The Quantum Haruspex
A Storytelling Game of Human Fate and Decision Making 

The Quantum Haruspex has warped and torn our world. In 199X the discovery of  Magickal technologies have revolutionized every field. ScryComputers log you into the dataORB with a passChant. Illnesses are cured by Aura-Scrubbing Nanites. The Military Adjustment force is cracking down of ritualTech. CyberOpium dens are raided. The poor are criminalized as leeches on the psychic networks, as big CEOs summon demons to dance for them. Most people are implanted with a Quantum Haruspex, running their blood through an Extispic filter and executing the required ritual programming to predict and inform choices.
But a future observed is a future changed. The eldritch ritual being performed by the cybernetic implant was actually warping reality and splicing in alternate dimensions in order to create robust predictions. Strange anomalies began appearing. People realized that they were remembering different pasts. Things changed, small details at first, the face on the 5 credit crystal, the number of steps up to an apartment. But things began to get out of hand; the future could be predicted, but major historical events were being changed. 
Reality began to unravel, tearing apart and then encapsulating those guilty inside a perfect stasis – a reality rift. That is when the Reality Restoration Unit was formed to save those who got trapped inside, frozen in an eternal turmoil, a cycle of indecision. 

What the game is about

You are each playing a member of the Reality Restoration Unit (RRU), informally called 'riftwardens' or 'stitch patrol'. Your task is to walk into the gaping rifts in reality torn by the Haruspex, resolve the situation inside, and then get out. 

	To play “Quantum Haruspex” you need at least three players, but no more than five. Get some pencils, paper and a Tarot Deck. It is best to use a deck with an illustrated minor arcana with evocative imagery. Although the classic Rider Waite deck is a great pick, you may find it helpful to find a deck that is thematically close to the type of story you want to tell. 

The Petitioners 
When you enter a reality rift you become another person, one of the Petitioners, poor souls trapped inside. 
First you 'look into the void' – agents enter a meditative trace, mentally reaching inside the vortex to find people with closely interwoven fates. 
Shuffle the Tarot deck, giving the cards a couple of twists. Then draw a card and place it face up between you and the player on your left. 
The picture on the card defines the relation between the souls you will be extracting. The direction of the card defines who dominates the relation. Interpret the cards as you wish. Don’t let any traditional interpretations weigh you down. Let the symbolism inform your choices. If you feel the need to look to a guide, do. Work with your other players and discuss ideas.
For example you have the 'Death' arcana facing you – you might be an assassin and the person to your left is your designated target. Or you got the reversed 'Knight of wands' – you are a lab assistant to a high ranked scientist. 
Look into the void and work with your partner to describe the relations of the Petitioners you are saving today. Be truthful - if the Petitioner is a weak-willed coward and that is the reason why he got trapped inside the rift just say so. It will help you in the future when you try to resolve the situation at the heart of the rift. Write down your character on a piece of paper, a few sentences about what they do, who they are, and their relationships with the other characters. 
After you have all introduced your Petitioners you may begin to 'stitch' the reality. 

The Reality Rift
	Now you will take turns, wading into the rift searching for certain details about the situation, analyzing it and then taking actions to resolve it. 

