TUTORIAL BATTLE

HOW & WHEN TO USE THIS TUTORIAL

This tutorial battle will teach you how all of the pieces and parts work in Mythender:

  • Charging and draining Weapons and Blights
  • Creating, using, and destroying Blights
  • Wounding your foes
  • Gathering power and Corruption

Anytime you have even one player who has never played Mythender, use this tutorial for the first battle. Start off your Mythmaster turn as this battle.

Assumptions

You all should have a Mythender playsheet in front of you (or in the case of the Mythmaster, a Myth playsheet) as well as some Blight cards. Mythender is nearly impossible to play without them (though making a Myth playsheet and Blight cards on the fly isn’t too difficult).

The Mythmaster will direct everyone through this tutorial. It will be very helpful if everyone has a copy of this chapter, but that’s not strictly necessary. Ideally, the Mythmaster has read the actual Battle chapter and, well, the rest of the book.

Physical Tokens

You’re using physical tokens for everything, right? A bunch of Storm dice (6), Thunder dice (6), and bonus Thunder dice (6) within reach of everyone? And at least one Mythic die (6) on hand? Two kinds of tokens for Lightning and Might?

Mythender battles are tactile experiences. Not using them makes the baby Odin smile with joy, and we certainly don’t want that, do we?

Using this Tutorial

The text is addressed to the Mythmaster, so when you see “you,” that’s who we’re talking to. Of course, everyone is more than welcome to read and follow along. The text just assumes as a base idea that the Mythmaster is reading and the players are following verbal directions.

This is split up to distribute the rules in easy-to-learn chunks, starting with the foundations and moving up.

When to Do Something

Everyone: when the font looks like this, the Mythmaster or a player is directed to do something. Okay, except for this time. This is just an example.

When to Read Verbatim

When the font looks like this, read it as-is to the players. Each section will be flagged to read, demonstrated below.

If something is in [Brackets], it means fill that part in with the appropriate bit.

Other text can be paraphrased. The point of the verbatim text is to also convey a larger than life tone while being a little tongue-in-cheek. If that’s not your style, change the text to suit. But if you do, tell the same information and convey the same sense of grandeur and challenge in your tone.

Going Off-Script

This chapter is written to help those who are comfortable reading from a book and haven’t spent a lot of time learning this game. Some people really hate reading from a book, and if you’re one of those people, please try it anyway for the sake of learning and teaching the group. This game has a complex economy and it helps to introduce rules in chunks.

Special Rules for the Tutorial

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Because this tutorial is designed to introduce concepts in layers, we’re going to ignore some of the rules during different parts of it. If a rule hasn’t been mentioned yet, then it’s not applicable right now. After this battle, all rules are fair game.

Sometimes I’ll cheat, in order to make the tutorial work with fickle dice. I’ll point that out every time I do so.

It’s cool to ask questions about what’s going on and what’s on the playsheet. But I might respond with “We’ll get to that in a bit” if the rule’s about to be covered later.

Mythmaster: when the players ask a question that’s not covered in the current step, let them know that you’ll get to it later.

What the Mythmaster Need to Keep in Mind

Your biggest job involves keeping tone and scale consistent. This is why you Push Forward on most of the early actions in battle: you set the tone for what should be narrated and what is and isn’t right for a given scale of action.

What Rules Aren’t Covered in this Tutorial

Most of the rules are covered in this tutorial, but not all of them. There are prelude actions, which is a way for one Mythender to go before the Myth in battle. Doubling down on a Wound can be resisted, though it costs your foe Lightning tokens to do so. And there are many Gifts that manipulate how battle works for you. Also, Murder isn’t covered by this tutorial, as that’s a major distraction to learning how battle works.

At this point, you have enough experience with battle to pick up on the various tricks and rules as you read through the Battle chapter and the list of Gifts.

The Bare Minimum Knowledge

Ideally, the Mythmaster has taken some time to digest this book, but we don’t live in an ideal world. If you’re trying to get a jump into playing Mythender sooner, at least skim the What is Mythender?, What You Need to Play, and Creating Your Mythender chapters so you have a sense of the game’s scope, as well as the Battling Myths & Gods chapter—especially What to Think About During a Battle, Really Important Concepts, Physical & Metaphysical Nature of Battle, and The Shape of Foes. The tutorial might be rocky with just a skim, but at least you can try it. And after you do, you and the rest of the group will have actual play context to draw from while reading this book.

TUTORIAL BATTLE OVERVIEW

Setup
Where everyone will gather dice and tokens for the start of the battle.

Myth’s First Action
The Myth starts off each battle. The Mythmaster will show charging a Weapon and overall flow of an action.

Mythenders’ First Actions
The Mythenders take Legendary actions to start with, and will charge a Weapon and practice the overall flow of action. The Mythmaster will Push Forward.

Myth’s Second Action
The Myth will charge a Weapon again, and also create a Blight.

Mythenders’ Second Actions
The Mythenders take Mythic actions this time, charging a Weapon and using the Mythic die. They’ll also create and charge Blights.

Suffering Corruption
When Mythenders use the Mythic die, they suffer Corruption.

Myth’s Third Action
The Myth will drain the Weapon and Wound the Mythenders.

Wounding the Mythenders
This describes what happens when Mythenders are Wounded.

Dead Mythenders
Should a Mythender run out of Thunder dice due to being Wounded, this covers what happens, and how a Mythender comes back from death.

The Mythenders’ Third Round
The third round is a bit more complicated in this tutorial, as the Mythmaster needs to introduce new rules in a sequence: Draining, Titanic actions, and Wounding.

Mythenders’ Third Action: Mythic/Draining
Some Mythenders will do another Mythic action, and also possibly drain the Blight they’ve been charging.

Mythenders’ Third Action: Titanic
Some Mythenders will do a Titanic action, generating much more Lightning at the cost of inflicting self-harm.

Wounding the Myth
This describes what happens when Myth is Wounded.

Battle Epilogue
The battle is over! Time for the epilogue.

ADVICE FROM OTHERS ON THE TUTORIAL

Many other people have run the tutorial. Here’s some advice

“It’s really easy to go off-script when running the tutorial battle. Of the two times I’ve ran it, it definitely went smoother when I stuck closer to the script. There’s so many moving pieces, if you don’t follow the script it’s easy to get lost. So, I’d say that even though it can feel a little forced to follow the script exactly, do so. It makes a difference.” —Jeremiah Frye

“If the players are unused to the notion of narrative control and are instead accustomed to rolling to see if they succeed, remind them they will succeed, and the die roll just helps describe how well. ‘Do, or do not; there is no try.’

“Remind them there is no defense. There is no escape. The only way to succeed is to act before they are killed.

