LITM solo oracles example scene 6

 Context: Rags engineered time with Hera and told a prophetic story in which she became a great hero.

Unfortunately Justine heard the story as well and was not happy about it. Before they could resolve the situation however A cry of alarm drew them to a field where Hera defeated a wolf that was preying on the Hamlet.

Justine is very unhappy about the situation.

Goal: Rags wants Hera to leave the Hamlet and fulfill her destiny.

Conflict: It feels like things have reached a natural conclusion. Rags wants to convince Hera to leave. Justine wants her to stay.

Let's set this up as a challenge.

I'll roll 2 dice and choose the lowest for the Challenge rating as before: (4,6) so CR 4. Justine is pretty determined so that makes sense.

She gets some tags: how about concerned mother and old ways practitioner, and she is furious 2 and scared 2 which gives her a few statuses as well.

She is going to use the influence action Oracle to convince Hera to stay.

Rags can convince Justine that she should let her daughter leave, or she can convince Hera to ignore her mum and leave anyway.

Convincing Hera to stay is a medium limit.

Convincing Justine to let Hera go is a hard limit.

Convincing Hera to ignore her mum and leave anyway is an easy limit but one with consequences.

Scene 6

As the wolf flees, the three women face off.

(3: attract/offer something desired) Her eyes blazing with fury, Justine nevertheless congratulates Hera on her actions. Saying she is clearly grown into a strong woman and she should be given more responsibilities.

Rags reminds them of the recent story - that she has greater responsibilities, and a greater destiny. This just shows how ready she is..

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic storyteller (2)

- bashful when not performing, difficult to trust, concerned mother, scared 2 (-5)

Power -3: 8(5) fail.

Justine creates responsibilities 2 on Hera.

There is a chance to mitigate responsibilities 2. Rags points out that she has wider responsibilities. She has no unused tags to back it up however...

Power 0: 12(12) success.

So Hera feels her responsibilities 1.

This goes against a limits, so I will roll against it.

(6,2) Hera is interested but not swayed.

(6) Justine offers Hera a deal, pressing her to commit to staying. I'm not sure what exactly she offers, so I will roll on the interpretive Oracle (16) the thaumaturge. She offers to teach Hera the old ways...

Rags laughs with derision. The old ways? There is magic in the world that far surpasses the superstitions of a handful of farmers. Hera has greater powers ahead of her...

This will probably use the same tags as before but I am going to accept that there is very little chance if persuading Justine - this just isn't Rags area of expertise. Instead she will concentrate on Hera.

She will also burn prophetic storyteller because she is leaning on it about as hard as possible here, and I think being an enigmatic drifter probably helps her cause as well...

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic storyteller 3 (burned), enigmatic drifter (5)

- bashful when not performing, difficult to trust, responsibilities 1 (3)

Power +2: 5(7) mixed.

She creates dreams of greatness 2 but (66) time is wasted.

This is difficult to interpret. I think others are gathering round and will make things difficult. There is now a hostile crowd.

First I will test the limit however (2,5) that is enough.

A crowd of farmers gather, immediately backing Justine, but both can see from the gleam in Heras' eye that the storyteller has won her over.

? Will Justine give her blessing?

+ She loves her daughter (1)

- she is angry, she is afraid (2)

Power -1: 7(6) no.

Justine fixes Rags with a cold stare and demands that she be gone by morning, then leads her daughter home, refusing to listen to any further arguments.

Rags gathers her things and sets out at first light, accompanied by a nervous but determined Hera.

" You sure you want to do this?" She asks the girl.

Hera nods, wiping her sleeve across her eyes, and turns to the road. "I left a note."

Rags clasps her shoulder "they will understand."

"They won't." Hera responds "but they will accept it. And maybe one day when I return they will forgive it."

End scene

Well that ends this chapter of the story, and it is not one I expected to tell at all.

Rags has achieved her goal and gets to mark progress on her quest, and I have a new character to focus on for the next chapter.

Things were messy however, and part of Heras' ongoing story is likely to be coping with the fallout from leaving her family like this. 

