TEXT: Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist & 
  Weaver of Their Fates 
   
   
  A Storytelling Game by Jenna Moran 
   
  Introduction 
   
  Reality is an illusion. 
   
  Those who seek to understand it corrode their understanding of it. In naïveté, 
  objects are solid, ideas are true or false, sensations are real, and 
  communication conveys information. To the adept, these things are as fading 
  dreams. 
   
  There is no object that is not also emptiness. 
   
  There is no arbiter of truth. 
   
  Sensations are the lies of Maya; they are the shifting of electrical patterns in 
  the brain; they are signifiers without referent. 
   
  Communication is violence. 
   
  Reality is false. 
   
  It does not matter how many layers one peels back. It does not matter what 
  revelations one has. This is because there is no truth. 
   
  We are things that we have dreamed, and there is no sense in it, and when the 
  sleeper wakes we shall be washed away. 
   
  The Jewel of All Desiring 
   
  In a fairy tale land far away, in the dreaming kingdoms, in the land Cal' Ed, the 
  jewel of all desiring has been lost. 
   
  This jewel is that sleeper that dreams inwards, that inverted oyster, that 
  creature that we name God the Shaper, God the Maker, Lord--- 
  
   
  And it has not yet begun to shape the world. 
   
  The jewel is a pearl of infinite layers and subtleties and its possessor may 
  obtain everything that they desire. 
   
  For uncounted æons it was in the hands of the Kings and Queens of Raif. 
   
  Never did they wish. 
   
  Never did they fulfill the destiny of the jewel. 
   
  Who would want to obtain everything that one desires? 
   
  The Journey 
   
  From the ranks of the people the wishers and their companions have been 
  raised up--- 
   
  To seek among the fairies; 
  the dragons of the deeps; 
  the ur-toads and the claw things; 
  among the shadows on the sun and the ghosts beneath the world, 
  and in the lands of humankind besides 
  for the jewel of all desiring. 
   
  One of you must be the wisher---  
   
  Must find the jewel and command the Creator to make the world as you desire 
  it. And if you should succeed, then the world shall always have been as you 
  wish it, and your life a thing sprung of your own desiring; and if you should fail 
  then you shall be forgotten like the tides. 
   
  
  Cast of Characters 
  Wishers 
  Wishers are people worth believing in. 
   
  They're the kinds of people whom you can trust to wish up a good world. 
  They're good at understanding the needs of others and they're good at inspiring 
  others to follow their dream. 
   
  To win an unambiguous victory in this game, you need one of your wishers to 
  find the jewel and have it grant them the world of their desire. It's not that 
  they're the only ones who can do this---the jewel will grant any one person's 
  desires. It's that they're the ones whom the rest of you, at least when the story 
  begins, can trust to desire good and true things for the world. 
   
  Wishers focus on the Attribute Harmony. This gives them a supernatural or 
  near-supernatural ability to win hearts and minds, reconcile divergent ideas, 
  and share their vision of the world with others. It gives them the power to 
  answer the important questions, and with it the duty to set a path for events 
  and resolve moral quandaries.  
   
  Theurgists 
  Theurgists are people who can light the hidden fires in the world. 
   
  They could be angels, wizards, fairies, or little gods. They could be holy men or 
  women. They are those who have the power to lift others up into light or cast 
  them down into shadow. 
   
  The theurgists do not desire the jewel for themselves--- at least, not at first, 
  and not aloud.  
   
  Their goal is to forge the wishers into the kinds of people who are worthy to 
  give unto God the purpose for this world; into heroes worthy of the wishes that 
  shall define the world. Their goal is to judge the wishers and make them ready 
  for their task--- and only then to ensure their success. 
   
  Not even the theurgists, of course, are immune to the wishers' charm. 
   
  Theurgists focus on the Attribute Insight, giving them supernatural or near-
  supernatural ability to see hidden possibility in the world and make it into 
  truth. They wield this power to test others, to bring an end to evil and 
  suffering, and to remove such practical obstacles as stand in their way. 
   
  
  Fatalists 
  Fatalists are those who know the secrets of the world. 
   
  They are scholars. They are prophets. They are experts--- founts of knowledge 
  and confidence. 
   
  The role of the fatalist on this journey is cruel. It is something of a purpose 
  that they must educate the wishers, warn them, and share with them the 
  secret truths of the dreaming kingdom. But this is not why they seek the Jewel. 
   
  To win an unambiguous victory in this game, you need one fatalist to survive 
  and agree to become the firmament of the world; and more, the wisher must 
  willingly sacrifice that fatalist in the world's creation. The person who becomes 
  the firmament of the world is torn apart, unraveled, laid bare down to the 
  bones of their soul and made into the structure of all reality. It is their lore and 
  their knowledge and the order with which they approach their lives that 
  become the order and basis for the world itself. 
   
  Any character can become this structure; it's not limited to fatalists. But it is 
  the fatalists' belief that only someone such as a fatalist can do it well. And if it 
  is not done, and done well, then the world shall remain in some part fantasy; 
  in some part dream; in some part lie--- as the doomful sages of the world 
  suggest it is already. 
   
  Fatalists focus on the Attribute Knowledge, giving them a supernatural or near-
  supernatural understanding of the truths of the world. They may speak for the 
  past, the present, and the future when others' inner eyes are blind. 
   
  The Weaver 
  The Weaver is that player who weaves the fortunes of the world and manages 
  the players of the game. 
   
  One among you is this creature.  
   
  It is immanent in one of the wishers, theurgists, or fatalists who travel at your 
  side. It lurks behind their eyes. 
   
  It is a curse to be the Weaver. 
   
  Of all the creatures in the world, only that one indwelt by the Weaver cannot 
  use the Jewel of All Desiring. 
   
  Of all the creatures in the world, only that one indwelt by the Weaver cannot 
  become the firmament. 
  
   
  And it is often seen that the one indwelt is still, quiet, unwilling or unable to 
  step up to the burdens and the tasks near at hand; possessed by a strange 
  queer lassitude that holds them back from solving the problems of this world. 
   
  It is the Weaver's job to run the game. 
   
  Your Character 
  You will control one of the protagonists of this story--- one wisher, one fatalist, 
  or one theurgist, and potentially the Weaver. Much of your contribution to the 
  story will manifest through this character and their actions and decisions. 
   
   
  Cast of Players 
  You 
  We will not explain who you are at length. You should already know who you 
  are. If you are an object or a philosophical zombie, you should avoid playing 
  this game if at all possible. 
   
  The Other Players 
  Make note of the other people nearby who appear to be playing this game. 
  These are the other players. They are nakama. They are cheap labor. Their 
  desires and choices are chaotic input to your story. They are those who will 
  provide ideas you would not have had. They are those who will stand beside 
  you shouldering the work of the story.  
   
  From them you will distill the warm glow of shared experience. 
   
  Recognize that the other players lack your own enlightenment regarding this 
  game; they will never see everything in it that you see, but rather babble 
  aimlessly regarding their own distinct visions. Serve as an attentive witness to 
  these visions but do not expect them to match your own. 
   
  
  Planets and Stars 
   
  Planets and stars help you play. 
   
  Some people argue that ancient astronauts mined various magical planets to 
  acquire the secrets of how to play WTF. Others disagree. 
   
  You'll find more details on these planets — including two mystery planets seen 
  only during eclipses — in the first supplement for WTF. 
   
  Example Planet 
  
  Attributes and Skills 
  Players in WTF have the following core Traits--- 
   
   Attributes —  
   
  These are 
   
  Harmony  
  (the spirit and charisma of the wisher) 
  Insight 
  (the capacity to perform theurgy) 
  Knowledge (the lore of the fatalist) 
   
  These are supernatural spiritual abilities, and each is rated from 0 to 5. 
   
   Powers —  
   
  These are 
   
  Creatures 
  (power that governs living things) 
  Law 
   
  (power that governs physical and moral law) 
  People 
  (power that governs people and their societies) 
  Self 
   
  (power that governs the self) 
  Substance 
  (power that governs the physical substance of the world) 
  Shadow 
  (power over the shadow that dwells behind the world) 
   
  These are skills rated from 0 to 5 that focus the player's ability to use 
  their supernatural Attributes. 
   
  Specialty Powers —  
   
  Each character also has 0 or more "specialty" powers as defined by their 
  player. 
   
  Attributes 
  Harmony 
   
  Harmony fits you together with other people. You can use it to persuade, to 
  charm, to be the moral center of a group. Most importantly you use it when 
  forging consensus among disparate voices and making people happy with the 
  choices you advocate. 
   
  It is the character with harmony who explains what people should believe--- 
  what is right, what is valuable, what is worthwhile. 
  
   
  It is always valuable to believe what a character with high Harmony says, but it 
  is not necessarily correct. Thus one may say to a wisher, 
   
  "Your vision of the world inspires me--- but I fear it is not truth." 
   
  Wishers rely on the Harmony Attribute. 
   
  Deceptive Harmony 
  Harmony gives way to discord when someone lies about what is right and what 
  is valuable and what is good.  
   
  A wisher becomes a creature of shadow when they begin to tell people that 
  that which is not right, is right; that that which they should not believe, they 
  should believe; that that which is invidious and without value is exalted and 
  beneficent. 
   
  As you'll see later, any player can declare a wisher deceptive, but this can 
  have unpleasant consequences. 
   
  Insight 
  Insight is the power to see hidden truths through a deep understanding of the 
  cosmos--- and then to bring them forth, essentially making them true. 
   
  It is the character with Insight who decides how things should be--- 
   
  What should happen; 
  What the rules mean; 
  What fundamental truth lies behind a certain disputed event. 
   
  That which Insight declares in its power is indisputable in fact, but as it is a 
  thing created by the theurgist it is disputable in interpretation. That is, one 
  may say to a theurgist, 
   
  "It is true, what you say, but bitter and wrong that you have made it so." 
   
  Theurgists rely on the Insight Attribute. 
   
  Corrupt Insight 
  Insight gives way to corruption when someone begins to shape the "shoulds" of 
  the world in a fashion not in accordance with their own beliefs. 
   
  
  A theurgist who makes true a thing they do not believe should be true is a 
  creature inherently deluded, monstrous, and sinful. They do not believe those 
  truths they speak, when they are true. Thus they are deluded. They wield the 
  insight of their kind against the world, wounding it, corrupting its nature. Thus 
  they are monstrous. They betray the very nature of Insight by arguing it falsely. 
  Thus they are sinful. 
   
  Such a theurgist falls and becomes a creature of the shadow. 
   
  As you'll see later, the Weaver and only the Weaver decides when a theurgist is 
  corrupt, and this can have unpleasant consequences. 
   
  Knowledge 
  Knowledge is the power to understand the world as it is--- to know the facts of 
  it and to see what will happen if no theurgist changes it. 
   
  It is the character with Knowledge who tells people the lore of the world; the 
  paths they are on; the secrets of the dreaming kingdoms; the destinies and 
  curses and taboos and blessings that cluster about every soul. 
   
  That which the character of Knowledge explains is the true lore of the world of 
  this game, but it does not necessarily relate to what happens and it does not 
  necessarily relate to what anyone else believes. Thus, a theurgist might answer 
  a fatalist thus: 
   
  "You say I am doomed to die. So be it! I am doomed. But I shall circumvent this 
  fate; death shall not find me." 
   
  And a wisher might answer them thus: 
   
  "You say that three times these people will betray us; and if you say it, then no 
  doubt it shall be so. But it is worth the risk of trusting them, nevertheless, for 
  there is that inside them that is worthy of our trust." 
   
  Knowledge and the Truth 
  It's possible that someone in your group--- e.g., the Weaver or the person with 
  WTF open to the right page--- knows the canonical truth about something. 
   
  For example, the ur-toads aren't actually toads. 
   
  If someone wants to use their Knowledge to find out whether ur-toads are 
  toads, then it might be useful to ask, say, you, since you're looking at or 
  remembering that information right this very second. 
   
  
  As you'll see later, however, it's completely up to your group and how you play 
  whether trying to find out the "right answer" is obligatory--- the other option is 
  that the player who uses Knowledge successfully simply decides what they're 
  going to say the truth is. 
   
  Destructive Knowledge 
  To deny Knowledge is to destroy the world. 
   
  Beyond the dreaming kingdoms there is a darkness, a shadow, a thing insidious 
  to fable, a curse on all desire, a corruption upon knowledge. 
   
  Should a character deny their Knowledge and begin to preach a lore they do 
  not believe is true, they become a gateway through which the nature of the 
  world is lost. They become a devourer of truth, and those things they do not 
  say are banished from the world. 
   
  It is a delicate matter, determining what is known. As you'll see later, only the 
  player of a character can declare their own lore false and deny their 
  Knowledge--- even if everyone else thinks they're making up nonsense and 
  calling it things they "know." To declare that one's own lore is destructive can 
  have unpleasant consequences. 
   
  Powers 
  There are six standard Powers. Each measures your ability to use Harmony, 
  Insight, and Knowledge in the relevant domain. 
   
  When you use one of your Powers with Harmony, you change how people ought 
  to act or think about something that falls under the Power's Domain. Both the 
  Power rating and your Harmony rating contribute to success. 
   
  When you use one of your Powers with Insight, you make something under that 
  Power's domain more like you feel it should be. Both the Insight rating and the 
  Power rating contribute to success. 
   
  When you use one of your Powers with Knowledge, your Knowledge tells you 
  about something under that Power's domain. Both the Knowledge rating and 
  the Power rating contribute to success. 
   
  We will explain this using an example — Self. 
   
  Self measures your power over your own potential. 
   
  When you combine the Self Power with Harmony, you change how others ought 
  to see you and what they should do about you. 
  
   
  When you combine the Self Power with Insight, you make yourself more like 
  what you believe you should be. 
   
  When you combine the Self Power with Knowledge, you learn about yourself. 
   
  Creatures 
  Creatures measures your power over the strange creatures of the world--- 
  monsters, animals, even angels. 
   
  Law 
  Law measures your power over the law of the world: the physics, the magic, 
  the order of the firmament that some fatalist will hopefully become. 
   
  People 
  People measures your power over the civilized and barbaric peoples. 
   
  Self 
  Self measures your power over yourself and your own potential. 
   
  Shadow 
  Shadow is unusual--- most characters, as you'll see, won't start the game able 
  to use the Shadow Power. It measures your power over the shadows that 
  threaten the world--- deceptive harmony, corrupt insight, fallen Weavers, and 
  destructive knowledge. 
   
  Substance 
  Substance measures your power over the substance of the world--- the 
  mountains, the pyramids, the sky, the magic swords, the jewels. 
   
  Specialty Powers  
  Specialty Powers are unique areas where your power is strong--- such as 
  genealogy, fire, or the sea.  
   
  If you have a high Insight and a high Genealogy, for example, it is easy for you 
  to say, "This person commands all the royal virtues: they must be the secret 
  heir to the royal line of Raif," and have it be so. Conversely, a high Knowledge 
  
  and a high Genealogy would save you the effort of theurgy, as you would 
  already know where the secret heir to the line of Raif resides. 
   
   
  Gifts 
  A Gift is a character trait with relevance in the world. 
   
  Each Gift is a narrative truth--- a sentence or two describing a feature of the 
  character. 
   
  It has three associated Qualities--- Truth, Mechanical Support, and Valence. 
   
  We will explain these Qualities through the example of Susan. Susan was a 
  princess of Raif until she rejected court life to become a reclusive 
  swordswoman living in the mountains. The loss of the jewel has drawn her out 
  of seclusion. 
   
  She has a Gift: 
   
  "Susan is extraordinary with the blade, but does not like to kill."  
  Truth 
  This measures the truth of the Gift--- how real it is. 
   
  Weak Truth. A Gift that is "weak" in its truth is not necessarily grounded in 
  anything in the game. Maybe Susan isn't really all that good with the blade. 
  Maybe she just thinks she doesn't like to kill, and in fact just hasn't given it 
  enough of a chance.  
   
  Who knows? 
   
  I mean, ultimately, a Gift is just some words that somebody wrote down, it 
  doesn't necessarily mean it's real. 
   
  Strong Truth. A Gift that is "strong" in its truth is all but written in the book of 
  the world--- an axiom of creation, a primal cause, a thing that makes ordinary 
  rocks and trees pale into corollaries and lemmas. There is nothing more true or 
  indisputable than this. Susan is extraordinary with the blade. She does not like 
  to kill. A, as John Galt might say, is A. 
   
