TEXT:     
  THE
  THE
  THE
  THE    
  TROUBLE 
  TROUBLE 
  TROUBLE 
  TROUBLE 
  WITH
  WITH
  WITH
  WITH    
  ROSE
  ROSE
  ROSE
  ROSE    
  
  The Trouble with Rose 
   by Todd Zircher (version 2.2) 
   
  Sigh, Rose has done it again and her father can stand it no more.  As Rose's closest 
  friends, will you comfort her, mend the damage, or perhaps pursue your own secret 
  agenda? 
   
  The Trouble with Rose is a story telling and role playing game set in the frame work of 
  a parlor game.  The players, acting as friends and acquaintances of Rose, craft a 
  story full of drama, tragedy, comedy, and betrayal.  All that is needed is a deck of 
  cards, a set of double six dominoes, and some writing materials.   
   
  Who is this Rose girl and why is she such a bother? 
   
  The character of Rose is decided by the players at the beginning of play.  Usually, she 
  is the daughter of powerful father or perhaps a wicked step mother who has been 
  exiled, banished, set upon with great peril, or other dramatically fun predicament.  
  Optionally, the players can grab one of the many play sets available and use the 
  provided setting and characters included in it.   
   
  Rose is a non-player character.  While she can be and is often part of many scenes, 
  she’s not exclusively played by one person.  It is also not a requirement that she be 
  present in each and every scene.  It is quite possible that some characters may be 
  plotting behind her back or perhaps she's been kidnapped.  
   
  Given that the setting for any TTwR game can be historical, fantasy, modern, or 
  futuristic, it's quite possible that Rose may go by another name; Rosie, Briar Rose, the 
  Android ROS-317, or even a Sakura are all possibilities.  For that matter, Rose does 
  not always need to be a damsel in distress.  Perhaps famed Victorian explorer, 
  Roswell Booker, may be in peril or Plutonium Rose the heavy metal rocker is on the 
  run from the mob (and his groupies.) 
   
  For most of the examples in this game, I’ll use Shakespeare’s Rosalind (a Rose by 
  any other name) and other characters from As You Like It.  This play is a romantic 
  comedy, but The Trouble with Rose can be used with a wide variety of genres from 
  horror to adventure to situation comedy.
  The Rules – The first eight pages of these 
  rules are all you need to play The Trouble 
  with Rose.  The remaining pages give you 
  extras for creating settings and play sets. 
  GM – Traditional role playing games have a 
  Game Master that acts as a director.  TTwR is 
  GM-less in that each player takes turns 
  acting as the director for their scene. 
  Players – These are the people that sit 
  around the table and create the stories and 
  the characters that live in them. 
  Audience – When it's not your turn, you're 
  part of the audience and your vote helps to 
  determine how many points a player earns. 
  Characters – They are the personalities that 
  inhabit the story being told.  There are two 
  types: player characters (PCs) and non-
  player characters (NPCs.) 
  PCs – Each player at the table will create a 
  character or pick one from a play set.  
  Through their natures (both light and dark) 
  they will craft the story about Rose and their 
  secret agenda.  
  As You Like It's character of Orlando, who 
  frequently interacts with Rosalind and gets a 
  lot of stage time, would be a good PC. 
  NPCs – Rose and the supporting characters 
  in a play are not owned by a single player.  
  They are included like props on a stage, but 
  they can be given lines and actions to do. 
  Charles the Wrestler, who only has a few 
  scenes, is a good example of a NPC. 
     |1 
  
  The Trouble with Rose - short form 
  Here's the game in a nutshell.  We'll go into each step in more detail, but after a game 
  to two, this is all you really need to keep in mind rules-wise. 
  1. Determine the setting by consensus, random draw of a card, or play set. 
  2. Each player is dealt a hidden agenda card (as determined by the suite.) 
  3. Create or choose characters that are related to Rose and/or each other. 
  4. Draw four (6-7 players) or five (3-5 players) hidden dominoes to form your hand. 
  5. Play begins with the owner of the dominoes or a willing volunteer. 
   
  6. The current player sets the scene and optionally adds other PCs and NPCs to 
   
  act within it.  Other players might be part of the scene in or out of character. 
  7. The player then reveals their hidden domino and acts out the scene attempting to 
  invoke the character's natures as indicated on the pips.  They're free to narrate, 
  soliloquize, or play out a dialog with the other players. 
  8. At the end of the scene, the audience determines how well the player did in acting 
  on their pips.  The audience can also vote to embellish the scene. 
  9. Play passes around the table clockwise until all the dominoes have been played. 
   
