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 Tormented First Edition

Written by
Rob Leigh

With contributions from

Paul Baker
David Cartwright
Nik Weston
Kai Grosskopf
Ross Fifield
Troy Healy

Original artwork by
Peter Paul Rubens
Gustave Doré
Louis Le Breton
Harry Clarke

©2019 Rob Leigh. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission by the author is expressly
denied, except for the purpose of reviews.

Mention of or reference to any companies or products in these pages is not a challenge to the trademarks or
copyrights concerned.

All artwork used in this book is in the public domain.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of
the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is
purely coincidental.
 Contents

Introduction 4

Chapter 1: Damnation 6

Chapter 2: The Twelve Hells 10

Chapter 3: A multitude of devils 28

Chapter 4: Rules of the game 34

Chapter 5: Scars 42

Chapter 6: Character generation 48

Chapter 7: Storytelling 56

Chapter 8: Denizens of the Twelve Hells 78

Character Sheets 86
Death was only
the beginning...
You are one of the Tormented; a soul
condemned to the Twelve Hells for
crimes you no longer remember. For time
immemorial you have been damned;
tortured and twisted by the punishments of
your captors, until you no longer remember
or even resemble your past self. The agonies
you have suffered have left you scarred, but
from those scars you now draw strange and
terrible powers.
But all is not well in the Twelve Hells. A
civil war has erupted between the Fiend
Lords that hold dominion over the realms.
In the chaos and disruption you have
broken free of your prison.
Can you escape the Twelve Hells?
Do you even want to?
Do you instead seek revenge on your
captors, or will you use your newfound
powers and freedom to install yourself as a
new Lord of Hell?
A Roleplaying Game of
Gothic Horror
Tormented is a Gothic Horror roleplaying
game inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy
and Milton’s Paradise Lost. It also draws
inspiration from more contemporary
sources, such as the Diablo and Dark Souls
4
computer game series.
You play a once-mortal soul now imbued
with strange and terrible abilities as a
result of your prolonged torment in Hell.
Characters in Tormented are monstrous
creatures, but they are trapped in a
monstrous world, surrounded by even more
terrible fiends.
It is intended to be a storytelling game in
which a group of friends come together to
tell stories of loss, revenge, guilt, repentance
and redemption. Tormented is called a
game of Gothic Horror as the setting and
themes are intended to evoke the thrill and
fear of the unknown, the growing horror
of no longer being truly human, and the
concept of being damned for crimes you can
no longer remember.
What will I need?
At a minimum you will need two people;
one to be the Storyteller and the others to
be the players.
You will need several 6-sided dice (referred
to herein as d6) for each person, some
pens or pencils, and some paper. A good
imagination is helpful.
A word about this game
Let’s be up front about this; this is a
game set in Hell, in which you play
people condemned to Hell for crimes they
committed in life; games in Tormented are
intended to be explorations of horror, loss of
self, guilt, and repentance. Before you and
your friends sit down to play Tormented,
you should all agree that this is the kind
of game you want to play, and whether
there are any themes you do not wish to
include in your stories. Roleplaying games
-even horror ones such as Tormented- are
intended to be fun, after all. Always be
mindful of the other players in your group,
and the effects that certain themes may
have on them.
While this game undeniably draws
inspiration from both Paradise Lost and
the Divine Comedy -and thereby by
extension the Christian Bible- it is not
intended to be set in a Christian Hell.
The traditional sins that some may expect
souls to be condemned to Hell for are not
present in this book. There are no layers
of hell reserved for specific sinners, and
no implication that any lifestyle, religion,
belief or sexuality is a crime to be punished.
It is possible (and even encouraged) to play
an unrepentant sinner as a character in
Tormented, but this game does not seek to
encourage roleplaying around any issues
such as sexual violence, racism, sectarianism
or similar topics. You can add those themes
to your games if you feel the need to,
however the author does not encourage
you to. Certain things do not belong in
roleplaying games.
5
Chapter 1: Damnation
You are condemned to Hell. Something you
did in life earned you eternal damnation in
the Twelve Hells. You died, and awoke in
the nightmare reality of one of the Hells,
where you were chained and tortured for
unending ages by demons assigned to eke
out your punishment over uncountable
aeons. You cannot remember what it was
you did to end up here; in fact, you cannot
remember much of the mortal world
or your previous life at all. Perhaps it’s
part of dying; more likely it’s part of the
punishment: to never truly know what you
did to end up damned.
The demons claim they know what the
mortal world is like, but it’s more than
likely they’re lying; it’s what they do, after
all. All that are left to you are fragments;
fleeting memories that make your suffering
even worse for the ephemeral glimpses
they offer of the life you once had. Forget
the world above; your existence now is
this one. One of constant agonies thought
up by creatures to whom your suffering
is sustenance; demons drink your pain
like a fine wine, and savour your cries like
delicacies. You cannot die here -you’re
already dead- your injuries heal, only to be
inflicted anew, and you no longer require
food or sleep.
And should you break free, what then? You
are trapped here, in the Twelve Hells; there
is no escape. You could wander the Hells;
there are no end to the horrific, magnificent
sights you could see. The Twelve Hells are
diverse and terrible in their differences, and
their populations just as multitudinous
and varied.
The Hell War
All is not well in the Twelve Hells. For
millennia there has existed a tenuous
balance between the twelve Fiend Lords
who rule the realms, but now that balance
is upset, and the armies of the Hells wage
open war against one another.
As with many things in the Twelve Hells,
the exact details of the Hell War are lost or
unknown to the masses. Perhaps the Fiend
Lords know why the War started, or when
it will end, but for now the demons of the
various realms seem content to follow
their Lords instructions. Demons are
nothing if not ruthless; war is a perfect
chance to profit, advance oneself, and settle
old rivalries.
This is not the first Hell War, by all
accounts. Demons tell of other times the
forces of the various Fiend Lords marched
against one another. Each Hell War
has lasted for aeons, but time is of little
importance to demons.
Tormented
In the chaos and confusion of the Hell War
you have broken free of your prison, and
now you find yourself in control of your
own destiny for the first time in centuries,
7
albeit still trapped in the Hells.
With your newfound freedom comes
another discovery; you have been changed
by your time in Hell. Unlike other Damned
souls, the tortures you have endured have
warped and changed your body and in
doing so have given you strange powers.
Among the mortal souls ones such as
yourselves have a name: Tormented.
No one knows why some souls become
Tormented. With no real memories of the
mortal realm, it is impossible to know if
there is something special about Tormented
souls, or if it is just random chance that
gave them their powers. Regardless of the
reason, the fact is that Tormented are
almost as powerful as demons and are
something new to the landscape of the
8
Twelve Hells. Demons both fear and hate
the Tormented.
The powers possessed by Tormented are
known as Scars, and not without reason.
They do not come without a price;
Tormented are forever changed by their
Scars; warped and twisted to become
inhuman monsters who resemble demons
who once tortured them.
Tormented are as diverse as can be
imagined. Some seek to use their newfound
powers to help the Damned Souls, freeing
them where they can. Others seek revenge
on the demons who trapped and tortured
them, hunting them down and slaying them.
Others are motivated by more selfish drives,
and seek nothing more than power over the
demons, or other souls.
It wasn’t pain that woke Matthias from his this time one of shock at the sight that
reverie. Pain had been such a constant in greeted him. The vista his tear-filled eyes
his existence for so long now that it barely beheld was something from a nightmare;
registered for him any more. impossible mountains made from piled
What woke him was when the nature of bones of dead behemoths; crawling
his pain changed. monstrosities infinitely more grotesque
Blinking grit from eyes that had been than the creatures that had administered
unfocused for so long, he looked around. his punishments; the very sky itself a
He was still manacled into the device the boiling cauldron of swirling crimson clouds.
demons had used for so long to break his
body again and again, but for the first Where was this place? Why was he here?
time in perhaps centuries the horned To his shock Matthias realised he couldn’t
attendants were nowhere to be seen. In even remember who he was. Vague flashes
their absence, the screws and wheels that of memory flickered through his mind, but
slowly broke and warped his limbs had nothing concrete. The only thing he was
slackened, allowing his arms, legs and sure of was the deep-rooted certainty that
spine to straighten and begin to heal. The he was dead.
agony of his knitting bones was exquisite.
Suddenly the door swung open. With a
For a while Matthias lay in the yelp Matthias lept back, but then stopped
framework, marvelling at the sensation when he realised the person who had
of his limbs slowly becoming mobile once stepped into the room wasn’t one of his
more. After an indeterminate time, when demonic tormentors.
the demons still had not returned and The woman who had entered was tall
resumed their terrible work, he finally enough that her short hair brushed the
extricated himself from the breaking wheel ceiling of the room. Her body looked
and stood for the first time in unknown unnaturally stretched, as if she’d been
years, stifling a sob of almost-joy as pulled on a wrack and her bones had
he did. grown accustomed to their new lengths.
Her eyes, as she studied him, were orbs
The chamber they had kept him in was a of pure silver and as she stared at him,
simple affair; rough stone walls and floor, Matthias felt as if he were falling into
and a wooden door in one wall. A narrow them somehow.
window, which he had never noticed in his
pain-induced daze, was next to the door. “You’re like me.” She whispered. “Come
Looking out, Matthias stifled another sob; with me, quickly, before they come back.”

9
Chapter 2: The Twelve Hells
The Twelve Hells are vast, almost plunged into icy, freezing darkness that
unknowably so. They stretch as far as the bring with it a cold so extreme that it can
eye can see in all directions, and are as freeze a soul solid.
diverse as the myriad souls condemned
to them. The arid and windswept desert is home to
vulture-like harridans and stalking demons
Below is a basic outline of each of the wrapped in ragged cloaks of flayed skin.
Twelve Hells, as well as an especially
notable location, and a description of the Souls consigned to the Scalding Desert are
Fiend Lord that rules that Hell. invariably hunted down and captured by
the demon nomads who call it home, to be
dragged in chains to one of the few cities
The Twelve Realms
found across the Desert.
There are Twelve distinct Hells, each with
These cities, great edifices of ancient
its own unique environments, inhabitants
sandstone, are home to countless wicked
and nature. A traveller can move from one
inhabitants who wring every last drop of
Hell to any of the others if they know how
suffering from any unfortunate souls to
to. The most common method of moving
end up in the Pain Markets. Those souls too
from one Hell to another is by passing
broken to be of any use are discarded, to
through great gates known as Chthonic
haunt the shadow-filled back alleys of
Portals. These towering stone Portals
the cities.
are not uncommon, but they are often
protected by great demon beasts bound to
In other parts of the Desert ancient ruins
defend the gates against anyone without
can be found; abandoned towers and
the correct password. Others are cunningly
monoliths of unknown purpose. Strange,
hidden, or locked by strange puzzles and
gaunt demon-creatures haunt these ruins,
powerful magic.
lurking in the shadows and eager to pounce
upon demon or Damned alike.

