The Madstone

Your true love lies dying, and the only way to save them is to go on a dangerous journey that will test your resolve, your devotion, and the boundaries of your morality.

In The Madstone you will retell a classic fairy tale, with all the darkness and magic that implies, with one crucial twist—you will have to make difficult choices along the way. There are no right answers, and each path promises something strange and terrible around the next corner. 

The Madstone is a live-action game designed to be played by a series of “sequential protagonists” all playing the central role, and a core group portraying the people and things they meet on their journey. 

This format means The Madstone can provide an exciting 30-45 minute experience for many people, who explore the same landscape and make their own choices, one at a time. 

For the core group of player-performers, there’s great fun to be had in meeting the same “hero” over and over again and being surprised and delighted by each one.

The Madstone is a game about love and sacrifice for 7-8 players. It is designed to be a live action game, a shared storytelling prompt or a participatory experience.

It plays like a fairy tale, with a single protagonist who meets many colorful and interesting characters during a desperate journey to save the life of their one true love. 

It plays like a fairy tale, so a happy ending is impossible.

Logistics:

• Facilitators: One, who can also play the Healer if necessary. They need a five minute timer.
• Player-Performers: Seven.
• Participants: One or more; each “unit of play” can be a single Protagonist or agroup consisting of Protagonist and one or two Companions.
• Time:45 minutes, assuming 3-5 minutes of interaction with each player-per-former and walking time. Add 5 minutes more for each additional Protagonist group.
• Tone: Serious in the way fairy tales are serious.
• Content warnings: Violence including people, animals, the supernatural, anddeath.
• Play Style: Each sheet provides information that must be shared, but the format of that sharing is up to the player-performers.
• Space: Any open space that allows protagonists to wander from one player-per-former to the next and return at any time to the starting point. Player-performers should, ideally, be within sight but out of earshot of one another. The experience could be set up in a park, or along a trail loop, or in an urban area with each player-performer stationed at a different bar, for example.
• Materials: Print this document double-sided to distribute to the players according to their role

What's Included?

• 21 page PDF 

Questions?

Comment here, or get in touch with us at info@bullypulpitgames.com.

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Thank you to our supporters on Patreon for making this game possible.