It Whispers, You Listen

"It Whispers, You Listen" is an improvisational tabletop role-playing game that uses a Tarot deck for dynamic storytelling and the resolution of in game Conflicts. Like many tabletop games, it calls for one player to take on the role of Narrator (often called the Game Master in other systems) and for several other Players, usually two or more, to take on the roles of individual characters who inhabit a world of the Narrator's creation.

Unlike many tabletop role-playing systems, which are designed for extended play and often call for extensive preparation on the Narrator's/Game Master's part, "It Whispers, You Listen" is intended to be fairly improvisational from start to finish. Although it can be adapted to fit a longer-form "campaign" with a bit of work, its design gives special consideration to self-contained narrative arcs and one-off adventures. The rules of "It Whispers, You Listen" are comparatively light, and serve as a sort of transparent "metagame" that shapes the narrative, as opposed to a means of modeling complex systems or interactions. They emphasize the story itself over individual character attributes and character progression, which makes this game simpler than a more "traditional" role-playing game and, by the same token, a bit more regimented.

Current Version: 1.0

This is the first edition/version of "It Whispers, You Listen," inspired by and submitted for Tarot Jam in May of 2016. While I consider the rule-set to be complete in its current state, I do plan to make updates and corrections as the need arises, and will keep track of changes right here. In the future, I hope to incorporate broader discussions of role-playing and storytelling as they relate to this system, provide more gameplay examples, and continue to improve and clarify the manual itself.

This current edition is available on a pay-what-you-want basis. If you wish to encourage the continued development of this and other experimental games (both in the digital and tabletop realms) please consider dropping a few bucks here (you can do so after you've already downloaded and checked out the game) or supporting me long term on Patreon at patreon.com/feedthealeks.