Setting Guide
Setting Guide
You are reading a setting guide meant to introduce you to our live-action roleplaying event, Pandaemonium. The purpose of this guide is to explain the basic premise of the event, as well as the important details that you need to know. It includes information about the themes, aesthetics, setting, and style of play, as well as practical considerations such as costuming. After reading it, you should know what to expect from your experience with the event.
This document is not a comprehensive design document. Calibration and safety mechanics are part of the required workshops for this event, and our Code of Conduct can be found with our Policies. Rather than describe every aspect of Pandaemonium the hope is to set expectations for the event.
1980s. Atlantic City. It’s the biggest Halloween party in New Jersey, drawing colorful characters from up and down the coast. Everyone who comes is wearing a costume—or are they? During the party, everyone gets trapped in an otherworldly version of the Showboat, and must fight to hold on to their humanity and sense of self, or embrace the transformation and become something monstrous.
Loss of reality • Masks and Costumes • Identity vs Monstrosity• Memories • Spookiness & the Uncanny •
Reconciliation & Exploration of Identity
Player vs Environment • Rituals • Questioning the Self, Humanity, and Monstrousness • Intrigue •
Secrets and betrayal • A backdrop of bars, games, and entertainment.
Edward Gorey • Old Hallows Eve Poems • Spooky Folk Tales and Urban Legends •
Stranger Things • Silent Hill • Edgar Allen Poe
Autumn • Eerie light • Mirrors • Masks and dolls • Facelessness • Carnivals, circus, carousels •
Eyes • Dusk • Shadows • Ritual Space
Pandaemonium is a game of personal horror. Players will play party-goers heading to a costume party in the mid-1980s, and enter as part of a larger group. These groups may vary from a cult of serial killers to a group of high school friends reuniting 10 years later to a team of ghost hunters. Shortly after the party begins, the party-goers will realize they’ve they’ve departed the mundane world, and are trapped someplace supernatural.
Players will explore their relationships within their own groups, and will have to learn about the other strangers trapped in the Showboat with them. Over the course of the event, they’ll encounter various phenomenon and discover personal connections with other party-goers. As they do, they’ll realize they have the opportunity to transform into something not quite human, or find the means to escape.
In the end, the players will face a choice of whether or not to have their characters leave the Showboat... and accept the consequences thereof.
Pandaemonium was designed by six studios to provide an experience that includes:
A mechanics-light system based on player consent
An emphasis on personal development
Player control over the narrative and setting
Players have a great deal of responsibility in a game like Pandaemonium, not just to themselves, but to others. While reading this guide, realize this style of play is inherently cooperative: there’s not much game-play focused on figuring out what’s going on; instead, we focus more on mood, atmosphere, and emotional experience.
Most importantly, players must remember that it’s not actually a challenge to escape. A character can, if the player wants, figure out how to escape at any time. However, to really experience Pandaemonium, we recommend players force their characters to make tough decisions and reflect deeply upon themselves in order to survive. These decisions are the focus of the experience.
Players should be aware of the expected character arcs. This is not a game where players have to discover the “right answer” to accomplish their goals. Instead, players guide themselves along a character arc and interact with other players doing the same. Players may deviate from the expected character arc, but should remain aware of expectations and respectful of players who wish to follow this progressions.
Act I: The character enters the party, unaware of the supernatural. The character discovers they’re trapped in an otherworldly version of the Showboat hotel. The character finishes this act confused, scared, or determined to escape.
Act II: The character searches to find out what happened. They discover they have personal connections to other characters present, and begin to understand a bit more about the space in which they’re trapped and the possible consequences thereof. By the end of the act, the character realizes that not everyone will be able to leave the Showboat.
Act III: The characters make difficult choices, as some accept the consequences of being trapped in this space while other may succeed in escaping.
Over the course of Pandaemonium, players will have extraordinary leeway to determine the supernatural properties of the space. For example, if a player witnesses a ritual involving the casting of dice, they can decide the numbers on the dice are the key to escape. In this case, that would be true for that player. There are two rules to follow:
Ambiguity: What’s true for one individual is not necessarily true for another. In the case of the dice casting ritual, just because one player decides those numbers are the key to escape, no other player is obligated to accept that as true.
Escape: Once a character escapes, they can’t return. The player gets to decide what happens to their own character, but that character can’t re-enter play. Further, the timing is entirely up to the player.
Important note: although a character can’t return after they escape, a player can enter and leave play freely.
There is an “approved” solution as to how to escape the otherworldly Showboat hotel (discussed under “What’s Going On,” below). The important consideration, however, is that escape should be difficult and come at a cost. Generally speaking, if someone escapes, then someone else should be left behind.
Players are encouraged (but by no means required) to search for the approved means of escape, and accept the restrictions placed upon it. This means that most characters in Pandaemonium will fail and remain trapped in the supernatural realm, and transform into something inhuman.
Characters may die during the game and at the end of the game, though this action is at the sole discretion of the player. Characters may attempt to harm or steal memories or life forces from one another as long as the players enact this in a consent-based format.
