1. Preparing For Winter How To Use This Book This is a book about Mice. Tiny creatures caught in an endless cycle of hope and despair. The summers are fleeting, and the winters harsh. You must find a way to survive. Players take on the role of Mice struggling in the face of the horror and ruin wrought by the coming of winter. As the snow deepens, and the nights grow ever longer, the Deep Still, and the twisted beasts it houses, stir from their long slumber. All Mice know to fear the close of summer. What You Need to Play •A set of polyhedral dice including D20, D12, D10, D8, D6, and D4. Ideally one set per player. (The number is how many sides the die has) •A character sheet for each player and ideally one notebook for each player. There are sheets provided in this book, but if you need more you can download them for free at ........ •Pencils. A least one for the GM and one for each player, but it doesn’t hurt to have spares. •A hex grid world map. You can find a template in this book. •A hex grid battle map. You don’t strictly need this, but it can be useful to have on hand. •This book! What is Winter's Bones? Winter’s Bones is a tabletop role playing game, or TTRPG. One person acts as the Games Master (GM), and everyone else is a ‘player'. It's worth remembering that the GM is a player too, but for the sake of simplicity, where this book says ‘player’ or ‘players’, it refers exclusively to everyone involved in the game except the GM. The GM’s role is to guide the players through the game, acting as narrator, storyteller and referee. Where the rules (and more importantly rulings) are concerned, the GM has final say. The GM also plays all the non player characters (NPCs), giving them a voice and making decisions for them. Players on the other hand only control one character, and act as the protagonists of the story. They interact with the world the GM presents while inhabiting their characters. They also get to roll a lot of dice! But more on that in a moment. The GM is not in competition with the players. There is no win condition, and the game cannot be ‘beaten’ in any traditional sense. There will of course be challenges and obstacles for players to overcome (or fail to overcome), but they exist to serve the story, not to prevent progress or ‘defeat’ the players. What Does Play Look Like? All the rules are laid out in detail later in this book, but this section provides a broader view of and clarifies some key concepts. Some of this will be familiar to RPG enthusiasts. Play in Winter’s Bones is split over two levels, the world map, and the actual towns, wilderness, and landmarks it represents. Think about this in terms of scope, and what a scene requires. If the players are travelling south, because they have heard rumours that a strange beast has been seen moving in that direction, that can take place entirely in abstract on the world map. You do not need to play out the minutiae of travel. The map is divided up into hexes, each of which are roughly a mile across. Players move from hex to hex until something interesting or dangerous happens. Suppose the players stumble across an abandoned village, but there are no signs of bloodshed, or even tracks leading away from the place. They may wish to investigate further. When this happens, the game ‘zooms in’ and the GM describes a scene in detail for the players to explore as though they were actually there. The players are free to do as they please, until the GM calls for a ‘save’. Saves are dice rolls the GM asks the players to make when they want to do something with an associated risk, or significant chance of failure. You will never need to make a save to open a door, or step over a narrow gap, but breaking down a door, or leaping a chasm would require a save. Winter's Bones uses a D20 roll under system for saves. You tell the GM what you want to do, you decide together which of your skills is most relevant, and then you try to roll a D20 under the value of that skill. If successful, you perform the action precisely as you envisioned it. If you roll above your skill you fail to perform the action, and may face further consequences at the GM's discretion. If two characters attempt actions that conflict (perhaps wrestling over a dropped weapon), the GM will call for an 'opposed save'. Both characters roll for the relevant skill, and whoever rolls the lowest success is the victor. If neither party makes a successful save (or in the event of a tie), continue rolling until a winner is crowned. Critical Success and Critical Failure Rolling a 1 is always a critical success. Conversely, rolling a 20 is always a critical failure. Critical successes can be 'banked'. Whenever you roll a 1, make a note of it. You may pass any future skill check automatically once. Players may not have more than one success