You Will Die In This Place is an autobiographical RPG told through multiple, fictional perspectives

You Will Die In This Place is a grim name for a tabletop RPG; not only does it point to the inevitability of death and decay, but it suggests an incontrovertible finale set in an unknowable space. This ambiguity seems intentional, given that the game is presented as a patchwork of design notes and reflections by a fictional designer named Charlotte, and then constructed as a rulebook by another designer, Samantha, who edited her notes and added in her own appropriations. It’s through Samantha’s interpretation of Charlotte’s project that players will navigate the game’s desolate world, set in the Vaulted Kingdom and the Abyssal Labyrinth. 

What’s most fascinating about You Will Die In This Place — or at least the preview of this RPG — is the way it draws attention to the metanarrative nature, with Samantha’s thoughts outlined in a different font. How much of Charlotte’s existing text was amended by Samantha, and how much was left intact goes intentionally unsaid. This adds a sense of prepossession, at least by Samantha, with players ultimately left wondering how closely the RPG resembles Charlotte’s vision, if at all — and how much of the two designers and its multi-layered world are autobiographical to its real-life creator, Elizabeth Little. The numerous, nihilistic realities presented in this RPG, as depicted through the Abyssal Labyrinthe, its Exiles, the undead corpses and other fragments of its world, blur the line between all three creators — Samantha, Charlotte and Little herself — and it’s this play on semantics that makes You Will Die In This Place endlessly thought-provoking.

Of course, this means Rascal had to ask Little via email how she came up with this intriguing concept, and why it’s presented in such a format. On top of the origins of the game, Little delved into Samantha’s and Charlotte’s intentions, how their realities shaped the rules and systems of the game, and the ways she has poured parts of herself into their voices. We learn that perhaps the “real” version of the game isn’t the burning question at the core of this RPG. Everything here is fiction, yet undoubtedly authentic, since the constructed personas of the two designers are a reflection of Little’s psyche — self-doubts, existential horror, and all.

Currently, Little is crowdfunding the production of You Will Die In This Place on Gamefound through November 14.

This interview has been edited slightly for clarity.