TEXT: the irresistable madness of  wine and gods
  BACCHANAL
  an Iron Game Chef  contest entry
  May, 2005
  a roleplaying game for adults
  by M. Paul Buja
  It is late summer in Puteoli, south of Rome, 61 A.D., when the
  city finds itself unexpectedly playing host to the god Bacchus.
  Caught up in the madness of wine, the citizens throw off their
  togas and mingle as equals with slaves and foreigners in a debased
  fervor. And your own plans for a hasty departure are lost to this
  decadence that separates you from the companion with whom
  you would travel.
  
  II
  An Evening of Debauchery
  Bacchanal is two or three hours of GM-less roleplaying for two to six
  players. Characters are non-residents of Puteoli fleeing accusations of
  infractions against the Empire. Gameplay follows the characters through
  events of wine, debauchery, and the cruel sporting of gods, as they struggle
  to evade soldiers, and accusers, and reunite with a companion from whom
  they have been separated.
  Summer in Puteoli
  Puteoli is the greatest commercial port in Italy. It boasts a commodius
  harbor, and though a hundred and seventy weary miles from Rome, is
  agreeably positioned along the Appian Way. Puteoli enjoys cool breezes
  from the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the surrounding landscape is lush. The
  sulphurous hot baths are a popular attraction, widely understood to have
  curative effects, and many wealthy Romans have expensive villas here.
  But always when the air stills in the late summer the heat drives the stinging
  flies into the comparative coolness of the wooded hills, bringing dis-
  comfort and dis-ease into the demesne of the Lord of the Vine. Except
  this year he came down from the hills.
  Illi Imperi
  When the gods choose to disguise their natures and come among men, it
  is never with any intention to spare us from the real harm of divine contact.
  As mortal as they may seem to our eyes, their moods and desires still
  project outward to overwhelm our own emotions, and we are swept up by
  their imaginations like players in a drama not of our own making. We are
  their fun. And we are pawns in their politics.
  Bacchus has come among the people of Puteoli, as a young man with
  wild hair and a dangerous grin, seeking the madness of wine and lascivious
  sexual pleasures. He brings with him several carnally deranged satyrs.
  
  III
  Venus, also, has come to Puteoli, drawn by the excitement of adulterous
  liasons and the open sexual promiscuity which has overtaken the city, and
  with sympathy as well to the frustrations of loves harmed by the wild
  events of the bacchanal.
  Pluto, too, is among the people, as a large, bearded man with menacing
  eyes. He comes in a cruel mood, with an interest in the theatre of the
  most base crimes of men.
  And Minerva as well, offended by mindless thrill-driven brutality and out
  of anger at crimes of rapine against women.
  Preparing for Play
  Assemble Materials
  A wine glass for each player
  A cheese tray
  A purple d8, representing Bacchus
  A black d8, representing Pluto
  A red d8, just one, representing the Accuser
  A quantity of brown d8’s equal to half the number of players (round up),
  representing Satyrs
  A quantity of gold d8’s equal to half the number of players (round up),
  representing Soldiers
  A metallic silver d6, representing Minerva
  A white d6, just one, representing the Companion
  A quantity of purple d6’s equal to eight times the number of players,
  representing Wine
  A pearlescent white d4, representing Venus
  Create Characters
  There is no character sheet. To prepare for play, you need a name for your
  character, and you need to form some ideas about the character’s situation.
  