  10. The players reveal their secret agendas.  If the audience feels that they have 
  accomplished their goal, the player is awarded a ten point bonus. 
  11. The player with the highest score wins the right to narrate the epilogue and wraps 
  up the story. 
  12. Everyone takes a bow (optional, but highly encouraged.)
  What is needed to play? 
  The Trouble with Rose does not need any 
  special boards or miniatures.  The game can 
  be just as easily played around a coffee table 
  or over the internet.  Some writing materials 
  for notes or characters is needed as well as a 
  deck of regular playing cards and a set of 
  double six dominoes.  If you don't have any 
  dominoes handy, you can always print out 
  the included set or use a free online tool like 
  Taebl or Vassal. 
  What are Play Sets? 
  Play sets allow players to quickly start up a 
  game of The Trouble with Rose.  Each play set 
  describes a setting, several NPCs, and a few 
  pre-generated characters to use. 
   Play sets can also introduce house rules that 
  apply to a specific setting such as magical 
  powers, crime and clues, or horror. 
  For example, in a horror play set there may 
  be a restriction that you can't permanently 
  kill the main threat of the story until the final 
  act (the last round where everyone has one 
  domino remaining.) 
  One of the neat things about plays sets is 
  their replay capability.  Because your hidden 
  agenda is randomized and the players have 
  so much directorial control, no two sessions 
  of a game will play the same way even if you 
  use the same play set. 
     |2 
  
  1. Setting the Stage 
  At the start of the game, the players decide the setting for their play.  In this phase, 
  they work together to determine the time, location, and events that lead up to Rose 
  ending up in deep water.  This can be as simple as a few sentences, but if the players 
  are in a creative and talkative mood, they're welcome to fill out the world with details, 
  locations, play out key events, and provide characters relevant to the story. 
  If the players can't decide or are up for the challenge, they can draw a card at random 
  to help determine the setting and nature of Rose's troubles.  The players still have 
  some room in interpreting the meaning of the draw.  Drawing a heart can be a 
  forbidden love, fleeing an arranged marriage, or chasing after a heart's desire.
  To use our example play, As You Like It, imagine if Shakespeare drew the King of 
  Diamonds and decides that a royal, Duke Fredrick, is worried that his niece is stealing 
  the loyalty and affection of his daughter away from him.  This Rosalind, daughter of 
  the old Duke, needs to go. So, he trumps up some charges and says that Rosalind is 
  exiled and must leave or die.  Of course, as a classic example of bad parenting, things 
  go downhill from there with adventure, romance, and comedy to unfold. 
  As part of setting the stage, the players can create other NPCs besides the central 
  character of Rose, such as the Old Duke (Rose's father), court or authority figures, 
  and other characters that would be present during the scene.  These characters have 
  no attributes or statistics in the traditional game sense, they are props for the players 
  to manipulate as elements of storytelling and game play. 
  Another fine option, if everyone wants to jump straight into the game, is to use one of 
  the many play sets that are available for The Trouble with Rose.  The play sets 
  contain  
  seeds for stories, sample characters, NPC descriptions, and assorted locations to use. 
  The first player tasked with setting a scene (determined at the beginning of play) can start  
  at the brink of Rose's trouble or shortly after the deed is done.  They could also create a  
  character establishing scene such as Orlando's first encounter with his brother, Oliver.  In  
  the play, this handily sets up his visit to court and meeting the soon to be exiled Rosalind.  
   
   
     |3 
  Random Settings… 
  Ace 
  Space, the great frontier 
  Two 
  Deuce, a noir setting 
  Three 
  Three musketeers and blades 
  Four 
  Four winds of the Orient 
  Five 
  Pentacles and occult mystery 
  Six 
  Six guns and dust 
  Seven 
  A casino or gambling den 
  Eight 
  Chaos is at the gates 
  Nine 
  Nine to five at the office 
  Ten 
  Math, science, and secrets 
  Jack 
  Jack in to cyberpunk 
  Queen 
  Off with her head! 
  King 
  Weary rests the crown 
  Why Rose is in trouble… 
  Hearts 
  Forbidden Romance 
  Clubs 
  Defending Another 
  Diamonds Shameless Theft 
  Spades 
  Murder or Framed for it 
   
  For more information, check out the 
  Appendix: Settings and More. 
  
  2. Player Character Agendas  
  After the setting has been determined, the players create the 
  characters which are the friends and acquaintances of Rose.  
  Each player is dealt a playing card face down and this is their 
  secret agenda.  
   
   
  Hearts 
  The player is in love with Rose and seeks 
  to win her heart. 
   
  Clubs 
  You seek to defend Rose and perhaps 
  clear her name. 
   
  Diamonds 
  You're really in it for the money, fame, or 
  power.  Rose is your ticket for doing that. 
   
  Spades 
  Fiend!  You're secretly working for Rose’s 
  down fall (the reason is left to the player.) 
  3. Creating Player Characters 
  Making player characters for The Trouble with Rose is a snap.  
  The first two items; your character's name and details, is very 
  freeform.  Since the players have already picked a setting or 
  created one from scratch, you should have an idea of for 
  someone that is either a friend to Rose or know someone close 
  to her.  TTwR does not put any limitation on race, gender, or 
  any of those details.  A warrior monk, plucky lizard, and a 
  greedy heiress are all possibilities depending on the setting. 
  Each player gets to assign six descriptive attributes to their 
  player character in addition to a name and perhaps a little back 
  story.  The first four of these attributes are generally positive 
  traits that define the nature of the character.  Each of these 
  attributes or natures is assigned a number from one to four.  
  The number assigned to each of the natures will become 
  important during play.  
  Each player character also has two negative traits or strong 
  personal oaths that they would be hard pressed to break even if 
  it puts them at a disadvantage.  When they appear in a scene, 
  the character may be forced to choose a path they don’t want to 
  go down.  The player is essentially playing to the audience and 
  trying to generate drama, comedy, horror, or adventure.  Putting 
  your character at a short term disadvantage is a viable strategy. 
    
