Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
The idea of this thread is to present an example of a three-hour roleplaying scenario with pregenerated characters. The option is, of course, open to run it over a longer period or make your own characters. For beginner GMs, though, this is meant to provide a comparatively gentle introduction. I still need to decide how to format the character sheets and add those, and of course, questions, complaints, or feedback are encouraged. Scene-by-scene breakdown and dice explanations will come soon.
Crucible is a low-fantasy roleplaying game, set on the fictional continent of Imeria, in a fictional world without a real name (called simply The World, in various languages, as people are wont to do). It is a world much like our own was during the Middle Ages, where serfs toil in the fields and nobles play out their courtly rivalries, where the Church reigns behind the throne, where sickness and suffering are rife.
But this is not our world, and its superstitions no mere fairytale.
Some men and women are born with the gift of Magic, and hunted by the Holy Inquisition for their witchcraft. The dead rise to torment the living, and immortal fiends stalk the night. Dread monsters lurk in the wilds and forests. Demons claw at the edges of the world, searching for a moment of sin to make their passage. Still stranger horrors emerge from long forgotten ruins, and we daren't go a-hunting, for fear of little men.
This scenario is intended to help you understand the game's mechanics, get a feel for the world and tone, and explore some of its themes. Most of the content is for the Historian to read, except the character sheets.
Content in Italics is description you can read aloud to the players.
Prelude: For The GM
The Player Characters
Black Ivan, The Necromancer. Around thirty.
Calling Ivan mad is lazy. Ivan is ambitious. Ivan has embraced a morality he feels befits Magi; to elevate oneself above the baselines, but also care for them. He considers a few dozen lives lost to find a cure of the virus a small and necessary sacrifice. Speaks with a noble accent.
Sara the Witch. In her sixties.
A kindly old midwife and apothecary living in a cottage just inside Gatewood’s fringe. She knows the old ways, the songs and rituals that make the forest safe. Or safe enough. She’s an informal priestess of Litrys, Goddess of the Wilds, and while she has little power of her own, knows how to call for more.
Claire, the witch’s daughter, nineteen years old.
Claire is learning her mother’s trade, but not her magic. She prefers to live in the village, but visits her mother often - and is well known to do so. Known for being pretty, clever, and sparing with her words.
Huw, the thief. Possibly forty?
A thin, tall, and surprisingly spry man of graying hair and indeterminate age, Huw is a chancer. He pickpockets, steals, and cons whenever travelers are in town, but generally doesn’t touch the locals. Works as a labourer when there’s no foreigners to rob.
Redjon, militiaman. 25 years old.
Stoic and reliable, Redjon is considered the most honest man in Halzstat. Acts more than he speaks. Doesn't rat out other militiamen by studiously ignoring their behaviour. May take some pride in both his stoicism and his habit of being an example to the other militia.
The Militia; fifteen men and boys, counting Redjon and Faust. Armed with cheap spears and cheaper leathers.
Pascal, the goatherd. Maybe in his thirties.
Small, wizened - pickled, even. Pascal has a still out there in the hills and often samples his own moonshine while minding his goats. Accent so thick it's almost unintelligible to anyone not from the village.
Jacob, the tanner. 22 years old.
Big, contrary, and pretty thick. Jacob thinks he’s every bit Heinrich’s equal and deserves more respect. He’s never trusted the priest, with his airs and graces, nor that penny-pincher Faust and his shit-stirring wife. He’d been trying to convince Heinrich to let his daughter Alicia marry him, but Heinrich always refused. Jacob is the worst of his kind, really.
Risa, seven.
Richter's little sister. A sweet and innocent child who doesn't recall her departed mother.
Alicia, fourteen.
Richter's younger sister. A spirited girl who looks after the men in her family with weary affection.
Lore Rolls
Vampires
1 Success: Drink blood, fear the sun, vulnerable to holy water, fire, and staking
2 Success: Don’t usually kill their prey outright
3 Success: Have powers of shapeshifting and stealth, and very strong ones can control minds.
Ghouls
1 Success: Fast, strong, violent. Best aim for the head
2 Success: Infect people with a bite or scratch
3 Success: Odds of infection are worse for bites. Takes three weeks to take effect.
4 Success: Drawn to ghoultrees, which emanate an aura of despair, grow in wastelands, and are thought to be invulnerable.
