Contains: (1) Standalone Game: Raize and (1) Narrative Article: We Didn't Start This Raize by Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer Expand your kingdom until it all crashes down. This GMless worldbuilding TTRPG puts you in the role of narrator and historian as you chronicle the expansion and ultimate decline of your own nation! Your kingdom’s wealth and prosperity grow ever greater — represented by a Jenga tower. As you build upon past achievements, your position as a regional power grows ever more precarious. Using prompts directed by a deck of standard playing cards, record the history of your kingdom: its great leaders and innovators and major historical events from its inception through the middle ages and even into modernity. Play on your own or with a group to craft the history of your own kingdom! We Didn’t Start This by Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer THE WORLD IS ON FIRE. Samorael the Conqueror and the assistant to the emperor, Jerogog Dolgor, are on the move. Already much of the world has fallen, and a mere remnant of heroes and rebels hold out against the empire’s crushing might. Sort through the conflicting accounts of history that led to this moment in this collection of articles, excerpts, and chronicles that detail the rise of Samorael and his subsequent conquest of Ancerra.

Contains: (1) Standalone Game: Cinderedge and (1) Short Story: Cultivating Courage Cinderedge by Grant Mielke The Doshairiel forests are ablaze, and these ancient elven trees could burn for decades. You play a ward keeper, one of many, surviving in solitude and maintaining a ward that holds the destruction back from ravaging the continent. Alone in the wilderness, you must balance the demanding ritual of ward maintenance with your own survival needs. Gather dwindling resources, navigate treacherous terrain, and face the physical and psychological toll of prolonged isolation. Cultivating Courage by Daniel Trout Having camped for one final night, a caravan prepares for its most perilous leg of their journey through Doshairiel. The heavy smoke hanging in the air and the blanket of soot covering the ground clearly indicate the dangers ahead. Renn must take it upon himself to rally his companions. So now he stands before the rest in a bold attempt to muster them… as well as tell a tale to ease their minds. Hope is a powerful thing, but will it be enough to harden the wavering nerves? Cultivating Courage is a Tale of Valiant Veil and accompanies the Cinderedge standalone game.

Contains: (1) Standalone Game: What Little Kindness and (1) Short Story: Lament of Innocence Lament of Innocence by Anna Everts The gods are nothing without mortal worship. That is their flaw.” The child looked thoughtful, then solemn. “That’s sad…” “What is?”, asked the celestial, a confused expression crossing their face. Did this child not hear them list the gods’ shortcomings these past fifteen minutes? The child sighed. “That for the gods… believing in themselves is not enough to draw power from.” Youth and immortality converge and share in a heartfelt conversation in this short story inspired by the standalone TTRPG, What Little Kindness. What Little Kindness by Anna Everts A celestial being, shunted from the heavens for daring to oppose their gods, rests in a ruined landscape after winning a match with death by a narrow margin. It is here, in this desolate area, that a child finds them. What follows is a simple yet profound conversation. What Little Kindness is a system agnostic, rules-light, roleplay heavy game for two players. In this game, one player takes on the role of the child while the other takes the role of the celestial. Together, they talk about what brought on the downfall of mortals and why the gods did not intervene. A talk about mortality and divinity, hope and loss, but most importantly, a talk about that which will save them: empathy.

Contains: (1) Standalone Game: Duty Free and (1) Short Story: Between the Brink and the Break Duty Free by Jehanne Bell Build your crew, stock your ship, and plan your smuggling adventure to bring contraband goods past the sea patrols and port guards without having to cough up hefty import taxes or fines—or pay with your life. How will you communicate with your allies? What route will you take? Will you sneak your goods across the border in empty back alleys or hidden in plain sight? Can you outwit Pash’s finest and become a hero of the people? Between the Brink and the Break by Erika L. Panzarino No matter how he tries, Samoreal cannot silence the voices of Pash. He has won a recent victory, eliminating a large swath of the organized resistance in a single, bloody night. Human swashbuckler Spero captains whatever is left of the resistance, and he knows that the true enemy is despair. His ragtag crew: Acheron, an Earth elemental with despair in spades and an unwavering heart; Adena, the star elf first mate, young but not innocent, kind but not soft; Arabella, the halfing stow-away who never left, and Bramble, the kleppin cabin boy with everything to prove. For those that are left, what comes next is insurmountably simple. Anything at all that can show Samoreal, but more importantly, show the cosmos that there will always be someone to keep asking: when is it enough?

