Exquisite Corpse — High-Level Host Guide
Players: 11 guest roles | Length: Approximately 3 hours | Setting: The funeral of Herbert Hemlock at Hemlock & Hemlock | Primary plant: Alfred Prentice
Host role: Control the environment, release the major beats, and coordinate with Alfred to maintain pacing.
Food and atmosphere: A charcuterie-style buffet is available during the pre-service gathering. The funeral dessert buffet opens at the beginning of Act II. Ideally, a live musician performs subdued or period-appropriate music as guests arrive.
1. The Mystery at a Glance
What the guests believe at the beginning
Herbert Hemlock was murdered under suspicious circumstances. His funeral is closed-casket because of the alleged condition of his remains. Everyone attending has a possible motive, secret, or connection to Herbert. The initial question is: Who murdered Herbert Hemlock?
What is actually true
- Herbert is alive.
- He has staged his death and used Herbie's expectation of inheriting Hemlock & Hemlock to ensure that his funeral instructions are followed.
- Herbert has spent years constructing an "exquisite corpse" in the image of a lost love, using selected remains taken from previous victims.
- Tammy Purifoy is one of those victims. Herbert took one of her eyes for the creation.
- Naomi Calvert was brought to the funeral because she possesses the final physical resemblance Herbert needs.
- During Act II, Herbie learns the full nature of Herbert's plan and receives an additional instruction involving Naomi.
The final mystery question
Why did Herbert Hemlock stage his death, why was Naomi Calvert brought to the funeral, and who enabled Herbert's plan?
The final answer
Herbert staged his death to gather the necessary people at Hemlock & Hemlock and complete his exquisite corpse. Herbie followed Herbert's unusual funeral and estate instructions because he expected to inherit the property. During the investigation, Herbie discovers that Naomi has been selected as the final component of Herbert's creation.
2. The Fixed Story Beats
The game must reach the following moments:
- Guests gather at Hemlock & Hemlock before the formal service.
- Alfred commences Herbert's funeral.
- Alfred reads his prepared eulogy.
- Guests deliver ad hoc eulogies.
- Lawrence Livewright prepares to administer the last rites.
- Sara interrupts the last rites and attempts her corpse-reviver ritual.
- Sara opens the casket.
- The casket is empty.
- The lights go out.
- An auditory crescendo signals the transition.
- Tammy's light appears and guides the group into Act II.
- Act II envelopes are distributed.
- Naomi and Herbie independently enter the records room.
- The records-room door locks behind them.
- The group discovers that Naomi and Herbie are trapped.
- Tammy proposes a séance.
- The group moves into the adjacent preparation room.
- Alfred objects to the séance, exits, and drops his keys.
- Act III envelopes are distributed.
- The séance provides the records-room combination.
- Naomi and Herbie are freed.
- Dick Braverman presents his findings.
- Evidence from the records room overturns the assumption that Herbert is dead.
- Alfred's dropped key opens a concealed section of the preparation room.
- The exquisite corpse is revealed.
- Tammy recognizes and attempts to reclaim her eye.
- Herbert appears alive.
- Guests make their final accusations.
3. The Three Acts
Pre-Service Gathering
Allow guests to settle into Eternal Springs, establish relationships, explore the funeral setting, and notice contextual details before the formal ceremony begins.
| Required Beat |
|---|
| Guests arrive at Hemlock & Hemlock for Herbert's funeral. |
| Everyone wears black except Tammy Purifoy, who wears white. |
| A charcuterie-style buffet is available. |
| A live musician ideally performs subdued or period-appropriate music. |
| Guests eat, circulate, interact in character, and explore the permitted areas. |
| Alfred welcomes mourners individually. |
| Alfred eventually calls the room to order and commences the formal service. |
Act I — The Empty Casket
Central question: Who murdered Herbert Hemlock?
