“Seems rather like a stupid game,” Pob thought, struggling to understand why Bounty was causing such a sensation in Belona. The Beli were known for their love of card games. Local lore even claimed that Beli twins played games in their mother’s womb, with the right to be the firstborn as the ante.
Bounty’s extreme simplicity was peculiar. The deck had four suits-Swords, Wands, Coins, and Cups. Each suit had ten cards, numbered from Two to Ace, with the Two considered the lowest and the Ace the highest.
It was played by turns, with each player holding five cards during each round. There were the usual card combinations for this type of game, but Bounty felt, overall, drab and uninspired. It neither had the frantic pace of Storm the Hill!, the strategic complexity of Blind Man Triad, nor the comedic value of Eat Your Card.
Yet, it had captivated Belona. Everyone was playing it.
Pob was puzzled but recognized that the game had a strange, addictive quality. It was as if Bounty wanted to be played.
“Okay, Garan has just played a trio of Wands,” Pob mused, nursing his cards while trying to keep his expression neutral. “He thinks Bula has the Four of Coins and is trying to force him to play it before the stakes rise. That means I should hold onto mine…” His carefully constructed strategy was interrupted by Bula’s attempt at socializing.
“Come on, Garan, cheer up! This is only Bounty. You do not have to eat the card if you lose!”
Garan ignored him, to no one's surprise. The three of them worked as servants for Arben, a minor merchant in Belay, the second-largest city on the planet. Pob had never seen Garan laugh at a joke—not even once.
Garan possessed an unusual intensity. He was undeniably ambitious and did not intend to work as a cook for a merchant for the rest of his life, even if many in Belona would consider his career successful for a twenty-year-old.
Ambition comes in many flavors. Garan had not chosen the oily path of the social climber or tried to line his pockets with lies.
Instead, his ambition was like a laser beam, capable of boring through any obstacle until he reached his target. Once Garan set his mind on something, he was relentless, dedicating every moment to achieving his goals.
And somehow, Garan had decided that his current objective was to play Bounty.
That was surprising. Until now, all his goals had been part of a larger plan: to escape his humble origins and become wealthier, more respected, more successful—more.
Pob was OK with this; he was much better at playing cards than Garan and appreciated any initiative that put Garan’s money in his pocket. Garan didn’t seem to mind losing; to him, the game appeared to be an end in itself.
He half-listened to Bula’s endless chatter while trying to anticipate Garan’s next move.
“…and there are all sorts of stories about this game. It’s said that if you play it well, it grants you magical powers.” Pob noted a flicker of interest in Garan’s face at Bula’s words.
So that’s it. Garan, the cynical, tough-as-nails workaholic in our group, believes in fairy tales, Pob thought.
This was intriguing. All he needed to do was keep Bula talking about the topic, hoping it would distract Garan enough for him to slip up.
“And how is that supposed to work, Bula?” Pob said, feigning interest and watching Garan’s reactions from the corner of his eye.
“If you know how to play the game, sooner or later, a magical card will appear in your hand. A Joker. It will bear your face and an inscribed sentence that explains what you must do to gain more Arcana. Only the person who gets the card will be able to read that sentence.”
“Arcana?” Pob asked, watching Garan discard two cards from his hand into the pool. He thinks Bula has the Four of Coins. This is working, he thought.
“They are called like that because they are not real cards; they are enchanted pieces of your soul. You can make them appear in your hand. The more you have, the more powerful you become,” explained Bula. “And we are going to need power, if all those tales about monsters roaming the city at night are true.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Aren’t you a bit old to believe in fairy tales, Bula?” Bop questioned.
“They are not fairy tales; they are the truth,” Garan calmly affirmed. It was the first thing he had said since joining the game. “One more card,” he requested.
Damn, he thinks I have the Four. I need to distract him again, Pob thought. “What do you mean by ‘playing it well,’ Bula?”
“The truth is, I do not understand it myself. It seems it is not about winning or losing, but about making plays that reveal who you truly are,” Bula answered.
“Well, in that case, we can safely assume we will only get the Joker if we lose,” joked Pob.
“That may work for you,” said Garan, breaking his personal record for the most words spoken during a game. “I will only get it if I win,” he added.
Then he looked at the card he had just drawn from the center of the table, and his face paled as if he had seen a ghost. “I’m in,” he managed to say, his hands visibly trembling.
Oh boy, I have you now, Pob thought. He had the Four of Coins in his hand. There was no way this fool could beat him.
He looked back at Garan, savoring the moment, and then froze.
Garan was doing two things he had never seen him do before: praying silently and crying. Tears streamed down his face. Pob glanced back at the pot: three copper pieces—a pittance.
He realized that somehow, this was extremely important to Garan. He felt a twinge of pity. Three copper pieces did not justify doing this to him, nor did the momentary satisfaction of making him eat his words.