A ghoul scratch is 7 Condition Damage, a bite is 10. Ghouls need 8s to hit, and 9s to dodge. They need 9s to hit Gerhardt with his shield. They have 0 Health and 20 Condition. Headshots kill. They have a Combat Pool of 8, which they’ll normally split 6 to attack, 2 to dodge. They can climb well enough to reach the infirmary windows.
Ghoultree
Aura of Despair - roll Willpower to resist the urge to lie down and die.
Edge of Aura - Difficulty 7
Closer - Difficulty 8
Close enough to see - Difficulty 9
Close enough to touch - Difficulty 10
Thug
Health 10, Condition 20
Soak 2. 9s to hit or defend. Combat Pool between 6 and 8. Smart enough to fight carefully, ultimately cowards.
Spear: 8 Damage
Axe: 8 Damage
Club: 7 Damage
Fists: 3 Damage
Ivan
Health 10, Condition 20
Soak 2. 10s to hit, 9s to dodge.
Staff: 7 Damage, immune to Entropic Field. Magic Dice: 6, Difficulty 8
Spells:
Entropic Field - Causes weapons to disintegrate when they get within a couple of inches of him, reducing the damage by 3 and rendering the weapon useless (always on, attached to an amulet)
Necrosis - A bolt of blue-white spectral energy that ages the target, dealing 5 Condition and 1 Health damage.
Soul Rip - Opposed roll. Deals 1 Health damage per success as Ivan attempts to tear the spirit from the body.
Ivan prefers to fight with magic and say out of reach. He’ll only use Soul Rip if desperate or wounded.
Important Notes
Richter is immune to Magic. Capital M - applies to Magi and their devices, not ghoul virus nor tree-scream nor faerie magic. Those can still affect Richter, but Ivan will find any spells directed at him simply fizzle.
Crucible is a low-fantasy roleplaying game, set on the fictional continent of Imeria, in a fictional world without a real name (called simply The World, in various languages, as people are wont to do). It is a world much like our own was during the Middle Ages, where serfs toil in the fields and nobles play out their courtly rivalries, where the Church reigns behind the throne, where sickness and suffering are rife.
But this is not our world, and its superstitions no mere fairytale.
Some men and women are born with the gift of Magic, and hunted by the Holy Inquisition for their witchcraft. The dead rise to torment the living, and immortal fiends stalk the night. Dread monsters lurk in the wilds and forests. Demons claw at the edges of the world, searching for a moment of sin to make their passage. Still stranger horrors emerge from long forgotten ruins, and we daren't go a-hunting, for fear of little men.
This scenario is intended to help you understand the game's mechanics, get a feel for the world and tone, and explore some of its themes. Most of the content is for the Historian to read, except the character sheets.
Content in Italics is description you can read aloud to the players.
Prelude: For The GM
- A Necromancer named Ivan has recently come back from the Frontier. He carries with him the seed of a ghoultree, which he intends to implant in a villager of Halzstat. He'll then wait for the tree to grow, attract ghouls, and use the town to study the mystical virus responsible. His intent ultimately is to find a cure.
- On his way out of the Gatewood, he visited with the local midwife, Sara, who happens to be a Witch. While he does not tell her of his intentions, she is soon disgusted by his contempt for ordinary humans and asks him to leave.
- Ivan heads out over the fields in the middle of the night, seeking a base of operations. A drunken goatherd named Pascal sees him, a dark robed figure, shortly before he dozes off. He thinks nothing of it. Ivan finds a ruined watchtower to the north.
- The next night, he kidnaps a little girl named Molly; a four-year-old who had been playing at the very edge of the family farm, without supervision. That very night he kills her - a painless, quick death brought on by his Magic. He reanimates her body, arms her with carpentry needles, the seed, and a wooden stake.
