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Follow RPG
Follow RPG
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied in any form without the
express written permission of the author.
www.lamemage.com
ISBN 978-0-9832779-3-4
Dedicated to my sister, Jooke,
my original partner in crime
BEFORE YOU PLAY QUESTS
the Bomb ........................................................... 41
the Booty ........................................................... 43
START
the Breakthrough ............................................ 45
Pick Our Quest ................................................... 8
the Candidate .................................................. 47
What Makes Our Quest Difficult? ............... 10
the Championship .......................................... 49
Our Fellowship ................................................. 11
the Colony ......................................................... 51
Who Are You? ................................................... 13
the Cure ............................................................. 53
Want: From the Quest .................................... 14
the Dragon ........................................................ 55
Want: From You................................................ 15
the Gods ............................................................ 57
Minor Character .............................................. 16
the Heist ............................................................ 59
the Movement ................................................. 61
PLAY the Posse ........................................................... 63
Start a Challenge ............................................. 20 the Raid .............................................................. 65
Say Why It’s Difficult ............................................. 21 the Rebellion .................................................... 67
Pick First Player ...................................................... 21
the Show............................................................ 69
Set Pace .................................................................... 21
the Siege ............................................................ 71
Scenes ................................................................ 22
the Superheroes .............................................. 73
Make Your Scene: Who, What, Where .............. 23
Framing a Good Scene ........................................ 24 the Turf ............................................................... 75
Play and See What Happens .............................. 26
Consequences ........................................................ 27
End the Scene......................................................... 28
DISCUSSION
Your Quest Is to Play Together .................... 80
Finish the Challenge ...................................... 29
First & Second Challenge Draw ......................... 30
Pitfalls of Planning .......................................... 81
Third Challenge Draw .......................................... 31 Two-Player Games .......................................... 82
Describe the Outcome......................................... 32 Longer Three-Player Games......................... 82
Losing Characters & Betrayal ............................. 33 Harder Quests .................................................. 82
Breaking the Fellowship ................................ 34 Epic Quests ....................................................... 83
Rejecting the Challenge ................................ 34
Failure Does Not Stop You ............................ 35
Losing Characters: Kill Your Darlings ......... 35 AFTERWORD
Epilogue............................................................. 36 Inspirations ....................................................... 88
Thanks ................................................................ 88
Playtesters ......................................................... 89
MATERIALS
Lists of Names .................................................. 90
Quest List........................................................... 91
Reference Sheet .............................................. 92
4
Before You Play
Follow requires no preparation and no game master to run it. You can play
a whole quest in a single session and there’s enough variety that you can
play again and again and have a new experience every time. You’ll need:
Three to five players
Two to three hours (longer with more players)
Stones in two different colors, about a dozen of each.
They’re called red and white in the text, but any two
distinct colors work. They can be poker chips, dice, or
playing cards, so long as they are the same size and
shape so you can’t tell them apart by touch.
A cup, bag or envelope to draw stones from. Or just close
your eyes.
About a dozen index cards
Pens or pencils
What if you have nothing to use as stones? The simplest solution is just to
tear up little squares of paper (half an inch or less), mark some with an X for
red, and leave the others blank for white. They won’t be exactly the same,
but the average person won’t be able to tell them apart by touch if they
draw them from a cup.
5
START
Follow is a game about working together to achieve a common goal. Slay
the dragon. Cure a disease. Overthrow a tyrant. Get your candidate elected.
We’ll pick a quest together to decide what kind of game we want to play.
Can we stay united and succeed, or will our differences tear us apart? We’ll
play and find out.
Follow isn’t about us coming up with the best plan or a clever solution.
It’s about seeing what these characters do, for better or worse. We may
even intentionally make bad choices because they seem like decisions our
characters would make.
But even if we do everything perfectly, our quest may fail. As players we can
push for the outcome we want to see, but we cannot guarantee it. Our story
may surprise us, and that’s part of the fun.
the Colony
Build a colony and make it flourish
the Dragon
Slay the beast that terrorizes the realm
the Heist
Get the loot and don’t get caught
the Rebellion
Overthrow our oppressors
After you’ve picked, flip to the matching page in the QUESTS chapter.
Read the introduction on the “Start” side aloud and then answer the
questions together to customize your quest. You’ll need to refer to the
quest page frequently as you proceed, so use an index card as a bookmark.
8
the Cure
We must cure this terrible disease. We are the doctors, researchers, lab workers, and
administrators working on a solution.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | renowned doctor 5 | research director 9 | financial backer
2 | by-the-book doctor 6 | administrator 10 | political backer
3 | unorthodox doctor 7 | liaison 11 | media relations
4 | lab assistant 8 | security officer 12 | patient / subject
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Zombie infection. Medieval monks fighting plague. Wizards breaking a curse. Alien
spores. Cold War bacterial weapons. Cyber-virus that afflicts people with implants.
Hackers stopping an internet virus that affects computers, not people.
S TA R T
start
SUICIDE RIDGE
2) Morale is low
10
start
Our Fellowship
The group of characters working together to complete the quest is called
the fellowship. We’ll each have two characters: a main character and a
minor character. Both are part of the fellowship, but our story is about our
main characters.
As you make your characters, complete each step together and discuss
your choices so everyone knows what the other members of the fellowship
are like. When you pick details about your character, you’re telling the other
players those are the themes you want to explore in the game.
Follow the steps on the next page to prepare cards for your characters. The
result should look like this:
<
MAIN MINOR
CHARACTER CHARACTER
11
To prepare cards for your main and minor characters:
Each player takes an index card. Fold the long edge in
half, then fold one of those halves into a tent with the
other half of the card lying flat on the table. This will be
your main character.
Turn the card so the tent is nearer to you and the flat
half towards the other players. Draw a horizontal line
dividing the flat part of the card into two sections. Write
WANT from the Quest at the top of the upper section
and WANT from You at the top of the bottom section.
Draw an arrow pointing left on the left side of the “Want
from You” section.
Take more index cards, cut or tear them in half, and give
each player a half card. Fold it into a tent so it matches
your first card. This will be your minor character.
12
start
13
start
14
start
15
start
Minor Character
Next, each player makes their minor character who is also part of the
fellowship. Just pick a concept, a name, and give a brief description. Don’t
create wants.
Our minor characters are supporting cast, and some of them will almost
certainly be lost if our quest takes difficult turns. A good choice is to make
a character who is connected to one of the main characters across the
table from you or who would mostly interact with them. Avoid making a
minor character who would primarily interact with your own main character
so you don’t wind up needing to talk to yourself.
Write your name and concept on both sides of the minor character card.
We’re now ready to play.
