How to Run the First Session and the First Campaign in Howl of Eternity
A teaching example campaign that leads the Game Master from the first scene all the way to an open region
- beginning Game Master
- a player group learning Howl of Eternity
- a GM who wants to build a first campaign as a gradual lesson in the rules
- a more experienced GM who wants a model structure for a web page
What This Page Does Differently
A beginning Game Master often does not need another list of rules. They need to see how the rules turn into a concrete session. They need to understand why to send the players first into the guild, then into the city, later into a smaller village, and finally into the wider region. This page therefore does not show the campaign as a heap of chapters, but as a gradual course in running the game.
The first chapter teaches the very basics. The players introduce themselves, roll their first dice, use their abilities for the first time, and go through their first team combat. The second chapter shows a living city, NPCs, factions, side quests, and investigation. The bonus chapter Hvozdenice explains how to write a one-shot or how to add new players. The third chapter opens the Western March as controlled freestyle, where the players can travel and choose quests, but the main story still holds together.
The aim is not to tell the GM: this is exactly how you must play. The aim is to show why the individual parts work and how they can be carried into one's own campaign. If, after reading a chapter, the GM says that they can build their own guild, their own city, or their own village with a local problem, the page has done its job.
The Learning Path of the Campaign
The campaign is built as a gradual widening of the game world. At first the world is small, safe, and easy to grasp. Then it grows larger. People, interests, locations, enemies, possibilities, and consequences are added. Thanks to this, the players and the GM learn at the same pace.
The greatest mistake of a first campaign is to start with a vast open world in which the players can do absolutely anything. That sounds beautiful, until the first player asks about the city tax laws, the second wants to buy an inn, and the third decides to follow a random pigeon because it looks suspicious. Howl of Eternity works better when freedom opens up step by step.
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Chapter I - Trials of the Adventurers Guild
World One keep and a few training rooms.GM Basic scene running, first NPC, first quest, first rolls, first combat.Players Understanding their character, gear, attack, defense, abilities, and team cooperation.Why At the start, chaos must be reduced. The guild gives the rules a story reason. -
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Chapter II - Shadows over Woulden
World One living city with several factions.GM NPC motivations, city quests, social interaction, investigation, first dungeon.Players Choosing an approach, working with information, reputation, moral decisions.Why The players already know the basic mechanics, so they can engage with a world where every figure wants something. -
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Chapter IIa - Flight to Hvozdenice
World One village and the surrounding forest.GM A one-shot, the adding of new players, a local story tied to the main thread.Players A new motivation, a shorter story, exploration, negotiation, and a final clash.Why It shows that a side module need not be cut off from the campaign. It can be a bridge into the main story. -
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Chapter III - On the Trail of the Stranger
World A wider area of the Western March.GM Controlled freestyle, type villages, travel, consequences, a main thread running across the region.Players Choosing a path, accepting or refusing quests, putting clues together, building allies.Why Only when the group has mastered the basics and the city game does it make sense to open a wider region.
Trials of the Adventurers Guild
The first chapter teaches the GM and the players the basic rules in the safe environment of the Adventurers Guild.
Story Context
The players wake up or arrive at the keep of the Adventurers Guild. They are not famous heroes yet. They are newcomers who must prove they can handle basic training. Guildmaster Teno announces to them that if they want to be admitted among adventurers, they must pass three trials.
This is an excellent start, because the GM does not have to explain the rules like a teacher at a blackboard. The rules are part of the world. The attack is learned in a practice fight, the skills in class-based training, and team cooperation in the fight against a mechanical beast. The players learn by playing.
The chapter ends with admission into the guild. That matters, because the players gain status, a first reward, and a reason to go on. They are no longer just people in a room. They are members of an organization that can send them into the city and tie them to the main story.
What the GM Learns
- How to open the first session without overwhelming the players.
- How to introduce the first authoritative NPC.
- How to run the first roleplay interaction.
- How to create the first simple quest.
- How to explain rolls directly in the scene.
- How to run the first combat without unnecessary risk of death.
- How to create the first team boss encounter.
- How to close the tutorial and open the next chapter.
What the GM Should Have Ready Before the First Session
Before the first session there is no need to prepare the whole history of the guild, a list of all members, and an exact floor plan of every corridor. The GM needs only a few working things: who welcomes the players, what is wanted from them, what three trials await them, what they will learn, and what they get at the end.
The first session should be clear. If the players see the system for the first time, they do not need to immediately tackle an open city, trade, reputation, politics, and magical artifacts. They need to know how rolls work, what their character can do, and how to survive the first fight.
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One opening location
The keep of the Adventurers Guild with a training yard, the guildmaster's hall, a gear storage room, and a few training spaces.
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One main NPC
Master Teno as guildmaster, mentor, and strict authority.
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Three short trials
An unarmed bout, individual class-based training, and a team fight against a mechanical beast.
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A simple reward
Admission into the guild, first gear, a guild sign, and permission to enter the city.
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One sentence for the continuation
Teno hints that strange reports of a wealthy stranger are appearing in Woulden.
Scene by Scene
Arrival at the Guild
The players first plant their feet in the world and introduce their characters.
- Describe the keep simply and through the senses. Stone walls, the smell of metal, the steps of newcomers, the stern looks of more experienced members.
- Let the players briefly introduce their characters. Name, appearance, class, and one motivation is enough.
- Teno explains the trials. He does not have to talk long. He should sound like a man who knows that newcomers tend to die of too much self-confidence.
The first roleplay should not be complicated. The players learn to speak in character and the GM learns to react without long monologues.
The stone hall of the guild is cold, but not empty. From the distant training yard echoes the dull crack of wood on wood, and somewhere behind a door someone is cursing in such colorful style that one could compose minor poetry out of it. Before you stands an old warrior with the face of a man who has seen enough heroes to know that most of them start out as a problem in boots.
