Message:Event 0001: ??? Does a hero have a story arc that demands setbacks and even final failure? Here you are not deciding your own future but instead have circumstances design and force your reaction. Though many of the encounters below seem very taleworthy, and better still Ignoble worthy, none of these Hand of Fate encounters will allow a check of those advancement tests. Sometimes you just don’t get experience from glorified exposition, here and elsewhere. The first Ignobles appear only after Event 0254, if you were wondering. What’s an Ignoble? Check the suggested solo character sheet at end of the booklet. Attempt Ordinary roll to remove the Perilous Condition of Insane (Hellbent). If you have a quest and Penultimate Event, next event is D10 + 11. Otherwise, the next event D20 + 1.
Event 0002 (Roll 1): Major Domo – ??? You are offered a position as a retainer, a man assigned to a tract of land to perform a general job there. You have the skills and abilities, no doubt. Yet you seem not of a temperament to remain long in any static life, no matter the challenges. But for the moment, if anyone asks, you say you are happy. Attempt Tasking roll. If you have magical ability Demigod, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a Clue-point; you do not even need to have an active quest and Penultimate Event. Goto Dogged Estate, Event 0022.
Event 0003 (Roll 2): Homespun Request – ??? You receive a letter. Hopefully, you can read; else, the local vicar brings you a message. Your father is ill (yet again, you joke) and needs you to come home and help run things. You could comply for duty, for a chance to see your mother, to ensure the family is safe or simply to protect your inheritance. This would be a good moment to help decide how much of a scoundrel your character has become. Feel free to change tone. You’ll find the directions of the events may not change, but the inferences of the narratives do. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have the Perilous Condition Lost (Muddled), attempt the roll at Tasking. Upon success, remove a Perilous Condition of your choice. Goto Backwater, Event 0043.
Event 0004 (Roll 3): Poacher – ??? You shoot a deer, forgetting that you are not in the frontier. Rather than having your hand cut-off, the landowner decided he can have you work for a season as penitence. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have skill Bowman, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon failure, lose a random companion (of three); you can't lose what you don't have. Goto Monastic Abbey, Event 0064.
Event 0005 (Roll 4): Ripping Yarn – ??? You drink, more often than you should. Yet you find you are drawn more to the stories of adventure, told by poltroons, than to any buzz to alleviate boredom. Accept a quest to start a pilgrimage with Penultimate Event 1765. Goto Taverns, Event 0085.
Event 0006 (Roll 5): Messenger Lad – ??? Normally you would not be an errand boy, carrying a package whose contents you might never know. Here in a moment of charitable weakness, you accept service as a courier, knowing your cargo is light yet magically warded. Better not to ask questions. Accept two Clue-Points toward your task ending with Penultimate Event 1765. Attempt Difficult roll. Upon success goto Pledge Fealty, Event 1135 but fail and end up at Crossroads, Event 0106.
Event 0007 (Roll 6): Sin of Greed – ??? You see someone folding a piece of parchment, before ordering several tankards of ale. He seems excited and apprehensive all at once. You sit down and start a conversation. The man could get drunk and show you the map and propose an even-stevens split. You could decide to steal his map. Accept a quest to claim a fabulous treasure with Penultimate Event 1849. Attempt either a Difficult or a Tasking roll. The Difficult roll is to steal the map without being caught. That roll is automatically successful with the skill Pickpocket. The Tasking roll is to attempt to gain a partner. Upon success there, you gain a companion Cohort or Stranger (your choice of either). With either success goto Secret Passages, Event 1114. With either as failure, you still get the quest; however, continue with Convalesce, Event 0127. Either fail and you can call the deal unmade; now race this other guy to the reward, as your memory of the map is probably keen. You can test that with one more roll of Difficult to gain a Clue-Point. But fail and gain the Perilous Condition of Wanderlust (Foolhardy).
