Switchcraft (Patreon)

More stories up soon, I promise.

I'm giving something different a try this time. Tell me what you think in the comments. I'm considering showing this to the gals who run The Usual Bet and The Changing Tabletop podcasts and see if there is any interest.

A card game of shifting roles, deceit, manipulation...and diapers.

Setup: Each player must choose their alignment. They must either choose Naughty or Nice, then Dominant or Submissive, then Active or Passive. Each possible combination has different abilities and a different role in the game. Don't get too attached to your choice, however. As the name implies, Switchcraft is a game in which your role can be redefined again and again. The first player is the player that decides to go first, first. Each player starts with:

7 Cards from the deck (These are divided into Stock cards, which may provide points at the end of the game, Power Cards, which are useful in Contests of Will and Votes, Spell cards, which have a variety of effects, and Diaper cards..

7 Coins

Game Progression: First player draws a card and a Vote is conducted to see which player receives it. Then each player has a turn, during which they can perform a single action. Once each player has taken a turn, the position of first player passes to the left, and a new round begins.

Voting: Each round of the game begins with a Vote. The first player must draw a card from the deck and place it face-up in the center of the table. All players then vote on who will receive the card in question. If every player is Nice, the Vote is determined by a simple majority with the first player winning any ties. If any players are Naughty, the Vote is conducted using Power instead, with each point of Power being worth one vote. The player who receives the most votes must place the card face-up in front of them if able.

Actions: Each player can take a single action during each of their turns. An action can be used to activate abilities, cast spells, invite a Submissive player to join a party, eject a Submissive player from a party, challenge another player to a Contest of Wills, or propose a trade or deal with another player. Players may also pass their turns if they choose.

Coins: You can use coins by placing them in the discard pile that matches your alignment (Naughty or Nice).

-You may spend any number of coins during a Vote or Contest of Wills to gain +1 Power for each Coin spent.

-You may pay a Coin to skip another player's turn.

-You may also spend a Coin to take one additional action on your turn.

-Certain cards and abilities require spending a coin to activate, including Ruler, Servant, Benevolent, Tyrannical, and Rebellious.

-Coins can also be traded freely among the players as part of trades or agreements.

Parties- A party is formed when a Dominant player adds a Submissive player to their party. A party must consist of exactly one Dominant player, at least one Active player, and at least one Submissive player, in any combination. The Dominant player may invite the Submissive player to join as an action, which they can then choose to accept or refuse. Joining a party may be negotiated as part of a deal, or forced upon the losing player after a Contest of Wills. Parties are subject to the following rules:

1. The Dominant member of a party is called the party leader. They alone have authority to invite new members, dismiss current members, and select contestants for Contests of Will. There must be exactly one Dominant member in a party. If a Submissive party member becomes Dominant for any reason, they are ejected from the party automatically. If there are no Dominant members in a party, that party is dissolved immediately.

2. A party must have at least one Active member. The Active member may or may not also be the party leader. If the last Active member of a party becomes Passive for any reason, that party is automatically dissolved.

3. In Contests of Will, individual members of a party cannot be challenged. Any challenge to a party member is a challenge to the whole party. One Active party member will be chosen by the party leader to represent the party when the party is challenged to a Contest of Wills.

4. Party members cannot challenge one another to Contests of Will. Only the party leader may initiate a Contest of Will, and they may not target a fellow party member.

5. When Voting, all party members Vote in unison. The visible power of all Submissive Members is automatically added to the result chosen by the party leader.

Contests of Will- You must be Active and Dominant or be Dominant and have an Active party member to initiate a contest of wills on your turn. To initiate a contest, simply point at another player and boldly shout “You are no match for my power!”.  Each party leader will then select a contestant to represent their side. A party leader must choose an Active member. Players that are not in parties always choose themselves as contestants, regardless of alignment.

The challenger must state to the challenged contestant their current visible Power. The challenged contestant must then either Yield, or reveal a greater amount of Power. A card that grants a bonus to power must be placed face-up in front of the player, and cannot be returned to their hand. Spells may be played and Coins spent to increase the total further.

The challenger then has the opportunity to reveal even more power, or Yield themselves. Contests of Will never end in a tie. If the two contestants have equal power, the one whose turn it currently is must Yield. You either reveal a greater force, or you lose.