The Scalding Desert

Notable Location: The Sea of Bones
The Scalding Desert is a Hell of punishing
A vast plain of rust-red sand, the Sea of
extremes. During the torturously-long days
Bones is covered in the colossal skeletons of
the baleful red orb of a giant sun beats
dozens of ancient demon-beasts. The demon
down on the ceaselessly shifting red sands,
nomads claim these beasts were slain in
scorching anyone who strays out of shelter.
the first Hell War, and that the bones can
When the sun finally sets, the desert is
be milled to produce a fine power useful in
11
creating hell-forged steel.
Several small tent-towns are often found
around the edges of the Sea of Bones;
erected by the demon nomads who come
to the area to harvest the bones and trade
souls with each other.
Even the nomads are loath to journey too
far into the Sea, however, as their stories
claim this is the domain of Gorganath; the
Mother of Harridans. Gorganath, so they
say, is a huge Harridan that hunts anything
that enters the Sea of Bones, and who roosts
on a great nest of treasure in the skull of a
demon beast at the center of the Sea.
Fiend Lord: Mefitophos, Lord of Whips
The Scalding Desert is ruled by Mefitophos,
Lord of Whips. Winged, skeletal, and clad
in tarnished brass armour, Mefitophos rules
his realm from a sandstone tower that leans
and an alarming angle over the desert.
Flocks of Harridans nest at the top of the
tower, and tribes of vicious demons sworn
to the Lord of Whips patrol the desert
around it. All inhabitants of the Desert run
in fear when the great shadow of their Lord
sweeps over the sands on a hunt.
The Abyssal Ocean
A roiling, eternal ocean filled with huge
whirlpools, poisonous water, treacherous
currents and vast leviathans. The Abyssal
Ocean is apparently bottomless and
without any form of dry land; it is home to
schools of tentacled monsters, and packs of
12
fish-demons who delight in sinking barbed
harpoons into the flesh of souls condemned
to this hell.
Any soul that finds itself in the Abyssal
Ocean is forced to swim unceasingly,
unless they happen to encounter one of the
occasional huge conglomerations of warped
driftwood and wrecked ships that can be
found floating on the currents. These hulks
stink of salt and decomposing flesh, and
often teem with cruel fish-demons, who
mount their captives on barbed poles to
prolong their suffering.
Souls that give into the currents and
sink beneath the waves will eventually
be swallowed by one of the countless
leviathans the ply the depths. Not even
in the bellies of these beasts do souls find
release, as they are slowly and eternally
digested.
Notable Location: The Rotting Gyre
A vast stretch of becalmed water, the
Rotting Gyre exists at the nexus of dozens
of currents. Debris is drawn into the Gyre,
but rarely leaves. The air is thick with the
stench of rotting fish, and huge rafts of
driftwood clot the surface of the ocean in
an almost unbroken skin. In other places
huge spreads of putrid seaweed choke the
surface, ensnaring anyone who falls into
them. Here and there great barnacle-
studden hulls of ancient ships rear out of
the water, like towers in a city. The Gyre
is a lifeless and bitter place; any souls that
end up here often find themselves ensnared frock-coats and preen and strut on the
in the clinging seaweed, or savaged by the streets, but for all their pompous manners,
sea beasts that lurk beneath the treacherous they are no less bloodthirsty and cruel than
driftwood. other demons, and delight in wringing every
last drop of suffering from the souls that fall
Fiend Lord: Maraketh, Queen of Fangs into their hands.
The Abyssal Ocean is ruled by Maraketh, Those who find themselves consigned to the
Queen of Fangs. A waterlogged corpse Sprawling Warren not only have the nightly
with long, seaweed-like hair, Maraketh hunts to content with, but also the great
is a cruel and vindictive Fiend. When the eye that stares down from the starless sky.
Queen of Fangs desires to hold court, she Those who meet its unblinking gaze find
does so in the belly of a great fish, attended themselves wracked by paranoia, fearing
by demons that take the form of scuttling that they eye somehow sees into them,
crabs and writhing eels. For the rest of the laying bare the secrets they themselves can
time she prowls the depths of the Ocean, no longer remember.
snatching demon and soul alike into her
crushing embrace and dragging them into Notable Location: The Sinking Narrows
the deep to feast. Rainwater runs ceaselessly down drainpipes
and gutters in the Sprawling Warren, and
The Sprawling Warren into vast sewers filled with vile creatures.
The Sprawling Warren is a madman’s In one place, however, the sewers overflow
interpretation of a massive, rotting
city. Towering rundown buildings lean
drunkenly over trash-choked labyrinthine
alleyways; bitter rain falls unceasingly from
a midnight sky and, when the clouds rarely
part, a vast blood-shot eye stares down at
the city in place of a moon.
Scrawny, wild-eyed demons make their
home here, prowling the alleyways in search
of souls that may have escaped the nightly
torch-lit hunts that sweep across the city.
Some demons affect the mien wealthy
landlords, demanding extortionate rents
from lesser demons in the form of souls.
These demon-landlords dress in extravagant
13
and regurgitate their unholy cargo into the
streets: the Sinking Narrows.
A winding maze of alleyways and cul-
de-sacs, the Narrows are waist-deep in
rainwater and liquid filth at the best of
times; in other places the muck can easily
swallow a soul whole.
Demons make their home here, as they do
in all parts of the Warren. Here, however,
they ply the streets in flimsy gondolas
pushed along with great poles. They fish the
sewage for souls, and anything else that gets
washed down into the Narrows, whittling
their catch into grisly scrimshaw totems
that keen and wail from the prows of
their boats.
Fiend Lord: Vosarth, Duke of Worms
Vosarth is a loathsome, ancient-looking
creature. It affects the appearance of an
impossibly old man, dressed in dusty robes
of a bygone era, with lank grey hair and
sallow waxy skin. The eyes of the Duke of
Worms, however, betray its true nature;
they are empty black voids. Meeting
Vosarth’s gaze is similar to meeting the gaze
of the eye-moon of the city above, except
infinitely worse. Those who stare into the
bottomless voids of the Fiend Lord’s eyes are
left catatonic, their minds taken who
knows where.
Vosarth rules the Sprawling Warren from
an antediluvian tower that reaches into the
sky. Covered in mouldering gargoyles and
crawling lichen, the tower refutes the usual
laws of physics, twisting impossibly and yet
14
never collapsing. The interior of the tower
is no less nightmarish, being a labyrinth of
dusty, lightless rooms and winding corridors
filled with macabre statues. Pallid, depraved
demon-things roam the corridors of the
tower, gibbering and moaning to themselves
and clawing apart anything unfortunate
enough to cross their path.
The Rotting Mire
In the endless, shadowed mangrove’s of
the Rotting Mire the air hangs heavy and
humid with steaming pestilent mists, clouds
of buzzing, stinging, blood-sucking flies and
the sweet stench of putrefaction. Here the
ground cannot be trusted, one misstep will
plunge the unwary into the foul smelling
stagnant waters and toxic liquid mud of
the swamps. Those same waters play host
to all manner of flesh-eating fish, reptiles
and snakes whose venom burns like fire.
The clinging vines that hang from every
tree and the sucking mud that drags at
every footstep hamper any journey while
the twisting paths through the trees seem to
shift and change hour by hour.
The darkened bayou plays host to many
shadowy beasts that will hunt and savage
the unwary soul, Dark things that stalk
their prey unseen and nightmarish. The
jungle shivers at the sound of them feasting
upon their victims and those who hear the
terrible sounds can only be glad that they
aren’t the one being dragged away to pits
lined with the rotting, screaming remains
of previous victims. The demons of the Mire
range from small clans who hunt and trap
small territories around their driftwood
cabins and wear the trophies taken from
their captives upon their corrupted flesh, to
disciplined trapper companies; predators
who maintain torture camps upon the rare
sites of firm ground. Here the guards play
cruel games with the despairing prisoners
who sit, their limbs impaled and worked
into the very bamboo cages that hold them
prisoner. The common trait of all the Mires
inhabitants is the sadistic pleasure they find
in hunting and torturing their prey.
Almost worse than the monsters and
demons that roam the swamps are the
diseases and parasites that prey upon every
entity that resides in the Mire. Gangrenous
wounds, blackened, necrotic flesh and
pustulent, stinking sores and are common
to every creature that suffers under the
mangrove canopies. Even those who escape
the Mire will bear the marks for the rest of
their existence.
Notable Location: The Plague Pyramid
At the dark heart of the Mire sits a
vast, stepped pyramid, surrounded by
a sprawling settlement of stone houses,
wooden cages, and sunken arenas. The
air is thick with the stench of decay, and
the ancient stones of the pyramid are
discoloured by millenia of spilt blood and
putrid effluence.
The prison camps regularly march their
captives through the swamps to the
pyramid, throwing them into cramped pens.
The demons that inhabit the pyramid are
masters of disease and decay, collecting
and breeding diseases, and infecting the
Damned in their pens with all manner of
vile concoctions.
They delight in finding new and unpleasant
diseases, nurturing them as others might
a rare plant or a pet. Those few souls who
escape the minitrations of these vile witch
doctors are instead forced to take part in
brutal games for the entertainment of their
captors, fighting against other Damned
souls or Lower Creatures in the areas of
the city.
Fiend Lord: Necrosciitis, Demagogue of
Corruption
Necrosciitis is a bloated, diseased chimera
of serpent, bird, and jaguar. It perches
atop the Plague Pyramid, its vividly-
coloured wings spread wide, watching
the ministrations of its underlings as they
spread their diseases to the Damned. The
Demagogue of Corruption often descends
from its perch to stalk the streets of the city,
revelling in the suffering of the Damned in
the plague pits, or drinking in the desperate
violence of the arenas. When the mood
strikes it, the Fiend Lord sometimes even
takes to the arenas itself, rending apart
its victims with its long feline claws and
thrashing scaled tail.
While it seems animalistic and primal,
15
16
Necrosciitis harbours a keen intellect; it is
master of disease and a surprising source of
knowledge of the Twelve Hells; as long as
one can quench its desire for adulation.
The Howling Wastes
It is said that the ashes that constantly fall
from the dark skies of the Howling Wastes
are from the burning souls of Damned
caught and hurled into a vast funeral pyre.
The light ash falls like snow, constantly
whipped into a blizzard by foul winds that
stink of burning flesh. The dirgelike howling
of these winds is impossible to escape, and
at times the winds seem to echo with half-
heard words and moans, leaving those who
travel the Hell in constant dread.
The landscape of the Wastes are thick with
drifts of fallen ash, as well as the husks
of ancient petrified trees. Here and there
outcrops of black volcanic glass rise from
the ash, reaching into the air as if trying to
escape the despair and darkness the
Wastes bring.
Occasional sinkholes appear in the drifts of
ash, sucking the unwary into dark chasms
inhabited by gaunt, grey demons who prey
on any that fall into their subterranean
realm. The glowing white eyes of these
demons are able to detect even the slightest
hint of motion.
The demons who roam the surface of the
Wastes wrap themselves in obscuring,
ash-stained burial shrouds. These cruel,
emaciated ghouls travel in caravans across
the wastes, capturing souls they encounter
and driving them along in long trains,
lashing them with barbed whips.
Notable Location: The Monolith
At the center of the Howling wastes a great
black monolith rises from the choking grey
ash. Its twisted shape rises hundreds of
feet into the dark skies, as if carved by the
foul winds themselves. Nothing about the
monolith is symmetric- it speaks of chaos
and endless movement. The monolith would
appear to be a natural formation, were it
not for the sickly green light that shines
from its apex, high above the Wastes. Some
say the Banshee’s lair is here. Others say
in hushed tones that something far more
sinister lies within.
Fiend Lord: The Banshee
Cutting through the howling winds rises
the piercing cry of the Fiend known only
as the Banshee. A black whirlwind signifies
her coming; a storm of razor sharp volcanic
glass that strips the flesh off anyone foolish
enough to be caught in its path. Within the
storm hovers the barely discernible form
of the Fiend Lord herself; a beautiful raven
haired woman in tattered grey robes. Those
few who survive the razor storm are met by
the Banshee’s lifeless, black eyes before their
souls are shredded by her keening song.
17
The Blinding Flats
A sun-blasted salt pan that stretches from
horizon to horizon. A punishing white orb
fills the sky, bleaching the ground until it is
colourless and lifeless, and turning the air
blood-warm. These are the Blinding Flats.
The sun hangs perpetually in the sky; never
setting, never rising. There is no night
here; no respite from the burning heat and
blinding light. Across the barren, stark vista
a faint wind constantly whispers a nameless
and formless refrain; echoes of Damned
souls who succumbed to this Hell.
Those who fall here are reduced to still-
conscious sun bleached husks, then salt-
scarred bones. Even in this ossified form, the
Damned continue to feel, think and suffer;
for in this place, the uncompromising grip
of nothingness is the real torture. There is
no reprieve, no difference, only unmitigated
repetition.
Even those who do not succumb to the
heat are trapped; many souls have spent
eternities wandering this place, slowly
driven mad by the ceaseless light and
oppressive heat. Mirages taunt these
wanders, giving just enough false hope so
that those condemned here do not cease in
their endless wandering.
Very few demons are found in this Hell, for
the Flats are just as punishment to them as
to the Damned. Occasionally a wanderer
will encounter one of the few great tortoise-
18
like demons that make their home here.
These eyeless demons are protected from
the sun by their scarred and boney shells,
and hunt by hearing alone.
Notable Location: The Shrine of Night
A broken, motley pile of bleached bones
lies stacked neatly somewhere in the flats,
rarely stumbled upon. No one has yet to
ascertain its purpose; some view it as a
guide, others a warning. Legend holds that
when the sun finally sets the Shrine might
hold the key to unravelling the puzzle of
the inescapable realm. Yet again, it could
simply be another ruse by which Orseith
simply torments it’s victims; a false hope,
with no real reprieve.
Fiend Lord: Orseith, the Unknowable
Clad in a whispering cloak sewed from the
gibbering, sun-dried remains of hundreds
of souls, Orseith is a great hunched
monstrosity that roams the Flats. When it
encounters the withered remains of a soul,
it shucks them of their skin and weaves it
into its sobbing cloak, and adds their bones
to its mantle. These sun-bleached skulls
constantly chatter and moan as the Fiend
Lord stalks across its domain, creating a
dirge that warns of its coming.
For all their unfathomable power, the other
Fiend Lords tentatively respect Orseith; it
resides in a realm that drives all others to
madness, yet seems to retain its sanity. This
may be because the mind of Orseith is so
alien and unknowable, it cannot be driven
mad in the conventional sense.

The Echoing Chasm

You might be forgiven (no, not like that.
That doesn’t happen here) for thinking that
the torment here is to fall forever, falling
out of light and the memory of light, into
an endlessly receding maw of pure darkness
where no whisper of illumination has ever
reached.
You would be wrong.

After an aeon of falling, you can start to

hear screams, torn with blood from throats
already raw from screaming. They doppler
past you in the darkness: first one, then
more, and more, until you are tumbling
through a rain of agony, stroking obscenely
past the pain-shivering limbs of other
damned souls until finally you come to a
sudden gasping halting brake: caught on
one of the barbed flesh-hooks, set out to
catch those who fall.
Not being caught is hardly a relief: after
another eternity, you will crumble into pulp
against the fangs of sharp rock at the very
bottom of the world. You’ll spend the rest
of time there, slowly digested by thread-
like worms.
The fishers-of-souls haul you up from the
hooks to inspect their catch, winding you in
their indeterminate fingers. Maybe they’ll
keep you, breaking your bones and
peeling your skin to fashion you into their
barbed hooks and swaying living bridges,
their cocoons of damp and twitching skin.
Or maybe you’ll be driven into the deep
caves to lurch and stumble and flail in the
unrelenting dark, searching for… who knows
what… in those endless echoing darknesses
(the caves stretch forever, but make one
misstep, and you will find yourself tumbling
back into the Chasm itself. You cannot
escape it)
The Damned say there’s something there, in
the deep caves. Not the cave-blind spiders,
bloated and soft, who spin webs of human
hair and chitter, amused, as they lay their
eggs in your eyes; nor the ghouls that
echolocate through the winding darkness;
tapping clicking creatures of pure hunger
and bone. Not the lightless lakes and rivers
where eyeless mermaids spin their haunting
siren songs. Something… else.
19
Notable Location: Deadheart neither mountain, forest of sea to interrupt
You can never find it on purpose; you the view, although the snow storms rarely
can only stumble across it, into it. Four break for more than a few moments to
enormous chambers, so massive they dull all allow a soul to see it. Those who shamble
sound under a blanket of ancient darkness. to the edge find nothing but an empty void
Nothing lives here. beyond it and those that fall are doomed
to be tossed in the vortex forever more. The
The gently curving floors and walls are howling wind rings with the screams of the
stone, but smooth and somehow just warm damned and the eternal blizzard obscures
to the touch. It is dry, and silent, these four even the hand held in front of your face.
chambers linked by half-open valves of Those doomed to this blasted waste stumble
smooth crystal (demons say the valves open through eternity, tripping and snagging
and close, at the speed of continents, but on the frozen bodies, arms and fingers that
how can anyone tell?) If someone knows grasp and claw up from the ice beneath
what fiend or monster or giant lies here their feet. The grinding and snapping of
with its heart full of darkness, they frozen bones underfoot the accompanying
aren’t telling. sound to any journey. Those who look closer
will see the wracked faces of souls frozen
Fiend Lord: Vatek, Lord of Echo into the ice beneath them, urging them to
and Whispers keep moving lest they themselves become
A shiver and texture in the air, a maddening part of the Plateau itself for the rest of time.
chorus of whispering that drills through The creatures who haunt the Plateau are
your ears and bursts out your useless eyes. ephemeral, ethereal beings that haunt
Your own sins and sorrows, bitterest regrets, the winds and only become visible when
deepest longings, cruellest fears; mocked the whipping snow outlines their savage,
back at you by the breathing darkness. This shifting forms, reaching for the souls of the
is Vatek, Lord of Echo and Whispers. Down Damned, taunting and terrorizing them as
here in the dark there is no hiding, nothing they eternally stagger through the
to shield your naked soul from his flensing freezing winds.
words, coalescing around and through you
like a fever. Notable Location: The Crevasse
No settlements or cities break the seemingly
The Frozen Plateau endless monotony of the Plateau’s frozen
Upon the Frozen Plateau the chill wind cuts surface so the Damned who seek shelter
so deep it burns. Barren, flat and bleak the or rest from the eternal slog through the
Plateau stretches to the far horizons with wastes have but one recourse, the Crevasse.
20
The descent is treacherous and the floor
of this mighty ice canyon is studded with
jagged stalagmites stained with the blood of
the unwary or the unlucky.
The caves that line the walls of the Crevasse
push deep into the clear green ice of the
Plateau and the smooth walls show, in
graphic detail, the innumerable souls who
have surrendered to fatigue and become one
with the ice. But the Crevasse is not without
its own dangers; silence reigns deep under
the howling winds of the surface because
the slightest noise can bring swift fresh
torments to those that seek to shelter here.
Fiend Lord: Yordigyr, the Hunter
The Plateau is ceaseless in its unrelenting
savagery and the hierarch who stalks
the cavernous maze beneath the blasted
surface reflects the cruelty of its demesne
perfectly. Few have seen the Hunter itself,
but those souls whose dead-eyed stare
sends a shiver down the spine of even the
most embittered of the Damned speak of a
hulking, shaggy beast, somewhere between
a giant mountain lion and a huge gorilla.
Yordigyr prowls the caves listening for the
faintest noise, sniffing the air and peering
through the shadows for prey. Many would
assume the fiend a mindless predator but, in
the deepest caves where only the bravest, or
most foolhardy, dare to go there are icons,
totems and scratchings on the wall. The
haunted souls sometimes describe the beast
itself as being bedecked with strings of teeth
and chains of plaited hair woven through its
own matted, bloodied coat.
The Shrieking Forest
Low hills cut by curling valleys, cloaked
in a thick layer of dark trees; here is the
Shrieking Forest. In places the trees are so
tall they snatch at the moon, undergrown
by spiteful shrubs and twined by thorny
vines. Elsewhere, the canopy grows as a
blanket of living darkness, letting no light
filter through to the forest floor below. The
ancient trunks and twisted branches grow
almost thick enough to stifle the distant
howls of hunters, and screams of prey. The
earth is a thick layer of fallen leaves, deep
black earth, and whitening bones; the cool,
damp air smells of chlorophyll and growth
and rot.
Here it is always night, silvered by the
moon, slashed by sharp shadow and the
smell of blood. Here the light betrays you,
leaves you open and vulnerable; here the
darkness hides fangs and claws and a
wicked hunger. Here you will run until your
legs are broken and run some more beyond,
leaving tatters and shreds of your flesh
behind you on every barbed and thorny
branch; here your footsteps stumbling with
pain and fatigue fill with the blood from
your flayed feet. Here the hunters come,
creeping or whooping or howling behind
and beside and in front - here you are run
down, and devoured screaming - here you
are vomited forth, newly unbroken once
more, to run and break and bleed and
scream again, and again, forever.
21
22
Here is the Shrieking Forest. Here you are
always prey.
Notable Location: Whisperwood
This forest of bone-white birches moves
and mutters in its own private breeze. The
endless rustle of the twigs and sharp-edged
leaves is a voice you can never quite resolve,
always making sounds at the very edge of
being words. If you wander far enough into
the Whisperwood, listening to its shivery
voice, you might start to catch words,
half-audible sentences, pieces of secrets and
fragments of songs.
If you wander far enough into the
Whisperwood, who knows what thing will
be wearing your face, when it emerges from
the forest of whispering bones?
You’ll continue to wind and whisper and
rustle through the twigs and leaves, adding
your own lonely voice to the chorus of the
Whisperwood.
Fiend Lord: Antaka, Lady of Silence
Somewhere buried deep in every brainstem
is a tiny shivering rodent, a creature of
pure paralysing fear. It’s this creature which
comes flashing to the surface at the sight
of those great grey wings ghosting over
the moon: Antaka, Lady of Silence, the
monstrous owl-fiend. She rules this forest as
her own personal hunting ground, allowing
lesser demons in only on sufferance - she’ll
hunt them too, if she pleases, leaving
them as splayed-open skeletons twisted
through the branches of trees. Her beaters
and attendants are a swarm of chittering,
clattering skeletal demons; desperate to
have skin once more, they rip, gnaw and
claw it off the victims of their mistress,
clothing themselves in shreds and tatters
of flesh.
The Palace of Pain
An huge palace home to decadent demon
nobles who delight in pain and suffering.
Towering out of the Abyssal darkness,
the Palace of Pain, to use its crude name,
is a monument to a Will that exceeds
understanding. Built from the darkest
eidolonic glass, the edifice stretches
upward beyond sight, each perfect edge a
promise of agony, each sculpted shadow
a caress of self-abnegation. Inside the
gardens lies a mockery of paradise; each
path tracing the movements of the knives
that grow as leaves, the forms of those
who judged and justified twisted and torn
into fleshy topiary in homage to the Lord
that reigns here. Nearer the architecture
of nightmares, the Flayed Guard stand
tethered and bound, lidless eyes watching
for sign of unbound souls that they might
trade the unfettered to their Masters inside,
in exchange for an inch more freedom
themselves.
Inside the Palace the mind of its Master is
revealed, an obsession with perfection of
form and experience, each wall and arch
23
encoded with meaning and symbolism. The
endless corridors are lined with the wracked
bodies of those whose self identity was lost
in the orgy of sensation that defines this
Hell; chambers beyond reckoning, each
home to an act of desecration unique and
nerve-rending in its own way, resounding
with the wordless screams and piteous
mewlings of those experiencing the highest
art of torture and degradation.
The greater servants of the Hooked Knife
Itself flow over the writhing, moaning
abhuman shapes that form the floors, the
acid and sand of their passing leaving
a wake of agony and an eternal echo of
suffering. The Court of Mockery seek their
pleasures throughout the Palace, bringing
the most exquisite torture and debasement
to those who catch their most jaded of eyes.
Notable Location: The Flensing Terrace
The horror of the Terrace, as described by
those who have witnessed it, is in what it
represents, not what it is. A’giel and it’s
bride, A’suriel hang, suspended one above
the other and endlessly carving into each
other’s flesh, tearing the muscle and fat
from their bodies, blindly seeking to cut out
the metal briars that spread and infiltrate
them, pulling them apart as punishment
for loving each other more than their
creator. Around the Terrace the gobbets of
torn demon-flesh move and shoal, seeking
to embrace and form around of any who
venture too close, metal thorns reaching to
24
penetrate fresh meat, taught skin seeking
to smother and constrict. The words,
“Love shall be the knife that flays”, repeat
endlessly in the Glass that surrounds the
Terrace, high above the Gardens.
Fiend Lord: Tabannusiel the Cruel, The
Hooked Knife, The End of Hope, Architect
of Despair
Form flowing endlessly, in motion even at
rest, the tall, elegant Prince of Pain rules
Its domain with the mercy of the rack.
Moving in directions only It can access,
Tabannusiel’s passage is accompanied
by the despairing screams of the damned
who fall into Its shadow; flesh being
restored to devastated carcasses, only to be
painstakingly torn apart at Its will as It
violates the bodies of the damned into fresh
architectures of untempered suffering. It
determines the arrangement of Its palace
and the experience and degradation of
those who fall into Its domain are distilled
and consumed by Its Court of Mockery,
demons of Its choir that revel and bask in
the agony that surrounds them.
The Mountain of Skulls
The Mountain towers into the sky, piercing
the highest clouds, promising the cruel
mercy of Winter to all who dare tread
upon it’s frozen slopes. Formed not of
stone, but the infinite skeletons of those
whose lives and un-lives ended here at the
hands of its Queen. From the titanic bones
of the demon-beasts that fell in the first
Hell War, to these later times of the small
and swarming masses, the Mountain is
the accretion of the suffering of those who
sought to push themselves beyond their
limits, the myriad bones frozen together
into a fractal conglomeration of desiccated
loss. At its heart lies the Skull of Djeemeh,
First To Fall. Half his bones are now gone,
carved and weathered away over the
millenia by the claws and hammers, pitons
and axes of the Hlawbr, the servitors of
the Dread Queen who rules the splendid
desolation of the Mountain.
Near the foot of the Mountain, the slopes
are baked dry, untold legions of desiccated
bodies, tattered skin and hide stretched
drum-taut over bleached bone. These are
the Brennr, the Burning Thirst, consumed
in the merciless moment, unstable and
swept together by the mercurial winds
that howl through this desert of the lost.
Further up the slopes the bones lie grey
and white, fused together by the weight
of those that lie above, the surface layers
ever ready to shift and cascade down the
flanks of the Mountain into corries and
crevasses that have never known even the
witch-light of Hell, these are the Gynnr,
the Turning Stones, treacherous and ever
ready to cast the unwary down. Higher
still comes the realm of frozen bones, ice
binding the remains of those who fell here,
the Soldhynr, the Hungry Ice. Far above all
lies the Summit, a lonely spire of arrogance
that pierces the highest cloud. Airless and
ice-blasted, here, in the living death of
the Isaskadhr, the bones and wind-flayed
forms of the late-comers, the ones who fell
victim to Orfaygr. It is said that The Bone-
Pick herself often crouches here amongst
the dazzling scrimshaw ridges that she has
raised above her home, gazing in relentless
hatred at the sky above where She may
not climb.
Notable Location: The Canals
Deep inside the cave-structure of the
Mountain lie the Canals, three looping
tunnels that flow with howling winds strong
enough to flay the hide from the toughest
of demons. At the centre of the arches
lies the throne of Orfaygr, Her camp and
eyrie. All approaches to this quiet space
in the heart of the Mountain are tests of
skill and resolve, for from this place all
directions are down and the fall from here is
25
eternal, swept into the Canals. Without Her tormentors. Some such blasted souls
permission, all inward paths lead through -the truly unluckiest- are traded to the
one or another of the Canals and the last insatiable Twisted Labyrinth, every pillar
memory of those who venture in will be and each step of which is constructed from
the eternally echoing screams of those who the Damned.
came before. From Her seat, carved into
the still living bone of the Mountain, she The Twisted Labyrinth hangs suspended in
strikes her Drum and the Soul Avalanches a lightless void, with no true cardinal point
scour the surface, ripping guile and pride of orientation. Be it demon or mortal soul,
away from all caught in their path, the cold, all those who walk these paths are lost. The
blinding light of the sky leaving the victims passageways of the Labyrinth constantly
shorn of their pretensions, naked against shift and rearrange themselves according to
her pitiless gaze as their physical remains an unknown, esoteric logic. Some pathways
slowly freeze to join the ever growing can be commanded by the strong of will,
outcrops that are the current generation of bullying the broken spirits that form the
damned in this place. walls and floors into obedience for a
short while.
Fiend Lord: Orfaygr The Unforgiving, The
Bone-Pick, The Untethered; Queen of Ice In places it is possible to open the walls and
and Bone travel on the outside of the passages, within
Emaciated but strong, Itaniak moves, the void itself, but many of minds have
spider-like, through her infinitely recursive been blasted into catatonia by the sight of
Domain, always small enough to fit, scale the writhing chaos that the Labyrinth is
ever changing as she moves up and down suspended in.
the hierarchy of the frozen, from the tiniest
newcomer, to the deep igneous features of When a soul is bound into the fabric of
the Demon-Beasts that were the first fallen. the Labyrinth they become a petrified,
She ignores those that keep to their place, colourless thing, more like stone than flesh.
roped to their outcroppings and corries, but Sometimes the faces of these fossilized souls
casts down those that seek to bring change move in silent torment; others are frozen
and movement to her crystalline desolation. in aspects of terrible suffering or sorrow.
Successfully finding a specific soul within
The Twisted Labyrinth the twisting architecture of the Labyrinth
Some souls are rendered so damaged that is a quixotic quest. And yet, some brave
they will never recover enough of themselves souls sneak into the passages of their own
to be satisfying subjects for their demon accord, seeking loved ones and companions
26
long lost. It is rare that such quests end Array. Through the links of the fetters the
well, however, and often the noble rescuer Artist directs the will of the Array, shaping
ends up stumbling through the twisting raw souls to its design, leaving perfection in
pathways forevermore. its wake.

