Splatbook*
His Majesty the WormStonetop
Stonetop rules
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Book I: Stonetop

  • Welcome to Stonetop
    • Expectations
      • Premise
      • Commitment
      • Structure
      • Content
      • Materials
      • Dice notation
    • The setting
      • Neighbors
      • The Makers
      • Other things of note
      • The characters
    • Why play?
  • Getting Started
    • Get ready
    • Review the setting
    • Set expectations
    • Discuss tone and content
    • Create characters
      • Making corrections
    • Intro the PCs
    • Adventure starters
      • 1. Vital info
      • Initiate
      • The Natural
      • Sheriff
      • Blood-soaked Past
      • Legacy
      • Missionary
      • Prophet
      • Auspicious Birth
      • Itinerant Mystic
      • Scion
      • Penitent
      • Mighty Hunter
      • Beast-bonded
      • Patriot
      • Witch Hunter
      • Destined
      • 2. Special possessions
      • Smithy or tannery
      • Tools (carpenter's, husbandry, etc.)
      • Distillery
      • Anything else
      • 3. World building
      • The Earth Mother
      • Tall Tales
      • The Chronicle
      • Praise the Day
      • War Stories
      • Fear & Anger
      • 4&5 NPC connections
      • 6&7 PC connections
    • Let spring burst forth
    • After the session
      • Organize your notes
      • Identify threats
      • "I wonder…"
      • Plan the first adventure
  • Playing the Game
    • The conversation
    • The GM is responsible for everything else, including:
    • Your agenda
    • Flow of play
    • Dice and moves
    • CLASH
      • Triggers
      • Rolling
      • Results
      • Hold and spend
    • DEFEND
      • The GM, dice, and moves
      • The Die of Fate
      • Fictional positioning
      • PC vs. PC
    • Your principles
    • Other things to do
    • Advocate for yourself and for each other.
      • What not to do
    • Your character
      • Background
      • Instinct
      • Appearance
      • Place of origin and name
      • Stats
      • Debilities
      • Hit points (HP)
    • XP
      • Special possessions
      • Moves
      • World building
      • Introductions
      • Inserts
    • Arcana
      • Minor arcana
      • Major arcana
    • Noruba's Ice Sphere
    • Followers
    • Your home
      • Size
    • Content
      • Steading stats
      • Debilities
      • Surplus
      • Resources & fortifications
      • Places of interest
      • Steading improvements
      • Assets
      • NPCs
    • The moves
      • Basic moves
      • CLASH
    • DEFEND
    • DEFY DANGER
    • INTERFERE
    • KNOW THINGS
    • LET FLY
    • SEEK INSIGHT
      • Special moves
    • BURN BRIGHTLY
    • END OF SESSION
      • Follower moves
    • ORDER FOLLOWERS
    • STRENGTHEN YOUR BOND
      • Expedition moves
      • CHART A COURSE
      • OUTFIT
      • REQUISITION
      • HAVE WHAT YOU NEED
    • STRUGGLE AS ONE
    • MAKE CAMP
    • FORAGE
    • RETURN TRIUMPHANT
      • Homefront moves
    • BOLSTER
    • CONVALESCE
    • DEPLOY
    • LEVEL UP
    • MAKE A PLAN
    • MEET WITH DISASTER
    • MUSTER
    • PULL TOGETHER
      • TRADE & BARTER
    • SEASONS CHANGE
    • Seasonal gains
    • Gear and possessions
      • Inventory
      • Load
      • Small items
      • Undefined items
      • Supplies
      • Provisions
      • Back home
      • Special possessions
      • Trade & Barter
      • Value
      • Coins
      • Gear terms & tags
      • Common items
      • Weapons
      • Armor
      • Clothing
      • Fire & light sources
      • Travel gear
      • Household goods
      • Special items
      • Bronze weapons
      • Armor
      • Light sources
      • Tools & trades
      • Writing implements
      • Transport
      • Exotic stuff
      • Trade goods
      • Livestock & other beasts
    • If you want to…
      • … increase Fortunes
      • … gain Surplus
      • …improve Defenses
      • … increase Population
      • … improve Prosperity
      • … unlock a steading improvement
      • … get some coin
      • … find new arcana
      • … unlock the mysteries of an arcanum
      • … recruit followers
  • Playbooks and Inserts
    • Playbooks
  • Running the Game
    • Your agenda
    • The core loop
      • 1) Establish the situation
      • 2) Make a soft GM move
      • 3) Ask "What do you do?"
