The Sword

The Sword is a very simple, one scene scenario designed to introduce

new players to Burning Wheel. It is primarily focused to place the
conflict between the players, but it can also be used as a cooperative
adventure. It’s designed for two to four players, plus a GM. If you
want to play with one player and a GM, see Adding Monsters.

The Sword takes an age-old situation—who gets the treasure?—

and shows how such a conflict can be used as fuel for a cool scene,
rather than a roadblock to fun.

The Hook
When players sit down with me to play this demo, I give them the
following preamble:

You’ve journeyed long through this crumbling, ancient citadel.

Down through ruined chambers into muck filled tubes until you
arrived, at last, in the wreckage of this collapsed temple. Laying on
the shattered altar, in the chamber before you, is that which you
seek: The sword!
After the preamble, I lay out the characters and describe each one in
brief. After the players have chosen their characters, I instruct them
to read their Beliefs, then I simply ask, “Who gets the sword?”

Mayhem ensues, and suddenly we’ve got game.

Playing the Scene

The Starting Positions
I’ve found it useful to start the scene with the whole group in the
doorway to the chamber—still in the tunnel, really. The Roden, if
he’s in play, should always be in the lead.

Social Conflict Resolution

This scenario works very, very well with the Duel of Wits mechanics
described on pages 95-108 of the Burning Wheel. Occasionally,
players aren’t familiar with games that allow for serious social

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conflict. Therefore, before I turn them loose on each other, I let the
players know that they can use the social conflict resolution to resolve
the scene.

Versus Tests
Most players will shove aside their companions or make a dash for the
sword. Before resolving any single action, allow everyone to state what
he or she is doing. If one player shoves another, ask the target player
if he wants to be shoved. If he doesn’t care one way or another, there’s
no need to roll the dice. However, as soon as two players want the same
thing, or one player doesn’t want another player to succeed at what he’s
doing, then you’ve got conflict. Use Versus Tests (BW p 28) to resolve
these simple conflicts.

And be sure to enforce the Let it Ride rules. If a player failed to shove his
compatriot aside, that’s it. No amount of shoving is going to work. He’s
got to find another way around—either by changing the conditions of
the test, engaging in social conflict or escalating to violence!

Social Conflict
As the GM, focus on what the players are saying to each other and I
encourage them to roleplay (of course!). As soon as the players butt
heads on a point, I stop the conversation. Then, I ask each in turn, “are
you ready to give in to his demands?” Likely, they’ll both say no. At that
point, I use the Duel of Wits mechanics to resolve the social conflict.

For example, Judd has dashed up and grabbed the sword and is menacing
Jeff with it. Jeff is telling Judd that he’s not worthy to even touch the
sword. Judd responds with a prideful, “How dare he!?” And retorts that
he was going to give up the sword, but now he’s going to claim it as his
own. I stop the conversation right there.
Judd and Jeff want a social conflict. Jeff wants to convince Judd to hand
over the sword because he’s not worthy of it. Judd states that he’s insulted
and he’s going to lay claim to the sword as his own. The outcome, who’s
right, can be determined by a Duel of Wits.

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For games with four characters, I recommend forming two sides. One
player on each side rolls for the Body of Argument. As the argument
progresses, the other players may help either side as they see fit. Games
with three players are tons of fun. Two players set up their Body of
Argument and go at it as normal. The third player is essentially the
audience. He may lend his aid, from volley to volley, to whomever
appeals to him most. More often than not, the third player’s aid becomes
vital to winning the conflict and the two dueling players directly appeal
to him.

Violence
The scenario will often devolve into violence. Swords will be drawn,
blows will be struck. I recommend using the detailed martial conflict
resolution rules on pages 139-169 of the Burning Wheel. A Bloody
Versus test can serve just fine, but this is your chance to test drive the
fighting stuff without risking a beloved character.

If players are comfortable with the mechanics, I recommend using the

positioning rules in this fight. They really add a lot of depth, as players
maneuver toward the sword. If players are a little shaky on the rules,
don’t use the positioning. Don’t use stances either. Just use the basic
action-on-action play. Once players get used to how that stuff works,
then you can add the other stuff in as you go. This is a demo game, take
it slow and figure it out as you go.

It’s worth noting that, aside from the Dwarf, these characters aren’t very
tough. Warn the players about this. Warn them that one good hit is going
to take them out—possibly even get them killed. But it is also perfectly
cool to come to blows, realize how dangerous such a path is, and then
try to resolve the situation with a Duel of Wits.

The Characters
Beliefs
The fuel for this scenario is in the characters’ Beliefs. Dro, Thor and I set
up all the Beliefs to be in conflict. That way, as soon as play starts, we
have action. There’s no guess work, no hemming and hawing. Everyone
wants something. Who’s going to get it?

If The Sword were a regular game, set up might have gone something
like this:

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Luke: “Let’s play Burning Wheel tonight.”

Pete: “Ok, how about an old school quest?!”
Luke: “For what?”
Dro: “Ze magic sword.”
Thor: “Cool. How many LPs?”
Luke: “How about four? Write your Beliefs to tie in to a quest for a
magic sword!”

That’s it. If that were you, you and your players could have written
up nearly exactly the same Beliefs that we came up with for these
characters. It’s possible!

The Roden
Ssisz is a Roden cultist. Before the scenario started, he lead the other
characters through the ruins of the ancient civilization to this collapsed
temple. He used his Below-wise to do it. Imagine that he spent a ton of
artha, too!

