Situations and Mysteries

At the start of a Situation, the Referee should share relevant information about the locale and whatever has drawn the Wardens there. Generally there will be some kind of time pressure; err on the side of giving more information about time than less.

During a situation, players ask questions about the world or say what their Wardens do, and the Referee answers their questions or says what the world does in response. All other rules follow from this conversation. See Risks and Dice for resolving uncertainty.

Time

The day is divided into four six-hour watches: morning, afternoon, evening, and night. A watch is the basic unit of time for travel, investigation, and exploration. Some times of day may be more auspicious for certain actions.

Mysteries

When the Wardens arrive at a mystery or inexplicable phenomenon, the Referee will note it in their logbook. Publishing a solution to a mystery grants all Wardens Renown. Usually, a Situation will start with a Mystery and one or two more will develop during the course of the Wardens’ investigation.

Investigation

Generally, as in Landmark, Hidden, Secret, some information doesn’t even require effort to learn. In other cases the Wardens have to put in elbow grease. There aren’t hard-and-fast rules for spending time investigating, but here are some guidelines for common situations:

• Canvas: The Wardens spend a watch asking questions of everyone in a village or district. If they have specific questions, ask roughly one per participating Warden. At the Referee’s discretion, a Threat Roll may be required if the Wardens have a poor reputation in the area.
• Scour: The Wardens spend a watch looking over an area of interest without disturbing it (more Wardens means larger area). The process can be expedited, though this may require a Threat Roll and will leave evidence of a search (drawers open, stones overturned, etc).
• Research: The Wardens consult documents or artifacts. If less than a watch is spent, there is a chance of false information mixed in to the results. A Threat Roll may also be required for obscure sources.

At the Referee’s discretion, information gained may be substituted for 1 Insight (the Wardens can request Insight directly as well).

Ending a Situation

After a Situation, when the Wardens have returned to Twill, follow these steps:

1. Wardens should clear their Guard and Wounds (but not Scars!), restore all their Aether, un-mark any Ideals (but don’t un-cross-out any Burned Ideals!), and marked Gear.
2. Apportion Renown.
3. The Referee should note down any loose ends to be re-integrated into their prep.
4. The Wardens should pay to restock their vessel and pay for their lifestyle while at home.
5. Each player should decide on their Downtime Action. The Referee should take a turn for the seasonal holiday, if a new season is being brought in. Remember that Wardens are paid their salary on holidays.
6. Embark on the next Situation.