Raiders

in the
Dark ™
 Raiders in the Dark Version 0.5 (beta)
Legal Stuff
This work is based on Blades in the Dark (found at http://www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One
Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Com-
mons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Blades in the Dark™ is a trademark of One Seven Design. The Forged in the Dark Logo is © One Seven
Design, and is used with permission.
All parts of this work other than those derived from Blades in the Dark are © 2020 by David Rourke.
You may print a paper copy of the digital (PDF) version of this document for personal use. That means you
have express permission to make a copy on your printer or have the clerk at a copy shop print one for you.

Credits
u Game design and layout: David Rourke
u Play-testers: Eskur, Klebert Hall, Daniel SoilBuilder.
u Art: The images here were chosen from unsplash.com and pexels.com under a free use license. All have
been manipulated digitally and some have been composited from multiple images. The work of the
following artists is gratefully acknowledged: Daniel Adesina, Michael Anfangrrori, Pascal B., Bianca
Berg, Willian Justen de Vasconcellos, Tony Detroit, Nathan Dumlao, Mateus Campos Felipe, Henrique
Ferreira, Gigi (cover image), Samuele Giglio, Scot Goodhart, Brandon Green, K. Mitch Hodge, Daniel
Jensen, Maryna Khomenko, Darinka Kievskaya, Mario Klassen, Jr Korpa, Kayla Koss, Racheal Lomas,
Robert Lukeman, Mitchell Luo, Mohammad Metri, PhotoMIX Ltd., Ibrahim Rifath, Linus Sandvide,
Negan Scofield, Alexandru Silitra, Bobby Stevenson, Marek Szturc, Sean Thomas, Scott Umstattd, and
Hannah Xu.
u Typefaces: BlackBeard and Minion Pro.
u Software: Adobe Creative Suite and Google Sheets.
 Contents
1. The Basics 1 Fortune Rolls.............................................................19
Gathering Information......................................... 20
The Game........................................................................1
Investigation.................................................................. 21
The Setting........................................................................1
Examples and Questions............................................ 21
The Players........................................................................1
The Characters.................................................................1
The Crew.......................................................................... 2
2. Characters 23
Touchstones.................................................................... 2 Character Creation.................................................23
What You Need To Play................................................ 2 Choose a Playbook......................................................23
Game System.................................................................. 2 Choose a Heritage........................................................23
The Core System......................................................... 3 Choose a Background.................................................23
The Conversation........................................................... 3 Assign Four Action Dots............................................24
Judgment Calls............................................................... 3 Choose a Special Ability.............................................24
Rolling the Dice.............................................................. 3 Choose One Close Friend and One Rival..............24
Game Structure.............................................................. 5 Choose Your Reprieve................................................ 25
Actions and Attributes............................................. 6 Record Your Name and Look.................................... 25
Loadout..........................................................................26
Action Roll....................................................................... 6
Character Creation Summary................................... 27
Attribute Ratings............................................................ 6
Resistance Roll............................................................... 6 Armiger.......................................................... 29
Actions.............................................................................. 7 Artificer.......................................................... 33
Stress and Trauma..................................................... 8 Hunter.............................................................37
Stress................................................................................. 8 Mage................................................................41
Pushing Yourself............................................................. 8 Scholar.............................................................45
Trauma............................................................................. 8 Strategist........................................................ 48
Progress Clocks.......................................................... 9 Thief................................................................51
Simple Obstacles............................................................ 9 Standard Items..........................................................54
Action Roll................................................................. 10
Action Roll Summary..................................................12
Double-Duty Rolls......................................................12
3. The Crew 57
Crew Creation........................................................... 57
Effect.............................................................................13
Crew Upgrades.............................................................58
Assessing Effect Level..................................................14
Cohorts......................................................................... 60
Trading Position for Effect.........................................14
Cohort Harm and Healing.........................................62
Consequences............................................................... 15
Crew Creation Summary............................................63
Setting Position and Effect.................................. 15
Breakers.......................................................... 64
Consequences and Harm..................................... 15
Burglars.......................................................... 66
Reduced Effect..............................................................16
Complication................................................................16
Explorers........................................................ 68
Lost Opportunity.........................................................16 Scavengers...................................................... 70
Worse Position..............................................................16
Harm...............................................................................16 4. The Delve 73
Resistance and Armor............................................18 Barrows........................................................................73
Armor.............................................................................18 Known Barrows............................................................73
Death..............................................................................19 Barrow Tier...................................................................74
Planning and Engagement................................... 75 Advancement.............................................................96
First Complication....................................................... 75 PC Advancement.........................................................96
The Detail.......................................................................76 Crew Advancement.....................................................98
Item Loadouts...............................................................76 Profits.............................................................................99
Engagement Roll..........................................................76 Changing Playbooks or Crew Type.........................99
Outcomes...................................................................... 77 Bringing In New Player Characters..........................99
How long does it last?................................................. 77 Magnitude...................................................................99
Linked Plans.................................................................. 77
Flashbacks.....................................................................78 6. Downtime 103
Traversing....................................................................79 Payoff......................................................................... 103
Resting......................................................................... 80 Rep Earned................................................................. 103
Loot.............................................................................. 80 Coin Earned............................................................... 103
Finding Special Items..................................................82 Special Items.............................................................. 104
Using Found Special Items.........................................83 Trouble and Notoriety........................................ 106
Exiting the Delve......................................................83 Reducing Notoriety.................................................. 106
Contested Exit..............................................................83 Entanglements....................................................... 106
Operations..................................................................84 Downtime Activities............................................ 108
Travel............................................................................. 85 Acquire Asset............................................................. 109
Long-Term Project.................................................... 109
5. Playing the Game 87 Pray For Divine Assistance..................................... 110
Fiction First................................................................ 87 Recover........................................................................111
Player Best Practices.............................................. 87 Reduce Trouble..........................................................111
Train............................................................................. 112
Action Rolls...................................................................89
Teamwork................................................................... 90 Reprieve.................................................................... 112
Seeking Reprieve....................................................... 112
Assist.............................................................................. 90
Overload..................................................................... 112
Lead a Group Action.................................................. 90
Ignoring Reprieve..................................................... 113
Protect............................................................................ 91
Reprieve, Roleplaying, and XP............................... 113
Set Up............................................................................. 91
Take Point...................................................................... 91 Crafting..................................................................... 113
Is Teamwork Required?.............................................. 91 Researching................................................................ 113
PC vs. PC..................................................................... 91 Making........................................................................ 114
Sample Creations...................................................... 115
Coin and Stash..........................................................92
Carrying Items on a Delve...................................... 117
Coin................................................................................92
Mass Production....................................................... 117
Monetary Values..........................................................92
Downtime Activities In Play............................ 118
Coin Use........................................................................93
NPC and Faction Downtime.................................. 118
Stash and Retirement..................................................93
Downtime Activities Summary.............................. 119
Removing Coin From Your Stash.............................93
The Faction Game....................................................93
Tier..................................................................................93
7. Running the Game 121
Gang Scale By Tier.......................................................94 How To Be the Game Master............................121
Increasing Tier..............................................................94 Play Format.................................................................121
Faction Status................................................................94 GM Goals................................................................... 122
Faction Status With Temples..................................... 95 GM Actions................................................................ 123
Claims........................................................................... 95 GM Principles............................................................ 124
Edginess ..................................................................... 125
Themes and Tone...................................................... 125
Creating Barrows.................................................. 126
9. Athland 165
The Yethri................................................................. 165
Barrow Concept........................................................ 126
The Awakening........................................................... 165
The Barrow Fights Back............................................ 127
Barrow Structure....................................................... 129 The Land and People........................................... 165
Factions and Barrows................................................131 Climate and Terrain.................................................. 165
Handling an Unplanned Delve ...............................131 The People.................................................................. 166
Creating Encounters........................................... 132 Social Classes............................................................. 166
Sex, Gender, and Race............................................. 166
People.......................................................................... 132
Law and Order........................................................... 167
Monsters..................................................................... 132
Languages................................................................... 167
Creating Creatures and Inhabitants...................... 132
Time............................................................................. 167
Sample Encounters................................................... 135
Technology, Crafts, and Medicine......................... 167
Negotiation.............................................................. 138
War............................................................................... 168
Danger....................................................................... 139 Religion....................................................................... 168
Resistance................................................................... 139 Magic........................................................................... 169
Balance........................................................................ 140 Beasts and Monsters................................................. 169
Combat...................................................................... 140 Foreigners................................................................ 170
Traps and Obstacles............................................. 143 The Cambri................................................................. 170
PC Death.................................................................... 145 The Tanin Islands ...................................................... 170
Starting the Game................................................. 145 The Barony of Trenghall..................................... 172
Delve in Blackbarrow.......................................... 147 Locations.................................................................... 172
Continuing the Game...............................................151 Known Barrows......................................................... 173
Factions....................................................................... 173
8. Strange Things 153 Barrow Raider Jargon............................................... 179
Gods and Demons................................................ 153 Heard Around Trenghall......................................... 179
Encounters with Gods and Demigods.................. 153 Sources of Reprieve.................................................. 180
Demons....................................................................... 154 Random Barrows...................................................... 182
Random Barrow Encounters.................................. 183
Commitments........................................................ 154
Random Athland Encounters................................. 185
Creating and Expanding Commitments.............. 154
For Forged in the Dark Veterans.................... 186
Blood Magic............................................................... 155
Companion of the Black Rose................................ 156
Death Magic............................................................... 157
Devout......................................................................... 158
Feral............................................................................. 159
Rituals........................................................................ 160
Sample Rituals........................................................... 162
Chapter 1
The Basics
1. The Basics
The Game The Players
u Two to five players will take the role of player
Raiders in the Dark is a tabletop roleplaying characters (PCs) in the story. These are the pro-
game about a crew of desperate adventurers trying tagonists. The job of each player is to create and
to make their fortune by exploring strange places embody an engaging person who is desperate or
that fight back. Each barrow they enter is full of crazy enough to risk their lives, over and over, in
weird magic, terrifying creatures, and valuable loot. the terrifying weirdness of barrows.
In between delves, they must contend with com-
u One player will take the role of Game Master
peting crews, conniving factions, and the grinding
(GM). The job of the GM is to manage the world
fear that makes them wonder if the next expedition
around the player characters. This includes pre-
will be their last.
senting non-player characters (NPCs) and all

The Setting the important details about the land of Athland

and the barrows that the PCs explore. When the
Characters move between two settings in this PCs take risks or engage in conflicts with those
game: Athland, the regular world from which the they encounter, the GM manages the action
player characters come, and the barrows they go to and makes judgments about what happens.
explore. All the players work together to create a fun and
u Athland is a large island about two days sail engaging story.
eastward from the larger continent of Estrenta.
Until a generation ago, Athland was held under
magical thrall by rulers called the Yethri in
The Characters
The PCs are barrow raiders. They specialize in find-
a state called the Dreaming. Then, without
ing, entering, and looting the resources of barrows.
warning, they disappeared and the population
As they do so, they must manage relationships with
Awakened. There has been chaos, famine, war,
various NPC factions—any of which might seek to
and banditry since that time, although some
aid, hire, exploit, or destroy them.
semblance of order and hierarchy have been
achieved in many locations. There are several character playbooks to choose
u Barrows are bizarre, dangerous, magical places from, each of whom represents a different style or
that are strewn about the land. Each barrow specialization for a raider:
is haunted by a wight, who uses magic and Armiger Scholar
cunning to defend it from invasion. Barrows Artificer Strategist
also have traps, creatures, and monsters, as well Hunter Thief
as various kinds of valuables. A successful delve
Mage
into a barrow can yield great riches.
Players can choose whichever types they wish. It’s
fine if more than one player (or everyone) wants to
play the same type.

1
 The Crew If You’re Playing in Person
In addition to creating characters, the group will also u Six sided dice. Four or so per player is best. You
create a crew by choosing which sort of raiding the could also use a dice rolling app, but that’s less
group specializes in: tactile.
Breakers Explorers u A printed or easily accessed digital copy of this
book for reference.
Burglars Scavengers
u Printed copies of character sheets, crew sheets,
The type of crew you choose won’t keep you from and quick reference guides. You can find those
other kinds of activities, but it does provide you at this link: https://bit.ly/2zUEmJh
with a focus on what you are best at.
1. The Basics

u Blank paper, index cards, writing implements.

Touchstones If You’re Playing Online

u Conan (story series by Robert E. Howard). u A communication system. This could be via text
u Dungeons and Dragons (role playing game by chat, voice only, or audiovisual. There are many
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson). options available (see page 121).
u Elric of Melinboné (story series by Michael u A digital copy of these rules for reference.
Moorcock). u An online dice roller (you can use the roller built
u Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (story series by into the digital character sheets for the game).
Fritz Leiber). u Digital character sheets can be found and copied
u The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (story from this link: https://bit.ly/2zUEmJh
series by J.R.R. Tolkien).
u The Odyssey (epic poem by Homer). Game System
u Neverwhere (novel by Neil Gaiman). This game is derived from the Forged in the Dark
system by John Harper. Forged in the Dark was first
u Princess Mononoke (movie).
introduced in the game Blades in the Dark and has
u Raiders of the Lost Ark (movie). since expanded into a number of other games and
u The Witcher (story series by Andrzej Sapkowski, hacks. More information, resources, and a discus-
video roleplaying game series, and TV series). sion community can be found at bladesinthedark.
u Willow (movie). com.

Theme Song You don’t need to already know Blades in the Dark
u “Down In the Ground Where the Dead Men Go,” to play this game. This book includes all the rules
by The Pogues. you need to play.
But if you are familiar with Blades, you can find a
What You Need To Play list of how the rules in this game are different at the
What you need depends on how you play. Nowadays, end of the book on page 186.
people play games like this in two general ways.

2
The Core System u Which consequences are inflicted to manifest
the dangers in a given circumstance? Does this
fall from the roof break your leg? Do the guards
The Conversation merely become suspicious or do they already have
Most of the game is simply a matter of conversa- you trapped? The GM has final say.
tion among the players. The players each manage u Does this situation call for a dice roll, and which
the actions of a player character, saying what those one? Are you in position to make an action roll or
characters are doing and asking questions about must you first make a resistance roll to gain initia-
the world. The GM says what's happening in the tive? The GM has final say.

1. The Basics
world and asks questions about what the PCs are u Which events in the story match the experience
doing. As the PCs, the players interact with each triggers for character and crew advancement?
other and with non-player characters (NPCs) who Did you express your character’s beliefs, drives,
are usually played by the GM. The GM and the heritage, or background? You tell us. The players
other players together build consensus and make have final say.
judgments about what makes sense in the fictional
story being told. In the process, they collaborate in
making a story together, with the feeling of discov-
Rolling the Dice
Raiders in the Dark uses six-sided dice. You roll
ering the fiction, moment to moment, as it unfolds.
multiple dice at once and read the single highest
Because we don't know what will happen, no one is result. The other dice don't matter, but the more
in charge of the story. The GM doesn't know what dice you roll the better your chances of getting a
the players will do. The players don't know what good outcome.
will happen in the world around them or what the u If the highest die is a 6, it’s a full success—
other players will do. When we roll the dice, we things go well. If you roll more than one 6, it’s
introduce another element of uncertainty into the a critical success—you gain some additional
evolving fiction. Everyone has a degree of control, advantage.
while at the same time everyone has to let go and
u If the highest die is a 4 or 5, it’s a partial suc-
play the game to find out what will happen.
cess—you do what you were trying to do, but

Judgment Calls there are consequences: trouble, harm, reduced

effect, etc.
When you play, you’ll make several key judgment u If the highest die is 1–3, it’s a bad outcome.
calls. Everyone contributes, but there are some Things go poorly. You probably don’t achieve
specific decisions that either the GM or the players your goal and you suffer complications, too.
have final say on. If you ever need to roll but you have zero (or neg-
u Which actions are reasonable as a solution to ative) dice, roll two dice and take the single lowest
a problem? Can this person be swayed? Must we result. You can’t roll a critical when you have zero
get out the tools and tinker with this old rusty lock, dice.
or could it also be quietly finessed? Each player
All the dice systems in the game are expressions
can choose which action rating to use to try to
of this basic format. When you’re first learning
accomplish a problem.
the game, you can always “collapse” back down to
u How dangerous and how effective is a given a simple roll to judge how things go. Look up the
action in this circumstance? How risky is this? exact rule later when you have time.
Can this person be swayed very little or a whole
lot? The GM has final say over the position and The most common result is 4/5: partial success.
effect of an action that calls for a die roll. That means that PCs will usually succeed, but at a

3
 cost. Siometimes they get exactly what they want, or even more,
but most of the time, they will have to pay a cost. That's one of
the things this game is about—finding out what it costs for the
characters to succeed. Other times, the dice go against them and
they have to figure out what to do when their first attempt doesn't
work out or an opponent gets the upper hand.
To create a dice pool for a roll, you’ll use a trait (like your Finesse
or your Prowess or your crew’s Tier) and take dice equal to its
rating. You’ll usually end up with one to four dice. Even one die
is pretty good in this game—a 50% chance of success. The most
1. The Basics

common traits you’ll use are the action ratings of the player
characters. A player might roll dice for their Sway action rating
when negotiating with barrow raiders from another crew, for
example.
There are four types of rolls that you’ll use most often in the game:
u Action roll. When a PC attempts an action that’s dangerous
or troublesome, you make an action roll to find out how it
goes. Action rolls and their effects and consequences drive
most of the game.
u Downtime roll. When the PCs are at their leisure after a job,
they can perform downtime activities in relative safety. You
make downtime rolls to see how much they get done.
u Fortune roll. The GM can make a fortune roll to disclaim
decision making and leave something up to chance. How loyal
is an NPC? How much does the plague spread? How much
evidence is burned before the baron's troops kick in the door?
u Resistance roll. You can make a resistance roll when you
suffer a consequence you don’t like. The roll tells us how
much stress the character suffers to reduce the severity of a
consequence. When you resist that “Broken Leg” harm, you
take some stress and now it’s only a “Sprained Ankle” instead.

Dice Critical Success Partial Fail

0 0% 3% 22% 75%
1 0% 17% 33% 50%
2 3% 28% 44% 25%
3 7% 35% 45% 13%
4 13% 39% 42% 6%
5 20% 40% 37% 3%
6 26% 40% 32% 2%
If you're a numbers person, here's a table of probabilities for the
different outcomes, depending on how many dice you are rolling.
(From an analysis by Jeremy Friesen.)

4
Game Structure
Raiders in the Dark has a structure to play, with
Free Play
four parts. By default, the game is in free play— Character Scenes
characters talk to each other, they go places, they Actions and Consequences
do things, they make rolls as needed. Gather Information
When the group is ready, they choose a target
for their next delve, then choose a type of plan to
employ. This triggers the engagement roll (which Choose a Target

1. The Basics
establishes the situation as the delve starts) Choose a Plan
and then the game shifts into the delve phase.
Choose your load
(Sometimes, they might engage in an operation
away from a barrow. An operation works basi- Engagement Roll
cally the same as a delve.)
During the delve, the PCs make rolls, overcome
obstacles, call for flashbacks, traverse through Delve (or Operation)
the barrow, and complete the delve (successfully Actions and Consequences
or not). When the delve is finished, the game
Flashbacks
shifts into the downtime phase.
Traversal
During downtime, the GM engages the systems
Rest
for payoff, trouble, and entanglements, to
determine all the fallout from the delve. Then Exit
the PCs each get their downtime activities, such as
seeking reprieve to remove stress or working on
a long-term project. When downtime activities
are complete, the game returns to free play and
the cycle starts over again.
Downtime
The phases are a conceptual model to help you Payoff
organize the game. They’re not meant to be rigid
Trouble and Entanglements
structures that restrict your options. Think of the
phases as a menu of options to fit whatever it is Downtime Activities
you’re trying to accomplish in play and to allow
for the progression of time for the crew. Each
phase suits a different goal.

5
 Actions and If there’s no danger or trouble at hand, you don’t
make an action roll. You might make a fortune roll

Attributes or a downtime roll or the GM will simply say that

you accomplish your goal without any roll.
There are 12 actions in the game that the player
characters use to overcome obstacles. Attribute Ratings
Each action has a rating (from zero There are three attributes in the game Insight
Attune system that the player characters use Prowess
to four) that tells you how many Command to resist bad consequences: Insight, Resolve
dice to roll when you perform that Consort
1. The Basics

action. Action ratings don’t just Finesse

Prowess, and Resolve. Each attribute
represent skill or training—you’re Hunt has a rating (from zero to 4) that tells you how
free to describe how your character Prowl many dice to roll when you use that attribute.
Skirmish
performs that action based on the Study The rating for each attribute is equal to the number
type of person they are. Maybe Survey of dots in the first column under that attribute
your character is good at Com- Sway (see the examples, below). The more well-rounded
mand because they have a scary Tinker your character is with a particular set of actions, the
stillness to them, while another Wreck
better their attribute rating.
character barks orders and intimi-
dates people with their military bearing.
Resistance Roll
You choose which action to perform to overcome Each attribute resists a different type of danger. If
an obstacle, by describing what your character you get stabbed, for example, you resist physical
does. Actions that are poorly suited to the situation harm with your Prowess rating. Resistance rolls
may be less effective and may put the character in always succeed—you diminish or deflect the bad
more danger, but they can still be attempted. Usu- result—but the better your roll, the less stress it
ally, when you perform an action, you’ll make an costs to reduce or avoid the danger.
action roll to see how it turns out.
When the enemy has a big advantage, you’ll need
Action Roll to make a resistance roll before you can take your
own action. For example, when you duel the mas-
You make an action roll when your character does ter sword-fighter, she disarms you before you can
something potentially dangerous or troublesome. strike—unless you make a resistance roll to keep
The possible results of the action roll depend on hold of your blade.
your character’s position. Position identifies how
dangerous the action is: if it goes poorly, how bad will The GM judges the threat level of the enemies and
it be? uses these “preemptive” resistance rolls as needed
to reflect the capabilities of especially dangerous
There are three positions: controlled, risky, and foes.
desperate. If you’re in a controlled position, the
risk is low. If you’re in a desperate position, the Find out more about resistance rolls on page 18.
consequences can be severe. If you’re somewhere
in between, it’s risky—usually considered the
“default” position for most actions.

6
Actions
u When you Attune, you open yourself to magical Example Action and Attribute Ratings
power.
INSIGHT This character has a
You might communicate with a strange, ghostly
being or try to figure out whether an item you’ve
• • • • Hunt Hunt action rating
of 1 and Insight
found is magical. You could try to perceive beyond • • • • Study attribute rating is 1
sight in order to better understand your situation • • • • Survey (the first column of
dots).
(but Surveying might be better). Those with mag- • • • • Tinker
ical training can Attune to cast spells and achieve PROWESS

1. The Basics
The character
other occult effects.
When you Command, you compel swift obe-
• • • • Finesse also has Prowl 1,
Skirmish 2, and a
u
dience. • • • • Prowl Prowess attribute

You might intimidate or threaten to get what you

• • • • Skirmish rating of 2.

want. You might lead a gang in a group action. You • • • • Wreck
could try to order people around to persuade them RESOLVE
(but Consorting might be better). • • • • Attune
u When you Consort, you socialize with friends • • • • Command
and contacts. • • • • Consort
You might gain access to resources, information,
people, or places. You might make a good impres-
• • • • Sway
sion or win someone over with your charm and u When you Prowl, you traverse skillfully and
style. You might make new friends or connect with quietly.
your heritage or background. You could try to
manipulate your friends with social pressure (but You might sneak past a guard or hide in the shad-
Sway might be better). ows. You might run and leap across the rooftops. You
might attack someone from hiding with a back-stab
u When you Finesse, you employ dexterous or blackjack. You could try to waylay a victim in the
manipulation or subtle misdirection. midst of battle (but Skirmishing might be better).
You might pick someone’s pocket. You might handle u When you Skirmish, you engage a target in
the controls of a vehicle or direct a mount. You close, brutal combat.
might formally duel an opponent with graceful
fighting arts. You could try to employ those arts in You might brawl or wrestle. You might hack and
a chaotic melee (but Skirmishing might be better). slash or slam with the edge of your shield. You
You could try to pick a lock (but Tinkering might might seize or hold a position in battle. You could
be better). try to fight in a formal duel (but Finessing might
be better).
u When you Hunt, you carefully track a target.
u When you Study, you scrutinize details and
You might follow a target or discover their location. interpret evidence.
You might arrange an ambush. You might attack
with precision shooting from a distance. You could You might gather information from documents and
try to bring your weapon to bear in a melee (but books. You might do research on an esoteric topic.
Skirmishing might be better). You might closely analyze a person to detect lies
or true feelings. You could try to examine events
to understand a pressing situation (but Surveying
might be better).

7
 u When you Survey, you observe the situation
and anticipate outcomes. Stress and Trauma
You might spot telltale signs of trouble before it
happens. You might uncover opportunities or Stress
weaknesses. You might detect a person’s motivations Player characters in Raiders in the Dark have a
or intentions. You could try to spot a good ambush special reserve called stress. When they suffer a
point (but Hunting might be better). consequence that they don’t want to accept, they
u When you Sway, you influence with guile, can take stress instead. The result of the resistance
charm, or argument. roll determines how much stress it costs to avoid a
bad outcome.
1. The Basics

You might lie convincingly. You might persuade

someone to do what you want. You might argue a During a knife fight, Daniel’s character, Cross, gets
compelling case that leaves no clear rebuttal. You stabbed in the chest. Daniel rolls his Prowess rating
could try to trick people into affection or obedience to resist, and gets a 2. It costs 6 stress, minus 2 (the
(but Consorting or Commanding might be better). result of the resistance roll) to resist the consequences.
u When you Tinker, you fiddle with devices and Daniel marks off 4 stress and describes how Cross
mechanisms. survives.
You might create a new item or alter an existing The GM rules that the harm is reduced by the resis-
item. You might pick a lock or crack a safe. You tance roll, but not avoided entirely. Cross suffers level
might disable an alarm or trap. You could try to use 1 harm (“Cut Across Chest”) instead of level 3 harm
your technical expertise to control a chariot (but (“Punctured Lung”).
Finessing might be better).
u When you Wreck, you unleash savage force. Pushing Yourself
You might smash down a door or wall with a You can use stress to push yourself for greater
sledgehammer, or use an explosive to do the same. performance. For each bonus you choose below,
You might employ chaos or sabotage to create a take 2 stress (each can be chosen once for a given
distraction or overcome an obstacle. You could try action):
to overwhelm an enemy with sheer force in battle u Add +1d to your roll. (This may be used for an
(but Skirmishing might be better). action roll or downtime roll or any other kind of
As you can see, many actions overlap with others. roll where extra effort would help you).
This is by design. As a player, you get to choose u Add +1 level to your effect.
which action you roll, by saying what your char- u Take action when you’re incapacitated.
acter does. Can you try to Wreck someone during
a fight? Sure! The GM tells you the position and
effect level of your action in this circumstance. As it
Trauma
says, Skirmish might be better (less risky or more When a PC marks their last stress box, they suffer
effective), depending on the situation at hand a level of trauma. When you take trauma, circle
(sometimes it won’t be better). one of your trauma conditions like Cold, Reckless,
Unstable, etc. They’re all described below.
When you suffer trauma, you’re taken out of
action. You’re “left for dead” or otherwise dropped
out of the current conflict, only to come back later,
shaken and drained. When you return, you have
zero stress and your reprieve has been satisfied for
the next downtime.
8
Trauma conditions are permanent. Your charac- A complex obstacle is a 4-segment clock. A more
ter acquires the new personality quirk indicated by complicated obstacle is a 6-clock. A daunting
the condition, and can earn xp by using it to cause obstacle is an 8-clock.
trouble. When you mark your fourth trauma
When you create a clock, make it about the obsta-
condition, your character cannot continue as a
cle, not the method. The clocks for an infiltration
barrow raider. The character must retire to a differ-
should be “Interior Patrols” and “The Tower,” not
ent life.
“Sneak Past the Guards” or “Climb the Tower.” The
Trauma Conditions patrols and the tower are the obstacles­—the PCs
can attempt to overcome them in a variety of ways.
Cold: You’re not moved by emotional appeals

1. The Basics
u
or social bonds. Complex enemy threats can be broken into several
u Haunted: You’re often lost in reverie, reliving “layers,” each with its own progress clock. For
past horrors, seeing things. example, the blue men’s lair might have a “Perime-
ter Security” clock, an “Interior Guards” clock, and
u Obsessed: You’re enthralled by one thing: an
an “All Hands Alert” clock. The crew would have to
activity, a person, an ideology.
make their way through all three layers to reach the
u Paranoid: You imagine danger everywhere; blue men’s cache of magical books and artifacts.
you can’t trust others.
u Reckless: You have little regard for your own Remember that a clock tracks progress. It reflects
safety or best interests. the fictional situation, so the group can gauge how
they’re doing. A clock is like a speedometer in a
u Soft: You lose your edge; you become senti-
car. It shows the speed of the vehicle—it doesn’t
mental, passive, gentle.
determine the speed.
u Unstable: Your emotional state is volatile. You
can instantly rage, or fall into despair, act impul-
sively, or freeze up.
Simple Obstacles
u Vicious: You seek out opportunities to hurt Not every situation and obstacle requires a clock.
people, even for no good reason. Use clocks when a situation is complex or layered
and you need to track something over time—

Progress Clocks otherwise, resolve the result of an action with a

single roll.
A progress clock is a circle divided Examples of progress clocks follow, but this is not
into segments (see examples at an exhaustive list. Use clocks however you want, in
right). Draw a progress clock when whatever way makes sense.
you need to track ongoing effort
against an obstacle or the approach Danger Clocks
of impending trouble. The GM can use a clock to represent a progressive
Sneaking into the watch tower? Make danger, like suspicion growing during a seduction,
a clock to track the alert level of the the proximity of a monster closing in on a fleeing
patrolling guards. When the PCs PC, or the alert level of guards on patrol. In this
suffer consequences from partial suc- case, when a complication occurs, the GM ticks
cesses or missed rolls, fill in segments one, two, or three segments on the clock, depend-
on the clock until the alarm is raised. ing on the consequence level. When the clock is
full, the danger comes to fruition—the monster
Generally, the more complex the problem, the
catches up, activate an alarm, release the hounds,
more segments in the progress clock.
etc.

9
 Racing Clocks clock is also perfect for an ongoing turf war between
two crews or factions.
Create two opposed clocks to represent a race. The
PCs might have a progress clock called “Escape” Long-term Project
while the soldiers have a clock called “Cornered.”
If the PCs finish their clock before the soldiers fill Some projects will take a long time. A basic long-
theirs, they get away. Otherwise, they’re cornered term project (like tinkering up a new feature for a
and can’t flee. If both complete at the same time, the device) is eight segments. Truly long-term projects
PCs escape to their base, but the hunting soldiers (like creating a new alchemical concoction) can be
are right behind them! two, three, or even four clocks, representing all the
phases of development, testing, and final comple-
1. The Basics

You can also use racing clocks for an environmental tion. Add or subtract clocks depending on the details
hazard. Maybe the PCs are trying to complete the of the situation and complexity of the project.
“Search” clock to find the lockbox on the sinking
ship before the GM fills the “Sunk” clock and the A long-term project is a good catch-all for dealing
vessel goes down. with any unusual player goal, including things that
circumvent or change elements of the mechanics or
Linked Clocks the setting.
You can make a clock that unlocks another clock Faction Clocks
once it’s filled. For example, the GM might make a
linked clock called “Trapped” after an “Alert” clock Each faction has one or more long-term goals.
fills up. When you fight a veteran warrior, she might When the PCs have downtime, the GM ticks for-
have a clock for her “Defense” and then a linked ward the faction clocks that they’re interested in. In
clock for “Vulnerable.” Once you overcome the this way, the world around the PCs is dynamic and
“Defense” clock, then you can attempt to overcome things happen that they’re not directly connected
the “Vulnerable” clock and defeat her. You might to, changing the overall situation in the region and
affect the “Defense” clock with violence in a knife- creating new opportunities and challenges.
fight, or you lower her defense with deception if The PCs may also directly affect NPC faction
you have the opportunity. As always, the method clocks, based on the missions and scores they pull
of action is up to the players and the details of the off. Discuss known faction projects that they might
fiction at hand. aid or interfere with, and also consider how a PC
operation might affect the NPC clocks, whether the
Mission Clocks players intended it or not.
The GM can make a clock for a time-sensitive mis-
sion, to represent the window of opportunity you
have to complete it. If the countdown runs out, the Action Roll
mission is scrubbed or changes—the target escapes, When a player character does something challeng-
the household wakes up for the day, etc. ing, we make an action roll to see how it turns out.
An action is challenging if there’s an obstacle to the
Tug-of-war Clocks PC’s goal that’s dangerous or troublesome in some
You can make a clock that can be filled and emptied way. We don’t make an action roll unless the PC is
by events, to represent a back-and-forth situation. put to the test. If their action is something that we’d
You might make a “Revolt!” clock that indicates expect them to simply accomplish, then we don’t
when the peasants start to riot over poor treatment. make an action roll.
Some events will tick the clock up and some will tick
it down. Once it fills, the revolt begins. A tug-of-war

10
 Each game group will have their own ideas about below and picks one that most closely matches the
what “challenging” means. This is good! It’s some- situation at hand.
thing that establishes the tone and style of your
By default, an action roll is risky. You wouldn’t
game.
be rolling if there was no risk involved. If the situa-
To make an action roll, we go through six steps. In tion seems more dangerous, make it desperate. If it
play, they flow together somewhat, but let’s break seems less dangerous, make it controlled.
each one down here for clarity.
1. The player states the goal for the action.
4. The GM Sets the Effect Level
2. The player chooses the action rating. The GM assesses the likely effect level of this

1. The Basics
action, given the factors of the situation. Essen-
3. The GM sets the position for the roll.
tially, the effect level tells us “how much” this
4. The GM sets the effect level for the action. action can accomplish: will it have limited, stan-
5. Add bonus dice. dard, or great effect?
6. The player rolls the dice and we judge the The GM’s choices for effect level and position can be
result. strongly influenced by the player’s choice of action
1. The Player States The Goal rating. If a player wants to try to make a new friend
by Wrecking something—well…maybe that’s
The goal is the concrete outcome you will achieve possible, but the GM wouldn’t be crazy to say it’s
if the obstacle at hand is overcome. Usually the a desperate roll and probably limited effect. Seems
goal is pretty obvious in context, but it’s the GM’s like Consorting would be a lot better for that. The
job to ask and clarify the goal when necessary. players are always free to choose the action they
“You’re punching him in the face, right? Okay… perform, but that doesn’t mean all actions should
what do want to get out of this? Do you want to be equally risky or potent.
take him out, or just rough him up so he’ll do what
you want?” 5. Add Bonus Dice
You can normally get two bonus dice for your
2. The Player Chooses action roll (some special abilities might give you
the Action Rating additional bonus dice).
The player chooses which action rating to roll, fol- For one bonus die, you can get assistance from a
lowing from what the character is doing on-screen. teammate. The assistant takes 1 stress, says how
If you want to roll your Skirmish action, then get in they help you, and gives you +1d.
a fight. If you want to roll your Command action,
then order someone around. You can’t roll a given For another bonus die, you can either push your-
action rating unless your character is presently self (take 2 stress) or you can accept a Devil’s
performing that action in the fiction. Bargain (you can’t get dice for both, it’s one or
the other).
3. The GM Sets the Position
The Devil’s Bargain
Once the player chooses the action rating to use,
the GM sets the position for the roll. The position PCs in Raiders are reckless adventurers who take
represents how dangerous or troublesome the terrible chances—they don’t always act in their
action might be. There are three positions: con- own best interests. To reflect this, the GM or any
trolled, risky, and desperate. To choose a posi- other player can offer you a bonus die if you accept
tion, the GM looks at the profiles for the positions a Devil’s Bargain.

11
 Common Devil’s Bargains include: can inflict one or more of these consequences,
u Collateral damage or unintended harm. depending on the circumstances of the action roll.
PCs have the ability to avoid or reduce the severity
u Sacrifice coin or an item.
of consequences that they suffer by resisting them.
u Betray a friend or loved one.
When you narrate the action after the roll, the
u Offend or anger a faction.
GM and player collaborate together to say what
u Start or tick a troublesome clock. happens on-screen. Tell us how you vault across to
u Add trouble to the crew due to evidence or wit- the other rooftop. Tell us what you say to the guard
nesses. captain to convince her. The GM will tell us how she
Suffer harm. reacts. When you face the Bluejack duelist, what’s your
1. The Basics

The Devil’s Bargain occurs regardless of the out- fighting style like? Etc.
come of the roll. You make the deal, pay the price,
and get the bonus die. Action Roll Summary
The Devil’s Bargain is always a free choice. If you u A player or GM calls for a roll. Make an action
don’t like one, just reject it (or suggest how to alter roll when the character performs a dangerous
it so you might consider taking it). You can always or troublesome action.
just push yourself for that bonus die instead. u The player chooses the action rating to roll.
Choose the action that matches what the char-
If it’s ever needed, the GM has final say over which acter is doing in the fiction.
Devil’s Bargains are valid.
u The GM establishes the position and effect
6. Roll the Dice and Judge the Result level of the action. The choice of position and
effect is influenced strongly by the player’s
Once the goal, action rating, position, and effect
choice of action.
have been established, add any bonus dice and
roll the dice pool to determine the outcome. (See u Add up to two bonus dice. 1) Assistance from
the sets of possible outcomes, by position, in the a teammate. 2) Push yourself (take 2 stress) or
table.) accept a Devil’s Bargain.
u Roll the dice pool and judge the outcome. The
The action roll does a lot of work for you. It tells players and GM narrate the action together. The
you how well you perform as well as how serious GM has final say over what happens and inflicts
the consequences are in the event of failure or consequences as called for by the position and
partial success. You might succeed at your action the result of the roll.
without any consequences (on a 6), or you might
succeed but suffer consequences (on a 4/5), or it
might just all go wrong (on a 1–3).
Double-Duty Rolls
Since NPCs don’t roll for their actions, an action
On a 1–3, it’s up to the GM to decide if the PC’s roll does double-duty: it resolves the action of the
action has any effect or not, or if it even happens PC as well as any NPCs that are involved. The
at all. Usually, the action just fails completely, but single roll tells us how those actions interact and
in some circumstances, it might make sense or be which consequences result. On a 6, the PC wins
more interesting for the action to have some effect and accomplishes the goal (the effect). On a 4/5,
even on a 1–3 result. it’s a mix—both the PC and the NPC accomplish
Each 4/5 and 1–3 outcome lists suggested something (effect + consequence). On a 1–3, the
consequences for the character. The worse your NPC wins and imposes a consequence on the PC.
position, the worse the consequences are. The GM

12
Action Roll
1d for each action rating dot. Controlled
You act on your terms. You exploit a dominant advantage.
+1d if you have assistance.
Critical: You do it with increased effect.
+1d if you push yourself 6: You do it.
–or– you accept a devil’s
bargain. 4/5: You hesitate. Withdraw and try a different approach, or else do it with a
minor consequence: a minor complication occurs, you have reduced effect, you
suffer harm, you end up in a risky position.
1-3: You falter. Press on by seizing a risky opportunity, or withdraw and try a

1. The Basics
different approach.

Risky
You go head to head. You act under fire. You take a chance.
Critical: You do it with increased effect.
6: You do it.
4/5: You do it, but there’s a consequence: you suffer harm, a complication
occurs, you have reduced effect, you end up in a desperate position.
1-3: Things go badly. You suffer harm, a complication occurs, you end up in a
desperate position, you lose this opportunity

Desperate
You overreach your capabilities. You’re in serious trouble.
Critical: You do it with increased effect.
6: You do it.
4/5: You do it, but there’s a consequence: you suffer severe harm, a serious
complication occurs, you have reduced effect.
1-3: It’s the worst outcome. You suffer severe harm, a serious complication
occurs, you lose this opportunity for action.

Effect Effect Levels Ticks

Your character achieves goals by taking actions and
facing consequences. How many actions does it You achieve more than usual. How
take to achieve a particular goal? That depends on
Great does the extra effort manifest? What 3
additional benefit do you gain?
the effect level of what you are attempting.
The GM judges the effect level using these effect You achieve what we’d expect as
level profiles. Which one best matches the action Standard “normal” with this action. Is that 2
enough, or is there more left to do?
at hand­­—great, standard, or limited? Each
effect level indicates the questions that should You achieve a partial or weak effect.
be answered for that effect, as well as how many How is your efficacy diminished?
Limited What effort remains to achieve your 1
segments to tick if you’re using a progress clock.
goal?

13
 Assessing Effect Level If a PC special ability gives “+1 effect,” it comes into
play after the GM has assessed the effect level. For
To assess effect level, first start with your gut feel- example, if you ended up with zero effect, the +1
ing, given this situation. If you’re not sure, assume effect bonus from your Bodyguard ability would
standard effect. Then, if needed, consider three bump them up to limited effect.
factors that may modify the effect level: potency,
scale, and quality. If the PC has an advantage in a Also, remember that a PC can push themselves
given factor, consider a higher effect level. If they (take 2 stress) to get +1 effect on their action.
have a disadvantage, consider a reduced effect level. For a master table of factor examples, see
Magnitude on page  99. Every factor won’t
Potency
1. The Basics

always apply to every situation. You don’t have

Potency considers particular weaknesses, taking to do an exact accounting every time, either. Use
extra time or a bigger risk, or the influence of out- the factors to help you make a stronger judgment
side powers. An infiltrator is more potent if all the call— don’t feel beholden to them
lights are extinguished and they move about in the
dark. When There Is One Dominant Factor
Sometimes, there are different factors that all
Quality/Tier combine together for a final effect level. But not
Quality represents the effectiveness of tools, necessarily. Sometimes one factor is so great or so
weapons, or other resources, usually summarized important that it’s the only significant consider-
by Tier. Fine items count as +1 bonus in quality, ation. It overrides any others.
stacking with Tier.
For example, if you’re fighting a band of 20 war-
Halen is picking the lock to a manor house. Her riors by yourself, it doesn’t matter that you have a
crew is Tier I and she has fine lockpicks—so she’s fine blade—the scale of their numbers completely
effectively Tier II. The faction that owns the manor overwhelms any value you might usually gain from
is Tier III. Halen is outclassed in quality, so her having a well made weapon.
effect upon achieving success will be limited on the
lock. What does that mean? Maybe picking the lock
requires a series of actions (a clock), and a success
Trading Position for Effect
only ticks one segment. Or she can’t open the lock After factors are considered and the GM has
without setting off a trap—she can’t do both. announced the effect level, a player might want to
trade position for effect, or vice versa. For instance,
Scale if they’re going to make a risky roll with standard
Scale represents the number of opponents, size effect (the most common scenario, generally), they
of an area covered, size of a monster, scope of might instead want to push their luck and make a
influence, etc. Larger scale can be an advantage or desperate roll but with great effect.
disadvantage depending on the situation. In battle, This kind of trade-off isn’t included in the effect
more people are usually better. When infiltrating, factors because it’s not an element the GM should
more people are usually a hindrance. assess when setting the effect level. Once the level
is set, though, you can always offer the trade-off to
Range of Effect Levels the player if it makes sense in the situation.
When considering factors, effect level might be
reduced below limited, resulting in zero effect—
or increased beyond great, resulting in an extreme
effect.

14
 Player: “I Prowl across the courtyard and vault u She fights the gang from a choke-point, such as a
over the wall, hiding in the shadows by the crate of narrow alleyway where their numbers can’t over-
relics.” whelm her at once. She’s not threatened by several
GM: “I don’t think you can make it across in one at once, so her risk is similar to a one-on-one fight,
quick dash. The size of the courtyard is a factor here, but there’s still a whole gang of enemies to deal with,
so your effect will be limited. Let’s say you can get so her effect is reduced (Risky / Limited).
halfway across with this action, then you’ll have to u She doesn’t fight the gang, instead trying to maneu-
Prowl through the other half of the space (and the ver her way past them and escape. She’s still under
rest of the guards there) to reach the other side.” threat from many enemy attacks, so her position is

1. The Basics
Player: “I didn’t realize it was that far. Hmmm. worse, but if the ground is open and the gang can’t
Okay, what if I just go as fast as I can. Can I get all easily corral her, then her effect for escaping isn’t
the way across if I make a desperate roll?” reduced (Desperate / Standard). If she had some
immediate means of escape (like leaping onto a
GM: “Yep, sounds good to me!” speeding carriage), then her effect might even be
increased (Desperate / Great).
Consequences u The gang isn’t aware of her yet—she’s set up in
When a PC suffers an effect from an enemy or a position on a nearby roof with her repeating cross-
dangerous situation, it’s called a consequence. bow. She takes a shot against one of them. Their
Consequences are the companion to effects. PCs greater numbers aren’t a factor, so her effect isn’t
have effect on the world around them and they suf- reduced, and she’s not immediately in any danger
fer consequences in return from the risks they face. (Controlled / Great). Maybe instead she wants to
fire off a salvo of suppressing fire against the whole

Setting Position gang, in which case their scale applies (Controlled

/ Limited). If the gang is on guard for potential

and Effect trouble, her position is more dangerous (Risky /

Great). If the gang is alerted to her shots, then the
effect may be reduced further, as they scatter and
The GM sets position and effect for an action roll
take cover (Risky / Limited). If the gang is able to
at the same time, after the player says what they’re
shoot back while they fall back to a safe position,
doing and chooses their action. Usually, Risky/
then things are even worse for our hero (Desperate
Standard is the default combination, modified by
/ Limited).
the action being used, the strength of the opposi-
tion, and the effect factors.
The ability to set position and effect as independent Consequences and
variables gives you nine combinations to choose
from, to help you convey a wide array of fictional
circumstances.
Harm
Enemy actions, bad circum-
stances, or the outcome of a Reduced Effect
For example, if a character is facing off alone against a Complication
small enemy gang, the situation might be: roll can inflict consequences Lost Opportunity
on a PC. There are five types Worse Position
u She fights the gang straight up, rushing into their
of consequences (at right). Harm
midst, hacking away in a wild Skirmish attack. In
this case, being threatened by the larger force lowers A given circumstance might
her position to indicate greater risk, and the scale of result in one or more consequences, depend-
the gang reduces her effect (Desperate / Limited). ing on the situation. The GM determines the

15
 consequences, following from the fiction and the
style and tone established by the game group.
Lost Opportunity
This consequence represents shifting circumstance.

Reduced Effect You had an opportunity to achieve your goal with

this action, but it slips away. To try again, you need
This consequence represents impaired perfor- a new approach—usually a new form of action
mance. The PC’s action isn’t as effective as they’d or a change in circumstances. Maybe you tried to
anticipated. You hit him, but it’s only a flesh wound. Skirmish with the noble to trap her on the balcony,
She accepts the forged invitation, but she’ll keep but she evades your maneuver and leaps out of
her eye on you throughout the night. You’re able reach. If you want to trap her now you’ll have to
1. The Basics

to scale the wall, but it’s slow going—you’re only try another way—maybe by Swaying her with your
halfway up. This consequence essentially reduces roguish charm.
the effect level of the PC’s action by one after all
other factors are accounted for. Worse Position
Complication This consequence represents losing control of
the situation—the action carries you into a more
This consequence represents trouble, mounting dangerous position. Perhaps you make the leap
danger, or a new threat. The GM might introduce across to the next rooftop, only to end up dangling
an immediate problem that results from the action by your fingertips. You haven’t failed, but you
right now: the room catches fire, you’re disarmed, haven’t succeeded yet, either. You can try again,
the crew takes +1 trouble from evidence or wit- re-rolling at the new, worse position. This is a good
nesses, you lose status with a faction, the target consequence to choose to show escalating action.
evades you and now it’s a chase, reinforcements A situation might go from controlled, to risky, to
arrive, etc. desperate as the action plays out and the PC gets
deeper and deeper in trouble.
Or the GM might tick a clock for the complication,
instead. Maybe there’s a clock for the alert level of
the guards at the manor. Or maybe the GM creates Harm
a new clock for the suspicion of the noble guests at This consequence represents a significant debility
the masquerade party and ticks it. Fill one tick on (or death). When you suffer harm, record the
a clock for a minor complication or two ticks for a specific injury on your character sheet equal to the
standard complication. level of harm you suffer. If you suffer lesser harm,
A serious complication is more severe: reinforce- record it in the bottom row. If you suffer moderate
ments surround and trap you, the room catches harm, write it in the middle row. If you suffer severe
fire and falling ceiling beams block the door, your harm, record it in the top row. See examples of
weapon is broken, the crew suffers +2 trouble, harm and the harm tracker, below.
your target escapes out of sight, etc. Fill three ticks Your character suffers the penalty indicated at the
on a clock for a serious complication. end of the row if any or all harm recorded in that
Don’t inflict a complication that negates a success- row applies to the situation at hand. So, if you have
ful roll. If a PC tries to corner an enemy and gets a “Drained” and “Battered” harm in the bottom row,
4/5, don’t say that the enemy escapes. The player’s you’ll suffer reduced effect when you try to run
roll succeeded, so the enemy is cornered…maybe away from the guards. When you’re impaired by
the PC has to wrestle them into position and during harm in the top row (severe harm, level 3), your
the scuffle the enemy grabs their weapon. character is incapacitated and can’t do anything

16
unless you have help from someone else or push such as magic or divine intervention. Sometimes,
yourself to perform the action. however, it makes sense for an instance of harm
to be identified as short-term. If the GM tells
Harm you harm is short-term, put an asterisk (*) next to
Need it when you write it on the harm tracker on your
3 Shattered Right Leg Help character sheet. The GM will tell you how the harm
2 -1d can be cleared:
u Until you catch your breath: The harm will last
Reduced
1 Drained Battered Effect
until you have a short time out of action to get

1. The Basics
yourself back together. You’ll recover from being
This character has three harm boxes marked: a Winded when you get a few minutes to breathe.
“Shattered Right Leg” (level 3) plus “Drained” and
u Until you rest: If the crew takes a Rest during
“Battered” (level 1). If the character suffers another
the delve (page 79), that will clear most kinds
level 1 harm, it will move up to level 2.
of short-term harm. You’ll recover from being
If you need to mark a harm level, but the row is Panicked after a rest.
already filled, the harm moves up to the next row u Time: The harm will last for a set period of
above. So, if you suffered standard harm (level 2) time. After imbibing all that whiskey you’re going
but had no empty spaces in the second row, you’d to be Drunk for a couple of hours.
have to record severe harm (level 3), instead. If you u Special action: There might be some action
run out of spaces on the top row and need to mark that needs to be taken to clear the harm. Your
harm there, your character suffers a catastrophic, arm will be Swollen until you take the sting anti-
permanent consequence (loss of a limb, sudden dote. Generally, if you don’t manage to take the
death, etc., depending on the circumstances). necessary action during the delve, temporary
harm will either be cleared automatically at
Harm Examples the beginning of downtime or transition into
u Fatal (4): Decapitated, Drowned, Stabbed in the long-term harm that can be cleared by seeking
heart. treatment during downtime. In some cases, you
u Severe (3): Impaled, Broken Leg, Arrow Shaft In might take some unusual kind of harm that can’t
Chest, Badly Burned, Cowering in Fear. be healed except through some special activity.
u Moderate (2): Exhausted, Deep Cut to Arm, You will have a Weakened Soul until an appropri-
Concussion, Panicked, Seduced. ate ritual is cast.
u Lesser (1): Battered, Drained, Distracted, Scared, Level 2 or 3 short-term harm can be either cleared
Confused, Charmed. or reduced a level. For example, level 2 Terrified
Harm like “Drained” or “Exhausted” can be a might be reduced after a rest to level 1 Edgy. The
good fall-back consequence if there’s nothing else reduced harm could itself either be long- or short-
physically threatening a PC (like when they spend term.
all night Studying those old books, looking for The GM has final say over what kinds of harm
any clues to their enemy’s weaknesses before he should be short- or long-term, and how short-term
strikes). harm can be cleared or reduced.

