Forbidden Game
Value: 2
Notions • Cats • Clocks • Wind
Meanings: Danger, intellect, strategy, balance
The temptation to partake in the game is strong. But you know you shouldn’t—it’s dangerous. It’s forbidden. It’s far more than it seems. It may appear to be a simple diversion. A pastime. But it is so much deeper, so much more engrossing, and so much more addicting. Some have lost their very souls to its intricacies. It’s not just that people want to win—although that’s a part of it—it’s the game’s complexities that draw them in. Every move is a colossal undertaking. The game is more intricate than the real world that it simulates. That’s the impossible thing. The game is bigger on the inside than the outside. It’s bigger than the world in which it is played.
Divination: There is a threat here, but it is one that can be overcome with cleverness and strategy. This cleverness needs to take into account the balance of all involved factors, which can be daunting, as sometimes those factors are difficult to see.
Game Narrative: A leader uses elaborate plans to get what they want. A military leader develops intricate strategies as they prepare their soldiers. People are engaged in some kind of game or sport. Weavers playing the Spider’s Game become important to the matters at hand.
Joy: The PC’s use of intellect proves to be successful even beyond what was expected. Two factors at play in the PC’s current situation that seemed to contradict or come into conflict instead find balance.
Despair: An NPC has utterly outmaneuvered the PC. The balance is off-kilter. Something the PC relied on falls apart.
The game isn’t like life. It’s better. It’s more realistic.