Colorful, daring characters are only one half of the formula for thrilling adventures. You also need to have exciting and dangerous things for those characters to do and the larger context of a world to give their risky exploits weight and consequence. TorchLite supplies grist for the adventuring mill by providing challenges; confronting those challenges by playing the game creates the world around your characters and their adventures.

A Few GM Rules for TorchLite

There’s more to GMing a game than learning the rules, but assuming you’ve got a handle on the basics outlined in What is TorchLite, the few extra rules the GM needs to moderate the game appear in this section.

Scene Framing

TorchLite gives players a lot of power over their characters and what happens to them. The GM isn’t an omnipotent narrator, just another player with specialized responsibilities, portraying the world and the creatures in it rather than one special character of their own. However, one major power the GM possesses is that they are the one who frames scenes.

To frame a new scene, the GM makes decisions based on the story so far. They determine where it happens, who is present, and what is already happening when the PCs arrive.

While you might have a rough plan, avoid all expectations as to how a scene might end or what the player will choose to do. Include elements you think will spur the PCs into action, but the goal isn’t to move players along a predetermined track; play to find out what happens.

GM Plot Points

When a GM activates a hitch, or when a PC gains a Ⓟ from using Hinder or a Limit, those plot points come from an infinite pile of plot points no one at the table needs to worry about monitoring or controlling. When players activate a GM opportunity, these Ⓟ go back to that pile.

However, when the GM wants to spend plot points to help a GMC (perhaps by adding more dice to a total or keeping extra effect dice) or to use an SFX, they have their own bank of plot points they need to spend from.

The GM’s plot point bank starts with a number of plot points equal to the number of PCs. The GM can add more plot points by using certain SFX (such as Hinder for GMCs that have distinctions).

Scene Distinctions

Each scene can be framed with up to three scene distinctions, special traits that any character in the scene can include in their rolls. Scene distinctions are rated at d8, and can be used to earn plot points with Hinder.

If a character has distinctions of their own, the player chooses whether to use a scene distinction or one of their character distinctions for each roll. In TorchLite, a player has the option to use both a scene distinction and character distinction on the same roll, as long as they use Hinder on one of the two distinctions.

Game Moderator Characters

TorchLite adventurers traverse a world of hungry predators, perilous dangers, and looming threats. Some are meant to be challenging opposition, but others are bit parts and recurring secondary characters, so there are different ways of creating GMCs.

GMCs are split into three different types depending on the role you expect them to fulfill in the story: Extras, Analog GMCs, and Challenge Pools.

Extras can be created as needed during play. Analog GMCs and Challenge Pools work best for recurring characters who harry the player characters across multiple adventures. These may start as Extras or as Boss challenge pools; you can switch their type between sessions, and even use them as an Analog GMC for a few adventures and then turn them into a Boss for a final showdown.

Extras

An extra is a nameless character in a scene who has just one trait describing their role in the story, like Bored Guard d10 or Suspicious Shopkeeper d6. This trait is added to other dice pools rather than rolled on its own. When extras take a complication or stress larger than their trait die, they are taken out. Most extras are invented during play rather than created in advance.

Analog GMCs

These are created much the same way you’d make a player character, although they can be simplified from that format. For example, instead of defining every trait in a trait set, they might only have the traits they are likely to use. Analog GMCs may have whatever number of SFX or Limits seem appropriate (though generally not more than the GM can easily keep track of). They are taken out with stress or complications in the same way as a PC.

As Challenge Pools

A challenge pool is something the PCs have to deal with, and not only can it represent a GMC, but also a hazard, dilemma, crisis, or anything else that could be an obstacle to the characters’ progress. Challenge pools are the basic building blocks of TorchLite adventures, and they are described in their own section.

Upgrading GMCs

If a GMC’s importance grows beyond initial expectations, you can always switch their type between sessions as the developing story requires. You can even convert a GMC into a challenge pool or vice-versa.

GMCs and Dice Pools

When a PC rolls a test where a GMC might interfere with or oppose that roll, the GM can add one or more GMC traits to the difficulty dice before rolling.

If a PC acts directly against an analog GMC or challenge pool, the GM usually builds a dice pool based on traits just as a PC would and rolls that as opposition, instead of bothering with difficulty dice.

Challenge Pools

A challenge pool represents a complex and difficult situation that requires sustained effort to overcome, rather than any single action. It can represent any crisis or series of obstacles the PCs face: a forest fire, breaking into a vault, evading angry guards, dispelling complex magical wards, rescuing people from a collapsing structure, steering a raft down rocky rapids, fighting a dragon, etc. Powerful foes or groups of enemies can also be represented by challenge pools.

Challenge pools are the basic structure around which TorchLite adventures are built. A handful of challenge pools (including bunch of mobs, and one or two bosses, as described in this section) is all you need for a fun excursion into danger for riches and glory.

The core of every challenge is a pool of dice that the players will step down and remove as they address the situation. This is its Challenge trait. The challenge remains a driving element of the story until the last die is removed from its pool.

Opposing the Challenge Pool

Player characters can use their action to reduce the challenge pool. When they do so, the entire challenge pool is rolled as a reaction against them. Usually, a PC tries to reduce the challenge pool by inflicting some kind of complication or stress on it.

However, challenge pools don’t actually gain complications or stress, nor do they gain assets. Whenever a PC would inflict stress or a complication on a challenge pool, the player instead compares their effect die to a challenge pool die of their choice. If the complication or stress is bigger than that die, that die leaves the pool. If it isn't, the chosen die steps down. Similarly, whenever a challenge pool would gain an asset, that asset immediately converts into a new challenge die instead. When the last challenge die is removed, the challenge is defeated.

Trying to reduce a challenge pool is risky, however. Failing a roll to do so inflicts stress on the PC, just as failing a test would, but instead of a d6, the GM can choose to inflict the challenge pool’s effect die as stress.

Also, when a player hitches against a challenge pool, instead of giving the player a Ⓟ, the GM may spend a die from the pool’s challenge trait to turn the hitched die into a complication on the PC.

Challenge Pool Actions

The PCs face challenge pools in action order, and once every PC has had a turn, the challenge pool gets a turn as well. Usually, it rolls to inflict stress or create a complication, but it can also roll to create an asset for itself (which becomes a new challenge die).

Instead of rolling, the challenge can use its turn to step up its smallest die or grant the GM a Ⓟ. The GM narrates how the challenge escalates or worsens, and then play moves on.

Finally, the GM can use the pool's turn to spend a die from the challenge trait and move a PC’s complication to the challenge pool to replace it. The PC no longer has the complication, but the problem they were dealing with is now everybody’s problem! (Obviously, the optimal use of this move by the GM would be replacing a smaller die with a larger one.)

Clockwork Defenses

This gauntlet of traps and automatons defends the entrance of the vault.

Challenge Pool d8 d8 d8

Spring-Loaded Spikes d6
Automaton Swordsmen d10
Automaton Archers d10

Tick Tock: gain a Ⓟ when you describe the defenses’ movements as stilted or programmed; any player attempting to predict its attacks or movements may step up their effect die for free.

Brassy: step down any stress inflicted by blades, spearpoints, or other sharp weapons.

GMCs vs Challenges?

If a challenge pool works against a GMC, or vice-versa, or if GMCs work against each other, the GM has two choices. They can let a PC roll determine the outcome, or they can simply decide what happens. GMs never roll dice against themselves.

Building Challenges

The GM creates the challenge pool by choosing three to six dice of the same size, from d6 to d12. Die size describes difficulty, while the number of dice roughly determines how long the challenge will last.

A d6 d6 d6 challenge pool will probably be quick and easy, while a pool of d12 d12 d12 d12 d12 d12 is likely to be long and difficult.

If you wish, you can also give a challenge pool other traits or SFX, just like a GMC, but that isn’t necessary if you’d rather keep things simple for yourself during play.

Mobs

A mob is a challenge pool variant representing a group of opposing characters or creatures: a pack of werewolves, a gang of thugs, pirates, rioting city guards, summoned demons, etc. A mob’s challenge pool is called its Mob Dice and this trait sometimes gets a colorful name.

Instead of stepping down its dice, mobs take complications like GMCs. When a complication steps up past the Mob Trait’s die size, the mob loses a die from that trait and the complication is eliminated. When Mob Trait loses its last die, it is taken out.

A mob also has signature assets in addition to its mob dice (like those of a minor GMC), which it can add to its rolls. Mobs can also have SFX, and most have at least one SFX like All-Out Attack, Area Spell, or Impossible to Ignore that allow the mob to target multiple characters on its action.

Bosses

A boss is a variation that represents one GMC meant to challenge multiple PCs at once. A boss works exactly like a mob except that instead of a Mob Dice trait, it has Boss Dice trait.

Using Challenge Templates

You can quickly and easily make an adventure’s spread of challenge pools by using challenge templates. A template is comprised of a name and description, a list of signature assets, and possibly SFX.

The next two sections provide templates for a number of monsters, traps, and hazards. All are designed to be modified, torn apart, and put back together to suit your purposes.

