3.3 Cardplay and core mechanics

Back: Game pieces and setup

Cardplay

When to involve cards

Each scene typically begins with the Dealer describing the scenario to the players, who are free to direct their characters to take any course of action or interact with any NPC, and the Dealer narrating their response in kind. Cardplay is only required if a character attempts to take an action which:

• would significantly influence, bargain with, threaten or injure another character;
• involves the risk of injury, fatigue, failure, danger or mishap; 
• is made under time pressure;
• requires specialist skills or knowledge; or
• deals with matters which are supernatural, psychological, terrifying or occult.

Important Note: players are not permitted to show the contents of their hands to one-another or to the Dea;ler, or to discuss or refer to the contents or quality of their hands under any circumstances. All information regarding the cards in a player’s hand should be kept secret from the table.

Resolution

When cardplay is required, follow the process below:

1. Establish the stakes

The player outlines in general terms what they hope to accomplish, and what impact their success will have on the story. This impact should reasonably follow from the PC’s actions, and be consistent with the tone of the story and genre expectations. 

The Dealer describes in general terms what will happen on a failure, and should specifically tell the player if this comes at the risk of injury or loss of any resource.

The Dealer should also tell the player which suit(s) will be trumps for this attempt (see Trump suits, below). 

2. Determine Difficulty Value (DV)

All tests in Texarkana are modified by a Difficulty Value ('DV'), which the Dealer should determine without telling the players. 

If a PC is interacting with an NPC, then the DV is equal to that NPC’s rating in the relevant suit (which wll range from -3 to +3). For example, if a PC wishes to convince an NPC business mogul to invest in a mining venture, the DV would be equal to that NPC’s Diamonds rating of +2. See NPCs for details.

If the Dealer does not have rules prepared ahead of time for a specific NPC, then they should use this general guidance for determining NPC Difficulty Values:

• -3 to -2: for an unskilled or insignificant NPC
• -1 to 0: for a moderately skilled or recurring NPC
• +1 to +2: for a highly skilled or major NPC
• +3: for a recurring nemesis or powerful supernatural force

If the attempt is not opposed by an NPC (such as picking a lock, navigating a mountain range, or jumping onto a moving a train) then the Dealer uses their discretion to set the DV, applying the below guidance:

• -3 to -2: a low-risk attempt, or one which requires a minimum level of skill or care
• -1 to 0: a moderate-risk attempt, or one requires a reasonable level of skill or care
• +1 to +2: a high-risk attempt, or one which requires an expert level of skill or care
• +3: a desperate attempt, or one which requires a high degree of luck

3. Dealer secretly notes difficulty

The Dealer secretly collects a number of white Difficulty chips equal to the DV, and places them in their hand or under a cup in the centre of the table.

4. Player plays a card

The player selects any card from their hand, and places it face-up on the table - the player’s score is equal to the value of the played card.  Aces always count as a ‘1’. All other face cards (Jack, Queen, King) always count as a ‘10’. 

(Note: a PC may have this score modified by particular Traits or equipment - see Player Characters - but this is the exception. A player’s score is typically equal to the value of the card played.)

5. Determine success or failure

The Dealer reveals the Difficulty chips reflecting the DV,  and then ‘Flips’ the top card of the deck (to Flip a card, reveal the top card of the deck, note its value and suit and immediately discard it). This flipped card’s value is modified by the DV to calculate the Dealer’s final score. 

If the player’s final score is higher, or the scores are a draw, then the attempt is a success. If the Dealer’s final score is higher the attempt is a failure. On a success the player narrates the outcome within the bounds of the previously-established stakes. On a failure the Dealer narrates the outcome within the bounds of those stakes, which may include the PC acquiring injuries and/or losing resources (see Resources, Injury and Dying).

6. Clean up and draw

All of the played and flipped cards are moved to the discard pile (which is face-up). The player secretly draws a replacement card from the top of the deck and adds it to their hand. 

If the deck is ever exhausted, shuffle the discard pile and place it face-down to create a new deck. 

Trump suits

As part of Establishing the stakes (see above), the Dealer will declare one suit trumps for the player before that player plays a card. Each suit (apart from Skulls) is associated with a particular kind of activity or endeavour, and as such will count as the trump suit during associated cardplay:

• Hearts: diplomacy, empathy, relationships, courage
• Diamonds: haggling, business, gambling, negotiations
• Horns: equestrianism, the natural world, survivalism, animals
• Pistols: gunplay, perception, tracking, investigation
• Clubs: brawling, athleticism, intimidation, military matters
• Spades: industry, labour, practical skills, technology and engineering
• Masks: swindling, stealth, subterfuge, evasion 
• Tomes: education, religion and philosophy, medicine, the occult

If the cardplay is opposed by an NPC or another PC, then that opposing character may trump using the same or different suit to the original player - this should be announced by the Dealer before flipping a card. 

