Ten Foot Polemic

Class Breakdown Handouts

For LotFP and Similar OSR Systems

By James Young
tenfootpolemic.blogspot.com

Version 1.4
 Fighter
Be this if
You want to be the best at fighting and killing.
Being the Fighter
There is no law on the field of battle. You stab and you kill and you crush and you maim. Glory and
honour are concepts conceived of by poets and idiots, you know firsthand that war is ugly and cruel.
The ability to kill a man, to be able to ignore your humanity and think of a real, living, breathing
person as a useless sack of meat and bone as you crush his life from him. To see a person fall before
you, leaking blood and vomit and shit and tears, cursing and crying and hurting and hating. To be
immersed in the worthlessness of life and remain alone.
That is your power.
That is your curse.
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral.​
Battle Skills
As a fighter, you start with +2 to hit. You are the only class to get better at fighting with every level.
You add your level to crit/fumble rolls, leading to meatier crits and less embarrassing fumbles.
Weapon Mastery
Your skill with weapons gives you additional advantages when wielding certain weapon types:
Choppy:​ Reroll damage results of 1 or 2.
Smashy:​ Daze on hit, giving them Surprised AC for the rest of the round.
Stabby:​ If you Parry and your enemy would have missed regardless, get a free counterattack.
Shank:​ Your Brawl attacks deal maximum damage.
Whip:​ Additional option – Trip – which pulls your enemy’s legs out from under them.
Cleave
Every time you kill something you can immediately cleave through and attack something next to it
with a +1 bonus to attack and damage for each enemy you cleaved through that round.
Attempting to exploit this by hacking through a line of cultists to one-shot the corpulent pus god on
his armoured throne is acceptable and encouraged.
Warrior's Respect
Your martial bearing, leadership, or sheer intimidating presence grants you an aura of respect and
fear in the eyes of society. You get a +2 bonus to morale and reaction rolls when dealing with
military types, henchmen, and law abiding citizenry.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d8 – min. 8 14 12 15 13 16
 Magic-User
Be this if
You want to be a wizard and don’t mind being squishy and complicated.
Being the Wizard
A wizard embraces the chaos of magic, letting it infuse their very soul with the raw energy of
creation and destruction. The mightiest magic users have power beyond measure, destroying and
creating with abandon, too powerful to be stopped by any being mortal or god.
But this is not you.
You have merely cracked the surface of your soul, allowing the barest eddy of chaos to bathe your
mind with power. Even now it makes it hard to think unless you encase it in a spell and throw it out
of your mind. Sometimes you wonder if it was a good idea to let the chaos in, but what you’ve done
can never be fixed. As you gain experience you’ll be able to handle more and more magic swirling
through your mind and soul, tearing your spirit open from within.
Alignment
Your soul is suffused with magic. You detect as ​Chaotic.​
Spells
A spell is a crystallised and rerouted stream of raw chaos. A stable four dimensional glyph-form
baked onto your synapses. Casting takes intense concentration and control as you carefully collapse
that space in your brain, redirecting the magical energies out into the world as a spell.
At first level you can bake one level 1 spell into your brain per day. You can’t double up on spells.
You start with a spellbook containing Read Magic and four random spells from the first level spell
list.
Casting
Declare that you’re casting at the start of a round before initiative is rolled – the spell goes off at the
end. Casting a spell is very obvious and can’t be disguised as some other activity.
If you are interrupted while casting, you lose the spell and a Spell Collapse occurs. You can choose to
negate the Spell Collapse after seeing what it will do if you pass a Save vs Chaos.
While casting, you can swap a spell for one of an equal or lower level.
Roll 3d6 on the Cast the Bones table. Intelligence modifier applies.
Swapping down increases risk - Take the difference between swapped spell levels as a penalty.
You can sacrifice HP to assist the Swap. +1 per hit point sacrificed. Declare before rolling.
Complete success is a 14+. There are many possible failures, each more horrific than the last.
Cantrips
You can cast cantrips at will based on the spells you've got in your head. For example, Sleep could
cause somebody to feel drowsy and Identify could boost your Arcana.
The effects are minor but otherwise up to your imagination.
Familiars
At your option, choose a smallish animal to be your familiar. It can hold an extra spell of any level
you can cast and cast it as normal. It can't die but its spellcasting can be interrupted.
