I tried this before with some help, but let's see if I/we can work it this time.  The idea is to make a 'Choose Your Own Path' adventure novel for Multiverser. If anyone wants to contribute 1)Ideas 2)Suggestions for choices or 3)Even segments that would be great.

Choice suggestions should be short, sentence-like, and to the point as in:

"Choose one of the following:
A. Dodging madly, I run away as fast as I can.
B. Fighting defensively, I try to negotiate with the unknown assailants.
C. Angered beyond words, I scream and lunge at the murderous thugs."

In such a situation, you could provide one of the choices or the the whole thing.

Also any critiques on logic or grammar are welcome.

====================

Between computer classes at Walton State, and the questionable glories of being Junior Tech Support at Webcom, Inc. you don't find much time to simply relax.  But as the saying goes, you can sleep after you're out of college, and so late one night you're at a party when the half-blitzed hostess finds out you're Tech Support. So she grabs you by the hand and drags you over to her computer and shouting over the blaring music she tries to explain just what's wrong with her computer.

"It...ah...won't run."

The time is after midnight, and your head is pounding from the loud music and the overheated room and sheer sleepiness, but trying to be nice you look under the table, and spot the numero uno computer problem.  The plug has been pulled out, probably by a careless foot.  You bend down, and slip off the moving chair to underneath the table.

The chair bumps into her stomach, and you realize you're going to have to apologize which is a bit much to take right now.  She leans over, drink in hand when you plug things in, and the computer revs up even as her drink splatters across the keyboard, and hits your back with an icy shower.

The last thing you see is a small symbol on the side of the computer tower hidden under the desk. Its a half-second glance even as you scoot out from under the desk as quickly as you can, but your feet are entangled with the legs of the five-wheeled chair behind you, and your hostess' legs.

"Scriff Inside!" Its the latest bit of technowizardry, and a very closely guarded secret, but the rumors are of very strange results, and large increases in speed.  Perhaps you can look at her computer once you dry off...a drop falls from your shirt, onto the already soaked surge protector that was old enough to be useless. A circuit is completed, and and you're in the midst of it.

Lightning flashes. White fire dances around you, and in that brightness you spot what seems to be yellow oblong fluid shapes that fly free.  And then you black out.

============

Upon waking,

++++++Any suggestions for the first world to send the character too?

PT
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:20, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

Dial it back.  Give them a choice on Earth.

Make that choice send them to Ice world or Fire World.

Make the third (and final for purposes of your first adventure) the Time War world.

Yes, give them a choice on Earth that will determine where they go.

However, the choices should help showcase the various possibilities in Multiverser.  Therefore, the worlds should give a representative sampling of:

(*) significant difference in bias (tech/psi/mag/bod)
(*) significant difference in era (past/present/future/altered)

One way would be to have a selection of completely unrelated representative worlds.  Another would be to have variations on the same world or theme, such as multiple "Mary Piper" scenarios...  :)

I concur with day and oak. But its hard to make a truly unbiased scenario for the player that integrates well into the scenario, especially with more than 2 answers.
If players keep stumbling over irrelevant details, it may be better to send them to a world, where you control all variables, and then run them through a bunch of these, and then kill them, then send them to a world they would really like.

@ Oak: What is a 'Mary Piper scenario'?

My suggestion for a first world would be one that would put the verser's abilities to the test-to show him that he's not strong.  He needs to go somewhere that he must fight for every breath against some dark force.

By dieing in this world rather quickly, he can move on to be motivated to get stronger and to be a 'good guy'.

Advantages of the Fire and Ice world:

They have been play tested to death and rapidly provide the stakes for the Verser so they know what they're dealing with.

Advantages of Time World:

Also well play tested and you feature ALL major aspects; psi, magic, tech and (I presume) Bod.  The biases might be the same but multiple paths are possible.

Hmmmm,

1. Theoretically, you're not supposed to give the character a choice of what world they go to. Its random. Now I do let the player have influence in the choice....so I could have a question like 'In the poem on how the world ends...in fire or in ice...which do you prefer?' and then send them accordingly.

Or I could simply have one of the two worlds.

