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 Secrets of the Weird Wizard Writing, Design, and Art Direction: Robert J. Schwalb
Editing and Development: Kim Mohan
Additional Editing: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes
Additional Development: Daniel Heinrich

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Proofreading: Jay Spight
Cover Design, Graphic Design, and Layout: Kara Hamilton
Cover Illustrator: Jack Kaiser
Interior Illustrations: Yeysson Bellaiza, Auri Cavendish, Andrew Clark, Biagio d’alessandro, Çağ daş Demiralp,
Nim Dewhirst—Kasgovs Maps, Rick Hershey, Jack Kaiser, Yugin Maffioli, Britt Martin, Maria Rosaria

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Monticelli,Victor Moreno, Mitch Mueller, Matthew Myslinski, Eduardo Nunes, Mirco Paganessi, Claudio Pozas,
Erica Rossi, Phill Simpson, Kim Van Deun, Sergio Villa-Isaza, and Cardin Yanis
Cartography: Nim Dewhirst—Kasgovs Maps

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Secrets of the Weird Wizard is © 2024 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
Secrets of the Weird Wizard, Shadow of the Weird Wizard, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Schwalb Entertainment,
and their associated logos are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
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Schwalb Entertainment
[logo]
PO BOX 12548
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
info@schwalbentertainment.com
www.schwalbentertainment.com

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 Table of
Contents
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 swallowed the old nations and turned them

Introduction
Every group needs a person to shape the game’s
against each other in a death struggle. Refugees
flee across the borderlands, drawn by the promise
of a future in the New Lands, recently abandoned
by a mysterious, eccentric, and some might call
story, present challenges, and reward the players mad wizard who denied entry into this magic-
when their characters complete their quests. In warped realm for centuries. People fleeing the
Shadow of the Weird Wizard, this person gains the collapse of their homeland see his absence as an

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title of Sage. I would argue that the Sage has the invitation to settle and make neighbors of the
most fun. There’s something to be said for putting many strange peoples who cannot remember a
one’s creativity on display, to throw open the vault time without the Weird Wizard.
of imagination and let all the weirdness out. As a Where in the Old Country, civilization has driven
Sage, you’re the one who shapes the story. You back all the bogeymen of old into the shadows, in

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direct the action. You decide what happens and, the New Lands roam monsters of myth and
more importantly, what could happen. And you’re legend. Here live people touched by magic, from
the one who hands out the rewards when the the centaur herds running the plains in the north
players complete their quest. You’re the most to the shapeshifting wargs who have fought
popular person in the room and you hold against the Weird Wizard’s dominion for
everyone’s attention, for you know what happens centuries. This realm defies both reason and
next. expectation, as the laws governing nature seem
I’m under no illusions about your experience relaxed here. One can find islands drifting in the
with other roleplaying games. No doubt, if you’re skies, rivers of stones tumbling down from
reading this chapter, you have come here with at mountains so tall that they climb above the blue

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least some experience at playing or running games
like this one, games that use the titles of referee or
narrator, using the words “dungeon” and “master.”
So, rather than waste your time and mine
presenting this chapter as a how-to guide, I’m
dome of the world, their peaks touching the
infinite dark. Entire forests uproot themselves and
migrate with the seasons, coastlines redraw
themselves daily, and the seasons might change
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without warning. Surely the oddities of the New
going to give a light overview of my style and the Lands arise from the Weird Wizard’s magic, and
elements of game mastery that I think are most people expect that the longer this figure stays
important. Then, I’ll dive into some tools you can away, the more normal the region will become, but
use for building and running quests. If I’m wrong for now the New Lands are anything but
about your familiarity, there’s an ocean of advice predictable.
for this sort of thing in the hundreds, if not Against this backdrop are the characters, people
thousands, of tabletop roleplaying games, to say of exceptional capabilities who have come to the
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nothing of all the well-intentioned folks on social New Lands to find their fortunes, win fame and
media who will bend over backwards to put you acclaim, and chisel their names into history as
on the right track. great heroes, bold adventurers, or champions of
Shadow of the Weird Wizard has its own naming noble causes. Though these characters have great,
conventions to reflect the spirit of the game. For epic destinies, their stories must have a beginning,
starters, we use Sage instead of game master or and so you and your friends come together to
referee. The name reinforces the idea that this make up the characters, shape their stories, and
player has all the answers. Plus, it’s my cheeky nod
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see where they will go.

