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Tricksters

Tricksters

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts


A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 1
Tricksters
A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts

Credits
Kurt Potts
Game Design, Writing, Layout

Cover & Interior art


Cover, Pg 3 & Pg 6: Arthur Rackham
Pg 8: Warwick Goble

Public Domain art found at:


publicdomainpictures.net,
commons.wikimedia.org

Special Thanks
Kate
For all the hours spent
talking about games.

2
Tricksters
What sordid tales
these mortals tell
of our bizarre
interventions.

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 3


Tricksters
Become a trickster charged with protecting a small village.
Teach the villagers lessons and chase after your worldly desires. See
what sordid tales these mortals tell of your bizarre interventions.

Getting Started
Tools
You’ll need some things to play this game. Most importantly, 2-5 hu-
mans. Then grab some scraps of paper or notecards, a few dice and
something to write with. If you’re feeling fancy you can print out the
character sheets.

What’s my role?
Most of you will take up the role of a single character, but one player
designated as the facilitator will portray all the other characters. They
are usually the person reading this, but if you’re not sure, choose that
player now.

Creating The Village


Next, let’s create the village. The facilitator should ask these questions
and any other questions they need to get a full picture of the village.

• What time period is it?

• What does the village look like?

• Where is the village located?

• Who lives there?

• What is the village’s defining feature?

• What threatens the village?

As you answer questions about the village write down geographical ele-
ments on note cards and put them on the table.

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Tricksters

Create Characters
To create characters answer the

T
questions on the character sheet (See ricksters
also next page). You’re all tricksters, but are a
you aren’t all the same. What makes you common
different? You all protect the village but archetype
why is up to you. Why do you protect the in myth and legend.
village? Work with the group so you don’t They include figures
end up with the same tricks or desires like Loki, the Norse
unless everyone thinks it’s a good idea. god of mischief, Rey-
nard the anthropo-
When you create villagers and enemies
morphic fox, Anansi
add them to the notecards on the table.
If a good place doesn’t exist yet talk
the spider of West
about what place best represents them. Africa, Kitsune (fox)
Write that place on a notecard and then of Japanese lore, and
add the character to it. Coyote, a god to many
indigenous peoples of
Once you’ve answered all the questions North America.
on the character sheet go grab a physical
thing to represent your trickster (or an Your trickster can be
image if you’re playing online). It can any manner of being
be a paperclip, a block of wood, or a including fairies,
miniature figurine. Just make sure you animals, anthropo-
can tell it apart from all the others. One morphic animals, or
of the players that aren’t the facilitator, minor deities. What-
grab your hunk of character, put it on
ever you chose, take
one of the notecards and answer one of
care when portraying
the following questions:
figures important to
• What rule did I break here and a particular culture.
who just caught me? Do so in a way that is
both respectful to said
• What is here that I desire and who’s culture and the other
preventing me from getting it? people at the table. If
all else fails, be some-
• Why did my Favorite Villager just
thing unique.
get in trouble here? What can I
do to help?

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 5


Tricksters

Character Questions
Name
Give your character a name. They probably need a human name too, but
that’s up to you.

Pronouns
What Pronouns does your character use? They can be different.

True form
What is your true form? Are you an animal, a fairy, a spirit? Are you
scary, cute, perfectly ordinary?

Human Form
All tricksters have a human form. When you change what do you look
like? What is your gender presentation? How old are you?

Favorite Villager
Make a villager. Who are they? What do they do? Why do you favor
them? How do they feel about you?

Enemy
Who is your enemy? They can be a villager, a supernatural creature or
maybe another trickster. Don’t choose another player.

Tricks (create two)


Your tricks are the things you are the best at. Is shapeshifting one of
your tricks? All Tricksters can change their form to an extent but are you
the best? Is Lying one of your tricks? Are you the best liar around?

Desires (create two)


Desires are things you desperately want even when you probably
shouldn’t. Do you desire cherry pie, gold, companionship? It’s hard to
resist them and you unlock Cheat Fate when you get them.

6 A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts


Tricksters

“Lord, what
fools these
mortals be!”
Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Playing the game


Congratulation you’re already playing the game! By placing a character
in an interesting situation you’ve already begun. Next, let’s look at set-
ting and dressing scenes so we can keep things interesting and build a
better picture of this world.

Setting Scenes
Scenes in Trickster don’t need to be exhaustive or chronological. To start
a scene pick a character or characters and put them in an interesting
position. Be clear about what is at risk and ask what the characters are
doing about it. Follow the action until the tension breaks or you find a
good cliffhanger.

Dressing Scenes
Usually, the facilitator will do the heavy lifting when dressing scenes,
but anyone can add details. Start by describing the most interesting
thing in the scene, then throw it to the other players to add more de-
tails. Let them take turns each adding a detail. Remember the senses.
How does this place Look, Sound, Smell, Feel or Taste?

Having a Conversation
Scenes in Trickster work like a conversation. Each participant adding
details, speaking in character, describing their actions and wants until
the outcome is uncertain. Anytime you’re not sure what happens next,
roll the dice.

