Stonetop GM Notes

Posted in Tabletop on Adventure, Campaign
Stonetop GM Notes

This page is my attempt to offer a peek behind the GM screen of my ongoing Stonetop Campaign; a place for me to drop some insight, share my thoughts, and help process my prep. I have specifically NOT told my players about this, and will encourage them to avoid reading it.

  • If you’re looking for a review, there’s already a lot of buzz about Stonetop online; I highly recommend the 90-minute Quinn’s Quest Video Review.
  • If you are thinking about running Stonetop, I hope this offers a little glimpse into what it’s like to be a GM.
  • If you’re a player, this probably won’t spoil much. Each campaign of Stonetop is WILDLY different (by design).
  • If you’re one of MY players, this might ruin some of your fun. You’ve been warned.

Buy a Copy of Stonetop Here!

Reading The Rulebook(s)

My biggest criticism of Stonetop is that it’s hard to recommend, especially to myself. I tend to play shorter, weirder, smaller games. Partially because I get bored easily, partially because as a designer I want to try out as much as I can, but mostly because life is busy! It’s so hard to wrangle players (including myself) into a long-term regular RPG campaign. In over 15 years of tabletop sessions, only 3 games lasted longer than 6 months. And when we can all commit to a game, I’d rather play something simple, novel, and easy to learn in the short time we have together.

Stonetop, however, asks a lot out of the GM and the players. From the GM it asks you to read through 1200+ pages of rules, advice, examples, monsters, locations, lore, magic items, and more. Stonetop also has a very specific way it wants you to run the game: light on rules, but HEAVY on structure. From the players it asks them to be highly engaged, to lean on the fiction, and to resist the urge to abuse the light rules. And it also demands TIME from the whole group. This is a game that wants to be played every week for several months.

I backed the Kickstarter for this years ago, but as time went on I was more and more convinced this just wouldn’t be for me. I’ll let the PDFs simmer in storage and maybe steal some ideas here and there. However, after I saw the Quinn’s Quest Video Review and it re-ignited my imagination and my thirst for a long epic campaign.

If I can find the right group, the right time slot, and the right mindset, I think we can definitely make this work. And if we’re lucky, we’ll have created something beautiful and grand that we can treasure forever. I’m so happy to report that I found that group. I read the rules. I prepped the adventures. And we are almost ready to play!

But first we gotta talk about the 1200+ page elephant in the room. After my deep dive into zines and micro-games I find these big books hard to swallow. If a game can’t be explained in a few pages, then something’s gone amiss. I have no problem with Stonetop Book 2 being 600 pages of adventures, monsters, items, and locations. Bring it on! But 600+ pages of rules? Give me a break.

And the hard thing to explain is that, yes, you really should read the whole thing. I’ll come back to this point later, but it’s worth calling out here: The strength of Stonetop is its little details. If you are looking for something new, or innovative, or flashy, then Stonetop will probably disappoint. It’s fairly traditional fantasy stuff. But if you are willing to work for something of incredible quality, then you’ve come to the right place.

Reading Stonetop is like eating the best grilled cheese sandwhich you’ve ever had. Every element is divine, the ingredients combined and cooked to perfection, the presentation is luxurious, and all future grilled cheeses are ruined forever. But that kind of makes it hard to explain or justify to other people. “$100 for a grilled cheese? Really?” Yes.

You’ll see a chapter titled “Hit Points and Damage” and roll your eyes. Everyone knows how HP works. How is this chapter 15 pages long!? Then you read something like this:

HP are a game element: they don’t represent any one particular thing in the fiction. They’re a combination of fighting spirit, determination, pluck, luck, and skill; the ability to turn what should be a lethal blow into a graze. HP definitely are not a measure of how injured or uninjured a character is. Mechanically, HP serve as plot armor and as a pacing mechanism.

And you begin realize that this isn’t a rulebook. It’s a curriculum designed to teach you how to play Stonetop. Trust me, read the whole thing, ESPECIALLY the examples of play. Invest the time to question your assumptions. And try to learn what Stonetop is teaching you rather than trying to play it like any other RPG.

Prepping For the First Session

Stonetop has a fantastic guide for your first session. It walks you through the entire thing from start to finish. And I’m very grateful for that, because the first session is a bit of a puzzle.

See, Stonetop wants you to emphasize relationships and connections every session. Hilden isn’t just adventuring to get rich, she’s trying to prove to her father that she can lead the militia. And depending on how this goes it will affect her relationship with her father, her friends in the militia, and everyone in Stonetop who looks to her for leadership.

But you can’t emphasize relationships before they exist. So how the heck is your first adventure supposed to work? How can the GM prepare a tense standoff between Hilden and her bandit brother when the players haven’t created Hilden yet?

The answer is to prep everything halfway. Leave lots of blanks and unanswered questions. The book has you create a Threat, something that endangers the town. But the exact details of this threat are unknown, and there are lots of missing pieces. For example:

Wolves are scaring away game and making travel unsafe. A few have even approached the ringwall, their eyes glowing a faint purple. Obviously they were drawn here because–

STOP! don’t go any further. Just leave it there. Maybe give the wolves some details and a cool magic power or something. Write down some possibilities if you like, but leave it open so you can connect with what the players come up with during the first session.

