Version: PUBLIC BETA 1.2

Game Design: Greg Christopher Special Craig Brasco, Luis Garcia, Mattias A Note about Contributors
All of the artwork in this book
Layout Design: Greg Christopher Thanks: Silvsten, Peter Kovalsky, Trina
Williamson, Michael Williamson, has been donated by the artists.
Art Direction: Greg Christopher In addition to the above credits,
Roger Jones, & Daniel Rezendes
Typesetting: Greg Christopher each image placed in the book
Editor: Peter Kovalsky Cover Artist: Adrian Humphrey links back to the artist’s gallery.
fweak.deviantart.com Please take the time to visit them
Artists: and consider buying a print. This
book would not have been possible
Alayna Lemmer: www.alayna.net Hrvoje Beslic: hbdesign.deviantart.com
without the generosity of these
Alexander Nanitchkov: www.artofinca.com Jeremiah Morelli: www.morjers-art.de artists. I am eternally grateful for
Alexandra Schastlivaya: fleur-art.blogspot.com Katrina Lin: k-atrina.deviantart.com their support. I am also grateful
Antoine Miguel: pataplouf.deviantart.com Lorraine de Bruin: renahmoonsinger.deviantart.com for the constructive criticism of my
Aram Aramesh: abtin.gfxartist.com Michael O: www.bymichaelo.com friends and family. Finally, I am
Banu Andaru: www.banuadhimuka.com Mike McCain: mikebot.cgsociety.org grateful for the superb editing and
commentary of Peter Kovalsky. I
Courtney Howlett: seageart.daportfolio.com Myke K: www.geneticmess.blogspot.com
could not ask for a better editor.
Darek Zabrocki: darekz-art.website.pl Nicholas Kay: www.nicholaskay.com
David Cheung: vofff.blogspot.com Pavel Savchuk: sobaku-chiuchiu.daportfolio.com Except as otherwise identified, all written
portions of this book and Synapse logo ©2009
Delilah K: delilah88.deviantart.com Peter Ortiz: standalone-complex.deviantart.com
Greg Christopher, all rights reserved. All
Emily Chan: www.eychan.org Sabrina Pohle: www.splinteredshard.com artwork in this book is owned by its artist.
Farhat Ali: farhatali-2005.deviantart.com Tony Rudolph: zulusplitter.deviantart.com The mention of, use of, or reference to any
company, trademark or product in this book is
Flint Anderson: tauceti.deviantart.com Veli Nyström: vablo.deviantart.com not a challenge to the trademark or copyright
Frank Hong: frankhong.artworkfolio.com Yap Kun Rong: krypt.cgsociety.org in question. This book is not for sale.
Gabriel Perez: wiredgear.deviantart.com
Download a free copy at
www.synapserpg.com.
A Note about Gender
The English language is sexually specific in how it handles pronouns. As a result, an author must always struggle with whether to use he, she, he/she,
his, her, his/her, or any pronouns at all. In an effort to balance against all the books in the past which ignored this problem and simply used masculine
pronouns throughout, this book is written exclusively with female pronoun forms when referring to the player. That being said, Synapse is designed
for people, not genders. We embrace all players regardless of their gender.


Table of Contents:

Character Creation Outline 10 Chapter 7: Possessions 106

Wealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 1: Brain Chemistry 11 Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mechs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Talents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 2: Biology 21 Chapter 8: Resolution Mechanics 125

Body Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Core Mechanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Species & Genes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Skills & Conversations . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Gene Quick Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Combat Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Chapter 3: Culture 43 Stress Rolls & Stress Reduction . . . . 132
Cultural Template Example . . . . . . . 45 Trust Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Cultural Quick Reference. . . . . . . . . 46
Cultural Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Appendix A: Magic 134
The Basics of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 4: Life Experience 64 Magic Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Life Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Appendix B: Vampirism 158
Chapter 5: Personality 84 The Basics of Vampirism . . . . . . . . . . 159
Motivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Vampiric Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Morality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Morality Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Appendix C: Species Templates 174
Motivation Suppression . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Appendix D: Culture Templates 179
Chapter 6: Connections 96
Type Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Appendix E: Example of Play 189
Relationship Descriptions . . . . . . . . . 103


What is a roleplaying game?
A roleplaying game (RPG) is played by a group of typically four to
six people, usually around a table. The goal of the game is to tell an
interesting, collaborative story and to have fun doing it. To tell the story,
you use your imagination. There are no winners or losers because the
game is about cooperation.
One person, called the gamemaster (GM), is in charge of managing the
game and establishing the basis of the story. Every other person around
the table controls a single character in the story, like a character in a book
or movie. People who are controlling characters are called Players. The
game involves using your imagination to determine how your character
will interact with an imaginary world. The world and everything in it,
including all of its non-character inhabitants, is described by the GM.
The GM describes where your characters
are in this world and in return each player
tells the GM what they would like their
characters to do. Your decisions should be
played out through improvisation based on
how you feel your character would react.
The rules for adjudicating the success and
failure of these actions is called a game
system. The game system uses dice – the
same dice that you find in traditional board
games – to add the element of chance.
Sometimes your characters will fail. Other
times they will succeed. The odds of success
are based on your character design. You
will have better chances of success at some
actions and poorer chances with others.
Knowing when to attempt certain actions
based on these chances introduces the
element of strategy.
The Flow of Play:
The GM typically has a story in mind that she is trying to tell. She has
made notes about the personalities of the other people in the world,
such as the innkeeper, sheriff, soldiers, and so on. She has also prepared
challenges for the characters, typically in the form of combat with some
kind of enemies who are working in opposition to the heroes. She has
usually created a dastardly villain with diabolical plans, which the players
must struggle to overcome. As the players take actions in the world,
interact with its inhabitants, solve problems, etc., the GM will reveal
more of the plot.
The attempt by the players to advance the plot to its conclusion is called
an adventure. A typical adventure will take many hours of gameplay,
usually broken up into chunks of play called sessions. The adventure
may be only one in a series of adventures that together make up a
campaign. The length of the story and its complexity depends on both
the storytelling ability of the GM and the contributions of the players.
However, players are not passive observers. They are the primary actors.
The story is like a novel whose pages are blank until you read them. The
future is based on your real-time decisions, not written ahead of time.
The story is dynamic, complex, and unpredictable.
Why play an RPG? Key Features
Why should you play an RPG instead of
Cooperation
playing a board or video game? You have a
limited amount of time to spend on your Imagination
entertainment and you should get the most Improvisation
value for your time and money. Chance
Strategy
RPGs provide...
• Complex social interactions that cannot be replicated in other games.
• Creativity is used to make every game. You define your character.
• You are the creator. You are not consuming someone else’s game.
• Imagining yourself in the role of someone else reinforces empathy.
• Spend quality time with your friends and family away from the screen.
• Repetitive simple math is extremely helpful to young players.

What is a Game World?
All gameplay takes place inside of a game world. The game world is the As a player, you have the same prerogative and should only join games
imaginary geographic area in which your characters exist. A game world that you are interested in playing. If the idea of a dystopian futuristic
might be an entire planet, a single continent, or a smaller geographic Moscow doesn’t interest you, offer up your own idea for a game world
area. A game world is a component within a concept called setting. A for which you could be the gamemaster. Maybe you have some cool
setting is difficult to define, but it encompasses a particular culture, time, ideas for a medieval fantasy world where an evil dragon is running
theme, style, or context. “Genre” is a slightly different but related concept roughshod over the defenseless peasants. Alternatively, you can always
to use for grasping this. Synapse is a universal system that can be used just pass on the chance and move on to a different group. Everyone is at
with any conceivable setting in which you are playing an intelligent the table to have fun. Play whatever you want to play. Don’t stick around
lifeform. The only limit is your imagination. if you are going to be unhappy, but also don’t be afraid to try new things
in new settings.
A good way to understand a setting is to focus on the aspects that set
it apart from the modern day. For instance, a Vampire setting that
occurs in the modern day is simply called Vampire, whereas one that
occurs in the Middle Ages might be Medieval Vampire or Dark Ages
Vampire. You can have different game worlds within the same setting.
For example, you can have two different games that occur in an Ancient
Roman setting. One could take place in Gaul while another takes place
in Egypt or Rome itself. A setting is sometimes called a universe if it
consists of multiple imaginary planets instead of a single world. Star
Wars or Star Trek are probably the most recognizable examples of a
universe in popular culture.

The gamemaster will probably have an idea about what kind of world
she wants to build, but the GM and the players should talk about it
and decide on a game world together. This may be the most important
decision you make in the entire game because it will affect many things.

The game itself will come into existence because the gamemaster has a
story to tell in a particular game world and/or setting. She might say
to the group, “I have a great idea for a game in a dystopian futuristic
Moscow.” Since the gamemaster is going to be doing a lot of work
designing this game world for play, she needs to be working on a game
world she enjoys in a setting she enjoys. It will make for a better game.


What is a Character?
When you are moving around the game world, you
are pretending to be a character which you have
designed. You try to imagine what this person would
think, feel, and as a result what she would do. The
gamemaster describes the world to you and you tell
her what you think your character would do in that
circumstance. For example, your character might have just walked all
day along a dusty road and the gamemaster tells you that as you come
over the last hill, you see a bridge crossing over a river and on the other
side of the river is a small town. You may decide that your character is
parched and runs down the hill to drink from the river. You may decide
that your character stops and decides to watch from the top of the hill
to see if she can notice anything about the town before deciding to go
down towards the bridge. The choices are yours.
A character is simply an avatar or representation of your presence in
the game world. This book will assist you in creating a written record
of your character in the form of a character sheet. The purpose of the
character sheet is to help you remember what the character wants to do
and what she is capable of doing. Synapse contains rules about how your
character interacts with the world. These rules are collectively referred to
as mechanics. A portion of the game mechanics exist solely to help you
make decisions for your character. In Synapse, your character will have
a culture in which she was raised, a worldview representing what she
believes, and a set of skills representing what she can do. These aspects
of your character will be recorded on your character sheet and you can
reference them throughout play to help you make decisions.
Over time, your character will change based on the decisions you make.
Unlike many RPGs, characters in Synapse do not accumulate experience
points, nor do they gain levels. Instead, you are what you do most often.
If you decide to greet everyone with a smile, ask a lot of questions, and
try to help others, your social skills will improve over time, through
practice. Over time, your character will change as a result.
As in real life, you do not have missions or objectives beyond those you
set for yourself or agree to perform. You may find it helpful to develop
some short-term and long-term goals for your character. You may have
materialistic goals like getting enough money together to buy a Ferrari
or a mansion. Alternatively, you may have social goals like finding
your true love, making more friends, or being respected as a hero. You
may decide to throw your attachment to material goods and human
connections aside to head off into the wilderness to find the Lost City
of Gold. The goals that you want to accomplish and how you go about
accomplishing them are yours to decide.
That being said, some characters begin play with limitations on their
behavior. For example, if you start play as an active duty soldier, it is
assumed that the military has a great deal of control over you. When
you made the choice to be a soldier, you took on that set of duties.
Part of the appeal of roleplaying is the fun of pretending to be someone
else. In many ways, that is an issue of material condition. If you are not
a wealthy person in real life, it can be fun to pretend to be a wealthy
world-travelling adventurer simply because the material conditions
of that lifestyle are exciting. It is fun to engage in running shootouts
down dark alleyways, even though you have never fired a gun in real
life. However, unless you carefully designed her to be just like you,
your character will also have a lot of personality traits that you do not.
You may be very generous and humble while your character is greedy
and materialistic. As professional actors in the real world could tell
you, pretending to have emotions and desires that you do not actually
have is challenging. You may find that it substantially changes your
perspective on life to take a walk not just in a different pair of shoes, but
in a different mind. You may find that the people of the world are even
more diverse than you ever thought before. Some differences in thought
cannot be simply discussed intelligently, but must be experienced to be
understood. Walk a mile in someone else’s mind. It can change your life,
and it can be really fun as well.

What is a Party?
It is possible that you are playing the game with just two people: yourself
and the gamemaster. However, in most cases, you will be playing with a
number of other players. These players have their own characters with
which to interact with the game world. Collectively, the players form a
party. As you will see when you get to the Connections chapter, your
character will already have relationships with the other characters in
the party when the game begins. These relationships should set the
tone for your interactions with each other. Feel free to flesh out these
relationships to a greater degree than you would a normal relationship
in the game world. You may decide that your character feels that her
cousin Tim, even though she loves him, is a bit of a dolt. Tim’s player
may decide that your character, though he loves her, is a bit of a bossy
control-freak. These kind of details can add a great deal of flavor to the
game.
As friendly as you might be with your fellow party members, your
character is her own person. She has an idea about what is or is not in
her best interests and she has her own goals. You are fully empowered to
treat your party members however you wish. That being said, it may be
advantageous for you to try to keep relationships harmonious, since it
can be very hard to accomplish your goals if everyone in the party thinks
you are annoying.
What is a Gamemaster?
You control your character. Other players have their own characters. So
how do you know what exists around your party? This is the role of the
gamemaster (GM). The GM will describe the game world around you,
from the smallest blade of grass at your feet to the highest mountain in
the distance. What she tells you is the baseline and you may be able to
find out more information if you ask. For example, your characters might
be walking down a path in the forest and the GM tells you that you
come across a closed box lying in the road. At this point, you need to
take the initiative and tell the GM what you are doing – something like
“I run over to the box and look inside.” The GM might then tell you
what is inside the box or she might tell you that the box is nailed shut.
If so, you then need to come up with a way to open the box (e.g. smash
it). As you take actions, the GM tells you what happens. Exploring the
game world and interacting with what you find is a large part of what
roleplaying is all about.
The GM is also in control of all the people in the world that are not
controlled by one of the players. These are called non-player characters
(NPCs). You will spend a lot of the game interacting with the NPCs.
Making decisions about how to treat other people, what to say to them,
how to respond to their requests, and what to do about their actions is
another large part of what roleplaying is all about.
So what is the GM ultimately trying to do? These are questions that
concern plot. The GM will have some idea about what she would like
you to accomplish. Let’s say that the GM described a person in the
nearby town where the game started: a small girl who was worried about
her missing father. The girl told the party that her father went off into
the woods and the party decided to go after him. The party’s effort to
unravel the secret of what happened to the missing man and find him
before it is too late is called the plot or the story.

What can you do?
Let’s say that you just found that girl’s father lying on the ground on a
forest path. You don’t know what happened – you just found this guy. He
is wounded and if you don’t get him some help pretty soon, he is going
to die. So what do you do? Let’s say you decide you are going to try to
heal him up, stop the bleeding, and take care of him. You may know a
lot about medicine in your real life or you may have been watching a lot
of primetime dramas on TV, but does your character know those things?
Your character sheet contains a list of all your Life Experiences. This
is what has happened in your life so far. Maybe you are a great pilot,
or a ninja, or an archaeologist. If you have the Aerospace Training life
experience, you know a lot more about flying a plane than the average
person. If it is not on your character sheet, you are just as knowledgeable
or trained as the average person. Your life experience defines what you
are really good at doing.
Remember when I mentioned mechanics, back when we were talking
about what your character is? There are rules that govern how you
take actions during play. With any task, there is a chance that you will
succeed and there is a chance that you will fail. The more experienced
you are, the more likely you are to succeed. Success and failure are
determined through the use of dice. Synapse uses only six-sided dice
because it is a game designed to be played by anyone, even those with no
experience in roleplaying. You can just use the same six-sided dice you
find in a board game like Monopoly. Each person will need at least three
of these dice to play the game.
Now, back to the man lying wounded on the forest path. Perhaps you
are a doctor know how to help him. Your GM will tell you to roll some
dice and, based on some calculations, you may succeed at helping him.
Then again, maybe you can’t heal the man. However, you might build an
improvised cart and pull him back to town. You might use a magic spell
to fly back to town and rally some helping hands. Finding solutions to
problems is at the heart of roleplaying games.
Why do you do it?
All this talk about what to do raises the question: what are you doing
all this for? The answer is motivations. Motivations are one of the
central innovations that Synapse brings to the roleplaying game genre.
Motivations provide you with information about how your character
thinks, how she feels, and what she desires.
Maybe your character is helping the girl because she has a strong desire
to help other people in need. Maybe your character is helping the man
because she wants the town’s admiration as a hero. Maybe your character
is breaking up a thieves den because she wants to get her hands on
some of the loot. Maybe your character hates a wizard because long ago
that wizard killed her brother and she wants revenge! When you create
your character, you will write down how strongly she feels about each
motivation. During play, you will reference your character sheet to help
you make decisions.
You are pretending to be someone else. She thinks differently from
you. Sometimes, you may be placed in a position where what you want
conflicts with what your character wants. You might come across a large
quantity of money with no apparent owner. As a player, you may want
to use this money to buy your character more equipment or property
because you like those things. However, your character might be more
inclined to use that money to help her friends or a particular cause.
Usually, these conflicts are wrapped up in the concept of winning. In
a roleplaying game, there is no winner. The goal of the game is to have
fun and tell an interesting story. There are a lot of games out there
that encourage players to only think about themselves, to help others
only when absolutely necessary, and to amass wealth and power to the
exclusion of all else. Synapse is not a game like that. Try to resist the
temptation to focus purely on your own gain.

What if you die?
Sometimes, characters die. There are rules that dictate the circumstances
and game mechanics that control just how much physical punishment
your character can absorb before dying. Combat in Synapse is very
fast and brutal. If you pick a fight with someone who is a much better
fighter than you, you will probably die unless they decide to only beat
you unconscious. Combat is a very fast path to death’s door. Engage in it
at your own risk.
There may be a time when you choose to die. Maybe a door can only
be closed from the wrong side and the zombies are coming down the
steps. You should not fear a heroic death. What do you lose? A piece
of paper? A small emotional investment? Sometimes, the path of death
may be voluntary. You may want to embrace it. If you want to die in this
manner, you might want to have a conversation with your GM first. If a
character dies, just go through the character creation process again and
make a new character. Your GM can help.
It should also be noted that some settings may actually have the ability
to bring your character back from the grave, either through magical or
technological solutions. If so, death may only be a temporary hindrance.
How to use this book
This book is a guide to character creation and to basic mechanics. It will
teach you everything you need to know to create your character and
interact with the game.
Synapse character creation is an involved process. The reason it takes
some time is that you are creating a fairly realistic model of the human
experience, and we are very complex creatures. Character creation
involves making a series of decisions. Each decision will be explained
to you. Choose the option you want. It is that simple. Rest assured that
once your character is completed, actual play proceeds at a very fast pace.
Your character sheet (the last few pages of this book) can be used to
record your decisions as you make them. It is designed in a format where
one page is used to keep track of your character creation choices and a
second page contains almost all the information you need when you are
actually playing the game. When you are actually playing the game, you
will be looking at the information on your character sheet for what your
character desires, knows, and is capable of. There are also supplemental
pages for Magic, Vampirism, and your Possessions.
Determination Boxes
Every major character creation element has a determination box,
which looks like this one. They contain the guidance you need to make
a valid character.
Most decisions about your character are managed through a point-buy
system. This means that you have a number of points to spend and a
variety of choices, each of which costs some amount of points. Some
sections roll points over into a future one, so if you don’t spend all your
points on one section, those points can be used for something else.
Read these boxes very carefully as you build your character.

Outline of Character Creation:
Step 1. Define your brain chemistry
You will determine your specific brain chemistry, represented by seven
attributes, five exceptional talents that you have, and one talent which
you lack. These concepts together represent your unique brain and form
the foundation on which your character is based.
Step 2. Define your biology
Next you will determine the biological basis of your character. Your
genes represent the innate physiology that you are born with. Your racial
or intraspecies variation is purely aesthetic unless you choose to make it
important.
What do you need to play?
In order to play Synapse, you will need this book, a pencil, a copy of
the character sheet in the back of this book to write your character’s
details on, and three six sided dice (d6).
It will be useful, but not essential, to have additional dice & scratch
paper. If you need more visual connection to the game, you may want a
miniature figure to help conceptualize the scene and a miniature battle
mat to draw upon. Sometimes it can be difficult to imagine how things
look without visual aids of some kind.

Step 3. Define your culture

You will then build the culture in which you were raised as a child.
This represents the subtle impact of the society around you on how you
think. In some instances, your entire species may share the same culture.
However, most of the time you will have a unique culture within your
own species as well as in contrast to other species.
Step 4. Determine your life experience
You will now advance through time from the birth of your brain to its
current state at the start of the first adventure. Life experience can be
positive or negative. Positive experiences can open doors to skills and
physical advantages, such as muscular strength. Negative life experiences
hamper your freedom in the game itself. Don’t be afraid of negative
experiences. Remember that even heroes have their flaws.
Step 6. Determine your connections
You will now determine what relationships you have in the game world.
You may have friends, allies, contacts for information, illicit connections,
and so on. This step will firmly root your character into the game world.
Step 7. Determine your possessions
Finally, you will determine what kind of material conditions you live in.
This is based on your creation choices so far. You may only have a few
pieces of equipment and the clothes on your back. Then again, you may
be a magnate with extensive holdings. It depends on your choices.

Step 5. Define your personality

You will then build the schematic that your brain uses to process the
information you receive about the world around you. During this step,
you will determine what motivations dominate your thoughts from
day to day. Your life experiences are central to this process, as is how
they interact with your culture’s pressures with respect to concepts like
religion & morality.

10
Chapter 1:
Brain Chemistry

11
Attributes:
Attributes are the basis of your character. They are used as the basis for
all skill rolls, as well as used to derive secondary statistics. The value of
each attribute is a number between 1 and 10. An average human has a 4
in every attribute. Values beyond 10 are possible through supernatural or
technological means, but 10 represents the pinnacle of biology.
Attribute
Synapse Processing speed
Cognition Analytical processing quality
Spatial Movement and coordination
Empathy Communication and language
Stability Tolerance for change and surprise
Focus Sensory processing quality
Magnetism Strength of personality
Synapse:
Synapse represents the speed at which information is processed by your
brain. This is integral in avoiding possible danger, particularly in combat,
and making decisions when your character is experiencing an adrenaline
rush. Synapse affects your reaction time and how quickly you take
actions both in and out of combat.
Characters with a high Synapse value think faster than other people and
are capable of reacting at incredible speeds. Hong-Kong action movies
revolve around martial artists with high Synapse values. The gunslinger
who can draw his six-shooter as fast as you can blink has a high Synapse.
People with high values in this attribute literally think faster than other
people. Time unfolds more slowly to them. They move faster than other
characters because their brain is able to quickly issue mental commands,
not because their muscles are any faster or stronger.
Characters with low Synapse are slow thinkers, poor drivers, and
bad liars. They cannot think quickly on their feet and find themselves
frequently at a loss for words. They stand by stunned while others act.
Attribute Determination
Every attribute starts out at 4. You get 12 points to allocate as you
wish, and you can voluntarily reduce an attribute by a point to gain a
point to spend on a different attribute. You can do this as many times
as you like, but no attribute can be made lower than 1.
Cognition:
Cognition represents the ability to understand complex information.
Cognition is essential for understanding advanced technology, geting
certain kinds of Training, and higher-order thinking as a whole. In
magical settings, it is essential to learning some kinds of magic.
Characters with a high Cognition are respected by others for their
brilliance, but that does not make them wise or tactful. They are capable
of solving complex logic problems, puzzles, and other mental challenges.
The proverbial mad scientist, the absent-minded professor, the gadgeteer,
and the precocious pre-teen are usually high Cognition characters.
Learning and inventing new things comes easy to characters with high
values in this attribute.
Characters with low Cognition are dull-witted, sticklers for tradition,
and mechanically-challenged. They don’t want to try new things because
they don’t know how they will turn out. They have trouble figuring out
problems and tend to avoid academic subjects whenever possible. Games
like chess make their brains hurt.
12
Spatial:
Spatial represents the awareness of the relative locations of objects in
space, how objects move through space, and how to predict those
movements. Where Synapse allows you to avoid being hit, Spatial is
integral when you are the one trying to do the hitting. Any character
who plans on engaging in combat should put some points in Spatial.
Characters with high Spatial are graceful and coordinated. They make
excellent sharpshooters and fencers. They are powerful opponents in
combat because they generally hit what they are aiming for. They
tend to enjoy physical activity and sports with a strong emphasis on
coordination like tennis or baseball.
Characters with low Spatial are clumsy and accident-prone. They can
fire a shotgun at the broad side of a barn and miss. These kinds of people
should not be running with scissors.
Empathy:
Empathy represents the ability to imagine what is occurring inside
the mind of another person. This is essential when you try to connect
emotionally with others, to communicate effectively, and attempt to
understand culture and language. Empathy directly determines the
number of Languages you can learn.
Stability:
Stability represents the ability to make decisions under stress. Combat
in particular can cause large amounts of stress and characters unable to
deal with that stress will have trouble functioning effectively. Stability is
essential to how well you can resist the accumulation of stress and how
much residual stress it takes to begin affecting your character’s ability to
function. It is vital to keeping your sanity when things are unexpectedly
changing and you are forced to adapt.
Characters with a high Stability attribute are able to keep their cool
under stress and still perform necessary tasks. They can keep their lunch
down while under duress and keep moving when their legs are begging
to rest. They can push themselves far beyond the point at which a normal
person would just give up.
Low Stability characters have a tendency to break down under pressure.
They are easily shaken, quick to back down from conflict, and have many
nervous ticks and behaviors. These people are frequently thought of as
cowards and weaklings.

Highly empathetic characters are much better at interacting with the

people and cultures around them. A character that plans on doing a
lot of talking a lot should have a high Empathy. These characters have
an easier time interacting with people in conversations, make and keep
more friends, and generally get what they want when people come into
non-violent conflict. Highly empathetic characters are the peacemakers,
the politicians, and the business leaders.

Characters with low Empathy are tactless, brutish, and irritating. They
tend to make offensive comments, treat others in ways that actually
undermine their own goals, and tell long, boring stories. Anyone with
an Empathy of 1 or 2 is actually sociopathic and lacks the ability to
comprehend that other people even have emotions or feel pain.

13
Focus:
Focus represents the ability to concentrate, handle multiple tasks at
once, and perform incredibly precise tasks. Focus determines how well
you can fight while wounded and how aware you are of events occurring
in the world around you. Focus can also be used in combat to empower
one single, deliberate attack through Aiming.

Characters with a high Focus tend to be very good at ranged combat

due to the Aiming bonus. Highly focused characters are able to keep
their body perfectly still when others would flinch, they see things that
others might miss, and create things that are too detailed for others to
duplicate. They are rarely surprised and able to perform tasks requiring a
steady hand and a clear mind.

Characters with a low Focus have trouble staying on task. Their minds
tend to wander aimlessly for hours. They overlook things, forget things,
and make careless mistakes. When a low Focus character offers to help
you, the smart response is to politely decline.

Magnetism:
Magnetism represents the strength of your character’s personality. This
is not necessarily concern for other people, thought it may be a part of
it. Magnetism is your ability to shape interactions with other people in a
way that benefits your objectives, either for good or ill.

Characters with a high Magnetism have a strong passive effect on those

around them, but also the ability to directly inspire those that follow
their leadership. Magnetic characters are often natural leaders, dedicated
healers, inspirations to others, and champions of moral causes. However,
they might just as easily be megalomaniacs out for themselves.

Characters with low Magnetism are weak and easy to push around. They
do not take charge or attempt to lead others. They will go along with
whatever plan is put forward by the strongest person around them. These
are the kind of people who were bullied on the playground as kids.

14
Talents:
A talent represents innate ability in a particular type of mental process.
There are 21 possibilities and your character will be exceptionally
talented in five of these. Taking a talent on your character sheet
represents that you are really good at that aspect of life.
Though they may be exceptional in only five ways, every character can
perform tasks related to all talents except one. At this talent, they are
considered awkward. This represents something that your brain simply
cannot do, a flaw in your character’s nature. Any time you would have to
make a roll based on this talent, you automatically fail. You cannot take
skills related to it or gain experience towards such a skill.
Talent Determination
Choose five talents from the list below. These are the talents at which
you are exceptional. Then choose one talent which you lack completely.
You will gain a bonus on all actions based on your exceptional talents,
but will automatically fail any action based on the talent at which you
are awkward.
As shown below, you are restricted in the number of talents you
can have that relate to an attribute based on the attribute value. For
example, if you have a Spatial of 7, you can only take two of the
Spatial talents. Choose wisely.

Attribute Talents
Synapse Deception Reaction Judgment
Cognition Knowledge Deduction Innovation
Spatial Trajectory Balance Dexterity
Empathy Impression Persuasion Seduction
Stability Bravery Toughness Willpower
Focus Awareness Precision Multitasking
Magnetism Eccentricity Inspiration Presence

Attribute Value
<5 No Related Talents Allowed
5-6 1 Related Talent Allowed
7-8 2 Related Talents Allowed
9-10 All Three Related Talents Allowed

15
Synapse Talents:
Deception: Deception is the ability to think ahead and then act in a way
that undetectably misleads others. The most common form of deception
is lying, but it is not limited to conversation. It might take the form of a
clever feint in combat or knowing how to forge a document.
Characters who are awkward at deception cannot keep a straight face
when lying or concealing ill-timed humor. As a result, they often appear
to lack tact or social grace. When they have done something wrong, they
look obviously guilty. Characters without any ability to deceive should
probably avoid criminal activity for their own safety.
Reaction: Reaction is the ability to react to new stimuli. It might take
the form of getting out of the way of an incoming punch or pulling
up on the yolk before your airplane smashes into the ground. Reaction
controls the time delay between when you notice the grenade at your
feet and when you actually do something about it. Characters with
exceptional reaction can assign 1 less weight to their attempts to react
in combat than would normally be required.
Characters who are awkward at reaction often freeze up in stressful
situations. They are often dumbfounded like the proverbial deer in
headlights. Their car insurance rates are usually high. Friends don’t let
friends drive without reaction. Characters without reaction cannot react
in combat.
Judgment: Judgment is the ability to make good snap decisions based
on limited information. Characters with exceptional judgment appear
to be lucky. They always seem to know what to say, which card to pick,
and which stock to buy. Exceptional judgment allows you to change
motivational appeals in conversations after the GM tells you the
consequence of your choice. However, you can only change once.
Characters who are awkward at judgment never seem to catch a break.
They can never win a game of chance or skill. Their stock picks always
nosedive. No matter which route they take, it will invariably become the
longest possible route to the destination.
Cognition Talents:
Knowledge: Knowledge is the ability to remember things that you have
learned. This might be the location of a particular landmark or the name
of a long dead king. Characters with exceptional knowledge can ask
the GM for information and often receive fairly reliable answers. “Do
I remember what that symbol means? Can I tell what rank this soldier
has based on the medals she is wearing?”
Characters who are awkward at knowledge are uninterested in the idea
of learning. They do not read very well, if at all. They have no interest
in understanding complex ideas and have a very simple outlook.
Characters without knowledge cannot take any Education or Training
life experiences. They cannot use advanced machinery, electronics, or
computers except to accomplish very basic tasks.
Deduction: Deduction is the ability to apply information that you
know to solving problems. Deduction is figuring out which button to
push, how a machine works, or who killed Colonel Mustard. Characters
with exceptional deduction can ask the GM if they can figure out a
problem and often receive fairly reliable answers. “Which of these two
seems most likely to be the killer? Can I determine which button will
turn the machine on?”
Characters who are awkward at deduction are unable to figure out how
things work without an explanation They don’t get jokes or understand
magic tricks and they don’t know who is buried in Grant’s Tomb.
Innovation: Innovation is the ability to generate new thoughts, ideas,
and technological devices. Innovation skills tend to allow you to create
new objects (e.g. equipment for the party) and repair existing ones.
Characters with exceptional innovation can usually ignore the penalty
for lacking the right tools for a job (GM judgment).
Characters who are awkward at innovation cannot create new objects
or ideas. They cannot use any skill, even non-innovation skills, to create
new things. For example, they cannot create that new virus or program,
even if they have computer skills. Patents are not pending.
16
Spatial Talents:
Trajectory: Trajectory is the ability to predict motion through space.
This is essential to ranged weapons, from the throwing spear to the
rocket launcher. Throwing weapons and grenades, bows, guns, blasters,
and missiles are all highly dependent upon trajectory. Trajectory covers a
wide range of skills that govern these types of actions.
Characters who are awkward at trajectory cannot hit the broad side of
a barn. They are terrible at most sports and they should never be given
a grenade or a gun. The inability to take trajectory skills is a significant
drawback in almost any setting or universe.
Balance: Balance is the ability to control your body’s movements. This
is useful if you are trying to traverse a treacherous environment or walk
on a narrow ledge. It is especially valuable in combat because balance
is essential for all forms of melee and unarmed combat. Balance is also
important for riding things like animals, bicycles, and skateboards.
Characters who are awkward at balance are extraordinarily clumsy. If
something can be knocked over, they are likely to knock it over. Their
dancing makes Elaine look good. The inability to take balance skills is a
significant drawback in almost any setting or universe.
Dexterity: Dexterity is the ability to manipulate fine objects. Dexterity
is essential to slight of hand and thievery of all sorts. Opening a lock
requires exceptional manual dexterity. Parlor magicians, criminals,
and tricksters tend to have this talent and use it frequently. Using any
instrument that requires complex finger movements (e.g. guitar) would
draw upon dexterity.
Characters who are awkward at dexterity are ham-handed. They tend to
drop coins while standing at the front of the line, drop their phone in
the toilet, and suffer from similar unfortunate slip-ups. The inability to
take Dexterity skills is a significant drawback to living a life of crime.
Empathy Talents:
Impression: Impression is the ability to perceive how other people
perceive you or will perceive you if you perform a certain action. This
allows you to adjust your behavior to ensure that your actions are viewed
in the most positive light. Characters with exceptional impression are
able to spin terrible gaffes into stories of personal triumph. It’s all about
how you react to and frame the event.
Characters who are awkward at impression tend to act in ways that
cause people to dislike them. This is not a conscious effort on their part,
they simply lack tact and discretion. They tell their wife that the dress
really does make her look fat, and they sleep on the couch as a result.
Persuasion: Persuasion is the ability to convince others. It might involve
convincing someone to make a decision in your favor or getting a
merchant to lower his prices. Persuasion covers interactions with a small
number of people at a time (i.e. not public speaking) and it is important
for many communication skills.
Characters who are awkward at persuasion have a very hard time
interacting with other people. They have few friends and are extremely
isolated. The inability to take persuasion skills is a significant drawback
in almost any setting or universe.
Seduction: Seduction is the ability to influence people by using
your sexuality. It involves extraordinarily complex social interaction,
sophisticated body language, complex behaviors, and minute variations
in speech and language. Seduction can be used to get your way in a wide
range of potential conversations. Characters with exceptional seduction
can substitute an unskilled Seduction roll for ANY conversational roll if
the target has the appropriate sexual orientation to be interested.
Characters who are awkward at seduction are clueless when interacting
with anyone they find sexually attractive. They are not immune to
seduction attempts by others – in fact, they are often more susceptible.
Characters without seduction are at +1 difficulty when interacting
socially with an NPC that is attractive or gorgeous.
17
Stability Talents:

Bravery: Bravery is the ability to ignore fear of death in combat and
engage in risky behavior as a whole. The GM may call for a bravery
roll any time you attempt something extremely risky, such as advancing
towards an enemy in combat without cover. Failing a bravery roll means
that you lose your nerve and either attempt to flee or cower, much like
someone who fails a Stress roll. As such, bravery is a key talent for
characters that plan on charging into combat and taking risks.
Willpower: Willpower is the ability to function despite emotional
trauma. Under normal circumstances, when you are placed under
extreme mental stress, your brain will react by shutting down functions.
This stress might be from the horrors of combat, torture, imprisonment,
or emotional distress caused by relationships. Characters with
exceptional willpower are highly resistant to these kinds of situations
and are at -1 difficulty when making Stress rolls and Coping attempts.

Characters who are awkward at bravery are absolute cowards. They are Characters who are awkward at willpower cannot function under
terrified of threats to their person and will retreat from any danger. They pressure. Any attempt to use a skill while under a tight time constraint
automatically fail any bravery-related Stress rolls. or while in danger will automatically fail. They cannot make Coping
attempts under any circumstances and always have to use relaxation to
Toughness: Toughness is the ability to function despite physical remove any Stress. Additionally, they automatically fail any willpower-
trauma. When you take damage in combat, this causes Stress, which is related Stress rolls.
difficult to shake. It is hard to think clearly with a spear stuck in your
thigh. Toughness allows you to resist these effects and automatically
take two less Stress from any injury. You can also keep fighting even
at zero strength or endurance, though you experience stabilization and
death normally. You may be able to keep on your feet after being shot,
but the blood is still pouring out of the wound at the same rate.

Characters who are awkward at toughness are terrified of being

injured. They will probably never initiate combat and are extremely
likely to break and run when they are wounded. For characters without
toughness, any injury-related Stress is doubled. Additionally, they
automatically fail any toughness-related Stress rolls.

18
Focus Talents:
Awareness: Awareness is the ability to notice changes in the
environment. This doesn’t guarantee that you will always have a
chance to react, but it is certainly a prerequisite. Awareness could be as
simple as noticing the smoke rising from a far-off chimney or seeing a
rattlesnake before it strikes. Awareness is essential to many visual skills
and a character with a talent for awareness is very perceptive.
Characters who are awkward at awareness are clueless about what is
going on around them. They lose their keys frequently, trip over objects
because they were not watching where they were going, and they should
not be trusted to hold things for safe keeping. They can never act during
a surprise round, even if they were aware that combat was starting.
Precision: Precision is the ability to carry out very precise and deliberate
actions. Shooting a long range weapon like a sniper rifle that requires
careful aiming is a precise action. Mixing chemicals together in specific
amounts or preparing a complicated trap/bomb would also be governed
by this talent. Precision also governs the ability to move silently and
avoid detection.
If you don’t get these tasks exactly right, they will fail. There are usually
no half-measures or partial successes. Failure might even involve
blowing yourself up in the case of explosives-handling. Precision is also
important for several Magic and Vampiric powers. An imprecise demon
summoning spell can end very, very badly.
Characters who are awkward at precision have shaky hands and can’t
concentrate enough to carefully manipulate objects. They are poor cooks
because they put the wrong amounts of each ingredient into the mix.
They tend to spill their drinks and drop their food on the ground by
accident. Without precision, a character attempting to move silently will
step on every single brittle twig in the forest.
Multitasking: Multitasking is the ability to perform multiple
simultaneous actions. It is primarily used in combat because characters
that are exceptionally talented are not limited to a minimum weight for
their attacks in combat. They can also perform two tasks at the same
time that would normally require absolute focus; such as piloting a
vehicle while checking a computer for information or engaging in
thoughtful conversation on the phone while hacking into a computer
system. This ability is extremely rare.
Characters who are awkward at multitasking are easily confused when
trying to do multiple things at once. They cannot take more than one
action in a single combat round.
19
Magnetism Talents:

Eccentricity: Eccentricity is the ability to resist social conventions.
Most characters have a very hard time acting outside of the guidelines
society provides for them. Eccentrics are able to forge their own path,
popular or not, and feel self-confident while doing it. Exceptional
Eccentrics have enormous freedom to build their Motivations.
Characters who are awkward at eccentricity are very conventional and
stick to established traditions. They do not get any points to spend on
Motivations; their motivations are only shaped by their culture and life
experiences. They must choose conformity or legal as their morality type.
Inspiration: Inspiration is the ability to encourage others. This might
be accomplished through a well-timed kind word of encouragement,
a soft touch of reassurance, or in some cases a stirring speech or
song. Then again, it might involve veiled threats and a powerful stare.
Inspiration involves manipulating the emotions of others through both
contact and personal conversation.
Presence: Presence is the ability to passively influence someone
without speaking. Presence governs a few skills that are used to affect
other people. It can be used to command forces, intimidate people, and
make political speeches. Characters with exceptional presence get +5 to
starting Connections. They draw the attention of anyone who can see
them and can only suppress their charms if they disguise themselves,
but otherwise it is an uncontrollable, constant effect and they stick out
in a crowd. They simply cannot pass unnoticed.
Characters who are awkward at presence cannot accumulate a positive
reputation with any group of people. Their good deeds are forgotten
almost as soon as they are known, while their bad deeds never seem
to fade from memory. They have a hard time controlling subordinates
as well. Any retainer or NPC working for pay under their control is
willfully obstinate, difficult to control, and lazy. These characters also get
-5 to starting connections.

Characters with exceptional inspiration can make a motivation roll to

encourage someone else to succeed on a task, against the same difficulty
that they are using for their roll. You must be able to speak to them the
entire time. The margin of success on your roll is subtracted from their
die result. This effect can also be used to assist a Coping Attempt made
by a party member.

Characters who are awkward at inspiration cannot interact with animals

in any way and have difficulty interacting with children. Dogs bark, cats
run, horses buck, and donkeys kick. Animals simply don’t trust them.
Neither do most people. They appear to be distant and lacking emotion.
Long-term relationships are very hard to maintain. Whenever you
make a conversational attempt to get an NPC to exert themselves (e.g.
work on a project, create something, go find something, etc.), raise the
difficulty of the task by 1.

20
Chapter 2:
Biology

21
Body:
Your brain is not an independent entity. It is placed inside of a body. The
capabilities of this body will enormously impact your character’s life, so
Body Determination
defining biology is the next logical step into the game world. Synapse Every character begins with a value of 3 for each body characteristic.
models your body using three characteristics; Strength, Endurance, & You do not receive flexible points to increase these values as you wish.
Resilience. Unlike attributes, body characteristics change frequently. Instead, your values are entirely determined by other choices you make
The value of each characteristic is represented in points (e.g. Strength in character creation.
Points). The starting value is a maximum and events can occur in the
game to temporarily reduce them during the course of play.

Strength:
Strength represents your ability to use your muscles. A character with
a high strength can lift heavier objects, throw objects farther, run faster,
jump higher, and otherwise perform better physically. Whenever you
perform an action that is grounded in your physical self, you can add
your current strength value as a bonus to that roll. See the Resolution
Mechanics chapter for more information on this effect.
If you are at zero strength, you can be stabilized by someone with the
appropriate Life Experience. Stabilization will keep you alive for a
number of hours based on the roll results. If you are not stabilized, you
will die within a few minutes from blood loss. Before your stabilization
period ends, you must receive some kind of genuine medical care or
magical assistance to survive.

When you are injured, you Strength points recover naturally at a rate of 1 per week while doing
lose strength points. For every nothing except resting. All factors based on strength, including carrying
lost point of strength, subtract capacity and movement rate, are based on your current strength, not
1 from your Focus until that your maximum strength. When you are injured, you become physically
strength point is restored. This weaker and have a harder time doing things.
represents the pain of injury
clouding your mind. Distances in the below chart are listed in meters, however you can feel
free to convert these to yards per second if you wish.
If strength points are reduced
to zero, you are incapacitated. Strength
This is not death, simply the Comfortable Carrying Capacity 20 lbs per point
inability to move because you Maximum Carrying Capacity 50 lbs per point
are so severely wounded. If Walking Movement Rate 1m per point
strength is reduced below zero, Running Movement Rate 2m/sec per point
you are dead. Strength can
never go negative – further Strength in Unarmed Combat: If you attack someone with your bare
wounds simply kill you. fists or feet, you deal Endurance damage to your opponent in an amount
equal to half of your strength, rounded down.
22
Endurance:
Endurance represents your ability to breathe under exertion. A character
with a high endurance can run, swim, fight, or otherwise physically exert
themselves for extended periods of time without becoming exhausted.
Many tasks drain your endurance over time (e.g. swimming). Some
attacks can deal endurance damage instead of strength damage
(mainly unarmed attacks). If your endurance is reduced to zero, you
are unconscious. If you are unconscious and cannot breathe (e.g.
underwater), you will suffocate in a number of minutes equal to your
maximum endurance. Otherwise, you will simply stay unconscious until
you are restored by regaining another endurance point from rest.
Endurance points recover naturally at a rate of 1 per fifteen minutes
while doing nothing except resting.
Sleep:
Your racial choices will determine how much sleep is needed for
members of your species. If you do not meet your species’s minimum
sleep requirement, you lose 1 endurance immediately. You then take
another endurance loss per additional time period equal to the amount
of sleep needed per day.
For example, if your species needs 12 hours of sleep per day, you take
1 endurance loss at the end of a day in which you did not sleep and
then another endurance loss every 12 hours thereafter. These endurance
points cannot be recovered normally, only through sleep. If this process
reduces your endurance to zero, you lose consciousness.
Endurance
Maximum Breath Holding 15 secs per point
Resilience:
Resilience represents your immune system. A character with a high
resilience rarely gets sick and easily fights off the effects of poisons,
diseases, and other biological dangers. When you become exposed to
a toxin, you must make a Toxin Resistance roll. On this roll, you get a
number of chances to resist based on your current resilience. Each
chance is a single six-sided dice roll where a result of 1 means that you
resist the toxin. So if you have a resilience of 3, you would roll 3d6 and
if any dice came up as a 1, you would resist the toxin. Some types of
extremely hazardous toxins may reduce your chances.
If your resilience is reduced to zero, you will suffer some form of
incapacitation; in the form of a coma, delirium, or similar effect. Note
that some toxins may not be poisons or diseases in the traditional
sense, but could be chemical hazards, radiation, mummy rot, or similar
dangers.
Actual diseases like the Black Plague
may be infectious. In this case, anyone
exposed must make a Toxin Resistance
roll to avoid contracting the disease.
If caught, the disease will then deal
resilience damage consistently over
time until it is cured or the subject
dies.
The GM may make the rolls in secret
and you may not even know you have
a disease until the GM tell you that
your resilience starts dropping.
As long as you are not infected with a toxin or disease, resilience points
recover naturally at a rate of 1 per week, regardless of any actions taken.
Resilience
Chances to Resist a Toxin 1 per point
23
Species:
Your Species represents the entire population which shares your
particular chromosome mix. It is defined in game terms by 16 genes.
Species Determination
You can build your species from a total of 20 points. The design is
subject to GM approval. Your GM may choose to bypass this aspect
The Human Species: of character creation and limit your selection to a few species that she
The human species represents the norm. All of the genes for humanity has already designed. Typically this is done to speed up creation time.
are zero points, as you can see in the example on this page.
You can choose to not spend these points and transfer any unspent
If you want to create your own custom species: points roll into Culture at a 4:1 ratio, rounded down. This converts the
Go through this chapter and make a choice for each gene. Unless 20 surplus Human species points into 5 Culture points.
otherwise specified, you can only make one choice per gene. Record
your choices on your character sheet. The genes in this chapter can be
used to create virtually any kind of species you wish, from the mundane Human
to the bizarre. Size Average 0
Locomotion Biped 0
If you do NOT want to create your own custom species: Blood Warm Blooded 0
If you do not feel like drawing up a custom genetic mix, we encourage
Gender Dimorphic 0
you to use a template instead. The human template presented to the
right is an example of a template design. As you can see, there is a Lifespan Normal 0
choice for every gene option. Human characteristics form the baseline, Diet Omnivore 0
so all 20 points are carried over into culture. This represents the vibrant Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0
nature of human culture compared to other intelligent species. There Skin Bare 0
are more templates in Appendix C for common RPG species such as Grip Thumb 0
Dwarves or Goblins.
Feet Feet 0
Even when choosing from a template, your GM must ultimately Language Expressive 0
approve your species choice based on the appropriateness for the Vision Normal 0
campaign. If you want to be a Merfolk in a dungeon fantasy game, your Augments None 0
GM may consider that to be an unacceptable choice. Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened None 0
Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 0
Excess 20
Rollover (4:1) 5

24
 Genes Quick Reference Augments
None 0
Teeth 2
Size Diet Feet Antennae 3
Small -3 Necrophagy -4 Feet 0 Mandibles 4
Average 0 Photosynthesis 0 Tail 0 Tentacles 5
Large 3 Omnivore 0 Webbed 1 Horns *
Detrivore 1 Paws 2 Tail *
Locomotion
Herbivore 2 Talons 3 Venom *
Semi-Upright -3
Carnivore 4 Hooves 4
Biped 0
Claws * Lungs
Quadruped 4
Sleep Cycle Methane -3
Undulation 6
Crepuscular -4 Carbon Dioxide -2
Multi-Legged 10 Language
Nocturnal -2 Nitrogen -1
Wings 20 Growls or Calls -5
Diurnal 0 Oxygen 0
Expressive 0 Gills 0
Blood Metaturnal 2
Chemical 2 Amphibious 3
Cold Blooded -2 None 4
Telepathy 10 None 10
Warm Blooded 0 Controlled *
Gesture *
Independent 4
Heightened
Vampiric * Skin None 0
Bare 0 Vision Waves 1
Gender
Fur 1 None -8 Hearing 2
Hermaphrodite -5
Slippery 2 Weak -4 Olfactory 3
Gonadal -3
Hardened 4 Restricted -2 Touch 4
Dimorphic 0
Shell 6 Color blind -1 Vision 5
Dichromatism *
Chameleon 8 Normal 0
Lifespan Ultravision 3 Intelligence
Brief -8 Grip Low-Light 5 Animalistic -10
Short -4 Paws -6 Echolocation 5 Lycanthrope -8
Normal 0 Thumb 0 Infravision 7 Atavistic -4
Long 4 Suction 4 Insectoid 8 Berserk -2
Infinite 8 Claws * Darkvision 10 Sentient 0

25
Size: Size
This determines the size of members Small -3
of your species. There are creatures of
Average 0
other sizes in the universe, but they
are typically unplayable due to those Large 3
considerations. Your GM may permit
sizes outside of the range if desired.

