The Judge

Look here at this little town, this candleflame in the darkness. Its very existence is an act of courage and faith. And Aratis has charged you to keep it: to settle its disputes; to chronicle its tales; to defend it from darkness and ruin. Take up your hammer, Judge. Your town needs you.

Damage: d6 · HP (max 20)

Stat-less — there are no stats to assign. When a move says "roll," you push your luck (see 00-core-loop/dice-and-moves.md).

Background (choose 1)

Legacy

You are the latest in a long line of Judges — born here, apprenticed to the prior Judge, and charged with the passing of the mantle. The Chronicle is a rich repository of lore, but there's no index, so good luck finding anything.

When you Know Things about the people or history of your steading, you have advantage.

When you spend days, weeks, or months poring over the Chronicle, ask the GM a question, and the GM will tell you what you learn in that time.

Prophet

The line of Judges was broken long ago, the Chronicle lost or fallen into ruin. Aratis has called you personally to her service through dreams, omens, and visions. Some in town resent the authority you've assumed.

When you spend a few days communing with Aratis about a threat facing your steading or civilization as a whole, roll. On a success, Aratis reveals the course of action she would have you take. For each 6, also hold 2 Sanction. While acting on her orders, spend 1 Sanction to add +1 to a roll you just made. On a bust, the GM makes a hard move — the silence is not kind.

Missionary

You are part of a larger order of Judges, sent here to protect the flickering flame of civilization. The Chronicle is relatively new; your position in town is far from certain.

Add these Judges to the Neighbors section of the steading playbook (pick 2 more):

☐ Devin (from Marshedge)
☐ Haeris (from Gordin's Delve)
☐ Isalde (from the Manmarch)
☐ Rahat (from Lygos)
☐ Tejisha (from Barrier Pass)
☐ Unz (from the Hillfolk)

When you call upon the Judge of another steading for aid or information, they are oathbound to give it. You are likewise oathbound to support them.

You have an aviary in addition to your usual choice of special possessions (mark it now). When you send a message via trained bird, as is the way of the Judges of your order, the GM will tell you if and when you receive a response, and what it says.

Instinct (choose 1)

Ambition — To increase your status or influence.
Dispassion — To disregard emotion or sentiment.
Harmony — To seek a path that makes everyone happy.
Orthodoxy — To strictly adhere to rules and traditions.
Zeal — To judge quickly and without doubt.

Appearance

Choose 1 on each line, or make something up:

eager youth -- in my prime -- showing my years
calm voice -- booming voice -- a voice that carries
hard body -- powerful frame -- slim -- well-fed
polished gear -- robes of office -- modest clothes

Place of Origin & Name

Your steading is your home, or close enough. Pick one region and a name to match (or make up something similar):

Example names: Arianrhod, Caerwyn, Einion, Eleri, Magda, Nerys, Trahaern, or Trefor
Barrier Pass: Arinasai, Bortachikhan, Khadagan, Khojin, Odval, Usun, Yesui, or Yul
Closest Trade Connection: Briget, Comhall, Elnor, Liadain, Mirdach, Onghus, Somha, or Toal
Far, Far Away: Abrim, Cassander, Despina, Hypatta, Morecai, Nomika, Sofia, or Yose

Moves

You start with Censure, Chronicler, plus 2 more of your choice.

★ Censure

When you first denounce an individual in your presence as an agent of chaos or anathema to civilization, they pick 1:

They are ashamed, and act accordingly.
They are doubtful, and hesitate, pause.
They are afraid, and seek to escape.
They are enraged, and lash out predictably (the next roll against them has advantage).

★ Chronicler

When you write up detailed session notes and share them with the other players, hold +1 Diligence.

You can spend 1 Diligence at any time to increment one die in a roll by 1 (that you or a fellow player just made). That turns a 1 into a 2 (saving a bust) or a 5 into a 6 (upgrading your band). Like Burn Brightly — but funded by your notes, not your XP.

Aegis of Faith

When you wield a shield, it can turn away spells, magical effects, and insubstantial attacks as if they were physical blows.

Armored

When you carry a shield, mark only ☐ (instead of ☐☐). Also, you can ignore the cumbersome tag on any armor you wear.

If you take this move at the start of play, add an iron hauberk, bronze cuirass, or scale coat to your inventory (all are 2 armor, warm, cumbersome).

Bear Witness

When you speak the truth with conviction and candor, none can doubt you. They might deny what you say, but in their hearts they recognize the truth.

Break Bread

When you share a proper meal with someone and each of you eats their fill, each of you recovers 1d8 (extra) HP.

Bulwark

When you Defend, you can spend 1 Readiness to stand fast, holding your position despite what befalls you.

Castigate

When you Censure someone, your voice deals 1d4 damage to them (near, loud, ignores armor). (Requires level 2+ and Censure.)

For the Greater Good

When you Persuade someone to act in defense of their community or civilization at large, you have advantage.

Hound of Aratis

When you Seek Insight, you can always ask "What here is tainted by chaos?" for free, even on a bust.

Like a Dog with a Bone

When you attack something you know to be tainted by chaos, deal +1d6 damage. (Requires Hound of Aratis.)

Improved Trait

Each time you take this move, choose one of your traits and work with the GM to make it more powerful — lean into the fiction. (A trait that says "increment one die" becomes "increment two dice"; narrative traits take real creativity — that's the fun.)

