Here we are . . . the campaign background and the house rules for our series style interactive drama campaign set in a modern type setting with Knights and Ladies and unspeakable horrors that live in closets and under the bed. This is DARK KAMELOT. The Age of Chivalry has managed to stay alive into the 20th Century, although it is most definately on its last gasps. Guns are rare and Knights are known to handle differences in single-combat within the Swordcircle of Honor. Something evil is lurking in the shadows of the once great society of Kamelot and its up to the player characters to find out what. This is a multi-genre (mostly gothic horror mixed with a bit of Arthurian steampunk) campaign still in the initial stages. While characters start as various members of the Court, they may develop supernatural, psionic, or super abilities in the course of the game. While most of our scenarios for the Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society are stand-alone one-off set pieces, this is our chance to experiment with series play where characters can design their own characters if they wish and play the same character in multiple sessions.

The dream that isn't a dream . . .
. . . some nightmares are more real than others . . .

I had the Dream again last night. It was the same as last time. I'm standing on a cliff overlooking a seaside town I've never seen before. A car drives up to a small grove and a Druid and a man in black get out.

The Druid gestures at the grove and the man starts getting angry. He takes out a sword and starts hacking the Druid to bits, I hear her scream, long, drawn out, agony.

I feel myself running to the woman's body only to find that it's me . . . red hair matted and green eyes frozen in horror, naked under the robes of an Inner Circle Adept, robes I won't be able to wear for at least twenty more years of study . . . there's a little gray in my hair . . . but that's me.

I hear a noise and turn and the Man in Black is there. These grey tentacles start coming out of his eyes and mouth and ears. His scaly hands start reaching towards me, clawing at my flesh. I grab a medallion from around the Dead Woman's . . . the dead me . . . neck and black out . . . waking up screaming, bathed in sweat.

It's the same Dream I've had every night this week. The same Dream with one difference. This morning when I woke up, my right shoulder was bleeding from where the Man in Black clawed me and the medallion was still in my hand.

WELKUM TO THE KNIGHTMARE

Welcome to the United Provinces of North Amerika. The world of Dark Kamelot is a place of modern day adventuring with a twist. It is the age of trains, planes, and automobiles with a lot left over from the Age of Arthur. Chivalry never really died in this world. Knights still walk the streets looking for wrongs to right and damsels to rescue, but the dragons and ogres are more often hoods, thugs, and gang members than any scaled wyrms of yore.

Guns are quite a rarity in this world, most disputes are settled face-to-face with swords . . . often within the confines of the ten foot diameter space of the Swordcircle of Honor, where two men enter and honor is served when only one walks out.

The one thing that brings the group together is that you are all members of a very select and very secret organization, the Order of the Fianna Kamelot. Well actually, in their first adventure, player characters are just regular folk, if members of the Court can really count as regular folks - surviving player characters in the first game session get to found the Order Fianna (ain't that a load of kool!). The primary mission of the group is to investigate "things man was not meant to know" - the supernatural, psychic manifestations, konspiracy theories, poltergiests, things that go bump in the night, unidentified flying objects, and various unexplained phenomenon. Basically, you hunt ghosts and monsters and other evil creatures which others in this modern world don't believe in as well as track down the odd UFO or EBE. Periodically, you may come face to face with legends or myths in the flesh. While the rest of the world may scoff at this line of inquiry, you believe because you know it's all true. You've seen this stuff and you're dedicating your life to hunting phenomena down and understanding their nature before they can wreak havoc in the world. Due to the delicate nature of your assignments, you almost always travel incognito or at least under false pretenses - it wouldn't help your investigations if you were labeled a crackpot.

Characters with supernatural or super powers or knowledge will avoid sharing them or using them around mundanes who are not members of the Order Fianna as you are now part of a Secret War and to expose too much to the general populace is to make them vulnerable to the machinations of The Other Side.

This is intended to be an alternate history true horror genre campaign that depends primarily upon character, story, and mystery, it's not meant to emulate the typical slasher film where Jason or Freddie carves everyone up. This is more like a Peter Vincent Vampyre Hunter, Kaptain Kronos, or Fearless Vampyre Slayers thing than that (the mystery and suspense along with the long-toothed babes ready to do violence). Hopefully we will challenge your creativity as well as provide you with some nice escapist entertainment.

For the first couple sessions, I will allow players to adjust the description and points and skills for their characters. After that, I will assume that you've had enough time to learn the rules and such "tinkering" will no longer be allowed. So, any future changes have to be completely new characters starting at zero experience.

The Letter . . .

If you receive a letter from the King's man, you pretty much have to do whatever it says. So, we did, and now we're stuck in this old drafty house full of old musty books and the smell of vinegar wondering if we'll make it out before morning.

While one would have to agree with the Lord High Chamberlain that a house full of coffins near a town with a rash of disappearances does sound rather suspect, I really wish he'd have found some other fool Knight to do his dirty work.

Oh, don't get me wrong . . . I'd gladly lay down my life right here and now for King and Country . . . I'd happily stand before any foe and take his twice damned life . . . it's just when you kill a man you expect him to stay dead, not come round the corner fifteen minutes later looking for a bite to eat . . . and when you realize you're that little snack, it just throws off your whole day.

This "performance" of the Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society will be 1 January 2011, beginning at 3:00 p.m. in the Phillips residence (email or call for details if you don't know the location - make sure you have your role cast early so you can prepare your character, costumes, and any props needed). For those who wish to stay and celebrate New Year's Day with us, this event will end as we begin our Annual New Year's Costume Party (yes, it's New Year's Day instead of Eve but that just means we're well into the new year to celebrate . . . you'll already be in costume. The party is a potluck dinner event . . . please coordinate food and drinks with Lorraine Phillips. Please do let Lorraine know if you are staying for the party and whether or not you will have other guests joining you and us at that time (this is a great excuse to bring your non-player friends and significant others into the social gathering for the costume New Year's socialization fun.

NEW PLAYERS WELCOME!

The Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society, the premiere scenario-based theatre-style live action role playing costume game troupe in Taiwan, has been on hiatus for a number of years . . . this is our reboot season so new members are very very welcome! It has been awhile so we're ready, willing, and eager to have some fun!

If you are unfamiliar with interactive dramas, they are a hybrid between scenario-based improvisational theatre and live action cosplay role playing game. See the archives at http://www.interactivedramas.info for a lot of background and information.

The scenario for our playing pleasure will be the first session of the new DARK KAMELOT, an original New Year's Costume Party with an Arthurian Romance Alternative History Supernatural Horror High Fantasy Whodunit Mystery with Intrigue, Espionage, Suspense, and Otherworldly Otherness set in the High Grove interactive drama freeform live action roleplaying scenario written by Brian David Phillips especially for this event. If you're not sure what all that means, don't worry about it, that's just a way of showing that this is a multi-genre scenario that doesn't fit into one story type . . . suffice it to say that this is really just a simple scenario similar in nature to the scenarios we're already familiar with.

The nature of the scenario is modular so character assignments will be made on a first-come-first-served approach based upon plot priority. There is an absolute minimum number of characters required for the game to go forward with additional character assignments possible after the minimum has been made (basically, new plots and relationships are threaded in with dynamic changes). If we don't have enough for the minimum, then the performance gets shelved. Do note that additional characters will be slotted in so there is no actual maximum for this scenario. So, get out there and recruit some bodies to play!

