Sleepaway (OEF) (2019, Possum Creek Games)

j ay d r a g o n
CREDITS
Writing and Design

Jay Dragon
Layout, setting & margin illustrations

Ruby Lavin
Editing
Joe DeSimone, Henry White, and Ruby Lavin
Cover Art, Section & character

illustrations
Worsey
Limited Hardcover Art

Sadia Bies
strangeness spread
Emily Cote
ladybugs
emma franklin
Writing Contributions
Kazumi Chin, Abe Mendes, Eric Mersmann, and Jeeyon Shim
Published 2019 by Possum Creek Games.

Titles in Newcastle, Body in Chaparral.
AUTHOR BIO
Jay Dragon is a queer game designer on unceded Esopus
Munsee land in the Hudson Valley. They write games about
marginality, ritual, horror, and summer camp. When they're
not writing tabletop games, they can be found working at their
local summer camp and doing their best to fight the Lindworm.
4
DESIGN INSPIRATION
The core system of Sleepaway is based on Dream Askew &
Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum. By
extension, it is powered by the Apocalypse World Engine, by
D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker.
Rituals are based on Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-
Granting Engine by Jenna Moran, and Pin Feathers/Cloud
Studies by Jeeyon Shim.
Lines and Veils were developed by Ron Edwards for the
game Sorcerer.
The heart of this game’s play is based on House of
Miracles by Kal Muste, from the Wayfinder Experience.
The value of ritual and the power of the underworld is
based on Secrets Of The Forbidden Isle by M Grant, from the
Wayfinder Experience.
The game wouldn’t be possible without endless
consultations and conversations with fellow staff, SITs, and
participants at the Wayfinder Experience, both for this game
and for all other games.
To the boisterous camper with colorful hair and a stolen
flower crown, the frail camper with a gleam of ambition in their
eyes, the hopeful camper who is definitely an alien from another
world, the cheerful camper who loves to cause problems, the
lanky camper full of new ideas, and the quiet camper with an
honest heart, thank you for your wisdom and strength in the
face of a cold world.
Also, thank you to the kindness of Alyssa, Charlie,
Chase, Jace, Jack, JJ, Jud, Kal, Kier, Lee, Maya, Reilly, Shae,
Wes, and Worsey, for embodying these characters and fighting
the Lindworm with me.
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Credits.........................................................................................3
Author Bio...................................................................................4
Design Inspiration......................................................................5
Table of Contents........................................................................6
Part 1: How to Play......................................9
Introduction..............................................................................10
Required Materials....................................................................11
Getting Started..........................................................................12
The Conversation.......................................................................13
Playing the Game......................................................................14
Sidebar: No Complicity................................................................15
Safety Mechanics.......................................................................16
Sidebar: Using Lines, Veils, and Highlights.................................16
Your Character...........................................................................17
Setting Elements and Rituals...................................................18
Sidebar: Pronouns & Gender.......................................................18
The Lindworm............................................................................20
Part 2: Character Sheets...........................23
Creating the Summer Camp......................................................24
The Athlete.................................................................................26
The Counselor............................................................................30
The Crafter.................................................................................34
The Fresh Blood.........................................................................38
The Lifeguard.............................................................................42
The Ropeskeeper........................................................................46
The Songleader...........................................................................50
Part 3: Setting Elements............................55
The Field.....................................................................................56
The Woods.................................................................................58
The Lake.....................................................................................60
The Campers..............................................................................62
The Magic...................................................................................64
The Strangeness.........................................................................66
Character Sparks.......................................................................68
Part 4: Act Structures................................71
Channeling The Lindworm.......................................................72
Lindworm Tables.......................................................................74
The Oneshot..............................................................................78
The Surface................................................................................80
The Descent...............................................................................82
The Abyss...................................................................................84
Sidebar: After The Abyss.............................................................85
Part 5: The Strangeness............................89
Strangeness Spread....................................................................86
The Found-Again.......................................................................90
The Guide...................................................................................94
The Orchid.................................................................................98
The Murder of Crows...............................................................102
Our Lady Oubliette.................................................................104
The Slumbering Beast.............................................................106
The Underhill King..................................................................108
The Bones.................................................................................110
The Wolves...............................................................................112
Part 6: Rituals...........................................115
The Crossing Waves.................................................................116
The Daybreak Meadow............................................................117
A Moment of Identity.............................................................118
Spellcrafting............................................................................119
The Sneaking Path...................................................................120
Begging the Fates....................................................................121
Being Forgotten......................................................................122
The Roadkill Parade.................................................................123
The Underworld Duel..............................................................124
The Beast's Lullaby..................................................................125
The Pale Hunt..........................................................................126
Dead Cricket............................................................................127
part 1
how to play
INTRODUCTION
Sleepaway gives us long hazy days, chilled summer nights,
kids screaming and chasing fireflies, crackling campfires, and a
gaunt, cruel monstrosity forever hiding just out of sight, always
asking, “What do you do next?”
In Sleepaway, you play as a camp counselor at a not-
so-ordinary summer camp besieged by a Strange and ominous
cryptid. In the outside world, people grow increasingly
alienated from their own identities, trapped in a miasma of
advertising and corporate branding. Isolated from civilization,
this summer camp is a beacon of safety, a refuge for misfit kids
defined by their marginalization. As time pushes past and the
world grows older, this camp also shelters the survivors of the
Lindworm.
The Lindworm is a shapeshifter, or so the stories go;
a creature that flays the skin of humans and hides within. As
counselors of this summer camp, you’ve each been traumatized
by the Lindworm, in your own ways.
You remember little of that time.
Just that you don’t want anyone else to experience it
either, and you’ll keep this camp safe no matter what.
10 — How to Play
REQUIRED
MATERIALS
Find between 3 and 6 players,

including you. Gather with the
following supplies:
• This book. Printing the Summer
Camp Sheet, Character
Sheets, and Setting Elements
Sheets may be useful. You may
scan them from this book or
print the Supplemental PDF.
• Pencils and scrap paper, including
a lot of index cards.
• A deck of playing cards.
• Something that can serve as
Tokens, like sunflower seeds,
pebbles, beads, or coins.
• A conspiracy theorist’s Corkboard
with string and pushpins, or a
large sheet of paper with different
colored pens.
Before playing, decide how long
the game should last. A Oneshot
lasts about 3-4 hours, including
time spent learning how to play. A
Campaign lasts for 3-6 sessions (each
3 or so hours) and should be given Our flower crowns
that time. It’s a lot easier to turn a made it clear to
Oneshot into a Campaign than it is everyone else that we
to turn a Campaign into a Oneshot. are summer royalty,
that the sun shines for
The rules for both Oneshots and us.
Campaigns can be found in Part 4 of
the book. Use them to guide play.
How to Play — 11
GETTING STARTED
1. Look over the required materials and gather those together,
generally around a table so you can all sit down.
2. Read the Introduction section aloud.
3. Read The Conversation aloud.
4. Read the Safety Mechanics section aloud, and discuss it
with all players.
5. Read the Playing the Game section aloud.
6. Everyone, pick up one of the Character Sheets and read
the Character introduction aloud. Choose a Character
Sheet to play for this game.
7. Read the Your Character section aloud. Then start
answering questions about your Character. Give them a
name and pronouns, with rawness and honesty.
8. Read Setting Elements and Rituals aloud. Then read
each Setting Element description aloud.
9. Each player chooses a Setting Elements Sheet to hold
and represent at the start of the game.
10. Draw a map of the Summer Camp on a sheet of blank
paper. Include both your Setting Element and any other
elements from the Summer Camp Sheet that guides your
creative process.
11. Read The Lindworm section, and follow the instructions
contained within.
12. Ask two of your Character Sheet’s questions to other
players at the table. Lead from that conversation into the
game itself.
12 — How to Play
THE CONVERSATION
Roleplaying is adopting the identity of a Character, usually one
who is different from you. Roleplaying may offer you a different
understanding of yourself and your relationship with the
world. When we gather friends and roleplay together, creating
fiction as a group, that is a roleplaying game—-like playing
make-believe.
Just like playing make-believe with friends, roleplaying
games are a conversation. The following description is from
Apocalypse World, the philosophical forebear to this game:
“You and the other players go back and forth, talking

about these fictional characters in their fictional
circumstances doing whatever it is that they do.
Like any conversation, you take turns, but it’s not
like taking turns, right? Sometimes you talk over
each other, interrupt, build on each others’ ideas,
monopolize and hold forth. All fine.”
The rules of Sleepaway are rules for that conversation;

they help us settle disagreements about the fiction, suggest who
can say what, and push our stories in specific directions. This
game isn’t rigorously structured or bound, nor does it belong
to any one of us: it’s a collaborative conversation between all of
us. We’re telling a story together.
As in other conversations, it’s our collective
responsibility to maintain the tone and emotional intensity of
the game, just as it is our responsibility to keep each other safe.
Often, in games like these, there’s a Game Master
who facilitates play. Sleepaway, like all Belonging Outside
Belonging games, has no such role. It’s encouraged to have
someone bring snacks, make sure the supplies are all there, and
so on. But, in Sleepaway, everyone operates on roughly the
same page.
How to Play — 13
PLAYING THE GAME
Making a heartfelt connection in the dewy field, glimpsing
an unwelcome visitor in the woodline, stewing on unspoken
thoughts while sunlight beats us into stillness, speaking our
fears over the fire, fleeing the monster wearing a friend’s skin…
these may all be part of a game, moments of our conversation.
We add these moments by making Moves.
In this game’s conversation, you (the players) will
each take on the role of specific Characters. Whenever you
want to take action upon the world, or take your turn in the
conversation, you make a Move—sometimes through your
Character, sometimes in different ways. Moves push the story
forward, and allow us to act upon the world. The most common
Move you’ll ever make is “Take action, leaving yourself
vulnerable,” and “Invite the Lindworm to act upon the group.”
When in doubt, make a Move.
When you make your Move, name the Move you’re
making, follow what it says, and add that to the fiction. Use
other words to expand it.
Maybe your Move is the Campers’ “Introduce drama
and contention”; after you name it, mention how there’s a
crowd around the nurse’s office, and Merry is crying. Everyone
says that Merry’s crying because Amber (the staff’s favorite
Camper) attacked them with a knife. No Camper describes it
exactly the same. Each story is more gut-wrenching than the
last.
You can find Moves on your Character Sheet, on a
Setting Element sheet, or in a Ritual. You might find them
elsewhere too.
Some Moves are questions, written in italics and
preceded by “Ask:”. These are asked between players about
their Characters, and aren’t necessarily asked In-Character.
You know when you’re talking to someone and suddenly realize
something important that they’re feeling that they’re not
14 — How to Play
telling you? That’s what it is to ask
one of these questions.
There are three kinds of Moves:
no complicity
Strong, Regular, and Weak. Strong The power imbalance
Moves put your Character or other between staff and
Characters in a better position going campers at camp is
forward. Weak Moves leave you inherent to differences
worse off or in a more painful place. in age, experience,
Regular Moves offer mixed results. and capacity to
impart knowledge.
You can’t make Strong Moves all
This should be
the time because you must spend a consensual instead of
Token to make a Strong Move. You strictly hierarchical.
start game with zero Tokens. Your Characters are
To get Tokens, you must make good and devoted
Weak Moves or engage with other counselors; you may
fail or make mistakes,
Characters’ narratives by fulfilling
but you will not abuse
their Lure. Every Character Sheet or manipulate your
has a different Lure. You’ll each read campers.
your Character’s Lure aloud once The history of
you’ve made your Characters. summer camps in
the United States
is fraught with
colonialism and
institutional racism.
It’s vitally important
to act with awareness
if you’re not a member
of one of the impacted
communities. There
is no reason to name
your camp or any
aspect of it after a
bastardization of
an indiginous word.
It’s not respectful or
appropriate, and has
no place in this game.
How to Play — 15
SAFETY
MECHANICS
This is a horror game. It contains
body horror and explicit violence,
including against animals and
children. Sleepaway does its
absolute best to hold compassion for
any pain that might be brought into
the play space, and your conversation
ought to as well. Many tools exist to
help you do so. One such tool is called
Lines, Veils, and Highlights.
But that is just one possible set of
Using Lines,
safety mechanics. If there’s another
Veils, and
Highlights that works for your conversation,
When you start use that instead (or as well). At the
playing, your group end of the day, the purpose of all
collectively defines these mechanics is to ensure that
the areas and subjects everyone is given the tools to act
you are not interested compassionately and support one
in exploring (Lines),
another’s experiences. In the same
the areas you’re fine
with in game but don’t way you’d ask your friends before
want to contemplate talking about something potentially
too deeply (Veils) and upsetting, grant everyone the same
areas of horror you courtesy in this conversation.
actively want explored Some Lines are built into the
in game (Highlights).
game. Sleepaway refuses to be
No player owes an
explanation for any complicit in modeling toxic power
of these; however, it dynamics between campers and
is vitally important staff or exploitative racism against
that everyone is on indiginuous people through the use
the same page when of racist summer camp names and
defining Highlights. slogans.
16 — How to Play
YOUR CHARACTER
To play your Character, follow the tips
in your playbook. Think about their
behavior, and trust your instincts.
When you’re not sure what they’d do,
remember to keep them both fallible
and relatable. Let them mess up big I still remember the
time, failing their friends in a time summer the cicadas
of need or blurting out desperate were everywhere. I
painful secrets to all the wrong think I fell in love with
being alive that year.
people. But always remember that
they have a good reason for messing
up.
To make your Character, answer
all the questions on your Character
Sheet, including eyes, body, gender,
and anything about your history and
present. Then decide on a specific
name and set of pronouns. Remember
that these don’t need to be the name
or pronouns that your Character has
always used, or even those that they
use in spaces besides camp. These are
the name and pronouns that make
sense for now. Share them.
Read your Lure aloud. Make sure
everyone knows it.
How to Play — 17
pronouns &
gender SETTING
Your Character might ELEMENTS AND
be a man, sure, but
is he more Rusted RITUALS
Blade or Campfire?
Sleepaway, like the The world isn’t just our Characters.
summer camps it’s It’s also the misty lake with its
based on, doesn’t care splintered dock, the cool woods and
whether you’re cis, the whine of mosquitos, the sunny
trans, or something field. It’s all the campers, those
more tangled. Gender loveable weirdos. It’s the traditions
here is more abstract we’ve kept and those we’ve lost, and
and raw. Sleepaway
even the Strange Magics at the edge
cares how your gender
of all things.
shapes you, and what
pronouns you use at
Whenever it feels right, pick up
camp. To that end, one of the Setting Elements and
on the next page are have it support the game. While
a list of pronouns holding it, you control that aspect of
your Character might the world. Sometimes that Setting
use, borrowed from Element will be literal, sometimes
actual campers and it won’t. For example, you might be
staff the author has holding the Lake during a scene when
encountered. You no one’s near the Lake. That’s okay.
may invoke additional Setting Elements are also metaphors
pronouns if you’re for other feelings and moments
familiar with others. within the game. It’s possible to
drown without any Lake nearby—or
even any water—both in life and in
Sleepaway.
Setting Elements let you make
Moves beyond those available onyour
Character Sheet. These Moves add to
the conversation just like any other
Move. Setting Elements never have
to worry about Tokens.
18 — How to Play
Sometimes Setting Elements pronouns &
create Characters. These Characters gender (cont.)
• He/Him/His
should always have motivations and
• She/Her/Hers
desires that tie into that Setting • They/Them/Theirs
Element and its desires. • Ey/Em/Eir
A Ritual may be started • Xe/Xim/Xirs
whenever you choose. Some Moves • Je/Jem/Jeirs
or situations call for one. Rituals • Fae/Faer/Faers
pause the normal structure of the • Star/Star/Stars
• (any combination of
conversation and briefly replace it
the above)
with a new structure. The Ritual may • (any combination of
represent a game of Truth or Dare, the above), alternating
a romp through a meadow, a quiet • (any combination of
moment among friends, sneaking the above), based on
down a path, or crafting a powerful my presentation
• (any of the above), I
spell. When a Ritual is happening,
guess
only communicate using the Moves • (any of the above),
printed on the Ritual itself. End the for this week only
Ritual as it instructs you to do so. • (any of the above), or
they/them/theirs, but
only if you understand
my gender
• (any of the above),
but only technically
• Just my name
• Any and all
• Whatever feels right
to you
• Any that aren’t
intended as insults
• Use the pronouns
you use for yourself,
for me
• I’m not sure yet
How to Play — 19
THE LINDWORM
The Lindworm is the monstrosity that haunts our summer
camp. It is the bane of our existence, and will destroy everything
we’ve built if we’re not careful. It is the trauma of history, the
collective pain of a cruel society, and the violence inflicted upon
the marginalized and the vulnerable.
It is generally around 10 feet tall, with arms like tree
branches, papery flesh, and a mouth full of too many teeth. It
is a shapeshifter, and will steal people’s skin after flaying them
alive.
At the beginning of each session, someone in the group
must ask the space you’re in if the Lindworm is there, and if it
would like to play. Give it around thirty seconds to reply.
If it isn’t there, a player is secretly chosen to act for the
Lindworm for the session. Do this silently:
1. Set aside cards equal to the number of players. One

