Page 8 LIFE: Horace Phineas Lovejoy, age 42, lives at 1156 Portland Ave. in a small 4th floor apartment of the run-down old Excelsior Apartment House in room 49, Horace, an unemployed desk clerk, has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, all his life and most of it in the seedy. disreputable parts. Being single and reclusive in his ways hadn't made him particularly special — his most prominent interests are tea leaf reading and Assyrian poetry. A chronic sufferer of insomia, he has taken to the habit of nightly walks and Card #1—This night, upon leaving the old and rumor-ridden brick apartment house, Horace, unable to sleep, is in one of his melancholic moods as he walks down the shadowy street. LIFE: Card #2—Horrifying screams cut through the crisp November night, freezing Horace in his tracks. Knowing the bad reputation of this part of town, and not being a brave man, Horace hesi- tates whether or not to investigate. DEATH: Card #3—Suddenly! (Pace Card) LIFE: Card #4—A threatening shadow looms up from behind, silently. As Horace turns, he cries out in alarm DEATH: Card #5—A brutish convict curses in a coarse, thick voice as he reaches out, grabbing Horace by the collar. He lifts the frightened Horace from his frantically kicking feet with one arm LIFE: Card #6—Horace wrestles himself free of the man’s steel-trap grip and races away, not bothering to look back as he makes good his escape Note: The above example describes a possible Story Card sequence that could occur — expressed in a man- ner typical of the oral narration by each player in their respective turns. DESIGNED BY: Kenneth Rahman ART BY: Eymoth PUBLISHED BY: Dark House DARK CULTS andall illustrations are copyrighted by Kenneth Rahman © 1983 all rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. JARK IOUSE |O-A, THEILMAN, MN 55878 THE HORROR STORY GAME Ce GSN aaa Bara PN Lic) INTRODUCTION What evil lurks around every corner? What black- ness is harbored in the minds of mankind? What unspeakable terrors wait silent only until sum- moned? You will know once you have played the supernatural horror story game, DARK CULTS. DARK CULTS is a story card game, where two players assume the opposing roles of LIFE and of DEATH. LIFE tries to prolong the lives of characters and shelter man’s fragile mind from events that are terrifying and possibly fatal. DEATH, on the other hand, seeks to destroy characters as often as pos- sible by the use of horrors and evil cultists. Both LIFE and DEATH acquire points by the playing of cards — adding oral narrative with each one to explain the events unfolding before them. Game length is variable according to how involved the players become in the telling of the story — but the more storytelling the better the game! CONTENTS 108 cards: 19-(A) Atmosphere, 9-(C1) Character (evil), 9-(C2) Character (neutral), 7-(D) Danger, 5-(E1) End, 8-(E2) Escape 7-(L) Location, 5-(S) Save, 5-(START), 17-(T) Threat, 15-Pace Cards, 2-Point Cards (LIFE & DEATH) DEFINITION OF TERMS CRYPT—The hand of 5 or less Story Cards held by each player. DEATH—Player in the game that represents malig- nant forces in the story seeking to destroy the Pro- tagonist (main character) GRAVEYARD—The pile of used and discarded Story Cards LIFE—Player in the game that represents benign forces and seeks to aid the Protagonist in the story.Page 2 LIFE & DEATH DRAW—The act of drawing a card from the Story Card Deck, when the player's Crypt already contains 5 cards. PACE CARD—The cards that make up the Pace Card Deck and help to make the story read dramati- cally. PROTAGONIST—The fictional main character created for the story, that experiences all the events during the game. STORY CARD—The cards that make up the Story Card Deck, which both players draw from to play and tell the events of the game. STORY LINE—The rows of Story Cards and Pace Cards in sequence making up a Story Segment. STORY SEGMENT—A section of the story that encompasses one night made up of one or more Story Lines. THE STORY CARDS Atmosphere: subtle mood-invoking ele- ure pear ments used as often as possible to make room in the Crypt for more valuable cards. Points 0 0 Character (evil): hostile elements used by DEATH to set up for an End card sequence. Points: 12 Character (neutral): used by LIFE to ex- plain that some events have a benign ex- planation. Points: 2 0 End: used to eliminate the Protagonist and end a Story Segment. LIFE uses it only as a last resort to prevent DEATH from using it first. Points: o 10 Escape: most often used by LIFE to allow the Protagonist to survive the events of the story. Points: 5 0 Danger: used by LIFE to be daring and by DEATH to set up for an End card se- quence. Points: 13 Location: these are the places DEATH's minions have been alleged to frequent. Points: a2 Save: important card for both LIFE and DEATH to end a Story Segment and rid the Crypt of unwanted cards. Points; 0 0 Start: fate that calls the Protagonist out of the apartment and into the streets. Points: 5 5 Threat: elements used to add suspense to the story. Points: a “Note: LIFE eliminates