I have added a starting map of Pottsville to Game Map.

Welcome to the town of Pottsville!
May your life here be "interesting". ;)

Brought to our attention are "Studious Youth", "Curious Youth" and "Keen-eyed Youth".

You are the core group of friends that live in Pottsville and that the upcoming adventures will include.

"Ernest Youth" has stepped forward.

"Deliberate Youth" has join the group.

So far only one player has chosen a character name.

Three players have selected their Playbooks.
We have "The Elven Ranger", "The Novice Templar" and "The Would-Be Knight".

If everyone can paste their Playbook choices into their personal threads, we can start the process of tying things together.

Yes, the players provide input on things that are personal to their playbook results.
They name and locate people and places that are referenced.

These will be woven in as they are shared.

"Anxious Youth" made it in before the cutoff.

We now have 6 players that have expressed an interest.

Next we need to have everyone create their characters as well as add locations and people of interest using their playbooks.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Guess I shouldn't have said "cutoff".
We now have "Lucky Number 7" with the inclusion of "Wizened Elder".

This should expand the options available to the group while hopefully providing always needed luck.  ;)

Any more interested people will have to wait for attrition to make an opening.

I have posted a Main Game Map.

The circles are stone keeps and the one in the center is your lord's.

Everyone needs to agree where the keep and the town are in relation to the crossroads and the rivers.

(The rivers are fast flowing and not suitable for ship travel.)

The Inn is the center of Pottsville and everything else is in relation to it.

Beyond the Wall expects/depends on feedback from the players for identifying locations and non-player characters.

I will make official what the majority agrees on.

Before the game starts each player does the following.

Add Major Location:
Pick a fresh direction (N, S, E, W, NW, SW, ...) and distance (near, medium, far)

Roll a D8 for Type and choose Heard, Seen or Learned.
1 Recent Ruins
2 Ancient ruins
3 Human settlement
4 Major City
5 Inhuman settlement
6 Monster's lair
7 Source of power
8 Otherworld

Describe it. (The GM will roll for accuracy.)
Heard - Charisma, Seen - Wisdom, Learned - Intelligence

2 Major Cities, 2 Human settlements and 1 Inhuman settlement are already included on the map so if that option is rolled, re-roll.
These will be used for players that don't respond in a timely manner.
They can still be embellished however.

Repeat once more around for a total of two major locations per player.

Embellishments
Once, each player adds a detail to someone else's location.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 10):

So far the map seems to show the keep on the crossroads, however I think that it makes more sense for it to be near but not on the crossroad. Also it shouldn't be in trees as the defenders would want line of sight (in case of attack) so on the south of the crossroad seems to be the best place.  Given that the inn/tavern would be on the crossroad on the north side of the road.

Rolling for features:
Heard (cha9) Inhuman settlement to the far south
Learned (int15) Inhuman settlement to the far northwest
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Sun 14 July 2019.

Messed with the map some to make things clearer.
The symbols are markers and not expected to be photo-realistic.
They are intended to represent general locations until visited in the game.

For the "Inhuman settlement to the far northwest" I suggest Dwarves.

For the "Inhuman settlement to the far south" I suggest The Imperial Elven City in the Treune-Metich province. It being what the province was named after.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:12, Sun 14 July 2019.

Please welcome your friends
"Reclusive Wizard" - Tobias Draigh
"Fae Foundling" - Jeffrey Smith
"Elven Ranger" - Dumoss Nindir

Rumor has it that a couple more of your friends are a "Novice Templar" currently called "Curious Youth" and a "Would-Be Knight" currently called ""Ernest Youth".

That's all that is know so far of the 7 people that volunteered to step forward in defense of the town.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:11, Sun 14 July 2019.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 13):

The Blacksmith shop as a very important town asset would likely be located on the main road (east-west) and on the river side. It would be reasonable that it and the inn, also a very important town asset would be fairly close to each other.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Sun 14 July 2019.

How about the far northwest inhuman settlement I learned about being a dwarven town in the high mountain NW of Pottsville. The mountains are high enough according to the map they should be visable from the village

Yes, the mountain is visible from town.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 16):

My father, the smith would likely have an apprentice from before his own children were old enough to be an apprentice. Is the village large enough, being about half way between 2 major cities that he kept his first apprentice and now has him and his 2 oldest sons working, or did he let him go when he became skilled enough to be a smith himself?

