Teens

Each Player starts with both Abilities at a level of 3. (On the chart on your Character sheet, place a token on the middle square to note your current Ability levels.)

When you attempt something in the adventure and the outcome is uncertain, the Storyteller can ask you to roll a d6 and compare the result to your current level in the relevant Ability. The Storyteller decides whether you’re using your Yisrael abilities or your Mitzrayim abilities.

If you’re trying to do something related to your Character Type or Job, you can roll an additional d6 and use the higher result of the two.

If the result of your roll is equal to or greater than your current level for that Ability, you succeed. If it’s under that Ability level, you fail. For example: If you currently have a level 4 in Yisrael and therefore a level 2 in Mitzrayim. Let’s assume you want to climb to the top of a pyramid. The Storyteller would probably ask you to make a Mitzrayim Roll. If the dice came up with a 2 or higher, you would succeed and you would move your token to the left.

Ability levels change. When you succeed on an Ability Roll, you gain a level in that Ability, while losing a level on the other one. To keep track of this: If you succeed on a Yisrael Ability Roll, move your token one square to the right on the chart. If you succeed on a Mitzrayim Ability Roll, move the token one square to the left.

(To make the game more dynamic, you could also choose to lose a level in the relevant Ability if you fail. This is up to you and your Storyteller.)

If your Abilities get all the way to 6 Israel / 0 Mitzrayim, your actions have become too obvious. Pharaoh finds out what you’re up to, hardens his heart, and you cannot leave.

If your Abilities get all the way to a 6 Mitzrayim / 0 Israel, the pressures keeping you in place win out. You lose heart and need more of a sign from G*d before you are ready to leave Egypt.

You can always find new Characters to take on this adventure, but if anyone reaches a level 6 on one of these two Abilities, this round of the game will be over.

Created by David Loewy (with thanks to Grant Howitt for the inspiration)

This Passover, transform your afikoman search into an epic quest. Use this roleplaying game as the Tzafun step of your seder, in place of the Maggid, or as an alternative seder during the rest of the holiday. Participants will play through a crucial moment of the Exodus from Egypt. 

This is a game of choice, chance, and imagination. A Storyteller presents a series of scenarios and challenges, and the Players decide what their Characters do in response. There will be a particular goal to accomplish within the story, but Characters have to figure out how they accomplish that goal. The roll of the dice will determine whether they succeed or fail in those efforts. Players “win” when at least one of them is able to accomplish that story’s goal.

You will need:

• Players (2-6, typically), ages 6 to 120 (but you know, keep your storytelling age-appropriate)
• One person to take on the role of Storyteller (probably b’nai mitzvah age or older)
• A 6-sided die, or “d6,” for each Player
• A Character Sheet for each Player
• A token for each Player to track their Ability levels (Any small item will do.)
• If you can write while playing the game, you might want pens and pencils. If not, you may want additional tokens for players to track information on their Character Sheet.

You are an Israelite about to leave Egypt during the Exodus story. Roll three d6 to determine your Character’s Type, Descriptor, and Job. Note the results on an Israelite Character Sheet.

Type

1. Agile
2. Brainy
3. Brawny
4. Creative
5. Charming
6. Sneaky

Descriptor

1. Rookie
2. Veteran
3. Incompetent
4. Unruly
5. Level-Headed
6. Quirky

Job in Egypt

1. Shepherd
2. Farmer
3. Fisher
4. Builder
5. Entertainer
6. Cook

Now, give your Character a name, and decide if and how they know any other Characters.

An Item from the Neighbors

When the Israelites left, they took along items from their Egyptian neighbors. Roll a d6 to determine what special item you have:

1. Bag with 10 Gold Coins
2. Festive Garment
3. A Sheep
4. Oil Lantern
5. Handheld Silver Chime
6. Small Sack of Flour

You can intentionally move your Ability levels without rolling by giving your character a moment of reflection in the roleplaying. These should be specific to your Character and their story.

• To add 1 in Mitzrayim (-1 to Yisrael) – Talk about what you’ll miss from Egypt if you leave, aspects of your life pulling you to stay where you are.
• To add 1 to Yisrael (-1 to Mitzrayim) – Talk about a hope you have for your life when you’re free, and the reasons you want to go.

The Storyteller will determine if you have earned the level adjustment.

A note on why Ability levels work the way they do…

You may have noticed that when you succeed on one of your Ability Rolls, it makes it harder to succeed on that roll the next time. That is on purpose. The decision to stay in Egypt or leave to freedom might seem obvious to us, but the Israelites had never known any other life. Sometimes the closer you get to something new, the more the familiar calls you back. And the more stuck you feel in what you know, the more it drives you to break out of that narrow place. When you are pulled too far in one direction, you may need to remind yourself of other parts of your life, or you may need to rely on others to accomplish the things you can’t.