Troped! - The Story LEGO Game
I started building Troped! to help my non-TTRPG friends easily and intuitively play story games.
The basic concept? We all know Tropes - why not make a game where you could build a story out of Tropes, just like a model out of LEGOs?
To fire this game up on KS, I need 200 names on my email list. Read through the mechanics, and if you like what you see, sign up at TropedGame.com.
There are two base decks: Script and Screen. The Script deck has nouns - Settings, Antagonists, Extras, Relationships - and the Screen deck has verbs: dialogue, action, Death and Plot Armor.
During your turn, you’re the Director: you get to play TWO cards and direct the movie however you like! The first card has to involve YOUR character; the second kicks the action to another player, and now it’s their turn.
You can play those cards anywhere you like! Drop the relationship card “The Hots” on someone to give them a passionate crush on an Extra or another character - or play an Extra on your own DM, drop a Setting on the Script DM and explain how you all end up somewhere new - whatever makes sense or is fun for the story!
Oh no - somebody just killed off your favorite Extra, and you wanna save ‘em! At any time after someone has played a card on their turn, you can pay a point of Applause, holler “AND!” or “BUT!”, and jack the turn, narrating things the way YOU want them to go.
If you want MORE Applause, any time you get a reaction from the table (groans, laughter, “oooh” - whatever!), ask for it! Everybody starts with 5 points and can go up to 10 (or higher, if you want - it’s YOUR thing!).
There’s also a Cut! rule - if you call “Cut!”, everyone just leaves the bit you don’t like out and moves on - no questions. Remember, you’re here to have fun, so if someone calls cut, it’s out of the movie!
So okay, all that’s fine, but how do you get the movie going? Like - where are we, WHO are we, and what are we doing? To help keep the film on track, you’ve got a Script DM (Development Mat) with all the fun plot stuff that affects EVERYONE on it, and each player gets a Character DM to help them play into their particular role.
The Script DM (Development Mat) sits in the middle of the table and gives everyone a quick view of what’s happening.
Play a Setting and you’ve got a sense of where everyone is; an Antagonist or Challenge gives them a person or problem to struggle against.
The Act cards give you an idea of where you are in the movie. There’s four different Scripts with three Acts and an End included with the game. To move from one Act to the next, just play the right cards and put a token on the Icon - for instance, here you need two Zombies and a Relationship to shift things to Act II.
If the Script DM tells you where you are and what’s going on, your Character DM tells you WHO you are - and who you know! There’s a spot for your Character Card - anything from Blue Collar Boo to Spunky the Punk - and for your character Arc cards.
The Arc is your Motivation - if you’re the Hardcore Hero, you need to first make yourself look as rough as possible. Then, you need to get soft-hearted, so the audience loves you … setting yourself up for the choice between being selfish or sacrificing yourself near the end!
Then there are spots for Performances, Props, and Relationships - stuff to round you out. Every card acts as inspiration - you don’t HAVE to include it in the movie, but it’s there to help you keep track of what’s going on and give you ideas about how to put more cards in play. If somebody played an Oil Tanker, then it’s gonna be a gimme if the “BOOM!” or “Framed by Flames” cards come up!
So the thing about movies? People die! Especially in SOME genres (like this one - Zombie Apocalypse!).
But the goal here is a good story - NOT "winning." So how does that look? Well, there's cards with Death on them - you can narrate zombies dying left and right, but if you want to off a character with a player, you'll need that Death card! Of course, they can always be saved with a point of Applause, or with a Plot Armor card.
But sometimes, a Death is what the script calls for! If you wanna let a Character die (in an epic way, preferably!), you can always grab an Extra or Antagonist in play, sweep your mat, and start playing THEM during your turn!
How do you "win?" By telling an awesome story, making your friends laugh or "oooh" at big story moments, and having a dope time!
But if you're REALLY into "winning," then at the end, there's the Awards ceremony. You can nominate anybody but yourself for one of four awards: Drama Monarch, Comic Relief, Action Hero, or Best Director (for awesome plot shifts!). Everybody votes and applauds - it's a collaborative thing, you know?
Not ONLY does this play as a quick pickup game any time your regular crew is down a member, it's ALSO a great supplement to any RPG you've got going! GMs can hand out Script cards for great performances, giving people Relationship cards (Best Frenemies with that one NPC!) or Props (who doesn't want a Comedically Ineffective Weapon?) that add a small bonus if a character invokes them on a roll (+1 in DnD or PbtA, for instance!).
PLUS you can deal everybody a HAND of Screen Tropes (from "nose-breaking punch" to "Come with me if you want to live!") and let them play those cards at crucial moments! If they pull it off, you could give them a re-roll, a small bonus, a hero point - whatever makes best sense. And a little extra incentive to find fun ways to get geeky? NEVER hurts!
So that's Troped! If you're into the idea, sign up for the campaign at TropedGame.com - I'll launch the second I hit 200 followers.
And if this goes well, I have a bunch more genres ready to go: Space Opera, Superheroics, Epic Fantasy - blend your decks and play the mashups of your most maniacal movie faves!