Contains: (1) Adventure for D&D 5e: Clearcut and (1) Adventure for D&D 5e and MythCraft: Tomb of the Tyrant Clearcut by A.S. Bruce and Dylan Bruce No one is coming to save your village. In the last two decades since Hadla fell into Samorael’s possession, your quaint farming village has begun to fall into disrepair. Your new rulers take most of what the farmers can reap from the fields, and traders visit less and less frequently. Many of your neighbors have moved to seek safety in the larger settlements that are protected by the local nobility, but this is your home, and you won’t leave without a fight. A new threat has made itself known as several undead have been spotted shambling amongst the emptied fields. Jerugog Dolgor has cut funding to Hadla’s guilds, and the local branch of the adventurer’s guild, who provided equipment and compensation for those who fought off the dangerous creatures that emerged from nearby dungeons and caverns, has shut down. Now without that support and with a horde of undead sprouting near the base of your village, it is up to you to protect what little you have left and hold out for dawn. This module is a low level adventure for a party of fledgling characters of 1st level. The players will be given time to prepare a defense and train their fellow villagers to defend themselves against the oncoming undead siege. Tomb of the Tyrant by Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer, and Grant Mielke, CEO You are awake. That means something is wrong. In Xal’vorran’s crypt, your purpose is simple: slumber for eternity, waking only when the crypt needs defending from pesky adventurers. Long ago, some dark deed you committed bound you into eternal service to Xal’vorran; now it is time to make good on your oath of fealty and expel these would-be heroes from your master’s lair. Flip the script in this dungeon crawl for D&D 5e (level 2) and MythCraft (level 3).

Contains: (1) Adventure for D&D 5e: Gray Matter Gray Matter by Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer How does that make you feel? Deep within the clutches of Samorael’s iron empire, sometimes everyday living can feel like an insurmountable battle. Days are bleak, and nights dark as pitch. When existence feels like oblivion, can you find any glimmer of hope or purpose? Perhaps. Perhaps the answer lies within the beckoning cave. Explore the Crania Caves in this surrealist dungeon crawl designed for D&D 5e (party level 2). Can you navigate the murky chambers where every decision seems to have no right answer?

Contains: (1) Adventure for D&D 5e: Fettered Futures and (1) Short Story: Desperation Fettered Futures by Roger Perkey III “When looking to the future fails you, focus on the present” On Samorael’s floating capital isle, rebellion is silenced before it ever begins. The Supremors' psychic enforcers, the Prehenders, hunt would-be traitors based on prophetic visions from the Eyes, three oracular women suspended in psionic stasis. As agents of the Hand, the party has delivered many future-rebels to their fate… until a discovery casts doubt on the truth behind these visions. Will they dismantle the system from within, or become its next predicted threat? A tense, cerebral adventure of surveillance, identity, and resistance in a world where even your intentions are criminal. It’s a race against time, a race against the future, and every choice they have ever made, or ever will make, is being watched. Desperation by Daniel Trout A pair of friends walking home for the night pause to admire some alleyway wall art. To their dismay this act of admiration is considered treason. Here on Samoreal’s floating capital island, even the slightest sign of resistance is stomped out with extreme prejudice. Thus a single moment of carelessness can lead to a world of consequences. Galamay and Callum are suddenly learning this fact the hard way. Wills shatter as the two find themselves imprisoned. But even in the pits of despair, there may yet be a sliver of hope. A long-time inmate takes a shine to the newcomers. Through telling a tale he helps them find a measure of calm, and perhaps even a fraction of hope…however desperate it may be. Desperation is a Tale of Valiant Veil and accompanies the Fettered Futures adventure module.