Probably Volcano Island (the fire world).

I might do a version of this based on a WAW article I did which I liked very much (although OTOH it didn't playtest that well) or just go with Di Vars.

2. Time Wars: Invasion is a complicated world with A. Constitutional Monarchy B. Drug-using Espers cooperating with Internal Security C. The Pilgrim Project (time travellers fighting enemy time travellers) D. Capture of enemy time traveller. E. Realization of invasion from parallel world. F. Actual invasion of Iron Caste warriors out for a snack.

That is a lot to fit into one book. OTOH, it might be good, and it is in stages so it could be the focus of the whole book with various bad choices meaning you get versed out early, and only a couple successful end states....probably have at most only one time travel mission....the one to save John Lewis Cooper....

Hmmm, that could work. This would be a two world, no three world scenario--Earth, Volcano Island, and TW:I, and err, one last place to serve as your arrival place after you got versed out of TW:I....probably some place with three moons in the sky as thats always a good way to say 'you're not in Kansas anymore.' really quickly.

3. MJ, when he runs at conventions, tries to do what Oak is suggesting. He tries to have a nice variety of worlds to showcase the different possibilities. A little magic, a little psi, something old, something new, something blue...ahem. Anyways.

I'm trying to think of his general First Tier worlds...there are four....I'll ask him.

Magic....
Psi....
Body...
Tech....

Suggestions? None of them can be too complicated. They should be attention getting, and not too banal, but not too weird at the same time.  And they probably should have a lot of violence in them.

As to unbiased...well, in general, I'd probably assume the verser was going to do the decent thing...it'd be too complicated for one to change that...but I probably should have chances for him to betray humanity....at which point he gets an 'end state' segment along the lines of 'Congratulations, you've been rewarded by the alien cannibal conquerors of Earth with the rulership of Toronto.  Power, wealth and as many fine cars as you want are truly nice, but you keep seeing less and less humans. They simply...aren't around anymore.  And years later, the cars are rusty as none of the conquerors can be bothered with fixing things, and you don't see any humans around at all. And it turns out that when they meant you could 'rule all humanity' they meant until they had eaten all of humanity. You're the last one alive, and its lunchtime."

PT

I personally think that Volcano Island is dead boring, but some other folks haven't seemed to mind it so much, so your mileage may vary.

Hmmm...  Not complicated, attention getting, not banal, not too weird, violent...

Magic: Tower of Rhodes?
Psi: Heartwar?
Tech: Naga World?
Bod: Dark Honor Empire?

Although it could be even more fun if you had a universe with a significantly lower Bod bias than normal.  Do we have any?  :)

Hmmmm...I probably did one at one point or another....but I can't think of it now. A negative Bod world...

Have to ask MJ.

PT

What about planet Last? The one where everyone was gone and there were murals and writing on the walls?

That was a very interesting world and would create that lure to read/get into it more. That sense of mystique is a great way to open things up.

Also, while I think Di Vars is a nifty character, he's not necessarily the epitome of what Multiverser is about. I think ending it in a gather world would be a very cool way to go, since you could introduce a few other multiverers along the way.

It all really depends on the arc you want to tell though. You should definitely start out clueless and work the character into the knowledge you want them to know. So that by the end they feel like they're a pivotal piece to the story. Then they can make that moral choice at the end to make a difference.

So you should send them through I'd say three to four worlds. Not necessarily fast but enough time to invest in them and feel satisfied that they could do something and learn a bit.

That's my two cents. ^_^

I've already got another use for planet Last.

I'm going with Day's suggestion, but modified heavily for the first one. The other suggestions would make fine novels, and I'd be pleased as punch if I could write them after I write this one.

So Volcano Island with gather then TW:I...

You wake with your left cheekbone pressed upon a gritty surface, and your feet feel like they're being splashed. The air is heavy, humid, and smells of jungle rot and a heavy flowery perfume competes with the odor of the 'sea.'  From your single Gulf of Mexico fishing trip, you know its actually the odor of the land because out at sea there is no smell, but everyone calls it the smell of the sea.

