Expect Three Visitors - playtest 3
By Alex White
- 12 minutes read - 2402 wordsExpect Three Visitors was inspired by a good friend asking me whether it might be possible to use similar mechanics to the ones which I use in A Cool and Lonely Courage to power a game inspired by the story of A Christmas Carol. This uses a variant of my Retrospective SRD as the basis for the rules. It is currently in beta testing.
- Kevin- Brad
- Alex - Carl
- Betsy - Clarissa
- Peggy - Donald
Brad - a home owners association chairman (Wrath: angry at people not like him)
Introduction
We see Brad shouting at someone at the swimming pool in the gated community. They claim they have every right as they live here. He says “Lying isn’t going to get you more swim time! I’m one of the people in charge of this area”. The lady replies that “You’re only saying this because we’re black”. Her name is Brenda Washington. She is black, her husband is white. They do live in this community.
The Spirit Appears
Brad is sitting in his Lay-z-boy watching big screen tv with a whisky, and also a CCTV feed. A misty figure appears on the neighbourhood. It’s at different places all over the neighbourhood. The figure turns, comes towards the cameras and then steps out of the TV! The spirit is vaguely ethnic looking. “You run the risk that your soul is doomed. Come” it says, and it holds out its hand and leads him into the TV screen.
Vision of the past ♠️
Spade - he sees the fairly poor house that he was raised in. His mother was kind and generous, and gave to anyone who asked. We see her invite in some Jehovah’s Witnesses for lemonade and her special cookies, which she sends Brad to fetch. He always loved her cookies. He’s a good boy, so of course he got one as well. Then suddenly we see the next day. The policeman who arrived at the door and spoke to his dad. His mother was killed in a hit and run while helping some black folks carry their shopping over to their part of town. It was a pickup with a confederate flag. The people she was with tried to push her out of the way, but she still died. His father withdrew after that day, and left Brad with no emotional support.
Vision of the present ♣️
Club - we see Brenda Washington's house on the estate. He had put them on the watch list, but they hadn’t broken any rules. The daughter leaves her bike on the drive and her mom tells her to pick it up. We see the mom and daughter talking about what it feels like to be made to feel unwanted, and how they have to be careful all the time. She asks if she can bring her friend Jameel over to swim in the pool, and Brenda says “Of course she can, the rules allow that”. Brad turns to the spirit and says “Well, I guess it might be OK, perhaps”. The spirit just looks at him.
Vision of the future ♠️
Spade - ‘you remember that little girl who was going to bring her friend?’ It’s that same summer. There are flashing blue lights around the outside of the gated pool. There are police officers kneeling on the neck of an eight year old girl. Brad is standing there with the police whom he had called. Watching. Brad turns to the spirit, slack-jawed. He cannot say a word but his eyes speak volumes.
Carl - an associate vice president (Envy)
Introduction
Carl is an associate vice president in an investment bank. He is forty-ish, balding, and going slightly grey at the temples. He is in a group of people celebrating John’s promotion and acquisition of a corner office— the corner office that should belong to Carl. His congratulations are as insincere as his smile. That promotion should have been his. He has been here longer, he has worked more hours, he deserves it more than this Johnny-come-lately. When the others raise their glasses in a toast, he just gulps down his Bollinger.
The Spirit Appears
We see Carl sitting at his desk, working late into the night, bottle of whisky to hand. He is reading back through emails, grumbling about his insights which have been overlooked, or not responded to. A secretary he doesn’t know enters his office without knocking (to his annoyance). “You run the risk that your soul is doomed. Come with me!” she says. She takes him by the hand and the office fades away into a shimmering grey mist all around him.
Vision of the past ♣️
Club - He sees a time in the past when he is moaning to his best buddy from high school. Before he went into banking he was a high school athlete on the soccer team with JJ. His buddy JJ is still back in the hometown managing an oil change place. JJ has found his calling. Launched an outreach programme and trains inner city kids. Carl is at dinner with JJ and Melissa. Carl tells Melissa that she missed out. JJ will never go anywhere but he, Carl, is going to make it. He’s going to be in the boardroom. JJ was incensed and calls him out, and eventually punches him on the nose. They never saw each other again.
Vision of the present ♦️
Diamond - We see JJ and Melissa in their house. JJ comes home from work, delighted. He says “you cannot believe what happened! McDonald & Clagger just gave a bunch of money to the downtown centre” JJ says. “Hey, you remember my former friend Carl? That’s where he works. I wonder if he’s behind it?”. Carl turns to the spirit. “It wasn’t me. It must be from that guy who was promoted above me just recently. If I’d got that promotion like I should’ve, then I’d have been making that gift. Probably.”
Vision of the future ♠️
Spade - We see JJ’s wake. A tearful Melissa being consoled. JJ had been killed in a hit and run. “But where am I? Carl asks the spirit. “Surely I would have come to JJ’s funeral?” Then we see Carl, years in the future, the same office, same title on the door, but he is grey and balding now. He pours himself a drink and goes to the car dealership. He says “I’m expecting a big promotion, and I need a car that’s appropriate”. He gets a Lamborghini. Tears off down the road back to the home town. Straight over a crosswalk and BANG a pedestrian is sent flying. A straight up hit and run and he doesn’t know what he’s done. He later passes out behind the wheel. Carl turns to the spirit aghast “Spirit! Tell me that isn’t what must happen! Please tell me this can be changed! Please!!”. The spirit nods and leads him away.
