The Triptych
Triptych (trip-tick) n. A picture or carving on three panels able to fold over the centre; a set of three associated works so placed esp. as a centre piece; a set of three writing tablets hinged or tied together; a set of three artistic works; such used as an altar piece; a treatise in three parts.
Each year, Pheno invites three respected designers to present a systemless single session game as part of a triptych. Each game showcases what we consider the best of Pheno roleplaying: characterisation, drama, entertainment, innovation. Each game will be judged separately, but teams competing in all three games will also be eligible for the Triptych Perpetual Trophy.
The Triptych games are all for 5 players.
- Dead Man Walking — by Mik Bonsall
- Silence of the Bush — by Fi McConachie
- Vengeance of the Vampire Lord — by Nick Argall
- (Back to the main games page)
Dead Man Walking
by Mik Bonsall
Run, run, run, as fast as you can.
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man.
It's said that your life flashes before your eyes in the moments before death.
The first time it happened was unforgettable. Now it's all I exist for.
I can feel something coming. A storm of the like we've never before encountered.
We have reason to believe that the Nazis know about the Gingerbread Man. Some of you have been hunting him since last century. We have information pointing towards an area in Texas.
It's good to be back in the saddle. Let's go get 'im, boys.
Zombies! Nazis! Texans! Military Intelligence! The Suicidally Possessed! Can our intrepid band of five bounty hunters stop the Gingerbread Man before he is recruited for a darker purpose?
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 4+ | Genre 3 | Rules knowledge N/A |
| Story/plot 3+ | Seriousness 3 | Advisory rating MA15+ R Horror, adult themes |
Silence of the Bush
by Fi McConachie
Today I buried you my love, my dearest John. You were my beloved husband and even with your death I will remember who you are and I will not let our child forget his true father. I know that we would have had a good life together and I pray to God that we will be reunited when God sees fit to call me to his side. I know you wanted more for us than our modest little hut here in Rheola but it was our home, the one we made together. These tears I cry will never stop for you are not with me. Do not worry for I know that Francis will take care of me as you would have wanted.
Dear Jeffery and Lorraine Telford,
The Government of Victoria accepts your application for the legal adoption
of Henry Smith, Aboriginal Ward of the State, aged 9 months.
The Jaara baby was an Aboriginal Australian girl child who died at some stage during the 1840s to 1860s. The child's remains were discovered in 1904, and kept in storage by Museum Victoria. The bundle contained more than 100 wooden pegs used for staking out skins to dry, necklaces and an emu-feather apron. Intriguingly, there were a few European-made items too, including an axe head, a crockery fragment, a button and a tiny leather boot. These helped Mr West date the bundle to approximately 1842-60, violent contact years when the fertile Avoca River region was invaded by squatters and the Aboriginal population was decimated by disease.
Silence of the Bush is a ghost story set in the Australian Bush for five young people.| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 5 | Genre Modern Australia | Rules knowledge 1 |
| Story/plot 5 | Seriousness | Adult Content 5 |
Vengeance of the Vampire Lord
by Nick Argall
Wang Qi is the most respected herbalist in the town of Zhen Lou. As his patients, you pay him a small fee every week, unless you get sick, in which case you stop paying him until he restores the health you expect him to maintain. One day, he surprised you by saying "I will not accept your fee anymore, unless you train in Kung Fu alongside these four others".
Since there was no better doctor, you agreed, and it should not have been surprising that the five of you get along well. Doctor Wang says that your elements balance each other, and under his supervision you are coming into your own, individually and collectively.
But what should the patients do when the doctor falls sick?
A story of five friends, using Weapons of the Gods.
| Pheno ratings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characterisation 4 | Genre 3 | Rules knowledge 2 |
| Story/plot 3 | Seriousness 3 | Advisory rating M (adult themes, some violence) |
Previous triptychs
2008
David Hollingworth — Crime and Punishment
Andrew Smith — The Fall of the Family
Mike(y) and Liz Argall — The Group
2007
John Hughes — Quest: Mask of Heroes
Jacinta Thomler — Six Soldiers
David James — Those Left Behind
2006
Liz Argall — Being There
Joe McNamara — Killing De Villefort
Ingrid Bean — Rebirthing Eden
2005
Stuart Barrow — The Mask and the Moonlight
Xole Karman — Familiar
Andrew Smith — Something Wonderful
2004
Robbie Matthews — Mayhem Over Manhattan
Peter Rousell — Last Night in Eden
Eric Henry — The Fishbowl
2003
David James — Can you go home again?
Mike Walker — Psi
Ingrid Bean — Silence
2002
Ben Hunter — Project Hydra
Robert Barbetti — Something Wicked
Mark Bruckard — This Way Comes
2001
Larry Larkin — Once upon a time
Ryan d'Argeavel — I knew she was trouble the minute she walked into my office
Jon Naughton — They don't advertise for killers in a newspaper
2000
Michael Hitchens — You are Number 4, I am Number 6
Caitlin May — What is Honour?
Tony Guyot — Citius Altius Fortiu
1999 [The year Pheno ate Cancon]
Richard Canning — Memory Lost
Jo Ellem — Signor Jacemo's Circus of Wonder
Morgan Morningstar — Redemption
1998
Liz Argall — When I Meet My Family
Felix White — Lost Highway
Scott Walton & Daniel Wilks — Spazmo
1997
Andrew Smith — Fatalism
Diana Leithead — The Charity Gig
Antti Roppola — Understanding Ellen West
1996
Richard Percy — Covenant
Mark Barnes — Prometheus Rising
Brent Steves — Graenlendinga Saga
1995
John Hughes — Fallen Angel
Madi — Freaks
Grant Allen & Lindsay Beaton — Portents
1994
Ian Wanless — The Breaking
Robert MacLean — Faded Giant
Chris Slee — Uncle Jurgen's Happy Hour