banked at a time Critical failures are open to the GM's interpretation. Suppose a player wants to get up on stage and perform a complex piece of music, hoping to catch the eye of a wealthy noble. On a normal fail, they might perform the piece adequately, but fail to impress. On a critical failure, they might play so poorly, that they are booed off stage and so offend the noble that they refuse to speak to them later that evening. There are specific rules for rolling criticals in combat, these are covered later in this book. The Seasons Seasonal flux is central to Winter's Bones. There are only two seasons in this world, summer and winter, and the passage from one to the other is a core part of the game. Summers may or may not be kind. Winter brings only ruin. Through the biting cold, and driving snow, strange, terrible creatures make their way to the surface. At the onset of each season, the GM rolls to determine the outlook for the coming months. The outcome could very well mean the difference between life and death for your Mouse. Tonally, the game leans heavily into ideas of fleeting happiness, impermanence, inevitability, and contingency. Most Mice are lucky to see one or two summers before winter claims them. Winter's Bones is about finding your place in a world that wants to erase all trace of you, and standing defiant against fate. Even as all that you have built is buried by the snow. 'Let winter come. It is better to live than to exist, even if the price paid is death'. An old Mouse proverb. Winter is relentless. Perhaps this season, maybe the next, these Mice, their homes, and their hopes, will be buried by the snow. With time however, new life, and new possibilities will emerge, so that the cycle may begin anew. For this reason, Winter's Bones does not offer a fully realised setting. Characters, geography, and history are not fixed, and there is no definitive canon. The specifics are largely left for the GM (and in some cases the players) to fill in for themselves. There are however certain concepts and details that the GM should familiarise themselves with before running a game. Denizens Mice are the only sapient species in Winter's Bones. There are a handful of other ‘creatures’ that have been bestowed a certain intelligence, but Mice are the only species with a language, culture, and civilisation. All other creatures act essentially as their real world counterparts would in any given situation. The GM is of course encouraged to take liberties for the sake of the fiction, but for the most part, a cat is a cat, and an owl is an owl. Mice are more complicated. They create, they fight amongst themselves, and they fear for their futures. Given their circumstances, it might be reasonable to expect a degree of camaraderie and companionship among Mice. If only it were so. Despite the ever present threat to their collective existence posed by the coming of winter, Mice struggle to work together. Instead, they form various factions, tribes, and clans, and strike out on their own. All Mice fear winter. Very few agree on how best to prepare for it. Some Mice are nomads, others live deep underground, and others build mighty stone fortresses. Every settlement is an island. Some Mice claim the right to rule, and seek to build kingdoms, but few succeed. Even where there are systems of rule and governance, chaos and decline are never far away. The Deep Still A cold, malignant presence, buried deep beneath the earth. The strange and terrible creatures that appear in winter are all born of the Deep Still. Mice often refer to the Deep Still as simply 'The Deep'. Very little is known about the Deep Still. It is described variously as a creature, a mind, a place, and a God. All that can be said for certain is that it becomes active during winter, and anything that emerges from its vast subterranean network of tunnels and caverns is best left well alone. Occasionally, learned Mice develop theories as to the true nature of the Deep Still. A select few are outlined below. You may incorporate these into your game as fact, or leave the truth obscured. The following theories have all held sway in various quarters at different times: •Before the Earth was formed, there existed a single creature that roamed the darkness. When this beast perished, its body became the source of all life as we know it. All that exists grew from its remains, and its essence still haunts the darkest reaches of this world. 