Full pardon
MAIN MINOR
CHARACTER CHARACTER
16
Table Layout (Four-Player Game)
QUEST TITLE
1) …
2) …
MAIN MINOR
17
PLAY
To complete the quest, our fellowship will face three challenges. We won’t
know what challenges will confront us at the start. We’ll only know as they
arise.
Each challenge is something we need to do to move closer to our goal. If we
succeed at a challenge, we are more likely to succeed at the quest. If we fail
(or ignore or refuse the challenge), it doesn’t mean the quest immediately
fails, but it makes it harder for us to win in the end.
You must pick challenges from the quest sheet, but your choices, and the
order you put them in, define the flavor of your game. Two sessions using
the same quest might follow completely different arcs. Do we start our
Heist assembling a team and figuring out how to get into the vault, or do
we start with the loot already in hand and spend the rest of the game trying
to get away? Do we spend our scenes scheming and planning or running
around, guns blazing? We won’t know until we play.
For each of the three rounds, we follow the same steps:
Pick our challenge and describe why it is difficult.
Play scenes to explore how our characters deal with the
challenge and each other.
Draw stones to see if the fellowship succeeds or fails at
the challenge and whether any of our characters were
lost or betrayed the fellowship.
The third challenge is different. Its outcome determines the success or
failure of the entire quest, but our wins or loses in the first two challenges
will influence our chances of victory.
After the third challenge is resolved and we’ve seen whether the fellowship
succeeded at the quest, we’ll play a short epilogue to look at the characters’
lives after the quest. After all was said and done, was the quest was worth
it to them?
play
Start a Challenge
Choose a player to pick the next challenge. It must be someone who has
not picked one already.
That person selects a challenge from the quest sheet. Picking a challenge
establishes that it is the next important step we need to take in our quest.
You must pick a challenge from the quest sheet, but you can pick any
challenge that you think is appropriate even one that has already been
used. When in doubt, just ask yourself: what would we need to do next?
If this is the third challenge, you’re establishing the final task that, after
everything that has happened, we must complete to finish the quest.
Copy your first challenge from the quest sheet to the top third of an index
card along with the name of the player who picked it. Each additional
challenge will fill another third of this card, creating a record of your quest.
X Get a spy on
the inside
(Cat)
Hide from a
manhunt
(Dennis)
20
Say Why It’s Difficult
The player who picked the challenge describes the problem that confronts
the fellowship and fleshes out the situation. Tell us what makes the
challenge difficult and why we need to do it, but do not say anything
about how the fellowship will solve the problem: leave that for scenes.
Our quest is to get our candidate elected, and our
new challenge is to handle accusations of personal
misconduct. The player picking the challenge says it’s
difficult because there are stacks of pictures showing
our candidate on romantic dinners with the husband
of her campaign manager. And hotel receipts. And text
messages. We’ve got our work cut out for us.
Set Pace
As a group, decide how long we envision this challenge taking: minutes,
hours, days, weeks, months, or years. This gets everyone on the same page
about how much time your scenes will encompass.
Our challenge is to lay low after our heist. Our scenes
could cover only a few hours, with characters staying out
of sight while police comb the area, or we could spend
weeks hiding out in crummy motels, waiting for the heat
to blow over. Likewise, a getaway could be a single car
chase or an elaborate manhunt spanning months. It’s up
to us.
21
play
Scenes
Each player makes one scene for the challenge. The person chosen by the
player who picked the challenge makes the first scene, followed by the
player on their left, then around the table clockwise. Make, play, and finish
each scene before starting the next.
Scenes are the meat of the game, and your scene is your spotlight time.
It’s your chance to explore your relationship to other characters in the
fellowship, what you think about the quest, and what you are doing to deal
with the challenge.
Use your scenes to lay the groundwork and put our plans in motion. But no
matter what happens, we won’t know if we succeed or fail at the challenge
until after everyone has made a scene. We may think things are going well
or poorly, but we won’t learn the outcome until we get to the climax.
22
Make Your Scene: Who, What, Where
To make your scene, say who is there, where it’s happening, and what is
going on. It is more important to describe a situation that is clear to all the
players than one that is particularly novel or interesting.
Your scene should be about your main character.
Other characters may be present as well, but this is your
time. Do not include your own minor character.
Two to three characters per scene is ideal. Every
player does not have to be in every scene. Normally you
include other characters from the fellowship, but you
can also invent outside characters if you need to and ask
people to play them.
If you need an idea for your scene, just pick someone you think it would
be interesting for your character to talk to about what is going on, frame a
scene with them, and see where it goes. Pick someone whose relationship
with your character you understand so you know how to talk to them even
if it’s someone your character hates. If you still can’t think of anything, ask
for suggestions.
23
Framing a Good Scene
A game scene is like a scene in a movie: we see a situation, interesting things
happen, then we cut to the next bit when the interesting part is over. But
since we’re all simultaneously co-writers and audience, each of us might
have our own idea about what we think should happen in a scene, and we
won’t know what will actually unfold until we play.
When you frame your scene, your job is to paint a clear picture so
everyone can visualize the situation. If we’re all on the same page about
where we are and what’s going on, playing our characters and making
interesting things happen is easy. If the environment is hazy or confusing,
it’s much harder.
24
Where Are We?
Describe a physical location. You don’t need a lot of detail, but everyone
should be able to visualize where the scene is taking place. The clearer the
environment, the easy it is to role-play. Never play a scene in a vacuum.
A scene also doesn’t have to take place right after the action in the last
scene. Depending on the pace you picked for the challenge, you can jump
to much later and somewhere else entirely.
“We’re lost in the jungle and the sun is going down.”
“We’re at the foot of the wizard’s tower. The doors loom
before us, portals of brass graven with arcane sigils.”
“We’re locked in the king’s dungeon.”
25
Play and See What Happens
Once the scene is set up, start role-playing. If you’re in the scene, say what
your character does, says, and thinks. Play and see what happens.
Each player controls the fate of their characters. If you want to do something
to another player’s character, describe your action and your intended effect,
then the player controlling that character decides the outcome.
You want to disobey orders and sneak out of camp to
plant the explosives, but another character is keeping an
eye on you. You describe distracting them momentarily
and then clubbing them on the head with the intent of
knocking them out. The other player could say it works,
or they could say their character twists out of the way and
now you’re wrestling in the dirt. Or they could say that you
hit them a little too hard and they might not wake up…
Don’t be afraid to let bad things happen to your characters if it sounds
interesting to you. Even if your main character dies or abandons the
fellowship, you always get a new character to play (described in the “Losing
Characters & Betrayal” section).
Never describe succeeding or failing at the challenge in a scene. We
won’t know if we win or lose until after all the scenes have been played.