“If the players get comfortable with the notion of extreme physical violence, remind them that Myth is also metaphysical. The Mythenders each have an emotional basis for their origins. You can demonstrated this by having the Myth strikes them at that very emotional core.” —Robert Calfee

“Go big or go extinct. You need to get the players to hammer home with creative, epic ideas. It’s a one-shot, so you really don’t need to show any care or restraint in terms of escalation. Feel free to let it get ridiculous, and encourage each stunt to top previous stunts. The first time I ever played Mythender, one of the Mythenders used a dark and brooding presence to start pulling the Moon down to Norden. We then used that Moon to smash a hole all the way through the center of the world, and then had a fight in that tunnel. Thor wound up smashed between the walls of the world-hole.

“Describe the battlefield in its ongoing state. The Mythenders, even if they’re not creating Blights, are still affecting the landscape. Remind them of the details of the battlefield, and help them draw a vivid picture of what’s going on and where. If they’re looking for ideas, toss in suggestions such as ‘Well, half of the mountain’s lying at your feet in big, granite-y chunks; maybe you could do something with that?’” —Andy Hauge

“I don’t have poker chips handy, but I do have a change dish. What I did when I ran the tutorial battle was use pennies for Lightning tokens and quarters for Might tokens. (I also used nickels as 5× Lightning tokens when I ran low on pennies.) The game is definitely a tactile experience. I felt the small nature of pennies contrasted well with the relatively heavy quarters. I’d suggest having a physical texture or weight difference between the Lightning tokens and Might tokens to emphasize how weighty Might is—opposed to simply red poker chips for one and blue chips for the other, where you can’t feel the difference. When you spend Might, you’re doing something no mortal could ever accomplish. It may help new players grasp that if their game tokens convey that same feeling.

“Also, this shouldn’t really need to be said, but you should not let the Mythenders Murder each other during the tutorial. It sounds so obvious but it might be worth foot noting as a ‘don’t be a dick,’ at least not during the tutorial. New players probably won’t even know it’s possible, but you know, just in case.” —Michael Gray Thompson

You can find more suggestions from other people posted at MythenderRPG.com.

SETUP

For this tutorial, you’ll need a Myth playsheet for the einherjar (page 212).

The First Thing in the Adventure

This tutorial assumes that the Mythmaster is starting in the adventure with this battle, and that the Mythenders have not had any other moments yet. If you deviate from this, all of the numbers will be off, due to the Mythenders possibly having gained Corruption and Fate.

Gathering Dice & Tokens

Each Mythender should gather 3 Storm dice (6) and put them in the top-left corner of their playsheets, the one labeled Storm Dice. Then they gather 1 Thunder die (6) and put it in the bottom-left corner of their playsheets, labeled Thunder Dice. They leave the bottom-right corner, Lightning Tokens, empty. Finally, they each should have 5 Might tokens in the top-right corner, labeled Might Tokens.

If any of them has the Harbinger of Storm Gift, they take 5 Storm dice instead of 3.

Mythmaster: if any of the Mythenders has the “Harbinger of Storm” gift, read the following to the table.

You probably notice that some of you have a Storm Rating of 3, and others a Storm Rating of 5. This is because of your Gifts. We won’t get into this in any detail right away, but Gifts change some of the battle rules for your Mythender. The “Harbinger of Storm” Gift gives you two more Storm. The other ones you have let you do different things, by spending those Might tokens you have.

I’ll explain what those other Gifts do later. For now, we’ll focus on the basic rules. But know that Gifts are key to bringing the Myth down. The Myth also has some Gifts, which I won’t use right away.

Mythmaster: if no one has the “Harbinger of Storm” gift, read the following to the table.

You’ll see a couple things called Gifts and Might on your playsheet. They’re your special ways of changing how the battle rules work for you. We’ll get into how they work later. But know that they’re key to bringing the Myth down. The Myth also has some Gifts, which I won’t use right away.

Then gather the 4 Storm dice, 2 Thunder dice, and 6 Might tokens that the einherjar have for yourself.

Set the Scene

This battle uses the snow-covered plains set from the Norden chapter, tweaked to fit the Thorberge adventure.

Snow-covered plains

Fresh snow has fallen at the base of this mountain. Up in the distance: trees and rocky outcropping. Beyond that lies the Fort of Thorberge, a place where Thor’s warrior cult trains for eternal battle. But that is a great distance away. Above you, storm clouds crackle. Thor certainly watches overhead.

These sets are just some color to frame the battle. Describe it as-is or with your own words. Then add how the Mythenders arrive: walking for several days, on their way to a fortress high atop a mountain where Thor has a warrior cult. (Or something else, if the god you’ll have them End is different.)

Then the einherjar enter, some three hundred of them, waiting for the Mythenders to approach. As they do, have the einherjar call out to the Mythenders, demanding they turn back to face another god, such as Loki. These Myths are ready to battle, but have the good sense to know what fate awaits them when they do.

The Mythenders may charge right away, or may exchange a few words before the battle.

Mythmaster: if a Mythender describe launching into the battle, read the following, then start the battle.

In this game, the Myths always get the first turn. But that’s a great action, so hold onto it for the moment, and use that when it’s your turn.

Of course, if it’s not a great action, well, I guess lie. Don’t dampen the mood right now; you’ll get a chance to explain how actions work in a bit.

Mythmaster: otherwise, launch into battle.

Either way, when the battle starts, go to the next page, Myth’s First Action.

MYTH’S FIRST ACTION

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

I’m going to show you how a basic action works. I’ll start by choosing a Weapon. Then I’ll describe being totally awesome with it by attacking some or all of you. I’ll check off a Weapon charge box, roll some dice, get some stuff, and then describe what happens as a result of my action.

Don’t worry, I can’t Wound you guys with this first attack. The thing I’m reading just told me I couldn’t. That will come later. Right now, we’re going to see how attacking generates power for me to use in later turns.

Form Your Action

Mythmaster: choose your Relic Weapon, and tell the table what you’re using.

If you’re using the einherjar, you should have Arms forged by the dwarves and gods as a Relic Weapon. If not, choose whatever Relic or Companion Weapon you have on your Myth playsheet.

You’re intentionally not using an Intrinsic or Companion Weapon because that makes this tutorial run smoother. The Intrinsic Weapon’s starting charge would mean that your second and third turns won’t look like this tutorial assumes.

The Weapon you’ll choose will be used throughout this tutorial, to show how charging and draining a Weapon works. You won’t have that restriction in normal battles.

Describe Being Awesome

Mythmaster: describe your action. Make sure your Weapon is important in that action.

If you’re using the defaults from the setup, the opening battle with the einherjar from the Thorberge adventure, describe the einherjar charging in with axes and hurling spears into the air. Make the description dramatic and high-action, but stop before you describe doing anything to the Mythenders.

If you’re using a different setup, you’re on your own to describe the action.

Either way, refer to Describe Being Awesome on making your action work if you need some help.

Charge Your Weapon

Mythmaster: check the first charge box on that Weapon, the one in the +3 Dice column. Then read the following.

