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TSF - BNW PDF

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That Sounds

FAMILIAR
You are a familiar.

Years ago, you shared many quests with your companion the
Wizard. Together, you were a testament to the mysterious magic of
friendship, adventure, and sicko spells.

Eventually age came for you both. The Wizard retired from
adventuring and picked up some pensioner hobbies, while you
picked up a fondness for warm fireplaces, big windows, and long
naps.

It must be said that your friend did not like


retirement, and became restless quickly.

Needing enrichment, the Wizard took over


the Emporium, a strange village shop with
all kinds of shelves.

Importantly, the Emporium has a big


window at the front, and a stove which
is kept lit for you.

Now, you accompany the Wizard to the Emporium every morning and
spend your days by the window. Mostly, you nap. But sometimes, you
listen to the folks who come in.

As a Familiar, you have a working knowledge of human language.


You don’t know every word. But you’re pretty good with names...

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GAMEPLAY
The game is played through the names of Emporium customers and is
recorded in journal-like entries.

Each round has five chronological stages: the Name, the Ailment, the Sum,
the Cure, and the Delivery.

Through these five stages, you will help The Wizard run the Emporium by
deciphering the needs of customers and searching the Storeroom for Cures.

Before you start, you will need these supplies:

One D6 Paper Pen

The game starts once the stove has been lit and
you have settled into your spot by the window.

Begin your entry by recording:

The date, real or imagined;

The state of the fire in the Emporium fireplace &

The weather, as told by the panes of the window.

Then, if everything looks in order, start the game.

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I: The NAME
The door-bell chimes; in walks a customer in search of a listening
ear. The Wizard asks, to what name does this newcomer answer?

Roll One D6

Write down a name that abides by this number of letters.

A roll of 1 may be rounded up to 2.

II: The AILMENT


The customer sighs and leans on the counter. The Wizard
makes kind noises. You catch pieces of their conversation.

Consult the Ailmentary’s Chart(p. 5)

Match each letter of the Name with the corresponding incomplete word in the
Chart. For letters with two possible words, pick one.

This collection of 1-6 incomplete words is the customer’s Ailment.

Decipher the Ailment

In your entry, fill in the blanks. Do this for every letter in the name.
Blanks can be filled with any vowels, consonants, spaces, or
punctuation, but they must create real words.
For variation or ease, you may add one blank to the end of one word in
the Ailment.
The Ailment does not need to be structured as a sentence, although it
can be for added challenge.

_
A _
R K L E_ E_ K S_ L I_ N_ K
L
4
A A L _ _ E /A _ _ U _ E

B __IGHT

C A_T N __ING

D M__D O _OO_

E _EE_ P __PPY

F EFF___ Q QUI__

G __UGH R RE__

H HE_D S SH_L_ / SA_


I _AI_ T ___TH

j JO__ U _U_

K KN__ V _IVE

L L_ST /L__K W WIL_

M M_R_ X EX__T

Y __NNY

Z ZI__

The AILMENTARY’s CHART


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III: The SUM
The Wizard is practicing their active listening skills.

Complete the Picture

Use the completed Ailment to build a backstory for this particular customer
and their particular need.

This can be as detailed or sparse as you want, but every Sum should include the
following details:

How this customer appears to you (physically or metaphorically),

How they came to the Emporium, and

The problem which they are begging you to solve.

You can describe the Sum as a catalog, a very short story, or anything else.
You can include words from the Ailment or use them only as inspiration.

When you are satisfied with the Sum, you will stand, stretch, and wander
into the Storeroom to find the Cure.

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IV: ThE STOREROOM & ThE CURE
The Storeroom is quiet and mazelike. Thousands of years have passed
here, and still the world is untouched save for your footprints in the
dust. You sneeze.

Roll One D6
Search the shelves for a Cure. Depending on what you roll, you will:
1 come upon a ware (something physical)
2 come upon a ghost (something metaphysical)

3 come upon a being (someone! how did they get in here?)