Long- and Short-Term Harm

By default, harm is long-term. That means it con-
tinues until it is healed via Recovery in downtime
(see page  111) or healed by some special action

17
 Resistance and Neeblings, and the GM was going to mark three
ticks on the “Alert” clock, she’d only mark one if

Armor you resisted the complication. The default is for

resistance to reduce the severity by two levels
(from level 3 to level 1 harm, for example), but
When your PC suffers a consequence that you
don’t like, you can choose to resist it. Just tell the GM has final say.
the GM, “No, I don’t think so. I’m resisting that.” You may only roll against a given consequence
Resistance is always automatically effective—the once.
GM will tell you if the consequence is reduced
The GM also has the option to rule that your
in severity or if you avoid it entirely. Then, you’ll
1. The Basics

character completely avoids the consequence.

make a resistance roll to see how much stress your
For instance, maybe you’re in a sword fight and the
character suffers as a result of their resistance.
consequence is getting disarmed. When you resist,
You make the roll using one of your character’s the GM says that you avoid that consequence com-
attributes (Insight, Prowess, or Resolve). The pletely: you keep hold of your weapon.
GM chooses the attribute, based on the nature of
The GM may also threaten several consequences
consequences:
at once, then the player may choose which ones to
u Insight: Consequences from deception or resist (and make rolls for each).
understanding.
GM: “She stabs you and then leaps off the balcony.
u Prowess: Consequences from physical strain or
Level 2 harm and you lose the opportunity to catch
injury.
her with fighting.”
u Resolve: Consequences from mental strain or
Player: “I’ll resist losing the opportunity by grap-
willpower.
pling her as she attacks. She can stab me, but I don’t
Your character suffers 6 stress when they resist, want to let her escape.”
minus the highest die result from the resistance
Once you decide to resist a consequence and roll,
roll. So, if you rolled a 4, you’d suffer 2 stress. If
you suffer the stress indicated. You can’t roll first
you rolled a 6, you’d suffer zero stress. If you get a
and see how much stress you’ll take, then decide
critical result, you also clear 1 stress.
whether or not to resist.
Ian’s character, Silas, is in a desperate fight with
several animated skeletons and one of them lands a Resistance Roll
blow with its sword. Since the position was desper- 1d for each Attribute You reduce the effects of the
ate, the GM inflicts severe harm (modified by any rating. consequence by 2 levels or
avoid it (GM chooses).
other factors). She tells Ian to record level 3 harm,
Suffer 6 stress minus the
“Chest Wound” on Silas’s sheet. Ian decides to resist highest die result.
the harm, instead. The GM says he can reduce the Critical: Clear 1 stress.
harm by two level if he resists it. Ian rolls 3d for
Silas’s Prowess attribute and gets a 5. Silas takes 1 If you took a devil’s bargain on your roll, you can’t
stress and the harm is reduced to level 1, “Cut to the resist it. A devil’s bargain is not a consequence.
Ribs.”
Usually, a resistance roll reduces the severity Armor
of a consequence. If you’re going to suffer fatal If you have a type of armor that applies to the
harm, for example, a resistance roll could reduce situation, you can mark an armor box to reduce or
the harm to moderate, instead. Or if you got a avoid a consequence, instead of (or in addition to)
complication when you were sneaking past the rolling to resist.

18
 Silas is taking level 3 harm, “Bashed in the Head,”
and the fight isn’t even over yet, so Ian decides to Fortune Rolls
use Silas’s armor to reduce the harm. He marks the A fortune roll is a tool the GM can use to disclaim
armor box and the harm becomes level 1, “Bruised decision making. You use a fortune roll in two
Temple” If Silas was wearing heavy armor, he could different ways:
mark a second armor box (or resist) and take no
harm at all. When you need to make a determination about
a situation the PCs aren’t directly involved in
When an armor box is marked, it can’t be used and don’t want to simply decide the outcome.
again until it’s restored. All of your armor is restored
Two rival gangs are fighting. How does that turn

1. The Basics
when you rest (page  79) or choose your load
for the next delve. out? The GM makes a fortune roll for each of them.
One gets a good result but the other gets limited

Death effect. The GM decides that the first gang takes over
some of their rivals’ turf but suffer some injuries
There are a couple ways for a PC to die: during the skirmish.
u If they suffer level 4 fatal harm and they don’t When an outcome is uncertain, but no other roll
resist it, they die. Sometimes this is a choice a applies to the situation at hand.
player wants to make, because they feel like it
While pilfering the workshop of an alchemist, Cross
wouldn’t make sense for the character to survive
is possessed by a vengeful ghost. As control of his
or it seems right for their character to die here.
body slips away, Cross grabs a random potion bottle
u If they need to record harm at level 3 and it’s and drinks it down. Will the arcane concoction have
already filled, they suffer a catastrophic conse- an effect on the spirit? Will it poison Cross to death?
quence, which might mean death (depending Who knows? The GM makes a fortune roll to see
on the circumstances). how it turns out.
When your character dies, here are your options: When you make a fortune roll you may assess any
u In most cases, when your character dies, you trait rating to determine the dice pool of the roll.
will create a new character to play. Maybe you u When a faction takes an action with uncertain
“promote” one of the NPC gang members to a outcome, you might use their Tier rating to
PC, or create a brand new character who joins make a fortune roll.
the crew.
u When a gang operates independently, use their
u This is a fantasy setting with gods and magic. quality rating for a fortune roll.
Perhaps your companions can find a way to
u When a supernatural power manifests with
bring you back (one way is through a ritual
uncertain results, you might use its magnitude
accessible to a character with the Death Magic
for a fortune roll.
commitment, page  157). If return from death
is possible, there will be a great cost. u When a PC gathers information, you might
make a fortune roll using their action rating to
determine the amount of the info they get.
If no trait applies, roll 1d for sheer luck or create a
dice pool (from one to four) based on the situation
at hand. If two parties are directly opposed, make a
fortune roll for each side to see how they do, then
assess the outcome of the situation by comparing
their performance levels.

19
 The fortune roll is also a good tool to help the GM flinching … is there anything Human left inside
manage all the various moving parts of the world. her? The GM makes a 2d fortune roll for “Human
Sometimes a quick roll is enough to answer a ques- feelings” to see if a spark of compassion remains in
tion or inspire an idea for what might happen next. heart. If so, maybe one of the PCs can roll to Con-
sort, Sway, or Command her to stand down.
Fortune Roll
1d for each Trait
rating.
Critical: Exceptional result /
Great, extreme effect. Gathering
Information
+1d for each Major 6: Good result / Standard,
Advantage. full effect.
4/5: Mixed result / Limited,
1. The Basics

-1d for each Major partial effect. The flow of information from the GM to the play-
Disadvantage. 1-3: Bad result / Poor, little ers about the fictional world is very important in a
effect.
roleplaying game. Normally, the GM just tells the
Other examples of fortune rolls: players what their characters perceive and what
they know about the fictional world. Not every-
u The PCs instigate a fight between a giant ghost
thing (too many details are overwhelming and not
viper and a band of six legged purple ape monsters,
interesting), but enough to understand the world
then sit back and watch the fireworks. How does it
and make know how to make relevant decisions.
turn out? Does one side or the other dominate? Are
they both made vulnerable by the conflict? Make a When you want to know something specific about
few fortune rolls to find out. the fictional world, your character can gather
u A strange sickness is sweeping the town. How badly information. The GM will ask you how your
is a crime ridden district hit by the outbreak? The character gathers the info (or how they learned it
GM assigns a magnitude to the arcane plague, in the past).
and makes a fortune roll to judge the extent of its If it’s common knowledge, the GM will just answer
contamination. your questions. If there’s an obstacle to the discov-
u The Hunter stakes out a good spot and makes a ery of the answer, an action roll is called for. If it’s
sniper shot against a faction leader when he enters not common knowledge but there’s no obstacle, a
his manor house. The controlled Hunt roll is a simple fortune roll determines the quality of the
success, but is the arrow shot great effect enough information you gather.
to instantly kill a grizzled gang leader? Instead of
making a progress clock for his mortality, the GM Each attempt to gather information takes time. If
decides to use a simple fortune roll with his “tough- the situation allows, you can try again if you don’t
ness” as a trait to see if he can possibly survive the initially get all the info that you want. But often,
attack. The roll is a 4/5: the arrow misses his heart, the opportunity is fleeting, and you’ll only get one
but hits him in the lung—it’s a mortal wound. He’s chance to roll for that particular question.
on death’s door, with only hours to live, unless his Some example questions are on the bottom of the
gang can get an expert physicker to him in time. character sheet. The GM always answers honestly
u The PCs face off in a skirmish with a veteran bar- about what the character knows, but with a level of
row raider captain and her crew. The tide of battle detail according to the level of effect.
goes in the PCs’ favor, and many crew members are The most common gather information actions
killed. One of the players asks if the captain will are Surveying the situation to reveal or anticipate
surrender to spare the rest of her crew’s lives. The what’s going on and Studying a person to under-
GM isn’t sure. How cold-hearted is this veteran stand what they intend to do or what they’re really
delver? She’s stared giant demons in the eye without thinking.

20
Sometimes, you’ll have to maneuver yourself into u You might Consort with a well-connected
position before you can gather information. For friend to learn secrets about an enemy, rival, or
example, you might have to Prowl to a good hiding potential ally. What do they intend to do? What
place first and then Study the cultists when they might I suspect about their motives? How can I
perform their dark ritual. discover leverage to manipulate them?
u You might Hunt a courier traveling from a town
Investigation to a rival faction’s base, to discover who’s receiv-
ing satchels of coin from the baron. Where does
Some questions are too complex to answer imme-
the package end up? How can I find out who
diately with a single gather information roll. For

1. The Basics
handed over the package?
instance, you might want to discover the network
that is smuggling corpses down to the docks. In u You might Study ancient and obscure books to
these cases, the GM will tell you to start a long- discover an arcane secret. How can I disable the
term project that you work on during downtime. runes of warding? Will anyone sense if they’re
disabled?
You track the investigation project using a prog-
u Or you might Study a person to read their
ress clock. Once the clock is filled, you have the
intentions and feelings. What are they really
evidence you need to ask several questions about
feeling? How could I get them to trust me?
the subject of your investigation as if you had great
effect. u You might Survey a barrow to plan a delve.
What’s a good point of infiltration? What’s the
Gather Information danger here?
Ask a question Great: You get exceptional u Or you might Survey a charged situation when
and make an details. The information you meet another crew. What’s really going on
action roll or a is complete and follow-up
fortune roll. The questions may expand into here? Are they about to attack us?
GM answers you related areas or reveal more u You might Sway a powerful lord at a party so he
honestly, with than you hoped for. divulges his future plans. What does he intend
a level of detail Standard: You get good details.
depending on the to do? How can I get him to think I might be a
Clarifying and follow-up
effect level. questions are possible. good partner in this venture?
Limited: You get incomplete u Or you might Sway his bodyguard to confide
or partial information. More in you about recent events. Where has he been
information gathering will be lately? Who’s he been meeting with?
needed to get all the answers.

Examples and Questions

u You might Attune to see echoes of recent magi-
cal activity. Have any spells been cast here? How
can I find the magical artifact that I suspect is in
this room? What kinds of supernatural effects
should I be worried about?
u You might Command a local barkeep to tell you
what he knows about the secret meetings held
in his back room. What’s really going on here?
What’s he really feeling about this? Is he part of
this secret group?

21
Chapter 2
Characters
2. Characters
Character Creation Choose a Heritage
Your character’s heritage describes where their
Choose a Playbook family line is from. When you choose a heritage,
write a detail about your family life as well (exam-
Armigers are experts at ple: countryfolk—vegetable farmers, mother died
Armiger weapons, leadership, tactics, young).
and battle.
u Countryfolk: Your people are farmers, herders,
Artificers make and break or other agriculturalists, living in small villages
Artificer things, fix wounds, and brew or on farms.
strange substances.
u Fisherfolk: Your people live along the seacoast,
Hunters find the path, live in making their living a harvest of fish, crabs, clams,
Hunter the wild, set up ambushes, and lobster, and other bounty from the sea.
fight at range.
u Townfolk: You’re from a city or large town.
Mages study the arcane, create u Manorfolk: You grew up on a manor, perhaps
Mage magical rituals, and cast spells. holding on to the old ways of the servants of the
Yethri. Manors are fortified house complexes,
Scholars explore, conduct each usually connected to several villages to
Scholar research, collect things, and provide them with protection, oversight, and
study tomes. governance.
Strategists create plans, u Wildfolk: You grew up among the people of
Strategist negotiate with factions, and the forests and wild places, perhaps brigands or
deceive enemies. perhaps just independent hillfolk.
u Cambri: You’re a foreigner from the continent.
Thieves skulk in the shadows, steal
Thief treasure, and ambush enemies. You have come to Athland somehow—perhaps
with invaders, missionaries, or traders.
u Dandreen: You are from the islands to the
A playbook is what we call the sheet with all the
Northeast. Your people are thought by Ath-
specific rules to play a certain character type.
landers to be strange and wild. They are fond of
Rather than a general “character” sheet, the game
tattoos and exotic hairstyles.
has seven customized playbooks. By choosing a
playbook, you’re choosing which type of adven-
turer your character is.
Choose a Background
Your background describes what you did before
Picking a playbook doesn’t mean you can only do
joining the crew. Choose a background and
those things. A Mage can fight with a sword; an
then write a detail about it that’s specific to your
Armiger can sneak past the guards. The playbook
gives you certain abilities and specializations.

23
 character (example: labor—sailor on a mutiny
ship with few survivors).
Choose a Special Ability
You get the signature ability for your playbook
u Academic: A scholar, clerk, teacher, astrologer, automatically, as well as one special ability of your
engineer, artist, tutor, alchemist, mage, etc. choice. If you can’t decide which one to pick, go
u Labor: A servant, blacksmith, mason, carpenter, with the first one on the list—it’s placed there as a
butcher, fisher, teamster, nanny, wainwright, good default choice. It is also OK to wait on select-
cook, sailor, etc. ing a special ability until you have a better sense
u Merchant: A shopkeeper, merchant, crafter, of who your character is—you can even select it
trader, tinker, etc. during the game session if you want.
2. Characters

u Military: A knight, soldier, mercenary, guard Mixing playsheets: What if you have an idea for
member, intelligence operative, war leader, fight a character that's sort of between two different
instructor, etc. playbooks? That's not a problem. As your character
u Peasant: Farmer, herder, beekeeper, orchardist, advances, you'll be able to choose the Veteran
etc. special ability, which means taking an ability from
u Noble: A member of a high, noble, or fallen any other playbook. Over time, you'll be able to
house; an heir, scion, courtier, illegitimate child, mix and max abilities. You could, for example, play
etc. In Athland, the nobility are mainly derived an Armiger/Artificer with some abilities from one
from the servants and soldiers who directly playsheet and some from the other. When you
served the Yethri before the Awakening. start, though, pick one playsheet as most reflective
u Religious: A priest, priestess, acolyte, temple of who the character is.
guard, temple servant, or cult member.
Special Armor
u Underworld: A street urchin, gang member,
robber, beggar, prostitute, thug, thief, cutpurse. Some special abilities refer to your special armor.
brigand, smuggler, or other outcast. Each character sheet has a set of three boxes to
track usage of armor (standard, heavy, and special).
Assign Four Action Dots If you have any abilities that use your special armor,
tick that box when you activate one of them. If
Your playbook begins with three action dots you don’t have any special abilities that use special
already placed. You get to add four more dots (so armor, then you can’t use that armor box at all.
you’ll have seven total). At the start of the game, no
action rating can have more than two dots (unless
a special ability tells you otherwise). Assign your
Choose One Close
four dots like this: Friend and One Rival
u Put one dot in any action that you feel reflects Each playbook has a list of NPCs, Your character
your character’s heritage. knows them all. Choose one from the list who is a
u Put one dot in any action that you feel reflects close relationship (a good friend, a lover, a family
your character’s background. relation, etc.). Mark the upward-pointing triangle
next to their name. Then choose another NPC on
u Assign two more dots anywhere you please
the list who’s your rival or enemy. Mark the down-
(max rating is 2, remember).
ward-pointing triangle next to their name.
The more dots you have in an action rating, the
If you and another player choose the same playbook,
more effective your character is at taking that
you will share the same list of potential friends and
action.
rivals. That means you run in the same social circle
and are sure to have some kind of history (siblings,

24
 rivals, buddies, comrades, cousins, etc.). If you don't preferred god as the source. If you are interested in
like that idea, one of you can come up with some new the Death Magic or Feral commitments, choose
NPCs and switch them with the default ones on the Weird as a reprieve with an appropriate source.
character sheet. Check with the GM to make sure
the new NPCs fit the setting. Record Your Name
Choose Your Reprieve and Look
Choose a name for your character If your character
Barrow raiding is a harrowing occupation. Each
uses an alias or nickname, make a note of it. Record
character needs some way to recover from the
a few evocative words that describe your charac-

2. Characters
terror and horror of the delve. Choose a Reprieve
ter’s look.
from the list, and describe it on the line above with
the specific details and the name and location of Names
those with whom you recover from stress. (It's OK
to hold off for now on choosing a source of reprieve, If you can’t think of a name, here are some ideas:
but you'll need to identify one after your first delve, Athlish names: Alren, Alturius, Benit, Bideloth,
during the downtime phase). Bondren, Chenri, Danren, Darcy, Delilah, Dindro,
u Family: You’re devoted to loved ones. They Eelen, Erik, Feather, Feth, Forthrast, Gimbet,
may be blood relatives or an adopted family. Gori, Gullen, Haney, Horan, Hust, Iria, Isander,
u Gambling: You crave games of chance, betting Jadocar, Jak, Jenev, Jeth, Jon, Kulen, Lance,
on sporting events, etc. Landri, Lanreer, Marcus, Memren, Mesia, Mikah,
Oria, Oprin, Phythelia, Pico, Peen, Quaren, Rath,
u Luxury: You love the high life—fancy clothes,
Reesla, Rincover, Sakri, Seeli, Seth, Shas, Slain,
good food, pleasant companionship.
Teleen, Timen, Telerian, Tristan, Ulrik, Una,
u Pleasure: You gain solace from lovers, food, Vikran, Wiklas, Xanian,Yanra, Zander.
drink, drugs, art, theater, etc.
Cambri names: Bolisti, Chenokren, Heeloran,
u Religion: You are a person of faith who finds
Ikori, Jastel, Lilonan, Manmath, Nalothrel, She-
solace in the worship of the gods. You may
nesti, Testen, Valdomen, Yedori.
have deep devotion to one or several gods in
the standard pantheon, or perhaps you belong Dandreen names: Andocar, Halohel, Lokheel,
to some heretical or foreign sect. Mandoc, Opiri, Shador, Talidok, Uluvrin.
u Stupor: You seek oblivion in the abuse of drugs,
drinking to excess, getting beaten to a pulp in Family Names
the fighting pits, etc. You can be “of ” a place, or you can go by a family
u Weird: You experiment with strange essences, name, such as:
consort with rogue spirits, observe bizarre Ash, Bannerman, Brokeban, Byrnier, Crockler,
rituals or taboos, etc. Denian, Ekfel, Felander, Fisher, Genren, Gorriger,
Commitments (optional): Later on, during char- Hapler, Ilius, Janren, Jonas, Kintroth, Luniter,
acter advancement, you might decide to choose a Morick, Nelanin, Orieth, Pequanim, Rostren,
commitment (page 154). Your source of reprieve Slenith, Smith, Taylor, Ulven, Vulpine, Worener,
can point you toward a an eventual commitment, if Xaster, Young, Zengith.
you wish. To work toward the Companion of the
Black Rose commitment, choose Family as a source Looks
of reprieve, with the Order of the Black rose as the Pick a few words to describe your look, such as:
source. If you are interested in Devout, choose
Man, woman, ambiguous, concealed.
Religion as your reprieve, with the temple of your
25
 Red belt, heavy boots, nondescript tunic, white your chosen load. You can pick any item on the
baldric, ragged clothes, fancy embroidery. bushy standard item list on page 54 or any item on your
beard, threadbare, wide hat, coat of mail, long dress, playsheet item list. If you're not sure what an item
dragon torc, crooked staff, embossed scabbard, is or does, check the more detailed description in
thick mustache, hooded cloak, heavy belt, leather this rule book.
jack, fine sandals, kilt, sailor's garb, weathered
Most items use up one load slot, but some use two
brigandine, leather cap, fancy hat, dented helm,
(they have two boxes on the sheet). Once you've
fine necklace, many rings, exotic sword, several
used up all of your load slots, that's the limit on
knives, pointed shoes, strange tattoos, shaven head,
items you have with you on that delve. Some items
long braids, well dressed.
2. Characters

have a load cost of zero (those are in italics on the

Alert, angry, athletic, avuncular, blue eyed, bow character sheet).
legged, broad shouldered, brown eyed, calculating,
If an item has zero load cost, you can declare at any
cheerful, confident, dark, defensive, dirty, dusky,
time that you have it with you (or that you don't).
excitable, fat, fair, fiery, friendly, flamboyant,
focused, foul mouthed, handsome, haughty, Some special abilities (like the Armiger’s Mule
injured hand, jovial, laconic, languid, lean, limping, ability) increase your load limits.
long legged, melancholy, muscular, noble, open,
pasty, poised, pretty, quick, relaxed, reserved, rigid,
scarred, short, squat, squinting, stolid, strange,
striking, stuttering, swarthy, talkative, tall, timid,
twitchy, unmemorable, warm, weathered, wide,
wrinkled, youthful.

Loadout
You have access to all of the items on your character
sheet. At the start of each delve (when the engage-
ment roll is made), decide what your load will be
(how much you are carrying), but you don't have
to decide until later exactly what you are carrying.
Your load determines your movement speed and
conspicuousness.
u 1–3 load: Light. You’re faster and less conspic-
uous; you blend in with regular folk.
u 4/5 load: Normal. You look like a soldier or
bandit, ready for trouble.
u 6 load: Heavy. You’re slower. You're carrying
a lot and you look like you're on some kind of
mission.
u 7–9 load: Encumbered. You’re overburdened
and can’t do anything except move very slowly.
During the delve, you can declare that your char-
acter has an item on hand by checking the box for
that item—up to a number of load slots equal to

26
Character Creation Summary
1 Choose a playbook. Your playbook represents your reputation in
the among barrow raiders, your special abilities, and how you advance.

2 Choose a heritage. Detail your choice with a note about your family
life. For example, Cambri: now missionaries in Trenghall.

3 Choose a background. Detail your choice with your specific history.

For example, Labor: Sailor, mutineer.

2. Characters
4 Assign four action dots. No action can begin with a rating higher
than 2 during character creation. (After creation, action ratings can
advance up to 3. When you unlock the Mastery advance for your crew, you
can advance actions up to rating 4.)

5 Choose a special ability. They’re in the gray column in the middle

of the character sheet. If you can’t decide, choose the first ability on
the list. It’s placed there as a good first option.

6 Choose a close friend and a rival. Mark the one who is a close
friend, long-time ally, family relation, or lover (the upward-pointing
triangle). Mark one who is a rival, enemy, scorned lover, betrayed partner,
etc. (the downward-pointing triangle).

7 Choose your reprieve. Pick your preferred type of reprieve, detail it

with a short description and indicate the name and location of those
with whom you recover from stress.

8 Record your name, alias, and look. Choose a name, an alias (if you
use one), and jot down a few words to describe your look. Examples
are provided on the preceding page.

27
Armiger
Armiger
A hardened and dangerous warrior.
Most crews of barrow raiders include professional command, skirmish, wound, or kill. It’s all part of
fighters. The Armiger specializes in use of weapons the job.
to threaten or harm others.
Who taught you the arts of war? Were you a soldier? A
When you play an Armiger, you earn XP pit fighter? An enforcer? Have you fought in battles or
when you address a challenge with violence only taken on enemies one at a time?
or coercion. Threaten, intimidate, ambush,

Starting Actions Friends and Rivals

u Cormac, a fight master with an injured leg. Per-
• • • • SKIRMISH haps your mentor and teacher. Or maybe he’s lame
• • • • COMMAND as a result of dueling you.
u Ilsa, an assassin. Have you hired her to do your
Starting Builds dirty work? Is there a contract on you that she plans
If you want guidance when you assign your four starting to fulfill?
action dots and special ability, use one of these templates. u Tenebrin, a member of the Ducal Guard. Per-
haps your blood brother. Or you and he love the
u Commander. Command +1, Study +1, Survey
same person.
+2. Warleader.
u Erik, a merchant. Perhaps he buys and sells many
u Soldier. Command +1, Consort +2, Sway +1.
things and is a good connection for you. Or he might
Battleborn.
have cheated you (or you him).
u Street tough. Prowl +2, Wreck +2. Not To Be
u Deeren, a priestess. Are you a devout worshiper of
Trifled With.
the god she represents? Or did she leave you to join
the clergy?

Armiger Signature Ability The Protect teamwork maneuver lets you face a
consequence for a teammate. If you choose to resist
Bodyguard that consequence, this ability gives you +1d to your
When you protect a teammate, take +1d to your resistance roll. Also, when you read a situation to
resistance roll. When you gather info to anticipate gather information about hidden dangers or poten-
possible threats in the current situation, you get +1 tial attackers, you get +1 effect—which means more
effect. detailed information.

29
 Armiger Special Abilities When you push yourself to activate this ability, you
still get one of the normal benefits of pushing yourself
Monster Hunter (+1d, +1 effect, etc.) in addition to the special ability.
You have extensive experience with killing mon- If you perform a feat that verges on the super Human,
sters. You gain potency in combat vs. monsters. you might break a metal weapon with your bare
When you Study a monster as a setup maneuver, hands, tackle a galloping horse, lift a huge weight,
take +1d. etc. If you engage a small gang on equal footing,
“Monster” is an arbitrary name for creatures that you don’t suffer reduced effect due to scale against a
Athlanders find strange and unnatural. It includes small gang (up to six people).
2. Characters

supernatural entities and dangerous non-sentient

creatures found in barrows. It doesn't include
Vigorous
non-supernatural humanoids that Athlanders You recover from harm faster. Take +1d to healing
would consider “people.” See page  132 for more treatment rolls. Once per delve, when you rest, you
information on the difference between monsters and clear any level 1 harm box or, if you have no level 1
people in Athland culture. harm, reduce one level 2 harm to level 1.
During a rest (see page  79), you can clear or
Battleborn reduce long-term harm that would otherwise not be
You can expend your special armor to reduce cleared until you get treatment during downtime.
harm from an attack in combat or to push yourself
during a fight. Warleader
When you use this ability, tick the special armor When you Command a cohort in combat, they
box on your playbook sheet. If you reduce harm that continue to fight when they would otherwise
means the level of harm you’re facing right now is break (they’re not taken out when they suffer level
reduced, usually by two levels. If you use this ability 3 harm). They gain +1 effect and 1 armor.
to push yourself, you get one of the benefits (+1d, +1 This ability makes your cohorts more effective in
effect, act despite severe harm) but you don’t take 2 battle and also allows them to resist harm by using
stress. Your special armor is restored at the beginning armor. While you lead your cohorts, they won’t stop
of downtime. fighting until they take fatal harm (level 4) or you
order them to cease. What do you do to inspire such
Mule bravery in battle?
Your load limits are higher. Light: 5. Normal: 7.
Heavy: 8. Armiger Items
This ability is allows you to wear heavy armor and u Fine hand weapon: A finely crafted one-
pack a heavy weapon if you want to attract less handed melee weapon of your choice. Is this
attention and move faster. Since your exact gear is a well-crafted standard weapon, like a perfect-
determined on-the-fly during an expedition, having ly-balanced longsword, or something exotic,
more load also gives you more options to get creative like a flail or metal-banded war club? [1 load]
with when dealing with problems during a delve. u Backup weapon: A smallsword, a dagger,
or other easily carried and drawn secondary
Not To Be Trifled With weapon that does not have the heft or range
You can push yourself to do one of the following: of your primary weapon, but it's good in close
perform a feat of physical force that verges on the quarters and keeps you armed should that one
super Human or engage a small gang on equal be dropped, lost, or broken. [0 load]
footing in close combat.

30
u Fine heavy weapon: A finely crafted two-
handed melee weapon of your choice. A pollaxe,
a great spear, a two handed sword, a battleaxe,
etc. A heavy weapon has more reach and hits
harder than a standard weapon. This might give
you potency when the power or reach of the
weapon is a factor. [2 load]
u Scary weapon: A scary-looking hand weapon
such as a maul or spiked club. This item grants

2. Characters
increased effect when you intimidate, not
increased harm in combat. [1 load]
u Silver edging: A vial of alchemical silver. Can
be applied to the edge or striking head of a
weapon, giving it potency against supernatural
enemies. Takes a short time to apply and wears
off after 30 minutes or a few hits. Your vial has
enough for 3 applications. [0 load]
u Caltrops: A set of small, nasty, area denial
weapons made up of several spikes arranged so
that one is always pointed upward. Enough to
spread out over an area of about 2 square yards/
meters. Stepping on one or more caltrops is
likely to result in a serious foot wound.[1 load]

31
Artificer
Artificer
An occult engineer.
The Yethri knew many subtle arts of creating, properties of materials and achieve astounding
healing, and engineering. Alchemists study their effects thereby.
methods and attempt to replicate them. They know The extensive training that makes an Artificer is rare
how to make and break things. and strange in the chaos of Athland—how did you
When you play an alchemist, you earn xp when learn your arts, and how did you end up a barrow
you address a challenge with technical skill or raider?
mayhem. Artificers can change the elemental

Starting Actions Friends and Rivals

u Meriwen, a sage. How much does she know of the
• • • • TINKER Yethri and their arts?
• • • • STUDY u Rincover, a dealer. What shady things does he sell?
Has he stolen something from you?
Starting builds u Trenian, a town elder. He’s connected to everyone
important in the barony. How could that help you?
If you want guidance when you assign your four action
dots and special ability, use one of these templates. u Ilen, an artificer's apprentice. Who teaches her?
Who would she betray?
u Doctor. Consort +1, Finesse +1, Study +2.
Physicker. u Tolik, a knight. What does Tolik want from you?
u Sapper. Study +1, Survey +2, Wreck +1. Struc-
tural Engineer.
u Brewer. Attune +2, Study +2. Alchemist.

Artificer Signature Ability Artificer Special Abilities

Maker Alchemist
Alchemical Silver
When you research or craft a mundane gadget, You can invent or craft Black Lyptus
you get +1 result level to your roll (a 1–3 becomes items with alchemical Black Salt
a 4/5, etc.). You begin with one special design features. You begin a with Blinding Powder
already known. a standard set of formulae Flash Powder
already known. These are Fire Oil
Follow the Researching procedure with the GM Night Balm
(page 113) to define your first mundane design. available to you and can be Oil of Fire Resistance
replenished between delves. Smoke Bomb
Sweetbush Draught

33
 See page 115 for descriptions of standard alchemi- You can reinforce a door, drill holes in things, melt
cal items and other items you can learn to craft. You stuff with acid, use a muffled explosive, make sure
can carry these items on a special artificer's bandolier the troll will not be able to knock down the tower
(page 34). you're in, etc.

Analyst Venomous
During downtime, you get two ticks to distribute Choose a drug or poison (from your artificer’s pack
among any long term project clocks that involve stock) to which you have become immune. You
researching a new formula or design plan. can push yourself to secrete it through your skin
You get these extra ticks regardless of what other or saliva or exhale it as a vapor.
2. Characters

downtime activities you engage in. When you push yourself to activate this ability, you
still get one of the normal benefits of pushing your-
Fortitude self (+1d, +1 effect, etc.) if you’re making a roll, in
You can expend your special armor to resist a con- addition to the special ability.
sequence of fatigue, weakness, or chemical effects, You choose the type of drug or poison when you get
or to push yourself when working with technical this ability. You can change the drug or poison by
skill or handling alchemicals. completing a long-term project. Only a single drug
When you use this ability, tick the special armor box or poison can be chosen—you can’t become immune
on your playbook sheet. If you “resist a consequence” to any essences, oils, or other alchemical substances.
of the appropriate type, you avoid it completely. If
you use this ability to push yourself, you get one of Artificer Items
the benefits (+1d, +1 effect, act despite severe harm) u Fine tinker tools: A finely crafted set of tools for
but you don’t take 2 stress. Your special armor is mechanical work. A magnifying lens. Clamps. A
restored at the beginning of downtime. small saw. Measuring devices. [1 load]
Fine sapper’s tools: Tools for breaking
Physicker u
through walls and obstacles. A small hand drill
You can Tinker with bones, blood, and bodily with alchemical bits. A mallet and steel spikes. A
humours to treat wounds or stabilize the dying. heavy pry bar. Vials of acid. [2 load]
You can Study a malady or corpse. Everyone in
u Hand Cannon: Heavy and slow to reload, but
your crew (including you) gets +1d to their healing
makes a lot of noise and packs a big punch.
treatment rolls.
[2 load]
Knowledge of anatomy and healing is a rare and u Bandolier: A strap worn across the body, fitted with
esoteric thing in Athland. Without this ability, any specially-padded pouches to hold three alchemical
attempts at treatment will often fail or make things items. If you have the Alchemist special ability, you
worse. You can use this ability to give first aid (roll- can use any of the standard alchemicals from the list
ing Tinker) to allow your patient to ignore a harm at the right (or use one of your own custom-made
penalty for an hour or two. formulas). See page 115 for more on alchemicals.
During downtime, you automatically refill your bando-
Structural Engineer liers, so long as you have reasonable access to a supplier
When you reinforce or break into a structure or workshop. [1 load per bandolier, up to 2]
(building, door, wall, etc.), you get +1d or +1
effect level (your choice).

34
 u Medical kit: Bandages, needle and thread, poultices,
pain killers. If you have the Physicker special ability, a
medical kit is useful in emergencies (without that ability,
you can still use a medical kit, but you might have limited
effect). [1 load]

2. Characters

35
Hunter
Hunter
A skilled tracker and archer.
You are comfortable in the wilderness, leading the Where did you learn your skills? Who taught you? Did
crew through difficult terrain and past danger. If it you grow up in the woods, perhaps with refugees from
comes to a fight, you are best with a bow or other the chaos following the end of the Dreaming? Or did
ranged weapon. you learn your skills by hunting in the Baron’s private
woods?
When you play a Hunter, you earn XP when you
address a challenge with stealth or ranged vio-
lence. Find the lay of the land, hunt, set an ambush. Starting Actions
• • • • HUNT Friends and Rivals
Teal, a warden. Perhaps your mentor and teacher.
• • • • PROWL u
Or perhaps the two of you are hunting the same
creature.
Starting Builds u Micah, a mercenary. A strong friend or fearsome
If you want some guidance when you assign your four enemy.
starting action dots and special ability, use one of these
u Zek, a tinker. What does Zek hear and see while
templates.
traveling from place to place?
u Bounty Hunter. Consort +1, Prowl +1, Skir- u Tendril, a forest spirit. Are you the only one who
mish +2. Scout. knows of Tendril’s existence?
u Ranger. Prowl +2, Finesse +1, Survey +1. u Minerva, a priestess. What god does she serve?
Survivor.
u Sniper. Skirmish +1, Study +1, Survey +2.
Focused.

Hunter Signature Ability When you push yourself to activate this ability, you
still get one of the normal benefits of pushing yourself
Deadshot (+1d, +1 effect, etc.) in addition to the special ability.
You can push yourself to do one of the following: The first use of this ability allows long-range shots
make a ranged attack at extreme distance beyond that would otherwise be impossible with your
what’s normal for the weapon or hit the weakest weapon. The second use allows you to improve
spot on a well protected target. your position or effect when presented with well
armored enemies or monsters who might otherwise
be immune to penetration by arrows or bolts.

37
 Hunter Special Abilities Tough as nails
Penalties from harm are one level less severe
Focused (though level 4 harm is still fatal).
You can expend your special armor to resist a
consequence of surprise or mental harm (fear, With this ability, level 3 harm doesn’t incapacitate
confusion, losing track of someone) or to push you; instead you take -1d to your rolls (as if it were
yourself for ranged combat or tracking. level 2 harm). Level 2 harm affects you as if it were
level 1 (less effect). Level 1 harm has no effect on you
When you use this ability, tick the special armor box (but you still write it on your sheet, and must recover
on your playbook sheet. If you “resist a consequence” normally to clear it). Record the harm at its original
2. Characters

of the appropriate type, you avoid it completely. If level—for healing purposes, the original harm level
you use this ability to push yourself, you get one of applies.
the benefits (+1d, +1 effect, act despite severe harm)
but you don’t take 2  stress. Your special armor is Mystic Hunter
restored at the beginning of downtime. Your animal companion is imbued with spirit
energy. It gains potency when tracking or fighting
Predator the supernatural, and gains one arcane ability of
Gain +1d to rolls against weakened or vulnerable your choice: ghost-form, mind-link, or arrow-
targets. Whenever you gather information on a swift. Take this ability one or two more times to
weakness or vulnerability, the worst you can get is add additional arcane abilities to your companion.
a 4/5 result.
Your companion functions as a cohort (Expert:
Like a wolf picking out the weakest member of a Hunter). This ability gives them potency against
herd, you know how to find and make use of any supernatural targets and an arcane ability of
advantage you might have over an enemy or prey. your choice. Ghost-form allows the companion to
transform into magical vapor as if it were a spirit.
Scout Mind-link allows the companion and hunter to share
When you gather information to discover the their senses and thoughts telepathically. Arrow-swift
location of a target, you get +1 effect. When you allows the companion to move extremely quickly,
hide in a prepared position or use camouflage you outpacing any other mundane creature or vehicle.
get +1d to rolls to avoid detection. For more details about cohorts, see page 60.
A “target” can be a person, a destination, a good
ambush spot, an item, etc. Hunter Items
u Fine longbow: A finely crafted bow, taking
Survivor great strength to pull and deadly even at long
From hard-won experience, you are comfortable in range. [2 load]
lands outside of civilization. You get +1 stress box u Fine shortbow: A smaller bow, with shorter
and you get +1d for any rolls (including resistance range and less penetration than a longbow, but
rolls) related to surviving in dangerous environ- more easily carried and concealed. [1 load]
ments. u Monster killing arrows: You have a stash of
This ability gives you an additional stress box, so you arrows with occult properties that give them
have 10 instead of 9. The maximum number of stress potency against inhuman monsters and magi-
boxes a PC can have (from any number of additional cal creatures. What is the source of this power? Are
special abilities or upgrades) is 12. they blessed by a god? Enhanced with alchemical
metallurgy? Prepared with a special charm you
learned from a forest witch? [1 load]

38
u Animal companion: Your animal friend obeys
your commands and anticipates your actions.
This can be any natural beast, smaller than
you, such as a falcon or hound. Cohort (Expert:
Hunter). What kind of creature is this?
u Wilderness kit: A pack of items useful for wil-
derness survival: flint, steel, and tinder, needles
and thread, fishhooks, a rain poncho, etc. [1
load]

2. Characters
u Spiritbane charm: A small charm that repels
hostile spirits of the sort sometimes encoun-
tered in the deep wilderness. [0 load]

39
Mage
Mage
A specialist in the supernatural.
Athland is filled with magi. You can feel that force spells, research arcane rituals, connect with other-
and manipulate it. With that power come many worldly beings.
dangers, both occult and mundane.
How did you learn the arts of magic? Did you appren-
When you play a Mage, you earn XP when you tice to a powerful sorcerer? Did you have to study
address a challenge with mystical powers. Cast intensely or did it come naturally to you?

Starting Actions Friends and Rivals

u Immir, a sage. Perhaps your mentor and teacher.
• • • • ATTUNE Or perhaps you stole his most prized book.
• • • • STUDY u Nel, a dealer in arcane items. Does he have things
you want? Or vice versa?
Starting Builds u Ithili, a fellow mage. Were you apprenticed
If you want guidance when you assign your four start- together? Is she your best friend or a dangerous
ing action dots and special ability, use one of these rival?
templates. u Ben, a monster hunter. What kinds of monsters
u Court mage: Consort +1, Finesse +1, Survey does Ben hunt?
+1, Sway +1. Glamour. u Akath, a spirit. What is Akath's nature? What
u Practical mage: Consort +1, Tinker +1, Sway does Akath want?
+1. Enchanter.
u War mage. Consort +1, Prowl +1, Skirmish +2.
Elementalist.

Mage Signature Ability Mage Special Abilities

Third Eye Elementalist
You can see or sense supernatural entities effects in Pick one elemental concept like Lightning, Rock, or
your presence, even if they are normally invisible. Wood. Spend 1 stress to lash out with that element
Gain +1d when you gather information about the or manipulate it in the environment. Spend +1
supernatural. stress to: affect a small group of targets, manipulate
What does it look and feel like when you sense some- a larger area, or manipulate your element precisely.
thing supernatural?

41
 When you lash out with the element as a weapon, Glamour
the GM will describe its effect level and collateral You can create small, simple, static visual illusions.
damage. If you unleash it in combat against an Spend +1 stress for: sound and scent, movement,
enemy who’s threatening you, you’ll still make an independent action (up to a few minutes), or larger
action roll in the fight. area.
When you manipulate that element, you can do things
A default illusion is visible, insubstantial, static, and
like build a bridge of rock or reach through the bars of
silent. You must concentrate to maintain it. It is no
your jail cell. If you manipulate precisely, you can give
larger than a Human. If you want it to be really
it very specific shapes or cause it to move as if it were
convincing, the GM may call for an action roll. It is
your own hand.
2. Characters

insubstantial, so someone touching the illusion can

Mystic Familiar feel that it's not there.
Your familiar is more powerful, with enhanced Ritual
senses and potency when tracking the supernatu-
You have learned how to perform ritual magic. You
ral. It gains one arcane ability: intelligence, mind
can Study an occult ritual (or create a new one) to
link, or venomous bite. Take this ability one or two
summon a supernatural effect or being. You begin
more times to add additional arcane abilities.
with one ritual already learned.
Your familiar functions as a cohort (Expert: Spy).
For more details on rituals, see page 160.
Mystic familiar gives them extraordinary senses
(including the ability to see in total darkness), Warded
potency in tracking the supernatural, and an arcane
You can expend your special armor to resist a
ability of your choice. Intelligence means that it can
supernatural consequence or create a mystic circle
speak and can act intelligently on your behalf. Mind-
that prevents movement of supernatural creatures.
link allows the familiar and mage to share their
senses and thoughts telepathically. Venomous allows When you use this ability, tick the special armor box
the familiar to inject a paralytic drug into an enemy on your playbook sheet. If you resist a consequence,
with a bite or sting that can affect a Human-sized the severity of the consequence is reduced by two lev-
target for about 30 minutes. For more details about els. If you use this ability to create a mystic circle, you
cohorts, see page 60. can use it to block a doorway, keep yourself (and a
few others) safe within, or trap a supernatural being.
Enchanter Deep Knife The GM may call for an action roll to keep a strong
You can research and craft Mage Sight Potion creature from breaking through.
items with magical features. Silence Potion
You can craft any standard
Spirit Coin
Void Powder
Mage Items
Tier 1 magical item. Other Warding Chalk Magic is easier with a magical focus—generally a
items can be researched wand or staff. Using magic without a proper wand or
and crafted via downtime activities. staff can reduce the effect level.
You begin with the ability to craft any Tier 1 magical u Fine magic wand: This is your personal wand,
item and can freely replenish them between delves filled with your own magical energy. [0 load]
if you have access to your usual magical supplies. What does your wand look like? What rare magi-
Follow the Inventing procedure with the GM cal ingredients does it contain? What did you have
(page  112) to research other formulae for magic to sacrifice to bind it to your soul?
items.

42
u Fine magical staff: You can fight with it or use it
for magic. [1 load] What does it look like? What
do the runes inscribed upon it mean?
u Magical books: Reference materials that help
identify demons, magical effects, creatures, etc.
[1 load]
u Black mirror: A small piece of magically
prepared glass. Hidden things, when seen in
the mirror, can be revealed for what they are.

2. Characters
[0 load]
u Familiar: You have bound a spirit into an
animal. It obeys your commands and tries to
anticipate what you want. This can be any nat-
ural beast, smaller than you, such as a monkey
or raven. Cohort (Expert: Spy). What kind of
creature is this? How is it weird compared to a
normal creature of its kind?
u Magical items: If you have the Enchanter
special ability, you have access to any standard
Tier 1 magical items, as well as those you have
researched, and can replenish them in between
delves. Others can be researched and crafted
during downtime. Track the load for each item
you deploy during a delve (see page  117 for
more information on carrying magical items).
[1 load for up to 3 items] If an enchanted item
has the drawback of heavy or very heavy, it has its
own separate load cost.

43
Scholar
Scholar
A researcher and explorer.
Athland is a place of mysteries, and you love to exploration. Study, translate lost languages, learn
solve them. While might be respected among about strange creatures.
academics, you are a field researcher, going out and
You're not the kind who sits in a library, poring over
finding answers.
tomes and waiting for information to come to you.
When you play a Scholar, you earn xp when That's not all you do, anyway. What drives you to risk
you address a challenge with research or your life and sanity to discover the answers?

Starting Actions Friends and Rivals

u Endril, a bookseller. What book does he have that
• • • • SURVEY he refuses to sell to you?
• • • • STUDY u Gram, a seer. What kinds of mystical forces can
Gram provide information about?
Starting Builds u Drela, a spy. How could you possibly be of assis-
If you want guidance when you assign your four tance to a spy?
starting action dots and special ability, use one of u Domra, a scholar. Perhaps your mentor?
these templates. u Helk, a noble. Does he dabble in subjects you're
u Archaeologist. Survey +1, Finesse +1, interested in?
Prowl +1. Researcher.
u Sage. Survey +1, Consort +1, Attune +1. Flash
of Insight.
u Mystic. Attune +2, Tinker +1. Occultist.

Scholar Signature Ability arts, blacksmithing, or other modern day practical

skill (although you could know academic rather
Specialist than practical things about ancient martial arts or
Choose an area of academic study. It only costs blacksmithing). While your specialty could be about
1 stress to push yourself if the action is directly something magical, it does not teach you how to cast
relevant to your topic. If you gather information magical spells or make alchemical potions (if you
about that topic, you get increased effect. want to do that, take veteran advances from those
playsheets).
Your area of study might be Yethri history, magical
artifacts, barrow structural mechanics, occult geol- You've spent countless hours studying tomes and
ogy, military tactics, monstrous creatures, or demonic searching for every possible scrap of information
entities. It should be academic in nature: not martial about your specialty. Why are you so obsessed with
this topic?

45
 Scholar Special Abilities Speaking Tongues
Once per delve, after a few minutes of interaction,
Occultist you can achieve functional communication with a
Get +1d to determine the nature of any strange sentient being (or group) who uses a language you
artifact (including whether it is magical), to iden- don’t normally understand.
tify what an artifact does, or to figure out how to
use an artifact. This works only on sentient creatures. When you use
this ability, you don't achieve fluency, but you can get
This ability can be during a delve or downtime. across simple concepts and, with enough time, more
complex ones. If you meet the same creature on a
Flash of Insight
2. Characters

subsequent delve, you'll need to use this ability again

When you gather information, you get increased to communicate functionally. After several uses with
effect. the same kind of creature, you can declare that you
You have an expansive memory and the ability to know the language well enough that communication
connect seemingly unconnected bits of information. no longer expends your one use of this ability per
delve.
Mission Focused
You can expend your special armor to protect a Scholar Items
teammate or to push yourself when you take u Fine books and maps: A folio of useful draw-
point when traversing. ings, plans, journals, and maps. Feel free to
specify which plans you’re carrying when you
When you use this ability, tick the special armor box
choose this item. [1 load]
on your playbook sheet. If you protect a teammate,
this ability negates or reduces the severity of a con- u Light climbing gear: A well-crafted set of
sequence that your teammate is facing by two levels. climbing gear that is less bulky and heavy than
If you use this ability to push yourself, you get one of a standard set. [1 load] Standard climbing gear
the benefits (+1d, +1 effect, act despite severe harm) is 2 load.
but you don’t take 2  stress. Your special armor is u Analysis kit: Magnifying glass, fine tools,
restored at the beginning of downtime or after you reagents, notebook, calipers, plumb line, note-
rest. book, measuring tape, etc. [1 load]
u Strange artifact: It just so happens that you've
Navigator brought along some odd item from your
If you’ve been there before, you can figure out how collection. It's not powerful (no higher than
to get there again. When traversing or assisting your crew Tier), but it might just be exactly
someone who is traversing to a location you have what's needed for this particular situation.
been to, a roll of 1–3 counts as a 4/5. Describe what it is and how it will help. [1 load]
Spyglass: A brass tube with lenses that allow
Researcher u
long-distance vision. Collapsible. [1 load]
During downtime, you get two ticks to distribute
u Brightstone: This rare Yethri artifact is a small
among any long term project clocks that involve
stone that, if tapped in just the right way, puts
researching information that you can find in books
out a bright light for about a day. Only one use.
or other written materials.
[0 load]
You get these extra ticks regardless of what other
downtime activities you engage in..

46
Strategist
Strategist
A leader and tactician.
While others know how to fight their way through When you play a Strategist, you earn xp when
a barrow, you are good at the thinking part. You you address a challenge with calculation or
can negotiate, manage relationships with factions conspiracy. Use contacts, negotiate deals, plan the
who might want to exploit or kill your crew, and delve.
conduct the research and planning that go into a
Where did you learn your skills? Were you part of a
successful delve.
crew and have now set up on your own? Were you a
spy, mercenary, or brigand?

Starting Actions Friends and Rivals

u Jack, a criminal. Perhaps your mentor and teacher.
• • • • SWAY Or perhaps he thinks you betrayed him.
• • • • STUDY u Tekler, a tax collector. Does Tekler have sympathy
for those who owe, or is he relentless?
Starting Builds u Mikail, a spy. Who does Mikail pass information
If you want guidance when you assign your four starting to?
action dots and special ability, use one of these templates. u Domra, a priestess. Perhaps the interests of her
u Arbiter. Attune +2, Study +1, Sway +1. Negoti- god align with yours. Or perhaps not.
ator. u Ishta, a mercenary. What connections does Ishta
u Captain. Command +2, Survey +2. I have a have that could benefit or harm you?
plan.
u Delver. Command +1, Skirmish +2, Sway +1.
Mastermind.

