Can I play this game
Yeah, that you can do.
starting with 'zygote challenge'?
You don't get to pick your worlds. MJ does that.
Go through the list, and find all of the threads about character generation. You will be allowed to play after you create your character sheet. That takes about 3 or 4 days. Once you have that set up, I'm certain MJ will start you, although it most likely won't be The Zygote Experience. Welcome to Gaming Outpost, Max.
Hmmm.... John, how would you like to be the game master instead?
That way you can learn how to be one and MJ can tell you how it is done...
I've never been a referee before, and I know almost nothing about that world. Also, MJ likes to start the new players. Wait until MJ gets here. He can answer your questions better than I can.
Max--Welcome to the board.
There are a lot of reasons why I do not start anyone in the Zygote Experience. Many of them have to do with the fact that I need to have some understanding of who you are before I can deal with who you might become. Also, one of the things that makes Zygote work is that your character is already aware that he is a verser who has lived in other universes, and that this time it's different--which means it has to be different from something you have already experienced. Oh, and it is supposed to be completely surprising and unexpected--what makes it work is that you do not know what is happening and are attempting to work it out for yourself. I'll bear in mind that you're interested, though.
Also, I have a strong preference for putting people in "starter worlds" where they can get at least a few of their questions answered and so have some idea what is happening to them. I don't always do that, and my starter worlds can vary quite a bit, but they share the detail that you will encounter someone who knows enough to explain a bit to you.
John, Zygote isn't that difficult to run "straight"; it's the last world in The First Book of Worlds, if you have that, and is pretty well arranged. The only really tricky part is figuring out who you want the player to "become" in his new life. For example, one of the most traumatic moments in the life of the womanizing Whisp was being born a girl. Even sticking with contemporary human societies, you can run the gamut from silver spoon in the mouth to Brazilian ghetto orphan to Chinese Communist Party affiliate. That's just the beginning. I've done Sprite, and I think someone did sentient lion cub (The Lion King). But the real work goes into interacting with the player to create a life in the world as he grows to adulthood.
So if you're interested in playing, we'll get a character together for you and launch you in a starter world. Who knows? Maybe I'll drop you in the world with John.
--M. J. Young
So if you're interested in playing, we'll get a character together for you and launch you in a starter world. Who knows? Maybe I'll drop you in the world with John.
What? Put him in TerraNova? That would be cool. (Hey, I'd be the Elder Verser for a change....)
(Doing Therapy)
Hi there MJ and John...
I thought that it is easier to go to 'Zygote Experience' first.
You can guess who I am and what I want by the way I play the game.
So it will be a game to both the player and the referee.
I just like to do things in alternate way.
And in the 'Zygote Experience' you can play first and try to remember what you are in the past.
That will be interesting to both sides and add an element of mystery.
Either way, you can give me a random average attribute for a person.
And I will play as that person and can start up the adventure quickly.
If there are conflicting attribute then you will find out in the play.
Not being in a starter world first might be a blessing in disguise.
It sounds interesting, is it not?
Max, what you need to do is read more of what they're talking about on the thread. First off, do you have any skills which you would consider expert or professional level? If you're good enough to do it for a living, you're professional. (I delivered pizzas for 3 years, so I have professional level driving, for instance)
Do you have any attributes which you believe (and can reasonably back up) which would show that you are in the top 2 percent of the human population? (Genius level IQ, for instance) If you've recently played any kind of sports (football, etc.) then you would likely have professional agility, stamina and strength.
You gotta be a little bit more detailed than this. Go through the thread, read all of the postings, and try to set it up better.
Average strength would be 1@5, I believe. Average IQ would also be 1@5. (I have almost a genius IQ, so mine is 1@10) If you graduated high school, then your education level is 1@10, if you have any college degrees, it would be raised to 2@ something.
Oh yeah, and I think you will like TerraNova, if MJ decides to start you there. It's basically a huge shopping mall the size of a moderately-sized city. Anything and everything you can think of, you can get. Also, there is myself, and 2 other NPC versers in the scenario. One of them is helping me to improve my boxing and psionic abilities. It would be a excellent starter world for you, if MJ decides to throw you into it. Good place to get some new skills and equipment.
I mean, right off the bat, you can learn psionics, magic and fighting from Lauren. I could teach you metalworking (I was a blacksmith in my last world) and I'm sure I could give you some survival tips for the future.
