From the Game's Introduction:
Guy Fawkes Day is a Live Action Role Playing (LARP) game for 22-24 players. Each player in the game is given a character to portray. Each character has her/his own goals and personality. In this game there are no winners or losers. Though some characters may have 'goals', actual success at attaining the goals is no reflection on the player's ability. (For example, an actor is playing Shakespeare's Hamlet rather poorly if by the end of his performance the tragic prince is still alive....)
It is November 5, 1605, in London. A Catholic soldier named Guy Fawkes has just been caught in the basement of Parliament, with a couple tons of gunpowder. This is apparently part of an act of terrorism designed to kill virtually all members of the government - King James I, members of the House of Lords, members of the House of Commons, and King James's heir Henry - in an explosion when James addresses the opening session of Parliament.
No special knowledge of history is important to play in this game. Sufficient background information will be given to players.
Note, also, that this game will not necessarily be totally true to history. We are presenting this in the historical context of November 5, 1605, London, but small aspects of history that are now "known" to be true may have been changed for game purposes. This is to create a sequence of events and plots that can put 24 separate characters into major roles in a short time on screen, to make it easier for the players to remember their historical roles and what is going on, and to create or maintain an air of intrigue or romance where there may have been none in real life. If parts of the history that we have written in these pages, or in your character sheets, seem mistaken, play the game as though the LARP is correct (and speak to us afterwards - the difference may have been an oversight that we wish to correct).