toward the role best played by the inestimable For all the danger and strangeness this game
Skip Williams in the pages of Dragon Magazine. presents to the characters, Shadow of the Weird
Next, rather than adventure or mission, the game Wizard offers a play experience for all kinds of
uses quests. A quest has an objective, and its gamers, whether they are newcomers to the hobby
completion marks the end of that story. Finally, the or grizzled veterans of many campaigns. Quests
bad guys, whether evil or not, are enemies since offer opportunities to make the world a better,
monsters represent just one kind of opponent. safer place, to undo much of the damage done and
That’s about all you need to know, for now. present a future of better possibilities. Unlike
Shadow of the Demon Lord, which revels in the
Mood and Tone mud, blood, and excrement, Shadow of the Weird
Shadow of the Weird Wizard reveals a world in Wizard’s quests and larger stories produce good
crisis, one in which war and catastrophe have outcomes and have a lighter tone, all to broaden

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 the game system’s appeal. Weird Wizard has dark It also helps to know a bit about the setting. The
and unpleasant corners for those who want it, but good news is that the game world is open to
such elements can be set aside and ignored as you change. Details about the Old Country and New
choose. Lands have been left, for now, for you to develop
as you like. And if you want a more fleshed out

Sage Basics setting, the borderlands keep the focus on a

smaller area rather than great swaths of the realm.
You can keep quests to small regions, gradually
It’s assumed you know something about

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roleplaying games, having perhaps come here widening out and adding detail to the
from some other world-famous game, so I don’t surroundings as the characters progress through
plan to do a lot of handholding here. However, you the story.
might find it interesting to know a bit more about
Story First

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my approach to running games.
Roleplaying games have plenty of rules, and Weird
Knowledge Wizard is no different. There are rules for
You need to know a bit about the game before you attacking, casting spells, falling, jumping, picking
try to run it. Mastery of the rules can come in time, locks, chatting up locals, and a variety of other
but knowing where to find the answers when activities. Rules help make the game fair, but they
questions come up helps you keep the game can also strangle the story if you let them. Feel free
moving. You also need to know about the player to ignore, enforce, change, and add any rule you
side of things. Make some characters. Run a like provided that doing so makes the story better.
combat. Fool around with the game a bit until you In fact, such changes can make the game more fun
get a handle on it.
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<INSERT SECRETS 0001: SAGE BASICS
1/4>
for you and your friends depending on the play
style you prefer. The only thing to add, here, as fun
as tinkering can be, aim for consistency. Doing so
preserves the players’ trust in you to tell a good
story and run a fair game.
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Encourage the Players
Some people see their role as Sage as one in
opposition to the players. Here’s the thing: you
will always win. No matter what options the
players have chosen, in the end, the tools at your
disposal give you total control of what happens in
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play. Rather than “test” the players or make their

characters’ lives more difficult and thus the game
less fun, become their advocate. Everyone wins
when they finish the quest. This shouldn’t be easy,
but it shouldn’t be hopeless either. Make the
players feel challenged, but always with an eye
toward keeping the story moving and the heroes
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alive until the end, nudging them or helping them

as needed.

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 Keep it Simple the details as you go. No amount of preparation
can account for the full range of possible actions
The players depend on you for information about players might take.
what their characters see, hear, and experience in And then there are times when players come up
the world around them. They need enough with ideas about what’s going on all on their own,
information to make decisions in the game, so it’s without you having to do anything. You might
crucial not to leave out details that could have a disabuse them of their conclusions, but you can
bearing on the situation. Similarly, don’t hide that also steal those ideas to make them your own. For

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information behind excessive description. Keep it example, say you describe an altar in a chapel and
simple. Keep it short. Give the players enough to tell the players that a few carvings on the altar’s
know where they are and what’s happening. If sides depict seraphs. You know there’s nothing
they want more information, they will ask. special about the altar, but one of the players has
become convinced otherwise. Rather than dash

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Characters are Protagonists their expectations, make the player feel smart by
The whole point of this game is to tell fun stories revealing a clue, a minor treasure, or something
involving a diverse cast of characters played by interesting about the altar. Not only does the
your friends. They are the story’s protagonists, player feel good, but you also reward engagement
and everything that happens in the game serves to with the imaginary environment.
tell their stories. Keep the characters in the
forefront of your mind, always looking for ways for Keep it Fun
them to develop. You come together to have a good time, and you’re
Of equal importance, the players control their in the position to make sure everyone does. For
characters. They decide what their characters look