Yes, for this scenario, it is possible for folks to create their own character due to this modular nature (see earlier guidelines). However, the following cast list of those who have already created or been assigned characters will give you an idea of the range of characters within the scenario. Casting assignments have begun. Descriptions here are one-liners of what sort of person the character appears to be to others, many characters have secret attributes and some may even be very different from who they appear to be . . . most have special abilities as well as abilities related to their chosen character type. The descriptions here are terse and straightforward, but keep in mind that the scenario takes place in an alternative version of the contemporary age after Arthur's Kamelotian Empire has reigned supreme for well over a thousand years . . . players should play characters of the appropriate gender as themselves although their reincarnated selves may cross genders and ages (see below for guidelines on creating a character).

If you have not contacted the Director by emailing director@interactivedramas.info with a request for a character slot, then please do so now! Once you have a character slot secured you may either create your own character (based upon the guidelines below) or have one created for you (although you are free to choose general class or type if you like or have a bit of a thrill by relying on blind luck on what's randomly created for you). It's completely up to you.

Players under the age of eighteen need to have parental permission to play and should contact Lorraine with contact particulars (she needs to confirm with your parent or guardian - no bid deal, but we do need to cross our t's and dot our i's with underage players; minimum age for membership in the troupe is sixteen - like many troupes of this type, actual player age range is very very wide from high school students to university students to career professionals and beyond . . . we are all brought together through our common enjoyment of the activity). While we don't need to verify parental permission for each game, but we do need to make sure your parents are okay with you joining in on troupe activities at the get-go.

If you have not yet joined the troupe's Facebook troupe at http://tinyurl.com/tindrama do it now. Also, be sure to mark yourself as Attending on the scenario event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178297325513899 although that alone is not enough, you need to contact the Director as soon as possible for a character assignment.

Opening the booke . . .

It was just one of those wretched days . . . I hadn't meant any real harm, I was just . . . shall we say . . . curious. I didn't know the damned thing was so dangerous. It shouldn't have been sitting on the old bastard's desk like that . . . just waiting for some poor fool to open it.

I mean, after all, it had such a pretty cover, all bound in leather with those neat ruby settings right in the center of the front. I wonder what that tentacle headed thing is supposed to be anyway.

The title page was simple enough. All it said was THE MERLIN MANUSKRIPTS, VOLUME ONE: A COLLECTION OF REPORTS ON THE SUPERNATURAL. That's pretty straightforward enough isn't it? Who would have thought the bastard had left that damned gold bookmark on page 666 for a reason - that reason being to put worms inside my head.

Of course I opened it. Of course I picked up the vellum that fell out of the manila envelope. Of course I looked at the damned page before I even noticed the warning on the envelope. Of course I feel like maggots are krawling inside of my hed. Oh gods! I can here it kumming down the hall again. I wunder if I'll skreem as loudly as Archmage Melinda did when she died? Such big teethe . . .

I am updating information on the DARK KAMELOT campaign as often as possible. Things are shaping up very nicely with what looks like enough players to allow for plenty of nice little subplots and twists to give everyone plenty to do both for the upcoming scenario as well as followup sessions. Contact me soon to reserve a player-character slot - please understand, I will try to accommodate players as much as possible but roles assignments are more of a first-come-first-served affair - in some cases, character age and-or gender may be adjusted to accommodate player assignments):

Let us know your language fluency and character type preferences (by the way, if you have a preference to play Good, Evil, or Insane within the context of the campaign setting and your character type let us know too), if any. If you aren't sure then just let us know and we'll be sure to give you something fun.

Character Types/Classes

Here are the general CHARACTER TYPES/CLASSES to choose from. Your character may be any of the following class types. Those who wish to play characters that are multi-classed may choose up to two class types (no more than that). However, keep in mind that specialist characters will have more class-specific abilities awarded to them as well as higher combat scores assigned when neccessary (don't worry about the mechanics yet, that will be assigned by the Interactive Dramatist and the Co-director at scenario performance time . . . your goals now should be on general character design).

1. DRUID (Cleric or Priest with healing and other divine powers of a shamanic and ritual type.)
   
2. KNIGHT (Paladin or Knight Errant with combat specialist abilities.)
   
3. BARD (Composer or Troubadour with song magick abilities.)
   
4. THIEF (Liberator of the Possessions of Others with stealth and silence and general thievery ability.)
   
5. WIZARD (Mage or Wizard with occult magickal ability derived from arcane study.)
   
6. ASSASSIN (Arthurian Ninja or Assassin or Spy, the folks who hide in the dark and poison or kill less from combat and more from stealth.)
   

Character Past Life Incarnations

In addition to your character class or type, you may also choose to play your character as an Incarnation, that is you are the current reincarnation of an Arthurian character from the myths and legends of traditional King Arthur tales. You are NOT playing that character, but an incarnation . . . your past life personality may affect how you perceive the world and how you relate to others but it is NOT your whole character, rather an important driving aspect. If you choose to play an incarnation character, then let us know which Arthurian character you wish to play . . . sure, folks may also be reincarnations of other characters from history, but for our purposes we are only aware of the Arthurian incarnations and these are the past lives which have the major impact upon character development (after all, this is Dark Kamelot, not some other genre setting). Incarnations are assigned on a first-come first-served basis so if someone else has already reserved the character you want, c'est la vie, choose someone else. Your character class type should reflect your incarnation choice (so someone like Merlin would NOT play a Thief or an Assassin but might be more appropriate as either a Druid or a Wizard). You do NOT have to play an incarnated character . . . some folks may prefer to play a "new soul" that has no past lives if you prefer.

Lists of Arthurian Characters for Incarnation Inspiration

Here are some helpful lists and biographies you can look for ideas toward character Reincarnation choices.

• Biographies of Arthurian Characters
  
• List of Arthurian Characters
  
• Female Characters in the Arthurian Court
  

The Day the Old Bastard Died . . .

I can still remember that day like it was today . . . the day the old bastard died. They say moments like that one, when you heard the news, stay with you forever and I believe them.

I was in the trenches fighting Mordred's War as the conscripts called it. We'd just fought off a band of Imperial Chinese Wallabeasts who'd crossed through the river and overrun our southern flank. I lost a hundred good spearmen that day. The damned bastards cut us to pieces . . . and then they stopped coming and retreated. It was all silent except for Sir Kyrie's radio picking up the news from New Delhi. That's when we heard it, the Royal Broadcast Officer announcing that King Uther VII had passed on due to injuries suffered from a skiing accident in the solitary company of his brother. Old fart died from suffocation after breaking both legs, an arm, and puncturing a lung.

Almost in one voice the cry went up and down the ranks, "For Uther, for Uther, for Uther!" and we charged. We charged and hacked and cut and ripped and killed more wallabeasts in that one day then we'd managed to kill in the last six months. It was only later that the reality of it all set in upon us and we realized that Mordred was now king . . . grown men cried in the trenches that night . . . for more reasons than one.

General History of the World

Arthur Pendragon created an Empire that lasted 1500 years and is still going strong. Arthur I led a conquering army into the heart of the Roman Empire and easily conquered it. When he died, his son Mordred took up the reigns of power. The Empire has ruled the Western World ever since.

Mordred XIV became High King at his brother's death in 1980. The coronation was the first in five hundred years that was not held either at Stonehenge or the Grove of the Stone in Kamelot. Mordred was crowned in Londenium during a live television broadcast.

Mordred was not Uther VII's first choice for the High Kingship. Rather Uther's only son, four-year-old Simon Pendragon, was already being groomed for the kingship up until his mysterious disappearance during a hunting trip with his uncle into the Great Northern Dark Woods of Amerika only three months before his father's death.