LITM solo oracles example scene 5

 Setup

Context: Rags befriended Justine, River, and their family in an isolated and flooded Hamlet in the dale who look like they might need help.

Their daughter, Hera came to her and let her know that she feels trapped here and wants to leave in order to find her destiny. Intrigued, Rags has engineered time with the girl and told a prophetic story in which she became a great hero.

Unfortunately Justine heard the story as well and dragged Hera away in a rage.

Goal: Rags wants the girl to leave the Hamlet and live out her story. Presumably Hera wants that too. Her mother however has other ideas.

Conflict: I'm going to lean on the conflict Oracle for this one. Clearly Hera, Rags, and Justine are going to have to talk this out and decide Heras' fate, but there should probably be other stuff going on as well.

(21) An animal or beast... (11) Physically endangers (persuer/aggressor)... (66) Roll twice (25, 44) a quest related ideal or goal and an important resource...

It sounds like whatever it is, is endangering the villages crops (or cattle I suppose). Actually let's make it cattle.

A dangerous predator is amongst the hamlets sheep, and if it isn't stopped they will not have enough food to last the winter - especially with their crop fields already flooded.

Scene 5

Before Justine has dragged her daughter far a cry of alarm goes up. There are predators amongst the flock.

Rags looks at Hera. This is an excellent opportunity to encourage her to follow her destiny.

"Go girl." She says

I am going to allow her puppeteering tags to be used for persuasion here, because she is doing it straight off the bat of her story. (I should probably have created a tag or status showing the stories effects).

*Encourage Hera to take action*

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic storytelling, glimpses of the future (3)

Power +3: 8(11) success.

Buoyed by visions of a heroic future, Hera shakes off her mum's grip and rushes to confront the predators.

Let's say wolves for simplicity.

?Does her mum follow?

+ She cares about her daughter (1)

Power +1: 6(7) mixed.

Yes, but she does so reluctantly, shouting for Hera to come back as she does so, tears streaming down her face.

Rags follows as well to help where she can.

I'm going to create a story theme for Hera (I think she is going to be my next main character if she goes traveling, so these tags will become her themes):

Farm Girl

Heart of Gold

Folk Hero

Destined for Greatness

Next I need to create the Wolf

2d6 choose the lowest: 6,2.

So it is a CR 2 Aggressor.

Tags: Fierce, hungry

I have started handling statuses a bit differently in solo play. Rather than give them a number up front, I just note them as Hard, medium, or easy.

Each time a status is increased on a limit I roll as if deciding the challenge level (in this case 2 dice, choose the lowest) and add a modifier based on whether it is an easy, medium or hard limit. I then compare it to the status to see if the challenge is taken out. If not I roll again the next time the status is increased. This way I retain some uncertainty.

I think harm is a medium limit and frighten is an easy limit. I will add others if needed. (When unsure I ask a question to see how difficult a limit is, or default to medium).

Another place I think I tend to differ from standard practice is the threat profile. I know a lot of people tend to create a full threat profile up front, but I tend to just roll on the aggressor table for the threat each round.

So we have a fierce, hungry wolf that is easy to frighten and can be harmed.

I'll roll on the conflict Oracle for extra tags: (31) condition.

How about Sodden fields

Time to begin.

? Are there others dealing with the wolf?

+ Hamlet (1)

Power +1: 8(9) mixed.

The three women arrive at the field to find that a wolf has wreaked Havok. It is clearly feirce and is snarling at two farmers, one of whom is barely standing. It leaps at the other as they arrive, gripping his arm in its jaws and flinging him aside like a rag doll.

Hera splashes into the sodden field and (1) the wolf rushes towards her, snarling.

Rags (this is still her story remember) pulls out her puppets. She takes a wild puppet to go with the one she made of Hera and sinks into a trance, telling the story of the confrontation that is unfolding...

*Prophetic story*

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic storytelling, glimpse future, foretell doom (4)

Power +4: 8(12)

She creates improvised weapon and fated 2

"The shovel" she calls as her puppets dance in front of her, showing a future in which Hera takes up a shovel propped against the fence and uses it to drive the Wolf away.