  Ordinary Truth. If a Gift isn't weak or strong in its truth, it's basically as true 
  as anything else. Like, that thing over there that is true? It's as true as that. 
  There's no confusion here--- Susan is a darn fine swordswoman, and killing is 
  icky--- but the mountains won't tumble and the sky won't break if it turns out 
  
  looking back on everything after the game that her extraordinariness or 
  reluctance were a contingent perception. 
   
  Mechanical Support 
  This measures the degree to which the rules of the game support the use of 
  that Gift to differentiate between outcomes. 
   
  Weak Mechanical Support. A Gift with "weak" mechanical support has no clear 
  and specific meaning in play. Sure, Susan is extraordinary with the blade, but 
  that doesn't mean she can automatically win fights or anything. Sure, she's a bit 
  reluctant to kill, but there's nothing to indicate that she'll be haunted if she 
  does. Basically, it just doesn't come up very often. 
   
  That doesn't mean that it's not true. 
   
  I mean, if it ever comes down to whether Susan is extraordinary with the blade 
  like in an extraordinary bladeswomanship contest, she still gets to win. And if 
  there's ever a question of "did you feel reluctant there?" you as the player can 
  definitely say, "Yes, Susan felt reluctant to kill that guy." 
   
  But it means that when you say "I'm extraordinary with this blade," it doesn't 
  necessarily do you any good against falling trees, werewolves, dynamite, guns, 
  emotional trauma, or fights where there's any reason to think that 
  extraordinary bladework might not help. In short, weak mechanical support 
  makes it possible for Susan to be a "faux action girl," whose immense skill only 
  comes up now and again to make it all the more amazing how often she loses 
  or needs someone else's help to fight. 
   
  Strong Mechanical Support. A Gift with "strong" mechanical support, on the 
  other hand, is practically an "I win" button in play. Not only do circumstances 
  generally come up that favor the application of the Gift, but you can use the 
  Gift freely in contexts where it normally wouldn't apply. 
   
  "But how did you tame those bulls so quickly, Susan?" the hapless townfolk 
  might ask, and you can sheath your blood-red sword and flash a grin and 
  answer, "I'm extraordinary with the blade--- 
   
  "But I do not like to kill." 
   
  Ordinary Mechanical Support. If a Gift isn't weak or strong in its mechanical 
  support, then it should come up some of the time, be useful or at least 
  meaningful in most of those cases. Further, there should be opportunities to 
  consciously leverage the Gift, making it relevant or useful when it otherwise 
  would not have been. Susan, for instance, could reasonably expect to win most 
  straight-up swordfights; that there would be fights (straight-up or otherwise) 
  
  that she would win; and that if she were aggressively boisterous, she could 
  increase the frequency of both fights and victories at the cost of opportunities 
  for more peaceful resolutions. Sometimes refusing to kill her enemy (or 
  mourning enemies she does kill) should put her in a tight spot, but it has 
  beneficial karmic or emotional repercussions that improve her overall life 
  effectiveness. 
   
  Valence 
  This measures the degree to which the Gift matters. 
   
  Weak Valence. A Gift with weak valence is unable to shift the weight of 
  destiny or morality. For example, if Susan's Gift has weak valence, then 
  ultimately she can't become successful with her sword or her scruples--- she 
  can win battles but not wars. As soon as she draws her sword she concedes the 
  larger fight--- at best, she can keep things from getting worse. 
   
  Strong Valence. A Gift with strong valence has the power to create good 
  outcomes--- both in the sense of abstract virtue and in the sense of matching 
  the player's desires. For example, if Susan's Gift has strong valence, and she 
  duels a terrible enemy and then spares their life, she can reasonably expect 
  something good to come out of it. The enemy repents, or reveals the truth 
  about a darker plan, or at least admits defeat and doesn't bother her again. 
   
  Ordinary Valence. A Gift with ordinary valence can and sometimes does 
  produce good outcomes--- but sometimes it produces bad ones, or solves an 
  immediate problem without putting a dent in the larger situational conflict. 
  Basically, using the Gift is sometimes futile, sometimes fruitful, and often in 
  between. 
   
  General Notes 
  A typical Gift is ordinary in two respects and weak in one--- short on truth, 
  mechanical support, or valence. Each character will begin with one Gift of 
  superior caliber: ordinary in two respects and strong in another. 
   
  It is not possible without the use of supernatural Attributes to have a Gift that 
  is strong in two or more respects. 
   
   
  
  The Fatalists' Book: 
  What Is 
  Core Truths (of the Setting) 
  These are the only things you must understand about the setting of WTF. 
   
  Resolving Disputes 
  If the players disagree regarding something about the setting, 
  . . . and it's difficult to reach consensus at the player level, 
  . . . and at least one person isn't interested in arguing the matter further, 
   
  then every player has the option of making a Knowledge roll. This is optional 
  and you should make this roll if you feel you have a strong opinion. 
   
  Treat the player with the highest Knowledge roll as correct. 
   
  If nobody rolls, then everyone should consider their own opinion correct, 
  remember that others may disagree, and move on. 
   
  What if I Can't Roll? 
  The rules for players making rolls are not part of the setting. 
   
  Nothing in the setting, by definition, can prevent a player from making a 
  Knowledge or Insight roll. Nothing in the setting can affect or supersede the 
  rules governing these rolls' results. 
   
  That means that if something about the dispute prevents you from making a 
  Knowledge roll and having its result stand--- e.g., it's a dispute about how many 
  dice you can roll in Knowledge rolls--- it's a rules problem, not a setting 
  disagreement, by definition, and you need the dispute resolution rules in the 
  Theurgists' Book. 
   
  Clear? 
  If you're clear on what to do if people disagree, does it really matter whether 
  you've got the rest of the setting right or wrong? 
   
   
   
  
  Ketu, the Contemplation Planet 
   
  Ketu, The Contemplation Planet 
   
  Ketu is the dragon's tail. It is an invisible planet, one of two key secret planets 
  studied in Vedic astrology. 
   
   
  Prameya and Danda 
  Much like games of Cowboys and Indians or improvisational theater, stories told 
  in WTF are constructs of the abstract substance Prameya. This is the narrative 
  substance from which stories are built and the fundamental matter-equivalent 
  for the dreaming kingdoms. Initially present in imperceptible unkindled forms 
  Prameya accumulates layers of Danda — corroborative evidence — before 
  finally becoming visible to the mind. Then it becomes a fictional world, events 
  in that world, the meaning of those events, and the story constructed from 
  those events. 
   
  Personal contemplation of the dreaming kingdoms, the attempt to witness “the 
  genuine thing,” is the source of factual data regarding the world of the game. 
  Unwitnessed data might in theory exist, but no one has ever witnessed it in the 
  act of existing. Thus all Knowledge comes from contemplation and falls under 
  the auspices of the planet Ketu. 
   
  Dreaming the Dreaming Kingdoms 
  Here is how to contemplate WTF. 
   
  Decide that you want to open your mind to the infinite wonders of this game 
  and choose an appropriate revelation tool. 
   
  Each revelation tool is a mandala through which the dreaming kingdoms can 
  awaken your mind to their presence. Here are the standard components of 
  these mandalas. 
  Contemplation Planet 
  
  Revelation Star 
   
  This star represents a construct of Prameya.1 It comes in the following types: 
  Factual Star 
   
  Factual stars represent something real and concrete — who your character 
  really is, what the story actually means, what's really going on in the game 
  world. Start your mandala with a factual star if you wish to contemplate actual 
  truth! 
   
  Roleplaying Star 
   
  Reveal the truth of WTF by playing WTF! These stars are the illumination you 
  bestow on others. 
   
                                           
  1 The danda planet has nothing to do with the planets that help you play. I mean, except in 
  that it is a planet, and it helps you play. But it's not, like, Mars or Pluto or anything. 
  Play Star 
  Play! 
  Revelation and Danda 
   
  Factual Star 
  TRUE 
  
  Authority Star 
   
  Sometimes the Weaver or a theurgist tells you what should be true in WTF. This 
  is like a celestial light that illuminates the Prameya of your mind. When you 
  filter this celestial revelation and interpret it in the context of your own 
  understanding, that's an authority star! 
   
  Enlightenment Star 
   
  An enlightenment star opens your inner eye to the vistas of the dreaming 
  kingdoms. You will see the truth of things--- the kingdoms, the story, even the 
  true meanings behind how the other players choose to play. 
   
  Shadow Star 
   
  The shadow star casts a pleasing darkness over your inner eye, sheltering you 
  from unpleasant truths. Where the shadow passes certainty fades, revelation 
  becomes falsehood, and insight turns cold! 
   
  Shadow Star 
   
  Enlightenment Star 
  ! 
  Authority Star 
  RIGH
  T 
  
  Gold Star 
   
  The only way to truly understand WTF is to communicate with the other 
  players. This allows you to use them as chaotic input to the development of 
  your own desires.  
   
  Sift through others' statements for ideas that prove useful to you and receive 
  the shining gold star of revelation! 
   
  Personal Revelations 
  Personal Tool 
   
   
  You can use this tool when enlightenment beckons — even when you're alone! 
  Gold Star 
  ? 
  Factual Star 
  TRUE 
  Enlightenment Star 
  ! 
  Understanding 
   
   
  The story 
  unfolds like a 
  flower. 
  
  Corroborative Tool 
   
  You can use this tool to develop ideas more efficiently in play. 
   
  Organized Revelations 
  Illumination Tool 
   
  Communication 
   
  ekoham bahu 
  syam 
  Understanding 
   
  The story unfolds 
  like a flower. 
  Communication 
   
      ekoham bahu 
  syam 
   
  Gold Star 
  Acquire a new piece of 
  evidence from the 
  communicated 
  experience of other 
  players. 
  Factual Star 
  TRUE 
  ? 
  Enlightenment Star 
  !
   
   
  Receptivity 
   
  Open yourself 
  to WTF. 
  Understanding 
   
  The story unfolds 
  like a flower. 
  Authority Star 
  Receive illumination 
  from the Weaver, a 
  theurgist, or other 
  authority. 
  Factual Star 
  TRUE 
  RIGH
  T 
  Enlightenment Star 
  !
   
   
  
  You can use this revelation tool to receive enlightenment from others. 
  WTF Tool 
   
   
  You can use this enlightenment tool to develop complex understandings of this 
  game in play. 
   
  Receptivity 
   
  Open yourself 
  to WTF. 
  Communication 
   
  ekoham bahu syam 
  Factual Star 
  TRUE 
   
  RIGH
  T 
   
  ? 
  Enlightenment Star 
  ! 
  Authority Star 
  Receive illumination 
  from the Weaver, a 
  theurgist, or other 
  authority. 
  Gold Star 
  Acquire a new piece of 
  evidence from the 
  communicated 
  experience of other 
  players. 
  Receptivity 
   
  Open yourself 
  to WTF. 
  Understanding 
   
  The story unfolds 
  like a flower. 
  
  Additional Setting Information 
  On Kindled and Unkindled People 
  The nothingness that preceded the dreaming kingdoms was not the void but 
  rather a fructile ocean of Prameya: the fundamental abstract energized 
  material, previously mentioned, that suffuses the substrate and weft of pre-
  cognized existence. Imperceptible to the mind and body, creating neither 
  sense-impressions nor false conceptions, this Prameya presents itself to the 
  consciousness in an "unkindled" form. 
   
  What causes this to change and births the kingdoms? 
   
  As prameya lingers and brushes against the mind it creates a kind of "heaviness" 
  or "weight" of impending experience. As it impinges thus it orchestrates an 
  accumulation of danda until the looming possibility of its presence crosses a 
  threshold; then, suddenly! It tips from non-being into being. 
   
  It "kindles" into existence. 
   
  The dreaming kingdoms thus divide into kindled and unkindled things: things of 
  prameya, existing only by implication, and things of substance, existing in fact. 
   
  Look around! 
   
  The dreaming kingdoms are in good part empty. There are the marks of life and 
  the signs of habitation. There are tilled fields and cleaned or dirtied streets. 
  There is smoke in the air and trees that have fallen. But somewhere between 
  one third and two thirds of the population is effectively absent. They do not 
  exist. They evade the census: even the estimate of their numbers could be 
  wildly imprecise. The studies of the sages falter in their presence, become 
  bogged down with uncertainty and confusion. They are lacking the details and 
  sensory evidence that would cement their existence in the mind. 
   
  Many people are born in the pains of their mother's or their maker's labor. Many 
  others kindle--- 
   
  They were not.  
  Then they flared into existence.  
  Now, they are. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  Even weak Truth has a profound impact on the unkindled; strong Truth can 
  destroy or kindle them. 
  
   
  Kindling is governed by the Law Power. 
  Kindled and unkindled people are governed by the People Power. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Construe the existence of the unkindled as an implication of certain and 
  provable failure on the part of the wisher to construct a solid firmament. 
  Perhaps their fatalist will be inadequate, or they themselves will become 
  corrupt, or they are fated never to locate the jewel at all. 
   
  At the same time recognize that the unkindled are potential evidence for 
  almost any hypothesis---an undefined space necessary to prevent paradox 
  during any construction of the world. 
   
  Humans and Creatures 
  The law of the world is this: 
   
  False conceptions, wrong ideas, and ethical crimes--- 
   
  When pursued with sufficient passion--- 
   
  Transform humans into creatures.  
   
  Thus in this world there are dragons and chimerae and all manner of great 
  beasts. Some kindle into existence from nothing and therefore have no clear 
  origin. A few represent the natural proceeds of two unnatural creatures 
  mating. But most of them evolve or devolve from humanity. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  Transformation is a risk attendant on Gifts with weak Valence, on associating 
  with the shadow, and on playing this game in an incorrect fashion. 
   
  This process is governed by the Law Power. 
  Animals and great beasts are governed by the Creatures Power. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Construe most transformed creatures as manifestations of a rival moral 
  framework that threatens the correctness of the wishers' ideas. 
   
  
  Treasures 
  There are magical treasures in this world, rare in the lives of ordinary people 
  but common enough in the lives of heroes.  
   
  Treasures are objects or animals moved to powerful emotion by the practices 
  of humanity, which emotion causes them to take on power and sentience. 
  Some admire humanity and become living tools, artifacts that act more as 
  allies than as treasures. Others are shamed by human failure and become great 
  weapons or powerful treasures to redress that failure. Some are disgusted by 
  humanity and become cursed demon-treasures that bring all manner of sorrow. 
   
  Thus a key that opens any door might love the lifestyle of thieves and cat 
  burglars, thrilling to their adventures in the night. It might be the grief-scarred 
  transformation of a key that failed to open its owner's lock when he or she was 
  pursued by killers to their door. It might be a hateful item that thinks humanity 
  unworthy, slowly revealing its powers to unlock greater and greater means of 
  travel, until at last it leads its pawn/wielder to the chains that bind down the 
  demon Cescer 'Cen. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  Transformed objects relate to characters through the characters' Gifts. Because 
  they do not change the Valence of those Gifts, they typically reinforce it--- a 
  magic sword makes weak Valence even more of a curse and strong Valence 
  even more useful. At other times an object harbinges a change in Valence: if a 
  wisher, for example, causes a Gift to become more meaningful, their wish 
  might manifest through an object that becomes a treasure. 
   
  The process of transformation is governed by the Law Power. 
  Treasures are governed by the Substance Power. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Construe most treasures as reinforcing or defying a moral framework, typically 
  reinforcing a hostile framework or defying a wisher's ideas. 
   
  Beyond the Edge of the World 
  It is said by the fatalists that the kingdoms of the world are like its people---as 
  much unkindled as kindled. That beyond the edge of the world are endless 
  unkindled places, and that the places that are burst into being through the 
  same process that kindles life. 
   
  
  Further, the fatalists say2, that unkindled remnant is endless--- if only half the 
  world is missing now, and should later be born into existence, still, when that 
  is done, half the world shall remain to be.  
   
  The finiteness of the is not yet is dwarfed by the infinity of could yet be. 
   
  Be that as it may: be there Prameya beyond the world or only emptiness and 
  stars: 
   
  There is something else beyond the boundaries of the world. 
   
  There is a shadow. 
   
  And if that shadow is not kindled yet--- for it is not, most fatalists believe--- 
  then still it is as real as any kindled thing.  
   
  It is not "outside" the world in the sense that outside is a place. Rather, it is a 
  condition of its existence that it lies outside the world's great boundaries. 
   
  It is a corruption that eats at the dreaming kingdoms. 
   
  It is an unrealized paradox, a desperate evil, a darkness that hungers to destroy 
  every realized thing. 
   
  Is it a flaw in the desiring of the wisher? 
   
  Is it the corrosive possibility that the Jewel is lost, that God does not exist, 
  that the world will die before it is ever made? 
   
