Runeforest Incursion (Into the Wyrd & Wild + Stygian Library): GM Procedures First Draft

So I'm looking to codify the actual generation procedures for Runeforest content. I've already got most of the books I'll be using but this is a draft on how I intend to generate the actual cycles.

1. Time-Tracking

I have a calendar I'll be using to keep strict time records. The in-game calendar I'm using has 5 months with 4, 7-week days each. I like the logic used in Songbirds where having shorter in game time between seasons adds a sense of time passing faster than when a traditional longer calendar is used. Songbirds has 4 months, one per season, but for in game Lore reasons I have 5 months, one for each god-claw member and each corresponding to a different season with one "Flux" month with totally random weather between the Spring and Summer months.

So the first thing to do before each session will just be "advance time". Depending on player decisions each session should have actions+downtime that last about a week, give or take. 

On top of this, I've arbitrarily decided to decide that each Runeforest Cycle lasts 2 weeks.

So in short, when prepping~ 

Step 1: Advance Time

Step 2: Check Calendar for Season and Weather

Step 3: Check Calendar for Cycle shift.

Copyright WoTC

2: Generate Runeforest Content for New Cycles

Into the Wyrd and Wild has a great system for die-drop locations and trails between them that I'll use. The locations themselves will be drawn from a pretty big list combining Stygian Libraries' and Wyrd and Wilds location/details as well as a few custom ones. 

To keep things manageable, I'll always assume "difficult" trails take twice as long as "normal" or "hidden" trails. 

Important Runeforest Note: The fastest way through (so all normal/hidden trails) will take 3 full days to move from the starting point to the destination. So heading out on the equivalent of a Monday morning will get you there by Wednesday Night, assuming no disruptions (yeah, right).

Once the locations and trails are determined and filled, I can generate Encounter Table content.

I'll save the full encounter table for another time, but for now the important part is that two results have the potential to change each cycle.

The first is that each cycle has a Known Threat. The other result I'll change per cycle is a Valuable Mark. I'll save a longer spiel about both of those for a later post. But for now just note that these are a bit more curated per cycle than the other results, which will draw from a pretty big list consisting of Stygian Library, Wyrd & Wild, and my own encounters.


So
 Step 3a: If New Cycle-

• Generate Locations and Trails
• Determine Trail Difficulty, Note shortest route(s)
• Fill locations
• Record current Known Threat and Valuable Mark on Encounter Table

So to recap~

Always:

1. Advance Time
2. Note Season and Weather
3. Note Current Cycle

On New Cycles:

1. Generate Locations and Trails
2. Determine Trail Difficulty, Note shortest route(s)
3. Fill locations
4. Record current Known Threat and Valuable Mark on Encounter Table

Sneak Peek: Player Procedures

Upon beginning a session, the players are given the following info:

- The Date and Weather
- The current Known Threat
- The results of any previous Downtime Actions

Players are then given the following options:

- Hunt?
- Map?
- Guard?
- Or do Something else?



Next- the Runeforest Calendar, Encounter Table, and Play Procedures!