At Uther's death, Peter Magister, High Druid of Kamelot, proclaimed that the child still lived and that he should be made Regent until the boy's whereabouts could be discovered. Mordred's doctors quickly certified the old druid as insane and mercifully have sealed him in private chambers within the Grail Tower.

Five years after Mordred XIV's ascension to the throne, terrorists secretly entered the Grail Tower during a State Visit by the Chinese Emperor. They managed to murder all of the guards and escape with the Spear of Victory and the Sword of Light. Along with the King and three of his Companion Knights, the only survivors of the raid were the Chinese entourage, the terrorists butchered every loyal guardsman in the Tower. Mordred was wounded in the left thigh and to this day the wound has not completely healed.

During his reign, Mordred has instituted many changes toward modernization. Most Knights are no longer given their vows or dubbed in holy sites, groves, or in stone circles. In fact, a good ninety percent of the High King's current Companions of the Table Round were dubbed Knights in informal ceremonies in which they swore personal allegiance to the King rather than taking on the holy robes and swearing the older more complicated oaths to Kamelot and her ideals.

The groves around Kamelot have been recently destroyed to make room for high rise apartments, shopping malls, and modern parking facilities . . . however, a small stone circle does still stand in the mall surrounding the patch of green housing the Stone of Destiny.

It is an unfortunate sign of the times that the crime rate has risen at a rather alarming in the past ten years. The number of for kidnappings, murders, and unexplained dissapearances have skyrocketed. High Council has begun enforcing strict curfew and public safety laws in an effort to curb these trends but as of yet their efforts have not had a significant effect.

Of course, there are those naysayers and doomsday seers who claim that this is all more proof that the rumors that the Grail has been removed from its Tower are true. There are even those who whisper that a usurper now sits upon the Throne Perilous but no right thinking person would give them much heed. After all, these are the same crackpots who say that a new Grail Quest should begin as soon as possible and that True Knights of Reknown should look to the Dark Woods for their True King rather than the throne at Londenium. Piffle on that sort of nonsense.

The Ceremony . . .

The Hall was bright and colorful. I swear I'd never seen so many beautiful Ladies and handsome Lords in my entire life. Not at one place together, that is. I was scared . . . more scared that moment than before any of a hundred and twenty-seven Swordcircle bouts. I am not certain, but I do believe my knees were knocking.

I tried with all my might to keep my back straight and my face kool. My hair was braided in the back so I couldn't even hide behind what my mother and her sister-wives used to call my "lioness mane." At least my gown was long so no one could see my legs wobble with every step.

When I made it to the front of the assemblage, I swear that Sir Grace actually winked at me. It was only for a second and that rather impish smile was there for even less before her face became all hard and stone again but it meant all the world to me, a secret shared just for the two of us. Everything seemed so much less like the end of the world than it did the start of great adventure.

I have no idea what happened after the High Druid motioned for me to kneel. I seem to recall the light flick of the blade against my shoulder and a voice from far away chiming, "Arise, Sir Angela." And then it was over, and everyone was hugging me and there were shouts from the Hall and I was in rapture.

Then they struck. The blackness came upon the Hall in a second and the screams started soon after. There were feeding sounds and the gurgling of crushed throats fighting for breath. I felt a scaly thing around my waist but I could do nothing as I was sworn not to carry a blade that day or the next. Then there was an inhuman scream as the tentacle jerked away from me. In the blackness I saw Sir Grace wielding Excalibiri with the grace of a young woman a third her age. I also saw a tentacle rip through her rib cage and pull out her lungs, bright there upon the floor. I still awake screaming with that image burned forever in my mind. Father's other wives died more quickly. Of that I suppose I should be a little thankful but I'm not . . . being alone is never something to be thankful for.

Of course, His Majesty couldn't let the truth of the Joseph Smith Tabernacle Massacre get out or the populace would panic. The next day's newspapers said it was a terrorist action by Navajo Separatists. There were no Ghost Dancers within a hundred miles of Salt Lake City that day, but the little lies help us keep our sanity.

As Lorraine and Brian have definite casting information on who will be playing, they will continue to update the publically available character lists and scenario descriptions on this web page. As usual, this theatre-style live roleplaying event will be held in the Phillips residence (email or call for details if you're not sure of the venue).

If you want a specific character (or character type -- such as "Knight Errant" or "Wizard" or "Bard" or "Lancelot type on a quest" or "Fairy Princess" or whatever -- feel free to be as bizarre or as mundane as you like, within the context of the world we are creating together, it's your character) or if you have a really kool supernatural or outlandish costume you have been looking for an excuse to wear, then you'd best speak up quickly.

Of course, you don't have to suggest a character type for yourself as Brian has a pretty good idea of what the plot needs so he can create one for you if you prefer. If the slots fill and you still want to play, we can accommodate additional last minute characters (as many as want to play for this one) -- Lorraine and Brian are happy to whip up additional characters for players as long as they have time to do so). Caveat: We need a minimum of six core characters for the event to proceed (fewer than that just isn't worth the trouble of trying to keep things interesting and busy -- Brian's not up to that kind of hassle).

Players who wish us the directors to create characters, will receive general character type and descriptions within a week of reserving a slot in the cast so that they can begin working on costume or props (feel free to be as simple or as complex as you like, but we do ask that participants at least give it a proper go . . . there will be a Best Costume award in addition to the Best Roleplayer award.

Please note that your actual costume for the game needs to reflect your character type . . . as the setting is a contemporary alternate reality of an Arthurian world, you need to think in those term. Be as modern or as medieval as you like but add in bits of each to the other as this is very much a hybrid campaign world. Complete personal character descriptions will be emailed at least a week and a half prior to play. If you create your own character, there will likely be some tweaks made to keep it true to the scenario so please get your character to us as soon as possible.

If you wish to join us, you need to let Lorraine and Brian know A.S.A.P. to reserve a player slot (actually, we need to write the thing in relation to the original characters too so you'd best let us know earlier rather than later to get a "good" character -- that is well-written rather than thrown together at the last minute albeit a few rare characters will actually be morally upstanding individuals).

If you're going to play and you want a character, please let Lorraine and Brian know ASAP! Regular cast and newcomers, it would be very helpful if you could let the Director know whether you wish to play before December 20, even earlier is much much appreciated (an immediate conditional reply now would also be appreciated so HIT THAT MAILTO LINK NOW! - especially if you wish to have a character with more motivation, goals, character, and meatier things to do). For those of you who prefer or need to correspond in Chinese, please email Lorraine HERE.

In the deep of the night . . .

I was watching for hours, and the guy never moved from his park bench. Some punk kids with blades came over and taunted him for a good solid hour and he still never moved. When they started marking out a Swordcircle of Honor, I thought for sure he'd nail 'em. This guy used to be the great Sir Tex of Houston and now he was just some lumpy suit kids made fun of. I made a note to get their fingerprints off the bench after he left so I could find 'em some night and show 'em what a real Knight could do.

She came at midnight, just like before. He looked up and said something and then it was over, I never saw anyone move that fast. She had his throat slit and half his blood pumping down her throat before I could even move. By the time I made it across the fifty feet to the bench she'd finished and turned on me. I'm fast and I'm silent but that bitch heard me. The next thing I knew we were in what was left of those damned kids' Swordcircle.

It was weird then 'kuz she started doing the Dance. She didn't have swords or blades or nothing, but she was waving those damned long sharp talons of hers like she knew she could gut me anytime she wanted to . . . those damned red eyes laughing at me while Sir Tex's blood dripped down her chin.

