Silver Fingers (Growing Affliction) the cult’s exact nature.

Characterised by
The character develops an uncontrollable
urge to steal things, Triggered by any easy
opportunity; pass a Will Check or spend 1
Grip, or else attempt to steal it.
Solace In The Bottle (Growing Affliction)
The character develops reliance on drugs or
alcohol to dull their mind. If resting with-
out partaking, the character must pass a
Will Check to regenerate any Vigour or
Grip. While addled they are Against The
Odds for Wit Checks relying on sudden re-
actions, but have the Upper Hand on Grip
Checks triggered by a monster or environ-
ment.
The Glorious Blaze (Growing Affliction)
The character develops a love for the thrill
of arson. The Glorious Blaze is Triggered
by a good opportunity to set something on
fire. Pass a Will Check or spend 1 Grip or
else attempt to set it on fire. Recover 1 ad-
ditional Vigour if a rest is spent lovingly
watching a burning fire, gazing at its silky,
luscious descent into embers.
They Are Watching (Character Flaw)
The character develops a belief the world is
secretly run by a cult, secret society or or-
ganisation run by humans or demi-hu-
mans, demons, ancient gods or aliens. All
players should take a minute brainstorming
Injuries
D6 1 2
general paranoia, strange tricks to avoid
persecution and detection or checking other
creatures for obscure details to reveal their
inhumanity or shadowy cult membership.
Unholy Communion (Special Affliction)
The character is contacted through dreams
and visions by a Cinderbeast, Herald, Beyon-
der or other supernatural force offering
power in exchange for service. This entails
either service to a powerful, evil being or a
destructive rebuke. The next time they gain
an Advancement they must take Eldritch
Pact, or permanently reduce their maximum
Grip to 5 as they are wracked by their an-
gered patron’s psychic vengeance.
Injuries
Characters can take an Injury at any time
provided there is narrative justification such
as a failed Stat Check or severe combat dam-
age.
Voluntary Injuries reset your Grip to 5.
Characters also suffer an Injury upon taking
6 damage from a single die, or from some
Weapons, Advancements or Adaptations.
This does not restore any Grip.
Roll a D3 and a D6 on the table to determine
a random Injury.
3
Zini 5: Consequences
Published by SoulMuppet Publishing (www.soulmuppet.co.uk)
Written by Zachary Cox and Nicholas Spence | Art by Ben Brown | Layout by Lone Archivist
Editing by Vi Huntsman (MRC), Fiona Geist (MRC), and James M Hewitt
nate events in the Crypt or means of coping
with the Crypt’s weird and terrible obsta-
cles.
Consequences are divided into Injuries
(physical wounds) and Afflictions (delu-
sions and mental health issues) developed
due to the Crypt’s terrifying and mind-
bending inhabitants and environments.
You can develop an Affliction at any point
outside combat. Injuries, however, happen
when narratively justified, such as a failed
Stat Check or combat damage.
Roleplaying characters who develop draw-
backs from Cryptdigging is great fun.
Knowing why your Veteran is an alcoholic
makes pretending easier. Remembering
when your Cultist lost their hand only
makes victories in spite of it deeper.

Take an Affliction without

You are Dead (a monster loses
1 regaining any Grip (a monster
2D6 Vigour instead)
Loose an arm or hand. Two
2 handed tasks are Against the
Odds or Impossible.
3 -1 Brawn
4 Lose D3 Vigour
Attacks are Against the Odds for
5 5 minutes, or until Combat ends,
whichever is sooner.
You are Unconscious (a monster
loses 2D6 Vigour instead)
Loose a foot or leg. Moving a
Zone takes two rounds. Tasks
requiring bipedalism are Against
the Odds or Impossible.
-1 Wit
Lose D3 Vigour
Stat Checks are Against the Odds
for 5 minutes, or until Combat
ends, whichever is sooner.
Afflictions
Voluntarily taking an Affliction resets Grip
loses 2D6 Vigour instead)
to 10. Roll a D3 and a D6 on the table to de-
Lose an eye. Observation Checks termine a random Affliction, or talk with
relying on sight are Against the
the Doomsayer to pick one that’s themati-
Odds.
cally appropriate.
-1 Will
There are three Affliction types:
Lose D3 Grip
Character Flaws
Observation Checks are Against
the Odds for 5 minutes, or until Growing Afflictions
Combat ends, whichever is Special Afflictions
sooner.