  IV
  Specifically, who has leveled the accusations of an infraction against the
  Empire, and what is the nature of the infraction? And from whom were
  you recently separated. Both your character’s Accuser and Companion
  are NPCs that you conceive and express through play. But you should
  conceptualize them in an open conversation as players, in which you take
  and offer suggestions to each other about characters, Accusers, and
  Companions.
  I.
  Philip describes his character thoughts to the other players. “His
  name is Leviticus. He’s accused of helping a slave escape. The
  slave’s name is Josephus. But I’m stumped on the Accuser. I’m
  wanting something more interesting than an angry slave-owner.”
  “How about the slave-owner’s money manager guy? A slave is a
  financial asset.”
  “Beautiful!...um...his name is Septimus.”1
  Put all the dice on the cheese tray, and position it within easy reach of all
  players.
  Then, each player take a wine glass and five Wine dice. Roll the dice and
  sum the result.2 In order from lowest to highest, go around the room,
  each player selecting a non-Wine die from the cheese tray, other than the
  Companion, and placing it in the glass of another player. And then do it
  once more, in the same order, so every player ends up with two non-Wine
  dice assigned to them.3 And then finally put your five Wine dice into your
  glass with the two non-Wine dice. The Companion, and the rest of the
  Wine and non-Wine dice remain for now on the cheese tray.
  In Medias Res
  Before any dice are rolled, players go once around the room, looking to
  the dice in their wine glasses for inspiration and framing the starting
  1 An extended example of play from one player’s perspective can be constructed by
  reading the indented examples in order of the prepended grey Roman numerals.
  2 And yes, this will be the only time Thoth makes an appearance in the game.
  3 You may not place a second Soldier into the glass of a player who already has one.
  
  V
  circumstances for their characters.4 Start this with the player who has
  Bacchus in his glass, and proceed counter-clockwise. If no player has
  Bacchus, start with the player with the most satyrs in his glass. If this is
  still inconclusive, start with the player who has himself led the most
  hedonistic life.
  II. Philip looks to the dice in his glass, and then describes a scene
  in a private residence. The wife of the house has been subsumed
  by the spirit of Venus. She’s engaged in adulterous sexual
  congress with a Roman soldier. Leviticus is a boy, thirteen. He’s
  naked, seated against the wall by the head of the bed, with a
  mostly empty wineskin in his lap, watching the sex with glassy,
  drunken eyes.
  Scene Resolution
  Bacchanal is a game of narrating. On your turn, you roll the dice in your
  wine glass, which represent various characters, gods, Accusers,
  Companions, and Wine. The high die or high tie in your roll tells you
  variously to add or remove dice from your glass, and informs how you
  describe what transpires.5 Begin with the player who went first in framing
  his character’s starting scene, and proceed counter-clockwise.
  If a rule instructs you to add a specific die to your glass, and it is not
  available on the tray, claim it from the glass of the player who does have
  it.6
  You may be apprehended by Soldiers, but if you can just reunite with
  your Companion you’ll emerge together from the influence of the
  bacchanal and the threat of imminent arrest.
  4 The whole of Puteoli is swept up in the drama and debauchery of the bacchanal. So
  definitely use locations to deliver power to your scene framing. Some to consider: the
  Flavian Amphitheater, the sulphurous hot baths, the “Temple of Serapis”, which is a
  market court, the acropolis, and the necropolis (yikes!).
  5 Check out the Fortune-at-the-Beginning, baby!
  6 This rule, and others, will sometimes have you claim a die from the glass of another
  player. So there will be times you roll dice for a scene lacking one or more non-Wine
  
  VI
  This Is Where the Party Is
  If your high roll is two or more tied Wine dice, select one of the available
  non-wine dice and add it to your glass. Narrate the presence of that
  character into your current location, and the details of a surge in thrills
  and excitement. If there are no non-Wine dice available on the tray, select
  one from the glass of another player.
  III. Philip rolls his dice: two tied Wine. He selects the Companion
  die from the tray, adds it to his glass, and then narrates Josephus
  entering the room, naked, through the shuttered door from the
  courtyard. The slave is an older Jew. Through the haze of wine,
  Leviticus realizes he has never before seen a circumcised penis.
  Josephus joins Venus and the soldier.
  VI. Philip rolls: two tied Wine. He adds Venus back to his glass, and
  he must describe an escalation of debauchery. He describes the
  passage of time. Josephus sleeps on the bed. Leviticus on the
  floor, at the base of the wall...until...Venus returns, and awakens
  him. “Come, boy, learn to love a woman from a goddess,” she
  says.
  I Want A New Drug
  If your high roll is some other flavor of tie (two or more non-Wine dice
  tied, or a tie between a combination of Wine and non-Wine dice), remove
  one of your non-Wine dice to the tray, and narrate how a lack of fun and
  thrills at the current location precipitated the departure.
  IV. Philip rolls his dice: the Soldier tied with a Wine. Philip thinks
  for a second, removes the Soldier die to the tray, and then
  describes the soldier getting ill on Venus. “It’s hot. He’s been
  drinking for hours. And the exertion now is just too much.”
  dice that were in your glass at the end of your previous scene. Don’t sweat this. At
  some point you’ll probably find yourself narrating a scene that includes a character
  who no longer factors mechanically in the outcome. God, soldier, satyr, accuser,
  companion, you can have the character stay, or leave, or whatever you wish, within
  the confines of what the dice say must happen.
  
