Torchbearer Aid: Rumor Cards

Design by Casey Steven Ross

One of the things players new to the Burning Wheel system often struggle with is articulating Beliefs, Instincts, and Goals. While there is plenty of good advice out there, I wanted to suggest one that facilitates the first session of play with new players: rumor cards.

I got the idea after converting some DCC RPG modules. Like the old AD&D modules they are written in the spirit of, they often have tables of rumors for players to discover. Since Torchbearer begins en media res, I have found it useful to give each player a rumor card on which to base their initial belief or goal upon. You could absolutely just roll dice and read off a table, but I think it's worth the extra effort since you're players are already going to mentally juggling so much.

The other benefit is that for later adventures, mixing these "decks" of cards could point to a number of adventures when players are in town fishing for rumors.