Event 0008 (Roll 7): Dishonest Proposal – ??? Someone knows you are a traveler, a man who expects a fight. The offer comes from someone who once adventured, but now has grown to rich and fat. He needs a hardened warrior for some bodyguard work. He is vague about who he fears, or if this is just a general precaution. He hints he may need you to collect some debts as well. Refuse him outright and goto Taverns, Event 0085. Otherwise, attempt Difficult roll. Upon success goto Guildmaster, Event 0148 or with failure continue with Sacrosanct Affairs, Event 1303.
Event 0009 (Roll 8): Old Friend – ??? As a child you once played with other children, and no one talked of class distinction. At least one of your playmates was noble, but he was just one of the kids in a brief rough and tumble adolescent summer. You cross paths as adults. He recognizes you; you barely know him. But he seems enthused and speaks of great fortune. He needs an ally, an outsider. He wants you to help him uncover a plot. He will pay; he will be a good friendly contact if things go well. There is little downside to aiding him, expect whatever enemy may be discovered. You agree, because it is both lawfully right and sounds interesting. Accept a quest to upend a specific intrigue with Penultimate Event 1828. Goto Baronial Court, Event 0169.
Event 0010 (Roll 9): Warning – ??? A herald delivers a speech. You halfheartedly listen to the proclamations. That is until a reward is offered for slaying a criminal. Could be easy money. Yet the details are strange, and you have heard a similar tale. The truth comes like the dawn. This is not a mere crime as is being reported. The events described match those of a story. There is a legend relate to a timeline and deaths. You decide to unravel the mystery, knowing magic and monsters are involved. Accept a quest to verify a legend with Penultimate Event 1786. Goto Fae Forest, Event 0190.
Event 0011 (Roll 10): Fugitive – ??? The sheriff hands you a purse and says you will come with him, deputized. He has ale and bread, should the ride go out more than a day. You have no excuse to be anywhere, and the purse seems full. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have skill Hunter, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a random magical ability (of seven). Furthermore, the escapee seems easy enough to track and find. He even surrenders without a fight. That wasn’t all that fun. You bid the lord farewell and take the shorter of all routes from the countryside into the nearest town. Goto Merchant Ports, Event 0211. But what about the failed roll? There the story changes, so goto Dying Man, Event 0012.
Event 0012 (Roll 11): Dying Man – ??? You find a nobleman of some importance, fallen injured; the wound seems mortal. He tells you the name of his assailant and asks you to bring the man to justice (at the end of a rope). You locate the scoundrel at a tavern drinking and bragging about murder. In midsentence you stifle his laughter and cleave off his head. Those seeing the deed, cower. They will have quite their own tale to tell. You take the head and leave to go bury the noble in a grave marked by the outlaw’s head on a stake; speak no more of any of this again. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have skill Courtly Graces, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, remove a Perilous Condition of your choice. Goto Growth, Event 1030.
Event 0013 (Roll 12): Corsair – ??? You have taken to sea before. The tale was probably much worse than you care to recall. Yet the open water seems to summon. The route can be a conveyance to the next leg of your quest. Else, you simply need more excitement and know that being part of a crew is never dull. A captain will take you aboard as a passenger with potential for hire. You find that arrangement agreeable. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have Trait Energetic, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a random swaggering (of twenty). Goto Sea Travel, Event 0253.
Event 0014 (Roll 13): Quartermaster Call – ??? The nobles are again at war. They seem incapable of solving their differences with third party arbitration. Often the king is too frivolous to take a side, and no judge would dare offend either party. Combat on a grand scale is necessary. The side that suffers more slaughter was obviously at fault. The gods favors the winners in these affairs. You are asked to lead a cohort. This could be with family fealty, to settle past debts or simply because someone asked nicely. Attempt Difficult roll. If you have companion Wench, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a random swaggering (of twenty). Goto Army to March, Event 0442.
Event 0015 (Roll 14): Missing Child – ??? Your mind says to make any excuse and beg off. You hearts says that you must agree to help find the sinister kidnappers. To let this injustice pass unpunished is to encourage murder in series. You pack your gear and join a small group ready to pursue the missing into the dark realms of the Unending Grey. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have skill Tinker, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a random swaggering (of twenty). Goto Explore Underworld, Event 0610.
