Microscope

Microscope is a collaborative story-telling game. While it can be used as a game on it's own, it also be used to create a game world that everyone helps create and hopefully understands, a world rich in history and future, and a source for adventures. You then pick one small part of that world everyone has created and run a roleplaying game set in that one part.

Below I'll explain the process (with examples in parenthesis using Firefly as a basis) [and my thoughts in brackets].

Getting Started

The game starts collaboratively with everyone helping to create:

The Big Picture: Is just a simple sentence that gives us an overview of the history being created ("Alliance Controlled Star System")

The Palette: Is a list of things we want to see in the game and things that definitely will not be in the game (Yes - Corporate Heavies, Yes - Triads, Yes - More Western than SciFi, No - Aliens, No - Super tech). You take turns adding either a Yes or No until everyone is done.

The Beginning and the End: We mark the periods that start and end this Big Picture [Not convinced this is needed.] ("Alliance Settles the Core Worlds" might be the start of Firefly, not sure what the end is other than "Dickheads at Fox cancel greatest TV show ever")

The Building Blocks

In Microscope the story is told through three types of building blocks: Periods, Events, and Scenes. Periods are the top-level, Events are things that happen in a Period, and Scenes are things that happen in Events.

Periods: A Period is any significant block of time with some unifying name. (So Firefly "Unification War" is a Period. There might also have been "Rise of the Independents", the show is maybe happening in "Post-War Blues")

Events: Events are major happenings within a period. ("Battle of Serenity Valley" might be an event in the

"Unification War" period and "Birth of the Reavers" could be an event during the "Rise of the Independents")

Scenes: Scenes are the smallest units of history. They show us exactly what happens at a specific place, at a specific time, with specific people. Scenes have 4 steps to them:

  • State the Question: As opposed to Periods and Events, scenes should have a question around an outcome (Why did X do Y? We have the outcome - Y. The scene is used to discover the X. So - Why did the King betray his country? What ethical lines did the scientist cross to create the serum?

  • Set the stage: Decide when and where the scene takes place

    • Choose Characters: You can choose 2 characters that have to be in the scene (these could be generic like "policeman") and two characters that are NOT in the scene (this cannot be generic).

    • Select Characters: Going counterclockwise starting after the player making the scene, each player selects or creates a character for the scene.

    • Reveal Thoughts: Each player (in same order above), for their character, reveals a thought their character has for the upcoming scene -- what you expect might happen, what you plan to do, thoughts on other characters.

    • Play Out the Scene: In a quick roleplaying session, work out what happens in the scene and the answer to the question.

("Battle of Serenity Valley" is the event and someone creates a scene for it. They come up with the question of "Why does Mal lay down arms at Serenity Valley?". The player says Mal is there as the only restriction. Other players pick Zoe, a captured Alliance solider, and a browncoat FNG as the other characters. They reveal thoughts and then do a roleplay to see what happen to these people.) [When I say roleplay - I mean to just talk it out as much in character as we want. I don't mean "we switch over to Savage Worlds" at this point. Though I suppose we could. A good scene might warrant something more in depth.]

A couple things about playing it out:

Everyone should be working to answer the question

You can't contradict things already in play. You can't change the future.

Each player controls the fate of their character

Light/Dark: For each of these building blocks, it should be decided if this is generally a Light/Good type of thing or a Dark/Bad type of thing. [Not sure if needed, but it's what Microscope does]

Bird's Eye View: How much detail should each of these have? The guideline is to give a bird's eye view. You should declare the outcome. You don't say "Colony Tarsus is under threat" - it has no outcome. You don't say "Colony Tarsus is destroyed" - the bird's eye view should tell us why. "Colony Tarsus is destroyed by the neighboring volcano" is good.

The First Turn

Everyone, in whatever order, adds either a Period or an Event to the history. Decide if it is light or dark.

A Game Turn

A game turn in Microscope starts with one person, Microscope calls that person the "Lens" who gets to decide a Focus for the turn. A Focus can be basically anything they want (Mal, River, Reavers, Terraforming, Blue Sun, Serenity, or just "Technology" could all be a Focus in Firefly). [Microscope says, when in doubt, pick a smaller/narrower focus like a person or incident]

You then go around the table and everyone is allowed to create a Period, Event, or Scene that has to do with the current Focus following these rules:

    • The "Lens" goes firsts and they get to create two things. Either a Period and Event in that Period or an Event in an existing Period with a Scene in that Event. [Why 2? It's just what Microscope says]

    • You create whatever you want (period, event, or scene) as long as the Pallet allows it, it's tied to the Focus, and doesn't contradict anything already in play.

  • You get to make shit up. You can create an event called "Volcano Phil erupts destroying the USS Charlie with Barbra aboard". Phil, Charlie, and Barbra don't have to previously exist.

  • Creations do not have to be chronological. You can create things before or after existing things and before or after the thing the last person just did.

    • Each player has free reign to create or destroy whatever they want. Someone previously created a shining city on the hill? You are free to nuke it to ashes on your turn. Don't feel too bad for city guy. Since you don't have to create things chronologically, city guy can go back before the nuking and create all sorts of events or scenes with his precious city.

    • The game is no longer collaborative at this point. Other players are not supposed to offer suggestions or critiques other than asking for clarification. [Shouldn't the game be collaborative and all kumbaya? Sure, don't be a dick. The Microsoft reasoning is that, without this rule, the extrovert player will inevitably take over. This rule puts every player in the hot seat and makes them participate without fear of someone stepping on their idea.]

Ending the Game

You keep taking rounds until you're done, however long people want to keep going. Everyone should probably get an equal number of turns being the Lens and choosing a Focus. Hopefully at the end you've got an interesting, fleshed out game world that everyone is interested in since they helped create it, you've identified a period/event/scene you want to game, and the GM has plenty of inspiration for creating adventures.

Other Thoughts

Microscope is supposed to be fractal game - You could zoom in on one period/event and turn that into it's on Microscope game where you create periods and events within that one thing. Similarly, you can zoom out on what you currently have and make that one small part of a new story.

I've left out Legacy's and Pushes from Microscope. I didn't feel they added a lot.