Tales Of Thornwood is an exciting medieval role-playing game that can enjoyed by groups of up to 14 people. With easy-to-use templates, anyone can try it at their next party!
The game is still in its early days so I would love to hear your feedback and gameplay stories so feel free to reach out.
How to play?
Tales of Thornwood is a spin on classic social deduction games such as Mafia, Werewolf and Blood on the Clock Tower. Unlike those games all the action takes place over a single night. Each player has a separate quest they need to complete or otherwise face eternal damnation. People are encourage go around and mingle with others which is why it is such a good party game. There are no long debates and sitting in circles accusing each other.
Premise
The small town of Thornwood has been visited by a priest of the Church of Iron. The town has been deemed sinful and needs to be cleansed. In order to atone for their past sins all villagers must go on a quest. All who fail shall be cleansed with the Eternal Fire. But beware not all are who they seem to be.
Setup
The host takes the role of the priest. There are two types of roles - ones with personal quests and the so called chain roles. Personal quests are straightforward. You get a role and there is a quest that goes with the role. Chain roles are a bit different. A person who draws a chain role will then draw a quest that is linked to another role. For example if a person draws The Apostate they will be playing that character. But then they draw a quest separately which can be the Drunkards quest. So their role is The Apostate but their quest is to go and help their friend the Drunkard find the person they slept with. This creates a web of connections and keeps people engaged with all the storylines.
You may give people a set amount of coins to act as a medium of exchange. I gave 15 coins to all players in the game we tried which made things much more interesting as some players came up with scams to try and get money out of others.
I would recommend at the current stage of the game's development to not reveal the game that you are playing to the guests. Not knowing all the roles and quests makes it easier for people to freestyle and come up with their own creative interpretations.
Gameplay
After all roles and quests are assigned people are free to mingle. People should not outright state their roles. They should not discuss their roles before everyone has received theirs. Give people a couple of hours to complete their quests and then gather everyone at a village council to see who did what. At the council The Priest(Host) calls people out and asks them about their quest and how far they got. So as to not risk biasing The Hunter as more of the story and characters are revealed check with them who they think the Vampire is before starting the village council.
​
Whoever failed their quest is then burned by the Eternal file. All sinners are given a spoonful of hot sauce(you may wish to add the sauce to a tequila shot if playing with adults) as punishment.
​
Feel free to add your own rules as well. Was the priest too annoying? Maybe the villagers burn them instead. Was a villager too much? Well, maybe they get burned before the village council even starts. Does someone have too much? Well, maybe the villagers rob them and seize the means of production.
Chain Roles
Chain roles consist of two parts - the role and the quest. A player that draws a chain role then also draws a quest that relates to another one of the roles. This creates an intricate web and keeps the whole village connected.
​
With each role, you will find a small card that you may download and print to give to your guests. Cut the cards in half. Let the guest take a role and then give them a random quest related to another chain role.
The Vampire
The Role
You are a vampire a child of the night. You are constantly on the run trying to hide from hunters. You thought you had finally found a village where you could hide - you even bit one of the villagers and converted them into your thrall. But now you sense that a hunter is nearby. You must remain hidden and survive the night at any cost.
​
Host Note: The vampire and thrall should know each other.
The Quest
You are the vampire’s thrall. Your master must survive at any cost. You win if your master is not revealed by the hunter.
​
Host Note: The Vampire and the Thrall win if The Vampire is not found out. The faith of the thrall is of no importance. The other quests they get serve only as distractions.
The Drunkard
The Role
Last New Year you got wasted. You were so drunk that you walked over to the next village instead of home. There you found a cottage that looked exactly like yours and you slept with the person in the cottage. You later found out they were married but you don’t remember who they are.
The Quest
Help the drunkard find the person they slept with and reconcile the two.
​
Host Notes: The drunkard slept with the Cheater. The quest is successful if you help them forgive each other.
The Prankster
The Role
Last New Year you slipped something nasty in a random passerby’s drink. This had unexpected consequences which may have ruined a family or two.
The Quest
Help the prankster find the man they pranked last year. Make sure they apologise.
​
Host Notes: The prankster put something in the drunkard's drink which had a lot of consequences last New Year. This person should convince the prankster to apologise to the drunkard.
The Happily Married
The Role
Your spouse is a saint. You love them with all your heart. You have been happily married for years and you are yet to see anything bad in them. You believe everything they say. Recently you decided to move somewhere else since your spouse asked you to.
