Moonfall City Blues

In a time of recovery, magical prohibition, and ample opportunity how will you leave your mark in Moonfall City?

Game Schedule

Next Game: 8/9/2026

I’ll try to keep this updated as people notify me of days they’ll be missing. This is to try to allow some off days for people to plan other life things around with a goal of playing at least 2 weeks for each off week we have. If this becomes too messy we’ll revisit and discuss moving to a more set cadence of some kind. The attendance policy still holds for On days. A question mark denotes looser planning that will be solidified at least a couple of weeks in advance of that date. During Off weeks, members of the group may still meet for board gaming and will communicate about those plans on those weeks.

Session Summaries/Notes

Characters, Locations, and Other Notes

PCs

NPCs

Locations

• Apeeno Law Offices
• Butler High School
• Crater Lake
• Dust Woods Spring
• Dust Woods
• King of the Jungle Club
• Minced Minks'
• Moonfall City
• Project Syzygy Warehouse
• Prosperity Valley
• Purrcivals Old Village
• Rhode's Delivery Service
• Shimmer Crags
• Sable Aid Group
• Silver Reflections Diving Company
• The Abandoned Village and The Church of Mercury
• The Business District
• The Celestial Sips
• The Docks District
• The Entertainment District
• The Exchange
• The Industrial District
• The Residential District
• The Wall

Lore

Factions

Rules

Campaign Information

High Level Campaign Info

Lore and World Overview

Document Updates

If you see something across the document/pages that needs correction, of have an addition you'd like made please let me know and I'll update things!

Logistics

The boring, but essential shit.

Session 0

What to expect at Session 0:

• A chill atmosphere to plan and collaborate for the story ahead
• Introductions
• Review of some of the logistical points below
• Review of the rules for GAME
• Discussion about the kind of group and story we want to tell
• Character creation, and party linking
• Answering of questions throughout

Players

Please give me your contact info for your most preferred contact method. If you do not want it shared with other players let me know!

• Dan (GM)
• Bruce (Paul Teuse)
• David (Pete Penniesworth)
• Deidre (Velvet Steele)
• James (Rhys Sylwynn)
• Juan (Purrcival Forsythe)
• Leo (Gustavo)
• Stacy (Ridral Shieldfire)

Time and Day

Game will take place 2 weeks on, 1 week off on Sundays from 1pm to 6pm. We’re going to aim to start on November 23rd. A quick note here: We may move this to a slightly different time frame. We’ll discuss at Session 0.

Location

Game will take place at Deidre and I's place. For the address please reach out.

Expected Duration

Unknown (Aiming for ½ year to a year) - Because of the setting/campaign frame pivot I have no specific plans for the story we’ll tell together. This gives you all the opportunity for a lot more agency in that. Once things start to solidify I’ll be able to better predict and design an arc. We’ll also discuss whether we play from level 1 to level 10 intentionally, or if we plan to just play until the story naturally ends.

Food and Drink

We have drinks and snacks available to all in the drink fridge and center island. These are primarily made up of donations, so those are encouraged (but not required).

For meals please eat lunch before arriving, or eat it as we settle in. For dinner the current plan is for each person to contribute about $5.50 to the Food Fox. Digitally providing this is fine, ask me for details. Some weeks it will be used for pizza, some weeks I will use it to buy ingredients for a crockpot meal. If you don’t have cash Paypal or some other payment method is acceptable. For Paypal, use my e-mail, for other methods speak to me.

Attendance Policies

For this game I will be using my “Half or more, then we play!” policy. Meaning as long as half or more of the players show up, we play!

If a player is absent their character will take on what I call “cardboard cut out mode”. They will be present in scenes as appropriate. They will not RP or make decisions, but they will act appropriately in scenes where the group needs them to. They will only die or suffer serious consequences if there is a TPK, they may take damage accordingly though.

If you miss a session we’ll do our best to fill you in on what has happened, you won’t miss any exp/character progress, and if a major thing happens we’ll do our best to retroactively include you.

Communication Between Games

I’ll be managing 1 channel of communication.

The channel will be a Text/SMS group chat. I will post communications about game cancellations, check ins, updates there. I expect players to share if they are running late or going to miss a game here, and I encourage all players to share thoughts and discussions about the game, their characters, and anything else related in the chat.

System

• Daggerheart
• Rules Link (the rules): https://www.daggerheart.com/srd/
• Additional Resources (sheets, etc.): https://www.daggerheart.com/downloads/
• Video or other Helpful link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1tiwbzkOjQzrupXVqcsfRyJ_0m5ABXov&si=Q0_w7AvbUB-xKngp

System High Level

Bolded words throughout this section signify terms you can search in the SRD that have specific rules tied to them.

Daggerheart is a Narrative-first RPG. Complexity-wise it is simpler than Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder, but more complex than the most narrative focused systems like FATE or Powered by the Apocalypse. In essence it’s a narrative focused game with enough crunchy rules to make the mechanics matter more than just a simple die roll.

Like most games it’s a conversation between the players and GM. The GM will set scenes, present obstacles, and paint the world for the players. The players will tell the GM what they want to do to interact with that world.

Daggerheart uses a few systems to achieve this that are a little different from most RPGs.

The Spotlight is a mechanic that basically says who the active person at the table is. By default the player group has the Spotlight, and anytime someone in that group acts they are considered to be in the Spotlight. The players can generally choose who does what and when. This is true for all forms of play from adventuring to combat. However, the GM can also gain the Spotlight through a few methods, the most common being when the players either fail a check or roll with Fear. When that happens the GM gets to make something happen in the story and then the Spotlight returns to the players.

