Type of Game: Survival Challenge
Genre: Mysterious Horror
Players: 4-7
Basic Concept: Players have three characters apiece. They vote on exploration issues and on one anothers survival. Eventually, the last three characters will escape alive. Scoring determines a winner. The game will be archived.
The Labyrinth spans three grand European cities of the late 21st century. No one knows for how long it’s laid under the ocean floor. No one knows why it blocks all known energy signals. No one knows why it is always clean and beautiful, nor what the silver stone surfaces of the Labyrinth are made of. The stone is soft to rest on, that was the cause of the compulsion to explore it. Also, a continual dim luminescence fills the hallways and chambers of the Labyrinth, seemingly at all times. No known source of the illumination has been discovered; it is sometimes said to be the secret light of the divine, mentioned in mystical texts of many a religion.
A secret society, The Labyrinth Society has been around for quite some time, claiming antecedence in ancient Atlantis. There are no historical documentation and some of the oldest members claim their grandfathers were also members. We can assume The Labyrinth Society is a little more than a century old, at the very least. It is also known to every member of The Labyrinth Society that the secrets of the Labyrinth, its location and very existence, are kept as secrets, utmost secrets, by the members of that society.
Members of The Labyrinth Society come from all walks of life, all professions, all nations and lands. They all are taught a unified language, New Pnakotic, a derivation of the written forms found in the undeciphered Pnakotic manuscript. It would appear that someone claims to know the mysterious language it is written in. Strange that the name Pnakotic has only passed into vogue from the writings of fantasists who relished the fantastical unknown qualities of that text. Borges wrote three unpublished essays on the very subject, but he was a member of The Labyrinth Society until his death.
The Labyrinth Society festival allured every ambulatory and healthy member into the Labyrinth, at a specific starting point. They would all journey into the underground, Camping equipment would be provided. Lighting would be unnecessary, for the Labyrinth itself is constantly lit, or so it was assumed.
Three weeks have passed and uncountable deaths and disappearances have been witnessed by you and your companions. What was once a grand three thousand people have been cut to less than twenty two members. There seems no escape, the maps no longer seem to reflect any actual position you can trace. People are being killed, and the killer could not possibly be human… or perhaps it is one of the survivors, one among your group.
GAMEPLAY GAMEPLAY GAMEPLAY GAMEPLAY GAMEPLAY GAMEPLAY
To play in this game simply manifest in writing three characters and describe each with no more than six sentences. This can be written in the body of your one character submission. Do not become too attached to them, at least one will probably die. Each has their own Nature, Strength, Weakness, and Subplot which are given one sentence descriptions on each of the appropriate cards. When a character dies, you can no longer use the card for the purpose associated with the dead character..
With each scene there will be several phases of action and reaction.
1 Each player will describe their characters (from zero to three) exploring or taking care of Suffering people. At outset, there is no one Suffering. What explorers discover, if they discover anything, is up to you and the cards you have available. A strong resolution means you have discovered an interesting feature, a safe chamber, a source of medicine, a useful tool or weapon, maybe even a living yet suffering survivor. A weak resolution means you have found a danger, a trap, a poisonous substance or diseased corpse, a haunt, or even a dangerous survivor. An unresolved search means you have not discovered anything, but have an interesting conversation describing your character’s life.
2 The second phase will assume all characters have returned to the main chamber. They will discuss their findings. There will be a vote on how to use the new resource, even if it is information. This vote is important for the Labyrinth itself has dictated this process through dreams. It precedes a change in the Labyrinth itself.
3 The third phase is the darkness phase. All characters can cluster in groups or attempt to hide alone in the passages of the Labyrinth. Either way, they must resolve a challenge with their remaining cards. If they manage to succeed with a strong resolution, they cannot be hurt (although this might change). If they get a non-resolution they may be subject to a Suffering; three Sufferings and the character is dead. If they get a weak resolution they could be subject to death, and one character of that player may die. A character may be cured from a Suffering if there is available medicine and if a player’s character is willing to help that character recover by winning a one card challenge and otherwise being inactive during Exploration and Recovery phase.
The hiding or grouping together involves a hidden mechanic that players might discover later in the game.
4 The fourth phase is the deadly phase. All players must vote on the best writing for each character. They can give out one A, one B, and any number of Cs. Any character with an A has character immunity and cannot suffer anything. Any character with a B will only undergo Suffering if it is in jeopardy of Death. Any character with a C has character vulnerability, that character will suffer whatever it is in jeopardy of suffering.
After the fourth phase, the game resumes at the first phase with a new scene.
There will be occasional tricks that serve as benefit or problem. Some tricks will help some and hinder others.
The last three characters surviving will escape. The character with the highest score wins the game and keeps their sanity, reporting to civilization at large to stay away from the Labyrinth!
Score is determined as follows, with X=Total Grades (A=3, B=2, C=1), Y=Surviving Characters. X(Y+1).
Hosted and narrated by:
L R3 (septemberabraxas)
Started 01/11/15.
Scenes played: 0
License: Community License
