If you've any questions about how Dead Letter Society works, post them here and I'll give you my best answer. :)
Death doesn't mean you can't write back. Softcover available. · By
Give it a try again now. :)
My tech support (i.e. my partner) has taken a look at it and says it should be fixed.
(It's a host issue -- if anyone else sees this in the future and the problem is recurring, do speak up. Then we'll know how painful it's being for everyone and when to seek another solution.)
Absolutely!
As long as you both have access to the journaling prompts, you could play by post (eg mailing letters), email, or Discord. I'd suggest getting together on a video/voice call when setting up your game together, as that will be the easiest way of making sure you both have the same expectations. :)
Other than, it is entirely possible to play this game with people in different locations. :)
Hi hutha,
I do have an idea for how this would work with three players; it was a stretch goal that we didn't meet during the Kickstarter for The Almanac of Sanguine Paths (aka "werewolf Dead Letter Society", which is compatible with DLS). In that case, the third player takes on the role of someone working at the Society.
If I were making it myself, I'd give them their own set of tarot card prompts, distinct from those of the vampires. However, to approximate it you'd pass your letters through that third person, and they'd be able to take liberties with what you write and use it for their own purposes.
As for more than three, it's tricky -- it strays into territory that's out of scope for this game. There's certainly nothing stopping you playing two games side-by-side (e.g. A writes to B, and C writes to D), and collaborating on the events of your games together, though I expect you'll need to talk more 'out of game' to maintain world consistency.
Alternatively, you could try having one character write to two others, for example, if you have players A, B, C, and D, then:
A writes to B and C (start in Letter Phase)
B writes to A and D (start in Society Phase)
C writes to A and D (start in Society Phase)
D writes to B and C (start in Letter Phase)
then for the gameplay loop, write two letters in the Letter Phase, and continue with the Society & Chronicle Phases as usual (but receive two letters instead of one during the Chronicle Phase). You probably want to use more than three Chronicle Points during the Chronicle Phase, as it's going to take lots more time for someone to write two letters than one, and you'll end up with more things you want to explore as a result of it. Whatever number you pick, make sure everyone gets the same number of opportunities. (My gut feeling is that six points, while the obvious number, might be too many. I'd be more inclined to try four first.)
If you give this a try, communication between you all is going to be key. I could see four players left to their own journaling coming up with more conflicting ideas to resolve than when it's just two.
I'd be really curious to hear the outcome if you try it!
Still, Dead Letter Society (to me) has been about a personal connection between two vampires aided by a shady society. If you're after something more akin to vampires meeting on a forum/group chat to discuss things, or in person, I think that's heading into different game territory.
Thanks again for the reply, I wasn't aware of "The Almanac of Sanguine Paths". Actually this was my first journaling game. Nevertheless i like the idea that 1 of the players is part of the society and I will probably follow that route. (granted that they themselves don't know everything either). They could be the one in charge with "approving" the application forms.
I will definetly let you know how it went after we try it!
I think calling it an "application fee" makes it sound more arduous than it is (I call it a "complication" in The Almanac of Sanguine Paths, which is more fitting to its purpose – but "application fee" still suits Dead Letter Society thematically.)
The fee is a complication added to one of your Assets, showing some sort of hold that the Society has over it. You don't lose the Asset, but it is a little more burdened than when you originally made it.
If you have an ally, for example, the Society could know about them (so in a future prompt when you're asked to Develop or Forfeit an Actor you could bring that fact to bear -- what did the Society do?). Or it could be someone the Society is hunting for, or wants leverage with, and you are the vector for that.
I like to think of the application fees as "What wouldn't I like a secret society to know about me/have access to of mine?" and work along those lines. It's all fine if the Society is benign – it could be a genuine force for good in your game – but what if it isn't? (Or what if someone else gets access to the Society's secrets and uses them against you. )
Treat the Asset as what it is, but with an extra complicating sentence that you'll use while journalling. :)
I hope that helps! :)
Absolutely no problem. :) Let's invent some fees for Madison Aspen, one of the pre-gens in the Modern Day setting!
She has the following assets:
Some ideas for fees... these are all "just" ways of adding complications to each others lives (see below re: The Almanac of Sanguine Paths).
I hope that's all helpful. :) In The Almanac of Sanguine Paths I changed the wording on this part of building a character to more closely match how I feel this should go (the hindsight of making another game!). There I call it a "complication to the other characters life." I tried to keep my examples above more in the vein of "a cost caused somehow by the Society", but a simple complication works just as well. :)
Absolutely correct. Use the Major Arcana card to draw conclusions about what the vampire communicating with you might write about. You don't need to do anything with your own Assets as a result of drawing the card, or track theirs. It's purely to give you an idea of the troubles they could be going through. Your character's chronicle points are for your character only. :)
Hello!
You're almost correct. :)
1. You write a letter to your friend and send it.
2. Start the Society Phase and draw a Major Arcana card. You don't need to wait for your friend to receive your letter.
3. Start the Chronicle Phase whenever you're ready for it. You don't need to wait for your friend to have received your letter to do this.
Ideally, you should receive and read a letter before you go back to (1) and write another letter. You may want to save some of your Chronicle Points to react to/explore any topics in your friends letter (but you don't have to).
Basically, as soon as you've sent your letter you continue to your next phase independent of what your friend is doing. The goal is to have received a letter before you write again, to avoid overwhelming one person with more letters than they can handle. :)
I hope that helps clear things up! :)