  Here's an example character: 
  Name: 
  Celia, daughter of Fredrick 
  Details:  Young and chipper, she's never worked hard 
  her whole life due to a doting father. 
   
  Respect for the family name. 
   
  Loyal to the end. 
   
  Courtly graces in unusual places. 
   
  Fair of face. 
   
  I am my father’s daughter. 
   
  I’d never betray Rosalind. 
   
   
  To offer a comparison between "Respect for the family name." 
  and "I am my father's daughter", the first trait is one of Celia's 
  positive attributes and reflects the power and respect that she is 
  given as the Duke's daughter.  The second trait is her darker 
  side when blood is thicker than water and she carries some of 
  Duke Fredrick's paranoia.   
  That’s it for PCs.  In a nutshell, they are a list of ideas for 
  storytelling and a guide to play that role. 
     |4 
  
  4. The Luck of the Draw  
  With a setting for the stage, hidden agendas dealt, and characters for each of the 
  players in hand, we’re ready to make the game and our story come to life. 
  Flip face down and scramble the dominoes, each player secretly draws five dominoes 
  that they can look at and organize as they see fit.  This will allow for three to five 
  people to play.  There are 28 dominoes in a set of double six dominoes. For a larger 
  game with six or seven players, only draw four dominoes each.  If you have a double 
  nine set, just set aside all the tiles that have a value of seven, eight, or nine on one 
  side.  Only the blanks and values of one to six are used in play.   
  5. Going First 
  The play begins with the owner of the dominoes.  However, the owner can pass the 
  starting role to anyone at the table, if it is desired and accepted. Otherwise, it's their 
  responsibility to get the gaming rolling along.  Game play moves around the table in a 
  clockwise manner from that initial starting position.  There are pros and cons to going 
  first.  On one hand you get to set the scenes, story tempo, and you can create details 
  before other players can contradict them.  On the other hand, going later in the story 
  gives you a chance to react and play off other scenes and characters. 
  6. All the World is a Stage 
  The current player describes the scene details including; landscape, props, weather, 
  plus any number of PCs or NPCs that may be present.  In addition to having the 
  spotlight, they are also the playwright, directory, stagehand, and scene designer. 
   
  The amount of detail will vary from player to player as they try to set the atmosphere 
  for their scene.  It's entirely possible that scenes will be re-used and expanded upon 
  by other players.  That's okay, collaborative world building is part of the game.  We 
  want to have characters occupying the same spaces and interacting with each other. 
  A few words on framing a scene - The rules 
  for The Trouble with Rose allow the player to 
  use a large brush.  With broad strokes they 
  can create a grim and bloody battle-field or a 
  dew kissed glade.  With that kind of creative 
  power, things can get out of hand. Here are a 
  few guidelines to help: 
   
  The player (and audience) should only add 
  props and characters to the stage if it 
  improves the story.  If you need for the 
  character to be in Arden, it happens. That 
  knife in the bodice, the horse waiting for 
  your expeditious retreat, it’s there.  Just pay 
  heed to where the story is headed. If the 
  point of a scene is for the player character to 
  be threatened by a dangerous wrestler, 
  deciding that your character has a sword is 
  probably the wrong choice. 
   
  Which voice/style to use?  First person, third 
  person, a playwright's script, or director's 
  cut with running commentary?  The correct 
  answer is, "Yes!"  When the player sets the 
  scene, they can use any style they want.  
  They can do their whole scene as a 
  monologue or they can pull in members of 
  the audience (anyone at the table) to play 
  other characters or NPCs.  Each player have 
  their own preferences, sometimes they have 
  the whole scene fleshed out in their head and 
  other times they need that back and forth 
  dialogue of other people. It's all good story 
  telling. 
     |5 
  
  7. The Challenge of the Reveal 
  With the scene set, the current player reveals one of their 
  hidden dominoes that they have not used yet.  Depending on 
  what pips are shown, the player has to build upon the story 
  being told based on their character’s natures.  The scene might 
  follow right after a previous scene, happen in a different part of 
  the setting, or even be a flashback.  
  If the player turns over a tile that is a double, it has some wild 
  and possibly major effect on the story based on the indicated 
  nature.  For example, if the double matched "Ladies man", our 
  play might end up with a woman on each arm and an ex-
  girlfriend kick down the door with a hatchet in her hands. 
  If the domino being played has a blank, it is treated as a wild 
  card (it matches any pip) or a random event.  But, it's always 
  narrated as a failure and the player character may even end up 
  being hurt. If any player has to play the double blank (it should 
  always be played last from their hand), that character is in for 
  real trouble.  They are usually taken out of the story in some 
  tragic way; poison, prison, falling on a sword, betrayal, etc.  But, 
  as a double wildcard, the player pretty much has a blank check 
  to bring as much drama and tragedy to the story as they want 
  for their character.  It's still possible to 'win' the game with a 
  double blank and get narrative control at the end of the game.  
  A double wildcard at the end makes it easier to achieve your 
  secret agenda and get some bonus points. 
   