Hera hears her call and backs towards the fence as the wolf snaps at her...

Rags didn't address the threat of the wolf towards Hera, so now she needs to mitigate it. The wolf is warning Hera to stay away, and snaps at her, creating hurt 1 and gaining Wary 1

*Rags mitigate Hurt 1 using Heras' tags*

+ Folk Hero, destined for Greatness (2)

- Feirce (1)

Power +1: 4(5) fail.

The wolf snaps at Hera, grazing her arm as she backs towards the fence and reaches for the shovel.

(2) Seeing Hera back off, the wolf thinks she is giving way and drives towards her, snarling and snapping.

Hera grabs the shovel and forces it back with two handed swings...

*Hera attacks the wolf*

+ Improvised weapon (burned for 3), fated 2, folk Hero, destined for Greatness (7)

- Feirce, sodden field, hurt 1 (3)

Power +4: 10(15) success.

She creates broken bones 4

That is probably decisive. I test the limit by ruling 2 dice: (2,2) yep. Definitely passed the limit.

The shovel bites into the wolf with a heavy crunch. Hera pulls it back and strikes again, sending the wolf sprawling in a wet heap. She follows up. Raising the shovel a third time, and the wolf let's out a whimpering howl, backing away from her. She shouts and it runs, dragging itself painfully away.

Rags claps her on the shoulder. "Well done."

Her mum scowls at them both, clearly furious.

End scene

LITM solo oracles example scene 4

 Setup

Context: Rags hasn't made it to Woodend village yet, but has befriended Justine, River, and their family in an isolated and flooded Hamlet in the dale who look like they might need help.

Their daughter, Hera came to her and let her know that she feels trapped here and wants to leave in order to find her destiny. Intrigued, Rags has engineered time wine with the girl in order to discover her story.

Goal: Rags wants to tell the girl a prophetic story about what her future might hold if she leaves this place.

Conflict: a journey in which Rags will fortell the girls future.

I am going to roll 2 dice and pick the lowest for the number of stages on the journey (with a minimum of 2).

Roll: 5, 1. So 2 stages it is.

Scene 4

The ritual journey makes sense for this.

First she must create a suitable space, preparing her puppets, creating a stage, setting Hera up as a part of the performance.

Let's make it a bit trickier with tags and statuses on the scene however.

Lowest of 2 dice: 3,6.

So there are status and tags adding to 3.

I'll roll on the challenge oracle to see what: (26) people.

Ok, so it seems they are not completely alone.

There are children playing a noisy game nearby, and of course the ground is still flooded.

First she is going to try and deal with that by drawing the children over as an audience...

*Can she gather the children as an audience?*

+ Passionate puppeteer, ventriloquist, nimble fingers (3)

- noisy game (1)

Power +2: 11(12) success.

Asking Hera for a little forbearance Rags puts on an impromptu show for the children, drawing them away from their game and gathering a little crowd. They gather around Hera, eager to hear a story.

"Sit quietly then young ones" Rags tells them "let me prepare and a story you shall have"

+ Passionate Puppeteer, hand crafted dummy (2)

Power +2: 7(9) mixed.

I'll create the tag the stage is set but I also need to roll a consequence: (31) expenditure.

Rags does a Stirling job in preparing the Hera puppet, but doing so is kind of final. This will be it's last story (she burns the homemade puppet tag from her backpack).

Finally the stage is set and she is ready to begin.

*Rags tells a prophetic story*

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic story teller, glimpses of the future (3)

Power +3: 6(9) mixed

Let's see what the consequence is first. (23) Exposure.

That makes sense.

Normally I would roll on the inspiration Oracle to see what Rags foretells, but assuming she manages to get out of this Hamlet Hera is a perfect character to take forward into my next adventure so this is pretty straight forward.

Rags weaves the story of a great Heroine who sets out from home and performs great deeds, eventually joining with a small band of others to save the Dales themselves.

It is an exciting and inspiring tale, and even Rags is shocked by the gravity of the fate awaiting this girl if she steps forward to seize it.