Later, when Rynan admits he dabbled in necromancy before he accepted Danu’s Light, you can tie the wolves into a mistake from his past. These wolves are not only purple-eyed, but skeletal and rotten; obviously some kind of revived dead.

So here’s the initial Threat that I came up with for our first session: The Missing Caravan

The village is expecting the annual merchant caravan to arrive in early spring with supplies. Have a short scene where different members of Stonetop talk about what they want to buy, or what supplies they need. Then reveal that the caravan is a day late. Three days late. A week late. Tensions are rising, people are angry or worried. If those supplies don’t get here soon, it could be bad!

Later that night someone spots a massive bonfire off in the distance from the direction that the carvan was expected. Obviously its because—

NOPE! Stop there. I have a few possibilities of course, but nothing set in stone(top). A few ideas:

  • The Hillfolk raided the Caravan for supplies, and use a signal fire to begin negotiations.
  • The fire is from a big fight or disaster. The ruined caravan is scattered around with clues.
  • The Caravan lit the fire because they need help. Something is preventing them from getting to Stonetop.

We play our first session in a few days. I’ll see what the players come up with, and how I can tie everything together.

Read how Session 1 went in the Campaign Log!

Session Two Prep

The first session was AMAZING! My players immediately picked up on the themes and goals of Stonetop. We built out a bunch of awesome relationships and details of Stonetop that I can’t wait to explore.

I want to call out another example of Stonetop being excellent in the small things. During character creation each player can pick a few questions they want to answer in front of the whole group. And in any other game, this would just be a cute prompt for creativity or to keep the conversation flowing. But these questions act like a hand grenade tossed into a tea party.

To whom do you owe a debt that cannot be repaid?

Which one of you scoffs at mercy and hope?

Who is dead because of your decisions?

Why is the village so happy to see you? And who isn’t?

Whom do you secretly watch over? Why?

These were amazing, and really juiced up the entire session. It would have been so easy to make these questions something generic. “What’s your favorite food? What kind of magic do you prefer? Who is your best friend?” But instead, Stonetop is immediately pushing players to dig deeper, to think about their past and its consquences.

Part of the reason Stonetop is so massive is that it’s showing you the RIGHT way to play, rather than just explaining the rules.

Unfortunately we didn’t really come up with anything that connected to my Threat. We have two PCs who travel a lot (Stridelong and Zavia), so maybe they know something about it. We only had one NPC who could be considered a villain (Betrys), but maybe I want to keep her as a troublemaker rather than a real Threat.

I’m resisting the urge to plan everything else. I want to continue to leave blanks in my prep. So maybe I split this threat into parts:

  • Part 1: Caravan missing. Fire on the horizon. Many questions. - DONE
  • Part 2: Travel to the fire, overcome some known obstacles (animals, ghosts, etc).
  • Part 3: Meet with the Hollfolk, negotiate for supplies. Maybe fight alongside them?
  • Part 4: Return to Stonetop with supplies. Triumphant (hopefully).

And maybe drop some hints or clues about the fate of the caravan. What happened? Is it part of something larger? Leave that unanswered for now. Just focus on the supplies.

But the Hillfolk need to have a complete story ready to go. That’s not something I can make up as I go along. I really want the Hillfolk to be a potential ally, so I’ll have them be mysterious and strange, but not hostile. They found the caravan, realized the supplies were for Stonetop, and opened negotiations. They could have just kept the supplies, but instead opt for trade.

And now some kind of hint about what happened to the caravan. I’m leaning towards a “natural” disaster that raises questions. Like the carvan was struck by dozens of lighting bolts or something (burned wagons, charred remains, black scars on the grass, fulgerite everywhere). This could be connected to the Stone, or to Betry’s worship of Tor, or a weathermancer, or something else entirely. But lightning is already a theme of Stonetop, so that feels right.

I should have a few possibilities lined up, just in case I need to drop more hints or if the players try to Know Something. I search for “lightning” in Book 2 just to see what pops up.

  • Thunder Drake - A big lizard/dinosaur thing that bursts from the ground and bellows. This is a great option if I want to wrap up the thread and have it be a little more mundane. Maybe they don’t even fight it; it’s just a warning that dangerous creatures are about. The Hillfolk could even say it, ending the quest there. “Definitely a ThunderDrake” they say knowingly.
  • The Ruined Tower - Lots of fun stuff to do here and explore. The Caravan was waylaid during a big thunderstorm. Not a bad idea to drive players here. Or at least hint at it.
  • Lightning Vortex - A spirit of the Tempest Lords. This could be a great boss-creature or something controlled by a larger threat.

Ooh! Okay, what if we have the best of both worlds: The Hillfolk assume it was a Thunder Drake (since they know of them). But they’ll also share they found the Caravan near the Ruined Tower, hinting at something more. And the Hillfolk gave them an air-burial, so maybe the players could stop by on the way home and get a little more info.

Maybe Betrys is messing around in the Ruined Tower? Maybe it’s an old Tempest Lord awakening? Or a Vortex gone rogue? I’ll continue to leave these as blanks. We have enough for the next session. I’ll take some notes, come up with a few small obstacles and encounters during the journey, and we’ll see how it goes!

