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Covenant is a conspiracy game, about a cult recovering from an apocalypse that never came. For years the society, Covenant, predicted the end of the world. When it didn’t happen, Covenant was thrown into turmoil, and now its members question what they believe.
It’s a quirky, inspiring setting, which the book outlines well. There’s enough information on the cult for flavour, leaving gaps to fill during play. We’re not in White Wolf territory – there’s no fiction, no swathes of backstory – and the game is better for it.
How it looks
It's a slim, glossy, good-looking book. The line drawings, by Cliff Kurowski, are subtle and sparingly used. Keith Senkowski's layout is clear and elegant: enhancing the text without distracting from it.
Best of all, the author can write: the rules are clear on a first reading; not a word is wasted; there's not a punctuation or grammar error in sight. It's a welcome change from indie games with ill-written backstory, misplaced commas and Microsoft Word layout.
As you'd expect from an indie game, the GM weaves scenes to make a story, rather than taking the players through an adventure. If that's not for you, avoid this game.
The rules
Covenant has innovative mechanics, which other games could usefully steal.
The best is Conventions and Motifs: your gaming group defines four things about the cult (e.g. “Punishments are swift and final”) and four things they want to see in the game (e.g. “Crumbling architecture”, “Fighting on rooftops”). There’s a bonus every time you bring these in.
This works beautifully in play: if you want senseless property destruction in the game, make “senseless property destruction” a motif, and everyone gets a bonus for senseless property destruction. It’s simple and fun.
Then there’s Truisms: three things your character believes (e.g. “Family will take care of you”). Later in the game, you’ll either confirm that belief or have it shattered. It’s a clever mechanic, which puts questioning your beliefs at the heart of the game.
The central die mechanic is simple but, during play, showed problems. There's an error in the text, too, which states that using a Motif lets a player "reroll any one of their dice". In fact, Motifs let a player reroll any die on the table, including opponents' dice. This changes play completely and should be highlighted: an errata sheet would make this clear.
How Covenant plays
I’ve played Covenant twice: firstly, with the author, at a convention; second, with two other players and me as GM.
The first game worked perfectly: an exhilarating conspiracy game, with gunfire and chases across Venice rooftops. Motifs and Conventions worked well: our game featured “Crumbling Architecture” and “Holy Snipers”.
However, the second game fell flat and we became frustrated with the central mechanic.
Essentially, the central mechanic is simple: you roll three dice, I roll three dice. Then we take turns in bringing in things from our character sheet, which let us reroll, add or take away dice. Carry on, until there’s nothing to sensibly bring in. Then the highest die wins (or, failing that, the second highest die, and so on).
In play, however, this was frustrating. I’d bring in something from my character sheet and reroll a die; the player would bring in something else and reroll; and so on.
And, after a few turns, we were scanning our character sheets: can I use “I hate my father” here? What about “I’m afraid of cats”? Conflicts become an exercise in crowbarring, not roleplaying.
Also, it was difficult, as GM to weave the scenes into a story. There’s good advice, in the book, on setting up scenes. But how do you make the story work? Set the players against each other? Give them mysteries to solve?
Now, there’s advice in the rulebook on this. But it’s unclear how to use it practically. The GM is advised to set up scenes using the characters’ relationships; and to question Truisms; and to make scenes urgent and emotional. How do you do all this at once? The rulebook's examples read like action scenes: breaking into apartments, stealing documents, cornering traitors: so, as well as the above, should scenes be action-packed too?
Looking back, why did my first Covenant game soar and the second one flop? Perhaps Covenant works if played in a particular way: when the player characters are set against each other, I suspect, or when conflicts involve all the players. But the rulebook doesn’t explain what this way is.
Conclusion
Covenant has a superb setting and innovative mechanics. The setting, together with Conventions and Motifs, will set you up for a fantastic game.
Once you're playing, it's less solid: there's little guidance for the GM and the central mechanic can be frustrating. This game doesn't work out of the box: when it works, it's superb; when it doesn't, it doesn't.
That said, if you want a conspiracy game with an indie flavour, and you're prepared to experiment to discover how it works, it's an interesting, innovative game.
