Threeforged Challenge #15109 

Hound/ed
  
Overview

 Hound/ed is a horror story game for two players. In it, one player plays a terrifying entity (the Hound) which is pursuing a person played by the second player (the Hounded). Part of the game is establishing the nature of the Hound and its reason for pursuing the Hounded.

I wanted a two-player game suited for bringing inexperienced players into RPGs. Having explicit instructions on the cards minimizes learning time.
Preparation
 There are two separate small decks of cards, one for the Hound and one for the Hounded. Each player shuffles their deck into a draw pile, and draws the top 3? cards into their hand.

Start Of Play

The players should agree who is to play the Hound and who the Hounded. If they can’t agree, the taller player should be the Hound.  The Hounded player starts by describing the basic nature of the Hound. This could be something like: huge spectral dog; masked man with a butcher knife; extra-dimensional snake person.   The Hound player then says why the Hound is trying to kill the Hounded. This could be something like: you abuse your dog; you know too much about the extra-dimensional snake people.  Example:   Arthur and Barbara are playing, and agree that Barbara should be the Hound.   Arthur starts: “You’re the Hound — a killer robot.” 

Barbara replies: “Awesome, I’m a killer robot. You’re the Hounded — you dumped the chief programmer at Killer Robots Incorporated and she wants revenge.”  
Sequence of Play
 Once the initial statements are made by each player, regular play alternates starting with the Hounded. 

One each player’s turn:
	•	The acting player draws 2 cards from the draw pile to their hand
	•	The acting player plays an Action card if they are able, otherwise they Pass
	•	If the other player has a Response card in hand appropriate to the Action card, they may play it, but are not required to
	•	The acting player discards down to a hand limit of 6? cards.

Actions and Responses normally go to the discard pile of the player who plays them. Once the draw pile is depleted, reshuffle the discard pile back to the draw pile.

Most cards require the acting player to describe something. Be bold and creative here; this is the true core of the game, not the mechanical outcome of the card play.   Certain cards specify that a player must take or clear a Condition. To take a Condition, you mark its box with a pencil; to clear it, you erase the mark. 

The Hounded player has x possible Conditions. They are: ☐ Exhausted
☐ Terrified
☐ Injured
☐ Desperate
☐ Dead

The Hound player has x possible Conditions. They are:
☐ Damaged
☐ Angered
☐ Slowed
☐ Confused
	☐	Dead 

Sometimes a choice of Conditions is offered (e.g. “You may Clear any 1 Condition”), and sometimes not (e.g. “The Hound Takes the Condition: Angered”). If you are given a choice of Conditions to take, you must take one if you can. If you already have Terrified marked, and a card says you must take Terrified or Injured, you must take Injured. 

When either player takes the Dead condition, the game is over; the non-Dead player wins. 

The Cards
The Hounded player has more ways to Clear Conditions, but fewer ways to inflict them on the Hound. The Hound has more ways to inflict Conditions, and fewer ways to Clear them. 

The cards I’ve defined so far are insufficient for a complete game. A suggestion for playtesting: 
	•	Pad the decks to 20 cards each with blanks
	•	Each player must play at least three non-blank cards before playing blanks
	•	After that, let players write new card descriptions on the blanks in the spirit of those already written. 
Hound Deck

	•	Unnatural Speed (Action). Describe how you move to catch up with the Hounded even though you shouldn’t have been able to. If not countered, the Hounded takes one Condition of their choice. 
	•	Uncanny Senses (Response). Describe how you know where the Hounded is hiding. Counters A Hiding Place. 
	•	Nowhere Is Safe (Response). Describe how a safe place suddenly became very unsafe. Counters Respite or Sanctuary.
	•	Killing Machine (Action). Describe your attack. If not countered, the Hounded takes the Condition Injured.
	•	Vicious (Action). Describe your attack. If not countered, the Hounded takes one Condition of their choice.
	•	Try Harder, Try Again (Response). Describe how the Hounded’s effort fails. Counters any action that would give the Hound a Condition. 
	•	It’s Not Possible (Action). Describe the impossible thing the Hound does. The Hounded takes the condition Terrified.

Hounded Deck

	•	A Vehicle (Action). Describe a vehicle or other conveyance you used to evade the Hound. If not countered, you may clear the Exhausted Condition.
	•	A Hiding Place (Action). Describe where and how you tried to hide from the Hound. If not countered, you may clear the Desperate Condition.
	•	A Weapon (Action). Describe a weapon you tried to use against the Hound. If not countered, the Hound takes one Condition of their choice.
	•	Flight (Response). Describe how you fled from the Hound. Counter any Hound action that would give you a Condition.
	•	An Ally (Action). Describe a person who comes to your aid and how they distracted or delayed the Hound to let you get away. Leave this card face up on the table. On any Hound turn you may use the Ally to Counter a Hound action that would give you a Condition; describe the Ally’s death and discard the Ally. 
	•	Comprehension (Action). Describe something horrifying you have realized about the Hound. Take either the Terrified or the Desperate Condition. You have to play this card if it’s your only Action!
	•	Respite (Action). Describe how you find time and space to recover a bit. If not Countered, you may clear any Condition of your choice. 
	•	First Aid (Action). Describe how you get patched up. If not Countered, you may clear the Injured Condition.
	•	Inspired (Action). Describe what gives you the strength to survive and fight. Clear up to two Conditions of your choice and draw an extra card. Cannot be Countered.
	•	Sanctuary (Action). Describe where you go for support and shelter. If not Countered, clear a Condition of your choice. If Countered, take one Condition of your choice. 
	•	Distraction (Response). Describe what distracts the Hound. Counters any Hound Action that would give you a Condition. 
	•	The Plan (Action). Describe your plan. Take any two cards from your discard pile into your hand. 
	•	Trap (Action). Describe the trap you set for the Hound. If not countered, the Hound must take any one Condition.