Two Posts
Don't post it just yet, Max, but on your equipment, it's up to 200 pounds of gear that you personally own, or know that someone else wouldn't mind you taking without asking. It's what you would take if you were leaving your house at a moment's notice, knew you would never come home, and didn't know what was awaiting you in the near future.
Good luck. Don't post it yet, just ponder on it for a little while.
(Doing Therapy)
It looks to me as if John and Max cross-posted; that's the best explanation I have for why John's post is so completely oblivious to what Max is saying.
Apparently Max is someone we know--perhaps John 1, or perhaps someone connected with Valdron, or someone else who has played before. He wants to jump in as an unknown.
Max, I've got a few problems with this, but maybe if we discuss them we can come to some resolution that satisfies both of us.
- When you "Zygote" in Multiverser, you retain all your non-physical attributes--persuasion, charisma, animal magnetism, intellect, intuition, education level, and will power--from your previous life, from the moment of conception. Your physical attributes are all lost and have to be rebuilt, and these can become very different, but you haven't forgotten a thing about your former life. Thus I would need to know a great deal about who you are in those terms, so that you could start as yourself returned to zygote. This world really is, "If I could do it all over knowing what I now know," except that you're not doing it over in your own family but in some other one.
- In like manner, you retain all your technological, psionic, and magic skills. That means I would have to know in considerable detail what you know. If you can program a computer as you are now, then you would be able to program a computer just as soon as you can make your fingers operate the keys.
- Although you lose all your body skills, you don't forget that you knew them, and you don't really forget how to do them--your body forgets, but your mind remembers. That means that if you're a proficient acrobat, you already know what it's like to be a proficient acrobat, and you can use your experience in your life now as an example from which to teach yourself those skills afresh. That means that if you're an average professional (2@5) tightrope walker now, I have to know that, so that when you try to teach yourself tightrope walking I will know that you get the +25 bonus for having the example of your own previous life experience.
- Also, even though obviously it's not all in the womb with you, your possessions make the trip as well. The referee generally "hides" these--burying them or otherwise concealing them where they can survive a decade or two until you're old enough to seek them. Thus we would still have to create your entire equipment sheet and figure out where those objects are in relation to you when you verse out, so they can be placed in the new world for you to collect as you mature.
- Finally, when the zygote experience ends--that is, whenever it is that your character dies in this world--you begin to revert to who you were before. It happens gradually over a number of worlds--but in order for it to happen at all, I would have to have a pretty good handle on who you were and what you looked like and what skills and abilities you had before your first death so that I could start blending the two persons into the new you.
So, do you have any suggestions as to how we can resolve some of this?
--M. J. Young
P.S.--we already have a player named Max. If you are not him, that would make you Max 2; but I'm betting this is not your real name, and it's rather silly for me to give you both numbers if your name is pseudonymous. But if you're intent on hiding your identity, I suppose Max 2 is as good as anything.
--M. J. Young
It looks to me as if John and Max cross-posted; that's the best explanation I have for why John's post is so completely oblivious to what Max is saying.
No, didn't cross post. I figured it was just someone inexperienced about how we do things here. I was trying to lend a hand. Someone who came in the way I did.
Apparently Max is someone we know--perhaps John 1, or perhaps someone connected with Valdron, or someone else who has played before. He wants to jump in as an unknown.
I would have never guessed that......
Max wrote:
You can guess who I am and what I want by the way I play the game.It would not be possible for us to guess who he is unless he is someone already known to us. It is unlikely to be someone famous--not Mike Stackpole for example.
It is an interesting proposition; I just do not yet know how it could be done without knowing more about the player.
--M. J. Young
Hi,
MJ, you are right when you say I want to remain an unknown for now.
Max is a pseudonym and it is a common name.
You can call me Maxx rather than Max 2.
That way you will save time typing it.
If the referee can get 'Zygote Experience' from the get go then a game may be start up faster although it may progress slower but in the long run it may attract more verser.
Then by creating a specific situation, the referee can ask some question relating to the past life such as when faced in certain situation such as using a computer, doing chores and others.
That way you can know the attribute that is useful at that moment.
The key here is asking the right question at the right moment.
Max, you mentioned me running the world. Were you serious about that, or did you just pull it out of thin air?
(Doing Therapy)
Max, I am inclined to think that it is harder this way; but I will do it. Problem is, I won't do it the way you want--I'm not going to start without knowing that there is a character sheet somewhere. What I will do, instead, is let you create your own character sheet and keep it secret for the present. It must include your name, nicknames, all fourteen attributes, weaknesses/medical notes, description including current hair, all the skills you can think of, and your equipment. You'll find the guide sheets for those things near the beginning of this thread. You don't have to post any of it here, but you do have to tell me when it's done.
