The City of Fire & Coin (Digital)

The City of Fire & Coin

Under an unforgiving sun—at the crux of those foot-weary paths that draw bright caravans overladen with spices, tapestries, and far treasures through the searing western deserts—lies the City. The coin-hungry Old Kingdoms of the north provision the city with merchants and envoys. Reavers and conquerors from the south and east are ever repelled by high, hard walls.

Within, a metropolis teems. Peddlers, charlatans, and pickpockets ply their nefarious trades among the throngs. The chaotic knot of streets and alleys is home to servant and noble alike. Scattered bazaars of all manner offer goods mundane, exotic, and improbable.

Above, troops of sword and spear wielding monkeys control the rooftops, waging war among themselves. Below, the elite city guard prowl the wealthy neighborhoods on tigerback, protecting the Shining Lord and those in his favor while turning a half-blind eye to the violence of the slums and their renegade guilds. Beneath, dark and vast catacombs hide the City’s more abhorrent denizens from the light and crowds.

This is the City of Opportunity, the City of Misfortune, the City at the Center of the World, the City of Fire and Coin.

A Play-Along Adventure For Swords Without Master

The City of Fire & Coin is a free introductory adventure for the sword and sorcery tabletop RPG Swords Without Master. It contains step-by-step read-aloud directions for an Overplayer and up to three Rogue players to learn by playing! Once you pick your Rogues, you will see how they meet danger in the Perilous Phase; this creates the beginning of your tale. Then, through the Discovery Phase you will learn more about the City itself and the resources and perils it contains. You will then see what your heroes are really made of as you make demands of each other in the Rogues Phase.

As you master each Phase, you will be ready to take your story into new and unique directions, and the text will recede as you as you choose your Phases and continue your adventure. You will use the Mysteries, Morals and Motifs you generate as you play to discover the binding threads of your tale, and finally bring them all together into a satisfactory ending.

This free download includes:

• 32-page rules document that's written to be read aloud to guide play, along with interstitial notes to clearly indicate what to do during each Phase of play.
• 3 Rogues ready for adventure: the wandering scholar Mauphet Raum, the northern exile Snorri, and the swordswoman doomed to see the world Manyara.
• The basic rules for Swords Without Master. You can get the full rules (including more Tricks and advanced Phases) in Worlds Without Master Issue 3.
• Print-and-Play download with Rogue sheets, double-sided Overtone card, and record cards for the Mysteries, Morals and Motifs you generate in play.