Introduction | Session Report | Comments
Introduction
Continuing on from the fun we’ve had with other GM-less, card-based narrative roleplaying games, I invited some friends to try out Foretold: From Earth by James Mullen, which I helped playtest. Like Foretold: In Its Shadow, this one takes inspiration from such games as For the Queen, Women Are Werewolves, and In a Wicked Age, as far as its mechanics go. Story-wise, it’s derived from the common sci-fi trope of receiving a message from space and mounting a response. To quote the intro, it “is a story of hope, wonder, and the exploration of the heavens.” But it’s not without interpersonal conflict, as you will read in the session report below!
This session: A group of wizards travels in a crystalline virtual reality to a distant world and once there have to uncover what happened to their rivals.
Session Report
Set-Up
Message Type #5: a declaration of hostile intent
The Vessel
We chose the option of drawing one prompt card per player, but rather than select just one of those, we did a mash-up of them all.
Draws: 10, J, K, 4
Although properly named Tessellated Lattice, the ship is affectionately known to some as Woody due to its attractive wooden exterior. It operates on magical energy, powered by the spirits of those aboard in suspended animation. The crew will be spending their journey in a crystalline virtual environment, as small motes of energy interacting with a network of caves. Interfaces between the virtual environment and the real ship manifest as elaborate brass and steel devices within the crystal caverns.
Dramatis Personae
(developed over the course of play)
Geena, she/her, early 30s
Orniella, she/her, mid 60s
Crunklebar aka Crunkle, he/him, unknown
Tarot, they/them, early 20s
Planning
Geena/5: A vocal faction is claiming that Scholarium Novum, the organization that detected and translated the message from space, have faked it, making up a violent threat for the world to respond to. As part of Scholarium Novum, Geena wants to defend her organization’s reputation. However, she has no scholar skills—that is, she is completely devoid of magic; she’s just part of their public relations department.
Orniella/7: Belgräävia is facing a national crisis. For centuries, they were known as the spacefaring wizards, but in recent decades, they have been overtaken by other groups and have lost their monopoly. Gone are the days of leisurely trips within the solar system, enjoying the sights along the way. People today want speed, not a slow space ferry. This has caused an identity crisis for Belgräävia. As Chief Magic Officer in the Spaceferrying Ministry, the very technically-minded Orniella has pushed for her nation to be part of this mission. She is convinced that Belgräävia’s long history of intra-system space transit means they have something of value to contribute here.
Crunklebar/4: Crunklebar, a goblin, has been approached by Sathabar the Great, who offers to get Crunkle on the mission if he can arrange for some of the recovered relics to “fall through the cracks” into private collections afterwards. An entrepreneur and ostentatious media personality, Sathabar runs the up-and-coming Space Ferry Company and always dresses in bold yellow robes.
Tarot/3: A recent graduate of the Ashlandia Academy, Tarot is excited and proud to be summoned to a private audience with the Leader. A very conflict-oriented country, Ashlandia seeks to gain an alliance with the hostile aliens to use as a weapon against competing nations at home. Ashlandia has been one of the main players in undercutting Belgraäävia’s stranglehold on space ferrying. Tarot is young and inexperienced, a naive patriot. They do not know that they’ve been chosen for this potentially dangerous mission because they are viewed as expendable.
Geena/6: Everyone is shocked when Geena is appointed mission commander. She has absolutely no magical abilities and has never before interacted with crystal space, the aetherium from which wizards pull magic. Rather than just dipping into and out of crystal space, as required by most magic, the suspended crew of the ship will be spending an unprecedented amount of time with their spirits there during transit. And they’ll be led by someone with no previous experience with it at all!
Orniella/2: Orniella has spent a large chunk of her life working to make the retro-style space ferry popular again. She is an ardent believer in the archaic method of leisurely travel through the solar system and doesn’t like the new-fangled techniques involved in faster transport. Although she has lobbied hard for Belgräävia to be part of this mission—for the country to prove its continued relevance—she herself would rather be in her lab conducting experiments. She certainly did not want to be part of the crew herself!