If They Get Stuck: If the players stay silent or do not know what to say, Teno addresses them directly. He asks a simple question: name, class, the reason they are standing in the guild. That gets the scene moving.
First Trial: Unarmed Combat
The players roll attack and defense for the first time without the risk of serious failure.
- Set a simple training target in front of each player.
- Explain how an attack roll is built.
- Explain how defense is resolved.
- After the first round briefly sum up what happened and why.
- Do not let the scene run too long. It is meant to teach, not to simulate a ten-minute brawl with the furniture.
A new mechanic is best learned in isolation. Here gear, spells, and tactics are not being taught. Only the basic rhythm of attack versus defense.
Role: safe opponent
Why: Shows the players the mechanic without the stress of death.
Schopnost: None. And that is exactly the point.
The first opponent does not need a special ability. If the training dummy is throwing fireballs at the start, somewhere a pedagogical accident has happened.
Common Mistakes
- Explaining too many rules at once.
- Making the players wait too long between turns.
- Punishing the first failure too hard.
- Not telling the players what they have just learned.
Second Trial: Individual Class-Based Training
Every player understands what makes their character useful.
- Divide the training by the archetype of the character or its main style.
- Give every player a short scene where their strength is shown.
- Keep the pace. Each individual scene should be short, so the others do not wait long.
- Explain that Howl of Eternity is not only about combat. Skills, crafting, magic, observation, and support carry equal weight.
The second trial teaches the GM to work with the differences between characters. Every player should feel that their class choice has shown.
Fighter
Training of endurance, toughness, and work with a weapon.
The Fighter should understand that they are not only a source of damage but also a character who holds the line.
Marksman or Ranger
Ranged shooting, watching a moving target, or following tracks in the yard.
The Marksman learns to work with position and information.
Mage
A controlled cast of a spell and the keeping of Concentration.
The Mage should understand the strength of spells, but also their limits.
Rogue or Dark Archetype
Slipping past guards, opening a simple lock, or stealing a training object.
The Rogue should see that their strength lies in preparation and opportunity.
Cleric or Support Character
Healing a wounded newcomer, a protective enchantment, or calming a panicking trainee.
The supporter should feel that saving a turn can be as important as landing a blow.
Smith or Crafting Character
Repairing damaged armor, recognizing a weakness in a weapon, or preparing simple gear.
Crafting characters need space, otherwise they look like a Fighter with a bag of bolts.
If They Get Stuck: If a player fails their trial, do not make a shame of it. Show what did not work and give them the chance to fix it or a small lesson from the instructor. The aim is learning, not elimination.
Third Trial: Team Fight Against a Mechanical Beast
The players have to function as a party for the first time.
- Start with a simple description of the enemy and the space.
- In the first round let the players understand the boss's basic attacks.
- In the second phase add an ability or a weak point.
- Give room to different roles: someone holds the boss, someone seeks a weak point, someone heals, someone attacks.
- At the end stress that they won through cooperation.
The boss is meant to teach teamwork, not just to be a bigger pile of hit points. The players are to understand that victory arises through a combination of abilities.
A machine opponent with readable behavior, weak spots, and a single phase change.
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Weak Point — A successful Perception or tactic reveals a joint, a rune, or an overheating core.
Gives room for non-attacking actions. -
Phase Change — After a certain amount of damage, the beast changes its style of attack, for example by beginning to threaten the back line.
Teaches the players to adapt. -
Guild Safety Fuse — If someone were to fall, the instructors can stop the fight or step in.
In a tutorial there can be a safety net, because it makes sense in the story.
Do not use more than two special features. Newcomers are learning, they do not need a chess match against a steam demon.
Reward and Closure
Story: Admission into the guild.
Mechanical: Experience, basic gear, a guild sign, or access to further quests.
Emotional: The players feel they have become a party.
Next Hook: Teno mentions the first real problem in the city or offers the chance to step out into Woulden.
How to Build Your Own Version of Chapter I
You do not have to use a guild. A military camp, a mage academy, a temple trial, an arena, a training village, or a survival test in a small fortress can serve the same function. What matters is that the location naturally teaches the rules.
Three trials are a good number. The first teaches the very basics, the second lets individuals shine, the third demands cooperation. If you add a fourth or fifth, you risk turning the tutorial into a never-ending workplace safety course.
Template for Your Own Chapter
- Safe location
- Where the players learn without great risk.
- Mentor npc
- Who gives them the training.
- Trial 1 basic mechanic
- The first trial teaches the basic roll.
- Trial 2 character identity
- The second trial teaches the character's abilities.
- Trial 3 teamwork
- The third trial teaches cooperation.
- Reward
- What the characters gain.
- Next hook
- Why they go on.
Shadows over Woulden
The second chapter teaches the GM to build a living city in which the players deal with NPCs, factions, side quests, and the main mystery.
Story Context
After admission to the guild the players reach Woulden. The city is wealthy, old, walled, and at first glance full of order. But order in a city often means that disorder has better clothes and an office of its own.
Woulden lives off the trade in precious metals and stones. It has a strong watch, an influential nobility, merchants, a temple, and an underworld. That is precisely why it is ideal for the second chapter. The players already know the basic rolls and combat, so now they learn how to talk to people, gather information, choose sides, and grasp that every decision can change relationships in the city.
The main mystery is Lord Taviel, a secretive wealthy foreigner who is buying land and gaining influence. No one knows where he came from or what he wants. The players can shadow him, question people, work with the watch, deal with the nobility, or turn to the underworld. Every road is different, but all of them gradually show that Taviel is part of a greater threat.
What the GM Learns
- How to build a city through factions, not through an endless list of streets.
