Although City of Whispers sits in the fantasy genre, characters in this game bear little resemblance to Aragorn or Frodo. These are city-dwellers, and not likely long-lost kings or naive in the ways of the world. They aren’t by definition cut out for epic journeys. Their survival isn’t based on enduring treks through wilderness or intimate knowledge of the wilds, but instead on enduring courtly ritual and intimate knowledge of shortcuts both geographical and political.
The playbooks define different types of characters, each representing a different way in which someone connects with the city itself. Every character is made up of these common elements:
Like most PbtA games, characters have essential attributes represented by a score between -3 and +3. These attributes capture how the character navigates various aspects of the city.
| Attribute | Basic Moves | Favored Attribute for… |
|---|---|---|
| Environs | Transit, Steer Clear, Get Your Bearings | Foundry, Remnant |
| Lore | Ear to the Ground, Appraise Circumstances | Apparatus, Clamor, Wellspring |
| Network | Get Something, Observe Someone, Meet Someone New | Conduit, Skyline, Vault |
| Sway | Direct Someone to Act | Crossroads, Pillar |
Your character generates Heat by taking risky actions during the game. When a move or the Magistrate directs you to mark Heat, mark one of the options on the Heat list. As long as this is marked, your character suffers the consequence indicated.
In addition to a mechanical impact, marking Heat should influence the direction of the narrative as well. When you mark Heat, the Magistrate will indicate how the increased pressure or suspicion changes the story.
When directed to roll -Heat, subtract the total number of Heat marked from your roll.
Every character has the ability to tap into a source of power. Upon generating your character, determine which type of power they can use and how that manifests in your city.
When you apply your connection with magic, deity, or technology, the Magistrate determines the complexity of your desired outcome. So long as it is lower than your maximum complexity, you can Use Power. Every application of mysterious energy comes with a price. Nearly every time you use it, there will be consequences, and perhaps the occasional Backfire.
If the trade of goods, services, and information is the city’s lifeblood, then its soul is the connections between people and to the neighborhoods. Your character’s connections are represented by their Network attribute, but they also have connections to specific individuals and to the city’s districts.
When you use a Connection to a person or neighborhood, you can roll with advantage. But rolling a 1 or a 2 reveals that the connection is not a strong as you thought.
A Connection to a person represents the unique relationship in the character’s life, regardless of whether they are known intimately to each other. Your character knows something about their Connections, a secret that can give them a bit of leverage or help them out of a bind.
Secrets are defined by Areas of Insight – the aspect of the Tie’s life that you know something about.
During the course of the game, you may Use a Secret to roll with advantage on Direct Someone to Act. Roll a 1 or a 2, however, and you Reveal a Secret, which could have disastrous consequences.
Note that even if you do not have a Tie with someone, you can still have a relationship with them. In the course of the game, you can’t make use of this relationship mechanically. You can form new Ties when you Meet Someone New or Observe Someone.
Instead of knowing something specific about a Tie, your character knows about a general area of their life. This allows you to make use of the secret in a variety of circumstances.
Characters have beliefs about themselves, the world, the city, and the people in it that influences their worldview and behaviors. Conviction gives characters confidence, but relying too much on belief – rather than perception or wit or reason – can backfire. Events that challenge a characters belief can shake their conviction, and may eventually prove false.
When you Use a Belief, you can roll with advantage. But rolling a 1 or a 2 will challenge your conviction.
Throughout the course of the story, your character might strike a deal with another city denizen. There is space on the character keeper to track these deals, so that you (or the Magistrate) may cash in on them (perhaps when you least expect it).
Deals have no mechanical impact on the game.
Stay in the city long enough and you’ll set up a scheme for generating a bit of income or producing useful resources. Play it right and the scheme will hum along, but get too successful and someone might take notice.
Schemes are measured by their Productivity. They produce Assets, currency you can spend to grease the wheels in your favor.
These must be marked in order. You may not mark a Demand until you have fulfilled the previous one. When you mark the last one, the city has taken too much from you, and your character must retire.
Describe what the city demands that you do to…