must be the Queen of Spades.
2. Shuffle and deal one card to each player, face-down.
Look at your cards privately.
3. The player who receives the Queen of Spades is chosen.
Once everyone has nodded that they understand what
card they received, return the cards to the deck without
revealing them.

No player roleplays as the Lindworm. The chosen player
discovers the Lindworm’s actions through a deck of cards.
When the players invite the Lindworm to act, all players
close their eyes. The chosen player channels the Lindworm and
looks at the top three cards of the deck. The channeling player
chooses one of the cards, places it as the Lindworm sees fit, and
puts the other two on the bottom of the deck. Then they close
their eyes and knock on the table.
It is up to everyone to interpret the meaning of the card,
20 — How to Play
based on the Lindworm Card Action
tables on pages 74-77. For example,
if the Lindworm’s card is the Three
of Diamonds (cues: biting at skin /
anxiety / long scrape marks on a tree)
and the card sits on a specific player’s
Character Sheet, then it is clear that
the Lindworm’s action centers on
that player Character. Players should
interpret the Lindworm’s play as
brutally as possible, building from
some or all of the card’s cues.
Sometimes cards will appear
in specific places on the map, or
engage with the space in other
ways. Sometimes the actions of the
Lindworm can be explained as the
actions of the Strangeness. That’s
okay. Life rarely ties together neatly.
If a player uses a Strong Move,
they may soften the Lindworm’s
action. This doesn’t remove the
consequences, but allows you to
redirect them. If the Lindworm’s
action would kill someone and that
action is mitigated, someone must
still die.
Oh, one final thing:
Never roleplay as the Lindworm.
No matter what.
We once found a
deer jaw in a quarry,
covered in moss and
telling a story too grim
to listen to. I should be
more careful.
How to Play — 21
part 2
character
sheets
CREATING THE SUMMER CAMP
Follow these steps to create your Summer Camp. Make a map
on a piece of paper. Scrawl notes as you need.
Draw These:
O The Field At The Center Of Camp
O The Lake
O The Fire Pit
O The Oldest Tree In The Woods
O The Bunks
Each Player Chooses 1:

O The Nurse’s Cabin
O The Creek With Mud Castles
O The Performing Stage
O The Field Everyone Dreams About
O The Best Stargazing Field
O The Sneaking Path
O The Hidden Picnic Bench
O The Petroglyph Boulders
O The Swamp Full Of Mosquitos
O The Path Covered In Cairns
O The Mushroom Log
O The Secret Kissing Grove
O The Abandoned Stone Wall
As A Group, Choose 2:
O Camp Cat
O Courageous Leaders
O Culture Of Honesty
O Economic Prosperity
O Minimal Camper Drama
O Long Administrative Memory
O Protected Property
O Easy Access To Public Transportation
O Understanding Parents
24 — character sheets
Each Player Details 1:
O Where the fire pit used to be.
O Where the frogs used to sing.
O Where the faerie houses used to
be built.
O Where the path used to go.
O Where you used to sneak away to
watch the sunrise.
O Where you realized you weren’t
straight.
O Where the oldest cabins are.
O Where the witch was spotted.
O Where kids kissed when you were
young.
O Where you confessed your
childhood crush.
O Where the great battles of youth
took place.
What Happened Last Time?

O Half the camp danced into the
lake and woke up freezing.
O Flayed animals roamed the woods.
O One of your friends died.
O The cops showed up and shut
everything down.
O Each one of you got a scar in the
same place on your faces.
O No one remembers—it’s been too
long.
I fell asleep in the
grass after watching
the sun rise. I wish I
could explain what the
light changed in me.
character sheets — 25
THE ATHLETE
“Always choose win!” yells the Athlete, both on the field and
in life. The Athlete is cold skill, emotion transformed into a
furthering of the desire to do even better in the world. Never
assume the Athlete doesn't care, even if they never show it.
Feelings come secondary to victory over the Lindworm, to
keeping everyone else safe, to giving everyone else the space to
process. Feelings are later. Win is now.
The Athlete is a storming individual. Their power is in
restrained fury, tragic heroism, and their physical ability.
Play To Find Out:

• What happens when you try to hold back your emotions?
• How can you win against the unbeatable?
• Are you really a hero?
choose your name:
O A Sturdy Name
O A Dependable Name
O A Name That Hides Who You Are
O A Name That Can Be Used Like A Battering Ram
describe your look:

O Furious Eyes
O Piercing Eyes
O Burning Eyes
O Explosive Eyes
O Coiled Body
O Massive Body
O Tank Of A Body
O Blade Of A Body
describe your gender:

O A Glaive
O Lightning
O Health Goth
O Sports Dyke
O Barbarian
O Lonely King
choose your childhood fear:

O Wolves torturing your family.
O All your bones breaking.
O A bully with a sharper weapon.
O Slowly transforming into a statue.
O A doll that can control you.
O Getting robbed and killed.
choose your contraband weapon:
O Baseball Bat
O Broadsword
O X-ACTO Knife
O Explosives
O Axe with Barbed Wire
O Chainsaw
O Butterfly Knife
O Brass Knuckles
O Spiked Chain
describe it with 2:
O It (or something like it) was given by a mentor.
O Used to defend yourself from your fear.
O Proof of your heroism.
O Tied to self-destructive tendencies.
O Something everyone knows you by.
O Has your name carved into it.
O Has been used to protect others a thousand times.
ask 2 (total) to other players:

• How did you perceive me when you saw me at my most
vulnerable?
• Why do I feel okay opening up to you?
• Do I take care of you? and Do you want me to?
tips:
• You’re not mindless, but that doesn’t mean you need to
think.
• Hold back your feelings until you can’t.
• Make your Character fallible and relatable.
lure:
Every time someone respects you and your autonomy, they get
a Token.
strong moves (–1 token):

• Get out of harm’s way.
• Perform a feat of mythical physical ability.
• Reveal your true feelings.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play, channeling it through
your weapon.
Ask: “Does your Character need help?”

Ask: “Who does your Character want dead?”
regular moves:
• Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
• Lash out at someone and injure them.
• Intimidate someone with a sudden display of emotional
intensity.
• Exert yourself past your limit.
Ask: “Why is your Character giving up?”
weak moves (+1 token):

• Invite the Lindworm to act upon the group.
• Kill someone who isn’t the Lindworm.
• Misinterpret someone’s actions as an insult.
• Reject a moment where you could open up and instead
bottle your feelings.
Ask: “Why doesn’t your Character just fuck off?”
THE COUNSELOR
Most people who work here are here for the friendships. But
not the Counselor. They’re just here to help the kids. Nothing
more and nothing less, and they’ll die before they let a single
kid get hurt. The world is harsh and cruel, and the Lindworm
has traumatized too many. The Counselor will do anything to
keep their kids safe.
The Counselor is a passionate individual. Their power is
in their heartfelt speeches, charming air, and the people they
surround themself with.
Play To Find Out:

• Who is the Counselor willing to let die for their kids?
• What is the price of preserving another’s innocence?
• How does the Counselor handle failure?
choose your name:
O A Cheerful Name
O A Round Name
O A Name Made Up of a Single Letter
O A Name Good For a Small Bird
describe your look:

O Honest Eyes
O Listening Eyes
O Watchful Eyes
O Flaming Eyes
O Large Body
O Thick Body
O Curvy Body
O The Body Of Someone Who Wants To Love Being Alive

O Old Woman Atop a Mountain
O Robin
O A Vast and Caring Body of Water
O A Campfire
O An Indie Song about Friendship
O Social Justice Cleric
choose why the campers listen:

O You're funny.
O You're thoughtful.
O You talk to them about their feelings.
O You give good life advice.
O You pay attention to the quiet ones.
O You command the room.
choose your favorite activity:
O Sitting around the campfire.
O Fishing for bass.
O Camp theatrical performances.
O Hiking up the old mountain.
O Digging up worms in the mud.
O Sand castles by the lake.
O Building fairy houses.
choose why you almost left:

O You're not getting paid enough.
O You fell in love with someone who offered to take you to the
city.
O You need to take time to support your family.
O You need to start your life.
O It just doesn't feel meaningful anymore.
O The camp has changed too much.

• Why do we keep fighting?
• How do we get each other in a way that other people don’t?
• What can’t we resolve within our friendship?
tips:
• Force yourself and your Character to make impossible
choices.
• Be openly authentic with your Character’s feelings.
lure:
Every time someone engages with a Camper as a fully realized
Character, they get a Token.

• Help a Camper make a vital life choice.
• Take action and succeed on a Camper’s advice.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play in a way that protects the
Campers.
Ask: “What does your Character need most right now?”
regular moves:
• Ask a Camper to do something you can’t, leaving them
vulnerable.
• Look to the Campers for guidance.
Ask: “Which other Characters are involved in this?”

Ask: “How can my Character help yours right now?”

