<aside>
This game is a tribute to the incomplete characters who leave our adventuring parties (often via contrived and silly explanations) because their players’ lives got busy and they needed to bow out. As a group, you’ll be inventing a beloved party member who was never there in a campaign that never actually happened. But the best source of inspiration will be the stories you love to tell about the adventures you have had at your own gaming tables. Bring those in! Dramatize them, adapt them to this game’s fiction, reminisce, and celebrate.
</aside>
At the time, we couldn’t really understand why he’d want to leave. Sure, we had our setbacks, but it was shaping up to be a grand adventure! And I suppose in the end it truly was. We slew the villain, unraveled their vile conspiracy, and saved the world as we know it from a terrible fate. But we never did quite work out why Ihezohr parted ways with our merry crew on that stormy night. Even after the many trials and terrors of our adventures, I think it’s the one thing that really still gnaws at us.
Thus, when we heard rumors of his whereabouts, we reconvened immediately. With the group back together, we resolved to seek him out and make sure he hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble. He may not have been present for our ultimate triumph, but we still cherish our memories of those early days on the road. What he’s been up to since, well… I hate to say it, but we’ve all worried about that.
Anyway, here we are gathered at the base of this tower. Whether or not we expected to find Ihezohr in a place like this doesn’t much matter now. According to the tracking spell we used, he’s up there alright. The tower is way outside of town, beyond the woods, in an unassuming little backcountry. Its floors stack unevenly atop one another, zigging and zagging up to a pointed circular roof. The exterior is smooth stone with small, infrequent windows. The door is unlocked, oddly enough.
A strange place like this could contain just about anything on its many floors. But all that matters now is that an old friend waits for us at the top.
First, prepare the materials by dividing a tarot deck into two parts:
Shuffle the Major Arcana deck and randomly remove cards until you have 3 for each player (12 for 4 players, 15 for 5 players, etc.) These cards will represent the tower.
Shuffle the remaining cards and deal three to each player. These will be your Memory cards, which you’ll use when you’re climbing the tower to contend with problems inside. Keep the rest of the deck nearby so players can easily draw from it.
Before you can gather your party and find Ihezohr, you’ll start by establishing some details about the world, your group of heroic adventurers, and the villain you triumphed over not long ago. Then, you’ll define your heroes and begin the game.
Take turns as a group establishing details about the world, the heroes, and the villain they recently defeated. On your turn, choose one of the prompts below and answer it with whatever you can imagine. Chat with fellow players and make sure you’re all happy with the details being introduced. Be creative and don’t be afraid to go big with fantasy concepts and tropes.
For example, you might say that the heroes started out as a group of escaped prisoners who had been framed for a terrible crime by the villain. Or maybe that the villain was endeavoring to open a doorway to a distant dimension populated by powerful exiled sorcerers. Or perhaps the world in which your story takes place on the back of huge, living colossus floating through space.
As you hop around the group, answer at least two questions from each column, then whenever you’re satisfied and everyone has had a similar number of turns, move on to Choosing Your Heroes.
The World
A fact of life here that everything revolves around
A grim fate averted when the villain was defeated
A truth about magic, gods, or technology in our world
An important cyclical event or phenomenon in our world
The Heroes
The inciting incident that brought our party together
The reputation our party had when we started out
The reputation we had after defeating the villain
The reason we got along through all those adventures
The Villain
Who or what we spent years hunting down
What they pursued or what they truly desired
How we finally managed to defeat them in the end
How they became a such a dire threat in the first place