The traits listed in a template may have ratings, but these are always suggestions. Part of the GM’s job is deciding what ratings to assign to the adventure’s challenge pools to tailor the challenge to the adventure and the adventurers.

Levelling Challenges

Tailoring dice ratings is more art than science. A challenge pool with fewer dice takes less time than a challenge pool with more. A challenge pool of larger dice will take more time still and will also require the PCs to tap more resources and push harder to bring down those dice. Larger ratings of signature assets, which rarely change, make the challenge harder still.

Additionally, the player characters may have traits and SFX that make them more effective against specific threats. A paladin exorcist is going to clear a mob of ghosts much faster than they would an equally-rated mob of wargs on the hunt.

The best way to crack this chestnut is play. Throw a d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 mob at the players, followed by a d8 d8 d8 d8 challenge, and then a d10 d10 d10 boss. Jot down notes as to how quickly they go down. Iterate for the next adventure. You will very shortly develop a good sense, not only of how long and difficult any given encounter will play out, but how well it fits into your friends’ expectations of play and attention spans.

Challenging SFX

Here are a couple additional SFX that are well-suited for challenge pools:

Fear Monger: When you roll to inflict Demoralized, spend a Ⓟ to affect multiple targets. For each additional target, add d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Overwhelming Tenacity: When you roll to inflict Exhausted, spend a Ⓟ to affect multiple targets. For each additional target, add d6 and keep an extra effect die.

GMC Drives

In addition to its boss dice or mob dice and its other traits, GMC challenge pools can be equipped with two drives. Drives are major personality traits that motivate a character. When a drive fuels its actions, the GMC can include that drive in its roll, but it can’t include more than one drive in the same pool.

A drive consists of a short statement, such as Drive: Liberate the Tribe, Drive: Earn Others' Respect for My Achievements, or Drive: Defend Our Lair. For the most variety, utility, and dramatic interest, each pair of drives is designed so that the two motivations conflict with each other as much as possible. Drives are a useful trait to assign to any GMC, especially if that GMC is going to be a part of the game beyond a single scene.

A creature’s interactions with the PCs can change the size of its drives, assuming the creature sticks around after its initial interaction with the PCs.

Evolving Drives

After the PCs engage with a GMC that has drives, at the end of the scene (or the end of session, depending on how quickly the GM wants the situation with that GMC to evolve), the GM can step up one drive (to a maximum of d12), but must also step one drive down (to a minimum of d4). If a PC won a conflict against that GMC, the GM can ask them to decide which drive would step up. Either way, the choice of which drives step up or down should reflect the events that took place.

These changes to drive die ratings are permanent until another effect alters them. Once a drive steps up to d12, that GMC emerges as a fully-realized major enemy, rival, or ally of the PCs, deeply motivated to pursue that drive at all costs.

While a GMC has a d12 drive, the GM can step that drive back down to d10 at any time to end a scene in way that favors that GMC. This could allow a GMC to make an impossible escape, rescue and important character, defeat or capture a number of enemies, achieve a startling victory, attain a new level of power or influence, assume their final form, split up a group, conquer or destroy a crucial location, etc. However, it can’t take out a PC or change the outcome of a previous conflict.

Monster Templates

The following pages present sample monstrous creatures for TorchLite games. They are all presented as mobs or bosses, but they can also be converted to analog GMCs. When you roll for these creatures, you include all their mob or boss dice, a drive, and any or all of their signature assets that apply.

A few of these GMC templates are presented as members of a certain people. Their people is noted in parentheses and they have a matching people SFX. You can make a GMC from a different people by simply replacing that SFX with one from another people.

Many of these templates first appeared in the Manual of Monsters, Minions, and Mountebanks, which can be found on itch.io.

Aboleth

Eel-like, gigantic amphibian horrors with lamprey-like mouths and twitching tentacles, emerging from the darkest depths of the sea and the primordial depths of time.

Boss Dice: d10 d10 d10 d10

Drive: Seek Out New Minds and Their Secrets d8
Drive: Plot Patiently From the Watery Depths d8

Colossal Might d12
Cult of Enthralled Servitors d8
Eternally Perfect Memory d10
Perceptive Manipulator d10
Probing Telepathy d10
Tentacles d10

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Underwater Adaptation: Spend a Ⓟ to gain the asset Amphibious d8. While you have this asset, you can breathe both air and water and swim as fast as you can walk.

Infectious Touch: Keep an additional effect die to inflict a disease related complication whenever the aboleth causes stress through contact. Anyone taken out by or ending a scene with this complication can only breathe underwater.

Servitor: When anyone is taken out by the aboleth with Enthralled, the aboleth gains a d6 asset representing their telepathic access to all that character’s knowledge as that character falls under the aboleth’s mind control. If a controlled target takes further stress, they may test to recover their Enthralled and break the control.

Psychic Drain: Take d6 Exhausted to transfer your Damaged to a servitor.

Animated Suit of Armor

Spells animate this armor to perform a certain task while beating the crap out of anyone who gets in its way.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8

Drive: Serve the Power that Animated You d8
Drive: Return to Inanimate Stillness d8

Animated Construct d8
Blindsight d8
Looks Normal When Still d8
Loud and Slow d4
Relentless Steel Plate Armor d10

Fortified Armor: When a roll would inflict stress on you from a nonmagical source, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress entirely.

Animated by Magic (Limit): When a roll to inflict a complication from an antimagic source succeeds, earn a Ⓟ and step up that roll’s effect die against you.

Archmage (Forest Gnome)

A sage and wizard with encyclopedic knowledge of matters both magical and mundane.

Boss Dice: d10 d10 d10

Drive: Pursue New Arcane Knowledge d8
Drive: Perfect the Spells I Know d8

Arcana d12
Dagger d6
Frail d4
Godlike Intellect d12
History d12

Spell Assets d12 (Disguise Self, Invisibility, Fire Bolt, Light, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Shocking Grasp, Detect Magic, Identify, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Detect Thoughts, Mirror Image, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fly, Lightning Bolt, Banishment, Fire Shield, Stoneskin, Cone of Cold, Scrying, Wall of Force, Globe of Invulnerability, Teleport, Mind Blank, Time Stop)

Resistant: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from nonmagical weapons, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Magic Resistance: When you roll to avoid complications or non-Damaged stress from magic, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Erudite Researcher (Gear): When you spend an hour or more with good sources (a library, a meticulous ledger, accurate maps, informed and cooperative experts, etc.) add d6 and step up your effect die on rolls to create research-based assets.

Gifted Illusionist (Gnome): Spend a Ⓟ to double your drive on a roll to create a magical illusion.

Cadre of Skeleton Warriors

Undead bones infused with unholy magic.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6

Drive: Serve the Power that Animated You d8
Drive: Emulate Who You Were in Life d8

Animated Undead Bones d8
Scraps of Old Memories and Gear d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Fleshless: When a roll would inflict Exhausted stress on you, or stress or complications from poison or piercing weapons, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress entirely.

Brittle Bones (Limit): When a roll to inflict Damaged on you with blunt force or bludgeoning weapons succeeds, earn a Ⓟ and step up that roll’s effect die against you.

Conscripted Grunts (Cave Goblins)

Forced to fight; will do whatever’s necessary to survive.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6

Drive: Loot the Spoils d8
Drive: Make It Back Home to My Kin d8

Doesn’t Want to Be Here d4
Hit and Run d6
Scimitar & Shortbow d6
Stealth d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Opportune Attack (Gear): When a foe willingly moves out of your reach without teleporting, spend a Ⓟ to inflict Damaged d6 on that creature if you have a melee weapon in hand.

Rebellious Heritage (Goblin): Spend a Ⓟ to double your drive and step up your effect die on rolls to escape a bad situation, to craft weapons, to hide, or to avoid Enthralled.

Crime Boss (Shireling Halfling)

A scoundrel and mastermind, making their fortune at others’ expense.

Boss Dice: d10 d10 d10 d10

Drive: Take this City Street by Street d8
Drive: Stay Safe in the Shadows d8

Black Market Weaponry d6
Friends in High & Low Places d10
Probably Has Dirt on You d10
Thievery & Thuggery d8

Con Artist: When you roll to deceive someone or maintain an existing deception, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Exit Strategy: When you need to get out of a location or an awkward situation, spend a Ⓟ to name your escape plan and gain it as a d8 asset.

Fence: When you reveal that you’ve found a buyer for stolen goods or a seller of necessary (but probably stolen) goods, gain them as a d8 asset as well as the complication Disreputable d6.

Unexpected Attack: When you succeed on a roll to inflict stress with an asset you created related to stealth, deception, or speed, eliminate the asset to step up the stress you inflict.

Light Fingers (Halfling): Spend a Ⓟ to create a d8 asset representing something you recently pickpocketed from a nearby character.

Demon-Haunted Berserkers (Gnolls)

Relentless raiders driven by the legacy and customs of diabolical ancestors.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6

Drive: Raid Resources for Your Tribe d8
Drive: Prove Your Strength & Dominance to Your Fiendish Overlords d8

Bite d6
Longbow d8
Spear d6

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Berserker’s Rage: Gain the complication Enraged d6 and earn a Ⓟ. When you roll to inflict Damaged or perform a feat of strength, you can spend a Ⓟ to add Enraged to your pool. After the roll is resolved, step up Enraged.

