Meander

The Setting Frame

The Setting Frame is a preliminary worldbuilding step that helps establish certain details that don't translate well to the abstracted, cartomantic meanings of playing cards. These are a series of questions that are asked before the World Spread is dealt.

1. What is the technological level of this setting?
2. Is the setting historical or non-historical?
3. If the setting is historical, what is the time period?
4. Is the setting speculative or non-speculative?
5. If the setting is speculative, what subgenre?
6. What intelligent species are present in the setting?

The World Spread

The dealer deals a three-card spread representing the three domains of a roleplay setting: Culture, Themes, and History. Players and the dealer decide the meanings of each card, drawing on traditional cartomancy, then the dealer notates and reshuffles the cards.

The Character Draw

Each player draws a card. These cards represent the personalities of every player, distilled to a single archetype that determines their vocation and motivation. Once these cards are notated, the dealer reshuffles them.

The Round

The dealer deals eight cards to each player and flips the top stock card to start the discard pile. In solo play, sixteen cards are dealt instead. The dealer narrates it as the first event and takes the first turn; play proceeds clockwise. On each turn, a player plays a card matching the top discard's rank or suit and narrates a roleplay action. A player who can't play draws a card or cards until a legal play is possible. When the stock runs out, or all players are incapable of making legal plays, shuffle the cards, excluding the top card and any cards in the hands of players, into a new stock. In the case of legal play cessation, drawing from the discard pile continues into legal play is possible. The round ends when a player clears their hand. Play may continue for multiple rounds, keeping the World Spread and Personas but reshuffling the deck and starting a new round.

Suitability

Meander involves card suit strategy for each individual player. Playing a card with a matching suit lets a player discard any card from their hand; playing the opposite suit forces them to draw a card from the deck instead. Diamonds oppose spades and hearts oppose clubs. Playing cards with sympathetic suits, like diamonds with hearts and clubs with spades, lets a player discard any card from their hand while drawing one from the deck at the same time. These effects occur at the end of a player's turn.

Meaning Index

Each of the fifty-two cards carries five linked meanings: a Roleplay Action, a Persona, and a Culture, Theme, and History for the World Spread. One row below is one card's complete definition — use the search box or suit filters to jump to a card quickly.