2. An Endless Cycle The World of Winter's Bones •There was a time before winter, when all Mice lived peacefully through an eternal summer. This changed when an unknown Mouse was murdered by his own brother, bringing about the first winter. That Mouse became the Deep Still, and time has not tempered his rage. •The Deep Still is a God. It exists solely to judge Mice and separate the weak from the strong. Mice that survive the winter are the chosen few and should be treated with great respect. •Somewhere, somehow, a door to the afterlife has opened. The creatures that appear during Winter are from the next life, and the Deep Still is a gateway used to enter our world. •At some point in the past, there was a pact between Mice and the Deep Still. Mice would make sacrifices and present offerings, and the Deep Still would protect them during winter. Mice have since reneged on that pact, incurring the Deep Still’s wrath. Magic There is no formal system for magic or spellcasting in Winter's Bones. Magic is a fluid, slippery thing, that Mice are generally unable to control or channel for their own ends. All magic is tied to the Deep Still, and manifests in the creatures and objects that have felt its touch. Anyone or anything 'touched by the Deep' is changed by its power. They display unnatural abilities and strange powers. Some are born with these powers, some acquire them after an encounter with the Deep or one of its inhabitants. Objects infused with the Deep's essence are also discovered from time to time. How and why they are produced is unknown. Most Mice are deathly afraid of the Deep Still and will do their utmost to avoid any association with it. Mice touched by the Deep are shunned, and feared. There are a handful of Mice that do not fear the Deep, and have spent their lives trying to understand or communicate with it. Horrors As the frost tightens its grip, and the cold begins to bite, things begin to stir, deep beneath the snow. The denizens of the Deep Still are nothing like the creatures that roam the surface. They may bear some small resemblance, but they are unmistakably of the Deep. Their bodies are twisted and their minds are broken. Some are directionless, and exist only to sow chaos and destruction. Others have dark, esoteric agendas. Horrors appear during winter and are guided by the GM in enacting their sinister purpose. The players should be aware before the game begins that they are not expected to overcome every Horror they face. Quite the opposite. There is no way to stop Horrors reaching the surface, and sooner or later one will appear that spells your player's doom. This should not be interpreted as a failure on the part of the players. The game is intended to end this way. Winter claims everything, and the cycle always ends the same way. What Are Winter's Bones? No one can say for sure, but there is an old proverb known to all Mice. 'All things rest on Winter's Bones, and the snows will fall again.' Many take this to be a grim reminder of Winter's inevitable return, Others read it more literally, and sincerely believe that Winter's Bones, (whatever they may be), exist somewhere far below the surface. Some Mice are also given to exclaiming ' Winter's Bones! ' when angry or frustrated. Other more timid Mice cannot bring themselves to speak the words at all. 3. Children of Summer Creating Your Mouse The world of Winter's Bones may seem like an inhospitable one, but strong, bold, and cunning Mice can carve out a place for themselves within it. To see how you fit in, follow the steps below. 1. Choose a Name Begin by choosing a name for your mouse. It can be difficult to think of a name but one will come to you eventually. If you're really struggling, leave this step for last. A name might come to you once you have a better sense of who your Mouse is. 2. Choose a Calling Next, choose a Calling. Think of a Calling as your Mouse's area of expertise. Something they have dedicated their life to, and excel at. Your Calling determines your Mouse's stat bonus, their Knack, and their Coup De Grâce. 3. Roll Your Stats Every mouse has nine different stats that determine their competence at various tasks. Winter's Bones uses a D20 roll under system, so higher values are better. Roll 3D6, and assign the total value to a stat of your choice. Repeat this process for all nine stats. If at any point you roll 'triples' (three numbers of the same value), roll on the 'Touched by the Deep' table. Your Resolve is equal to your Strength by default, but you may roll another 4D6 and take that value instead if you wish. You must take the new value if you make the roll. Your movement in combat is equal to half your Dexterity rounded up. Mice age quickly, and their bodies rapidly begin to betray them. All players re roll their stats at the end of every winter. If you roll equal to or higher than your original stat, it remains the same. If you roll lower, that value becomes your new stat. Players can still become touched by the deep when re rolling stats. 4. Choose Your Equipment Mice rarely venture into danger unprepared. You may choose two common pieces of Adventuring Gear to start the game with. A Mouse can carry a number of items equal to half their Strength rounded up. 5. Check Your Coffers Roll 2D8. You start the game with that many 'Waxbits' or 'Bits' for short, the currency in Winter's Bones. 