Playtest Rules

When you play a Tabletop Role-playing Game, like Sprouting Tales, you are having a conversation. You are listening intently to the story other people are creating and contributing your thoughts to the shared fiction.

Participants build on others' contributions and share in an experience with the ultimate goal of entertainment. Therefore, each participant serves as a steward of the other participants’ fun. This responsibility begins and ends with respect and communication.

Basics

Roles

Sprouting Tales plays best with a group of 3-5 people.

Once you’ve gathered a group, discuss what role each person prefers. Roles are not permanent, and a group should make adjustments when needed.

At least one person takes on the role of the Guide.

Guide

The Guide(s) describes the environments and the characters the Party interacts with. If there is a dispute or the rules do not cover something, the Guide is an arbitrator and makes rulings.

Players and Adventurers

Participants other than the Guide are Players, who act as Adventurers in the fiction. Adventurers are the main characters in the fictional story. Together, the Adventurers form a Party, a group journeying together through the fictional narrative.

Core Loop

The core gameplay is a conversation.

  1. The Guide begins the conversation by describing the environment and the characters Adventurers interact with.
  2. The Players respond and describe what their Adventurer does in that situation.
  3. The Guide describes what happens as a result of the Adventurers’ actions, and then repeats the first step.\

Rule Adjustments

The rules only exist as tools to facilitate fun for the participants.

If certain rules are a barrier to fun, discuss them and create adjustments together as a group.

Playtest rules may not be reflective of future experiences.

Tempo

Components

Reconsider Tempo

The Guide decides how quickly the story progresses with the Reconsider Tempo card.

The Guide may move a card from the top of the Tempo Deck to the bottom. The Guide may repeat this up to eight times.

Then, activate the top card of the Tempo Deck.

Tempo Deck

The Tempo Deck is an ordered pile of nine face-up cards. Eight cards are units of time. The ninth card defines the Tempo Deck and serves as a reference to players.

The top card of the Tempo Deck shows what unit of time the current scene transpires in.

For example, if the top Tempo card is Days then the story focuses on what characters do each day but the individual hours, minutes, and moments of those days are not particularly relevant.

Tempo Cards

Click here to expand the list of Tempo Cards in the Tempo Deck

Moments

Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the Soil.

Minutes

Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the Soil.

Hours

Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the Soil.

Days

Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the Soil.

Weeks

Place the Reconsider Tempo card fifth from the top of the Soil.

Moons

Place the Reconsider Tempo card fourth from the top of the Soil.

Seasons

Place the Reconsider Tempo card fourth from the top of the Soil.

Years

Place the Reconsider Tempo card sixth from the top of the Soil.

Playtest rules may not be reflective of future experiences.

Beginnings and Endings

Beginning

When a Player doesn't have an Adventurer, their adventure begins! The Player:

  1. Gains a gear card,
  2. Gains six random face up supply cards,
  3. Picks two of the six to remain face up and turns the other four face down,
  4. Adds the following to their soil:
  5. Eight Discovery cards.

Introduction

The Player then introduces their Adventurer by defining:

  1. Their Adventurer's appearance,
  2. Their Adventurer's aspirations,
  3. Their Adventurer's obstacles, and
  4. Their Adventurer's name.

Other Players freely offer suggestions about how their Adventurer may relate to this new Adventurer. For example:

  1. I think you and I may be long lost siblings!
  2. We were rivals as schoolchildren.

The players can decline

Ending

The point of an Ending is for a Player and an Adventurer to be able to exit the game with dignity. Every other person should react with care and not take it as an opportunity to belittle or judge harshly.

At any point, a player may choose to have their Adventurer's ending. An ending means:

  1. They have passed,
  2. They are presumed dead,
  3. They are no longer interested in adventuring, or
  4. Another ending that the player deems appropriate.

Farewell

All other Players and Adventurers say farewell to the leaving Adventurer. Players talk about aspects of the Adventurer they enjoyed. Then players speak, as their Adventurer, saying farewell to the ending Adventurer.

After the farewell, return all the cards the Player has.

If the Player wants to continue playing, they may have a Beginning for a new Adventurer. The Guide may choose to give the new Adventurer additional Discoveries to bring them in line with the rest of the Adventurers.

Playtest rules may not be reflective of future experiences.