I also whipped up a new Arcana for Zavia, who is a fan of shrooms (and it’s another excuse to use Fungi of the Far Realms)

images\posts\spiky-wooden-ring-minor-arcanum.png

generated with stonetop.price.town

\images\posts\fungi_stonetop.jpg

I’ll take any excuse to give my players a copy of Fungi of the Far Realms!

Session 2 Love Letters

Another fun part of Stonetop is the advice about “Love Letters”. The GM is encouraged to write these to players each session. It’s a fun solo mini-game that also gives the GM a chance to direct or provide opportunities to each PC.

Here’s my first attempt at Love Letters:

Dear Stridelong,

You spent much of the journey to Titan Bones scouting alone, away from the group. At one point you saw some ruins. Tell who you almost asked for help, but then decided to go alone. Roll+WIS.

On a 10+ Pick 2; On a 7-9 Pick 1

  • You find a piece of Makerglass in an overgrown patch of ruins.
  • You avoid getting swiped by a nearby Beznpol for 2d4 damage (Big Badger/Pangolin).
  • You are back before anyone notices.

On a 6- Mark XP and someone has to rescue you.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Taliesyn,

You were up late studying one of your Arcana, trying to unlock its secrets, when someone barged in to tell you about the impending journey to Titan Bones. Who barged in? Roll+CHA.

On a 10+ choose 2; On a 7-9 choose 1

  • Make progress on understanding the Arcana (check the box that makes most sense after hours of study)
  • Keep your research a secret from the person
  • Cause a scene that ensures no one will interrupt you again

On a 6- You reveal a concerning detail about the arcana to the person who interrupted you. Mark XP.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Little Owl,

Instead of announcing your intention to join the journey to Titan Bones, you decide to follow surreptitiously. Why?

While everyone else is getting ready you notice that youngster Bronwin is also packing a travel bag. Perhaps he means to come with? Decide whether you will help him tag along, or try to dissuade him from coming. Roll+CHA

On a 10+ you succeed in your plan and manage to finish packing your own bags as well.

On a 7-9 You succeed, but only manage to pack a light load (mark 3)

On a 6- You get hung up talking with him and have to borrow equipment from others. Mark XP.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Madoc,

While getting ready for the trip someone approaches you, excited for your potential. They want to give you some advice that seems…unfounded. When you try to handle them with grace, Roll+WIS

On a 10+ You realize that some part of this is useful. Gain Advantage on the next roll you make during your journey. They leave satisfied.

On a 7-9 You manage to be polite. They walk away seeing themselves as a kind of mentor and will be back to give more advice.

On a 6- They are upset and storm off. Mark XP.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Zavia,

You spent last night with Sorsha, and had a lovely evening. As you leave you discovered that Sorsha left their forge aglow. Why did she ask you to NEVER touch her forge again?

If you spend a few hours entranced by the glowing embers Roll+WIS to commune with Helior:

On a 10+ Choose 2; On a 7-9 Choose 1; On a 6- Sorsha comes out and is embarassed that they left the forge alight. They accuse you of messing with it. Mark XP, and you left something behind at their place.

  • You feel filled with a protective light. Gain +1 Armor during the trip to Titan Bones.
  • You douse the forge without alerting Sorsha.
  • The receive a vision or portent of a future danger.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Railan,

As you pack for your trip, one of your crew insists on going with you, despite your orders. They have a good reason, honestly. Who is it, and what is their reason?

If you decide to bring them with you, write down their name and keep them as a follower for the journey to Titan Bones. Someone in town will use this against you as an example of poor/sloppy leadership.

If you insist they follow your orders, roll+CHA:

On a 10+ They are convinced, and hand you their lucky charm. “If I can’t go with you, at least take this, sir. It’s never failed me.” While you wear this charm you have +5 Max HP.

On a 7-9 They follow your orders, but you must choose 1 consequence.

  • They cause a big scene (causing worry/fear in the village)
  • You have to call in Aaron for backup (eroding his respect for you)
  • The disagreement becomes physical (both take d6 damage and a bloody nose). How embarrassing!

On a 6- They leave the Crew temporarily, and must be won back.

xoxo - Your GM

/images/posts/stonetop-letters.jpg

Read how Session 2 went in the Campaign Log!

Session 3 Prep

Time to return to Stonetop! The book recommends you speed through the return to Stonetop and start next session in a new season. But our session had a good conclusion, and I want to give the return a little space to breathe.

We don’t want to linger around Stonetop for too long; we need to keep the adventure pace moving. For Session 3 I’m thinking we try a pace like this:

  • Return to Stonetop - 30 mins
  • Level up if they can - 20 minutes explanation.
  • Timejump to Summertime - 30 mins, play a scene of each PC.
  • Drop the next adventure hook - 60 minutes
  • Outfit, Pack up, and leave Stonetop - 30 minutes

(Remember to have Talisyn and Zavia play a scene during their time gone)

So by the end of this session we are well on our way to the next adventure.

A few threads I want to pull on this session:

  • Betrys has been the only “villain” established so far. I want to create a few more in town. Maybe Emmet is concerned about Arcana use, and Gretchen is upset with Railan (talks to Aaron?).
  • Did Madoc fulfill a prophecy? I think we need to start outlining some specifics around her potential.
  • What about those boxes for Gordin’s Delve?
  • Will they visit the Caravan remains near the Ruined Tower?

