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  s h e l t e r  
  Shelter is a game for two players that answers 
  the question: How will you reach the City of 
  Scarabs? 
  �
  H o w  t o  P l a y  
  Each player will take turns playing the 
  Wanderer, a lone pilgrim journeying to the 
  mythical City of Scarabs to reunite with their 
  lost love. While your partner plays the 
  Wanderer, you will describe the cruel 
  environment and craft a dream-like 
  landscape with obstacles drawn from your 
  fears. It should take about an hour, or less, to 
  play. 
  �
  This game uses touch as a storytelling 
  mechanic. This may be as light as brushing 
  fingertips or as intimate as kissing. If you are 
  familiar with the larp technique Ars Amandi, 
  you may use that here, but knowing it isn’t 
  necessary. Before playing, you and your 
  partner will have a conversation to determine 
  the type of touch desired, and how to 
  position yourselves during play; you may sit 
  across from one another, lie down in an 
  embrace, or be in any other position that 
  feels natural. The standard here is 
  enthusiastic consent—both players should 
  feel comfortable with how and where they 
  will be touched, and confident that any 
  boundaries will be respected. At any point, 
  either player may pause the game to re-open 
  this discussion, proceeding only if both 
  players wish to continue. 
  �
  S e t t i n g  U p  
  To begin play, answer the following 
  questions with your partner. You may pick as 
  many choices as you wish, or write your own. 
  How was your homeland destroyed? 
  • By drought and famine 
  • By strange disease 
  • By monstrous beasts 
  • By divine wrath 
  • By the foolishness of humans 
  �
  Your people were famed for their beauty. 
  What forms do you take? 
  • Enormous bodies 
  • Feathery bodies 
  • Scaly bodies 
  • Shifting bodies 
  • Human bodies 
  �
  What terrain must you cross? 
  • Vast desert 
  • Mercurial sea 
  • The heavens 
  • Sunken ruins littered with bones 
  • The still stone circle where time does not 
  pass 
  �
  What rumors of the City have you heard? 
  • All promises spoken within its walls must 
  be kept 
  • Each night the City vanishes into the sand 
  • None share a common tongue, but all are 
  understood 
  • The City’s rulers are never seen; floating 
  robes and masks appear in their stead 
  • Merchants convey themselves through the 
  streets on the wings of giant bats 
  �
  Once you have answered these questions, 
  each player will take a moment alone to write 
  down three fears. These are things that you, 
  the player, are actually afraid of. Take your 
  time, and keep them secret when you are 
  done.
  
  P l a y i n g  S c e n e s  
  The game consists of five scenes: the first 
  four will be with one player as the Wanderer 
  and the other as the Narrator, switching roles 
  after every scene. The fifth scene will be a 
  flashback to the time before the Wanderer 
  and their love were separated. You may 
  choose to split or share the two roles. After 
  the flashback is a short epilogue. 
  �
  During these scenes you will touch one 
  another according to the boundaries you and 
  your partner agreed upon earlier. You should 
  strive for constant physical contact, and to 
  use touch to convey elements of the story. For 
  example, you might gently trace your nails 
  on your partner’s skin when describing an 
  elusive memory, place a hand on their cheek 
  when you invoke their lost love, or grip their 
  hands tightly in a moment of suspense. 
  �
  A s  t h e  W a n d e r e r  
  When it is your turn to play the Wanderer, 
  keep your eyes closed and react to the 
  narrator’s description of the landscape 
  around you. Describe your actions, thoughts 
  and feelings in the first person. End the 
  scene when you overcome an obstacle, or it 
  reaches its natural conclusion. 
  �
  A s  t h e  N a r r a t o r  
  Keep your eyes open and describe to the 
  Wanderer what they encounter. Use the 
  details generated during the set up and your 
  list of fears (one or two per scene) to describe 
  the landscape and any people, creatures or 
  objects the Wanderer encounters. When 
  drawing from your list of fears, you may be as 
  literal or abstract as you would like—you 
  won’t be forced to reveal what you wrote 
  down. 
  �
  D u r i n g  t h e  F l a s h b a c k  
  Just before the Wanderer reaches the city 
  gates you will play a short flashback scene 
  between the Wanderer and their lost love. 
  This can be the last moment they shared, the 
  first time they met, or any point in between. 
  The purpose of this scene is to describe the 
  sense of anticipation the Wanderer feels—
  are they excited and hopeful? Are they filled 
  with a sense of dread? Both? 
  �
  Discuss how you would like to frame the 
  scene and divide the roles; one person may 
  play the Wanderer and another their love, or 
  the roles may be shared. Then decide 
  together whether to both keep your eyes 
  open or closed while you play it out. Either 
  way, maintain physical contact. 
  �
  E p i l o g u e  
  After the flashback is an epilogue to describe 
  what happens once the Wanderer passes 
  through the city gates. You may answer these 
  questions, or create your own: 
  �
  • What about your love is not as you 
  remembered? 
  • Which of the rumors about the City of 
  Scarabs are true? 
  • Will you and your love be parted again? 
  �
  T h o u g h t s  a n d  C r e d i t s  
  Shelter is ©2014 Sara Williamson, written for 
  the INDIE MIXTAPE project, and inspired by 
  the song “Shelter” by The xx. You don’t need 
  to listen to “Shelter” to play the game, but 
  you should anyway because it’s beautiful. 
  �
  Shelter was also inspired by fantastic liminal 
  spaces like the bath house in Spirited Away, 
  and “I Leapt Off The Mountain.” by Avery 
  Mcdaldno, a reflection on the game Journey. 
  The gameplay was inspired by Superhero, a 
  great two person game by Jackson Tegu. The 
  beetle icon above was made by Freepik from 
  Flaticon.com and is licensed under CC BY 
  3.0. �
  If you play this game, I would love to hear 
  about it! You can reach me at 
  sara.e.williamson@gmail.com
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Duet/RPGS/Horror & Suspense & Mystery/Shelter.pdf