The Lady and the Tower.pdf

The Lady and the Tower

by Joel P. Shempert

lngredients:

Lantern

Doctor

Dark Ages

http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=23.0

[Trials Distilled] Describing Credibility

http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=15010.0

From Trials Distilled Thread:

"At the top of the castle is a huge tower, with green light coming out of the windows."

"The bishop leaps up onto his horse and rides away."

"Lady Emily feels sad."

The Lady Emily, recently married to the wealthy Lord Gryffeth Highnam, finds herself, far

from ushered into the Springtime of happiness that she and all her kin had supposed, locked

instead in a gilded cage, cut off from all contact with family and trapped in the ancestral keep

of her cold and mysterious husband. What is it that keeps him away from the estate all day,

and consumes all his energies at night so that their marriage bed remains cold? What secret

does he guard atop the castle tower to which he alone has the key? Does he brood over some

personal tragedy, or is there, as the servants whisper, some sorcery or gross blasphemy

afoot? Can their love be salvaged, or is it destined to die stillborn? And can the Lady’s dear

friend the Bishop of Gloucester, to whom she has sent discreet letters, guard her soul if her

ills be born of Hell, or comfort her heart if they be born of Earth? Will he even dare, or ill the

Lady be forced, flickering lantern in hand, to brave the night to lay the secret bare herself?

The “Last Chance” theme is represented by the mystery format of the game--once you’ve

played through and resolved these burning questions for these characters, you’ll be less

inclined to play through again--and by the physical formatting, which involves tearing away

a window in the sheet to reveal hidden information, thus making replays with the same sheets

prohibitive.

The finished game will be presented entirely on a series of cardstock placards, either letter or

halfletter sized, probably bundled in an envelope. They’ll consist of two layers glued together,

with the top layer containing little advent calendar-style windows to tear away and revel new

content in the bottom layer.

RULES CARD:

This is a storytelling game for 3 players. Together you’ll tell a tale of gothic mystery, laced

with florid romance or chilling deviltry, or perhaps both. You’ll play using specially

constructed Role Cards, each containing hidden information that you’ll uncover bit by bit as

you unravel the mysteries in the course of play.

Each player receives one Role Card: the Lady, the Lord and the Bishop.

Mysteries and Revelations

Each character card has three mysteries to reveal, each phrased as a question with two

answers. When, in the course of playing a scene, a character takes concrete action or makes a

definite statement that shows them acting toward one answer or the other, tear off the

window for the next numbered Revelation in that sequence. Read it, and have the character

act accordingly. If circumstances have changed so that action in the Revelation no longer

makes sense--for instance, the Bishop has uncovered a Revelation on the Fragile column of

the Courage Mystery that requires him to act in servile deference, but he has already fled the

scene--ignor that direction for now, but still read it and take that into consideration in how

you play the character from then on.

It’s important to play your character only in accordance with the Revelations that have thus

far been revealed. Don’t, for instance, reveal that the Lady loves the Lord with all her heart if

all that has been revealed under her Love Mystery is that she is responding warmly to his

intentions. Leave room for any of the current Revelations’ implications to be true or untrue, in

the end. Hint, but don’t establish.

All players should be alert for actions that reveal the Mystery. Any player can call out a

Mystery-revealing action,; just make sure it’s a non-trivial character action that answers the

Mystery’s question.

Revelations in both columns can be uncovered in the same Mystery, as scenes and roleplay

dictate. When a Revelation at the 3. tier is uncovered, that Mystery is settled for good and no

new Revelations can be uncovered.

At the start of the game, all players choose one Revelation to uncover at the 1. tier.

A scene continues until the Role whose player framed the scene has revealed a Revelation,

and played out its effects and aftermath. That player decides when precisely to cut scene; don’t

let it linger too long. Another Role can reveal a Revelation as well, as long as they do it before

the framing player.

When two Revelations seem to clash or contradict, this simply represents inner turmoil or

inconsistency within the character. Play up these jarring shifts of mood and intention.

Nature

Each Role Card has three circles on it. At the beginning of the game, each player places a

stone on one circle, representing their Nature. They may spend a point of Nature to use their

character’s special trait in a scene. They may spend TWO points of Nature to cancel the use of

another character’s trait. A Trait cannot be used twice in the same scene, whether canceled or

not.

Roles may gain additional points of Nature, one per scene, by acting in accordance with their

uncovered Revelations. The character must take the specific action described in the

Revelation, or a clearly related action. Each Role may never have more than one point of

Nature at one time.

Scenes

One player sets a scene and declares who's in it: their own Role and one other Role. All three

Roles can't be present at the same time...yet. The extra player will play the environment, plus

servants and other supporting characters. The Lady sets the first scene, then the Lord, then

the Bishop.

Scenes are played in turns: either around the table clockwise, or in any order you like, just so

everyone gets a turn each round. On your turn, you say just a couple of sentences (usually),

and you have a list of things you can say.

Everyone can:

Describe what their character says and does

Describe minor atmospheric detail

Invent objects or small details of their surroundings that their characters interact with.

The Lady can:

deliver internal monologue

The Lord can:

describe the surroundings of his keep and its grounds in broad detail

summon servants at a whim

describe subtle, sinister, seemingly supernatural events

The Bishop can:

describe subtle, benign, seemingly miraculous events

declare that letters arrive from church contacts or the Lady’s kin

The extra player can:

have servants and other minor characters appear, and describe their actions

describe major environmental detail

describe the surroundings of the keep and its grounds in broad detail

Additional Rules

When one Role uncovers a tier 3 revelation, uncover this rule:

All three Roles can now be together in scenes. When all three Roles ARE together, all

players gain the “extra player” narrative authorities.

When all three Roles have uncovered at least one tier 3 revelation, uncover this rule:

A Role may now Threaten another. They may pay one point of Nature to describe a threat

of bodily harm, of exposure of scandal, exile, imprisonment, or some other calamity that

both parties agree is unignorable. Place the stone on the character’s name. The calamity

does not come to pass in this scene, but the player who placed it can pay an additional

Nature point in a later scene to bring it to pass. The Threatened player may pay 2 Nature

any time to cancel the threat, and describe how their character does so.

When a player has been threatened AND the calamity come to pass, uncover this rule:

The story is drawing to a close. The next time a tier 3. Revelation is uncovered, the next

scene framed contains all Roles, provided they are still alive and able to be present. This

scene will contain the climax and/or denouement of the tale.

ROLE CARD: THE LADY

Nature: O O O

The Lady is Curious. Spend a point of Nature to provoke another Role to uncover the next

Revelation in a Mystery of your choosing.

Is the Lady’s Love...

Ardent or Aloof?

Is the Lady’s sense of Duty...

Is the Lady’s Temperament...

Stalwart or Wavering?

Sentimental or Practical?

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: