First Adventure

Introductions are complete. Spring has sprung forth. You've got a rich tapestry of characters, relationships, and backstories.

It's time for the first adventure! Let's put all that stuff into play and see the PCs in action.

Your goals for the first adventure are:

• Paint a picture of daily life
• Explore relationships
• Identify what's important to them
• Push them into the field
• Establish details, but leave blanks
• Play up both the mundane and the mysterious
• Draw them back home

Paint a picture of daily life

Your first adventure should start in Stonetop and help make it real. The setup and the initial scenes should show off mundane slices of life and reinforce the fact that this is the PCs' home—and that it's a home worth fighting for.

Explore relationships

Take those NPCs and relationships that were established during introductions and push them into the spotlight. How does Caradoc treat his sweetheart? How does Blodwen feel about Rhianna's promise to keep her safe?

Don't just explore relationships that were explicitly established during introductions; explore the relationships they imply, too! Rhianna promised Blodwen's mother, Tegwen, that she'd keep Blodwen safe?

Well, what's the relationship between

Tegwen and Rhianna? Between Tegwen and Blodwen?

Keep an eye out for surprises, too! It might not have come up during introductions, but maybe when you play Garet (one of Rhianna's crew), you find that he's flirting with Blodwen. That's great! Run with it and see where that goes.

Identify what's important to them

There's nothing like a crisis to make someone's priorities come to the forefront. Keep an eye on the decisions that characters make, and where their interests lie. That'll be all sorts of fodder for later.

Push them into the field

Whatever you do, don't spend very long in Stonetop itself. Get them into the field, on an adventure, as soon as possible.

"Wait, what?" you might be thinking. "We just spent all that time establishing the village… aren't we going to DO something with it?"

Yes, you are—just not right now. Right now, your job is to get the action rolling and punctuate their lives with adventure.

The village and its inhabitants are the backdrop for that adventure, the motivation for it, but (at least to start), they shouldn't be the focus of it.

Apocalypse World and related games (like Sagas of the Icelanders and Monsterhearts) tell you to spend the first session just following the PCs around, establishing NPCs with incompatible interests and untenable arrangements. If you do that with Stonetop, the PCs will soon have the blood of their fellow villagers on their hands. And that's going to lead to a very different type of game.

No: get them out of town. Get them adventuring on the town's behalf, sweating and bleeding for their kith and kin. Don't let Stonetop itself be a major source of conflict—yet.

Establish details, leave blanks

Both in the village and in the wider world, you want to be asking questions like crazy and establishing all sorts of concrete details. Who lives in those houses just outside the Ringwall? What flowers grow all around the old Fae waystones? Where did Vahid get that fancy lantern?

But leave blanks, too. Leave some details to wonder about, some mysteries to fill in later. How did the Silent Twins die? What is hiding in the Maw? Why is Elios such a joyless prick?

Play up both the mundane and the mysterious

Stonetop adventures should include a healthy dose of both mundane concerns and mysterious elements. If the adventure hook is mundane (like a chance to capture some wild horses), lace the adventure with strangeness and magic. If the hook is mysterious, pay attention to mundane details like weather and supplies and the fact that someone's mother is worried sick.

Draw them back home

Whatever the first adventure is, it should end with them returning to Stonetop. This should happen pretty naturally, but avoid things like trapping the whole party in some Fae's demesne or having them follow a bunch of slavers to Lygos. Let them go home. Encourage them to go home. The whole premise of the game falls apart if they don't.

Structure

Regardless of whether you use an adventure starter or a custom adventure, the first adventure will generally follow this structure in play:

1) Start with the setup, in which you ask a bunch of loaded questions that provide context and establish motivation. This might include a love letter or two.

2) Then set the scene, zooming in on a particular place and time in the village. You'll frame the scene, ask more questions, and make some homefront moves that show off the town and explore relationships.

3) Once the scene is established, drop the hook. Show signs of trouble, reveal an unwelcome truth, offer an opportunity, tell them the consequences, etc.

Spend a little time seeing how the PCs and NPCs react.

4) Assuming the PCs take the hook, they'll make preparations: they'll

Chart a Course, Outfit, Requisition, recruit followers to join them, etc.

5) They will likely travel towards the focal point of the adventure. The journey will likely be an adventure itself.

They might even be forced to turn back, letting the opportunity slip away or the problem get worse.

6) The journey (probably) leads them to the resolution of the adventure: the danger or opportunity that spurred them out the door in the first place.

They explore, talk to NPCs, sneak, fight, make a daring escape, etc.

Adventure starters

Adventure starters are pre-made first adventures that you can use to kickstart your game. You can make characters and jump into the first adventure all in one session!

With that said: adventure starters bypass the full introduction process described in the Getting Started chapter. Starters include their own abbreviated setup procedures, and delay establishing a lot of details about the village and the world until after the first adventure is complete.

Even if you don't use an adventure starter in full, you might find them useful as examples and sources of threats, dangers, discoveries, and maps.

You can find these adventure starters at www.lampblackandbrimstone.com

7) Then there's the aftermath: the journey home, the triumphant (or notso) return, the reactions of their friends, family, and neighbors, and a return to day-to-day life. But there will be questions unanswered, threats still at large, further opportunities to explore—the source of future adventures!

Of course, the PCs might not take your hook. Or, they might get distracted by something that happens on the journey, and decide its more important than whatever you expected the focal point to be. That's all fine! Follow your agenda and principles, make moves, and keep asking them what they do.

Background

A good first adventure requires preparation. At the very least, you should:

• Identify the central threat or opportunity
• Write up your threat(s)
• Plan your hook

Having this information planned in advance helps you portray a rich and mysterious world. You could theoretically ad lib the threat and hook, asking the characters questions to fill in the blanks. But you'll end up with a much more cohesive, textured, and thematic adventure if you prepare this information in advance.

During introductions, the group kept focusing on the recent crinwin raids, the abducted children, and effects this has had on town.

Vahid rolled the seasons change roll and got a 7, choosing "unexpected bounty." But there's also a threat that will emerge or make itself worse.

I've got a lot to work with. Let's see where this goes!

Identify the central threat or opportunity

The first adventure will center around an opportunity or a threat. The "spring bursts forth" roll (and the player's choice) at the end of introductions will tell you which.

On a 10+, an opportunity

If they rolled a 10+ on their Seasons Change roll, they will have chosen "interesting news" or "valuable insight" or "trade opportunity."

All three choices represent an opportunity.

The opportunity should be both...

• external, so as to get the PCs out of the steading, but also...
• nearby, within a few days of Stonetop, so that they can get there and back with a modest amount of rations.

If they chose "interesting news", then pick (or ask the players to pick):

• A steading improvement and one of its requirements; or...
• some other goal the players established during introductions (solving a mystery, finding a treasure, mastering an arcanum, etc.).

Now, think of something that would put that requirement or goal in reach, and how the PCs could learn of the opportunity.

Vahid is keen to pursue "The Stream, Diverted" improvement. One possible requirement is inventing a way to make water flow uphill. Had he rolled a 10+ on Seasons Change and chosen "interesting news," I might have tied the opportunity to that.

What could put this in reach? Well, the Ruined Tower has all those old pipes and an underground reservoir. Vahid could study that stuff and learn how to make a pump. How could he hear of it? A shady treasure hunter might show up in town, having explored the Ruined Tower and seen pipes pumping water from the ground! He'll show Vahid, for a price...

If they chose "valuable insight", then pick a threat that came up during introductions.

If nothing stands out, ask the player who rolled what they're most worried about.

Think about that threat. Why haven't they done something about it before now? What information would allow them to address it (a vulnerability, the location of its lair, its motives, etc.)? Pick something the PCs can act on, fill in the details, and think about how that could be revealed to the PCs.

The obvious threat that came up during introductions was the crinwin—they raided the town just a few weeks ago and one of the town's youth went missing in the raid.

Why hasn't anything been done about the crinwin? Well, they're stealthy, vicious things living in the Great Wood— it'd be foolish to try to track them down. What info would let the PCs address the threat? The location of their lair! Maybe a hunter could spot some crinwin and be brave enough to track them to their lair.

If they chose "trade opportunity", pick (or ask the players to pick) one of the following:

• Something from the Special Items list that would benefit the whole town (like another horse, a pair of donkeys, etc.).
• Something of powerful symbolic value (like a suit of steel armor bearing Aratis's symbol).
• A minor arcanum of some utility, or something that would help unlock the secrets of a major arcanum.
• A mundane item made of exotic material (like a chest carved from dark ice).

Now, who could offer such a thing? What do they want in exchange? And why are they offering it to Stonetop, specifically?

Vahid wants to find the intricate helm that would serve as the Mindgem's head. Had he rolled a 10+, he might have asked for an opportunity to acquire it. The Ustrina could have found it and sold it to someone in Gordin's Delve, someone who knows Vahid is interested in this sort of thing. Of course, they'd ask a pretty penny for it, or more likely, some service only Vahid could grant...

On a 7-9, a threat and a gain

If they rolled a 7-9, then a threat to the steading presents itself (or gets worse). But they also will have chosen a seasonal gain.

The threat will be the main focus of the first adventure, but how it presents itself should be influenced by whatever seasonal gain they chose.

As you design the threat, be sure to make it...

• external, so as to get the PCs out of the steading; but...
• nearby, within a few days of Stonetop, so that they can get there and back with a modest amount of supplies;
• Stonetop's problem, something that directly threatens the villagers and that no one else will deal with; and
• urgent, something that will get worse if not addressed.

Pick a threat that came up during introductions, or something new that strikes your fancy (from the setting guide, or from your own fevered imagination). Ask yourself: why has this become a problem now?

Why wasn't it a problem before, and what changed to make it a problem? Try to tie the reason to some of the details that came up during introductions.

During introductions, Rhianna's war story was about a nighttime raid by the crinwin, just a few weeks ago, and how they tried to drag kids off into the Wood. Caradoc was supposed to be watching after Wynfor, but he left Wynfor alone so he could go "prove" himself in the battle. When things settled down, Wynfor was missing. The search party never found anything. And on top of all that, Rhianna is worried that something is driving the crinwin, making them bolder and more organized. The crinwin will clearly be the threat.

So, why have the crinwin become so bold of late? I'm thinking they have fallen under the sway of a swyn (a big, arrogant, hypnotic, monkey-headed serpent). During the raid, they were trying to kidnap children with specific traits to add to the swyn's "collection." The swyn recently moved into (or emerged from?) an old Maker-ruin, not too far from town.

