The King's Poisoner
A downloadable game
Follow your heart. Join the conspiracy. Wear the crown!
They put arsenic in his meat
And stared aghast to watch him eat;
They poured strychnine in his cup
And shook to see him drink it up:
They shook, they stared as white's their shirt:
Them it was their poison hurt.
–I tell the tale that I heard told.
Mithridates, he died old.
—A Shropshire Lad, A.E Housman (1859-1936)
ONE OF YOU IS THE KING. The rest of you are either going to try to assassinate them or rat out the conspirators. Who will you trust? What will you dare? Who will be king!
The King's Poisoner is a Tale of 21, a tabletop roleplaying game for 3–8 players. It can be played with a deck of regular or virtual playing cards OR two ten-sided dice (2d10).
Recommended Players: 3–8 (virtual room file for 6 included)
Recommended Age: 13+
Length: 1 page (cover optional)
Playtime: 1–2 hours
Safety: references available in the Character Keeper
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Update & Crowdfunding on BackerKit April 30!52 days ago
- New license, Jam to 21! and more...Aug 08, 2023
- The King's Poisoner Update! (v0.5.15.6)Apr 03, 2023
- New Character Keeper!Mar 20, 2023
Comments
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What a lovely game ! Love when a black jack rule is put on a ttrpg. Rules are pretty clear and simple. The one page format is incredible, makes the game easy to take along and play anywhere
Thanks for the lovely feedback! I'll be hosting a Blackjack game jam next month so stay tuned, more details shortly...
For the alternate dice rules, is there a reason you chose not to use d12s to generate the "cards"
Hi and thanks for your interest! If you'd prefer to use d12s you can! I'd recommend counting 11's and 12's as J's & Q's (and therefore count as 10) as implied. Otherwise, the odds of busting will increase and limit the narrative options.
I've found using d10s less confusing and though it does make the hands a little easier, it opens up more narrative opportunities. Most polyhedral sets come with 2d10s but only 1d12, which means there's usually more d10s available. The random tables of 12 or 13 options each were too long as well.