If you die it goes rogue and murders your friends.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d4 – min. 3 13 13 16 13 14
 Specialist
Be this if
You want to be a thief, ranger, rogue, bard, healer, assassin, conman, monk, or anything else!
Being the Specialist
Fighters fight, clerics pray, wizards conjure, and on it goes through time.
But this is not you.
You’ve got a plan. You know where you’re going. At the moment you’re just some guy with a bit of
an edge, but you level up quicker than any other class and have access to a heap of powerful skills.
You can be the ultimate thief, melting into shadows and stealing priceless artifacts with consummate
skill. You can a powerful rogue, leaping from the wall to deliver devastating backstabs. You can be a
master tracker, a linguistics professor, or anything else you want to be!
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral.​
Specialties
As a specialist, the world is your oyster. Though technically one class, the Specialist covers a whole
range of classic classes and more besides! There are a bunch of different skills in this system, and
you’re the only one who can get better at them.
You start with 4 points to add to any of the skills on your sheet (in addition to those from your Failed
Career) and gain 2 per level.
Arcana:​ Identify potions and scrolls. Use magic scrolls and wands even if you’re not a Magic User.
Awareness:​ Danger sense to spot an ambush or trap just in time.
Backstab:​ Grants critical hits against surprised or flanked enemies.
Bushcraft:​ Hunting, natural healing, not getting lost.
Climbing:​ Climbing under pressure, while encumbered, and other borderline-ridiculous feats.
First Aid:​ Healing people who’ve hit 0HP and started to die.
Languages:​ Rolled when first encountering a language to see if your character has always known it.
Music:​ Busking and giving the party a good first impression. Rarely useful, but you never know.
Sailing:​ Running, steering and maintaining ships of all sizes. Good for naval battles and stormy seas.
Sleight of Hand:​ Quick reloads, picking pockets, palming objects, and other quick-fingered activities.
Stealth:​ Sneaking around, hiding in shadows, and gaining an advantage in combat.
Tinkering:​ Picking locks, manipulating mechanisms, and inventing strange mechanical devices.
Tools of the Trade
Specialist’s Tools grant a +1 to ​Tinkering​ and a +1 to ​First Aid.​
Crampons grant a +1 to ​Climbing.​
Intelligence modifier applies to ​Languages​ and ​Arcana​.

Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 4 14 11 16 12 15
 Cleric
Be this if
You want to be a holy warrior and worker of miracles.
Being the Cleric
A cleric is a religious warrior, someone so devout in their faith that they can draw upon the holy
power of Heaven itself! A mighty cleric is beautiful and terrible to behold. Their prayers are truly
answered, the power of their faith can devastate legions and their righteous oratory can convert
entire cities.
But this is not you.
The purity of your faith drew a tendril of godly might towards you, and you seized at it. Through
prayer, you can draw together just enough power to enact a minor miracle. Not much, but enough
to show that your way is pure and true. As your legend grows, you will be able to draw upon more
and more holy power, until you truly wield the might of Gods on this mortal plane.
Alignment
You are the very embodiment of Law. You detect as ​Lawful​.
Spells
Every morning you get to choose which spells you’re packing today. At first level you can only scrape
together enough of a godly aura to use one level 1 cleric spell per day.
Unlike a magic user who has to learn their spells, you are granted your powers directly from Heaven.
You have access to all the spells on the Cleric spell lists.
Casting
Declare that you’re casting at the start of a round before initiative is rolled – the spell goes off at the
end. Casting a spell is very obvious and can’t be disguised as some other activity.
If you are damaged or attacked in melee while casting you are interrupted and may lose the spell.
Save vs Law. Wisdom modifier applies. If you fail you lose the spell as if you’d cast it.
If you succeed you’re still disrupted but you keep the spell to cast it later.
Switching spells
You can swap a spell for one of an equal or lower level through fervent prayer.
Time taken to do this is based on the value of the holy symbol you use.
Wood takes a turn. Iron takes a round. Silver is instantaneous.
Nonanism
There are six major denominations of Nonanism, this world’s equivalent of Christianity. As a Cleric
you are a leader of your faith. Whichever denomination you choose, you will receive a unique spell
that has different effects depending on the faith of those you cast it on.
See the Choosing My Religion pamphlet for more.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 4 14 11 16 12 15
 Dwarf
Be this if
You want to be a short, sturdy and tough and be really useful in dungeons.
