A Darkly Whimsical Game

About Saving Your Fantastical World

by Craig Campbell
Artwork by Serena Malyon
 Are you ready to save your world?
Good Strong Hands is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game
where you portray fantastic creatures and their newly arrived human
allies working to save your home of Reverie from destruction by the
faceless, malevolent force known only as the Void.

While Reverie is a land of the fantastic, filled with whimsy,

it is also beset by this sinister, destructive force. Characters will be
constantly tempted by the Void's corruption, even as they fight to end it.

The stories you tell will be those of friendship, teamwork,

self-empowerment, overcoming harmful forces, and dealing with a world
in crisis. As you play, you’ll help the GM build the world of Reverie,
filing in details as your characters struggle to save it…
with your good, strong hands.

NerdBurger Games
 Good Strong Hands

Good Strong Hands

A Darkly Whimsical Game About
Saving Your Fantastical World
by Craig Campbell
Illustrated by Serena Malyon

1
 Good Strong Hands

A Darkly Whimsical Game About

Saving Your Fantastical World
Published by NerdBurger Games LLC
Game Design: Craig Campbell (he/him)
Sensitivity Consultation: Stephan Pennington (he/him)
Editing: Vincent Harper (he/him)
Artwork: Serena Malyon (she/her)
Graphic Design and Layout: Todd Crapper (he/him)

Playtesters: Don Bisdorf, Abigail Blome, Christopher Boyer, Miciah Dodge, Angela
Dumalag, Sharene Gilchrist, Caleb Goodson, Mary Lynn Gregory, Kathryn Harper,
Bert Isla, Sharon Jackson, Matt Jester, Jim M. Johansson, Ian Eric Kelley, James Kohl,
LizIsANoob, Kim Markmann, Tom Martin, Deb O'Brien, John O'Brien, Greg Pallis, Alice
Peng, Brandon Powers, Aldo Regalado, Briana Rushing, Ben Sandfelder, Kevin Scarth,
Danielle Thomas, June Uitvlugt, Vicky Vilulf, Susan Wardell, Brian Watson, Haynes
Zedalis
Special Thanks: Kate Bullock, Michelle Owczarski, Jacob Wood

Copyright © 2021 NerdBurger Games LLC

The Roll-Track System is Copyright © 2021 NerdBurger Games LLC
All rights reserved under the Universal Copyright convention. No part of this book may
be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the
publisher, except for copying/printing out portions of the book to use in playing the game.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events
included herein is purely coincidental.
[email protected]
@NerdBurgerCraig
NerdBurgerGames.com

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 Good Strong Hands

KICKSTARTER BACKERS
Thank you to all our wonderful Kickstarter backers. You helped make a game so
we can all save a world.
/amqueue, Aaron Lim, Adam Rajski, AJ Garrigus, Akemi Maniwa, Alan “Big Al” Nicholas, Albia, Alice Helton,
Alyson Schultz, Alyssa Audet, AmbLunaLycan, Ando Valentine, Andrew Quan, Andrew Rawlings, Anestis Kozakis,
Angry Tiger, Anna Goldberg, Anthony Machin, Anthony Smith, Astrid Portner, Ben Sandfelder, Benjamin
L. Eastman, Benji Tham, BenT, Birch and Willow, Bob Carnicom, Bob Skerry, Brandon Giliberti, Brandon K.
Aten, Brian Cooksey, Brian Davidson, Brian L. Moore, Brian P. Kurtz, Brook Freeman, bruce james gardner,
Bryan Dorkasaurus, Bryan Vanderhoof, C Canadian, Carlos Adão, Cassie Walker, Cecelia Rafferty, Chad Turner,
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Chris Challice, Chris Giesy, Chris McBride, Chris Mobberley, Chris Nienhuis, Chris Pustelnik, Chris Spradlin,
Chris Wittich, Christian A, Christopher A Edwards, Christopher R Boyer, Christopher Wilkinson, CJ Gibson,
Cody Perry “LivingTNT”, Colin “Mephit James” Wilson, Commodore Stargazer, Connor Mason, Constance
Wilder, Cormac O’Sullivan, Courtney Rinehart, Craig Hackl, Cristallum Kitsune, Crystal Mazur, Curt Meyer,
D. Holmes, Daniel Barton, Daniel Brown, Danielle Thomas, Danny Atwood, Dávid Csobay, David Stankowski,
David Stephenson, Derek A. Kamal, Derek Bizier, Dice Bag Maker, Doc Palindrome, Don Bisdorf, Don’t Forget
Your Towel Podcast, Douog Atkinson, Dr. Tyler Brunette, Dragonrune, Drapeon, Drew Hicks, Drew Tillman,
Drew Wendorf, Eamonn Byrne, Ed Chusid, Ed Kowalczewski, Edmund Michael Kera, Edward MacGregor,
Egg Embry, Eimarra, Eleanor Hingley, Elizabeth Davis of Dead Fish Books, Emery Bentsen, Emily Bruhn, Emma
Kathryn McDougal, Eric Lochstampfor, Erin “Cait Sidhe” Sullivan, Erinna, Esteban Colon, flypirat, Fox and John
Winter, Frank “Mottokrosh” Reding, frank martin, Fredric Dalqvist, Gabel Gamers, Gabriel Birke, Garrick J.
Williams, Genevieve Martin-Picotin, Glagroon, Glen Robert Taylor, Glenn Seiler, Glenn Wardrop, Griffin D.
Morgan, Guy Milner, H. Mallory Morgan, Happy Otter Games, Harold Tessmann III, Heather & Rayven Reid-
Murray, Ian Jarrard, Ian McFarlin, Ian Mclean, Ishcanter, Izzy Liberty, J Bolton, J Patrick Stebbins, Jack Gulick,
Jahd Modgrin, James Folkerth, James Meredith, James Sinnett, Jamieson Mockel, Janosch Hildebrand, Jared
Herring, Jarrod Stanek, jason e. bean, Jason Miscia, JD Maynard, Jeff Collyer, Jeff Zitomer, Jennifer Adcock,
Jenny, Jeremy J Harper, Jess Thomas, Jessica O, Joey Barranco, John A. Bacevicius VI, John Cmar, John Kingsnorth,
John M. Kahane, John O’Brien, John Robinson, John Taber, Jon Robertson, Jonathan “Buddha” Davis, Jonathan
Meyers, Joseph Barder, Josh Medin, Joshua Giordano, Joshua Trosclair, Joshua W. Pittman, Julia, Julia Rose,
justchris, Justin Cranford, Justin McGregor, Justin Nichols, Kai Antoni, Kalynn Erickson, Kat L., Kergillian, Kevin
Diehl, Kevin R. Smith, Kiji Marie Anastacio, Kimberly Baugh, Kingston Cassidy, Kristian D. Noble, Kristin, Jason,
and Peter Childs, Kristine V, Krzysztof Chyla, Kyle Webb, Lady Sphynx, Laura Bennett, Lee Donovan, Leoni
S, Les Howard, Lester Dizon, lifelesspoet, Listener Larry, Little Red Dot, Lukas Feinweber, Lyndon Baugh, M.
Covert, M. S. Farzan, M. Trout, Madison Tinsley, Madison W., Mara Smith, Marco Generoso, Marcus Maichle,
Marcus Zonis, Mark Buffington, Mark Fenlon, Mark Green, Mark Kay, Mark R. Lesniewski, Mark Richman,
Mark Solino, Markus Schubert, Marsayus, Martin J. Manco, Matt Brooks, Matt Gray, Matthew & Duncan
Randall-Bair, Matthew McFarland, Matthew Sulhoff, Max Battcher, Melissa Hatley, Menachem Cohen,
Mendel Schmiedekamp, Metal Steve Mellifont, Michael Bogumill, Michael Brazier, Michael Brock, Michael
Feldhusen, Michael Parker, Michael Schwartz, Michele “Snake” Gelli, Mildra the Monk, Minkenstein, Morgan
Weeks, Morgengabe, Nathan Merritt, Neal Dalton, Neal Tanner, Nicholas Robinson, Nick Hopkins, Nick Porter
of Drinking Horn Games, Nick wingedferret Brown, Niemand, Niki and Celina, Nikki Johnson, Nis3r, Nullpunkt,
P. Anderson, Paolo Spaziosi, Patrice Mermoud, Patrick Clark Fairbanks, Patrick Diez, Patrick Powers, Paul
“Hurricane” Hawkins, Paul Cassella, Paul Messerly, Pe Metawe Games, Pedro(Te), Pete Petrusha, Peter Larsen,
Philip W Rogers Jr, Philip Watson, PS Goering, Pyxie, R F Wanders, Rachel Quinlan, Richard Rivera, Richard
Stephens, Rick LaRue, Rick Osborne, Robert & Áine, Robert and Amanda Daley, Robert Carnel, Robert Kim,
Robert Murray, Ross Nendick, Roxanne Thompson, Rrok Anrolle, Ryan “Psychokitty” Galiotto, Ryan Faricelli,
Ryan McWilliams, Rylen Dreskin, Sabina Walter, Saint, Sam Riordan, Sami Yuhas, Sarah Babe & Brad Davies,
Sarah Felmet, Scott Crisostomo, Sean Carroll, Shads, ShakeSharp, Shane Martin DeNota-Hoffman, Shannon
M., Shevy Underwood, Sid Sebastian Tanner, SM Hillman, Sophia Scott, SpitefulFox, Stefanie Midlock, Steph
Turner, Stephanie Bryant, Stephanie Greene, Stephanie Thompson, Stephen Bowers, Stephen Sale, Steven D
Warble, Steven K. Watkins, Suzene Campos del Toro, Tate Melito, The Nesses, the WORRY. clan, Thtrnerd221,
Tim Eagon, Todd H, Trent Kelly, Trip Space-Parasite, trouser_mouse, Ture Westlund, Ty Larson, Vincent Fung,
VoidedSoul, Voidsmoker, Volsung, W. David Pattison, Wesley Teal, Will Munn, William E. Burns III, Yancey
Larochelle-Williams, Yoshi Creelman, Yuu Gammon, Zach Yokell

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 Good Strong Hands

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One: The Void Grows 6 Chapter Five: 16 Stories 76
What Is This Game About?...............................7 Overview.................................................................. 76
Telling The Story.....................................................7 Stories And Scenes.............................................. 76
The Game Mechanics..........................................7 Story Elements...................................................... 77
Safety Tools............................................................... 9 Challenges............................................................... 77
Helping To Build Reverie................................... 11 Epilogue.....................................................................81
Falling To Corruption.......................................... 11 Ending A Campaign............................................81
❧❧ A Coming Storm..........................................82
Chapter Two: The Rules 12 ❧❧ Belly Of The Beast.......................................84
The Three Tracks.................................................. 13
❧❧ The Crimson Crown...................................86
Trait Checks.............................................................14
❧❧ Daybreak..........................................................88
Minor Magic Examples.....................................18
❧❧ Death Becomes You................................ 90
Modifying Trait Checks...................................20
❧❧ The Depth Of Souls....................................92
Conditions...............................................................22
❧❧ Evolution..........................................................94
The Bad Stuff.........................................................23
❧❧ From The Ashe.............................................96
Action Sequences................................................ 25
❧❧ Gnashing Of Fangs..................................100
Combat Challenge Example.......................... 27
❧❧ Invasion.......................................................... 102
Non-Combat Challenge Example.............. 27
❧❧ Nevermore...................................................104
Chapter Three: 12 Heroes 28 ❧❧ Nightmares Abound...............................106
Building The Folk.................................................28 ❧❧ Reverie’s Heart........................................... 108
Session “0”...............................................................29 ❧❧ Rise Up............................................................ 110
Character Creation............................................29 ❧❧ The Spider’s Web.........................................112
Keeping It Light: Going Child-Friendly....34 ❧❧ Terminus.......................................................... 114
Playbooks................................................................. 35
Animant....................................................................36
Chapter Six: 3 Trilogies 116
Introductory Information.............................. 116
Brownie.....................................................................38
Story Scheme Variations..................................117
Faun........................................................................... 40
Echoes of the Past Trilogy...............................118
Human.......................................................................42
❧❧ A Strange Silence...................................... 120
Imp............................................................................. 44
❧❧ Growing Discord........................................ 122
Paragon.................................................................... 46
❧❧ Chaos And Cacophony.......................... 124
Pixie.............................................................................48
A Tale of Storms Trilogy................................ 126
Redcap.....................................................................50
❧❧ The Stormy Isle........................................... 128
Stonekin.................................................................... 52
❧❧ The Storm Spreads.................................. 130
Sylph...........................................................................54
❧❧ The Storm Within......................................132
Wildkin...................................................................... 56
The Things We Lost Trilogy......................... 134
Woodkin................................................................... 58
❧❧ The Lost Map.............................................. 136
Chapter Four: GM Guidelines 60 ❧❧ The Lost Cave...............................................138
Story And Art...................................................... 60 ❧❧ The Lost Secret..........................................140
Rules And Craft.....................................................64 Appendix................................................................ 142
Ways To Play..........................................................67 Example Fears...................................................... 142
Story Components..............................................69 Example Anchors............................................... 142
Index......................................................................... 143

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 Good Strong Hands

Chapter One: The Void Grows

The world is a wheel. And a wheel that doesn’t spin takes you nowhere.
Brownie proverb
Many ages have passed in the land of Reverie. Kingdoms rose and fell. Folk came
to power and then lost that power. Populations swelled, moved, changed, and settled
into familiar realms.
Scholars have long believed Reverie is a world of cycles. These cycles are seen in the
rise and fall of kingdoms. In the migrations of animals. In the change in seasons. In the
growth of populations, and in their eventual demise. . Reverie is a world of cycles, it
is true. And an important cycle is about to begin again.
Many important events mark Reverie’s history. But no event is more important –
more world-shaking – than the arrival of the Void. This faceless, malevolent force is
entropy and destruction incarnate. Once every few centuries it rises, threatening to
destroy Reverie.
The Void constantly creeps at the edge of Reverie. It is a slithering, nasty Void and
it reaches out, straining to touch every part of the world. Its tendrils have once again
started to eat away at the edges of Reverie. If the Void wins, it will consume this
world. It will turn trees to ash. It will render mountains to swamps. It will snuff out all
light and bring only itself – only nothingness – to the whole of creation.
Reverie begins a new cycle. It is one where the Void will either consume and destroy
all of the world…or one where it will be stopped…by heroes like you.

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 Chapter One: The Void Grows

WHAT IS THIS GAME ABOUT?

Good Strong Hands is a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) about fighting back
against the darkness that threatens to destroy your world. It’s set in the fictional
world of Reverie. A reverie is a daydream, a happy place to lose oneself. The world of
Reverie has been just that for quite some time. But that could change.
You and your friends will tell stories of fantastic folk who strive to keep Reverie
alive, to prevent the Void from consuming and destroying their beloved home. The
stories you tell will be those of friendship, teamwork, self-empowerment, overcoming
harmful forces, and dealing with a world in crisis.

TELLING THE STORY

A roleplaying game is a conversation that tells a story. You and your friends each
have roles to play in that story.
Most of you will be players and you’ll each control one character in the story. You’ll
decide what that character wants, fears, says, and does. Sometimes, there’s a chance
that your character could fail at what they’re attempting. That’s where the rules
come in, but more on that later.
One player will be the Game Master (GM). With a few exceptions, the GM controls
everything else, everything that is not one of the other players’ characters. They
describe the world, portray the non-player characters (NPCs), create challenges for
the characters to overcome, and adjudicate the rules.
At its core, an RPG is a collaborative, improvisational tale with some rules. Every
player (including the GM) is important in telling that story.

THE GAME MECHANICS

You’ll use six-sided dice to play Good Strong Hands. Each player needs six of these
dice, though you can share. Note that the GM won’t be rolling dice. Their method of
interacting with the story is different.
A character has four primary Traits – Body, Mind, Charm, and Heart. Body describes
everything physically active about the character, including physical strength,
nimbleness, and speed. Mind covers everything mental and intellectual, including
knowledge, reasoning, wisdom, and the character’s senses. Charm describes the
social side of the character, including how they relate to others and the force of
their personality. Heart defines a character’s inner strength, courage, resilience, and
empathy. It is also used for manipulating magic. Each of these Traits is scored between
1 and 4.
When you attempt something that has consequences for failure, you’ll make a Trait
Check by rolling a number of six-sided dice equal to the Trait’s score. The task you’re
attempting has a target number (TN) associated with it and set by the GM, ranging
between 4 and 6. To be successful at the task, you need at least one of the dice you
roll to equal or exceed the TN. There’s more to it than that, but we’ll get to that later.

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 Chapter One: The Void Grows

What You Need to Play

Each player needs a character playbook, two pages that define everything about
their character in game terms. You need pencils to mark some things on your
character playbook as well as six six-sided dice.
The GM needs a story to tell. There are sixteen story schemes provided later in this
book. The GM might also come up with their own story beforehand or might even
improvise a story in the moment. The players will also contribute to the creation of
this story through their characters’ actions and by helping to flesh out the world with
the GM.
The group needs at least one copy of this rulebook to share. Some people like to
have their own copy.

SAFETY TOOLS
Good Strong Hands is a game of imagination. And imaginations sometimes go
to painful places. The game supposes that the Void, a being of pure hatred and
destruction, wants to end the world. It employs agents to help it achieve its goals.
While many groups will keep the game more light-hearted, some might want to
delve into themes of loss, violence, and the trauma that might accompany such
destruction.
It’s important that all players, including the GM, feel safe and are able to address
problematic content. Addressing these things can happen before playing, but can
also happen during and after the game.

Responsibility and Limits

Before playing, it’s worth setting some boundaries. Talk to the other players and
determine what topics are off-limits for your game and what topics you’re okay with
seeing presented, but don’t want to see in detail. These are often referred to as lines
and veils. Lines are things you don’t ever want to have in the story. Veils are things
that can be there, but only alluded to and then you “fade to black” on them. You
don’t have to explain why and the other players don’t get to ask why.
You’re telling a story together, and you have a responsibility to both yourself and
your fellow players to ensure the story is one that everyone is comfortable telling.

Taking Breaks
If you need it, ask for the group to take a short break. This can be particularly useful
after an intense scene that delved into difficult content. Step away, get a drink, use
the restroom, fiddle around on the internet, or talk to the players about whatever it
is you like to talk about.
Breathe.

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 Good Strong Hands

Checking In
If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable or downright threatened by anything
that’s happening in the story you’re telling, take some time to talk to the GM or other
players as you see fit.
If you see another player or the GM is clearly uncomfortable or “pulling away”
from the story when in the midst of an intense scene, take some time to talk to that
person afterwards or maybe even pause the play to make sure everything is okay. All
of this goes for after and between game sessions as well.

Humor
There is some humor baked into the game, allowing players to step away from
serious subjects for a time. Never use humor to make light of any situation that has
made someone uncomfortable or prompted them to take a break or check in with
the other players.

The Void’s Voice

During the game, a character may be tempted by the Void. The GM may speak
“in the Void’s voice” directly to a character, in essence, speaking directly to that
character’s player. The GM should take special care in how they use this voice.
The Void is meant to tempt the character, to lead them down a path of corruption.
But it should never push a player to dwell on a topic the player doesn’t like.

Methods
There are a variety of safety tools that have been published and are readily available
online.
Lines and Veils is described above. It was developed by Rod Edwards and more in-
depth information about the tool can be found online. The X-Card, developed by
John Stavropoulos, is handy and used by a lot of game groups. Given the cinematic
nature of Good Strong Hands, you might consider using Script Change by Brie Beau
Sheldon.
Alternatively, you and your group can develop your own custom safety tools that
you all agree do the job you need them to do.

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 Chapter One: The Void Grows

HELPING TO BUILD REVERIE

This book doesn’t provide a great deal of detail about Reverie. There’s no chapter
filled with world description and lore. The character playbooks provide some basic
information and the GM has access to story schemes that suggest a variety of things,
but the world itself is incomplete.
This is purposeful. Reverie is made from the stuff of dreams and imagination. It is
made by you. Additionally, many folk in Reverie have lived relatively peaceful lives of
contentment. They’ve likely not traveled more than twenty or so miles from where
they were born.
As the characters embark on quests to save their home from the Void, they will
discover places they’ve only heard of. Places they’ve imagined but never visited. And
you’ll help create them.
As the GM guides you through a story, they will ask you for help. You might end up
naming places or people you encounter. You might define quirks that NPCs have. You
might provide a description of a wondrous locale. As you explore the world, as you
save it from destruction, you – and your character – decide what makes it so special,
why it deserves to be saved.

FALLING TO CORRUPTION
Your character is a hero, but what is a hero without challenges to overcome?
Many of those challenges are described by the GM as they guide you and the other
players through the story. However, one specific challenge is built into each and
every character.
Because your character is a hero, the Void wants to corrupt them. Each character
has the potential of falling to this corruption over time, and this potential is built into
the rules. It starts with gaining special abilities, gifts from the Void, called Corruptions.
These abilities help your character succeed at their goals, but they also lead the
character down a path that ends in becoming a servant of the Void. Will your
character avoid this fate? You’ll have to play the game and tell your character’s story
to find out.

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 Good Strong Hands

Chapter Two: The Rules

Learn the rules when you’re young so that you know why and when to break
them when you’re old.
Woodkin proverb
These rules are meant to help you play Good Strong Hands. They’re not terribly
complex and they don’t cover every possible thing that might come up. When they
don’t, the GM makes a ruling by using common sense, building consensus, and making
sure everyone is engaged. If everyone agrees on the rule and it’s used consistently,
you’re doing it right.
Good Strong Hands uses the Roll-Track System. You’ll roll dice and track several
things with checkboxes on your character playbook as you play.

THE THREE TRACKS

Before we get into making dice rolls, there are three important tracks to discuss.
Each of these tracks has a series of checkboxes associated with them. As you play
Good Strong Hands, you’ll check and uncheck these boxes for a variety of reasons.
Here are the tracks and what they represent.

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 Chapter Two: The Rules

Tracks
❧❧ Skill Track: Represents your character’s raw potential for improvement. When you
fill up this track, you spend all the points marked to improve your character.
❧❧ Spirit Track: Represents your character’s inner reserves of effort and determination
combined with a mystical energy that inhabits all beings. You spend points from
this track to gain bonuses to dice rolls, to use certain Talents, and to resist the
Void’s influence.
❧❧ Shadow Track: Represents how much the Void has noticed your character and
how much it has successfully tempted them. When you fill up this track, you spend
all of the points marked to gain a Corruption, as your character slowly succumbs
to the Void.
During the game, if a rule says to “mark 1” in a track, you fill in one checkbox. If a
rule says to “spend 1,” you erase a check mark previously made to gain some benefit.
If a rule says to “spend all,” you erase all of the check marks, except for those that are
permanently filled in.
If a rule says to “mark 1 permanent” checkbox, you fill it in permanently. You can use
ink or fill the box in completely. You never uncheck that checkbox or spend it for an
effect. That track is permanently shortened by one checkbox.

The Intensity Dial

Each of the tracks has ten checkboxes. However, you don’t have to play using all of
those checkboxes. Your group may decide to use fewer checkboxes for some or all of
the tracks. Here’s a basic rundown of how altering the tracks changes play. Modifying
the number of checkboxes used is sort of like turning a dial that determines the
intensity of the game. You can set each track to its own intensity.

Track Intensity
❧❧ Skill Intensity: Fewer checkboxes means your character becomes more capable
faster. This setting is best for short campaigns. Longer campaigns want more
checkboxes so that your character advances more slowly.
❧❧ Spirit Intensity: Fewer checkboxes means you can’t save up as much Spirit for when
you really need it. More checkboxes allows you to stockpile more Spirit and gain
significant advantages in one or two key Scenes.
❧❧ Shadow Intensity: Fewer checkboxes means the Void overtakes your character
more quickly and is best for groups that want their characters to be at risk more
often. More checkboxes results in the Void taking longer to corrupt characters
and is ideal for groups who want to downplay the corruption side of the game or
for very long campaigns.
The default setting for each track is 8 checkboxes. Increase or decrease how many
you want to use based on how you want the game to play. Go as low as 5 or as high
as 10 for each track. All players use the same settings on the intensity dial.

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 Good Strong Hands

TRAIT CHECKS
Rolling dice to determine whether your character accomplishes something is
called making a Trait Check. You don’t make Trait Checks for every little thing your
character does. If there’s nothing to risk, if there are no true consequences for failure,
you don’t make a Trait Check. Simply describe what your character does and the GM
helps you move the story forward with responses and reactions to those actions.
When something important is on the line, when there are consequences for failure,
you’ll make a Trait Check. First, a recap of your character’s Traits.

Traits
❧❧ Body: Everything actively physical about your character, including strength,
nimbleness, and speed
❧❧ Mind: Everything mental and intellectual about your character, including
knowledge, reasoning, wisdom, and their senses
❧❧ Charm: Everything social about your character, including how they relate to
others and the force of their personality
❧❧ Heart: Your character’s inner strength, courage, resilience, and empathy, as well
as magical ability

Rolling the Dice

When you are going to make a Trait Check, describe what your character is doing
and what Trait seems appropriate to that action. The GM may help you with this.
Then, roll a number of six-sided dice equal to that Trait’s score against a Target
Number (TN) determined by the GM.

