How to Play

1. Set up your heroes

Each player makes a hero in under a minute. Give your hero one point each in three traits — Brave (fighting and daring), Clever (sneaking, puzzles, and tricks), and Kind (talking, calming, and caring for others) — then put one bonus point into whichever trait fits your hero best. So most heroes end up with one trait at +2 and the other two at +1.

Every hero starts with 8 Heart Points and a Guard of 10 + Brave. That's it — pick a name, describe what your hero looks like, and you're ready to play.

2. Making a check

Whenever a hero tries something risky or uncertain — sneaking past a guard, talking a monster down, spotting a clue, balancing across a ledge — roll a d20 and add the trait that fits best. If the total meets or beats the scene's Difficulty Number (DN), it works. Every adventure's DM notes suggest which trait and DN fit each moment, but the DM can always call something new on the spot.

• DN 10 — Easy. Most heroes succeed most of the time.
• DN 13 — Medium. A real chance of failing, especially with a low trait.
• DN 16 — Hard. Worth a good plan or a lucky roll.

Failing a check is never the end of the story — it just means things get a little harder, or take a different path.

3. Fighting (when it comes to that)

To attack, roll a d20 and add Brave. If the total meets or beats the target's Guard, it's a hit — the target loses Heart Points equal to the attack's listed damage (shown on each monster's stat block, like "1d6 Heart Points"). Monsters attack back the same way, against the hero's own Guard.

If a hero's Heart Points reach 0, they're not defeated forever — they're just worn out and sit out for the rest of that scene, cheering the others on. They're back to full Heart Points at the start of the next scene. Every adventure on this site is written so a fight is never the only way through — there's almost always a way to talk, sneak, or think your way past instead.

4. Picking a session length

Every adventure page has five session-length buttons, from a 15-minute Quick Quest up to a 90-minute-plus Epic Session. Longer lengths add extra scenes — a puzzle, a twist, a bonus side-quest — on the way to the same big final scene, so you can always fit the story to however much time you actually have that day.

Tips for a first-time DM

• Read the "Read aloud" box for each scene out loud, word for word if you like — it's written to set the scene without you having to improvise.
• The "DM notes" under each scene tell you what to do next and roughly what the DN should be — treat them as a guide, not a strict script.
• It's okay to say yes to a clever idea a player has that isn't written down anywhere — that's most of the fun.
• Keep the free digital dice roller open in another tab if nobody has physical dice handy.