Character creation
Do not speak for this section.
All travellers take a few minutes to read on alone.
In this game, you will play a traveller who must pass through the Elder Wood.
Most of your traveller’s characterisation will emerge naturally through the game.
To start you off, consider your unique prompt in the green section below…
You are the Crone.
Many told you of the disgraces of age, yet nothing could have prepared you for the reality. Now, as you near the end of your time in this world, life seems a cruel and brief game. You thought that you would greet death with equanimity. But as the end draws close, you find yourself fearful of what lies beyond.
Still, you remember the old tales — stories of a demon-god who dwells in the Elder Wood’s darkest depths. It is said that the Lord of the Wood offers immortality to those who please Him. Perhaps, if you can find Him, your oncoming death can become a beginning instead…
With the above prompt in mind, consider the following questions on behalf of your character:
— What is your name?
— What was your life like before now?
— What do you seek in the Elder Wood?
When you have answers for all three questions, place both your fists on the table in front of you.
When everyone has their fists on the table, you may speak again.
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————As the innkeeper serves dinner, we look around the table. Only strangers stare back at us.
Starting with player to the Reader’s left and moving clockwise, introduce yourselves briefly in a way that befits your character.
Tell the other travellers your name and your business in the Elder Wood.
You may lie if that’s what you think your character would do.
Remember: this is a roleplaying game. Voices, mannerisms and characterisation are important!
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Night falls…
When dinner is done, we strike the pact: tomorrow, together, we will set out on the long road through the Elder Wood.
One by one, we retreat to our beds. Here, in the inn, the night is warm. But out there lurks the Wood, cold and dark. As we drift from consciousness, we shudder to think of the road ahead. Though none of us will speak them aloud, we have all heard the tales — stories of the demon-god who dwells at the Elder Wood’s very heart. It is said that this Lord of the Wood demands a toll from those who pass through His domain — a tribute wrought of bone, and sealed in blood. For while all of us may enter the Wood, not all of us will be permitted to leave it.
We sleep like the dead.
From now on, unless otherwise indicated, only the current Reader should flip and scan cards from the Path. It is the Reader’s responsibility to communicate rules fairly and in their entirety. If any traveller has trouble following the rules then they may also scan cards along with the Reader. However, this is not recommended, and may detract from the interpersonal element of the game.
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When the party is ready to begin their journey, only the new Reader should flip over and scan the next card on the Path (in this case, Chapter II).