The Glass of the Crystal Queen • 2019 rpg

Star King West • https://twitter.com/starkingwest

Fill a single glass with icy water and two d4s. Set it at the table's center; this is the Glass of The Crystal Queen.

One of you plays The Queen: powerful, manipulative, at war with her sisters, and the narrator of this story.

The rest play Her Cavaliers: 
Write down 4 Emotions; Rank them Strongest-4 to Weakest-1.
Write down 5 Memories from before your bargain.

             She kept Her promise.


                    For now, you serve Her...

                           ...and she will tell you who you are.

The Queen names each Cavalier and erases 2 Memories-taking them (she's already taken many others.)

Complete Her Task and regain 1 Memory. Regain 10 to recall your True Name and break free.

When you Act, The Queen declares a Difficulty and Consequence for failure:

* Easy 1-3
* Challenging 4-6
* Legendary 7-8

Equal or overcome the Difficulty using an Emotion to Succeed.
If needed, draw on Her power: Reach into her Glass, withdraw the dice, roll them back into the Glass-add the total.

On double 1s, erase a Memory.
If you miss the Cup, erase a Memory.
If your Memories get wet, erase a Memory.
If you lose all your Memories, you are hers forever.

Author Comments

==Design Notes=== Despite how it may appear, the game is NOT designed for the Cavaliers to lose.There is only a 1/16th chance that they will get the double 4s, and if they are careful with their list of memories the risk of splashing water is less a danger and more to encourage them to act with trepidation when using the Queen’s power, rather than purposely being cruel.

The exact nature of the Queen and her power as well was the end state is purposely left vague.

If one cavalier breaks free while the others have not, the Player should be left to choose what they want to do. The Player can choose to have their cavalier continue to help the others, but they risk losing their memories again just like any of the other Cavaliers. The Player may also choose to retire their cavalier and create a new one, sit back and watch, or

==Credits== Thank you to my friends who helped me play test and provided feedback on The Glass of the Crystal Queen. Please follow them and support their work!

• Angela

  @Phoenix24Femme

  https://www.patreon.com/philosofemme

• Cassandra
• Holly M

• Naomi B

  @adanarama

  https://www.patreon.com/adanarama/

• Nick S

  @Cronturns

If you get a chance to play, The Glass of the Crystal Queen, please let me know! I’d love to get feedback and hear about your experience. You can find me on Twitter @starkingwest.

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