From Thistle Games

"The players picked up the basics with ease and the Tarot-based outcomes were readily accepted. (It helped that the Tarot cards fit in seamlessly and don’t get in the way of the gameplay)."

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"Death, for instance, when played to the table makes all attacks more lethal, until it has claimed a victim. Very nice touch."

New York City, New York (July 16, 2010) - Pantheon Press LLC is proud to announce both the release of its hotly anticipated new role-playing game Fortune’s Fool and the nomination of Nobis: The City-States for Best Supplement in the 2010 Ennie Awards.

Fortune’s Fool is an innovative RPG that uses Tarot cards instead of dice. Set in a fantastic version of Renaissance Europe, the game allows you to play men, elves, dwarves, goblins, and more as they adventure from the courts of Paris to the canals of Venice. Fortune's Fool lets you create unique characters through an intuitive step-by-step process. Your character will be rich and detailed, and you will have your own unique luck structure. Using the new Fate Twist system, you can directly alter the course of battles, social interactions, and magic spells by manipulating the Tarot deck itself.

Fortune’s Fool is available for purchase at the Pantheon Press Marketplace as a PDF or one of two hardcopy editions: black & white and full color. Both feature the same stunning full-color cover illustrated by Christopher Kimball, but the interior art in the limited deluxe edition also comes in color. A free copy of the PDF also comes with the full-color edition.

“The announcement of Nobis: The City-States garnering a nomination for Best Supplement in the 2010 Ennie Awards alongside products from Hero Games and Wizards of the Coast makes us enormously proud,” said Rob Trimarco, President of Pantheon Press LLC. The Nobis: The City-States is a campaign setting for D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder that combines the best elements of immersive role-playing, high fantasy, and sophisticated political intrigue into one unified system.

To celebrate the nomination, Pantheon Press is selling many of the Nobis PDFs at a reduced price. Visit the Pantheon Press Marketplace for this special offer. Don’t forget to vote for Nobis: The City-States to win the Ennie for Best Supplement.

To hear their thoughts about the creation of these two games, listen to the interviews with the members of Pantheon Press on the Atomic Array podcast.

Pantheon Press LLC offers some of the most innovative gaming design in the role-playing industry today. Read more about Pantheon Press at www.pantheonpress.com.

This loveliness was designed by our good friend John Carimando. If you are looking for something to play while you wait for Fortune's Fool, why not check out John's excellent tabletop fighting game Super Gachapon Fighter Omega Infinity?

And boy howdy, did they! Our Friday evening game sold out pretty quickly. Over the past two days, a couple of the others have also sold out. I guess it doesn't hurt to have your game promoted as "GenCon found this event interesting," eh? According to the site as of today, there are only 2 tickets left for the Friday afternoon game.

Maybe this is a glitch in the system, with people only wanting to buy a single ticket, but getting charged for several. Or, as I like to hope, Fortune's Fool is about to bust wide open!

If you didn't get a ticket, don't despair. It's been my experience that people buy tickets for conflicting issues and then decide what they want to do on the day. Stop on by the game anyway, there may be a slot open! Or perhaps we can schedule you for a demonstration of the game that's "off the books."

Ok, that sounded creepy. Sorry.

The details: Fortune's Fool "When You Wish Upon a Sword"
RPG1010499 through RPG1010502
Friday 8/6 1:00 & 7:00 PM
Saturday 8/7 1:00 & 7:00 PM

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!

We have been going full steam ahead in writing, testing, and generally preparing for the release of Fortune's Fool our brand new Tarot Card based game system!

We have also partnered with some old and new friends for the art in the book. Andrew DeFelice is back on board and will be using his master Photoshoppery skills to enhance our rules. We have also recruited Chris Kimball to do our cover and some awesome original interior art.

We will be at GenCon again this year running it and selling it too. Keep an eye out for games we run at NerdNYC's "Recess" and any local gaming stores we visit. We will announce any opportunities to play and learn more about Fortune's Fool here on the blog, on our Facebook Page, and Twitter.

As always, we love our fans and if you have any questions please feel free to (vacuum) email us at [email protected]

Get to the store ASAP! https://www.pantheonpress.com/marketplace.html

This code will be in effect for December 2009 and January 2010 so get your orders in!

Happy Holidays from Pantheon Press!

The Adversaries Almanac is now available for purchase! Ripe with 18 full-color entries, it'll provide you with a bad guy for just about every campaign level. Sexy assassin? Check. Fallen paladin? Check. Crazy tattooed dwarf? Check!

Check out the Pantheon Press marketplace to buy yours today.

And remember, the discount code GNOLLOWEEN is still good for the rest of this week!

Tyr believed that cleverness could be another form of strength, and therefore another form of power. Why announce your offense with a screaming charge when you could slip behind enemy lines under the cover of night and slit their throats while they slept. Both tactics had the same result, but the latter left you with far more of your own forces still alive. As he continued to watch Molok stumble blindly into battle, Tyr saw opportunities abound. A contingent of archers in the trees could take out the enemy before they were seen. A force hidden in a nearby cave could emerge after the battle was already joined to catch the
enemy from behind, and they would be crushed like an eyeball in a raven’s beak. Tyr’s mind was naturally suited for tactical combat.

