A pre-game activity for 3-5 players.

Bullpen is a game you play before you play the game to help suss out character ideas. It’s especially suited to creating superhero characters.

Each player needs a laptop computer and three six-sided dice. Open a word processing program and create a new document. Name the document “bullpen_yourname.” Create a heading containing your name, followed by the names of the other players. Save the document. If you have access to Google Wave you can share a document.

For example, I create the document “bullpen_jared” and list player’s names:

Jared
Luke
Thor
Drozdal

The first player is the first person to set up their laptop and this document.

On the first player’s turn, he should reveal a fact about his character’s history using the first person and write it down on the first line of the document. The other players should also write down this fact under the first player’s name.

Jared
I was created by a scientist to protect mankind against an alien threat.

The first player may then roll a six-sided die or pass.

If he rolls the die and it turns up 6, he may introduce another fact about his character’s history or pass. If he didn’t pass, he rolls again.

If he ever rolls a 1, then that fact is up for debate – the next player may change one part of the first player’s fact. His turn ends and play proceeds to the next player’s turn.

If the first player passed or didn’t roll a 6, the second player now reveals a fact about his own character and the game continues.

If a player incorporates another player’s fact, then he gets to roll an additional die (max. of three dice). If any of these turn up 6, he may reveal another fact. If all the dice turn up 1, his fact is up for debate and his turn ends.

When writing down historical facts about your character, you can insert facts anywhere in the document under your name. This helps in establishing and maintaining the chronology when writing down a fact that occurred before something you already wrote.

At the end of the last player’s turn, that player gets to ask the first player one question:

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

This question should pertain to a fact already established by the first player. The first player must then answer this question by revealing another fact about his character (usually writing it beneath the previous fact).

The game continues until each character has 12 facts in his history. If a player finishes early, he gets to continue to ask questions and debate facts but not add any more of his own.