Strategist Signature Ability Strategist Special Abilities

One Step Ahead Leader
Three times per delve, you can pay 1 fewer stress When you lead a group action using an action
than usual for a flashback (minimum 0). rating you have at least one dot in, you can suffer
Narrate how you foresaw exactly how this was going only 1 stress at most, regardless of the number of
to play out and prepared for it. failed rolls.

48
 This special ability is good for covering for your team. Negotiator
If they’re all terrible at something, you don’t have to When you are offering or brokering a trade of an
worry about suffering a lot of stress when you lead item or service for another, take +1d to your roll..
them. If you are leading a group action with only one
comrade, you suffer 0 stress no matter what. This ability will work for any honest negotiation.
You can't use the Deceitful special ability at the same
Connected time.
During downtime, you get +1 result level when
you acquire an asset or reduce trouble. Strategist Items
Forged documents: Falsified documents,

2. Characters
u
Your array of connections can be leveraged to borrow
made by yourself or someone you know. You
assets, pressure a vendor to give you a better deal,
can determine exactly what they are when you
forgive transgressions, etc.
declare your load, as long as you could reason-
Deceitful ably have foreseen the need for them. [1 load]
When you are attempting to deceive others through u A needful thing: You've anticipated what
lies, a disguise, or other duplicity, take +1d. someone you will encounter is likely to want—a
bribe, a trinket, a bottle of fine liquor. It's noth-
You know all about telling half truths, the big lie, ing incredibly valuable, but just the right thing.
misdirection, admitting to a lesser offense to draw [1 load]
attention from the greater one. Sometimes you
u Books, maps, and plans: A folio of useful
almost believe yourself. If you also have the Negotiate
drawings, plans, journals, and maps. Feel free to
special ability, you can't use both at the same time.
specify which plans you’re carrying when you
I Have a Plan choose this item. [1 load]
When you perform a setup maneuver leading to an u Vial of slumber essence: A dose of slumber
ambush, your allies get increased effect. essence sufficient to put someone to sleep for an
hour. The victim’s sleep isn’t supernatural, but it
This applies to any situation in which you are is deep—they can be roused with some effort.
preparing your team to lay in wait or set a trap for [1 load]
enemies.
u Concealed dagger: A small but sharp weapon,
Mastermind easily concealed in a sleeve or boot. It’s very
difficult to detect on your person, even if you’re
You can expend your special armor to protect a
searched. [1 load]
teammate or to push yourself when you gather
information or work on a long-term project. u Fine disguise kit: A theatrical make-up kit
equipped with an impressive array of expert
When you use this ability, tick the special armor box appliances to fool the eye. The fine quality of
on your playbook sheet. If you protect a teammate, this kit may increase the effect of your deceptive
this ability negates or reduces the severity of a con- actions when you use it. [1 load]
sequence or harm that your teammate is facing by
two levels. You don’t have to be present to use this
ability—say how you prepared for this situation in
the past. If you use this ability to push yourself, you
get one of the benefits (+1d, +1 effect, act despite
severe harm) but you don’t take 2 stress. Your special
armor is restored at the beginning of downtime.

49
Thief
Thief
An infiltrator and larcenist.
Every town has thieves, but it takes a special one to out of sight, sneak past your enemies, and strike
go into a barrow. There in the darkness, your skills from the shadows.
can be especially valuable.
How did you learn the stealthy arts of the Thief? Are
When you play a Thief, you earn xp when you you a spy, an acrobat, a burglar? Or an ambush pred-
address a challenge with stealth or evasion. Stay ator in the darkness?
u Dinah, a fence. Perhaps your contact for han-
Starting Actions dling stolen goods, or perhaps you’ve stolen from
• • • • FINESSE her.
u Zek, an underworld boss. A valuable contact
• • • • PROWL or a dangerous enemy?
u Thel, a thief taker. Perhaps an old friend who
Starting Builds looks the other way, or perhaps a copper who
If you want some guidance when you assign your four has it in for you.
starting action dots and special ability, use one of these u Shekin, a street urchin. Does she know every-
templates. thing that goes on in town?
u Assassin. Hunt +2, Skirmish +2. Ambush.
u Burglar. Survey +2, Finesse +1, Tinker +1.
Infiltrator.
u Rogue. Skirmish +2, Consort +2. Shadow.

Friends
Thief and RivalsAbility
Signature Thief Special Abilities
u Shelan, another thief. Did she teach you your craft?
Daredevil Ambush
When you roll a desperate action, you get +1d to When you attack from hiding or spring a trap, you
your roll if you also take -1d to any resistance rolls get +1d to your roll.
against consequences from your action. This ability benefits from preparation, so don’t forget
This special ability is a bit of a gamble. The bonus you can do that in a flashback.
die helps you, but if you suffer consequences, they’ll
probably be more costly to resist. But hey, you’re a Cutpurse
daredevil, so no big deal, right? When attempting to take something unnoticed
from someone next to you, get +1d to your roll.
This could be used when casually bumping into
someone or even during a fight.

51
 Infiltrator If you perform an athletic feat (running, tumbling,
You are not affected by quality or Tier when you balance, climbing, etc.) that verges on the super
disarm traps or bypass security measures. Human, you might climb a sheer surface that lacks
good hand-holds, tumble safely out of a three-story
This ability lets you contend with higher-Tier ene- fall, leap a shocking distance, etc.
mies on equal footing. When you’re cracking a safe,
If you maneuver to confuse your enemies, they
picking a lock, or sneaking past elite guards, your
attack each other for a moment before they realize
effect level is never reduced due to superior Tier or
their mistake. The GM might make a fortune roll
quality level of your opposition.
to see how badly they harm or interfere with each
Reflexes other.
2. Characters

When there’s a question about who acts first, the

answer is you.
Thief Items
u Fine lockpicks: A finely crafted set of tools to
This ability gives you the initiative in most situations. disable and circumvent locks. [1 load]
Some specially trained NPCs (and some demons
u Fine shadow cloak: A hooded cloak made of
and spirits) might also have reflexes, but otherwise,
rare foreign shadow-silk that blends into the
you’re always the first to act, and can interrupt
darkness around it. This item improves your
anyone else who tries to beat you to the punch. This
effect level when you sneak around. [1 load]
ability usually doesn’t negate the need to make an
action roll that you would otherwise have to make, u Light climbing gear: A well-crafted set of
but it may improve your position or effect. climbing gear that is less bulky and heavy than
a standard set. [1 load] Standard climbing gear
Shadow is 2 load.
You can expend your special armor to resist a u Vial of silence potion: A vial of golden alchem-
consequence from detection or security measures, ical liquid that negates all sound within 10 paces
or to push yourself for a feat of athletics or stealth. of the drinker for a span of several moments. [1
load]
When you use this ability, tick the special armor box
on your playbook sheet. If you “resist a consequence” u Dark-sight goggles: An arcane device that
of the appropriate type, you avoid it completely. If allows the wearer to see even in pitch darkness.
you use this ability to push yourself, you get one of [1 load]
the benefits (+1d, +1 effect, act despite severe harm) u Ward ocular: A small scrying device that
but you don’t take 2  stress. Your special armor is reveals magical wards and protections. [0 load]
restored at the beginning of downtime.

Uncanny Acrobat
You can push yourself to do one of the following:
perform a feat of athletics that verges on the super
Human or maneuver to create a moment of confu-
sion and disarray among your enemies.
When you push yourself to activate this ability, you
still get one of the normal benefits of pushing yourself
(+1d, +1 effect, etc.) if you’re making a roll, in addi-
tion to the special ability.

52
 Standard Items A Large Shield: A kite shield, big roundshield, or
other large shield. [2 load] Effective in melee (even
A Single Handed Weapon: A weapon that can be against several enemies), when mounted, and against
wielded effectively in one hand: a mace, longsword, ranged attacks. A large shield will improve position in
falchion, single handed ax, short stabbing spear, more situations than a small shield will.
etc. [1 load] Armor: A thick leather or heavy padded jack, plus a
Your choice of weapon might reflect your heritage: leather cap, reinforced gloves, and boots. Or equiv-
In Athland, common soldier’s weapons include long- alent protection. [1 load] Armor gives you one box
swords, arming swords, spears, maces, and knives. that you can use to resist a physical consequence when
2. Characters

Peasant weapons include, clubs, and heavy knives. wearing armor would be useful in that circumstance
(see page 18 for more information about armor).
In the Tanin Islands, weapons tend to be broad,
heavy, and single-edged. +Heavy Armor: The addition of enough armor to
provide substantial protection at the cost of greater
Cambri and other continental weapons include
encumbrance: mail, brigandine, greaves, a metal
curved single edged swords, falchions, long knives,
helm, pauldrons. [+2  load] The load for heavy
and spears.
armor is in addition to normal armor—3 load total.
Throwing Weapons: Several throwing daggers, a Heavy armor gives you one additional armor box.
couple of light javelins or axes, etc. [1 load] What
kind of weapons are these? A couple with longer range Burglary Gear: A set of lockpicks. A small pry-bar.
(javelins)? A larger number with shorter range (dag- Vials of oil to silence squeaky hinges. A coil of wire
gers)? and fishing hooks. A small pouch of fine sand. [1
load]
A Large Weapon: A weapon meant for two hands.
A battle-axe, greatsword, warhammer, long spear, Climbing Gear: A large coil of rope. A small coil
or polearm. A bow or crossbow. [2 load] A two of rope. Grappling hooks. A small pouch of chalk
handed weapon will often provide +1 effect level in dust. A climbing harness with loops and metal
a fight, as well as having greater range than a sin- rings. A set of iron pitons and a small mallet. [2
gle-handed weapon. It also looks more imposing. On load]
the other hand, you need more room to carry and use Documents: A collection of slim volumes on a
it, you might be at a disadvantage if an enemy is in variety of topics, including local history, folklore,
close, and you can't use a shield. a number of interesting maps, tide charts, heraldic
A Small Shield: A buckler, target, or other small crests, and other miscellanea. Blank pages, a vial of
shield. [1 load] A small shield is effective in hand to ink, a pen. [1 load]
hand fighting against one opponent, but not much use Rations: Enough to sustain a person over a few
against groups of enemies or ranged attacks. A shield days if there is a source of potable water, or a day
doesn't give you extra armor boxes for resistance, but without that. [1 load]
it does affect position. If your shield could help you in
Breaching Tools: A sledgehammer and iron
this situation (you are being attacked from the front,
spikes. A heavy pry-bar. A length of chain. Heavy
the shield would work against this kind of attack, etc.),
drill. Crowbar. [2 load]
then in most applicable circumstances, the shield will
improve your position by one level, making the effects Tinkering Tools: An assortment for detailed
of a poor roll less dire. mechanist work: jeweler’s loupe, tweezers, a small
hammer, pliers, screwdriver, etc. [1 load]

54
Lantern: An oil lantern, a couple of torches, or
other light source. [1 load]
Extra torches or lamp oil: Very useful for a longer
delve. [1 load]
Environmental gear: Equipment for a specific
challenging environment: wet gear, cold gear, etc.
Say what environment your gear is for when you
declare this item [1 load]

2. Characters
Cold gear includes heavy cloaks, gloves, hats, and
boots. Wet gear includes waterproof pouches, packs,
and waxed canvas or woolen clothing to stay warm
even when wet.

55
Chapter 3
The Crew
3. The Crew
Crew Creation Ambitious
Brutal
Professional
Savvy
Choose a Crew Type Daring Subtle
Honorable Strange
Breakers go right in and take
Breakers what they want. You earn xp when you bolster your crew’s reputa-
tion, so think of this as another cue to indicate what
Burglars infiltrate, get the loot,
Burglars and get out.
sorts of action you want in the game. Will you be
recklessly ambitious, challenging more powerful
Explorers are in it for the factions? Will you take on daring delves that others
Explorers adventure as well as the loot. deem too risky? Are you interested in the strange
and the weird?
Scavengers steal from strong
Scavengers crews and prey on weak ones. Also decide where the crew makes its base. You
begin at Tier 0, so it’s probably a modest or run
Your crew type determines the actions that you’ll down sort of place. You'll be able to improve your
focus on, as well as a selection of special abilities base with time and money.
that support that kind of action. The crew type isn’t
u An abandoned farmhouse, boathouse, light-
meant to be restrictive—a crew of breakers might
house, or watchtower.
sometimes sneak or steal—but the core activity of
the crew type is the most frequent way they earn u A couple of small buildings in a village or forest.
coin and xp for advancement. u A moored, nonfunctional canal boat.
Like a character playbook, your crew type is also u A cave in the hills.
how you’re known among barrow raiders. The u The back room of a shop or tavern.
factions and institutions think of you as “breakers”
or “scavengers” and will treat you accordingly.
Choose a Barrow
The GM will give you a list of barrows in the area.
Your crew begins with 2 coin in its coffers (the Pick one. You have that one located. You know
remains of the PCs’ savings). You are Tier 0, with where it is, how to get there, and where at least one
0 rep. entrance lies. Maybe you've been in there already.
If you pick a barrow that is claimed by another
Choose An Initial Reputation and Base faction, you may have difficulty with entry. Decide
Your crew has just formed. They have acquired how to handle that.
a base. Given this group of characters and their
u Pay them 1 coin.
previous escapades, what initial reputation would
you have among the factions of this region? Choose u Pay them 2 coin. Get +1 status.
one from the list below (or create your own). u Pay nothing. Get -1 status if they learn of your
entry despite their claim, or -2 status if you
injured or killed anyone in the process.

57
 Choose A Special Ability Choose a Favorite Contact
Take a look at the special abilities for your crew and Take a look at your list of potential contacts on
choose one. Everyone in the crew benefits. If you the crew sheet. Choose one contact who is a close
can’t decide which one to pick, go with the first friend, long-time ally, or partner in crime. The GM
one on the list—it’s placed there as a good default will tell you about two factions that are impacted
choice. It’s important to pick a special ability that by your choice:
everyone is excited about. You can get more special u One faction is also friendly with this contact,
abilities in the future by earning xp. and you get +1 status with them.
Just like picking the crew type, reputation, base, u One faction is unfriendly with this contact, and
3. The Crew

etc., choosing a special ability is another chance to you get -1 status with them.
focus the game down to a more specific range of At your option, these factions are even more con-
possibilities. That’s a lot to work with, and it helps cerned with this contact and so you take +2 and -2
get the game going in a strong direction from the status instead.
very beginning.

Assign Crew Upgrades Crew Upgrades

An upgrade is a valuable asset that helps the crew When upgrading your base, think about how these
in some way, like a boat or a gang (see the complete upgrades fit together. Some combinations can
descriptions further down). Each crew type has require some imaginative storytelling to explain
two pre-selected upgrades that suit that crew (like how they are compatible with each other.
Prowess Training and a gang of Fighters for the u Boat house: You have a boat, a dock on a water-
Breakers crew). way, and a small shack to store boating supplies.
You get to add two additional upgrades to your A second upgrade improves the boat to a small
new crew (so you’ll have a total of four upgrades sloop with cargo capacity and the ability to
when you start). You can choose from the specific travel in heavier seas. This upgrade makes sense
upgrades available to your crew type or the general if your base is by the ocean, a river, or some
upgrades on the crew sheet. other body of water. Your boat can make travel
to and from a delve, or around the coast, much
When you assign your two upgrades, the GM will simpler.
tell you about two factions that are impacted by
u Cohort: A cohort is a gang or a single expert
your choices:
NPC who works for your crew. For all the
u One faction helped you get an upgrade. They details on cohorts, see below (page 60).
like you, and you get +1 status with them. At u Hospitable base: You get +1d to Consort and
your option, spend 1 coin to repay their kind- Sway rolls on-site. Your base is set up for visitors.
ness, and take +2 status with them instead. Perhaps you run a tavern, or your place is outfitted
u One faction was screwed over when you got with a large dining hall.
an upgrade. They don’t like you, and you get -2 u Hidden base: Your base has a secret location
status with them. At your option, spend 1 coin and is disguised to hide it from view. If your
to mollify them, and take -1 status with them base is discovered, use two downtime activities
instead. and pay coin equal to your Tier to relocate it
You’ll be able get more upgrades in the future by and hide it once again.
earning xp. u Infirmary: You get +1d to healing treatment
rolls. The infirmary also has beds for long-term
convalescence.
58
 u Manor: Your base is a well-protected manor u Vault: Your base has a secure vault, increasing
house or similar level of physical defense (small your storage capacity for coin from the default
tower, motte and bailey, etc). Gain +1d to 4 to 8. A second upgrade increases your capacity
engagement rolls that involve defense of your to 16. A separate part of your vault can be used
base. A second upgrade adds magical traps and as a holding cell.
wards to your defense. u Village: You have taken a village under your
u Mobile: Your base is set up to be moved easily protection. Gain +1d to acquire assets rolls
and quickly. Perhaps it’s a houseboat, fits onto involving gangs of Fighters, Skulks, or Rovers.
wagons, or you ensure that the important things u Wagon House: You have a wagon or wagons,
are kept ready to move and you have a second- draft animals to pull them, and facilities to
3. The Crew

ary base all scoped out and prepared. manage them. A second upgrade improves your
u Mastery: Your crew has access to master level carriages with better protection, the ability to
training. You can advance your PCs’ action travel over more difficult terrain, and larger,
ratings to 4 (until you unlock this upgrade, PC swifter steeds. At higher crew Tiers, you have
action ratings are capped at 3). Mastery costs more wagons—enough to mount an expedition
four upgrade boxes to unlock. with your full crew, including cohorts.
u Quality: Each upgrade improves the quality u Workshop: Your base has a workshop
rating of all the PCs’ items of that type, beyond appointed with tools for tinkering and alchemy,
the quality established by the crew’s Tier and as well as a small library of books, documents,
fine items. You can improve the quality of and maps. You can accomplish long-term proj-
Documents, Gear (covers Burglary Gear and ects with these assets without leaving your base.
Climbing Gear), Arcane Implements, Sub-
terfuge Supplies, Tools (covers Demolitions Cohorts
Tools and Tinkering Tools), and Weapons.
A cohort is a gang or an expert who works for your
u So, if you are Tier 0, with fine lockpicks (+1) and crew. To recruit a new cohort, spend two upgrades
the Quality upgrade for gear (+1), you could and configure them using the process below.
contend equally with a Tier II quality lock.
u Stables: You have mounts and the facilities for Creating a Gang
keeping them housed, fed, and cared for. When Choose a gang type from the list below:
traveling, your crew can do so mounted.
u Adepts: Scholars, tinkerers, occultists, and
u Training: If you have a Training upgrade, you chemists.
earn 2 xp (instead of 1) when you train a given
u Porters: Basic laborers.
xp track during downtime (Insight, Prowess,
Resolve, or Playbook xp). This upgrade helps u Rooks: Con artists, spies, and socialites.
you advance more quickly. See Advancement, u Rovers: Sailors, boaters, wagon drivers, and
page 96. animal handlers.
u If you have Insight Training, when you train u Skulks: Scouts, infiltrators, bandits, and thieves.
Insight during downtime, you mark 2 xp on u Fighters: Killers, brawlers, and mercenaries.
the Insight track (instead of just 1). If you have
A gang has scale and quality equal to your current
Playbook Training, you mark 2 xp on your
crew Tier. It increases in scale and quality when
playbook xp track when you train.
your crew moves up in Tier.
If your crew is Tier 0, your gang is quality 0 and
scale 0 (1 or 2 people). When your crew is Tier II,
your gang is quality 2 and scale 2 (12 people).
60
Some crew upgrades will add the “Elite” feature to a
gang, which gives them +1d when they roll for a given
Type. So, if you’re Tier I and have a gang of Elite Fighters
(+1d), they would roll 2d when they try to kill a target.

Creating an Expert
Record the expert’s type (their specific area of expertise).
The expert might be a Doctor, an Investigator, an Occultist,
an Assassin, a Spy, etc.

3. The Crew
An expert has quality equal to your current crew Tier
+1. Their scale is always zero (1 person). Your experts
increase in quality when your crew moves up in Tier.

Edges and Flaws

When you create a cohort, give them one or two edges
and an equal number of flaws.

Edges
u Fearsome: The cohort is terrifying in aspect and
reputation.
u Independent: The cohort can be trusted to make
good decisions and act on their own initiative in the
absence of direct orders.
u Loyal: The cohort can’t be bribed or turned against
you.
u Tenacious: The cohort won’t be deterred from a task.

Flaws
u Principled: The cohort has an ethic or values that it
won’t betray.
u Savage: The cohort is excessively violent and cruel.
u Unreliable: The cohort isn’t always available, due to
other obligations, stupefaction from their vices, etc.
u Wild: The cohort is drunken, debauched, and loud-
mouthed.

Modifying a Cohort
You can add an additional type to a gang or expert by
spending two crew upgrades. When a cohort performs
actions for which its types apply, it uses its full quality
rating. Otherwise, its quality is zero. A given cohort can
have up to two types.

61
 Using a Cohort Cohort Harm and Healing
When you send a cohort to achieve a goal, roll their Cohorts suffer harm similarly to PCs. A cohort can
quality to see how it goes. Or, a PC can oversee suffer four levels of harm:
the maneuver by leading a group action. If you
1. Weakened. The cohort has a reduced effect.
direct the cohort with orders, roll Command. If
you participate in the action alongside the cohort, 2. Impaired. The cohort operates with reduced
roll the appropriate action and add dice equal to quality (-1d).
the cohort's quality to your roll. The quality of any 3. Broken. The cohort can’t do anything until
opposition relative to the cohort’s quality affects recovering.
the position and effect of the action. 4. Dead. The cohort is destroyed.
3. The Crew

The PCs crew want to run off a rival crew of scaven- All of your cohorts heal during downtime. If cir-
gers who have been tracking them. They send their cumstances are amenable for recovery, each cohort
gang of Fighters to go kick the interlopers out. The removes one level of harm (or two levels of harm
GM rolls 2d for the Fighters’ quality, and gets a 3. instead, if a PC spends a downtime activity helping
An hour later, the Fighters come back, beaten and them recuperate).
bloody. One of them looks sheepish, “Those guys are
If a cohort is destroyed, it can be replaced. Spend
tough, boss.” (The GM inflicts harm on the cohort,
coin equal to your Tier +2 to restore it, plus two
and they failed their goal.)
downtime activities to recruit new gang members
Later, after the cohort has healed up, a PC goes back or hire a new expert.
and leads a group action, rolling her 3d in Skirmish
alongside the 2d the cohort provides. The result is a
6 this time—they beat the tar out of the other gang
and send them packing (at least for now).

62
Crew Creation Summary
1 Choose a crew type. The crew type determines the group’s purpose,
their special abilities, and how they advance.
You begin at Tier 0, with 0 rep. You start with 2 coin.

2 Choose an initial reputation and base. Choose how other factions

see you: Ambitious—Brutal—Daring—Honorable—Professional—
Savvy—Subtle—Strange. Look at the map and pick a location for your

3. The Crew
base. Describe the base.

3 Choose a barrow. One barrow is known to you. Decide how to

deal with any factions that might have a claim on the barrow (if that
applies—check with the GM).
• Pay them 1 coin.
• Pay them 2 coin. Get +1 status.
• Pay nothing. Get -1 status if they learn of your entry despite their
claim, or -2 status if you injured or killed anyone in the process.

4 Choose a special ability. They’re in the gray column in the middle of

the crew sheet. If you can’t decide, choose the first ability on the list.
It’s placed there as a good first option.

5 A ssign crew upgrades. Your crew has two upgrades pre-selected.

Choose two more. If your crew has a cohort, follow the procedure to
create it. Record the faction status changes due to your upgrades:
• One faction helped you get an upgrade. Take +1 status with them. Or
spend 1 coin for +2 status instead.
• One faction was harmed when you got an upgrade. Take -2 status
with them. Or spend 1 coin for -1 status instead.

6 Choose a favorite contact. Mark the one who is a close friend,

long-time ally, or partner in crime. Record the faction status changes
related to your contact:
• One faction is friendly with your contact. Take +1 status with them.
• One faction is unfriendly with your contact. Take -1 status with them.
At your option, increase the intensity of the factions’ relationship with your
contact and take +2 and -2 status, instead.

63
Breakers
Fighters and hooligans.
Breakers don’t bother with a lot of subtlety. You u Elite Rovers: All of your cohorts with the
use threats and coercion to get your enemies to let Rovers type get +1d to quality rolls for Rov-
you have your way. If that doesn’t work, you fight er-related actions.
your way in and fight your way out. u Elite Fighters: All of your cohorts with the
When you play Breakers, you earn xp when you Fighters type get +1d to quality rolls for
win a battle, dominate through threats of force, Thug-related actions.
or smash and grab valuable treasure. u Hardened: Each PC gets +1 trauma box.
Hardened costs three upgrades to unlock, not
Contacts just one. This can bring a PC with 4 trauma
u Keller, a retired sergeant. What does he know of back into play if you wish.
the Baron’s plans? u Interrogation Chamber: You get +1d to
u Heming, a physicker. Why has Heming been Command and Sway on-site. Grisly business,
covered in burns lately? but effective.
u Arshong, who runs a brothel. Would Arshong
betray the secrets of another faction for the right
Breaker Special Abilities
incentive? Dangerous
u Deethen, a rumormonger. What kinds of con- Each PC can add +1 action rating to Hunt, Skir-
tacts does Detheen have? mish, or Wreck (up to a max rating of 3).
u Gellir, a logger and hunter. What does Gellir Each player can choose the action they prefer (you
know of strange places in the deep forest? don’t all have to choose the same one). If you
u Cheney, a mage. Perhaps a collector of strange take this ability during initial character and crew
artifacts? creation, it supersedes the normal starting limit for
action ratings.
Starting Upgrades
u Training: Prowess. Bloodsworn
u Cohort: Gang, type Fighters. When you fight alongside your cohorts in combat,
they get +1d for teamwork rolls (setup and group
Breaker Upgrades actions). All of your cohorts get the Fighters type
u Heavy Rigging: You get 2 free load worth of for free (if they’re already Fighters, add another
weapon or armor items. For example, you could type).
carry a sword and wear normal armor for zero If you have the Elite Fighters upgrade, it stacks with
load. this ability. So, if you had an Adepts gang cohort,
u Barracks: Your Thug cohorts get +1 scale. and the Elite Fighters upgrade, and then took Blood
Extra room means more gang members. Brothers, your Adepts would add the Fighters type
and also get +1d to rolls when they did Thug-type
actions.

64
 This ability may result in a gang with three types, sur-
passing the normal limit of two.

Door kickers
When you execute an assault plan, take +1d to the
engagement roll.
This ability applies when the goal is to attack an enemy.
It doesn’t apply to other operations you attempt that
happen to involve fighting.

3. The Crew
Forged in the fire
Each PC has been toughened by cruel experience. You
get +1d to resistance rolls.
This ability applies to PCs in the crew. It doesn’t confer
any special toughness to your cohorts.

Patron
When you advance your Tier, it costs half the coin it
normally would.
Who is your patron? Why do they help you?

Smashers
Gain +1d on any action roll that involves breaking
through a wall or other physical barrier.
You get this bonus even if you didn’t bring the right tools
in your loadout. You’re just that good at busting things.

Wardogs
When you’re at war (-3 faction status), PCs still get
two downtime activities, instead of just one. When
you execute an assault plan against a faction you are at
war with, you gain +1d.

65
Burglars
Robbers and sneaks.
Burglars tend avoid conflict. You misdirect, find a u Elite Skulks: All of your cohorts with the
different way, or use stealth to get what you want. Skulks type get +1d to quality rolls for Skulk-re-
lated actions.
When you play Burglars, you earn xp when you
steal valuable treasure or information. u Steady: Each PC gets +1 stress box. Steady
costs three upgrades to unlock, not just one.
Contacts u Training Rooms: Your Skulks cohorts get +1
u Tremain, a thief. Is Tremain a source of informa- scale. Extra training enables them to fight like a
tion and guidance about professional matters? larger gang.
u Lila, a fence. Does Lila help you get the best price
for your loot?
Burglar Special Abilities
u Irigar, a barrow raider. Perhaps a member of Everyone steals
another crew who slips you information? Each PC can add +1 action rating to Prowl,
u Augry, a musician. Is Augry a source of informa- Finesse, or Tinker (up to a max rating of 3).
tion about what the common folk know? Or the Each player can choose the action they prefer
nobility? (you don’t all have to choose the same one). If you
u Jesskar, a beggar. Perhaps Jesskar knows every- take this ability during initial character and crew
thing about matters in town. creation, it supersedes the normal starting limit for
u Deneth, a noble. Who is Deneth connected to? action ratings.

Starting upgrades Infiltrators

u Training: Prowess. When you execute a stealth plan, you get +1d to the
u Cohort: Gang, type Skulks. engagement roll.

Burglar upgrades THAT WASN'T US

u Thief Rigging: You get 2 free load worth of During downtime, take -1 trouble. When your
tool or gear items. For example, you could carry trouble is 4 or less, you get +1d to deceive people
burglary gear and tinkering tools for zero load. when you pass yourselves off as ordinary citizens.
u Broker: You get +1d to payoff rolls to deter- Pack rats
mine coin earned from a delve. This well-con-
Your base is a jumble of stolen items. When you
nected broker can get the best price for artifacts
roll to acquire an asset, take +1d. This ability might
recovered from barrows.
mean that you actually have the item you need in
u Elite Rooks: All of your cohorts with the Rooks your pile of stuff, or it could mean you have extra
type get +1d to quality rolls for Rook-related odds and ends to barter with.
actions.

66
Patron
When you advance your Tier, it costs half the coin
it normally would.
Who is your patron? Why do they help you?

Slippery
When you roll entanglements, roll twice and keep
the one you want. When you reduce trouble on
the crew, take +1d.

3. The Crew
The GM might sometimes want to choose an entan-
glement instead of rolling. In that case, they’ll choose
two and you can pick between them.

Synchronized
When you perform a group action, you can count
multiple 6s from different rolls as a critical success.
For example, Hallen leads a group action to Attune
to overcome a magical ward on the door to an
underground temple. Emily, Hallen’s player, rolls
and gets a 6, and so does Eric! Because the crew
has Synchronized, their two separate 6s count as a
critical success on the roll.

67
Explorers
Adventurers and fortune hunters.
Explorers are in it for the glory as much as the u Elite Fighters: All of your cohorts with the
money. For crew members of noble background, Fighters type get +1d to quality rolls for
being a member of a group of explorers would be Thug-related actions.
seen as almost socially acceptable. Almost. u Hardened: Each PC gets +1 trauma box.
When you play Adventurers, you earn xp when Hardened costs three upgrades to unlock, not
you discover something unknown or make the just one. This may bring a PC with 4 trauma
world aware of your adventurous deeds. back into play if you wish.
u Fiefdom: You have feudal holdings (possibly
Contacts local, possibly distant) that give you an extra
u Golkus, a merchant. What does Golkus trade in? source of income. This gives you +1d to payout
Where does it come from? rolls.
u Ilka, a broker. What are Ilka's best contacts? Most feudal holdings are in the form of tithes from a
manor, village, or guild. You might, for example, be
u Jastik, a mercenary leader. Who does Jastik carry
entitled to 1% of the annual revenue of the Yanterton
a grudge for?
Cooper's Guild.
u Tomwe, a noble. What noble house does Tomwe
have influence with? Explorers Special Abilities
u Asticar, a witch. Which barrow is Asticar most
interested in, and why? Adventurous
u Thakel, a mayor. What sorts of political games Each PC can add +1 action rating to Hunt,
does he play? Who is he connected to? Skirmish, or Consort (up to a max rating of 3).
Each player may choose the action they prefer
Starting upgrades (you don’t all have to choose the same one). If you
u Training: Prowess. take this ability during initial character and crew
u Base: Manor. creation, it supersedes the normal starting limit for
action ratings.
Explorer upgrades
u Adventurer Rigging: You get 2 free load worth Bloodsworn
of equipment or armor items. For example, you When you fight alongside your cohorts in combat,
could carry a lantern and wear normal armor for they get +1d for teamwork rolls (setup and group
zero load. actions). All of your cohorts get the Fighters type
u Elite Rovers: All of your cohorts with the for free (if they’re already Fighters, add another
Rovers type get +1d to quality rolls for Rov- type).
er-related actions.

68
 If you have the Elite Fighters upgrade, it stacks with
this ability. So, if you had an Adepts gang cohort,
and the Elite Fighters upgrade, and then took Blood
Brothers, your Adepts would add the Fighters type
and also get +1d to rolls when they did Thug-type
actions.
This ability may result in a gang with three types,
surpassing the normal limit of two.

Bravado

3. The Crew
When you execute a social or deception plan, you
get +1d to the engagement roll.

Cartographers
You make maps and collect them. Gain +1d on
traversal and travel rolls.

High society
It’s all about who you know. Take -1 trouble during
downtime and +1d to gather information about
the nobility.

Noble Harness
Armor worn by crew members is of fine quality.
The armor you wear is made by expert armorers. It is
well made and impressive looking. It is fitted to you,
easy to move in, and covers the vulnerable spots that
lesser harness leaves vulnerable. This does not give
you more uses of armor to resist consequences, but it
can affect the kind and severity of consequences you
receive. It also counts in social situations, where being
equipped like knights rather than armed vagabonds
can impress noble and commoner alike.

Patron
When you advance your Tier, it costs half the coin
it normally would.
Who is your patron? Why do they help you?

69
Scavengers
Scroungers and vultures.
When you play a crew of scavengers, you take u Secret Pathways: You get +1d to any traversal,
advantage of weaker factions (especially barrow travel, or exit roll that involves movement over-
raiders) and play stronger factions off against each land. Knowing how to get places without being
other. observed can be very useful.
When you play Scavengers, you earn xp when u Elite Fighters: All of your cohorts with the
you take advantage of other factions. Fighters type get +1d to quality rolls for
Thug-related actions.
Contacts u Elite Skulks: All of your cohorts with the
u Ilir, a barrow raider. Perhaps you have some Skulks type get +1d to quality rolls for Skulk-re-
means of compelling Ilir to betray the other crew? lated actions.
u Treven, a noble. Does Treven have interesting u Steady: Each PC gets +1 stress box. Steady
gossip to share? costs three upgrades to unlock, not just one.
u Bothar, a weapons trader. Who else does he work
with?
Scavenger Special Abilities
u Deneel, a tavernkeep. Does Deneel keep his Takers
mouth shut about what he hears or is he a gossip? Each PC can add +1 action rating to Prowl, Sur-
u Shoyo, an entertainer. What kind of entertain- vey, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
ment does Shoyo provide? What kind of clientele? Each player may choose the action they prefer
u Ben, a warden. What secrets does Ben know about (you don’t all have to choose the same one). If you
the deep forest? take this ability during initial character and crew
creation, it supersedes the normal starting limit for
Starting upgrades action ratings.
u Training: Resolve.
u Base: Hidden. Charm
You get +1d to the engagement roll with Deception
Scavenger upgrades or Social plans.
u Scavenger Rigging: You get 2 free load worth
of weapon or gear items. For example, you Lurking
could carry a mace (weapon) and burglary tools Take +1d to follow someone or conduct surveil-
(gear) for zero load. lance without being noticed.
u Broker: Your connections allow you to get bet- This works any time you are tailing or watching
ter prices on your loot. Get +1d to payoff rolls. someone. It doesn’t help with tracking, so if you lose
sight this ability doesn’t apply.

70
Patron
When you advance your Tier, it costs half the coin
it normally would.
Who is your patron? Why do they help you?

Slippery
When you roll entanglements, roll twice and keep
the one you want. When you reduce trouble on
the crew, take +1d.

3. The Crew
The GM might sometimes want to choose an entan-
glement instead of rolling. In that case, they’ll choose
two and you can pick between them.

Spymasters
Get +1d on any downtime activity related to
planting, recruiting, manipulating, or gathering
information from a spy among another faction.
You could attempt to plant any of your regular
contacts among another crew, or you could figure out
how to turn someone already aligned with a faction.

That Wasn’t Us
During downtime, take -1 trouble. When your
trouble is 4 or less, take +1d to deceive people
when you try to convince them that someone else
did them wrong instead of you.

71
Chapter 4
The Delve
4. The Delve
Barrows threat. When very large expeditions have been
attempted, they have tended to meet excep-
Barrows are strange places of occult power. Beyond tional levels of resistance. Smaller intrusions
that, scholars differ about what exactly barrows are generate less of a response and are usually more
and how they came to be. successful.
u They are strange. The normal rules do not
Some say they have always been there, but knowl-
apply. Barrows may be larger on the inside
edge of them was kept out of public consciousness
than the outside. Walls shift, corridors follow
by the Yethri. Or that the Yethri created them for
impossible geometries. Creatures are found in
their own arcane purposes. Or that when the Yethri
barrows that exist nowhere else and may not
left, they retreated into one or more barrows. One
be able to survive if removed. Anything can be
theory is that they created so many in order to hide
different in a barrow.
their tracks and prevent anyone from following
them. u They have strange inhabitants. Barrows have
monsters, creatures, and non-human sentients
It is not known if the number of barrows is fixed and semi-sentients found nowhere else. They
and those that exist are being discovered one at a are not of this world. While sometimes crea-
time, or if new ones are appearing from somewhere. tures from one barrow seem to be the same as
Do they exist spontaneously or were they delib- those from another barrow, in most cases they
erately created by the Yethri or by some other do not overlap.
entity—and if not the Yethri, who? Some scholars u They have treasure. Hidden in barrows are
contend that each barrow is a gateway to another myriad items of magical power. Beyond items
world, or to a partial world, separate from our own. decorated with precious metals and jewels,
delvers have found spears that could find their
Each barrow is different, but they seem to have a
target a mile away, geese that could tell the
few things in common:
future, flasks that stay ever full of beer, potions
u They are warded. Some have magical defenses. that bestow beauty or wisdom, and many other
Some are filled with traps. Some are almost things of immense value. Despite the incredible
impossible to find even if you’ve been there danger they represent, people keep going into
before and you are standing right where the barrows because of the wealth than can be
entrance was last time. All of them present obtained in them.
serious challenges to entry and exploitation.
u They are defended. There is a barrow wight Known Barrows
controlling and protecting each of these places.
Knowledge of barrows is usually a matter of great
It responds to intrusion and adapts to chal-
secrecy. Every crew actively has its own list of
lenges. Each time an attempt is made to enter,
known and suspected places.
it learns, changes, and creates new defenses.
These defenses seem to scale to the level of

73
 However, there are a few barrows that are famous u How effectively and aggressively the barrow
throughout Athland. In any given locality, there wight will adapt and react to threats.
will be other barrows that are known in that region. u How warped the reality within the barrow is.
u Brightthorn Isle. This is one of the first bar- The higher the Tier, the more the reality of the
rows found and explored after the Awakening. barrow will differ from that of Athland. A higher
The catacombs on Brightthorn Isle have been Tier barrow can be a very strange place. Many
thoroughly explored and cleared out, although raiders have had their minds destroyed just by
crews sometimes go back to see if anything has attempting to comprehend the weirdness of a
changed. barrow and the horrors it contains.
The overall difficulty of entering and traversing
4. The Delve

u The Wailing Forest. This barrow is on top of u

a large rocky hill (a down). The region is filled through the barrow.
with plant and small animal species found u How dangerous the monsters, traps, and other
nowhere else. The dark purple trees wave as if challenges in the barrow are likely to be.
in strong winds, even when the air is still, and u The value of loot that can be found within the
make wailing sounds as they move. barrow.
u Kerrick Rock. This barrow is the most danger- The Tier of the barrow is an overall rating. Not every
ous known. Many crews have entered the cave creature or trap in a barrow is of the same Tier, but
under Kerrick Rock. None have returned. the Tier is a rough guideline to how dangerous the
u The Red Tower. This barrow is not hidden or most significant challenges will be.
hard to get to—it’s in the center of Trevest, the
old capital city. The Red Tower is surrounded A larger barrow can be broken up into multiple
by a magical barrier that no one has been able to zones (e.g., levels, regions, buildings, etc.). For
breach, although many have tried. There are no example, the upper part of a set of catacombs might
records of it from before the Awakening, yet no be one zone, while the lower part is another one.
one quite remembers it not being there, either. Each of these could be different in Tier. Usually,
the outer zone or zones are lower in Tier, while the
If a known barrow has already been explored, most deeper places, where the barrow wight resides, is at
or all of its treasures have probably been taken. the barrow's maximum Tier.
Crews that delve in these well traveled places often
come back with nothing to show for their trouble. Reducing Barrow Tier
However, since these places are strange, sometimes A successful delve can reduce the Tier of the barrow.
they change. Some new creature might appear, or Much of the arcane power of the barrow resides in
a new tunnel where none existed before. It can be the strange inhabitants and magical artifacts to be
worth revisiting old delves and paying attention found within. By taking treasure from the barrow
to rumors about changes in the status of even the and fighting or influencing the inhabitants, the
most thoroughly looted place. crew reduces the barrow's power. Also, any intru-
sion of the normality of Athland into the strange
Barrow Tier world of the barrow changes its nature, further
reducing its arcane power.
Each barrow has a Tier starting at 0 and going up
to V (or even VI for an “impossible” barrow). The Each barrow has a clock, generally with 6 or 8
Tier is an abstract measure of several things: faces, Whenever there is a successful delve, make a
fortune roll, starting with 1d for luck. Add +1d for
u The power of the barrow wight.
an extensive delve into unexplored locations, +1d

74
if many or powerful inhabitants were either killed determines how much trouble you’re in when the
or turned into allies, +1d if harm was done to a plan is put in motion. No plan is ever perfect. You
manifestation of the barrow wight. can’t account for everything. This system assumes
that there are always some unknown factors and
Reducing Barrow Tier trouble—major or minor—in every operation;
After a successful delve, roll Critical: 5 ticks. you just have to make the best of it.
1d for luck. 6: 3 ticks.
Go right in, breaking, smashing,
+1d for an extensive delve. 4/5: 2 ticks.
1-3: 1 tick.
Assault killing. Detail: The point of
+1d if many or powerful attack.

4. The Delve
inhabitants were killed or
turned into allies. Lure, trick, or manipulate.
+1d if harm was done to a Deception Detail: The method of deception.
manifestation of the barrow
wight.
Sneak in or past. Detail: The
Stealth point of infiltration.
Once the clock is filled, the barrow Tier is reduced
by 1. If a barrow is reduced to Tier 0, it's essentially
cleared. If left to itself for years, the it might recover Use mystical powers. Detail: The
Occult arcane method.
to Tier 1.
If a large barrow is divided into multiple zones,
Negotiate, bargain, or persuade.
levels, or regions, each can be treated separately for Social Detail: The social connection.
the purpose of Tier and reduction in Tier. One way
to do that is to make the first part of the barrow
Carry cargo or people through
lower in Tier, with the deeper or more distant parts Transport danger. Detail: The route and means.
becoming increasingly more challenging and dan-
gerous.
First Complication
Planning and The GM will inform you of the point of first com-
plication. That may happen while traveling to the
Engagement barrow, as soon as you get there, partway in, or
even after you've gotten your loot and are on your
Your crew spends lots of time planning delves and way out. In any event, we skip over the boring parts
other actions, because it's life or death for them. and zoom to the action.
They huddle around a flickering lantern in their “The first part of the delve goes fine. You get to the site,
base, looking at scrawled maps, whispering plots slip right past the Boom Crew camping out nearby,
and schemes, bickering about the best approach, and make an easy entry. You’re in the third room of
lamenting the dangers ahead, and lusting after the complex, the big one past the underground river.”
stacks of coin.
That’s one way it could go. Or it could be more like
But you, the players, don’t have to do the nit- this:
ty-gritty planning. The characters take care of that,
“You get to the site and see that the Blind Rabbit
off-screen. All you have to do is choose what type
Gang have been very busy since the last time you
of plan the characters have already made. There’s
were here. They’ve put up a wooden palisade around
no need to sweat all the little details and try to
the entrance with two sentry towers.”
cover every eventuality ahead of time, because
the engagement roll (detailed below) ultimately

75
 Now is when, in a traditional RPG, you’d spend u If the crew has overwhelming advantages that
an hour hashing out exactly what you’re going to support their plan, roll 4d.
do. But in this game, the plan is just a one word The engagement roll assumes that the PCs are
description of how, in general, you’re proceeding approaching the target as intelligently as they can,
with the delve at the point of first complication. given the plan and detail they provided, so we
Then the GM will cut to the action as the first don’t need to play out tentative probing maneu-
moments of challenge unfold. vers, special precautions, or other ponderous
non-action. The engagement roll covers all of
The Detail that. The PCs are already in action, facing the first
obstacle—up on the rooftop, picking the lock on
4. The Delve

When you choose a plan, you provide a missing

detail, like the point of attack, social connection, the window; kicking down the door of the throne
etc. If you don’t know the detail, you can gather room; maneuvering to speak with a noblewoman
information in some way to discover it. at the masquerade party; etc.
Don’t make the engagement roll and then describe
Item Loadouts the PCs approaching the target. It’s the approach
that the engagement roll resolves. Cut to the action
After the plan and detail are in place, each player
that results because of that initial approach—to the
chooses their character’s load. This indicates how
first serious obstacle in their path.
much stuff they’re carrying at the moment of first
challenge. They don’t have to decide exactly what The first obstacle in Old Denderton is at the aban-
they are carrying—just the maximum amount doned manor house. The engagement roll puts us on
they’ll have access to during the delve. the roof outside the window, having bypassed the
open main door because the map showed that as
Engagement Roll dangerous.
­•
Once the players choose a plan and provide its
detail, the GM cuts to the action—describing the The PCs have kicked down the door and swarmed
scene as the crew encounters their first challenge. into the front room of the jackolaks. They achieve
But how is this established? The way the GM surprise and begin to get their revenge for the loss
describes the starting situation can have a huge of Old Tom on the last delve. They cut down several
impact on how simple or troublesome the delve jackolacks, but then they begin to rally.
turns out to be. Rather than expecting the GM to ­•
simply “get it right” each time, we use a dice roll
instead. This is the engagement roll. The PCs have socialized politely at the party, maneu-
vering into position to have a private word with a
The engagement roll is a fortune roll with between Lady Trethka. As a group of young nobles leave her
1 and 4 dice. Most of the time it will be 2 or 3. side, the PCs step up and engage her in conversation.
u If the crew had no time to prepare, or there
are disadvantages that seriously outweigh any
advantages the PCs have, roll 1d.
u If the PCs had an opportunity to plan and pre-
pare, roll 2d or 3d, depending on whether it's a
regular situation or they have significant advan-
tages on their side (help from allies, exploiting a
significant vulnerability, etc.).

76
 When you describe the situation after the roll, use
Engagement Roll the details of the target to paint a picture of the PCs’
No time to prepare, Critical: Exceptional result. position. How might the strange, occult gang pres-
or disadvantages that You’ve already overcome the
seriously outweigh first obstacle and you’re in a ent a desperate position for burglars? How might
advantages: roll 1d controlled position for what’s the violent and ruthless butchers present a risky
Opportunity to plan next. threat to assaulting thugs? How might the vain and
and prepare: roll 2d 6: Good result. You’re in a pompous Lord present a controlled opportunity
or 3d, depending on controlled position when the for a manipulative scoundrel? Use this opportunity
whether it's a regular action starts.
situation or they have 4/5: Mixed result. You’re
to show how the PCs’ enemies are dangerous and
capable—don’t characterize a bad engagement roll

4. The Delve
significant advantages in a risky position when the
on their side action starts. as a failure by the PCs, or they won’t trust the tech-
The crew has 1-3: Bad result. You’re in a nique in the future. Sure, things are starting out
overwhelming desperate position when the desperate here against the creepy occultists, but
advantages: roll 4d action starts. you’re just the type of characters who are daring
enough to take them on. Let’s get to it.
If the players want to include a special preparation
or clever setup, they can do so with flashbacks
during the delve. This takes some getting used to. How long does it last?
Players may balk at first, worried that you’re skip- The engagement roll determines the starting
ping over important things that they want to do. position for the PCs’ actions. How long does that
But jumping straight into the action of the delve is hold? Does the situation stay desperate? No. Once
much more effective once you get used to it. When the initial actions have been resolved, you follow
they see the situation they’re in, their “planning” in the normal process for establishing position for the
flashbacks will be focused and useful, rather than rest of the rolls during the delve. The engagement
merely speculations on circumstances and events roll is a quick short-hand to kick things off and get
that might not even happen. the action started—it doesn’t have any impact after
that.
Outcomes
The outcome of the engagement roll determines Linked Plans
the position for the PCs’ initial actions when we Sometimes an operation seems to call for a couple
cut to the delve in progress. A 1–3 means a desper- of plans linked together. A common scenario is a
ate position. A 4/5 is a risky position. A 6 yields team that wants a two-pronged approach. “You
a controlled position. And a critical carries the create a diversion at the tavern, and when they
action beyond the initial obstacle, deeper into the send thugs over there, we’ll break into their base.”
action of the delve. There are two ways to handle this.
No matter how low-tier or outmatched you are, a 1. The diversion is a setup maneuver that a
desperate position is the worst thing that can result team member performs as part of the plan.
from the plan + detail + engagement process. It’s A successful setup maneuver can improve
designed this way so the planning process matters, position for teammates (possibly offsetting a
but it doesn’t call for lots of optimization or nit- bad engagement roll) or give increased effect.
picking. Even if you’re reckless and just dive in and An unsuccessful setup maneuver might cause
take your chances, you can’t get too badly burned. trouble for the second part of the plan—an easy
Plus, you might even want those desperate rolls consequence is to give the engagement roll -1d.
to generate more xp for the PCs, which helps to If it makes sense, the team member who performed
bootstrap starting characters into advancement.

