Pact

A two-player tabletop roleplaying game about powerful entities, arcane deals, and filling out paperwork in-character.

"Print or download the attached forms. Distribute form WK-6 to Player One, hereafter referred to as ‘the aspiring Warlock’. Distribute form PN-4 to Player Two, hereafter referred to as ‘the aspiring Patron’.

Completed forms should be photocopied and delivered as directed at the end of each form. An additional copy should be mailed to a local Bureau of Arcane Accordance (BAA) office, or uploaded through the Spider-God’s web portal at bureauofarcaneaccordance@gmail.com."
- Guide to Form PACT-2, BAA Handbook

Introduction

Pact is a short, diceless, GMless roleplaying game for two players. In it, one player takes on the role of a Warlock (someone hoping for a Faustian bargain to solve all their problems) while the other takes on the role of a Patron (an entity seeking another follower willing to exchange power for loyalty to their diabolical schemes).  

To keep this devilish deal above-board, both Warlock and Patron will need a contract to bind the parties together. Luckily, the Bureau of Arcane Accordance (BAA) is here to help all aspiring pact-makers. They've got forms so good you'll have sold your soul before you can finish saying the 13th verse of the Praise of the Forgotten God of Candle-Drippings!

Details

The mechanics of the game are simple: fill out the forms. There's no dice, cards, time limit, or way to play it wrong. This game wants you to change it and make it your own: You can doodle in the margins, you can ignore and modify sections at will, you can print it and play it through the mail.

Pact engages with themes of bureaucracy, negotiation, and the ways in which complex lives and relationships both do and don't fit into neat little labeled boxes. Use these limited, red-tape tools to write your story between the lines. Find the places where the Warlock and the Patron disagree. Learn to compromise.

The instructions may be arcane, the questions leading, the options limited, and the consequences of legal misstep spiritually dire... but hey, at least it's probably more fun than doing your real taxes...

Files

Pact (contains instructions and every form)

WK-6 (contains just Form WK-6)

PN-4 (contains just Form PN-4)

PACT-2 (contains just Form PACT-2)

Instructions

1. Players choose which of them is going to be the Warlock, and which is going to be the Patron.
2. The Warlock player fills out Form WK-6 while the Patron player fills out Form PN-4.
3. Both players share their completed forms with each other, and take some time to familiarize themselves with each other's character.
4. Working together, the Warlock and Patron players complete Form PACT-2, negotiating over the answer to each question.
5. Players submit the completed forms to bureauofarcaneaccordance@gmail.com.

How you practically fill out the provided forms is up to you! Printing, scanning, and using a physical pen has the touch of real paperwork, but you can always stick to the more environmentally friendly option of marking up a PDF or making a copy of a google doc, especially for remote games. While filling out a form together remotely, screen-sharing or working on the same google doc is recommended.

Feel free to discuss your respective characters before play or while you're filling out the individual forms WK-6 and PN-4; they can be secret but they don't need to be! You can even use these forms for a preexisting character from another roleplaying game - perhaps hashing out a contract for use next time you play!

Finally, if you enjoyed the game, are inspired by the concept, or you have some feedback on it, let me know! That's always appreciated.

Credits

This game was created for the Minimalist TTRPG Jam (https://itch.io/jam/minimalist-ttrpg-jam-3), which carried a restriction against all but the bare minimum of formatting in the creation of this document. If you notice any glaring violations of the letter or spirit of those restrictions, please give me a heads up and I'll endeavor to resolve them!

Written and Designed by Matthew Marsland

This work is licensed under CC BY - SA 4.0.