3
2   1    5   6
4

You draw cards to explore different aspects of the situation. This will form your scenes and inform the whole game. There are six aspects and they are laid out in a spread as presented above. 
Card 1 – The Desire that unites all the Petitioners. It is the prize and the passion that connects them all in this rift. The rift actually opened because the desire became unrealized. Draw a card and decide all together what this desire is, using the already established connections between the Petitioners. 
Enact short scenes between your Petitioners as they start to remember the reason that brought them together. These scenes should include two to three Petitioners, and go over a simple interaction. A loan denied; A gun fired; A brief exchange between customer and cashier.
Card 2 - The Past defines that turning moment where it all went awry. Draw a card and put it to the left of the Desire. This card shows how the conflict started and where it took place. For example, the 6 of Swords, “Rite of passage”, might represent a secret lab. The 3 of cups, “Abundance”, suggests a lavish party, or rave.
The Petitioners should be remembering now how it all started, when the reality started unraveling itself. They should begin making notes, either mental or paper, as to why they were in the situation, what they wanted from the Desire, who they were with or against. These decisions should be influenced by the interactions revealed when the agents first looked into the void.
Card 3 – The Threat  Something looming and in the distance. Draw a card and put it below the Desire. It is the main obstacle on the path to fulfilling the Desire. Answer  questions like, what is being threatened? What is threatening? How imminent is it? Search in your Past for inspiration. 
For example the Tower might be an exploding skyscraper, or a sudden bankruptcy of a huge financial corporation that you were working for. The 5 of Swords might indicate a betrayal or it might just mean that you were captured and all your weapons are locked away.  
This is the Petitioners main obstacle in reaching that dream life that they think they deserve, or just surviving to live another day. It might be something they have to overcome within themselves, such as an injury or illness, or something external, like an enemy. The Petitioners should enact a scene developing the threat.
Card 4 – The Hope is the silver lining on a cloud, a drowning man's straw. Draw a card and put it above the Desire. It is an item, or a old friend, or a skill, or some other valuable resource that one suddenly came to possess, that will help you to overcome the Threat. 
For example the Emperor is an influential CEO who decided to support your project and the Devil is, well, a devil who made you an offer you would be stupid to turn down. Each petitioner should work to determine what their relation to the Hope is.
Card 5 – The Present is those few precious hours, or even mere seconds before the moment when time came to a screeching halt. Draw a card and put it to the right of the Desire.   
For example the Wheel of Fortune might be a game of dragon poker with really high stakes just before the final call. 
The Petitioners should be much more agitated now as they come to an end. This was the moment they ceased to exist, and they remember vividly all the minute detail that preceded this moment. The Petitioners should develop a scene that brings everyone up to date on the Present. How did they get there? What is their stake in these final moments?
	Card 6 – The Resolution is the moment where RRU came into the picture. This stage uses special rules. 
	Taking turns pulling a Petitioner into the spotlight. He draws a card. All the other players become the Quantum Haruspex. 
	Each member of The Quantum Haruspex then make a suggestions as to how it all ended for that Petitioner, each using the card in front of the Petitioner as inspiration for the final Resolution of the conflict. Build upon what you learned about the Petitioner in the Past and in the Present, what was the Threat and how did she Hope to overcome it. 
	At last the Petitioner makes a final decision choosing one of the suggested outcomes and finally escaping the reality rift. Alternatively she may choose none and stay in the vortex. 
	Remember that you are still officers of the RRU and your ultimate goal is to save as many people as possible/ Work together to make each one of the chosen prediction work with the others. 

Scenes
	The game revolves around scenes, chunks of continuous action, starring at least one character. There is no GM in this game, so anybody can pitch an idea for a scene. Once you have the situation, each player will choose a different character to control. You can pick from already established characters, or create a new one. Scenes don’t need to happen in chronological, or even a logical, order. Time is not real anymore. Causality is broken. Do not be afraid to contradict things established in previous scenes. It will all get tied up if it needs to be.
	
When playing out a scene, try to keep the following things in mind:
Sprinkle Evocative Details. Mention the blood-stone circles that summon the elevator to the top floor of the skyscraper. Bring up the neon purple lights that pulse through the city. Bring up the cybergolem’s that perform menial tasks in the background. Bring the world to life with details.
Zoom in and out. Don’t be afraid to zoom in, and explore what’s going through a character’s mind, their little ticks and tells that tell us how they’re feeling. But, by the same token, don’t be afraid to zoom out, and gloss over unimportant things. Sometimes you need to paint with a wide brush, and give us establishing shots. 
Foreshadow. Things happen off screen. A dull explosion in the distance. A swarm of Adjustment Vehicles speed by. A character drops an unfamiliar name. You can seed more scenes this way.
Everybody can die. Nobody has plot armour. If they get hurt enough they can die.
Ask questions. If someone has an answer, great. If not, write down the question. Figure it out later in a different scene.
Everybody plays everybody. Anybody can play an NPC. They don’t belong to anybody, and they might get passed around between scenes. The only exception to this rule are the Petitioners. A mind swapped too many times becomes fragile and foggy.
The players decide the fates of their characters. While anyone can say that they move to perform an action against a character controlled by a player, that player ultimately decides whether or not that action has the desired effect. Alice might shoot at Bob's Petitioner, but Bob decides what happens. He might choose to take it full force in the forehead, his petitioner dying outright, or to take a glancing blow to the arm that disables the Petitioner but leaves him alive. Bob might decide that the bullet enters his Petitioners eye socket and is by some miracle ejected from the side of his face. Bob chooses what happens to his character. This agency should not be violated, and if other players notice a player trying to dictate that actions of another players character, they should remind the offending player of this rule of agency.
Once the closing action or consequence of a scene occurs, the scene is over. This may be especially difficult for certain players, as it means there is no real closure. In the example scene, if Susan is caught listening at the door, and Lawyer John decides that she needs to be punished, the scene ends then and there. Lawyer John might choose to enact the punishment right there, and that would be fine, but the scene should go on no longer than it has to. We don't care about what Dick and Jane were talking about any more. If the players decide that they would like to continue to investigate what was happening, a new scene must be started.