After deciding on the threat, and why it's become a problem now, decide how it manifests and how to present it. Use the seasonal gain that the players chose to guide you.

If they chose "interesting news", then choose a goal or a step towards a steading improvement (see the 10+ entry) and tie that to the threat. They might learn of the threat by pursuing the opportunity, or the opportunity could be a direct result of the threat.

During introductions, Blodwen expressed interest in figuring out where the Forest Folk went. She could learn about that by exploring one of their old encampments—perhaps a Maker-ruin that they abandoned and that is now home to the swyn. Had Vahid picked "interesting news," a hunter could stumble on the ruin and note the Forest Folk markings- -and then flee back to Stonetop with that news, pursued by crinwin.

If they chose "valuable insight", then the threat makes itself known or gets worse, but in a way that reveals something useful about how to address it or about what's causing it.

Had Vahid picked this option, the crinwin could get even bolder, eventually attacking by day and trying to drag children off from the Stream. And maybe the kids' parents could fend them off and capture one of the crinwin—giving the PCs a chance to learn what they want, or where they live, or what's driving them.

If they chose "unexpected bounty", then the threat should be revealed in the course of collecting said bounty. Choose a bounty—trade, plentiful game, valuables found in the Wood, etc.—that will put villagers (or someone they deal with) in the path of the threat.

I need a bounty that will draw villagers out into the Wood despite the crinwin. I decide that spring has broken warm and early, and game is plentiful, and trappers are busy setting snares and harvesting fur and meat. One of the trappers could be abducted by the crinwin.

If they chose "trade opportunity", identify a neighboring community that would either be affected by the threat or become aware of it while traveling to Stonetop. This is the neighbor that will make the trade offer. Choose something they have that the PCs would want. If you can, try to link the neighbor's offer to the threat. Otherwise, just have the trading party report the threat while making the deal.

The crinwin (and their swyn master) dwell in the Great Wood, and the only "neighbors" who might encounter them are the Fae or the spirits and beasts of the wild. Blodwen can speak to spirits and beasts, but I can't think of anything they would want to trade. The Fae, though… Fae make deals all the time. Had Vahid chosen this option, I could say that the swyn stole something from a spriggan, and the spriggan wants it back. It could approach the PCs with an offer—recover the lost object from the Maker-ruins, and he'll trade them a bottle of ffyrnig tonic or the secret to making Truth Seeds.

Alternatively, have the players pick an expensive (Value 3) Special Item that they'd like to acquire. Pick a neighbor who's able to provide it. What they want in exchange, though, is something that puts the villagers in the threat's path.

If I didn't want to introduce the Fae, I could ask the players to pick a Value 3 item. Let's say they pick a mule. A merchant from Marshedge would happily provide them two mules in exchange for some drake feathers from the Great Wood—which Rhianna's hunters could acquire, but doing so would put them in the crinwin's (and the swyn's) territory.

If they chose "Tor's Blessing", then use the fine weather as an excuse to put villagers in the path of the threat.

Had Vahid picked Tor's Blessing, I could have a pair of young sweethearts sneak out to the Old Wall one night for an early spring tryst. The crinwin could jump them and drag one off into the Wood!

If they chose "population boom," then tie the threat to a new arrival, or to one or more youths who recently came of age.

Had Vahid picked this option, I could say that a number of Caradoc's peers take it upon themselves to go find the missing children, only to encounter the swyn itself and its crinwin servants. One or two youths could fall under the swyn's sway, and the others would return to the village injured and shaken.

On a 6-, threats abound

Things are going to start bad and they're going to get worse.

Start with a threat, one that came up during introductions. If no threats were established, or none of them feel imminent or appropriately bad, then pick something from an almanac or make something up.

If multiple threats were established, or you have ideas for more, then pick one to be the main threat for the adventure to revolve around. Use the extra threats to add texture and urgency and a sense of doom (threats abound!) but mostly keep them simmering in the background.

As you design the main threat, be sure to make it...

• external, so as to get the PCs out of the steading; but...
• nearby, within a few days of Stonetop, so that they can get there and back with a modest amount of supplies;
• Stonetop's problem, something that directly threatens the villagers and that no one else will deal with; and
• urgent, something that will get worse if not addressed.

Ask yourself: what does the threat want?

Why is the threat such a problem for Stonetop? Why has it become a problem now when it wasn't a problem before?

What changed? Try to tie your answers to details that came up during introductions.

Next, think about how the threat has already manifested and affected the town.

If the threat was established during introductions, what has happened since those established events? If the threat is new, how did it first start? Either way, ask yourself how bad it's gotten. It should be pretty bad. Don't worry about the details just yet. You'll ask the players for those during Setup.

These recent events—or the hook (when you drop it)—will almost certainly trigger

Meet With Disaster, reducing the village's Fortunes by 1 (from +1 down to +0).

We already established that crinwin raided the town a few weeks ago and that Wynfor (Caradoc's nephew), went missing. Rhianna's worried about something organizing the crinwin, which I've decided it is a swyn (a big, arrogant, hypnotic, monkey-headed serpent). It recently moved into (or emerged from?) some nearby Maker-ruins.

Swyn are collectors, so I think: the crinwin are collecting children for their master. Since the raid, search parties have failed to find the child and have been attacked themselves. At least one of the searchers was killed. More raids have happened, targeting the homes nearest to the Great Wood. Trappers and hunters have been attacked and refuse to go out into the Wood. And most recently, another child will have been taken from the steading just before dawn.