She slowly emerges from her prophetic trance, letting the puppets clatter to the floor. The children cheer wildly. Hera gazes at her in shock.

"Is that my future?" She asks in a shaky voice.

Rags smiles "It can be. It is a possible future. A role that awaits you if you step into it and play the part."

The girl nods numbly, but before she can respond they are interrupted.

They are exposed as a consequence, but I am going to invoke Rags lost in a trance tag to make it even worse. She was so caught up in the prophetic story that she didn't realize Justine had arrived and was watching as well.

And she is NOT happy.

She grabs hold of Justine's arm and drags her away, snarling curses at Rags as she does so.

? Are they magical curses?

+Justine is an old ways practitioner (1)

Power +1: 4(5) no.

That's a bit of luck at least.

End scene

We marked improve on prophetic storyteller. 

LITM solo oracles example scene 3

 Context: Rags hasn't made it to Woodend village yet, but has befriended Justine, River, and their family in an isolated and flooded Hamlet in the dale who look like they might need help.

They daughter, Hera came to her and let her know that she feels trapped here and wants to leave in order to find her destiny.

Goal: Rags wants to tell stories. She is especially interested in foretelling the story of Hera, who has piqued her interest. Unfortunately Justine wants her to stay clear of the girl.

Conflict: Rags is looking for an opportunity to tell Heras' story. Either this scene can just be about finding an opportunity to do just that, or there might be other stuff going on that she has to work around.

Let's let the dice decide:

? Is there anything else going on?

Power 0: 6(6) no.

This is just about finding space to foretell Heras' story then.

Depending on the pacing I want (in other words how much time I want to spend on it) this could be anything from a quick outcome, to a journey, to a challenge.

I think I will play the story telling itself as a journey (assuming she manages to do it) so I'm just going for a quick outcome here.

Scene 3

The next morning the families of the Hamlet are busy trying to right the damage caused by the flood (if I wanted a slower paced adventure I could spend a scene or so on that as well, but as things are I will leave it in the background).

Justine keeps Hera busy and tries to keep an eye on Rags.

Rags is intrigued by the girl however, and wants to tell her story.

She puts her skills to use, manipulating a chance for Hera to be away from her mum for a while, then throwing her voice and mimicking Heras' to convince Justine that they are both busy apart.

This is pretty important, and difficult, so she will use her puppets to think through a plan first...

*Puppet walkthrough of a plan*

+ Passionate puppeteer, prophetic story telling, glimpses of the future (3)

Power +3: 7(10) success.

She enters a trance, weaving a story through the puppets and telling how the families will go about their efforts. Looking for a way to isolate Hera.

She gains the status seen how it unfolds 3

*Get Hera away from Justine

+ Sneaky and underhanded, skilled ventriloquist, seen how it unfolds 3 (5)

- unwelcome 1, difficult to trust, (2)

Power +3: 11(14) success.

With her advanced knowledge, ventriloquism, and general sneakiness, getting the girl alone is fairly straight forward even with Justine's suspicions aroused.

Next Rags needs to tell her story and see what lies ahead of her...

End Scene

That was pretty straight forward.

She marks another point of improvement on Enigmatic Drifter. 

LITM solo oracles example scene 2

 Setup

Context: Rags hasn't made it to Woodend village yet, but has befriended Justine, River, and their family in an isolated and flooded Hamlet in the dale who look like they might need help.

She is heading for Woodend where we believe she will become involved with someones story that is being corrupted or subverted by a local organization.

Goal: Rags is heading fur the larger village of woodend but will try to help these people as she passes through. For her that means performing a prophetic story telling for them.

Conflict: I don't always roll a random conflict every scene - sometimes the narrative is already pushing towards a fulfilling scene. For this scene it seems that performing the Prophecy might be enough (especially if I play it out as a journey) but I will "test" the scene to see if any unexpected complications arise...

? Do things go to plan?

Power 0: 3(3) fail.

No. Something unexpected happens so I will roll on the conflict Oracle..

(41) An event, occurrence, or coincidence... So an occasion, event, or vignette.