If someone makes it sound like we have already succeeded or failed at the
challenge, we must also show how that is not the final outcome.
The player making the scene has final say over who is present. No one can
enter the scene without their permission.
26
Consequences
If someone thinks you described your character succeeding at something
too easily, they can add a consequence and describe how your action
put another player’s character in danger or difficulty. The consequence
may be something you didn’t want and could not have foreseen, but it’s a
side-effect of your action nonetheless.
Anyone can add a consequence, not just players in the scene. If you’re
making the consequence, you can put your own character in danger
however you want. But if you want to have the consequence fall on
someone else’s character, describe your idea, then adjust or negotiate until
that player approves since they have final control over their character.
You describe cutting through the enemy line and slaying
the Rebel-King. Another person thinks that’s a little too
easy, so they say the consequence is that the squire who
was riding with you, another member of the fellowship, is
left behind, surrounded, and captured. The squire’s player
asks for the character to be badly injured instead. The
consequence-maker agrees.
Consequences are a tool to make sure everyone stays on the same page
about what is possible in your story and to avoid down-playing the difficulty
the fellowship faces. In some games you won’t need consequences at all.
You can even ask for someone to describe a consequence for something
you do to invite their input and add drama.
27
End the Scene
When in doubt, end your scene earlier rather than later. Shorter scenes are
better than longer scenes. The player making the scene has final say over
when to end the scene, but anyone can suggest that it’s time to cut.
How do you know when your scene has done enough? Every scene should
advance the story, but that doesn’t mean you have to wrap up all the
questions you raised to end your scene. If you’ve shown some decision
being made or revealed something about a character or the situation,
that’s a good scene. In fact, it’s often more dramatic to leave new problems
hanging and resolve them later.
If you need to take some action to put what you talked about into effect,
don’t try to expand the scene to encompass that new situation. Either save
it for later or just summarize doing it.
“After we finish the meeting, I go to the bridge, sneak past
the guards, and plant the demolition charges. End scene.”
After every player has finished making and playing a scene, go on to finish
the challenge and determine the outcome.
28
play
29
First & Second Challenge Draw
Failing the first two challenges doesn’t mean the quest fails. It just means
we have to work harder later to succeed.
1 | Start with no stones in the pool. Add 1 white and 1 red.
2 | Each player takes 2 red. Read aloud:
“If your main character is unhappy about the path
the fellowship has taken, hold 1 red stone. If your
main character actually wants the quest to fail, hold
2 red stones. Otherwise, hold no stones.“
Maximum 2 stones even if the answer is yes to both.
Decide secretly, then reveal simultaneously. Add them
to the pool. If you put in any stones, briefly explain why.
3 | Each player takes 1 white and 1 red. Read aloud:
“As a player, do you think the fellowship did what was
necessary to succeed at the challenge? Hold white if
yes, red if no.”
Decide secretly, then reveal simultaneously. Add them
to the pool.
4 | Put the stones in a cup. Without looking, draw one stone
and reveal it, then draw and reveal a second. Don’t put
the first stone back before drawing the second. Look up
your results on the “Describe the Outcome” table.
5 | On the challenge card, put a check next to this challenge
if you succeeded or an X if you failed.
Start a new challenge.
30
Third Challenge Draw
The outcome of the third challenge decides the entire quest. If we fail now,
the quest is lost.
1 | Start with no stones in the pool. Add 1 white and 1 red.
2 | Add 1 white for each successful challenge and 1 red for
each failed challenge (2 stones total).
3 | Each player takes 2 red. Read aloud:
“If your main character is unhappy about the path
the fellowship has taken, hold 1 red stone. If your
main character actually wants the quest to fail, hold
2 red stones. Otherwise, hold no stones.“
Maximum 2 stones even if the answer is yes to both.
Decide secretly, then reveal simultaneously. Add them
to the pool. If you put in any stones, briefly explain why.
4 | Each player takes 1 white and 1 red. Read aloud:
“As a player, do you think the fellowship succeeded
at the challenge? Hold white if yes, red if no. This will
decide the entire quest, not just this challenge.”
Decide secretly, then reveal simultaneously. Add them
to the pool.
5 | Put the stones in a cup. Without looking, draw one stone
and reveal it, then draw and reveal a second. Don’t put
the first stone back before drawing the second. Look up
your results on the “Describe the Outcome” table.
6 | On the challenge card, put a check next to this challenge
if you succeeded or an X if you failed.
The quest is now over. Proceed to the epilogue.
31
Describe the Outcome
Stones are shown in the order they were drawn: the first tells us the impact
on the fellowship and the second determines if we won or lost.
WHITE, WHITE
win the challenge
RED, WHITE
lose one character, but win the challenge
WHITE, RED
lose one character and lose the challenge
RED, RED
a character betrays (or is betrayed by) the
fellowship and is lost, and lose the challenge
32
Losing Characters & Betrayal
When you lose characters because of the draw, they are out of the game.
They may quit, die, or be kicked out of the fellowship. It could be bad luck
or a noble sacrifice. But however you want to describe it, they are gone.
If it’s a betrayal, it must be a conscious decision which the side being
betrayed does not want (whether that’s the fellowship or a character). If we
betray someone and leave them behind in enemy territory, they must curse
us for it, not willingly sacrifice themselves.
Losing a character because of the draw is different than voluntarily having
a character leave or turn against the fellowship during a scene. If the stones
say someone is lost, the character we select is out of the game.
But no matter what happens, players are never eliminated from the game.
You always get a new main character to play:
If you lose your main character, your minor character is
promoted to be your new main character.
If you already lost your minor character, you can
introduce a new character joining the fellowship, or
you can ask another player to let you take over their
minor character, whichever makes the most sense. That
becomes your new main character.
If you lose your minor character or promote them to
main, do not make a new minor character. From now
on, you only have a main character. The fellowship may
shrink as you play.
When you promote a minor character or make a new main character,
don’t go through the process of creating wants. You just need a name and
concept. The story is already in motion, so just work with what you already
know about the other characters.
33
Breaking the Fellowship
At the start of the game, we are required to create characters who are
working together and want to succeed at the quest. But what if, as the story
unfolds, you decide your character wants to quit the quest or turn against
the fellowship? Go right ahead. Role-play whatever make sense to you. The
rules are designed to embrace your decisions, not force you to follow a
certain path.
Likewise, your wants are only starting points. You may fall in love with the
character you wanted revenge on or give up on getting rich in your first
scene. That’s great. Now keep playing and see what happens next.