Write up your threat(s)

If your initial adventure involves a threat, then flesh it out using the guidelines in the Threats chapter. Try to come up with an impending doom, and make the first grim portent the hook for your first adventure.

Also write up any related threats, or at least assign them a threat type and instinct.

Think, too, about other threats identified during introductions that could overlap or cross paths with this adventure, or just add texture. Are there other looming dangers?

Are there any individuals, institutions, or afflictions in town that will add to the PCs' problems? Write them up as well—at least with a threat type and an instinct.

Vahid rolled a 7-9 for Seasons Change and my central threat is the swyn that's driving the crinwin to steal children. I write it up like so:

Sajra the Swyn (villain)

INSTINCT to indulge its ego.

Recently moved into a ruined Green Lord's tomb about 1½ days from town (why???). Has taken over a few nests of crinwin (rabble; to covet) and they've been collecting children for it. Already has Wynfor (Caradoc's nephew) and another child (who???).

O More children go missing

O Some of the (entranced) children return

O Children recruit followers

O Reveals itself, demands servitude

O IMPENDING DOOM: Subjugates the town, killing or mesmerizing any opposition

STAKES: Will Wynfor's parents forgive

Caradoc? Who will fall under Sajra's sway? What will become of the stolen children brought under Sajra's control?

The crinwin themselves are also a threat, a rabble (Instinct to covet). But I don't go into more detail. It's really the swyn that's the threat.

Refine your hook

You've identified the central opportunity or threat for the adventure. You've got some idea how that threat will manifest, based on the results of the first Seasons Change move.

Now, firm up the details. What exactly is going to happen? When will this happen?

Where? Who will be involved? Who will witness it and what will they report? Don't get too specific just yet, but you should be able to answer these questions in general terms.

As you refine your hook, make sure that it...

• is actionable, giving the PCs some chance to actually do something about it, and implying an obvious first step for them to take;
• involves all of the PCs, giving them all a chance to react to it and have their input; and
• communicates urgency, making it clear that if the PCs just sit on their hands, something bad will happen and/ or an opportunity will be lost.

The details of the hook will help you identify the setup questions that you need to ask, as well as when and where you'll frame the first scene.

Vahid got a 7-9 for the first Seasons Change move and chose "unexpected bounty." I decided that spring broke warm and early, with small game abundant. Trappers are busy plying the Wood, despite the crinwin threat. One of these trappers will get abducted by crinwin.

But wait... that won't be actionable by itself. Plus, the crinwin have been abducting children; why would they grab a fully grown trapper?

Oh! They won't grab the trapper, they'll take his son (who's out with him checking snares). The trapper's son is bigger than the other kids, and the trapper will stab one of the crinwin, giving the PCs a trail to follow. That's actionable!

I consider having the trapper use some sort of signal whistle to call for help, drawing the PCs to the site of the attack. But I reject that, because it'd be too easy to have Rhianna and her crew rush out to help and leave everyone else behind in the village.

No, the trapper will run back into town yelling for help. That'll give all the PCs the opportunity to be involved. And all this will happen in the morning, meaning they have a chance to try to track down the boy in daylight. They might be able to save him if they act quickly!

Setup questions

Before you set your first scene, ask a bunch of loaded questions. Your goal here is to:

• Establish key details
• Highlight relevant setting elements
• Foreshadow
• Make things personal

If you have time, write these questions down as part of your prep. Write in pencil, for now! You're likely to make a few revisions as you go.

You might also end up writing a "love letter" or two, instead of or in addition to some of your questions.

Establish key details

What details need to be established before you start play? What needs to be true for your hook to make sense? What obvious questions arise as you think about those things? Ask leading questions that establish those things, but at the same time give the players some creative control.

Why do this? Why not just tell the players the things that need to be true?

Mostly: because it's more interactive. If you ask someone to think about a question and create an answer, they process the details of the question more deeply. That's true even if the question is about something rather mundane and inconsequential. Answering helps them engage with the world that you're creating together, and it gives them a little more ownership of that world.

But also: your players will come up with details that you never would. And even when they don't come up with anything unexpected, the fact that they came up with it instead of you gives the whole thing a more authentic texture. The world feels more real, less like something that one person is just making up.

My hook assumes that spring broke warm and early and that the trappers are out in the Wood catching game. That gives me these questions:

• When was the last time spring came this early and was this warm?
• What type of game are the trappers busy trapping?

The crinwin have been actively raiding lately, so I feel like there must be something that lets the trappers feel at least a little safe. That gives me this question:

• How do trappers ward off crinwin? Do you think it really works?

Finally, my central threat is the swyn, and the crinwin are collecting children for it. We know Wynfor (Caradoc's nephew) went missing during the last crinwin raid, but "collecting" implies more of a pattern than that. I think there must be a previous child who went missing, and the village gave up on searching for her. To establish those details, I'll ask:

• Who was the youth who went missing in the Wood a few weeks before that nighttime raid by the crinwin?
• Why did you all give up searching for her?

Highlight setting elements

Next, identify any unique setting elements (like the Makers, the wards on the roads, the Pale Hunter, the widespread fear of water, etc.) that will play a significant role in the hook, or that would directly inform the PCs' reactions to the hook. Write a question about each of those elements, just to make sure it's something that the players are familiar with.