  VII
  And Venus is outraged. “Get out of here you pig!” She kicks
  him out through the shuttered doors.
  V.
  Philip rolls: a tie between the Companion and a Wine. Philip
  must remove either the Companion, or Venus. He puts the
  goddess on the tray, and dramatizes her ongoing ire: “You would
  continue? I’m filthy! — I need a bath.” She storms out to the
  courtyard. Josephus, deflated, rolls onto his back. Leviticus hands
  him the wineskin.
  Pluto7
  If Pluto is the high die, add a Soldier die to your glass. And describe how
  the scene resolves itself  with the commission of a crime.8 You are
  implicated, whether you participated or not. Change of scene.9 Remove
  Pluto to the tray. If there is no Soldier available on the tray, select one
  from the glass of another player.
  Dan rolls Pluto high. Petrus is at the necropolis, running madly
  between couples and tombs in an effort to evade the accuser
  pursuing him. And then he crashes full into a large, dark, bearded
  man. “You always have a choice,” the man says. “The lowest
  animal knows this. You can be weak, and flee...or you can fight.”
  He hands Petrus a bronze dagger.
  And as the gasping accuser, Junius, bursts among them, with
  barely the strength left to stand, Petrus coldly guts him.10
  7 When one of the gods is your high die, you must incorporate an action that at least
  suggests the hand of that god in the events you narrate.
  8 Murders are fun, but it’s easy for players to get in the rut of describing murder after
  bloody murder. It gets old. The interests of drama demand that you consider other
  options. Not a bloody murder, but a planned, secret murder. Not a butchery with an
  edged weapon, but a poisoning. And not a murder at all, but blackmail, or bearing
  false witness, or a crime of counterfeit seals, false evidences, or hoax discoveries.
  9 You cannot narrate a change of scene for your character until the dice say that you
  can.
  10 Note that Dan doesn’t say that Junius is dead. He may need to narrate Junius in
  subsequent scenes, so he has to leave the man’s fate unresolved.
  
  VIII
  Venus
  If Venus is the high die, put the Companion die into your glass. Change
  of scene. Describe how a mysterious and attractive woman or lovely boy
  leads you to a new location where your Companion is present. Remove
  Venus to the tray.
  Wine
  If Wine is the high die, you cannot change location. Describe an escalation
  of decadence11 at the current location. Remove Bacchus to the tray.
  Satyrs
  If a Satyr is your high die, add a Wine to your glass. Describe a change of
  scene, and sexual decadence at the new location. If there are no Wine
  dice available on the tray, select one from the glass of another player.
  Dan’s character, Petrus, is knowing fellatio for the first time
  with another man, on a table in a tavern. Dan rolls Satyr high,
  and describes the lusty Satyr rising just enough from the floor
  behind the bar to announce, “Now, everyone, find a new
  partner!” The man, a senator named Darius, hands Petrus his
  goblet of wine, kisses him, and says, “If you’re ever in Rome...”
  Dan adds a Wine to his glass. And Petrus heads upstairs, toward
  the squeals of the Senator’s nubile daughter and her young
  friend.
  Bacchus
  If Bacchus is your high die, no change of scene. Add a Wine to your glass
  and describe an escalation of decadence at the current location. Bacchus
  remains with you.
  11 Historical accounts have the wine-crazed followers of Bacchus tearing apart live
  animals with their hands and teeth. But know that you do a disservice to your game
  session if you enslave its drama to what you know of Roman history and mythology.
  Instead, narrate “decadence” to mean whatever you personally think it means.
  
