From publisher blurb:
Black Dragon Inn is a story roleplaying game about a party of adventurers returning from a hard-fought quest.
The dragon is dead. The town is saved. Now is the time to rejoice in the meadhall and drink to fallen comrades. We shall sing tales of their memories, recount their deeds, and drink until the ale runs dry. Tonight we honor ourselves. And our fallen brethren.
Tonight, the quest is over.
But something sinister lurks inside the town of Iverdale. Someone does not want you here. Someone wants Iverdale all to itself.
Someone wants you dead.
Characters take on the role of adventures dealing with an unseen and malevolent foe determined to undo them. Can they survive whatever haunts Iverdale? Or will this be their final quest?
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.