You don't need specialised, in-depth knowledge of a huge game system to write an incursion—Trophy Dark is very simple and you can find the rules (and other useful info such as attribution) in the freely-available System Reference Document here on the Trophy site: https://trophyrpg.com/system/

You can also find a huge selection of rough versions of Trophy Dark incursions from the 2019 TD incursion contest (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s_MTVcV3E0QZTz_kZZi4yDOFPsCLqxko). In particular, The Banquet of Blessings and The Gallows Stair do a lot with a little and may be useful in figuring out how to legibly get everything onto 2 sides of A4:

• The Banquet of Blessings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10eHKHNG7vhVfwNKwcfDdpghSwfYiiTooxQWsEHT-emE/edit
• The Gallows Stair: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OZCoDcHuAhM3g54GI-MmoYUYGXyG8TL6FmafbTmAvxk/...

There's a wealth of Trophy content on the Gauntlet Blog, including notes and advice on Rings 1 through 3 (4 and 5 possibly coming in the future) and many more articles on writing and running incursions:

• Ring 1: https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/blog/trophy-notes-on-ring-1
• Ring 2: https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/blog/trophy-notes-on-ring-2
• Ring 3: https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/blog/trophy-notes-on-ring-3

A short run-through of the 'classic' incursion structure (which you can use or deviate from how you like) can be found in the Gauntlet magazine's Codex – Dark 2 (published December 2018), along with the first sample incursion, the Tomb of 10,000 Dreams: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/268198/

Of course, there are all the previous entries into this jam to look at—many show the first side of the trifold on their project pages, or are freely available: https://itch.io/jam/trophy-trifolds/entries

Finally there's the Trophy podcast, including: an Actual Play of the highly-regarded incursion The Flocculent Cathedral; the announcement of and a deeper look into the 2019 TD incursion contest winners; and the Sixth Ring analytical podcast:

• Flocculent Cathedral AP (first episode): https://podtail.com/en/podcast/trophy/the-flocculent-cathedral-ring-01/
• Incursion contest winners: https://podtail.com/en/podcast/trophy/trophy-dark-incursion-contest-2019/
• Sixth Ring episodes 1 and 2, plus a later episode with a discussion on Moments: https://podtail.com/en/podcast/trophy/the-sixth-ring-beginnings/, https://podtail.com/en/podcast/trophy/the-sixth-ring-fate/, https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/trophy-podcast/the-sixth-ring-moments

Other than that, don't hesitate to ask questions here!

Here's a bit of explanation for some of the distinct Trophy Dark terms, and advice on different ways of designing and writing these things in incursions. Ask if you have any questions (and answer if you see a question you think you can help with). The 2019 Trophy Dark incursion contest has plenty of examples you can use to see these ideas in action.

WHAT'S A THEME?

A Trophy incursion's Theme is a single idea at its core, for example: Hunger, Mirrors, Prophecy. Everything else in your incursion should tie into the Theme, directly or indirectly. Think about not only what your Theme is, but what it means and represents; Mirrors involve glass, light, and reflection, but they can also be associated with things revelation, self-criticism, or preparation. The idea of the evil doppelgänger in the mirror is also a well-worn trope. The more cohesively your incursion revolves around and ties into your Theme, the better, but you can be flexible or multi-faceted in the way you with it.

WHAT'S THE SCENARIO?

The default Trophy Dark scenario is that a bunch of desperate treasure hunters are entering a mighty, ancient, terrible forest that may be alive and wrathful, and twists the bodies and minds of those who fall in its grasp. They're going in search of the same valuable treasure, but each comes with their own motives, skills, and past. That treasure could be gold, ancient carvings, medication, lost works of contemporary art, the head of a deadly foe, etc. As they go further and further into the forest, their chances become bleaker, but the treasure becomes ever-more alluring. and yet, their pasts come to the fore... The key thing is thematic, almost operative descent into horrible doom, brought about partly by the forest but also by the hunters' own desires or hubris. Even if the hunters escape alive and even with treasure, they'll be forever changed.

That's the standard Trophy scenario, but you can replace it with whatever you like. If you go with Trophy, decide whether or not you want to use some of the official Trophy lore, and if so, look up Trophy Loom or the existing official incursions in various Codex instalments.

Some scenarios are looser, allowing the GM to weave the story flexibly around the characters, while others have a clear progression in story.

WHAT'S A RING?

Each Trophy Dark incursion is split into 5 Rings (Trophy Gold incursions are divided differently), and each Ring is part of the treasure-hunters' journey from the edge of the forest to their goal. Mechanically, each Ring is a set of a Terrors and Temptations, and the hunters must encounter at least one of each before they can move to the next Ring (they GM might have them encounter the same one more than once in different circumstance). Some incursions have lists of short entries for Terrors and Temptations, allowing the GM to pick one or more items from each list; others have fewer of each, but explore them more thoroughly, and tend to assume that the GM will run through all of them (or as many as possible). Terrors and Temptations escalate over the course of the incursion.

You might like to give each Ring its own title or a small introduction, or incorporate an introduction into its first Terror; alternatively, treat the Terrors and Temptations as a complete description of the Ring. Some incursions have clearly different Rings that are physically different places that the hunters travel through, while others have more gradual transitions from one to the next.

Terrors and Temptations very often include pointed questions and hard framing to put the hunters into a situation that demands a response and adds to their characterisation. The example screenshots from my incursion The Paperflesh Advent show one way to use (and clearly mark out) these questions.

WHAT'S A TERROR?

