Unwritten: System Reference Document/What is Unwritten?

Unwritten is a way to get together with your friends, explore new worlds, and tackle the interesting situations that they present. You get to determine the challenges that the characters encounter, how they deal with the challenges, and what happens afterward.

The D’niverse shapes your experiences around several specific themes. These are the cornerstones of what it means for a game to be an Unwritten game.

Unwritten is about discovery. Every world is a new thing to experience, and there are forgotten secrets just waiting to be uncovered all around. Whether it is exploration of places, uncovering the unknown, or pushing past the limits of believability, discovery is at the core of the experience. The D’niverse is full of surreal worlds and alternate dimensions; there is always another possibility out there, waiting for you.

Unwritten is about the journey. We learn about the protagonists and their world by the challenges they face and how they meet them. Their experiences shape who they are and who they become. As they discover new worlds, they discover more about themselves. As they affect the world, the world affects them. For a character, their story is not just about what they know or where they have been, but how they got there and why.

Unwritten is about thought and creativity. The primary tools of an Unwritten character are knowledge, insight, and ingenuity. As Myst is a thinking person’s game, so is Unwritten. Of course, there are adventures to be had, crises to resolve, and sometimes even worlds to save. However, the D’niverse has a cerebral cornerstone, one where forethought and creativity are centrally placed. The adventure progresses, not with shoot outs and duels, but with solving mysteries and creatively resolving dilemmas. Think of it as pulp’s nerdier sibling.

Who are the protagonists?

Protagonists in Unwritten are, above all else, explorers. They all have things that they are trying to learn. They have mysteries they want to solve, new places they want to see and questions that they want answered. In that pursuit, Unwritten characters are proactive, competent, and dramatic.

Proactive

Explorers are proactive. They have a variety of abilities that lend themselves to active problem solving, and they aren’t timid about using them. They don’t sit around waiting for the solution to a crisis to come to them—they go out and apply their energies, taking risks and overcoming obstacles to achieve their goals. They are driven by the need to know.

This doesn’t mean that they don’t ever plan or strategize, or that they’re all careless to a fault. It just means that even the most patient among them will eventually rise and take action in a tangible, demonstrable way.

Competent

Explorers are good at things. They’re skilled, talented, or trained individuals who are capable of making visible change in the world they inhabit. The understanding that they pursue is within their reach. They are the right people for the job, and they get involved in a crisis because they have a good chance of being able to resolve it for the better.

This doesn’t mean they always succeed, or that their actions are without unintended consequence. It just means that when they fail, it isn’t because they made dumb mistakes or weren’t prepared for the risks.

Dramatic

Explorers lead dramatic lives. The secrets that they uncover have meaning, and affect the world in which they live. Their lives require them to make hard choices and live with the consequences. Their experiences affect who they are, and shape what they can accomplish and what path they choose.

Essentially, they are people. Like us, they have interpersonal troubles and struggle with their issues. Though the external circumstances of their lives might be a lot bigger in scope than what we go through, we can still relate to and sympathize with them.

For Veteran Role-players

Those of you who have role-played before have probably seen more ‘What is role-playing?’ chapters than you can count. Instead of going through that again, I’d like to focus on what this setting can do for you.

Pulp gaming avoids the modern era because much of it involves exploring edges of the known and delves into the unknown. Our modern world has a lot less room for that than the world of the pulp magazines. Because of pervasive technology, we just know too much. The D’niverse brings us back to delving into the unknown by opening the door to an infinite number of strange worlds. If you want to trek through unknown wildernesses and negotiate with strange civilizations, Unwritten can do that. If you want weird science, there’s room for that in Unwritten as well. Best of all, it’s equally available to your characters in the 1890s, the 1930s, or the modern day.

Adventure stories work nicely in Unwritten; any pulp story about rugged archaeologists delving into forgotten tombs can find a place in Unwritten. But you also have a chance for stories that focus on exploration itself. Characters are not only up against antagonists, but the unknown. Your game can give you chances to uncover mysteries, whether they are the secrets of the universe or just what is on the other side of the hill. Sometimes the environment itself will be the obstacle in your way, clearing the way for a story of person versus nature or versus themselves.

The Art of Writing allows a gamemaster a way to include very different environments into the same game, and an easy way to bring them in. Characters can always just find another Book that takes them to another world with minimal fuss or concern about ‘railroading’. The Art also gives players a chance to create parts of the world, not just as co-authors of a shared experience, but in a definite in-character perspective.

If you are familiar with Fate Core, you will see a lot here that you recognize. You will also see some significant changes here and there, in order to capture the unique feel of the D’niverse.

Some topics are only given very broad consideration in Unwritten. If you want more specific systems for various elements, bring them in from your favorite Fate game. In fact, you’ll find a few suggestions for that towards the end of this book.

For the Myst fans

If you are a fan of the Myst franchise, Unwritten offers you a different experience of the D’niverse than you have had before. Myst games have always tried to focus on your personal experience of the game as a player. However, the narrative has always been one direction—from the game developer to you. Role-playing is even more interactive than a video game. You have the chance to carve out your own place in the D’niverse, a place where you can experience a version of the setting that is under your control.

A lot of Myst fans are very concerned with ‘canon’—the truth of the game as derived from the games. Unwritten is not solely about that truth. Rather it is a way to play with a universe you love. You have the option to add to it and adjust it. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If there is an element you never liked, change it. If you want to go a different direction, then go. This game is focused on providing you possibilities. You can combine the known and your ideas into just the game you want.

Role-playing games are all about sharing imagination with other people. Sure, we can all tell stories. But with the right tools, you can tell better stories. The rules in here provide a framework that you can use to help you. They help you keep focus on the narrative in front of you and provide hints and surprises (in the form of dice rolls) that you can use as inspiration for even more.

Remember that this is a toolbox. The mechanics here are intended to support you with your story. There isn’t a right or wrong way to use the rules. Use what makes your game more enjoyable and don’t worry about what seems to get in the way.