The Library is Burning!
This post was made as a submission for Dice Goblin's Adventure Calendar Jam 2023 where we post one short RPG idea every day until December 24. Here are my previous entries: day one, two, three, four and five
Today's post is about a short and simple diegetic minigame for when your players need to grab as many valuable things as they can from a place that is crumbling/burning/about-to-explode and escape with their lives. Here's how it goes:
- You, the DM, come up with a list of descriptions for the itens that players aim to obtain (e.g., verbose book titles for a burning library, legendary treasure from a wizard's dimensional vault, extensively described artworks from a gallery...). Create one sheet per player, but keep it hidden from them for now.
- Set a time limit for the minigame. One minute works well for a tense scenario, but feel free to adjust for desired loot levels. Clearly communicate the time limit to the players, ensuring everyone is aware.
- Place a copy of the sheet face down in front of each player. Provide each player with a blank sheet and writing utensils. When ready to start, instruct players to flip the sheets and commence the timer.
- Players must write down the full name of each object they aim to save or loot on their blank sheet, hand it to you, and signal their intent to leave the area by raising their hands before the timer expires. If they do not have their hands raised when the time is up, they are caught by the location's hazard/collapse. The catch? The players do not see the timer. They have to guess and wager how much they're willing to push it, or play it safe and leave early for a lower payout.
Some considerations:
- According to Wikipedia, the average handwriting speed seems to be ~13 wpm (words per minute), but your players will be rushing, so ~20 wpm is more accurate. It's ideal that there are clearly more words on the sheet than they can possibly write down in time, so they're pressured into making quick decisions. When writing the descriptions down, try to fill one full line on the page with each item (it's okay to write shorter descriptions, but avoid writing descriptions that overflow into a second line);
- Maybe your players are looking for a specific type or category of item. This is a good opportunity to put some useful loot on the sheets. Consider, if you're using the same list of itens for all player sheets, randomizing their order so players have to look for the itens they need;
- Using absurd, connfusing and made-up words is a good way to make the item descriptions longer and to make it harder for players to quickly scan the list for the itens they want the most;
- Players should be free to communicate. Since two characters can't rescue two copies of the same, unique item, if two players are working on the same item and one finishes first, the other loses all progress and has to start over on another item. Players will be coordinating (or trying to) very quickly.
Thank you for reading!