Rampage: When you take out a foe within reach using Damaged, you can keep a second effect die as Damaged against another foe within reach.

Uncanny Presence (Cambion): Double your drive on a roll to intimidate someone or leverage your otherworldly status. After the roll resolves, take a d6 complication related to being mistrusted.

Faction Operative (Deep Elf)

Running in the shadows, advancing someone else’s agenda, and waiting for their moment.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8

Drive: Serve & Prove My Loyalty d8
Drive: Weigh My Allegiance Against New Opportunities d8

Hand Crossbow d6
Keen Senses d6
Shortsword d6
Stealth d6

Spell Assets d8 (Dancing Lights, Darkness, Faerie Fire)

Poison Expert (Gear): Spend a Ⓟ to coat your weapon in poison, creating a d8 asset, or to double your largest die on a roll to detect, identify, treat, or brew poison.

Secret Language: When you roll to communicate with someone secretly, hide a message in plain sight, or decipher covert communications, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Ways of the Fey Realm: When you take Enthralled or take a complication from magic that would affect your mind, spend a Ⓟ to step down the stress or complication. Magic can never force you to sleep.

Sunlight Sensitivity (Limit): While in sunlight, you hitch on ones and twos.

Gargoyle

Dangerous stone elementals disguised as statuary.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Serve My Sculptor d8
Drive: Return to My Stony Rest d8

Disguised as a Grotesque Statue d8
Sculpted Claws & Fangs d6

Resistant: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from poison or nonmagical weapons that aren't adamantine, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Horde Raiders (Arctic Humans)

Terrorizing their targets with toughness and tenacity.

Mob Dice: d8 d8 d8

Drive: Pillage and Gorge d8
Drive: Find Glory in Battle d8

Greataxe d10
Intimidating Mien d8
Javelin d6
Zealous Fanatics d6

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Battlefield Sprint: Spend a Ⓟ to create a d8 asset related to moving at incredible speed.

Cold Lands Heritage (Human): When you roll to move across icy or slippery terrain, survive in a cold climate, or avoid stress or complications from cold, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Horned Devil

The airborne infantry of the legions of Hell, lazy and craven yet full of battle-rage.

Boss Dice: d10 d10 d10

Drive: Follow Orders to the Letter d8
Drive: Avoid Risks and Unnecessary Effort d8

Flying Infantry of the Hellish Legions d12
Hate & Fear Any Stronger Creature d4
Hurl Flame d8
Pitchfork & Lashing Tail d6
Resist Magic d8
Telepathy d6
Wings d6

Infernal Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from fire, poison, cold, or nonmagical weapons that aren’t silver, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Hellish Wound: When you inflict Damaged, spend a Ⓟ to give the same foe a d6 Hellish Wound complication. Whenever that foe rolls to create a complication, stress, or asset, after that roll resolves, you can spend a Ⓟ to step up their existing Hellish Wound.

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Infantry Sergeant (Hobgoblin)

Seasoned military veteran of great cunning and prowess.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8

Drive: Keep Myself and My Comrades Alive d8
Drive: Follow Orders to Victory d8

Longsword & Longbow d6
Martial Discipline d8
Shield d8

Vigilant Defense: When a foe within your reach makes a roll to inflict Damaged that doesn’t target you, one target rolling to avoid that stress can add your Soldier or defensive asset die to their pool. If their roll to avoid the stress succeeds, the attacking foe takes Damaged d6 from you.

Opening Move (Goblin): When you succeed on a roll to inflict stress and it’s the first time you’ve inflicted stress on that foe this scene, keep a second effect die as an asset for yourself related to tactical advantage.

Knight (Ork)

Armored warrior pledged to serve a cause, creed, or crown.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Serve My Liege d8
Drive: Protect the Innocent d8

Greataxe d10
Heavy Crossbow d8
Plate Mail Armor d10
Sworn Loyalty d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Brave: When you roll to avoid stress or complications from fear, you can reroll one die of your choice.

Competition Expert (Ogre): When you roll to succeed at a game or competition (such as a joust), or to predict the outcome of a sporting event, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Medusa

Snake-haired, accursed, and a stone-cold killer.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Hide Your Face From the World d8
Drive: Punish the Uncursed d8

Accursed Serpent-Haired Monstrosity d8
Bitter Sorrow at My Fate d4
Cunning & Deceptive d6
Longbow & Shortsword d8
Superhuman Endurance d10

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Petrifying Gaze: When a foe’s roll to inflict stress or a complication on you fails, spend a Ⓟ to inflict your effect die as a complication related to slowly turning that foe to stone.

Turn to Stone: When you roll to inflict a complication related to slowly turning a foe to stone, add d8 and step up your effect die.

Mimic

Hungry shapechangers who disguise themselves as inanimate objects to lure in unwary prey.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Seize and Consume Your Prey d8
Drive: Maintain Your Perfect Disguise d8

Acidic Bite d8
Adhesive Grappling Pseudopod d8
Looks Like Something You Want d10
Sneaky Shapeshifting Predator d10

Amorphous: Spend a Ⓟ to move through an extremely tiny space.

Grab & Constrict: When you roll to inflict a complication related to grappling, add d6 and step up your effect die. If you succeed, keep a second effect die as Damaged against the same foe.

Ochre Jelly

Predatory, amoeba-like ooze, creeping under doors and through cracks in search of victims.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Engulf d8
Drive: Squeeze Through d8

Constrict & Consume d6
Pseudopod d6
Wall Crawler d8

Resistant: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from acid, lightning, or slashing weapons, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Amorphous: Spend a Ⓟ to move through an extremely tiny space.

Pack of Worgs

Like a pack of wolves, if all the wolves were ugly, bear-sized, monstrous bullies driven by hateful cunning.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

Drive: Hunt and Devour the Weak d8
Drive: Look Out for the Pack d8

Claws and Fangs d6
Hates Everyone Else but Goblins d6
Instinctive Senses d8
Malevolent Wolflike Monstrosity d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Overrun: When you roll to inflict Damaged, add d6 and step up your effect die. If you succeed, keep a second effect die against that foe as a complication related to being shoved or trampled.

Roving Marauder (Gray Ogre)

Just here for the food. And the pillaging.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Plunder the Countryside to Survive d8
Drive: Find a Place to Call Home d8

Greatclub d8
Javelin d6
Powerful Brawn d10

Sweeping Strike: When you take out a foe within reach using Damaged, you can keep a second effect die as Damaged against another foe within reach.

Iron Fortitude (Ogre): On a roll to resist Damaged, Demoralized, or Exhausted, spend a Ⓟ to step up Brawn and step up your effect die.

Sahuagin War Party

Fish-like, ocean-dwelling humanoid sea reavers, fiercely warlike and fiercely offended by the weakness of air-breathers.

Mob Dice: d8 d8 d8

Drive: Raid Coastal Settlements & Seize Booty d8
Drive: Rescue Shipwrecked Victims d8

Claws & Fangs d6
Instinctive Senses d8
Spear d6
Telepathically Connected Shark d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Frenzy: When your roll during your turn includes both Soldier and an asset related to rage or vengeance, spend a Ⓟ to double that asset and step up your effect die.

Underwater Adaptation: Spend a Ⓟ to gain the asset Amphibious d8. While you have this asset, you can breathe both air and water and swim as fast as you can walk.

Shadow Summoner (Urban Human)

Powerful, attractive, and immortal master of shadow magic.

Boss Dice: d12 d12 d12

Drive: Mercilessly Eliminate All Opposition d8
Drive: Gain Useful Puppets or True Companionship d8

Ageless Charm d8
Control Darkness d10
Plotting Deceiver d8
Secret Loneliness d4
Shadow Monsters d10
Stealth d8

Area Spell: When you roll to inflict complications using magic, spend a Ⓟ to affect multiple targets. For each additional target, add d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Constructs of Darkness: When rolling to create assets or complications (including stress) using shadow magic, add d8 and step up your effect die. On a success, spend a Ⓟ or take Exhausted d6.

Seductive Cunning: Double Ageless Manipulator on rolls to inflict Enthralled. On a success, step up your effect die or keep a second effect die as Damaged against the same foe.

Vicious Contempt: When you roll to inflict Demoralized with mockery or contempt, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Status Conscious (Human): When you roll to secure an audience with local authorities using diplomacy, bureaucratic savvy, or aristocratic privilege, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Thousand-Year-Old Red Dragon

Nasty yet majestic fire-breathing reptile; towering, terrifying, and the ultimate hoarder.

Boss Dice: d12 d12 d12 d12 d12 d12

Drive: Look Down on the World From Solitude d8
Drive: Dominate Everything I See d8

All-Seeing Eyes Ablaze with Flame d12
Deep Sulfurous Lair d10
Invincible Brawn d12
Fiery Bite & Claws d8
Resilience d8
Powerful Wings & Tail d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Draconic Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from fire or fear, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Frightful Presence: When you succeed on a roll to inflict stress or a complication, spend a Ⓟ to inflict Demoralized d8 on the same foe.

