Mario-Party Like

Session Zero

Session Zero is where players meet and greet and agree to social norms of the team. This is where you all agree to how your team will earn money in the world. You'll also agree to what constitutes misconduct and with how it is dealt. Should a game master/mistress be used or shall it be GM-less? Here is a short checklist of suggested topics to consider:

• Intoxicant use
• Where mobile devices fit in (should they be turned off?)
• Frequent distractions
• Aggressive player behavior
• How player characters can be influenced by another one?
• How will secrets be shared between players?
• Is meta-knowledge allowed or should players rely on their own intuitions?
• How to handle when a player is no longer comfortable with a situation?
• How to handle frequent player absences

These are just a short list of items. All of these and more can be discussed by the players when session zero happens. Whatever happens, all players must agree to the terms set forth or else the sessions shouldn't happen.

The session needs to have a "time box". This is to say, only allow some amount of time, say 30 minutes to 1 hour. If more time is necessary, and all players agree, more time may be added to complete the session.

Finally, record these down as the team's constitution. Signatures aren't quite necessary, but they can be if players agree.

Basics

The basic rules of "Many-Sided Fates" is beating a target number. The target number is higher given the difficulty of the task, such as cleaning the dishes without chipping glasses and smashing plates or attacking the rabid gorilla wielding a chainsaw and club. Here is a table of suggested difficulty ranges:

But how do you build a dice pool? Every character will have the same attribute, called Chaos. This represents the character's ability to overcome adversity or accomplish some sort of task. It is represented in the following format: Xd4+Y. By default, characters start off with 3d4+0. However, improvement is certainly possible.

Improving Characters

To improve your character, they must earn Improvement Points (IP). Because of the cinematic nature of "Many-Sided Fates", IP are awarded through role-playing ability. The following is a list of many ways to earn them:

• Played-well with others: 2 points
• Fun was to be had: 3 points
• Stayed in character: 3 points
• Quality play: 6 points
• Accomplished all goals: 8 points
• Went out of the way: 10 points

Now the character has IP, how can they be spent to improve them, hence the name. For every +1 point requested, three times the whole dice (the X in Xd4+Y) worth of IP are spent. Once, +3 are accrued, a whole die is added and the bonus becomes +0. For example, a character starts off with 3d4+2 and spends 9 IP to make it 4d+0.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Using Other Dice Sizes

It's entirely plausible other sided dice may be used, for example six or twenty. The catch is how it"s handled when a whole die is made. The key is to once +N-1 bonus is accrued, a new whole die is added. For example, if a 20-sided die is used, a whole die is added when the bonus becomes +19.

This is fine and dandy, but don't go too high in the sides on the die or else it will get hairy on how long it takes to improve the character.

Solo or GM-Less Play

It's entirely plausible to use the RPG to play with just one player or no game master/mistress at all! In this case, the player may use several aids, such as the Game Master's Apprentice. Such approaches should help the player with simulating any input other players or game masters/mistresses may place in the actions taken.