| Required Beat |
|---|
| Alfred opens the formal funeral service. |
| Alfred explains that the casket is to remain closed and that certain areas are restricted. |
| Alfred reads his prepared eulogy. The physical copy remains in the environment and becomes relevant later. |
| Guests are invited to deliver ad hoc eulogies establishing different and often contradictory impressions of Herbert. |
| Near the end of the service, Lawrence Livewright approaches the casket to administer the last rites. |
| Before beginning, Lawrence asks whether anyone has anything further to say. |
| The finality overwhelms Sara. She becomes convinced her corpse-reviver spell will work. |
| Sara interrupts Lawrence before the last rites can be completed. |
| Sara approaches and opens the casket. |
| The casket is empty. |
| Guests are given time to react. |
| The lights go out. An auditory crescendo signals that the evening has shifted. |
| Tammy's light appears and guides the guests toward the Act II setting. |
Five-minute transition: Guests move into the Act II area. Funeral dessert buffet opens. Act II envelopes are distributed. Play resumes once everyone has read the new material.
End of act: Guests still believe Herbert may have been murdered but now assume someone removed the body. Two questions: Who killed Herbert? What happened to his body?
Act II — The Investigation
Central question: Who had the motive and opportunity to kill Herbert and conceal his remains?
| Required Beat |
|---|
| Guests resume play using their Act II envelopes. The funeral dessert buffet remains open. |
| Dick Braverman begins organizing the investigation around motive, access, opportunity, and the missing body. |
| The official account of Herbert's death begins to weaken. Interest in the Hemlock property becomes more prominent. |
| Herbie becomes concerned that the original deed may be found or challenged. His search leads him toward the records room. |
| Naomi — bored and disconnected at first — is transformed by the empty casket. Her love of mysteries drives her toward the records room. |
| Naomi and Herbie reach the records room for separate reasons and enter together. |
| The records-room door locks behind them. |
| Herbie receives an additional private objective involving Naomi. |
| Naomi and Herbie can communicate with the group through the door, wall, vent, or speaking tube. |
| The main group realizes both characters are missing and locates them inside the locked room. |
| Ordinary attempts to open the door fail. The lock requires a combination. |
| Tammy recommends a séance and senses that something Herbert took from her remains nearby. |
| The group moves into the preparation room directly beside the records room. |
Five-minute transition: Guests enter the preparation room. Alfred strongly objects and publicly leaves. Alfred drops his mortuary keys. Alfred's player exits to prepare for the Herbert reveal. Act III envelopes are distributed.
End of act: Naomi and Herbie are trapped but alive. The group must determine how to open the records room and what they have discovered inside.
Act III — The Séance and Final Reveal
Central question: Was Herbert ever murdered, and what was he preparing to do to Naomi?
| Required Beat |
|---|
| Tammy anchors the séance inside the preparation room, directly beside the locked records room. |
| The séance produces the records-room combination. |
| The records-room door is opened. Naomi and Herbie are freed together. |
| They emerge with information or materials recovered from the room. They may differ in what they are willing to reveal. |
| Dick Braverman gathers the guests and summarizes the investigation. His reconstruction may still assume Herbert was murdered. |
| Evidence recovered from the records room interrupts or overturns that theory. |
| The investigation shifts: from "Who murdered Herbert?" to "If Herbert is alive, why did he stage his death, and why was Naomi brought here?" |
| Information from the records room reveals that the preparation room contains a concealed area. |
| One of Alfred's dropped keys provides access. |
| The concealed section is opened. The exquisite corpse is revealed. |
| Tammy recognizes the eye Herbert took from her and attempts to reclaim it. |
| The masked Herbert appears alive. He confirms enough of his plan for guests to understand: his death was staged, the funeral was part of a larger plan, Herbie's expected inheritance secured his cooperation, and Naomi has a specific role in the final work. |
| Herbert refers to Alfred as a separate person, then disappears during a lighting or environmental transition. |
| Alfred may return from another direction. |
| Guests make their final accusations. The final truth and remaining secrets are revealed during the epilogue. |
Final understanding: Herbert was not the murder victim. He is the architect of the evening and the threat hidden at its center.
