Take this skeleton as a guide to pacing and background standards.
\Glspl{sq} add far more meat, trials, and fear to a game once they start, that meat's no good without a healthy skeleton of a game.
\glsadd{guard}
Think of this as a skeleton of a game, or just a standard introduction.
Once you get into the swing of this simple cycle -- march, encounter, actions, repeat -- the simple resolution system can fill days or weeks of in-game time quite easily.
How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on the players -- they may lean into them, and feel pressures on all sides as they juggle a chaotic world with their duties, or may end up abandoning them, and wandering \gls{fenestra} as free agents or bandits (and who can tell the difference?).
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@@ -181,9 +182,11 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
\item[\gls{gm}:]
Yes.
If the forest grows too dense, and approaches \pgls{village}, it means predators can get close, and attack the farmers there.
One lies eight miles North, the other is 10 miles south, with \pgls{bothy} half way along.
%!
Sinkwall lies eight miles North, and they say that the swamp hag lives nearby.
Soumarch takes 12 miles march South, but has \pgls{bothy} half way along.
\Gls{jotter} Cartpike gives everyone a day's rations (hardened cheese and a pie), and lets you pick your poison.
\Gls{jotter} Cartpike gives everyone two days' rations (hardened cheese and mutton pies), and lets you pick your poison.
\end{description}
}{
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@@ -194,11 +197,15 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
For the mission, he rolls $3D6$ again, and finds the troupe must go to two nearby \glspl{village} and cut away at the perimeter.
Finally, he rolls up a single \gls{village} while two players explain how armour works to Siobhan.
The \gls{village} has bear traps surrounding it (that might make expanding the perimeter challenging!) and rumours about the local swamp-hag who occasionally eats people.
Since it's near a marsh, he names the \gls{village} `Marshwall', and notes it down on his expanding map.
Finally, he rolls up both \glspl{village} while two players explain how armour works to Siobhan.
\Gls{village} 1 has bear-traps along the perimeter, and rumours about the local swamp-hag occasionally eating people.
It's near a swamp, so he names it `Sinkwall'.
\Gls{village} 2 has poisoned meat-on-sticks around its perimeter, to kill any wandering predators.
It's a long way South, so he names it `Soumarch'.
The various encounter charts and random tables shouldn't be considered `hard rules' -- they exist to support the \gls{gm}.
The various \gls{village}-event charts and random tables shouldn't be considered `hard rules' -- they exist to support the \gls{gm}.
You can find the random rolls in the \textit{Book of Judgement}%
@@ -207,6 +214,8 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
\begin{description}
\item[Matt:]
May as well do the distant one first.
\item[Alice:]
I want to meet that hag.
Can we walk ten miles in an afternoon?
\item[\gls{gm}:]
Sure, that's just 5 \glspl{fatigue} along the road.
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@@ -214,7 +223,7 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
\item[Matt:]
And Laiquon's an elf, so he can ignore the cold.
\item[\gls{gm}:]
Oh yea, the \gls{jotter} will have warm clothes for everyone else, but you two will have to take 2 \glspl{fatigue}.
Oh yea, the \gls{jotter} will have warm clothes for everyone else, but you humans two will have to take 2 \glspl{fatigue} from the freezing weather.
\end{description}
}{
Travelling times are easy to work out.
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@@ -226,7 +235,8 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
\sideBySide{
\begin{description}
\item[\gls{gm}:]
So everyone heads off to Marshwall, and on the road traders try to sell you torch pitch and rope for 100~\glspl{cp} each.
So everyone heads North to Sinkwall.
By the time you've gone two miles, a caravan of traders approach, hail you, and try to sell you torch pitch and rope for 100~\glspl{cp} each.
\item[Matt:]
Nah we're\ldots actually, that'd be really handy.
I'll take both.
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@@ -240,9 +250,10 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
We'll see later\ldots
\end{description}
}{
The `encounter' with traders could have been broken down into a back-and-forth series of `hail, good traveller', but skipping to the decision-points grants the game a faster pace.
Purchases can get tricky, as tricksters are everywhere.
A bad roll can leave the buyer holding useless goods, or buying services from a chancer.
Most of the `secondary skills' (like Crafts and Wyldcrafting) can come in useful for trades.
}
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@@ -250,7 +261,7 @@ How much the troupe actually engage with their \gls{guard} missions depends on t
\begin{description}
\item[\gls{gm}:]
Snow's started to fall, thicker than before.
By evening, the road is white, but you can see Marshwall's high wooden walls ahead, and an archer waves at you from his perch.
By evening, the road is white, but you can see Sinkwall's high wooden walls ahead, and an archer waves at you from his perch.
