The City and the Setting

Map by Amy Weber

The Everway Kickstarter has surpassed its goal and – as of this writing – the project has about a month left.  Readers within this time period are encouraged to check it out.

Anyway, Everway the game is named after Everway the so-called “City of a Thousand Deities.”  Located in the sphere of Fourcorner, Everway is the central city of the the realm of Roundwander and is “home to half a million people.”  There are “at least seventy-one gates in Roundwander.”  (We learn, “Most spheres have two gates, each leading to a different sphere.”)  Like characters, realms have a Virtue, a Fault, a Fate.  Realms also have an Usurper.  For Roundwander, these are:

Virtue:  Autumn ( plenty).  The place is old but still active.  It is past its most energetic stage but not yet into winter.  Roundwander's Autumn Virtue represents not just “plenty” in terms of quantity, but also in terms of variety.  The people of Roundwander present the hundred colors of a forest in fall.

Fault:  Spring – reversed ( stagnation).  Roundwander is an old, old place, and the habits of a hundred generations are worn into the stone-paved pathways.

Fate:  Cockatrice ( corruption vs. recovery).  The influx of new people, new magic, and new ideas could undermine what is good about Roundwander or bring it the new energy it needs to overcome the threat of stagnation.

Usurper:  The Pyramid ( order and cooperative effort).  This Usurper represents coming together, working together, balance, order, and progress.  Reversed, The Pyramid means dissension, imbalance, conflict, and regress.

The Walker's Pyramid sits in the center of Everway.  It consists of seven tiers of blocks “about twenty feet high.”  It is “some three hundred feet on a side.”  The Walker is a legendary being who supposedly built the pyramid one stone at a time and “is out among the spheres now, searching for the capstone, which will complete the pyramid.”  We learn, “No one knows what will happen when the pyramid is completed.”  The pyramid is tended by priests and “temples, wandering mystics, and booths that sell magical goods and items for offerings” surround the base.

Jonathan Tweet's “original idea was to have no background at all” in the game, but included the city-setting for people “who want to create their heroes and quests in a cultural context.”  Tweet states that he made the city “big and varied so that you would feel free to add the details that you wish to add.”  He also claims, “Heroes can find plots within the city itself, or they can find reasons to explore other realms” or spheres.  Additionally...

...Everway includes a few magical patterns that aren't explicit.  You can enjoy Everway without finding out all of its secrets, but they're here for those of you who like a little mystery.

There are various “centers of interest,” each supporting “a different sort of business and attracts a different sort of visitor.”

Arenas:  This is “where gladiators fight and martial families demonstrate their skill and courage.”

Council House:  “Centuries ago, the leaders of prominent families formed the Council as a way to relieve the great king of an endless stream of mundane decisions and obligations.“

Court of Fools:   “[A] large plaza where entertainers of all types demonstrate their arts.  Mixed in among the buffoons and jugglers, one can sometimes find prophets and seers.”

Gaming Houses:  This is “where fortunes change hands over the rolls of dice.  Other amusements of questionable morality can also be found nearby.”

Gardens:  This place contains “various temples to deities of nature and the earth.  Exotic animals and plants from other spheres can be found here...”

Houses of Dusk:  This is “where the dead are prepared for their final journeys.”

Library of All Worlds:  ”[A] collection of large buildings filled with scrolls holding knowledge and wisdom collected from a thousand spheres.”

Temple of Mercy:  ”Here one finds poorhouses, hospitals, orphanages, and temples to deities of fertility and healing.”

A page in the Playing Guide named 'Sights in Everway' lists various encounters that heroes might have in the 'centers of interest' described above.  There might be a “humanoid dragon, a guest of the [Library of All Worlds], teaching the language of the dragons.”  Around the Gaming Houses, there may be a “spherewalker getting beaten for getting caught using magic to influence the roll of the dice.”

No description of the city of Everway would be complete without mention of Strangerside, “home of Strangers ... and Outsiders.”  (A 'Stranger' is someone from another realm.  An 'Outsider' is someone from another sphere.)  Strangerside is to the southeast of the walled portion of Everway, across the Sunset River.  (On the map above, north is to the right.)  Possible encounters in Strangerside include:

• A large, two-legged bearlike creature wearing a harness.  It's sitting in the shade, swatting flies that buzz about it.  It watches passersby with intelligent eyes.
• Bedraggled refugees from a distant realm who have come here to find champions to bring justice to their homeland.
• A narrow alley in which several short, light-skinned, brown-haired merchants ply visitors with a bewildering array of small, exotic goods.  They refuse beads, insisting on being paid in silver, gold, or (preferably) gems.

“There are nearly a thousand families in Everway,” the Playing Guide tells us, “some with a handful of members, some with over a thousand.”  These families “are the central system of ordering society in Everway.”  Examples of noteworthy Everway families include:

Crookstaff:  “A family renowned for magical ability, secrecy, and strange ways.”

Digger:  “Historically, a family of miners.  Now, however, they're mostly moneylenders (who still maintain a monopoly on mining).”

Emerald:  “The royal family of Roundwander.”

Mask:  “A family that, officially, provides amusements and diversions.  Unofficially, they are involved in various illicit activities.”

Moondance:  “A family of priestesses and cousins who support them.  Moondances are found in temples dedicated to many different deities.”

Mudbank:  “Leatherworkers.  They are responsible for removing dead animals from the streets...”

Snakering:  “Courtiers, ambassadors, and functionaries.  They were once a powerful family, but now they work at the behest of others.