Clarissa - an instagram influencer (pride)
Introduction
We see her yelling at the boyfriend, Jeremy. He is holding the phone and trying to take the right photo. “You need to know the angles!” She shouts. They have been together for two weeks. The people from beautify.com won’t be happy if she isn’t showed off properly.
The Spirit Appears
Clarissa is looking through her instagram feed and noticed that in all of them there is the same person in the background, overexposed in the back of all her pictures. HER pictures. Then suddenly that some character is standing with her. “You run the risk that your soul is doomed. Come” it says, and it holds out its hand and whisks her away.
Vision of the past ♦️
Diamond - She sees the time when she was a bridesmaid, aged about 11 or 12 when her father got remarried. She sees her father talking to her, telling her how pretty she was. He wants her to be in the centre of the picture but Clarissa humbly said that it was important that Dot, his new wife, was in the middle. She is pleased to be there, but beams to see her dad and Dot so happy together.
Vision of the present ♣️
Club - step into a picture frame and we are in the bedroom of a preteen girl, looking at Clarissas instagram feed and saying she is too fat. Then we are in a different girls bedroom who says she is too short, then another whose hair isn’t right. Then another. Then another. Clarissa smirks a bit “Well, they aren’t as good as me”. The spirit looks at her pityingly. “You make a difference, you ripple outwards, you affect others”.
Vision of the future ♠️
Spade - We see her funeral, she died of complications after plastic surgery at age 38. There is hardly anyone here. There is a bulletin board full of pictures of an older Clarissa, her face distorted with signs of filler and plastic surgery. There are not many people in the room. One of the few people there is Jeremy, chatting on his phone to someone about her. Dated for a couple of weeks, but now look at her. Near the front are her father and Dot, both distraught about what happened to their beautiful little daughter. “If only I’d never got that damn phone for her” her father cursed. Dot demurred “She would have found some other way. If only she realised how lovely she was just as herself”. Clarissa turns to the spirit, vaguely repulsed by the ugly person she sees on the bulletin board. “Take me away, spirit, I don’t want to see anything else”.
Donald - pensioner, ex-professional surgeon (gluttony, manifesting as a hoarder).
Introduction
We see Donald on his front porch. Not much space to get the door open. Everything else is stacked to the ceiling. Books, papers, clippings. He’s got a lot of other stuff. He is talking to the town safety officer because there have been complaints. Overgrown and attracting rats. The state might get him thrown out.
The Spirit Appears
Donald is tidying up some of the piles of newspaper clippings when they start rustling and moving by themselves. Then a spirit rises up out of the piles and says “You run the risk that your soul is doomed. Come” and holds out its hand and leads him back into the past.
Vision of the past ♠️
Spade - he is in a hospital room, some years ago. He sees himself, a little younger, and his wife on her deathbed. He wants to leave but the spirit won’t let him. He hears their discussion. She wants him to let go and live a life. He doesn’t want to let go. She thinks they had a good run and he needs to move on. We see the older Donald go over and try to tuck a lock of hair back with his ghostly fingers. Then the spirit moves him on. It was after this that his hoarding started.
Vision of the present ❤️
Heart - We see his estranged daughter, Valerie, at the county hall. She is defending against the potential eviction, arguing that it isn’t fair and he needs more time. “Why is she doing this?” Donald wonders. Then he sees her open up her pocketbook and pay the immediate fines herself. “Wait a moment, that’s the money she needs for her medical education! She mustn’t do that? Why is she doing that, spirit?”. “It is love”, the spirit replies.
Vision of the future ❤️
Heart - We see his wake. It is packed with people. Valerie gives a moving speech and people come forward - those whose life he saved with his surgery, those who used to enjoy his company before he sealed himself off. Some remark that he didn’t even go to Valerie's med school graduation but overwhelmingly he was missed by people. He was loved by people. Donald turns to the spirit “I didn’t realise… I just didn’t understand”. The spirit nods and leads him away.
Council of Judgement
The spirits are now gathered, looking at one another. They have seen the lives of each others clients, and now each has to decide whether any deserve to be saved. They each have one vote they can cast for one of the clients apart from their own. Each secretly decides, then their votes are revealed.
Donald had 1 red card
Donald loses the house and much of his memories but he is rescued from gluttony and his need to hoard. He moves in with his daughter Valerie, and slowly rebuilds contact with some of his old friends from hospital. He has lost a lot, but he has a better future to build on.
Carl - no cards
Ultimately Carl doesn’t learn from the spirit’s visit and he is consumed by envy, finding oblivion in the bottle. He kills JJ in the hit and run as was foreseen, and ends his days in prison, blaming everyone who had a better life than him.
Clarissa - 1 red card
Clarissa realises that the path she is on will cause her followers to drop dramatically by the time she is in her 30’s and feels that she might be able to allow her ripples to make a difference. She focuses her influence on African poverty, meets someone doing relief work. They fall in love and move to work with refugees together. She thinks she doesn’t change much, but away from the internet she has lost her followers and her clout; but has at least stepped off the treadmill that was leading her to her doom.
Brad - two cards
Brad wakes up the next morning in his lazyboy in a cold sweat. He goes into the kitchen and pulls down a very old cookbook, full of annotations from his mother. He starts to make cookies. He is later knocking at the door of the Washington’s, and leaving the cookies. He walks away, but Brenda opens the door and asks what he is doing - he says “I’m sorry for the way I behaved, it is inexcusable. But it’s not about me. I just want to do something nice”. Brenda says “come in and have a cup of coffee”. He does come in, and it’s the first step towards the rest of his life, free at last from the wrath that used to consume him.