"This isn't right." You mutter as you stagger to your feet. The last thing you remembered was being at a noisy party at a friend of a friend's house, and now you see white beach before you.  Ten feet up, and a line of jungle with palms, coconuts, giant ferns, tangled vines, and plentiful flowers shades you from the fierce sun.  Turning about in dismay, you see bright, blue crystalline water stretching to the horizon.

The waves lapping at your feet and the indentation in the sand where you lay right at water's edge explain your wet feet. What is not explained is why there are no tracks on the beach that lead to the transient sign.

"Augh!" You yell, but softly.

What to do?
A. Yell for 'Help', check your cell phone, and drag some branches out to make a sign visible from a passing airplane.
B. Sit down, and go back to sleep. This is a dream. A very bad dream.
C. Off to your current left as you face the sea is a tiny bit of a peninsula with some rocks forming a modest high point. Perhaps you can get a view of the surroundings from there?
D. To your right, the beach curves about further to your right, but you feel a sense of familarity in that direction.
E. Now to mention it, you feel another sense of familarity directly behind you back into the jungle.

Awesome, can't wait. ^_^

Reply to A:

You disturb some birds who rise squawking into the air from the jungle with your loud cries, and they echo yours seeming to mock you. But you tell yourself thats merely the loneliness getting to you.

"Don't get paranoid." You mutter as you pull out the cell phone.

No service.

It takes about half an hour, but you have a very serviceable and large "HELP!!" sign that should be clearly visible from the air.

You're also thirsty, and starting to feel a might peckish.

What do you do?
A. Wait by the sign, and occasionally bellow for help?
B. Try to climb a coconut tree to find a nut with milk and meat?
C. Sleep. Its time to conserve energy.
D. Start exploring nearby.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:33, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

B Reply:

Muttering about nightmares and too many slices of pizza, and badly played heavy metal music you drop off to sleep. Its not easy or restful being plagued by dreams of Marine Corp drill instructors telling you 'time to face up to reality, son. You've been living in a pipe dream, and that pipe just broke over your head. You listening to me, son? Because I'm not just talking to hear the sound of my voice, as beautiful as it is. I would purely hate to think you were lacking in attention to important details...like my every word!'

In a sweat, you waken to the warm beach, the steady waves, and sand clinging all over the left side of your shirt and face.

So many details. On the one hand, its impossible if what you know of reality is true. On the other hand, there are so many details that you would never have imagined, and so rich and steady an experience.  On the third hand, theres the mocking voice inside your head that suggests that if you think you understand reality, you need to get a tranquilizer to make that feeling go away.

What do you do?
1. Lay back down, and go to sleep. It IS a dream!
2. With a horrified feeling, you realize this has to be real. Which means you need to do something, like now. A quick exploration of the local area seems like a good idea.
3. There is that feeling of familarity, and now its three-fold. If you go into the jungle, turn to ....; if you follow the beach around the curve, then turn to ...., if you slant off longways into the jungle, then turn to....

B1 Reply:

You wake from a deep sleep, and feel sluggish and tired all the same. The beach, the ocean, the smell of rot and perfume still lingers in the air. It might not be real, but you feel hungry.

You could just assume its a dream, but the sand irritates your skin, and your stomach rumbles. Maybe if you found some dream food and rinsed off the dream sand, you'd feel better. Besides, your wet feet are starting to itch.

Or you could cling to your theory, and go back to sleep.

A. My assumptions define reality. I go back to sleep and plan to wake up in my bed with a really large hangover.
B. It may be a dream, but I'd better act as if its real.

B1A Reply:

Assured that its a dream, you huddle up, feeling miserable as your blood sugar drops from lack of food. Later, you just feel listless, and drop into sleep that is easily disturbed.

You have nightmares, including one about a Japanese soldier with a katana yelling at you angrily in Japanese.

And then you have dreams, so strange, so bizzarre. Stop signs dancing with traffic lights to the strains of the waltz in the parking lot of the Mall of America while the panel of judges, a mix of SUV's, pick-up trucks, and Simon Cowell vote on their performances.

You wake.

