Printable guide sheet: The Waystation Watch

Read this to your players to start

An early winter storm has pushed three hungry frost wolves down to Kestra Windwhistle’s waystation, the last shelter before the real climb. Kestra will guide the heroes up Frostpeak Mountain, but first she needs help tonight.

Scenes (all session lengths — scene’s tag shows the shortest length it appears in)

1. Scene 1: Smoke Against the Snow from Quick Quest on

   Whoosh! Snow blows sideways across the mountain path. At the top of the ridge stands a little stone hut. One window glows gold. Three pale wolves pace round and round outside it, just past the firelight. Then the door bangs open. A woman in a huge fur coat waves a fire-poker. "Don’t just stand there!" she shouts. "Get inside, or help me shoo these wolves. Either is fine by me!"

   Goal: Get past the wolves and into the warm hut.

   • Shoo the wolves Brave, DN 10

     It works: You stamp and wave and shout. The wolves slink back into the snow, for now. The woman grins. "Not bad. Get in, quick."

     It doesn’t: The wolves only back off a little and sit down to watch. The woman grabs your sleeve and pulls you inside. "They’ll be back," she says.

   • Watch the wolves Clever, DN 10

     It works: They are so thin you can see their ribs. They are not looking at you. They are sniffing at the smoke from the chimney, where something is cooking. They are hungry, not fierce.

     It doesn’t: It is too snowy to see much. But one wolf’s tummy rumbles so loudly that you hear it over the wind. Hungry, then.

   Ask your players

   Ask the table: Inside or outside: what do you do first?

   Ask the quietest player: The smallest wolf looks right at your hero. What does your hero do? Whatever they do, the small wolf remembers it. It is the one that comes closest at the climax.

   Kestra is gruff on the outside and warm underneath: play her like a favourite grumpy aunt. The wolves are thin and hungry, not mean, and they never attack the hut tonight. However this goes, everyone ends up inside by the fire.

2. Scene 2: Windwhistle's Offer from Short Session on

   Inside, the hut is small, warm and full of stuff. Bunches of herbs hang from the ceiling. A kettle bubbles on the fire. One wall is covered in little scratched lines, one for every winter. There are thirty! The woman pours hot soup into chipped mugs. "Kestra Windwhistle," she says. "I guide folk up this mountain. I’ll guide you too. But first, I need a favour."

   Goal: Find out what Kestra needs, and what is wrong with the wolves.

   • Ask about the wolves Clever, DN 8

     It works: "Thin this year," Kestra says. "The early snow chased the deer down the valley, and the wolves can’t find them. They’re hungry, that’s all."

     It doesn’t: Kestra grumbles, "Wolves are wolves." But she glances at the soup pot, then at the window, and sighs. She is worried about them too.

   • Offer to help No roll

     It works: Kestra looks at you for a long moment. Then she says, quietly: "Years ago I lost my grandmother’s compass, up by the frozen cistern. If you ever find it, I’d be grateful." She taps the scratched lines on the wall. "Grandmother made the first of these."

     It doesn’t: If nobody offers, Kestra asks anyway, a bit gruffly: "Keep your eyes open up by the frozen cistern. My grandmother’s compass is up there somewhere."

   Ask your players

   Ask each player in turn: Kestra asks each hero: "What brings you up my mountain?" What does your hero say?

   This scene is for talking, not rolling: let Kestra banter. The compass is found in Chapter 2, not here, so do not let the heroes go searching for it tonight.

3. Scene 3: The Old Ledger from One-Sitting Session on

   Thump! Kestra drops a fat old book on the table, and dust puffs up. "My guide-ledger," she says. "Thirty years of notes. Paths, weather, and who came back down." She flips to one of the last pages. One line is underlined twice. Kestra frowns at it. "Read that," she says. "Then tell me what you make of it."

   Goal: Find out what is waiting further up the mountain.

   • Read it carefully Clever, DN 10

     It works: Big claw marks by the cistern ice. Deep ones. But nobody has been hurt, not once. "Strange," you say. Kestra nods. Give the heroes the ledger page.