• Lead the camp astray.
• Lie to a Camper. They can tell it’s a lie.
• Act in a way that upsets and spoils the heart of the camp.
• Tell a Camper the harsh truth in a way that hurts them.
Ask: “What does your Character want from me?”
THE CRAFTER
There is Magic in the world, the Magic of the secret places that
want to grow and thrive. All things are connected by this Magic.
Even the Lindworm, as horrific as it is, must be connected to
this order somehow. The Crafter is responsible for teaching arts
and crafts to campers, but is more importantly responsible for
cultivating their sense of Magic and connection to the arcane.
Crafters listen to the call of the universe, and respond with
their own creative expression.
The Crafter is a quirky individual. Their power is in the
subtle Magic of the world, information from the greater world,
and skill at creating new art.
Play To Find Out:

• Does the Magic care about you?
• How do you stay connected to the real?
• What do you have to cope with? and How do you cope?
choose your name:
O A Unique Name
O A Tongue-Twister Name
O A Word That Is Normally Not a Name
O A Name Chosen to Confuse
describe your look:

O Gleaming Eyes
O Mismatched Eyes
O Bright Eyes
O Honest Eyes
O Exhausted Eyes
O Round Body
O Body Built for Listening
O Lanky Body
O Uncertain Body

O Priestess Femme
O Grasslad
O A Turtle
O A Cloud Over the Sun
O A Particular Color
O Treekisser

O Flayed by wolves.
O Drowning in a lake and no one hearing.
O Getting caught kissing someone you shouldn't.
O Teeth falling out and you can't explain why.
O The plot of Home Alone.
choose your craft:
O Augury
O Runemagic
O Hexes and Blessings
O Staring at Fire
O Embodied Spellcraft
O Dream Journeys
O Promises
O Protective Wards
choose 2 traits of the craft:

O It cannot be used to lie.
O It cannot be used to spill blood.
O It cannot cause death in any form.
O It cannot be used with modern technology.
O It cannot be taught easily.
O It cannot be repeated.

• Why do I keep falling in love with you?
• How did you rescue me?
• Why did you abandon the Craft?
tips:
• Act like you know more about what’s going on than you do.
• Remember that the Magic is subtle, not loud, and most
believe it doesn’t exist.
lure:
Every time someone questions your eccentric worldview, they
get a Token.

• Have a conversation defined by pure honesty.
• Remember or find something dreadfully important.
• Perform the Spellcrafting Ritual.
Ask: “Does your Character know I care?”

Ask: “Are our Characters going the right way?”
regular moves:
• Listen to the Magic and follow what it says.
• Give a friend an honest compliment.
• Teach someone a small charm for good luck.
Ask: “Does your Character want to talk about it?”

• Confess your love for someone in a way that’s just awkward.
• Break one of the Magic’s rules.
• Be temporarily abandoned by the Magic.
Ask: “Why doesn’t your Character believe in me?”
THE FRESH BLOOD
The Fresh Blood isn’t really fresh. They’ve gone to this camp
for longer than some of the administrators have worked here.
They’re fresh, however, in the sense that they only stopped
being a counselor-in-training (CIT) this year. For the first
time, they have to navigate their world anew. It is now full of
Strangeness, and they are surrounded by idols from their youth
who have turned out to be not gods, but instead just regular
people with regular lives and regular desires. The Lindworm has
always been a campfire story, but watching their once-mentors
and newfound friends prepare for it feels impossible.
The Fresh Blood is a naive individual. Their power is in
youthful energy, genuine love untouched by age, and a heartfelt
peer relationship with many of the campers.
Play To Find Out:

• Are you really respected by the other staff?
• Do you really belong here?
• Are you strong enough?
choose your name:
O A Common Name
O A Quiet Name
O A Name That Blends In Easily
O A Name Chosen to Not Raise Eyebrows
describe your look:

O Chipper Eyes
O Feisty Eyes
O Playful Eyes
O Earnest Eyes
O Spry Body
O Lanky Body
O Chubby Body
O Body That's Still Figuring Itself Out

O Full
O Empty
O Open
O Closed
O Ajar
O Adjacent
O Crossing Past
O Above
O Below
O Inbetween
O Overflowing
O Vacant

O Transforming into a wolf.
O Going to school without any pants.
O Suddenly being President of the United States.
O Being told to carry something and not being strong enough.
O Being lied to.
choose your natural talent:
O Superb fairy houses.
O Winning at Four Square.
O Sick flips on the rope swing.
O Well-timed puns.
O Expert set design.
O Creative T-shirts.
choose what you'll never live down:

O Got into a fight around the fire circle.
O Tried to kiss someone who wasn’t into you.
O Had a longstanding in-joke that wasn’t very funny.
O A bit of a teenage heartthrob among the other campers.
O Had no friends (except at camp).
O Had no friends (even at camp).

• What made me stop having a one-sided crush on you?
• How did you teach me the most important lesson I could
learn?
• Why do I still resent you, after all these years?
tips:
• Gleefully get in over your head.
• Ensure the campers have a role in the story besides objects
to be protected.
lure:
Every time someone acknowledges what they can learn from
you, they get a Token.

• Make something completely new from the old.
• Do something you didn’t think you were capable of doing.
Ask: “Why doesn’t your Character just talk to them about it?”
Ask: “What can my Character do that will help?”
Ask: “What changed for your Character?”
regular moves:
• Get up to some mischief.
• Find something old and forgotten by the other players.
• Spot something everyone else overlooked.
Ask: “Does your Character want to go somewhere else?”

• Bungle something you were confident you could handle.
• Try to explain to a camper and get it all wrong.
• Take action, leaving everyone else vulnerable.
Ask: “Does your Character actually view me as an equal?”
THE LIFEGUARD
Some people might become lifeguards to avoid having to do the
hard work at camp. This Lifeguard is not one of those people. It
takes a special kind of strength to be willing to drop everything
and jump into the waves to save a kid you’ve never met before.
The Lifeguard is here to protect their friends and the camp,
weathering everything the universe could throw at them with
the same dogged smile.
The Lifeguard is an unbreaking individual. Their power
is in mutual aid, physical defense, and self-sacrifice.
Play To Find Out:

• What aren’t you willing to sacrifice?
• Are you actually selfless or does your selfishness just look
different?
• Will you leave the camp behind?
choose your name:
O A Short Name
O A Name That's Easy to Yell
O A Sharp Name
O An Honest Name
describe your look:

O Watchful Eyes
O Warm Eyes
O Hardened Eyes
O Watery Eyes
O Coiled Body
O Lithe Body
O Proud Body
O Stocky Body
O Built Like a Wall

O Nice Boy
O Wonder Woman
O A Savior and A Saint
O Eagle
O Castle
O Lighthouse in the Darkness
O Relatable

O Wolves that kidnap your friends.
O Diseases undetected until it's too late.
O Being excluded.
O Small insects that live in your ears.
O A current too fast to outswim.
choose an outside relationship:
O A little brother who misses you.
O A best friend who used to work here.
O A support game.
O An old house you think of as home.
O A family.
choose what keeps you working here:

O The kids.
O Your friends in the staff.
O The land.
O The chance to save people.
O You've forgotten why (but want to remember).

• How did I save you from metaphorically drowning?
• Are you still in love with me?
• When’s the last time we fought?
tips:
• Make strong choices to not help people when you should,
or vice versa.
• Keep coming back around, even if you should leave.
lure:
Every time someone asks for your help to stay afloat, they gain
a Token.

• Keep pushing forward even as everything tries to stop you.
• Get someone breathing again even if they shouldn’t be able
to.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play in a way that directs the
Move at you.
Ask: “How can my Character help yours heal?”

Ask: “Why is your Character holding themself back?”
regular moves:
• Shoulder a burden.
• Share genuine emotions with another.
• Provide useful advice.
• Tend to someone’s wounds.
Ask: “How is your Character hurting?”

• Lose your temper at someone and ruin that friendship.
• Give up at the worst possible moment.
• Botch a rescue in a potentially lethal way.
Ask: “Where are the waves pushing our Characters?”
THE ROPESKEEPER
The Ropeskeeper tends to the ropes course, the structure at the
heart of the Woods. They are an enigmatic staff member, one
who prefers the company of the wooden beams and tall trees to
the presence of other staff or, heavens forbid, actual campers.
Still, the Ropeskeeper is a vital part of the camp ecosystem
and helps hold the entire community together with their stoic
hermeticism.
The Ropeskeeper is a distant individual. Their power is
in quick movement, sudden shows of cold kindness, and the
forest itself.
Play To Find Out:

• Why do you care about other people?
• What drove you into the Woods?
• Why do your friends keep you around?
choose your name:
O An Old Name
O A Name Said Thoughtfully
O A Carefully-Chosen Name
O A Name With Power Behind It
describe your look:

O Dull Eyes
O Hardened Eyes
O Pointed Eyes
O Animal Eyes
O Wideset Body
O Tense Body
O Wiry Body
O Nimble Body
O Scarred Body

O Hermit
O Sailor
O Druid
O Swamp Thing
O Rusted Sword
O A Fox
O An Ancient Oak
O None of Your Business
choose how the woods first helped:

O You were running from a bully.
O The Lindworm was trying to kill you.
O A wise mentor showed you its wisdom.
O A dream guided you between the branches.
O You were in love here, once.
choose the woods' impact:
O Overwhelms with natural beauty.
O Reveals spoken lies with birdsong.
O Honors pain with shared simile.
O Tells the truth with venerable silence.
O Keeps promises with sunlight.
choose why you still have friends:

O You’re funny.
O You give good advice.
O You listen.
O You’re there for people when it matters.
O You know people better than they know themselves.

• What happened that made you seek refuge in my Woods?
• Why were you banned from entering my Woods?
• Why did I stop loving you?
tips:
• Interact with your Woods like you would with your own
internal thoughts.
• Don’t leave your Woods behind. But don’t get trapped in
your Woods, either.
lure:
Every time someone runs to your Woods to escape a problem,
they get a Token.

• Use the Woods’ impact on someone else.
• Teach someone else how to defend themself.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play by redirecting it through
the Woods.
Ask: “Where does your Character feel safe?”

Ask: “What happens if my Character opens up to yours?”
regular moves:
• Lash out at someone by using the Woods as a weapon.
• Ask the Woods for advice.
• Communicate with silence better than words can.
Ask: “What is your Character hiding from mine?”

• Completely shut down.
• Shatter your friends’ trust in you by fleeing.
• Allow the Woods to feel unsafe for you.
Ask: “How is your Character jealous of mine?”
THE SONGLEADER
by abe mendes
Camp music lifts us up and binds us together. In uproarious

singalongs, we find community. In heartfelt refrains by
campfire light, we find home. The Songleader sings from the
soul with carefully chosen words and a gentle touch, and their
voice hits you square in the heart and makes you want to join
in. If camp has a voice, it isn’t that of any one person; it’s the
combined voices of each and every camper and staff member.
But it’s the Songleader who spurs them all to sing.
The Songleader is a tender individual. Their power is
in their voice, the voices of others, and the togetherness of
countless arms wrapped around countless shoulders.
Play To Find Out:

• Is this place still home for you?
• Does singing together hold any real power in the face of
violence and cruelty?
• Will your softness last the coming storm, or will it be worn
away to reveal roughness and sharp edges?
choose your name:
O A Name With a Pleasing Sound
O A Name Used Only Here
O A Name That's Fun to Chant
O A Full Name Never to be Abbreviated
describe your look:

O Curious Eyes
O Thoughtful Eyes
O Happy Eyes
O Gentle Eyes
O Delicate Body
O Fluid Body
O Stable Body
O Slow-Moving Body
O Body Built for Strong Hugs

O Blackberry Blossom
O June Apple
O Freight Train
O Crawdad
O Wagon Wheel
O Quite Early Morning
O Blowing in the Wind

O Distant howling only you can hear.
O Nobody being able to see or hear you.
O Going to sleep and never waking up.
O Your own face in the mirror.
O All of these.
choose your singing voice:
O Strong and grounded–like an anchor.
O Warm and welcoming–like an embrace.
O Playful and meandering–like a chase through tall grass.
O Intimate and honest–like a promise to a friend.
O Haunting and full–like the moon reflected in the Lake.
choose 2 songs:
O Group song no outside force could ever interrupt.
O Story song campers always listen to in quiet, rapt focus.
O Hiking song that always gives the tired and weak a boost of
energy.
O Traditional song that provides insight into the camp’s
history.
O Cyclical song that always brings the camp dog running.

• Why did we grow apart all those years ago?
• What song best represents our relationship?
• What have you said to me but never to anyone else?
tips:
• Describe your songs in terms of the imagery they evoke.
• Let your voice carry. But find places to lift up other voices,
too. Especially those of less developed Characters.
lure:
Every time someone answers your voice with their own, echoing
your words, sentiment, or tone exactly, they get a Token.

• Help someone find their voice.
• Sing someone tired peacefully to sleep.
• Ease tensions with a song everyone knows by heart.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play, redirecting it with raw
emotion.
Ask: “What does your Character most want to hear from mine right
now?"
regular moves:
• Illustrate the power of a song.
• Call out and wait for a response.
• Step out of the light and pass the melody to someone else.
• Hang your head over; hear the wind blow.

