This is my submission for GameChef 2019, the annual tabletop roleplaying game design competition. If you'd prefer to read it in a bare-bones PDF rather than in this post, get it here. As of yet the game has had no editing, revision, or playtesting. What you see is what you get.
(image from game-chef.com)
MirrorMatch
by Dan Maruschak
There are an infinite number of parallel worlds to yours. In many of those worlds there's another you, someone who we'd recognize as you but who's different, maybe in small ways, maybe big. Maybe the differences are so big that it's unsettling. Or maybe the differences aren't as big as you'd like to believe.
This is an RPG for a GM and three to five players. The players' characters are all people who live in the same world, maybe our real world or one that's “nearby” in an abstract sense. They might even live near each other, but they don't know each other, except maybe as people they've seen in passing while attending to their own affairs. But the game doesn't start there, it starts with the characters dreaming.
A dream
GM: You're going to go through a visualization with each player. Say to each one something like: “You're having a dream. In the dream you're looking into a mirror. But the mirror isn't showing you your reflection. It's showing you the you from a parallel world, where they're looking into a mirror. That world is a lot like your world, but it's different, too. And the you there is very different, they're the embodiment of something you justifiably despise about the world you live in.”
Now ask the player to think of something their character despises about the world they live in. This should be some sort of vice, or ideology, or institution. The world the players live in isn't awash in some obvious crisis, the problems are diffuse and soft-edged enough that the majority of people can go about their lives without even thinking anything is wrong. Maybe the problem is that there's too much control and regimentation. Maybe there's too much greed. Maybe the forces of totalitarianism are on the rise. Maybe apathy is leaving important problems unaddressed.
Once the player has come up with an idea, tell them that the mirror-them showcases the very thing the player's character hates, and is an important cog in an institution that embraces it. Ask them to think about who the mirror-them could be, and what sort of institution they can be a part of. Tell them that the mirror-world isn't as muddy and gray as the world their character lives in, the thing they despise is in full bloom over there, and the mirror-them is reveling in it.
For example, if the character hates dishonesty, the mirror-them might be a newscaster for a government propaganda service. If the character hates greed the mirror-them might be a corporate raider who profits from the misfortune of others. If the character hates rigidity and being controlled the mirror-them could be a bureaucrat who wields power like a petty tyrant.
Traits
Now work with the player to jointly define an INSTITUTION trait to add a bit of definition to the worlds. This should be a word or short phrases that labels an axis where the mirror-world is on the extreme high end, and a corresponding word or phrase for what the absence of that would be. For example: GREED/generosity, CONTROL/freedom, DISHONESTY/truth. Traits will be used in the mechanics of the game, the axis they're on is rated in dice from d4 to d10, with the d4 corresponding to the “absence” condition and the d10 to the trait being exhibited to the full extent. Write the trait on a card with an axis showing a d4, d6, d8, and d10. Not e the player or character's name on the card, as a reminder. The player holds the card for their INSTITUTION trait.
When you're both happy, say to the player something like: “The other you is looking in the mirror in a very self-satisfied way. Through the logic of dreams you can remember why they feel that way just as vividly as they can. Everything is coming up roses for them. What recent event showed them being who they are to the utmost degree, and the situation working out great for them?”
Listen to the player as they describe that, and ask some questions to probe for a little more detail until you begin to get a feel for the kind of person the mirror-them is and what their world is like. Then consider the person and scene the player just described. Think of a different axis that's characteristic of mirror-them, that's also a key to them doing so well in their world. Make this trait more about the person rather than about what they do or what they champion. Maybe they're violent. Maybe ruthless. Maybe self confident. Create a trait to represent this like the two of you did for the INSTITUTION trait, but do this one alone. Mark it down as the SECRET trait for this world/character pair. These INSTITUTION and SECRET aspects shouldn't be in conflict, think of it like both traits being an important constituent in the alloy that makes up the mirror-character.
Once you have that, say to the player something like: “OK, we've heard about the mirror-you in your dream, but now let's talk about who you are in your world. Your day-to-day life isn't exciting and adventurous, if anything it's an unrelenting grind that wears you down. What sort of thing fills your time during a typical day?”
Once you get a sense for who that player's character is, go through the same procedure with the next player, starting from their dream, until there are INSTITUTION and SECRET traits for every player/character. If, in the early discussion, the idea a player is working with seems very similar to one of the already-established INSTITUTION traits, suggest that the game will be easier to play if there's a bit more variety, and ask if they're willing to revise a bit. Distribute the SECRET trait cards to the players so that each one holds the card for someone else's character.
Resonance
Different worlds can't directly influence each other, but there can be a sort of... resonance. Sometimes the forces in the multiverse move together. The INSTITUTION traits may be like that. Pushing against them somewhere might be pushing against them everywhere.