Notable Location: The Workface The form of the Artist changes constantly,
The Workface is a incomprehensibly shifting through every imaginable aesthetic,
long caravan; the logistical train which at once beautiful, terrible and bizarre.
has developed behind the Artist. At the Within the Labyrinth the will of the Artist
forefront is the Array, thousands of souls, is supremely powerful; it can reshape
their conscious minds in thrall to the Artist, anything that catches its attention, warping
chained together in an arcane formation. flesh, stone and metal as it sees fit. Many
Behind them comes the court of the Artist, demons and Damned souls alike seek out
bearing its supine body on a bier. Demons the Artist in misguided attempts to change
of all sizes and temperaments populate the themselves, or others. However, many of
court, fawning on the Artist in the hope of those that manage to survive the harrowing
currying favor or being remade. attention of the Artist come to realise that
the Fiend Lord’s concept of perfection is
The baggage train of the court contains often at odds to their own.
all those demons and souls who service
the court and the Array; traders, guards,
functionaries and vittlers. This chaotic
mass makes up most of the length of
the Workface. This small town moves
sporadically to catch up with the court,
lifting it’s ramshackled buildings and
scurrying closer. The baggage train is a
riotous hive of activity, thousands labour
here beneath the ever glowing ceiling of
fused souls.

Fiend Lord: Xolockos, the Artist

Xolockos is the only being who knows
the ultimate form which the perfected
Labyrinth will take. It lies recumbent on
a vast bier, dragged by the fetters of the
27
Chapter 3: A multitude of devils
Life in the Twelve Hells isn’t just pain and
suffering; a society, albeit an alien and
deadly one, exists amongst the demons and
the damned souls. Navigating this strange
civilisation can be difficult and dangerous
for newly-arrived souls, who expect things
to work as they did in the mortal world.
Too late, do many souls realise that
treachery and violence are as much a way
of life in the Hells as anything else.
Residents of the Twelve Hells
The Twelve Hells are home to a variety of
inhabitants, most of which are caught up in
the Hell War.
Demons
Demons, devils, hellions; there are variety
of terms for the primary inhabitants of
the Twelve Hells. Demons are, on a very
basic level, all the same; they are barbaric
creatures that feed on the suffering of
mortal souls and exist only to plot, scheme
and inflict pain on other creatures.
Physically, however, demons are are as
numerous and varied as can be imagined.
Some demons look almost human; some are
so exquisite or grotesque to look upon that
they can drive souls mad; others look more
like animals, albeit nightmarish and
weird ones.
Mentally, demons are also just as diverse.
Some are fiercely intelligent, and can
hatch plots that are labyrinthine in their
complexity; others are dullards, little more
cunning than animals, who think only in
terms of where their next meal comes from.
Socially, demons are almost uniformly
duplicitous and malicious. Although a
significant proportion of demons are social
creatures, and even enjoy social discourse
with both each other and mortal souls,
it is very rare to find a demon that is not
plotting against at least a number of its
kind, one way or another. When a demon
offers you a bargain, you can be sure that
the demon is benefitting to a much greater
degree than you are.
Demons see mortal souls as both currency
and sustenance. Souls are routinely traded
amongst the denizens of hell, with souls in
better condition worth more than those
that have already been tortured to some
degree.
When a demon tortures a mortal soul, they
derive nourishment from their suffering,
consuming it as mortals would a fine wine.
They savour the various subtle flavors of
agony, remarking at the taste or bouquet of
a particular paroxysm of pain.
A demon that has gorged on suffering
becomes corpulent and merry; a demon
starved of suffering becomes an emaciated,
dangerous creature.
Suffering, once extracted from a Damned
soul, becomes an almost physical substance.
Cunning demons can actually refine this
suffering-stuff, which they call Morsus, into
a variety of elements, such as pain-wine,
29
agony-snuff, and shriek-sugar. These are
all consumed by demons, and savoured as
delicacies. Morsus can also be bottled in its
raw form, for later consumption, or to be
paid as tribute to the various Fiend Lords.
Demons are feudal in nature, organising
themselves into a strict hierarchy.
Understanding the exact nature of this
hierarchy is impossible for a mortal soul: it
appears that demons can elevate themselves
by pleasing their masters, and can be cast
down for displeasing them; yet equally they
can progress by betrayal, or even by casting
down their master and installing themselves
in their position.
Each of the Twelve Hells is rules by a Fiend
Lord. Each Fiend Lord is a creature of
inconceivable age and power, and most of
them have ruled their individual domains
30
for aeons.
Beneath the Fiend Lords are the Barons;
powerful and dangerous demons that have
the loyalty of a number of Knights and
dozens (if not hundreds) of lesser demons.
Barons owe fealty to the Fiend Lord of their
Hell, but more than one Baron has plotted
to overthrow their master.
Knights are high-ranking demons in
the service of the Fiend Lords. They
are arrogant and cruel, quick to punish
anything they see as lesser than themselves.
In the Hell War Knights are elite troops,
leading battalions of lesser demons and
competing to earn the favour of their Fiend
Lord through skill and cunning.
Beneath the Knights are the rank-and-file
demons that populate the Hells. Diverse in
appearance and behaviour, these demons
work unceasingly to wrench vital suffering
from mortal souls, that is then refined into
countless forms to be consumed by their
masters. These lesser demons hate their
menial existence and constantly plot to
elevate themselves and overthrow their
masters. Only the most vile, cunning or
brutal ever succeed in doing so, ensuring
that only the most despicable demons
reach positions of power. There may be
litter separating the lesser demons from the
mortal souls they torture, but the demons
are ever quick to ensure that suffering rolls
down hill; their lives may be awful, but they
 Demons are technically sexless creatures.
They do not reproduce sexually, and are
born in a variety of ways; some crawl
from the primordial muck that courses
through the bowels of some Hells; others
are wrought from the raw stuff of Hell by
their Fiend Lord. Some demons, it is said,
step fully-formed from the aether, having
stepped out of the nightmares of
the Damned.
However, despite this, many demons
affect a gender, and even a sexuallity. For
many, both of these identities -gender
and sexuality- are fluid concepts that can
change at the demon’s choosing. Others
can make someone else pay for it.
are more firmly rooted in these identities,
In the Hell War it is the lesser demons
and rarely change. Demons can, and often
that make up the majority of the troops.
do, couple with mortal souls. However, no
Thousands of demons fight unceasingly on
offspring can ever spring from such unions;
the battlefields, falling, dying, regenerating
life cannot be created in Hell.
and returning to the fight once more in
stalemates that last centuries.
The Damned
The majority of souls that end up in the
It is technically impossible to truly kill
Hells are Damned. Wracked with guilt over
a demon; while they can be injured and
crimes they cannot remember, they are
even completely dismembered, their bodies
prey to demons who hunt them like beasts
will eventually evaporate and regenerate
and trade them like cattle. The suffering of
somewhere else in their home Hell. It is
souls is nourishment to demons, so for the
possible to render a demon to a state where
majority of the Damned their existence is
regeneration is difficult, leaving them
one of continuous torture and punishment
trapped in agony until freed. However,
at the hands of one demon or another.
doing so will surely earn the ire of the
demon and, should they ever get free, they
Damned souls look as they did in life;
will hunt down whoever left them in such a
they walk, talk, sense and feel as they
state and exact their revenge.
did before they died. Existence as a soul
frees one from certain expectations of the
31
mortal coil; Damned do not need to eat,
sleep, or breathe. Damned also regenerate
injuries that would have killed them in
life; many tortures in the Hells revolve
around ceaseless mutilation and recovery,
only to be mutilated once more. Damned
cannot die -they are already dead after
all- but they can be rendered to a state of
immobility by extreme damage to their
form. Some demons delight in hacking
Damned to pieces and turning those still-
aware pieces into art, building materials
or even playthings, drinking the suffering
that flows from the malformed souls as they
do. Such treatment renders a Damned soul
quickly useless, a state known as Dissolute,
so it is a practice discouraged by most
sensible demons.
32
Those few Damned lucky enough to have
escaped captivity travel the Hells in small
groups, avoiding demons warily and trying
to find some small measure of safety.
Sometimes they manage to create small
communities in remote areas, where they
eke out a meagre existence. More often
that not, however, such communities are
eventually located and raided by demons,
and the souls carried off to be sold and
tortured.
Tormented
No one knows why some Damned become
Tormented. Perhaps it is something to do
with their crimes, or perhaps they nature of
the tortures they have endure. Some theorise
that Tormented are souls that have endured
aeons upon aeons of torture, and that is
why they have changed.
No matter the cause, the fact is that
Tormented have become something more
than mortal. The Scars they carry give them
unique, inhuman abilities that are the equal
of the gifts that demons bear.
Freed from their captivity by the events of
the Hell War, Tormented travel the Twelve
Hells. As something not part of the ‘natural
order’ of the Hells, Tormented are seen as
rogue elements by demons; something to be
either feared or exploited.
For their part, Tormented have a diverse
set of goals; some simply wish to find a way
to minimise the suffering that an existence
in the Hells involves; others seek revenge
on their former captors, hunting down the
demons that tortured them; finally, a small
number seek to use the chaos to the Hell
War to their own advantage.
Lost Souls
Lost souls are those Damned who have
lost all fragments of memory and
subsequently all sense of self. Driven to
the edge of madness but the horrors of the
Twelve Hells, they become insubstantial,
demented creatures; so numbed by their
experiences that demons can no longer
derive sustenance from their suffering. Lost,
as they are known, drift aimlessly about the
Hells, or sometimes huddle together in dark
and out-of-the-way corners. They are pitied
by other souls and loathed by demons.
Lower Creatures
There are a host of creatures within the
Hells that are not strictly demons, these are
known as Lower Creatures. These creatures
come in countless varieties, such as
Harridans, Dretches, Lemures and Shades
to name but a few. All Lower Creatures are
seen as nothing by beasts by the demons,
and are hunted down accordingly.
Some Lower Creatures are intelligent,
although usually a rudimentary, animal
intelligence; others are indeed little more
than animals. All are dangerous, however,
and more than a threat to an unwary soul.

“Danger ahead, kind friends.” The voice leg with its strange multi-jointed fingers.
made Matthias jump, and he turned to see “Go not into dark place. Flapping,
a small hairy demon slink out of a cave swooping, screeching ones will get you.
in the cliff face. It waved its long fingers Weave you into their nests. Trust Astiel,
at the canyon ahead, then gestured at friend!”
the cave behind it. “Astiel knows a way
around nasty creatures. Be a friend to Sapphira stepped forwards, one of her
Astiel, and it shows you?” long arms drawn back to strike the
demon, when a horrific shriek split the air.
Matthias looked across at Sapphira, who Matthias and Sapphira turned to see a
glared at the demon with her inscrutable host of dark winged shapes swarming out
silver eyes. of the canyon towards them.
“We shouldn’t trust it.” She cautioned
in her whispering voice, turning back “Follow Astiel!” Yelled the little demon,
towards the cliff path. waddling towards the cave it had crept
from. “Run! Hide!” Matthias shot Sapphira
“Wait friend!” Called the demon, stepping a look before they both shrugged and
out onto the path and pawing at Matthias’ turned and ran after the demon.

