Yes, Sir!

A Game of Great Britannia

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 Yes, Sir!
A Game of Great Britannia
By Mixu Lauronen

©201 8 Mixu Lauronen

Pictures by Pixabay

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Table of Contents

05 What is a storytelling game?

06 Great Britannia
07 The Big War
08 Technology
09 Social Hierarchy
11 Spending Time as a Landowner
12 Spending Time as a Personal Servant
13 The Characters
13 Social Status
13 Appearance
14 Age and Birthday
14 Birthplace
15 Skills
15 Using Skills
16 Skill Descriptions
17 Equipment
18 The Game
18 Pounds
18 Starting the Game
18 Course of the Game
19 Ending the Game
19 Learning new skills and enhancing existing skills
20 Beginnings
21 Example of Play
23 Character Sheet

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Yes, Sir! is a storytelling game heavily influenced by the Jeeves and
Wooster stories of P.G. Wodehouse. It is a game of goodwill and funny
happenstances. The game's purpose is to have fun.
What is a storytelling game?
A storytelling game is a game in which the players tell a
story together. There are characters controlled by the
players. Each player tells a part of the story, complemented
by the others. There are no winners in Yes, Sir!, no losers,
no competition. There's just the story crafted together.
There are moments in the story, when the following part
isn't clear. Does miss Greenhill remember the details of her
ancestor's history? Can mister Blossom jump from the
ladders to the window? These kind of things are solved by
the rules of the game.

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Great Britannia
Great Britannia resembles the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland in the 1 920's and 1 930's. It is, however an
imaginary, idealized island. There is now politics or religion, which
may be difficult and quarrelsome subjects to the players. The capital is
London with many millions of inhabitants. There are smaller cities
like Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, and Edinburgh. Most of the
island, however, is farmland and old mansions and castles.

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The Big War
Five years ago a big war ended. It cost millions of lives, mostly young
men. Even though Great Britannia was among the winners, almost
nothing was won. There were no conquests nor great treasure. Some
claim that the war only brought bodies.
But the peace brought something else besides wounded and graves. It
brought sense of togetherness and a will to rebuild Britannia. The
people want to wash the war from their souls. It is a time of work and
parties!

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Technology
There are no televisions, computers, or mobile phones. People keep in
touch with letters, telegrams, and wired telephones. The news are read
from a newspaper or listened from the radio. The movies are silent
and black-and-white. So are photographs, which need to be developed.
Music has to be listened to in a concert, from the radio, or as pressed
recordings.
Cars - or horseless carriages - are a new thing. Trains go virtually
anywhere, and people know how to ride or drive carriages. Aeroplanes
are also a fresh invention. To go abroad a greatbritannian uses ocean
liners or smaller vessels. Oil, gasoline, gas, and coal are used for
heating and electricity. Electrial devices are clumsy and use a lot of
electricity.

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Social hierarchy
On the lowest rung of the social hierarchy are the servants: kitchen
staff, farmhands and so on. Their life is filled with work.
Most people are either farmers or industrial workers. Because of the
war, women started doing men's work, and now there's no distinction.
This bunch produces most of Britannia's farm and industrial products.
Personal servants are on this level. A male servant is called a valet, and
a female one is a maid. The relationship between a master and a
servant is often close. The players are encouraged to form
master/servant pairs.
Enterpreneurs are on the next level. Millionaires are an exception. An
enterpreneur may have a link to farming community, although most
of the time this is not the case.

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Then come the Landowners. This game concentrates on them and
their servants. The landowners spend their time hunting, enjoying and
creating art, traveling, eating, and drinking. Their servants help them.
A landowner is either a lord, his heir, or a younger child. The lord is
in charge of the family estate, and the heir is practicing the job. Other
children usually receive an allowance from their parents. They usually
live outside the estate in their apartments in the city. They are called
gentlemen and ladies.
The Nobility has more social respect than the landowners. They are
Great Britannia's Counts, Barons, and Baronettes, with a blood bond
to the land from generations past.
On the top ladder are members of the supreme court, millionaires and
the King. They are outside the law, and can practically do whatever
they want.

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Spending time as a landowner
Landowners usually have more money than they can spend. Some
have income from the family estate, some have dividends from
investments, some have allowance. In no circumstances they do work.
They spend their time in endless sports and art events and balls. A
gentleman's club is an important part of every gentleman's life.

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Spending time as a personal servant
A valet's and maid's days are filled with work. You have to manage the
sir's or lady's household, and their health must be kept an eye on.
During their free time many servants consume or create arts and
culture. Other servants are good sources of information and help.
They know each other and their masters much better than the masters
know.

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The Characters
The Characters are the centerpiece of the game. The players
experience the World through their eyes and ears. At first, the
character has to be created. Creating the character is creating the
World. It is recommended to invent places and persons during this
process.
Social Status
The social status is a value from one to six.
1 . Servants
2. Farmers, industry workers, personal servants
3. Enterpreneurs
4. Landowners
5. Nobles: counts, barons, and so on
6. The King, members of the supreme court, millionaires
Personal servants and landowners are preferred.
Appearance
What does the character look like? How long is he, and how much
does he weigh? How does the character dress up? Does he have a war
wound?

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Age and Birthday
The age is between 20 and 39. It is determined randomly by rolling a
20-sided die and adding 1 9. If the character is a male between ages
23 and 30, he has most likely been in the war. The exact birthdate is
decided on now.
Birthplace
Has the character been born in the countryside or in the city? Was the
birthplace the family estate or a city apartment?

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Skills
The skills represent what the characters know. Each skill is between
0-5. If the skill's value is 0, the character doesn't know it. Every
character has the amount of points equal to their age to put in skills
on 1 -1 basis. If the value is at least 1 , a specialization must be chosen.
For example, somebody skilled in Cooking might have seafood as
specialization. There are examples with the description of the skills.
Using Skills
When a skill is needed, a 6-sided die is rolled. If the result is same or
less than the skill, it is successful. Specialization is one higher than the
skill. This means that with the skill of 5, specialization always works.
Alternatively, the player may choose his numbers before rolling. If one
of those is the result, the skill works.
An Example: Jarvis has 2 points in Economy, and his specialization is
Accounting. He is trying to comprehend the peculiarities of his uncle
Bertrand's accounting. Because this fits his specialization, the value is three.
1 , 2, and 3 are successes. However, the player announces numbers 1 , 3, and
5 before rolling. He rolls 3 - a success!

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Description of Skills
Art. Creating and appreciating things.
Specializations: Plays, Oil Painting, Piano

Driving. Driving a car, a motorcycle or a bicycle.

Specializations: bicycle, foreign cars, stunt driving

Economy: Managing personal economy.

Specializations: Accounting, Acquiring Credit, Haggling

Gastronomy. Appreciating and making food and drink.

Specializations: Baking, Chinese Food, Whiskey

Geography. Knowing where places are.

Specializations: Cities of Great Britannia, Navigation, Local Paths

Hunting. Hunting and guns.

Specializations: Foxes, Tracking, Shotgun

Medicine. Medicinal knowledge.

Specializations: First Aid, Veterinary Medicine, Poisons

Riding. Using horses and carriages.

Specializations: Carriages, Equestrian, Horse Races

Sports. Doing and Knowing Sports.

Specializations: Cricket, Tennis, Sports Results

Technology. Knowledge of mechanical and electrical things.

Specializations: Electrical Devices, Locksmith, Motors

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Equipment
Each character has equipment relevant to their work and hobbies,
everyone also has a place to stay. If the character knows driving, he
has a bicycle or a horseless carriage. If he can ride, he has a horse if
he wants to, and so on.
Money usually isn't a problem for a landowner. A servant may get
resources if he rationalizes his needs well enough.

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The Game
After character creation it is time to start playing. The beginning is
decided upon together. A best start has all the characters in the same
place, and enough loose threads for every player. Later on there are
examples of beginnings.
The length of player's turn is decided. Two to five minutes is
recommended. If desired, the overall length of the game can be
decided in advance (eg. two hours) .
Pounds
Each player gets ten tokens called pounds (abbreviated as £) . They
can be anything, but real pounds are recommended.
Starting the Game
The players roll dice. The one with largest number goes first. In a case
of a tie, roll again until a winner is clear. The winner starts to tell a
story from his point of view, and continues until the time is up or he
wants to stop. Then the player on his left continues.
Course of the Game
During the telling everyone else is silent. If the storyteller invites
someone in a dialogue, he can join the story. By paying a pound a
player can ask one question from the player in turn. If he can't
answer, next player gets the turn.

