120-minute plan · 4 players · Bring people together The shared drums are silent. A council host, small performers and crowd stewards need an opening they can all accept. Content notice: Public performance pressure. Describe a beat instead of playing or singing it.
Four opening slots are the actual negotiating resource. Toma begins by asking for two council slots but accepts one after a visible reply slot is reserved. Rue needs two protected invitations, for a quiet performer and a newcomer; the two may decline without cancelling the event. Esen needs one crowd reply plus a marked aisle. Allocate all four and take the extra action to mark the aisle before the drum opening. A handclap compact needs Rue and Esen but gives the council its welcome after the opening instead. A quiet procession remains possible with no agreement. Read the terms before asking for offers and record the specific concession each party makes.
Lio accepted a silence cloth to keep the council from drowning out small performers. Its four tabs lift only after freely accepted turns for a quiet performer, a newcomer, the ensemble and a reply. A clap opening works while the cloth remains.
Agree on subjects to soften or skip. Each player names an ordinary skill and a reason to help. Evidence does not require a successful roll; uncertainty changes time, cost or obligations. Sticks bounce over the drums. Nothing answers. A child claps on the steps and every head turns toward that small, perfectly audible sound.
120 minutes: Hear the silence first Opening agreement: 10 minutes Try the cloth and hear three requests: 30 minutes Compare drum and clap compacts: 40 minutes Stage the agreed opening: 30 minutes Closure and debrief: 10 minutes The cloth demonstration is earned in play. Leave the final slot unused on the clap route; the council’s welcome moves after the opening instead of being silently counted as consent. Starting information: Opening program Starting state: Opening slots = 4; Small performers accept = false; Stewards accept = false; Council accepts = false; Aisle marked = false; Cloth terms understood = false; Council rejects the opening offer = false With 4 players: share the roles of mapper, evidence keeper, speaker and timekeeper.
A refused invitation can become a described rest. If a party rejects the whole compact, use the quiet procession. It opens the stalls but forfeits the performance; do not declare the cloth cured.
Read aloud: Toma holds a card with two large empty boxes. GM: Toma asks for a formal welcome and reprise. He can surrender the reprise if the public gets its own reply. The council must be heard later if it loses both opening turns.
Ask: Give the last opening slot to the council and move the reprise? Requires: Stewards accept is true and Council rejects the opening offer is false. Spend 1 Opening slots. Council accepts: true Result: Toma crosses out the opening reprise and accepts one welcome.
Ask: Accept the refusal and offer a later welcome after a clap opening? Requires: Available. Council rejects the opening offer: true; Council accepts: false Result: Toma declines the one-slot opening. A later welcome can accompany the clap compact; the shared-drum compact is unavailable.
Read aloud: Rue touches a tab; the room seems to hold its breath. GM: Rue explains the invitation sequence, never demands a player perform. Protect two small voices with two slots.
Ask: What makes an invitation different from a command? Requires: Available. Cloth terms understood: true. Reveal Four cloth tabs, Opening program Result: The quiet tab lifts for a willing whisper and falls back when the demonstration ends.
Ask: Reserve two of four slots, with the right to decline? Requires: Available. Spend 2 Opening slots. Small performers accept: true Result: Rue accepts the written invitation terms.
Read aloud: Esen taps an aisle on the paving with a broom. GM: The clap route needs no drum repair. Esen accepts one reply slot, but still insists the aisle be physically marked.
Ask: Use one opening slot for an audience response? Requires: Available. Spend 1 Opening slots. Stewards accept: true. Reveal Steward’s chalk plan Result: Esen recruits clap leaders and asks you to mark the lane.
Ask: Who stands at the two ends while the opening proceeds? Requires: Available. Aisle marked: true Result: The crowd shifts back, leaving a continuous lane.
Ask: Keep the drums silent and give the council its welcome afterward? Requires: Small performers accept is true and Stewards accept is true and Aisle marked is true. Result: The leaders start a small clap that travels around the square. Closure: Hands carry the festival
Read aloud: Lio offers the sticks handle-first and waits. GM: Lio will lift tabs only after invitations are accepted. Check the three stances and aisle, then resolve the opening in the order printed on the invitation card.
Ask: Invite quiet, newcomer, ensemble and reply in order? Requires: Cloth terms understood is true and Small performers accept is true and Stewards accept is true and Council accepts is true and Aisle marked is true. Result: Lio lifts each tab as its invitation is answered. Closure: An opening with room to answer
Read aloud: The bell rope reaches down toward an empty audience lane. GM: The full opening can be called here. A late council welcome is visible to everyone from this balcony.
Festival square ↔ Costume tent: Pass the costume line. Available. Festival square ↔ Rehearsal steps: Walk the audience edge. Available. Costume tent ↔ Silent stage: Follow the colored cloth. Available. Rehearsal steps ↔ Silent stage: Use the performer ramp. Available. Silent stage ↔ Bell balcony: Climb the bell stair. Available.
Goal: Give the festival an audible welcome Offers: Surrender a reprise if the crowd gets a reply. Will not accept: The council cannot simply be erased from the program. Voice: “One welcome, then I can listen.” Track: Council accepts
Goal: Protect quiet and newcomer invitations Offers: Two willing performers and a cloth demonstration. Will not accept: An invitation must allow refusal. Voice: “A space on paper is not yet a turn.” Track: Small performers accept
Goal: Make the reply accessible and the aisle clear Offers: Handclap leaders and aisle markers. Will not accept: No crowded opening without an exit lane. Voice: “Leave room to answer and room to leave.” Track: Stewards accept
Goal: Make room for freely accepted small voices Offers: The cloth and a tab-by-tab opening demonstration. Will not accept: No tab is lifted by commanding a performer to accept. Voice: “Ask once, then leave room for the answer.”
Give only when revealed in play. Blue: a quiet invitation. Green: a newcomer invitation. Gold: an ensemble turn. White: an audience reply. An invitation may be declined. Write who offers each turn and what a refusal changes. Player task: Arrange an opening and leave space for a substitute sound. GM answer: Protected invitations, ensemble welcome and audience reply meet the four terms without compelling performance.
Give only when revealed in play. Four slots total. Small performers request two. Stewards request one reply. Council requests a welcome and reprise. Cross out or move one request before assigning the four slots. Player task: Make a visible counteroffer instead of promising five turns. GM answer: Move the council reprise later; or use claps and move the entire council welcome later.
Give only when revealed in play. Audience benches surround the stage. A straight lane from the steps to the square remains empty. Mark who will hold each end of it. Claps and voices remain audible without drums. Player task: Assign aisle stewards and compare the clap opening. GM answer: Marking the aisle is its own required action; accepting a reply slot alone does not do it.
Opening slots: 4 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 4) Small performers accept: false (stance) Stewards accept: false (stance) Council accepts: false (stance) Aisle marked: false (flag) Cloth terms understood: false (knowledge) Council rejects the opening offer: false (stance)
Open the fair by walking the stalls and postpone the disputed program? Requires: Available. The banner moves slowly between stalls; the drums remain covered.
Requires: Council accepts is true and Small performers accept is true and Stewards accept is true and Aisle marked is true The cloth becomes four ordinary scarves. The quietest beat opens a sequence everyone helped shape. Next: Who keeps the accepted program for next year?
Requires: Small performers accept is true and Stewards accept is true and Aisle marked is true The fair opens to claps. The council welcomes visitors later; shared drum rights remain to be negotiated. Next: When will Lio and the council revisit the instrument agreement?
Requires: Available The stalls open during a quiet procession. The opening performance is cancelled, but nobody is pressured into giving up a voice. Next: Whose invitation should begin the next meeting?