Kismet: A Roleplaying Game of Destiny and Karma
So, I’ve got a brand new game for everyone. The game is a similar to SIR and Awesomesauce in that it’s a very simple, straightforward system. This time, however, the game doesn’t use dice!
The game begins with five blank index cards placed in front of each player. During the course of the game, if a player wants to perform an action, they should write that action down on one of their cards. These can be fairly generic to cover a multitude of actions they can perform in the future.
For example: one player decides they want to be a wizard, so when they face off against a monster, they say, “I throw a fireball!” They then write down on one of their cards: Fire-Based Spellcasting.
Once all of your cards have an action on them, you have reached the extent of your abilities.
Each time you perform an action on one of those cards, flip it over. The GM will now write a negative side to that ability on the back.
For example: the player uses their Fire-Based Spellcasting. They flip it over. The GM writes: Dark Pact on the card. Your spellcasting abilities were gained through sinister means.
To be able to flip over the card to the positive side, you have to perform an action that falls in line with the negative side of the card.
For example: the player has Dark Pact in front of them. To be able to use their Fire-Based Spellcasting again, they’ll have to make a deal with the devil… again.
If all of your cards are on the negative side, your character dies, retires, or something else happens to take him out of the game.
If your character survives the game, they can take another index card and write another special ability onto it.
This game is very narrative-based. It isn’t meant for dungeon crawls or standard adventurers. It’s meant for games of intrigue, of unholy alliances and sinister deeds. Want to destroy a monster? You can use one of your cards, but at what price? The power is in the GM’s hands.
If any of you can think of both positive and negative sides to any cards, put them in the comments! I’ll use them to create a set of cards you can print out to have pregenerated elements to the game.
Recent articles
- Toygaming With Stikfas16 May 2013
- Vampires vs. Liches Part 4: Experiment Prep! Vampire Hunters09 May 2013
- “Don’t Touch the Artifacts” – An Elder Sign Review08 May 2013
- Vampires vs. Liches Part 3: Experiment Prep! Meet the Vampires, Richmond & Kadesh07 May 2013
- Hacking the Humble D607 May 2013
I love this idea! I wish I was creative enough to think of enough bad things to make this fun cause I would LOVE to try this.
Name *´s last [type] ..Photo
This is a REALLY goo idea! When are we going to see it in print? It would be a great upsell item at a game store check out counter.
Some ideas:
Tremendous strength / Can’t control temper
Silver tongued / Deceives allies senselessly
Crack shot / Itchy trigger finger
Fount of obscure knowledge / Doesn’t know when to shut up
Great ideas! Thanks!
Very neat. Tell me more.
How about a higher level ability and side effect:
Dodge Death/ Nearby person dies instead.
Apocalyptic Explosion/ Increase level of Cancer in your Body
Sheer Luck/ Karmic Bad Luck
Summon Monster/ Loose Control over Monster
Assassinate/ See the ghosts of your victims hanging around and getting in the way
Andrew Meredith´s last [type] ..Reply: Runewars: Banners of War:: Rules:: Re: Summer Drought Tactics Card