If you’re still interested in seeing how your main character impacts the
fellowship and the quest (even if they’ve turned against it), keep playing
them. But if you’re more interested in switching, you can write them out
of the story and start playing your minor character instead, as described in
“Losing Characters & Betrayal”.
34
Failure Does Not Stop You
After failing the first or second challenge, sometimes it can be hard to
imagine how the fellowship still has a path to succeeding at the quest. We
needed to sneak past the guards to get into the temple, but we didn’t, so
how can we possibly steal the jewel inside?
Even if it sounds like we would have no way to continue, we are never truly
defeated (or victorious) until the third challenge. It’s our job to explain
how we find a way to push forward or work around our setback in the next
challenge.
Where we go next is largely in the hands of the player picking the new
challenge. Do we try the same or a similar challenge again? Do we do
something different to overcome the obstacle, like storming the gates
instead of using stealth? Or do we skip ahead to a later part of the quest,
like jumping straight to already having stolen the jewel and now trying to
escape? They’re all valid choices. Pick up the action wherever you want,
but the consequences of the failed challenge remain: it will be harder to
succeed at the quest because of your setback or the riskier plans you had to
adopt to work around the problem.
35
play
Epilogue
After three challenges, the quest is over. We succeeded or failed, but our
characters live on (some of them, anyway).
Each player briefly narrates their main character’s life after the quest. Show
us whether your character feels the quest was worth it. You may stick to
just the immediate fallout of the quest, or you could go big and summarize
the rest of your life. It’s up to you.
If your main character was lost just before the epilogue, you can narrate
their legacy or memory instead of switching to a new main character if you
prefer.
After that, your game is done.
36
That’s the end of your quest and the end
of the rules. The rest of the book includes
quests, materials, and advice for play.
37
QUESTS
Each quest has two sections: a Start page and a Play page. You’ll use the
first section to set up your quest and then flip to the second once you’re
ready to play.
The Start section includes an introduction and questions to customize and
clarify your setting along with examples to decide what makes your quest
difficult and create your fellowship. You can use those examples or come up
with your own ideas. Each list is numbered so you can even roll dice if you
need some random inspiration.
Once you’ve finished setting up your quest and you’re ready to flip to the
Play page, all the material on the Start section no longer matters. What’s
important is what you picked for your game, not all the things you could
have picked, so hiding those choices keeps them from being a distraction.
Don’t want to saddle up your Posse in the Wild West? Each quest includes
suggestions for alternate settings you can use instead. Your “posse” could
be fantasy heroes tracking down the necromancer who put a curse on
the kingdom or government agents hunting a rogue AI. So long as the
fellowship has the same basic goal as the original quest, you can play in
almost any setting.
the Bomb the Heist
Build the weapon that ends the war Get the loot and don’t get caught
40
the Bomb
A theoretical new weapon could end the war—if we can build it and make it work.
If we fail, the war drags on and on. Or our work blows us all up. Or both. We are the
inventors, administrators, and agents on the project.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | renowned scientist 5 | engineer / builder 9 | military officer
2 | unorthodox scientist 6 | project director 10 | security officer
3 | foreign scientist 7 | personnel officer 11 | undercover agent
4 | lab assistant 8 | government liaison 12 | family of staff
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Decipher alien artifact. Forge the magic sword. Unlock the rune of power. Awaken a
god or demon. Harness telepathy or other super-powers. Instead of a mega-weapon,
your invention could be mass-produced, like a Gatling gun to win the Civil War, or
even gunpowder.
S TA R T
the Bomb
OUR GOAL
Get funding
P L AY
the Booty
The treasure galleon Glorioso sails for Spain from the West Indies, swollen with gold
and spices. We are pirates or privateers determined to take her booty for our own!
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | captain 5 | scurvy cut-throat 9 | green recruit
2 | first mate 6 | dashing rogue 10 | coward
3 | quartermaster 7 | schemer 11 | deserter soldier
4 | enforcer 8 | wizened old sea dog 12 | dilettante noble
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Train robbers. Star pirates. High-octane highway hijackers. Any setting where one
vessel is chasing another and stealing what’s inside.
S TA R T
the Booty
OUR GOAL
Get a ship
Learn what route the target’s taking (or find her in the open sea)
Escape pursuit
P L AY
the Breakthrough
Our invention will change the world—if we can make it work. We’re the scientists,
researchers, builders, and believers working on making our project a success and
delivering it to the world.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | renowned scientist 5 | visionary 9 | financial backer
2 | disgraced scientist 6 | project manager 10 | public relations
3 | unorthodox scientist 7 | assistant 11 | security officer
4 | by-the-book scientist 8 | influential supporter 12 | family/loved one
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Speak with the dead. Go beyond the Laws of Magic. Decipher the alien language.
Discover electricity. Invent the first code of law.
S TA R T
the Breakthrough
OUR GOAL
P L AY
the Candidate
Our goal is to get our candidate elected. We are the staff, supporters, and campaign
managers plus friends and family who are taking an active role in the campaign. No
one should pick the candidate as their character even though they are the center of
the story. If you did, you would have unilateral power to stop the quest.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | campaign manager 5 | speechwriter 9 | elected official
2 | strategist 6 | spokesperson 10 | wealthy backer
3 | policy advisor 7 | assistant 11 | celebrity backer
4 | pollster 8 | personal aide 12 | candidate’s family
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Head of a fan club. Pretender to the throne. Religious leader. Corporate chairman.
Guildmaster. Even if it isn’t a popular vote, so long as the group choosing the winner
can be swayed or influenced, the quest should work.
S TA R T
the Candidate
OUR GOAL
Make a commercial
Deal with a special interest that hates our candidate (which one?)
P L AY
the Championship
If our team is going to win the championship, we’re going to have to work together
and we’re going to have to play hard. We’re the players, coaches, and managers of
the team.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | team captain 5 | weak player / slacker 9 | coach
2 | new hotshot 6 | brute 10 | assistant coach
3 | declining veteran 7 | new transfer 11 | mascot
4 | popular player 8 | manager 12 | family / loved one
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
E-sports. Knights in the tournament circuit. Space gladiators. Boffer LARP. Team
spelling bee. Robot-building olympics. Competitive marching band or cheer squad.
Racing team, street, or pro circuit. Dodgeball.
S TA R T
the Championship
OUR GOAL
Raise morale
P L AY
the Colony
We’re on a new world, far from home, and there’s no turning back. We must build a
colony and make sure it survives and thrives.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | leader 5 | doctor / therapist 9 | rebel
2 | visionary / planner 6 | philosopher / thinker 10 | recluse
3 | scientist 7 | family homesteader 11 | “sorry we came”
4 | engineer / technician 8 | true believer 12 | imposter / phony
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Modern commune. Religious mission. Border fort. Undersea dome. Puritan settlers. If
you colonize somewhere other than a distant world, decide if there are native people.