77
 the setup can drift back into the main operation u 2 (or more) Stress: An elaborate action that
and join the team later so they don’t have to sit out involved special opportunities or contingencies.
and wait. Having already Studied the history of the place
2. The diversion is its own plan, engagement, and and learned of a ghost that is known to haunt its
operation, whose outcome creates the opportu- ancient canal dock—a ghost that can be compelled
nity for a future plan. Use this option when the to reveal the location of the hidden vault.
first part of the plan is required for the next part After the stress cost is paid, a flashback is handled
to happen at all. For example, you might execute just like any other action. Sometimes it will entail
a stealth plan to steal an artifact from the Boom an action roll, because there’s some danger or
Crew, then later use that artifact in an occult trouble involved. Sometimes a flashback will entail
4. The Delve

plan to consecrate a temple for a forgotten god a fortune roll, because we just need to find out how
who has promised to reward you handsomely. well (or how much, or how long, etc.). Sometimes
In this case, you go into downtime (and payoff, a flashback won’t call for a roll at all because you
trouble, etc.) after the first part of the plan, as can just pay the stress and it’s accomplished.
normal.
If a flashback involves a downtime activity, pay 1
Either approach is fine. It’s usually a question of coin or 1 rep for it, instead of stress.
interest. Is the linked plan idea interesting enough
on its own to play out moment by moment? Is it One of the best uses for a flashback is when
required for the second plan to make sense? If so, the engagement roll goes badly. After the GM
make it a separate operation. If not, just use a setup describes the trouble you’re in, you can call for a
maneuver. flashback to a special preparation you made, “just
in case” something like this happened. This way,
Flashbacks your “flashback planning” will be focused on the
problems that do happen, not the problems that
The rules don’t distinguish between actions might happen.
performed in the present moment and those
performed in the past. When an operation is Limits of Flashbacks
underway, you can invoke a flashback to roll for A flashback isn’t time travel. It can’t “undo” some-
an action in the past that impacts your current thing that just occurred in the present moment.
situation. Maybe you convinced the district Watch For instance, if you're at the Baron's feast and an
sergeant to cancel the patrol tonight, so you make influential knight confronts you about recent thefts
a Sway roll to see how that went. of occult artifacts from his manor, you can’t call for
The GM sets a stress cost when you activate a a flashback to assassinate the knight the day before.
flashback action. He's here now, questioning you—that’s established
in the fiction. You can call for a flashback to show
u 0 Stress: An ordinary action for which you had
that you intentionally tipped off the knight so he
easy opportunity. Consorting with a friend to
would confront you at the feast—so you could use
agree to arrive at the dice game ahead of time, to
that opportunity to impress the Baron with your
suddenly spring out as a surprise ally.
aplomb and daring.
u 1 stress: A complex action or unlikely oppor-
tunity. Finessing your knife into a hiding spot near Flashback Examples
the card table so you could retrieve them after the “I want to have a flashback to earlier that night,
pat-down at the front door. where I sneak into the stables and feed fireweed to
all their horses so they’ll go berserk and create a
distraction for our infiltration.”

78
 “Ha! Nice. Okay, that’s seems a bit tricky, dealing
with ornery horses and all…1 stress.” Traversing
“Should I roll Prowl to sneak in and plant it?” There are many situations during a delve in which
“Nah. Their security amounts to a stable boy who some or all of the crew needs to move from one
is usually asleep anyway. You can easily avoid their location to another. If the movement is routine
notice.” and there are no significant stakes involved, it just
happens via the narrative.
“So it just works?”
If there is meaningful opposition or uncertainty,
“Eh…not so fast. When you want the distraction
traversing requires an action roll. One character
to hit, let’s make a fortune roll to see how crazy the

4. The Delve
will take point, describing how they are approach-
Fireweed Maneuver gets. Three dice.”
ing the traverse and letting that determine which
­• action rating to use. A second character can spend
“The engagement roll is …a 2. Looks like a desperate 1 stress to assist, but if so both of them can expe-
situation for you. Hmmm. Okay, so you’re inside the rience the consequences of a bad roll. The other
gang’s compound at the entrance to the cave, slip- members of the crew are following, but they don’t
ping through the shadows next to two big wagons. all have to roll unless there’s a good reason to split
But then you see a bunch of lanterns. The gate to it up.
the compound opens, and you hear a heavy wagon Many different action ratings could be appro-
coming in through the gate. Looks like they’re getting priate for taking point or assisting with traversal,
a delivery right now, and a bunch of gang members depending on the situation.
are out to receive it. They’re about to be on top of you.
u Attune to the magical energy of the barrow and
What do you do?”
use it to guide you to your destination.
“Hang on, I want to have a flashback.”
u Command the crew’s gang to charge ahead into
“Okay, for what?” danger.
“Uh. Something…helpful? Damn, I don’t know u Hunt for the path taken by the blue men.
what that would be. Anyone have ideas?” u Prowl the strange forest of wailing purple trees,
“Oh, what if you Consorted with your teamster alert for traps.
friends yesterday and they blabbed about this u Study the secret journal you recovered to deter-
delivery, so we rigged it with a petard.” mine the path of least resistance.
“Oh man, that’s hilarious. But kind of nuts. I guess 2 u Survey the terrain, looking for the easiest route
stress for that?” up the slope.
“Sounds good. But let’s make that Consort roll and u Sway the guards to let you pass.
see if your teamster friends made any demands or u Wreck the wall in front of you to create an
complicated anything for you. Then we need to find opening, and the wall after that, to get around
out if you can get to the fuse on the bomb so you can the ambush you know is ahead.
light it. Who's going to try that?”
As with any action roll, the rating you choose will
“I will. I’ll roll Prowl to get to the fuse and get it lit. I be important in determining position and effect.
hope.”
The traversal roll determines how successful you
During free play, the GM can also call for an are in moving through the barrow. Depending
engagement roll if there is a significant encounter on distance, physical barriers, and opposition, it
or plan being played out. might take you all the way to the location you’re
looking for or just partway. If it takes you to a place

79
 of danger or opposition, it also determines the
situation you’re in when that happens. In this way, Resting
the traversal roll can act similarly to the engage- Sometimes, the crew spends a long time in a
ment roll that begins the delve (although it’s not barrow—that may be the plan, or maybe they get
a fortune roll). stuck longer than expected. When the crew has
been on a delve for at least a few hours and has
Traversal Roll engaged in strenuous activity, they can find a safe
The character Critical: Exceptional result. You’ve place to hole up and rest.
taking point gone further than expected or found
makes an away around barriers. On an
Resting can only happen in a location that is quiet
4. The Delve

action roll, encounter, you begin in a controlled and appears safe. A rest also requires rations—if
picking the position that provides extra you’re out of food or potable water, you get noth-
action that advantage. ing from a rest. A rest takes at least a few hours.
best describes 6: Good result. You make
how they are
An uninterrupted rest produces the following
expected progress. On an encounter,
attempting to benefits:
begin in a controlled position.
move through If you have less than half your full stress, recover
4/5: Mixed result. You make u
the barrow.
some progress, but not what you’d stress up to half (round up). If you have more
hoped. On an encounter, begin in a than half your full stress, recover 1 stress (up to
risky position.
your maximum).
1-3: Bad result. You make poor
progress, get lost, or go in a circle. u Clear short term harm that can be addressed
On an encounter, begin in a desperate via a few hours rest. Long-term harm is not
position. recovered when resting.
A successful action roll moves the group to the u Uncheck your armor boxes (except for armor
next location. Depending on effect, that might that has been damaged or lost).
mean going partway to the objective or getting u If you took trauma, you recover sufficiently to
all the way there. A critical result means the crew function.
travels further than expected or, if they encounter If a rest is significantly interrupted, it resets and
some kind of hazard, they are in an advantageous you need to begin resting again to get the benefit
position when they do. Unless a character is alone, it’s assumed that there
A failure on the roll could be an encounter with a is a rotating watch during a rest. If so, the GM
monster, a trap, some kind of blockage, an ambush, decides who is on watch if a rest is interrupted. A
an environmental danger, etc. fortune roll can be used if necessary.

Avoid one tedious traverse roll after another. Each During a rest, the GM may check one or more
traverse should resolve all or a significant portion of segments of ongoing progress clocks representing
the movement the group is attempting toward their things happening and time passing in or outside
objective. the barrow.

Loot
Barrows usually have treasure, and raiders are
assumed to do their best to come back with valu-
able stuff.
Rather than getting into the minutiae of identify-
ing every single thing the crew finds, we assume
80
 the PCs don’t have the ability to assess the true occasionally give out red loot dice directly to
value of most items during a delve. represent finding loot that is clearly more valuable.
How much is an obsidian skull covered in unknown See Coin Earned on page 103 for information on
runes worth? How about a handful of ancient coins, how much each type of die is worth.
some with edges clipped, that look like silver but
could be debased with cheaper metals? Carrying More Loot
Instead of trying to figure that out during the delve, How do you get as much as you can back from a
they stick the things that seem most valuable into delve?
their loot bags and assess the value of that stuff later, PCs who have used up their entire load can declare
4. The Delve

when they have time, safety, and good light. that they are increasing their load in order to carry
more loot. They can’t declare any extra items, but
Loot Dice they can accept the penalties of greater load if they
We use loot dice to approximate the accumulation wish. A PC carrying medium load can increase to
of loot during a delve. Each die is an abstract heavy load in order to carry one more die of loot,
representation of potential profit—you’re not for example.
sure exactly what it’s worth, but the more you can
collect and bring back from the delve, the more A PC with heavier load will be moving more slowly
chance you’ll end up with valuable things. and be more encumbered for the rest of the delve.
One extra load above heavy can be carried, but
The GM should feel free to embellish with details the character can’t do anything physical but move
when handing out loot dice. “A pearl necklace, some slowly.
kind of chalice, and a few weird coins.”
Cohorts and loot: PCs can also get cohorts to
During the delve, the crew will accumulate loot carry loot for them. A specialist can carry 1 load
when they explore an area that has potentially valu- die in excess of what is otherwise carried. A gang
able stuff they can grab. In general, a barrow can be can carry one load per person in the gang (a gang
expected to produce one loot die per barrow Tier of Porters, who don’t do anything but move things
for each traversal roll through an unexplored part around, can carry 3 dice each. (Cohorts can run off
of a barrow. Some particularly valuable locations with your stuff if they get scared, or try to bargain
might produce several loot dice, if you can make with you for a larger share.)
your way there.
There are two types of loot dice, of different colors.
We will call them blue and red here for conve-
Finding Special Items
Most of the time, when the PCs come across some-
nience, but you can pick any two contrasting colors.
thing that looks magical or special, they not be able
Almost every loot die you acquire is blue, but you
to really assess its usefulness during a delve. In the
can combine two blues into a red. This represents
dark, under pressure, can they figure out what this
choosing the stuff that seems most valuable and
magic item does and how to activate it? Probably
dumping the rest. A red die is more valuable than a
not, so they just stick it in the loot bag and keep
blue die, but two blue dice are more valuable than
moving.
one red die.
But sometimes, it might be immediately apparent
This becomes important because each loot die
that some object is beyond the ordinary. A PC
uses up one load. When the PCs can’t carry any
pulls a sword out of a stone and it starts telling her
more, they can combine blues to make reds and
that she is now the rightful queen of some long
take home the best stuff. The GM might also
dead nation. Or the crew were sponsored to go on
this delve by a mage for the purpose of finding a
82
wall painted with an ancient magical fresco—and
finally, after an arduous journey, they are standing
Contested Exit
right in front of it. On the other hand, the situation might be more
dire. Perhaps the crew has the treasure, but there
Events like this are handled narratively. The avail- are monsters, traps, or enemies standing the way of
ability of such items is determined by the GM. They exit. Or the crew might be injured, desperate, and
should have a reason in the story for existing, such wanting to give up and get out. Will they make it
as the scepter of the lich king the crew scammed or out? If they do, what will it cost them?
a sword that's been embedded for a century in the
hide of the rock troll they decapitated. The GM sets the scene for the point at which the

4. The Delve
exit is first contested. The PCs choose a plan and
Discoveries like this should not happen every delve, one detail, as with a standard engagement roll. The
but finding some interesting and potentially useful dice are calculated in the same manner. Then play
item during exploration can add a lot to the story it out from there. They don’t get to change to a
from time to time. different loadout, however.
If you need ideas for magical items, take a look at
the section on single use items (page  104) and Collapsing a Contested
items that can be crafted (page 113). You can also Exit to a Single Roll
borrow ideas from other games or media. Sometimes, it’s just not fun to run through a whole
series of action rolls to see how the exit goes. The
Using Found Special Items GM or any of the players can propose that a con-
tested exit is handled as one roll for the whole exit
Sometimes, the use of a special item found during
sequence. If the group agrees (GM has final say),
the delve is obvious. Maybe that sword has a
then do it that way.
flaming blade and you figure that if you swing it at
a monster it might just hurt them. Roll 1d for luck. Add +1d if there is limited oppo-
sition or the way is clear. Take -1d if the group is
However, much of the time the PCs are likely to
heavily encumbered or slowed down by wounded
have to make a study or attune roll to figure out
comrades.
what something is good for. On a 1–3, they're
confused or have the wrong idea about what it's for u On a 1–3, the exit goes poorly. There will be
or how to use it. (which could be dangerous). On significant consequences distributed among
a 4/5, they get the general gist, but there's likely the crew. This is negotiated with the GM, but
to be a complication when they try to use it (an it should be multiple significant consequences.
activation delay, a side effect, etc.). On a 6, the item These could include harm, damage or loss of
just works as expected. On a critical, there is some items, loss of loot or treasure (which could
additional benefit. mean -1d to the payoff roll), loss of status with
another faction, significant harm to a cohort,

Exiting the Delve and so on. On a 1–3 it's also OK to just play
out the contested exit after all, but the starting
position will be desperate.
Once the objective of the delve has been reached,
then if there is no opposition the crew can just u On a 4/5, the crew gets out at a cost. They
transition back to base and into downtime. This should still profit from the delve, but there are
happens whenever the GM and the group agree still consequences. Maybe they get help from
that the delve is over and there is nothing interest- another crew and pay them 1 rep or 1 coin for
ing left to play out. the assistance. Or maybe a cohort takes a level
of harm.

83
 u On a 6, the crew gets out without further problems.
They handle anything in their way smoothly and at no
cost.
u On a critical, the crew gets out and gains some
additional advantage—more treasure, useful infor-
mation, a hostage, etc.
Based on the result of the roll, the GM and other players
can collaborate on narrating an exciting montage to
summarize how the exit went.
4. The Delve

Operations
In some cases the crew may decide to embark on some
complex group activity outside of a barrow. Perhaps
they need to steal a secret map from the Baroness' bed-
chamber, or they want to ambush the Bluejacks as they
get ready for their own delve. In other cases they might
engage with creatures that have escaped from barrows
and headed into the countryside or gone on a rampage of
killing regular Athlanders. Out in wilds there are spirits,
monsters, demons, and demigods. Thus, there are many
adventures that can be had outside of barrows.
Any major group action like that is called an “operation.”
Operations work like a delve. The players come up with
a plan and a detail, and we make an engagement roll to
see how the action starts. Players should be firmly dis-
couraged from active planning—anything like that can
be handled with a flashback at any time.
A minor scene, such as one PC getting into a fight with a
group of thugs while managing trouble, is not an operation.
It's just at thing that happens during downtime.
After an operation, we go into downtime, just like after a
delve. If the operation was of the sort that could generate
payoff, trouble, etc., then it's handled just like what hap-
pens after a delve. See Downtime, starting on page 103,
for more information.

84
Travel u Delay: The crew wastes time dealing with a
washed out bridge, a broken wagon wheel, lame
Sometimes, a delve or operation may require horses, or other frustration. No progress toward
significant travel from one place to another. If the the destination is made.
story isn't about travel right now an it's not inter- u Harbinger: Something happens that is not an
esting, then everyone can agree that it just happens immediate impediment, but will negatively
narratively during free play, or we ignore it and affect the next delve or operation. The crew is
jump to the action. being followed by someone, sights a monster
they will have to deal with eventually, loses
However, sometimes it makes sense to have travel

4. The Delve
supplies or items they need but can’t replace,
be a notable activity, perhaps because of potential
etc. The GM may add +1d to the next travel roll,
hazards. If there is a predictable hazard the crew
tick a faction clock, or subtract a die from the
will have to deal with, the GM will just incorpo-
next engagement roll.
rate it into the game. If the potential for problems
should be more random, make a fortune roll for u Incident: The group encounters a major com-
each increment of travel. By default, an increment plication that could spell disaster such as a ban-
is one day or significant portion of a day, but this dit attack, monster encounter, warring factions,
can be compressed to multiple rolls per day or one natural disaster, etc. If it came up on a critical,
roll representing multiple days. The GM can adjust it will be worse. This will need to be dealt with.
this depending on the riskiness of the region and u No problems: This portion of the journey
how quickly or noticeably the crew is traveling. proceeds without notable incident.
Roll 1d. Add +1d if the group is traveling slowly u Toll: Pay 1 coin per crew tier, play out a confronta-
(wagons, refugees, etc.), +1d for each level of tion (+1 trouble), or avoid it some other way.
notoriety the group has, and +1d if traveling in an The purpose of travel rolls is to give a sense of move-
area that is dangerous, bandit-ridden, or in a state ment, time passing, and potential threat. If travel
of war. rolls turn into a boring slog, skip them and just
handle travel narratively.
Travel Roll
Roll 1d Critical: Incident
+1d if the group is 6: Delay or Harbinger
traveling slowly 4/5: Toll or Incident
+1d for each level of 1-3: No problems
notoriety

85
Chapter 5
Playing the Game
5. Playing the Game
Fiction First who explores horrifying places, comes back,
and then does it again. Figure out why you do
The most important part of Raiders in the Dark that, and embrace the life of a barrow raider.
isn’t what’s written in the rules, it’s the imaginary u Play as part of the crew: This is not a game for
world that emerges from the ongoing conversation playing lone wolves. Don’t create a character
among the players. That's different from games who would go off and ignore everyone else. If
like Risk or Monopoly, in which events flow from you do that, you’re not “roleplaying,” you’re just
the game rules, without regard to what those rules not playing the game. You are a member of a
represent. crew who are in business together. While you
don't have to be in perfect harmony with the
In a story-based role playing game like this
others all the time, you do have to be able to
one, events flow from the fiction. The rules are
get along, go on delves together, and cover each
there to provide a structure to the story and
other's backs. Make a character who will be able
to help answer the question, “what happens
to do that.
next?” Any time the rules conflict with the
fiction or are just slowing things down, it’s OK for u Advocate for the story you want told. The
the group to agree to follow the story and not the point of the game is to create an engaging
rules. narrative together. Think about what you want
from the story and let the others know what that
Because the goal is to create a story, this isn’t a game is. Your character probably wants an easy, safe,
you win or lose (though you will have triumphs and profitable delve, but that doesn't make an inter-
defeats within the events of the game). You don’t esting story. So while on the one hand you are
manipulate the rules to take as much advantage as playing a character who is trying to survive and
you can, you use the rules to help make the story as prosper, as a player you're also thinking about
engaging, dramatic, and “true” as you can. how to create challenges and drama.

Player Best
u Discover your character in play. Some
RPGs have whole systems for establishing a
character's personality traits, life path, quirks,
Practices nemeses, weaknesses, moral alignment, family
tree, destiny, and so on. Those things are largely
u Play hard. The protagonists in Raiders in the abstracted in this game, but that doesn't mean
Dark are not normal people. They choose to do they don't exist or aren't important in the fic-
something most everyone—even mercenaries tion. Come up with enough details about your
and hardened criminals—think is insanely character at game start to get yourself excited
dangerous and terrifying. Play it up. You might about playing. The choices you make in the
be fearless, terrified, dedicated, nervous, ambi- game will further show you who the character
tious, or fanatical, but you are the kind of person

87
 is. Add more details during the game until your PC is
fully fleshed out in the fictional world and playing them
is second nature to you.
u Jump to the action. In this game, over-planning is
against the rules. There are specific mechanisms in the
form of the engagement roll and flashbacks to simulate
all the planning the characters do. You, the player, don't
have to worry about all that. As soon as you have a cool
5. Playing the Game

idea, just cut to the exciting part. The game assumes the
planning is done competently, and of-screen.
u Learn and use the rules. It's OK if you're not interested
in the minutiae of game rules. But at least get familiar
enough with the basic systems to play your character,
roll the dice, and make sensible choices. Use the rules to
empower your character.
u Pick the action that matches what you're doing. On
your character sheet, some action ratings are high and
some low. It's natural to want to find a way to use the
high action ratings all the time, but that's not how the
game works. It doesn't make much sense to skirmish
the guard to convince him to let you by. That's swaying,
even if you're giving him a friendly punch on the shoul-
der or making a joke about a bar fight you got into last
week. You can choose to use any rating to attempt any
action, but in doing so you are choosing what you are
doing to try to accomplish your goal. If you skirmish
the guard, then you are fighting them even if you are
stating that your goal is persuasion. Don’t try to weasel
your way into always rolling your best rating. Instead,
choose a reasonable action for each thing you try to do.
u Go for devil's bargains. A devil's bargain gives you
a better chance of success or improved position in
exchange for an additional consequence that will
happen no matter what the result is. Try to think of dra-
matic devil's bargains to propose when you're making
important rolls. And suggest them for other players as
well (although they don't have to take them).
u Get into trouble. It's OK for some your rolls to be
desperate (each one gives you xp!). When the effect
you'll get out of a roll isn't good enough, offer to take
more risk (worse position) for more satisfying results.
u Accept the possibility of character death. Since the
crew is doing crazy dangerous stuff, it's likely that some-
one will die, sooner or later. Maybe everyone dies. If it's
going to happen, try for a really good death.
88
Action Rolls engaged, it’s not helpful to act obviously bored, get
really interested in your phone, or disrupt other
Choosing an Action people’s gaming time. You’ll tend to get from the
Sometimes it's not 100% clear which action game as much as you put into it.
rating best reflects the thing you're trying to do.
Is swinging from a rope a finesse or prowl action?
Consequences
It's OK to ask the other players what they think. When you make a roll, the most common result will
It's also fine to go with the one that just seems to be a partial success. You’ll also sometimes just fail.

5. Playing the Game

fit best, remembering that there is some deliberate Either way, that mean consequences in the form of
overlap among them. The GM might tell you that reduced effect, a complication, a lost opportunity,
one action rating is closest, but that one or more worse position, or harm. When consequences are
other approaches could also work. Your choice will on the table, the GM has final say, but you can
affect the position and effect of the action, as well suggest what you think would best fit the fiction.
as the consequences if you fail. Consequences are a lot of what creates the drama
the game revolves around.
Zooming in and Out
With each action roll, before the dice hit the table,
Resistance
there should be a quick conversation about what When you get a consequence, you can choose to
this action will accomplish. If you get a success resist it, but that will usually cost you (in stress or
(4+), what will that mean? checked armor boxes). You can resist only a subset
of consequences, so be strategic about which your
There is no set amount of time or number of events resist and which you accept. It's OK to think of
that each roll represents. If the group is interested resistance as willpower—in which cases do you
in the details, then each roll should resolve just a choose to override fate and say no way am I letting
small piece of the action—a single sword thrust, a that happen? Don't be afraid to spend stress, but
leap from one roof to the next, a moment of banter. you can't resist every consequence. Resist the ones
If the group is more interested in broad strokes, you hate the idea of taking.
then a whole scene can be resolved and narrated
with just a roll or two. The amount of detail chosen Teamwork
for the scene interacts with the effect level of the
The game deliberately makes teamwork more effi-
chosen action to determine exactly how much gets
cient than going it alone. If you push yourself on an
accomplished if the die roll is a success.
action roll, it costs you 2 stress. If someone assists
Think about that when you're choosing an action. you, it costs
How much detail do I want here? What am I really
If you assist someone with an action roll, it costs
trying to accomplish? What would be a fun turn of
you 1 stress.
events? Contribute that to the conversation as you
make choices and roll dice. Help the GM figure out If they push themselves, they pay 2 stress for
whether to zoom in because what's happening now the same benefit. Setup maneuvers and other
is meaningful and exciting, or to zoom out so you assistance actions similarly make things easier,
can move quicker and progress to the next thing. overall, for everyone. By protecting each other,
you can spread out consequences so that no one
Do that by saying how interested you are in the
gets hit too hard. When playing the game, look
details and expressing excitement and interest.
for opportunities to use teamwork whenever that
When the game seems more zoomed in than the
makes sense in the fiction. That will not only make
scene warrants, suggest larger swaths of detail or
ask if it’s OK to zoom out. If you find yourself less

89
 everything easier for everyone, it will also build a u Some actions, such as using a battering ram to
sense of cohesion among the crew. break down a door, are made easier when several
people work together. Position, effect, or both,

Teamwork would be improved compared to just one per-

son doing the action. This can also affect scale:
When the team of PCs works together, the charac- one PC would be at a disadvantage when being
ters have access to five special teamwork maneu- pushed back by an angry mob, but a group of
vers. They’re listed at the bottom of the character PCs working together might be on even terms.
5. Playing the Game

playbook sheets to help remind the players of them. u Other actions, such as sneaking past a snoozing
The four maneuvers are: guard, are made harder when many people
do them. Position, effect, or both, would be
u Assist another PC who’s rolling an action.
impaired compared to a single person doing it.
u Lead a group action.
Then, the leader rolls dice equal to the best rating
u Protect a teammate.
for that action among the PCs in the group. The
u Set up a character who will follow through on leader can push or make a devil’s bargain as with
your action. any other action roll, but none of the participants
u Take point when the group is traversing. in the group action can assist (they are already
helping as much as they can).
Assist That one action roll decides success for the whole
When you assist another player who’s rolling, group. On a failure or mixed success, consequences
describe what your character does to help. Take might be applied to everyone equally, to the leader
1 stress and give them +1d to their roll. You might alone, or to one character chosen randomly,
also suffer any consequences that occur because of depending on what makes sense in the fiction.
the roll, depending on the circumstances. Only one
character can assist a given roll. If you really want The action roll also determines the stress cost. This
to help and someone else is already assisting, consider is in addition to any consequences.
performing a setup maneuver instead. Lead a Group Action
A character can assist a group action, but only if Say how the The action roll determines
they aren’t taking part in it directly. You decide team is working success for the entire group. It
which character in the group action gets the bonus together. The also determines stress cost:
leader rolls dice Critical: No stress cost.
die.
equal to the 6: Leader pays 1 stress.
highest rating for
Lead a Group Action that action among
the team.
4/5: Leader pays 2 stress.
1-3: Leader pays 2 stress and
When you lead a group action, you coordinate everyone else pays 1 stress.
multiple members of the team to tackle a problem
together. Describe how your character leads the Your character doesn’t have to be especially skilled
group in a coordinated effort. Do you bark orders, at the action at hand in order to lead a group action.
give subtle hand signals, or provide careful instruc- This maneuver is about leadership, not necessarily
tion and encouragement? Also say exactly what the ability. You can also lead your crew’s cohorts with a
team is doing together. group action (with position and effect determined
accordingly). You can roll their quality level if it
The GM will set position and effect accordingly. is better than your action rating. They don’t have
stress, so they don’t pay a penalty on a 1–3 roll.

90
Protect The PCs are facing a heavily armored carriage that’s
immune to their weapons. Aldo uses Wreck as a
You step in to face a consequence that one of your setup action to pry some of the armor loose with his
teammates would otherwise face. You suffer it crowbar, giving follow up actions +1 effect—going
instead of them. You can roll to resist it as nor- from zero to limited effect.
mal. Describe how you intervene.
This is how you do the “I’ll dive in front of the arrow.” Take Point
You cover for a teammate, suffering any harm or

5. Playing the Game

When traversing from one place to another during
other consequences that still linger after you’ve rolled
a delve, one character takes point and the others
to resist. It hurts, cost stress, and may leave you in a
follow. See page  79 for more information on
bad spot. But hey, you’re a hero.
traversing.

Set Up Is Teamwork Required?

When you perform a setup action, you have an
Teamwork maneuvers are options, not require-
indirect effect on an obstacle. If your action has
ments. Each character can still perform solo
its intended result, any member of the team who
actions as normal during a delve. If your character
follows through on your maneuver gets +1 effect
can’t communicate or somehow coordinate with
level or improved position for their roll. You
the rest of the team, you can’t use or benefit from
choose the benefit, based on the nature of your
any teamwork maneuvers.
setup action.
This is how you do the “I’ll create a distraction” The rules, however, do make it more efficient and
scene. You roll Sway to distract a guard with your effective to use teamwork than to go it alone. Crews
charms, then any teammate who follows through will find that creative use of the teamwork options
with a Prowl action to sneak past him can get will lead to greater success.
improved position. It’s less risky since you’re drawing
the guard’s attention.
This is a good way to contribute to an operation
PC vs. PC
The opposite of teamwork is conflict between PCs.
when you don’t have a good rating in the action
Since this game is about a crew working together
at hand. A clever setup action lets you help the
against opposition, that should be rare. It is pos-
team indirectly. Multiple follow-up actions can
sible, however, for players to find their characters
take advantage of your setup (including someone
working at cross purposes or even getting into
leading a group action) as long as it makes sense
active conflict with each other.
in the fiction.
PC vs. PC is not the same as a disagreement between
Since a setup action can increase the effect of
the players themselves. There isn’t any way for the
follow-up actions, it’s also useful when the team
game to resolve interpersonal problems at the gam-
is facing tough opposition that has advantages
ing table. If two players are arguing, stop the game
in quality, scale, and/or potency. Even if the PCs
and work it out as maturely as you can. If a player’s
are reduced to zero effect due to disadvantages in
actions in game are being used to manipulate or
a situation, the setup action provides a bonus that
bother another player, that’s also not OK. Stop the
allows for limited effect.
game. Work it out person to person.
But if two players who are friendly with each other
find their characters opposing each other, that’s
completely fine. Only let this happen if both players

91
 are clear that they’re having fun with roleplaying a
conflict between their characters, and that there Coin and Stash
won’t be hard feelings however it turns out.
The standard game rules are built around PCs act-
Coin
ing on NPCs, not PC vs. PC. In a conflict between Coin is an abstract measure of cash and liquid assets.
PCs, figure out with the GM who is doing what. The Yethri used large gold coins for large transactions.
Choose action ratings to reflect what the PCs are No one really uses those for normal exchange, but
doing. Set the stakes for each PC via position and “coin” has stuck as a term for a significant amount of
5. Playing the Game

effect. They can push themselves or get assistance money, even though the actual coins used are worth
as usual. Make sure everyone is clear what a success, much less than an old Yethri gold piece.
tie, or failure will mean. Then roll the dice. In this The few bits PCs use in their daily lives are not
case, the PC with the highest die result succeeds tracked. If a character wants to spend to achieve
(equivalent to a success on a regular roll), while the a small goal (bribe a tavernkeep), use the PC’s
other PC fails. A tie is a mixed success for both. lifestyle quality for a fortune roll.
It might take one or several die rolls to get to reso-
lution of the action. Play through the scene as you
normally would. If it goes on, make sure all of the
Monetary Values
u 1 coin: A full purse of silver pieces. A week’s
players are still OK with how it’s going. Take your wages for skilled work.
time and talk out each decision so that the whole
u 2 coin: A fine weapon. A weekly income for
process feels fair to everyone.
a small business. A fine piece of art. A set of
luxury clothes.
u 4 coin: A satchel full of silver. A month’s wages.
u 6 coin: An exquisite jewel. A heavy burden of
silver pieces.

92
u 8 coin: A good monthly take for a small busi- u Stash 40: Fine. A well-appointed home or
ness. A small safe full of coins and valuables. A manor, claiming a few luxuries. You might oper-
very rare luxury commodity. ate a medium business or be the lord of a village.
u 10 coin: Liquidating a significant asset—a In addition, each full row of stash (10 coins) indi-
fishing boat, a good horse, a deed to a small cates the quality level of the character’s lifestyle,
property. from zero (street life) to four (luxury).
More than 4 coin is an impractical amount to keep Cross wants some alone-time with a prospective new

5. Playing the Game

lying around. You must spend the excess or put it friend, but he can’t take them back to the hidden base
in your stash (see below). A crew can also store 4 where he lives, so what to do? Ryan, Cross’s player,
coin in their base, by default. If they upgrade to a says he wants to rent a nice room for the evening, so
vault, they can expand their stores to 8 and then 16 the GM asks for a fortune roll using Cross’s lifestyle
coin. Any coin beyond their limit must be spent as rating to see what quality of room Cross can manage.
soon as possible (typically before the next delve)
or distributed among the crew members.
Removing Coin
One unit of coin in silver pieces or other bulk
currency takes up one item slot for your load
From Your Stash
when carried. If you want to pull coin out of your stash, you may
do so, at a cost. Your character sells off some of
Coin Use their assets and investments in order to get some
quick cash. For every 2 stash removed, you get 1
u Spend 1 coin to get an additional activity coin in cash.
during downtime.
u Spend 1 coin to increase the result level of a
downtime activity roll. The Faction Game
u Spend coin to avoid certain crew entangle- Since the Awakening, Athland has experienced waves
ments. of chaos and disorder. Various factions have arisen to
u Put coin in your character’s stash to improve compete for influence in local, regional, and national
their lifestyle and circumstances when they spheres of power.
retire.
u Spend coin when you advance your crew’s Tier. Tier
Each notable faction is ranked by Tier—a measure
Stash and Retirement of wealth, influence, and scale. At the highest level
When you mark your character’s final trauma and are the Tier V and VI factions, the true powers of
they retire, the amount of coin they’ve managed to the realm. Your crew begins at Tier 0.
stash away determines their fate. Your stash tracker You’ll use your Tier rating to roll dice when you
is on your character sheet. acquire an asset, as well as for any fortune roll for
u Stash 0-9: Poor soul. You end up in the gutter, which your crew’s overall power level and influ-
awash in vice and misery. ence is the primary trait. Most importantly, your
u Stash 10-19: Meager. A tiny hovel that you can Tier determines the quality level of your items as
call your own. well as the quality and scale of the gangs your crew
u Stash 20-39: Modest. A simple home, with employs—and thereby what size of enemy you can
some small comforts. You might operate a tav- expect to handle.
ern or small business.

93
 Gang Scale By Tier Reputation is a kind of abstract currency. Losing
reputation can be a consequence paid for actions
u Tier v. Massive gangs. (80 people)
that negatively affect the credibility of your crew, or
u Tier iv. Huge gangs. (40 people) to limit the reputational harm that might occur due
u Tier iii. Large gangs. (20 people) to events in the fiction.
u Tier ii. Medium gangs. (12 people) Additionally, reputation is used to increase your
u Tier i. Small gangs. (3-6 people) Tier. You need 20 reputation to fill the repu-
u Tier 0. 1 or 2 people tation tracker on your crew sheet. When you fill
5. Playing the Game

A given faction might have no gangs, one gang, or the tracker, you can pay to increase your crew Tier
many gangs. by one. This costs coin equal to your new Tier ×
8. As long as your reputation tracker is full, you

Increasing Tier don’t earn new reputation (20 is the max). Once
you pay the cost to increase your Tier, reset your
To move up the ladder and develop your crew, you reputation to zero. Then start over to work on
need reputation. Reputation is a measure of clout gaining reputation.
and renown. When you accrue enough reputation,
the other factions take you more seriously and you
attract the support needed to develop and grow.
Faction Status
Your crew’s status with each faction indicates how
When you complete a delve or operation, your well you are liked or hated. Status is rated from -3
crew earns reputation. See page 103, Reputation to +3, with zero (neutral) being the default starting
Earned, to find out how much reputation is earned status. You track your status with each faction on
after each delve. the faction sheet.

Faction Status Levels

This faction will help you even if it’s not in their best interest to do so. They expect you to do the
+3: Allies
same for them.
This faction will help you if it doesn’t create serious problems for them. They expect you to do
+2: Friendly
the same.
This faction will help you if it causes no problems or significant cost for them. They expect the
+1: Helpful
same from you.
0: Neutral This faction doesn't care about you.
This faction will look for opportunities to cause trouble for you (or profit from your
-1: Interfering misfortune) as long as it causes no problems or significant cost for them. They expect the same
from you
This faction will look for opportunities to hurt you as long as it doesn’t create serious problems
-2: Hostile
for them. They expect you to do the same, and take precautions against you.

This faction will go out of its way to hurt you even if it’s not in their best interest to do so. They
expect you to do the same, and take precautions against you. When you’re at war with any
-3: War number of factions, your crew suffers +1 trouble from delves, temporarily loses 1 hold, and
PCs get only one downtime action rather than two. You can end a war by eliminating your
enemy or by negotiating a mutual agreement to establish a new status rating.

94
When you create your crew, you assign some In the same way, you can try to learn about other
positive and negative status ratings to reflect recent faction’s claims and horn in on their territory.
history. The ratings will then change over time
based on your actions in play. Making a Claim
A barrow can have several levels of exploration and
Faction status changes control.
When you execute an operation, you gain -1 or -2 u Rumored. You might have some idea that it
status with factions that are hurt by your actions. exists and its general location, but you don’t

5. Playing the Game

You may also gain +1 status with a faction that know exactly where it is.
your operation helps. (If you keep your operation
u Located. You know exactly where it is and how
completely quiet then your status doesn’t change.)
to get into it, but you have no control over access
Your status may also change if you do a favor for a
to it. You may or may not have completed delves
faction or if you refuse one of their demands.
into the barrow. You might be trying to keep the
If your crew has weak hold when you go to war, the location secret.
temporary loss of hold causes you to lose one Tier. u Claimed. You have made a public claim to the
When the war is over, restore your crew’s Tier back to barrow. Others have some idea where it is, but
its prewar level. you have staked your reputation on making
it “yours.” If others want to delve the barrow,
Faction Status With Temples they need to get your permission or violate
your claim. That might mean something, or
Each of the major gods in the Athland pantheon
not, depending on your ability to enforce your
has temples throughout the land. Each of these
claim. In general, crews will think twice about
networks of temples is a faction’(if the temple is
violating the claims of higher Tier crews. If you
not identified as a separate faction in the standard
violate the claim of a higher Tier crew, and they
list, you can still interact with it, since every god
find out about it, you’ll lose at least -1 status
has a network of temples and functions as its own
with them.
faction).
u Secured: You have put barriers in place that
If you have good status with a temple, your crew also prevent others from accessing the barrow:
has a good status with that god, which can provide guards, walls, magical wards, etc. Describe how
supernatural aid when the crew embarks on delves you are doing this. Some barrows are physically
or other endeavor (if the god is displeased, you will much harder to secure than others (a barrow in
lose status with the temple also). See the section on the form of a haunted forest is harder to control
Praying for Divine Favor on page 110 for more than a single cave opening). Assuming it is prac-
information. tical to do so, spend coin equal to your crew
Tier+1 on securing a barrow. That will make its
Claims security level equal to your crew Tier and other
gangs will need to overcome that to enter or
For a crew of raiders, knowledge of and access to a control the barrow. You may take other actions
barrow is a valuable asset. If you find a previously (spend coin, commit a gang, spend downtime
unknown barrow, you may be able to keep it a activities, etc.) to reinforce the security of your
secret—for a while. Once word gets out, other claim on a barrow. This can increase the effective
factions will certainly get involved. They may delve Tier of the defense of your claim, as negotiated
the barrow, take over your claim to the barrow and with the GM.
deny you access, ambush you on an exit and force
you to hand over your loot, or otherwise interfere.

95
 Each downtime, a claimed or secured barrow Losing a claim
provides 1  reputation to your crew for a barrow
An enemy faction may try to seize a claim that your
equal to your Tier or 2 reputation if it is of higher
crew holds. You can fight to defend it, or negotiate
Tier—3 reputation if it is more than two Tiers
a deal with the faction, depending on the situation.
higher, but that will be really hard to hold on to.
If you lose a claim, you lose all the benefits of that
Any violation of your claim means that no reputa-
claim. If your base is lost, you lose the benefits of
tion is earned.
all of your claims until you can restore your base or
Allowing Access to Claimed Barrows establish a new one. To restore or establish a new
5. Playing the Game

base, accomplish a operation to do so.

If you want, during downtime, you can give friendly
factions access to a barrow you control (assuming
there are such factions). Advancement
If so, roll 1d for each barrow you control that has
not been picked clean. On a 6, a friendly faction PC Advancement
pays you 1 coin+the barrow’s Tier (if you control Each player keeps track of the experience points
multiple barrows, the GM can make fortune roll to (xp) that their character earns.
determine which one is accessed). On a critical,
double the payout. During the game session, mark xp:

When you allow access to a barrow, the GM will u When you make a desperate action roll. Mark
start a “picked clean” clock for that barrow. Each 1 xp in the attribute for the action you rolled.
access will result in a fortune roll to tick the clock. For example, if you roll a desperate Skirmish
Once picked clean, no one will want access and any action, you mark xp in Prowess. When you
delves you conduct will produce little or no profit roll in a group action that’s desperate, you also
unless you can discover a new and unexploited part mark xp.
of that barrow. At the end of the session, review the xp triggers on
your character sheet. For each one, mark 1 xp if it
Seizing a claim happened at all, or mark 2 xp if it happened a lot
If a barrow is claimed by another faction, you can during the session. The xp triggers are:
attempt to seize it. The GM will detail the claim u Your playbook-specific xp trigger. For exam-
with a location and a description and will tell you ple “Address a challenge with violence or coercion.”
which faction currently controls that claim. Or the To “address a challenge,” your character should
GM might offer you a choice of a few options if attempt to overcome a tough obstacle or threat.
they’re available. It doesn’t matter if the action is successful or
Execute the operation like any other action, and if not. You get xp either way.
you succeed, you seize the claim and the targeted u You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage,
faction loses the claim. or background. Your character’s beliefs and
drives are yours to define, session to session.
Seizing a claim is a serious attack on a faction, usu-
Feel free to tell the group about them when you
ally resulting in -2 faction status with the target,
mark xp.
and potentially +1 status with its enemies. As soon
as you seize a claim, you enjoy access to that barrow. u You struggled with issues from your reprieve
or traumas. Mark xp for this if your reprieve
tempted you to some bad action or if a trauma

96
 condition caused you trouble. Simply seeking with the gang from her homeland, so she takes 2 xp
reprieve doesn’t count as struggling with it for that. She also showcased her character’s beliefs,
(unless you overload, see page 112) but 2 xp is the maximum for that category, so she
You may mark end-of-session xp on any xp tracks doesn’t get any more. She didn’t struggle with her
you want (any attribute or your playbook xp track). reprieve or traumas, so no xp there. That’s 4 xp at
the end of the session. She decides to put it all in her
When you fill an xp track, clear all the marks and Insight xp track. This fills the track, so she adds a
take an advance. new action dot in Hunt.
5. Playing the Game

Special Ability Advances You can also earn xp by training during downtime.
When you train, mark xp in one of your attributes
When you take an advance from your playbook
or in your playbook. A given xp track can be trained
track, you may choose an additional special abil-
only once per downtime phase. See Training,
ity. This can be any of the abilities from your own
page 112.
playbook. If you want, you can also take a veteran
ability by choosing one from another playbook.
Explain how this happened in the fiction. Write Crew Advancement
that ability in the notes section of your character At the end of the session, review the crew xp
sheet. triggers and mark 1 crew xp for each item that
occurred during the session. If an item occurred
Commitments multiple times or in a major way, mark 2 crew xp
At the time of taking a special ability advance, you for it. The crew xp triggers are:
can choose a commitment for your character, as u Your crew-specific xp trigger. For example, the
long as you meet the prerequisites. You will proba- Breakers’ is “win a battle, dominate through threats
bly want to plan for commitments in advance, since of force, or smash and grab valuable treasure.” If
they generally require advance planning to meet the crew successfully completed an operation
requirements. A commitment will also become a from this trigger, mark xp.
big part of character’s identity, so it should make
u Contend with challenges above your current
sense in terms of how that character behaves
station. If you tangled with barrows or factions
and how you as a player see your character. See
of higher Tiers, or more dangerous opposition,
page 154 for more information on commitments.
mark xp for this.
If none of the listed commitments seem like they
fit your character, then it’s entirely OK to play your u Bolster your crew’s reputation or develop a
character without one. new one. Review your crew’s reputation. Did
you do anything to promote it? Also mark xp if
Attribute Advances you developed a new reputation for the crew.
When you take an advance from an attribute, you u Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or
can add an additional action dot to one of the essential nature of the crew. This one is very
actions under that attribute. broad! Essentially, did anything happen that
highlighted the specific elements that make
Nadja is playing a Hunter. At the end of the session, your crew unique?
she reviews her xp triggers and tells the group how
much xp she’s getting. She rolled two desperate Hunt When you fill your crew advancement tracker,
actions during the session, so she marked 2 xp on her clear the marks and take a new special ability or
Insight xp track. She addressed several challenges mark two crew upgrade boxes.
with tracking or violence, so she marks 2 xp for that.
She expressed her heritage many times when dealing

98
 For example, when a crew of Burglars earns a crew
advance, they could take a new special ability, like
Bringing In New
Slippery. Or they could mark two upgrades, like Player Characters
Rigging and Resolve Training. A player might want an additional character, per-
Say how you’ve obtained this new ability or haps to play while their regular character is lost in
upgrades for the crew. Where did it come from? How reprieve or recovering from harm. Or a player char-
does it become a new part of the crew? acter has died. Or you want to bring a new player
into the group after the initial character creation

5. Playing the Game

Profits process has finished and the campaign has been in
play for some number of sessions.
Every time the crew advances, each PC gets stash
If you’re within the first few sessions, just create a
equal to the new crew Tier+2, to represent profits
new character according to the standard procedure.
generated by the crew as they’ve been operating.
If the PCs have earned several advances, however,

Changing Playbooks they can seriously outmatch a new character,

making the game seem unbalanced and less fun. If
or Crew Type so, it’s OK to give new PCs their own advances to
catch them up. A more experienced and successful
A player might want to change their character to a
crew will attract more capable recruits, after all.
different playbook (a Cutter becomes a Lurk), or

Magnitude
the group may decide to shift their crew to a new
type (Hawkers become Assassins). There are two
ways to do this.
Supernatural entities and energies have a wide
u The change represents a “rebuild” of the charac-
variety of effects and power levels. To help the GM
ter or crew. For instance, if the PC was created
judge these forces consistently, the magnitude
as a Thief, but after a couple sessions, the player
scale is provided. See the master table of magni-
realizes that the Hunter playbook is a better fit
tude below. Magnitude measures the quality level
for what they want to play. In this case, re-create
of a monster or different aspects of an arcane force:
the character or crew anew using the new sheet,
its area, scale, duration, range, and force. Whenever
keeping the same number of advances already
you need to assess an entity or power, use the mag-
earned.
nitude scale as a guideline to judge how it compares
u The change represents growth into something relative to the examples given on the table.
new, leaving the old life behind. In this case,
transfer the action ratings of a PC or the You can use the magnitude of an entity or power
upgrades of a crew to the new sheet (keeping the as a dice pool for a fortune roll to see how much
same total number of action dots or upgrades; effect it has, if it’s not obvious or certain.
you don’t get the “free” elements of the new A sea monster summons a crushing wave at the
playbook as extra advancement). You may keep canal dock where the PCs are landing their boat.
u some of the special abilities already earned as How badly does this damage the vessel and the
Veteran advances. A crew might also keep their crew? Obviously it’s gonna be bad for them, but are
claims—assess each one to see if it makes sense they merely sinking or are they immediately wrecked
in the fiction to keep it with the new crew type. and sunk? The GM makes a fortune roll using 6d
(the magnitude of the monster). On a 1-3, the wave
has only little effect (for a huge wave), causing the
craft to take on water and begin sinking. On a 4/5,
the wave has reduced effect, fully swamping the boat

99
 and throwing some of the characters and their cargo The magnitude table is provided as a tool to help
overboard. On a 6, the wave has full effect, imme- the GM make judgment calls. It’s not meant to
diately sinking the boat and dragging the crew and be a rigid restriction or mathematical formula to
cargo under. On a critical, the boat is sunk, and replace those judgment calls. Use the levels as a
also the crew and cargo are badly harmed by flying rough guideline for setting a magnitude number
debris and the crushing force of the wave. that seem appropriate to you.
You can add levels of magnitude together to This table can also be used as a guide to quality
describe a combination of effects, or simply focus level when a PC acquires an asset or crafts an
5. Playing the Game

on one key feature for the magnitude assessment, item. See Crafting, page 113.
ignoring other elements, even if they’re on the
magnitude scale. They’re not always additive.
In the example above, the monster generated mag-
nitude 6 force and the GM included its area of effect
“for free” as part of the power. A huge wave at a dock
should affect the boats and the crews there, the GM
decides.