  Let's illustrate with an example; Our player, Ted, is playing the 
  character of Orlando whose secret agenda is Hearts.  It is the 
  first scene of the game and Ted reveals a 3/5 tile. 
   
   
   
   
  Ted's character looks like this: 
  Name: 
  Orlando de Boys 
  Details:  Youngest son of Rowland, sometimes seen as 
  ambitious and rash, but he has great potential. 
   
  In touch with the earth. 
   
  Too shy with the ladies. 
   
  Young and robust, toughened by field labor. 
   
  Natural gentleman. 
   
  I’ll force my brother to educate me or he’ll pay 
  what he owes me. 
   
  The blood of Rowland de Boys runs in my veins. 
   
  Ted wants to start the game with a character establishing scene 
  and describes the farm where Orlando labors and adds in Old 
  Adam, the family’s elderly man servant.  Orlando bids Adam to 
  hide while he confronts his older brother, Oliver.   
  Using the 3rd and 5th natures of the character, Ted describes 
  how Orlando goes into a rant over Oliver's mistreatment and 
  even lays hands on Oliver in an attempt to intimidate him.  Ted 
  can, at his discretion, pull in any of the other players from 
  around the table to control a PC or NPC, they can add their own 
  lines to the scene, but they do not have creative control until it is 
  their turn.  Can Orlando use "In touch with the earth" or "Too 
  shy with the ladies" in this scene?  Yes indeed, they are part of 
  his nature, but they are not included for scoring purposes. 
  Scoring is determined by how well the player uses the natures 
  associated with the pips on the domino played. 
   
     |6 
  
  8. The Role of the Audience 
  Before the player's turn ends, everyone else at the table gets to act as the rowdy 
  audience.  The audience has two tasks; consequences and scoring.  
   
  Consequences:  Often a scene will end just the way a player wants it (after all, they 
  do have narrative control.)  But, the audience does have the power to collaborate and 
  embellish the scene or perhaps add a bit of a twist to the end.  In theater terms, this 
  would be "Yes, and…" or "Yes, but…" techniques.  The audience can't radically 
  change the player's scene or veto it, but they put a spin on it if the majority agrees.   
  By way of example, the audience decides that Ted did a great job of ranting at and 
  threatening Oliver.  They decide to add in a consequence to Orlando's bold act.  They 
  add in Oliver secretly plotting with Charles the Wrestler to get Orlando’s neck broken. 
  Scoring: The audience also gets to act as a critic (no hissing or throwing of 
  vegetables, please.)  Based on the player’s story, they decide if the player gets to 
  keep the tile played or if it is discarded.  A kept tile adds to the player’s score.  If the 
  player was able to only use one of the natures effectively, they only get a partial score 
  based on the pips.  A simple majority vote is all that is need to award a full or partial 
  tile. 
  In our previous example, the 3/5 tile was played and the audience agrees that Ted 
  played to both of Orlando's natures in the scene.  Ted gets to add eight (3+5) to his 
  score.  If the audience thought that Ted did a poor job with one of his natures, the 
  player might only end up with three or five points instead of all eight. 
  9. Pass Control to the Next Player 
  After scoring, that player's turn ends, they now join the audience and scene creation 
  and player control passes to the left.  Domino playing continues around the table in 
  this manner until all the players’ tiles have been revealed and scored.  One of the  
  interesting story telling tricks is for to end a scene on a cliff hanger and leave it up to  
  the other players to introduce interludes or resolve the action. 
     
   
  Where are the rules on X? 
  Traditional board games and role playing 
  games have lots of rules for hacking, slashing, 
  and taking other people's stuff. 
  The Trouble with Rose foregoes those rules in 
  exchange for shared story telling.  You can 
  earn just as many points for being beaten as 
  you can for being heroic. 
  The player can succeed or fail at nearly 
  anything that's plausible (and makes a good 
  scene.)  The only real measure of failure is 
  the blank and double blank tiles.  But, these 
  also give the player more freedom to use 
  them as wildcards. 
  All this control can be intimating to some 
  players until they get the hang of it.  If a 
  random result is desired, they can always 
  turn to the cards for black/red decisions, 
  card suites for NPC attitudes, or card values 
  for a range of values. 
   
  The only way to permanently take out 
  another player character is when they reveal 
  a double blank.  And, that's usually on their 
  terms. 
     |7 
  
  10. Hidden Agenda 
  After the last scene has been scored by the audience, the 
  players reveal their secret agenda cards.  By table consensus, 
  the players decide if each of the characters achieved their 
  secret agenda.  If so, they player is awarded an extra ten points 
  on their score.   
  It might be a surprise to the reader, but achieving your secret 
  agenda requires more skill than you think.  As the other players 
  create their own scenes, they might be at cross purposes to 
  your plans.  Romantic triangles and nuclear bombs make for 
  strange bedfellows.  
   
