Pockets Full of Stones

Pockets Full of Stones is a game about providence.

Players can choose to play as themselves, or can create a character to play as. There should be general agreement among all players and the Diviner concerning the kind of world that this story takes place in. It can be a fantasy world, a modern world, even a completely different planet.

In this world, your death has been foretold, and your only chance to survive the night is to appeal to the seven devils and convince them that you are worthy of being saved. You are not the only one, however, who is making this appeal. And the devils won't save everyone.

Materials and Requirements

• 3+ players (including one person to run the game and serve as the Diviner)
• 7 coins per player (each coin must have two distinct sides)
• A vase, filled with water (flowers optional)

Setting

In order to attract the attention of the devils, the characters must go to a location that appeals to the devils. The setting of the game can be any location that fits into any of the categories described below. It's even better if it fits into multiple categories.

The red devil is particularly drawn to places of conflict or strife. These are locations with active dangers, whether that danger comes in the form of people, animals, monsters, or the ravages of nature. The conflict can be physical, emotional, or mental.

The orange devil is particularly drawn to desolate or abandoned places. These are locations that are unsettlingly silent, where either life cannot exist, or which can no longer support life.

The yellow devil is particularly drawn to forgotten or overlooked places. These are locations that are ignored, whether that is because history has forgotten them, or because they appear ordinary or unexceptional.

The green devil is particularly drawn to colonized or reclaimed places. These are locations that once served a different purpose than they do today. Perhaps they are overgrown, or have been occupied by a presence that feels strange and unfamiliar.

The blue devil is particularly drawn to transitional or liminal spaces. These are in-between locations, places where you are not meant to linger long.

The indigo devil is particularly drawn to hidden or obscured places. These are locations that are concealed or remote or are otherwise difficult to find.

The violet devil is particularly drawn to haunted places. These are locations that still carry their history with them, places with unfinished business.

Mechanics

Divine providence and random chaos are two sides of the same coin. The results of any player's action are determined by a coin flip.

If the results are displeasing, a player can choose to tribute a coin to entice the devils into changing the result. Tributes are given by dropping a coin into a vase filled with water at the center of the table. The devils can change your tails result to heads, or they can change another player's heads result to tails, but you cannot make an appeal to change your own heads result to tails, or change another player's tails result to heads. A result can only be changed once.

Once a coin has been given to the water, it cannot be retrieved and will never be replenished. All players start with seven coins. If a player tributes their last coin, their character cannot make any more actions, and is out of the game until the very end, when the devils pass their judgment. Any number of narrative explanations can be used to account for a character's inaction after they have sacrificed their last coin: they can be knocked unconscious, rendered lost, or even killed. Dead characters will be revived if the devils choose to save them at the end.

Before making any coin flip, the player must state the desired outcome of the action their character is taking. No character can act without first flipping a coin, unless the action is minor enough that whatever the result, the outcome is negligible.

Divine Providence

If a coin flip lands with the heads side facing up, the player's desired result is achieved by divine providence. Everything happens as stated. If a player is, say, making a heroic stand against a monster, a heads result means that they successfully fight it off.

Random Chaos

If a coin flip lands with the tails side facing up, random chaos ensures that the player does not receive their desired result. Some things are simply out of your control. With a tails result, the Diviner decides the outcome of the action instead. If a player is, say, attempting to make a heroic stand against a monster, a tails result might mean that they stumble or falter, which gives the monster the upper hand in the fight and forces the character to retreat.

The Seven Devils

The seven devils each value one particular quality above all others, and to earn their mercy, you must demonstrate that quality to a sufficient extent. Each devil can only choose to save one person. If no player exhibited a quality well enough to win over a devil, then that devil will choose to save no one.

The Red Devil

The red devil values courage and bravery above all else. Appeal to this devil by facing danger directly, despite your fears.

The red devil is the devil of rivers.

The Orange Devil

The orange devil values willpower and determination above all else. Appeal to this devil by demonstrating the strength of your will, and by showing your drive and spirit.

The orange devil is the devil of waterfalls.

The Yellow Devil

The yellow devil values cleverness above all else. Appeal to this devil by demonstrating your intelligence and your ability to survive by making smart decisions.

The yellow devil is the devil of creeks.

The Green Devil

The green devil values resilience above all else. Appeal to this devil by demonstrating your ability to endure and adapt to hardship.

The green devil is the devil of rainfall.

The Blue Devil

The blue devil values creativity above all else. Appeal to this devil by choosing to build instead of destroy.

The blue devil is the devil of oceans.

The Indigo Devil

The indigo devil values beauty above all else. Appeal to this devil by demonstrating grace and elegance, making the world a more pleasing place.

The indigo devil is the devil of lakes.

The Violet Devil

The violet devil values selflessness above all else. Appeal to this devil by putting the needs of others before your own.

The violet devil is the devil of mists.

Ending the Game

The game ends when either a) all but one of the players are out of coins, b) the night is over, or c) at the Diviner's discretion.

Upon the end of the game, the Diviner decides which player (if any) each of the seven devils believes to have best exhibited their favored values. The Diviner reads out these results to the players, and determines which players (if any) successfully evaded their deaths.

In a game with only two players (beside the Diviner), the players must work harder to earn the attention of the devils, so each player must win over three of the devils in order to be saved.

In a game with only three players (beside the Diviner), each player must win over two of the devils in order to be saved.

In a game with four or more players (beside the Diviner), it is only necessary for a player to win over one of the devils in order to be saved.

Pockets Full of Stones was inspired by the Florence + The Machine album Ceremonials, and was produced in January 2019 by @yarnbard for the Record Collection 2k19 game jam.