In reply to Jeffrey Smith (msg # 17):

You are welcome to choose which way you want.

Your friend Yseult (of Tolay) the "Nobleman's Wild Daughter" has joined.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 18):

I am in favor of a larger village, with enough demand for the new smith to stay, however I will wait for a consensus from the other players.

Tobias Draig        01
Curious Youth        Lurker
Dumoss Nindir        03
Ernest Youth        04
Yseult (of Tolay) 05
Jeffrey Smith        06
Wizened Elder      07
Tobias Draigh        01

In answer to "Who is to my right?" it is the person next in the number sequence.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:53, Mon 15 July 2019.

I am in favor of a village that has a large smithy, to handle the horseshoes of travelers at the inn, the occasional request of a passing footman, and the local trade.

I rolled: 8 Otherworld.  I'm not sure what that means but maybe goblins?

Yseult has heard that the goblins of Nisny dwell somewhere in the Broken Circle to the southwest, where the plains grow hard and the dirt brittle, but the Circle seems to never stay in one place for long.  It is said that they have strange beasts there that eat the rocks of the earth instead of grass.

(Charisma roll for accuracy?)

In reply to Yseult (of Tolay) (msg # 22):

We also have the local Lord, with needs such as armor, weapons, tack for horses, metal parts for wagons and hinges etc. for the Keep.

There are the local map (public) and the kingdom map (0) posted.
They should be considered hand drawn from memory and not actually "to scale".

You can use these to identify locations in your descriptions.

I'm working on a Preface to compile the setting information as it is created.

You can review and suggest.

Nothing is "Set in Stone" till the game starts and Chapter 1 is posted.

Well, the basics of world map as drawn is set because it is such a pain to create another one.
I can make some modification to it but they need to be required.

Northeast Place: Tobias Draigh rolled 5 = Inhuman Settlement - Murkfen (Rumored reclusive Frog-people dwell in the swamplands and propagate poisonous plants to protect their territory. Some say they are friendly, but shy, others say they're hostile and the result of fell magics gone awry, others scoff and say they don't exist at all...)

Western Place: Tobias Draigh rolled 1 = Recent Ruins (Tormalt Abbey - a vineyard/winery that was destroyed by a huge sinkhole which opened up during a storm. Apparently there was a schism in the brotherhood with many monks having broken sacred vows, the resulting catastrophe was the ire of their deity! Some said a monk escaped, seeking help for his trapped brethren, but nobody dared incense the angered God...)

In the Preface thread I have listed the characters that this game will be about.
They are in the order of "Who is to your right".
You can post here what occurred with "The player to your right".

You can also post what everyone in town knows about you.
Where you live.
Notable things you did in the past.
How many are in your family and if your parents are alive.
Etc...

This will establish "The Ring of Friends".

I rolled a second feature, which was "Monster's Lair."  I'll apply my goblin rumor against that.  I'll use Otherworld for:


Arthur says that, in the mountains, there is a magical lake with the power to show visions.  We always said we'd find it as children, but we never did go.

(This is also to the NW.)

During playbook generation/rolling, we can choose to disregard a roll for a table and instead choose a result we like once only, am I correct?

Also Oracle, can you make our character sheets editable so we can paste our character sheets there please?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:45, Tue 16 July 2019.

To Tobias's right is Dumoss Nindir.


What caused you to choose your pupil? The player to your right immediately gains +1 Int and -1 Cha, and shares this event with you.

There's a stigma to be associated with the Haggard, Tobias Draigh. He's generally avoided by those in the community, but Dumoss Nindir stood up for him when it counted.

A mysterious shaman from the north swore long ago to see your end. When this villain came to town but could not harm you, the pupil to your right struck him from behind and helped you dump the unconscious mumbler in the wilderness, and gains +1 Wis.

Dumoss gains +1 Int, -1 Cha, and +1 Wis.

In reply to Wizened Elder (msg # 29):

That is correct. You can take the roll or pick something that you prefer instead.

I'm not sure which "character sheets" you mean.

Character Details have been created so character sheets can be placed there.

What about your Faerie heritage caused an unexpected problem for you?

The Erl King himself invited me to attend his court. Wizened Elder was there when it happened and learned about the Fae. He gains +1 int

Jeffrey Smith is a Fae foundling.