Being a Dwarf
Dwarfs once ruled the world. Now they live underground in huge isolationist arcologies and are
fiercely xenophobic. Few remember why. Their convoluted economic system denies dwarfs the
ability to save for the future, forcing them to work shift after gruelling shift simply to afford to live.
The average dwarf has never felt love or joy, just endless, neverending work meant to numb the
mind and appease the spirit, forever jealously hoarding the wealth of the earth.
But this is not you.
You set out from your homeland, wanting not to work day after day in the infinite mines but to ​live​.
To experience joy and anger and sadness and everything in between! You know that you can never
return to those mines, that your friends and family deny that you ever existed, but to you this world
contains more emotion, more sensation and passion than you ever dreamed of.
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral.​
Dwarfiness
A dwarf can carry five more items before earning his first encumbrance point than anyone else. You
gain a ​+1 bonus to your CON modifier​​, and instinctively know direction and notice changes in
elevation when underground.
You can see in the dark in a grey and washed out monochrome.
You take 1 round at most to adjust to changes in brightness. Your eyes reflect light like a cat.
Natural Craftsman
Given half a day and even simple tools, you can fully repair all Notches on a weapon or armour.
Lorebonds
Every second level you can choose a new Lorebond, if you wish. These include such bonds as the
Lore of the Brew, the Lore of the Beard or the Lore of the Forge.
Lorebonds require a quest to unlock and limit you with an unbreakable taboo which will bring you
pain and torment if broken.
Runesmith
You have an innate connection to the runes and a gift for the art of runecrafting.
Distance and complexity penalties for powering glyphs are one step less severe.
Runes must be found in the game world or taught by another player, ask around.

Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d10 – min. 6 10 8 13 9 12
 Elf
Be this if
You want to be a changeling slowly losing your humanity, strange and strong.
Being an Elf
If it is true that the average man fears the Wizard, then it is also true that he is terrified by the Elf.
For elves are magical beings down to their bones and blood, changeling children stolen beneath the
blind eye of the new moon and bewitched by charms and bonds both gentle and vile. They are
terrible, and beautiful. Dark kings in their dark courts. Half-glimpsed shapes and shifting colour.
Crow-beaked shadows. Shining eyes. Fear in your throat as you stumble home in the moonless night.
But this is not you.
This is what you will become.
Alignment
You detect as ​Chaotic​ until you run out of spells, at which point you detect as ​Neutral​.
Spells
Each elf holds a spell in his heart, cut it out and you’ll see. That is your Heartspell, it defines what you
will become. The only spells you know at Level 1 are your Heartspell and Read Magic.
You do not sleep, but every night at moonrise you spend an hour per level cavorting and yammering
in the moonlight to regain your spells. Your powers wax as the moon wanes.
At first level you can pull only one level 1 spell into your head per day. You can’t double up on spells.
Casting
Declare that you’re casting at the start of a round before initiative is rolled – the spell goes off at the
end. Casting a spell is very obvious and can’t be disguised as some other activity.
If you are interrupted while casting you release a Spell Collapse, but you have such intrinsic control
of magic that you can recover - Save vs Chaos.
On success, you can continue casting as if nothing happened. On failure, you lose the spell.
While casting, you can swap a spell for one of an equal or lower level.
Roll 3d6 on the Cast the Bones table. Intelligence modifier applies.
Swapping down increases risk - Take the difference between swapped spell levels as a penalty.
You can sacrifice HP to assist the Swap. +1 per hit point sacrificed. Declare before rolling.
Complete success is a 14+. There are many possible failures, each more horrific than the last.
You never need to roll if you are swapping to your Heartspell.
Changeling
The magic inside you is transforming you from within. For every spell you have in your head you gain
more and more otherworldly characteristics and abilities, you lose them as you cast the spells.
An elf with no spells is human once more, at least until the next night.
The first mutation for all elves is pointed ears, lending you a ​2 in 6 Awareness​​ skill.
Further markings and abilities depend on your Heartspell. Further markings are harder to hide.
Cold iron is elf-bane, giving you -2 to attacks and making you unable to cast spells for as many
rounds as you have spells left in your head. You cannot pass thresholds warded with cold iron.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 4 13 12 15 13 15
 Goblin
Be this if
You want to be a pernicious, sneaky goblin with an army of minions.