Small: -3 points
Your species is smaller than the human average. This makes you harder
to hit in combat because you are a smaller target. Your small stature also
makes you harder to notice in crowds or dark areas.

Larger species often view you with some suspicion because they feel like
you are able to slip out of their sight at any time and cause them harm.
Your species may even have a reputation of thievery or mischief as a
result of this perception, whether justified or not.

Your short legs mean you have a hard time keeping up with larger
species when you are moving over long distances. Your short arms mean
you have trouble with large weapons designed for use by larger species.
However, you feel that these drawbacks are insufficient to hold you back
from achieving your dreams.
• Strength -1
• +1 difficulty of any attempt to strike you with a ranged weapon
• +1 difficulty of any attempt to notice your presence
• Cannot use Large Weapons
• Must use Medium-sized Weapons two-handed
Normal: 0 points
Your species is at the human average. This confers no particular
advantage or disadvantage.
Large: 3 points
Your species is larger than the human average. This makes you easier to
hit in combat because you are a bigger target. Your height makes you
easier to notice in crowds. Smaller species may view you with some
suspicion because they feel like you are able to smash them to bits. Your
species may even have a reputation of brutishness or violence as a result
of this perception, whether justified or not.
Your long gait means you have a easy time when you are moving over
long distances. Your long arms mean you are able to use large weapons
with ease but small weapons are difficult for you to handle. Your species
as a whole generally has an abundance of confidence. Some might say
overconfidence.
• Strength +1
• -1 difficulty of any attempt to strike you with a ranged weapon
• -1 difficulty of any attempt to notice your presence
• Cannot use Small Weapons
• Can use Large Weapons one-handed

26
Locomotion: Locomotion Undulation: 6 points
Locomotion determines your species’ Semi-Upright -3 Your species walks by slithering like a snake or swimming like merfolk.
method of moving around. You do not have legs, but have a tail instead. You move slightly faster
Biped 0
than a two legged creature, make less noise while moving, and tracking
Quadruped 4 you is much more difficult.
Semi-Upright: -3 points
Undulation 6
Your species walks semi-upright like
chimpanzees and other apes. You Multi-Legged 10 If your tail is designed for underwater movement, do not use the below
can only walk on two legs for a short Wings 20 modifiers and instead remove underwater movement penalties. If your
distance, otherwise you must use tail is designed for overland movement, use the below modifiers.
all four limbs to move. You cannot use your arms for anything while
moving, thus dramatically limiting your ability to carry objects in your • For movement rate calculations, add +1 to strength
hands while running. You move faster than a biped as a result of this • -1 difficulty of any attempt to move without making a noise
movement style and you have strong arms.
Multi-Legged: 10 points
• Unarmed Damage +1 Your species walks on more than 4 legs. Your lower body may have
• For movement rate calculations, add +2 to strength the appearance of any arthropod you wish, from spider to scorpion to
• Cannot move more than a few steps while holding objects in hands lobster, but it must be an arthropod. For example, you could choose to
have the lower body of an ant, but not a six-legged horse. You must also
Biped: 0 points choose the 2 point version of Claws for your feet.
Your species walks on two legs like humans. This confers no particular
advantage or disadvantage. This confers a significant movement bonus as well as enhanced footing
and balance. Additionally, you are very silent when moving about. Most
species with this characteristic live Subterranean environments where
Quadruped: 4 points
they can make the best use of their advantages.
Your species walks on four legs in addition to having arms, like a
centaur. Your lower body may have the appearance of any animal you
• Body Length = 3x your height
wish, from horse to lion to dragon, provided that your other choices for
• For movement rate calculations, triple strength
species align with that concept. For example, if you choose to have the
• -2 difficulty of any attempt to stay on your feet despite unsafe footing
lower body of a lion, you will need Paws for feet. Four legs provides a
• -2 difficulty of any attempt to move without making a noise
significant movement bonus and gives you improved balance. However,
the tracks you leave are easier to follow because you leave more of them.

• Body Length = 1.5x your height

• For movement rate calculations, double strength
• -1 difficulty of any attempt to stay on your feet despite unsafe footing
• +1 difficulty of any attempt to move without making a noise

27
Locomotion (continued):

Gliding: 12 points
Your species has some form of wings or membranes that allow it to
coordinate a descent, but not actually fly. Additionally, you can walk on
the ground in a semi-upright form, like a flying squirrel. This convey
many obvious advantages, just as freedom of movement in areas that
would be impassible to most species. Species with this gene tend to live
in Arboreal environments where they can make the best use of their
movement advantage.

• Cannot walk more than a few steps while holding objects in hands
• Can greatly reduce downward velocity in a fall and exert some control
over the landing
• Flight speed determined by angle of fall, maximum glide angle is 25°

Wings: 20 points
Your species has wings in addition to your normal body shape. They
can be two large wings like an angel or multiple smaller wings like an
insect. This confers no particular advantage or disadvantage, beyond the
obvious ability to fly. Your wings might be feathered like a bird, have
bat-like membranes, or even scaled like a dragon. The power of flight
conveys many obvious advantages, such as freedom of movement in
areas that would be impassible to most species. Species with this gene
tend to live in Mountain environments where they can make use of
their movement advantage.

• Can greatly reduce downward velocity in a fall and gain actual control
of flight after a duration
• Flight speed = 5x your Walking Movement Rate
• Wingspan = 2.5x your height

28
Blood: Blood Vampiric: X points
Blood genes determines how your Cold Blooded -2 You are a vampire and your blood is not your own. You must drink the
species’ vascular system works. blood of others to maintain your supply of this precious resource. Your
Warm Blooded 0
other racial choices form the basis for the species that you had before
Independent 4 you were turned into a vampire. Sunlight and a few other hazards pose
Cold Blooded: -2 points
Your species relies upon external energy Vampiric * enormous danger to your life while things that would have posed a great
to control your blood temperature, like threat before are now insignificant.
most reptiles. In warm environments,
you are energetic and powerful. In cold environments, you are weak and Unless dictated by setting, taking this characteristic requires GM
lethargic. In temperate environments, you are very similar to a warm- approval. Vampiric is worth a number of points equal to the blood
blooded creature in terms of behavior. system of the body you had before you became a vampire. Consult
Appendix B: Vampirism for more information on how vampirism works
• In warm environments, -1 difficulty of a roll where you are adding and to determine your character’s vampiric powers.
your Strength to your Attribute
• In cold environments, +1 difficulty of a roll where you are adding • Your starting age represents the age at which you became a vampire.
your Strength to your Attribute You can purchase additional years of being a vampire for 5 life
• Double damage from cold or heat sources, including magical ones experience points per half-century. Each half-century purchased grants
+1 to Vigor.
Warm Blooded: 0 points
Your species uses internal energy to maintain a constant blood
temperature. This is the human norm and confers no particular
advantage or disadvantage aside from the standard vulnerability to
extreme temperatures.

Independent: 4 points
Your species’s blood temperature is constant regardless of the situation.
The reasons for this are unique to your biology and will need to be
explained. You are capable of surviving in almost any temperature
extreme, provided that you can breathe of course. Species with this gene
might live in extreme environments like Deserts, Ice, or Mountains.

• Half damage from cold or heat sources, including magical ones

• Immune to Frostbite, Stroke, and other temperature-related ailments

29
Gender: Gender
This determines how wide the Hermaphrodite
variations are between genders in your
Gonadal
species. The effects of these options
appears small at first glance, but Dimorphic
they will have a large impact on your Dichromatism
culture and sexuality.
Hermaphrodite: -5 points
The members of your species do not have defined gender at birth and
possess both/all sexual organs. They may be able to use both/all sexual
organs as adults or they may develop one set of sexual organs during
puberty through hormones that are released based on the gender
balance requirements of the population. They may not have a gender
and simply reproduce asexually, or they may be able to change genders
if socially pressured. Members of a species with clear gender lines has a
hard time getting an accurate bead on your intentions.
• +1 difficulty of any conversational roll with any species that is not
either Hermaphrodite or Gonadal
• Connections -4
Gonadal: -3 points
The genders of your species vary only in sexual organs, which are small
and inconspicuous. This is unsettling to other species, who often resolve
the tension by making jokes like “are there any Dwarven women?”
Conversations with members of other species tend to go poorly.
• +1 difficulty of any conversational roll with any species that is not
either Hermaphrodite or Gonadal
• Connections -1
Dimorphic: 0 points
The genders of your species have significant differences in size and
shape. One gender is typically larger physically and takes on certain
social roles as a result. This is the human norm and confers no particular
advantage or disadvantage.
-5
-3
0
*
Dichromatism: X points
The genders of your species have significant differences in size and
shape. One gender may be much larger and possess features like
horns that the other gender does not. Additionally, they have massive
differences in coloration, similar to many species of birds. One
gender is brightly colored (typically the male) while the other is more
camouflaged. This has a different effect for each gender.
Dichromatic species depend upon these gender differences to determine
sexual pairings. The brightly colored gender is prone to display itself
whenever it spots a potential mate in an attempt to impress them. This
provocative behavior tends to draw attention, sometimes unwanted.
If you are the brightly colored gender, this gene is worth -3 points and:
• +2 difficulty of any attempt to hide or conceal yourself in some way
• You feel a strong motivation (with a value of 7) to pursue any potential
mate that is not unattractive or hideous and is not obviously
committed to another mate.
If you are the camouflaged gender, this gene is worth 1 point and:
• -1 difficulty of any attempt to hide or conceal yourself in some way
• You will be often approached by potential mates
30
Lifespan: Lifespan Long: 4 points
This determines how long an average Brief -8 The members of your species age very slowly with a maximum lifespan
member of your species lives. of about 150 to 200 years. As a result, you have individuals with a
Short -4
cooler and more relaxed disposition. In your extended lifespan, you have
Normal 0 experienced more than the average person. You tend to avoid fads and
Brief: -8 points
Long 4 social movements present in the shorter-lived species.
Your species has a very short
developmental process and then dies Infinite 8
shortly after reaching maturity. You • You get 10 points to spend on Motivations instead of 15
have a maximum lifespan of about 15 years, similar to a dog or other • Stress reduction from Relaxation takes one hour more than normal
domesticated animals. You are extremely energetic and frantic to take per point of stress relieved
advantage of every second. In your short lifespan, you have experienced • Life Experience +2
significantly less than the average person. You anger quickly but may
forget the offense the next moment. Infinite: 8 points
Your species has a long and
• You get 25 points to spend on Motivations instead of the normal 15 slow developmental process and
• You always have at least 2 Stress that can never be removed then does not age after reaching
• Stress reduction from Relaxation takes two hours less than normal per maturity. You have exceptional
point of stress relieved calm and clarity of thought. In
• Life Experience -4 your extended lifespan, you have
experienced significantly more
Short: -4 points than the average person. It takes
The members of your species age quickly with a maximum lifespan a lot to anger you, but your wrath
of about 40 years. As a result, you have individuals with an excitable can last for centuries.
disposition. In your short lifespan, you have experienced less than the
average person. You tend to embrace fads and social movements. • You get 5 points to spend on
Motivations instead of 15
• You get 20 points to spend on Motivations instead of the normal 15 • You will enter a catatonic state
• You always have at least 1 Stress that can never be removed when your stress level is equal to
• Stress reduction from Relaxation takes one hour less than normal per your Stability, instead of the
point of stress relieved usual double
• Life Experience -2 • Stress reduction from Relaxation
takes two hours more than
normal per point of stress
Normal: 0 points
relieved
Your species has a maximum lifespan of about 70 years. This is the
• Life Experience +4
human norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.

31
Diet: Diet Detrivore: 1 point
This determines what your species Necrophagy -4 Your species can only consume inorganic matter like soil or rocks.
consumes as sustenance. Your face tends to be dirty with the leftovers of such material and
Photosynthesis 0
other species find this disturbing. Even detrivore species have trouble
Omnivore 0 concentrating in conversations with you because they are interested in
Necrophagy: -4 points
Detrivore 1 these bits. However, you are exceptionally hardy and never have trouble
Your species can only consume raw
dead meat, like a vulture. You lack the Herbivore 2 finding food.
teeth and jaws to actually kill your Carnivore 4
prey, only to scavenge from corpses for • Strength +1
food. This causes other species to view • +1 difficulty of any conversational roll with any species
you suspiciously. You are inherently weaker than other species because
you do not have to exert yourself as much to acquire food. However, in Herbivore: 2 points
some environments finding food can be very difficult for you. Your species can only consume vegetation and often in very large
amounts compared to the food ingested by an omnivore. Finding food
• Strength -1 may consume a significant portion of your day. Since you are often prey
• +1 difficulty of any conversational roll with any other species for larger animals, you are more aware of your surroundings and have
• Cannot choose Teeth or Mandibles for Augments the ability to run farther before becoming exhausted. However, your
inherent tendency is to flee from battle.
Photosynthesis: 0 points
• Endurance +1
Your species can only convert energy using sunlight. You never have
• -1 die on any Stress Roll
to eat. However, you must maintain frequent contact with the soil to
absorb nutrients and consume some water occasionally. When you are
exposed to direct sunlight, you are strong and energetic. When you are Carnivore: 4 points
indoors or underground, you are weaker and lethargic. While exposed Your species can only consume meat. Your body is stronger and faster
to indirect sunlight, you behave normally. than other species so that you can find food more easily. This leads to a
little suspicion from other species, who worry that they might end up
• In direct sunlight, -1 difficulty of a roll where you are adding your being your next meal. They may be right.
Strength to your Attribute
• While indoors or underground, +1 Difficulty of a roll where you are • Strength +2
adding your Strength to your Attribute • Endurance +1
• +1 difficulty of any conversational roll with any species
Omnivore: 0 points
Your species consumes both vegetation and meat. This is the human
norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.

32
Sleep Cycle: Sleep Cycle Diurnal: 0 points
This determines when your species Crepuscular -4 Your species sleeps at night and is active during the day. This is the
sleeps and how much they need to feel human norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.
Nocturnal -2
rested and alert.
Diurnal 0 • 8 hours of each day must be spent sleeping at night to avoid sleep
Crepuscular: -4 points Metaturnal 2 based Endurance loss
Your species is active during dawn and None 4
dusk, but sleeps during the majority Controlled * Metaturnal: 2 points
of both day and night. This poses Your species sleeps in short naps throughout both day and night, like
more practical problems than being nocturnal and should generally be a cat. They are easily alerted and rarely find themselves in a position of
avoided unless taken by the whole party. surprise when awakening.

• 16 hours of each day must be spent sleeping during the middle of
both the night to avoid sleep based Endurance loss
Nocturnal: -3 points
Your species sleeps during the day and is active at night. This poses
many practical problems and is generally a nuisance. If you take this
choice, obviously you must also choose some way of seeing in the dark,
like Echolocation or Darkvision.
• 16 hours of each day must be spent sleeping during the day to avoid
sleep based Endurance loss
• 12 hours of each day must be spent sleeping to avoid sleep based
Endurance loss at any times you wish, so long as you sleep at least one
hour per sleep event and are never awake for more than 4 solid hours
• You can make Skill rolls to detect sounds or movement while sleeping
None: 4 points
Your species never sleeps. You will need to rest from physical and
mental exertion, but you never actually fall asleep. You may daydream,
but obviously you can never have normal dreams either.
• You never experience sleep based Endurance loss

Controlled: X points
Your species can sleep for extended periods of time and then go for
extended periods of time without sleeping.

• 8 hours of each day must be spent sleeping to avoid sleep based

Endurance loss. You can store up to your daily sleep requirement per
2 points invested in this gene. So if you invest 4 points in this gene,
you can sleep two extra sleep durations in one day and then not sleep
for the next two days as a result. You can invest up to a maximum of
10 points into this gene (storing up to 5 nights worth of sleep)

33
Skin: Skin Shell: 6 points
This determines what your species has Bare 0 Your species has a significant shell into which you can retreat, like a
for outer skin. Your skin color can be turtle. This reduces the damage taken from attacks if they hit the shell
Fur 1
anything allowed by the GM. portion of your body.
Slippery 2
Hardened 4 • Reduce all slashing and impact damage taken by 2 if they are made
Bare: 0 points
Your species has soft normal skin. This Shell 6 against your shell
is the human norm and confers no Chameleon 8 • You can pull all your limbs and head into the shell as a combat action
particular advantage or disadvantage. • You pull all your limbs and head into the shell automatically when
entering a catatonic state

Fur: 1 point
Chameleon: 8 points
Your species has significant hair on top of your skin. The fur is thick
Your skin can change color to enhance your camouflage. You are not
and deep like a bear or canine. It provides some insulation against cold
invisible, simply colored to match your background environment. This
dangers, but finding clothing that fits properly may be difficult.
makes spotting you in natural terrain very difficult. In an unnatural
environment, such as the interior of building, you are easily noticed.
• Reduce all Strength or Endurance damage from cold exposure by 1.
If you also have an independent blood system, this is in addition to
• +2 difficulty for anyone attempting to visually detect you in a natural
halving it and is applied last.
environment like woods, a field, or even an extreme like a desert.
• -1 difficulty for anyone attempting to visually detect you in a
Slippery: 2 points developed environment like inside of a building or on a city street.
Your species is covered in moist slippery skin, like a frog. This makes
grappling very difficult for your opponent. You will also need to
occasionally moisten your skin to maintain this coating.

• +2 difficulty for anyone attempting to Grapple you

• Either you must submerge your skin for at least one hour per day to
keep it moist or consume twice the normal amount of food per day for
a creature of your size to allow for steady secretion of fluids. This
choice is permanent and must be made at character creation.

Hardened: 4 points
Your species has strong defense in the form of hardened outer skin, like
an armadillo or rhinoceros. This reduces damage taken from attacks.

• Reduce all slashing and impact damage taken by 1

34
Grip: Grip Claws: X points
This determines what your species uses Paws -6 Your species has claws on the tips of your fingers. Claws allow you
for hands. to make raking attacks on your enemies and improve your climbing
Thumb 0
abilities. If these claws are attached to a hand with opposable thumbs,
Suction 4 this is a 2 point gene.
Paws: -6 points
Claws *
Your species has a paw like a cat or
dog. This creates makes grasping If these claws are attached to a paw-like hand, this is a -2 point gene
objects nearly impossible due to the because you cannot grip a large range of things. You gain all the effects
lack of an opposable thumb. However, of Paws (include both climbing bonuses), except you can manipulate a
you have a small edge in climbing due larger range of objects. You can use your paw to manipulate objects as if
to the rough texture of your paw pads. a human were using their fingers but not using their thumb.

• You cannot hold anything requiring a strong grip (e.g. sword) or use • +1 slashing damage to any unarmed attack with your hands
most tools (e.g. hammer). Using objects like doorknobs is difficult, but • -1 difficulty for any climbing attempt
still possible given focus and time. You can use your paw to manipulate
objects much like a human using their foot to try to do things. Feet: Feet
• -1 difficulty for any climbing attempt This determines what your species Feet 0
uses for feet or instead of feet.
Tail 0
Thumb: 0 points Webbed 1
Your species has fingers with an opposable thumb. This is the human Feet: 0 points
Your species has a foot with short Paws 2
norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.
flexible toes and minor nails. This Talons 3
is the human norm and confers no Hooves 4
Suction: 4 points
particular advantage or disadvantage. Claws *
Your species has hands with suction-based grip. This provides much
better grip than a human hand, allowing you to hold onto things
that would normally be wrenched from your grasp, and makes you an Tail: 0 points
excellent climber. Your species has a tail instead of legs, either because you move like a
snake or live underwater and swim. You must have Undulation to take
• Strength +2 for purposes of pushing or pulling, including Grappling this choice. It confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.
• -2 difficulty for any climbing attempt
Webbed: -1 point
Your species has a webbed feet instead of flexible toes, like a duck or a
frog. You move at twice your Walking Movement Rate when swimming.

35
Feet (continued):

Paws: 2 points Claws: X points

Your species has a paw like a cat or dog. These paws have pads that Your species has claws on the tips of your toes. Claws allow you to make
significantly increase your traction and reduce impact damage, resulting raking attacks on your enemies and improve your climbing abilities. If
in the ability to go farther without hurting your feet. The soft pads also these claws are attached to a foot, this is a 2 point characteristic. If these
lessen the sound of your foot hitting the ground, making you quieter. claws are attached to a paw, this is a 4 point characteristic because you
are given all the characteristics of a Paw as well.
• -1 Difficulty for any attempt to move quietly or over long distances
• You cannot wear shoes • +1 slashing damage to any unarmed attack with your feet
• -1 difficulty for any climbing attempt
Talons: 3 points
Your species has talons like a bird. These give you better grip in
precarious situations, but have less strength for long-term travel by foot.
Additionally, your talons function as very powerful weapons. However,
the sound of your walking is louder than a foot since your talons click
against hard surfaces.

• +2 slashing damage to any unarmed attack with your feet

• +1 difficulty for any attempt to move over long distances
• +1 difficulty for any attempt to move quietly
• You cannot wear shoes

Hooves: 4 points
Your species has hooves like a goat or horse. These hooves give you
better footing and reduce impact damage, resulting in the ability to go
farther without hurting your feet. Additionally, your hooves function as
very powerful weapons. However, the sound of your walking is louder
than a foot.

• +2 impact damage to any unarmed attack with your feet

• -1 difficulty for any attempt to move over long distances
• +1 difficulty for any attempt to move quietly
• You cannot wear shoes

36
Language: Language Vision: Vision
This determines what your species uses This determines what your species None -8
Growls or Calls -5
to communicate. sees with its eyes. Synapse does not
Expressive 0 Weak -4
have complex rules for vision like
Chemical 2 many RPG games. You will not have Restricted -2
Growls or Calls: -5 points
Telepathy 10 to calculate sight distances, range Color blind -1
Your species can only communicate in
growls like a dog or in calls like a bird. Gesture * penalties, and other side effects of Normal 0
You may be able to understand other tracking such information to a precise Ultravision 3
languages, but you cannot speak them. However, you communicate degree. The GM will be the final Low-Light 5
expressively with members of your own species. authority on what you do or do not
Echolocation 5
see in a given situation and she may
add to or subtract from a difficulty to Infravision 7
Expressive: 0 points represent your physiological condition. Insectoid 8
Your species has flexible lips and a tongue for expressing complex Darkvision 10
sounds. This is the human norm and confers no particular advantage or
disadvantage. None: -8 points
Your species cannot see at all. You have no vision system of any kind.
You will never see anything. To compensate, you have learned to listen
Chemical: 2 points more intently.
Your species can communicate using pheromones, but only with your
own species. The message conveyed by these signals is very basic, limited • -2 difficulty for any attempt to hear a noise
to concepts like moods, emotions, and simple desires. You can also
communicate as if Expressive, if you choose to do so. The chemicals are
merely a supplement to that communication. Weak: -4 points
Your species cannot see very clearly in any environment. You have
trouble seeing details even under the best circumstances. You must
Telepathy: 10 points
choose your actual vision method as well and pay the point cost for both
Your species can communicate telepathically with any other sentient
choices (e.g. Weak Ultravision).
being. The receiving entity perceives the sound of your voice inside of
their conscious thoughts. Images cannot be sent in this manner. You can
• +2 difficulty for any attempt to detect something visually
also communicate as if Expressive, if you choose to do so. This is merely
a supplement to that communication.
Restricted: -2 points
Your species has a smaller angle of normal vision, so you have a harder
Gesture: X points
time seeing your flanks. You must choose your actual vision method as
If your species can only communicate using gestures, this characteristic
well and pay the point cost for both choices (e.g. Restricted Low-Light).
is worth -6 points. However, if you can communicate in specialized
There will be things that the GM will not inform you about simply
gestures with your own species only in addition to Expressive (e.g.
because it is outside of your vision arc.
through tentacle movements), this characteristic is worth 2 points.
As with chemical communication, these signals are very basic.

37
Vision (continued):

Color blind: -1 point

Your species cannot discern color at all. You must choose your actual
vision method as well and pay the point cost for both choices (e.g. Color
blind Normal).

Normal: 0 points
Your species can see well in the light, but your vision becomes
progressively poorer in darkness. With little or no light, you cannot see
anything. This is the human norm and confers no particular advantage
or disadvantage.

Ultravision: 3 points
Your species can see only ultraviolet light. Your vision is exceptionally
fine due to high color differentiation, but ultraviolet light is stopped by
solid surfaces so you cannot see at all in underground environments or
buildings without using fluorescent lights. You can see best during the
day, better at night than even low-light vision, and better underwater
than any other kind of vision.
Infravision: 7 points
Low-Light: 5 points Your species can see heat and light. When there are significant
Your species can see in very low light environments, like a cat. As long variations in heat, such as a warm body standing next to a cold stone,
as there is some light, you can see fairly well. In total darkness, you you can see clearly. When there are low variations in heat, such as a cold
cannot see anything. sword lying on a cold stone, you have trouble discerning the differences.

Echolocation: 5 points Insectoid: 8 points

Your species cannot see at all. Instead ultrasonic sounds are emitted to
produce echoes, which are then converted by the brain into an image of
your surroundings. You function as if you could see in any environment,
but you cannot perceive color and texture differentials are very difficult
to notice.
High decibel sounds can effectively blind you. Any sound over 100
decibels causes 1 stress point gain per instance, or 1 point per minute of
exposure for extended sounds.
Your species can see only infrared light. Your eyes are multi-faceted,
like a fly’s. This allows a very detailed image to be created of the world
around you. Shadows and darkness are no protection for anyone trying
to escape your gaze. You also have a very deep field of peripheral vision.
Darkvision: 10 points
Your species can see equally well in light and dark. Color differences
tend to fade away in extreme light or dark, but you can discern color in
most circumstances.

38
Augments: Augments Tentacles: 5 points
This determines what unique None 0 Your species has up to four octopus-like tentacles that can be used for
adaptations your species has. You can grasping. Short tentacles that have no function are not covered by this
Teeth 2
have multiple selections from this characteristic, but are simply cosmetic aspects of your character (i.e. cost
gene group. Antennae 3 no points). Tentacles usable only for communication purposes are paid
Mandibles 4 for through the Gesture gene.
None: 0 points Tentacles 5
Your species has no augments. This Horns * • -2 difficulty when Grappling
is the human norm and confers no Tail * • -2 difficulty for any climbing attempt
particular advantage or disadvantage. Venom *
Horns: X points
Your species has horns. If the horns are small and non-functional, they
Teeth: 2 points
are worth -1 point. They make wearing headgear difficult. If the horns
Your species has sizeable canine teeth. These teeth are useful in combat.
are large enough to be used as weapons, they are worth 2 points.
• +1 penetration damage to any bite attack
• You cannot wear helmets or hats unless custom fitted
• For large horns, +1 penetration damage to any charge attack
Antennae: 3 points
Your species has antennae sprouting from the top of the head. This
Tail: X points
makes wearing headgear very difficult, but it provides you with
Your species has a tail. If the tail is prehensile, it can be used to grasp
additional sensory data that increases awareness. However, these senses
small objects and is worth 4 points. If the tail can be used instead as a
can be overloaded in some circumstances, making sensing more difficult
striking weapon, it is worth 3 points. If it merely improves balance, it is
under those circumstances.
worth 1 point.
• +1 difficulty when making an Awareness roll when exposed to
• -1 difficulty of any attempt to stay on your feet despite unsafe footing
extreme vibrations, sounds, or powerful odors
• If usable as a striking weapon, +1 slashing damage when attacking
• -1 difficulty when making an Awareness roll in serene environments
with the tail
• You cannot wear helmets or hats unless custom fitted

Mandibles: 4 points
Your species has large mandibles that can be used to grip and crush
objects, like an ant or beetle. This is exceptionally dangerous in close
combat and deals more damage than teeth alone. Mandibles can also
serve as a grappling appendage.

• -1 difficulty when Grappling

• +2 penetration damage and +1 slashing damage to any bite attack

39
Venom: X points Carbon Dioxide: -2 points
Your species generates a natural neurotoxin poison. If it is injected into Your species breathes carbon dioxide from the air using lungs.
the enemy via a fixed stinger on your abdomen, like a bee, it is worth Since most other species do not breathe carbon dioxide, this poses a
4 points. If it is injected into the prey via Teeth or a Tail (must be a significant hindrance as you must rely upon a breathing mask to breathe
striking tail), it costs 6 points. If it is absorbed through contact with comfortably on many planets. You can function in environments with
your slippery skin, like many poisonous frogs, it is worth 8 points. low carbon dioxide amounts, but this will feel like a high-altitude. This
gene is really only suitable for futuristic settings due to the hindrance. If
• When the venom is delivered, roll 1 die. The neurotoxin deals 1 your diet is Photosynthesis, you must take this for zero points, but you
resilience damage per minute up to a maximum equal to the die result can breathe even in low carbon dioxide environments like Earth.
• For stingers, you do not need to purchase another body part. The
stinger comes with the Venom gene. You can attack with the stinger in Nitrogen: -1 point
combat, deal +1 penetration damage, and deliver your venom. Your species breathes nitrogen from the air using lungs. Most planets
• For teeth or tails, any hit in combat that deals slashing damage using have enough nitrogen in their atmosphere to provide minimum support,
that body part will deliver your venom. but you must rely upon a breathing mask to breathe comfortably on
• For slippery skin, any skin contact with your enemy will deliver your a few planets. You can function in environments with low nitrogen
venom. An additional dosage of toxin will be delivered every five amounts, but this will feel like high-altitude to your body. This gene is
seconds of contact. For anyone who knows that your species has this really only suitable for futuristic settings due to the hindrance imposed.
ability, being within 10 meters of you will cause 1 Stress per minute.
Even outside of that radius, they will be very weary of your presence. Oxygen: 0 points
Social contact is extremely difficult and physical intimacy of any kind Your species breathes oxygen from the air using lungs. This is the
with any other species is impossible unless they are immune to toxins. human norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage. You
can function in environments with lowered oxygen amounts, but this
Lungs: Lungs will feel like high-altitude to your body.
This determines what your species Methane -3
breathes to stay alive. Gills: 0 points
Carbon Dioxide -2
Nitrogen -1 Your species can only breathe underwater through gills. You cannot
Methane: -3 points function at all out of water, but you can function perfectly underwater.
Oxygen 0
Your species breathes methane from
the air using lungs. Since most other Gills 0
Amphibious: 3 points
species do not breathe methane, this Amphibious 3 Your species can breathe from both air and water. You can function well
poses a significant hindrance as you None 10 in underwater environments and in the open air equally. You can also
must rely upon a breathing mask to function in environments with lowered oxygen amounts, but this will
breathe on most planets. You can function in environments with low feel like high-altitude to your body.
methane amounts, but this will feel like high-altitude to your body. This
gene is really only suitable for futuristic settings due to the hindrance None: 10 points
imposed. Your species does not breathe at all. You cannot be suffocated in any
way and you are immune to inhaled toxins.
40
Heightened: Heightened Waves: 1 point
This determines what your species None 0 Your species can sense some form of waves that are imperceptible to
can sense beyond the normal sensory other species, like X-rays, Radio waves, seismic pressure waves, or
Waves 1
range. You can have multiple selections similar kinds of waves. These each provide their own special, but small,
from this gene group. Hearing 2 advantage. If you want to detect more than one type of wave, you can
Olfactory 3 pay the cost of this characteristic multiple times. Work with your GM
None: 0 points Touch 4 to develop this ability.
Your species has no heightened senses. Vision 5
This is the human norm and confers Hearing: 2 points
no particular advantage or disadvantage. Your species has exceptional hearing, like a cat. You can hear sounds
that other species may not even be aware exist.

• -1 difficulty for any attempt to hear a noise

Olfactory: 3 points
Your species has an exceptional sense of smell, like a bloodhound. You
can smell the faintest of scents and track exceptionally well.

• -1 difficulty for any attempt to track something by smell

• -1 difficulty for any attempt to detect something that has a smell,
such as searching a room for a person that is hiding from you.

Touch: 4 points
Your species has an exceptional sense of touch, like a spider. You can
feel slight vibrations through solid materials.

• -1 difficulty for any Dexterity based roll unless exposed to recurrent

vibrations, like the body of an automobile when the engine is running.

Vision: 5 points
Your species has exceptional vision, like a hawk or owl. You can see
much more clearly at great distances.

• -2 difficulty for any attempt to detect something visually

41
Intelligence: Intelligence Sentient: 0 points
This determines your species’s brain Animalistic -10 Your species is in near complete control of your brain. This is the human
control systems. norm and confers no particular advantage or disadvantage.
Lycanthrope -8
Atavistic -4
Animalistic: -10 points Lycanthrope: -8 points
Berserk -2 You are a lycanthrope and your physical form changes under certain
Your species is constantly in an
animalistic frame of mind. Motivations Sentient 0 conditions (e.g. during a full moon). This may be the traditional choice
higher than basic biological needs such of Werewolf, or it might be a rarer choice like Wererat, Weretiger, or
as food, shelter, and sex are never considered. Werebear. Unless dictated by setting, taking this gene requires GM
This is not recommended for player species, but it may be useful for approval. While in your lycanthropic form, you are completely unaware
semi-intelligent allies. of your actions and the GM should jump straight to a description of
you regaining consciousness. Unless your lycanthropic form is pursued
• You do not have a culture, life experience., or possessions. by other party members, the actions you make while in this form are
• For Motivations, you only have Acquisition, Aggression, Construction, simply narrated by the GM in the form of NPC conversations that arise
Obligation, Play, and Sensuality. after the fact.
• Start with a base of 1 in each Motivation and distribute 25 points
between them as you wish. • For rare instances when it might need to be calculated, your physical
change grants +4 strength and +2 endurance in addition to the
Atavistic: -4 point physical form changes such as claws, tail, etc.
Your species has moments of time where you return to your animalistic • You are exceptionally vulnerable to a particular substance (typically
heritage due to fear. No amount of control can restore order except silver). This vulnerability is based on setting.
physical restraint. Shark frenzy is an example of this behavior.

• If you fail a Stress roll, you go into a frenzy and attack anything that
is in front of you. You cannot be calmed except by being completely
restrained or allowed to run free for at least 30 minutes.

Berserk: -2 points
Your species loses mental control when certain conditions are met and
lashes out violently. Once unleashed, a berserk individual can only be
calmed down by close friends or when violence has run its course.

• If you would enter a catatonic state, instead you go into a frenzy and
attack the source of stress until either you incapacitated or knocked
unconscious. While in a frenzy, you cannot perform any task except
unarmed and melee attacks. If the source is killed, you can calm down
with a successful coping attempt.
42
Chapter 3:
Culture

43
Culture:
Your innate mental abilities and your body are only one aspect of who
you are. They form a baseline from which you grow into your life. You
Culture Determination
are born into a culture and that culture shapes how you view the world, Every culture is built from a total number of points, dependent upon
what opportunities are available to you, how you react emotionally to a setting. Your GM will tell you how many base points your characters
variety of stimuli, and much more. have to spend on culture. The Base Points chart provides general
guidelines in this area.
A culture is determined by 16 different Base Points
Conditions. Conditions define what If you have any rollover points from your racial choices, add that
Ancient 12 number to the base points. Any unspent culture points transfer
kind of social environment you grew
up in and this has a strong impact Medieval 24 directly into Connections at a 1:1 ratio.
on what you value in life: money, Enlightenment 32
sex, friendship, power, etc. Many of Modern 40
these choices have an impact on your Futuristic 48
personality in the form of Motivations.
If you want to create your own custom culture:
Go through this chapter and make a choice for each Condition
These are discussed in great detail in the following chapter; however,
presented. Many of the choices are dependent upon previous choices,
for our purposes here it is important to know a little about them.
so you should go in order of presentation to avoid having to backtrack.
Motivations are what will be used to help you determine what your
Unless otherwise specified, you can only make one choice per condition.
character is interested in doing. So if you see a cultural choice which
The conditions in this chapter can create virtually any culture that you
gives you +1 to Aggression, then you know that choosing it will make
want for any setting that you want to play.
your character more interested in committing acts of violence.

Additionally, many conditions give you Skills. If a condition gives you a
skill that you already acquired earlier in the process, gain 1 Experience
in that skill instead.
How does Culture affect the game experience?
Because a large portion of a character’s Motivations are driven by
cultural choices, the culture that your character comes from has a
profound effect on their personality. However, this effect applies
equally to non-player characters (NPCs). So if your character enters
a new region where your GM has designed a different culture, the
NPCs living in that area will have different personalities as well. The
Motivations of NPCs have a profound impact on your interactions with
them in conversation. For example, if you try to bribe someone who is
not motivated strongly by wealth accumulation, you will probably fail.
If you do NOT want to create your own custom culture:
If you do not feel like drawing up a custom cultural design, we
encourage you to use a template instead. The templates presented on
the next page are examples of template designs. As you can see, there
is a choice for every Condition. You may have more points to spend
on top of this template. For example, you could raise the technology
of your culture, increase it’s political stability, or improve it’s political
system. The templates can serve as a baseline from which you can add
or remove whatever elements you choose.
There are more templates in Appendix D for a diverse range of
historical cultures. Your GM may also give you several cultural templates
to choose from or tell you to choose from a list of the templates in this
book.
44
Example of Using a Cultural Template:
Lets assume that you chose to be human in the last chapter and you are
going to be playing in a medieval fantasy game. You have 21 points to
spend on culture; 16 base points for Medieval, based on the table from
the previous page plus 5 rollover points for being Human.
You consult the Templates in Appendix D and decide that you want
your character to resemble a Viking. This is an 18 point template, so you
raise your position to Peripheral and take a Minor Skill to bring your
total to 21 points. You copy the information to your culture chart and
get the resulting chart below.
As you can see, this creates a fairly plausible Viking. Your character
is slightly poorer than average, but stronger and more accustomed to
combat stress. You have a range of skills appropriate for a sea raider of
the Viking mold. You even have an open skill choice that could easily be
a weapon skill. If you look at the motivational shifts in the chart below,
you can see that your character is highly motivated to acquire wealth,
dominate others, and exact revenge on your enemies.
Your cultural choices laid the foundation of a realistic Viking warrior!

Viking Norse + Changes Results of Cultural Choices: Motivations Net

Terrain Coastal 1 Absolution
Power Tribal 1 • Life Experience +3 -2 = +1 Achievement +2 +2
Loyalty Feudal 2
• Wealth +1 -3 = -2 Acquisition +2 +1 +4 +7
• Strength +1 Affiliation +3 +3
Economy Resource 1
• Reduce all combat related stress by 1
Stability Fracture 4 Aggression
Position Peripheral 1 Autonomy
• Skill: Net Fishing (DEX)
Corruption Non-Existent 0 Blame Avoidance
• Skill: Bartering Goods (PER)
Technology Competitive 0 Construction
• Skill: Improving Reputation (PRES)
Warfare Constant -2 • Skill: Romantic Courting (SED) Cooperation +2 +2
Violence Aggressive 6 • Skill: Heavy Lifting (BAL) Dominance +2 +2 +4
Sexuality Repressive -1 • Skill: Enduring Hardship (TOU) Exhibition +2 +2
Crime Restitution 1 • Skill: Military Engineering (KNO) Exposition

Religion Polytheist 3
• Skill: Appearing Confident (DEC) Obligation +1 +1
• Skill: Assessing Danger ( JUD) Order
Magic Sacrifice & Runic 2
• Skill: Concealing Beliefs (DEC) Play +1 +1
Education None 0
• Skill: Assessing Value ( JUD) Recognition +2 +2
Skill Minor 2
• Skill: Identifying Plants (KNO) Rejection
Total 20
• Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO) +1 XP Retention +2 +2
• Skill: Offering Sacrifices (IMP) Revenge +2 +3 +2 +7
• Skill: Animal Skinning (DEX)
Security
• Skill: Your Choice
Sensuality
Understanding

45
Terrain Culture Conditions Quick Reference
Plains 0
Island 1
Savannah 1 Economy Technology Religion
Coastal 1 Nomadic 0 Advanced -3 Animist 0
Desert 4 Resource 1 Competitive 0 Ancestor Worship 1
Forest 4 Industrial 2 Uncompetitive 3 Pantheist 2
Tundra 4 Information 4 Backward 7 Polytheist 3
Wetlands 4 Niche 5 Philosophy 5
Arboreal 6 Warfare Monotheist 6
Mountain 6 Constant -2 Science 9
Stability
Jungle 7 Common -1
Collapsed 0
Ice 7 Frequent 0 Magic
Revolution 2
Aquatic 10 Infrequent 1 Superstitious 0
Civil War 3
Subterranean 11 Rare 2 Spirits 1
Fractured 4
Never 3 Herbal 1
Power Consistent 5
Sacrifice 1
Anarchy 0 Established 6 Violence Runic 1
Tribal 1 Innocent -4 Dance & Song 2
Tyranny 1 Position Pacifism -2 Ritual 2
Theocracy 2 Enclave -2 Defensive 0 Prayer 2
Caste 2 Isolated 0 Selective 2 Talent 3
Aristocracy 3 Monoculture 0 Aggressive 6 Analytical 4
Plutocracy 4 Peripheral 1 None 5
Citizenship 4 Sexuality
Minor Power 2
Party 4 Repressive -1 Education
Colonial 2
Racial Purity 5 Ignored 0 None 0
Major Power 3
Merit 5 Traditional 0 Elite 1
Imperial Power 5
Open 2 Limited 3
Superpower 6
Loyalty Celebratory 5 Common 5
Tribal 0 Universal 7
Religious 1 Corruption Crime
Patronage 1 Non-Existent 0 Shame 0 Skill
Feudal 2 Inconsequential 1 Restitution 1 None 0
Dictator 3 Prevalent 2 Labor 2 Minor 2
State 4 Overwhelming 4 Imprisonment 2 Major 4

46
Terrain: Terrain Coastal: 1 point
This determines what your terrain Plains 0 Your culture developed on a coastal area that is attached to a significant
your culture evolved in. Not only does land mass. Large quantities of territory of this type exist on the edges of
Island 1
this provide a variety of Skills and every continent worldwide.
Body bonuses, but feel free to allow Savannah 1
it to guide a choice of clothing and Coastal 1 • Skill: Net Fishing (DEX)
architectural style as well. Desert 4 • Achievement +2
Forest 4
Plains: 0 points Tundra 4 Desert: 4 points
Your culture developed on flat plains Wetlands 4 Your culture developed on the edges or inside of a large desert like the
like those surrounding large river Arboreal 6 Gobi or Sahara. The harsh climate has made you stronger over time
valleys like the Indus, Yellow, or Rhine through conditioning. Your economic system is based on herding due to
Mountain 6
river. Most major civilizations started the difficulty of farming and lack of fisheries.
in these regions. This represents the Jungle 7
standard baseline of human cultural Ice 7 • Skill: Animal Herding (PER) • Skill: Animal Riding (BAL)
development. Aquatic 10 • Rejection +3 • Endurance +1
Subterranean 11
• Aff iliation +1 Forest: 4 points
Your culture developed in heavily wooded area, like Germany, Eastern
Island: 1 point Russia, or eastern North America. Operating in this environment with
Your culture developed on small islands like the Greek Islands, many low visibility while travelling from place to place has taught you to pay
of the Pacific Islands, or the Caribbean. Your extensive interaction with more attention to faint sounds.
the sea has strongly influenced your lifestyle.
• Skill: Noise Detection (AWA) • Skill: Wood Carving (DEX)
• Skill: Oceanic Swimming (BAL) • Construction +3 • Endurance +1
• Exposition +2

Savannah: 1 point
Your culture developed in open savannah, a warm grassland climate like
much of Africa and Australia. Due to the danger from large predators,
you pay a lot of attention to your surroundings.