  11.  Epilogue 
  The player with the highest score gets to describe the epilogue 
  and narrate the end of the story.  This is the last scene of the 
  game and the big payoff.  Who gets the girl?  Is justice served?  
  Will villainy prevail?  Are the ghosts avenged?  The winner gets 
  to narrate this and wrap up the game. 
   
  12. Take a Bow 
  No, seriously.  Your group has just spent several hours creating 
  their own story and breathing life into a character on an index 
  card.  That's actually some pretty cool creative stuff.  You all 
  deserve it!  Hopefully you've had an entering time and look 
  forward to playing again. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     |8 
  
  Appendix: Example of Play 
  Alice, Bob, and Todd get together and decide to play The 
  Trouble with Rose.  Since TTwR does not use a GM or game 
  master like a traditional role playing game, everyone at the table 
  is a player.  Todd lays out the dominoes face down and starts to 
  scramble them.  Alice begins to shuffle a deck of playing cards. 
  Alice: So, what setting do you want to play or should we build 
  one from scratch? 
  Bob: I'm keen on doing something with a sci-fi feel to it. 
  Todd: How about the Deep Six play set?  The players are the 
  crew of a deep space exploration ship.  They start the story as 
  they come out of suspended animation. 
  Alice:  That works for me. 
  Bob: Cool, that's right up my alley.  
  Alice deals out a face down playing card to each of the players 
  including one for her. 
  Alice: That's your secret agenda.  Go ahead and take a look but 
  don't turn it over right now. 
  Todd takes a peek and sees that he has a club; his secret 
  agenda is to protect and defend Rose. 
  Todd: Ok, the Deep Six play set comes with five characters.  
  But, you can also create your own if none of them work for you.  
  I'm going to with Angel, if you all don't mind. 
  Alice grabs Casey and Bob decides on Chris. 
  Bob: Hey, is Chris a guy or a gal? 
  Alice: You tell us. 
  Bob: Let's go with Christine.  Everyone grab five dominoes. 
  The players grab five tiles and keep them hidden from the other 
  players.  Todd draws his dominoes: 0/5, 3/4, 1/3, 0/0, and 4/6.  
  Keeping a poker face, he doesn't reveal that he drew the 
  dreaded double blank. 
  Todd: Well, I brought the dominoes.  So, I go first unless either 
  one of you have a burning desire to jump in. 
  Bob: Go for it, I still need to sort out my story strategy. 
  Alice nods for Todd to go on.  Angel Rivera is the security officer 
  for the Deep Six exploration team.  Angel has the following 
  traits: 1) I can't stand bullies.  2) Why yes, I do sleep with my 
  knives.  3) That reminds me of the time when…  4) The safety of 
  this crew is my responsibility.  5) Anything can be solved with 
  enough firepower.  6)  I've got my orders, secret orders.  Even 
  though Todd did not draw a 2, that trait is still part of Angel's 
  character.  Todd decides to set the scene and play the 3/4 tile. 
  Todd:  Ok, let's go with the 3 and 4.  The scene starts with a 
  dark room with only a few indicator lights softly glowing.  The 
  overhead lights snap on with a harsh blue-white glare and the 
  sounds of hidden pumps and machinery begins to purr.  The 
  small circular room holds six cryogenic tubes that are tilted back 
  at a slight angle.  The camera pans around the room to reveal 
  name plates; Wright, Chambers, Rivera, Hutchins, Xan, and 
  Pendragon.  The camera comes to a halt on the last tube, it's 
  ominously empty.  With a clack of hidden latches, Angel's tube 
  cover pops open and slides up. 
  Alice: Cool. 
  Todd: I try.  Speaking of cool, it is damn cold in the stasis 
  chamber.  Angel shakes his head as he leans out of his stasis 
  tube and says to no one in particular, "Jesus, that never gets 
  easy."  Angel rubs his arms through the sleeves of his blue 
  jumpsuit to get some circulation going.  But, he stops as soon 
  as he realizes that he's the first one that's been revived.  
  "Archie, ship status.  What is the nature of the emergency?" 
  Todd points a finger at Bob indicating that he wants Bob to step 
  in and play the role of an NPC, Archie the ship's computer. 
  Bob: Oh! (taking on an emotionless voice)  "All systems are on-
  line.  There is a fault in astrogation.  There is a fault in science 
  station three.  Unauthorized personnel have compromised 
  security on decks seven and eight." 
   