Area / Scale
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

A closet A small A large Several A small A large A city

room room rooms building building block
1 or 2 Small Medium Large Huge Massive Colossal gang
people gang (3-6) gang (12) gang (20) gang (40) gang (80) (160)

Duration / Range
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A few A few An hour A few hours A day Several A week
moments minutes days
Within A dozen A stone’s Down the Several Across Across
reach paces throw road blocks away a town a city

Tier and Quality / Force

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Poor Adequate Good Excellent Superior Impeccable Legendary

Weak Moderate Strong Serious Powerful Overwhelming Devastating

100
Force Examples Quality Examples
Hurricane wind, molten lava, tidal wave, electrical A mansion, large ship, rare essences or arcane
6 6
maelstrom artifacts, powerful monster
A trebuchet, raging thunder-storm, massive fire, A large townhouse, small ship, custom-tailored
5 5
lightning strike clothing, magical barrier
A charging horse, burning forge, bomb, whirlwind, A luxury vehicle, fine manor house, typical monster
4 4
electrocution or powerful ghost

5. Playing the Game

A crushing blow, staggering wind, grenade, searing A carriage, boat, finely crafted armor, fashionable
3 3
fire, electrical surge clothing, small home
A well made sword, respectable clothing, private
2 A powerful blow, howling wind, burning brand 2
rented room, typical ghost
A solid punch, steady wind, torch flame, electrical A simple polearm, ordinary clothing, shared
1 1
shock apartment, cheap food or drugs
A rusty knife, worn and tattered clothing, rickety
0 A firm shove, a candle flame, breeze, tiny spark 0
shack on the street

101
Chapter 6
Downtime
6. Downtime
After the crew finishes a delve (succeed or fail), After the downtime activities are resolved, the
they take time to recover, regroup, and prepare game returns to free play, and the group can move
for the next one. This phase of the game is called toward their next delve.
downtime.
Downtime fulfills two purposes in the game:
u First, it’s a break for the players. During the
Payoff
After a delve, the PCs take stock of the loot they
action of the delve, the PCs are always under
have obtained. A successful delve generates both
threat, charging from obstacle to obstacle in a
rep and coin.
high-energy sequence. Downtime gives them a
reprieve so they can catch their breath and relax
a bit—focus on lower-energy, quieter elements Rep Earned
of the game, as well as explore personal aspects The crew earns 2 rep per delve by default. If the
of their characters. target of the delve is higher Tier than you, take
u Second, the shift into a new phase of the game +1 rep per Tier higher. If the target is lower Tier,
signals a shift in which mechanics are needed. you get -1 rep per Tier lower (minimum zero).
There are special rules that are only used during If your crew is Tier I and you pull off a successful
the downtime phase, so they’re kept “out of delve in a Tier III barrow, you earn 4 rep (2 rep,
the way” during the other parts of play. When +2 rep for a target two Tiers above you). If your
we shift into downtime, we take out a different crew is Tier III and you complete a delve in a Tier I
toolbox and resolve downtime on its own terms, barrow, you earn 0 rep (2 rep, -2 rep for the lower
then shift back into the more action-focused Tier target).
phases of the game afterwards.
If you keep the delve completely secret so no one
Downtime is divided into four parts, which are knows about it, you earn zero rep.
resolved in order:
Mark the rep on the rep tracker on the crew sheet.
1. Payoff. The crew receives their rewards from a
successfully completed delve. You will also earn rep for conducting an operation—
2. Trouble. The crew accumulates suspicion and generally 2 rep if you acted against an equal Tier
attention from the law and the powers-that-be faction, + or – one rep per Tier of difference (min-
in the region as a result of their last delve. imum zero). Just as with a delve, if you keep the
operation completely quiet, you earn no rep.
3. Entanglements. The crew faces trouble from
the rival factions, the law, and the haunted city
itself. Coin Earned
4. Downtime Activities. The PCs seek reprieve Once you get back to your base after a delve, you
to remove stress, work on long-term projects, can start figuring out the value of your loot. You get
recover from injuries, etc. in touch with your contacts and start assessing what
you managed to haul back with you. Sometimes,

103
 an object that seemed almost worthless turns out the Artificer ability, it could be challenging and
to be the perfect thing a mage needs for a magical potentially dangerous to store, carry, and use
ritual and she will pay handsomely for it. Other alchemical items.
times, the stuff you thought was going to make you u Magical items: The GM can pick from the list
rich turns out to be junk. of standard items (page  116) or invent some-
Payout is determined by rolling your loot dice. thing different. Alternately, it cold be a unique
single-use item, such as those on the list below.
Payout Roll Avoid item bloat. One cool item is awesome, but a
Roll your blue Each 5 or 6: 1 coin. giant pile of them gets boring. Heritage items should
loot dice Three blue sixes : special item. be used rarely and integrated into the story. Alchem-
6. Downtime

Roll your red loot Each 4, 5, or 6: 1 coin. ical items are self limiting in that they are used once
dice Two red sixes: special item. and then they are gone. Magical items are limited
in that there are carry limits (one at a time for most
Some towns or regions have crime bosses that PCs or 3 for characters with the Enchanter special
expect smaller crews to pay a tithe from their ability).
delves. Ask the GM if there’s a boss that you should
Many magical special items can be single use rather
be paying. Subtract coin equal to your crew Tier
than have continued utility. That way the PCs can
+1 when you pay a tithe to a boss or larger organi-
find them, do something awesome or weird, and
zation. If you’re supposed to be paying off a boss, but
move on.
you don’t, start a clock for that boss’s patience running
out. Tick it whenever you don’t pay. Every time it fills Sample Single Use Special Items
up, lose 1 faction status with them.
u Bitter pill: This a very large greenish pill which
tastes unbelievably bad. To choke it down, roll
Special Items Attune. On 1–3, you just can't. On 4/5, take
The possibility of finding and using special items level 1 long-term harm (nauseated) and get
discovered and identified during the delve was it down. On 6, you get it down. Once down,
discussed on page  82. But in many cases, you a you'll have something like a seizure, but with
special item until you return to your base and have a lot more agony, for about 5 minutes. When
time to sort through the stuff you found. that's over, you will have greatly expanded
senses and clarity of understanding for the next
The GM decides what was found. Here are some several hours. You can see in the dark, smell like
possibilities: a hound, hear like a bat, balance like a cat. You
u Heritage item: This is a mundane item or gad- have an unerring sense of when someone is lying
get with some kind of interesting story attached. to you. You get +1d to any gather information
It will usually be of fine quality. It might be roll, with increased effect. As the magic of the
extremely fancy (inlaid with gold and jewels, pill fades, you will have a stunning revelation
for example). For example, a fine falcatta of the about the nature of the universe and your place
ancient witch kings. It should have a story that is in it, which you will immediately forget.
interesting enough that the PCs are likely to set u Clay golem: This is a small, vaguely Human fig-
it aside instead of just selling it. ure made of clay. Attune with it and command
u Alchemical item: This could be any of the it to grow, and it will expand to the size of a large
standard alchemical items (page  115), or the Human. It does not speak, but it has prodigious
GM could come up with a different alchemical strength and will follow simple commands for
concoction. If the crew doesn't have a PC with

104
 24 hours, after which it dissolves into mud. If time the weapon eats a soul, roll 1d. On 6, the
you use it to carry extra loot out of the delve for spirit is released and the weapon crumbles into
you, get +1d to your payoff roll. rust.
u Death mask: Place this strange mask on the u Spider ring: Put this ring on a finger and turn
face of a person who has died within the last the top of it widdershins (counter-clockwise).
week and whose body is essentially intact. The The ring embeds itself in your flesh. For the next
mask is absorbed into the skin as the person is 24 hours, you have the ability to climb on any
revived for one day and an hour. But then, alas, solid surface, even horizontal ones. At the end
death returns. of that time, the ring turns into a regular spider
and crawls away, leaving a scar around that

6. Downtime
u Fish form box: A small wooden box with
jeweled inlay. Open the box to see a magically finger.
projected image of a swimming fish. Touch the u Staff of smiting: This appears to be a regular
fish and the box disappears while you transform wooden staff, carved with strange markings that
into a fish-Human hybrid, with gills, fins, etc. glow very faintly in dim light. However, if you
You have trouble on land (you can breathe, but succeed in striking a monster or supernatural
can't move very well), but are now perfectly entity with killing intent, you have potency
suited to living and moving underwater. This even against enemies of greater Tier or magni-
effect lasts for one day. tude. It will affect creatures that cannot normally
u Gem of comprehension: Place this blue be harmed by physical attacks. The staff breaks
gem against your forehead and attune to it. It with that strike.
embeds itself into your head and provides you u Water of healing: This is a small flask contain-
the ability to comprehend and read any spoken ing what seems to be lightly scented water. You
or written language. You can speak any language can pour it over one external physical wound.
that your voice is able to approximate. The gem That wound, no matter how severe, is healed
disappears after a week, leaving you with a immediately. If used quickly enough on an
severe headache (level 1 harm) and a small scar. appropriate wound, this can eliminate even
u Porcelain scouting bird: Place this small level 4 harm. If won't fix decapitation or whole
figurine in your hand and speak a mystic word body burns, but it will heal a spear through the
inscribed on its back. It will transform into chest or ripped off limb (it will reattach the limb
a magical bird. The user can see through the if it is held against the wound while healing, or
bird's eyes and direct its flight. After an hour, the leave a well-healed stump if not).
connection is lost and the bird flies away, free.
Selling Special items
u Salve of rejuvenation: Spread this soothing
balm over your forehead and lie down for five The PCs may want money more than they want
minutes. All of your stress is cleared. the item they found. By default, a single use special
item is worth 1 coin while a multi-use item is worth
u Soulkiller: This is a dagger, sword, polearm,
2 coin. However, if the PCs want to play out the
spear, or other melee weapon. It is highly
process of finding a buyer and negotiating a better
magical and possessed by a spirit. When the
price, they can also do that.
weapon is used to kill a worthy opponent, the
spirit consumes their soul. As a side effect, the
wielder of the weapon clears their highest level
of harm. If there is no harm, they clear 2 stress.
The spirit has need of only a certain number of
souls and has already consumed some. Each

105
 Trouble and contributes to the severity of the Entanglements
your crew faces after a delve.

Notoriety Reducing Notoriety

Barrow raiders are not outlaws, but they're not There are three ways to reduce your crew’s notori-
completely legitimate, either. Raiders prefer to ety level: lay low or perform a service.
avoid notice as much as they can. More notice
u If you lay low, you hold off on performing
attracts problems in the form of robbers, grifters,
delves or other activities that generate profits
nobles, mages, monsters, tax collectors, and others.
for the crew. In the story, that means we skip
6. Downtime

Every delve attracts attention from prying eyes ahead in time anywhere from a couple of weeks
and informants. To reflect this, your crew acquires to a couple of months. The GM will tick multi-
trouble. Sometimes, you acquire trouble as a con- ple faction clocks to represent time going by (if
sequence for an action roll. But usually, it comes appropriate, make a fortune roll for each rele-
during downtime when your crew returns and vant clock: 1–3: 1 tick, 4/5 2 ticks, 6: 3 ticks).
people start find out how it went. Pay Tier +1 in coin to represent cost of living
What drives trouble? M-O-N-E-Y. The bigger the (and paying your cohorts). Clear one level of
payoff, the more attention you attract. Whenever notoriety.
you get a payoff, look on the table to see how much u If you perform a service, you seek out an
trouble you accrue. important faction, either in local government
or with significant sway over the government.
Trouble Offer to provide a service for little or no fee, just
0 coin 0 trouble because you like and respect them so very much.
1–3 coin 1 trouble Then complete a delve or operation that they
4– 6 coin 2 trouble assign to you, successfully meeting the objec-
7–9 coin 4 trouble tive they have provided. Gain +1  status with
that faction and clear one level of notoriety.
10+ coin 6 trouble
u Use a downtime activity (page  108) to take
Add +1 trouble for a high-profile delve or well- action in the fiction to reduce notoriety. This
known sponsor. Add +1 trouble if a special item will be a clock (higher notoriety means more
was recovered. Add +1 trouble if you’re at war with segments). Say how you do this and make a roll.
another faction or if someone from the Athland
side was killed during the delve (from your crew,
another faction, or anyone else).
Entanglements
Your crew didn’t just spring into existence on your
You mark trouble levels on the trouble tracker
first delve. You have a complex history of favors,
on the crew sheet. The higher your level of trouble,
commitments, debts, and promises that got you
the more attention you attract. When your trouble
where you are today. After payoff and trouble
level reaches 9, you gain a notoriety level and clear
are determined, check for entanglements. Make
your trouble (any excess trouble “rolls over,” so if
a fortune roll: 1d, plus one die for each level of
your trouble was 7 and you took 4 trouble, you’d
notoriety.
reset with 2 trouble marked).
The higher your notoriety level, the more serious
the response when higher Tier factions take
action against you (they’ll send a force of higher
quality and scale). Also, a higher notoriety level
106
 most inconvenient time between now and the end
Entanglement Roll of the next delve.
Roll 1d. Critical: Severe entanglement.
Flipped Show of force
Add +1d 6: Major entanglement
Reprisals Nobility
per level of 4/5: Minor entanglement. complications
notoriety. 1-3: No problems.
Followed
Some entanglements show up at more than one
If the roll comes up “no problems,” there is no sig- level of severity. If so, the higher level indicates a
nificant entanglement this downtime. Otherwise, bigger problem.
the GM will assign one, from the list below, at the

6. Downtime
indicated level of challenge. Entanglements manifest fully before the PCs have
a chance to avoid them. When an entanglement
The GM might bring the entanglement into play comes into play, describe the situation after it has
immediately, or hold off until an appropriate started to happen. The PCs deal with it from that
moment during downtime, free play, or even the point—they can’t intercept it and defuse it before
next delve. For example, if you get the Cohort it happens. Entanglements are the cost of doing
Trouble entanglement, it might manifest when the business as barrow raiders—a good crew learns to
PC seeks reprieve and the gang gets involved with roll with the punches and pick their battles.
the character's family.
u Cooperation. A higher status faction asks you
Minor Entanglements for a favor. They won't be happy if you refuse.
Minor entanglements are relatively mundane u Flipped. One of the PCs’ rivals arranges for one
problems. I the players are interested in dealing of your contacts, patrons, clients, or brokers to
with a minor entanglement through role-play, they switch allegiances to a rival faction. The rivals
can do that. If not, they can usually buy off a minor now have information they can use against the
entanglement for 1 coin, 1 rep, or -1 status with a crew.
faction of equal or higher Tier, depending on the u Followed. Something has followed you back
situation (GM has final say). from a delve. Maybe it tracked you, maybe it
Cohort trouble Supply problems was even hidden among your loot. A monster, a
ghost, a group of creatures, or something really
Friend in need Cooperation
strange.
Rivals Tax
u Friend in Need. One player will need to volun-
Major Entanglements teer a friend, ally, or source of reprieve who gets
in some kind of trouble: bad debt, thrown in jail,
Major entanglements are serious problems brought
lost job, nasty vendetta, captured for ransom,
about by friction generated by the operations of
etc.
the crew. Unlike minor entanglements, they can't
just be bought off. u Cohort trouble. One of your cohorts (a gang
or expert) causes trouble due to their flaw(s).
Cooperation Show of force
u Nobility Complications. The crew has
Reprisals Flipped
attracted the attention of local noble houses.
Followed They might stage a raid, send a representative
Severe Entanglements demanding the crew perform some service,
accuse a crew member of murder and demand
A severe entanglement represent a big problems for an appearance in court, or other governmental
the crew, usually involving a higher Tier adversary interference.
that is pushing its weight around. It will hit at the

107
 u Reprisals. An enemy faction makes a move
against you (or a friend, contact, or source of
reprieve). Apologize, pay them off, or fight them.
u Rivals. A faction that is neutral or -1 status with
you throws their weight around. They threaten
you, a friend, a contact, or source of reprieve.
u Show of force. A faction with whom you have a
negative status makes a play against your holdings.
Perhaps you can pay them off by giving up a claim
to a barrow.
6. Downtime

u Supply Problems. The crew has trouble getting

some of the items it depends on to manage its reg-
ular operations. The GM chooses one of: crafting
supplies, magical supplies, weapons/ammunition,
or other needed items. These are in short supply.
u Tax. The representative of the baronial govern-
ment or other faction claiming authority levies a
tax, fine, tariff, or fee on you.

Downtime Activities
Between delves, your crew spends time at their lib-
erty, resting up, recovering
from injuries, attending to Acquire Asset
personal needs, and working Long-Term Project
on side projects. These are Pray
Recover
called downtime activities.
During a downtime phase, each PC has time for two
downtime activities. When you’re at war, each PC
has time for only one.
You can choose the same activity more than once.
You can only attempt actions that you’re in a position
to accomplish. If an activity is contingent on another
action, resolve that action first.
A PC can make time for more than two activities, at
a cost. Each additional activity from the list costs 1
coin or 1 rep. This reflects the time and resulting
resource drain while you’re “off the clock” and not
earning from a delve. When you complete a new
delve, you reset and get two “free” activities again.
Activities on the downtime list are limited; normal
(free play) actions are not. During downtime, you
can still go places, do things, make action rolls,

108
gather information, talk with other characters, etc. The GM may set a minimum quality level that
In other words, only activities that are on the list must be achieved to acquire a particular asset. For
are limited. example, if you want to get a set of Warden uniforms
and masks, you’d need to acquire a Tier IV asset. A
For any downtime activity, take +1d to the roll if a
lower result won’t do. If you can’t get an asset of
friend or contact helps you. After the roll, you can
sufficient Tier and can’t or won’t pay to get to the
spend coin to improve the result level. Increase the
minimum required Tier, you can accept drawbacks
result level by one for each coin spent. So, a 1–3
to make up the difference. For example, if you need
result becomes a 4 or a 5, a 4/5 result becomes a 6,
some baronial guard uniforms at Tier III, and you
and a 6 becomes a critical.
only manage to acquire Tier II uniforms, the play-

6. Downtime
If a player can’t decide which downtime activity to ers and the GM could agree that the clothing will
pick, offer them a long-term project idea. You know pass casual scrutiny, but any member of the guard
what the player is interested in and what they like. will notice that the sashes are the wrong fabric and
Suggest a project that will head in a fun direction the buckles are the wrong shape.
for them.
If you acquire the same asset again, you get +1d
“Remember how you had that weird vision at the to your roll. If you continue to re-acquire an asset
altar to the forgotten gods? Yeah, do you want to get every time it’s used, you can effectively rent it
to the bottom of that? Okay, start a long-term proj- indefinitely.
ect—six segments—called…‘Weird God Vibes.’
What do you do to work on that?” Alchemicals, poisons, bombs, magic items, and
dangerous items tend to attract attention. When
Acquire Asset you acquire one of these items (rather than crafting
it yourself), you take +2 trouble.
Gain temporary use of an asset:
If you want to acquire an asset permanently, you
u One special item or set of common items
can either gain it as a crew upgrade or work on
(enough for a gang of your Tier scale).
it as a long-term project to set up a permanent
u A cohort (an expert or gang). acquisition.
u A vehicle (wagon, boat, ship).
Zamira the Armiger is a duelist and would like a
u A service. Transport from a smuggler, use of a fine sword to add to her permanent items. Her
warehouse for temporary storage, help from a player starts a long-term project: “Get My Family
person of influence or expertise, etc. Sword Back from the Pawn Shop.” The GM says this
“Temporary use” constitutes one significant period is an 8-clock (she can work on it by Consorting or
of usage that makes sense for the asset—typically Swaying the pawn shop owner or maybe rolling her
the duration of one delve. An asset can also be lifestyle level to represent small payments).
acquired for “standby” use in the future. You might
hire a gang to guard your base, for example, and Long-Term Project
they’ll stick around until after the first serious
When 123 you work on a long-term project (either
battle, or until a week goes by and they lose interest.
a brand new one, or an already existing one),
To acquire the asset, roll the crew’s Tier. The result describe what your character does to advance the
indicates the quality of the asset you get, using project clock, and roll one of your actions. Mark
the crew’s Tier as the base. 1–3: Tier -1, 4/5: Tier, segments on the clock according to your result:
6: Tier +1, critical: Tier +2. You can spend coin 1–3: one segment, 4/5: two segments, 6: three
to raise the result of this roll beyond critical by segments, critical: five segments.
spending 2 coin per additional Tier level added.

109
 A long-term project can cover a wide variety of assistance from the god, and what that assistance
activities, like doing research into an arcane ritual, looks like. Then apply your bonus to the roll.
investigating a mystery, establishing someone’s
trust, courting a new friend or contact, changing Bad Omens
your character’s source of reprieve, and so on. Take -1d on your next engagement roll. When the
Based on the goal of the project, the GM will tell omens were read, they were unfavorable. The gods do
you the clock(s) to create and suggest a method by not support your next endeavor.
which you might make progress.
Good Omens
In order to work on a project, you might first have Take +1d on your next engagement roll, provided
6. Downtime

to achieve the means to pursue it—which can be the plan is within the god’s dominion (see table
a project in itself. For example, you might want to above).
make friends with a member of the City Council,
but you have no connection to them. You could Divine Favor
first work on a project to Consort in their circles
Mark divine favor on the crew sheet. During the
so you have the opportunity to meet one of them.
next delve or operation, the crew can apply +1d or
Once that’s accomplished, you could start a new
increased effect three times to action rolls that
project to form a friendly relationship.
fall within the god’s dominion.

Pray For Divine Assistance Divine Protection

When your crew has positive status with the On your next delve or operation, each crew mem-
temple of a god, one representative of the crew ber gains +1 free use of the special armor ability
can spend a downtime activity to go there, make on their playbook. If they do not have that special
offerings, participate in purification rituals, and ask ability, they get one free use anyway.
for divine favor from that god.
Gods of Athland
How To Pray
When you pray for divine assistance, roll 1d per
God Dominion Divine Favor
Authority Engagement (assault)
level of status you have with that temple. Take +1d Akikron
The Sun Command roll
if you spend 1 coin in donations and sacrifices.
Engagement
Knowledge
Cholethre (transport)
Pray For Divine Assistance Travel
Long-term project
Roll 1d per level Critical: Good Omens, Divine War Engagement (assault)
of status with Favor, and Divine Protection. Dendrok
Ferocity Skirmish roll
temple. 6: Good Omens and Divine Engagement
+1d if you Favor. Precision (deception)
spend 1 coin in 4/5: Good Omens. Dineri Finesse roll
Archery
donations and
1-3: Bad Omens. Any shot with a bow
sacrifices.
Wisdom Engagement (social)
Elim
You can never have favor from more than one god The Arts Flashback
at a time. If you gain favor from a different god, the Insight Engagement (social)
Hekathe
previous favor is lost. The Moon Consort roll
Fertility Engagement (transport)
There are three types of divine assistance (and one Imor
Agriculture Healing roll
kind of disfavor in the form of bad omens). When
you call on divine favor, say how you are asking for
110
God Dominion Divine Favor Recover
Ingenuity Engagement (transport) Roll PC action rating or NPC Critical: Clear all
Malathena Tier. harm.
Crafts Tinker roll
Magic Engagement (occult) Add +1d for assistance. 6: Clear two levels
Morag of harm.
Supernatural Attune roll
Get +1 effect level per coin 4/5: Clear one
Engagement spent.
Trickery (deception) level of harm.
Teklos Sway roll 1-3: Clear all level
Theft
Any theft roll 1 harm.

6. Downtime
Audacity Engagement (assault)
Vishelu If you clear one level of harm, that means all level
Valor Desperate roll
one harm is removed and each other level of harm
goes down one level. If you clear two levels of harm,
Gods of the Cambri that means your level 1 and level 2 harm is removed
and your level 3 harm is reduced to level 1. When
God Dominion Divine Favor
you reduce a level of harm, rewrite it to reflect the
Engagement (assault)
Protection healing process (from Severely Concussed to Con-
Engagement
Authority cussed to Bad Headache, for example).
Gehir (deception)
Wisdom
Command roll Dacy has two injuries: a level 3 Shattered Right Leg
Sacrifice
Skirmish roll and level 1 Battered Rib. During downtime, she gets
Fertility Engagement (stealth) treatment from Ithlir, a physicker friend of Jonas, the
Devotion Engagement (occult)
Meshua crew’s Artificer. Ithlir is at Tier 1 and gets assistance
Prosperity Sway roll
from Jonas, so he rolls 2d. The die roll is 6, so Dacy
Supernatural Healing roll
clears 2 levels of harm. That eliminates the level 1
harm and reduces Shattered Right Leg to level 1
Recover Limping.
When you recover, you seek treatment to heal For her second downtime activity, Dacy decides to
your long-term harm (page  17). You might continue Recovery with Ithlir. Any result will remove
visit a physicker who can stitch your wounds the level 1 limp.
and soothe your mind with anatomical science You can heal yourself, but you take 2 stress when
or a witch who specializes in healing charms and you do so. You can also choose to simply tough it
restorative alchemy. If you don’t have a contact out and attempt to heal without any treatment—in
or fellow PC who can provide treatment, you can this case, take 1 stress and roll 0d.
use the acquire asset activity to gain access to a
healer, who can provide service for the whole crew. Note that it’s the recovering character who takes
Alternately, a PC with the Physicker special ability the recovery action. Healing someone else does
can provide healing, not cost a downtime activity for the healer, because
much of healing involves rest.
When you recover, the person providing treatment
makes a roll (using a relevant action rating if done
by a PC with the Physicker ability or using Tier if Reduce Trouble
done by an NPC). Add +1d for assistance. Increase Say how you reduce trouble on the crew and roll
the effect level by 1 per coin spent. your action. Reduce trouble according to the
result: 1-3: one, 4/5: two, 6: three, critical: five.

111
 Train Reprieve Roll
When you spend time in training, mark 1 xp on Roll dice 1-3: Clear stress and overload (see
the xp track for an attribute or playbook advance- equal to below).
lowest 4/5: Clear stress and take +1 trouble.
ment. If you have the appropriate crew Training attribute.
upgrade unlocked, mark +1 xp (2 total). See Crew 6: Clear stress.
Upgrades, page 58. You can train a given xp track critical: Clear stress and gain +1 coin
or reduce trouble by 1.
only once per downtime.
If you do not or cannot seek reprieve

Reprieve
during downtime, you take stress equal
to your trauma.
6. Downtime

Your characters are a special lot. They delve into Horace ends a challenging delve with only 1 stress
terrifying places and confront the horrors they find remaining out of his normal maximum of 9. At the
there, pushing themselves further than ordinary beginning of downtime, his stress goes up to five (half
people are willing to go. But this comes at a cost. of maximum). Then he seeks reprieve by spending
Their life is one of constant stress. Inevitably, each time with his family. Jon, his player, rolls 1d for his
requires a source of reprieve in order to cope. lowest attribute. He gets a 2 and overloads.

At the beginning of downtime, stress is automati-

cally cleared up to half of maximum (rounded up).
Overload
If you end a delve with 2 stress left and your maximum Reprieve is not a reliable, controllable habit. It’s a
is 9, you’ll start downtime with 5 stress. risk—and one that can drive your character to act
against their own best interests. On a poor roll you
Additional stress management comes through may overload.
reprieve. A character’s reprieve is their solace. With
reprieve comes relief from stress and the ability for When you overload, you make a bad call because
PCs to once again face the overwhelming challenge of your need for reprieve—in acquiring it or while
of their daring life. under its influence. To bring the effect of this bad
decision into the game, select an overload from the

Seeking Reprieve list:

u Attract Trouble. Select or roll an additional
When you seek reprieve, say how your character entanglement.
finds solace, including which source of reprieve
u Brag to the wrong person about your exploits.
they use to satisfy their needs. This takes time, so
+2 trouble.
it can only be done when the crew has downtime.
Alternately, you can choose to release your charac- u Busy. Your character vanishes for a few weeks
ter to be “lost in reprieve” during a game session, (at least one delve). Play a different character
allowing them to indulge off-camera while you until this one returns. When your character
play a different PC. A gang member, friend, or returns, say what they were doing (or get surly
contact of the crew might be created as an alternate and refuse to tell anyone). They’ve also healed
character to play, thus fleshing out the landscape any harm they had.
of PCs. u Tapped. Your current source of reprieve cuts
you off. Find a new source for solace.
When you seek reprieve, you clear all of your stress
boxes. You then roll a number of dice equal to your
lowest attribute (insight, prowess, or resolve)
to see if there are any other positive or negative
consequences.
112
Ignoring Reprieve
If you do not or cannot seek reprieve during a downtime
phase, you take stress equal to your trauma. If you don’t
have any trauma, you’re free to ignore your need. It
doesn’t have a hold over you (yet).

Reprieve, Roleplaying, and XP

Along with your character’s heritage and background,

6. Downtime
their reprieve tells us what kind of person they are. This
focus affects their motivations, goals, and behavior.
When you ponder what your character might do or say
next, you can always consider their reprieve to help you
think of something. As an added benefit, by playing to
the nature of your character’s reprieve, you earn xp at the
end of the session.

Crafting
During downtime, a PC can invent or craft items with
Tinker.
u Anyone can invent or craft mundane gadgets.
u A character with the Alchemist special ability from
the Artificer playsheet can invent or craft items with
alchemical features.
u A character with the Enchanter special ability from
the Mage playsheet can invent or craft items with
magical features.
The system for each method is similar, with different
details depending on the nature of the project.

Researching
To research the formula for a new item (weapon, alchem-
ical concoction, magical item, etc.) or the plan for a new
item of your design, you need to Study it as a long-term
project. Most new formulas or designs will require an
8-segment progress clock to invent and learn. The player
and the GM answer questions about the invention to
define what it will do in play and what is required to
create it (see below). The player records these answers in
their notes for future reference.
Mundane gadgets of research should be within the
general tech level of the setting. Electrical devices, steam

113
 catapults, muskets, etc., would all be outside of materials you have access to. If you do the work with
scope. Discuss with the GM how far in advance of the Workshop upgrade for your crew, your effective
general setting technology would make sense. Tier level is one higher for this roll.

Creation Questions Crafting Roll

1. GM asks: “What type of creation is it and 1d for each tinker Critical: Quality level is Tier
action dot. +2.
what does it do?” Player answers. A creation
+1 quality for each 6: Quality level is Tier +1.
might be mundane, alchemical, or magical. If a coin spent. 4/5: Quality level is equal to
PC has an appropriate special ability (Alche- +1 quality for Tier.
mist, Enchanter), they get bonuses when Workshop crew 1-3: Quality level is Tier -1.
6. Downtime

researching and crafting certain creation types. upgrade.

2. Player asks: “What’s the minimum quality
The GM sets a minimum quality level that must
level of this item?” GM answers, with the
be achieved to craft the item, based on the mag-
magnitude of the effects the item produces as
nitude of the effect(s) it produces. The GM uses
a guideline.
magnitude as a guideline for setting the quality
3. GM asks: “What rare, strange, or adverse level—it may be higher or lower at their discretion
aspect of this formula or design has kept it to better describe the nature of the project. An item
in obscurity, out of common usage?” Player can be crafted at higher quality if the player wishes
answers. to attempt it.
4. Player asks: “What drawbacks does this item
have, if any?” GM answers by choosing one or You can spend coin 1-for-1 to increase the final
more from the drawbacks list, or by saying there quality level result of your roll (this can raise qual-
are none. ity level beyond Tier +2).

A PC with the Alchemist or Enchanter special What if you don’t get a high enough Tier? If
abilities invents and learns one special formula your crafting roll doesn’t meet the minimum Tier
when they take the ability (they don’t have to take for the item, you have three choices. First is to
time to learn it). just assume you wasted your time and it came out
wrong. Second is to pay coin to increase the Tier
Once you’ve researched a formula or design, you high enough. Third, if you can’t or won’t pay to
can craft it by using a downtime activity (see Craft- bring the Tier up, you can accept extra drawbacks
ing, below). No one else can craft this item unless (see below). One drawback will increase the Tier
they learn your design as a long-term project. If you by one level. Anyone can suggest an interesting
acquire a formula or design invented by another drawback for the item.
tinkerer, you can learn to craft it by completing a
long-term project. Modifying an item
Adding a feature or additional function to an item
Making is simpler than creating something new. You don’t
To craft something, spend one downtime activity need to invent a special formula or plan. Make a
to make a Tinker roll to determine the quality crafting roll to modify an item (the baseline quality
level of the item you produce. The base quality of an item that you modify is equal to your crew’s
level is equal to your crew’s Tier, modified by the Tier, as usual).
result of the roll (see the results on the next page). u A simple, useful modification requires Tier +1
The results are based on your crew’s Tier because it quality. A crossbow that breaks down into two
indicates the overall quality of the workspace and sections to be more easily concealed.

114
u A significant modification requires Tier +2 (Tier +1), which is high enough for Silence Potion
quality. A crossbow with greater power to shoot (III). She makes one dose and plans to use it to
further and with greater penetration. bypass some guards.
An alchemical, or magical modification requires
u
Tier +3 quality. A fluid that will mask your scent,
Mundane gadgets
even from death wolves. u Armored Wagon (ii/1): Adds physical armor
(steel over wooden planks) to a wagon to make
Drawbacks it difficult to damage. Complex, Huge.
A creation or modification may have one or more u Glider (iv/1): A winged contraption that allows

6. Downtime
drawbacks, chosen by the GM. one person to glide from a high place to a lower
place, with a bit of control. Complex, Huge.
u Attune: If you did not make this item, make an
attune action roll at the time of use to see if you u Grappling gear (ii/1): Equipment for captur-
can make it work effectively. ing a large creature: heavy lines, spikes, nets.
Very heavy.
u Complex. You’ll have to create it in multiple
stages; the GM will tell you how many. One u Improved compass (iii/1). It is common for
downtime activity and crafting roll is needed compasses to point in the wrong direction
per stage. when deep underground, which can be a seri-
ous problem on delves. This compass is not
u Consumable. This creation has a limited
infallible, but it is much less likely to become
number of uses (all alchemicals must have this
confused about true North.
drawback).
u Repeating Crossbow (iii/1): A crossbow with
u Heavy. Uses 1 load.
a magazine that allows several bolts to be fired
u Huge: Too large for one person to carry. in succession before reloading. Very heavy.
u Rare. This creation requires a rare item or mate- u Telescoping ladder (iii/1): A ladder that can
rial when it is crafted. be folded up and then opened for height. Very
u Unreliable. When you use the item, make a heavy.
fortune roll (using its quality) to see how well u Underwater gear (iii/1): Gear to allow one
it performs. person to breathe underwater: a helmet, hose,
u Very heavy. Uses 2 load. weights. etc. Complex, very heavy.
u Volatile. The item produces a dangerous or
troublesome side-effect for the user, specified by Alchemical Items
the GM (see examples on the sample creations, All alchemicals have the Consumable drawback.
next page). A side-effect is a consequence, and Those marked with an asterisk (*) are standard
can be resisted. items that anyone with the Alchemist special abil-
ity already knows how to craft.
Sample Creations u *Alchemical Silver (i/2): A vial of mercury-like
Creations are listed with their quality level (by substance. Rubbed in the striking or cutting
Tier: I-VI), followed by a number of uses if they’re part of a weapon gives it potency against mag-
Consumable (1-3). ical creatures.
u *Black Salt (i/1): Spread this substance across a
Marta spends a downtime activity to distill a batch
of Silence Potion. She rolls Tinker and gets a 4, threshold or in a circle and it will prevent ghosts,
meaning quality level equal to her crew Tier, which demons, and other magical creatures from
is II. She spends 1 coin to bump up her result to a 6 crossing in or out. Rare.

115
 u *Black Lyptus (i/1): A liquid that can be Magical Items
instantly lethal when consumed. Unreliable.
A character with the Enchanter special ability has
u *Blinding Powder (i/2): A fine dust that causes
access to all Tier 1 standard magical items, which
temporary blindness when thrown toward the are marked with an asterisk (*), as well as any that
eyes. they have researched.
u Depth Oil (iv/1): Rub this dark, slippery oil
The items listed below are those common among
over your entire body. It allows you to breathe
delvers. For regular folk, there are also love charms,
underwater and survive at any depth. Lasts for
abortifacients, crop curses, fertility potions, and
a day.
other kinds of magic items that are of value to
6. Downtime

u *Fire Oil (i/1): A sticky substance that, when lit,

agrarian people.
is resistant to being put out, even when smoth-
ered or covered in water. Volatile (fumes that u Amulet of Protection (ii/1). This is a small
make the user woozy). amulet, generally worn around the neck, that
provides resistance against magical attacks,
u *Flash Powder (i/3): When a packet of this
curses, etc. (Many people in Athland wear
powder is thrown against the floor or a hard
amulets that are purported to provide such
object, it creates a blinding flash.
protection, although mages will tell you that
u Grenade (ii/2): A small explosive charge with
most are not actually magical and provide only
a short fuse that detonates. Unreliable. imaginary protection.)
u Locking Glue (ii/1): A powerful adhesive
u Curse Figure (iii/1). Incorporate the hair and
substance that can lock any two solid objects blood of the target into a small wax figurine.
together. Dries in a few moments. Stabbing, cutting, or burning the figure can
u *Night Balm (i/1). Smear this substance on cause Level 1 or 2 harm to the target (use
your eyes and you can see clearly even in com- by a PC requires a roll with attune). Attune,
plete darkness. Lasts for a day. Consumable, Rare (hair and blood of target),
u *Oil of Fire Resistance (i/1): When this liquid Complex (4 segment clock).
is rubbed over an object or person, it confers u *Deep Knife: (i/1). This is a small knife covered
resistance to fire and intense heat. in strange runes. It can affect insubstantial crea-
u Petard (iii/1): A large explosive charge with a tures and cut through magical barriers. Attune.
fuse that detonates. Very heavy, unreliable. u Healing Salve (iv/1): This potion, when
u Red Lyptus (ii/3): A thick resin that, when spread over a physical wound, magically
rubbed on the insides of the wrists, induces reduces the harm from that wound by one level.
intense euphoria and stupor for several hours. Rare (requires a difficult to prepare tincture of
u Silence Potion (iii/1): A golden liquid that ironroot), Volatile (if used more than once per
negates all sound within 10 paces of the drinker week, it induces seizures), Complex (2 stages).
for a span of several minutes. u *Mage Sight Potion (i/1): Allows the drinker

u *Smoke Bomb (i/2): When ignited, causes to see things that are magically invisible. Lasts
a cloud of acrid, stinging smoke that makes it for an hour. Consumable.
difficult to breathe without coughing. Volatile: u Shadow Wax (ii/2). Draw a rune on the fore-
can affect user. head of the subject with this waxy substance.
u *Sweetbush Draught (i/1): A dose of this For the next several minutes, the subject can
potion makes the subject sleepy, friendly, and blend magically into shadows, becoming nearly
talkative. invisible. Attune, Consumable.

116
u *Silence Potion (i/1): Allows the drinker to
move in utter silence. Lasts for an hour. Draw-
Carrying Items on a Delve
back: The drinker cannot speak or make any When delving, PCs can choose to bring items that
sound. Consumable. they have crafted or have gained through downtime
acquire assets activities.
u *Spirit Coin (i/1): Placed on the forehead of
a recently deceased sentient creature, causes u Mundane gadgets will often have a load cost,
the user to experience the last or most intense in which case they can just use those items in
recent memory of the dead. Attune, Volatile: the same way they can declare any item they
woozy, level 1 harm to user. have access to. Small mundane gadgets that
don’t count toward load can be carried with no

6. Downtime
u Terror Candle (iii/1): A small candle in the
shape of a rune-covered skull. When lit, it emits penalty, within reason.
a strange actinic light that causes anyone staring u Alchemical items tend to be difficult to carry
at it to feel utter and mortal fear. Volatile: if the safely, because they are fragile and often volatile.
user stares at it has the same effect. A character with the Alchemist special ability
u Transferral Charm (iv/1): A small piece of
can equip with one or two bandoliers, each of
enchanted parchment. Write upon it the name which can hold three alchemical items (see the
of a place you know well and put it under your Artificer playsheet). Anyone else trying to carry
tongue as you fall asleep. You will awaken as alchemicals—especially multiple alchemicals—
you are physically transported there for 1 hour is likely to have an accident.
before being transported back. Attune, Com- u Magical items can be carried by anyone.
plex (2 stages), Consumable. However, it can be dangerous to have multiple
u *Void Powder (i/1): Creates a cloud of utter,
magical items on your person at one time,
impenetrable darkness. Disperses after about a because they tend to resonate with each other in
minute. Consumable. unpredictable ways. A PC with the Enchanter
special ability can use one load to carry three
u Walkthrough Mirror (iii/1): A small mirror
magical items (see the Mage playsheet). Any-
that, when broken, turns the user insubstantial.
one else can carry one at a time without mishap
For a few minutes, the user cannot directly
(no load cost unless the item is heavy or very
affect the material world and can pass through
heavy). Exceeding these limits is likely to result
physical objects. Attune, Complex (4 stages),
in unfortunate magical accidents.
Volatile (user is disoriented).
u *Warding Chalk (i/3): A special chalk that can
be used to draw a complex rune around the
Mass Production
threshold of a doorway or other entrance. This Athland is not a culture of mass production. Com-
takes about 10 minutes. Once set, your ward modity items are produced by cottage labor and
cannot be crossed without your knowledge. If small workshops, not factories. Because of the
you wish, you can concentrate on preventing chaos created by the Awakening, mass quantities
anyone from crossing the ward, and if you are of most raw materials that would be used for mass
strong enough they cannot (usually this will be production is difficult to obtain and transport.
resolved with an action roll). Attune, Consum- Additionally, Player Characters are assumed to be
able. rare and exceptional specialists. They can research
and craft in ways that most cannot. Throughout the
land there are relatively few artificers and mages
of real ability, and those who exist are unlikely to

117
 spend their time crafting the same formulas over
and over.
NPC and Faction Downtime
NPCs and factions also do things when the PCs
So, just because a crew of PCs can craft various have downtime. The GM advances their project
items during their downtime, only low Tier mag- clocks and chooses a downtime maneuver or two
ical and alchemical items are generally available to for each faction that they’re interested in at the
most of the populace. Higher Tier items are not moment. Choose any maneuver that makes sense
being made in bulk anywhere in Athland. for that faction to pursue. For example:

Downtime u Seize a claim, make an enemy vulnerable, or

reduce the hold of a vulnerable enemy.
6. Downtime

Activities In Play
u Gather information on the PCs (can be opposed
by a PC roll) or another subject.
u Achieve a short-term goal they’re in position to
Selvia wants to discover how Jarek survived falling
accomplish.
off that cliff and what he’s up to now. She works
on a long-term project called “Figure out Jarek’s u Acquire a new asset.
secrets”—an 8-segment clock. The result of the u Call in a favor from another faction.
Study roll is a 6! Selvia ticks three segments on the u Employ political pressure or threats to force
clock. someone’s hand.
Devik wants to reduce trouble on his crew. He Choose downtime maneuvers and advance clocks
sits down the Fighters in his gang and tells them to for the factions you’re interested in right now. Don’t
lay low. No loud drinking in the tavern, no telling worry about the rest. Later, when you turn your
tales, no nothing. The result of the Command roll attention to a faction you’ve ignored for a while, go
is a critical! The crew’s Trouble drops by five levels ahead and give them several downtime phases and
as the local spies, citizens, and baronial guard get project clock ticks to “catch up” to current events.
interested in other things.
If you’re not sure how far to progress a faction’s
Josephus wants some special arrows to kill the clock, make a fortune roll using their Tier as the
werewolves he knows will be lurking around base trait, modified up or down depending on the
Broken Hollow. He acquires an asset from the opposition or circumstances. Tick 1 segment for a
Crabin Crew: bodkin arrows with tips alloyed with 1–3 result, 2 segments for a 4/5 result, 3 segments
alchemical silver, consecrated to Dendrok, the God for a 6 result, or 5 segments for a critical result.
of War. The Tier roll is a 4: only standard quality,
which isn’t enough for this rare item. Steve (Jose- When factions do things that are known among
phus’ player) spends 2 coin to bump up the result barrow raiders and other seedy types, tell the play-
to a critical: exquisite quality. Josephus gets his ers about it through one of their friends, contacts,
arrows—powerful enough to kill a werewolf with a or sources of reprieve. These rumors and bits of
single well placed shot. gossip can lead to future delves and opportunities
for the PCs.

118
Downtime Activities
Summary Recover
Get treatment to tick your healing clock (like a
Acquire Asset long-term project). Clear level 1 harm. When you
fill a clock, each harm is reduced by one level.
Roll the crew’s Tier. The result indicates the quality
of the asset:
u Critical: Tier +2 Reduce Trouble
u 6: Tier +1

6. Downtime
Say how you reduce trouble on the crew and roll
u 4/5: Tier your action. Reduce trouble according to the
u 1-3: Tier -. result level.
Some items require a minimum quality result to acquire. u Critical: Clear five trouble
To raise the result beyond critical, you may spend 2 u 6: Clear three trouble
coin per +1 Tier bonus or accept drawbacks.
u 4/5: Clear two trouble
u 1-3: Clear one trouble

Seek Reprieve
Start downtime with half of max stress recovered. Train
Visit your source of reprieve to clear more. Roll dice Mark 1 xp (in an attribute or your playbook).
equal to your lowest attribute. Add +1 xp if you have the appropriate crew
u 1-3: Clear 2 stress and overload. upgrade. You may train a given xp track once per
u 4/5: Clear 3 stress. downtime.
u 6: Clear all stress.
u critical: Clear all stress and reduce trouble by 1. Pray for Divine Favor
If you do not or cannot seek reprieve during downtime, Roll 1d per level of status with temple. Take +1d
you take stress equal to your trauma. if you spend 1 coin in donations and sacrifices
Critical: Good omens, divine favor, and
divine protection.
Add +1d to your roll if a friend or contact helps with
your downtime activity. 6: Good omens and divine favor.
4/5: Good omens.
Overload: You made a bad call because of your reprieve—
in acquiring it or while under its influence. What did you u 1-3: Bad omens.
do?
u Attract Trouble: Maybe an enemy has tracked you to
your source and you let your guard down. Select or roll Long-Term Project
an additional entanglement.
u Brag: Maybe you brag about your exploits. The crew Work on a long term project, if you have the
takes +2 trouble. means.
u Busy: Play a different character until this one returns Mark segments on the clock according to your
from their bender. result:
u Tapped: Your current source of reprieve cuts you off. u Critical: Five ticks.
Find a new source of reprieve. u 6: Three ticks.
u 4/5: Two ticks.
u 1-3: One tick.

119
Chapter 7
Running
the Game
7. Running the Game
How To Be the scheduling, document sharing, and other
functions built for other purposes can also be

Game Master u
adapted to roleplaying.
Play by post/text/chat: Some games run with
Are you new to roleplaying games? If you are, it a simple text system (email, forum, chat soft-
can help to go online and read over some descrip- ware, etc.) or a dedicated system like Roleplay
tions of what happens in a game like this. You can Online (rpol.net). Everyone reads messages
find lots of audio recordings of people playing and responds when they have time. Usually
RPGs via podcasts, as well as video recordings there is an expectation of response frequency,
on YouTube, Twitch, and other places. Before such as for each player to post at least one or two
you try being a GM, it can help to be a player in messages per day (maybe skipping weekends).
one or more games if you can. There are places The GM will respond as needed; probably three
online where you can look for single-session or or four times as often as each player. There will
short-term games (one-shots) with new players need to be some mutually agreeable system for
welcome. If you can find a Blades in the Dark or rolling dice.
other Forged in the Dark game, it's close enough
that it will help you learn this ruleset as well.
Time Frame of Play
You'll want to start with a mutual sense of how long
But, if you are reading this, there is a pretty good the game will run.
chance you've played RPGs before. So we'll
proceed from here with assumption that you have u One-shot. A one-shot is intended as a single
a general idea of how they work. story to be played in one to three sessions,
then end. This can be a good way to try out the

Play Format game system and see if the group is interested in

continuing. If you attend a gaming convention,
How will the group play the game? There are sev- you can participate in (or run) any number of
eral ways to get your players together. one-shot games.
u Tabletop. This is the traditional way to play u Short campaign. A short campaign is intended
a game like this. The group gets together in to follow the PCs for one story arc: maybe 3–10
person, usually around a table where they keep game sessions.
character sheets, notes, dice, reference sheets, u Long campaign. A long campaign is intended
snacks, etc. A session runs as long as everyone to follow the PCs over a series of arcs, or even
has time and inclination—anything from a indefinitely. There are RPG campaigns out there
couple of hours to a whole day. that have been running regularly for decades.
u Live online. There are many audio or video Sometimes, you do a one-shot and want to bring
systems available that can be used for roleplay- the same characters back for another adventure, or
ing. Some are specifically designed for RPGs, even transition into a full campaign.
but videoconferencing, text chat, whiteboards,

121
 Compared to Other RPGs u Limited GM prep. The PCs are the only char-
acters who are represented by a set of numbers
One of the big stumbling blocks when you get a
and statistics—there are no “stat blocks” for
group of players together is that everyone's RPG
NPCs or adversaries. That means the GM will
experience and expectations are different—some-
come up with ideas for the game, but doesn't
times really different. You can easily find yourself
have to translate those ideas into detailed game
with players who think very differently about what
mechanics or make sure that encounters are
will happen in the game. It helps to discuss expec-
“balanced.”
tations in advance.
7. Running the Game

You may also need to describe how this game How to Learn the Rules
compares with other RPGs they may have experi- As the GM, you want to be reasonably familiar
enced—especially since the setting seems kind of with the rules. While players are also welcome to
like traditional fantasy RPGs, but the game plays develop rules knowledge, in most cases the GM
differently. will both manage the fiction and the game itself.
u Fantasy setting. The game has a semi-familiar It's OK if you don't know every rule! Get familiar
fantasy setting with similarities to medieval with the basic system (Chapter 2), character
Europe. In this game, magic can be powerful, creation (Chapter 3), and crew creation (Chapter
but not constantly so. All of the PCs are Human. 4). You can learn more about downtime, commit-
u Storytelling focus. In Raiders in the Dark, the ments, rituals, crafting, etc., later on, when they
intention is that everyone collaborates in telling become relevant.
an engaging story about characters they care
Even when you're new, it's a bad idea to spend a
about. The game is played mostly in words,
lot of game time looking up rules. Usually, if you're
without miniatures or grid maps. Combat will
not sure what to do, you can just have the player
probably happen in the game, but is played out
make whatever action roll or fortune roll seems
through description rather than with miniatures
appropriate. That will probably be good enough
and maps. Fights and other conflicts tend to be
for now, and you can look it up later. It is entirely
short and dramatic rather than extended and
OK to tell the players that, even though you did it
tactical.
one way before, you looked it up and from now on
u Everyone contributes to the story. Players are you'll do it a different way.
invited and expected to actively drive the story.
They don't just wait for the GM to give them a
pre-plotted scenario to run through, but instead
GM Goals
actively decide what goals they want their crew u Have fun. If you're having a good time, the other
to pursue and which factions they will align players are probably having fun as well. Don't
with or against. forget to plan the game around your enjoyment
and interests as well as those of your players.
u Not much character optimization. The game
is about characters who have interesting stories, u Coordinate the game. Like it or not, the GM is
but they are not mechanically complicated usually the one in most groups to invite players
to make or play. Characters don't need to be and manage schedules. Fortunately, in this
optimized to be as capable as possible (or game, it's usually OK if someone can't make it
exploit rules loopholes). Although each PC has for a session (their character can just be busy
a specific playsheet, it's easy to grab abilities with other things). And if someone wants to
from other ones, so player choices at game start drop in and play for a session or two without
do not place serious limits on progression over making a long-term commitment, that won't be
time. a problem either.

122
u Help players have a good time. You are the • Ask about PC reactions. He gets right in your
facilitator and host of the game (although in face and starts yelling. His breath could stun an
many groups it is traditional for other people to ox and he's spraying some spittle. What do you
provide snacks and drinks as a thank-you to the do?
GM). Be welcoming and supportive. Talk to the • Ask warning questions. Sometimes,
players about what they want, what they like, players will take action because they don't
and what could be better. You can't give them understand the risks or the potential con-
everything, but you can work toward a good sequences. He's twice your size. Are you really

7. Running the Game

time for all. sure you want to say that to him? It's the play-
u Help players feel comfortable. Most players er's choice, but if they are doing something
will need help learning the rules. Some players risky or ill-advised, they should know that
are shy and don't know what to do. Some before committing.
players (usually without meaning to) tend to u Answer questions. The players will ask you
monopolize the conversation and leave others about what they can see (taste, feel, smell, hear),
feeling shut out. Some players really want to about what they know, and about the effect of
develop a detailed backstory, while others treat their actions. Your job is to figure that out (con-
the expectation of adding lots of detail to be an sulting the dice and the rules as needed) and
annoying chore. Some players may be part of convey information honestly about what they
the game because that's what their friends want experience.
to do. Some players want this game to be just u State and restate the fiction. The game
like some other game they enjoyed in the past. depends on a common understanding of the
All of those are fine and it's important to accept fictional situation that each PC is in. Say what
each player's honest contribution as valid. Try people see, hear, smell, etc. Say where things
to divide your time evenly among players. Try are in space (the goblin is on top of the rock, Jozen
to find out what gets each player excited about is next to Felicia, the tower is past the manor).
their character and let them do something awe- Say how people are moving around and how
some at least one time each session. things change during a scene. Don't just say
u Learn and teach the rules. Introduce the rules these things, keep restating them as you engage
in bits and pieces. Don't overwhelm anyone. in conversation about what the PCs are doing
If you have players who are interested in rules, (Urden is heading past the group of Grenlings to the
that's great. However, just as lots of people use left while Sazir is still up on the ledge with an arrow
software without ever reading the help files, nocked). Restatement of fictional positioning
there are plenty of players who just want the gist helps with making sure everyone is visualizing
explained to them and have no desire to spend the same scene. The game gets off track when
any significant time reading this book. one player's version starts to significantly differ
from that of others.
GM Actions u Provide options. What barrows do the PCs
u Ask questions. This is possibly the most know about? Are there rumors of other strange
frequent GM action. places the PCs could follow up on? Which factions
• Ask about PC actions. What are you doing? might be interested in sponsoring the crew? Which
You want to get up that cliff face, but how are factions are angry at the crew and might cause
you going to accomplish that? Much of the problems if they are not dealt with? What clocks
game is just asking questions, talking about are ticking, and why? What are their contacts
the answers, asking for clarification, and telling them? Give enough information for the
continuing that cycle. players to decide what they want to do. Dangle

123
 opportunities in front of them. Offer several game bogs down, move to the next thing. Ask
choices. If they seem to be stuck in tunnel who is taking point on a traverse roll, suggest a
vision, offer other options. Give them lots of new engagement roll, tick a clock, have a crea-
plot threads to pull on. ture barge in—but get things moving.
u Portray the NPCs. When the PCs interact with u Manage the action. Call for action rolls when
NPCs, it's your job to play them in a manner appropriate. Offer devil's bargains. Hand out
that is engaging. There are a lot of ways to do consequences when the dice or the situation
that­—every GM develops a different style. Use call for them. There is no “turn order” in this
7. Running the Game

a striking voice, accent, or set of mannerisms. game, so it's on the GM to make sure that the
Think of a specific actor or movie/TV character players who talk the most don't get to do the
to mimic. Focus on what the NPCs wants and most. One great way to keep the action moving
try to get it. Speak in first person, as if you are is lots of little cliffhangers, in which you pause
that character. one player's action to ask what another player
u Make the world go. It's important for the PCs (maybe the one glancing at their phone) what
to exist in a living world that doesn't com- they are doing.
pletely revolve around them. Have factions
take action in the background of the story even GM Principles
when the PCs aren't paying attention to them. u Don't be a jerk. Really, don't be a jerk. As the
Have an NPC met in one session show up later GM, it's easy to be domineering without intend-
with a black eye (and a story about how that ing to. You are the coordinator, not the boss.
happened). The world feels much more alive Don't play favorites among the players. Don't
when it's not just sitting and waiting for the make capricious decisions. Don't let players
PCs to interact with it. make decisions unless they understand the
u Foreshadow trouble. Show what trouble the fiction. and the consequences. If you're annoyed
PCs are in. You hear another howl in the distance, with a player, talk to them about it, but don't
this time a bit closer. The guards are starting to look take it out on the character. If the players make
more alert. The water is murky, but there's some- choices you didn't expect or decide to ignore
thing moving around in there. You turn and see the plot threads you've provided for them,
the assassin on the rooftop with an arrow knocked that's OK—you and they are making the story
and aimed right at your heart. Trouble could be together. Bad things will happen to characters
physical danger or it could be other problems, in the game, but it needs to make sense in the
like the baron's troops getting ready to raid the story, not as a GM power trip.
crew's base for forbidden magic. u Make the PCs the star of the show. Keep in
u Use clocks. One powerful GM tool is to use mind that the PCs are the protagonists. They are
clocks to show the progression of threats and always in the foreground.
NPC actions. The PCs should be aware of at u Your characters are expendable. You don't
least one or two clocks all the time. As things play the protagonists, you play the opposition
change or time passes, tick the clocks. When the and the secondary characters. Don't get attached
PCs take action, the stakes include movement to your NPCs. Adversaries will be defeated (or
of clocks. When a clock finishes, the fiction humiliated), monsters will be slain, factions will
changes and consequences are assessed. be conquered. That's what they are there for.
u Jump to the action. Know the difference That doesn't mean the PCs always win, but even
between players having a good time playing when they lose, it is their story being told. Be
their characters (even when nothing else is hap- sure to avoid making “GM player characters”
pening) vs. overthinking and indecision. If the that take the stage from the PCs.

