Tether

A ROLE-PLAYING GAME FOR TWO

BY ADAM BAFFONI
 [2]

WRITTEN BY Adam Baffoni

COVER ART BY Amanda Kahl

LAYOUT BY MV
PLAYTESTED BY Melanie Andrews, Adriana Baffoni, Kent Blue,
Colby Brown, Jaron R. M. Johnson, and Tadhg Lyons
 [3]

Tether
 [2]

Tether
Nothing ever happens in this forgotten town. Every day is as predictable as the last, dragging
on into eternity. And that made it even more strange when you happened upon the journal. It
may have been hidden by the decaying foliage of last season on the forest floor, washed up on
the shore of the stream that leads into the old cave outside of town, or even perched among the
rafters of the old abandoned barn behind the high school, but wherever it was that you spotted
it, it drew you in. Looking like something ancient, pulled out of a forgotten time, and yet in
pristine condition, you opened it to find a single page of text that reads:

If you’ve found this, consider it a curse. For

those around you, however, it will hopefully
be a blessing. This place is haunted by
something sinister. What it is, I don’t exactly
know, and who I am, well that isn’t
important. By the time you’ve found this I
am undoubtedly dead, but I’ve used what
may be my last moments to make a deal with
something I cannot comprehend; a deal
which ended in the creation of this journal.
It is my understanding that whatever the
terror that haunts this place is, it appears
only periodically. Once every generation, it
emerges from whatever dark pit it inhabits to
feed on the fear and panic of the people.
And for this, I must believe it has a weakness.
Were it to stay here terrorizing us, we may be
able to learn how to stop it. But showing up
for a fleeting few days each generation, it is
always an unexpected and new threat,
praying on the unsuspecting and ignorant.
That is why I’ve created this journal. In
the span of a few days, one cannot alone
learn how to stop it, but if we can work
together through the barrier of time, the key
to setting ourselves free may not be so far out
of reach.

This journal will connect you to another point in

time. When, exactly, I do not know. What I do
know is that the journal will only be found by
someone who is in danger. If you have found
this, I am sorry. May whoever is on the other
side have the clues that can help you
survive what you are about to endure.
 [3]

What is Tether?
Tether is a role-playing game for two players.
Tether is played through the process of
writing journal entries. Each player will take
on the role of a character living in the same
rural town, during different time periods. The
two characters are connected by a journal
known as The Tether which allows them to
write notes to each other through time.
The two players (and characters) will work
together to discover the secrets of an ancient
being that haunts the town. Players will take
turns drawing a card from a deck which is
associated with a prompt, then using that
prompt to write a journal entry. Over the course
of 16 entries, the two will play out a story of
suspense, horror, and possibly triumph.

What In order to play Tether, you’ll need a few easily attainable items.

— A journal. Preferably one that looks old and sinister, though a

notebook also works fine. If you’d like, you can also play digitally
You by exchanging journal entries on a shared document.

— Writing utensils. This one is pretty obvious. If you’re playing

Need digitally, you don’t need this.

— A deck of playing cards, with all of the jokers and face cards
removed.
to And that’s it! You’ll also need some time. Tether is generally played
over the course of multiple days, or even multiple weeks. You may play
Play in a single day, but we recommend taking your time and allowing a
slow burn by having each player write one entry per day.
 [4]
Safety Tools
Tether is a horror game, and you should lean
into that. Part of the fun of horror lies in
situations that would be far outside of your
real world comfort zone. But make no
mistake, that does not mean that this game,
or any other piece of media you interact
with, should make you feel unsafe or truly
uncomfortable in real life.
Before playing Tether, you should take
some time to talk with the person you’ll be
playing with about boundaries. Discuss what
elements of horror you might find enjoyable
and which you would prefer not to touch on
at all. If another player tells you that they
would feel uncomfortable exploring any
particular topic, be sure to completely
exclude it from any of your writings.
Unlike a traditional TTRPG that is played
in person, there is no way to efficiently use
an X-Card, and that is why understanding
and using Lines and Veils in this game is
extremely important.
Lines & Veils
Lines and Veils represent sensitive topics
that players don’t want to interact with
during play. A line is a topic which a player
wishes to exclude from the game altogether
while a veil is a topic which can exist within
the game but should only happen off-screen.
Before playing, each player should write
down any lines and veils that they have in the
journal. That way, both players can always
have them on hand when writing their
entries to make sure those topics are avoided
or handled properly.
Once you’ve taken time to discuss your
lines and veils, read all of the possible entry
prompts. If there are any that directly relate
to a topic you’d like to keep out of your
game, remove those cards from your deck
before you begin.
 [5]

The Terror
The Terror
A game of Tether will take place in a small
town that you will work together to create. The Terror
That town is haunted by a dark entity which
this text will refer to as the terror. The terror The Terror
in each playthrough of Tether will be
unique, but there are some things that will The Terror
always be true about the terror:
The Terror
The terror appears only periodically. Approximately once every generation, the terror becomes
active in the town. Between the brief periods of activity, it is dormant.