Greater Fire Breath: When you use your All-Out Attack SFX, add d10 for each additional target instead of a d6, then shut down this SFX. Step down your Resilience to recover.

Legendary Resistance: Step down Resilience in lieu of spending a plot point or to ignore an incoming complication or stress. Recover Resilience at the beginning of a new scene

Territorial White Dragon

Glacier-dwelling, blizzard-breathing reptile, bearing great power and even greater grudges.

Boss Dice: d10 d10 d10 d10

Drive: Be the Apex Predator of Arctic Climes d8
Drive: Hold My Grudges Across Centuries d8

At Home in the Ice d8
Chilling Claw d6
Freezing Bite d10
Invincible Brawn d12
Resilience d8
Not the Smartest Dragon d4
Powerful Wings & Tail d8
Relentless Composure d10
Stealth d8
Vigilant Senses d10

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from cold, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Legendary Resistance: Step down Resilience in lieu of spending a plot point or to ignore an incoming complication or stress. Recover Resilience at the beginning of a new scene

Frightful Presence: When you succeed on a roll to inflict stress or a complication, spend a Ⓟ to inflict Demoralized d8 on the same foe.

Greater Cold Breath: When you use your All-Out Attack SFX, add d10 for each additional target instead of a d6, then shut down this SFX. Step down your Resilience to recover.

Tunnel Lookouts (Kobolds)

Semi-vigilant subterranean sentinels.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6

Drive: Sound the Alarm At Trouble d8
Drive: Catch a Secret Nap d8

Dagger & Sling d6
Talent for Setting & Avoiding Traps d8

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Pack Tactics: When you have more mob dice than targets on a roll, you may reroll one or two hitches.

Sunlight Sensitivity (Limit): While in sunlight, you hitch on ones and twos.

Nictitating Membrane (Kobold): On a roll to use your vision when visibility is poor or obstructed, spend a Ⓟ to double your drive.

Werewolf (Hill Dwarf)

Accursed mortal moonlighting as the ultimate predator.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Prey on the Weak and Those Who Defile the Wild d8
Drive: Resist the Savagery of My Curse d8

Claws & Fangs d8
Curse of Lycanthropy d8
Keen Senses d6
Spear d6

Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Lycanthropic Curse: When your bite inflicts Damaged on a non-lycanthrope mortal, spend a Ⓟ to keep an extra effect die as a Curse of Lycanthropy complication on that mortal. The complication never goes away unless removed by holy magic. A mortal with this complication also gains the Shift Forms SFX (as described below) and is transformed against their will every night of the full moon.

Shift Forms: Spend a Ⓟ to take on a new form and gain a related d8 asset (Hybrid Form, Shape of a Wolf, etc.), then stay in that form as long as the asset lasts. When transformed against your will, gain a Ⓟ and take a Bestial Urges complication equal to your Curse of Lycanthropy trait.

Heritage of Stone (Dwarf): When you roll to resist Exhausted, to work metal or stone, or to avoid a complication that involves pushing or poisoning you, add d6 and step up your effect die.

Young Copper Dragon

Sociable yet selfish draconic trickster, eager to build a hoard and growing more powerful by the day.

Boss Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8 d8

Drive: Amuse & Trick With Wit d8
Drive: Plunder & Steal Worked Metal d8

Acidic Bite d10
Corrosive Claw d6
Deception d8
Instinctive Senses d8
Resilience d6
Powerful Brawn d10
Stealth d6

Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from acid, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Acid Breath: When you use your All-Out Attack SFX, add d8 for each additional target instead of a d6 and choose Damaged, then shut down this SFX. Step down your Resilience asset to recover.

Zombie Swarm

Horde of mindless, flesh-eating undead.

Mob Dice: d6 d6 d6

Drive: Brains!!! d8
Drive: Slumber d8

Mindless Hunger d4
Shambling Strikes d6

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Immunities: When a roll would inflict stress or a complication on you from poison or a weapon attack that doesn’t target your head, step down that roll’s effect die against you. You can also spend a Ⓟ to ignore the stress or complication entirely.

Unliving: When your Damaged or Exhausted would step up past d12, you can instead keep it at d12, and you take a d10 Reanimating complication.

Infectious Bite: When you inflict Damaged, spend a Ⓟ or a mob die to inflict a Zombie Infection d6 complication on the same target. A character with a Zombie Infection complication cannot recover Damaged and takes Damaged equal to the complication at the end of each scene. A Zombie Infection complication doesn’t go away until it is cured by magic or other extraordinary means.

Trap & Hazard Templates

Whether they are intentional traps or environmental hazards, TorchLite’s challenge mechanics turn them into an engaging scene. When you roll for these challenges, you include all their challenge dice as well as any or all of their signature assets that apply.

Corridor of Deadly Traps

It’s one long, empty corridor… except for all the bodies.

Challenge Dice: d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

Distracting Frescoes d6
Hidden Poisoned Dart Guns d8
Seamless Pressure Plates d10

Pit Trap!: Whenever a player rolls a hitch in the corridor, the floor falls away to reveal a pit trap lined with spikes; give the player a Ⓟ and gain the asset Pit Trap d8, or Another Pit Trap d8, or similar.

Drowning Chamber

The door is sealed, the tide is rising, and the air is escaping.

Challenge Dice: d10 d10

Rising Water d4 (or Sand or Oil or Whatever)
Sealed Entrance d8
Hard-to-Reach Spouts d6

Suffocation, Super Suffocation: On any roll, assign an additional effect die one step larger than Rising Water to step up that asset. If it is already d12, inflict Damaged d6 on all players, instead.

Foreign Riddle

Solve the riddle, push the right stone button, and get through, easy peasy.

Challenge Dice: d6 d6 d6

Cunning Riddle d6
Forgotten Dialect d8
Counter-intuitive Stonework UI d6

But in the Latin Alphabet…: When a player rolls a hitch and gains stress, inflict a Damaged d6 as well.

Incomplete Statuary Gallery

It’s a gallery of six stone figures, but there’s something not quite right…

Challenge Dice: d8 d8 d8 d8

Worn, Obscured Features d6
Notably Empty, Reaching Hands d6

Fill Their Hands: When players put items in the hands of statues, the challenge gains the item as an asset. If the item is already an asset, they gain it at that die size; otherwise, gain it at d6. The challenge cannot lose its last die until all statues hold an item.

Wrong Answer: Once all statues have been given an item, any failure animates them to attack by throwing their items at the characters. The challenge takes its turn immediately; select additional effect dice by giving their targets a Ⓟ.

Completion: Once all statues have been given an item and players succeed in a roll, additional effect dice to reduce the chalenge pool are free. The exit rumbles with each die removed and is passable when the pool is reduced to zero.

Variation: As written, this challenge is ambiguous on what the correct answer may be. This challenge can be run with a predetermined correct answer by modifying Wrong Answer and Completion to activate on the correct answer rather than success or failure.

Mysterious Lock

An ingenious stonework tableau with iconic figurines that can shift along inset grooves to different areas of the image.

Challenge Dice: d12 d12 d12

Childlike Iconography d8
Heavy Stone Figures d6

Recollection: Players may roll to remember details of the adventure leading up to this challenge which provide clues to the lock’s correct answers. When they do, they may give the challenge a Ⓟ to add Childlike Iconography to their pool. On success, assign effect dice to reduce challenge dice or create assets for the clues.

I Know This One: When a player moves a piece to the correct position, remove the largest die from the challenge pool. If they do so as part of their roll, their effect die may recover Demoralized stress or create a Hope asset.

Mocking Simplicity: On its turn, the Mysterious Lock rolls to inflict Demoralized on a character confronting its challenge. If successful, it may freely spend additional effect dice to step up any of its own challenge dice smaller than d12.

Storm the Castle

A stalwart edifice keeping antagonists safe and adventurers out.

Challenge Dice: d10 d10 d10

Stout Walls d10
Barred Gates d6
Defending Archers d10
Meurtrières d8

Boiling Pitch: Defenders can pour boiling pitch through the meurtrières up to three times. This inflicts Damaged as normal and a second effect die inflicts Sticky Pitch Burns d6. The latter requires special treatment to recover.

Coordinated Fire: Castle defenders preferentially attack siege weapon assets; step up the effect die on any attempt to eliminate them. Siege weapon assets are doubled against this challenge.

Traversing the Rapids

The water churns and boils across treacherous rocks—do you spy a way across?

Challenge Dice: d6 d6 d6 d6

Sharp Rocks d10
Swirling Eddies d10
Jagged Flotsam d8

Splash!: Player hitches may get them the complication Swept Up in the Current. The complication may be recovered as normal or a player may sacrifice an asset of equal or larger die size to eliminate the complication. While anyone is Swept Up in the Current, the challenge cannot lose its last die.

Floating Hinder: Whenever players roll to move, you may roll Jagged Flotsam as a d4 and gain a Ⓟ.

Variation: If the characters are being pursued and need to cross now, add the signature asset Harrying Pursuers d8

Treacherous Labyrinth

Cloven hooves echo through a multi-level construction of stone walls, stairs, and corridors.