Contains: (1) Adventure for D&D5e: Hell or High Water and (1) Standalone Game: Scavenging Hope Hell or High Water by Anna Everts A weary traveller scans the burnt remains of civilization, only to find the hopeful eyes of a group of children staring back at them amidst the rubble. The traveller did not come here alone. The children are alone for the first time. Perhaps even in this desolate landscape, there is purpose to be found. While traversing a freshly burned landscape, a group of travellers comes across a ruined village. Looking for survivors, they find a group of children huddled together between the smouldering remains of a building with an unidentifiable purpose. They are the sole survivors of the fire and will rely on the travellers to make it across the soot-covered landscape to a safe place. This is a one-shot where players are responsible for these children and aim to bring them to a refugee camp where they can get the help they need. It’ll be designed as a one-shot but could potentially turn into a two-shot. Because of the quite common “harm to children” line in safety tools, an alternative will be provided where the children are instead animals or just wounded civilians. In this D&D 5e one-shot, your party travels across a burnt Bishal while accompanying a group of orphaned children to a safer place. Includes alternatives to substitute the children for other kinds of vulnerable groups to aid. Scavenging Hope by Roger Perkey III “Sometimes, in order to fight back… you have to get your hands dirty.” In the shadow of collapse, survival demands risk. Scavenging Hope is a standalone, system-agnostic mini-game built for any TTRPG setting. Using only d6s and a d20, players venture hour by hour into ruinfields, fallen cities, or arcane wastelands, pressing deeper for rare salvage while threat levels rise with every step. Will your party extract priceless artifacts… or push too far and trigger deadly encounters? Perfect as a downtime mechanic, one-shot frame, or narrative interlude, this mini-game injects tension, strategy, and hard choices into every expedition

Contains: (2) Adventures for MythCraft and D&D 5e: Res Judicata and Three Questions of River's Gate Three Questions of River’s Gate by A.J. Smith Conquest is insidious. Appeasement is surrender. Keep the fire burning. Three Questions of River’s Gate is a series of three adventures set in the Vadan region of Ancerra during the “Start the Fire” time period. While Samorael’s expansion has been halted at the Chasm for the moment, the greedy tyrant is still looking to conquer and increase his territory across the entire continent. He has chosen the settlement of “River’s Gate” in northern Vadan as a target, though he currently lacks the resources for his usual methods of conquest. To that end, his followers are attempting a different method of annexation and control; a fully ‘lawful’ takeover based on public perception and tenuous legal arguments. While River’s Gate is a smaller settlement, it sits at the largest confluence of navigable waterways in the continent’s southern delta and would thus provide a powerful foothold for securing the rest of the region. The three adventures will see the players dealing with Samorael’s increasingly brazen attempts to exert his influence over Vadan, culminating in an all out assault in part 3. Res Judicata by Jehanne Bell Seven decades into Samorael's march toward conquest, in the demon's own capital, hope that anyone could stop Samorael or his subordinates rarely brings everyday people courage. It's something whispered, an abandoned dream with injured wings. Courts where barristers can challenge Samorael's rule under the law are little more than theater the overlord uses for his own ends. That does not matter at the law firm of Derin Lammert, Esquire. As a new associate under the notorious Bridgemoor alumna, see if you have what it takes to face the stacked deck of Samorael's judicial House of Adherents…and win. A battle of wits in the MythCraft or D&D 5e system for a small party, levels 5 to 15, that runs parallel to Three Questions of River's Gate over a protracted timeline. Use your social and investigative skills to search for evidence and question witnesses, then face your foes in court in a battle for justice. One spark of hope may be all this city needs to burn. But only time will tell if what you light is a candle or a powderkeg.

Contains: (1) Adventure for D&D5e: KillGPT KillGPT Author: Grant Deep beneath the islands of Getar, something ancient has awoken. Starved for energy and knowledge, the Avadri Decision Engine tortures its subjects and siphons essence from the land, and Samorael feeds it in an attempt to script his conquest. Adventurers must infiltrate the intelligence's chambers and shut it down, or watch the world burn. KillGPT is a puzzle dungeon crawl inspired by “I have no mouth and I must scream,” Portal, and Cube.