A Terror is a danger, either an active threat, a trap, harsh environments, the hostility of the forest itself, or other dangers. These can physically as well as mentally or spiritually harm the hunters; they can drive them together by making them confront a shared foe, but also give opportunity for selfish acts that pull them apart. The 'classic' incursion structure has these progressing from 'other treasure hunters' (or otherwise human enemies), through to wilderness dangers, through to outright monsters, with the Terrors of the final Ring being or including the hunters themselves turning on each other (e.g. to increase the size of their own cut of the treasure). However, you can create whichever Terrors you like, as long as they escalate from each Ring to the next.

WHAT'S A TEMPTATION?

A Temptation is a positive sign, something that motivates the treasure hunters to go further in. That could be stories, evidence, or fragments of treasure, or moments of rest and reflection that allow the hunters to psych themselves up for the next leg of the journey, or even the full treasure itself. The 'classic' incursion structure has these progressing from tales or sparse evidence of the treasure, through to solid evidence and clear direction, to fragments, to the treasure itself in the final Ring. However, you can create whichever Temptations you like, as long as they escalate from each Ring to the next.

WHAT'S A MOMENT?

A Moment is a scene-let, a little fragment that can either be used to add vivid colour to an existing scene or as a prompt for a whole scene in itself. These are often things that the hunters notice in the forest, but which aren't immediate threats by themselves, for example: strange omens, animal behaviours, the malevolent influence of the forest, and simply powerful little events, visuals etc. that express the Theme. It can be handy to have a mix of different types, some that work as ominous set dressing, others that invite the players to add more detail through their characters' actions.

WHAT'S A CONDITION?

A Condition is a clear effect of the forest's influence on the hunters (in other settings, there may be a clear entity like the forest, or Conditions could just be wear and tear, injuries, and/or mental trauma). When a hunter's Ruin score rises, the forest gains a further foothold and the hunter begins or continues to change. These changes can be physical, sensory, or psychological; it can be handy to have a mix so that GMs can easily play to different characters' differing stories. By default, you gain a new Condition each time you gain a point of Ruin, so each hunter's state is a combination of their Conditions suffered so far. However, some GMs will advance an existing Condition instead, making it more potent, visible, and harmful. You can write Conditions with both options in mind. At Ruin = 6, a hunter is fully claimed by the forest and transforms into a monster (who might then flee into the trees or turn on the party, but either way it'll be a big, dramatic moment).

WHAT ABOUT CHARACTER CREATION?

Special character creation options are optional for Trophy Dark in general, but they're recommended (if you have space in your trifold)—and, as always, tie them into your Theme. Each character has an Occupation (their job), Background (their former job or past), Drive (major motivation), and 0-3 Rituals (special powers; you start with 1 Ruin per Ritual). As with all other aspects of an incursion, any custom character creation options you include should tie into your Theme. Since many Trophy parties will be 2-4 players, you should have at least 4 Occupations, Backgrounds, and Drives, though you could have 5 or 6 for more variety.

OCCUPATIONS: these each have a name and typically give a character 2-3 skills (each with their own name). Skills are semi-freeform; sometimes it's obvious how they can apply to treasure-hunting in a malevolent forest (e.g. 'knives', 'tracking', 'herbcraft'), and at other times it's very much up to player interpretation (e.g. 'hollering', 'gardening', 'respite'). Some skills are more lyrical or abstract than others (e.g. 'stubbornness', 'vulnerability', ''). Skills are not mutually exclusive, and a character might even have multiple overlapping skills that also have their own unique uses or properties. 'Rituals' is a legitimate skill—that means a character is literally more skilled at performing Rituals. Examples: Hunter (skilled in bow and arrow, tracking, silence), Witch (skilled in herbcraft, rituals, appeals), Assassin (skilled in knives, poisons, secrecy).

BACKGROUNDS: these each have a name that explains what the hunter once was, and sometimes why they're not that any more. They tend to have 1 more skill associated with them. Examples: Vainglorious Officer (skilled in manipulation), Mutinous Sailor (skilled in agitation), Deceptive Oracle (skilled in lies).

DRIVES: these each succinctly explain a character's motives, but leave a lot of room for the players to build on them and make them uniquely their own. Some tie into the treasure directly, others into the prestige or respect, and others into the wealth they can get from bringing back treasure and selling it at a high price. They should all leave plenty of room for some 'who' / 'what' / 'when' / 'where' / 'how' / 'why' questions. Examples: Retire to the Rose Quarter of the City of Ambaret, Marry the proprietor of the House of Scalpels, Compose my elixir of immortality.

RITUALS: each Ritual is a terrible power that a hunter might call on, if they dare. Rituals have an evocative short name (usually a noun or verb) and a description of what they do. They often leave the 'how' up to the players and GM to collaboratively describe, including how a hunter performs a Ritual and how the Ritual achieves the described effect. Examples: Siphon (extract a liquid from a body), Lantern (light a path to treasure), Butcher (prepare any creature for safe consumption).

WHAT ABOUT THE POEM?

Many Trophy incursions start with a poem (sometimes short, sometimes long) that ties tightly to the Theme. This is completely optional, though! That said, you don't need to be an expert poet to give it a go.

WHAT ABOUT THE D66 TABLE?

Some Trophy incursions include tables (whether d6, d10, or other sizes) with setting- or scenario-specific details that the GM can easily roll and use. This can often take the form of a 'd66 table', a table of 36 entries numbered 11-16, 21-26, 31-36, 41-46, 51-56, and 61-66. You roll two six-sided dice and use one as the 10s digit and the other as the single digit. You might include a themed d66 table that could be handy for a GM to have when they run your incursion, but that's up to you.

This is really helpful. Thanks so much.