A collaborative storytelling game for two adults, a matchbox and an ashtray.
By Renato Ramonda & Flavio Mortarino
Preparing for the Journey A Journey Through the Dark Begins
One player will be a scavenging Scoundrel, their objective is to re- The Scoundrel player reads: turn to the surface from the ancient Tomb of the Deep, its legendary Ruby in their pouch. “Hours have passed since I conquered the The other player will be The Deep, their objective is to keep the Ruby at the bottom of the Tomb of the Deep. Scoundrel in the tomb and deny them glory. Luckily I still have…” Have at the ready one box or book of regular sized matches and one fireproof container, such as an ashtray. Also, be sure to have one pen and a few index cards. Then selects two Items from the list below and writes each down. Most importantly, make sure your game space can accommodate some small open flames. Tools of the Trade The Scoundrel should now take The Match Game a moment to picture their char- • A length of silk rope The game was written with a match- acter: is it a nimble rogue like • An old but sharp dagger book in mind, but a regular packet of the Grey Mouser, a musclebound matches will do just fine. Just set aside barbarian like Conan or a learned • Four sturdy iron spikes 20 matches that will be your game set. scholar of the arcane? Why have Also, matches quality can vary wildly. If • The Scroll of Anuba they delved in the Tomb of the you are trying a new box or book and • A vial of extremely corrosive Fire Beetle acid you feel uncertain, try out one or two Deep? There is no need to write out of the game to check them. down the answers: they will serve • The blessing of the Dawn Priestess as inspiration for rest of the game. • A perfectly balanced throwing knife The Deep, meanwhile, should try to picture the Tomb’s general lay- • Yan, a mercenary of the Isthmus war out: is it an ancient and abandoned layered city, a forgotten system of sewers and canals, or an underground temple of a forbidden cult? • Shirat, the Abbess of the Sun goddess Are the obstacles in the path of the Scoundrel part of a concerted ef- • ...or make up your own. No lights, though. fort of a malevolent will, or simply the uncaring remains of ancestral traps and creatures? There is no need to write down the answers: they will color your depiction of the locales and perils in the game The Deep player meanwhile invents the first Peril the Scoundrel Facing the Peril will face, and some features of the room or section of the Tomb that contains it. The Scoundrel player declares: When the Scoundrel is ready, the Deep describes the first location (omitting the peril), then the Scoundrel player reads: “I just need to make it outside”
“...My lamp dwindles. Tired and hungry,
I must scramble in pitch dark, only a few matches in my pocket separate me from Now the player holding the matchbox strikes the match. endless inky blackness,” picks up the matchbox and adds If the Scoundrel is lighting the “My Fate is in my own hands.” match and it doesn’t catch fire af- Gentleperson’s Agreement This is a collaborative game, its pur- ter two tries, or breaks, he tripped pose is to evoke the struggle of the in the dark: the Deep describes Scoundrel. When you play, play fair. If Collaborate the Peril using only sound, smell you are the Deep, never take more time Remember that both players are col- Announcing the Darkness and touch (there is no light!), and than you need to state the Peril just to laborating in telling the story: when how it hurts the Scoundrel, sets leave less time to the Scoundrel, and The Scoundrel takes a match and the flame is not on, they can take time them back and generally blocks never interfere with the match when in to describe details about places and offers it to the Deep who takes it the hands of the Scoundrel. If you are their path to the surface. The Deep the Scoundrel, try to avoid reusing the characters, embellishing the narration and announces: or adding little color vignettes, such as may take away one of the Scoun- same solution to beat the Peril, and be flashbacks to the Scoundrel’s past, mo- drel remaining Items. The Deep ready to admit if your exploit is weak, ments of respite or rest, or even omi- describes how the Item (if any) is and concede your match. nous events brewing elsewhere in the lost, stolen or broken and puts its Tomb. card in the ashtray and sets it on fire. The Deep gets the broken/ failed match. If the Deep is lighting the match and it breaks or fails to fire after “...but Peril lurks in the Dark”, two tries, then the Peril is of little consequence, or the noise was mis- adding a very brief description of what leading: the Scoundrel can catch their breath, describing a moment sound, smell or feeling the Scoundrel of rest. The Scoundrel can also narrate how they chance on a new perceives Item in the Tomb. Give a brief description of the Item and write it on a new index card. The Scoundrel gets the broken/failed match. If the Scoundrel is lighting the match and it catches fire, they pass The Deep gives the unlit match back to the Scoundrel. it to the Deep who must quickly describe the Peril and pass it back, still lit. If the Deep is lighting the match If the Scoundrel still has the match when the flame dies (because Sapient Items and and it catches fire, they must the Scoundrel is about to get burned, drops the match, etc.), the Deep Companions quickly describe the Peril and pass describes how the Peril severely hurts the Scoundrel, sets them back Sometimes the Scoundrel can find it back, still lit. or blocks them. The Peril is unconquerable or just too hazardous and an ally in the Tomb just like they find items during their journey. It happens, Remember: Until the Deep an- the Scoundrel must retreat and choose an alternate path. The Deep and it is indeed a tragic event: if some- nounces Darkness again the play- gets the spent match. body will leave the Tomb it will be the Scoundrel, and the Scoundrel alone. ers can assume that there is just Grim Fate awaits those who entwine enough light for the characters to The Capricious Fate theirs with his. perceive some details of their sur- Will the Scoundrel use them like they roundings. The player that received the spent match gets control of the use any other item they happen to matchbox. The Scoundrel then, while the stumble upon in their journey? Or are they going to be victims of the Deep flame eats the match, must try If the matchbox has been in the hands of the same person for three relentless effort to withhold all things, to describe how they complete- times in a row, hand it to the opposite player saying: living and not, from the surface? ly overcome the Peril, then blow This is up to you to decide. If the Scoun- out the flame, and proceed in their drel decides to have Companions or journey through the murk. The “...but Fate is fickle and the wheel turns” Sapient Items instead of regular Items, Scoundrel gets the spent match. they should be aware that in the end they will be alone.