- In the dead of the night, the little zombie is sent to Heinrich's house under Ivan's control. It murders the blacksmith in his sleep, a clumsy stab with the needles meant to resemble a vampire bite. It places the seed in his mouth, hides the stake somewhere in the room, and leaves.
- An hour later, Richter wakes up and prepares the forge.
- An hour after that, at dawn, Richter goes to investigate why his father hasn't come downstairs yet. He finds the body and in a moment of horror flees the house, going to the village inn.
- Lisa and Faust call for Tiresias and Gerhardt. Once they are all gathered at the inn, an hour after dawn, Richter can finally find the words to tell them what he found. And realizes his sisters must still be sleeping in the house with the corpse.
The Player Characters
- Gerhardt
-
Sir Gerhardt, Hedge Knight
You were born and raised in Hrothgard, in the southern Baronies. Your father owned a mine; a very prosperous business that you cared for not at all. No, you wanted to be a knight. When some terrible monster was exhumed deep in the mine and tore through the workers - and your father - you saw an opportunity amidst the mourning. The mine passed to you, and you sold it for less than it was worth, with a monster living there. You spent the coin on arms, armour, and the journey south to join one of Kelen’s chivalric orders.
Not good enough, they said. A coward. A foreigner. But you kept trying, and at the very least, you’ve learned to fight, you can read just enough to get by. You’re not an anointed knight, though. You’ve only confessed that to Father Tiresias; no one else knows. When you arrived in Halzstat three months ago, the people were in awe of you. They hadn’t seen a knight before. You decided to stay the winter, enjoying their deference and admiration. You know, though, that you’ve done nothing to deserve it. Maybe you’ll never be a real knight, but here and now, you can feel something like one.
Sometimes you feel like the gods are punishing you for something, for disrespecting your father’s memory, perhaps, or forsaking the land of your birth. Regardless, you would love dearly to atone. To be a real knight; slay the monster, save the day. Well-meaning but insecure, you hide behind a gruff, ‘mysterious’, worldly persona, sometimes lying a bit about distant lands.
Opinions
Father Tiresias: He’s a real noble. He could have been a knight. He knows I’m not, but he understands.
Richter: Good lad. Seems to be coping with his father’s death as well as I did. Still, it’s a lot of responsibility for a boy his age…
Faust: I think he’s just greedy. Not a bad man, but a small one.
Lisa: I think she knows something about me. So she’s clever, and observant, but thankfully I’m sure she can’t do anything.
- Tiresias
-
Father Tiresias, born Rene Guillaume Montgolfier d’Lim
You were born to the minor noble family of Montgolfier in the city of Illim sixty years ago. You were taught scripture, to read, write, wield a sword, ride a horse. But you wanted to be a priest, and as third son, had little choice in the matter anyway. You made the church uneasy, though - promoting tolerance and sympathy for Mutants, studying tomes on magic and lost histories. So they sent you far, far away, to tiny Halzstat.
Well, you didn’t let that discourage you. For thirty years you’ve lived here, serving as parish priest. You perform sermons, hear confessions, provide wise counsel and what medicine you know. You wish you’d had the power to challenge the church, to try and convince them to change - you know, ultimately, that many cardinals favour gold over piety. Power over compassion.
You’ve done your best for the people of Halzstat over the years, and the idea that there is some night-creature stalking them, able to condemn their souls, is unacceptable. These people cannot be made monsters, will not be denied paradise.
Opinions
Sir Gerhardt: Poor fellow; he has a good heart and seeks greatness, but it is greatness for himself when he could better serve others.
Richter: The boy has barely had time to grieve and already the elders who follow the older faith expect so much of him. I must help him.
Faust: For now, Faust is small and somewhat greedy. But I have seen what happens to small men with power and a taste for wealth.
