DM Reference · Unwise Ventures
How to Run a Bounty
A bounty is a toybox, not a script.
Why It Looks Different
A Menu, Not a Railroad
Your adventure guide doesn't look like a traditional module because it isn't one. A linear module assumes the party will move through areas in a predictable order — room one, then room two, then the boss. That assumption breaks immediately in West Marches, where players self-direct and no two groups explore the same way.
Instead, each bounty is built around the Lazy DM framework: a strong opening to drop players into the scene, a menu of things that could happen, and a set of tools — locations, NPCs, encounters, lore — you can reach for in any order depending on where the players go.
You don't run it top-to-bottom. You read it before the session, get it in your head, then follow the players.
Your Adventure Guide
Section by Section
Strong Start
An in-media-res opening scene — the party arrives already in the middle of something.
At the table: Read it aloud, or paraphrase it in your own words. Don't wait for the party to organise or ask what they want to do. Drop them in.
Potential Scenes
A menu of 4–6 things that could happen in this hex.
At the table: Pick the 2–3 that interest you most. Ignore the rest unless players move toward them. You are not expected to hit every scene — that's the point of a menu.
Secrets & Clues
1–3 pieces of lore or discovery tied to the overarching campaign mystery.
At the table: Drip one or two per session. Attach them to things players examine — a strange carving, a body, an NPC who's been here before. Don't front-load exposition.
Fantastic Locations
2–3 evocative places within the hex.
At the table: Describe them when the party arrives, not before. Let the locations be a reward for exploration, not a briefing.
Notable NPCs
2–3 characters: a name, a one-liner, and a motivation.
At the table: Use the motivation to decide how they react to the party. Don't script dialogue — the one-liner is the character. The rest is improvisation.
Monsters & Encounters
Three encounter types: combat, environmental, and roleplay/social.
At the table: These are options, not a checklist. Run one or two per session. Let pacing decide which — a session that's already been intense doesn't need the combat encounter too.
Treasure
Level-appropriate loot and the gold bounty reward.
At the table: Distribute at natural moments: after combat, in a hidden cache, from a grateful NPC. The gold bounty reward is paid on redemption, not at the table.
The Only Rule
Follow the Players
If the party ignores your planned scenes and goes somewhere else entirely — digs up a ruin you didn't plan, follows an NPC off the map, invents a mission from a rumour — that's not a failure. That's West Marches working as intended.
The prep exists so you're never empty-handed, not so you can control the session. When players go sideways, grab whatever tools from the guide still apply — the locations, the NPCs, the lore — and run with them in the new direction.
The map doesn't care what you planned. It only cares what happened.