🎉 Finale: Party Crashers
Advice for Adaptation
As written, this finale assumes your experience includes at least Elphame or Metro City AND at least Earhart Station or Familiars Activity.
Running at least two of these gives you the opportunity to hint at the shapeshifter as a villain and allows campers to make connections between the plots to see a broader mystery, BUT if you are running a condensed experience, here are some tips for bringing the experience to a satisfactory conclusion for the Trainees.
If you haven't introduced the shapeshifter, the antagonist can be played without a twist. The Fairy Royal the Trainees have been trying to appease while in Elphame can still be a petulant ruler they can confront.
The supervillain from Metrocity can have one final plot for the Trainees to thwart. The intent here is to bring the experience to a resolution, not to overly complicate what should be a moment of triumph.
Try to think what would be most interesting for the Trainees. Is there a character that they have grown to like that can help to also be a hero? Is there an inside joke that you can incorporate in ways that make the campers feel seen and heard?
Is there a way to allow the Trainees to celebrate each other's work? This is the end of the story you and the campers are telling together so this can provide a guide but don't be afraid to make it your own!
Overview
What will happen:
Trainees will attend the Fairy Royal’s Masquerade using wearable technology to secretly signal to each other, in search of a suspected malicious Shapeshifter in the midst of the party.
Trainee's Mission Objectives:
Communicate Through Wearable Technology Signals
Trainees are tasked with signaling/communicating with other campers using changing signals incorporated into wearables. This can be through any signal they self-determine, be it colors, patterns, sound bites, broadcasting, etc.
Incorporate Wearables into Masquerade Fashion
Trainees will incorporate their wearable technology experience into Masquerade Ball outfits. We suggest using masks and elaborate fashions with more technology and flare than ever before to impress other party goers and the Fairy Royal.
Identify the Shapeshifter
Campers are tasked with identifying a shapeshifter in their midst at the Masquerade.
If they have only completed Elphame and/or Metro City- we recommend making the Fairy Royal have significantly altered behavior than his original, so campers can pick up on him potentially being the shapeshifter.
If campers have completed Earhart Station or Familiars Activity, then they will have the capability to locate the shapeshifting alien via radio frequencies (for other hardware, substitute for light patterns or sound frequency).
Materials & Classes Covered
Materials:
Mission Tech: Colored LED Light strips, Affiliated connections, boards, wiring, and batteries necessary
Prop: LED “Portal” to Elpheme (LED lined doorway to Elpheme room from HQ)
Prop: Masquarade Masks (1 for each Trainee)
Universal Crafting Material
Non-Player Characters (NPCs):
Anywear Academy Facilitor
Assorted Faires/Masquerade Guests
Courtly Fairy
Shapeshifter disguised as the Fairy Royal (or another key NPC)
Class Prequisites:
Lights & Colors 1
Design Bodystorming
Lights & Colors 2, 3
Broadcasting
Structure
Note: The time duration represents the expected length of the role-play scene and crafting for the activity.
Please account for components such as class time, lunch & breaks in your scheduling.
Exposition (5-15 minutes)
Location: Anywear Academy HQ
The NPC Anywear Facilitator informs the group that intel indicates that a Shapeshifter is going to be present at the Fairy Royal’s Birthday.
Their mission is to disguise themselves and infiltrate the masquerade party to make sure the shapeshifter cannot cause havoc nor recognize the campers. [GOAL 2]
They must use wearable technology to send signals to teammates if they think anything suspicious is happening [GOAL 1]
Initial Incident (5-10 minutes)
Location: Anywear Academy HQ
Each camper must build an elaborate fashion for the masquerade ball that serves both as a disguise and a signaling device.
The signaling device must include a group agreed upon Micro:bit technology such as LED lights or sound that can change when something suspicious is going on.
If players have run through Metro City or Space Station, they may know the identity of the shapeshifter is the Supervillain the “Chameleon” (Metro City) or that the Shapeshifter is vulnerable to certain patterns/melodies (Space Station).
Rising Action (35-45 minutes)
Location: Anywear Academy HQ
Campers have the majority of the scene time to prepare wearables, and the last third of the scene should be allotted to the Fairy Royal’s Masquerade.
Climax (10 Minutes)
Location: Elphame Court
The Fairy Royal arrives in the last 10 minutes of the scene to view the entertainment. The Royal is a very transparent judge. If he doesn’t like a performance, he’ll say what he wants to see more of at the actual masquerade! If he loves it, he’ll go wild.
Resolution Denouement (5-10 minutes)
Location: Anywear Academy HQ
Trainees should leave documentation behind on the strange behavior and existence of the shapeshifter for Anywear Academy for years to come!
This is just in case other Trainees don’t go on the next mission (remember that quote on commenting on code from academy HQ, above); i.e. what code the Micro:bit needs to activate the melody to defeat the shapeshifter.
Facilitator Notes
Tone and advice for success
This open ended mission is meant to give the campers the opportunity for more creative freedom in their designs. Comments and suggestions should help them come to a cohesive design that they have authorship over rather than one dictated to them.
Experimentation should be celebrated and encouraged so try and keep that tone when providing feedback. Build critiques off what they’re interested in. Look at the Design Bodystorming material for inspiration.
Mission Success Criteria
[1] Communicate Through Wearable Technology Signals
[2] Incorporate Wearables into Masquerade Fashion
[3] Identify the Shapeshifter
If Trainees meet [GOAL 1]
Then, they will be able to discreetly judge whether the Fairy Royal, the Courtly Fairy, or any other NPC party goer is the imposter without the NPCs noticing.
If Trainees need a little help with [GOAL 1]
Then, the imposter Fairy Royal will ask them what they are whispering about and why they are accusing his subjects of being imposters. The campers will then have to navigate explaining their concerns to the people of Fairy World directly before they may know the culprit.
If Trainees meet [GOAL 2]
Then, campers will amaze the imposter Fairy Royal with their attention to detail and use of magic. He may not even recognize them! This will encourage the campers to easily become friendly with the Fairy Royal, and notice his bizarre behavior… he is very generous for once and his favorite color is no longer green. He is the imposter!
If Trainees need a little help with [GOAL 2]
Then, either NPC Anywear Academy Facilitators assist them in adding wearable functionality to their wearables OR the Fairy Royal will recognize the campers but ask why they did not use magic at his Fairy Party. The campers will have to make up an excuse as to why they didn’t use magic.
If Trainees meet [GOAL 3]
Then players will be able to use whatever logic (or methods such as the use of UV light to detect radiation in Metro City or melody patterns found in Earhart Station) to determine the Fairy Royal has been swapped with the shapeshifter.
If confronted directly, the Shapeshifter will reveal themself to be the Chameleon in disguise!
If they chase or accost the shapeshifter out of a portal, then “the real Fairy Royal” can enter through a portal of a different color [swapped by either players or Anywear Facilitators behind the scenes].
The Fairy Royal will be very grateful for the assistance and reform the alliance with Earth and Elphame.
If Trainees need a little help with [GOAL 3]
Then, players will still have to please the imposter Fairy Royal, who will ask players to help him open his Birthday Present.
It will be a box containing a familiar minion! The Fairy Royal will reveal he is ACTUALLY the Protean Shapeshifter and has kidnapped the real Fairy Royal!
He will take over Elpheme unless Trainees find a way to stop him (likely using the melody discovered from Plot C, or just by bravely confronting him).