Environment Breakdown

Each environment’s stat block presents the statistics you need to utilize them in play. The following example illustrates this format. Each stat block contains the following elements:

Name

Each environment stat block has a unique name—in this case, a Raging River.

Tier

Each environment is designed to challenge PCs of a certain tier. If you use environment stat blocks from other tiers, you might want to adjust their statistics, such as their Difficulty and adversaries.

Type

The environment’s type appears alongside its tier, representing the type of scene it most easily supports. The Raging River is a Traversal environment, meaning that the threats and obstacles the PCs encounter there will most likely be physical in nature.

Description

An evocative one-line summary of the environment.

Impulses

Each environment has “impulses,” or the narrative way they push and pull on those within them. Places don’t have volition, but the people and forces that comprise an environment gravitate toward certain goals and actions (such as a river rushing to carry you away or drown you, or a casino disorienting and pushing people to gamble away their money).

Difficulty

Raging River has a Difficulty of 10, which provides a baseline for action rolls made to directly oppose the elements of this environment. Individual adversaries appearing in the environment may have their own Difficulty.

Potential Adversaries

Many environments suggest specific adversaries that commonly appear in scenes with that environment. Not every listed adversary needs to appear in an environment, and you’re free to use others instead.

Features

Features provide inspiration for GM moves you can use that represent the dynamic landscape or situation.

Raging River

Tier  Traversal A swift-moving river without a bridge crossing, deep enough to sweep away most people.

Impulses: Bar crossing, carry away the unready, divide the land

Difficulty: 10

Potential Adversaries: Beasts (Bear, Glass Snake), Jagged Knife Bandits (Hexer, Kneebreaker, Lackey, Lieutenant, Shadow, Sniper)

Features

Dangerous Crossing - Passive: Crossing the river requires the party to complete a Progress Countdown (4). A PC who rolls a failure with Fear is immediately targeted by the “Undertow” action without requiring a Fear to be spent on the feature.

Have any of the PCs forded rivers like this before? Are any of them afraid of drowning?

Undertow - Action: Spend a Fear to catch a PC in the undertow. They must make an Agility Reaction Roll. On a failure, they take 1d6+1 physical damage and are moved a Close distance down the river, becoming Vulnerable until they get out of the river. On a success, they must mark a Stress.

What trinkets and baubles lie along the bottom of the riverbed? Do predators swim these rivers?

Patient Hunter - Action: Spend a Fear to summon a Glass Snake within Close range of a chosen PC. The Snake appears in or near the river and immediately takes the spotlight to use their “Spinning Serpent” action.

What treasures does the beast have in their burrow? What travelers have already fallen victim to this predator?