Jagen Irongate had a wife and seven children. He was a Duke in the kingdom of Rylos and a prestigious member of the Upper Class. Then, one day, while his children were visiting relatives in the capitol city, Jagen murdered his wife. Within hours she was buried in the local cemetery, even before the children could return home. The authorities arrested Jagen and brought him to trial; he claimed his wife's death was an accident. The regional government pronounced his innocence based upon his upstanding reputation and allowed him to return to his estate. Magnus Irongate, the first son, escaped imprisonment and death; charges he would have suffered along with his father if Jagen was convicted. It was after all, the law of the land.

But the chaos did not end there. Three weeks after the death of their mother, the Irongate children were banished from the household by their father. Stripped of name, reputation, and honor, the children were forced to flee the estate with only the clothes on their backs.

"I want to go on record that I hate Jagen Irongate", Scott's character announced as he was dismissed from the military. "My brother would have inherited the estate. I knew that, so I dedicated myself to fighting. I would have been a Knight. Now, thanks to father, I cannot even raise a sword in the ranks."

"What do we do know?" lamented Jim's character, Cloyer Irongate. "We have no money, no titles, and no family. Since we've been banished by father we cannot even speak with members of the Upper Class without severe repercussions."

"We must band together and figure out what is going on", Magnus Irongate, Paul's character, said with stern resolve.

"We know what is going on; father went insane." Spat Dungeon Irongate matter-of-factly. "The first order of business is to figure out how to survive."

And so started the Irongate Campaign, a campaign filled with intrigue, outstanding characters, and depth. Over the course of the next six months the players found themselves surrounded by treachery.

From back-stabbing uncles and devious insurrections to the truth behind the fraudulent murder and the true location of their mother, the players were forced to make decisions, decipher clues, and battle monsters and wizards to save their family name, their honor, and the fate of the lands.

I believe that is what role-playing is all about. A heroic adventure based on strong characters. By making the characters the drivers of the story line, the Players are forced to make decisions that affect the ultimate outcome. Along the way the Referee introduces new twists and turns to keep them guessing. Non-player characters are used to introduce new information, clues, and rumors that enable the players to piece together the mystery. Some of these clues will be true and some will be false; all the clues will be focused on developing a rich, detailed environment in which the players must interact. The use of props, in this case a journal, can also be helpful to add elements to game play.

In the end, should the players prove to be brave and resourceful, they are able to cure their father's insanity, rescue their mother, slay the monsters that were behind the evil deeds, reclaim their family name, and elevate their family's reputation. To do any less would not be heroic fantasy. Now, what if they were not brave and resourceful? Then perhaps they would perish in the Caverns of the Living Dead or be duped by their wicked uncle.

After all, sometimes the heroes lose.

Written by Mark Kibbe of Basement Games, Co-Creator of the Forge: Out of Chaos RPG and World of Juravia, http://www.basementgames.com