The Warden
The day wears on…
We walk straight through the morning. Around midday, we pause to take a rest when…
We wake suddenly, now lying on the floor of the forest. It is late afternoon, and our memories of the last few hours are hazy. Did we fall asleep? But it must be more than that — for, to our dismay, we find that we are now handcuffed to one another. Rusty manacles bind our wrists, right as paper dolls.
As we wonder in confusion at our situation, a sound echoes between the trees: barking hounds. They’re hunting for something. Could it be… us?
The Challenge
Escape your manacles while keeping your fellows imprisoned!
Each traveller uses their right hand to take hold the left wrist of the traveller to their right. A circle of manacles should be formed.
Set a timer for twenty seconds.
For twenty seconds, all travellers attempt to break their left wrist free of the traveller to their left, while holding tight with their right hand to the traveller on their right.
Success. If, after twenty seconds, at least one traveller still holds the wrist of the traveller to their right, the Challenge is passed. However, any travellers who are still imprisoned will face a harsh punishment.
Failure. If, after twenty seconds, no traveller still holds the wrist of the traveller to their right, the Challenge is failed.
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If the Challenge is passed, the traveller who still holds a wrist in their right hand wins the Blessing of the Warden. If multiple travellers do so, then the Blessing goes to the eldest.
Conversely, those travellers who are still imprisoned have been ‘arrested’. The Warden confiscates their Items. Place all Items of such prisoners to one side. A traveller may only reclaim their Item if and when they next win a Blessing.
HELP FROM AN ITEM
If any traveller carries a LETTER, the Warden mistakes it for a letter of pardon. The letter-bearing traveller may return a confiscated Item to its owner. The owner of the confiscated Item draws a random Blessing from the deck.
If the Challenge is failed, the party suffers the Curse of the Warden. 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.
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————Breaking free of the rusty chains, we cast them into the undergrowth and flee. The barking of the dogs fades to silence behind us.