• Skill: Long-Range Spotting (AWA)

• Aggression +2

47
Terrain (continued):
Tundra: 4 points
Your culture developed in a tundra climate like most of Russia and
Canada. The prevalence of snow for much of the year and heavy reliance
on hunting for sustenance has given you some survival skills. Doing
almost any sort of work in this climate required additional exertion.
• Skill: Animal Tracking (AWA) • Skill: Shelter Building (INN)
• Retention +3 • Strength +1
Wetlands: 4 points
Your culture developed in a wetlands region like the Okeefenokee.
Agriculture is near impossible and fish constitute a large portion of
your diet. You have been exposed to more insects and diseases than the
average person from a more hospitable climate.
• Skill: Pole Fishing (DEX) • Skill: Noise Detection (AWA)
• Revenge +3 • Resilience +1
Arboreal: 6 points
Your culture developed a lifestyle of living in the tree canopy, like Elves.
You are capable of swinging and moving through the tree tops without
falling. Your culture has a kinship with the forest and you have learned
to identify plants and what is likely to occur if you eat them.
• Skill: Tree Climbing (BAL) • Skill: Identifying Plants (KNO)
• Exhibition +4 • Endurance +2
Mountain: 6 points
Your culture developed in a mountainous region like the Andes or
Himalayas. Traversing this terrain is very difficult and your people are
very hardy as a result. You are experienced at travel through rugged
terrain and have an easier time dealing with geographic hazards.
• Skill: Mountain Climbing (BAL) • Skill: Distance Hiking (BAL)
• Autonomy +4 • Strength +2
Jungle: 7 points
Your culture developed in a jungle region like the Amazon or Congo.
Your hunting practices are based on concealment and ambush rather
than pursuit, due to operating in such dangerous environment. As a
result, you constantly examine subtle elements of your environment for
clues about what could happen. You are also more resistant to disease.
• Skill: Personal Camouflage (DEC) • Skill: Detail Spotting (AWA)
• Skill: Identifying Poisons (KNO) • Sensuality +5
• Resilience +2
Ice: 7 points
Your culture developed in a frozen region like the Arctic or Northern
Russia and Canada. Survival in this environment is extremely difficult
and you are well trained to endure it.
• Skill: Ice Fishing (DEX) • Skill: Snow Hiking (BAL)
• Skill: Snow Tracking (AWA) • Obligation +5
• Strength +1 • Endurance +1
Aquatic: 10 points
Your culture developed underwater, like merfolk. This can only be
taken if your species is capable of breathing underwater. You can use
movement and combat skills underwater without penalty.
Subterranean: 11 points
Your culture developed underground, like Dwarves or Kobolds. Life
underground is significantly different from life on the surface and you
are adapted to these circumstances. You must have some form of vision
in complete darkness to take this condition.
• Skill: Noise Detection (AWA) • Skill: Trap Detection (AWA)
• Skill: Trap Disarming (DEX) • Strength +2
• Resilience +2 • Aggression +5
48
Power: Power Theocracy: 2 points
This determines to which members of Anarchy 0 Your culture is controlled by religious authorities that rigorously enforce
your society hold political power. This their philosophical doctrine. Opposition to the established order is not
Tribal 1
may or may not coincide with who simply treason, but also heresy. You are very careful about what you say.
people actually swear their loyalty to. Tyranny 1
Theocracy 2 • Skill: Concealing Beliefs (DEC) • Skill: Appearing Innocent (DEC)
Anarchy: 0 points Caste 2 • Absolution +2
Your culture is controlled by no one. Aristocracy 3
It is exceptionally difficult to organize Plutocracy 4 Caste: 2 points
anything and you can only maintain Citizenship 4 Your culture is controlled through strictly enforced class structures.
justice or law as far as your sword Interaction between individuals from different castes is frowned upon.
Party 4
reaches. Marriage outside of caste is uncommon at best and abhorrent at worst.
Racial Purity 5
• Autonomy +1 Merit 5 • Skill: Respectful Speaking (PER) • Skill: Seeking Assistance (PER)
• Cooperation +2
Tribal: 1 point
Your culture is controlled by the leaders of small groups connected Aristocracy: 3 points
by family relationships; tribes, clans, etc. Your culture places great Your culture is controlled by a network of nobility. Esteem in the eyes of
emphasis on personal honor and many relationships involve negotiating your peers is extremely important. You are adept at knowing where you
exchanges of goods instead of currency. stand in the pecking order and whose ring you need to kiss.

• Skill: Bartering Goods (PER) • Skill: Recognizing Heraldry (KNO) • Skill: Flattering Speech (DEC)
• Recognition +2 • Skill: Romantic Courting (SED) • Dominance +3

Plutocracy: 4 points
Tyranny: 1 point
Your culture is ruled by economic elites. These elites may or may not use
Your culture is controlled by a single individual who wields absolute
corporations or other economic organizations depending on the setting.
power. This is different from a monarch who has some legitimacy in the
The only way to advance socially is through wealth acquisition, business
form of aristocratic endorsement. This individual rules purely by fear
growth, and ostentatious living.
and personal magnetism. People who live in these societies learn how to
follow instructions, no matter how trivial.
• Skill: Assessing Value ( JUD) • Skill: Price Haggling (PER)
• Skill: Avoiding Attention (DEC) • Skill: Deal Negotiation (PER) • Skill: Smooth Talking (DEC)
• Order +2 • Acquisition +3

49
Power (continued):

Citizenship: 4 points
Your culture is ruled by a democratic legislature. Citizens are adept at
self-starting political behavior and grass-roots organization. When
problems occur people look to themselves for solutions, not a leader.

• Skill: Defusing Conflict (PER) • Skill: Proposing Plans (PER)

• Skill: Generating Support (INS) • Skill: Assessing Honesty ( JUD)
• Aff iliation +3

Party: 4 points
Your culture is ruled by a single party system. These systems are almost
always totalitarian, like under Communism. Everyone is expected to
participate in the system and know how to behave.

• Skill: Concealing Beliefs (DEC) • Skill: Appearing Innocent (DEC)

• Skill: Black-Market Trading ( JUD) • Skill: Organizing People (INS)
• Blame Avoidance +3

Racial Purity: 5 points

Your culture is ruled by a political elite based on species, like in Nazi
Germany or South Africa under Aparteid. Divisions within these
societies are very important and radically affect behavior.

• Skill: Appearing Confident (DEC) • Skill: Appearing Innocent (DEC)

• Skill: Black-Market Trading ( JUD) • Skill: Concealing Beliefs (DEC)
• Skill: Delivering Insults (INN) • Rejection +4

Merit: 5 points
Your culture is ruled by a democratic legislature and a permanent
bureaucracy based on merit. As a result, you are an achievement
oriented person with great ambitions and basic social skills.

• Skill: Improving Reputation (PRES) • Skill: Leading People (PRES)

• Skill: Generating Sympathy (IMP) • Skill: Public Speaking (PRES)
• Skill: Appearing Important (DEC) • Achievement +4
50
Loyalty: Loyalty Feudal: 2 points
This determines who commands Tribal 0 People in your culture are loyal to formalized political hierarchies.
loyalty in your culture. It may or Medieval Europe and Japan are prime examples of this. Feudal is a
Religious 1
may not be synchronized with who more extreme form of patronage where the success of an individual is
actually holds power. For example, it is Patronage 1 wholly based on how he is viewed by his superior in the hierarchy. This
possible for there to be a Citizenship Feudal 2 does not have to be paired with Aristocracy, though it traditionally is.
power structure with Patronage loyalty Dictator 3 Any political system where your success is wholly in the hands of your
(Imperial Rome). State 4 superior would be considered feudal.

Tribal: 0 points • Skill: Improving Reputation (PRES) • Dominance +2

People in your culture are most loyal to small groups connected by
family relationships; tribes, clans, and so on. If there is a conflict
between the family leadership and a higher authority, people will
follow the leadership of the family.
• Cooperation +1
Religious: 1 point
People in your culture are loyal to their religious organization above
everything else. This usually involves significant tithing if the religion
does not control the political system.
• Skill: Romantic Courting (SED)
Dictator: 3 points
People in your culture are loyal only a single powerful individual. You
are accustomed to the naked exercise of power and almost expect to be
mistreated by your political elite. The British Empire, Mongol Empire,
and Nazi Germany are excellent examples of this form of loyalty.
• Skill: Displaying Reverence (DEC) • Order +3
• Skill: Appearing Innocent (DEC)
• Skill: Knowing Laws (KNO)

• Skill: Displaying Reverence (DEC) State: 4 points

• Absolution +2
Patronage: 1 point
People in your culture are influenced to be loyal to local individuals with
political ambitions, typically the wealthy. These individuals distribute
their wealth and perform favors to maintain this loyalty. Imperial
Roman electoral politics and American party bosses in the 19th century
are both examples of this type of loyalty.
• Skill: Displaying Respect (DEC)
• Security +2
People in your culture are loyal to the state above any individual.
Modern democracies are examples of this form of loyalty, as are many
mixed systems liked constitutional monarchies or republics. You view
the government itself with reverence and respect.
• Skill: Appearing Important (DEC) • Recognition +3
• Skill: Leading People (PRES)
• Skill: Generating Sympathy (IMP)
• Skill: Public Speaking (PRES)

51
Economy: Economy Information: 4 points
This determines what economic system Nomadic 0 People in your culture are involved in the manipulation of data and the
dominates your culture. This is not providing of services. This could be American culture in the early 21st
Resource 1
precisely related to technology level. century or Bothan culture in a Star Wars campaign. These people have a
Typically, the lower point choices can Industrial 2 strong understanding of electronics and computers.
be taken even in higher technology Information 4
settings. For example, there could Niche 5 • Skill: Basic Research (DED) • Skill: Vehicle Driving (REA)
be a nomadic culture even in a space • Skill: Operating Electronics (KNO) • Skill: Basic Computing (KNO)
fantasy setting. But there would not be an information culture in the • Order +3
stone age. Consult with your GM if you are not sure whether your
choice is appropriate for the technology level of the campaign setting. Niche: 5 points
People in your culture are involved in highly specific businesses. This
Nomadic: 0 points could be Monaco for Gambling, Switzerland for Banking, or Haiti for
People in your culture are on the move. They typically have very few Sugar. People living in these societies are highly entrepreneurial.
goods of any kind and raiding is a common occurrence. You do not put
down roots and try to live only with what you can carry. • Skill: Assessing Value ( JUD) • Skill: Price Haggling (PER)
• Skill: Deal Negotiation (PER) • Skill: Smooth Talking (DEC)
• Obligation +1 • Skill: Operating Businesses ( JUD) • Construction +4

Resource: 1 point
People in your culture are involved in the extraction of natural resources
for sale. This might be an agrarian economy in the Middle Ages
or a mining colony in a space fantasy game. These societies tend to
overproduce a few kinds of goods and then trade the excess.

• Skill: Heavy Lifting (BAL) • Retention +2

Industrial: 2 points
People in your culture are involved in the processing of raw materials
into finished products. This could be Dutch weavers in the Middle
Ages, Victorian England several hundred years later, or modern China.
Mercantile abilities are prized in your society.

• Skill: Understanding Machinery (DED) • Acquisition +2

• Skill: Price Haggling (PER)

52
Stability: Stability Civil War: 3 points
This determines how stable your Collapsed 0 Your culture is currently in open war between two rival factions.
culture is politically. Cultures in flux Individuals expect a large degree of political change when the dust
Revolution 2
are dynamic but dangerous. Cultures settles. The United States in the 1860s and Spain or China in the 1930s
that are highly stable tend to allow Civil War 3 would be good examples of this condition.
more time for their people to study, Fractured 4
train, and accumulate wealth. Consistent 5 • Life Experience +3 • Rejection +3
Established 6
Collapsed: 0 points Fractured: 4 points
Your culture’s political system has completely collapsed, often due to Your culture is being split between two or more rival factions.
military conquest or civil war. Individuals expect a totally new political Individuals expect a significant degree of political change when those in
system when the dust settles. The Post-Endor Galactic Empire, post- power are replaced. The modern United States or Russia in the late 19th
apocalypse wasteland, or Mexico after the fall of Tenochitlan would be century would be good examples of this condition.
good examples of this condition. If your culture is in Anarchy, you must
take this condition. • Life Experience +3 • Wealth +1
• Aff iliation +3
• Retention +1
Consistent: 5 points
Revolution: 2 points Your culture is mostly stable. Individuals expect some degree of political
Your culture is currently in the throes of a violent revolution. Individuals change from day to day. Modern Europe or Japan would be good
expect a huge political change when the dust settles. Revolutionary examples of this condition.
France or Iran would be good examples of this condition.
• Life Experience +3 • Wealth +2
• Life Experience +2 • Blame Avoidance +2 • Obligation +4

Established: 6 points
Your culture is highly stable. Individuals are not used to political change.
Medieval Arabia or China would be good examples of this condition.
The daily life of an average citizen involves very little danger.

• Life Experience +3 • Wealth +3

• Cooperation +4

53
Position: Position Peripheral: 1 point
This determines what position your Enclave -2 Your culture is located on the
culture has compared to rival cultures. edge of the politically important
Isolated 0
This is not related to technology level nations. This could be England
at all. For example, there were actually Monoculture 0 up until the Norman Conquests,
primitive nomads with superpower Peripheral 1 Medieval Japan, or modern
status in real history; the Mongols. Minor Power 2 Australia. You dream of one day
Colonial 2 gaining access to the wealth of the
Enclave: -2 points Major Power 3 core regions.
Your culture has no land basis. This Imperial Power 5
may be because your people are like • Skill: Enduring Hardship (TOU)
Superpower 6 • Acquisition +2
the Jews or Gypsies in that you are
scattered throughout the world in
enclaves and ghettos, living in the shadow of other cultures while Minor Power: 2 points
trying to preserve your own. Life under these conditions is difficult. Your culture is a minor player in
Alternatively, this position may refer to groups that are intact in one the diplomatic world. This could
location but subordinate to another culture, such as the Welsh in Great be modern Spain or Medieval
Britain or Native American culture in the modern United States. Venice. Knowing about other
players on the international scene
• Wealth -2 • Retention +2 is very important.

Isolated: 0 points • Skill: Managing Relationships (MUL)

Your culture is located far away from your peers and have little influence • Skill: Appearing Important (DEC)
on them. They have little influence on your culture in return. Viking • Exposition +2
Iceland, Hawaii & Easter Island, or Siberia would be good examples of
this status. Colonial: 2 points
Your culture is subservient to a political master. This could be the pre-
• Autonomy +1 revolutionary United States or 19th century Canada. You are focused
on building a new society, but chafe a little at the overbearing political
Monoculture: 0 points directives of the mother country. Brushes with the law have taught you
Your culture is the only culture as far as you know. The idea of not to conceal things quite well on your person.
cooperating with other people seems unusual to you. Rival cultures may
have existed in the past, but they have been annihilated or absorbed. • Skill: Concealing Weapons (DEX)
This could be the culture of many science fiction settings, but it does • Skill: Appearing Important (DEC)
not exist on Earth so far. Your GM must approve this choice. • Construction +2

• Obligation +1
54
Position (continued): Corruption: Corruption
This determines what amount of Non-Existent 0
Major Power: 3 points corruption exists in your culture.
Inconsequential 1
Your culture is a major player on the world stage. This could be modern Corruption is a generic term that could
describe organized crime, political Prevalent 2
India or Germany, or it could also be Renaissance France. Your nation
machines, or any other manner of Overwhelming 4
poses a significant threat to its neighbors.
nefarious deeds.
• Skill: Managing Relationships (MUL) • Recognition +3
• Skill: Knowing Geography (KNO) Non-Existent: 0 points
• Skill: Resisting Intimidation (WIL) Your culture has zero or near zero corruption. Often this is because
there is nothing to corrupt. For example, there was very little corruption
Imperial Power: 5 points in most North American native tribes, because there were very few ways
Your culture is a powerful empire with significant geographical reach. to reap personal gain through political manipulation. This might also
This could be Imperial Spain or ancient Carthage, or it could be an apply to some kind of utopian society in a science fiction setting.
intergalactic empire. You view other cultures as inferior to your own and
have no qualms about crushing them beneath an iron boot. • Obligation +1

• Skill: Intimidating Speech (PER) • Aggression +4 Inconsequential: 1 point

• Skill: Knowing Geography (KNO) • Wealth +2
• Skill: Resisting Intimidation (WIL)
Superpower: 6 points
Your culture has no major competitors. This could be ancient Rome or
the modern United States. You have near zero respect for other cultures,
except that required to keep them under control. The idea of another
nation seriously challenging yours is not considered.
• Skill: Intimidating Speech (PER) • Dominance +4
• Skill: Argumentative Discourse (PER) • Wealth +3
• Skill: Charming Speech (PER)
Your culture has a small but controllable level of corruption. Modern
European states would be good examples of this status. There are some
incidents, but generally you are unconcerned about corruption in the
organizations you interact with.
• Skill: Inspiring Trust (PRES) • Construction +2
Prevalent: 2 points
Your culture has a significant amount of corruption. This could
be Victorian England, 19th century America, or modern Russia.
Corruption is a problem and you take anticipatory steps to either avoid
it or you are prepared to pay the price of corruption in an interaction.

• Skill: Illicit Interaction ( JUD) • Blame Avoidance +2

• Skill: Speaking Innuendo (REA)

55
Corruption (continued): Technology: Technology
This determines what technology Advanced -3
Overwhelming: 4 points level your culture has relative to its
Competitive 0
Your culture is rife with corruption. Accomplishing the slightest task neighbors. Your GM will determine
the actual technology level that exists Uncompetitive 3
requires all manner of bribery and complaint. This could be modern
in your setting. Backward 7
Mexico or Nar Shadda. You have given up hope that you can have an
interaction that is truly legitimate. Every palm must be greased.
Advanced: -3 points
• Skill: Illicit Interaction ( JUD) • Retention +3 Your culture is slightly ahead technologically. An example of this would
• Skill: Speaking Innuendo (REA) • Wealth -2 be medieval Holland or Renaissance Italy. Your society places enormous
• Skill: Locating Black-Markets (AWA) • Strength +1 importance on academic pursuits and innovation over physical labor.
• Skill: Spotting Law-Enforcement (AWA)
• Skill: Small Talk (PRES) • Achievement +3
• Endurance -1 • Resilience -1

Competitive: 0 points
Your culture keeps pace with other nations technologically. An example
of this would be modern France or the Ottoman Empire during the
Renaissance. You are taught the value of learning from a young age.

• Acquisition +1

Uncompetitive: 5 points
Your culture lags slightly behind others technologically. An example
of this would be the Aztecs or medieval Japanese. Your culture focuses
great energy on ostentatious displays and public spectacle.

• Skill: Heavy Lifting (BAL) • Exhibition +4

• Endurance +1 • Strength +1

Backward: 7 points
Your culture is significantly behind others technologically. An example
of this would be modern Mongolia or ancient Scandinavia. Your
isolation has made you exceptionally hardy.

• Skill: Fighting Unarmed (BAL) • Autonomy +5

• Endurance +2 • Strength +1
56
Warfare: Warfare
This determines how often your culture Constant -2
is mobilized for war. Cultures at war
Common -1
frequently are more exposed to stress
than those predominantly at peace. Frequent 0
Frequency of warfare in your culture Infrequent 1
affect how much military training the Rare 2
average citizen possesses. Never 3

Constant: -2 points
Your culture is always at war. Almost all individuals have basic military
skills. The Arabian, Mongolian, and Spanish Empires during their
growth centuries would be a good example of this characteristic.

• Skill: Military Engineering (KNO) • Wealth -3

• Revenge +2
Common: -1 point
Your culture is at war at least once a decade. Most individuals have basic
weapons training. This is typical of almost all medieval societies and
most Renaissance societies. Combat is a regular occurrence and you are
prepared for it in some way.
• Skill: Military Engineering (KNO) • Wealth -2
• Aggression +2
Infrequent: 1 point
Your culture is at war once in a hundred years or so. This is common for
most minor powers, like modern Portugal or Ireland.
• Skill: Defusing Conflict (PRES) • Aff iliation +2
Rare: 2 points
Your culture is only at war on the rarest occasions, maybe once in several
generations. Many isolated primitive societies experience this level of
warfare. Warfare is typically brief, with few casualties.

Frequent: 0 points • Skill: Defusing Conflict (PRES) • Exhibition +2

Your culture is at war once in a generation. Many individuals have
military skills. Most modern major powers, such as France or China,
would be a good example of this characteristic. Combat is seen as an
occurrence that you should be prepared for.
• Dominance +1
• Skill: Appearing Non-Threatening (PRES)
Never: 3 points
Your culture is never at war, typically because there are no competitors
on your borders but it could be because of pacifistic beliefs or a
monoculture that precludes conflict.

• Skill: Defusing Conflict (PRES) • Play +3

• Skill: Appearing Non-Threatening (PRES)
• Skill: Encouraging Others (INS)

57
Violence: Violence
This determines how your culture feels Innocent -4
about violence. Aggressive: 6 points
Pacifism -2
Defensive 0 Your culture is supportive of violent conquest. The killing of innocents is
Innocent: -4 points typically only frowned upon when it becomes truly excessive. Medieval
Selective 2
Your culture has no conception of Vikings would be typical of this kind of society.
violence. This is very rare and only Aggressive 6
occurs in extremely primitive societies • Skill: Appearing Confident (DEC) • Acquisition +4
or extremely advanced societies that • Skill: Assessing Danger ( JUD) • Strength +1
have moved beyond violence for many • Reduce all combat related stress by 1
generations.

• Double all combat related stress

• Play +3

Pacifism: -2 points
Your culture views violence as abhorrent. This is common in modern
societies. Observing violent acts causes severe anxiety and stress.

• Increase all combat related stress by 1

• Security +2

Defensive: 0 points
Your culture only allows violence when you are defending yourself.
While strongly against the idea of intentionally killing another person,
preparations are made for the possibility of it.

• Aff iliation +1

Selective: 2 points
Your culture allows violence against certain portions of the “enemy”
population. Typically this is a restriction of violence to adult males with
a prohibition on harming women and children.

• Skill: Appearing Confident (DEC) • Revenge +2

• Skill: Assessing Danger ( JUD)

58
Sexuality: Sexuality Crime: Crime
This determines how your culture feels Repressive -1 This determines what the punishment Shame 0
about public displays of sexuality. for criminality is within your culture.
Ignored 0 Restitution 1
Traditional 0 Labor 2
Repressive: -1 point Shame: 0 points
Open 2 Imprisonment 2
Your culture strongly disapproves Your culture has no formal system
of public displays of sexuality. Celebratory 5 of punishment. Criminal acts are
Pornography, erotic writing or poetry, controlled through shame and
and any depiction of sexual acts in public is prohibited. ostracization. This is common in primitive societies.

• Skill: Concealing Beliefs (DEC) • Dominance +2 • Absolution +1

• Life Experience -2
Ignored: 0 points
Your culture does not have a concept of sexuality because it either has
an asexual reproduction system or a hermaphroditic biological base.
• Play +1
Traditional: 0 points
Your culture disapproves of public displays of sexuality, but they are not
illegal in most cases. Extreme displays are curtailed through legal action.
• Rejection +1
Open: 2 points
Your culture overlooks public displays of sexuality. Sexuality typically
viewed as a personal issue and people are free to do as they wish.
Restitution: 1 point
Your culture punishes most criminality by demanding compensation.
For crimes like theft, this might involve paying a fine to the injured
party. In the case of physical violence, this might mean an eye for an
eye. Executions for crimes like murder are very public.
• Skill: Assessing Value ( JUD) • Cooperation +2
Labor: 2 points
Your culture punishes most criminality by demanding compensation
through labor. Sentences are short for minor crimes and long for serious
crimes. Executions are rare and with typically limited attendance. These
kind of societies frequently impose labor taxes as well.
• Skill: Heavy Lifting (BAL) • Rejection +2
• Skill: Enduring Hardship (TOU)

• Skill: Romantic Courting (SED) • Sensuality +1 Imprisonment: 2 points

Celebratory: 5 points
Your culture endorses public displays of sexuality. Sexuality typically
viewed favorably as a path to enlightenment or self-awareness.
• Skill: Romantic Courting (SED) • Sensuality +4
• Endurance +1 • Resilience +1
Your culture punishes most criminality by imprisonment. Sentences are
short for minor crimes and long for serious crimes. Executions are very
rare and typically restricted to the public.
• Skill: Spotting Law-Enforcement (AWA) • Blame Avoidance +3
• Skill: Appearing Non-Threatening (PRES)
59
Religion: Religion
This determines what kind of religion Animist 0 Polytheist: 3 points
dominates your culture. Your culture worships a complex pantheon of gods with limited
Ancestor Worship 1
portfolios of powers. These religions have complex mythologies and
Pantheist 2
Animist: 0 points internal rivalries between groups of worshipers. Knowing what to
Polytheist 3 sacrifice to these gods and when to do so can be of vital importance.
Your culture worships animal and
nature spirits. This is the most Philosophy 5
common form of religion for Monotheist 6 • Skill: Identifying Plants (KNO) • Revenge +3
indigenous peoples. These cultures Science 9 • Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO)
tend to be highly superstitious and • Skill: Offering Sacrifices (IMP)
paranoid about any unusual activity.
Philosophy: 5 points
• Cooperation +1 Your culture does not worship deities or spirits, but instead adheres to
a comprehensive philosophical perspective. Many forms of Buddhism,
Ancestor Worship: 1 point including Confucianism, would be typical of this perspective.
Your culture combines nature worship with ancestor worship. The goal
of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors’ continued well-being • Skill: Critical Analysis (KNO) • Understanding +4
and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for • Skill: Rhetorical Speaking (PRES) • Life Experience +1
special favours or assistance. • Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO)

• Skill: Crafting Totems (PREC) • Security +2 Monotheist: 6 points

Pantheist: 2 points
Your culture worships nature as a single omnipresent entity. Nature is
respected but not prayed to for specific intercessions. This can cover a
wide variety of religions from generic nature worship, deism, humanism,
and many other similar religions.
• Skill: Identifying Plants (KNO) • Sensuality +2
• Skill: Calming Others (INS)
Your culture worships a single omnipresent and omnipotent deity.
This allows nearly anything to be resolved by faith, giving believers an
incredible will to endure suffering in this world.
• Skill: Enduring Hardship (TOU) • Absolution +4
• Skill: Appearing Confident (DEC) • Life Experience +2
• Skill: Calming Others (INS) • Wealth +1
Science: 9 points
Your culture does not worship any supernatural forces of any kind.
Instead, it relies on science and reason to discern answers to existential
questions. These kind of societies tend to be technologically advanced.

• Skill: Critical Analysis (KNO) • Exposition +5

• Skill: Rhetorical Speaking (PRES) • Wealth +2
• Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO) • Resilience +2
60
Magic: Magic
This is how your culture views Superstitious 0 Sacrifice: 1 point
supernatural events and magic. Your culture believes that invisible powers must be appeased through
Spirits 1
Whether the magic actually works the sacrifice of animals, plants, objects, or in certain settings more
is a different question. You can make Herbal 1
abstract concepts like life force or memories. In many settings, this type
multiple selections from this condition. Sacrifice 1 of magic is not actually functional. However, your character may still
For example, your people may believe Runic 1 strongly believe that it does work.
in both Runic and Ritual. If you are Dance & Song 2
exposed to a kind of magic which you Ritual 2 • Skill: Animal Skinning (DEX) • Exhibition +2
do not believe to be possible, this can
Prayer 2
cause Stress. Runic: 1 point
Talent 3
Your culture believes that magical powers are unlocked through
Analytical 4
Superstitious: 0 points powerful symbology and runes. This magic is common for inflicting
Your culture suspects that there None 5 your enemies with curses and hexes.
are supernatural forces at work but
has no organized framework or specific ideas for understanding it. • Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO) • Revenge +2
Superstitions are at their base the selective remembrance of unusual
activity while overlooking the high frequency of mundane occurrences. Dance & Song: 2 points
Your culture believes that magical powers can be tapped through
• Exposition +1 • No Magic rituals dominated by dancing or singing. Native American rain dances
are the typical example of this. Like sacrificial magic, this does not
Spirits: 1 point actually work in most settings but your character strongly believes that
Your culture believes that there are invisible spirits that influence it does. However, if your setting supports bardic magic, this may be a
events. There is no organized structure to this, but if something unusual requirement to use it.
happens your first instinct is to imagine that a spirit of some kind is
behind it rather than seriously investigate. • Skill: Rhythmic Dancing (BAL) • Play +2
• Skill: Rhythmic Chanting (MUL)
• Skill: Imaginative Storytelling (PRES) • Security +2
Ritual: 2 points
Herbal: 1 point Your culture believes that magical powers can be tapped through rituals.
Your culture believes that elements of the environment have magical This is a hallmark of early Catholicism and a lot of Satanic and Pagan
properties. Combining these elements into magical potions or burning beliefs. In settings that support magic circles and other ritualistic magic,
them to create magical effects. If your setting supports magic potions, this must be taken for your character to feel like the magic will succeed.
this must be taken for your character to feel certain that it will work.
• Skill: Identifying Symbols (KNO) • Blame Avoidance +2
• Skill: Complicated Cooking (PREC) • Construction +2 • Skill: Rhythmic Chanting (MUL)

61
Prayer: 2 points
Your culture believes in the intercessionary power of personal prayers.
These may be functional access points to powerful magic, such as a
cleric in a medieval fantasy setting. Alternatively, the prayers may simply
be a placebo.

• Skill: Calming Others (INS) • Security +2

• Skill: Seeking Assistance (PER)

Talent: 3 points
Your culture believes that individuals simply have a talent for magical
powers. At some point in their life, these magical abilities simply
manifest themselves.

• Skill: Appearing Confident (PRES) • Achievement +3

• Life Experience +2

Analytical: 4 points
Your culture believes that magical powers are unlocked by academic
study and contemplation. There are typically magic schools where the
craft is taught like an academic field. This study typically benefits society
in a variety of ways.

• Skill: Critical Analysis (KNO) • Understanding +3

• Skill: Basic Research (DED) • Wealth +1

None: 5 points
Your culture does not believe in magic. This may be beneficial if magic
does not really exist, but if magic actually does exist then you will
definitely be shocked when you see it. This choice is incompatible with
all other options within this condition.

• Double stress gain from any supernatural or magical event.

• Skill: Critical Analysis (KNO) • Recognition +4
• Skill: Basic Research (DED) • No Magic
• Life Experience +2 • Wealth +2

62
Education: Education
This is who your culture educates and None 0 Universal: 7 points
to what degree they are educated. Your culture provides quality educational opportunities to all individuals.
Elite 1
This is the standard for all modern societies.
Limited 3
None: 0 points
Common 5 • May purchase Education for standard costs
Your culture provides no organized
education system of education. Your Universal 7 • Life Experience +2 • Understanding +5
parents are your educators.

• Play +1 Skill: Skill

This is an optional way of giving your None 0
Elite: 1 point culture experience with particular
Minor 2
Your culture provides educational opportunities only to the elite, skills that are unique to your lifestyle.
Major 4
whether they be political, economic, or religious in nature. The common
person has almost no hope of becoming educated. None: 0 points
You get no bonus skills.
• May only purchase Education if in possession of a Title or Rank
• Cooperation +2 Minor: 2 points
Your culture has experience with a particular skill. The skill
Limited: 3 points cannot require overly specialized training regimens, such as use of
Your culture provides very limited educational opportunities that flamethrowers or fighter jet piloting. You can take this up to three times
are available to everyone, usually limited to basic literacy. Some for three different skills.
opportunities exist for higher advancement but they are rare.
• Skill: Your Choice
• May purchase Education for double normal cost
• Security +2 Major: 5 points
Your culture has significant experience with a particular skill. The skill
Common: 5 points cannot require overly specialized training regimens, such as use of
Your culture provides decent educational opportunities to most flamethrowers or fighter jet piloting. You will begin play with strong
individuals. This may occur under the auspices of a military academy, practical experience in the chosen skill. You can only take this one time.
the church, or private institutions. The quality of that education may
vary slightly from place to place, but it is everywhere. • Skill: Your Choice with 3 Experience

• May purchase Education for standard costs

• Order +4

63
Chapter 4:
Life Experience

64
Life Experience:
At this point, your culture will have shaped your life in many minor
ways. It may have made you quicker to anger or provided you with a
better chance at an education. However, all you have determined so far
are the odds on the table. You have not rolled the dice of life. That time
has now come.
Your character is directly influenced by a plethora of events that occur
in her life. Your family life will have an impact for good or ill. You
may be born to a wealthy aristocrat or a starving pauper. You may meet
people or make decisions that can open doors to skills and possessions.
You may find yourself in possession of a beautiful body or you may train
yourself to have a powerful one. Events can happen that limit or expand
your social connections and status. Your life is a mix of fate and choice.
This chapter allows you to sculpt your character’s life as if from clay.
Exercise your creativity!
Create your own custom life experience
Go through this chapter and make a choice for each life experience
presented. For some categories, you can make multiple choices per
experience category. For others, you will only be able to make one
choice. This will be specified in the description and exists for fairly
obvious reasons, such as your parents cannot be divorced and married
simultaneously. Record your choices on your character sheet. The
experiences in this chapter can be used to create virtually any kind of
life you wish, from the mundane to the bizarre.
Life Experience Determination
You get 15 points to spend on life experience. Negative experiences
can be taken to give you additional points to spend on positive
experiences. You cannot take more than -10 worth of negative
experiences without GM approval. You are not obligated to choose
an option from every category. If you do not make a choice, you are
assumed to be average in that respect. For example, if you do not
choose an option under Beauty, you are assumed to be of average
attractiveness. Choose those elements of life which interest you and
build your unique life.
Additionally, you need to choose a single starting language for your
character. This is typically named after the culture that you just got
finished creating. If you come from the Anduali culture, you are
assumed to speak Anduali. You will probably want to coordinate with
your party members on language so that you can speak with them.
Your character can learn more languages in the Training section of
their life experiences. You cannot learn more languages than you have
Empathy, regardless of whether you can spend the life experience
points to do so. This represents your brain’s inherent limitations.

A Note Regarding Skills

Although they are described in greater depth under Resolution
Mechanics, you may be required to invent skills for your character while
moving through this section. Therefore it will be helpful for you to
know that when inventing a skill, use either a verb, such as Skydiving, or
a verb and a modifier, such as Smooth Talking. Compound words may
also be allowed, such as Long-Distance Running. Consult with your
GM regarding whether you think a skill is validly constructed.
65
Beauty: Beauty
This represents your physical beauty. Hideous -5 Gorgeous: 5 points
Your appearance may only be relevant You are absolutely gorgeous. Things nearly always go your way. Your
Unattractive -3
to members of your own species or it interactions with others are extremely positive and you are very popular.
may be applicable to every species. You Attractive 3 Forming relationships is easy. You are extremely recognizable and
can only take one experience from this Gorgeous 5 anyone you interact with is certain to remember you later.
category.
• -1 difficulty in all social encounters
Hideous: -5 points • Connections +3
You are absolutely repulsive. You are a social outcast and you have
trouble making friends. Any interaction with others is significantly
harder for you. Taking a leadership position is nearly unthinkable
for you. You will probably be the end of your genetic line. You are
memorable only in a negative context.

• +1 difficulty in all social encounters

• Connections -3

Unattractive: -3 points
You have below average attractiveness. Many social interactions end up
poorly for you and you have become accustomed to staying out of the
spotlight. You have fewer friendships than others and a poor selection
of mates. Sometimes people whom you interact with regularly do not
even know your name or would be able to recognize you if approached.

• +1 difficulty in social encounters with your own species

• Connections -1

Attractive: 3 points
You have above average attractiveness. Things just naturally seem to go
well for you. Your interactions with others are generally positive and
you have many friends and an excellent selection of mates. Sometimes
people whom you have barely interacted with know your name or
recognize you when they spot you in a crowd.

• -1 difficulty in social encounters with your own species

• Connections +1
66
Parents: Parents
This represents the parental quality Enslaved
and structure of the family you were
Orphan
born into. You can only choose one
experience from this category. Absentee
Divorced
Enslaved: -5 points Infamous
You were either born into slavery Murdered
or the freeborn child of a slave, Single
depending on what Social Status you Stable
take. Your parent’s ability to care for
Doting
you was severely impaired as a result.
You cannot take a social status worth 1 or more points. You consider
freedom to be exceptionally important and aspire to succeed.
• Autonomy +1 • Achievement +1
• Wealth -5 • Connections -2
Orphan: -3 points
You were abandoned as a very young
child and cared for by either foster
parents or an orphanage. The care that
you received was significantly below
average. You cannot take a social status
worth more than 1 point. You never felt
adequately cared for, so you seek out
people who are generous and you hoard
everything of value in case your life gets
turned upside down again. The selection
you make from the Siblings category
reflects the number of children in your
orphanage or foster home.
• Recognition +1
• Security +1
• Wealth -3
• Connections -1
-5 Absentee: -1 point
Your parents were consistently absent from your life. They could have
-3
been world travellers, business people who worked long hours or
-1
commuted long distances, or simply consumed in their own world such
-1 as parents who spend their evenings at entertainment venues and leave
-1 their children with a caretaker. You have always felt a little unwanted
-1 and unappreciated for your accomplishments and worth as a person.
-1
1 • Recognition +1 • Security +1
• Connections -1
3
Divorced: -1 point
Your parents divorced when you were a young child. This cannot be
taken if your culture does not allow divorce (Repressive sexuality would
not). You were able to spend some time with both parents and learned
to play them off each other. You have may have even lost faith in a lot of
the concepts of love and marriage for your culture. Children of divorce
tend to be extremely cynical about their own relationships and trend
towards infidelity.
• Security +1 • Dominance +1
• Wealth -1
Infamous: -1 point
One of your parents has a severely tainted public image. This may be
because of some crime long ago by an ancestor, for which punishment
was served, but which taints your family’s name in the present. It could
be a public act which continues to haunt your parent from their own
past. Your parent could even have been executed for their transgressions.
You have always had few friends and been very concerned about how
you are viewed.
• Recognition -1 • Autonomy +2
• Connections -1
67
Murdered: -1 point Siblings: Siblings
One of your parents was murdered in cold blood. No clear evidence This represents the number of siblings Extreme -4
was ever found. The perpetrator is still at large. You have talked to a you have in your family, as well as
Many -1
lot of people who could have known something and as a result you your position in the age mix. You can
have several people who you personally suspect did it, but you have no only choose one experience from this One 1
support from local law enforcement. Your other parent struggled to put category. None 4
food on the table due to the loss of a breadwinner.
Extreme: -4 points
• Revenge +2 • Wealth -1 You had many times more siblings compared to other members of
your culture. This provided you with extremely high levels of social
Single: -1 point interaction when you were growing up. Decide if you were in the older
One of your parents died in an accident, from a disease, or simply or younger half.
packed up and left. Your other parent raised you by themselves under
significant hardship. You have missed out on a lot of opportunities. You • If in the older half, Obligation +1 & Dominance +1
have always aspired to make a better life for yourself and repay your • If not, Play +1 & Recognition +1
remaining parent for all the love they have shown you. • For both, Connections +2 & Wealth -4

• Achievement +1 • Construction +1 Many: -1 point

• Wealth -2 • Connections +1 You had many siblings compared to other members of your culture. This
provided you with excellent social interaction when you were growing
Stable: 1 points up, but reduced the family resources available to you. Decide if you were
Your parents provided a very stable home life for you. You were able to in the older or younger half.
spend significant quality time with your parents and have solid faith in
a lot of the concepts of love and marriage for your culture. You tend to • If in the older half, Obligation +2
take your personal relationships very seriously and value fidelity. • If not, Play +2
• For both, Connections +2 & Wealth -1
• Security +2 • Wealth +1
One: 1 point
Doting: 3 points You had only a single sibling. This provided you with decent social
Your parents provided a stable home life for you and showered you with interaction when you were growing up. Decide whether you were the
affection. Someone outside of your family might call you spoiled, but oldest or the youngest sibling.
you feel grateful for the attention paid to your development. You were
able to spend a lot of quality time with your parents and have enormous • If the oldest, Dominance +2
faith in a love. This also provided you with a strong financial position. • If not, Blame Avoidance +2
• For both, Connections -1 & Wealth +2
• Security +2 • Wealth +2

68
None: 4 points Minority: -1 point
You were an only child. You are a member of a social class that is looked down upon by the
This gave you a lot more majority. This might be due to species, ethnicity, or because you are an
attention than the average immigrant. In cases of strong gender discrimination, your gender might
child receives and your qualify for this status. A variety of biological factors might qualify in
parents used all their a fantasy world (requires GM approval). You have strong feelings
resources to help you of resentment toward the dominant culture and you expect people
without having to divide to discriminate against you. Some opportunities may be completely
their attention among closed to you, such as Combat training or Education. Discuss these
others. However, this came consequences with the GM when you take this choice.
with a tendency towards
personal vanity. • Rejection +2 • Connections -1

• Security +2 Peasant: -1 point

• Wealth +2 You are a member of a downtrodden economic class. You are treated
differently from others in legal matters, property ownership, and
Social Status: freedom of movement. You strongly resent this imposition and strive to
This represents the status you were Social Status rise above it. Some opportunities may be completely closed to you, such
born into. You can choose one Slave -4 as Combat training or Education. Discuss these consequences with the
experience from this category. Settings GM when you take this choice.
Minority -1
with extreme social stratification may
require that you make a choice in this Peasant -1
• Recognition +1 • Autonomy +1
category. Bourgeoisie 3 • Wealth -1
Religious 3
Slave: -4 points Elite 5 Bourgeoisie: 3 points
If your parents were Enslaved, you Inherited 8 You are from a family that makes its living off business ventures, rents,
were born into slavery. If not, you trades or other forms of income generation that does not involve labor.
were enslaved as a young adult. Regardless of your parentage, you are You have not had strong reasons to work very hard and this has given
a slave now and you are someone else’s property. This has conditioned you a touch of elitism. In some settings, this class might be referred to
you to submit to authority and follow orders. Work out the details of as Burghers, Merchants, or Corporatists.
your owner with the GM. If your setting does not support slavery, this
option cannot be selected. • Dominance +1 • Order +1
• Wealth +2
• If your parents were slaves, Autonomy -2 & Retention +4
• If not, Autonomy +1 & Aggression +1
• For both, Connections -2
• For both, cannot start with any Wealth

69
Religious: 3 points
There are two main paths into the religious orders. One is as a young
adult from a noble family, but for some reason you have no inheritance
to look forward to. Perhaps this is because you are the second or third
child and the first born stands to inherit everything, or because your
family is too poor to provide for your future. The second is joining the
orders as a young child, usually an orphan. Monasteries are known for
providing this kind of entryway into the religious class. As a member
of a religious order, you are given exemptions to a large number of laws
and your daily life generally involves telling other people what to do.

• Order +3 • Sensuality -1
• Wealth +1 • Access to religious titles.

Elite: 5 points
You are a member of the economic elite. Your family wealth is extensive
and involves multiple property holdings. You are generally unaware of
the problems most people face. All social opportunities are open to you,
though you may look upon certain professions as disgraceful.

• Dominance +2 • Sensuality +1
• Cooperation -1 • Wealth +2
• Access to noble titles.

Inherited: 8 points
You are a member of the economic elite, as above. However your family
wealth stretches back several generations and enjoys special standing
within the political system. You are “old money”. You even look down
on lesser elites.

• Dominance +2 • Sensuality +2
• Cooperation -2 • Wealth +4
• Connections -3 • Free 3 point noble Title

70
Starting Age: Starting Age
This represents the relative age of the Child -10 Young: -5 points
character at game start. Keep in mind Your character is around the age of sexual maturity for your species. You
Young -5
that a young member of one species are immature compared to the average member of your society. Most
may actually be older than an adult Adult 5
people look down upon you as a result. You are typically not taken
from another species. You can choose Mature 10 seriously at first glance. The opportunities and resources available to you
one experience from this category. are significantly reduced.

Child: -10 points • Play +3 • Sensuality -3

Your character is considered a young child by your species. You are very
immature compared to the average member of your society. Most people
look down upon you as a result. You must make enormous efforts before
you are taken seriously. This choice requires significant discussion with
the GM regarding appropriateness to the campaign. Most opportunities
and resources are not available to you.
• Play +4 • Sensuality -9 to you are greater than average.
• Cannot take any Training • Cannot start with any Wealth
• Cannot take any Training • Wealth -3
Adult: 5 points
Your character is well past the age of sexual maturity for your species.
You are older and more mature than the average starting character, but
you still have a lot to learn. You are typically treated with respect by
other members of your society. The opportunities and resources available
• Play -2 • Order +2
• Obligation +2 • Wealth +3
• +3 Experience to a Skill that you have already taken

Mature: 10 points
Your character is far past the age of sexual maturity for your species.
You are a fully mature adult or even into your twilight years. You are
typically treated with great respect by other members of your society.
The opportunities and resources available to you are abundant and you
have a considerable personal wealth accumulated.

• Play -4 • Order +3
• Obligation +3 • Wealth +5
• +5 Experience to 3 different Skills that you have already taken

71
Suffering: Suffering
This represents a significant amount Crippling Injury -10 Sexual Abuse: -5 points
of suffering that you experienced You were sexually abused as a child. It has tainted love and sexuality
Mental Abuse -5
as a child. You can choose multiple for you. You use your sexuality for manipulation and control, not true
experiences from this category. Sexual Abuse -5
fulfillment. You are bitter about the prospects of happiness in your
Physical Abuse -5 personal relationships and tend to view anyone who is interested in you
Crippling Injury: -10 points Plague / Disease -3 as having some secret agenda they are working behind your back.
You were critically wounded as a child. Bullied -1
Choose a limb to permanently cripple Vulnerable -1 • Sensuality -6 • Rejection +2
(cannot be an Augment). You can no
longer use that limb for anything. This injury has significantly harmed • -2 difficulty for any attempt at Seduction, but gain 1 point of
your ability to function on a daily basis. You are also physically weaker residual stress any time you use it.
because of lack of exercise.

• Endurance -1 • Strength -1

• Cannot use a Skill that requires the missing limb

(e.g. Running with one leg).

• +1 difficulty whenever using a Skill that a normal person

would use the missing limb to help with (e.g. Climbing)

Mental Abuse: -5 points

You were mentally abused as a child. It has left lasting impressions,
particularly with respect to sustained stress. One or both of your parents
may have yelled excessively and made you paranoid of getting in
trouble. Alternatively, a caregiver could have severely teased you about
an emotionally charged issue such as weight, minority status, or similar
aspect of your life.

• Affiliation -2 • Rejection +2
• Increase all residual stress gains by 1

72
Physical Abuse: -5 points Exposure: Exposure
You were physically abused as a child. It has left you with a slight This represents exposure to unusual Death 1
physical weakness, but has made you rebellious and obstinate. You are events as a child. You can choose
Terrain 2
more easily exhausted than other people. The fear triggered by violence multiple experiences from this
has made you more prone to losing control in combat situations. category. Warfare 3
Occult 3
• Cooperation -2 • Aggression +2 Death: 1 point Supernatural 3
• Revenge +2 • Endurance -1 You were exposed to the death of a
• Increase all combat related stress by 1 person close to you as a child. This has given you a certain acceptance
that death is a part of life. You have a slightly lower drive to acquire
Plague / Disease: -3 points things because you know that you will die one day and it will amount to
You were exposed to a particularly damaging plague or disease as a nothing. However, throughout the experience you met a few individuals
child, but survived. This has given you permanent immunity to that you might never have known otherwise.
specific danger, but your body has been permanently damaged as a
result. This damage leaves you slightly more vulnerable to other diseases • Acquisition -1 • Retention -1
and poisons. • Obligation +4 • Connections +1

• Resilience -1 Terrain: 2 points

• Immunity to a specific disease or plague
Bullied: -1 point
You were systematically bullied by other kids. You have vowed to not let
that happen again. You have a distaste for seeing anyone being pushed
around or intimidated by street toughs or similar individuals.
• Cooperation -2 • Revenge +4
You were exposed to an extreme environment as a child. You might have
been lost in the woods for a few days or gone backpacking with a school
group in a foreign locale. Regardless, the experience had a profound
impact on how you feel about the environment and you learned valuable
life lessons about survival in another climate.
• Achievement +2
• Skill: Survival (KNO) of your choice (ex. Mountain Survival)

Vulnerable: -1 point Warfare: 3 points

You were exposed to the threat of violence on a near daily basis. This
might be because you were raised in a high crime area or subjected
to raids by neighboring tribes. You are paranoid about your physical
security and tend to avoid conflict because you have seen the downside.
• Aggression -2 • Security +4
You were exposed to warfare in some form as a child. You had to learn
how to use a weapon to defend your home, family, and friends. This
has made you slightly jaded and more willing to accept or take violent
actions, justifying them as necessary given the nature of the world. You
are also able to keep your cool in violent situations.
• Revenge +2 • Reduce all combat related stress by 1
• Skill: Combat in the weapon you used in the war (ex. Sword Combat)

73
Occult: 3 points
You were exposed to the Occult at a young age. Perhaps you witnessed
a ceremony conducted by a local coven of witches or lived in a haunted
mansion for a short time. Regardless, you are aware that there are secret
unnatural things going on in the world and you intend on finding out
more about them. You cannot take this option if there is no magic in
your setting.
Limited: -2 points
You were given a small amount of education in the most basic of skills.
You are less knowledgeable than the average individual in your society.
Either you just didn’t spend a lot of time paying attention or access to
information and education was denied to you, perhaps because of social
status. Sometimes you say things that might lead one to think you are a
yokel or bimbo.

