Introducing the Words Driven Adventure - A Story to Build Together

Let us try something bold - an ongoing role playing adventure that would challenge our writing skills and imagination. Running on posts and comments. I think it is quite possible to achieve something good given we come up with a good structure.

I will lead such an experiment, starting right here. While I don't mind if others do the same or spin-offs to our story occur. That I actually encourage. It may become necessary to split in groups after a while, anyway.

Just a watercolour practise of mine as an inspiration. It might depict a small part of a small part of a world we may someday set a foot upon.

Basics

I believe I have enough experience in traditional role playing games to be able to simplify things by disposing of dice rolls, complicated rules and focus on the story building, creativity and decision making.

The unique thing about this one - words are power. Words will be your main resource and it will change in time.

Your role as participants

To invent original characters, and to navigate them through the story, under the rules I will describe below. The setting I will also provide below will allow for an almost unlimited variety of characters.

Through their background you will also have the possibility to world build upon the flexible foundation I will give you.

Their minds, bodies and will (and background) are up to you. You decide how they will act and what they try to achieve. This last part is the most tricky for new participants to understand properly, so let me give you an example:

You can't say 'I grab his hat and I disappear behind a corner'.

You can say 'I try to grab his hat and disappear behind some corner'.

My role as a Host

To create the environment and set the restrictions under which you develop your characters. To describe the consequences of your character's actions and to provide new situations, challenges and rewards.

Rules

• Word limit - each guest author starts with 300 words per week. You may split them among as much posts/comments as you choose. Those recharge to maximum each Sunday at midnight, Greenwich time. You cannot save words for later but having words in your reserve before the end of the week allows you to react to situations and having them all spent leaves your character a bit more vulnerable. You will be awarded additional words as a reward for certain achievements;

• No disrespectful conduct between participants, please;

• Give me and the others time to respond;

• Be patient. Sometimes days may pass without a response from somebody. The others just continue following the word restriction and recharge rules;

• Mark your 'in-game engagement' or 'entries' parts of your comments or posts with [WA]

• Mark your meta comments and social engagement with [META]. For instance, if you want to ask me something;

• Comments without [WA] mark will be considered meta. Unless pretty obvious that you just forgot about it. One post or comment may contain both [META] and [WA] parts;

• If you make separate posts, use the #words-adventure tag and leave links to your posts under my weekly posts that will be calling you to action. Most of the interaction will happen there;

• Mention the authors you wish to interact with 'character to character'. Use the above marks. The mention does not count towards your word limit. Only texts starting with [WA] count towards that. Those are the fiction parts;

• Take note of the 'Characters' section below;

• I don't know. Rules will change to make things better and easier for everybody.

Rewards

Will come unexpected at first. The I will have to adapt so they remain unexpected...

• Words - your weekly word count will increase by exact amounts which I will 'hand out' personally with a mention in my summaries;

• Story 'awards' - thing that we will learn about the world, in-game assets and sometimes losses. Which does not mean you deserve to be punished, just... you know, story;

• Interaction;

• Upvotes, transfers of either SBD or STEEM, sbi shares or sponsored treeplanter upvotes (if you do not want those, you need to specify, i.e. let me know when you join), etc. Happening without a promise, without particular order but with some reason that triggered me...

Characters

• They need to be at least forms of sentient species. It is not a shame to be a human. Humans are quite diverse whereas intelligent coffee vending machines or bee hives might be quite streamlined;

• Let's stick to one entity per author for now;

• You may define one special ability for your character. Its boundaries will be redefined in the progress of our story;

• You may define two qualities that work well for your character and up to two more such qualities at the cost of a balancing drawback each;

• Your character has to be able to communicate;

• You don't have to reveal all of your appearance or all of your background at once but clues will be appreciated;

And now - the Setting and the prompt situation

At the 204th issue of Intergalactic Ancient Cultures Convention on Altair Prime's moon a precious relic was expected to be brought forth for the first time. Its contents - finally immortalized as part of the virtual libraries of the Subspace Web. 'The Complete Halloween Encyclopedia' from Old Earth - thirteen tomes in hard cover of authentic Old Earth oak.

And it was stolen. The admiral of the Courier Armada had immediately resigned upon confirming the fact that it was, indeed, missing. His act was of no consequence whatsoever to the attending billions.

What mattered to everybody was that somebody would do such an act of barbarism and what threatened one culture's artifacts threatened the principles of civilization itself.

A committee had to be organized and something done to restore peace in the multitude of minds...

This is where you step in, first, by introducing yourself and your possible reactions to the news.

Manol out.

P.S. Except that I would like to invite people I met across the writing and other creative circles. I will mention just a few but I hope you share with others as well.
@jayna, @calluna, @loreshapergames, @vdux, @mariannewest, @felixgarciap, @bananafish, @blockurator, @ntowl, @f3nix, @delishtreats, @ediblecthulhu, @improv and soon others. Forgive me, I have to go now.