← Tolerable Gaming Ch. 1 · Before the Coal Burns Down
Coal
{{coal}}%

The log is blank. Someone in Starwick is supposed to keep it.
Cover: Alakai in a karate stance in front of Benjamin holding a glowing laptop, the Red-Hat Mascot waving and the Panic Chicken flapping, with Starwick and a bright Star behind them.
Tolerable Comics presents

The Adventures of Being Tolerable

Starring Alakai & Benjamin

Chapter One · Before the Coal Burns Down

A late-night playtest goes weird. A father and son get pulled into their own card game, and the only way home is to finish the voyage before the coal burns down.

Welcome back. Your voyage was saved where you left it.

Scroll to read, or switch to Panel mode. Glowing outlines mean someone wants to talk.

An empty family kitchen at night: a lamp over a wooden table covered in a cardboard game prototype, index cards and an open laptop glowing blue.
Saturday, 11:47 p.m.
Every studio starts somewhere. Ours started on a kitchen table.
Late at night in a cozy kitchen, Benjamin types on a glowing laptop at a table covered in a cardboard game prototype while Alakai stands on a chair holding up a card.
The studio, mid-playtest. Again.
AlakaiOne more test. Just ONE.
BenjaminThat's what you said four tests ago.
The laptop screen flickers with static, showing a tiny sailing ship, as streaks of blue and gold light pour out into the dark kitchen.
The screen started to flicker.
fzzzt
The cardboard game prototype bursts with golden light as cards lift into the air and two pairs of hands pull back.
AlakaiDad… is the cardboard supposed to glow?
BenjaminNot in this version.
FWOOMP
Benjamin and Alakai stand on a half-finished painted hilltop in Starwick; a ship floats in the distance and a little red mascot in a cap waves at them.
They landed somewhere half-finished. The paint was still wet. Some of the trees were still just ideas.
AlakaiDAD. We're IN Starwick.
BenjaminI did not playtest for this.
MascotOoh! Players! REAL ones! Welcome to Starwick. I'm the guide. Also the logo. Mostly the logo.
AlakaiWait. Who drew you?
Mascot…You did. I was the very first thing you ever drew for the studio. So, um. Please don't replace me in the next update?
AlakaiReplace you? You're the reason we HAVE a studio.
MascotSame as every voyage! Cross the painted world, beat the den boss, and carry a Star back to the ship before the coal burns down. I'll keep the quest log. It's my favorite job.
BenjaminAnd if the coal runs out?
MascotThen the voyage ends and we try again. That's the whole game! Hard, but not quit-forever hard.
Alakai sketches on a blank card as he and Benjamin walk a winding road; a panicking chicken pops into existence ahead of them.
The road was long. Alakai had a marker and a blank card. This was always going to happen.
AlakaiWhat this road needs is a sidekick.
sidekick goes here?
BAWK?!
BenjaminDid you just add an unbalanced chicken to my game?
AlakaiHe's not unbalanced. He's EXCITING.
ChickenBAWK. (He panics at a pebble.)
At dusk, a bramble-covered cave with glowing eyes; a hooded rogue leans on a rock holding a glowing card while Benjamin and Alakai look on nervously.
The den. You could hear the boss breathing from out here. Someone was waiting by the rocks.
BenjaminOkay. Den first. Fair fight.
RogueLong den ahead. Long, hard, kind of boring. OR…
Rogue…you take this. “Skip Den.” One card, no boss, straight to the Star. Nobody has to know.
BenjaminHang on. I know that card art. I cut you in version 0.3. You were completely broken.
RogueI prefer “generous.” Games are better when they're easy, Dad.
Alakai…Fine. I'll HOLD it. Holding isn't using.
RogueThat's what they all say. Go on, I'll catch up.
AlakaiNo way. The den is the FUN part.
RogueSuit yourselves. You'll wish you had me later.
A towering cardboard golem wrapped in thorny vines swings at Benjamin and Alakai; Alakai throws a punch while a chicken hides behind them.
The Bramble Warden had never been fully drawn. It didn't seem to mind.
KRA-KOOM
AlakaiIt's too strong! The coal's almost GONE!
Bramble Warden240 / 300
Benjamin's face is lit by a glowing blue debug console; Alakai thinks hard beside him while the hooded rogue grins from the shadows.
BenjaminOne line. I could end this right now.
Rogue{{rogueBossLine}}
// starwick debug console
> warden.hp
240
> warden.hp = warden.hp / 2
// press ENTER to apply