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like and how they think, act, and react. Some
effects in the game can take away a player’s agency
for a brief time, but such things are rare. Unless
you have good reason, avoid telling the players
starters, you should always recognize individual
players’ boundaries and never cross them. There’s
no point in testing a player’s limits. Making the
game too edgy or overly dark could drive someone
off or, worse, ruin a friendship. Similarly, make
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what their characters feel or do. sure the players themselves don’t cross lines of
good taste. It’s everyone’s responsibility to keep
Be Adaptable the game fun, exciting, and interesting.
Rarely do things in the game go as planned. Some players behave in ways that can
Players have a knack for doing the unexpected. jeopardize the game. Excessive arguing, tantrums,
They chase red herrings, become embroiled in spotlight hogging, and the like can spoil the fun.
minutiae, and even miss out on major clues. You When this happens, you should pull the player
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might have a magnificent plot in mind, only to aside and explain how and why their behavior is
discover that the players have gone in a affecting the game. Oftentimes, disruptive players
completely different direction. don’t realize they are causing trouble and can be
This is just the nature of roleplaying games. saved with a friendly conversation. But those who
Rather than be heavy-handed and push the can’t or won’t rein in their problematic behavior
characters back into the plot, let them explore and should be shown the door for the greater good of
see where the story takes them. Doing so makes all.
the players feel like they have agency in the world Players need to know they are in a safe place,
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rather than being mere spectators to what you free from anything they might find upsetting. It’s
decide unfolds and when. If you’re running a crucial that you respect that and to enforce this
prepared quest, you can always plunder parts rule, even with other players. For example, I don’t
from it to serve as challenges and obstacles. Using enjoy graphic scenes of animal harm, so I don’t
pieces from other quests can let you create an explore such things in my games and encourage
entirely new story based on the decisions the others to respect my tastes. If the game goes in a
players make. direction that is particularly dark and you see any
Sometimes you just must make stuff up. The signs of distress, retreat and take the story in a
players might fail to find a piece of crucial different direction. If you’re unsure, periodically
evidence, head off along a different line of inquiry, pause to gauge the players’ comfort levels.
or simply do something you never expected. It’s Keeping the game safe and fun will make you one
tricky, of course, but in these situations, make up of the best Sages you can be.

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 Chapter 1
<INSERT SECRETS 0101: SAGE ADVICE; 1/2H>

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Sage Advice
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You’ve taken on the role of Sage. Good for you! You know how to run games already, so there’s not too much I
can tell you that you don’t already know. Thus, this chapter gives you some friendly tips and advice for
running this game instead of other tabletop roleplaying games and a slew of tools to help you create quests,
campaigns, interesting roleplaying situations, exploration scenes, and battles.
You decide most of what happens in the game. For starters, you have read the quest or written it yourself, so
you know how the story ought to shake out. You reveal the setting, control the enemies and people the
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characters meet, choose the weather, and decide on just about every other detail involving the story. The
players, however, control how their characters act and react to developments in the story.
The most important decisions you’ll need to make are how to interpret what the players say they do in the
game and what happens as a result. Excited players might describe their characters doing all kinds of things,
while shy players might offer little description of what their characters do in a scene. You sort through all the
information you gain from the players and piece it together to assemble some sort of narrative.

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 • Climb and swim

Deciding Results •
•
Run
Break something
When a player describes their character doing • Withstand poison or infection
something, you decide if it happens as described • Make a melee attack
(yes), it doesn’t happen (no), or it might happen • Make an unarmed attack
(roll).
Agility Rolls

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Saying Yes Tasks involving the use of dexterity, balance, poise,
The activity happens. You probably do this a lot finesse, or reflexes might require an Agility roll.
without thinking about it. You don’t call for a roll • Balance
when a player says that her character is crossing a • Leap

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room or sets up camp or orders an ale from the • Dodge
bartender. Further, if we agree that the characters • Make a ranged attack and some melee attacks
are competent people, there’s no reason to • Make some unarmed attacks
question a lot of what they describe. Does the • Pick a lock
burly warrior wants to kick in the door? Let her.
Does the nimble rogue wants to climb the knotted Intellect Rolls
rope? Sure, why not. Saying yes helps you reward Characters make Intellect rolls when they use
players for the choices they made when creating their mental might to overcome challenges.
their characters and makes them feel as though • Recall pertinent information
they have agency in the story. • Solve a puzzle

Saying No e
It is just as important to say no. There’s no reason
to call for a roll when the stated activity is
• Pass a lie off as the truth
• Cast a spell
• Spot an illusion
• Find a clue
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impossible. It’s perfectly fine to tell the players
that no, you can’t hit the moon with the arrow you Will Rolls
fired from the ground and no, you can’t bend the Will rolls come into play when a character would
bars on the cell window since you have a 9 push past pain, adversity, and other obstacles to
Strength. If anything is possible, nothing is accomplish their goals or to carry out any other
impossible, which, short of magic or the gods, task that involves force of personality.
makes everything absurd. • Intimidate others
• Persuade someone
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Roll the Dice • Fight off fear

