TEXT: 
  DULSE
  A game by Jason Morningstar
  This version of Dulse was an entry in Game Chef 2008, using 
  the art set of Donna K. Fitch
  This game is dedicated to my friends in the nordic countries.
  Thanks to:  Group Leo (Mike Sands, Hituro, rockodes, almos-
  tgold, mox, and scimon), Steve Segedy, Kynn Bartlett, Rafael 
  Chandler, Jeph Schecter, Andy Kitkowski, Shane Jackson, Tim 
  C. Koppang for his game Hero’s Banner, Frederik Jensen for 
  his game Montsegur 1244, Team Jeep (especially Olle Jonsson 
  and Tobias Wrigstad) for their games The Upgrade, Doubt, and 
  Night of Nights.  And thank you for reading!  I’d value any feed-
  back or reactions you might have.  I can be reached at jmstar@
  gmail.com and I’d love to hear from you!
  Dulse is copyright 2008 Jason Morningstar.  This version of 
  the text is known as “Dulse Game Chef 2008”.  This work is 
  licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.  
  To view a copy of the license, visit:  http://creativecommons.
  org/licenses/by/3.0/.  Feel free to take the game in  new direc-
  tions - let me know what you do with it.
  1
  
  2
  INTRODUCTION
  Dulse is a game about relationships, ideals, and the choices we 
  make to preserve or destroy them. 
  In addition to being the name of the game, Dulse is also a 
  character - one who is literally central.  The events that inform 
  play, and the other three characters, revolve around Dulse.
  Across five life-changing events, you and your friends will 
  explore the sacrifices and betrayals of four people who’ve 
  known each other their entire lives, and who have deep-seated 
  needs that they can’t fill alone.  Along the way you’ll make 
  hard choices between competing ideals, and have more choices 
  made for you.  In the end, you will face an uncertain future 
  guided only by a shared past.
  To play you’ll need:
  · Three friends (although the game will work with more or 
  less, four is the ideal number of players).
  · A deck of playing cards, sorted into a red pile and a black 
  pile (You’ll need 20 from each pile ultimately).
  ·A single sheet of paper, or a pre-made relationship diagram, 
  and a pencil.
  · Depending on your play style, anywhere from one to three 
  hours.  Call it two hours on average, probably less.
  · A comfortable place where you can relax, stretch out, and 
  chew the scenery.
  
  3
  Here’s what you’ll do:
  ·Choose a general setting and tone for your game.
  ·Pick characters, and build relationships between them.
  ·Choose a set of mutually incompatible ideals that will inform 
  play.
  · Play out a series of events that will apply tension to charac-
  ters, answer questions about their relationships, and illustrate 
  their commitment (or abandonment!) to the ideals you’ve 
  chosen.  
  · Discover, through an epilogue, how the character’s choices 
  impacted the rest of their lives.
  1
  
  
  CHARACTERS
  There are four characters in Dulse, adults who have known 
  each other since they were very young.  No other named char-
  acters should appear “on stage” in the game - don’t introduce 
  handmaidens, errant fathers, mysterious swordsmen, or capri-
  cious officials if you can avoid it, and if you must, don’t name 
  them.  The characters are:
  · Arras, a Duke
  · Baston, a Captain
  · Calla, a Sorceress
  · Dulse, a Princess
  Thoughts On Characters
  Feel free to change the character’s genders - Arra the Duchess; 
  Basia the Corsair, and Caul the Magician, along with Prince 
  Dulse.  You can experiment with changing the gender ratio, 
  also.  Two and two is a well-balanced set-up for a variety of 
  reasons, not the least of which is a close correspondence to the 
  tropes of classical romance.  Three and one (make Dulse the 
  one) will result in a strongly sex-and-gender focused game, 
  and four and none will be deliciously gay and completely up in 
  the air.
  Although the default assumption is an amorphous sort of 
  fantasy setting, there’s no reason not to set the game wherever 
  you like. Duke Alfred, Captain Bastion, Reverend Curtain 
  and Lady Diedre would serve nicely for a regency romance. 
  Aisha the sorority sister, Baby Girl the gangster, Conrad the 
  
