Sacrament : cWOD

11/2001

Sacrament
cWOD

[sacrament] begins with four people find themselves drawn into a mystery that spirals around the fringes of their perceptions. All are aware that some strange manifestations have begun to come into effect, but none are sure of what is going on.

Appearances of strange visions begin to worry some of them. The sensation of being watched begins to haunt others. And when the truth of their gifts is revealed, most ponder on what other truths that man has long chosen to ignore shall once more be revealed?

When a single man known as Jude Hol begins to kill various individuals in the City without any rational pattern or reason, one learns to either trust in one's own instincts or have faith.

What is [sacrament] ?
[sacrament] was the mystery that unfolds in the game. The game itself was special and not approached in the the usual manner one approaches a role-playing game.

In this game, this is the unique twist: Many pieces of information, secrets, clues and mysteries connected to the game’s story were hidden in the website. Links to other information, sources or possible resources were also in the site. Lurkers (people who aren't officially in the game and want to just watch or observe) get to join the fun by searching the website for information.  Many portions of the game moved forward through email, chat as well as discussions via SMS messaging or telephone conversations.

The game had four players:  Aldwin, Isami, Tommy and Sandor.
The game also had the following people as lurkers: Oli, Cliff, Jae, James, Awie, Benjie, Robert, Hector and Marco.  (The handles were Ghost, TNH723, The Confessor, Kenneth Jenner, Recon, g8keeper, creed, Gil Perez, Guilty, Ambulas, Abarthach and Eye-Spy)

Lurkers, were permitted to join anytime and try to solve the mysteries. There was a forum where lurkers can discuss with other lurkers what the game is about. Sadly, the forum is down now.

The game used a modified approach to the White Wolf's Vampire: the Masquerade storyteller game, the rules tend to be following those in the rulebook. But I had generously changed many factors to add more mystery and darkness into the setting.

[sacrament] challenged the players as well as the Lurkers to think creatively to their limits. The game requires players and Lurkes to think out of the box.

Imagine scenarios such as the following:

1. Having to locate "demons" in real world scenarios within a prescribed amount of time. Success causes changes in the game.
2. Contacting other players using SMS (text messaging) without knowing whether or not they can be trusted in the game.
3. Researching the net for the meaning of names, numbers or terms used in the game.
4. Perusing photographs, planted evidence, articles and notes that might lead to clues on the game.Even now, this very page already has such information, or at least leads to such info. The former page had literally nearly a hundred hidden links for players to peruse.

In the end, the truth was revealed:
[sacrament] was about four people who were given the power to deal with the coming Tishri, a renewal of the world similar to the end of the world.  Jude Hol is revealed to be the angel Gabriel and he believes that the world must be allowed to come to pass as it was "written."  However, the four have inherited the power and rights that King Solomon once was given, and they realize the demons must be stopped before everything falls apart.

Thankfully, yes, the players did succeed.
But at great cost.