Cool find of the day (and by find I mean, “The inventor emailed me and told me about it” :)) is Play Extempore, a combining of Shakespeare with Dungeons and Dragons.
From the Game Manual (which, right now, can’t be read on OS X due to a font issue but I think that’s being fixed):
To play this game you will need someone to act as the Playwright, or gamemaster, and at least four Players. The Playwright runs the game. He chooses the genre that will be played or rolls for it (see Genres) and gives the play a title. He chooses the game’s setting or rolls for it (see Setting), performs the non-playing characters (NPCs—see Minor Characters), and sets the storyline according to the genre being played. He can also act as a Chorus to move the action forward in time or geographically.
The idea is to stage an improvised 5 act play. Players get character sheets just like in a D&D campaign.
I immediately sent this to an old friend who is both an active D&D player, as well as a working actor. His response (via IM):
“This is hysterical! I love it. random monologues! And duels and battle of wits! Fun.”
Looks like a work in progress (a teaching tool, recently released for free and looking for feedback). So if you’ve got a handful of Shakespeare geeks that you hang out with, take it for a spin. Or maybe a roll? Let us know how it goes!
Ooh, this looks cool. I've skimmed the rules (the archaic lettering they chose to use loads imperfectly on my computer, by the by) and it looks like a fun game. I need to grab me some dice and some fellow geeks and give it a whirl.