Let's go with the Insular Hamlet vignettes - they seem to fit.

Looking through them, the plea for help seems to fit especially well with our adventure so let's just go with that to move things along.

We can shake it up a bit though:

? Is it a girl?

Power 0: 10(10) yes.

Interpretive Oracle: (31) Hammer and chisel

She wants something more, and feels trapped here unable to make her mark on the world.

Scene 2

Shortly after she has retired to bed, there is a knock. River and Justine's daughter appears, asking questions about her travels.

There seems to be something more. She has a desperation about her and tears are forming.

*Rags encourages her to open up

+ Enigmatic drifter (1)

- difficult to trust (1)

Power 0: 9(9) . Mixed

Rags tells her about her travels, encouraging the girl to open up as well. She is reluctant but gradually shares her dreams of

Interpretive Oracle: the empty throne.

Just leaving. She wants to make her mark on the world. She doesn't know how exactly, but she does know that it won't happen here.

Let's give the girl a name:

Interpretive Oracle: (61) the herald

Hera? I'll stick with it.

Consequence oracle: (24) exposure.

"Hera!"

There is a call from the doorway. Justine is standing there looking stern and Hera scuttles away, head down. It is unclear how much Justine heard, but it is clear from the look she casts at Rags that she is not happy.

In fact since Rags is difficult to trust let's go a bit further.

Justine glares hard at her. "Stay away from my daughter"

Since we are in the early stages of the mountain I will roll 2 dice and pick the lowest for a status:

I roll 3, 1.

So she takes unwelcome 1

Feeling unsettled, she tries to get some sleep.

End scene

That was relatively short, but it progressed the story.

We now have a better idea of what is going on.

She has also now marked 3 progress on Enigmatic Drifter, letting us add another tag. How about "unsettling gaze"

LITM solo oracles example scene 1

 Setup

So, Rags has come to Woodend where we believe she will become involved with someones story that is being corrupted or subverted by a local organization.

A scene needs 3 things:

A goal: Rags wants to get established in Woodend so she can ply her trade.

A conflict: we will roll that on the oracle.

Context: this includes the location and everything we know about it as well as everything we have established about the story and setting so far.

I always scan through the characters quests and weaknesses at this point as well to see if anything jumps out as being relevant.

Let's start with the location. We know she is arriving in Woodend, but where about is she?

(34) Somewhere forgotten, dark, or dismal...

Remember that we need to interpret this in the context of Rags arriving in Woodend to perform puppet shows.

The most obvious interpretation is that she is traveling through a forlorn ruin or other literal forsaken place close to the village.

Actually, an abandoned keep might make sense. I think something a bit lower key might fit the context better however.

I like the idea that she has happened upon a smaller village in the dale however - one that is half abandoned and in a state of decay.

Now, what challenge is she facing?

(16) A natural disaster or hazard... (36) Disrupts the peace or stability of... (15) A quest related person or group...

This is interesting, there is a lot to unpack here. I think the first question is who is the person or group who's peace is being disrupted?

The obvious candidate is the person whose story she is becoming involved with (or perhaps the group that threaten it).

But what about the disaster or hazard?

A storm?

I will denote oracle questions in the following format:

? Question

+ Positive tags

- negative tags

Power modifier: Dice roll (dice + modifier) result

In this case:

? Is there a storm?

+ A natural disaster or hazard

Power +1: 8(9) mixed

Meaning that there is one positive tag (the natural disaster) and no negative tags, resulting in a total modifier of +1. I rolled 8 on the dice, meaning the final result was 9 and a mixed success.

This means it's complicated. Yes with a caveat or no with an exception.

There is not a storm now, but there has just been one and it has caused problems here. Flooding probably.

The next thing we need to establish is who exactly she will meet.

? Is it an individual?

Power 0: 5(5). Fail.

No. This is affecting a community or organization. Maybe it is the reason they are going to interfere in somebody's story.

Let's see how that all plays out.

Scene 1

Rags has been traveling for almost a week. She spent the last two days bunkered up weathering a feirce storm that swept over the Woodend valley. The storm has eased and today she is trudging along sodden paths through a light drizzle and looking forward to warmth and an opportunity to get dry.