  
  shop clerk, and Dulse the college boy would also work. The 
  only requirement is that the characters must have known each 
  other all their lives - their complex interrelationships form a 
  map, in fact.
  If you wind up with three or five players, leave all the turn-tak-
  ing and rotation in place and simply share a character.  The 
  game won’t suffer too much. Remember that the four charac-
  ters should be the entire scope of the game’s named universe.  
  The Relationship Map
  Before the game begins, tie characters together in a web of 
  emotion and obligation with a relationship map.  Here’s how:  
  Each character has a relationship, defined by a verb, with every 
  other character.
  Every character’s relationship with Dulse is reciprocal - if Ar-
  ras supports Dulse, Dulse by necessity supports Arras.  Arras, 
  Baston, and Calla all have non-reciprocal relationships with 
  one another - Baston may adore Calla, but Calla can’t adore 
  him back. 
  Put more plainly, each character’s relationships follow this 
  template: “I X you, but you Y me, and Dulse and I Z each 
  other.” Each letter is replaced by a verb.
  There are a total of eight verbs; assign one to each relationship 
  in rotation, starting with Dulse’s player and rotating through 
  the players of Arras, Baston, Calla, and then back to Dulse. 
  On your turn you can assign any relationship, including one 
  between characters you do not control. The person who is last 
  
  
  in the rotation (Dulse’s player again) chooses any of the eight 
  to re-use for the ninth, and final, relationship. The verbs are:
  Adore, Loathe, Desire, Deceive, Support, Frustrate, Envy, and 
  Fear
  For the purposes of Game Chef, imagine a shared sheet with 
  Arras, Baston and Calla at three equidistant points on a wheel, 
  each with an arrow pointing at the other two characters. Dulse 
  is in the center of this wheel, with two-way arrows radiating 
  like spokes to the other three characters. Each arrow has a 
  space for writing a verb on it.
  Example
  Scott, Mike, Monica, and Val are playing a game of Dulse. 
  Scott is chosen to play the titular character. Mike is Arras, 
  Monica is Baston, and Val will play Calla.
  Scott wants a love relationship for sure.  He chooses “Dulse 
  and Baston adore each other.”
  Mike, who revels in the tragic and the creepy, adds “Arras fears 
  Calla.”
  Monica likes that mood and adds “Baston loathes Calla.”
  Val, injecting some positivity, adds “Calla and Dulse support 
  each other.”
  Scott, Mike, and Monica then add “Arras envies Baston”, “Bas-
  ton frustrates Arras” and “Calla deceives Arras” respectively. 
  For her final turn, Val decides to get some romance for Calla, 
  too.  She adds “Calla desires Baston.”
  
  
  Scott, liking the love/hate symmetry he’s imagining, re-uses 
  loathe with “Dulse and Arras loathe each other.”
  So the final relationships look like this:
  Arras envies Baston, but Baston frustrates Arras. Dulse and 
  Arras loathe each other.
  Baston loathes Calla, but Calla desires Baston. Dulse and 
  Baston adore each other.
  Calla deceives Arras, and Arras fears Calla. Dulse and Calla 
  support each other.
  So what does this all mean?
  For Baston, it means that he and Dulse are in love.  He drives 
  his friend Arras crazy, though, because he refuses to act on 
  those feelings.  He knows Calla is in love with him, and he 
  hates her for it.
  For Arras, it means he and Dulse can’t stand each other - but 
  that animosity is predicated on sexual tension.  He wishes he 
  had love, like his friend Baston has found, but with Dulse?  
  That’s just crazy.  And Calla - well, Calla has Arras fooled into 
  thinking she knows his deepest secret, and he’s terrified of her.
  For Calla, it means she and Dulse are loyal friends.  She des-
  perately lusts after Dulse’s beloved, Baston, and that’s a painful 
  secret.  Calla knows that deep down, Arras wants Dulse de-
  spite his venom toward her, and she delights in cruelly string-
  ing him along, blackmailing him with lies and falsehoods. 
  As for Dulse, well, she’s in love with one man, hates another, 
  and has her good friend by her side through thick and thin.  
  For now.
  