Character death may work well in several instances:
A means of sacrifice so another can leave Pandaemonium
When a player cannot stay the entire time, but would like to make an exit that progresses the story for others
Pre-negotiated murder by another character
Once a character is out of play, the player may choose to volunteer as a helper or NPC. There are no resurrections in Pandaemonium as we wish to underscore the finality of death; however, it is possible to bring a character close to death, to examine death in a nontraditional way, or to do whatever else is required to safely tell the best possible story. In other words, character death should advance the story.
Players should avoid lying, in or out of character, about key game facts. This is a collaborative storytelling experience, and lies create a confusing and conflicting experience.
Unless otherwise explicitly stated on a character’s sheet, no character knows with 100% certainty that the supernatural exists. They may believe firmly, think they know, or have had encounters with the supernatural. However, the character should not know what’s going on at the start of the game.
The In Game location is the Foundation Room of the Showboat Hotel, the location the original 2018 run was played. Out of Game we will be at Peabody's Black Box in the ArcWorks Community Art Center in Peabody, MA. There will be several atmospheric effects to make the space somewhat creepy, but players should be aware their character cannot leave the Foundation Room; they are trapped.
Pandaemonium is set in the 1980s. This choice has both aesthetic and practical considerations. Aesthetically, there are several pop culture references that are appropriate, including movies such as Ghostbusters or the rise of MTV music videos. Current events include the Challenger disaster and the AIDS crisis; this is also the era of “Greed is Good” and rampant commercialism. Practically, this time period allows us to impose two important limitations:
No one has cell phones
Current political events are off-limits for costuming
A player’s costuming could be an important part of their character, and players will have an opportunity to share their costuming ideas with the writers as part of the survey. Players should be prepared to have their costume suggest something transformative about their character—it is possible that a costume will become a more integral part of a character over the course of the event.
Remember, this is a Halloween party, players have a lot of freedom to choose their costumes, if any. At any given Halloween party, there are people who buy expensive costumes, and others who stop by the store and buy an inexpensive costume on the way to the party. Some spend hours crafting a costume, while some throw something together at the last minute. And there are always people who decide, for whatever reason, not to costume. All of these are valid decisions.
There are some costumes that are not appropriate. Any costumes that are culturally appropriative, that contain pop-culture references from the 1990s or later, or are purposely offensive will not be allowed. Players should avoid costumes particular to a religion, especially religions from areas directly affected by colonization. Players will not costume as other races (i.e. “blackface”). Further, in addition to these restrictions, players should avoid overtly humorous costumes that would disrupt the atmosphere of the event.
If the staff determines a player’s costume is inappropriate, that player will be asked to leave and change clothes before they are allowed to return.
In addition to having a positive responsibility to respect other people’s race, gender, sexuality, and religion at all times, Pandaemonium has a zero tolerance policy for discussions of sexual assault. Players must not introduce or discuss this topic at the game.
Various events during the 1980s have “disrupted” reality. These range from natural disasters (the eruption of Mount St. Helens), to accidents (the Challenger disaster), to tragedies (the murder of John Lennon) and even to some more positive moments, such as the first time Michael Jackson did the Moonwalk on national television.
These events have caused reality—particularly in the United States—to become fragmented. Specifically, various individuals have splintered, becoming something called a “Parallel.” A Parallel exists when two or more people share a common core identity. These people may or may not resemble each other, and while some have a point of divergence, some do not. What is important is that all of them are effectively fragments of the same identity that split off from each other over the course of the decade.
However, these disruptions aren’t stable, nor are they normal, and the flow of reality is attempting to correct itself. That is why these assorted characters were drawn to this particular party: supernatural forces are trying to fix the fragments by bringing them together. And while some of the individuals will get to leave, some of the Parallels must, by necessity, remain trapped here.
These characters were meant to be one person. One self, one soul, whatever they want to call it. Then, a disruption in reality and time occurred. Now reality has manipulated them all to one place and into an alternate dimension in order to repair this damage.
All of the characters will have a Parallel, an individual that they are connected to on a metaphysical level. This may be due to a common personality core or trait. For example, all the characters might be some variety of thrill-seeker: volatile personalities who are loyal to their friends but unpredictable and dangerous. Or, perhaps due to a completely different twist of fate. Characters will be able to discover their Parallels over the course of play.
The approved means of escaping this otherworldly trap is to resolve which Parallel will get to leave. Perhaps the Parallels agree to merge back into one common persona. Perhaps some stay behind so that one can escape. Maybe some murder their Parallels. However, this realm will only let one Parallel from a group escape in this manner.
Players can devise ways of escape that do not involve this sort of sacrifice, and are allowed to do so if this sort of gameplay does not appeal to them. However, players should consider that other players might want the emotional drama of having to make this choice, and should avoid making sweeping changes to this premise.
The longer an individual remains in this space, the more they transform into something other than human. At first these changes are subtle, but the supernatural environment slowly forces monstrous transformation. Characters will struggle to hold on to their senses of self, be it through their memories, dreams, desires, or other core aspects of who they are. Ultimately, characters should confront the monsters within. Whether they fight to hold on to themselves, or embrace the loss of self, a transformation will take place.