The Quest
You know the married couple next door. You saw one of them cheating - you know they are a manipulator and you want to tell their spouse the truth. But it looks like the couple has now moved. Find the innocent one and convince them of their spouse's betrayal.
​
Host Note: For the person who received this quest to be successful they need to convince The Happily Married that their spouse cheated.
The Forgetful
The Role
You always forget stuff. People think you can’t be trusted with anything. Recently you were washing your face in a water basin and put down the necklace your dad gifted you when you were a child. You lifted your head up and it was gone. You are sure you had it but it seems like you just forgot where you put it. You can’t forgive yourself for this.
The Quest
You recently saw a person washing their face in a basin. Then a street urchin quickly passed by and the necklace was gone. Find the urchin, retrieve the necklace and return it to its owner.
The Street Urchin
The Role
Your village was recently burned down. You have resorted to stealing in order to survive. Your most recent victim was an unsuspecting person washing their face in a water basin. You stole the necklace they had left lying next to them.​
The Quest
A nearby village was recently burned down. Find the street urchin from that village and help them with whatever they need.
​
Host Note: It is up to the village to decide if the person who received this quest helped the street Urchin or not.
The Mourner
The Role
Your mother recently passed away. You came from a poor family and didn’t have much and so you have very little to remember her by. Except for a teddy bear that she gave you when you were a child. You lost it though and you have no idea where it is.
The Quest
A person mourning lost something import to them. Find the thing and return it.
​
Host Note: Hide the bear well!
The Brawler
The Role
You live for the thrill of a good fight. The only thing that can calm you down was your long gone spouse. After a brawl in the local pub your wedding band flew off as you were punching someone. You could not find it after that. The ring meant a lot to you and you have lost your fighting spirit since.
The Quest
Help the person with anger issues find their ring.
​
Host Note: Hide the ring well!
The Apostate
The Role
You were kidnapped as a kid from your village. You barely remember your family. Your kidnappers forced their religion on you when you were young. On your new lord's orders you recently burned down a village full of infidels. You recently arrived at a new village to resupply.
​
​
The Quest
Your village was burned down by an army of non-believers. You caught a glimpse of one of them and they looked exactly like your sibling who was kidnapped many years ago. Find your sibling and convince them to return home with you.
​
Host Note: For this quest to be successful this person must seek out the apostate and convince them to return to their home and faith. This is the only way to succeed.
Solo Roles
Solo roles are straightforward. The person gets a role and there is a specific quest for that role.
​
With each role, you will find a small card that you may download and print to give to your guests.
The Romantic
The Role
You are a die-hard romantic. You dream of a fair lady bestowing her handkerchief upon you. You would do anything to live through that moment.​
The Quest
Find a fair lady who is ready to give you their handkerchief. Be careful though they need to give it to you romantically and not out of pity. And you don’t want some easy maid to give to you just like that - it must pose a challenge.
​
Host Note: The village decides if the romantic succeeded in their quest and if it was challenging enough.
The Hunter
The Role
You are looking for redemption. An ex-convict turned vampire hunter. There is only one way to save yourself and that is by killing vampires. You have been given a contract for a vampire and you have been getting closer and closer to them.​
The Quest
Find the vampire and kill them.
​
Host Note: The Hunter must tell you who they think the vampire is before the village meets at the end.
The Fool
The Role
You don’t care about anything. You go around and you try to seed confusion and chaos.
The Quest
Fool around, confuse people and prevent them from completing their quests.
​
Host Note: The fool can be utilised to spice things up. They have no role per se except to confuse others and seed chaos. The village decides if they are successful. You as the host may steer their actions for maximum confusion.
The Twin
The Role
You have been cursed since birth. You have a twin you did not know about. You were born from the same mother but a witch changed your appearance and adopted you. On their deathbed, they told you the truth.​
The Quest
Find your lost twin to break the curse and return your true appearance. You only know your twin has a drinking problem.
​
Host Notes: The drunkard is the lost twin.
The Cheater
The Role
Your spouse thinks that you are a saint and you like it that way. But when they look the other way you do certain things you don’t want them to know. Last New Year you crossed the line though - a drunk person showed up at your doorstep at New Year while your spouse was away. You took them in and slept with them; After that your neighbour who seems to have seen the whole thing started snooping around. You did not want to take any risks and asked your spouse to move.​
The Quest
Make sure no one finds out your role. Your spouse knows who you are but they must never find out what you did(or at least not believe if someone tells them)
​
Host Notes: The Cheater and The Happily Married know each other.
Reach Out
If you have any questions or feedback please reach out to tales.of.thornwood@gmail.com