4. Suggested Three-Hour Run of Show
| Time | Segment | Host Priority |
|---|
| 0:00–0:20 | Pre-service gathering | Charcuterie, live music, character interaction, and environmental exploration |
| 0:20–0:40 | Funeral and eulogies | Alfred commences the ceremony and invites guests to speak |
| 0:40–0:50 | Last rites and Sara's interruption | Lawrence approaches the casket; Sara intervenes |
| 0:50–0:55 | Empty casket reveal | Allow the discovery and reactions to land |
| 0:55–1:00 | Five-minute transition | Lights out, auditory crescendo, Tammy's light, movement into Act II |
| 1:00–1:05 | Act II envelopes | Open the funeral dessert buffet and distribute envelopes |
| 1:05–1:35 | Investigation | Dick frames the inquiry while guests pursue Act II objectives |
| 1:35–1:50 | Property and records thread | Herbie and Naomi are independently drawn toward the records room |
| 1:50–2:00 | Records-room lock-in | Naomi and Herbie become trapped; the group locates them |
| 2:00–2:05 | Five-minute transition | Tammy proposes the séance; group moves to preparation room; Alfred exits |
| 2:05–2:10 | Act III envelopes | Guests privately review their final information |
| 2:10–2:20 | Séance | Tammy guides the group toward the combination |
| 2:20–2:30 | Naomi and Herbie freed | They emerge with evidence and differing information |
| 2:30–2:40 | Dick's findings | Reconstruct the apparent case |
| 2:40–2:48 | Investigation reframed | Evidence establishes that Herbert may still be alive |
| 2:48–2:55 | Concealed preparation area | Use Alfred's dropped key |
| 2:55–3:05 | Exquisite corpse and Herbert reveal | Deliver the visual and narrative climax |
| 3:05–3:15 | Accusations and epilogue | Resolve the mystery |
| 3:15+ | Debrief | Reveal secrets, choices, and missed details |
The timing is approximate. Allowing an additional 15–20 minutes will prevent the final reveal and accusations from feeling rushed.
5. Alfred Prentice: Primary Plant
Alfred's Character Truth
Alfred genuinely believes Herbert is dead. He does not know: Herbert is alive, Herbert staged his death, Naomi has been selected for Herbert's final work, the exquisite corpse exists, Tammy's eye is part of the creation, or what Herbie learns during Act II.
Alfred has spent years operating Hemlock & Hemlock while Herbert becomes increasingly withdrawn. He is sincere, loyal, pious, and deeply superstitious.
Alfred's Responsibilities
- Welcome guests during the pre-service gathering
- Commence the formal ceremony
- Read the prepared eulogy
- Invite other guests to speak
- Establish that the casket must remain closed
- Support the transition following the empty-casket reveal
- Help gather the group as the investigation develops
- Strongly object to the séance
- Leave before the séance begins
- Drop the mortuary keys while exiting
- Change into the masked Herbert
Alfred's Séance Exit
Alfred should express genuine religious and superstitious opposition. He may say something close to: "Whatever answers this house owes us, they should not be demanded from the dead. I will have no part in this." He exits to pray or remove himself from the ritual.
6. Keeping Alfred and Herbert Separate
| Safeguard | How |
|---|
| Alfred exits publicly | Several guests hear Alfred explain that he is leaving because he refuses to participate in the séance |
| Alfred drops a recognizable possession | His mortuary keys remain behind in the preparation room |
| Herbert has a different silhouette | Mask, different coat or robe, gloves, altered posture, and different movement |
| Herbert speaks about Alfred | Herbert refers to Alfred by name and in the third person: "Faithful Prentice kept my business alive while I devoted myself to more permanent work." |
| Herbert's appearance ends with a transition | Lighting or environmental change allows Herbert to disappear |
| Alfred may return afterward | Alfred returns from another direction and reacts as though he did not witness the reveal |
7. Key Locations
Funeral Parlor
Used for: the pre-service gathering, the formal funeral, Alfred's eulogy, guest eulogies, Lawrence's attempted last rites, Sara's corpse-reviver intervention, and the empty-casket reveal.