Hmmm….I spent some time reviewing the items that they’re bringing back, and the one that stands out is the Bleached Book. I’m going to say it’s the “Vellum Scroll” (Arcana #45) just in a slightly different form. And someone steals it. This will be my first threat writeup. A Threat is something that grows over time and can cause trouble if not dealt with. The book has a lot of good advice about designing and weaving threats into your game.

In particular I want to design threats that engage specific PCs.

Threat: Bleached Book (Taliesyn, Zavia)

Instinct: To experiment dangerously

Type: MacGuffin

Someone has stolen the bleached book (Arcana #45) and has started trying to learn its secrets. How come Taliesyn can’t sense it? Do people suspect someone? What does the person want to acquire?

  • Notes in a strange language written in blood are found
  • Candles and chanting seen on the edge of town. Snuffed out quickly
  • A trip to the Ruined Tower, brings back an “ingredient”
  • Lightning stops striking the Stone, and strikes the Old Wall instead
  • A big wish is granted; something bad
  • 2d4 Surplus is lost

Threat: Tor’s Militia (Railan, Madoc?)

Instinct: To recruit

Type: Institution

Betrys is recruiting her own militia in the service of Tor. What is their larger mission? How will this impact Railan’s militia?

  • Betry’s undermines and criticizes Railan
  • Gretchen leaves Railan’s crew
  • Make promises about expanding the village, growing it. “retrieval missions” that are basically raids.
  • Angry Hillfolk want repayment
  • Hillfolk want revenge
  • Hillfolk attack village! (maybe we need Tor’s Militia help?)

Threat: Daub’s Dogs (Stridelong, Little Owl)

Instinct: To Grow Out of Control

Type: Beast

Daub made a deal with a Fomoraij to make his dogs stronger. The Fomoraij is binding spirits to them, and Daub may lose control. Which Fomoraij? What is the price for this?

  • Daub’s dogs find Stridelong, act strange.
  • Daub’s dogs won’t stop barking
  • Daub brings home a big kill, the town loves it.
  • Dogs start to look strange (scales, silver eyes, etc)
  • Villager attacked by a wolf (one of Daub’s)
  • Daub reluctantly enlists help to put down his worst dog
  • The remaining dogs get loose and go on a rampage

I also met with a few of my players to discuss some wishlist items! I’ll keep these in mind as we play.

Taliesyn Wishlist

  • Wants Arcana that can help the town. Willing to take risks for it.
  • Keep his Arcana a secret; don’t want to spook people
  • If someone else is using Arcana, he would be worried
  • Loves to decipher languages and runes
  • Keep romance with Rachel a slow burn

Madoc Wishlist

  • Wants specific prophecies that she can engage with or reject
  • More Jeb and Jag development. They’re fun!
  • Mother is from Gordin’s Delve. Is this a secret?
  • More chances to take charge, accomplish something great

Now to write all this down in my notes, do a little more reading, and see how things go!

Read how Session 3 went in the Campaign Log!

Session 4 Prep

I’m realizing as these sessions go on, the more the game kind of runs itself, and these notes will get shorter and shorter. This is for a few reasons:

  • Large Cast. We have built a cast of NPCs for Stonetop that can’t grow too large. Instead of inventing new NPCs every session, instead I get to dig deeper into each one. How will Emmet deal with his suspicions of Taliesyn? Sorsha loves Zavia, but at what cost?
  • Threats. I realized last week that the Myths from Mythic Bastionland are just Threats chopped into pieces and mixed around. Anyway, they can be a bit of a drain to create up front, but then they just kind of run themselves? In between sessions you advance you threats, give some clues to the players, and let things accelerate naturally.
  • Player Driven. More-so than most of the games I’ve played Stonetop is directed by the players. Sure I could throw stuff at the town and make them go on adventures, but due to the above elements things end up naturally engaging the players. We had a 40 minute stretch that was just my players asking if they could add this wrinkle or that problem to the world. No other game has shared the burden of creativity as much as Stonetop!

With that being said, I have a few things I am excited to brainstorm for this session:

  1. Advance my threats: Daub’s dogs, Tor’s Militia, and the Bleached Book
  2. Gordin’s Delve. The players want to deliver the boxes back to Gordin’s Delve, and maybe secure some trade opportunities as winter looms. I need to prep some encounters for the trip.
  3. Fill in gaps. We had two players miss last session, and will have two different players missing this session. I need to prep some letters and some scenes for them to play out.

First, let’s advance our existing threats:

  • Daub’s Dogs. I need to mention them howling and have one of the villagers mention it to the players.
  • Tor’s Militia. It needs a few recruits among the named NPCs. Gretchen and Betrys for sure…but one more. Maybe Jag? He’s not happy as a Tanner. Maybe he wants to do something else. Let’s have them all wearing a uniform. And if the players investigate, they just say “It’s for Tor”.
  • Bleached Book. The players stumble across evidence of a ritual maybe 45 minutes outside of town. Evidence of a blood ritual and blood candles.

I’ll try to introduce these gradually during the session.

