The Names the Bell Forgot
The Names the Bell Forgot
Read aloud
At dusk, the town bell rings once, though no one is in the tower. A stranger grabs 0d3tte's sleeve and whispers, "My sister's name has vanished from every book, and I am starting to forget her face." Then the archive keeper offers a reward to find the stolen pages before the Lantern Roll tonight.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find out how the names disappeared and locate the stolen name-pages.
- 2Retrieve the missing names from the Silted Index.
- 3Stop the Lantern Roll from repeating the harm without leaving Bellwether defenseless.
- 4Help the families reclaim memories of the erased residents.Optional
The clock
The Lantern Roll begins at midnight. Each major delay or failed attempt can trigger a complication, intensify the mist, or cause one more memory to fade.
Scenes
- 0:00The Empty Ring
- 0:35Ink Without Names
- 1:20The Silted Index
- 2:10A Name Freely Spoken
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and keeper of the civic archive
- Tovin ReedAlly and marsh ferryman
- Sella QuillAntagonist and former archive apprentice
- Pell ArlowWitness and resident affected by the missing…
The hook
Set the scene
The characters arrive in Bellwether as lanterns are being hung for the annual roll call. Mara Venn meets them at the archive door with a damaged ledger and a list of residents whose names have disappeared. Pell waits nearby, unable to recall their sibling's face. The bell rings once from the empty tower, and everyone in the square falls silent.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches tte in the town square just after the empty bell rings.
She offers a clear reward, shows the damaged ledger, and asks the party to work discreetly until she understands whether the theft is a crime or a warning.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Empty Ring
Bellwether's lantern-decorated town square and the archive entrance
Introduce the missing names, establish the deadline of the Lantern Roll, and give the party a human stake through Pell's fading memories.
NextMara gives the party access to the damaged ledger and directs them to examine the archive before the tide rises.
0:35
45 min
skill
2. Ink Without Names
The civic archive, its restricted records room, and the tower's sealed stair
Let the party investigate the ledger, question witnesses, and follow physical clues to a hidden route beneath the tower. Discovery or a strong accusation points toward Sella.
NextA trail of copper filings and wet paper leads down to the flooded record vault.
1:20
50 min
exploration
3. The Silted Index
The flooded vault beneath the bell tower
Reach the name-pages and overcome the Name-Scraped Watcher. The party can fight, distract, or find another way through the unstable vault.
The Silted IndexNextThe recovered pages reveal that the bell's next call will complete the Lantern Roll, sending the party to the tower roof.
2:10
65 min
social
4. A Name Freely Spoken
The bell tower roof above the mist-covered marsh
Confront Sella as the town gathers below. Resolve the conflict through conversation, evidence, force, or a negotiated plan, then choose the fate of the pact.
The Last Lantern RollNextThe choice changes Bellwether's relationship with the marsh and opens the way to the aftermath and future hooks.
Behind it
What people believe
Several residents of Bellwether have vanished from the town's records, and their neighbors are beginning to forget them.
Archive keeper Mara Venn asks tte and their companions to recover the stolen name-pages before the annual Lantern Roll. The party must discover who took the pages, retrieve them from a flooded vault, and decide what should happen when the bell calls the town together.
Background
The town of Bellwether keeps its civic records in a copper-bound archive beneath the old bell tower.
Each year, the names of its residents are read aloud during the Lantern Roll, renewing a longstanding pact that protects the town from the marsh mists. Recently, several names have vanished from the archive. The missing residents are still alive, but people who knew them are beginning to forget they ever existed.
The stakes
If the party does nothing, the Lantern Roll will renew the pact and another resident will be erased from the town's memory.
If they break it carelessly, Bellwether may lose its protection from the marsh. The residents deserve a say in a choice that has been hidden from them.
Encounters
2The Silted Index
Combat or bypass
A cramped record vault with knee-deep water, leaning shelves, narrow walkways, hanging lanterns, and a waist-high copper index table.
Foes
Name-Scraped Watcher
Archive Crows
ComplicationAt the first sound of the tower bell, the paper lanterns ignite with cold blue flame. Each round or equivalent interval, the safe path shifts as ash-covered platforms collapse or slide.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use only one Watcher and let the crows flee after one is driven off. For a larger or stronger party, add a second Watcher or have the crows harry characters near the unstable ledges.
The Last Lantern Roll
Social or combat
The open bell tower roof above the marsh, with slick slate, a heavy bell and rope, waist-high parapets, and drifting banks of luminous mist.
Foes
Sella Quill
The Bell's Echo
ComplicationSella will ring the bell if cornered, summoning a wall of mist that divides the area and lets the Echo take a memory from anyone who acts recklessly within it.
ScalingSella can be persuaded to stop fighting if the party presents credible evidence or offers a safer way to end the pact. For a more challenging confrontation, the Echo can make one additional appearance or the bell platform can become unstable.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and keeper of the civic archive
WantsRestore the missing names and keep the Lantern Roll from becoming a public panic.
“I can prove the pages were altered. I cannot prove who altered them, and that is why I need someone the town has not already chosen to distrust.”
Tovin Reed
Ally and marsh ferryman
WantsHelp 0d3tte uncover the truth, while protecting the people whose memories are already fraying.
“The bell does not call the dead. It calls what the living have agreed to forget.”
Sella Quill
Antagonist and former archive apprentice
WantsPrevent the pact from being renewed, even if breaking it means the town must face the consequences of its founding bargain.
“You keep calling it theft. I am trying to stop the town from feeding the mist another generation.”
Pell Arlow
Witness and resident affected by the missing names
WantsHave someone recover the name of their vanished sibling before the Lantern Roll erases the last traces of them.
“I remember the shape of a laugh. I cannot remember who made it.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A brass lantern that burns steadily in ordinary fog. Its supernatural properties, if any, are a custom feature for the GM to define.
A recovered name-page bearing 0d3tte's name in a different hand, an unexplained clue that can be kept or returned.
On a win
The party prevents the Lantern Roll from erasing another resident and gives Bellwether a chance to face the pact openly.
The exact outcome depends on their choice: they might expose the archive's history, negotiate a new arrangement, or break the bargain and help the town prepare for the marsh without its protection. If they recover enough personal testimony, Pell and other residents begin to remember their missing loved ones.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to recover the name-pages from the Silted Index.
- The missing names remain absent. Their families lose more memories, and the Lantern Roll renews the pact under Sella's control.
- The group loses too much time, or Sella escapes with the final name-page.
- The bell rings before the party can choose how to handle the pact. One additional resident becomes difficult for the town to remember, and the group must decide whether to pursue Sella or protect the affected residents.
- The bell is destroyed or the pact is broken without securing the residents and explaining the choice to them.
- Bellwether's pact breaks without preparation. The mist withdraws, but the town loses the supernatural protection it relied on, creating immediate danger and a lasting political crisis.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden marsh squall floods the causeway. The group must find higher ground, secure the ferry, or lose time and supplies.
- 2A resident recognizes 0d3tte from a false memory and publicly accuses them of taking a missing person's place.
- 3The archive's copper index heats up and blisters whoever touches it until it is cooled or wrapped.
- 4A lantern bearing one of the missing names drifts out into the marsh, drawing attention from the mist and offering a brief trail to follow.
- 5Tovin's ferry rope snaps during a crossing, leaving the party separated between the bank and the boat.
- 6A bell rings once with no one pulling the rope. Each character briefly forgets a minor but personally meaningful fact, then remembers it again after a moment.
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