A Terrible Idea

As my Challenge for I Am Your Champion, I have created a Giving Page over at Donors Choose. I want to raise $500 for schools in need of math and science supplies.

If you collectively donate $500 to this giving page by 10/6/2011, I will take two of my Shambles scenarios (A Cabin In The Woods and The Putrescent Seven), rewrite them to be system-agnostic, and release them using the Creative Commons Attribution license, which allows commercial reuse.

I feel strongly about the next generation performing well in Math and Science, and to the end that Donors Choose can put learning supplies in the hands of children, I want to support them.

Champions,

Some of you may fee like you are behind at this point. These rounds are coming fast and furious and that might seem a little overwhelming. I will announce the final round of I Am Your Champion on Friday, but anyone who completes all five rounds will get the pass I described earlier – even if it takes you a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months to wrap everything up! You don’t have to collect funds, or issue rewards, by Friday. I have tried to structure the tasks such that they can be completed in five days – most of them consist of committing to do things, not executing those things all this week.

With that in mind, let’s move on to the Round 3 Tasks.

We are Champions, not Competitors. We can more successfully serve our causes by remembering that simple fact. To that end, Round 3 focuses on Champions lending assistance to each other.

Task 1 : Determine Your Limits – If you are in a position to lend financial assistance to the cause of another Champion, determine how much assistance you can reasonably give. If you are not in a position to lend financial assistance, but can instead lend your time, determine how much time you can reasonably spend assisting other Champions.

Task 2 : Meet A Challenge – There are two ways you can Meet A Challenge of another Champion.

• Throw Down – When you Throw Down, you’re accepting a Challenge. You make or commit to make a donation to their Cause, according to the terms of their Challenge.
• Thrown In – If you cannot Throw Down, or if you want to do something a little different, then you can Throw In. When you Throw In, you offer your own reward in exchange for someone else accepting the challenge on your behalf. For example, if my challenge is “I will draw a Dungeon if you make a $20 dollar donation to Donors Choose,” you can Throw In by saying “If anyone accepts that challenge on my behalf, I will volunteer two hours at the Alameda Food Bank.” Throwing in is a powerful way for Champions join forces to help each other with multiple causes at the same time.

Task 3 : Go On Record – By going on record to the world that you’ve met the Challenge of another Champion, you send some potent messages. It tells your fellow Champions, as well as all of your collective supporters, that you understand that Champions are not Competitors. Going on record also tells people that you’re willing to play both sides of this game. You also help your fellow Champions get the word out about their own Challenge – something that will help them succeed.

Determine Your Limits, Meet A Challenge, Go On Record. Complete these three Tasks, and you will have completed Round 3.

Drills

1 – Compile your own list of Champions and their Challenges. You can roll it up in a blog post, or just keep it handy for your own reference.

2 – Submit your own ideas for a Drill that would be useful to other Champions.

Questions, Comments, etc below.

#iayc

(Apologies, this is a little late)

Welcome, Champions. And thank you for what you’re about to do. You’ve selected your cause, and you’ve joined the game. Let’s jump in to Round 2 tasks and see if we can’t make something happen.

When looking at traditional charity fundraiser activities, they generally follow a very specific structure : the charity holds a large event to gather together a bunch of people in one place to perform a certain task. Frequently, these are physical challenges – walk-a-thons, biking events, jumping rope, climbing stairs, but there are exceptions certainly (bake sales, telethons, Desert Bus). But their one unifying feature is they say “Come do this activity and help us raise funds.”

I Am Your Champion turns this statement around. Instead, you will say “I will perform this activity, if you give my charity a donation.”

What kind of activity? It’s entirely up to you. But let me throw out some examples.

“I will run a custom encounter for your gaming group, if you give $20 donation to my charity.”

“I will draw a dungeon map and release it Creative Commons, if you give my charity $100.”

“I will record an acoustic version of King Of The Road, and put it up for everyone to hear, if you give my charity $50.”

“I will knit a scarf and donate it to my local homeless shelter, in exchange for a $30 donation to my charity.”

“I will pass out fliers promoting your event, in exchange for a $10 donation to my charity.”

“I will go volunteer at your charity for 4 hours, in exchange for a $40 donation to my charity.”

By taking this approach to fundraising, Champions can put their best talents to work for their charities. Champions are not bound by the constraints put on them in large events, and nor are they bound by financial or time constraints. Champions can set their own boundaries and limits, and work toward them.