      • 4) Resolve their actions
      • 5) Repeat
      • 1. Establish the situation
      • 2. Make a soft GM move
      • 3. "What do you do?"
      • 4. Resolve their action
      • 5. Repeat
    • The spotlight
    • Scenes and loose play
    • Your GM moves
      • Making Your Move
      • Examples of GM moves
      • ▸ Announce trouble (future or offscreen)
    • Dealing damage and inflicting debilities
      • Example of play
    • Your principles
    • The Line
    • Other things to do
      • What not to do
    • GMing is a practice
    • Prep
      • Hooks
      • NPCs
  • Player Moves
    • Basic Moves
    • Special Moves
    • Basic Moves
    • DEFY DANGER
    • AID
    • CLASH
    • DEFEND
    • INTERFERE
    • KNOW THINGS
    • LET FLY
    • PERSUADE (vs. NPCs)
    • PERSUADE (vs. PCs)
    • SEEK INSIGHT
    • Special moves
    • ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGE
    • BURN BRIGHTLY
    • END OF SESSION
    • DEATH'S DOOR
      • Other player moves
    • Custom moves
  • Harm and Healing
    • Hit points and damage
      • Taking damage
      • Regaining hit points
    • Debilities
      • Marking Debilities
      • Clearing debilities
      • NPCs, monsters, and debilities
    • Problematic wounds
      • Problematic wounds in play
    • Death and dying
    • DEATH'S DOOR
    • Healing and recovery
    • RECOVER
    • MAKE CAMP
    • CONVALESCE
  • First Adventure
    • Goals
      • Paint a picture of daily life
      • Explore relationships
      • Identify what's important to them
      • Push them into the field
      • Establish details, leave blanks
      • Play up both the mundane and the mysterious
      • Draw them back home
    • Structure
    • Background
      • Identify the central threat or opportunity
      • Write up your threat(s)
      • Refine your hook
    • Setup questions
      • Establish key details
      • Highlight setting elements
      • Foreshadow
      • Make things personal
    • Love letters
    • Setting the scene
    • Dropping the hook
      • Reactions
      • If they ignore the hook
    • Heading out
      • Preparations
      • Travel
      • Resolution
      • Aftermath
  • Threats
    • When to write up threats
      • After introductions
      • When Seasons Change
      • After a session
      • When preparing an adventure
    • Writing a threat
      • 1. Name & type
      • 2. Threat tracker Your GM playbook has three spreads for tracking threats:
      • 3. Instinct
      • 4. Description
      • 5. Impending doom
      • 6. Stakes (optional)
    • 7. GM moves (optional)
    • 8. Player moves (optional)
      • Example threats
      • CRINWIN (rabble)
    • THE MARSHEDGE COUNCIL
      • THE MINDGEM'S HEART
      • TRADE EMBARGO (affliction)
    • THE SHADOWY PRESENCE
    • Updating threats
  • Expeditions
    • Preparations
    • CHART A COURSE
    • OUTFIT
    • REQUISITION
      • Other preparations
      • Flashbacks
    • Running the journey
      • Legs of travel
      • Points of interest
      • Exploration moves
      • Resolving Chart a Course
      • Weather
      • Weather tables
    • Player moves
    • HAVE WHAT YOU NEED
    • RECOVER
    • STRUGGLE AS ONE
    • KEEP COMPANY
    • MAKE CAMP
    • FORAGE
    • Going home
      • The return journey
      • Arriving home
    • RETURN TRIUMPHANT
    • What if they… don't?
