First Night — Pilgrimage: Skirmish

One fire in all the dark, and every eye in the dark has found it. Feed it. Hold it. Wait for the grey.

The demo Trial. A short Vigil for someone who has read nothing: the First Road Oathband, a small Shadow, no campaign layer, five Turns. It teaches Acts and Deeds, the Shadow’s wants, and above all Sight, Shroud and Light — the fire’s reach changes from Turn to Turn, and feeding it is worth Deeds.

Setup

Play on a 2’×2’ board. Place a campfire at the centre and set a D12 beside it showing 6 — the fire’s reach in inches. Place a little scatter terrain (stones, brush, a fallen trunk), none of it within 3” of the fire.

Place four woodpiles, each 12” from the fire toward a corner. Place two Waymarks, each 9” from the fire toward the middle of the left and right board edges.

Deploy the First Road Oathband within 3” of the fire. The Shadow begins as a Thrall pair, a Warrior and a Stalker. Roll a D12 for each (the pair rolls once) and place it touching the board edge the die points toward, as far from any Pilgrim as that edge allows.

The Shadow’s profiles, the Commander’s among them (from Shadow Profiles, printed here so First Night stands alone):

Profile	M	A	V	W	P	E	Lore
Thrall	0	0	0	0	0	6	Group (2)
Stalker	0	+1	0	0	+1	6	Range (24”)
Warrior	+1	+1	+1	0	0	6	Range (6”)
Commander	+2	0	+2	1	0	7	Born Leader

Major Trial

At the end of Turn 5 the dawn comes. If the fire still burns and the Oathband has more Endurance within its light than the Shadow, the Oathband fulfils the Major Trial. If the fire is out, the dark has won.

Minor Trial

Search both Waymarks.

Special Rules

Night. Do not roll on the Sight, Shroud and Light tables. Sight is 0” all Trial: everything outside the firelight is Shrouded.

The Fire. The fire is a light source whose reach is shown on its die: 12, 9, 6, 3, or out. When it gutters, turn the die down 3; when it flares, turn it up 3, to no more than 12.

The Vigil Marker. The fire is the Vigil Marker: the position the Oathband must hold.

The Perimeter. The fire’s light is the Perimeter: everything within the fire’s reach. It grows and shrinks with the die.

Wood. A Pilgrim within 1” of a woodpile may spend a Use Deed to take up its bundle: remove the woodpile and mark the Pilgrim. A Pilgrim carries one bundle at most. A Pilgrim carrying a bundle within 1” of the fire may spend a Use Deed to feed it: +3”, or relight it at 3” if it is out. The fire takes one bundle a Turn. A Pilgrim taken Out of Action drops their bundle, which becomes a woodpile where they fell.

Brands. A Pilgrim within 1” of the fire may spend a Use Deed to take up a brand: a lit Torch (see Equipment) — Light (3”), Off-Hand, Throw. It burns for the rest of the Trial and lights whoever carries it. Throw it (a Use Deed) and it lights the dark where it lands. The fire gives one brand a Turn.

Waymarks. A Pilgrim within 1” of a Waymark may spend a Use Deed to search it: roll on the table below, then remove the Waymark.

D12	You find
1	An adder in the bracken. It strikes: roll D12+2 against the searcher’s D12+Might as a single Attack. If the adder wins, the searcher takes the difference as damage.
2–3	The search is heard. A Thrall pair comes, placed as an arrival.
4–6	Dry sticks. Take a bundle, if you are not already carrying one.
7–8	Pitch and flint. Take up a brand. It does not count against the fire’s one brand a Turn.
9–10	An old cairn-blessing. Choose one Blessing and place its token by the searcher. It may be used once this Trial.
11–12	A ward-stone. The fire flares (+3”).

What the Shadow wants. First Night replaces the Shadow AI table. A Knocked Down Foe Stands first. Then, in its Act, each Foe does the first of these it can:

The fire. If it can come within 1” of the fire with its Move Deeds and still have a Deed left, it goes for the fire and spends a Use Deed to scatter it (−3”). If it becomes Engaged on the way, it stops and fights.
A Pilgrim. Otherwise, it Assaults a Pilgrim it can reach.
The edge of the light. Otherwise, it moves as close to the Pilgrims as it can without ending in the firelight.

Stalkers keep to the dark and Fire at the nearest lit Pilgrim in range. A fire of 9” or more keeps the dark at bay; at 6” or less, it comes for the flame.

The Wolf-Hour. At the start of Turn 4 — or sooner, the first time the fire falls to 3 or goes out — the Commander comes. Place it as an arrival. The Commander ignores the third want: it walks into the light.

Reinforcements. First Night supplies its own. Foes arrive only from the Night table and the Waymarks, placed as Reinforcements describes. Do not roll on a road’s Reinforcements table.

Left out. No Vows, and no Blessings chosen before the Trial — they come only from a Waymark. For a very first game, leave the Waymarks off the board.

Events

From Turn 2, at the start of each Turn after Initiative, the Oathband rolls on the Night table.

D12	The fire	The dark
1	Gutters (−3”)	A Thrall pair and a Warrior come.
2–3	Gutters (−3”)	A Thrall pair comes.
4	Gutters (−3”)	A Stalker comes.
5–6	Holds	Nothing. The dark holds its breath.
7–8	Gutters (−3”)	Nothing. The wood is burning down.
9–10	Holds	A dead branch falls: place a woodpile 12” from the fire toward the edge the die points to.
11–12	Flares (+3”)	Nothing. The wind turns and fans the flame.