  8
  Changing Relationships
  When an event is concluded, relationships will probably have 
  changed.  It may be tempting to re-author them (changing 
  “Support” to “Frustrate”, for example) but don’t bother.  It’s 
  mroe useful to retain a baseline than it is to keep updating 
  them.  Relationships exist primarily to guide initial play and 
  serve as a sort of flag for purposes of framing scenes, but they 
  are not sacrosanct.  If you play a scene in the distant past 
  where Dulse and Calla frustrate each other rather than sup-
  port each other, that’s fine.
  Thoughts On The Relationship Map
  It’s possible to arrive at some awkward constructions, but it is 
  unlikely that any combination will be too implausible. Inter-
  pret the relationships creatively and drive toward intensity and 
  dramatic associations. Remember that these characters have 
  known each other all their lives.  Just because they hate or fear 
  each other doesn’t mean they don’t also love each other, deep 
  down. 
  Unless one of them is Dulse, two characters normally can’t 
  have reciprocal relationships.  The only exception to this is a 
  reciprocal relationship formed by the last person in the selec-
  tion rotation, which would be interesting and fine.  It’s the only 
  way a game will start with Baston frustrating Calla and Calla 
  frustrating Baston, for example.  If that happens, the weird 
  parallelism that is a hallmark of relationships with Dulse has 
  bled out into the wider world, and that’s great.
  1
  
  
  IDEALS
  Relationships in a game of Dulse are informed by, and 
  changed by, a set of conflicting ideals.
  The default conflict is between love and honor, but others are 
  certainly possible and encouraged - this, more than anything, 
  colors the game.  Players will make decisions at the end of 
  each event that are directly related to their appreciation of, and 
  observations about, these ideals.  In the context of the game, 
  these two ideals are mutually exclusive.
  Before play, place two sets of tokens somewhere easily acces-
  sible - in bowls, on the table, or whatever is practical.  These 
  should be divided into two easily-identifiable groups of twenty 
  - use different colored beads or coins or playing cards. Each set 
  represents one ideal - love or honor.
  Thoughts On Ideals
  Someone’s character might be dead, but their goals, hopes, and 
  dreams aren’t. The things the missing character cares about 
  may be realized by another character, or by the weight of 
  memory on all the characters.
  After you’ve played a few games of Dulse, freshen it up by 
  using new ideals - mercy and justice, or peace and freedom, 
  or any tantalizing pair of desirable, mutually exclusive terms. 
  You’ll need to calibrate outcomes to the seven-point scale, 
  but that’s fun, too. There’s an example for peace and freedom 
  below.
  Ideals should be central to events.  A game with the ideals of 
  freedom and peace should have a very different tone from a 
  game with the ideals of justice and mercy.  When uncertain 
  
  0
  about how to frame an event, ask yourself how to make it 
  about the choice between the two ideals. 
  Final Preparations
  Once you’ve chosen characters and created the relationship 
  map, talk about the situation a bit. Which characters are at 
  odds? Which are fast friends? What is their shared history? 
  How are they poised for change?  With the possibilities fresh 
  in your minds, you are ready to play.  Arrange the two sets of 
  tokens to represent ideals.  Playing cards (20 red for one ideal, 
  20 black for the other) work great.  
  Once everyone is poised for action, let Dulse’s player choose an 
  event and begin.
  1
  
  
  EVENTS
  The five events may occur in any order, and each occurs only 
  once. Each includes a question that must be answered and 
  some characters who must appear in it.  Dulse’s player chooses 
  and frames the first and last events; everyone else gets one in 
  the middle - decide however you like who chooses the next 
  event.
  The Wedding (Everyone)
  The ring was silver, with a topaz stone in it the color of her 
  eyes. He didn’t slip it on her finger but rather held it out for 
  her in his palm, the very act asking a question. She made her 
  choice.
  Who opposes the marraige - and why?
  The Betrayal (Calla and Dulse)
  A perilous boundary was crossed; sacred oaths were aban-
  doned in haste.  But no one dared pass judgment, not in those 
  times. Many had walked that path, and they waited to see 
  what choices would be made.
  Will the shame be forgotten - or avenged?
  The Birth (Arras and Baston)
  The baby didn’t come easily, and there was nothing for it but 
  to boil water and wait and listen to the screams - first one and 
  then, thankfully, two. The baby’s physiognomy favored the 
  father.
  Who is the baby’s father?
  