-- Edited --
This was moved to Preface as public knowledge.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:49, Tue 16 July 2019.

You have said that the drawbridge is almost never raised, however there is a tributary of the river connecting very close to the crossroad and therefore the village. Can we assume that there is a bridge over this tributary allowing easy access to both sides? Is the drawbridge over the river east or west of the tributary. Is there a bridge over the river that is not the drawbridge allowing easy travel across the river? Thinking about it, there doesn't seem to be a reason for a drawbridge just a bridge near the crossroad.

In reply to Jeffrey Smith (msg # 36):

You tell me.

I was just looking at the map and it made sense there would be a bridge to reach your Lord's fortified manor house.
A drawbridge seemed reasonable but again, most things are not set till the game Starts.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 37):

A bridge over both rivers makes sense, however a drawbridge is used to limit access to the keep. As 1 side of the keep faces the main road it makes no sense to have a drawbridge to the keep on the other side, also if that is the way across the river then all traffic from north to south across the river would have to go through the keep. Bridges over the rivers and just a portcullis into the keep is the way I think it should be. Since the village is mostly to the east of the north/south road a bridge over the river just east of the crossroad and a second bridge over the tributary just south of the main river is my suggestion.

Looking at the map, a river runs parallel to the main road all the way down to Willow's Edge.
There the fort controls the bridge.

There is a stream from the eastern hills that the road crosses. Though the stream could be forded, there is a bridge to make it easier for wagons.
The road then continues on east through {name} Gap to the town of {name}.

Two stream from the south emerge from the hills and join the main river {name} which continues east till the river {name} joins it from out of the {name} Forest.

I had imagined that the Lord's hold was behind the main river and beside that southwestern stream (in front of town).

A bridge over the main river to reach the Lord's Manor works for me.
With a just a portcullis into the keep.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:46, Wed 17 July 2019.

Jeffrey, here's our shared background item from Yseult's character generation:



Yseult competed in the melee tournament at nearby Willow's Edge and was easily defeated by her first opponent, a swordsman with a foreign name no one could pronounce correctly.  Of all her friends, you were the one at her side that day.  How did you convince the swordmaster to teach us a trick or two?

Edit:  or we can answer that question in a flashback.  Up to you :)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:31, Wed 17 July 2019.

In reply to Yseult (of Tolay) (msg # 40):

I played to his vanity by effusive congratulations and admiration for his skill.

That answer was absolutely perfect.  :-)

To my right is Tobias Draigh:

What caused you to choose your pupil? The player to your right immediately gains +1 Wis and -1 Str, and shares this event with you.

Wicked men came to town and began demanding valuables. Realizing that many foes do not deserve death, the pupil to your right helped you dispose of the criminals another way, and gains +1 Cha.

@Tobias: You could be my pupil in the sense that you spent some time learning some principles of magic from me, or perhaps a spell or cantrip? What do you think?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Wed 17 July 2019.

Major Location:

Ancient Ruins to the North-East; Medium distance.

Nevyn has heard there are ancient ruins to the north-east, remains of what was once a massive fortress of jagged stone and black iron. According to the lore of his order there was a great battle there in a previous age, where the armies of the light laid siege to a dark lord in his fortress. Investigating & watching over the ruins was one of the reasons Nevyn chose to settle in the village, for the order believes something or someone of ill intent has made the ruins their lair...
This message was last updated by the GM at 19:40, Wed 17 July 2019.

Yeah, that sounds cool, you'll need to be in on some backstory I have in mind... ;-)

Perhaps your efforts to instruct came just at the early manifestation of Tobias's powers as a young man. When his younger brother died, his emotions got the best of him, and he took your tutelage in a... dark direction. Your patience since then must have paid off, and though your relationship is still strained, at least Tobias is speaking to you again from time to time.

Interesting that in a game intended to have youthful humans "coming of age", that we actually have two Fae, two "elders" and so far only a single young person.
I'm assuming "Ernest Youth" will engage in the game so we will have two young people soon.

Good I didn't have a prepackaged adventure in mind.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:21, Thu 18 July 2019.

I'm thinking that Tobias is early to mid-twenties, so not really an "Elder", I just liked the Reclusive Wizard playbook.

