What’s Untethered?

In Untethered you take the roles of unlikely heroes, grizzled monster-hunters, with a mission to bring down the last monsters roaming the realms. Not so long ago, a long war harrowed the kingdoms and tore them to pieces. Warlords, noble rulers, and mystic forces vied for power, and before it was all over, terrible beasts of war bred in dungeons to wreck havoc on the enemies. Once the weapons were laid down and truces were signed, the left-over armies and militias pulled back and dispersed for a normal life, rebuilding what was lost, toiling the earth rather than spilling blood. But the beasts of war were never reined in or put back in chains, rather, they fled and escaped their chains when their masters were defeated. It was then, when the lands were being stitched together to heal again, and commoners as well as noble families suffered from the scourges, that made powerful leaders’ call to arms, to put bands of hunters back together, to hunt them and bring them down. Every last one of them.

Now, you have taken up the call to arms and banded together with a bunch of others, like yourself. Your small hunting party, for some reason, chooses to continue fighting the monsters, to track them down and make sure the valleys and hills, coasts, and forests become safe again. Not for gold. Not for glory. Just to do what you must.

But there is a lot to do. Luckily, you are no stranger to either terror or fear, blades or armor. You have seen the worst of the war, and you want nothing more than to make it all stop.

Preparing to Play

Before you start playing the game, there are a handful of terms and concepts that are useful to have familiarized and prepared yourself with.

Essentials

First, you need a group of friends, pencils and erasers, some blank sheets of paper, and a handful of printed (or digital, form-fillable) playbooks. Finally, you need a bunch of six-sided dice. If you have six or seven, you’re fully covered, but you can play the game with one die. With three to four dice, your game will run smoothly.

The Roles

Second, in the roles of Game Master and Players you approach the game differently. Familiarizing yourself with them before reading on will help you understand both terminology and the game flow.

The Game Master

When playing the game, the Game Master (referred to as the GM) sets up the story you’re about to play and acts as a facilitator in the conversation taking place between everyone around the table. Depending on what playing approach you will use, the GM’s work will vary a bit in terms of preparations. When playing-to-find-out, the GM roughly outlines and invites the players to collaborate on a story fully. But when using a playset, the GM more explicitly detail the framework of the story beforehand and allows the players to collaborate within those frames. Read more about these two approaches to play in the Running the Game chapter.

During play, the Game Master’s primary job is to;

Inform the Players About the Roles – Summarize this information about the roles for the players to give them an overview of the responsibilities.
Set and Transition Scenes – Frame the scene, setting mood and theme, then describe the setting, history, and immediate details for character interaction.
Challenge Characters – Present characters with threats or situations that trigger reactions or arcs, drawing from world-building elements.
Ask Questions – Engage players by asking about their actions, knowledge, and feelings; incorporate their responses into the growing narrative.
Facilitate Outcomes – Assess risky situations and determine advantages or disadvantages. Prompt dice rolls, guide outcomes, and advance the narrative.
Advance the Story – Propel the story by offering plot hooks, escalating conflict, and interspersing recovery moments.
Prepare for the Climax – Provide ample details and plot hooks to guide characters towards a fulfilling conclusion.

The Players

As a player, you control a character (often called Player Character, or PC) through which you experience the story and the game. You respond to the scenes and situations others describe and are responsible for your character’s actions, and how it interacts with the world, through the conversation the GM and the other players create. Listen, and join in when possible. When you narrate and get stuck, open up for feedback and input.

During play, the player’s primary job is also to;

Immerse in Your Role – Embody your character fully, interacting authentically within the story.
Respond to GM Questions – Contribute to the narrative when the GM asks questions; offer input when a player seems unsure.
Build on Narrations – Engage with and expand upon what others establish in the story.
Face Challenges – Respond in-character to challenges and dangers, utilizing facets and involving others when apt.
Use Facets – Leverage facets, the undeniable truths of the fiction, for richer narration and character advantage.
Roll the Dice – Roll when faced with danger or uncertainty; the outcome shapes your world.
Explore Story Details – Delve into GM-provided details for enriched roleplay and story progression
Act on Character Arcs & Story Hooks – Proactively engage with arcs and hooks to shape the story and earn experience.
Request Scenes – Propose character-centric scenes to the GM and involve others as desired.

Core Game Concepts

The last part beneficial to familiarize yourself with are the core game concepts. These terms will pop up throughout the game and are important parts for how this game run.

Characters

These are core concepts for the character that the players will deal with during play.

Prologue – A short introduction to the character’s background, describing where it comes from, what craft, profession or training it got.
Traits – These are innate qualities or attributes that influence how a character performs in various situations described with a rating between 0 and 3. The rating equals the number of dice to build your dice pool from.
Facets – These are established facts or characteristics within the game’s fiction that impact how characters interact with the world and each other. Character facets including background, lifepath, and skills. Other facets may present danger and risk to the PCs
Arcs – Personal storylines or quests that guide character development and growth over time.
Abilities – Talents and powers that characters possess, offering specific advantages in challenges and interactions in the shape of facets.
Experience & Insight – Something that you get from acting on and fulfilling arcs and hooks in the game. Enable insights which in turn drive character development.

Narrative

These are the core concepts regarding gameplay and the narrative aspects of the game.

Conversation – The ongoing dialogue at the game table between the GM and the players, that creates the narrative.
Downtime – An out-of-character phase in between sessions, where characters can do stuff with less impact on the story, but more on themselves.
Gameplay Approach – The method the GM uses when running the game, either by playing-to-find-out or as a playset.
Narrative – The collaborative story that evolves through the conversation during play. Sometime referred to as the fiction.
Scenes, Sessions & Time – A scene is a shorter sequence of gameplay, framed as a contextual situation or event the player characters currently act in, framed by a narrative set up by the GM. A scene contains moments, several scenes plays out in a session. Sessions makes up a story, and several stories makes up an epic.
Theme & Mood – The overarching themes and emotional tones that permeate the game, influencing its direction. Used by the GM (and the players) to set and manage expectations.
Hooks – Plots or objectives that serve to guide the game’s narrative and offer direction for the characters. Works in parallel with arcs for experience and insights.
Details – Small pieces of information or cues that help players understand the world they are navigating and make informed decisions.

Mechanics