Task 1 : Set Your Goal – Spend some time thinking about how much money you would like help raise for your charity. Don’t limit yourself or get caught up in feelings of “Too Little” or “Too Much”

Task 2 – Design A Reward – Determine what you are going to offer the world in exchange for their donation to your cause. It could be one thing, it could be twenty things. The important thing is, it should be something new. Don’t offer copies of work you have already done. This is an opportunity for an act of creation. Take advantage of that. Size the reward or rewards appropriate to your goal.

Task 3 – Issue A Challenge – Once you have a goal, and a reward, it’s time to step out on the field and issue your challenge to the crowd. You are the Champion of your cause, and you have something to offer the world should someone choose to support your cause. Let people know what you’re doing, via blog post, personal conversations, fliers or skywriting. Make your cause, terms and reward clear, and dare people to take you up on it.

Set Your Goal, Design A Reward, Issue A Challenge. Complete these three tasks, and you will have completed Round 2.

Drills

1 – Find other Champions who are having trouble designing a reward. Offer your creative assistance.

2 – Find a symbol to represent you as Champion.

3 – As other Champions issue their Challenges, help them spread the word.

Questions, comments and Challenges below.

#iayc

I Am Your Champion is a game that will challenge your existing ideas regarding charitable fundraising. I sincerely believe that if you complete all five rounds of this game, you will look at working with charities, and your ability to assist your favorite charities, in a whole new light.

We will play the game in five rounds. Each round will begin at 10:00 AM, starting today and going through Friday. Each round will consist of three Tasks you must complete to proceed to the next round, as well as additional Drills that are optional, but will have an effect I will describe in a moment. And you can join the game at any time – if you’re reading this Friday morning, you can still complete all five rounds (but you might need to hustle).

Any player who completes all five rounds will receive a special pass from me. Only people who finish this version of the game will get this pass. In addition to being a unique and interesting item in and of itself, this pass will entitle the bearer to certain benefits to be disclosed after the game has been completed. Each one will be unique, and if you complete some of those Drills I mentioned earlier, your pass will reflect that.

I’ll be using the hashtag #iayc to post my own updates related to I Am Your Champion – feel free to do the same.

Ready to begin?

Prelude

In I Am Your Champion you are taking on the role of a Champion for the charitable cause of your choice. You pick something that has meaning to you, and for this week you’re going to rally to that cause. You’ll be rewarded along the way, and if you see this to the end, you’ll be rewarded doubly.

Round One

In the first round, your tasks are pretty simple:

Task One : Choose Your Cause – This is a Thinking task, and a very personal thing. You need to decide what cause you’re going to rally around – whose Champion will you be? It can be a big, well known organization (EFF, ASPCA, Red Cross, etc), or a small local affair we won’t recognize (a local food bank, inner city program, or even a family in a rough patch). The important thing is, it’s a work of charity.

Task Two : Decide To Play – This task is an Act of decision making. Commit to playing the game in whatever form feels right to you. Maybe it’s entirely internal, maybe you actually say to yourself “Ok. I’m in.” The expression of the act isn’t important, what matters is the act of confirming to yourself that you’re playing – that you are, for this week, a Champion for your cause.

Task Three : Announce Yourself – To make your first move as a Champion, announce yourself. Tell someone you’re playing I Am Your Champion. Then explain to them what that means, and tell them what your cause is. If you comment below, it will be easier for us all to keep track of each other, but you don’t have to comment here to play the game. You can post it on Facebook, Twitter, your own blog, or you can just tell people like your parents, coworkers, classmates, fellow barflies, or strangers on the street. Champions charge into the fray. They don’t hide at the back. You’re about to do something great, for a good cause. You can be proud of that. And you may get some of your friends involved along the way.

Choose Your Cause, Decide To Play, Announce Yourself. Complete these three tasks, and you will have completed Round One.

Drills

1 – Join the conversation on Twitter

2 – Write a dedicated blog post announcing yourself as a Champion.

3 – Directly invite 5 people to become Champions.

Any questions? Want to Announce Yourself? Sound off below!

I’m breaking format on this kickoff post because this week is something special.

This week, I want us all to play a game.  The game is open to anyone who wants to participate, but I am especially keen to have playtesters who play or design games – your feedback will be unique.  We will be playing it on our blogs, on Twitter, on the phone, on the streets, and anywhere else the players take the game.

The game will be played in five turns. The first turn begins on Monday morning at 10:00 AM, PST.  At that time I will post a description of the game and the rules for the first turn right here on this blog.

This game is something of an experiment for me, the first run of what I hope will become a much bigger version of the game.  It should be fun and rewarding, but some of that will rest on you all as players. 