 

Visionary Roleplaying

Art by Janine Johnston

Casting about for my next study after Tabloid! and Pandemonium!, I thought about Everway.  It's not exactly old school, but it is twenty-five years old.  Little did I realize a Kickstarter for a silver anniversary edition is planned for next month by the aptly named The Everway Company.

Designed by Jonathan Tweet, Everway was published by Wizards of the Coast as part of its Alter Ego line of role-playing games.  Such a combination of designer and publisher might seem auspicious, but the game's success was rather equivocal.  Everway was released in August 1995 and, four months later, WotC discontinued it's line of role-playing games.  This seems like some sort of urgent, end-of-the-year budgetary action.  (Yet sixteen months after that, WotC acquired the world's most popular role-playing game.)

Rumor has it that WotC required businesses that sold Magic: The Gathering to also sell Everway, forcing Everway into retail channels that did not want to accommodate role-playing games.  A survey included with the game shows the types of establishments WotC thought would carry Everway.

Were there many “New Age” bookstores that sold Everway ?  In any event, the suggested retail price for the Everway set was a pricey $35 (which would be approximately $60 in 2020 terms).  The sizable box (9.5" × 13.5" × 2") included:

• Playing Guide (162 pages)
• Gamemastering Guide (64 pages)
• Guide to the Fortune Deck (14 pages)
• Fortune Deck (consisting of 36 cards)
• Vision Cards (90)
• Quest Cards (6)
• Source Cards (4)
• Blank Character Sheets (12)
• Character Sheets with Pre-Generated Characters (12)
• Maps (2)

Also included, but not listed on the back of the box, were the aforementioned survey and a plastic tray.  The tray was able to hold all cards included in the game, as well as a set of “companion collector” vision cards (sold separately).  Honestly, the large box didn't need to be so large.  The guide books measure roughly roughly 7" × 9".  The character sheets and maps are 8.5" × 11", but they could have been folded in half for the sake of a more compact box.

Not surprisingly, the company behind Magic: The Gathering made cards an essential part of their Everway role-playing game.  Rather than dice, Everway employs a Fortune Deck to determine the outcome of actions in the game.  Cards from the Fortune Deck have iconography similar to the Major Arcana of the tarot.  (The survey asks, “Do you own tarot cards?”  If so, “How many decks do you own? 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, Over 10”)  Lacking numerical values, interpretation of the cards is necessarily subjective.  Like tarot cards, a Fortune Deck card has both a normal meaning as well as a reversed meaning.  For example, 'The Griffin' card has a normal meaning of “valor” and a reversed meaning of “cowardice.”

Each of the 'source cards' depicts an aspect of the Everway setting with a brief, informative paragraph on the back.  Shown at the beginning of this post is the “Gate” source card.

The 'quest cards' depict aspects of the ready-to-run quest (i.e., introductory adventure) provided in the Gamemastering Guide.  Five of the six cards are of non-player characters from that quest.  This is helpful in showing players what these characters look like.  The backs of the cards indicate the attributes of the characters, convenient for the gamemaster's reference.

The 'vision cards' distinguish Everway from other role-playing games, both then and now.  These cards are instrumental in creating a character as well as recording the character's continuing, in-game story.  Creating player characters begins with the Vision Stage, which requires vision cards.  According to page 67 of the Playing Guide :

          You use vision cards to develop your hero's background and identity.  First, look over the vision cards.  Your gamemaster may provide some, as may your fellow players and you may, of course, provide your own.  Select five cards that attract you.  You need not decide right away what these cards will mean to your hero.

          When you have selected the cards to use, look them over and invent a hero and that hero's background.  You only need a sketchy idea of your hero for now.  You can write notes about your hero's background on the back of your hero sheet.

          Keep your vision cards so that you can show them to other players.  You may want to buy special sheets that hold, display, and protect cards like these.  You will be getting more vision cards cards as your hero completes quests; your gamemaster gives these cards to you so you can have a visual record of your hero's activities.

A side bar informs us, “If the gamemaster provides your vision cards, be ready to give them back if you stop playing your hero.”

Each vision card has an image of a person or scene.  The back of each card presents questions about the image that encourage interpretations that may be useful in establishing a character's background.

An important part of the Vision Stage is the “introduction,” wherein the players show one another the vision cards they selected for their respective characters and “describe briefly what these images mean.”  Players question one another (as does the gamemaster) general questions about their characters.  As I mentioned previously, this exercise enriches a player's concept of his or her character and allows players to appreciate one another's characters.  In this manner, a player character becomes a genuine character as opposed to something that can be reduced to various numbers and a class affiliation.  It is this sort of human interaction that can differentiate tabletop role-playing from computer role-playing.

A side bar on page 68 of the Playing Guide states:

If you develop a hero alone, leave some details unfinished.  When you get a chance, have another player ask you questions about the hero so that you get some input from others before finalizing the hero... You can even talk with another player over the phone or email, though this prevents the other player from seeing your images.

Liberated from the technological restrictions of the 20th Century, sharing images is no longer an obstacle.  In fact, nowadays, physical cards are unnecessary.  An app would facilitate the Vision Stage.

As alluded to above, a separate set of ninety vision cards was available to enhance Everway play.  The ninety cards included with the game should be sufficient for most playing groups, but surely additional options would be welcome.  These “companion collector” vision cards were sold in booster packs.  (Leave it to Wizards of the Coast to shoehorn aspects of a collectible card game into a role-playing game.)  This gimmick may have put off gamers that may have otherwise shown an interest in Everway.  Such booster packs may have been viable if – in addition to vision cards – they included more source cards, quest cards, and alternate versions of Fortune Deck cards; may have been viable, but probably not.