If the Scoundrel has the matchbox, they add:
Using an Item The Scoundrel can decide to use an Item as a shortcut to overcome “My Fate is in my own hands” the Peril. They declare which Item they’re using, then blow out the flame, now they can narrate how the Item helped them beat or oth- erwise sidestep the Peril without the pressure of time. The Item is spent and goes away: tell how it is lost or broken while putting the If the Deep has the matchbox, they add: card it was written on in the ashtray. The Scoundrel gets the spent match. “You let your Fate slip through your If the Deep still has the match when its flame dies (because they fingers.” took too long describing the Peril, or the flame died), the Scoundrel narrates how they evade the Peril entirely. The Scoundrel can now narrate how they chance on a new Item in the Deep. Give a brief de- scription of the Item and write it on a card. The Scoundrel gets the spent match. A Stolen Glimpse Goodbye My Friend Plan Ahead Fiery Heroes of Song and When you picture the new room in of the Future Legend If at any time the Deep has 5 spent your mind, try to think ahead: if you At any time, if the Scoundrel has con- The player that holds the match- matches, the Scoundrel is now are playing the Deep, imagine which trol of Fate, they can choose, to set fire Perils will spring up there and build box now gets to describe some one of the Lost of The Deep and to the remaining matches, letting the the room around them. If you are play- features of the next room, corri- quickly forgotten by the world. current match burn in the pyre, thus ing the Scoundrel, create a colorful dor or section of the Tomb: this is The Deep describes the ultimate, negating the Deep’s victory. They get to place, but be sure to avoid painting solitary fate of the Scoundrel. describe their heroic last stand against where the Scoundrel will go next. yourself in a corner imagining possible the Perils of the Deep, before dying a They never came out of the Deep. escape routes. If the Deep described the place, glorious Death. They never came out they take a match and offer it to If at any time the Scoundrel has of the Deep, but their legend lives on, the Scoundrel, who takes it and adds a detail of the room, handing 10 spent matches, they made to inspiring new adventurers to test their the Surface and describe their skills and ingenuity in the Tomb. the match back to the Deep. triumphant return to the Surface. If the Scoundrel described the place, they take a match and offer it Glory and song will remember them forever. to the Deep, who takes it and adds a detail of the room, handing the match back to the Scoundrel. If you are in need of inspiration, turn to the Vistas of the Deep, below.
Darkness falls again
The Deep then announces again:
“...but a new Peril lurks in the Dark”,
adding (if any) a very brief description of what sound, smell or feeling the Scoundrel perceives
Play proceeds from Facing the Peril.
Sparks of Inspiration Some Vistas of the Deep • A cramped corridor, its walls made of polished and perfectly aligned Some Perils in the Dark stones • A tripwire at knee level, triggering hallucinogenic poisoned darts • The throne room of a forgotten Queen, both her and her guards fro- zen as ice statues • A blind, tentacled creature emerging from black water, groping for a prey to feed upon • A room so vast no wall or roof can be seen, only echoing darkness • The unquiet dead, reaching from their tombs to grab the living • An impossibly long staircase, climbing the face of a sheer under- ground cliff • Lots of brightly colored fungi growing on the floor, ready to release spores if stepped on • A crypt, the sarcophagi neatly lined, their golden surface glinting through the dust • A gaping crack in the corridor’s floor, its bottom unseen • A natural cave, its walls covered in huge quartz crystals • A teetering rope bridge, brittle with age, crossing an underground river • A spiral staircase with no rail, disappearing up in the murk • A blade swinging across the path on a titanic pendulum, still razor • Cell after cell of a forgotten dungeon, the iron bars corroded and sharp after the aeons bent • Swarming peridot beetles, carnivorous and fast • A small temple to a bygone god, its altar in the shape of a scorpion • A vengeful spectre, insubstantial yet baneful • ...or make up a mysterious place • A sudden incline in the smooth obsidian floor • ...or make up a looming Peril