GMless RPG Core Rulebook by Candlenaut
Sakazuki is a tabletop storytelling game for 1 to 4 players in which you play members of the same yakuza family. Something serious has happened. Money has gone missing, blood has been spilled, someone may have betrayed the family, or a war is about to begin. Everyone has been called to the honbu, and before anyone leaves, the family needs to understand what happened, who is responsible, and who is going to pay for it.
There is no gamemaster needed. You use a regular deck of playing cards to draw prompts and create flashbacks from your characters’ past. Each player adds new people, secrets, debts, lies, and bad decisions to the story until a shared version of the truth slowly begins to form.
Of course, that version does not have to be complete, honest, legit, or fair.
If you enjoy games such as Fiasco or For the Queen, Sakazuki plays in a similar fashion. It is mostly about talking, building characters together, and finding out how far they are willing to go to protect the family, themselves, or someone they still care about.
During the game, your actions also fill three family Accounts: Blood, Oath, and Tribute. When too many consequences gather in one of them, somebody has to take responsibility. A character may lose something important, damage a relationship, sacrifice an ambition, or eventually be expelled from the family.
Because in the yakuza, many things can be hidden, denied, or blamed on someone else—but sooner or later, somebody has to settle the account.
SAKAZUKI is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.
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Voices From The Pulpit 