• Get involved in a conflict that’s none of your business and
try to mediate.
• Be overcome by someone else’s fear, anger, or grief.
• Lead a song half-heartedly and lose its power forever.
Ask: “How has camp lost its Magic for your Character?”
part 3
setting
elements
THE FIELD
The Field is young, bright, and full of life and victorious play.
It is here where young warriors play under the hot sun and
where happy-go-lucky teens fool around within the shade. It is
a place for doing, not for talking, and its heart is the rhythm of
movement and innocent joy.
The Field is a place overflowing with energy. It desires
decisive action, movement, fun, happiness, peace, fast travel,
and community coming-together.
The Field can be many fields in the Summer Camp, but
it is always the Field.
tips:
• Create invitations to play—with animals, with each other,
with the land.
• Reward action in whatever form it takes.
• Ask compelling questions and build on the answers others
give.
56 — setting elements
Pick up when:
• A scene is set in the Field.
• Someone is frantic or hurried.
• The mist clings to the grass in the morning and it feels right.
give away when:

• You need to take a breather from the energy.
• You need to frolic.
choose 2 aesthetic elements:

O Tall Grass
O Freshly Mowed
O Vibrant
O Mist-Covered
O Teeming with Life
O Well-Trodden
O Untouched
O Damp
O Dewey
O Exuberant
O Clearly Loved
moves:
• Provide insight and fresh eyes on another Setting Element.
• Invite a moment of healthy communication.
• Resolve tensions through play.
• Cause injury without meaning to.
• Create an Item that will help.
• Create a Staff Minor Character.
• Provide another Setting Element’s desire.
After every Move, ask “What do you do?”
setting elements — 57
THE WOODS
The Woods are an old place, far older than the camp, and filled
with the aching pain only acquired from generations of trauma.
The Woods are dedicated to revealing, opening, and inspiring,
but are also apathetic and filled with the weight of its own
memories. If you treat the Woods with respect, it might respect
you. Live within the Woods, and you’ll become one of its own.
The Woods are a mournful place. It desires to be left
alone, to bring together, to heal, to talk, to reveal, and to live
independent of cruelty and misunderstanding.
If there is a Ropeskeeper, use their answers for
information here. They should start with the Woods. Otherwise,
answer those sections and write them down yourself.
tips:
• Act quietly, through framing scenes and asking questions.
• Explore the majesty of something that has an emotional
life independent from a human idea of feelings.
give.
Pick up when:
• A scene is set in the Woods.
• Something from the Woods emerges into the camp.
• The air is thick and misty and it feels right.
give away when:

• The Woods feel incomprehensible, deeply unsafe, or
exhaustingly mundane to you.
Write Your Impact:

O Old Growth
O Young
O Evergreen
O Deciduous
O Swamp
O Tangled
O Clearcut
O Surrounded
O Sprawling
O Intelligent
O Pained
O Healing
O Hopeful
O Distrusting
moves:
• Perform your Impact (as written by the Ropeskeeper if
present).
• Lead people together, even if they don’t want to see each
other.
• Reveal a new secret that must be grappled with.
• Express the Woods’ pain.
THE LAKE
The Lake is where secrets go to die. When it is present in the
story, it seems to cover up and distort truth by swallowing
it under the waves. Although the Lake is not an agent of the
Lindworm it can often work in the Lindworm’s favor, hiding its
influence and putting others in danger.
The Lake is a hungry place. It desires to conceal, to feed
on secrets, to smother, to kill, to grow beyond its banks, to
seduce, to lure, and to keep the truth hidden beneath its waves.
Anyone can start with the Lake except for the Lifeguard.
The Lifeguard never ends up with the Lake unless it makes
perfect sense.
tips:
• Create good reasons for someone to either literally or
metaphorically enter the Lake.
• Be filled with the alien, beyond what is expected.
give.
Pick up when:
• A scene is set by or in the Lake.
• The Lake has wisdom (or false wisdom) it must offer the
camp.
• The air is murky, misty, and it feels right.
give away when:

• Your Character needs to keep a secret.
• The Lake feels too dark and too exhausting to bear.

O Shining
O Vast
O Rippling
O Misty
O Forbidden
O Muddy
O Algae-Filled
O Plentiful
O Deceiving
O Reflective
O Revealing
O Hungry
moves:
• Work to keep a secret from being revealed.
• Push people apart, through coincidence or geography.
• Fabricate a falsehood.
• Feed the waves.
THE CAMPERS
The Campers are a diverse body of fools, fiends, and toadies,
who love nothing more than to get up to terrible mischief and
vex your existence. And you love every single one of them, oh
so much. The Campers are young and full of confusion, but are
also always capable of more than you’d expect. The Campers are
capable of helping you and each other, but can never understand
the stakes of the Lindworm.
The Campers are a group of kind souls. They desire
freedom, autonomy, space to make mistakes, parental guidance,
wisdom from elders, fun, jokes, and drama.
The Counselor never begins with the Campers, and should
avoid picking them up.
tips:
• Create lovable Campers, who even at their worst are
relatable, and reveal their anxieties and and capacities.
• Be helpful when expected to be useless, but fail when it is
reasonable to fail.
• Play, fight, bicker, run around, have feelings, and be honest.
give.
Pick up when:
• The Campers speak up as a group.
• A Camper should have their voice heard.
• The air is warm and it feels right.
give away when:

• You cannot understand why the kids are this way right now.
• You want to talk to a Camper.
for each camper, choose 2 genders (1 from

each column):
O Masculine O Cicada
O Feminine O Fox
O Full O Eagle
O Empty O Pillbug
O Open O Worm
O Closed
O Faux Wolf
O Ajar
O Dragon
O Adjacent
O Robin
O Crossing Past
O Above O Coyote
O Below O Lion
O Inbetween O Moth
O Overflowing O Butterfly
O Vacant O Tree
moves:
• Show someone starting something new.
• Remind everyone what they’re fighting for.
• Reveal vulnerability through reflection.
• Create a Camper Character.
• Introduce drama and contention.
THE MAGIC
The Magic is a force, something that pervades all of existence
and inhabits the secret parts of the world where humans
haven’t been. To guide the Magic is a process known as Crafting,
something that can only be done carefully and precisely.
The Magic is only as violent as its users, but it can also be a
capricious and odd force. No one knows if the Magic is real, but
it feels like it is in its quiet and subtle ways.
The Magic is a tricky force. It desires stories, adventures,
heroes, villains, art, beauty, joy, and above all, improbable
coincidences.
The Crafter begins with the Magic, but should put it
down quickly.
tips:
• Push for odd coincidences and unexpected events that slam
disconnected plot elements together.
• Never discover whether or not Magic is real.
• You help weave the story into something cohesive. Utilize
that.
give.
Pick up when:
• The story needs a little tying together.
• There’s some electricity in the air and it feels right.
give away when:

• You want to ask the Magic for help.
• The Magic is taking up too much space.
choose 2 visual metaphors:

O Fireflies
O Cicadas
O Flaming Embers
O Smoke
O Mist
O Flashlights
O The Moon
O The Stars
O Eyes in the Darkness
O A Specific Knobbled Tree
moves:
• Act through something unaware.
• Provide unexpected tools.
• Create a Villain Minor Character.
• Create a Savior Minor Character.
• Provide a moment of impossibility when needed most.
THE STRANGENESS
The Strangeness are the old creatures of the world who arrived
to this barren Earth long before we did, and carry with them
the rats and pests and squirming pieces of faraway lands. They
have blood on their hands but they do not allow it to phase
them, preferring instead to dwell on what could’ve been. The
Strangeness knows about things they shouldn’t, and have many
secrets and truths to offer—if you’ll listen. Sometimes, the
Strangeness is just a possum that keeps walking after getting
hit by a car. Sometimes it is an entire commune beneath the
hills, with their own laws and a god made of broken concrete.
They are not the Lindworm, but perhaps they can help.
Read the Act instructions for whether or not the
Strangeness should be in play, or if there’s something more
explicit (such as a Strange Setting Element, found later in this
book).
tips:
• Be subtle at first, so subtle that people don’t realize you’re
playing as the Strangeness.
• Imply something larger that no one can understand.
• Imagine something more bizarre than you started with.
give..
Pick up when:
• The world is alien and uncomfortable and it feels right.
give away when:

• You need to confront something profoundly odd.
keep track of strange events:

Whenever you think an event meets with a specific theme, mark
it on the Strangeness Table. When you consult the Strangeness
Table, follow whichever has the most tallies by it.
moves:
• Foreshadow Strangeness.
• Decide something about the world.
• Offer an unexpectedly useful Item, without your presence
being known.
• Hint at a secret that changes everything.
• Quietly push people in weird directions.
• Cause injury under mysterious circumstances.
• Create a Minor Character with ominous intentions.
the strangeness table:

If the Strangeness is in play, keep track of the themes of the
game using this table. Whenever a Strangeness has more
than 3 tallies its associated themes, begin to foreshadow that
Strangeness using the aesthetic elements next to its name.
The Murder of Destiny, Feathers, objects in groups of

Crows Heartbreak three, tangled thread
Our Lady Unseasonable cold, unrecognized

Cold, Forgetting
Oubliette kids, Fuzzy memories
The Dreams, Haunting dreams, omens, mist
Slumbering
Beast Conquest from holes in the ground
The Underhill The Underworld Dirt, strange calls from the

King Authority mountain, hoofprints
CHARACTER SPARKS
by Kazumi Chin
In Sleepaway, most Setting Elements include Moves that ask

players to create Characters. This optional table, loosely based
on the tarot, can be used to give each Character a unique Spark
(a thematic quality and Move) during the creation process.
Using Sparks
1. To incorporate Sparks into your game, utilize a second

deck of playing cards.
2. When you use a Character creation Move, draw three
cards and consult the chart. Select a Spark or two,
corresponding to your card(s), and assign them to the
new Character. Write the Character’s name, pronouns,
and Spark details on an index card, then pin it to the
Corkboard.
3. Whenever that Character is portrayed, let the Sparks
guide that portrayal. At some point, the Character
might use the Move associated with the Spark.
4. There are many other ways to use this table; feel free
to experiment. The aim here is to help breathe life into
your Campers and other NPCs, and give them the full,
complex lives they deserve without slowing down the
game’s pace.
Hearts Diamonds Clubs Spades
Loving Helpful Observant Gloomy
2 Give someone Offer more Notice strange Complain that
my heart. than I can give. things. you're bored.
Popular Divisive Secretive Cursed
3 Be liked by Lead a critical Tell someone my Be followed by
most everyone. faction. plans. bad luck.
Peaceful Organized Joyful Introverted
4 Find meditative Refuse a change Love more than Spend time
space. of plan. most. alone.
Depressed Vulnerable Destructive Simmering
5 Stay in bed all Reveal the pain Blow something Attempt to
day. I feel. up. harm someone.
Dreamy Mystical Humorous Questioning
6 Get lost in Lead others Be the center of Be unsure
thought. in Ritual. attention. about it.
Alluring Political Alien Selfish
7 Lead others Raise Misunderstand Break someone's
astray. consciousness. humans. trust.
Lonely Independent Frantic Tormented
8 Hang out all by Do everything Be unable to Become easily
myself. myself. communicate. frustrated.
Excited Driven Mocking Cold
9 Fixate on a Take advantage Viciously bully Refuse to engage
single desire. of others. someone. in activities.
Fiery Lucky Wrathful Morbid
10 Light something Gain something Hold a deep Talk about death
on fire. special. grudge. and dying.
Heroic Assertive Dramatic Rebellious
J Charge towards Hate something Tell exaggerated Challenge power
danger. loved. tales. structures.
Protective Kind Judgmental Forthcoming
Q Smother others Sacrifice to keep Gossip and Say what
with love. others happy. spread rumors. others won't.
Vengeful Confrontational Decisive Inspirational
K Harm those Start Make a strong Urge others
who harmed. a fight. decision. to action.
Energetic Adventurous Artistic Creative
A Exceed Get into Create some- Invent some-
containment. some trouble. thing heartfelt. thing useful.
part 4
act
structures
CHANNELING THE LINDWORM
It is the monster that makes the world bleed, with arms like
tree branches and far too many teeth. There is always someone
to profit from the suffering of children. The Lindworm is a
shapeshifter, a skin-crawler, something that can steal the skin
of a human, flaying them alive, and live inside of it. It doesn’t
need to, of course.
There’s just something so fun about the way naked
tendons dance before falling still.
You do not roleplay as the Lindworm. No one roleplays
as the Lindworm. Instead, you decide the Lindworm’s actions
from its deck, channeling the Lindworm’s ghost hovering over
the table.
When it’s time for you to decide the Lindworm’s
actions, everyone closes their eyes. Wait a moment and then
open yours. Choose one of the top 3 cards from the deck, and
place it in a way that makes the Lindworm’s meaning as clear as
you can—in front of a specific person or sitting atop the deck
to indicate its general atmosphere.
Afterwards, knock on the table and then close your eyes
as well.
72 — act structures
tips:
• The Lindworm enjoys playing
with its food.
• The Lindworm avoids Hearts
cards unless it has no choice.
• The Lindworm prefers choosing
cards with the symbol of the
current Act on it.
• The Lindworm has no goals or
desires beyond making people
hurt. This is just a game to it.
• The Lindworm first kills animals.
Then adults. Then children. Then,
finally, the Characters. Always in
that order.
• Ask nothing. Allow the cards to
speak and destroy.
• The Lindworm is infallible and
unrelatable.
CARD TABLES
For the list of the Lindworm’s
Actions, please refer to the tables
on the following pages. Each one
provides multiple interpretations, so
that your group can work together to
create meaning in whatever manner
Nighttime is its
best suits the story you’re telling.
own world during
the summer, full of
mysterious song and
deep shadows. It feels
like you could just
start walking, and
never stop.
act structures — 73
Hearts
Young love, Speaking up,