124
u Play to find out. Don't start a session, scenario, OK. Some groups like to have a card on the table
or campaign with the plan for particular events to point to if the game gets uncomfortable. Oth-
to happen or a particular ending. It's good to ers just talk it out and make ad hoc changes as
think in advance about what might happen and needed. But it's important that no one treats an
come up with interesting potential plot hooks, interruption like that as “ruining the fun.” When
but don't try to make the player's decisions for someone is uncomfortable, the group can agree
them. Play to find out what happens. to skip forward (“fading to black”), rewind and
• If the players make a choice that you just have a scene play out differently, retroactively

7. Running the Game

hadn't thought of and you don't know what change something in the game's past, or make
to do, call a break and give yourself some any other necessary changes.
time to think. Or just tell the players for help u No rape or sexual assault. These just don't
and ask them for ideas. But don't try to force belong in a roleplaying game, no matter how
the story in a direction the players don't want “adult” or “realistic” everyone says they want it
to go. to be. If the game ever starts to go in that direc-
tion, call an immediate halt.
Edginess
Disturbing things can happen in a game like this. Themes and Tone
Stuff like sex, graphic violence, body horror, mur- The GM and players can explore a variety of themes
der, betrayal, torture, maiming, terrible illness, within the structure of a Raiders in the Dark game.
and other emotionally intense things can arise. Those include:
Some players might be fascinated by these kinds of u Exploring strange places that fight back. Deal-
themes (or turn them into macabre humor), while ing with bizarre people, monsters, traps, and
for others playing that out is the opposite of a fun environmental hazards.
time.
u Interacting with various outside factions who
u Talk it over and get agreement. If you need might threaten, compete against, assist, or ally
to have a clear discussion among friends about with the crew.
what everyone is comfortable with, then do u Managing the strong contrast between the
that. delve and the outside world. For the PCs, Ath-
u If you're not sure, don't include it. Know your land is the “normal” world. While bad things
players and practice good judgment. A good happen there, it's a fairly predictable world with
default is to have the game be no more edgy understandable rules. Barrows are not like that.
than a regular action movie or TV show. Not Each barrow is a bizarre place where the rules
the extreme kind of action movie with gore and are different and hard to figure out.
explicit sex, but the sort most parents would u Choosing how aggressively the crew approaches
be OK sending a young teenager to (PG-13 in delving. Do they just kill and steal? Or do they
the U.S.). Feel free to have more extreme things negotiate, make bargains, play one group of
happen in the background or be implied with- creatures against other groups, and manage
out needing to play them out. alliances within groups of intelligent creatures
u Anyone can say they are not comfortable at within barrows?
any point. Even if you've already had a discus- u Living in a land rife with political instability.
sion about comfort levels, most people can't tell Will the great nobles go to war to decide who
you in advance exactly what will and will not will gain power? What effect would that have on
bother them. For that reason, it is always accept- the PCs?
able for a player to realize that something is not

125
 u Addressing the mystery of the Yethri. Who were
they? Where did they come from? What caused Creating Barrows
them to disappear? Are they still out there? The land is festooned with an unknown number
u Addressing the mystery of barrows. Do they of barrows. Each is an opportunity for the GM to
have a common origin? Were they created by create (in collaboration with the players) a horrific
the Yethri or are they reappearing now that the and engaging world to explore.
Yethri are gone? Are new barrows appearing, Why not “dungeons?”
and if so, from where? Are there other worlds
7. Running the Game

that barrows are connected to? Are barrows In traditional fantasy role playing games, the places
connected to each other? Do barrows represent where the PCs go to encounter dangerous creatures
a threat to Athland? What if there were an inva- and find treasure are usually called “dungeons.”
sion from one or more barrows? Why are they called barrows in this game? Because
dungeon means “underground jail cell,” while bar-
Are the PCs Good or Bad? row means “ancient burial place.” So we are using a
In some roleplaying games (such as the original word that’s a bit closer to what we mean.
Blades in the Dark game this rule set is drawn from), But you can go ahead and call them dungeons, if you
the PCs explicitly play criminals whose actions are want.
likely to be morally ambiguous or explicitly amoral.
How about this game? Barrow Concept
It depends on how you play. Within their culture, To create a barrow, begin with a concept: a com-
the PCs are doing a very risky job that can poten- plex of underground catacombs, an abandoned
tially make them rich. That job is to explore territory town haunted by a dead noblewoman, or a strange
claimed by others and bring back loot. In doing hill where it snows no matter the season.
so, they could engage in aggression, larceny, and
Here are some principles to follow:
murder. Alternately, they could prefer exploration,
negotiation, and bargaining. The creatures they u Make it weird. Barrows can have crawling babies
encounter can themselves be amoral, sympathetic, with cat faces and viper tongues. Or a meadow
or utterly malevolent. In the world of Athland out- of grass that sucks the life force of anyone who
side of barrows, the crew can treat other Human lingers for more than a moment. Or a ghost who
factions with honor or treachery. tries to force you into a dream world in which
you take the place of her grandchildren. Or a
For these reasons, as in many other RPGs, it's on talking sculpture that decapitates anyone who
the players to make moral choices about the actions fails to answer a riddle. Most barrows should
of their characters and on the GM to present NPCs include something that’s just really strange.
as having their own potentially wide spectrum of
u Every barrow is its own world. Think of a
behavior and morality. The players can play heroes,
barrow as a small, separate world. It can have
bad guys, selfish rogues with a secret heart of gold,
its own physics, rules of magic, ecology, culture,
or any other pattern of morality, as they choose.
and history. Your description of it should feel
It can be very helpful to discuss the general tone different from any other place. Some barrows
of the game in advance, so that some players don't might make ecological sense—for example
expect a game of adventure and wonder while with lots of prey animals and a small number of
others are expecting to be robbers and killers. predators. But they don't have to, because they
are strange and magical. Don't feel the need for
them to fit normal logic.

126
u Play up the horror. The people of Athland— u A creature that is usually disembodied, but with
even hardened veterans and professional the ability to manifest a physical form when it
delvers—are simply not prepared for what they chooses to. Can it appear in any form it wishes?
will find in a barrow. Anyone can be terrorized Might it pretend to be a member of the crew,
by experiencing one horror after another. in order to sow discord or lead someone astray?
Barrow raiders tend to have short and very u A physical object, deep in the barrow, such as
interesting careers. Don’t be afraid to impose a s a golden statue or a rune covered throne. If
consequences in the form of sheer terror. they find and damage the object, does that harm

7. Running the Game

u Evoke all the senses. Describe the environ- the barrow wight? What effect might that have
ment in ways that give each location a strong on the barrow itself?
feeling across sight, sound, touch, etc. Is the crew u An actual creature such as a demon, dragon, or
making a descent down a cliff face of rocks that otherworldly entity.
seem to weep thick, sticky blood? Does the air smell
Barrow raiders traditionally give the barrow wight
like honeysuckle with a hint of the acrid scent of
a simple nickname such as Red Nick or Blabby
wine? Is it strangely silent, as if something is eating
Jen. If the barrow has been delved by other crews,
the echoes before they can return? Is it so warm
the wight already has such a name and it will be
and humid that your sweat soaks your clothes with
common knowledge to the PCs. If not, the
no place to go? Is there a feeling of electricity and
touching things gives you a little shock? Are there
swarms of tiny glowing gnats that don't bite, but
tickle? Is there dim bluish light seemingly filling the
air, with no specific source, so shadows
don't really show the shape or vol-
ume of things properly?

The Barrow
Fights Back
Each barrow is controlled by an entity,
called a barrow wight. Those entering the
barrow, especially those with one or more
dots in attune, will be able to sense the pres-
ence of the barrow wight and perhaps interact
with it remotely.
The form of the barrow wight will vary. Exam-
ples:
u A disembodied spirit that haunts the entire
barrow but never appears as an individual. The
spirit essentially is the barrow.
u A ghostly presence, glimpsed briefly out of the
corner of the eye.

127
 crew can come up with one, if they want. Generally this will not be the true
name of the wight.
Give the barrow wight a personality. It might be bombastic and boastful,
demented and manic, subtle and sly, or devious and sadistic. It might pre-
fer to play with the crew, leading them into danger and fooling them, rather
than opposing them directly. Even if they never actually communicate
with the barrow wight, when they spend enough time in the barrow they
should feel its presence.
7. Running the Game

It is the nature of the wight to defend its barrow from intrusion. When the
crew enters the barrow, the GM should start a clock. Label it with some-
thing foreboding like “Barrow Wight Responds,” or “Barrow Awareness.”
Every time a significant event happens (a traverse roll, a fight, narration of
extended progress, a rest, etc.), tick one or more faces of the clock. When
it fills, the barrow wight will take action. Once that happens, start a new
clock for the next action.
There may be parts of the barrow the wight does not control. For example,
there could be a location taken over by creatures of higher Tier than the
wight's. If so, those locations (and creatures) are not directly subject to the
wight. The barrow wight might bargain with those inhabitants, however.
Here are some of the actions a barrow wight might take:
u Influence barrow inhabitants. The wight influences the inhabitants
of the barrow to be unfriendly toward intruders. This could be in form
of bargaining or, if the wight has a lot of willpower, simply applying
magical compulsions. Those who might have helped the crew become
neutral, those who might have been neutral become hostile, those who
were unaware of intruders are on alert. The PCs could even see this
happen in real time: they're talking to a group of creatures they have
encountered and they seem basically friendly, but then something
happens and now they are surly and uncooperative.
u Change barrow configuration. The wight changes the physical struc-
ture of the barrow. Hallways shift, doors appear or disappear, footing
becomes unsteady, maps become inaccurate. This can change the posi-
tion or effect of traversal rolls, require the crew to address new hazards,
or force the crew to find a new way through the barrow.
u Play jokes. Some barrow wights like to play with intruders in cruel
ways. They might extinguish the crew's lanterns, leaving them in pitch
darkness. Or leave harassing messages on the wall. Or boil the water
they are wading through. Or drop a rock on their head. Or make
horrific screams echo down hallways. In some cases, these will cause
consequences of one sort or another, which the players can choose to
resist.

128
u Summon enemies. The wight reaches out u The spaces between could be hallways, cliff
through cracks in reality and brings new crea- faces, forests, streams, streets, staircases, open
tures to the barrow from other worlds. A barrow fields, cave complexes, fields of poisonous
wight could bring any kind of alien creature in flowers, interlocked rooms, a series of breakable
to oppose intruders. walls, etc.
u Make mental attacks. A powerful wight may Beyond that basic idea, there are lots of possible
use its supernatural powers to induce fear, ways to structure a barrow, or a section of a barrow.
argumentativeness, delusion, rage, confusion,

7. Running the Game

In many cases, the structure flows from the con-
or other effects against the crew, cohorts, and cept. Examples of barrows, or sections of barrows:
allies. PCs can have intrusive thoughts and feel-
u A linear set of underground tunnels and rooms
ings. NPCs can potentially be controlled more
consisting of worked stone with elaborate
directly by a hostile wight, even potentially to
mosaics. It extends over multiple intercon-
the point of active hostility or rebellion.
nected levels.
If the barrow wight makes a mental attack against
u A complex underground maze, seemingly
a PC, that's not a reason to take away the player's
designed to trap anyone who enters in its
control of the character. But you can tell the player
incomprehensible, occasionally shifting struc-
about external thoughts or feelings that are intrud-
ture. Explorers will find the corpses of many
ing—such as a voice that's telling the PC that the
who have come before them.
rest of the crew plans to murder her and steal her
share of the loot. The player can choose to interpret u A tall silver tower. It has no precise location and
that however they wish. If an intrusion is forceful is never found in the same place twice. Entry
enough, the player might have to resist in order to through its magically warded doors requires
avoid a consequence. precise understanding of ancient runecraft. The
interior also changes in strange and subtle ways
u Appear directly. Perhaps it just wants to taunt every time you enter.
or talk to the crew, telling a mixture of half
u A remote valley in a deep wooded area with spe-
truths and lies. Maybe it would even try to bribe
cies of various trees, birds, and lizards that live
them to leave or to act against another crew of
nowhere else in Athland. Spread throughout
raiders. If they attack the barrow wight, it might
the valley are various ruins and stone statues. At
disappear or it might have a physical form that
the center is a stone tower guarded by intelligent
they can fight or interact with.
wolf-like creatures that speak a strange dialect of
Between delves, a barrow wight may also take Athlish. They say they have been guards here for
actions to shore up its defenses. It might change 1,000 years, but they know nothing of the Yethri
the configuration of the barrow, create new traps, and the version of history they remember is not
summon new creatures, and so on. that of the Athland the players know.
A battlefield from the ancient time of the Dragon
Barrow Structure
u
Kings is haunted by the ghosts of those who
The structure of a barrow should compliment its fought there. They seek to possess the bodies
theme. Physically, most barrows consist of loca- of those who trespass in order to continue their
tions of interest separated by distances that can be combat forever.
traveled through or along. u A manor house and nearby village have been
u A location of interest could be a room, a cave, abandoned because strange blue creatures came
a building, a well, an altar, an inter-dimensional out of the ground and drove the Humans away.
gate, a pool of water, a cluster of huts, a clearing, Did the lord of the manor make some sort of
or anything else you can think of. pact which went awry?

129
 u A shaft leading to an abandoned underground Therefore, you should come up with whatever
mining complex. Something very ancient has visuals or other tools will help generate those kinds
risen from deep in the earth to inhabit the mines. of questions. Perhaps the PCs have maps (and the
u An underground river has carved out a set of fiction should reflect that), but the players might
caves deep underground. It will take a lot of just have a verbal description of the barrow or a
swimming to get to those caves. loose diagram showing how different places relate
u A cave complex that contains a confusing series to each other. The maps exist in the background
of inter-dimensional jumps that play strangely of the story, not the foreground. No one should
7. Running the Game

with location and, seemingly, with time. get caught up in the minutiae of precise distances,
angles, and structure. Skip over boring travel scenes
u A market where creatures from many different
or abstract them with a simple traversal roll.
worlds meet to trade in rare goods, strange
spells, and powerful stories. Besides such a spacial structure, you also need to
u A stairway that leads far downward, for miles. If know what the crew might encounter on the delve:
you go all the way, you emerge on an island with u Evocative details. Narrow, twisting hallways.
inhabitants who believe that anyone coming Overhanging branches with flowers that smell
from the other side must be either an angel or of slightly rotted lilac. An underground stream
a demon. with a humanoid skeleton at the bottom. Details
u A strange underground city, mostly abandoned, set the mood and communicate the theme of
but with groups of squatters and scavengers what the crew is experiencing.
scattered about. A dark figure hunts the empty u “Random” encounters. A poor result on a
streets of the city, killing the vulnerable and the traversal roll can result in stumbling into some
terrified. creature or creatures in the barrow. Crea-
u Only on clear nights during the full moon, a tures that move around in the barrow can be
ghostly stairway appears on a hilltop. You can encountered in an unexpected location. They
climb the stairs to an ethereal city full of treasure. may be more surprised to find the crew than
Almost no one has risked it, though, because if the crew is to find them.
even a wisp of cloud covers the moon, the stairs u Set locations. These are places where, if the
disappear and the climbers fall to their deaths. crew goes there, something significant is likely to
But the crew's Artificer has been working on a happen. The throne room of the Lich King. The
gadget that fits into a backpack. If you fall, you'll crack where the last explorer hid her journal and
float safely to the ground. She's almost sure it maps. The hut where the three blind Witches
will work perfectly… brew their terrible draught. The hall with the
Your style of planning a barrow can depend on your dart traps. Don't plan out what will happen, but
needs. At the core, you need to be able to visualize have ideas about what could happen. When the
and communicate spatial relationships. You can PCs subvert those ideas (and they will), adapt
draw a map or a diagram, or you can just have an to how the story plays from there.
idea narratively of how the different parts relate u Barriers: What prevents PCs getting to where
to each other. Much of the time, you don't want a they want to go? Confusing corridors, difficult
detailed grid map. Why? Because asking, “do you go climbs, dangerous creatures, devious traps?
left or right?” over and over again is not interesting. Whatever those are, you want to have some
idea of what's in the way. Sometimes clever PCs
Instead, you ask narratively interesting questions
might be able to find their way around the most
like, “are you heading deeper in?,” “are you trying to
get back to the library of the celestials?,” or, “so now
you're just trying to escape, right?”

130
 difficult barriers. In other cases, there's only the u Will they let the PCs into the barrow, but
one way to get there and the crew will have to try to intercept them on the way out? Lots
figure out how to get through. of factions care about the loot. They might be
perfectly happy to let the PCs do the hard and
Factions and Barrows dangerous work of getting it, so they can steal
it. You could do a whole adventure in which the
Various outside factions will likely be interested
delve itself involves only a few simple action
in any active barrow. Here are some ways that the
rolls, with the primary confrontation occurring

7. Running the Game

faction game can interact with the barrow raiding
as they are trying to get out with the goods.
game.
u Who is helping the crew? Generally, there
will be at least one faction allied with the crew.
Handling an
What do they want the PCs to do? What help Unplanned Delve
can they provide? What interest do they have What if the crew decide to delve a barrow they
in this barrow? What do they want in return for know about, but it wasn't something you planned
assistance? for and you don't know what's there?
u Is the barrow’s location unknown? Who is
One of the basic principles of this game is that the
searching for it? How are they searching? Are
GM doesn't railroad the crew into following a spe-
they spying on the crew, so that they get that
cific pre-planned storyline. So if they know where
information without having to find the barrow
a barrow is, they can try to get there. On the other
themselves?
hand, it's challenging for a GM to just make up the
u Have other crews delved the barrow? Other structure of a whole barrow on the spot if the crew
crews might have been here before. Have they decides to ignore other plot threads and go there.
cleaned out all or most of the monsters or trea- At the end of a session, it can help to ask about the
sure? Have they explored some parts but not PC's plans, so you can do some preparation for
all? Are their corpses strewn about the barrow? what might happen.
u Is the way to the barrow blocked? Some fac-
If you're surprised by a delving choice during the
tion may control the roads or other approach to
game, call a short break to think about what you're
the barrow. They may be blocking the way for
going to do. Here are a few strategies for handling
reasons unrelated to the barrow. They might just
that situation.
be brigands, or they could be levying a toll on
passage, for example. u Come clean. If you really have no idea what to
u Are they in the barrow right now? They could do, tell the players you don't have that particular
be delving, or camped out at some location in barrow worked out yet and discuss how to han-
the barrow, potentially blocking access. They dle that. Maybe they have a cool idea, or maybe
might know that the PCs are here, or they might they would be just as happy going to a barrow
be encountered at random. you have a plan for.
u Are they directly blocking access to the bar- u Make this session about finding and secur-
row? The PCs could arrive at the barrow only ing the barrow. Depending on the situation,
to find that another faction has claimed it and the crew might need to make travel rolls to get
is blocking entry. They might have stationed there, they have an encounter on the way. Or our
guards, have built physical barriers, installed crew arrive, only to find that a rival crew has laid
traps, magical wards, or other methods of full claim to the barrow. There are guards and
enforcing a claim or blocking access. maybe even a wall or magical wards around the
entrance. Or two factions are fighting or arguing

131
 right now about access. Or there is a pile of enemies, but also potentially someone to do
fresh corpses from a known faction right at the business with. If a sentient creature is not shaped
entrance, with no immediate sign of what killed anything like a Human, some Athlanders won't
them. Don't do this unless there's an interesting consider it a person no matter how it behaves.
story to be had in just getting to the barrow.
u Come up with the first part of the barrow. Monsters
You don't need the whole thing, just the parts To Athlanders, a monster might be able to talk, but
the crew will encounter at the beginning. The is not really a person.
7. Running the Game

delve can be a short, initial exploration. Maybe

after a few initial encounters, they find a mag- u Animals. These are creatures following instincts
ically barred door that will require research to related to staying alive, getting food, protecting
figure out how to pass through. young, and so on. Athlanders would classify any
dangerous animal encountered on a delve to be
u Use the random barrow and encounter
a monster—unless it can be tamed, in which
generation tables. There are random tables in
case it might be classed as a friendly animal or
the back of this book that you can use for plan-
pet.
ning or for impromptu generation of barrows
(page  182) and encounters (page  183). Roll u Supernatural creatures. Ghost wolves, reve-
some dice and see what comes up. nants, animatronic warriors, drowned women,
giant bull-men with glowing golden horns.
You cannot have a plan for any possible choice the These are all strange and usually quite danger-
players might make. However, before you offer ous. These are also considered to be monsters.
a rumor about a delve, it's a good idea to have
u Malevolent entities. These may be controlled
enough of a concept about it that you could run
by the barrow itself, by the remnant of some
one session. That's a lot easier with this game than
dead god, or by some other dark power. Or
most others like it, because you just need a basic
they are simply motivated by a desire to cause
concept of what's in the barrow and what kind of
harm, steal life force, infect others, etc. They are
opposition could be found there. Many of your
inimical to natural life. These are supernatural
best ideas will occur in the moment rather than
monsters, sometimes ethereal and sometimes
advance planning.
physical.

Creating Creating Creatures

Encounters and Inhabitants
While many other roleplaying games require com-
Sages have many ways of categorizing the creatures plex sets of statistics (hit points, damage dice, etc.)
encountered in barrows, but delvers (and Athland- this one doesn't need any of that. A scene with one
ers in general) usually categorize them into people or more creatures can be resolved like any other
and monsters. challenging situation.
Nevertheless, it’s important to have a sense of the
People nature of each creature and how it can challenge
u Sentient creatures are able to communicate, the crew. Don't pre-plan how the scene will go,
plan, negotiate, socialize, cooperate, and make but consider what each creature can do and what
understandable choices. Athlanders on a delve its motivations are. Then play to find out what
are likely to think of this kind of inhabitant as happens.
a person rather than a monster—potential

132
Here are some questions to ask that can help you stomach acid onto its paralyzed prey before
firm up your ideas about an inhabitant of a barrow. consuming it? Does it pull its prey down into
u Is it sentient? Can it be communicated a pit or into a pool of icy water? Does it inflict
with? Placated? Negotiated with? Distracted? horrific nightmares and a feeling of utter dread
Charmed? Tamed? Joked with? From the point as harm rather than physical consequences?
of view of an Athlander, it a person or a monster? Does just being in its presence require a resis-
tance roll against a fear consequence?
u How does it communicate? Does it speak Ath-
Is it deluded? Maybe it has some strange idea

7. Running the Game

u
lish? Some ancient tongue? A language spoken
in some other world? If it doesn't communicate of reality and can only be reasoned with if you
vocally, does it use telepathy, gestures, complex speak within that frame. Maybe it believes that
patterns of glowing feathers? it is a god and the PCs have come to worship it,
even though it clearly is not. Or that the PCs are
u How does it sense? Can it see, and if so how
representatives of the ancient Dragon Empire.
well? Can it see in the dark? How good is its
Or that its dead children can be brought back if
sense of smell? Hearing? Can it echo-locate in
only the right spell could be acquired.
the dark? Does it have senses Humans do not
have, like being able to feel disturbances in u Is there a hierarchy? If there are multiple
electrical fields? Can it feel magic or life force? creatures, who is in charge? Is there a big boss
and lieutenants? How is the hierarchy enforced?
u How does it compare to a “typical” member
Do some members resent those above them?
of its species? Is it young, old, smart, dull,
Are they loyal to each other? Are there internal
injured, quick, skilled, impaired, magical, or
factions? If one member of the group is injured
have some other notable individual set of char-
or threated, will the others try to rescue? Is
acteristics?
there one smart mastermind and the others will
u What does it want? Is it lonely, bored, curious? respond foolishly without orders?
Does it want treasure? To protect its people, its
u Is it stealthy? Might it attack by surprise? Could
family, or its possessions? To return to a long
it drag a cohort or minion off into the darkness
lost home? Just survive this invasion of strangers
or down into the cold water? Would it drop
into its home? To serve or summon a god? Can
from above or burst up from below? Could it
the PCs help it in exchange for aid, free passage,
follow the crew unnoticed, waiting for the best
or treasure? Is it just malevolent and want to
time to attack?
destroy or consume the living? Does it have a
magical compulsion to protect the barrow from u Is it invulnerable to normal attack? Does it
intruders? have impenetrable scales, hide, force field, or
other defense? If so, you should probably not
u What is it afraid of? What would cause it to
decide in advance exactly how to harm the
cower, beg for mercy, or run in terror?
creature. Instead, you should be open to player
u Does it have enemies? Perhaps the PCs could creativity in finding or establishing weaknesses.
help it against a foe. Or if it is too strong for the If they come up with a cool idea, go with it.
PCs, maybe they can find its enemy or set two
u Is it ethereal? Invulnerable to physical attacks?
strong monsters against each other.
If so, how can it be affected?
u Is it horrifying? An otherwise mundane crea-
u Does it have a code of conduct? Is it unable to
ture with something creepy or disturbing about
tell a lie or go back on a promise? Must it chal-
it can make a monster much more memorable.
lenge any who offend it to a duel? Is it obligated
Does it swallow its screaming prey whole? Does
to serve anyone who saves its life for a year and a
it wear a necklace of the shrunken heads of
day? Must it offer hospitality to any visitor who
previous barrow delvers? Does it regurgitate
speaks politely?
133
 u What kinds of harm can it cause? Stabbed in the
gut, face ripped open, picked up and thrown, life
force drained, terrified, hollowed out soul, covered in
tiny cuts, tangled up and immobile. itching uncon-
trollably, envenomed arm swelling, your arm's off,
just a bit of a cut really, blinded, vomiting, nameless
dread, strangely mutated, swallowed whole? You
don't have to decide every possible kind of harm in
7. Running the Game

advance, but you should have a sense of the kinds of

harm the creature is capable of inflicting.
u Is it magical? Can it cast spells like a mage or create
other magical effects? What kinds of effects? How
powerful are they?
u Is it clever? Does it anticipate the PCs actions and
have its own kind of flashback to counter their plans?
Does it track the crew and pick them off one at a
time?
u Is it quick? A terrifyingly fast sprinter or monster
with incredible reflexes can present a significant
challenge. Perhaps a PC takes a consequence before
anyone can even react to its presence.
u Is it partly in this world and partly in another?
Does it flicker in and out of existence? Can it go
through walls? Avoid a sword cut by not being in this
world as it slices through?
u Does it have particular vulnerabilities? Are certain
kinds of attacks especially potent against it? Is it
vulnerable to fire, magic, ranged attacks, silver, water,
taunting, or demon bane? Does it become impulsive
and stupid if angered? Does it have other vulnerabili-
ties that could be discovered and exploited?
u Can it strike at range? Does it have the ability to
fire weapons, suck life force, spit acid, launch spines,
breathe fire, or otherwise cause harm at a distance?
Or does it have to get close?
u Can it mesmerize, influence, or take control of
others? Some monsters might have the ability to
control perceptions, influence behavior, or magically
enslave others.
u Do you need a progress clock to track its defenses?
Perhaps it can't be overcome with a single good
action roll. If so, use a progress clock. Or multiple
clocks, such as a clock for the creature’s armored hide
before you can even get to the clock for its vulnerable

134
 organs. Or a clock that represents it transition-
ing into its true form after the monster’s initial
Sample Encounters
presentation is defeated. Don't overdo this kind of While it's expected that the GMs will create (or
progress clock because it can lead to long grinding borrow) lots of encounters themselves, here are a
conflicts. Most monsters can be managed with few examples to get started.
just a clear sense of whether, in the fiction, they
are health, wounded, dead, etc. Only unusual
Albino Warpigs
creatures, or unusual circumstances, require a These are creatures bred to be combat mounts.

7. Running the Game

progress clock. They often bear battle scars and jewelry through
u Is it gigantic? A creature that is huge enough pierced ears s are about as large as a small horse.
might require special preparations just to have They are carnivorous. They can be found rooting
any effect on it. Or maybe the delve involves the around, digging for insects, rats, or other prey. The
PCs traveling into the enormous creature's body warpigs are almost blind, but have excellent senses
and coping with a whole ecosystem dwelling of smell. They can be belligerent, but are potentially
within. distractable or even tame-able. When ridden, they
are extremely aggressive and effective in battle.
u Are they tiny? Tiny, numerous creatures can be
However, they don’t do well in sunlight, nor do
challenging to deal with. Normal weapons will
they tolerate well being ridden for hour after hour
have limited effect on a swarm of enemies, so
of long distance travel.
the players will have to be creative in figuring
out how to cope. Blue Men
Answers to these questions will help you set posi- Blue men are small humanoids, abut 2 ½ feet (75
tion and effect as each character responds to events cm) tall. They are hairless, with bright blue skin
in the fiction and makes action rolls. of a cerulean hue, all black eyes, and sharp teeth.
There is no standard bestiary of creatures that are They carry small packs but do not wear clothes
encountered in barrows. Every barrow is a separate and all appear to be male. It is not known how they
and unique ecosystem. The crew might meet reproduce.
hordes of giant green fire lizards in one barrow and They speak to each other in a muttering high
never see them anywhere else. On the other hand, pitched whine that can carry a long way. They carry
they might also see the same enigmatic white crows small blow guns with darts tipped with a soporific
in every barrow they enter, creating a mystery for drug. One hit will make you a bit sleepy (level 1
them to try to solve. temporary harm), but a bunch of hits will make
Take inspiration for creatures from any source you pass out. They tend to appear in small groups
you like: video games, “monster of the week” TV of 3–8, but other groups are usually nearby and
shows, mythology, novels, movies, or bestiaries able to respond to vocal calls for aid.
from other roleplaying games and supplements. Blue men are very territorial and xenophobic to the
Since you don’t need game stats, you can take the point of considering anyone not of their specific
theme for a monster from just about anywhere and tribe (even other blue men) to have the status of
worry only about the fiction. animal, to be hunted and eaten. They are easily
defeated one on one, but in groups they can be
extremely challenging. If confronted by superior
force or if they start to lose an engagement, they
will retreat. If captured, they will refuse food and
drink and have no interest in communication.

135
 The Cult of Athelion but may use their magic to command other crea-
tures in their environment.
Somewhere in a barrow is a small cult that wor-
ships an ancient and otherwise forgotten god. The A deathwitch is utterly malevolent to sentient
worshipers are basically Human, although a few beings. While it may lie dormant for long ages,
details are off (long incisor teeth, extra fingers, when awakened it desires greatly to cause suffering,
extra joints, strangely shaped eyes, patches of skin fear, harm, and death.
with vestigial scales, etc.). These vary from one to
Each deathwitch may have different magical
the next. There are about 10–30 members of the
7. Running the Game

powers, but are likely to have some or all of the

cult. If the barrow is underground, they survive by
following abilities, as well as any others the GM
farming mushrooms and hunting small animals. If
may come up with.
above ground they are hunters and gatherers. They
are equipped with whatever they can scavenge or u Blinding speed: A deathwitch can move during
make in their environment. the instances between moments. It doesn't
appear to move like a normal creature—instead
Their god, whom they call Athelion, takes the seeming to be in one place and then a slightly
form of a featureless rock about the size of a small different place without having crossed the inter-
barrel. It looks completely nondescript to others, vening space. It can't teleport across notable dis-
but cult members are certain that it is the most tances, but it's flickering pattern of movement is
beautiful and glorious object in the universe. They confusing and its incredible speed can make it
will become extremely offended if anyone seems to very difficult to target or avoid.
think otherwise. They are not sure what Athelion
u Ignore gravity: A deathwitch can move upon
is the god of or what he stands for, but they are
any surface as if it were the floor. It can scramble
devoted to him nonetheless.
across a wall or ceiling with incredible speed.
The rock does have supernatural power. If you u Binding: A deathwitch can focus its malignant
spend time in its presence it will start to speak power on a specific creature and take control of
to you. This will require resistance rolls for PCs, its limbs. It could force an enemy to stab them-
or they will start to be convinced of the glorious selves,cause paralysis, or make a victim feel as
beauty and divinity of the rock. Cohorts and allies if stinging insects are crawling under their own
will also be affected. skin.
The cult wants to expand the number of followers u Shadow veil. A deathwitch can briefly mold
and will happily accept crew and cohorts as mem- shadows into physical barriers, blocking arrows
bers (this could be an interesting transition for the or sword blows.
whole crew if the players thought that would be u Uncanny senses. A deathwitch has no eyes in
fun). But Athelion can only take over one mind at its head, but is able to sense perfectly in total
a time, and it takes a couple of days to fully recruit darkness or through obstacles. It is virtually
someone to absolute control. The cultists prefer impossible to surprise a deathwitch, since its
to evangelize, but they will stoop to kidnapping if magical senses allow it to feel the ebb and flow
they think they can get away with it. of reality all around its vicinity.
Life drain. If it has a sentient being helpless, it
Deathwitch u
will toy with its prey, sometimes for weeks or
A deathwitch is an undead creature of darkness and months of terror, torture, and insanity. During
horror. It appears in the form of an eyeless, spindly that time it slowly sucks the life out of its victim.
humanoid with loose gray veiny skin. Its joints that This life force will sustain the deathwitch for as
move in disturbing ways. Deathwitches are solitary, many years or ages as necessary until it can feed
again.
136
A deathwitch is intended to be a formidable enemy live underground in small bands, cooperating with
for even an experienced crew. An encounter will each other and obtaining food by farming mush-
usually start with one or more consequences rooms, insects, and cave fish.
applied and could well go downhill from there. It
They don’t really speak, communicating with
has powerful and horrifying attacks, and it is very
each other mainly through a complex language of
hard to land a telling blow. A deathwitch is vulner-
gestures. If necessary, they can communicate with
able to light, fire, and water, so a careful crew might
Humans via simplified gestures. Grenlines are
be able to prevail.

7. Running the Game

completely nonviolent and mainly just want to be
The Ghost Wind left alone. If attacked, they will run, but they will
not fight back.
The ghost wind is an ethereal miasma that drifts
slowly from place to place. It is most attracted to The Jegran
places that are strongly magical or where death and
These are goblin-like humanoids, a bit smaller than
terror have occurred very strongly. It consists of
a Human. They have greenish skin and large bony
fragments of many souls that have become trapped
head crests that they can use to make very loud
within. Those who experience or attune to the
hornlike sounds. During celebration, they can also
ghost wind feel the screaming horror of the many
make music with their crests.
souls it contains (this may cause level 1, 2, or 3 harm
depending on how close it is and how intensely the The Jegran are refugees from a terrible cataclysm
connection is established). The souls of the ghost that destroyed the world from which they come.
wind can briefly possess those who are caught up They are a small band of individuals who have
in it, forcing them to take momentary actions that somehow made their way to a barrow in Athland.
fit the circumstances of their death. Often this just They are highly traumatized and just want to sur-
a matter of screaming in terror, calling out to loved vive. However, they can be very aggressive if they
ones, or looking around in amazement, but it can feel threatened. An encounter could turn deadly
also involve striking out at the nearest person or very fast if not handled carefully. However, if
taking other harmful actions. Prolonged exposure offered a safe place to live, the Jegran could become
is extremely dangerous and will eventually suck the useful allies.
life force out of a character, leaving only a mindless
husk. Steam Knight
It is fairly easy to avoid the ghost wind by just Long ago, on some distant world, a mad goddess
moving away from it, but it may surround or took it upon herself to create an order of immortal
block a place the crew need to get to. It might also warriors. She spent centuries finding the strongest
contain the soul of someone a PC knew in life, or and noblest fighters. Upon each one she performed
the PCs might choose to try to bring peace to the a great ritual, removing their limbs and encasing
tormented souls of a ghost wind. the husks of their bodies in a magical steel cara-
pace. Upon each knight she imposed a magical
Grenlings compulsion, forcing them to single-mindedly
pursue a quest. Each had a different command,
Grenlings are humanoids, about the size of a
such as “protect the weak,” “find the place where
Human. They are blobby, with saggy gray skin.
the sun sets and conquer those lands in my name,”
They have round eyeless heads with thin mouths
or, “bring me all the chocolate.”
and two narrow nostril slits. They sense largely
through a strong sense of smell, echolocation, and The goddess has been dead for millennia; no one
the ability to sense electrical fields around them. even remembers her name any more. Almost all of
They smell a vaguely like ripe peaches. Grenlings her steam knights are also gone, but the few that still

137
 exist have found their way across many worlds, toil- containing many such creatures can be deadly even
ing on endless quests that no longer have meaning. for a large crew.
Steam knights take different forms, but they are White Crows
generally about as large as a big wagon and all are
armored in some strange, almost indestructible These are large crows with white feathers. They
metal. Inside is the husk of what remains of their have the ability to transition among different
withered, immortal bodies. Their bodies are sus- worlds and are attracted to locations with lots
tained by magic so they do not need to eat, drink of supernatural power. They tend to appear in
7. Running the Game

or breathe. Their carapaces do require a reservoir of barrows, usually in groups of 3–6, often where the
water to function. They belch clouds of white steam most deadly encounters are likely to happen. Other
when they exert themselves (hence the name). than showing up in odd places, they act like regular
crows. If desired, encountering them in different
If you encounter one in a barrow, it's possible that barrows can become a regular and kind of spooky
it might be out of water and thus dormant and foreshadowing of danger.
frozen. It will appear like a big metal statue, dented
here and there from countless battles. Examination
will show a nozzle for refilling the water reservoir
—doing so will reactivate the knight.
Negotiation
When the crew encounters creatures during a
If still fully functional, a steam knight is a very for- delve, they can choose to run, fight, sneak, ambush,
midable opponent capable of taking on a dragon or confront, or any other action. Sometimes, they
company of knights on even footing (Tier IV). It have to deal with an immediate attack. But there is
is virtually invulnerable to most kinds of physical often plenty of room for negotiation.
and magical attack. It might, however, be already
damaged and therefore less capable. A steam Taming
knight can be reasoned with, but has no choice but If the creatures are not sentient, that takes the form
to pursue their geas, even if nonsensical. It would of taming, offering food, magical interactions, or
be possible to research a ritual to free the knight of other suitable actions. These can be usually be
their geas. If removed from the carapace, the body resolved with sway, consort, command, or attune
will crumble into dust. Some would consider that rolls.
an act of kindness.
Communication
Wall Snakes If the creatures are sentient, the first thing to con-
These strange creatures make their way in larval sider is communication. It’s very convenient if the
form to a hard vertical surface such as a wall or creatures speak Athlish. The GM might come up
rock face. They burrow into the rock, camouflage with a rationale for why that is, such as that they
themselves, and hibernate—for years if necessary. have been in this barrow in Athland for a long time
When a creature walks within a few feet, they shoot and have encountered barrow raiders before, they
out a snakelike protuberance about the thickness come from a parallel version of Athland where the
of a large python, tipped with a mouth containing same (or similar) language is spoken, or that the
rows of needle teeth. They yank whatever they grab magic of the place simply facilitates communica-
inward to the wall and hold on with great strength tion.
until their prey dies, at which point they consume it
at their leisure. Encountering one wall snake can be If not, the PCs can still attempt to communicate
survivable, especially if it clasps on to equipment or using gestures, pictures, exchange of objects, teach-
armor instead of flesh, but a cave passage or hallway ing simple words, etc.

138
Since the game has no explicit skill system (other
than a couple of Scholar special abilities), there
Resistance
isn’t a specific mechanism for learning a language. The resistance mechanic gives players the ability to
It can be treated as a long-term project: a 4-clock avoid or reduce any consequence they wish, as long
for basic understanding and a 6-clock for reason- as they have the stress (or armor boxes) to pay for
able fluency, for example. it. A crew who are willing to jump in and protect
when necessary in order to balance out the most
Assuming some kind of reasonable communica- severe consequences has a significant resource that

7. Running the Game

tion can be achieved, the basics of negotiation can allows them to avoid or mitigate lots of rough stuff.
be resolved through role-playing in combination That's cool, but it means that PCs can take a lot of
with appropriate action rolls (consort, sway, hurt before they go down.
command, attune, etc.). The GM should adjust
position and effect depending on the temperament Raiders in the Dark does not reward rule optimi-
of the creatures that the PCs are communicating zation for characters much, but some players may
with, what those creatures want, what the PCs are figure out that having 3d or 4d in an attribute
offering, and how they are choosing to act. As with means that resisting with that attribute becomes
any PC actions, the basic assumption is that they pretty cheap. So they might decide to put one dot
are approaching problems in an intelligent manner, into each action rating of the attribute they expect
informed by their profession as delvers. Poor rolls to resist with most often. For example, a brand new
should not be interpreted to make the PCs look Armiger character could easily have a Prowess of 4
dumb, but rather reflect unfortunate misunder- and thereby roll 4d to resist most kinds of physical
standings or other problems. consequences. That means each resistance roll will
usually cost only 0 or 1 stress (and even recover

Danger stress on criticals, which happen on 13% of rolls

with 4d).
How dangerous should things be for the PCs? We Should you do something about that? Sometimes,
want to tell an adventure story among a group you should definitely let that character be the tank
of friends, Adventure stories have an element of and shrug off the consequences. Allow the PC to
threat and danger, so those belong in the story. The shine in the areas the player has decided to make
perception of danger, and the likelihood of death, them good at.
is a strong contributor to the tone of the game. But you should also mix up the kinds of conse-
As the GM, it's your job to present a world with quences you apply so that resistance rolls some-
potential threats in it. There are threats in barrows times require Prowess, sometimes Insight, and
and in the world outside. As part of the conversa- sometimes Resolve. It's not until quite a few xp
tion with the other players, give them a clear sense advances that a character will be able to have hight
of how much danger the PCs are running into. Let scores in all of those, and even then only by giving
them make choices about the risks they are taking up the opportunity to have a high number of dots
and how to approach those risks. in any one action rating. If you change it up, any
PC will feel the heat some of the time. That also
Some of these risks might involve fighting, but not
means you're being more creative and interesting
all. Deadly traps, precarious ascents up dangerous
in coming up with consequences.
walls festooned with bloodsucking vines, vials that
could be useful or might contain poison—all kinds
of threats exist in barrows.

139
 Balance thrusts, sidesteps, wild swings, near misses, and
telling blows.
In some other games, there are whole systems for
“balancing” encounters so the challenge matches Second, the game provides several mechanisms
the current abilities of the PCs. You don't really for making any decisions, including those in
need to do that in this game. combat, engaging through position, effect, devil's
bargains, trading position for effect, pushing, and
The assumption behind balance is that you know consequences. Use those to make each combat into
what the players will do—usually in terms of a meaningful event.
7. Running the Game

getting into a preplanned fight. Maybe the crew

is up against a gigantic fire dragon that could kill Making Enemies Threatening
them easily. But the crew takes advantage of the fire
The GM has a few tools to show how threatening
dragon's gullibility and walks away with the its trea-
the opposition is.
sure without taking a scratch. Was that encounter
“balanced?” The core mechanic is to use position and effect.
A more dangerous opponent means risky or
Try to set up every scene so you don't know how
desperate position. An opponent with strong
it will be resolved, with lots of open possibilities.
defenses means limited or even zero effect. These
Since the opposition doesn't have statistics like the
are adjusted depending on the situation. On open
PCs do, you can easily adjust the level of challenge
ground the master assassin would have you in a des-
on the fly. And you can do that without “cheating”
perate position, but because he's stuck in a pit trap, it's
to keep from accidentally killing all the PCs like
controlled.
you might have to in other RPG systems.
Another tool is consequences. On failed or mixed

Combat result rolls, you'll select one or more consequences:

u Reduced effect: You push him back, but he
Since we are playing in an adventure genre, fighting scrambles onto his feet again.
will happen sometimes. Creatures will attack the u Complication: She blows her war horn, warning
PCS, and the PCs can decide to get into fights, the others.
even if they have other choices they could make. u Lost opportunity: He makes an amazing leap
They might be playing a crew of Breakers who just across the chasm, so if you want to catch him you'll
want to go fight things—if so, let them find lots of need to get over there.
enemies to fight.
u Worse position You get your shield in the way,
Making Fights Engaging but the creature grabs it with it’s claws and yanks.
You just barely release in time to keep from being
If a fight happens, avoid any tendency to turn it
pulled into its jaws, but the shield is thrown to the
into a slog of the same action over and over.
side while it charges in again.
“I hit him. I roll Skirmish. Is he dead? No? I roll u Harm: He lands a cut on your arm just above the
Skirmish again. Still not dead? Well, guess what? I vambrace. You can feel the blood dripping, but you
roll Skirmish.” can't spare a glance to check how bad it is. Mark
That would get really boring. First of all, the char- level 2 harm.
acter in the fiction is not rolling Skirmish. The A good habit to get into is to try not to give the same
character is fighting for their life. Even if the player kind of consequence twice in a row unless you have
is choosing to use the same action rating for a series a really good reason, and to give out consequences
of rolls, what's happening in the fiction is dynamic that will require a mix of attributes to resist.
and evolving. Describe the action in terms of

140
When the opposition is weaker, hand out weaker Taking Enemies Out
consequences (level 1 or 2 harm, slipped and out
How many successful rolls are required to take an
of position, enemy gets away). When stronger, you
adversary out of the fight? One success at standard
can hand out heavier consequences, or more than
effect? If you want the fight to be resolved quickly
one (level 3 or 4 harm, broken weapon or shield, slip
that works fine. In a fight with many weaker ene-
and fall to the ground, enemy reinforcements arrive).
mies, standard effect can mean that two, three, or
Remind players that they always have the option to
all of them go down.
resist consequences.

7. Running the Game

For more detailed action or enemies who are just
Initiative hard to take out, you can use a clock. A defensive
This game has no formal system for taking turns clock is a pacing mechanism, designed to slow
or deciding who goes first. As a GM, you'll want down the action from being resolved in one roll to
follow the fiction and the conversation to decide taking two or more. If the enemy has a clock rep-
who does what when. Make sure everyone has a resenting some kind of defense (a warrior's ability
chance to shine, even though you don't explicitly to maintain her guard, a dragon's armored scales,
track everyone's turn. a giant's capacity to absorb hits, a swarm's sheer
volume, etc.) then it takes longer to overcome that
Since the PCs make all the action rolls, by default it enemy and there is more chance for a bad roll to
can make NPC opponents feel rather passive. That generate consequences for a PC.
works well for some enemies when the PCs are the
ones driving the narrative forward, but for others Remember that victory doesn’t necessarily mean
you want the flavor of the PCs being thrown back death or even physical harm to the NPC. Depend-
on their heels. When you want an adversary to have ing on the fiction, the enemy could run in terror,
more initiative, there are two levels of intensity that drop weapons and beg for mercy, or fall writing to
can be applied: the ground with a serious wound.

