Tutankhamun is a weekend long freeform roleplaying game for 76 players, set in Egypt in 1923. The game will primarily be based in the Winter Palace, Luxor, one of the grand hotels of its time. Players will assume the identities of locals, staff, and visitors to Egypt during a time of excitement, mystery, and instability.

Game Suitability - 18+

This game contains darker themes including but not restricted to; criminal & gang activities, human trafficking, murder, and touches on aspects of supernatural and horror, making it unsuitable for anyone below the age of 18. We ask in advance that players inform us if they are sensitive to any particular topics and will do our best to try and keep you away from such areas. However this is not always possible and if we feel this is the case we will let you know in advance.

Character Gender

The characters in this game are all essentially gendered as either male or female initially (and this is reflected in casting), however players are welcome to play their character as they see fit. It would be entirely period appropriate for a person to present as androgynous or consider themselves non-binary, or for characters to romantically pursue those of the same gender. If you state any such preference during casting we will do our best to tailor your character to reflect this.

Your Character

All players will be required to complete a casting form in order to communicate your character preferences. Once all casting forms have been completed, players will be assigned their characters and given a short character hint. It is important that you express any concerns you may have at this time as there may be a possibility of altering the characters. Your full character sheet will be sent to you closer to the game.

Your character sheet will give you all the information regarding your character. It will include your character’s name and any titles, some general information and stats, an overview of how people see you, some background about your characters, various areas of interest, a summary of goals, any skills, abilities, or items you have, and who you know. All the information on your character sheet is from the point of view of that character and is subjective based on your own knowledge and opinion.

The information provided will give you a baseline for your character however as the game progresses your character may change and grow depending on the interactions you have. There is no right or wrong way to play but we ask you to try and step into your characters shoes for a while and connect with what they might feel, think the way they do, and behave how they would. Allow yourself to make decisions based on what your character would do.

Each character has a list of goals which may help you get started with the character. You may decide to pursue certain goals and abandon others. Sometimes you may find you have contradictory goals and you will need to decide which is the most important to your character.

There will be secrets that will be revealed in game. For this reason we ask that you are careful about what you share with other players prior to the game. Different characters will have different levels of knowledge regarding different plots and discussing plots prior to the game may spoil the experience for another player.

Your character sheet will give you everything you need to get started. We suggest you read it carefully to begin with and after that it is yours to study, transform, cry on and play. The character is yours to interpret however you wish. Feel free to ask any questions to the GMs if you are unsure of something.

You should print and bring your character sheet with you to the game (unless you have stated that you require a printed copy on the casting form).

 

Costuming

The game will be set in Egypt in 1923. Characters will be a mix of locals, staff (of the hotel), and visitors. There is a huge variety of clothing styles which would be suitable for the game, many of which can be sourced from charity shops. Please find some suggestions for suitable attire below (though these are only suggestions and you are welcome to costume as much or as little as you wish – we only ask that you try to wear something that looks vaguely suitable).

Please note that there are a variety of characters of who originate from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We ask that players do not try to recreate any form of ethnicity through the use of make-up e.g. black face, as this can be considered of a racially insensitive nature. We ask that players do not try to emulate traditional Muslim head coverings that would have been common at the time in Egypt (e.g. Hijab, Burka, etc) as we feel it is not appropriate for our particular characters (you are of course welcome to wear them due to your own religious beliefs should you wish). Decorative headscarves worn as 1920’s attire are fine.

Characters that are hotel staff will be required to conform to a very basic uniform for at least part of the game. This is as follows:

• Men’s uniform (Maitre d’hotel/waiter) – Black tailcoat & trousers, black waistcoat, and white shirt.
• Ladies uniform (Head of household/maid) – Black dress (hemline between knee and ankle), and white apron (crossover style preferred)

Here are some suggestions for women’s clothing:

• Day dress (drop waist, hemline anywhere between ankle and knee)
• Beach Pyjamas could be worn on vacation (wide leg palazzo style trousers with matching top)
• Simple casual wear might include a long skirt, blouse, and cardigan.
• Clothing influenced by men’s wear e.g. tall argyle socks, knickerbockers, shirt and tie, and cap
• Daywear accessories included cloche hats, seamed stockings, a purse, gloves and jewellery.
• Fancy evening dresses tended to be sleeveless, shapeless, ankle to knee length slip gowns in jewel or pastel shades which could be accented with beading, sequins, fringe, and feathers.
• For evening you can add lavish accessories, such as a diamond tiara or headband, silk shawl, feather fan, long pearl necklace, gold arm bangles, etc.
• Egyptian motifs and influence in clothing (and everything else!) were prominent during this period.

Here are some suggestions for men’s clothing:

• Kaftan style garments were often worn by Egyptians. Tarboosh (or fez) hats were worn.
• Striped, plaid, or windowpane suits/suit jackets were popular day to day attire with ivory, white, tan, or pastel shades being more popular in summer. Darker colours were worn in winter.
• Oxford bags and plus fours were common trousers.
• Sporty clothing often consisted of plus four trousers, tall argyle socks, dress shirt, sweater vest, and a newsboy cap.
• White trousers with a white sweater vest were popular summer sporting clothes.
• Accessories might include pocket watches, hats (fedora, homburg, bowler, panama, or straw boater), flashy neckties, and walking sticks.
• In the evening dinner jackets/tuxedos were popular.

 

Influences

Inspiration for the game has been taken from actual events in history, various fictional novels, biographies, various period film and television pieces. Although this game and its characters are set within a certain period of history, we would like you to note that we have taken many (and often extreme) liberties with the setting, characters and timeline. Many characters will not be what they appear to be. The following are some of the influences which have helped shape the game.

• The Curse of King Tut's Tomb, Film, 1980
• Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal, TV, 1992
• Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye, TV, 1995
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Film, 2010
• Egypt, TV mini series, 2005
• The Great Gatsby, Film, 2013
• Poirot!, TV, 1989-2013
• Bright Young Things, Film, 2003
• The Cats Meow, Film, 2001
• The Mummy, Film, 1999
• Hitchcock, Film, 2012
• Downton Abbey, TV, 2010-2015
• Houdini & Doyle, TV, 2016-
• Amelia Peabody series of books - Elizabeth Peters
• The Secret Life of Houdini, Book by William Kalush & Harry Sloman
• Howard Carter & the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Book by H. V. F. Winstone