Outcomes

First Night stands outside the campaign and has no Aftermath. If you carry this Oathband on into a campaign, resolve the Aftermath as normal: Battlefield Finds at Advantage if you saw the dawn, at Disadvantage if not; +2 if the Minor Trial was completed.

Design notes (24 Sep 2026). Fire alone, ignoring scatters, from a start of 6”: burning at dawn 54% unfed, 77% with one bundle, 94% with two, ~100% with three. Arrivals average ~0.67 figures a Turn from the Night table, a little under the Moor’s light Reinforcements rate. Woodpiles at 12” toward the corners sit where arrivals land, so a wood run is a two-Turn exposure, not a free top-up. The wood is a certain gain that serves the Major Trial; the Waymarks are an uncertain gain that pulls against it — the campaign’s real dilemma in miniature. Brands use the canon Torch, whose Throw already lets a Pilgrim light the enemy. Untested at the table: time the first game. Decision Log: “First Night — the demo Vigil”. Feature Backlog: FB-43. Pack: “First Night — quick-play pack”.

Terms on this page

Act: A character's activation: up to 3 Deeds in any order; the character is then marked Tired. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Advantage: Roll two D12 and take the higher / the lower; both at once cancel. (→ Core Concepts)
Aftermath: The steps played once a Battle ends, in the order After the Trial gives them: Battlefield Finds, then Injury and Death for every Pilgrim taken Out of Action, then Vows Fulfilled. (→ After the Trial)
Blessing: A one-use act of divine aid; choose up to 3 before a Trial, each spent after use. The eight: Lanhesir's Lantern, Wyrsel's Turn, Auruin's Stroke, Maelis's Calm, Enlaith's Shelter, Cuthelir's Step, Brael's Mercy, Coluin's Voice. (→ Blessings)
Deed: One action within an Act. Standard Deeds: Move, Assault, Fire, Aid, Aim, Climb, Guard, Hide, Stand, Use. Some cost more than one Deed. (→ Deeds)
Endurance: [6] Damage a character can take before going Out of Action. (→ Recruitment)
Engaged: Within 1" of a Foe. An Engaged Character may take no Deed but Assault or Stand, and leaves only by winning an Assault and pushing 2", or when a Foe is taken Out of Action. An Engaged Character may repeat the Assault Deed within an Act. (→ Close Combat)
Equipment: The weapons, armour, and items a Character carries, bought with Supplies; each Character has 1 Armour, 2 Weapon, and 3 Item slots (Worn items take no slot). Each piece carries Lore terms that govern its use. (→ Equipment; Recruitment)
Fire: Ranged attack: attacker rolls D12 + Aim, defender D12 + Might; the attacker deals the margin as damage if they win. (→ Ranged Combat)
Foe: An opponent character. (→ Core Concepts)
Initiative: Rolled each Turn: D12 + the highest Valour on your side; the winner activates first. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Knocked Down: From taking 4 or more Harm from one attack: must spend a Stand Deed before acting, and −1 Might while down. (→ Effects)
Leader: The Oathband member with the highest Valour; allies within 3" may use the Leader's Valour for any check that calls on it. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Major Trial: The primary objective of a Battle, stated on the Trial's own page. Fulfilling it rolls Battlefield Finds at Advantage in the Aftermath; failing it, at Disadvantage. Referenced by some Vows. (→ Book of Trials; After the Trial)
Might: [0] Bonus to Assault, and to defence against Fire. (→ Recruitment)
Minor Trial: The secondary objective of a Battle — a Waymark count, or a restraint on how the Major Trial is won. Completing it adds +2 to the Battlefield Finds roll. (→ Book of Trials; After the Trial)
Oathband: The group of characters a player commands, built from 600 Supplies. Advancement and identity belong to the Oathband, not its members. (→ Recruitment; Core Concepts)
Out of Action: Endurance reduced to 0 or less; removed from the board, fate resolved in the Aftermath. (→ Effects; Core Concepts)
Pilgrim: A character in your Oathband. (→ Core Concepts)
Shadow: The side the Oathband plays against. Every Foe belongs to it, and its figures may be called Shadow characters. (→ Core Concepts)
Shrouded: Beyond a Foe's Sight; attacks against a Shrouded character suffer −2 Might and −2 Aim. (→ Effects; Sight, Shroud & Light)
Sight: Not a character stat: the distance characters can see in a Trial, set by the season / light / weather tables (0"–24"). A character beyond another's Sight is Shrouded. (→ Sight, Shroud & Light)
Trial: The objective a Battle is fought for; one Battle plays out one Trial. The three archetypes are the Crossing, the Vigil, and the Reckoning. (→ Book of Trials)
Turn: One round: roll Initiative, then sides alternate activating one character at a time until all are Tired; then Tired clears and a new Turn begins. (→ Deployment & Turn Structure)
Vigil: A Trial archetype: hold ground or endure. (→ The Vigil)
Waymark: A site placed on the board (D12÷2+1 of them, at least 9" apart); a character within 1" may spend a Deed to roll for a result — Supplies, Vow progress, or a setback. (→ Waymarks)