     |9 
  
  Todd: "What the hell?  We're in the middle of deep space.  How in the hell can 
  we have unauthorized personnel on board?" 
  Bob: "Insufficient data.  Unauthorized personnel detected after contact with Dr. 
  Pendragon was lost." 
  Todd:  "Shit!"  Angel sits up and looks over at Rose's stasis tube and realizes 
  that it is empty.  "Not good."  Angel staggers out of his stasis tube and over to 
  Commander Wright's tube where he checks the vitals and punches in the re-
  activation sequence.  He goes in turn to each of the remaining crew members 
  and repeats the process.  "Archie, how many unauthorized personnel are 
  present?" 
  Bob: "Insufficient data." 
  Todd: "Do you know where Dr. Pendragon is located?" 
  Bob: "Insufficient data." 
  Todd: "Why was Rose not in her stasis tube?" 
  Bob: "Insufficient data." 
  Todd: "Jeez, this reminds me of the time when those terrorists attacked 
  Phobos station.  Command was paralyzed due to a lack of information."  Angel 
  types in the last of the activation codes.  "Archie, notify the crew when they are 
  revived about the nature of the emergency.  Inform Commander Wright that 
  I'm headed to the armory.  I don't want a replay of the Phobos Incident." 
  Bob: "Order acknowledged, Sgt Rivera." 
  Todd: OK, I think that's a great place to end the scene.  So, did I earn my pips 
  for "The safety of this crew is my responsibility." and "That reminds me of the 
  time when… "? 
  Alice: Sure, I don’t have anything that I want to add to that scene as a 
  consequence.  Are you good, Bob? 
  Bob: Insufficient data… nah, Ted nailed it with lots of good details to play off 
  of.  That's seven points for him.   
   
  Play moves around the table until all the dominoes have been used, then the 
  secret agendas are revealed. 
  For more in depth play examples, check out the actual play  
  podcasts of The Trouble with Rose and other games at the  
  SundaySkypers.   ( http://sundayskypers.podbean.com ) 
  1|0 
  
  Appendix: Settings and More 
  The setting descriptions where kept short in the main text in order to not disrupt the flow of the rules presentation.  Here, I'd like to 
  expand on them and describe how they can be used to tell a wide variety of stories. 
  Ace 
  Space is a wide open setting ranging from the early days of space flight to galactic empires.  Space can represent a new age 
  of discovery, revisiting ancient tales in science fiction garb, or allow the players to explore human issues in a distant time 
  and/or place such as racism, slavery, religion, or politics. 
  Two 
  Noir as a genre evokes images of mobsters and detectives.  It is a great setting for crimes, investigations, corruption, drama 
  and mysteries. 
  Three 
  The three musketeers are immediately associated with the French Court.  But, the setting can easily be Spanish, Italian, or 
  English.  There are intrigues, betrayals, secret liaisons, and much swashbuckling.  You can even take this setting to the high 
  seas and the islands of the New World for a pirate spin on the play. 
  Four 
  Four winds of the Orient represent the ancient tales and settings of Japan and China.  Stories of honor, arranged marriages, 
  and duty abound.  They are as powerful as any Shakespearean drama or tragedy.  They can also be as light hearted as any 
  Disney™ film or tale of the Monkey King. 
  Five 
  The pentacle and pentagon are commonly seen as symbols of the occult.  Witches, demons, and black hearted cultists 
  threaten our protagonists.  Is Rose the escapee of some dark ritual?  Is she the bearer of a demon soul?  Are those rumors of 
  witchcraft true? 
  Six 
  Six guns and dust color the old West.  Tales of greed, revenge, and the battles over land and resources are plentiful.  Caught 
  in the cross fire are the honest and hard working people of the West, the US Army, as well as the native Americans. 
  Seven Lucky seven is understood at gambling dens and casinos world-wide.  Exotic locals such as Las Vegas, Macao, and Monte 
  Carlo make the setting where luck, high stakes gambling, crime, and the jet set lifestyle meet.  Big entertainers and show girls 
  rub elbows with the high rollers. 
  Eight 
  The eternal war between Chaos and Order sets the stage for battle, strife, betrayal, and revenge.  From ancient and fantastical 
  times to the dark future, Rose finds herself at a pivotal moment in the struggle.  Is she running away from destiny, carrying dark 
  secrets, or forbidden technology?  
  Nine 
  Nine to five at the office may not alter the course of nations, but there's plenty of room for romance, drama, comedy, and 
  adventure.  Perhaps your career is going out the door with Rose?  The boss may be a jerk, but getting them back together is 
  better than living in a cardboard box. 
  1|1 
  
  Ten 
  Mathematics, science, and secrets may not sound like a play for the masses, but knowledge is power and spycraft is required 
  to save the day.  From atomic secrets, to industrial espionage, to mad science and steam punk, this setting offers a wide range 
  of stories to tell. 
  Jack 
  Jack in to the future that might be only a few years around the corner.  Dysfunctional governments, dystopian cities, and mega 
  corporations dominate this future.  Everyone is out to make a deal or win that big score.  Dropped in the middle of that is Rose.  
  Is she your salvation, your ticket out, or is she just a symbol of everything that's wrong with life? 
  Queen "Off with her head!" is just the beginning of the problems for our central NPC.  Take on a whimsical setting.  Crazy characters 
  and wild magic abound as the players try to stay one step ahead of the Queen's guard.  Or was that flying monkeys?  I'm sure 
  dropping a house on the evil queen's sister was the last thing Rose intended. 
  King 
  Weary rests the crown and sometimes painful decisions have to be made.  To protect the crown, Rose must go.  Carried on the 
  winds of suspicion, lies, and a well placed rumor or two, it is not safe for her to stay. 
   
