Timewaster's Guide Archive
Games => Role-Playing Games => Topic started by: riftalope on October 10, 2006, 12:07:58 PM
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Do any of your campaign members or groups do what my local gamers call a bluebook? It's how we flex the novelist in us by penning out character thoughts and away from game events. This is where the GM becomes the editor, with the power to adjust, revise, or flat out remove parts of what you say went on in his world. With bluebooking you get to shine without taking away time from everyone else. Want to solidify that conversation you and your squire had? Bluebook it. Want a clearer background? Bluebook it. Want the GM to know how in love or angry or deluded your character is? You get the point.
As a GM you can encourage good bluebooks by tacking a small experience bonus (one point in hero) for a game with submitted bluebooking.
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I really like that idea. Kind of combines a gaming group with a writing group.
I'm not sure if everyone in my gaming group is literate enough to do it. Maybe someday I'll have group that is.
It could also be a great way to gain motivation to write short stories or just fan fic.
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Agreed. A lot of characters I've seen (and, yes, some I've played) would benefit from some fleshing out. It's amazing how some character background helps your role-playing.
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It's a great idea I've found doesn't work well in practice, at least for my groups.
We've had some success with people posting in-character account on Livejournal, especially when we were playing Vampire, but eventually folks get busy and that's that.
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There would probably have to be some sort of incentive to get players to "bluebook." Some sort of story award or something that helps motivate the player to develop the character. Yet there would also need to be an understanding that not all players have the time to write about their character regularly, and for some it may even lessen the enjoyment of playing.
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Do you have any examples of this?
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Following much tribulation, I have finally raised EP's corpse and given it a semblance of life.
After I went through his pockets and looked for loose change, of course.
Welcome back. :)
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Thanks Harbinger,
Eagle Prince, for an example I'll point to the present Hero Game I'm in (Marvel universe). The GM gives his standard experience out, plus one point if you've given bluebooking for the last session. His brother never bluebooks, so he's got none, ever. My roommate, making something every time, has twenty extra points from it. And despite him sometimes making entire adventures or three at a time, he still gets one point per adventure. He's having fun!
We enter games with bluebook rewards with the agreement that we may or may not get much out of it. Sometimes a player that is creative (see: roommate) will write things when there's no bb reward in the campaign, just to confirm to the GM that "this" is how the character thinks, that he's really Role Playing and not just Roll playing.
RPH
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I wonder what it would be like to have a buebook heavy campaign.
It would help out campaigns where the members can't meet together very often. Plus it builds on the whole "collaborative story-telling" idea of role-playing.
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FYI, the terms "bluebook" and "bluebooking" has a special meaning for attorneys. The bluebook is the official guide to legal citations and it is used to torture law students, particular those on a law review or legal journal.
*Lost One hides under his covers at the thought of bluebooking*
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Yay, we scared a lawyer. I knew this site was good for something.
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I'd take a bow, but I'm against frightened people. :P
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Well if you really wanted to try it out, we could do a game with it. I think we have already done this in a way with a few campaigns. Like in that low-magic game, I did a knight tourny over email or in the evil game with all the dreams... I mean it was over email vs a blog or something, but it amounted to the same thing imo.