Scenario
It is 1938, in the desert cliffs above the Nile. The expedition has been on this desolated spot for several months. Branwell Whately, the expedition's sponsor, has chosen this location based on his belief that it is the final resting place of an obscure Egyptian princess. Under the direction of several experienced archaeologists, the workman have been diligently clearing the rock along the craggy cliffs.
A week ago, the unmistakable signs of a man-made entrance into the rock were found. The team could hardly contain their excitement as they removed layer after layer to discover a plastered doorway, the necropolis seals still intact!
Whately quickly sent word of the find to the Bureau of Antiquities in Cairo. Protocol demanded that the opening of the doorway wait until a Bureau official was present. Fortunately, railway service to the area is now reasonably swift, and within a few days, the Inspector over Antiquities in Upper Egypt, Abdul el Sulaam, arrived, with Whately's old friend Cyrus McClintock and his wife Alicia.
With el Sulaam's blessing, the team carefully began unsealing the door and removing the stone shards in a short passageway. This process was tedious, because the rocks had to be examined to see if perhaps an significant artifacts had fallen between the rubble.
Progress was then slowed even further by problems with the workmen. There were whispers that some of the men had seen something stalking in the area around the camp. Mohammed, the foreman, upbraided them, saying he was ashamed that his men could be foolish enough to repeat either the rumor of an efreet (demon) or a walking mummy, much less both. However, his words did not seem to matter; this morning all the workmen had disappeared, leaving just Mohammed and an assistant, Husam.
Despite this setback, the clearing of the passage was completed this afternoon by Mohammed and Husam. This evening, the interior plaster wall will be opened in the presence of the entire team and the visitors from Cairo, and the secrets of the tomb will be revealed!
Game Elements
Live-action roleplaying games, or LARPs, come in many shapes and sizes. This particular game was conceived as a cross between a "haunted house" environment and a boxed murder mystery style of game; it is designed to:
 | Focus on player interaction with the environment. While each player will be given a specific character to play, and a character sheet detailing the character's pertinent knowledge of Egyptology and the other characters (as in a typical LARP), players will probably not spend much time resolving character inter-relationships. Instead, the focus of the game will be exploring the tomb and solving the various "puzzles" within it, using the characters' combined abilities. |
| Have a theatrical, "horror movie" feel. At least, a "cheesy horror movie" feel. We won't know until the game runs whether the "scary parts" come across as frightening or humorous. However, since Hammer Horror is one of our inspirations, we'll be true to it in either event! |
| Be immersive. Players will actually be exploring a (simulated) Egyptian tomb, and will discover the extent of the gamespace as they explore. There will be secret doorways to open, and tunnels and passages to traverse. |
| Resolve combat with "GM-Sanctioned Mayhem Only (TM)." There will be no actual combat in this game. This is a non-contact sport! If two characters decide to duke it out, grab a gamemaster (GM), who will determine the outcome. If you wish to effect another character's demise, you must discuss it with a GM before any attempt is made. Please realize that such requests are highly unlikely to be honored, since the GMs will be basing their answer on the effects of a character's death on the game overall, including the enjoyment of the player of your hapless victim and whether the character has vitally important abilities or knowledge. [In which case, you really don't want them dead. Trust us. Not while you're still in the tomb, anyway.] |
| Be mechanics-light. Every effort has been made to keep the game as "real" as possible. There will be no item cards, there will be no dice, there will be no hit-points. The GMs would like to be as unobtrusive as possible. Of course, there will be some effects that we will have to fudge because we don't have either the budget or the technology to pull something off. We will inform players of the conventions that we've devised beforehand. As an example, we might ask players to treat hanging fabric walls as if they were actually stone. Another possible example might be that it doesn't matter a character's physique or how much spinach they've consumed, there is no way that they can overpower an animated mummy--if their character wishes to grapple with one, they should fake wrestling with it, and then theatrically throw themselves backward as if overpowered themselves. Not, of course, that there is any likelihood of encountering an animated mummy in this game. |
In case you were wondering . . .
Yes, this game is related to our Halloween game from last year, The Curse of Whately Manor. This is an unauthorized foray into the Frank Branham's original world. (Frank's a pretty nice guy, so we don't think that he'll mind.) However, this is a prequel, not a sequel. We would have a hard time following Frank's work. But then again, some of the players last year made it impossible for us to do so, given the scarcity of survivors. . . .
