Know Thyself outline

Ryan Macklin – June 30, 2007

I.                    Ashcan Introduction

a.       Welcoming reader to be part of the process

b.      This is the Ships Passing In The Night version of the game

c.       Pre-loading Questions

                                                               i.      Need a better title for the game

                                                             ii.      Looking for a “We’re All In This Together” version of the game

                                                            iii.      Handling of roles, scenes and conflicts

II.                 About Know Thyself

a.       The Game in Brief

b.      Origins: Game Chef & Unknown Armies

c.       How to read the ashcan text

III.               Game Setup

a.       Social contract

                                                               i.      Boundaries

                                                             ii.      Gender

                                                            iii.      What amnesia is

                                                           iv.      Using this as a character creation tool

b.      The character sheet

                                                               i.      The Impulse

                                                             ii.      The Attachments

1.      Distributing Attachments

2.      Guidelines for Attachments

3.      Quick Set-up: Randomly Drawing Attachments from Play Deck

                                                            iii.      Other elements

                                                           iv.      Handing off the character sheet

c.       The Play Deck

                                                               i.      What’s on the Play Deck

                                                             ii.      How to use the Play Deck

IV.              Game Play

a.       Overview

b.      Turn Structure

c.       Roles

                                                               i.      Lead Actor/Active Player/Active Character

                                                             ii.      Stage Manager/Scene Framer

                                                            iii.      Foil/Adversity

                                                           iv.      Outcome Narrator

                                                             v.      Memory Narrator

                                                           vi.      Supporting Actors/Side Characters

                                                          vii.      Adjudicators

                                                        viii.      Optional: Playing with a GM

d.      Scenes

                                                               i.      Anatomy of a scene

                                                             ii.      Reading the Play Deck

                                                            iii.      Ritual phrase: “That’s when you said/thought…”

                                                           iv.      Special scenes

1.      Initial/Waking scene

2.      Endgame scene

                                                             v.      Drive to conflict

e.       Conflicts

                                                               i.      Calling a conflict

                                                             ii.      Reading the Play Deck

                                                            iii.      Burning Bridges: drawing more cards

                                                           iv.      The Difficult Choice: Outcome or Memory

1.      Player always makes this choice

2.      Outcome narration

a.       Consequences

b.      Move or Stay?

3.      Memory narration

a.       Reading the Play Deck

b.      Control of the character sheet

                                                             v.      Endgame

V.                 Designer’s Notes: My Master Plan

VI.              Appendix

a.       Play Deck charts