If the adversary is quick, tell the players what Example of Combat

the NPC is about to achieve, then ask how they
GM: The rock troll charges forward with a loud
respond.
bellow and swings its club at you. That's a pretty
“The creature lunges out of the pool and is trying to freaking big club. What do you do?”
grab your leg with four hairy tentacles. What do you
The GM has made the troll quick in this instance.
do?”
The PC is having to react to what the troll does.
The player's reaction will drive an action roll. Since
Kristin: “Yikes! I'll give ground and keep my shield
die rolls serve double duty, the results of the roll
in front of me, looking for an opening.”
will decide what happens.
GM: “So you're skirmishing? I think that's risky
If the adversary is overwhelming, tell the player position .”
what the NPC has already done, then ask if they
Kristin: “Even with the shield?”
want to resist.
GM: “Yeah, without it the situation would be des-
“It's incredibly fast. A hairy tentacle is wrapped
perate.”
around your ankle. It's yanked you off your feet and
dragged you to the edge of the dark water. Do you If Kristin's character had a two handed weapon,
want to resist that?” such as a pollaxe, instead of a shield, the GM might
call this a desperate position, but with better
effect because she can hit harder. Also, she might

141
 be able to hit the troll while maintaining some Kristin: “Nice.”
distance. GM: “Meanwhile, let's switch back to Mike. You're
Kristin: “OK. What's the effect if I succeed?” still in the small room with the sarcophagus. The
GM: “With its long arms and big club, you're going door has slammed shut behind you, and you can
to have to close in to strike back. Getting into position hear something really big bellowing and stomping on
will be standard effect. Is that what you want to do?” the other side of it. Melisande seems like she might be
in trouble. What are you doing?”
The GM and player are treating this fight as import-
7. Running the Game

ant and worth playing out in detail. If it were more In this scene, the GM is presenting the troll as a
routine, each roll might resolve a bigger part of the significant threat for a single PC to handle. The
fight. stakes are serious. The rest of this fight is might be
rough for her.
Kristin: “I guess I have to. But I'm moving fast and
keeping my shield up.” Different Power Levels
GM: “Absolutely. You could push yourself or take a In managing combats, you will often find that the
bargain if you want to make that better. Improved PCs and the opposition are not in an even fight.
effect would mean you'd get a hit in.”
u What if the PCs are overmatched? Some-
Kristin: “Nope. Mellisande is conserving her energy times, PCs get themselves in over their heads—
for now. I rolled a 5.” not just a challenging situation, but way more
GM: “Cool. The troll swings at you and you duck in than they can handle. Make sure they know
close enough to be inside its easy swinging distance. what they're getting themselves into. Give them
But a 5 is a mixed result, so there's a consequence. an opportunity to run away (and remind them
What do you think that might be? that it's an option). Perhaps the enemy decides
to spare these pathetic fools. Maybe the enemy
The GM has final say on consequences, but it's fine
surrounds the crew and calls for their surrender
to solicit ideas.
(it can be fun for the crew to get captured and
Kristin: “Uh…maybe the troll sidesteps and I'm then try to escape or talk their way out). Or
not quite as ready to get in a good hit?” allies unexpectedly arrive in the nick of time
GM: “Sure, but he's also really tough. Let's say you (which could cost coin, rep, or the need to
manage to deflect the club with your shield, but it repay the favor later on). Or they experience the
puts you off balance and shield crumbles around consequences of their choices and one or more
your arm. That's two consequences. You can resist PCs die a glorious death. That can be a good
one of them if you want.” story, too.
The player suggested a very mild consequence u What if the PCs attack creatures who are
for such a serious situation. The GM could have much weaker than them? That's fine; fights
pushed for a bigger one (harm, slip and fall, etc.), don't have to be fair. Maybe they win easily, per-
but instead accepted the suggestion and added haps without even needing any die rolls (after
another consequence that will affect position going all, we roll the dice when we are unsure of the
forward. result). Play up what a slaughter it was, and how
terrified their enemies were. Or have them run
Kristin: “I don't think my armor would apply here, away. Or drop their weapons and beg piteously
and I think I'm going to need that stress.” for mercy. Or they turn out to be tougher than
GM: “All right. You're close enough to smell the expected. Or they were just the babies and now
troll's breath and it's like there's a pile of bloated momma shows up.
corpses rotting in its gut.”

142
Fight Resolution GM: “Cool, you travel a long distance through a
confusing maze of corridors, but you manage to keep
What if a scene drags on? The details of fights and
moving in the right direction. There are quite a few
action sequences can take a while to play out, some-
of those nasty stake traps, but you avoid all of them.
times longer than the group's attention is sustained.
You see the door to the mosaic room closed in front
Always keep in mind that each die roll can resolve
of you.”
however much of the action you want. If blow by
blow action is fun and engaging, go ahead and have Zoom in on the action if the crew encounters a trap

7. Running the Game

each die roll resolve just a tiny portion of the scene. that is particularly complex or devious; or if there
But if you look around at your players and see that is some other challenge that might make time a
their attention is lagging, you can zoom back out consideration in getting past it.
and resolve a whole lot of action with just the next GM: “You can hear the war horns of the blue men
die roll or two. Get it over with and move on. blowing in the distance again behind you. But then
you spot a bunch of cracks in the floor. It seems
Traps and Obstacles weak.”
Shane: “Micah is going to look for ways to get past.”
A trap is an environmental obstacle that needs to be
GM: “That’s survey, right? Give me a roll. It’s risky.
overcome in order to survive and proceed through
I think if you succeed you’ll understand the quickest
the barrow. You can make up your own traps or
way forward. If you don’t succeed there will be more
borrow ideas from various games, supplements, or
of a delay.”
websites. Some traps are set by enemies to protect
the barrow or some portion of it. Other traps might Shane: “That’s a 4.”
be natural environmental barriers, such as a rickety GM: “Hmm. Not a full success. Let’s say you were
bridge over a deep chasm. probing the floor with your gear, but it was weakened
a bit closer to you than you thought. The whole floor
Traversing Through a Trap Zone collapses in front of you and you barely jump back in
Getting one or a series of not individually interest- time to keep from falling. It’s really deep. You can’t
ing traps can be handled with a single action roll. see a bottom. There’s no obvious way across.” (GM
On a poor roll, a character might be harmed or checks a segment on the “blue men Approaching”
delayed (if time is a concern). On a good roll, we progress clock.)
can quickly narrate getting through them. Lisa: “Well, I guess someone is going to have to get
GM: “You’re all trying to get back to the room with across and rig a line for everyone else. Good thing
the mosaic, right? There’s a whole bunch of twisty Delilah brought climbing gear.” (Lisa marks Climb-
corridors in the way, and there will probably be some ing Gear on her character’s loadout.)
more of those stake traps. I think we can do this with Some traps require clever action to disarm, avoid,
one traversal roll. Who wants to take point? or just cope with. There are a couple of ways to
Lisa: “Sure. Sabine will take the lead. We’re just handle that.
trying to move along carefully, so I think it’s prowl.”
GM:”Sounds good to me.”
Lisa: “A six!”

143
 Handling Traps Oppositionally understand that you need to stand at the center of
the room to avoid being smashed by the boulders?
Some groups of players like to solve complex traps
and puzzles themselves, even when death is on the We use action rolls to decide that, rather than just
line. asking the player what the character does. That
could use tinker, hunt, attune, or some other
For example, let’s say there’s a statue in the center of
action rating. A poor result means the characters
a room with a bunch of spikes that look like they are
may face the consequences.
ready to launch in all directions. The misdirection is
this: if you enter the room, you need to get right next GM: “You see an open room with a stone altar at
7. Running the Game

to the statue to avoid the giant boulders that will the center. There are spikes sticking out of the altar
crash down on your head (meanwhile, the spikes are in all directions.”
harmless decoration). Lisa: “Delilah scopes out the room.”
This kind of thing can be handled largely narra- GM: “She’s an experienced delver, right? So she’s
tively: the GM describes what the PCs see, the seen things like this before. Sounds like a study roll?
players try to figure out what’s going on (perhaps That will be Risky / Standard.”
with gather information rolls), they decide on
Lisa: “OK, yeah.”
a course of action, and if they choose wrong they
face the consequences. Shane: “I’ll spend a stress and have Micah assist.”

This is a kind of GM vs. player mini-game that Let’s think about how that plays out, depending on
some groups find lots of fun and other groups find the results of the roll.
infuriating. That is especially the case for traps that u Lisa rolls a success: On a success, Delilah and
could be deadly. If it’s dishing out level 1 harm, that’s Micah figure the trap out. They can choose to
one thing. If a mistake will get your character decap- maneuver to the center of the room, spring the
itated (level 4), that’s a lot harder to handle. trap and stay in the center to avoid the rocks, or
Make sure everyone is on the same page and agrees just not spring the trap at all. On a critical, they
that it’s OK to just unload on a PC because the get some other advantage as well.
player made a poor choice before you handle traps u Lisa rolls 4/5: They figure it out at the last
this way in a game. If you’re not sure, err on the second. They could suffer harm from the falling
side of not doing this. rocks, or a complication (the entrance to the
throne room is now blocked, for example), or
Remember that, even if you’re playing traps out
they end up in a desperate position (they have
oppositionally, players can choose to resist any
to roll prowl to jump out from under the falling
harm that affects their character.
rocks).
Handling Traps Narratively u Lisa rolls 1–3: They don’t figure it out. They
think they know how to avoid the spikes, so they
This approach to traps is similar to the one above,
enter the room and spring the ceiling trap. They
but the style of play is different: the character deals
might need to resist level 3 (or level 4) harm or
with the puzzle, not the player. The PC might be
get crushed (it would be reasonable for the GM
a brilliant solver of puzzles, even if the player can
to rule that resisting avoids the harm, though).
barely do a simple crossword. The trap could be
Or one of their cohorts gets mashed, Or now
the same as in the example above, but the players
they’re trapped in this room and the Snake
don’t have to guess what they need to do to avoid
Lords have been alerted to their presence.
the ceiling trap. The PCs, who are professionals at
this, are the ones who try to figure it out. Given
their experience and observations skills, can they

144
Trapped Items
Another kind of trap is an item that has a trap built
Starting the Game
For a 1-shot, you can either not bother with having
into it. It looks like it will be useful, but actually
a crew playsheet at all, or pre-select the crew sheet
does something nasty. One simple example of this
that best fits the starting situation in the game you'll
is something that appears to be a useful magical
be running. You could also either pre-select a starting
potion, but turns out to be a deadly poison.
ability for each playsheet, or cross off the abilities that
Just like regular traps, trapped items tend to set are only useful in downtime. Ignore crew xp. If you're

7. Running the Game

up a GM vs. player dynamic. They are very easy to only doing one delve, ignore character xp. If you'll
abuse. Make sure that kind of dynamic is OK with do more than one delve, limit downtime activities to
your players before including items like that. If those that will provide some kind of payoff during
you’re not sure, leave them out. the game, and consider, instead of xp, just giving one
free upgrade during downtime.
Progressive Traps
If you'll be running a full campaign, follow the
A progressive trap is like the ones described above, procedure described below.
but it has one or more clocks associated with. A
clock might track the passage of time and events Preparing for the First Session
until the trap is triggered. Or it might track the time
During the first session, the group will choose a
from when it is triggered until it has some effect.
crew type, create their characters, and introduce
For example, the PCs might need to solve a series
those characters to each other.
of puzzles in order to disarm the trap. Or the PCs
set off a trap and the room starts to fill with water. Raiders in the Dark is designed to allow character
creation to happen quickly and smoothly. A lot
PC Death of the details can emerge during play rather than
from advance preparation. So you can probably
PCs can die in this game. embark on the first delve during that first session.
How much risk of PC death should there be? You might be able to finish the delve in that session
Talk it over with the other players. Some groups if it’s a quick one, or maybe you’ll end in the middle
like death to be on the line, all the time. They might of things. Either way is fine.
want it to feel unexpected and random. To prepare, make sure you are familiar with charac-
Other groups would rather that any possible death ter and crew creation. You’ll guide the other players
be talked out in advance, with assent from the through that.
player to ensure that it feels dramatically appro- Don’t sweat character creation too much. While
priate. Some players get really attached to their it’s important to have a cast of engaging characters,
characters and will be deeply hurt if they die. it’s very possible to make changes after the first session
As a GM your goal is to help the players have fun. or two. A player who just really doesn’t connect with
Try to give them the kind of story that you and they their character can also introduce a replacement.
will most enjoy. If the group wants life to be cheap At least skim the chapter on Athland (starting
and death always right around the corner, go for it. on page  165). If you plan to use the Barony of
But if everyone prefers deep story with enduring Trenghall as your location within Athland, get
characters who only die meaningfully, heroically, familiar with the factions active there (page 173).
and rarely, that is fine as well. Pick a few that you’re interested in and might get
into conflict with each other. During crew creation,
the players will ask you about some factions

145
 connected to their crew, so it’s good to have some u You both have the same background. Are you long-
in mind already. If you’re using the “Delve in term associates? Were you partners before this crew
Blackbarrow” starting situation (page 147), you’ll was founded?
probably want to use the Bluejacks and Kigani's u What’s your reprieve? What is it, specifically? Why
Crew as your connected factions to start. does that thing consume you?
Print out the game sheets. You’ll want at least two u Who do you trust the most on the crew? Who do
of each playbook (in case two people pick the same you trust the least? What’s that about? Or will we
one) and one of each crew type. Also print the rules find out in play?
7. Running the Game

reference sheets and the map of Trenghall. u Has [faction] ever tried to recruit you? What hap-
pened? You don’t secretly work for them, do you?
First Session: Explaining the Game
If it’s fun for players to come up with answers to
Once you have players together, you can start with those kinds of questions, let it play out (but stop
a simple game pitch. Something like this: it once it starts to seem like people are experienc-
It’s a medieval fantasy world. You’ll play a crew ing creation fatigue). If they don’t know or find it
of adventurers who break into dangerous magical awkward to work on backstory at this point, let
places called barrows. it go. However, you want everyone to be excited
about this group of raiders. Encourage each player
Don’t get caught up in details. They can learn the
to come up with at least one detail about their
rules and setting information as they go along.
PC or crew that they are interested in. You can
Show them the playbooks, crew sheets, reference
add more detail about the setting, or character
sheets, and maps. See who is interested in which
abilities, if that might prompt engagement. But
roles.
not too much.
Unlike some other games, you don’t need a
Quicker start: For a one-shot or shorter game, you
“balanced” party or any particular number of
can forgo crew creation at the beginning. The PCs
characters to play specific playbooks. If everyone
are just a small gang of brand new raiders and those
wants to play an Artificer, that's cool. Nor is there
details don’t exist yet. You can play to find out what
any need to optimize character builds. Instead, the
kind of crew they are, then do crew creation after
focus should be on generating a crew that each of
the first one or two delves.
the players is excited to play and wants to find out
more about. Introduce Characters and Crew
Creating Characters and Crew Go around the table and ask each player to intro-
duce their character to the group. They should say
Follow the procedures that start on page  23
their name or alias, their playbook, look, heritage,
(character creation) and page  57 (the crew). Ask
background, and special ability. Ask them about
the players some of these questions while they do
their reprieve. Ask them who their best friend and
it:
rival are—maybe follow up with a question or two
u How did you come to be a barrow raider? Did you about those NPCs, like “Why is Micah your rival?”
choose this life or did you find yourself caught up in It’s okay if the answer is, “Let’s find out in play.”
it?
Do the same thing with the crew. Ask the players
u How did you join this crew? Did another member
to remind you what they picked for their special
vouch for you? Were you a founding member?
ability and upgrades. They can wait to come up
u The two of you have the same heritage. Are you with a name for the crew until later.
blood relatives? Or do you know each other’s fam-
ilies?

146
The Starting Situation The Starting Situation
If you want to use the Barony of Trenghall default Start the game right here.
location (page 165), familiarize yourself with the Quick summary: You’ve been hired by Kigani’s
factions and map of Trenghall. Crew to explore this barrow. They’ve supported you
Also have a list of known barrows. If you want to with information, a map, documents, and extra
start with action, decide which one the crew will equipment. You’re heading toward the entrance
when you spot some guys in armor. You know these

7. Running the Game

have their first delve in.
scumbags—they’re goons from the Bluejacks. You’ve
The Opening Scene had run ins with them before. In fact, they ambushed
Although it’s a different genre, the best way to get you on your last job and forced you to hand over
everyone started in this game is to think about it most of the loot. But this time, you see them first.
like a James Bond movie. We never start with Bond What are you going to do?
in Q’s office learning all about the threat and being Cut to the action. Get the players to come up
sent on a mission. No, we start right in the action with the plan and the detail. Then go right to the
and learn plot details later. Begin a game of Raiders engagement roll.
in the Dark the same way.
The initial encounter with the Bluejack goons
If the players start to do a lot of planning, make should not be too challenging. These are not the
sure they know that they don’t have to worry about Bluejack’s best people—they are just here to keep
that. Explain that they’re assumed to be making an eye on the place while an expedition is being
good choices and can call for a flashback any time. organized. Although the Bluejacks have a higher
And they don’t need to worry about gear because Tier, this gang of thugs are at Tier 0. Even if the
they can declare that as they go. engagement roll is poor, the PCs should be able
Quickly explain how the engagement roll works. to bluff, sneak past, or waylay the thugs and move
They just need the plan and the detail. into the barrow. If intimidated or if they start taking
casualties, the goons will probably retreat, yelling
Go! curses and promising payback. If they’ve been
conned somehow, they wish the PCs luck.
Delve in Background
Blackbarrow (This is background info—the players don’t
need to know the background yet, but you
This is a sample starting situation that you can use should. You can feed it to them as they ask ques-
to start the game. tions or it becomes relevant. Otherwise, once
they’re done with the guards, skip to Entering
Players: Ask your GM if they are planning to use this the Barrow.)
scenario to begin the game. If so, you should not read
this part. Skip ahead to the next chapter (Athland) Blackbarrow takes the form of about 12 ancient,
on page 165. pre-Yethri burial mounds. The terrain is open
scrub­land amid low hills. All of the mounds show
The crew is caught up in a perilous situation involv- evidence of previous looting, some of which goes
ing Blackbarrow. Once the characters and crew back many centuries. But the relatively intact
have been created and introduced to each other, entrance to one mound leads to a set of under-
you can start right in the delve. ground corridors, long since explored and cleaned
out.

147
 When they arrive, they find that the Bluejacks have chasm, etc. They barely need to attend to their
moved faster than expected and are already at the map, because someone has drawn arrows in chalk
Blackbarrow. showing the way. Whoever it is thoughtfully added
some obscene graffiti as well.
It’s a hot, dry summer. The crew has been traveling
to the barrow, in the heat, for a couple of days. Give a few of those details and move to the part of
They’ve approached the barrow carefully. There’s the barrow where the map says the new entrance
no time to wait until nighttime for the engagement lies. Don’t bother with a traversal roll for that, just
roll if they want to make sure no Bluejack rein- quickly narrate getting there.
7. Running the Game

forcements arrive. GM: If you want, you can run your own scenario
Blackbarrow is an older barrow, thought to have from this point on. You could adapt something
been pretty much cleaned out a decade ago. But written for a different game or come up with your
the Bluejacks have discovered a pathway into a pre- own ideas for what’s in the barrow. Or you can use
viously unknown set of caves. They are preparing a the version below.
delve to explore this new territory.
The Caves
Kigani’s Crew have a spy planted within the
As the crew gets closer to the location shown on
Bluejacks and have discovered their plans. They
the map (and by chalk marks), the air is more
are not prepared to conduct a delve because of bad
moist and the walls are wet. At the designated spot,
omens and because, if they piss off the Bluejacks
there is a blank stone wall. However, with a little
right now, it will be a war they’re not ready for.
investigation they discover a spot with new stone,
Kigani would like to send the PCs in for at least recently installed (you can let the PC with the
an initial reconnoiter before the Bluejacks have highest Survey or Study score see it, if anyone has
a chance to exploit their discovery. They don’t dots in those action ratings, but don’t make anyone
think the Bluejacks are there yet, but time is of roll). It takes some work for the crew to bust a hole
the essence. They are given a map and some extra in it, but it’s not too hard (again, no need for a
equipment and sent off with a deal: the crew keeps Wreck roll).
60% of the profits from the delve (we can do a
When they break through, they find a narrow pas-
flashback to negotiations on the deal if desired).
sageway half full of water, up to a grown Human’s
GM: Kigani’s crew doesn’t have to be the sponsor waist. The roof is a bit low, so getting through the
for this delve. If you’ve already gone through crew passage will require stooping. There are bits of
creation, the players identified one or more faction to glowing lichen here and there, so it’s possible to
be friendly with. Any of those could replace Kigani’s see dimly even without a lantern. This part of the
crew as the sponsor. That could be any of the temples barrow, unlike the earlier part, is a cave complex,
(they might want some specific religious artifact they apparently carved long ago by the underground
believe to be in the barrow, any of the noble factions flow of water.
(desiring more influence over the barrow raiding
By jumping in the water and following the passage
trade), etc.
for about a hundred yards/meters, the crew can
Entering the Barrow find their way to a series of caves going deep under-
ground. There are several potential encounters that
Explain that they are traversing a series of ancient
the GM can present as the PCs explore.
stone corridors. As they travel, there is plenty
of evidence of previous looting: disarmed traps, There isn’t a map, because we don’t really need
a dessicated corpse, empty sarcophagi, rusted one for this particular delve. There are the main
and broken weapons, a rope bridge over a deep (explored) parts of Blackbarrow, which are not the
focus of this delve. There are the near parts of the
148
 cave complex, where the Grenlings and Slider can that someone who is not a Grenling is living in
be found (see below). And there are the deeper parts the caves. They might spot him observing from a
of the complex, where the additional encounters distance or they might surprise him (he’ll scream
are. A simple traversal roll can move the PCs from and try to run).
one zone of the cave complex to the next. If you
He won’t attack anyone. If pressed, he’s likely to use
need to communicate the structure of a particular
his knowledge of the caves to set traps or escape.
location ( for a fight, ambush, or reconnaissance,
He’ll only fight if cornered. If the crew is friendly,
for example), just draw some caverns, stalactites,

7. Running the Game

he might talk with them, but he’ll be twitchy about
stalagmites, a stream, etc).
having an escape route until they prove trustworthy.
The first encounter will be with Grenlings. That
He’d really like the crew to go away—because he
will be benign. At some point, the PCs will find
likes his quiet life and because he knows that the
themselves in contact with Slider, who will also
presence of active raiders will induce the barrow
not be dangerous. They can then either go deeper
wight to fight back. He’ll warn them that the deep
in the caves, or you can have the reds and greens
caves hold some very scary things.
come to them via a scouting party.
If the crew decides that they’ve accomplished their
The Grenlings reconnaissance mission and head back, that’s fine.
This part of the cave is inhabitted by a band of Since they did only a bit of exploring in the newer
Grenlings (page  137). They live in these middle sections of Blackbarrow, they’ll take -1d to their
caves. They are the ones who sealed up the wall. payout roll. There won’t be any opposition until
they get to the barrow entrance, so don’t bother
Slider with a traversal or exiting the delve roll. Skip
Living alongside the Grenlings is a Human, orig- ahead to the second encounter with Bluejacks on
inally from Athland. He’s an old man with long page 150.
while hair and a long beard. He wears homemade
clothes stitched from hides of cave animals. He
Binny
carries a steel knife and a spear (which he uses to Binny is the nickname barrow raiders have given
hunt blind cave fish). to the wight inhabiting Blackbarrow. The PCs have
undoubtedly heard of Binny, since Blackbarrow has
Slider is a former barrow raider who got lost on
been intermittently explored for many years. Binny
a delve about 12 years ago and just decided he’d
has the ability to take physical form, usually in the
rather stay here than go back home (he and his wife
form of a humanoid figure of undefined sex, cov-
did not get along). He belonged to the Red Rabbit
ered in rags, wearing a wide hat. Binny doesn’t take
Gang (who were taken out by the Bluejacks about
physical action against delvers. If they attack Binny,
5 years ago).
it will collapse into a pile of rags. The GM can bring
Slider lives alongside the Grenlings. They don’t talk in Binny any time that might be interesting.
to him, but he and they have developed some ways
Binny is currently only a Tier 1 barrow wight, so its
to cooperate. Mostly they just leave each other
ability to intervene against the PCs is limited. The
alone.
GM should have a 6-face clock running to indicate
At some point, the crew will encounter Slider or Binny’s interest in them. If it completes, have Binny
evidence of him. He’s very cautious about the take action—either direct any of the creatures in
crew because he knows from personal experience the deep tunnels after them, change the physical
how aggressive and treacherous barrow raiders structure of the barrow to make maneuver more
can be. The most likely thing is that they will find difficult, or play a joke like dousing lanterns or
his hut, cook fire, footprints, or other evidence dumping stinking water on a PC’s head. Reset the
149
 clock after Binny takes action and increase the Trap
intensity of the next incident of harassment. If the u Stone statues of three eyed goats. There are
delve goes on long enough it might act in opposi- five of them, arranged in a circle facing outward.
tion to the PCs several times. They exude an aura of magic to those able to
sense it. Touching or attempting to attune to the
The Deep Tunnels goats produces a sensation of feeling a horrific
If the PCs choose to continue into the deep tun- and incredibly loud screech, although others
nels despite warnings, there are several possible cannot hear. This can impose a level 2 harm
7. Running the Game

encounters they could have. You can adjust how consequence in the form of Deafened. The stat-
much they find depending on how long you and ues can be physically broken, which removes
the players want this first delve to go. the enchantment upon them.
The approach to the lower caves will require a tra- Treasure
versal roll. There is some significant climbing to get
down into those areas of the cave complex. If the In a corner of a room that appears to have been
PCs don’t have climbing gear, position and effect carved out of the rock by big flat teeth, there’s a pile
should be penalized. stuff shoved into a niche. Amid some mouldering
books and papers written in an unknown language
As the crew goes deeper into the caves, they begin (potentially valuable) are two items:
to see a strange diffuse glow that looks like moon-
u A flask containing a dose of Water of Healing
light. The walls of the caves become dry. If you run
(page 104).
your hands along the surface, it almost seems to
pulse. Even deeper and the wall start to exhibit a u A jeweled orb. It contains the spirit of an
reddish glow flowing in river-like seams through ancient, pre-Yethri sorcerer named Athila. If
the rock. anyone tries to attune to it, they find that it is
attuning to them. She claims to have lived a very
Dangerous Creatures long time ago, at a time when Athland was ruled
You can have the crew encounter any (or all) of the directly by gods. The gods she names are not the
creatures presented below, or make up your own. gods of the current pantheon. If kept (1 load)
the orb can be used as a source for gathering
u Wraith: An ethereal creature that appears as a information about ancient creatures, civiliza-
flowing, wispy shadow that can be hard to spot tions, and magic.
in the dark. It moves slowly, so if you run away
you can escape. It wants to steal life force, and Getting Back
it can do that by touching a living person. The Once the crew decides to be done with the delve,
wraith is not intelligent (at least, not anymore), they can play out the process of exiting. Depending
but its mind contains fragments of hundreds of on the situation, that may involve just walking out
creatures whose life it has stolen over the cen- (if there isn’t any opposition) or executing a daring
turies. It just wants to find creatures to prey on. escape. You can play it out as a series of traversal
u Blue Men: These small humanoids will be rolls or you can compress it into an exiting the
extremely hostile (page 135). delve roll (page 83).
u Albino Warpigs. These creatures have wan-
dered here from some distant world. They can The Bluejacks (Again)
be found rooting around in a very large cavern, On the way back, the PCs will find a larger group of
digging for small ratlike mammals with glowing Bluejacks waiting for them.
green eyes that sound like screaming babies
when pulled from their holes (page 135).

150
 You can choose to skip this if it’s too much.
The point here is not to penalize the crew for a
Continuing the Game
successful delve, but to set up the Bluejacks as an After the first delve, play through the downtime
opposing faction. Feel free to decide that the Bluejack phase (page  103). Decide how various factions
thugs have gone off for reinforcements, who have not respond to the PC’s actions and provide various
yet arrived. options for continued action: return to the location
of the first delve, explore another known barrow,
The Bluejacks may be waiting at the entrance, or search for a new find, etc. Advance the progress

7. Running the Game

they might have sent a crew of their own into the clocks of relevant factions and create any other
barrow. This could be fortune roll or depend on relevant clocks.
how things ended when the PCs went into the bar-
row. The exit roll can determine the PC’s relative As you continue the game, the PCs will earn xp,
advantage when they encounter the Bluejacks: giving them increased action ratings, more special
1–3 means they meet a well prepared Bluejack abilities, and more crew upgrades. Eventually,
crew , 4/5 means the Bluejacks are wary, but not they will be able to increase their crew Tier, which
specifically ready for the PCs, 6 means the PCs means their cohorts and equipment will improve in
get the drop on the Bluejacks (maybe they exit in quality. Other crews, and various factions, will start
the middle of the night and find a couple of sleepy to take them more seriously. Continue to dangle
sentries), and a critical means the Bluejacks are plot threads in front of them, both in the form of
caught completely unawares. barrows they could explore and things happening
in the mundane world of competing factions.
The encounter with Bluejacks could result in
negotiation, a fight, sneaking past, paying a fee, or
some other action, depending on the choices the
PCs make.

151
Chapter 8
Strange
Things
8. Strange Things
In the fantasy world in which Athland exists, prayer in temples, especially on their particular
supernatural forces are manifestly real. Every town holy days.
has magical practitioners who can cast spells and
But mortals also sometimes encounter gods on
create magical artifacts and substances.
a more personal basis. The gods of the Athland

Gods and Demons

pantheon are said to spend much of their time in
their home in the sky, on strange island that appear
and disappear mysteriously, and in the land of the
The people of every nation worship a pantheon of dead. But they do sometimes appear to mortals—
gods, who are demonstrably real and who respond sometimes mundane people and sometimes great
to prayers and sometimes meddle in the affairs of heroes. Those who have taken a full commitment
mortals. Spirits inhabit the deep forests and far of devotion to a god (page  158) are more likely
places. Sailors and fisher folk encounter monsters, to experience such encounters, although even they
merfolk, and magical islands on the open sea. cannot summon a deity when they wish. They may
Mages summon demons and powerful spirits from manifest in their divine form or in disguise. Some-
other planes of existence. Throughout the land, times they act in a trickster role, or to subvert the
places of strange magic and horrifying creatures are aims of other gods, or for purposes that mortals do
being discovered with increasing frequency. The not understand. Sometimes they offer bargains or
inhabitants of these places seem to be making their boons to mortals whom they favor.
way out into the land and, sometimes, terrorizing
the populace. It is known that there are other gods as well: The
gods of the Cambri, the Dandreen, and lands even
These forces are getting stronger as the stabilizing more distant. Ancient gods from previous ages of
influences of the Yethri fade. In combination with the world. Gods from distant lands. Remnants of
the political instability and chaos induced by the the early days of creation. Gods of other places
Awakening, Athland has become an interesting finding intersections in barrows between their own
place indeed. worlds and this one.

Encounters with Gods The GM can choose to include encounters with gods
or demigods in the game. The players and GM can
and Demigods decide what such manifestations represent. Gener-
ally, no mortal can harm a god. Their motivations
Most interaction with divine beings is mediated
are strange, and they are fickle. Any encounter with
by the temples and by individual prayer. A family
even the weakest god should be terrifying and over-
of farmers contributes goods and services to the
whelming.
temples and prays regularly on holy days. They
find that their crops crow without blight and their
herds are more fertile than other families who are
less devout. The gods sometimes manifest during

153
 Demons etc., but also by roleplaying events that occur in
game.
Sages disagree on the nature of demons. They may
simply be what remains of ancient, defeated gods. GM: Don't make players jump through excessive
Or gods of other places. But they might also be a hoops to establish a commitment. It doesn't have to
different order of supernatural being. wait until the end of a long campaign. If it fits the
story, let it happen.
Demons are invariably driven by powerful desires
and strange compulsions. They can sometimes You can only have one commitment at a time.
be bargained with, but they are devious and Each commitment has specific prerequisites. Once
8. Strange Things

extremely dangerous. Mages can research rituals you meet those and you have an available playsheet
(page  160) for the summoning and control of advance, you may accept that commitment as soon
demons, attempting to bind them into service. as it makes sense in the story. You gain a new xp
That, too, is a very risky endeavor even with the trigger and a new reprieve. Use your advance to
greatest precaution and forethought. choose special ability advances from those listed
Demons usually manifest as corporeal beings for your commitment. Additional advances can be
of monstrous countenance. They may be very spent normally or on other commitment abilities.
large, Human sized, or quite small—and some Only characters with a commitment can take
can change shape and size at will. They affected abilities from that commitment list—they are not
by magic and abilities that are potent against the available as veteran advances.
supernatural, but often immune to most other
kinds of harm. They are incredibly formidable and Creating and Expanding
difficult to kill—with great speed, hardened skin,
terrible claws or teeth, and magical abilities that
Commitments
vary from one to the next. They are typically able A player with a commitment might want to invent
to teleport from one place to another in an instant. new special abilities to add to the list. That's fine,
so long as a new ability fits the theme and is not
If the PCs encounter demons, they will usually be excessive or unbalancing. The GM has final say.
outclassed unless they have prepared in advance for
the encounter. It's also possible to create a new commitment, fol-
lowing the same structure as the samples provided.

Commitments Make sure a commitment doesn't provide abilities

that overshadow those of other players.
Powers greater than mortal Humanity exist in this
world. It is possible to dedicate yourself to such a
supernatural entity, trading service and the energy
of your soul for some small part of that greater
power.
An established character can choose a commit-
ment. This must make sense in the fiction, but
a character with any playsheet can choose any
commitment as long as they meet the listed prereq-
uisites. The character must play through dedication
to that source of power. This can happen mechan-
ically through faction status, downtime activities,

154
 Blood Magic
You have been infected. At some point during a delve,
something bit you. Perhaps you barely noticed it
at the time, but it put something into you. Later, in
your dreams, it began to speak to you, telling you how
much it loves you, begging you to let it in, join with it,
allow it to fill you with its power.

8. Strange Things
At first your resisted, but it was seductive and per-
sistent. Finally, you said yes.

Blood Magic Prerequisites

u At least one delve into a barrow of Tier 1 or higher.
u Long term project (4 clock) being slowly taken
over by the thing in your blood.

Blood Magic xp Trigger

u Mark xp when you consume the blood of a worthy
enemy you have recently killed.

Blood Magic Cost

u Accept 1 trauma for the horror of being taken over
from the inside.

Blood Magic Reprieve

u Weird: drinking fresh blood from sentient creatures.

Blood Magic Special Abilities

Blood Control
You don't bleed. You suffer 1 lower level of penalty
from a cutting or piercing wound. Toxins and diseases
have no effect on you. Permanently fill one tick of
your healing clock.
A wound still hurts you, but blood refuses to flow even
from a cut to a major artery (if you need to fake it, you
can bleed a little if you really try).

Blood Creature
By spending 2 stress, you can create a horrific creature
out of your own blood, no larger than you. This is a
cohort: expert with the Fearsome edge and the Savage
flaw.

155
 You can have one servant at a time, It can be of any A real world analogue to the Order of the Black
viable shape—animal, Human, or monster. Once Rose is the medieval Order of Knights Hospitaller
finished, it doesn't change shape. It is reasonably (Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of
intelligent and will do its best to anticipate and serve Jerusalem), who similarly devoted themselves to
your desires. It looks rather horrific. If destroyed, serving the poor, sick, and needy.
you can make another one in about10 minutes.
Black Rose Prerequisites
Consume u Lay membership in the Order of the Black Rose.
Once per delve, you can eat the intact heart of a
8. Strange Things

worthy foe that you have recently killed. This gives

Black Rose Cost
you 1+the enemy's Tier in bonus dice, which can u You may not have a lifestyle Tier higher than 0.
be used for any action roll that enemy would have
Black Rose xp Trigger
been able to accomplish competently.
u Mark xp for your commitment when you
No more than one bonus die may be added to any actively aid or protect the weak.
single roll. This is a free die in addition to any other
dice. If you're not sure whether the enemy would Black Rose Reprieve
have been competent at a given action, check with u Service: give comfort and aid to the poor and
the GM. All bonus dice must be used before your the sick.
next delve.
Black Rose Special Abilities
Power of the Blood
You can push yourself to perform a feat of Assistance of the Order
super-human physical strength. Gain +1 quality level when you acquire an asset
if the asset is something the Order of the Black
You could lift a huge gate, wrestle a giant, throw a
Rose could reasonably provide.
horse, or other feat beyond the capacity of a normal
person. Any cohort acquired will have the Principled flaw.

Healer
Companion of the Lay hands on a person and choose one physical
Black Rose wound they have received. You can resist that
wound with resolve to reduce it by one level.
The Order of the Black Rose exists throughout
This allows you to resist another person's harm after
Athland to serve the poor, sick, and weak. Most
it has happened. What does it look like when you do
adherents are lay members, who simply serve
this? How does it feel to you? To them?
in whatever capacity they can. You, however, are
among the most deeply committed and capable, Noble Bearing
so you have been inducted as companions of the
Gain +1d to any social engagement plan involving
Black Rose. You have undergone purifying rituals
nobles or any gather information roll regarding
and are marked with a large black rose tattoo on
the nobility. When you help your crew lay low to
your chest.
reduce notoriety, the cost in coin is reduced by
Have you always been this selfless? Or did something one.
inspire a change in you?

156
 You have learned to look, speak, and carry yourself as a member of the
upper class. Even if you are poor, any deficiencies in your clothing or
possessions can be attributed to your oath of humility and devotion to
the needy.

Puissance
When protecting the weak, you can cause your weapon to glow
brightly. spend 1 stress to: gain potency against the supernatural,
pierce armor or magical protection as if it did not exist, or ignore the

8. Strange Things
effects of your own wounds until the end of a battle.

Death Magic
Death is something that has long attracted you. Perhaps you are a
warrior, well acquainted with death and dying. Or a mage, conducting
systematic research into what happens as the body and the spirit are
severed.
However you came to this discipline, you've learned much about
death. What it feels like. How it clings delicately to a corpse like an
early morning mist. How life transitions into death. How to manipu-
late it. How to embrace it like a lover.
Death magic was prohibited by the Yethri. Throughout Athland, it is still
considered a terrible crime.

Death Magic Prerequisites

u At least one dot in attune.

u You've caused the death of at least one sentient creature.

Death Magic Cost

u Your crew takes +1 trouble per delve or operation if it has one
or more members with a death magic commitment.

Death Magic xp Trigger

u Mark xp when you are physically in contact with a sentient
creature as it dies.

Death Magic Reprieve

u Weird: experiments with corpses.

Death Magic Special Abilities

Deathless
You cannot die through normal means. Take 1 trauma to immediately
clear level 4 harm.

157
 Work with the GM to identify one thing that can
kill you permanently, such as fire, a consecrated
Devout
stake through the heart, removal of your head, Most people respect and pray to the gods, while a
destruction of an object in which you have hidden few devote themselves mainly to one temple and
your soul, etc. A fourth trauma will not kill you, but one god.
it still has the regular effect of taking the character Your worship is at a different level. You are filled
out of play. with the burning power of faith and devotion to
Raise The Dead a single god. You feel the power of divine grace
in every moment. After proving your dedication
8. Strange Things

You know a forbidden ritual (page  160) that will to your god and your temple, you have received a
force the spirit of a recently dead person back into sacred mark of your god upon your flesh.
their (intact) body. Harm is cleared. This requires
a long-term project (4 clock) and 6 coin in rare What does your Godmark look like? As a devout
materials. The GM will choose something that isn't worshiper of your god, why have you chosen to be
right. a member of a crew of barrow raiders? Are you in
search of some holy relic? To bring word of your god
“Recently” means about a week. GM options for into the depths and the other worlds touched by
what isn't right include: the reanimated person is barrows? To gain the wealth your temple needs? Or
sociopathic and cruel, can only speak a language some other cause?
no one understands, is covered in wounds that bleed
constantly, cannot stop laughing, etc. A raised PC Devout Prerequisites
will gain 2 trauma (which may force retirement). u Your crew has at least +1 status with the temple
of that god.
Shambling Dead
u Long term project (6 clock) of prayer, purifica-
You can animate a nearby corpse. It will obey
tion, communion, and service to your god.
simple commands. It is a cohort: Fighter with
an armor upgrade. Pay stress equal to magnitude Devout Cost
of duration. +1 stress if the corpse is larger than u You must aid your god or temple if you can and
Human, up to horse-sized. Add stress for scale if may not aid or support your god's enemies.
animating multiple corpses at a time.
A corpse reanimated in this manner does not have Devout xp Trigger
the soul, memories, or abilities of the original person. u Mark xp for your commitment when you do a
The armor upgrade doesn't represent equipment notable service for your god, your temple, or
but rather the difficulty of causing effective harm to the faithful worshipers of your god.
something already dead. See page  99 for informa-
Devout Reprieve
tion on Magnitude.
u Religion.
Speak To the Dead
Compel the corpse of a creature to speak. Pay 1
Devout Special Abilities
stress if dead within the last day, 2 within a week, Sacrament
3 a year, 4 if more than that. The creature will
Once per delve, you can lead those of your com-
communicate as they would have in life for several
panions who choose to sincerely participate in a
minutes.
prayer to your god. Each of you clears 2 stress.
They can speak only the languages they knew in
What does it look like when you lead others in
life, and there is nothing in this magic that compels
prayer? What do you and they do?
truthfulness.
158
 Divine Warrior
Once per delve, beseech your god to aid you against a
specified foe. For the rest of the delve, your Godmark
ignites brightly in the presence of that enemy and you
gain potency when fighting them.
This power will not work against anyone favored by
your god. What does it look like when your Godmark
ignites with divine power?

8. Strange Things
Favored
When you pray for divine assistance from your god,
take +1d.
You pray on behalf of your crew, gaining divine favor for
the next delve or operation.

Ordained
You are a recognized priest or priestess within the
hierarchy of organized worship. You acquire followers
(a gang) whom you can call upon to assist you. You
also take +1d when attempting to persuade anyone
who would be impressed by your religious authority.
Your followers are a gang of adepts (religious followers)
with the Loyal edge and the Principled flaw.

Feral
You are most comfortable in wild places. You are drawn
to distant forests, hills, and vales where Humans sel-
dom go. You might have grown up in these places or
found your attraction to them in later life.
In your travels, you've discovered the old spirits of the
deep, thick, inaccessible places. You still have friends
and connections to civilization, but you find yourself
spending less and less time there. The more time you
spend with the ancient ones, the better you under-
stand their wisdom. And the more feral you become.
What holds you back from disappearing into the wild
and never returning?

Feral Prerequisites
u Long term project (6 clock) of time spent in the
deep forest, shedding your connections to Human
civilization.

159
 Feral Cost What is it like when you disappear and reappear
u If you spend more than an hour in a town, castle, this way?
temple, or other civilized place, take level 1
short-term harm (Ungrounded). This is cleared
Endure
by a half hour away from civilization. You are not harmed by natural or elemental forces
like fire, lightning, water, wind, etc. This doesn't
Feral xp Trigger save you from physical impact, but you can't be
u Mark xp when you solve problems using natural burned, drowned, or otherwise harmed by natural
means or refuse the comforts of civilization. things.
8. Strange Things

Feral Reprieve Fire won't hurt you. You would be comfortable naked
in a blizzard or in a scorching desert. You can't
u Weird: time spent in deep wilderness.
drown and could walk across the bottom of a lake (if
Feral Special Abilities you carried weights to keep you from floating). You
can swim in lava. Lighting will refuse to strike you.
Beast form A rock slide could hurt you, but if you were buried
Spend 2 stress to transform into a Human/beast alive you would not smother. A tree would rather not
hybrid, with increased strength, speed, and natural fall on you, but if it did the impact would hurt you.

Rituals
weapons. You cannot speak and you respond to
frustration or challenge with rage. Beast form lasts
10 minutes or until the end of a confrontation; add
30 more minutes for 1 stress. A ritual is a method for achieving a magical effect.
Ritual magic derives mostly from the Yethri, who
Depending on the situation, your size, strength,
had access to powerful ritual magics. During the
speed, and natural weapons (horns, teeth, or claws)
Dreaming, the Yethri recruited Humans with
may give you potency.
magical talent, taught them basic ritual magic, and
What is the form of your beast? A great stag or ox? A employed them as magical assistants.
lion or wolf?
Since the Awakening, Human mages have contin-
Commune ued this tradition, half remembering the rituals
Spend 1 stress and touch the living earth to reach they were taught, and building on that basic knowl-
out with your mind and gather information. You edge. One of the main sources of loot for barrow
have potency when taming, calming, or otherwise raiders is the recovery of scraps of documents,
engaging with non-sentient beasts that are not occult objects, inscriptions, and other sources of
supernatural. You can speak with any nature spirit. information that mages can use to piece together
the methods for new rituals.
“Living earth” means that your sensing ability is
effective only on unworked ground—not inside a Finding A Ritual Source
building or on brick or a planted field, for example.
A PC with the Ritual special ability begins with
You can get general impressions at a distance of
one known ritual, already learned (answer the
about a mile (1.6 km), with more detailed impres-
questions below to create it). To learn a new ritual,
sions available out to about 100 yards/meters.
a PC must first find a source. A source may be
Forest Portal secured as payoff from a delve—perhaps you find
a ritual book in the library of an ancient under-
Spend 2 stress to disappear into a tree and instantly
ground temple. You might also secure a source as
exit from any tree in the same forest. You can carry
the goal of a long-term project—by consorting
your clothing and personal gear, but nothing more.

160
with cultist friends, studying ancient texts, or some Performing A Ritual
other method you devise.
To perform a ritual, you must have the Ritual spe-
Learning a Ritual cial ability, then follow the method outlined by the
answers to the ritual questions. Most rituals will
Once the source of a ritual is found, you may take one downtime activity to complete, though
undertake a long-term project to learn the ritual. the GM may call for two (or more) downtime
Most rituals will require an 8-segment progress activities for very powerful or far-reaching rituals.
clock to learn. The player and the GM answer ques- Some rituals may be partially performed during

8. Strange Things
tions about the ritual to define what it will do in downtime and then fully manifested at-will later
play and what is required to perform it (see below). by completing the last incantation or ritual action.
The player records these answers in their notes for In this case, simply make a note that the ritual has
future reference. been “primed” and may be unleashed at a later time.
Ritual Questions When you perform a ritual, you take an amount
1. GM asks: “What does the ritual do and how of stress as established by the ritual questions,
is it weird?” Player answers. according to the magnitude of the forces brought
2. Player asks: “What must I do to perform the to bear. The GM uses magnitude as a guideline for
ritual, and what is its price?” GM answers. setting the stress cost—it may be higher or lower
A ritual takes at least one downtime activity at their discretion to better describe the nature of
to perform and inflicts stress on the caster the ritual. Some claims and special abilities also
according to its magnitude. If performance of reduce the stress cost for ritual casting (like the
the ritual is dangerous or troublesome in some Cult’s Ancient Obelisk claim).
way, it requires an action roll (usually Attune). Rituals take time to cast. Use the duration exam-
A ritual may also have additional costs, such as ples on the magnitude table to reduce the stress
a sacrifice, rare item, the start of a dire progress cost based on the time needed, generally no less
clock, etc. than an hour.
3. GM asks: “What new belief or fear does
The GM may also tick a progress clock when you
knowledge of this ritual and its attendant
perform a ritual—to advance the agenda of an
occult forces instill in you?” Player answers.
arcane power or entity, or to show the steady
Example Ritual Answers approach of a dark outcome that is a consequence
of the ritual’s use.
Player: “The ritual wards a person so that they can-
not be found or affected directly by magical means. If a ritual is dangerous or troublesome to perform,
It’s weird because…as long as the ward is in place, make an action roll (usually Attune) to see if
the person sometimes weeps tears of black blood.” unpleasant consequences manifest. If a ritual has
“Spend a downtime action to prepare a mixture of an uncertain effect then a fortune roll should be
pipe-weed, dream smoke, and crematory ash from a made to see how well it manifests. Because a ritual
victim—which the target then smokes. You take at is a downtime activity, you may spend coin 1-for-1
least 3 stress when you perform the ritual, which to increase the result level of your fortune roll (this
will be its quality for a fortune roll when it’s chal- represents the expenditure of expensive or rare
lenged by any magical effect—so you might want to ritual materials). If a ritual is both dangerous and
take more stress to make it more potent.” uncertain, then both rolls may be called for.
Player: “Gotcha. My new fear is what will happen if Each performance of a ritual is a unique event, and
Drageth the Wise figures out that I’m protecting his may not always work the same way each time. The
target from him.” GM or players may call for a round of questions to

161
 establish a ritual anew. Rituals are a way to bring in
a wide variety of arcane effects into the game. Use
with caution! If you ever go overboard, address the
questions again to establish new weirdness and costs
if things have gotten out of hand. The abyssal forces
are not playthings and cannot be considered a reli-
able or safe source of power.

Sample Rituals
8. Strange Things

u Charm of Opening: Make a rubbing on parch-

ment with red chalk of a portal, door, or other
entrance that is closed to you. Conduct a ritual,
at a distance of no more than 10 miles from the
portal, using a pair of silver shears inscribed with
secret runes (this costs 1 coin and a 4-clock long-
term project to make). Spend stress equal to
the Tier of the door or the protections on it. The
portal will be forced open and cannot be closed
for one day plus one hour.
u Deathskin: Conduct a ceremony within a mystic
circle in which a living person is slowly killed,
removing their skin. This requires a downtime
activity and the expenditure of 1 coin in rare and
valuable materials. The skin is bonded to the body
of the caster or another person, who must be of
similar size and body morph. For one month
following, the target of the ritual will look like and
have a voice that sounds like the dead person. No
knowledge is transferred, so the target will need
to figure out how to act like the victim in order
to be convincing. At the end of a month the skin
begins to peel off, leaving the target of the spell
completely hairless (but it will grow back).
u Portal: This ritual is conducted in two parts. The
first is to inscribe precise runes into two small,
identical objects. This requires one downtime
activity. The second part is to cover one object in
the caster’s fresh blood and ignite a raven feather
on top of it. This opens a person-sized vertically
oriented mystical gateway to the other object,
wherever it may be. The caster takes level 1 harm
(blood loss), 2 stress, plus 2 additional stress for
each minute past the first that the gateway is held
open. It closes when the caster ends the ritual or
steps through the gateway (at which point the

162
 object burns to ash). While it is open, others
can pass through the gateway or objects can be
pushed through it.
u Shapeshift: Prepare the hide of an animal using
a 4-clock long-term project. Cast this ritual
during the full moon (the hide is consumed
in the process). The caster transforms into an
animal for 1 night. While transformed, you gain

8. Strange Things
4 total dots to divide among these attributes:
Skirmish, Prowl, Hunt, Wreck. Add no more
than +2 in any attribute and no more than 4
total, but you may exceed normal limitations.
While transformed you cannot speak, but may
use any natural abilities of the form you trans-
form to (such as flight for a hawk). If you fail
a risky or desperate roll while transformed, you
may suffer a “cannot distinguish friend from foe”
consequence.
u Summon Elemental Spirit: This ritual brings
an elemental creature to the caster and binds
it to do the caster’s bidding. Pick an elemental
concept (rock, trees, mud, wind, flame, smoke,
river, rain, lightning, etc.) that the spirit is asso-
ciated with. Spend an equal amount of coin and
stress to establish the spirit’s Tier. It will serve
the caster for 24 hours divided by its Tier (e.g.,
8 hours at Tier 3). The caster will take on some
minor but noticeable physical characteristic of
the elemental that lasts for a month.

