Faery's Tale Deluxe - Etud

Optional Rules: Diceless
The Fa e r y ’s Ta l e rules are wellsuited
to diceless play for those who
wish to dispense with dice-rolling
altogether. Doing away with the dice
may make play even easier for very
young players, as well.
Simply compare the faery’s relevant
Attribute to the difficulty rating—or
to a foe’s relevant score in the case
of a contest or duel. If the faery’s
Attribute equals or exceeds the rating,
she succeeds. If not, she can expend
Essence to make up the difference.
The other rules work as described.
Or you can substitute other
randomizers for dice. For example, place
an equal number of stones of two colors
in a bag. When a faery is involved in a
challenge, contest, or duel, the player
draws a number of stones equal to her
faery’s relevant Attribute score from the
bag. Stones of one color are successes,
like even numbers on a die, while
those of the other are null results, like
odd numbers on a die. Essence can be
sacrificed to change the outcome, and
all other rules function as normal.
Example
NARRATOR: Lauren, let’s see how your brownie
Katria fares against the goblin. Katria has a
Body 3, so how are you splitting up your attack
and defense pools?
LAUREN: I have to stop the goblins from
capturing our friend the field mouse. I will put
two dice in attack and only one in defense.
NARRATOR: The goblin has a Body 3, but
he’s really overconfident so he puts all his dice
into attack. “She’s only a girl,” sneers the nasty
goblin to his friends. “She’s probably too scared
to fight big strong goblins like us.”
LAUREN: “I’ll show you, Mr. Goblin,” says
Katria as she charges with her sword. I roll two
odds and an even, so one success.
NARRATOR: The arrogant goblin is so surprised
you’re attacking him that he doesn’t even try to
— A Sense of Wonder —
— 40 —
defend himself! Your sword strike is true, and
the goblin loses an Essence mote. “Aaahh! Look
out! She’s dangerous,” he yells. Now he rolls his
three attack dice and you roll your brownie’s
defense die.
LAUREN: A success!
NARRATOR: And the goblin has one success, too,
but it’s only a tie, so Katria wins. The goblin
tries to stab at you with his spear, but you parry
it with your sword. Clang!
LAUREN: “You’re not going to hurt my friend,”
Katria says. “Now run away!”
Multiple Opponents
Your faery can attack multiple foes in the
same turn by splitting up her attack pool. For
example, the player of a faery with a Body 5
puts four dice in her attack pool, then allocates
two attack dice to each foe. Her faery could
attack up to four enemies in the same turn, but
at only one attack die each.
Your faery can split up her attack dice in
this fashion only to attack multiple foes; she
cannot strike the same opponent multiple
times.
On the other hand, your faery may from
time to time be attacked by multiple enemies,
particularly by cowardly goblins who prefer
to gang up on foes. In this case, you roll her
defense pool for the turn separately against
each attacker.
Example
NARRATOR: “Gah! Stop watching the pixie
and help me, you stupids,” shouts the goblin to
his friends. This turn, two of the goblins are
attacking your brownie, Lauren. The first one
rolls two successes.
LAUREN: I have three dice in my defense pool. I
roll and get three successes. Hah!
NARRATOR: Your steel sword flashing in the
sunlight, you deflect the first goblin’s sword.
Now the second goblin tries to bite you with his
nasty fangs. One success.
LAUREN: OK, I roll my defense dice again. One
success for me, too.
NARRATOR: That’s enough to block him. As the
goblin lunges forward to bite your brownie,
Katria nimbly jumps out of the way and he
falls down.