     It doesn’t: The writing is very wobbly. Kestra snorts, takes the book and reads it out loud herself. Give the heroes the ledger page.

   • Ask Kestra No roll

     It works: "Claw marks, no harm done," says Kestra. Then she adds, "Grandmother always said big folk live at the top of this mountain. Kind ones." Give the heroes the ledger page.

     It doesn’t: If nobody asks, Kestra tears the page out and pushes it across the table. "Keep it. You’ll want it." Give the heroes the ledger page.

   Ask your players

   Ask the table: Big claw marks, but nobody hurt. What do you think made them?

   This plants Torvind in Chapter 2 and Snowmane in Chapter 3 without spoiling either. Hand over the ledger page whichever way it goes: the table carries it into Chapter 2.

4. Scene 4: A Storm Coming from Full Session on

   Kestra squints out of the window. Big, dark clouds are rolling over the ridge. "Storm by morning," she says. "If we climb tomorrow, we go ready." She opens a creaky door. The storeroom is stuffed right up to the roof with ropes, lanterns, snowshoes and one very old sled. "Find what we need," she says. "And somebody check the rope line outside, before it gets dark."

   Goal: Get ready for the climb before the storm comes.

   • Search the storeroom Clever, DN 10

     It works: Rope, dry tinder and, at the bottom of a box, a bag of dried meat. "For emergencies," says Kestra. Hungry wolves might count.

     It doesn’t: A whole shelf of mittens falls on your head. You find the rope and tinder in the end, under one very surprised mouse. The dried meat is in there too, if anyone looks.

   • Check the rope line Brave, DN 10

     It works: You fix a loose knot with cold fingers. On the way back, you see wolf tracks going round and round the woodpile. They have been looking for food.

     It doesn’t: A gust of wind knocks you into a soft snowdrift. Kestra hauls you back by your hood. The rope line was fine all along.

   Ask your players

   Ask each player in turn: Each hero packs one thing for the climb. What does your hero pack?

   Nothing here can go badly wrong: it is a chance for a Clever or Brave hero to shine. The bag of dried meat matters at the climax: heroes who bring it can feed the wolves with no roll.

5. Scene 5: Bonus: The Ice House from Epic Session on

   Behind the hut is a little stone ice house, half buried in snow. Kestra keeps her winter fish in there, frozen hard. "Enough for me and ten hungry guests," she says. Then she looks out at the dark. "Or three hungry wolves, I suppose." But the door is frozen shut, and a big crunchy snowdrift is piled up in front of it.

   Goal: Dig out the ice house and bring back fish for the wolves.

   • Dig through Brave, DN 8

     It works: Scoop, scoop, scoop! You dig a tunnel right up to the door, and it creaks open. Inside, the fish are stacked like firewood.

     It doesn’t: The whole drift slides down on top of you. You look like a snowman. Kestra laughs for the first time all night. You get in anyway.

   • Melt the ice Clever, DN 10

     It works: A lantern, some tinder and a lot of patience. Drip, drip, drip. The ice melts and the door swings open.

     It doesn’t: It is far too slow. In the end, Kestra bangs the door with her poker and it pops open with a crack. "Sometimes you just knock," she says.

   Ask your players

   Ask the table: How many fish do you think three hungry wolves need?

   Play this scene only at the Epic length. It is a cold, giggly fetch, and nobody gets hurt. Bringing the fish to the wolves means feeding them at the climax needs no roll.

6. Scene 6: The Wolves Return from Quick Quest on

   Full dark now. The wind howls. Then a real howl answers it. Aaa-oooo! The three wolves are back, circling the low stone wall. In the lamplight you can see them clearly. They are so thin. Their noses point at the soup pot, not at you. Kestra lifts her fire-poker. Then she stops. "Huh," she says. "They’re not hunting us. They’re starving." She looks at you. "Well? What kind of neighbours shall we be?"

