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.