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Ribbon Drive 
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:49 am
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Hey guys,

I know I haven't been the most active member here the last couple of years, but the time I'd spent roleplaying with everyone was fantastic. I'm trying to get back into it.

Anyhow, there's this RPG system called Ribbon Drive that is supposed to simulate roadtrip movies like Wristcutters, Little Miss Sunshine, etc. I bought the PDF and even though it's meant to be played in-person, I think it could work online. It's gonna be a little different than the other RPGs we've done, but I think it'll be a really positive experience if we can all get into it. (Disclaimer: I have never played this game before so I'll just be doing my best. Please bear with me.)

Here's the author's description:
"In Ribbon Drive, we collectively create a story about a road trip. We do this in the comfort of a living room, over the course of 3-5 hours. We each create a character, one of the people going on this road trip. These characters are our individual jobs; each of us will roleplay one character’s decisions and actions. We’ll share the responsibility of narrating the obstacles and scenery that comes up all around us. Music mixes guide our journey and shape the story as it unfolds. Ribbon Drive creates stories about letting go on the open road, and we all work to both further and complicate this agenda during the game. It draws inspirations from road movies like Wristcutters, Everything Is Illuminated, y tu Mama Tambien, Little Miss Sunshine, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and Thelma & Louise (and, to a lesser extent, Two Lane Blacktop, The Doom Generation and Wild At Heart). Our ultimate goal is to create a thought-provoking, meaningful experience. We let the music guide us. We let the road throw us curves. As our characters, we rethink our attachment to the future."

I'll try to explain the rules. This is a GMless game, so we'll all be collaborating.

First, we each need to make a roadtrip playlist. We could make these on Spotify and share them with each other, using throwaway accounts for privacy. The playlist needs to have a theme, be 30-40 minutes long (since we're not playing in real-time, I want to be able to get through multiple of these) and have a good title that matches the theme. Examples might be "Sunglasses and Swimsuits" or "Lonely Hearts Club Band".

Then we randomly choose one of these playlists and each listen to the first song. After we listen to the entirety of that first song (you can do this on your own time but do it in a place where you can actually sit and really listen to it. This is supposed to be a visioning exercise). Based on the mood, lyrics, and other elements of that song, we come up with suggestions for what sort of road trip it is and where we are going.

Characters: show
Characters
After we determine that framework, we have to create our characters. While listening to the second song on that playlist, each of us takes elements from it to create a character. This is the character that you will be controlling in various scenes throughout the game.

The elements of your character that you will be creating are:

Name:
Age:
Physical Description:
Relationship to other characters:
3 Traits:
2 Futures:


At least one of the traits or futures has to be taken directly from the lyrics in that second song.

Here is a summary of traits, from the rulebook:
Traits are details about our character that we hope will come to light over the course of the trip, and that might help us overcome obstacles that we encounter. They can be single words (like virtuous or alcoholic), short phrases (like loves classical music or graphic designer), or whole sentences (like I own a house in the Bahamas or I used to be famous). The traits we choose are important because they give us a starting point for playing our characters, and because we rely on them to overcome obstacles that come up over the course of our trip.

Futures are the other important part. These dictate what the character dreams about occurring in the future. Many of these will be resolved, either by coming true or by being abandoned, throughout the course of the game.

We will continue listening to the first mix until it is finished. In real life, we would just do this naturally as it ends, but as we are online I think we can just dictate a song change by announcing that what the new currently playing song is in track order. Everyone should listen to the currently playing song while writing their posts so that it can influence the mood of the game! I think this is a really cool idea that could make this a meaningful experience. When one mix is finished, we'll move to another randomly chosen one.



Detailed Rules: show
Scenes

Once characters are created, the game takes place over a series of scenes. These will start by one of us framing the scene. Like the adventure itself, these should be influenced by the song that is currently playing.The person framing the scene will dictate where we are, when it is, and what is happening. Then our characters will act, playing just like a normal RPG. This will continue until the scene reaches a natural resolution. These scenes are where you can develop your character by talking about your dreams, or by just having silly conversations. Pretend you're on a real road trip. Scenes don't have to take place inside the car. We could be parked, getting snacks, or taking a break. We could be exploring a cool tourist spot we found. Anything really goes.