I made the first move and it was a dumb one. I went into Vandyetta's Attack and she countered like it was a joke. I've taken out Olympic Fencing champs with that move and she actually laughed at me. I was disarmed in a second and in half a second more I was kneeling before her. She grabbed my hair and pulled my head back to expose the throat, I was breathing harder than I've ever breathed before. That breath, foul, decay, corpse rot setting in. She then did the last thing I would have expected, she kissed me full on the lips and whispered somethin' like, "It's too bad I've already fed tonight, I'll have to look you up some other night."

The next thing I know blackness is coming in hard. I woke up in a jail cell. Officer Punch started asking questions right off but at least he couldn't hold me what with me being a Knight and all. Next time I go nightghoul huntin' I'm bringing a friend to go point . . . maybe Sir Steve would be willing to come up from Austin to do a little snipe hunting.

In addition to being a political scenario of negotiation and secret agreements and perhaps even espionage and treachery, part of the premise of the scenario may include elments of a Murder Mystery Whodunit in which players take on the roles of suspects in a murder (this is not all there is to it as there are also several subplots that you'll be involved in as each character will have his or her own personal goals to accomplish during the scenario run). You will be given character briefings that have information about yourself and others. In the course of the game, you will ask questions of others and be asked questions. Unlike other games of this type, while the "Murderer" may lie, all others DO NOT HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH either. Yes, it's just like real life in that anyone you speak with could be lying (albeit they will be doing it in character).

During an investigation, a detective must answer three questions in order to catch a murderer:

• MOTIVE - Who had a reason to kill the victim? Does any particular person benefit - for example, financially or romantically - from the victim's death?

• MEANS - Who had access to the murder weapon? Does any particular person have the unique knowledge, skill, or physical ability necessary to use the murder weapon?

• OPPORTUNITY - Who had a chance to kill the victim? Is any particular person unaccounted for (has no alibi) during the time the victim was killed?

Your challenge is to use these three elements to form a hypothesis about the murder, which will result in an accusation. Keep these questions in mind as you pursue your investigation. Good Luck!

No Tower Above, Darkness Below . . .

Damned, and be damned. This is ever one of the coldest, darkest, vilest places I did ever set foot within. When they called it the Dark Tower, they were only half right . . . the damned place is as dark as they come but it ain't no tower . . . the tunnels go on for miles and miles beneath the foundations. Whatever madman designed the place, it took madder men to build it.

We followed Sir Bert and his squire, Ernest, down into these blasted catacombs and now we've lost them and we've lost ourselves as well. At least Raven brought her flashlights.

The dead priest tied to the well rather bothered Raven, but Sir Kyrie and I managed to shrug it off. He weren't no Druid so it's no affair of ours. We cut him down in any case, decent enough thing to do for any innocent, but we shed no tears. Raven's a bit more sensitive about such things so we let her cry a bit. Evidently she did more than crying as she showed us the gold coins and the rings as well as that blasted medallion. That's three corpses we've found in as many days with one of those.

The smell of decay's getting stronger, that damned Thing must be back. We let Raven carry the medallions in her pouch as Kyrie and I can fight better without the taint on us. Yep, that smell's definitely getting stronger, time to fight.

In general, costumes should be wild and wicked and weird and wonderful . . . this is a New Year's Day party! So, knock yourself out! Not only are you playing a character, your character is wearing a costume reflecting status, class, type, and purpose . . . so have fun with it! Seriously . . . be playful and have fun with your character type and costume. Stretch your imagination!

Those who might feel weird walking the streets of Taipei in their costumes should feel welcome to bring their outfits in unmarked brown paper bags and change at the venue prior to the start of game play.

Interactive Dramatist's
Clarifications
Folks, let me make a couple things clear real quick . . .

You don't have to know what "alternative history" or "Arthurian literature" or "fantasy" or "gothic horror" or "postmodern poststructuralist postpostism" are to understand or enjoy the game. Since I plan on taking elements from various genres to build the plots, knowing too much about the source genres or having too many expectations will probably spoil it for you . . . having few expectations and a genuine willingness to have fun is really all you need to have a great time with this.

We do need to know your languages of fluency for this one so that we can cast folks who are monolingual and bilingual accordingly.

On another note, this is NOT an "adult" game. While it may address some mature themes in the character backgrounds, that will all be character past, not present or active. The scenario would best be characterized as a "PG" or "PG-13" game (not simplistic or innocent enough in backstory to be a "G" piece, but certainly not enough to be classified as "R" . . . we're not quite ready to break that window . . . yet). I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression.

The Invitation . . .

When you enter a man's lair, his home, his hearth, his castle, it is reasonable that you should expect to find him there . . . not his empty carcass nailed to the wall and a note of hospitality telling you to make yourself at home. That can get rather disconcerting, to say the least.

What's even more disconcerting is to come down for dinner and find him sitting at the table reading the evening paper as if nothing's wrong at all. Of course, you could dismiss it all as a bad dream if you didn't notice a bone sticking out here and there.

Think Arthurian Steampunk with Swords and a SciFi Twist.

As noted above, in general, costume choices are wide open . . . the event is set in The Grove this year during a New Year's Day Party . . . so, you should dress as your character type and have fun playing a character who is dressed in costume as something suitable.

Please note that your actual costume for the game needs to reflect your character type . . . as the setting is an Arthurian alternate reality during a ceremony within the sacred grove dress accordingly. Complete personal character descriptions will be emailed at least a week and a half prior to play.

Obviously, you can feel free to adapt your costume as you see fit in terms of items you can get readily as long as it captures the mood of the character. Of course, most folks shouldn't have too much of a problem finding something to capture the essence of the character.

Those who might feel weird walking the streets of Taipei in their costumes should feel welcome to bring their outfits in unmarked brown paper bags and change at the venue prior to the start of game play.

Once more, if you're not on this list of players/characters and you would still like to join the game, please email the Director (that's me, Brian David Phillips) at director@interactivedramas.info (the sooner, the better so I can write the character into the plots). Feel free to consult the troupe web page at http://www.interactivedramas.info/taiwan.htm for more information and future updates.

COSTUME RESOURCES

Here are some places you can check on simple costume ideas with twists on Arthurian, Steampunk, and magickal concepts. We are not strictly any one of these but contemporary with a mixed flair of each. For those with a real flair for costuming, Arthurian Steampunk with Swords would be more than a whole lot awesome.

STEAMPUNK COSTUME

• Steampunk Costume Blog
  
• Steampunk and NeoVictorian Costumes
  
• Beauty of Steampunk Fashion
  
• Steampunk Fashion and Halloween Costumes
  
• Steampunk Fashion Costumes Checklist
  
• Clockwork Couture
  
• Steampunk Star Wars
  
• Steampunk Costumes
  
• Arthurian Steampunk Images
  

ARTHURIAN COSTUME

• How to Make a Medieval Costume
  
• Making an Arthurian Costume
  
• Arthurian Costume
  
• Arthurian Costume from the Daily Grail
  
• Medieval Women Costumes
  
• Women's Renaissance Costumes
  
• Men's Renaissance Costumes
  

PAGAN-MAGICKAL COSTUME

• Easy Witch Costumes
  
• Pagan Costumes and Clothing
  
• Religious Costumes and Clothing
  

If you have not contacted the Directors by emailing director@interactivedramas.info or lorraine@briandavidphillips.com with a request for a character assignment, then please do so now! Players under the age of eighteen need to have parental permission to play and should contact Lorraine with contact particulars (she needs to confirm with your parent or guardian - no bid deal, but we do need to cross our t's and dot our i's with underage players; minimum age for membership in the troupe is sixteen - like many troupes of this type, actual player age range is very very wide from high school students to university students to career professionals and beyond . . . we are all brought together through our common enjoyment of the activity).