Lisa: Lisa has learned to use what weapons she has with passing skill. As long as she doesn’t feel threatened, she’s good to have on hand
- Richter
-
Richter, Apprentice Smith
Succeeding your father at 16, you’re the man of the house, now. Having grown up in Halzstat, you know practically everyone. You’re as stoic as your father, and he’d said you were just a few years from good enough to take over. This is going to be a long day, for you - your father has died, the townsfolk - especially some of the older ones - are looking to you for guidance, and for all that you’re a man grown this is so much to take in. You’ve never left the village! You’ve never fought beyond a bit of militia training and the occasional fistfight. But you’ve got to be strong; dad would’ve wanted it. Everyone else needs it. You have to try, especially for your sisters Alicia and Risa…
You’re naive and a bit ignorant, but you manage to be at least a little aware of these traits if only in doing your best to hide them. Your mother died when you were very young, and all that time in the forge left little enough to socialize.
Opinions
Sir Gerhardt: He’s a knight. He must know what to do. He’ll save us.
Father Tiresias: Prayer isn’t going to save anyone, now.
Faust: Faust is clever, he’s got money, and the militia. If he and Gerhardt work together they must prevail. He probably has a secret weapon hidden somewhere.
Lisa: I like her, she’s a good laugh.
- Faust
-
Faust, Innkeeper and Watchman
You own the Ogre’s Head, the inn and tavern in town, named for Sir Garret Ogresbane. Your wife runs it, though, you just do as she asks when you’re not running the militia. It’s up to you to keep those boys sharp, just in case. Keeps a young man’s mind on his business, a bit of fighting. Tires him out too much to cause trouble and, happily, makes for a powerful thirst.
You can fight well enough, but you’re well out of real practice and some of the men are better than you. No one holds up to Sir Gerhardt, of course, but he is a knight. Gerhardt’s probably got this vampire problem under control, really, but it’s important to look helpful. Bad for business if, by some stroke of bad luck, the vampire eats everyone. Likewise bad if you look like you sat on your arse while it got dealt with. You’re the richest man in town, and that commands respect from some people - especially some of the younger sorts - but not everyone is willing to listen to you. Sometimes not even your three kids - Victor, Kate, and Luke.
Opinions
Sir Gerhardt: He’s a knight, knights kill monsters. Never had much other reason to car.
Father Tiresias: Kindly sort, sometimes good for a story or settling a dispute. Bit soft, for a priest.
Richter: That lad’ll need someone watching out for him. Someone to help him, advise him - why not me, eh?
Lisa: I love that woman when I don’t hate her. Still, that’s marriage for you.
- Lisa
-
Lisa, Innkeeper
Your husband might own the inn by law, but for all practical purposes it’s your inn. You run it, you know where everything is, and you know everyone who works there. Everyone who comes in and out. That is a nice feeling of power. Everyone comes to you for gossip, and you can tell them what you please. 'Oh yes, there was a knight through ‘ere. Goodness, no, I haven’t seen your husband all day.'
You’ve got some extra money saved up to fool the taxman and a funny little bone knife that you reckon will sell for a pretty penny. You haven’t bothered to tell your husband - he’s got no head for numbers and no sense with money. He isn’t stupid, but he’s lazy, and buying this inn was the last clever thing he did. And you suppose you’ve got the money to run away, both of you and the three kids, if dashing Sir Gerhardt doesn’t solve this.
And he won’t - liars know their own, and if that man's a real knight you're the Queen of Lama.
Opinions
Sir Gerhardt: Blowhard, coward, won’t get us out of this.
Father Tiresias: Lovely old man. Probably no good to us here, unless he can bore the monster to death with a sermon.
Richter: Such a glum lad, even before his da died. Still, should be used to it, right? Suppose he could do with a bitta motherly support now, though.
Faust: He’s a lazy, greedy sod, but he’s my lazy, greedy sod, and if I can find just the right kick up the arse to get him thinking again...
Black Ivan, The Necromancer. Around thirty.
Calling Ivan mad is lazy. Ivan is ambitious. Ivan has embraced a morality he feels befits Magi; to elevate oneself above the baselines, but also care for them. He considers a few dozen lives lost to find a cure of the virus a small and necessary sacrifice. Speaks with a noble accent.
Sara the Witch. In her sixties.
A kindly old midwife and apothecary living in a cottage just inside Gatewood’s fringe. She knows the old ways, the songs and rituals that make the forest safe. Or safe enough. She’s an informal priestess of Litrys, Goddess of the Wilds, and while she has little power of her own, knows how to call for more.
