Untitled the RPG
An Introduction
Untitled is an RPG by Keith Senkowski, published under his imprint Bob Goat Press. It was one of the winners of the September 2005 Ronnies, and the original contest entry is still available from 1KM1KT. The game is the most interesting artifact I have in my gaming collection, it has to be seen to be believed. It is a bit pricey, but if you have the cash and the theme attracts you, then it is well worth it. Be warned though, you're in for a trip. Some would even say a downward spiral...
Play Aid
What It Is
- Everyone at the table in turn writes something on a post-it note and sticks it inside the folder. This is the Maze, and each item must be important to The Player.
- Everyone at the table draws a card, face cards count as 10. The card's value will determine your scores.
- Everyone at the table chooses a Red face card as their Aspect, red for blood, fire, danger, lust, love, and finally wrath...
| Aspect | Motivation | Towards |
|---|---|---|
| A♥ | Hates | J♥ |
| K♥ | Protects | Q♦ |
| Q♥ | Loves | K♦ |
| J♥ | Wants | A♥ |
| A♦ | Fears | J♦ |
| K♦ | Loathes | Q♥ |
| Q♦ | Hates | K♥ |
| J♦ | Loves | A♦ |
What We Are
- The Player's card score is divided between Hate and Humanity
- The Player's Hope = 0
What We Face
- The Others' card score = their Haze
- The Aspect defines the goal of The Others
What Initiates It
- The Player frames the first scene to find Hope, attempted after the conflict is resolved, The Others may introduce themselves into the scene at any time.
- Play proceeds clockwise around the table with each person framing a scene
What We Do
| Action | The Player | The Others |
|---|---|---|
| Versus the Others | Hate - Humanity | Haze |
| Versus the World | Humanity - Hate | Haze |
| Finding Hope | Humanity | Haze + Hate |
The Spiral
| Outcome | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Finds Hope | Hope +1 |
| Mind Fails | Haze +1 |
| Body Fails | Hate -1 |
| Commit a Crime | Humanity -1 |
| Restrain from Crime | Humanity +1 |
| Commit Suicide | Humanity = 0 |
What Ends It
- Hope > (Hate + highest Haze) ends the Maze
What Decides It
- Opposing card draws, cards are totaled up and the winner gets to narrate the outcome
- The Aspect Card doubles the draw total, unless facing the opposite Aspect
- Queens let The Others add to the Maze
- Jokers let the player remove something from the Maze
- Pairs can be sacrificed to change the Maze
- Parts of the Maze introduced into a conflict to benefit one side adds a card to that side's draw
PDF Version
Download the Untitled play aid PDF by right-clicking and selecting Save target as...
FAQ
Minimum Card Draws
The Player always gets a minimum of 1 card in any draw.
Conflicts Versus the World
In conflicts versus the world, at least one of The Others must step up to play the role of the environment. The Other involved in the conflict uses his own Haze score versus the Player.
The Player's Mind Fails
When the player's mind fails in a conflict against more than one of The Others, it is only The Other which had the highest draw total who increases his Haze.
Assigning Aspects
When there are less than eight people active in the game, you should pay attention to the Aspect selection process. Ensure that The Others have goals related to another character in play, and one of them must have a motivation towards the player. If you're 4 or 6 people at the table it should be easy to map this, with an odd number of participants, one will be without an active motivation. A game where everyone plays unlinked Aspects won't be any fun at all.
For example: with 4 participants, first let the player select, or optionally draw a random Aspect card. Next randomly determine which of the remaining three Others gets the opposing Aspect to the player. Then one of the remaining Others draws an Aspect card, and the third and last Other gets the opposing Aspect. This way all four participants are linked to each other.
Option for Aspects
If you want to randomly determine your Aspect, roll a d8 on the Aspect chart above and count from the top of the list to find your Aspect.
Kickers
You need to come up with some sort of kicker for The Player, or an overall opening situation for the game. Why is The Player in a spiral, how did he become aware of it, what's he after now? Think of the man in the text, he's looking for his wife, hoping she's not one of The Others. Something like that will be needed before you start adding things to the Maze or think up The Others and their Aspects.
The Original System
Show the system reference for the original Alpha version of the game.
Alpha Version
The original free alpha version of Untitled the RPG can be downloaded from One Thousand Monkeys, One Thousand Typewriters. The original differs a lot from the published version. However, some of the system details may be worth testing in the published version, such as the bonus for vile acts.
What We Are
- 3 points divided between Hate and Haze
- Will = number of Those Who See
- Humanity = 5
- Hope = 0
What We Face
- Control = 5
- The Others = Control + number of Those Who See
What We Do
- Finding Hope Humanity vs (Control + Hate)
- vs the World (Haze - Hate) vs (Control + Humanity)
- vs the Others (Haze - Hate) vs Others
- vs Each Other (Haze - Hate) vs (Haze - Hate)
- Aiding Others Humanity - Hate
Note: Vile acts earn the protagonist a (Haze + Hate) bonus
The Spiral
- Finding Hope Hope +1
- Mind Fails Haze +1
- Body Fails Hate -1
- Vile Acts Humanity -1
- Good Acts Humanity +1
- Commits Suicide Humanity = 0
- Endgame Hope > (Control + highest Haze)
The Endgame
- Ending the Maze (Hope - Hate) vs (Control + Haze)
- Becomes One of The Others Hope = 0
The Basics
- Opposing d10 dice pools
- Zeros cancel high numbers on a 1-for-1 basis
- A minimum die pool size of 1
- Those Who See = the protagonist characters
- The Others = the antagonist characters
So How Do You Put All This Together?
It's quite simple really, you just