2 A hollow sense of unease.
Play, Running through the Field,

3 The oppressive heat of the sun.
New friends, Community,

4 A figure at the woodline and gone in an instant.
Small kindness, A gift,

5 Today reminds you of a dream you once had.
Innocent laughter, Fumbling hands,

6 A half-hearted lie.
The majesty of nature, Time spent appreciating,

7 The pain of a tree.
Sudden excitement, Blinding light,

8 An enormous sound.
Halcyon, A bountiful world,

9 A heavy weight on your shoulders.
Found family, Caring and connection,

10 Hold tight to what you care about.
The tension of the coming storm,

J Dark clouds gathering, Sudden haunting realizations.
Add a new Motif, “Rain,” to the Web.
The oppressive nature of rain,
Q Feeling trapped, Isolation from your friends.
All players gain a Token as the rain pours down.
The joyful release of rain,
K Running free on the Field, Old friends coming home.
Create and add a new Minor Character to the Web.
The smell after the rain,
A Dewdrops on grass, Nostalgia found in the mud.
Create and add a new Item to the Web.
Diamonds
Approaching danger, Small things in pain,

2 The flayed corpse of a squirrel.
Biting at skin, Anxiety,

3 Long scrape marks on a tree.
Uncertainty, A dark cloud overhead,

4 A scar that you don’t know where it came from.
Decay, Rotting food,

5 A bloated carcass emerging from the Lake.
The uncanny, Alien sensations,

6 Floating bones.
Becoming lost, Desperate cravings,

7 Mysterious patterns locking together.
Sudden pain, Sharp unease,

8 Coyotes howling in the darkness.
Lost sleep, Deep shadows full of pain,

9 Two rats having devoured each other.
Fields thick with noxious mud,

10 Festering wounds, Rabbits with black bile.
Fire, Sudden brightness,

J Fear amongst the Campers.
Fog, Obscuring,
Q People missing within the heavy mists.
Strange massacre, Scattered droplets of blood,

K Drowned fish in the lake.
Cursed royalty, Nightmares,

A A vivisected deer scattered on the branches.
Clubs
Jolted awake, Reality melting,

2 Campers having nightmares during the day. Who?
Bloodstained fingernails, Pleas for help,

3 Campers can’t stop clawing at their own skin. Who?
Blood trickling from the trees, Inevitable slow pain,

4 Campers can’t stop bleeding. Who?
Ghost stories, Memories of past trauma,

5 An extra Camper who shouldn’t be here. Who?
Confusion, Mists pushing people against each other,

6 One Camper lashes out against another. Who? Why?
Secrets, Old objects emerging from the undergrowth,

7 Campers saw the Lindworm and won't talk about it. Who?
Mistakes, Manipulation,
8 Campers have started playing with animal bones. Who?
An alluring promise, The scent of distant fruits,

9 Campers lured away. Who? Where?
Sudden attack, Destruction of safety,

10 One Camper’s bed was destroyed by sharp claws. Who?
A Camper was found dead; mouth stuffed full of wooden sticks

J and eyes gouged out. Remove a Camper Character from the
Corkboard and replace it with this card. Draw the Camper.
A Camper was found dead; stabbed twenty times and
Q covered in animal bones. Remove a Camper Character from the
Corkboard and replace it with this card. Draw the Camper.
A Camper was found dead; skin peeled off, unrecognizable.
K Remove a Camper Character from the Corkboard and replace it
with this card. Draw the Camper.
A Camper was found dead; lobotomized while writing a letter
A for help. Remove a Camper Character from the Corkboard
and replace it with this card. Draw the Camper.
Spades
Their body is my plaything: Destroy a Minor Character
2 card who isn’t a Camper. That Character’s body is now the
Lindworm’s form. (Do not roleplay as the Lindworm.)
You run in circles like mice in a cage: Divide the map in two.
3 It requires a Strong Move to cross the division.
Dance with me!: Cut five strings on the Corkboard,

4 leaving a clean line through the web.
Don’t you realize what I’ve turned you into?:

5 Answer, “What goal in life has my Character given up on?”
Don’t you remember what I did to you?:

6 Answer, “What does my Character most regret in life?”
I take away everything that reminds you of your childhood:

7 Destroy the Field Setting Element.
I’ll take everything from you:

8 Destroy all but 3 Item cards.
Behold what I will turn you into:

9 Add the Bones Setting Element.
10 Die: A player Character dies.
They scatter like roaches before me:

J Destroy the Campers Setting Element.
My children hunt:
Q Add the Wolves Setting Element.
You really thought I’d let you live?: None of your

K Characters will survive. All of you answer, “How does your
Character cope with inevitable death?”
I want to make you bleed:You cannot make Strong

A or Regular Moves until you spend three Tokens.
THE ONESHOT
Oneshots are ideal for new players interested

in trying out Sleepaway. They last a normal
session length, about 3-4 hours, including
learning how to play.
objectives:
• Introduce the Characters, the setting, and those
relationships with one another.
• Keep asking questions.
• Make aggressively strong choices.
• Help each other fall in love with the Characters.
• Invoke the Strangeness.
• Put your Characters in bad situations.
• Leave questions unanswered.
before the oneshot

Remove all Spades from the deck and put them aside.
Create The Web

In a Oneshot game, the normal act structure of Sleepaway is
condensed. The building, expanding, and destroying phases are
collapsed into one. As such, the Corkboard can't serve the same
use as it does in a three-act game. But it can still serve as a
valuable ritual or aesthetic object, if that works for your group.
When running a Oneshot, I recommend using the
Corkboard to draw the map instead of using a blank page. Write
Locations down on index cards and attach them together with
string. As the game develops, take notes and pin more things
to the board. Allow it to become your playground for telling the
story together.
Oneshot Scene Prompts
• A hike in the Woods during sunset—what do you need to
confess?
• Swimming in the Lake after the kids have gone to bed—
what haven’t you told each other?
• Helping to resolve an argument between two Campers—
what’s wrong in the air?
• A meal, at which the Magic is felt—how does it make its
presence known?
• One Staff takes another to fix up an injury—how does the
conversation become emotional?
• The Strangeness manifested during a game of four square—
what form does it take?
• You’re making the rounds after check-in, because two
Campers are missing, when you hear giggling in the
Woods—what form of Strangeness have your Campers
become entangled in?
• A body has been found in the Lake—when was the last time
the camp director had been seen?
Ending The Oneshot

A Oneshot won’t necessarily have the full emotional arc of a full
Campaign game. I encourage you to end it on a note of creeping
dread. Perhaps a vision of the camp rotting away, or a wave of
spoiled flesh. Perhaps a description of the Lindworm’s actions,
or a montage of where everyone is in the final moments of their
uncomfortable and tragic positions. It’s okay to encourage
players to end up in those positions together, and create the
setup for a creepy and raw endpoint.
If you have access to any Rituals, you're welcome to end
the Oneshot using one of them. They work well as a final scene
to tie it all together. The Daybreak Field, A Moment of Identity,
or Spellcrafting are all perfect Rituals for this purpose.
THE SURFACE
A Sleepaway campaign can be one of the most
rewarding ways to play the game. The shortest
possible campaign you can play with Sleepaway
is three sessions—one for each act; the Surface,
the Descent, and the Abyss. The Surface is where
the story begins for Campaign play. It is when
tensions begin to rise, the world just starts to
creep you out, and the Strangeness is alluded to.
Objectives
• Introduce the Characters, the setting, and those
relationships with one another.
• Set the stage for the interpersonal conflicts that will shape
the story.
• Help each other fall in love with the Characters.
• Keep the story feral and wild.
• Foreshadow the Strangeness.
• Become the architects of your game.
before the oneshot

Remove all Spades from the deck and put them aside.
building the web

Using index cards, create small notes on the Corkboard that
you can pin and connect as you play. These should cover four
general categories:
• Characters: Representing campers, other staff, Strange
individuals, and other beings with identities. Camper
Characters should be the most plentiful.
• Items: Representing objects found during your journey.
• Locations: Representing spots where moments occurred
that are notable enough to be marked on the Corkboard.
These are distinct from Setting Elements, but can and
should be contained within them.
• Motifs: Recurring thematic and aesthetic elements that
either have cropped up multiple times or that you expect to
come up again.
Connect these four types of cards together freely, based on
physical or spiritual proximity. Whenever the Lindworm makes
a play, attach that card to the Corkboard and interweave it with
the other cards. The end result is ideally a psycho-emotional
reflection of the interconnected relationship between the
players, the game, and the conversation as a whole, which
means there’s no way to do it wrong.
starting Scene Prompts

• A hike in the Woods during sunset—what do you need to
confess?
• Swimming in the Lake after the kids have gone to bed—
what haven’t you told each other?
• Helping to resolve an argument between two Campers—
what’s wrong in the air?
• A meal, at which the Magic is felt—how does it make its
presence known?
• One Staff takes another to fix up an injury—how does the
conversation become emotional?
• You’re making the rounds after check-in because two
Campers are missing, when you hear giggling in the
Woods—what form of Strangeness have your Campers
become entangled in?
• A body has been found in the Lake—when was the last time
the camp director had been seen?
End the surface

Leave the Surface after the Lindworm has played a Clubs card
between 2 and 5 times, or when the group agrees that it’s time.
As you leave the Surface, perform a Ritual to provide emotional
closure on this act of the game. If you’re not sure which Ritual
makes sense, A Moment of Identity is always a safe bet.
THE DESCENT
The Descent is when the story explodes

with fear, action, drama and tension.
Objectives
• Allow emotional relationships and dynamics to explode in
your faces.
• Let Minor Characters die, and mourn their deaths in turn.
• Terrify your friends, shaking them to their core, and be
terrified in turn.
• Ask questions about the setting, and begin to answer them
together.
• Don't save anything for later.
• Take pauses with flashbacks.
• Engage with the Strangeness.
before the descent

Take out all the Hearts except the face cards (Ace, Jack, Queen,
King), and put in all the Spades except the face cards. Consult
the Strangeness Table and, as a group, choose one of the
Strangenesses to use.
expand the web

The process for continuing the Corkboard in the Descent is
identical to building it in the Surface. However, don’t add
totally new Motif cards to the board. Instead, begin to flesh
out the Motifs by writing down sub-Motifs and patterns that
connect to the main cards established in the Surface.
If Your Character Dies
The Descent can last for a very long
time. During the span of play, it will
inevitably happen that Characters
will die. You can always choose for
your Character die, but sometimes
your Character will die without your
comfort or expectation. When your
Character dies, you have two main
options:
1. Choose one of the Late-Game
Character Sheets, such as the
Found-Again, the Guide, or
the Orchid, and create a new
Character.
2. Have no new Character at all, and
take a more authoritative role
with a Setting Element or two.
If you have access to them, Strange
Character Sheets such as the Moth
Maiden or the Cataract Squire
can also be utilized, bringing your
character back to life.
Ending The Descent

Leave the Descent after the
Lindworm has played a Spades card
between 2 and 5 times, or when
the group agrees that it’s time. As I once sat with two
you leave the Descent and enter the friends past curfew
Abyss, perform a Ritual to provide and watched the
emotional closure on this act of moths leave our world
and travel to the
the game. If you’re not sure which
moon, carrying our
Ritual makes sense, the associated secrets away.
Strangeness’ Ritual is always a safe
bet.
THE ABYSS
The Abyss is the lowest point, when

everything collapses together.
Objectives
• Resolve your interpersonal conflicts, genuinely.
• Don’t forget that your Characters are wholly realized
people, not just Lindworm fighters.
• Trim away the excess, leaving only the core of your story.
• Discover the themes that make your game tick.
• Do not fear death.
• Do not roleplay as the Lindworm.
• Be the architects of your own game.
before the abyss

