Thread by @CodexRPG

A thread about Brindlewood Bay...

We want to tell you more about the gameplay, what's included in the download, and some of the mechanics we think you'll fall in love with.

Brindlewood Bay is available now in the $6+ @GauntletRPG Patreon feed: patreon.com/gauntlet

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@GauntletRPG In Brindlewood Bay, you play the Murder Mavens, a group of elderly women from the titular town who meet once a week on the top floor of The Candlelight Booksellers to discuss their favorite murder mystery novels.

@GauntletRPG They are also amateur detectives, and have helped solve a number of high profile crimes by the time the game starts. During the game, as they solve murders, they become increasingly-aware of the presence of a dark cult called The Midwives of the Fragrant Void.

@GauntletRPG For various reasons that are uncovered over the course of a campaign, the Midwives consider Brindlewood Bay to be a place of power, and they intend to use that power to call forth a Child of Persephone, a chthonic monstrosity that will end the world.

@GauntletRPG Brindlewood Bay is a multi-session game. We include some guidance for playing it as a one-shot, but to get the full story arc, you're looking at about 6-8 sessions. In the beginning, the game is very much focused on solving murders that take place in and around Brindlewood Bay.

@GauntletRPG The supernatural and occult is definitely present, but it exists a bit on the periphery. As you continue, especially around session 3 or 4, the Midwives conspiracy becomes more prominent.

@GauntletRPG And in the final, epic mystery, the Mavens aren't solving a murder at all, but rather confronting the Midwives directly in order to stop the ritual to summon a Child of Persephone.

@GauntletRPG So, what do you get for your 6 bucks?

You get the rules for Brindlewood Bay, presented in PDF singles plus as a booklet you can print. The page count (40) is perfect for zine printing, so you should be able to take the file to Kinkos and get a physical version no problem.

@GauntletRPG You also get all the play aids you need: character sheet, reference sheet (basic moves), Maven Moves sheet, and the Dark Conspiracy sheet.

You also get FIVE mysteries, detailed below...

@GauntletRPG Dad Overboard is about the death of a wealthy family's patriarch aboard a yacht.

All Hallow's Scream is about a murder that takes place at a Halloween party.

The GBBBO (The Great Brindlewood Bay Bake-Off) is exactly what it sounds like.

@GauntletRPG Jingle Bell Shock is about a murder at a holiday gathering of a prominent Brindlewood Bay family (and has flashes of Knives Out in it).

A Murder Most Mucky, which is an advanced mystery only available in the game's later stages, about the creepy little burg of Mucky Point.

@GauntletRPG When you pledge, you also get access to a beautiful online character keeper, perfect for running and playing the game online!

@GauntletRPG Now let's talk about the game's mechanics...

Brindlewood Bay is Powered by the Apocalypse, so if you're familiar with that style of play, it will be pretty easy to get into.

@GauntletRPG There are a few core moves that define the experience: the Day/Night move, the Meddling move, the Cozy move, The Gold Crown Mysteries move, the Occult move, and Theorize. This is the entirety of the game's Basic Moves and are used for 90% of the characters' actions.

@GauntletRPG The Day move and the Night move are used for most non-investigative actions. Both moves are a negotiation between player and Keeper (what a GM is called in Brindlewood Bay), with the Night move being significantly more dangerous than the Day move.

@GauntletRPG The Meddling move is rolled whenever the Mavens are gathering info. On a hit, the Keeper circles a Clue on the mystery sheet and works that Clue into the fiction. On a big hit, the Keeper also reveals a Void Clue or something about the Dark Conspiracy.

@GauntletRPG The Cozy move is how we see the Mavens enjoying their life in Brindlewood Bay and bonding with one another. It also has some practical effects, such as clearing negative conditions or revealing another Clue.

@GauntletRPG The Gold Crown Mysteries Move can only be used once per session, but it's important to the premise of the game. Basically, the Mavens are fans of this particular series of books, and they can recall things that happened in them in order to help them with the present situation.

@GauntletRPG The Occult Move isn't used very often, but it allows the Mavens to wield supernatural powers in order to battle the Midwives. Inspired by The Warren, it essentially creates new moves the Mavens have access to. But beware: the Mavens can slip into the Void if they're not careful.

@GauntletRPG Theorize is the ne plus ultra of Brindlewood Bay moves. Once the Mavens have gathered some Clues, the players then have an open discussion—in or out of character—about who committed the murder in question. (contd. below).

@GauntletRPG Once the players have reached a consensus, dice are rolled. The modifier to the roll is the no. of Clues found minus the mystery's Complexity rating. From there, all kinds of fun outcomes can occur:

@GauntletRPG The Mavens are correct and the killer can be easily apprehended. Or, the Mavens are correct but catching the killer will be tricky, or there is otherwise some kind of complication. Or, the Mavens are incorrect and the Keeper reacts (makes a move).

