A starting adventure for #Stonetop!
Feedback greatly appreciated, especially on the framework and structure.
Originally shared by Jeremy Strandberg
Second stab at an adventure starter
The original version was (mostly) based on the classic Dungeon Starters, with questions and “love letter” moves that started the situation in the field, having already made it through the Great Wood and right to the crinwin’s doorstep. It asked a lot of questions about why they were out there and what they hoped to accomplish, but it basically meant that they spent a bunch of time building the town of Stonetop up and then not setting foot in it during play. At least, not in the first session.
Thinking about it, I realized that I never did that in my own games. In my own games, we start the first “adventure” session in town, reveal the problem, and then almost immediately launch into play. They’d Chart a Course (even if I hadn’t called it that), maybe recruit some followers/help, then Outfit for the adventure. We’d then deal travel at some level of abstraction, and then get to the destination and the “meat” of the adventure.
And I think that’s about right. A Stonetop adventure starter needs to start in town and let us see a slice of life. It should let us see who/what is important to the PCs and who/what the players are interested it. And then it should push them out into the field, with a mission in mind. It should give some guidance on how to handle the travel, and then give us something to work with: a map, blanks, discoveries, and dangers.
So… here’s what I’ve got. I’d really appreciate feedback on the format, level of detail, usefulness, etc.
All art should be considered placeholder.
I’d like to see more on the Crinwin; you’re stater is cresting a mystery of what these monsters are and you should provide the GM with some options or a sequel adventure. The setup is great but you’re world building is so elaborate I think you can provide GM with some help on the payoff.
Mark Tygart interesting! Can you unpack that a little? What sort of help would you be looking for?
A big part of what I’m trying to do with Stonetop is set up a bunch of tantalizing ideas and questions without actually providing any answers. Sort of “Draw Maps/Leave Blanks” and “Play to Find Out” writ large.
Why not add a list of options of what the Cerwin could be?
A. A human tribe cursed by evil Worm Warlock? Could the players restore them to humanity thus giving Stonetop a new ally? Could a player be descended from a still human part of the tribe to motivate them? Maybe even a relative of the shaman or chieftain?
A group of villagers cursed by their interactions with a weird Worm Mother monster that plans to devour Stonetop next? Can the players find the “Radigast” like sage who can tell them how to defeat the monster with rare “Worm bane fungus” and become a cool new patron? Did I mention that Worm bane Fungus only grows on the bodies of a hostile tribe of Myconids?
C. The Cerwin worms are a product of an evil group of slavers that plan to use it as a method of rendering the poor people of Stone top docile for shipment to the slave markets of the Argash Khanate. The players are approached by the slavers to do the dirty deed! The Cerwin were a “test group” that got out of hand but now the method is perfected….
Mark Tygart There are lots of questions in the starter for the players to answer about the nature of the crinwin. After those are all answered, I think any single “fundamental nature” suggestions in the starter would be unlikely to match. It’s probably better to leave it up to the group.
Jeremy Strandberg I really like the structure. Starting in Stonetop is definitely the right way to go – it’s not your classic Dungeon World session one starter, but it works for a game centred around a particular settlement, where the PCs grew up and still live.
The downside is that the second page is reminiscent of a linear sequence of encounters/events, but that makes sense if they’re Charting a Course. Also, there’s enough context and freedom in the details to adapt those as required to handle events if the players do the unexpected.
Robert Rendell I would normally agree, but Stonetop seems to be fundamentally a little different than Dungeon World, with Robert providing something more of a setting. The starters or really adventures would seem to me a good place to reinforce those themes. Of course GMs will always change things, but at least this helps establish what Stonetop is before you modify it.