If you have not yet joined the troupe's Facebook troupe at http://tinyurl.com/tindrama do it now. Also, be sure to mark yourself as Attending on the scenario event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178297325513899 although that alone is not enough, you need to contact the Director as soon as possible for a character assignment.

Please remember . . . directly after the interactive drama, we will have a potluck New Year's Day party . . . you are invited and encouraged to stick around and socialize with the other players out of character and in good company. Non-player significant others and friends are invited to join us for this AfterLARP event as well.

Please let us know whether or not you are staying and do coordinate with Lorraine on dishes and beverages.

NOTES ON THE RULES

As is rather obvious from the title, we'll be using open-ended interactive drama rules for this game. I have a modified form of character creation borrowed from the Off the Edge live action roleplaying adaption of the EXCELLENT character creation system from the Over the Edge tabletop RPG by Jonathan Tweet and Robin Laws published by Atlas Games (I encourage you to buy the original from them, we are only using some of their mechanics in the background but it's an amazing system and their campaign background is absolutely amazing reading) for you that allows players to be very freeform while I append the stats and mechanics later . . . making the system as freeform for you as possible while having mechanics for those who enjoy them.

An Oath . . .

A man's word is his bond, is his soul, is his reputation. I said I'd do it and so I must do it. I can't very well back out now just because that thing's killed all my shield companions and left me with my sword arm broken and my right eye torn from its socket.

I will kill that thing or I will die trying. Breaking my oath would be worse than dying.

GENERAL CHARACTER CREATION RULES

CHARACTER CREATION

CHARACTER TYPES

If you have questions, ask me. If there's some flavor you'd like to see in the game, be sure to let me know that too as it's not just the Director's game, it belongs to the players as well.

CHARACTER CREATION

LEGAL INFORMATION

Material from Over the Edge is Copyright 1992, 1997; John A. Nephew.

Your Character Includes

• CONCEPT (who or what you are)
• Traits and signs: one CENTRAL TRAIT and two SIDE TRAITS, one of the preceding three traits is your SUPERIOR TRAIT (Special Ability); one FLAW (Special Disadvantage), a SIGN for each trait (including the flaw).
• Determine hit points (leave that to the Director)
• One die in your experience pool (Director will explain later)
• Motivation (why you do what you do)
• Secret (the thing you don't want others to know)
• Important person in your past (someone who affected your life)
• DRAWING (draw your character - at least a rough sketch - or have an image that inspires you)
• Name, background, equipment, finances, etc. (be REASONABLE).

THE CUTUP METHOD

INFORMATION AND ADVICE ON CHARACTER CREATION

• A note to power gamers
• Advice to players

CONCEPT

For ideas as to what type of character to play, look everywhere: modern day movies, pseudocyber books, supermarket tabloids, childhood daydreams, other role-playing games, advertisement illustrations, New Age Philosophy, and your own twisted imaginings.

CENTRAL TRAIT

Look at the Example Central Traits for the kind of identities that you central trait can cover. Keep in mind that this list is not something from which you must choose, but merely a series of examples to show you how to invent your own central trait.

SIDE TRAITS

Just because a trait is your "side trait" does not mean that it is insignificant to your character. For example, a professor with the side trait of "hack writing" might be on Al Amarja to pursue her writing career, and her attempts to gain inspiration for her fiction may be more important in play than her teaching career. Indeed, she may be better at writing than teaching.

SUPERIOR TRAIT

Alternatively, this may be your SPECIAL ABILITY along the lines of special abilities used in other interactive dramas we play. Usually these are limited in use per session (the more powerful the ability, the fewer times you may use it . . . for instance being able to force someone to answer a Yes or No question might be used three times a day while causing someone to become your complete and utter mind slave for twenty minutes might only have one use per day and the ability to cause someone's farts to smell of tulips could have unlimited uses.

FLAWS

Sometimes you can get away with a minor flaw, especially if it fits your character concept and the traits you've invented are more wimpy than normal.

Be careful not to invent a flaw that ruins the fun for other players. While its certain that being obnoxious would count as a flaw for your PC, it is also quite certain that such a flaw would grate on other players nerves. Other players are also going to count on your character to pull his or her own weight. A flaw like "Can't keep a secret" might be good for comic relief, but it may also keep the other players from having the sort of game they look forward to. Likewise, the "loner" character concept is almost certain trouble when playing a character in what is essentially a social pastime. Think of any play you have ever seen, if the cast included more than one person, chances are that none of the characters was a loner.

If your PC's flaw (or any other part of your PC) is a pain in the butt, you take full responsibility for the trouble it causes to the other player. Saying you are playing "in character" doesn't absolve you, because you invented the character in the first place.

Flaws may also be the SPECIAL DISADVANTAGES as used in other scenarios. These are weaknesses that go beyond a simple quirk.

SIGNS

Your signs must be evident in your costume and role play of your character.

DRAWING

This is an image that inspires your character conception.

BEING REASONABLE

• Grotesque wealth (if you want to be grotesquely wealthy, make it a central trait. If you only want to be obscenely wealthy, make it a side trait)
• Weapons (this includes everything from an A-10 to a survival knife. Al Amarjan C&I is very careful not to allow people to bring such things onto the island with them).
• Ridiculously unbalancing items (examples include a functioning copy of the Necronomicon, a disk containing the Ultimate Computer Virus^TM, a working cyclotron [or even a broken one], etc.)
• Anything that gives you some major advantage for free (such as a trained attack dog to give characters without any combat skills the ability to mulch street thugs)

THE CUTUP METHOD

If you are really stuck for a character design, you can try this method for making one. It relies on the CUTUP (Causally Unrelated Thoughts Under Pressure) method to give you some raw data that you then proceed to "make sense out of". Since the data are random, you face creativity puzzles that you might not produce spontaneously, but since you have the final say in what the data means, you retain creative control.

Here's how it works:

Step #1: roll three times on the catch-words tables to determine random catch words that define your character. In order to determine which table to roll on, roll a d6 - on a 1-3 make the roll on Table #1, on a 4-6 roll on Table #2.

Step #2: using these catch-words, try to develop a concept for your character. If you can, then simply step back to the character creation section and work out your character in the normal way. If not, or if you want more creative randomness in your life, go on to step #3.

Step #3: roll two dice on the Central Trait chart, and record your central trait. You are free to creatively interpret these as you wish. Please note that these charts are modified from those originally presented in Over the Edge. This was done to make them more readily fit the overall party composition I want.

Step #4: roll twice on the Side Trait chart and record your Side traits. If you roll the same trait twice, reroll. Again, you have considerable leeway in interpreting these.

Step #5: Roll once on the Flaw Chart, and record your flaw.

Step #6: My own addition to the process in Over the Edge - roll for where you come from. Again, you have some leeway here.

Now, the obvious statement - yes, absolutely you can fudge on your die rolls if you get something you don't want. If you do that, however, I don't see why you are working up a random character in the first place.

WARNING TO POWER GAMERS

In addition, a powerful character is seen as a threat or a potential tool by the various power groups on Al Amarja. Those powerful enough to attract attention to themselves may find themselves the targets of assassination attempts, or kidnapping and brainwashing.

If a powerful character is what you want, go for it! Just don't say you weren't warned.

ADVICE TO PLAYERS

• PLAY YOUR CHARACTER WELL - Play up your unique traits, revealing and withholding secrets the way a good author does, so that other players know enough to be curious, but not so much that their curiosity is immediately sated.