  It is both these things, and more. It is everything and anything that will prove 
  the falsehood of the wisher's path. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  Don't play WTF when operating heavy machinery. Use caution when playing 
  WTF while tired, drunk, or punchy, as it may increase the chance that the 
  shadow lurking beyond the edge of the world shall immure you all in timeless 
  misery. If you are or think you might be pregnant, talk to your doctor about 
  playing WTF.2 
   
  The Law Power governs the conceptual boundaries of the world. 
  The Substance Power governs the physical boundaries of the world. 
  Only the Shadow Power governs the shadow beyond the world. 
   
                                           
  2 Just ask them! 
  
  Moral Implications 
  The shadow is a moral implication, but does not have one. Construe events 
  accordingly. 
   
  The Civilized Peoples 
  In the central and southern regions of the dreaming kingdoms there are well-
  civilized lands. There is the great jewel city Tin 'An, sprawling miles in every 
  direction, with towers nearly tall enough to catch the sun. There are hamlets 
  and towns of every sort and character. There are roads, and when the sun spins 
  right some few of them have railways. There are iron factories that spit forth 
  soot. 
   
  In the kingdoms of the civilized peoples there are mysteries and laws. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  Civilized peoples will judge the characters and then kill, imprison, assimilate, 
  or reject them. If rejection occurs alone (that is, without any other material 
  threat) then it is paired with an unfavorable moral implication. 
   
  The People Power governs the civilized peoples and is useful in mitigating the 
  dangers of civilization. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  This is the central mystery of the civilized peoples--- 
   
   
  The law may be wrong 
   
   
  yet bring a greater good. 
   
  The implication is neutral until the characters either refuse to support the law 
  or refuse to help those that the law would harm. At this point construe their 
  actions as leading in the first case towards chaos and in the second case 
  towards suffering--- or, more generally, to undesirable large-scale and small-
  scale outcomes, respectively. 
   
  Structurally the law works as follows. People have an individual right to life, 
  freedom, and capital. The law recognizes this right but divests certain 
  individuals from its pertinence in the name of common goals and common 
  aspirations, including the concept of rights themselves. 
   
  Typical double-binds encourage the characters to: 
   
   Flee an unjust law but a righteous lawman; 
  
   Hunt a righteous criminal who flees an unrighteous law; 
   Separate the righteous and unrighteous when the law tangles them 
  together; 
   Punish an unjust person whom the law deigns to shield;  
   Prevent someone's efforts to sever righteousness from law; or 
   Decide who must sacrifice for the greater good. 
   
  If a civilized people rejects the characters but does not seek to punish them 
  through murder, imprisonment, or other meaningful harm, construe this as 
  evidence that the characters are unworthy to find the jewel of all desiring and 
  create a just and acceptable world. 
   
  The Savage Lands 
  Beyond the borders of the civilized kingdoms there are savage peoples. 
   
  Their cultures are clean and spare and stripped of artifice. They live in 
  impossible circumstances and deal with impossible troubles. 
   
  Individually and without regret or remorse, the savage tribes pay horrible 
  prices to survive. 
   
  The Zihr abandon their dead for animals to eat. Who knows who among them 
  has corpse bees in their brain, burrowing into their flesh the instant of their 
  death? Better that one body be abandoned to the jackals then the cascading 
  failure of the tribe. 
   
  The Malor have forsaken speech. They use hand gestures to talk and cut the 
  tongues from unwary visitors. They do this lest sentence eaters rise from the 
  mire to devour the Malor young. 
   
  And there are more, infinite such stories--- 
   
   The Ten 'ding expose their infants if they have too many. 
   The Zhi must deny the gods. 
   The Porlair run and sometimes rut with the antelope. 
   The Mei 'li eat insects and spiders, often while still alive.3 
   The Su-tchi maim their men. 
   The Li Leng Mai send everyone older than 30 out of their tribe to die. 
   
  These things are not done from unschooled ignorance; rather they are the 
  evolved compromises made between people and reality. 
   
                                           
  3 Though I guess feeding dead people insects is an even savager custom. 
  
  Practical Matters 
  Savage peoples are like the civilized peoples in that they will judge the 
  characters. However their judgment offers room for strange phenomena 
  passing in and out of their world--- they will not always kill, imprison, 
  assimilate, or reject the characters. The danger may be further reduced by the 
  use of the People Power, which governs even the savage peoples. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Construe the savage peoples as presenting insights that the characters must 
  understand, and will not. This lacuna is problematic both for their ability to 
  actually create the world and for their worthiness to do so; in failing to 
  apprehend the truths at the core of the savage peoples' existence, the 
  characters prove that they will lose their way. 
   
  The characters may fail in any of the following--- 
   
   Finding value in those of savage virtue; 
   Defeating those of savage cruelty; 
   Facing the unintended consequences of actions the characters thought 
  innocuous--- 
   
   That are to a tribe a promise of marriage; 
   That are to a tribe a promise of help; 
   That are to a tribe a commitment to do something; 
   That are to a tribe a commitment to do something impossible; 
   That endanger a tribe; 
   That force change upon a tribe; 
   That bind the characters into a tribe--- 
   
  In recognition of the nature of the lands; and 
   Judging what must be done when niceties and savage realities conflict. 
   
  It is also worth pressing the wisher on why the world of their desiring should 
  require such horrible compromises to survive. 
   
  The Fairies 
  The fairies are not truly kindled--- 
   
  Rather they are as projections cast onto the stage of the world by some 
  firelight behind them, material renderings of an immaterial substance. 
   
  They are not part of what is. The true selves of the fairies are the domains of 
  what should be and what must be. Still, in their courts there is something that 
  
  is, a set of puppets driven by the will of their unkindled minds and souls, 
  creatures affecting life because they can think of nothing better to do, and in 
  whose affectation of life there is such warmth and power and volition as the 
  living creatures have. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  The fairies will attempt to construe the characters as the agents of destiny that 
  will find and wish on the Jewel of All Desiring. 
   
  They will fail on two grounds, causing the characters to lose the game. 
   
  The minor point of failure is that the fairies have a high standard for those to 
  construe as the wisher and companions. The characters may fail to meet this 
  standard  
   
   As inadequate vehicles for the necessary exploration of moral questions; 
   By failing to bring closure to some ancient troubles; 
   By breaking with narrative conventions while achieving certain goals; 
   By failing to achieve those goals within the constraints of narrative 
  conventions; 
   By refusing or failing to bring new troubles to some ancient peace; 
   By failing to prove abstract superiority according to meaningless 
  standards; or 
   In deviating from a necessary script of facing a series of small troubles, a 
  reversal at the edge of victory, the final seizing from the jaws of 
  darkness of a new victory, and a denouement. 
   
  More importantly the fairies will be unable to construe any meaning at all for 
  the characters because the stories of the fairies themselves will remain 
  incoherent and contradictory. 
   
  It's worth stating that we're not talking about players when we bring up all this 
  stuff about exploring moral questions and adhering to narrative conventions. In 
  fact, the fairies are likely to look very poorly on players who inject themselves 
  into these matters--- that's cheating, like when Greek heroes were inextricably 
  fated to suffer or prosper in certain ways and didn't have to actively work at 
  it.4 It's up to the characters to fulfill the fairies' desires, and to do so in a world 
  that explicitly does not bow to narrative conventions; if the players were 
  willing to take care of all the details the fairies probably wouldn't fail to exist. 
  It's up to the characters to make the romantic rules of story work out--- 
   
                                           
  4 "Bah, it doesn't matter if I put him in a casket and push him out to sea, I'm sure if he's 
  supposed to kill me the inexorable workings of fate will arrange for it. Also, outlaw the discus." 
  
  And it's precisely because they can't do that, because reality can't be a perfect 
  story where everything works out, that the wisher's journey is foredoomed. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  You may construe the characters' participation in the stories of the fairies as 
  evidence of a creeping broadening intrusion of irreality into their existence. 
  Their acceptance of narrative causality---the need to accept narrative 
  causality---implies the fundamental nonexistence and contingency of the world 
  in which they live. 
   
  Conversely you may construe the characters' refusal to participate, or failure to 
  participate, in the stories of the fairies as evidence of an incongruity between 
  their actions and the foretold necessities of their actions---an incomplete and 
  incoherent causal structure that also suggests the fundamental nonexistence of 
  the world in which they live. 
   
  Put another way, you can construe knowledge of what should be or what must 
  be as fundamentally corrosive to the independence and self-sufficiency of what 
  is. 
   
  The fairies are governed by the Creatures Power. 
   
  Map of the World 
  In the north there are ziggurats and candied mountains and rivers of pure water 
  and the cascade of Seven Emph and the burning region. 
   
  In the south there is the kingdom Raif and the glory towers and the spark 
  dancers and the plains of Rête and the Star That Fell and the place of wheat 
  and wolves. 
   
  In the center there is the great jewel city Tin 'An and the burrows and the 
  storms of ice and fire. 
   
  In the east there is the curling body of the seven-headed dragon on whose coils 
  boats sail like the sea, and the island fish and Mount Tenubis and the iron stake 
  that balances the sky and the forest of yearning trees. 
   
  In the west there is the glacier Sün Kin and the falling orchard and the river 
  towns and the Citadel at the Edge of the World. 
   
  In the beith there are the careless mountains and the long low hills and the 
  bandit region and the Garden of All Regrets and the balloon people and the 
  hanging gate and the twelve and the City of the Air. 
   
  
  Practical Matters 
  The substance and geography of the world are governed by the Substance  
  Power. Its natural processes are governed by the Law Power. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Of the six major directions only beith is morally fraught. Construe accordingly. 
   
  Under the World 
  There are meadows under the world with the ur-toads in them. These are 
  flooded with golden light and are peaceful places, if one is not eaten. 
   
  Don't get eaten! 
   
  If all of the characters are eaten, you are no longer playing WTF. 
   
  Practical Matters 
  The ur-toads will eat all of the characters, interrupting your session of WTF 
  before you can win the game. 
   
  Also, they are governed by the Creatures Power. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  The ur-toads are majestic and amoral instruments of annihilation!56 
   
  The Shadows on the Sun 
  Above the world there is the sun. 
   
  The sun gives life to the world, but its surface is a great burning lake--- to live 
  on the sun is a torment. 
   
  Great continent-sized fortresses of dark stone drift on the sun: the homes of 
  thieves and blackguards too notorious to live within the dreaming kingdoms. 
  There in that place of suffering they have cool cellars and great riches and ice 
  brought in from the dreaming kingdoms. They transport them there easily, for 
  every fire and every shadow is in potential a gateway to the sun. 
   
                                           
  5 That is, not really. 
  6 Though I guess it is kind of common for ur-toads to take on symbolic resonance over the 
  course of the game! 
  
  Practical Matters 
  The geography of the sun is governed by the Substance Power. 
  The gateways to the sun are governed by the Law Power. 
  The lords of the fortresses are governed by the People Power. 
   
  If the characters visit the sun then they will probably burn up. 
   
  Moral Implications 
  Also they will probably fall in with thieves and bad company. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  The Fatalists' Book: Postscript 
  scrawled over the blank pages where the atlas of the unkindled kingdoms ought to be. 
   
  Declare that you wish to use fatalism. 
   
  Ask one question about the setting. 
  Set a target ranging from 0 to 7. 
  This is the Knowledge result you will need to answer this question with 
  fatalism. 
   
  Make a Knowledge roll and declare your result. 
  OPTIONALLY 
  If another player wishes to use fatalism to answer 
  this question, they may make a Knowledge roll 
  and declare the result. 
  OPTIONALLY 
  The Weaver may answer the question. 
  If the player with the highest result has a result that equals or exceeds the 
  specified target, they have succeeded. 
   
  Whatever answer a player that has succeeded believes to be true is now 
  correct. 
   
  The player who succeeds states the fact of their success. 
  OPTIONALLY 
  Players, particularly any successful player, may 
  now state what they believe the correct answer 
  to be. 
  USING FATALISM 
  
  Knowledge Rolls 
  Here is how to make a Knowledge roll. 
   
  Roll a number of six-sided dice equal to your Knowledge score plus your score 
  in the most relevant Power. 
  If this is "0" dice then roll one die and subtract 1. 
   
  Your result is the highest die rolled. 
  If you roll more than one 6, add +1 to the result for each extra 6 you roll. 
   
  If you are rolling to determine which player has the highest Knowledge result, 
  and there is a tie for highest roll, eliminate all of the players who did not roll 
  the highest result and re-roll. 
   
  Truth 
  Here are some notes on Truth. 
   
  The Truth of a Gift is part of the setting. You can strengthen or weaken the 
  Truth of a Gift with a Knowledge roll and an appropriate question. 
   
   You must warn the other players of this intention when you make your 
  roll. 
   You should set a target of 5 or greater.  
   You must receive the highest result.  
   You must state the answer to the question. 
   You must state the new Truth value for the Gift. 
   
  You may use this ability to remove a Gift's Truth entirely. It retains its normal 
  Valence and Mechanical Support until such time as the author of WTF releases 
  errata formally removing that Gift from your game. 
   
  Creating Gifts 
  Here are some notes on Gifts 
   
  The existence of a Gift is part of the setting. You can create a new Gift for 
  yourself with a Knowledge roll and an appropriate question.  
   
   You must warn the other players of this intention when you make your 
  roll — 
   including a rough description of the Gift you intend to create. 
   You should set a target of 7 or greater.  
   You must receive the highest result.  
   You must state the answer to the question. 
  
   
  The Gift begins with weak Mechanical Support, ordinary Valence, and 
  whichever level of Truth you prefer. 
   
  Destroying Gifts 
  Here are some notes on destroying Gifts. 
   
  You can destroy one of your Gifts with a Knowledge roll and an appropriate 
  question. 
   
   You must have destructive Knowledge. 
   You must warn the other players of this intention when you make your 
  roll. 
   You should set a target of 7 or greater.  
   You must receive the highest result.  
   You must state the answer to the question. 
   
   
  
  The Theurgists' Book: 
  What Should Be 
   
  Core Rules 
  These are the only things you must understand about the rules of WTF. 
   
  Resolving Disputes 
  If the players disagree regarding something about the rules, 
  . . . and it's difficult to reach consensus at the player level, 
  . . . and at least one person isn't interested in arguing further, 
   
  then every player has the option of making an Insight roll. This is optional and 
  you should make this roll if you feel you have a strong opinion. 
   
  Treat the player with the highest Insight roll as correct. 
   
  If nobody rolls, the Weaver states their opinion; treat this as correct. 
   
  What if Some Rule Prevents Me from Making This Roll? 
  You are always allowed to make this roll. This is a rule that transcends all other 
  rules in WTF: if you are not allowed to roll Insight as part of dispute resolution, 
  you are no longer playing WTF. 
   
  What if We Can't Agree on Who Is A Player? 
  All involved parties must stop playing WTF until you agree on who is playing. 
   
  What if We Can't Agree on How to Roll to Resolve a Rules Dispute? 
  First, see if you can get a compromise solution based on group tradition, the 
  Weaver's thoughts, or common sense--- something like, "deciding whether 
  something is Creatures or Law is an Insight roll based on the higher of the two 
  Powers." 
   
  What if We Still Can't Agree on How to Roll to Resolve a Rules Dispute? 
  Every player who chooses to make the roll rolls one six-sided die. The person 
  with the highest number has the highest Insight total. If there is a tie for 
  highest number, eliminate the players with lower numbers and repeat the 
  process with the remaining players.  
  
   
  What if We Still Can't Agree on How to Roll to Resolve a Rules Dispute? 
  If you still cannot come to a consensus on how to resolve rules disputes, you 
  are no longer playing WTF. God knows what you're playing. Probably Hybrid. 
   
  Clear? 
  If you're clear on what to do if people disagree about the rules, does it really 
  matter whether you've got the rest of the rules right or wrong? 
   
   
   
  
  Saturn, the Royal Planet 
   
  Saturn, The Royal Planet 
   
  Saturn is the planet of Kings. It is not an invisible planet but it does have a 
  ring. Around it hangs a haze of recumbent authority. That's Saturn!  
   
  Pramana and Mimamsa 
  Pramana is the quality of Prameya that causes it to move and change. It is the 
  fundamental god-magic of both theurgists and the Weaver---in practical terms, 
  the mantle of authority. 
   
  The theurgist speaks of what should be, and the dream of the dreaming 
  kingdoms changes--- 
   
  Transforms, boils, rekindles into something else. 
   
  For the Weaver it is different. To the Weaver there is only one Prameya that 
  changes according to imperceptible processes within the brain; the Weaver 
  uses Pramana to make manifest in others' dreams the change that has already 
  birthed itself in the Weaver's own. 
   