The Duality Dice are how you determine the outcome of actions you take when the outcome is in doubt and/or failure is interesting. They are a pair of d12s, however they are two different colors. One is your Hope Die, and one is your Fear Die. When you try to do something there is a Difficulty to the action that is a number. You roll your Duality Dice, add them together and typically add one of your Character Traits. You might add other things like Experiences or other factors, but ultimately you’ll have a number. If it meets or beats the Difficulty you’ve succeeded. If it does not, you’ve failed.

But there is one more layer to the outcome. Whichever die is higher also affects things. If your Hope Die is higher, you’ve rolled with Hope, you gain a Hope and things are a little better for you, a failure might be softened, or a success enhanced. If your Fear Die is higher, you’ve rolled with Fear, the GM gains a Fear and things are a little worse for you, a failure might be made worse, or a success might have a complication.

There are two other considerations when rolling the dice. Critical Successes are anytime the dice come up with a matching pair of numbers. You succeed and gain a Hope, but you also get to clear a Stress. Also some rolls are Reaction Rolls rather than the standard Action Roll, the difference is that with Reaction Rolls you don’t gain Hope and the GM doesn’t gain Fear.

Hope is a meta-resource PCs can spend to help each other, tag team enemies, or fuel powerful abilities. Fear is a meta-resource the GM can use to activate Adversaries in combat, fuel powerful abilities, or throw twists into the narrative.

Beyond that most of Daggerheart should look familiar if you’ve played fantasy adventure games like Dungeons and Dragons. Your character has a Class, an Ancestry (race), a Community (background), HP, Evasion (AC), and other things. Some of them are a little different, but they aren’t overly complicated and we can discuss them during Session 0.

System Principals and Best Practices

A common thing in modern RPGs is to lay out a list of principles and Best Practices that can guide players and GMs towards getting the most enjoyment out of the system and prepare them for what to expect out of it. They aren’t hard and fast rules, but rather guidelines to help keep your mind in the right place while playing. Take a look over them and keep them in mind as you make your characters and play!

Player Principals

• Be a fan of your character and their journey.
• Spotlight your friends.
• Address the characters and address the players.
• Build the world together.
• Play to find out what happens.
• Hold on gently.

Player Best Practices

• Embrace danger.
• Use your resources.
• Tell the story.
• Discover your character.

GM Principals

• Begin and end with the fiction.
• Collaborate at all times, especially during conflict.
• Fill the world with life, wonder, and danger.
• Ask questions and incorporate answers.
• Make every roll important.
• Play to find out what happens.
• Hold on gently.

GM Best Practices

• Cultivate a curious table.
• Gain your player’s trust.
• Keep the story moving forward.
• Cut to the action.
• Help the players use the game.
• Create a meta conversation.
• Tell them what they would know.
• Ground the world in motive.
• Bring the game’s mechanics to life.
• Reframe rather than reject.
• Work in moments and montages.

Role Playing, Safety and Comfort

We’re all fairly well adjusted adults, so I don't anticipate issues, but… We’re here to have fun and I don’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable or getting upset because of something happening in or out of game, so here are some notes on all that.

• Lines and Veils - Lines and Veils are a comfort and safety tool I haven’t used before, but I like the idea of. They are quite simple. Lines are things you do not want crossed, subjects or topics that you do not want at the table. Veils are things you’re ok with being referenced or hinted at, but you would rather avoid details or focus. At Session 0 I’ll ask people to write down any Lines or Veils they might have.

• X Card - This is a tool for moments that create sudden discomfort or issue. Typically it’s a card at the table, but simply raising your hand and saying “X Card” should suffice. The idea is that if you find something too much or problematic you raise your X Card and the table moves on, skipping over whatever was just being discussed, no questions asked (unless you’d like to talk about it).
• Interpersonal Stuff - In the event there is a meta issue of some kind with people at the table and you don’t feel comfortable raising it at the table or to the people involved, please don’t hesitate to let me know privately and I’ll work with you to resolve it as amicably as possible.

Appendix

A place to put links from the document above for quick and easy access, also a place to put inspirational things or other images you want to help set tone and vibe. Basically anything from outside the document you feel could be helpful to players for session 0 and beyond.

Music

• Common and Popular Genres: Jazz, Swing, Blues, Ragtime, Folk, Country
• 20s Style Modern Swing Jazz Playlist - https://youtu.be/v_LKGIA7BIA
• Blues playlist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTww5L_nbY&list=PLKa9XOatdPme6SYo7f5FaMIEw5CRcEAtq&index=101
• Streets of New Capenna official soundtrack - https://youtu.be/jFF3TAruphU
• Early Electroswing -  https://youtu.be/sLHBKPzZfXQ
• 20s Themed Electoswing - https://youtu.be/rVdawx607WU
• Transistor video game soundtrack - https://youtu.be/-zA1jRmAYfU
• The Bridge City Sinners band YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BridgeCitySinners
• Rusty Cage artist YouTube - https://youtube.com/@rustycage
• Sinners movie soundtrack playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeuk4c_cVcyrflkPU-2bQLHXw71Q-f7GO

Art/Image

• Streets of New Capenna art page - https://www.artofmtg.com/mtg-set/streets-of-new-capenna/
• Lackadaisy art gallery - https://lackadaisy.com/gallery.php
• Call of Cthulhu pinterest board - https://www.pinterest.com/ghoulishhex/call-of-cthulhu-characters-1920s/
• Legend of Korra artbook blog- https://alextoons.com/blog/tag/the+legend+of+korra
• 1920s Photo collection - https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/01/1920-photos-100-years-ago/605794/

Videos

• Short System Explanation Video Series - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1tiwbzkOjQzrupXVqcsfRyJ_0m5ABXov&si=Q0_w7AvbUB-xKngp

Written Word

• SRD -  https://www.daggerheart.com/srd/
• 1920s Slang - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_early_twentieth_century_slang_in_the_United_States