Senator Alvise Contarini
Collects votes, statues, and other people's debts.
A candlelit palazzo on the last night of Carnival
The Hollow Masquerade
Everyone is wearing someone else's face.
The last night of Carnival, and the senator's masquerade is the only invitation worth having. By midnight the music has stopped, a mask lies face up in the canal, and the guest behind it is dead — though half the party would swear they spoke to him an hour later.
Players12–20
Evening3.5 hours
HostingAdvanced
Written forAdults, 16+
The story
The Hollow Masquerade plays in three acts with a dinner break the script plans for. Times below assume a 7pm start; every kit includes a version for a later table.
Act I8:00 pm
The Masking
Guests draw masks at the door, which decides who may speak to whom. The senator makes a toast that insults three houses at once.
Act II9:00 pm
The Water Gate
A body is pulled from the canal stairs. Masks make alibis useless: nobody can prove which guest they were dancing with.
Act III10:15 pm
Unmasking
Guests may remove one other guest's mask — and one secret with it. The host counts the masks against the guest list.
The cast
Six to 20 roles are written; the kit scales down by folding the smallest parts into the host. Each character arrives with a public face and a private problem.
Donna Fiorella
Sings for the city and is paid by its enemies.
Brother Matteo
Cannot repeat what he hears, but will describe it.
Capitano Rizzo
Patrols the canals and has been seen in the wrong palazzo.
Clues & evidence
Four of the nine clues
- A mask with a torn silk lining and a monogram
- A gondola receipt for a trip that never happened
- A letter of credit drawn on a closed bank
- A candle stub that burned for only ten minutes
Props unique to this kit
- Twelve Carnival masks, one of them marked inside
- A sealed confession with the seal broken
- A fan with a name written along the ribs