“I see it,” he told Garan, showing his hand. “I only have two Fours,” Pob said, hiding the Four of Coins.
“I win! I win!” Garan exclaimed, standing up and knocking the table aside.
“Calm down, mate,” said Bula, alarmed. “It is only three bloody copper pieces, for god’s sake.”
“It’s much more than that, you imbecile,” Garan exclaimed, revealing his hand. His fifth card depicted him as a buffoon, crossing a raging river, his face showing determination—a sad, angry buffoon. The card bore a phrase engraved on it.
“You can’t read it, can you?” asked Garan. “Do not worry, I will do it for you: ‘The Joker comes when you face great odds to achieve victory’ The card of a winner!”
Then two things happened: the card transformed into a new one. This one was a Two from a Suit that did not exist—an Arcana.
It showed a single man lifting a boulder far heavier than he was.
The Two of Will
- Swords: Each Sword spent adds one point to one Fortune for five seconds, only for actions that would allow you to overcome great odds.
- Wand: Each Wand held in the Hand adds one point to any of your Fortunes, only to withstand dangers and penalties inflicted by challenges or adversaries that stand in your way to victory.
- Cups: Choose one of your Fortunes and Fold. You will add 1 point to that Fortune for each Cup spent while Folding, which lasts until you Fold again. It will manifest as greater mental or physical capacity.
- Coins: Each Coin can be transformed into any card from the other three suits.
The Arcana disintegrated into motes of light that were absorbed in Garan’s palm.
“I am leaving. I will serve no man, ever again,” Garan stood up, transfixed, and walked towards the door.
“Shouldn't you warn master Arben that you are quitting, Garan?” a confused Bula asked him as he left.
“Tell him yourself, serf,” he answered without even looking back.
Bob was already regretting not having fought for those three coppers. Then he looked at the four cards in his hand and doubted. He had played two. Wasn't he supposed to have three?
The fourth card depicted him dressed in a buffoon’s clothes, carrying the luggage of a half-glimpsed figure.
The Joker comes when you help people you care for.
Well, it would not come again for Garan. His moment of pity had created an asshole.
The Joker flashed and transformed into an Arcana. Bula was too busy counting the money to notice it.
The Two of Ingratitude
- Swords: Each Sword spent adds one point to one Fortune for five seconds, only for actions that would allow you to do something for a person who will not feel grateful for your help.
- Wand: Each Wand held in the Hand adds one point to any of your Fortunes, only to resist the consequences of a favor done without expecting anything in return.
- Cups: Fold after performing a favor that goes unappreciated. You will not need to eat, drink, or sleep for one day per Cup in the Fold, or until you Fold again, whichever comes first. You may manifest your Cup Fortune as a more efficient body.
- Coins: Each Coin can be used to transform one of the cards in another’s Hand for the card they are looking for, as long as that person is not an ally.
“Well, there goes Garan. No great loss, I say,” said Bula as he watched his ex-coworker disappear down the street.
“Let us go. Lunch is on me, this time.”
“No, thank you,” answered a distraught Pob. “I am not hungry anymore.”
What is Bounty?
Bounty is the system vector used by the Compendium in the world of Belona. It manifests as a card game that draws on features of both Poker and Tarot.
Playing the game grants magical powers.
Beli Experientials are known as Players.
Bounty is a highly versatile and flexible magic system.
How many cards are in a Bounty deck?
It varies between Players.
All share the same basic bounty decks, consisting of four suits numbered from Two (the lowest) to Ace (the highest). Each suit has ten cards. Bounty lacks knights, jacks, or kings.
Each player also has a variable number of Arcana, magical cards that may only be summoned using the Joker.
The more Arcana you have, the more powerful you become. Each Arcana is equivalent to one Avatar level, and it grants four different magical powers and the Beli equivalent of stats, known as Fortunes.
Arcana are grouped into suits. There are an infinite number of Arcana suits, each modeled after the soul of one particular player.
Even suits sharing the same name may have different properties when appearing in the deck of two different gamblers.
Any Player may conjure a physical copy of his Deck at any time.
How is Bounty played?
False Bounty, the card game that served as a system vector, is playable by anyone and is similar to poker.
True Bounty is the resource Players use to create magic and has distinct rules.
There are four basic moves:
The Draw: A player can make a draw every seven minutes. Five cards will appear in his hand. Four of them will be basic cards, and the fifth one will be the Joker, which can be transformed into any Arcana owned by the Player.
Making a Draw and transforming the Joker is the only way to add one Arcana to your hand.
The player may hold the Joker for as long as he wants, and he may even make more Draws, keeping the basic cards he wants in his Hand and discarding the rest.
With patience, Players are guaranteed to get the precise Hand they need.
