🕯️ THE SHADOW MARKET 🕯️

Staff Guide & Reference

📋 Quick Overview

Game Type: Self-managed mystery coin trading game
Staff Role: Distribute sheets, resolve The Final Hour bazaar

✨ THE MYSTERY COIN MECHANIC

Key Concept: Players start with different colored coins but DON'T know their point values until The Final Hour.

This creates suspense and makes trading decisions more interesting!

✅ Pre-Game Setup Checklist

Materials Needed

🎮 Game Flow & Timeline

Welcome & Introduction
• Greet players
• Explain the mystery coin concept: "You have coins of different colors, but you won't know their values until the final bazaar!"
• Distribute The First Hour sheets and pens
The First Hour: The First Trades
• Players work independently on their sheets
• Remind them coin values are still secret!
• Distribute The Second Hour sheets
The Second Hour: The Shadow Brokers
• Players work through encounters
Remind players to do The Taxman last
• Monitor social trading section (optional, Honor System - players exchange coins themselves)
• Oracle introduces Mystery Coins (still unknown value!)
• Distribute The Final Hour sheets
The Final Hour: The Final Bazaar
BIG REVEAL: Announce coin values (shown on The Final Hour sheet)
• Players calculate their Total Fortune (sum of all coin points)
• Players come to you with their completed The Final Hour sheet
Provide dice - Players roll a six-sided die for each of the three relics
• Players multiply each die roll by their Total Fortune to get Bargaining Strength
• The relic with the highest Bargaining Strength is theirs
• Hand out the corresponding outcome card

🎲 The Final Hour Dice Rolling System

How It Works (Players roll their own dice):
1. Player brings you their completed The Final Hour sheet with Total Fortune calculated
2. Give them a six-sided die
3. Player rolls the die for each relic:
   • 🏮 The Cursed Lantern
   • 🔑 The Ashen Key
   • 🍷 The Eternal Chalice
4. For each relic: Bargaining Strength = Die Roll × Player's Total Fortune
5. Player records the rolls and calculations on their sheet
6. The relic with the highest Bargaining Strength is awarded to the player
7. Give the player the corresponding outcome card

Example

Player has Total Fortune of 18 points

Result: Player receives The Ashen Key outcome card

📜 Outcome Cards

Three Outcome Cards Total:
• 🏮 The Cursed Lantern outcome
• 🔑 The Ashen Key outcome
• 🍷 The Eternal Chalice outcome

Note: There is only one outcome per relic (no tiers). The dice mechanic adds randomness and excitement to which relic each player receives.