• KEEP NOTES - The events on Al Amarja are connected, and the guy who shines your shoes in October may be the source of a vital clue in January. Keep notes of what you think is important or you will miss a lot of vital information.

• THINK - Since the rules are loose, the tricks that you, as a player, invent and the actions you have your character undertake are probably more important than your character's skills or rolls. Your character is simple, so you can pay attention to the world your character inhabits and guide your PC accordingly.

• PAY ATTENTION - players frequently miss interesting mysteries from not paying attention. If something seems weird, even if the natives take it for granted, it might be worth looking into. Don't become jaded by weirdness.

• MAKE CONTACTS - do you know what they call a friendless person on Al Amarja? "D.O.A.". It pays to have someone sticking up for you, especially someone who knows the island.

• BE CAUTIOUS - in some games you can keep yourself out of trouble by staying out of the really dangerous areas. As long as you are on the King's Highway or the shallowest levels of the Underworld you are not going to run into powerful enemies. On Al Amarja, however, the guy in the jitney in front of you could be the world's best assassin. Just because a GMC is in an adventure doesn't mean that the Director thinks you can take him on and win. Use your head.

• LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER - if the PC's help each other out, they'll live longer and you'll have more fun. You can play out your PC's flaws with more gusto if you know the other PCs are watching out for him.

• ENJOY YOURSELF- for all the hype and the murders and the perils to body and soul, Al Amarja is still a livable place (as proved by the hundreds of thousands of people who live here). Don't be afraid to kick back, relax, and enjoy yourself.

WHO AM I? WHO ARE YOU?

Please write a brief background for your character, explaining who you are and where you come from and the like. You do not need to tell how you meet the other characters or how you join the Order Fianna as all new characters are recruited in game. If you can draw, produce a line drawing of your character, it will help others visualize her/him better (otherwise steal from another source like a comic book or magazine, cut the sucker out, and stick it on your character sheet - those who wish their character write-ups placed on the web page need only let me know and I'll be happy to provide the space)..

Please limit the length of your background descriptions to between 100 and 1000 words (typically 250-300 words) - at least for the version you give the Director (if you want to be more verbose for web or other versions, knock yourself out!). You can be more complete in your personal materials. This is just meant to be a general introduction to the character for the other players. Put anything you think is pertinent in the background but don't go crazy and write a novella.

Of course, those who wish to post to the topics discussion section of the troupe's Facebook group - their game notes as well as character-related stories and more - can consider this an open invitation.

SAMPLE CHARACTER

SIR SPYDER MEI-LING CHANG

BACKGROUND:

One thing that can be said about Spyder Chang is that she loves her job. She never had the opportunity to work with Rhine or the other ground breaking researchers into the paranormal, but she's read everything they ever wrote, and she's been a "parapsychology groupie" since she was 16 when her family's home in Chiayi, Formosa, was haunted by a poltergeist phenomenon. It was at this time when she was first sent to the U.P.N.A. for schooling. Of course, the Manchu Dynasty soon after sent their pacification fleet to Formosa and she never returned to her war torn homeland.

Spyder always wanted to be a scientist, but discovered early she didn't have the mathematical aptitude for the "hard" sciences. In college she concentrated on sociology and psychology - the "soft" sciences. Through this study, she was further hooked by the lure of parapsychology. She first concentrated on describing and analyzing spontaneous manifestations of paranormal activity - hauntings, forerunners, poltergeists, etc. - and made something of a name for herself in the "fringe" community. But then she found she had a real knack for the experimental side of things.

Not that she has good experimental technique - quite the opposite, in fact. Her grasp of scientific method and good experimental paradigms is shaky enough to bring tears to the eyes of most scientists. She doesn't understand the necessity of control groups and couldn't care less about reproducibility. All she knows is that she gets results. Of course, all the critics of her work point to the glaring flaws in her experimental design and discount all her conclusions.

The thing is, she does get results, and those results do reflect reality. She has recorded real manifestations of paranormal activity. Those fuzzy pictures in her collection are ghosts; the "impossible" runs on the Rhine cards do demonstrate telepathy. Unfortunately, "real" scientists will never believe her.

Spyder has astounding luck in her investigations and seems to have a subliminal, intuitive sense for paranormal skills. She could well be subconsciously telepathic herself, but she'll never believe that: she's an observer - a scientist - not a participant.

Chang has a good grasp of the "trappings" of science: she uses the right tools and the right terms and seems to act like a "real" scientist. Lay people don't see the flaws in her technique and tend to trust even her most outragious conclusions . . . much to the irritation of the traditional scientific community, who would love to see her discredited immediately.

Despite her flaws, Spyder's intellectually honest and is eternally curious about anything she doesn't understand. She's never backed down on investigating something that interests her, no matter what the potential dangers to herself. Her knighthood is based less on real ability than on having been the lover of a now ex-Companion of the Table Round. This little tidbit is a Secret she would rather not got out.

QUOTES:

"'I'll believe it when I see it?' Sometimes you have to believe before you see it..."

"Tired already? We've only gone through the Rhine cards 13 times..."

"In the four hours I observed it, it moved a whole centimeter! Absolutely amazing! Psychomicrointeractivity for certain..."

"Swords, what swords? We don't need no steenking swords."

TRAITS:

Note that Traits and Flaws are listed with Signs in parenthesis.

• Psychic Impersonation: Having undergone intensive paranormal acting methods, Spyder is able to impersonate other individuals, even those of another gender, race, or body type. In order to do this, she must observe the subject for a period of weeks if not months. She has been taught to emulate another’s gestures, voice timbre, speech patterns, emotional projections, and posture. She can even unconsciously emit the same pheromones as the subject. While a still photo wouldn’t show much of a resemblance to the subject at all, except for the costume, these other cues are astonishingly effective on a face-to-face basis. This is not a fringe power — she has no psychic link to the subject, and knows nothing about him that she hasn’t learned from painstaking study. This trait also includes the ability to make vague, evasive answers seem perfectly natural, so as to avoid blowing one’s cover when confronted with acquaintances of the impersonated individual. May be used twice a day for ten minutes each use. (May look, sound, smell, feel and taste exactly like...you.)
• Parashadowing: Knows how to look inconspicuous while following a subject, and to avoid suspicion while inquiring after him. The secret of successful shadowing is to hide in plain sight - amateurs usually give themselves away by lurking in shadows and trying to avoid being seen by the subject. Spyder's lack of a vivid identity of her own helps her become eminently forgettable. Sometimes she shadows one subject in the guise of another. May use for fifteen minutes three times per day. (Perceptive.)
• Swordmaiden: When Spyder has a sword in her hands, she gains a bonus on any physical combat and two bonuses withing the swordcircle. Always on. (Confident manner and has obvious hobby of sword collecting.)

FLAW:

• Suggestible: Due to her lack of personal identity, Rosamund suffers a penalty on all actions requiring willpower. Any other character's special ability that affects the mind - for good or bad - affects Spyder twice as long or twice as powerfully. (Blank eyes.)

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The Coming of the Bear Dogs . . .

She kept screaming his name. Over and over and over again. We tried everything we could to stop her but her grief was just too great. That baby was her entire life.

Lady Bluedove had to wrestle her down to the ground and hold on for dear life. Sir Kyrie took off her guantlets and shoved her fist into the poor woman's mouth to keep her quiet while Dr. Huang opened his black bag as quickly and as quietly as possible, taking out a syringe with clear liquid, injecting the poor woman. Kyrie let her sleep and came to my side.

The Bear Dogs were taking their time finishing off the woman's husband. At least you couldn't see the baby's body anymore, the big one had finished that one up rather quickly.