Tobias is very intelligent and something of a prodigy gone wrong due to the trauma of his little brother's death and the subsequent fallout which took place. If not for the pleading of his parents he might well have been permanently exiled Beyond the Wall, but after he'd left for a while, he was allowed to return. His own reclusive preference as well as the tentative acceptance of the town Elders, was that he take up residence in the broken tower to the east, just within the Wall. His experiences Beyond the Wall, as well as his sharp intellect, have earned him a degree of respect from Pottsville for his counsel in times of trouble. Many still are wary of him, but most simply pretend he just isn't a part of the community, a notion that Tobias finds perfectly satisfactory.

I am Fae, however I am also quite young

Hopefully soon "Ernest Youth" will post their character generation and we can all get started.

Out of curiosity, which do you like better?
Grimm's Fairy Tales
or
Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

That sounds good. However Nevyn has only recently settled in the village at the secret direction of his Order; say slightly under a year ago, and has kept mostly to himself. He is often out traveling (investigating the ruins to the North or gathering information from around the village). He lives in the town inn, having paid the innkeeper a lump-sum for a years room & board.

Nevyn has a mysterious, yet friendly demeanor towards the village-folk, when he meets with them to purchase essential goods such as food. Perhaps he detected Tobias's abilities or vice versa, and began instructing him in the magical arts, or helping Tobias refine his control over his powers. Our shared event is something that we could bond over as well, as well as being something that perhaps revealed our powers to the village when before we were simply viewed as mysterious (and possibly slightly eccentric) travelers from afar.

I am totally fine with the relationship being strained Tobias's personal tragedy took him in a dark place. Hopefully Oracle is ok with the above and I can always change things around to mesh with the game.:)



Heh, true but for me and I suspect many others also, the draw of BtW over many other OSRs is the fact it draws from influences like Ursula Le Guinn's Earthsea, rather than standard D&D, Appendix N or Tolkien (albeit there are Tolkien-ish influences in the game such as the subtle magic which is again one of my favorite things about this game).

In reply to Nevyn (msg # 50):

I'm fine with how you work together.
What is critical is that you do "work together" with a least one, and hopefully more, of this ring of friends.

I don't see magic as subtle so much as fading from the world as access to the Fae Realms becomes harder.

It is certainly not something that is common outside of the Fae Realms and its chaotic nature is not looked on favorably, in general, by the common person.

The common person is more comfortable with the mundane and lawful nature of the everyday world.

(This is open to discussion, as the how and why have little impact on the actual game.)

Heh. I see what you did there... ;-)

What did our would-be knight roll that links him and Yseult together?

I believe it their first time with these rules.
I'm helping them sort things out.
Please be patient.

No rush - I just put thought it'd be good to figure out before we run into each other.

In reply to Yseult (of Tolay) (msg # 55):

I agree.
It just became clear what the delay had been.

Ok I have posted my character details.
I still have some clean up to do.

"Ernest Youth" / Alvar is having far more difficulty creating a character than expected.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:59, Sun 21 July 2019.

Dumoss, does Yseult know you?  Perhaps when Yseult heard of you from Tobias, she convinced Sir Math to invite you on a hunt, and you impressed everyone with your skill.  You've been welcome in the village ever since, although you might prefer to keep to yourself (and many villagers may be fine with that too).

How's that sound?

Nevryn, I'm going with us having seen each other in the inn a few times, and we've both heard about each other but maybe haven't formally met?

To Whom It May Concern,
You are considered to be a "Circle of Friends" each linked to two others.
How you know the friends of friends is up to you.

Thanks Yseult, for helping with the linking.

There will also be NPCs that each know separately or together as well as the "Common Folk about town" that you know from having grew up here in town.
Some of you starting here and others ending up here.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 60):

Which 2 are we each linked to?

The person to your left has you as The Person to Your Right and also, you have a Person to Your Right.

In reply to Yseult (of Tolay) (msg # 53):

I have posted your linkage in your personal thread.

I assume he was also at the tournament with you at Willow's Edge.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:51, Sun 21 July 2019.

How do you think things are going?
Holding interest?
Something specific you think needs to be included/happening?
Any improvements?

I'm enjoying the game so far. I'm intrigued by the bear and its reaction to us invading its lair!

I think a little bit quicker posting rate would help us to keep the scene in mind. If everyone could commit to two posts per week, I think that would really help. It's hard, I know, my new job is kicking my butt right now, but I feel like two posts is pretty doable for most folks.