Being a Goblin
Goblins are green, sneaky, evil creatures with beady eyes and a big ugly hooked nose. They are
impulsive and stupid and rude and greedy and vile. They live underground in their tribal hives,
squabbling over the fungus which grows upon rotted matter. They are spiteful and verminous, and
hate humanity above all else.
But this is not you.
You are what is sometimes called a Hobgoblin. Capable of rational thought and tactical thinking, you
are a natural leader of goblin society. Some hobgoblins stay in their hives to lead their tribes, others
like you set out into the wider world to find a place to start a hive of your very own.
You will gain the unique ability to bud off goblin buddies which will answer only to you. Plus you’re
tough and you’re sneaky and you grow up fast, and you’re great at tinkering with traps.
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral.​
Tricksiness
You are sneaky and wily and excellent at hiding in cities and dungeons, and you have a knack for
locks and gadgets.
You have a ​5 in 6 Stealth​​ skill in urban or dungeon environments and a ​3 in 6 Tinker​​ skill.
Goblins are quick and lucky. You gain a ​+1 bonus to your DEX modifier​​ and add a ​bonus +1 AC​​ when
you are not surprised.
You’re pretty small though so you can’t use weapons that a human needs two hands for. You wield
medium weapons two-handed.
Buddies
Starting at 2​nd​ level you’ll gain the ability to bud off one goblin buddy per night. This only requires
somewhere to plant the bud. At 2​nd​ level you can have a maximum of one goblin buddy at a time,
but this increases by one every level thereafter.
Goblin buddies are the ultimate henchmen - stupid, expendable, and fiercely loyal.

Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 4 10 8 13 9 12
 Halfling
Be this if
You want to tame beasts and stay out of trouble.
Being a Halfling
Once, millennia ago, it was Halflings who ruled over humanity.
No books record the centuries of toil and torment beneath the iron-calloused foot of the Halfling
empire, but burnt deep into the human genetic memory are the dark times when Halflings enslaved
humanity with bonds far stronger and more insidious than iron.
But that was then, this is now.
The Roman Theocracy and Halfling genocides pushed your race to the brink of extinction, but it
survived. Now you live in tight-knit, insular farming communities far from civilisation and the
Halfling talent for influencing minds has waned to a shadow of its former power.
Seen as a troublemaker by your peers, you are one of those rare few Halflings willing to leave the
comfort and safety of home. Whether it be for adventure, revenge, or other reasons of your own,
you have set out into a world that no longer fears your kind.
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral
Stay out of trouble
Halflings have long found ways to stay hidden in the deep woods and forgotten valleys of the world.
You have a ​5 in 6 Stealth​​ skill in wilderness environs and a ​3 in 6 Bushcraft​​ skill at first level.
You are dextrous and careful and good at staying out of danger. You gain a ​+1 bonus to your DEX
modifier​​ and add a ​bonus +1 AC​​ when you are not surprised.
You’re small and so cannot wield two-handed weapons. You wield medium weapons two-handed.
Monster Tamer
The Halfling power of Domination once brought civilisations to their knees.
Domination takes an action and requires you to touch the creature or look deep into its eyes.
A Domination attempt is like a mental Wrestle - you and your victim roll 1d20, highest wins.
You add: Your level and your Charisma modifier. You gain a +2 bonus if they have under 25% HP.
They add: Their level and their Wisdom modifier. They gain a +2 bonus if they have over 50% HP.
If you win, it obeys the letter and intent of your commands. Congratulations! You have a pet!
If you don’t win, it has resisted your violating touch upon its psyche. The mental backlash stuns you
for a number of rounds equal to the difference between the two rolls.
They will know exactly what you tried to do to them. Beasts will be filled with madness and fear, and
intelligent creatures will do anything to prevent you enslaving their free will.
Usually this means they try to kill you and/or flee before you recover.
One pet at a time. A Domination attempt on a new creature releases your hold on the old one.
Creatures might attempt to break your grip if you treat them badly, are obviously vulnerable, or
force them to do something drastically against their will.
They get a Save vs Doom. On success, they stand stock still quivering and refuse to obey you.
If they successfully resist your orders twice in a row they break free, possibly turning on you.
A creature less than half your level can never disobey orders or willingly break free of your control.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 4 10 8 13 9 12
 Muscle Wizard
Be this if
You want to punch people so hard they explode.
