The Storyteller’s Handbook

for Loria: Myth & Mire

A guide for younger players, first-time Storytellers, and old hands alike—
for running the game, growing the world, and telling the stories only you can tell.

Part One: Becoming the Storyteller

1. What a Storyteller Is (And Isn’t)

If you're reading this, you're already a Storyteller.

You don’t need a voice like thunder or a binder full of maps. You just need one thing:

A willingness to wonder out loud.

In Myth & Mire, the Storyteller is not a god, a boss, or a villain.
You are:

• the voice of the wind in the trees
• the flickering light behind the door
• the gleam in a stranger’s eye when they say, “I wouldn’t go that way.”

Your job is not to control the game.
Your job is to invite the game.

You’re not writing a novel. You’re setting the stage for one.
And your players will do the rest.

2. What You Need

You don’t need much to begin. A full session can run on:

• a few polyhedral dice (especially a d20)
• the player sheets (one per player)
• this guide
• a quiet or silly place to play
• and a few people who are ready to pretend things matter deeply in a made-up world

Optional gear includes:

• snacks
• pencils
• a stuffed owl for wisdom

3. Starting the Game

First, gather your players.
Have each one create a character using the Myth & Mire player sheet. Remind them:

“You can be anything. Just be someone you’d love to play.”

Next, choose a starting place. You don’t need a map. You need a feeling.

It might be:

• a village on the edge of something forgotten
• a broken lighthouse where stars fell long ago
• a forest path that changes direction when no one is looking

Start with a problem. A reason to act.

Then say the most powerful words in any tabletop game:

“What do you do?”

The game has begun.

4. Basic Rules Recap (for the Storyteller)

Players have four stats: Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Presence.
Each one ranges from 1 to 5. Bonuses work like this:

• 3 = no bonus
• 4 = +1, 5 = +2
• 2 = –1, 1 = –2

When a player tries something uncertain, have them roll a d20.
Add their stat bonus and compare the result to a difficulty, usually 10–15.

If it beats the number, they succeed.

If not, don’t say “you fail.”
Say what happens instead.

“You don’t quite land the leap—but you catch the ledge with one hand. It’s slippery.”

Rolls should be rare.
Only roll when success or failure would change something.

Let the world breathe between the dice.

Part Two: Handling Action and Conflict

5. How to Run Combat

Not every story needs a fight.
But sometimes, the river bites back.

Combat in Myth & Mire is simple. It works like a conversation, with sharper edges.

When a fight begins, ask each player to roll a d20. This decides turn order—highest goes first, then clockwise. You may roll for creatures, or just let them act when it feels fair.

Each player gets:

• one action (swing, speak, cast, hide)
• one movement (run, climb, leap)
• and one small thing (draw a sword, shout a warning, drop a spoon)

If they want to try something strange, let them.
Roll a d20, add the right stat bonus, and see what happens.

The goal is not to win. The goal is to keep the story alive, even when things break.

6. Making Combat Feel Like a Story

Let the world move with the fight.

• The floor cracks beneath their feet
• The enemy hesitates and laughs
• The spell misses and sets the curtains on fire

If players take too long on a turn, gently ask:
“What do you do now?”

If they roll high, let them shine.
If they roll low, give them a twist—not just a wall.

“You miss, but your blade lodges in the beast’s armor. It’s stuck—unless you let go.”

Combat is not about numbers. It is about pressure, choice, and rhythm.
A breath held. A wrong move. A perfect moment.

7. Damage, Healing, and Armor

If an attack hits, it deals damage. You can:

• roll a small die (like 1d6 or 1d8)
• or use a fixed number (like 3, 4, or 5)
• or just say “You’re hurt—mark a wound.”

Players track their health as “hits” or “hearts.”
Three or four is enough for most heroes.

Armor makes them harder to hit. It’s a number (like 12 or 14).
When enemies attack, roll a d20 + their hit bonus. If it meets or beats the armor, the hit lands.

Healing can come from rest, potions, mushrooms, kind words, or miracles.
It’s up to the world to decide how hard it is to be made whole.

