Playing the Game

The ship had been approaching the coast for hours. It was not a local ship. It may not have been a ship at all. Local ships were wooden, low, frail and light, built to be hastily dragged onto the sand at the first sign of storm.
The ship was different. It was all silver and gold, flowing lines and intrigate patterns. It was arrogant. It almost seemed to fly above the water.
At the prow of the ship, a woman was standing, or perhaps the statue of a woman. She hadn't moved during the last hours. Her hair were also silver and gold, as were her clothes, unless they were an armor. As the ship drew near, two men, or men-shaped ghosts, joined her. One of them wore black and green, the other red and white. They didn't look armed, but they looked dangerous, or at least arrogant.
The fishermen were still at sea. The children had gathered, one by one, watching the ship approach. Lately, the women had joined them. It was a great day for the village, for sure. It might also be the last day of the village.
The black and green man jumped overboard. An instant later, he was on the shore. Nobody could have described he had gotten from the one to the other. The silver and gold woman moved, at last. She grabbed a staff that might not have been a weapon but probably was. The man in black and red said something that sounded like a joke, or a thread, or a curse. After that, he laughed briefly.
The black and green man seemed to be waiting. He had a box in his hand, from which he took some kind of powder that he seemed to breath in. Only once the elder woman had approached him did he speak: "We are here for the puzzlebox."
When the elder woman shook her head, the black and green man looked disappointed. Without a whisper, the elder woman died, in a pool of silent blood.

• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: Hieronymous? Why did you do that?
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: I don't trust her!
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Let's just kill them all and burn this village to the ground.
• GM: Wait, are you guys yelling at each other? Everybody is going to hear you.
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: No, we probably have some kind of silent telepathy.
• GM: Alright. Well, in that case, they're just very nervous. One of the women has made a step towards the fallen elder but doesn't dare advance further. Clearly, they're wondering whether they should prosternate or run away in fear.
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Any objection to burning down the village?
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: Objection! I will not let you burn down another village in my kingdom!
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Come on, you have dozens!
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: I turn around and start uttering a blood curse on whoever harms the villagers!
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: While they're both posturing, do I have time to go and hunt for the Puzzle Box?
• GM: Giaccomo, alright, that's two Levels above your Presence. I'll decree that it works but once your face off is over, we'll launch to see Cost and Success. Hieronymous, sure, but Giaccomo was the one with the trail, how do you plan to advance? Iraklea, any reaction?
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Well, well, well, is the navigator finally showing some spine? GM, if I humiliate him, can this work towards my Play against his father?
• GM: Yeah, any shame on him would definitely shame his father, too. You could get one Puzzle Box. And the ire of the father towards both of you, probably.
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Works out for me. I'm going to throw a little storm and lightning, to test his defenses.
• GM: Giaccomo, your call.
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: Well, your Presence Level is higher than mine, but so far, my defenses are holding. Unless I need to roll already?
• GM: No, for the moment, she's mostly showing off. Given the speed of magic, I imagine that this is going to last an hour or so.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: Can I have a Prop showing me the path?
• GM: Not a Prop, but you might be able to call upon one of your spirit friends, if you're willing to trade something for them guiding you to the Puzzle Box.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: Yeah, I'll offer them Giaccomo's ship.
• GM: It's one of his Props, so if you do that, it will be a lie. Is that what you have in mind?
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: Yeah, I'll do that.
• GM: ...alright. I'll need to think of the consequences of that. Anyway, most of the villagers have run away in fear. The storm is going to make it hard on the fishermen, too. Oh, one of the women is coming back with what looks like offerings of dried fish.
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: I'm visibly tired already, but I'm overplaying that. I want Iraklea to think me defenseless while I prepare a counter-attack.
• GM: You are quite better than Iraklea at Stage so Iraklea, you actually believe that he's exhausted.
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: In that case, I'm going in for the kill. Well, not the kill, but I'm going in for branding him with the word "Loser" on his forehead.
