The Drowned
The day wears on…
The air grows humid as we march through the meadows, a low wind at our backs.
In the late morning, we come across a lurid green pond teeming with trout. To our delight, we see a handful of crude fishing poles leaning on a tree nearby.
This was once someone’s fishing spot. Now — with luck — it can be ours.
The Challenge
Go forth and fish! The aim of the game is to make the most ‘catches’.
Shuffle the deck. Deal two cards facedown to each traveller. Place the deck facedown in the centre.
Clockwise starting with the Reader, each traveller may Fish by looking directly at any opponent and asking for a specific number value that the first traveller already owns. For example, a traveller who already owns at least one card of value ten might say to another: “Give me your tens.”
If the asked traveller owns a card of the value requested, they must hand it over.
If the asked traveller has no cards of the value requested, they respond: “Go forth and fish!” The asking traveller draws the top card from the deck and adds it to their hand.
The next traveller clockwise then takes their turn, and so on around the circle.
If any traveller is ever left without cards, they may draw one card from the deck.
If a traveller at any point gains two or more cards of the same number value (for example, two tens), they have made a Catch. The traveller must lay their Catch (the pair of cards) face-up on the table in front of them for everyone to see.
The game ends when there are no cards remaining in the deck or no travellers hold any cards.
HELP FROM AN ITEM
If any traveller carries a ROPE, they may begin the Challenge with four cards instead of two.
Success. If at least six Catches are made, the Challenge is passed.
Failure. If five or fewer Catches are made, the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the traveller with the most catches wins the Blessing of the Drowned. Ties are decided by the traveller with the lowest total numeric value (all their Blessings, Bargains and Character Card values combined).
If the Challenge is failed, the party suffers the Curse of the Drowned. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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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.
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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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————Casting off, we try our luck. But as soon as the lures land in the pond, the water drains into the soil beneath. Fish flop desperately on the dry bed, drowning in thin air. Filled with a horror we cannot comprehend, we turn tail and run, abandoning our meal.
Reform the deck before continuing.