Remove all Hearts from the deck and add the final Spades cards.
scene setting
Start each scene with one Location or Motif notecard. Once
you have a scene tied to that theme, remove it from the board,
ripping apart any string tying it to anything else. Then flee to
the next card along one of the strings as it falls away. Any Items
or Characters you can pick up will be invaluable. If there is a
Spades card there, that means the Lindworm will act again with
that action. Get to as many scenes as you can, gathering allies
and having conversations. Rescue any setting details you can.
Cope with any new ones.
If a set of scenes becomes isolated from the rest, those
scenes wither and die.
Once you’re trapped in a corner and you can’t jump to
any other scenes, you must fight the Lindworm.
Ending The game
When you end the game, everyone
alive has the final staredown against
the Lindworm. Turn out all the
lights, leaving just enough to see by.
Set the mood correctly.
Place all of the cards played by
the Lindworm in the center of the
table, and remove all unplayed cards. after the abyss
Then take all the items and visited Sometimes you want
scenes and put them in the center of to keep going after ev-
the table in a separate pile. Do not erything’s gone to Hell
place any Camper Characters in this and back. That’s good!
pile. Although my personal
playstyle and philoso-
Going around the table, each
phy encourages me to
player should take one of their cards use that as a chance to
and destroy it. Declare how some take a break from the
aspect of it helps them live and keep setting of Sleepaway
moving forward. and explore other sto-
The other players, in reaction, ries (or even play a
should fold in half or otherwise new session of Sleep-
away, with new Char-
mark one of the Lindworm’s cards acters and new ap-
and explain why that strength is a proaches to the game),
weakness. I also understand the
If you run out of index cards desire to keep going
before the Lindworm has run out forward. If you think
of playing cards, start using your there’s more story to
tell, you’re welcome
Character Sheets or anything else
to go back to the De-
that can be your strength against the scent and play in that
pain. Remember to never roleplay space. Remove Moves
the Lindworm. that reference the
The Lindworm wins if you Lindworm and instead
must resort to destroying Camper focus more heavily on
Characters in order to survive. the variety of Strange-
ness in the game.
All the players win otherwise.
After that is up to you.
part 5
the
strangeness
strangeness character
THE FOUND–AGAIN
The Found-Again was once a staff member at the camp, long
ago, before the Lindworm arrived. With its arrival, for one
reason or another, this poor unfortunate staff had no choice
but to flee, and hide deep within the secret places of the world.
Now they’ve returned, nervous and unprepared for a world
that has rapidly changed without them.
The Found-Again is a lost individual. Their power is
in nostalgia, a fresh perspective, and a connection with the
Strangeness.
The Found-Again can only be played if your previous
Character has died.
Play To Find Out:

• Why did you run?
• What happened to you?
• What changed when you left?
90 — the strangeness
choose your name:
O A Name Previously Invoked in The Conversation
O A Slightly Old-Fashioned Name
O A Familiar Name
O A Simple Name
describe your look:

O Fretful Eyes
O Haunted Eyes
O Hopeful Eyes
O Wandering Eyes
O Unkempt Body
O Injured Body
O Body Touched by Magic
O Body With Nowhere Else to Go

O Nettles
O Plums
O Old
O Young
O Snapdragons
O Mayflies
O Cicadas
O Queen Anne's Lace
O Maple Tree
O Cairn
choose what camp has been missing:

O A Heart
O A Compassionate Leader
O A Dreamer
O A Realist
O An Anchor
the strangeness — 91
choose where you've been:
O Beneath the mountain, in a cruel king’s court.
O Beneath the waters of the Lake, trapped.
O Beneath the frozen dirt, tended to by a kingdom of ice.
O Beneath the world, with a massive Slumbering Beast.
O Beneath the skies, wandering free and friendless.
choose what you gave away & found:

O Traded away your future for a family of Strange creatures.
O Traded away your heart for the secret language of the trees.
O Traded away seeing your family again for a bronze crown.
O Traded away living outside the Woods for a way for everyone
else to live.
O Traded away any chance of being normal again for a Magic
that makes you glow with power.

• How does your childhood crush on me feel now?
• Why didn’t you remember me fondly?
• What did my disappearance make you realize?
tips:
• Give the group what it’s missing, but also leave empty the
space left by your previous Character.
• Underline how different things are now.
lure:
Every time someone else starts a flashback scene, they get a
Token.

• Pull off something mythical, like what the staff could do
when you were small.
• Reignite a spark from the past.
• Introduce a new Strangeness of your choice, that you’re
kinda friendly with.
Ask: “How did our Characters make it through this last time?”
Ask: “What will your Character do if you survive all this?”
regular moves:
• Lash out, using your words as a weapon.
• Find something that had been lost.
• Remind someone of a fact of the camp that people forgot.
Ask: “Why did your Character let go of that?”

Ask: “What is your Character hoping for?”

• Forget how things have changed, and mess up because of
that.
• Speak of something that shouldn’t have been mentioned.
• Break an ancient promise.
• Forget what the point of all of this is.
THE GUIDE
by abe mendes
The Guide’s duty is to accompany campers whenever they

journey beyond their little haven out into the world, bringing
them up mountains, down rivers, and safely home to camp.
Though not without risk, such trips can be times of tremendous
growth and empowerment. And when the wolf is at the door,
the Guide doesn’t bar the way. They look out at the animal,
recognize the hurt in its eyes, and offer to lead it home as well.
The Guide is a worldly individual. Their power is in clear
directions for lost travelers, a steady hand on the steering wheel,
and the lost wolf they’ve brought back from their most recent
trip. The Guide can only be played if your previous Character
has died.
Play To Find Out:

• Is there another way forward, or are some obstacles
insurmountable?
• When all seems lost, will you keep on moving?
• What will become of the lost wolf?
choose your name:
O An Aspirational Name
O A Referential Name
O An Inherited Name
O A Name Chosen Only Recently
describe your look:

O Sharp Eyes
O Far-Off Eyes
O Steady Eyes
O Weary Eyes
O Brisk Step
O Leisurely Step
O Springy Step
O Uneven Step

O A Port in a Storm
O A Needle and Thread
O A Guiding Star
O A Pair of Well-Worn Boots
O A Sheepdog
O A Magnet
O A Gender that Comes and Goes
choose where you're headed next:

O Back home–to get some much needed rest.
O Back home–to remember who you used to be.
O Back home–you’re needed there and can’t leave for long.
O Wherever your feet carry you–your old home is home no
longer.
O You’re not leaving–someone must care for the land over the
winter, after all.
choose what of yourself you saw in the
lost wolf:
O Ever-Present Alertness (What are you watching for?)
O Insatiable Hunger (What need drives you?)
O Fierce Loyalty (What might you overlook in those you trust?)
O Reckless Courage (Why so incautious?)
name 2 campers you just brought home:

O One who has grown attached to the Lost Wolf.
O One who is completely terrified of it.
Use the rules for Sparks on pages 68-69 to detail them.
5 ways the lost wolf's hurt might manifest:

• Unprompted aggression, blood that seeps from wood and
stone.
• Growling at nothing, bared teeth, contagious anxiety.
• A destructive rampage, a change in the landscape.
• A retreat from view, sharp thorns that bar the way.
• A mournful howl answered by many more. (Add the Wolves
Setting Element).
ask 2 to 2 players:
• How do you remind me of my past self?
• In what way have you rejected my guidance?
• When I was lost, how did you help me find my way?
tips:
• Speak of the future often, drawing connections between it
and the past and present.
• Act like it’s no big deal that you set off on a trip with some
kids and came back with an actual wolf as well.
lure:
Every time someone offers the Lost Wolf a little more trust
than they had previously, they get a Token.

• Find a way, clear a path, plot a course.
• Show someone how far they’ve come.
• Provide someone a reason to keep going.
• Reinterpret the Lindworm’s play with an act by the lone
wolf.
Ask: “If you knew luck was on your side, what route would you take
forward?”
regular moves:
• Take a load off someone, but shoulder the weight yourself.
• Light the way home for friend and foe alike.
• Let the wind lead you to where you need to be.
Ask: “What does your Character see on the horizon?”

Ask: “Where is your Character coming from here?”

• Lose sight of the path you’ve been treading.
• Push someone who isn’t ready to move on.
• Let the Lost Wolf’s hurt manifest a way it hasn’t before.
Ask: “What has your Character thrown to the wolves?”
THE ORCHID
by kazumi chin
Sometimes we sink so deeply it takes years to emerge. And

the forces of the world keep pushing us down until we end up
somewhere we never thought we’d be. It makes sense then,
that there are those of us who find comfort in the Strangeness.
And through it, a way to return to the surface—to once again
bloom. The summer camp is a refuge for anyone who needs
safety from the violence of the world, and sometimes our old
friends find their way back to our doorsteps at the Strangest
times.
The Orchid is an unnerving individual. Their power is
grounded, mysterious, and draws upon those Gifts granted by
the Strangeness. The Orchid can only be played if your previous
Character has died.
Play To Find Out:

• Will you use your Gifts selfishly or generously?
• Will you be able to lean on others for support?
• How will you relate to your past and those who know it?
choose your name:
O A Brooding Name
O A Lunar Name
O A Wandering Name
O A Name the Strangeness Gave You
describe your look:

O Arresting Eyes
O Darting Eyes
O Knowing Eyes
O Quiet Eyes
O Piercing Eyes
O Slim Body
O Starved Body
O Tired Body
O Heavyset Body
O Hunched Body

O Disobedient
O Subtle
O Burgeoning
O Thrush
O Void
O Starlight
O Moon Queen
choose 2 gifts:
O The Hunger
O Moonlight
O The Coming Storm
O Renewal in Decay
O Culling the Bones
O Uncanny Likenesses
O Haunting Mists
O Tree-Speech
O Unearthing
O The Thrush's Call
O Dark Comforts
choose 1–2 terrors & fascinations:
O A Daring Smile O Very White Teeth
O Open-Ended Questions O Over-the-Shoulder Glances
O Intense Touches O Always Watching
O Emerging from Darkness O Melodious Laughter
O Impeccable Skincare
choose 1–2 histories & hauntings:

O A Father's Death O A Second Identity
O Falling From a Cliff O Gunshots
O Parents Screaming O A Mental Hospital
O A Sister's Illness O Trapped in a Car
O A Prison Cell O Rehab
O Dysphoric Bodies O Fire
choose what you used to love:

O Working on Puzzles
O Searching for Four-Leaf Clovers
O Swimming in The Lake
O Playing With Horseshoes
O Eating Blueberry Pie
O Pillow Forts
O Candy From The Corner Store
O Making Dams in The River
O Playing Chess

• What do I know about you that no one else does?
• Why did we fall out of touch when we were younger?
• Why don’t you trust me?
tips:
• Tell the other players of your past so they can incorporate
it into the story.
• Share with deserving others the power of the Strangeness.

lure:
When someone asks you to use a Gift, they gain a Token.

• Listen unnoticed from the shadows.
• Simply do what needs to be done.
• Silence someone with words or your Gift.
• Use your Gifts with artful precision.
Ask “What is your Character’s greatest fear?”

Ask “What does your Character wish I would do next?”
regular moves:
• Attempt to lend a helping hand.
• Share a quiet moment with someone.
• Use your Gifts with unexpected consequences.
• Let someone see you at your most vulnerable.
Ask “What has my Character not yet noticed?”

Ask “What is your Character really feeling right now?”

• Confess something and seek forgiveness.
• Temporarily lose control of your Gifts.
• Make a promise you cannot keep.
• Break or lose something others depend on.
Ask “Does your Character feel okay with mine being here right
now?”

strangeness element
THE MURDER OF CROWS
Also known as: The Ladies, The Norns, The Fates, The All-
Judges.
The three crows gather atop telephone poles and the
tallest mountain peaks. One knows the past but only lies, one
lives in the moment, and one gibbers of the future that will not
come to pass. Some say the Lindworm was once among their
number. Some say their talons clutch at people’s breath. People
always have things to whisper about old, mad, powerful women
like these.
tips:
• Show kindness to people who need it.
• Push too far and punish too harshly, from cruelty or
misunderstanding.
give.

Pick up when:
• A heart is broken.
• The future is uncertain.
• The air is overcast and it feels right.
give away when:

• You feel your Character has broken an ancient rule.
• You need to ask for help.
choose 2 desires:
O Mock
O Avenge
O Deliver Auspice
O Study
O Confuse

O Scattered Black Feathers O Pine
O Pieces Of String O Wires
O Bronze Coins O Knots
O Broken Twigs O Gemstones
O Telephone Poles O Pieces Of Glass
O Needles O Arid Cliffs
O Groups Of Three O Old Bottles
moves:
• Carry something into the clouds.
• Answer a question with another question, in a mocking
tone.
• Lie about the past.
• Reveal something too late to prevent.
• Ironically punish the sins of another.

strangeness element
OUR LADY OUBLIETTE
by Eric Mersmann
Also known as: Frau Faste, The Snow Queen, Who?, Dolores.
In Winter, this is all still here, but forgotten. The camp,
the Lindworm, and the Queen of Winter. She strides through
the barren wood and across the frozen water, draped in furs
ripped from mink and fox and raccoon and other creatures
who, were it summer, would be playing in verdant woods. The
chilly breeze whispers forgotten secrets, and you huddle closer
to the fire. An ice-cold mountain stream promises that you can
forget all of this if you let yourself sink a bit further. If you
acclimate to the cold. You can get used to anything. It’s not that
cold if you dive in all at once.
tips:
• Hint at secrets divulged in winters past.
• Speak lovingly about forgetting and being forgotten.
• Lavish promises onto your Favorite.
• Insist that pleasant falsehoods are correct and true, and
forget the truth.
give.