Each time the Player fulfils his Call, the magical phrase engraved on his Joker card, he automatically ends the cooldown, allowing a new Draw.
Spending Cards: Most Arcana grant the option of spending cards to create magical effects. The Arcana and the suit of the basic card determine the type of effects. Once a card is spent, it is out of the Hand, and can be replaced only with a new Draw.
The Coins suit usually allows the Player to substitute one basic card for another. Rules vary with each Arcana.
The Sword suit created powerful, short-lived effects when spent.
Holding Cards: Many Arcana grant mighty passive effects when basic cards are held in the Hand, without being spent. This is usually restricted to Wands.
Cards may be held even after a new draw is made and retain their original blessing, but they still count towards the five-card limit.
Pob has the Three of Armours Arcana, which grants physical resilience for each Wand in the hand. He keeps two Wands and makes a new Draw. He will keep the blessing for as long as he retains the two original Wands, but each Draw will only grant him three new cards, including the Joker.
It is possible to accumulate blessings from diverse Arcana using this technique.
The Fold The Arcana may be spent at any time, just like any other card.
Any round in which the Arcana is spent is called a Fold.
Cups can normally only be spent during a Fold, and doing so grants a minor blessing, not as powerful as the one Wands grant while in the Hand, but with a much greater duration.
Once the Fold is made, Players will have to wait for their next Draw to get new cards. Most Fold blessings last until the next Fold. Creating a new Draw does not create a new Fold or remove an existing one. The Arcana must be spent for a Fold to happen.
How are Arcana suits organized?
They follow the same structure as basic suits: ten cards ranging from the two to the Ace.
The higher the number, the more powerful the Arcana becomes.
Some suits gain raw power as their number grows. Others trade power for versatility. Most employ a mix of both.
The size of the deck limits how many cards a suit may hold. Players must diversify their Arcana among several suits as they advance.
A beginning Player may need only one or two suits to advance. A powerful one may need up to six or seven.
Players use only the most powerful Arcana in each suit. The lesser ones offer no advantages.
Only the Omega, the Player with 100 Arcana, may complete one of his suits.
When reaching 100 soul cards, they will get a mighty Arcana, the Ace, that completes one of her suits. This is the reason the Beli Omega is also known as the Ace.
Only Discovery knows what her Ace is. Other players know the names of each of her decks but do not know which one holds her Ace.
How do Stats work for Players?
They are very different from Avatar stats. They have Fortunes. Each Fortune is associated with one basic suit and one activity type.
Wand Fortunes control actions based on physical strength, resilience, and healing. They are the Beli equivalent of Strength.
Sword Fortunes control physical actions based on coordination, grace, and precision. They stand for Dexterity.
Coin Fortunes govern intellectual actions and many arcane powers. They behave like Intelligence.
Cup Fortunes control social actions and some magical attacks, and are equivalent to Charisma.
Each Arcana grants by default one point in each of the four fortunes, but there are exceptions.
Many Players have one Auspicious Fortune and one Inauspicious one, or two from each.
When the number of Arcana in a deck is a multiple of three, Auspicious Fortunes get two points and Inauspicious ones get none. They are equivalent to Dominant and Inferior stats for Avatars.
Are Fortunes just Stats with fancy names?
Not at all. All Fortunes manifest as luck. A Player with a high rank of Coin Fortunes is not more intelligent than the average person. He is just luckier when pursuing intellectual goals. The book he needs is just the one he picks, or he manages to catch an interesting snippet of conversation when investigating.
Are Fortunes better than Stats?
No. They are worse. Luck must be credible. The unlikelier an action is to happen spontaneously, the longer it takes for Fortunes to work.
They also have diminishing returns. You may dodge the first three blows through sheer luck, but dodging fifty attacks by chance during the same fight becomes harder to achieve.
Are Beli less powerful than Players because of the limitations of Fortunes?
Only if they use Fortunes in the most basic form, many Fold blessings allow Fortunes to manifest. Some affect the body or the mind, others manifest physically.
An Arcana may purify the body, granting high physical stats; another may grant an extra head that thinks faster than the player; a third, conceived as a defensive shield, may be used to batter down a door instead of relying on strength.
Beli depend on Fold blessings to use their Fortunes efficiently, but they have greater flexibility in how they manifest. Folds typically do not manifest all four Fortunes simultaneously. Most affect only one or two Fortunes, but the more powerful Arcana may have Fold blessings that affect all of them. An unmanifested Fortune may still be used as luck.
Fold blessings also typically add one minor benefit to the fortune they manifest- a player who manifests his strength through a giant floating hand may use it to perform physical actions at range, a fortune that manifests as a liquid body may allow the caster to breathe underwater... Sometimes these minor blessings act as a bonus to stats used in certain conditions.