The terror wants to cause panic in town and wants people to die.

The terror has a weakness.

Everything else about the terror is going to

be decided by you. Before you begin the
game, you shouldn’t discuss the specifics of
your terror. Rather, as you draw prompt
cards and write journal entries, you should
discover what the terror is together.
 [6]
Worldbuilding
Before drawing prompts or writing any
entries, you should start by having a
conversation with your partner about where
the game will take place and who each of you
will be playing.If you’d like, you may take
notes about the setting and characters in the
journal to reference later. Begin by answering
a few questions about the town. Feel free to
answer them as broadly or specifically as you
need to have a good shared sense of the town.
1. Where is the town?
2. What are the people who live here like?
3. How far is the town from the nearest city?
4. What time periods will you be playing
in? You’ll be playing characters that are
living one generation apart from one
another, so choose two time periods that
are about 30 years apart. You don’t need
to decide which of the two time periods
each of you will be playing in just yet.
5. What are the major industries in town?
6. Name one landmark in town that has
remained through both time periods.
7. Name one location or landmark outside
of town that has remained through
both time periods.
8. What is one thing that has changed
between the two time periods? One
thing that has stayed the same?
9. What is the name of the town?
Character
Creation
Your character is the perspective through
which you will experience Tether. Before
creating your characters, you should decide
which of the two time periods each player
will be writing their journal entries from. For
the remainder of these rules, the character
who is living in the earlier time period will be
referred to as the past and the character who
is living in the later time period will be
referred to as the present.
Once you’ve decided who will play the
past and who will play the present, take turns
answering the following questions about
your character. You don’t need very in depth
answers to these questions just yet, since
you’ll likely reveal much more about your
character as you play. Both players should
answer every question.
1. What is your name?
2. How old are you?
3. Where do you spend most of your time?
Are you a student? Do you have a job?
Do you own a business in town?
4. How would you describe your living
situation?
5. Whatis somethingthatisimportanttoyou?
6. What do you fear?
After you’ve answered all of the questions
about the town and your characters, you’re
ready to begin.
 [7]

How To Play

Building Using The Deck

of Providence
The Deck Once the deck of providence has been built,
you are ready to begin playing Tether. To

of Providence
First, you’ll need to create the deck of
providence. This is the deck of cards you’ll
be drawing from during the game. To start,
take a deck of playing cards and remove all of
the jokers and face cards. Separate them, by
suit, into four piles. Remove all of the Aces
and set them aside. Shuffle each of the four
piles, remembering which is which. Face
down, place cards in the following order,
from bottom to top:
— The ace of spades
— Three random cards from the spades pile
— The ace of clubs
— Three random cards from the clubs pile
— The ace of diamonds
— Three random cards from the diamonds pile
— The ace of hearts
— Three random cards from the hearts pile
begin the game, the present will draw the top
card from the deck. They will then consult
the table (pg. 8) for their prompt, which they
will use to write their first journal entry.
When they are finished, they will give the
journal to the past who will read the journal
entry, then draw the next card from the
prompt deck and write an entry of their
own. Continue this process, passing the
journal between the two players and writing
entries to one another until you have
completed the deck.
The last card in the deck will always be the
ace of spades. When this card is drawn, the
story is going to come to an end. Starting
with the past, each player writes one final
entry detailing their final confrontation with
the terror.

You should end up with a deck of 16 cards,

consisting of all four aces and three
unknown cards from each suit. Remove the
unused cards from the game. You will slowly
draw cards from this deck over the course of
the entire game, so keep it somewhere where
it will not be disturbed for the entirety of the
time you spend playing.
Prompts - Hearts
You see the terror firsthand or witness an event that you know was caused by it. What do
A you learn about the terror? Why are you more afraid after what you see?

2 A friend or relative is acting strange. Who is it, and why does it make you concerned?

Someone or something goes missing. Who or what is it, and what are the rumors
3 surrounding the disappearance?

You come face to face with one of your fears, but not in a potentially deadly situation.
4 What about the scene feels unnatural?

Two prominent people or groups are in the midst of a dispute. What is it about, and
5 how does it affect you or the town?

Someone or something new arrives in town. Why is it significant or strange? Are there
6 any rumors surrounding the appearance?

You receive a letter, email, text, or other message that seems out of the ordinary. What
7 are the details of it, and why are you concerned?

You get the sense that someone is following you. Why do you worry it might be more
8 than a sense? Are you afraid?

You see something you didn't think was possible. What is it? Why does it make you feel
9 excited or scared?

You hear rumors of a secret that only a select few people in town know about. Do you
10 hear any specifics?
 Prompts - Diamonds
You discover something major about the terror. What is it? Does it make you more
A scared? Do you think you could use the information to your advantage?

You experience a terrifying event and can’t tell if it was real or some sort of dream or
2 hallucination.

A dispute in town gets out of hand. Did you see what happened? What are the rumors
3 surrounding the event?

