In 'Who The Devil Are You?' The Players Do All The Work!

Monte Cook Games' latest roleplaying game is a player-led experience called Who The Devil Are You? Instead of the GM building the world, the players do during the character creation process.

Even the story is player-led. The players create a scene based on an image prompt, and the GM just needs to fill in the details.

The game comes as a 50-page PDF, and it's a lightweight toolset which leans heavily on improvisation. Designed as a 'zero prep' game, it's best used for one-shots.

In most RPGs, the GM provides the story, setting, and context to the players and the players create characters to fit that world. But what if we turned all that upside down?

What if the whole process of making the characters also builds the world? And breathing life into those characters also builds the story? In other words, what if the lazy-ass GM makes the players do all the work?

This fun, fast-paced narrative game removes all the prep-work and delivers an entertaining, creative roleplaying experience that engages everyone around the table and invariably results in an entertaining, memorable story you’ll recount again and again, and a great time for everyone.

You start with an image prompt that sets a scene. Any prompt—science fiction, fantasy, horror, modern, or even weird or comical; it all works. The players collaborate to decide what the scene depicts: what’s happening, who’s there, and why. Then they build characters ready to engage the situation they created, while GM takes what they’ve come up with and sketches out the conflict, some basic plot points, and maybe a few details.

Then it’s into the action! The game provides the structure that turns these fun, fast-flowing, creative ideas into a coherent story with action, twists, turns, and always an element of the unexpected.

Who the Devil Are You? - Monte Cook Games Store

Who are you? Why are you here? What's going on? You'll decide—and the tale you tell will be so much fun! This fun, fast-paced narrative game removes all the prep-work and delivers an entertaining, creative roleplaying experience that engages everyone around the table and invariably results in an...

www.montecookgames.com

 

[Morrus]

I have seen many similar games and really the information is covered in their statement, 50 page PDF, and it's a lightweight toolset which leans heavily on improvisation. Designed as a 'zero prep' game, it's best used for one-shots. So the pop music of the game industry in other words very simplistic and zero complexity, " zero prep " "one-shots" so maybe like more of a jingle of a pop song then. Which as i said might be fine for those with a less complex pallet or mental capacity. I am betting more than a card game but not too much more.

OK, knock it off—right now. When you’re at the point where you’re telling people who like different types of games to you that they have a lower ‘mental capacity’, you’re way over the line. Review the basic rules of civility required here, and become more polite, or you’ll be disinvited from the discussion.

 

[Vincent55]

OK, knock it off—right now. When you’re at the point where you’re telling people who like different types of games to you that they have a lower ‘mental capacity’, you’re way over the line. Review the basic rules of civility required here, and become more polite, or you’ll be disinvited from the discussion.

I for one have a lower mental capacity than say Albert Einstein, and that doesn't bother me I still have an above average I. Q. as was tested before going into the military. As much as you and others want to believe, not everyone plays on the same level, and many of the more simple games do appeal to those who have trouble with the more challenging ones. This is why 5e has become so widespread and popular of late as it's more a simple approach to the rules that are loosely based on the original version of the game. I mean no malice in what i said but maybe a better choice of words should have been chosen, so as not to offend others.

 

[Umbran]

I for one have a lower mental capacity than say Albert Einstein...

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[Arilyn]

Does this game have any kinship with Monte Cook's "Stealing Stories for the Devil?" There's no mention of it on their website but name has me wondering.

 

[BovineofWar]

Does this game have any kinship with Monte Cook's "Stealing Stories for the Devil?" There's no mention of it on their website but name has me wondering.

Yes, the original crowd funding project basically led to the development of three related games:

• Stealing Stories for the Devil
• Who the Devil are You?
• The Devil's Dandy Dogs (forthcoming)

The mechanics are identical, there's even a disclaimer in Who the Devil are You that you can skip that section if you're familiar with Stealing Stories for the Devil.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Campaign and session prep is my favorite part of the RPG experience. So this is a big NO for me.