• Resist mind control
You can see the activity happening, but you also
recognize that there’s a chance that it doesn’t. This • Cast a spell
situation comes up when the players’ characters • Maintain one’s focus while beset with
act against other creatures, such as making an distractions
attack or casting a spell, when they would avoid or
mitigate a harmful effect, or when they do Luck Rolls
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something else, and the outcome is simply not Luck rolls happen when some event occurs that
certain. In these cases, you can call for an attribute has no strong ties to a particular attribute, when
roll or a luck roll to make the decision for you. You there’s a roughly even chance for something to
also call for rolls when the rules instruct you, happen, or whenever you let the dice decide the
though you can decide not to if the outcome is outcome. The rules also use luck rolls to
obvious. determine when some harmful effects end and
when characters regain the ability to use talents.
Strength Rolls Luck rolls are useful for seeing if the characters
A character makes a Strength roll when they happen to notice details around them with a
perform an activity related to the use of physical casual glance or to check if they hear anything
force to accomplish a task or to see if their vitality interesting when they put an ear to the door. Luck
is sufficient to resist a harmful effect. can also be great for determining random events.

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 Say the characters pay a visit to the local wisdom. tasks easier or harder. When assigning boons or
Is she at home when they show up or not? A luck banes, only consider the nature of the task
roll can decide that outcome when the presence or attempted; don’t add additional banes to offset
absence of this wisdom has no major bearing on boons a character might have, for example.
the story. Similarly, if a character lobs a fireball For each positive circumstance that would make
into a room, you might call for a luck roll to see if the task easier, grant 1 boon. For each one that
the fireball weakened the ceiling enough to trigger would make it harder, impose 1 bane. If you come
a cave-in. up with 4 boons or more, you might as well grant

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an automatic success. Likewise, if you have 4
Ands and Buts banes or more, it’s not unreasonable to just tell the
player that the task is impossible under these
When you add an “and” or a “but” to a yes or no,
circumstances.
you have an opportunity to make a binary

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outcome more interesting. “Yes, and” rewards the
activity by either revealing more information or
allowing an even greater than expected success.
Describe Outcomes
However, “yes, but” suggests that the success That a task succeeds or fails can suffice when it
comes with a complication. Similarly, “no, and” comes to describing an outcome, but adding
creates a worsening situation, while “no, but” evocative description helps the players become
enables a way to compensate for the setback. immersed in the game, while also making them
Some examples follow. feel as though they did something exciting. A
Heather plays a warrior named Heathen who fighter swings a sword and strikes a monster. You
dives for a lever sticking out of the wall so she can could ask for damage and move on, but describing
how blood flies from the wound or how the

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pull it down. Since her character did this in lieu of
attacking or casting a spell, the Sage decides she
pulls the lever (yes), lifting a gate and making a
loud enough noise to distract the enemies,
granting her allies 1 boon on rolls made to attack
monster howls in pain makes the scene more
memorable. When a character fails to kick down a
door, you could take a moment to describe the
door’s solidity. Similarly, when a goblin’s arrow
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the enemies until the end of the round. narrowly misses a character, you might describe
Chris plays a mage named Anodyne who leaps the whistling the projectile makes as it passes by
across a pit. It’s an easy jump, but the Sage notes or the cracking noise as it shatters on the
that he has a low Agility score and has already character’s shield. All these instances do more for
described the edge of the pit as looking crumbly. the story than simply saying yes or no, success or
Chris leaps the pit (yes), but has to make an Agility failure.
roll to keep his feet on the unstable surface.
Time and Pacing
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Elise’s character, called Onyx, fights goblins in a

room. She and her companions are outnumbered,
and the situation looks dire, so Elise tries to force Time passes in the game at whatever rate you
open the door leading out of the room. choose. You can summarize a couple of days’ travel
Unfortunately, she fails her roll (no), but the Sage with a few words of description or slow things
tells Elise that she spots a ring of keys hanging on down to focus on a conversation between the
a hook a few feet away. various characters. Fast or slow, time’s fluidity
Mike, playing a priest named Sandy, tries to keeps the story moving at a reasonable pace.
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threaten a barman with violence unless he gives

up the name of the death master. The Sage knows Using Rounds
the barman doesn’t know (no) and, because of the Tracking time in rounds helps you remember
threat, he picks up a club and calls in a couple of what’s going on in the story when the stakes are
bouncers to take care of this god-bothering highest, such as in combat or in chases. In combat,
nuisance. rounds both make sure everyone has a chance to
contribute to the scene and help keep track of all
Adjusting Difficulty the action.
Beyond combat, you can use rounds in any
The game pins the target number for unopposed situation where you need to know what
tasks at 10 to give the players a slightly better than everyone’s doing at a particular moment. You
even chance of success. Boons and banes make the don’t have to use the standard round structure,

