Everyone Is Fishblade
a competitive, diceless, GM-less storytelling game in which a party of vengeful Spirits struggle for control over one inept fish with a knife
2023-11-12
a competitive, diceless, GM-less storytelling game in which a party of vengeful Spirits struggle for control over one inept fish with a knife
2023-11-12
Hi! I just found this in a draft folder. I wrote it back in January back when there were a bunch of Fishblade memes going around. And then I never did anything with it. Until now. Now it’s yours. Enjoy!
Fishblade is a competitive, diceless, GM-less storytelling game in which a party of vengeful Spirits struggle for control over one inept fish with a knife.
Each player embodies a Spirit of Vengence that will from time to time inhabit Fishblade’s body and make it do stuff.
Write down 2 or 3 things that you’re good at.
Examples: swimming fast, stabbing, lying, hiding, bribery, etc.
Choose 2 or 3 OBSESSIONS. Things that you, as a Spirit of Vengeance, thirst for. A compulsion. A wild desire. A wrong—real or perceived—that must be righted. Rank each one as EASY, CHALLENGING, or EPIC.
Examples: steal from the flounders (EASY), become the baddest fish in the reef (CHALLENGING), destroy the fisherman who wronged you (EPIC)
If you are playing solo, create 2 Spirits. You will alternate between playing both of them.
Fishblade is an inept FISH with a KNIFE who is possessed by Spirits of Vengeance. Fishblade struggles to accomplish normal tasks.
When you are in control of Fishblade and attempt a task that has a chance of failure, you must consult the FISHFINGERS to determine success and to retain control of Fishblade.
If you are successful, you do the thing. If you are unsuccessful, things go poorly, and you LOSE CONTROL (see FISHFIGHT!).
If you are playing solo, or if you want to use coins, use these alternative rules.
Flip one coin for each of the following that is true:
Count the number of heads:
When Spirits compete for control of Fishblade, one must win a contest of willpower against the other Spirits of Vengeance to retain control of Fishblade by winning a round of FISHFIGHT!
Everybody declares EVEN or ODD, and on the count of three extends one or two fingers. Count up all the fingers. If the evenness/oddness of the sum matches your declaration, you proceed to the next round. Otherwise, you’re out. Continue until one player wins, and gains control of Fishblade.
If you are playing solo, declare EVEN or ODD, extend one or two fingers, and then flip a coin. Add 0 if it landed TAILS. Add 1 if it landed HEADS.
Fishblade wakes up in a strange location.
Immediately, the Spirits of Vengeance should compete for control of the body.
The Spirit in control makes decisions for Fishblade and drives the story forward.
Other players can play other characters, or aspects of the world.
When there is a lull in the action, when the current Spirit LOSES CONTROL, or when the timing feels right, Fishblade will briefly fall asleep or go into a brief fugue state. At which point the Spirits should once again compete for control.
After a new Spirit takes control, Fishblade will probably wake up in a new unexpected location. Or a significant amount of time will have passed. Or both.
During play, keep track of the number of times you satisfy your OBSESSIONS. At the end of the session, determine your score by multiplying the total number of Easy accomplishments by 1, Challenging by 2, and Epic by 3. Sum the totals. The player with the highest score wins.
Example:
| OBSESSION | TALLY | RANK | MULTIPLIER | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stealing | 3 | Easy | x1 | 3 |
| Badness | 2 | Challenging | x2 | 6 |
| Destroying | 0 | Epic | x3 | 0 |
Your total score is 9. If you score the highest, you win!