He’s the most difficult to play. Everyone loves him, but he’s vulnerable
on a lot of levels. He’s not that tough, doesn’t have any armor, he’s got
the Broken trait, and his main Duel of Wits skill is a B2 Persuasion. He
can definitely come out on top, but he has to be played smart. I often
instruct players to “play to lose” with Ssisz. Sounds crazy, but it’s a great
strategy for him. He might not be able to win outright, but by framing
his Body of Argument correctly, he can get some nice compromises!

The Criminal
Robard is the next popular pick. Everyone calls him “a thief.” But
stealing is just one of his many talents. He’s a full-fledged criminal.
Using him only to back-stab and pick locks is doing him a disservice.
He’s decent in the Duel of Wits, but he’s weak in the physical department.
He’s also the only character who doesn’t have a Sword skill.

The Adventurer
Brechtanz is a very solid character. He’s physically imposing and, as
most Dwarves are, skilled in a number of areas. He’s a perfect foil for
the Elf.

The Bard
If Fidhean’s player can play the others against each other, he’s going
to come out on top every time. This character is a classic adventurer-
type. He’s handy with a sword, but even sharper is his tongue. He’s

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well-equipped, got high stats and a decent range of skills to back them.
However, it’s worth noting, that Fidhean’s songs don’t often come into
play in this scenario. They are primarily for color, but occasionally a
player will use them to cause Wonderment (page 98 of the Character
Burner. Wonderment is bad for everyone else).

Prepping for the Sword

If you’d like to run The Sword, there are a few bits you should look
over. First, read and familiarize yourself with the Beliefs and Instincts
and skills of the player characters. You don’t have to memorize them,
but you should know where everyone is coming from, so you can jump
in and help out.

Second, you’re going to need a passing familiarity with some of the

game mechanics. The Hub and the Spokes, up to page 54, are required
reading. The Spokes pages 54 to 78 are recommended, but not required.
Beyond that, a read through of the Duel of Wits and the Fight! mechanics
will help. Weapons, Armor and Injury wouldn’t hurt, but you could
probably refer to them as you play. Circles isn’t necessary, nor is Sorcery
or Emotional Magic. Resources is only used for one thing, paying the rat.

Paying the Rat

Ssisz must be paid! Doing so requires an Ob 2 Resources test. Let the
player’s decide on the in-game amount for color, but whatever it is, it’s
always Ob 2. Ssisz is free to use the haggling rules on page 88 of the
Burning Wheel to raise the price. The higher the better! The purpose of
the Resources test is to demonstrate that a) the characters are all poor
bastards and b) that if they help each other, they can mitigate much of
the woes of having a low Resources.

Artha
As players bring their Beliefs into play—for example, Ssisz demands
money and threatens the group—they should earn artha. However,
this is an introductory scenario with a lot to remember. Therefore, the
characters are all front-loaded with 2 fate and 1 persona point. And I
recommend that the GM and players spend the artha in the scene to
familiarize themselves with what it does. I also recommend the GM not
give out artha during play. Don’t worry about it right now. But do take

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note of when the players use their Beliefs and say this simple mantra
out loud: “Wow, you just broke his hand to get the sword. That’s in your
Beliefs, right? That would have got you a point of Fate. Ah hah!”

The Sword
So what’s the big deal with the sword? It’s really for you to decide. It
could be nothing more than sentimental value, or it could be something
far more sinister. I usually call it a superior quality sword and give it a
balance die. But I wholeheartedly endorse making it something really
unique. Perhaps imbued with a spell? Or a prayer? Or a trait? The
choice is yours—but decide together. If a player suggests that it’s the
Flame Tongue of Balthazar, run with it.

Winning
The scenario is over when one player most decidedly has the sword
and no one can contest him. This situation could arise from convincing
everyone via a Duel of Wits, beating the snot out of everyone in a fight
and taking the sword, or by making a mad lucky get away via a Speed
test.

If you want to continue, I suggest that you encourage the players to

rewrite one or two of their Beliefs to reflect the new situation in the game.
For example, if Robard manages to escape with the sword, Fidhean
and Brechtanz might change their Beliefs to reflect how unworthy and
untrustworthy Men are. The next scene would involve the aggrieved
parties trying to stop Robard from selling the heirloom on the black
market. Men are such scum!

Adding Monsters
It’s possible to turn this scenario into a slightly more traditional
adventure by adding in a guardian for the sword. This works for a group
of any size. Hell, you can even play a one on one with the GM (using any
character except the Roden). So long as the monster has the sword, the
player’s going to want to get through him to it.

When using monsters, be sure to grant them the same options as any
other character. They can engage in social conflict, simple conflicts and
violence just like everyone else. And of course, they should have their
own reason to want the sword.

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I recommend the spider on page 291 of the Burning Wheel, the troll,
or hozrem on page 292. In the Monster Burner, the Hsigo Noble (page
272) works well. It’s his sword after all, right? The Mischief is good cruel
fun. But the Ophidia, just one of them, is my personal favorite. She’s
tough enough to take on any one of the characters, and she’s got great
social skills for the Duel of Wits. And she’s full of nefarious purposes
and plots—she always is looking for something to rebuild her fallen
empire.

The Unimportant Bits

Maps, floor plans, traps or anything else that gets in the way of the
players invoking their Beliefs and engaging in conflict have no
place in this scenario. This one isn’t about the journey, it’s about the
destination.

Have fun, and be sure to post your actual play experiences using this
demo on burningwheel.org, indie-rpgs.com or rpg.net.