Playing Cards

Another idea I will be trying out this Thursday: Playing the cards.

The players have at least seven cards: one for their Identity, one for their Realm, Two for their Strengths, and at least three for Twists.

As the players enter into a situation, they will decide on at least one card that represents their approach. That card they will play on the table for all to see; the others they will either keep in their hand or face down on the table. Marks are then applied through that card. For example, if a player puts down the Emperor, only marks that are martial in their nature can be given. The players can play more than one card on the table in order to have a broader range for marks.

The other side of this (and the reason players may NOT want to play a lot of cards) is that marks are applied directly to specific cards on the table. If a card has ten marks, it has been changed in some way. Depending on the situation, this change could be very short-term, like being exhausted from fighting; of longer length, like being injured; or very long-term, like suffering doubt in fighting ability. In the case of the long-term changes, the players may opt to take a Twist (in the case of suffering doubt, the Emperor may be inverted). If more marks are given, more changes are applied, or existing changes worsen.

The NPCs will play cards in the same way, but instead of the ten-mark trigger, the players will be challenging cards as normal.

We'll see how this goes. I think it gives more meaning to the cards, makes them an integral part of the game, but doesn't turn Rain into a card game.