6. Add The Finishing Touches Round out your Mouse. Decide what they look like, what kind of personality they have, and what they want from life. This only needs to be a few sentences. You are now ready to play Winter's Bones! May you see many summers. Strange Mice The influence of the Deep is insidious, and some Mice are born bearing its mark. Mice touched by the Deep have incredible powers, but most other Mice fear or despise them. The Deep is so reviled that any Mice associated with it are subject to near constant harrasment. In the most extreme cases they are killed or even lynched. Those that prove useful are tolerated begrudingly. They are usually referred to as 'Seers'. 4. Who Are You? Choosing a Calling Every Mouse has a Calling. Think of your Calling as a skill or art that your mouse was either born into, or has spent their life honing. Your Calling determines two important things about your mouse. Their stat bonus, their Knack, and their Coup De Grâce. Each calling also receives a +1 bonus to a specific skill. A Knack is an a skill that a mouse has developed that helps them survive dangerous situations. A Coup De Grâce is a powerful combat ability that can turn the tide of battle. They can only be used once per day. The Callings Twitchtail A Mouse that has become so accustomed to danger and dangerous situations, that they have developed a preternatural sense for them. They can detect a threat before it has even presented itself and can make limited predictions about the future. Twitchtails have +1 to Intelligence. Knack Eyes in The Back of My Head Taking a Twitchtail by surprise is no mean feat. You always roll with the Upper Hand on initiative (Dexterity saving throw as combat begins), even when taken by surprise. You can also tell if another creature is about to attack. Coup De Grâce All Too Predictable A Twitchtail can read their enemies' movements so expertly that they can practically predict the future. Learn from the GM what your opponents will do on their next turn. Any attacks they make are guaranteed to miss. Conversely, your next attack is guaranteed to hit and deals D12 damage. Wire Runner Flying through the sky with unrivalled grace and speed, Wire Runners at work are a truly awe inspiring sight. Daredevils trained in the use of whisperwires, silk threads that contract on command, propelling the runner through the air. Wire Runners have +1 to Dexterity. Knack Whisperwires Wire Runners can fire their whisperwires at any surface within 30”. Once the wire lands, the runner may then contract the wire, propelling themselves forwards at great speed. Coup De Grâce Plunging Strike Strike an enemy with your whisperwires and fling yourself towards them. When rolling for damage roll a D12 in addition to whatever dice you would ordinarily roll for your weapon. The hit is guaranteed. Entomancer Mice with an unusual affinity for insects. Most Entomancers are more comfortable in the presence of ants, caterpillars and bumblebees than they are other Mice. Entomancers have +1 to Tracking. Knack Insect Informants Attuned to the delicate balance of the Hymenoptera Nexus (a vast network of bees, ants, and other insects), Entomancers receive information about any creature that passes through a hex of their choosing. Entomancers can only choose hexes they have moved through previously. This ability can only be used once per day. Coup De Grâce Wasps In a Jar A small clay jar packed with wasp eggs. When a small amount of a special liquid (made to a recipe known only to Entomancers) is dropped inside, the eggs begin to hatch. Throw the jar at the ground to release a swarm of wasps which attack the nearest enemy for D12 damage and inflict deadly poison potency 12. The wasps disperse after attacking. Whiskersmith Your tools are an extension of your body. Whiskersmiths are master artisans capable of crafting the finest equipment from mere scraps. Whiskersmiths have +1 to Handicraft. Knack The Right Tool for The Job Once per day, a Whiskersmith can craft a tool that grants The Upper Hand on any roll. The player must describe what this tool is and how their Mouse creates it. Coup De Grâce Up in Flames Coat your weapon with a special solution. It bursts into flames and sets enemies and objects alight on a hit for the rest of combat. Alternatively, have the weapon explode on a hit. It is lost permanently, but deals D12 damage on top of the weapon's normal damage value. Palefur Mice that use a special dye to bleach their fur so that it takes on a pale, translucent quality. Light behaves strangely around these Mice, making them incredibly difficult to see. Palefur have +1 to Dexterity Knack