During this action, I’m charging a Weapon. That means I’m putting a check in one of the top “charge boxes”—in this case, the +3 Dice box. This doesn’t give me a bonus right now, but later, when I drain it, I’ll get the bonus. You’ll see that on my third turn.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Now I’m going to gather up my dice. These guys have a Storm rating of 4, so I’m grabbing 4 Storm dice—the white ones. They also start with 2 Thunder dice, because that’s what it says on their Myth sheet, so I’m grabbing my 2 black dice. Now I’ll roll them and see what happens!

Mythmaster: gather your white Storm dice and black Thunder dice. Roll them together.

For each Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each Storm die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Thunder die. Put this in the Thunder pool on your playsheet. You’ll use it in future turns.

If either your Storm or your Thunder rolled all failures, change one to a 4. Explain that you’re cheating, because it’s a tutorial, and normally you can’t just do that.

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

See how I got some Thunder dice and Lightning tokens? Successes—4s, 5s, and 6s—cause that. Lightning is how you get things done, like Wound somebody or create a Blight, things we’ll do in later turns. Thunder is how you generate more Lightning, but it’s also how you stay alive when some Myth tries to kill you…which we’ll get to as soon as the rules let me.

When you’re delivering lines like “as soon as the rules let me Wound you,” try to do so with a sense of devilish playfulness. Don’t come off like you’re a jerk.

Push Forward

Mythmaster: describe what happens in that action’s aftermath.

If you’re using the default, describe how the spears and axes bite into the Mythenders, enough to cause flesh wounds and maybe make them take a step back. If you’re using another setup, you’re on your own for describing that. Either way, look to Push Forward for guidance on pushing forward.

Sell that the Mythenders are powerful beings, though, and simple weapons like this are not enough to make them sweat. At least, not yet. If any of the Mythenders have a Companion Weapon that counts as a horde (see The Shape of Foes), kill a few nameless ones.

Mythmaster: your turn is over. Proceed to the Mythenders’ turns.

MYTHENDERS’ FIRST ACTIONS

Choosing Who Goes

Mythmaster: read the following to the table when the Mythenders’ actions start.

When you guys get to act, you get to choose the order you all go. If one of you is ready to go, awesome. Otherwise, the player to my left will start.

Note that in a normal battle, if you cannot decide who’s turn it is because of arguing or indecision, and you bicker about it, your turns are all over and the next round begins. But don’t worry; I totally trust that you will be awesome and ready for action.

Here’s where you’ll want the players to get comfortable with choosing their own initiative in battle. If there’s indecision, pick a player to go, but give them a chance to talk it out first.

Form Your Action

Mythmaster: read the following to the table the first time a Mythender acts this round. If someone needs this reread on their action, reread it.

Now you’ll do what I did: start by choosing a Weapon, then describe being totally awesome with it by attacking me, check off a Weapon charge box, roll some dice, and get some stuff. I’ll describe what happens as a result. And just like I couldn’t wound you on my turn, you won’t wound me on this one. Again, don’t worry—you’ll soon get a chance to slaughter my Myth!

Unlike my turns, you Mythender have another thing to decide on yours, called “scale.” For this turn, you’ll do a Legendary action, which means you’ll describe being super-strong, able to conjure magic, things like that. Don’t worry too much about what that means right now; it’s my job as the Mythmaster to moderate scale.

Player: choose a Weapon. For tutorial purposes, you’ll use the same Weapon through the battle.

Ideally, the players should all choose different kinds of Weapons; one picking an Intrinsic, one a Relic, and one a Companion. After the first Mythender goes, ask follow-up ones to choose a different kind, but don’t force the issue.

If there’s indecision, help them out by asking which one they’re most excited about. That’s more important right now than which type they use. Also point out, if needed, that they can solicit help from the table. However, the choice is always in their hands.

Mythmaster: if you offer a suggestion that the player doesn’t like or isn’t inspired by, bow to them or take a knee and apologize, saying “I’m sorry Lord/Lady Mythender for my presumption. Please don’t kill me.” This is a standing rule.

Describe Being Awesome

Player: describe your action. Make sure your Weapon is important in that action. You may need to help guide this description. Make sure it keeps to a Legendary action scale (see Scales of Action). Make sure that the action doesn’t begin describing the aftermath, though if you’re using a Myth that counts as a horde (and you should be), point out that it’s totally cool to describe slaughtering a score of them right now—since that doesn’t significantly diminish their numbers, it doesn’t count as Wounding.

Charge Your Weapon

Player: check the first charge box on that Weapon, the one in the +3 Dice column.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Player: gather your Storm dice and your 1 Thunder die. Roll them together.

If your Thunder die comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each Storm die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Thunder die. Put this in the Thunder pool on your playsheet. You’ll use it in future turns.

If You Gained Nothing

Mythmaster: if the player gained no Thunder or Lightning this turn, explain and use the following rule.

When this happens, it means the action succeeded, as all actions do, but the Mythic World is resisting the flow of power. The Mythender can break through this resistance by spending 1 Might token, and then reroll the dice. If that reroll also generates nothing, the player may claim either a Thunder die or Lightning token.

Note: this rule only exists for when nothing is gained.

Push Forward

Mythmaster: explain that normally you’ll describe what happens as a result, and then describe what happens.

When you’re describing, make sure you’re selling that the Mythender is an awesome, terrible force of destruction. They did something this turn to get power. Use the guidance on Push Forward.

Player: your turn is over. Proceed to the next Mythender’s turn, or to the next round if everyone has had a turn.

MYTH’S SECOND ACTION

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

My second turn will look a lot like my first one: I’ll pick a Weapon, describe the action, and describe the aftermath. I’ll use the same Weapon as I did before, charging the next box.

What’s different is that I’ll end this turn by creating a Blight—a scar on the land or other calamity that I can draw power from later. You’ll see what I mean soon.

Claim Might

Mythmaster: claim 2 Might tokens and read the following.

On every turn after the first, the Myth gets more Might tokens. This Myth gets 2 more each turn. Other, nastier Myths will get more, along with having more wicked stats.

Form Your Action

Mythmaster: choose the same Weapon as you did last time.

Describe Being Awesome

Mythmaster: describe your action. Make sure your Weapon is important in that action.

As with the first time, describe your action with this Weapon. At this point, the Mythenders will have done quite a bit in the battle, so there isn’t any way for me to directly guide what sort of description to give. However, whatever you describe has to result in a Blight somehow.

One possibility:

After seeing that their axes and spears alone don’t do much, the einherjar hurl their spears into the air. Then, imbued with Thor’s might, they rain down as a storm of lightning infused spears.

This will mean you can make a Blight like “Storm of Lightning Spears.”

Charge Your Weapon

Mythmaster: check the second charge box on that Weapon, the +2 Dice one.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Mythmaster: gather your Storm dice and Thunder dice. Roll them together.

