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Walk among the Dead • 2016 rpg finalist
Johannes Oppermann • http://www.meetup.com/de-DE/Story-Games-Vienna/
Setup: You’re all here to find someone dead. You want closure with them. You can reach them using a mask. Everyone has one deceased they want to contact.
Take turns: Say your name. Say who you are. Say who you lost. What were they to you? Say what you need from them.
Journey: One becomes the seeker, the others the ghosts. They draw lots. One is your deceased, one is the liar, the others are random ghosts. Seeker, put on the mask - the dead appear! Ghosts, be scary: Whisper, touch, goad, moan.
Seeker, you have one token for every ghost but one. To ask a ghost a question, pay them 1 token. The random ghosts say the truth. Your deceased grants you closure. The liar deceives you. He takes 2 tokens, not 1.
Return: When you pay your last token to a ghost who is not your deceased, you die. If you pay a token to your deceased and receive closure, hug them - you both depart. At any time after you paid the first ghost, you may end the journey. Pass the mask to the next seeker.
End when everyone is dead, or someone has found closure with their deceased.
Author Comments (if any)
I like ghosts and ghost stories. I thought of this game after I played “Old Friends” by Jason Morningstar and Ole Peder Giaever at Fastaval. It’s a mix of a séance, the myth of Orpheus and Euridice, and a murderous ghost story.
Judge Comments
Walk Among the Dead seems to have a chance to pack an emotional punch in a small package. Each player has something interesting to do to shape the game at all times. It seems like the mechanics would help create the tone. - Sarah Judd
Walk Among the Dead is a freeform game about questioning the dead. Players take turns wearing a mask and risking their life to find closure with the one they lost while the others play [mostly] truthful ghosts whispering back. The game accommodates various group sizes and range of potential stories while maintaining focus on its premise and giving players clear instructions about what they should be doing. - Marshall Miller
