Hollyhock
A downloadable game
A long time ago, in a place where the four seasons meet, there lived a civilization. Their cities were built of wicker and magic, their kingdoms were led by love and treachery, and their lives stood all but endless, and they came to be known, by themselves and the other world, as the Fae.
Hollyhock is a tabletop roleplaying game set in the surreal and theatrical world of the Fae, taking place throughout a celebration of mischief, trickery, wit, and skill– the Hollyhock Festival! Pull pranks, dive into the political and social machinations of Fae society, and find yourself immersed in the mystery and delight of the Fae world’s most beloved holiday.
Nominated for the 2023 Indiecade Tabletop Design Award!
Hollyhock is a GM-less game made for 3-6 players, who each take on the roles of various fair folk as they partake in the titular festival, with their own motivations, secrets, and goals.
This game takes inspiration from and builds on the Belonging Outside of Belonging system by Avery Alder and Ben Rosenbaum. Instead of using tokens, players use their moves to build a hand out of a deck of cards in order to achieve their desires.
Hollyhock is framed as a play– it thrives with drama and comedy, and is structured in Acts. Each Act culminates in the execution of the players plans– whether they be spectacular failures, delightful success, and anything in between. Within this game you will find all the rules, guidelines, and lore that provide structure for the narrative of each adventure to unfold!
When you download this game, you will receive:
- 116 fully colored and illustrated pages, containing 8 playbooks and 7 archetypes to build a unique character from, a card-based move system, and a variety of art and lore.
- Blank Character Sheet
- Blank Act Template
- Example Acts Supplement
Hollyhock was written, edited, and designed by: Alanah Tuohey, Daniela Vega, Katherine Townsend, and Milo Duclayan
Layout design by: Daniela Vega
Art by: Alanah Tuohey and Katherine Townsend
Special thanks to everyone who supported us throughout this project, as well as our incredible playtesters!
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Absolutely love this!!! I've been following along and eagerly awaiting since the beginning and boy was it worth the wait!!! A fresh, innovative and glittering contribution to the belonging outside belonging system, Hollyhock transports you to the glamorous and playful world of the fae. The worldbuilding is intricate and profound, while leaving room for player contributions. The playbooks are wonderfully evocative, and instantly inspire a whole cast of weird and wonderful characters. The art and layout is some of the best I've ever seen, and the use of cards in place of tokens is brilliant. Can't wait to play with my group, but its a joy just to read through and start imagining adventures at the Hollyhock festival <3
So happy to hear it, we're really looking forward to seeing what everyone does with the game we've put so much love into!
This game changed my life. After playing it I won a billion dollars!! Five stars, incredibly well designed and fun game.