If they refuse their fate, Death announces a toll to be paid for a little more life: in other words, the name of the person who will die instead of the nightlifer. If the nightlifer accepts their fate, they take off their mask and suffer the demise Death had predicted them: the game is over. The characters never talk about the present time. They can be previously described elements or details improvised on the spot. To soften Death’s attitude, the nightlifer can talk about their projects and desires for the future Death, in return, can describe the nightlifer’s regrets or dark moments from their past. A dialogue begins: time is not frozen and the nightlifer can try and run away, fight Death or protect themselves with some ritual, but these precautions always fail and the nightlifer ends up begging Death to spare them. The nightlifer’s player describes the scene, which always takes place during a party: where in Venice the nightlifer is, with whom, what they are doing and what mask they wear on the occasion of this party.ĭeath, for its part, describes how it appears to the nightlifer and what is supposed to cause their imminent death during this scene. Players also decide who will play the nightlifer and Death in the first scene: both roles will be swapped between two scenes. In turns or together, they also each define a detail about the nightlifer: their names, their age when play begins, their appearance, their dreams and desires, their fears and superstitions, their family, their friends and/or enemies, their love interests.

It offers them a deal: a life for a life.īoth players choose the era in which their nightlifer will live and die (the place is always Venice). When Death comes to take them, they refuse to die. A nightlifer enjoys life in Venice’s alleyways.

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