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His Majesty the Worm
Stonetop
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THE SHADOWY PRESENCE
Stonetop rules
Include Book II — setting spoilers
What’s this?
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
Book I: Stonetop
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Threats
THE SHADOWY PRESENCE
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