Pick up when:
• Someone is abandoned by their friends.
• Pleasant fiction is chosen over an ugly truth.
• Teeth chatter.
• Minor Characters are forgotten.
give away when:

• Everyone is warm and seen.
• Buried secrets are confronted.
choose 2 desires:
O Be Forgotten
O Be Attended
O Coddle the Forgotten
O Bury the Truth in Ice

O Stole Made Of Still Chittering Minks
O Blue Lips
O Slender Pale Horse
O Forgotten Faces Peering From The Fog
O Frost On Windowpanes
O Damp Firepits That Refuse to Light
O Freezing Home Where Everything Is In Its Place
moves:
• Choose a new Favorite.
• Answer a question with an obvious lie.
• Point out the pain of remembering.
• Encase a memory in ice.
• Make a Minor Character forgotten.
• Offer an empty delight in lieu of what is demanded.
• Exacerbate an existing isolation.

strangeness element
THE SLUMBERING BEAST
Also known as: The Dream-Bearer, The Mountain Range, The
God-Bear, The Thrice-Eldest, Catskill.
A massive beast lives beneath the world, a memory of
what once was and what will be. They dream of times long-
forgotten and times still yet to come, of times unspoken
and unspeakable. Some say the Lindworm is something that
escaped from its dreams and now wanders the Earth. It carries
ancient dreams, journeys, other times, the past, the future, and
an isolated fate.
tips:
• Play with subtlety, and do not awaken until it is time.
• Offer disorienting dreams and unexpected visions of other
worlds, other times, and secret truths.
• Once awoken, turn your dreams into reality.
give.

Pick up when:
• Someone dreams.
• Someone should be dreaming.
• The air is mystical and psychedelic and it feels right.
give away when:

• You must dream.
• There is no space for dreaming.
choose 2 desires:
O Dream
O Destroy
O Create
O Burn
O Unite
O Fly Alone
O Fly With Others

O Tusks
O Whispers
O Claws
O Flickering Lights
O Wings
O Thruways
O Spines O Cavernous Maws
O Spiked Rocks O Paintings
O Moss O Desolate Peaks
O Cobwebs O Rounded Hills
moves:
• Tell a story that feels unrelated to what is happening, but
isn’t.
• Narrate a dream.
• Bring dreams into reality.
• Create a Minor Character who doesn’t actually exist.
• Begin to awaken.
• Make a Minor Character forgotten.
• Offer an empty delight in lieu of what is demanded.
• Exacerbate an existing isolation.

strangeness element
THE UNDERHILL KING
Also known as: The King Beneath the Mountains, The Corpse-
Lord, The Horned God, Chthon.
It is the court of the Underhill King that lies beneath
the mountain, its low ceilings made of knotted roots filling
the thick air with the smell of rain. The King himself sits atop
his burial site, adorned with sacrifices from ancient secret
worshippers and massive horns bursting from his head. He
is the lord of all death. Some say the Lindworm was once his
lover. He is the one who carries anger, pride, authority, and the
wisdom of an ancient god of death.
tips:
• Hold the players to institutional rules that don’t match
with expectations of traditional society.
• Embody a Strangeness version of masculinity.
• Remind others of death.
give.

Pick up when:
• Someone explores beneath the world.
• Death hangs in the story.
• The air is dark and filled with rain and it feels right.
give away when:

• You must confront the dead.
• People leave the dead behind.
choose 2 desires:
O Return to Glory
O Fight All
O Confront the Weak
O Rip Love Away
O Conquer
O Assert Power

O Old Camp Patches O Rusted Blade
O Court of Fauns O Massive Tree
O Petroglyphs O Flickering Torches
O Rotting Skin O Parade of Ghosts
O Rotting Fruit O Dancing Spirits
O Antlers Adorned With Bones
moves:
• Bring forth those left behind.
• Offer an impossible bargain.
• Force a sacrifice.
• Keep something beneath the mountain.
• March forth from the hills with vengeance in your heart.
• Answer a question for a price.

lindworm element
THE BONES
The Bones are the flayed bodies of roadkill, pets, and farm
animals that have been transformed into the mocking, hungry
servants of the Lindworm. They exist only to remind us all of
the pain the Lindworm has caused, and the nauseating reality
of what exists directly underneath our skin.
tips:
• Negotiate with your group a level of comfort with body
horror. Once determined, go as hard as hell with that body
horror.
• Act as a perspective for the Lindworm’s cruelty, hunger, and
fascination with bodies.
• Ask compelling questions and both build on and destroy
the answers others give.

Pick up when:
• The Lindworm introduces the Bones to the game.
• When your friends need something to oppose themselves
and to remind them of their fragility.
give away when:

• You’ve escaped the horror.
• You need to confront the Bones.
choose 2 desires:
O Gnaw
O Crawl
O Subvert
O Reveal Fragility
O Tear Away

O Rotting Possum Wandering With Children
O Massive Flayed Deer
O Huge Bear With No Hair
O Pack Of Coyotes Missing Eyes
O Family Of Rabbits With Hollow Guts
O Coins Sewn Into Fur
O Dangling Bits of Thread
O Smeared Mud
O Bones Arranged In Patterns
moves:
• Telegraph the incoming threat of death.
• Sow discontent and discomfort.
• Lash out, killing Minor Characters and breaking Items.
• Take action, causing disgust and horror.
• Place the main Characters in an impossible choice.
• Begin the Ritual for the Roadkill Parade.

lindworm element
THE WOLVES
The Wolves were once a noble people, their hearts tied to the
land and the winter snow woven from their fur. The Lindworm
came and, disguised as one of them, flayed each and every
one of them in this land. Now the Wolves, lost and confused,
wander these ancient woods, enacting the same violence forced
onto them.
tips:
• Negotiate with your group a level of comfort with eldritch
horror. Once determined, go as hard as hell.
• Express and vocalize the pain and anger the Lindworm has
caused, and wrongly apply that anger to the Characters.
• Ask compelling questions and both build on and destroy
the answers others give.

Pick up when:
• The Lindworm introduces the Wolves to the game.
• When your friends need something to oppose themselves
and to perpetuate violence.
give away when:

• You’ve escaped the horror.
• You need to confront the Wolves.
choose 2 desires:
O Howl
O Chase
O Dig In
O Torment
O Break

O Human Hands
O Wolf Skulls
O Too-Big Mouths
O Holes In Skin
O Too Many Eyes
O Floating Blades
O No Eyes At All O Slobbering Tongues
O Long Long Legs O Long Shadows
O Bloodstained White Fur
moves:
• Expose a secret that cuts at the heart of the camp.
• Sow discontent and malice.
• Lash out physically, killing Minor Characters and breaking
Items.
• Invite the Lindworm to act upon the players.
• Place the main Characters in an impossible choice.
• Begin the Ritual for the Pale Hunt.

part 6
rituals
THE CROSSING WAVES
When the winds are strong and the air is brutal and filled with
mist, it might come time to cross the Lake. Perhaps what lies
on the other side is known. Perhaps it is a mystery. Either way,
it is a grave and perilous journey, the fragile canoes unable to
handle the intensity of the gathering storm. One can only hope
the Lake does not choose you to be one of its secrets. The other
side of the pond offers what you need, if you can get to it. But
for now, there is the Lake.
This Ritual allows you to navigate out into new waters,
and explore parts of the game previously undefined by the map.
It is a time for both strong action and tragic loss.
Starting The Ritual:

The statement, “There’s a storm coming.”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe with an unexpected metaphor: Wide-
mouthed bass; Gray skies; Calm water; Light rain; Heavy rain;
Storming skies; Furious water; Flashes of lightning; The boat
itself; Dampness.
• With a single phrase and an action, storm forward against
the waves.
• Lose an Item Card to the Lake. Soak it in water.
• Lose a Character Card to the Lake. Soak it in water.
• Get a Token.
• Make a Strong Move without spending a Token.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken exactly once (except for the
first and last, which can be taken any number of times), the
statement, “The storm is clearing. At least we made it.”
116 — rituals
THE DAYBREAK MEADOW
The only time a camp is truly at peace is in the early morning,
when the mist clings to the grass and the air is still cold and
just starting to warm. If you were watching over campers, they
fall asleep peacefully in the grass. The tensions of the late night
dissipate, and any who stand in the Daybreak Meadow become
lost in the sensation of relief—that the long night is over, that
the day has arrived regardless, a moment of respite in a Strange
and shuddering world. Soon the camp will awaken again, and
some normalcy will return. But for now, there is the Field.
This Ritual is perfect for a moment of peace, where the
Lindworm cannot act. There is no reward for completing this
Ritual besides feeling a bit more positive about your place in
the universe.

A collective, deep breath, and a sigh of relief.
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, with an unexpected metaphor: Mist in
the Field; Scattered birdsong; Dew in the grass; Tiny bugs; Wet
shoes; Cold air; Cautious sunlight; Small creatures dancing in
the bushes; Berries in the bushes; The confused badger onlooker.
• With a single phrase and an action, act how you do in the
Field.
• Have your Character say aloud an impulsive feeling or good-
news confession.
• If the weather is nice, invite the other players to come
outside with you.
Ending The Ritual:

A quick pause, then the rhetorical question,“Isn’t it pretty cold
out here?”
rituals — 117
A MOMENT OF IDENTITY
Sometimes Campers gather in secret places and talk about
their feelings, in darkness or behind the Staff’s backs. This
isn’t a space for the Staff, but is instead a hidden moment for
Campers to grow as people. Someday soon they’ll be older, and
they’ll have learned much of the world. But for now, they are
the Campers.
This Ritual is for when you want to develop some
Camper Characters further, in a space not defined by the core
conflicts of the game between other Characters. For this Ritual,
each player must put aside their normal Characters and pick up
a Camper Character from the Corkboard.

The question, “Okay, is everyone here?”
Moves:
• Say “Never have I ever...” followed by something you’ve
never done. Everyone who has done that groans.
• Ask someone “Truth or Dare!” Then either ask them a
question or give them a dare. Neither answer nor action
should be described.
• Compliment someone on their appearance (eyes, lips, hair,
hands, ears, neck, legs, etc.)
• Reveal something profound about yourself like you’re
answering a Truth.
• Get mad at someone and express it through a snide
comment.
• Make a strong decision about yourself and vocalize it.
Ending The Ritual:

The statement, “I...I think I should go to bed. It’s getting late.”
118 — rituals
SPELLCRAFTING
Anyone can craft a spell. Certainly, the Crafter is the best at
it. But all have much to learn. The crafting of spells begins
perhaps alone, perhaps as a group. It is a slow, careful process,
both the creation of art and the action of Ritual. The Magic
is not forceful but is instead subtle, its presence felt through
quiet actions and silent gifts. You would be easily forgiven for
assuming the Magic doesn’t exist. Many do. And perhaps, out
in the world of concrete and steel, it doesn’t exist. But for now,
there is the Magic.
This Ritual is done with a piece of paper that you can
draw on freely to create your Magic spell.

Gathering supplies in the real world for the Ritual.
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, with an unexpected metaphor:
Incense; Crystals; Crayons; Pens; Personal objects; Pieces of
fabric; Fire; Your breath; The breath of others; The sensation of
one object against another.
• Draw a line or portion of the symbol on a piece of paper.
• Write a word on the piece of paper.
• Burn the paper, or dabble water on the paper.
• Scatter salt on the paper.
Ending The Ritual:

The statement, “Well, that should do it. I hope it works.” Then
fold up and pin the paper to the Corkboard as an Item card. At
any point, you can remove the paper from the Corkboard and
destroy it in order to negate the Lindworm’s play.
rituals — 119
THE SNEAKING PATH
There’s plenty of reasons to get from one place to another
in a hurry, in a way no one will find you. The Woods connect
the unexpected, tying together your secrets and helping the
paths make sense when they need to. The Sneaking Path winds
through the Woods, connecting two disconnected parts of the
camp, in a way that the kids don’t really know about. It’s private,
and it’s free from the outside. Soon you’ll have to emerge from
the other side, and see yourselves in the evening light. But for
now, there are the Woods.
This Ritual allows you to navigate from one scene to
another without drawing the ire of the Lindworm. It leads
from a Location where a scene has already occurred to another
Location. Once used, tie a string in a new color between these
scenes.

The question, “What’s the fastest way to cut through the
Woods?”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, with an unexpected metaphor:
Beautiful bugs; Branches underfoot; Mushrooms on a tree; A
Squirrel; Cicadas; Birdsong; Dappled light on the ground; The
sensation of being surrounded by life; A small creek with a
bridge; Dirt beneath your shoes.
• Hush everyone—they’re too loud!
• Spot someone unexpected, engaged in something equally
unexpected.
• Listen to the advice of the Woods.
Ending The Ritual:

The exclamation, “Whew, we made it!”
120 — rituals
BEGGING THE FATES
The Murder of Crows calls out to you, and you know the destiny
that lies in store. You can see it as clear as the sky, and it clings
to you like the clothes on your back. What else is there to do
when faced with certain and inevitable death but to beg the
world for help? Maybe someday you can find someone kind and
benevolent enough to help from the kindness of their heart.
But for now there is the the Murder of Crows.
This Ritual allows for both the gaining of wisdom for
the future, and navigating the threatening dual nature of the
Murder of Crows.