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A player can also spend a pound and steal the turn for one minute.
after that time the turn returns to the original player.
If two players (including the person telling the story) spend a pound
and demand a roll, the player in turn must make a die roll. This is the
only way to make one: each die roll has to paid by two pounds. Rolls
are good in a situation where the outcome is unsure, or the roll would
add drama to the situation.
Ending the Game
The game ends either when everybody agrees it is a good time to stop,
the time is up, or nobody has any pounds left.
Learning new skills and enhancing existing skills
When people grow older, they learn new things. On his birthday a
character gets one point to put in any skill. If it is a new skill, the
player must explain how the character got the skill. Maybe he read
books? Or perhaps the other servants taught him?
When the character turns 50 and has all the skills at maximum it is
assumed he feels himself old and retires to the family estate.

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Beginnings
Birthday. The patriarch of the family, Sir Arthur Butnott, is having
his 60th birthday, and everyone is expected to attend. It is also known
that Sir Butnott will write his will after the three day party.
Engagement. One of the characters is engaged to the most wonderful
girl/boy in the World. Someone however finds out that the engagee is
a fraud. How to get the player character to call off the wedding?
Hunting Trip. The annual MacMutton Castle fox hunt begins. The
characters (or just the landowners) form one group in the most
forestly part of the area. Of course they get lost.
Cruise. Old Jones has bought a yacht. There's a party on the ship, and
afterwards a three day cruise. Things start disappearing. There's a thief
on the ship!
Brixton Spring Festival. Brixton Spring Festival collects a large
amount of money to a charitable organization every year. Each
character must assure the chairwoman, Lady Pineapple, that their
charity is the best one.

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Example of Play
The beginning is the Birthday (see previous page) . Fiona Moss is
Arthur's granddaughter, and currently in her room with her maid
Sirpa (Sirpa's family comes from Finlandia, a land northeast from
Great Britannia) .
Fiona's Player: Fiona is waiting at the dressing table for Sirpa to
comb her hair. She is furious. They called her self-righteous and
overly proud!
Another player plays a pound and asks: "Who is knocking on the
door?"
Fiona's Player: "Come in!" Enter Esther, an old servant of the family,
who asks Fiona to follow herself. Fiona stops making up. Eshter starts
to whisper: "I am sorry I intrude, but there's something odd with
mister Butnott's will. You know accounting, don't you? (Fiona has 3
points in Economy, and her specialization is Accounting) . I thought
you might straighten things up." Sirpa follows them. Fiona opens the
will.
The other players think that this calls for a roll, so the player pays
a pound, waiting for someone else to do the same. This happens, so
there's a roll. If nobody else had paid a pound, Fiona's players
wouldn't have had to roll a die, and thus he would have gotten his
pound back. The roll is 3, so the player succeeds.
Fiona's player: At first glance, the will seems all right, but then Fiona
notices a problem. This is just a draft. But where is the original?

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Other Players: Time!
Sirpa's Player: Sirpa looks very worried, as her lady is reading a
paper she shouldn't be reading. She is nervous - what if someone sees
them! Sirpa goes to the door and peeks at the corridor.
Another player pays a pound and gets the turn for one minute:
"Sirpa is so nervous she pushes the door closed. Click! It is locked
now. Hopefully the key..."

Inspirations
TV
Downton Abbey
Jeeves and Wooster
Mr. Selfridge
Movies
Gosford Park
Batman movies
Books
P.G. Wodehouse: Jeeves and Wooster
Jules Verne: Around the World in 80 Days
Jo Baker: Longbourn
Opera
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro

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 CHARACTER SHEET
PLAYER: _____________________________________
Name: ____________________ Birthday: __________
Birthplace: __________________ Social Status: ____
Appearance: __________________________________
SKILLS
Arts 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Driving 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Economy 1 23 45 Specialization: __________________
Gastronomy 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Geography 1 23 45 Specialization: __________________
Hunting 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Medicine 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Riding 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Sports 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________
Technology 1 23 45 Specialization: ___________________

Possessions and Real Estate:

Permission to photocopy this page is granted

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Yes, Sir! is a storytelling game about a fictitious country
called Great Britannia and its upper class and servants.

If the intrigue of Downton Abbey or the light-hearted life of

Jeeves and Wooster is close to your heart, Yes, Sir! is the
right game for you!

The game introduces short and easy rules to engage into

the lives of the servants and the landowners. The rules are
easy to learn and there's a die mechanics for the cases
when the outcome is uncertain.

THE GAME INCLUDES:

- An introduction to Great Britannia and the life of its
social classes
- Rules for a storytelling game without a game master
- Easy die mechanics
- Ten skills
- Sample beginnings for a game
- Example of play
- Character Sheet
- List of inspiring material from TV to opera

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