC session, even if it has to be multiple short ones due to scheduling burps)

Anyway, since there are three of us, the dice pool will have 12 dice in it. I'll roll them here, and keep track of the characters.
[ic=Dice Roll]1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4580693/[/ic]

I'll go first, to show how it works. (Reminder, the playset is here )

I'll use a 4, since we have a lot of them, to create a Crime relationship between my character and Weave's.

[ic=Character Building]
Remaining Dice Pool: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6

sparkletwist <-> Weave:
- Relationship: Crime

Weave <-> Xathan:
- Relationship: ?

Xathan <-> sparkletwist:
- Relationship: ?

[/ic]

Either of you can go next, using one of the leftover dice to pick an entry from the tables, and either fill in this relationship, create a new relationship between two characters that don't have one yet, or attach a need/location/object to a relationship.
To keep things moving let's say a player can get one "pick" ahead of the group, with the caveat that you can't take them twice in a row.
(e.g., I pick, then Weave picks, then if I happen to pop on before Xathan I can pick again, then Xathan goes, but I can't go again until both Weave and Xathan have had their second pick)

[Weave]

[ic=Character Building]
Remaining Dice Pool: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6

sparkletwist <-> Weave:
- Relationship: Crime

Weave <-> Xathan:
- Relationship: ?
- Need: To Escape

Xathan <-> sparkletwist:
- Relationship: ?

[/ic]

I chose to burn a 4 to satisfy a Need between myself and Xathan. I like how nebulous this all is at first but how fun it will be trying to piece things together as it goes along :P.

[Xathan]

I'm going to use the 2 to establish a romance relationship between myself and Sparkletwist.
[ic=Character Building]
Remaining Dice Pool: 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6

sparkletwist <-> Weave:
- Relationship: Crime

Weave <-> Xathan:
- Relationship: ?
- Need: To Escape

Xathan <-> sparkletwist:
- Relationship: Romance

[/ic]