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🏮 The Lantern at Dusk

Tier I 1–2 Sessions Starter Adventure Author: Nicholas A. Gasper

A terrible blight is spreading from the old barrow in the hills — the same barrow where a cursed lantern was buried centuries ago. The lantern must be brought to a stone circle in the valley to break the curse. But the barrow is not empty.

Reading an encounter badge. Each badge names a DV and a Position. It does not name a dice pool, and that is deliberate: the pool is Attribute + Skill, chosen from how the player says they are going about it. Two characters can attempt the same encounter with different pools and both be right. Where an approach is obviously the intended one, the badge says so; where it does not, ask what they are doing and build the pool from the answer.

📖 What the Party Knows

The lantern is in the central chamber of the barrow.
The barrow is guarded by restless spirits (the Duskwights).
A rival treasure hunter, Quick Lena, has also entered the barrow.
The curse will kill the village’s crops in three days.

⏱️ Timers

💀 Barrow Collapse 0/6

Ticks on failure inside. At 6, entrance seals.

🏃 Lena's Agenda 0/4

Ticks each scene inside. At 4, Lena takes the lantern first.

🎭 Scenes

🪨 Scene 1 — The Entry

The barrow entrance is a narrow stone passage. A faint green glow pulses from deeper inside. A cave-in blocks the way.

Roll: Body + Athletics (DV 3, Controlled)

Clean You clear the rubble and enter.
Partial You get through but disturb rubble — tick Barrow Collapse +1.
Miss You are pinned by a rock — mark Harm 1 and tick Collapse +1.

👻 Scene 2 — The Spirit Corridor

The passage widens into a hall where three Duskwights drift. They do not attack unless provoked, but they will not let anyone pass without an offering.

Roll: Presence + Sway (DV 3, Controlled) — Offer a memory or a secret.

Clean They bow and let you pass.
Partial They take your offering but also steal a random piece of equipment.
Miss They attack as a single mob (TL 3, Harm 1 each, 2 Fatigue each on hit).

🏮 Scene 3 — The Lantern Chamber

The lantern sits on a stone altar. Quick Lena is there, trying to pry it loose.

Roll: Presence + Sway (DV 3, Controlled) — Confront Lena.

Clean She leaves peacefully, but warns that “others will come for it.”
Partial She agrees to split any reward but demands a favor later (start a Debt Timer [4]).
Miss She triggers a trap — a stone door starts closing (tick Collapse +2).

🏃 Scene 4 — Escape

After you take the lantern, the barrow begins to collapse in earnest. The party needs 3 successes before 2 failures to escape.

Roll: Appropriate Attribute + Skill (DV 3, Desperate) — Group Skill Challenge.

Clean Each success counts toward the 3 needed.
Partial Tick Collapse +1; gain a Boon.
Miss Tick Collapse +1. If Collapse reaches 6, entrance seals — find another way.

✨ Resolution — Breaking the Curse

Return the lantern to the stone circle. Breaking the curse requires a simple ritual.

Roll: Spirit + Lore (or Arcana) (DV 2, Controlled)

Clean The blight lifts. Elder Sarai rewards each PC with a String — “The village owes you.”
Partial The curse lifts, but the lantern cannot be destroyed — it will attract another danger soon.
Miss The curse is only pushed back one year. A dark spirit escapes and will become a recurring enemy.

👤 Key NPCs

Elder Sarai

Village elder of Duskwood

Quick Lena

Rival treasure hunter

Duskwights

Restless spirits (3)

📍 Locations

The Old Barrow
A moss-covered stone mound on a hill overlooking Duskwood.

The Stone Circle
A ring of standing stones in the valley below the barrow.

📈 Advancement

Each PC earns 6–10 XP at the end.

Raise an Attribute: new rating × 3 XP (downtime = new rating days).
Raise a Skill: new level × 2 XP (downtime = new level days).
Learn a Minor Talent (2–4 XP) — e.g., Keen Senses, Second Wind, Combat Reflexes.
Acquire a Minor Asset (4 XP) — safehouse, contact, or special tool.

⚔️ Bestiary

Duskwight — TL 2, Armor 0, Harm 2, Harm Levels: 3 (standard). Undead.

A barrow-spirit worn thin by waiting. It does not attack the living; it obstructs them, and takes offence at being walked past. Three drift in the hall, and they act together or not at all.

SB Spends: 1 — Cold Question: it asks something the barrow wants answered; refusing costs 1 Fatigue. 2 — Close the Way: the passage behind the party fills with grave-cold and cannot be used this scene. 3 — Take the Toll: it lays hands on a PC, dealing Harm 1 and taking with it a small memory the player names.

Weakness: An offering freely given — a memory, a secret, a name spoken aloud — lets the whole party pass without a roll. They are not guards. They are collectors, and they have been very patient.