Danger! Unexploded Spell

Unacceptable mages drafted by the authorities defend their city from arcane air raids and bombings while trying to survive and create a community.

An unofficial complete series playset released under CC for Girl by Moonlight (by Andrew Gillis and Evil Hat).

Includes series set up, series rules, a new move for each playbook, a system for community building as a mission, missions, layered fallout, GM advice, and more.

Almost three generations ago we drove out the Empire of the Hours. But our time of respite has passed. They have returned. Successes in their land wars have made them greedy. They demanded our submission and surrender, but we refused. And so their campaign began. 

The City is the heart of our nation, a sprawling hub with distinct districts and cultures– a port, a place of worship, a center of learning, the storehouse of our identity and history. This is what the Empire works to destroy. When the weather turns and the winds which carry the spark of magic blow across the channel, the Empire’s sky forces– mages astride constructs, dragons, and others things– bomb the City with sorcery and arcane weaponry. 

Acceptable mages fight in this war.

We are not acceptable mages. 

We’re the shunned, the unloved, the branded, the forgotten. And we still have a duty to carry out. 

Each night we go out into the City. We rescue those we can. We help those in need. We keep places and things of value to our people safe. We watch for looters, saboteurs, and infiltrators. We organize, direct, inform, reconnect, and heal the people of the City caught up in these events. 

And we deal with magic. We douse sorceries where they’ve detonated. We dismiss summons we can put down and fight the rest. We disenchant the affected people, places, and things. But we also deal with the spells which have not gone off. They may be duds or misfires, but they may also be awaiting another trigger– time, motion, breath. We have to disarm these complicated magical engines– pitting our skills against those of the arcanotechnics of the Empire. 

And then we go back to our barracks and do it all again the next day. Our job is thankless– we are the shunned after all. In between raids we work to find the resources we need to carry out our tasks and give us some small comforts. We bargain, cajole, and make friends to help us. And perhaps over time we may be able to build something out of this, perhaps a family of the shunned.