Crunklebar/A: Crunkle is only part of the crew thanks to his second-cousin-in-law, Sathabar the Great, who likes to consider himself magnanimous and generous, always looking out for and elevating people with whom he has connections. With Crunkle added to the crew, an experienced wizard from Scholarium Novum has gotten bumped from it. Scholarium Novum is a well-regarded international society—Orniella respects them though she herself hasn’t worked with them, and Crunkle had applied, but he didn’t get in. Although glad to take part, Crunkle is experiencing some serious self-doubt about being worthy to be on this mission.
Tarot/J: Tarot blames Geena for the death of their fellow Ashlandian, Palm, who died during a training accident. It was a test run of the crystal space virtual reality world that fuels Tessellated Lattice. Both Geena and Palm were spending twenty-four hours with their bodies suspended and their spirits in crystal space. Only Geena awoke from that, while Palm’s body withered to a husk. Tarot thinks Geena ruined the test because she has no magic sense at all. Unbeknownst to the characters, Palm’s spirit was sucked into the ship, and they are still alive in some sense, though currently undetectable to anyone.
At this point, having created another Ashlandian character and given them a name, I established that Ashlandian names are gender neutral. When someone joked about them also being plant-based, we realized that while I was saying Tarot, some had thought it was Taro. And given that Palm can be both a tree and a hand, we decided Ashlandian names also have to be homonyms.
Twist/Black Joker: The international organization that accused Scholarium Novum of faking the alien message, known as the Material Plane, launches a rival expedition before Tessellated Lattice is fully operational. They cut corners by conducting fewer tests of crystal space hibernation. Their goal is to reach the supposed transmission site first so that they can prove there is no message, just a hoax perpetrated by Scholarium Novum.
Traveling
Geena/4: The bodies of the crew are being sustained by a special slurry, but some of the batches have gone bad. Geena is single, mid-career, and really good at PR when she has a script to follow, but as mission commander, she is constantly flustered and her organizational skills can only be described as a “hot mess.” Orniella wants to support Geena, though, so as Geena mulls over the problem, Orniella volunteers for her own rations to be cut. She says she’s been wanting to lose some weight anyway, and this seems like an easy way to do so, but she warns that she’ll likely become more cranky. Although Geena is hesitant about the increased crankiness, she accepts Orniella’s offer.
Orniella/5: A little lightheaded and fragile from decreased rations, Orniella’s startle reflex worsens. When Tarot puts a hand on her virtual shoulder to catch her attention, Orniella jerks away, injuring herself and setting off a cascade of small lightning bolts that hurt Tarot. Due to the Ashlandian cultural norms, Tarot interprets this as an attack. Orniella apologizes but also gets defensive, demanding, “Who sneaks up on someone that way?” But Tarot says they didn’t sneak up—Orniella isn’t as sharp as she should be because Geena cut her rations. Tarot insists that Geena used her PR skills to manipulate Orniella into volunteering. On edge because of her country’s decreasing relevance, Orniella gives this consideration and thinks of experiments she could run to test the theory.
Crunklebar/Q: Crunklebar is not doing well with the stresses of hibernation. As during the earlier training accident, there’s a risk that he’ll be consumed. He needs a magical infusion to survive. Geena volunteers to be the source of extra energy, provided that someone else facilitates, since she has no magic herself. Using the emergency procedures manual derived from the testing, Tarot conducts the operation to ensure that Geena follows through.
Tarot/8: Tarot determines that piloting the ship requires more attention than originally estimated and demands that Geena, as the only uninjured person, should work double shifts monitoring the readouts. Tarot tells her that the extra workload is her fault, since Palm would’ve been the copilot, and they blame Geena for their death. As mission commander, Geena is qualified on all ship systems, though not specialized. She accepts the situation in a positive-to-neutral tone, not attempting to argue her way out of it.
Geena/6: With a potentially dangerous infection spreading through the crew, Geena puts Orniella in isolation to protect her from catching it. Orniella is an elder and weak from half rations, putting her at risk of suffering worse effects than the rest of the crew. Orniella accepts this without complaint. She’s adjusted some to the decreased rations and is not experiencing crankiness. In fact, the associated weight loss in her physical form has made her cheerful. Plus, quarantine when in a virtual crystal-space reality is not as isolating as in physical reality.