33
Chapter 4: Rules of the game
Tormented is a roleplaying game, and as
such the emphasis of the game is intended
to be the interactions between the various
characters and the story they are telling
together. But how do you tell if your
character is able to accomplish a specific
task, or if they are able to outwit another
character?
This is why Tormented has some simple
rules to resolve events whose outcome is
uncertain. These rules will help players
and storytellers to simulate and arbitrate
any situation; although the storyteller’s
decisions supersede any and all rules
presented below.
Aspects
All characters have 4 Aspects, which
represent how proficient they are when
responding to a given situation in a certain
manner. Other systems might refer to these
as ‘stats’, however Aspects are a slightly
more nebulous measure of a character’s
capabilities than traditional stats.
Additionally, Aspects do not necessarily
equate to physical or mental capabilities; a
high Power does not require a character to
be muscular, for example, it simply means
they are a deadly individual for one reason
or another; a high Acumen might not
always infer a wealth of knowledge, but a
natural cunning and wit.
Aspects are rated from 1 to 5, with 1
representing a very poor attribute and 5
representing the best possible. The rating
of an Aspect determines how many d6 you
roll for an Aptitudes check when pared with
that Aspect.
Power
“Nothing has value unless you have to fight for it”
Power represents a character’s ability
to overcome an issue with strength,
aggression, or violence. Characters with
a high Power will find acting aggressively
and decisively more easy than those with
a lower score. They are often pragmatic,
resolute individuals.
Subtlety
“Convince someone a plan was their idea and
they will fight your battles for you”
Subtlety represents a character’s ability to
overcome an issue with cunning, guile, or
stealth. Characters with a high Subtlety will
find lateral thinking, and going around a
problem rather than through it much easier
than those with a lower score. They are
often quiet, unassuming individuals.
Presence
“Some people have a radiance inside them; a light
that blinds some, and draws others”
Presence represents a character’s ability
to overcome an issue with charisma,
intimidation, or personal magnetism.
Characters with a high Presence will find
situations involving imposing their will
on others easier than those with a lower
score. They are often forthright, confident
individuals.
35
Acumen
“Think faster and more accurately than anyone
else in the room and you have already won”
Acumen represents a character’s ability to
overcome an issue with intelligence, logic,
or reason. Characters with a high Acumen
will find analysing problems and finding
alternative solutions easier than those
with a lower score. They are often astute,
resourceful individuals.
Aptitudes
Aptitudes represent a character’s skills,
abilities and knowledges. Each Aptitude
can be used for a variety of situations and
applications: for example while the Daring
Aptitude can be used to perform a risky
jump across the roofs of the Sprawling
Warren, it could equally be used to make a
bold speech at a salon in Palace of Pain.
Aptitudes are rated at one of three levels of
skill: Untrained, Proficient and Mastered.
Characters start with all Aptitudes at
the Untrained level but can increase the
level during character generation and
later on by spending Experience points.
Even if Untrained a character can use any
Aptitude (as long as it’s appropriate to the
situation); being Untrained merely means
you are less likely to succeed.
Callous
“You are cruel, heartless, cold. You can do things
others would pale at.”
36
Callous is used in situations relating
to cruelty, conscience and morality.
Torture is an example use of Callous, as is
browbeating someone for information.
Daring
“Be dauntless and rash. Doing something
dynamic is the best course of action.”
Daring is used when performing risky tasks
or when performing an action requiring
courage. It can relate to some combat
actions.
Devious
“Why go through something, when you can go
around it?”
Subtle is used in situations involving stealth,
agility and cunning. Picking locks, acts of
sleight-of-hand and other such skills are
also uses of this Aptitude.
Forceful
“Violence is the best way to solve problems. Break
them, smash them to pieces.”
Forceful is mostly used for combat, but can
also apply to actions that involve exerting
your will aggressively on others.
Hedonistic
“Indulge your senses. Pleasure is its own reward;
you know how to stoke these desires in others.”
Hedonistic is used when resisting the effects
of drugs and alcohol, when indulging the
senses, or inciting others to give into
their desires.
Magnanimous
“Empathy and kindness are uncommon in the
Twelve Hells, but perhaps there are uses for
them.”
Magnanimous is used for situations
involving diplomacy, empathy and
understanding others. It is also used to
inspire comradely feelings in others, and
for bartering.
Mystical
“The mind is the sharpest blade of all, and yours
is honed to a deadly edge.”
Mystical is used in situations involving
magic, esoteric lore, and learned knowledge.
It can also be used for anything involving
introspection, and an awareness of one’s
own self.
Observant
“Only a complete understanding of a situation is
acceptable. Trust in your senses.”
Observant is used situations involving
awareness and senses. Listening, spotting
hidden things, having a ‘sixth sense’,
creating artwork, and some social situations
are appropriate uses of this Aptitude.
Restrained
“Resist base pleasures. They are not for you; they
have no control over you.”
Restrained is used when resisting temptation
and anything related to willpower and self-
control. It is also used to resist fear, and to
master one’s own emotions.
Tough
“You are iron, you are stone. You weather the
storm that would tear down others.”
Tough is used in situations involving
endurance; either physical, such as
weathering blows; or mental such as
resisting insults and abuse.
Aptitude checks
Aptitude checks are made when a character
is confronted with a situation that requires
some kind of skill or ability to overcome.
To see if they succeed, the Storyteller tells
the player an Aspect and an Aptitude
appropriate to the situation and the
number of successes required to succeed.
The player then rolls a number of 6-sided
dice (d6) equal to the Aspect, counts the
number of successes rolled and compares
them to the goal number. If they equal or
beat the goal number they succeed, if not
they fail.
Successes are dice that result in a number
determined by the level of the Aptitude.
Untrained Aptitudes succeed on a roll of a
5 or 6. Proficient Aptitudes succeed on a roll
of a 4, 5 or 6. Mastered Aptitudes succeed
on a roll of a 3, 4, 5 or 6.
For example: A character is trying to kick down a
door. The Storyteller tells the player this requires
a Power and Daring Aptitude check with at least
2 successes. The character has a Power of 4 and
is Untrained in Daring, so rolls 4d6 and counts
37
any dice resulting in a 5 or 6. The dice rolled
result in 3,6,5 and 1: a total of 2 successes, the
character succeeds!
Almost any Aspect can be combined with
any Aptitude, depending on what the
character is attempting to do.
Non-Aptitude checks
Sometimes a character may wish to perform
an action that doesn’t apply to a particular
Aptitude. In cases such as these, straight
Aspect checks can be made, treating the
check as if the character was Proficient in
the check (successes are gained on a 4+).

Check Difficulty Threat Points

The difficulty of a task is indicated by the Failing an Aptitudes check can sometimes
number of successes required to succeed. have consequences beyond not achieving
This number is referred to as the Difficulty whatever was attempted; sometimes there
Value (or DV) and is determined by the will be lingering effects that will hamper the
Storyteller, but a guide can be found below. character and remind them of their failure.
More difficult checks (DV 5 or more) These consequences are represented by
may result in gaining Threat points if a Threat points.
character fails. There are 4 types of Threat, each of which
are tracked separately; Weakness, Paranoia,
Difficulty Successes Example Confusion, and Alienation. Each Threat is
required linked to a particular Aspect:
Easy 1-2 A simple task anyone
can perform Failed Power checks result in Weakness.
Normal 3-4 Something that requires Failed Subtlety checks result in Paranoia.
a little skill
Failed Presence checks result in Confusion.
Hard 5-6 A complicated task
Failed Acumen checks result in Alienation.
requiring a lot of skill
Impossible 7+ Only luck or superhuman
skill can achieve This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however.
Sometimes an Aptitudes check can result in
a Threat usually associated with a different
Favoured Aptitudes
Aptitude, as determined by the Storyteller.
All characters have three Favoured
Aptitudes, indicating that there are tasks
Not every Aptitude check will result in
that the character excels at. When making
gaining Threats, only high-risk checks.
an Aptitudes check that involves a Favoured
Generally speaking any check with a
Aptitude the player rolls an additional 2d6. difficulty of 5 or higher will result in
gaining a point of the appropriate Threat
if failed.

38
Threats can also be intentionally inflicted means Samael loses 1 success from his total and
by characters on each other by making fails the check!
offensive Aptitude checks (engaging in a
fight, duelling with words, or other such Too much Threat
situations). Generally if a character wishes Characters can take a number of each
to inflict Threat points on an opponent Threat points equal to twice their respective
they must make an opposed Aptitude check, Aspect. Once they reach this limit they
the results of which determine how many cannot gain any more of that kind of
Threat points are inflicted. Threat, but they also have reached their
The loser of the contest gains a number limit and suffer an additional effect. This
of Threat points equal to the difference effect cannot be removed until they have
between the two results. rested.
If a character fills up all four Threat tracks
For example: Samael engages in a duel of insults at the same time then they are at risk of
with a demon. Samael’s player makes a Presence becoming Dissolute; as close to death as a
+ Forceful Aptitude check, opposed by the demon’s Tormented can come.
Presence + Callous (rolled by the Storyteller).
Samael’s player gets 5 successes, the demon gets 2 Collapse (maximum Weakness)
successes: Samael wins the contest and the demon Your wounds mount and you collapse,
gains 3 Confusion (5 - 2 = 3). unable to stand without aid and only
able to move at a crawl. You cannot exert
Threat Dice yourself physically, or use your Power
For every Threat point a character gains, Aspect in Aptitude checks, until you rest
they also gain a ‘Threat die’ which must and recover.
be rolled along with any other dice when
making Aptitude checks where the Threat Terror (maximum Paranoia)
would have an affect. If any Threat dice You become convinced that everyone knows
result in a 5 or 6, then they lose a success your secrets, and that you cannot hide
from that roll. yourself. You are left in a state of constant
For example: Samael has 1 point of Weakness. fear and paranoia, and cannot use your
He is drawn into a battle with some wretched Subtlety in Aptitude checks, until you rest
lemures; a Power + Forceful Aptitude check with and recover.
a difficulty of 3. Samael has a Power of 4 and
is Proficient in Forceful, so rolls 4d6 and counts Fuge (maximum Confusion)
any dice that roll 4 or higher. He also rolls 1 You become a babbling mess, unable to form
Threat die for his point of Weakness. The normal cohesive sentences. You cannot interact with
dice result in a 2,4,5 and another 5; 3 successes. others normally, or use your Presence in
However the Threat die results in a 5, which Aptitude checks, until you rest and recover.
39
Insanity (maximum Alienation)
Your mind plummets into an abyss of
nightmares and flashbacks to your torment.
You cannot think straight and often
hallucinate, and cannot use your Acumen in
Aptitude checks, until you rest and recover.
Conviction Points
Conviction Points are a finite resource
that each character begins play with. They
represent a character’s ability to focus their
resolve and conviction on a task at hand,
and to possibly succeed despite terrible odds.

Removing Threat Points Conviction Points can be spent before

There are two ways a character can remove
Threat Points; Resting and Dwelling on a
Fragment. Additionally, a character can
choose to help another recover at the cost of
not removing their own Threat Points.
Resting
If a character is able to rest quietly for a few
hours they can remove half the Threat points
from each of their tracks. The character must
be undisturbed during this time, and can
only take minimal actions, such as talking,
eating or moving slowly about.
Dwelling on a Fragment
A character can choose to dwell on a
Fragment to remove all Threat Points from
a single track, instead of half of all tracks as
normal. While dwelling on a Fragment the
character must be undisturbed for several
hours, during which time they enter a
meditative trance.
making an Aptitudes check; if the check is
successful then the number of successes rolled
are doubled. If no successes are rolled at all,
then the Conviction Point counts as a single
success (so spending a Conviction Point
ensures that an Aptitudes check will always
result in at least 1 success).
The intention to spend a Conviction Point
must be declared before the Aptitude check
is made.
Conviction Points are recovered by
roleplaying to your characters Mask or
Heart. They can also be awarded by the
Storyteller as a reward for completing
Stories.

Helping another character recover

A character can choose to comfort another
character while they rest, allowing the
comforted character to remove all Threat
points from each of their tracks. However,
the comforting character cannot remove any
of their own Threat points.
40
It had taken them a long time to climb
the stairs inside the tower; thirty-six
time thirty-six steps carved from bone,
that each cried out in the voice of its
former owner when trod upon. Matthias
shuddered with every step he took and
even Sapphira, usually iron-hard and
stoic, looked ashen-faced by the time they
reached the tiny room at the apex of
the tower
They stood, shoulder-to-shoulder in the
small garret, looking down at a coffin
worked from dark wood lacquered to a
midnight shine. The guttering flame of
their last corpselight candle lit the room in
flickering purple light.
“This is where the mirror is meant to
be kept?” asked Matthias, looking up as
his companion. Sapphira nodded her
elongated head slowly, her eyes locked on
the coffin.
“They said it would be here.” she said.
Matthias bent and gripped the lid of the
coffin, found it unsettlingly warm to the
touch, and pulled it open. Within lay a
petrified corpse of something that looked
halfway between a human and a horse;
its long equine skull resting on its chest,
hands folded under its chin, dressed in
ancient robes of darkest sable. Hung
from its belt was a small but ornate hand
mirror, the glass of which swirled with
dark clouds.
“It’s really here.” Sapphira sighed, reaching
down and running reverent fingers across
the mirror’s frame. She looked across at
Matthias, her eyes suddenly full of guilt.
“What?” He asked, concerned by his
companions demeanor.
“They told me it had to be something of
equal value.”
With a sound like dry twigs rattling
together, the equine thing in the coffin
stood, green witchlight igniting in the
cavernous eye sockets of its skull.
“WHAT IS IT YOU SEEK?” it asked in a
voice like thunder.
“The Unlit Glass.” Sapphira whispered,
casting a sorrowful glance at Matthias,
who had backed away to the door.
“WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE?” the
creature boomed.
“Sapphira, please, no…” Matthias pleaded.
“A mortal soul.” Sapphira squeezed her
eyes closed, gesturing at Matthias.
“A SOUL, GIVEN FREELY KNOWING
ALL THAT ENTAILS?” The creature
turned to look at Sapphira, it’s green eyes
now outshining the corpselight candle in
Matthias’ trembling hand.
“Yes.” Every word the creature spoke
seemed to strike the tall woman like a
physical blow.
“THEN, THE DEAL IS MADE.”
With a gasp Sapphira’s head shot up, her
eyes locked to Matthias’. As he watched
her skin turned ashen white, hardening
and drying until in moments she had
withered to a petrified husk, a look of
unremitting horror frozen on her face. The
creature turned to Matthias and extended
a wizened hand, offering him the mirror.
“ANOTHER’S SOUL CANNOT BE
GIVEN, ONLY ONE’S OWN. YOUR
COMPANION BARGAINED…
UNWISELY.”
Matthias hesitantly took the mirror from
the creature, his eyes darting to Sapphira’s
frozen remains. The creature stepped out
of the coffin, advancing on his former
companion.
“YOU MAY LEAVE NOW.” it thundered,
“I HAVE MORE STEPS TO CARVE.”
Matthias fled.
41
Chapter 5: Scars
Whereas the majority of souls consigned to
the Twelve Hells are broken and diminished
by the punishments meted out by their
captors, the Tormented are instead changed
by their suffering.
Twisted and reshaped by their torture,
Tormented are granted strange and terrible
abilities at the price of becoming something
both more and less than a mortal soul.
These terrible gifts are known as Scars.
Each Scar grants a specific ability as
described below. Scars can take the form of
items of equipment; when this is the case
these items can never be lost or broken. If
seperated from them, a replacement will
reappear when the character next uses
that Scar.
Scars are often reflective of the punishments hell-forged weapons such as bows, spears, or
a Tormented has endured. A soul who was
stretched and distorted on a rack may find
their long limbs grant them better reach,
for example, or a soul who was forced to
lift heavy burdens now has a grotesque but
powerful physique.
Scars in play
All characters begin with 3 Scars, chosen
from the list below. Scars can take many
forms; when choosing a Scar, write a short
description next to the type of scar.
For example: Samael has a Puissant Scar
that takes the form of a huge, muscle-bound
monstrous right arm. His player writes down
“Puissant Scar (Monstrous right arm)” on his
character sheet. He also has a Resilient Scar,
which his player decides takes the form of Samael
being painfully sealed inside an ornate suit of
black armour. His player writes “Resilient Scar
(Sealed in armour)” on his character sheet.
Finally, Samael has a Raucous Scar, which takes
the form of a thundering, terrible voice that
strikes fear into his enemies. His player writes
down “Raucous Scar (Terrifying voice)”.
Potent Scar
“These claws of mine: the broken bones of my
fingers twisted into cruel hooks. All the better for
tearing the flesh of my former captors.”
Potent Scars allow a Tormented to exercise
their Power over a much greater range than
usual. These scars can take the form of
javelins. Sometimes Tormented with these
scars have even more strange abilities, such
as being able to hurl lightning bolts, breath
fire or fling shards of ice.
This scar allows the character to make
Power Contests at Distant targets.
Raucous Scar
“They made me scream, every hour of every day
for a hundred years. In time my voice changed;
now when I scream it is they who tremble.”
Raucous Scars give a Tormented the ability
to extend their Presence over a greater
range than usual. These scars often take the
43
form of a beautiful golden voice, the ability
to shriek like a banshee, or possibly a
glowing aura that draws the eye. Tormented
with this scar are sometimes horrifying to
look at, or hauntingly beautiful.
This scar allows the character to make
Presence Contests at Distant targets.
Brilliant Scar
“The things I have seen… experienced… they
changed how I perceive the world. Now I see
things for how they truly are. Of course, they
had to take my eyes, and replace them with
these… things. It was only fitting.”
Brilliant Scars allow a Tormented to
exercise their Acumen over a much greater
range than usual. These scars can appear
as glowing eyes, a grossly distorted skull,
or a fiery halo. Tormented with Brilliant
Scars often think in strange, oblique ways
compared to mortal souls.
This scar allows the character to make
44
Acumen Contests at Distant targets.
Ethereal Scar
“Shut in darkness for so long, it leached into me.
Darkness in my skin, in my soul. No one sees
me now, not really. I am darkness. Within,
and without.”
Ethereal Scars give a Tormented the ability
to extend their Subtlety over a greater
range than usual. Tormented with Ethereal
Scars are often hard to see, with blurry
outlines, or skin that seems to drink in light.
Others move like shadows, drifting about
with almost silent footsteps.
This scar allows the character to make
Subtlety Contests at Distant targets.
Puissant Scar
“I was impaled on this spear by my tormentors.
Now it always returns to my breast, even when
I cast it away. Still, it has its uses. Here…. keen,
isn’t it?”
Puissant Scars most often take the form of
hell-forged weapons such as a swords, spears
or axes. Sometimes they are more savage
in nature, such as great claws, monstrous
fangs, or whipping tails.
A Puissant Scar allows a character to
inflict an additional point of Weakness on
a successful Contest that would normally
inflict Weakness.
 runnels in my flesh. See how they shift?”
Enigmatic Scars can take the form of
swirling patterns that constantly crawl
across a Tormented’s skin, snake-like
scales, or even a dark mist that constantly
surrounds them. Tormented with Enigmatic
scars often find it hard to give straight
answers, and some even talk in riddles
or rhymes.