Challenge Dice: d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

Twisting Pathways d10
Obstructed Sight Lines d8
The Minotaur Guardian d4

Dead End!: Whenever any player removes a die from the Challenge pool, inflict Demoralized d6 on each player in the labyrinth and give them a Ⓟ.

He’s Got Your Scent: When you activate a player hitch, instead of inflicting stress or complication, you may step up The Minotaur Guardian. If The Minotaur Guardian is at d12, the Challenge immediately takes its turn.

We Lost Him: While The Minotaur Guardian is d12, players may roll a test to escape pursuit instead of removing a die from the Challenge pool. On a success, The Minotaur Guardian steps down to d6.

All Mazes Have Exits: Whenever a player scores a heroic success, they may keep an additional effect die for free to recover any character’s Demoralized stress.

Session Milestones

TorchLite is geared towards goal-oriented group play. Session milestones are the measure and reward to reinforce this. As a GM, session milestones also help you to keep the PCs’s motives centered in your planning. If you find yourself imagining an awesome scene where the PCs joust on griffon-back, but then realize that said jousting doesn’t help the characters advance their goal of freeing the imprisoned rebellion leaders, you know you either have to directly tie that scene into the objective or save the idea for a future adventure.

The GM will usually present one based on upcoming adventures. The players and GM should look the milestone over and adjust by group preferences. For example, if the PCs are tasked with safely escorting a young noble to safety in the midst of a civil war, the GM could suggest the In Harm’s Way milestone, which rewards the PCs for acting to protect a person who needs it—but instead of referencing a generic “someone”, the milestone could be customized to be about that specific GMC.

Once a GM has mastered how these examples work, they can refer to them for guidance when making new session milestones or customizing existing ones to reflect their own adventure ideas.

The 10 XP step of a milestone is often a capstone, representing the end of a story arc. Generally, the capstone is written so that the PC doesn’t have to succeed to earn XP; a character can also grow from failure or from making an interesting choice.

Against the Cultists

▶ 1 XP when you gain new information about a dangerous ritual or about a particular cult, ritualist, or otherworldly threat.
▶ 3 XP when you get closer to confronting a major threat by defeating dangerous opposition or overcoming a trap or other defense.
▶ 10 XP when you successfully disrupt a ritual or other cultist plans, or when you join forces with a major foe you had previously opposed.

All That Glitters

▶ 1 XP when you find hidden treasure or negotiate a better reward.
▶ 3 XP when you spend money to achieve a greater goal or take treasure from a defeated enemy.
▶ 10 XP when you acquire the great treasure or reward that was the main goal of your quest, or when you let someone else have it who needs it more.

Best Served Cold

▶ 1 XP when you declare your need for revenge against a worthy foe, or when you do something that lets the target of your revenge know you're coming for them.
▶ 3 XP when you take out someone the target of your revenge relies on, or when pursuing your vengeful quest burns a bridge with someone who has helped you.
▶ 10 XP when you take out the target of your revenge, or when you confront them but choose to forgive them instead.

Blessed Peacemaker

▶ 1 XP when you take action to prevent conflict or seek a non-violent solution to a threat.
▶ 3 XP when you mediate between two opposing parties, or when you remove someone from a contentious situation so you can speak privately.
▶ 10 XP when you end or prevent a large-scale violent conflict, or when you stop being neutral and pick a side.

Dogged Investigator

▶ 1 XP when you scour writings for lore or search an area for clues.
▶ 3 XP when you pledge to solve a mystery or question someone as part of an investigation.
▶ 10 XP when your focus on a mystery leads to a dramatic or important revelation, or when you abandon your investigation to focus on a larger or more immediate duty.

For the Greater Good

▶ 1 XP when you take a physical complication trying to save a stranger’s life, or when you express guilt for something terrible you did to accomplish a necessary goal.
▶ 3 XP when you reprimand a teammate for not doing what needed to be done, or when you stress out a former ally while cursing them for making you do it.
▶ 10 XP when you save a community from a major threat, or when you try to serve the greater good by taking down someone you believe deserves better.

Games of Intrigue

▶ 1 XP when you declare yourself neutral in a conflict or unexpectedly join the fight against a more powerful enemy.
▶ 3 XP when you leverage a secret to pressure someone, or when you take leadership via martial prowess or political cunning.
▶ 10 XP when you seize or decline a position of power, or when you walk away from a cause for good.

Heart of Darkness

▶ 1 XP when you pledge to defeat a well-protected enemy who poses a major threat or discuss potential plans to take them down.
▶ 3 XP when you interrogate one of your enemy's minions or find a way around one of your enemy's defenses.
▶ 10 XP when you finally take down the villain you pledged to defeat, or when you give up the chance to do so in pursuit of a larger goal.

In Harm’s Way

▶ 1 XP when you save someone from taking a complication or pledge your protection to someone.
▶ 3 XP when someone you pledged to protect survives a dangerous scene thanks to your efforts.
▶ 10 XP when you successfully escort someone you've protected to a safe haven where they no longer need you, or when you are taken out in the course of protecting someone.

Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe

▶ 1 XP when you pledge to keep an important item from falling into enemy hands, or when you conceal such an item from a curious party.
▶ 3 XP when you defeat foes who sought the important item you are protecting or you successfully smuggle it behind enemy lines.
▶ 10 XP when you pass the important item on to those who should have it, or when you betray someone to keep the important item for yourself.

Nature’s Ally

▶ 1 XP when you choose a more natural path, method, or tool instead of another option that seems easier.
▶ 3 XP when you create an asset for an animal or a person who lives in a natural setting, or when you use foraged materials to help someone recover stress.
▶ 10 XP when you are stressed out in the course of protecting nature or when you save a wild area from destruction.

On the Run

▶ 1 XP when you reject an offer or plea by pointing out that you have to stay on the run from those pursuing you, or when you offer enemies a chance to flee.
▶ 3 XP when you finally choose a place to settle in for rest, or when you take a big risk that could draw unwanted attention.
▶ 10 XP when you leave behind people you’ve bonded with to avoid a potential threat, or when you stop running to stand your ground and defend people you care about from forces that could destroy you.

Raiders of the Lost

▶ 1 XP when you pledge to retrieve an important person or item despite substantial obstacles, or when you take a physical complication in the pursuit of such a quest.
▶ 3 XP when you defeat or avoid opposing forces who are questing after the same goal as you, or when you give up a tempting opportunity in order to stay on task.
▶ 10 XP when you get the important person or item to where it needs to be, or when you give up your quest once and for all to pursue a more personal goal.

Running the Gauntlet

▶ 1 XP when you plunge deeper into a dangerous location or unravel a cryptic enigma.
▶ 3 XP when you survive a potentially deadly trap, hazard, or ambush, or when you manage to rest for hours in a safe location.
▶ 10 XP when you successfully pass through and escape the dangerous location, or when you turn back and abandon your expedition because it’s too dangerous.

Tides of War

▶ 1 XP when you take charge of a group in the heat of battle or join a battle that is already in progress.
▶ 3 XP when you remove someone from a conflict to ensure their survival, or when you alter or disregard orders from someone of higher rank.
▶ 10 XP when you take over leadership of a team or a larger military force, or when you leave a major battle to accomplish a less aggressive goal.

Undercover

▶ 1 XP when you pass secrets from one faction to an opposing one, or when you talk to agents of your enemy as if they were your allies.
▶ 3 XP when shared danger compels you to issue commands to members of a faction you’ve infiltrated, or whenever someone tries to expose your true loyalties.
▶ 10 XP when you change or reveal your true allegiance, or when you ruin or reveal a hidden conspiracy’s plan.

Walking in Faith

▶ 1 XP when you pray with another person or perform a religious rite that has a positive effect on someone’s mental state.
▶ 3 XP when you work to make restitution for your failings, or when you create an asset for someone in pain.
▶ 10 XP when you help liberate vulnerable people out of oppressive circumstances, or when you give up on a long-pursued goal and leave it in the hands of higher power.

Without a Trace

▶ 1 XP when you contribute to planning a heist or stealthy intrusion, or when you gain info by scouting out a location.
▶ 3 XP when you skillfully avoid something or someone that would otherwise reveal your presence.
▶ 10 XP when you attain the ultimate goal of your heist or infiltration, or when you change goals at the last minute.

Running an Adventure

Running a TorchLite game is something of an art form—but like any other artform, it has a number of techniques that you can use to build a satisfying experience. What follows are some of those techniques.

Creative Collaboration

Running an adventure with TorchLite means sharing a lot of authority and creative license with all the players around the table. Especially for GMs and players with experience in other roleplaying games, this can be a big change.

As the GM, focus on presenting threatening, open-ended challenges. Describe GMC actions with cinematic details that go for the jugular. You do not need to pull punches in TorchLite; the rules preserve the players’ ability to keep playing and having fun. They, in turn, will come up with all sorts of imaginative and descriptive ways to address challenges. Run with it—and lead from the front as the GM to encourage your players to do the same. When you incorporate their actions into your descriptions of the challenge, you create a positive feedback loop that makes the ensuing action fun and exciting.