This is identical to the Roll Dice & Gain Power step from the Myth’s First Action.

For each Storm die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Thunder die. Put this in the Thunder pool on your playsheet. You’ll use it in future turns.

For each Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

If you gained no Thunder or Lightning this turn, cheat by turning a die to 4 as in If you Gained Nothing. Explain that you’re cheating for the tutorial.

Push Forward

Mythmaster: create your new Blight on a Blight card. Describe what happens in that action’s aftermath.

Creating the Blight

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Now I’m going to create a Blight. To create one, you spend 2 Lightning tokens during the “Push Forward” phase of your turn. Then you’ll do what I’m doing right now. On my next turn, you’ll see how I’ll use it.

Mythmaster: if you have fewer than 2 Lightning Tokens, take enough so that you now have two, and read the following to the table.

So, uh, you might have noticed that I just grabbed some extra Lightning. The tutorial just told me to cheat, so that I can show you how Blights work. Normally I can’t just take what I need from the pile—only during this tutorial, when it tells me to.

Create a Blight (here), either a scar on the land, an unnatural and dangerous phenomenon, or some other horrible outpouring of Mythic power. To do so, spend 2 Lightning tokens and take a Blight card. See below for an example.

Write on the card a quick description and note the Myth that created it. Check the first charge box. Leave everything else as-is.

Describe the Aftermath

Take the same advice as before in describing the aftermath, but make it seem deadlier. Now that you’ve created a lasting Blight, the aftermath should be more vicious.

MYTHENDERS’ SECOND ACTIONS

Choosing Who Goes

Mythmaster: read the following to the table when the Mythenders’ turns start.

Now that it’s your turn, you can re-choose the order you all go in. You don’t have to choose the whole order right away; one of you can go, and then the rest decide after you see what happens.

We’ve seen how a Legendary action works. Now we’ll do the next scale up, a Mythic action. This means you’ll roll the Mythic die! The Mythic die is pretty awesome, because you get extra stuff for it, all for the low, low price of corrupting your mortal soul! No biggie.

During this round, the first person will create a Blight just like I did, and the others will charge that Blight during their actions.

Form Your Action

Mythmaster: for the first Mythender’s turn, read the following.

Like we said earlier, you’re going to use the same Weapon. This will show how to charge a Weapon a second time, and be useful in the next turn when you drain it. But you’re also going to make a Blight, some sort of horrible outpouring of Mythic power that you can use to wound and kill the Myth.

Mythmaster: for the rest of the Mythenders’ turns, read the following.

Like we said earlier, you’re going to use the same Weapon. This will show how to charge a Weapon a second time, and be useful in the next turn when you drain it. You’re also going to work in how you’re using the Blight that another Mythender created in your action.

Player: choose the same Weapon as before. If one of your fellow Mythenders already created a Blight, also choose that Blight.

Describe Being Awesome

Player: describe your action. Make sure your Weapon is important in that action, and the Blight if you were able to choose one.

You may need to help guide this description. Since this is a Mythic action, push them to describe something far bolder than last time. But make sure there’s room for something to grow, so that they can do Titanic actions in the next round.

Charge Your Weapon

Player: check the second charge box on that Weapon, the one in the +2 Dice column.

Charge the Blight

Player: if you used a Blight that was previous created, charge its next charge box.

Since it starts with one charge upon creation, the first time a Mythender uses this Blight in an action, he’ll charge the second charge box. Second time, the third charge box, and so on.

The example to the right shows charging the Blight the first time a Mythender uses it after it’s created.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Player: gather your Storm dice, Thunder dice, and the Mythic Die. If you charged a Blight, add in one bonus Storm die. (Bonus Storm dice are also white.) Roll them together.

For each Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each Storm die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Thunder die. Put this in the Thunder pool on your playsheet. You’ll use it in future turns.

Take additional Thunder dice equal to the number on the Mythic die (a 1 means take 1 extra Thunder die, a 6 means take 6 extra Thunder dice). This is in addition to the Thunder dice gained from Storm dice rolled.

Important: don’t touch the Mythic die yet. The number on it factors in Suffering Corruption.

If you added in a bonus die from charging a Blight, return it when you’re done.

Suffer Corruption

Suffering Corruption means dealing with a couple more things. They’re covered in their own tutorial spread, Suffering Corruption.

Mythmaster: jump to that section, deal with it, and then come back here.

Push Forward

Continue to the next page…

MYTHENDERS’ SECOND ACTION: PUSH FORWARD

Continuing from the previous page.

If the first Mythender has only 1 Lightning Token

Mythmaster: explain the Lightning sharing rule in brief.

One of the reasons that a group of Mythenders is a formidable force is because the Lightning they generate can be shared among them. As long as the Mythender acting can pay for at least half of what he wants to do (rounded up), he can ask for a handout from others. Since a Blight costs 2 Lightning to make, half is 1. So all you need is someone to give you 1 Lightning to pull off a Blight.

Player: if you have a Blight idea and can get someone else to give you 1 Lightning token, great! You two should add a brief word about how you’re helped out. Then take that Lightning and proceed to the next bit below. If not, proceed to “Otherwise…”

On the first Mythender’s turn

Player: if you have an idea for a Blight, pay 2 Lightning and make one, just like the Mythmaster did. If you don’t, brainstorm with the rest of the table to come up with one. It’s important for the Tutorial that you make one up now.

See the Myth’s Second Turn for more on creating a Blight.

Player: you get to push forward this time! Describe how your action causes the Blight and what it does to your foe. You can accept input from others, including the Mythmaster, but what happens is up to you. (The exception: others can call you on doing something that makes the game not fun for the group.) After that, your turn is over. Proceed to the next Mythender’s turn, or to the next round if everyone has had a turn.

SUFFERING CORRUPTION

Mythmaster: whenever a Mythender rolls the Mythic die (whether doing a Mythic or Titanic Action), do this section. Start by reading the following, if you haven’t yet.

So you’ve rolled the Mythic die! Congratulations! You’ve taken one step toward becoming a totally awesome god that your friends will probably End, if they survive this adventure. And for that, you get sweet stuff! But now we have to deal with Mythic Corruption and risking a piece of your mortal nature.

Gain Corruption

Player: mark a Corruption box. If this is your first time rolling the Mythic Die, you’ll mark the first Corruption box. If this is your second time, you’ll mark the second box.

First Corruption Box

Second Corruption Box

Change Form

If a player marked off both boxes on a row, which he will on the third turn because he grabbed the Mythic die a second time, then that Mythender changes form.

Mythmaster: if the Mythender changes form, read the following. Otherwise, skip this part and move to Progressing Fate, below.

Now that you’ve checked off both boxes in a row, you change Form! This means that you’ve taken on so much Mythic power that you can no longer keep your mortal Form; it twists to show some aspect of the god you’ll become.

You wrote down some forms when you made your character (or used a pre-made Mythender). The Paragon Form is now what you look like. This will impact later rules when it comes to dealing with people, since that tends to scare the hell out of mortals.