An Enigmatic Scar allows a character to

inflict an additional point of Paranoia on
a successful Contest that would normally
inflict Paranoia.

Acerbic Scar Ruthless Scar

“She wanted to make me prettier, that’s what
“You have to be like them, to survive here. That’s
she said. She strung me with needles and thread,
what they said. They did me a favour, when the
and pulled my face into this mask. To make me
changed me. You’ll see… I’ll change you too...”
prettier. Do you think it worked?”
Ruthless Scars make a Tormented cold
Acerbic Scars can take the form of a
and aloof. Sometimes they manifest as
unnaturally piercing voice, a reptilian
dead white eyes, a corpse-like pallor, or
tongue, or a strange exotic musk.
sometimes even a roughly-stitched incision
Tormented with Acerbic Scars are often
where the Tormented’s heart was cut from
spiteful, cattish individuals and that is
sometimes reflected in their appearance. their chest.

An Acerbic Scar allows a character to A Ruthless Scar allows a character to inflict

inflict an additional point of Confusion on an additional point of Alienation on a
a successful Contest that would normally successful Contest that would normally
inflict Confusion. inflict Alienation.

Enigmatic Scar
“You like my patterns? It took them a very long
time to cut them into me; they used the finest of
blades, and the very best silver, poured into the

45
Resilient Scar
“A thousand battles, I have fought. Every wound
I took a scar, and upon those scars I took yet
more wounds. I am a mass of old wounds; scars
upon scars upon scars. My flesh is a litany.”
Tormented with Resilient Scars are much
tougher than other souls. This scar most
often takes the form of a suit of armour,
but could also be a thick skin still marred
by broken blades and old wounds, or even a
thick shell of chitinous plates.

A Resilient Scar allows a character to

ignore a single attack once per scene that
would have inflicted Weakness points. don’t feel as… substantial… as I did. Can you
see through me?”
Tormented with Shadowy Scars sometimes
Haughty Scar
trail a great hanging cloak of flayed skin;
“They fitted me with this cage to drive out the
others may have a bat-like appearance.
weak thoughts. They tightened it around my
Some with afflicted with this scar have the
skull, squeezing out the pity, the regret, the
ability to become insubstantial for a
softness. I find I am thankful for it.”
short while.
Haughty Scars often take the form of a
cruel, distant demeanor. Some Tormented
A Shadowy Scar allows a character to
with Haughty Scars are more physically
ignore a single attack once per scene that
changed, with old wounds still visible on
would have inflicted Paranoia points.
their temples, or with great curving horns
sprouting from their heads.
Indomitable Scar
A Haughty Scar allows a character to “No more. That’s what I said when I broke
ignore a single attack once per scene that these chains around my neck. No. More. After
would have inflicted Confusion points. a millennia of suffering I rose up, and in that
moment, something in me changed forever.”
Indomitable Scars make a Tormented a
Shadowy Scar
bastion of their own will and identity.
“They took my reflection from me. Don’t ask
Sometimes these scars take the form of a
me how, but it hurt when they did. Now I
rusted iron cage enclosing the Tormented’s
46
head. Others manifest as arcane words
tattooed across the scalp. Some Tormented
with these scars have had all the skin flayed
from their heads, leaving them a
bloody skull.
An Indomitable Scar allows a character to
ignore a single attack once per scene that
would have inflicted Alienation points.
Winged Scar
“He called me his pretty little sparrow. He like to
hear me sing, when he wasn’t punishing me. He
said I needed wings, to match my song.”
Winged Scars take the form of a great pair
of wings, allowing a Tormented to fly. Most
commonly these are bat wings, but they can
also be more avian, with black, white or
even multi-hued feathers. Some Tormented
with these scars sport multiple wings; two,
three or even four pairs.
A Winged Scar allows a character to fly at
a swift pace.
Aquatic Scar
“Yes, I have fins. Spend as long in the Abyssal
Ocean as I have, and you’d grow them too.”
Aquatic scars often take the form of gills
and webbed fingers and toes, but sometimes
they appear as fin-like appendages, or even
a mass of tentacles instead of legs.
An Aquatic Scar allows a character to swim
incredibly well. They are always at home
in water.
Swift Scar
“They wanted me to be fast, you see. So I’d make
better sport. After the first hundred times they
caught and flayed me, they decided they’d make
me faster.”
Swift Scars can take the form of animalistic
legs; often those of a goat. Others with this
scar are more centauroid, with the lower
half of a horse or bull.
A Swift Scar allows a character to move
incredibly fast over land.
Clinging Scar
“I think it was a spider, or something like that. It
took my hands and feet, and gave me these. Not
sure, why. It didn’t tell me. Not sure it could
even speak.”
You can walk on walls and ceilings, like a
spider. Or a fly. Often this scar manifests
with extra insectile legs, or changes a
Tormented’s hands to appear as
clawed pads.
A Clinging Scar allows a character to crawl
on any surface, although slower than they
would normally walk.
47
Chapter 6: Character generation
Each player in Tormented controls a
character; one of the Tormented Souls
trapped in the Twelve Hells. It is down
to each individual player to create their
character and subsequently work with
the Storyteller to tell the story of that
character’s journey through the
Twelve Hells.
There are several stages to character
creation. You can do these in order (which
is advised), or do them in the order you
choose. A typical character generation
process can involve a lot of skipping around
between the various steps, as you hone your
character from a rough idea to a finished
concept.
• Step one: Concept (Name, Mask,
Heart, Goal)
• Step two: Aspects and Aptitudes
• Step three: Scars
• Step four: Finishing touches (Fragments,
Conviction Points)
Step one: Concept
Every character begins with a basic idea.
This can be a detailed idea, or a simple
character quirk. There are several sections
to that make up a character concept in
Tormented; Name, Mask, Heart and Goal.
Together these points can help you get into
character, explain to the Storyteller and
other players what your character is and
maybe help you decide how your character
would react to certain situations.
Name
What is your character’s name? Although
Tormented can remember nothing of their
mortal life they can remember their name;
or at least a name they think is theirs.
To best capture the feel and theme of the
game, names of Ancient Greek, Roman or
Biblical origin are advised.
Mask and Heart
Mask and Heart are two single-word
descriptions of the key components of your
characters personality. Mask is the face that
your character presents to those around
them; the facade that they wear to protect
themselves. Heart is the true nature of your
character; the drive that actually motivates
them and forms their moral core.
Some characters -those who wear their
hearts on their sleeves- may have an
identical Mask and Heart; however
such individuals are uncommon in the
duplicitous and dangerous realms of the
Twelve Hells.
Mask and Heart in play
Mask and Heart are used to gain additional
Conviction Points. If, during play, the
Storyteller believes a player has roleplayed
in a way that embodies either the Mask
or Heart of their character, then they
may award them with a Conviction Point.
However, such awards should not be too
common; one or two times per Story at
the most.
49
When choosing a Mask and a Heart,
choose from the list below, or agree a new
descriptor with your Storyteller.
Adjutant
Imbued with a strong sense of responsibility
and duty, Adjutants value traditions and
security. They seek to serve others, and
derive satisfaction from a task well done.
They often need the reinforcement of others
to feel good about themselves.
Architect
Creative, resourceful, and astute, Architects
delight in seeing their plans come to
fruition. They are excellent planners and
lateral thinkers. They can sometimes
become caught up in their ideas, becoming
neglectful of more mundane tasks.
Artisan
Thorough, responsible and dependable;
Artisans are often quiet and serious, with
excellent powers of concentration. Well
organised and hard working, once an
Artisan has put their mind to a task they
will strive to complete it.
Artist
Quiet, serious, sensitive and kind; Artists
dislike conflict, and are seldom interested in
leading or controlling others. Artists have
extremely well-developed senses, and an
aesthetic appreciation for beauty. Artists
are very flexible, open-minded and creative.
50
Daredevil
Friendly, adaptable, action-oriented,
Daredevils are fond of immediate results.
They can be impatient and impulsive, but
are passionate and affectionate. Daredevils
are very useful when you need something
done quickly.
Guardian
Guardians are diligent and loyal to
those they see as under their protection.
Guardians have a strong personal code,
and seek to enforce it whenever possible.
They can make good leaders, and are very
capable at organising others.
Martyr
Martyrs seek to help others, even at their
own expense. They are prone to self-
sacrifice, and dislike being alone. Martyrs
are effective leaders, are sensitive and have
outstanding people skills. Some Martyrs
are motivated by penitent thoughts; they
believe they must sacrifice themselves to
absolve themselves.
Mediator
Quiet, reflective, and idealistic, Mediators
always try to see every side in a conflict.
Mediators tend to be quick-witted
and insightful; able to see possibilities
institutions that others would miss.
Muse
Enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative, muses
are easily excited by new ideas but quickly
become bored with details. Their excitement the right thing. Preachers can make good
is infectious to others, and they are often
open-minded and flexible. They enjoy
inspiring others.
Outlaw
Outlaws live for the moment, not for the
future. They are uncomplicated in their
desires, loyal to their friends and to their
own values, but not overly concerned with
respecting laws and rules if they get in their coming up with grandiose ideas.
way. Outlaws excel at finding practical
solutions to problems.
Philosopher
Prone to deep, musing thought and
academic pursuits, Philosophers are quiet,
reserved and prefer their own company to
that of others. Normally reserved, they can
become passionate about their theories
and ideas.
Performer
Charming and fun-loving, Performers live
for pleasure and the adoration of others.
They love new experiences and dislike
structure and conformity. More often than
not Performers will be at the center of
attention in social situations.
Preacher
Forceful and possessed of a fierce sense
of their own values, Preachers are
individualistic, determined and powerfully
charismatic; they are known for their
perseverance in doing what they believe is
leaders, as long as their followers share
their ideals.
Romantic
Full of grand ideas, romantics are
always dreaming of what could be. They
are emotional, artistic, and extremely
perceptive of others feelings, but prone
to daydreaming. Romantics are great at
Tyrant
Dominant and outspoken, Tyrants are
driven to lead. They have an excellent
ability to organise others and overcome
problems, but often see the end as justifying
the means. Tyrants are powerful leaders,
although often through force of will, rather
than charisma.
Visionary
Visionaries are natural-born leaders with
a dream and the drive to see it fulfilled.
Excellent at long-term planning, Visionaries
demand high standards from others and
themselves. Visionaries can be great
forces for good or ill, depending on their
particular vision.
Goal
All Tormented have a goal; a purpose
that drives them on and gives them the
strength to continue. This goal could be
something simple (“Get Revenge on the
demon who tortured me”), or something
51
more comprehensive (“Save as many souls as
I can, and find a way out of Hell”).
Some example goals are outlined below:
Escape
You have escaped your confinement,
that much is given, but there are greater
confinements to escape. Do you seek to
escape the specific Hell you are in, or the
Twelve Hells entirely? There are rumours
that tell of Souls who have somehow
managed to escape damnation, but few
details as to how.
Dominate
You are strong, stronger than the demons
perhaps. You can use that to put yourself in
a position of power. Do you want to do that
to protect others? Or for your own gain? Do
you perhaps even desire to usurp one of the
Fiend Lords themselves?
Revenge
Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served
cold. You are free, and now someone is
going to pay.
Was it one demon in particular that
wronged you? Or do you seek to teach all
demons the error of their ways?
Salvation
Maybe there can be salvation, even in Hell.
Do you seek to save yourself? Or are you
trying to save other souls, perhaps one soul
in particular? Why?
52
Step Two: Aspects, Aptitudes
and Favoured Aptitudes
Aspects and Aptitudes are the main focus of
the mechanical of a character. These are the
statistics used when making various tests
and checks to see if a character can perform
a specific action.
All characters begin with 15 Character
points (CPs), which are used to buy both
Aspects and Aptitudes.
Buying Aspects
All characters start with 1 point in each
Aspect (Power, Subtlety, Acumen and
Presence) for free. Adding an additional
points costs a number of CP equal to the
number of points the character currently
has in that Aspect (see table below). The
costs of buying more points is cumulative.
The maximum for any stat is 5 points but
players and Storytellers should remember
that stats of 4 or 5 are considered extremely
uncommon.
Aspect CP Cost Cumulative Cost
1 Free 0
2 1 1
3 2 3
4 3 6
5 4 10
Buying Aptitudes
Characters do not start with any Trained
Aptitudes. To buy a Trained Aptitude costs
1 CP; this allows a character to treat a die
roll of 4 or more as a success when making
an Aptitudes check.
To Master an Aptitudes costs 2 CP; this cost
is cumulative with the 1 CP paid to already
learn the Trained Aptitude, for a total of 3
CP to buy and then Master an Aptitudes.
Mastered Aptitudes allow a character to
treat a die roll of 3 or more as a success
when making an Aptitudes check.
Favoured Aptitudes
Choose 3 Aptitudes to Favour. When a
character makes an Aptitudes check that
involved a Favoured Aptitude they roll an
additional 2d6.
Step Three: Scars
Characters begin with 3 Scars. Pick your
characters Scars, work out how they
manifest, and write them down.
Step Four: Finishing Touches
The finishing touches to your character are
the Fragments of memory they retain, and
their Conviction Points.
Fragments
One of the torturous aspects of being
condemned to the Twelve Hells is that a
soul cannot remember the reasons they
have been sentenced to suffer eternally.
Indeed, not even the demons know why
any particular soul is condemned to Hell
(although few demons will admit it).
Rarely, however, a soul will have flashes
of memory; glimpses of their mortal life
and possibly the crimes they commited.
These are known as Fragments, and to the
Damned they are precious reminders of
what they once were. Even the most painful
Fragment is treasured as a glimpse of a
world outside the nightmare of the Twelve
Hells.
An individual Fragment is a brief,
incomplete memory. It might be of a
smiling woman sat in a sunlit room; or
a view of a distant city on a hill. Never
enough to fully understand the context of
the memory, but inspiring nonetheless.
Fragments in play
All characters begin with 3 Fragments. Each
Fragment is recorded as a short phrase, such
as “I remember a kind woman; I was loved
once”, or “I see a city on a hill; I think I lived
there”.
Fragments are used as a source of
spiritual strength. Characters can rest and
contemplate on a Fragment to remove
Threat points (see the Threat points
section). During this time the character
relives the Fragment again and again,
gaining succour from it as they attempt to
glean any meaning from the memory.
Fragments can also be used to save a
character from Dissolution; the state in
which a soul is rendered permanently
53
incapacitated. If a character is at risk of
becoming Dissolute they can choose instead
to permanently forget a Fragment to avoid
their fate. Whis happens, the Fragment in
question is marked as lost on the character
sheet, and the character forgets the details
of that Fragment. The character somehow
miraculously survives the situation; the
player and the Storyteller should discuss
how this happens.
If a character forgets their last Fragment,
they become a Lost Soul and can no longer
be played.
Conviction Points
You start with 3 Conviction Points. These
are a finite resource; once they are gone
they are gone. You can earn more, however,
during the game.
Example Character
Generation
Alex sits down with a copy of the
Tormented rulebook to create a new
character for Ellen’s upcoming game.
First Alex tries to come up with the core
concept of his character; their name, Mask,
Heart, and Goals. Alex decides he likes the
name Ezekiel; it’s Biblical in origin so it
fits the setting and he likes how it sounds.
He writes down the name on his character
sheet. For the Mask and Heart, Alex decides
to pick his character’s Heart first - he wants
to think about who they truly are before
deciding on how they present themselves to
54
others. Looking at the list of examples, Alex
decides he likes the look of the Philosopher
description; someone who is quiet and
thoughtful, but sometimes passionate,
and a bit of a loner. He starts to build up
an idea of what Ezekiel will be like based
on this. Alex writes down ‘Philosopher’ in
the Heart section of the character sheet.
Now he knows what Ezekiel is like on the
inside, Alex looks at the list again to pick
a description for how his character acts
around other people; his Mask. He quickly
decides on the Mediator; someone who is
quiet and thoughtful (similar to his Heart)
and acts as a balancing force. He adds this
to the character sheet. Finally Alex needs
to pick a goal for Ezekiel. He thinks that
Ezekiel is the kind of soul who would seek
to help those around him, even if that puts
his own safety at risk. Although he could
just write ‘Salvation’ as his characters goal,
Alex decides something a bit more detailed
is needed; he writes down “Balance the
evils around me” - Alex believes this better
encompasses Ezekiel’s goal to do right by
those trapped in the Twelve Hells.
The next section of character generation is
assigning points to Aspects and Aptitudes.
Alex likes the idea of Ezekiel being a
cerebral and emotional character, rather
than a physical one, so he puts 3 points in
both Acumen and Presence. This costs 6
character points in total. He also puts 2
points in Subtlety, as he thinks Ezekiel is at
least half-decent at subterfuge, and leaves
his Power at 1. This means in total Alex has
spent 7 character points on Aspects.
Looking at the list of Aptitudes, Alex
picks the ones he believes Ezekiel will be
most likely to use the most; Magnanimous
(because everything else so far has
made him think this will be Ezekiel’s
primary Aptitude), Mystical (because
he’s thoughtful, clever and probably quite
learned), Observant (Alex sees Ezekiel as
being quite astute and sharp-eyed), and
Restrained (Alex sees Ezekiel being quite
stoic). He spends 1 character point to make
each of these Aptitudes Trained.
Alex decides to spent 2 of his remaining
character points to make Magnanimous
Mastered, meaning Ezekiel will be even
better with this Aptitude.
Only 1 character point remains. Alex spends
this to take the Devious Aptitude at Trained
- he thinks that Ezekiel will be secretly quite
good at underhanded methods when he
needs to be.
Alex now marks down the various
proficiency levels on his character sheet by
checking the corresponding boxes in the
Aptitudes section.
With all his character points spent, Alex
can now choose 3 Aptitudes to be Favoured;
he chooses Magnanimous, Mystical and
Restrained, and marks his character
sheet accordingly.
Next Alex moves on to choosing Ezekiel’s
Scars. After reading through the list, Alex
chooses a Raucous Scar, an Enigmatic Scar
and an Indomitable Scar. He decides that
the Raucous scar, which allows Ezekiel to
make Presence Contests at longer range,
takes the form of rays of light, that stream
from Ezekiel’s skull when he orates. The
Enigmatic scar, which means that Ezekiel
inflicts more Paranoia points on a successful
Contest, takes the form of strange arcane
words tattooed across Ezekiel’s chest and
arms. Lastly, the Indomitable scar, which
allows Ezekiel to ignore a single attack
that would inflict Alienation points, takes
the form of a series of iron blades that are
driven into the back of Ezekiel’s skull.
Alex writes down “Raucous Scar (rays
of light when orating)”, “Enigmatic Scar
(Arcane tattoos)”, and “Indomitable Scar
(Iron blades in skull)” on his character sheet.
The final step is to record Ezekiel’s
Fragments. Alex thinks that Ezekiel was
probably a teacher in life, so the first
fragment he writes down is something to
do with that: “I remember talking before
a crowd; I think I was a teacher”. Next he
decides to add something about the others
in Ezekiel’s life; “I remember a woman
laughing as she tells me she loves me”.
Finally Alex decides to add something
about where Ezekiel lived; he writes down “I
remember the sea, brilliant blue as the sun
sparkles on the waves”.
The final thing to record are Ezekiel’s
Conviction Points; he starts with 3. Ezekiel
is now ready to step into Ellen’s story.
55
Chapter 7: Storytelling
The Storyteller is the role that in other
roleplaying games would be referred to
as the Gamemaster. It is the job of the
Storyteller to frame the story that the
players act out with their characters, and to
guide them through scenes and challenges
with the help of the rules.
Tormented is described as a Storytelling
game as it is intended to be a collaborative
experience in which a story is told by both
the players and the Storyteller; tales of
damnation and salvation, innocence and
loss, guilt and repentance. While combat
may feature in such stories, it is not
intended to be a focus of them as it is in
some roleplaying games.
The way the rules for Tormented have been
designed is to encourage both players and
Storytellers to view all and any situations
during a game as resolvable in a variety
of ways. While you could smash your way
through a group of opponents, you could
equally cow them with your thundering
voice, outwit them with your superior
intelligence, or sneak past them like
a shadow.
The Psychology
of Storytelling
The psychology of being a Storyteller
is sometimes hard to achieve. As the
Storyteller you are not trying to ‘beat’ the
players; you are not opposing teams, you
are both working together to tell a story.
Too many Storytellers forget this cardinal
rule and see their role as the wall the
players have to beat down. They write a
story and then get frustrated when the
players act outside of the planned route.
They throw enemies at the players in waves
to try to wound or kill their characters, so
they can feel justified that they ‘made the
game hard enough’.
The best way to be a Storyteller is to
remember that (despite the name) it is not
the Storyteller’s job to tell a story. It their
job to create a setting; what the player
characters do in that setting is what creates
the story. The best Storyteller sets the stage,
guides the players and helps make it an
enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
That said, while it’s sometimes good to
let characters show off how competent
they are, you must also present them with
real challenges and real threats. Without
struggle and risk, there is no sense of
accomplishment. It is a very fine balance
between allowing characters to breeze
through a story with no opposition, and
challenging them enough that they feel like
they really earned the ending.
Another key rule to remember is pacing.
Any good story builds tension and
releases it. Having too many high-risk,
threatening scenes one after another
57
becomes dull because eventually we become
oversaturated and lose interest. Equally, a
slow-paced story where nothing happens is
boring for obvious reasons. A good, varied
mix of threat, action, social interaction and
mental challenges makes for an interesting
story.
Also remember that a simple thing done
well is better than an elaborate thing done
poorly. Plots do not need to be complex
webs of intrigue; sometimes the simplest
plot can yield the most memorable games.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to take a break
from the game if you need to calculate or
plan. This is not a video game, and you are
not a computer. It’s better to tell a good
story slowly than a dull one quickly. If the
players come up with a plan you have not
anticipated it’s fine to ask them to take a
short break while you quickly brainstorm
a resolution.
The ‘Yes but’ rule
Tormented is a game about Gothic Horror,
but even with that, it is supposed to be a
game and people play games to have fun.
When a player asks if their character can
do something, generally the Storyteller
should respond “Yes, but...”.
The ‘but’ can include an Aptitudes check
(such as “Yes but you’ll have to make a DV5
Power plus Forceful check”) or a condition
(“Yes, but the demon will spot you”).
58
This is a better solution than the Storyteller
constantly telling players no because it
helps both sides build the story. However,
there are some instances where ‘no’ is the
right answer. If the Storyteller says no, then
their word is final.
Aptitude Checks
Aptitude checks are used to determine
the outcome of any situation in which the
success or failure of an action will affect
the shape of the story. Certain actions are
essential to the progress of a story; these
actions shouldn’t involve Aptitude checks
as the failure of those checks would only
result in the story stalling until the players
passed the required check. Aptitude checks
should be reserved for actions where success
leads the story in one direction, and failure
another.
For example: Samael is trying to gain entrance
to a prison where he believes a soul is trapped
that might have information he needs. He
attempts to rebuke the two demons who guard
the gate. Samael’s player makes the Aptitude
check requested by the Storyteller but fails;
the demons laugh and drive him away. Now
Samael’s player needs to come up with a different
plan to enter the prison, sending the story in a
new direction. Had he succeeded, the story would
have progressed to him locating and talking to
the prisoner.
Which Aspect and Aptitude?
So a player wants to perform an action,
which Aspect and Aptitude do you
combine? Some actions might be fairly
obvious which combination to use; combat
for example usually involves the Power
Aspect combined with either the Daring or
Forceful Aptitudes. Other checks might be
less obvious.