Any player who completes all five rounds will receive a special pass from me.  Only people who finish this version of the game will get this pass.  In addition to being a unique and interesting item in and of itself, this pass will entitle the bearer to certain benefits to be disclosed after the game.

Interested? Curious? Speculating?

Then I will see you tomorrow morning at 10:00

#iayc

I am trying to collect some data for a project I am exploring. To make the data collection process, I have put together a short survey. Six questions, multiple choice. It would take you less than a minute to complete.

If you are a game designer or someone who plays games, please take a moment to fill out this survey. This survey is only for game playing or game designing folk, please.

“But why should I?” you ask cynically.

Well, you’d be helping me figure out if the project has legs. And the project is for a good cause. And also because you might WIN SOMETHING.

If you provide your email with your survey response, you will be entered in a random drawing for one of two prizes, either $25 worth of Evil Hat PDFs (special thanks to Fred Hicks for that) or a $25 Moleskine Gift Pack courtesy of yours truly.

Winners will be notified by email, and all participants will be emailed with a follow-up survey. The email address won’t be used in any other way.

I’m keeping the survey open for only a few days, or until I get 100 responses, whichever comes first. Don’t hesitate, do it now. And please spread the word.

Thing Four, my game prep for Dundracon, was scheduled to wrap up by last night. Let’s see how I did.

My tasks were :

1. Watch both the Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai for inspiration

Complete. I didn’t get the long sit-down time to watch them in one go, but I was able to put them up in the background while I worked.

2. A Writeup of The Putrescent Seven from which I can run the full 6 hour scenario

Complete. I had wanted the finished product to be in better shape than it is now, but I generally run games off less material than I have prepared currently. And there are no gaps.

3. Printed character handouts, including name tents with portraits, character sheets, and Shambles cheat-sheets.

Incomplete, but I’m not losing sleep over it. The characters are created, but I haven’t put them to character sheets yet. I got an awesome cheat-sheet though, and I’ve handed off making the name tents to someone else. It’ll get done. I’m hoping to do a rev where I print the stuff on 3×5 cards, which will need a new printer. I’ve also got minis out to be painted.

4. Compilation of adequate soundtrack to cover the various settings in the scenario

Complete. I’ve got about three+ hours of suitable music. I already had a decent amount, but I’ve fleshed it out with a couple additions.

5. Re-assembly of the Awesome GM Box to make it suitable for convention use

Incomplete. This needed some supplies that I didn’t have on hand, and I lost my Sunday to injury. I took Saturday off for a nice long hike, and bunged up my foot somehow (no, I don’t know how yet. Yes, I’ll go to the doctor if it persists). If I don’t get it assembled in off-time between now and DDC, I just don’t bring it.

6. Gaming and convention supplies packed and ready for the trip

HA! Yeah, right. I sorta have everything in one place, but I’ll still be frantically packing the night before.

So, on the whole, I’m declaring victory. I did prep for Dundracon. I hope to have time between now and then to iterate over what I’ve done so far to make it better. But I’m more prepared now than I typically am this far ahead of the con.

I’m feeling pretty good about The Putrescent Seven, to tell you the truth. I’m hoping it runs well, and that I can turn it around into an actual scenario that I can offer to interested parties.

As you may remember from last week’s wrapup post, I extended the deadline for Tales From The Table pitches by a week to give people a chance to get their pitches in. I said after that week, I would make a decision on the project.

With the deadline now passed, I have not received enough submissions for me to want to pursue this project. I still think it’s a great idea, and I believe it could be a fun project, but I I’m well shy of the pitch submissions I would want before pulling the trigger on this one. I’m sure I could get them if I actively sought them out rather than taking the passive approach, but I don’t have that kind of time. More accurately, I have way too any other things to do, and this one won’t bubble to the top.

But, rather than just kill it, I’m going to offer something else.

If you want to take the project and run with it – gather pitches, do the legwork, pull it together, edit it, basically take over the project entirely, I’ll connect you with a layout guy, the people who sent me their pitches so far, and I’ll offer advice, promote it, and help raise the funds. In essence, I’d move from Director to Executive Producer. Just so long as in the credits it says somewhere “This Book Was Originally A TERRIBLE Idea” or some such. With a link.

So, if you really like the idea of the project, and want to jump in and take it from here, and we’ll talk. I’m not going to throw it to the first person who raises their hand, but I will throw it to the ONLY person who raised their hand, should that be the case. If you want to but don’t think you can, just email me. Because you can. It’s a good idea, you should do it. I’ve got too much on my plate to see it through but I’ll help in any way I can.

And boy do I have a couple of pitches of my own to send YOU.