@GauntletRPG OR, on a big hit, the Mavens are correct AND the Keeper reveals a character involved in the Midwives conspiracy.

@GauntletRPG In addition to the Basic Moves, the characters have access to what are called Maven Moves. And here is where the game shows its cheeky, campy side (in keeping with some of its inspirations). Each move is named after a character from a classic American TV show, usually a detective

@GauntletRPG Brindlewood Bay doesn't have playbooks, and so one of the ways you can personalize your Maven is by which Maven Move you pick for her. These moves give you bonuses or access to unique abilities. A few samples are below.

@GauntletRPG Moving on to other aspects of the game's rules...

Players have access to a special action called "putting on a Crown." After any die roll—and after the result has been narrated—a player can choose to put on a Crown and change the die result to one tier higher.

@GauntletRPG So, a 6- becomes a 7-9, a 7-9 becomes a 10-11, and a 10-11 becomes a 12+. You then narrate the new result. Whenever you take this action, you have to mark one of two crowns, which are special section on the character sheet: The Crown of the Queen and The Crown of the Void.

@GauntletRPG The Crown of the Queen explores the idea of your Murder Maven as a woman. When you mark it, you have to do the action it says to do before the session ends. See below.

@GauntletRPG The Crown of the Void represents how close the Maven is to succumbing to the dark forces that are making themselves known in Brindlewood Bay. When you mark the last one, the Maven is retired from the game.

@GauntletRPG (You may recognize this "putting on the Crown" action as being very similar to the Janus Mask from Jason's other game, The Between. In The Between, the Janus Mask serves a similar purpose, but it explores the character's past and future.)

@GauntletRPG And so, as a player, you have this tool that gives you a huge amount of control over the story—you can always push back against whatever the Keeper throws at you—but that comes at the cost of being one step closer to retiring your character.

@GauntletRPG The last player-facing mechanic we want to discuss here is called A Cozy Little Place. This part of the character sheet is basically your Maven's gear. It represents items of special significance found inside their home in Brindlewood Bay.

@GauntletRPG If it would make sense for the Maven to have an item from their Cozy Little Place on them in a scene, then they do. If you narrate how the item is useful for an action the Maven is taking, you mark it and then get advantage on a die roll associated with that action.

@GauntletRPG Marked items can't be used again for a die roll bonus, but they remain in the Cozy Little Place for use in a future scene, where they might give you fictional positioning advantage.

@GauntletRPG When you first begin play, the other players and Keeper populate your Cozy Little Place with items inspired by your character introduction. Thereafter, certain Maven moves add to it, or the Keeper can let you add an item if it was significant in the story or hard to come by.

@GauntletRPG Now let's talk Keeper stuff...

Keepers in Brindlewood Bay run the game using two tools: the mystery sheets and the dark conspiracy sheet. The mystery sheets are used to run individual murder mysteries. The dark conspiracy sheet is used to track the Midwives of the Fragrant Void.

@GauntletRPG Each mystery starts with information about how to present the mystery to the players: the scenes you need to frame and the characters that need to be introduced. This section also contains an Establishing Question used to personalize the mystery to one Maven.

@GauntletRPG Next comes the Suspects, which are the NPCs the Mavens are mostly likely to interact with, and one of which committed the murder. Each Suspect description has three descriptive details plus a quote, all of which help give the Keeper a sense of how to play the character.

@GauntletRPG Next is a section called Paint the Scene. This section highlights locations that are likely to be important to the mystery. Each has a "Paint the Scene" question attached to it, which the Keeper poses to the table in order to help flesh out a thematic idea for that location.

@GauntletRPG Then comes the most important part—the Clues! Clues in Brindlewood Bay can be found anywhere the Mavens are looking, and are written to be quite flexible. As the Keeper, you can give the Clue additional context when you present it to the players.

@GauntletRPG The final section on the mystery sheet is Void Clues. Void Clues are used to add a layer of horror to the session, and to suggest that something more nefarious is going on in Brindlewood Bay. Void Clues are revealed on a 12+ on the Meddling Move, or as the result of Maven Moves.

@GauntletRPG The Keeper uses the dark conspiracy sheet to track the overarching story of the Brindlewood Bay campaign, which is the history and activities of the Midwives of the Fragrant Void cult. The sheet is reproduced below.

@GauntletRPG It's pretty easy to work with. Basically, there are 4 "layers" to the dark conspiracy, with each layer unlocking after a certain number of Void Clues have been turned up by the Mavens. The first layer contains historical notes about the town the Keeper can reveal during play.

@GauntletRPG In the second layer, the Keeper reveals details about the Midwives themselves to the Mavens. In the third layer, the Midwives can start to take direct action against the Mavens through Servants, Sendings, and Servitors (corrupt officials, magic, and demons, respectively).

@GauntletRPG In the fourth layer, the Keeper can create and present the Void Mystery, which represents the final confrontation between the Mavens and the Midwives (and the conclusion of the game).