Records Room
Used for: Naomi's investigation, Herbie's search for the deed, their shared confinement, their Act II objectives, and evidence that later undermines the official account of Herbert's death. The room requires a combination to open.
Preparation Room
Located directly beside the records room. Used for: the séance, communication with Naomi and Herbie, Alfred's religious objection and exit, the Act III envelope handoff, and the final concealed-area reveal. The exquisite corpse remains hidden within a locked or curtained section of this room until the climax.
8. Tammy Purifoy's Role
Tammy's Character Truth
Tammy is dead. Herbert removed one of her eyes and used it as part of the exquisite corpse. She has returned to Hemlock & Hemlock because she senses that the missing part of her remains inside the building. Tammy can sense and guide, but she does not initially know the full truth or the exact location of Herbert's creation.
Tammy's Function
- Arrive dressed in white rather than black
- Stand visually apart from the other mourners
- Carry the light used during the Act I transition
- Sense that Herbert's death is false or incomplete
- Guide the guests from Act I into Act II
- Recognize that something taken from her is near the preparation room
- Recommend the séance
- Anchor or guide the séance
- Help the group obtain the records-room combination
- Recognize her eye when the exquisite corpse is revealed
- Attempt to reclaim it
9. Dick Braverman's Findings
Dick's Preliminary Findings
- Herbert was believed to have been murdered.
- No reliable witness personally verified the body.
- The funeral was arranged under unusual circumstances.
- The casket was required to remain closed.
- Alfred was excluded from procedures he would ordinarily manage.
- Herbie had a financial interest in the estate.
- Multiple guests had motives to want Herbert dead.
- Several people had an interest in the Hemlock property.
- The removal of the body may have been intended to prevent examination.
- Naomi and Herbie were both drawn toward Herbert's private records.
Dick may initially conclude: Herbert was murdered and someone removed the body to conceal evidence or protect their claim to the estate.
Evidence recovered from the records room then undermines this theory. The question changes from "Who murdered Herbert?" to "If Herbert is alive, who enabled his plan — and why was Naomi selected?"
10. Recovery Cues
| Problem | Response |
|---|
| Guests do not settle for the ceremony | Alfred calls the room to order and formally commences the service |
| No one volunteers a eulogy | Alfred invites specific mourners to share a memory |
| Sara hesitates to intervene | Lawrence announces that he is ready to begin the final rites |
| Guests do not investigate after the casket reveal | Dick gathers the group and begins establishing motive, access, and opportunity |
| Naomi does not become involved | Her Act II envelope directly frames the empty casket as a mystery she wants to solve |
| Herbie does not seek the deed | His Act II envelope makes the threat to the deed and inheritance explicit |
| No one notices Naomi and Herbie are missing | Another character is directed to locate them, or sound comes from the records room |
| Guests cannot locate the records room | Naomi or Herbie communicates through the wall, door, or connecting feature |
| The group tries Alfred's keys on the records room | Clarify that the records-room door requires a combination, not a key |
| No one proposes supernatural assistance | Tammy directly recommends the séance |
| Alfred forgets the keys | Ensure the keys are left visibly in the preparation room |
| The group does not connect the key to the concealed area | A recovered record identifies the same marking found on one of Alfred's keys |
| Guests accuse too early | Dick gathers everyone for a formal presentation of the evidence |
| Guests confuse Alfred and Herbert | Herbert refers to Alfred by name as a separate person |
| Tammy does not recognize her objective | Her Act III material directs her attention to the eye within the exquisite corpse |
