Thursday, July 25, 2013

Kickstarter: the d20 Role-Playing Game

Step 1: Grab a d20 and make a character
Names are optional. You'll have two stats: Faith and Sharing. Declare how much money you're spending to determine your stats
$5 - you've paid the minimum admission and will likely receive a pdf of the work that is done if it finishes, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 1
$15 - you're getting a minimal award if it succeeds, your Faith is 2 and your Sharing is 3
$25 - you're getting something physical sent to you in the mail, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 4
$50 - you're getting a deluxe version of the finished product sent to you in the mail, your Faith and Sharing are both 5
$100 - you're getting a deluxe version and a t-shirt, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 6
$125 - you're getting a super deluxe version with a t-shirt and poster, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 8
$250 - you're getting multiple copies of the deluxe version, your Sharing is 10 and your Faith is 8
$350 - this is a weird level that comes with a deluxe version of the product that's been painted in neon colors especially for you because you're also a weird person who likes that sort of bullshit, your Faith is 12 and your Sharing is 8
$500 - you're getting a bunch of cool stuff plus your input will be used to design part of the finished product, if it's a video game you'll probably get to design a level or have your image used for a main character and that's pretty cool, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 10
$1,000 - you'll get to meet the person who put up the kickstarer, if it's Amanda Palmer she'll probably be nude when you meet her and that will be awesome because not many people have seen her naked, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 12
$10,000 - you are getting everything listed above, you either really like this kickstarter or you are a crazy person, your Faith and Sharing scores are both 15

Step 2: Determine the kickstarter's success
Roll 1d20, add your Sharing score and write the number down, this is the kickstarter's Success score. If the total is 15 or higher the funding campaign succeeds, either because you told enough people and they pitched in enough money for it to succeed, or the donation you put in was so huge that it prompted others to pitch in. Or it was just a really popular kickstarter. Or maybe a gawker website mentioned the kickstarter five times because somebody over there wanted it to succeed. Whatever! It was a success. If it wasn't a success then at least you didn't lose all of that money.

Step 3: Determine if the kickstarter rewards are delivered late
Roll 1d20 and add the Kickstarter's Success. If the total is 20 or lower, the Kickstarter rewards are (mostly) on time and everybody is happy. The end. Best possible scenario.
If you rolled over 20, then for every number over 20 the kickstarter rewards are 1 month late. Each month that a kickstarter is late depletes your Faith by 1 point, if your Faith score is reduced to a negative number then the kickstarter is never delivered. The end. Worst possible scenario.

Step 4: Advanced optional rules
For added complexity, when a kickstarter is late the reason for it's lateness can affect your Faith score.
Roll 1d4
1 - personal illness, Faith subtracted as normal
2 - family member died, add +3 to Faith before subtracting as normal
3 - they are really bad with money, subtract 2 points of Faith for every month it is late
4 - silence, subtract 4 points of Faith for every month it is late
For even more added complexity roll 1d4 for every month of lateness and apply the subtraction from Faith as described above

Appendix A: money
You might be noticing that there are no rules for how much money you start with. The player should use their own savings account as a guide for how much money they have to spend. If you find you are routinely spending $10,000 just so you can "win" the game then please send me your email address so I can notify you about any kickstarter I'm going to create in the future.

Appendix B: math
You might be wondering why the value you put in to the kickstarter greatly determines how successful the kickstarter is, which is quite contrary to reality. Well fuck you! Like I give a shit about realism at 4am.