• Dominance +1 • Understanding +1 • Play +2 • Remove 2 Skills gained from culture

• Stress from magic novelty is reduced by 2.
Supernatural: 3 points
You were exposed to the Supernatural at a young age. Perhaps you
witnessed a vampire fighting off a pack of werewolves or had a long
chat with a sentient mutant. Regardless, you are aware that there
are secret unnatural things going on in the world and you intend on
finding out more about them. You cannot take this option if there are
no supernatural powers in your setting.
Apprenticeship: 3 points
You were taught by a businessperson or tradesperson in a specific
business or trade. You have a good education in basic affairs and
specialized knowledge of a particular craft. This might be carpentry,
performing arts, or any number of other professions.
• Understanding +2
• Gain a Skill in a trade of your choice and 3 experience in that skill

• Achievement +1 • Understanding +1 Tutored: 6 points

• Stress from supernatural events is reduced by 2. You were taught by a tutor in a wide range of skills. This is common
among economic elite in societies lacking universal education. This tutor
Education: taught you a great deal, but kept you indoors and under supervision for
Education
This represents formal education most of the day. This is something you may or may not be bitter about.
None -4
received as a child. You can choose
Limited -2 • Understanding +4 • Gain 3 Skills of your choice
one experience from this category.
Apprenticeship 3
Tutored 6 Quality: 10 points
None: -4 points
You were not educated in any Quality 10 You were taught by a developed educational system in a wide range
substantial way as a child, not even by of skills. This is common in modern and futuristic societies. In less
your parents. You are critically short advanced societies, this might only be available to residents of highly
on critical knowledge for functioning developed cities. For example, someone living in Constantinople,
in society. Nanjing, or Baghdad in the Dark Ages might be able to take this, but
very few of their contemporaries could.
• Play +4 • Remove 4 Skills gained from culture
• Understanding +6 • Gain 5 non-combat Skills of your choice

74
Training: Training 77
This represents formal training that you have received. You can choose Criminal 2 Aerospace 8
multiple experiences from this category. You may even take the same
Riding 2 Cybernetics 8
experience twice, so long as you are choosing new kinds of skills.
The GM can prohibit you from taking a form of training if it is Weapons 2 Electronics 8
inappropriate for the setting. For example, you should not take Energy Athletics 4 Explosives 8
Fields in a medieval fantasy game. In order to take an experience, you Concealment 4 Mechanical 8
must have a Cognition equal to or greater than half it’s point value. Diplomacy 4 Paramedical 8
Driving 4 Spycraft 8
Criminal: 2 points Energy Fields 4 Tradecraft 8
You have spent some time on the wrong side of the law. This may have Poisons 4 Martial Arts 10
been hanging out with a gang of local toughs or juvenile delinquents. It
Power Armor 4 Robotics 10
could have been some involvement with an organized crime syndicate.
Acrobatics 6 Biotech 12
• Gain 1 non-technical Skill of your choice related to criminal activity Computer 6 Capital Ship 12
Herbalism 6 Mech 12
Riding: 2 points Linguistics 6 Nautical 12
You have spent a lot of time riding animals. This is presumed to be a Military 6 Physician 12
horse, but may vary based on your setting. In a sci-fi desert setting, you Wilderness 6 Psionics 12
could be riding giant Iguanas. Regardless, you are adept at maneuvering
this animal in and out of combat.

• Gain 1 Skill at riding the animal of your choice

Weapons: 2 points
You have been taught to use a common weapon reliably in battle. This
may have been by a formal teacher or simply out of necessity. Rare
weapons like flamethrowers or kusari cannot be learned in this way.

• Gain 1 Skill with a common weapon of your choice

Athletics: 4 points
You have spent significant time training your body for physical activity.
This may have been for a specific sport or it may have simply been
generalized training. You are more fit than the average person.

• Endurance +1 OR Strength +1
75
Concealment: 4 points
You have training in the art of stealth. This may have been related to
a criminal past, military experience, or even some advanced forms of
martial arts like Ninjitsu. Perhaps you are experienced in concealing
vehicles from aerial surveillance using camouflage or in entering a house
without making a noise. You are probably the kind of person who has a
list of victims.
• Gain 2 Skills of your choice related to concealing your presence
Diplomacy: 4 points
You have training in interacting with people. You may be a professional
negotiation, an envoy of the King, or a trained courtier. You have an
uncanny ability to bend people to your way of thinking.
• Gain 2 Skills of your choice related to social influence
Driving: 4 points
You have been behind the wheel of a fast maneuverable land vehicle.
You might have spent some time on the racing circuit or as a getaway
driver. Those who try to keep pace with you typically fail.
• Gain 2 Skills related to driving a single type of land vehicle
Energy Fields: 4 points
You have experience operating energy shields. These may have been
personal energy shields for combat use, protective shields used in harsh
environments like a volcanic planet, or those mounted on a vehicle like
a Mech or a Spacecraft.
• Gain 2 Skills related to using or repairing energy shields
Poisons: 4 points
You have experience creating and using a type of poison. You are able
to work the poison into a usable form without injuring yourself and you
are able to apply it to either a weapon or directly to the target in a way
that ensures optimal delivery of the agent.
• Gain 1 Skill in creating a poison of your choice
• Gain 1 Skill in using the chosen poison
Power Armor: 4 points
You have experience using a form of powered combat armor in battle.
You are also able to maintain the armor over time to ensure optimal
operation and protection.
• Skill: Power Armor (BAL)
• The above skill allows you to operate in power armor without making
any rolls to keep your balance, even when hit by enemy fire.
Acrobatics: 6 points
You have spent significant time training your body to be extremely
flexible and agile. This may have been through actual acrobatic training
for sporting events or it may be for more nefarious purposes.
• Gain 2 Skills of your choice related to flexible movement
• Gain 1 Skill of your choice related to quick movement
76
Computer: 6 points Wilderness: 6 points
You have spent significant time training with computing devices. You have been trained to survive in the wilderness. This may have been
The nature of these devices is highly dependent upon your setting. informal, such as accompanying a family member on their own forays
An early 21st century character might be adept at hacking into into the wilderness when you were a child. Alternatively, it could be a
computer networks via the internet while a futuristic character may be formal regimen like that received in Special Forces military training.
reprogramming automated hover drones.
• Gain 3 Skills of your choice related to wilderness survival
• Gain 2 Skills of your choice related to computer programming
• Gain 1 Skill of your choice related to computer security Aerospace: 8 points
You have considerable experience in the aerospace field. Exactly how
Herbalism: 6 points this occurred is highly dependent upon setting, so you have great
You have spent significant time working with natural compounds. You flexibility in choosing skills to reflect your training.
are able to perform primitive medicine using natural potions, teas,
poultices, salves, and similar remedies. • Gain 2 Skills in piloting aircraft or spacecraft of your choice
• Gain 2 Skills in repairing those vehicles
• Skill: Gathering Herbs (KNO)
• Skill: Herbal Medicine (KNO)
• The above skill allows you to use herbal remedies to stabilize a patient
and keep them alive when the stabilization period ends, however they
still heal at a normal rate. The GM may decide that some wounds are
too severe to be stabilized with this skill (e.g. severed hand).

Linguistics: 6 points
You have been trained in multiple languages. This could be because
you were raised in a highly mixed community and spent a lot of time
interacting with speakers of different languages or it could be the result
of intensive directed study in an academic environment.

• Gain knowledge of two additional Languages

Military: 6 points
You have been trained by a military force in the arts of war. You are
capable of building basic defensive engineering works and trained in the
primary weapons for your way of war.

• Gain 2 Skills with two different weapons of your choice

• Skill: Military Engineering (KNO)

77
Cybernetics: 8 points
You have learned how to create and install cybernetic equipment into
the body. This includes the basic programming of these devices, the
biomedical aspects of installation, modification and enhancement of
existing cybernetics, and their maintenance and repair. However, this is
not medical science and does not allow you to heal patients under your
care in any significant way.
• Skill: Cybernetic Design (KNO)
• Skill: Cybernetic Surgery (PREC)
• Skill: Cybernetic Modification (PREC)
• Skill: Cybernetic Repair (KNO)
Electronics: 8 points
You have been trained to work with small electronic devices. In a
Modern setting, this may be electronics like refrigerators or household
alarm systems. In a more advanced setting, it could be anything from
interplanetary communicators to sensor equipment.
• Gain 4 Skills of your choice related to small electronics
Explosives: 8 points
You have experience creating and using a type of explosive, as well as
their general use and disarmament. You are able to work the explosive
into a usable form without injuring yourself and you are able to apply it
as a weapon ensures optimal destruction.
• Gain 1 Skill in creating an explosive of your choice
• Gain 1 Skill in using the chosen explosive
• Skill: Grenade Throwing (TRA)
• Skill: Disarming Explosives (PREC)
Mechanical: 8 points
You have been trained to work with complex machines with moving
parts, like vehicles and industrial machinery. What you are capable of
modifying or repairing will vary by setting, but could include anything
from cars powered by internal combustion engines to space freighters
with fussion turbines.
• Gain 4 Skills of your choice related to the repair or modification of
vehicles or machines.
Paramedical: 8 points
You have been trained to deliver high quality field medicine, like a
trained paramedic or EMT. This is typically only available in Modern or
more technologically advanced settings.
• Skill: Medical Evaluation ( JUD)
• Skill: Emergency Treatment (PREC)
• The above skill allows you to use medical technology to stabilize a
patient and keep them alive when the stabilization period ends. They
will heal at twice the normal rate while under your care.
Spycraft: 8 points
You have been trained to work as a covert operative. You are adept
at appearing normal and innocuous while secretly taking stock of
everything occurring around you. You may be proficient in some skills
often relegated to criminals, such as silent movement or pickpocketing.
• Skill: Appearing Innocent (DEC)
• Gain 3 Skills of your choice related to espionage
Tradecraft: 8 points
You have invested considerable time in learning a specific trade or
business. This can vary considerably based on your setting, ranging from
inn keeping to international currency trading. This training is not as
singularly focused as that gained through Apprenticeship.
• Gain 4 Skills related to the trade of your choice
78
Martial Arts: 10 points Biotech: 12 points
You have been highly trained in a particular martial art. This includes You have learned how to create and modify biological organisms in
rigorous mental and psychological training, as well as increased stamina amazing ways based on genetic recombination. This includes designing
and strength from physical training. new kinds of viruses and bacteria, restructuring the body to increase
it’s capabilities, and altering the genetic code to curtail or eliminate
• Gain 1 Skill in the hand-to-hand combat style of your martial art diseases. This training has required extensive study of the human body,
• Endurance +1 giving you restorative ability comparable to a paramedic. You have also
• Strength +1 already performed some enhancements on your own body that increase
your resistance to diseases and toxins. This training is only allowed in
Robotics: 10 points futuristic settings where genetic enhancement is possible.
You have learned how to create and repair robotic equipment.
This includes designing new kinds of robots, programming their • Skill: Biotech Design (KNO)
artificial intelligence functions, the physical construction of the • Skill: Biotech Surgery (PREC)
robot, modification and enhancement of existing robots, and their • Skill: Medical Evaluation ( JUD)
maintenance and repair. • Skill: Emergency Treatment (PREC)
• The above skill allows you to use medical technology to stabilize a
• Skill: Robotic Design (KNO) patient and keep them alive when the stabilization period ends. They
• Skill: A.I. Programming (KNO) will heal at twice the normal rate while under your care.
• Skill: Robotic Construction (PREC) • Resilience +1
• Skill: Robotic Modification (PREC)
• Skill: Robotic Repair (PREC) Capital Ship: 12 points
You have considerable experience in commanding a capital ship,
including in space combat operations. You have experience managing
a complex network of people to accomplish a specific goal. In many
ways, you have the strategy and management skills of a CEO or similar
leader. You are also familiar with a variety of space vessels and capable
of piloting a few individual craft.

• Skill: Space-Combat Tactics (KNO)

• Skill: Strategic Planning (KNO)
• Skill: Military Command (PRES)
• Skill: Organizational Management (PRES)
• Gain 2 Skills in flying spacecraft of your choice

79

Mech: 12 points
You have experience in operating Mechs in and out of combat. You
are formidable on the battlefield as a small-unit commander, capable
of maintaining and repairing mechs in the field, and adept at precision
fire to maximize potential salvage. You have also been trained in basic
infantry combat in case you are forced into combat while dismounted.
• Skill: Small-Unit Tactics (KNO)
• Skill: Military Command (PRES)
• Skill: Mech Operation (BAL)
• Skill: Mech Repair (PREC)
• Skill: Mech Modification (PREC)
• Gain 1 Skill with the weapons of your choice
Nautical: 12 points
You have considerable experience in commanding a naval vessel,
including in naval combat operations. You have experience managing
a complex network of people to accomplish a specific goal. In many
ways, you have the strategy and management skills of a CEO or similar
leader. You are also familiar with a variety of smaller naval vessels and
capable of piloting individual craft when necessary.
• Skill: Naval-Combat Tactics (KNO)
• Skill: Strategic Planning (KNO)
• Skill: Military Command (PRES)
• Skill: Organizational Management (PRES)
• Gain 2 Skills in piloting naval craft of your choice
Physician: 12 points
You have studied extensively in the medical science field and have
practical experience in the analysis of injuries, choosing a course of
treatment, and performing surgeries to remedy ailments. This is the
highest form of real medical skill available. Only magic can exceed the
healing powers available to a physician.
• Skill: Performing Surgery (PREC)
• Skill: Medical Evaluation ( JUD)
• Skill: Medical Treatment (PREC)
• The above skill allows you to use medical technology to stabilize a
patient and keep them alive when the stabilization period ends. They
will heal at four times the normal rate while under your care.
• Gain 3 Skills of your choice related to the medical field
Psionics: 12 points
You have been trained to influence the world around you with your
mind. The nature of this influence is highly dependent upon setting and
may range from premonition only to applying force to move objects.
• Gain 6 Skills of your choice related to Psionics
80
Magic: Magic Concoction: X points
This represents experiences you have Articulation * Your culture must believe in Herbal magic to take this option. You do
had that allow the casting of magic. not cast magic, instead you imbue magical power into liquids using
Concoction *
These points represent the time spent plant extracts and animal products. The results are called potions. In
studying or practicing your magical Glyph * some settings, you might be referred to as an Alchemist. Your setting
tradition. You can choose multiple Grimoire * and/or GM will determine how much Mana is drawn from various
experiences from this category, Rhythm * components and what special components may be needed for each
provided the setting supports all the Ritual * potion. Unless dictated by setting, your potions remain in a usable form
forms selected. Sacrifice * until drunk, regardless of the march of time.
Talisman *
Articulation: X points • Gain Essence equal to your Focus value for every 2 points
Your culture must believe in Prayer, Talent, or Analytical magic to take spent on this experience
this option. You can cast magic by speaking a specific sequence of words • No Mana
while making particular gestures. If you are unable to make gestures or • Can channel 1 Mana from the components per hour by brewing
speak words for any reason, you cannot use your magical powers. • Can learn new magic by studying as an apprentice for 6 months
per Essence point of the magic learned
• Gain Essence equal to your Cognition value for every 2 points
spent on this experience Glyph: X points
• Mana +1 per point spent Your culture must believe in Runic magic to take this option. You
• Can channel 1 Mana per second or point of Weight in combat can cast magic by creating symbols. The magic is unlocked by the act
• Can learn new magic by studying as an apprentice for 3 months of drawing the symbols on some kind of medium (e.g. rock, wood,
per Essence point of the magic learned parchment, etc.). This is not a method of storage, like in a traditional
• Regenerate 1 Mana for every six hours spent in quiet contemplation magic scroll, but a kind of ritual that unlocks the power of the magic.
You must detail the nature of your symbols and discuss the medium
you are using with the GM before play begins. The symbols may vanish
once the magic is unlocked or remain forever for a higher cost.

• Gain Essence equal to your Focus value for every 3 points

spent on this experience
• No Mana
• Can channel 1 Mana from the environment per minute
by writing glyphs
• Upon completion of casting, magic can occur at any time specified
• If glyphs are physically damaged before magic is triggered,
the magic is lost
• Can learn new magic by studying as an apprentice for 6 months
per Essence point of the magic learned

81

Grimoire: X points
Your culture must believe in Analytical magic to take this option.
You can cast magic by reading aloud from a complex text. The magic
you learn from this tradition represents those spells you have in your
personal grimoire (spell book). You can transcribe your magic onto
piece of parchment and sell them as scrolls to other magicians that
follow your tradition, however this is very rare and the prices charged
are usually exorbitant. The act of reading unlocks the magic, but does
not destroy the spellbook or scroll when it is read. Since the risk of
losing your magic to theft or accident is so high, a magician commonly
transcribes backup copies of his spells and hides them somewhere. Of
course, rumors of such locations are the subject of many treasure tales.
• Gain Essence equal to your Cognition value for every 2 points
spent on this experience
• No Mana
• Can channel 1 Mana from the environment per minute by
reading from spell book
• Upon completion of casting, magic occurs immediately
• Cannot cast magic without personal spellbook
• Can acquire new magic by copying it to your spell book.
This takes 1 hour per Essence point of the magic
Rhythm: X points
Your culture must believe in Dance & Song magic to take this option.
You can cast magic by creating some form of music; singing, musical
instruments, ritualistic dance, etc. You must detail what kind of music
you are creating. You cannot cast magic without engaging in the musical
act and if you are prevented from doing so you may be rendered useless.
If your magic is tied to a particular type of instrument you may be at a
loss if that instrument is destroyed or damaged. Wise magicians keep
reserve instruments handy just in case.
• Gain Essence equal to your Spatial value for every 2 points
spent on this experience
• Mana +1 per point spent
• Can channel 1 Mana per minute by creating music
• Cannot learn magic that costs more than 5 Essence.
• Can learn new magic by studying as an apprentice for 3 months per
Essence point of the magic learned
• Regenerate 1 Mana for every six hours spent practicing your music
Ritual: X points
Your culture must believe in Spirits or Ritual magic to take this option.
You can cast magic by engaging in long, complex rituals. These rituals
can incorporate a wide range of behaviors and impose stringent
requirements, including activities that touch on other casting methods,
such as conforming to certain lunar timetables, engaging in animal
sacrifice, dancing to cadenced music, etc. You must detail the nature of
your rituals before play begins.
• Gain Essence equal to your Stability value for every 3 points
spent on this experience
• Mana +1 per 2 points spent
• Can channel 1 Mana per hour by engaging in the ritual
• Other Ritual magic users may participate in the ritual with you and
share their Mana in the casting
• Can learn new magic by going on a religious quest for your deity/spirit
• Regenerate 1 Mana for every six hours spent in quiet devotion to your
patron deity or spirit
82
Sacrifice: X points
Your culture must believe in Sacrifice magic to take this option. You
destroy animals, plants, and physical objects to a deity or spirit. In return
for this gesture, your deity grants you Mana to cast your magic. Each
magic power you purchase must be tied to a specific sacrifice, subject to
setting appropriateness and GM approval.
• Gain Essence equal to your Magnetism value for every 2 points
spent on this experience
• No Mana
• All Mana is immediately channeled by engaging in the sacrifice,
but the sacrifice takes 1 minute to complete
• Can learn new magic by going on a religious quest for your deity/spirit
Talisman: X points
Your culture must believe in Spirits or Prayer magic to take this option.
You can cast magic by channeling energy through some kind of physical
object, usually a holy symbol, spirit totem, or piece of jewelry. You must
detail the nature of your particular talisman.
• Gain Essence equal to your Magnetism value for every 2 points
spent on this experience
• Mana +3 per 2 points spent
• Can channel 1 Mana per second or point of Weight in combat
• Cannot cast magic without personal talisman
• Can learn new magic by going on a religious quest for your deity/spirit
• Regenerate 1 Mana for every six hours spent in quiet devotion to
your patron deity or spirit
83
Chapter 5:
Personality

84
Motivations: Motivations Determination
Motivations are your immediate instinctive desires. These are built from All motivations have a base value of 1. Your motivations are then
a variety of influences. The most powerful impact will be from your modified by your culture and life experience choices. In addition to
own choice on how to distribute your 15 motivation points. However, that, you have 15 points to distribute as you wish. No motivation can
you start out with strong inclinations that come from your culture and have a value greater than 10 or less than 1. Points can be spent to raise
life experience. The result is a range of motivations from 1 to 10. Your or lower these values.
character strongly desires to experience their highest value motivations.
When you are playing the game, you should have your character work These points can be used to negate the influence of your life so far,
towards these goals. representing your will to resist the influence of others. So if you start
from a culturally and life experience derived Dominance value of 5,
Motivations you could spend a point to reduce that to a Dominance value of 4.
Absolution Apologizing or confessing This costs 1 point.
Achievement Overcoming obstacles
EXCEPTION: If you have the Eccentricity talent, do not use your
Acquisition Obtaining things
culture & life experience values at all. Build your entire motivational
Affiliation Spending time with others distribution, starting from base values of 1 and using 50 points to
Aggression Attacking or belittling others distribute as you wish.
Autonomy Standing up to authority
Blame Avoidance Avoiding loss of face or esteem
Construction Building something Let’s imagine that there are
Cooperation Cooperating with others two characters in a party.
One has a high Acquisition
Dominance Controlling other’s behavior
value and a low Obligation
Exhibition Entertaining others value. The other has the
Exposition Delivering information opposite values. If these
Obligation Taking care of others two characters came upon
Order Making things organized a valuable treasure, the
Play Seeking diversion former character would be
interested in keeping the
Recognition Seeking admiration
treasure while the latter
Rejection Avoid unwanted associations would interested in using
Retention Hoarding things the treasure to assist others.
Revenge Retaliating for something Obviously, this would lead
Security Being cared for by another to some disagreement.
Sensuality Seeking physical pleasure Neither is right. They just
want and believe very
Understanding Asking questions
different things.
85
Motivation Distribution Example
The below chart is an example of motivation design. As you can see, every value starts with a base of 1. The cultural and life experience effects are
added in. The subtotal at this point represents what the starting motivations are of someone who has lived in that culture and gone through those life
experiences. For this example, we have assumed some culture and life experience choices. On top of this, you can distribute 15 points as you wish.

The Hero represents an actual Example Base Culture Life XP Subtotal Hero Villain
heroic character. She has a strong Absolution 1 4 - 5 0 5 -3 2
Absolution, meaning she is more
Achievement 1 - - 1 +5 6 0 1
likely to apologize for her mistakes
and try to seek forgiveness and Acquisition 1 2 - 3 0 3 +3 6
make amends for her errors. She Affiliation 1 2 - 3 0 3 0 3
is also strongly motivated for Aggression 1 3 - 4 0 4 +2 6
Achievement. She is reasonably Autonomy 1 - - 1 0 1 +4 5
motivated to work with others
Blame Avoidance 1 - - 1 0 1 0 1
cooperatively (Cooperation) and
to help those in need (Obligation). Construction 1 1 - 2 0 2 0 2
She is less motivated to dominate Cooperation 1 3 -2 2 +2 4 0 2
others than an average person of Dominance 1 3 - 4 -3 1 +1 5
this culture would be – that was a Exhibition 1 1 - 2 0 2 0 2
conscious decision the player made Exposition 1 - - 1 0 1 0 1
to reduce that value.
Obligation 1 - 2 3 +3 6 0 3
The Villain represents an individual Order 1 - 1 2 0 2 0 2
with less moral fiber. He is strongly Play 1 - -1 1 0 1 0 1
resistant to his culture’s pressure Recognition 1 3 - 4 0 4 +2 6
to apologize and seek forgiveness. Rejection 1 2 - 3 0 3 0 3
He has a strong desire for material Retention 1 1 - 2 0 2 0 2
gain, highly independent, and he
Revenge 1 2 1 4 0 4 0 4
has no trouble attacking others to
get it. There was also a decision to Security 1 1 - 2 0 2 0 2
not resist the cultural tendency to Sensuality 1 2 - 3 0 3 0 3
dominate others, unlike the Hero. Understanding 1 - - 1 +2 3 0 1

As you can see, the choices that the player makes on distributing their points for motivations has a profound impact on the personality of the
character they are playing.

86
Motivation Descriptions:
Absolution:
Absolution is the motivation to be forgiven. Apology is the primary
method of fulfilling the motivation. When you apologize, you are
acknowledging your faults while asking the person receiving the
apology to accept you despite those faults. Confession is a similar act,
whereby you are admitting your past deeds openly and accepting the
consequences.
Characters with high Absolution values feel profound guilt when they
commit crimes or violate social norms. That does not prevent them from
committing the act – it only affects how they feel afterwards. Character
with low Absolution values feel very little remorse for their misdeeds
and mistakes.
Characters with high Acquisition values have an intense desire to
acquire money so that it can be spent on equipment, vehicles, property,
or even minor baubles. Character with low Acquisition values tend to
have an easier time saving money for more important things, keeping to
their budget, and planning for future expenses and unforeseen setbacks.
Affiliation:
Affiliation is the desire to spend time meeting and talking to others.
Nothing is more important in life than keeping in touch with others.
If you meet someone on the street, you can always spare time to stop
and chat. An interesting story can keep you captivated for hours on
end, especially in comfortable surroundings. It never hurts to ask for
directions. Who knows? You might meet a new friend.

Achievement: Characters with high Affiliation values have an intense desire to be

Achievement is the desire to overcome challenges. Normal, everyday
life is not enough to satisfy this motivation. It demands exceptional
acts. It is not enough to climb a mountain – you must climb the
highest mountain. Each success only raises the bar for the next. The joy
of victory is short lived and quickly replaced by even more grandiose
desires.
around people. They will often have to be dragged along when the
party leaves an area with interesting people to talk to. Character with
low Affiliation values tend to have short conversations, few friends, and
seldom moments of loneliness.

Characters with high Achievement values an insatiable challenge.

If everyone else is afraid to attempt it, that only makes the challenge
that much more desirable. Character with low Achievement values are
interested in the easy money, the cheap thrill, and putting things off.

Acquisition:
Acquisition is the desire to accumulate tangible objects; goods, money,
property, vehicles, etc. Any money earned is almost immediately spent
on the most interesting choices available. The idea of saving money
does not make much sense. In acquiring more stuff, you feel a rush of
excitement, joy, and a slight hint of snobbery at being able to afford that
which others go without.

87
Aggression: Blame Avoidance:
Aggression is the desire to use Blame Avoidance is the desire to be perceived as innocent. If there is a
hostility to achieve your goals. problem, it wasn’t your fault. If fault can be denied, it will be. If someone
This might involve violence, the else can be framed, they will take the fall. Personal responsibility is a
threat of violence, verbal attacks, foreign concept. The perception of your innocence by your peers is of
or economic force. Sometimes incredible importance. You will go to extreme lengths to avoid appearing
people just refuse to do what to be incompetent. You once thought you made a mistake, but you were
you want. They are stubborn, wrong.
insolent, or unpleasant. They
are practically begging for a Characters with high Blame Avoidance values never accept
punch in the face. When kind responsibility for anything. When they fail, it was the sun in their eyes,
words and sweet nothings fail, a sweaty grip, or an impossible task in the first place. Characters with
you have to be prepared to take low Blame Avoidance values will admit to lack of skill or lapses in
it to the next level. Sometimes, judgement from time to time.
the only thing people respect
is a big stick. A really really big Construction:
stick. Construction is the desire to build things. You like to work with your
hands and make things. The long hard work for a big project is worth
Characters with high Aggression values are quick to resort to violence. the payoff of completing it. You like to see the fruits of your labor,
They have little respect for others and tend to bully those that are whether they are buildings, gizmos, tools, toys, or a whole business.
weaker than them. Characters with low Aggression values are reluctant Some might call you a creative genius. You just believe that hard work
to use violence unless absolutely forced to do so. pays off. Self-sufficiency is a cardinal virtue.

Autonomy:
Autonomy is the desire to act independently of coercion. You have no
problem following someone else, provided the decision to follow them
was a choice that you made. Any attempt to force you to do something
will fail. You will just shut down and refuse. A donkey admires your
stubbornness.
Characters with high Autonomy values are reluctant to do anything
when coerced. They are insistent on being free from manipulation. If
they sense any manipulation at all, they will shut down and disengage.
Characters with low Autonomy values tend to be easily threatened and
coerced into doing almost anything.
Characters with high Construction values are always seeking to make
long term, permanent gains. That could mean a safe haven for the
party, powerful gadgets and items, or just a palisade wall around your
makeshift camp. Characters with low Construction values prefer to buy
things rather than make them.
Cooperation:
Cooperation is the desire to work with other people towards a common
goal. Some tasks are too big for you to handle on your own. You
recognize your limitations. It is important to get help from people you
know to solve problems. You might be overlooking something. You
always remember that two heads are better than one.

88
Characters with high Cooperation values will seek out help as a first
response to problems. They are eager to accumulate allies and friends.
Characters with low Cooperation values rarely ask for help and never
under any circumstances asks for directions.

Dominance:
Dominance is the desire to control other people. You have a vision,
purpose, and plan. Other people just need to accept that and follow your
orders. You have the best solution available. It is important that your
vision of the future be realized. Other people exist to serve you.

Characters with high Dominance values are domineering and

controlling. They boss other people around and have trouble cooperating
with similarly motivated companions. Characters with low Dominance
values are reluctant to take charge and tend to simply follow the
leadership of others.

Exhibition:
Exhibition is the desire to be entertaining. You like to tell thrilling
stories, perform in front of others, and make people laugh. You are the
life of the party. When there is a lull in conversation, you feel the need
to jump in and fill the vacuum. Wearing ostentatious clothes and acting
in an unusual way is fun and exciting to you.
Characters with high Exhibition values tend to attract attention to
the party whenever there are people around to be impressed by their
skills. Bards and other entertainers tend to have high Exhibition values.
Characters with low Exhibition values are easily embarrassed and do
not like attention.
Exposition:
Exposition is the desire to share information. You like to know obscure
information, trivia, and secrets. However, you don’t just want that
information for its own sake, but rather so that you can tell others. You
have a very hard time keeping secrets and can’t stand it when other
people keep secrets from you. You like to read books so that you can tell
other people what you learned.
Characters with high Exposition values tend to read everything,
constantly brings up tangential information, and should not be trusted
to keep secrets. Characters with low Exposition values are not that
interested in knowing much of anything.
Obligation:
Obligation is the desire to care for others. You can’t stand to see
someone suffering without jumping in to help. You are highly sensitive
to other people’s pain and do your best to alleviate it. Sometimes people
accuse you of mothering them or being overbearing. You really don’t
want to upset anyone though, you just want to help.
Characters with high Obligation values make excellent healers. They
tend to be more selfless than most and work to alleviate suffering.
Characters with low Obligation values are callous and uncaring. The
world actually owes them something.

89
Order:
Order is the desire for structure. You need a plan. Everything must
be placed in the right location. Efficiency and cleanliness are very
important to you. You can’t stand for things to be out of sequence.
People occasionally accuse you of being obsessive-compulsive.
Sloppiness is a vice.
Characters with high Order values need a good plan before they
attempt almost any substantial task. They really hate being lost or
unclean. They have a detailed inventory of all their equipment and make
excellent improvised maps. Characters with low Order values are sloppy
and unclean. They often only realize they are low on money when they
spend the last coin.
Play:
Play is the desire to have fun. Study, hard work, and boredom are
intolerable. You need to laugh and have a good time. You are always
finding ways to enjoy yourself. Keeping track of time is difficult and you
don’t mind being late. There is always time to stop and smell the roses.
Characters with high Play values are rarely serious and usually quite
loud and outgoing. They tend to act like children at inappropriate times.
Characters with low Play values are dour and taciturn.
Recognition:
Recognition is the desire to be admired. Your walls are covered in
trophies, medals, and other memorabilia of your own success. You need
other people to recognize you for the awesome person that you are.
Whatever you do, it is important that people know you are the best at
doing it. Good deeds are worth doing so that people will recognize you
for being so great.
Characters with high Recognition values are always taking credit
for their successes and making sure that everyone knows about it.
Characters with low Recognition values does not feel the need to brag
about their victories.
Rejection:
Rejection is the fear of being perceived negatively and the desire
to disassociate yourself from anything or anyone that might lower
your standing. You are highly sensitive to social status distinctions,
particularly gender and ethnic variations. If someone has become
disgraced socially, you will walk away from them, no matter how close
you were before. There is nothing that scares you more than being
associated with someone that you consider below you.
Characters with high Rejection values have a very hard time interacting
with people of a lower social order than them, especially criminals and
members of other species. Characters with low Rejection values tend to
overlook social distinctions and see people as having inherent worth.
Retention:
Retention is the desire to hoard objects. You never know when it might
come in handy in the future. It always helps to have a reserve to draw
upon. You hoard objects because it makes you feel safe. If you don’t have
anything to fall back on, you feel exposed and vulnerable.
Characters with high Retention values rarely, if ever, sell anything.
Anything they find, they keep. They agonize over unnecessary spending.
Characters with low Retention values have a tendency to accidentally
leave items behind and needlessly waste supplies.
90
Revenge:
Revenge is the desire to retaliate. People need to know that you are not
someone to be messed with. Nobody angers you and gets away with it.
An eye for an eye is insufficient – you want the whole head. Revenge is
a dish best served cold, and you are an excellent cook.

Characters with high Revenge values cannot accept defeat. Defeat only
makes them angrier. Characters with low Revenge values will turn the
other cheek and move on. They actually forgive people.

Security:
Security is the desire to be taken care of. You need to feel that there
is someone else out there looking out for your interests. You like to be
mothered, doted on, and cared for. When you are sick, you break down
and need someone to take care of you. You are needy. This may also be
tied to a higher religious concept instead of other people, if you need
that belief system to function in your daily life.

Characters with high Security values are whiny and needy. They can
barely accomplish anything without asking for help. Characters with
low Security values do not like to be helped and views offers of help as
borderline insulting. Of course, they can handle it on their own. Was
that in doubt?
Sensuality:
Sensuality is the desire to experience pleasure. You are drawn to
attractive people like a fly to honey. You enjoy a soft bed, a warm fire,
and the gentle (or not-so-gentle) touch of your mate. Wine is the
greatest creation of mankind. You always wear the finest and most
flattering clothes possible. Luxuries are necessities to you.
Characters with high Sensuality values are very flirtatious and forward
with potential mates while characters with low Sensuality values are
generally oblivious to their presence.
Understanding:
Understanding is the desire to know. This is different from Exposition
– the desire share information. You want to know these things for
yourself. You need to know what is on the other side of that mountain,
under that rock, and behind that tree. You are a natural explorer and you
can spend hours figuring out math problems and reading books.
Characters with high Understanding values are intrepid explorers who
will push the party to keep going. They always want to camp on the
other side of the next hill, keep reading into the night, and searching for
that lost tome of secret knowledge. Characters with low Understanding
values are not interested in those runes on the wall and wants to just go
home because it is getting dark.

91
Morality:
Morality is difficult to define and Synapse leaves a lot up to the player.
It would be impossible to define even a majority of moral systems in a
comprehensive way because of their incredible complexity, so instead we
look at general guidelines and leave a lot of the heavy lifting to you and
your game group.
One of the most important factors in how Categories
you treat others is how you conceive of them
Persons
in your mind. One of the choices you need
to make for your character’s morality is Animals
how they categorize others. There are three Objects
categories into which your character places
all living beings: persons, animals, and objects. If you view another being
as a person, then you view them as a legitimate moral entity. They have
access to whatever legal protections and human rights your society
determines should be applied to everyone. However, if you view another
being as an animal or an object, they do not have access to those legal
protections or human rights unless covered under the protection of
another being who is a legitimate moral life.
You need not attempt to comprehensively
define what categories you place all life into.
What is important is that when you encounter
enemies, you discuss how you view them within
this system. However, you are free to pre-define
certain forms of life in these categories before
the game even starts, if that is what you want.
For example, let’s assume your character is
walking through a farm and comes across a pig.
Is the pig viewed as a person, animal, or object?
How you conceive of the pig has a powerful
impact on your decisions about how to treat it.
It may be the difference between life and death.
Persons:
If pigs are viewed as persons, then your character would treat them with
the same respect and dignity that would be afforded to another person.
She would not consider killing, eating, abusing, or otherwise harming a
pig. She may even help a pig if it was in trouble, viewing the pig as if it
were any other person in their society.
Animals:
If pigs are viewed as animals, however, then your character will only
respect the pig so long as it is owned by another person. If it was a wild
pig or if the character owned the pig, there would be no prohibition
on killing the pig. However, there would be prohibitions against
unnecessarily abusing it. Torturing animals is, in most cultures, not
acceptable behavior and viewed as a sign of a diseased mind. However,
eating them for sustenance is almost always permitted.
Objects:
If pigs are viewed as objects, they also have no rights except those that
extend from being owned by a person. However, there would be no
prohibitions of any kind on treating a pig which you owned or found
in the wild, just as there are no prohibitions on how you should treat
rocks or dirt. However, if you injured someone else’s pig, it might be a
property rights violation, just as if you had broken a door or chair that
belonged to someone.
These are not trivial distinctions. If you view another species, culture, or
other group as objects, then you have no problem killing them, beating
them, torturing them, and so on. You would treat that group with
less concern than you would treat your own domesticated animals. If
another character viewed that same group as Persons, you would have a
big conflict over how to treat them. Just like conflicts over motivations,
these will provide interesting gameplay experiences. Especially if you
meet characters in the game world who think you are not a person.
92
In addition to the question of personhood, Types
your character has a conception of morality
Reactionary
based on social dynamics. There are six
types of morality in Synapse, one of which Self-Interest
you should choose as your dominant type. Conformity
They are listed in order of complexity and Legal
prevalence over time. For example, futuristic Rights
game worlds are going to have many more Rationality
people making moral decisions based on
reasoning than medieval ones. Each type defines what standard you use
determine whether an action is right or wrong.

You may have situations where multiple characters agree on the same
course of action, but for different reasons. For example, let’s say that
the party has captured an enemy and that everyone agrees the enemy
is a person. Everyone might be in favor of bringing the enemy to local
law enforcement. One character might want to do this because there
may be a reward for doing so (self-interest). Another might want to do
this because it is the proper thing to do according to the law (legal).
Another might want to do it because the enemy has a right to a fair
trial (rights). The last party member might agree simply they feel that it
is expected of them (conformity).

However, you might have disagreement just as easily. One character

might be in favor of ransoming the enemy back to his companions (self-
interest). Another may be in favor of killing them on the spot because
nobody will be able to punish them (reactionary). A third may be in
favor of killing them because of a complex argument, e.g., that it is too
far to the local law enforcement location and that there is not enough
time to bring them to justice and still accomplish other, more important
goals (rationality).

What is important here is how the characters are making their decisions,
not what the ultimate decision might be. The world is too complex for
Synapse to define how you should act in every circumstance. Instead,
you should define what method your character uses to approach these
issues.

93
Morality Types:
Reactionary:
Reactionary moral reasoning only considers the
possibility of punishment. Any act for which
there is no punishment is permissible. Any act
for which there is a strong punishment is to
be avoided. This concept of morality is called
reactionary because it is highly dependent
upon the surrounding society and is common
among young children and intelligent animals
like dogs or apes. The reaction of society is
what is important in the moral calculation, not
the intrinsic nature of the act.
Self-Interest:
Self-interested moral reasoning only considers the end result and
how it relates to you. An act which benefits you is considered good.
An act which injures you is evil. Concern for other individuals is only
important if their interests are related to your own. You may save
someone in danger, but only because they are necessary to accomplish
some objective of yours, even if that objective is merely to appear caring
to onlookers. Absent a compelling goal, you have no actual concern for
other people. You feel remorse when you discover later that you could
have done better for yourself in a situation. You do not feel remorse for
causing pain to others, unless it undermined your goals.
Conformity:
Conformist moral reasoning only considers the opinions of observers
with respect to your role. An act which is expected by your observers
is good. An act which is not expected of you is bad. The goal of your
behavior is to earn the respect of your peers. You may save someone in
danger because you know that observers will think positively of you.
Your act is not based on the fear of being punished for not saving them
or on self-interest. If your society did not expect you to save people in
danger, you would not lift a finger.
Legal:
Legal moral reasoning only considers the law. You trust that those
who made the laws had everyone’s best interests at heart. They know
better than you. If something is against the law, it is evil. If something
is not against the law, it is permissible. If something is required by law,
it is good. If the law dictated that you should help those in danger, you
would jump to assist the person in danger. If the law dictated you to not
assist them without a compelling reason, you would stand idly by. Your
primary concern with any action is the legal ramifications. Note that
strict religious codes would be considered a legal form of morality.
Rights:
Rights-based moral reasoning is dependent upon intrinsic rights.
All persons are treated with equal respect based on these rights. If
something violates these rights, it is evil. If something is not related
to these rights, it is permissible. If something is required to enforce
these rights, it is good. You would help the person in danger because
they have a right to assistance from their peers in times of trouble.
You would expect someone else to leap to your assistance if you were
suffering. Your primary concern is with the general welfare and equal
treatment of everyone. Note that exactly what your rights are will vary
between cultures.
Rationality:
Rational moral reasoning is based on philosophical precepts and logic.
Certain actions are absolutely morally good and others are absolutely
morally evil for reasons of philosophy. Your primary concern in rational
moral reasoning is the degree to which the decision conforms to your
philosophical position. You (the reader) can look up a variety of moral
philosophies on the internet. For example, Utilitarianism is a philosophy
which judges every act with respect to how much utility it brings to
all people. If the killing of one person is necessary for the happiness
or welfare of many more people, then it may be permissible or even
required. If the death of a person is viewed to bring insufficient benefit
to everyone else, then it is determined to be evil.
94
Making Decisions in the Game:
One of the hallmarks of roleplaying games is that your character will be
presented with complex choices. Should you help an old woman or keep
going down the path after the thief? How do you make these choices?
The personality that you have just developed will provide guidance for
these questions.

For example, lets assume the Hero Motivations Hero

whose motivations are listed here Absolution 5
has come across one of her long-
Achievement 6 However, it is possible that the situation might be more complex.
time rivals, who is hanging off the
edge of a cliff on a rope. A quick Acquisition 3 Perhaps this rival actually committed a serious crime against her.
glance at the major motivations Affiliation 3 Perhaps the rival has been condemned to death by a local authority.
of this character reveals two Aggression 4 If the player can make a reasonable argument for bending their
motivations that are strong and Autonomy 1 motivational numbers to take an action other than that indicated by the
would apply to this situation; grid, and if the GM agrees with the player’s logic, then such actions may
Blame Avoidance 1
Obligation and Revenge. be allowed without a roll. If the GM does not agree with the player’s
Construction 2 logic, the player can make a motivation suppression.
Absolution and Achievement
are strong motivations for this Cooperation 4
character, but they do not relate Dominance 1 Motivation Suppression:
to the actual situation, so they are Exhibition 2 A player can make a motivation suppression to temporarily reduce
ignored. Exposition 1 one of their motivations so that they can take an alternative course
Obligation 6 of action. A motivation suppression represents the rational decision
The motivational setup for this by the character to try and resist their natural impulses. A motivation
Order 2
Hero indicates that she would suppression involves voluntarily taking a single stress point and
want to help them (Obligation) Play 1 temporarily reducing a motivation of your choice by 5 points.
more than she would want to Recognition 4
punish them for past misdeeds Rejection 3 You can permanently alter your motivations as a result of this roll.
(Revenge). Therefore, all things Retention 2 Whenever you perform a motivation suppression, make an Eccentricity
being equal, the character should Revenge 4 roll. If you succeed, permanently reduce the suppressed motivation by 1
want to help her rival get back up point and raise the motivation that you are going to follow by 1 point.
Security 2
to safety. She may not like it, but This change represents the long term effects of suppressing or giving
she feels it is the right thing to do Sensuality 3 in to certain temptations. Over a long period of time, your character’s
based on her own morality. Understanding 3 motivations may change significantly. This represents your personality
changes over the course of your life.

95
Chapter 6:
Connections

96
Connections:
Everyone is connected to other people in their lives. Some are born
out of necessity, others out of common affection, and others still out
of calculation. Connections represent those relationships with a strong
personal connection. Obviously, you can find and hire people to perform
many of the services your connections might perform. However, the
people with whom you have Connections are reliable, reasonable, loyal,
and generally friendly (except Rivals, Enemies, and Debts, of course).
Connections Determination
A new character receives a number of points to spend on connections
equal to five times their Empathy. Negative connections can be taken
to give you additional points to spend on positive connections. You
cannot take more than -10 worth of negative connections. Your life
experiences can also modify your initial point total in either direction.
Unspent points can be retained for use during play to gain connections
via Socialization as described on the next page.

Connections consist of two components; Types and Relationships.

Types represent the nature of the person in question and relationships
represent how you are connected to them. The point values of each Creating an Example Connection:
component are added together. The minimum point value of a
Type Relationship
connection is 1, except Rivals, Enemies, and Debts. Each connection plus
should be listed on your character sheet as represented in the example Military 5 Ally +5
to the right.
equals
You must create a connection for every party member that you are
travelling with to justify why you are working with them. Consult the
rules for Party Members for complete details on forming these kinds of Connection
relationships. Military Ally 10

Example
Party Member Friend 1
Party Member Friend 1
Party Member Family 1
Party Member Retainer 5
Military Family 4
Criminal Friend 3
Healer Hospitality 3
Producer Lover 1
Outcast Friend 1
Total 20

97
Gaining Connections During Play: Locating Connections During Play:
It is possible to gain new connections during play by using Unless the Connection is following you around (like a Retainer would)
Socialization. As you spend more time interacting with someone in the then you will need to locate them to utilize their abilities. You should
game world, it is possible to shift their disposition towards friendship. come up with a basic idea of what they would be doing and where
Once someone becomes your friend, you can continue to socialize with they would be most of the time. If you are able to have your character
them. When you succeed with social skills on someone who is already communicate with them either face-to-face or via technology like a
a good friend, the GM will award you connection points that can only telephone, the GM should allow you to utilize them. Keep in mind that
be used to purchase a connection with this person. Obviously, the connections which provide services do not necessarily provide them
connection must be feasible. You cannot talk someone into becoming for free. You must fairly pay your connections for their assistance. A
your relative, nor can you talk a destitute beggar into being your patron. connection can only have Skills or Possessions related to their usefulness
in this capacity.
You may have connection points that are unspent, either because the
GM refunded the points of a terminated connection or you did not However, the GM may decide to terminate the connection with
spend all your points at character creation. Once you shift someone’s whom you are trying to communicate. This should generally only be
disposition far enough, you can use these points to buy them as a used to further the plot. In such cases, the GM might tell you that
connection. Again, the connection must be feasible. your connection is dead, missing, or otherwise unavailable. If you are
denied access to your connection permanently, the GM will refund your
Sometimes the starting connection points and they can be spent on new relationships.
situation of the campaign
is not appropriate for your For example, you may know a local singer who is connected with
character to have connections. high society and whom you are using for information on the rumors
You might be travelling into circulating in those circles (Entertainer Contact). When you go to find
an area that is inaccessible her, instead you stumble upon her dead body lying in street outside her
to the outside world, like house. The GM then gives you back five connection points to represent
an isolated island or a the loss. Solving the murder may then become a part of the game.
peripheral planetary system
in an interstellar game. In
that case, the GM may have
Losing Connections During Play:
It addition to the GM’s ability to terminate your connections and
you keep all of your points
refund your points, you will lose your connections if you do not
unspent and then acquire
maintain them. You must engage in regular Socialization with all your
connections during play. Also,
connections. Some connections require more maintenance than others.
you can voluntarily keep a
Your GM will tell you when you feel that you are losing touch with a
portion of your connection
connection. If you do not socialize with them in a reasonable amount
points unspent because you
of time, the GM may terminate the connection. You will not be given
intending to form those
point refunds for connections lost in this way.
connections during play.

