Concensus

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Consensus and Concessions
A House Games Scenario By Spencer Stecko

Overview:
A group of high-rollers are set upon a remote tower with a time limit and a cost for failure in a highlander-style game where the only objective is to come to a consensus of who should win, and the only obstacle are the other rollers.

The Set-up: Each of the characters to be invited is teleported into the game. You may or may not wish to give them the opportunity to gather their gear, and you may or may not wish to approach them with a messenger or harbinger. When they wake up, they are just south of mount Everest at an elevation of about 13,000 feet. They are sitting around a large stone table that seats each of the gamers about six feet apart from each other so that they would need to stand up and walk a bit to touch someone else. The large, sturdy stone table is centered on the top of a flat, circular surface, also made of stone that extends beyond the table a good 30 feet or so. There are braziers that are spaced along the edge for lighting. Looking over the edge would reveal that the players are pearched at the top of an 800 foot tower, surrounded by mountains, and with no signs of any civilization in sight.

In spite of what should be awful conditions for a meeting, the players find that they can easily hear each other speaking at a normal volume. The winds that should be battering the top of the tower are very mild and can be ignored, and the temperature is a cool but comfortable 43 degrees. It is in the late afternoon. There is a representative of the harbinger present to give them clear instructions about the nature of the game. There is a bell like one of the ones used to call for service in a cafe sitting in front of him or her.

The representative or harbinger greets the players and informs them of the rules, perhaps not all at once, but there is little to no mystery presented by the game itself in this scenario. The other players are to provide all the normal mystery, danger, and obstacles that are absent otherwise. He informs them that they are to acquire a certain item for them, and that the one chosen who manages to obtain it will be the only one rewarded. It is something that they are able to create with the materials on-hand, and they may not even need to leave their seats, but it is something that has long-eluded groups of chosen: a consensus. The objective of the game is simply for each person on the top of the tower to decide who should receive the gift. The harbinger is very clear to note that taking action against the other chosen will not be permitted until he rings the bell in front of him (which he should be sure to do when tensions are high). At any time the players may call for a vote, public or private, and if everyone on top of the tower agrees with who should win, the game will end.

Leaving the top of the tower is means for disqualification, regardless of whether you left of your own free will or not. There are no stairs or ladders or ways of getting down readily available. However, any of the losers who remain on the top of the tower when the final vote is called will be transported home. Those on the ground get no such special treatment. In addition to all the above complications, several more may be useful to use. The enchantment keeping the top of the tower warm is wearing off presently, and it is unlikely that anyone without special abilities will survive the night up there. Also, to increase the stakes, it may be worth it to threaten possibly permanent personal harm to those who fail but remain on top of the tower. The threat that the losers' limbs will all be broken worked quite well for me, as well as mentioning that the damage may be irreversible (high/low for battle scars).

Notes for the GM:
This game is remarkably simple to run and requires little GM action at all, at least until the rollers inevitably start fighting. The trick is largely knowing which characters to invite, which requires a somewhat intimate knowledge of all the characters of each of the players. This may be a good game to invite characters with a large game number discrepancy on. The goal is to invite chosen who will not turn it into an all-out brawl, but who also are somewhat likely to start trouble or use subterfuge. Chosen with something to trade are excellent choices. Characters who can win in a single action or two, either by killing everyone else or knocking them off the tower, are not good choices. Underdogs without much to offer may end up being a crowd favorite, while the grizzled seasoned character who can't talk his way out of a paper bag might find himself failing miserably.

Generally seasoned/novice groups are best. If you find that a number of characters are eager to give up their vote, they clearly have too nice of lives. It may be necessary to modify the rules, risks, and setup of this game to cater to your own individual player group, but the focus shouldn't change.

If you are able to encourage economics and politics, that is a plus. Make sure there is the possibility of a nasty fight, but don't invite someone like Pulse who can kill all the other gamers with one action. If a chosen starts a fight, the rest of those on the tower should realize that it they will be the ones attacked next and thus join the fray. This game works best with large player groups, typically with five or more players.