Alakai looked at the cards in his hand. Then at his dad. It was his call.
NEXT PAGE · LOCKED To unlock: {{objective}}
scroll up ↑
The Bramble Warden lies collapsed into cardboard scraps; Benjamin and Alakai hold a softly glowing Star while the rogue shrugs.
> warden.hp = 120 · patched
RogueSee? Easy. Nobody got hurt.
The Warden folded like a cereal box. The Star was theirs. It glowed. Mostly.
Back at the kitchen table at night, Benjamin and Alakai sit quietly with a softly glowing Star between them.
Back at the kitchen table. 12:31 a.m.
AlakaiWe won… right?
BenjaminWe did. It just felt kind of… quiet.
AlakaiNext time we earn it. Deal?
BenjaminDeal.
Benjamin waves away the glowing debug console as Alakai grins and holds up a calm blue card and a fiery chicken card.
Benjamin(closes the console) …Your call, art director.
AlakaiCOMBO. Your boring card plus my chicken.
BenjaminIt's not boring. It's BALANCED.
Alakai flies through the air in a glowing kick toward the cardboard Warden while the chicken flaps in its face and Benjamin cheers.
BAWK BAWK
HI-YAH!
The chicken panicked. The Warden looked. Dad's card steadied the shot. Alakai did the rest.
At the kitchen table, a Star blazes gold; Alakai throws his arms up and Benjamin laughs while the chicken watches.
They made it to the ship on the very last ember. Back at the kitchen table, the Star lit up the whole room.
AlakaiThat was SO close.
BenjaminClose is the good part.
In the cave, Alakai hands the glowing card back to the surprised hooded rogue while Benjamin watches from the cave mouth.
AlakaiHere. You're not broken. You're just TOO much.
BenjaminOnce per voyage? Costs a full load of coal?
Rogue…Once per voyage. Hm. I could live with that.
End of Chapter One

Tough. Tolerable.

{{endLine}}

Star brightness{{starPct}}%
Skip Den card{{cardFate}}
Mascot's secret{{secretFate}}
Endings found{{endingsFound}} / 2

{{otherEndingHint}}

Now carry a Star home yourself. Starwick is the real game. Free, in your browser, nothing to install.
Play Starwick

Cards collected

{{cardsLine}}
Collectible card: the Hooded Rogue holding a glowing card in a thorny cave. Hooded Rogue
Skip Den{{rogueCardText}}
At dawn, Alakai and Benjamin stand at the bow of the coal-powered ship, sailing toward a half-sketched island covered in sticky notes.
Next timeChapter Two[TITLE TBD] · The island isn't finished yet.

Meet the cast

from the studio sketchbook
Character sheet for Alakai: standing, karate stance, flying kick and three expressions.
Alakai · Player 1. Art director. Judge of “that's not fun.”
Character sheet for Benjamin: front and side views plus smiling, proud and worried faces.
Benjamin · Player 2. Code, systems, spreadsheets.
Character sheet for the Red-Hat Mascot: a round clay-red creature in a red cap, waving, pointing and worried.
Red-Hat Mascot · Tour guide, quest-log keeper, mostly a logo.
Character sheet for the Hooded Rogue: a young woman in a purple cloak holding a card, with smirking, worried and surprised faces.
Hooded Rogue · A card that got cut. She'd like back in.
Character sheet for the Bramble Warden, a vine-wrapped cardboard golem, and the Panic Chicken mid-flail.
Bramble Warden & Panic Chicken · One is the boss. One is the plan.