CHAPTER 1: The Night’s <strong>Watch</strong>Wall. Circumstances can affect this, particularly a specific lord’s attitudetowards the <strong>Watch</strong> and the Wall. Officially, the King treats the LordCommander with the same respect he would show towards the head ofany other noble house, though the Wall is far from King’s Landing andnot often in King Robert’s mind.Running a Night’s <strong>Watch</strong> GameAt first blush, running a game that focuses on the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong> canseem like a daunting task—life on the Wall is filled with similar daysbroken up by brief moments of abject terror. At the same time, there canbe plenty of rewards to running stories among the black brotherhoodfor the Narrator willing to make the effort.As with any story, you must decide what sort of tale you want to tell.Will it be a saga of brave and desperate defense against the onslaught ofthe wildlings and the King Beyond the Wall? Will it be a slowly buildinggame of horror about the dark purposes of the Others, and whatthings awaken in the Far North? Or will it be a tale of political intrigueas the families of the South try to influence the once-incorruptibleNight’s <strong>Watch</strong>?All of these are possibilities, or you can combine multiple styles intoa single story. Once you have decided on your themes, it is far easier toplot the adventures that lead to the resolution of your story.Adventure IdeasBecause each branch of the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong> is so specialized, there can bea number of challenges to presenting adventures to your players. Everyplayer wants (and deserves) a chance to do what his or her characteris good at, but at the same time it is important to avoid repetition inyour adventures or the players will become bored. This section features ahandful of ideas for each branch of the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong>, as well as a fewideas for adventures that combine all three branches of the brotherhoodtogether in groups that are smaller than a great ranging. Each hookis kept deliberately vague so that you can pull it more easily into yourcampaign and filter in the details relevant to your themes.RangersThe rangers are the easiest and most obvious branch for which you canwrite adventures—after all, they’re out in the Far North ranging beyondthe Wall for the betterment of all Westeros. At the same time, it’s importantto avoid becoming repetitive and not challenging your playersto extend their characters. There are only so many times you can ambushthem with a group of blood-crazed wildlings, after all.BBBBThe rangers receive a plea for help from an injured wildling woman,whose people are under siege. She leads them back to a smallcamp of wildlings who are hastily burying the remains of a wight.The players must overcome their prejudices and work with thewildlings to discover the origins of the wight, and make sure nofurther are created.After a series of lightning raids disrupt life in the Gift, the rangerstravel southward from the Wall, discovering a town that is aidingthe wildlings in exchange for a share of the proceeds to make upfor a bad harvest.BBBBBBAfter hearing repeated rumors among the wildlings of a challengerto the King-beyond-the-Wall, the rangers head into the Far Northto confirm the legends of a wildling carrying a Valyrian blade.The rangers uncover a new pass through the Frostfangs, and haveto map and secure it before the wildlings can use it to enter thegorge and bypass the Shadow Tower at the western end of the Wall.The rangers head into the Haunted Forest after uncovering theremains of a prior ranging and a group of wildlings side by side,and try to learn what they uncovered before it succeeds in stalkingthem among the weirwoods.BuildersThe men who repair the Wall are quiet-minded and dedicated to theirtask, which can make them tricky to involve in adventures. Rememberthat builders’ expertise in construction and fortification makes them invaluablein many situations, often before an area has been determinedto be safe enough for others in the brotherhood.BBBBWhen a portion of an old watchtower collapses, it uncovers a stringof crudely dug rooms. The builders are called in to make certain thetunnels are not in danger of collapsing, and that they do not link upto Gendel’s and Gorne’s fabled tunnels beneath the Wall.When a wanted gang of wildling raiders take refuge within awatchtower in the Far North, the builders are called to find a wayto breach the defenses before wildling reinforcements can arrive.17
CHAPTER 1: The NIght’s <strong>Watch</strong>BBBBBBAfter uncovering a weak spot in the Wall, the builders have toquarry new stone to replace it while fending off the forces of one ofthe Others who wants to use the breach to its advantage.After a tunnel collapses in Mole’s Town and traps a group of brothers,the builders are called in to dig them out safely. During the excavation,the builders uncover signs that the collapse was not an accident.The builders are called upon to rebuild one of the ruined towersin the Gift, and uncover a concealed chamber that hints of direportents for Westeros and the <strong>Watch</strong>.StewardsThe stewards are perhaps the easiest to include in an adventure after therangers, though their involvement is much more in the realm of intrigueand politics by comparison. The overlooked stewards are everywherewithin the brotherhood, quietly making certain that the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong>continues to function as it should. Steward-centric adventures are alsoeasy to add in