There is one other thing I would need to know. Once you have your equipment sheet, we will assume that you verse out from the middle of your own home, and that your "on person" equipment drops directly below you. One thing that you will experience from the beginning is the sense that you "left something" "over there"--and it will be distinct feelings in every direction in which you have equipment. Thus what I need to know is how many separate locations in your house will you be sensing, and what are their distances and directions from the point you pick as your starting point?
To make that clear, let us suppose that you are in a first floor bedroom at one end of the house, and that you have clothes in a dresser. We will say that the dresser is ten feet in front of you, and that will be your zero degrees marker. So you would tell me there are "a bunch of things" at zero degrees ten feet ahead. Then you have a closet on your left, which is five feet away, so you say "a few things at ninety degrees left, five feet". You have a bicycle in the garage, which is "one object, 120 degrees right, seventy feet".
I don't usually have to go through this, because if you were not zygoting almost everything would be scattered around you in plain sight and you would start by collecting it; but since you want to do it this way, we have to plot everything relative to your point of origin, so we can track your movements across it.
Let me know when this is all finished, and I'll figure out how to start you.
--M. J. Young
John, I really like to see you run a game because I can see some sort of potential.
MJ, about the equipment sheet.
Can someone take nothing with them?
If that can be done, then I think I am ready to go because I can just scavenge the item I need in the world I versed to.
About the character sheet, if I keep it hidden then when do you want to ask about it?
I do have a character sheet but I am not too sure about the attribute value.
I may have been under/overestimating myself.
We can tweak that attribute as we go along.
Max, I kind of have to ask. Since I now know that you're not a newbie player asking for help, and would probably be capable of refereeing me, why not let me run it? From what I understand, it's just having the person grow up in a normal environment. I'd probably start you March 13, 1977 (The day I was born, why not?) and just run you as a child growing up in 1980s and 90s Ohio. I'm sure there would be plenty of chances to figure out who you are.
A rookie ref should probably play with someone who could run him for a while, ya know? Anyway, it's just a thought. That and 50 cents will get you a can of soda.
(Doing Therapy)
John, do you have The First Book of Worlds?
The Zygote Experience doesn't start with the date of your birth. It starts with the date of your conception.
There is also a lot of child development information in the book--when teeth cut, when it becomes possible to pick up an object with one hand, that sort of thing.
Max, you would have to verse out naked. I suppose you could do that, if you want. It's not like you would need to be dressed when you arrived. I think, though, that I might have a bit of trouble figuring out what sort of electronic accident you might have when you were completely naked.
Also, do you have any jewelry that you would not remove?
--M. J. Young
I think, though, that I might have a bit of trouble figuring out what sort of electronic accident you might have when you were completely naked.
That's easy. Taking a bath, knocked his new "Scriff Inside" hair dryer into the bathtub.
I could get the First Book of Worlds, I'm sure. Like I said, it was just a thought.
(Doing Therapy)
How about an accident where a prototype virtual reality machine (uses Scriff technology) that need the body to be submerged in amniotic liquid goes wrong (or does it)?
So by then, all jewelry (if any present) must be removed.
Or if you want to add an equipment, a watch-like device to communicate with the machine can be added as a replacement for starter world guidance.
Just an idea though.
John, lets see how MJ handles this situation and learn from it because this is like threading into new dimension.
Are there any system where experienced referee helps with the calculation for new referee?
Are multiple referee system with multiple player exist in Multiverser?
It seem like I have read about the above questions but it may also be a figment of my imagination.
We don't have any particular rules for multiple referees, but we've worked with them before. Some examples include games in which one person is refereeing for several players while one of his players is refereeing for him. I believe that E. R. Jones and Richard Lutz did this in some very early games: both player characters started in NagaWorld, which Jones had created and was unfolding, but Lutz was overseeing Jones' character actions. I think. I was not there. I do know that Lutz ran Jones' character in many of those early adventures, and in fact is credited as the initial creator of Zygote, in which Jones' character started at birth. E. R. Jones later ran it for Chris Jones' (no relation) character Whisp with a pre-birth aspect, in the famed Mother adventures, and I fleshed out the details and ran it on several people of whom I think Dorian Mantell was the first.
So, Max, no jewelry, no possessions, you are in a virtual reality game which uses a sensory deprivation tank, in which you are completely naked. You started playing as a fighter in a medieval swords and sorcery world, and you were fighting a blue dragon when it suddenly hit you with a bolt of its electrical breath.
