My heist/espionage campaign frame is out! The Circle Unwritten (free/PWYW)
This is a heist and espionage-focused frame. Complexity 1 with two thematic mechanics.
I started to build a 3-shot campaign for friends and this grew out of it. I wanted to come up with an environment that would keep generating intrigues without needing a single mastermind secretly controlling everything.
The Circle Unwritten is built around the Umbral Circle, a distributed conspiracy that moves through four invisible and overlapping hands: the Dagger, Ledger, Flask, and Quill. The campaign starts in Saltgloom, a port city fragmented between merchant houses, criminal brokers, and old families. All competing for powers.
The frame includes:
- A 8-page campaign frame with player and GM principles, Saltgloom, power brokers, useful contacts
- Two campaign mechanics:
- The Walls Do Talk, a downtime mechanic where surveillance can expose the party, or let them intercept useful information
- Oh, I Planned For That, allowing characters to flashback, letting players reveal preparations they made before the trouble started
- Dead on Arrival: an inciting incident, a simple three-stage operation structure, and Session Zero prompts
It’s free/PWYW on itch.io and Heart of Daggers.
Illustrated with historical book artwork and original graphic elements, with full art credits and source information included. Shoutout to Old Book Illustrations for being an amazing art resource.
Hope y'all like it!
P.S. If y'all actually play this, be nice to Flick! 🐸 (if he's nice at your table anyway...) One of our players got so mama-bear over him, she'll probably hunt you down if you're mean to Flick.