S TA R T
the Colony
OUR GOAL
Head-off starvation
Raise morale
Establish a government
P L AY
the Cure
We must cure this terrible disease. We are the doctors, researchers, lab workers, and
administrators working on a solution.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | renowned doctor 5 | research director 9 | financial backer
2 | by-the-book doctor 6 | administrator 10 | political backer
3 | unorthodox doctor 7 | liaison 11 | media relations
4 | lab assistant 8 | security officer 12 | patient / subject
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Zombie infection. Medieval monks fighting plague. Wizards breaking a curse. Alien
spores. Cold War bacterial weapons. Cyber-virus that afflicts people with implants.
Hackers stopping an internet virus that affects computers, not people.
S TA R T
the Cure
OUR GOAL
Get funding
Deal with criticism from outside researchers (they say it won’t work
or will cause terrible side-effects)
Deal with a safety failure within our facility (what went wrong?)
P L AY
the Dragon
The dragon terrorizes the land and it must be slain. We’re warriors, rogues, wise ones,
or even common folk that dare to face the monster.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | knight of the realm 5 | chosen one 9 | servant / retainer
2 | warrior / mercenary 6 | treasure hunter 10 | local guide
3 | would-be hero 7 | wise one / sage 11 | peasant
4 | noble 8 | priest / hermit 12 | survivor of attack
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
A cat terrorizing mice. A city-stomping kaiju or giant robot. A man-eating shark
terrorizing a sleepy coastal town. The white whale. An unspeakable elder god
awakening. A werewolf or vampire preying on a community.
S TA R T
the Dragon
OUR GOAL
Learn the beast’s weak spot (where can we find the answer?)
Get the weapon that can slay it (what and where is the weapon?)
P L AY
the Gods
We are immortal gods. We can raise up mountains or cast down cities, but what we
crave is for mortals to worship us. That’s our quest even if we must create and destroy
whole civilizations in the process.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | allfather/mother 5 | guardian 9 | destroyer
2 | elder 6 | hunter or warrior 10 | black sheep
3 | crafter or gardener 7 | reveller or idler 11 | half-mortal
4 | watcher or scholar 8 | trickster or tempter 12 | monstrous god
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Developers of an online game dealing with players. Celebrities or rock stars coveting
their fickle fans. Starfarers interfering with a primitive alien culture. Unstoppable
superheroes/villains in the modern world.
S TA R T
the Gods
OUR GOAL
Forge a new land for our mortals (or shape the land to suit them)
P L AY
the Heist
Get the loot and don’t get caught. We’re criminals (or would-be criminals), thieves,
robbers, hackers, or con artists. The actual robbery could happen anywhere in the
story, but the quest isn’t complete until we get away.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | planner 5 | natural 9 | man on the inside
2 | hardened criminal 6 | amateur 10 | dirty cop
3 | ambitious criminal 7 | “trying to go straight” 11 | ordinary citizen
4 | older & wiser 8 | unlucky criminal 12 | loved one / family
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Steal the Death Star plans. Pilfer a sacred idol, the king’s jewels, or a wizard’s scrolls.
Rob an ancient tomb. Engage in corporate espionage to learn next year’s fashions.
Invade dreams to steal memories. Spy to uncover national secrets.
S TA R T
the Heist
OUR GOAL
Acquire the keys (who has them and what are they: actual keys, a
security code, a combination)
Break in
Get away
Lay low
P L AY
the Movement
We can change society. We can make a difference. We’re activists, organizers,
believers, and perhaps some dilettantes. We agree about our goal—though we may
disagree about how to achieve it. If we fail, we might be ignored or people might
even turn against our cause.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | visionary 5 | armchair rebel 9 | pragmatist
2 | true believer 6 | violent revolutionary 10 | romantic
3 | old guard 7 | scholar 11 | dilettante
4 | follower 8 | doubter 12 | tourist
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Ad campaign. Spreading religion. Teach rational thought in the Dark Ages. A fan-base.
S TA R T
the Movement
OUR GOAL
Get attention / get the word out (protests, rallies, media, etc.)
P L AY
the Posse
Find the outlaw and bring them back to stand trial. We’re the lawmen and ordinary
citizens in the Wild West who have been sworn in to hunt the wrong-doer and bring
them back alive.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | sheriff 5 | vengeful townsfolk 9 | town drunk
2 | deputy 6 | fearful townsfolk 10 | wizened old coot
3 | federal marshall 7 | teacher / priest 11 | family of victim
4 | gunslinger 8 | young hothead 12 | former outlaw
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Chasing a demon that can possess unsuspecting victims. Tracking a rogue AI. Hunting
a bandit in the Duke’s forest. Bounty hunters in space, cyber-future, or modern day.
S TA R T
the Posse
OUR GOAL
Escape an ambush
P L AY
the Raid
Sneak behind enemy lines, locate the target, and destroy it. If your target is a person,
it’s an assassination. We are the commandos, soldiers, and specialists going on the
mission. Our goal is to destroy the target, not necessarily escape again, so getting
out is not part of the quest.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | team leader 5 | traumatized veteran 9 | foreign soldier
2 | sergeant 6 | secret coward 10 | local guide
3 | grunt soldier 7 | specialist 11 | desk jockey
4 | rookie 8 | spy 12 | accidental addition
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Destroy the source of the dark lord’s power. Sabotage the Imperial tractor beam.
Stop the arcane ritual. Destroy the alien mothership.
S TA R T
the Raid
OUR GOAL
P L AY
the Rebellion
Overthrow our oppressors and free the people from tyranny. We’re freedom fighters,
dissidents, and just ordinary people who yearn for liberty.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | leader 5 | true believer 9 | insider
2 | would-be leader 6 | ordinary citizen 10 | old regime official
3 | vengeful rebel 7 | military veteran 11 | ex-collaborator
4 | reluctant rebel 8 | academic 12 | escaped prisoner
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Alien invasion. Tyrant sorcerer-king. Kids fighting bullies. Cult awakening elder god
(rebelling against humanity).
S TA R T
the Rebellion
OUR GOAL
Purge traitors in our ranks (from the rebellion as a whole, not the
fellowship)
P L AY
the Show
We’re putting on a show! The lights! The applause! Our goal is to put on a great
performance that the audience loves.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | glory hound 5 | director or author 9 | costumer
2 | amateur 6 | visionary or plagiarist 10 | “den mother”
3 | victim of stage fright 7 | stage manager 11 | money-bags
4 | washed-up star 8 | stage hand 12 | family / loved ones
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Special live performance of a normally recorded TV show. Traveling circus. Renaissance
fair performers. Fringe vaudeville / fire / acrobat warehouse performance. Civil War
re-enactors. Ancient Greek theatre.
S TA R T
the Show
OUR GOAL
Get costumes
Perform
P L AY
the Siege
Our city is under siege. Hold off the attackers long enough, and they’ll have to quit
and go home. We are soldiers, citizens, and unlucky refugees in a medieval city.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | city guard 5 | craftsman / shopkeep 9 | noble
2 | soldier 6 | merchant 10 | priest
3 | captain or knight 7 | laborer 11 | foreigner
4 | ne’er-do-well 8 | farmer from outside 12 | deserter
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Samurai (or cowboys) defending a humble town against bandits. Zombies. Dwarf
fortress. Minas Tirith. Rioting prisoners. Defend the embassy, or be the terrorists/
rebels who captured it. Protect the wilderness from developers.
S TA R T
the Siege
OUR GOAL
P L AY
the Superheroes
Our goal is to form a team of superheroes to protect society. We’re the heroes,
sidekicks, allies, and organizers who are trying to bring it together. We may team-up
and think we’ve succeeded in the middle of the quest, but we’ll only know if we truly
hold together at the end.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | grim avenger 5 | uncontrolled power 9 | trusted aide/valet
2 | celebrity hero 6 | fake hero 10 | government agent
3 | legacy hero 7 | reformed villain 11 | wealthy patron
4 | inventor 8 | sidekick 12 | friend/family/love
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Powerful wizards and warriors defending the realm. Secret agent strike team. Hidden
magicians in the modern world. Neighborhood watch.
S TA R T
the Superheroes
OUR GOAL
Establish a base
Pick a leader
P L AY
the Turf
This turf belongs to whoever is strong enough to take and hold it, and that’s going to
be us. We’re a gang or syndicate fighting for territory.
MAKE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER CONCEPT
1 | leader 5 | charmer 9 | new recruit
2 | enforcer 6 | peacemaker 10 | coward
3 | old guard 7 | sidekick / mascot 11 | loved one / family
4 | hothead 8 | “trying to get out” 12 | defector (now on
our side)
A LT E R N AT E S E T T I N G S
Delivery drivers fighting over territory. Religion converting flocks. Corporate market
share. Feuding kingdoms. Rival guilds in a city of thieves. The playground.
S TA R T
the Turf
OUR GOAL
Raise morale
Thin the ranks of your rivals (scare them, beat them, get them
arrested, etc.)
Escape an ambush
P L AY
Picking a Quest
When you pick a quest, it’s more important to wind up with a quest that
everyone is willing to play than one that a particular player loves. If even
a single player hates the quest you chose, it doesn’t matter how excited
everyone else is about it: that’s a recipe for a bad game.
There are a lot of quests to choose from, so if you want to get started
quickly or are introducing the game to new players, pick from the core four
recommended in the Start chapter: the Colony, the Dragon, the Heist, and
the Rebellion. Those cover a good variety of options.
If you are picking from the whole list, it is often faster and more productive
to have players remove quests that don’t interest them to narrow the field
rather than say which ones they like. Let players go in any order, as often
as they want, and take out quests they don’t want to play. No debate. Just
have everyone yank quests until you’re down to only two or three choices.
You can cross them off if you have a spare copy of the quest list. But if you
don’t want to start scribbling in your book, just lay the page flat and start
with a stone next to each quest. There’s a large list of quests in the back
of the book to make that easier for you. To eliminate a quest, remove the
stone. By the end, there will be just a few stones remaining so you can
clearly see what choices are left.
When you get down to two or three quests, stop and have each player vote
for the one they want. Tell everyone to secretly decide how much they
prefer each quest on a scale of one to five (one for mild preference, five
for a strong preference). Have everyone simultaneously point at the quest
they prefer, pointing that number of fingers. If you’re neutral, hold up a fist
to vote for all equally. If there are three quests, you can use both hands and
point at two different quests to show how much you prefer each one (but
don’t point both hands at the same quest).
Count the fingers pointed at each quest. The quest with the most votes is
the winner.
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DISCUSSION
Follow is designed to be flexible and forgiving. Even if you get some of the
rules wrong, the structure of the game will keep you on the same page and
your story moving forward. Each new challenge gives the fellowship a fresh
start, and resolving each challenge let’s us show each other how we feel the
quest is going.
Here are some ways to get the most out of your game along with some
options to customize or expand the rules.
Your Quest Is to Play Together
Just as the characters in the fellowship are trying to complete a quest
together, everyone at the table has a goal too: you’re trying to play together
and have fun. That’s your quest.
The rules provide a structure to guide you and make playing together
easy. But in the heat of the moment and the excitement of adventure, it’s
easy to forget you are also just people sitting together at the table and all
the normal social rules of social interaction apply: respect each, be polite,
and so on. Even when your characters are trying to murder each other,
players should be polite and respectful—maybe even more so when your
characters are not!
For the game to work, it’s also critical that everyone gets to contribute their
fair share. When the rules say a particular player makes a choice (like picking
a challenge or creating a scene), the decision is up to that person. Their turn
is their turn. They can ask for ideas if they want, but if they don’t, no one else
should jump in with suggestions. It’s their chance to steer the story.
Likewise, it is everyone’s responsibility to honor and respect those
contributions. Embrace the facts that other players establish in the story.
Don’t contradict, undermine, or sidestep their ideas. And if you find yourself
wanting to invent big details about the world outside your character when
the rules have not given you special authority to do so, step lightly. Check
to make sure everyone else agrees with what you want.
If it ever feels like you don’t all agree about what kind of game you’re trying
to play or you don’t like how the game is going, there’s one simple and
effective solution: stop and talk about it. You can rescue even the worst
game by just stopping and discussing what’s going on. Never forget that
you and the other people at the table are more important than the game,
the characters, or anything in the story.
80
Pitfalls of Planning
In a game about accomplishing a goal, there’s a danger of getting so caught
up in planning what you should do that you stop being in the moment
and playing the characters facing those challenges. The game devolves into
players sitting around the table, logically plotting the best solution. Boring.
How do you avoid it? First off, if you want to talk about plans or do anything,
you have to do it in-character, in scenes. There’s no step for out-of-scene
discussions about what’s going to happen or what you’re doing. Don’t talk
about what might happen: play the scene and see what does happen.
But even in a scene, players can slip into “cerebral planning mode.” If you’re
in a scene where that’s happening, here are tricks to get everyone back in
the moment. They’re good habits even when a scene is going great:
Bring in the physical location of the scene. If you’re in
the jungle, mention the buzzing insects or how sweat
is dripping into your eyes. A little sensory narration
reminds everyone that you are characters in a fictional
place, not players sitting around a table. Likewise,
describe your character’s physical actions, like pacing or
flipping through files.