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 though. You can simply go around the table (or
virtual table) and ask what everyone’s doing, then
Adventurers
resolve their activities one at a time. Scenes where The group seeks out discoveries for their own
time matters, such as escaping a flooding room sake, though if they get rich along the way, so
trap or when there’s a countdown, need rounds to much the better. Adventuring makes a great group
ensure everyone has a chance to contribute to the concept since it gives the characters the freedom
challenge and manage events as they unfold. to go wherever they want and undertake quests
that interest them. They’re going to go it alone, at

Characters

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least until they do a few favors for powerful
friends-in-the-making.
Each player needs a character in the game. If
you’re running the game for newcomers, Outlaws
Circumstances forced the characters into the

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especially those who have never played a tabletop
roleplaying game before, you should set aside time borderlands. Perhaps they were criminals and
to help them create characters using the rules in now have bounty hunters searching for them. Or
Shadow of the Weird Wizard or provide them with they might have been rebels, participating in some
characters you created on their behalf. Even if you of the uprisings that brought the Great Kingdom to
have an experienced group, though, it’s best to its knees. They might be innocents wrongly
make character creation part of the first game accused of some crime, or prisoners who have
session. The process goes quickly, so it should only recently escaped their captors or shook off the
take a few minutes before everyone is up and chains of servitude.
running. <INSERT SECRETS 0102: EXPLORER;

Origin Story e
The first quest the characters undertake assumes
they know and work with each other toward
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common goals. Invite the players to come up with
a story that explains how they met and why they
stick together.
Some sample origins follow. Choose one, adapt
one, or let the group make up one that fits them.

Explorers
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The characters set out to make discoveries in the

borderlands and beyond. They might be working
for a displaced noble seeking territory on which to
build new holdings, belong to an established
explorer society, or undertake an expedition
formed and funded by a famous person. The
patron could provide equipment and destinations,
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at least at the beginning of the campaign.

Merchants
The characters all belong to the same mercantile
consortium that hopes to establish new markets in
the borderlands. They are expected to venture into
the unknown and make peaceful contact with the
various peoples who live there. The group might
have to undertake additional quests to gain the
locals’ trust and friendship.

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 Missionaries and Pilgrims fomorians. The characters might use this
community as a base of operations or, emboldened
The characters could all have the same religious by their early success, set out to find fame, glory,
inclinations and set out into the borderland to and riches.
expand the influence of their faith or visit sites
deemed holy or otherwise important to their OPTIONAL: STARTING TIER
religion. Much of the violence in the Old Country In Shadow of the Demon Lord, players begin the
saw religious relics go missing. The characters campaign with starting characters, ordinary people

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might be hunting for those lost pieces or fighting thrust into dangerous situations without any training or
to restore them to their rightful places. experience. Such adventures can be deadly since the
characters lack spells, gear, or any of the advantages

Refugees
enjoyed by more seasoned characters. The resulting high
body count makes such starting adventures unsuited to
The people fleeing the Old Country spill into the

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a game that expects the players take on the roles of
borderlands and have swept the characters along heroes fighting darkness in the world.
with them. They, like the rest, were displaced by However, you might retain the idea of starting
war, dark magic, famines, plagues, and all the characters by running an introductory quest to help the
other ills that afflict the civilized world. Having players understand their roles and to make their choice
escaped the danger of what was known, now the of novice path more organic, driven by shared
characters face the threat of the unknown. They experiences. You can create starting characters by
making the following adjustments.
could work to protect their friends and family,
• No Paths The characters begin the game
safeguard a fledgling settlement, or venture out
without a path.
for supplies and materials needed to keep the
• Equipment The characters start the game with
community alive.

Traveling Entertainers e
A traveling circus, a troupe of actors, a touring
band, or the like unites the characters and sees
•

•
a set of clothes appropriate to their profession
and 1d6 sp.
Attribute Scores The starting scores for all four
attributes are 10.
Natural Defense The starting Natural Defense
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them travel from place to place to entertain the is 10.
crowds. While forays into the New Lands pose • Starting Health Each character begins with 10
considerable risk, there’s plenty of adventure and Health.
excitement to be had among the settlements • Languages The characters all speak, read, and
write Common.
growing in the borderlands. And for groups of a
• Ancestry Characters begin the game as
mind to help others, there’s no shortage of things
humans unless you allow them to choose
to do.
different ancestries.
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• Profession Each character has one randomly