  2
  The Secret (Baston and Dulse)
  The sea chest was full of odds and ends - a tarnished foreign 
  medal, a used-up bottle of patent medicine - and a locked box. 
  A friend took the key and swore never to open it.
  What is in the box, and how does it change everything?
  The Killing (Arras and Calla)
  Know one knew where the sword came from. It was a shabby 
  thing, little more than a sharpened iron rod, its pommel un-
  finished and unadorned, but it sliced through bone and viscera 
  well enough.
  Who will die?
  Framing Events
  What does framing an event entail?  Well, you and your 
  friends can decide for yourselves, but here are some ideas:
   Each event has a tiny bit of back story.  How does that come 
  to pass? 
   Four of the events focus on certain character pairs.  Why 
  those two?  Will the others be involved?
   Where?  Maybe a little scene painting exercise is in order.
   When?  What’s the point of attack?  Is the event occurring in 
  sequence, or are we flashing back to an earlier time? 
   How is the question going to be posed, and how is it going to 
  be answered? 
   How do the paired ideals come into play, and what is the ten-
  sion between them?
  There aren’t any right answers, but your group will reach a 
  consensus on what’s fun and what’s necessary.  Remember that, 
  
  3
  while the person who has claimed the event has the privilege 
  of setting it up, nothing should happen in a vacuum.  Share 
  ideas, offer suggestions, and get involved in every event.  I sug-
  gest digging deeply in your arsenal of gamer tricks and tech-
  niques, allowing everyone to help set the stage and contribute 
  ideas. Character ownership is only as rigid as your preference, 
  and things like time, space, and causality are equally malleable. 
  Most of all, drive toward revelation.
  You may have conflicts - fantastic!  There’s no system for 
  resolving them in these pages, very deliberately.  Some sug-
  gestions:  Seek consensus on what’s most interesting for the 
  unfolding story, drive toward revelation, favor the four named 
  characters, favor the characters named in the scene more, favor 
  Dulse most.  
  An event can end once the question associated with it has 
  been answered.  Once the answer is clear, any player can call 
  for a new event.  That said, enjoy them!  It’s not a race.  If 
  there’s some juicy character interaction going on, see where it 
  takes you. 
  The game ends, and the epilogue begins, once every event has 
  been played.
  Example
  Mike, playing Arras, takes his turn framing an event, and 
  chooses the Birth.  It will include both Arras and Baston, 
  played by Monica.
  All the players discuss what the event could be about.  Mike 
  says he’d like it to take place in the future, and Scott suggests 
  that maybe Dulse is having a baby.  Val interjects that a tense 
  scene as the two named characters, both men, wait outside the 
  bedroom door would be fun.  Mike and Val play out the scene, 
  
  
  and at some point we learn that despite all expectations, the 
  baby’s father is Arras.  The scene continues for a few moments, 
  but the big revelation is a satisfying stopping point. 
  Thoughts On Events
  Check out how the relationship map ties in with the five 
  events - Arras and Calla appear in The Killing, and for the 
  group in the example above, it’s pretty well established that 
  Arras lives in misplaced terror of Calla. Dulse and Calla are in 
  a scene about betrayal, and we already know she’s a low-down 
  sneak.  How low down?  Low enough to dishonor her best 
  friend, who she loves?  The events, relationship map, and ideals 
  all work together to drive play.
  Events should revolve around the two named characters. For 
  example, it’d be interesting to have Baston slain by Dulse in 
  The Killing, leaving Arras and Calla to seek her out for an 
  explanation or revenge.
  None of these events presuppose particular answers.  Obvi-
  ously a woman is going to give birth, but who she is and who 
  fathered her child are entirely up in the air.  Two people are 
  getting married, but the players will decide who.  It’s entirely 
  acceptable to have “off-stage” characters assume some of these 
  roles - Baston’s nameless sister gives birth to Arras’ child; Calla 
  murders her nameless lover while Arras watches from a tower 
  window.  These nameless characters are furniture provided for 
  the use of the four named characters.  If that’s how it works 
  out, don’t worry about it - but a game where every action is 
  sharply delimited by the four named characters is likely to be 
  more interesting.
  It’s possible (likely, even) that a character will end up written 
  out of the story early. If it’s time for a character to die or leave 
  for greener pastures, don’t resist the urge. If your character has 
  
