From publisher blurb: “The messenger of death wields the scythe of man’s damnation.” Jackson Tate sits on death row, waiting for the electric chair. Though Tate was convicted of the ritual slaughter of nine people, only eight bodies were found. To the majority of people, this is a meaningless oversight, but to paranormal investigators, the last body might be the key to Jackson’s entire stratagem. His execution could unlock a host of horrors. Why can’t people see that? A small group of believers intends to enter the prison and interrogate Jackson Tate before the switch is flipped. But with less than 48 hours to enter the prison and force Tate to confess to where the ninth body lies, anything could happen. Without the governor’s aid — or the warden’s say-so — talking to Jackson could prove impossible. Protocol is a series of story roleplaying games that thrusts characters together into dramatic situations. Each game uses the same set of rules, with vastly different parameters, start points, characters, and finales. Players take on the roles of directors outside the action and characters inside the action, using the ebb and flow of four different scene-framing styles (vignettes, interrogations, interludes, and ensembles) to tell meaningful stories about characters in crisis. Each game in the Protocol series is zero-prep for 3 or more players. The game length is exponentially long, so games with more players take more time to complete. The Protocol Series requires a deck of poker cards as well as tokens to track drama points. The Protocol One-Sheet Series do not include rules, only charts. Each game requires players to own at least one game in the Protocol series, or Protocol Prime.