Next, Gordin’s Delve. Coming up with a few encounters along the way is easy, so we’ll do that first. Book II is filled with so many amazing creatures, relics, threats, and ideas that it’s like choosing from a menu. Let’s see…

  • A curious rain spirit clings to a PC, and tries to get something wet that shouldn’t get wet.
  • A burrow tomb is actually a Shellback Drake. Maybe they’ll plunder it?
  • A piece of the ruined tower, smoking from a lightning strike. Atherium ingot?
  • The Pale Hunter pursuing a —

Just got a genius idea. What if the Pale Hunter corrupts Daub’s Dogs? Or even makes a bargain with Daub? Or something….yes. This is way cooler than a Fomoraij. I’ll tweak the threat later, but for now let’s introduce the Pale Hunter.

  • The Pale Hunter pursuing a terrible ghost. PCs hear the clashing, and see flashes of ghstly light. It manifests as a large snake made of green smoke. The Hunter is everywhere, slashing, attacking, and throwing magic. One of his dogs is crushed.

And maybe I’ll write down a few questions to ask the players about the Flats and weather as they travel.

As for Gordin’s Delve itself…I want things to be focused but not limited. I don’t want my PCs wandering around the markets shopping for 3 hours. I also want to have some kind of twist that gets the PCs wrapped up.

So for pacing:

  • 30-45 mins of hinting at threats, prepping to leave
  • 60-90 mins of travel and encounters. Pale Hunter especially.
  • 30 mins Arrive at Gordin’s Delve. Try to drop the big twist right at the end of the session.

As for the twist itself, here’s what I’m thinking: Odo Thriceborn is trying to make the most of a power vacuum, but he needs more of an edge. He reached out to several Hillfolk bands trying to negotiate for mining rights. Obviously most of the Hillfolk rejected him, but Kiln of the Lower Green Moon might have been curious. So Thriceborn sent the supplies as a gift/bribe/threat. Even if Kiln wanted to accept, she couldn’t without causing a stir. So instead she tries to pass the problem off to Stonetop, and throws the boxes in with the Carvan they found. Meanwhile Thriceborn knows his offer has been rejected, and is pissed. Who are these savages to defy him?

So he’s going to offer the Stonetoppers to deliver a message to the Hillfolk, or maybe offer them a chance to help him. That’s when we end the session. Big reveal, an offer, implied threat, etc.

If they reach Gordin’s Delve with lots of time left, then we can do some shopping and exploring; but I really want to get to the meat of this to end with a cliffhanger. Maybe Madoc’s mother can give some useful information that gets them to Thriceborn quickly.

Let’s see if I can pull it off! Tune in next week to see how things went.

Oh! Letters. Right. Zavia and Taliesyn were working on the secrets of the wooden spiky ring. We can play through that. Maybe they even find evidence of rituals happening, and we can skip that on the journey to Gordin’s Delve. I’ll come up with a move for them both.

Session 4 Letters

Dear Zavia,

When you returned from Titan Bones, Sorsha blames you for leaving the forge lit. “Maybe you shouldn’t spend the night here until the weather cools down…” Later, she wanted to open the Gordin’s Delve crates. Did you agree? Was there a fight about it between you two?

One of the requirements for the Spiky Wooden Ring is to find someone with “Forest Eyes”. Who in the village inherited this from a mysterious parent? What did you offer in exchange for their help?

When you pierce your skin with the Spiky Ring, roll+CON

On a 10+ the spikes slide under your skin as if they were always there. The resulting infection is minimal, letting you have enough energy to help Taliesyn with some of his Arcana research. To cure it will only require a rare mushroom and a forge-hot ember.

On a 7-9 The spike hurts, of course, but the real misery comes from the infection. You’re bedridden, exhausted, and relient on others to find the cure. What do you owe them for bringing you the ingredients you need?

On a 6- As 7-9 above, but Taliesyn is also infected. His own efforts are hindered and he will owe someone for the cure ingredients. He chooses 1 less option from his own letter.

xoxo - Your GM

Dear Taliesyn,

The Bleached Book is missing. Shit. Shit. It’s fine.

Choose 2 from the list below. If you share everything with Zavia, she can choose one more option from the list below.

  • Make Progress on one of your Arcana, whichever makes the most sense.
  • Find evidence of a strange ritual. Are those….blood candles?
  • No one else finds evidence of this strange Aracana ritual.
  • Convince several villagers that your Aracana could help the village. They may want more proof…but they’re open to the idea.

xoxo - Your GM

Read how Session 4 went in the Campaign Log!

Session 5 Prep

Well that was unexpected. By this point the players are so invested in their characters and in the setting that they are driving the main action themselves. I think if I let them they could play three more sessions just advancing character arcs and meeting new people.

Not to mention that the Pale Hunter was meant to be a quick side encounter, not something they spend an hour navigating. Not to mention further that Madoc had a massive character arc AND got a new pet!

While this was a great session and a testament to Stonetop’s engaging gameplay, it also means I need to prep for Gordin’s Delve without any idea of how things will go. I imagine the first hour will be dropping that big twist I talked about during my session 4 prep. But then what?

I guess I can prep a few random encounters, just in case I need them. And I can prep for the inevitable shopping trip. But mostly I’ll be winging it depending on how the PCs react to Thriceborn’s “offer”.

oh! And I need to make a new threat for Taliesyn’s failed Invocation of Soil. These zombie things can be a fantastic growing threat.

