Fall of Magic

[josiahduke]

Hey all! I write reviews on tabletop games, and in my latest piece, I wrote some about an awesome RPG called Fall of Magic. I even wrote some about my experiences playing Interactive Fiction with Trae back in college. Check it out!

https://killscreen.com/articles/fall-of-magic-turns-everyone-into-a-gifted-author/

Fall of Magic is the kind of free form storytelling you could do with your friends on the floor just about anywhere. Play some Howard Shore soundtracks in the background, light a few candles, and unroll the scroll. As an engine for creating stories it's deceptively slight. From the rulebook: "Someone may ask, 'Is a Raven like the bird?' or 'What is a Crab Singer?' To this we reply: 'It means what you want it to mean.'"

This open-handed approach extends to the rules. A six-sided dice is included but rarely used, and the rest of the game world's description is confined to brief prompts on the scroll's scratchy parchment. Certain areas prompt conflict, or drastic character change, but the method and execution is always in the hands of the players. The hazy illustrations and brief prompts function much like stage suggestions in improv; this is a world and a story you are building with your fellow players, and it can be anything you want it to be.

[Raven]

You know, this was a really well-written review. I have to ask though, as someone who has done both -- interactive fiction like we did it back in college and this game -- does the game really add anything to those of us who have no problem coming up with worlds and such? It's an interesting concept to create some kind of board game structure, but is it any better than just telling stories with a die for random? Honest take here, Duke. Would you play this game instead of straight interactive fiction if you had your choice of people?

[josiahduke]

Thank you!

I liked this game because it took the burden of being the "storyteller" off of one person, and made it so the whole group could participate in the story. Whenever I do an RPG or any interactive fiction, I always feel kinda sad for the storyteller, or wish for myself that I could play a character in the story too. Fall of Magic made it possible to both participate in the *story* and make it as a group. So I guess that it is a fundamentally different kind of experience.

For times when I want to have a more direct part in making the story, in crafting / authoring / taking more responsibility, I'd lean hard on my interactive fiction. When I'd like to make something with the group, I'd go straight to something like Fall of Magic or Fiasco, where everyone has a say in what's true about the world.

I think on how, when we had our highest moment in interactive fiction (that one game with Agaistin [sp?] and Tyrmanus and Bane), even then we were kind of breaking the single storyteller / player mold and played it in a way that had the group all participating. It meant the story was comprised of a bunch of smaller threads, with all the characters separated. We only converged at the end.

For someone who can think up an entire world like FoM's, make your own scroll, make your own world, but try playing it collaboratively with the FoM engine, and see how that feels. That might be my personal ideal. It might not be yours.

We should get together and play sometime.

[Raven]

Well, yes I was thinking of the story where we played the four of us. In that system, each "turn" we rotated storyteller and character, so that everyone narrated and everyone made character decisions. That, I think, was the best form of the storytelling and it would be how I would want to do it again. I suppose it could be done with 2-person stories, as well, each switching out, but the temptation would be to collaborate a little too much in steering the story, perhaps.

I guess I'd rather come up with our own world and go with that.