  Whether this distinction has substance or only arrogance to it is a matter of 
  great attention in the dreaming kingdoms, and many a learned volume of 
  debate. 
   
  Regardless. 
   
  Pramana churns the substance of the dreaming kingdoms, disrupting their 
  forms and accidents with its power. An intercessory element of mimamsa 
  (interpretation) forms, accumulating the danda of the disrupted world and 
  taking on new forms according to the theurgist or Weaver's intention. This 
  mimamsa then "cools" and "sets," becoming the substance of Prameya once 
  again. 
   
  Royal Planet 
  
  One school of thought holds that Pramana is a power not immediately part of 
  the experiential world. It exists only in motion---in the invisible timeless 
  transition states between the reality of one moment and the reality of the 
  next. In this theory Pramana never instantiates as a real thing or substance. 
   
  Another school alleges that Pramana is always an inherent and integral part of 
  what is, an energy that pervades all substance and causes it to live. 
   
  The truth of the matter is indiscernible with the tools available in this game. 
  You might try rolling something using the rules of one of your other RPGs. 
   
  The Power of the Shadow 
  It is the power of the shadow to disrupt danda. 
   
  For the fatalist therefore the shadow is a thing of slow decay---a quiet hungry 
  nonbeing at the edge of the world that slowly unkindles the what is. It is 
  difficult for a fatalist to look at the shadow directly because the experience of 
  the fatalist is conditioned on danda. It requires a peculiar trick of the mind, 
  wherein absence becomes a thing and the disintegration of theory becomes a 
  theory of its own, for a fatalist to fall to the shadow's sway. 
   
  For the theurgist it differs. 
   
  The theurgist is an intimate associate of the shadow because when theurgy and 
  the shadow meet the result is magic gone awry. The theurgist stirs the 
  dreaming kingdoms but mimamsa does not manifest; what is left is a senseless 
  ruin. 
   
  Thus on the one hand the theurgists are the foremost line of defense against 
  the shadow. They cultivate the garden of danda and seek to make the world 
  more real than it was; in so doing they constrain the flexibility of their powers 
  but augment too their force.  
   
  On the other hand the theurgists are the shadow's greatest servants, for they 
  wear a mantle of Pramana and bring change wherever they go. In stillness the 
  shadow gnaws but does not prosper; only in times of great turmoil may it gulp 
  whole chunks of world at once. 
   
  Put another way, the theurgist deals in what should be, and that--- as has been 
  stated before and will be stated again--- is both dangerous and necessary to 
  what is. 
   
  Corrupt Insight 
  The process for the corruption of Insight emerges out of play. 
  
   
  It may so happen that the Weaver declares that another person's Insight is 
  corrupt. 
   
  This initiates a conflict. 
   
  The Weaver and the accused theurgist make Insight rolls. The Weaver has a +2 
  bonus. 
   
  Each success reduces the sense of the world, burning out the coherence and 
  completeness of some element of the game---as if a civilized people were to 
  become fairies, or the sea were to float above the land, or the rules for 
  something were to detach entirely from consequence. This is most like the 
  effects of "weak" Mechanical Support on a Gift: the devastated region appears 
  in theory to retain its attributes but practice contradicts it. 
   
  The classic forms for this reduction are the introduction of a paradoxical or 
  nonsensical element into the world or the loss of the practical impact of a 
  thing. In the first case, fire might become cold; in the second, you might just 
  never notice fire burning or heating anything again. 
   
  Three times--- 
   
  Out of up to five rolls, which may be held in quick succession or over the 
  course of time--- 
   
  Three times the Weaver must win7 to prove their point that the target theurgist 
  is corrupt. If they should do so, it has the following effects: 
   
   The target should write "Corrupt" next to their Insight; 
   The target loses two dice on all future Insight rolls8; 
   The target is no longer bound or obligated in any fashion to honest 
  advocacy when using Insight. They may declare anything they like 
  regarding how things "should be" and use Insight to back that up; 
   If the person who wishes on the Jewel of All Desiring does not explicitly 
  forsake any and all corrupt theurgists and cast them into darkness, you 
  have lost the game. 
   
  The consequences for the theurgist's victory are equally dire. If the theurgist 
  wins three times--- succeeding with the highest result--- the accuser is no 
  longer the Weaver. They are cast down from their exalted place and immured 
  in horrible durance within the world.  
   
                                           
  7 that is, succeed with the highest result 
  8 until reset by the acquisition of a new Insight score the next time you create characters 
  
  The defending theurgist is now the Weaver. 
    
  Destructive Knowledge 
  For fatalists the process of corruption is simpler. 
   
  A fatalist may always declare their own Knowledge destructive. This frees them 
  from their reliance on danda and opens their inner eye to the contemplation of 
  the shadow. 
   
  Fatalists with destructive Knowledge are no longer obligated to report honestly 
  on the world of the game and may delete Gifts from their own character at 
  whim. More generally, they gain the ability to unmake, revise, and retcon the 
  facts of the game to suit their desires and principles. 
   
  And what of the world? 
   
  There is no thing automatically lost when someone declares their Knowledge 
  destructive--- for the shadow is as True a thing as any other. Rather the 
  interpretation of the player's words becomes problematic from that point 
  forward, diminishing the capacity of everyone in the game to clearly distinguish 
  what is True from what is Not. 
   
  Deceptive Harmony 
  The disintegration of Harmony is not so much declared as recognized. When 
  Harmony is lost, it is incumbent upon the group that one player be found to 
  declare another person's Harmony deceptive. 
   
  Divide the players then into two groups--- those who support the contention 
  and those who deny it. 
   
  The accuser rolls a number of dice equal to the number of players who support 
  their contention (including themselves). 
   
  The defender rolls a number of dice equal to the number of players who deny 
  the contention---likely including themselves. 
   
  Except for the change in the number of dice, this functions as a Harmony roll, 
  following the other rules in the postscript to the wishers' book. 
   
  Each success reduces the moral weight of something in the world---burns out 
  its relevance to the search for the Jewel of All Desiring. Dilemmas become 
  meaningless games; horrors become tricks of prose; and pillars of hope and 
  truth become tinny pablum. What had worth and valence becomes set dressing 
  
  for the game. This process is not reversible through Harmony until the struggle 
  ends. 
   
  Three victories again--- 
   
  Out of five rolls--- 
   
  And one side may claim the matter closed. If it is the accuser who wins then 
  the defender has deceptive Harmony. This means the following:  
   
   Construe the defender as an adversary; 
   The defender may make Harmony rolls "from the Shadow's perspective" 
  to advocate virtues the defender does not support; 
   If the defender wishes on the Jewel of All Desiring, the players lose the 
  game. 
   
  If the defender wins, then the attacker is no longer playing WTF. 
   
  
  Additional Rules Information 
  Rules Toys 
  Here is how to achieve something using the rules. 
   
  Declare your intention to achieve something using the rules. The Weaver picks 
  an appropriate rules toy. 
   
  Each rules toy is a conceptual machine built out of rules that tells you what to 
  roll to achieve your objective. Here are the standard components of rules toys. 
  Event Donut 
   
  The event donut represents an event. It comes in the following types: 
  Player-Driven Donut 
   
   
  This event donut represents a player interjection. Every rules toy begins with a 
  player-driven donut to make sure that nobody uses it when there are no players 
  around. 
  Player-Driven Donut 
  P
  Donut Data 
  
  Gold Donut 
   
  This event donut represents a different player's interjection. Some people 
  believe that the Kings and Queens of Raif possess the Pad' Aig rules toy, which 
  features a gold donut. 
    
  Weaver-Driven Donut 
   
  Weaver-driven donuts cause something to happen, but the exact details are up 
  to the Weaver. 
  Roleplaying Donuts 
   
  Roleplaying donuts require the player to satisfy the Weaver or the other players 
  in some fashion before continuing. 
  Gold Donut 
  P
  Roleplaying Donut 
  Play! 
  Weaver-Driven Donut 
  W 
  
  Fatalism Donut 
   
  Fatalism donuts cause something to happen or be true in the world. 
  Straight Connector 
   
   
   
  To follow a straight connector, you make a dice roll. If you succeed, follow the 
  connector; if you fail, follow the connector anyway. 
   
  Use Mechanics rolls to reach Weaver-driven donuts, Confidence rolls to reach 
  fatalism donuts, and Meaning rolls to reach roleplay donuts. If you are playing 
  WTF, you can reach a player-driven donuts automatically, and if you are not, 
  you have no legitimate need for the WTF rules. 
   
  How Dice Rolls Work 
   
  Even the best swordfighters have off days. Even John Galt and Aslan are prone 
  to occasional moral stumbling. Into even the most brilliantly-edited of corpuses 
  the occasional continuity error crawls: and where the brightest banners are 
  raised the greatest causes tend to fall. 
   
  Skill alone is not enough. There is also a random element to the world. 
   
  In roleplaying games such as WTF, the players roll dice to provide or simulate 
  that random element. The numbers on the dice, as modified by fixed factors 
  such as the Truth of a given Gift, determine whether the roll "succeeds" or 
  "fails." 
   
   
  Fatalism Donut 
  F? 
  Roll Description 
  
  Dashed Connector 
   
   
   
  To follow a dashed connector, you make a roll. If you fail, you cannot follow 
  the dashed connector at this time. 
   
  Task-Based Rules Toys 
  Task Toy 
   
   
   
  You can use this rules toy to accomplish a straightforward task using the rules. 
   
  P 
  W 
  Mechanics Roll 
   
   
  Can you succeed 
  at the task? 
  Roll Description 
  
  Tactical Toy 
   
   
  Achieving Tactical Goals in a Conflict 
  You can work on tactical goals in a conflict. Your tactical progress on the 
  declared goal is a number that typically starts at 0. Each time you increase that 
  number you make progress towards your goal. Finally, you apply that progress 
  towards the larger conflict. 
   
  Confidence 
  Roll 
   
  Can you make 
  Progress? 
  Fatalism Donut: 
  Your tactical progress 
  increases by one. 
  F? 
  P 
  Player-Driven Donut: 
  You declare a new 
  tactical goal. 
  W 
  Mechanics       Roll 
   
            
           Did it matter? 
  Confidence 
  Roll 
   
  Can you make 
  Progress? 
  Weaver-Driven Donut: 
  Something happens. 
  
  Outcome-Based Rules Toys 
  Outcome Toy 
   
  You can use this rules toy to achieve a desirable outcome using the rules. 
   
  Meaning Roll 
   
  Is your goal 
  appropriate? 
  Roleplaying Donut 
  Develop and 
  demonstrate an 
  approach. 
  P 
  Player-Driven Donut: 
  You declare a new 
  goal. 
  W 
   Mechanics           Roll 
   
            
           Can you     
  implement your 
  approach? 
  Weaver-Driven Donut: 
  Something happens. 
  Play! 
  
  Strategy Toy 
   
  Achieving Strategic Goals 
  You can work on strategic goals in the game as a whole. Your strategic progress 
  on the declared goal is a number that typically starts at 0. Each time you 
  increase that number you make progress towards your goal. Finally, you exploit 
  that progress. 
   
  Additional Toys 
  Players can discover additional rules toys over the course of the game. 
   
   
  Meaning Roll 
   
  Should you be 
  able to 
  create an 
  opportunity? 
  F? 
  Fatalism Donut: 
  Your strategic progress 
  increases by one. 
  P 
  Player-Driven Donut: 
  You declare a new 
  strategic goal. 
  W 
  Mechanics           
  Roll 
   
       Did it matter? 
  Confidence 
  Roll 
   
  Can you? 
  Weaver-Driven Donut: 
  Something happens. 
  Play! 
  Roleplaying Donut 
  Earn and seize 
  an opportunity! 
  Meaning Roll 
   
  Should you be 
  able to create 
  an opportunity 
  for further 
  progress? 
  
  The Theurgists' Book — Postscript 
  certain mad sages hypothesize a substrate upon which the rules toys rest. 
   
   
  Insight Rolls 
  Here is how to make an Insight roll. 
   
  Roll a number of six-sided dice equal to your Insight score plus your score in 
  the most relevant Power. 
  If this is "0" dice then roll one die and subtract 1. 
  Declare that you wish to use theurgy. 
   
  State that you believe something about the rules, setting, or situation 
  should be the case. 
   
  The Weaver sets a target ranging from 0 to 7. 
  This is the Insight result you will need to apply theurgy and make what you 
  believe should be true, true. 
   
  Make an Insight roll and declare your result. 
  OPTIONALLY 
  If another player wishes to support your 
  statement or state that something different 
  should be the case, they may do so, make an 
  Insight roll, and declare the result. 
   
  If the player with the highest result has a result that equals or exceeds the 
  Weaver-specified target, they have succeeded. 
   
  The setting, rules, and/or situation change such that what the successful 
  player has stated or confirmed should be true is now correct. 
   
  The player who succeeds states the fact of their success. 
  USING THEURGY 
  
   
  Your result is the highest die rolled. 
  If you roll more than one 6, add +1 to the result for each extra 6 you roll. 
   
  If you are rolling to determine which player has the highest Insight result, and 
  there is a tie for highest roll, eliminate all of the players who did not roll the 
  highest result and reroll. 
   
  Mechanical Support 
  Here are some notes on Mechanical Support. 
   
  The Mechanical Support of a Gift is in the domain of theurgy. You can 
  strengthen or weaken it with an Insight roll and an appropriate question. 
   
   You must warn the other players of this intention when you make your 
  roll — 
   including which character this will affect and 
   which Gift you intend to change. 
   The Weaver should set a target of 5. 
   You must receive the highest result.  
   You must state and explain the new Mechanical Support value for the 
  Gift. 
   
   
  
  The Wishers' Book: 
  In the Shadow of the Invisible 
  Core Rules 
  These are the only things you must understand about how to play WTF. 
   
  Resolving Disputes 
  If the players disagree about how to play WTF, 
  . . . and it's difficult to reach consensus at the player level, 
  . . . and at least one person isn't interested in arguing further, 
   
  then every player has the option of making a Harmony roll. This is optional and 
  you should make this roll if you feel you have a strong opinion. 
   
  This text endorses the opinion of the player with the highest Harmony roll. 
   
  If nobody rolls, then this text can’t help you. 
   
  What if We Disagree About How to Make a Harmony Roll? 
  Treat that as a rules question. Use the rules in the Theurgist's Book. 
   
  What if We Disagree About Whether I Can Make a Harmony Roll? 
  How are they planning to stop you? 
   
  What if I am Physically Prevented from Rolling? 
  Please your captors in whatever fashion your conscience can bear until you find 
  an opportunity to escape. 
   
  What if I am Physically Unable to Make a Harmony Roll? 
  Pick an equivalent randomizer. You shouldn’t play WTF unless everyone has a 
  randomizer that everyone agrees that they can use. 
   
  What if We Disagree about Whether this is a Rules Dispute or a How to Play 
  Dispute? 
  Break it into two questions. The second question is the matter at hand. The 
  first is a dispute about how to play — 
   
  
  “Is this the kind of thing that one treats as a rules dispute when playing 
  WTF?” 
   
  With regards to this first question, this text endorses the answer of the player 
  with the highest Harmony roll. 
   
  Clear? 
  The author has a strong sense of what you're supposed to be doing when you 
  play WTF. 
   
  That said — you can't read her mind. 
   
  It’s protected by the fundamental isolation of personhood and the unbridgeable 
  divide between soul and soul! 
   
  So don’t worry too much about the author. If you can figure out what your 
  group thinks you’re supposed to be doing, does it really matter if the author 
  would approve? 
    
  Postscript: 
  What if Someone Asks, "Is Deciding How to Roll Harmony the Kind of Thing One 
  Treats as a Rules Dispute When Playing WTF?” 
  You might think that, having anticipated this problem, we’d have a solution.  
   
  Instead, we have a koan. 
   
  Once upon a time, a famous Zen master offered to truthfully and faithfully 
  answer any question. 
   
  "What is 2+2?" asked one of his students. 
   
  "5," answered the Zen master. 
   
  It turned out that it was a completely different Zen master that had promised 
  to tell the truth. This Zen master had promised to lie! 
   
   
   
  
  Venus, the Dramatic Planet 
   
  Venus, The Dramatic Planet 
   
  Venus is the planet of love. It is not a hidden planet but Vedic astrologers 
  studied it anyway. Also it has a very hot atmosphere. 
   