98
Type Descriptions: Type
Party Member 0
Party Member: Rebel 1 Rebel:
Each person in your party must be Outcast 1 A Rebel is someone who is opposed to the established political
connected to you in some manner. Soother 2 order in which they live. This may be a guerilla hiding in the
A party member can only be paired jungle, a foreign spy, runaway slaves, or any other type of person who
Transporter 2
with specific Relationship options. would be arrested by an agent of the law if they were detected. As a
You can make a party member your Entertainer 2 result, they are problematic to reach and tend to be of limited utility to
Ally, Family, Friend, or Lover for Investigator 2 you. Locating this connection should require some substantial time and
1 point instead of the normal cost Elite 3 energy, such as hiking deep in the jungle or meeting at odd hours in an
of that choice. The party member in Clergy 3 unusual place.
question must reciprocate by taking
Healer 3
the same Connection towards you. • Can have almost any skill, but they should only have a few.
You can also take a party member as Merchant 3 • Should not be a Retainer or Ally unless they are in a position to easily
a Retainer, Contact, or Favor for the Mechanic 4 evade the law. For example, a runaway slave could be posing as your
normal point cost. This will actually Technician 4 slave while travelling inside a slave-owning area.
create the obligation implied in that Producer 4
relationship (i.e. if you take someone Criminal 5 Outcast:
as a retainer, you must pay them for An Outcast is someone who is
Military 5
their services). To represent this, they looked down upon by their society.
put the same cost you paid on their Linguist 5
They are generally tolerated, but
character sheet (your retainer would Intellectual 5 they may be subjected to abusive
get 5 points for her connection to harassment occasionally. This
you, and call you her Patron). might be a member of an ethnic
minority, a foreign worker, a
• All party member connections MUST be agreed to by all involved new immigrant, a drug addict, a
players. You cannot force anyone into a relationship with you that they mentally ill person, or any other
do not want. type of person with whom an
• If a new party member enters the game after it has started, they can average member of society would
come in as any of the above relationships as long as it is logical, agreed not want to associate strongly. A
upon by all players, and supported by the GM. character with a Rejection value of
5 or higher cannot take this kind
of connection.

• An outcast can have almost any skill, but they should only have a few.
• Can be paired with any relationship option.

99
Soother:
A Soother is someone who can help you relax. They could help your
relax through manipulation of your body or through reaching out to
your mind. This might be a psychiatrist, massage therapist, prostitute,
acupuncture specialist, or any other person who would have the ability
to relax you by practicing their craft. Alternatively, it might be someone
with access to a mechanized way of relaxing, such as the owner of a
hot tub, pool, sauna, spa, mud-bath, or similar contrivance. Finally, it
might be someone who controls access to an environmental relaxation
location; such as the guardsman at the gate into the imperial gardens
where you like to secretly stroll in the early morning hours.
Entertainer:
An Entertainer is someone who is involved in public entertainment.
This could be an actual entertainer like a dancer, singer, musician,
comedian, poet, writer, magician, or similar performer. Alternatively, it
could be someone who supports such people like their makeup artist,
choreographer, composer, lyricist, magician’s assistant, bouncer, etc.
Finally, it might be someone who owns or works in an entertainment
venue like a dance club, theater, opera house, comedy club, speak-easy,
or similar establishment.
• Can be paired with any relationship option.

• Relaxation times are halved when utilizing this connection Investigator:

• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival, An Investigator is someone who is an expert at acquiring information.
Enemy, or Debt. Depending on the nature of the information being acquired, this may
make them an illicit or legitimate individual. An illicit investigator
Transporter: could be a spy, informant, undercover operative, traitor, or similar.
A Transporter is someone who can A legitimate investigator could be a private investigator, reporter,
move people or things. Depending researcher, criminologist, detective, or profession. Illicit connections
on the nature of what is being are inherently more difficult to contact than legitimate ones due to
transported, this may make them the secret nature of their lifestyle, unless they live in a society rife with
an illicit or legitimate individual. corruption and criminality.
An illicit transporter could be a
slave trader, human trafficker, drug • Can be paired with any relationship option.
trafficker, smuggler, or similar. A
legitimate transporter could be Elite:
a ship captain, stagecoach driver, An Elite is someone who is either passively or actively involved in
freighter, truck driver, charter governmental decision-making. A passively involved individual might
pilot, bus driver, or similar. Illicit be a minor noble, wealthy businessman, corporate lobbyist, or similar
connections are inherently more individual who is limited to only partially influencing actual decision-
difficult to contact than legitimate makers. An actively involved individual would be a major noble,
ones due to the secret nature of police chief, mayor, sheriff, senator, president, prime minister, king,
their lifestyle, unless they live in a or similar person with actual political power. In societies with high
society rife with corruption. levels of corruption, the elite could be a leader of organized crime or a
manipulative shadow government.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron or Debt
unless they are illicit. • Can be paired with any relationship option.

100
Clergy:
A member of the Clergy is someone who is involved in the actual
administration of a religious institution. This could be someone as
minor as a parish priest, imam, rabbi, medicine man, witch doctor, or
similar person involved in direct contact with believers. Alternatively,
it could be someone who serves a purely administrative or symbolic
function such as a cardinal, religious scholar, mullah, or similar person
who does not have much contact with the believers of their religion on
a day-to-day basis.

• Can be paired with any relationship option.

Healer:
A Healer is someone who is believed to be able to heal the body from
physical damage. The actual success of their treatments may vary. Most
pre-modern societies rely heavily on magical, supernatural, or religious
ideas about the healing of the body. These methods are, except in the
case of actually magical worlds, effectively only as placebos. However,
healers should be treated with seriousness and respect if your culture
actually believes their healing methods work. In a modern or futuristic
world, this may be an actual physician or a supporting staff member
like a nurse or medical technician. If cybernetics are used, this could be
someone who designs or repairs the cybernetic technology.
• Can be paired with any relationship option except Debt.
Merchant:
A Merchant is someone who is involved in legitimate mercantile
transactions. This could be someone doing the purchasing or logistical
functions for a large organization such as a corporation or consortium.
This could be someone involved in retailing like a store clerk or shop
owner. Alternatively, it could be a solo operator such as a caravan
merchant like Marco Polo.
• Can be paired with any relationship option.
Mechanic:
A Mechanic is someone involved in the repair or maintenance of
technology based on the application of principles from physics and
materials science. This might be an engine, vehicle, aircraft, spacecraft,
watercraft, heavy industry, robotics, structures, or practical engineering
related to these fields. A mechanic’s primary usefulness to the character
is usually her practical knowledge related to fixing or finding useful
equipment.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival,
Enemy, or Debt.
Technician:
A Technician is someone involved in the repair or maintenance of non-
mechanical technology. This could be electronics, appliances, diagnostic
equipment, medical equipment, or similar technology. A technician’s
primary usefulness to the character is usually her practical knowledge
related to fixing or finding useful equipment.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival,
Enemy, or Debt.

101
Producer:
A Producer is someone who physically creates something for a living.
This could be a sculptor, carpenter, mason, blacksmith, factory worker,
or craftsman of any sort. A producer’s primary value to the character is
usually her practical knowledge related to fixing or finding equipment.
• Can only have skills or possessions related to their production.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival,
Enemy, or Debt.
Criminal:
A Criminal is someone currently or formerly involved in criminal
activity other than transportation or investigation (see descriptions
for these Types for details). A criminal might be a pickpocket, robber,
burglar, kidnapper, forger, assassin, bomber, or someone coordinating
such activity. Illicit connections are inherently more difficult to contact
than legitimate one’s due to the secret nature of their lifestyle, unless
they live in a society rife with corruption. You can take a criminal
relationship with an ex-criminal if you wish, making them easier to
contact but leaving them with fewer ties to the current underworld.
• Can be paired with any relationship option.
Military:
A Military individual is someone actively or formerly involved in
military operations. This could be someone who is a lowly infantryman
or it could be a powerful general. Her abilities may be useful to
characters because of practical value (i.e. actual combat skills) or due
to connections with individuals involved in military operations (such as
knowing the coast guard’s current patrol pattern). Military connections
are inherently more difficult to contact than regular one’s due to the
cloistered nature of their lifestyle. You can take a military relationship
with an ex-military individual if you wish, making them easier to
contact but leaving them with fewer ties to the current military.
Linguist:
A Linguist is someone who knows or has access to a large number of
languages. For practical purposes, these individuals should know at
least twice the number of languages than an average person in their
culture would know. This might be an international businessperson
who has learned many languages to perform their business operations
more efficiently, a professional translator, or someone who works in
a university as an actual linguistics professor. A linguist’s primary
usefulness to the character is usually her practical value related to the
translation of languages unknown to the party.
• Can only have communication and translation Skills.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival,
Enemy, or Debt.
Intellectual:
An Intellectual is someone who is involved in theoretical, analytical,
or philosophical endeavors. This could be an academic, sage, wise-man,
philosopher, mathematician, or similar individual who devotes their life
to ideas. An intellectual’s primary usefulness to the character is usually
her practical value related to obscure information unknown to the party.
• Cannot be paired with the relationship options of Patron, Ally, Rival,
Enemy, or Debt.

• Can be paired with any relationship option.

• Retainers must be ex-military.

102
Relationship Relationship
Trainer +10
Descriptions: Patron +10
Retainer +5
Trainer: Patron:
A Trainer is someone who can provide Ally +5 A Patron is someone who supports you financially. They provide a
professional training in no more than Contact +3 fixed income payment to the character in exchange for some kind of
three skills. Depending on the type Favor +2 reciprocal obligation. Larger income payments require larger obligations
of Trainer, the sorts of skills available Ancestor +2 in return. A patronage could be as simple as a retail job or as complex as
may be limited. A trainer may derive Hospitality +1 a vassalage. If your character has a job, it must be reflected as Patronage.
her income from training people (e.g. The income payment may be in monetary units, goods, or services.
Resource +0
Martial Arts Instructor) or they may
simply be an active professional who Family -1 Retainer:
has agreed to train you on the side Friend -2 A Retainer is someone that you are paying in order to secure their
(e.g. your neighbor that is in Army). Lover -3 services. If they accompany you in your travels, they should be paid a
Trainers require fair compensation for Rival * sum commensurate to the tasks they are performing and the risks that
their services. Specialized skills like they are exposed to. Classic retainer concepts include the mercenary
Enemy *
electronics repair are likely to cost a soldier, the travel guide, the squire, or the shield bearer. However,
lot more to train for than mundane Debt *
sometimes you may not want them to travel with you but instead stay
ones like fishing. in a single location and perform a task. For example, you might want a
fletcher (producer) to be on contract making arrows specifically for you
in a nearby town. You provide him a steady income and he is a reliable
source of arrows for you. The possibilities are endless. The size of your
payments should correspond to the value of the services rendered. A
retainer can refuse to follow orders that they feel they are not being
paid enough to carry out (e.g. suicidal charge into enemy ranks).

Ally:
An Ally is someone who has a strong personal loyalty to the character.
In most respects, allies are similar to a Retainer. However, instead of
being paid in proportion to the risks taken, allies are entitled to pay,
treasure, or other proceeds as if they were another member of the
party. Furthermore, they should not be ordered around or treated like
inferiors. They are independents, not subordinates. For all practical
purposes, they are simply additional party members.

103
Contact:
A Contact is someone who provides you with information. You must
pay for the information you receive and the information will be limited
by the nature of the contact. For example, Military contacts will be
limited to information related to their role as members of the military.
Unless the military is fighting crime or engaged in black-market
dealings, that military contact should not know anything about the
criminal underworld.
Favor:
A Favor is someone who owes you a limited debt that cannot be repaid
through money. Favors can function as Allies, Contacts, or Resources.
The character can decide what function they will serve when the
time comes to call in the debt, so they have a great deal of flexibility.
However, after you’ve called in a limited number of favors, the debt is
repaid and the Favor must be removed from your character sheet.
Ancestor:
An Ancestor is a deceased relative who can provide basic access to a
skill that is related to their type. In practical terms, an ancestor can give
you the ability to take a single Skill despite lacking the Life Experience.
For example, a military ancestor could provide access to a combat skill
despite the character lacking combat training. The skill must be fairly
common and something that could realistically be taught to a family
member. Some things are really only taught in academic or professional
environments (e.g. organic chemistry or aerospace design). Ultimately,
this is subject to GM approval.
Hospitality:
A Hospitality relationship is with a person who can provide you shelter
and basic supplies in times of extreme need. This might be a local
priest who can hide you in his church, an outlaw who lets you stay at
his camp, or a local merchant who lets you sleep above his shop. These
services and supplies are provided free of charge, but if restitution is not
eventually paid in some way, the relationship should decay.
Resource:
A Resource is someone who functions as a secure connection to a
particular type of good or service. Unlike if they were a Retainer, you
are one of many customers. You simply have a secure access point for
this resource at a fair price and you do not have to waste time looking
for a vendor. Depending on the nature of what is being purchased, this
may make them an illicit or legitimate individual. An illicit resource
could be a criminal who provides the services of a fence or sells
contraband goods like drugs or weapons. A legitimate resource could
be an owner of a legally operated gun store, a quality blacksmith that
you have a rapport with, or a translator you know will accept small
payments for limited translations.
Family:
A Family relationship is a partnership based on mutual obligation. A
family member relationship carries with it a strong obligation of loyalty
and assistance. Your parents might be providing you with income as a
kind of Patron, but you would have a strong obligation to assist them
in a wide range of tasks and could possibly be ordered around slightly.
Your uncle might be a kind of trainer, but you might feel obligated
to help clean out his garage one weekend. A family relationship is a
cheap way to gain access to a lot of things, but be careful to not drown
yourself in obligations.
Friend:
A Friend relationship is generally the same as a Family relationship, but
it is more fragile to maintain and the obligations it carries are weaker.
Friendships require more maintenance than Family relationships, since
the bond is based purely on association without any blood ties. You also
should have a harder time getting a friend to help you with a serious
problem than a family member. Your friend might help you fix a flat
tire or move into a new apartment, but they probably won’t break you
out of the state penitentiary.
104
Lover: Debt:
A Lover is an extreme form of friend. Such relationships require a large You enter into a Debt relationship when you borrow substantial
expenditure of time and energy to maintain, but in turn provide a near amounts of money. The lender is assumed to have significant resources
perfect alignment of interests. A lover will do nearly anything for you, at her disposal to enforce debt collection. In practical terms, the debt
if you are keeping the love alive. A lover that is ignored or scorned may is used to purchase Property. The point value of the connection is not
be developed into a Rival or Enemy by the GM. based on the type, but instead you gain 1 additional property point
per point of Debt. So if you get 8 points of property to use, your debt
Rival: connection is worth -8 points. You must use all points gained for the
A Rival is a low-intensity foe who is not actively attempting to same piece of property, but you can take multiple debts for multiple
attack the character. This might be a local aristocrat whose childhood pieces of property.
boyfriend was stolen by the character and any time she gets a chance
to foil the character she will take it, however she does not actively chase The debt also creates an ownership relationship for the lender against
down the character to do her harm. The GM will probably place the the property you purchase (collateral). So if you use the 8 points of
rival in a position to block your progress. For example, if you need property to buy a house and then you default on the debt, the lender
special approval to access the royal vault to look for a particular item, can seize the house in compensation. Whether the debt is subject
that aristocrat will probably be the royal treasurer in charge of such to interest and the amount of interest being charged will be decided
approvals. This makes your gameplay experience more challenging. by the GM based on the appropriateness in relation to the setting.
Unlike most other relationships, which cost Connection points, Rivals For example, a modern mortgage could carry a fixed interest rate of
give you connection points to spend on other connections because somewhere between 5% and 8% in the United States. However, in a
their net effect is negative. They exist precisely to foil your character. different setting, that percentage might not be appropriate.
A Rivalry gives you an amount of Connection points equal to the point
cost of the Type so a Military Rival is worth -5 points. The above description applies
to legitimate debts, like a house
Enemy: mortgage. However, you may want
An Enemy is a high-intensity foe that actively tries to attack you. That to get a lot of money and not be
local aristocrat might have been so offended by the slight against them able to put up collateral to support
that they have dedicated their life to killing you. They are not waiting it. In that case, you can borrow
passively for you to run across them. They are hunting you down. The through illegal connections at twice
GM will probably have enemies show up at precisely the wrong time the standard rate (i.e. you gain 2
and do precisely the wrong thing. You arrive to see them escaping with additional property points per point
the treasure. They show up to challenge you to a duel when you are of Debt). The lender does not have
exhausted or injured. They are your own personal villain. This makes legally recognized rights against your
your gameplay experience much more challenging. Similar to Rivals, collateral. However, if you default,
Enemies give you Connection points. Due to their more dangerous the lender becomes an enemy with a
nature, they give points equal to twice the point cost of the Type, so a value equal to twice that of the debt
Criminal Enemy is worth -10 points. The point value is also used by value (e.g. the -8 point debt would
the GM to determine how dangerous the Enemy is. become a -16 point Enemy).

105
Chapter 7:
Possessions

106
Wealth: Wealth Determination
An average character rolls 5 six-sided dice (5d6) to determine their
Everyone begins play with some amount of money. That amount is Wealth. The result of all the dice added together is multiplied by
going to vary widely between characters. If they were to walk away 100, and that result is your starting money. This is the amount of
from their life completely, this would be the money in their pocket. In liquid money that you have available at the moment. So the average
a modern or futuristic setting, most of these funds would likely be in a character could have anywhere from 500 to 3000 monetary units
bank of some kind. In a pre-modern setting, this would be money saved available.
in a secret hiding place or lockbox.
Some life experiences confer bonuses or penalties to Wealth. These
Depending on your setting, this translates into an amount of currency. are extra dice to roll for this purpose. So, if you have a +2 bonus to
For example, in a modern setting this might convert directly to Wealth, you roll 7d6 instead of 5d6.
American dollars or alternatively convert into British pounds at a
3:2 ratio, so that 2000 units would be either $2000 or about £1500.
You can use these funds to purchase equipment from this chapter. Example Currencies by Time Period
Conversions Currency Ratio
Your GM can also give you a conversion ratio into currency used in
any other RPG book and you can purchase equipment using that book, Ancient Denarii 5:1
with the GM’s permission. Your GM may also allow you to create a Medieval Byzant 4:1
currency for your cultural group and set a conversion ratio to the Exploration Doubloon 3:1
dominant currency in their gameworld. Victorian Pounds 2:1
Modern Dollars 1:1
Future Credits 1:2

Example Currencies within a Time Period

Medieval Ratio Modern Ratio

Bezant 4:1 Pounds 3:2
Ducat 2:1 Euros 4:3
Florin 1:1 Dollars 1:1
Dinar 1:2 Pesos 1:15
Dobla 1:3 Rubles 1:30
Ecu 1:4 Rupees 1:45
Franc 1:12 Yen 1:100

107
Property: Property Determination
Some life experiences grant you bonuses to Wealth. You receive a
In addition to cash on hand, any character with a Wealth bonus receives number of Property points equal to half your bonus, rounded up. So,
additional wealth in the form of Property. You can allocate your if you have a +5 bonus to Wealth, you get 3 Property points to spend.
property points across multiple types of property. For example, if your
character had 5 property points, you can put 2 points in Land, 1 point If you do not have a positive Wealth bonus, you do not own Property.
in Structure, 1 point in Animal, and 1 point in Title. You could then be
a minor noble, with a decent estate, a small residence, and a small herd
of animals. Profit-yielding types of Property can generate additional
cash per month for your character. Other forms of property require
upkeep over time to maintain. Consult the description of each property
type for details on the default method of calculating profit or upkeep.
Some settings may use alterative methods for profits and/or upkeep.

Each point in a property type represents property valued at 50,000

currency units. So a piece of Land worth 5 Property points would
be valued at 250,000 currency units. Since property worth depends
on value rather than size, the amount of Land, Structures, Animals,
Vehicles, Businesses, Libraries, and Fortifications owned by two different
characters could vary widely despite being worth the same number of
property points. For example, the productive value of the Land could
vary and that would be reflected in the Land’s value. Additionally, the
value of property varies widely across time. Due to these factors, use
your judgment and consult with the GM to determine how much
property is purchased per currency unit.

For property requiring active management, you can perform this task
yourself but this will take up a lot of your time and you will need to
use your own skills. If you don’t know how to farm, you will probably
not be able to reap large harvests on your farmland. Therefore you will
probably want to hire someone to manage it on your behalf. It may be
helpful to hand over this job to a Connection. Discuss with your GM
what would be a fair rate for such a service in your game world.

Selling property for hard currency should, in most cases, come at a

significant cost. The character will usually receive much less for the
liquidated value than the theoretical value of keeping the property.

108
Property Descriptions: Property
Animal
Animal: Business
Animals represent property in the form of Fortification
domesticated livestock. The property point
Investment
value of the herd is equal to the theoretical
cost of purchasing all the animals. Do Land
not assume that this is an inappropriate Library
property for a futuristic setting (e.g. Rank
Banthas). A herd is valuable because it Structure
is mobile and can be relocated to avoid Title
danger, taxation, or just for a change of
Vehicle
scenery. Management of the herd is fairly
simple compared to most forms of revenue-
generating property. Hiring someone to manage it for you is relatively
cheap as a result. Certain kinds of animals also provide a steady stream
of usable resources: furs, milk, cheese, meat, horn, bones for weapons,
and so on. If you do not purchase Land to support your animals, you
are assumed to be using common lands. This may result in a wide range
of risks to your animals. If common grazing lands do not exist in your
setting, you must purchase Land to support your herd.
Animal Profits: You can buy and sell individual animals at any time for
their market value. Each month, the herd generates profit based on the
result of a Herding roll by the caretaker of the herd and a decision from
the GM about the environment of the animals during that period. If
permitted, your animals can breed during their mating season. The GM
will determine how many animals are born each year (varies by animal).
Business:
Businesses represent property in the form of functioning commercial
enterprises. The property point value of the business is equal to the
theoretical cost of buying all the equipment and inventory to run the
business. A business is capable of generating strong returns compared
to other forms of property, but it requires a lot of energy and oversight
to manage properly. Hiring someone to manage your business can be
very expensive.
Businesses may provide useful resources to you during the game. For
example, it could be very helpful to own a pawn shop, even if the
revenues are small. Businesses are the most flexible and potentially
profitable of the property types, but also the most fragile. An economic
downturn can eliminate a lot of your property very quickly. Businesses
are even more risky than outright investments in financial instruments.
Are you prepared to take the risks?
Business Profits: Each
month, the business
generates profit based
on the result of a
Management roll by
the manager of the
business and a decision
by the GM about the
business climate.
You can leave profits in the business and when the profits reach 50,000
units, the business will increase in value by one property point. You can
leave losses in the business and when the losses reach 50,000 units, the
business will decrease in value by one property point. If this reduces the
business to zero property points, it goes bankrupt. Alternatively, you
can cover losses out of your pocket or you can take money out of the
business and put it back in your pocket.
109
Fortification:
Fortifications represent property in the form of a structure designed
for vigorous defense, like a castle or a space station. The property point
value of the fortification is equal to the theoretical cost of buying the
land on which the fortification sits, building it, and stocking it with
equipment and reserve provisions. Fortifications are different from
regular structures in that they typically require special dispensation
from the government to build. The local duke might not take kindly
to your decision to build a huge castle on your farmland. Fortifications
can obligate you to perform some kind of defensive service to the local
government at a time of their choosing. However, fortifications can be
very useful for escaping enemies. You can usually sleep soundly in your
own castle without fear for your life.
Fortification Upkeep: Each month, your fortification has a base upkeep
of 1d6 per property point, multiplied by 25 current units. This must be
paid or else the fortification will fall into decay. While in decay, base
upkeep continues to be calculated and tracked. When it reaches 50,000
currency units, the fortification will decrease in value by one property
point. On top of base upkeep, you must pay the salaries of all servants
and defenders.
Investment:
Investments represent property in the form of a financial instrument,
like a mutual fund portfolio. The property point value of the instrument
is equal to the invested funds, not the current liquidation value. You
can generate reliable returns over time. Do not assume that this is an
inappropriate property for a pre-modern setting (e.g. investing in trade
caravans). Investments can grow or shrink in value as the economy
changes, so they involve more risk than stuffing the money in your
mattress. When you make your investment, you can choose to invest
conservatively, diversified, or aggressively.
Investment Profits: Profits are percentage gains on the invested funds
over the course of a year. Conservative investments generate profits
of (1d6 minus 2) percent. Diversified investments generate profits of
(2d6 minus 4) percent. Aggressive investments generate profits of (2d6
minus 6, multiplied by 10) percent. These rolls are made secretly by the
GM at the start of the year. So if you are aggressively invested and she
rolls a 1, your investments lose 20% over the year. However, if she had
rolled a 6, your investment would make 30% profit that year. If you ask
your GM how your investment is doing mid-year, she is encouraged to
give you a current status that reflects the volatility of your choices (e.g.
aggressive values change widely from day to day).
110
Land:
Land represents property in the form of territorial rights, like a
plantation or a planetary body that you own. The property point
value of the land is equal to original purchase value. Land is typically
valued by either location in a developed area or productive value in an
undeveloped area. If your land is producing some kind of agricultural
product, you must hire people and/or purchase machines to work
the land. If you are not going to be around, you will also need to hire
someone to manage it. Land is typically more valuable in pre-modern
times. Note that when you purchase a Business, Fortification, or
Structure, the price of the land is included. You do not need to purchase
additional land unless you want to have surrounding territory or land in
a different area.
Land Profits: Each season,
agricultural land generates
profit based on the result of
a Farming roll by the land
manager and a decision by
the GM about the climate.
Non-agricultural land varies
widely in use and thus does not
generate profits by any steady
model. You must negotiate with
the GM regarding how non-
agricultural land will generate
profits.
Land Upkeep: Each month, your land has a base upkeep of 1d6 per
property point, multiplied by 10 current units. This must be paid or
else the land will fall into decay (overgrown, unusable, etc). While in
decay, base upkeep continues to be calculated and tracked. When it
reaches 50,000 currency units, the land will decrease in value by one
property point. If the point value of land reaches zero, you still own it
but it would be unable to generate any monetary returns until restored
via reinvestment of 50,000 currency units. On top of base upkeep, you
must pay the salaries of all caretakers and field workers.
Library:
Libraries represent property in the form of information, like books or
a database. The property point value of the library is equal to original
purchase value of the items within it. Libraries are useful for conducting
research. They are particularly valuable in worlds with magic that is
learned from books or when securing access to books on a rare subject
matter is difficult, like ancient Egypt. The information contained within
the library may or may not be completely legal to own. If your Library
contains illegal materials, the price of acquiring such materials should
be increased appropriately by your GM.
Library Profits and Upkeep: Normally, libraries do not generate profits or
accumulate upkeep in any substantial amount. For physical books, you
must pair a library with a Fortification or Structure in which to store
them. For digital libraries, you must determine what servers on which it
is being stored. These auxiliary matters may accumulate upkeep. If you
open your library to the public and charge access fees, it ceases being a
library and is instead a Business.
Rank:
Ranks represent the value of having a civil service status, like a governor
or sheriff. The property point value of the rank is compared to other
civil service individuals. A character with a rank valued at 3 property
points is a less powerful person than one valued at 6 property points.
The names of your ranks are left up to you and the GM.
Ranks allow you to access certain facilities, personnel, or information
that someone without that rank would be unable to obtain. For
example, a sheriff could access criminal records that a person off the
street would simply be unable to acquire. Ranks usually come with some
kind of civic obligation, even if it as simple as a job you are expected to
perform, and may draw a salary. The value of having a rank will vary
widely from setting to setting.
Consult with your GM before you place any property points in rank.
111
Structure:
Structures represent property in the form of a structure either
designed for residence, like a house or mansion, or designed for a
commercial purpose, like a warehouse or dock. Those designed with
a military purpose of a non-defensive measure (e.g. barracks) are also
considered structures. Those with a defensive purpose are covered
under Fortification. The property point value of the structure is equal
to the theoretical cost of buying the land on which the structure sits,
building it, and stocking it with furniture and appliances. A structure
is a useful location for storing excess equipment, resting, hiding things,
or building things. Relaxing in your own home reduces the number of
hours necessary to remove a Stress point by one hour.
Structure Upkeep: Each month, your structure has a base upkeep of 1d6
per property point, multiplied by 25 current units. This must be paid
or else it will fall into decay. While in decay, base upkeep continues to
be calculated and tracked. When it reaches 50,000 currency units, the
structure will decrease in value by one property point. On top of base
upkeep, you must pay the salaries of all servants and caretakers.
Vehicle:
Vehicles represent property in the form of a mechanical means of
conveyance, like a truck or spaceship. The property point value of the
vehicle is equal to the purchase price on the open market. Vehicles are
exceptionally useful in moving around the game world. You may be
required to own an official license and/or registration to operate the
vehicle and this may need to be renewed on a frequent basis. Military
vehicles will often require a Title or Rank to possess legally. Unlike
most other forms of property, vehicles can be stolen fairly easily. If you
leave your Ferrari parked in a slum neighborhood, don’t expect it to be
waiting for you when you get back.
Vehicle Upkeep: Each vehicle has a different upkeep, determined by the
GM or defined in a setting supplement. A modern pickup truck needs
only a few things to keep going, gasoline and occasional maintenance,
while an interstellar spacecraft would obviously require much higher
upkeep involving a wide range of inputs.

Title:
Title represent the value of having a feudal status, like a Count, or
religious status, like a Cardinal. The property point value of the rank
is compared to other individuals. A character with a Title valued at 3
property points is a less powerful person than one valued at 6 property
points. The names of your titles are left up to you and the GM.

Titles allow you to collect taxes or tithes from a specific jurisdiction. The
degree to which you push these rights will be reflected in the feelings
of your “subjects” to your rule. Heavy taxation breeds resentment and
anger. Titles also typically grant some kind of law enforcement or legal
powers over that jurisdiction. You can also own things that other people
cannot simply buy, such as Fortifications or military equipment. Titles
carry obligations to some political figure above you unless you pay twice
the normal price to be independent.

Consult with your GM before you place any property points in title.

112
Mechs:
A Mech is a special type of vehicle with Sections
a modular design that supports complex
Head
customizations. A Mech is built from
a number of points called Tons, each Center Torso
representing a metric ton of weight. Once Left Torso
designed, a Mech is referred to by that Right Torso
number; e.g. a 50 ton Mech. A Mech Left Arm
chassis is subdivided into 8 sections. Right Arm
Different components are loaded into each
Left Leg
section. No single section can weigh more
than 15 tons. Right Leg

Required Components of Mech Design:

Core Structure: Each Mech Required Cost per ton

must contain 1 Ton of Core Core 100,000
Structure in each section. This
Engine 150,000
represents the actual physical Optional Components:
structure upon which the Cockpit 500,000
other components are built Armor: Armor stops strength damage dealt to that section. Depending
and the baseline armor that protects against small arms fire and light on setting, armor may be available that provides different stopping
vehicle weapons. It cannot be reduced or removed. A Mech never needs power per Ton and that stops certain types of damage more effectively
more than 1 Ton of Core Structure per section, but you can add more than others.
Armor as an Optional Component.
Weapons: Weapons will vary significantly by setting in terms of weight,
The Engine: In order to move, a Mech needs an engine. An engine damage dealt, and reloading time. For weapons requiring ammunition,
weighs at least 1 ton per 10 tons of Mech including the engine weight. the ammunition must be stored in the same section or an adjacent
So if you have a 50 ton Mech, the Engine weighs at least 5 Tons. You section to the weapon.
can assign extra tonnage to the engine to increase your speed. The
engine must be assigned to the Center Torso section. Miscellaneous: Depending on the setting, a wide variety of additional
components may be available. These might include sensor arrays,
The Cockpit: In order to be piloted, a Mech needs a cockpit. A cockpit countermeasures, stealth or cloaking systems, or even rocket propulsion
weighs 1 ton and must be assigned to the Head section. The cockpit systems to enhance jumping capabilities. Weights for these systems
contains all the electronics and life support systems to operate the mech and their many uses will be defined by the setting. Heat Sinks are also
and keep the pilot alive in any environment. included in this category.

113
Mech Armor:
The Mech starts with a basic level of protection provided by the core
structure. The standard core armor reduces damage dealt by a fixed
amount. Additional armor also reduces damage but is ablative and thus
destroyed by the damage reduced. For example, if you have 1 extra ton
of Fibrous armor and your Mech is dealt 6 Penetration damage, the
Fibrous armor would absorb 2 points of damage but lost in the process.
The core structure would then reduce that damage by 3 points and 1
point would slip through, damaging the section by 1 strength. You can
add several additional tons of armor to section and their effects are
cumulative, but only one type can be used within a single section (e.g.
you cannot have both Fibrous and Ceramic armor on the same mech
section). Any damage types not listed in the chart below are ignored by
Mechs unless of extreme value (e.g a large boulder could deal impact
damage but not a warhammer).
Mech Armor Penetration Energy Explosive Cost
Core 3 1 1 Included
Fibrous +2 per ton - - 5,000
Ceramic - +2 per ton - 7,500
Reactive - - +2 per ton 10,000
Taking Damage:
Each section has a strength value of 2. Any hits in combat that bypass
the armor of that section deal damage to this value. If it reaches zero,
that section and any components in it are destroyed. If the Left or
Right Torso is destroyed, the associated arm is disabled until that torso
section is repaired. If a Leg is destroyed, the Mech is knocked to the
ground and disabled until the leg is repaired. If the engine is destroyed,
the Mech is disabled until the engine is repaired. If the Head is the
destroyed, the pilot can make a Mech Operations roll to eject against a
difficulty equal to the amount of damage not reduced by armor. If the
pilot fails to eject, she is killed.
If a section carrying ammunition is destroyed, the ammunition is lost.
Explosive or Incendiary ammunition destroyed in this manner causes
damage as if that ammunition hit the Mech in all adjacent sections.
Heat:
Each Mech has a fluctuating heat level. When exposed to extreme heat
or when firing weapons, this heat level rises. When a Mech’s heat level
exceeds 20 points, any ammunition you are carrying will be destroyed.
Explosive or Incendiary ammunition destroyed in this manner causes
damage as if the Mech was just hit with that type of ammunition in
that location. Furthermore, increase all difficulties by 1 per heat point in
excess of 20. For example, if your Mech has a heat level of 22, increase
all difficulties by 2. If your Mech’s heat level exceeds 25, your engine
will shut down until your heat level falls back below 25.
However, if you continue to accumulate heat beyond 25 and reach 30
(e.g. another mech is attacking you with heat weapons), your Mech will
overheat and all sections will be destroyed. If the pilot fails to eject, she
is killed. A Mech destroyed in this manner cannot be salvaged in any
way. As long as they are not occupied with another task, the pilot can
make a Mech Operations roll to eject against a difficulty equal to the
heat value in excess of 25. Note that if heat is below 25, this succeeds
automatically.
A Mech automatically reduces it’s heat by 2 heat points per
combat round. This rate can be accelerated by adding Heat Sinks as
Miscellaneous components. Each additional Heat Sink reduces heat by
an additional point per combat round.
Miscellaneous Heat Weight Cost
Heat Sink -1 per combat round 1 2,000
114
Mech Weapons:
These weapons require use of an appropriate weapon skill. Range is listed in Meters. Weight is listed in Tons. Reload is listed in combat rounds.
A Reload of 0 means it can be fired multiple times in the same combat round. Ammunition is listed in quantities to make 50 attacks before
replenishment. Heat values listed under damage represents additional heat generated in a Mech when hit with such a weapon. This additional heat is
reduced by both core and additional armor as if it were Energy damage, but it does not actually destroy additional armor as normal damage would.

Mech Weapons Damage Range Heat Weight Reload Cost

Machine Gun 4 Penetration 3,000 0 1 0 5,000
Light Autocannon Varies by Ammunition 3,000 1 2 1 7,500
Medium Autocannon Varies by Ammunition 4,000 1 4 2 10,000
Heavy Autocannon Varies by Ammunition 5,000 2 6 4 15,000
Gauss Cannon 15 Penetration 6,000 3 10 5 30,000
Pulse Laser 4 Energy 2,000 2 1 0 7,500
Light Laser 6 Energy , 1 Heat 2,500 4 2 1 10,000
Medium Laser 8 Energy , 2 Heat 3,000 6 4 2 15,000
Heavy Laser 10 Energy , 3 Heat 4,000 8 6 3 20,000
Missile Launcher Varies by Ammunition 10,000 2 2 4 10,000
Flame Thrower 1 Energy, 5 Heat 250 1 2 1 5,000
Mech Ammo Damage Weight Cost
Machine Gun Rounds 4 Penetration 1 1,000
Light Incendiary Shell 2 Energy 2 1,000
Medium Incendiary Shell 3 Energy 3 2,000
Heavy Incendiary Shell 4 Energy 4 3,000
Light Armor Piercing Shell 5 Penetration 2 2,000
Medium Armor Piercing Shell 7 Penetration 3 3,000
Heavy Armor Piercing Shell 9 Penetration 4 4,000
Light Explosive Shell 3 Explosive 2 5,000
Medium Explosive Shell 4 Explosive 3 7,500
Heavy Explosive Shell 5 Explosive 4 10,000
Gauss Slug 15 Penetration 2 15,000
Anti-Aircraft Missile 3 Explosive 5 2,500
Anti-Personnel Missile 6 Shrapnel 5 2,500
Anti-Armor Missile 4 Penetration, 4 Explosive 5 5,000
Flame Thrower Fuel 1 Energy, 5 Heat 2 2,500 115
Example Mech:
This is an example of a 50 ton Mech.

Core Structure: 8 Tons

The Engine: 5 Tons
The Cockpit: 1 Ton
Armor: 3 Tons of Fibrous in Head and Center Torso, 1 Ton of Fibrous in all other sections
Weapons: 1 Heavy Autocannon on each Arm, 1 Ton of Heavy Explosive Shells on each side of Torso,
and 1 Light Laser mounted on Head.
Miscellaneous: 2 Tons of Setting Specific Electronics

Example Required Armor Weapons Misc Total

Head 2 3 2 2 6
Center Torso 6 3 0 0 10
Left Torso 1 1 4 0 5
Right Torso 1 1 4 0 5
Left Arm 1 1 6 0 9
Right Arm 1 1 6 0 9
Left Leg 1 1 0 0 3
Right Leg 1 1 0 0 3
Total 14 12 22 2 50

Breakdown Cost
Core 800,000
Engine 750,000
Cockpit 500,000
Armor 60,000
Weapons 60,000
Miscellaneous 10.000
Total 2,180,000

116
Equipment:
Every physical object in the game world is considered equipment.
Encumbrance:
Equipment has a weight. If that weight exceeds your comfortable
carrying capacity, halve your movement rate. If that weight equals your
maximum carrying capacity, you cannot move. You cannot carry more
than your maximum capacity. Additionally, once your weight carried
exceeds your comfortable carrying capacity, you lose 1 Endurance point
per minute until you either drop the extra weight or fall unconscious.
Durability:
Equipment has an armor type, representing the innate toughness of the
object. A porcelain vase obviously has a weaker armor type than a steel
door. In addition to this, it has a strength value and can take damage
just like a living creature. If an object’s strength is reduce to zero, it
is destroyed and can only be repaired by someone with either a skill
that could actually create the object from scratch or that is specifically
designated to repairing it.
The amount of equipment potentially available is so vast that these
values are not listed, but dictated by the GM if you decide to deal
damage to a random object. For example, you might decide to attack a
wooden door. Your GM would determine what armor type would apply
(presumably banded in this case) and how much strength the door has
(let’s assume 3 in this case). If you attacked that door, damage dealt
would be reduced as if the door was wearing banded armor and if you
dealt more than 3 points of damage that would destroy the door.
Weapon Sizes:
Every weapon has a size listed for it. This represents the bulk of the
weapon when used in combat. A normal size character can use a
small or medium-sized weapon in a single hand or a large weapon in
both hands. Small characters cannot use large weapons and must use
medium-sized weapons in both hands. Large characters cannot use
small weapons and can use large weapons in one hand. A two-handed
melee weapon can only make a single attack per combat round.
The following medium-sized weapons can be made two-handed for an
additional 100 currency units; Mace, Morningstar, Warhammer, Pick,
Battleaxe, Flail, or Longsword. The resulting weapon weighs 1.5 times
the original weight and deals one extra damage of its currently strongest
damage type. The weapon is now considered Large.
Weapon Ranges:
Every ranged weapon has a range listed for it. This range represents
the maximum range at which the weapon can target an object. The
projectile may actually travel much further than the range listed and
may end up hitting a person or part of the environment. However, you
cannot control the projectile at that range. The GM will adjust the
difficulty based on relative distance, considering the capabilities of the
weapon. For example, shooting someone at 50 meters with a musket
may have the same difficulty number as hitting someone at 500 meters
with a rifle, simply because the rifle is a better weapon.
Ammunition:
Some ranged weapon fires a wide variety of ammunition types. A
standard ammunition value is listed for these weapons and if you wish
to use specialized ammunition then you can consult with your GM for
modifications to these values. For example, you might want to use a
.357 Magnum instead of a standard pistol. Your GM might decide that
.357 ammunition deals an extra penetration damage point.
117
Melee Weapons:
These weapons are for use in melee combat.

Melee Weapons Damage Parry Size Weight Cost

Battleaxe 1 slashing, 2 impact, & 1 penetration -2 Medium 10 150
Dagger 1 slashing or 2 penetration -1 Small 1 25
Flail 3 impact and 1 slashing -2 Medium 12 200
Hand axe 1 slashing and 1 impact -2 Medium 5 50
Longsword 3 slashing or 2 penetration +1 Medium 8 300
Mace 2 impact -1 Medium 10 75
Morningstar 2 impact and 1 penetration -1 Medium 12 175
Net - none - cannot Large 2 30
Pick 1 impact and 3 penetration -1 Medium 10 250
Pike 4 penetration cannot Large 10 150
Polearm - based on head design - cannot Large 15 300
Quarterstaff 2 impact +2 Large 5 40
Rapier 1 slashing or 3 penetration +3 Medium 6 500
Scimitar 4 slashing or 1 penetration +0 Medium 9 350
Shortsword 2 slashing or 2 penetration +0 Medium 6 200
Spear 3 penetration cannot Large 4 50
Warhammer 3 impact and 1 penetration -2 Medium 12 225
Whip 1 slashing cannot Medium 2 100

Battleaxe: A shaft with an axe head on the end, typically intended for use in combat. This weapon is exceptional in that it deals three different types of
damage, representing the unique way in which its head cuts, smashes, and slices through armor as well.

Dagger: A bladed weapon with a short blade of three to six inches in length, usually double edged. This includes knives, stilettos, kusari, and other
specialized forms of this weapon type. If used to thrust or stab your opponent, this weapon deals penetration damage. Otherwise, this weapon deals
slashing damage.

Flail: A shaft with a spiked ball attached to the end via a chain intended to be swung in combat, usually from an elevated position or a mount.

Hand axe: A short shaft with an axe head on the end. This weapon is typically not carried as a weapon but is an improvised usage of the hand axe tool.
A tomahawk would be an example of a version specifically designed for combat use.

118
Longsword: A bladed weapon with a straight double-edged blade
of about three feet in length. If used to thrust or stab your opponent,
this weapon deals penetration damage. Otherwise, this weapon deals
slashing damage.
Mace: An impact weapon with a heavy head on a solid shaft used to
bludgeon opponents. The head is typically a metallic head of iron or
steel, but this category also includes stone and wooden clubs as well as
nunchaku.
Morningstar: A mace with spikes or flanges on the head to puncture
armor. This includes spiked clubs.
Net: A weapon designed to incapacitate an opponent while a blow is
dealt. A successful attack incapacitates the target except that they can
attack the netting. The amount of damage required to destroy the
netting is based on its material basis. A simple rope net is much easier
to damage than one made of metallic fibers.
Pick: A mace with a single protruding spike to maximize penetration
damage. Like a warhammer, this weapon excels at delivering some
damage through even the best armors. This also includes kamas and
sickles.
Pike: A very long shaft with a spiked tip on the end intended to be
braced against an enemy charge attack. This weapon is cumbersome
to use and typically requiring significant practice to use effectively in
battle. However, against cavalry charges it is unmatched.
Polearm: A very long shaft with a spear tip, hammer, axe, or pick in a
combination head. A polearm typically causes two different kinds of
damage depending on how the head is used. For example, a Halberd
is a polearm that has a head combination of an axe and a spear. If used
in battle as a spear, it deals spear damage. If used to hack at the enemy
like an axe, it deals battleaxe damage. Like a pike, these weapons are
typically cumbersome to use and require significant practice to use
effectively. Consult your GM for guidance before purchasing.
Quarterstaff: A long shaft with rounded ends that is used in battle
primarily as a blocking defensive weapon. This is the only weapon that
can also be used to both Block and Parry in combat. The parry bonus
listed in the weapons chart also applies to blocking attempts.
Rapier: A bladed weapon with a long narrow blade several feet in
length, designed for quick thrusting strikes against your opponent.
This is a poor slashing weapon, but is excellent for thrusting. If used to
thrust or stab your opponent, this weapon deals penetration damage.
Otherwise, this weapon deals slashing damage.
Scimitar: A bladed weapon with a curved single-edged blade of about
three feet in length. This includes falchions, kopeches, cutlasses, and
similar weapons. This is a poor thrusting weapon, but is excellent for
slashing. If used to thrust or stab your opponent, this weapon deals
penetration damage. Otherwise, this weapon deals slashing damage.
Shortsword: A bladed weapon with a double-edged blade of about two
feet in length. If used to thrust or stab your opponent, this weapon
deals penetration damage. Otherwise, it deals slashing damage.
Spear: A shaft with a spiked tip on the end intended to be thrust into
the enemy from a distance. This includes advanced heads like those of
tridents and ranseurs.
Warhammer: A mace with a small impact point to maximize damage.
This weapon excels at delivering some damage through even the best
armors, though it is a poor blocking weapon.
Whip: A unique weapon used to strike an opponent at a distance. It
deals minimal damage but can be used from a significant distance. Also
causes 1 stress point gain in any person targeted by this weapon at the
moment it is first used (2 points if they are surprised by the attack).
This stress can be resisted normally.
119
Ranged Weapons: Ranged Weapons Size Range Weight Cost
These weapons are for use with many different skills. Assault Rifle Large 500 12 750
Crossbow Large 250 6 400
Assault Rifle: A semi or fully automatic magazine loaded slug-throwing
or energy weapon designed to maximize firepower with minimal Flame Thrower Large 25 18 2500
reductions in range. This weapon must be fired from the shoulder. Longbow Large 200 4 350
Missile Launcher Large 250 15 1500
Crossbow: A bow that projects arrows via mechanical device. This Musket Large 100 7 375
weapon requires much less training that a traditional bow and is Pistol Medium 200 3 250
effective at armor penetration. Reloading this weapon takes a full
Rifle Large 1000 10 500
minute unless equipped with repeating technology.
Shortbow Large 150 3 125
Flame Thrower: An incendiary weapon that shoots ignited fuel at a Shotgun Large 75 10 500
target, typically used only in military situations. This weapon is illegal Sling Large 100 1 25
to use as a civilian in virtually every setting. Submachine Gun Medium 250 5 625

Longbow: A bow that projects arrows via elasticity for a long range. This Rifle: A breech or magazine loaded slug-throwing or energy weapon
is actually a rare form of bow in history, but ubiquitous for a bow used that is capable of accurate fire at long range. Depending on setting,
in the modern era. This includes composite longbows. High pull weight semi-automatic fire may be possible. This weapon must be fired from
means this bow cannot be used from atop mounts. the shoulder.

