Scanners Intervene. 1 vs. 3 game based on Scanners Live in Vain (1945) by Cordwainer Smith

Transcription

1 Scanners Intervene 1 vs. 3 game based on Scanners Live in Vain (1945) by Cordwainer Smith - 3 players play with the goal of killing Adam Stone (which is achieved by getting to the center of the bottom disc). - 1 player plays as Martel with the goal of keeping Adam Stone safe (by killing the three scanners who are sent to kill him). At the emergency scanner meeting, the scanners voted to kill Adam Stone, the man who claims to have discovered the answer to space travel that will render the scanners useless. However, Martel was cranched at the meeting and was fully aware that the murder plot was utter madness. Martel rushes to get to Adam Stone before the sent assassins do and decides to do anything he needs to in order to protect him. The assassins are all sent out to kill Adam Stone as quickly as possible, but they do not know that Martel is trying to stop them, and even when they come face to face with Martel, they do not know that Martel is willing to kill them to stop them. Scanners do not kill other scanners, so the 3 assassins do not even consider that possibility, nor do they consider killing Martel to get him out of the way. However, Martel is ready to kill them, all of them, as they try to kill Adam Stone.

2 (the game Board ) (the bottom Disc) (Chestbox Dial) The game board would be constructed with metal or some type of structure with magnetic spaces for the pieces to attach to. The character pieces themselves would then have magnets on them so that they can stick to the spaces, even when vertical. Each player would need to grab a character piece and put it on one of the four starting points on the top disc. Then, the vote spinner will be spun (by any of the players) and each player must pick up the vote card that lands pointed toward their character piece. That vote card is their assigned character and on the back, instructions for the specific character would be given. There is only one Don t kill vote against three kill

3 votes that translate into Martel versus the three scanner assasins. With the pieces on the top disc, each will be on a path with a different color that corresponds to the path that a player will have to follow for the rest of the game. The top disc would represent the meeting area that the scanners are just leaving, then the winding paths would represent each characters descent back down to the ground from the meeting place. The middle disc would mark the gate at the city where each of the players need to cranch themselves in order to appear normal and get past. The straight paths to the bottom disc would represent the journey from the gates to Adam Stone s house. The bottom disc would represent Adam Stone s house. Whoever gets into Adam Stone s house first, can travel straight to the center without having to move circularly, but as soon as a second player gets into the house, all movements within the house have to include one loop around the current circular path that a player is on, before they can move inwardly (or outwardly). The players can only move inward or outward onto a different circular path when they are on a space with their path color. The person playing as Martel will always move first. The three assassin scanners move after Martel according to the numbers on their character cards.

4 CHESTBOX DIALS Each player has a chestbox dial and a cranching wire that they put onto the chestbox dial while they are cranched. The chestbox dial has five levels: Good, Fair, High, Danger, and Overload. The dial starts at GOOD for all player s. If a player s chestbox dial should get to Overload, that player is dead and out of the game. The chestbox dial moves when certain actions are taken by the players: - If a player should choose to set their character into high speed for a turn (to multiply their roll by 2), that player must move their chestbox dial over one level to the Right. - When a player uses the cranch wire (to get past the gate), the player must move their chestbox dial over two levels to the left. - If a player is cranched and chooses to set their character into high speed, the player must move their chestbox dial 2 levels over to the right. - Martel has the unique power of being able to turn the other player s chestboxes over to the right one level over when in a space next to another player and two levels over when landing on the same space as another player. Player s can also move their chestboxes back over to the left: - A player can choose to lose a movement turn in order to set their chestbox one level to the left. - a player can also choose to lose a movement turn and set another player s chestbox dial back over to the leftt one level, if they are on the space next to them or the same space.

5 CRANCHING - Cranching must be used in order to get past the middle disc. - The player who is Martel starts out with a cranch, and cranching, while the three assassin scanners have to collect cranching wires along the way to use to get past the middle disc. - To cranch, a player must place their cranching wire on their chestbox piece, move their chestbox dial over to the right two levels, and lose that turn movement. - A cranch stays in effect for an unknown amount of time. When a player is cranched, before each turn movement, he or she must roll the die to see if the cranch is still in effect. Unless the player rolls a 4 (on a 4 sided die), the cranch is still in effect and the cranch wire must stay on their chestbox piece to signify it. -Once a 4 is rolled, the cranch wire is removed from the chestbox and the cranch is no longer in effect. - If a player passes a sense space while cranched, the player may move their chestbox dial over to the left one level. (These spaces do no affect the players at all when they are not cranching.)

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