As soon as I saw Sir Tom and Dryer-Dan signal from the other side I nodded to Kyrie and we took out our swords. She was new to her shieldright and so felt uncomfortable using one as yet. I followed her example and took out my shortsword, Lorinkir's little brother I used to joke.

The Bear Dogs could smell us as soon as we stepped out into the wind. That's what we wanted. Fifteen is a lot, but I trusted Dryer-Dan's bow arm more than any other and knew five would be dead before they made it to us. We would be able to engage well enough if Tom could make it across the clearing to hit them from behind. If not, well, it's been a good life and at least Huang could get Bluedove and the woman to safety.

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General Notes Regarding Culture

CHARITY

Being offered material charity is considered an insult in the world of Dark Kamelot. To simulate this in game terms, characters may not normally lend or borrow money or equipment. If a character wishes to use some item, he must earn it or purchase it himself. Wealthy characters selling expensive items to poor characters at bargain basement prices is also normally not allowed. Characters who take points for being poor need to feel the consequences in game, otherwise it's too easy for the disadvantage to be free points. So, if a character borrows money at any time, he must immediately lose points from his Reputation Pool (see below). Characters that sell items at extremely discounted rates as described above lose ten Reputation Pool points as does the purchaser.

REPUTATION

In the world of Dark Kamelot, a person's reputation is everything. If it gets around a person is a coward or betrayer, then his status suffers. In game terms, we'll work reputation for heroic acts into the benefits and rewards of experience and wealth. So, the Director will award reputation points at the end of each game session . . . at times the Director may also deduct points from a player's reputation pool. This reputation pool is loosely associated with the Reputation advantage but represents honorable and heroic reputation rather than fame.

When characters figure any Wealth they gain at the end of a session, then the level of wealth is used as the base modifier with each point in the reputation pool counting as an additional one-tenth (don't worry about the mechanics, the Director does all this behind the scenes). Reputation pool points are likewise treated as tenths and added to any experience character points a character receives, often resulting in fractional character points (negative Reputation Pool points are subtracted from experience character points).

When a character has a negative total of Reputation Pool points, it takes two new positive Repubation points to buy off each negative point.

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A Song . . .

Go here, go there, go every damned which way but where I feel like goin'. That's how he treats me. You'd think a grown man would have better things to do with his lover than to treat him like a gopher or fetch-me-this-little-one.

But . . . someone has to make the rules and give the orders, and he's no worse than any and much better than most. I've seen him keep his calm with a hundred screaming mad men breaking through the pikes. Hell, I've actually seen him walk into a Swordcircle nude with no body decorations, just a buckler and a knife against a man in full armor holding a pistol . . . and he never flinched. Of course he spent two months in a hospital with me hovering over him like a nervous nelliekins . . . the other guy got a box and a hole.

When we first hit the line, I thought we were goners. Those damned crawling things kept on coming on and on and on and on and we just got tired and weak and worn out, thirty-seven men fell in no time and they just kept coming and we kept falling. When it looked like it was the end, he stood up and began singing . . . I'm not making this up. He sang the Song of the Alamo and how Sir Davy and Sir Sam and the rest held up against the hordes and kept the Faith in the Grove and the Love of the Crown and I'll be damned if that song didn't fill us with that much more strength and that much more zeal . . . I swear to you, it was a song that kept us alive that day. None of us knew he'd been a Bard before his Knighthood, but we were thrice damned grateful for it. Who would've guessed.

Gotta go. No rest for the wicked.

KNIGHTHOOD (advantage, varies)

The path of Knighthood comes in three stages. At character creation, you may choose any of the stages of Knighthood, depending upon your preference. However, do note the responsibilities and obligations.

KNIGHTLY CANDIDATE: You are working to become a Knight. You have the right to wear a Coat of Arms and to use a shield in combat, to accept quests, to make and answer Swordcircle challenges, and to hospitality from all allied people and nobles. However you have no extra Status nor Legal Enforcement Powers unless specifically given a mission by royal or druidical decree. Your knightly rights are provisional - at the end of a given time, you must return to court and give a true account of your deeds to prove yourself worthy of knighthood. Note that some knights merely get their knighthood from being born into a noble family (via Status); if you are such and become a knight "the hard way" by first being a knightly candidate, it will aid the later development of your Reputation.

KNIGHTHOOD: You receive all the benefits of a Knightly Candidate as well as more Status, Wealth, and Legal Enforcement Powers at the highest level. You may only be legally punished by challenge from another Knight. You gain the right to be called Sir. You have a Duty to the King and the High Druid. All Knights automatically gain the Kamelot Chivalric Code of Honor disadvantage at zero point value.

COMPANION OF THE TABLE ROUND: Prerequisite: Knighthood and Director Approval (may NOT choose this level at character creation but must earn it in session play). This incorporates additional Status, Wealth, Reputation, Patron: Table Round and a personal Duty to King Mordred XIV. A Companion of the Table Round may grant knighthoods. You may not choose Companion at character creation. It has to be earned through experience and deeds. In other words, a player may not just pick this advantage, the character has to earn it through exceptional action.

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TRUE KNIGHT'S INVULNERABILITY

The prerequisite for this advantage is any level of the Knighthood advantage. The person with the advantage believes he or she is invulnerable in battle so long as they're not wearing any clothing (torc or small decorative arm bands are allowed). If the character is nude, then once the battle begins make a Will roll (the Director has the statistics for this mechanic). If the Will roll is successful, the character receives advantages in combat.

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KAMELOT CHIVALRIC CODE OF HONOR

Player Characters taking the Knighthood advantage gain this code as an automatic Flaw with no advantageous value. While there are Kamelot Ronin who have the status and trappings of knights, they are not true Knights. If you don't want to follow the letter of this code then you should try to gain your status in some way other than becoming a Knight.

You take pride in this set of principles which you follow at all times. This code requires brave and honorable behaviour at all times. A Knight would rather risk death than be thought dishonorable.

As a Knight you must . . . never break your word, never ignore an insult to yourself, to a Lady, or to the U.P.N.A. flag. Insults may only be wiped out by apology or a duel in the Swordcircle of Honor (not necessarily to the death). Never take advantage of an honorable opponent in any way - weapons and circumstances must be equal (except in open war or in the battle against The Shadow - however, even in open war, sides and weapons must be equal if the foe is noble and chivalric). You must resent any insult to your Lord, the King, or the High Druid. You must protect any Lady and anyone weaker than yourself. You must accept any challenge to the Swordcircle of Honor from anyone of greater or equal rank.

Note: Women may be Knights, in that case a Knight may take up arms against a Lady Knight, in lethal combat or otherwise. However some notable Knight Companions of the Table Round such as Sir Bob of Kansas City will not inflict lethal damage even against a Lady opponent who is using a lethal weapon. This is, however, considered rather extreme behaviour even for a midwesterner.

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COAT OF ARMS

While these aren't actually rules related, those characters who choose to be of the Knight class type Kamelot Code of Chivalry and must have a Coat of Arms. Include your character's coat of arms design with your character description (a drawing is preferred). For those with characters who are incarnations of persons from the Arthurian legends, you may wish to use a coat of arms traditionally associated with that character (or a modification of the source coat of arms). Here are some helpful real world places you can look for ideas.

• Coats of Arms of the Arthurian Legends
  
• Arthurian Heraldry
  
• Heraldry Links
  
• The Internet Chivalry and Knighthood Information Center
  
• Chivalric Orders

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GUNS and GUNNERY

To reflect the chivalrous culture and the general disdain of the use of guns and the lack of training facilities available, gun related skills are more difficult to master in the world of Dark Kamelot. Note the changes in the defaults as well. Do take heed that only persons with the Gun Permit advantage may legally own a gun albeit you may learn how to use one without the permit.

