Welcome to the World's End

This is the setting guide for Stonetop, a hearth fantasy roleplaying game set in an iron age that never was. It describes the PCs' home—the village of Stonetop—and the World's End, the region in which Stonetop sits. It's a gazetteer of the places, peoples, and powers that make up or shape the region.

This is Book II; for the rules of the game and guidance on how to play or run it, see

Book I: Stonetop.

How to use this book

If you're the GM, or thinking about running a game of Stonetop, then this book is for you.

Before your first session, browse this book to familiarize yourself with the setting and to get excited for play. Start with the maps p. 8 · p. 11 to get a sense of place.

Skim the village of Stonetop entry. When it mentions a topic that catches your interest, jump to that topic and read it, too.

Topics are cross-referenced. If you're reading this as a physical book, use a bookmark or two to keep track of where you came from. If you're reading this as a PDF, all the page references are hyperlinked and the "back" button (or ALT + left arrow in most PDF readers) is your friend.

Between sessions, review topics that you think will be relevant soon. Use the details and resources therein to help you prep.

During play, refer to this book to help you describe the environment, to ask questions, and to make GM moves. Use it to introduce dangers and discoveries, or to improvise sites for the PCs to explore.

Exploit the setting guide

This book is a resource, not a bible. It asserts many truths about the setting, but it also poses many questions for you and your group to answer during play. When you establish some truth that contradicts what's written in the book, your group's truths take precedence.

Use whatever appeals to you and makes sense for your game. Ignore or change the rest. If you think the Golden Oak would be better as a sacred place out of time, where past and present and future all meet, then by all means make it so in your game.

Should the players read this?

Players aren't expected to read this book.

There's a Setting Overview in the game's digital files (also downloadable from lampblackandbrimstone.com). Players should definitely read that.

It's okay for players to read this book if they want to. Some players like to better understand the setting, to help shape their play or inform their answers to GM questions. Some enjoy that feeling of dread when they recognize what monster the GM is hinting at, or that feeling of awe when the GM introduces an arcanum that they've read about.

Just remember that every group's version of Stonetop is different. If you're playing in a game and you've read this book, don't be a snob about it. The lore that you and your group establish in play is what's important.

And to be clear: if you're the kind of player who prefers to discover a game's world through play, to experience it like your character would, then don't read this book.

You're certainly not expected to!