- How to write NPCs with motivations, fears, and resources.
- How to run an investigation with several paths to the truth.
- How to create side quests of different kinds.
- How to work with reputation and consequences.
- How to build the first urban dungeon.
- How to end the chapter with the revealing of a greater threat.
What the GM Should Have Ready Before the First Session in the City
A city can feel demanding, because in theory anything can exist in it. In practice it is enough to prepare a few centers of power. Every center has someone who wants something. Once you know that, the city begins to react naturally.
The GM should not begin with a map of every street. They should begin with the question: who in the city holds power, who wants more of it, who is afraid of Taviel, and who wants to profit from him?
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City identity
Woulden is a wealthy, walled city with a long tradition and a trade in precious stones.
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Main mystery
A secretive foreigner, Taviel, is buying up land and gaining influence.
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Five factions
The Adventurers Guild, the city watch, the nobility, the merchants, the underworld, and the temple.
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Three main NPCs
Teno as mentor, Gideon as the law, Selina as the nobility, Ilkar as the underworld, Taviel as the mystery.
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Three types of quest
The Taviel investigation, side city quests, an abandoned house as a finale.
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One clear transition onward
Taviel escapes or leaves a trail leading into the Western March.
How to Design a City for RPG Play
A city is not interesting because it has twenty shops. It is interesting because every merchant knows something, owes someone, fears someone, or covers for someone. The GM only needs to prepare types of places that have a game function.
Woulden has a market, a tavern, a palace, a temple, a watch house, and a forgotten quarter. That is not a random list. Every place teaches a different type of play: trade, gossip, politics, knowledge, the law, and dangerous exploration.
Moonstone Market
Function Trade, first contact, public scene.
Use the buzz of the crowd, prices, traders' arguments, and the discreet movement of Taviel's people. The market is a good place for shadowing, an unobtrusive meeting, or a sudden conflict.
GM Question: Who here is selling something, who is looking for something, and who is pretending only to be shopping?
The Bloody Wolf Tavern
Function Gossip, contacts, mercenaries, underworld.
The tavern is a place where the players can learn a great deal, but little of it for free. Every piece of information may cost a drink, a favor, or a promise.
GM Question: Who sits in the corner, who is listening, and who looks too drunk to be truly drunk?
City Watch House
Function The law, records, obstacles, the legitimate path.
The watch house should not be just a door to information. The players must show a reason, a reputation, or proof. Otherwise Gideon Vance sends them away.
GM Question: What must the players bring so the law begins to believe them?
Temple of Light
Function Healing, old scriptures, spiritual authority.
The temple may know legends, but it need not want to share forbidden texts. The players may look here for the origin of a symbol, a curse, or a ritual.
GM Question: Which truth is too dangerous for the temple to make public?
Forgotten Quarter
Function A dark passage from the city into the dungeon.
Use silence, abandoned houses, burned walls, and the feeling that the city itself does not wish to look this way. Here the city chapter turns into the exploration of a dangerous place.
GM Question: Why is this place not spoken of, and who wants it to stay that way?
How to Create an Urban NPC
In the city the players meet more figures than in the guild. So that the GM does not get lost, every important NPC must have a simple profile. Not a long biography, but a game function. Who are they? What do they want? What can they give the players? What will they do if the players betray them?
The best NPCs are not good or evil. They are useful, dangerous, frightened, ambitious, or tired. The players will remember them by how the NPCs treated them and what was demanded of them.
NPC Template
- Name
- Name of the NPC
- Role
- Function in the city.
- Public face
- How they appear at first glance.
- Real motivation
- What they really want.
- Fear
- What they fear.
- Resource
- What they can offer.
- Price
- What they demand in return.
- If helped
- What they do if the players help them.
- If crossed
- What they do if the players betray them.
- Dialogue style
- How they speak.
Master Teno
Guild mentor and connector to the adventuring thread.
Public Face: A stern, old, experienced warrior.
Motivation: Wants stability in the city and the truth about Taviel.
Fear: That young adventurers will cause more harm than good.
Offers: Guild information, training, quest hand-outs, authority.
Price: He wants results and discipline.
Short sentences, a practical tone, no needless flattery.
Gideon Vance
Commander of the city watch.
Public Face: A hard, suspicious man of the law.
Motivation: To keep order in Woulden.
Fear: That Taviel or the adventurers will upset the city.
Offers: Records of arrivals, access to investigations, watch support.
Price: Evidence, lawful conduct, or reputation.
Matter-of-fact, impatient, he wants concrete answers.
Lady Selina Aldrich
An influential noblewoman.
Public Face: Elegant, polite, and dangerously calm.
Motivation: To preserve or extend her influence.
Fear: That Taviel will shift the balance of power out of her reach.
Offers: Access to the nobility, money, invitations, political information.
Price: A favor, discretion, or the removal of a rival.
Politeness, double meanings, every sentence can be a compliment or a threat.
Ilkar
Representative of the underworld or master of the thieves' guild.
Public Face: A calm man who knows too much.
Motivation: To preserve the balance of the underworld and gain return favors.
Fear: That Taviel will bypass or swallow the city's underworld.
Offers: Secret information, thieves' routes, false papers, dirty work.
Price: A favor, a share, or silence.
He speaks slowly, never says more than he must.
Lord Taviel
A secretive antagonist and the center of the main mystery.
Public Face: A wealthy foreigner who appears polite and self-assured.
Motivation: Building a network of influence, temples, supplies, and magical instruments.
Fear: Too early an exposure of his plan.
Offers: Money, magic, servants, information, and the ability to vanish.
Price: He never gives anything without gaining something from it.
Calm riddles, unfinished answers, the feeling that he knows more than everyone else in the room.