Threat: Thirsty Redeads

Instinct: To Drink (Blood)

Type: Rabble

  • A small group (6) approach from beyond the Old Wall and start tearing it down. They are strong.
  • Dead animals found drained of blood.
  • Big section of the wall is torn down, stones cracked.
  • Small group (12) crawl out of the ground in the fields.
  • Large group (30) crawl out of center of town.
  • Attack Stonetop en masse.

Slow but strong zombies. They are gross and pop up out of the soil! Something about the Old Wall prevents them. They need to destroy it. Rebuilding the Old Wall will delay them.

Session 6 Prep

I have absolutely NO time this week. I’ll just have to rely on my existing threats and advance them. Then we’ll do a seasonal jump.

I do need to make a NEW threat:

Threat: Thriceborn Mining

Instinct: To Invade Stonetop

Type: Villain

  • Make a gift to Stonetop, ask them to deliver a message
  • Station one or two agents in Stonetop. (Otho is an agent)
  • Another agent comes bearing gifts. Stays in town.
  • Station troops at Ruined Tower (things go wrong?)
  • Send wounded troops to Stonetop. Troops stay.
  • Station more troops.
  • Conduct raids from Stonetop
  • Turn Stonetop into a battlefront against the Hillfolk

This might turn into a Ruined Tower threat if they awaken something!

Here’s how I want to advance all my threats this session:

  • Thirsty Redeads: Attacked the Old Wall, injured some, scared everyone. That already happened.
  • Bleached Book: Jag left after the attack, desperate for a weapon to use against them. Found some Aetherium from the Ruined Tower to super-charge the Old Wall. (that’s his wish)
  • Daub’s Dogs: Helped with village defense. They are HUGE. Town loves them.
  • Tor’s Militia: Gretchen helps with defense. Betrys promises blessings.
  • Thriceborn Mining: Otho confesses that he was commanded to write reports back to Thriceborn. He just wants his son to be safe.

So general outline for tomorrow:

  • Stonetoppers accept the gifts/threats from Thriceborn.
  • Otho goes home with them + his son. He tells some of his past, and warns them about Thriceborn.
  • They bump into Jag returning from the Ruined Tower (secretly with the Bleached Book). He is vague about his errand. He excitedly tells them about Tor’s Militia and the redeads. “I think Tor’s militia can really help us. And I want to help them!”

6 redeads were dismantling part of the Old Wall. The resistance was futile. Two watchmen were killed trying to stop them. One militia crew was badly injured (Aaron?), one of Daub’s dogs was killed (they are HUGE now). only 3 redeads were killed. Until Gretchen charged in with lightning punches! She slew the other 3 by herself. Proudly proclaimed that Betrys had given her Tor’s blessing, and anyone who pledged to Tor could have the same. People are afraid, and some are excited.

  • They arrive and deal with Betrys and Gretchen shaming them. Tor’s Militia has people riled up. Aaron is hopeless and depressed.
  • Excited about the Surplus from Gordin’s Delve.
  • Otho confesses his secret purpose. But leave hints, make someone convince him to talk.
  • Daub is sleepless. Training his dogs harder than ever; gets Railan and Stridelong to help.
  • Betrys tries to recruit Little Owl and Zavia.
  • Jag and Jeb talk to Madoc about Militia.
  • Jump to next season. Play out some scenes.
  • Start the next season with more threats.

Session 7 Prep

I’ve been busy travelling and dealing with work stuff, so the past 2 sessions I haven’t written up my campaign log or had as detailed notes as before. WHOOPS! Hopefully I can catch up this weekend.

This session will be mostly focused on a time jump to next season: FALL! I also want to set up a big threat that Stonetop needs to prepare for. Let’s review our threats and tie them in together:

  • Thirsty Redeads: They are going to attack in this session. Lots of em.
  • Bleached Book: Jag and Taliesyn agreed to work on the Bleached Book Arcana. Jag’s wish is to grow the Old Wall, which will draw lightning and be dangerous.
  • Daub’s Dogs: Stridelong agreed to train them. Have the Pale Hunter show up. Pale Hunter wants the dogs. Has been visiting Daub in his dreams to make the deal.
  • Tor’s Militia: Who is the next to get Tor’s Blessing? Maybe 3-4 people all ready to fight. Very useful in the defense.
  • Thriceborn Mining: Darya from Gordin’s Delve arrives to “catalogue Resources” and perform a census. Brings 3 heavily armed fighters who want lodging in Stonetop. Help with defense.

What’s interesting is that we actually have a lot of resources for defending the town! But each one brings a steep cost:

  • Keep the dogs from the Pale Hunter for a cost.
  • Get Tor’s Blessing. Little Owl?
  • Bleached Book Wish makes the town border dangerous to everyone
  • Soldiers from Gordin’s Delve will mean more favors to Thriceborn
  • Normal town defenses cost resources and time

We’re bringing a lot of threats to a head; I think that’s so valid. After the big redead attack I imagine a lot of things will be different, with new threats.

Pacing-wise I think I want to play through Fall, have the PCs make some big decisions about the threats and defenses. Give them a hint that the redeads are coming. But end the game JUST before they attack the town. Fun cliffhanger and time to play through some scenarios. With that being the case, let’s see if we can prep a few scenes in advance and play through them as we go. Some are just story filler, and some are making big decisions for the defense.