Player: if your Mythender has changed form, add that to your action’s description.

The Paragon Form comes from that character’s Fate. Here’s an example, from the Eternal Warrior take on the God of War Fate (here):

Progress Fate

Player: compare the number on the Mythic Die with the number in the Corruption box you checked. If the Mythic Die is equal or higher, you’re forced to progress your Fate.

Since this tutorial only has you checking off the first two boxes, the Corruption number will be 4. So if the Mythic die comes up 4, 5, or 6, then the Mythender’s Fate is progressed.

If Fate isn’t progressing

Mythmaster: if the player isn’t progressing Fate, read the following.

The Mythic die was low, so you aren’t forced to give up your mortality. However, you can still choose to…

Mythmaster: ask the player if he’d like to progress his Fate. If so, continue on. Otherwise, go to the rest you left off.

If Fate is progressing

Mythmaster: if the player is progressing Fate, read the following.

Awesome! Not only did you push your Corruption, you’ve lost a piece of your mortality! That’s great! Each time you lose part of your soul, you get a new slot for a Gift—special tricks that let you change how the battle rules work.

We’re not going to get into the specific on Gifts right now, but after that battle is over, you’ll get to fill in these new slots with awesome stuff!

Player: check off the next available Fate box.

If this is the first time this Mythender has progressed Fate, check off the first box. If this is the second time, check off the second box.

First Fate Box

Second Fate Box

MYTH’S THIRD ACTION

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

We’re going to start the last tutorial round now. On my third turn, I’ll: pick a Weapon, pick the Blight I made, describe the action, and then I’ll totally Wound some of you. I’ll use the same Weapon as I did before, but instead of charging a box, I’m going to drain the boxes I charged.

Now we get to explore the fun of getting Wounded! Woo! And this round, we’ll talk about those Gifts you have.

Claim Might

Mythmaster: claim 2 Might tokens. Re-explain why if necessary.

Form Your Action

Mythmaster: choose the same Weapon as before, and choose the Blight you created last time.

Describe Being Awesome

Mythmaster: describe your action. Make sure your Weapon and the Blight are important in that action. You must describe hurting at least one Mythender during this process, which shouldn’t be a problem.

Again, describe your action involving this Weapon, but you’ll also have to involve the Blight; otherwise, you’re not allowed to get any benefit from it. Describe something that could hurt most or all of the Mythenders, or you’re not allowed to Wound them with Push Forward.

Drain Your Weapon

Mythmaster: check the first and second drain boxes on your Weapon. Then say the following to the players.

Now that I’m draining a weapon, I get to check off the drain box for each column with a check in the charge box. I get to add those bonuses to the dice I’m rolling this turn as bonus Storm dice, 5 in this case. You probably also see that the third column says “+2 Might”—if you drain that box, you immediately gain 2 Might tokens as well.

Charge the Blight

Mythmaster: check off one charge box for each Mythender you’re fighting. If you’re dealing with three, you’ll check off three, as in the example to the right. Then read the following.

You’ll see that I checked off some charge boxes on the Blight. I got to check off one for each of you. On your turns, you’ll see more on this, and on draining a Blight.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Mythmaster: gather your Storm dice and Thunder dice, then gather 5 bonus Storm dice. Roll them together.

This process is almost identical to your second turn. You get one bonus Storm die this turn for charging the Blight, and you’ll interrupt it by using a Gift.

Introducing the Relentlessness Gift

Important: if all of your Thunder dice are successful, turn one of them to be 1. Explain you’re doing this for tutorial purposes.

Mythmaster: if you have any failures on your Thunder dice, read and do the following.

I’m going to show you have a Gift works. My Myth has a Gift called “Relentlessness,” which means that I can reroll failed dice. If I pay 2 Might tokens, I can take all the failures from one die type—Storm or Thunder—and reroll them. Now, I can only do this once a round; Gifts only work once a round unless they say otherwise.

Mythmaster: pay 2 Might tokens, and reroll all your failed Thunder dice.

Now gather Storm and Thunder as normal. Once you have, put the bonus Storm dice back.

Push Forward

Mythmaster: read the follow to the victims…I mean, the players.

Hey, how are you doing? I’m doing great. You know why? Because I’m totally going to Wound you now. But on the bright side, you’re learning it now so that you can do it to me on your turns!

For this, it’s important to not Wound everyone, even if you’re able to. Choose one person who has at least six Thunder dice to not be Wounded this turn, so that they keep all those dice for their action. Among the others, choose at least two to Wound.

Note: if you for some reason don’t have 3 Lightning tokens by now, take enough to make three, and explain you’re cheating for tutorial purposes.

Now I’m going to Wound some of you: [Names of the Mythenders you’re Wounding]. Know that the only reason I can is because I described it possibly happening in my action. For the first person, I have to pay your Wound Cost, which you’ll see on your sheet is 3.

Mythmaster: pay 3 Lightning tokens, then read the following.

That’s to Wound one of you. As a Myth, I have a special rule about wounding multiple Mythenders: I can spend 1 Might token for each additional Mythender I want to Wound. It still has to make sense with what I described earlier.

Mythmaster: pay 1 Might Token for each additional Mythender you’re wounding, and then proceed to the Being Wounded section (here).

Once you’re done with the Mythenders being Wounded and the aftermath description, proceed to the Mythenders’ turns. And kiss goodbye to your petty little Myth.

WOUNDING THE MYTHENDERS

Mythmaster: read the following.

Now we’re going to explore the joys of being Wounded! Yay! This will involve your Thunder dice and the Wound track on your playsheet.

What you’ll do here is walk the players through being Wounded, which means checking off a Wound box, rolling for the Wound, and possibly dying. The players addressed in this section are specifically those who were targeted.

Check Your Wound Box

Since this is the one time the Mythenders will be Wounded in this tutorial, they’ll check off the first box, which is a 3.

Mythmaster: read the following.

If you’re wounded, you’re going to start by checking off your first available Wound box, the one listed as “3”. That’s your Wound number, which we’re going to use in the next step. You won’t get Wounded again during this battle, but if you were again, you’d check off the next one—the “4”.

Players: check off the first available Wound box, the 3 one.

Roll Your Wound

Mythmaster: read the following.

Now that you’ve checked off your Wound box, you’re going to use the number next to it—the Wound number—to see how horrible and messed up this attack has made you. Gather up your Thunder dice, and just those dice. Then roll them. Anything that’s less than that number (1 or 2) are discarded, put back into the general pile. Anything that’s that or higher (3, 4, 5, or 6) you get to keep…for now.

Players: roll your Thunder dice. Keep any that are 3 (your Wound number) or higher. Discard any that are less than 3.

Are you Dead?

Mythmaster: read the following.

Anyone who loses all their Thunder dice are dead. Well, sort of. Mythenders have a say in the matter.

