1. Notes

Introduction to Tales from Everwhere

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Welcome to Tales from Everwhere - Kanka's very first community driven game!

As a community game, Tales from Everwhere (or TfE for short) is run by people in the Kanka community, for people in the Kanka community. The game began as a way for GMs and DMs to experience first-hand how other people run games, build worlds, use systems, and present their creations on Kanka. Tales from Everwhere aims to be a long-running game spanning many systems and universes, with many epic adventures running in parallel.


What system does the game use?

In short: all of them.

Part of the goal of Tales from Everwhere is learning new systems, and as such we encourage GMs to run adventures in their favourite systems, and players to join adventures using systems that they might not be familiar with. If a system isn't freely available online, the GM should start the adventure by explaining the system's rules, or otherwise give the players a general rundown of the rules before play begins. Don't worry if you don't know a system before signing up for a game, we're all here to learn!

Is there an overarching plot?

Yes! In each of the many worlds of Everwhere, a calamity has occurred: some world-shaking event happened that threw all the worlds into turmoil. In one world a powerful wizard unleashed a powerful spell on the land, in another world a giant superweapon was fired for the first time, in yet another a cult has summoned their elder god. All of these events happening simultaneously has thrown the multiverse into turmoil, causing worlds to cross over into one another, and gates to open in between realities.

The heroes of our stories are travelers who traverse these uncountable realities. Some of them merely wish to return to their homeworlds, some wish to find the cause of all these calamities and undo the destruction they caused, some seek wealth and power in their newfound lands, and some simply drift along to wherever the universe carries them.

Over time, players and Guides alike will uncover more information about the Convergence and the powers that caused it, and their choices could end up influencing much of the game's lore and story.

What character can I play?

You can play any character you want, from any world you want. In each adventure you will play the same character, as they bounce around between realities. In one world they might be a powerful sorcerer, in another they might be an elite hacker, and in a third - a wise monk. Each adventure you play in, your character will be adapted to fit the rules of the world and system. However, while the character's style or exact details may change, their core characteristics will remain the same across all worlds, and they will constantly grow and evolve like a character in any "normal" campaign.

We generally encourage veteran GMs to build characters from their own worlds, but you're truly free to build whichever character you wish to play.

I want to start playing, how do I join?

See the full article here

To start playing, you will need a Character Passport. A Character Passport serves as a narrative guide that will help you build your character as you switch from system to system and world to world. You can read more about making a passport here.

Once you have a character, you can start looking for adventures to join. Each adventure is either a oneshot, or a short campaigns, usually no more than 3-4 sessions. You can find adventure listings in the #adventure-listings Discord channel as well as on the campaign Dashboard. To sign up simply message the Guide, tell them you want to join, and give them a link to your Passport - it's as simple as that!

Once you signed up for an adventure, it's time to build your character sheet for that adventure. Use the system guide for that adventure's system and build a character according to its rules, as usual for the system. Once ready, it's time to start playing!

How do I level up my character?

You don't, technically. You see, each system has different rules for character progression, and since we want each character to work in any system, we need to make a few tweaks: Instead of gaining experience, levels, loot, gold, or any other advancement tool, each session you particiate in awards your character with a Token of Valor. Each adventure has different guidelines for what can be done with these Tokens, but the general rule of thumb is 1 token = 1 session's worth of xp or loot.

As a result, even if you stay within a single system your character can go up and down the level ladder: you be playing in a level 11 adventure this week, and next week participate in a level 5 adventure with the same character! The Tokens make sure that even if the numbers on a character sheet move up or down, the character is always progressing and advancing.

What can I do with my Tokens of Valor?

See the full article here

There are two things you can buy with your Tokens of Valour: Assets and Boons.

  • Assets are temporary bonuses that are based on the system you're playing in, and are usually equivalent to progress within the system, in place of XP or loot. Using Tokens for Assets is more of a deposit than a purchase, in that after the adventure you get back all the tokens you allocated to Assets (in addition to the new one you get at the end of each session).
  • Boons are permanent changes that you make to your character's story, and are usually reflected by changes in the Character's Passport. Purchasing Boons permanently expends those Tokens - but don't worry, you can always get more!

I want to be a GM, what do I do?

See the full article here

Before you start running adventures, there are a few simple things you have to do:

  1. Participate in at least one adventure as a player.
  2. Go to #tales-from-everwhere on Discord and ask to be given the Guide role - this will allow you to create entities in Kanka in order to build your adventure.
  3. Create an Adventure Poster - be sure to include a brief description of the adventure, which system you're using, how many sessions the adventure will be (can also be a range if you're not sure), and any special considerations for character creation (such as starting level).
  4. Wait for players to sign up, and be prepared to provide help or answer questions before the game - especially if you're running a relatively niche system. If you can point players to system documentation, all the better!

Once you have your game and your group, it's playtime! Schedule your session or sessions, and get to playing.