  • Have a funeral for those lost in the first redead attack. Buried in fields? Stream? Who was lost? Pick one from our list of named NPCs. Roll?
  • Betrys approaches Little Owl asking if he wants Tor’s Blessing. (Make this a letter)
  • Sorsha begins to use the tools to fashion strong weapons and armor. And more Tor pendents. Has a tough conversation with Zavia about making the forge hotter. (Make this a letter)
  • Taliesyn and Jag try the Bleached Book ritual. Secret ingedient is aetherium from Ruined Tower. Someone else finds out when Jag lets it slip.
  • Stridelong, Madoc, and Daub train the dogs. Daub shares about his dreams of Pale Hunter. One goes feral, roll to control or subdue it. Pale Hunter shows up in their dreams later.
  • Madoc intercepts Darya + soldiers who want to stay and “catalog inventory”; deals with panicked mother (Mady). Father wants them gone, they upset Mady. Betrys also wants them gone.
  • Railan and Kiera help Aaron recover. Deals with Betrys question to blend militia.
  • Railan’s militia see shapes wandering out in the plains. Redeads? Sorsha offers weapons.
  • Stridelong and Taliesyn have to hunt down their mushroom garden. Roll up some cool shrooms. The walking mushrooms are missing…they are found on someone sleeping (trying to clone?)

I think that’s enough seeds to keep us busy for the next session. We’ll see how things lead up to the big assault!

Dear Zavia,

You’ve fully moved into Sorsha’s spare room. What’s something that just wouldn’t fit and you had to get rid of it? In addition to growing closer to Sorsha, you also get to spend more time contemplating the light of the forge. It makes it easier to let go of your fears and embrace this….home.

After a familiar spat between you and Sorsha she sighs and changes the subject. “Thank you for the tools from Gordin’s Delve. But in order to take advantage of these I need a hotter forge. Can you convince Helior to lend us their flames?”

When you convince Helior to lend their flames, roll + WIS:

On a 10+ the forge roars hotter than ever, perfect for smelting a few steel spearheads or a piece of steel armor (who gets it?).

On a 7-9 the forge roars, but choose 1:

  • You have to stay up late to tend it. Mark Exhausted until the forge is dismantled.
  • The fires crack the forge. It will break at the end of Fall.
  • Sorsha suffers a terrible burn.

On a 6- the forge fails, but you must still choose one option from above.

XOXO - Your GM

Session 8 Prep

This is the big one. A ton of redeads are going to assault the village. People will die. Walls will be broken. Shields shall be shattered.

I’m nervous about running such a big event with Stonetop, which is so good at small conversations and focused scenes. A big battle feels out of scope. My fear is that this will feel like a little skirmish, but that’s already happened.

My original plan was to have a bunch of phases of the battle, and during each phase the PCs make a move or play out a scene. Thanks to @thestoryteller and @wishingonawendy on the Stonetop discord for all their helpful suggestions!

They convinced me to simplify things a little and rely more heavily on the existing tools and moves of Stonetop. So instead I’m going to make a list of suggested scenes, and review how the game would handle this.

Also I will have a chat with my players and discuss the pacing with them. Have half of the session be the actual battle, and the rest be dealing with the fallout.

OH! And first I’ll send Stridelong a letter for last week:

Dear Stridelong,

As summer gave way to fall you spent your time in the usual ways: wandering the edge of the woods, scouting for dangers, and tending to your mushroom garden. One person kept seeking you out, who and why?

Whenever you entered the village more people were happy to see you. What’s a false rumor that is spreading around the village thanks to your recent exploits?

Additionally you’ve been training with Daub and his dogs,, and Mistic, preparing for whatever threats may come.

When you try to train the dogs, roll +WIS. On a 10+ choose 3, 7-9 choose 1. If Madoc helps, choose one more option, but Madoc marks a Debility.

  • You are not injured
  • The dogs learn to follow Daub’s commands
  • The dogs learn to follow YOUR commands
  • The dogs are capable of fighting among groups rather than simply hunting
  • The dogs follow Mistic’s leadership

On a 6- the pack’s training draws unwanted attention…

- X0X0, Your GM

Anyway, back to the moves that Stonetop has already:

BOLSTER - I don’t think this applies. The PCs made several village upgrades during the jump to Fall, so we’re going to have the attack happen quickly. No need to prepare more.

MUSTER - I think we’ll start with this. Describe some rumblings near the Old Wall, maybe a scout gives a report that “They’re back!!”. Then we Muster.

I’ll go around the table and ask everyone what that looks like, along with general questions.

  • Stonetop has 10 Militia, 10 Hunters, 75 Farmers, and maybe 100 other untrained adults. The rest of the 300 are too old or too young to make any difference in a fight. Who is determined to fight despite being too young/too old?
  • Where do we keep the non-combatants?
  • How will Railan and Betrys handle command?
  • Daub and his Dogs are doing what? Stridelong there? Madoc?
  • Where is everyone? How are they preparing?
  • Kiera is organizing medics. Where will the wounded be taken? Zavia/Stridelong/Little Owl, any medicinal shrooms? (roll for the shroom harvest)
  • Taliesyn do you want people about the Old Wall? What’s the advice?
  • Zavia, do you light the signal for the Hillfolk? You promised to light it when Thriceborn is vulnerable, but you might need their help anyway…

I’ll set the stage with a quick description of how things start. The redeads are emerging from the ground and walking towards the Old Wall. They start smashing it and taking stones apart. Lightning strikes a few times, killing some redeads, but there are at least 40 more. The redeads only attack Stonetoppers if threatened, otherwise they mostly focus on the Old Wall.