Once a contestant has Yielded, a penalty is selected by the Winner. Note that the penalty is selected by the Active contestant who won the Contest of Wills, who may or may not also be the party leader.  The Winner may choose one penalty from the following list:

1. Loser's alignment is forcibly changed from Dominant to Submissive.

2. Loser's alignment is forcibly changed from Active to Passive.

3. Winner can take a card at random from Loser's hand and immediately discard it into the discard pile matching the winning player's alignment.

4. Loser is forcibly added to Winner's party. Loser must already be Submissive to exercise this option.

5. The Winner may take a card from their hand and place it face-up in front of the Loser.

End: The Game ends at the end of the round when any of the following conditions are met:

-There are no more Coins in play.

-At least one player has no more cards in their hand.

-There are no more cards in the deck.

-All players are members of the same party.

The Deck

1.Quick

+1 power if Active

-1 Power if Passive

2.Decisive

+1 power if Active

-1 Power if Passive

3.Assertive

+1 power if Active

-1 Power if Passive

4.Skillful

+1 power if Active

-1 Power if Passive

5.Tough

+1 power if Active

-1 Power if Passive

6.Intelligent

During a Contest of Will, this card becomes a duplicate of one other card possessed by either contestant.

7.Confident

+1 power if Dominant

-1 Power if Submissive

8.Cheerful

+1 Power if Nice

-1 Power if Naughty

9.Cunning

During a Contest of Will, this card negates the effect of one other card in play. You must announce which card it is negating when it is revealed.

10.Book of Shadows

+2 Power if Naughty and Active

11.Wings

+1 Power if Nice

+1 Power if Active

12. Throne

+2 Power if Dominant and Passive

13.Crown

+2 Power if Dominant and Passive

14.Scepter

+1 Power if Dominant

-1 Power if Submissive

15.White Gloves

+2 power if Submissive and Active

16.Silly

-1 Power if Active

+1 Power if Passive

17.Crybaby

-1 Power if Active

+1 Power if Passive

Diapers- Depending on what Stock cards and abilities you have, these could cost you points or earn you points. There is also a significant difference between wearing them (Having the cards face-up in front of you) and merely having them in your hand.

18-23.Clean Diaper x6

-1 points at the end of the game.

24-26.Wet Diaper x3

-3 points at the end of the game.

If you are Passive, you may place this card face-up in front of you as an action. Immediately draw one card.

If this card is face-up in front of you, any Active player may exchange it for a Clean Diaper from their hand as an action.

27-29.Dirty Diaper x3

-8 points at the end of the game.

If you are Passive, you may place this card face-up in front of you as an action. Draw two cards from the deck.

If this card is face-up in front of you, any Active player may exchange it for a Clean Diaper from their hand as an action.

Stock- These cards provide no advantage to the holder during play (unless used in trade). Instead, they may or may not be worth points at the end of the game, depending on whether a certain condition is met at that time.

30-32.Pessimism x3

If the Naughty discard pile has more cards and coins in it at the end of the game than the Nice discard pile, gain 10 points.

33-35.Hope x3

If the Nice discard pile has more cards and coins in it at the end of the game than the Nice discard pile, gain 10 points.

36-37.Confidence x2

Gain 10 points at the end of the game if you are Dominant and have more total Power than any other Dominant player.

38-39.Fear x2

Gain 10 points at the end of the game if you are Submissive and in the party of the Dominant player that has the most power.

40. Top Dog: Gain 15 points if you are the leader of a party that includes all other players.

41. Independent: Gain 10 points at the end of the game if you are not a member of a party.

42. Dignified: Gain 15 points at the end of the game if there are no Diaper cards in your hand or face-up in front of you.

43. Diaper Lover- At the end of the game, each diaper that is face-up in front of you, whether they are Clean, Wet, or Dirty, grants +3 points instead of the listed value.

44. Babysitter- Gain +3 points at the end of the game for each Clean Diaper card that is in front of another player.

45. Happy-go-Lucky- At the end of the game, gain 3 points for each Nice player, not including yourself.

46. Agent of Chaos- At the end of the game, gain 3 points for each Naughty player, not including yourself.

Spells- Spells are usually cast as an action on your turn by discarding the spell card into the appropriate discard pile. Some spell can be activated at other times, as noted.

