Pantheon Press

As this is the fooliest of days, we thought we'd give you an update on how Fortune's Fool is progressing and give you a little taste of what is to come!

The game has entered the final phase of playtesting, and by the end of this month we'll be beginning the production phase! If all goes according to plan, we will have actual books, ready to sell, at GenCon.

The Art
Our cover, and most of our interior art, is being done by Christopher Kimball, a talented gentleman who we met by chance and who happens to live in the neighborhood. We've taken quite a shine to the big lug, and are gaming with him regularly. That is, when he's not slaving over a hot sketch pad to produce us such pieces as this one:

If you'd like to see more of Chris's art, visit his site or just wait for Fortune's Fool!

Of course, our good friend Andrew DeFelice is also contributing a few pieces, taking famous works of Renaissance art and giving them a fantasy twist!

The Fiction
As if writing a whole new set of rules wasn't enough, we've also been hard at work penning some short pieces of fiction set in the world of Fortune's Fool. Here's a sample from "Cleo's Duel," the tale that opens the book.

The chill morning wind slapped Cleo in the face. It made the throbbing in his head seem even worse. It was cold and misty but at least the rain had stopped. God, it’s early. Not even eight? A savage time to be awake.

Cleo stared through bleary eyes at his opponent across the green. It took a moment for the hangover clouds to part. When they did, Cleo saw a graceful figure warming up with a beautiful rapier. There was something glinting on the blade’s hilt, but Cleo could not quite make it out. What is that? The shape was blurry and took a moment to slide into focus. Ah yes, a noble crest. Marvelous. The figure moved lazily through some simple cuts and forms.

Then Cleo saw the pointed ears. This is too much! A miserable November morning and I am dueling not just a trained swordsman, not just a nobleman, but an ELF as well? Worse, Cleo had no recollection of why they were about to duel. Cleo turned to his second, his old friend from England. “Ashford, help me on this. Do we know that elf?” He pointed emphatically to guide his friend’s bleary eyes, “That one. Over there. Who seems intent on hurting me?”

Ashford stared and pursed his lips, trying to remember. He made a few ugly noises trying to find his voice and finally offered, “Ah…’tis an elf, Cleo…and noble by his look.”

Real progress. “Yes, I see that, Ashford. Do we remember why he wants to stick me with that pretty little sword?”

Ashford stared hard and furrowed his brow. His face was sheet white. He mopped his forehead with his kerchief, “There was…I think…a…ball?” No help here. While Cleo began removing his jacket Ashford was still struggling, “I remember… the dessert table!”

After a couple swallows of brandy (thank Christ), Cleo found himself on the field a few strides from his opponent. Cleo was amazed. How could the elf tower over him, yet still seem so light on his feet? This was turning serious. Time for some diplomacy.

“Noble sir, it is with deepest regrets that I offer up my heartfelt apologies for…for…for the many wrongs that have passed between us!” The elf’s face flickered with contempt, but his eyes never lost their icy stare. His second, an officer from the king’s guard, stepped forward and answered on the elf’s behalf, “You have publicly smeared the name of the Baronet’s sister. Your calumnies may not now be retracted because you have not the stomach for a fight. The Baronet’s honor must be satisfied!”

How will Cleo get out of this predicament? Or will he be skewered by the Baronet's blade? You can find out this August!

The Rules
Of course, this is a game we've been talking about. And no game is complete without rules!

Players in Fortune's Fool don't roll dice to see whether they succeed or fail, but instead all pull from a single Tarot deck called the Fate Deck in the game. But players also have the power to manipulate the Fate Deck to give them a better chance to succeed! Here's a glimpse at how that works:

Fate Twists
Fate is a capricious mistress. She will be kind one moment and cruel the next. Just when you come to depend on her, she will turn on you. But when she is on your side, everything falls into place!

Fate Twists allow you (the player) to manipulate the Fate Deck itself. Some twists allow you to look at upcoming cards or reshuffle the deck. Others let you play with cards face up or put certain Major Arcana near the top of the deck. Clever use of a Fate Twist will benefit not just you but your entire party.

Because Fate Twists are entirely a player action and not a character action, they take no time to perform. If you spend 5 minutes in the middle of a fight debating the use of a certain Fate Twist, no actual time passes in the game. They are something you the player do, and your character is uninvolved. You can twist fate as much and as often as you wish as long as you still have Fate Points in your Fate Pool.

Every time you twist fate, you must spend 1 Fate Point. Your Fate Pool refills after every session. For example, Rob’s goblin, Ismara, has 2 Fate Points and 3 Fate Twists. This means she can twist fate twice in a session. She does not have enough Fate Points to use all her twists in a single game session. After a play session, Ismara’s Fate Pool will refill to 2. Regardless of what Rob spends, Ismara will start the next session with 2 Fate Points in her pool.

But what are the specific Fate Twists? Read on:

Borrowed Trouble
If another character places a Major Arcanum in the Boneyard as a result of Fortune Weeps, and that card is a Fortune Shines for you, you may pick it up as a Fate Counter. Once the card is covered, this opportunity is gone.

Fat Chance
Take any Minor Arcana of your choice out of the boneyard and shuffle them back into the remaining Fate Deck.

Ill Omen
Wherever the Death card is, the gamemaster must find it and shuffle it into the top three cards.

Premonition
You may look at the next three cards in the Fate Deck and discard one. The gamemaster then shuffles remaining two and a third together and replaces them on top of deck. Keep this information to yourself.

That's about all for our preview of Fortune's Fool. We hope this has gotten you as excited to play the game as we have been making it!