Making Radiants: Stoneward

Those who join the Stonewards generally subscribe to a philosophy of team dynamics, on learning to work with others, and on being there for those who need them. The core tenet of the order is be there when needed. They seek to take a difficult situation with few resources and make something better of it. The order strives to exemplify resolve, strength, and dependability. They tend to attract those who are most interested in warfare, prowess with weapons, or athletics of any sort.

Order of Stonewards - Coppermind

Rock solid

If I had to choose my own order, it would most certainly be the Stonewards, and I hope we get to see more of them in future Cosmere works.

Each article in the Making Radints series contains scenarios that include a basic setup to bring your party into the conflict, recommended skill checks to engage your players, and possible outcomes for you to plan for. Where appropriate, there are potential opportunities and complications to blend these events into the tapestry of your campaign.

Here are some quick reminders, which I explained in more detail in my previous post on Dustbringers.

Make it your own: Use these prompts as kick-starters for your campaign.
Complimentary and conflicting viewpoints: Scenarios in which your whole party participates may play out differently when viewed through the lens of different orders.
The journey or the destination: Whether it’s the pivotal moment where a player swears their first (or next) ideal or a simple skill challenge, you will find plenty of inspiration to keep your players engaged with the storyline.
Further reading: I recommend the Coppermind to any game master who is not well-versed in each Order's lore.

Scenario: After the storm

The party spends the evening held up in the storm shelter of the town they were passing through to avoid the day’s highstorm. They emerge into a nightmare. Bandits haunting the area have used the riddens to raid the town. They expected a group of capable fighters to await a challenge inside the local storm bunker. The one problem is that the group of bandits far outnumber the party. If they have any chance of surviving this encounter, they’ll need to rally the dazed and confused populace of the town into action.

Fight back

This is an opportunity for your group's potential Stoneward to take steps towards furthering their Radiant path. Their spren might point them towards a number of choices to help combat the thieves. Choose a scenario or two based on the skills of your party.

Skill check based on party's aptitude.

Prepare a few combat scenarios that will challenge your party, depending on how they seek to overcome the odds. Combat scenarios and difficulty take several factors into account when figuring out how your party is configured properly. Seek guidance from the game rules to calculate this properly.

⚔️

At the time of publishing this article, official rules for creating combat encounters has not been released.

Resolution

Winning the battle might not be the full defeat of the bandit party but could instead be a simple retreat on their part. Win or lose, your Stoneward will discover the value of teamwork in overcoming the odds.

Opportunities and Complications

Use these opportunities and complications to enhance this scenario's impact on your party and their future.

Opportunity: Word spreads fast of your success in overcoming the odds. Your party is lauded throughout the local region as heroes.

Complication: Some of the thieves escape and hold a grudge. They may seek retribution at a later date.

Completing the journey

We are just two orders of Knights Radiant away from completing this series, and I am excited to say that I already have the content both written and scheduled to publish!

After this series is completed, I will be temporarily moving away from Cosmere RPG content while I release my backlog of normal Cosmere-lore articles in prep for Wind and Truth, as well as my travels to Nexus.

Stay tuned for more!