I'll try to use the word "game" to refer a single live-action-role playing (larp) happening, "campaign" as a more or less local series of games, and "saga" for the whole combination of all these.
1. Concept
Year 2000 is coming. Yet, the world as whole is not a subject to change. Things are and will be as they have been for millennias: more and more people get born, reproduce and die. Meanwhile, they suffer - or enjoy; usually both. People, living, tend to affect their environment in some way. This causes moral problems best avoided by turning one's attention somewhere else. Some people waste their time in endless social games. Some try to turn every opportunity for their own ends. Many people even do both. The intelligence agencies of the nordic countries make no exception. Hopefully, it is.
Busy men and women work long hours protecting the small but rich countries from political and economical risks in- and outside, solving crimes and tracking down suspects. They co-operate swiftly in matters concerning each other, relentlessly seeking the best solutions in each pressing situation. Hopefully, it is.
All big companies are supposed to receive support from the corresponding governements. All governements are supposed to act together for the best of their citizens. Then again, nothing is as it seems, and life is always more wierd than the yellow press. You play diplomats, special police officers, spies and counter-spies, representatives and hirelings of national or international companies, radical movement activists, why not even motor cycle gangs. Almost everybody work for "the common good" - all against each other. And don't think that personal matters wouldn't affect; they make up the rules.
In all nordic countries you are encouraged to make up your own games, where the Norwegian oil companies fight against Finnish energy companies planning the piping of gas from Siberia on the Swedish market, religious fundamentalists hunt "god-blaming" writers visiting diplomatic parties from their hiding places, or the Liberation Front of Lapland tries to shake the holy Nordic economy by radical means. The games should take place in diplomatic parties, high class international meetings or classy festivals where lots of VIPs get together. Normally, the games should be built on local players, though visiting from other game places should be encouraged. The results of a game, however, should always affect the whole situation. Not too much, but always a bit. It should be obvious that clear and immediate reporting of the results of a game is a mandatory for all players in order to keep the game world coherent. It is the players' responsibility as well to inform their group members and partners in all countries about their actions and findings. As well as negotiate, play dirty political tricks, lie... Paranoia and Illuminati should giv the experience appropriate for this game.
So, you have a bridge to sell? Good, let's put it here. Surely slows down the ship traffic somewhat, hehe. Should teach those bloody northern harbours to keep out of our business. By the way, I suppose I got it right when you told me I could keep this cute bungalow? Great, just checking.
2. Game Mastering
There is one huge mistake in the idea of a larp between several countries. If you've organized games, you can figure it out; if not, come back when you have. Thanks for your co-operation.
The GM's must have full internet connection and give conciderable amounts of their time for keeping the game in shape using a mailing list. Total information on all groups, backgrounds, history and plots current and coming must be available all time in WWW - partly "official" home pages, partly player information, the rest protected by passwords. Every time a GM writes something it is his responsibility to check that it corresponds all that has been written before. Changes to material of coming plots are possible if the makers agree. Changes to published material are impossible to make, since the game heavily depends on players keeping or remembering material they have seen/heard before, and changing that would break the flow of game severely.
In each of the joining countries, the starting GM's should form a small country-creation group of, say, two to six people. These people write, organise and publish the information concerning that country and its groups. The creators of a group are responsible of writing or at least checking all characters of that group and keeping the players informed, even if they live elsewhere. Of course the local GM's must act as active informers in their areas. This co-operation is a crucial part of the success of the saga. Even more crucial, however, is the ability of each GM to get and understand all information of the game and world and his ability to write his ideas, plots and characters so that they build up the the world and saga rather than tear them apart. Discussion on the general lines and principles of the project is needed in order to achieve a good set of rules for writing.
I would like a world very "natural", very much like our own, but where the writers could display the players images of their pleasure. The tragedy and comedy of the saga should be in correspondence to our world. I would prefer limiting out any mystical events. This doesn't mean you couldn't write situations where encountering a UFO would seem likely; just that the "true" explanation in the saga should keep to the common beliefs conventionally accepted as "reality". Fantasy should only be represented by the illuminatious groups and situations.
To be clear: no science fiction or magic, just people who more or less believe in those things. BTW: Science fiction is already reality. Just check out what's already out there on the (japanese) market and write it into the game; not the teleport of you own imagination. A rule of thumb: If you can get it from a shop somewhere in the world, it may exist in the game's world - otherwise not.
3. Rules
The rules system must be
1) kept to the minimum
2) so generic they can be memorized and improvised upon by anyone
3) language-independent
4) not breaking the timeline
5) totally safe for the players and the environment.
An example:
The games take place in real time. A character whose player is off-game is considered passive but located where the player is. Actions can be taken against it and everybody can see it, butinterrupting the off-game situation should be avoided.
During a game all people in game area are considered in the game. A person in the game area is considered as himself if he has not a character, ie. is an outsider. Holding a fist above ones head means being temporarily out of the game. Off-gamers must stay out of any crucial game situation or line of vision.
Between games, a player addressed with a character's name should appear as his character. The outlook, place etc. should be imagined as appropriate for the character. A "micro-game" like this ends by the decision of the participants. This is mainly to support characters' exchange of information between games.
Any physical activity should be played out in reality except for hurting or risking to hurt anyone or damaging any property. This means fights will be played out in real time, blows fully drawn, any weapons being safe replicas. No sharp blades, no bullets; all shots count as hits to where the shooters shouts to aim. Damage should be assumed by the player of the character hurt. All in-game damage should be counted as needing a doctor unless defined lesser. Only obviously fatal damage should be considered lethal (shots to head, etc). Attacker can define the damage lesser by shouting it at the moment of the action. Shields and armor must be real, and can only affect melee weapons and handgun bullets. Automatic weapons, bombs etc. require a game-note written by a game master. All shelters like walls, cars etc. are considered bullet- and bomb proof. Thus, a car bomb should be installed outside the car.
A situation in the game is considered to be what it looks like, not what any players say it to be. This is to mean that nobody can be anywhere else he really is, nobody standing can be sitting, or players talking to each other are assumed as their characters talking to each other, etc. This rule also applies to voice: a bomb explosion not heard by all players around is considered as not happened, and words heard stay heard. Situations happened can never be taken back. Any hole in the flow of events is considered as an invisible hole in the continuum of the game.
There are no attributes or skills.