   
  Natya and Rasa 
  The techniques by which players imbue the substance of WTF and the dreaming 
  kingdoms with universal love are called Natya. These illumine the dreaming 
  kingdoms with light or, when used deceptively, cover it in shadow. As you exert 
  your love you produce rasa, the characteristic of enjoyment or relish9 that 
  people feel in the presence of things that know and receive love.  
   
  The players' efforts to incarnate and instantiate a transcendent spirit of infinite 
  universal love in the fabric of the game are the source of the meaning of the 
  game. It is the contention of the author that players cannot help but catch fire 
  with this burning spirit as soon as they attempt to play WTF, preventing any 
  inappropriate uses of the mechanics below. 
   
  You and WTF 
  Here is why you are playing this game. 
   
  Fate is not an external or an internal force. Rather fate flows out of the person 
  you are and the world you are living in. 
   
  One can look at fate as the inexorable consequences of being yourself. 
   
  Your fate to play WTF works itself out through one of the procedural flowcharts 
  below. 
   
                                           
  9 Not a condiment. 
  Venus, the Dramatic Planet 
  
  Fate Node 
   
  Procedural flowcharts begin with your fate to play WTF. If you're a creature 
  outside of fate then you can't use these flowcharts.10 
   
  Manifestation and Eventuality Node 
   
  The manifestation and eventuality node represents the contingent instantiation 
  of your fate to play WTF. If you reach this node on any flowchart11 you 
  manifest the sense-details and cognitive appurtenances of playing WTF. Now 
  you are playing this game. 
   
  Enacting Node 
   
  The enacting node represents the behavior patterns necessary to enact WTF in 
  the material world. 
    
                                           
  10 Unless you start in the middle and create a mystic ambiguity about how you got there. 
  11 May not apply to user-created flowcharts. 
  Enacting Node 
  Φ 
  Manifestation and Eventuality  
  Node 
  Γ 
  Fate Node 
  Ω 
  
  Societal Node 
   
  The societal node represents the social and societal structures that facilitate 
  and code your sense of the experience of this game. 
   
  Shadow Node 
   
  The shadow node represents the willful ego that does not want to play WTF. 
   
  "It's unplayable!" you cry. 
   
  "She's gone off the deep end this time!" 
   
  We love nothing so much as to exceed ourselves and grow, and struggle against 
  nothing so hard as our transcendence. 
   
  You are a Child of the Divine 
  Unexpected WTF 
   
   
  This procedural flowchart covers unplanned WTF with no ego-intervention. 
  Your fate-potential to play is dormant. Then you are playing. 
   
  Shadow Node 
  Α 
  Materialization 
   
   
  Suddenly 
  you are playing 
  Fate Node 
  Ω 
  Manifestation and Eventuality  
  Node 
  Γ 
  Societal Node 
  ∆ 
  
  How did this happen? YOU DON'T KNOW. 
   
  The truth is, you probably do know, if you go back and intellectualize every 
  step along the way. But why would you do that and spoil the delightful now? 
   
  
  Sensation-Cognition Action WTF 
   
   
  This procedural flowchart explains how a person gradually transitions from a 
  pre-WTF state into active play. The initial sensation of play is misleading, 
  though not outright false---you feel as if you're playing WTF, but you have not 
  yet reached the genuine experience. Instead you are driven by an inaccurate 
  sensation or conception that you are playing WTF into enacting WTF play. This 
  in turn creates additional sensory and cognitive illusions of play. Yet delusion is 
  transient and the truth remains. As you struggle through the cycle of rote 
  action and sensation, the distracting ego-sensation fades away and the genuine 
  experience begins to bloom. Suddenly--- 
   
  three butterflies 
   
  ---love blossoms inexplicably and fills your play with light. 
   
  Sensation 
   
  "OMG I'm playing 
  WTF." 
  Enacting Node 
   
  Your actions manifest 
  WTF play 
  Fate Node 
  You are fated to play 
  WTF 
  Essence 
   
            
   
                     three butterflies 
  Manifestation and Eventuality 
  Node 
  You are playing WTF. 
  Ω 
  Φ 
  Γ 
  
  Caught between Chaos and Order You Unfold 
  Feedback-Induced WTF 
    
  This procedural flowchart presents a crisis that faces the individualized soul. 
   
  It begins with the fate of a person who will play WTF. This fate is recognized by 
  others who categorize and conceptualize it falsely--- 
   
  Providing false images of what it means to play WTF. 
   
  Yet just as the true thing shone through the morass of sensation and ego-
  conception that built up in the Sensation-Cognition Action WTF procedural 
  flowchart, genuine roleplaying can manifest through the shroud of others' 
  ideas. 
   
  Suddenly as you struggle in their petty and confined ideas of who you are and 
  what you are doing--- 
   
  life is beautiful 
   
  ---the seed of truth quickens and all things fall into order; your fate and your 
  role and the immanent god-spirit in existence suddenly align. 
   
  A moment ago you were playing because other people wanted you to, or 
  expected you to, or falsely imagined that you were. 
   
  Imposition 
   
  "Hey, you play WTF!" 
  Societal Node 
   
  People think you're 
  playing "WTF" 
  Essence 
   
            
   
                     life is beautiful 
  Fate Node 
  You are fated to play 
  WTF 
  Ω 
  ∆ 
  Manifestation and Eventuality 
  Node 
  You are playing WTF. 
  Γ 
  
  Now suddenly they see you as playing because you are---and that recognition 
  transforms and shatters the boxes they'd put you in. You are made anew, the 
  gamer behind the game. 
   
  And you will laugh to know it so and to see how much the fool---and how 
  greatly wise---they were. 
   
  Autopoietic WTF 
   
   
  This procedural flowchart represents true self-generating WTF. 
   
  A person lives in a condition of chaos---threatened always by the potential 
  emergence of death, disaster, and despair. 
   
  Or, of course, great beauty. 
   
  Sensation 
   
  "OMG I'm 
  playing WTF." 
  Imposition 
   
  "Hey, you're 
  playing WTF!" 
   
  Enacting Node 
  Your actions manifest 
  WTF. 
   
  Societal Node 
  People think you're 
  playing "WTF" 
   
  Sensation* 
   
  "OMG I'm 
  playing WTF." 
  Essence 
   
  and there are angels 
  Fate Node 
  You are fated to play 
  WTF 
  Ω 
  Φ 
   
  ∆ 
   
  Manifestation and Eventuality 
  Node 
  You are playing WTF. 
  Γ 
  * This link may be followed by 
  additional players. 
  
  And into that state, as a means of reckoning with the tides of chaos, a person 
  takes a moment to realize--- 
   
  "OMG I'm playing WTF." 
   
  And no sooner is it realized than it is enacted; no sooner enacted than noticed; 
  and suddenly it spreads. 
   
  At first it is simple correlation. Then it is harmony. At first it is one person 
  playing. Then there is a union. 
   
  We are all parts of one great creature. We are all capable, if given the 
  opportunity, of flowing into one. 
   
  and there are angels 
   
  And there is WTF. 
   
  
  Structure of Play 
  Here is some additional information on what you do during play. 
   
  Before Play 
  If you are playing WTF, it is obviously too late to do anything about what 
  happens before play. It's best not to worry about that part too much.  
   
  Character Creation 
  Introduction 
  Before beginning to tell the story, get together with the other players. 
   
  Create characters together. 
   
  Encourage everyone to create a character simultaneously--- that’s the 
  recommended way to do it! 
   
  If you find that some people have already created characters, though, go ahead 
  and create yours on your own. 
   
  Discuss the characters and the world with the other players so as to make 
  yourself more aware of possible opportunities for fun. 
   
  Process 
  Here is how to create your WTF character. 
   
  If this is the beginning of the game, players go through these steps together — 
  everyone does stage 1, then everyone does stage 2, then everyone does stage 
  3, etcetera. 
   
  Stage 1 — Character Concept 
  Decide on a brief character history and concept, if you have not already. 
   
  Spend at least fifteen seconds and at most XX12 minutes expressing this concept 
  and history in writing or aloud. 
   
                                           
  12 Construe this as sufficiently descriptive. 
  
  Stage 2 — Supernatural Abilities 
  Attributes 
  Pick one of Harmony, Insight, or Knowledge to be your highest Attribute. 
  Your highest Attribute starts at 4. 
  Your other two Attributes start at 0. 
   
  Divide two bonus points among the three Attributes in any fashion you desire. 
   
  Examples 
  You could have Harmony 1, Insight 5, and Knowledge 0.  
  You could have Harmony 4, Insight 0, and Knowledge 2. 
   
   
  Powers 
  Pick one of Creatures, Law, People, Self, Substance to be your highest Power. 
  Pick one of Creatures, Law, People, Self, or Substance to be your second-
  highest Power.  
  Your highest Power begins at 3. 
  Your second-highest Power begins at 1. 
  All other Powers, including Shadow and all specialty Powers, begin at 0. 
   
  Examples 
  You could have Creatures 3, Law 0, People 0, Self 0, and Substance 1. 
  You could have Creatures 0, Law 1, People 0, Self 3, and Substance 0. 
   
   
  Customization 
  You have 3 customization points. 
   
  For one point, you can: 
   
   Add +1 to the Creatures, Law, People, Self, or Substance Power, to a 
  maximum of 5. 
   Add +1 to a specialty Power, to a maximum of 5. 
   
  For two points, you can: 
   
   Add +1 to an Attribute, to a maximum of 5. 
   Add +1 to Shadow Power. 
   
  Examples 
  
  You could add 3 to your Substance. 
  You could add 1 to Shadow Power and 1 to Law Power. 
  You could add 1 to Harmony and 1 to People Power. 
   
  Stage 3 — Are you the Weaver? 
  Decide whether you are the Weaver. 
   
  If you are the Weaver, announce this to the group. Note that only one person is 
  the Weaver. If you are the Weaver and someone else speaks up, it's up to you 
  whether to denounce them now or let their heresy flourish. (But don't let their 
  heresy flourish if they're going to take the later denunciation seriously. That 
  way lies hard feelings!) 
   
  Stage 4 — Gifts 
  Write down up to four Gifts for your character. 
   
  Decide which Gift is going to benefit from a "strong" Quality, and which Gifts 
  (that is, all the rest) will have to have a "weak" Quality. 
   
  Superior Gift 
  If you have at least one Gift, assign one Gift either--- 
   
   Strong Truth, 
   Strong Mechanical Support, or 
   Strong Valence. 
   
  Additional Gifts 
  For each other Gift, assign it either--- 
   
   Weak Truth, 
   Weak Mechanical Support, or 
   Weak Valence. 
   
  Remaining Qualities 
  The remaining Qualities of your Gifts are Ordinary. 
   
  Customization 
  You may do one of the following: 
   
   Write down an additional Gift with one weak and two ordinary Qualities.  
  
   Increase one Quality of one Gift. 
   
  Example Character 
  Sid, a Wisher 
   
  Sid was raised by the ur-toads under the world as a perfect, strong, and simple 
  lad whose desires would be healthy for everyone. He likes to taste random 
  things he finds. 
   
  Harmony 4 
  Insight 1 
  Knowledge 1 
   
  Creatures 3, Law 1, People 2, Self 0, Substance 0, Health 1 
   
  Gift: Strong and Hale 
  Gift: Knows the secret ways of the ur-toads (strong Valence) 
  Gift: Taster (weak Mechanical Support) 
   
   
  The Story 
  If you’re playing WTF anyway, you might as well try to have fun. 
   
  The best way to have fun with WTF is to work with the other players to tell a 
  story — a story about wishers, theurgists, and fatalists, possibly featuring such 
  things as fairies, ur-toads, and palaces on the sun. 
   
  What's the story about? 
   
  Well, maybe it's about what you want to be true. Or maybe it's about what is 
  true. Or maybe it's about what you think is true. 
   
  The meaning of the story sometimes kind of gallops past you like a cowboy on 
  the back of an overcharged ur-toad, so it's good to keep a wary eye out and 
  hope you'll find out what it is. 
   
  Unlike a novel or play, this story won’t have editors and readers making sure 
  that it has strong narrative qualities. Instead it will showcase the creative 
  spirit, personal character, and wondrous dreams of you and the other players. 
  Be prepared for both sides of this amazing and terrible coin. 
   
  
  Scenes 
  The game will play out as a series of scenes. Each scene defines and then 
  resolves a problem--- 
   
  More generally a "situation"--- 
   
  That the characters face. 
   
  Each scene also introduces, raises the stakes on, or resolves one or more crises 
  facing the characters---serious problems that threaten their ability to find the 
  Jewel of All Desiring and win the game. 
   
  The Weaver is responsible for providing these crises and situations if they do 
  not naturally emerge. The Weaver is also responsible for not stifling natural 
  processes by which crises and situations emerge. If the Weaver fails in these 
  charges (or if you are atheists who do not believe in the Weaver) it becomes 
  the duty of the theurgists to bring a proper resolution to the matter. 
   
  Interacting with the Game 
  During the game players will shape the resolution of the scene by talking. 
  Ultimately however it is only the application of Fatalism, Theurgy, and 
  Harmony---either formally through rolls or informally through expressions of 
  intent and methodology---that the players may avert the many nasty fates 
  awaiting them.  
   
  If you've wondered why the fatalism section is chock full of gloomy predictions 
  about how the characters die and/or the players lose the game, that's why! 
   
  Ultimately it's Insight, Harmony, and Knowledge that can change or refine that 
  doom. 
   
  Survival and Construal 
  The goal of the players during each scene is to generate favorable outcomes 
  and meanings for themselves while avoiding corruption. Prudent use of 
  Knowledge and Insight can guarantee the characters' survival, while Harmony 
  and intelligent use of the other Attributes can guarantee their moral worth. 
  Imprudent or excessive use of the Attributes risks corruption. 
   
  In practice Attributes may preempt the use of rules toys, setting information, 
  and procedures of play or they may work within them. It is equally valid to 
  declare an immediate victory with Insight or to work subtly within a rules toy 
  to facilitate tactical and strategic progress. Harmony may be used to work 
  subtle changes in the meaning of events or to skip straight to the end of Book 
  
  5. Knowledge can explain lacunae in the setting or overwrite all of it with 
  "we're in the world of Law and Order." 
   
  Don't be afraid to think big--- 
   
  But start small. 
   
  Don't go too far and fall into shadow before you've had the chance to taste the 
  game! 
   
  Passive Attributes 
  It is possible to use the Attributes without actively rolling them, particularly 
  when there is a sympathetic Weaver or no Weaver at all. You may apply 
  Knowledge simply by stating things in a very confident, in-character fashion. 
  You may apply Insight by making a coherent argument about how things should 
  be. You may apply Harmony by making a good case about what the players or 
  characters should do. Passive use of your Attributes minimizes your risk of 
  corruption----instead, you risk having your efforts invalidated because you 
  never backed them up with the dice. 
   
  Arcs and Chapters 
  The scenes of the game will organize into "story arcs," "character arcs," 
  "chapters," and "books." 
   
  Story arcs and character arcs are larger plotlines that progress over the course 
  of many scenes. They focus on a single crisis or a set of linked or successive 
  crises. When they end, they resolve a large portion of what it means to play 
  WTF. 
   
  Chapters are storylines that progress over the course of consecutive scenes. 
  They provide a set of related situations in which the various crises play out. 
  Usually a new chapter begins every time you get together to play WTF and ends 
  when you have to stop for the day. Sometimes that won't work out, in which 
  case, go with the flow. 
   
  Books are collections of consecutive chapters. The five books of WTF are the 
  entire corpus of a single universe of play. 
   
  A Digression: How to Talk 
  We might have been a bit cavalier when we said that the players shape the 
  resolution of a scene by talking---so here's a bit more information on how that 
  works! 
  
   
  The elemental basis of communication in WTF is sound and gesture---vibrations 
  that you transmit through the air and gross physical motions that you use to 
  adjust the pattern of light that you reflect. These vibrations and physical 
  movements acquire meaning from three sources: 
   
   Your use of characteristic patterns that order them into standardized or 
  identifiable units of meaning; 
   Your use of standardized or personal references that others might 
  recognize as having meaning; 
   Your intention to express yourself and to communicate your meaning to 
  the target. 
   
  Ultimately this communication isn’t a guide to any thing in the dreaming 
  kingdoms. Instead, it gives others data about what you are, or, more 
  specifically, what your intentions might be regarding WTF. 
   
  Making Statements 
  Here is how to express basic data regarding WTF. 
   
  Conceive the pure intention to communicate something to the other players. 
   
  Pick the form in which you’ll express that thing. You can use one of the 
  standardized forms below or you can invent your own. 
   
  Then speak! 
   
  Statements Regarding the World 
   
   
  “My character sneaks into the thief’s fortress.” 
   
  A statement regarding the world. 
   