The crinwin are a setting element unique to Stonetop, and they'll obviously play a big part in this. They've come up a lot during introductions, but some of the more "common knowledge" details about crinwin haven't come up, like the fact that they're child-sized, and arboreal, and live in big papery nests in the trees, and that they mimic sounds. So asking about some of those might be a good idea. I jot down these questions:

• After the crinwin raid, what feature about their small, hairless, child-like bodies did you find most unnerving?
• When you've seen crinwin moving quickly through the forest canopy, what natural creature do they most remind you of?
• Remember that time you got lured off into the Woods by some crinwin? Whose voice were they mimicking, that got you to follow them?

If there's a setting element that you're pretty sure will come up, but that won't be directly relevant to the hook itself... don't ask about it yet. Wait to ask questions about it until they encounter that setting element in play, or at least until its alluded to.

Thinking about it more, the whole "crinwin mimic noises and voices" thing isn't relevant to the hook or how the PCs react to it. I decide to drop that question.

Likewise, I know that the swyn is hiding in the tomb of a mummified Green Lord, so I consider asking some questions about the Green Lords or their ruins out in the Wood. But on second thought, it's not relevant yet—and it wouldn't make any sense to ask about it.

Foreshadow

Ask yourself if there's anything that you want to foreshadow: a threat, a motive, a consequence, a discovery, etc. Write a question or two that points in that direction, without being too obvious.

Foreshadowing questions are tricky! If you can't come up with a way to be subtle, just skip the foreshadowing!

The swyn is collecting children, right? I'd like to hint at that. So, I want these kids to have something in common, something that makes them worthy for the swyn's collection. I don't particularly care what that is, though, so that becomes the question (about the girl who went missing prior to the raid):

• What did this girl have in common with Wynfor and the other kids the crinwin tried to abduct?

I'd like to hint at the swyn itself, but I can't think of any way to ask a question about it that won't be a dead giveaway that, yup, the swyn is the boss. So I leave that out.

Make things personal

Ask questions of each character, so that all the players are involved. Try to balance the number of questions you're asking to each. If there's an imbalance, try asking one character what they think about another character's answer or past behaviors—and feel free to make it all sorts of loaded.

For example: "Vahid, why do you think

Rhianna was wrong to call off the search for the first missing girl?"

When prepping questions in advance, look at each one that you've written and personalize it. Decide to whom you'll ask each question. Fine tune each question to make sense from the character's perspective (remember: address these questions to the characters, not the players). Play on the themes that have started to emerge for that character. Ask the questions in such a way that they presume the character's direct involvement. Or, frame the questions so that the player is telling you what their character believes or has heard, rather than what they know.

The point is to make the whole starting situation directly relevant to the characters, to give them motivations and personal stakes. Get these questions right, and the players will bite on your hook with very little prompting.

As you revise the questions, also think about the order in which you'll ask them.

There's a real art to this, and no hard-and-fast rule for it. Generally, go chronologically. Ask first about things that happened further in the past, then ask about things that have been happening more recently (or that are still happening). And don't be afraid to cut, either! If you can't figure out when to ask a question, ask yourself if it's really necessary!

I want to start by asking about the missing girl, the one taken prior to the raid. I think Caradoc would identify with her, so he gets this question. It becomes:

• "Caradoc, who was the girl who went missing, a few weeks before that nighttime raid by the crinwin? Why was she out in the Wood, alone, in late winter?"

Next, I'll ask Rhianna why they stopped searching for the girl, because she's the marshal and her crew are all woodsmen. I tweak it to make it her decision to stop looking, and to twist the knife with some guilt:

• "Rhianna, what prompted you to call off the search for this girl, empty handed? Why do her parents still blame you?"

I think that the next logical question would be about the detail shared by this missing girl and Wynfor. This seems like a chance to play up Vahid's cleverness and caginess. I phrase it so that it's something he's figured out but maybe hasn't shared with others:

• "Vahid, it's occurred to you that this girl shares a trait with Wynfor, and with the other kids that the crinwin tried to abduct. What is that common trait?"

Chronologically, the next question is the one about the dead crinwin. I want to ask Blodwen this one, given her ties to the natural and unnatural. I tweak it just a little, to play up the "soft hearted" theme that emerged for her during introductions. It becomes:

• "Blodwen, after the crinwin raid, when you examined their small, hairless, child-like bodies… what unnatural feature did you find so tragic?"

I could ask the other question about the crinwin now (about how they move through the trees), but it doesn't really fit and honestly, the more I think about it, the less I want to include it. I decide to cut it!

I do still want to ask about the early spring and the plentiful game. I pick Blodwen for these, but because she's so young, I rephrase the questions to ask what others are saying and doing. I also crunch them together:

• "Blodwen, when does Seren the Eldest say we last had such a warm and early spring? What sort of game has been especially plentiful, prompting trappers to spend so much time in the Wood?"

For the question about how trappers ward off crinwin, I feel like this is something Rhianna would know about because of how much time she and her crew spend in the Wood. But I like the idea of getting Vahid involved, playing up his know-it-all status and the brewing tension between him and Rhianna. So I split the questions like so:

• "Rhianna, what do folks who ply the Wood—like you and your crew—always wear to keep the crinwin at bay?"
• "Vahid, why do you doubt the efficacy of this anti-crinwin charm?"

