Freedom Fantasies is a Storytelling Game.

That means through playing this Game you and the other Players of this Game will tell a Story.

Each Player will be responsible for describing the Actions of at least one Character.

By achieving certain goals which progress the Story, the Characters will gain Experience Points. These Experience Points can be spent to Progress a Character, which will either grant them additional abilities or improve their odds of success at carrying out certain actions.

As Characters develop, the Story will emerge and they will be able to take on greater challenges.

One Player takes on the role of Gamemaster, and takes on the responsibility of describing the world and putting in place challenges and conflicts for the other Players to overcome in their efforts to progress the Story.

The Game may end whenever the Players feel that the Story has run it’s course. This could be after the initial goals of the Characters have been achieved, or it may continue for as long as the Goals of Characters evolve and change.

Yes! But also no.

Most Roleplaying Games will assume that the Players are each taking on the role of the Characters they control.

Freedom Fantasies instead assumes that each Player is a Bardd, who describes the actions of Characters’ in their control.

Roleplaying can occur within Freedom Fantasies, but that is only one way by which the actions of Characters can be conveyed.

Players may instead prefer to exclusively Narrate the actions of their Character.

Both approaches to Storytelling are entirely acceptable!

Furthermore, where a Roleplaying Game may concern itself with what information Players do or do not know, Freedom Fantasies has no such concerns.

If a Player knows something which their Character would not, they should embrace the Dramatic Irony of the situation.

Lastly, as a Storytelling Game, Freedom Fantasies gives Players more control over how the narrative progresses than many Roleplaying Games typically will.

This is typically achieved by collecting and expending Momentum, which is a resource which reflects when Characters are owed a swing in their favour by the Narrative.

A Game of Freedom Fantasies can be as short or as long as the Players would like it to be.

It may be a short Story told over the span of a single 2 hour long session, or it may be an epic story told throughout a series of sessions played across many months or even years!

We recommend that a single session of Freedom Fantasy be played for a period of between 1-4 hours, although Players coming together from long distances may wish to play out multiple sessions within a single day.

Before starting a game, ensure the expectations for how long the Game will be played for is acceptable to all Players involved.

The Rules of the Game represent a set of commonly agreed upon Tools the Players will use to resolve uncertain outcomes and the effects of actions taken.

However, if a course of action falls outside the bounds of what the Rules cover the Players can agree between themselves how best to resolve the situation.

In this Introduction the Basic Rules all Players will need to know and abide by are provided.

The other Rules in the Game you will find beyond these are extensions of these fundamental rules which cover Specific situations.

Keep in mind that a Specific Rule will always override a General Rule.

These additional Rules can be learned and introduced to the Game gradually. There is no need to stress over whether you remember and apply all of the Rules at once.

There is no such thing as “breaking the Rules”, merely forgetting to use all the Tools at you disposal!

Each Player is a Bardd. A Bardd is a Keeper of Lore and Storyteller.

Players are considered the Keepers of Lore with regards to one or more Player Characters. Only the Keeper of Lore for those Characters has the authority to describe their actions within the Shared Story.

By describing the actions of their Characters, the Players will help them achieve their goals and progress the Story.

The number of Players involved in the Game will determine how many Characters they will control.

It is generally expected that there will be between 4-6 Players with one of the Players taking on the role of Gamemaster. In this case each Player will typically only control one Character.

In games with 3 or less total Players, the number of Character they each control will increase.

If there are 3 Players (one Gamemaster and two Players) each Player will control 2 Characters.

If there are 2 Players (one Gamemaster and one Players) the Player will control 3 Characters.

Games with more than 6 Players in total are possible, however it will necessarily reduce the total amount of time each Player Character can contribute to the Story.

While it is in principle possible to play the game on your own, we recommend against it. The game is designed with the intention guiding Collaborative Storytelling.

One Player takes on the role of Gamemaster (or GM).

The GM does not have a Player Character. Instead they are considered the authority on the lore of the setting and the Threats which the Player Characters will face.

The GM is also the Player who generally decides how the Rules of the Game should be applied.