Pale Shadows Palefurs are almost impossible to detect. Gain the Upper Hand on all attempts at stealth. Coup De Grâce Vanish Melt into the shadows. You disappear before your enemy's eyes, and reappear directly behind them. Make an attack with the Upper Hand and then immediately move anywhere within 20". Beast Talker Shunned, and often misunderstood, Beast Talkers are Mice with an ability to 'talk' to animals that are not Mice. This ability comes at a cost. Beast Talkers struggle to communicate with other Mice. They are mostly mute around their own species until they have shared a meaningful experience with them. Beast Talkers have + 1 to Flora and Fauna. Knack Beast Talk Beast Talkers can communicate with other species. They do not speak a common langauge, but can intuit what other animals are feeling, reason with them (within limits) and give them instructions. Communication with creatures touched by the Deep is not possible. Their minds are not their own. Coup De Grâce Animal Companion Whistle. An animal of your choice appears as if by magic and either carries you away from combat, pins an enemy to the ground, or deals D12 damage to an enemy of your choice. The animal disappears at the start of the next round. Deepsinger Mice that heard the call of the Deep, and decided to put it to music. Master instrumentalists, the music they produce is alien and otherworldy, but hauntingly beautiful. It can charm and beguile, or strike fear into the hearts of living creatures. Deep Singers have +1 to Savoir Faire Knack Song of the Deep Deepsingers are peerless songwriters. As long as they have an instrument to hand, they can produce music so beautiful that other Mice will flock to hear them. Gain the Upper Hand when attempting to draw a crowd, or persuade someone of something using music. Coup De Grâce Song of War Music that speaks of darkness, death, and chaos. Deepsingers can use an instrument, or their voice, during combat to force all enemies to make a morale save. Does not work on Horrors. Ashen One Branded by flame at birth, Ashen Ones see beauty in the cycle of destruction and rebirth, and have a keen understanding of pain and suffering. They coat their fur with sacred ash, and so do not feel fire's heat. Every Ashen One carries an Emberlantern. The embers within must never be allowed to go out. Ashen Ones have +1 to Strength Knack Marked by Flame Ashen Ones are not harmed by fire, and can feel the pain of other living creatures. They sense pain the same way other Mice hear or smell. Coup De Grâce Fan the Flames Blow into your Emberlantern. The flames roar into life and burst forth, hitting all enemies in front of you within 8", dealing D6 damage (and setting enemies alight). Allies are not harmed. 5. How We Survive Using Skills Every Mouse has 9 skills that represent their competence at various tasks. Very few mice (if any) will be good at everything, so you will have to rely on your friends at times if you want to survive. Each character will have a rating somewhere between 3 18 in each skill. You need to roll a D20 under this number to succeed on a save. Strength A measure of your raw physical power. Roll whenever your Mouse is called upon to lift something heavy, break down a door, or stand their ground against an opposing force. High Strength also allows the use of massive weapons, and grants bonuses to weapon handling. Dexterity Speed, grace, and precision. Roll whenever your Mouse needs to employ fine motor skills, or move quickly. Your movement in combat is equal to half your dexterity. Round up if that would be a decimal. Intelligence Cunning, wit, and charisma. Roll whenever your Mouse needs to think on their feet, recall or research a fact about the world, or turn on the charm. Handicraft Your ability to craft and repair tools, and other contraptions. Roll whenever your Mouse needs to build or repair something. Crafting requires tools, and most Mice can only craft common items. You may only craft an item while camped. Barter Your mercantile savvy and ability to sniff out the best prices. Roll to reduce merchant's prices, and make your own goods seem more appealing. The GM has the final say on prices, and failure may result in a merchant increasing their prices, or outright refusing to trade. Savoir Faire Social grace, and knowing just the right thing to say. Roll whenever you need to act properly in formal situations, or respect other Mice's customs. You may also roll while in a settlement to make contacts, or track down gossip and rumours. Tracking Hunter's instinct and eye for detail. Roll to work out which way someone went, or where something is. You can also roll when you discover 'traces' of a Horror to learn which direction the Horror is from you. Pathfinding Orienteering and outdoorsmanship. Roll whenever you need to navigate difficult