Okay! I'm feeling good, but I'd like to give Caradoc one more. I'll prompt some hope and urgency with this:

• "Caradoc, why are you so certain that the missing children are alive?"

Consider writing one or more "love letters" to go along with these questions.

Each such love letter should...

• address a particular PC;
• establish some experience that the PC has had (or is still having);
• ask them to describe something about that experience;
• have them make a roll and, based on the result, give the player…
• insight into or influence over the starting situation, and/or…
• some sort of resource to use in the upcoming adventure.

Seren the Crone has told you countless tales of unnatural creatures in the Wood. Lately, though, Dear Blodwen, she's been bringing up things that steal away children, such as:

* Fae, like the White Billies (eternal revelers), Blush-of-Dawn (who seeks adoration), and Auntie Sallow (who "protects" the innocent)* The glasbren, beautiful tree spirits who've been known to entrance comely mortals

* Swyn, big snakes with monkey-like faces, hypnotic eyes, and mesmerizing voices

* The Fomoraij, of which she barely whispers, ancient evils hiding in the earth Old Seren does drone on, and she rarely tells a story the same way twice, so let's see how well you've been listening. Roll +INT: on a 10+ hold 2 Stories; on a 7-9, hold 1 Story.

When you spend 1 Story and tell us the name of one of Seren's tales, ask the GM a question about one of the creatures described above. The GM will tell you something interesting, useful, On a 6-, hold 1 Story but when you spend it, the GM will tell you two versions of the story with and relevant, as revealed by the tale.

conflicting information, only one of which is true.

xoxo - your GM

Love letters

Write the love letter on an index card, print it out before play, or send it to the player online. Have the player read it aloud during whatever part of the setup makes sense.

I'd like to foreshadow the swyn, but asking about it directly would be too obvious. Instead, I write this love letter to Blodwen. It establishes a few potential culprits (including the swyn) and gives her the option to learn more in play.

For more guidance, see Writing love letters.

Setting the scene

After the setup questions have been answered, start play in Stonetop. Your goal is to establish what mundane, daily life looks like, so that you can drop the hook right in the middle of it.

Work backwards from the hook. What time of day will the hook happen? What do you want to be happening in town?

Where will the hook drop? Where should the PCs be when it does?

Frame a scene to support all that. Tell the players the time of day, what's going on, what the weather's like. Zoom in on a specific place in the village or just outside it, either by dictating a place or asking the PCs where they are.

Next, ask questions that establish details and explore daily life. What are you doing? Who's with you? What are you eating? What are you looking forward to? Whose eye do you hope to catch? If you can, work in questions that reinforce the setup and/or foreshadow the hook. "What loss is felt here, caused by the crinwin's last raid?" That sort of thing.

Once the scene is set, spend some time making homefront moves and seeing how the PCs react. These GM moves are discussed fully in the Homefront chapter, but for now, work off this list:

• Introduce someone interesting
• Reveal simmering tensions
• Present a want or need
• Show how others really feel
• Draw out their feelings
• Change a relationship
• Oppose their wishes
• Remind them of their obligations
• Start a conflict or crisis
• Play them against each other Avoid serious conflicts or dramatic reveals.

It's okay to have a PC argue with their spouse if that's something they often do, but don't, like, spring the fact that the spouse has been having an affair! You're establishing daily life (including daily drama), not setting things on fire. Not yet.

For preparation, jot down:

• A sentence or two describing the scene(s).
• The questions you intend to ask.
• The homefront moves you plan to make, with whatever details you find useful.

These aren't the only things you'll say or ask, and you can adjust them as needed, but they'll give you a solid starting point.

The trapper should stagger into town in the morning, giving the PCs some daylight to work with. The trapper and his son would have set off at first light, and the attack would have come a couple hours later. So, the trapper would get back to town midmorning. That's when I'll set the scene: "It's mid-morning. Farmers till the fields and folks go about their chores. It's another fine, clear day, still cool but likely to get warm."

To play up the "unexpected bounty," I'll zoom in on Caradoc—he's the tanner's apprentice.

"Caradoc, you're at work, hides and furs all over.

• "What unsavory task does Sawyl have you working on this morning?
• "Are you glad for the all the work the trappers are bringing in, or annoyed?
• "Aside from the gore, entrails, and noxious fumes, what's the worst part of this job?"

Maybe I'll make some moves here, play out an interaction with Sawyl. I'll wing it.

Next, I'll ask the other PCs the following:

• "Where are each of you this morning? What task or chore are you working on?"
• "Who's with you and what are you talking about?"
• "As you look about, what do you each see that you've seen a thousand times before?"
• "Who or what do you encounter that makes you think of the missing children and the recent crinwin raid?"

I'll ask follow-up questions and improvise based on what they give me, but I definitely want to make these GM moves:

Remind them of their obligations: Tegwen (Blodwen's mother), nags her about not attending to some mundane thing.

Play them against each other: Eira, Rhianna's lieutenant, complains to her that Vahid has been creeping on her.

Ask a provocative question:

• "Remember that time you got lured off into the Woods by some crinwin? Whose voice were they mimicking, that got you to follow them?"

Dropping the hook

Once the initial scene is set, it's time to drop the hook. Make GM moves that introduce the core threat or opportunity of the adventure and prompt the PCs to act.