the Protagonist so DEATH re- ceives only 5 points. Page 3 SET-UP The cards come in two cellophane wrapped decks (a packaging convenience). First of all, the LIFE and DEATH Point Cards at the bottom of each deck should be assigned one to a player. These are kept somewhere handy as a reference for the value of each type of card played. Secondly, the 15 Pace Cards (distinguishable by words in expressive type ona black background) should be set off to the side in their own deck face up at one end of the table. Next, a Start card should be selected and set face up to the left end of the table — it is from here the Story Line is to follow in rows. All of the remaining cards (the Story Card Deck) are shuffled and placed face down in a convenient place between the two players. One card is drawn from the Story Card Deck by each player to begin with in their Crypts. Lastly, a sheet of note paper with the name of the Protagonist should be near at hand along with a pencil to record points earned by the players. Note: It is suggested, that players sit on the same side of the table orn the case of a square table on adjacent sides. DIAGRAM OF SETTING: Pace Card Deck Start Card Story Line crypt Ares Story Card Deck HOW TO PLAY THE STORY The object of the game is to place Story Cards on the Story Line to earn points. Cards played earn points only for the player that places them. The only exception is when LIFE plays an End card (E1). Points are written down immediately upon placing a card. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. The play of the game between LIFE and DEATH alternates in a series called turns. A turn consists of: 1—drawing the top card from the Story Card Deck 2—putting the card in the Crypt 3—deciding what if any card to play from the Crypt 4—placing one card on the Story Line if possible {or desirable) 5—writing down any points acquired from placing acardPage 4 Players are not allowed to place more than one card, play a card out of turn, or decline drawing their entitled Story Card during a turn. Players not placing a card during their turn should state so to inform the opponent. After a player completes a turn, it passes to the other player to repeat in order steps 1 through 5. Note: The playing of certain cards and the depletion of the Story Card Deck prevent the normal drawing of a Story Card each turn and/or the order of the pro- cedure outlined above. LIFE has first turn to start the game and has first option over DEATH to begin any Story Segment, providing LIFE hasa Start card in the Crypt to begin the Story Line. All Story Segments must begin with a Start card no matter who goes first. Start cards are placed before the drawing of a Story Card during the player's turn. Should neither player have a Start card, then one is taken from the Graveyard and used. In the player's story the death of the Protagonist doesn't end the game, only the Story Segment. The game ends when the Story Card Deck is used up and neither player afterwards can place a card from their Crypts on the Story Line in sequence. The Crypt: Either player may keep and hide the identity of up to 5 cards from each other — these cards are the player's Crypt. Nothing can be discarded from the Crypt except at special intervals between Story Seg- ments and after Life & Death Draw penalties. Be- tween Story Segments both players simultaneously discard whatever they want to be rid of into the Graveyard pile face up. When discarding it is advis- able (but not required), that players retain at least one card in their Crypts. The Life & Death Draw: Inaturn, whena player has afull Crypt (5 cards) and must draw anew Story Card, this is called the Life & Death Draw. Should the new card be playable the turn passes as normal but if it proves to be unplay- able (or undesirable for the player to place) the player is penalized 3 points. These3 points are sub- tracted immediately from the player's total points earned and the excess Crypt card discarded. The penalized player alone at this time has the option to discard any additional unwanted cards from the Crypt. Page 5 THE STORY LINE Each card, either from the Story Card Deck or from the Pace Card Deck, placed in sequence on the Story Line, advances the story. Story Lines progress from left to right and when conveniently placed in rows can be of any length as the table space allows. Every card in the Story Card Deck is coded in the upper left hand corner with a letter (or letter & number) to identify what type of Story Card it is. Across from it in the upper right hand corner is a series of smaller codes, these indicate what types of Story Cards (not the order of Story Cards) are allowed to follow. Following cards are said to be in sequence, when they occur in the right hand code of the Story Card preceding them. A Story Card with its left hand code not occurring in the preceding Story Card's right hand series is not allowed to follow and therefore, is not in sequence. The Pace Cards: The Pace Card's function is to separate events, give ‘emphasis, and mark the passing of time on the Story Line within a