47. Whining: If you are Passive, you may cast this spell to gain +3 Power during a single vote.

48. Hissy-fit: You may cast this spell to discard the card that is currently up for Vote into the appropriate discard pile. The Vote immediately ends in a tie.

49. Security Blanket: If you are Passive, you may discard this card from your hand after losing a contest of wills. You do not suffer the usual penalty for losing the contest.

50. Tantrum: If you are Passive, you may cast this spell to gain +3 Power during a single Contest of Wills.

51. Teasing: You may discard this card from your hand after winning a contest of Wills to discard a card at random from the target's hand, in addition to any other penalties that would apply

52. Pickpocket:You may discard this card from your hand after winning a contest of Wills to take one Coin in the target's possession and claim it as your own, in addition to any other penalties that would apply

53. Hypnosis- If you are Passive, you may select another player and ask them if they would like to be hypnotized. If they agree, you may change any one of their alignments to the opposite.

54. Punishment- If you are Dominant, you may play this spell whenever a Naughty player challenges you to a Contest of Wills. If you win, the Losing Player's alignment is forcibly changed to Nice, in addition to the usual penalty.

55. Pacifier- You may discard this card from your hand after winning a contest of Wills to forcibly change your target from Active to Passive, in addition to any other penalties that would apply

56. Spoil- If you are Nice, you may forcibly change another Nice player in your party to Naughty.

57. Brainwash-If you are Naughty, you may play this spell to forcibly change another Naughty player to Nice.

58. Temptation-If you are Naughty, you may play this spell to forcibly change a Nice player to Naughty.

59. Heist: If you are Naughty, you can discard a Coin and this card  into the Naughty pile. You can then remove two other Coins from play and discard those into the Naughty pile as well.

60. Tidy Up: If you are Nice, you may cast this spell to discard two cards from your hand, then draw three new cards from the top of the deck.

61. Mirror, Mirror: If you are Naughty, you may cast this spell to immediately and forcibly change the alignment of all players to the opposite.

62. Reign of Chaos: If you are Naughty, you may this spell to immediately dissolve all parties.

63. Riches to Rags: If you are Naughty and have no Coins, you may cast this spell to remove up to three Coins from play.

The 12 Abilities- At any given time, each player has three special abilities determined by their unique combination of alignments. If one of your alignments is changed, you lose two abilities and gain two others.

Benevolent (Nice+Dominant)- You may spend a Coin as an action. Cancel the effects of one spell that was cast by a Naughty player.

Tyrannical (Naughty+Dominant)- You may spend a Coin as an action. Each member of your party must give you a Coin. If they refuse, you may take a card at random from each of their hands.

Loyal (Nice+Submissive)- If you are member of a party, the party leader gains +2 Power.

Rebellious (Naughty +Submissive)- As an action, you may choose to spend one Coin. The dominant member of your party gains -2 Power until the end of the round.

Helpful (Nice+Active)- All Diaper cards in your hand provide positive points instead of negative points at the end of the game.

Precious (Nice+Passive)- At the end of the game, all Nice players gain 10 points.

Troublemaker (Naughty+Active)- When you are first player and you draw a card for the Vote, you may draw a card at random from another player's hand instead of drawing from the deck. You also choose to  look at the card and play it face-down rather than revealing it.

Manipulative (Naughty+Passive)- When voting, gain +2 Power.

Strong (Dominant+Active)- During Contests of Will, gain +2 Power.

Ruler (Dominant+Passive)- As an action, you may spend one Coin to grant all members of your party +2 Power until the end of the round.

Servant (Submissive+Active)- If you are a member of a party, you may spend one Coin as an action to remove a card from the discard pile matching your alignment and add it to the leader of your party.

Charge (Submissive+Passive)- At the end of the game, each other member of your party gains 10 points.

Angel-Benevolent,Helpful,Strong

Witch-Tyrannical, Troublemaker, Strong

Maid- Loyal, Helpful, Servant

Imp- Rebellious, Troublemaker, Servant

Princess- Benevolent, Precious, Ruler

Mistress- Tyrannical, Manipulative, Ruler

Doll- Loyal, Precious, Charge

Brat- Rebellious, Manipulative, Charge