Ask Railan if he sounds the attack, or convinces them to wait, or what.

DEPLOY - We’ll roll this next when the battle starts in earnest.

After that, I’ll go around the table and give each PC a hard choice or difficult situation:

  • Taliesyn: The Old Wall is crackling with electricity. Lightning strikes it regularly, charring redeads and burning defenders who get too close. A gale starts to whip up and a small fire starts to grow out in the fields. What do you do?
  • Zavia: Sorsha is running repairing bits or armor or handing out batches of arrows. 4 redeads break off from the group and charge in that direction. What do you do?
  • Stridelong: You see Daub trying to order his dogs to distract a group of redeads from swarming the Ringwall. But he can’t see that there are 3 more coming from the other direction. What do you do?
  • Madoc: Mistic has not left your side during the battle. All of a sudden she darts off back towards the village. What do you do? (Mistic sees one redead sneak past)
  • Little Owl: A redead pulls a log from the Ringwall and pins two defenders with it. The redead leaves it there and goes back to dismantling the Ringwall. Do you fight it off? Or help the pinned defenders?
  • Railan: Aaron limps up to you, his husband helping carry his weapons. Aaron asks you for orders, while his husband just looks afraid. The redeads are grouping together for a final rush.
  • Anyone: One of Tor’s Militia has just slain 3 redeads when they clutch their heads as if in terrible pain. They release a terrible scream, like a cyclone. The smell of ozone builds, and your hair stands on end. Something terible is building. What do you do?

And then play out one or two more scenes. Lastly, I’ll describe the aftermath! And maybe use the MEET WITH DISASTER roll.

I’ll be taking close notes of each scene; hopefully I can improvise some engaging aftermath and cleanup. I feel good about this! Next week I’ll have to update a BUNCH of my threats. Some aftermath ideas:

  • Pick one person from the NPC list. They died defending the village.
  • Some buildings were destroyed by fire. Whose houses?
  • How much food was lost?
  • Fields were trampled, crops ruined.
  • The Old Wall was damaged, piles of charred stone. Lightning continues to strike.

Session 9 Prep

The battle went really well! Glad I didn’t have to make a bunch of new stuff to handle it.

This week’s session is gonna be a little shorter than most, so I’m going to be focused wholly on setup. I polled my players and they are interested in:

  • Exploring the forest to find out what happened to the Forest Folk. We also broke the pact, so this could be interesting.
  • Learning more about the history of Stonetop. I am thinking we learn about an Underbeast locked away in the Cistern. The Ring Wall and the Stone power the prison that keeps it there.

Let’s do a quick update of threats:

  • Thirsty Redeads: Resolved! The hordes were defeated.
  • Bleached Book: Resolved! Jag and some friends are actually excited to learn from Taliesyn.
  • Daub’s Dogs: Last step is for the Pale Hunter to show up. Maybe they’ll be willing to give up the dogs? This could be resolved quickly unless I tie it into the Forest Folk.
  • Tor’s Militia: Kind of resolved. I feel like Tor is running this place now. We’ll ask Railan what he wants to do.
  • Thriceborn Mining: Next step is to have a bunch of injured Thriceborn mercenaries show up after a fight with the Hillfolk. Will Stonetop turn them away?

Eventually I’ll want to make two new threats, but I don’t think I have all the info I want. So here are two half-finished threats:

Threat: Cistern Underbeast

Instinct: To escape / To destroy

Type: Magical Entity

The cage housing this thing is starting to break down. Lightning doesn’t strike the stone any more, and the Old Wall is in shambles.

  • Earthquakes coming from below
  • Visions of something crawling under Stonetop
  • Smaller Underbeasts emerge from the Cistern (vulnerable to lightning)
  • Earthquakes get worse, topple the Stone
  • The Underbeast escapes, Stonetop is destroyed, the world is doomed

Tie it in with the Ruined Tower, maybe they are connected underground?

Threat: Fae Wardens

Instinct: To contain at any cost

Type: Institution

The Fae have felt the rumblings of the earth. They threaten to destroy Stonetop, and need to add Wards and protections to contain The Underbeast.

  • Earthquakes alert the Fae
  • Pale Hunter arrives, gives warning. Pact is broken.
  • A Warden arrives, warns Stonetop to evacuate
  • A bunch of Wardens drive everyone out

These two feel connected, but maybe not linked? One could happen without the other, and it should drive some conflict over Stonetop. I’ll flesh it out more after this next session.

General Pacing:

  • Funeral for the fallen (Daub, a few others)
  • Cleanup in the fields
  • How to dispose of bodies?
  • Jump to next season, Winter
  • Play out some scenes of normalcy returning
  • Pale Hunter arrives, has taken control of Daub’s Dogs. Offers a warning in return: The Wardens are awake
  • Earthquake, and the Stone falls over. BIG MYSTERY!!