   
  Hopefully, these will spark some imagination in the players.  One alternate to drawing a playing card is to draw from a plot or tarot deck.  
  While strictly optional, the imagery and symbolism of tarot cards are a great source for inspiration. 
   
   
  Hearts\ 
  Romance and affairs of the heart have driven Rose into exile or flight.  For example, forbidden love, fleeing an 
    Cups 
  arranged marriage, chasing after a heart's desire, or running from improper advances. 
  Clubs\ 
  Defense reflects Rose standing up for herself even when things can (and do) go wrong for her.  Defending a traitor or  
    Wands 
  an enemy can get her banished or perhaps she was defending herself from an attack by someone.  Bashing the horny 
  old goat with a wine bottle was the right thing to do even if the 'goat' was Duke Ferdinand. 
  Diamonds\ 
  Theft, whether true or baseless, can get Rose exiled.  While gems and family heirlooms are at the top of the list; state 
    Coins 
  secrets, magic, or even kidnapping can earn Rose the wrath of the authorities. 
  Spades\ 
  Murder most foul is a traditional reason for fleeing the city.  It could be an accident or even self defense, but there are 
    Swords 
  powerful forces in play that want to see Rose blamed for the death. 
  1|2 
  
  Appendix: Optional Rules and Ideas 
  Suspense and Chaos 
  One suggested variant on game play is to not draw dominoes 
  from your hand, but to pull from the shared pile of face down 
  dominoes.  This reduces some of the strategic elements of play 
  in favor of offering more of a challenge to the players in creating 
  a scene.  The big 'gotcha' is that you may draw the double blank 
  in the middle of the game.  In such a case, the domino does not 
  take the player out.  Instead they get to share the grief with 
  another player's character.  Vicious sword battles, brutal brawls, 
  disastrous scenes at court, or both players getting arrested for a 
  drunken karaoke duel are all possible. 
  The Bloody Rails play set introduced the idea that blanks can be 
  used for other things than harm.  In that murder mystery setting, 
  playing a blank means that the player has to cast suspicion 
  upon themselves as the possible murderer.  I think that's a 
  genius move and shows that by tweaking a rule here or there 
  you can get you a different style of game with almost the same 
  set of rules. 
  Horror/Survival Stories 
  Can TTwR do sole survivor or no survivor horror games?  Sure, 
  if you get two blanks in ANY combination your character would 
  be taken out. You would still get to keep playing dominoes but 
  you have the option to run NPCs, your zombified character, or 
  even the bad guys.  A clever group might write up a character 
  sheet for the bad guy or fill one in on the fly for the 'dead' 
  players to use.    
   
  Alternate to Dominoes 
  Don't have a set of dominoes handy? There are a couple of 
  ways that you can play with just a deck of cards and some 
  regular dice.  With a double six set of dominoes, there are 
  seven blanks out of 28. That's a nice clean 25%. Instead of 
  drawing a tile, deal out a four or five cards face down 
  (depending on the number of players.)  These cards will modify 
  your dice roll.  If the card is a spade, one of your dice is 
  discarded and you play as if you drew a tile with a blank.  If the 
  card is the King or Queen of spades, discard both dice and play 
  as if you drew a double blank.  As with the double blank tile, the 
  King or Queen of spades should be played last unless there is a 
  house rule or play set that changes the default behavior.  
  Bucket of Dice:  If you have a lot of dice (8-10 per player), roll 
  the dice and place them on top of each card.  The players then 
  play out the combination of card and dice as if they were 
  dominoes in your hand.  Reveal the card when you 'play' your 
  dice. 
  Panic Party:  This is the cousin of suspense and chaos, you 
  only need two dice. Before your scene, you deal a card and roll. 
  Surprise! That's what you have to act with for your scene. If you 
  get a spade face card before the last round, you may keep that 
  card as your final card and get dealt another one.  You'll need a 
  pencil and paper to keep score since you won't have dominoes 
  or dice on the table to do that for you. 
   
   
   
  1|3 
  
   Appendix: Play Set Design Notes 
  One of the neat things that came out of the initial development 
  of The Trouble with Rose rules was the creation of play sets.  
  Play sets are quick setup guides for getting a TTwR game up 
  and running very quickly.  They're ideal for convention gaming 
  or throwing together a game in a few minutes and jumping 
  straight into play.  TTwR play sets are actually pretty easy to 
  create because all the author needs to do is provide the seeds. 
  It's up to the players to build them into a unique story. Each play 
  set is essentially broken up into four sections; the Setting, the 
  NPCs, the Stage, and the Characters. 
  The Setting is always the first section and lays out the world and 
  the trouble that Rose (or the Rose equivalent) has gotten in to.  
  The important thing to do in this section is to get all the players 
  on the same page.  Usually a few paragraphs is all that you 
  need.  You want to leave some of the details vague as that 
  increases the re-playability of the play set and gives the players 
  room to play with the setting.  What you want to avoid is a huge 
  information dump.  All that does is slow things down and limits 
  the player's creativity. 
  The NPCs are minor characters in the story that give the players 
  some props to act with in any given scene.  Since Rose is the 
  main NPC in most games, she's usually listed first.  The kind of 
  information that you can provide should help to give the NPC 
  some skills and attitude that makes them memorable characters 
  to add to your story telling.  You don't need to create a large 
  cast of characters as the players can introduce (or kill) as many 
  as they need.  This is essentially a cheat sheet for players. 
   
