The Fools Who Follow

I've moved back to my university accommodation now. And trying to build a new social life on Discord. Anyway, I've mentioned before that one of my biggest social activities has been role-playing games. I'm in the university's game society, and we had our online taster session during Freshers' Week.

Always looking to offer players a game which isn't 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, I stumbled across a quick game called The Fools Who Follow, a narrative-focussed game by Richard Woolcock.

Taking place in a fantasy world, The Fools Who Follow relentlessly mocks the "Chosen One" cliché found in many fantasy stories. The said Chosen One is Prince Rufus, the wielder of the legendary Starblade who is destined to vanquish an evil sorcerer king. The only issue is that he's an irresponsible plonker who's more interested in having a good time than saving the world.

The players assume the role of Rufus' companions, who have to keep Rufus out of trouble and ensure he stays on the quest. However, the GM assumes the role of Rufus, whose purpose is to do anything but further the quest. There is a table which the GM can roll on to determine what Rufus gets up to, and how it pans out. For example, I had one occasion in which he had wandered off to a nearby tavern in the night and ended up losing his magic sword in a bet. And one of the options involves him ending up butt naked.

The Fools Who Follow utilises a system I've discovered recently called Tricube Tales. As stated above, the system has a greater focus on narrative than on character building. Instead of classes, characters have a "calling". All skill rolls are done with two six-sided dice, with the aim to roll at least a 4, 5, or 6 on one die depending on the difficulty of the task they're rolling for. If the task fits a character's calling, they roll an extra die, giving them a better chance of success. If it's outside the scope of their calling, they only roll one die.

Overall, it's a fun game and good for chaotic scenarios. However, it may be difficult to prolong the humour for a campaign. Granted, I haven't tried running a campaign, but I think it's probably suited towards one-shots.

I especially like finishing scenarios with some Looney Tunes style cliffhanger. For example, the quest in the one-shot was to recover a magic gauntlet with a gem that glows when it's wielded by the Chosen One. At the end of the scenario, I narrated how Rufus puts on the gauntlet, admires the glowing gem...which stops glowing after he starts scratching his crotch with the gauntlet.

The Fools Who Follow is a free download, available from Richard Woolcock's website here. I highly recommend it after a few drinks.