You're laying in a prickly, fresh-harvested grain field with the slashed off stalks jabbing into your skin. The land is flat, and stretches out to the horizon with an occasional line of green to brighten the sere brown, and what look to be telephone poles in the distance.

1. Follow the poles. Electric lines or something means civilization. Civilization means water, food, TV, and a shower, and aspirin.
2. There is a sense of familarity. Follow it.
3. By George, what a wild dream. Go back to sleep!

B1A1 Reply and End State:

Your dreams are interupted by a nightmare of rollng over, and seeing a snake cuddled up to you for warmth. Your turn has angered it, and it strikes biting into your arm.

It flees even as agony races up your arm.

You stagger to your feet, your arm on fire, and the horizon not visible in the darkness, but strange stars wheel over your head. You begin walking, looking for help, whimpering.

And then you hit the ground, and find yourself unable to move.

More strange dreams come to you, of snakes holding discourse on the meaning of Free Will and Predestination, and you wake.

Men in white coats are bundling you into the back of a strange three-wheeled vehicle. They don't listen to your complaints, and when you try to get up, you find that four men are a very effective seat restraint.

And then sleep comes after a prick of pain in the neck.

You wake and see a friendly looking man across a desk. You're wrapped in a green sheet above the waist, and seated in an armchair.

"Well, you're certainly an unusual case. I questioned you while you were unconscious using truth drugs which is legal because you had collapsed in a public street, and had no form of recognized identity card. Your intuition is correct. You were dreaming. You had some sort of pschyotic break. But now you're back to reality."

He gets up and walks over to the window which is covered by a curtain.  Pulling it back, he reveals a yellow sky, and a blue sun.

"After all, in your babblings you kept talking about going home to a place with a blue sky. Don't worry, you'll receive the best of care at the Von Staat Home fo the Insane. We should be able to cure this delusion in no time with the appropriate use of drugs, hypnosis, and electroshock therapy."

The men in white  have to come in and sedate you to stop the screaming which you can't seem to stop.

Your adventure is over. Try again on another route.

OOC: And that is one endstate of around 16 or so done. This is obviously the one where the player insists "its all a dream" and doesn't back down from their theory despite opposing evidence.

PT

C Reply:

The walk down the beach to your left, and the small peninsula is harder than you thought. Hiking in wet beach sand is a mild strain, and walking up near the jungle edge has you ducking aberrant fronds that hang out over your path. Puffing a bit, you reach the peninsula, and then start to climb its scattered black rocks embedded in something halfway between dirt and sand.

At the top, you look out over the ocean. Not once, but twice to be sure. There is no sign of land, or other islands other than a small bit of reef on the leftward, or sheltered side of the peninsula. Landward, you can't see the whole island, but it seems to be long and narrow.  Now, on your right (as you face the land), you see a volcano that dominates one end of the island.

Small puffs of smoke come from it.

1. Head toward the gentle slope of the volcano. From it, you should be able to get a better view of the island.
2. Head back the other way.
3. Take out your Swiss Army knife, and cut a bit of bamboo, and go spear-fishing in the protected reef area. A little sushi sounds right tasty about now as hunger is the best sauce.
4. Dry out your feet as they're a bit wet and sore.

D Reply:

That sense of familarity, like you left something over to your right bugs you.  After all, you're certain you've never been here, so what could it be?

You start walking, and the distance or intensity of the feeling never changes, but the vector to it seems to shift slightly.

And then you see a huge man in a football shirt, and cut-off jeans walking toward you. He looks well-groomed, but on the other hand, he also looks like he could snap you in two without trying very hard at all.

1. Hide! Hide now!
2. Get a weapon! You have a Swiss Army knife, and there are bamboo stands dotting the jungle. It should take a few minutes to get a good quarterstaff.
3. Run away!
4. Speak politely to the man.

E Reply:

You follow the sense of familarity into the jungle.  Its like a compass inside your stomach, and it leads you under vines, past snakes, over fallen mossy tree trunks, through heavy and damp stands of ferns, and grunting with effort as you force your way through dense stands of bamboo.  And then you reach your target about a half mile into the jungle.

