Everway
| Designer(s) | Jonathan Tweet |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Wizards of the Coast, Rubicon Games, Gaslight Press (since 2001) |
| Publication date | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| System(s) | Custom |
Everway is a fantasy role-playing game first published by Wizards of the Coast under their Alter Ego brand in the mid-1990s. Its lead designer was Jonathan Tweet. Marketed as a "Visionary Roleplaying Game", it has often been characterized as an innovative piece with a limited commercial success. Wizards later abandoned the line, and Rubicon Games purchased it, and published several supplements. The line was sold again to Gaslight Press in February 2001.
The game has a fantasy setting of the multiverse type, with many different worlds, some of which differed from generic fantasy. It appears to have been heavily influenced by divinatory tarot, the four classical elements of ancient Greece, and mythologies from around the world.
Everway was first with implementing, in a commercial game, several new concepts including much more picture-based/visual source material and character creation than usual. Like other works by Jonathan Tweet, the rules are very simple and flexible. It is also one of a few diceless role-playing games. Although the Fortune Deck works as a randomizer, the results obtained by it are entirely arbitrary and subjective, and the GM's absolute power over the game is further emphasized by the three resolution systems: Karma (the higher character ability wins, modified by situation), Drama (the GM decides what happens, by what they think most appropriate), and Fortune (more or less the same as the above, with interpretation flavored by a card draw). The original edition contained the "Fortune" deck of thirty-six cards, used for "divination" and action-resolution, as well as ninety "Vision" cards used as source material. Each Vision card depicts a fantastic scene of some sort and is backed with a series of leading questions such as, "What does this person most enjoy?" or "What's the worst thing that could happen in this situation?" The game's box also had three books of source material and game-playing tips: a Player's Guide, Game Master's Guide, and Guide to the Fortune Deck.
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