   
  The Stage can vary widely in detail, at a minimum; it should be 
  a list of interesting and logical places that the player characters 
  can visit based on the setting.  Again, these are all seeds that 
  can inspire a player to create a scene.  At the higher end, the 
  author can provide a set of detailed locations and their contents.  
  An example of a very detailed play set might be where you want 
  to duplicate a setting such as the manor used in Cheapass 
  Games' Kill Doctor Lucky.™  Images that are included in the 
  play set typically appear as part of the stage. 
  The Character section is the heart of the play set from a 
  designer's perspective.  You want to create a cast of potential 
  characters that people will want to play and that have good 
  hooks for telling stories with.  At the same time, you don't want 
  to make any one character essential to the story since they may 
  not be picked.  As a design guide, each character should be 
  distinctive; they have four positive traits and two negative or 
  dark traits.  If you can find interesting ways to link the traits to 
  the NPCs and other player characters, that's all the better.   
  There is a general style to these character write-ups.  While a 
  character might strong or fast, you can get more story hooks out 
  of a colorful phrase.  Try "strong as an ox" or "I am the brute 
  squad" instead of strong.  Similarly, "fastest gun in the west" or 
  "master of the cobra strike" is a better description of a character. 
  A good place to start out on play set design is to look at the 
  existing ones and see how they combine elements together to 
  inspire the players to create scenes.  There is a template 
  document available which will allow authors to be consistent in 
  style with the original play sets.  Also, look for RandomCast, a 
  pair of documents that will allow gamers to create random 
  characters that can be customized for any setting. 
  1|4 
  
  Appendix: Online Tools and Resources 
  A lot of the play testing, convention gaming (ala MonkeyCon), 
  and just for fun games of The Trouble with Rose were done 
  over Skype.  Skype is a great tool for gaming in general and 
  storytelling games specifically.  But, like all table top games, you 
  might have to do a little extra to replace the physical presence 
  of cards and dominoes. 
  The easiest way to set up a TTwR game for Skype is to play 
  with an open table where the owner of the dominoes and cards 
  handles all the draws.  All the dominoes and cards are known 
  up front.  Setting aside the hidden element of The Trouble with 
  Rose actually does not change the game play at all.  The 
  strategy is a little different since you know upfront who has all 
  the big scoring tiles and if anyone has the double blank. 
  The next level up is to have a facilitator handle the dominoes 
  and cards and use side chats and e-mails to secretly tell each 
  player what their hidden agenda cards and dominoes are.  
  Remember, a facilitator is part of the table and thus part of the 
  audience.  So, even if they are not acting as a player, they can 
  still contribute ideas to the game. 
  The next level up is where things can get a little complicated 
  and fun at the same time.  There are a lot of game table 
  programs out there that can provide a virtual table top 
  experience for your game.  Each of them has their own 
  strengths, weaknesses, fans, and costs.  What you want to look 
  for is one that handles multiple card decks (one for playing 
  cards and another for a 'deck' of dominos.)  And if possible, you 
  should look for features like hidden hands for secret agendas. 
  My personal favorite right now is Taebl.  It's got a pretty good 
  feature list for playing TTwR; it's free, it allows for multiple mixed 
  decks, Taebl has a place for scoring, you can load and save 
  play sessions, it has hidden hands, and if you have a web 
  browser that supports Silverlight, it requires zero set up.  The 
  table owner just shares a URL with the players and bam, you're 
  ready to play.  A pre-made taebl file with a deck of cards and 
  dominoes is available with the other TTwR support files. 
  Skype: http://www.skype.com 
  Taebl: http://www.taebl.com 
   
  Game Development Resources 
  All images created by the author or provided by WikiMedia 
  Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/ 
  A Concordance of Shakespeare's complete works: 
  http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/concordance/ 
  Structure of a Shakespearean Play by Owen Roberts 
  http://www.ehow.com/facts_6173760_structure-shakespearean-
  play.html 
  Jeepform essays and terminology: 
  http://jeepen.org/dict/ 
   
  Thank you! 
  I'd like to offer a big thanks to everyone that helped review, 
  comment, and play test all the various editions of the rules.  
  You've been an inspiration in helping me to clarify and expand 
  the game.  My apologies in advance if I missed anyone. 
  Andrew Arnold, Brian Carter, Dirk Cjelli , Joshua Lambert, Colin 
  Luttrell, Dante Muñoz, Christopher Onstad, John Reiher, Carl 
  Rogers, Simon Silva Jr., Randolph Wood, Justin Zircher, and 
  Zylo.  
   
  The Trouble with Rose, copyright 2011 by Todd Zircher,  
  is distributed under the Creative Commons 
  Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported 
  License. 
   
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Collaborative & Peer & Gm-less & Shifting GM/Trouble with Rose/The Trouble With Rose.pdf