One thing that might help on the GM's side is for an occasional narrative reminder about what the party is up to and how they've progressed, just woven into the story so that we can keep the plot and action in mind.

At this point, I feel like we've gotten a little momentum back, let's keep it up! It's been a fun game, I enjoy this group of players and their characters!

In reply to Tobias Draigh (msg # 65):

I checked what natural bears are likely to do and tried to follow it.
The light from your staff reflecting in its eyes may have thrown you off a little.

A "Sly Youth" has expressed interest in joining the ongoing events as a rogue (or something).
There are several characters that seem to be abandoned and can be taken over or we can shuffle things and add them as someone new.

Sounds great!

For party cohesion it would be a good idea to discuss what would be the best choice for the kind of game you want this to be. This will help "Sly Youth" settle on a character.

Where we go with the game is dependent on what Players choose to do.

Currently we are a die roll away from Dumoss (as NPC) taking off with the belt to the Fae realms. His player had already intended to do that and was delayed by Tobias's logic.

It may yet happen, it may not.
Elton Hunter is an acquaintance and not a "close friend"/Player and the odds are for helping him.

If people want to play out the legal battle or Cut Scene and move on to something else is entirely up to you.

"Sly Youth" has chosen to be The Landless Noble which makes them an Elder (Nobility), Warrior-Rogue.

They can speak for the character of Elton Hunter if this is the direction everyone wants to go.

The average age of the characters is no longer "youth". Interesting.
Late bloomers?

I wouldn't mind playing out the short-term town reaction to the tanner's death. Perhaps that would lead to a quest Beyond the Wall!

Also chasing Dumoss to the Fae King would be a great followup. The only downside perhaps (not really to me) is that the Town/Trial whatever might be pretty intense RP for a little while. I guess we'll just trust our DM to keep the story moving.

In all honesty though, I like the darker, grittier turn this story took, and would like to follow it out a while.

Would it be possible to get a quick recap on the events so far? All these paths seem interesting, I just have so little investment thus far!

And thanks for the warm welcome, I've noticed this GM seems to really know his stuff. I'm excited to see the game in action!

Starting on a Morning Like Any Other, Alvar the Tanner turned up missing.
He hadn't arrive for breakfast at the inn which was unusual.
Both because his fiancee was cooking it and because it was his established habit.

Since Alvar the Tanner's fiancee is Tobias's sister, Tobias forced himself to get involved.
The other friends joined him in looking for Alvar and instead found the trail of a golden deer.

While following the trail of the deer, they were sidetracked into a Sinking Situation of rescuing a child that had fallen into a sink hole and hurt his leg.
They kept the resident bear at bay while getting the boy out.

Taking it Again From The Top, Tobias and Dumoss went on into the woods following the deer trail, while the others returned to town.

Just as Elton the Hunter found and shot the deer, Tobias and Dumoss caught up with him.
They witnessed the shooting.
After Elton shot the golden deer, Alvar the Tanner was found with Elton's arrow through his heart.
Dumoss took the beautiful belt with a ornate silver Fae buckle off of Alvar's body and said he wanted to have The Erl King determine its powers.

Tobias convinced him not to leave and to help return Alvar to Tobias's house so they could work out a plan.
With the last of his energy, Tobias animated Alvar's body and the four of them proceeded to Tobias's tower home.
---
Currently, Tobias has passed out and Alvar's body is no longer animated.

Wow, that's gonna haunt Elton for the rest of his days. I would gladly defend him before Lord Math, as Etiquette and Charisma are the best things I have going for me. Following that up, I think a trip to the Fae Realms to see the Erl King and determine the effects of the belt would be a fine time!

Oh, and can I get my name changed to Rolan Bauer?

Just so you are aware "The Erl-King" is of the Unseelie (Dark) court and his daughter Elithien of the Seelie (Light).

"The Erl-King" is the leader of the Wild Hunt while his daughter leads the Promenade.

Time moves at a much different pace in the Fae Realms and there is no way for mortals to know which court is antecedent at any specific time without entering the Realms.

Unless either of you know of anyone else that might be interested in playing, we will start the next chapter with Tobias's awakening.
At that point I will roll to determine if Dumoss is still in the tower.