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GUNS, ARMOR, AND THINGS THAT GO BOOM

This is a world where the demand for guns simply isn't as high as it is in our own. This is partly because of governmental restraints on manufacturing but mostly because of the Chivalric Code which dictates that a man settle differences honorably by meeting his adversary face-to-face in the Swordcircle of Honor and sticking a sword or other sharp weapon into his gullet.

So . . . you may still buy a gun, ammo, or explosive weapon but the cost is 100 times that listed in the rulebook. Obviously, there ain't a lot of that stuff on the street.

Most Knights don't use armor and it is usually out of the price range for a commoner. When going into battle a Knight would normally rather stand nude and proud with his body decorated in body paints and personally significant jewellry such as a torc or hand and wrist bracelets than to don what would be considered unattractive armor. The only exception might be a small shield or buckler which a Knight would use more as a decoration for his Coat of Arms than as a purely defencive item. Because of this cultural mores and the coinciding lowered manufacturing levels, armor costs are also higher in this world.

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KNIGHTLY STUNBLADES

Those with any level of the Knighthood advantage may use a sparring weapon that is essentially a blade that delivers a non-lethal electrical shock rather than cutting or impaling damage. These weapons are normally used for training of for Swordcircle of Honor duels or combats in which the participants have agreed the insult is not worth the other's life. It is considered an insult to carry a nonlethal weapon into the Swordcircle against an opponent who has chosen a lethal weapon. However, one's Reputation is enhanced if one spares an opponent in this manner. Calculate a stunblade's damage the same as the lethal variation of the blade - one fourth is lethal "real" damage and the rest is figured as stun only. It is illegal for those not in a Knightly Order to own a stunblade. Stunblades cost twice as much as lethal variations of the same weapon.

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The Song of the Gesa . . .

My father always said, "Never face a man in the Swordcircle of Honor whose hand you wouldn't be proud to shake." That seems like reasonable enough advice, why give honor to a man you don't respect.

Of course my father never lived to see me become a Knight. He was killed in the Chinese Incursion into New Delhi in '80. The Eastern Empire was moving big and a lot of our guys died trying to stop it. They say he died on his feet, a hundred arrows and a score more sword cuts all over his body . . . singing the Hymn of the Tuatha while they cut away at him. They say he looked magnificent, a true hero, his smooth dark skin covered in bright blue body paint and shining in the sun, grandfather's golden torc about his neck like a badge of honor, mother's willow wands still tucked into his belt, and his hair spiked straight up in a windmill pattern. His gesa kept him goin' they say until his men were safely fallen back, and then he fell.

I didn't believe in the power or the gesa growin' up but I did after that old beserker died. When the battle rage comes upon me, I can sometimes feel my father with me, singing, and whispering that some day my gesa will arrive too and I know I'll not let him down.

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WHO'S RUNNING THIS SHOW ANYWAY?

While I've prepared this campaign background and will very likely be running most of the games, I certainly have no problems with others jumping in and running games of their own. The more the merrier. We'd like to see more folks getting their feet wet with running some games. Once this campaign has been established, others are welcome to run one-shots but it's still my campaign (now, doesn't that read like a schoolboy).

This particular campaign background is based upon a series of flash fiction stories that I began writing while still a student at university in the early 1980s . . . I've always wanted to revisit the world of Dark Kamelot in another medium and here we are.

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A Knight's Life of Ease . . .

No one ever said being a Knight would be easy. Well, that's not true, in seventh grade Richie Knowles used to say that's the only reason he wanted to be a Knight. Of course, Sir Richie's dead now . . . half his face eaten away by something big, ugly, and rather unfriendly somewhere in these damned woods. Richie died getting a girl and her dog to safety, amazing how some people turn out differently than you'd expect.

If we had a Druid with us, I'd feel a lot better about entering a dark grove, but we don't and I don't feel good about it at all.

We should have sent someone back into town the moment we found the first corpse, but like idiots we decided to split up and search to make better time. Sir Kai and Sir Michelle are dead for certain, we've found what's left of their bodies, and we can only assume the same of Sir Fred and Sir Ted as they haven't reported in on their walkie-talkies for a good three hours.

By the time we found enough sense to get in the cars and head back to town, the damned thyng had already slashed the tires and torn out the engines. What kind of animal can rip out a Chevy engine? This is ridiculous. Well, it's going to be another one of those nights. Sir Steve and Constable Punch are probably less than particularly glad they decided to come along for the ride this time.

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That's it for now. I will keep you posted as things develop. If there's something you would like for your character, feel free to let me know (not all of these folks are what they seem to be . . . in fact, a few of them will be downright different or perhaps even alien). Some of you have already contacted me about your characters and I've tried to incorporate your suggestions and desires into the characters and plots as they develop (more will come later, this is just the teaser).

If you're not on this list of players/characters and you would still like to join the game, please email the Directors (that's us, Brian David Phillips at director@interactivedramas.info and Lorraine Phillips at lorraine@briandavidphillips.com -the sooner, the better so we can write the character into the plots). Feel free to consult the troupe web page at http://www.interactivedramas.info/taiwan.htm for more information and future updates.

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The Green Man's Bar Bet . . .

If a stranger walks up to you in a bar and spills his drink on you, don't sweat it. If he doesn't apologize, that's okay, he's probably a little tipsy anyway. If he reaches over, takes your drink, and spills it on himself . . . well then, get out. He's just trouble waiting to happen to someone, don't let it be you. Drunken bets should be taken as air talking, never take someone up on one, no matter how stupid it may sound. Mad men should be left babbling and mumbling to themselves.

I wish I could have the good presence of mind to follow my own advice someday. It'd be so much nicer to be in another bar enjoying a brew and a friendly girl's company than standing out here in the cold next to a headless dead man's body bleeding on the snow.

Actually anyplace would be nicer than standing out here watching a dead man's headless body stand up and hearing that raspy voice croak from the bodyless head upon the ground, "Well, good Sir Knight, it looks like half our deal is done . . . you've taken my head with one stroke as you said you could . . . and now it's my turn to show you I can do the same to you."

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If you have not contacted the Directors by emailing director@interactivedramas.info or lorraine@briandavidphillips.com with a request for a character assignment, then please do so now! Players under the age of eighteen need to have parental permission to play and should contact Lorraine with contact particulars (she needs to confirm with your parent or guardian - no bid deal, but we do need to cross our t's and dot our i's with underage players; minimum age for membership in the troupe is sixteen - like many troupes of this type, actual player age range is very very wide from high school students to university students to career professionals and beyond . . . we are all brought together through our common enjoyment of the activity).

If you have not yet joined the troupe's Facebook troupe at http://tinyurl.com/tindrama do it now. Also, be sure to mark yourself as Attending on the scenario event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178297325513899 although that alone is not enough, you need to contact the Director as soon as possible for a character assignment.

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Please remember . . . directly after the interactive drama, we will have a potluck New Year's Day party . . . you are invited and encouraged to stick around and socialize with the other players out of character and in good company. Non-player significant others and friends are invited to join us for this AfterLARP event as well.

Please let us know whether or not you are staying and do coordinate with Lorraine on dishes and beverages.

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More information to come as we have a better idea of who will be playing and as Brian makes it up.

Until then, see you in Kamelot . . .

Dark Kamelot . . . that is.

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台灣互動式戲劇學會
Taiwan Interactive Theatre Society
實境RPG (角色扮演遊戲真人版)

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