Agents determined profession.
A powerful patron assembled the group, selecting • Other Details Players can choose or randomly
candidates based on their capabilities. The patron determine their characters’ distinctive
could be a political leader, a noble, a wizard, a high features, personality traits, and other
priest, the druids, or some other individual or descriptive elements.
organization. Quests involve advancing the After the group completes the quest and forms a team,
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the characters separate to undergo the needed training

patron’s interests in the borderlands and
and choose a novice path after a period of weeks or
elsewhere, with ever more dangerous missions to
months, as you decide. The characters replace their
bring their employer closer to the ultimate attribute scores with ones from their path and do the
objective. same for unarmored Defense, starting Health, and so on.
In addition to any funds earned during the starting
Local Heroes quest, the players also gain the starting equipment from
The characters participated in some effort to save their path (or purchase equipment with 10 sp).
the lives and livelihoods of innocent people and,
for their trouble, gained the esteem of their
community. They might have confronted and
Other Ancestries
defeated a monster, exposed a diabolical cult, or The lands of Erth belong to many different peoples
helped locals escape from a rampaging band of in all shapes and sizes. Some cultures are built on
notions of justice, order, and virtue, while others

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 are despicable societies where the pursuit of personal setback. Players might also set aside
wealth is all, and those in power trample over characters in favor of new ones. Some
those who must go without. As explained in circumstances force a player to create a different
Shadow of the Weird Wizard, humans have come to character: their character dies, vanishes into the
dominate the lands of the known world, even if Void, or is taken prisoner by a terrible enemy.
they sometimes share those lands with others who While a player might have a good reason for
have little to nothing in common with humankind. having their character exit the story, excessive
It might seem limiting to have humans be the departures might diminish the experience for

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only choice of ancestry by default, but the variety everyone else. If a player “retires” a second
among humans of Erth far exceeds that found in character by choice, take the player aside and
the real world. They can resemble all the different encourage them to stick with their current
examples of humanity that exist in our own world, character for the good of the overall story.
but they also might have bright green skin, a light Campaigns are short enough in this game that

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coating of fur on their bodies, or horns sprouting players do not have to wait long before they can
from their brows. People touched by the faeries explore new character options.
might have pointed ears, while those sullied by End of Story: At the end of a quest, the players
dark magic display devilish features that include can choose to end their character’s stories, which
red skin and maybe even a tail. Such cosmetic removes them from the campaign. Players who do
differences have no effect on what a character can so create new characters to replace the ones who
and can’t do. exited, and these characters have all the benefits
However, other people exist beyond humans. due to them for the group’s level. If all the players
Woodwoses covered in thick fur, mechanical retire their characters, you might consider starting
people, miniature dragons, and even faeries such over from the beginning or at a lower level and

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as the elves might find common cause with
humans, join them in their quests, and call them
friends, companions, allies, and more. The
availability of these other peoples as character
have them play through quests until they catch
back up to the main story.
Temporary Exits: A side quest, other business,
family concerns, imprisonment, or some other
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options is entirely up to you. reason can cause a character to exit the story for
A wide range of possible ancestries, including one or more quests. Work with the player to
fallen angels, dhampirs, and even revenants who decide what happens while the character is away.
refuse to go to the grave, appear in Weird During this period, the player can play a different
Ancestries, a supplement for Shadow of the Weird character, again with all the benefits one has at the
Wizard. Abbreviated versions of these ancestries group’s level. If all the players decide to
show up in Chapter 3. What to include and what to temporarily exit, simply extend the time that
leave out depends on the story you hope to tell passes between quests to accommodate the
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and how varied a cast of characters you’re willing characters as they deal with other matters. To
to allow. We have come a long way from the time convey the sense of time passing, you might have
of dwarfs, elves, and halflings forming fellowships the players create new characters to play through
to undertake world-saving quests. Now people a quest or two. If these quests influence the
come to fantasy from video games, television, development of the campaign (see below), all the
movies, books, anime, comics, and even other better.
roleplaying games. With such an abundance of Character Death: Despite the tools the
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material, they might look to play characters far characters have to keep themselves alive, death
removed from themselves and become something happens. Character death should always be
unusual, perhaps even strange. Whenever you can, significant; players’ characters represent the most
accommodate these tastes, adjusting the tone of important people in the story, after all. Though
the campaign to make such characters welcome. you should give this event the focus it deserves,
character death should not keep a player from

Character Exits participating in the story.

One easy way to keep the player involved is to
The story might lead a player to decide their let them take control of a character you control.
character must pursue some other interest, such This character might be a mercenary the group
as raising a family, undertaking a personal quest hired, a servant, a prisoner, or someone the group
while the rest of the characters go about their meets soon after the death. When the quest ends,
business, or retiring after suffering some major the player can then re-create this character as a

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 Quests
full member of the group or return control to you
and create a replacement character.
You can also let the player introduce a new
character into the quest. This person might have You might create your own quests to suit the story
been seeking the group, having heard of their you want to tell, or run a quest published for
exploits, and coming to lend aid. The character Shadow of the Weird Wizard. In either case, quests
could also meet the group by chance and throw in follow a few guidelines you might adopt when
with them to finish their quest. making your own.