Mythmaster: if any player has no Thunder dice due to this Wound, read the following.

And looks like we have a fatality! We’ll get to you once we take care of everyone else.

Mythmaster: if no players have lost all Thunder dice, read the following.

And looks like everyone’s still alive. Thankfully, the rules say I can’t just kill one of you to demonstrate the rules. But if anyone would like to volunteer…

If someone wants to volunteer to die, they can discard all their Thunder dice. But it’s okay if no one wants to die this early in the game.

Mythenders Who Aren’t Dead

Mythmaster: Read the following.

Take your remaining Thunder dice back into your pool.

Note: sometimes you won’t lose any dice on a Wound roll. If that happens, tell the player that they’re lucky this time, but that they’re still Wounded, and the next time they get Wounded, they’ll have to deal with a higher Wound number.

Mythenders Who Are Dead

Mythmaster: Jump to the section on dead Mythenders.

Check Companions

Mythmaster: Read the following to the Wounded players.

Now we’ll get into the different Weapon types, specifically Companions. See, your Companions really, really hate when you get Wounded. Because of that, when you’re Wounded, they get a free charge. Check off one of the Charge boxes on any Companion Weapons you have. If you don’t have any Companion Weapons, you don’t get any special benefit.

The Bloodlust Gift

Mythmaster: Read the following to the table.

There’s a Gift called “Bloodlust,” which is something you can use when you’re Wounded. It lets you turn the Thunder dice you lost into Lightning tokens you use to return the favor.

Player: if you have the Bloodlust Gift, you may spend 2 Might tokens. If you do, gain a number of Lightning tokens equal to the number of Thunder dice you just lost.

Describe the Aftermath

Mythmaster: Describe the aftermath of this action. Get really brutal and messy with how the Mythenders are finally Wounded in a way they could feel. If any Mythenders died, describe killing them. Then go back.

DEAD MYTHENDERS

Mythmaster: read the following.

So, you’re out of Thunder dice. Normally, that means you’re dead. But let me ask you a question: do you want to stay dead? You don’t have to. As a Mythender, being dead is a choice—if you choose to stay dead right now, then you’re forever dead, as a mortal. But you could instead choose to let your Mythic Heart save you, at the low, low price of permanently corrupting you. No big deal.

Since this is a tutorial, what do you say we get to the good part and bring you back from the dead. You don’t want to be slaughtered by a bunch of punk lesser Myths, right?

Aside: The Mortal Choice to Die

The Mortal Choice is easy, the character is just dead, the game is over for him. And it can be a powerful story choice, when you’re fighting a god and you’re in danger of becoming a Myth at the end of that fight. But that’s for a later time.

The Mythic Choice to Survive

Player: tell the Mythmaster that you’re going to survive this death. Feel free to add whatever wit or profanity you feel is appropriate. It’s not every day you get killed and then get to say “Actually, no I don’t.”

Progressing Corruption & Fate

Mythmaster: read the following.

Next up, you’re going to check off one more Corruption box and one more Fate box. Embracing your Mythic nature to come back from the dead is a Big Deal, and it brings you closer to becoming a Myth.

Player: check your next Corruption box and Fate box. This means you’ll have two Corruption boxes checked now, so when you describe coming back to life, include how you change form with that.

See the Suffering Corruption for those details.

Gaining Permanent Corruption & Fate

Mythmaster: read the following.

Now that we’ve increased your Corruption and Fate, we’re going to make some of those boxes permanent. Normally, when you seek sympathy from a mortal during an interlude, you can heal your Corruption and Fate to keep yourself from becoming a Myth. But each time you die, that becomes harder to do.

Player: draw a circle around the first Corruption box you checked and the first Fate box you checked. These are “Permanent Corruption boxes” and “Permanent Fate boxes.”

Permanent Corruption Box

Permanent Fate Box

Getting Back into the Battle

Mythmaster: read the following.

Last thing: now that you’re ready to fight again, you’re going to need more Thunder dice, right? You get an amount based on your current Form, just as you do at the beginning of every battle. For now being at Paragon form, that means 2 Thunder dice.

Player: take 2 Thunder dice from the pile and put them in your pool

Mythmaster: read the following.

I’m about to describe the aftermath now. During that, I’m going to describe killing you. Then, when I’m done and before anyone else goes, you take a moment to describe coming back from dead however you want. You can do this right now, or you can wait until your action on the next round. Include changing Form when describing coming back, since both boxes in your first Corruption row are checked.

Player: after the Mythmaster describes killing your Mythender, get all sickhouse in describing how he comes back to life.

The Bloodlust Gift

If you have the Bloodlust Gift, you may use it after you come back from death, in which case you’ll get even more Lightning! Treat all the Thunder dice you lost as Lightning tokens gained; don’t subtract the new Thunder dice you have from coming back.

THE MYTHENDERS’ THIRD ROUND

The third round is slightly more complicated for you, the Mythmaster, to direct, because you’re going to have the Mythenders all do something slightly different. Rather than let the player’s organize their turn as they did turning the first two rounds, you’ll organize them in order to introduce new sets of rules.

Mythmaster: before the Mythenders take their turns in the third round, read the following.

Normally you get to organize your order each round, but for this tutorial, I’m going to order you on this round in order to showcase different rules.

This is because you’re introducing four concepts: Wounding the Myth, draining a Blight, the Titanic action, and other Gifts the Mythenders have.

Mythmaster: for the first turn, pick the person with the lowest amount of Thunder dice…unless they have the Grievous Harm gift, in which case pick someone else with a low amount.

This will be a Mythic action where their Blight is drained and the Myth is Wounded. Use the Mythenders’ Third Action: Mythic/Draining step.

Mythmaster: for the second turn, pick the person with the highest amount of Thunder dice.

This will be a Titanic action, and the Myth will be Wounded. Use the Mythenders’ Third Action: Titanic step.

Mythmaster: if you haven’t picked someone with the Grievous Harm Gift yet, and one of the Mythenders has that Gift, then pick that person. Otherwise, allow the remaining players to go in whatever order they like.

At this point, the rest of the tutorial is freeform. You have taught all the concepts contained here. Make sure everyone gets a chance to Wound the Myth. Use their special Practice Death Gift, or cheat and add a couple Thunder dice to their pool if they run out.

If the round ends and the Myth is still alive, discard all your dice and declare that it’s dead. Let the Mythenders describe the battle’s aftermath as normal.

As always, when you’re cheating for the tutorial, explain that you are.

MYTHENDERS’ THIRD ACTION: MYTHIC/DRAINING

Mythmaster: read the following.

This action is going to be a Mythic Action, just like the last one you did. You’ll use the same Weapon as before, but this time you’ll drain it. And you’ll drain the Blight. If you have enough Lightning, you’ll also get some revenge by Wounding me.

Form Your Action

Player: choose the same Weapon as before. Choose the Blight you’ve created.