Claire, the witch’s daughter, nineteen years old.
Claire is learning her mother’s trade, but not her magic. She prefers to live in the village, but visits her mother often - and is well known to do so. Known for being pretty, clever, and sparing with her words.
Huw, the thief. Possibly forty?
A thin, tall, and surprisingly spry man of graying hair and indeterminate age, Huw is a chancer. He pickpockets, steals, and cons whenever travelers are in town, but generally doesn’t touch the locals. Works as a labourer when there’s no foreigners to rob.
Redjon, militiaman. 25 years old.
Stoic and reliable, Redjon is considered the most honest man in Halzstat. Acts more than he speaks. Doesn't rat out other militiamen by studiously ignoring their behaviour. May take some pride in both his stoicism and his habit of being an example to the other militia.
The Militia; fifteen men and boys, counting Redjon and Faust. Armed with cheap spears and cheaper leathers.
Pascal, the goatherd. Maybe in his thirties.
Small, wizened - pickled, even. Pascal has a still out there in the hills and often samples his own moonshine while minding his goats. Accent so thick it's almost unintelligible to anyone not from the village.
Jacob, the tanner. 22 years old.
Big, contrary, and pretty thick. Jacob thinks he’s every bit Heinrich’s equal and deserves more respect. He’s never trusted the priest, with his airs and graces, nor that penny-pincher Faust and his shit-stirring wife. He’d been trying to convince Heinrich to let his daughter Alicia marry him, but Heinrich always refused. Jacob is the worst of his kind, really.
Risa, seven.
Richter's little sister. A sweet and innocent child who doesn't recall her departed mother.
Alicia, fourteen.
Richter's younger sister. A spirited girl who looks after the men in her family with weary affection.
Scenario Outline - How To Run This Scenario In Five Minutes
- One hour after dawn, Richter has told the other party members what he saw; his father, dead.
- Investigating the house, they find Redjon on guard and three other militia slacking off nearby.
- Heinrich is dead in a pool of his own blood. Roll to examine the body with Intellect/Medicine
- Failure: A vampire did this. Success: Someone wanted this to look like a vampire bite.
- A sound is heard in the forge. On investigation, Huw is trying to steal some metalcraft. He will bolt when found.
- Risa, the youngest sister, can be found hiding under her bed, crying softly. Says 'the smelly man' took Alica.
- At Jacob's house, they'll find him trying to restrain and presumably rape Alicia. She is, aside some torn clothes, so far unhurt. Jacob can be scared off, arrested, or killed.
- Heinrich's body cannot be burned or buried - the ground is frozen and there isn't enough wood. It must remain in the house or go to the crypt. A guard may be placed.
- A town meeting must be called for a headcount. Huw, Sara, Claire, Molly, and anyone sent after Huw will be missing.
- Jacob and his flunkies will insist Sara is a witch, and therefore responsible. They may also blame Claire. They'll attempt to rally a mob to burn her.
- Pascal can be questioned, and will mention the robed man he saw in the fields to the north.
- Yvette and Hector will tearfully explain they couldn't find Molly this morning.
- If Heinrich's body is checked, the guard will have committed suicide and the tree is growing. Tiresias can identify it.
- Huw and Redjon will return. Redjon is wounded. Huw will explain Redjon saved him from 'a dead fella'. They also saw Jacob/some thugs heading east toward Sara.
- If they go to rescue Sara, they'll find Claire's corpse being eaten by ghouls in the snows outside town. Combat ensues. Roll Intuition/Investigation to read the scene.
- Failure: Jacob and his men killed her. Success: Jacob and his men passed by ahead of her, and she was caught by ghouls.
- Jacob's mob will be trying to burn Sara's house down with her inside. However this ends, the house catches light.
- If rescued, Sara will explain it's her time anyway. She'll ask who killed her daughter. She'll promise aid, at midnight, then die quietly.
- Gather everyone in the church, barricade it, and make plans.
- Hold off ghouls until midnight, when a faerie knight arrives and must be lead to Heinrich's body.
- Ivan will attempt to stop anyone destroying the body, with the help of Molly's reanimated corpse.