  
  departed, perhaps you will re-appear in later events in flash-
  back, or as a ghost, or merely as a looming memory. Maybe 
  your character won’t reappear at all and you can enjoy the rest 
  of the game as a spectator.  Regardless of what your group 
  decides, events in which your character is a named participant 
  should still revolve around you in some way.
  After Each Event
  At the conclusion of every event, every player allocates a pair 
  of cards - one red for love, and one black for honor - to the 
  players of the two named characters in the event (The Wed-
  ding is a special case; see below). Both of the named scene 
  partners get one card from every player, including themselves.  
  To clarify, if you are playing a named character in a scene, you 
  keep one card and give the other to your scene partner. 
  You can decide which player gets which card however you like. 
  It’s probably best to let your decision be guided by the out-
  come of the event and how the scene partners portrayed their 
  characters, but it’s entirely up to you. Since a big part of the 
  game is a commentary on these two ideals, look for how play-
  ers exemplify (or abandon) them in their events. 
  The Wedding is a special case. Since all four characters are 
  named as participants, after The Wedding each player gives a 
  card to the player of the character whose name starts with the 
  next higher letter of the alphabet in rotation - the player of 
  Arras gives a token to the player of Baston, Baston to Calla, 
  Calla to Dulse, and Dulse to Arras.  The other card is retained. 
  Thus, if you are playing Arras, you’ll give the love or honor 
  card to Baston and keep the other one for yourself.  In turn, 
  Dulse’s player will be giving you a card and keeping one, too.
  Each player should put their accumulated cards face down on 
  the table and don’t refer to them until the epilogue.
  
  
  Example
  After The Birth, Mike (playing Arras) and Monica (playing 
  Baston) exchange cards. Monica reasons that, since discovering 
  that Dulse’s child is actually Arras’, she cannot in good con-
  science give the (red) love card to Mike. Instead Arras wishes 
  Baston well in the adventure of fatherhood, and Mike gets the 
  (black)  honor card. For his part, Mike is happy with this situ-
  ation and keeps his own honor card, giving Monica the love 
  card for the scene.  Scott and Val, who watched the scene with 
  interest, differ on the perceived outcome - Scott gives his love 
  card to Monica and his honor card to Mike, and Val does the 
  opposite. 
  The Birth, which was the second event in this particular game, 
  ends.  This immediately sets up an interesting dilemma for 
  everybody, and Val insists that the next scene be the Betrayal! 
  1
  
  
  THE EPILOGUE
  At the end of the fifth event, each player will have ten cards. 
  They may be evenly split, but they may lean toward one 
  extreme or the other. You may end up with five love and five 
  honor, or two love and eight honor, for example. The weight 
  afforded to the two ideals dictates the general outcome for 
  your character.  If you look at the possible results, you’ll see 
  that aggressive - but not too agressive - pursuit of one ideal or 
  the other leads to the happiest result.
  Each player should craft a fitting epilogue for their character 
  and share it with the others, guided by the final disposition of 
  cards. This can take the form of a short monologue, or a brief 
  scene, or a simple description of events in the future.
  Outcomes
  Nine or Ten Love
  All for love. You’ve sacrificed every shred of honor and decen-
  cy, debasing yourself before the altar of Eros, becoming a slave 
  to your passions. It is a terrible end.
  Seven or Eight Love
  Love before all. Your life is utterly scandalous, full of missteps 
  and embarrassment. But it is a life rich in joy, and companion-
  ship, and laughter.
  Six Love
  Love, then honor. You’d abandon the people and things most 
  dear to you in love’s name. Despite keeping up appearances, 
  you’ll die in shame and want.
  