How to Build Quests in the City
Urban quests are great because they need not begin with a fight. They can begin with gossip, a plea, a trade offer, a threat, or a simple suspicion. What matters is that the quest offer more than one path.
A good urban quest has a visible problem, a hidden truth, several possible solutions, and consequences. If the players help the watch, the underworld notices. If they help the underworld, the watch stops trusting them. If they help everyone, they probably lie so well they should be given their own office.
Quest Template
- Name
- Quest name
- Giver
- Who gives the quest.
- Visible problem
- What seems to be the problem.
- Hidden truth
- What is really going on.
- Approaches
- ['lawful', 'diplomatic', 'commercial', 'secret', 'violent']
- Complication
- What goes wrong midway.
- Reward
- Money, information, reputation, an item, or an ally.
- Consequence
- How the relationships in the city change.
- Connection to main plot
- How the quest may point to Taviel or the Black Tower.
Hunter of the Nameless
Giver Gideon Vance
Visible Problem: Persons without records are appearing in the city.
Hidden Truths (choose one)
- They are Taviel's messengers.
- They are agents of another faction.
- They are people influenced by magic.
- It is a false trail laid by someone.
Lesson: An investigation quest does not have to have a single path. The players should be able to gain a clue through observation, diplomacy, stealth, or a clever plan.
Link to Main Plot: One of the persons may carry the symbol of the Black Tower or a message about the land Taviel is buying.
Silver in the Dark
Giver Dariel Sorran
Visible Problem: A merchant wants to move silver in secret to evade taxes.
Hidden Truths (choose one)
- Dariel is only dodging taxes.
- The silver serves to fund a political coup.
- Dariel is unknowingly working for Taviel's network.
- The shipment is bait for thieves.
Lesson: A morally gray quest teaches the players that the reward is not always the same as the right decision.
Link to Main Plot: The silver may be earmarked for the purchase of land tied to Taviel.
The Lost Alchemist
Giver The temple or a city scholar
Visible Problem: An alchemist has vanished and his workshop is empty.
Hidden Truths (choose one)
- He was abducted for his knowledge.
- An experiment got out of hand.
- He himself went into hiding because he learned something about Taviel.
- His disappearance covers the unlawful making of potions.
Lesson: This quest is good for combining Perception, magic, social interaction, and potential combat.
Link to Main Plot: The alchemist may have learned that someone is buying substances for a Black Tower ritual.
How to Run the Main Taviel Investigation
An investigation must not stall on a single roll. If the players fail in diplomacy with a guard, that does not mean the campaign is over. It means the information will be gained another way, later, or at a higher price.
The main clue should exist in several forms. The watch has records, the merchant has an account book, the underworld knows the name of an intermediary, the temple knows an old symbol, and the nobility knows who was invited to a closed dinner.
Truth: Taviel is buying land in the old part of the city.
- Clue 1: A record at the watch house.
- Clue 2: A merchant's account book.
- Clue 3: A servant of Lady Selina overheard a conversation about the forgotten quarter.
Truth: Taviel is gathering magical or alchemical objects.
- Clue 1: The missing alchemist had a list of orders.
- Clue 2: Someone at the market is buying up rare ingredients.
- Clue 3: Ilkar knows about an underground trade in relics.
Truth: Taviel is tied to the symbol of the Black Tower.
- Clue 1: The symbol on the seal of a letter.
- Clue 2: The symbol carved into a hidden room.
- Clue 3: An old temple text describes the tower as a sign of fall and chaos.
GM tip: When the players miss one clue, do not just push it under their feet. Let them find another clue, but with a different consequence. That keeps the direction and the feeling of freedom.
How to Build the Finale of the City Chapter
The finale of Woulden need not be a definitive defeat of Taviel. On the contrary, it is better if the players grasp for the first time that Taviel is a bigger problem than they expected. The chapter can end with their uncovering him, finding his house, passing through traps, gaining proof, and Taviel escaping.
Taviel's abandoned house works as an urban dungeon. It is not a random crypt. It is proof that beneath the wealthy city there is a dark layer that someone has hidden for a long time.
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Riddle to find the house
The players must understand that the truth lies in the forgotten part of the city.
The riddle must not block the game forever. If the players get stuck, give them another hint through an NPC, a map, or a symbol.
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Entry puzzle
Changes the pace from investigation to exploration.
The puzzle should arise from the environment. Symbols of day and night, tiles, old books, and the silence of the house give the players the feeling they are entering something older.
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Combat room
Tests the team in an enclosed space.
The enemy may have one striking ability, for example, revival after the first death. That teaches the players that not every fight ends when they think it does.
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Alchemical puzzle
Gives room for clever solving and knowledge.
The players may guess, examine, or use skills. Failure may wound or delay them, but it must not be an automatic end.
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Room with rising water
Creates time pressure and the splitting of tasks.
This is an excellent scene for different skills. The Rogue handles the lock, the Mage the seal, the Ranger a lever, the Strong character the door. Everyone has a chance to be useful.
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Fire corridor
Tests a series of stats and skills.
Alternate Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Strength, and a Perception roll. Thanks to this it is not only about one dominant character.
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Meeting with Taviel
Reveals the face of the threat and opens the next chapter.
Taviel may vanish after several rounds. The flight of an antagonist is not cheating if the players gain proof, a direction, or a feeling of progress.
Antagonista: Taviel
- Role
- an escaping mage and manipulator
- Combat principle
- He is not meant to be the first final boss of the whole campaign. He is meant to show that he is capable, prepared, and dangerous.
- Signature idea
- After a certain time he vanishes, uses both protective and offensive spells, and leaves traces behind him.
- Balance note
- If Taviel escapes too easily, the players will be frustrated. If they can kill him too soon, the main story loses its drive. Give them victory in the form of proof, a rescue, an exposure, or the destruction of part of his plan.