You can (and should) keep asking questions after you drop the hook. You might need to ask such questions in order to make the hook compelling enough. With that said, limit your questions to things the characters would know the answer to already ("How are you related to Gorlas? Why is everyone so quick to dismiss him?") rather than asking the players to invent entirely new elements ("Who comes barging in, muttering about crinwin nests?")

For preparation, write down the moves you intend to make and how they'll manifest, plus any questions you plan to ask. This might mean coming up with specifics that have been vague in your mind so far: who, exactly, burst in with news of a crinwin nest? Why should the PCs trust him?

What exactly did he see? Either decide on these things now, or decide that you'll ask the characters for the answer during play.

None of this prep is set in stone! You'll often need to adapt and improvise based on the details established during setup and the initial scene. Stay loose!

Reactions

After you've dropped your hook, it's time to explore everyone's reactions. If your hook is compelling, the PCs will likely head out to deal with things. But before (or maybe as) they make preparations, show how others respond to the hook and the PCs' intended course of action.

This is a great time to think about NPCs with relationships to the PCs. How does the Heavy's spouse respond to him going out into the field again? What does the Would-be Hero's father say? Who thinks the expedition is folly? Who wants to come with? Lean heavily on the homefront moves during this segment.

You're not just doing this to show off the NPCs; you want to see how the PCs respond to both the hook and the NPCs.

Keep an eye out for PCs triggering moves, especially Persuade, Seek Insight, Know

Things, and Defy Danger (the danger being that someone takes offense, or doesn't believe their lies, or so on). Take notes on whose feathers the PCs ruffle, who gets in their way, and who reveals themselves to be on their side. Some of these people will likely become threats after the first adventure.

When prepping the adventure, jot down some notes including:

• The NPCs who you think will be present.
• The moves that you think you'll make and the NPCs you think you'll use to make them.
• Any questions you plan on asking.

Again, none of this is set in stone! Adapt as needed to reflect the events in play.

I start thinking about how I'll drop the hook, and I realize that I haven't named the trapper or his son. I'll do that now. I grab the steading playbook and skim the Residents section. I could create a new, random NPC, but I see Pryder, the youth who Blodwen said is beloved of the Goddess and her duty to protect. That's perfect, so he's the son. I pick a name for his father, Rheinal, and add him to the residents list.

Now, I start planning out the moves for my hook and filling in specific details. I also start thinking about questions I might ask for each move, to make the hook more personal and motivating to the PCs. My notes end up like this:

Announce trouble: Someone's yelling from down in the Wood. They're getting closer to town.

Introduce someone interesting: It's Rheinal. Someone, let's say Morwenna (Caradoc's crush) is helping him up the cliffside trail from the Wood. He's barely standing, panicked, covered in blood.

• "Blodwen, Rheinal is Pryder's father, one of the trappers. Aside from his devotion to his family, what's his most notable trait?"

Reveal an unwelcome truth: Pryder was dragged off by crinwin. They were out checking snares early this morning and got separated in a clearing. Rheinal heard Pryder cry out. He found Pryder struggling with crinwin, then he got jumped. Rheinal stabbed one crinwin, got clocked on the head, and passed out. When he came to, Pryder and the crinwin were gone. If anyone asks: yes, Pryder shares the same trait that the other missing kids had in common.

Ask a loaded question: "Vahid, you notice that Rheinal still wears his anti-crinwin charm, for all the good it did him; do you say anything?"

Offer an opportunity: The attack happened an hour or two ago, and Pryder is considerably bigger than the other kids who were abducted. They would have had to drag him, leaving a pretty obvious trail. Plus, Rheinal wounded one of them—it'd be dripping blood.

• "Rhianna, which member of your crew is the best tracker?"
• "Blodwen, whose hound has the best nose? Think you could get them to loan you its sense of smell?"

The hook will take place on the outskirts of town, at the top of the trail leading down into the Wood. These NPCs are likely to be there:

• Rheinal, obviously
• Morwenna (Caradoc's crush), helping Rheinal up the cliffside path
• Gwendl the Matron (one of Blodwen's mentors, village healer) will arrive soon
• Sawyl the tanner (Caradoc's boss); the tannery is right there
• Eira (Rhianna's lieutenant, who Vahid secretly watches) will probably be talking to Rhianna, and will probably come along That's plenty of NPCs for the initial scene, but I also expect there to be some interaction with:
• Glenys (Caradoc's aunt, Wynfor's mom) and the other missing child's parents.
• Tegwen, Blodwen's somewhat overbearing mother.

I start thinking about some of the moves that these people might make:

Present a want or need: Rheinal insists on gathering a search party right away, and going with them to rescue his son, despite barely being able to stand.

Point out a flaw in a person or plan (one of Gwendl's moves): Gwendl insists that Rheinal isn't going anywhere, injured as he is. Surely he can give Rhianna and company directions to where the attack happened.

Show how others really feel: Morwenna gives Caradoc an admiring glance if he says he plans to join the expedition.

Reveal simmering tensions: Glenys throws shade at Caradoc, blaming him for Wynfor's abduction ("You've done enough, haven't you?"). The missing girl's parents are bitter and say something to Rhianna like "Maybe don't give up this time."

Oppose their wishes: Tegwen forbids Blodwen from going, but has no authority to do so.

