More About Multiverser
The most difficult aspect of Multiverser® for the referee--and the principle reason why the game is recommended for experienced referees--is multiple staging. In essence, it means that typically the characters will be divided, working simultaneously in not merely different places, but entirely different universes. This is unavoidable: characters move to a new universe when they are killed, and it is unlikely that any group of characters will all be killed at the same time. But it is also desirable. The referee will find that by sending player characters to different worlds, he can make the game more interesting in several ways. He can force characters to rely on their own abilities rather than on the support of other player characters. He can put those who would follow the decisions of others into places where they must make decisions themselves. Similarly, by combining characters in changing small groups, he forces the players to explore new strategies, new ways to combine their skills successfully. Also, he can customize a world to play to a particular player's strong suit, or to his weaknesses. Finally, he can keep the action moving even for characters who are "killed", because by "versing out" into a new world they can begin working on a new problem from the ground up without waiting for the other players to join them.
Multiple staging means that characters play in different worlds on different problems at the same time. While George is battling a dragon deep under a medieval castle, Sally might be trying to open the airlock to escape robot pursuers on a spaceship. Meanwhile, Ralph is talking to the sheriff at a local saloon, who is worried about the approach of the Dalton Gang, and Mary picks up a copy of the New York Times to learn that it's June 4th, 1997, and the mayor has announced new anti-crime policies. At the center of all this is the referee, half-following his story lines, half-improvising his background information. Slowly each story unfolds, as the characters try to resolve their situations before versing out to a new world.
Then comes the gather. From time to time, the referee decides that the next time everybody verses out, they are all going to the same universe. It is recommended that no character go through more than ten nor fewer than two solo worlds before a gather, although this is especially flexible if a character for some reason goes through numerous worlds quickly, or stays in a world a particularly long time. (Some players have been known to intentionally kill their characters if after a cursory overview they don't like the world they have entered.) This gives the players the opportunity to compare what they have learned and teach each other new skills; it also creates the opportunity for a larger group adventure.
Since time in each universe flows independently, and versing does not require any relationship between time lines, it is in some ways simpler to run the game when everyone is in the same world, and in some ways more difficult. During the gather, relative time frames of different character actions become important. Between gathers, multiple staging is the difficult part.
The referee may also schedule partial gathers, moving several player characters to the same world, but not all of them. (This may result from some characters versing out before others verse in, and the referee abandoning the gather before it is complete.) It is a good idea to set up cycles, groups of characters who began play about the same time and tend to reappear together separately from characters in another cycle. Such cycles are not immutable; a referee may move a character to a different cycle or combine and reorganize cycles if the players or their schedules change such that different players are present together.
Details of Gameplay
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