• GM: Ok. Feels like the scene is ending. Let's see how the next scene starts. Giaccomo, you can roll Presence. You'll need two Levels for your Blood Curse and one Level to, say, drop Iraklea in the water. Iraklea, no need to roll, your attack is going to work, there's no way Giaccomo can both defend against it and counter-attack. Hieronymous, you can roll Whispers at one Level to see how and when the spirits realize that you're offering them something you can't deliver.
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: I'm going to roll three dice. And I get... three Pass and two Costs! So, the Blood Curse is on. Anybody who harms the village will be harmed three-fold. Who wants to handle the Cost of two?
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: I'll do it. Your spell is going to make my storm much stronger. You have just killed most of the menfolk.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: (claps) Applause to them both.
• GM: You heard the man. What kind of Applause?
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: I Applaud... Iraklea on her Play against Hieronymous' father. And can I start a new Play for Giaccomo bringing shame to his own father?
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: Oh oh!
• GM: Alright. Next time you check your belongings, you'll find a piece of the torn card each. We'll decide what's drawn on each card later. Your Pressure also increased by one Level as a consequence of the fight and the Applause. Also, you both get another Level of Pressure from the Blood Oath.
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: We haven't established how far I throw her in the water. Could she end up in the middle of the storm?
• GM: No objection. She did brand you, after all.
• Iana, as Iraklea the Conqueror: Wait, what? If I'd known, I'd have dodged or something!
• GM: He took you by surprise, if you remember. Also, I'm sure that it's you being at the center of the storm that made the storm so much larger.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: And I roll two dice. I get one Pass and two Costs. So the spirits are going to show me the Puzzle Box and are going to try and collect the ship from Giaccomo. Who takes the Cost?
• Gerard, as Giaccomo the Navigator: Ouch. Not a good day to be me.
• GM: Don't worry, you won't be the only one. I'll handle the Cost. By the time you reach the Puzzle Box, the storm has increased into a veritable hurricane and you barely see where you're heading. The houses are being torn down. You hear the scream of Giaccomo, branded with the magical equivalent of a white-hot iron. They lead you into a cave dug under an immense tree. As you enter, you start smelling the unmistakable stench of rotten flesh.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: ...oh no!
• GM: Yes, it's him. He's surrounded by his usual cloud of dark light. As you approach in he dank cave, he turns back to face you. He's holding the Puzzle Box in one hand, his sword cane in the other. He seems to be wearing the cape which you ruined the other day. Father Decay smiles at you.
• Hector, as Hieronymous the Painted: I start running away! I spell myself into running faster!
• GM: So, a quick recap. We have Giaccomo on the beach, exhausted aud cursed, slowly regaining consciousness from having just been branded. We have Iraklea equally exhausted, quite possibly cursed, too, somewhere at sea, in the middle of a huge storm, we have Hieronymous running away in fear, possibly pursued by Father Decay. All this in the middle of a hurricane. The telepathy spell has also been disrupted by Giaccomo losing consciousness. Also, the ship seems to be reacting strangely, as if it was attempting to fight some kind of possession. Sounds like a good time to stop the session. Shall we continue next week?

Now that characters and the setting are created, let's take a look at a how the game is played.
In Divine Comedians, as in a number of other table-top role-playing games, there are very few rules (or "Moves"), all of them quite simple, and in fact few enough that each of them can have its own name. Both Players and the GM have Moves. Using the actual name of a Move during actual gameplay is uncommon, that name is just there to help you remember that there is a a Move to handle a given situation, to look it up in the ruleset or discuss it with other Players/GMs between games.
Depending on your experience with table-top role-playing, you may be surprised by the small number of Moves or perhaps by the fact that most of them don't seem to say much. This minimalistic design is here to encourage Players and GM to think out of the box and try new things that would be harder if the mindset was to have comprehensive rules for every situation. Don't feel limited by Moves! The story comes first and if you, the GM, can't think of any Move that will help resolve a situation, just say "yes", or if makes more sense, "yes, but" or "yes, if"! This is, in fact, the first GM Move: Say yes.