Being the Muscle Wizard
Not all magic users are created equal. Most wizards, by accident or by design, crack the surface of
their soul and let the chaos suffuse their mind. As their knowledge grows, so too does their ability to
contain and channel the chaos.
But this is not you.
You cracked the surface of your soul and instead of letting it into your mind, you let the chaos
suffuse your very body. In order to contain and channel magic you realised that you needed to hone
every muscle to perfection! You cast your spells not from your mind through words, but from your
body… through punching things! Punch your way to the top! Muscle Wizard!
Alignment
As a muscle wizard, your body is infused with magic. You detect as ​Chaotic​.
Spells
Every morning you prepare your body for the rigors of channelling magic through pushups and
callisthenics. You have a spellbook, but all the spells are encoded as exercise charts and diet plans.
At first level, you have enough magic stored in your muscles to punch-cast one spell per day.
Like other casters, you can’t double up on spells.
At first level, you have Read Magic and four random spells from the first level spell list.
Casting
Unlike other wizards, spells are cast on your turn and so cannot be interrupted.
You cast through your fists, so you can combine spellcasting with an unarmed attack if you wish.
The spell goes off as intended even if you miss with the attack, so it’s more a question of whether
you want to potentially damage the target.
All your spells are range 10’, which is extra distance you run/jump/flash-step and punch.
While casting, you can swap a spell for one of an equal or lower level.
Roll 3d6 on the Cast the Bones table. Intelligence modifier applies.
Swapping down increases risk - Take the difference between swapped spell levels as a penalty.
You can sacrifice HP to assist the Swap. +1 per hit point sacrificed. Declare before rolling.
Complete success is a 14+. There are many possible failures, each more horrific than the last.
Muscle Magic
Your fists deal d4 damage and can be, shall we say, dual-wielded.
You gain +1 bonus HP per spell level you have bound into your muscles. You also gain a bonus to hit
equal to the highest level of spell you currently have available. You lose these bonuses as you cast.
You can also use this bonus on muscle-based things like jumping, climbing, flexing, wrestling and
becoming the hero of the beach.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d4 – min. 3 13 13 16 13 14
 Necromancer
Be this if
You want to be a master of the Dead.
Being the Necromancer
When the dead rise, some abandon all hope. Others take up arms, stand proud upon the
battlements, and protect their towns and cities with sturdy arm and shining steel.
But this is not you.
You found a different way. A better way. When you first heard the rumours of the Dead not only
being repelled but ​controlled​ by practitioners of a radical new religion, you could scarcely believe it.
But whether for power or for protection you followed the rumours until you found the Dead Cult of
Duvan’Ku. You are but a lowly acolyte and know but a few of the secrets of the Dead, but in time you
shall command legions.
Alignment
You detect as ​Chaotic
Spells
Every morning you must bind the power of the ever-present souls of the dead into spells.
At first level you have enough control to use one level 1 necromancer spell per day.
At first level you have Read Magic, Subjugate Dead, and four random spells from the first level
Necromancer spell list.
Unlike other casters, you can have multiple copies of the same spell prepared at the same time.
Casting
Declare that you’re casting at the start of a round before initiative is rolled – the spell goes off at the
end. Casting a spell is very obvious and can’t be disguised as some other activity.
If you are interrupted while casting, you lose the spell and components as if you had cast the spell.
The burst of uncontrolled death magic and vindictive spirits deals 1d4 damage per spell level to you
and all living things within 10’ and heals Undead for the same amount.
You can prevent this by passing a Save vs Chaos.
While casting you can swap the spell for one of an equal or lower level.
Save vs Chaos. On failure, ghostly fallout deals damage equal to the sum of the spell levels being
swapped to you and all living things within 10’. Undead are healed for the same amount.
Necromancy
You cast your spells by petitioning the souls of the wayward Dead to obey your commands, and the
Dead will not heed you without the right offerings and rituals.
Many of your spells require time and components to cast. You must collect and keep the
components yourself and most are fairly easy to acquire, although they are best hidden if you don’t
want to get lynched.
Possibly the most important component of all is Last Breath – the dying breath of a sapient being,
usually stored in glass vials. This is because dead will only ever obey one who speaks with their voice.
You must inhale Last Breath to give orders to Undead minions under your control and to cast any
spell that creates or subjugates the Dead. A single vial lasts for 10 minutes.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d4 – min. 3 13 13 16 13 14
 Barbarian
Be this if
You want to get mad and break people.
