Lucid Storytelling Game

Lucid is a storytelling/RPG hybrid game that has been in development for the past 4 years. The game's original designer, Thaddeus Wilson, approached me early this year to get a designer's eye on it. When he first told me what his game could do I was skeptical, but happy to take a look and offer advice on what to do next. When I saw what he had created, I immediately asked if he needed a developer. Luckily for me, he welcomed me on board.

What is Lucid?

Lucid bridges standard role-playing and storytelling games with a unique mechanic that incorporates the best of both worlds.

In most role-playing games, there is a Game Master (GM) who has created or bought an adventure to run the players through. The GM is responsible for laying clues, playing supporting cast characters (called non-player characters, or NPCs) and adjudicating combats and skill challenges. Role-playing games allow the players to chose what their player characters (PCs) do, within the bounds of the rule system, but the overall plot is in the hands of the GM.

Storytelling games do away with the single GM and focus on cooperative storytelling between all players. No one knows where the storyline will wander or how it will end. Storytelling games allow everyone to participate in building the story in some way, whether by playing themed cards, rolling dice or simply using their imaginations. Unlike a role-playing game, typical storytelling games don't use player-characters and tend to have limited structure—the price of taking your imagination anywhere.

As a storytelling game, Lucid removes the single GM and allows each player to take turns as Director. Unlike most storytelling games, though, every player in a game of Lucid has a character to play (referred to as a Main Character) and the story follows a framework derived from the Three Act storytelling structure used in many plays, movies, TV shows and novels. During their turn as Director, a player introduces story elements in order to complete one of the Plot Points that make up the Three Acts, guiding the story to a both satisfying and exciting finale!

Why play Lucid instead of traditional RPGs or Storytelling games?

Lucid is a simple and fast-paced mechanism for character creation that takes minutes to explain to new players. If you’re an experienced role-player, Lucid is a perfect way to introduce your family and friends to the concept of role-playing without them reading a complex system of rules and investing hours in character creation. The color-coordinated polyhedral dice make the game easy to moderate for those not familiar with standard RPG dice, and the highlighting mechanic gives new players a visual reference for how good they are at a task. Both work perfectly for introducing kids to role-playing as well.

Lucid: Accelerated allows new players to jump right in, while the rules you’ll find in the Lucid: Storyteller advanced set provides numerous plug-n-play options that allow players with different skill levels to customize their characters however they want, without detracting from the story. Lucid: Storyteller also introduces long-term campaigns, called Series, that allow characters to develop over time. Did you enjoy your one-shot Lucid game and want to see what happens next? Fold in the Series rules and create your sequel.

Interested?

You can schedule playtest games of Lucid for local sessions her in San Diego, as well as over Google Hangouts, by linking over to our website. We'd love your insight an opinions on the game. Lucid: Accelerated is ideal for gaming over Hangouts, so don't let distance stop you. Get your friends together from around the country (or the world) and schedule a playtest. in 2-4 hours you can tell a story you will be talking about long after the game ends.

www.lucidstorygame.com