What the game asks of you

The ask, said plainly, before anyone says yes.

At the least: come to the table each week; say what you will do and do it, or say why not; put something in the middle; tell one story a season; carry the Flame to two or three. That is the whole of the minimum. More is welcome and never required.

It is load-bearing because a yes given without knowing the cost is not consent. The ask is stated at the door, in five short clauses a person can hold in their head, so that The Invitation can be answered honestly and so that nobody discovers the real terms three months in. It is also a limit on the body: nothing beyond these five may be required of a member, whatever anyone's enthusiasm. Nothing binds without your own word, and your word is the whole Game.

How it is played. Say it before the yes, not after. Let the person set their own measure on the parts that have one — The Offering has no set amount and The Pledge is chosen, not assigned. Expect the ask to be kept, and expect a gap sometimes: or say why not is part of the ask, not a loophole, because a promise withdrawn early is worth more than a promise silently missed. And say the other half at the same time: anyone may leave, at any time, in peace, by The Way Out. An ask stated with its exit is an ask a free person can accept.

Also called: the ask · what is asked Stands on: The Invitation · Consent · Commitment Opens onto: The Turn · The Offering · Share the Stories · Pass The Flame · The Pledge · The Way Out In play: door · table Sources: The Game at the Table, §What the game asks of you (current best understanding) · The Playcard (current best understanding) · The DNA of Heaven, Part V (Fable synthesis, second draft) · lionsberg.wiki: The Game at the Table Open: The five-clause ask and the seasonal Pledge overlap without being reconciled: the ask says put something in the middle, the Pledge asks for a named weekly measure of time, energy, attention, and contribution.