The Everywheres, a story game inspired by Jenny Everywhere


I met Jenny Everywhere earlier this year and I've wanted to make a game about her ever since. Jenny Everywhere (aka "The Shifter") is an open source, public domain character originally created by Canadian comic book artist Steven Wintle. He and his friends created Jenny Everywhere as a truly public domain character that anyone can use, but no one owned.

According to most stories, Jenny Everywhere exists in every reality, can shift between realities, and pull stuff from other realities as needed. Thus, Jenny has appeared in hundreds of comics, stories, and fan art.

I am a huge fan of parallel universe stories, so Jenny was a natural source of inspiration. I've been wanting to write a properly fleshed out Jenny Everywhere story game for ages, but I just haven't found the time. So for now here's my pitch for a Jenny Everywhere story game.

© Nelson Evergreen


BACKGROUND
Across the multiverse, there are four groups: The Everywheres, The Nowheres, The Anywheres, the Somewheres. Here's a basic outline:

  • The Anywheres want to branch out the multiverse as much as possible. They are experimental, creative and reckless.
  • The Nowheres want to trim down the branches to create a stable, linear multiverse. They are cautious, curious and stubborn.
  • The Somewheres are regular people, stuck in one reality, but sometimes dragged into the conflict.
  • The Everywheres keep all three balanced, protecting the whole dang multiverse from too much creation/destruction. They're the heroes of our story. Each Everywhere is equipped with special multiverse goggles that allow her to see several possible outcomes at once, then she can choose the one she prefers.


THE SITUATION
The players are Everywheres, whose mission is to balance the multiverse. There is no central authority guiding the Everywheres. When Everywheres land in a verse, they just know something's not right.

  • [Historical figure] [did something or didn't do something] which caused [world-changing event], benefiting [Firstname] [Anywhere/Nowhere].
  • For example: Nikola Tesla invented a Death Ray which eventually leads to multiverse technology, benefiting Moriarty Anywhere.
Players collaboratively create this situation together when the game begins.


SYSTEM
The game would use the Split Decision rules. In this case, the two colors represent branching paths of the multiverse. Choosing a blue result benefits the Anywheres. It creates a new branch in the multiverse, eventually leading to instability and chaos. Choosing a red result benefits the Nowheres. It limits possibility, eventually leading to stagnation and stasis.

Anyhoo, that's the loose outline. It still needs a pacing mechanic. I might do something with it some day, though. For now, enjoy!

Comments

  1. Sean HollandSeptember 28, 2012 at 12:35 PM

    I am a huge fan of open source characters. I think I will try to incorporate Jenny Everywhere and some elements of this game idea in my next Shadowrun scenario.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ezra BradfordSeptember 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

    I'd switch red and blue, making Red Anywheres and Blue Nowheres, to tap into the Red Oni / Blue Oni resonance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Henri KermarrecSeptember 29, 2012 at 12:45 PM

    Didn't know the whole Everywheres concept, sounds great ! nothing more to say... it has to stay narrative, imo. Cards, with a lot of fluff text ? for the mechnaic, a tree of possibilities with cards ? dice figures/straights on cards, to lead the future on a main timeline ?...

    ReplyDelete

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