What Changed
At the start of the chapter the players know only the city and a suspect foreigner. At the end they know that Taviel has a network, magic, the symbol of the Black Tower, and ties beyond the borders of Woulden. That is a good shift: the question has not vanished, it has only grown larger.
The transition into the third chapter should be concrete. The players may gain a letter, a map, the name of a village, information from Teno, or a witness statement that Taviel's people were heading into the Western March. What matters is that the continuation feel like the result of their investigation.
Flight to Hvozdenice
The bonus chapter teaches the GM to build a one-shot or an entry module for new players that ties naturally into the main story.
Story Context
New players or a replacement group do not begin as random characters someone found at the table in a tavern. They begin as refugees from the Empire, falsely accused of treason by a powerful magnate. They had to flee, and their road has brought them into Hvozdenice.
Hvozdenice is a forest village that lives off the felling of timber. It smells of resin, the saw hums, and in the evening it locks itself against something that moves between the trees. Elder Dobromila takes the wanderers in, but tells them plainly that whoever wants to stay must put their hand to the work.
The main problem is the missing woodcutters, strange runes, and an awakened forest giant. After it is defeated the players find a letter with Taviel's seal. With that the local story ties into the main campaign.
What the GM Learns
- How to add new players to a running campaign.
- How to build a one-shot with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
- How to write a village as a compact game setting.
- How to create a local problem that has a link to the main threat.
- How to run the exploration of a forest and work with atmosphere.
- How to end a side module with a trail into the main story.
How to Write a Village as a Small World
A village is smaller than a city, but often more personal. When something happens in a city it may vanish into the crowd. When something happens in a village, by evening the innkeeper, the elder, the dog, and even that one old man who claims he stopped listening long ago all know about it.
Hvozdenice has a clear identity: timber, the saw, the forest, balance, and fear. That is enough. The GM does not need twenty houses. They need to know where people meet, who decides, who works, who is afraid, and where the danger begins.
Sawmill by the River
Function The working heart of the village.
Here the felling, the woodcutters' arguments, and Kazan's pressure to keep working are sorted out.
Scene Idea: The players arrive just as Kazan is arguing with the others that the village cannot stop felling.
Dobromila's Hall
Function Place of decisions and public talks.
Here the main quest is given, the players' return is handled, and what their deeds have changed is judged.
Scene Idea: After the return from the forest the villagers gather and wait to see whether the players have brought an answer or more fear.
Forest Chapel
Function A spiritual border between the village and the woods.
It may serve for prayer, a side quest, a meeting with a pilgrim, or as a trail to a dark totem.
Scene Idea: The candles in the chapel go out, even though no wind blows.
Village Template (for your own use)
- Name
- Village name
- Main resource
- What the village lives off.
- Daily rhythm
- What people do every day.
- Central place
- Where people meet.
- Leader
- Who decides.
- Local conflict
- What divides the village.
- Outside threat
- What threatens the village from outside.
- Main plot link
- How the local problem ties into the larger campaign.
Key NPCs
Dobromila
Elder of Hvozdenice
Function: Moral anchor of the village and giver of the main quest.
Motivation: She wants to shield the village, but does not wish to destroy its balance with the forest.
Speak calmly, firmly, and practically. Dobromila is not a frail grandmother but a person who has often had to decide between a bad and a worse option.
„The forest has been giving us timber for long years. Now it is taking people. I do not know why, but I do know that if we do not find out, only empty roofs will be left of Hvozdenice and a sawmill without hands."
Kazan
Centaur and woodcutter
Function: Social conflict within the village.
Motivation: He wants to keep felling, because without timber the village will grow poor.
Play him hard and impatient, but not as a fool. He is right that the village needs work. He only refuses to see the greater danger.
„Trees do not fell themselves and hunger is not scared of tales of runes. Do you want to save the village? Then do not let it starve."
Svatopluk
Hunter and knower of the forest
Function: Guide to deeper clues.
Motivation: He wants to understand what has changed in the forest.
Speak little, stress observation and tracks. Svatopluk is the kind of man who knows when silence in the forest is wrong.
„The birds do not sing here. That is not chance. The forest goes silent only when it is listening to something worse than us."
How to Build a One-Shot
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1
Personal beginning
Example The characters are wanderers falsely accused of treason.
Give the characters a reason to be together and a reason to seek safety.
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2
Small location with a clear problem
Example Hvozdenice deals with missing woodcutters and the fear of the forest.
A one-shot does not need a large map. It needs a vivid place.
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3
First social conflict
Example Kazan wants to keep felling and accuses Dobromila of indecision.
Before the monster comes, show human or social pressure.
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4
Exploration and clues
Example The players find broken tools, bloody tracks, and elven runes.
Clues must move the players forward, not block them. Failure may mean delay or danger, but not the end of the search.
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5
Final clash
Example A forest giant controlled by an amulet.
The final opponent should be tied to the cause of the problem.
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6
Tie to the campaign
Example A letter with Taviel's seal and the symbol of the Black Tower.
At the end of the one-shot give the players a concrete reason to continue into the main story.
Key Encounter: Forest Giant Controlled by an Amulet
Role: The final obstacle of the one-shot and proof of Taviel's influence.
The giant is not just a monster. He is influenced by an amulet, so someone else stands behind his aggression. After the fight the players do not gain only a reward, but also an answer.
- High endurance — The giant should feel like a great threat that cannot be removed by a single good roll.
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Regeneration — The ability to restore health forces the players to seek a solution and push the pace.
Regeneration must not pointlessly drag out the fight. Give the players the chance to stop it through the amulet, a trap, or a successful Perception roll. -
Possibility of preparing a trap — If the players plan well before the fight, they can weaken the giant.