4 jury-rig several things together (any combination of


wares/ghosts/beings)

5 or 6 become lost (turn to p. 9)

Describe the Cure


Within the constraints of your D6 roll, decide on a Cure that would solve
some, or all, of the customer’s problem. In your entry, describe what the Cure is
and why you have chosen it.
Include where you found it in the Storeroom for future reference (up front, in
the Wizard’s cache of sweets, snatched from the sleeping hands of the wall-
goblin, etc)
If you’re having trouble coming up with a Cure, consider consulting the
Sample Entry (p. 11)
When you have found a Cure, bring it back out.

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V: ThE DELIVERY

The Storeroom door closes silently behind you.

Roll One D6
The number you roll falls on a scale of 1-6, worst to best, of how the customer
receives their Cure.

Make a note of what happens next

You can describe the customer’s reaction or the Wizard’s reaction. You can
describe if or how the Cure changes in the hands of the customer.
If you have rolled below a 3, you have the option of returning to the Storeroom
(p.7 ) to find a Cure that might be better received.

But then again, you could also return to the warm spot by the window and fall
right back asleep.

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LOST IN ThE STOREROOM (minigame)
Wait, where did the door go?

This is not the first time you’ve gotten lost in here. You’ll find your way out by
building a word-path through the maze.
Choose a card from the Storeroom File (Printed PDF)
Roll one D6 and mark your entrance on any corresponding unblocked
number. Repeat the process to mark an exit.
Build a path of words from entrance to exit that is at least two words long and
which avoids blocked squares.
Mind the Junctions. Circled junctions must include a letter from this entry’s
Name.

(Optional variations for a challenge) Mind the junctions with just one letter
from the Name; create your path as a sentence; constrain your path to just one
part of speech (verb, noun, etc)

6 5 4 3 2 1

a l O e
5 t 2

4 e V i l 3 Sample Storeroom Card


Name: LEO
3 O 4
Entrance/Exit Rolls: 5, 3
2 O 5

M e
1 2 3 4 5 6

When you have found an exit, return to p.7 and roll again for a Cure.

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ENDING ThE GAME

After finishing an entry, you can choose to begin another round by returning to
stage I. Otherwise, you’ll need to do inventory before you can close up shop.

Fill The Logbook


Taking a look at the Cure/s you’ve delivered today, list three traits that make
up the essence of each. Then, record a replacement that shares these traits. The
replacement does not need to be in the same category of ware/ghost/being.

If any Cures are jury-rigged, choose just one component to replace.

When you have logged a replacement for every Cure delivered, you can head
on home.

CURE TRAIT 1 TRAIT 2 TRAIT 3


hairbrush dandruffy pronged travel-sized

REPLACEMENT: a very tiny deer

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SAMPLE ENTRY

sept. 21
Today the fire is low and hissing; the rain is getting in through the flue. The
window rattles with every gust of wind. It took us ages to get here. I’ll be
surprised if anyone shows up today.

I (roll of 3) II
LEO LOST BEES SOON

III
I stand corrected. Someone did come in, looking like a wet rat and going on and
on. From what I gathered, this fool let his bee herds out to graze this morning
and now they’re all being pummeled by the storm.

He went out looking for them, but the rain was too much. Then he tramped
straight to us in his muddy boots, thinking we could get them safely home
before they drown.

IV (roll of 4) V (roll of 3)
Tree seeds & insta-fertilizer I thought it was pretty good. Sprout up a
Found in: gardening & big forest and protect the bees from the
home improvement rain? He just kept crying. Or the ceiling
was leaking on him?
INVENTORIED:

CURE TRAIT 1 TRAIT 2 TRAIT 3


seeds full of have found in REPLACEMENT:
possibility skin forests abandoned baby

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ADD A FRIEND
(two-player)
Split the game based on roles customer and familiar. In this version,

I The customer rolls for, and decides, their own Name.

II The customer and familiar take turns completing words in the


Ailment (a 1 must round up in this version).

III The customer crafts their own Sum.

IV The familiar rolls for, and finds, the Cure.

The familiar describes the Cure to the customer. The customer


V decides for themself how well the Cure works and if the
familiar should try again.

INVENTORYING:
The customer lists the Cure’s traits; the familiar decides the replacement.

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