Mooncroft Manor

Every few years, I invite mages from the Great Provinces to 
study, socialize, and sabotage each other in the halls of
Mooncroft Manor. It is an ancient pact we’ve upheld for
hundreds of years—a rite of passage that furthers the field of magic
and sparks new alliances and conflicts for decades to come. 
I do this because it amuses me, and because it is right.

Mooncroft Manor is a social-competitive game about mages gathering in an isolated manor to destroy themselves against the bulwark of their own desires. As a mage, you'll struggle with and against your fellow players: forming alliances, stealing away for intimate moments, conducting heart-pounding duels, and researching the depths of the occult. You do this because you want something, and the Manor will give it to you—if only you prove yourself ambitious, ruthless, or compassionate enough to seize it.

The Rhythm of Play

You portray a mage. You've been invited to an exclusive gathering at the heart of the continent, alongside a coterie of other mages, to research your Thesis—an occult theory that will change your life and perhaps the entire world.

Play is broken down into seasons, charting the passing months and years. During the first half of the season, you take inventory of your Desires, hear (and create) the latest crop of Rumors, and write missives to other guests of the manor. This lays the foundation for the second half of the season, in which you Explore the manor and encounter guests as they conduct their research, investigate occult happenings, or set their own machinations into motion.

Exploring and interacting generates Ideas, which you spend to further your Thesis. But great works have equally steep risks. Every stage of your Thesis builds the stakes—introducing threats to your research, setting other guests against you, and tempting you to become ever colder and more ruthless to achieve your ends. Who will you become—what will you give up—on the path to greatness?

Narrative-Driven Rules

Mooncroft Manor is a dance of simple narrative-driven rules that focus on the characters above all else. Characters in Mooncroft Manor are:

• Simple. Characters are made up of their past Experiences, the things they Desire, and the Methods they use to achieve them—no numbers, tables, or equations needed.
• Rich. During character creation, players are guided through open-ended prompts to help them flesh out who arrives at the manor. Their Experiences, Desires, and Methods arise naturally from this rich backstory.
• Flexible. Characters are constantly changing during play. Desires and Experiences are replaced as the mage makes sacrifices and pushes their limits to complete their Thesis—sometimes willingly, sometimes by outside forces.

A Gamemaster's Toolbox

On the other side of the table, the game master—or the House—portrays the other guests and the manor itself. The game provides ample guidance and tools for the House to quickly generate NPCs and create interesting and dramatic moments: Duels with life-threatening stakes, Curses that render mages vulnerable to their rival socialites, Rituals to tip the scales of power in the manor, and more.