The exclamation, “Please, please, help us!”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, with an unexpected metaphor: The
mocking call of crows; The dizzying nature of heights; Tangled
string on dead tree branches; Three of an object; Black feathers.
• The Murder of Crows asks a question about the past, with a
painful answer.
• The Murder of Crows presents an agonizing choice.
• The Murder of Crows reveals the future that won’t come to
pass.
• Make a Weak Move without gaining a Token.
• Make a strong decision and stick to it.
• Ask the Murder of Crows a question about the future, which
any three players answer.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken exactly once (except for the
first and last, which can be taken any number of times), the
statement, “Thank you. I understand now.”
rituals — 121
BEING FORGOTTEN
by eric mersmann
They turned their backs on you. Was it because of what you

said or did? No. She promised you it was because of what they
are. Liars, cowards, bullies, all the things you’re afraid you
might be… But you’re not. She said so. She said they’re jealous
of you, how you’re her favorite. You are her Favorite. And now
she’s promised you one more thing. Promised you that she can
freeze your memories of them so they don’t ache any more.
That she can freeze your memories of this entire summer and
the summers before. They can’t hurt you once they’re frozen,
as long as they stay frozen. All you have to do is forget and Be
Forgotten. But for now there’s only Our Lady Oubliette.
Use this Ritual when Our Lady Oubliette makes Her
Favorite Forgotten.

Determine the Favorite, and ask the rhetorical question, “Won’t
it be nice to put all this behind you…”
Moves:
taste of pure sugar on your tongue; Numbness in the tips of your
fingers, toes, and ears; The void where a memory is missing; The
gentle clink of silver against china; The curl at the edge of her
smile.
• The Favorite loses a memory shared with another Character.
Say it aloud for the last time.
• A Character loses a memory shared with the Favorite. Say it
aloud for the last time.
• The Favorite removes a card from the Corkboard. Fold it as
small as you can and put it in a pocket.
• Take a thread from the Corkboard and tie it in a bow around
a finger.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken at least twice, say the
statement, “I can’t forget, pleasant though it may be…” Then
each Character has a flashback to an erstwhile forgotten
memory. If not every Move was taken twice, the Favorite is
Forgotten.
122 — rituals
THE ROADKILL PARADE
A single clatter of metal on bone, repetitive and exhausting
in its timbre, announces the arrival of the Roadkill Parade.
The outpouring of vermin clog the group with their mass of
writhing bodies, flesh and meat and skeleton rubbing up
against one another in a grand shuffle of cruel cadavers. The
overwhelming sensation of this rippling sea of flayed bodies,
testaments to the Lindworm’s grand work in motion, is disgust
at the realization that the twitching muscle of the massive stag
at the center of the macabre spectacle is exactly the same as
your own muscles, only exposed and honest. Perhaps you’ll be
able to be strong enough to survive. But for now, there are the
Bones.
Use this Ritual when you want the plot surrounding the
Bones to come to a head.

The question, “What’s that? It sounds like bone...”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, in as much detail as the group is
comfortable: The stag in the center; A badger flayed alive; A
very familiar cat; Endless possums; The screams of a child; The
choking feeling in the air; The itching feeling under your skin;
The Lindworm in the distance.
• Make a Weak Move.
• Lose an Item card to the Bones. Rip it up with your mouth.
• Lose a Character card to the Bones. Rip it up with your
mouth.
• Fill your body with tension, and then let out a strangled
scream/roar/yell/cry.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken at least twice, say, “Wait,
where are they going?” Describe the parade scuttling off into
the distance. Remove the Bones from the game.
rituals — 123
THE UNDERWORLD DUEL
The flames of the torches beneath the hills grow stronger as
the fauns and ghosts cavort through the shadows. A rhythm
begins, cruel and ready for war, and for once, the King rises
from his throne, rusted blade drawn. If you can win, then
perhaps he can give you what you need to defeat the Lindworm
once and for all. But his victory could release a threat far
worse than the nightmares that haunt the surface world. Your
friends are nearby, cheering you on, unaware of the depths of
the consequences. Soon you will see your campers again, and
know your sacrifices were worth it. But for now, there is only
the Underhill King.
Use this duel when you wish to fight the Underhill King,
alone.

Determine a duelist, and the statement, “I won’t let anyone else
die.”
Moves:
clang of metal against metal; Flickering torches; The dreams of
those who slumber; Ghosts; Fauns; The king in his glory; The
smell of fruit; Low-hanging roots; The roar of battle.
• The duelist loses an Item card to the Underhill King. Rip it
up.
• The Underhill King removes a Character, Location, or Motif
card from the Corkboard. Rip it up.
• Strike a dramatic pose.
• Cut a thread on the Corkboard.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken at least twice, the statement,
“I won’t kneel,” and the creation of an Item Card that can
be destroyed at any time to undo the action of one of the
Lindworm’s cards. If not every action was taken at least twice
when the duel ends, the duelist dies.
124 — rituals
THE BEAST'S LULLABY
In your dreams, the world shakes, rattles, rumbles and roars
as the grass and rocks of the tallest point on the tallest
mountain begins to stir, and the Beast's back begins to arch.
The campground is thrown into chaos as a knobbled hill erupts
with talons and flame, as the Beast's limbs begin to thrash.
How do you keep the thrice-eldest asleep? Some say with a
song. You stand at the precipice of the awakening of the doom
of the world. The future holds many threats, but for now, there
is only the Slumbering Beast.
Use this duel when you need to get wisdom from the
Slumbering Beast, and keep it asleep. It occurs while all of you
sleep, perhaps passing out from exhaustion while fleeing the
Lindworm.

The statement, “How do we calm it down?”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, with an unexpected metaphor: Your
body as it stirs in your sleep; The eyes of the beast; The scales
of the beast; Rumbling hills; Flames; The cataclysm; What its
awakening means to you.
• The Slumbering Beast cuts a thread on the Corkboard.
• The Slumbering Beast consumes a Motif card on the
Corkboard. Burn it.
• Sing a fragment of a lullaby.
• Take a moment and talk about a dream you've had, perhaps
in real life, perhaps as your Character.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken at least twice, the statement,
“I think it’s calming down.” Then, each player has a flashback
scene with a Character that is important to them who has not
yet been added to the Corkboard.
rituals — 125
THE PALE HUNT
A low, haunting howl echoes through the trees. The howl is
picked up by another call, elsewhere in the darkness. Another,
another. The calls resound, burning their way into your bones.
The conscious, thoughtful part of you suspects it might be just
coyotes. In the animal part of your brain, you know the truth.
There are only the Wolves.
Use this Ritual when you want the plot surrounding the
Wolves to come to a head.

The question, “Oh god, I can hear them howling.”
Moves:
• Choose 1 to describe, in as much detail as the group is
comfortable: The sound of blood pumping; The jerky movements
of the wolves; Howling wolves; The Lindworm in the distance;
The feeling of cold air against your skin.
• Lose an Item card to the Wolves. Rip it up with your mouth.
• Lose a Character card to the Wolves. Rip it up with your
mouth.
• Fill your body with tension, and then let out a strangled
scream/roar/yell/cry.
Ending The Ritual:

After every Move has been taken at least twice, the statement, “I
think we made it!” Describe the Wolves passing you by without
another sound. Remove the Wolves from the game.
126 — rituals
a thematic respite
DEAD CRICKET
by Jeeyon Shim
You are all playing campers bunking in the same cabin together.
Through adolescent rituals of staying up too late, sharing
deep secrets, playing ridiculous games walking between your
quarters and the mess hall, all of you have drawn very close to
each other over the course of the week. You all feel you would
die for each other.
There are two camp games you need to know in order to
play Dead Cricket.
The first is the eponymous Dead Cricket, which works
like this:
1. Each player lies on a flat surface (e.g. the floor, a meadow,

their cabin bed) with their arms and legs held straight
above them.
2. One by one, each player will need to let their limbs fall.
3. The last player with their limbs in the air is the winner.
The second is Hot Seat:

1. Hot Seat is essentially like Truth or Dare, without the Dare
part.
2. The social contract of Hot Seat is that everyone must be
honest; how forthcoming or thorough you are with that
honesty is up to you.
3. One player sits in the Hot Seat. They must answer questions.
4. Every other player may ask one question of the Hot Seat. If
the open-endedness of Hot Seat and the prospect of being
honest is intimidating, creating a theme to the questions
helps both narrow down the scope of what’s being asked as
well as the pressure of answering (e.g. Hot Seat: Outdoors
Edition or Hot Seat: Mammals Edition).
rituals — 127
Act I: Stay Very Still
There is no turning back now. You could try to recreate the
events that led you and your friends to this field, but none of
it matters. You can feel your own body betraying you with the
subtle sounds of its existence. You can feel the grass beneath
you warm beneath your weight. You can feel its footsteps, soft,
inexorable, approaching you. You wait for it to find you.
1. Find a field. This can be a literal field, especially if it is a field

with tall grass; it can also be someone’s backyard, or their
living room, or a large bed. Whatever you collectively feel
comfortable and adventurous defining as a field works.
2. Describe the horror that stalks you through the field.
3. Why is it hunting you? Why is it hunting your friends? Take
turns going around and sharing one or two reasons you’ve
been turned to quarry.
4. When rabbits, deer, and other game animals hide from
predators they often try to evade through stillness before
they run. Set a timer for four minutes. All of you find a
place in the field and close your eyes. Imagine the footsteps
of the horror as it walks around you. Feel how quickly
your lungs and heart move within your ribs. Is your breath
louder when it passes through your nostrils or over your
lips? Try to stifle the sound of it. The horror’s tread draws
closer, ever closer.
Act II: The Answers Meant Something Then

A week ago you were all in your cabin. You snuck snacks and
caffeinated beverages in and hid them under your bunks. You
stayed up late comparing stories from your lives outside of
camp. You confessed secrets from your heart, your dreams,
your imaginings of the future. None of you questioned that you
had all the time in the world ahead of you.
128 — rituals
1. Who, as a player, last attended summer camp? Everyone
identify that player out of character.
2. Find a cabin. This can be a literal cabin, especially if you are
playing this game at a camp setting; it can also be a player’s
bedroom, or a car during a road trip, or anywhere that feels
nested and safe and warm with companionship.
3. Settle in to roleplaying as your characters. Goof off, tease
each other, whatever feels natural to do to create rapport
and camaraderie.
4. Whoever last went to summer camp will initiate a round of
Hot Seat. All players will take a turn being in the Hot Seat,
and ask and answer questions in character.
Act III: The Hunt

One by one, all of you are found.
All but the sole survivor.
1. Go back out to the field.

2. Scatter into your positions from Act I.
3. The player who last attended summer camp will say, clearly
and in a neutral tone, “Dead Cricket.”
4. All players will lie down and assume the play position (all
four limbs straight up in the air).
5. Let each player drop out of the game until there is a sole
survivor.
rituals — 129

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j ay d r a g o n

Writing and Design

Layout, setting & margin illustrations

Cover Art, Section & character

Limited Hardcover Art

Published 2019 by Possum Creek Games.

Find between 3 and 6 players,

“You and the other players go back and forth, talking

The rules of Sleepaway are rules for that conversation;

1. Set aside cards equal to the number of players. One

Each Player Chooses 1:

What Happened Last Time?

Play To Find Out:

describe your look:

describe your gender:

choose your childhood fear:

ask 2 (total) to other players:

strong moves (–1 token):

Ask: “Does your Character need help?”

Ask: “Why is your Character giving up?”

weak moves (+1 token):

Ask: “Why doesn’t your Character just fuck off?”

Play To Find Out:

describe your look:

describe your gender:

choose why the campers listen:

choose why you almost left:

ask 2 (total) to other players:

strong moves (–1 token):

Ask: “What does your Character need most right now?”

Ask: “Which other Characters are involved in this?”

weak moves (+1 token):

Ask: “What does your Character want from me?”

Play To Find Out:

describe your look:

describe your gender:

choose your childhood fear:

choose 2 traits of the craft:

ask 2 (total) to other players:

strong moves (–1 token):

Ask: “Does your Character know I care?”

Ask: “Does your Character want to talk about it?”

weak moves (+1 token):

Ask: “Why doesn’t your Character believe in me?”

Play To Find Out:

describe your look:

describe your gender:

choose your childhood fear:

choose what you'll never live down:

ask 2 (total) to other players:

strong moves (–1 token):

Ask: “Does your Character want to go somewhere else?”

weak moves (+1 token):

Ask: “Does your Character actually view me as an equal?”

Play To Find Out:

describe your look:

describe your gender:

choose your childhood fear:

choose what keeps you working here: