Playtest Version 1.2 alpha

Set up

Players – 1 deck of cards (52 + 2 Jokers), note paper
Guide – 1 deck of cards (52 + 2 Jokers), note paper

The Dormin

The Guide takes a Joker and draws one card for each player at the table (Guide included). These are shuffled and one is dealt to each player (with one left over). Who ever draws the Joker is the Dormin (or traitor), this fact is kept secret although all cards are handed back to the Guide. If nobody draws the Joker then there is no Dormin, though no one will know this. If the Guide draws the Joker then the spirit the characters are bargaining with is corrupt (much like in the actual computer game).

The objective of the Dormin is to prevent the party from realising their goals. For a player this means sowing discord and discouraging Teamwork. For the Guide this means perverting what the party wish for into something wicked.

Gameplay

Opening

Each player draws 5 cards from the Player Deck, the Guide draws 5 cards from the Guide Deck. Player hands are refreshed at the end of a successful Campfire Scene (see below). The Guide refreshes his hand every Campfire Scene. Maximum hand size is 5. At no point may a Player tell anyone other than the Guide what cards they have in their hand. They are allowed to imply their capabilities at a given task (“I think I might be of some use here”), but they cannot reveal any specifics.

Each card is considered to have a value equal to its face value. Court cards are considered to have a value of 10, but where necessary follow their standard hierarchy. Jokers have no value themselves, but when played as part of Teamwork (see below) increase the total to 10.

When the Player Deck or the Guide Deck is depleted the discard piles are shuffled back into the draw piles.

Each Player writes down one item they are carrying in addition to the magic swords they begin the story with. Each character has a horse as a means of transport.

The game is made of four scenes (Temple, Exploration, Campfire, Colossus). The party start in the Temple and then progress to an Exploration Scene and and Campfire Scene (in that order). They then rest. In the morning the Players (not the characters) must decide whether they are ready to face the Colossus or not. If so the next scene is the climactic Colossus Scene, if not they begin another Exploration/Campfire sequence. They must weigh the benefits of more cards in the Trust Stack versus the size of the Colossus Stack being built by the Guide. There must be a minimum of 5 Exploration Scenes before the Colossus can be found.

The Temple Scene

The Sky Spirit (played by the Guide) sets the scene, promising the characters their heart’s desire if they can slay the Colossi. The scene ends with the words “Thy next foe is…” and then a short cryptic clue about the next Colossus. The party then ride forth.

Exploration Scenes

At the beginning of each Exploration Scene the Guide draws one card from the Guide Deck and sets it aside in the Colossus Stack, face down.

The party travels across the countryside, guided by their blades (which reflect sunlight towards the next Colossus).

Each Exploration Scene will feature a Revelation and/or a Test.

A Revelation is something to do with this Forbidden Land and how it became such. This usually takes the form of an inscription on the ruins that the party find dotted across the landscape. Each Revelation should tell the players something interesting, but should one decide to expend a card on deciphering it further the Guide can decide to reward them with a little more information about one of the Colossi (not necessarily the next to be encountered).

A Test is a dangerous situation the party find themselves in. The Forbidden Land is mostly devoid of animals or other humans so a Test is usually an environmental factor like a rock fall or quicksand. The Guide presents the situation and the players must describe their solutions. The Guide then turns over the top card of the Guide Deck to form the start of the Encounter Stack. The Guide may then describe a Complication and play a card from their hand, adding its value to the total of the Encounter Stack. One Player must beat the total of the Encounter Stack by playing a card to progress, unless Teamwork is used (see below).

If the party use Teamwork to solve the Test then the Players involved may play cards simultaneously in response to the Complication, describing how they overcome this obstacle together. The highest value card played by the Team is then set aside in the Trust Stack and the rest discarded.

The Guide may continue introducing Complications as long as they have cards to play. Each time a Player must respond else the Test is failed and the group may progress no further this day. If the Test is failed the group will not find the Colossus the next day.

Campfire Scene

Each player takes turns narrating a piece about the history of their character.
The narrative builds towards their entrance to the Forbidden Land.

After narrating the Player picks 4 Outcomes from the scene they have narrated and draws 1 card for each. The Player must now play a card that matches the value of one of the four, producing the Outcome for the scene. For this purpose a Joker can match any other card.

Each Outcome progresses the back-story of the Character. They range from an extremely helpful Outcome (A) to a very complicate result (D). After the match process the four Outcome cards and an cards played to match are discarded.

A – Draw back up to 5 cards, also draw 2 and place them face down in the Trust pool.
B – Draw back up to 5 cards, also draw 1 and place it face down in the Trust pool.
C – Draw back up to 5 cards, you may place as many of these as you like in the Trust pool.
D – Draw back up to 4 cards.

