About

The Short

The Swords Also Speaks is a trick-taking roleplaying game that uses a standard deck of playing cards over the more traditional dice for determining a character’s success or failures. It is based in a traditional fantasy setting where you can expect to find elves, magic, and dragons.

The Long

The Sword Also Speaks is a fantasy inspired tabletop roleplaying game that utilises a deck of playing cards over more traditional dice rolling mechanics. As players journey through the game, they’ll face fantastical challenges, and the cards they draw will decide if they’re a hero or if things go hilariously wrong. It’s like any other TTRPG, but with more shuffling and less math.

What is a Roleplaying Game?

A roleplaying game allows players to assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. They make decisions, take on challenges by utilising their skills and abilities, and work together to tell a unique story.

What is a Game Master?

The Game Master ‘GM’ is the referee of the game. They will be the one guiding the players through the story and reacting to their decisions throughout. While in most games, the players will work with the Game Master to create an amazing story, in The Sword Also Speaks, the Game Master works against them when it comes to drawing cards.

What is a Trick-Taking Game?

Trick-taking is a type of game where players around a table will try to win “tricks” by placing cards on the table. In most games, the player with the highest card will win the trick and score points. The Sword Also Speaks is primarily a trick taking game, meaning when characters use their skills, they will draw cards and try to be the highest at the table.

What do you need to play?

To properly play The Sword Also Speaks, each player will need to bring their own deck of traditional playing cards (including jokers). They will also need a character sheet, a writing implement, and some idea of what they would like to play (keeping in mind that The Sword Also Speaks works best when its based in a traditional fantasy setting).

What makes The Sword Also Speaks different from other TTRPGs?

Besides utilising a trick-taking mechanic to resolve actions in the games, there are other key qualities that make The Sword Also Speaks unique:

Although the character creation is a little more complex when compared to other games, the gameplay is simple and straightforward to understand.
There’s no level cap; characters can go as high as the Game Master likes.
There are no classes; unlike traditional TTRPGs, there are no defined classes in The Sword Also Speaks. Instead, players are invited to create their own by choosing an archetype and selecting perks that best fit their characters.
There are no spell slots; characters can cast as many spells as they want a day. There’s also no spell levels.
There’s more focus on specialisation and investing in character features. With each level up, players can increase the power of their perks or spells.
One of the keys features of The Sword Also Speaks is the Moment of Dread; a diabolical mechanic that helps bring tension to every game played.

The Structure of Play

It all starts with the Game Master. They will (preferably before the game begins) develop an exciting story that their players will experience. As is typical in any TTRPG, the players will then take control of their characters and tell the GM how they react to the story. If their actions have any chance of failing, they will need to perform a skill check.

This is how a skill check usually goes:

The player will react to a situation presented by the Game Master by telling them what their character would do.
The player will draw a number of cards from their deck equal to their rank in a skill relevant to what they are attempting.
The Game Master will draw a number of cards from their deck equal to the difficulty of the challenge that they determine.
They each choose one of these cards and place them face down on the table.
They turn them over at the same time. Whoever’s card is highest is the winner.
If the Game Master wins, the player doesn’t achieve their goal. If the player succeeds, they do.