Some example types of check, and the

opposing check, are outlined below. This
is not an exhaustive list, it is just a set of
examples.
Bluffing, Charming or Seducing
Check: Presence + Hedonistic or
Combat
Magnanimous or Devious
Check: Power + Daring or Forceful
Opposed by: Acumen + Restrained
Opposed by: Power + Tough or Observant

“They called him the Silver-tongue, because his

“Into the host she dove; lance held before her and
words could charm the horns from the head of
shield raised. Blow after blow she rained upon
an arch-demon. He instinctively knew the words
her foes, smiting them with all her might and
that would bring others to his side; he wove them
fury. None could stand against her, and they fell
like a spider weaves its web. An his words were
back and were broken.”
no less deadly to those they ensnared.”

Simply put, one character decides to

Bluffing, Charming and Seduction are all
physically injure another. Forceful is the
similar in that they involve a character
Aptitude most often used for combat
attempting to use the charisma, words or
checks, but Daring can also be used when a
lies to get another character to do what
character is trying something particularly
they want. A successful Bluff, Charm or
dynamic. The result of a successful Combat
Seduction check can be used to get another
check will almost always be Weakness
character to impart information, perform a
points inflicted on the target.
favour, or to believe a particular statement
is true. A successful check will usually
inflict Confusion points on the target, but

59
optionally it could instead inflict Paranoia
points, depending on the situation.
Intimidation
Check: Power + Callous or Forceful
Opposed by: Presence + Restrained
“The countenance beneath her cowl was such
that those who gazed upon it fell back in fear,
and fled. She was a storm walking; her eyes were
lightening and her brow a thunderhead.”
Sometimes putting fear into someone is the
best way to get what you need. A character
can Intimidate another through a show
of force, verbal threats or even by sheer
menacing presence. It can be used to make
others cooperate out of fear, back down
from a confrontation or keep quiet about
something. A successful Intimidation check
almost always inflicts Confusion points on
the target.
Torture
Check: Power or Subtlety + Callous
Opposed by: Acumen + Restrained
“Skin was his canvas; knives his brushes and
blood his paint. He created a masterpiece of
suffering, wrung in screams and agony from the
raw clay of his victim. There was nothing they
would not tell him to stop the torture, but their
words fell on deaf ears.”
Torture is common in the Twelve Hells,
and most often used to extract Morsus
60
-the raw stuff of suffering- from Damned
souls by demons. However, even demons
are not immune to pain, and more than
one Tormented has turned to Torture
as a means to exact revenge or extract
information from the natives of the Hells.
Worse still, some Tormented use it on
Damned souls to produce Morsus, which
they then trade to demons in exchange for
favours. A successful Torture check can
force a character to reveal information
against their will. It can also be used to
extract Morsus from a Damned soul; one
measure of Morsus is extracted per success.
A successful Torture check can inflict
any kind of Threat point; this should be
determined by the Storyteller and the
Torturing character.
Duel of Wits
Check: Subtlety + Devious
Opposed by: Acumen + Devious
“They dueled with words and wits, as the demons
of the Salon of Suffering watched with arched
eyebrows. No quarter was given, nor asked for.
Words were wielded like blades, each insult
carefully calculated to inflict maximum damage.
In the end, there could be only one victor.”
A Duel of Wits is when two characters
attempt to outmaneuver each other
verbally and mentally, sparring with words
and cunning. This is usually in a social
situation, but could equally take place on
a battlefield. A Duel of Wits can be used to
shame or discourage an opponent, usually
resulting in them backing down or feeling
chastised. A successful Duel of Wits check
will always inflict Alienation points on
the target.
Stealth
Check: Subtlety + Devious
Opposed by: Acumen + Observant
“He was like a shadow; like darkness walking.
His footsteps made no sound as he stole across
the bone-flagged courtyard of the arch-demon’s
manse, and he climbed the walls like a spider.
Demons sleep lightly, but his tread was
lighter still.”
If a character wants to get past another
without being seen, or perhaps to smuggle
something past them in plain sight, they
need to make a Stealth check. While a
successful Stealth check rarely inflicts
Threat Points, sometimes the Storyteller
might decide that the target will take
either Paranoia or Confusion points for a
particularly impressive result.
Battle of Wills
Check: Acumen + Forceful
Opposed by: Acumen + Restrained
“Their eyes locked over the battlefield, and as
they did all distractions fell away. She strode
towards her enemy, her will projected before her
as a wave of incandescent power. For a moment
he withstood her assault, until his mind buckled
and he was cast down before her.”
A battle of Wills is a contest in which
two characters match their intellect and
willpower against one another. This could
take the form of a sorcerous battle, or
alternatively it could be something more
mundane and cerebral such as a game of
chess. A successful Duel of Wits check will
always inflict Alienation points on the
target.
Sorcerous Singing
Check: Presence + Mystical
Opposed by: Presence + Restrained or
Tough
“Gathered he a great breath, and with that gave
voice to a dire chant that smote his foes. Thunder
rolled, and about his head gathered flashes of
terrible power. All those who heard his song
quailed in fear.”
Many demons are fond of songs, and
sometimes those songs are accompanied
by sorcerous fire, roiling smoke and flashes
61
62
of infernal power. Some Tormented can
also sing such wrathful dirges, and use
their songs to flay the demons who oppose
them. A successful Sorcerous Singing check
can be used to terrify opponents, impress
them or leave them shocked and confused.
A successful check will always inflict
Confusion points on the target.
Infernal Rebuke
Check: Presence + Forceful
Opposed by: Presence + Restrained
“She gathered herself up, suddenly tall beyond
measurement, beautiful beyond enduring,
terrible and worshipful. Her words cracked like a
whip, and all fell before her, cowering at her feet
like dogs, begging for her forgiveness.”
An Infernal Rebuke is when a character
uses their charisma, presence and anger to
chastise another, driving them back with
sheer force of personality and outrage. A
successful Infernal Rebuke will cause a
target to cower, flee or grovel before the
character. A successful check will always
inflict Confusion points on the target.
Initiative
In some situations, such as combat, multiple
characters may be acting against one
another. To determine the sequence in which
the characters in a scene may act, each
character must make an Initiative check.
An Initiative check is made by rolling a
number of dice equal to the Aspect that is
most logical to the situation (i.e. Power in
a combat situation, Acumen in a situation
where quick-thinking would work, etc) and
count the number of dice resulting in a 4,
5 or 6 (as if they were making a Trained
Aptitude check). The resulting number
is their Initiative. Those with the highest
initiative reactive fastest and act first; those
with the lowest initiative react slowest.
Storytellers may wish to roll Initiative for
NPCs involved in a scene as a group, or in
several subgroups (one roll for enemies, one
roll for allies for example) to speed up play.
When it is a character’s turn to act, they
may make a single Aptitude check, move
several paces, talk or another suitable
action. Once they are finished, it is the
next character’s turn, and so on until all
characters have acted.
If further actions are required or desired,
all characters make another Initiative
check, and continue acting until the scene
is resolved.
Initiative checks can be used for any contest
involving multiple characters acting at
once; not just combat, but arguments,
rebuking, or even singing. If a scene involves
two or more characters trying to act before
the other, use an Initiative check.
Assigning a Difficulty Value
When a player asks to perform an action
sometimes it is not clear as to what
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Difficulty Value a Storyteller should assign
to it. Generally speaking most everyday
tasks such as climbing walls, picking locks
and anything that shouldn’t take a hero too
long should have a DV of 1 or 2.
Tasks that require more Aptitude or luck
should range from DV 2 to 3. Difficulty
Values of 4 and 5 should be reserved for
tasks that are truly difficult. DV 6 tasks
should only really appear in times of
great peril.
Range
Aptitude checks can encompass almost
any action the players and Storytellers
can think of, but some of those actions can
only feasibly take place at specific ranges.
For example; you can’t whisper to someone
the other side of a field. Other checks will
be applicable, regardless of range, such
as trying to spot someone sneaking in the
shadows, or singing a song.
All contests have an innate (and hopefully
logical) range at which they can take place.
If a character wants to whisper a threat to
someone this can only take place if the two
are close together. If a character wants to
shout to another, that has a longer range.
Tormented uses conceptual range brackets
to establish if a character can make an
Aptitudes check. These ranges are:
Bracket Description
Close Within touching distance
Near Within a few dozen yards
Distant Within line-of-sight, but far away
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By default most actions can only take place
at Close range. However, some actions are
logically longer range (such as shooting a
bow at a target, or spotting a character in
the distance). Characters with certain Scars
can also make Aptitude checks over much
larger distances than normal.
A character can attempt to affect a target
at a further range bracket than normal by
increasing the DV of the Aptitude check by
1 for each bracket beyond the normal range.
It should be noted that these ranges
only affect the initiating character. If an
Aptitudes check affects another character
(such as shooting a bow) then the affected
character can still make their opposing
check as normal.
Opposed Aptitude Checks
Sometimes two characters come into
contest with each other when making
Aptitude checks. This can be two player
characters, or a player character and a
character controlled by the Storyteller (a
non-player character, or NPC). In these
situations the difficulty of an Aptitudes
check is not determined by the Storyteller:
instead the characters both make Aptitude
checks and the results are compared against
each other.
In most opposed Aptitude checks there
will be an active character and a passive
character; the active character is the one
making the Aptitude check and the passive

