MUSTER

When a PC Musters the village, they're having everyone focus on defense and readiness. It means regular drills, armed watches at all hours, weapons at the ready even while working in the garden. It means putting other work and long-term projects on hold, which reduces the steading's Fortunes and gets people grumbling. A steading can't maintain a Muster for long.

Folks will gladly Muster in the face of a clear and present danger, like when they expect an attack or they plan to launch a raid themselves. But if the danger is unseen or theoretical, a Muster will take some convincing.

If the PCs Muster a hamlet, they roll with disadvantage. If they manage to Muster a town or city, they roll with advantage.

Whoever takes the lead, rolls the move. On a 7-9, they can confer with other players, but the final choice is theirs.

On a 7+, the steading is alert and ready, unlikely to be caught off-guard. Reflect this in the GM moves you make. For example: nailadd are prowling around Stonetop. If the village Musters, the spiders might not even attack. And if they do, you should have villagers spot them early or even repel them outright. But without a Muster, the spiders might be in the village before anyone notices.

Once established, a Muster lasts until the threat passes, the Seasons Change, or the PC in charge ceases to personally oversee it for more than a day or so. If the PCs want to go on an expedition and leave a Muster behind, they need to pick "The muster holds together even without your presence."

If "1 or 2 individuals show real potential," that could be a new NPC, someone we've never seen on screen but who has talents or qualities useful to the current situation. Or maybe an existing NPC steps up. If no one springs to mind, ask the player what they're hoping for. Then pick or create an NPC to fit the bill. For guidance, see "Creating NPCs" and "Creating followers".

On a 6-, look to your threats and to your homefront moves. You might oppose their wishes and have folks ignore the PC's orders, or start a conflict between two (armed) rivals in the village, or fast forward a few weeks and have a rabble overwhelm a position and come boiling out of the Wood one night, right past the watchtowers and the patrols.

The PCs are planning a trade mission to Gordin's Delve, but crinwin attacked just a few weeks ago and Rhianna and her crew have failed to hunt them down.

"We can't leave the village undefended," says Rhianna. "I step up drills, double up the watches, and I think I'll have an armed guard patrol every night while we're gone." I note that this sounds like a Muster. "Yup! And don't I have a special move for that?" She sure does; Logistics gives her advantage to Muster. "Can I also have my crew Aid? Like, have them patrol the Wood?"

"Uh, sure," I say. "But since you already have advantage, how about this: if you roll at least a 7, and pick 'the muster holds,' then the village will be safe from crinwin while you're gone." Rhianna likes the sound of that. She reduces the villages Fortunes to +0 and rolls +Population (+0) with advantage.

She gets a 10! She picks "the muster holds together even without your presence" (of course), and "1 or 2 individuals show real promise." She says she's looking for someone to run things in her absence, and maybe a new member for her crew.

I don't have anyone established in mind, so I look at the list of Stonetop names and say "Uh... let's say Andras catches your eye to replace good old Garet. And, oh, Elios. He's someone you can leave in charge while you're gone."

"We need to send out larger patrols," says Rhianna. "Keep the crinwin away from the village. Maybe find their nests, and burn them." I tell her that doing so will trigger Deploy, and she might need to convince a few folks to go along with it.

"Sure, that makes sense. And if we're going to Deploy, we should Muster first. Get that +1 to Defenses. I'll go around and talk to Elios, Eira and the crew, probably Fion. Ugh, Owain, too. I'll lay out the plan: start up drills again, and nighttime patrols, and in a couple weeks we can start patrolling the Wood."

I nod, and say that if she successfully Musters the village, she won't need to convince folks to Deploy. She reduces Fortunes to +0 and rolls to Muster with advantage (from Logistics). She gets an 8. "Well, the whole point is to get that +1 to Defenses, so I'll pick that one." And, yeah, I say that everyone she talks to is onboard, even Owain, and soon enough, they're ready to send out patrols.