On the bookkeeping end, you’ll also be keeping track of dwindling challenge die pools. A challenge that’s low on dice may be closer to being resolved, but that doesn’t necessarily make it less intimidating. Challenges with their backs against the wall can lash out with desperate viciousness, pull out the stops, or make a final big push. Also remember that low challenges can roll in player stresses and complications, so low blows are the order of the day. Escalate the action until the dice run out, and then describe the challenge’s defeat.

During the first session, you may not have a sense that player actions have significant impact on the world beyond their immediate environs. That’s fine; most of your mental bandwidth is focused on getting to know the characters and possibly learning rules. But after each session, you can consider how the players’ actions, character growth choices, and worldbuilding contributions effect the larger setting, and take those into account when planning future adventures and expanding the scope. A few sessions later, you may be surprised to realize in retrospect that the “insignificant” little dungeon they plundered at the beginning was the first domino to set off an epic storyline.

Epic Worldbuilding, One Bite at a Time

One of the great joys of fantasy roleplaying is the sense that you’re participating in an epic story where a vast and colorful world witnesses great dangers, astounding heroism, and the sweeping changes of history in motion. This may seem like an intimidating goal for something you do with your buddies in your free time, but TorchLite provides some simple tools you can leverage to get there. One of those is already discussed in Epic Characterization, One Bite at a Time under How Distinctions Evolve.

If one of your players decides that their character is not just an Elf but a Sea Elf, that implies that Sea Elves are significantly distinctive from other elves. Which means that, if it didn’t already, the game world includes Sea Elves as a separate type of elf. Every time the player characters encounter an elf going forward—or even if you revisit elves they met in earlier sessions—they’ll either be a Sea Elf or a different kind of elf. And that one character, who is now (and probably always was) a Sea Elf, now has a different and more nuanced relationship with all those elves.

This happens every time a player reframes one of their distinctions, creating ripple effects that can make the world of the game more varied, more nuanced, and more interesting. And it also happens more or less automatically, without requiring anybody to be paying a lot of attention to it.

That said, the GM should be a part of this process, discussing changes players want to make to their characters, taking note of such changes once they’re finalized, and determining what they might mean for the wider world of which they are a part.

If one of the players decides that they are a Sea Elf, then the GM can prepare a future adventure where their people’s island home is threatened by elves of a different type. These could be the existing elf types specified in the Peoples section (such as High Elves, Deep Elves, or Wood Elves), or new types, perhaps Snow Elves or Winged Elves or Desert Elves or whatever else might be a cool addition to the world. Playing through that adventure will give the player even more opportunities to refine their sense of what a Sea Elf is and what a Sea Elf is not.

The real magic happens when you layer multiple such inspirations on top of each other. Another player might shift from Wizard to Court Magician, so now the game has magical politics in play. And a third player combined Ogre and Ranger into Ork Ranger to make room for a new distinction, Noble Blooded. In your next adventure, you can reveal that the Sea Elf’s ancestral isle is threatened by sorcerous Winged Elf aristocrats pushing claims of inheritance from a book of lineages thought lost to history. Everybody’s interests are woven in, and the game starts producing that sense of being in a vibrant and ever-changing world.

This is an iterative process, each session building on the last, until the GM and players assemble a varied and textured world full of grabby details.

Checking for Traps (& stuff)

Adventuring necessitates exploring the unknown and adventurers have to be careful, checking for dangers that may or may not be there. The archetypal example of this is checking for traps. Other examples include spotting ambushes, searching for clues in places where there might not be anything to be found, or generally delving into the setting.

Any of these exploratory delves can be rolled as a simple test. What a success or failure means, mechanically, depends on if there’s anything there to find.

If there are traps and the roll succeeds, the character found the trap! Their effect die can be used directly against the trap to start disarming it or be turned into an asset for their forewarning or insight into the mechanism of the trap.

If there are no traps and the roll succeeds, the character knows there’s no trap. If anyone in the party is carrying Demoralized or Exhausted stress, the lack of traps is good, refreshing news, and their effect die can be used to recover that stress.

If there are traps and the roll fails, the character did not find the trap. The GM’s effect die turns into stress: either Damaged as their blundered search in fact sets off the trap, or possibly Demoralized because, after they say the room is clear and the trap goes off, somebody hurt on their watch.

If there are no traps and the roll fails, the character isn’t sure that the room is clear. The GM’s effect die can turn into Demoralized or Exhausted stress as the player deals with the looming dread of pervasive danger and doubtful safety.

The same basic principle can be applied to searching for ambushes, clues, or even loot. The trick is that a success turns the effect die into something, and a failure results in stress or complication.

Check for Communication

If the players don’t check for traps—or any number of other precautions that may seem to the GM like things the characters should have done—it’s usually best to ask if that is an intentional choice. The GM (or anybody else at the table) can simply ask “So you’re walking into the room without checking for traps?” or “Is anyone checking for traps?” This avoids two different issues.

First off, players halfway into a dungeon may assume that it’s obvious that their characters are proceeding carefully and checking for traps. Sometimes details drop out of narration but not player imaginations. Asking questions gets everybody back on the same page. If a roll is required, players can always roll when prompted.

On the other hand, players may also be portraying their characters getting reckless or passionate or desperate. In this case, it’s a characterization choice to not check for traps—but it might not be clear to the rest of the table that that’s what’s happening. A quick check-in allows players to enthusiastically concur, “Oh yeah, she’s way past being careful.” And if a roll is required here, they might even get to Hinder a distinction and earn a Ⓟ for their haste.

What Do I Know?

Sometimes players will ask, “which spells do I know?” or “what weapons am I proficient in?” or “which languages can I speak?” There’s a lot of variations on this question, ranging from alchemical recipes (and poisons, and their antidotes) to a paladin’s available medical procedures. Whichever subject prompts the question, the GM has a few options on how to answer it.

You Tell Me

One answer is, “I don’t know, what spells or weapon proficiencies or languages do you know?” This answer may sound unhelpful or overly permissive, but it can be a launchpad for player creativity. Players defining what their characters do and do not know not only helps us learn about the character but it also informs the world that produced them.

Why would a player ever say they don’t know a spell or a weapon proficiency or a language? Well if nothing else they can earn a Ⓟ—make it into a die roll and Hinder a distinction.

▶ “I’m a Fire Mage, so this kind of healing isn’t my specialty, but here we go.”
▶ “I am a Dwarf from a family of smiths, and we all fight with hammers, and this spear is light and bendy and I hate it.”
▶ “There aren’t a lot of Goblish speakers among the Humans, so I probably don’t understand…”
It may feel like you need to log all of these instances to define what does and does not fall into each distinction, but you can leave this to squishy memories. That dwarf character doesn’t have to Hinder every single roll using a spear. Instead, you can chalk it up to complex characters and dynamic circumstances.

Create a List in Prep and Downtime

Players and GMs may prefer having an explicit outline of what special knowledges characters have access to. These can be brainstormed during character creation and updated between sessions. New items might be added to reflect developments in the story or training that the character receives.

Sometimes a player might want to know something that the GM feels is beyond their character’s current capacity. Add these to a different list; they are excellent fuel for adventure goals and rewards.

This sort of list affords no bonuses or dice, but it does define narrative permission in play. Over the course of multiple adventures, using this tool can facilitate a consistent feel for players and GM alike.

Create a List in Play

Or you can hybridize the two solutions above. Whenever the “do I know that” question arises, use game mechanics to answer it. Then add the results to a list on your character sheet.

In this case you do log your hinders, or at least the interesting ones. You can also add to the list whenever you explain something as a part of your backstory or use an SFX that allows you to add a detail to the game setting.

Players might create assets for spells, languages, or other special knowledges that they have access to. Those assets are usually useful for just the scene, but that doesn’t mean the character forgets that knowledge afterwards. You can use a list to keep track of the things you’ve established your character knows. It doesn’t give you a die, but it might give you a feeling of satisfaction in a coherent story.

Get Into the Zone

Zones introduce positioning and more tactical elements to your game. They bridge between pure “theater of the mind” play and using a grid map.

Zones abstract out precise positioning of characters and objects but still provide structure, dividing a scene into distinct areas to hang exciting mechanics.

For example, the GM might create a scene with four distinct zones for an outdoor adventure. The zones are used to designate the general location of characters in the scene, and have a die rating that can be used to interact with it.

Dice & Labels

Assigning die ratings to labels is the heart of using zones. The first step is to imagine or sketch out the scene and divide it into two or more areas of varying size. Look for parts of the scene with natural boundaries or transition points that can create possibilities for drama or action. Then write descriptive labels for each and assign a die rating—the larger the rating, the more impact it can have.

Using our example, the scene might have four obvious zones: the Rope Bridge, Mist-Filled Chasm, and on either side the Narrow Trail and Rugged Trail. The chasm looms pretty big within the scene with its d12, while the rope bridge and trail zones on either side have d8 each.

Zone Distinctions

Use zones as scene distinctions—they even come with the Hinder SFX. Any character within the scene can use a zone's distinction.

