Gloom: future is now

[idolpro]

[The old-fashioned writing desk in the center of the room carries several blank pieces of paper, a fine wooden pen, and a piece of parchment covered in writing. When you take a look, you find the following epigraph in a vibrant scrawl:]

Congratulations, future wordsmiths, and welcome to your first exercise in the creation of a true masterwork of tale-telling. This evening you'll be penning a terrific tragedy, starring the family of unsympathetic ne'er-do-wells provided to you.

Your goal? Why, to construct the best story your mind can conceive, of course - and make their lives as entertainingly miserable as possible before writing one of them directly into an early grave.

Comments

RULES

[idolpro]

[On the screen of your phone, you can find the rules:]

YOUR GOAL

Your task is to inflict as much suffering as possible on your family, by playing unfortunate events on them ranging from minor inconveniences to fatal experiences. Once any team plays a death card on a character, the game ends.

YOUR CARDS

Your hand consists of three cards. Each card contains an unfortunate event, assigned a number of points ranging from -10 to -30. The lower the point value, the more delightfully tragic the event. By playing a card on one of your family members, they will experience that misfortune and earn you points.

Some cards include an even more unfortunate death. While they earn no points, playing a death on a family member will not only end their life, but end the game. Hopefully you've brought your family's arcs to a satisfying climax by that point...

Each round, you may play up to two cards on your family. Cards may be piled on one family member, or played on different members as you see fit. You must play at least one card each round--you might find your own story has an unfortunate ending if you do not.

At the end of each round, you will be granted enough new cards to get your hand back up to three.

Once per game, you may swap out your cards for an entirely new hand.

YOUR STORYTELLING

Now, don't get too bogged down with talk of cards and points. At its heart, this game is about creating a compelling narrative.

Every time you play a card, you must narrate how the event comes to pass, under the STORYTELLING heading below. And of course the story must be a coherent narrative--if during round one, your family's patriarch is ravaged by raccoons while in round two they are lost at sea, your creative narrative skills must explain how that character got from the raccoon enclosure to the deck of the pirate ship that they sadly do not know how to steer.

Use your imagination and have fun with it! I certainly will.

YOUR VICTORY

The game will end after the first round in which a unit writes one of their family members to a fatal end via an unfortunate death card.

At that point, all of the negative points from all events played will be tallied. All you need to do is be one of the units with the lowest score, and you will be victorious!

Of course, any tale worth telling is about the journey, not just the destination. Victory will also go to one team for constructing the most enthralling tale.

YOUR FAMILY

[idolpro]

YOUR EVENTS

[idolpro]

ROUND 1

[idolpro]

Went mildly mad -15 There is no sanity clause.

Was wounded by wasps -15 ...not to mention being bothered by bees and harried by hornets.

Was tickled by tentacles -10 It's a tale too ticklish to tell.

ROUND 2

[idolpro]

Was tickled by tentacles -10 It's a tale too ticklish to tell.

Was tried for treason -30 It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Was trampled on a train -20 All stops lead to a bloody death.

You may swap out your hand: once

Re: ROUND 2

[bluescreenwhitedragon]

Requesting hand swap

ROUND 2 (swapped hand)

[idolpro]

Was menaced by mice -15 Perhaps the elephants know something we don't.

Broke many bones -20 They say that pain is the greatest teacher. Guess what? You failed.

Was hunted by horrors -30 Prey for salvation.

You may not swap out your hand.

ROUND 3

[idolpro]

Was menaced by mice -15 Perhaps the elephants know something we don't.

Broke many bones -20 They say that pain is the greatest teacher. Guess what? You failed.

Death: Was devoured by weasels Dinner is served.

You have already swapped out your hand.

ROUND 1

[idolpro]

CARDS PLAYED

[idolpro]

[nohalation]

Went mildly mad (-15)
Was wounded by wasps (-15)

STORYTELLING

[idolpro]

OUTCOME

[idolpro]

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

ROUND 2

[idolpro]

CARDS PLAYED

[idolpro]

STORYTELLING

[idolpro]

OUTCOME

[idolpro]

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

ROUND 3

[idolpro]

CARDS PLAYED

[idolpro]

STORYTELLING

[idolpro]

OUTCOME

[idolpro]

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

AND THEN

[idolpro]

[The paper on the old-fashioned writing desk rustles, faintly; the words written upon it begin to grow longer, as though an invisible hand is scrawling something new. It reads:]

Every truly great story has a great ending. And some of you, o wielders of the mighty pen, have brought yours to the inevitable conclusion. Bravo, to all of you who dared to write a character from the script.

Linger a while, as I weigh the merits of your wordsmithing. It won't be long.

[No sooner have the words finished appearing than the door to your room opens up, leading back to the lobby.]