"Sly Youth" is now known as Rolan of Bauer.

I hope I can live up to those high expectations that were mentioned.


13:40, Today: Oracle rolled 17 using 1d20.  >= 14 Dumoss has left .
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:41, Wed 05 Feb 2020.

That Sir Rolan of Bauer to you, peasant. XP

I don't want to randomly appear, so I'll hold off on having Rolan make his appearance until Tobias and Elton return to the village.

Well, you could tell me where you are so I know where they will have to go to find you.
;)

Do you have a run down mansion at the edge of the wood?
Having fallen on hard times and not owning land, you will need to work for your income.
I assume from your background you are somewhat of an alchemist (organic chemist) and spend a lot of time in the surrounding woods?

I assume you know Ravyn Nox well? Many call her the "Witch" or the "Ol'Witcher Woman".
Also that you provide her with exotic materials from the woods?

This is just guessing and you can correct or elaborate as you see fit.
Things are only "locked in" once you "start".

Rolan does live near the woods, but in a run-down tower, not mansion. His younger siblings live in the Noble Manor with Lord Math. He earns his keep hunting and foraging in the wood and brewing potions for the locals. He would likely be somewhere in the woods, but I had imagined him currently in audience with the Lord when Elton and Tobias return and attempt to absolve themselves.

It only makes sense that Rolan and Ravyn have, at least, a working relationship. Seeing that Charisma is his strong suit, I'm ssure Sir Rolan also maintains a friendly reltionship with most, if not all, of the town.

I was thinking that you being comfortable in the deep words more than most, you would hunt for mushrooms, roots and berries that were rare and not generally used for food.

Mandrake and mugwort roots for example.

Things that a healer/"witch" would want but wouldn't risk the deep woods to gather.

Maybe even traffic with the Fae or accepted to be near their realm.

Not trying to re-create your character just trying to fit what you described as your background and method of vengeance in smoothly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:31, Sat 08 Feb 2020.

No, I appreciate the expounding! That all fits perfectly for the character I have imagined. Polan would relish the opportunity to make as many allies as he can, one day he may need them. Holding onto a long list of favors would be beneficial to him, as well, and could be the more driving purpose behind defending Elton in court, in addition to believing his word.

Yseult of Tolay has expressed an interest in re-engaging with the game.
They said that Real Life has settled down enough to allow play.

Excellent! Glad to hear that!

Woo! Awesome to hear!

With Nevyn never engaging in the game besides creating a character, I've decided that Rolan will take his "slot" and get player to right learns of Fae +1 int from Jeffery Smith.

The "learns of Fae" is also provided.

Sick kids. Sry. Will catch up tomorrow. Gotta love winter.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 86):

Good deal! Thanks for the info!

"Stonetop" looks like it would mix well with BtW.
https://www.kickstarter.com/pr...dYmC7hoT4UrTUoYAJ6l4

May have to give it a try.

I was listening to an actual play podcast of this game. It sounded fun. Let me know when you're back in the saddle! ;-)

In reply to Tobias Draigh (msg # 90):

Same, it looks good from what I've seen so far.

The basic character playbooks are: The Blessed, The Fox, The Heavy, The Judge, The Lightbearer, The Marshal, The Ranger, The Seeker, and The Would-Be Hero.

These are all "persons of note" for the town.

Of course the town also has its own Playbook, as it is a "character" that develops during play.

Read this and it seems true.

I think the biggest differences in "vibe" between Stonetop and BTW are:
1) In BTW, you're all young adults, just starting out, and the game is metaphor for growing up (at least, I think it is).
In Stonetop, you certainly can be a young adult, but you can also be an old, established pillar of the community.
The game is more about the community itself, and how the PCs fit into it, protect it, build it up.

2) In BTW, character creation and your starting adventure pack shape the village pretty much from nothing.
Stonetop has a much more baked-in starting point.

3) BTW tends to put the starting village in context of a larger kingdom or civilization.
Stonetop is much more on the edge of nowhere, isolated, etc.

4) The baked in elements of the Stonetop world tend to be... grimmer?
The magic especially has a certain sort of bloody, powers-that-you-probably-shouldn't-mess-with vibe.
I don't generally get that from BTW, though it certainly can be there.

FYI
The creator playing an example game.
https://spoutinglore.blogspot....et-con-2018.html?m=1