Approximate time to read: 8 minutes.
Whether a hook to fill an unexpected evening game or an encounter to slide into the midst of an existing adventure, any GM can benefit from a few flexible fillers in their back pocket. Most of the suggestions have potential connections into The Promised Land or draw upon previous articles posted on The Iron Pact.
Abandoned Way‑Station Ambush
Setup: A desolate winter way‑station—once a haven—lies deserted, evidence of a hasty evacuation. Characters catch faint, blood‑spattered tracks leading off‑camp. In the midst of an adventure—including The Promised Land—such a spot would be a common enough site, as the roads of Ambria see a lot of traffic and over time traveller in the wilderness have established secure locations to provide protection from the elements.
Hook: As night falls, the Player Characters witness the way-station from afar, they spot the guttering light of a fire. Closer investigation finds signs of a struggle or fight, including blood and a mess of overlapping tracks. If the PCs recently encounters bandits—or a militant band like Mal‑Rogan’s gang—evidence points to their presence around the location—perhaps a familiar fletching on an unretrieved arrow.
On closer investigation, the dynamics of the skirmish become less clearcut and the PCs must wrestle with the sort of moral complexity that makes for a perfect Symbaroum encounter: are the survivors inside the way-station the victims of an attack or are they themselves desperate locals turned tyrants who ambush the unwary to lay claim to their supplies.
Snow‑Jackal Hunt
Setup: A pack of snow jackals circles the caravan at dusk, eyeing any dropped or poorly stored foodstuff.
Hook: While at first Characters might feel that these are predatory pests, these beasts aren’t ordinary canines and while they run away from confrontation at first, their attention persists. They might be tainted by minor corruption or accompanied by a sorrowful, wounded lycanthropic outcast needing help.
If infected with minor corruption, you can use the Examples of Stigma on p 176 of the Core Rulebook to provide some measure of doubt about their nature, else roll d6, below:
| d6 | Corruptions Touch |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rather than food specifically, the jackals hunger for the flesh of the dead—perhaps those who the PCs travel with carry a wrapped cadaver seeking to return to family or something in a Character’s a possession reaks of the dead. |
| 2 | On closer inspection, the jackals eyes are shrivelled and black or seeping like worried boils. They sniff the air or cock their heads seeking other means of finding their prey with a preternatural precision. If they catch something, they try to claim the target’s eyes for themselves. |
| 3 | The jackals carry a sulfurous stink about them that causes those who engage to choke and their eyes to run freely with stinging tears. Any who fight them find both the acts of attack and defence all the harder for the wheezing breath in their chest and the acrid vapours burning their eyes. |
| 4 | When they come close, the jackals eyes glitter and sparkle like finely polished obsidian. They seem to perceive sources of magic and corruption keenly, targeting those tainted with either—no matter how small the measure—with a determination that can only be broken by their slaughter. |
| 5 | Discoloured patches of skin, bubbling with crimson blisters, become apparent on close contact or careful observation. When cut, the blood of the jackals runs thin and slick, bursting from their flesh like juices from ripe fruit. The gore carries a measure of the corruption with such potency that contact is sufficient to pass a temporary measure. |
| 6 | Horny growths pepper the flesh of the jackals like thorns spread along the stem of a rose. Where they have teeth or claws, these grow in abundance and with unnatural angle and appearance. On their skin, the sharp points poke through and easily catch in the exposed skin of their opponents. Any attack always causes a minimum of damage and where they inflict wounds they increase by a point. |
If the pack of a lycanthropic outcast, stat the beast as a creature of Challenging Resistance or use the details of a Fey Beast (Monster Codex, p 142). The jackals act strangely when first encounters and the pack appears to be seeking to protect the outcast, which mutters and mumbles rather than growling or barking. Any Character with suitable Ability (Beast Lore, Trapper) or profession might recognise that this one creature among the pack is not like the others and appears wounded, but still capable. The intent of the outcast is for help; they clearly have aspects of both human and animals about them, seemingly incapable of being solely one or the other.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Setup: Rope‑stretched across a gorge, worn wind‑bells toll mechanically in the breeze. No warden or bridge keeper is within sight, but this route certainly appears to be maintained.
Hook: Each chime triggers strange visions or emotional memories in the Player Characters. They must resist the toll’s compulsion or risk being frozen in place—or worse—locked in an embrace with recollections they have likely fought to forget.
Ideally, as GM you should find a way to key into the Character’s personal back story, working with the Player to find ways to recall the memories that most gravely haunt them—perhaps even to the extent that these are the very visions of woe that have pushed them away from Alberetor northward, hoping to find some sort of peace at a distant from things otherwise impossible to forget.