Knowledge Is Power

When you Know Things and roll a success with a 6, you or an ally gain advantage on the next roll to act on what you learn.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Once per season, you can dictate that one Order Followers or Pull Together roll has advantage.

The Hammer and the Book

When you strike a thing of supernatural chaos, roll. On a success, deal your damage and pick 1. For each 6, pick an additional 1:

Deal +1d6 damage.
Ignore the thing's armor or other defenses.
Suppress one of its unnatural powers.
Force it from its host.

On a success with no six, you also expose yourself to harm or unwanted attention.

Truth or Consequences

When you lie or otherwise deceive someone through words, you have disadvantage on your next roll against them.

When you look into someone's eyes and gaze upon their soul, you can ask their player, "Are you lying or hiding something from me?" and get an honest answer. If the answer is "Yes," you have advantage on your next roll against them.

Binding Arbitration

When you bear witness to someone's promise or oath, henceforth you may ask their player if they have kept their word. They must answer honestly. The character need not be present. If they have broken their word, you gain advantage on all rolls against them until they admit their wrong and suffer an appropriate consequence (your call). (Requires Truth or Consequences.)

Vision Unclouded

When you Seek Insight, you can always ask "What here is hidden by illusion or magic?" for free, even on a bust.

Well-Read

When you take this move, choose one of the following traits. You gain it permanently, in addition to your 2 — an earned trait.

BOOKWORM'S MEMORY — When you Know Things, you may ask the GM one extra question, even on a bust.
CITE YOUR SOURCES — When you name the source you read about the matter in, you have advantage on that Know Things roll.
THE LONG VIEW — You've read how these things end before. When you Seek Insight about a plan, feud, or matter of history, ask one extra question.

A Mighty Rampart

When you hold Readiness (from Defend), you cannot be forced from your position. Also, you can spend 1 Readiness to completely ignore the effects/damage of an attack that you suffer. (Requires level 6+; replaces Bulwark.)

Armistice

When you approach an enemy to negotiate in good faith, they will at least hear you out. Even the most debased and savage foe will delay violence until you've had your say. (Requires level 6+ and Bear Witness.)

Condemn

When you Censure someone, they are marked with a mystical brand that cannot be removed or hidden until you dismiss it. Any intelligent creature who sees the mark recognizes the bearer as an agent of chaos and anathema to civilization. (Requires level 6+ and Censure.)

Proclamation

When you Censure, you may denounce a group or faction as long as you can clearly identify them. Apply the effects of Censure to every member of that group, regardless of distance. (Requires level 6+ and Condemn.)

Mirrorshield

When you Defend with a shield, you can spend 1 Readiness to intercept a magical force and redirect it to a different target (or none). (Requires level 6+ and Aegis of Faith.)

Superior Trait

Choose a trait you have already Improved, and work with the GM to boost it even further — a significant, fiction-driven leap that should feel like a real capstone. (Requires level 6+.)

The Tower Eternal

When you Defy Danger against magic, treat a bust as a success with no 6. (Requires level 6+.)

Special Possessions

Pick 1, in addition to your symbol of authority and scribe's kit.

Your symbol of authority (pick 1):

☐ Black iron maul, utterly immune to all magic (close, forceful, awkward, +1 damage)
☐ Makerglass shield, etched with Aratis's symbol (indestructible, +1 armor, +1 Readiness on a Defend 7+)
☐ Helm set with a dark ice "jewel." Grants advantage to resist mind-affecting magic.

Always included:

☐ Scribe's tools: parchment, ink, pigments, vials, quills, a notebook, etc.

Additional choice (pick 1):

☐ Aviary: thick gloves, bird hoods, tethers, seed, messenger birds, birdcages, etc.
☐ Carpenter's tools: chisels, files, nails, pitch, prybars, saws, firkins, barrels, etc.
☐ Engineer's tools: rulers, tapes, rods, plumb-bobs, tripods, block & tackles, wheelbarrow, etc.
☐ Smithy (or access to it): iron goods, ingots, thick gloves, tongs, bellows, an anvil, etc.
☐ (discuss with GM)

The Chronicle

The Judge of Aratis is charged with maintaining the Chronicle — a history of the community, its people, their knowledge, and their traditions. The nature of the lore depends on your Background, but it is more than a mere book; it is a physical place.

On the plus side, it... (choose 3)

...is a sturdy vault from the time of the Makers.
...has plenty of room to grow.
...is hidden underground.
...has but one entrance, magically sealed.
...bears minor magics to preserve its contents.
...is warded against spirits and magic.
...includes your living quarters & office.

But alas, it... (choose 2)

...sits on the outskirts, near the Old Wall.
...is cramped, chaotic, and overflowing.
...is little more than a crude cellar.
...seems to be haunted.
...contains a few dangerous artifacts.

Mark the location of the Chronicle on the steading playbook map.

The Lawkeeper

Her Judges say that Aratis has been with humanity since they first stacked one stone upon another and called it home.

In your community's temple, Aratis's shrine is... (pick 1)

...a hub of the community, a place of frequent rites, petitions, and celebrations.
...used only on high holidays, for each home keeps its own shrine above the hearth.
...neglected by most, tended only by you and a handful of believers.
...a grim place of judgement and punishment, shunned by all but her chosen.
...newly established, cramped and spare.

Of her true disciples, Aratis demands... (choose 3)

...truth, honesty, and forthrightness.
...hospitality, freely given to all who ask for it.
...the punishment of thieves & oathbreakers.
...adherence to strict rules of diet and dress.
...respect for authority, property, and rank.