The following documents are considered canon for the purposes of this story:

Castle Falkenstein, Comme il Faut, Book of Sigils, Steam Age, Sixguns and Sorcery, Memoirs of Auberon of Faerie, The Lost Notebook of Leonardo da Vinci, Curious Creatures, and The Tarot Variation, the Second Tarot Variation, the Ability Variations.

A handy reference guide, containing useful notations about Abilities and their Suits.

Notable Deviations from the Rules

The Adventure Entertainments documented here will be played according to the rules as presented in Castle Falkenstein with the following exceptions:

Variant Rules from Fat Goblin Games Adopted

• An alternative Sorcery Deck, taking the form of a tarot deck, will be used as described in The Tarot Variation, available from Fat Goblin Games.
• In addition, we will be previewing the alternate Fortune Deck, which also makes use of tarot cards, as described in the The Second Tarot Variation from Fat Goblin Games. We will, however, be deviating from The Second Tarot Variation in two ways.
  
  
  
  • First, instead of being part of the hand, each player will receive 2 Major Arcana cards at the start of the session.
  • Major Arcana cards can be used for their stated purpose or turned in at any time to draw a whole new hand.
• The alternate rules as presented in The Ability Variations from Fat Goblin Games are in effect. Specifically, we make use of Specializations, the ability to match Abilities to other Suits in certain situations, and an Improvement Point system.

Unpublished Rules Being Tested

• There is a limit to the number of cards a Player can play on a Feat. Poor and Average= 1 card. Good and Great = 2 cards. Exceptional = 3 cards. Extraordinary = 4 cards ).
• We are experimenting with a dice based alternative to the normal rules of the Great Game. Players are still dealt 4 cards from the Fortune Deck, as per normal but only the suits of the cards matter. The numerical value of the card does not.
  
  
  
  • When performing a Feat, Players may play cards as per normal. Each card of the proper Suit played buys the Player 2 six-sided dice to roll. Each card of an improper Suit played buys the Player 1 six-sided die to roll. There is a limit to the number of cards which can be played on a Feat, as noted above.
  • Once they have purchased their dice by playing cards, the Player rolls the dice and adds the two highest values rolled to the value of their Ability. This is compared to the Requirement of the Feat to determine success or failure. 
  • Once the Feat is resolved, cards are dealt back to the Player to bring their hand up to full (4 cards).
  • Example: Henri must notice if a rather rakish criminal is sneaking up on her. Her Perception is Great, allowing Henri's Player to play up to two cards. He plays a Pentacles (the Suit assigned to Perception) and a Cups which buys her 3d6 to roll. She rolls a 3, 5, and 2. The 3 and the 5 are added to the value of her Perception, which is 8, for a total of 16. The Host rules Henri notices the criminal in time to avoid a blackjack to the back of the head and deals Henri's Player two cards to replace the two played.