Otherwise, roll on the following table (or choose) for other ideas.
| d6 | Strange Visions and Echoing Memories |
|---|---|
| 1 | A pale face in the fog: You see a figure at the edge of your vision—hooded, unmoving—standing where no one should be. You feel dread, but can’t remember why. Is this someone you knew… or someone still hunting you? |
| 2 | Ash in your mouth: A vivid taste, like burnt wood and iron. Your mouth is dry. You remember fire—perhaps your Alberetor homestead lost, or a moment of betrayal in the night. Was it your doing, did the fault lie in your action (or lack), or did you flee the flames? |
| 3 | A child’s voice, singing: A soft lullaby cuts through the air. You don’t know the words, but your throat aches to hum along. Whose lullaby was it? A sibling, a parent, a lost companion? Why does it hurt to remember? Was there anything you could have done? |
| 4 | The weight of a blade: Your hand closes around something heavy, unseen. You feel again the moment before a decision—mercy or violence? There is blood, somewhere. Did you act? Do you regret what you chose? Did you find resolution, in whatever measure, or does something remain undone? |
| 5 | Starlight on snow: A peaceful memory—quiet, distant, too perfect. But it’s wrong. The stars don’t match, the snow smells of death. Were you happy once? Is this a vision experienced before or something yet to come? Is this someone else’s memory somehow tangled up in your soul? |
| 6 | A promise, broken: You recall speaking solemn words to someone—someone who mattered. The promise is long broken, but the guilt remains. Do you remember their face? Do you bear a physical mark or reminder? Or do you just hold their disappointment with you, echoing through time? |
While a Resolute check—Hard (-3) or Difficult (-5) would suit—might be in order to break the sites strange hold, this memory and the recall of it primarily offers a chance for players to consider their Character’s past and reinforce an aspect in such a way that everyone at the table understands and you, as GM, have an anchor for future encounters.
A Character that seeks to remove, scatter or even destroy the chimes faces the prospect of a Curse (Core, p 133) equivalent to that cast by an Adept. The effect persists until the restoration of the chimes—a great challenge if the Character chose to destroy one or more, and the hook for a fresh adventure—or until the Character visits a temple and seeks forgiveness from Prios through prayer and sanctification—a variation of a ritual of Sanctifying Rite (Core, p 146).
Wheel of Misfortune
Setup: A campfire is lit around an ominous wooden wheel mounted on a cart. A gaunt, robed gambler invites Player Characters to spin it, promising uncanny fortune—although, perhaps, not mentioning whether for fair or ill.
Hook: Each Character feels compelled to interact with the mysterious figure. They grasp the wheel and spin, the outcome appearing as an unreadable rune engraved upon the pitted, splintered surface.
Outcomes can range from magical boons (like a luck‑imbued token) to a minor curse (such as a minor phobia toward something specific from a recent encounter). You can work with the Player to come up with something appropriate but not overburdening, with a benefit and a curse suggested and the choice left to chance (a coin flip or dice throw with even odds). Alternatively roll on (or choose from) the following table.
| d12 | Fate at the Spin of the Wheel |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Mark – You gain a minor boon (+1 on Persuasive or Discreet for one day), but a glowing symbol only visible in darkness appears on your skin. Certain cultists, Black Cloaks and creatures seem to recognize it and may choose to react in ways that inconvenience the Character. |
| 2 | Echo of Death – For the next 24 hours, you are partially intangible: +1 Defense, but anyone who touches you feels cold. You dream of your own funeral that night. |
| 3 | False Fortune – Draw a coin from the wheelkeeper’s pouch. It appears to be a thaler, the surface glinting warmly in the light of the campfire… but it carries a hidden curse. Any failed Vigilant test in the next day causes 1 temporary Corruption. |
| 4 | Veil Pierced – You glimpse the spirit world. Gain a brief vision of a nearby ghost, lost soul, or spirit guardian. Gain +1 on Vigilant vs incorporeal entities for a day. |
| 5 | Whispers in Leaves – For a week, you hear Davokar whispering at dusk. Gain +1 on Survival challenges while within the forest—but you must pass a Resolute test daily or take 1 temporary Corruption. |
| 6 | Blood Owed – You feel strength surge (+1 Strong), but your blood smells sweet to nearby beasts, attracting the undesirable attention of predators. Creatures of instinct are more likely to pursue or attack you for a day, and hunters experience discomfort in your presence, their senses dulled (-1 on rolls for hunting and Survival while near you). |
| 7 | The Longing – A forgotten memory of love or purpose resurfaces. +1 Resolute until resolved, but you gain a complication or bond (chosen or invented bwteen GM and the Player). |
| 8 | Mouth of Ashes – Your voice vanishes for one day, but during that time, you may communicate with the dead once—equivalent to casting an Oracle Ritual (Core, p 145)—without cost, check or corruption. |
| 9 | Hungry Shadow – Your shadow detaches in dreams and hungers. Lose 1 temporary Toughness each morning for a week. At the end, gain +1 Cunning permanently if you survive. |
| 10 | Red Coin – You may reroll one failed test of your choice in the next session. However, when you do, a loved one or bond takes harm, even if offscreen. |
| 11 | Black Thorn – A black rose grows from your palm overnight. Plucking it grants a Corruption‑free Mystical Power use (your choice) — then the rose crumbles, and you suffer 1d4 Corruption. |
| 12 | Beneath the Wheel – The wheel stops… and nothing happens. That night, your dreams are clear. You wake restored (recover all Toughness and any recent temporary loss to Attributes), but a raven watches you and caws whenever you lie (for how long—that decision lies with the GM). |
The consequences may be open to negotiation if the Player Character seeks to make a deal with the gambler, whether through charm, bribery, or violence.
Attacking the robed figure should feel like a bad idea—the Character experiences a wave of uncertainty in spite of any sense of anger or bravado. If they strike, the robes fall away—revealing nothing more than scattered bones—and they find themselves Cursed (see the last entry) and standing in the midst of a ransacked camp, the fire cold and thick with bitter ashes.
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