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Ghostwriter • 2016 rpg
Jay Iles • www.ufo-press.co.uk
Choose one:
The Scan: an AI built from brain scans of a deceased author. Describe the genre, premise and main THEME of your unfinished work.
The Interpreter: an employee using the Scan to complete the story. Say why there’s demand for the book.
Find a source of random story [elements]: an oracle/tarot deck works.
Start at CHAPTER 1.
EVERY CHAPTER:
1) Scan: select a THEME in play to focus on.
2) Interpreter: deal out CHAPTER+2 [elements].
3) Scan: describe a context for each [element]: “Clara is longing for freedom”.
4) Interpreter: select CHAPTER [elements].
5) Scan: combine selected [elements] into a chapter synopsis that fits the focus THEME and one other.
6) Interpreter: GOTO 4 or write the synopsis down. If the Scan disagrees, describe a detail of their life or legacy that supports the THEMEs used.
7) Scan: how does the detail make you feel? Add 1 to ACCEPTANCE, DENIAL or ANGER [initial 0] as appropriate. If CHAPTER<5 start the next CHAPTER, else END.
END:
What’s highest?
ACCEPTANCE: the book’s a success; the Scan is placed in storage.
DENIAL: the Scan crashes, corrupting the work.
ANGER: the Scan escapes online, causing a scandal for the publisher.
Author Comments (if any)
Heavily inspired by the Ice-Bound Compendium (www.ice-bound.com)! I wanted to see if I could replicate the back-and-forth of that game in a tabletop format - both to allow for a wider breadth of story types, and to see if another human helping you make the story can make up for that game’s shortcomings. In a longer game I’d want to add in example themes and more overt win states for the interpreter - but a 200 word limit has its own virtues!