terrain, or find a safe place to camp. Also roll to get an insight from the GM about what is in an adjacent hex. Flora & Fauna Knowledge of nature. Roll to tame a wild beast, determine if something is safe to eat, or to identify a plant or animal. Cannot be used to identify or learn about Horrors. Having the right tool, or tools for the job is essential for survival. Even a lone Mouse has a chance of surviving almost any situation if properly equipped. The tables on the following pages outline what is generally available to purchase from various merhcants or businesses, but is by no means exhaustive. If the players request a specific item not listed here, the GM can make it available for purchase, provided they deem it reasonable for such a thing to exist and be for sale. Common items can be purchased in any settlement. Uncommon items are only found in towns (or larger settlements), and rare items are only available in citadels. See the next chapter for more details on settlement sizes. The Essentials See the table below for the price of Supplies and basic weapons. All Mice start the game with Light Weapons by default. Any other weapons must be purchased. Treasure Gold, trinkets and baubles, treasure comes in many forms. Rare stones, precious metals, antiques, and fine art, can all be sold for a tidy profit. GMs should make sure that there are treasures for players to find at adventure sites, and hidden throughout the world. The value of a treasure is determined by a dice roll. When selling the item, roll 2D6 and gain that many Waxbits. With a successful Bartering save, you may roll 3D6. If you fail the save you may only roll 1D8. Some treasures have special properties, or conditions that must be met for them to have any real value. See the Treasure Table for details. 6. Take What You Can Gear & Treasure Adventuring Gear Below is a selection of tools and equipment Mice commonly use for adventuring purposes. Some items are consumed on use. For almost all other items, roll a D6 on use. On a 1 the item breaks (the desired effect is still achieved) and must be repaired before it can be used again. This does not apply to backpacks or saddle bags. Mythtical Weapons Weapons whispered of in myths and legends. Forged by unknown hands, their full histories have been lost to time. Mythical weapons can be found in the hands of powerful Mice, hidden far from prying eyes, or even left behind after a Horror is defeated. They should be hard earned no matter how players come by them. Often difficult to wield properly, these weapons are devastatingly effective in the right hands. If a player chooses to sell a mythical wepaon, it is treated as though it is a treasure. A game of Winter's Bones takes place in a world represented by a roughly 12x8 hex map. Players move hex by hex, discovering new locations, encountering NPCs, and generally getting into trouble. You can either draw your own map, or use the template at the back of this book. Supplies Before venturing out into the wilderness, the player must take on 'supplies'. Supplies are a measure of how many hexes a Mouse can cross before they need to rest and prepare for their next journey. If the GM feels like being generous, they may allow their players to start the game with a small number of supplies. If not, they will have to purchase some before they can start to explore. Supplies and Movement A Mouse can move one hex per day, each move reducing their supplies by one. During encounters or while exploring adventure sites, the exact time of day can be kept fairly loose. It is up to the GM to keep track of time. Make sure tokeep track of how many supplies you currently have on your character sheet. Supplies are not 'items' and do not take up inventory space. They may be exchanged between players. Deep snow, marshland, mountains and so on, are all considered difficult terrain. When moving over difficult terrain players can nominate any Mouse to make a Pathfinding save. If the roll is successful, they (and any Mice they are travelling with) may move as normal. Otherwise, they must expend two supplies to cross the hex. Players always know if they are moving into difficult terrain. Certain items or NPCs can aid in traversing difficult terrain, negating the need for a Pathfinding save. There might be a friendly Otter nearby, willing to take you across a river, or you might come prepared with snowshoes, a rope, or a glider. Players take D6 damage when moving without supplies. Camping Players may camp at any time, expending three supplies. While camped, players recover D8 resolve and may roll a Handicraft check to repair any broken equipment. Players also heal one condition. You must have at least one tent for every four mice that wish to camp. Paying for or otherwise receiving hospitality grants the same effect as camping. If you cannot camp or find accommodation you may still rest, but only recover D6 Resolve, and do not heal conditions. Places of Interest Some hexes are more interesting than others. They contain peril, treasure, and adventure Settlements Any place a group of mice call home. It could be a burrow, a treetop village, or a mighty castle. While at a settlement you can prepare for your next expedition, ginformation about the world, recruit help, or buy and sell equipment. 