Orniella/A: Orniella has developed a close relationship with Tarot, though the two sides view the secret affair quite differently. For Tarot’s part, they view Orniella as a worldly mentor, someone who’s been involved in government and has insights into the halls of power. Tarot is growing uncertain about the mission their government entrusted to them. They share their secrets with Orniella, seeing comfort and guidance from her. As for Orniella, she is attracted to Tarot’s outlook. To be so young, to have an attractive world of possibilities open before one… Orniella is experienced and practical, but she finds that all quite stimulating. This is an affair of the spirit, not of physical attraction.
Crunklebar/3: In preparation for securing some of the relics at the end of the mission, Crunklebar steals the access codes to the hold. Tarot catches him doing so but does not report him to Geena because such actions will not get in the way of their mission. Who cares what happens to any physical relics from the trip after they are all back home? That won’t interfere with the important part of the mission, which is actually getting to the beacon.
Tarot/9: In a flashback to before Orniella’s quarantine and the start of the affair, Tarot catches Orniella spying on them in private. When asked what she is trying to learn about Tarot, she replies, “I’m trying to find you—the real you. Not the country, not the agenda. You’re not just a party puppet!” This is what leads to Tarot opening up to Orniella and the close relationship that develops between them.
Twist/Red Joker: As the crew prepares to leave crystal space and return to their awakening bodies, a steampunk typewriter message appears in virtual space before them. They have new orders. This has now become a rescue mission rather than a first contact. The Material Plane already reached the goal, and no one back home has heard from them since. They assume the worst, that the hostile aliens have taken them prisoner. The crew of Tessellated Lattice must find the Material Planars.
Exploring
Geena/Q: As Geena leads the others from the ship toward the source of the signal, the weather grows colder and colder. She secretly dons a second parka herself before distributing them to the rest of the crew. Thus there is no parka left for Tarot, who hasn’t contributed enough to the mission in Geena’s mind. She has a low opinion of them as she feels they shirked piloting responsibility, saddling her with it. The only backup parkas are goblin-sized, which Tarot would not be able to fit in.
Orniella/8: After passing through a field of strange plants, Orniella is affected by the pollen and becomes far less guarded in her speech. What she really thinks of her crewmates comes out to everyone—and not with her usual professional and composed delivery. She waxes poetic about Tarot. She says that Geena means well but is out of her depth here. As for Crunklebar, Orniella has been getting his name wrong in a different way each time throughout the journey, but now she manages to use his preferred nickname, Crunkle, as she says, “Crunkle, I thought you were a spineless profiteering bastard and assumed you were all onboard with the nepotism that got you here, but I’ve come to see you’re not such a terrible person after all.” Everyone is shocked by Orniella’s openness, but Geena dismisses it as a “senior moment.”
Crunklebar/10: The route leads to a wide chasm with a narrow natural bridge across it. Crunklebar is afraid to cross, as he is small and light, and the strong winds could blow him right off it. No one understands his concerns or pays them much attention. They are focused on getting across. There’s been sign of only one set of footsteps through this snow, suggesting just one Material Planar made it this far. Likely that is Archmage Horatio the Silver Hand, leader of the rival expedition.
Tarot/J: Eventually the crew reaches the transmission site, a vast and ornate structure with an enormous archway. It demands a sacrifice to pass, and Tarot steps through first. By this point, Orniella has made Tarot realize that there’s more to them than just their allegiance to Ashlandia. So that is what they offer in sacrifice, their connection to their country. Tarot feels this is a significant sacrifice, but does not realize just how big a deal that is, as Ashlandia permeates their education, their relationships—so much of what made them who they are. This enormous sacrifice overloads the arch, and the others are able to pass safely through into the building without giving up any part of themselves. No longer even aware of Ashlandia at all, when Orniella calls them by name, they hear it as Taro.
Geena/3: Having been witness to such a sacrifice from Taro and the ensuing personality shift, Geena feels bad about causing them to verge on frostbite and gives them one of the parkas she’s been wearing. Now much colder herself, she shivers violently until a strange creature slithers up and wraps itself around her. It is long and furry, with the ruddy coloring, narrow snout, and pointed ears of a fox but the flexible limbless body of a python. And it is so warm! The crew take to calling it a xeno. Geena finds it particularly cute because of how its eyes sparkle, as if motes of energy from crystal space are dancing within them. She wonders if this a Material Planar, and if so, what they gave up to the arch. Did they simply think that they would give up anything to be warm again?