  IX
  Dan rolls Bacchus high. Petrus, who never made it as far as the
  Senator’s daughter, realizes...“The woman I’m enjoying is my
  cousin Philia.” Dan adds a Wine to his glass.
  Accuser
  If your Accuser is the high die, describe him confronting you, and reveal
  or elaborate upon your crime. Change of scene. And add a Soldier to your
  glass.
  Dan rolls Accuser high.12 He narrates Petrus being pulled from
  coitus by a man named Junius. “You! Where is my daughter?”
  screams the older man. “You took her virginity the day before
  she was to wed Antonius!” Petrus throws the plate of smoked
  fish at the man and flees through the window. Dan adds a Soldier
  die to his glass.
  Soldier
  If a Soldier is your high die, describe your character’s apprehension. If
  you have the Accuser, remove him to the tray. Change of scene. And your
  next scene is your last.
  On your last scene, roll everything remaining in your glass, except for the
  Wine, and narrate the outcome. Only if Venus or your Companion is the
  high die do you survive this final scene.
  Removing his Wine to the tray, Dan is left with nothing but the
  Soldier. He rolls anyway. And it comes up a 2, which he uses as
  inspiration for his narration. “Neglect,” says Dan. He describes
  Petrus’ abuse at the hands of his gaolers, resulting in injury...and
  death from a tetanus infection.
  12 Dan actually put the Accuser into his own glass after rolling two tied Wine on a
  previous scene. He’d had several turns with Wine high and no scene change, and his
  creative ability to continually escalate the decadance at the current location was
  getting tapped out. The Accuser was the one available die on the cheese tray that
  offered a possible scene change.
  
  X
  Companion
  If your Companion is your high die, describe your flight from Puteoli.
  This is your final scene. Return all your dice to the tray.
  VII.Philip rolls: the Companion is his high die (so this is his last
  scene). Leviticus wakes, more exposed than not by the imperfect
  covering of a twisted silk sheet, to the noisy return of the
  husband of the house from his own decadent exploits. The
  man doesn’t even notice him. Leviticus rises, and smiling, skin
  yet tingling from Venus’ divine caress, quietly proceeds through
  the house to the room where Josephus yet sleeps. “Come on,
  let’s go.”
  Minerva
  If Minerva is your high die, narrate what’s up with your companion. You’ve
  had a vision. And remove Minerva to the tray.
  If Minerva is in your roll, and she’s not the high die, but she’s tied with
  one or more Wine, remove the Wine to the tray. She is a sobering presence.
  If she’s not tied with any Wine, add a Wine and remove Minerva; you’re
  caught up in the bacchanal, and wholly oblivious to her influence.
  The Cup Runneth Dry
  On your turn you can remove one Wine to the tray by incorporating into
  the narration an NPC you’ve not previously had in one of your scenes.13
  A Beam In the Eye of  God
  If you have Minerva, and someone narrates a particularly excessive and
  decadent sequence of events, you can, if you want, gift them with Minerva,
  as a recognition that the goddess would note and respond to the offense.
  13 So, an NPC who was created by another player, and more specifically, one who is not
  associated with a die (i.e. no soldiers, satyrs, accusers, gods, etc.)
  
  XI
  Design Notes
  Bacchanal was conceived and written for the Iron Game Chef (www.game-
  chef.com) design contest in May, 2005. It fulfills contest requirements by
  being set in a historical period, by using wine, accuser, and companion as
  ingredients, and by not having a character sheet. It also has a resolution
  mechanic that uses colors.
  Bacchanal is copyright 2005 by M. Paul Buja. All rights reserved.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Duet/RPGS/Indie & Odd Themes/Game Chef Finalists for 2 players/bacchanal.pdf