from the pdf
In this game we work together to explore and enjoy an adventure story. The story has a hero - the Barbarian, and it has a whole cast of supporting characters who the hero will meet during the course of the adventure. One player’s job is to play the role of the hero, to make choices on the hero’s behalf, and to make us believe in that character and care what happens at the end of the story. The Barbarian has a mission in the city, someone they’re desperately trying to find.
When you’re playing the Barbarian, you’re trying to succeed in that mission, but you’re also open to finding there’s something the Barbarian cares about even more than that.
The other players together play the supporting characters. Their job is to make the world come alive around the Barbarian, to make the city feel real, like it has a life of its own. Each of the supporting characters has an agenda you can choose. Some of these might conflict with the Barbarian’s mission, some will support it, and others could go either way. When you play a supporting character, you work toward’s that character’s agenda, and find out what happens as a result.