The Director Welcomes You
The Uncle Optimism Protocol
#f5a63b
Ambassadors, It seems "Right Griffin" has gone level 2. They have been broadcasting this message "A thick fog rolls in at the Stone Circle". We need you to eliminate them, Arrogantly. Their last known location was recorded at 15:11. You have a Colorful Paint as a last resort. Use carefully.
— The Origami Swan you were holding self destructs.
Savannah Contreras
"Right Griffin"
4' 6"
Hazel eyes
Large moles / Left thumb
The Council of Fluffy Memory
Lust
Arrogantly Surly
Take over a country to achieve their destiny
Tim the "Cold Alien"
Substantial
The Puckish Mansion
Touristy Lake
Imperfection Suburbs
Whore Pulls on the coat tails of one of the adventurers
Gypsy stop the party and asks questions
Wanderer Evades the law
German Trench Club Finds gold in the water
Rhett's Credenza Du jour
Oconnor's Chaise Mall
Hansen's Cabinet Beauty Stop
Rios's Pocket watch Specialities
Flooded Corridor
Bear Trap of Optimism
Credenza children's replica
Cabinet that has been hollowed out
Secret Chaise
Hidden Lipstick
Camera of Optimism
Next sword touched by caster turns into a crescent wrench
| Name | Codename | Career | Likes | Dislikes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Oconnor | "Right Stomachs" | Merchant | Tissues | Octopus |
| Connor Hansen | "Fat Lungs" | Mole | Sticky Notes | Rocks |
| Alaina Wise | Consultant | Pillows | Books | |
| Rhett Young | Police Officer | Sticky Notes | Sun Glasses | |
| Melanie Rios | Meteorologist | Stickers | Coffee |
After years of playing Dungeons & Dragons, I decided to make a variation where everything is improv. The DM knows as much as the players and you tell a story together - sitcom style. We use this site as a quest starter, think of some characters, and see how much we can make each other laugh.
It's designed to be simple, portable, and dependent on being creative & inventive. I wanted a framework to guide the plot forward but let us find the story. This page is just a guide to help the stories become too redundant - take as much as you want, ignore as much as you need. If you want to follow along with our adventures or read some examples, check out my personal story notes.
This concept and site was crafted by Andrew Maruska with linguistic help from Evan Stark
Be Silly. The goal is to laugh not to have a normal adventure. Someone wants to go to the moon? Fuck yeah they do and we're going to do it with medieval technology.
Set UpGive the players a home base, a year they want to play in, and some general ownership of the setup. It's more successful when everyone has helped create the world because when a player makes suggestions it's easier to integrate them without feeling too precious. It helps to have a figurehead that assigns the quest to authoritatively start.
Characters90% of creating a character here is a funny voice you're forced to talk in for 3 hours. I typically have people pick one trait they want to be good at and give them a slight advantage when using that - and the same for a negative trait. Don't overcomplicate it. They wanna be a skateboarder who can't feel love? perfect. +2 to cool & -2 to social acceptance.
RollingThis can be whatever you want but as a general rule I use d20's as a graded scale. Sometimes, I craft the roll to mimic the action i.e. if they are walking a tight rope then might need to roll a 10 because 20 & 1 make them fall to one side or the other. Rolling in D&D got boring so make it fun again.
Dungeon MasterYour goal is to say 'Yes and...' but realistically it's 'Yes and roll to see if you can actually do that triple backflip down the cliff to mount the attacking phoenix...' - It's okay to make them fail, just don't tell them no. This guide is to help you be 1 step ahead of the players but it can't know the vibe of the room, have some empathy and play to the crowd.
EndingNo one can tell you this. The guide is to help you get 1/3 of the adventure set up and the rest will be created by the adventuring party. Have fun with it and try to tie up some loose ends at the end (or don't and bring them back for another adventure).