I’m a fiend for drama. By that I mean that I have big emotions, I delight in expressing them, and I delight in having people around to witness those expressions. It doesn’t mean that I like drama in socially awkward sense or that I like fighting with people. However, if I’ve not had a big emotional moment recently it can lead to bad expressions of emotion just so I can have that moment.
So… there’s a game in that?
I think so. It’s along the lines of a life game. Like Joe McDonaldo’s Brave Sparrow (in the 2013 Little Games section). Here’s the basic idea:
Being dramatic can really mess things up in your life. You need to be able to choose when and where you indulge in that drama. By practicing impulse control you can enjoy your drama in appropriate ways without infringing on anyone else.
The Rules
Every time you stop yourself from being Inappropriately Dramatic (i.e. having a “big” conversation because you’ve overthought something, overreacting to small things, getting overexcited when small happy things occur, keeping your mouth shut when you should consider your thoughts more carefully, etc), you get a Drama Point. You save your Drama Points until you have enough to spend them on Dramatic Actions. Dramatic Actions are things that enrich your life with happy, joyful drama. Where you can imagine yourself in world-affecting situations, where everything hinges on your actions, where, for that moment, everything is about you.
I need to make a list of Dramatic Actions and I want them to scale in epicness. So if you save four Drama Points you can roll 1d4 and choose one of the Dramatic Actions from the 1d4 table. If you save 6 Drama Points you choose from the 1d6 table, which will have things on it that are more dramatic.
IMPORTANT: If you engage in Dramatic Action in the following ways, you lose Drama Points.
- If you engage in a Dramatic Action without spending any points, compare what you did to the lists. Find the level where your action is and subtract that many points.
- If you engage in a Dramatic Action even if you spent the points but it infringes on any unwilling participants or disrespects anyone, lose a number of Drama Points equal to the number you spend on the Dramatic Action.
This game is all about impulse control and delayed gratification. Too often us dramatic types makes ourselves the centers of attention to the detriment of others. This game will help you dive into the drama that you love but in a way that is constructive and empowering rather than destructive and disenfranchising.
The main thing this needs is lists of Dramatic Actions and a quick layout. Once I have those, I’ll release this on my Patreon page.