   Goal: Settle things with the wolves, so everyone can sleep and the climb can start at dawn.

   • Feed them Kind, DN 10

     It works: You put food on the wall and step back, slowly. The wolves creep closer. Read "If you fed them."

     It doesn’t: The wolves jump back, nervous. Try again, slower and quieter. The second try needs no roll.

   • Send them home Clever, DN 10

     It works: A lantern, a trail of crumbs, and a lot of gentle shooing. Down the slope they go, toward the valley. Read "If you sent them home."

     It doesn’t: The wolves go round in a circle and come straight back. Kestra points. "That way, you daft things." Try again with her help. It needs no roll.

   • Face them No roll

     It works: Use the Frost Wolf cards, one wolf for every two heroes. Each one runs off into the snow after one hit. Read "If you faced them."

     It doesn’t: If the fight goes badly, the wolves give up anyway. They are too tired and hungry to keep going. Read "If you faced them."

   Ask your players

   Ask the table: The wolves are starving. What do you think would help them most? If the heroes never found out why the wolves came, Kestra says it in the read-aloud: they are starving. That is the twist, at every length.

   Ask the quietest player: The smallest wolf comes closest. What does your hero do?

   Feeding them: no roll if the heroes bring the fish from the ice house or the dried meat from the storeroom. Otherwise roll with +2 if anyone was gentle with the smallest wolf, or found out why the wolves came (+2 once, however many are true). Short on time? Every length gets the twist: Kestra sees it in the read-aloud. The wolves never attack the heroes first. When it is over, read the ending that happened, then the homecoming. Remember which ending it was: Kestra mentions it at the start of Chapter 2.

   How it ends

   Read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

   If you fed them. The wolves sniff the food, then gobble every bit. The smallest one licks your mitten. Then all three curl up in a heap by the warm chimney and go to sleep. "Well," says Kestra, very quietly. "Thirty winters, and I never thought of that."

   If you sent them home. At the bottom of the slope, the wolves smell the deer in the valley. Off they race, tails high. The smallest one stops and looks back at you, just once. Back in the hut, Kestra hands round more soup. "Clever," she says. "Very clever."

   If you faced them. The wolves run off into the snow. In the morning, you find their tracks. They went round and round the hut all night, but they never came close. Kestra looks at the tracks for a long time. "Hungry, that’s all they were," she says. She leaves a bucket of scraps on the wall, just in case.

   Homecoming

   Every ending: the climb begins. At first light, the storm has blown away, and the whole mountain sparkles. Kestra locks the hut and slings a rope over her shoulder. Far above, something glitters in the sun: the frozen cistern. "That’s where I lost Grandmother’s compass," she says. "Come on. Mountains don’t climb themselves."

Player handout — show this to your table

A Page From Kestra's Guide-Ledger

Kestra’s wobbly handwriting, thirty years of ink: "Cistern path still good. But something has changed. Claw marks by the ice this winter, big deep ones. Nobody hurt, not once. Go careful. Go quiet." Underlined twice, as if she wanted to remember it herself.

Monster stat blocks

Rewards

• Kestra Windwhistle, as your guide for the rest of the climb.
• A page from Kestra’s guide-ledger, to carry into Chapter 2.
• If you fed the wolves: three new friends. In Chapter 2 or 3, they turn up to help, once.
• A real-world bonus, if you like: hot soup tonight, in a mug.

Tips for running this one

• Kestra is gruff on the surface and warm underneath, more favourite grumpy aunt than boss. Let her banter, grumble and secretly enjoy the company.
• This is the gentlest chapter of the three: it starts the campaign, so keep it cosy.
• Short on time? The Quick Quest is the first scene and the climax, and it still has the twist: see the climax’s DM notes.
• Playing with 5- and 6-year-olds? Take 3 off every DN and skip the roll for anything kind. For 9- and 10-year-olds, add 2.
• Every roll here says what happens when it works and when it doesn’t. A failed roll never stops the story; it only changes what happens next.