The Crone
The day wears on…
Our path takes us through a wooded meadow of lilac and honeysuckle. Tiny sparrows peck about our feet; white butterflies flutter among the flowers.
We stop by a brook to refill our waterskins, when one of us discovers something strange in their pack. It is a fist-sized effigy of an old woman, slyly smiling. No one gifted us the figurine; it seems to have appeared of its own accord. Disturbed by its presence, we toss the effigy into the brook and continue on our way.
But alas, our efforts are in vain. At our next stop, we discover the effigy tucked into another traveller’s pack. Though we discard it over and over, the figurine dogs us through the afternoon, reappearing each time in our possession — ever larger, ever more unsettling. Would that we could rid ourselves of this strange token!
The Challenge
Play a game of Old Maid! The goal is to not be the traveller who ends up with the Crone.
Take the deck. Count out a pile of cards equal to 2x the number of players.
Replace one of these cards with the Crone.
Shuffle the new deck you’ve just created and deal two cards at random to each traveller. Travellers cannot discuss or communicate.
If any traveller receives a pair of matching numbers, they may discard the pair. Note: the Crone cannot make pairs and can never be discarded.
The Reader then offers their hand, facedown, to the traveller to their left.
The second traveller draws one card from the Reader’s hand and adds it to their own hand.
If the newly drawn card forms a pair with any of the cards in the second traveller’s hand, they may discard the pair.
The traveller then offers their own hand to the traveller on their left. Play proceeds in this way around the circle.
The game ends when every traveller has offered their hand and drawn five times, or if any traveller notices that the Crone has made it once all the way around the circle.
Success. If the Crone does not make it all the way around the circle, then the Challenge is passed — but the traveller who finishes with the Crone will lose out.
Failure. If the Crone makes it all the way around the circle, the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the traveller to the right of the player who holds the Crone (i.e. the last traveller to pass the Crone on) receives the Blessing of the Crone. If the traveller who ends up with the Crone holds any Blessings, they must pass one of these to the traveller on their left.
If the Challenge is failed, all travellers suffer the Curse of the Crone. Place the Crone’s card in a designated area reserved for Curses. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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Blessings and Bargains symbolise the support of a spirit of the Elder Wood. Both offer protection against death for the traveller who wins them.
Blessings: When a spirit is pleased, it might grant its special protection to a particular traveller. Spirits who have bestowed a member of the party with their Blessing travel invisibly with them and will help to protect them when they reach the Heart of the Wood.
Travellers who win a Blessing should place the Blessing behind their Character Card so that the spirit's name and number are still visible.
Bargains: Sometimes, instead of granting its Blessing to a traveller, a spirit might instead offer a conditional protection called a Bargain. Bargains symbolise a trade between spirit and traveller; the spirit protects the traveller, but its influence affects the traveller's behaviour. The traveller must obey the Bargain rules written on the spirit's card so long as they possess the Bargain. In return, the spirit will convert its Bargain to a Blessing in the Heart of the Wood, thus helping the traveller survive.
Travellers who win a Bargain should place the Bargain card face-up to one side of their Character Card, so that they can read the card's Bargain rules.
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When a spirit is displeased by the party, it will lay its Curse upon them. Curses have dire consequences. The more Curses a party gathers, the more lives will be claimed in the Heart of the Wood. Furthermore, if a party incurs three Curses, the Wood's spirits will reject them and they will be forced to flee for their lives, ending the game.
When you incur a Curse, place it in a designated area of the table so that all travellers are aware of it.
By the time dusk paints the trees purple, the figurine has grown to the size of a man’s head. We smash the ancient woman’s effigy to pieces against a nearby tree. It does not appear again.
Re-form the deck before continuing.