Introduction

Four Colors al Fresco is a roleplaying game of pulp-style adventure, set in an alternate Renaissance. But you've already read the cover, or you wouldn't be here, so we'd better explain what all of that means. For the moment, we're going to skip "roleplaying game", and cover the rest of it. The basic setting is Renaissance Italy -- as it might have been. Had there been fantastic, pre-industrial advanced technologies in the hands of a few. Had the Black Death never come. Had the remnants of highly-advanced civilizations been scattered around the world. Had reality been governed by mystical Forces instead of scientific laws. Had there been maniacal geniuses constantly plotting to take over the world. And, most importantly, had there been superheroes to thwart them.

But these are not the superheroes of our times, or even our parents' times -- these are the superheroes of our grandparents' times, the action heroes of the pulps. Before the term "superhero" was coined. Before spandex¹ costumes. When a man with a maniacal laugh, a pair of six-shooters, and the sole power to "cloud men's minds" had the power to send villains scurrying for their holes. Pulp heroes are only slightly better than the rest of us, not the breed apart of the modern superhero. They may laugh in the face of an armed man, but it is not because they are unthreatened. They may operate outside the law, but only because the authorities have chosen to allow it. And they rarely have the luxury of existing outside the norms of society for more than an evening at a time. In short, while they have exceptional powers, pulp heroes are not so powerful that they may ignore the rest of society.

The style of this roleplaying game is one of action and adventure in a morally-clear world. The villains are Evil, and the heroes are Good, and rarely is there any doubt as to which is which. Doing good doesn't result in unintended bad consequences, and the bad guys are not just misunderstood or misguided. Your characters are the heroes of this world, people gifted with extraordinary gifts and driven by moral principles.

The world, as well as all those within it, is governed by five mystical Forces, the interactions of which determine everything that happens and exists. Much as our own world is governed by the forces of electricity, magnetism, gravity, and the nuclear forces, which together can explain why everything is the way it is, and why everything happens the way it does, the world of Four Colors al Fresco is governed by five Forces. Dynamic, Static, Lost, Known, and Passion are the Forces that govern the existences and interactions of this world. Every action, every happening, every thing in the world is caused by the interactions of these 5 forces, but, generally, one or two of the forces so strongly govern a particular activity that the rest are overshadowed. When the Dynamic Force holds sway, the rock falls. When the Static Force holds sway, it stays put. Throughout most of the world, they provide a sort of balance -- some things and situations are governed more by one Force or another, but on a broad scale everything balances out. But a few exceptional individuals are not in harmony with the world. The Forces do not pay equal attention to them. Some of the Forces pay them more heed, while others seem to give them short shrift, and still others apparently just overlook them on occaision. These are the Omegas² , individuals who have been forgotten by one of the Forces, and thus defy the normal laws of nature in some small³ way. It is these Omegas that are the villains and heroes of this world.

What is a Roleplaying Game?

So, you've probably noticed that we still have yet to get back to those two little words in the title. Even if you know the answer to that question, you may want to read this section, because Four Colors al Fresco may be different than you are expecting. A roleplaying game (RPG)⁴ is very different from most other sorts of games out there. In many ways, RPGs are not much like other games⁵, and much more like storytelling. You can not win an RPG, and the rules are meant to be altered and broken as you go. In fact, most RPGs refer to their rules as "guidelines" at some point, and encourage you to change them as you see fit. Rather than the rules, the important part of an RPG is the roleplaying itself. The point is not to win, but to have fun along the way. Specifically, the idea is to collaboratively tell a good story⁶ featuring characters of your creation. The rules are there to provide the "game" part of the equation, and hopefully to make the whole thing more fun than just sitting around telling stories.

Another difference from many games is that not everyone has the same role in the game. Most of the participants will be the players⁷. They will each take on the role of a single character. These characters are much like the central characters in a book, movie, or comic book -- they are the ones around whom the action revolves, though there are often other important characters present, and they themselves may not be present for every scene. For each Issue⁸, one of the characters will take on the role of the Storyguide⁹. As the name implies, it is her job to guide the unfolding story that you will tell. She must assume the roles of all of the characters that the other players are not playing, define the world around the characters, adjudicate the characters actions, and often provide the scenario.

Together, the Storyguide and players create a participative, collaborative, extemporary, storytelling amusement. That is, the point of the game is to enjoy yourselves while together creating a story off the top of your heads. Everyone has a say in how this story unfolds -- the players manage the Main characters and the Storyguide everything else -- and nobody really knows ahead of time how the story will turn out.

Organization

This work is divided into several chapters which give you the rules and the setting of the game, followed by several appendices with play aids and additional information. Chapter 2 walks you through character creation, and has everything you should need for that. Chapters 3 and 4 go over the basics of how to be a player and Storyguide, while chapters 5 through 8 actually give you all the rules. Finally, chapters 9 and 10 describe the world of Italia and its surroundings. For the most part, it should make the most sense to read it in order, possibly referencing the glossary (Appendix 1) and example Descriptors (Appendix 2) for additional clarification. The back of the book has several play aids, including character sheets, a character-creation worksheet, and dice layout guides. You may want to take a look at these when you get to a point that deals with them. Finally, the last two appendices contain a copy of the October Open Game License and design notes, for those of you who like to know why we did what we did. Unlike in many RPGs, there is really nothing in this work that is for the Storyguide's eyes only. People who are absolutely certain that they will never be storyguiding may want to skip the section of the chapter on Italia which talks about major villains, but that's about it.