As in most tabletop role-playing games, gameplay is mostly a conversation. The GM describes the situation, as far as Comedians know. Players talk with each other to exchange ideas, when their Characters talk with each other, or occasionally to talk about food, movies or real-world politics. Players talk to the GM to indicate what their Comedian is doing, or what their agents or familiars are doing on behalf of their Comedian, or to establish facts, or ask the GM for details about the setting, the rules, or whether something is possible. Generally speaking, the GM acts as both the referee and the rest of the world. They answer Player's questions, acknowledge established facts and narrate whatever else is happening around them. In particular, they are in charge of whatever adversity the Comedians face, besides each other, as well as interpreting any Non-Player Character the Comedians may interact with. Also, whenever something has happened, they describe the new situation.
Players are encouraged to speak of their characters in the first person ("I start climbing the Burj Khalifa", rather than "My character starts climbing the Burj Khalifa") and, whenever they are in conversation with another PC or NPC, to use a voice, mannerisms and language level adapted to their character. Similarly, the GM is encouraged to address both the Players and the PC as "you" and, whenever they are speaking for a NPC, to speak in the first person, adopting voice, mannerisms and language level adapted to the NPC. None of this is compulsory, but it encourages immersion. Whenever someone is narrating, whether Player or GM, they should attempt to be precise – this doesn't prevent them from being poetic, tragic, humoristic or otherwise dramatic, should they feel that this tone is appropriate to the narration.
So far, this is no different from what happens in other table-top role-playing games. A few things are less common. For instance, since Players design both the settings, most Relationships and the Levels Ladder, the GM often ends up asking Players questions about these points. This is a GM Move called Let Players come up with the answer.
As in most role-playing games, the conversation is rythmed by actions: a Comedian attempts to undertake an action, such as negotiating a trade agreement on behalf of their city, parachuting onto a moving plane or raising a kaiju as their pet. This is a Player Move called Try it. Here, the GM serves as referee, albeit not quite an impartial one: in most cases, will either confirm that the action succeeds or help the Player come up with a plan. This GM Move is called Guide Towards Success, and typically ends with Say Yes. In some case, the action is both dramatic and uncertain enough and the GM may decide to End the Scene on a roll, letting the Player roll dice to determine whether the action is a success. In rare cases, when the action is not just dramatic but epic, the GM may rather decide that It's not over – after all, destroying an Evil Galactic Empire deserves more than a single dice roll. Incidentally, in Divine Comedians, dice rolls as rather uncommon and the GM never rolls dice. Also, the only cases in which the GM is expected to say "no" is if the Player is in the process of contradicting an established fact.
Despite being immortals, Comedians are changing, perhaps even fickle. With Player Move Stage a Play, a Player may announce that they attempt to make progress on their Relationships or to create or improve a Prop. The progress of a Play is measured in Pages. Pages typically have a physical representation in-story, whether they are physical pages, NFTs or star charts. They can be read and interpreted. They can be stolen. They can be fought over. Between Sessions, a Player may Work on a a Play and grant themself a new Page. During a Session, other Players may Applaud particularly important actions and distribute each other new Pages. Whenever it makes sense, the GM may also Acknowledge Progress and distribute new Pages.
Comedians typically don't die, unless by agreement with the Player. They're immortals, after all. However, as a consequence of the story, Comedians may become wounded, tired, cursed or somehow damaged. In such cases, they will accumulate Pressure. Declaring this is a GM Move called Apply Pressure. Whenever a Comedian is the object of Applaud a Comedian, they accumulate Pressure. Pressure is not good. The higher your Pressure is the more difficult it is to do anything. The only way to reduce Pressure is to spend time with one's starred Relationships, a PC Move called Spend Quality Time.
If you are ready, let us look at how all of these Moves work.