Target Numbers
❧❧ TN 4: Moderate task
❧❧ TN 5: Difficult task
❧❧ TN 6: Incredible task
In order to succeed, at least one of your dice must equal or exceed the TN. Each die
that equals or exceeds the TN is called a Hit. The number of Hits you get determines
what happens with the task and to your character.

No Hits – Failure and a Complication

If you get no Hits on your Trait Check, your character fails to do what they are
attempting. Furthermore, the GM may introduce a Complication that makes the
Scene more difficult in general or affects your character personally.
Mark 1 Skill as you learn from failure.

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 Chapter Two: The Rules

One Hit – Success

If you get exactly one Hit on your Trait Check, your character succeeds at what
they are attempting and you describe that success. The GM may help with this.
Mark 1 Spirit as you bolster yourself.

Two or More Hits – Success with a Boon

If your character gets two or more Hits on your Trait Check, your character
succeeds at what they are doing. Because you got multiple Hits, that success gains
a Boon. This means that your character does exceptionally well at the task and you
describe that success as such. The GM may help with this.
Some Talents guarantee you a Boon on a successful Trait Check, even if you don’t
get two or more Hits. But you can only have one Boon on a Trait Check, regardless
of the source.
Mark 1 Shadow as the Void tempts you for being adept and heroic. You don’t mark
Spirit for this kind of success.

Spending Spirit to Resist the Void

You can spend 1 Spirit to avoid marking Shadow for success with a Boon. You must
do this at the moment you are called upon to mark Shadow. Additionally, you can’t
spend Spirit to avoid marking Shadow that comes from using a Corruption. Using a
Corruption always leads your character closer to the Void.

Possible Boons
The GM rewards your character with a little something extra when you get a Boon.
You can also make suggestions for an appropriate Boon for the situation. Example
Boons follow.
❧❧ The character learns more information.
❧❧ The character discovers a secret or figures something out about the story that
was previously undetermined.
❧❧ The character gains insight into how a particular path of action might go.
❧❧ The character performs the action with more flair, and friendly NPCs notice.
❧❧ Gain advantage on your next Trait Check.
❧❧ Turn the Boon into an additional Hit for challenges that require multiple Hits to
overcome.

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 Chapter Two: The Rules

Gaining Spirit through Roleplaying

During a Scene, if you’re roleplaying your character consistent with one of your
Anchors, you mark 1 Spirit. The GM helps adjudicate this for fairness. If you forget, you
can always ask for the Spirit after the Scene ends, too.
You only mark 1 Spirit per game session for each Anchor.

Spending Spirit to Use a Talent

Some Talents specifically require you to spend Spirit to use them. These Talents are
a bit more powerful than other Talents. Spending Spirit represents putting a bit of
your character’s essence into the effect.

Using Minor Magic

If your character has a Talent with “magic” in parentheses, the effect of that Talent
comes from magic your character wields. After the word “magic,” a “realm” of magic
is listed (such as “emotion” or “fire”). This indicates the type of magic being employed.
If you have a Talent with the magic keyword, your character can also perform minor
magic of the listed realm of magic.
Minor magic does anything that a normal Trait Check can do, but it does it
through magic (and it must fit the realm of magic). Performing minor magic requires
a successful Heart Check.
You decide what the effect is, but it must hold to this limitation. For example, your
character could make a Charm Check to attempt to talk at length and distract an
NPC. A character with the thought realm of magic could instead make a Heart Check
at the same TN to attempt to magically distract the NPC’s mind. A character with the
light realm could create a dancing light and make a Heart Check at the same TN to
attempt to distract the NPC with the light.
Effects more powerful than what is normally possible with Body, Mind, or Charm
Checks cannot be created. Such magic is the realm of specific magic Talents and
Corruptions.

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MINOR MAGIC EXAMPLES

Minor magic is malleable, allowing you to make a Heart Check to do something
with magic that you could normally do with Body, Mind, or Charm. Following are
some examples of each type of magic, with the Trait that would normally be used for
such a check listed in parentheses.
❧❧ Air: Burst of wind to carry a light item to a nearby friend (Body); Divert dust and
debris from your eyes/an object so as to see it clearly (Mind)
❧❧ Animal: Give yourself rabbit legs to jump (Body); determine if poison is present in
a drink by sniffing it (Mind)
❧❧ Conjuration: Call forth a small tool instead of jury-rigging one (Mind); get
someone’s attention at a distance with some lights (Charm)
❧❧ Darkness: Temporarily blind someone (Body); dim lights to make a moody setting
to invoke fear in someone (Charm)
❧❧ Earth: Cause a small tremor to knock something over (Body); determine a rock’s
type by examining its properties (Mind)
❧❧ Emotion: Heighten your adrenaline to enhance your senses (Mind); make a neutral
target happy for a short time (Charm)
❧❧ Fire: Destroy something light and flammable (Body); start a small fire (Mind)
❧❧ Flesh: Give yourself claws to help climb a tree (Body); temporarily make yourself
slightly better looking to make introductions (Charm)
❧❧ Light: Find your way in darkness with a dim light (Mind); create a flash of light to
distract someone (Charm)
❧❧ Movement: Determine how fast an animal is running (Mind); quickly catch
something dropped by another person to impress them (Charm)
❧❧ Plant: Make vines lift you up a tree instead of climbing (Body); Create a whirlwind
of flower petals to distract a target (Charm)
❧❧ Polymorph: Web your fingers to help with swimming (Body); give yourself bark-
like skin to endear yourself to a woodkin (Charm)
❧❧ Shielding: Knock a slow-moving object out of the air (Body); ignore the din of
sound in a loud tavern so you can concentrate (Mind)
❧❧ Telekinesis: Fix an object with tools by levitating them (Body); impress someone
with a trick (Charm)
❧❧ Thought: Teach someone a noble’s complete lineage (Mind); cloud a target’s
mind to confuse them (Charm)
❧❧ Transformation: Sharpen a dulled sword (Body); fix a minor scar or injury (Mind)
❧❧ Trickery: Surreptitiously unbuckle someone’s sword belt (Body); Craft a tricky
riddle to confound a target (Mind)
❧❧ Water: Restore the condition of a dirty, musty article of clothing (Mind); create
water to lure a thirsty animal to you (Charm)

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 Chapter Two: The Rules

Group Trait Checks

If all the characters have to make the same Trait Check, such as for sneaking into a
building together, they can make a Group Trait Check. Each player makes their Trait
Check individually. Each player that scores a Boon succeeds for themselves and turns
a failed check by another player into a success with one Hit. The player being helped
this way marks 1 Skill as normal, as their character learns from being helped. If even
one character fails and isn’t helped by a friend, the group fails the check.

Resisting Effects
Most of the time, your character is defined through action, things your character
actively does to engage with the story and propel the group to victory. Sometimes,
however, your character has to react to and resist another force in the narrative.

Reaction Checks
A Reaction Check is a type of Trait Check that you make as an immediate response
to something happening TO your character. For example, as a rope bridge snaps the
GM might call for a Body Reaction Check to determine if your character scurries to
safety before falling into the river. The GM determines the TN and Trait used for such
simple Reaction Checks.

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 Good Strong Hands

Resisting Talents and Corruptions

Sometimes an NPC uses a Talent or Corruption in an attempt to affect your
character directly. When you use such abilities, the effect simply occurs, because
your character is a hero. As a hero, you get a chance to resist the effects of Talents
and Corruptions used by others. Refer to the following for guidelines on making these
Reaction Checks.
You never mark Skill, Spirit, or Shadow when making Reaction Checks.
❧❧ Resisting a Talent: TN 4 Body, Mind, or Charm Check as determined by the GM
based on the Talent being used
❧❧ Resisting a Magic Talent: TN 4 Heart Check
❧❧ Resisting a Corruption: TN 5 Heart Check

Your Last Chance

If you fail a Reaction Check to resist a Corruption, you can spend Spirit to mitigate
the effect.
❧❧ Spend 1 Spirit to negate a Talent’s effect.
❧❧ Spend 2 Spirit to negate the effect of a Corruption that wouldn’t kill your
character. Then mark 1 Shadow (which you can’t prevent).
❧❧ Spend 3 Spirit to negate the effect of a Corruption that would kill your character.
Then, mark all your physical Conditions up to and including Broken. Finally, mark
2 Shadow (which you can’t prevent).

MODIFYING TRAIT CHECKS

There are several ways Trait Checks might be modified. Following are ways that
might come into play for any player in the game.

Advantage and Disadvantage

If your character is in an advantageous position, increase the number of dice you
roll for that Trait Check by one. The GM adjudicates when this happens, but you can
petition them for advantage when appropriate.

Advantage Examples
❧❧ Attacking a foe when your friends have all ganged up on that foe
❧❧ Trying to convince an NPC of something when they’ve previously come to trust
you and you’ve never betrayed or lied to them
❧❧ Using minor magics when in contact with a ley line or some other source of magic
❧❧ The first Trait Check you make after successfully overcoming one of your Fears
during a Scene
You gain advantage when making a Trait Check related to one of your Specialties.

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If your character is in a disadvantageous position, reduce the number of dice you

roll for that Trait Check by one, to a minimum of one die. The GM adjudicates when
this happens.

Disadvantage Examples
❧❧ Facing one of your Fears during a Scene
❧❧ Attempting to escape multiple predators when they have your scent
❧❧ Trying to find something in the depths of night
❧❧ Calming down an NPC when one of your friends has just injured them and they
have no reason to believe you are peaceful
You only ever have advantage from one source and disadvantage from one source.
If you have both advantage and disadvantage, they cancel each other out and you
make your Trait Check as normal.

Spending Spirit to Improve Trait Checks

You can spend 1 Spirit to roll an additional die for a Trait Check. You can only spend
1 Spirit per Trait Check.
Additional dice gained from spending Spirit do not affect advantage or disadvantage.
It’s possible to gain a die from advantage and another die from spending 1 Spirit.

Aiding Other Characters

If another character helps your character attempt something, that character can
spend 1 Spirit and you roll an additional die for your Trait Check. Multiple characters
can help in this way, but only one spends the Spirit and you only gain one additional
die. You gain this extra die in addition to a die gained from having advantage. But
you can’t spend Spirit for an additional die if someone else is doing it for you.

Rerolls
If you fail a Trait Check, you can generally make that check again later. Sometimes,
the GM determines that failure makes the task harder later and increases the TN of
subsequent attempts. For example, failing to talk your way past an NPC may make
them more wary of you later.
If a Talent allows you to reroll a check immediately, you make the Trait Check as
described in the Talent, with all the modifiers you had on the first Trait Check. You
apply advantage, disadvantage, and the extra die from spending Spirit on the roll
when making this type of reroll.

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 Good Strong Hands

CONDITIONS
Your character can become physically injured or be affected emotionally during
play. If this happens, your character marks a Condition.
Each character has two Condition tracks, one emotional (Afraid, Rattled, etc.) and
one physical (Exhausted, Injured, etc.). The list of numbers in between the two tracks
refers to how many dice you lose when you attempt a Trait Check while affected by
one or more Conditions.
When you mark a Condition, mark a checkbox on one of these two tracks, based
on whatever it was that caused the Condition. If your character becomes injured,
mark a checkbox on the physical track. If your character is affected emotionally, mark
a Condition on the emotion track. Start with the first open checkbox at the top of
the track. As you mark more Conditions, you’ll mark boxes further down that track.
It’s possible to have one or more checkmarks in both tracks.
When you make a Trait Check, reduce your dice by the number indicated for the
WORSE of the two tracks your character is suffering from, to a minimum of one die.
When affected by a Condition, portray your character appropriate to that
Condition. For example, if you’ve marked 1 checkbox on the emotional track, your
character is afraid, but not overly so. If you’ve marked three checkboxes on the
emotional track, your character is terrified and should be portrayed as such.

Healing
You can remove your worst Condition from one track (uncheck that box) by
spending 2 Skill and having your character patch up their wounds or calm their fears.
Alternatively, another character can help your character, in which case the other
character’s player spends the 2 Skill and you remove the worst Condition from one
track.
Regardless of who spends the 2 Skill, you can only do this once for the emotion
track and once for the physical track during a story. Heroes often have to persevere
and be heroes despite pain or fear.
Some Talents allow you to remove a Condition from your character or help others
remove their Conditions. You always remove the worst Condition. You cannot
remove the “Dead” Condition.
At the beginning of each new story (not each new game session for a story that
takes more than one session), clear all the checkboxes for all Conditions.

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THE BAD STUFF

Even the mightiest heroes often don’t accomplish their heroic deeds without being
negatively affected in some way. And some heroes even die in pursuit of their quests.

Killing
When you defeat a creature or NPC in a fight, you decide whether the target is
knocked unconscious or killed.
If you kill a sapient creature or NPC, mark 1 Shadow. Willfully killing always brings
you closer to the Void.

Corruption
The Void is constantly seeking out heroes, hoping to lure them into corruption,
and its call is strong. Each time you get more than one Hit on a Trait Check, mark
1 Shadow for your character. This represents the Void noticing the character and
planting a seed of corruption.
When you fill up your Shadow track, erase all the checkboxes (not including those
permanently marked) and select a Corruption for your character.
If your character has gained all three Corruptions and fills up the Shadow track
again, they fall to the Void. When this happens, hand your character playbook over to
the GM. The character becomes an agent of the Void and you no longer play them.

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 Good Strong Hands

During long campaigns or when you’ve set the intensity dial to only have 5
checkboxes on the Shadow track, it’s possible for characters to fall to the Void fairly
quickly, and fairly often.

Roleplaying Corruption
As a hero falls to the Void, this corruption becomes apparent. Each time a character
gains a Corruption, give your character a noticeable physical characteristic that
reflects their soul weakening. These changes are cosmetic and don’t provide any
penalties. Your character’s hair might always be messy and dirty, their eyes might
turn gray, they might keep their arms pulled tight to their body, or their laugh
might become a cackle. Avoid assigning a physical, mental, or emotional disability or
condition to represent this.

Shedding Corruptions
Getting rid of a Corruption is difficult, often involving an extended period of
resisting the Void’s influence. The GM may have your character undertake a quest or
otherwise find some way to atone for the darkness they’ve carried around the land.
When you’re ready to shed the Corruption, do the following.
❧❧ Spend 5 Spirit.
❧❧ Mark 2 permanent Shadow.
❧❧ Uncheck the Corruption.
Having been touched by the Void makes it easier for the Void to grab hold of the
character again, so your Shadow track will be shorter.

Death or Loss of a Character

The death of a character or loss of a character to the Void should impact their
friends.
If a character dies or falls to the Void, the remaining characters mourn the friend
they’ve lost. Each tells a brief story of how their absent ally helped the world or
affected them personally. Alternatively, the character might make an offering to
whatever god or spirit they worship or otherwise commemorate their fallen friend.
In the process of this mourning, the lost character’s friends find more strength to
continue fighting, to ensure their friend’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
Look at the lost character’s playbook. Split their remaining Spirit as evenly as
possible between all their friends. Any friend who gets less Spirit than the others
may also remove a Condition. Finally each of the lost character’s friends unchecks
2 Shadow, as the Void is pushed out by their friendship. Any character that doesn’t
have any or enough Shadow checked to gain this benefit instead marks 1 Skill for each
Shadow that they couldn’t uncheck.

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ACTION SEQUENCES
Most of the time, play in Good Strong Hands is free flowing. Players describe
their characters’ actions as they come up with things to do. The GM injects other
characters, creatures, and challenges to propel the narrative. However, sometimes
more structure is required so that timing of events is clear to everyone. This happens
most often when the characters fight. It can also happen when the characters race
against time to solve a problem. When this happens, the characters are in an action
sequence.

Turn Order
The players choose who among their number goes first. The first turn might go to
a different character in different action sequences. If there’s a dispute over who goes
first, each player in the dispute makes a Body Check against TN 4. Whoever has the
most Hits goes first. Ties go to whoever spends the most Spirit at that moment.
After the first player takes their turn they decide which player goes next. This
continues until all players have had a turn in that round of play. The last person
to go in the round chooses who goes first in the next round, and they can choose
themselves.

GM “Turns”
The GM doesn’t have a “turn” in the traditional sense. Rather, whenever a player
takes their turn, the GM can introduce a challenge for that character (or by extension,
the entire group). The GM might describe a foe bearing down on the character, an
environmental hazard they have to deal with, or an attempt by an NPC to coerce the
character into doing something.
The player takes this information into account when they decide what their
character does that turn.

Taking Your Turn

On your turn, your character can do a number of things. They can move as part of
their turn, up to any distance that seems reasonable to everyone. They can speak and
do simple things like open doors as part of their turn. Finally, they can take an Action.
An Action is a specific attempt to do something to affect the situation the character
is in and typically requires a Trait Check. The character might attack a foe with a Body
Check. They might try to figure out a puzzle door with a Mind Check. They might try
to convince an NPC to help them with a Charm Check.

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 Good Strong Hands

Talents that specifically count as your Action for the turn have an “A” in parentheses
following the Talent’s name. Talents without the “A” designation may simply apply to
your character all the time or may be used so quickly that they don’t use up your
action for the turn.
Some Talents provide a bonus to a particular type of Trait Check. If you make that
Trait Check with that bonus, the Trait Check is your Action. The Talent (and its bonus)
is not.

Challenge Difficulty
The GM decides how difficult a challenge is, both in terms of the TN for Trait
Checks to overcome it as well as the number of Hits needed. Some creatures are
tougher to defeat. Some puzzle doors are harder to open. Some NPCs are more
difficult to convince.
If you succeed on your Trait Check and get a Boon, the Boon also counts as a Hit. So
if the challenge required two Hits, you could overcome it with a single successful Trait
Check with a Boon. Most challenges require no more than two Hits to overcome.
Difficult challenges might require three or four Hits. Important, climactic challenges
might require many Hits to overcome. Multiple characters can work together to
score the Hits needed to overcome a more complex challenge.
Challenges like these don’t only come during action sequences. The GM might
impose challenges that require multiple Hits at other times, too. For example climbing
a dangerous cliff or negotiating a peace treaty might require multiple Hits, even if
you have a fair bit of time to overcome the challenge.

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COMBAT CHALLENGE EXAMPLE

On your turn, the GM describes a giant bearing down on your character (that he
knows requires 4 Hits to defeat). You decide to fight, describing how your character
brandishes their trusty hammer. The GM calls for a TN 5 Body Check. You roll your
Body of 3 and score two Hits. That’s success with a Boon. Suspecting the giant is very
tough, you elect to use the Boon to score an additional Hit. You also mark 1 Shadow
for getting more than one Hit.
You describe how your character kneecaps the tall, stout brute. The GM describes
how the giant is badly injured and now limping and bellowing in pain, but that they
haven’t fallen. This giant is really tough. You’re going to need another successful Trait
Check or two to bring them down.
If you had failed your Trait Check, the GM might have had you mark 1 physical
Condition as your character gets pummeled by the giant, had you be disarmed of
your hammer, or had the giant cut off your only escape route. You also would also
have marked 1 Skill for failing to get any Hits.

NON-COMBAT CHALLENGE EXAMPLE

On your turn, the GM describes rocks falling from the cliff above as an earthquake
shakes the land. Your character stands at an ancient door set into the side of a cliff
face, an intricate puzzle lock protecting it. You decide to try to solve the puzzle so
you and your friends can get inside before you’re crushed by boulders. The GM calls
for a TN 6 Mind Check. You roll your Mind of 3 and score one Hit. You also mark 1
Spirit for getting just one Hit.
You describe how your character fiddles with the dials and levers. The GM describes
the clicks and clacks from within the door…and then it opens. You usher your friends
inside before a massive rock hits the ground right where you were standing.
If you had failed your Trait Check, the GM might have had you mark 1 Condition,
had one of your allies mark 1 Condition, or imposed disadvantage on your character
for your next Trait Check, citing how your character has grown very frustrated. You
also would also have marked 1 Skill for failing to get any Hits.

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Chapter Three: 12 Heroes

One light creates a shadow. Multiple lights banish the shadow. All lights
together defeat all shadows.
Pixie proverb
As the Void grows, shadow and nothingness eat away at Reverie. But in order for
there to be shadow, in order for night to exist, there must also be light. There must
be heroes.
Your character is a hero. They and their friends will fight to save Reverie. Being a
hero isn’t a job. It’s a calling. It is who your character is at their core. As the Void rises,
your character can’t resist the urge to meet it.

BUILDING THE FOLK

The information below and provided in the character playbooks doesn’t go into
a great deal of detail on each type of folk. This is purposeful. Reverie is a world of
dreams, one created from the imagination of those that live within it and dream
about it.
As you play Good Strong Hands you use the basic information provided in this
chapter and build on top of that, with the help of the GM and other players.
What exactly do stonekin look like? What religion do the fauns follow? What is the
governmental structure within woodkin society? That’s for you to decide as you play.

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SESSION “0”
If you’re playing a Good Strong Hands campaign, you might want to start with a
“session 0.” This is a game session where you prepare to play the campaign. It can help
get everyone on the same page regarding the type of campaign you’re expecting
and forge some connections between the characters before the actual stories begin.
During session 0, you create your character and do any of the following.
❧❧ Decide on what safety tools to use and set your limits. How are you handling
portrayals of violence, abuse, sex, blood, gore, and other potentially off-putting
subjects?
❧❧ Discuss what type of campaign you want to have. Will it skew toward humor and
whimsy? Will it be a little grim?
❧❧ Set a tentative schedule for future games.
❧❧ What’s the “social style” of play? Is everyone expected to be fully focused on the
game all the time? Is it a more relaxed atmosphere where play might pause for
side discussions, a meal, or jokes?
❧❧ Develop some of the aspects of your character described in “Details to Develop,”
further on in this chapter.
❧❧ Define any aspects of Reverie that are important to your character and the group
right from the start.
❧❧ Define where the characters are from. And if you’re playing a human, how did
they arrive in Reverie? Do they know each other before being thrust into the first
story? If so, how do they know each other?
❧❧ If the characters know each other, how does your character feel about each of the
others? Any shared experiences? Any favors owed? Any rivalries? Any romances?
❧❧ Are there any secrets about your character that only certain other characters or
the GM know?

CHARACTER CREATION
The first thing you have to do before beginning your travels in Reverie is create
your character. To do that, choose a character playbook. Each playbook describes
a different type of folk, including options that are available for them. Then, follow
the steps below. You can perform these steps in any order you wish, but you must
complete all of them.
❧❧ Describe your character’s appearance and give them a name.
❧❧ Distribute 9 points among your Traits. Each Trait must have at least a score of 1.
No Trait can have a score higher than 4.
❧❧ Your character begins with two Specialties. These are types of Trait Checks that
your character excels at.
❧❧ You character begins with 3 Spirit. Fill in three boxes in the Spirit track. (You can
ignore the Skill and Shadow tracks for now.)

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 Good Strong Hands

❧❧ Your character starts with the Talent listed first in the Talent list (the one with the
checkbox already filled in). This talent requires you to make a choice as described
in the Talent. You can’t change this choice later, so choose wisely. Then, select one
additional Talent your character starts with. (You can ignore Corruptions for now.)
❧❧ Define two Fears your character has, such as fear of the cold, heights, magic, or
wolves. A list of other possible Fears can be found in Appendix 1.
❧❧ Define three Anchors for your character. An Anchor is simply an adjective or short
phrase that describes your character’s attitude and demeanor. Possible Anchors
include adventurous, courageous, honest, loyal, and strong. A list of other possible
Anchors can be found in Appendix 1.
More information about each of these steps is provided further on.

A Complete Spectrum of Characters

Reverie is a land made from the imagination. As such, it is filled with all manner of
characters. Your character may be of any race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender,
or gender presentation. They may be old or young, have a disability, and so forth.
There are no game mechanic bonuses or penalties for such choices. How much these
things impact the game is up to you and your friends as you play. Talk with them and
make sure everyone is on the same page.
All of this said, Good Strong Hands is not a place for tourism of these qualities. Be
respectful. Do not play a character different from yourself and use it to criticize or
mock others who have lived that experience.
You’re playing a hero and heroes don’t do that.

The Many Types of Folk

Many different types of folk call Reverie home. They are as varied as the trees, but
each type possesses some qualities in common with their fellows. You can play any of
the following creatures in this game.
❧❧ Animants: These inanimate objects given life by magic see the world differently
than flesh and blood creatures.
❧❧ Brownies: Soil spirits, these small folk are clever and sneaky; some assume they’re
all thieves.
❧❧ Fauns: Loving and lusty, these goat-hoofed, goat-horned folk excel at all manner
of performance.
❧❧ Humans: Hailing from Earth, humans travel to Reverie by a variety of means, and
are often viewed as curiosities.
❧❧ Imps: These small fellows with a grim, collective past seek to find their own way,
often living on the fringes of society.
❧❧ Paragons: Immortal examplars of their animal species, each is unique in the world,
functioning as a guardian and emissary for their kind.

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❧❧ Pixies: These small, flying fey are inquisitive and quick, though they can be
vindictive when promises are broken.
❧❧ Redcaps: These short, combative fey are misunderstood and seek to prove
themselves through loyalty and friendship.
❧❧ Stonekin: These large folk are ponderous and strong, but also gentle, with
unmatched emotional depth.
❧❧ Sylphs: Wispy and translucent, these flying wind spirits bounce between extremes
of emotion.
❧❧ Wildkin: Half-fey, half-small mammal, they vary widely in ability, but are often of
a jocular nature.
❧❧ Woodkin: Tree spirits given sapience, these fey are among the most caring and
longest-lived folk.
Note that these descriptions and the basic information provided at the beginning
of each character playbook are generalizations, often held by others but not entirely
true of all members. There are as many variations of each as you can imagine.