When speaking in character, address other characters by
name. It’s a reminder that it’s your characters talking, not
the players. The natural reaction is to respond in kind.
Play your relationships and position. Instead of just
considering whether what someone says makes sense
or is a good idea, think how your character feels about
them. Double-down on your character’s biases. Embrace
status imbalances between the characters. Sure that plan
sounds great, but if the character who came up with it is
just an intern, why would we listen to them?!? Players are
all due equal respect, but characters are absolutely not.
Dropping out of character is contagious, but being in the moment is
contagious, too. If you role-play, others will follow.
81
Two-Player Games
Follow is designed for three to five players, but if you want to play with only
two, use these rules changes:
Each player makes a second minor character for a total
of six characters in the fellowship (two main, four minor).
The first player to make a scene also makes a second
scene at the end of the challenge (three scenes total
per challenge). Because you cannot pick yourself as first
player, the person making the extra scene will always be
the one who did not pick the challenge.
Either player can pick the last challenge of the quest.
Harder Quests
Your quest will be challenging. You may succeed or you may fail. But if your
group wants to play an even harder quest where the deck is stacked against
you, you can agree to play in “hard mode” when you pick your quest. This
must be a group decision since it changes the odds of the whole game.
If you decide to play in hard mode, start your pool with two red and one
white when you resolve the challenge instead of one of each.
82
Epic Quests
If a single quest is not enough to encompass your whole story or if you want
a massive quest that spans multiple sessions, you can chain three quests
together to reflect the different stages of a single epic adventure. Just as
you play challenges to move closer to the goal of a normal quest, you’ll play
entire quests to move closer to the goal of your overarching quest.
You start by picking the quest that describes your ultimate goal. That will
be your last quest and the climax of your story. Then you’ll play two other
quests that build up to that final task. Your successes (or failures) in the first
two quests will influence the outcome of the ultimate quest.
Now that you know the goal, you’ll pick the quest that you start with. You
may have ideas for the second quest as well, but you won’t decide it for
certain until you finish the first quest. That way you can pick something
that fits what happened in your first quest. Just like with challenges, you
can repeat the same quest, such as having to perform two different Raids to
neutralize enemy strongholds and pave the way for the Rebellion.
We decide our overall goal is to slay an immortal monster
terrorizing our realm, so the Dragon quest is a perfect
fit. We decide to start with a Heist: there’s a legendary
weapon that could slay the beast.
After finishing our Heist, it’s time to pick our second quest.
We’ve already seen that there is a powerful cult that
worships the monster as a god. Do we smash the heart of
the cult with a Raid or free the lands they control with a
Rebellion? Or do we decide we need another Heist to steal
the lore that contains the monster’s true name?
Play each quest following the normal rules. At the start of the second and
third quests, rebuild the fellowship so everyone has a main and minor
character even if characters were lost from the previous quest. You can
keep playing characters that survived the last quest, or you can start a new
character. You can also trade and use a character someone else played in
the last quest so long as that player agrees. Generally characters who were
lost in previous quests should not return to the fellowship, but if it makes
sense to the whole group, you can do it.
83
If a main character appeared in a previous quest, they may want the same
thing as before or their desires might have changed. That’s up to you. If you
want, you can switch the seating order to mix things up and give different
players direct character wants.
When you get to your third and final quest, you have a few choices you can
make. First, if it now seems like a different quest would be a better fit for
your original goal, you can pick a new third quest.
From the start we imagined that our final quest would
be to Cure the virus afflicting our colony world. But now
that we know that the living alien ocean is the real cause,
we could decide to use the Bomb quest instead to build a
weapon to destroy the source.
Second, if the fellowship won or lost both previous quests, you can choose
to trade in that advantage or disadvantage and change the definition of
victory.
If you’ve won both quests, you can sacrifice your advantage to potentially
achieve an even greater success if you win this last quest. Discuss what
that would mean. What’s an even greater version of success for your whole
mission? It should still be basically the same concept as the default quest
goal, but magnified.
If you lost both quests, you can retreat and regroup and be satisfied with less.
Decide what a lesser version of victory would be. You won’t get everything
you originally envisioned, but you’ll definitely get some accomplishment if
you win. Discuss what that lesser victory would be.
This is a role-playing decision where the members of the fellowship decide
to push their luck or cut their losses. The whole group has to agree that
their characters would go along with it even if other characters push them
into a decision they aren’t sure about.
When you resolve the outcome of the third challenge of the third quest, it
decides the entire epic quest. Add stones based on the outcome of the first
two challenges as normal, but also add a red stone for each failed quest and
a white stone for each successful quest. If you opted to trade your victories
or defeats to change the definition of victory, add one white and one red
84
instead of two of the same color. Likewise, when players add stones based
on whether they think the fellowship succeeded or failed, make sure the
players know this decides the entire quest cycle.
It may seem like adding only a single stone for the outcome of an entire
previous quest is a small adjustment, but remember that those victories
or defeats probably also colored your opinion of whether you think the
fellowship should succeed or not. That single stone is merely the minimum
impact the outcome of the quest had on the entire adventure.
After you finish the first quest, you can also choose to have the fellowship
split to tackle two problems at the same time. We’re fighting on different
fronts, struggling to achieve the common goal, but we won’t know if our
efforts bear fruit until the end. Defend Minas Tirith against the armies of
Mordor, but know all along that your final victory depends on a single
hobbit creeping into the land of shadow…
If you split the fellowship, play the first quest as normal. After that pick the
second and third quest at the same time, and then decide which members
of the original fellowship go on each mission. No character can go on
both quests, and each fellowship is reinforced by new members to make
a full roster, like normal. Play the second quest, knowing that the third
is happening at nearly the same time. The third quest ends just after the
second and decides the final outcome, as usual. If you want to take it even
farther, you could alternate between the two quests: play and finish the first
challenge, then switch to the other quest and play its first challenge, then
switch back to the other quest and play the second challenge, and so on.
85
AFTERWORD
When I started working on Follow, I had two goals. One was to make a very
simple, accessible story game that anyone could pick up and play without
a big learning curve. The other was to make a game you could whip out
and play over and over again without feeling like you were retreading old
ground—a trusty and reliable tool in your gaming arsenal.
The end result is a distillation of lessons learned from a wide range of
sources, including games I’ve played and people I’ve played with. It has
many mothers and many fathers. Plus piles of aunts, uncles, and second
cousins once-removed.