Woodend village itself is another days hike away, but she paddles down a path that resembles more of a stream towards a smaller village. Little more than a Hamlet really.

? Does she know this village?

+ Been to every dale, know my way around (2)

- insular or remote hamlets (1)

Power +1: 8(9) mixed

She has not been here before, but she has heard about it.

Interpretive oracle: (42) the crossroads

Woodcross grew on trade at the crossroads between several major paths leading into the dale, however over time the roads shifted and the Hamlet fell on hard times.

She can see the truth of that as she approaches.

The stream she is following flows past flooded fields into a Hamlet that the storm has turned into a muddy swamp.

Many of the buildings are in a state of decay, with walls and roofs that no longer keep rain at bay. Sandbags are barricaded against doorways in a clear attempt to stop the water from flooding the few buildings still capable of providing shelter.

? Does anyone greet her?

- forlorn Hamlet

Power -1: 7(6) fail

No. The streets such as they are, are empty.

She splashes through the Hamlet, looking for the central long house where visitors should be welcome.

? Can she find the long house?

+ Been to every dale, know my way around (2)

- insular or remote hamlets (1)

Power 1: 3(4) fail.

Consequence: (16) collateral damage

She finds what should be the long house, but it is merely the shell of a building abandoned long ago. Murky water pool between what remains of it's walls.

Cursing, she looks around and tries another house. Hammering on a door that swings away from rusty hinges and crashes to the ground.

? Is this house empty?

+ Seems abandoned (1)

Power +1: 2. Snake eyes.

No.

? Do people actually live here?

+ Not empty (1)

- seems abandoned (1)

Power 0: 10(10) success.

Yes. There is a family here.

"Hey" a voice calls and as her eyes adjust to the dim interior she sees a family huddled together on the far side of the hall where the floor rises out of the swampy flood.

? Are they friendly?

- bashful when not performing

Power -1: 5(4) fail

Consequence: (22) collateral damage

She squints into the dim interior, trying to find the words to explain her entrance and greet her unwitting hosts but before she can get her thoughts together a plate sails across the room and smashes against the wall beside her head.

"Leave us be." The voice calls "we have nothing of value for you."

Rags raises her hands defensively. "All I'm looking for is shelter. I mean no harm."

I denote actions in a similar way to questions:

* Action

+ Positive tags

- negative tags

Power modifier: Dice roll (dice + modifier) result

In this case

*Rags makes her case

+ Passionate puppeteer, been to every dale, enigmatic drifter

- difficult to trust

Power +2: 6(8) mixed.

Consequence: (16) collateral damage.

More plates are flung her way, but eventually the family agree that she can perform a puppet show to demonstrate her skill.

She fishes a set of puppets from her pack and sets them dancing on their strings...

*Puppet show

+ Passionate puppeteer, skilled ventriloquist, nibble fingers (3)

- difficult to trust (1)

Power +2: 10(12)

She uses the puppets to spin a tale, describing her journey and how she was caught in the storm. Demonstrating her weariness, her need for warmth and a chance to dry out.

She is convincing.

The children warm to her first, laughing and clapping at her tricks. Then their parents.

They welcome her in and offer what food she hospitality they have.

Over the meal she discovers that only a handful of farming families remain in the Hamlet. Once it was a thriving market village, but trade dried up a generation ago and most of the buildings were abandoned as the villages population dwindled.

Still, they made a decent living from the land at least until the recent storm. A dam nearby collapsed, and the fields are flooded (not to mention the Hamlet itself). They were already living on the edge, and survival is going to be tough this year.

Interpretive oracle: (41) the shrine

The mum is an old ways practitioner who tends a shrine near the village. (I will use the interpretive oracle again for inspiration for her name: (64) High Lord. Justice. Justine.)

? Is Dad around?

Power 0: 11 yes.

Another name: (45) the winding River: lets just call him River.

End scene

When I set up this game I would never have guessed the direction this scene would go in, which is one of the things I love about solo play.