Assigning Trait Scores

Distribute 9 points as you see fit among your Traits.

Traits
❧❧ Body: Everything actively physical about your character, including strength,
nimbleness, and speed
❧❧ Mind: Everything mental and intellectual about your character, including
knowledge, reasoning, wisdom, and their senses
❧❧ Charm: Everything social about your character, including how they relate to
others and the force of their personality
❧❧ Heart: Your character’s inner strength, courage, resilience, and empathy, as well
as magical ability

Trait Scores
❧❧ Trait Score 1: Below average
❧❧ Trait Score 2: Average
❧❧ Trait Score 3: Above average
❧❧ Trait Score 4: Exceptional
It’s worth noting that higher Trait Scores increase your chances of success, but they
also have a downside. When your character is particularly successful at a task, the
Void recognizes them as a hero and works hard to corrupt them.

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Selecting Specialties
Different folk tend to be very good at certain things that are central to where and
how they live, as well as being culturally important or skills taught to children by their
parents. These are Specialties. Choose two of the four Specialties available to further
define your character.
When you make a Trait Check related to a Specialty, you gain advantage on the
roll.

Selecting Talents
The first Talent is common to all folk like your character. It’s a defining feature. This
Talent requires you to make a choice from several options. Choose one of the options
listed when you create your character. You can’t change this choice later.
Then select another Talent from the list. The additional Talent you select will help
define your character more specifically and set them apart from others like them.
Note that these additional Talents are part of being a hero. Not every member of a
particular folk has such Talents.
Each character playbook includes Talents that require you to spend Spirit to use
their effect. These abilities are typically more powerful or versatile than other Talents.
If you choose a Talent with “magic” in parentheses, the effect of that Talent comes
from magic your character wields. After the word “magic,” a “realm” of magic may be
listed (such as “emotion” or “fire”). This indicates the type of magic being employed.
When you select a Talent with the magic keyword, your character can also perform
minor magic of the listed realm of magic, if there is one listed.
Talents with an “A” in parentheses after their name require you to spend your
Action to use them.

Selecting Corruptions
When it comes time for you to choose a Corruption for your character, choose
one that is appropriate to how you’ve played your character up until that point. The
Void most often manifests in characters by drawing upon their strengths, by twisting
the things that make them who they are.

Selecting Fears
The Void feeds on fear and not even heroes are without things that scare them.
Choose two very different Fears to help the GM develop a variety of challenges for
your character.
Sometimes, people overcome their Fears. If it makes sense for your character to
overcome one of their Fears, remove that one and select a new one, perhaps based
on things your character has encountered in the game.

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 Good Strong Hands

Selecting Anchors
Anchors are defining personality characteristics. In game terms, they also help you
regain Spirit, which in turn allows your character to succeed at tasks more easily and
use certain Talents. It’s generally best to choose Anchors that are very different from
each other to reflect the complexity of your character.
Just as characters grow and change, Anchors can change over time. Feel free
to change your character’s Anchors to reflect your character’s growth through
experience. But you can only change one Anchor in between a pair of game sessions.

Equipment and Other Notes

Good Strong Hands doesn’t concern itself with what items your character carries
with them. Assume you have all the items you need to engage in the story you’re
telling. If you’re travelling, you have a bedroll and lantern. If you expect a fight, you
have a weapon if you want one.
Make note of any special items you might be carrying in the Notes section of the
playbook.

KEEPING IT LIGHT: GOING CHILD-FRIENDLY

Even though Good Strong Hands touches on some dour themes like the Void and
Corruptions, it’s fairly easy to strip that down and make the game child-friendly. Here
are some options. Use them all, mix and match, or customize as you see fit.

Rules Changes:
❧❧ Eliminate the Shadow track and Corruptions from the game.
❧❧ Remove Fears from the game if you’re concerned that will make the game
experience less enjoyable.
❧❧ If a player scores multiple Hits on a Trait Check, they get their Boon like normal,
but then mark either 1 Skill or 1 Spirit instead of marking 1 Shadow.
❧❧ If a player fills their physical Condition track, their character gets knocked
unconscious rather than killed.
❧❧ This style of gameplay results in faster character advancement and the odds being
skewed toward success. This can help keep younger players more engaged. Their
characters will be big heroes.
GM Guidance:
❧❧ Present the Void as an unseen force and never speak as the Void. It’s enough for
most kids that there are monsters to deal with. They don’t need an evil voice
from afar.
❧❧ Focus the collaborative storytelling on friendship, working together, and making
the world of Reverie a better, safer place.
❧❧ Let the foes be a little more comedic so they aren’t as scary to younger players.
Let child players defeat the monsters in humorous ways.

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes

Advancing your Character

Whenever you fill up your character’s Skill track (between sessions or during a
game session), you may immediately spend all of that Skill to increase a Trait by 1 (to
a maximum of 4) or gain one Talent you don’t already have. Alternatively, you may
gain the other two Specialties that you didn’t select at character creation.

Starting with Advanced Characters

Sometimes, groups want to start playing with characters that are more advanced,
more competent, and maybe more corrupted than what is described above.
If all players agree, the GM can assign a specific number of “Advancement Points”
to each character. Every character gets the same number of these points. Spend each
Advancement Point to increase a Trait by 1, gain a Talent, or gain the two Specialties
you didn’t select at character creation.
Characters that are more advanced have likely seen more of the world and gone
up against the Void a few times already. The GM might also have each player select
a Corruption to reflect this.

PLAYBOOKS
The following pages contain a series of 2-page character playbooks. Each playbook
provides you with everything you need to play that character.
Some players like to develop more elaborate backgrounds for their characters and
keep track of more minutiae. Feel free to do so. It can help you feel more invested
in your character if you define more about them. Ultimately, you’re playing a hero
seeking to save their world and it’s good to be invested in everything about that.

THE DETAILS
Everything beyond what’s presented in Chapter 1 and in the individual character
playbooks is up to you. Following is a list of things you might want to help develop for
your character, their people, and the world. Work with the other players and GM to
flesh all these things out as you play.

Details to Develop
❧❧ Government/leadership/religion ❧❧ Where they tend to live
❧❧ Family structure ❧❧ How old they live to be
❧❧ Philosophy and morality ❧❧ What they’re best at
❧❧ Customs they have ❧❧ What they aren’t very good at most
of the time
❧❧ What kinds of names they have
❧❧ Famous members and why they’re
❧❧ What they look like
famous
❧❧ Clothing and jewelry
❧❧ How they get along with other folk
❧❧ What their tools and weapons look
like

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 Good Strong Hands

ANIMANT
You are an inanimate object given life by
magic who looks forward to becoming more
than what you were made for. Regardless of
your form, you can see, hear, speak, hover,
move, and manipulate objects magically.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Magic Knowledge Afraid (0) Exhausted
Noticing Things Rattled (-1) Injured
Overcoming Fears Terrified (-2) Broken
Using Minor Magic Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Crafted Form (choice)
Choose your type from below. Define the specifics of your form and what you were
made for. You gain advantage on all Trait Checks related to your original purpose.
Armor/Shield Weapon Household Item Clockwork Being

Animate Another
Spend 1 Spirit. You animate a mundane object until the end of the Scene. It can fly
and do whatever you command other than fight.

Dazzling Dance (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Perform an intricate dance. Make a number of creatures equal to your
Charm score happy or afraid.

Forge the Self (magic)

Spend 1 Spirit. You can fly, see in darkness, or burrow through earth until the end of
the Scene; choose one. While doing this, you can’t speak or hear; choose one.

Made of Magic (magic: )

Choose 3 realms of magic. You can perform minor magics in those realms.

Made to Aid
When you aid another character by spending Spirit, they always gain a Boon if they
succeed on the Trait Check. This doesn’t require your Action.

Silent Voice
You can telepathically communicate with creatures that have a language.

Corruptions
Channel the Void (A)
Mark 2 Shadow. Automatically succeed on a Trait Check.

Fell Remaking
Mark 2 permanent Shadow. If you die, you are immediately remade whole with no
Conditions marked.

Sunderdust (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Destroy a normal object no larger than your form.

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 Good Strong Hands

BROWNIE
Equal parts helpful and mischievous, you’re
a member of a fey culture with no true
home. You like to barter your skills and deal
in favors. You often rely on your innocuous
appearance to keep you safe.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Acrobatics Afraid (0) Exhausted
Folk Knowledge Rattled (-1) Injured
Hiding/Sneaking Terrified (-2) Broken
Making Things Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Master of Craft (choice)
Choose your crafting focus. You always succeed when crafting, cleaning, fixing, or
disassembling items of that type.
Weapons Tools Transportation Household Items

Bag of Little Things

You have a small sack with you at all times. You can reach in and pull out just the right
simple, inexpensive object at any time.

Bye-Bye (magic: trickery)

Spend 1 Spirt. Turn invisible until the end of the Scene. If you interact physically or
verbally with a creature, you become visible to them.

Clockwork Servant (magic: conjuration) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit to create a clockwork object out of nothing that performs a specific
task until the end of the Scene and then dissipates into smoke. You can have a number
of servants at one time equal to your Heart score.

Crafty Taunt (A)

Spend 1 Spirit to goad a creature into doing something, as long as it won’t endanger
their life or the lives of those they care for.

Payment Please
Perform a service for an ally and spend 1 Skill. The ally loses 1 Spirit and you mark 1
Spirit.

Pick Apart
Whenever you meet someone or encounter an object for the first time, you always
know one of its weaknesses or strengths.

Corruptions
Entropic Touch (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Touch a non-living object as large as a house. The object falls to
pieces and can never be repaired.

Locked Mind
Mark 1 permanent Shadow. Make one creature forget one bit of knowledge.

Malicious Misdirection (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Blame someone else for your wrongdoing and get away with it.

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 Good Strong Hands

FAUN
You’re a hairy-legged, horned, half-goat
person with a penchant for performance.
Your normally pleasant demeanor can turn
violent if you’re cornered. You are often lusty
and revel in double entendre.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Bluffing/Lying Afraid (0) Exhausted
Gathering Information Rattled (-1) Injured
Performing Terrified (-2) Broken
Persuading Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Expert Performer (choice; magic: emotion) (A)
Choose your performance focus. Spend 1 Spirit to execute a perfect performance
of the chosen type and instill any emotion in one target that heard and saw your
performance.
Oratory Poetry Singing Dancing Instrument

Animal Speech
You can converse with any friendly, non-sapient animal.

Bond of Love
Choose one friend. The two of you can give any amount of Spirit to the other if you
can both hear each other. If you lose this love, you may select another in one week.

Bounding Legs
You can jump up to 30’ vertically or horizontally without a running start.

Longing Gaze (A)

If all you do is look into someone’s eyes, they can’t take their eyes off of you.

Spirited Charge
Spend 1 Spirit. If you succeed at a Body Check to attack, gain a Boon automatically.
You don’t mark Shadow when you use this Talent.

Swift Hooves (magic: movement)

Spend 1 Spirit. Move faster than the fastest runner until the end of the Scene. Spend 2
Spirit to take one friend with you. Only sylphs and redcaps can catch you.

Corruptions
Endless Dance (A)
Mark 2 permanent Shadow. Cause one creature to dance forever.

Hypnotic Song (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Plant a subliminal suggestion or modify one memory in one creature.

Pied Piper (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Lead a horde of vermin (rats, roaches, etc.) through an area. The
vermin devour unattended dead flesh and plant life.

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 Good Strong Hands

HUMAN
Hailing from Earth, you come to Reverie by
some magical means. You may or may not be
able to return. The folk of Reverie alternately
consider you a curiosity and something to be
feared.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Bluffing/Lying Afraid (0) Exhausted
Figuring Things Out Rattled (-1) Injured
Leading Others Terrified (-2) Broken
Overcoming Fears Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Lucky Item (choice)
Choose your lucky item type from below and define it. Gain advantage when using
that item during a Trait Check.
Book Tool Weapon

Make it Happen (A)

Succeed at a Body Check automatically. Mark 1 physical Condition. This Condition
can’t be prevented and requires a night’s sleep before removing.

Power of Belief (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Inspire an ally. They make their next Trait Check with an additional die.
If your Heart is 3 or 4, they gain two additional dice.

Resilient
When your Trait Check gets 3 or more Hits, remove 1 Condition from yourself.

Tenacious
Spend 1 Spirit. Reroll a Trait Check you just failed.

Touch of Magic (magic)

Spend 1 Spirit. Use a friend’s magic Talent one time immediately. You must pay the
Spirt cost of that Talent, if any. You cannot select this Talent when you first create
your character.

Void-Defiant
You can spend 1 Skill or 1 Spirit to avoid marking Shadow when you get two or more
Hits on a Trait Check.

Corruptions
Easily Tempted
Mark 1 permanent Shadow. Succumb to a temptation to mark 5 Spirit.

Fell Tongue (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Tell a bald-faced lie and get what you want.

Foul Mirror (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Your shadow detaches from your body and can perform tasks using
your Trait scores until the end of the Scene. The shadow can fly and is invisible at
night. You can see and hear through it.

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 Good Strong Hands

IMP
Thin and wiry, your movements are fluid.
You live in the shadows on the edges of
society and rarely laugh or smile. Your people
share a grim past that you’re trying to escape,
always seeking to redefine yourselves.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Escaping Afraid (0) Exhausted
Figuring Things Out Rattled (-1) Injured
Folk Knowledge Terrified (-2) Broken
Void Knowledge Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Many Forms (choice; magic: polymorph)
Choose your polymorph focus from below. Define the details of a number of different
forms of that focus equal to your Heart score. You can transform into and back from
those forms as well as your normal form at will.
Folk Animal

Borrow Soul (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Use a friend’s Talent one time.

Bound Within
Describe a specific handheld object. You can bind yourself within it and leave again
at will. While inside, you can see, hear, and speak, but can’t be hurt and can’t affect
things physically or use other Talents or Corruptions.

Crack a Smile (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Everyone that can see you becomes happy and friendly toward you. If
you spend 2 Spirit, laugh and make one of them flee.

Heart’s Resolve
Spend 1 Spirit. Attempt a failed Trait Check a second time, using Heart.

Shadow Step (magic: darkness)

Teleport from one shadow to another that you can see.

Tail Whip
If you get only one Hit on a Body Check to attack with your tail, you gain a Boon on
that attack.

Corruptions
Feed on Shadow
Mark 1 Shadow. Remove all Conditions from yourself.

Greatest Trick (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. One sapient creature forgets you exist. They can’t see or hear you
and don’t remember you.

Soul Burn (A)

Mark 2 permanent Shadow. Destroy a creature’s soul, leaving only their body behind
as an unmoving, dead husk.

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 Good Strong Hands

PARAGON
You are an animal, but capable of speech and
fully sapient. An eternal soul, you reincarnate
through the ages, bringing your knowledge of
history with you. You are unique and serve as a
guardian and emissary for your kind.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Fighting Afraid (0) Exhausted
History Rattled (-1) Injured
Leading Others Terrified (-2) Broken
Void Knowledge Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Eternal Shepherd (choice)
Choose a specific animal to be your type (lion, beaver, falcon, etc.). You can speak
to animals of your type and they always heed your words as long as it won’t harm
them or those they care for. When you die, you can spend 3 Spirit to be immediately
reformed in your current body.
Type:

Call the Beast

Spend 1 Spirit. Instill rage and ferocity in one ally. They gain advantage to all Trait
Checks to fight until the end of the Scene.

Channel Friendship (A)

Each morning you may select a friend’s Talent. You can use that Talent as it is written.
Your friend does not lose access to their Talent.

Educated by the Ages

Spend 1 Spirit. Attempt a failed Trait Check again at full dice.

Reverie’s Light
You can glow and fill a small area with light. All those within the light gain advantage
to Trait Checks to face their Fears.

Sacrificial Healing
Spend 1 Spirit. Mark 1 Condition to remove 2 Conditions from one creature.

Void Sense (A)

Simply by concentrating, you can sense the presence of minions of the Void, dark
magics, and corrupted or dying nature near you.

Corruptions
Blood Revel
Mark 1 Shadow. Gain advantage to all Body Checks to fight. If you deal the killing
blow to a creature, remove one Condition from yourself.

Dire Rending
Mark 1 Shadow. Your physical attacks can damage any material, including metal and
stone, until the end of the Scene.

Embody the Void (A)

Mark 1 permanent Shadow. Mark 2 Skill and 2 Spirit.

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 Good Strong Hands

PIXIE
The smallest of the fey, you are just a foot
tall. You’re quick to fly with your wings and
equally quick to embrace others as friends.
You can be vindictive when angered or when
promises are broken.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Acrobatics Afraid (0) Exhausted
Helping Others Rattled (-1) Injured
Taunting Terrified (-2) Broken
Using Minor Magic Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Height or Flight (choice) (magic: flesh)
Choose your magic focus from below. Spend 1 Spirit to make a friend the same size
as you or give them wings like you (based on the focus you chose) until the end of
the Scene.
Size Wings

Circle of Flowers (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. You create a circle of flowers. Everyone who sleeps at least 4 hours
within the circle removes 1 Condition or marks 1 Skill.

Fear Begone (A)

Tell a calming story to remove the effects of a character’s Fear until the end of the
Scene.

Firefly Shape (magic: light)

You can transform into a firefly. You fly very fast, can fit into tiny spaces, and can
illuminate an area the size of a small house.

Flitterquick (magic)
You can teleport to any location you can see. If you spend 2 Spirit, you can take one
friend with you.

Itty Bitty
If you have at least 2 Spirit, you don’t mark physical Conditions from being attacked.

Slumbersleep (A)
Spend 1 Spirit. Perform a dance to make one creature fall asleep.

Corruptions
See My Soul (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Make one creature grow fearful and run away from you.

Unbridled Jealousy
Mark 1 Shadow. Gain a friend’s Talent until the end of the Scene.

Wish (A)
Mark 2 permanent Shadow. Grant yourself or someone else one wish that benefits
only the wisher. The wish can’t change a character’s playbook.

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 Good Strong Hands

REDCAP
You are short and stout with piercing eyes.
Many don’t understand your culture and
view you as violent, but that’s not the case.
You always have something to prove. Deep
down, you’re fiercely loyal.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Climbing/Swimming Afraid (0) Exhausted
Fighting Rattled (-1) Injured
Performing Terrified (-2) Broken
Showing Off Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Survivor (choice)
Choose two terrains from below. You can navigate and survive in each perfectly. You
can find food, water, and shelter with ease. You know about plants and animals native
to those terrains.
Forest Grassland Hills Mountains Sea Swamp

Better Lucky
Spend 1 Spirit. Gain a Boon on a Trait Check at which you just succeeded.

Bloody Cap (A)

Spend 1 Spirit after you kill a foe. One sapient foe of your choice that sees you dip
your cap, scarf, or cloak in the dead foe’s blood flees from you.

Fire in Fist (magic: fire)

You can create fire in your hands. You can throw it with a Body Check.

Inviolate Soul
You are immune to the effects of other creatures’ Talents and Corruptions. You can
choose to be affected if you wish to be.

Iron Boots
You can’t be knocked down or moved from where you stand. You always catch
whatever or whomever you’re chasing unless they’re a sylph.

Morph (magic: transformation) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Transmute an object into another object of similar size and materials.

Corruptions
Mold Flesh (A)
Mark 1 permanent Shadow. Transmute a willing creature to look like any other
creature of a similar size. Mark 2 permanent Shadow if the creature is unwilling.

Return to Dirt
Mark 1 Shadow. You can burrow through loose dirt at high speed.

Self-Immolate
Mark 1 Shadow. You cover yourself in flames that don’t burn you. Successful Trait
Checks to attack always get a Boon.

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 Good Strong Hands

STONEKIN
Born of earth and fire, your body is that of
stone. Moss fills your joints and acts as hair.
You are larger than most other folk, both
in size and in emotion. You feel everything
deeply, right to your core.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Gathering Information Afraid (0) Exhausted
Helping Others Rattled (-1) Injured
History Terrified (-2) Broken
Overcoming Fears Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Core of Stone (choice)
Choose your stone type. You can speak to your type if it’s natural stone. If you are
smooth, you don’t need sleep. If you are rough, when you die, you are reformed
immediately with no physical Conditions marked, but you then change your type to
smooth.
Smooth Rough

Big Things
You can lift very large, heavy objects. You can use them as weapons, even if they’re
not intended to be used as such, without suffering disadvantage.

Gentle Nudge (magic: earth) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. You cause a minor earthquake and knock down a number of creatures
equal to your Heart score.

Good, Strong Hands

If you fail a Body Check focused on using your hands, reroll it once with disadvantage.

Still Form
If you don’t move, you appear as natural stone and do not mark Conditions. This
applies while you are sleeping.

Stonecall (magic: telekinesis) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. You call forth and move rocks as large as you until the end of the
Scene. You can make them move anywhere, but they must always touch the ground
or each other.

Unshakeable and Unbreakable

All your Condition modifiers are reduced by 1.

Corruptions
Bellow (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Deafen a number of creatures equal to your Heart score until the
end of the Scene.

Petrification (A)
Mark 2 permanent Shadow. Turn one creature to stone forever.

Trembling Rage (A)

Mark 1 Shadow. Destroy any object, up to the size of a small house.

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 Good Strong Hands

SYLPH
You are wispy, slender, and translucent. You
can fly like the wind, quick and strong. Your
mind swings between extremes of emotion
almost on a whim. You’re hard to pin down,
both physically and emotionally.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Escaping Afraid (0) Exhausted
Hiding/Sneaking Rattled (-1) Injured
Making Things Terrified (-2) Broken
Noticing Things Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Four Winds (choice) (magic: air) (A)
Choose your wind type. Spend 1 Spirit to create that type of wind and produce its
effect. East: calm emotions. West: extinguish flames. South: remove 1 Condition from
anyone. North: incite rage in anyone.
East West South North

Ethereal Form
Spend 1 Spirit. Don’t mark a physical Condition when it’s called for.

Flurry of Action
Mark a physical Condition that can’t be prevented and can’t be removed until the
end of the story. Take a second Action on your turn.

Obscuring Cloud
Scream and fly in circles to create a cloud of dust and debris the size of a small house.

Protective Aura (magic: shielding) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. One friend doesn’t mark a physical Condition when it’s called for.

Speck on the Wind

You are incredibly fast. You always catch what you’re chasing and can’t be caught by
someone or something chasing you, not even a redcap.

Wind’s Gift
Temporarily give up your ability to fly to allow a friend to fly until the end of the
Scene.

Corruptions
Disappear (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Make an item no larger than a cart disappear forever.

Howling Gale (A)

Mark 1 permanent Shadow. Your scream instills fear in one target and they run away
from you, never approaching you again.

Inhabitation
Mark 1 Shadow. Enter the body of and take control of a creature until the beginning
of your next turn.

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 Good Strong Hands

WILDKIN
Half fey and half small, woodland creature,
you understand both worlds. Your fey side
makes you personable. Your animal side
makes you wily and sometimes ferocious.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Climbing/Swimming Afraid (0) Exhausted
Nature Knowledge Rattled (-1) Injured
Showing Off Terrified (-2) Broken
Taunting Unconscious Dead

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 Chapter Three: 12 Heroes - Playbooks

Talents
Animal Form (choice) (magic: animal)
Choose your animal type. You can transform into and speak to your animal type.
You can burrow in soil (badger), run fast (fox), swim fast (otter), or jump high (rabbit),
based on your type.
Badger Fox Otter Rabbit

Dauntless
If you fail a Trait Check to overcome a Fear or help someone else overcome a Fear,
reroll it once with disadvantage.

First Lucky (A)

Narrate your actions while doing something you’ve never done before to automatically
succeed with one Hit.

Jest (magic: thought) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Play a harmless trick on another creature. That creature befriends you
and is willing to help you with a task.

Skilled Sword
You have a special weapon crafted and balanced just for you. You gain advantage
when using it.

True Friend
Spend 1 Spirit. One friend of yours marks 1 Spirit. Alternatively, you mark 1 Shadow
instead of a friend when they normally would.

Woodland Call (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Summon forth an animal to function as a messenger, tracker, scout, or
mount until the end of the Scene.

Corruptions
Destroy Bonds (A)
Mark 1 Shadow. Sunder the emotional bond between two other creatures.

Rabid Ferocity
Mark 1 Shadow. Automatically succeed on one Body Check and one Heart Check of
your choice before the end of the Scene.

Sickening Bite (A)

Mark 1 permanent Shadow. You bite another creature and they become deathly ill.
All Trait Checks made to affect the ill creature gain advantage.

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 Good Strong Hands

WOODKIN
Your skin is bark and sap courses through
your veins. You are among the oldest fey,
living many centuries. Your appearance and
demeanor change with the season, ever
shifting.