For example, they will decide when a course of action a Character takes is uncertain, and whether a Check should be made (i.e. dice should be rolled to determine the outcome).

Where there is ambiguity in the Rules, or a course of action falls outside of the scope of the Rules, the GM will have final say on how to move forward.

Remember that no two GMs will ever run the Game in the exact same way. The way a world behaves is shaped by their approach to the Game.

However, the GM should not change or disregard a stated Rule of the Game without the mutual agreement of all the Players at the table.

By playing this Game, the Players and GM are all implicitly agreeing to use the Rules of this Game.

Guidance for GMs, and Players who are interested in taking on the GM role, are provided in the Running the Game Chapter.

Players are encouraged to show every courtesy they would be expected to show one another outside of the Game.

Social expectations do not stop when you roll dice or describe the actions of your Characters!

Additionally, all dice rolls are made openly, including by the GM.

The joy of this game is in Finding Out the outcomes: if a Check leads to an unexpected or perhaps undesirable outcome, embrace it.

Lastly, players should be mindful to pay attention to when other Players are speaking, particularly the GM who will require more time to convey all the information you may need to act on

Storytelling and Roleplaying Games can invite the discussion of subjects which wouldn’t normally be explored in a social setting.

When such subjects touch upon the fears or past traumas of Players, they may become uncomfortable, anxious, or experience panic attacks.

Safety Tools are used to reduce the risk of this occurring.

The First Step to reducing any Risk is Prevention.

• Before beginning a Story, Players should inform each other of subjects which they would prefer be avoided, or which they are okay with being included but not discussed in detail.
  
• Unless otherwise agreed upon, Players should assume the below restrictions:
  
• The following subjects may not be included at all:
  • Sexual Assault and Harm to Children
    
• The following subjects may be alluded to but not described in detail:
  • Sexual Acts, Harm to Animals, Torture, Asphyxiation, Forms of Prejudice such as Racism, Sexism, Transphobia and Homophobia.

Prevention is not always full-proof. Because of this, Mitigation is also required:

• Players should agree upon a way to interrupt the Game should they become at all uncomfortable.
  
• Unless otherwise agreed upon, the Game can be interrupted by saying “Pause” or “Stop“.
  • Players who feel unable to talk over others may instead use the Stop hand gesture (hand up, palm facing outwards).
  • In Online Play, you may instead send a message with the word “Pause” or “Stop”, but be mindful that messages can go unread.
    
• After an interrupt is requested, the whole Group must immediately stop describing the Scene or Actions.
  
• The requesting Player will then state what content they found uncomfortable and suggest how they would like to proceed. Typically this will be to Skip or Change parts of the Story.
  • Skipping is useful when the Player does not mind the subject being a part of the Story, but they do not want it to be described in detail or otherwise dwelled upon.
  • Changing is useful when a Player does not wish for the subject to be included at all.
    
• The other Players must accept the requested change. The comfort of Players always takes precedent over the content of the Story.
  
• Further discussion on how to prevent discomfort in future should take place. This may occur immediately, or after the conclusion of the Session.

For more guidance on Safety Tools, see the Session Zero Page.

Play will typically follow the following format:

• The GM will describe a Scene in involving the Players Characters.
  • (Optional) They may remind the Players of their Characters current motivations and goals within that Scene
    
• The Players then in turn suggest what Actions their Characters would take within the Scene, or else ask for more information about the Scene.
  
• The GM in response would then either provide further information to the Players that their Character would be aware of, or describe the Outcomes of the Actions the Characters attempt.
  
• In cases where the Outcomes of an Action are uncertain, or there is uncertainty in the information known to the Characters, the GM may request the Player make a Check to determine the Outcomes or what Information is known to the Character.
  
• These Outcomes may change the circumstances the Characters find themselves in, prompting them to take further Actions in pursuit of accomplishing their Goals.

Such exchanges continue until the goals of that Scene have been completed or put beyond their reach, and the GM decides it is time to begin a new Scene where the Characters goals and motivations are acted on anew.