   
  These statements use data-dense relationships between words (the 
  “expectingness” or "heavy Prameya" with which words interlock to form 
  complex data blocks) to manifest your pure intention. 
   
  In essence you are describing the entirety of a concept — a factual star shading 
  towards enlightenment — in a dense cluster of words and relying on the purity 
  of that concept in itself to express your intention to others. 
   
  
  The fatal flaw of these statements is hubris. These statements manifest a 
  universal truth only to the extent that you have authority. Yet because these 
  statements are so dense it is inevitable that they will overreach. Thus, in the 
  example above, you might have strong authority over your character; 
  precedent might very well indicate that you can in fact sneak into the thief’s 
  fortress; everything you present might be true, yet it all collapses in a moment 
  if the Weaver reveals that the thief’s fortress fell off of the edge of the world 
  two days before. In such a case where is your pure intention? 
   
  Note: When using these statements to discuss your character, it is customary to 
  use your character’s name, “I”, and “my character” interchangeably. 
   
  Statements as Made by Your Character 
   
   
  "Before the moon sets twice, I will walk away with your 
  treasure and your heart." 
   
  A statement as made by your character. 
   
   
  These statements use the established pattern of your character’s “voice” 
  and context wherein your character is speaking to manifest your pure 
  intention. 
   
  In this case your intention is to describe what your character says, more or less 
  verbatim. 
   
  The fatal flaw of these statements is multiple constraints. These statements 
  have to be appropriate in two contexts at once — the game world and the real 
  world. For example, you might face interruptions in reality while in theory your 
  character has the opportunity to continue speaking. 
   
  Statements as Made by Other Characters 
   
   
  ". . . But I don’t have a heart.”  
   
  A statement as made by an ur-toad. 
   
   
  These statements use the context wherein some character is speaking to 
  manifest your pure intention. 
  
   
  In this case your intention is to describe what some character says, more or 
  less verbatim. 
   
  This technique is most commonly used by the Weaver to speak for non-
  protagonist characters, but anyone with authority over what another character 
  says can reasonably use this form. 
   
  The fatal flaw of this technique is ambiguity of character. In the absence of a 
  well-established player-character connection, it is sometimes difficult to firmly 
  establish for others whom you are speaking for. 
   
  Statements Referencing Rules or WTF Concepts 
   
   
  “I want to use the rules to build a castle.” 
   
  A statement referencing the rules. 
   
   
  These statements use highly recognizable references to rules or WTF 
  concepts to manifest your pure intention. 
   
  In essence by referencing some established concept you ground the entirety of 
  your statement in that concept. 
   
  The fatal flaw of this technique is ambiguity of reference. Because you do not 
  have perfect understanding of WTF, your references implicitly convey an alien 
  intention as well as your own. This intention could in theory come to ripeness 
  within your statement, destroying your statement’s vital organs and 
  parasitically converting it to the service of an alien purpose. For example, you 
  might discover that using the rules to build a castle is more difficult than you 
  had thought! 
   
  Procedural Statements 
   
   
  “Wait, time out — what?” 
   
  A procedural statement. 
   
   
  These statements use highly recognizable references to the current context 
  of communication to manifest your pure intention. 
  
   
  In this case your intention is to request some specific effort of contemplation, 
  authority, expression, love, or treasure. 
   
  The fatal flaw of this technique is player-character ambiguity. Sometimes 
  procedural statements exactly resemble things that your character might say. 
  Suppose that something surprising has just happened and a player’s uttered the 
  example procedural statement above. There is a highly recognizable reference 
  to the fact that something surprising has just happened, but it is potentially 
  obscured by the fact that both player and character have reason for surprise! 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  The Story of the Game 
  Prologue 
  The players discuss what it means to find the Jewel of All Desiring and create 
  the world. Initial statements are statements regarding the world---objective 
  statements in the player's voice. However, it is possible at any point to shift  
  into character and begin using statements as made by your character or 
  describing the ways in which your character wrestles with the problem laid out 
  above. 
   
  Not long after the discussion begins it becomes possible for characters to use 
  supernatural Attributes to shape key elements of how the story will play out. 
   
  Will the characters cooperate with or seek to defy the Weaver? 
   
  Is this the kind of game where the Weaver starts things off with a plot hook 
  that pulls the characters from their sleepy hometowns or the kind of game 
  where each character's story begins with a "Kicker"---a player-chosen crisis that 
  drives them immediately into action and is relevant to the theme and story of 
  the game? 
   
  Are you playing yourselves or are you making up new identities for the course 
  of the game? 
   
  And then as suddenly as that it begins. 
   
  Introductions 
  Each character catches up to the present---simultaneously or in turns. 
   
  They are facing a crisis---a Kicker or some other problem tied to their 
  circumstances. 
   
  Unfortunately, they fail and everybody dies. 
   
  Book 1: The Civilized Lands 
  Raif 
  In a standard game of WTF the characters then assemble in Raif to begin their 
  quest. If you all died, I guess, just handwave it or something, you're not really 
  supposed to lose the game before Book 1. 
   
  Anyway. 
  
   
  In a standard game of WTF the characters assemble in Raif to begin their quest. 
   
  Having lost the Jewel of All Desiring, the royalty of Raif has become vampiric, 
  treacherous, cold-blooded and bloodthirsty monsters. They have elected to 
  help in the discovery of the Jewel. Setting forth without their blessing would 
  be unimaginably improper. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Vampires. 
   
  Characters get abducted and eaten at the Weaver's discretion. They may also 
  be coopted by Raif, entangled in its politics or dynasties. 
   
  It's civilization. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  It is possible to lose the game right here in Raif. 
   
  Right now--- that is, prior to the use of Attributes--- the characters are not 
  worthy of finding the Jewel of All Desiring. 
   
  Also they are unable to work together adequately. 
   
  For these reasons Raif will rightly refuse its blessing to the characters. 
   
  Travelogue 
  A short travelogue may spontaneously manifest during which there is no 
  imminent practical or moral threat. Allow it to come to fruit, whisking 
  characters quickly through the civilized regions, and murder it brutally if it 
  looks like it will go on too long. 
   
  If your group enjoys spending time in random civilized kingdoms, you'll find 
  good apocalyptic scenarios for each of them in the section on the civilized 
  peoples in the Fatalists' Book---you can insert a practical or moral threat or two 
  here. 
   
  
  Tin 'An 
  It is common for the characters to proceed from Raif to Tin 'An. Why, I'm sure I 
  couldn't say. 
   
  Tin 'An is calcifying. Its people are dying. Its Symposia and scholars and the 
  urchins who live on the bridges above the buildings offer much useful 
  information. The Axeman, sworn to the service of the Duke, hunts wishers in 
  accordance with an ancient law that forbids attempts to wish upon the Jewel. 
  It is appropriate to pay one's respects to the Duke and the Foremost Scribe. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Tin 'An offers all the threats of the civilized peoples. It will kill, imprison, or 
  assimilate the characters. The Axeman will personally dispose of any wishers 
  that do not go native and join the Court of the Duke. 
   
  Also the characters do not know where to go next. That is why their mission 
  must end in ignominy here. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  Why did the wisher want Tin 'An to die? 
   
  I want to leave it like that, but I'll write a bit more. Looking at Tin 'An, you 
  have to ask yourself, is this a feature of the world your wisher will create? 
  Supposing that it isn't, you have a real problem.  
   
  Supposing that it is--- 
   
  Well, this isn't a deal-breaker. I'm not going to say that you're unworthy of 
  finding the jewel just cause you put a few cities like Tin 'An in your perfect 
  vision of the dreaming kingdoms. 
   
  Heck, some of you came up with a perfectly good explanation for this kind of 
  thing in the prologue. 
   
  It's not a deal-breaker. 
   
  But it's something to be aware of. Something to think about. Something that 
  might need an Attribute roll, not necessarily now, but sometime. 
   
  Think about it. 
   
  
  And when you've figured it out, and if you're still alive,  
  it's the end of Book 1. 
    
   
  
  Book 2: The Savage People and the Fairies 
  Character Arcs and Kickers 
  If you happen to have character arcs, this is a good time to be moving them 
  forward a bit. 
   
  You can also make new Kickers, if you want. There's always time to start over 
  from the beginning. 
   
  The Savage Peoples 
  During this book the characters must travel through the lands of the savage 
  peoples. You can pad the story here with various crises where the characters 
  get killed (or almost killed or assimilated or whatever). It is common but not 
  obligatory to include one moral crisis; see the section on the Savage Peoples in 
  the Fatalists' Book. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Savage peoples may kill, imprison, or assimilate the characters. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  Savage peoples may reject the characters, demonstrating their unworthiness. 
   
  The characters will fail to learn something that it was necessary for them to 
  learn. 
   
  Travelogue 
  Now and then you'll find travelogues springing up as the characters go hither 
  and thither among the savage peoples. 
   
  Like before, let 'em bloom, but watch 'em, and chop 'em down if they go 
  kudzu. 
   
  Fairies 
  After leaving the civilized lands the characters must make enquiry among the 
  fairies. 
   
  
  The fairies do not exist. They are not there. Their lives are full of many stories. 
  Many of these stories are incoherent and need a character's help to complete 
  them. The fairies are beautiful and magical and tragic. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  The fairies will be unable to construe the characters as the agents of destiny 
  that will find and wish on the Jewel of All Desiring.  
   
  Unfortunately, that means the world doesn't exist. 
   
  For more details see the section on Fairies in the Fatalists' Book. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  It turns out that the world doesn't exist anyway. It's made of Prameya or 
  quantum foam or something. 
   
  You have lost WTF. 
   
  Anyway, if you DEFY THE CLEARLY WRITTEN RULES and ARE STILL WINNING, 
  that's as good a place as any to end Book 2. 
   
   
  
  Book 3: The Dragons of the Deeps 
  You can skip this book if you don't have time, although that means never 
  knowing what happened in it or if the characters found the Jewel of All 
  Desiring when you weren't looking. 
   
  Civilized and Savage Peoples 
  This book features further adventure among savage and civilized peoples. 
   
  A Series of Discoveries 
  The characters perform a set of tasks or journeys or interactions. After each 
  they learn more about the location of the Jewel of All Desiring. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  It is increasingly important as this book progresses that the characters develop 
  a strong sense of what they will do and what it will mean when they actually 
  find the Jewel. 
   
  There is no fixed schedule, but the characters have to completely resolve the 
  matter by the end of this Book and possibly before then or they will lose the 
  game.13  
   
  Also the lack of unanimity on this point will tear the group apart and lead one 
  or more into corruption.14 
   
  Shadows on the Sun 
  If the characters visit the sun it will likely be during Book 3 or Book 4. 
   
  The Dragons of the Deeps 
  There are dragons who live in the water. One of the best dragons is the dragon-
  ocean of the east. However all that is necessary is that the characters visit 
  dragons of the deeps at some point. 
   
  The dragons are not typical inhabitants of WTF and are not bound by its rules. 
  They may drive people out of Book 3 and into Book 4---or characters may 
                                           
  13 This is the same as any other loss, which is to say, it can be finessed.  
  14 This can also be finessed, unless someone actually winds up with destructive Knowledge, 
  corrupt Insight, or deceptive Harmony! 
  
  become discouraged by their various defenses and skip to Book 4 without first 
  experiencing their meeting! The dragons may redeem characters who have 
  fallen to shadow or free a Weaver immured within the world. It is possible to 
  lose the game during an encounter with the dragons of the deeps, but nobody 
  knows how. 
   
  You may encounter the dragons of the deeps when you are not aware that you 
  are playing; then you will turn around and realize that you were playing WTF 
  all along. 
   
  The dragons of the deeps were born with the world. They will not die with it. 
  They are deepness and greatness and inspiration and they war against the 
  shadow. 
   
  They may eat you. You certainly--- 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Oh. I suppose that's a practical threat.  
   
  They may eat you. You certainly can't find them. Paths can't take you to them. 
  People really shouldn't visit them. Swarms of undines defend them, trying to 
  keep you from reaching them before you get frustrated and move on to Book 4. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  Really, this entire section is problematic, even if you skip it. 
   
  
  Book 4: The Ur-Toads 
  A Series of Discoveries 
  If you skipped Book 3, you'll need to move "A Series of Discoveries" to this Book. 
  Helpfully, you can use these discoveries to explain why the characters must 
  travel under the world to the realm of the ur-toads. 
   
  Shadows on the Sun 
  If the characters have not yet visited the sun now might be a good time. See 
  the discussion on moral and practical threats there in the Fatalists' Book. 
  However, please note that it's a lot more important that characters go under 
  the world than over it. 
   
  Traveling Under the World 
  Characters may encounter difficulties when traveling to the underside of the 
  world, since after all there is rock in the way. In general however it is the 
  opposite. Characters find it suspiciously easy to get to the other side of the 
  world. Methods practically offer themselves. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Rock, I guess, but I've as much as admitted you'll find your way somehow. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  The ease with which you reach the other side of the world should make any 
  reasonable person suspicious! 
   
  Encounters with Ur-Toads 
  The ur-toads are really big toads.15 They have jewels in their foreheads. These 
  jewels are not the Jewel of All Desiring which is why there are so few lilypads 
  in the world. They should be insanely cool, dreadful, and awe-inspiring. It is 
  helpful to imagine that they are mysterious and sagacious. They are immune to 
  most mortal mechanisms of force and expel dreadful poisons when baited. 
   
                                           
  15 Not to be read simultaneously with the section on "Knowledge and the Truth." 
  
  Practical Threats 
   
  The ur-toads will eat all of the characters. The game then ends immediately, 
  preventing the discovery of the Jewel of All Desiring. That is some wickedly 
  eschatological stomach acid they've got going there. 
   
  The Oracle 
  If you don't know yet where the Jewel of All Desiring is you may obtain an 
  oracle regarding its location here from the ghost of Tiresias or some other 
  Tiresian spirit. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  The oracle might say, "There's no such thing!" Or "You're too late, the shadow 
  has wished on it." 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  The oracle might make some other apocalyptic pronouncement to bring Book 4 
  to a nasty ending. Typically the Weaver will run away at this point to ensure 
  that this pronouncement acts as a cliffhanger---otherwise, the wisher is likely 
  to spin it immediately into a positive light. By next session this is not 
  necessarily true: the longer the wisher has to mull over an idea, the more 
  difficult it is to casually twist it without becoming deceptive in the process. 
   
  
  Book 5: Conclusion 
  The characters take the last few steps of their journey. 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  The Weaver may opt for a big confrontation with some recurring enemy that 
  tragically kills all of the characters after they made it all the way to Book 5. 
   
  Finale 
  The characters find the Jewel of All Desiring and--- 
   
  Practical Threats 
   
  Somebody is going to have to die to become the firmament of the world. 
   
  If the characters are in an uneasy or temporary alliance, they are practical 
  threats to one another. 
   
  Moral Threats 
   
  I kind of have to start with the fact that the theurgists can judge all of the 
  available wishers unworthy. 
   
  But that's not the big thing. 
   
  I mean, it's the big problem in theory, but by the time you've made it this far, 
  it's not going to stop anyone. 
   
  The big problem in practice is, why should you be God? And why is this world 
  the world of everything you desire? 
   
  I don't get to say that you haven't solved that yet. 
   
  I haven't been watching your game. 
   
  But I do get to squint at you a little and remind you that right now, you have to 
  solve it as best you can. You have to solve it and maybe the answers that 
  seemed so good five minutes ago don't seem so perfect now. You have to deal 
  with those two questions, among others. 
   
  
  Because if you want to win, you're going to have to pick up the Jewel of All 
  Desiring and make this world--- 
   
  This fictional world--- 
   
  The reality that is everything you've ever wanted, and everything you dreamed. 
   
   
  
  The Wishers' Book — Postscript 
  I totally wrote this. 
   
  Declare that you wish to use Harmony. 
   
  State that you want to explain what something means. 
   
  Any number of players may now set a target ranging from 0 to 7. You must 
  equal or exceed the maximum such target on a Harmony roll to make your 
  explanation worth believing. 
  Make a Harmony roll and declare your result. 
  OPTIONALLY 
  If another player wishes to offer an explanation, 
  they may do so, make a Harmony roll, and declare 
  the result. 
   
  If the player with the highest result has a result that equals or exceeds the 
  specified target, they have succeeded. 
  The player who succeeds states the fact of their success 
  and explains what the relevant thing means. 
   
  Everyone should now play WTF in such a fashion as to make believing that 
  explanation both appropriate and valuable. 
  USING HARMONY 
  
   
  Harmony Rolls 
  Here is how to make a Harmony roll. 
   