Character Name:

Appearance:

Fears (2):

Anchors (3):

Notes:

Body Skill (mark for failed check)

Mind Spirit (mark for exactly one Hit)

Charm
Shadow (mark for two or more Hits)
Heart
Specialties Conditions
Helping Others Afraid (0) Exhausted
Magic Knowledge Rattled (-1) Injured
Nature Knowledge Terrified (-2) Broken
Persuading Unconscious Dead

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Talents
Leaf or Needle (choice)
Choose your tree type. You can speak to your tree type. If you are deciduous, you
can remove 1 Condition from someone else after you sleep. If you are coniferous, you
remove 1 Condition from yourself after you sleep.
Deciduous Coniferous

Deep Roots
While you sleep, you root to the ground, cannot be moved, and remain alert.

Long Limbs
Each of your arms and legs can grow up to 20’ long.

Master Archer
If you fail a Body Check while using a ranged weapon, reroll it once with disadvantage.

Vine Twine (magic: plant) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Animate a plant no larger than a small tree to do things that a plant
that size could reasonably do until the end of the Scene.

Watershape (magic: water) (A)

Spend 1 Spirit. Cause water no larger than a small pond to move until the end of the
Scene. It can climb walls, freeze/thaw, form into shapes, etc.

Wood Step (magic)

Spend 1 Spirit. Step into a tree and emerge from another within sight or hide inside
of it and emerge at will. You can see and hear while inside.

Corruptions
Ashen Regrowth
Mark 1 Shadow. Remove all Conditions from yourself or another creature. If another
creature, they become partially woodkin, but gray and ashen.

Foul Rot (A)

Mark 2 permanent Shadow. Cause one creature’s body to begin withering away and
then die one minute later.

Wooden Warrior
Mark 1 Shadow. Remove up to two Conditions from yourself. Gain advantage on all
Trait Checks to attack/defend until the end of the Scene.

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Chapter Four: GM Guidelines

The world is filled with important pairings. Sun and moon. Life and death.
Craft and art. The best pairings create something greater than the two alone.
Wildkin proverb
Gamemastering (GMing) an RPG takes a slightly different skill set than playing a
character in an RPG. Not only do you play the role of various NPCs and decide their
actions (like players do with their characters), you do this while being mindful of the
story everyone’s telling. You use those NPCs to propel the player’s characters to their
goals.
Additionally, you describe large portions of the world, introduce challenges for the
characters to overcome, and adjudicate the rules to keep things moving.
GMing is both an art and a craft. It’s a craft in that you’re building a story using
some rules and requirements. And it’s an art in that you’re trying to evoke emotional
responses from the characters, players, and yourself.

STORY AND ART

Cooperative storytelling is the heart of a Good Strong Hands game. You and the
players narrate characters and describe the world of Reverie as their characters fight
the Void. In some games, you may not even roll dice that often.

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Touchstones
Good Strong Hands is intended to emulate fantasy stories featuring mortal people
you come to love striving to save their world from a faceless, malevolent force. It
draws inspiration from the following movies/media.
❧❧ Alice in Wonderland
❧❧ Annihilation
❧❧ Labyrinth
❧❧ Legend
❧❧ Pan’s Labyrinth
❧❧ The Dark Crystal
❧❧ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
❧❧ The Neverending Story
❧❧ The Wizard of Oz
❧❧ Willow

Player Agency
One of the most important parts of GMing is ensuring the players have agency
over their characters. While you occasionally impose penalties (like disadvantage or
Conditions) or cause bad things to befall the characters, you should never control
what the characters do or say. Players should always have control of their characters.
Even if a character is influenced by, for example, magic that makes them feel a
particular emotion, the player ultimately decides how their character interprets that
and reacts to it.
Players also have preferences that they should get the chance to explore. If a
player likes to have their character kick butt in fights, make sure they get to do that
occasionally. If a player builds their character around influencing others socially, put
them in situations where they can do that.

Improvisation
Even if you plan out your story, even if you lay out every possible complication that
might arise for each and every Scene, the players will surprise you.
Roll with the punches. Take what the players bring to the game and build on it.
Whenever possible, say “yes, and…” If you must say “no,” say, “no, but…” and provide
the player with an alternative.
When a player asks a question, they are usually asking because they want the thing
they’re asking about. If a player says, “Are there any hollowed out trees nearby?” they
probably want to hide inside it or lure a foe there. If it’s not going to interfere with
some important plot element, give the player what they want.

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Improvising within a game can be a daunting task. Just remember that the players
want to have fun just as much as you do. They want you to succeed with your
improvising, so they’ll cut you some slack as you find your way.

Asking Players Questions

Good Strong Hands encourages you to ask the players questions that help flesh out
the story and world.
For example, when you introduce an NPC (and don’t have specific plans for them),
you might ask, “How do you know this character?” and let one or two players fill in
details. These types of questions and their answers help invest the players in the world
since they have a hand in creating it. Given the opportunity, players gladly offer ideas
that you can build on. If one player gets hung up, assure them they’re off the hook
and ask another player.

Building Reverie Together

Improvisation and questions help you build the world of Reverie WITH your players
rather than describing Reverie TO your players. A reverie is a dream. And the world
of Reverie is built from the dreams and imaginings of the folks who live there, other
fictional characters in other places, as well as you and the other players.

Humor And Horror

Good Strong Hands is a game built around good humor; that is, not so much “ha-
ha” funny but more whimsical and fantastic. It also incorporates themes of horror,
corruption, and death. Striking a balance between these two can be a little tricky. It’s
best to talk a bit with the players before playing to see what they’re expecting.
You might play a mostly fantastical game with the occasional bit of horror to remind
players of the stakes. You might play a morose, heavy game of horror interspersed
with the occasional moment of whimsy to alleviate the pressure. And you might play
anything in between.
The most important part of this duality is that humor and horror used together
allow for tension and release. Build up toward something deathly serious, hit that
crescendo moment, and then allow the players to relax a bit and enjoy the fantastical
qualities of the game before starting down a shadowy path again.

The Void’s Voice

As a character starts to fall to the Void and gain Corruptions, you can speak to
the character in the voice of the Void, a voice that only they can hear. Tempt these
characters to do terrible things. Promise to reveal secrets to them if they do what you
(the Void) want. Offer them power.
Will you follow through with such promises? Maybe. And more to the point, why
not? Some players might enjoy the opportunity to play a character that is walking

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a line. While the characters in Good Strong Hands are supposed to be heroes,
sometimes heroes lose their way.
Of course, don’t over-do it. And don’t say anything that reduces the enjoyment
that the player is having. Portraying an uncaring and threatening entity can be done
without actually being uncaring and threatening toward the player.

Using Fears and Anchors

Make a note of the Fears and Anchors selected by your players. Incorporate those
Fears as threats and challenges in the stories you guide everyone through. Give
players the chance to show off their characters’ Anchors.
If a character has “curious” as an Anchor, make sure to include opportunities
to explore a mystery on occasion. If a character lists “the dark” as a Fear for their
character, set an important moment in a story in the depths of night from time to
time.

RULES AND CRAFT

Working within the rules is an important part of GMing. Following are some
guidelines for how to do that in Good Strong Hands. These guidelines are not all-
inclusive, of course, so if you want to do something a little differently because it helps
you and your players tell a better story or enjoy the process better, do it.

Calling for Trait Checks

The more Trait Checks you call for, the faster characters progress and the faster
they potentially mark Shadow and fall to corruption. Keep this in mind as you GM.
Only call for Trait Checks when there are consequences for failure. The players don’t
need to roll dice to unstick a door if they’re not under the gun. Simply describe how
the door is stuck and takes some work to get it open.
As you play, you and the players will figure out the style of play you want and you’ll
call for Trait Checks often enough to fit that style. Assuming everything is moving
swiftly in the game, a good baseline to start from is calling for around 4-8 Trait
Checks from each player per hour of game play.

Setting Target Numbers

Target numbers (TNs) for Good Strong Hands range from 4 to 6. A TN of 4 is for a
relatively simple task. TN 6 is for very difficult tasks.
The game doesn’t describe what the TN should be for different types of Trait
Checks in different situations. That’s up to you. Assign them as appropriate. Lower TNs
are best for situations where you want to keep things moving and not risk having the
characters get hung up on something. Higher TNs are for when the stakes are high.

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The Mechanics of Success and Failure

Good Strong Hands includes mechanical consequences for both successes and
failures. Players always mark Skill, Spirit, or Shadow when they make a Trait Check.
You might need to remind them of that when you first start playing.

Adjudicating Boons
When a player gets two or more Hits on a Trait Check, they get a Boon. They
perform the task better than normal or gain some other in-game benefit. At the
same time, they also mark 1 Shadow, so don’t forget to reward them with that Boon.
Example Boons follow.
❧❧ The character learns more information.
❧❧ The character discovers a secret or figures something out about the story that
was previously undetermined.
❧❧ The character gains insight into how a particular path of action might go.
❧❧ The character performs the action with more flair, and friendly NPCs notice.
❧❧ The player gains advantage on their next Trait Check.
❧❧ The character scores an additional Hit to overcome a challenge that requires
multiple Hits.
Boons don’t always have to have game mechanic implications, nor do they need to
progress the story. Sometimes, they can just be moments where the character does
something impressive. Mix it up.

Adjudicating Complications
The flip side of Boons are Complications, and they’re one of your primary methods
of escalating conflict and challenging the players. When a player gets no Hits on a
Trait Check, their character fails at the task and you introduce a Complication. This
is your chance to make the current situation more complex, raise the stakes for the
player’s character, or force that character to overcome some sort of obstacle.
❧❧ A new foe/reinforcements appear.
❧❧ The current task becomes more difficult (raise the TN by 1).
❧❧ The character makes a fool of themselves.
❧❧ The character lets one of their allies down.
❧❧ An NPC reveals something that complicates a future challenge.
❧❧ The player marks a Condition for their character.
❧❧ The player suffers disadvantage on their next Trait Check.
Complications are not punishments. They’re intended to make the story richer, to
make the eventual victory all the sweeter.

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The Reaction Rules

Good Strong Hands places all die rolls in the hands of the players. This means that
you never roll dice to make an attack or otherwise affect a character. Complications,
described above, are one way of introducing a challenge, but they are inherently
reactions to the players failing Trait Checks.
You can also initiate events, situations, or attacks that further challenge the players
and their characters. But there’s always an element of reaction to these things. Either
you set a situation up and give players the chance to react before things get bad or
you spring something on the characters and the players get a Reaction Check for
their character to avoid some or all of the effect. Examples follow.
❧❧ You describe a rockslide starting with some amount of warning. The players have
time to get their characters out of the way. If they don’t, you have them mark a
physical Condition for being pelted by rocks.
❧❧ You describe a magical explosion suddenly rocking the building the characters
are in. They get Body Reaction Checks to avoid getting hurt or to only mark 1
Condition when the explosion should have made them mark 2.
You should never impose a negative effect or Condition on a player’s character
without the player having some chance to deal with or avoid it.

NPCs with Talents

When you use NPCs who are one of the ten folk presented for players to choose
from, it’s not necessary to assign all of them Talents. Technically, such creatures could
have access to such abilities, but they’re not the heroes of the story. It’s perfectly
acceptable to not worry about Talents that NPCs may have. Of course, you can give
the NPCs Talents to use if it suits the story you’re telling.
Keep in mind that Talents used by NPCs on the characters should never take away
player agency. The player should get an appropriate Reaction Check to avoid the
effect for such Talents.

Corruptions
Characters will likely gain Corruptions during extended campaigns of Good Strong
Hands. Going up against the Void has repercussions.
Each character has three Corruptions listed. One of them requires the player to
mark 2 permanent Shadow. Such Corruptions kill the NPC/monster or otherwise
permanently remove them from being a threat. That’s a powerful ability, but it has
a downside.

Bringing a Foe Back

At any point in the campaign, AFTER a character has used such a Corruption to
remove a foe, you can bring that foe back one more time, but only once.

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Late in the campaign, after the players have perhaps forgotten about the NPC, you
can bring any foe vanquished with one of these Corruptions back for one last go-
around with the characters. The Void resurrects them, releases them from dancing
forever, or whatever to try to finish off the characters once and for all. You might
foreshadow this by having the character who vanquished the foe with the Corruption
start having nightmares about them being freed or resurrected.
When such a foe is defeated one final time, make it clear in your narration that
they won’t come back again. A good way to do this is to have a massive shadow fall
over the realm when the foe is vanquished again, as the Void subsumes their form and
essence into itself, and then dissipates.

WAYS TO PLAY
Good Strong Hands can be played in a variety of ways. No way is any better than
any other. They’re just different, and so it’s best to keep a few things in mind about
each “way to play.”

One-Shots
You can run Good Strong Hands as a single game session that tells a single story
in the struggle against the Void. Such one-shot stories can be very satisfying as they
provide players with a concrete “win” at the end of the session.
There are a few aspects of the game that you might approach differently if the
game is going to be a one-off story.

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❧❧ You might have players create characters that are more advanced than typical
starting characters. Refer to Chapter 3 for options.
❧❧ In a one-shot, characters are less likely to gain Corruptions. You might have
players start by marking several boxes on their Shadow track before play begins.
You might even have them each choose a Corruption their character has already
gained, reflecting that their character has been fighting the Void for some time.

Campaign Play
If you run multiple sessions with the same characters, you’re playing a campaign.
Campaigns allow you to create individual stories with their own ends, but also string
them together to create larger narratives. You might set multiple stories in the same
area and describe how the outcomes of different sessions affect other nearby areas.
You might introduce recurring NPCs and recurring monsters or other threats.
The easiest way to create a campaign is to string multiple stories together and
include some of these through-lines. Build toward a major story that the characters
will engage in at the end when they’re ready to defeat the Void once and for all.

The Three Phase Campaign

If you want to reflect the Void’s growing influence on the world over the course
of the campaign, split the campaign into three phases. Each phase should roughly
include the same number of game sessions.
Early in the campaign, the Void is just getting a foothold in Reverie. As the campaign
progresses, the Void becomes a larger, ever-present threat. It’s always on the minds
of most NPCs the characters run into. By the final stages of the campaign, the Void
is everywhere. It has wrought a great deal of destruction and caused much chaos.
To reflect the worsening conditions in Reverie, follow these guidelines.
❧❧ Phase 1: Play the game as described in the rules.
❧❧ Phase 2: Each player marks 1 Shadow for their character at the beginning of
each session. This reflects the Void’s growing influence over heroes it is trying to
corrupt. A player can spend 2 Spirit to avoid marking this Shadow.
❧❧ Phase 3: Each player marks 1 Shadow for their character at the beginning of each
session. They cannot spend Spirit to avoid this. Additionally, each time a character
uses a Corruption, they mark 1 more Shadow than in the Corruption’s description.
This applies to marking permanent Corruption, too.
Note that this type of campaign pushes characters toward Corruption faster and
may result in more characters falling to the Void. When adjusting the Intensity Dial of
the campaign, consider having all Shadow tracks consist of eight or ten checkboxes,
unless you and the players really want to live dangerously. Alternatively, you can
change the intensity dial across the course of the campaign.

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Defeating the Void

There are no hard and fast rules for defeating the Void. As it has no form, the
characters can never fight it directly. They only come up against its minions. When
you’re ready to give the characters the opportunity to defeat the Void once and for
all, you can do one or more of the following.
❧❧ Introduce a powerful foe to act as the avatar of the Void in the world of Reverie.
Defeating this foe defeats the Void.
❧❧ Require the characters to retrieve and use an item of power that vanquishes the
Void. This item should be difficult to procure and using it should be a complex
series of tasks. They shouldn’t just be able to flip a switch to defeat the Void.
❧❧ Require the characters to make one or more significant sacrifices to defeat the
Void. Such sacrifices might be their own lives, the lives of NPCs they care about,
future hopes and dreams, important memories, or specific items of power.
❧❧ In addition to such large, difficult acts, the characters might also vanquish hordes
of minions, get other folk to join the fight, repair damage done to the world, help
others recover, and build communities.
When the characters defeat the Void, be careful not to downplay it. Make it a big
moment. Let the players revel in it. Make it take some time so they can enjoy the
build-up and, finally, the defeat of the Void.
And then give them a campaign epilogue, where each player narrates what their
character does in the aftermath of the Void’s defeat. Allow the players to find closure
for their characters.

STORY COMPONENTS
Many fantasy tropes are used in Good Strong Hands. The characters described
earlier and the story schemes described further on cover most of that. But there are
a few other things that warrant a bit of discussion.

Fantasy Creatures
The only true force of evil in the game is the Void. The characters, NPCs, and other
creatures you introduce may do evil things. They may ally themselves with the Void.
But they are not, in their souls, inherently evil.

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Non-Sapient Creatures
There are monsters in Reverie that function like animals in the real world. They
sometimes kill to survive, to secure food, or to defend themselves or their young.
They’re not evil per se, but they, and normal animals, become more ferocious when
the Void is attacking Reverie. The characters might encounter such creatures as part
of their stories, but they are generally not at the heart of the story. They include the
following, among others.
❧❧ Basilisks: Giant lizards that can turn people to stone
❧❧ Chimera: Winged lions with a lion head, a goat head, and a dragon head
❧❧ Dire Animals: Huge, often violent versions of smaller animals
❧❧ Hydras: Massive, multi-headed lizard beasts
❧❧ Oozes: Sludges and goops that move about and consume
❧❧ Shades: Beings of shadow bent only on draining life
❧❧ Skeletons: The animated bones of any of a variety of creatures
❧❧ Zombies: Rotting corpses brought to life by magic

Sapient Creatures
The creatures listed below are intelligent. They do more than just satisfy basic
needs. They have goals, full personalities, and true emotions. They often seek out
others and build homes and communities. They make choices based on information
and personal preferences. And for all this, they are all valid targets of the Void’s
destruction and corruption.
Sapient creatures in Reverie include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following.
All of these creatures have the potential to help the Void further its goals.
❧❧ All of the folk described in Chapter 3.
❧❧ Dragons: Enormous flying lizards that breathe fire
❧❧ Dryads: Tree spirits, each one tied to an individual tree
❧❧ Ettins: Tall, two-headed bipeds that often live in hills and mountains
❧❧ Gargoyles: Statue-like stone creatures come to life
❧❧ Ghosts: The spirits of folk who have died, still bound to Reverie
❧❧ Giants: Tall, stout bipeds that build towering towns
❧❧ Harpies: Winged bird-people that often roost in large forests
❧❧ Phoenixes: Fiery birds that serve as harbingers of renewal
❧❧ Selkies: Seal people that live along calm ocean shores
❧❧ Trolls: Burly bipeds that often live in caves
❧❧ Unicorns: Horses with a single horn that often help travelers
❧❧ Will-o-wisps: Glowing balls of light that sometimes lead people astray
❧❧ Wraiths: Gray ghosts, angered by their life after death

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Minions of the Void

There are a variety of types of creatures and folk in service to the Void.

Void-Allied Creatures
Creatures that have chosen to help the Void are referred to as Void-allied. They
have their own reasons for falling in with the Void. Often, the Void promises them
great riches, power, or revenge on those who have hurt them or their families.
These creatures gave themselves over to the Void willingly, but can be saved…if
they want to escape the Void and someone helps them.

The Fallen
The fallen are heroes that have tried to fight the Void and lost. Characters that
gain all their Corruptions and then fill up their Shadow track become members of
the fallen. You might also include fallen NPCs in your stories. As fallen heroes, they
can have Corruptions.
Fallen heroes can be brought back to the light, but such redemption usually
requires their surviving friends or family to go on a quest to free them.

Void Scions
Scions are the Void given form in Reverie. They are tentacles of the Void acting in
the world. They may take the form of any known creature or some other monstrosity
never before seen. They cannot be reasoned with. They cannot be saved. They can
only be delayed, imprisoned, or destroyed.
Void scions may have standard Corruptions or even their own unique Corruptions.
All Void scions are immune to the effects of all Corruptions used against them.

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NPCs Using Corruptions

A given NPC that has access to one or more Corruptions can use any of them as
much as they want. That said, limiting their use makes the moments when they use
them against the characters more memorable, a little more frightening.
Corruptions can be used to kick-off an encounter or when a character suffers a
Complication.
Be careful of overusing Corruptions against the characters. They often require the
player to make a Reaction Check to avoid the effect. If players are reacting to these
NPCs and trying to avoid detrimental effects too often, they may start to feel as
though their characters aren’t “active” in the story, but instead too often reacting to
threats against them.

Memorable Foes
Since the characters never really fight the Void head on, their focus will often be
on the villain of the individual story. Not all stories have a specific adversary at the
heart of the narrative, nor do they need to. But nothing rallies a group of players or
characters quite like a memorable and effective foe.

Complexity and Contradiction

Memorable adversaries have names, personalities, and quirks. They come alive a bit
more than the rank and file NPCs the characters might encounter.
A good foe is the hero of their own story. You can give such foes motivations that,
in a vacuum, might actually seem reasonable. Create contradictions between what
the players expect and what they get. A nefarious ally of the Void that harbors a deep
love of animals is more interesting than a killing machine that doesn’t care for life at
all. Plus, this love of animals can be targeted by the players as a weakness they can
use against the foe.

Featured Mechanics and Complications

A memorable adversary often has one or more special abilities. These might be
Corruptions, if that foe is one of the fallen or a Void scion. Such a foe might also have
a flavorful complication that comes from dealing with it.
For example, a foe might have a fell aura surrounding it. Any character that uses a
Corruption within sight of the foe causes the foe to “heal,” meaning one of the Hits
previously scored to defeat it is undone, making it harder to dispatch. Or it might
“steal voices.” Any character that marks a Condition as a result of making a Trait
Check against the adversary can no longer speak for a few hours. They temporarily
lose use of any Talents that rely on speech and must pantomime to communicate
with their friends.

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Magic
The most powerful magic available to characters is described in specific Talents
available to the various character types. However, there are other ways magic can
manifest in the game.

Adjudicating Minor Magic

Minor magic is available to any character that has a magical Talent. The minor
magic granted for any such Talent falls into a single “realm” of magic. This means that
the character can only create minor magical effects that relate to or harness that
realm of magic.
Keep in mind that the magic effect must be something that a character could
normally attempt with a Body, Mind, or Charm Check. Set the TN for the Heart
Check at the same number you’d normally set the TN for a Body, Mind, or Charm
Check.
Minor magic is intended to be flavorful and provide the character with options.
But it isn’t powerful. More powerful magic comes in the form of specific Talents the
player must select.

Places of Power and Places Devoid of Magic

Some places are filled with magical power. Ley lines, magical fonts, faerie rings,
standing stones, and other important locales might be imbued with significant
magical energy. Additionally, scepters, orbs, crowns, large jewels and the like might
be full of magic.
At places of power (and near items of power), reduce the TN for minor magic use
by 1, to a minimum of TN 4. You might also decrease any associated Spirit cost of
magical Talents for the first time the Talent is used in the proximity of magical power.
Conversely, Voidsinks, fell altars, fallen standing stones, cut ley lines, magical
vortexes, and the like might be “magic poor.” When in the presence of such things,
increase the TN for minor magic use, to a maximum of TN 6. Additionally, you might
increase the Spirit cost of magical Talents that require such or even require players
to spend 1 Spirit for magical Talents that normally don’t require Spirit expenditure.

Magic Items
There are no statistics written up for magic items in Good Strong Hands. You
define what such an item can do in narrative terms, how often it might be used, how
far its magic can reach, and so forth.
Magic items are fun, but they should never overshadow the characters’ capabilities.
A magic item is never the hero of the story, though it may help a hero complete a
specific task necessary to the story. That said, if you want to include a variety of magic
items in the game, here are some guidelines.

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Two Types of Magic

In Reverie, magic takes on two forms.
Character magic – including magic Talents as well as minor magics performed with
Heart Checks – is generally simple, subtle, and themed to the wielder in some way.
This kind of magic is an extension of the character. Very few magic Talents create
big, flashy effects.
Larger, flashier, more destructive magic is the realm of the Void. These magics are
present in Corruptions as well as larger scale mystical effects that might mold a castle,
town, or entire region during the Void’s onslaught.

How Magic Items Are Made

Magic items in Good Strong Hands are made using a three-step process. The GM
and player involved develop these steps together.
First, the character must find the right item to imbue with magic. Magic is a slippery
force and cannot be held within any old dagger or fruit. Rather, the character needs
to find an ancient or masterfully crafted dagger or the perfect, unblemished fruit
from the top of a specific fruit tree.
Second the item must be prepared to hold the magic. It might need to be bathed
in tears or washed in the first spring rain. It may need to be blessed by a priest or
touched by a newborn infant.
Finally, the item must be imbued with magical energy. This might involve a character
with a magic Talent channeling magic into the item with a Heart Check to create an
effect using that realm of magic. Or it might require the creator to expose the item
to a nexus of magical leylines.

Example Magical Effects

If a magic item is weaker, it might provide a continuous effect or provide some sort
of mid-range benefit in certain circumstances. If a magic item can create a powerful
effect, it should be limited in use. Perhaps it can only be used once per day or week.
Perhaps it requires the bearer to spend 1 Spirt to activate it.
Possible weaker effects include the following.
❧❧ Provide advantage to a specific type of Trait Check
❧❧ Provide advantage to all Trait Checks in a very specific circumstance
❧❧ Allow you to spend Spirit to mark 1 Skill or reroll a Trait Check in a particular
circumstance
❧❧ Provide you with a magical means to communicate, move, or sense things
❧❧ Create an effect that could be created by a successful Trait Check
❧❧ Allow you to inspire, help, or befriend someone

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Possible strong effects include the following.

❧❧ Create an overt effect that breaks the laws of science akin to a magical Talent (but
never one that destroys or kills)
❧❧ Provide a Boon when successful on a Trait Check that didn’t earn a Boon from
the roll
❧❧ Avoid the effects of certain types of Complications
❧❧ Allow you to spend Spirit to remove a Condition or avoid marking Shadow

Example Magic Items

In the From the Ashe story scheme, each character is gifted with a leaf that can
never be destroyed. This is an excellent example of an item that fits step one of the
magic item creation process listed above. The leaf could be prepared to be enchanted
by exposing it to the heat of Ashe Mountain. It could then be imbued with magic by
exposing it to the leylines at Leylorn Crossroads from the Nightmares Abound story
scheme. The leaf then grows in size and becomes a nearly indestructible shield that
the wielder can use to avoid marking a physical Condition once per day.
Other example magic items include the following.
❧❧ A master smith-made kettle (with lid) that is constantly full of hearty, tasty stew
❧❧ A meteor-forged sword that allows the wielder to spend 1 Spirit to gain a Boon
on a successful attack
❧❧ A thin, silken rope that snakes its way up vertical surfaces on its own and ties itself
off to help you climb

Limiting Magic Items

The presence of one or more magic items should never supersede the importance
of the characters in the story. A character that possesses one or two interesting,
flavorful magic items is interesting. A character carrying a half dozen or more runs
the risk of becoming merely the vessel by which their magic items solve problems.

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 Good Strong Hands

Chapter Five: 16 Stories

A tale can move you to tears. A tale shared can move the world.
Stonekin proverb

OVERVIEW
The following pages contain a series of 2-page story schemes. Each scheme is
intended to provide the basis of a story in which the characters engage.
Each scheme is basically an outline containing the overall plot, options for resolving
it, and a bunch of inspiration, twists, locales, and NPCs. Let it guide you, but you don’t
have to stick to everything as written. The players might take you down additional
paths. You might improvise beyond what’s presented. Characters, locations, items,
and themes from previous stories might crop up.

STORIES AND SCENES

Each game session of Good Strong Hands tells a story. With a few exceptions, your
story is told in Scenes. Each Scene is a self-contained portion of the story where the
characters interact with each other, the world, other characters, and monsters. A
Scene tells part of the story, but is sort of a mini-story unto itself, with a beginning,
middle, and end. It propels the narrative of the story forward, develops character, or
explores the world. Sometimes it does all three.

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Example Scenes involve one or more characters as they do one of the following.
❧❧ Question an NPC ❧❧ Trick a dragon
❧❧ Explore a building ❧❧ Look for a clue
❧❧ Climb a massive tree ❧❧ Rally the townsfolk
❧❧ Fight some skeletons ❧❧ Solve a puzzle

It’s possible for Scenes to overlap.

Knowing when a Scene ends is important. It allows the story to move to the next
Scene and provides you with a break point to award Spirit for characters roleplaying
their Anchors.
Some events in a story don’t really qualify as Scenes and can be covered more
quickly, likely not requiring Trait Checks, just a bit of narration. For example, the
characters making a plan or travelling from one place to another don’t really qualify
as Scenes in the sense defined above.
As the GM, you string Scenes together to tell a complete story. The story ends when
you and the players feel the main conflict has been addressed, whether successfully
or not. Some elements of the story may not be addressed. And some of those might
pop back up in future stories.

STORY ELEMENTS
This section covers the bulk of what’s in the story. It describes important locations.
It gives you some questions you can ask the players to prompt them to help build the
story and world (of course, you can ask more; these are just examples). It provides
a variety of interesting locales you might have the characters visit. And it gives you
some ideas for allies and foes the characters might encounter.
It’s often best to present the problem in the story and then let the characters start
to investigate it. As the players make choices, you’ll see how you can integrate these
story elements into the game and move from one Scene to the next.
If the players get stuck, use one of these story elements to get them moving again.
You might have an NPC provide some useful information. You might describe the
characters coming upon a unique location that holds more clues. You could introduce
an attack by the Void’s minions to jump start the characters (and players) into action.
You might also ask the players to have their characters talk out where they’re at in
the story in character. A recap often sparks ideas and gets the players back on track.

CHALLENGES
Some Scenes involve exploring the world in general, talking to other characters or
NPCs, or recapping where the characters currently are. These Scenes have their own
flow built around what the players want to get out of them.
Challenges, on the other hand, are specific events that set up a problem and
demand a solution. Often times, a challenge is the thing that gives the Scene its “end.”

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When the challenge is overcome, the Scene is finished.

The story schemes list a variety of challenges as ideas you can use. You don’t have
to use all of them and you can introduce them in any order that seems appropriate.

Minor and Major Challenges

Minor and major challenges get the characters to the climax of the story. Often,
they don’t have to be overcome in a specific order, though sometimes that is
necessary. Such challenges help flesh out the story, introduce or explain a clue, or put
an obstacle in the characters’ way.

Minor Challenges
A minor challenge typically only requires one Hit from a single Trait Check to
overcome. If a character needs to climb a tree to retrieve an important item, a single
Body Check might do the job. Alternatively, a single Charm Check could allow the
character to convince a bird to fly up and retrieve the item for them.
Minor challenges are best when they’re overcome relatively quickly, giving one
or more characters a chance to shine doing something they’re good at – or getting
lucky at something they’re not good at.
Of course, if a couple characters attempt to overcome the challenge and get
Complications on their Trait Checks, the challenge might escalate.

Major Challenges
Major challenges require two to four Hits to overcome. They can be designed
to be more complex or they can result from getting Complications on a simpler
challenge.
Going back to the previous example, if the character doesn’t manage to climb
the tree and gets a Complication, you might decide that the wind picks up, making
the climb harder, requiring two Hits to climb. These two Hits might require two
successful Trait Checks. Or they might be gained with a single successful Trait Check
that gains a Boon.
This challenge could have been a major challenge from the start. Maybe the tree
is taller, requiring more Hits to climb. Maybe there’s a dire bat hiding in its branches
that must be fended off before the climb can continue.

Roleplaying and Puzzle Challenges

It is perfectly reasonable for you to build challenges out of roleplaying or puzzle
solving rather than simply making Trait Checks. Getting useful information out of an
NPC cursed to alternate lies with truth when they speak would be a challenge the
players could work out by simply talking to the NPC and working out why the NPC’s
responses seem contradictory. And if the players get stuck, you can have them fall
back on Trait Checks.

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Ongoing Challenges
Some of the story schemes have ongoing challenges. These are challenges which
the characters continually deal with throughout the story or at least for a longer
period of time. Overcoming an ongoing challenge often gets you to the end of the
story.

Climactic Challenges
Climactic challenges are provided as examples of how you might bring the story to
a crescendo, giving the characters the chance to put all their hard work to use and
overcome the core problem in the story.
The climactic challenges provided are only examples. You might modify them,
meld them together, or come up with something else based on how the story has
progressed.
These challenges are fleshed out with a little more information, providing you with
ways that different types of Trait Checks might be employed to help overcome them.
Additionally, each includes a series of checkboxes. These are called the Challenge
Track.

The Challenge Track System

A Challenge Track is illustrated as a series of checkboxes. Each box represents a Hit
needed to overcome the challenge. Each time a player succeeds at a Trait Check to
overcome the challenge, fill in an empty checkbox, starting on the left. If the player
gets a Boon, fill in two. Once all the checkboxes are filled in, the characters overcome
the climactic challenge.
For some challenge tracks, each box represents something other than a Hit required
to overcome the challenge. In this case, the challenge description tells you what the
boxes represent and when to check them. For example, a challenge that represents
a ticking clock might call for you to check a box after each significant encounter,
denoting that time is passing.

Milestones
A checkbox with a shaded background involves a milestone. When such a checkbox
is filled in, escalate or shake up the challenge in some way. Examples follow.
❧❧ The monster flies into a rage. Raise the TN to attack the monster by 1.
❧❧ The foe starts distrusting the characters. Raise the TN for Charm Checks used
against them by 1.
❧❧ The lights go out. Raise the TN for all Trait Checks requiring sight by 1.
❧❧ Put an NPC in danger.
❧❧ Introduce one Fear a character has into the Scene.
❧❧ Force a character to make a difficult decision.

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Complications
You can add additional checkboxes when a player suffers a Complication on a Trait
Check.

Customizing the Track

The tracks provided in the story schemes assume a four-character group. You may
wish to increase or decrease the number of checkboxes if you have more or fewer
players in your group.
You might also make the challenge a little easier or more difficult, based on player
expertise in the game, how long you want the Scene to last, or a variety of other
factors.

Non-Climactic Challenges with Milestones

You don’t have to reserve milestones for climatic challenges. Challenges that only
require three or four Hits can have a milestone effect inserted in the middle of the
challenge resolution.
For example, a character climbing a tall tree might need four Hits to get to the top
– a Major Challenge. You could have a milestone after two Hits, indicating a sleeping
bird awakens and starts pecking at the character.

EPILOGUE
The wrap-up to a story is a great time to let the players blow off steam from the
tension earlier on and revel in their victory. Or wallow in their defeat.
The epilogue serves as closure for the story just completed, but is also a good spot
for you to remind the players of story arcs, NPCs, and events they’ve dealt with earlier
in the campaign, especially if you plan to bring any of those things back to the fore in
future stories. It’s also a great spot to foreshadow what’s yet to come. If you already
know what your next story will be, set it up at the end of the story you’ve just finished.
A tease or cliffhanger can help connect the over-arching story of the players as they
explore and work to save their home.

ENDING A CAMPAIGN
Any of these story schemes can be used as the final story in a campaign with a
little tweaking to make the stakes bigger. The final scheme, Terminus, is specifically
designed to mark the end of the campaign as the characters overcome the Void
once and for all. Or you can use elements of this scheme to craft your own final game
session.

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A COMING STORM
Evertown, with its half-mile-tall tower, has been a quiet refuge for centuries. All
types of folk called the small city home, living in peace and prosperity, ruled over by
a small council of ever-changing members. The Everspire served as a lighthouse and
lookout station, protecting the realm against the coming of terrible times.

PROLOGUE
Over the past several months, all five members of the small council willingly allied
themselves with the Void in exchange for eternal life. Their minds were placed inside
five mechanical beings called mechlars. They have since built a machine atop the
Everspire. This machine channels magic into the sky, creating an ever-growing storm
that threatens to consume Reverie.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Everspire
This magical, half-mile-tall tower stands in the center of the now empty Evertown.
The storm machine grinds away on its uppermost level.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What does the Everspire look like? How does it stand up?
❧❧ What does the storm look like? What are its greatest hazards?
❧❧ What few folk are still in town and why?
❧❧ Who are the members of the small council?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Guardhouse, with a mechlar guard
❧❧ Flight Hall, a tall space in the Everspire where all creatures can hover and fly, filled
with smoke monsters belched forth by the machine
❧❧ Low Look, a balcony partway up the tower, with a fearful, hiding stonekin named
Grek
❧❧ The Chambers, former council chambers of the small council; multiple doorways
lead to dead ends and stairs further up the tower
❧❧ The Never Stair, invisible stairs on the outside of the tower walls that are the only
connection between two levels
❧❧ The Following Storm, a small electrical storm that moves through the tower,
seeking intruders
❧❧ The Top, home to the machine, serviced by three mechlars

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Grek the Stonekin, who is terrified and alone
❧❧ The Voice, a whispering voice claiming to be a trapped sorcerer, that lures
intruders into dangerous areas and traps
❧❧ Fentin, a sylph and member of the small council, whose mind is now trapped in a
mechlar, wandering the tower; he wants to be freed

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Stop the machine by
Major ❧❧ Navigate the tower. midnight of that night, when
Challenges ❧❧ Help those trapped within.
the storm breaks free and
destroys the land.

Ongoing Challenge: The Storm

When the characters are outside the tower or encountering the Following Storm
within the tower, they are pelted with rain, sleet, and hail.
For each Scene spent in the storm, a random character is targeted by lightning
(Body Reaction Check to avoid marking a physical Condition).

Climactic Challenge: Dismantling the Machine

Characters can destroy it physically with Body Checks, use Mind Checks to figure
out how to make it stop functioning, and make Charm Checks to sway a small council
member’s mind inside a mechlar to come back to the light. All the while, smoke
servants and lightning plagues them. If a character provides an overly complex
description of how they’re dismantling the machine, mark an additional checkbox,
one time maximum for each player.
Milestones might involve the machine belching forth smoke that obscures the area
or lightning strikes (as described above).
Complications can include marking physical Conditions, being tempted by the Void
to become a mechlar and live forever, and getting trapped in the machine’s gears.

EPILOGUE
The machine is destroyed and people return to Evertown. Any small council
member who is saved invites the characters to be on the council.
If the characters fail, the storm grows very large and eventually breaks free of the
tower and begins moving across Reverie.

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BELLY OF THE BEAST

The last time the Void came to Reverie, some of its essence ran rampant in the
world in the form of a massive, shadowy beast that ravaged the land. A great hero
killed the beast, plunging their weapon deep into its belly. The hero, their weapon,
and their compatriots were swallowed up by the beast’s form as it died and fell into
a great ravine.

PROLOGUE
At the bottom of the Worldscar lies the dead body of the great beast. The lands
around the Worldscar have never quite recovered from the Void nearly winning. The
entire area is a fetid swamp filled with vile creatures.
A soothsayer tells the characters that in order for Void to be destroyed, they must
infuse the body of the beast with the heart of a hero.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Beast
This massive creature is the size of a large town. It lies rotting at the bottom of the
Worldscar.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What sort of creature was this beast?
❧❧ Who was the great hero and what was special about their weapon?
❧❧ Who were the hero’s compatriots and why were they important or special?
❧❧ What creatures live within the beast?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Gate, the beasts mouth, filled with massive teeth
❧❧ The Rot, a lake of putrid, decaying flesh, blood, and vile humors
❧❧ The Heart, the spawning point of many nasty creatures
❧❧ The Collapse, a low, tight area with little room to move
❧❧ The Sinews, a maze of fleshy passages that must be traversed
❧❧ The Belly, where the hero and their weapon reside

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ The spirits of the hero’s compatriots, who help the characters
❧❧ A blood knight, formed of the beast’s blood, who stalks the characters
❧❧ The dark hero, now fallen to corruption

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Enter the beast through the ❧❧ Deal with the hero, who fell
mouth. to corruption as they slayed
the beast.
Major ❧❧ Travel through the beast’s
body. ❧❧ Find the weapon, now an
Challenges ❧❧ Interact with the hero’s animant, trapped within the
beast’s belly.
compatriots, who provide
aid. ❧❧ Infuse the beast with the
heart of a hero.
❧❧ Fight the creatures within.

Climactic Challenge: Defeat the Fallen Hero

The hero fell to corruption with their last strike. The shadow version of them has
waited many decades to take control of a new body and emerge back into the world
to serve the Void.
At each milestone, the hero’s skin brightens and they plead with the characters to
kill them and put them out of their misery.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions or having a Fear manifest.

Climactic Challenge: Infuse the Beast

The characters can tell heroic tales, provide inspiring words, create light or warmth
in the area, and give some part of themselves to infuse the beast. Make a Heart check
at TN 5 after each attempt.
At each milestone, the characters learn another way to infuse the beast with
goodness and light
Complications can include marking 1 Shadow or losing 1 Spirit.

EPILOGUE
If the beast is infused with the heart of a hero, it rises up and turns golden and
radiant. It sets out to destroy any minions of the Void it comes upon.
If one of the characters keeps the hero’s weapon, assign it a special property based
on how the players described it earlier. Additionally, its bearer can resist the effect of
a Corruption for one less Spirit than normally required.
If the fallen hero escapes, they become a threat that must be dealt with later. They
don’t forget the characters and seek to undermine their efforts whenever possible.

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THE CRIMSON CROWN

The woodkin Kingdom of Oltimber has existed for centuries, but has been in
decline. The current monarch recently reinvigorated the populace by settling debts,
building a new arena, and commissioning great works of art from beloved sculptors
and painters. But lately, the monarch has grown sullen and secluded, and the kingdom
is suffering again.

PROLOGUE
When the characters arrive, they see that the tales of Oltimber renewed are not so.
Food stores have been depleted. Arena contests have been cancelled. Lawlessness is
on the rise. The people are restless and worried the kingdom will fall without a strong
leader. The monarch has recently been sighted wearing a new crown of red metal,
and blood is trickling down their face.

STORY ELEMENTS
Oltimber Castle
The home of Oltimber monarchs for ages, this narrow but tall structure is a marvel
of woodkin engineering.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Who is the monarch?
❧❧ Who do you know in the monarch’s court?
❧❧ What does the castle look like? What is it made of?
❧❧ What’s going on in the city right now?
❧❧ What’s happening in the castle right now?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Arena, where contests were held, now filled with street brawlers
❧❧ The Market, filled with hungry people, some of whom have information
❧❧ The Guardhouse, the entry point into the castle
❧❧ The Grand Hall, constantly filled with guards and courtiers who question the
characters’ presence
❧❧ The Gallery, filled with living paintings depicting past monarchs, some of whom
have information
❧❧ The Crystal Tower, home to the arch-wizard Leffin
❧❧ The High Tower, home to the monarch, filled with arrow traps and magical
shackles requiring disarming

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Guards and snooping courtiers
❧❧ The Crimson Crown, a sapient crown and Void scion.
❧❧ The Monarch (name and other specifics defined by players), cursed by the Void;
the crown controls their mind, causing them to slowly destroy their kingdom and
bring suffering to their people

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Deal with castle guards.
Major ❧❧ Get into the castle and ❧❧ Get access to the monarch.
navigate through it. ❧❧ Remove the crown from the
Challenges ❧❧ Talk their way past snooping monarch’s head.
courtiers.

Climactic Challenge: Removing the Crown

The crown cannot be physically removed until it has been weakened by magic,
logic, and compassion. Players can make Mind Checks and Charm Checks to weaken
it. They can also use minor magics and make Heart Checks. Mark an additional
checkbox for the first character to use a Charm Check to make friends with the
crown during this Scene.
At the milestone, the crown can also be affected physically. Characters can now
also try to pry it off with Body Checks.
Complications can include being attacked by guards, marking Conditions, having
the monarch declare the character a traitor, or use of the crown’s Corruption,
described below.
Enraptured Mind: The target turns against their friends and actively tries to subdue
them or get them to leave. (Players get a Heart Reaction Check at TN 5 to resist this.)

EPILOGUE
The kingdom is saved! The monarch declares the characters Heroes of Oltimber,
where they will be welcome for all time.
If one of the characters keeps the crown, it begins whispering to them in the night,
begging to be put on their head.

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DAYBREAK
The town of Westedge is a peaceful community in the far western reaches of
Reverie with a population that skews older. It is a location where an inordinate
number of humans arrive to Reverie from Earth.

PROLOGUE
Late in the day, after the characters arrive in town, a thick, purple mist appears
on the water. It approaches the town quickly. As night falls, it surrounds the town.
Tentacles appear from the fog and begin abducting folks. Monsters run rampant in
the town. Townsfolk falter and cower in fear. Some flee. Others suggest inappropriate
courses of action. Can the characters keep the town safe until the sun rises and the
fog dissipates?

STORY ELEMENTS
Westedge
A small town far to the west in Reverie, with a disproportionately high number of
humans from Earth.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Why are you in Westedge?
❧❧ Where are the meeting hall, lighthouse, stables, granary, smithy, docks, shrine, and
tower located?
❧❧ What purpose does the tower serve?
❧❧ What other prominent features does the town boast?
❧❧ What are the town’s most abundant and/or useful resources?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Important locations like the meeting hall, lighthouse, stables, granary, smithy,
docks, healing pools, shrine, and tower.
❧❧ The commons, at the center of town.

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Drogar, a stonekin and the level-headed mayor of the town
❧❧ Kornelia, a woodkin naturalist and druid with predictive ability
❧❧ Dreg, a redcap agent of the Void
❧❧ Jungo, a badger wildkin who is panicked and thinks everyone should hide in the
badger tunnels

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Avoid the stinging fog and
the bleeding fog. (Characters
❧❧ Prepare the town’s defenses
exposed to either mark a
as best you can.
physical Condition unless
Major ❧❧ Deal with the townsfolk, they succeed at a TN 5 Body
some scared, some ready to
Challenges fight, few well prepared for
Reaction Check.)
❧❧ Deal with Dreg just before
what’s coming.
daybreak.
❧❧ Deal with tentacles and
other monsters emerging
from the fog.

Climactic Challenge: Defeat Dreg

Unless defeated earlier, Dreg attacks as daybreak nears. The Void allows him to
grow to be forty feet tall and he stomps villagers to death
At each milestone, Dreg throws a massive fireball and ignites an important building.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions or placing an NPC in
danger.

Ongoing Challenge: Hold the Town

Once the sun has set, the monsters in the fog come. Mark a checkbox each time
a significant problem is dealt with. A fair amount of time may pass between events.
Build the tension.
At each milestone, several townsfolk are grabbed by the tentacles in the fog and
dragged away. The characters can attempt to save some of them.
Complications can include uprisings/dissent from townsfolk, someone going
missing, a prepared area being sabotaged, or a murder.

EPILOGUE
When the sun rises, the fog burns away, leaving behind the tentacles within, which
quickly shrivel under the light. The dead bodies of those taken into the fog are left
behind.
The characters may then help gather the bodies and conduct funerals. They
may also seek to help the townsfolk flee, as it is uncertain whether the fog will return
again the next night.
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DEATH BECOMES YOU

The Sorrowsworn Fields are home to a great battlefield. Ages ago, mighty heroes
led an army to defeat the forces of the Void as it attempted to destroy Reverie.
Many of the fallen dead were buried together in great mounds while others were
cremated, their ashes seeping into the soil.

PROLOGUE
With the return of the Void, the restless souls in the Sorrowsworn Fields have risen
once again. Hauntings and deaths have crept into dozens of nearby villages. Led by
three Void scions long thought destroyed, the onslaught begins anew…with ghosts.
The characters will need to destroy or trap all three scions to put the dead to rest
again.

STORY ELEMENTS
Sorrowsworn Fields
Little but tall grass grows in this expansive plain. Some folk pilgrimage here to
commune with ancestors or pay homage to the dead.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Did any of their ancestors die on the field here ages ago?
❧❧ What does it feel like to be on the field?
❧❧ What do the ghosts look like?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Tent-Town, inhabited by those fleeing the area
❧❧ High Mound, where several great heroes were laid to rest, their voices still offer
counsel
❧❧ The Iron Smear, a long, shallow pool of blood that never dries

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Hundreds of ghosts of folk and other creatures that the characters cannot
physically affect
❧❧ Cummerbund, a faun member of The Vigilant (members play dirges on the field
in remembrance), now fleeing and afraid
❧❧ Siiliansaa, a sylph ghost who can help find the scions
❧❧ Groat’s Friend, an animant suit of redcap sized scale armor seeking revenge for
the death of their redcap owner many years ago
❧❧ Flump, a rabbit wildkin who can’t find his family

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Consult with Ora, the
ancient imp sage, who can
❧❧ Help those in need. Stave off
Major or hide from ghost attacks. help them cross over to
death to defeat the ghosts.
Challenges ❧❧ Find the ghostly Void
❧❧ Defeat the Void scions by
scions that lead the other
dying (and coming back
malevolent ghosts.
later).

Special Challenge: Death and Back Again

Ora the imp sage pulls the characters’ spirits from their bodies and they become
ghosts, retaining all their abilities plus the ability to affect other ghosts.
Mark a checkbox for a character each time that character marks any amount of
Shadow for any reason. When this happens, tell the player their character feels the
icy lure of the grave and how the Void wants them to fall further.
When Ora returns their spirits to their bodies, any character who has three or more
boxes checked in this challenge ages to their next stage of life (child, teen, young
adult, middle age, old, very old).

Climactic Challenge: Defeat the Scions

The scions are linked spiritually. They are fearsome ghosts with bony-looking
bodies shrouded in wispy, gray and purple cloaks. They can be fought, but can also be
defeated by speaking a eulogy about a deceased friend or family member followed
by a successful Heart Check.
At each milestone, one of the scions is defeated. The character nearest to it marks
1 emotional Condition and 1 Shadow as they glimpse their greatest fears in the scion’s
death.
Complications can include marking emotional Conditions, hair turning white, eyes
turning pale, or making all Heart checks at TN 6 until returned to their bodies.

EPILOGUE
The restless dead return to the fields here as peace settles again. Any character
that died here is invited to join the heroes at the High Mound. The character with
the most Shadow marked at the end of the story is haunted by a troublesome ghost
that only they can see and hear.

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THE DEPTH OF SOULS

The cultures of Reverie all have their own beliefs regarding what happens to you
after you die. One shared truth includes the existence of the Depth of Souls, a well
at the heart of reality where the souls of those with work left to do wait…to inspire
others…or to return to finish their business.

PROLOGUE
The soul of a mighty hero that failed in its fight against the Void in ages past waits
restlessly in the Depth of Souls, looking for the day when they might return to life to
finish what they started. Can the characters free this potentially powerful ally or will
they be drawn in by the eternal grasp of the Depth?
Guide the players to realizing they can return a great hero (including one of their
own already lost) to help fight the Void.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Depth of Souls
This murky realm holds restless souls that feel they have work left to do in the land
of the living. Living beings who enter it are drawn to its seeming calmness and may
find themselves never wanting to leave.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What is your folk’s belief about the Depth of Souls? (Share the first paragraph of
this scheme with the players to provide a starting point.)
❧❧ What is the name and background of a legendary hero who fought the Void ages
ago and whose soul supposedly resides there?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Maelstrom of Thoughts, a whirlpool of forgotten emotions that threatens to
unhinge those who travel through it
❧❧ The Soul-Cliffs, a rocky wall that must be navigated, filled with trapped souls
begging for release, patrolled by Wisps
❧❧ The Lonely Cabin, home to a lost redcap named Chorg
❧❧ Hallowtree, a copse of trapped woodkin, each bound to the ground
❧❧ The Earthen Cells, pits filled with live folk placed there by the Void to serve as food
for the Shackle

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Tharn, a sylph mystic who can open the Depth’s door, for a price
❧❧ Kreshk, the ghostly gatekeeper to the Depth in some folks’ religions
❧❧ Wisps, guardians of the Depth made of red light
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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Determine who the great ❧❧ Help/comfort trapped souls
Major hero from the past is. and lost folk.
❧❧ Find a way to enter the ❧❧ Sneak past or defeat Wisps.
Challenges Depth of Souls. ❧❧ Defeat the Shackle to free
❧❧ Traverse the realm. one bound soul.

Ongoing Challenge: Resist the Depth

Mark a checkbox for every major Scene spent in the Depth of Souls. Note that you
may not fill in all checkboxes.
At each milestone, each character has to make a Heart Reaction Check at TN 4.
Each milestone thereafter, the TN for the individual character’s check increases by
1 for each check they’ve failed previously. Any character who fails three such checks
never wants to leave the Depth.

Climactic Challenge: Defeat the Shackle

The Shackle is an ageless giant who once made a pact with the Void and attempted
to break it. As punishment, the Void banished it to the Depth. The Shackle is strangely
kind and soft-spoken, but won’t willingly give up the hero the characters seek. It must
be defeated, either in combat or in a game of chance. You may play an actual game
of chance with the players here.
Milestones might involve the Shackle offering a character a deceased loved one
to take home instead of the hero or bartering to remove all the character’s current
Shadow marks.
Complications can include marking Conditions or succumbing to the peace of the
realm for one round.

EPILOGUE
The hero (or player’s character) is returned to life. The Shackle swears revenge
against the characters when they die. Every character marks 1 Shadow as a bit of the
Depth of Souls clings to them.

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EVOLUTION
On a small island off the coast, the Transforming Tower has stood for centuries. The
height, shape, and materials of the tower change at random intervals. Legend has it
that the ancient tower was discovered by selkies (seal people) roaming the shore,
who studied the magic within it, but were forever changed themselves.

PROLOGUE
As the Void grows, the transformative magic of the tower has increased, causing
people, animals, and plants who live on the shore near the island to change. Their
skin changes, they grow additional limbs, some even transform into other creatures
entirely. The changes threaten to tear the area apart.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Transforming Tower
The tower is constantly changing. Occasionally, ask the players what new shape and
material the tower transforms into.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What is the most disconcerting or terrifying physical change your character could
undergo? (Ask each player before the game. Save the answers for later.)
❧❧ Who do you know that lives along the shore here and how have they been
changed?
❧❧ What does the tower look like when you first see it?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Dorgal’s Cove, a small town on the coast near the tower’s island
❧❧ The Bloody Bucket, an old, battered sailing ship anchored nearby
❧❧ The Low Crags, a series of jagged rocks surrounding the island

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Arteton, otter wildkin mayor of Dorgal’s Cover
❧❧ Old Grum, a violent, frightened sea monster
❧❧ Devlin, an ever-changing decoration animant who is scared to death
❧❧ Thelna, a selkie who tries to get the characters to leave
❧❧ Selkies in the tower who have been melded into one big blob

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Deal with selkies who want
you to leave.
Major ❧❧ Help townsfolk in pain.
❧❧ Stop the transformations in
❧❧ Travel to the Transforming
Challenges Tower’s island.
the area.

❧❧ Get into the tower.

Ongoing Challenge: Transformations

Mark a checkbox every time any character marks any amount of Shadow.
At each milestone, one character, determined randomly gains the body
transformation previously described by the player to their left. When this happens,
they also gain the following Corruption until the end of the story.
Willful Transformation: Mark 1 Shadow. You change the form or material of one
object no larger than a shack or a portion of a larger object no larger than a shack.

Climactic Challenge: Destroy the Tower

Six uses of the Willful Transformation Corruption will destroy enough of the tower’s
base to cause it to collapse.

Climactic Challenge: Stop the Magic

The characters can manipulate the magical font within the tower as a sort of
magical puzzle using Mind Checks (to puzzle it out) or Charm Checks (to talk to the
now-sapient tower).
Milestones might involve the tower changing and expelling the character from
where they are or being attacked by selkies defending their font.
Complications can include marking Conditions, having one’s body change even
more, or being melded by the arm or torso into the nearest other character.

EPILOGUE
The transformations cease. Everyone affected for less than three days returns
mostly to normal, but keeps one minor, cosmetic change to their skin, hair, eyes, ears,
lips, or fingernails.

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FROM THE ASHE

Every 100 years, the Forest of Flame, so named for its eternally red and orange
foliage, dies. One of the folk living in the forest is tasked with taking the final red leaf
to fall in the forest and throwing it into the chasm at the top of Ashe Mountain. From
the chasm flies a phoenix that then settles into the forest and renews it for another
century.

PROLOGUE
An ash wraith divined which leaf was to be the last and stole it before it fell.
Skeletons drove the folk from the wood as the Void approached. Now the forest is
dead. Its borders are expanding, threatening to eat away at more of Reverie.
In order to renew the forest, the characters must find the ash wraith and steal back
the leaf. Then they must take it to the chasm atop Ashe Mountain and throw it in.

STORY ELEMENTS
Forest of Flame
Once a happy, joyous place filled with folk, it now stands empty. As the characters
approach, they come upon several folk fleeing.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What does the forest look like now that it’s dead?
❧❧ What prominent feature does it possess?
❧❧ What does it smell like?
❧❧ What threats lurk just beyond the edges of your line of sight?
❧❧ Who is fleeing the forest? How do you know them?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Burrows, a badger wildkin village that surrounds a great black and white tree
❧❧ Deeping Swamp, formerly known as Deeping Well, a now putrid bog filled with
skeletons and snakes
❧❧ The Embrace, a massive tree with a broad canopy, said to embrace and warm all
those who rest or sleep in its shade, now dying
❧❧ The Crossroads, an intersection (with a signpost) on a trail that magically forces
travelers back to the intersection, no matter which direction they choose to travel

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Bumble, a pixie trapped in the Deeping Swamp, his wings having been torn off.
❧❧ Widdershins, a faun wandering the forest; every other sentence from his mouth
is a lie
❧❧ The Golden Herd, a group of harts that can’t find their way out of the forest, led
by a Paragon doe named Silverhoof
❧❧ Skeletons and snakes
❧❧ Halak the wraith, a Void scion (characters that fail Trait Checks against Halak mark
1 Condition OR a part of their body turns into shadow, making that body part
unusable; roll a die; 1-2 left leg; 3-4 right leg; 5 left arm; 6 right arm)

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Find the wraith and steal the
final leaf.
Major ❧❧ Help Bumble.
❧❧ Avoid getting lost in the
❧❧ Cure Widdershins of his
Challenges curse. forest.
❧❧ Take the leaf to the chasm
❧❧ Help the Golden Herd.
and throw it in.

Climactic Challenge: Escape up the Mountain

Once the characters find the final leaf, they are pursued by Halak and its minions as
they flee up the mountain. This becomes a race. Build the tension of the scene, asking
players for decisions on what their characters do quickly. Mark a checkbox each time
the characters make a quick decision regarding how to circumvent the next obstacle
in the race.
At each milestone, express greater urgency to the players. If they don’t make
choices fast enough, have a minion attack and the player marks a Condition for their
character.
Complications can include getting lost, marking Conditions, and being fooled by
folk helping the Void.

EPILOGUE
Life returns to the forest. The characters are rewarded each with a single leaf from
one of the trees. The leaf never decays and can’t be harmed.

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GNASHING OF FANGS
The Forest of Fangs has long been one of the most dangerous places in all of
Reverie. Thankfully, few folk had reason to enter this duskwood-shrouded land. And
fewer still have returned to tell the tale of their time within.

PROLOGUE
From deep beneath the forest, Gnash, a Void scion, rose up. This massive dragon,
made of stone and flame, scours the lands outside of the Forest of Fangs, destroying
all it comes upon. Deep within the forest, its lair is guarded by the beasts of the wood.
If it is not stopped, it will kill thousands, maybe more.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Forest of Fangs
This forest is deep and dense, filled with basilisks, dire wolves, giant insects, trolls,
harpies, and ichorous ooze-things.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What are some notable features of the forest?
❧❧ What is a story you’ve heard about the beasts that live in the forest?
❧❧ Who was the last person you know of to have ventured into the forest?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Sulfur Fen, home to bog trolls
❧❧ The Triple Oak, a massive knot of three entwined oak trees, home to many harpies
❧❧ The Maw, a deep ravine the characters must cross
❧❧ Night’s Fall, an area in perpetual darkness, like a no-moon midnight
❧❧ Gnash’s Lair (Ask the players what type of lair they think Gnash has. Choose the
deadliest sounding to be the lair.)

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Non-sapient basilisks, dire wolves, giant insects, and oozes.
❧❧ Thorne, a despondent wolf paragon hunter who came to slay Gnash and has lost
all their companions to its attacks
❧❧ Auld Trein, an ancient woodkin rooted to the earth, who seeks escape
❧❧ Glarp, a troll whose mate was killed by Gnash some time back

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Learn about Gnash. ❧❧ Defeat Gnash.
Major ❧❧ Deal with monsters in the
Challenges forest as well as others
encountered there.

Ongoing Challenges: The Monsters of the Forest

No monster in the Forest of Fangs should be less than a major challenge. Use
two to four checkboxes for each. Defeating such powerful monsters requires many
strikes and teamwork. They might be defeated in combat or by being tricked. Harpies
and trolls might also be coerced into standing down from a fight. Some might be
encountered in pairs or trios.
Complications can include marking Conditions or being physically scarred in some
way. Characters might also replace one of their current fears with fear of the monster
that attacked them (as well as similar monsters).

Climactic Challenge: Defeating Gnash

Gnash is smart and deadly. TNs to deal with Gnash should never be lower than 5.
Milestones might involve Gnash taking flight, switching focus to the character that
affected it, or using one of its Corruptions, described below.
Complications can include marking Conditions, Gnash putting a physical impediment
in the character’s way, having Gnash call for one of their monstrous servants to aid
them, or the immediate use of one of their Corruptions, each described below.
Deepest Fear: The target replaces one of its current Fears with a fear of dragons
(and other large lizards). (Players get a Heart Reaction Check at TN 5 to resist this.)
Immolate: The target is engulfed in Gnash’s fiery breath, marking 1 Condition. All of
their non-magical gear and weapons are charred and rendered useless. (Players get a
Heart Reaction Check at TN 5 to avoid marking 1 Condition.)

EPILOGUE
If Gnash is defeated, tales of the characters’ bravery and skill spread far and wide.
They are hailed as Dragonbanes, a title only given to a handful of heroes through
the ages.

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INVASION
The Void is everywhere, wreaking havoc across Reverie. While heroes struggle to
rid their world of its influence, saving some lands, other realms are not so lucky. The
tiny kingdom of Newabarr is one such domain.

PROLOGUE
Corruption seeped into the military of Newabarr early on during the Void’s return.
In the past months, many soldiers sided with the Void and ransacked the kingdom,
invading it from within. Now destitute and without homes, the survivors flee to the
nearby city of Haven, refugees that some citizens of Haven see as an invaders in their
own right.

STORY ELEMENTS
Haven
Once a small, peaceful city filled with many folk, Haven has become a hotbed
of animosity as many of its citizens oppose the arrival of hundreds of Newabarr
refugees, fearing they bring the Void’s corruption with them.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What sorts of conflicts are happening in the city as you enter?
❧❧ How can we distinguish between the citizens of Haven and the refugees from
Newabarr?
❧❧ What do the citizens of Haven fear the most about the refugees?
❧❧ Who is the ruler of Haven and how are they failing to handle the unrest properly?

Points of Interest
❧❧ North Gate, recently closed like all the city gates, but now buckling as refugees
disassemble the wooden gate doors from outside
❧❧ Serenity Pond, a quiet spot in Serenity Park, where refugees’ bodies have recently
been found beaten and killed
❧❧ Sanctuary Square, now filled with angry citizens demonstrating for expulsion of
the refugees
❧❧ The Fortress, a keep in the center of Haven, home to the ruler, their staff and
council, and many members of the militia

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Burlingam, a badger wildkin citizen trying to quell the violence
❧❧ Teff, an angry redcap who favors violence over acceptance

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❧❧ Thornwhit, a young woodkin badly injured in a riot

❧❧ Gunder, the stonekin captain of Haven’s militia dealing with dissension
❧❧ Benwin, the faun leader of the market guild who is worried about supplies and
price gouging

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Undermine efforts by
xenophobes who are
Major ❧❧ Quell the violence and help
the needy. spreading lies and fear.
Challenges ❧❧ Help those in power deal ❧❧ Stop or prevent a large riot.
with the refugees fairly and
compassionately.

Ongoing Challenge: Keeping the Peace

Mark a checkbox each time violence erupts. If all checkboxes are checked before
the ruler can be persuaded to implement workable and compassionate plans, a large
riot breaks out in Sanctuary Square. If the checkboxes aren’t filled by that time, a
small riot breaks out.
At each milestone, an NPC the characters have met is found injured or dead.

Climactic Challenge: Riot!

Mark a checkbox each time the characters defuse a group of rioters. If the riot is
small, only use six checkboxes. You can call for Charm Checks or have players simply
roleplay lengthy speeches to the assembled masses. Mark two checkboxes for a very
long speech or if the other players cheer.
Milestones might involve the arrival of more rioters or the militia arriving.
Complications can include marking Conditions, being attacked by the militia or
citizens, and groups of refugees fleeing Haven for the wilds.

EPILOGUE
If the riot is quelled, relative peace settles in Haven. Based on how the story went,
describe how tense things are and how many refugees have fled the city to take their
chances elsewhere.

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NEVERMORE
Worlds like Reverie are alive. And they have memories, or so the legend says. But
then, legends change over time, just as memories do.
Note: This story is best utilized in campaigns after the characters have completed
several stories and you have a lot of memories to draw upon.

PROLOGUE
The Void has reached deep into the world of Reverie and extracted all its memories,
which include all the memories of every sapient being that has ever lived in Reverie.
And it has manifested all of that knowledge, including all the fear and remorse and
hate, into a demon named Nevermore.

STORY ELEMENTS
Nevermore
In addition to being a demon, Nevermore is all of Reverie, and all of its memories.
The story takes place in the collected memories conjured up by the characters during
play.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Where are you and what are you doing? (This sets the location for the beginning
of the story.)
❧❧ What is your character’s most prized memory?
❧❧ What memory has your character forgotten recently? (to be asked at various
times throughout the story)

Points of Interest
❧❧ Create these from players’ responses to questions. Also, use locations the characters
have travelled to in previous stories. Being within Nevermore is like being in a
dream. There is no logic. Play up the strangeness and intensity of it all. Change
details of the locations. Keep things surreal and unsettling.

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Create these from players’ responses to questions. Nevermore twists their
memories, so feel free to modify what is presented by the players. For NPCs
from previous game sessions, change their behaviors. Make them puzzling and
dreamlike.

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Discover that the name
Nevermore refers to the
Major ❧❧ Deal with the characters’
past memories of places, dream state the characters
Challenges people, and events. Create are in as well as a demon.
and solve new conflicts that ❧❧ Call forth the demon
were never there. Nevermore and defeat it.

Ongoing Challenge: Loss of Memory

Mark a checkbox after each new, major Scene ends.

At each milestone, each player selects a Talent their character has (not including
the “choice” Talent that all folk have). Their character no longer remembers how to
use that Talent.

Climactic Challenge: Defeat Nevermore

Nevermore is a Void scion and is incredibly tough and incapable of being bargained
with. It can be defeated in combat with Body Checks. And it can be subdued by being
exposed to good memories followed by successful Charm Checks. To hurt Nevermore
with good memories, the player must recite a good memory their character has
before making the check. They gain advantage on the check if it’s a memory they
invent whole (such as personal history), rather than recitation of something that
happened earlier.
At each milestone, each character remembers one of the Talents they had
previously forgotten.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions or being attacked with
Nevermore’s unique Corruption, defined below.
Manifest Fear: The target is immediately faced with one of its Fears. This Fear
remains in play until it is overcome by that character. (Players get a Heart Reaction
Check at TN 5 to resist this.)

EPILOGUE
Everything returns to normal. Have each player choose one memory their character
has that they will never quite remember correctly again.

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NIGHTMARES ABOUND
The town of Leylorn Crossroads has been plunged into eternal twilight. Inhabitants
and travelers alike constantly shift from waking to sleeping suddenly and with no
warning. While awake, they seem as if in a trance. While asleep, they suffer horrible
nightmares.

PROLOGUE
A week ago, a band of Void-allied brownies used the magic of the Void to tie
the leylines at Leylorn Crossroads into a massive, Gordian knot. The disruption in
magical energy has confused residents’ relationships with sleep. In order to untie the
knot, the characters must find a person or object who can manipulate leylines. While
attempting to do so, they experience their own nightmares come to life.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Town of Leylorn Crossroads
A small town inhabited by a few dozen folk and a constant stopping point for
travelers on three intersecting roads.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What is the most notable feature of the town?
❧❧ Who, specifically, is stuck in a constant nightmare here?
❧❧ What is your character’s most regularly recurring nightmare?
❧❧ Who or what can untie the knotted leylines? Where is that person/thing?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Menagerie, a general store in town
❧❧ The Tower of Mangle-Ten the ettin, near the town
❧❧ The Mirror Wood, where mirrored tree bark reveals your nightmares
❧❧ The Dusk Cottage, in the midst of a nearby swamp

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Talina the pixie, not yet caught in a nightmare and hiding
❧❧ Krek, the witch of Dusk Cottage, keeper of secrets
❧❧ 4-10 brownies (most a 1-Hit minor challenge; one or two may be 3-4 Hit major
challenges)

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Defeat some brownies
overseeing the chaos or
❧❧ Experience a personal
convince them to abandon
nightmare.
Major ❧❧ Enlist the help of the witch
following the Void.

Challenges Krek. ❧❧ Figure out what is needed to

untie the leyline knot.
❧❧ Convince an NPC they’re
❧❧ Convince the person/find
in a nightmare and not in
the object needed to fix the
danger.
leylines.

Climactic Challenge: The Person of Legend

If the characters need to find a person to untie the leylines, they need to convince
the NPC to help. The NPC may be reticent due to age, lost capability, guilt over a
past action, or apathy.
Milestones involve the NPC switching to talk to a different character.
Complications can include marking Conditions, being attacked by the NPC, and
having brownies show up to stop the person of legend.

Climactic Challenge: The Holding Bramble-Thorn

If the characters need to find an object to untie the leylines, the object is held in
a tangled bramble of thorns and snakes. The bramble can be cut and bashed, The
bramble can be untied. The snakes can be killed, trapped, or tricked.
Milestones might involve marking a character being grabbed by the bramble or
more thorns appearing.
Complications can include marking Conditions, being attacked by snakes, being
consumed by the bramble and slowly suffocated, and being scarred by the bramble.

EPILOGUE
The townsfolk rejoice and make the characters honorary citizens of Leylorn
Crossroads. A feast is held in their honor.
If present, the person of legend becomes a trusted friend. If present, the object
needed to fix the leylines can be taken by the characters. The object always knows
the direction to Leylorn Crossroads and can sense the presence of nearby magic,
though it doesn’t reveal the specifics of the effect.

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REVERIE’S HEART
At any given time, there is a single being living in Reverie who is the physical
embodiment of hope and rebirth, a counterpoint to the Void. Their power comes
from Reverie itself, along with all the heroes who defend the world. This being is
known as Reverie’s Heart.

PROLOGUE
A stonekin named Jorn recently went delving in Low Echo Canyon, leaving behind
a note that said only, “Gone to open the box.” Days later, shades began pouring from
the canyon, threatening all in the area. Jorn is the current Heart and will be needed
in the coming days.

STORY ELEMENTS
Low Echo Canyon
This deep, narrow canyon is carved with a trail leading down one side. A variety
of caves and openings dot the canyon walls, home to many creatures. A handful of
“statues” are encountered at various points, actually victims of a basilisk that roams
the chasm.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What is remarkable about the look and smell of the canyon?
❧❧ Who has met or heard of Jorn before?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Walker’s Waypoint, a wide spot in the path along the canyon wall
❧❧ The Whirl, an ever-swirling pool of water in a large cavern
❧❧ The Squirming Darkness, a cavern filled with ooze creatures
❧❧ The Roost, home to several harpies, along the canyon wall

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Jorn, a stonekin currently trapped in an ooze monster that is unable to digest
them; “opening the box” refers to Jorn’s belief that they had to brave the canyon
to find the strength to truly be the Heart (this is a Pandora’s Box reference); Jorn’s
cries for help can be heard, echoing low and long in the canyon, making it difficult
to pinpoint him
❧❧ Giant insects, harpies, and ooze creatures
❧❧ Shades (characters that fail a Body or Charm Check against a shade are drained
of 1 Spirit)

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Deal with natural hazards
Major ❧❧ Talk to the locals. like cave-ins, mud-slides, and
pits.
Challenges ❧❧ Deal with shades.
❧❧ Defeat the basilisk.
❧❧ Track down Jorn.
❧❧ Rescue Jorn from the ooze
trap.

Ongoing Challenge: The Ticking Clock

Mark a checkbox at the end of each major encounter.

At the first milestone, Jorn’s cries for help start to sound muffled. At this point, they
are struggling to keep from drowning in ooze.
At the second milestone, Jorn’s cries cease and they suffocate.

Climactic Challenge: Defeat the Basilisk

This large lizard-beast has ten spindly legs and can climb sheer rock walls. It seeks
only to feed and protect its territory. It can’t be reasoned with. It can, however, be
tricked into a trap like The Whirl.
At each milestone, the character who is closest to the basilisk has one of their limbs,
determined randomly, turn to stone. They can spend 1 Spirit to avoid this. If three
limbs turn to stone, the entire character is turned to stone. Characters and limbs
turned to stone within the last day are restored if the basilisk is killed.
If a character suffers a Complication, one of their limbs, determined randomly,
turns to stone. They cannot spend Spirit to avoid this. If three limbs turn to stone, the
entire character is turned to stone. Characters and limbs turned to stone within the
last day are restored when the basilisk is killed.

EPILOGUE
If Jorn dies, one of the characters, determined randomly, becomes the new Heart
of Reverie.
Any character that takes on the role of Heart of Reverie may immediately remove
one Corruption and erase up to 2 Shadow, not including Shadow they marked
permanently.

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RISE UP
The city of Brighthome has stood for many years, always changing with the winds.
Leaders have come and leaders have gone, and the city has mostly prospered.

PROLOGUE
A short while ago, several members of the city government allied themselves with
the Void, killed or imprisoned those high in government who would oppose them,
and secured the city guard as loyal to them.
In the ensuing months, these leaders and their loyalist guards have brought an iron
boot down atop the citizens of Brighthome. Clear class divides exist. The citizens cry
out for leadership, so that they might rebel.

STORY ELEMENTS
Brighthome
A high-walled city featuring a variety of towers and great halls. It is home to a
multitude of factions (guilds, families, etc.) that constantly squabble.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Who are the leaders that have allied themselves with the Void?
❧❧ Who do you know in the city who might help you get started?
❧❧ What is the best place and way to initiate a rebellion?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Sorcerer’s Hall, a great library of the mystical and mundane
❧❧ The Sliver, a tall tower, home to a wise pixie named Rendel
❧❧ Caller’s Square, the market square and place to get news and rumors
❧❧ The Row, home to the poorer citizens in desperate need of aid
❧❧ The Quagmire, a network of shady alleys in the business quarter
❧❧ Toval’s Cave, home to several shady guilds, deep beneath the Sliver
❧❧ Crookshank’s, a lively tavern owned by a human named Crookshank

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Factions that might be called upon include the smithing guild, weavers guild,
trade guild, performers guild, builders guild, thieves guild, cooks guild, herders
guild, and volunteer militia, among others.
❧❧ Chief adversaries include the leaders, loyalist guards, and some spies.

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Avoid the loyalist guard
while doing all of this.
❧❧ Seek out leaders of the
various factions. ❧❧ Prepare everyone for
rebellion or destroy
Major ❧❧ Unite fractured factions.
leadership’s hold on the city.
❧❧ Get faction leaders to work
Challenges together.
❧❧ Create and implement a
plan to incite rebellion
or undermine the city’s
leadership.

Ongoing Challenge: Gathering Rebels

Over the course of the story, the characters gather together various factions and
groups to overthrow the corrupt leaders of Brighthome or otherwise diminish their
power. Each time the group gets another faction on board, mark a checkbox.
At each milestone, one of the following happens.
❧❧ The leaders attempt to assassinate the characters.
❧❧ A spy is revealed to have undermined one or more factions and the factions must
be convinced to return to the fold.
❧❧ A group of loyalist guards attack a faction, possibly leading them to abandon the
struggle.
❧❧ Squabbling among factions breaks out.
❧❧ The citizens are caught in the middle and get hurt.
When all boxes are filled in, everyone is ready to rise up and overthrow the
government. The characters decide how that happens.

EPILOGUE
The core of the story ends when the characters have gathered the citizens to fight
back and have initiated that fight or otherwise succeeded in significantly weakening
the leaders. Once that happens, have each player narrate a part of what happens
next, montage-style. Narration should involve their characters, but also the citizens,
and the various factions and groups who are rebelling. The rebel force is large enough
to overthrow the leaders and their loyalists. The players describe HOW that happens.
When this closing narration is over, the characters have the opportunity to be
involved in determining governance for Brighthome going forward.

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THE SPIDER’S WEB

Deep beneath the ground, the Void’s influence grows. A massive web of tunnels
stretches across Reverie, allowing minions of the Void to spread far and wide. These
tunnels are stretching into the over-world, encapsulating everyone and everything in
a gloomy, twisted maze.

PROLOGUE
The characters awaken to discover the Void has overtaken the area they’re in.
They’re in the midst of an earth, stone, and root maze filled with monsters, traps,
and tricks. They have two options. They can simply attempt to escape. Or they can
find the hub of this part of the maze and destroy it, shrinking the maze back below
ground.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Spider’s Web
This is a maze of tunnels, created by the Void, crisscrossing all of Reverie.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What are the floor, walls, and ceiling of the maze made of?
❧❧ What does the maze smell like?
❧❧ What sorts of underground nasties are living in its walls?
❧❧ Why is there a dim glow of light in the maze?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Burning Tunnel, inhabited by living flame creatures
❧❧ The House, home to a terrified human just drawn into Reverie
❧❧ The Sludge, a lake of muck that’s nearly impossible to cross
❧❧ The Cold Prison, a block of ice with someone trapped inside
❧❧ The Abyssal Root, the center of this portion of the maze

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Palax, an imp who knows the way out, but believes she has to sacrifice one of the
characters to the Chaos to leave
❧❧ Hundlebark, an aging, Void-allied woodkin who tries to trick the characters
❧❧ Frip and Frup, twin brownies who never agree with each other
❧❧ Little One, a paragon mole seeking to help those trapped
❧❧ The Chaos, a giant blob of tentacles, eyes, and mouths

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Rescue NPCs along the way.
❧❧ Figure out that it gets colder ❧❧ Avoid being tricked by
Major the closer you get to the Hundlebark.
center of the maze and
Challenges warmer as you get closer to
❧❧ Defeat the Chaos.
escape. ❧❧ Destroy the abyssal root
to banish the maze below
❧❧ Navigate the Sludge. ground.

Ongoing Challenge: Navigate the Spider’s Web

After every Scene, one character must make a Trait Check to determine how well
the group navigates the maze. Another character can help with this. Mind Checks are
appropriate. But Body Checks can be made to break through maze walls and Charm
Checks can be made to determine if an NPC’s aid is true.
Milestones involve the sound of the Chaos growing closer, potentially sparking
fear in the characters. The Chaos arrives at the last milestone, after all checkboxes
are filled.

Climactic Challenge: Defeating the Chaos

The Chaos is a constantly undulating mass of body parts. Its babbling causes
characters to make bad choices and eventually swap minds as described below.
Whoever delivers the final blow to the Chaos marks 1 Shadow.
At the first milestone, players exchange character playbooks. Each player retains
their normal character’s Mind, Charm, and Heart scores, as well as Anchors and Fears,
but uses the other character’s Body, Talents, and Corruptions. Each player plays the
“other character’s body” but with their normal character’s mind in control.
Minds switch back at the second milestone.
Complications can include accidentally attacking a friend, trying to join physically
with the Chaos, or trying to stop friends from attacking it.

EPILOGUE
The characters free themselves from the maze, bringing along any folk they’ve
rescued. If they didn’t destroy the abyssal root, the maze continues to grow slowly
across the land.

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TERMINUS
Each time the Void has risen in the past, great heroics and great sacrifice were
needed to end its onslaught. At times, a ritual known as the Terminus Rite was
required to vanquish the Void and re-light Reverie’s soul.

PROLOGUE
Now that heroes across Reverie have weakened the Void and its influence, the
players’ characters can step up to defeat the Void for this cycle and renew Reverie
for the coming centuries.

STORY ELEMENTS
Openhand Peak
This mountain is a place of legend and mystery. Over the ages, travelers, pilgrims,
and heroes have climbed its slopes to mark important times and make sacrifices. It
looks like a broad hand stretching skyward with five narrow peaks at its top.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What, specifically, are the seven elements the characters need to perform the
Terminus Rite and end the Void’s influence? How is the rite performed? (See the
Gather the Elements challenge further on.)

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Tethers, a grassland around the base of the mountain
❧❧ The Knuckles, rocky badlands partway up the side of the mountain
❧❧ The Nails, the icy caps of the mountain

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Shorna, an ancient, dying human living in Reverie who performed the Terminus
Rite the last time the Void appeared
❧❧ Bartle, an imp who knows the Terminus Rite and will barter knowledge of how it’s
performed for something of great value
❧❧ NPCs the characters have met before, as needed to be ritual elements
❧❧ Agents of the Void that the characters have run into before, appearing as they
gather the elements and during the final challenge

CHALLENGES
Major ❧❧ Determine what all the ❧❧ Enact the ritual on
elements are for the ritual Openhand Peak.
Challenges and gather them.

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Ongoing Challenge: Gather the Seven Elements

Mark a checkbox each time the characters gather an element for the ritual. These
are all people or objects the characters have come upon during the campaign. They
players determine what each one is. The elements include:
❧❧ The Eye, someone who has witnessed great loss
❧❧ The Hand, someone who has fought a great battle
❧❧ The Heart, Reverie’s Heart from the story (or one of the characters)
❧❧ The Lost, someone who has fallen to corruption/died (can be a corpse)
❧❧ The Paladin, someone who has saved another person’s life
❧❧ The Stone, pieces of an object that was destroyed by the Void
❧❧ The Sword, a weapon or other item of great power
At each milestone, a sacrifice must be made. Reveal what each sacrifice is when it
is called for and not before. The three sacrifices are, in order:
❧❧ The Loss: Each character gives up something of personal value.
❧❧ The Shattering: The characters swear to not see each other for one year after the
ritual ends, and then reunite.
❧❧ The Death: One character must vow to give their life to finish the ritual.

Climactic Challenge: Relight Reverie’s Soul

The characters enact the ritual while holding off the Void’s minions through force,
cleverness, and coercion. After each round, mark a checkbox. At the end, The Death
(the sacrifice described above) occurs without warning.
At each milestone, new agents of the Void enter the fray. Use agents that have
previously been dealt with when possible, if they survived.
Complications can include marking Conditions or marking 2 Shadow.

EPILOGUE
The soul of Reverie is re-lit and the Void is defeated. Reverie prospers for many
years, and the characters are declared high heroes of the land. Have the players
narrate their characters’ year apart and reunification.

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Chapter Six: 3 Trilogies

Why settle for one story when you can have all the stories?
Imp proverb
The story schemes presented in Chapter 5 stand alone as individual adventures on
which the characters embark as they struggle to defeat the Void. Most of the stories
function very well for one-shot games. Some of them describe ways to tie multiple
stories together. But it’s mostly up to the GM to ensure that common NPCs, themes,
and events carry over between stories to help create a Good Strong Hands campaign.
Each of the trilogies in this chapter are crafted specifically to work together as
three individual stories that tell one larger story. As such, they are linked by themes,
story elements, NPCs, monsters, and the like.

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
The first two pages of each trilogy provide an overall summary of important
elements within the trilogy.

The Trilogy Arc

This section provides a broad overview of the trilogy as a whole. Information
presented here is important to keep in mind while GMing all three of the trilogy’s
stories so as to help create a unified whole.

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Fleshing Out the Trilogy

This section provides a variety of tools and ideas the GM can use to expand the
three story schemes of the trilogy into a longer campaign. Some examples involve
changing parts of other story schemes to make them fit the trilogy. Some describe
wholly new ideas that might be inserted into other stories. And so on.
Use as many or as few as you wish. Or simply use them to help spark your imagination
to come up with your own additional ideas to expand the trilogy.

STORY SCHEME VARIATIONS

Owing to the nature of the trilogy, the story schemes in this chapter are laid out
a little differently than those in the previous chapter. Several sections of these story
schemes speak to how to tie all three stories together into a larger whole.

The Setup
This section is found in the first story scheme of the trilogy and sets up the first
story. It introduces some or all of the larger problems to be dealt with over the
course of the trilogy.

Escalation
This section is found in the second story scheme of the trilogy and summarizes how
the second story raises the stakes for the trilogy. Things need to get worse for the
characters in order to pay everything off with a grand victory at the end.

Climax
This section is found in the third story scheme of the trilogy and describes one
or more possible paths to victory. Player choices dictate where things go, but this
section provides the GM with some possible routes the players can take, helping
them decide how to use other information in that third story scheme to help the
players bring the trilogy to a conclusion.

The Win
This section is found in the first two story schemes of the trilogy. It’s important that
the characters feel they are making progress even when things are at their worst.
This section provides inspiration for a worthwhile victory that they can enjoy, often
revealing important story elements that gain importance later.

The Hook
This section is found in the first two story schemes of the trilogy. It describes an
important plot element you can reveal as that story closes that propels the characters
into the next leg of their journey.

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ECHOES OF THE PAST

Co-designed by Marcus Maichle
Prior to the events of this trilogy, the Void called forth the spirits of three long-dead
folk. These spirits are all that remain of a folk that was wiped from the face of Reverie
ages ago during one of the Void’s previous assaults. The spirits have grown angry over
the centuries, knowing that everything that made them who they are – their bodies,
their names, their memories, their language – has been lost and forgotten by most of
those who call Reverie home.
The Void plied these forgotten spirits, these “echoes,” with promises to bring their
people back and allow them to inherit the “new Reverie” that it will create when it
purges all those that have forgotten them. And the echoes agreed to do the Void’s
bidding.

THE TRILOGY ARC

This trilogy centers on angry souls, called echoes, attempting to help the Void
transform Reverie into a new world. In order to do this, they infect the people of
Reverie with a disease that clouds and changes their ability to communicate. The
ensuing chaos makes it easier for the Void’s other plans to unfold as it makes it more
difficult for the people to work together to fight back.

Story Scheme Summary:

❧❧ In “A Strange Silence,” the echoes silence the voices of people in a town as a
festival begins.
❧❧ In “Growing Discord,” the echoes mutate the disease, making those affected speak
in a gibberish language. This hampers communication and sows fear and worry.
❧❧ In “Chaos and Cacophony,” the disease mutates further to cause different groups
of people to speak a language they understand, that others do not. The echoes
and other agents of the Void then sow trouble and misunderstanding among the
folk, causing them to clash with each other.

Recurring Story Elements

❧❧ Afflicted Towns: Each story features one or more towns that have been afflicted
with the disease. As the trilogy progresses, more and more towns are affected.
❧❧ Seeking Out the Echoes: Finding and stopping the echoes is the key to saving
everyone. The characters travel to find them all.

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Recurring Themes
❧❧ Lack of communication/misunderstanding
❧❧ Fear and confusion
❧❧ Fearful folk joining in groups and lashing out at groups different from themselves

Recurring NPCs/Monsters
❧❧ Trundlehoof the faun bard recurs as an aid to the characters
❧❧ Silence (an echo) sows fear and paranoia
❧❧ Discord (an echo) brings disagreement and misunderstanding
❧❧ Cacophony (an echo) brings mass chaos and bloodshed

FLESHING THE TRILOGY OUT

You can expand the trilogy into a longer campaign by adding additional stories
and story elements interspersed between or within the core three.

Using Other Story Schemes

❧❧ A Coming Storm begins with a town in crisis, many people needing help. The
disease would make an excellent complication.
❧❧ The Crimson Crown features a populace that is being harmed by their corrupted
leader. The disease would bring more complexity to dealing with NPCs in this
story.
❧❧ The Depth of Souls specifically deals with what happens to people after they die.
Perhaps there are more echoes trapped there or information to be gleaned from
the Shackle.
❧❧ Invasion relies on groups of people not being able to work together and being
fearful of each other. What if these groups could also not communicate with each
other?

Additional Ideas
❧❧ Have the characters visit additional towns where language is being silenced or
otherwise manipulated – other mutations of the disease.
❧❧ Introduce a benevolent ghost of this long lost people, a “good echo.” But don’t let
this ghost solve all the problems for the characters.
❧❧ Introduce a sage who knows things about this long lost people. Some of their
information may be inaccurate. The sage might be an agent of the Void, specifically
seeking to fool the characters.

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A STRANGE SILENCE
Every year, the seaside village of Tollin’s Verse hosts a music, poetry, and storytelling
festival. Bards, skalds, poets, singers, and musicians from around Reverie attend, to be
judged by the learned experts who live in the village.

THE SETUP
This year, the Void has set loose three echoes (angry spirits of long dead people)
to sow silence among the people of the village. The characters arrive to a village
panicking over festival participants losing their voices. First, a renowned faun bard
named Trundlehoof lost his voice, followed by others. Those affected first show a
strange symptom; they can’t stop talking. Then they go completely silent.

STORY ELEMENTS
Tollin’s Verse
For unknown reasons, many great performers have been born in this village. Some
believe the well water here is magical, enhancing such skills.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Who was Tollin and what is the “verse” from the village’s name?
❧❧ Who do you know who lives here or is competing in the contests?
❧❧ Have you come to enter the contests?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Maestro’s Villa, a large residence where musicians, poets, and storytellers
from all across Reverie come to study their arts
❧❧ The Well, source of fresh water and heart of the legend of the village
❧❧ Pyre Square, a gathering space in the center of town, sporting a giant torch

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Trundlehoof, an elderly faun, who has lost his voice
❧❧ Viceroy Strickie, the brownie mayoresse of the village who loses her voice part
way through the story
❧❧ Shumple, a rabbit wildkin intent on pickpocketing many folk
❧❧ Quig, an imp poet who is panicking at the prospect of losing their voice
❧❧ Silence, the echo who spread the spiritual disease causing the silence

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Ensure that the festival goes
off, despite some being
❧❧ Deal with panicking
afflicted.
Major townsfolk, accusations, and
occasional violence. ❧❧ Seek out Silence, who can
Challenges ❧❧ Restore lost voices by be found infecting folk with
silence.
inspiring the artists,
performing their art so badly
that they break free of the
disease to fix things, etc.

Ongoing Challenge: The Disease Spreads

Mark a checkbox after each new major Scene ends.

At each milestone, one character (determined randomly) must succeed at a TN
5 Heart Reaction Check or catch the silencing disease. (This is a Corruption effect.)
Characters can be cured through means the players devise in keeping with how you
present the challenge.
Affected characters cannot speak or write, though they can understand others.
The player can still speak to describe what their character is doing, but shouldn’t give
away anything that their character wants to say. The character can only communicate
through generic, written symbols and pantomime.

THE WIN
The characters get their win by restoring at least some of the voices and ensuring
the festival continues. Some afflicted may still need help.
Some may never recover, and the characters can help them adapt to a new way
of communicating. At this stage, the disease is an inconvenience and it’s perfectly
reasonable for mute NPCs to live normal, healthy lives.

THE HOOK
The characters question Silence or otherwise learn of the existence of the other
echoes. They may also learn that one or more villagers has already left, potentially
spreading the condition.
Trundlehoof caught the disease first and cannot be cured. Instead, his voice
becomes disembodied and follows the characters throughout the rest of the trilogy.
Trundlehoof’s voice remains magically connected to his body and mind in Tollin’s
Verse no matter how far away his voice travels with the characters.

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GROWING DISCORD
Several small towns and a great many farms are dotted around Tollin’s Verse and
the echoes have spread the disease to these places.

ESCALATION
The echoes mutate the disease to cause those afflicted to speak what seems to
be gibberish. In truth, this gibberish is reminiscent of their ancient, lost language,
but unique to each person. The afflicted, now unable to communicate with each
other, are at the mercy of the echoes and other agents of the Void who strive to sow
confusion and fear.

STORY ELEMENTS
Low Mount
This low, broad hillock in the midst of several small villages and many farms has
been a community meeting place for years. Now it is filled with angry, confused,
fearful folk. A few folk are as yet unaffected.

Ask the Players

❧❧ How does Trundlehoof’s voice being with you work?
❧❧ Do affected people realize they are speaking a different language?
❧❧ What does Low Mount look like? What makes it unique?
❧❧ What sorts of old grudges and animosities have come to the fore?
❧❧ When the characters find information about the lost folk the echoes come from,
ask them who these lost folk were. How did they all die?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Little Fish, a small fishing village near Low Mount
❧❧ The Gruble Farm, a large farm tended by an extended family of over 50
❧❧ The Mystic Forge, a smithy built on a magical leyline that provides fire
❧❧ Ringing Field, filled with hollow plant stems that whistle in the wind

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Shev, a young wolf paragon who vaguely recalls the echoes’ people from long ago,
who starts unafflicted, but soon succumbs
❧❧ Bupa Gruble, an ancient stonekin who tries to act as a calming force
❧❧ Jorga, a brownie bent on messing with people for past slights
❧❧ Ol’ Button-Eyes, a scarecrow animant running wild, scaring folks
❧❧ Chally, the badger wildkin constable who thinks it’s all a big prank

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Discover an NPC that is
unaffected and learn they
❧❧ Deal with fearful, paranoid
live in Ringing Field. Create
NPCs.
a magical pan pipe from the
Major ❧❧ Deal with instigators and
agents of the Void who are
stems there to play and heal
some of the others. It only
Challenges preying on the assembled
folk.
affects certain people, for an
unknown reason. It affects
❧❧ Discover the true origin of the characters so that they
the echoes via research, Trait may speak to unaffected folk
Checks, or NPCs that might and try to help.
know. ❧❧ Help those afflicted
communicate by creating a
rudimentary sign language/
drawn symbol system that
they can share.

Ongoing Challenge: Rebuild the Community

Mark a checkbox after each Scene that helps quell fear, dispel problems, defeat a
Void agent, or otherwise builds trust among the people affected by the disease.
Milestones might involve one or more NPCs getting angry at the lack of progress
or a new animosity coming to light, perhaps with a fight breaking out.
Complications can include agents of the Void (or even an echo) showing up to sow
discord by sparking new animosity between those who can’t communicate.

THE WIN
The characters restore the normal voices of some of the afflicted, quell fights
and animosities, and set the community on its way to developing some sort of sign
language and/or shared symbol system that they can use to communicate. They
create new friends and earn a reputation among the folk who live around Low Mount.

THE HOOK
The characters learn more about the nature of the echoes, which helps them at the
end of the trilogy. As this story ends, news comes down that there is out and out war
brewing between the people of High Mount and Mudtown.

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CHAOS AND CACOPHONY

The towns of High Mount and Mudtown are on the brink of war as the echoes’
disease spreads throughout the land of Reverie.

CLIMAX
The echoes cause the disease to spread into two nearby towns. Many folk in each
town are infected with a different gibberish language (actually different dialects of
the same lost language that the echoes spoke ages ago).
The echoes and other minions of the Void spread rumors among the folk of High
Mount that the people of Mudtown are responsible for this strange affliction and are
in league with the Void, and vice versa. Citizens of the two towns, fearing for their
own safety, have had skirmishes and a larger battle seems imminent.

STORY ELEMENTS
High Mount and Mudtown
The town of High Mount rests atop a large, grassy rise and is a lovely little place to
live, populated by somewhat wealthy folk. Mudtown lies a short distance away on the
shores of a muddy river and is populated by salt of the earth, working folk.

Ask the Players

❧❧ Why have High Mount and Mudtown been at odds with each other in the past
and how is that escalating now?
❧❧ What other false rumors have been spread among the townsfolk?
❧❧ When the characters find information about the lost folk the echoes come from,
ask them who these lost folk were. How did they all die?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Low Field, between the towns, likely location of a future conflict
❧❧ Bigbog, the poorest part of Mudtown, filled with many of the diseased
❧❧ The Pretty Keep, seat of government for High Mount
❧❧ The Old Post, shared trading post and site of an early skirmish
❧❧ The Rainbow, a festively decorated maypole in High Mount
❧❧ The Laughing Steps, a sunken amphitheater down the hill in Mudtown

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Lindlelimb, an old woodkin healer, unaffected by the disease
❧❧ Family Ugot, a large redcap family spoiling for a good fight
❧❧ Yoren, a faun artist who paints the towns at peace
❧❧ Kel, a human woodcarver selling spears and clubs to get rich

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Discover what’s going on. ❧❧ Stop a large scale fight from
happening or minimize
❧❧ Calm the citizens and deal
losses if it does.
Major with those who want to go
to war. ❧❧ Discover the echoes hiding
Challenges ❧❧ Intervene in conflicts in the towns and overcome
them.
between folk visiting the
other towns to try to
discover what’s happened to
everyone.

Climactic Challenge: Overcome the Echoes

Silence Discord Cacophony

To end the disease, the characters must overcome the echoes. This can be done
by fighting or by convincing the echoes to defy the Void and instead join the
communities they’ve been attacking. Each echo requires 3-5 Hits to overcome as
shown above.
At each milestone, one of the other echoes intervenes to try to protect their ally,
attacking the character that hit the milestone. That character must succeed at a TN
5 Body Resistance Check or mark 1 physical Condition.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions, being affected by the
disease, having a friend or ally put in danger, or being targeted by the echoes’
Corruption below.
Pain of Ages Lost: The target is wracked with pain and suffers disadvantage on
all Trait Checks. Additionally, they mark 1 physical Condition. (Players get a Heart
Reaction Check at TN 5 to resist this.)

EPILOGUE
The echoes may return to true life if the characters convince them to join the larger
Reverie society. Regardless, the disease is defeated when the echoes are overcome,
though some who were affected may never recover fully, and require help to find a
new way to live.

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A TALE OF STORMS
Co-designed by Alan “Big Al” Nicholas
The Scattered Isles, numbering seven in total, lie in the midst of a great sea in
Reverie. Each island is home to an insular, tight-knit community that often finds itself
at odds with its various island neighbors. The smallest of these islands is Tower Island,
named for the massive pillar of stone at its center.
A community of merlings lives on Tower Island. Merlings appear very fey, with
pointed ears, wispy hair, and lithe limbs. They can also transform into merman/
mermaid-like forms with fish tails and gills. They can only remain in this form for a
short time. The power to do so comes from their mystical island, so they cannot do
it when traveling abroad.
Recently, a young merling named Annalona, fearing for her father’s failing health,
prayed to the spirits of the ocean. And the Void answered her. The Void granted her
father, Nomolo, long life, but poisoned the water around Tower Island at the same
time, trapping the merlings on their island home.
The poison is spreading, darkening the water and making it smell of spoiled eggs
and rot. A storm cloud constantly darkens the sky above the island, unleashing
torrents of wind and rain without warning.

THE TRILOGY ARC

In this trilogy, the characters investigate the poisoning of Tower Island and attempt
to help its trapped inhabitants. As they progress through the stories, things worsen at
the island, as well as at other, nearby islands.

Story Scheme Summary:

❧❧ In “The Stormy Isle,” the characters travel to Tower Island and learn what has
happened. They discover that Annalona has fled to another island over her guilt
at what she’s caused.
❧❧ In “The Storm Spreads,” the characters seek out Annalona, as she is the only one
who can save her people. After finding her, they learn Tower Island has sunk, and
they must find a way to return to where the island was.
❧❧ In “The Storm Within,” the characters escort Annalona, now embroiled in an
inner battle with the Void, back to her sunken home. They brave many undersea
challenges to allow the girl to fix the harm she has done.

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Recurring Story Elements

❧❧ Storms: Destructive forces are found both within and without.
❧❧ The Sea: The sea gives life, allows for travel, and is merciless when angered.

Recurring Themes
❧❧ Inner turmoil/battling the Void and your own fears
❧❧ High heroic action punctuated by personal stories of struggle

Recurring NPCs/Monsters
❧❧ Annalona, a merling girl who is both friend and foe
❧❧ The Sea Snake, a massive sea monster brought to bear by the Void

FLESHING THE TRILOGY OUT

You can expand the trilogy into a longer campaign by adding additional stories
and story elements interspersed between or within the core three.

Using Other Story Schemes

❧❧ The trilogy could begin in Westedge, the town from Daybreak. The characters
deal with that story first. When the fog lifts, the storm over Tower Island has
appeared.
❧❧ The people on one of the Scattered Isles could already be dealing with the
problems of Evolution and the Transforming Tower.
❧❧ While searching for Annalona, The Spider’s Web could come into play, trapping
the characters in an underground maze from which they have to escape before
continuing their quest.

Additional Ideas
❧❧ If any of the characters has a seagoing background, maybe they are familiar with
Tower Island…or even grew up there. Maybe they have contacts in the Scattered
Isles.
❧❧ The islands begin moving, shifted about by the magic that sinks Tower Island. This
makes finding Annalona and rallying the islanders even harder.
❧❧ The corruption infesting Annalona leaves her when the characters cure her. It
then manifests as a black shadow thing and must be defeated or prevented from
spreading its malevolence further.

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THE STORMY ISLE

Annalona’s father, Nomolo, fell gravely ill. Annalona performed a ritual, guided
by the Void, and Nomolo got better. But a massive storm cloud formed over Tower
Island, pelting it with rain and lightning. The merlings’ boats were destroyed, save for
one which Annalona, feeling guilty for what she had brought upon her people, took
to flee.

THE SETUP
The characters start on the mainland, at the port town of Trader’s Sound. Deliveries
of fish and crabs from Tower Bay are expected, but none have come. Seafarers tell
tales of strange storms and poisoned water at Tower Island.
Their journey to the island introduces the Sea Snake and the merlings of Tower
Island, who are trapped on their island and getting sick. Captain Tharn, a kindly
woodkin sailor, is willing to ferry them to the island.

STORY ELEMENTS
Tower Island
This small, flat island is covered with broad canopied deep flora. In the center of
the island, a massive stone monolith rises over one hundred feet into the air.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What does the air around the island smell like?
❧❧ What do merlings look like? How do they speak? What are their quirks?
❧❧ What do the island’s inhabitants’ homes look like?
❧❧ What is unique about the vegetation on Tower Island?
❧❧ What have you heard about the great Sea Snake?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Jut, a massive outcropping of stone, home to the Sea Snake
❧❧ The Tower, a tall, narrow pillar of stone, the source of merling magic
❧❧ The Ring, a circle of hewn, perpetually glowing stone monoliths
❧❧ The Cave of Sadness, a submerged harbor cave where two lovers died
❧❧ The Monastery, an ancient building left over by forgotten colonists
❧❧ The Font of Light, a lost, magical fountain rumored to grant powers

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Nomolo, a merling elder who is the only healthy person on the island
❧❧ Soronia, a merling wise woman who is terribly ill but has a second sight
❧❧ Cambolo, a young merling with ambition who hates outsiders
❧❧ Tzachta, chief of the sirens, a friendly bird people who live on the island
❧❧ Various giant boars and insects that call the island home

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Get to the island. ❧❧ Retrace Annalona’s steps
leading to where she
Major ❧❧ Deal with the dangers of the
performed her ritual.
island.
Challenges ❧❧ Enlist the sirens to help ❧❧ Find the merling village and
heal the sick merlings and
evacuate some of the
sirens.
merlings from the island.

Climactic Challenge: Healing the Sick

The merlings (and some sirens) are sickened by the foul rains that the Void sends
from the storm cloud. The poison has rendered them physically weak and their minds
are clouded and confused.
Mark a checkbox for each success at creating or administering medicine. Mind
Checks can be used to concoct the medicine. Body Checks may be required to gather
ingredients from high or dangerous places. Charm Checks are needed to convince
the sick to take the medicine.
Nomolo tells the characters his daughter brought the trouble upon the island.
Soronia believes that only Annalona can heal the island.
Milestones might involve a character making a TN 5 Heart Check or getting sick.
Complications can include marking Conditions or being attacked by monsters or
confused merlings.

THE WIN
The characters help heal the sick merlings and sirens, which allows them to better
weather the coming danger.

THE HOOK
The characters learn that Annalona is responsible for what has happened and that
she has fled to one of the other six Scattered Islands.

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THE STORM SPREADS

As the characters leave Tower Island, they notice a large standing stone that is
covered with significantly more water than before. The island seems to be sinking.
The characters island hop as they seek out Annalona. In the process, they discover
the animosities that exist between the various islander groups.

ESCALATION
Finding Annalona and returning her to the island to fix what she’s done is of
paramount importance.
Halfway through this story, word circulates among the islanders that Tower Island
has sunk beneath the waves and a host of sea monsters, including the great Sea Snake,
are circling the storm the sunken island left behind.
When they find Annalona, they discover that she is corrupted, as the Void eats
away at her soul.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Scattered Isles
Six small islands found around Tower Island are home to various islander factions
that don’t get along with each other terribly well.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What are the other islands’ names? What is unique about each one?
❧❧ What animosities are there between different islander groups?
❧❧ What are the sea monsters like?
❧❧ What non-monstrous sea life inhabits the ocean?
❧❧ What other seafaring groups are out there? Pirates?
❧❧ What are sea storms like near the Scattered Isles?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Swirling Tail, an area of strong currents that runs through the isles
❧❧ Kraken’s Triangle, a moving area where terrifying things happen
❧❧ Deadman’s Wake, a strait where many ships have wrecked
❧❧ Serpenia’s Cave, a mysterious underwater cave
❧❧ Tornok’s Rock, a small outcropping near one island, used as a place of punishment
for wrongdoers, and where Annalona is hiding

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Jason, an angry human from Earth who leads one island community
❧❧ Thibble, a friendly otter wildkin who leads one island community
❧❧ The Masked Captain, a mysterious pirate known to sail the seas
❧❧ Artemis, an intelligent squid creature that serves the Void
❧❧ Enya, a merling who has been cursed to permanent mermaid form

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Track down Annalona. ❧❧ Convince the leaders of the
island communities to band
❧❧ Brave the monsters of the
together.
Major sea.
❧❧ Lead a flotilla to Tower
❧❧ Go to the Kraken’s Triangle
Challenges to find a lost sage to help. Island and fight the sea
monsters.
❧❧ Defeat the Masked Captain
on the open sea when his
ship attacks.

Climactic Challenge: Return to Tower Island

Mark a checkbox each time a sea monster is defeated. When they are all marked,
the characters can safely get to the spot where Tower Island was. They can use
Charm Checks to provide orders to the NPCs who then defeat a sea monster, or fight
using Body Checks and their Talents. The Sea Snake is a 6 checkbox challenge. Other
monsters are 2 checkbox challenges.
At each milestone, introduce a new monster, describe an allied ship capsizing, or
introduce lightning or large waves as hazards.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions or having a boat become
damaged.

THE WIN
The characters find Annalona and convince her to return to Tower Island. The
island communities band together and find common ground.

THE HOOK
Annalona seems distant, but usually kind. Occasionally she snaps at whoever she’s
talking to and they glimpse a bit of darkness in her eyes.
When they arrive at the center of the storm, a merling named Konalo greets them
and tells them the merlings can give them the ability to breathe underwater for a
short time.
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THE STORM WITHIN

The characters return to Tower Island with Annalona to restore the sunken island,
even as she and the corruption within her attempt to subvert their goals.

CLIMAX
Have the players help determine what must be done to free the sunken island
from the Void’s influence. It should be a difficult task that requires the characters
to traverse some parts of the underwater landscape, and should involve one of the
characters voluntarily absorbing the darkness in Annalona and then channeling it out
of themselves.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Sunken Island
While the characters can swim to high points of the sunken island, everything else
about this location is alien and twisted by the Void.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What does the sunken island look like? How is it different than before?
❧❧ What transformations have the sea life near the island undergone?
❧❧ What has happened to the sirens, now that Tower Island sank?
❧❧ How can the characters channel the Void’s corruption to a place of goodness and
light to save the island?

Points of Interest
❧❧ The Shattered Tower, the central pillar now broken and toppled
❧❧ The Labyrinth, now surrounding the Monastery
❧❧ The Beacon, a bright light that flashes on one end of the island
❧❧ The Nest, a breeding ground for squid monsters
❧❧ The Dark Font, previously granting powers, it now saps energy

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Merlings trapped beneath the waves, in need of help
❧❧ Annalona, who manifests the characters’ fears in shadow form
❧❧ Cambolo, a tyrannical merling who claims the island as his own
❧❧ Shades, shadowy versions of those who died when the island sank
❧❧ Porqual, a small, octopus-like creature that wants to help

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Help mer-form merlings ❧❧ Resist the overwhelming
who are in trouble under corruption of the Void in
the waves. the island.
Major ❧❧ Outwit or defeat the ❧❧ Connect with Annalona and
Challenges followers of Cambolo. draw the Void’s darkness out
of her.
❧❧ Eradicate the Nest, so the
creatures migrate elsewhere. ❧❧ Channel the Void’s influence
to a bright and safe spot to
defeat it.

Ongoing Challenge: Cure Annalona

Mark a checkbox whenever the characters find a way to connect with Annalona on
a personal level, slowly allowing her true self to emerge.
At each of the first two milestones, the character who filled it marks 2 Shadow as
the Void tries to take hold. At the final milestone, the corruption within the merling
girl jumps to the character who caused it to be marked. They mark 2 Shadow and
seek to actively prevent their compatriots from succeeding.
Complications can include marking Conditions or marking 1 Shadow.

Climactic Challenge: Fix Tower Island

The characters find a way to channel the darkness that was inhabiting Annalona to
someplace else on the island where it can dissipate. All the while, they are beset by
strong currents and monsters of the deep.
Mark a checkbox each time a character scores a success or Boon on a Trait Check
to deal with these underwater hazards.
At each milestone, another dangerous sea creature is drawn to the site.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions, endangering a nearby
NPC, or feeling the water-breathing magic start to falter.

EPILOGUE
The island rises to the surface, taking the merlings with it. In time, the sirens return
to the island as well. The various communities of the Scattered Isles develop stronger,
positive relationships with each other and offer the characters safe harbor whenever
they visit in the future.

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THE THINGS WE LOST

Co-designed by Kimberly Baugh
The Void has been trying to destroy Reverie for millennia. It has tried, in myriad
ways, to tear the world apart, failing each time. Scholars and sages note that the
coming of the Void is as much a part of Reverie as the seasons or the tides.
A great many things have been lost in this time. Mountain ranges have been laid
flat. Kingdoms have fallen. Whole peoples have been lost to the Void’s destruction.
But, perhaps the greatest thing to be lost is this simple secret…the Void is not just part
of Reverie. It IS Reverie. The two are opposite sides of the same coin.
In this trilogy, the characters travel into the Void itself to defeat it and free Reverie
for a couple more centuries of peace and prosperity.

THE TRILOGY ARC

This trilogy involves the characters finding a map. And then using that map to
discover a cave. And then entering that cave to save Reverie. But the cave is the
mouth into the Void itself. There, they have the opportunity to battle the Void from
within in a variety of ways.

Story Scheme Summary:

❧❧ In “The Lost Map,” the characters steal a map that leads them to a cave that takes
them inside the Void.
❧❧ In “The Lost Cave,” the characters make their way through pieces of Reverie lost
to the Void ages ago, the remains of what the Void has “eaten.”
❧❧ In “The Lost Secret,” the characters use their newfound knowledge of the
relationship between Reverie and the Void to defeat the Void once again.

Recurring Story Elements

❧❧ Lost Bits of Reverie: The characters discover the remains of realms long thought
lost to the Void, as well as animals and peoples forgotten to time.
❧❧ A Sense of Repetition: The trilogy hangs on the idea of the Void repeatedly trying
to destroy Reverie, and heroes who have come before to do what the characters
are trying to do now.
❧❧ Personal Loss: Once inside the Void, paint the setting with dark versions of places
the characters have previously visited or have heard of. Introduce phantoms
pretending to be dead ancestors.

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Recurring Themes
❧❧ The Void has nearly won
❧❧ Discovery of things lost to the ages
❧❧ Sacrifice

Recurring NPCs/Monsters
❧❧ Thistlefoot, a renowned woodkin thief, provides advice through his magical map
❧❧ Burtle the Turtle, an immortal paragon, recurs as an aid to the characters. A
version of him exists in each part of the trilogy. In the first part, he’s found in
Reverie. In the other stories, a version of him is trapped in the Void. In all cases, he
has never met the characters before.
❧❧ The Resolute Squire, a figure of myth

FLESHING THE TRILOGY OUT

You can expand the trilogy into a longer campaign by adding additional stories
and story elements interspersed between or within the core three.

Using Other Story Schemes

❧❧ The characters could come across the beast from Belly of the Beast in the cave
and have to retrieve something important from within it to continue on.
❧❧ The entirety of The Depth of Souls could take place inside the cave or within the
Void’s Heart. Freeing a great hero could play into the story. The hero might even
be the Resolute Squire.
❧❧ The more notable monsters from stories like Gnashing of Fangs might have gained
power within Reverie as it falls and become challenges for the characters on their
way to the cave.

Additional Ideas
❧❧ If there’s a paragon among the characters, have them encounter a past version of
themselves in the cave.
❧❧ Have the characters witness a massive storm or fire just before entering the cave,
making it clear that Reverie is almost lost. Have them plagued by nightmares of
that sight throughout the remainder of the story.

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THE LOST MAP

Ages ago, Thistlefoot, a renowned woodkin thief, stored away all the treasures she
stole in a magical library tree called Tip-Top. Prior to this story, the characters learn
of the existence of a magical map that can lead the way to defeating the Void, as
well as the location of Tip-Top.

THE SETUP
The characters arrive at Tip-Top to discover allies of the Void trying to find
Thistlefoot’s magical map or some other artifact of power or importance that might
help the Void. The characters need to get to the top of the library-tree, grab the
map, and escape as quickly as they can.
The journey to the cave shown on the map takes them through a land almost
completely fallen to the Void.

STORY ELEMENTS
Tip-Top
This incredibly massive tree is covered in knotholes containing items of import and
value. Its willow leaves hang thick, obscuring sightlines.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What do your people say happens if the Void wins?
❧❧ What do you know about Thistlefoot the thief?
❧❧ What types of areas do you travel through while following the map? (Encourage
them to use areas they’ve previously heard of or visited.)
❧❧ Have you heard of the Resolute Squire and who do you think it is?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Locations the characters have been to before, now nearly destroyed
❧❧ The remnants of a colorful bazaar, a dying light left behind by the Void
❧❧ A refugee camp filled with folk who need help
❧❧ A field of meteorites made of strange materials fallen from the heavens

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Burtle the Turtle, who knows a few things about the cave
❧❧ Thistlefoot, whose essence is trapped in the map
❧❧ Ravenous dire wolves, bears, griffins, and unicorns twisted by the Void
❧❧ Bandits taking advantage of the mayhem
❧❧ A massive, hulking centipede devouring all in the land

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CHALLENGES
❧❧ Get the map. ❧❧ Fend off minions of the Void
Major ❧❧ Travel to the cave while along the way.
Challenges helping folk in need. ❧❧ Figure out how to open the
door to the cave.

Kick-Off Challenge: The Test of Body

Climbing Tip-Top requires Body Checks, though other Trait Checks might be
needed as well. Mark a checkbox for every successful Body Check and Boon. The
dense willow leaves prevent easy teleportation magics. Flying creatures make Body
Checks to work their way past grasping willow leaves.
The map shows the location of “The Cave of the Resolute Squire.”
At the first milestone, one of the characters finds the map. At each subsequent
milestone, a minion of the Void attacks from within the treetop.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions, getting caught in writhing
leaves, or dropping something important, now forever lost.

Climactic Challenge: The Test of Mind

Opening the door to the cave requires solving the following riddle carved on the
door of the cave. Alternatively, the characters can make TN 6 Mind Checks to try to
figure it out. Provide a clue at each milestone, if necessary.

THE MORE OF IT THERE IS, THE LESS YOU SEE IT.

(Answer: Darkness or Fog)
Complications can include marking physical Conditions as electricity shoots from
the cave door.

THE WIN
The characters procure the map and open the door to the cave, both clear
successes along the way.

THE HOOK
The cave reeks of the Void and the characters can smell it. When they speak at the
mouth, an echo returns, a voice beckoning them to their doom.

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THE LOST CAVE

The lost cave stands before the characters. The moment they step into it, they are
inside the Void.

ESCALATION
Everything about this story is about the direness of the situation. The world is
almost lost. The characters can’t leave the cave once they’ve entered, at least not
until they defeat the Void.
Some THING is pursuing them. Hint at this constantly. In reality, it’s a beast made
up of a little bit of all of their individual Fears. The characters won’t encounter it until
the next story.
At some point, the characters discover grave markers of former Resolute Squires.
These folk once lived within the Void to act as guides to those who entered.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Cave and a Special Rule
The cave is the body of the Void. It is dimly lit, cold, and it reeks of decay. It is
filled with remnants of things the Void has consumed or destroyed over the years,
including NPCs, monsters, and phantoms of things lost.
Special Rule: While within the cave, players don’t mark Shadow to use Corruptions,
as the Void’s energy is so close. If a character uses a Corruption that normally requires
marking permanent Shadow, they still mark Shadow, but it’s not permanent.

Ask the Players

❧❧ How does the cave make your character feel?
❧❧ What legendary figure do you meet in the cave?
❧❧ What unique physical characteristics does the cave have?
❧❧ What is enticing or alluring about the cave?

Points of Interest
❧❧ Places of legend you and the players have already established
❧❧ A massive graveyard, which includes open graves for each character
❧❧ A wall covered with wailing souls
❧❧ A river of reflections showing Reverie’s past, present, and future
❧❧ Monstrous, twisted chambers filled with rock formations and monsters

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Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Burtle the Turtle, who is confused about where he is
❧❧ Phantoms pretending to be characters’ ancestors or folk of legend
❧❧ Phantoms appearing as shadows of the characters themselves
❧❧ Monsters like giant bats, roaches, blind amphibians, and spiders
❧❧ Dren, a stonekin and the current Resolute Squire, who has fallen into hopelessness
and despair from contemplating loss and death for so long

CHALLENGES
❧❧ Traverse the cave. ❧❧ Save as many people from
Major ❧❧ Deal with monsters and fell peril as possible.
Challenges Void worshippers along the ❧❧ Meet Dren, the current
way. Resolute Squire, and
convince them to help.

Climactic Challenge: The Test of Charm

The current Resolute Squire, Dren, is lonely and forlorn, having been within the
Void for so long. They have lost all hope and the characters must reinvigorate the
Squire’s energy with tales of sacrifice and victory.
Mark a checkbox for each Hit made from Charm Checks to do this.
Milestones might involve Dren lashing out at the characters for their own losses
or lamenting the loss of his friends ages ago, whom they compare to the various
characters.
Complications can include the Squire attacking them or attempting to flee.

THE WIN
Once the characters bring the Resolute Squire back from hopelessness, they reveal
to the characters that they are all WITHIN the Void and that there is no escaping
unless they can defeat the Void’s Heart with the strength of their own.

THE HOOK
Being trapped within the Void pushes the characters onward and the possibility of
saving Reverie lies just a bit further into the cave.
As the characters depart, Dren begins to die. Before they pass on, they tell the
characters that one of them will need to become the new Resolute Squire if they
win the day.

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THE LOST SECRET

At the behest of the Resolute Squire, now dead, the characters enter the Heart of
the Void to end its onslaught once and for all. In doing so, they must make a sacrifice.

CLIMAX
Everything about this story is high stakes. Everything the characters encounter
should be something that resonates with them or is otherwise terrifying.
At some point during this story, the characters are overtaken by the thing that has
been following them. This is a monster made of at least one Fear from each character.

STORY ELEMENTS
The Void’s Heart and a Special Rule
The Void’s Heart is much like the rest of the cave, but the characters also constantly
hear their own voices whispering to them, tempting them to do terrible things, to
embrace the Void.
Special Rule: While within the Void’s Heart, players don’t mark Shadow to
use Corruptions. If a character uses a Corruption that normally requires marking
permanent Shadow, they still mark Shadow, but it’s not permanent. Additionally, they
must pay twice as much Spirit as normal any time they spend Spirit for extra dice or
to use Talents that require it.

Ask the Players

❧❧ What would be the most upsetting thing for your character to see?
❧❧ What does the Void’s Heart chamber look like? What does its essence look like?
(Ask when they find it.)

Points of Interest
❧❧ Visions of horrible destruction of places important to the characters
❧❧ The Slitherstorm, filled with writhing tentacles that drain Spirit

Friends & Enemies

❧❧ Burtle the Turtle, who can help guide the characters to the Void’s Heart
❧❧ Forlorn souls they can rescue and bring with them, building a traveling community
of sorts
❧❧ Many monsters, including the fear monster

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CHALLENGES
Major ❧❧ Traverse the Void’s Heart. ❧❧ Fight the fear monster.
❧❧ Rescue souls trapped here. ❧❧ Resist the Void’s final
Challenges temptations.

Penultimate Challenge: The Fear Monster

Mark a checkbox for each Hit. The fear monster is formidable and is crafted from
the characters’ Fears. All characters suffer disadvantage while dealing with it.
Milestones might involve a specific Fear manifesting in more real terms or a
character getting separated from their friends.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions and marking emotional
Conditions.

Climactic Challenge: The Test of Heart

When the characters confront the Void’s true essence, it tempts them with the
things they want most. Craft temptations for each character individually and promise
them they’ll receive those things if they just let the Void win.
In order to resist, the characters must boldly refute the Void and make Heart
Checks at TN 5. Mark a checkbox for each Hit.
At each of the first two milestones, the lost souls the characters brought with them
cheer the characters on to winning. At the final milestone, the souls are peacefully
released to a better place.
Complications can include marking physical Conditions and having the Void take
something of value from them.

EPILOGUE
Before the characters can leave the Void, one of them must agree to remain behind
and become the new Resolute Squire. They will await future heroes who need their
help, though it may take many centuries of waiting.
When the characters exit the cave, they discover that the Void’s presence is
dissipating and the world of Reverie is returning to normal. Much rebuilding is
needed, though.
Reverie rewards each character with at least one of the things the Void tried to
bribe them with.

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APPENDIX
Example Fears Example Anchors
Bright light Adaptable
Category of animals Adventurous
Children Articulate
Cold Calm
Crowds Caring
Darkness Charming
Death Clever
Embarrassment Cooperative
Fire Courageous
Getting Lost Creative
Graves Curious
Heights Discreet
Illness Dramatic
Injury Empathetic
Insects and spiders Fun-loving
Isolation Generous
Loud sounds Honest
Love Logical
Magic Loyal
Medicine/healing Observant
Mirrors Passionate
Monsters Persuasive
Odors Practical
Public speaking Protective
Sleep Reliable
Social interaction Resourceful
Storms Selfless
Water Spontaneous
Weapons Steady
Strong
Subtle
Sweet
Tolerant
Trusting

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INDEX
Action Sequences.......................25 Fears, Example............................142 Redcap........................................... 50
Advancing Characters.............35 Folk Types.....................................30 Rerolls............................................... 21
Advantage....................................20 Game Mechanics Summary...7 Resisting Effects.................. 19, 20
Aiding Other Characters........ 21 GM Guidelines...........................60 Safety Tools......................................9
Anchors................................... 34, 64 Group Trait Checks................... 19 Scenes.............................................. 76
Anchors, Example ...................142 Healing............................................ 22 Session 0........................................ 29
Animant.......................................... 36 Heart...........................................14, 31 Shadow Track......................... 13, 15
Body............................................14, 31 Horror............................................. 63 Skill Track..................................13, 14
Boons......................................... 15, 65 Human............................................. 42 Specialties.......................................33
Brownie........................................... 38 Humor............................................. 63 Spirit......................................13, 17, 21
Building Reverie....................11, 63 Imp....................................................44 Spirit Track............................... 13, 15
Campaign Play............................ 68 Improvisation................................ 61 Stonekin...........................................52
Challenge Difficulty.................. 26 Intensity Dial................................. 13 Story................................................60
Challenge Track........................80 Introduction....................................6 Story Schemes......................76, 82
Challenges.............................. 77, 79 Killing............................................... 23 Sylph................................................. 54
Challenges, Major..................... 79 Magic................................................73 Table of Contents......................... 5
Challenges, Minor..................... 79 Magic Items..................................73 Talents..............................................33
Character Creation.......... 28, 29 Major Challenges...................... 79 Target Numbers.................. 14, 64
Character Details........................35 Milestones....................................80 Three Phase Campaign.......... 68
Charm.........................................14, 31 Mind............................................14, 31 Three Tracks.................................. 12
Child-Friendly Rules................. 34 Minions.............................................71 Trait Checks........................... 14, 64
Climactic Challenges..............80 Minor Challenges...................... 79 Trait Scores.................................... 31
Combat Example....................... 27 Minor Magic...................17, 18, 73 Traits............................................14, 31
Complications.......................14, 65 Modifying Trait Checks........20 Trilogies..........................................116
Conditions..................................... 22 Non-Combat Example............ 27 Trilogy Arc....................................116
Corruptions....23, 24, 33, 66, 72 NPCs..........................................66, 72 Turns..................................................25
Death............................................... 24 One-Shots...................................... 67 Void Scions......................................71
Disadvantage................................ 21 Ongoing Challenges...............80 Void, Defeating the..................69
Equipment..................................... 34 Paragon...........................................46 Void’s Voice.................................. 63
Fallen..................................................71 Pixie..................................................48 Void-Allied......................................71
Fantasy Creatures..................... 70 Playbooks........................................35 Wildkin............................................ 56
Faun.................................................40 Player Agency.............................. 61 Woodkin......................................... 58
Fears...........................................33, 64 Reaction Checks.......................... 19

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