Thanks for sending me a copy of your article "Role Playing and Matrix Games: Campaigns Made Easy." It's well written, and it seems to me to be a pretty good recipe for integrating MGs into RPGs. Of course, I've played a few Matrix Games and I'm not sure how it would read to person not familiar with the genre. You might want to send copies to editors of independant RPG magazines such as White Wolf and see what kind of response they make. I'm including a copy of the basic elements in our Peasant Boy Matrix. We're pretty loose about allowing new elements into the matrix during play, so the story line can go off onto unforeseen tangents. In some ways our style of play is less formal than that I've seen' in the Solidarity game. Our formation of arguments is more semantic, forming sentences, than it is logical, forming rigorous arguments. When I make a matrix, I take a bunch of 3X5 cards and cut them each into 4 pieces. Thinking about map movement and playing around with these little cards, I came up with an idea for a simple, simultaneous hidden movement system to use in our miniatures campaign. I'll send you a copy as soon as I've got the last major bugs worked out. Thanks for the effort you put into EGG. I find things in EGG that I can apply in areas of my life other than gaming. I've got a couple of ideas for articles that I'll write as soon as time permits. CHARACTERS Peasant Boy The Outlaws Of The Forest Evil "King" Ralph's Chief Counsellor Peasant Boy's Dog The Shire Levy Evil "King" Ralph's Mercenary Body Guards The Fair Princess From A Far Land The Troubador Evil "King" Ralph's Robber Baron Minions The Old Nobility A Troll The Local Peasants Evil "King" Ralph Evil "King" Ralph"s Spy Minions The Hedge Wizard Tax Collectors ACTIONS Movement (X2) Negotiation Treachery Rousing Oratory Abduction Riot Oppression By Force Of Arms Rumor Mongering Bribery Disguise Ambush Personal Combat Open Battle MOTIVES Love Jealousy Resignation Loyalty Anger Frustration Gratitude Hatred Hunger Hopeless Romanticism Fear Desperation Greed THINGS The Secret Birth Taxes Superstition Mark of Good King Henry's Son The Exchequer Popular Sentiment The Memory Of Good King Henry The Fair Princess' Large Dowry PLACES The King's Castle The Whole Countryside A Bridge A Tavern A Forest A Village Smellwater (A Sea Port) CONSIDERATIONS Chivalry is Not Dead. He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Minions and Mercenaries are expensive. Feudal Obligation CONNECTIVES Yes, and (x2) Yes, But (x2) No, actually (x2) OPTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR MILITARY GAME Peasant Boy is a strong fighter. The Local Peasants are weak fighters. The Old Nobility are strong fighters. The Shire Levy are average fighters. The Outlaws of the Forest are average fighters. The Hedge Wizard is an average fighter. Evil "King" Ralph is a strong fighter. Evil "King" Ralph's Chief Counsellor is an average fighter. Evil "King" Ralph's Mercenary Body Guards are strong fighters. Evil "King" Ralph's Robber Baron Minions are strong fighters. Evil "King" Ralph's Spy Minions are weak fighters. Tax Collectors are weak fighters. Trolls are strong fighters. I first heard of Steve's game when I saw him in South Bend at the Emperor's Birthday convention. When he recounted the adventures of Peasant Boy (could he also be Farm Boy? with Buttercup, Iniego, and Fezzic?) I knew I wanted to see the game. Steve says that he runs the game with a more open matrix. It sounds like arguments and argument resolution are done the same as in other MGs. The point of the game seems to be more aimed at having the matrix grow in interesting directions. So each turn, the players make arguments about what they want to have happen. The results of the winning arguments become part of the matrix. Also if the matrix does not have a reason the a player feels "should" be there he can use it. If not one objects to it, it becomes part of the matrix as well. So it is possible to add to the matrix even without winning arguments. This kind of action adventure MG is fun to play if one does not demand that a game have clear definitions about winning and losing. Players can compete in these games the whole play session but in the end it is very hard to say who the WINNER is. Action MGs like this can be made to cover almost any adventure setting. Steve has this matrix and does a Baron Munchausen game. Sam Mustafa planned to do a Monty Python-like Viking game. I made a Holy Grail MG and done several prehistoric games. In fact these are probably the simplest MGs to make because they are so tongue in cheek. The matrix does not have to be complete. It just has to be funny. Back to Experimental Games Group # 11 Table of Contents Back to Experimental Games Group List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by Chris Engle This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com