Describe Being Awesome

Mythmaster: read the following.

So, the thing about this world is that you can wound Myths in a number of ways. The obvious is physical combat, but anything that assaults them psychologically and destroys their resolve to fight also causes them to die. If you make these guys feel fear or shame, or even things like you forgiving them, those all cause Wounds…as long as you have a Weapon that’s relevant.

Player: describe your Mythic action. Make sure your Weapon and the Blight are important to the action. Describe something that will damage the Myth.

Again, guide the player if needed. Make sure all the key bits are hit, so you can show everything in this tutorial step.

Drain Your Weapon

Mythmaster: read the following.

You’re going to drain the charge boxes on your Weapon, just like I did.

Player: check the first and second drain boxes on your Weapon. If your third box is also checked, because you’ve been using a Companion Weapon and were Wounded, check the third drain box as well. You always drain every charged box on your Weapon.

Have the player take 5 bonus Storm dice. If the +2 Might box was drained, also have them take 2 Might tokens. Explain that these tokens aren’t temporary like bonus dice.

Drain the Blight

Mythmaster: Read the following.

By now, most or all of the charge boxes on your Blight are checked. Now we’re going to drain the Blight. You’ll grab a number of bonus Thunder dice equal to the boxes charged, and then you’ll erase all the charges.

Player: take a number of red bonus Thunder dice equal to the charges on the Blight, and then erase the charge checks.

The Blight’s now drained, but it’s still around. You can recharge it in future turns.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Player: gather your Storm dice, normal and bonus Thunder dice, and the Mythic Die. Roll them together.

For each permanent Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each bonus Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Lightning token. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each Storm die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain a Thunder die. Put this in the Thunder pool on your playsheet. You’ll use it in future turns.

Take additional Thunder dice equal to the number on the Mythic die (a 1 means take 1 extra Thunder die, a 6 means take 6 extra Thunder dice). This is in addition to the Thunder dice gained from Storm.

Once you’ve gained everything, put the bonus storm and bonus Thunder dice back. Don’t touch the Mythic die, because you’ll need the value it rolled when you Suffer Corruption.

Using the Relentlessness Gift

If the Mythender has the Relentlessness Gift, before they discard the bonus Storm and bonus Thunder, suggest that they use the Relentlessness Gift

This would be just like you did on your turn, so use that as a reference. Note that when using this Gift, bonus Storm dice can also be rerolled if the player picks Storm, and bonus Thunder can be rerolled if Thunder is chosen.

If the Mythender doesn’t have the Relentlessness Gift, but has a Gift slot open from progressing Fate at least once, the read the following.

You have an open Gift slot, which means that, at any time, you can fill that in with a new Gift. If you’d like to reroll some of those failures, you can pick the Relentlessness Gift right this moment, and then pay 2 Might to reroll either your Storm or Thunder failures.

If they chose to, direct them in using that Gift.

Suffer Corruption

Mythmaster and Player: jump back to that section), deal with it, and then come back here.

Push Forward & Wound

Mythmaster and Player: follow the step for Wounding the Myth.

MYTHENDERS’ THIRD ACTION: TITANIC

Mythmaster: read the following.

Now we’ll introduce the highest scale of action: the Titanic action. You’ll need to describe something much more dramatic than any of the Mythic actions so far. You can rip the land in half with a simple swing of a sword, turn the sky into ice with a glance, or anything else that you can imagine…provided you can describe it with one of your Weapons. Also look at your Fate: for instance, if you’re a God of Death, you can describe raising the dead as a Titanic action.

You’ll use the same Weapon as before, but this time you’ll drain it. You’ll charge the Blight again. And you’ll Wound me.

Note: this step assumes that the Mythenders’ Blight has already been drained.

Form Your Action

Player: choose the same Weapon as before. Choose the Blight you’ve created.

Describe Being Awesome

Player: describe your Titanic action. Make sure the Weapon and Blight are important to the action. Describe something that will damage the Myth. It shouldn’t be hard.

You should guide the player into describing a Titanic action. If it helps, goad the player after getting a weaker description than necessary, as per the Challenge the Mythenders at Times section of the Mythmaster’s chapter. Saying “Oh, is that all?” or similar may help, if the table has a sense of esprit de corps.

Drain Your Weapon

Mythmaster: read the following.

You’re going to drain the charge boxes on your Weapon, just like I did.

Player: check the first and second drain boxes on your Weapon. If your third box is also checked, because you’ve been using a Companion Weapon and were Wounded, check the third drain box as well.

Mythmaster: read the following.

Okay, here’s where the rules change rather drastically from anything else you’ve done so far. First of all, you don’t roll any Storm dice when you do a Titanic action. That means you can’t take any bonus Storm dice from draining your Weapon. But when you drain a Weapon, you have another option: take bonus Thunder dice instead.

It normally costs you 2 Might to do so, but if you’re using a Relic Weapon, it’s free. However, you can’t mix your bonuses; you either take it all as bonus Storm or all as bonus Thunder.

Player: if your Weapon is a Relic, take 5 bonus Thunder dice. If your Weapon isn’t a Relic, pay 2 Might tokens and then take 5 bonus Thunder dice. If you also drained the +2 Might box, take 2 Might tokens now.

Charge the Blight

Mythmaster: read the following.

Now you get to charge the Blight. Remember how I said that you don’t roll Storm dice on a Titanic action? That means you won’t get the bonus Storm die for the Blight. However, you can still charge it, so you or another Mythender can take advantage of that later.

Player: charge the Blight by checking its highest unchecked box.

Roll Dice & Gain Power

Mythmaster: read the following.

Here’s the last bit about a Titanic action. When you roll, all your successes generate 3 Lightning tokens each. So if you get 4 successes, that’s 12 Lightning! Enough to really put the hurt on me. But there’s a downside: you have to discard all your failures, which means you’ll get a bit hurt and might even die from it. No risk, no reward!

Oh, and this is the way to get a lot of Might at once. The Mythic die doesn’t give you more Thunder dice this time. It gives you more Might, which you can spend immediately.

Player: gather your normal and bonus Thunder dice, and the Mythic die. Roll them.

For each permanent Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain 3 Lightning tokens. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

For each bonus Thunder die that comes up 4, 5, or 6, gain 3 Lightning tokens. Put this into the Lightning pool on your playsheet.

Take additional Might tokens equal to the number on the Mythic Die (a 1 means take 1 extra Might token, a 6 means take 6 extra Might tokens).

Discard each permanent Thunder die that comes up 1, 2, or 3. If that means you lose all your Thunder dice, then you’ve died. That’s okay, you’ll get better. See Dead Mythenders, then come back here.

Once you’ve gained everything, put the bonus Thunder dice back.

Using the Relentlessness Gift

You may wish to explain the Relentlessness Gift, as with the other version of a Mythender’s third turn. However, for a Titanic action, it costs 4 Might tokens to use.