Reward preparation. When the players come up with a clever trap, they must not feel the boss ignores everything just because a table said no.
Connection to the Main Story
After the giant is defeated the players find a letter with Taviel's seal. This is the most important moment of the chapter. It is not just loot, but a bridge. Suddenly the wanderers know that their forest problem is tied to someone who works much farther away.
When they later meet the main party, they do not arrive empty-handed. One group may have seen Taviel in Woulden, the other found his letter in Hvozdenice. Two parts of the puzzle come together naturally.
Meeting in Woulden
The wanderers come to the city looking for answers and run into the main party in a tavern or the guild.
Meeting on the road
Both groups head along the same trail into the Western March and meet by an ambushed caravan.
Meeting through Teno
Guildmaster Teno brings the two groups together, because each has a different proof about Taviel.
On the Trail of the Stranger
The third chapter teaches the GM to run a more open region in which the players choose the path, but the main thread stays readable.
Story Context
After the events in Woulden and Hvozdenice the party moves into the wider Western March. It is no longer only about one city or one village. Taviel's influence appears in more places: in letters, amulets, the buying of supplies, cult symbols, and odd local troubles.
The Western March is a fertile and hard-working region of the Empire. It is full of villages that have their own craft, source of livelihood, and fear. In one place grain is grown, in another ore is mined, in another timber is cut, beer brewed, herbs gathered, or the border watched. Thanks to this every location can teach a different kind of play.
This chapter is controlled freestyle. The players can travel, choose quests, and ignore others. The GM, however, still holds the main thread: Taviel, the Black Tower, and a network that is growing. Freedom does not mean the story dissolves. It means the players can reach the main truth by different paths.
What the GM Learns
- How to open a larger area without preparing the whole world.
- How to design type villages with a distinct identity.
- How to keep the main thread in an open campaign.
- How to work with refused quests and the passing of time.
- How to record the consequences of decisions.
- How to build regional encounters according to the environment.
- How to dose information about the main antagonist.
What Controlled Freestyle Means
Controlled freestyle means that the players have a real choice, but the GM knows what they are choosing from. They do not need fifty villages prepared in detail. It is enough to have a few distinctive types, a main trail, travel rules, and consequences.
The best open area is not an empty map full of icons. It is a network of places that have a reason to exist. When the players come to a mining village, the problem should be tied to the mine. When they come to a frontier watchpost, the problem should be tied to the border. When they come to a religious village, the problem should be tied to faith.
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Every location has one strong identity
The players will remember Long Field as the grain village, Red Brook as the mining village, and Rockfaith as the religious place. They do not need to know every side-street name at once.
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Every location has one main conflict
Vanishing bread, bandits at the bridge, foul water, a sect in the forest, a religious quarrel. One main conflict keeps the session clear.
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Every third or fourth clue reminds of Taviel
The players are not to forget why they are traveling. The symbol of the Black Tower, a letter, a witness, or a strange payment will do.
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Refused quests have consequences
When the party ignores the bandits at the bridge, the trade road grows worse. When they ignore the cult, the ritual moves forward. The world is not waiting in pause menu.
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The party stays together
In an open campaign it is good to limit individual quests. Group decision-making keeps the pace and reduces chaos.
Selected Regional Locations
Long Field
farming village
A village surrounded by grain, where the scent of bread covers tension over vanishing supplies.
Conflict: Bread disappears at night and the villagers fear bandits.
Lesson: How to turn a simple problem into a moral choice. The players need not only find the culprit. They must decide what is just.
Optional Trail to Taviel
The refugees may have fled from a place where Taviel's people were buying up supplies or hiring armed men.
Stoneford
strategic village by a bridge
A bridge across the Louna holds trade, money, and the fear of bandits.
Conflict: Bandits want to seize the bridge and collect a toll.
Lesson: How to make a fight interesting through the environment. The bridge limits movement, pushes the characters into a line, and a fall into the river can be a danger.
Optional Trail to Taviel
The bandits may have money from an unknown patron or orders to delay the trade roads, so that Taviel's shipments have priority.
Red Brook
mining village
A half-empty mining village where rust, dust, and old shafts recall better days.
Conflict: The mines are dangerous, the miners refuse to work, and the village is dying economically.
Lesson: How to tie an economic problem to a dungeon. The mine is not a random underground. It is the reason the village exists.
Optional Trail to Taviel
Taviel's people may have funded the reopening of the dangerous part of the mine, because they need a particular ore or gemstones.
Rockfaith
religious mountain village
A village beneath the sanctuary of the Seven Eternal, where faith gives the people both order and pressure.
Conflict: The religious rules clash with the everyday life of the inhabitants.
Lesson: How to run a conflict where neither side has to be purely evil. The priest may protect the faith, but at the same time harm ordinary people. The kobold may break the rules, but have an understandable reason.
Optional Trail to Taviel
Taviel may exploit the religious tension to stir chaos, or send a third party to escalate the conflict.
Border Watch
frontier settlement of refugees
A place between imperial order and the wars of the Great Plains.
Conflict: Refugees want to stay, the imperial soldiers fear spies, and the border is full of smugglers.
Lesson: How to prepare a political conflict where safety and compassion stand against each other.
Optional Trail to Taviel
Taviel may be arming one side to destabilize the region.
Shadowmere
dark forest village
A mist-shrouded village where people vanish and no one wishes to speak after dark.
Conflict: Kidnappings of inhabitants and a sect hidden in an abandoned chapel.
Lesson: How to use horror, clues, rituals, and a dark atmosphere.
Optional Trail to Taviel
The sect may use the symbol of the Black Tower or be one of the cells of Taviel's network.