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If multiple characters die, the quest might • Published quests have novice, expert, and
remain unfinished as the survivors flee for safety. master tags to tell you for whom the
After some period of inactivity, the survivors can adventures work best.
be assumed to have recruited new companions • A quest represents key moments in the
and can resume or restart the quest. group’s overarching story, highlighting

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If all the characters die, the quest ends in failure. extremely dangerous, meaningful, and
If you run a campaign, such an event might bring rewarding expeditions.
the story to an abrupt end. The players might • A typical group of characters ought to finish a
restart with new characters of a tier you choose quest in a single three-to-five-hour game
and embark on another quest or make characters session.
of the same tier as their previous ones and come • Upon completing the quest, the group’s level
at the quest anew, perhaps picking up where the can increase by 1 if you choose.
last group left off or becoming involved in the In every quest, whether your own or published,
story through some other means. the stakes are at their highest for the group.
Characters aren’t sent to kill a bunch of rats at the

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<INSERT SECRETS 0103: QUESTS; 1/4>
lowest levels of the game; instead, they work with
locals to prepare a town for an attack by raiders,
find a cure to a vicious plague that’s claiming the
lives of their friends and neighbors, or survive a
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perilous journey to some far-flung locale in search
of the magic they need to protect their community
from some deadly threat. Minor missions that
characters might undertake occur in the
background, in the time between games, since
those stories, while sometimes fun, lack the
importance of the grand adventures represented
by quests.
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Limited scope and a focus on the action make a

quest something a group should be able to
complete in a few hours of play. Restricting the
plot to this timespan avoids stretching the story
over two or more sessions, during which time
players might forget key information or, worse,
miss out on the conclusion when real life makes
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demands.
Finally, rewards, such as level increase, ensure
the players have something new to use the next
time they play. It encourages them to keep playing
to develop their characters in exciting ways.
You’re not required to follow any of these
guidelines. You might find it more to your taste to
have the characters advance more slowly, so that
they gain levels every two or three quests. You
might also employ longer-form quests that take
several sessions to complete. Whatever works for
your group is what’s best for the game.

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 Quest Preparation
characters they might create to match the game’s
tone.
You should spend at least 15 minutes preparing Finally, take time to establish boundaries for
the quest before you start. game play. Since everyone wants to have fun, it’s
Read the Quest: Published quests are short, always good to determine what topics and
rarely more than four or five pages long. If you’re situations might be upsetting so you can avoid
running one, read it from beginning to end to get a them. And once you’ve done so, never venture into
sense of its flow, understand the events, and those areas. Even if you believe you have a good

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familiarize yourself with important locations. reason, don’t. The players place their trust in you,
Review the Enemies: Many quests involve and straying outside the boundaries violates that
some conflict. Review the enemies that appear in trust.
the quest to understand how they work in play.
Hook the Players: Come up with a compelling
Running the Quest

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reason to involve the characters. It should be clear
to everyone that they’re supposed to undertake One of the biggest mistakes inexperienced Sages
the quest, but most players like to have a good make when running published quests is to treat
reason to face danger, even if it is only to find them as scripts and follow them to the letter.
treasure or earn a reward. Hooks can be general— Quests work better as story maps that show ways
a mayor hires the group, or they stumble into the the players might take to reach their destination—
plot—but they’re best when tailored to the the conclusion. Sometimes players follow the clues
characters. You can look at what the characters did and play through the quest as designed, but very
during their downtime, have friendly contacts call often, they do unexpected things and veer off in
completely new directions.

makes sense. e
in favors, or tie the stakes to something they value:
property, people, a cause, or something else that

Plant the Seeds: If you know the next quest you

plan to run, look for places where you can plant
Don’t panic. This happens all the time. All you
must do is adjust the quest to accommodate the
players’ decisions. If the characters go in a
direction that bypasses the troll’s lair, there’s no
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seeds that foreshadow events to come. For reason you can’t have them stumble across the lair
example, if you know the group will fight a band of elsewhere in the story, maybe even as they are
orc barbarians in the next adventure, you might headed back to town. If they miss out on a crucial
have them come across a burning wagon bristling bit of information, have them come by it some
with orc arrows, a filthy idol of a diabolical god, or other way—in a document they discover, from a
a survivor of a recent orc attack. messenger sent to find them, or through another
character you create to give them what they need
to further the story.
Session Zero
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The one thing you don’t want is a dead end.