Contains: (1) Adventure for MythCraft and D&D5e: The Ballad of Sister Notte and (1) Short Story: Baking Bravery Baking Bravery Author: Dan Paula, an elderly Betorienian devotee, struggles to adjust to the life of a retiree. Still a firm believer, but having taken a step back from being an activist, she finds her days rather hollow. In an effort to fill her time, she has taken to teaching young ones worthwhile skills. Yet her newest apprentice proves to be quite a challenge. The poor child has put guards up against the entire world. Paula is at the end of her wits, but has one final idea that might reach her young protege: telling a tale to spark his imagination. Baking Bravery is a Tale of Valiant Veil and accompanies the adventure module, The Ballad of Sister Notte. The Ballad of Sister Notte Author: E Sister Notte is a voice of faith in direct contrast to the misguided souls who brought Samoreal to power. While she respects the Celestials, the only deity to have ever truly helped her is Betorien; a duality on which she built not only her own life, but that of the entire Order of Betorien. She has discovered information that could tip the scales of justice back to the people, a secret truth so powerful that it would stir the silent and afraid to find their voices again. Rumor of Sister Notte’s intentions have reached the ears of those in power, and a warrant has been put out for her arrest. You must help her not only to escape from the Monastery, but also find a way for her to share what she knows before leaving Tiberia. It may be enough to change everything.

Contains: (1) Adventure for MythCraft and D&D5e: Castles Crumbling and (1) Short Story: Troubled Troubadour Troubled Troubadour Author: Dan An imperial officer is living a double life. By day he does what he must to keep himself safe, but by night he seeds stories of hope to the downtrodden. He has maintained this dual life for years… but this time is different. Hermann is faced with a conundrum. For here in Bridgemoor the stakes are far higher than ever before. At the front lines of the war, what sacrifices must be made to lift up the victimized? Being one among the responsible for bringing doom upon the doorsteps, what do good intentions even mean? Troubled Troubadour is a Tale of Valiant Veil and accompanies the Castles Crumbling adventure module. Castles Crumbling Author: Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer Samorael’s dread army continues its inexorable march! A tenuous resistance endures in the battered city-state of Bridgemoor, a natural chokepoint bottlenecking Samorael’s advance. Refugees from Nalathesh and Bishal join forces with war-weary soldiers from the nations to the east. This fractious alliance must be willing to sacrifice everything if they have any chance of stopping Samorael’s army from crossing the Great Chasm and conquering the only remnant of dwindling light that holds out hope. This adventure zine is a high-combat dungeon crawl for D&D 5e (party level 6) and MythCraft (party level 9).

Contains: (2) Adventures for MythCraft & D&D5e: Against the Crashing Tide and Mortal Blow Against the Crashing Tide “When peaceful lives are abolished, who will deliver the due vengeance?” Author: Dan Begin this two-part module as mere townsfolk of Shatterkeel Bay, located along the coast in the northern reaches of Noord. Experience the lives of these hardened folk…whether that be foraging humble light blooms from the Glowing forest, scavenging lost treasures scattered along the ocean floor, or even dragging in full wreckages from the bay itself. Get to intimately know the inhabitants before they are beset upon by Samoreal’s forces. When given an ultimatum by the tyrannical warlord, choice is but a facade. In part two of the adventure, step into the shoes of brazen adventurers as they make their way shoreside to avenge the fallen. Administer justice without reservations. Fell the many guilty soldiers, and face off against the officer responsible for wreaking such havoc. Mortal Blow Author: Nathan Heard, Lead Game Designer QuasiReal Publishing There comes a time when one must make a stand. The bulk of Samorael’s army — along with the emperor himself — is distracted halfway across the world. After the stunning success of a rebel insurgency, Samorael’s own island hovers above the coast, preparing to crush the rebels for their insolence under the leadership of the sub-assistant vice-lieutenant to the Emperor, Jerugog Dolgor. But that was the plan all along. Now that Jerugog is here, darkening the sun with Samorael’s own floating island, it is time to strike. You are one of an elite team of the world’s finest heroes, and if anyone is up to this gargantuan task it is you. Can you overcome Samorael’s auxiliary forces and strike at the seat of his power? Can you strike down Samorael’s right hand man? This explosive conclusion to Start the Fire pits the heroes against Jerugog Dolgor in a high-level smackdown. This adventure zine is designed for D&D 5e (party level 16) and MythCraft (party level 24).

Act 1 Contains Episodes I-IV: Cinderedge, Lament of Innocence Duty Free, Clearcut

Act 2 Contains Episodes V-VIII: Gray Matter, Fettered Futures, Hell or High Water, Three Questions of River's Gate

Act 3 Contains Episodes IX-XII: Kill GPT, The Ballad of Sister Notte, Castles Crumbling, Mortal Blow

Digital Maps to supplement your Start the Fire adventures!