- The faerie knight can destroy the tree, ending the curse.
- What happens next is up to the players. They survived the night. Now the future is open before them.
The Ogre's Head is a small, cozy tavern. Reed floors, rough wooden benches, long tables, and a roaring fire against the winter chill. Hanging over the mantel is a skull of bark and stone; the trophy for which the place is named.
Tell the players that Richter arrived around an hour ago, in terrified tears. Over the next hour, Gerhardt and Tiresias arrived, and a guard was sent to Heinrich's house. Now Richter can explain that he found his father's corpse at the house, and fled.
Allow the players to discuss this for a few moments. They will, in all likelihood, choose to investigate the house.
Heinrich's house is adjoined to his forge, and he - with some help from townsfolk - built a second storey over the forge years ago, hoping the rising heat would be good for his wife's health. It wasn't enough, alas, but it's fine house all the same. He still sleeps up there.
His room is mostly bare, save a rack of clothes and two pair of boots. His body, well-muscled and pocked with old burnscars, lies pale and cold in bed. His head is surrounded by a halo of blood from wounds on his throat.
The players may want to search the room and examine the body. To examine the body, they must roll Intellect with Difficulty set by Medicine.
Roll Result
0 Successes: It certainly looks like a vampire did this - two puncture wounds in his throat.
1 Success: A vampire may have done this, but something isn't right.
2 Successes: Someone did this with tools. One puncture is in his windpipe.
If they search, they must roll Intuition with Difficulty set by Investigation.
0 Successes: nothing found
1 Success: a charcoal drawing of his late wife
2 Successes: a wooden stake hidden among his clothing
Allow the players to discuss this, when they'll hear a sound from the forge below.
Lore Rolls
Vampires
1 Success: Drink blood, fear the sun, vulnerable to holy water, fire, and staking
2 Success: Don’t usually kill their prey outright
3 Success: Have powers of shapeshifting and stealth, and very strong ones can control minds.
Ghouls
1 Success: Fast, strong, violent. Best aim for the head
2 Success: Infect people with a bite or scratch
3 Success: Odds of infection are worse for bites. Takes three weeks to take effect.
4 Success: Drawn to ghoultrees, which emanate an aura of despair, grow in wastelands, and are thought to be invulnerable.
A ghoul scratch is 7 Condition Damage, a bite is 10. Ghouls need 8s to hit, and 9s to dodge. They need 9s to hit Gerhardt with his shield. They have 0 Health and 20 Condition. Headshots kill. They have a Combat Pool of 8, which they’ll normally split 6 to attack, 2 to dodge. They can climb well enough to reach the infirmary windows.
Ghoultree
Aura of Despair - roll Willpower to resist the urge to lie down and die.
Edge of Aura - Difficulty 7
Closer - Difficulty 8
Close enough to see - Difficulty 9
Close enough to touch - Difficulty 10
Thug
Health 10, Condition 20
Soak 2. 9s to hit or defend. Combat Pool between 6 and 8. Smart enough to fight carefully, ultimately cowards.
Spear: 8 Damage
Axe: 8 Damage
Club: 7 Damage
Fists: 3 Damage
Ivan
Health 10, Condition 20
Soak 2. 10s to hit, 9s to dodge.
Staff: 7 Damage, immune to Entropic Field. Magic Dice: 6, Difficulty 8
Spells:
Entropic Field - Causes weapons to disintegrate when they get within a couple of inches of him, reducing the damage by 3 and rendering the weapon useless (always on, attached to an amulet)
Necrosis - A bolt of blue-white spectral energy that ages the target, dealing 5 Condition and 1 Health damage.
Soul Rip - Opposed roll. Deals 1 Health damage per success as Ivan attempts to tear the spirit from the body.
Ivan prefers to fight with magic and say out of reach. He’ll only use Soul Rip if desperate or wounded.
Important Notes
Richter is immune to Magic. Capital M - applies to Magi and their devices, not ghoul virus nor tree-scream nor faerie magic. Those can still affect Richter, but Ivan will find any spells directed at him simply fizzle.
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