Being the Barbarian
Barbarians are big, strong motherfuckers who hail from the savage lands beyond the north
wind/across the raging seas/through the burning desert/you get the idea. They spend most of their
time angry. They travel to foreign lands to seek fortune and adventure but they're kind of shit at
civilisation. They’re really good at booze and women though. Speaking of women there are such
things as female barbarians and they are just as buff and grumpy as the men.
Hell yea this is you.
You wear a loincloth or furry shorts and maybe a big cloak made from animal pelts and some sweet
tattoos. Oh, and you really hate magic. Back home all sorcerers are evil and old habits die hard.
Alignment
Somewhat surprisingly, you detect as ​Lawful​.
Barbarianism
At first level, and every level thereafter, roll twice on the Barbarian Level Up table.
Barbarians don't wear armour (it's for pussies) but luckily they have luck on their side and/or have
crazy protective tattoos and/or are marked by the gods, so they have a natural armour class of 14.
Despite wearing only a loincloth you are immune to the effects of extreme weather.
You party really fucking hard so you the party rolls double for carousing when you’re around.
This triples, quadruples, etc with multiple Barbarians. Barbarian parties are fucking wild.
Fuck Magic
Barbarians don’t like magic (it’s for pussies). You save vs any spell, especially the ones that don't
usually give a save. Roll a natural 20 on the save and you temporarily “eat” the spell. This negates
the spell completely, makes your tattoos and eyes glow a cool thematic colour, and lets you unleash
the spell on the next person you hit in combat. Not that you’ll always know what the spell is.
The only exception is clerical magic which affects you as normal.
Your fists count as magic against enemies immune to mundane weapons.
Barbarian Rage
Barbarians don’t feel pain (it’s for pussies). Once per day you can go berserk for one round/level.
During this time you add +3 to your Strength modifier, have -3 AC, add your Strength Modifier to
damage, and cannot die.
If you reach 0hp you accrue Death Tokens as normal, but you get +1 to your Strength Modifier per
Pain Token and don’t take Bleed damage or roll to Tempt Fate until the rage ends.
You MUST attack every round. If there are no enemies around while you're raging you'll attack
people (even your friends) at random until it runs out. If nobody’s around you just roar obscenities.
It’s possible that you’ll take mortal wounds while raging, keep fighting at full strength even though
they’ve chopped your head off, and then drop dead when the rage finally ends.
This is the most Barbarian way to die.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d8 – min. 7 16 16 16 15 18
 Ratman
Be this if
You rolled your ability scores and said “well, fuck”,
Being the Ratman
Skulking scurrying vermin, haunters of the burrowing dark. Loathsome and long-buried odium
incarnate creeping through the endless night of the underworld. Dead-eyed and reeking like
grave-sod they are, gnawing rats at the world's root. Endlessly breeding and swarming and feeding.
Despised by all and despising all. Cunning and merciless. Hating and hateful.
If only this was you.
You’re here on the surface now, hiding your black eyes from the bright sun. It is not your world.
Your world was one of chaos and avarice and greed, a Boschian nightmare of writhing flesh and fur
and filth and life. This world is fresh. It is bright. It is cold.
It could be your world too.
Alignment
You detect as ​Neutral​.
Sub-Prime Requisites
A ratman character can have no ability score above 12. They’re the worst, but they know this and
have a certain low cunning that you (the player) bring to the table.

Ratmaster
Rats love you with all their furry little hearts. You can speak to them, and they tend to like you.
You can call rats if there are any nearby (and they are almost always nearby). You can call one rat per
turn. The maximum number of rats you can have under your control is your level squared.
Rats can give you information, scout for you, fight for you, be thrown at people, and a whole lot else.
You also get twice the rumours since you can interview nearby rats to see what they overheard.
See the Rat, Be the Rat
You’re a big damn rat. You’re good at climbing and swimming, and you’ve got a tail that’s as long as
you are. You have a ​5 in 6 Climbing ​skill, can swim as fast as you can walk, and can use your tail as a
whip. You have a nasty bite that does 1d6 damage on a successful Wrestle and transmits any poisons
and diseases affecting you if the target fails a Save vs Doom.