Safety Note: Heavy themes must be used carefully by the GM. If the content includes torture, sexual violence, or very dark imagery, they should set up limits and safety agreements with the group in advance.
How to Keep Taviel in Play Even While the Players Do Side Quests
An open chapter easily falls apart into a series of unrelated jobs. That is why the GM must have several recurring elements that remind the players of the main thread. Taviel need not stand in every village square. It is enough that his influence sometimes seeps to the surface.
The best clue is one that also makes sense for the local location. In a mining village it may be bought-up ore. In a forest village, timber for the building of temples. In a trading village, suspicious payments. In a religious village, symbols and rituals.
Symbol
A Black Tower carved into an amulet, a seal, a door, or the bark of a tree.
A quick visual reminder of the main thread.
Letter
A short message signed with the letter T or sealed with the seal.
A more direct clue to Taviel's instructions.
Economic clue
Someone is buying up timber, ore, gemstones, alchemical ingredients, or food.
Shows that Taviel plans logistically, not just by magically waving his hands.
Witness
A beggar, a widow, a merchant, a guard, or an innkeeper has seen Taviel's people.
Gives the players a social path to the information.
Consequence
A village the players ignored is later more strongly affected by the cult.
Shows that the world goes on without waiting for the players.
How to Work with Consequences
From the third chapter on, the GM should keep a simple record of consequences. There is no need to write a novel. It is enough to know whom the players helped, whom they offended, what they ignored, and what will change because of it.
Consequences are not punishment. They are proof that the world is alive. When the players save the bridge, trade improves. When they ignore the cult, the cult grows stronger. When they support the refugees, they gain allies, but perhaps make the imperial soldiers their enemies.
Consequence Log Template
- Session
- Session number
- Visited location
- Where the players were.
- Accepted quests
- Which quests they accepted.
- Rejected or ignored quests
- Which quests they refused or postponed.
- Npc relationships
- Who likes them, who does not trust them, who wants to use them.
- Clues found
- What clues they gained.
- World changes before next session
- What will change before they arrive again.
- Next possible hooks
- Where they may continue.
Example Log Entry
- Session
- Chapter III, first journey from Woulden
- Visited location
- Stoneford
- Accepted quests
- Help with the bandits at the bridge.
- Rejected or ignored quests
- The armorer is still waiting for clean ore.
- Npc relationships
- Elder Veles trusts the party, some of the merchants count them as useful, the remainder of the bandits will hate them.
- Clues found
- On the leader of the bandits a coin with the symbol of the Black Tower was found.
- World changes before next session
- Trade across the bridge resumes, but Taviel's people start looking for another route for the shipments.
- Next possible hooks
- Red Brook for the ore, a return to Woulden with the coin, or a road to another trade village.
Major Arcana as an Advanced Tool for Greater Quests
This block is well placed on the page only after the explanation of basic quests. A new GM should first understand how to write a normal quest. Only then is it good to show how the Major Arcana transforms it.
The Major Arcana is a tool for changing tone, not a substitute for preparation. The card does not make a quest interesting on its own. What is interesting is still the problem, the NPC, the choices, and the consequences. The card only changes how the quest breaks.
When a card is assigned to a quest, the GM asks a simple question: how will this card change the atmosphere, the complication, or the pace? The mechanical effect should be clear and brief. The story effect should be felt in the scene.
Card: The Tower
Chaos, fall, collapse of plansMechanical Effect: +2 to the Wisdom stat for the duration of the quest or the key scene.
Story Effect: Plans collapse, safe places turn into dangerous ones, and the situation breaks dramatically.
GM Question: Which certainty in this quest may collapse exactly when the players think they have the situation under control?
Applied Example: The Lost Alchemist in Woulden
Without the Card: The players search the workshop, question witnesses, and look for a magical trace after the vanished alchemist.
With the Tower Card: As soon as they find the first proof, an unstable experiment in the workshop awakens. Shelves fall, glass cracks, smoke rolls into the room, and in the back a trapped apprentice screams. A quiet investigation turns into a crisis scene.
The Tower is not meant to be punishment. It is not meant only to drop the roof on the players' heads. It is meant to give them a dramatic choice.
How to Build Enemies and Encounters
An enemy is not interesting only because of a number of hit points. It is interesting in how it changes the players' decisions. A light enemy teaches the basics. A medium enemy has one ability. A hard enemy demands a plan. A boss has phases, weak points, or environment.
When designing an enemy it is good to begin with the question: what is this encounter meant to teach the players? If the answer is only 'to take their hit points', that is too little. An encounter can teach the use of position, the prioritizing of targets, the interrupting of a spell, the use of the environment, the protection of weaker members, or the decision to negotiate.
Light enemy
Teaches the basic rhythm of combat or creates a small threat.Has a simple attack, low endurance, and no or a very simple ability.
A light enemy should not stop the players. It should get the scene moving.
Medium enemy
Forces the players to think about tactics.Has one striking ability, for example a lunge, a web, a stun, the protection of an ally, or better movement.
One ability is enough. More abilities may turn it into an unintended miniboss.
Hard enemy
Creates a dramatic clash and tests cooperation.Has high endurance, a stronger attack, or an ability that changes the pace of the fight.
A hard enemy must have a counter for the players. The players must see how to weaken him, get around him, or prepare a plan.
Boss
Closes a chapter, a main quest, or a significant story arc.Has phases, weak points, environment, reactions to the players, and story significance.
A boss does not have only more hit points. A boss changes the scene.