Rags hasn't made it to Woodend village yet, but has befriended Justine, River, and their family in an isolated and flooded Hamlet in the dale who look like they might need help.

She has marked improve on three themes:

2 on enigmatic drifter

2 on been to every dale

1 on passionate puppeteer

I always scan quests again at this point to see if I can mark a milestone or abandon, but it doesn't seem so yet. 

LITM solo oracles example play setup

 

A Solo Play example

Legend in the Mists includes a number of tools to support solo play, and I have noticed from comments and questions on the discord that this is a bit of a double edged sword.

On the one hand, the tools do a great job of making LitM incredibly solo friendly. On the other hand, they have introduced a lot of players to the idea of solo play and while they are a great tool for experienced players they are perhaps not the most straightforward place to start for players new to solo play.

Like many solo tools they are best used alongside other tools, however they DO provide enough to support play on their own so I thought I would provide an example of actual play to show one way it can work.

This is not the only way to make these tools work for solo play. It is not even the best way to make them work. Playing solo is a very subjective and individualized activity - the only rule is to have fun, and the only person you need to please is yourself, so the first thing you need to do is find a way to play that YOU enjoy. That said, a good way to do that is to take ideas and inspiration from the way others play and my hope is that this might help a few of you find your path.

Setting Up

The first task is to create a character (or characters).

I have found that my sweet spot is three characters, however I like to play an adventure with each to get to know them a little before joining them as a team.

So I am going to start with a single character for an introductory adventure, and to make things simple I will choose a pregen character.

How about Rags.

She is traveling the Dales performing puppet shows and telling prophetic stories. Sounds like a good candidate to find an adventure.

My next job is always to look at the characters quests as they will guide and influence pretty much everything going forwards.

- Never interrupt a good story

- My tales always come true, you just have to understand how

- I call no place my home

- the less you know about me the better

Next we need an adventure for her.

I like to set up a bit of a framework to guide play before I start, but if we use the Dales as our setting then a lot of that work has been done for us.

Rags is arriving in a new dale to ply her trade and I'll pick it randomly... Woodend.

So we are close to the Aldenwald, and the mysterious Vila that it contains.

The Plot

Next we need some kind of narrative structure so that we uncover a story of sorts rather than just a string of random encounters.

LiTM gives us two frameworks we can use, and I think the Mountain framework makes the most sense here - at least for now.

Our first adventure will take place in the lowlands (actually I would generally set at least 4 adventures in the lowlands - each characters intro adventure and the adventure in which they team up).

In the first adventure Rags will uncover and face a local danger with possible hints towards agents higher up the metaphorical slopes.

It should be noted here that you are in complete control of your adventure. You can simply make choices to enforce the kind of adventure you want to play at any stage. I don't know where I want to go with this so I am just leaving it to the dice.

There are two ways of going about this: you can create a danger upfront or you can discover it through play.

Creating it upfront has the advantage of helping to create a tighter narrative, while discovering through play has the advantage of retaining surprise.

For this adventure I am going to generate a danger upfront, and to do so I roll on the conflict oracle:

(44) A community or organization... (26) Drains, despoils, or corrupts... (54) The heroes current goal.

We start with that and take a look at Rags quests:

- Never interrupt a good story

So she might come across a "story" that is being corrupted by a community or organization and need to find a way to help it resolve the way it should.

I can imagine a number if ways this might play out.

- My tales always come true, you just have to understand how

A more nefarious option: Someone might try to manipulate or subvert her prophecy, twisting it towards their own ends.

- I call no place my home

A more wholesome option: it may simply be that she finds a place here and will need to make a choice whether to consider allowing herself to form attachments or turn her back on a place she could belong and continue her journey.

- the less you know about me the better

The intrigue option: an organization or community are looking into her for some reason and she will need to fight to maintain her privacy if she wants it.

A random roll gives me: 1. So this is a story she gets involved with and wants to see resolved.

That should be interesting. I could create some more details now, but the goal in setup is always to create enough detail to get started and give you a direction to move in. I think I have that, so we are ready for the first scene.

We will discover whose story she is going to get involved with and what their problems are through play.