Event 0016 (Roll 15): Trespass – ??? Something brings you to ride off the king’s highway and into a glade or heath. The road is generally patrolled and has tolls. Those who travel outside of those defined lengths are seen as criminal. Those who live off those defined courses are also seen as felonious. The fell ones are people most plebs shun. A hero has his reasons. If you currently have three or more Clue-Points toward a quest with a Penultimate Event, goto that event now. Otherwise, attempt Ordinary roll. Upon success goto Stranger Bedfellows, Event 1345, or with failure continue with Jailed, Event 0967.
Event 0017 (Roll 16): Sullen Maids – ??? You pass a group of women weeping; they may have come from mass. You sigh and feel obligated to ask about their troubles. The stories start hackneyed: unfaithful husbands, disobedient kids, harsh rents, drunken brothers or fathers, starvation, disease, menfolk off to war…there’s about a hundred small deeds any hero might right. But so far the potential culprits seems more browbeaten than villainous. Then the tales takes a magical turn, vile experiments, dark overtones, frightened friars…okay, that sounds motivating. If you currently have four or more Clue-Points toward a quest with a Penultimate Event, the opportunity has passed; your quest is failed, zero your Penultimate Event, and lose all your Clue-Points. Otherwise, attempt Ordinary roll. Upon success goto Support Underdog, Event 1156 or with failure continue with Evil Fealty, Event 0925.
Event 0018 (Roll 17): Slumbering Scholar – ??? You come across someone at a tavern in the morning or leaning against a birch past noon. Lazy blackheart. He seems self-absorbed, reading a volume of poems. Not poems, recipes? You look over his shoulder and see some strange script, before he takes notice and closes the book with a humph. Who knew that any wizard actually wrote a spell in a book? What is he stupid? You’d think the tome would be at least encrypted or littered with curses and contact poisons. Well, not here, the academic has scribed what he knows. Distract him and maybe tear off a few pages, because you’re curious. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have skill Pickpocket, the roll is treated as automatic success. Upon success, gain a random magical ability (of seven). You burn the pages after reading, because the images could get you burned as a heretic. Afterward, win or lose, goto Crisis at Hand, Event 1366. Was he the cause or trying to find a solution?
Event 0019 (Roll 18): Binge Drink – ??? You know you should practice some temperance. But you need a break or are between jobs or need some liquid inspiration to achieve an aha moment. If you currently have three or more Clue-Points toward a quest with a Penultimate Event, goto that event now. Otherwise, attempt Tasking roll. Upon success, you pass out, but are watched over. Someone wants something and needs you alive; goto Agreements & Favors, Event 1219. Or with failure, you get shanghaied; continue with Galley Slave, Event 0421.
Event 0020 (Roll 19): Locked Gates – ??? The bells sound and the portcullis are lowered. Drawbridges raise and archers race to the towers. The township you’re in is under attack. A mix of men, monsters and mercenaries of men and monstrous nature, are surrounding the place. You might wish to lend a hand, since the invaders probably would not see you as anything other than an armed defender. You also put a half a loaf of bread in your satchel, because that could become very valuable in a week. Attempt Ordinary roll. If you have the Perilous Condition Religious Doubt, attempt the roll at Tasking. Upon success, gain a Clue-point; you do not even need to have an active quest and Penultimate Event. Goto Siege, Event 0589.
Event 0021 (Roll 20): Mistaken Identity – ??? You are wrongfully accused. That’s your story, and you are sticking to it. You are confronted by guards, and it would be futile to fight. You may anyway and goto Mortal Hiatus, Event 1408. Don’t let anyone say you have no freewill. Just saying the story sometimes leads the hero not vice versa. You constantly getting killed and presto somehow survive is very 1930s silent cinema. Maybe see what happens otherwise. If you currently are on a quest with a Penultimate Event, goto that event now. See that would be a good choice. Otherwise, attempt Tasking roll. Upon success goto Trials, Event 0799, or with failure continue with Torture, Event 0820. Now you might be making a face about now, but don’t be too hasty, Master Meriadoc. (Tolkien)
Yours,
IronRed
18-Apr-2021