Holding off some bad guys on the Narrow Trail while your friends escape across the Rope Bridge can add its d8 to your pool instead of one of your distinctions. When scuffling with bad guys on the Rugged Trail, you could Hinder the distinction and describe how it’s difficult to keep your footing. Rope Bridge can likewise be a help or a hindrance depending on how the character is using it.

Zone Complications

Some zones don't contain good things. These are zone complications, from flames to toxic gas to a hail of arrows. Like zone distinctions, a clever character can add a zone complication die against another character.

The Mist-Filled Chasm gets a Hazard complication. Getting knocked or thrown into this zone is dangerous and getting taken out may leave you lost in the mists.

Zone Traits

Sometimes a zone has a trait that allows it to do something on its own without a character having to act on it. This is neither a complication nor a distinction, so the other characters can’t use the trait directly.

We can give the Rope Bridge a trait called Sway rated at d10. The GM can call for a test, rolling Sway d10 in the pool, with failure earning a PC an Off-Balance or Queasy complication.

Zone SFX

Spice up zones by giving them SFX. These can let zones interact.

Let’s give the Mist-Filled Chasm a Gust of Wind SFX that lets the GM spend a Ⓟ or step down the chasm’s Hazard to step up the bridge’s Sway. The wind might clear away a little mist, but makes the swaying a formidable d12!

Targeting Zones

Zones can be acted upon directly. This may attempt to step down or remove a zone complication or add a new one.

A character might make a test and target the Rope Bridge to create a new Broken Planks zone complication, discouraging pursuit.

Movement & Range

Characters can usually move freely anywhere within a zone or move to an adjacent zone on their turn. Some zones can be a barrier or bottleneck, like the Mist-Filled Chasm funnelling into the bridge.

An obstacle within one or more of these zones may make a test necessary to move zones. A particularly large zone might have a complication named something like Great Distance; characters must remove that complication to reach the far side of the zone.

Similarly, zone borders can inform difficulty in a ranged test. The number of zones determines die size. Within the same zone use d6s, one zone away d8s, two zones d10s, etc. Use two of these dice for test difficulty. In an opposed roll where range is a factor, the GM may add one of these dice to their pool.

Preparing an Adventure

It’s usually a good idea for GMs to have material prepared before running an adventure. Prepared adventures come in many different forms, formats, and levels of detail. What works best for you is a matter of preference, skill and interest in improvisation, and sheer mental bandwidth.

While different approaches will be discussed, in the end, GM preparation happens on a continuum. On one end is meticulous, detailed planning that thoroughly details the setting and events and prepares a number of options for the PCs. On the other end is not planning at all and just making it up as you go along, letting the players’ actions be your guide. Most GMs actually end up somewhere in between. What matters most is finding the method that best inspires your creativity while also fitting into the amount of time you have to plan.

Ample Prep

The most elaborate preparations provide many things, but central to those offerings are locations and challenges. They also often have a map, because maps are cool. Published adventures usually fall in this first category— whether those adventures are intended for TorchLite or whether you are adapting a scenario from another fantasy tabletop RPG.

At this level of preparation, each location is described,, along with guidelines for how to run one or more scenes there. In many published adventures, there is special narrative text (often formatted with a box around it) that the GM can paraphrase or read aloud to the players to provide a vivid explanation of what their characters perceive. Locations may have scene or zone distinctions to make things interesting and list the challenges that can be confronted there.

The challenges are presented as complete trait blocks, often with juicy signature assets and SFX, and may include notes for adjusting their difficulties.

This level of detail is a lot of work—especially for one GM preparing their own scenario for a single playthrough. Luckily, this amount of preparation is not necessary to run a fun game.

Playing from a Sketch

GMs who are comfortable doing so can run an adventure on a lot less. A simple map with notes on what can be found where can provide the backbone for an enjoyable adventure. Sketching out challenges ahead of time can let you brainstorm fun signature assets and SFX, but the game will also work just fine with a challenge that is just a die pool with no additional mechanics.

As mentioned above, GMs can take adventures prepared for other games and use these as a sketch, adding TorchLite mechanics as they go. You can take any encounter title, add a pool of dice to it for a challenge pool, and then append a die rating to key descriptive words in its description: now you’ve got a challenge with interactive elements.

Improvise

Some experienced GMs can run adventures without any preparation at all, relying entirely on a well-developed sense of pacing and challenge. Locations are improvised as the players go, with challenges made up on the spot by throwing together a die pool and an appropriate SFX or two.

There’s a lot of advantages to this approach, especially since it can end that climactic showdown just as your available time is coming to a close. It is, however, a complex balancing act that should not be undertaken by GMs who aren’t well-versed in running TorchLite adventures.

Adventure Blocks

The pieces of a prepared TorchLite adventure—challenges, tests, locations, and scenes—can all be thought of as blocks that you stack together to build your adventure. Any prepared adventure can be broken down into its constituent blocks, which can then be swapped out, tinkered with, or plundered for reuse in some other adventure. They’re super useful like that.

Some blocks are simple, some are complex. Some blocks are made out of other blocks.

TorchLite presents these blocks in a compact format that makes them easy to mix and match. Here’s what you can expect to find in each, allowing with some examples:

Challenge Blocks

These chunks of traits and dice are often the pillars of your adventure. The challenge block presents all the information that you will need to run the challenge, precluding page-flipping and reference-hunting. If you’re printing out your challenges, leave space for complications, assets, and Ⓟs.

A description of the challenge written to be read aloud can greatly simplify the GM task of presenting the challenge in an engaging way.

A challenge is made of:

▶ a description
▶ traits
▶ possibly SFX

Jabberwocky

This horrific abomination may have once been a bear, but perverse magic has twisted it into a hulking nightmare monstrosity the size of a cottage. It has too many arms, all of which end in claws. Its eyes and mouth glow with an eldritch green light, as do any wounds that bleed.

Twisted Abomination (Boss) d10 d10 d10

Drive: Devour Prey d10

Drive: Destroy Threats d8

Jaws that Bite d12

Claws that Catch d8

Eyes of Flame d12

All-Out Attack: Spend a Ⓟ to target multiple opponents when you roll to inflict Damaged. For each additional target, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die.

Location Blocks

The exciting sets and locales of your adventure are described by location blocks. Elements of backstory and setting can be embedded in locations, which brings those elements up close and personal for the players. While not every location will end up hosting an action sequence, preparing for that eternal possibility is not a bad idea.

In the location description, try to highlight at least three senses—scent, taste, touch, even balance, in addition to sight and sound—to ground your players in a sense of place. A location description written to be read aloud can greatly simplify the GM task of setting the scene.

A location includes:

▶ a description
▶ one or more zones (which might have traits or SFX)
▶ potential assets that players might create

Tulgey Wood

Shadowy woodland spreads out before you, tangled with with gnarled trucks and thick undergrowth. Distant birdsong and the constant creaking of boughs in the wind are interrupted only occasionally by the rustle of some unseen, foraging animal. The air is cloying with humidity, and the rich smell of leaves mulching into soil is pervasive. Under the canopy of dark leaves, it’s hard to follow the thin dirt road that winds through the trees.

The Wood stretches for leagues in either direction. A number of trails fork off of the road and are often difficult to distinguish from the main road. Most lead to stagnant ponds, long-abandoned homesteads, or dissipate into dead ends.

Zones

Thin Dirt Road d8

This Isn’t the Road: when you discover you’ve followed a useless fork in the road, gain Demoralized d6 and a Ⓟ.

Shadows and Brambles d8

High Among the Creaking Boughs d8

Death from Above: when you attack a target on the ground, step up your effect die.

Potential Assets

Hunting Blind, Bandersnatch Larvae (good eating!), Curious Mushrooms, Jubjub Plumage (prized as emblems of bravery), Treetop Vantage

Scene Blocks

A scene block is mostly made up of other blocks. This preparation itemizes all the resources that you expect to use when running the scene. You can format a scene in two different ways.

The simplest format refers to all the other blocks, which appear elsewhere. This format presents the scene as a list of blocks. When you start the scene, run down the list to make sure you have the other blocks handy. An example of this format is below.

The second format includes all the other blocks in the scene block. This can be very handy at the table, but often requires that some blocks appear multiple times in an adventure. Examples of this format can be found in the sample adventure Murmurs in the Mire.

A scene includes:

▶ a description
▶ one or more locations in which it takes place
▶ a challenge or tests to confront
▶ possibly a scene distinction
Players can confound your scene expectations, but in most instances you can use most of the same blocks. You only need a little spin to reflect the players’ unexpected agenda.

For instance, if the players decide to cleanse the cursed Jabberwocky instead of hunt it, they’ll still need to track it down in the Tulgey Wood, and you can run the cleansing as an action sequence with the beast resisting or disrupting the cleansing ritual.

Hunting the Jabberwocky

When the players return to Tulgey Wood, they do so as hunters, tracking down the Jabberwocky. Give the players some time to prepare, get the lay of the land, and discuss their strategy. Run the bulk of the hunt as an action sequence. Keep the action moving, ranging all over the wood.

