Turncoats

A Game by
Derek Chappell

Fernando Henrique (Order #37061779)

 Turncoats is a game about deserting your post in a hostile land. There is no
fixed setting other than the presumption that players were soldiers in some kind of
military, who have deserted their posts and are now lost in a foreign land. However,
the game works best in eras or settings without modern creature comforts or
communication. Players should agree on a rough setting beforehand, though they will
better define the setting as the game goes on.

There are two ground rules.

- No player can contradict anything established as fact before that point.
- The deserters must stick together no matter what. No deserter can survive on
their own.

Starting with the youngest player and going around the table to the left,
everyone should give a high concept for their character using one word. This can be
their job in the military before they deserted, such as “Cook” or “Quartermaster”
or “Sergeant”. It could also be a strong character trait, “Coward” or “Fool” or
“Veteran.”

Once they have gone around the table once, each player begins to assigns
others traits. To the player on their right, they assign a trait or habit they loath, a
reason they distrust and hate that character. “He steals from the dead.” “She drinks
and forgets her duties.” “He gambles foolishly and with the coin of others.”

Then, to the player on the left, they assigns a virtue, a thing that they envy
about the other character which makes them better than most. “He always has the
answer to any problem.” “She always volunteers for the worst jobs.” “He shares
what little he has.”

Once everyone has defined their characters, each player should state the reason
they have fled the army. Then, they describe the two items they stole when they
left. Assign each player 3 tokens for every player participating and place a reserve
in the discard pile. Then, begin the game, with the youngest player going first and
proceeding to the left.

The turn must begin with the player making a complaint about something.
“My feet hurt.” “I’m hungry.” “I think we are being followed.” “The player on the
right is being mean to me.” They can use the complaint to set the scene and establish
the advancement of time or the change of location, but they must lead with the
complaint.

The other players should quickly make a judgement call as to if they think the
complaint is valid or of importance. A non-verbal signalling method, such as raising
a hand, is optimal, and must be done quickly and simultaneously. For each player
that agrees, the player who complained should put forth that many tokens from
their pool to represent the severity of the issue, which must now be solved.

Problems are “solved” by reducing the token pool to 0. If nobody thinks the
issue is important, the deserters ignore the complaint, the player discards a token,
and play move on to the next turn.

Fernando Henrique (Order #37061779)

 If there are tokens presented, players can now opt to present solutions to
the problem, on a first-come, first serve basis. They have three options; Confront,
Sacrifice, and Take Advantage.

If they Confront the problem, the character looks for a solution to the issue.
They should describe what they will do to fix the problem. “We’ll set up camp for the
night.” They suggest. To do this, they must wager their own tokens in order to get
dice. They also get a dice if the problem is related to their High Concept, or if they
can use one of their items. Other players can vote if a solution is contrived or not in
the spirit of the High Concept or items.

Roll all the dice; use a different colour dice to represent dice generated from
the High Concept or from tools. On a 4+, remove a token from the pool and give it
back to the Complaining player. On a 6, the Confronting player can also take a token
for themselves out of the discard pile.

If they get less than 4 on a roll using a dice gained by waging a token, they
must discard that token. If they roll a 1 using a dice generated from a tool, the tool
breaks or is lost.

If they Sacrifice to deal with the problem, they give up something in order to
help the other player. “Here, let’s switch boots. Mine are broken in.” They offer. They
remove token from their own supply as well as two tokens from the pool, and they
give all of them to the Complaining Player. If their Sacrifice can invoke their Virtue,
they can remove an additional token from the pool.

If a player sacrifices their last token, everyone can draw a token from the
discard pile.

Finally, if they Take Advantage, they use this issue as a chance to get ahead
through cruelty or indifference. “Keep up or we leave you behind.” They spit. They
take one token from the pool and another from the discard pile and keep both of
them for themselves, and they discard another from the pool.

Once the pool is empty, move on to the next player. If a player runs out of
tokens, their character dies.

The game can take any direction the players choose through the validation of
player problems. The deserters will always be outcasts everywhere they go, and will
only ever have each other to rely on. That doesn’t mean they can find some measure
of relief or grasp onto some hope. It is not outside the scope of the game for the
deserters to find a town where they can lay low and eventually settle down there,
for the characters to rebuild some semblance of life, or for weeks or years to pass in
the narrative. That said, these will never be truly comfortable; to desert one’s post
is an act which leaves a stain of guilt and dishonour.

Play continues until only one character is left.

Fernando Henrique (Order #37061779)