A. Playing Chalksworn

To play Chalksworn, you create your character, make some decisions about the world you inhabit, and set the story in motion. When you encounter something dangerous or uncertain, your choices and the dice determine the outcome.

Chalksworn supports three modes of play.

• Guided: One or more players take the role of their characters, the protagonists in your story, while a gamemaster (GM) moderates the session. The GM helps bring the world to life, portrays the people and creatures you encounter, and makes decisions about the outcome of your actions.
• Cooperative (Co-Op): You and one or more friends play together to overcome challenges and complete quests. A GM is not required. The Chalksworn game system will help you explore the dramatic stories of your characters and their fateful vows.
• Solo: As with cooperative play, no GM is necessary. You portray a lone heroic character in a dangerous world. Good luck!

What You Need

If you’re playing solo, just grab some materials and get started. A session can be as long as you like, from a few minutes to a few hours.

If you’re playing with one or more friends—either guided or co-op—you probably want to dedicate enough time to make some progress in your quests. Plan on a couple of hours or more.

Make sure you have:

• Two ten-sided dice (d10) for each player. These are your challenge dice.
• One six-sided die (d6) for each player. This is your action die.
• Optionally, another pair of ten-sided dice to use as your oracle dice.
• Printed asset cards.
• Printed item cards.
• The Chalksworn Playkit.

Mechanics and the Fiction

Chalksworn uses various mechanics, such as rolling dice and managing the stats and resources on your character sheet. As a player, you will often make decisions based on a desired mechanical outcome. For example, you might choose a particular action to get a bonus on your die roll. The basic mechanics of Chalksworn are introduced in this chapter.

Chalksworn is also heavily reliant on the fiction, which is the imagined characters, situations, and places within your game. You will play from the perspective of your character. You will interpret actions and events in a way that is consistent with the dramatic, fictional reality you have forged for your story and your world.

Chalk Vows

Vows are the core of playing Chalksworn. It is your vows that drive you. These goals create the context for your adventures and challenges. As you complete vows, you gain experience and new abilities.

When you create your character, you start with a background vow. When you set up your campaign, you envision or encounter an inciting incident which triggers a new vow. There are several prompts for vows associated with the details of the world in chapter 4, and with foes and encounters in chapter 5. You can select something which fits your vision for the world and your character’s goals, or just come up with something yourself. If you are playing in co-op mode, you and your fellow players may have shared vows and personal vows.

Your Character

You use your character sheet to track your stats, overall condition, and progress in your quests. You also have assets - abilities you choose when you create your character and when you gain experience, and items - various gear and equipment you can use to better your odds of survival or grant narrative opportunities. All of these components help you determine the outcome when things get dangerous or uncertain.

However, your character is more than these mechanical bits. You are the protagonist in a rich story. You have hopes and fears, virtues and failings. You have a history. You are, or were, part of a community. This is the fiction of your character. Consider a few of these details as you create your character, but don’t sweat it. You’ll evolve it through play. At the start of your game, put your character on stage to see what happens. Fill in the blanks—for your character and your world—as you go.