Have you ever wanted to step into a world where courage, creativity, and quick thinking matter more than numbers on a character sheet? Where a clever player with a 10-foot pole can outsmart a stronger character without imagination? Where the story emerges from your choices, not from pages of predetermined outcomes?
A Quick Primer for Cresthaven RPG is your invitation to that world.
What’s Inside
This comprehensive 10-page guide reveals everything you need to start adventuring in Cresthaven:
The Six Laws of Adventuring
Rulings Over Rules: The world answers faster than the rulebook
Actions Over Skills: Description precedes dice
Heroic, Not Superhero: Small beginnings, legendary endings
Player Agency Over Balance: Choose your path; accept the consequences
Resource Management Tension: Every torch, every arrow, every point of mana matters
The World Remembers: Your legend is written in action, not backstory
Learn the Essentials
How the d20 system works in Cresthaven
The cycle of exploration, encounter, and rest
Creating characters in 15-20 minutes
Running combat using Theater of the Mind
Managing resources and survival
Building reputation and leaving your mark on the world
For Players AND Dungeon Masters Whether you’re picking up dice for the first time or you’re a veteran looking to recapture the magic of classic gaming, this primer gives you the tools to succeed. New players learn through clear examples. Experienced DMs discover how to adjudicate fairly, embrace chaos, and keep the game moving.
A Different Kind of Game
Cresthaven isn’t about balanced encounters or predetermined stories. It’s about presenting a dangerous, living world where your decisions matter. A world where you might encounter a dragon on the first level of a dungeon and need to run for your lives. Where clever thinking opens more doors than high stats. Where Batman is the pinnacle, not the starting point.
This is collaborative storytelling with real stakes. The DM presents the world. The players decide how to navigate it. The dice determine what happens. And together, you discover what story emerges.
Start Your Adventure Today
Inside the primer, you’ll find everything you need to begin, including:
Tips for players on mapping, teamwork, and survival
Guidance for DMs on adjudication, pacing, and fairness
An introduction to the Village of Cresthaven, your home base
Recommendations for your first adventures
Character creation takes 15-20 minutes. No elaborate backstories required. No hours of optimization. The stories that matter emerge from actual play at the table, not from pages of history no one reads.
Ready to Take the First Step?
Don’t worry about memorizing rules. Just describe what you want to do and we’ll see what happens. The real learning happens at the table. Jump in, take risks, and let the story unfold.
