Night & the Thirteenth Toll
The hunt begins at 18:00 and ends at 02:00, when the thirteenth toll completes the Listener's awakening. Story choices and completed combat turns cost 10 minutes. Every 40 elapsed minutes advances the bell count. Short rests cost 1 hour and have a 6-hour cooldown; one long rest costs 6 hours.
Dread / Resonance
Dread runs from 0 to 6. Failed supernatural investigations, loud choices, and certain bell events raise it. High Dread makes hostile undead more willing to attack unconscious party members instead of switching to healthy targets. Some compassionate or cleansing choices lower Dread.
Party Limit
The active party is capped at four characters total: Slippy plus at most three companions. Cicely Thorne, Nessa Reed, Brother Odo, and Garrick Fen can all be recruited, but once three companions have joined, further recruitment choices are locked for that run. Several conversation nodes also include hidden threads that only appear when Slippy has learned the right clue, built Mercy, or allowed Dread to rise.
Level 4 & Sharpshooter
Slippy and every recruit are level 4. Slippy has the 2024 Sharpshooter feat. It is always active rather than a separate attack: Dexterity is increased by 1; ranged weapon attacks ignore Half and Three-Quarters Cover; being within 5 ft of an enemy does not impose Disadvantage on attacks with ranged weapons; and long-range attacks with ranged weapons do not have Disadvantage. Enemies are tuned upward for a four-character level-4 party, with bosses receiving the largest durability and accuracy increase.
Combat & Death Saves
Attack ties hit: if the attack total equals the target AC, the attack hits. Combat time: an entire fight costs 10 minutes total, regardless of how many rounds it lasts. Every combatant rolls initiative. Slippy has movement, one bonus action, and one main action. At 0 HP, a hero makes death saves on their initiative: 10+ succeeds, 9 or lower fails, natural 20 restores 1 HP, natural 1 gives two failures. The death save consumes that character's action/turn even if the natural 20 revives them. Enemies can deliberately attack a hero on death saves; if the attack hits, that hero automatically suffers one failed death save. Three failures mean death. Healing before death restores consciousness and resets the track.
Corruption
Every damaging hostile hit adds 1 Corruption to the character struck. At 10/10, a companion becomes hostile immediately. At 10/10, Slippy becomes Bell-Mad and automatically attacks a conscious companion at the start of each of his turns, consuming his main action. Ordinary rests do not remove Corruption.
Arrow Crafting
Special arrows are crafted outside combat from normal arrows plus iron scraps, crow feathers, grave salt, blackthorn resin, bell-bronze filings, and lantern oil. Materials are hidden throughout Sherwood and may also be salvaged after battles.
Terrain & Cover
Take Cover costs 10 ft of movement and cannot be used while a living enemy is within 5 ft. It represents a lateral reposition, so it does not automatically change range. Climb actions only appear when the encounter actually contains something climbable: trees/root columns, stone or pillars, or a nearby roof/structure. Climbing grants half cover and +2 to Slippy’s next ranged attack until he moves.
Rest Interruptions
Every Short or Long Rest has a fixed 10% interruption chance. An interrupted rest can trigger an attack, a bell-dream that adds Corruption, or grave crows that scatter crafting supplies. Interrupted rests do not grant their normal recovery.
New Story Mechanics
Mercy records how often Slippy resolves hauntings without destroying the dead and can unlock the cleansing ending. Companion Bonds are improved through personal choices and can change betrayals or unlock special endings. Bell Lore is gathered across Sherwood and Nottingham; enough evidence opens later locations and more informed final choices.
Randomized RPG Inventory
Every new hunt secretly chooses 10 items from a 50-item master loot pool and places one at each of ten searchable locations. The selected set is preserved when saving/loading and rerolled only on a New Hunt. Quest-critical keys, evidence, and ritual tools are not part of this lottery.
Slippy has three passive equipment slots: Tool, Charm, and Relic. Equipped items can improve specific skill checks or initiative. Consumables remain in the backpack until used and normally cost a main action in combat. The Inventory screen shows all carried gear, the 10-find progress for the current hunt, and a codex of all 50 possible items.
Unique Ranger Gear
Three rare finds can permanently alter Slippy’s combat loadout during a hunt: the Hushwood Longbow, Graveglass Falchion, and Bellwarden Brigandine medium armor. They are hidden in story locations rather than sold.
Sound Tools
The Clean Brass Bell can stun one undead target. Sunstone Shards can stun multiple undead. These tools are especially valuable against bell-bound enemies.