Hate Magnet
Animals know what you are and hate you. A lot. If they can kill you they will, if not they will bark or
swarm or do whatever else it takes to draw attention to you so something else can kill you. The only
exceptions are rats and, for some reason, shelled reptiles.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 1 14 16 15 14 14
 The Extras
Be this if
You want to be a bunch of super meta slapstick background characters.
Being the Extras
Some people are born to be Someone. Singular people, people whose stories will survive long after
their deaths. Whether they’re good, evil, or somewhere in between, tales will be told of their trials
and tribulations. Their triumphs, their tragedies, their rises from obscurity and their falls from grace.
They loom large in the history of the world. Heroes! Villains! Legends!
But this is not you.
You’re the other guys.
Alignment
Collectively, you detect as ​Neutral.​
All for One
Your mob of nameless Extras act mysteriously like a single character in many ways.
They have a single HP pool. They have a single action per round. They can carry as much as one man.
They also consume rations and ammunition like they were one person. Very strange.
One for All
In other ways they are very different.
They take up four times as much room as a single character. They count as ten men when doing
menial labour like digging and rowing.
They also count as ten men when buying equipment – you have to buy ten swords or armours or
whatever to get the mechanical benefit of just one. Bulk equipment like this only counts as a single
piece of equipment for encumbrance though…
If you’ve got less than ten of a thing, each takes encumbrance and the Extras can benefit from the
item only once per scene, like the magic sword guy takes a swing as the camera pans past.

Named Characters
At level 1, give one of the Extras a name. This is your mob’s leader who gets a few lines!
Once per scene, they get an extra action independent of the rest. Essentially you get two actions
that round. Afterwards they get absorbed back into the general mob.
Each level you get another Named Character with the same ability, albeit you can only use the extra
action ability of Named Characters once per round.
Death of a Mob
At 0HP, your Named Characters look around and realise they’re the only ones left, all the other
Extras are dead! The Leader survives as a half-health Fighter one level below the Extras’ level, and
the other Named Characters are simple 0-level mooks with 1d6 HP.
If they make it back to civilisation, they can gather more people and turn back into the Extras! If any
of them die before then though, the survivors sorrowfully remain ordinary characters forever more.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d12 – min. 8 14 16 15 14 14
 Inheritor
Be this if
You want to steal monster abilities by eating their corpses.
Being the Inheritor
To die beneath the harsh eldritch light of the Black Sun is to be born anew. Soul scourged, memories
scattered, barely in control of this new body of black-veined mud.
The life of a newly formed demon is one of sin-eating, slow-gained sentience, and hard-won
metamorphosis. A new body with an old soul, emerging into the darkness of the end of days.
But this is not you.
You are an aberration amongst even your own aberrant kind. You crawled from the viscous mud of
the river Lethe fully-formed, already settling into shape. Stranger still, a weird grasp of your own
twisted flesh allows you to alter your body further. A malleable self-image that can be restructured
to assimilate the organs and energies of foes you confront and devour.
You are no mere demon. You are something more.
Alignment
As a literal demon, you detect as ​Chaotic.​
Mutation Limitation
Your total Mutation Capacity is equal to your level. This is the total number of abilities you can gain.
Your total Meat is equal to double your level. You spend Meat to use stolen abilities.
You regain all your lost Meat after a night of rest.
Dark Inheritance
Your power to Inherit allows you to steal and use enemy abilities. You must have been attacked or
affected by the ability, and you must eat whatever part of your foe gave them that ability.
eg. eat a ghoul’s claws to gain a paralysing touch, or eat another demon’s heart to gain its sinful
aura.
Yes, this does count as eating a ration.
During the process of Inheritance you collapse into a pile of randomly mutating and swelling flesh
and mud. This takes 10 minutes during which time you are totally helpless.
You may replace abilities, but you can never go over your Mutation Capacity.
Unleash the Beast
Inheriting an ability grants you a passive perk based on the ability.
You must spend a point of Meat to utilise an ability in full. When you do, your flesh bubbles and folds
into a monstrous aspect of the original creature allowing you to use the ability that round.
You can utilise multiple abilities in the same round if you wish, mutating you further into an unholy
amalgam with the powers of multiple creatures.
Doppelganger
If you entirely consume a person you can Inherit their voice and appearance. This counts towards
your Mutation Capacity. It costs one Meat and 10 minutes to transform.
Gameplay Stuff
HP Stun Doom Blast Law Chaos
1d6 – min. 3 13 13 16 13 14