Missile Launcher: A rocket or missile launching weapon, typically used Shortbow: A bow that projects arrows via elasticity for a short range.
only in military situations. This weapon is illegal to use as a civilian in Most bows throughout history as weapons have been shortbows. Low
virtually every setting. pull weight means this bow can be used from atop mounts.

Musket: A long muzzle-loading slug-throwing projectile weapon held
in two hands. If multiple shooters are within a few meters of each other,
they must fire in volleys or else risk igniting the powder of anyone
reloading their weapon. This weapon must be fired from the shoulder
and can only be used Aimed.
Shotgun: A slug-throwing weapon that fires cartridges of pellets for
maximizing damage at the expense of range and penetration.
Sling: A hurling weapon used to throw stones. Requires significant
space to use safely. This weapon can only be used Aimed.

Pistol: A slug-throwing or energy weapon held in a single hand that Submachine Gun: A semi or fully automatic magazine loaded slug-
fires a single shot per trigger pull. Depending on setting, semi- throwing or energy weapon that can be held in one hand. This weapon
automatic fire may be possible. Black powder weapons of this type have is less powerful and has a shorter range than an assault rifle, but has
1/4th the listed range and can only be used Aimed. greater utility at short range and in confined spaces.

120
Projectiles: Projectiles Damage Range Weight Cost
These are either projectiles launched by a ranged weapon or Arrow 2 penetration - - 5
throwing weapons.
Bullet 1 penetration - - 2
Arrow: Ammunition for bow weapons. This includes bolts for Dart 1 penetration 10 - 10
crossbows. Energy 4 energy - - 25
Flame 2 energy - - 100
Bullet: Ammunition for slings and pre-modern gunpowder Flashbang 1 explosive 25 1 40
weapons, typically a small rock or molded metal ball. If fired by a Gauss 3 penetration & 2 energy - - 50
gunpowder weapon, it deals triple listed damage.
Grenade 5 explosive, 5 shrapnel 20 1 50
Dart: A throwing weapon that resembles a large arrow. It is Javelin 3 penetration 15 2 40
typically adorned with feathers. Can be used from a mount. Pistol Round 3 penetration - - 10
Rifle Round 5 penetration - - 20
Energy: Ammunition for energy weapons, typically a bolt of pure Shotgun Shell 1 impact and 4 shrapnel - - 25
energy. Only used in futuristic weaponry. Throwing Axe 1 impact and 1 penetration 10 3 40
Flame: Ammunition for flame throwers, typically a combination
of gasoline and tar. Grenade: A hand-held throwing explosive that deals full damage within
a radius of 5 meters and 1 less damage of each type per 5 meter increment
Flashbang: A hand-held throwing stun-grenade deals full damage beyond that (out to zero damage beyond 25 meters).
within a radius of 5 meters and none beyond that. Additionally,
it blinds and deafens anyone within 20 meters of the detonation Javelin: A throwing weapon that resembles a short spear. It can be used from
location with the explosion in their field of vision for 2d6 a mount at +1 difficulty (no penalty if using stirrups).
seconds. Vision spots and ringing ears can continue for minutes
or hours afterwards depending on how close the victim is to the Pistol Round: Ammunition for modern pistols, SMGs, and some light rifles.
explosion. Wide varieties of this ammunition are available with a range of specifications.

Gauss: Ammunition for ultra-high-velocity ballistic weapons,
typically a light piece of metal. This is fired at extreme velocity
using electromagnets. Despite the nature of the projectile, this is
an energy weapon due to extreme velocity and energy delivered
upon impact.
Rifle Round: Ammunition for modern rifles and assault rifles. Wide varieties
of this ammunition are available with a range of specifications.
Shotgun Shell: Ammunition for shotguns. A shell filled with hundreds of
pellets that spread out after the shell leaves the barrel of the shotgun.

Throwing Axe: A throwing weapon that is a lighter version of the hand axe.

121
Shields: Shields Block Cost Body Armor: Body Armor Weight Cost
This equipment Buckler +1 100 This equipment is used to reduce Leather 15 100
is used to block damage to your body in combat.
Small +2 150 Banded 25 200
with a blocking
skill. Reduction Large +3 200 Leather: An armor based on Scale 30 250
characteristics heavy cloth, leather, fur, or hide. Mail 40 400
for shield match the armor basis of the shield. Weight Plate 50 500
characteristics for a shield are 1/5th of the weight of the armor Banded: An armor based on Flak 25 600
basis multiplied by the block bonus. For example, a large solid attaching plates or studs to Fiber Weave 20 800
steel shield reduces damage as if it were plate armor and weighs leather armor.
Ceramic 20 1250
30 lbs. (50/5 x 3). Any damage that gets through a shield
creates a -2 penalty to Block per damage point until the shield is Scale: An armor based on small Ultra-Dense 40 3000
repaired by a skilled professional. overlapping metal plates.

Buckler: A basic shield approximately a half meter in diameter.
Double block bonus against bladed weapons.
Small: A decent shield approximately a meter in diameter.
Double block bonus against ranged weapons.
Mail: An armor based on interlocked metal rings.
Plate: An armor based on large overlapping metal plates.
Flak: An armor based on steel or ceramic plates sewn into light cloth.

Large: A good shield approximately one to one and a half Fiber Weave: An armor based on dense synthetic fiber materials.
meters in diameter. Use this size for Kite Shields and modern
Riot Shields. Triple block bonus against ranged weapons. Ceramic: An armor based on ceramic plates designed to resist energy.

Ultra-Dense: An armor based on futuristic materials science.

Reduction Slashing Impact Penetration Energy Shrapnel Explosive

Leather 1 1 0 0 0 0
Banded 2 1 1 0 1 0
Scale 3 1 1 0 1 1
Mail 4 2 1 0 1 1
Plate 5 2 2 0 2 2
Flak 1 1 2 1 4 3
Fiber Weave 1 0 4 1 5 2
Ceramic 1 1 2 4 2 3
Ultra-Dense 4 2 4 4 6 4
122
Animals: Animals Cost
The animals and equipment listed in Attack Dog 500 Sled: A load carrying vehicle which must pulled by an animal, typically
this section relate to animals that are used in environments like ice or sand.
Barding x4
useful to completing tasks.
Camel 650 Tack: The harness, bridle, and saddle used for a personal mount.
Attack Dog: A dog that is trained Cart 350
to attack under certain conditions, Donkey 250 Wagon: An enclosed load or passenger carrying vehicle designed for
usually verbal commands but also Horse 500 long-distance travel pulled by animals.
perhaps automatically against Ox 350
anyone who appears threatening to Warhorse: A reliable and fast personal mount. This animal is suitable for
Pony 400
the owner. combat use or for heavy load carrying.
Sled 200
Barding: Armor for horses and Tack 100 Working Dog: A dog that is trained to perform highly specialized tasks
other mounts. Cost is a multiple of Wagon 500 under certain conditions. Examples include herding, hunting, stunt,
the cost of the armor basis used. For Warhorse 800 guide, therapy, rescue, search, tracking, or drug dogs.
example, banded mail barding would Working Dog 300
cost 800.

Camel: A mount suitable for use in the deserts but prone to injury in
rough terrain or from debris on any surface.

Cart: A load carrying vehicle, typically pulled by an animal. Cost

provided is for two wheeled carts. Double cost for four wheeled
varieties.

Donkey: A reliable load carrying animal suitable for use in virtually any
terrain. This animal is unsuitable for combat use.

Horse: A load carrying animal suitable for use in normal terrain.

Capable of fast movement as a personal mount. This animal is
unsuitable for combat use.

Ox: A load pulling animal capable of pulling very heavy carts, sleds, and
wagons. This animal is unsuitable for combat use.

Pony: A reliable and fast personal mount. This animal is unsuitable for
combat use or for load carrying.

123
Gear:
This is a list of miscellaneous equipment for use in a variety of settings. Consult your GM for pricing. If you suspect an item may not be appropriate
for your game (e.g. Audio Bugs in Medieval settings), don’t use it.

Gear
Audio Bug Canteen Grappling Hook Mirror Shovel
Backpack Canvas Hammer NV Goggles Signal Whistle
Bandages Cell Phone Handcuffs Oil Signet Ring
Barrel Chain Holster PDA Sledge
Basket Chalk Ink Pole Sleeping Bag
Batteries Chest Inkpen Pouch Soap
Bedroll Cigarette Lighter Instrument Quiver Spellbook
Bell Compass Jammer Radio Spyglass
Binoculars Computer Jug Ram Suitcase
Blanket Crowbar Kerosene Rations Syringe
Block & Tackle Ear Muffs Ladder Rope Telescope
Blowtorch Firewood Lamp Sack Television
Bottle First Aid Kit Lantern Scale Tent
Bucket Fishhook Laptop Scope Thermos
Caltrops Fishing Net Lock Scroll Case Torch
Camcorder Flashlight Lockpicks Scuba Gear Vial
Camera Flask Manacles Sealing Wax Waterskin
Camp Stove Flint & Steel Matches Sewing Needle Whetstone
Candle Gasoline Metal Detector

124
Chapter 8:
Resolution Mechanics

125
The Core Mechanic:
The GM will inform you when you need to roll dice to resolve an action.
They will tell you what Talent, and therefore also what Attribute, is
applicable. They will also give you a difficulty for the task and any other
information you need to know, such as whether or not you need special
tools. You can also ask if a Skill that you have is applicable to the roll
being made.

Making the Roll:

You roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the difficulty of the task. If
you have an applicable Skill, you roll 1 less die. If you have an applicable
Talent, you roll 1 less die. Both of these reductions can occur on the
same roll. If this reduces you to rolling no dice, the task automatically
succeeds. If margins matter, treat this as a result of zero.

The final result is then compared to your Attribute value plus any
Experience that you in that Skill. If your result is equal to or lower than
that combined number, you succeed at the task.

Opposed Rolls:
If another character is trying to prevent you from accomplishing the
task, they make their own roll and the margins of success are compared.
This is called an Opposed Roll. For example, you might be trying to
hack into a computer system and the administrator who is running the
system is trying to prevent you from doing so.
The character who is initiating the conflict is called the Initiator and
the other is the Defender. The defender is given a difficulty value by the
GM based on the challenge that they face in preventing the initiator.
This may be different from the difficulty of the initiator. Whoever has
the highest margin of success succeeds at the task.
Note that for some tasks the two rolls may occur at very different
moments in time. In the computer example above, the administrator’s
efforts to install security features may been made several months before
the hacker tries to break the system.
Snake Eyes:
If you roll at least two results of 1 on your dice, regardless of how many
dice you rolled, you gain whatever you were doing as a new Skill. If you
already had a Skill for what you were doing, you gain 1 Experience in
that Skill. See the next page for more information on Skills.
Lacking the Tools of the Job:
If you attempt to do something that requires highly specialized tools,
such as picking a lock without lockpicks, you can still make the attempt
under the assumption that you are using improvised tools. However, you
must add 1 to the difficulty to represent the challenge of performing the
task in this manner. The GM will inform you that you need specialized
tools when they give you the Talent and difficulty of the tasks.
126
Skills:
A Skill represents competency in a particular task. A starting character
begins play with a number of skills received by making Culture and
Life Experiences choices. A Skill is either a verb, such as Skydiving, or
a verb and a modifier, such as Smooth Talking. Compound words may
also be allowed, such as Long-Distance Running. The exact phrasing of
any Skill acquired during play or invented during character creation is
subject to GM oversight.
Possession of a Skill allows you to roll 1 less die on that kind of task,
as described on the previous page. Furthermore, after acquiring a skill
any subsequent Snake Eyes results in gaining Experience in that skill.
This represents the ongoing accumulation of expertise. Each point of
Experience accumulated subtracts 1 from relevant die results.
The modifying word is used to specify exactly what you are good at. This
distinction is important. If the task you are trying to do in the game
does not reasonably fall under the skill, it does not apply. For example,
you may be excellent at Mechanical Lockpicking. If you encounter an
electronic lock in the game, this skill will not be relevant to the task. You
will not roll 1 less die or gain any benefit from your experience. Since
this distinction is so important, the GM must approve the final wording
for a skill to ensure that it is fair.
You are encouraged to try new things in the hope that you might roll
Snake Eyes and gain that as a skill. So feel free to improvise with what
you have available. Grab something and try to use it. Who knows what
you might learn for the future.
Conversations:
When you make a roll to influence someone, the GM may require
that you specify what Motivation you are appealing to in your target.
The GM will subtract the Motivation that you chose from the target’s
strongest motivation and provide you with a modifier to subtract from
your die results.
For example, you chose to appeal to a target’s Cooperation. The GM
consults their notes and this individual has a Cooperation of 4 and their
highest Motivation is a 6. The GM tells you that you can subtract 2
from your die results.
Disposition: Every NPC will have a Disposition towards your character.
This represents her attitude towards you and can range from -5 to +5.
The GM should never explicitly tell you the Disposition of any NPC,
but she may give you clues in the form of body language descriptions
and the use of indicative phrases. For example, if an NPC tells you that
she would love to help you because she really respects you for helping
her friend, odds are good that she has a good Disposition towards you.
For each negative point of Disposition, you roll an additional die to
influence them. For each positive point of Disposition, you roll one less
die to influence them. Thus if you were attempting to influence someone
with a disposition of -3, you would roll 3 more dice.
Physical Tasks:
The GM may decide that a task if easier if your character is physically
fit, then they may allow you to add your Strength or Endurance to your
attribute. Melee attacks in combat always allow you to use your Strength
in this manner.
For example, if you attempt to knock down a door with a swift kick, the
GM could tell you that the task is a Balance roll where you add your
Strength to your Balance value.
127
Example Rolls : Car Chase
You are driving a sports car through a city in the rain. The GM tells
you to make an Awareness roll to see if you notice anything unusual.
She gives you a Difficulty of 2. You have an Awareness of 5, so when
you roll a 4 and a 6, you know things are about to get complicated.

The GM tells you that while stopped at a light, a car full of Yakuza
pulls up alongside you. One of the Yakuza realizes who you are and
starts barking at his friends. You look up to see the light turn green.

You tell the GM that you want to floor it and try to evade them.
She tells you that this would normally be a Synapse roll, but since
it is raining at night, she is going to make it a Precision task with a
Difficulty of 3 because the road conditions are fairly dangerous.

You have no special training in driving, however you do have Precision

as a Talent, so you only have to roll 2 dice. Since your Focus is a 7, you
have about a 50-50 chance of success. You get a 3 and a 4 on your roll,
barely making it a success.

The GM describes how you floor it and shoot across the intersection.
The Yakuza follow you through a few close turns before a garbage
truck pulls out of an alleyway unexpectedly. You swerve hard to the
right, mounting the curb for a few dozen meters before sliding back
into road. The Yakuza clip the end of the garbage truck and smash into
a building. They scream in frustration as you fade into the distance.

If you hadn’t had Precision, you would have probably crashed. Then
again, if you had Awareness you might have never encountered the
Yakuza in the first place.

128
Combat Resolution:
As you explore the game world, you may become involved in violence.
Any situation in which characters are trying to commit violence against
others is called a Combat. Your attempts to injure others or avoid injury
yourself are resolved via Combat Rounds. Each round represents about
five to ten seconds. Combats are composed of a series of rounds that
lasts until there is no one left with the capacity or will to continue
fighting. While you are engaged in combat, you can only use short
exclamatory speech and Combat skills. You may use a few other skills
if your GM permits it, but what you are doing must be fairly simple.
Nobody does long-division in the middle of a melee.
A Combat can begin with some characters unaware that combat is
starting. If some of the participants in the Combat are not aware that
Combat is starting, the first Combat round will be a surprise round.
During the surprise round, the only combatants able to act are those
that initiated the combat and those that succeed at a Skill roll to detect
the impending attack. Everyone else is considered to be unaware
and thus unable to take actions during this round. Other than that
limitation, a surprise round is adjudicated normally.
Each Combat cycle has two phases; Declaration and Resolution.
Declaration Phase:
During the declaration phase, you declare all the actions that you intend
to accomplish in the next few seconds. For each action that you declare,
you must assign a Weight. This represents how fast you want the action
to be performed. The total Weight of all your actions must be equal to
or less than your Synapse.
Actions are declared in reverse order of Synapse, so that the character
with the lowest Synapse must declare their actions first and the
character with the highest Synapse goes last. This means that faster
combatants will be able to see how things are developing before they
take actions. NPCs under GM control are treated no differently from
other characters in this respect and the GM will declare their actions at
the proper time.
Aiming: If a character only takes 1 action in a Combat Cycle, they can
choose to target a vulnerable area and deal additional damage equal to
their Focus. Doing so does NOT affect the Weight of the action.
Attacking: If you want to attack another character in combat, you can
either use a weapon skill like Swordsmanship or you can attack as an
untrained Balance roll. Attacks have a minimum weight of 2 to reflect
the degree of attention that must be paid to the task.
Reactions: If someone declares that they are attacking you, you may
react to avoid it if you are declaring actions after they do. This is treated
as any other action, but it must have a Weight equal to or higher than
the attack. If your reaction has a higher Weight than the attack, subtract
the difference between the two Weights from your die results.
If you choose to react and you have an applicable skill like a Block or
Parry, you may use it here. If you do not have an applicable skill, you
may attempt to dodge as an untrained Reaction roll. The GM will give
you a difficulty based on the speed of the attack. Avoiding a sword blow
might be only a difficulty of 3 while dodging bullets may be a 5.
129

Moving: You can declare that you want to move around during a
combat round as an action. You can move up to your Walking Movement
Rate in meters per point of Weight you assign to the action. Anyone
attacking you while you are moving will have their Difficulty adjusted
by the GM to reflect the challenge of a moving target.
Grappling: You may also make grappling attacks in combat. A grappling
attack imposes a penalty on all actions taken by the opponent equal to
the margin of success on a standard roll or the difference between the
compared margins on an opposed roll. This value is called a grappling
penalty. If you succeeded by a margin of 4 against an opponent who
only had a margin of 1, that opponent would suffer a -3 grappling
penalty. They can break the grapple by making another grappling attack
(subject to the penalty you now impose). If they succeed, they are now
grappling you.
The grappling penalty is cumulative over multiple attacks, so if you
grapple someone once for -2 and then again for -3, then they would
have a -5 penalty. If the grappling penalty exceeds a combatant’s
strength, they are considered pinned. While holding an opponent in a
pin, you can do nothing with the limbs you are using to restrain them.
If you have someone grappled, you can also attempt to throw them. This
requires making another grappling attack that can knock them off their
feet or shove them a short distance (exact consequences subject to GM
approval). The throw itself does not injure the target, but the result can
be highly damaging (e.g. into a vat of acid).
Resolution Phase:
During the resolution phase, each action is resolved in order from
highest to lowest Weight. If this results in the death or incapacitation
of a combatant before their actions would take place, those actions are
discarded. Any actions with the same Weight occur simultaneously.
Calculating Hits: If you are attacking someone, the GM will provide
you with a difficulty based on the challenges posed by the environment.
This could incorporate poor visibility, the presence of intervening
obstacles, distances involved, and so on. This is the difficulty of hitting
them if they just stand there.
If they do not react to your attack, you make a standard roll to hit them.
If they do react, they make their own roll and margins of success are
compared. If you succeed by a margin of 1 or more, you deal full damage
to the target. If you rolled the exact number needed to hit, it results in
only half normal damage (rounded down) being dealt.
Each weapon has a fixed amount of damage dealt based on the
equipment charts. All weapons do Strength damage unless otherwise
stated. Holding a one-handed melee weapon in two hands adds one
point of damage. Unarmed attacks do Endurance damage unless you are
trained in a martial art of some kind.
Reducing Damage through Armor: Each armor type has a set of
values representing the defense it provides against a variety of attacks.
These values represents the amount of strength damage stopped by the
armor for the respective damage types. Some armor may be very good at
stopping damage from some sources and woefully deficient in stopping
damage from other sources. Many weapons deal more than one type of
damage depending on how they are used to attack.
For example, if you are hit by a sword you may be dealt 3 slashing
damage (if the blade is swung) or 2 penetration damage (if the blade is
thrust). If you are wearing Scale armor, this is very important because
that armor would stop all 3 slashing damage but only 1 penetration
damage. Depending on the attack, armor may or may not stop damage.
130
Stress:
Things are going to happen that your character is not going to enjoy.
Violence, conflict, and difficult choices are just a few possibilities. When
your mind experiences these harmful situations, they cause Stress points.
Stress can accumulate over time until it breaks down your character’s
mental functions and ultimately drives them screaming for the hills or
into a catatonic meltdown. Obviously, you don’t want that to happen. So
you will need to consciously manage your stress levels.
Exposure Stress: When an unusual event occurs, the degree to which
that event is shocking to you can cause stress. Sources of exposure can
be events you considered impossible or events with sudden violent
consequences. Furthermore, events that involve injury to other beings
can enhance this stress. The use of magic or supernatural powers, the
presence of alien beings, or the sudden triggering of traps or explosives
can have these effects.

The GM will inform you that you are taking a certain number of stress
points. You may then make a Stress Roll to resist the effects. There are
many ways that your stress level rises. Common reasons are listed below.
However, the GM can use their judgment to give you Stress at any time.
Combat Stress: When a combat begins, the GM may tell you that you
gain a number of stress points depending on how the Combat started
and how many enemies are involved. Ambushes can be very unnerving.
Combat against enemies that you perceive to have less ability that your
party may result in no stress points at all. However, if you are facing
superior numbers or an enemy with powerful presence like a Dragon,
you may gain a lot of stress.
Moral Stress: This comes from engaging in activities that violate
your personal morality. The stress comes from the degree to which
your behavior deviates from what you believe to be the correct moral
behavior for that situation. Even seemingly minor behavior like sexual
promiscuity might cause stress for some moral codes, with criminal
behavior like arson or theft causing significant amounts. Murder and
rape should be at the top of the list in terms of stress gain. Killing
something almost always cause some stress, especially a being you
consider an animal or a person.

Any injury received in combat causes stress gain equal to twice the
amount of the damage taken. This represents the shock, pain, and
disorientation of injury.

Nervous Stress: This comes from engaging in activities where there

is a risky outcome. The stress comes from uncertainty in the mind
about the ultimate result, not because of the morality of the act. The
amount of stress gain is dependent upon the severity of the risk. Both
attempting and being targeted by risky social interactions like seduction,
intimidation, or heated arguments can cause nervous stress. Failure at
these attempts can also cause stress.

131
Making a Stress Roll:
When a character takes stress, Talent Use for
they must make a Stability Bravery Physical Danger
roll based on the kind of stress
experienced and use a Talent Toughness Physical Pain
as applicable in the chart to Willpower Mental Anxiety
the right. This roll is against a
difficulty value equal to the amount of stress gained. This represents the
fight-or-flight physiological response. If your character has certain kinds
of Life Experiences, the number of dice rolled may be reduced.
If you fail this roll, you gain the Stress points and you must make an
attempt to escape from the cause of the Stress if that is possible (e.g. run
away from a combat). If your character finds themselves in a situation
where they cannot flee from the danger, they will cower and fall to the
ground until the danger passes.
If you succeed on the roll, you do not gain any Stress points.
Catatonic State: Your character will enter a catatonic state if your
character’s stress points ever become two times larger your Stability. In
a catatonic state, the brain is overwhelmed by stress and shuts down.
Once in this state, they are effectively incapacitated until their stress
level is reduced to be equal to their Stability via Relaxation. They must
be physically moved by someone else into a safe environment where
their stress can be reduced by relaxation until it reaches the required
level. Except under the most unusual circumstances, you are going to
want to avoid this at all costs.
Someone who is in a catatonic state appears to be off in another world.
They may say seemingly nonsensical things, often repetitively, and always
appears to be either gazing off into the distance or staring intently
at a particular location, usually their hands. Normal conversation is
impossible with such a person.
Stress Reduction:
Once a moment of stress has passed, you are going to want to bring
your stress level back down. There are two ways to do this; relaxation
and coping attempts.
Relaxation: This is a method of achieving slow but permanent stress
reduction. If your character rests in a safe environment for a number of
hours, they will lose a stress point. A safe environment is defined as a
place where the character feels like the likelihood of additional stress
gain is extremely low. For example, a hotel room where there is a
reasonable assumption of anonymity would be a safe environment. That
same hotel room when you are fairly sure the police could bust down
the door at any moment is not. The duration of rest required to lose one
stress point is equivalent to ten hours minus your Stability score.
Coping Attempts: These are active attempts to get a grip on the
situation. So long as you are not in immediate danger and you have a
stress level higher than 3, you can make a coping attempt. Each attempt
takes five minutes of game time and you can make multiple attempts so
long as the conditions are still met. To make a coping attempt, make a
Willpower roll with a difficulty of 2. You lose stress points equal to the
margin of success and gain an equal number of Residual Stress points.
Residual stress does not technically need to ever be removed, but it
will accumulate and begin to cause negative side effects. For every full
multiple of your Stability, you suffer a cumulative +1 penalty to all rolls
until your residual stress levels are reduced. For example, a character
with 5 Stability and 12 residual stress points would get +2 to all rolls.
If they had a Stability of 7, they would only get +1 to all rolls despite
the same level of stress. Residual stress can only be removed through
relaxation and only after all normal stress points are removed.
The Motivation to Relax: A character that has more stress than their
Stability is treated as if they have a motivation to relax with a value
equal to the number of Stress points they have. This motivation drives
the character to seek relaxation to alleviate the stress.
132
Trust Points:
Trust points are an optional mechanic that your GM can employ to Giving Out Trust Points:
facilitate more dramatic play. The points are given to the players by the Whenever the GM presents the player’s with a situation that deprives
GM under certain circumstances. They can later be redeemed by the the player(s) of agency (the ability of the player to make meaningful
players for a system reward. choices), they should award that player(s) with a Trust Point. The RPG
community frequently refers to this phenomenon as Railroading, where
There are going to be points in the game where the GM is going to no matter what choices the players make the outcome will be the same.
want the player’s to behave a certain way or endure some form of At this point, the game ceases to be about the players.
suffering as a part of the story. The GM might want the character to go
through something as a transition to a different part of the story. This For example, a player might be approached by police who want to arrest
creates tension between the player and the GM because the player does her. In most situations, the GM should be providing the character
not know everything the GM has planned on the other side of an event. with a reasonable chance of escaping that situation. However, if every
direction in which they flee is guarded by more police, a helicopter is
For example, in the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo, the main circling overhead calling out their position, and several K9 units show
character is imprisoned for a long time. This imprisonment is a vital up to hunt them down; the player will feel like they have no possibility
part of the story and profoundly affected the character. However, for escape.
if you were playing that story as the player, you would be really upset
if your character was arbitrarily imprisoned. You don’t know that a Let’s imagine that instead, the GM tells the player that police are
great treasure lies in your path of escape. You just perceive the GM is approaching but also tells the player that if they simply allow the police
punishing you for no reason. to arrest them without incident and suffer the consequences, they will
get a trust point in compensation for that loss of freedom. The GM
Trust points are a way to should be up front about the situation and the loss of freedom should
diffuse this conflict. They translate into a good story in the end.
reinforce the idea that the
game is collaborative. That Using Trust Points:
on one hand, the GM has a A trust point can be used eliminate the highest die rolled. It can be
plot in mind that she wants used for any action, but it does not allow you to roll a different number
to see developed and on the of dice than you normally would. Trust points can be used either after
other hand, the player has your dice are rolled or after an opponent’s dice are rolled and success or
their own desires for their failure was determined. You can use multiple trust points on the same
character to succeed in a task if you want to do so.
dramatic way. When a trust
point is used, both the GM For example, after rolling three dice and getting results of 1, 2, and
and the players get to inject 5, you realize that this is higher than your attribute value and you are
their desires into the game. going to fail the task. You tell the GM you want to use a trust point to
eliminate the 5, giving you a new total of 3 and allowing you to succeed.
133
Appendix A:
Magic

134
The Basics of Magic:
Essence:
In order to purchase spells, you must have Essence. You can gain essence
by taking Magic training. Your total Essence represents your overall
magical power and is used as a modifier in some circumstances. You
can purchase a number of magic powers at character creation with a
total point value equal to your starting Essence. Some powers have a
prerequisite listed in their description. This means that you must take
the listed power first before you can spend points on that power.
Always On Powers
Some powers have a mana cost listed Always On with a duration of
Permanent. When a character who has Mana in their person takes
these powers, they are always in effect. For example, when such a
character chooses Sense Undead, they can always sense the presence of
undead creatures. However, if a character who lacks Mana takes this
power (e.g. someone who is using Concoction) they can cast the magic
for an amount of Mana equal to the Essence point cost. In that case,
the duration is set to 24 hours and you must target yourself.

Casting Magic:
In order to cast magic, you must power it with Mana. This mana cost
listed in each spell description. A value of X represents a variable cost of
your choice. You cannot cast magic if it would require more Mana than
you have access to. When the magic takes effect, the Mana is depleted.
Depending on your Magic experience, you may either regenerate Mana
naturally or rely upon using Mana from a source other than yourself.

Magic also takes a certain amount of time to cast. This is how long it
takes to channel the Mana needed to cast the magic, based upon the
channeling rate of your Magic experience. During the entire casting
time, the caster must remain focused entirely on the task at hand. If the
caster loses that focus or is injured in any way during the casting time, it
results in magic failure. Magic failure causes the depletion of the mana
used in the casting, but no effect occurs.

Each magic power also lists a duration. This is used to determine how
long the magic stays in effect. When this time is reached, you can
choose to renew the magic by spending the mana cost again. If you do
not choose to do this, the magic effect ends.

Each magic power also lists a target. This indicates what kind of things
can be targeted by the power. For example, you cannot turn a door
Invisible, only a living being. Unless specified otherwise, seeing the
target is sufficient to cast the magic on them.

135
Powers Alphabetical
Aberration 7 Dispel 8 Light 1 Seance 2
Adhesion 3 Dominate 8 Luck 5 Sense Life 3
Alarm 1 Drain 8 Mentalism 3 Sense Magic 3
Animate Dead 6 Eagle Eye 6 Message 3 Sense Matter 2
Animate Rope 2 Elemental 4 Necromancy 7 Sense Undead 2
Aura Vision 2 Elementalism 4 Nourishment 3 Shield Bearer 2
Ball 10 Enchantment 15 Obsession 5 Sleep 3
Bark Skin 3 Energize 5 Paralysis 6 Slick 2
Beam 3 Enrichment 3 Phantom 3 Simulacrum 8
Beast Voice 2 Entangle 2 Plant Voice 2 Soul Binding 8
Beckon 1 Fear 4 Poison 2 Speak 3
Blind 3 Feast 2 Polymorph 15 Spell Storing 6
Blink 12 Flight 7 Portal 12 Steed 2
Bolster 4 Flood 4 Probing Vision 4 Stone Skin 5
Brawn 4 Fog 3 Protection 3 Stone Touch 10
Charm 4 Gift 3 Reading 4 Swarm 3
Cloud 8 Globe 8 Recall 5 Teleport 10
Comprehension 2 Golem 8 Refresh 5 Threshold 3
Cone 6 Guidance 3 Reincarnation 10 Trap 2
Dancing Blade 2 Homunculus 6 Relaxation 3 Treant 7
Darkness 5 Identification 5 Repose 1 True Sight 4
Dark Vision 2 Impervious 10 Resistance 2 Utility 4
Daze 2 Improve Weapon 5 Restoration 8 Vaporize 5
Dead Hand 5 Infect 3 Resurrection 10 Wall 7
Deaf 2 Intercession 3 Reveal Secrets 3 Water Breathing 2
Death Watch 1 Interruption 15 Reveal Truth 4 Water Vision 2
Discharge 12 Invisibility 5 Saucer 3 Web 2
Discovery 5 Iron Skin 7 Scry 5 Whirl 2
Dismissal 5 Knock 2 Seal 3 Wizard Eye 4

136
Powers By Point Value
Alarm 1 Whirl 2 Elemental 4 Paralysis 6
Beckon 1 Adhesion 3 Elementalism 4 Spell Storing 6
Death Vision 1 Bark Skin 3 Fear 4 Aberration 7
Light 1 Beam 3 Flood 4 Flight 7
Repose 1 Blind 3 Probing Vision 4 Iron Skin 7
Animate Rope 2 Enrichment 3 Reading 4 Necromancy 7
Aura Vision 2 Fog 3 Reveal Truth 4 Treant 7
Beast Voice 2 Gift 3 True Sight 4 Wall 7
Comprehension 2 Guidance 3 Utility 4 Cloud 8
Dancing Blade 2 Infect 3 Wizard Eye 4 Dispel 8
Dark Vision 2 Intercession 3 Darkness 5 Dominate 8
Daze 2 Mentalism 3 Dead Hand 5 Drain 8
Deaf 2 Message 3 Discovery 5 Globe 8
Entangle 2 Nourishment 3 Dismissal 5 Golem 8
Feast 2 Phantom 3 Energize 5 Restoration 8
Knock 2 Protection 3 Identification 5 Simulacrum 8
Plant Voice 2 Relaxation 3 Improve Weapon 5 Soul Binding 8
Poison 2 Reveal Secrets 3 Invisibility 5 Ball 10
Resistance 2 Saucer 3 Luck 5 Impervious 10
Seance 2 Seal 3 Obsession 5 Reincarnation 10
Sense Matter 2 Sense Life 3 Recall 5 Resurrection 10
Sense Undead 2 Sense Magic 3 Refresh 5 Stone Touch 10
Shield Bearer 2 Sleep 3 Scry 5 Teleport 10
Slick 2 Speak 3 Stone Skin 5 Blink 12
Steed 2 Swarm 3 Vaporize 5 Discharge 12
Trap 2 Threshold 3 Animate Dead 6 Portal 12
Water Breathing 2 Bolster 4 Cone 6 Enchantment 15
Water Vision 2 Brawn 4 Eagle Eye 6 Interruption 15
Web 2 Charm 4 Homunculus 6 Polymorph 15

137
Magic Powers:
Aberration: 7 points
You summon a monstrous being to do your bidding. The monster attacks
anyone of your choosing. It has intelligence (equivalent to 3 in every
attribute) and causes a 6 stress point gain in anyone viewing it (this is in
addition to exposure stress). It can never experience stress or fall into a
catatonic state, but it can be destroyed. It attacks unarmed. If sufficiently
powerful, the GM may allow skills as well. The monster has a strength
equal to three times the mana cost paid. When casting, make a Precision
roll. If successful, you can choose the type of monster so long as it is
appropriate for the cost paid (e.g. no 3 strength Ogres). Otherwise, the
GM randomly what kind of monster it is.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: X Minutes
• Target: None
Adhesion: 3 points
You can make your hands and feet sticky enough to support your body
weight so you can climb walls and ceilings like a spider. You cannot wear
shoes or gloves if you want this to work properly.
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: 1 minute railing”.
• Target: Self
Alarm: 1 point
Allows you to creates a magical sensory presence that can detect a
specific condition has occurred. When the conditions are fulfilled, you
are alerted by a telepathic sound tone. This tone will wake you from your
sleep. For example, you might cast Alarm on a locked chest that will
alert you whenever anyone opens it.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Week individual. Vampires, for example, glow in their own special color.
• Target: Area
Animate Dead: 6 points
You can infuse a new lifeforce into a dead body. This animated being
is called a zombie, regardless of its state of decomposition (e.g. only a
skeleton may remain). Since this power does not restore the original
soul or intelligence of that creature, it does not matter how long it has
been dead. The zombie has a limited intelligence (equivalent to 2 in
every attribute) and can follow complex commands that you give, such
as “attack anyone entering this room unless they bear this emblem”. It
cannot speak or communicate, unless you also use Speak on it. It can
engage in combat, but it has no skills. It has a strength equal to the
Mana spent on its cost. Creating undead monsters is typically viewed
unfavorably by most moral systems.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Corpse
Animate Rope: 2 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a rope. The rope can tie and untie
itself on command. It can also move around following simple commands
that you give, such as “slide across that floor and tie yourself to the
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: 1 Minute
• Target: Rope
Aura Vision: 2 points
You have the ability to see the emotional state of others by examining
their auras. Everyone you see will glow with a particular hue. An
individual with a bright aura has a very high stress level and a weak
aura has the reverse. The color of the hue reflects the true nature of the
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Self
138
Ball: 10 points Bark Skin: 3 points
You can create a ball of magic energy in your hand. This magical energy You can turn your skin into stiff tree bark. This stops the first 2 damage
is composed of a kind of elemental energy that you are capable of of any type. However, your appearance might be very unnerving to
creating using Elementalism. You can throw this ball at a target, but onlookers as you will appear to be a sentient tree person.
must make a Trajectory roll to hit it. They can react because the ball
moves as if actually physically thrown. The GM assigns a difficulty to • Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: 1 Minute
this roll based on the environment, visibility, and distances involved. • Target: Self
In addition to the exposure effect of the Elemental energy being used,
anyone hit by the ball takes 1 strength damage per 2 points of mana
Beam: 3 points
spent on the casting. On impact, the ball explodes dealing half damage
You can create a narrow beam of magic energy that shoots from one
(round down) to anyone within a radius of 1 meter per 2 points of mana
of your fingers. This magical energy is composed of a kind of elemental
spent on the casting. This secondary blast is instantaneous and no one
energy that you are capable of creating using Elementalism. You must
can react.
make a Trajectory roll to hit the target. They cannot react because the
beam is instantaneous like a bullet. The GM assigns a difficulty to
After casting, you can hold the ball in your hand for a number of
this roll based on the environment, visibility, and distances involved.
minutes equal to the duration. If thrown, the duration ends. If the
In addition to the exposure effect of the Elemental energy being used,
duration ends without having been thrown it, the ball dissipates
anyone hit by the beam takes 1 strength damage.
harmlessly.
If you know Beam, you can use that to deliver any other magic effect
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: X Minutes
that would normally require physical contact over a distance instead,
• Target: Self • Prerequisite: Elementalism
such as Stone Touch or Sleep. However, you must still make a Trajectory
roll to hit the target in that case.

• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: Instant

• Target: Person • Prerequisite: Elementalism

Beast Voice: 2 points

You have the ability to speak to animals and understand their replies.
The GM must determine what level of intelligence and memory actually
exists in a given animal.

• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent

• Target: Self

139
Beckon: 1 point Brawn: 4 points
You call the closest animal of a particular type to do your bidding. You create a magical effect that
As soon as this power is used, this animal will make every reasonable makes someone more powerful
attempt to reach the caster as quickly as possible. For the duration, the physically. This raises maximum
animal has a very positive disposition towards the you, but will flee if strength and does not heal
abused or injured. A beckoned animal will not engage in combat. The damage, though it may have a
animal can perform basic tasks known to a standard animal of it’s type, similar effect by raising the base
but not specialized tasks. as well. For example, you may
have a maximum strength of 3,
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: 1 Hour but a current strength of 2. If you
• Target: None raise strength by 1, you maximum
strength will rise to 4 and your
Blind: 3 points current strength will rise to 3.
You can stop someone from using their normal vision. This does not You are still injured, but you are
suspend magical vision, such as Aura Vision. The target rolls Awareness stronger than you were before. It
against your Willpower to resist this effect. may be possible that when the
effect expires, the target could be
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 minute killed, incapacitated, or knocked
• Target: Person unconscious. Each time you use
this power, you must choose
Blink: 12 points strength, endurance, or resilience
You can instantly move yourself from your current location to another to temporarily raise by 1.
location within 10 meters. Once you arrive, you must make an
Awareness roll every 5 seconds until you succeed before you can act. • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Day
• Target: Person
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: Instant
• Target: Area • Prerequisite: Teleport Charm: 4 points
You can create affect the mind of another person in a way that improves
Bolster: 4 points their disposition toward you by one step. The target rolls Willpower
You grants someone incredible morale. They automatically succeed at against your Willpower to resist this effect. If the target loses this
any stress roll, regardless of the number of dice that would have been contest, they do not realize the magic was used. If the target succeeds in
rolled. This has no effect on someone without Courage. this contest, they realize that the magic was used and that it failed. This
should almost always be extremely upsetting.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Minute
• Target: Person • Mana Cost: 5 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Person

140
Cloud: 8 points
You can create a whirling cloud of magic energy around you. This
magical energy is composed of a kind of elemental energy that you
are capable of creating using Elementalism. The cloud has a radius
of 1 meter per 2 points of mana spent on the casting. No one cannot
react because the cloud appears instantly. In addition to the effects of
Elemental exposure, everyone in the cloud takes 1 strength damage per
2 points of mana spent on the casting.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: X minutes • Mana Cost: X • Duration: Instant
• Target: Area • Prerequisite: Elementalism
Comprehension: 2 points
You grant someone the ability to speak and read a particular language.
The language must be specified when cast.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Hour the room. The weapon floats at a height equal to where you would hold
• Target: Person
Cone: 6 points
You can create a broad cone of magic energy that shoots from one of
your hands. This magical energy is composed of a kind of elemental
energy that you are capable of creating using Elementalism. The cone
has a radius of 1 meter per 2 points of mana spent on the casting. No
one cannot react because the cone appears instantly. In addition to the
effects of Elemental exposure, everyone in the cone takes 1 strength
damage per 2 points of mana spent on the casting.
• Target: Area • Prerequisite: Elementalism
Dancing Blade: 2 points
You create a magical presence that causes a melee weapon to attack
a target you designate based on a command that you give to it. For
example, the traditional flying sword that attacks anyone who enters
it in your hand and moves at your movement rate. It can perceive it’s
surroundings as if you were there and it has a 3 in every attribute.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Minute
• Target: Weapon
Darkness: 5 points
You can create a magic darkness that envelopes the area. This darkness
completely obscures all forms of vision except Dark Vision (natural
Darkvision is obscured). The darkness forms in a rough circle around
you with a radius of 100 meters.
• Mana Cost: 7 • Duration: 10 minutes
• Target: Area
Dark Vision: 2 points
You grant someone the ability to see in the dark as if using Darkvision.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Hour
• Target: Person
141
Daze: 2 points
You can stun someone temporarily. They are unable to take any actions
for an entire combat round. The target rolls Awareness against your
Willpower to resist this effect. This does not actually paralyze the target.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 combat cycle object. If this roll fails, the process fails. However, you must still pay
• Target: Person
Dead Hand: 5 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a dead hand. The hand must be cut
off from the arm to which it was formerly attached. It does not matter
how long the body has been dead, so long as the bones are intact. The
hand has limited intelligence (equivalent to 2 in every attribute) and
can follow complex commands that you give, such as “clean this floor
until noon, then go outside and pull weeds until dusk”. It cannot engage
in combat and has 1 strength. Using this spell may repulse certain
individuals on either moral grounds or squeamishness.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Day the source cannot pay the cost, speaking the code word has no effect.
• Target: Corpse
Deaf: 2 points
You can stop someone from hearing anything. While deafened, they
cannot perform any action that requires aural feedback, such as singing
or even talking, without significant errors. The target rolls Awareness
against your Willpower to resist this effect.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 minute
• Target: Person
Death Vision: 1 point
You have the ability to see whether a wounded person is dead or alive.
This may seem trivial in most situations, but it could be vital on the
battlefield or when you think someone may be feigning death.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Self
Discharge: 12 points
You infuse the potential to use a magic power into an object, typically
a staff or rod. Both this power and the one being infused are cast
simultaneously. When casting, make a Precision roll against a difficulty
equal to the Essence point value of the power you are infusing into the
the Mana cost of both powers. If you fail on this roll, the GM should
have the power misfire in a very annoying way. If successful, the power
is stored in the object. It can be released by speaking a code word of
your choice, determined at the time of casting. When the code word is
spoken, the power occurs as if it was just cast.
However, Mana must be drawn from a source to cast the spell. This
source must be attached to the object, typically a gem which is inset. You
must fill the source with Mana using either Energize or Soul Binding.
Each time you speak the code word, the Mana cost of the spell is paid
by the source. If the infused power has a variable cost, the amount paid
during the original casting will determine the cost paid when used. If
The source may be given additional Mana through Energize, but if it is
ever reduced to zero, the source and the object dissolve to dust.
• Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Object
142
Dominate: 8 points
You can create completely control the mind of another person by
touching them. The target rolls Willpower against your Willpower to
resist this effect. If the target loses this contest, they do not realize the
magic was used. You can control their actions as if they were your own
character. However, you cannot force them to engage in behaviors that
are blatantly suicidal (e.g. jumping off a cliff ). This does not prevent
clever deceptions such as moving them into a dangerous situation.
• Mana Cost: 12 • Duration: 1 Hour
• Target: Person
Discovery: 5 points
You grant someone awareness of the location of a particular object or
person, regardless of distance. You must have specific knowledge of the
object (e.g. Queen Julia’s scepter or my childhood friend Susan). This
awareness is a general feeling, not a special form of vision.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: Instant • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 10 Minutes
• Target: Self
Dismissal: 5 points
You can send summoned beings back to their original locations, like an
Aberration or Elemental. The mana cost to cast this magic is equal to
the Essence point value of the magic which summoned the being. This
magic has no effect on animated beings like Zombies.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent enter a catatonic state, but it can be destroyed. It attacks unarmed. The
• Target: Summoned Being
Dispel: 8 points
You can stop any magical effect. You roll your Willpower against the
Essence point value of the magic you are dispelling. This cannot be used
to stop magic that is being cast. It only affects magic that is active.
• Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: Instant
• Target: Magic
Drain: 8 points
You can siphon the life force from someone and use it to heal yourself.
You must be touching the target with your bare skin to use this magic.
The target takes 1 strength damage for every 3 mana spent in the
casting. You cannot reduce them below zero strength in this manner.
For every point of damage, you heal 1 strength damage to your own
body. The healing process occurs slowly and takes an hour per point
of strength healed. Stealing life force in this way is typically viewed
unfavorably by most moral systems.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Person
Eagle Eye: 6 points
You grant someone incredible vision, comparable with a powerful bird
of prey or a modern telescopic sight. This does not in any way degrade
your vision at close ranges, view of the entire environment is enhanced.
• Target: Person
Elemental: 4 points
You summon a magical being of pure elemental energy to fight for
you. The elemental attacks anyone of your choosing. It has intelligence
(equivalent to 3 in every attribute) and causes a 2 stress point gain in
anyone viewing it who has never seen an elemental before (this is in
addition to exposure stress for magic). It can never experience stress or
elemental has a strength equal to the mana cost paid (the GM may also
adjust it’s size based on this as well). When casting, make a Precision
roll. If successful, you can choose the element (fire, water, earth, etc.) of
your elemental. Otherwise, the GM randomly assigns an element.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: X Minutes
• Target: None
143
Elementalism: 4 points Enchantment: 15 points
You can create magic energy that is attuned to a particular element. You infuse a magic power into piece of equipment such that the wearer
You can take this power multiple times and choose a different element of the equipment always enjoys the power’s effect. Both this power and
each time. This power is the basis for generating more powerful magical the one being infused are cast simultaneously. When casting, make
effects using the element(s) you have chosen. Using this power gives a Precision roll against a difficulty equal to the Essence point value of
you the ability to generate the element in your palm at any time. For the power you are infusing into the object. If this roll fails, the process
example, if you choose the Fire element, you can generate a small flame fails. However, you must still pay the cost of both powers. If you roll no
in your hand or flowing sand that falls from your hand. This is not in successes at all on this roll, the GM should have the power misfire in a
sufficient quantity to seriously injure anyone unless they are exposed for very annoying way. If successful, the power is enchanted into the object.
an extended duration to the element. Consult the table below to choose Once infused, the magic can only be removed by dispel.
an element.
• Mana Cost: 10 • Duration: Permanent
Elements Exposure Side Effect • Target: Object
Acid Corrodes Irritating Touch
Earth Soils Dirty Skin Energize: 5 points
Fire Ignites Smoky Smell You fill a physical object, such as a gem or statue, with stored Mana
Ice Freezes Cool Skin that can later be utilized for casting instead of drawing from the caster.
When casting, make a Precision roll. The object now has an amount
Lightning Shocks Static Shocks
of Mana equal to the number of successes rolled. You can use this
Rot Nauseates Rotten Smell power multiple times on the same object, but if you ever fail to roll any
Sand Grinds Beach Smell successes, the object storing the energy is destroyed.
Sonic Deafens Buzzing Noise
Water Saturates Wet Hair This Mana can be used to fuel a magic power being used. You can only
Wind Blows Wild Hair draw Mana from one object during any particular casting (i.e. you
cannot use five different objects to cast a single spell). When an object’s
stored Mana is reduced to zero, it dissolves into dust.
The effect listed under exposure is what happens to anything brought
into contact with the elemental energy for an extended duration. Once • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: Permanent
taken, you will always be slightly affected by this element in a way that is • Target: Object
slightly unusual. The side effects listed in the column are just examples.
Feel free to invent your own. For example, you might decide that instead
Enrichment: 3 points
of accidentally shocking people with built up static, your Lightning side
You create a magical lifeforce that makes plants grow at an increased
effect might be that your hair stands on end frequently.
rate. This effect is limited to an area of 100 square meters. Plant growth
and size within the area is doubled.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Self
• Mana Cost: 5 • Duration: 3 Months
• Target: Area

144
Entangle: 2 points
You creates a magical lifeforce within a mass of vines or tendrils. The
vines can follow simple commands that you give relating to grasping
nearby objects, such as “grab the red-haired woman”. They are not given
enhanced toughness and can be cut, burned, or otherwise destroyed.

• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Minute

• Target: Area

Fear: 4 points
You can make someone feel powerful sensation of general fear. The
target rolls Willpower against your Willpower to resist this effect. Roll
extra dice equal to the amount of mana you spend on casting this magic.
If the target loses this contest, they immediately gain an amount of
stress equal to the amount of mana you spend on casting this magic.

• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Instant

• Target: Person
Feast: 2 points
You summon a hot fresh table of food. The table is made of sturdy wood
and supports a generous feast that feeds up to 8 people a complete meal.
When the duration expires, the table and any remaining food dissolves
to dust.
Flood: 4 points
You summon a large quantity of water. You must choose an origin for
the water, such as a sewer pipe or doorway (subject to GM approval).
10,000 gallons of fresh water is created per point of the mana cost paid.
It has a velocity equal to the force of gravity (e.g. as if it were falling
vertically out of the origin, regardless of its direction). This does not
grant any ability to control the water flow, it simply creates it.

• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Hour • Mana Cost: X

• Target: None • Duration: Instant
• Target: Object
Flight: 7 points
You can fly through the sky effortlessly. You are not affected by Fog: 3 points
aerodynamics in your movements, though you may be buffeted by winds. You can create a temperature differential in the air around you that
You can fly at up to ten times your running speed. triggers the formation of heavy fog. This fog completely obscures all
forms of vision except Water Vision beyond a range of 3 meters. The fog
• Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: 1 minute forms in a rough circle around you with a radius of 100 meters.
• Target: Person
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 10 minutes
• Target: Area

145
Gift: 3 points
You create a magical effect that provides someone with exceptional
talent. If the target actually lacks that talent, they are merely granted a
normal amount of it. Each time you use this power, you must choose a
talent to temporarily grant.
• Mana Cost: 5 • Duration: 1 Day answer. You may ask a follow-up questions for clarification and they will
• Target: Person
Globe: 8 points
You can create a globe of magic energy that surrounds your body. This
magical energy is composed of a kind of elemental energy that you are
capable of creating using Elementalism. The globe has a radius equal
to your height + 1 meter. In addition to the exposure effect of the
Elemental energy being used, anyone who comes into contact with the
globe takes 1 strength damage.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 10 minutes that you give or perform general tasks on it’s own initiative, such as “go
• Target: Self • Prerequisite: Elementalism
Golem: 8 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a physical object that allows it to
function with a limited intelligence. The golem has limited intelligence
(equivalent to 2 in every attribute) and can follow complex commands
that you give, such as “clean this floor until noon, then go outside and
pull weeds until dusk”. It cannot speak or communicate, unless you
also use Speak on it. It can engage in combat, but has no skills. It has a
strength equal to seven times the mana cost paid. It’s composition should
reflect the amount spent; a weak golem may be made of clay, while a
strong one might be made of stone or even more dense material.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent is perfectly known.
• Target: Object
Guidance: 3 points
You can contact a supremely powerful being to seek advice. The nature
of this being is appropriate for your religious tradition, such as a deity
or nature spirit. The being communicates with you telepathically. You
may ask them a single question about how you should act (e.g. should
I go to the King or the Queen for help) and they will do their best to
respond. Using this power excessively to find solutions to your problems
may result in an unfortunate accident.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 10 Minutes
• Target: Self
Homunculus: 6 points
You create a small magical being that performs tasks for you. A
homunculus can never engage in combat, but has intelligence (equivalent
to 3 in every attribute) and can follow multiple complex commands
into the forest and find reasonable quantities of these ten ingredients.
They are likely to be found in the following places. If you encounter any
dangers, return and inform me of the situation”. It can also use skills that
you have (but not your talents or attributes). The homunculus weights
about 5 lbs. and has 1 strength, 1 endurance,
and 1 resilience.
• Mana Cost: 8 • Duration: 1 Month
• Target: None
Identification: 5 points
You have the ability to know the magical effects that have been used in
an enchantment. Simply by touching the enchanted object, the function
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Self
146
Impervious: 10 points
You are completely immune to all magical effects and magical damage
of any mage with a lower Essence total than you. This does not prevent
you from casting magic yourself.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent transmitted to other people.
• Target: Self
Improve Weapon: 5 points
You infuse a magic power into a weapon so that it deals more damage
and strikes true. When casting, make a Precision roll. If fail, the weapon
is destroyed and the process fails. If successful, roll 1 less die when
making attacks with the weapon and deal 1 additional Energy damage
if the target is hit. Weapons enhanced with this magic are capable of
hitting enemies that are normally immune to normal weapons, such as
spirits or werewolves.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Day
• Target: Weapon
Infect: 3 points
You can infect someone with a magical disease by touching them. The
target rolls Toughness against your Willpower to resist this effect. If they
fail, they take 1 Resilience damage each month until either the magic is
removed by Dispel or they are killed. This disease is not capable of being
• Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Person
Intercession: 2 points
You have the ability to heal strength damage by calling upon your
religious patron. So long as you are a devout follower and the target
of the healing is not significantly opposed to your patron (e.g. if you
are a priest of the Water god, you cannot heal arsonists), you can heal
1 strength damage to 1 person every day. Some faiths may require that
you use this power frequently or with particular discretion.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Person
Interruption: 15 points
You can stop time. You experience 1 combat round per 2 points of mana
spent on the casting in which only you can take actions. During this
period, the rest of the world around you appears to be frozen in time.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Instant
• Target: Self
Invisibility: 5 points
You can make someone completely invisible, except to True Sight.
This does not make them silent, odorless, or otherwise imperceptible.
Any matter that gets on the target after the casting of this will not be
invisible, so if someone throws sand in the air it could reveal their shape.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 minute
• Target: Person
147
Iron Skin: 7 points Message: 3 points
You can turn your skin into solid iron. This stops the first 8 damage You can send a single telepathic message directly to another intelligent
of any type. However, your appearance might be very unnerving to being’s brain as if you had Telepathy. Distance is not a factor, however
onlookers as you will appear to be an iron golem. you must be familiar with the person you are contacting in this way.

• Mana Cost: 10 • Duration: 1 Minute • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: Instant

• Target: Self • Target: Person

Knock: 2 points Necromancy: 7 points

You can magically open a locked object. This does not remove any traps
or magical wards, though it will suppress Seal for a few seconds so that
you can open object or door.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: Instant attacks unarmed. If sufficiently powerful, the GM may allow it to have
• Target: Object
Light: 1 point
You can create a magic light source that has the brightness of a torch.
This must be cast on an object or portion of an object.
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: 1 hour
• Target: Object
Luck: 5 points
You create a magical effect that makes someone more competent in a
general way, granting a +1 bonus to all rolls.
You summon an undead to do your bidding. The undead attacks anyone
of your choosing. It has intelligence (equivalent to 3 in every attribute)
and causes a 4 stress point gain in anyone viewing it. It can never
experience stress or got into a catatonic state, but it can be destroyed. It
skills. The undead has a strength equal to the mana cost paid. When
casting, make a Precision roll. If successful, you can choose the undead
so long as it is appropriate for the cost paid (e.g. no 1 strength vampires).
Otherwise, the GM randomly determines what kind of undead it is.
Summoning the undead is typically viewed unfavorably by most moral
systems.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: X Hours
• Target: None

• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Hour

• Target: Person

Mentalism: 3 points
You create a magical effect that makes someone more competent in a
particular mental process. Each time you use this power, you must
choose an attribute. That attribute is temporarily raised by 1.

• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: 1 Hour

• Target: Person
148
Nourishment: 3 points Phantom: 3 points
You create a magical lifeforce within food that enriches those that You summon an incorporeal undead with limited powers. The phantom
consume it. This spell can affect a mass of food weighing up to 10 lbs. is bound to a particular area with a radius of 50 meters or less. The
Anyone consuming at least 2 lbs of the food loses 1 stress, 2 residual phantom cannot be commanded by the spell, except to specify certain
stress, and will not be hungry again for a full day. beings at the time of casting which the phantom should not harass.
All other beings spotted by the phantom will be harassed in any way
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Hour possible. The phantom can never experience stress or fall into a catatonic
• Target: Food state, but it can be dispelled, turned, or rebuked as any other undead.
A phantom cannot deal damage but appears to attack as if it can to
Obsession: 5 points cause fear (however, it may be able to deal damage via manipulation of
You can create affect the mind of physical objects). It is destroyed by any amount of damage received, but
another person in a way that drives can only be damaged by magical sources or other incorporeal creatures.
them insane. They will experience A phantom can choose to make itself visible or not, depending on the
+15 to a random motivation. Their strategy it is pursuing. It can move up to 1 lb. objects in minor ways,
thoughts will be totally dominated such as knocking cups off tables and counter-tops. If seen, it causes
by this motivation and they will do a 6 stress point gain in anyone viewing it. Summoning the undead is
anything in their power to have it typically viewed unfavorably by most moral systems.
satisfied. The target rolls Willpower
against your Willpower to resist • Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: 1 Year
this effect. If the target loses this • Target: Area
contest, they do not realize the
magic was used. If the target Plant Voice: 2 points
succeeds in this contest, they realize You have the ability to speak to plants and understand their replies. The
that the magic was used and that it GM must determine what level of intelligence and memory actually
failed. This should almost always be exists in a given plant.
extremely upsetting.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: 1 Hour • Target: Self
• Target: Person
Poison: 2 points
Paralysis: 6 points You can infect someone with a magical poison by touching them. The
You can completely prevent someone from making physical movements. target rolls Toughness against your Willpower to resist this effect. If they
They are unable to take any actions while paralyzed. The target rolls fail, they take 2 Resilience damage. This poison is not capable of being
Willpower against your Willpower to resist this effect. transmitted to other people.

• Mana Cost: 5 • Duration: 1 hour • Mana Cost: 5 • Duration: Instant

• Target: Person • Target: Person

149
Polymorph: 15 points
You can transform someone into a completely different creature type.
You can only turn someone into a creature which you have seen before.
For example, you might turn someone into a chicken but you might not
be able to turn them into a Unicorn if you have never seen one before.
The target can use any new body parts as if skilled. If the new form is
capable of talking (e.g. a Dragon), they can speak as well.
Protection: 3 points
You create a magical effect that protects someone from a particular type
of damage. The first point of damage dealt to their physical body (e.g.
after any armor you are wearing reduces it), is resisted. Each time you
use this power, you must choose slashing, impact, penetration, energy,
shrapnel, or explosive to temporarily resist. This does not stop magical
damage of any kind.

• Mana Cost: 8 • Duration: 1 Day • Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Minute

• Target: Person • Target: Person

Portal: 12 points Reading: 4 points

You can create a magical passage between two openings. You must
choose two different locations to form the endpoints of this passage.
While the magic is in effect, anything passing through one opening
will emerge from the other opening. You must be familiar with both
locations and they must be fixed like a door or hole in the ground. It
cannot be a moving object such as a car or airplane. Distance is not a
factor.
• Mana Cost: 10 • Duration: 1 Minute • Target: Self
• Target: Object
You gain awareness of thoughts occurring in the mind of any sentient
being within a 10 meter radius. If you choose to focus on no one in
particular, your mind will be immersed in a flow of random thoughts
from anyone in the vicinity. If one of these random thoughts interests
you, you can determine who is thinking it. While active, this spell
reduces Focus by 2. It can be terminated at any time.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 10 Minutes

Probing Vision: 4 points

You grant someone the ability to see through matter as if it merely were
not there, much like Darkvision removes darkness. You can pick which
matter they see through and which they do not, for example you may
want to see through a wall, but still see the furniture and people in the
room beyond.

• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Minute

• Target: Person

150
Recall: 5 points
You summon a particular object to your hand. The object can be located
anywhere, but you must have both seen and touched it before. As soon
as the power is used, the object disappears from it’s location and appears
in your hand. The object summoned cannot weigh more than 10 lbs.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: Instant • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Day
• Target: Self
Refresh: 5 points
You create a magical effect that heals someone’s physical body. This
heals 1 strength damage for every 3 mana spent in the casting, though
it cannot raise someone beyond their maximum strength. Crippled
limbs can also be restored for an additional 3 mana per limb healed. The
healing process occurs slowly and takes an hour per point of strength
healed.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent Resistance: 2 points
• Target: Person
Reincarnation: 10 points
You transfer your dying soul into a new body. This power must be used
before you actually die. You must select a living person of the same
species to transfer into. This person must be present at the time of the
casting and is killed in the process. Their body is rendered inert and will
not decompose. It will stay perfectly preserved until you die, at which
time your soul will be transferred into the new body. You retain all of
its memories, skills, and personality. However, you now inhabit the new
body which retains it’s brain chemistry and biology. Killing someone and
transferring your soul into their body is typically viewed unfavorably by
most moral systems.
• Mana Cost: 15 • Duration: Permanent • Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Person
Relaxation: 3 points
You grant someone a sense of peace and tranquility. This can only be
cast on someone who is not in any danger and is already engaging in
rest. Removes an additional 1 stress per hour of relaxation. If any danger
emerges during the duration, it’s effect immediately ceases.
• Target: Person
Repose: 1 point
You can send a dead soul on to the next world by touching their corpse.
The soul is now immune from being used in any way, such as Seance.
Additionally, the corpse can no longer be animated or resurrected.
• Mana Cost: 1 • Duration: Instant
• Target: Corpse
You can protect yourself from magical or environmental damage. This
magic prevents the first point of damage dealt by any magical source or
from a force of nature, such as a fire or lightning bolt.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 hour
• Target: Person
Restoration: 8 points
You create a magical effect that restores someone’s physical body to its
perfect state. This heals all strength damage and restores all crippled
limbs, though it cannot raise someone beyond their maximum strength.
You must spend an amount of mana equal to five times their maximum
strength. The healing process occurs instantly.
• Target: Person
151
Resurrection: 10 points
You restore a soul to it’s dead body and restores it’s lifeforce. This power
must be used within 1 month of death. The body is restored to zero
strength, endurance, and resilience. The person remains unconscious
until their endurance rises back up to 1. They remain incapacitated until
their strength and resilience rise back to 1. The resurrection process
permanently reduces the target’s resilience by 1.
Scry: 5 points
You can see what is happening in another location by closing your eyes.
You must be familiar with the location in question. This could be a fixed
location like your home or a favorite bar. Alternatively, it could be a
moving object that you know well, such as a car or airplane which you
have ridden in before. You cannot hear anything. You cannot take any
action while projected besides observing events, including casting.

• Mana Cost: 15 • Duration: Permanent • Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: 10 Minutes

• Target: Corpse • Target: None

Reveal Secrets: 3 points Seal: 3 points

You have the ability to see anything that was intentionally hidden from You can magically lock an object, like a chest or door. This can only be
view. This includes everything from the archetypal secret doors to keys bypassed by Dispel or Knock. If the object is destroyed or physically
hidden under flower pots. forced open, the duration automatically ends.

• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent • Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Week

• Target: Self • Target: Object

Reveal Truth: 4 points Seance: 2 points

You have the ability to discern the truth of any statement made in your You can conduct rituals to contact the dead. This power summons a dead
presence. You can only be deceived by magical means. soul of your choice, subject to setting appropriateness and GM approval.
The soul can be seen and heard by you, but not by onlookers unless they
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent have some special power to do so. It can hear and understand anyone in
• Target: Self it’s presence. You may negotiate and bargain with them for anything you
wish. Unless you choose to dismiss them earlier, the soul will return to
Saucer: 3 points the underworld when the duration expires.
You create a magical lifeforce within a large saucer or disk, typically a
round shield, up to three feet in diameter. The saucer floats at a height • Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: 10 Minutes
of 2 feet off the ground. It can be pushed around easily, but is not self- • Target: None
propelled. It can carry up to 500 lbs, so long as it fits on the saucer.
Sense Life: 3 points
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Day You have awareness of all life within a 50 meter radius, from plants to
• Target: None people. This awareness is a general feeling, not a special form of vision.

• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent

• Target: Self
152
Sense Magic: 3 points
You have awareness of all magic within a 50 meter radius, from active
powers to enchantments. This awareness is a general feeling, not a
special form of vision.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent except by extreme methods such as pouring water on their face or
• Target: Self
Sense Matter: 2 points
You have awareness of all instances of a particular type of matter within
a 50 meter radius, such as gold or plastic. This awareness is a general
feeling, not a special form of vision. You must specify what type of
matter you sense when you take this power.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent be very specific about precisely what area is covered, not to exceed 10
• Target: Self
Sense Undead: 2 points
You have awareness of any undead within a 50 meter radius. This
awareness is a general feeling, not a special form of vision.
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Self
Sleep: 3 points
You can make someone fall asleep by touching them. The target rolls
Willpower against your Willpower to resist this effect. If the target loses
this contest, they do not realize the magic was used. They simply feel
sleepy and doze off. While sleeping, the target cannot be awakened
violently shaken. When they awaken, they cannot remember the
circumstances of how they fell asleep in the first place.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 8 Hours
• Target: Person
Slick: 2 points
You create a sheen on a surface that is extraordinarily slippery. You can
square meters per point of mana cost paid. Anyone walking across the
slick must made an Acrobatics roll against difficulty 3 or fall down, as if
running on ice. You are immune to this effect.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: 10 Minutes
• Target: Area

Shieldbearer: 2 points
You create a magical presence that causes a shield or similar object to
defend a target you designate based on a command that you give to it.
For example, the traditional flying shield that blocks anything attacking
you. The shield can float at a height equal to where you would hold it in
your hand and moves at a three meters per second. It can perceive it’s
surroundings as you could if you were there, it has a 3 in every attribute,
and it attacks as if trained in Block.

• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Minute

• Target: Object

153
Simulacrum: 8 points
You create a magical being that looks similar to a specific living being.
You must select a living person of the same species to use as a host,
though they need not look similar to the being your are duplicating.
This person must be present at the time of the casting and is killed in
the process. Their soul is expelled from the body and replaced with a
complacent magical lifeforce. The body will continue to age normally.
Killing someone and replacing their soul is typically viewed unfavorably
by most moral systems. You can target yourself with simulacrum,
provided you meet the requirements. It has the same biological
characteristics as the host body. The simulacrum has intelligence
(equivalent to 3 in every attribute) and can follow multiple complex
commands that you give or perform general tasks on it’s own initiative,
such as “clean this house using all the tools in the closet and inform our
neighbors if any problems arise”. A simulacrum can engage in combat,
but is considered to have no skills.
• Mana Cost: 10 • Duration: Permanent object. If this roll fails, the process fails. However, you must still pay the
• Target: Person
Soul Binding: 8 points
You bind the magical presence of a supernatural being; such as a devil,
demon, ghost, or similar entity; into a physical object such as a gem
or statue. Alternatively, the soul of a creature that has just died can be
bound so long as the casting begins within a few moments of death
(even though the magic actually takes some time to cast). When casting,
make a Willpower roll against the soul being bound. If this roll fails,
the soul is not bound to the object and the GM should have really bad
things happen.
Once bound, a soul has Mana equal to the combined sum of all it’s
attributes. A normal human has an attribute total of 28. This Mana can
be used as per Energize. When an object’s Mana is reduced to zero,
it dissolves into dust. Binding souls is typically viewed unfavorably by
most moral systems.
• Mana Cost: 6 • Duration: Permanent • Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Hour
• Target: Supernatural Being
Speak: 3 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a physical object that allows it to
speak. If the object has suitable components (such as a statue with a
sculpted mouth), then it can actually appear to speak. Otherwise, the
voice is projected but the object itself does not actually move. The voice
is as loud or as soft as any sound you could make. It can be made to
speak when a complex circumstance is met, such as to any members of a
particular species with a particular eye color on a certain day.
• Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Object
Spell Storing: 6 points
You infuse a magic power into a small physical object such as a gem,
staff, or rod. Both this power and the one being infused are cast
simultaneously. When casting, make a Precision roll against a difficulty
equal to the Essence point value of the power you are infusing into the
cost of both powers. The GM should also have the power misfire in a
very annoying way.
If successful, the power is stored in the object. It can be released by
speaking a code word of your choice, determined at the time of casting.
When the code word is spoken, the power occurs as if it was just cast.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Object
Steed: 2 points
You summon a magical horse to do your bidding. The steed appears
instantly beside you. For the duration, the horse has a very positive
disposition towards you, but will flee if abused or injured. It will not
engage in combat, but it can perform all of the normal tasks a horse is
capable of (e.g. mount, draft, etc). The steed will be destroyed if dealt
any form of damage, but it will never tire.
• Target: None
154

Stone Skin: 5 points
You can turn your skin into hard stone. This stops the first 5 damage
of any type. However, your appearance might be very unnerving to
onlookers as you will appear to be a stone golem.
• Mana Cost: 8 • Duration: 1 Minute locking mechanism, such as “open only for elves”. It cannot speak or
• Target: Self
Stone Touch: 10 points
You can turn a living being to stone with a single touch. The target rolls
Toughness against your Willpower to resist this effect. If the target loses
this contest, they are killed instantly and turned to stone.
• Mana Cost: 7 • Duration: Permanent trap skills. You must choose another magic power to occur when the
• Target: Person
Swarm: 3 points
You summon a large quantity of insects. You must choose an origin
for the insects, such as a ventilation duct or a grating (subject to GM
approval). Thousands of small insects emerge from that location and
descend upon an enemy of your choice. They swarm the target’s body
and impose a -5 Focus penalty, which should effectively disable most
people. It also causes a 6 stress point gain in the target and a 2 stress
point gain to anyone standing nearby. Over time, the target will be
completely drained of Endurance but otherwise unharmed.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Minute
• Target: Object
Teleport: 10 points
You can instantly move yourself from your current location to another
location with which you are familiar. This could be a fixed location like
your home or a favorite bar. Alternatively, it could be a moving object
that you know well, such as a car or airplane which you have ridden
in before. Distance is not a factor. Once you arrive, you must make an
Awareness roll every 5 seconds until you succeed before you can act.
• Mana Cost: 8 • Duration: Instant
• Target: Area
Threshold: 3 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a door. The door can follow
a simple command that you give relating to the operation of it’s
communicate, unless you also use Speak on it.
• Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Door
Trap: 2 points
You can magically trap an object. It cannot be disarmed with mundane
trap is activated that targets either a Person or an Object. The magic
is cast upon the person triggering the trap or the surrounding area,
whichever is applicable. Both this power and the one being used are cast
simultaneously. When casting, make a Precision roll against a difficulty
equal to the Essence point value of the power you are using in the trap.
If this roll fails, the process fails. However, you must still pay the Mana
cost of both powers. The GM should also have the power misfire in a
very annoying way. If successful, the object is trapped.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: Permanent
• Target: Object
155
Treant: 7 points Vaporize: 5 points
You create a magical lifeforce within a tree. The tree can now move You can transform yourself
it’s branches as if they were arms and can move around using it’s roots into a vapor form. Your body
as legs. The treant has limited intelligence (equivalent to 2 in every and anything you are carrying
attribute) and can follow complex commands that you give, such as is transformed into water
“attack anyone coming through these woods”. It cannot speak or vapor. Your cloud of vapor
communicate, unless you also use Speak on it. It can engage in combat, will stay together as a unit
but is considered to have no skills. It has a strength equal to seven times and cannot be dispersed by a
the amount spent on its cost. It’s composition should reflect the amount strong wind, though a strong
spent; a weak treant may be made from an aspen tree, while a strong wind can force you to move in
one might be made from an oak. a direction against your will.
In stagnant air, you can move
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: Permanent at your standard movement
• Target: Tree rate. You can take no action
other than movement. You
True Sight: 4 points cannot take damage from
You have the ability to see through any spell that creates a false any source except fire, energy,
perception, such as Invisibility. Magic cannot deceive you in any way. or explosives. You can choose
to end this effect before the
• Mana Cost: Always On • Duration: Permanent duration expires.
• Target: Self
• Mana Cost: 4 • Duration: 1 Hour
• Target: Self
Utility: 2 points
You summon a magical tool to help you. The tool appears instantly
beside you. It can be of any reasonable size, from a screwdriver to an Wall: 7 points
extension ladder, but it must be muscle powered and operable by a single You can create a wall of magic energy that forms a flat plane. This
individual (e.g. no bulldozers or lumberjack saws). The GM has final magical energy is composed of a kind of elemental energy that you
approval of what is and is not a tool. The tool has a quality comparable are capable of creating using Elementalism. The wall has a total area in
to a standard tool of it’s type and can be destroyed if damaged. square meters equal to the square of the amount of mana spent on the
casting. For example, if you spent 2 mana to cast this magic, it would
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Hour create a wall up to 4 square meters in area. In addition to the exposure
• Target: Self effect of the Elemental energy being used, anyone who comes into
contact with or tries to pass through the wall takes 1 strength damage
per 2 points of mana spent on the casting.

• Mana Cost: X • Duration: 10 minutes

• Target: Area • Prerequisite: Elementalism

156
Water Breathing: 2 points
You can give yourself the ability to breathe underwater. This does not
allow you to breathe in other liquids.
• Mana Cost: 2 • Duration: 1 Hour point of mana cost paid. Anyone within the area must make a Precision
• Target: Self
Water Vision: 2 points
You grant someone the ability to see through water or heavy fog as if
it merely were not there, much like Darkvision removes darkness.
However, they cannot see through suspended matter, such as silt.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Hour You create a magical presence that causes small objects and debris to
• Target: Person
Web: 2 points
You create a network of sticky webs within a specific area. The webs
must have something to anchor on, so this could be cast in a forest
but not in an open field. The area cannot exceed 10 square meters per
roll (add Strength) against a difficulty equal to the mana cost paid to
perform any movement or action. You are immune to this effect.
• Mana Cost: X • Duration: 10 Minutes
• Target: Area
Whirl: 2 points
swirl and dance about at random. It cannot attack, defend, perform
complex actions, or exhibit any other kind of intelligence. This can be
used to create sandstorms, dancing light sources that look like large
groups of people moving in the night, create chaos and mayhem by
flinging small objects about at random, and so on. These flying objects
cannot actually hit anyone caught in their path hard enough to deal
damage, they will always ricochet slightly. If you know Light, the objects
can be made to glow as if the subject of Light for no additional cost.
The total area affected cannot extend beyond a 25 meter radius from
your location.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Minute
• Target: Area
Wizard Eye: 4 points
You create a small magical eye that can float around and observe things
for you. It moves at your normal walking speed and can fly in any
direction. If you close your eyes, you see as if one of your eyes was at the
Wizard Eye’s location. You can only give the eye directions while your
eyes are closed. It completely lacks intelligence and is destroyed by any
amount of damage dealt.
• Mana Cost: 3 • Duration: 1 Hour
• Target: None
157
Appendix B:
Vampirism

158
The Basics of Vampirism:
Creation: Common Features:
Vampires are created by draining Initial Values Vampire characters do not have Endurance, instead this is replaced by
a mortal of their blood and then Blood 10 Blood; a value which measures the amount of blood in the vampire’s
pouring vampiric blood into their blood system at any given moment. Vampire characters also lack
Vigor 5
mouth. A starting character is one Resilience, but instead have Vigor; a value which measures the power and
of these newly made vampires, age of the vampire. Vigor is the sum of all Lineage choices and reflects
sometime within their first year of unlife (unless they purchase the amount of points available to buy those choices at character creation.
additional time via life experiences). Vampires can instantly discern other A vampire that is reduced below 0 Strength or Blood is immediately
vampires by sight. destroyed and their body is reduced to ash.

Since they lack those Damage Reduction

characteristics, vampires can
Slashing 2
never take Endurance or
Resilience damage. As a result Impact 4
they are immune to all toxins Penetration 3
and poisons. Vampires also Energy 0
reduce Strength damage as if Shrapnel 4
they were wearing a vampiric Explosive 0
armor type as shown in the
chart to the right. If a vampire wears armor, both their natural damage
reduction and that gained from the armor is applied.

However, this advantage comes with a cost. Exposure to sunlight or

fire deals 1 Strength damage per second and sharp wooden objects (e.g.
stakes) stabbed into the heart cause complete paralyzation and blackout
of the mind until the object is removed. Vampires are incredibly drowsy
during the day and sleep during this time in some area where they are
protected from the sun’s rays. This drowsiness increased the difficulty for
any daytime roll by 2. Exposure to a variety of stimuli that would not
alarm the average mortal, such as a fireplace, might cause Stress gains in
vampires. The GM will inform you of this when it happens. Vampires
also cannot fall into a catatonic state, but if they meet the conditions for
it they will fall into a frenzy as if they were Berserk.

159
Lineage:
A Lineage represents the collection of vampiric powers available to
an individual. Certain powers and certain combinations of powers are
exceptionally rare and prized as a result. Some vampires are extremely
proud of their Lineage and flaunt it, much like a mortal flaunts a family
name with great status (e.g. Kennedy, Rothschild, etc). Other vampires
could care less about Lineage.
When creating a new vampire, the creator has a chance to control what
vampiric powers are passed down to the new vampire. If a character
decides to create their own progeny, they must make a Precision roll
against a difficulty of 5 as they are feeding the blood to the drained
body. If they succeed, they can specifically choose the Lineage of the
vampire they are creating from any vampiric powers in their own
Lineage. If they fail, the GM chooses which powers to form the new
Lineage. Regardless of who is making the choices, the total cost of all
powers passed to the new vampire must equal 5 and all powers with
negative point values must be passed down. Thus over time, a Lineage
will become tainted with more negative point value powers. This creates
value in pedigree and that is why vampires of certain Lineages consider
themselves superior to others.
When building a Lineage at character creation, you may purchase
whichever powers you wish so long as they have a total equal to your
Vigor. You may take up to -3 in negative point value powers to allow
the purchase of more positive value powers.
Using Blood:
• Vampiric powers are fueled by Blood expenditures
(usually in amounts equal to their point value)
• 2 Blood can be used heal 1 Strength damage
if the vampire is able to rest for 15 minutes
• 1 Blood can be used raise your total Strength by 1 for 5 minutes.
Rising:
Every night when a vampire rises from sleep, they lose 1 Blood. If you
cannot pay this price, you are paralyzed as if stabbed in the heart with a
wooden stake until such time as you are fed more blood.
Feeding:
A vampire can feed from a mortal by retractable fangs. The act triggers
a massive surge of pleasure and relaxation in the mortal and prevents
them from taking any action for the duration of the feeding or for a
few minutes afterward. When this sensation ends, the mortal does
not remember what happened, though they may have vague memories
of the vampire if they were socially interacting prior to the feeding
(e.g. seduced into going to a hotel room). The vampire feels the same
pleasure as a mortal might savoring a good meal, but they remain aware
of their surroundings and are unable to act in ways that might disrupt
the process. After feeding, the bite marks on the subject are healed. All
harmful bacteria and viruses in the newly acquired blood is destroyed.
A mortal has an amount of Blood equal to their Resilience. Every minute
of feeding, the vampire drains 1 Resilience from the mortal and gains 1
Blood for themselves. If this reduces the mortal’s Resilience to zero, the
mortal is killed and the vampire will experience the same Stress gain
they would have gained for killing someone in any other manner (or not
if they are so inclined).
160
Feeding on Vampire:
A vampire can let another vampire feed from them without losing
control of their body. The vampire whose blood is being consumed (the
host) feels only a minor discomfort. If a vampire attempts to feed on
an unwilling vampire, they must first incapacitate them in some way.
Feeding takes too long to perform as a combat action. For every minute
of feeding, 1 Blood is transferred between the two. In addition to this,
several things may occur.
Each vampire must make a Willpower roll for each point of Blood
transferred. If the host rolls the higher number, the feeding vampire
is enthralled. They must treat the host as if she were a lifelong best
friend and any actions taken against her are subject to a 2 dice penalty.
A vampire can only be enthralled to one host at a time. Each time a
vampire feeds from the same host again, increase the roll result of the
vampire that is being fed upon by 5. An enthralled vampire can feed
from any vampire without fear of being enthralled. A vampire can feed
from their own thrall without consequence.
If the host is completely drained of blood, the vampire feeding upon
them can attempt to consume their soul. This process takes 1 minute per
Vigor possessed by the host. Each vampire must make a Willpower roll
as if they were transferring a final point of Blood. If the host rolls the
lower result, they are consumed. The feeding vampire gains the lowest
non-negative point value power of the host’s Lineage (randomly break
ties). If the feeding vampire already possesses all of the non-negative
powers in the Lineage, they instead gain all of the negative point
value powers. This transfer of power may result in immediate physical
transformations.
Ghouls:
If you feed blood to a human that still has human blood in their system,
they are changed into a Ghoul. Ghouls track Blood like Vampires do, but
they retain their Body as before. They can use Blood to heal damage and
temporarily raise their Strength, but they cannot create new vampires
nor can they possess vampiric powers. Ghouls do not age as long as they
have at least 1 Blood in their system, but as soon as this is no longer the
case they will experience rapid aging up to their actual age. If they are
too old, this may actually kill them. If unused, Blood leaves their system
naturally after a month.
Learning New Vampiric Powers:
A vampire can also learn new vampiric powers through feeding if the
host is willing. The host must intend to transfer the power and the
receiver must not already be enthralled to another vampire. The feeding
vampire immediately becomes enthralled to the host and they gain a
vampiric power that the host possesses. The host must make a Precision
roll against a difficulty of 5 to control which power is transferred. If they
fail, the GM chooses which power is transferred.
161
Powers Alphabetical
Acumen 3 Daywalker 5 Misdirection 1 Selectivity -2
Alacrity 3 Debonair 2 Mist 3 Shade 1
Amnesia -1 Dread 3 Oracle 2 Shockwave 2
Animation 5 Facade 1 Pale -1 Shroud 1
Auras 1 Faith -2 Pallid * Silence 3
Avarice -1 Filth -1 Parkour 2 Silver -1
Beastial -3 Garlic -1 Passion 1 Sixth Sense 2
Blackout 1 Gaunt -2 Phylactery -2 Solitary -1
Blindsight 4 Glimpse 1 Potency 2 Spirit Sight 1
Blink 2 Grace 3 Projection 3 Summoning 4
Blurry -1 Hedonism -1 Psychosis -3 Telepathy 2
Carrier -1 Hematic 3 Radiant 1 Temperamental -2
Clarity 3 Hypoxia -3 Raptor 1 Toxicity 2
Command 3 Indomitable 1 Rapture 2 Transformation 2
Communion 3 Insanity 2 Reading 2 Unfazeable 2
Companion 2 Interred 1 Regeneration 2 Vanish 4
Condensation 1 Invitation -1 Resolve 3 Velvet Caress 2
Confound 1 Languid -1 Sadism -1 Ventriloquism 1
Consumption -3 Magus * Sanguine * Vice -1
Contortion 1 Mimic 2 Savagery 3 Vitality 1
Convocation 1 Mirage 1 Scenthound 4 Water -1

162
Powers By Point Value
Bestial -3 Solitary -1 Shade 1 Unfazeable 2
Consumption -3 Vice -1 Shroud 1 Velvet Caress 2
Hypoxia -3 Water -1 Spirit Sight 1 Acumen 3
Psychosis -3 Pallid * Ventriloquism 1 Alacrity 3
Faith -2 Magus * Vitality 1 Clarity 3
Gaunt -2 Sanguine * Blink 2 Command 3
Phylactery -2 Auras 1 Companion 2 Communion 3
Selectivity -2 Blackout 1 Debonair 2 Dread 3
Temperamental -2 Condensation 1 Insanity 2 Grace 3
Amnesia -1 Confound 1 Mimic 2 Hematic 3
Avarice -1 Contortion 1 Oracle 2 Mist 3
Blurry -1 Convocation 1 Parkour 2 Projection 3
Carrier -1 Facade 1 Potency 2 Resolve 3
Filth -1 Glimpse 1 Rapture 2 Savagery 3
Garlic -1 Indomitable 1 Reading 2 Silence 3
Hedonism -1 Interred 1 Regeneration 2 Blindsight 4
Invitation -1 Mirage 1 Shockwave 2 Scenthound 4
Languid -1 Misdirection 1 Sixth Sense 2 Summoning 4
Pale -1 Passion 1 Telepathy 2 Vanish 4
Sadism -1 Radiant 1 Toxicity 2 Animation 5
Silver -1 Raptor 1 Transformation 2 Daywalker 5

163
Vampiric Powers:
Acumen: 3 points
You can use blood to enhance your quality of thought. For 3 Blood,
you can raise your Cognition by 1. You can use this power to raise your
attribute above 10. This effect lasts until dawn.
Alacrity: 3 points
You can use blood to enhance your speed of thought. For 3 Blood,
you can raise your Synapse by 1. You can use this power to raise your
attribute above 10. This effect lasts until dawn.
Amnesia: -1 point
All memories of your life before you became a vampire are completely
lost, even those of your family and friends. Your Connections still exist
and function normally, but they must be created by the GM and kept
secret from you. You can discover them in the course of play, either
by accident or if you are determined to search for clues. If you do not
pursue them, they may fade over time.
Animation: 5 points
You can animate a mortal corpse and control it as a zombie. For 5 Blood,
you can touch a corpse and infuse it with unlife. If the mortal has been
dead for more than 1 week, it cannot be raised in this way. The zombie
has the same strength it did in life and it will be destroyed if that much
damage is dealt to it. It has a 3 in every attribute and has no skills. You
can give it simple commands such as “attack anyone who enters this
area”. The zombie must be fed 1 Blood every week (including the first
week of unlife) in order to remain animated. If this is not done, the
zombie will dissolve to dust.
Auras: 1 point
You can see the emotional state of others by examining their auras. For
1 Blood, you can gain this ability for one hour. Everyone you see will
glow with a particular hue. An individual with a bright aura has a very
high stress level and a weak aura has the reverse. The color of the hue
reflects the true nature of the individual. Vampires, mortals, ghouls,
werewolves, and other types of creatures each glow in their own special
color. Discovering what each of the colors mean is up to you.
Avarice: -1 point
You are obsessed with the accumulation of wealth and power. Any
opportunity you gain power and resources should be indulged. You get
+3 to Acquisition, +3 to Retention, and +3 to Construction.
Bestial: -3 points
You have bestial features like pointed ears, pronounced teeth, and
significant claws. You are clearly a monster. Anyone notices your
condition will have severe panic reactions to seeing you.
Blackout: 1 point
You can erase memories from the mind of a mortal by gazing into their
eyes. For 1 Blood, you can remove any specific memories that a mortal
has, up to and including all of them, for a particular period of time. For
example, you could erase all memories of what happened last Friday or
just memories of her interaction with John on Friday afternoon. You
cannot specify a time period longer than 24 hours. You can only use this
on any particular mortal once per night.
Blindsight: 4 points
You can see in the dark. This is not based on smell or sound, you simply
see as if there were adequate light.
164
Blink: 2 points
You can teleport a short distance. For 2 Blood, your body and anything
you are carrying is teleported to any location within 50 meters. If you
cannot see the destination, such as blinking through a wall, you risk
injuring yourself by arriving inside an object (GM discretion). You must
make an Awareness roll to avoid disorientation once you have arrived at
your new location. Momentum is conserved when using this power, so
if you were moving in a direction when you blink then you will continue
moving in that direction afterward.
Blurry: -1 point
You do not cast a reflected image nor do you appear in photographs or
on film. This makes fame in a modern setting essentially impossible and
exposes you to great risk of discovery if you are not careful.
Carrier: -1 point
You are a carrier for disease. Unlike most vampires, your blood does not
automatically destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. You remain immune
to their effects, but you can keep them in your system. You must be
careful to feed from healthy sources or else you might spread diseases
between mortals. This could contribute to a public health epidemic and
raise questions about why the disease is spreading so fast.
Communion: 3 points
You can use blood to enhance your emotional connection with other
people. For 3 Blood, you can raise your Empathy by 1. You can use this
power to raise your attribute above 10. This effect lasts until dawn.
Companion: 2 points
You can bond with a living nocturnal animal of your choosing. You can
only create one such bond at a time. You must locate the animal and
spend 2 Blood to establish the connection. You can communicate with
the companion at all times as if using Telepathy and you may give it
short simple commands. It will communicate with you and attempt
to follow your commands as if it were an Ally. If the animal dies, you
immediately gain an amount of residual stress equal to the number of
years the animal has been your companion. You cannot form a bond
with a new animal until the old one has been dead for over a year.

Clarity: 3 points
You can use blood to enhance your attention. For 3 Blood, you can raise
your Focus by 1. You can use this power to raise your attribute above 10.
This effect lasts until dawn.

Command: 3 points
You can bend the will of other intelligent beings to your will. For 3
Blood, you can give a single command to anyone and they must obey
it. This command can be as simple as “give me the stone” or it could be
complex instructions about what to do or say over the course of several
hours. However, the command must relay an action to perform, not an
emotion to feel (e.g. fear). The impulse to follow the command will end
at daybreak. A mortal is powerless to resist, but a Ghoul or vampire can
roll to resist with an opposed Willpower roll.
165
Condensation: 1 point
You have the ability to generate supernaturally thick fog. If you are close
to a body of water or the air is sufficiently humid, for 1 Blood you can
cause a heavy fog to come in. This fog will be at least a mile in diameter
and severely restrict normal vision. The fog will last until dawn.
Confound: 1 point
You are capable of temporarily preventing a mortal from using basic
logic. For 1 Blood, you can send them into a dumbfounded state. They
will be incapable of accomplishing any task requiring even the most
basic of decision making. They cannot even figure out how to use a door
handle or determine that the best way to bypass an object in their way is
to walk around it. This effect will end at daybreak.
Consumption: -3 points
You must consume the flesh of a mortal to drain their blood, not simply
feed from their neck. This causes obvious problems such as making it
necessary to kill or severely injure a lot of mortals. Other vampires may
find you repulsive or even worthy of death.
Contortion: 1 point
You can move your body in ways that would normally be impossible
due to the arrangement of muscle and sinew. You can force your body
through holes that your shoulders would normally be too wide to enter,
bend your body in unnatural directions, and escape from almost any
bindings.
Convocation: 1 point
You can conduct rituals to contact the dead. For 1 Blood, you can
summon a dead soul of your choice, subject to setting appropriateness
and GM approval. The soul can be seen by Spirit Sight. This does
not confer any special ability to communicate with or control them.
However, if you are able to do so, you may negotiate and bargain with
them for anything you wish. Unless you choose to dismiss them earlier,
the soul will return to the underworld at dawn.
Daywalker: 5 points
You are immune to the Strength damage caused to vampires by the
Sun’s rays. You are also not subjected to the drowsiness normal vampires
experience during the day. However, you do get tired and must sleep as a
human must to maintain your edge. Instead of suffering Endurance loss
as a normal member of your species that is not getting enough sleep, the
Blood cost of Rising (which for you occurs at dawn instead of sundown)
increases by 1 Blood each night which you fail to sleep adequately until
you get enough sleep. Any reference made by any other vampiric power
you have to a night instead refers to a day and vice versa.
Debonair: 2 points
You are socially graceful and well-spoken. You roll 1 less dice in all social
situations, regardless of context.
Dread: 3 points
You can trigger feelings of supernatural terror. For 3 Blood, you can look
into someone’s eyes and cause this effect. They will see their greatest fear
and immediately fall into a catatonic state while jabbering incoherently.
This effect will end at daybreak. A mortal is powerless to resist, but a
Ghoul or vampire can roll to resist with an opposed Willpower roll.
166
Facade: 1 point Garlic: -1 point
You can change your appearance in a minor way as a disguise. For 1 You have a vulnerability to garlic. If you are within 5 meters of a clove
Blood, you can change the following aspects of yourself in a minor way; of garlic or make contact with clove of garlic, you will experience
hair color & length, eye color, skin tone, facial structure, nose shape, lip extreme nausea and a temporary strength reduction that will eventually
thickness, and facial hair (if male). You can use this to make yourself cause you to become incapacitated. This strength reduction occurs over
unrecognizable to even close friends, family, or lovers. In this form, several seconds, so you may step away from the garlic before becoming
you will not receive any social benefits or penalties based upon your completely incapacitated. Vampires like you are responsible for the false-
reputation or previous interactions. You will essentially be a stranger to confidence of hunters everywhere.
everyone. This will not remove the harmful effects of a negative point
cost appearance power (e.g. Gaunt) because the alterations are minor. Gaunt: -2 points
The effect lasts until dawn. Your skin is extremely tight and leathery in appearance. Anyone
interacting with you that is able to see your skin will be disturbed by the
Faith: -2 point effect. They will be eager to end the conversation and you must roll 2
You have a vulnerability to faith. extra dice in any social context where your skin is visible.
If you attempt to move within 5
meters of a faithful person who
Glimpse: 1 point
is wielding a holy symbol (e.g.
You can see the past by looking at a mirror or reflective surface. For 1
a crucifix), you must make a
Blood, you can touch a reflective surface and see the past through it. The
Courage roll against a difficulty
images will be visible only to you. The glimpses you see will reflect the
of 5. Exposure to Holy Water
most recent moments in time where extreme emotions were felt in front
causes 1 strength damage per
of this surface. The glimpses are visual only and not accompanied by the
cup of liquid (the amount in a
sounds. For example, you may touch a mirror in a hotel room and see a
typical flask) and extreme pain.
couple arguing a few nights ago. What exactly they are arguing about
may not be evident.
Filth: -1 point
You have no natural desire for Grace: 3 points
cleanliness and sanitation. You You can use blood to enhance your coordination. For 3 Blood, you can
do not feel the need to clean raise your Spatial by 1. You can use this power to raise your attribute
yourself or your living space above 10. This effect lasts until dawn.
with any regularity and you
have a body odor that reflects
Hedonism: -1 point
that. You must roll an extra
You are obsessed with the pleasures of the flesh. Any opportunity to
dice in any social context where
engage in a sensual experience or play with reckless abandon should be
someone is able to smell you or
indulged. You get +3 to Play, +3 to Sensuality, and +3 to Security.
see the filth on your body.

