The Matriarch of Mage Mountain

For centuries, the Matriarch of Mage Mountain has lived on her own, holed away from the rest of the world. She has spent nearly the entirety of her life increasing her magic, but to what avail? Now, she is at the end of her time, her life force finally wilting away, and she hopes to pass her legacy to another.

These are the thoughts she has been pondering for months when she hears a disturbance at the mouth of her cave. That disturbance is you, a young acolyte having come from a distant land.

“Conjurer!” you cry out. “You have been here a long time. We know of you away in far off lands. I have learned I also possess magic, but no one can teach me the ways. They say it is useless. I must prove them wrong.” After gathering your breath, you ask timidly, “Will you guide me?”

The Matriarch hesitates. Finding her breath, her voice weak from years of disuse, she clears the cobwebs from her throat, “Yes. I will help you. But you must travel for a year and seek what you can before I teach you. Take this spell book. Go amongst the people. Do good.” She hesitates before asking, “What is your name?”

In the Matriarch of Mage Mountain, you are an acolyte traversing through the lands. You have 52 weeks to perform acts and deeds, increasing your reputation, all in order to discover your legacy. The heart of this game is movement, exploration, and the discovery of names. You will take part in various projects (or Learnings) throughout the game. Each Learning is presented to you as an empty space. You must decide what it is and name it when you encounter the task. Be simple or be creative.

Using a deck of cards and 2 dice, you will move around a map and complete Learnings. Learnings are opportunities to better a community, increase your magical aptitude, and learn what it takes to be a mage. You will record your adventures and create a legacy before you ascend to the mountainside.

The Matriarch of Mage Mountain is a one-shot, rules-lite adventure for new and old RPG gamers.

The Matriarch of Mage Mountain has three methods of play:

1. RPG Adventure: Play the game as-is. Move around a map, answer some prompts, and see what Learnings you attain. You create the Learnings and fill in the backstory as you determine where it is you want to go.

2. An RPG Introduction: If idea generation is not your thing, then you can use the Naming Appendix, which is a document to help you determine what Learnings you will attain, their backstories, and more. This is a great and inexpensive way to poke at an RPG.

3. A Solo Journaling RPG: If you want to go deep, then you can play this as a solo journaling game, where each Learning has a backstory and continues a story of your making. You can even use the Naming Appendix to help formulate your journaling adventure.

• A PDF of the Matriarch of Mage Mountain. This is a 2-page, print and play document. One page has a map and trackers. The other page has Learnings and rules.
• A link to the full ruleset, which includes a Naming Appendix for quick play and rules to turn this into a solo journaling RPG.