A Midsummer Night's Story: Scenes

Scene 1: Jarn’s scene
This scene takes place in the library at the home of Mirriam’s family. Present are Jens (her father), Jarn, Hieronimus the banker, and Oldenough the alderman. They must figure out how Jarn can win Mirriam’s hand, how to avoid that the other admirers winning her favor, and what will happen afterwards.

Goal: Jens should tell Jarn that he is Jens’ and Gudrun’s preferred suitor, and that Jens has great plans for Jarn.

Extra goal: They must agree upon at least one course of action in scene 5.

Scene 2: Maximilliam’s scene
This scene takes place in the apple grove where the four adventurers, Maximilliam, Jarec, Timion and Magnus, talk about how Maximilliam should go about winning Mirriam’s hand, and how they can get a chance to examine the grove and the three mysterious stones. They also try to figure out how they can profit as much as possible from the entire business.

Goal: The adventurers should suspect that the grove served another purpose in the past, that somebody is the guardian, and that that person must present a crystal crown to the chosen one.

Extra goal: They must agree upon at least one course of action in scene 5.

Scene 3: Thalias’ scene
This scene takes place in the wagon belonging to Brunhilde the fortune teller. Here, Thalias the king of fools, Ragnvald the old king of fools, and Pus the court jester have paid visit. Brunhilde will foretell the events of the evening, and who is the most dangerous opponent. Together, they must try to figure out how the fools can profit as much as possible from the evening’s events.

Goal: Brunhilde should try to foretell the events, and her prophecy should mention a crystal crown as well as death (but she does not know who will die).

Extra goal: They must agree upon at least one course of action in scene 5.

Scene 4: Mirriam’s scene
This scene takes place in Mirriam’s room where Gudrun (her mother), Janni (her sister) and Tilda (the priestess) are present. They talk about how Mirriam can choose between the three admirers, who to pick, what to wear, and how she should behave.

Goal: In cooperation with Mirriam and the others, Tilda must come up with at least one trial for the three admirers during scene 5.

Extra goal: That the sisters become defiant and decide to compete for the favor of the three admirers.

Scene 5: The feast
This scene takes place in the apple grove during the evening. You should play out all the situations the players have come up with in the opening scenes. Otherwise, they are free to play out whatever actions and characters they want. Finally, four events happen:

1: One or more of the players will see one or more beautiful, half-undressed women walk into the woods in the direction of the lake (they are nymphs). There, the water lilies have parted, and gold is glittering fromat the bottom of the lake.

2: A fairy lures Jarn into the woods and asks him if he has found the chosen one, he who will be crowned and lead the tribe.

3: Jarn sees light shining from the stone in the middle (the platform between the three standing stones). Inside the stone, he can see the crystal crown.

4: When Jarn crowns someone, or the crown is removed from the grove, the scenario ends. In the role of Talker, you take charge and round off the story by telling that someone was found dead the following morning, asking if they can guess who it was? And just as important, who the killer was? Listen to their suggestions and take inspiration if you want. But as a general rule, the dead person is one of the four main characters (when I play the scenario, it is always Mirriam). Most importantly, it should be a mysterious death.

The goal of the scene
Is to play out the summer feast with a feeling of summer, entertainment, drinking and the three admirers competing for Mirriam’s hand. In addition, there is the matter of the grove that wants to crown the chosen one. Your task is to incite the players to play out the two central conflicts, using their extras to spiff up the events.

There are no rules for what the grove can or cannot do, but turn it into an old, living, mystical and dangerous entity with a touch of magic and something dark, something savage and euphoric, and a whiff of fairytale. It is great if you can play out some lovely conclusions to the extras’ stories, but keep in mind that the most important parts of the story are the main characters and the two related plots (the wedding and the coronation).

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