Oh, thank you, that’s kind of you! :)
I want to focus the game on the revenant’s flashbacks, exploring its life and downfall. But as the game progresses, it will also delve into the flashbacks of the person who is the target of revenge, revealing the complexity of their life and the choices that led to the betrayal.
It’s a bit like building up to that tense and enigmatic moment at the end of For the Queen, where you ultimately have to choose.
1. Ooo, this looks fantastic!
2. Side note – I hadn't heard of Mariner's Revenge Song before – DAMN!
3. This is really inspiring and will definitely come in handy, as I’m working on Trophy Revenant (working title).
It’s a game rooted in Trophy about a wraith clawing its way out of a cursed forest to return to the world of the living for revenge.
Sure, I understand :)
On one hand, I appreciate the concept of games as "guitars," through which one can play freeform folk music in many different ways, and this is how I treat story games when I approach them as forms of improv.
On the other hand, I also enjoy the modality of playing rules as written and interpreting the text, including the author's intent on seven levels of depth :) That's why I asked!
Another interpretation could be that the cards truthfully answer a false question, which can also lead to interesting comedic situations, although sometimes the false question may not be related to the true one. Yet another variation might be that the cards show that the question asked is false.
Considering what “game” individual players are playing, on one hand, one might think that the Wretch player is playing the game of "I ask a fake question but try to discern an answer to the real question from the cards" except in the last prompt, depending on how we set the scene, the Wretch's game might sound like "I ask a fake question but FROM THE WAY THE WITCH READS THE CARDS, I try to gauge whether she is a real witch or perhaps she stole the cards."
[An additional question is: How does it affect the game that the Witch is fake, and what would it change if she were a real witch?]
Of course, this is a one-page RPG and in this situation, it's really interesting to see how many different formats and interpretations one can go with in gameplay.
Sure, I'll do that! :) So far, I've managed to play 3 times in one day, so not bad :)
Question about "rules as intended": Does "cards always tell the truth" mean "cards answer the true, unspoken question of the Wretch?"
Generally, we play with the following interpretation:
From this arise interesting techniques, such as the Wretch asking for (adding) details, which pull the cards even more towards an answer to the true question, while the Witch still tries to interpret these details from the perspective of the fake inquiry.
I'm asking because "cards always tell the truth" can be interpreted in MANY different ways :)
This game is absolutely BRILLIANT! I learned about this game from the Dice Exploder podcast, where Jason Morningstar highlighted it as an excellent example of playing with dramatic irony in an episode dedicated to Transparency.
Yesterday, I played the first session, which took us about 30-40 minutes, after which we discussed potential techniques, best practices, and ways to further enhance the dramatic irony for another 40 minutes.
It's a wonderful freeform that allows for exploring this important aspect of story games in a very condensed format! And of course, it generates fantastically interesting scenes.
I've set aside a couple of evenings to play this short game again and again, after which I plan to document the best practices and techniques we developed at the table in a blog post :)
Amazing!
That game is mind blowing! I'm currently listening to the Asian Represents stream of Balikbayan and MC-ing quite a long campaign for my polish gamin group. And they are LOVING IT.
I have a couple questions though:
1. A lot of the elemental magic descriptions have consequences and hard choices included. I understand they are there for the neutral moves only, yep?
2. You had an fantastical character keeper in your game with Actual Play <3. Is there any chance you can share with us one of those? :)
3. During Asian Represents stream you were using some world building mechanics that aren't present in the BETA version of the game (spending tokens to unlock setting elements). Are those only for Patrons or can anyone who'd bought the game upgrade their version to the newest one?
4. Are there any plans for the final version in the upcoming months?
Keep up the amazing work! Greetings from Poland :)
Jami! This game is absolutely amazing! It's mind blowing, that you can fit a whole, complete, playable game in such a small format... It has everything: neat character creation, 2 well designed evocative moves, main clock and an end goal, very smart in game economy etc.
I just LOVE your design <3. I'm introducing your games to my polish gaming groups - we've just finished a 2-sessions play of Whispering Tree and we're in the middle of the long Balikbayan campaign (after which we're planning to play Become One in the same group).
Just being curious - are you considering developing Journey to the Whispering Tree any further?
Greetings from Poland! Your work is AMAZING.