Some of your most prized possessions are dropped in the jungle. Curiously, you were half a mile from your apartment. Even curiouser, the items seem like they've been dropped in the exact pattern they were in your apartment which makes zero sense whatsoever.  Most curiously of all, its very easy for you to find your items.

Its like you know that something is there under that fern, and by that tree trunk. Soon, you've got a backpack full of about eighty pounds worth of stuff.  Some is clearly useful in the present moment like a tent and water canteen, but other things like your prized autographed copy of a D&D Monster Manual seems less useful at the moment.

1. Its hurts, it really does, but you have to ditch the MM, and the five pounds of dice, and the baseball signed by Nolan Ryan, and the bowling trophy from the tenth grade. You simply can't carry this much.
2. Ditch sure, but dig a proper hold so that you can come back for it later.
3. Ditch? Are you nuts? Nolen Ryan threw that baseball, man! Besides, a baseball might be very useful sometime.
4. Take the water canteen, and the baseball bat cause its a nice weapon, but the rest stays here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:24, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

AA Reply:

A woman in cutoffs and a tank top comes trotting down the beach. Its clear from the way her head swivels that she's been listening to your hollers for help.  She stops a good ways off, and studies you mistrustfully.

She approaches, and you realize she's a beach blonde, and maybe a bleach blonde.

"I'm Carla. Do you have any food? Or something to drink?"

A. "How'd you get here?"
B. "No, but I can climb a coconut tree for you?"
C. "Get your own."
D. "Maybe we can work together to ...."

PT

Can I recommend hyperlinks? I don't know if you can do that here, but its gotten very difficult to follow in its current format.

As a matter of fact, I think that Oak's 'Where does your story begin' is an excellent way to keep track of this.   You should have three threads.  One that has the responses, the other that has the links and the other that has a matrix showing what needs to be done.

I'll try.

AA Reply:

A woman in cutoffs and a tank top comes trotting down the beach. Its clear from the way her head swivels that she's been listening to your hollers for help.  She stops a good ways off, and studies you mistrustfully.

She approaches, and you realize she's a beach blonde, and maybe a bleach blonde.

"I'm Carla. Do you have any food? Or something to drink?"

A. "How'd you get here?"
B. "No, but I can climb a coconut tree for you?"
C. "Get your own."
D. "Maybe we can work together to ...."

AAA

"I am a verser.  Just like you.  I died fighting off a bunch of monkeys with tentacles."

She giggles and tosses her hair back playfully.

A. "Yeah right."
B. "Why were you doing that?"
C. "I like to eat Cheese."

AAB

She laughs, "I don't need you to do that, but I appreciate the thought."  She waves her hand and one of the cocunuts flies through the air and lands in her hand.

A. "How'd you do that?"
B. "WITCH! BURN!"
C. "Alright, clearly I'm on a reality T.V. Show.  Fess up."

AAC

"Oh, you're one of those.  No worries."

She pulls out a flamethrower from her back pocket and shoots you.

A. You die horribly screaming in flames.
B. You dodge, and then die horribly screaming in flames.
C. You leap at her and try to take her with you, as you die horribly screaming in flames.
D. Beg for mercy by falling onto your knees.

AAD

"Well I could use help putting together a shelter.  This place gets old after a while.  Do you have any experience at survival?"

A. Yes
B. No
C. A bit but not much.
D. Give a really bad pickup line.

Hyperlinks would be good, and some sort of matrix of what's already done. I'll see what I can do, because you're right, its getting tricky.

PT

AB Reply:

You're able to climb, on the third try, a coconut tree. The trick is to push off with your feet, and pull with your arms.  With that, its doable, although your arms are trembling by the time you get up to the top.  From there, you knock down several coconuts more.

"Knock down more. Now."

A thin Japanese man in a brown uniform with a katana belted to his waist orders you from below.

What do you do?

1. "Who are you?"
2. He may be arrogant, but its a good idea. Might as well be the mature one here, and toss down a few more.
3. Bean him in the head. Someone that authoritarian, and armed with a sword is bad news.
4. Wonder why he seems 'familar'.

PT