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 7


Tricksters
Rolling Dice
When a course of action is uncertain the player taking that action will
roll a pool of six-sided dice (d6) and compare the highest die to the
tables below.

Build your pool

Start with 1 die for free


+1 If you have help. (More than one person can help but only ever
gain 1 help die.)
+1 if you are using a Trick
+1 if you are helping your Favorite Villager
-1 if your Enemy is involved or you’re trying to resist a Desire. (If
both, only lose 1 die.) If you would roll 0 dice roll 2 and take the
lowest.

Next, determine if you are Teaching a Lesson, Fulfilling a Desire or


Testing Fate and use the results tables that follow.

Teaching a Lesson
A tricksters primary goal is to protect their people by teaching them
lessons. When you try to teach a lesson, say what the lesson is and what
could go wrong if it’s misunderstood? Check Running the game for more
on lessons.

6: The lesson rings true. They’ll not soon forget it.


4-5: The lesson is muddled. You’re able to sway their actions, but
there is some unintended consequence. Perhaps they gain a super-
stition or strange custom that does nothing.
2-3: The lesson is misunderstood. Whatever could have gone wrong
does.
1: The whole thing blows up in your face and the villagers are left
much worse off than before you meddled in their affairs. Perhaps
they write a song about how you can’t be trusted.

8 A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts


Tricksters
Fulfilling a Desire
When you attempt to fulfill a desire, say what you want and what you are
willing to risk to get it? If you get what you desire, unlock that desire.

6: You get what you desire. You may lose what you were willing to
risk. If you do, the desire will hold no sway over you (Do not lose a
die) for the remainder of the session.
4-5: Choose: Get what you desire but the risk is realized or walk
away empty handed.
2-3: You can’t get your desire this time and you’ve lost whatever was
at risk.
1: Your desire proves unattainable. You lose what was at risk and
something or someone stands between you and your desire.
You’ll need to deal with that before you can try again.

Testing Fate
Sometimes an action will be uncertain but doesn’t teach a lesson or
fulfill a desire. When you Test Fate, roll a single die.

Even: You do it.


Odd: You fail.

Cheat Fate
After rolling dice, if you have an unlocked Desire slot you may take one
of the dice rolled and place it in the Desire slot. If there was a die in
that slot you instead swap the dice.

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 9


Tricksters

Facilitating the game


Creating Dilemmas
When creating dilemmas look first to the tricksters’ favorite villagers.
What struggle are they having that the tricksters will need to help them
overcome? Greed, Hubris, Jealousy, Unjust laws, Outside oppression,
Carelessness. How are the tricksters’ enemies involved? How do the
tricksters’ desires put them in conflict with their goal of teaching the
villagers to overcome these dilemmas?

Dilemmas and Lessons in play


Dilemmas will look different depending on the characters, but let’s look
at an example dilemma that threatens the whole village.

An outsider has come to the village selling instruments and stirring up


trouble with a capital T. He’s pointing fingers at their favorite pastime
and convincing them that it’s dangerous to their children in the hopes
that he can offer them a new pastime...for a price. Without the trick-
sters’ intervention, they may sink their savings into trombones they
don’t need and can’t play.

How could the tricksters prevent the villagers from falling for this fast-
talking music man? Let’s look at some lessons.

They may want to show them the lack of value of a trombone


by offering something they want, but can’t afford, after they’ve
purchased their trombone. The lesson could be Brass Bands don’t
Buy Butter or Never Buy a Backup Trombone.
They may also decide to try and swindle the music man to give him a
sense of what he’s done. The lessons might be Thieves Sing Sour Songs
or Selling Lies is Never Wise.

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Tricksters
Transitions
If you are familiar with more traditional games which track linear time
the transitions between scenes may feel odd. Use phrases like Meanwhile
or Back at the Ranch or describe the camera flying out the window then
describe the whole village before zooming back in on the next scene.

Don’t be afraid to have meta discussions between scenes about what


the players want for their character, ask if anyone has a scene in mind.
Just make sure that the next scene picks up with the action.

Break Glass in case of Lull


Despite your best efforts some scenes may fall flat or fizzle out. Try
these steps to punch up the excitement.

Introduce a complication.
Are they trying to help? Bring in a character’s desire or enemy. Are they
up to no good? Bring in their favorite villager or an authority figure.

Ask what they want


Ask the player what their character want’s. Would that trigger a roll? If
so, roll and see what happens. If it doesn’t trigger a roll give them what
they want and transition to another scene.

Move along
If a complication doesn’t make sense and the players don’t know what
they want. Jump to a transition. You can always come back to that scene
when it’s more clear what the players want and what is at risk.

Ending the game


Morals and Expressions
At the end of the session, look back at the lessons the tricksters tried to
teach and the desires they risked everything to attain. What was the moral
of your story and what expression will the people use to remember it?

Now is a great time to call out your favorite moments and check in on
any players who processed heavy emotions or themes during the game.

A Roleplaying Game by Kurt Potts 11


Tricksters Tricksters

Name Pronouns

True Name
Human Name

True Form Favorite Villager

Human Form Enemy

Tricks

Desires

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