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Full Example of Play

In this full example of play, we join a party as they embark on a journey to Whitecrest Tower, rumoured to be the home of a powerful artifact from an ancient battle.

The Party

  • Quinn (they/them), playing Shepherd (they/them), Wildborne Infernis Warden of Renewal Druid
  • Miles (he/him), playing Rune (he/him), Ridgeborne Drakona School of War Wizard
  • Aliyah (she/her), playing Tabby (she/her), Underborne Katari Call of the Brave Warrior
  • Nolan (he/him), playing Lavelle (he/him), Slyborne Human Nightwalker Rogue

Their GM

  • Stella (she/her), who starts the scene with five Fear.

STELLA: "Whitecrest Tower is built into the side of a mountain, forcing attackers approaching from the valley below to make a dangerous climb. So my first question is—how do you want to get up to the tower?"

QUINN: "I want to use 'Nature's Tongue' and find a goat or ram or some other creature that lives on the mountains and ask them about the easiest way up to the tower."

STELLA: "Absolutely. It's not hard to find some goats tramping around in seeming defiance of gravity. Give me that Instinct Roll, Difficulty 12."

Quinn rolls the Duality Dice and adds 2 tokens to represent their Instinct of +2. They roll a 7 on the Hope Die and a 4 on the Fear Die.

With their 2 tokens, the final result is a 13 with Hope. Quinn adds a Hope to their sheet.

"On a success with Hope, the goat is friendly enough that you can offer information. She remembers the pathway that the last group of two-legs took and leads you to it. Don't forget to gain a Hope since you rolled with Hope."

QUINN: "I respond, 'Thank you, good friend.' Then I fish out some berries and fruit from my pack and give it to her as we head up."

STELLA: "The food disappears in an instant. Then the goat starts scaling the mountain, leading you to the path. We're going to do this scene as a progress countdown, but since you're getting help, I'm going to set it at 3 instead of 5. What's the next move you make to scale the mountain?"

ALIYAH: "Tabby is going to take the lead and set pitons for the others to help make the ascent easier for everyone."

STELLA: "That sounds like an Agility Roll."

Aliyah rolls a 2 on the Hope Die, but a 7 on the Fear Die. With Tabby's Agility of +3, that's a total of 12 with Fear.

ALIYAH: "I'm going to use my 'Feline Instincts' as a katari to spend 2 Hope and reroll my Hope Die."

She spends the Hope and rolls the Hope Die again, getting an 8.

"Nice! That's an 18 with Hope."

STELLA: "On a success with Hope, you tick down the countdown by 2." It's down to 1, so at this point, even a success with Fear will get you to the tower. Quinn a Hope. Tabby scales the mountain, neck and neck with the goat, setting pitons and throwing rope down behind to help the others. You're making quick work, but there's still another hundred feet between you and the top of the tower. What do you do?"

MILES: "Oh, I want to try out my new grimoire. Rune takes some rope and pitons, and then he's going to cast 'Arcane Door' to teleport up to the front gate so he can throw down the rope."

STELLA: "Nice. That's a Spellcast Roll with Difficulty 13, and you spend a Hope to cast it."

Miles spends a Hope and rolls the Duality Dice, adding 3 modifier tokens for his character's Spellcast trait (Knowledge). He gets a 5 on the Hope Die and a 6 on the Fear Die.

MILES (slightly nervous): "That's a 14, so a success...with Fear."

Stella gains a Fear, adding it to her pool.

STELLA: "You all see Rune disappear and then reappear halfway up the remaining distance, then he blinks out again and appears by the front gate. With a rope leading all the way up, it's relatively simple for the rest of you to make the climb."

The example continues with the party arriving at Whitecrest Tower, encountering skeleton archers, and engaging in combat. Key highlights include:

  • The GM uses Fear to spotlight additional adversaries
  • Shepherd uses "Wild Flame" to deal magic damage
  • Tabby takes hits but uses her Armour Slots to reduce damage
  • The party works together, with characters helping each other
  • Critical successes deal bonus damage
  • The Skeleton Knight is eventually defeated

Questions to Consider for GMs

  • Aliyah's roll with Hope to finish off the Skeleton Knight meant that the PCs would have been able to act again before the archers. Those archers hadn't taken any damage, but Stella described them falling apart after the knight died. Do you feel like that was a satisfying end to the combat, or would you have had the archers keep fighting? The expectation Stella offered to Rune could be taken as precedent, so if Stella chooses to not end a fight early in the future when the party destroys the most powerful skeleton, she'll want to have an idea in mind why things are different the second time to maintain the integrity of the story.

  • Stella allowed Rune to make two jumps using the "Arcane Door" spell rather than making him roll for each casting. When a character is using an ability like that, do you want to call for a roll for each use or let one roll represent chaining the ability a couple of times like Stella did?

  • Would you have chosen to use "Terrifying" when the Skeleton Knight hit Tabby with "Dig Two Graves?" You don't always have to use every one of an adversary's features, and Stella skipped it to honour Tabby's critical success.

  • In the fight with the skeletons, would you have had them attack the group in the order and fashion that Stella did? Choosing which adversaries to spotlight—and when—helps determine the shape of the fight and its rhythm, the ups and downs. How else could the fight have gone? Would you have waited to use the archers until after the Skeleton Knight?

  • Rune destroyed all four skeleton minions in one good hit, which meant the attack on the other skeletons was wasted. Would you have allowed Rune to use that other "Wild Flame" attack to attack the Skeleton twice, or maybe to hit one of the archers even though they were out of range? Or does losing the extra attack seem like a fair price for the certainty of being able to remove the minions?

  • What would you have done if Shepherd had rolled a success with Fear when using their "Nature's Tongue" spell to talk to the goat? What would have been an interesting consequence if Shepherd failed that roll entirely? Would the goat have run off, or would you have introduced another complication during their ascent? Is there some complication that Stella could have used to foreshadow the skeletons or the knight? Or would it have been better to gain a Fear and let the players keep pressing forward without an immediate consequence?

As you consider your answers to these questions and make rulings during the game, you'll develop your own GM style. That's the key point to take away from this: there is no right answer. It all comes down to your group and what creates the best experience for your table. Your GM style might even change over time, and that's okay, too. Next up is chapter 3, which will give you the tools you need to run a great game for your players.