7. Far From Home Rules for Exploration Settlements are divided by size into four categories, hamlets, villages, towns and citadels. The size of a settlement dictates what services and items are available there. As a rule of thumb a map should only have one citadel, and only two or three towns when the game begins. Uncommon items can only be found in towns and citadels. Rare items can only be found in citadels. All settlements have basic shops and lodgings, but towns and citadels also have three additional building slots. The GM chooses a building for each slot before the game starts. You can take buildings from the table on page ? Adventure Sites Points on the map where an interesting or dangerous situation is unfolding. They usually consist of one or more challenges for the players to overcome, and a reward of some kind. Players should start the game knowing where at least one adventure site is, but they will have to scour the map or make enquiries to find others. Adventure Sites are typically composed of 3 5 'rooms' (but can be a lot larger). Rooms should contain puzzles, challenges, and treasure. It is the GM's call how long the players have spent at an Adventure Site. Some might take more than a day to complete. Expend supplies if so. Think of Adventure Sites as set piece moments. As the GM, this is a chance for you to run players through a more bespoke, traditional adventure. Try to make sure to include one or two colourful NPCs, a problem or conflict of some kind that requires resolution, and a hook to suck your players in. Echoes of the Deep Places where the presence of The Deep Still is felt most keenly. Hidden within the deepest forests, atop the highest mountains, or buried deep beneath the soil, they resonate with latent power. The GM secretly places 3 5 Echoes on the map as the game begins. For bold, reckless, and foolish Mice, every Echo is an opportunity. Those able to withstand the Deep's touch, may be rewarded. Mice that reach the Echo roll an Intelligence save. If successful, they roll on the 'Touched by the Deep', table, and reroll one skill. If they roll higher than their current skill, that number replaces their old one. Mice that fail the save lose an important item, or ally (not one of the other player characters). This could happen instantly, or in the near future. Echoes can be found deep within caves, abandoned temples, in underground tunnels, or any other forgotten places. They can be woven into Adventure Sites, or can serve as smaller adventures in their own right. Echoes can only be accessed in winter. Random Encounters The GM will have prepared a table of random encounters (or borrowed one from this book) before the game begins. Roll on this table once per day as players enter a new hex. Random encounters can be mini adventures, new NPCs, opportunities to trade, or anything that gives the players an interesting problem to solve. Try to prepare between 10 and 20 encounters to begin the game with and add more as needed. Settlement Population Hamlet Village Town Citadel 10 or fewer Mice 10 500 Mice 500 1000 Mice 1000+ Mice Example of Play #1 The party have just left home for the first time. They have nothing to their name, and know little of the world, but rumours swirl about a ferocious beast terrorozing a small village beyond the mountains to the north... GM: You've packed your bags, and said your goodbyes. The watchman on the gate gives the all clear, and you step out beyond the walls of your home for the first time. You are struck by how alive the outside world feels. The way the wind rustles in the trees, a bird wheeling high overhead, and the soft padding of your own footsteps fill up your senses. You take a moment to adjust. Ollie (Xavier): Xavier wasn't ready for how massive the outside world would feel. He stops and shouts "I can see for miles!" Martin (Casper): Casper is apparently a much more cautious Mouse. I put my hand over Xavier's mouth and whisper "Stay quiet! We dont know what's out here". Ollie (Xavier): Sorry! It won't happen again! Martin (Casper) : Casper is a little on edge now. He's bit curt with his response. "See that it doesn't". GM: Despite Xavier's outburst, you don't see any signs of danger. Which direction are you heading? Martin (Casper): Well we heard about that village beyond the mountains. I can't deny I'm curious about this