  Roll a number of six-sided dice equal to your Harmony plus the most relevant 
  Power. 
  If this is "0" dice then roll one die and subtract 1. 
   
  Your result is the highest die rolled. 
  If you roll more than one 6, add +1 to the result for each extra 6 you roll. 
   
  If you are rolling to determine which player has the highest Harmony result, 
  and there is a tie for highest roll, eliminate all of the players who did not roll 
  the highest result and reroll. 
   
  Valence 
  Here are some notes on Valence. 
   
  The Valence of a Gift is in the domain of Harmony. You can raise or lower the 
  Valence of a Gift with a Harmony roll.  
   
   You must warn the other players of this intention when you make your 
  roll — 
   including which character this will affect and 
   which Gift you intend to change. 
   Some player should set a target of 5. 
   You must receive the highest result.  
   You must state the new Valence for the Gift. 
   
   
  
  Example of Play 
  Before Play 
  Wynona is troubled by her destiny as an example player in a WTF game. "OMG," 
  she thinks, "I'll be playing WTF." 
   
  Unwilling to cower and live in fear, she elects to face her destiny head-on. 
   
  She gathers avid gamers Theresa and Tomas and Hitherby Dragons readers 
  Fiona and Froderick.  
   
  These will be her gaming group. 
   
  "Are we actually playing?" Fiona wonders. "I mean, even now?" 
   
  "No," concludes Tomas bluntly. 
   
  "No?" 
   
  "This is still before play. If we were playing, then 'before play' would be in the 
  past and we would no longer be able to affect its accidents." 
   
  "An eccedent," Theresa says, "is when you see something you didn't expect." 
   
  On this uncomfortable note we start the game. 
   
  Character Creation 
  The group creates their characters.  
   
  Wynona opts to make a wisher, choosing Harmony as her highest Attribute. 
  Theresa and Tomas create theurgists, favoring Insight. 
  Fiona and Froderick create fatalists, favoring Knowledge. 
   
  Tomas declares himself the Weaver. 
   
  "I had thought," Wynona says, "that we'd try this without a Weaver." 
   
  "You had thought that," Tomas agrees. 
   
  "There isn't any rule," Theresa says, after a moment, "for removing Tomas' 
  declaration. If it does not manifest a corrupt Insight, it flows from an 
  immanent and immediate truth within his heart." 
   
  
  "Your Insight can't be corrupt," Wynona criticizes, "if we haven't started playing 
  yet." 
   
  There is a pause. 
   
  "I retract that portion of my statement," Theresa says. "Still, there is nothing to 
  be done." 
   
  Prologue 
  Tomas: We now begin the play of WTF. 
  Wynona: I don't know if I'm in a state of infinite universal love yet. 
  Tomas: You are. 
  Wynona: … good to know! 
  Tomas: What kind of characters do we have? 
  Fiona: I was thinking that I would fall through a hole in the sky and land in the 
  dreaming kingdoms. 
  Wynona: Wouldn't you break your legs? 
  Fiona: I am indomitable! 
  Theresa: That's an interesting approach. 
  Fiona: I think it is more that the winds above the world caught me on their 
  cross-paths and shearings and I came down softly at last and fortuitously 
  wearing pants instead of skirts. Because these skirts would be a problem in a 
  multi-mile fall. 
  Froderick: There aren't any miles really. The sky is lower than on Earth. 
  Fiona: Really? 
  Froderick: People are always reaching it and such. Miles is a long way to go up 
  without an aeroplane. 
  Fiona: Well, it is certainly very far; if you haven't fallen a long ways, you can't 
  say how many miles it feels like. 
  Tomas: And you, Froderick? 
  Froderick: I am a humble shoemaker commanding knowledge over all the arts 
  and sciences. Why? Because I have a lot of time to think while my hands are 
  busy making shoes. I indulge, even, in a little . . . extrapolation. But my overall 
  ideas are sound. 
  Wynona: It seems a clear-cut choice which of you shall be the foundation of 
  the world. 
  Fiona: Unless the sky and ground are turned around. 
  Theresa: Why would she choose to have them turned around? 
  Fiona: The perversity of her nature. 
  Wynona: Projection, dear. 
  Fiona: So they say. [sighs] 
  Tomas: That's actually something of a point--- 
  Wynona: … 
  
  Tomas: I mean, if the world is built on Fiona and not Froderick, then it's up to 
  you to choose accordingly. Your nature is presented to you by the world---or 
  you were never the wisher after all. 
  Wynona: Why, cruel fate, have I chosen to torment myself with such 
  accomplices? . . . is what you mean? 
  Tomas: Precisely so. 
  Wynona: No responsibility for any of you, then? It is all on me? 
  Tomas: That is the power of the Weaver, to utterly shed all responsibility for 
  my own actions and place it all on yourself. To that end, I think I shall be a 
  prince of Raif. 
  Fiona: I thought you were weaving? 
  Tomas: I am a prince of Raif, a theurgist, and I am also God. 
  Fiona: A full plate. 
  Tomas: It is my tragedy; I wear many hats and fit in none. 
  Fiona: And Wynona? 
  Wynona: Me? 
  Fiona: What are you playing? 
  Wynona: I don't know really. I want to . . . I didn't really plan on playing WTF, 
  you know. It was just my inexorable fate. I guess I want to be the kind of 
  person who can make . . . make the world into a place of beauty and 
  compassion without killing everyone to do it. 
  Theresa: [laughs] 
  Theresa: [pauses] 
  Theresa: Sorry, I was picturing Tomas' hats. Could you be a painter, Wynona? 
  Wynona: That's . . . not right either. Because it might imply that . . . it's just 
  art. I kind of want to be like Tomas. Just kind of omnipresent. 
  Tomas: I am not omnipresent. I lurk in specific locations as suits my specific 
  mandate. 
  Wynona: God is not omnipresent? 
  Tomas: I exaggerated my prowess; my divinity is conditional in the setting and 
  requires the mediation of the rules to have full force. For the wisher, the same 
  applies: you realize yourself fully only through the imposition of your ideals on 
  play. 
  Wynona: So I play a small creature but my . . . spirit diffuses through the 
  world? 
  Tomas: Yeah. 
  Fiona: That could be your Kicker. Oh no! Your spirit is diffusing through the 
  world! 
  Wynona: I think that my Kicker is that the world is full of suffering and reality 
  is an illusion. And I guess that I'm . . . I want to be a grandmother spirit. For 
  some House that is waning in power and has had its own kind of grandmother 
  god for all the centuries of its power. Like, a noble House. Like, Romanish. 
  Theresa: Wishers shouldn't ought be gods, I think. 
  Froderick: Gods are born to answer emptiness. 
   
  Pause. 
  
  Theresa: Adverse contentions. 
  Tomas: What are you playing, Theresa? 
  Theresa: I'm in the game? 
  Tomas: You created a character. 
  Theresa: Oh. 
  Tomas: I could make you play a duck. 
  Theresa: I could cast you down from your throne and immure you beneath the 
  world. 
  Tomas: Bring it. 
  Theresa: I want to play my fighter. 
  Tomas: No. 
  Theresa: I could be a stripper ninja, with katanas. 
  Tomas: No. You are going to be Gandalf. 
  Theresa: Once I was a vital spirit of the world, an angel of prameya, an 
  impulse born at the birth of creation; but now I have lived so long in an 
  ordinary kind of flesh that I have forgotten my nature? 
  Tomas: Yes. 
  Theresa: All right. 
  Tomas: Wynona, the world is full of suffering and reality is an illusion. What do 
  you do? 
  Wynona: I fix it. 
  Tomas: Oh, snap. 
  Wynona: I guess I should try to find the Jewel of All Desiring. 
  Tomas: Why? 
  Wynona: Because I am lingering in melancholy in these ever-emptier halls and 
  realizing as time passes that the world is not what it ought to be; and thinking, 
  realizing, suddenly one day, "Then make it better." 
  Tomas: But the world is full of suffering. That'd be your wish! 
  Wynona: Is it? 
  Tomas: Eh? 
  Wynona: Isn't that just a sense-impression that I have? What if everybody 
  laughs and takes off their masks and says, "We were just playing with you. 
  We've always had the beautiful life you wanted for us." 
  Tomas: I am a prince of Raif; I will not have a beautiful life. Will not, do you 
  hear? 
  Theresa: You're not there. 
  Tomas: I can damn well knock on her door. 
  Fiona: Oh dear. 
  Tomas: [knocks firmly on the table] Bang bang bang! You in there! I hear you've 
  been planning to make the world a better place! 
  Wynona: Excellent. You can approve my quest for the Jewel of All Desiring. 
  Tomas: It is already quite hard to sustain my belief in the importance of the 
  machinations of the court; I do not need your frivolous ideas undermining it 
  further. 
  Fiona: I land. 
  
  Tomas: You've just fallen from the sky into an argument between a vampire 
  and a god. 
  Fiona: Yay! 
  Tomas: You here, you can arbite this. 
  Fiona: Heehee. You said 'bite.'16 
  Tomas: Listen, this woman is planning to find the Jewel of All Desiring and 
  make it so that my pretensions are moot. That's the end of all social order! 
  Also, I won't get to be emo. 
  Fiona: That's her altruistic intention! 
  Tomas: I should never rely for moral backup on women who fall through holes 
  in the sky. That's the real lesson here. 
  Froderick: Also, you totally bogarted Fiona's Kicker. 
  Tomas: Ha! That's right! You're FALLING---what do you DO? 
  Fiona: Aim towards the most important thing in all the world. 
  Tomas: [hides head in hands] 
  Wynona: I want you to give your formal approval and then I don't have to go to 
  Raif where everyone gets attacked by vampires. 
  Tomas: I totally won't, and also, trying to get out of going to Raif is just sleazy. 
  Wynona: [peacefully] Well, we can head in the direction of Raif, and if I talk 
  you into it before we get there, that's more my moral superiority than my 
  fault. 
  Tomas: Why am I not killing you? 
  Wynona: That would be a definitive reality-changing action on the part of your 
  character and characters indwelt by the Weaver don't do that. Also, I don't 
  think WTF can end in the prologue. 
  Tomas: Right then! Froderick, Theresa, what are your Kickers? 
  Froderick: I have shoes. 
  Tomas: I am eliminating that statement from the world with somebody else's 
  destructive Knowledge. 
  Theresa: I don't want people to read all this stuff about Kickers and think that 
  WTF is an indie game. That's why I wanted to play my fighter and have my hit 
  points and armor class. 
  Tomas: I'm totally too bossy for an indie game, so suck it up. 
  Froderick: One day I am making shoes and I realize that it is inevitable that 
  the world will die and fade away to nothingness. 
  Tomas: OK. 
  Theresa: I am dreaming. I am dreaming and my eye wanders over the world. 
  And then for just a moment in the dream I remember who I am. It isn't 
  something that I can grasp. It's not something that I can hold on to. It's too big 
  for the ego. But that recognition . . . it remakes me. I know I have to become 
  large enough to hold that somehow. I have to be a better kettle for my soul. 
  Tomas: OK. 
  Theresa: But I need you to tell me where I woke to because that is part of my 
  Kicker too that what I face is not . . . just something I made. 
                                           
  16 Strangely, he didn't pronounce it that way. 
  
  Tomas: Then Froderick: it is inevitable that the world will die and fade away to 
  nothingness. What do you do? 
  Froderick: I fall on my knees and cry out with despair. 
  Tomas: You do? 
  Froderick: "Heaven! Answer me! Is all I have known and all I have made 
  useless? Is this world merely senseless trash, as soon known as forgotten? 
  Weaver, why have you made this fate?" 
  Tomas: I poke my head in your shop. "Get over yourself," I say. "You're a 
  shoemaker." 
  Froderick: You are . . . God? 
  Tomas: Check out my shoes. 
  Froderick: You are God. But . . . explain yourself, then! 
  Tomas: I was on the way back to Raif after trying to harangue this woman--- 
  [thumbs over his shoulder]--- into giving up her senseless quest. So I heard you 
  yell. 
  Froderick: That is not the explanation I was looking for. 
  Tomas: That's your own fault, then. Are you coming? I am thinking of 
  presenting you all to my fellow princes as a new kind of menagerie. 
  Froderick: Two people isn't a menagerie. 
  Tomas: Some chick fell from the sky, she's around somewhere. She isn't 
  wearing a skirt. 
  Froderick: That was unnecessary information. 
  Fiona: Also ambiguous! 
  Froderick: Oh, hey. 
  Fiona: Hey. 
  Froderick: You look like the kind of woman who knows everything about the 
  arts and sciences. 
  Fiona: [blush] You too. 
  Froderick: … 
  Fiona: I mean, masculinely. 
  Tomas: Why do I do this to myself? YOU, Wynona, why do you do this to me? 
  Assuming you aren't just a wannabe pretend wisher whom my family's going to 
  eat? 
  Wynona: It is the inexorable influence of fate. 
  Tomas: Theresa, I have no idea where you wake up. 
  Fiona: Then it must be at the edge of the world. 
  Theresa: Eh? 
  Fiona: Because the Weaver doesn’t know where you are. So somewhere out in 
  the unkindled places, or at best--- 
  Because you do have to be somewhere--- 
  At the very edge, dangling from the cliff of the world, over the unkindled 
  places. 
  Theresa: That's true, isn't it? 
  Tomas: You can be somewhere else if you want. 
  Theresa: But no. It makes sense. Not . . . not by my fingers. But in my bed. In 
  my bed, in my house, at the edge of the world. And I get up and I look at my 
  
  hands and I look at my hair in the mirror and I realize that I have no idea who 
  I'm supposed to be. But that I'm bright. So I have to take a spirit walk. I have to 
  go deep inside myself and see what's there. Because I'm too much of a coward 
  to just walk out into the dreaming kingdoms and find myself there. There might 
  not be any food or any place warm. 
  Tomas: I don't know how that works in terms of party togetherness. 
  Wynona: It's OK. 
  Theresa: It's OK? 
  Wynona: I don't know where you are. I don't know if I've ever met you. But I 
  can give you courage. I can give you power. Come help me. 
  Theresa: Hope hurts. 
  Wynona: It's OK. 
  Theresa: I guess I'm getting to my feet. I guess I'm calling up a horse from the 
  cold winds. 
  Tomas: Where are you going? 
  Theresa: I have an appointment to keep in Raif. 
   
  Book 1: The Civilized Lands 
  Raif (Scene 1) 
   
  Tomas: Book 1: the Civilized Lands. 
  Tomas: Scene 1:  
  Tomas: Raif. 
  Tomas: I have to introduce you guys to my Mom now. She's going to judge you 
  and then kill you. 
  Wynona: Is that the crisis in this scene? 
  Tomas: I think the loomingness of it is the crisis. Though . . . hm. Maybe we 
  should start a little smaller. When you get to the city, I give you these coins 
  that are also symbols---basically, marks that show you're legitimately aspirants 
  to be the wisher and companions. Only you're by this waterfront, on this 
  marble walk with the dank misty shore below you and a sparkling fountain 
  behind you, and somebody bumps into Wynona, and she realizes a few 
  moments later that they've stolen her coin. And . . . Theresa, you're stopped at 
  the gates. "The prince's said, no theurgists. Cause they might dethrone him and 
  immure him deep within the world," they say. 
  Fiona: I wonder if the Weaver was meant to be quite so much in character. 
  Wynona: Let him be meta; it's his only joy in life. Also, oh no, my coin. 
  Tomas: If you don't have the coin, you're going to get eaten without even 
  getting judged first. 
  Fiona: But that's better. 
  Tomas: Eh? 
  Wynona: . . . I think we want her judgment so that she can say, "oh hey you 
  are worthy." 
  