Play them against each other: "Rhianna, are you really going to let Blodwen and Caradoc come along?"

If they ignore the hook

Most likely, the PCs will take your hook and go deal with the threat and/or seize the opportunity. But what if they don't?

Do not force them to act on the hook.

It's not your job to lead them down a pre-planned story. It's your job to portray a rich, mysterious world, to punctuate their lives with adventure, and to play to find out what happens. It's the players' job to portray their characters. Don't take that away from them.

If something feels off—like, if the players flounder, act helpless, or don't seem to care—then call time out and check in player-to-player. Maybe they need help identifying their options. Maybe there's a mismatch in interest or expectations that needs addressing.

But also: maybe your hook just isn't as compelling as you thought. Maybe your players genuinely don't think the risk is worth the reward. What do you do then?

Shift into downtime. Ask what the PCs get up to for the rest of spring. Frame scenes as you need or want, in order to make GM moves or resolve PC actions. Show the passing of time.

But as you do so, frame scenes and make GM moves that show the consequences of the PCs' inaction. Don't punish the players for ignoring your hook, but portray your NPCs and your threats with integrity.

The PCs let an opportunity pass? Okay, cool with you, but how do your NPCs react? Who's upset? Does an NPC go after it on their own, and what sort of trouble do they get into?

The PCs ignored a threat? Okay, cool with you, but start advancing grim portents.

Show NPCs reacting. Have the village

Meet With Disaster if it comes to that.

Eventually, something will prompt the PCs to go on an expedition, or else a crisis will erupt in town (see "The next adventure,". Or, you'll decide that this isn't the game for you and you'll stop playing.

When prepping the first adventure, think about what will happen if the PCs do nothing. If there's a central threat, lean heavily on its grim portents. Jot down a few moves that you'll make to show the consequences of inaction.

If the PCs don't go after Pryder, then I'll probably make the following moves:

Reveal simmering tensions: townsfolk snub Rhianna; she overhears some of her crew complaining to Eira.

Present a want or need: Rheinal, Glenys, and the other parents plead with Rhianna to do something, anything.

Quicken a threat or crisis: Another child goes missing, stolen from a home at the edge of town.

Oppose their wishes: Rheinal puts a posse together to go looking for the kids.

Hurt Them: The posse is attacked and many are killed by crinwin.

Advance a grim portent: Wynfor and the missing girl appear at the edge of town, dirty and thin but glowing with a weird inner joy.

Heading out

Eventually, they'll be off on an adventure!

Here's how that usually plays out.

Preparations

When the PCs announce their intentions to head out and pursue the opportunity or deal with the threat, they'll often trigger these moves:

• Chart a Course, in which they tell you where they plan to go and you tell them what's involved in getting there.
• Outfit, in which they "gear up" for the expedition.
• Requisition, in which they might borrow town assets (like horses or carts).

As they make these moves, sprinkle in various homefront and other GM moves as appropriate. For example, when they Chart a Course, maybe ask a provocative question to the Ranger about the dangers they might find. When they Outfit, maybe introduce someone interesting, like the publican who provides them with whisky for the road.

The PCs might also Trade & Barter, Know

Things, Seek Insight, or Persuade. They might recruit some followers, or have some folks insist on coming along.

They might set the town to work while they're gone and have them Pull Together, or Muster the town's defenses.

See the Expeditions chapter for more details.

Travel

After preparations, they'll head toward the threat or opportunity. This involves you...

• presenting legs of travel and points of interest, describing the environment and the weather;
• asking lots of questions, like, "What's the worst about slogging through these hills?" or "What do the old-timers say about this place?";
• making GM moves, like having their followers cause or get into trouble, providing a choice of paths, presenting the challenges that you outlined when they Charted a Course, and introducing other dangers and discoveries;
• asking "What do you do?"; and
• resolving the PCs' actions.

You'll repeat these as necessary, zooming in and out as you make GM moves and the players make moves of their own. They might encounter something that distracts them from their primary goal, or that gets them lost, or that beats them up so badly that they turn back and head home in defeat. Or, they might reach their destination with ease. It's all good!

Travel (and the prep you might do for it) is detailed in the Expeditions chapter.

Resolution

Eventually, probably, the PCs will get where they're going and attempt to deal with the threat or seize the opportunity.

You'll zoom in on the action, describe the situation, and make GM moves. The PCs will respond and trigger their moves. We'll all find out what happens together.

When prepping the adventure, list the sites, dangers, and discoveries that you expect to feature in the resolution. For each one, do as much preparation as you find valuable. See the following chapters for guidelines on how to prepare these things:

• Sites
• Dangers
• Discoveries
• NPCs & Followers

Aftermath

At some point, the PCs will call it quits and decide to head home. Maybe they've seized the opportunity or put down the threat. Maybe not, and they either lost their chance or are too exhausted to continue. This is the aftermath.

During the aftermath, the PCs tie up loose ends and return home. You update your notes—especially your threats—to reflect how the world has changed and identify any new problems the PCs might have to deal with.

When preparing an adventure, there's not much you can—or should—prepare for the aftermath. So much depends on the events of the adventure itself; there's almost no way to predict when the PCs will head for home, what loose threads will be out there, what issues they will be dealing with, etc.

Mostly, you'll play it by ear.

For guidance on what to do at the end of the adventure, see the "Going home" section of the Expeditions chapter and the Homefront chapter.