Prior to playing through the first adventure, it’s Don’t let the story stop because the characters go
best to set aside time for character creation. Doing in an unexpected way. Be flexible and improvise.
this establishes the mood and tone of the And if you find yourself stuck, take a short break
adventures to come and sets firm boundaries on while you put something together, even if it’s an
what’s permissible in play and what’s not. entirely different adventure!
Being present while the players create their
characters gives you a chance to guide them. Be
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sure to take notes about the identities of these Improvisation

characters so you can work elements of their The hardest skill to master is inventing scenarios
backgrounds, personalities, and other traits into and situations in response to developments in the
future adventures. game. As with any skill, you’ll get better at
Before character creation, you can explain the improvisation with practice. Here are some tips to
kind of stories you plan to tell. You might aim for make it a little easier to be nimble when it comes
high fantasy adventure, grim and gritty dark to storytelling.
fantasy, horror, or a lighthearted game where Plan: You know you will find yourself in
nothing is serious. Establishing the tone at the situations in which you have to come up with a
start makes it clear what you expect from the name for a person, place, or thing. Do yourself a
players and what they can expect from you. Also, it favor and keep a running list of names. When the
gives them some idea about what kinds of players get chummy with the bartender and you’re

14
 at a loss for a name, just refer to the list and cross can make any kind of quest you like, but looking at
one off. A great online resource is The Story some published adventures first can give you a
Games Names Project. A search should turn this good idea about suitable length and content.
up without trouble. A quest should have three to five parts called
Let the Players Take the Lead: Players come to acts. Early acts should have a few scenes, while
conclusions about what’s happening in the game later acts can have many. The group moves quickly
all the time, and these conclusions offer you plenty through the early acts and then slows down until
of fodder for coming up with what could happen the end, which concludes the quest. Adjust as

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next. Players fixate on small things and latch onto needed to accommodate your group.
minor details in your descriptions, whether you
intend them to be important or not. If you mention
a rug in a room, someone is bound to look under
Objectives
Every quest has an objective, which describes
it. If you mention empty iron sconces, you can bet

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what the characters hope to attain. Objectives
someone will give one or all a tug to see if they
might be simple or complex, as you choose. When
open a secret door.
you start building the adventure, write a
If the story moves in an unexpected direction,
declarative sentence that states what the
you can exploit this focus to spark ideas about
characters must accomplish, like any of the
how the adventure might develop. Rather than tell
following examples. The group must…
the player of a character ransacking a desk that
• … destroy the vampire hunting the good
they find nothing, perhaps they turn up letters in a
people of Threshold.
script consisting of bizarre symbols, and decoding
• … retrieve the magic sword from the
those symbols might point the players back
dragon’s lair.
toward the main plot. Maybe the badges you

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describe the faerie bandits as wearing make them
servants of a powerful witch who could become
important later. In short, whatever conclusions the
players draw, you can make them true as needed
• … negotiate an alliance with the faeries to
fight against the invading barbarians.
• … deliver a gift to the hag dwelling at the
center of the Shadow Wood to convince
her to lift the curse from a nearby town.
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to keep the story going.
Do What’s Natural: When confronted by • … explore the fabled Tomb of Ashra-Ra.
different ways for the adventure to proceed, you • … rescue the prisoners from the wicked
can always just choose the most likely outcome. brigands who ambushed the caravan on
The weird and the unexpected can and do occur, the High Road.
but when you’re not sure how to proceed, you can • … unmask the cultists working to
just do what feels right and logical. summon a horrible demon.
Details don’t Matter: You can also make up • … drive off the mutants who have been
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stuff without worrying about how it connects to raiding the farms.

the overall story. You can always knit the scene • … put the ghost of High Manor to rest.
back into the plot later when you’ve had a bit more • … locate the star that fell in the center of
time to think about it, or let the players come up Goblin City.
with a workable solution and agree to it. • … recover the fabled Royal Gem from
Start a Fight: When all else fails, you can use Galdak Rak, a ruined dwarfen citadel.
combat to give you a break from having to think on
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your feet and advance the plot in another way. It’s Novice Quests
usually a good idea to have a couple of adversaries Novice quests introduce the game to the players
ready to go when you need them. Ideally, these and give the group time to become familiar with
foes have a place in the story, but they can also be the rules before the complexity ramps up. Novice
some random threat that arises based on where characters have a few talents and resources to
the characters happen to be when the story gets manage.
away from you. After all, the borderlands has no Small Scope: The quest ought to focus on one
shortage of monsters. region, maybe two.
Short to Moderate Length: A typical novice

Creating Quests quest should take three to four hours to finish,

with each hour covering one to one-and-a-half
Coming up with your own quests is a perfect acts.
opportunity to put your creative skills to use. You

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