Those are the questions you will have to answer while playing After the Rain, a one shot roleplaying game for 3-6 players. After the Rain casts you and your friends as desperate individuals bound together in pursuit of a shared goal. Standing in your way is The Rain.
The longer you are exposed to The Rain the more you will lose your memories, experiences, and the things that make you who you are. As the game progresses, you’ll be forced to change. Will you crumble without your past experiences or adapt to the loss of your memories and embrace the new person you must become?
With only four six sided dice per player, pencils, and your wits, will you be left standing After the Rain?”
After The Rain is played over 3 Acts, each with a different twist that encourages character growth into what The Rain is leaving behind.
To play, you and your friends will need to create a setting that varies as wildly as your imagination; ranging from a medieval village during the black plague to an office building where people audit the gods. Next, you must establish the goal. This is what drives your characters and brings them together. It's the thing they want the most and could be anything from getting a briefcase full of money to taking out a powerful rival.
Then, you’ll need to make your Facets. These are the three defining traits of your character. This could be as simple as a desire for revenge or as deep as trying to save someone you once loved. Finally, you'll decide on a past connection with another player at the table, to help eliminate any 'We meet in a Tavern' situations, and to help get you started right in the midst of The Rain.
Be careful. As the game continues and the players are exposed to The Rain, these Facets will start to wash away and they will lose their memories and experiences as the game goes on.
Kyle is a Pennsylvania based game designer, educator, and co-founder of Desks and Dorks. He has worked for Iello USA as an educational consultant, and demo team member. He’s also developed games for Mount St. Mary’s University.
Now he devotes his time to podcasting with Riley, creating innovative one shot RPGS and party games, and wondering whose idea it was to set him loose.
Hannah is an up and coming Graphic Designer. A recent graduate of York College of Pennsylvania’s Graphic Design Department, she’s grateful to have gotten to work with larger organizations to create promotional materials, as well as develop the branding and design for Desks and Dorks’ After the Rain, along with other projects.
An avid design nerd, she’s gotten to join Riley and Kyle on an episode of the Desks and Dorks Podcast to critique game art, a pastime that is quite amusing for her and Kyle.
Riley is an experienced retail manager, getting into the games industry (both designing, and playing!) after co-founding Desks and Dorks, and even wrote about his leap into the industry in Issue #12 of Tabletop Spirit. He embodies his “Desk” nickname by focusing on the back-end and behind-the-scenes part of Desks and Dorks. He now is the lead Producer and Publishing head for Desks and Dorks.