Homefront

The homefront is what happens before, after, and between adventures. It's what happens in the village of Stonetop and its immediate surroundings. It's where you get to see the PCs living their lives, and the impact of the PCs' efforts.

Homefront play is often less focused and less intense than what happens while the PCs are on an expedition. You spend a lot more time in loose play, talking about what happens over days or weeks or months rather than what's happening right here and right now. And when you do zoom in on a homefront scene, the stakes are often quite small.

That's not to say the homefront doesn't matter. To the contrary, the homefront is the heart of the game. PCs in Stonetop undertake adventures on behalf of the village. They're protecting it from threats or securing resources for the folks who live there. The homefront provides context for everything the PCs do.

For the game to work, the players need to care about the village. Not just the PCs, the players. That means spending tabletime getting to know it, getting invested in it. Let the players help you shape the village. Work with them to bring it to life. Let them see how it changes with the passing of time. Show them how their decisions and actions matter, how they shape the village for better or for worse.