    • What to prep
  • Sites
    • Environmental storytelling
    • Running sites
      • Considerations
      • Exploring sites
      • GM exploration moves
    • Creating sites
      • 2) Build up its story
      • 1. Foundation
    • The Green Lord's Tomb
      • 2. Story
      • 3. Contents
      • DANGERS
      • DISCOVERIES
      • AREAS/ROOMS
      • ENVIRONMENT (OUTSIDE)
      • ENVIRONMENT (INSIDE)
    • OUTSIDE
    • INSIDE
      • 4. Write-up
    • The Green Lord's Tomb
      • As they approach
      • Exterior
      • Interior
      • Intact inner tomb
  • Dangers
    • Dangers vs. threats
    • Hazards
      • Improvising a hazard
      • Damage from hazards
      • Preparing hazards
      • Monster format
    • Monsters
      • Monster types
      • 1. Concept
      • 2. Name
      • 3. Tags
      • 4. Hit points
      • 5. Armor Answer the following:
      • 6. Damage
      • 7. Special qualities
      • 8. Instinct
      • 9. Moves
      • 10. Description
      • 11. Optional elements
    • Running combat
      • Introducing monsters
      • The flow of battle
      • Foes they can't hurt
    • Fighting spirits
      • Multiple combatants
    • Abstracting groups
      • Keeping fights interesting
  • Discoveries
    • Clues
      • Creating clues
      • Prepping clues
    • Sites
      • 2) Build up its story
    • Encounters
      • Building encounters
      • Running encounters
    • Opportunities
    • Artifacts
      • Placing artifacts
      • Identifying artifacts
      • Artifacts in play
      • Artifacts as threats
      • Selling artifacts
      • Buying artifacts
      • Creating artifacts
      • 1. Origin and theme
      • 2. Nature
      • 3. Form
      • 4. Synthesis
      • 5. Write-up
    • Tags and game elements
    • Arcana
      • Placing arcana
      • Identifying arcana
      • Unlocking arcana
      • Consequences
      • Sharing arcana
      • Creating minor arcana
      • Initial title
      • Tags and others elements
      • Brief description
      • Requirements
      • Unlocked title
      • Mysteries
      • Creating major arcana
      • Title, tags, and description
      • Starting moves
      • How it's unlocked
      • Mysteries
      • Consequences
      • Edit and revise
  • NPCs and Followers
    • NPCs
      • NPCs in play
      • Modes of portrayal
      • Dialogue scenes
      • Creating NPCs
      • 1. Name
      • 2. Concept
      • 3. Impressions
      • 4. Additional details
    • Followers
      • Follower moves
    • ORDER FOLLOWERS
    • STRENGTHEN YOUR BOND
      • Loyalty
      • Followers in play
      • The burden of leadership
      • Off-screen orders
      • Followers in fights
      • When followers Defend
      • Followers at 0 HP
      • Group followers
      • Creating followers
      • 1. Basics
    • 2. Tags
      • 3. Hit points
      • 4. Armor
    • 5. Damage Answer the following:
      • 6. Instinct
      • 7. Moves (optional)
      • 8. Cost
      • 9. Equipment
      • Updating followers
      • Losing followers
  • Homefront
    • Bringing the village to life
    • Running the homefront
      • Before the first adventure
    • Aftermath
      • 1. Determine what's happened
      • 2. Play out the return
      • 3. See what follows
      • Downtime
      • The next adventure
      • Crises
      • Spontaneous adventures
      • Prepared adventures
    • Homefront moves
    • The steading playbook
      • Fortunes
      • Surplus
      • Size
      • Population
      • Prosperity
      • Defenses
      • Debilities
      • Steading improvements
      • Assets
      • Residents & neighbors
    • Seasons Change
      • Making the move
      • Putting the results in play
    • SEASONS CHANGE EXAMPLES
    • Player moves
    • BOLSTER
    • CONVALESCE
    • DEPLOY
    • LEVEL UP
    • MAKE A PLAN
    • MEET WITH DISASTER
    • MUSTER
    • PULL TOGETHER
    • TRADE & BARTER
    • Value and coins
    • What to prep
  • Writing Moves and Love Letters
    • Writing moves
      • 1. Take stock
    • 2. Draft the trigger(s)
      • Do you need multiple triggers?
      • 3. Brainstorm results
      • 4. Decide how you'll pick between results
      • 5. If there's a roll, decide how it works
    • 6. Write a full draft
    • Hold and spend
    • 7. Review and revise Read your drafted move. Revise it. Make it better!
