Sample Gameplay

Let's use Scene 3 as an example of gameplay. Our hypothetical players are Iman (Speaker), Emily, Luis, and Mordecai.

Setting Question

Iman reads aloud the Setting Question: “How long do Snake People live?” She looks at the examples, which suggest: “5 years, 50 years, 200 years but you metamorphose into an actual snake at some point” and considers.

Her response: “Most Snake People live 50 to 60 years. But one in a thousand becomes an Elder Serpent and goes to live in the deep instead of dying.”

Luis asks her to tell the group more about Elder Serpents. Iman hypothesizes that Elder Serpents lose their limbs but continue to grow in length and girth. They develop foresight and minor magical abilities. She suggests that Elder Serpents mostly hibernate, but younger Snake People bring them offerings and ask them for a vision or a blessing.

Storytelling Prompt

Iman then reads the Storytelling Prompt: “How old are you now?” Emily, the next player clockwise, replies: “I'm 42.”

Mordecai adds: “Because I was adopted from another clan after the Never-Ending Winter, I don't know exactly how old I am. I think I must be in my early 40s, like Emily.”

Luis has a longer idea: “I'm only 35. I worry that I might become an Elder Serpent, because it's been so long since our clan produced one. It haunts me. Sometimes I think I've woken up to find myself alone in cold darkness. Everything is silence. Then I wake up and everything's normal again.”

The scene ends with Iman, who will also reply to the Storytelling Prompt. “I'm approaching 50. Some days, when the sun is warm on my hide, I worry that I'll die soon. I hope that I'll become an Elder Serpent. But then I remember my only visit to an Elder—the cold depths, the seemingly endless sleep. It frightens me.”

Scene 3 is likely to be the shortest scene in the game. But even if your answer to any scene's Storytelling Prompt is short, keep the word “Storytelling” in mind!

For example: Mordecai references the Scene 1 event and how it affected his character's clan membership. Iman shares her character's ambivalence about death and cold. Each response intertwines with those which have come before, weaving a world into being.

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