In addition to the above, the Skulls suit always counts as trumps for the Dealer and NPCs.

Trumping during cardplay

If a player plays a card of the trump suit, then they may choose whether or not to trump. If the Dealer or a player flips a card of the trump suit then they must always trump. 

Trumping represents a heightening of the stakes - a success will be more cinematic and impressive, while a failure may be more catastrophic. 

To trump, flip the top card of the deck and add its value to your final score (along with that of your original card and any other modifiers). If the flipped card is also of the trump suit, then you must continue this process until the flipped card is not of a trump suit, and add the total value of all cards revealed to your final score.

Example: a PC attempts to shoot a rifle at their enemy, and the Dealer names Pistols as the trump suit. The player plays a 9 of Pistols and chooses to trump, so flips the top card - a 3 of Pistols! This is also a trump suit, and as it was flipped the player does not have a choice and must trump again. The second flipped card is a 5 of Hearts, breaking the streak of trumps. The player's final score is the face value of all three cards combined, for a total of 17. 

Trumping greatly increases the player’s odds of success (or the player’s odds of failure if the Dealer flips a trump card). However it carries with it three risks:

• trumping raises the stakes: if a player chooses to trump but still ultimately fails the test, the consequences of failure should be even more severe than the stakes originally agreed upon. If a Dealer trumps but the player nevertheless succeeds, then that success should come with even greater reward than that originally agreed upon.

• trumping comes at the risk of busting: if all of a trumping player’s cards total to greater than 21 (without any other modifiers), then the player ‘busts’ and their attempt automatically fails. If all of a Dealer’s cards total to more than 21 (without any modifiers), then the Dealer busts and the player’s attempt is automatically successfully. If both the player and Dealer bust, then compare the results as normal to determine success or failure.

• trumping carries the the risk of flipping Skulls cards, which increase the Dealer’s access to Woe (see Skull Cards and Woe).

Example of cardplay

Example: Daisy ‘the Kid’ Hutchins wants to sneak past a guard, to gain entry to the stables without being seen. The Dealer explains that attempting this comes at the risk of being caught, which will force a (possibly violent) encounter with the guard. The Dealer also notes that the trump suit for this attempt is Masks for Daisy (as her success relies on her stealth) and Pistols for the guard (as his success relies on his perception).

The Dealer takes a white Difficulty chip equal to the guard’s Pistols rating of -1, and places it hidden in the centre of the table.

Daisy’s player does not have any Masks cards in hand, but thinks it’s important to succeed so plays a high card of a different suit - a 9 of Hearts. The Dealer reveals the difficulty chip noting the -1 modifier and flips the top card of the deck: an 8 of Clubs. The Dealer has a final score of 7, while Daisy’s player has a score of 9. Daisy is successful, and her player narrates how she distracts the guard by throwing a stone behind him, then is cautious to avoid the light of the lantern while carefully hopping the fence to the stables. Daisy’s player draws a new card to replace her played card, and then a new scene begins in the stables, with the GM narrating Daisy’s surroundings. 

Interplayer conflict

If the conflict is between two PCs, both players play cards as described above face-down and simultaneously, with the Dealer resolving both in any order and the higher score determining success. On a draw, both players flip a card and the higher value is the winner - if the flipped cards result in a further draw, continue flipping until a clear winner is determined.

Both players and the Dealer should work together to establish the stakes and narrate the outcome. Interplayer conflict should only arise with the consent of both players and to drive dramatic tension, and should generally be discussed and agreed to ahead of time. 

NPC vs NPC conflict

Typically there's no need to mechanically resolve the effects of interactions between NPCs, the Dealer can typically just narrate the most appropriate outcome.

Sometimes however, there might be a need to randomise the outcome, for instance if an allied NPC is fighting alongside the Posse when violence breaks out. In these instances, the Dealer should flip the top card of the deck - if it is red then the outcome should be more advantageous to the Posse, if it's black or a Skulls card then the outcome should be whichever is most detrimental to the Posse.

Burning Cards

Some game rules grant players the option of “burning cards”, generally to achieve a powerful effect. Similarly, some game effects may require a character to burn a card as a result of failure (see The Supernatural, Flaws and Invocations).

When a player burns a card, they resolve cardplay as normal, except that they do not draw a replacement card for the one played. Burning a card reduces a PC’s maximum hand size by one, and commensurately reduces their Will score by one (see Resources, Injury and Dying).

Assisting

Whenever a player invokes cardplay, after playing their card another PC in the same scene may burn a card of the same suit or value, and add the value of this card to the played card. If either the original card or card played to assist is a trump suit, then the initiating player may choose to trump. All cards are counted towards busting. 

Only one PC may assist with any single test. An assisting PC may not invoke a Characteristic, Flaw, Trait, or any other game mechanic. 

Remember that players are not allowed to discuss the contents of their hands. 

Next: Skulls cards and Woe

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