  Fiona: Old vampire queens don't have good judgment. You should just realize 
  that you're telling yourself, don't waste your time! 
  Tomas: Or maybe the real wisher is somewhere laughing at you and weaving 
  fate so that you've lost your chance before you even began---did you think of 
  that? 
  Fiona: Such matters are beyond my concern. I will happily trip the thief and 
  send them accidentally sprawling as they pass, though. 
  Theresa: I'm casting magic missile. 
  Tomas: Eh? 
  Theresa: It is my desperate cry for attention. 
  Tomas: Oh. I mean, you can respond to the guard. 
  Theresa: These walls and this guard should melt away like dreams; they stand 
  between me and myself. 
  Tomas: Seriously? 
  Theresa: I will test the matter by advancing past him and pushing open the 
  gates before I use theurgy. 
  Tomas: He goes a little pale but stands firm. The gate is locked. 
  Theresa: It is remade unlocked as my hand touches it. I have 5 dice to roll; 
  give me a target. 
  Tomas: 3. 
  Theresa: 4, 1, 1, 2, and 6. The first accomplishes the matter; the rest are 
  afterthoughts. 
  Tomas: "I locked that myself!" 
  Theresa: "You are not a bad man." [hesitation] "You are simply part of that 
  which does not know what ought to be. Do you really . . . want to serve a 
  person like Tomas? Is that what you want your life to mean?" 
  Tomas: "Don't try to implicate things at me! I know you're a theurgist!" 
  Theresa: Please don't make me hurt him. 
  Tomas: That's Wynona's problem, not mine. So we should swap over there and 
  see if she can get to you in time to help? 
  Theresa: . . . I am not helpless in Harmony rolls . . . but I agree. 
  Tomas: Fiona has certainly tripped someone, but is it the thief? It's a gamine 
  and she's standing up again and going "Oi, hey!" She doesn't look guilty. 
  Fiona: I'm making sure she doesn't go far. 
  Wynona: "Dear child, you're an NPC. What would you do with a coin like that?" 
  Tomas: "I don't know what you're talking about." She looks around shiftily. 
  "What's an NPC?" 
  Wynona: "Won't you tell me what's in your heart?" I ask. I come closer to her. 
  Tomas: No. And you can't make her. Though she's clearly terrified. 
  Wynona: I don't know how to connect Theresa in here. Um. [heroic pose] I 
  emanate an afflatus of happy endings! 
  Tomas: What? 
  Wynona: So that Theresa doesn't have to kill the guy and can show up and do 
  theurgy on this girl to overcome her as an obstacle. 
  Tomas: What's an afflatus? 
  
  Wynona: . . . a divine emanation. Like saintbows.17 
  Tomas: But what does that even mean? 
  Wynona: I want to explain what it means. I will need Harmony targets. 
  Theresa: 0. 
  Fiona: 5. 
  Theresa: Why 5? 
  Fiona: I like the idea of inexplicable afflatuses. 
  Tomas: Anyone higher than 5? 
   
  [pause] 
   
  Tomas: OK, roll. 
  Wynona: 1, 1, 1, 3 . . . um, which is my most relevant Power? 
  Tomas: Fiona, if I wind up staring into the abyss of endless confusion I will 
  blame you. 
  Fiona: I think it is governed by Law. 
  Wynona: 4, 5! 
  Tomas: Oh, good. 
  Wynona: It means that a person can always find a path to their awakening that 
  doesn't hurt anybody else. Maybe they won't. But they always can. And maybe 
  it means that it's time that this group got together and moved forward as one. 
  Tomas: Look, the guard's in a no-win situation here. If he stops her, then by 
  the rules he ceases to exist or something, but if he doesn't stop her, he's failed 
  the royalty of Raif. 
  Wynona: Then let him go free. Let him find his happy ending somewhere else. 
  He doesn't have to stay in Raif. He doesn't have to slave to a vampiric royalty's 
  dictates! He can go somewhere that isn't in the shadow of the loss of the Jewel 
  and live. 
  Tomas: He can't escape me. 
  Wynona: "Tomas, you're wriggling." 
  Tomas: ". . . what?" 
  Wynona: "You're engaging in machinations as the Weaver to ensure that we 
  don't resolve this situation. I won't have it; if you don't stand down, I'll--- I'll 
  kick you out of the game." 
  Tomas: "Oi, 'e's the Weaver?" The girl pales. "That means--- he's royal?" 
  Wynona: "Yes." 
  Tomas: She faints. 
  Theresa: Yes, you're terrifying in your imagination, Tomas. 
  Tomas: You shut up. And come on in, the guard is off pursuing his lifelong 
  dream of being a traveling salesman or something. 
  Theresa: Obstacle . . . circumvented. Hello, Wynona. I dreamed of you. 
  Wynona: Hi! 
  Theresa: And the man who thinks he's the Weaver. 
                                           
  17 Saint-emanated rainbows. Also, she is wrong. 
  
  Tomas: I am totally the Weaver. Look, I'm creating ducks. [spreads his hands, 
  as if ducks were exploding into being.] 
  Theresa: A common vampire trick. 
  Tomas: You totally have to roll fatalism for that. 
  Theresa: I need not roll; the evidence is before me. 
  Froderick: I've reclaimed the coin. Now I'm twice the aspirant. 
  Fiona: Hi, I'm Fiona. I fell. 
  Theresa: I suspect Fiona of brain damage. 
  Fiona: Oi! No theurgy! 
  Theresa: It is an unfocused suspicion. 
  Fiona: I like my brain! It sloshes! 
  Froderick: Froderick. 
  Theresa: It's nice to meet you all. 
  Wynona: We're having a crisis where this girl stole my coin. At any moment 
  vampires may sweep down and declare me ineligible to be eaten. 
  Froderick: And then eat her. 
  Wynona: Vampires. [Her gesture connotes: "What can you say?"] 
  Theresa: And why shouldn't they eat you? 
  Wynona: Well, I'm not a virgin. 
  Froderick: Do tell. 
  Theresa: That's unicorns. 
  Wynona: I mean to say, I want the world to be a better place, but it'll be a 
  worse place if I'm eaten. 
  Theresa: Most meals propose a similar calculus. 
  Wynona: Don't you want me to survive and be the wisher? 
  Theresa: These idiots in Raif think they can judge you. But they're already in 
  the past and they don't know it yet. Listen. I'm going to put my faith in you. 
  Explain to me why you're worth my doing that. Prove to me that you're going to 
  qualify as the wisher and I'll melt any vampire that says otherwise. Or don't, 
  and believe me, I will let you die. 
  Wynona: [smiles] 
  Theresa: What? 
  Wynona: You give me hope, strange acerbic shouter. Let's both do our best. 
  Tomas: And there ends scene 1, resolving the immediate crisis. Let's get back 
  together after a break to confront the Queen of Raif. 
   
   
   
  Raif (Scene 2) 
   
  Tomas: The Queen of Raif explains to you, "The houses of Raif strive against 
  one another; and while they do so, I retain the stability of my throne. Also it 
  does not hurt that my son is God." 
  Fiona: That's what she said. 
   
  
  [pause] 
   
  Fiona: The Virgin Mary, I mean. 
  Tomas: "I dispose of you thus. Fiona, to be thrown from a windmill; Froderick, 
  to serve as loremaster to the Western House; Wynona, as consort and meal to 
  the heir of the Eastern House; and this theurgist to be shackled and blinded 
  and serve as oracle in my court. Balance is preserved; the houses that snipe 
  one against the other shall owe me and fear me and remain at odds; and the 
  matter of 'seeking' the Jewel ends here." 
  Theresa: Just try it. 
  Froderick: A moment. There are only two houses? 
  Fiona: I think there's like a southern house that really likes windmills. 
  Froderick: I'm unimpressed by the scope of these dynastic intrigues. 
  Tomas: There's extra noble houses for other wisher-wannabes. 
  Theresa: . . . you don't want people seeking the Jewel. 
  Tomas: Just caught that, did you? 
  Theresa: I was distracted by the threat of blinding and shackling. O Queen, 
  surely you would rather live in an existing world? 
  Tomas: "I have lived a very long time and now I live by bloodshed," says the 
  Queen. "The world is dry and bitter to me. And I have come to find a certain 
  solace in the knowledge that it is meaningless dust that will blow away. Can 
  you overcome that emptiness, theurgist, with your petty magic and your laws? 
  What good is it to have a world if it should host such living death?" 
  Theresa: You were supposed to be better than this. 
  Tomas: She cackles. "You're going to make me a better person with your magic? 
  Hardly." 
  Tomas: She signals to her guards. They're ready to interrupt Queen-altering 
  magic with a battle. 
  Tomas: And then she says, "And what would that even mean?" 
  Theresa: I'm going for it. I'm increasing her tactical Goodness trait. 
  Tomas: With theurgy? 
  Theresa: Nah, a rules toy. 
  Tomas: [flips through the rules] Give me a Confidence roll. 
  Theresa: [picks up dice] [thinks] [thinks more] [puts down dice] 27. 
  Tomas: Wow. That's better than I expected.18 
  Theresa: I'm a tactical goodness confidence queen. 
  Tomas: The Queen is now better---but is it really good enough? 
  Theresa covers her face in her hands. 
  Theresa, after a moment: Yes? 
  Tomas: "I'm sorry," says the Queen, quietly. "I am the Queen of Raif. I . . . 
  cannot be otherwise. Let the sentence take place." 
  Wynona: Three days. 
  Tomas: Eh? 
                                           
  18 Neither of them is mentioning aloud that there don't seem to be any rules for rolling 
  Confidence. 
  
  Wynona: Give me three days to find an answer for you. To show you why the 
  world should be. Hold off on the blinding and the windmill-throwing until then. 
  Tomas: You're going to need to use an Attribute. 
  Wynona: Knowledge, then. Vampires crave bleakness but they need, too, a 
  kind of an end to bleakness. They need a boundary to the emptiness. Does that 
  make sense? She doesn't want purpose. She doesn't want hope. But she can't 
  just toss the need for those things aside. If she could she wouldn't be afraid. 
  Fiona: That's not Knowledge. That's philosophy. 
  Wynona: Well, I'm not making a general point about people. Just vampires. I 
  don't know about people really. But I think . . . I'm going to set my target for 
  this roll to 0. 
  Fiona: Then I'll roll too. 
  Wynona: I yield the floor; fatalist, am I wrong? 
  Fiona: She's too dry. She can't have that longing you described. That's not why 
  she gives you the three days. It's not for hope. 
  Wynona: Then why? 
  Fiona: For Tomas. 
  Tomas: Eh? 
  Fiona: [To Tomas] She doesn't want you to lose your wisher. That is what 
  remains to her after all this time. The sense that if you are running a game of 
  WTF wherein the Jewel is found, she has . . . been a living Queen, and a 
  vampire after, correctly. 
  Tomas: Make your roll, then. 
  Fiona: 5. 
  Tomas: It suffices. You may have three days. Froderick, you are haled off to 
  service in the Western House where they sneer at you for being a lowly 
  shoemaker and boil with rage at this insult that the Queen has sent. 
  Froderick: I explain to them how to defeat the Eastern House and achieve 
  supremacy over Raif. It is actually very simple when you understand the 
  biological processes of snails. 
  Tomas: This plan interests me; do tell. 
  Froderick: It would fly over your head; suffice it to say that it is the case that I 
  can provide it, and our House shall use geometry and slime trails to achieve 
  supremacy in Raif, conquering first the Eastern House and then the armies of 
  the Queen. I will roll Knowledge if necessary to make it so. 
  Tomas: I count a 75% reduction in their sneering; but trouble probably 
  impends. Fiona, what are you doing? 
  Fiona: I am entering into the Queen's confidences. 
  Tomas: . . . how? 
  Fiona: I am aware of trends of fashions that have not yet reached Raif. Also, I 
  am charming and delightful and too disposable to mistrust. 
  Tomas: Two days in she eats you. 
  Fiona: An error! That was a dressing mannequin in her chambers that she took 
  for me by mistake. 
  Tomas: Another day and the hunger is too great to control. 
  Fiona: This time it is a statue. 
  
  Tomas: She becomes suspicious. By what mechanism are you achieving these 
  duplications? 
  Fiona: Logic. 
  Tomas: Logic? 
  Fiona: It is foreordained that we shall gather again in three days in the palace 
  in the heart of Raif; it was written on the far side of the sun and whispered of 
  by ur-toads before any of us was born. That given, I cannot be eaten; knowing 
  her tendencies, and seeking with a valiant heart to avoid paradox, I ensure the 
  presence of many things around me that resemble my delicious neck and yet 
  are not. 
  Tomas: Your tricks fail; she has vampiric senses and you do not. 
  Fiona: Curses! Fortunately I may blur those senses with the use of a cinnabar 
  ointment. 
  Tomas: I concede defeat; Theresa, she seeks you out as oracle. 
  Theresa: I cannot help you; it is not in your interest to bite Fiona, but only a 
  dark urge sponsored by your inner demons. If you have convinced me to serve 
  you, then I cannot serve you in this fashion; if I am unconvinced, then I will not 
  serve you in this fashion. Also, WTF, she's my adventuring companion. 
  Tomas: . . . actually, she isn't asking about how to bite Fiona without 
  accidentally gnawing a Fiona-shaped display case. She's in a meditative mood, 
  and she comes to where you're chained up and says, "I could let you live if you 
  find her unworthy." 
  Theresa: You shouldn't compromise your principles, o Queen. 
  Tomas: Then I slay you here, in the night, and knowing that I break no bargain 
  to do so. 
  Theresa: That's all right. 
  Tomas: It is? 
  Theresa: I'm totally going to show up anyway the third day, garbed in white 
  and being all shiningly deus ex machina.19 
  Tomas: And lastly Wynona, given over to some other vampire prince who is not 
  the Weaver and is kind of emo, brooding, and nasty. 
  Wynona: Does he sparkle in sunlight? 
  Tomas: Is that your virtuous belief in the goodness of all creation or your 
  unnecessary mockery of the Twilight books? 
  Wynona: I like people that sparkle in sunlight. They make me smile. 
  Tomas: He looms around saying vampiric consort things to you but you realize 
  after a while that he's nervous about actually hurting or getting within 20 feet 
  of you just in case you're the wisher. 
  Wynona: Ha! I try to scare him more--- no, I shouldn't. The poor beast. Boo! 
  No, I shouldn't. I didn't do that. Fiona, make it so I didn't do that. 
  Fiona: Regrettably you're talking to a pile of laundry that happens to resemble 
  Fiona. Not long afterwards, the Queen of Raif bites it, swears, and wanders off. 
  Also, that would be destructive Knowledge and I don't do that. 
                                           
  19 Interestingly, word processors believe that this phrase is "dues ex machine." 
  
  Wynona: Seriously, guys, what am I going to do? Time develops stuff in fullness 
  but it's going to be like half an hour later in real time and not three days by the 
  time three days are up. 
  Tomas: At . . . MARK. 
  Wynona: What if I just--- say I came up with a solution? 
  Tomas: You could do that. 
  Wynona: Yay! 
  Tomas: I'd construe it as indicating that the entire universe was nothing more 
  than a rhetorical device, wished into being with semantic cheating and reckless 
  assumptions, but you could do that. 
  Wynona: Oh. 
  Theresa: Tomas exaggerates. The mechanism by which you wave the problem 
  away is relevant. 
  Tomas: Oh, of course. The universe would be elided in totally different ways if 
  you used Insight than if you used Harmony. 
  Wynona: Then tell me what happens when Froderick's new House makes its bid 
  for the throne after conquering its rivals; when the Queen turns and sees 
  Theresa alive; what it was that Fiona knew would happen when she spoke of 
  three days from now; how I got to the Queen when my captor would be the . . . 
  Western? . . . House's first target? 
  Tomas: You know. Um. Stuff. 
  Wynona: That's a total double standard. 
  Tomas: Hee. Yeah. OK. I think it's more likely that the Queen has advance word 
  of what's coming; that her forces join the Eastern House's on the field; that she 
  helps humble the insurgent Western House--- perhaps because of her 
  unexpected presence, perhaps by my will, or perhaps because Fiona helped her 
  see through Froderick's master plan. 
  Fiona: Hi. [waves] 
  Froderick: Hi. [blushes] 
  Tomas: And I think it's on that battlefield, among the slain, as you pull away 
  from your captor who has actually gone so far as to grab your arm in the 
  confusion, and as you see Theresa walking towards you from somewhere full of 
  light, that the Queen asks. That she says, "So, wisher. What can you give me to 
  make this world worth living?" 
  Wynona: I stab her through the heart. 
  Tomas: What? 
  Wynona: "You don't have to the Queen of Raif any more," I tell her. "You can 
  be light."  
  Wynona: And it pours from the hollow in her like the dawning sun, more light 
  and power than it seems possible that she could have contained, and it washes 
  across the battlefield like a benediction; and from her collapsing empty corpse 
  a bird of light goes free. 
  Tomas: Why? 
  Wynona: Why? 
  Tomas: Why any of that? Why does that work? Why does it have meaning? 
  Wynona: Look at Theresa. 
  
  Theresa is thinking. 
  Wynona: I did that, and it worked, and it has meaning because I promised I 
  would give Theresa courage. Because she needs to remember what it means 
  that all of us are angels of prameya inside our mortal flesh. 
  Froderick: Isn't killing people wrong? 
   
  Pause. 
   
  Wynona: [gravely] Yes. That is my bad. 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/_GM Books/Bestiaries/wtf.pdf