Inspirations
My first game, Microscope, was what you might call “unusual.” It went in new
directions and broke a lot of norms of existing games. Follow is the opposite. It
is intentionally rooted in the indie mainstream, building on the foundation of a
whole host of other games. These are just a few of the designers whose work I drew
inspiration from: Jason Morningstar, because if you haven’t been paying attention to
Fiasco (2009) you haven’t been paying attention to GMless games. Jonathan Walton,
because Geiger Counter (2008) was the first game I played that made such wonderful
use of secondary characters, doomed to die. Ryan Macklin, for expressing “needing
something from someone and them not giving it to you” with perfect clarity. And Ron
Edwards, for distinguishing between what the players want and what the characters
want all the way back in Elfs (2000), and for doing so much to pave the way for the
entirety of indie games.
Playing at Story Games Seattle every week remains my most singular inspiration.
Sometimes it’s rewarding, sometimes it’s frustrating, but it’s always educational.
Ultimately, the games I make are simultaneously reflections of how we play there
and attempts to solve the problems we uncover.
Thanks
Making a game is fun. Finishing and releasing a game can be grueling, difficult work.
Without good people around you, it can be impossible.
I would be lost without the brain trust of Caroline Hobbs (author of Downfall) and
Marc Hobbs (author of Eden). If Caroline had a nickel for every time we talked about
game ideas, she’d have a giant nickel-plated mech. With laser eyes.
Thursdays are for story games, but Tuesdays are for the hobbit crew, Mike, Jem, and
Haskell, who bravely took Follow for several critical spins early in the design.
And more than anyone else, thanks to my family, my true fellowship through thick
and thin.
If you’re a very lucky designer, then during the long arc of development you may play
sessions that stand out as perfect examples and remind you what you’re trying to do.
Those games are your milestones and guiding stars:
Caroline, Marc, and Pat chasing the Booty in the very first game of Follow. It showed
me I was on the right track but with a bunch of wrong turns.
Ace, ET, Nick, and Seth playing wonderfully conflicted Superheroes at Story Games
Seattle. With great power comes great pathos.
Aaron, Jonathan, Meagan, and Sean slaying the Dragon at PAX, except our dragon
was a cat and our heroes were mice. Doomed, doomed mice.
Plus a slew more I could name: the trio of games at Go Play NW 2016, the magical
Baum Candy heist, and on and on. Because I have been very lucky indeed.
88
Playtesters
Without players, a game is pointless. Without playtesters, designing a game is just
sitting around making (hopefully) educated guesses. You don’t know what the game
really is until you play it.
These are the people who helped make Follow the game it is. My sincere thanks to
every single one of you:
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Lists of Names
MODERN FUTURE-ABSTRACT FANTASY
1| Alvarado 1| Aurin LIST ONE
2| Anders 2| Borsley
1 | Amleth
3| Berkowitz 3| Carelle
2 | Anwell
4| Burns 4| Cray
3 | Baden
5| Carlson 5| Cross
4 | Gareth
6| Carter 6| Forrest
5 | Hodge
7| Caruthers 7| Geti
6 | Mallus
8| Cooper 8| Hauser
7 | Newt
9| Cruz 9| Hayden
8 | Ostreck
10 | Degrassi 10 | Isley
9 | Percival
11 | Dieter 11 | Kane
10 | Prynn
12 | Ellis 12 | Karse
11 | Torman
13 | Fiske 13 | Kollard
12 | Whelan
14 | Foster 14 | Locke
15 | Gates 15 | Lukas LIST TWO
16 | Green 16 | Marks 1 | Gnor
17 | Hagel 17 | Marris 2 | Gildun
18 | Hatcher 18 | Nemura 3 | Kagin
19 | Hawkins 19 | Neev 4 | Laud
20 | Hayes 20 | Phellin 5 | Mauglin
21 | Hobbs 21 | Pike 6 | Morduk
22 | Honeycutt 22 | Rogin 7 | Nord
23 | Hooper 23 | Rorke 8 | Odon
24 | Lang 24 | Sallace 9 | Revik
25 | Lowry 25 | Soren 10 | Sigun
26 | Lynch 26 | Teese 11 | Urik
27 | Madison 27 | Vail 12 | Wuld
28 | May 28 | Warner LIST THREE
29 | Moore 29 | Wells 1 | Ava
30 | Myers 30 | Xu 2 | Bahar
31 | Nichols 3 | Danush
32 | Otterson ALIEN WORLDS 4 | Ekanna
33 | Peters 1| Alletis 5 | Kavek
34 | Rivera 2| Cassil 6 | Malak
35 | Russo 3| Corsono 7 | Mara
36 | Sanders 4| Debari 8 | Mehrab
37 | Simms 5| Foltus 9 | Quezra
38 | Singh 6| Glade 10 | Sada
39 | Smalls 7| Gram 11 | Vellis
40 | Soto 8| Hanat 12 | Zaybar
41 | Sutherland 9| Mossul
LIST FOUR
42 | Tanner 10 | Tokumar
1 | Anthus
43 | Thorpe 11 | Waver
2 | Black
44 | Tvechy 12 | Vix
3 | Cogwharton
45 | Vasquez
4 | Greygazen
46 | Vega
5 | Hookling
47 | Walker
6 | Lilymane
48 | Williams
7 | Isleyladen
8 | Malzebrooke
9 | Olinosprey
10 | Rook
11 | Telmarin
12 | Wirin
Coming up with names can be hard, so this is just a small sample to get you started. For a wide range
of names from cultures all around the world, I recommend the Story Games Names Project.
90
To narrow down your choices quickly, put a stone next to each quest, and then have everyone remove any they aren’t interested in as fast as they want.
Don’t worry about whether other players might like those quests. Just remove any that don’t interest you. When you get down to only two or three
quests, discuss and vote.
You can also roll to pick a quest at random. Roll one six-sided die for the row, one for the column (1-2 for the first, 3-4 for the second, 5-6 for the third).
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1) …
Uncover source 2) …
of your powers
WHAT MAKES OUR
reformed supervillain government liaison After you finish the challenge, start a QUEST DIFFICULT CHALLENGES
Doctor Steel
reformed supervillain
Agent Lila Thomson
government liaison if you win or lose the quest. After the
third challenge, go to the Epilogue.
MAIN MINOR
CHARACTER CHARACTER
MAIN MINOR
Slay the dragon. Cure a disease. Colonize an
alien world.…
Pick your quest, assemble your fellowship, and then face the
challenges that stand in your way. Can our characters stay united and
succeed, or will our differences tear us apart? Do you follow the plan…
or follow your heart?
ISBN 978-0-9832779-3-4
92499 >
9 780983 277934