Story Segment. No points are ever awarded for their placing. A Story Card with an upper right hand series that begins with a “black dot” signifies, that the next player to advance the story must either play a card from the Crypt, before drawing a Story Card that turn, or place instead a Pace Card on the Story Line. If a Crypt card is able to be played, only then is the player entitled to draw from the Story Card Deck, otherwise the turn ends with the placing of the Pace Card and passes to the opponent. Play resumes as normal following a Pace Card on the Story Line but must continue in sequence from the Story Card last placed preceding the Pace Card, Pace Cards never follow Pace Cards consecutively, one after another. Pace Cards are never held in the Crypt. Pace Cards are drawn from their deck when needed and remain on the Story Line until the Story ‘Segment ends, then they are gathered into their own separate discard pile. When their deck is depleted, the discarded Pace Cards are shuffled and reused. No more than 15 Pace Cards can comprise any one Story Segment. A Story Segment ends abruptly with the need for a 16th Pace Card on the Story Line (treat as if a Save card had been played). EXAMPLE OF A STORY LINE SEQUENCE:Page 6 THE STORY SEGMENT Often it is advantageous for either player to end a Story Line — this becomes the Story Segment and one entire night's adventure. End and Save cards (or the running out of Pace Cards) create Story Segments. It is during the interval between ending one Story Segment and beginning another, that discards are made from the players’ Crypts. The Story Cards and Pace Cards making up the Story Segment are gathered into their respective piles of discards off to the side to make ready for a new Story Line. If the Story Segment ended with an End card, a new name is given the Protagonist before beginning again HOW TO TELL THE STORY DARK CULTS has been designed to exercise a player's own storytelling ability. At the bottom of all Story Cards is a word, phrase, or sentence that describes what the card is about. Players, before placing a card on the Story Line, should look at the picture and read the description to explain how the new card fits into the context of the story preceding it. After a moment of contemplation, this new addition to the story should be told out loud in the player's own words with as much dramatic flare as comes to mind. Note: Expression becomes easier once the story has begun and as players become experiencedintheart of storytelling. Suggested Tips: Itstands to reason, that the more background given a Protagonist the more the players will have to say about that character during the course of the game. For easier reference a few details about the Pro- tagonist should be jotted down on paper before the game begins. Some helpful guidelines for the novice storyteller is as follows: * Name the Protagonist to be featured in the story. For added color give him an age. occupation, city, state, and address (apartment number and name of residence). © The story should have a time of year, month, or day — it possibly could be an approaching holiday or anniver- sary. ‘© Whomsoever begins a new Story Segment should give the Protagonist a reason for being out at night — which is the time all frightening adventures occur in DARK CULTS. Some reasons are sleeplessness, an errand to run, disturbances outside, or unwelcomed visitors coming up the walk to name a few examples. Page 7 ‘* Once the story has passed the Start card phase both players can offer insight’s into the Protagonist's atti- tudes or private thoughts prompted from the latest Story Card event. Atmosphere cards are especially good for such reflection, + Location cards are areas in the city, where mysterious objects are likely to be found. Items such as coffins, amulets, rings, scrolls, stone tablets, jewelry, gems, forbidden books, holy objects, and articles of clothing — the list is endless. Players could imagine the Prota- gonist poking around these premises contributing awe and fear to the places. * Players placing End cards should elaborate on how and where the Protagonist died or if the body was ever found. New Protagonists created during the game could be friends, relatives, or “down the hall” neighbors of the deceased with possibly a short history of their own. * Escape cards can be explained in what manner and circumstance the Protagonist made his escape. Had he a weapon? Was he captured first? How much of a struggle did the characters put up? Was he pursued afterwards? * Character cards can be the cause of the action in the story or a surprise distraction, whatever the circum- stances, they climax many events and allow for some clever improvisation on the part of the players. © Lastly, Danger, Save, and Threat cards are easily de- tailed by embellishing on what is pictured with a litle sensual perception by the player. Note: Before clearing away the Story Segment some players enjoy recapping the story by filing in places in the oral narrative that seem more significent in retrospect then during its placing. EXAMPLE: