Between you and Archton are a day's walk through some grass hills. It’s a lovely sight, though you’ve heard some frightening rumors about these lands.
Rumors which prove to be all too true, as your most attentive party member spots something massive in the sky, a giant, man-eating crow.
How will you get to the capital un-eaten?

• Giant man-eating crows are quite rare, so there’s just the one. It’s about the size of a bus, and has yet to spot you.
• The grassy hills are speckled with patches of trees and shrubbery, though large stretches are just grass, grazed short by the local sheep who like to wander the area.
• The sun is shining bright through the occasional cloud. The wind alternates between a gentle breeze and strong gusts.

You’ve made your way to the provincial capital. Wandering around its many streets, you can't seem to find the Old Archive. Asking around you manage to gather that outsiders aren't allowed to use it. Thus the way of getting there is quite the secret.

A secret ferry service to be exact. Though the channel it uses is hidden, and so is its anchorage.
What hides the anchorage?

Solution:

A bakery!
The anchorage is covered up by a facade masquerading as a perpetually closed bakery. Entering this bakery will allow you passage to the archive.

The inside of the bakery is empty, and so are the boats drifting through the hidden channel. You manage to squeeze into one of them and let it take you to the true entrance of the Old Archive.
It, unfortunately, is not deserted at all.
How will you get into the Old Archive?

• The Old Archive is a tall, stately tower, surrounded by a lush garden, which in turn is surrounded by an unscalable wall.
• The main entrance is composed of a broad stairway leading to a large door. The door itself is open, though it is being guarded. The two guards seem to be having an argument over who would win in a fight.
• There are other entrances, though they are locked or hidden.
• The garden is being patrolled by only a handful of guards.

The Old Archive is massive. Endless hallways with endless rows of documents, books and artifacts.
It stretches 100 stories into the sky and 100 stories down into the ground below.
How will you find the information, and how will you make your escape?

• Its hallways are mostly empty, save for the guards on patrol.
• The different floors are connected via a wooden staircase, as well as a mechanical elevation system, powered by magic.
• The lanterns attached to the walls and ceilings are dimmed, until they detect movement and light up.
• The Old Archive also houses various large lecture halls, reading rooms and bathrooms.

You’ve managed to find the information you need within the archive.

It tells of the 3 Grim Masters:
The Grim Master of Swindlery is weakest, as he was wounded in their battle with the malevolent King of Grief. The Grim Master of Delusion is far more powerful, but still answers to their leader, the Grim Master of Rage.

That all sounds pretty scary. You ought to take on the Master of Swindlery first. He resides in the province of Gale, in an enchanted fortress which roams the southern planes.

With everything that’s happened, it’s strange to think that your journey has only just begun.

Let's talk about stetting up a game.

3-5 players from a party.
1 player takes the role of game master.

Each party member will have to pick a class. Each class will include a customization choice to be made.
A list of classes can be found in each campaigns addendum.

Meanwhile the game master should familiarize themself with the campaign.

Note that party members don't need any tool or device to play. They might want to look through a campaing's Overview page to read through the class list, but in practice, only the game master needs access to the campaign.

Once every party member has picked their class, they should each share it, and the choice, they made with the group.
Once that’s settled, the game master should read the story from the beginning to the party.

The story will eventually come to a challenge, one which the party will have to overcome.

Step 1: Challenge Report

First, the game master will read the challenge and its details to the party. This will include a question:
“How will you . . . ?”

Step 2: Open Discussion

Now, the party will have to discuss and figure out how they want to approach this challenge and solve its problem.

Step 3: Solution Report

Once the party has agreed upon a solution, one party member will be chosen to lead. They will have to relay the solution to the game master. They should highlight when a class or item is being applied.

Step 4: Review

If there’s something within the solution which the game master deems impossible, lacking in clarity, or not a helpful application of a class or item, they should make that known, or ask followup questions until it is cleared up.
How much a game master scrutinizes a solution is up to them, though they should keep in mind that their goal is to facilitate interesting and fun discussions first and foremost.

Step 5: Rolling

Once a consensus has been reached, the game master will count all the classes and items that they have deemed helpfully applied. This determines the number of dice the game master will roll.

A party member can only contribute 1 roll for their class and 1 roll for their item.

The maximum allotted rolls is 6.

Success: If the die shows a 5 or 6 within the allotted rolls, the solution will be deemed a success. The party will have completed the challenge and the game master should continue to read the story.

Item: If the die shows a 6, the party will receive an item. The game master will have to think of a sensible way the party might have gained the item in this moment. The solution will also be deemed a success.

Failure: If the die doesn’t show a 5 or 6 at least once, the solution will be deemed a failure.
The game master will have to think of a sensible way in which the plan has failed, including how the leading party member has been sidelined. The party will have to go back to step 2, keeping in mind any changes to the situation.

Sidelined Party Memebers

A sidelined party memeber can not act in a solution, thus they nor their item can count towards a roll.

Every sidelined party member will recover as soon as the challenge has been completed successfully.

If every party member has been sidelined, they will have lost the game. If they’d like to continue, they can return to the start of the chapter, keeping the items they are carrying.

Items are gained through excessive success, i.e. rolling a 6.

Every party member can only hold onto 1 item.

They can be freely traded, but not during a solution.

Newly presented items have to be accepted, thus a held item might need to be discarded.

The story might also include a mystery. The party will have to solve it to continue.

Each party member gets to ask the game master a question, going from youngest to oldest. The game master can only answer with yes, no, or “irrelevant”.

Instead of asking a question, a party member can also propose a solution to the mystery. If the game master deems it complete enough, they will share the full solution and continue reading the story.

If incorrect or incomplete, the party should keep asking questions and proposing solutions until they have solved the mystery.

Each mystery comes with 3 hints. The game master may give a hint in case the party seems stuck.

At any point the party can choose to change a mystery challenge into a regular challenge. The game master will thus ask a different question:
“How will the party discover this information?” /
“How will you ensure the continuation of your quest?”
The party can’t go back to tackling the challenge as a mystery.

Occasionally, the story might offer a choice. This will impact how it progresses. The players should make this choice together. This will determine which page the game master will go to to continue the story.

To make this game as light-weight as it is, each player is expected to keep a couple of things in their memory.

For party members this is their character class, customizations, item and status.

For the game master this is the current challenge, and the current state of that challenge.

As an example:

A party member would remember that your character is “a sword wielding knight, with a magic flute, who is currently sidelined”.

The game master would remember that “they are currently tackling chapter 1, challenge 1” and that “the party's first attempt resulted in all the goblins becoming very upset, thanks to some terrible flute playing”.

While playing, these things will likely stay in your mind, though feel free to write things down. If you plan to take a break and return to the game later, making a note will prove invaluable.

Note that the specifics outlining classes, items and the challenges can always be retrieved from adendum. So don’t stress it too much!

This game system was designed to be concise and portable enough for it to be played anywhere. Possibly outside in nature, or some inspiring location to compliment the narrative.

Though, through this design goal, the game has also become fit for long distance play and other applications, which is a great bonus.

Either way, we wish for your adventures to be grand and merry. And don't forget, the conversation itself is the fun part.

Warrior

You're physically strong, agile and skilled at any form of combat. You're also incredibly charming.
Base equipment includes a melee weapon of choice and a shield.

Mage

Change the temperature around you from flames to frost. Manipulate objects in your field of view as if you were near them.
Base equipment includes a staff of a material of choice.

Priest

Enhance any physical feature of a comrade or creature. Invoke a lifelike illusion of the mind.
Base equipment includes a holy object or a spirit of choice.

Scholar

You have a deep knowledge and understanding of every field of study known to man. You're also an adept investigator.
Base equipment includes a choice of either: various measurement and crafting tools, or a supply of explosives.

Ranger

You are incredibly skilled when it comes to flora, fauna, survival and stealth.
Base equipment includes a hand-held ranged weapon of choice and various small survival tools.

Animal

You are an animal of your choosing and possess only the qualities of that animal, and the ability to parse human speech.
You have no base equipment as you are an animal.

Shadow Caster

Those who you look in the eye are cursed to have misfortune come upon them. Your body can take on the properties of smoke when you wish.
Your base equipment includes a small personal item of choice, infused with a wicked curse of choice.

Entrepreneur

You have unrivaled business skills as well as a great deal of luck. You're also an entertainer with a range of party tricks up your sleeves, and the theatrics to boot.
You can choose to either have a great deal of wealth in the form of gold and gems, or an arsenal of smoke bombs, confetti and costumes.

Attentive Rope

A sturdy piece of rope, which is magically the exact right length at all times.

Cloak of Silence

A magical cloak which helps the wearer blend into their surroundings.

Unbreakable Blade

A steel sword which won’t ever break or go dull.

Sack of Wealth

A sack filled with gold and valuable jewels.

Glow Stone

A stone which can create and dim light. From a bright ray, to a blinding darkness.

Book of Spells

A book full of spells, unfortunately the effects of said spells are written in an unknown language.

In certain settings, like when playing online over a voice call, it might be useful for party members to be able to play the campaign's music without seeing the story content.

Please use this page for that purpose.