And you felt that shock. Suddenly, though, there was nothing. Everything went dark. You think that you lost the game, but it seems to be on hold.
This will continue in Maxximum Reality: Maxx Starts Play.
--M. J. Young
Speaking of referees and such...
I've got a convention coming up next weekend. As usual, I'm going to be running the RPG table, and I'll have my heavily indexed copy of the Big Black Book with me.
That said, seeing as my track record as a long-term referee is currently 0 for 2, is there anyone who would like to volunteer to work with any newbs I might pick up one week hence?
Ya know Max, I was thinking about doing exactly the same thing you're doing. Coming in as an unknown player. However, the way I post, they would know it was me within a matter of days.
I've got a convention coming up next weekend. As usual, I'm going to be running the RPG table, and I'll have my heavily indexed copy of the Big Black Book with me.
Hi, I'm one of the newbies that Harry picked up at AnimeNext. My name is Doug, and he's got quite a story to tell about my introduction. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to leave my character sheet at the hotel today, so I lost my carefully crafted list of equipment. AAUGH! (Did anyone else happen to grab it? Probably not, but it can't hurt to ask...)
Oh yes, Doug...
You know how Versers tend to have their first death being exposed to Scriff by an electronic device?
In Doug's case, we established that he plays a lot of video games, and goes to a lot of conventions and trade shows.
So, he was at a trade show at Javits, and he was exposed to Scriff by a device called Playstation Virtual.
It's intended to be a virtual reality machine.
Consequently, even after going through the Desert Island and winding up... elsewhere (I don't think he has landed yet) he doesn't believe any of it is real. His Verser self, whom he intended to be a bit genre savvy, is instead a bit wrong genre savvy. He thinks it's all a game.
Worst, and funniest, Verser intro ever.
You'll have to work with Harry to rebuild the sheet, I guess.
I got an e-mail from someone named--well, I don't remember the name, I'm really bad at names, but I posted it in the new thread about the new user password problem. Hopefully we can resolve his problem.
--M. J. Young
Bob Thomas thinks it's all a simulation. WHY?????? Having taken a few hallucinogenic drugs in my time, I can say with certainty that you know when the trip is over, and reality sets in. It's just something you know, ya know? I don't think he would have that delusion for more than a few hours.
(Doing Therapy)
(RD)
So you know when the trip is over. What if it never ends?
All I have to say Scott, is, you've obviously never done any hallucinogenic drugs.
(Doing Therapy)
(RD)
Well, look at dreaming for an analogy. Dreaming is an event which we are only aware of when it is over; we are not conscious of entering it, our memory of the moments before falling asleep are erased, and during the dream (except in rare lucid dreams) we are not aware of dreaming. This last part is the most applicable. If you never wake up from the shockingly real dream, how can you make the argument that it's a dream and not reality?
So basically this guy entered a virtual reality machine, got shocked, and thinks he's still playing the game. Makes sense to me. I wonder how long that'll last, or what will convince him otherwise.
It's basically the whole Matrix question: How can you tell you're dreaming if you never wake up?
As I said in the other post: the mystery girl MJ got an email from is Ahmetia. Hopefully she'll get herself up and running soon. In the mean time, I'll go create a thread for Doug, and try to figure out which world he's headed for.
Meanwhile, I say again, considering my notorious unreliability as a forums referee (sorry, Ric) does anyone feel like lending our new friends a hand? I'd hate to just pawn them off on MJ, even though they are both safely between Verses at the moment and thus now would be a good time, but I'm rarely home nowadays and even more rarely online, and I don't want to just leave them hanging...
Yeah, I guess you guys are right. With hallucinogens, you know the trip is over because the pretty colors aren't there anymore. (I've seen colors no one else on earth has ever seen) I still think though that, even a VR simulation, you would realize you weren't in it pretty quickly. The Matrix is different though. If you were born into the simulation, and had absolutely no basis for comparison, that would be your reality. You could tell the difference between reality and a simulation (at least I'd think) because you have a reference point for comparison.
O'Sevens - I'd offer, but I'm unreliable as well. (Sorry James.)
I would certainly offer too. I'd love to have a chance to referee someone. However, I'd want that "someone" to be an experienced referee who could kind of lead me through it.
Well, I guess I'll muddle through, if Doug and Metia will bear with me.
Speaking of which:
Doug, go read the character creation instructions and have at it. This thread, and the "Yes, you can play, but..." thread.
