Perchance to Scream

Setup

Starting in middle of the action, to keep the players from immediately realizing it�s a dream, we have Buffy being attacked by several generic vampires on the site of the burnt out high school.

Action

Get the character sheets handed out, and then go right into the battle. Buffy is armed with just a stake, the vampires with just their fists and fangs.

To get everyone in the swing of the rules without consequences, we have the other players controlling the vampire characters attacking Buffy, making it 5 to 1 against her (using the Dream Vampire template, rolling each attack). If there are fewer players, you can either increase the vampire Attribute scores or add an additional vampire or two to help balance out against the Slayer.

Use this opportunity to go through the basic die mechanics and options in combat, as well as the rules for Drama Points. Each vampire has two Drama Points, so they should be able to give Buffy a run for her money.

The twist is that as each vampire is staked, they explode into dust revealing the actual character that person is playing, dead (except for Spike�s player, who will have Giles revealed instead). After this happens the first time, explain Drama Point-based Righteous Fury � that should help Buffy clean up the rest of them. If this is played with a new Cast, such a sight might be worth a Fear Test, but Buffy has seen just about everything by now.

If things start to go against Buffy, have Spike (under your control) step out of the shadows to help slay the vampires, stating that she isn�t, "the only one who gets to kill her friends." Otherwise he steps out as the last vampire dusts out, clapping as he steps over the bodies of her friends.

"Finally come round to my way of thinking," he says, lighting a cigarette. "Never could stand a one of them, not that you weren�t the worst of the lot. But that�s all changed. It�s just you an� me now, Slayer. Who�d a thought we�d end up with so much in common." He points towards a freestanding mirror covered with a dark cloth. A demon with glittering scales reaches from behind the mirror to remove the cloth, revealing that Buffy no longer has a reflection. Raising a hand to her face, she can feel the bumpy ridges of a vampiric visage. Then she wakes up.

Oh, remember to reset Buffy�s Life and Drama Points before the next Act. It was just dream, after all.