Scenes
GM: Choose a player and think of a situation for their character. You want a situation they could plausibly encounter during their daily life, where they would encounter some aspect of the institution they hate. But, importantly, you want the situation to be one where exhibiting the SECRET trait would be a terrific way to work against the institution. For example, if the INSTITUTION trait was greed and the SECRET trait was manipulative, perhaps you could have the character stumble across the lost cellphone of a powerful CEO that contains nude photos that could be leveraged as blackmail material against them. Frame the scene and begin roleplaying.
When the character tries to do something that's counter to the wishes of an “agent of the INSTITUTION” then there's a conflict. An agent of the INSTITUTION is a character whose interests are aligned with the institution and who has the agency and interest to oppose the character in some way. It doesn't have to be (and often won't be) a character closely tied to the initial framing, remember that the INSTITUTION is woven throughout the world.
Players will need dice in two different colors: one for player stuff and one for GM stuff (the colors should be the same for all players). The game uses d4s, d6s, d8s, and d10s.
In order to figure out how the scene will resolve, pass an opaque dice cup around to each of the players who haven't been directly participating in the scene. They should secretly put a player die into the cup based on how well the SECRET trait they hold describes how the player's character has acted in the course of the scene: from not at all (d4) to fully embodying it (d10). (Each player evaluates based on the SECRET trait they hold, so only one person will be evaluating based on a SECRET trait that's directly linked to the original player). They should also secretly put a GM die into the cup based on how well the INSTITUTION trait describes what the player's character is going up against in the scene, from barely at all (d4) to in full force (d10). Once all the dice are in the cup, the player shakes it and rolls all the dice. The highest number showing on any player die is compared to the highest number showing on any GM die. (Note: one goal of the dice cup mechanic is to make it unclear to the player and GM what results are coming from which traits, so they can't map the results directly to any player's assessment of the character or situation). If the player's number is higher they achieve the goal they've been pushing for in the scene. If the GM's number is higher the player fails at what they were trying to achieve. If it's a tie there's an unexpected escalation: The GM will describe how external events prevented the situation from resolving right then, and how things have gotten more complicated and serious. Play out the new scene until it's clear that a resolution is needed, at which point everyone will repeat the procedure, considering only the part of the scene from the escalation to the new resolution in making their trait judgments.
Move on to another player and repeat the process. As you're going, try to weave in little details that were established during earlier rounds to make it feel like the stories are all taking place in the same world, maybe even the same city or same streets. But don't interweave so tightly that the various characters are involved in each others' stories. Like worlds, there should be resonance between the stories but not direct interaction.
Scene, and be seen
Once all of the players have had a scene and a resolution, play more scenes that continue and develop the action that was started in the first one. Once each character has had an additional scene and resolution it's time to see how the world sees the characters. For each each player, ask the other players in turn whether they think the forces of the INSTITUTION trait have been meaningfully hampered by the character associated with it, or whether the INSTITUTION is still however powerful and present as it was when the story began. Make a note of how many say that the INSTITUTION has been impeded.
Once that's finished, have the players evaluate the character and their actions in the story so far based on the SECRET trait that corresponds to them. Nobody should reveal the SECRET trait to the player, but have the other players (starting with the one who has been holding the SECRET trait) make a judgement: on the whole, is the character the same as the mirror-them in terms of this trait, or are they the opposite? This is a binary choice and shouldn't be accompanied by explanations, caveats, discussions, etc. Each player should just say whether the same or the opposite feels more correct on the whole. Make a note of how many say that the character is the same. (Unlike scene resolutions the SECRET card will need to be passed around for this since everyone uses the SECRET trait connected to the originating player).
Mirror-world interludes
Once the evaluations have happened, it's time to play a mirror-world interlude. Tell the player that has been holding the SECRET trait of a player that they'll need to roleplay the mirror-chracter who has that trait. Remind them that the character they're playing is the one that was seen in the mirror in the initial dream, but that it can be fun to incorporate little things from the way the non-mirror character has been played into their portrayal. Describe a situation in which the INSTITUTION is threatened in some way, large or small, in which the mirror-character is in a position to crush the problem. Once the scene has played out to the point of conflict, you'll need dice to resolve the conflict. Check the number of votes for “impeded” that were counted when that trait was evaluated (it was evaluated in a different world, but remember that there's resonance). If there were zero votes you'll use d10s, one vote is d8s, two votes is d6s, and three or more is d4s. For the number of dice, take one plus the number of votes for “the same” when the corresponding SECRET trait was evaluated. Put those into the cup using player dice. For the GM die, put a single d10 into the cup. Have the player who has been roleplaying the mirror-character shake the cup and roll the dice, and resolve the scene based on the player vs. GM dice result like you've been doing.
Resolving the stories
Once the interlude scenes have played out, discuss with each player how the two of you think the non-mirror character's story should ultimately resolve, informed by how the interlude scene resolved. Remember that things resonate. When you both feel that you have a direction that feels appropriate for ending the story, play out a final scene that resolves the character's story (without any new dice rolls).
Secrets
Once you've concluded all the stories, destroy the cards with the SECRET traits. No one should ever reveal what the SECRET traits were to the player who they were kept secret from.