Abilities — good and bad uses
| Ability | Good Use | Bad Use | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regeneration | The boss restores part of his hit points once every few rounds, and the players can interrupt the effect by destroying an amulet. | The boss keeps healing and the fight drags on with no counter. | Every strong ability should have a readable answer. |
| Stun or grapple | The enemy occasionally takes one character out of action and the others must react. | The enemy locks down half the party for several rounds and the players are bored. | Use effects that take turns away carefully. |
| Area attack | The titan raises stones, the players have a chance to take cover or dodge. | Everyone takes high damage without warning. | Area attacks need a tell, cover, or the possibility of reducing the impact. |
| The antagonist's escape | Taviel vanishes after a few rounds, but the players gain proof or destroy part of his plan. | Taviel flees with no outcome, and the players feel their actions meant nothing. | The flight of an opponent works if a different kind of victory remains after it. |
Environment — how it shapes encounters
- Bridge — Restricted movement, the risk of a fall, suited to shields and shoving. (Stoneford.)
- Mine — Darkness, narrow tunnels, falling beams, poor movement. (Red Brook.)
- Forest — Tracks, losing one's direction, roots, ambushes, living nature. (Hvozdenice.)
- Burning workshop — Time pressure, smoke, the saving of objects or people. (Woulden with the Tower card.)
- Room with rising water — Time limit, more skills, panic, and cooperation. (Taviel's abandoned house.)
Practical Session Outlines
Every session should have a clear opening, room for decisions, a main scene, a complication, and an impact. It need not be an iron structure, but it helps the GM keep the pace.
When a session starts to fall apart, return to the question: what do the players want, what stands in their way, and what happens if they do nothing?
First Session in the Guild
- A short description of the keep.
- The introduction of Teno.
- The introduction of the characters.
- The first trial and the explanation of the attack.
- The second trial by class.
- The third trial as a team boss.
- Admission into the guild.
- Hook to Woulden.
Ideal End State The players understand the basics and want to see the city.
Session in Woulden
- A reminder of the main Taviel mystery.
- The choice of path: watch, nobility, trade, underworld, or exploration.
- A meeting with one striking NPC.
- A side quest or main clue.
- A complication in the form of suspicion, shadowing, false information, or a minor clash.
- The gaining of a new clue.
- A decision about where the players will go next.
Ideal End State The players feel that the city is alive and that Taviel's network is real.
Session in a Regional Village
- The arrival and a striking description of the location.
- A meeting with an authority or a person in need.
- The learning of the local problem.
- A first clue or social conflict.
- A choice of solution.
- An encounter, negotiation, trap, or exploration.
- Impact on the village.
- An optional clue to Taviel.
Ideal End State The village has changed and the players remember why it was different from the others.
How to End the First Campaign
The end of the campaign is meant to be a harvest of decisions. If the players helped villages, they should see allies. If they ignored quests, consequences should appear. If they made enemies of the watch, the nobility, or the underworld, the finale should recall it.
Taviel may be defeated, exiled, exposed, or he may escape. What matters is that the players gain an answer to the main question of the present campaign. What was Taviel building in Woulden and the Western March? Whom did he influence? What did he want to gain? And what has changed thanks to the players?
Local victory
The players stop Taviel's plan in Woulden or one part of the Western March.
Best For: A first closed campaign with the possibility of continuation elsewhere.
Follow-Up Hook: Taviel's documents point to another place on the map of Ulvenor.
Victory at a price
The players win, but some villages suffer, allies die, or the Empire tightens its control.
Best For: A darker story where decisions leave scars.
Follow-Up Hook: The saved region is stable, but politically broken.
Taviel escapes
The players destroy part of the plan, but Taviel vanishes and becomes a long-term antagonist.
Best For: A continuation of the campaign with a personal enemy.
Follow-Up Hook: On the spot remain an artifact, a map, or the name of another cell.
Revelation of a greater threat
Taviel was not the originator of everything, but a tool or rival of a greater force.
Best For: A transition from a regional campaign into an epic campaign.
Follow-Up Hook: The Black Tower is not only a symbol, but the name of an order, a place, or an ancient power.
- Recall the main clues the players found.
- Bring back into play allies and enemies from earlier chapters.
- Show the consequences of refused quests.
- Give the players a clear chance to shape the outcome.
- After the finale, describe how Woulden, Hvozdenice, or the Western March have changed.
- Leave one trail open for the next campaign.
The Most Important Advice for the Game Master
Do not start by preparing the whole world. Start by preparing the first meaningful scene. The guild, the mentor, the trial, the first roll. Then add the city. Then the village. Then the region. The world should open up as the GM and the players are learning.
Howl of Eternity may hold great history, many realms, races, rules, magic, gear, and complex conflicts. The first session, however, mainly needs a clear goal, a living NPC, a simple decision, and the feeling that the next door is worth opening.
A good GM does not push the players along rails, but sets paths before them that make sense. And when the players step off the path into the bushes, which they will almost certainly do, a good GM looks at their notes, smiles, and decides what has been waiting in those bushes all along.
Rules — quick links
- Rules Overview The basic landing page. A link to it can appear in the introduction of the page and in the box for new GMs.
- Basic Rules Use across the whole page, above all for character creation, rolls, skills, rest, experience, and the running of an adventure.
- Rolls and Skills Chapter I shows the first rolls, Chapter II extends rolls to social and exploration situations, Chapter III uses rolls in travel and regional quests.
- Combat System Chapter I teaches the first simple combat, Chapter II shows clashes in an urban setting, and Chapter III adds environment, groups of enemies, and harder encounters.
- Social Interaction Use above all in Woulden, where the NPCs are not only quest givers, but carriers of motivations, information, relationships, and consequences.
- Traps and Dangerous Environments Use in Taviel's house, tombs, mines, fire corridors, rooms with rising water, and timed challenges.
- Major Arcana Explain only after the basic quests, as an advanced tool for changing tone and complications.
- Travel and Running an Adventure Chapter III shows how to work with a more open Western March without the GM having to prepare the whole world at once.