A New Tarot-Fueled TTRPG

Plus Building Sad Characters in Paint The Town Red

Oct 22, 2024

courtesy of J Strautman and B Marsollier

If you’ve listened to My First Dungeon or Talk of the Table long enough you are sure to have heard us recommend the tarot-flavored, retro-futuristic actual play podcast Planet Arcana. It’s one of our favorite APs and it’s GM’d by two of our favorite people, J Strautman and B Marsollier.

A few months ago a number of us had the privilege of helping them playtest their new tarot-powered TTRPG A Fool’s Errand and we had an absolute blast! Fans of Planet Arcana will love getting to explore the world of The Fifth Collide and newcomers are sure to get a kick out of building characters with tarot cards and dealing with the Major Arcana gods.

All of this is to say: I think you’re really going to like A Fool’s Errand and I highly recommend you go and check it out. (And if you want to watch J build a character, check out the excellent explainer video they put out on YouTube).

— Brian

Share this newsletter with someone you think would love A Fool’s Errand

Fool, you are sacred.

A Fool’s Errand is a tarot-fueled science fantasy game set in a post-calamity world of Androids, Humans, and those in between.

Collaborate on the Big Oops, the biggest calamity in this world’s history. What did the world lose when the previous Fools reached their journey’s zenith? Which Major Arcana consorted or clashed with each other along the way?

You are not alone. Fools travel together.

As they journey, your Fools become intertwined with the Major Arcana gods, their journeys led by unique tarot decks built with choices made in character creation.

Every calamity dreams its successor.

Explore realms both waking and subconscious, but beware: the Major Arcana will take notice, their love and anger raining down in the form of boons and calamities. As the Fools gain power, the world draws ever-closer to its next Big Oops.

Though the world will never be the same, your Errand awaits.

A Fool’s Errand is led by J Strautman and B Marsollier, game designers and creators of actual play podcast Planet Arcana. Structured for campaign play and designed for 3-5 players and a GM.

The crowdfunding campaign for A Fool’s Errand runs October 22nd to November 15th. You can also download a demo version of the game here, if you’re Fool enough.

BACK THE GAME

Building Sad Characters in Paint The Town Red

The Many Shades of Sad Embraced by Our Cast

Well, chaos goblins, SoulMuppet Publishing is currently funding Paint The Town Red, and in classic SoulMuppet fashion, this game is sad. As you listen to our Actual Play, you’ll notice how deeply sad each character is, and what’s fun is that each is crafted in such different ways. Let’s walk through the characters in our Paint The Town Red season and take away what we can learn from each.

Lean Into the Mechanics

It may seem obvious, but a smart way to build a character is by using the game’s own mechanics to inspire your choices. Minnie, played by the ever-brilliant Superdillin, is a perfect example of building a character through the Paint The Town Red mechanics. PTTR has passions for each character, and Dillin’s choice of the passion “Partying Hard” really gives life to Minnie’s sadness. Dillin takes the idea that Minnie essentially has crippling FOMO and builds the entire essence of their character around that. It prompts Dillin to ask questions about what Minnie is trying to hide under her party girl persona, what pain is being masked, and what traumas led Minnie to not wanting to leave a party until it’s over. Dillin explores the depths of Minnie throughout this 4-episode arc, using the gift the game provides to create a multifaceted and deeply sad character. In games, we trust!

Use a Character That We All Know

Cain, played by Drakoniques, is a great example of building on an existing character with a built-out backstory. Drak’s pick of Cain from the Bible (which is chock-full of depressing and sad characters) is a smart choice as the backstory is already there and is decently well known by most people. For those who aren’t familiar, it’s simple to explain: Adam and Eve had two kids—Cain and Abel. Abel seemed to be the favorite of both his parents and God, so Cain got jealous and killed him. Now Drak gets to fill in the emotions, the whys, and how Cain has moved on since then. There are so many great characters, sad or not, you can build upon if creating an entire backstory from scratch isn’t for you.

Do you have a go-to move when building a new character? Leave a comment and tell us all your tips and tricks.

Letting a Character’s Looks Define Who They Are

Playing with Edward Spence is brilliant because the level of detail he paints for you shows how good of a GM he is, even when not in that seat. Now, I’m not sure if this is how Ed built Fitzroy, but another viable way to build a sad character is to give them a vivid physical description. Really paint a word picture. My favorite description Ed gave of Fitzroy was: “Picture a witch turning a raccoon into a man but then giving up halfway through.” Incredible—I have a pretty clear idea of who this character is. Probably tired, has seen too much, and is just looking for some kind of release. Ed delivers in every facet of who this character is and uncovers a lot of sadness you’d expect from someone who looks like this. It’s very easy to make a sad character if you create a sad-looking character.

Finding the Humor In It

The best part about being a vampire is usually knowing that you’re a vampire. While the life itself is sad, at least knowing you have powers and are immortal can be a respite from it all. To me, it seems hilarious to be someone who is this very cool and powerful thing but has no idea. The joke is what drives me to create these characters, but there are definite pitfalls (sometimes you give your character too much detail and realize you can’t deliver on all of it in just one season). If you make a character that is something specific like a vampire, ask yourself: What are the expectations of that trait, and how can I subvert those expectations? If you answer those questions, you’ll have a clear idea of who your character is.

Chaos goblins, there’s no right or wrong way to build characters, and all the players used parts of what I said along with other tools to build out their sad Paint The Town Red vampires. My recommendation is to use the parts that resonate with you, and if there’s one lesson I’ve learned from character creation, it’s that simpler is always better.

— Shenuque