Tyr knew that he couldn’t take Molok in hand-to-hand combat, so he devised a plan to wrest control of the clan from the bugbear. He had heard rumors of a poison dusk lizardfolk hermit living near the edge of Emberstone. On the pretense of scouting a strike against the Groo’bin clan, he sought out the lizardfolk. After several weeks of hard travel, he found the hermit and paid her a handsome sum to brew up a powerful toxin called “sapper.” The poison, which Tyr sprinkled into Molok’s food when he returned, was a subtle one. The next time Molok’s adrenaline flowed, he would be rendered as weak as a baby kobold.

After a few days of poisoning Molok to make sure it would take effect, Tyr called the bugbear out to the fire pit of their camp. Tyr challenged Molok’s authority, saying that he was no longer fit to lead the clan. Then, Molok punched Tyr right in the face, as he did to all would-be usurpers. Tyr knew this was coming, and though his jaw was broken, he managed to stay on his feet. He continued to taunt Molok, taking blow after blow, until each hit felt no stronger than a mother’s touch. That’s when Tyr drew a short blade and stabbed Molok right in the chest. He was nearly beaten to death, but he won leadership of the clan.

Tyr’s first campaign as chief of the Mal’dorr was against the human lumber camp of Oakstone. While his clan triumphed, killing all the humans, it was not without losses. Tyr lost three of his fiercest warriors and one of his fingers. He learned not to underestimate his enemies, even if they are just woodsmen with simple axes. Tyr made sure that one human escaped, and then set a trap for any retaliating forces amongst the deadly water-powered lumber saws. He and his clan lay in wait for over a week, despite many of the smaller goblins’ insisting on burning the entire camp to the ground. His patience paid off when a well-outfitted battalion entered the camp and set off the trap, leaving them wounded enough for the goblins to finish them off. The Mal’dorr ended that day with more spoils than they had seen in a generation.

Tyr repeated this stratagem at two other settlements, earning him the nickname "Tearbringer” among the humans, but while his goblins were quite happy with their growing hoard, Tyr felt like he was merely picking at scraps. He knew there was greater plunder to be had closer to the human’s City-States Region where trade prospered. One night, he gave his clan a choice. They could leave all the treasure they accumulated behind and join him in his travels, or remain and forfeit the greater glory of future conquests. The Mal’dorr split in half that evening, but Tyr felt no ill will to those he left behind; the goblin mind doesn’t accept change quickly.

Tyr and his remaining clan moved northwest, sneaking their way past Bergen and into the hills flanking the Bergen Pass. When they were almost run down by a speeding carriage moving along the trade routes there, the Tearbringer feared he had gotten himself in over his head. In an attempt to even the odds, Tyr and his goblins began a search for their own mounts. They were naturally drawn to the large wolf-like worgs that populated the hills. Smarter than the average predator, Tyr knew they could not simply be captured and trained.

He found a smaller pack and approached them diplomatically, with offerings of raw deer meat. To his surprise, the oldest worg spoke Goblin, and the two found that they were of the same mind. They quickly entered into an arrangement beneficial to both sides: Tyr’s goblins would ride the worgs, while the worgs would get a steady supply of food from successful raids.

The hobgoblin and his new clan then launched a campaign of terror, striking against the caravans of goods and money within the Bergen Pass. Tyr soon became known as the bandit king of the hills, and his reputation as the Tearbringer spread. They usually hit the wagons carrying gold toward the mining settlement of Gunpowder, with the worg riders blocking the route while Tyr and his second-in-command, a bugbear barbarian named Dox, closed in from behind. Seeing the fearsome goblinoids, most simply surrendered their cargo, and the few that have survived a fight with Tyr’s clan tell stories that help to fuel that fear. While they usually use traditional weapons, Tyr’s clan is close to mastering the use of firearms. If they do so, they might be unstoppable.

Tyr is a particularly cunning hobgoblin. He is tall, but not gaunt, and agile, but not slight. Tyr’s body is a network of scars that cover burnt orange skin. His long hair is almost black with tinges of red, and he usually keeps it in a ponytail. He wears an eye patch over his missing left eye, and the rest of his clothing is functional warrior’s garb. He wields a notched scimitar in close combat, commanding his minions into flanking positions to gain advantage. His typical raiding party consists of six goblins riding worgs, Dox, and himself.

Mutants & Masterminds--Last month, I started running a short superhero campaign set in the game's default Freedom City setting. The players are new or second-string superheroes. They're a motley crew that includes a descendant of the Red Baron, a professional wrestler, a guilt-ridden guitar player who can't die, a tech in a supersuit designed for disaster rescue, and a kappa (a Japanese water spirit). So far they've faced off against a giant flea, a giant frog, and a Goth chick who turns into blood.

Fortune's Fool--Of course, we're also playtesting our next game. And, of course, Jay is running it. Once we finish rescuing a young Mozart from the enchanted world of the Magic Flute, we'll probably start another short campaign as a final round of playtesting.

Pathfinder RPG--This game hasn't fully started yet, as the group still has to play the final session of a long-running Eberron campaign before we start this one. But the other night, our Eberron GM got sick, so I told Rob and Andrew to make characters. My plan is to run through Paizo's Council of Thieves adventure path over the next year or so, using many of our own feats from Nobis. Being that the campaign takes place mostly in the shadow-haunted and devil-controlled city of Westcrown, many of our Nobis feats fit right in. Plus, it's a chance to finally try the Pathfinder RPG!

Those are the big three, though we occasionally dip our wicks into Star Wars: The Saga Edition and Dungeons & Dragons 4e when our friends run them.

So what are you playing?