Location

Use Tulgey Wood. The Jabberwocky will not leave the wood, but players may need to escape the location if things go south.

Challenges and Tests

Use tests to make preparations (create assets) and to track down the beast (an asset on success, an ambush by the Jabberwocky on failure).

Use the Jabberwocky as the single challenge in an action sequence. When the Jabberwocky’s boss trait is depleted, it is captured, slain, or pacified.

Scene Distinction

On the Hunt! d8

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: when you use an asset created by another player, double it for any roll and step it down afterwards.

Test Blocks

It may seem superfluous to prepare tests, but the benefit is not just gathering all the bits of information you need (which is still handy). brainstorming the things players might do expands your sense of possibilities. Sometimes that leads you to add elements to other parts of the adventure, increasing depth and detail.

A test is simple:

▶ a description
▶ a difficulty
▶ possibly an asset cap
▶ possibly a way to organize multiple tests
Crossing Tulgey Wood

Players may cross the wood with a series of tests. Ask who is leading the way. Direct every other player to make a roll to assist (or cause trouble); successes create assets for the lead player while failures create complications. Anyone riding in a wagon may make a recovery roll instead of a travel roll.

The lead player can then make a capstone roll for the crossing. The players reach their destination no matter the result; failure inflicts Exhausted stress on everyone who rolled.

Roll d8 d8 for all difficulties.

Zone Blocks

You can think of zones as blocks, too, especially since they can be swapped out or harvested for other adventures very easily.

The Five Scene Adventure

A five scene adventure is a prepared adventure format composed of five prepared scenes designed to tell a complete story. This adventure structure is as old as tabletop RPGs, and has been codified by Johnn Four as the Five Room Dungeon methodology. What follows is a riff on this classic structure, optimized for TorchLite.

These are the five scenes you will prepare ahead of time:

▶ The Portcullis
▶ The Exploration
▶ The Catch
▶ The Boss
▶ The Loot

Collectively, the five prepared scenes vary the spotlight between the player characters and provide the outline of an adventurous tale. Actual play through will include additional scenes as you transition and respond to player interest and side treks. Laid out here are the elements you can prepare for.

There is an example Five Scene Adventure: Murmurs in the Mire.

The Premise

Before you begin play, the premise is a short bit of exposition where the GM establishes expectations:

You are about to attempt daring heist to steal a priceless artifact that each of you has their own reasons for wanting.

The twin moons will only align once this century. Cultists gather to complete a perverse sacrifice; can you stop them?

Success or failure will be measured against the expectations of the premise. Engage in some light foreshadowing of things that may unfold. The quality of a plot twist will owe its seeds to the buy-in created here before the adventure proper even begins.

While the Premise is presented first in a prepared adventure, it’s often written last. It’s a lot easier to make promises if you already know what’s in the rest of the adventure!

Importantly, the Premise is not a scene. There are no significant choices to make at this stage, so don’t give the players the impression that there are. Answer all of their questions with short answers: either give away information that they could plausibly get their hands on from outside of the adventure (such as asking around town before entering its haunted mine) or tell them that the information they seek is simply not available until the adventure starts. It is strongly recommended that you completely avoid rolling dice during the premise: that’s for the adventure.

The premise is also a great opportunity to take care of a couple little tasks that need doing at the top of every game.

Go around the table and have the players give their character name, pronouns, and distinctions. In the first session this is a compact introduction; in later sessions it can be a useful reminder of what to expect from each character.

Next review, and adjust if necessary, the session and character milestones. These are the initial promises of what lies ahead. They’ll directly translate as a measure of success when XP is tabulated.

Now cut to the action. Don’t waddle around in a tavern all session. Adventure lies ahead!

The Portcullis

A warded entrance, a deep jungle trek, a giant spider: any of these can serve as an obstacle.

Something, someone, or some monster has blocked regular folk from getting at the rest of the adventure. Only our adventurers can crack the seal and get at the excitement inside.

The portcullis is what marks this as an adventure. This is where the roleplaying really begins. Start with assumptions of a gathered party facing a common threat. The goal here is to spotlight the characters and establish them as the main cast. Let them show off as they lay waste to the entrance guardian or cleverly bypass the traps which have thwarted the others.

Aim to have everyone roll some dice at least once in this scene. By the time you make it around the table everyone will have had an opportunity to learn or refresh themselves on how the game works.

A challenge or mob fight allows the player’s to show their character’s abilities and feel competent. The challenge or mob used should be relatively simple: fewer SFX and signature assets compared to the Boss. This keeps the mechanical spotlight and game rules (re-)introduction focused on the players.

The Exploration

Mysterious locations are a core element of TorchLite gameplay. This scene’s goal is twofold: first, it provides more information about the site’s context, history, and significance. The challenges the players overcome leak details that give them an idea of where they are and what they’re up against. Secondly, the Exploration gives players opportunities to showcase their characters outside the action of combat.

The party may split into concurrent explorations here, gathering details and resources in different locations. These smaller explorations are still considered part of the same major scene even if their characters are in separate locations. They can then come back together to establish key discoveries and plot points or face a puzzle spotlighting the adventure.

Asset creation is the typical mechanical spotlight in the exploration scene. Survey the reveal SFX that the players have available and provide opportunities for them to be called upon. Alternately, you can provide a reveal SFX on the scene distinction. If there is combat to be had in this scene, it is best resolved with simple tests against minor monsters or GMCs.

The Catch

The captured villain is only a lackey, the guiding diary has been stolen, or all the villagers along the way have been turned to stone: every engaging story has a low point for the character’s morale. In TorchLite, this is the point where the players must find a way forward through adversity. If they are doing well, it is an unpredictable surprise that threatens to derail their success; if things have gone poorly, it is a situation that gets worse as a result of their past failures.

This scene is built in two parts: a monkeywrench and a setback. The monkeywrench is a twist, reveal, or plot development that can complicate the PCs’ plan. The setback is made up of consequences and difficulties that the PCs will have to push through to continue.

The Monkeywrench

The monkeywrench can be a sudden betrayal from a trusted ally, the revelation of a hidden agenda, or the temptation of a distracting side quest. It should create a moment of shock and uncertainty for the players. The secret door grinds open and the tell-tale stench of undeath—there weren’t supposed to be zombie in here!—emanates from within.

...and the Setback

The setback, on the other hand, is a direct roadblock or confrontation with the impact on the world. These can include physical barriers, emotional turmoil, or moral dilemmas. The purpose of the setback is to test the resilience and determination of the characters, pushing them to their limits and forcing them to make difficult choices. Establish a challenge pool and measure the impact of those decisions.

The trick is that while the monkey-wrench is optional, the setback is not. Sometimes the players will provide their own monkeywrench, either because they made some… questionable choices, or because their dice betrayed them. If the PCs fail horribly in an early scene, you can catch them with the setback. It’s a dire consequence that you have ready to go.

If the players have breezed through everything so far and haven’t made any spectacular blunders, you can still use the setback by employing the monkeywrench. Because the monkeywrench is some element that the heroes could not have foreseen or some nefarious action taken by the big bad, the fallout of the setback isn’t the players’ fault… but they still have to deal with it.

Use the Catch to spotlight a character the other scenes won’t, or for an extra dose of the table’s main play preference. Give them another clash if their blades are thirsting, a library research scramble for the plotters and thinkers, or a reveal scene that the big bad is one of the heroes’ former lovers.

The Boss

Facing the dragon in her lair, the mummy in his tomb, or the corrupt mayor at city hall, the boss scene is the high point confrontation of the adventure.

Lay out the scene. Lavish on the details. “Yes and …” the players as they ask clarifying questions. This is the finale. Put it all on the table.

While this scene obviously calls for a boss (built with signature assets and SFX, with more and/or larger dice than the portcullis), always add at least one and maybe even two other challenges: a mob of lackeys, an unfolding crisis, or the challenge that the heroes are here to stop and the boss is merely in their way. Mobs and other challenge pools act each round, but once the boss is defeated the scene draws to a close. Any remaining threats flee or fall.

Frame the scene dynamically: move cinematically through multiple rooms or zones, bob and weave the confrontation around large support columns, or split the party into two concurrent scenes, both of which require success. Keep the tempo and pressure up.

The Loot

A pile of coins, the map to the Lost Halls, or the final ingredient to cure the prince, the loot is about staking out a flashy victory. The bards will entice you with their tales, using the loot to tease you, “Do you know the one about the Blade of Dandelyn?” The loot is about bringing together the whole tale and creating a memorable moment.

The Loot is where the GM and players resolve the questions and promises posed back in the premise of the adventure. Who was the real villain? What is in the Dragon’s hoard? Is the harvest saved?

This type of scene is often called a tag scene. It's an explicit closing and falling action after the final conflict. It is a specific call out to tie things up and establish closing narratives. Not all tables, and not all sessions running short on time, will resolve this with many, or even any, die rolls. Read the room and the clock to find what works best for your game.

Beyond the story wrap up, bookkeeping review for milestones, wealth improvement, and XP expenditure happen here. You might incorporate these elements into your tag scenes or make these changes “off camera.”