167
Hematic: 3 points
You can transform your body into pure blood. For 3 Blood, your body
and anything you are carrying is transformed into blood. Your pool of
blood will stay together as a unit and cannot be dispersed by another
liquid, though a strong current can force you to move in a direction
against your will. In stagnant water or across a floor, you can move at
your standard movement rate. You can move against the pull of gravity
but at a slow pace. While transformed, you cannot take damage from
any source except fire, energy, or explosives. Unless you choose to end it
earlier, the effect will end at dawn.
Hypoxia: -3 points
You can heal Strength damage but the damage to your skin never
heals. Over time, this will result in a corpse-like appearance that you
may or may not be able to conceal, depending on how and where you
are wounded. If you are sufficiently damaged, anyone who notices your
condition will have severe panic reactions to seeing you.
Indomitable: 1 point
You are extremely resistant to social coercion. You are immune to
Command, Insanity, and Savagery. Any attempts to soften your
demeanor, schmooze you, or make you feel guilty automatically fail.
Insanity: 2 points
You can drive a mortal completely insane. For 2 Blood, you can look into
their eyes and cause this effect. They will experience +15 to a random
motivation. Their thoughts will be totally dominated by this motivation
and they will do anything in their power to have it satisfied. This effect
will end at daybreak.
Interred: 1 point
You can meld your body into the earth to escape from the rays of the
sun. For 1 Blood, you can dissolve your body into any sizeable quantity
of dirt (e.g. no flower pots). You must be touching the dirt with your
bare skin to trigger this transformation. You can remain interred this
way until the next sundown.
Invitation: -1 point
You cannot enter anyone’s house or living area without being invited in.
Once you have been invited into the area, you can come and go as you
please at any time in the future.
Languid: -1 point
You are a slow riser. You spend the first hour of the night slowly waking
up. You cannot do anything at that time.
Magus: X points
You have access to magic spells as if you were naturally talented. You
cast magic using physical gestures and words like with Articulation. You
get the same number of Essence points to spend on purchasing magic as
points you spend on this power. Instead of Mana, you must spend Blood
to cast your magic. You can channel 1 Mana per second or Synapse
round. You can only learn new magic powers from other vampires with
Magus. The learning process is the same as any other vampiric power.
Mimic: 2 points
You can change your appearance, voice, and scent to duplicate a specific
person, whether mortal or vampire. For 2 Blood, you can create this
effect. In this form, you will not receive any social benefits or penalties
based upon your reputation or previous interactions. However, you will
gain those same effects for the person you are duplicating. The effect
lasts until dawn.
168
Mirage: 1 point
You can create a compelling visual illusion. For 1 Blood, you can create
a visual illusion of anything you can imagine, from a grizzly bear to a
bookcase. The illusion cannot be larger than 5 meters in diameter
and it cannot move in any way. Anyone who touches the illusion will
immediately notice it’s false nature. If viewed for a sufficient length of
time, the false nature may also be revealed (e.g. a living being frozen
in place will eventually be too suspicious to believe in). You can make
the illusion permanent by paying an additional 4 Blood. Otherwise, the
effect ends at dawn.
Misdirection: 1 point
You can make mortals subconsciously avoid noticing you. For 1 Blood,
you can generate this effect for five minutes. Any mortal who looks at
you will simply not notice you, just as someone can somehow not notice
their keys sitting on the counter when they are looking for them. You
are not invisible, their mind is just not paying attention to you.
Mist: 3 points
You can transform your body into a fine mist. For 3 Blood, your body and
anything you are carrying is transformed into water vapor. Your cloud of
mist will stay together as a unit and cannot be dispersed by a strong
wind, though a strong wind can force you to move in a direction against
your will. In stagnant air, you can move at your standard movement rate.
You can take no action other than movement. You cannot take damage
from any source except fire, energy, or explosives. Unless you choose to
end it earlier, the effect will end at dawn.
Oracle: 2 points
You have the talent of prophecy. You are capable of making statements
of absolute accuracy, but vague interpretation. Other vampires may seek
you out for advice before taking risky action. This grants you a certain
aura of respectability and an insight into the affairs of others. Be careful,
lest you become a Cassandra.
Pale: -1 point
You have extremely pale skin. While not as disturbing or unnatural
as Gaunt, this is slightly unnerving to those with whom you interact
socially. You must roll an extra dice in any social context where your skin
is plainly visible.
Pallid: -X points
You have less blood in your system than an average vampire. You have
fewer Blood points equal to the number of negative points you spend on
this power.
Parkour: 2 points
You have amazing acrobatic abilities. You can jump five times farther
than a normal person of your strength value. You do not take falling
damage unless you are falling from a height greater than 1 mile (e.g. no
jumping out of airplanes).
Passion: 1 point
You are capable of temporarily increasing the motivations of a mortal.
For 1 Blood, you can raise any motivation by 5. This effect will end at
daybreak. You can only use this on any particular mortal once per night.
Phylactery: -2 points
Shortly after your creation as a vampire, your creator removed your
heart from your body and placed it in a secure container such as an
urn or chest. They retain possession of your heart as a form of absolute
protection and control over you. You may be able to negotiate with them
to have it returned, but you will need to protect it. Since your heart is
removed, you cannot be paralyzed by wood through the heart. However,
if your disembodied heart is destroyed, you are immediately destroyed as
well. Once removed, your heart is not affected by vampiric powers that
affect the rest of your body (e.g. Interred). Once recovered, it cannot
mended back into your body.
169
Potency: 2 points
You can make yourself stronger than other vampires. 1 Blood can be
used raise your Strength by 2, instead of the normal 1. This effect lasts
for 15 minutes, instead of the usual 5.
Projection: 3 points
You can see what is happening in another location. For 3 Blood, you can
close your eyes and see what is occurring at another location. You must
be familiar with the location in question. This could be a fixed location
like your home or a favorite bar. Alternatively, it could be a moving
object that you know well, such as a car or airplane which you have
ridden in before. As with glimpse, you cannot hear anything. You cannot
take any action while projected besides observing events, including the
use of vampiric powers.
Pychosis: -3 points
You have an extreme psychosis involving hallucinations and delusions.
This may be through an interpretive lens like megalomania or narcissism
where this false information is created to fit a theme like “I am the most
important being in the universe”, or it might simply be unstructured
random thoughts that occur frequently and undermine coherency.
Regardless, this can be severely debilitating to social interaction and
must be roleplayed.
Radiant: 1 point
You have extremely robust and warm skin. You look even healthier than
the average human. Other vampires do recognize you as actually being
a vampire unless you exhibit indicative behavior, such as feeding, or use
vampiric powers. If you have both Radiant and Gaunt, your skin has
the texture and color of someone who has spent far too much time in
the sun over the years. If you have both Radiant and Pale, your skin
tone appears normal and a vampire can only discern your true nature
at very close range. If you have all three; Radiant, Gaunt and Pale, your
skin tone appears normal, but about 30 years older than it should, and a
vampire can only discern your true nature at very close range.
Raptor: 1 point
You have exceptionally keen vision, like a bird of prey. You can see much
farther and with greater detail than a normal human. This provides
obvious advantages.
Rapture: 2 points
You can distract mortals with a powerful gaze. For 2 Blood, you can
look into the eyes of a mortal and totally captivate them for as long as
eye contact is maintained. During this time, they cannot think or do
anything except look into your eyes. Any physical attack against them
will end the effect. Once you break eye contact with them, they will
slowly recover their mental functions over a span of a few minutes as if
they were just woken from a deep sleep.
Reading: 2 points
You are capable of reading the surface thoughts of a mortal mind. For 2
Blood, you can read the mind of any mortal that you can see and focus
on. If you choose to focus on no mortal in particular, your mind will be
immersed in a flow of random thoughts from any mortals in the vicinity.
If one of these random thoughts interests you, you can determine which
mortal is thinking it. This effect lasts for one hour and temporarily
reduces your Focus by 2. It can be terminated at any time.
Regeneration: 2 points
You can heal faster and more quickly than other vampires. 1 Blood,
instead of the normal cost of 2, can be used heal 1 Strength damage.
This healing occurs within 1 second or as a single action if in combat.
Resolve: 3 points
You can use blood to keep your cool in a difficult situation. For 3 Blood,
you can raise your Stability by 1. You can use this power to raise your
attribute above 10. This effect lasts until dawn.
170
Sadism: -1 point
You delight in causing pain to others. Any opportunity you have to
torment someone without repercussion should be indulged. You get +3
to Aggression, +3 to Revenge, and -3 to Obligation.
Sanguine: X points
You have more blood in your system than an average vampire. You get
additional Blood points equal to the number of points you spend on this
power.
Savagery: 3 points
You can trigger the animal instinct inside others. For 3 Blood, you can
look into their eyes and cause this effect. They will fall into a frenzy as
if they were Berserk. They cannot recover from this state until every
conceivable threat in the vicinity is destroyed. A mortal is powerless to
resist, but a Ghoul or vampire can roll to resist by making an opposed
Willpower roll.
Scenthound: 4 points
You have a highly sophisticated sense of smell, like a bloodhound or
shark. You can detect odors at extreme distances and follow people
by tracking their odor. The presence of powerful odors may require an
Awareness roll to avoid being overcome by nausea.
Selectivity: -2 points
You can only feed from a particular source of blood. This source should
be uncommon, but not so rare that it requires an enormous expenditure
to locate. Examples include rats, dogs, the noble class, beggars, etc. The
GM must approve whatever source you select.
Shade: 1 point
You can meld into a shadow and become invisible. For 1 Blood, your
physical form will meld with a shadow of sufficient size, subject to GM
approval. Even if the shadow is partially pierced, such as by a flashlight
beam, you will remain completely invisible. If the shadow is completely
destroyed, such as by turning on a brilliant light source, then this effect
will end. Unless you choose to end it earlier, the effect will end at dawn.
Shockwave: 2 points
You have the ability to dramatically move objects using supernatural
force. For 2 Blood, you can generate a powerful shockwave. You can
direct this shockwave into a cone shape coming from your hand or you
can have it project outward in every direction from your center of mass.
Anyone caught in the shockwave is thrown back several meters, knocked
from their feet, and stunned for 3d6 combat rounds. Light objects like
aluminum cans or paper may be blown a significant distance away. The
shockwave does not deal damage directly, but it could knock someone
into something that might, such as into a wood chipper or off a cliff. If
you are holding onto something that might be affected by this power,
such as grasping someone’s wrist, you must choose whether to grant the
held object immunity to the effect or to let go of it. You cannot exert
your body to work against your own powers.
Shroud: 1 point
You can control shadows. For
1 Blood, you can change the
shape of any shadow to be
anything you want. You can
expand or reduce the shadow
by 25% if desired. You can
reshape the shadow as often as
you wish. The shadow can be
dissolved by a powerful direct
source of light. The changes
you make will last until dawn.
Silence: 3 points
You can suppress sound. For 3 Blood, any sound that is made within 5
meters of you does not occur. If someone was standing right next to you
screaming, nobody would hear it. This effect lasts for 1 hour.
Silver: -1 point
You have a vulnerability to silver. All strength damage from silver
weapons is doubled. Vampires like you are responsible for the false-
confidence of hunters everywhere.
171
Sixth Sense: 2 points
You have a supernatural warning system to alert you of danger. You
cannot be ambushed, surprised, or otherwise taken advantage of. You
know when something isn’t right. You can always tell when something
strange is about to happen.
Solitary: -1 point
You prefer to operate on your own. All vampires are somewhat solitary
creatures, but this represents a more extreme version on this akin to an
anxiety disorder. Whenever stress is gained as a result of conversation,
you gain 1 additional point. You will also gain stress in a high density
environment like a nightclub or sports arena. The size of the stress
gained in these situations is subject to GM judgment. You also get +2 to
Autonomy.
Spirit Sight: 1 point
You can see incorporeal spirits. For 1 Blood, you can activate this power.
Any ghosts, spectres, shadows, or other types of incorporeal spirits
will now be visible to you. This does not confer any special ability to
communicate with or control them, but they might be surprised if you
start talking to them.
Summoning: 4 points
You can see summon spirits, demons, devils, elementals, and other
beings from alternative dimensions or planes. For 4 Blood, you can
summon a being of your choice, subject to setting appropriateness and
GM approval. This does not confer any special ability to communicate
with or control them. However, if you are able to do so, you may
negotiate and bargain with them for anything you wish. If they are
not bound or contained in some way, they could attack you if they are
sufficiently aggressive. If you spend eight hours drawing an intricate
pentagram on a flat surface, you can bind the summoned creature to
the surface area within the pentagram for the duration of the ritual. The
creature will return to their home at dawn unless you pay 1 additional
Blood to retain them.
Telepathy: 2 points
You are capable of communicating directly with another intelligent
being’s brain as if you had Telepathy. This does not grant them the
ability to communicate back, though having Reading could make thing
interesting. For 2 Blood, you can communicate with the mind of anyone
that you can see and focus on. This effect lasts for the entire night.
Temperamental: -2 points
You have an angry and violent disposition. Whenever stress is gained,
you gain 1 additional point with no ability to resist. This make it highly
likely that you will fall into a frenzy as if you were Berserk because a
vampire cannot experience a catatonic state either.
Toxicity: 2 points
Your blood is toxic to mortals. You can apply your blood to a weapon
and it will add additional Resilience damage to any attacks made with
it. For every 1 Blood applied to it, your weapon will deal 1 additional
Resilience damage to any mortal target. You can also pour your blood
into a liquid that a mortal is drinking, causing the same damage per
Blood applied. However, the taste difference can be detected. Vampires
with this power can create Ghouls and new vampires because the
moment the blood is transferred the target ceases to be mortal.
Transformation: 2 points
You can transform your body into an alternative form. You must pick
from the following forms; bat, cat, owl, raven, snake, or wolf. For 2
Blood, you can transform into an average size animal of that form. The
transformation process takes about 1 minute and cannot be made in
combat. If desired, you can always have the same appearance when you
transform. You can remain in this form until dawn. If you are dealt any
strength damage, you are immediately transformed back your normal
form. While transformed, you can only perform actions that a normal
animal of that type could perform (e.g. no talking), however you may
use vampiric powers provided they do not involve actions you cannot
perform. You cannot feed while transformed.
172
Unfazable: 2 points
You have a relaxed and calm disposition. You automatically resist the
first 2 Stress points from any source.
Vanish: 4 points
You can completely disappear. For 4 Blood, your body and anything you
are carrying can become completely invisible to any visual senses. This
effect does not extend to any other senses. You may be detected by other
senses, such as hearing. This effect lasts for 1 hour.
Velvet Caress: 2 points
You can give shadows a physical manifestation and manipulate them.
For 2 Blood, you can change a shadow into a substantive physical
material that feels like velvet to the touch. If you have Shroud, you can
reshape the shadow as desired without additional Blood cost. If you
envelope someone in the shadow, they can be suffocated by it. You can
use the shadow to block movement. The shadow can be dissolved by
a powerful direct source of light. The changes you make will last until
dawn unless you choose to end it earlier.
Ventriloquism: 1 point
You can create a compelling auditory illusion. For 1 Blood, you can
create the sounds of either a random human voice or your own voice as
if they are coming from another place. You can make the sound appear
to come from anywhere within 100 meters of your physical location.
This voice can say anything you wish in any language that you know. If
you have Mimic, you can duplicate a specific voice with this power. You
can continue to generate sounds in this way for up to five minutes.
Vice: -1 point
You have a powerful addiction to a particular type of activity or
substance. You must indulge this vice every night. Illicit drugs are
obviously a common choice, but you could be addicted to anything that
the GM allows; sex, pornography, video games, television, gambling,
food, pain, cutting, etc. If you fail to indulge your vice for at least an
hour in a given week, you gain 2 residual stress that cannot be removed
except by engaging in the vice as a form of relaxation. For example, if
you have a vice of gambling and fail to indulge it, to remove the residual
stress gained you must gamble for a number of hours as if you were
engaging in relaxation.
Vitality: 1 point
You are an early riser. You wake up one hour before sundown. You can
use this time however you wish, except of course to go outside into the
fading sunlight.
Water: -1 point
You cannot cross running water. Being around significant running water
(e.g. a river) causes stress gain appropriate for the volume of water,
subject to GM judgment.
173
Appendix C:
Race Templates

174
Human High Elf Dark Elf
Size Average 0 Size Average 0 Size Average 0
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Infinite 8 Lifespan Infinite 8
Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle None 4 Sleep Cycle None 4
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Normal 0 Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Restricted Infravision 5
Augments None 0 Augments None 0 Augments None 0
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened None 0 Heightened Hearing 2 Heightened Hearing 2
Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 0 Total 19 Total 19

Wood Elf Aquatic Elf Half-Elf

Size Average 0 Size Average 0 Size Average 0
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Undulation 6 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Cold Blooded -2 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Infinite 8 Lifespan Infinite 8 Lifespan Long 4
Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle None 4 Sleep Cycle None 4 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Tail 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Ultravision 3 Vision Ultravision 3 Vision Low-Light 5
Augments None 0 Augments None 0 Augments None 0
Lungs Gills 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened Hearing & Olfactory 5 Heightened Hearing 2 Heightened Hearing 2
Intelligence Berserk -2 Intelligence Berserk -2 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 18 Total 19 Total 11
175
Hill Dwarf Mtn Dwarf Deep Dwarf
Size Average 0 Size Average 0 Size Small -3
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Gonadal -3
Lifespan Long 4 Lifespan Long 4 Lifespan Long 4
Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Metaturnal 2
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Infravision 7 Vision Darkvision 10 Vision Darkvision 10
Augments None 0 Augments None 0 Augments None 0
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened None 0 Heightened None 0 Heightened Olfactory & Touch 7
Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 8 Total 11 Total 17

Goblin Gnome Halfling

Size Small -3 Size Small -3 Size Small -3
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Long 4 Lifespan Normal 0
Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Metaturnal 2 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Infravision 7
Augments Teeth 2 Augments None 0 Augments None 0
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened None 0 Heightened Olfactory 3 Heightened Olfactory 3
Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 3 Total 9 Total 7
176
Orc Half-Orc Kobold
Size Average 0 Size Average 0 Size Small -3
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Cold Blooded -2
Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Hermaphrodite -5
Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0
Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Nocturnal -2 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Metaturnal 2
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Infravision 7
Augments Teeth 2 Augments Teeth 2 Augments Teeth & Tail 3
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened Olfactory 3 Heightened Olfactory 3 Heightened Vision 5
Intelligence Berserk -2 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 3 Total 10 Total 7

Ogre Half-Ogre Hobgoblin

Size Large 3 Size Large 3 Size Large 3
Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Biped 0
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Hermaphrodite -5 Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Long 4 Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0
Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Metaturnal 2
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Feet 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Darkvision 10 Vision Darkvision 10 Vision Darkvision 10
Augments Teeth 2 Augments Teeth 2 Augments Teeth 2
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened None 0 Heightened None 0 Heightened None 0
Intelligence Atavistic -4 Intelligence Berserk -2 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 14 Total 14 Total 17
177
Snakefolk Lizardfolk Merfolk
Size Average 0 Size Average 0 Size Average 0
Locomotion Undulation 6 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Undulation 6
Blood Cold Blooded 2 Blood Cold Blooded -2 Blood Cold Blooded -2
Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Long 4 Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0
Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Nocturnal -2 Sleep Cycle Metaturnal 2 Sleep Cycle None 4
Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Claws 2 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Tail 0 Feet Feet 0 Feet Tail 0
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Normal 0 Vision Normal 0 Vision Ultravision 3
Augments Teeth 2 Augments Tail 1 Augments None 0
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Amphibious 3 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened Waves & Olfactory 4 Heightened Touch 4 Heightened None 0
Intelligence Atavistic -4 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 13 Total 11 Total 11

Apefolk Catfolk Centaur

Size Large 3 Size Average 0 Size Large 3
Locomotion Semi-Upright -3 Locomotion Biped 0 Locomotion Quadruped 4
Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0 Blood Warm Blooded 0
Gender Dimorphic 0 Gender Gonadal -3 Gender Dimorphic 0
Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0 Lifespan Normal 0
Diet Omnivore 0 Diet Carnivore 4 Diet Omnivore 0
Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0 Sleep Cycle Nocturnal -2 Sleep Cycle Diurnal 0
Skin Fur 1 Skin Fur 1 Skin Bare 0
Grip Thumb 0 Grip Claws 2 Grip Thumb 0
Feet Feet 0 Feet Claws 4 Feet Hooves 4
Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0 Language Expressive 0
Vision Normal 0 Vision Low-Light 5 Vision Normal 0
Augments Teeth 2 Augments Teeth & Tail 3 Augments Tail 1
Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0 Lungs Oxygen 0
Heightened Hearing 2 Heightened Olfactory 3 Heightened None 0
Intelligence Atavistic -4 Intelligence Sentient 0 Intelligence Sentient 0
Total 1 Total 17 Total 12
178
Appendix D:
Culture Templates

179
Hunter - Gatherer Inuit Tribes Ancient Babylon
Terrain Savannah 1 Terrain Ice 7 Terrain Plains 0
Power Anarchy 0 Power Anarchy 0 Power Theocracy 2
Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Tribal 0
Economy Nomadic 0 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Collapsed 0 Stability Collapsed 0 Stability Fractured 4
Position Isolated 0 Position Isolated 0 Position Major Power 3
Corruption Non-Existent 0 Corruption Non-Existent 0 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Infrequent 1 Warfare Infrequent 1 Warfare Common -1
Violence Defensive 0 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Shame 0 Crime Shame 0 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Animist 0 Religion Animist 0 Religion Polytheist 3
Magic Spirits 1 Magic Spirits 1 Magic Sacrifice 1
Education None 0 Education None 0 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 3 Total 10 Total 16

Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Achaemenid Persia

Terrain Desert 4 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Plains 0
Power Tyranny 1 Power Citizenship 4 Power Tyranny 1
Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty State 4 Loyalty Tribal 0
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Civil War 3 Stability Consistent 5
Position Major Power 3 Position Peripheral 1 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Advanced -3 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Common -1 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Defensive 0 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Defensive 0
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 16 Total 16 Total 17
180
Roman Republic Carthaginian Republic Roman Empire
Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Plains 0
Power Citizenship 4 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Patronage 1 Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Patronage 1
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fractured 4
Position Major Power 3 Position Peripheral 1 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Advanced -3 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Selective 2 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Polytheist 3
Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Sacrifice 1
Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 17 Total 15 Total 19

Visigoth Tribes Byzantine Empire Umayyad Caliphate

Terrain Forest 4 Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Plains 0
Power Tribal 1 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Theocracy 2
Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Patronage 1 Loyalty Religious 1
Economy Nomadic 0 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Collapsed 0 Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fractured 4
Position Minor Power 2 Position Imperial Power 5 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Advanced -3 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Aggressive 6 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2
Education None 0 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 21 Total 23 Total 22
181
Medieval Turks Medieval Venice Medieval Britons
Terrain Mountain 6 Terrain Island 1 Terrain Coastal 1
Power Tribal 1 Power Plutocracy 4 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Patronage 1 Loyalty Feudal 2
Economy Resource 1 Economy Niche 5 Economy Resource 1
Stability Civil War 3 Stability Consistent 5 Stability Fractured 4
Position Minor Power 2 Position Minor Power 2 Position Peripheral 1
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Advanced -3 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Frequent 0 Warfare Common -1
Violence Selective 2 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2
Education None 0 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 23 Total 26 Total 24

Medieval Franks Viking Norse Mongolian Empire

Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Plains 0
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Tribal 1 Power Tyranny 1
Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Tribal 0
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Nomadic 0
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fracture 4 Stability Fractured 4
Position Major Power 3 Position Isolated 0 Position Superpower 6
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Non-Existent 0 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Backward 7
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Selective 2 Violence Aggressive 6 Violence Aggressive 6
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Labor 2 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Animist 0
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Sacrifice & Runic 2 Magic Spirits 1
Education Elite 1 Education None 0 Education None 0
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 25 18 Total 25
182
Medieval China Medieval Japan Renaissance Italy
Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Coastal 1
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Feudal 2
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Civil War 3 Stability Fractured 4
Position Imperial Power 5 Position Minor Power 2 Position Minor Power 2
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Backward 7 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Frequent 0 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Frequent 0
Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Labor 2 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Philosophy 5 Religion Animist 0 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Spirits 1 Magic Prayer 2
Education Limited 3 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 25 Total 23 Total 26

Valois France Tudor England Habsburg Austria

Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Plains 0
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Feudal 2
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5
Position Major Power 3 Position Minor Power 2 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Uncompetitive 3 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Common -1 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Selective 2 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Labor 2 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2
Education Limited 3 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 29 Total 27 Total 27
183
Poland-Lithuania Grand Duchy of Moscow Ottoman Empire
Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Forest 4 Terrain Plains 0
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Religious 1 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Religious 1
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fractured 4 Stability Fractured 4
Position Major Power 3 Position Peripheral 1 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Uncompetitive 3 Technology Uncompetitive 3 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Labor 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2
Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 26 Total 29 Total 23

Spanish Empire Caribbean Natives Mayan Kingdoms

Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Island 1 Terrain Jungle 7
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Anarchy 0 Power Theocracy 2
Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Tribal 0 Loyalty Religious 1
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Collapsed 0 Stability Consistent 5
Position Imperial Power 5 Position Isolated 0 Position Isolated 0
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Non-Existent 0 Corruption Inconsequential 1
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Backward 7 Technology Backward 7
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Infrequent 1 Warfare Common -1
Violence Selective 2 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Shame 0 Crime Shame 0
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Animist 0 Religion Polytheist 3
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Spirits 1 Magic Sacrifice 1
Education Elite 1 Education None 0 Education None 0
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 25 Total 11 Total 29
184
Aztec Empire Incan Empire Bourbon France
Terrain Forest 4 Terrain Mountains 6 Terrain Plains 0
Power Theocracy 2 Power Theocracy 2 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty Religious 1 Loyalty Religious 1 Loyalty Dictator 3
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5
Position Isolated 0 Position Isolated 0 Position Imperial Power 5
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Overwhelming 4
Technology Backward 7 Technology Backward 7 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Aggressive 6 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Shame 0 Crime Shame 0 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Polytheist 3 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Sacrifice 1 Magic Prayer 2
Education None 0 Education None 0 Education Limited 3
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 28 Total 27 Total 35

Dutch Republic Swedish Empire Tsarist Russia

Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Forest 4 Terrain Forest 4
Power Plutocracy 4 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3
Loyalty State 4 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty Dictator 3
Economy Niche 5 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Established 6 Stability Established 6 Stability Fractured 4
Position Major Power 3 Position Major Power 3 Position Major Power 3
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Overwhelming 4
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Uncompetitive 3
Warfare Frequent 0 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2
Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Prayer 2
Education Limited 3 Education Limited 3 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 34 Total 34 Total 34
185
Mughal Empire Ming China British Colonies
Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1
Power Caste 2 Power Caste 2 Power Citizenship 4
Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty State 4
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Fractured 4 Stability Established 6 Stability Consistent 5
Position Imperial Power 5 Position Imperial Power 5 Position Colonial 2
Corruption Overwhelming 4 Corruption Overwhelming 4 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Uncompetitive 3 Technology Uncompetitive 3 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Frequent 0 Warfare Frequent 0
Violence Aggressive 6 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Restitution 1 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Philosophy 5 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Elite 1 Education Limited 3 Education Limited 3
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 34 Total 32 Total 31

French Colonies Spanish Colonies Dutch Colonies

Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Coastal 1
Power Aristocracy 3 Power Aristocracy 3 Power Plutocracy 4
Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty Feudal 2 Loyalty State 4
Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1 Economy Resource 1
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5
Position Colonial 2 Position Colonial 2 Position Colonial 2
Corruption Overwhelming 4 Corruption Overwhelming 4 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Common -1
Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Restitution 1 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Limited 3 Education Elite 1 Education Limited 3
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 31 Total 29 Total 31
186
 British Empire Napoleonic France Antebellum South
Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Plains 0
Power Merit 5 Power Merit 5 Power Racial Purity 5
Loyalty State 4 Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty State 4
Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Fractured 4 Stability Consistent 5
Position Imperial Power 5 Position Imperial Power 5 Position Minor Power 2
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Overwhelming 4 Corruption Overwhelming 4
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Frequent 0 Warfare Constant -2 Warfare Infrequent 1
Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Repressive -1
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Limited 3 Education Common 5 Education Elite 1
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 33 Total 37 Total 33

Manifest Destiny USA United States Soviet Union

Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Plains 0
Power Citizenship 4 Power Merit 5 Power Party 4
Loyalty State 4 Loyalty State 4 Loyalty State 4
Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Fractured 4 Stability Consistent 5
Position Minor Power 2 Position Superpower 6 Position Superpower 6
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Overwhelming 4
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Advanced -3 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Infrequent 1 Warfare Infrequent 1 Warfare Frequent 0
Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Philosophy 5
Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Limited 3 Education Universal 7 Education Universal 7
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 32 Total 38 Total 41
187
Nazi Germany Empire of Japan Post-War Japan
Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Coastal 1 Terrain Coastal 1
Power Racial Purity 5 Power Party 4 Power Merit 5
Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty State 4
Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5 Stability Consistent 5
Position Major Power 3 Position Major Power 3 Position Major Power 3
Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Advanced -3 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Advanced -3
Warfare Common -1 Warfare Common -1 Warfare Rare 2
Violence Selective 2 Violence Selective 2 Violence Defensive 0
Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Traditional 0 Sexuality Open 2
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Philosophy 5 Religion Science 9
Magic Prayer 2 Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Universal 7 Education Universal 7 Education Universal 7
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 34 Total 34 Total 39

European Union Saudi Arabia Israel

Terrain Plains 0 Terrain Desert 4 Terrain Desert 4
Power Merit 5 Power Theocracy 2 Power Merit 5
Loyalty State 4 Loyalty Dictator 3 Loyalty State 4
Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2 Economy Industrial 2
Stability Consistent 5 Stability Established 6 Stability Established 6
Position Major Power 3 Position Minor Power 2 Position Minor Power 2
Corruption Prevalent 2 Corruption Inconsequential 1 Corruption Prevalent 2
Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0 Technology Competitive 0
Warfare Rare 2 Warfare Rare 2 Warfare Frequent 0
Violence Defensive 0 Violence Defensive 0 Violence Selective 2
Sexuality Open 2 Sexuality Repressive -1 Sexuality Open 2
Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2 Crime Imprisonment 2
Religion Science 9 Religion Monotheist 6 Religion Monotheist 6
Magic Superstitious 0 Magic Prayer 2 Magic Superstitious 0
Education Universal 7 Education Universal 7 Education Universal 7
Skill None 0 Skill None 0 Skill None 0
Total 41 Total 38 Total 40
188
Appendix E:
Example of Play

189
Embassy Escape
This is an example of solo play. The character, Jaime, is suffering from Alyssa: I have a Focus of 5 and Awareness. So I am rolling 1 die right?
amnesia and lost in Switzerland. She has recovered her ID as a US
National and a sizeable amount of money. She just had an altercation Sherry: That’s right.
with the local police and sought refuge in the US Embassy. She is aware
of her combat skills, but does not remember how she got them. Alyssa: [Rolls 1 die: result of 3]

Sherry: You come Participants Player Character Sherry: You catch the end of the conversation. It appears that he is
through the main doors GM Sherry - being denied help because he can’t prove his current residency. He
and find yourself in a appears to be homeless.
Player Alyssa Jaime
large open room. There
are a series of booths Statistics Alyssa: Well, I guess I have no chance here then, since I can’t prove
manned by embassy staff and residency either. I look around again to see if I notice anything else that
Synapse 7
a line of people waiting to be is interesting.
helped. What do you want to do? Cognition 4
Spatial 5 Sherry: You see a man talking on a phone to someone else in hushed
Alyssa: I will get in the line. How Empathy 4 tones. He is scanning the room while he is talking as if he is looking for
many people are in front of me? Focus 5 someone.
Strength 5
Sherry: Six other people. Alyssa: That’s not good. OK, I need to get out of here. I drop out of
line, keep my head down, and try to leave.
Alyssa: How long does it look like I will be standing here?
Sherry: You almost make it to the door before the man who was on
Sherry: You don’t really know that because you don’t know how long it the phone calls out for you to stop where you are. Two embassy guards
takes to help each person. who were standing by the door move to stop you. You hear the sound of
handcuffs being pulled out.
Alyssa: OK. I will just wait then. While I am waiting, I look around
and see if I can eavesdrop on anyone. Alyssa: Argh... OK. I drop my bag and hold my hands out to show that
I am unarmed.
Sherry: You see a man at one of the windows who is getting upset with
the staff member he is talking to. Sherry: The guards move to grab you. One puts his hand on your
shoulder. You think he is about to handcuff you.
Alyssa: I will try to listen in on that. Is that possible?

Sherry: Make an Awareness roll with a Difficulty of 2.

190
Alyssa: I am not going to let this happen. Where are they exactly?
Sherry: They are both about the same distance away, within three or
four feet. The man with the phone is coming towards you and appears
to be drawing his gun.
Alyssa: I’m going to attack them.
Sherry: Alright, we are going to start the first Combat Round then.
They are surprised that you are resisting due to the fact that you are
unarmed and there are people with guns nearby. So you are the only one
who can act this round, I just hope you know what you are doing.
Alyssa: OK. I should get three attacks. I have a Synapse of 7 and each
attack requires a minimum weight of 2. I can make three attacks this
round and they should be unable to stop me, right?
Sherry: Right
Alyssa: First, I am going to grab this guy who has his hand on my
shoulder and start a grapple on him. Then I am going to punch the
other guy to knock him out of the fight. Then I am going to throw the
first guard in the way of the guy with the phone.
Sherry: Alright. These guys aren’t going to be able to react. The guy
who already has his hands on your shoulder is an easy grapple because
he is off balance, so roll against a Difficulty of 1.
Alyssa: OK, I am going to roll Fighting Unarmed. That is a Balance
skill and I have Balance. So I don’t need to roll any dice. I just need to
add together my Strength of 5 and Spatial of 5. So I have a margin of
success of 10. That should pin him, I bet.
Sherry: He can’t react anyway, so yeah. This guy is totally under your
control now, consider him effectively pinned.
Alyssa: Good. Ok, now I am going to hit this other guy.
Sherry: There is a Difficulty of 3 because you are grappling the other
guard, though you easily beat that. You are comparing to a 10 right, 5
strength + 5 spatial? So with both the skill and the talent, you are only
rolling 1 die.
Alyssa: That’s right. [Rolls 1 die: result of 5] A hit!
Sherry: He takes 2 Endurance damage because you have a Strength of
5. That is enough to knock him down but he is not unconscious.
Alyssa: Okay, now I am going to throw this other guy into the path of
the guy with the phone.
Sherry: You don’t even need to roll for that, you have a great grip on
him. You slide the guard into his stomach as he approaches and he leans
forward off balance. That’s the end of the first combat round.
Alyssa: OK. What are these guys doing next round?
Sherry: The guard you threw is stunned for now. The other guard is a
little confused as to why he is laying on the ground. The man with the
gun looks like he is trying to shoot you.
Alyssa: Well, I don’t want to kill this guy, so I am going to reach out
and grab his gun, then yank it out of his hand. Then I am going to grab
him and throw him as well.
Sherry: Let’s save some time and just say you do that. These guys are
too slow to stop you. You easily take the gun from him and throw him
on the ground. They all put their hands up like they are surrendering.
Combat is over for now. You hear some more guards coming from the
other side of the door.
Alyssa: I point the gun at the door and glance around for an escape
route. I need to get out of this place.
191
Sherry: You see a door off to the right. You have no idea where it leads.
You cannot see the rest of the room clearly because all the civilians are
screaming and running around. It is chaos in here.
Alyssa: I am going to start moving towards the door while pointing my
gun at the main entrance.
Sherry: Two more guards come bursting through the door.
Alyssa: I don’t shoot. I tell them to back away.
Sherry: Alright, they step back through the door and close it.
Alyssa: OK. I grab my bag and run over to that side door.
Sherry: You burst through the door and see you in the middle of a
wide hallway. There is a door marked Stairwell just ahead of you down
the hall on the right side. There are a few people in here but they are
confused civilians running away from you because they saw you had a
gun in your hand.
Alyssa: I look around for a trash can or something. I want to get rid of
this gun. I don’t want to get shot because I am carrying a gun.
Sherry: You see a flip-lid trash can in a nook off the hallway.
Alyssa: I drop it in there. Then I am going to head down the hall to
that stairwell.
Sherry: When you reach the bottom of the stairs, a man with a gun in
his hand is standing at the top of the steps talking into a headpiece. You
can see he is wearing an earpiece as well. He is dressed like the guy who
tried to stop you just a few moments ago. He doesn’t see you yet, he is
paying attention to the conversation on the earpiece.
Alyssa: Argh! I wish I kept the gun now... OK, I am going to try to run
up the stairs at him and try to get the jump on him before he realizes
what is happening.
Sherry: Too late. He notices you just as you start up the steps and turns
to face you. The first combat round has started and he is not surprised.
He has a lower Synapse than you, so he has to declare first. You see that
he is raising his gun to shoot you.
Alyssa: I’m going to punch him in the groin, then push him down the
steps. I am going to give the punch a weight of 5 and the push a weight
of 2. I doubt he can beat a 5.
Sherry: He can’t, but there is a Difficulty of 3 to hit him because you
just ran up the steps and you are off balance.
Alyssa: OK [Rolls 1 die: result of 4] A hit!
Sherry: You punch him in the groin and he groans painfully.
Alyssa: OK. So I throw him down the steps?
Sherry: Yes. He makes a sickening crunch, then slides down limply.
Alyssa: Oops... I didn’t mean to hurt him that bad.
Sherry: You threw him down the steps, what did you expect?
Alyssa: OK, I admit I was a little reckless. I drop back down to him and
take off his earpiece. I want to put it on myself and listen in. It might
help to have a little more information about what they are doing.
Sherry: You hear them giving a general alert for all unassigned guards
to report to the Armory immediately. A loud klaxon is now blaring
throughout the whole building.
Alyssa: Uh oh. That’s not good. Okay, I go back up the steps and start
looking around.
192
Sherry: The stairwell doesn’t continue up to a third level. You open the
door, step out into a corridor, and see the embassy staff going into their
offices and closing the doors. Which direction do you want to go?
Alyssa: Ah! I have no idea where I am. Oh, I got an idea! Is there a fire
escape map on the wall or something?
Sherry: Yes. You find one just a few feet from the stairwell door. It is a
decent map of the building.
Alyssa: I need to get out of here. I guess the roof is my best bet. How
do I get up to the roof. Obviously, I can’t take this stairwell.
Sherry: Let’s make a Deduction roll to figure out which way to go
based on the map.
Alyssa: Oh no, I don’t have Deduction and only a Cognition of 4. What
is the Difficulty?
Sherry: Don’t worry, it’s only a 1. The map is designed to be read in a
high pressure situation, it is for evacuations.
Alyssa: OK [Rolls 1 die: result of 2]
Sherry: You are pretty sure based on this map there is a stairwell at the
end of this hall that will take you up three more levels, then you can
take an access ladder up onto the roof from a maintenance room.
Alyssa: OK. I move down the hall pretty quick and get up that
stairwell.
Sherry: You have no problems. All the staff is fleeing into their offices.
You climb up a ladder and into a small alcove with a steel door that
looks like it leads towards the roof exit. There is a padlock on the door
and it is locked. You can hear on the radio that they are clearing the
levels one by one. It sounds like they are on the third level right now.
Alyssa: Uh... I look around. Is there anything I can use to break off the
padlock?
Sherry: Well, there is a fire extinguisher on the wall. It is pretty heavy.
Alyssa: Good. I’m going to try to smash the lock with it then. What
talent should I use? Can I use the fire extinguisher to give me a bonus
to my roll?
Sherry: Make a Balance roll against a Difficulty of 4. The fire
extinguishers acts like having 1 more Strength and you can add
Strength to this roll.
Alyssa: Alright, so I am trying to beat 11 with three dice, since I have
Balance. [Rolls 3 dice: result of 10] Barely made it!
Sherry: The lock falls off. You swing open the door and you are in some
kind of airflow room for the ventilation system. There is another door
that is labeled as an exit.
Alyssa: I want to open it and go outside.
Sherry: It it a pretty flimsy metal door, but it appears to be stuck. You
hear on the radio that they are on the fourth level now.
Alyssa: Ah! Out of time. Let’s just kick it open I guess.
Sherry: Make a Balance roll against a Difficulty of 2.
Alyssa: [Rolls 1 dice: result of 6] BAM!
Sherry: The door bounces open and you feel the cold wind from
outside flow over you. However, you are not on the roof. You are on
some kind of fire escape. There is a hole and a ladder going down, but it
has been broken off about three feet down. The whole place is covered
in snow. There is no easy way down from here.
193
Alyssa: Yikes, can I jump up to the roof from here at least?
Sherry: No, you need another three feet of reach to grab the edge of
the roof, assuming you can pull yourself up.
Alyssa: Can I stand on the railing of this thing?
Sherry: Yes. It is slick though.
Alyssa: Well, not much choice I guess. I will try to stand on the railing
and grab the roof.
Sherry: You pull yourself up and get a grip on the roof with one hand
just as the railing gives way and breaks off unconnected from the wall.
You are holding your bag in the other hand. You would have to drop it
to grab on with both hands or risk falling.
Alyssa: I guess I will let go of the bag and grab on. Bye bye money.
Sherry: You are able to get a good grip now.
Alyssa: No Climbing roll?
Sherry: You need to make one if you want to move around. Just
hanging there, no.
Alyssa: OK, I am going to drop back onto the fire escape. Can I do
that?
Sherry: Yes. It shakes a little, but apart from that one side that you
pulled out of the wall, it is holding on.
Alyssa: Good. I want to look down through the hole in the floor. The
ladder is seriously broken off? What kind of crappy place is this?
Sherry: Yeah. It looks like someone cut it off intentionally with a
blowtorch. You notice that there is a small ledge underneath the fire
escape though. You might be able to stand on it and hide from anyone
that opens the door. Maybe even climb down the wall...
Alyssa: Alright, let’s do that. I have Rock Climbing, will that help?
Sherry: Yeah. That works. Difficulty is 4.
Alyssa: Oh well, this could end badly. So I am trying to beat 11 with
two dice, since I have Balance and Rock Climbing. No Box Cars!
[Rolls 2 dice: result of 8] Yes!
Sherry: Good job. You pull yourself onto the ledge just as you head
footsteps approaching and then suddenly the door flies open.
Alyssa: Ah! I freeze!
Sherry: You hear some shuffling of feet and the metal of the fire escape
groans a little bit, but after a few seconds they pull back inside and the
door closes.
Alyssa: YEAH! It worked!
Sherry: Don’t count your blessings yet, you still need to get down.
Alyssa: OK, can I climb down from here?
Sherry: Yeah. Make three successive Climbing rolls against a difficulty
of 4 each time.
Alyssa: Sure. [Rolls and succeeds] [Rolls and succeeds] [Rolls and
succeeds] Awesome!
Sherry: Alright, you make it down without falling.
194
Alyssa: Where is my bag? Alyssa: Let’s press our luck. I have 4 Empathy. but not Persuasion. So I
have to get 8 or less. Difficulty?
Sherry: Just a few feet away. No problem.
Sherry: 2
Alyssa: *sighs* First bit of good news all day. Let’s get out of here before
they come looking for me. What does it look like around here? Alyssa: [Rolls 2 dice: result of 7]

Sherry: You are in a side alley off the main street. Around a hundred
feet away down the alley, you see the homeless guy that was denied help
in the embassy packing some things into the back of his car.
Alyssa: Well, I’m definitely not going out onto the main street. I want
to go down the alley and talk to the guy.
Sherry: You walk up and he looks over at you nervously.
Alyssa: OK, I am going to say, Hi, my name is Jamie. I heard you in the
embassy. I think we can help each other.
Sherry: What do you mean?
Alyssa: Well, you need money and I need a ride. I will give you $10,000 to
give me a ride to Paris.
Sherry: He looks at the money for a long moment and then sighs.
Okay, it’s a deal.
Alyssa: AWESOME! Paris, here we come!
Closing Thoughts
As you could see in this example, if you are performing actions at
which you are skilled and/or talented, you can succeed fairly easily.
When you step outside of your comfort zone, you start to risk failure.
This example also illustrates the speed of resolution, both in combat
and outside of it. Synapse is designed in a way that you put your time
into developing the character before you arrive at the table to play.
The actual game plays out quite quickly, facilitating an action-packed
experience and allows enjoyable storytelling.

Sherry: Wow, that’s a little extreme. Game on!

Alyssa: Hey, shock and awe, baby!

Sherry: Yeah, sure. I’m assuming we are heading into a Persuasion roll
here? Appealing to... Acquisition?

Alyssa: You betcha. Hehehe

Sherry: OK, he really needs the money. You get a +4 to your attribute
for choosing that motivation. He is still hesitant though and worried
that you are trying to trick him with the cash.

195
 Player Name Trust Points
Character Name
Species Languages
Morality Type

Attributes Talents Motivations Skills Talent Experience

Synapse Deception Reaction Judgment

Absolution
Cognition Knowledge Deduction Innovation
Achievement
Spatial Trajectory Balance Dexterity
Acquisition
Empathy Impression Persuasion Seduction
Stability Bravery Toughness Willpower Affiliation
Focus Awareness Precision Multitasking Aggression
Magnetism Eccentricity Inspiration Presence Autonomy
Circle Exceptional Talents, Strike Out Awkward
Blame Avoidance
Current Max Construction
Strength Comfortable Carrying Capacity Cooperation
Endurance Maximum Carrying Capacity
Dominance
Resilience Walking Movement Rate
Exhibition
Mana Running Movement Rate
Exposition
Essence Breath Holding Maximum

Blood Stress Obligation

Vigor Residual Stress Order
Play
Notes:
Recognition
Rejection
Retention
Revenge
Security
Sensuality
Understanding

196
Biology Life XP Connections Unspent Points
Size Beauty
Locomotion Parents
Blood Siblings
Gender Social Status
Lifespan Starting Age
Diet Suffering
Sleep Cycle Exposure
Skin Education
Grip Training
Feet Training
Language Magic
Vision Total
Augments
Lungs
Heightened
Motivation Calculations
Intelligence
Absolution 1+
Total
Achievement 1+
Culture Rollover 1/4th Acquisition 1+

Terrain Affiliation 1+
Aggression 1+
Power
Autonomy 1+
Loyalty
Blame Avoidance 1+
Economy
Construction 1+
Stability
Cooperation 1+
Position Dominance 1+
Corruption Exhibition 1+
Technology Exposition 1+
Warfare Obligation 1+

Violence Order 1+
Play 1+
Sexuality
Recognition 1+
Crime
Rejection 1+
Religion
Retention 1+
Magic
Revenge 1+
Education Security 1+
Skill Sensuality 1+
Total Understanding 1+
Roll unspent points into Connections
197
Magic Powers Description Target Duration Mana Cost Essence

Vampiric Powers Description Blood Cost Vigor Damage Reduction

Armor Total

Slashing 2+
Impact 4+
Penetration 3+
Energy 0+
Shrapnel 4+
Explosive 0+

198
Weapons Damage Parry Bonus Range Ammunition Size Value Weight

Equipment Value Weight Shield Block

x2

Damage Reduction
Slashing
Impact
Penetration
Energy
Shrapnel
Explosive

Currency Property Type Upkeep Accumulated Profits Point Value

Amount

199
 Enjoy this Game?
Then check out my other free games!

Click on the Logos below to go to the Dark Horse Game Design blog for a direct download

200