Bluebooking

[Carjack]

I've seen several mentions of the use of bluebooking during and between roleplaying sessons in a couple of Guardians of Order books. Who has done this and exactly how did it work? How did your players take atvantage of it and how did it make your game better?

[JDCorley]

I've done it - one player loved it and had a ball, the rest put forth minimal effort and complained that they hated it. Gaming, to them, is a social activity, and just writing stuff down in a bluebook about gaming is the height of pointlessness.

Be sure that your players will enjoy it before you do it.

[Steve Kenson]

Originally posted by JDCorley
I've done it - one player loved it and had a ball, the rest put forth minimal effort and complained that they hated it.
That was pretty close to my experience. Certain players love bluebooking, others don't care for it.

These days, I generally encourage players interested in bluebooking type activities to set up PBeM "side games" outside of the regular tabletop game, which seems satisfy the desire for writing out solo character stuff without it eating up face-to-face game time.

[PeterAmthor]

I've used bluebooking for certian types of games. Mostly for those that seem to have a lot of in game down time. This helps me keep track of everything that the players are trying to do by looking over their books. That is if the player is actually trying to accomplish something.

Next time I run D20Modern COPS I will be using it for sure. It will, again, help me keep track of stuff and give a little more feel to the game, writing down arrests and such. Heck I already make them set in pairs beside each other if they are partners in the same car.

[Carjack]

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough. How do you approach bluebooking? You show up at your game with a pile of notebooks and say what? I'm really not sure I'm interested in doing it, but I'd like to understand how it would work, or how it is supposed to work.

[The Eye]

can someone describe "bluebooking" first? i have a guess, but i'd rather know what everyone is talking about.

[David Goodner]

I've never done real bluebooking, which involves, I believe, actual notebooks passed between player and GM while they're together.

But just about all the games I play now involve some level of e-mail between players and the GM to cover downtime events and stuff that, while important, doesn't need to take up game time.

We also use it to flesh out background events and stuff like that (like doing a Storyteller system Prelude, but in the middle of the game)

David G.

[tetsujin28]

'Bluebooking' was first described by Aaron Allston in the Champions supplement "Strike Force". The 'blue book' in question is a standard (in the U.S.) blue book used to answer essay questions during exams. Instead of using it to figure out whether you passed or failed, the blue book was used for in-character dialogues, especially of the sort that many (presumably male) gamers might find uncomfortable.

[PeterAmthor]

What we call bluebooking is the players keeping a log of what their characters are doing during downtime as well as keeping track of notes and what they've accomplished.

Last time the favorite was the composition notebooks like those used in the movie Se7en.

Also the player can catch the GM between games and hand their book over so the GM can approve or disapprove whatever it is they want their character to be doing. I also had the rule where I could collect the books to take notes for myself in case I forget something that happened in that nights game.

[tetsujin28]

IIRC the earliest version of 'blue-booking' was in the antedeluvian "Superhero 2044".

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by tetsujin28
'Bluebooking' was first described by Aaron Allston in the Champions supplement "Strike Force". The 'blue book' in question is a standard (in the U.S.) blue book used to answer essay questions during exams. Instead of using it to figure out whether you passed or failed, the blue book was used for in-character dialogues, especially of the sort that many (presumably male) gamers might find uncomfortable.

Yes, that's certainly one use for it. Roleplaying character romances for example, can be very uncomfortable to do verbally in a game session setting, especially if there's a gender difference between the player/GM and the character. Admittedly modern e-mail can replace a lot of this type of interaction.

I've also found it useful for the GM to convey information to a player that he doesn't want the whole group to be aware of right away, such as when the PC has had his mind taken over or the like (for a player willing to roleplay such an event himself).

[MoonHunter]

Blue booking also allows for roleplaying which is important to the character, but not for the troupe, or the main plot line. Character romance is a common use, because it tends to make people uncomfortable. However, it allows players to run "side adventures" in the "down time" between active runs. These could be personal investigations, interaction with the cast of characters around the character's secret ID (Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Perry White, and Clark's neighbors when dealing with Superman), research activities, or even just introspective roleplaying. All of these things would bogg down a game if the player did them durring a session (in most cases), so by doing them via a bluebook (or scene journal, which is another name for them), allows the player to explore these areas without bogging down the game.

In short, the player writes out a play session of what their character does solo (or with the permission of another player) or with other characters. It should be in story format, but does not have to be. The GM reads over what is done and either approves it, approves it conditionally (needs changes), or denys that it could happen. Approved blue book entries become part of the campaign's continuity. Most GM's will award experience, luck, or some kind of reward for blue book activities.

I have used this technique to good application. It does require a player with storytelling or actor orrientations to be useful. Players with characters who have deep secrets will also be fertile fodder for blue booking. The occasional tactician will also use it to direct their investigations. It can add a great deal to a group campaign, when the characters also opperate solo most of the time "off camera".

The reason I like scene journals over email is that I have a tangible record that I can access at all times, rather than clogging up my email box and file. I have posted a number of scenes journal entries to my campaign notebook (indexed in back) so I can pull up those scenes and thrust appropriate elements into the main campaign line. This is not to say I am against emails. Many of my players have worked scenes out with each other via email, printed it out, and posted it in their scene journal. Others send me vauge outlines of scenes they want to do via email for tennitive approval. It is not the "End all" of game tools, but it is a useful one in your gaming arsenal.

[CPXB]

I can barely get my players to answer emails, much less engage in bluebooking, hehe. Even with the advent of blogs and email! :p

[MoonHunter]

Reward their work with experience, karma, or other goodies. You will be suprised on how fast their behavior will change.

[UncleBear]

...we do it all there, at least the stuff everyone is allowed to see. Th rest is done via email between the GM and individual players.

[Jere]

I wrote up some of my thoughts over on <a href="http://www.20by20room.com/">20x20</a> on Constrained writing, which includes Blue Booking. You can find it <a href="http://www.20by20room.com/2004/02/constrained_wri.html">here</a>

Jere

[doppelganger]

The idea of bluebooking is getting more and more appealing to me. How interactive is it? How often does a GM go through and make decisions? Is it solely the player's input? What are the main in game benefits?

[Big Willy]

As an experiment, I'm going to try this with my players in our next game. I had ben toying with the idea of recording the rp sessions for my own documentation later, as I am notorious for getting into the game and not writing down important things that I should. It is my hypothesis that bluebooking will not work, and that the recordings will serve their purpose.


w.

[Jere]

Originally posted by doppelganger
The idea of bluebooking is getting more and more appealing to me. How interactive is it? How often does a GM go through and make decisions? Is it solely the player's input? What are the main in game benefits?

One of the reasons I love wikis is that it is 100% interactvie. The GM can make decisions, ask questions,c reate sub entries, and do all sorts of imaginative stuff very easily.

Like any sort of constraiend writing it shouldn't be 100% player. The player is working within some set assumptions and should expect thsoe assumtions to come into play.

The in game benefits are simple. A richer developed world and a character who feels more like a character. I can't recommend bluebooking and other forms of constrained writing enough as part of the RPG toolbox.

Jere