8. Conflict Without Violence

Not all conflict draws blood.

Let players argue with trees, make promises to mountains, or cook a better stew than the goblin king.

To handle contests:

• Each side rolls a d20 + a relevant bonus
• Highest wins. For longer contests, roll best of three.
• Let the results surprise you. The goblin may cry. The mountain may change its mind.

Let silence be a weapon.
Let kindness ruin a villain’s plan.
Let running away be clever.

Fights are only one kind of turning point.
There are many others.

Part Three: Worldbuilding

9. Creating Creatures

Begin with a feeling.
What emotion does the creature carry?

Is it lonely? Is it vengeful? Is it curious about shoes?

Now ask:

• What does it want?
• What does it fear?
• What does it do that no one else does?

Give it one odd ability. One trick. One habit.

Examples:

• A lantern moth that glows when near betrayal
• A soft-eyed brute that can smell forgotten dreams
• A tiny gremlin who rearranges maps at night

You don’t need full stats. You need a reason to remember it.

If the players fight it, use simple rules:

• Armor: 10 to 16
• Hit Points: 3 to 15
• Hit Bonus: +2 to +5
• One special move that makes the group nervous

A good creature can be fought.
A great one can be understood.

10. Making Places

Places are characters too.

Start with the Rule of Three:

• What does it smell like?
• What’s missing from it?
• What’s the secret?

Let the place grow from that.

Example:

A village that smells of ink and lavender.
There are no cats.
In the forest nearby, a tower dreams of becoming a man.

You can describe a town in one line:

“It’s a quiet fishing port where all the fish look like they are made of glass.”

Or:

“It’s a cliffside monastery where no one speaks, but the walls do.”

You don’t need a map.
Just give them something to walk toward.

11. Building NPCs

A good NPC only needs three things:

• a voice
• a goal
• a quirk

That’s enough.

Examples:

• Voice: creaky and slow, like a swinging sign
• Goal: find their real shadow
• Quirk: allergic to written language

Let them surprise you.
Let them have secrets.
Let them leave when the time is right.

If a player befriends them, reward that.
If a player betrays them, remember it.

NPCs are not puzzles.
They’re lanterns—dim or bright—on the path ahead.

12. Magical Items and Oddities

Not every item has to be powerful.
But it should be specific.

Ask:

• Who left this behind?
• What emotion lives in it?
• What happens if someone believes in it too much?

Examples:

• A bell that only rings when you’ve been forgotten
• A compass that spins when near your true enemy
• A bottle of laughter sealed with wax and moss

Let items feel like clues, not prizes.
Let them change things slowly.

An item might be useless in one story and essential in another. That’s the point.

Part Four: Tables, Tools, and Final Words

13. Sample Encounters

These are not full adventures. They’re seeds. Throw them into the wind and see what grows.

The Lost Wish
A magical wish got loose. It’s trying to become a real person.
It doesn’t know how, but it’s learning from whoever is kindest to it.
It will leave behind something strange.

The Hill with No Birds
Birds avoid a certain hill.
A melody echoes there each morning, but no one is playing it.
If followed, the song leads underground—to something that remembers you.

The Mirror That Lies Only Once
A traveling peddler sells a hand-sized mirror.
It tells the truth… until it doesn’t.
The moment it lies, something is set in motion.

You can turn these into a full session by adding:

• A person who needs something
• A thing that shouldn’t exist
• A choice that cannot be taken back

That’s all a story needs.

14. Rolling Tables

Use these when you need a spark.
Or when a player says, “I open the drawer. What’s inside?”

d6 Village Problems

d6 NPC Quirks

d6 Magical Junk

15. Final Words

If you’ve come this far, you are ready.

You don’t need to know everything.
You just need to listen, ask questions, and say:

“What do you do next?”

Let the world respond.
Let the players surprise you.
Let the story breathe.

The best sessions aren’t the ones you planned.
They’re the ones you discovered together.

If something breaks, laugh and fix it.
If something glows, follow it.

Your table is a world now.
Take care of it—and let it get weird.

The story is already waiting. It just needed someone to start telling it.