  8
  An Even Split
  Measure for measure. Maintaining your precious balance 
  makes you grind away in humiliating mediocrity, dishonored 
  and unloved.
  Six Honor
  Honor, then love. Few could fault you for your courage, de-
  cency, and resolve. You are a hero of the people, but heroes die 
  alone.
  Seven or Eight Honor
  Honor before all. This means that you are a paragon, and 
  while thoughts of love are crushed beneath the burden of your 
  duties, they are glorious and ennobling duties.
  Nine or Ten Honor
  All for honor. This means that, in the pursuit of an ideal all 
  human feeling has been cleansed from your soul. You are 
  irreproachably correct and unequivocally dead inside. It is a 
  terrible end.
  Example
  At the end of the fifth event, Monica has six love and four 
  honor - a sad, middling outcome for poor Baston.  Running 
  with the theme of shame and want, and guided by what trans-
  pired in the game (including Calla’s death at Baston’s hands), 
  Monica speaks to her friends as an aged and frail old ship cap-
  tain - Baston at some future date.  He moans about his health, 
  the failures of his life, his shame for the crime he committed 
  
  
  but for which he escaped punishment.  His is an ignominious 
  end and everyone is satisfied. 
  Thoughts on the Epilogue
  The outcomes are just guideposts, and they are a little grim, 
  but you should make your character’s epilogue what you feel it 
  should be.  If you don’t like dark fates, forge ahead and create 
  your own.  If your entire group doesn’t like dark fates, re-write 
  them! 
  Bonus Ideals:  Peace and Freedom
  Nine or Ten Peace
  All for peace. You’ve abandoned every principle in the pursuit 
  of peace, and become a slave in the process. It is a terrible end.
  Seven or Eight Peace
  Peace before all. It is the force of your convictions that bring 
  you strength, and the mightiest armies quail before you. Your 
  days are filled with happiness and tranquility.
  Six Peace
  Peace, then freedom. There are sacrifices that must be made, 
  in the name of amity, and you gladly make them. Your end is 
  beneath another’s boot.
  An Even Split
  Measure for measure. Striking an impossible balance leaves 
  
  20
  you both servant and man-at-arms, neither free or at peace. It 
  is a melancholy end, a whimper rather than a shout.
  Six Freedom
  Freedom, then peace. You fight tyranny where you can, when 
  you can. Half measures do no one any favors, and your end is 
  consumed with bitter, fruitless strife.
  Seven or Eight Freedom
  Freedom before all. While holding the guttering flame of peace 
  close to your bosom, you ride against oppression and become a 
  legend - feared and respected.
  Nine or Ten Freedom
  All for freedom. To be truly free is to wage eternal bloody war 
  with those who would take it from you. It is a terrible end.
  Acta est fabula - plaudite!
  1
  
  the Wedding
  Everyone
  The ring was silver, with a topaz stone 
  in it the color of her eyes.  He didn’t slip 
  it on her finger but rather held it out for 
  her in his palm, the very act 
  asking a question.  She made her choice.
  Who will Dulse marry?
  
  the Betrayal
  Caul & Dulse
  No one dared pass judgment, not in 
  those times.  Whatever punishment 
  she inflicted upon herself was far worse 
  than any wagging of foolish tongues.  It 
  was her burden, to bury or make right.  
  Will Dulse answer for her actions?
  
  the Killing
  Arras & Caul
   Know one knew where the sword came 
  from.  It was a shabby thing, little more 
  than a sharpened iron rod, its pommel 
  unfinished and unadorned, but it sliced 
  through bone and viscera well enough.
  Who will die?
  
  the Birth
  Arras & Baston
  The baby didn’t come easily, and there 
  was nothing for it but to boil water and 
  wait and listen to the screams – first 
  one and then, thankfully, two.  The 
  baby’s physiognomy favored the father.
  Who is the baby’s father?
  
  the Secret
  Baston & Dulse
  His sea chest was a bag full of odds and 
  ends – a tarnished foreign medal, a used-
  up bottle of patent medicine – and a 
  locked box.  He gave Dulse the key and 
  made her swear never to open it.
  What is in the box?
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/dulse.pdf