The Swindler

The day wears on…

We walk without incident until noon. When we stop to take our day meal in a copse of long-felled ashes, we notice that something lies on one of the severed trunks: a pack of cards, long since discarded. Despite its age, the symbols are still legible, though the faces of the jacks are worn into odd, mask-like forms.

Delighted by our find, we decide to play a game of bluffs.


The Challenge

Play bluffs with your fellow travellers!

  • Take the deck. Distribute all cards equally among the travellers.

  • Clockwise starting with the Reader, travellers take it in turns to offer one card face-down from their hand to any other traveller. At the same time, the offering traveller must state the suit of the card. This statement can be true or a lie. The receiving traveller must then guess which (truth or lie).

  • The receiving traveller makes their guess by responding in any of three ways: "Veritable!", "Poppycock!" or "Plausible!"

    • “Veritable!” — The receiving traveller believes that the offering traveller is telling the truth. Reveal the card. If the offering traveller was telling the truth, then the receiving traveller wins the card and places it in front of them as a Victory Card before beginning the next round. However, if the offering traveller was lying, they get to take the card as a Victory Card. The round is over, and the receiving traveller begins the next round.

    • “Poppycock!” — The receiving traveller believes that the offering traveller is telling a lie. Reveal the card. If the offering traveller was lying, the receiving traveller wins the card as a Victory Card and begins the next round. If the offering traveller was telling the truth, the offering traveller wins the card and begins the next round.

    • “Plausible!” — The receiving traveller refuses to make a choice. The offering traveller must offer the card instead to another traveller who has not yet seen it. If ‘plausible’ is called three times on the same card, the game is over and the party has failed.

  • The game is over when any traveller wins a third Victory Card.

HELP FROM AN ITEM

If any traveller carries DICE, they only require two Victory Cards to win the Challenge.

Success. If every player wins at least one Victory Card before the game is over, then the Challenge is passed.

Failure. If ‘plausible’ is called three times on the same card, or any player fails to win a single Victory Card, then the Challenge is failed. 

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If the Challenge is passed, the traveller who won the game wins the Blessing of the Swindler.

If the Challenge is failed, The party suffers the Curse of the Swindler. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.

  • Blessings and Bargains symbolise the support of a spirit of the Elder Wood. Both offer protection against death for the traveller who wins them.

    Blessings: When a spirit is pleased, it might grant its special protection to a particular traveller. Spirits who have bestowed a member of the party with their Blessing travel invisibly with them and will help to protect them when they reach the Heart of the Wood.

    Travellers who win a Blessing should place the Blessing behind their Character Card so that the spirit's name and number are still visible.

    Bargains: Sometimes, instead of granting its Blessing to a traveller, a spirit might instead offer a conditional protection called a Bargain. Bargains symbolise a trade between spirit and traveller; the spirit protects the traveller, but its influence affects the traveller's behaviour. The traveller must obey the Bargain rules written on the spirit's card so long as they possess the Bargain. In return, the spirit will convert its Bargain to a Blessing in the Heart of the Wood, thus helping the traveller survive.

    Travellers who win a Bargain should place the Bargain card face-up to one side of their Character Card, so that they can read the card's Bargain rules.

  • When a spirit is displeased by the party, it will lay its Curse upon them. Curses have dire consequences. The more Curses a party gathers, the more lives will be claimed in the Heart of the Wood. Furthermore, if a party incurs three Curses, the Wood's spirits will reject them and they will be forced to flee for their lives, ending the game.

    When you incur a Curse, place it in a designated area of the table so that all travellers are aware of it.

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As we play, our laughter fills the small copse, echoing between the ashen stumps. Then, suddenly—

The copse is gone. We find ourselves walking once more on the path. We are struck by the impression that our game was but a waking dream — but time has certainly passed, for the sun now hangs low in the sky.

We search our packs high and low for the deck of cards. It is nowhere to be found.

  • Reform the deck before continuing.

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