A role-playing game about bloodthirst and bloodlines
Flowers Withered on the Stem is a role-playing game about vampires and their monstrous nature, but perhaps more importantly about the blood ties that bind them together.
In this game, you play vampires belonging to a single vampiric bloodline. Something has happened that cause turmoil within your family. You play to find out how your characters deal with this incident, each other, and their thirst for blood.
Together you create a story filled with intrigue and family drama—in the vein of Interview with the Vampire by Neil Jordan, and Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch.
Your story takes place in the Victorian era of the 1850s, a time of oppression, inequality, and a fascination for the macabre. It’s framed by the grandeur of gothic architecture combined with a stern industrial cityscape. The dense population of a city provides a perfect habitat for a vampire. The city never sleeps—there you become just another face in the crowd, and your victims quickly disappear among the death records.
As if the internal strife within the family wasn’t enough, each vampire also struggles to control the beast within them. A violent, sadistic, and reckless force whispering to them inside their heads (portrayed by the other players).
Flowers Withered on the Stem is an entirely card-based role-playing game for 4 players over a game session of 4–5 hours. All you need is the card deck and a table to sit at. The game is played out in scenes, and the function of game master is shared by all players.
