Five original roleplaying encounters: a situation to introduce, three beats to play and a complication. Adapt them to your rules and campaign. Mapwyrm mats are not required to play.
Read the opening aloud or describe it in your own words. Present what the characters see and let them choose how to respond. The beats are possibilities, not a compulsory route: use your rules for checks, difficulty and consequences.
01 / Crypt of the Fallen King
The answering tomb
A voice in the crypt repeats the party's last sentence. On the third echo it adds one word: 'Help.' Nobody can see who is speaking.
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Behind the scene
Mara, a caretaker trapped behind a stone slab, is using the crypt's air passages to call for help. A small stone creature guards the door mechanism. It cannot tell intruders from rescuers: it simply wants every tomb to remain closed.
Three beats to play
Let the party follow the echoes. A draught and disturbed dust point to a side passage; ask the players how they search for it.
The guardian blocks the way but repeats a precise rule: 'Do not disturb those who rest.' Mara is alive. Proving it, distracting the guardian or finding another entrance are possible approaches.
The lever that frees Mara also moves a second slab. Behind it is no treasure: a visitors' register contains the name of someone the party knows.
The complication
Mara refuses to leave the register behind because she thinks it explains her brother's disappearance. A copy, a verifiable promise or the party's help may persuade her.
A possible follow-up
If rescued, the caretaker offers directions to an underground route. If the register stays in the crypt, the guardian can become an unusual contact on a later visit.
The party passes the same broken tree twice. A shoe too small for an adult lies among its roots. Someone laughs, then apologises.
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Behind the scene
Nilo, a young apprentice, took a ribbon from a small shrine. The forest is lending him the same stretch of path until he returns what he found. Nilo is hiding because he thinks the party has come to punish him.
Three beats to play
Point out one detail that changes on each circuit: shifted leaves, fresh footprints or an arrow made from twigs. The characters can follow the change instead of the path.
Nilo will talk if someone puts down a weapon or offers a way out. He tied the ribbon to a high branch so his teacher could find him.
The shrine's keeper appears as a face in the bark. It asks for no sacrifice: it wants the ribbon returned and someone to listen to its story.
The complication
Returning the ribbon frees the path, but the teacher is approaching from the wrong direction. The party must choose how to leave a signal before moving on.
A possible follow-up
An agreement with the keeper may open a shortcut for the next journey. Nilo remembers who helped him and might return with a bigger problem.
A messenger puts an envelope on the party's table. 'They told me to give it to someone who looked able to help.' Before anyone answers, three customers stand up.
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Behind the scene
The envelope contains a pawn receipt, not a letter. The item is a neighbourhood bell that the innkeeper sold to pay for an urgent repair. Three people want it back for different reasons.
Three beats to play
Introduce three requests: a caretaker wants the bell returned, a musician wants to hear it ring and a merchant claims to have bought it already.
The messenger needs a signature before leaving. Signing promises only to deliver the receipt, not to pay for or return the bell.
Someone tries to take the envelope without asking. Use tables, chairs and passages for a short action scene, or let a good proposal stop everyone.
The complication
The innkeeper recognises the receipt and can explain the sale. Nobody has told a complete lie: each person knows only part of the story.
A possible follow-up
An agreement can turn the bell's return into a celebration. A theft instead leaves a trail to the pawnbroker and unfinished business with one of the customers.
A caravan's shadow stretches across the sand, but nobody stands on the dune above. The shadow moves towards a ruin and stops in front of the party.
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Behind the scene
A buried lens reflects an image from the past. The caravan was looking for a cistern and left three signs along the route. A guide named Sera is following those signs to help travellers who have run out of water.
Three beats to play
The image changes when someone passes in front of the lens. Let the characters experiment with light, cloth or different positions to read the scene.
Sera suggests sharing the work: some follow the signs while others keep sand off the lens. She can also show them where the travellers are waiting.
The cistern is reachable, but its entrance supports part of the ruin. Opening it hastily dislodges stones; bracing the structure, digging beside it or finding another opening are alternatives.
The complication
The third sign does not point to water: it asks travellers to leave a reserve for those who follow. How much to take becomes the party's decision.
A possible follow-up
With water and directions, the caravan moves on. Leaving the lens in place can guide other travellers; taking it reveals an inscription on its base.
A light follows the party beneath the ice. When everyone stops, it draws a circle. A second, smaller circle then appears a little farther away.
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Behind the scene
Iria, a researcher trapped in a cavity, is moving a lantern to ask for help. The smaller light belongs to a companion seeking an exit from the other side. A low passage connects the two spaces.
Three beats to play
The lantern's movements allow a conversation through gestures. Ask the party to agree on simple signals before attempting a rescue.
An opaque patch marks a different section of ice. The shortest route need not be the best: characters can spread their weight, secure themselves or look for the cavity's edge.
Iria can reach her companion by leaving some equipment behind. The party must decide what to recover now and what to mark for a second expedition.
The complication
The equipment includes an unfinished map of the area. Iria would rather save her companion; someone else considers that drawing their only way home.
A possible follow-up
A successful rescue creates allies and opens a new route. If some research stays below the ice, the lantern becomes a marker for finding the place again.