    • More examples
      • SCOUT AHEAD
    • BURGLE
    • Writing love letters
  • The Game Ongoing
    • Ending a session
      • Do the move
    • END OF SESSION
      • Handle logistics
      • Take notes
    • Between sessions
      • Reflection
      • Session recap(s)
      • Bookkeeping
      • Follow-ups
      • Prep
    • Check-ins
    • Starting a session
      • Logistics
      • Recap
      • Content guidelines
      • Highlighting
      • Bookkeeping
      • Starting moves, questions, love letters
      • Opening scene(s)
    • Pacing
      • Adventures vs. homefront
      • Increasing the pace
    • Advancement
      • Slowing the rate
      • Higher-level play
    • Retiring PCs
      • Becoming a threat
      • Retirement
      • Epilogues
    • New PCs
      • Creating the character
      • Introductions
      • Getting them involved
    • Conflict between PCs
      • Intractable differences
      • Open conflict
      • Descent into villainy
      • Regarding secrets
    • Time skips
      • Months, seasons, years
      • Up to a decade or two
      • Generations
    • Shake-ups
      • Option 1: End the game
      • Option 2: Pivot
    • Ending your game
      • Planning for the end
    • 1. Schedule a planning session
      • 2. Prepare
      • 3. Assemble the wishlist
      • Driving toward resolution
      • NICE TO HAVE
      • The final sessions
      • The end
    • DENOUEMENT
  • Inserts
    • Inventory
      • Undefined ◇◇◇ ◇◇◇ ◇◇◇
      • Possessions, items, loot
      • Small items
      • Prosperity
    • Animal Companion
      • Type
      • Instinct
      • Cost
      • Order followers
    • Crew
      • Tags
      • Instinct
      • Cost
      • Inventory
      • Individuals
      • Order followers
    • Initiates of Danu
    • Invocations
    • Followers
      • Player's Agenda
    • Ghost
      • Instinct
      • Moves
      • Terrible Purpose
      • Ghost · Consequences
    • Revenant
      • Instinct
      • Moves
      • Terrible Purpose (Revenant)
      • Revenant · Consequences
    • Thrall
      • Your master
      • Impulse
      • Instinct
      • Moves
      • Thrall · Marks
  • The Blessed
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Sacred pouch
    • The Earth Mother
    • Introductions
  • The Fox
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Tall tales
    • Introductions
  • The GM
  • The Heavy
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • A history of violence
    • Introductions
  • The Judge
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • The Chronicle
    • The Lawkeeper
    • Introductions
  • The Lightbearer
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Praise the day
    • Introductions
  • The Marshal
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • War stories
    • Introductions
  • The Ranger
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Something wicked this way comes
    • Introductions
  • The Seeker
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Collection
      • Major arcana
      • Minor arcana
    • Introductions
  • The Steading
    • Stonetop
      • Fortunes
      • Surplus
      • Size
      • Prosperity
      • Defenses
      • Debilities
    • Map and places of interest
    • Content
    • Steading Improvements
    • More Steading Improvements
    • Other Improvements
    • Assets
    • Residents of Stonetop
      • Names
      • NPC traits
    • Notable neighbors of Stonetop
    • Neighboring places
  • The Would-be Hero
    • Background
    • Instinct
    • Appearance
    • Place of origin and name
    • Stats
    • Moves
    • Special possessions
    • Advanced moves
    • Fear & anger
    • Introductions

Rules reference

Browse or search the Stonetop rules. Pick a chapter below, or open the contents. Every heading has its own page and a link you can share.

Book I: Stonetop

  • 1. Welcome to Stonetop
  • 2. Getting Started
  • 3. Playing the Game
  • 4. Playbooks and Inserts
  • 5. Running the Game
  • 6. Player Moves
  • 7. Harm and Healing
  • 8. First Adventure
  • 9. Threats
  • 10. Expeditions
  • 11. Sites
  • 12. Dangers
  • 13. Discoveries
  • 14. NPCs and Followers
  • 15. Homefront
  • 16. Writing Moves and Love Letters
  • 17. The Game Ongoing
  • Inserts
  • The Blessed
  • The Fox
  • The GM
  • The Heavy
  • The Judge
  • The Lightbearer
  • The Marshal
  • The Ranger
  • The Seeker
  • The Steading
  • The Would-be Hero

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