The Raven
The day wears on…
We walk, the monotony of our journey already setting in. The barren trees gaze pityingly down at us, their fallen limbs a crunch beneath our boots.
In the silence, we hear the flutter of feathers. On a branch high above us perches a raven. Its feathers shimmer like oil as it turns its bead-black eyes upon us. As we return its gaze, we feel a strange sensation overcome us. Horrified, we realise we can no longer move — no longer even blink.
The Challenge
Defeat the Raven in a staring contest.
Prepare a stopwatch.
Close your eyes, count to three as a party, then open your eyes and begin. Start the stopwatch simultaneously.
When any traveller blinks, that traveller is eliminated.
The final traveller to be eliminated wins the game. Stop the stopwatch immediately.
HELP FROM AN ITEM
If any traveller carries a QUILL, they may begin five seconds after everyone else.
Success. If the winning traveller does not blink for at least thirty seconds, then the Raven is defeated and the Challenge is passed.
Failure. If all travellers are eliminated before thirty seconds have elapsed, then the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the winning traveller wins the Blessing of the Raven.
If the Challenge is failed, all travellers suffer the Curse of the Raven. Place the Raven’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.
At last the raven flutters its wings — caws in disapproval. Taking flight, it wings its way into the trees.