DM Encounter Card Mockup

This mockup tests readability first. The goal is to make the card feel like a fast DM prep tool, not a prose-heavy adventure page. The most important information sits near the top: Purpose, Situation, and Party Path.

Session Strip
The Bell Below Dunmere
Hook
A Mother at the Chapel Gate
Threshold
The Chapel Descent
Discovery
The Tunnels of the Forgotten Dead
Clue
The Ledger of Names
Complication
The Bone Ward Passage
Escalation
The Chamber of Hollow Voices
Reckoning
The Bell-Taken One
Core Encounter Card

The Chapel Descent

Threshold Mystery Chapel Underground Entry
Session Role
Get Them In
Purpose
Get the party into the problem and commit them to the catacombs.
Situation
The chapel is silent above, but signs of recent disturbance lead to a locked stone stair descending below the altar. Fresh mud, candle drippings, and drag marks suggest someone was taken below recently.
Party Path
Enter the chapel, uncover the route below, and gain access to the catacombs before the trail goes cold.
Card Objective
Open the descent and enter the underground route.
Opposition
A frightened acolyte blocks the way, warning that the lower crypt is cursed and should remain sealed.
Interactive Feature
Examine drag marks, question or pressure the acolyte, force the stair, or find the hidden latch beneath the altar cloth.
Reward / Progress
Gain access to the catacombs and learn that someone in town has been using the lower crypt in secret.
Consequence / Pressure
Delay gives the captor more time to prepare below, and ritual markings begin appearing on the chapel walls.
Forward Link
The stair leads into burial tunnels where the real route and deeper clues begin.
Optional Add-On Card
Hook Card

A Mother at the Chapel Gate

Mystery Town Emotional Entry
Attach Before
Threshold
Purpose
Pull the party into the session with urgency and emotion.
Situation
A terrified mother stops the party near the chapel, claiming her son vanished after following voices near the crypt stairs below.
Use When
Use before the Threshold card when you want stronger emotional buy-in and a clear victim.
What It Adds
Immediate urgency, local fear, and a direct reason for the party to act now.
Optional Reward / Pressure
Quick action earns a clue about where the child was last seen. Delay causes ritual signs to spread through town.

The main thing to judge here is whether the card feels fast to scan and useful at the table. If anything feels redundant, buried, or too prose-heavy, that is what we should trim next.