so called 'beast', and not just because there might be a reward for putting it down. Ollie (Xavier): "Monster hunting wouldn't be my first choice. What's in it for me? " Martin (Casper): "Typical. Well, other than the fact that those people need our help, there might be a reward in it, and we need Bits if we ever want to make anything of ourselves." Ollie (Xavier): With a weary sign, Xavier nods in agreement. "Let's go. " GM: Great! The village is four hexes from here, so thats four days of travelling. You have more than enough supplies for now, but don't forget to mark them off as you use them. One per hex ok? Right, you make your way through the foothills without incident. It's a hot day, and the ground is firm. You see the same bird from before, still high overhead, but it doesn't seem interested in you. Martin (Casper): I'll keep an eye on it just in case. GM: Noted. You've crossed two hexes so far. It's well into the evening as you reach the mountains. Mountains are difficult terrain, so one of you will have to make a pathfinding save to move without expending extra supplies Ollie (Xavier): I have the best pathfinding. I'll do it. I got a 6, that's a success! GM: You make the ascent with little difficulty, but during the climb you notice the bird from before is now a lot closer. Martin (Casper): Can I see what kind of bird it is? GM: It's a little far away, but a trained eye would recognise it. Roll a Flora and Fauna save. Martin (Casper): A 3! Casper must know his birds. GM: He certainly does. Judging by its outline, and flight patterns, you can tell that this is a hawk of some kind, and it has seen you. It looks like it's waiting for an opportunity to attack. What do you do? Ollie (Xavier): I've got this! I take out my flint and tinder and strike the steel, setting the undergrowth around me ablaze! I roll a D6 to make sure my flint and tinder don't break... and they don't! Martin (Casper): What the hell are you doing!? Ollie (Xavier): Creating a smokescreen, the hawk won't be able to see us while we escape! Martin (Casper): Some warning would have been nice! No choice now, run! 8. Summer & Winter Rules for Seasons There is an old Mouse saying. ' All things end at their beginning, and nothing lasts forever .' Some Mice find comfort in it, others think it a foolish nonsense. It does however express a fundamental truth about the world of Winter's Bones. All things born of summer are buried come winter. Winters in this world are unforgivingly, nightmarishly bleak, and the weather (though fierce) is the least of anyone's concerns. During winter, The Deep Still stirs, and its inhabitants are let loose upon the surface. Summer is best spent preparing for the winter to come, but even that may not be enough. Summer's Gifts As a new summer begins, the GM rolls a D20 on the Seasons Table (summer), and places the corresponding number of 'Gifts' on the map. Gifts are natural bounties, fortuitous circumstances or other boons that players can harvest for resources. Each Gift grants D8 of the specified resource, Mousepower being the only exception. For Mousepower Gifts, roll a D20 to determine how many Mice have gathered. Add that much Mousepower to a settlement the players control. Alternatively, the players may attempt to form a company from the gathered Mice. Gathering at a Gift of Summer takes one whole day. A single mouse can carry up to 20 of a given resource. One stack takes up one inventory slot. Gifts are removed as winter begins. Horrors At the onset of winter the GM rolls on the Seasons Table (winter) and places the corresponding number and type of Horrors on the map. To place a Horror choose a hex at random. This is where the Horror will appear after all of its harbingers have triggered. To determine when harbingers trigger, roll a D6. The first harbinger triggers within that many days (at the GM's discretion), the next harbinger the same number of days after that and so on. Unless specified otherwise, a Horror can move one hex per day, the same as the players. How each Horror moves and acts once it appears on the surface is detailed under their entry in 'What Winter Brings'. Omens There is one more roll to make before the winter begins. Roll a D20 on the Omens table. Do not roll Omens during summer. Omens are situations or phenomena that add both mechanical and narrative depth to a session or campaign. Each Omen persists across the whole season and can have a positive or a negative effect, or both. Try to think about how NPCs react to Omens. Are they angry, afraid? Do they see meaning in them, or do they ignore them entirely? Doing this will lend your world and your story a greater depth. Omens are also useful for wrong footing players. Are the strange events they encounter connected to the Horror they are pursuing? Or are they being led astray?