city-of-whispers

City of Whispers

A tabletop roleplaying game about intrigue in a fantasy city.

By Dan Brown

City of Whispers is a game of medieval-style fantasy that takes place entirely in a single large city. This isn’t the epic adventure of Lord of the Rings, but instead intimate machinations of city politics, faction intrigue, uneasy partnerships, and back alley negotiations. Violence is rare, but hangs over the city like a dagger waiting to fall.

City of Whispers is a fantasy roleplaying game taking place in a city invented by the players. It emphasizes three aspects of the genre:

• Connection to the city: Your characters establish connections with individual neighborhoods and factions and people. As you encounter threats and undertake risky actions, the greater the connection to the city, the more effective you will be.
• Intrigue between the characters: Characters are entrenched in city politics and know secrets about their fellow citizens. The lengths they go to preserve those secrets can have an impact on their relationships and interactions.
• Zooming in and out between faction-level and street-level action: There are distinct moves for factions. Players control not only their characters at the street level, but also make decisions for their factions to affect the contours of city politics.

Inspiration	Pinterest
Design Diary	October 2022 • November 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Introduction
• Safety
• Setting

Creating the City and Characters

• Building the City and Creating Characters

Rules, Moves, and More

• The Characters
• The City
• Moves (List of all moves)
• Character Advancement

For the Magistrate

• Magistrate Agenda, Principles, and Moves
• Magistrate’s Guide to Players
• Getting the Story Going
• Lists

Playbooks

The exact nature of your occupation is immaterial to the city. The city only concerns itself with how you contribute to its vitality.

Do you produce goods for others to consume? Do you hold essential knowledge? Do you encourage folks to meet and transact? Do you demand order from city denizens? Do you keep others entertained? Or perhaps you keep them on their toes?

Yes? Then you do not just live in the city, you are part of it.

Overview of Playbooks

Character Keeper (Google Sheets)

• Apparatus, The Sustainer
• Clamor, The Dabbler
• Conduit, The Connector
• Crossroads, The Painkiller
• Foundry, The Producer
• Pillar, The Enforcer
• Remnant, The Discarded
• Skyline, The Watcher
• Vault, The Patron
• Wellspring, The Maven