Suffer Corruption

Mythmaster and Player: jump back to that section, deal with it, and then come back here.

Push Forward & Wounding

Mythmaster and Player: follow the step for Wounding the Myth.

WOUNDING THE MYTH

Mythmaster: read the following the first time you’re Wounded.

Now you’re going to Wound me! I’m going to do the same thing as you, where I’ll check off a Wound box and roll my Thunder dice to see if the Myth is still alive.

This Myth has the same Wound boxes that you do, but when you’re fighting gods, they’ll have more boxes on their Wound tracks.

Pay for the Wound

Mythmaster: read the following.

The Wound costs for the Myths vary. This Myth is weak, and its Wound cost is only 4 Lightning.

Player: pay 4 Lightning. You may share as before, but you must pay at least half the amount (2).

Doubling Down

Mythmaster: the third time you’re Wounded, introduce this section and read below.

There’s another way you can increase the Wound number: by paying double the Wound cost in Lightning.

Player: you may pay twice as much Lightning (8) to double down. If you’re sharing, then you must pay at least half the total (4).

Check Your Wound Box

Mythmaster: check off your next available Wound box, and tell the Mythenders what your Wound number is.

The first time you’re wounded, check the 3 box. Second time, check the 4. Third time, check the 5. You won’t check anything after that, as you’ll be out of Wound boxes.

Whatever number you checked off is your Wound Number, just as when the Mythenders were Wounded. If you ran out of boxes, then your Wound number is 6.

The Grievous Harm Gift

Mythmaster: the second time you’re Wounded, introduce this section and read the following.

There’s a gift that some of you [have/may have], called Grievous Harm. Since you can’t Wound me twice in one turn, this is how you make a Wound more vicious. If you have it, you can pay 2 Might to increase my Wound number by one. It doesn’t change which box I check, just what I have to roll to keep my Thunder dice.

Player: if you have the Grievous Harm Gift, you may use it. If you don’t, but you have an open Gift slot, you may take it right now and use it, before the Mythmaster rolls for the Wound.

Roll Your Wound

Mythmaster: roll your Thunder dice. Keep any that are equal to or higher than your Wound number. Discard any that are less.

If the players raised your Wound number to 7 due to the Grievous Harm Gift, then you will start by discarding everything that isn’t a 6, and then discard one 6. If the Wound number is 8, discard two 6s.

The Bloodlust Gift

Your Myth should have the Bloodlust Gift. Demonstrate it by using it, even if you’ve already explained it. This helps cement to the players that the Myths can and will have the sort of dirty tricks they do.

If you haven’t explained it yet, do so as per Wounding the Mythenders.

If You’re Out of Thunder Dice

Mythmaster: if you’re out of Thunder dice, but not everyone else has had a chance to go this round, read the following. Then grab 2 Thunder dice from the pile and go back to Push Forward on the Mythender’s turn.

So, you’ve killed me. Sweet! Unlike you guys, the Myths don’t have a choice to make. When they’re dead, they’re dead (though sometimes a god will have a Gift that lets them cheat).

Normally, the battle would be over, but since this is a tutorial, I have to cheat so everyone gets a chance to do a third turn.

Mythmaster: if you’re out of Thunder dice, and everyone has had a chance to go this round, read the following. Then proceed to the Battle Epilogue.

So, you’ve killed me. Awesome! Unlike you guys, the Myths don’t have a choice to make. When they’re dead, they’re dead (though sometimes a god will have a Gift that lets them cheat). Now let’s finish up this battle.

Now proceed to the Battle Epilogue.

If You’re Not Out of Thunder Dice

Mythmaster: if this is the last turn of the round, and you still have Thunder dice, discard them all. Then read the following and proceed to the Battle Epilogue.

Okay, technically the Myth is still alive. But the tutorial is over, so I’m going to discard all my dice and declare the Myth dead. Let’s face it, it was on the ropes and you were going to End it in a turn or two anyway. Nothing much I could do. Let’s finish up this battle.

Now proceed to the Battle Epilogue.

Otherwise…

Player: if the Myth still has Thunder dice and this isn’t the last turn of the round, you get to describe how you’ve Wounded it. Get vicious about it. Then the turn goes to the next player.

BATTLE EPILOGUE

Describe the End

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

You have Ended the einherjar! Now we’re going to go around the table, and everyone, including me, will describe some bit of the end.

Start with the Mythender who Ended this Myth, and have them finish Push Forward, describing how the battle Ends because of their action. Then have the other Mythenders chime in with a bit. Finally, add some description yourself. This is collaborative, so build on each other’s description and help each other make this narrative as awesome as it deserves to be.

For a bit of added fun, have the player who Ended the Myth rip up your Myth sheet. (Unless you want to reuse it or something.)

Resting

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Next we’ll reset your Mythenders’ playsheets, as you now have a moment to rest.

First, their Wound boxes all get unchecked—taking a moment to breathe after a battle is enough to give their Mythic Heart time to heal them.

Second, they’ll discard all their Thunder dice and Lightning tokens—the battle is over and the moment is calm, so all that power goes back into the Mythic World. Might tokens are yours to own and wield, so any you have left over are kept for the next battle.

Finally, they’ll deal with their Weapons. Any boxes that have been charged and drained get both boxes erased. As for as the charges that haven’t been drained…

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Okay, for the charges not drained, they’re normally also lost. But there are two exceptions. First, Intrinsic Weapons always keep their undrained charges after a battle—your sword may be sheathed and your Companions may take a rest, but your innate qualities never stop raging on.

Second, you can preserve the undrained charges on your Relic and Companion Weapons by pouring some Might into them. For each charge you want to keep, spend 1 Might token.

Then help direct them in this regard. They don’t have to spend Might tokens if they don’t want to, but encourage them, because the god they’ll be fighting is no pushover.

Gathering Rage: Claim a Blight

Mythmaster: read the following to the table.

Myths have things they do at the end of every round they’re still alive, called Gathering Rage. Lesser Myths, like these einherjar, have effects that happen at the end of the battle, the aftermath. Because these einherjar lived to the end of the second round, I get to turn one of the Blights created into a lasting Blight that the Myth can use. It doesn’t matter who made this Blight; the Myth now owns it as a lasting one.

If this Myth had survived the third round, it would have given the god ahead more power by giving it another charge box to check. So it’s really important to slaughter Myths as soon as you can!

Greater Myths and gods, like the one you’ll face down soon, have Gathering Rage triggers that give them more power and do other things during the battle. So expect that to happen.

Pick a Blight that was made and check the Lasting box on it. If you pick a Mythender’s Blight, scratch out their name and put “Mythic Norden” instead. It’s no longer that Mythender’s Blight. (This usually pisses the Mythender off. Great! Show them how that which they create in battle can scar the land and destroy the lives of mortals.)

The Other Blights

All the other Blights are discarded once the battle is over, as they aren’t lasting.