	Each scene should have a main conflict in it. It might be physical, it might be social, it might be emotional, it might be anything. It’s when someone acts, but the outcomes and consequences are yet to be determined. A conflict happens when anybody says anything like:
 	“Yeah, she’s not going to let you do that!”
	“It’s not going to be that easy!”
	“You’re going to need help from Sandra’s gang to get through there.” So, this is where the Haruspex comes in again.

Conflict and the Haruspex
	At the beginning of the game, one player is chosen as the Haruspex. At the beginning of the first scene, they draw a card. They read off the main information, and then color the scene based upon the card drawn. The position of Haruspex is then passed on to another player, and the deck of cards is placed in front of them.

Sample Scene
	As an example, we will use the setup for Card 3 – The Threat. At this juncture, the Petitioners and their relationships to each other are set, and we have seen some scenes from The Desire and The Past. Dick and Jane decide that their Petitioners had a common bond through the Threat – an upstart lawyer looking to bring them in on corruption. They decide that a scene describing their Petitioners first contact with the lawyer would be an interesting one. Dick and Jane decide the setting and terms of the encounter: Lawyer John has called them both into his office to let them know that he knows that they have been exchanging company secrets in an effort to tank their corporations. Dick and Jane are playing their Petitioners, while Bob and Alice decide that their petitioners are tied to the Threat in some other fashion. Bob and Alice each decide to play an NPC in the scene. Bob decides to play Johns secretary, Susan. Bob decides that Susan has a nose for gossip, and takes this interest a little far sometimes, and who likes to listen at the door for juicy bits. Alice decides she wants to take the role of Lawyer John – though it is important to note that this role does not need to be filled – and since this is the section of the game where we are defining Lawyer John's character, she chooses to not choose any specific characteristics. The deck is shuffled and cut, and a card drawn. The card comes up “Judgement”. Dick, Jane, Bob, and Alice interpret the card and decide that this is an easy interpretation: someone is getting the hammer dropped on them. The scene ends when the way the card is interpreted occurs. In this scene, when someone has judgment called upon them and are punished (or are caught, and will soon receive this punishment), the scene ends. You can use as many scenes to outline an aspect of the Rift as you would like, though two to three is recommended for the sake of time.

Quick Reference Rules:
 1.)	Players choose Petitioners.
 2.)	The relationships between the Petitioners are determined.
 3.)	The Haruspex is chosen.
 4.)	The Reality Rift is Generated.
 1.	Card 1 – The Desire
 2.	Card 2 – The Past
 3.	Card 3 – The Threat
 4.	Card 4 – The Hope
 5.	Card 5 – The Present
 6.	Card 6 – The Resolution
 1.	In turn, each Petitioner draws a card.
 2.	Each other Petitioner becomes a member of The Quantum Haruspex, and makes suggestions as to what happens to that Petitioner.
 3.	The Petitioner decides their fate.

Scene Quick Reference:
 1.)	Players decide which Petitioners will be involved.
 2.)	Players without Petitioners involved select or create NPCs to represent.
 3.)	A card is drawn, interpreted, and a goal selected for the scene.
 4.)	The scene is played out, ending promptly when the selected goal is achieved.

Historical Reference
On Haruspicy: In Ancient Rome a  haruspex  (plural  haruspices) was a person trained to practice a form of  divination called  haruspicy  the inspection of the entrails  hence also  of sacrificed animals, especially the  livers  of sacrificed  sheep  and  birds.   
Haruspicy was part of a larger study of organs for the sake of divination, called  extispicy, paying particular attention to the positioning of the organs and their shape. There are many records of different peoples using the liver and spleen of various domestic and wild animals to forecast weather. There are hundreds of ancient architectural objects, labyrinths composed of cobblestones in the northern countries that are considered to be a model of the intestines of the sacrificial animal, i.e. the colon of ruminants.
On Tarot divination: Divination using playing cards is in evidence as early as 1540 in a book entitled  “The Oracles of Francesco Marcolino da Forlì”  which allows a simple method of divination, though the cards are used only to select a random oracle and have no meaning in themselves. But manuscripts from 1735 (“The Square of Sevens”) and 1750 (“Pratesi Cartomancer”) document rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the tarot as well as a system for laying out the cards.  Giacomo Casanova  wrote in his diary that in 1765 his  Russian  mistress frequently used a deck of playing cards for divination. 
	 
Variation 
	This game might  work with non- tarot prediction cards. For example like the Harrow deck from the Pathfinder RPG. Or just some other cards with evocative imagery like those in the “Imaginarium” board game. 

Recommended Reading: Ben Robbins's “Microscope” uses a card/scene layout similar to this game.