You experience an event that is almost exactly like one that the other player has
4 experienced during the game. What are the specifics? Why is this so strange or important?

You discover that a rumor is false, but the truth isn’t less unsettling. What is the truth
5 behind the rumor, and why does it shock you?

Something is found just outside of town. What is it? Is it something that had gone
6 missing or something entirely new? Why does it shock everyone in town?

You experience a vivid and otherworldly dream. What do you see in it, and why can't
7 you get it out of your mind?

A conflict or discovery that was brought into play earlier is escalated or proves to be
8 more dangerous than you initially thought.

You see something in an old photograph, news article, or other piece of media that is out
9 of the ordinary or downright horrifying. What is it? What does it lead you to believe, or
how does it change your perspective?

You find out that someone very close to you may be involved in scandalous or unsavory
10 behavior. Who is it, and what do you think they're involved in? Do you think it is related
to the terror?
Prompts - Clubs
You learn a major flaw that you can use to defeat the terror. You try to fight it but fail.
A What is the flaw, and why didn't you succeed in defeating the terror? What did you learn
from this?

A wound or scar has appeared on your body. Where is it? Do you know how it got
2 there? Does it make it more difficult for you to function?

3 Someone dies. Who is it, and why is it obviously the work of the terror?

4 One of your fears manifests in a physical form. What does it look like? How did you get away?

Dealing with the terror takes a serious toll on your personal life. How? Will things ever
5 be the same?

You learn where the terror lives, where the source of its power is, or where you need to
6 go to stop it. Where is it? How did you learn this information?

7 An individual you were suspicious of is proven to be wrapped up in the terror. How?

You learn that the terror knows more about you than you had thought. What
8 information does it have? Is it watching you? How do you know?

9 Something is town is destroyed. What is it? Why is it significant?

You witness a gruesome or disturbing sight. What is it, and why do you think it is related
10 to the terror?
 Prompts - Spades
This is the end of both of your stories. You will each share one final entry.

The Past: You are scared. Because you tried to stop the terror it has taken notice of you.
You think it is going to kill you. Why? Do you survive? If not, do you finish writing this
A entry before you meet your fate?

The Present: Something terrible has happened to The Past. You don’t think they’ll ever
answer you, but you share one last journal entry detailing how you use the information
you’ve uncovered together to defeat the terror, at least for now.

2 You haven't slept in too long. Why not? What effects is it having on your body and life?

3 One of the locations in town is destroyed. How? Do you know who or what is behind it?

A bad decision you’ve made catches up to you and there are serious consequences. What
4 was the decision, and how have the consequences affected you?

The terror does something that seems out of the ordinary given its previous behavior.
5 Does this teach you something new about it?

A rumor turns out to be true, and that shakes you to your core. What is the rumor?
6 How did you find out it is true, and why could it spell disaster for the town?

You come face to face with the terror, but aren’t ready just yet. How does it happen,
7 how does it go wrong, and did you learn anything about the terror?

You discover the origin of the terror. How did it end up here? What does it want from
8 the town? What does this reveal about what you've seen so far?

Someone you thought you could trust turns against you. Who is it and what did they
9 do? Do you know why? Why do you believe the terror has something to do with this?

You have a repeat experience of something that has already happened to you but it is
10 significantly worse. Why is it frightening? What do you learn about the terror?
Tips
When writing your first few journal entries, it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. Keeping
the following tips in mind could make things a bit easier until you get into the flow of the game.

Until now, you’ve never met the person on the other side of The Tether. At first,
that would be pretty weird. Do you even believe that this is actually going to work when writing
your first entry? Don’t be afraid to spend the bulk of your first couple of entries talking about
your day to day life and getting a sense for who the person on the other side of The Tether is.

Start slow. A game of Tether takes place over the course of 17 journal entries. That’s
plenty of space for you to go through a whole lot of emotions and many many discoveries. You
shouldn’t rush into having close encounters with the terror or learning everything about it. A
slow burn can make for a more suspenseful game.

Consider time. How often do you write entries? Are you writing back and forth once each
day or at a different frequency? When you write an entry, consider how long it has been since you
read your partner’s previous entry and how much may have happened to you in that time span.
 You know nothing about the terror. Once you begin experiencing signs of the terror,
chances are you’ll want to dedicate a fair amount of your writing trying to make sense of the
things it is doing and whether there is any pattern that can teach you more about the terror.

Always add to the story. Don’t be afraid to add characters, locations, and traditions to
your journal entries. You want to learn more about your town and characters as you play, and
that will happen through your inclusion of new elements.

Make it up. Drawing through the deck of providence won’t reveal any specifics about the
terror, only point you in a direction to discover it yourself. Don’t hesitate to make a bold
suggestion about the terror based on its behavior and what you and your partner have witnessed.

Continue to build on ideas. If, in your early entries, you mention that something is
happening in town, don’t forget to follow up on that in future entries, using your later
prompts to build on those threads and explore them further.