involvement of the other branches, making them a valuableresource for lesser rangings and broad-spectrum campaigns on the Wall.BBBBBBBBBBWhile checking in shipments in Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the stewardsuncover consistently short supplies in certain items, namelyweapons and armor, and are called upon to figure out where theshipments are being diverted and why.When a high-ranking member of the brotherhood disappears inMole’s Town, the stewards assigned to him uncover evidence of asecret cult from beyond the Wall.After a particularly bad harvest, the stewards are sent to the Giftto negotiate with the farmers there who are reluctant to give up theonly means of sustaining their families.An assassination attempt on the commander of the Shadow Towerpoints toward the work of one of the southern houses, and thestewards must work to ensure that the attempt to control the<strong>Watch</strong> through politics fails.A virulent plague spreads among the horses of the <strong>Watch</strong>, whilea similar disease seems to infect the brothers. The stewards mustrace to uncover if there is a connection between the two, and howto stop it before the wildlings can learn of the weakened numbers.Rangings, & Bringingthe Branches TogetherThe likelihood that all of your players will willingly choose the samebranch of the <strong>Watch</strong> to base their characters’ growth is, at best, slim.Far more likely is the fact that, as Narrator, you will be called uponto create stories that involve multiple branches of the <strong>Watch</strong> and tiethem together to better reflect the functioning whole. Though rare, it isnot unheard of for the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong> to undertake Great Rangings ofhundreds of brothers going beyond the Wall to deal with some threat.While these are certainly an excellent option for players, there areother situations where all the branches of the <strong>Watch</strong> are pulled togetherin smaller groups, usually formed to meet a specific goal, or situationswhere the various branches are thrown together by circumstance andforced to cooperate.While it is easy to expand adventure ideas that focus on one branchof the <strong>Watch</strong> to include others, it is far more satisfying to work withadventures that challenge all the skills its participants bring. These adventuresseeds only scratch the surface of possible stories that tie allthree branches together.BBBBBBWhen the First Builder demands to be escorted to the ruins of a fortificationin the Far North, the rangers gather to escort and protecthim during his journey. At the same time, other representatives ofthe builders accompany him to provide assistance, while his personalstewards come along to attend him. Unlike a lot of rangings that tiethe brothers together, this scenario is rife for inter-<strong>Watch</strong> conflicts aseach of the branches works out rivalries with their fellows.Evidence surfaces that an artifact, such as the lost Valyrian bladeNight’s Sister, or even a tome describing the spells used by Branto raise the Wall, is hidden within one of the abandoned castlesalong the Wall. In order to avoid drawing the attention of variousfactions that watch the brotherhood, a small group of brothers isbrought together in order to recover it. Not only would the rangersbe required to attend for defense, but the builders would be neededto ensure that the fortifications remain safe enough for exploration,and the stewards would be needed to confirm and catalog anythingthat is recovered from within the castle. As an added twist, eachbranch could have their own goals to achieve once within the abandonedcastle, leading to rifts between the brothers and either theirobjectives or their respective orders.On a similar theme, the discovery of a long-abandoned watchtowerdeep in the Frostfangs would require the assembly of a sizeableranging, sending members of all the branches to investigate,evaluate and catalog the find. Learning who constructed the fortificationand why such a position was abandoned would form thecentral thrust of such an adventure, with adequate opportunity formembers of each branch to come to the forefront and excel at theirspecific specialties.Intrigue & PoliticsAmong the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong>The <strong>Watch</strong>, despite its appearance of unity, is as rife with lesser andgreater intrigues as any other gathering of people in Westeros. Theseopportunities for intrigue often tend to be on a smaller scale than inthe rest of the civilized world: having forsaken gold and glory, the menoften content themselves with smaller victories. One of the most commonuses of Intrigue on the Wall is to punish or trick a rival into landinghimself in trouble (a dirty trick for which Alliser Thorne of CastleBlack is notorious). These intrigues use Taunt or Incite as their primarytechnique, though Bargain and Charm are also likely candidates.Bargain or Charm are common techniques for a member of thebrotherhood who is trying to earn favored duties or ensure a betterposition within the Wall (either one with more responsibility, or onewith less difficult work.) Convince is a more direct, but often less effectivetechnique. The stewards use Bargain on a regular basis as well,as part of their efforts to secure the most for the <strong>Watch</strong> with thesmallest outlay of capital.When a position of rank opens within the Night’s <strong>Watch</strong>, the brothersinterested in filling the opening pull out all the stops in an effort18
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