If no match is found then a D result occurs an Fate is weighted against the Character. A Player may also refuse to narrate this scene and in doing so keep a Secret by putting one card face down to one side. This Secret card may be played during any Exploration scene to add to another card already played.

At any point during the Campfire scene a Joker may be played by a character whom Fate is Weighted against. This frees them from their current destiny.

Example

“Ura lived as a street urchin for many years. Hunted by the Palace Guard he survived by stealing only what he needed and never taking so much the market sellers turned on him.

A – Ura was taken in by a noble and taught the benefits of honour.
B – Ura was taken in by the Thieves guild and trained to survive.
C – Ura managed to eke a living on the streets before finally leaving the city to seek his fortune.
D – Ura was caught by the Guard and spent many months in a dank prison.”

Colossus Scene

Each Colossus is designed by the Guide before the adventure. It should have one or more weak spots and a gimmick (flies, swims, has a weapon, etc.).

Difficulties in the Colossus scene can be higher than 10, requiring cards from the Trust pool.

Each Colossus is defined by a five sequence Path. This represents the route the Players must take to get to the weak spot. The Guide picks five cards from the Colossus Stack and lays them face down in a row. Each card represents a Stage in the Colossus’ Path. Excess cards go into the Guide’s hand.

Example Path

1. The Colossus strikes with his Club, the Character must avoid the strike but position themselves for the next Stage.
2. The Character must climb up onto the Club before it is withdrawn.
3. The Character must climb up onto the arm of the Colossus.
4. The Colossus attempts to shake the Character off.
5. The Character must progress to the Weak Spot of the Colossus on the top of its head.

Another Example Path

1. The Characters must force the Colossus back using a burning torch before it is extinguished.
2. The Characters must position the Colossus so it falls from the ledge, causing its armour to crack open.
3. The Characters must descend quickly from the same ledge.
4. A Character must climb onto the back of the Colossus, where its weak spot can be found.
5. The Colossus tries to shake the Character off.

At each Stage the Guide reveals the card and the Character must beat the value. The Guide may play one card to increase the difficulty at each Stage. These cards remain at that Stage until the Colossus is slain or the Path changes. If a Joker is revealed in the Colossus Path then it is discarded and a new card drawn to replace it. However in this instance the Guide is given two options. Firstly they can double the base value of the new card, which remains in place for the rest of the Scene. Secondly they can draw a new row of five cards once the Characters have struck the Weak Spot for the first time. This represents either the Weak Spot moving to a new point on the body, or some environmental factor changing the route the Characters must take.

Only one Character can reach the actual Weak Spot by completing the Path. A Player may play one card of their choice from their hand and/or one card blind from the Trust pile at each Stage. As long as the total of the Character’s cards is greater than the total of the current Stage the Character can move to the next Stage and the Player can keep playing cards. Once this is not the case the Character is dislodged from the Colossus and must begin again from Stage 1. Once a Character beats the final Stage total the Colossus is slain. Each Character is then rendered unconscious and awakens back at the Temple.

During the death of a Colossus Fate takes it’s Due. Any characters who have Fate Weighted against them will die during this scene. Either the Player narrates a suitable death scene during the attack on the Colossus or the Guide explains how the death of the Colossus leads to the death of the character at the end of the scene. The topmost card of the Trust Stack is then discarded.

Either way the character is out of the game, but this need not exclude the Player. Given the nature of the premise it is perfectly acceptable for the Player to have a new character waiting for the party in the next (or a future) Temple Scene. Should the Guide wish they can call for a redraw of the Dormin card at this stage.

Conclusion

When the party have slain all of the Colossi they return for one final Temple Scene. Here the Sky Spirit grants their wishes and unless the Dormin has been successful the Guide narrates this ending.

If the Dormin is a character they have hopefully succeeded in disrupting the group before this point. However should their best efforts not be enough they are revealed by their wish and transformed into a final Colossus, made of shadow stuff. The Player draws five cards from the Trust Stack (filling in with cards from their hand if necessary) and plays them face down to form a Path, just like in a Colossus Scene. The rest of the party must now face him as before, with the Dormin Player able to play cards from their hand to increase the difficulty of a particular sequence. The Dormin Player describes each sequence much like the Guide did before.

If the Dormin is the Guide then when the party receive their wishes they will find each corrupted in some way. The only hope they have is for each character to refuse what they are offered independently. If they do the party wins a pyrrhic victory over the Dormin, if they don’t the Dormin wins and is released from it’s prison to further corrupt the world. The sequence is entirely roleplayed and the fact that the Guide is the Dormin is not revealed until after. The Players must listen to what they are offered and choose as their characters. But they cannot confer and the Guide should make the offers as appealing as possible.