I was hoping I could play mostly IRL, but play-by-post could work too, I guess.
Anyway, on to recovering my character sheet!
Full Name: Douglas Alan Scheinberg
A.K.A: Doug
Physical description:
Height: 5'4"
Weight: I'll go with 130 lbs. ;)
Hair: Light brown, short.
Eyes: Green
Age: 26 (looks 20)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Attributes:
Physically, I'm not very impressive. I can't do a pull-up and tire quickly when running. (I can walk long distances, though.)
It's impolite to brag, but I will claim to have a genius-level intellect. I don't know what my IQ score is, but I know it's way high up there. I'm particularly good at math. I went to Rutgers University on a full merit scholarship, and impressed my freshman calculus professor so much that they gave me a $500 prize for being an exceptional first-year math student. Even among Rutgers University students, I was often one of the top math students in my classes, so I can reasonably estimate that, when it comes to math, I'm at the 1 in 10000 level. If you care about my SAT scores, I scored 800 Verbal 750 Math; I'm really good at taking tests.
I have good hand-eye coordination from playing way too many video games.
I'm extremely nearsighted and wear glasses. However, with the glasses, my eyesight is corrected to 20/10.
I consider myself somewhat less intuitive than average; I tend to live up to the "absent-minded professor" stereotype and fail to notice what's going on around me.
Education Level: I have a bachelors' degree from Rutgers University. My major was Computer Engineering and I have a minor in mathematics.
Potential weaknesses:
Eyeglasses, as explained above.
I'm allergic to penicillin.
I suffer from on-and-off depression, and I take Effexor to control it. If had to quit my medication cold turkey, the withdrawal symptoms would make me miserable for several days.
My character is currently Wrong Genre Savvy - he thinks he's stuck in a video game of some kind and will expect the world to act accordingly.
Skills, "professional" and otherwise:
I can do computer programming well enough to get an entry-level position at a software company.
I can teach math; I was a teacher's assistant for a math course one semester at Rutgers. I don't have a teaching certification or anything like that, though.
I can play the piano and clarinet at the "talented amateur" level. I can't improvise, though, and need sheet music to play something.
I am a dedicated atheist, and can give arguments to justify it.
I was in the Boy Scouts for a while, so I'm not totally helpless in the wilderness. I can perform first aid (if poorly) and took CPR training.
I took four years of Spanish in high school. I can't hold my own in a spoken conversation and I've forgotten most of it, but I can handle simple *written* Spanish, especially with the help of a Spanish-English dictionary.
More to come in a little while.
I am a dedicated atheist, and can give arguments to justify it.
Not trying to argue religion, but I was curious. Magic, as defined in the game, is asking a god or other deity to perform the act for you, right? So, an Atheist wouldn't be able to do any kind of magic, because they don't believe in any god to perform the act in the first place. Is that accurate?
A1Nut - Divine magic is defined as asking a god to work magic for you. Arcane magic is drawing power from outside yourself, but shaping it yourself. Regardless, atheism is defined in-game as prohibiting magic above I believe 0@3 on the bias curve, which Doug understands. (The idea being you simply do not believe enough in the existence of the supernatural to work with it on any level, even doing so yourself. Atheism in any form, however, does not preclude the use of psionics. It also gives bonuses on resisting magic - your disbelief weakens the effect.)
As for the work of reconstructing Doug's character sheet... my broadsword class has left me far too tired to go book-diving tonight, but it should be swift work to start him a thread and get him going tomorrow.
I thought I'd clarify what I said earlier: if in the future you feel the need to pawn a player off on someone, I am willing to take players on. I just don't guarantee reliable, daily posts.
Given that we're both unreliable, my impression was that you'd rather run your friends yourself. But, if you change your mind, or if you'd like to run one and hand one off, I'm open to that if they're willing to be patient with me on occasion.
__
In terms of actually responding to the thread, I don't have much to say other than that some of Doug's class standing is almost certainly due to math skill rather than exclusively resulting from native intellect; still, it's good evidence for a level two intellect of some intensity (likely between 2@3 and 2@6 or so; I don't know much about Rutgers and I don't have statistics for the SAT on hand (and the year he took it would be helpful for that, I think)).
That's something I was wondering. In the 8th grade (age 14) I scored in the 98th percentile in science. Equivalent to a freshman in college. That's top 2% in science, but my intellect is only 1@10, because I don't officially have a genius IQ. (I think mine is 133, genius is 140)