Orniella/2: When Orniella is stung by an insect inside the transmission building, she begins to mutate into a xeno herself. She starts growing fur, and her limbs fuse together. It is as though her torso extends as her legs shrink, which makes her grow wobbly. Used to walking on short legs himself, Crunklebar helps steady her. She loses use of her arms as the junction at her armpit also lengthens, shrinking those limbs until they are gone.
Crunklebar/A: Within the magic beacon, Crunklebar detects a strange new energy that has characteristics in common with crystal space and is in fact occupied by souls! He is able to trigger the equipment to release them, giving form to Palm and all but two of the Material Planars right there in the building. This magical technology was used to transmit a message across space, but given what is now known from constructing Tessellated Lattice and freeing the trapped spirits, the group realizes it can also be used to transmit beings across space. With this new knowledge, Orniella completely embraces her transformation, recognizing that Belgräävia’s archaic space ferry is truly a thing of the past. She has dedicated her life to reviving it, but now she sees it must give way to newer and more effective transit techniques.
Taro/K: As their crewmates operate the device and release Palm and the others from crystal-space, Taro looks around themself in wonder, surprised at how familiar this place feels. With all ties to Ashlandia erased, the great sacrifice they made turns into a powerful boon: their older memories are resurfacing. They gave up their fake identity, not their real one! Taro is really a long lost Belgräävian explorer who took their space ferry far beyond the bounds of its specifications, out of the solar system and across the galaxy. They have used this equipment before, to send a call for help… and then to send themself.
Epilogue
In light of everything discovered, Geena admits that she was the one who translated the message received by Scholarium Novum. Its language was archaic, and what she took for hostility was actually desperation. It was the message for aid that Taro sent in the distant past, it just took longer to propagate across space than Taro’s spirit-based transmission.
Taro’s use of the beacon in the past was imperfect. When their spirit reached home, it simply occupied the next life formed, and thus they were born into an Ashlandian family, and lived two decades unaware of their previous existence. A similar fate has befallen Horatio. Most of his crew were consumed by the means of interstellar transit (and now liberated by Crunklebar), and he entered the beacon building alongside his final crewmate, who sacrificed to the archway for them both to gain entrance and then ultimately turned into a xeno. When the crew of Tessellated Lattice was entering the structure, Horatio was at the beacon, examining it. The massive surge of power caused by Tarot’s sacrifice was enough for Horatio to send himself home the same way Taro had traveled twenty years ago.
But what about the beacon and the aliens who built it? The travelers suspect it was designed to be a lure, to get people to come investigate and to perhaps contribute their spirits as fuel. But since Horatio stole the power surge to go home, whatever purpose the beacon was truly built for remains unfulfilled. The unmutated survivors of the two expeditions are now free to return home with the new knowledge that rapid transit through crystal space is possible without the need for hibernation or ships. Truly, the days of Belgräävian space ferries are over. But that no longer matters to Orniella; she will be staying here with her fellow xeno, the former Material Planar that got Horatio into the building, and together they will explore this cold world.
Comments
It’s a good sign when you get to the end of a game like this, and one of the players says they wish they could explore the setting more. There’s as much worldbuilding as storytelling in these Foretold games, enough that you could launch a campaign in them with the generic RPG of your choice. Upon finishing this session, we all agreed to meet up again for another go at Foretold: From Earth to explore how much variety it has to offer. I myself have played it twice now, but it was brand new to the other players. We’ve got a game date already penciled in on the calendar, and I’m looking forward to it. I do plan to stack the deck a bit, though, to make sure we get as many new prompts as possible. As with Foretold: In Its Shadow, our game with four players took about two and a half hours—great for a short game night or to fill a gap when one of the players can’t make it to an ongoing campaign. We played this session online, and it was great to connect with friends from afar without being tied in front of the computer for an uncomfortable length of time. Plus there’s no elaborate virtual tabletop required, just a deck of cards.