During these scenes, we can each activate one of our traits by having it come up in conversation or in the events that occur. Once a trait has been activated, it can be utilized in the future in order to overcome obstacles.

Obstacles are problems such as getting pulled over by the cops or having a car breakdown. These can be introduced by anyone, provided that they haven't contributed to a scene yet. Once the obstacle is introduced, any of us can put an activated trait to use by describing how it overcomes the obstacle. Once a trait is used, it is overcome. It cannot be used to resolve any future obstacles. It may be something that your character has outgrown, or maybe it just isn't as important to his or her identity anymore. Not every scene needs to have an obstacle. Obstacles are big problems. The creator suggests that a game should have anywhere from 1-6 obstacles total.

If no one has a relevant activated trait, we are forced to take a detour. This just means that we introduce the obstacle into the scene and our characters collectively try to figure it out. This, too, would be played just like a normal RPG.

Conflicts between characters can occur during any scene. These are hugely dependent on the song that is playing. If a heavy metal song is playing, the conflict might tend towards violence or tragedy. If a more calm song is playing, it might sizzle out in easy compromise. When acting in a conflict situation, pay special attention to the song that is playing when deciding how your character proceeds. Conflicts are also great opportunities to activate traits or to resolve futures that might pertain to the content or the method of the conflict at hand.

Futures and the End

Many of the futures created during character creation will be resolved during scenes. This can happen by the future coming to fruition. For example, if my character has the future of "falling madly in love", this could occur with one of the other PCs or an NPC. If a future is resolved in a scene, the scene should focus heavily on that pivotal event.

Futures can also be resolved by being crossed out. This means that the character has undergone a transformation and no longer cares about the outcome of that future. This is a huge deal and should be shown in the actions of the character in the scene when it happens and also be apparent in his or her actions moving forward. Once a character has crossed off both of his or her futures, he or she becomes the protagonist of the story and the game ends. The protagonist has let go of his or her worries about the future and is moving on open road. At this point, we will work together to bring the game to a meaningful close, either during the scene when the character becomes the protagonist or in short scenes following it.


Those are the gist of the basic rules. There are a few things that matter as we near the end of the game, and I'll update this post with the rules once I gauge interest. I just wanna get this post out here because I'm very excited. I hope a few people can play! It's probably best with 4 - 6 players total, including myself, just so we can all fit in one car.

Travelers:

Kerim

Playlist: show
Don't Cry Over Spilt Beans

1. Mixtape by Brand New
2. You Told the Drunks I Knew Karate by Zoey Van Goey
3. Independent Horror Film by Corporate Hearts
4. I Don't Love You Anymore by Bomb the Music Industry
5. True Colors by boris smile
6. Song About Why I Suck by Wil Wagner
7. Poison Oak by Bright Eyes
8. A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley
9. Ghosting by Mother Mother

Spotify Link

Savio
Playlist: show
Can't Look Back

1. To Life, To Love by Andy Hunter
2. Light Up The Night by The Protomen
3. True Survivor by David Hasselhoff
4. Watercolor by Pendulum
5. Hands On The Water by Skyhill
6. Ride The Sky by Night Runner
7. The Final Countdown by Europe
8. The World Is Saved by Danny Wiessner

Youtube Playlist

Kiki
Playlist: show
Communication is the Key to the Soul

1. Raggamuffin by Selah Sue
2. Get Down by James Arthur
3. Can You Hear Me Now by Jetta
4.Say Something by Charlie Winston
5. Dead Again by ASA
6. Rumour Has It by Adele
7. Tell Me (Before It's Too Late) by Jesse Dee
8. Words by Seinabo Sey
9. These Words by Natasha Bedingfield

Spotify Link

ezlybored
Playlist: show
the future's waiting
1. Jump the Fence - Mother Mother
2. We Are The Kids - WALK THE MOON
3. Obvious Bicycle - Vampire Weekend
4. Daydreamer - Young the Giant
5. Beacon - Two Door Cinema Club
6. Dreams - The Kooks
7. Shot At The Night - The Killers
8. Stand On The Horizon - Franz Ferdinand
9. Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay

Spotify Link

Semicolon
Playlist: show
Back where I started

1. Tamatoi - Tsuneyoshi Saito
2. Mission - Leahy
3. Rare Respite [Jib Jig] - Patrick Burns
4. Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 No. 2 [Radu Lupu, 1976 Recording] - Johannes Brahms
5. Come On, Start the Adventure! [Opening] - Norihiko Hibino
6. Moment of Rest [Live Version] - Tomohito Nishiura
7. Piano Quintet No. 2, Scherzo: Molto vivace [Marc-André Hamelin and Leipzig Quartet] - Antonín Dvořák
8. Awake - Tycho
9. Untitled 1 - Sigur Rós

Youtube Playlist


Last edited by Kerim on Wed Jun 29, 2016 11:30 am, edited 26 times in total.



Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:31 pm
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This sounds really neat! Count me in.

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Sun Jun 26, 2016 6:04 pm
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:49 am
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Awesome. If you want to start working on your playlist, feel free. I'm gonna get started on mine pretty soon here.


Sun Jun 26, 2016 6:17 pm
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Definitely interested in participating; this seems like a wonderful exercise in writing and creativity.

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Sun Jun 26, 2016 8:41 pm
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Great, I'd be happy to have you! I've updated the first post with the rest of the rules. Hopefully things make some sense. I think things will become easier once we've gotten going.


Sun Jun 26, 2016 10:06 pm
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the idea sounds really cool and i'm interested! but you'll have to deal with my music taste

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Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:07 pm
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Great. Heh, I'm sure whatever you listen to will make the game more interesting. Hopefully we'll all come out of this with a new song or two.


Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:38 am
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I've updated the OP with my playlist, "Don't Cry Over Spilt Beans". Whenever you are finished with yours, just post the tracklist and I'll copy it into the OP.


Mon Jun 27, 2016 9:53 am
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Communication is the Key to the Soul

1. Raggamuffin by Selah Sue
2. Get Down by James Arthur
3. Can You Hear Me Now by Jetta
4.Say Something by Charlie Winston
5. Dead Again by ASA
6. Rumour Has It by Adele
7. Tell Me (Before It's Too Late) by Jesse Dee
8. Words by Seinabo Sey
9. These Words by Natasha Bedingfield

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Mon Jun 27, 2016 9:29 pm
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Got it!


Mon Jun 27, 2016 9:41 pm
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Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 12:03 am
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Location: Rising up to become the one they all fear.
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MGN Username: Savvy, eh?
Currently Playing: Savvy's Art Academy
Can't Look Back

1. To Life, To Love by Andy Hunter
2. Light Up The Night by The Protomen
3. True Survivor by David Hasselhoff
4. Watercolor by Pendulum
5. Hands On The Water by Skyhill
6. Ride The Sky by Night Runner
7. The Final Countdown by Europe
8. The World Is Saved by Danny Wiessner

YouTube Playlist

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Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:39 pm
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Got it! Exciting stuff. These playlists should make for a great game.

I just want to reiterate to anyone who is browsing that people are still free to join! One to two more players would work well. Any more than that and we'd have to upgrade to a mini-van (and, more importantly, it'll be harder to get to everyone's playlists).


Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:21 pm
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This seems really neat! I'm interested in joining.

I'd like to ask permission to use an instrumental piece as the 2nd in my playlist. I think a character could easily be created from words I would use to describe it. (sombre, goal-oriented, rash, quick to make decisions, improvisational)

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Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:00 pm
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Cool! That's fine with me.


Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:42 pm
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got my playlist!

the future's waiting
1. Jump the Fence - Mother Mother
2. We Are The Kids - WALK THE MOON
3. Obvious Bicycle - Vampire Weekend
4. Daydreamer - Young the Giant
5. Beacon - Two Door Cinema Club
6. Dreams - The Kooks
7. Shot At The Night - The Killers
8. Stand On The Horizon - Franz Ferdinand
9. Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay

spotifyy

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Tue Jun 28, 2016 5:30 pm
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