163
Chapter 9
Athland
9. Athland
The Yethri class, and the military classes claimed the right to
lead. Political chaos led to war, famine, disease, and
For about seven centuries, Athland was dominated atrocity.
by a foreign caste of mages known as the Yethri. Eventually, some degree of equilibrium was
When they came to Athland, the Yethri used their achieved. Warlords, claiming the noble titles once
powers to enslave the population. All the native held by the Yethri, managed to create enclaves and
people of Athland, for hundreds of years, lived hold onto land. They have imposed some degree of
in a state of mental slavery called The Dreaming. order as far as their power extends. Most of Athland
In the Dreaming the Humans of Athland lived a is now divided loosely into baronies. In between
orderly and generally comfortable life as farmers, lie lawless zones controlled by independent towns
herders, servants, tradespeople, soldiers, and so and bandits. Due to famine and war, the popula-
on, but all in unquestioning servitude to the Yethri. tion is significantly reduced, so many villages lie
While in the Dreaming, generations of Athlanders abandoned and there are empty, decrepit buildings
lived under the delusion that the Yethri were their in every town.
beloved lords and masters. Within the last 10 years, one Baron, Halea, has
The Yethri are humanoids (some scholars believe claimed the old capital city at Trevest and gained
they are a type of Human, while others say they are the loyalty (willing or coerced), of several other
of a different kind), a bit taller than Humans, with Barons. She has laid claim to the throne of Athland
purplish skin. They have red, blonde, or black hair and has begun to exert significant dominance
and yellow or green eyes. in the central and southern parts of Athland, but
most of the country is still independent.
The Awakening
Forty seven years ago, without warning, the Yethri The Land
disappeared. No one knows why they left or where
they went. and People
When the Yethri left, the people Awakened. There
was immediate chaos. Athland had lived for centu- Climate and Terrain
ries in a culture of servitude. They had no leaders or Athland is a large island about two days sail east-
even a conception of self rule. ward from the larger continent of Estrenta. The
The first couple of decades since the Awakening physical environment of Athland is similar to that
were hard. The political system broke down and of England in our world. The climate is moderate
there was chaos. Food deliveries to towns broke and rainy, with mild winters.
down and starvation quickly ensued. Members of
the servant class (those who lived in the homes of
the Yethri and served them directly), administrator

165
 The People
The inhabitants of Athland are Humans. Before the Yethri
came, the inhabitants of the island had migrated from sev-
eral places, including from across the ocean far to the East.
Thus, just about any combination of features can be found
among the Athlish—skin that is dark, light or in between;
black, brown, green, or gray eyes; black, blonde, reddish, or
brown hair, etc. The Yethri stamped out any sense of social
alignment by skin color or other physical characteristics.
That has continued since the Awakening. Thus far there are
9. Athland

no divisions, stigma, or social advantages associated with

particular physical characteristics.

Social Classes
During the Dreaming, Athland was a stratified society. The
Yethri established specific social roles and little or no class
mobility. A person born to be a farmer, merchant, or soldier
would have that role throughout life.
Since the Awakening, Athlanders have approximated the
previous system, but with a lot more chaos. For the most part,
the descendants of administrators and military commanders
have taken over the role of nobility once held directly by the
Yethri. The new nobility tend to display the trappings of the
Yethri in their titles, dress, modes of speech, etc., because that
confers the appearance of legitimacy.
Other social classes have also continued as they were during
the Dreaming. Most of the population are farmers. Under
the Yethri, villages were scattered about the countryside to
support clusters of farms. Each village had a mill, storehouses,
etc., that were communally managed. Villages clustered
around towns where goods could be more efficiently manu-
factured and exchanged.

Sex, Gender, and Race

While the original culture of Athland was patriarchal and
matrilineal, the Yethri had a rigidly egalitarian and merit
based ethic. Anyone of either sex could have any role, so
long as they came from the right family and could do the
job. Similarly, the Yethri tolerated no bias among Humans on
the basis of skin color, sexual preference or other superficial
characteristics unrelated to ability. Since the Awakening, this
general approach has continued. The culture of Athland,

166
unusually for a society at this stage of development, While modern Athlish includes many Yethri words,
is remarkably free of intolerance. the actual language of the Yethri was separate. Very
few Humans were taught to speak, read, or write
Law and Order Yethri. Today, only a relative few scholars can
translate Yethri documents, and they sometimes
Because the Yethri imposed order through magical disagree with each other on significant matters of
means, there wasn’t much need for strong legal sys- meaning.
tem. For that reason, while there is still a tradition
of effective organization of society in other ways,
there is very little legal tradition to fall back on. Time

9. Athland
The Yethri imposed a simple calendar of 12 months
In places where nobles rule, a basic legal system
of 30 days each, plus a festival week of 5 days (with
has had to be invented. Scholars have researched
an extra leap day added when needed to adjust to
ancient law and legal systems from the continent,
the year length). Each month has six five day weeks.
but for the most part each barony is a separate legal
A day is divided into 24 hours of 60 minutes each.
jurisdiction based on primitive concepts of rules
against basic things like theft and murder. In many The months are each named after a god (page 168).
places the lords judge guilt or innocent arbitrarily, The 12th month is Death, which has no god but is
and punishments are harsh. Disputes are handled recognized anyway.
by summary judgment or, in some cases, by orga-
Years are reckoned from the date of the Yethri con-
nized duels between aggrieved parties.
quest. The Awakening happened in AY 712 and the
Extralegal means of managing hierarchy and current year is AY 759.
control have also become commonplace, most
especially where there is no functioning govern-
mental structure. Blood feuds, honor killing, group
Technology, Crafts,
reprisals, etc., have become commonplace. Many and Medicine
villages now have walls around them to protect During the Dreaming, the Yethri rulers established
from bandits and the depredations of warlords. a stable and relatively unchanging society with a
level of technology approximately equivalent to
Languages Europe in the High Middle Ages. It is thought by
scholars that the Yethri had the capacity for more
The people of Athland speak Athlish, a language that
advanced technology, but had no interest in it, at
evolved from the original Old Athlish that existed
least for Humans. Athland was an agrarian society
before the Yethri conquest to become a blend of
with many villages and manors, a few large towns,
grammar and vocabulary between the native and
and a capital city of about a quarter million souls.
Yethri languages. While it is believed that there
were divergent regional dialects of Old Athlish, Roads
the Yethri created and enforced a standardized
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. While there During the first several hundred years of Yethri rule,
are minor regional differences in pronunciation much of the population was involved in building a
and idiom, anyone speaking Athlish can be easily road network. Yethri roads are made of stone, wide
understood throughout the land. enough for the largest cart, and constructed to
last for centuries with minimal upkeep. They run
The Cambri speak Delthin, a language only dis- straight, dug through hillsides or other landscape
tantly related to Old Athlish. Other people from features where necessary. Bridges run over any riv-
the continent speak a mishmash of languages. ers in the way (since the Awakening, some bridges
have been damaged and have not been repaired).

167
 The roads are a basic feature of Athland society. Thus far, only a few major battles have occurred,
During Yethri rule, cities, towns, villages, manors, but most everyone predicts that this trend will
and villas were connected by roads. Civilization likely accelerate.
existed where the roads were; everything else was
wilderness. Since the awakening, some have fled
into the forests and hills to escape war, rapacious
Religion
barons, and famine. But the general pattern still When the Yethri conquered and enslaved Athland
holds that most of the population lives near the centuries ago, they co-opted the preexisting reli-
roads. gious customs to establish an official state religion.
This involved worship of a pantheon of gods and
Technology Since the Awakening the land itself, along with a caste of hereditary
9. Athland

clergy and a network of temples.

Since the Awakening, there has been a significant
fall in the effective level of technology, mainly Since the Awakening, these religious practices
due to civil disorder. The well-constructed roads have continued and, in many places, thrived.
are still there, but starting to fall into disrepair in Temples are one of the few places considered
some places. Towns have lost significant amounts sacrosanct from the battles for power among the
of population because there is no longer the abil- barons and have become places of worship and
ity to provide sufficient food to feed large popula- sanctuary.
tions. There are still some functioning water mills,
There are 11 primary gods in the Athland pan-
aqueducts, mines, and other technology.
theon, led by Akikron and his wife Hekathe.
The old ways hold together in some enclaves.
The gods are literally and provably real. Miracu-
People still remember how to do things. Under
lous events happen in temples during worship, as
the Yethri, advanced agricultural methods were
the combined spiritual energy of the congregants
practiced. Where there is still a semblance of the
manifests in a display of the will of the god. Gods
old social structure (a villa and its surrounding
sometimes manifest during worship or at other
villages, a remote valley untouched by strife, a bar-
times. While the gods rarely take strong interest in
ony with a strong and responsible lord), people
the doings of mundane persons, they do provide
are able to thrive. It is a cultural norm to practice
assistance and guidance to those who show them
good hygiene and sanitation. There are doctors,
reverence.
midwives, and apothecaries with knowledge of
effective medical practices. God Dominion Symbol
In other parts of Athland, chaos reigns. The old Authority
Akikron Crossed rods
culture has broken down. People starve, brigands The Sun
and murderers roam the land, and the only order Cholethre Knowledge Scroll
is what small groups can eke out for themselves. War
In some ways, Athland resembles Europe after the Dendrok Spear
Ferocity
end of the Roman Empire. Precision
Dineri Bow and arrows
Archery
War Elim
Wisdom
Laurel leaf
As barons and warlords have consolidated power, The Arts
their ability to project force has expanded in scale. Insight
Hekathe Eye/Moon
Athland appears to be evolving toward a “warring The Moon
states” period in which nobles jockey for power Fertility
Imor Sheaves of grain
via uneasy alliances and opportunistic warfare. Agriculture

168
 God Dominion Symbol Magic
Ingenuity Magic is a real and normal thing in Athland. Really
Malathena Hammer
Crafts powerful magic is uncommon, but most towns
Magic have one or more practicing mages who perform
Morag Feather
Supernatural minor spells for a fee (scrying, blessing, cursing,
Trickery etc.). Most villages have no formal mage, but there
Teklos Hand
Theft are always folk who know a few simple spells, have
Audacity the gift of communing with spirits, or can bless a
Vishelu Flame
newborn child or animal.
Valor

9. Athland
There are more powerful mages who can achieve
Holy Days greater effects. Some mages seek secular power,
Each month has a holy day to recognize the god for becoming barons themselves or working in the
which it is named. During a god's holy month, it is pay of the nobility. Others recuse themselves from
customary for everyone to leave offerings and pray everyday life and prefer isolation.
at temples and shrines devoted to that god. This
Another occult practice inherited from the Yethri
is common even for those who do not regularly
is alchemy. They discovered many ways to imbue
participate in worship of that god. Priests of other
potions, powders, and other substances with
temples will also visit to provide offerings to that
magical properties. These formulae are difficult to
god on his or her yearly holy day. It is considered a
reproduce, except by specialists with very specific
grave insult for one temple to withhold offerings to
skills. While there is a general trade in alchemical
another god on that god's day.
products, not enough is produced these items to
The yearly Festival Week also has a series of tradi- be in common use.
tional rituals, sacrifices, and celebrations devoted
to the entire pantheon of gods. Beasts and Monsters
Death and Burial A wide range of natural animals are native to Ath-
land. These include wolves, badgers, deer, oxen, fal-
Those who die are believed to pass on to another
cons, foxes, eagles, and other creatures that would
world, ruled by an invisible and unnamed god
be familiar in the Europe of our world.
with no presence in this earthly realm. During
the month of Death and especially the holy day There are a number of domestic animals common
of Death during that month, it is believed that the to Athland, used as pets and in agriculture. These
veils of reality separating this world from that of include dogs, cats, cows, geese, chickens, pigs,
the dead become weak and it is possible to com- oxen, and horses.
municate with those who have passed on. There
Under the rule of the Yethri, most large predators
are many rituals, ceremonies, magical spells, and
were driven to extinction or into wild places, while
cultural practices associated with connecting with
large game animals were managed to avoid over-
the dead.
population or over-hunting.
Those who die are ritually washed, shrouded, and
During their rule, the Yethri embarked on a cam-
buried with a coin over each eye to pay for passage
paign to eliminate supernatural monsters and spir-
into the Land of the Dead. Burial ceremonies are
its from their domain. This was largely successful
overseen by clergy from various temples.
and by the time of the Awakening the existence of
monsters had been all but forgotten.

169
 Since then, more and more barrows have been The Cambri offer aid in exchange for allegiance.
discovered and opened. The inhabitants of some Halia has called on the barons to unite under her
barrows seem to stay contained. But from others, banner to drive the Cambri back into the sea.
monsters have come. Sometimes they follow the
Although the Cambri are the most common people
delvers back, in some cases to gain revenge. Other
to visit Athland due to proximity, the continent is
monsters have begun to return to the forests, hills,
large and there are many peoples there. Occasion-
and other wild places. With no central authority,
ally, people from these strange lands make their
there is no one to limit access to barrows or to take
way to Athland for the purpose of trade, adventure,
systematic action to prevent the spread of mon-
or other purposes.
sters. There are now many stories of travelers being
9. Athland

attacked or remote villages slaughtered, and there

is no reason to think it won’t get worse. The Tanin Islands
North of Athland lie the Tanin Islands. These were

Foreigners never conquered by the Yethri and not part of the

Dreaming. The people of the Tannin Islands, the
Dandreen are mostly fisher folk. They are thought
The Cambri of as strange and wild by the people of Athland.
About two days sail to the east of Athland is the They speak a related tongue called Dandrish. The
larger continent of Estrenta. Before the Yethri, two languages are similar enough that two native
there was considerable contact between different speakers can usually, with effort and frustration,
parts of Estrenta and Athland, with waves of migra- get the gist of what the other is saying.
tions over several millennia. The Dandreen worship similar gods to those of
When the Yethri came, they limited contact and Athland, but with different names and a different
later cut it off entirely after defeating two invasion set of stories. Generally, Dandreen visitors choose
fleets from the continent. Since the Awakening, to interpret the Athland gods as the same as their
contact has resumed. Over the last few decades, own, with different names.
more and more foreigners have come from the
continent. At first they came to trade, but then they
established armed control of several coastal towns.
These foreigners, the Cambri, preach adherence
to foreign gods. Their religion has just two gods:
Gehir the Father and Meshua the Mother.

170
 The Barony of Locations
Trenghall
u Arnin: This is the central and main town of
the barony, with a population of nearly 3000
souls. It is under the direct control of the Baron.
Our default setting is the Barony of Trenghall, It houses a significant keep and the Baronial
located in the Northwest coast of Athland. It is Guard.
located between the baronies of Yarin to the East, u Deterlough: Pronounced “detluh” by the locals,
Ganril to the South, and Teben across the Firth of Deterlough is a coastal town, once prosperous
Maglin to the West. but since ravaged by war and famine. Until last
Trenghall is an independent Barony, not currently year, the town was mostly empty. More recently,
9. Athland

owing outside fealty, although Baron Halea, who troops from House Ithmir have arrived and
claims the crown for herself, is a significant poten- begun rebuilding the watchtower and other
tial threat if she can forge a stronger alliance. defenses.
u Firth of Maglin: An inlet with a deep central
But not all is well in Trenghall. The Barony is held
channel, the firth divides Trenghall from Teben.
together by an uncomfortable alliance of two
strong families. The Baron is the head of House u Henet: A coastal town on the North coast
Benevin. His wife is of house Ithmir, but they are of Trenghall, known for its fishing fleet and
estranged the two houses are increasingly at odds. exports of seaweed and dried fish. Also known
as a haven for pirate crews.

172
u Leorin Tower: An abandoned stone tower, said back changed, with strange dead eyes and violent
to be haunted. This is the site of a large skirmish personalities.
about 20 years ago between rioting farmers and
the remnants of the local militia. Blackbarrow (i)
u Red Fens: Uninhabited in the time of the Yethri, This is an ancient graveyard from pre-Yethri times.
this marshy land has become the sanctuary of a It consists of about a dozen burial mounds with
few small bands of refugees. passageways leading downward. All show signs
u Mintish: A mining town (copper and tin), of previous exploration, with some completely
Mintish is built on a set of ancient ruins. opened up. However, it is known that new passages
leading further underground have recently been
Nethrel’s Tower: This is the tower and domain

9. Athland
u
discovered.
of Nethrel, a powerful sorceress.
u Temberlech: A town on the River Glyr, known Trenergan Rocks (II)
for its great stone bridge and aqueducts, built This barrow lies deep in a small valley up in the
under the instruction of the Yethri long ago. hills. It’s a largely unexplored cave system. Last
u Yanerton: This town is the seat of power of year the Bluejacks, a crew of delvers, returned
House Ithmir, one of the two major noble from Trenergan with a large haul of valuable items.
houses in the Barony. Over the past 10 years, a They’ve been back a couple of times since, but with
stone wall has been built around the town, and less success. The rumor is that they’ve suffered
the keep has been reinforced with an additional significant casualties dealing with infestations of
wall around it. large spiky worm-like creatures and other horrific
hazards.
Known Barrows Beyond these known barrows are rumors of other
Much of Trenghall is made up of deep forests and places, including a huge underground city inhab-
remote hills. Even in the days of the Yethri, the ited by strange cat-like people, glowing structures
back country of this region was uninhabited and deep underwater in the Firth of Magin, and a large
unexplored. Mages say that Trenghall is a locus of statue of an inhuman god that appears only during
occult power. the full moon, visible only from a certain secret
Throughout the barony are bits and pieces of spot.
ancient civilizations. Nothing is really known of
these precursors, but it’s easy to find a piece of wall Factions
here and the remains of a huge inhuman statue The factions most active in the Barony of Trenghall
there. It is suspected that the barony may contain are briefly described below.
many unknown barrows.
There are three barrows that are publicly known:
Faction Tier
Baronial Guard III
Old Denderton (II)
An abandoned village, Old Denderton is a place Bluejacks II
of ghosts and whispers. While it is clearly marked
The Beloved of Kindra II
on maps, actually getting there is a challenge,
since travelers in the area get increasingly lost as Companions of the Black Rose II
they approach the town. There are many stories of
people finding their way to Denderton and coming Forest Spirits II

173
 u Faction clock (6): Eleeth betrays Marcus.
Faction Tier
u Faction clock (8): Expedition to wipe out the
Kigani's Crew I Northroad Gang.

House Benevin IV Bluejacks (II)

The Bluejacks are a successful crew of barrow
House Ithmir IV
raiders.
Mudlarks II u Scope: Athland.
u NPCs: Doric (Former mercenary captain, com-
Nethrel III
manding, intelligent, suspicious). Gorihan (war
9. Athland

Northroad Gang II leader, gigantic, brutal).

u Assets: Claims on two barrows (Trenergan
Pantheon Temples III Rocks and Blackbarrow), gang, wagons, gre-
nades.
The Rat King II
u Allies: House Ithmir.
The Redfeathers II u Enemies: Kigani's Crew.
u Situation: Led by Doric, a ruthless veteran
Sir Jornan Dendrilong III soldier, they the Bluejacks established claims
over multiple barrows in the area and are known
Temple of Akikron III for well-planned and successful delves. They are
also known for being belligerent to other bar-
Temple of Cholethre II
row raiding crews, forcing them off of claims,
Temple of Morag III ambushing them on the way back from a delve
to steal their loot, and working to deprive them
Terlindigus I
of any access to barrows in Trenghall.
u Faction clock (4): Explore and establish full
Baronial Guard (III) control over the new find in Blackbarrow.
The baronial guard is a small force of professional
soldiers in service to the barony. The Beloved of Kindra (II)
u Scope: Athland. This is a religious cult that worships the Yethri as
benevolent demigods.
u NPCS: Captain Marcus Nekkler (careful,
uncertain), Sir Eleeth Denrin (second, ambitious, u Scope: Athland.
competent, treacherous). u NPCs: Anra (high priestess, proud, strange,
u Assets: A company of professional soldiers. devoted).
u Allies: House Ithmir, House Benevin. u Assets: Devoted followers, spies in unexpected
u Enemies: Redfeathers, Northroad Gang. places.
u Situation: Nominally, the guard are at the u Allies: none.
service of the Baron Caronin. However, in the u Enemies: Established temples.
current dispute between noble houses over u Situation: The Beloved of Kindra believe that
control of the barony, the loyalty of the guard if they can conduct the right set of occult rituals
is in doubt. in the right way, they can bring the Yethri back.
u Faction clock (8): Align with House Ithmir or They are continuously searching for informa-
House Benevin. tion about the Yethri: their magic, their arcane

174
 artifacts, where they went, what they did in the Situation: The Companions began as groups of
last days before the Awakening. They camp soldiers and nobles responding to the chaos of
out near barrows, sometimes sponsor crews of the Awakening. Many thousands of people had
barrow raiders, and will attack any crew they nowhere to go. They had no food and no protec-
believe might have artifacts they think are cru- tion. Sir Wilem of Harnick formed a company of
cial to their mission. While active throughout armed troops devoted to simply helping. They
Athland as a fringe cult, they have a particular fought bandits, protected food supplies, organized
following in Trenghall. They believe some of the medical care, and otherwise kept the weak and
most important Yethri artifacts can be found in disorganized from being harmed or preyed upon.
the barony Since then the Companions have spread through-

9. Athland
u Faction clock (6): Anger the temples enough out Athland. They have a small contingent in
to provoke retribution. Trenghall.
u Faction clock (8): Attempt Yethri summoning Faction Clock (4): Take action against the
ritual. Northroad Gang.
Forest Spirits (II) Kigani’s Crew (I)
A small group of spirits in Dellwood. This is a small, up and coming crew of barrow
u Scope: Dellwood forest. raiders.
u NPCs: Anwhir (aged, unflappable, devoted), u Scope: Trenghall.
Iliwen (impatient, parental, concerned). u NPCs: Kigani (rough, earthy, reliable), Dorthen
u Assets: Secret places in the forest. (cold, loyal, fearless).
u Allies: None. u Assets: Competent barrow raiding crew, hid-
u Situation: Forest spirits have begun to manifest den base.
in greater numbers since the Awakening and the u Allies: Mudlarks.
end of Yethri magic. In Dellwood, the spirits u Enemies: Bluejacks.
have banded together for mutual protection.
u Situation: Kigani has recruited and developed
u Enemies: Invasive creatures from barrows. this crew through sheer force of will. She chafes
u Faction clock (4): Monsters in the forest. under the relative dominance of the Bluejacks
over delving in the barony.
Companions of the Black Rose (III) u Faction clock (4): Make a move on the
A semi-monastic order devoted to helping the Bluejacks.
weak and treating the sick.
Scope: Athland.
House Ithmir (IV)
The Ithmir descend from the leader of the local
NPCs: Sir Eleen (dour, reliable, hardworking), military during the Dreaming. They are a powerful
Chorik (friendly, rough, prankster). house, with extensive holdings throughout the
Assets: Chapter house in Arnin, several manors barony.
throughout the barony, contacts with other chap- u Scope: Trenghall.
ters throughout Athland. u NPCs: Sir Ganin Ithmir (house patriarch, rough,
Allies: House Benevin, Temple of Akikron. scheming, confident). Baroness Melisse (imper-
turbable, ruthless, ambitious), Lord Chador
Enemies: Northroad Gang, Rat King, Sir Jornan (house chancellor, competent, arrogant.
Dendrilong.

175
 u Assets: Manor, feudal holdings, villas, several u Scope: Trenghall.
outposts. u NPCs: Dormin (leader, quiet, calculating, ambi-
u Allies: Northroad Gang (secret sponsor). tious). Lida (mage, witty, charming, secretive).
u Enemies: Unstable “alliance” with House Tethrell (loyal, addict, compulsive thief).
Benevin. u Assets: Crew of experienced barrow raiders.
u Situation: House Ithmir is ruled by Ganin, a u Allies: Kigani's Crew.
rather rough and scheming patriarch. Melisse, u Enemies: Bluejacks.
the Baroness, is his daughter. He has recently u Situation: The Mudlarks are new in this area,
become disaffected with Caronin, the baron, having moved in as a result of political instabil-
and there is significant ill will between the two
9. Athland

ity to the South combined with rumors of the

noble houses. potential for rich barrow finds in Trenghall. The
u Faction Clock (8): Weaken House Benevin to leaders of the Mudlarks are Dormin and Lida,
Tier III without going into outright war. who are a married couple.
House Beneven (IV) u Faction clock (4): Push for a real score, even if
it angers the Bluejacks.
This the family of Baron Caronin Benevin. The
Benevins descend from personal servants and Nethrel (III)
administrators of the Yethri. The Barony was formed Nethrel is a mage, deeply interested in occult arti-
as an alliance between House Benevin and House facts.
Ithmir. That alliance is extremely rocky.
u Scope: Trenghall.
u Scope: Trenghall.
u NPCs: Nethrel (mage, inscrutable, strange,
u NPCs: Baron Caronin Benevin (Baron of obsessive), Derleth (steward, loyal, bitter, quiet),
Trenghall, honorable, intelligent, uncertain). Lady Ilkirates (shapeshifting demon servant, lazy,
Tenrin (chief of operations, insightful, subtle, devoted, vengeful).
effective). Sir Tondo (baronial marshal, blustery,
u Assets: Small but competent crew of hired
dithering, loyal).
soldiers, tower, servants, village.
u Assets: Acknowledged feudal control of the
u Allies: House Benevin, House Ithmir.
Barony of Trenghall, taxation rights on mer-
chants, military guard, constables, servants, etc u Enemies: None.
u Allies: Redfeathers. u Situation: Nethrel is a powerful mage. She
is Tier 3, meaning she could take on a gang of
u Enemies: House Ithmir.
20 by herself on even footing. She has repaired
u Situation: The Baron is aware of his rocky posi- an abandoned stone tower where she and her
tion in control of the Barony. He is estranged servants live. There is a local village that she
from his wife Melisse, who is the daughter of has taken under her protection and she has
the head of House Ithmir. He has hired the hired a retinue of fighters who act as guards
Redfeathers to buttress his military control of and protectors. Additionally, she is said to have
the barony. made pacts with several demonic entities, who
u Faction clock (6): Use Redfeathers and mil- do her bidding. She is fascinated with arcane
itary assets to kill or drive out the Northroad knowledge and artifacts and is therefore always
Gang. interested in whatever is recovered from barrow
raiding. She acts as a patron for multiple crews
Mudlarks (II) in the area, but tends not to take sides in their
The Mudlarks are a crew of barrow raiders. internecine disputes.

176
u Faction clock (8): Do something random, deities. Priests and priestesses each choose one
strange, and significant. god for primary affiliation, but pay respect to
the entire pantheon.
Northroad Gang (II)
This is a gang of brigands. The Rat King (II)
u Scope: Northern Trenghall forests; expanding. A gang of brigands in the forest.
u NPCs: Burly Jack (mountainous, mean, domi- u Scope: Trenghall northern forests.
neering), Gorlick (veteran, greedy, sadistic). u NPCs: The Rat King (aging patriarch, suspi-
u Assets: Hidden base, crew of brigands. cious), Mendara (long serving, ranger, true
believer).

9. Athland
u Allies: House Ithmir (secretly).
u Enemies: House Benevin, Sir Jornan u Allies: Villagers in the region.
Dendrilong u Enemies: Northroad Gang.
u Situation: The Northroad Gang is secretly u Situation: During the chaos immediately
funded and supported by House Ithmir to following the Awakening, the Rat King created
disrupt the Barony and demonstrate that a gang in the deep forest, offering protection to
Caronin is not able to maintain control. They whoever would follow him. Many starving peas-
started with robberies along the North Road ants did. The Rat King gang became brigands,
(hence their name) with a base in the forests claiming mainly to take only from those with
between Yanerton and Deterlough, but have more than they needed. The Rat King is said to
been expanding operations and recruiting new be quite old now and the gang is no longer as
members. They are a bunch of cutthroats and strong as it was, but there is undoubtedly still a
murderers, known for their brutality. band of brigands who claim to serve him.
u Faction clock (4): Violent raids on villages. u Faction clock (6): Regain full control of
u Faction clock (4): Raid on the Rat King. [name] forest.

Pantheon Temples The Redfeathers (II)

Various temples associated with the 11 major gods The Redfeathers are a mercenary troop that have
of the Athland pantheon. recently moved into the barony, hired by House
Benevin to bolster the Baronial Guard.
u Scope: Athland.
u Scope: Athland
u NPCs: Domoric (priest of Elim, ostentatious,
proud, kind), Thelea, (priestess of Dineri, u NPCs: Sir Gawin Heleath (freelance knight,
shrewd, competitive, wise). courtly manners, ruthless).
u Assets: Divine aid, temples and shrines in every u Assets: Troop of experienced and well-
town and most villages, priests and priestesses, equipped mercenaries.
worshipers. u Allies: House Benevin, Northroad Gang.
u Allies: Temple of Akikron, Temple of Morag. u Enemies: House Ithmir.
u Enemies: none. u Situation: The Redfeathers have been through
u Situation: Temples and shrines are found in several very rough campaigns in other parts of
every town and village throughout Trenghall. In Athland. They were hoping for a nice, easy job
larger towns there are separate temples for each bolstering the baronial guard against bandit
god, but in villages and smaller places there are incursions, but have also found themselves as
often temples devoted to worship of all the gods, part of a conflict between two noble houses.
with specific shrines for worship of particular

177
 u Faction clock (6): Inciting incident with u Faction clock (8): Intervene in Baronial dis-
House Ithmir. pute.
Faction clock (8): Act against Beloved of
Sir Jornan Dendrilong (III) u
Kindra.
Underworld boss.
u Scope: Athland Temple of Cholethre (II)
u NPCs: Jornan Dendrilong (polite, vindictive, The temple of Cholethre, goddess of knowledge.
scheming), Thela (quiet, loyal, vicious). Keepers of books, libraries, and secrets
u Assets: Crime syndicate spread through Arnen, u Scope: Athland
Temberlech, and Mintish. Vice dens, gambling u NPCs: Ilgren (shrewd, secretive, dedicated).
9. Athland

parlors, legitimate businesses, extortion rackets, u Assets: Major temple in Arnin with a massive
gangs of enforcers. library, smaller temples and shrines throughout
u Allies: House Ilim. the barony, relationships with temples in other
u Enemies: Northroad Gang. baronies, worshipers.
u Situation: Sir Jornan likes to play the role of u Allies: Temple of Elim.
retired veteran of the wars following the Awak- u Enemies: None.
ening. And he is that. But he's also the most u Situation: Ever since the Awakening, the
important crime boss in the Barony. He controls priests of Cholethre have been gathering books
bordellos, smuggling, extortion, and other illicit and other sources of information. They have
activities in several towns. large libraries that they make available to wor-
u Faction clock (8): Throw his weight behind shipers and those who make donations. It is said
one of the noble houses. that they also have private libraries, filled with
u Faction clock (6): Decide to take over the secret and arcane knowledge. They frequently
barrow raiding trade in the Southern part of the purchase select tomes from barrow raiders and
barony. sometimes sponsor expeditions into barrows
when they have reason to believe there might be
Temple of Akikron (III) particularly interesting volumes to be found.
Akikron is worshiped throughout the barony. u Faction clock (8): Discover information that
u Scope: Athland embarrasses one of the noble houses.
u NPCs: Karrick, High Priest (veteran, logical, u Faction clock (8): Acquire information on a
inquisitive), Belin (ambitious, scheming, secre- powerful and forbidden ritual.
tive).
Temple of Morag (III)
u Assets: Major temple in Arnin, smaller temples
The temple of Morag, goddess of magic and the
and shrines throughout the barony, relationships
occult, is popular in Trenghall.
with temples in other baronies, worshipers.
u Allies: Temple of Morag. u NPCs: Kagren (elderly, dying, stubborn).
Dierdre (priestess and mage, shrewd, talkative,
u Enemies: Beloved of Kindra.
careful).
u Situation: Akikron is a popular god throughout
u Assets: Major temple in Arnin, smaller temples
Athland in these times of chaos, and so it is also
and shrines throughout the barony, relationships
in Trenghall. His is the largest temple in Arnin
with temples in other baronies, worshipers.
and there are smaller temples and shrines spread
throughout the land. u Allies: Temple of Akikron.
u Enemies: None.

178
u Situation: Athland is known as a region of u Face: A member of a crew who is good at nego-
strange and occult things, so it makes sense tiation.
that the Temple of Morag, goddess of magic, u Landlord: nickname for barrow wight.
draws a significant number of worshipers. The u No go: A barrow or section of a barrow that is
local temple is nominally led by Kagren, who too dangerous to explore or that no one has ever
is extremely old and does not have long to live. returned from.
She is focused on her legacy and has decided
u Pay rent: Getting hurt or killed during a delve.
that she is to be buried in an as yet undiscovered
Losing a crew member during a delve. We're
barrow. She is using temple resources to hire
gonna have to pay rent on the way out of here.
scouts and barrow raiders to find it for her. Her

9. Athland
second, Dierdre, runs day to day operations and u The weird: A part of a barrow that doesn't obey
is said to be losing patience. the laws of normal reality. After the second level
we'll be in the weird for sure.
Terlindigus (I)
Terlindigus is a wandering Cambri preacher. Heard Around Trenghall
u Scope: Trenghall
u NPCs: Terlindigus (gaunt, devout, blessed). “There's a haunted ship prowling the Firth. All the
fisherfolk have seen it. Whenever the fog comes in.
u Assets: A few followers, the clothes on his back,
Drowned sailors with ghost-while eyes, they say. Took
and a walking stick.
three “
u Allies: None.
u Enemies: Temples of the Athland pantheon. “The Baron and Baroness haven't seen or talked to
u Situation: Terlindigus has taken a vow of pov- each other in a month. Completely estranged, I hear.”
erty and wanders Athland preaching the gospel
“The Rat King and Sir Jornan have some kind of deal
of the Father and Mother, his god and goddess.
running. Not sure what it is, but there are deliveries in
He is said to perform the occasional powerful
crates every week.”
miracle. Thus far, he is not enough of a threat for
the local power brokers to mess with. “I hear Baron Marcus of Ganril is planning to send
u Faction clock (6): Anger the powers that be. in troops. With the Trenghall nobles at each other's
throats, this is an opportunity for invasion.”
Barrow Raider Jargon “You know those amulets of protection Hamey's been
u Barrow: A strange, magical, dangerous place
selling from his shop in uptown? The ones made with
inhabited by a barrow wight.
blessed earth from the Isle of Tenik? Yeah, it's just dirt
u Barrow raider: Those who explore barrows, from the riverbank. Useless. I heard it from my cousin,
especially professionals. who works for him.”
u Barrow wight: The malevolent entity that
possesses a barrow. “Barrows? Yeah, I heard from a warden that there was
u Breecher: An explosive charge used to break some sort of tower in the forest north of Deterlough. It's
through a barrier during a delve. only there when the moon is full.”
u Crew: An organized group of professional
“Down by the docks in Arnin, you can find a fellow
barrow raiders.
who has connections with the water folk. And if you
u Delve: An expedition into a barrow. have coin, see, you have some intimate time with the
u Delver: aka barrow raider. water folk.”

179
 “The Bluejacks lost three crew the last time they tried “Down at the west end of Dergen Street, ya. Best fish
Trenergan Rocks. Horrible in that place, just horrible.” house anywhere. Got no name, no sign, just a door, ya.
Cheap, too, an' none better.”
“If the Baron can't keep pirates out of the damned
firth, maybe we should find someone who can.” “My cousin Triella says those Mudlarks ain't even ever
been on a delve. All talk and no action, just like my
“My cousin runs a tavern up there in Mintish. I had husband!”
a letter from him just the other day, and he said the
miners are all spooked by some sort of big snake thing.
Dragged two miners down into the pits, they say. It Sources of Reprieve
talks to them from the depths too, they say.”
Faith
9. Athland

“I hear one of the temples is bringing in Red Lyptus u Andra, High Priestess, Beloved of Kindra.
from the continent. The price has crashed in the last u Temples of the Athland pantheon (various,
month.” found in every town and village).
u Terlindigus, wandering Cambri preacher.
“Sir Jornan is not so bad if you stay on his good side.
My friend Dedi missed two payments on his gambling Gambling
tab, and Sir Jornan only had one of his legs broken. u Maskar's dice game, near the docks, Arnin.
Maybe he’s going soft.”
u Elino, boxing, the Docks.
“I was at the Temple of Hekathe, the other day, cause u Telegin, hound racing, Temberlech.
she gives good luck if you leave an offering when you u Shecklow, cock fighting, Mintish.
have a little extra. I heard the priestess complaining u Sergeant Jon, the fighting pits, upper town,
that Belin, that Akikron priest, was trying to poison Arnin.
Karrick, the head of the Akikron Temple in Arnin.”
Luxury, pleasure
“When I was a kid we all played in the tunnels under u Shelier, singer, Dek's Tavern, Arnin.
the Arnin aqueducts. But it's funny, no one seems to be
u Mirakor's Tavern, Yanerton.
able to find any of the entrances any more. It's like they
just…disappeared.” u Demrick, painter and sculptor, Arnin.
u Marcus and Sons fine fabrics and tailoring,
“A Cambri trading ship just docked down at Arnin Temberlech.
port. Carrying some fine cargo, I hear, but I'm not sure u Bimly, cook, Dek's Tavern, Arnin.
whose ready to do business with them.”
u Hellene, Bright Theatre, Arnin.
“I heard tell that way down south, 100 miles or more, u Brightswallow puppet theatre, Mintish.
there's some kind of huge monster. Came out of barrow u Origin, organizer of the Arnin mummer's
they say. It's got six giant heads full of teeth and it's the parade.
size of barn! Some baron tried to have his troops kill
it with a trebuchet and it just ate them. Hope it stays Obligation
down there.” u Family members.
u Former co-workers (background).
“The Northroad Gang has been getting a lot bolder.
u Cambri wanderers.
They've burned a couple of villages and I think they're
u The Red Scorpion Oath, a secret society.
going to raid a town soon. Mark my words.”

180
Pleasure, stupor
u Telly Bull, the Seagull, tavern, Temberlech.
u Indira, the Bull, tavern, Arnin.
u Ardeen, the Baron's Sleeve, Temberlech.
u Lady Uthra, the White Cask Bar, Yanerton.
u Avrick, powder dealer, Barrowcleft.
u Rolan Volaris, the Veil, social club, Arnin.
u Madame Tesslyn, the Red Lamp, brothel, Arnin.

9. Athland
u Red Bird Sings, Fleet Alley, the Arnin docks.

Weird
u The hooded proprietor of a tavern near the
docks in Arnin. For a price, it is said that cus-
tomers can receive a magic potion that will
allow them to breathe underwater, descending
down into the sea to cavort with watery spirits.
u Father Teff, leader of a splinter cult that claims
that Dineri is the true Queen of the gods,
Yanerton.
u Mereem, forest spirit.
u Ojak, red lyptus vendor, Arnin.
u Erlen, cultist of a forgotten god, barge moored
in Temberlech.

181
 Random Barrows
Use for inspiration or roll one die for the vertical column and another for the horizontal column. Roll one
or more times until you have a clear picture, discarding (or embracing) nonsensical combinations.

Location
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Island Cloud Pool Artifact Quarry Leviathan
2 Undersea Forest Shore Temple Crossroad Bridge
3 Sewer Village Hilltop Tower Aqueduct Chasm
4 Mountain Statue Vessel Mine Battlefield Monastery
9. Athland

5 Henge Ruin Manor Cemetery Shipwreck Cliff

6 Painting Tomb Tree Waterfall Valley Shrine

Barrow Features
1 2 3 4 5 6
Underwater Unstable
1 Spike traps Huge bridge Bleeding walls Screaming fog
dwellings mineshaft
Winding Rune covered
2 Stone statues Strange gravity Writhing trees False floor
corridors portal
Long Connected
3 Alien sky Lair Rickety ladders Deep valley
stairs rooms
Eyes
4 Many boxes Misty moor Huge cavern Deep mud Altar
everywhere
Door after
5 Large hives Deep pool Ancient ruins Tiny rooms Cliff face
door
Dimensional Walking Branching Disgusting
6 Dungeon cells Library
jumps building corridors stream

Barrow Wight
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comes
1 Undead Ghostly Oozing blood Insectoid Joker
through walls
Indescribably Maniacal Eyes in the
2 Draconic In your head Deadly joker
alien laughter walls
Myriad Gigantic
3 False friend Waterborne Ingenious traps Miasma
and tiny creature
Crushing Swallow Compel others Your greatest Venomous
4 Beneath you
corridor your soul to kill you fear pustules
Unseen Travels in Gates to other Seen in the Writhing
5 Charming
behind you shadow worlds mirror mouth worms
Cute and Hypnotic
6 Horrific stench Oozing ceiling Summoned Forgotten god
deadly fronds

182
Random Barrow Encounters
Use these tables when you want to disclaim decision making for encountered creatures. Re-roll if a result
doesn't fit, or roll twice and take the more interesting or relevant result.

Number
1 2 3 4 5 6
One 2 or 3 Small group Large group Horde/swarm

Creature Size

9. Athland
1 2 3 4 5 6
1–3 Tiny Small Normal for type
4–6 Normal for type Large Gigantic Leviathan

Intelligence
1 2 3 4 5 6
Mindless Beast Sentient Otherworldly

Weapons
1 2 3 4 5 6
1–3 Short blade Long blade Bow Spear Club/mace Pole arm
4/5 Rock Hidden Trap Net Javelin Flail
6 Bolas Hand cannon Dart Grenade Weird Vehicle

Occult Attacks
1 2 3 4 5 6
Flying shadow Teleport
1 Poison breath Fire blast Shapeshift Lightning surge
knives behind you
Shapeshift
2 Plague touch Terror Soul drain Animate dead Cursed luck
into a swarm
Magically Animate Telekinetic
3 Possession Writhing vines Deathless
charming surroundings attack
Pocket Blinding or Entrapment
4 Death touch Deadly familiar Freezing wind
dimension darkness circle
Control Insects under
5 Hold in place Ghostly mist Illusory foes Invisible foe
your limbs your skin
Summoned
6 Evil eye Silken web Hyper speed Boil your blood Ice cage
horror

Tier
1 2 3 4 5 6
Barrow -1 Barrow Tier Barrow +1 Barrow +2

183
 Roll 2 dice for an adjective and 2 more for a noun. Imagine something about like that. Roll as many quirks as
desired. Discard (or embrace) nonsensical combinations.

Creature Generator
Adjective Noun Wants (if intelligent) Quirks
11 Blood Bat Vengeance Extra eyes
12 Shadow Bear Answers Quick
13 Hopping Octopus Honor Twitchy
14 Two headed Dragon Oblivion Sleeping
15 Ambush Ooze Escape Fearful
9. Athland

16 Fluttering Dinosaur Unknowable Extra limbs

21 Clockwork Beetle (swarm?) Food Acquisitive
22 Crystalline Boar Protect family Curious
23 Multi-headed Centipede (swarm?) Treasure Parasitic
24 Water Snake Pleasure Magical
25 Tentacled Demigod Cause pain Ornery
26 Drop Tree Freedom In agony
31 Burrowing Vine Weapon Has babies
32 Ethereal humanoid Warmth Ponderous
33 Shrieking Demon Survival Friendly
34 Holocaust Bird (flying) A challenge Spiky
35 Dimensional Lion/tiger/panther Safe haven More nearby
36 Stone Horse Fulfill oath Glowing eyes
41 Stinging Human Procreate Amphibious
42 Stinking Bird (non-flying) Pursue quest High pitched
43 Plague Lizard Conquest Has allies
44 Lightning Hornet (swarm?) Serve a god Sprinter
45 Pustulent Frog/toad Blood Long reach
46 War Rhino Obey the law Climbs
51 Dessicated Elephant/Mammoth A new home Spits poison
52 Terror Elk/deer/antelope Magic Unpredictable
53 Fire Bison/aurochs Water Sucks life force
54 Teleporting Fish/shark Souls Regenerates
55 Frost Wolf Conversation Deceitful
56 Gigantic Wraith Find kin Incredibly strong
61 Shambling Ghost Healing Chameleon
62 Rock Eel Knowledge Pursued
63 Sand Spider Sleep Enslaved
64 Shadow Crocodile/alligator Cold Young
65 Poisonous Vampire Home Armored
66 Dimension jumping Golem Glory Stinking

184
Barrow Loot
1 2 3 4 5 6
Something
1 Skin Equipment Banner Pet Document
very strange
Carpet or Large hand Necklace
2 Relic Painting Eating utensils
tapestry weapon or Torc
3 Ingot Box Ancient coins Chalice Gems Clothing

4 Ring Book Shield Weird coins Crown or tiara Goblet

9. Athland
Religious Small hand
5 Pottery Sculpture Mirror Beverage
artifact weapon
Explorer Ranged
6 Tool Armor Footwear Potion or drug
remains weapon

Random Athland Encounters

Use these tables to disclaim decision making for encounters with Humans in Athland. The GM can decide
some things and roll randomly for others. Re-roll if a result doesn't fit, or roll twice and take the more inter-
esting or relevant result.

Country Folk
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Farmer
2 Miller Herder Crafter Healer Builder Tinker
3 Merchant Knight Soldier Hunter Woodcutter Noble
4 Wanderer Tavernkeep Beekeeper Mage Fisher Bandit/robber
5 Town folk Barrow raider Tax collector Priest Fugitive
6 Mercenary Warden Refugee Entertainer Courier Monster

Town Folk
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Orphan Beggar Trader Country folk
2 Veteran Thug Crafter Shopkeep Nanny Thief taker
3 Noble Servant Knight Guard Soldier Priest
4 Mage Physicker Barrow raider Artificer Artist Scholar/Scribe
5 Thief/robber Builder Grifter Gambler Sailor Entertainer
6 Fugitive Drunk Cook Merchant Mercenary Monster

Age
1 2 3 4 5 6
Child Adolescent Adult Mature Elderly

185
For Forged in the u Armor load: Regular armor is just 1 load; heavy
armor is 2 load (page 54).

Dark Veterans The Crew (page 57)

u Crew books: There are new setting specific
You may be looking at this game because you are
crew books (page 57).
familiar with Blades in the Dark or other Forged in
the Dark games. If so, you are likely interested in The Delve (page 73)
what’s different in this one. So here is a list of the u The delve: Instead of a score, the basic kind
most significant changes. of crew operation is a delve into a barrow
(page 73).
The Basics (page 1)
u Engagement roll: The engagement roll is sig-
u Attune: Since occult forces work differently
nificantly simplified, without adding and sub-
in this game than in Blades in the Dark, attune
tracting dice for individual factors (page 76).
is defined a little differently. Anyone can open
their mind to sense arcane forces, but it takes u Loot: During a delve the crew accumulates loot
training to actually manipulate magic in any in the form of loot dice (which are rolled later to
systematic way (page 7). determine payoff). Loot uses load, so PCs will
have to make choices about how much they will
u Resistance: By default, resistance reduces harm
try to carry. PCs might also find special magic
by two levels of severity (from level 3 to level 1
items during the delve (page 80).
harm, for example) (page 18).
u Group actions: Leading a group action works
u Armor: You can use armor and resist on the
differently. The leader rolls with the highest
same roll (page 18).
action rating of the group. That determines
u Short-term harm: Harm can be designated success and also the stress cost (page 90)
as short-term, which means it can be cleared
u Traversing: Rules for movement to, from, and
under some identified circumstance (such as
within a barrow have been added (page 79).
resting or taking the antidote) during a delve
(page 17). u Rest during a delve: The standard Blades
system assumes that scores will be of limited
u PC death: No ghost, vampire, or hull playsheets.
in duration, with a relatively small number of
Under most circumstances, if a PC dies that will
action rolls. Some delves may last much longer
mean creating a new character (page 145).
in this setting, so we need to provide some
Characters (page 23) method of resource replenishment in between
u Playbooks: There are new setting specific play- downtimes. So there is a Resting mechanic,
books (page 23). to allow the crew to hole up in a safe location
and replenish some of their stress, armor uses,
u Reprieve: Since the PCs are not criminals, but
etc. (page  79). Because half of stress can be
they can suffer incredible stress from delving,
recovered while resting, any stress relief roll
vice has been renamed to reprieve (page 25).
during downtime also replenishes stress to at
u Signature abilities: Each playbook has one least half of maximum (page 111).
signature ability, which the character gets auto-
u Exiting a delve: Rather than slogging through
matically. The player can still choose one special
the process of getting back after a delve, the
ability at character creation (page 24).
process can be abbreviated if the group agrees
u Standard items: There’s a new standard item (page 83).
list to reflect the tech level of this world and the
needs of a crew of barrow raiders (page 54).

186
u Operations: A complex crew action that is not pray for divine assistance from gods with whose
a delve, similar to a score in Blades in the Dark, temple they have positive faction status. They
is an operation (page 84). can obtain various kinds of mechanical bonuses
u Travel: Simple rules for encountering potential that fall within the dominion of the god with
difficulty while traveling overland or over sea whom they have favor (page 110).
have been added (page 84). u Recovery: We’re assuming that downtime in
this setting is long enough for PCs to rest up and
Playing the Game (page 87) heal their wounds before the next expedition.
u Claims: Since this is not a game about taking So recovery is not based on a clock, but a roll to
control of criminal activity in a city underworld, clear harm. Recovery always clears at least level

9. Athland
the basic claim system doesn’t apply, and there 1 harm and will usually clear more (page 111).
are no identified hunting grounds. Instead, u Reprieve: Clearing stress is handled differently
a crew can attempt to stake a claim on one or than Blades. You start downtime by clearing
more barrows and prevent other factions from stress up to half of maximum. To clear more
controlling them. The game doesn’t require this, stress, you roll 2d. A failure on the roll means
however (page 95). you overload (page 112).
Downtime (page 103) u Crafting: Since this is not a steampunk setting
u Payoff: PCs get loot dice during the delve and and there is no spark-craft or a ghost field, craft-
then roll to discover exactly how much their ing works a bit differently. Instead of inventing,
stuff is worth when they have time to assess it the process of developing a new item is called
during downtime (page 103). researching, because it most likely involves
rediscovery of how it was done in the past.
u Special loot: Besides coin, the crew can dis-
Artificers and Mages each get a crafting
cover special magic items and other things of
special ability. There is a new list of
value among the things they bring out of a delve
sample crafted items (page 113).
(page 104).
u Crafting item quality: If you are crafting an
u Trouble and entanglements: Since there is
item and it doesn’t meet the minimum required
nothing like a modern concept of a professional
quality level, you can spend coin as usual to
constabulary in this setting, Heat has been
increase the item’s Tier, or you can accept draw-
changed to Trouble. It works similarly, but
backs to make up the difference (page 113).
wanted levels have been renamed to Notoriety
levels. You clear Notoriety not by going to u Carrying items on a delve. Clarified the limits
prison but by laying low or performing a ser- on carrying mundane, alchemical, and magical
vice for a powerful faction. Entanglements are items (page 117).
determined differently and the kinds of Entan- Running the Game (page 121)
glements that arise have been adjusted to fit the
u Creating a barrow: Guidance for the GM
setting (page 106).
on setting up barrows (page  126), creating
u Acquire asset: If the GM sets a required min- encounters (page  132), and managing traps
imum quality level for an asset, and you don’t and obstacles (page 143).
roll high enough for an asset of that Tier, you
u Danger: There’s a guidance on adjusting the
can accept drawbacks to make up the difference
threat level, managing fights, and making the
(you can also pay coin as usual) (page 109).
game exciting (page 138).
u Divine assistance: Athland has a pantheon
u Starting the game: Procedures for guiding the
of major gods, each of whom has a network of
players through character creation, crew cre-
temples and priests. During downtime, PCs can
ation, and first delve are provided (page 138).
187
 u Starting situation: A sample starter scenario
(“Delve in Blackbarrow”) is provided to get a
one shot or campaign going (page 147).

Strange Things (page 153)

u Commitments: After character creation, PCs
can choose a commitment if they wish (and
they meet the prerequisites). They pledge them-
selves, body and soul, to some great power. This
gives them a new xp trigger and access to new
special abilities (page 154).
9. Athland

Athland (page 165)
u Setting: The land, people, and history of
Athland are described (page  165). Within
Athland, the Barony of Trenghall is provided as
a default setting, with maps, locations, factions,
etc. (starting on page 172).

188