[UA] Whimsy cards and Storypath cards

[Rev Kev]

> He did the same thing with his Al Amarja game, only
> EVERYONE got three
> cards.  It created a lot of hilarious riffing, which
> sometimes got in the
> way of plotlines.  But since it was OtE, it didn't matter
> that much.

Ah yes, I had the honor of playing OtE under Tweet at
Gamicon in Iowa City.  I think it was probably 1992 or so. 
He explained to me that he was working on "Jammers."  I
think eventually that evolved into "Whimsy."  He even sent
me a list of Jammers in a text file.  I wonder if I still
have that file.

Eventually, I forgot about it until I found a nifty item at
a gaming shop or convention (I honestly cannot remember
where I picked this gem up).  It was called Storypath
Cards.

Here are some handy links:

http://woodelf.dyndns.org/alfresco/alFrescov1.0b.pdf
Page 23 of the PDF discusses the use of the cards.

Here is a link to an HTML version of that page:
http://woodelf.dyndns.org/alfresco/html/chapters/storypath.html
The PDF may be worth looking at just because it’s a unique
RPG mechanic that I’ve not seen before.  I didn’t look too
carefully at it, though.  Just a little something I found

http://www.darkshire.org/~jhkim/rpg/styles/whimsycards.html
An explanation of Whimsy Cards and Storypath Cards.  There
is a list of possible cards (maybe taken straight from
Whimsy).

http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/byzantium/55/whimsy.htm
Looks like the same information as the previous URL listed,
but it’s a slightly different format.

http://www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/digests/1998/6/1-840.txt
An In Nomine archive which briefly touches upon Storypath
Cards.

http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_0800.html
Review of the cards on RPG Net

ThreeGG2 at aol.com
This e-mail may or may not work.  I just dropped them an
e-mail on Friday.  It didn’t bounce back, so I have my
hopes that I can find out where to pick up more of these
cards.  I’ll be glad to share that info.


Anyway, I picked up Storypath some years back and never
used them.  Finally, I dusted them off to run an OtE game
that I inherited.  The rubber band in the box had
degenerated; that's how forgotten this product was.

Well, now I regret forgetting it.  These suckers are great.
 I can see how the cards can overwhelm the current
storyline.  I am going to have to be more stingy in
replacing cards after my last session.

However, they are great for giving plot directions that the
GM never even imagined.  Here is one example of my players
abusing me as the GM and forcing me to think (how dare
they!).

So, the plan was this NPC would lead the PCs to his van to
go to the docks.  In the back of the van, there was a bum
taking advantage of an enclosed space to sleep.  Before I
could even describe the scene of the NPC yelling at the bum
and the bum crawling drunkenly out of the van, one player
gives me the "Corpse" card.  

Okay, well, finding a corpse in OtE is nothing too unusual.
 So, they find a corpse.  One PC decides that the person
isn't really dead.  He tries some CPR that he learned from
TV...mainly, he slams his fist on the dead guy's chest.  He
decides it's a good time to play the "Fortunate Misfortune"
card.  He explains that he sprains his hand most painfully
during CPR, but his efforts dislodge a piece of paper from
the corpse's throat.

Suddenly, my droll plot device (IMO, it was kinda droll and
uninspiring) sprouted a new head with a whole new mystery
for the group to pursue.  Those bastards forced me to
quickly write up a note.  Now I have to concoct a whole
plot around that note.  I love my group.

So, yeah, Storypath or Whimsy cards can get in the way, but
with the right group, they can be utterly inspiring.

I suggest Storypath (and perhaps Whimsy, but I've not seen
those cards yet) highly.

Kevin


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