6 No Effect No Effect No Effect

Character Flaws
A Character Flaw relies on delusion and so-
cial roleplaying. If a player fails to roleplay
a Character Flaw properly (Hoardlust
afflicted character giving money to beggars
or Despair of Worthiness afflicted charac-
ter appearing confident or arrogant), the
Doomsayer should warn them before de-
ducting Grip points for unchanged behav-
ior. A Character Flaw is a manifestation of
psychological trauma, not a cheap and easy
means of recovering Grip, and should not
be misused.
If you roll a Character Flaw the character
already has, roleplay it as worsening (with
increased Grip Costs for failure) or re-roll.
Growing Afflictions
Growing Afflictions usually involve rolling
Will Checks to avoid certain behaviours.
When a character first develops a Growing
Affliction, the associated Will Checks are
with the Upper Hand. If the character takes
the same Growing Affliction a second time,
the Will Checks are taken normally. A third
time, the Will Checks are Against The
Odds, and a fourth time the Will Checks
become Impossible. A character this psy-
chologically damaged should probably be
retired for a new character.
Growing Afflictions often have Triggers.
Some are Triggered by interaction with an
environment, monster or opportunity. For
example, Silver Fingers entails compulsive
theft and is Triggered whenever there’s
something easily stolen. The Doomsayer or
the player may suggest a Trigger, as can
other players—but don’t expect to keep
your friends for long if you’re regularly
pointing out their character’s Afflictions.
For some Afflictions, such as Bitter Grudge
or Debilitating Dread, the player and
Doomsayer decide on the Trigger. It should
be something relating to a monster or envi-
ronmental feature they’ve faced recently,
ideally one they spent a large amount of
Grip fighting or surviving.
Special Afflictions
Special Afflictions have mechanical effects
but do not revolve around Will Checks.
Characters cannot develop the same Spe-
cial Affliction more than once. If you roll a
Special Affliction you already have, re-roll.
List of Afflictions
Bitter Grudge (Growing Affliction)
The afflicted develops an encompassing
hatred of a certain monster type or foe.
When Triggered, roll a successful Will
Check or spend 1 Grip. If you do not, the
afflicted is Against The Odds when at-
tempting any actions other than attacking
and destroying the Trigger.
Brittle Minded (Special Affliction)
The character is rocked and half broken by
repeated exposure to horrors. All future
Grip Checks are Against The Odds.
Debilitating Dread (Growing Affliction)
The character develops an irrational (or
highly rational) fear of a certain environ-
ment, monster type or foe, which can re-
duce them to a shivering wreck. When
Triggered you must roll a successful Will
Check or spend 1 Grip or the afflicted is
Against The Odds attempting any actions
save running and hiding from the Trigger
until the threat passes.
Deep Despair (Character Flaw)
The character develops a deep and fore-
boding sense of self hatred characterised by
meekness, inaction or lack of confidence.
They undersell their abilities and lack mo-
tivation.
Feasting Dreams (Growing Affliction)
The character develops persistent, harsh
and terrifying nightmares. Regenerating
Vigour or Grip from sleep or rest requires a
successful Will Check.
Frothing Rage (Growing Affliction)
The character develops fits of uncontrol-
lable anger in battle. When combat starts,
pass a Will Check or spend 1 Grip to resist
the rage. Otherwise, the character must
spend the whole combat attacking relent-
lessly, spending Grip on their strongest at-
tacks and abilities to destroy the present
foe. During this time, all melee attacks have
the Upper Hand, but the Doomsayer will
not allow tactical or coordinated actions.
Guided By The Gods (Character Flaw)
The character develops a belief that a di-
vine figure—a Herald, Cinderbeast, Beyon-
der, one of their masters or something else
entirely—has chosen them to fulfil some
sacred quest or mission. Characterised by
self-righteousness, arrogance or belief that
divine providence guides their actions and
they can do no wrong. The divine isn’t nec-
essarily real.
Hoardlust (Character Flaw)
The character develops an unhealthy love
for gold and treasure, sometimes called
Dragon-Sickness, characterised by selfish-
ness, mercenary behavior and avarice.
Cryptdigging leaves some hollow, reducing
their desires to accumulating money and
material wealth. To gather worldly posses-
sions they are prepared to backstab or be-
tray others. Given the choice of saving an
ally or escaping with treasure, they un-
equivocally take the money and run.
I Am The Fire (Character Flaw)
The character develops arrogant confi-
dence in their abilities, belief they are more
skilled than any Cryptdigger or Crypt-
Thing. They might dismiss even their com-
panions’ sagest advice as, naturally, their
plan is superior. They might even mock and
patronise their fellow allies with character-
istic arrogance, selfishness and abusive-
ness.
I Shall Be Clean (Growing Affliction)
The character develops a neurotic hatred
for dirt, filth, slime, blood and the Crypt’s
other unclean elements. Each night they
sleep without somehow bathing or cleans-
ing themselves, they must pass a Will
Check to regenerate any Vigour or Grip.
Lost And Without Hope (Character Flaw)
The character has seen too much evil in the
Crypt, they’ve realised the world is
doomed, and before society collapses they
must prepare for the Apocalypse. They
must repent for their sins and purify their
bodies and souls by mutilating themselves
with tattoos or piercings or deliberate
wounds. Characterised by a lack of respect
for their own mortality, apathy to the con-
sequences of their actions or long, hazy
endtime rants to any listener.
Love of the Dirt (Growing Affliction)
The character develops a hatred of cleanli-
ness and order, a refusal to clean and a love
of wallowing in dirt, filth, blood, slime and
the Crypt’s other unclean elements. Even-
tually, their body begins decaying. For each
instance of this Affliction they become in-
creasingly disgusting to interact with and
are Against The Odds for Wit Checks to in-
teract with non-hostile creatures. They
might also be barred from certain social
environments outside the Crypt. Whenever
they try to rest after somehow being bathed
or cleansed, they must pass a Will Check to
regenerate any Vigour or Grip.
Man-Eater (Growing Affliction)
The character develops a taste for human
or demi-human flesh and blood. If resting
without consuming human or demi-human
flesh they must pass a Will Check to regen-
erate any Vigour or Grip. Obviously, canni-
bals are hunted down and killed by society,
so this is usually hidden—no one wants
their Cryptdigging companions to eat their
corpses.