character is the one they are trying to beat.
The passive character’s Aptitude check
determines the DV of the active character’s
Aptitude check; the active character must
equal or exceed the result of the passive
character’s Aptitude check in order
to succeed.
If the passive character fails to get any
successes then as long as the active
character gets a single success they succeed.
If neither character gets any successes then
both characters fail.
Combat is one example of an opposed
Aptitude check; when a character attacks
another the attacker (the active character)
tries to equal or exceed the defender’s
(the passive character) Aptitude check to
determine if they hit their target.
When the active character wins an opposed
Aptitude check, they may inflict Threat
Points on the passive character equal to
the difference between the two results.
The Storyteller will determine the type of
Threat points gained, but the player may
suggest the type of Threat they were trying
to inflict.
For example: Samael has found another way
into the prison and is sneaking down a corridor.
Ahead a demon steps into view, and Samael’s
player decides he will attack the demon from
behind before he can spot Samael. He makes a
Power + Devious Aptitude check, opposed by the
demon’s Acumen + Observant. Samael’s player
gets 5 success; the Storyteller gets 2 for the
demon. Samael inflicts 3 Weakness points on the
demon; enough to drive it into Collapse.
Assisting other characters
At times two or more characters may wish
to combine their efforts for a particular
task. Characters can elect to aid each other
with Aptitude checks in certain situations
when the Storyteller deems it appropriate.
When aiding each other, the characters
involved must decide who is taking the
lead and who is providing assistance. Both
characters make an Aptitudes check against
the DV assigned by the Storyteller. The
assisting character(s) each add half the
successes they rolled (rounding down, to
a minimum of 1 success) to the successes
rolled by the leading character. The number
of characters who can assist with any one
check is decided by the Storyteller.
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For example: Ashima is trying to break down
a heavy door with a Power + Forceful Aptitude
check. Samael offers to help her and the
Storyteller agrees that this is an Aptitude check
he can assist with. As Samael is the stronger
character the pair agree he should lead and
Ashima will assist. The Storyteller assigns a DV
of 4 to the check and both Ashima and Samael
roll their dice. Ashima rolls 2 successes and
Samael rolls 3. Ashima halves her successes for a
total of 1 and adds it to Samael’s 3 successes for a
total of 4; they succeed!
Some Aptitude checks may be ruled by the
Storyteller as un-assistable but each case
should be decided by the Storyteller as and
when players decide they wish to assist
each other.
Relics
Relics are useful, powerful items created by
the residents of Hell. They are often unique,
and many of them are fought over jealously.
Characters do not start with any relics;
they must be acquired during their travels
through the Twelve Hells.
Relics grant bonus dice to Aptitude checks.
Each Relic belongs to one of three ratings;
Uncommon, Remarkable and Exceptional.
Each Relic is linked to a certain Aptitude,
which indicates which Aptitude it grants
bonus dice to.
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Uncommon
Uncommon relics may cost a small amount
or require a small investment of time to
locate, and grant an extra 1d6 to Aptitude
checks involving that Aptitude.
An example Uncommon relic is a Hell-
forged whip that grants a +1d6 bonus to
any Forceful Aptitude checks. The whip is
stitched from the skin flayed from Damned
souls, and when swung it moans with the
voices of those souls used to make it. Such
whips are common in the Palace of Pain.
Remarkable
Remarkable relics can be hard to find and
will certainly cost a significant amount. A
Remarkable relic grants an extra 2d6 to
Aptitude checks involving that Aptitude.
An example Remarkable relic is a cloak of
scintillating scales, plucked from a glass
snake from the Blinding Flats. The scales
adopt the colours of their surroundings,
granting a +2d6 bonus to any Devious
Aptitude checks.
Exceptional
Exceptional relics are very rare and
usually of the utmost quality or of bizarre
provenance. Obtaining an Exceptional relic
will be an adventure in itself. Exceptional
relics grant an extra 3d6 to Aptitude checks
involving that Aptitude.
An example Exceptional relic is the
Weeping Blade; a singular sword forged
from the tears of the Banshee herself. The
Blade contains a tiny fragment of the
Banshee’s powers, granting a +3d6 bonus
to any Mystical Aptitude checks. Lost
for centuries, legends tell that the Blade
is hidden in a labyrinthine set of tunnels
beneath the Howling Wastes. Finding these
tunnels is a quest in itself, and reaching
them without the denizens of the Wastes
finding you is another. Then, once inside
the tunnels, you must navigate your way
through the ash-choked passageways,
find the Blade, and escape again before
the nightmarish creatures that lurk in the
gloom come for you.
Morsus
Morsus is the name given by demons to
the raw stuff of suffering created when
a Damned soul is tortured. It is a dark,
crimson liquid that somewhat resembles
blood, or perhaps wine, and it is relished by
demons who consume it as mortals would
food or drink. It has a strange, unctuous
quality; it is thick and viscous, and beads of
it seem drawn to one another.
Ingesting morsus invigorates demons,
leaving them content and drowsy. Although
demons do not require sustenance in a
normal sense, they hunger for morsus and
if they are not able to regularly consume it
they become foul tempered, aggressive and
withdrawn. A demon starved of morsus for
a significant period will exhibit physical
signs of withdrawal; they become thin,
emaciated and predatory.
If a mortal soul were to consume a measure
of morsus they relive the pain and suffering
of the soul it was created from. Sometimes
they also experience flashes of memory or
sensation, but never are these experiences
pleasant.
Mechanically, if a Damned soul is subjected
to Torture (see the Aptitude checks section)
then one measure of morsus is produced per
success. The morsus weeps out of the victim’s
skin like sweat, or sometimes even congeals
from their very screams. It can be bottled,
or otherwise stored in any container.
Demons with the knowledge are able to
refine raw morsus into a variety of other
elements, all of which can be consumed
by demons. All such elements have the
same effect as morsus on mortal souls, but
to demons each has a different flavour or
sensation: shriek-sugar is sweet agony; pain-
wine is intoxicating; agony-snuff is dizzying
and flavourful.
Morsus -and its derivatives- is a lucrative
commodity in the Twelve Hells. Demons are
quick to trade favours, or even treasures for
it, and more than one Tormented soul has
turned on their fellow Damned to lay their
hands on raw morsus.
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68
The Nature of Souls
Is it not known how or why a particular
soul is assigned to the Hell they awake
in, if they are indeed assigned at all. All
Damned generally agree the first thing they
remember is terrible, burning agony, a sense
of falling and then sudden consciousness
and an undeniable knowledge that they
were dead.
Some souls awake naked, others clothed;
some remember more fragments of their
previous life than others. But there are
constants among the Damned: none of them
need to sleep, eat, drink, or breathe. They
can still do any of these things should the
desire take them -and many do so out of
pure habit- but the physical requirement
is no longer there. The Damned are also
functionally immortal. Although they
resemble physical beings, souls are no
longer bound to the mortal plane and as
such cannot be killed by violence, disease or gains the maximum number of Weakness,
neglect. Their flesh can still be cut and torn,
but any injuries will quickly heal, even thosethen they have become Dissolute.
that would be fatal in the mortal realm.
The two main threats a soul faces in the
Twelve Hells are Dissolution and Loss
of Self.
Dissolution
Dissolution is as close to death as a soul
can come in the Twelve Hells. It is the state
in which a soul has suffered an incredible
amount of physical, mental or psychological
trauma and is then somehow rendered
unable to recover.
Most commonly Dissolution is as a result of
physical trauma, but it is just as possible to
end up in this state from other situations.
Some demons intentionally make souls
Dissolute, as doing so initially creates a
large amount of Morsus. However, after the
initial deluge, the flow of Morsus quickly
stops and the soul becomes useless as a
source of nourishment. As such, the practice
is mostly discouraged in ‘civilised’ demonic
society. Souls can also end up Dissolute due
to the various environmental hazards found
in the various Hells.
From a Storytelling point of view there
are a few ways characters can become
Dissolute. The most common way is filling
up all four Threat tracks; if a character
Paranoia, Confusion and Alienation points
Characters can also become Dissolute
through failing an extremely difficult
Aptitude check (although this is
uncommon), or through negligent action
by their player. Negligent action is when a
player insists on attempting a dangerous
action despite Storyteller’s warning, such as
jumping into a bottomless pit or standing
in the path of a landslide. In such situations
is it advisable that the Storyteller give the
player an Impossible (DV 7) skill check to
save their character, but the player should
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be aware the price of failure is the loss of
their character. Even if the player passes
the check their character should suffer some
kind of consequence as a result of their
behaviour.
Another way a character can die is through
conscious sacrifice. A player may choose
that their character willingly becomes
Dissolute, usually to save another character.
In such situations no rolls are necessary; the
character is Dissolute.
A player can save their character from
Dissolution by choosing to have them
permanently forget a Fragment. When this
happens the character is miraculously saved
from their fate; the player and Storyteller
should work together to work out how they
are saved and work it into the story in a
believable and interesting way.
Loss of Self
Loss of Self occurs when a Souls loses all
hope and forgets the last fragment of who
they once were. These souls become Lost;
traumatised and haunted creatures that are
no longer truly aware of their surroundings.
Characters can only become Lost Souls if
they forget their last Fragment; something
that can only really happen voluntarily as
part of a story. A character generally only
forgets Fragments to avoid Dissolution,
so a character can only forget their last
Fragment if they believe Loss of Self is a
better fate than Dissolution.
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Some players may decide that the horrors
of the Twelve Hells are too much for their
character, and that Loss of Self is an
appropriate fate for them.
Loss of Self should never be forced on a
character without a players permission.
The Setting
Tormented is intended to capture the
feeling of the Hells presented in a number of
works of popular fiction. The Twelve Hells
are meant to be a familiar, yet disturbing
place where the laws of physics do not
matter and horror is ever present.
It is intended to be a timeless setting; the
characters controlled by the players have
been trapped in the Hells for centuries
if not aeons; they are not intended to be
people from our modern age. The mortal
world -our world- should not feature in
games of Tormented, except as an idealised
setting for Fragments of memory. Even
when exploring these fragments, the world
should be kept nebulous and abstract.
Socially the Twelve Hells are best imagined
as a pseudo-medieval setting with elements
of the renaissance thrown in. The medieval
elements can be found in the way the
various demons occupy the social strata
of peasants, yeomen, knights, barons and
lords. They are a vicious and scheming race,
yet their hierarchy is ingrained in their
psychology. This feudal setting can also
extend to the physical locations found in
the various Hells; castles are commonplace,
as are keeps, towers and villages that
wouldn’t look out of place in the medieval
period. The renaissance elements are found
in the ‘technology’ level of the Twelve Hells,
as well as the look and feel of some demons.
Armour and weaponry found in the gothic
or renaissance period would not look out of
place in the Twelve Hells, such as baroque
plate armour, greatswords, longswords. In
some Hells, such as the Palace of Pain and
the Sprawling Warren, demons delight in
dressing in clothing that draws from the
renaissance period.
Weird, yet familiar
A good rule for Storytellers when describing stories is “Is there a heaven?”.
the Twelve Hells, or creating a new location The answer is that no one in the Twelve
in a particular Hell, is to add 2 familiar
aspects for every 1 weird aspect.
By blending the everyday with the
abnormal, you can create a sense of
alienation and horror in your players.
For example; the players are exploring the
Shrieking Forest and encounter a quiet village.
The first familiar aspect is the village itself; the
Storyteller describes it as a peaceful hamlet of
thatched-roofed cottages, built along the banks
of a river. The river is the second familiar aspect;
the Storyteller describes how the players can
hear it babble, and a small bridge crosses it in
the middle of the village. Then, the weird aspect;
as the players get closer they realise the river is
filled with blood, not water.
Heaven
A question that may well arise during
Hells -not mortal souls, nor demons, nor
even the Fiend Lords themselves- truly
knows. Demons may claim they know, but
these are assuredly lies. Many demons and
mortal souls argue that, as the Hells exist
to punish, there must be an opposing realm
that exits to reward. However, if such a
place does exist, its very nature would be
anathema to the residents of the Twelve
Hells. Demons would be instantly and
utterly destroyed by setting foot in such a
place, and a similar fate would await any
inhabitants of Heaven should they find
themselves in the Twelve Hells.
And what of Damned and Tormented souls?
Can someone who has been condemned
to the Hells (presumably for good reason)
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redeem themselves to such degree that they
would ever be accepted into Heaven?
A character having the goal of getting into
Heaven is perfectly acceptable, however it
is a very lofty goal and not a common one.
Stories that deal with characters redeeming
themselves enough to be lifted up into
Heaven are similarly not typical, although
not to be discouraged. Escaping into
Heaven should only be the result of very
long campaigns in which characters seek to
understand why they were condemned to
the Twelve Hells and do such good that they
balance out their cosmic debt. Entering the
gates of Heaven would be the final scene
in such a tale; the finale to a long story of
redemption and salvation.
Escaping the Twelve Hells
A common theme for stories is escaping
the Twelve Hells; most Damned souls -and
many Tormented- want to be anywhere but
in Hell, but finding a way out of Hell is no
easy feet. Yet still, many souls attempt it.
While it is certainly possible for mortal
souls -both Damned and Tormented- to
escape the Twelve Hells, it is almost
impossibly hard to do so. Hell is a prison,
after all, and it is a poor prison that allows
its inmates to escape easily. It is rumoured
that there are certain Chthonic Portals
that lead to the mortal realms, but they
are all locked and bound with powerful
spells and riddles. Other legends tell that
the twelve Fiend Lords know of ways out,
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but it goes without saying that getting any
information out of a Fiend Lord is next to
suicidal.
Escaping the Twelve Hells should be the
end goal in a long campaign, as opposed to
the conclusion of a regular story. Finding
the secret of the way out should involve
travelling through numerous Hells, and
facing countless trials and tribulations.
And should you escape, then what?
No one knows what lies beyond the Twelve
Hells; to escape is to never return. Demons
certainly can never leave hell; they would
wither and die in the hostile environment
of the mortal realms. Many souls theorise
what happens to those who do manage to
escape. Are they reborn in new bodies? If
so, are they reborn with their memories of
their time in Hell, or are their torments
mercifully forgotten? Are they reborn as
children, or as adults? Perhaps they are not
reborn at all; perhaps they are doomed to
wander the mortal realms as nothing more
than a ghost (although is a ghost better off
than a tortured soul?).
As with entering Heaven, games that deal
with escaping the Twelve Hells should end
at the point the characters escape. Leave it
up to the players to decide what fate awaits
their characters.
Themes
There are several key theme that can be
explored in stories that help to capture the
intended feel of Tormented. Storytellers
and players alike can seek to include these
themes as much or as little as they like, or
to ignore them completely if they so wish!
Gothic Horror
Gothic Horror is perhaps the primary
theme in Tormented. The game is set in a
dark hellscape inhabited by nightmarish
demons, and the player characters are
tortured and driven creatures that have
had monstrous things done to them. Story
elements such as fear (especially fear at
having been transformed into something
against one’s will), horror and nightmares
are classic Gothic Horror hallmarks.
Secrets, madness and dark compulsions are
also usual elements that can be included;
especially when those elements are used
to drive a hero to commit heinous crimes.
A hero or heroine who starts out with a
noble idea but becomes a monster due
to their frenzied pursuit of that idea is a
theme found in numerous Gothic Horror
stories. Fragments, especially those that
are bittersweet, are an excellent way to
bring elements of Gothic Horror to games;
contrasting what the characters once had
with where they now are. Lastly, romance
(especially tragic romance) is another
common thread found in Gothic Horror;
this is something that can definitely be
explored as part of a story.
Revenge
Revenge is a common theme in Tormented
stories. Many characters have someone
they seek revenge on; usually a demon
but sometimes a fellow mortal soul, or
even against the Twelve Hells themselves.
Revenge is a dark path, and stories that
include this theme can explore a number of
revenge-related elements. Revenge can take
many forms in the Twelve Hells, from simple
violence, to more Machiavellian plots.
Stories including revenge as a theme
could explore ideas such as revenge begets
revenge, or perhaps the idea of revenge
causing the character to become exactly
like the one they seek revenge on. The
‘Roaring Rampage of Revenge’ is another
popular trope; in which a character (or
characters) violently hunt down a number
of individuals they seek revenge on.
Other stories might focus on the idea of a
character on a quest for revenge who comes
to realise that, when finally presented with
the opportunity, they no longer want to
take it. Revenge meshes quite well with
themes of redemption and forgiveness -rare
things in the Hells.
Guilt and Repentance
Almost every character in Tormented
should feel a little guilty for something:
they were condemned to the Twelve Hells
for a reason, after all, even if they can’t
remember what that reason is.
The themes of guilt and repentance are
often linked in stories, with characters
either denying their guilt and finally
coming to terms with it, or being initially
wracked with guilt and later coming to
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realise they shouldn’t be.
Stories including guilt and repentance can
use Fragments to explore these themes;
as characters in Tormented are unable to
remember their mortal lives, the Fragments
of memory they cling to are one of the only
ways they can attempt to understand who
they are and why they were condemned.
Other stories might explore these themes
by having the characters seek repentance
through their actions in the Twelve Hells.
Freeing Damned souls and similar acts of
kindness can go a long way to paying off
the cosmic debt some characters feel
they owe.
Loss of Self
What makes you “you”? Is it your memories?
If you can no longer remember your past
life, are you even the same person?
Loss of self is a theme that can be explored
in a number of ways in Tormented. The
most obvious is characters agonising over
and coming to terms with the loss of their
memories. Other aspects of this theme
can involve the aforementioned quandary
of what makes up a person’s identity. If
it is their memories and the sum of their
previous experiences, are they still the same
person they were in life? What’s more, what
if the person you were in life was someone
you don’t want to be now? What if you were
an evil person?
Another aspect of the theme is the loss
of self is the loss of the physical self.
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Tormented are transformed, warped
creatures; no longer fully human. How do
they deal with this transformation? Horror?
Resolve? Delight?
Redemption
Redemption is a strong motivator for
many characters in Tormented. As with
Repentance, some characters feel that they
have a cosmic debt to pay for whatever
unremembered crimes earned them eternal
damnation. Perhaps by paying off that
debt, they can be redeemed and thereby
escape the Twelve hells?
Some characters in Tormented may well
fall to the path of darkness during stories;
becoming monsters in order to fight the
monsters around them. Redemption
storylines can help these characters undo
the damage they have done.
Other characters may be offered a chance
at redemption, but ultimately refuse it.
Perhaps, after everything, they decide
the are at peace with their actions and
decisions, dark though they may be.
Stories
What kind of stories are to be expected in
Tormented? Generally almost any storyline
that can be imagined can take place in the
Twelve Hells. Heists; exploration, personal
quests and even love stories would not be out
of place.
While some stories will involve the attempts
of characters to escape the Twelve Hells,
these should probably be infrequent as
escaping Hell is quite a feat. More often than
not, stories should involve personal tales;
attempts to improve a characters lot within
the confines of Hell, or a struggle against the
various forces of the infernal realms.
Tormented exist outside the natural cycle
of the Twelve Hells. As such, they are seen
as free agents by the other inhabitants, and
often sought out to solve problems. Damned
souls will often seek out Tormented to
champion their causes, such as freeing
other souls from captivity or defending the
few communities of free Damned from the
depredations of demons.
Demons will occasionally seek out
Tormented and offer them lucrative (and
invariably rigged) opportunities; such
Faustian bargains will usually have layers
of complexity, and Tormented are wise to
enter into such pacts with caution.
The upper echelons of demon socitiet -the
Barons and Fiend Lords- seldom tolerate the
presence of a group of Tormented within
their lands. While some may send knights or
demons to try and drive them away, others
actively seek to bring Tormented into their
service, or to use them against rivals.
Measures of time
From a gameplay point of view there
are three measures of time in Tormented
(outside of minutes, hours, days, etc.). These
are Scenes, Stories and Campaigns.
Scene
A scene encompasses a number of events
in the same location that occur within a
short time of each other. Thinking of it
from the point of view of a book; a scene
encompasses a single chapter.
Generally speaking a scene is quite short;
lasting a few hours of in-game time at the
most. For example, a scene could begin
when the characters arrive at a mysterious
ruin, include their search for clues and
conclude when they discover a hidden
trapdoor and descend into the vaults below.
The next scene would begin as they enter
the vaults.
A scene can cover a much longer period of
narrative time when the Storyteller and
players want to skip over mundane and
boring events as the characters move from
one key event to another.
For example: after the players explore the hidden
vault they find an ancient map directing them to
a lost Chthonic Portal, hidden in a nightmarish
forest. The next scene spans several days as they
travel back from the ancient vault, returning to
the hidden village that is their home. The scene
ends when the party arrive at the hidden village,
and the next scene begins as they draw up their
plans to travel to the forest.
Story
A Story is an entire ‘adventure’; a single
tale made up of several hours of gameplay
that has a beginning, middle and end.
Generally speaking the Story starts when
the characters become involved (voluntarily
75
or not) in the plot and ends when they
have resolved the story one way or another.
Another less positive ending to a Story
can come when the party are defeated; the
villains are successful in their plans and
the player characters must retreat and
recover. Worse still, a Story can end because
the characters suffer too much trauma
and become Lost Souls -for all intents and
purposes dead- and there is no one else to
continue the fight.
A Story is over when, from the point of view
of a book, the words THE END appear.
Some plot hooks might be left unresolved,
but these will hopefully be dealt with in
future Stories.
Campaign
A campaign is the largest measure of
time and comprises a huge tale spanning
many Stories, usually involving the same
characters and an overarching plot line that
links all the adventures together.
For example: a party of characters undertakes a
Campaign involving a cabal of demons that seek
to use mortal souls to fuel a new weapon in the
Hell War. Over the course of several Stories the
party repeated thwart the plans of this cabal, free
mortal souls the cabal have captured, and banish
several of the cabal’s higher-ranking members.
The Campaign finale sees the party storming the
cabal’s fortress, and putting an end to their plans
once and for all by destroying the soul-weapon.
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Awarding Experience
Through their Stories characters will grow
in knowledge and skills as they have to face
new dangers and work they way out of
tricky situations. By the end of a Campaign,
the party will have gone from naïve and
untested Tormented, to wise, competent
heroes! How do they do this? Experience.
At the end of a Story the Storyteller should
award every character with a number of
Experience Points (Exp) based on their
performance during the Story.
A guide to how to determine Experience
Awards is shown below. As always,
Storytellers are encouraged to adapt these
rules and award more or less Exp if they see
fit. On average a character should typically
gain 2-5 Experience Points per Story.
Condition Exp Awarded
Completed the Story 2
Completed the Story with style +2
Roleplayed the character well +1
Defeated a major adversary +2
Solved a difficult puzzle/ dilemma +1
Learned something new +1
Note that these awards suggestions are per
Story. Experience Points could be awarded
at the end of each gaming session, but the
Storyteller should ensure that the points are
reduced accordingly.
At the end of an average length, average
difficulty Campaign (containing 2-4
Stories) a character should have earned
between 10 and 30 Experience Points.
Experience Points can be spent on Aspects
and Aptitudes in the exact same way as
Character Points are during character
generation. Experience Points can be spent
at the end of the Story, before the start of
the next Story. The costs are exactly the
same as during character generation and
1 experience point is equal to 1 character
point.
Awarding Conviction Points
Conviction Points can be awarded at the
end of a Story as an additional reward. If
the character acted daringly or heroically
during the Story they should earn 1 or
2 Conviction Points (encouraging such
actions in the future). However, Storytellers
should be mindful of the economy of
Conviction Points.
A character begins a Story with a finite
number of Conviction Points. Generally
most players will hoard their Conviction
Points for moments they feel are the most
important. Sometimes this can result in
players not spending Conviction Points
at all in a campaign. To counter this,
Storytellers should be generous when
awarding Conviction Points at the end of a
Story. If a character has spent a Conviction
Point during the Story, they should regain
at least 1 Conviction Point to encourage
such actions in the future. As a campaign
progresses and the players reach the
conclusion, some Storytellers may think the
rate of Conviction awards should decrease,
thereby making the remaining points
players have more valuable. While this is a
legitimate strategy, the end of the campaign
is perhaps when the most daring actions
should occur. As such, do not be too stingy
when awarding Conviction Points.
Other Rewards
In addition to awarding Conviction Points
and Experience, a Storyteller can award
players with other rewards at the end of a
Story, such as favours from important or
influential individuals, or relics.
77
Chapter 8: Denizens of the
Twelve Hells
The Twelve Hells are home to a diverse Prefixes
and strange population. Demons come in Ang Nuv
hundreds of different breeds, not to mention Baph Orph
the Lower Creatures that lurk in the bowels Cas Phor
Dur Quez
of the Hells.
Eng Raph
Fur Seph
The non-player characters (NPCs) Gan Tur
presented here do not have Focused Hect Uri
Aptitudes, and only a few trained skills. In Vor
Jad Wod
Storytellers should feel free to change
Kel Xaph
Aspects, Aptitudes and Gifts as they see fit, Log Yog
or to create new NPCs entirely using the Mor Zoph
below as a guide.
Suffixes
-ariel -amiel
NPCs are not created using the same rules -aphon -ataton
as player characters. In each entry below it -aton -amel
will contain guidance for how many points -atus -adon
a certain type of NPC has in their Aspects, -iel -on
-ron -ax
and how many Trained and Mastered
-tiel
Aptitudes they have. These are assigned as
desired, with no need to adhere to the costs
of assigning points to Aspects or Aptitudes Gifts
as laid out in the Character Generation Demons do not have Scars, in the way that
chapter. Tormented do. Instead they have ‘Gifts’.
Mechanically these are very similar to
Demon name Generator Scars, however, demons can have varying
Demons don’t have names like you and numbers of Gifts, and some of these Gifts
I. Some Storytellers may struggle with are unique to demons. Otherwise these
creating names for demonic non-player function identically to Scars.
characters that turn up in stories. Below is a Some demons have Gifts listed as ‘Sorcerous
basic generator to help Storytellers quickly Gift’; these are unique abilities to create,
come up with varied names for demons; control or shape an element (named in
simply choose a prefix and a suffix and the Gift). These Gifts should be use within
combine the two. reason by the Storyteller, but are usually
powerful abilities and only wielded by the
most dangerous denizens of the Hells.
79
Fiend Lord
There are only ever twelve Fiend Lords; one
for each of the Hells. They are supremely
powerful, incomprehensibly evil creatures
that have ruled their domains for millenia,
if not aeons. While most Fiends keep power
by use of force, ruling with an iron fist and
draconian laws, others keep order in their
domains by other means.
Going up against a Fiend lord is
unimaginably dangerous; they have
countless ways of enslaving and punishing
mortal souls and demons alike, and it
is rumoured that many even possess the
ability to permanently destroy souls.
Aspects: 22 points, with a maximum of
6 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 5 Trained, 5 Mastered
Gifts: 9 Gifts
80
Example Fiend Lord: Maraketh,
Queen of Fangs
Fiend Lord of the Abyssal Ocean, Maraketh
is a disturbing corpse-like creature with
long grasping hair that looks more like
seaweed than anything else. She swims
through the inky waters of her realm,
dragging unfortunates down into the deep
and ensnaring them in jagged coral cages to
be torn apart by the tides again and again
for eternity.
Maraketh is a capricious, cruel creature,
given to violent rages and brooding moods
that cause even her most loyal servants to
tread lightly around her.
Aspects
Power 6 Subtlety 6
Presence 5 Acumen 5
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Daring Callous
Devious Forceful
Hedonistic Observant
Magnanimous Restrained
Mystical Tough
Gifts
Potent Gift (Grasping hair)
Ethereal Gift (Dark as the deeps)
Puissant Gift (Iron talons)
Ruthless Gift (Corpselike appearance)
Resilient Gift (Scales)
Aquatic Gift (Webbed fingers)
Sorcerous Gift (Control water)
Sorcerous Gift (Shape coral)
Sorcerous Gift (Control weather)
Baron
Barons are powerful demons that control
large area of a particular Hell, overseeing
thousands of souls and demons. Barons are
resourceful and ambitious creatures, often
plotting against other Barons and even the
Fiend Lord to whom they owe fealty.
Most Barons will send lesser demons and
Knights of Hell to deal with threats, but
even so they are dangerous creatures in their Aspects
own rights, and not to be underestimated.
Aspects: 18 points, with a maximum of
5 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 5 Trained, 3 Mastered
Gifts: 7 Gifts
Example Baron: Belaphan,
the eyeless
Hailing from the Shrieking Forest, Belaphan
was once a beater for Queen Anakara
herself. With centuries of service came
rewards, elevating Belaphan to the rank of
Baron, as well as punishments in the form
of his lost eyes, which Anakara keeps in a
locked chest so she always knows where her
Baron is looking.
Belaphan is a hulking, feathered creature
somewhere between a giant owl and a bear.
His empty sockets do not seem to hinder
him; his underlings whisper that his hearing
is even sharper now than it was when he
could see.
Power 4 Presence 4
Subtlety 5 Acumen 5
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Callous Devious
Daring Forceful
Mystical Observant
Restrained
Tough
Gifts
Winged Gift (Great wings)
Haughty Gift (Eyeless hunter)
Brilliant Gift (Supernatural hearing)
Puissant Gift (Huge talons)
Resilient Gift (Thick feathers)
Ethereal Gift (One with the night)
Sorcerous Gift (Control shadows)
Knight
Knights of Hell are the elite of the lesser
demons. Elevated because of their abilities,
resourcefulness, cunning or sometimes
because they murdered their way to the
top, Knights are possessive of their station
81
and are keen to put down any that might materials from which they are made.
threaten them.
Knights are most commonly found Aspects
overseeing lesser demons, or leading them in Power 3 Presence 4
battle in the Hell War. Subtlety 3 Acumen 4

Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes

Daring Callous
Devious
Forceful
Hedonistic
Observant

Gifts
Resilient Gift (Cloak of skins)
Puissant Gift (Flensing knives)
Acerbic Gift (Haunting voice)
Ruthless Gift (Artists of pain)
Indomitable Gift (Arcane tattoos)

Lesser Demon
The rank-and-file of Hell, lesser demons are
countless in their number and their breeds.
Aspects: 14 points, with a maximum of
Each of the Twelve Hells produces a variety
5 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 5 Trained, 1 Mastered of different demons, each of which serve a
Gifts: 5 Gifts particular purpose.

Example Knight: Hautmantel Aspects: 10 points, with a maximum of

Hautmantel -also known as Skintakers- 4 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 5 Trained, 0 Mastered
are notorious Knights found in the Palace
Gifts: 3 Gifts
of Pain that stitch cloaks from the flayed
skins of their victims. They are well known
for their skill with both flensing knives Example Lesser Demon:
and sewing needles, creating garments of Fisher-of-Souls
surprising beauty, considering the grisly Inhabitants of the Echoing Chasm, Fishers-

82
of-souls are pallid and gaunt things that
dangle barbed hooks into the Chasm in the
hopes of catching a plummeting soul. When
they do, the fishers haul up their catch and
begin their awful work.
Aspects
Power 3 Presence 2
Subtlety 2 Acumen 3
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Callous None
Devious
Forceful
Mystical
Observant
Gifts
Potent Gift (Fishing hooks)
Ruthless Gift (Pallid eyes)
Resilient Gift (Thick skin)
Example Lesser Demon: Afrite
Afrites, the nomad demons of the Scalding
Desert, roam their Hell in large tribes. They
are tall, cruel creatures with leathery skin,
that wrap themselves in tattered robes,
concealing everything except their yellow
eyes. While cruel, they love bartering, and
sometimes it is possible to use this
against them.
Aspects
Power 4 Presence 2
Subtlety 2 Acumen 2
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Callous None
Forceful
Observant
Restrained
Tough
Gifts
Puissant Gift (Hell-forged scimitar)
Haughty Scar (Cruel horns)
Ruthless Gift (Bottomless eyes)
Lower Creatures
Lower Creatures occupy the niche of wild
animals in the Twelve Hells. They are
used by demons as food, beasts of burden,
mounts, or sometimes even pets. A number
of them are seen as nothing more than pests
and hunted by demons for sport; a rare few
are even feared as dangerous predators and
avoided at all costs.
Most Lower Creatures are only as
intelligent as animals. Some, however,
possess a primitive and cunning intelligence
that it not to be underestimated.
Aspects: 6 points, with a maximum of
3 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 3 Trained, 0 Mastered
Gifts: 1 Gift
Example Lesser Creature: Harridan
A disgusting creature that resembles a
cross between a wizened human and a
huge vulture. Harridans are not intelligent,
but they can mimic voices with alarming
accuracy, and use this ability to lure both
83
demons and souls into their clutches. They
are found in numerous Hells, where they
crowd rooftops and cliff-faces, weaving their
fetid nests out of bones and tattered skins.
Aspects
Power 2 Presence 1
Subtlety 2 Acumen 1
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Devious None
Mystical
Observant
Example Lesser Creature: Lemure
Lemures are aggressive, cunning creatures
with a knack for ambush and surprise
attack. Lemures appear as little more than
ethereal shroud-wrapped skeletons with
burning eye sockets. They are driven by a
hunger for the flesh of Damned and Demons
alike. Lemures often travel in packs, and lie
in wait in the shadows before attacking.

Gifts
Flying Gift (Feathered Wings)

Example Lesser Creature: Dretch

Dretches, so some demons claim, are what
happens when a demon is intentionally
starved of Morsus for a prolonged time.
These awful creatures are scraggly, rangy
beasts with a rank hide like thick leather
and long, grasping fingers. They are
routinely hunted by other demons for sport.
Aspects
Aspects Power 1 Presence 1
Power 1 Presence 1 Subtlety 3 Acumen 1
Subtlety 3 Acumen 1
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Devious None
Trained Aptitudes Mastered Aptitudes
Forceful
Callous None
Forceful Observant
Tough
Gifts
Gifts Ethereal Gift (Shadowy shroud)
Potent Gift (Grasping claws)
84
The Damned
Damned souls are the countless inmates
of the sprawling infinite prison that is the
Twelve Hells. Robbed of their memories
and condemned to eternal suffering, the
majority of the Damned lead a miserable
existence as nothing more than a source of
sustenance and entertainment for demons.
A small percentage of Damned manage to
either evade capture or somehow escape
their tormentors. These lucky few often
band together to create remote settlements,
attempting to find safety in obscurity.
Aspects: 6 points, with a maximum of
3 in any Aspect
Aptitudes: 4 Trained, 0 Mastered
Gifts: None
Example Damned: Ariadne
Ariadne awoke in the Rotting Mire.
Somehow she evaded the demon hunters
long enough to find a small enclave of
fellow free Damned, and she now works as a
guard, keeping a lookout for raiding parties
that might threaten her home. Ariadne
holds on to a few fragmented memories
that lead her to think she was a soldier, or
someone who protected others: something
she is determined to do even now.
Aspects
Power 2 Presence 1
Subtlety 1 Acumen 2
Trained Aptitudes
Forceful
Observant
Tough
Mastered Aptitudes
None
The Lost
Lost souls are sad, tragic reminders of the
horrors of the Twelve Hells. Pushed too far,
their minds have snapped and they have
lost what little hope the once harboured.
These creatures wander the Hells, ignored
even by demons to whom they are useless.
Damned souls tend to avoid Lost; to them
they are a bitter reminder of what could
happen to them.
Lost barely react to other souls; it is possible
to gain their attention for a moment,
but they rarely say more than a few
meaningless words before drifting back into
whatever private Hell they are trapped in.
Aspects: All Aspects at 1
Aptitudes: No Trained or Mastered Aptitudes
Gifts: None
85
Name: Player:

Mask: Heart:

Goal:

Aspects

Power Subtlety Presence Acumen

Threats
Weakness Paranoia Confusion Alienation

Aptitudes Scars
Untrained

Proficient

Favoured
Mastered

1.

Callous
Daring
Devious 2.
Forceful
Hedonistic
Magnanimous
Mystical 3.
Observant
Restrained
Tough
 Fragments

1.
Forgotten?

2.
Forgotten?

3.
Forgotten?

Conviction Points

Current Conviction Points:

Relics

Notes

Experience
Experience Points: Spent:
 Condemned. Damned. Tormented.

You are one of the Tormented; a soul condemned to the Twelve Hells for
crimes you no longer remember. For time immemorial you have been
damned; tortured and twisted by the punishments of your captors, until
you no longer remember or even resemble your past self. The agonies you
have suffered have left you scarred, but from those scars you now draw
strange and terrible powers.

But all is not well in the Twelve Hells. A civil war has erupted between
the Fiend Lords that hold dominion over the realms. In the chaos and
disruption you have broken free of your prison.
Can you escape the Twelve Hells?
Do you even want to?
Do you instead seek revenge on your captors, or will you use your
newfound powers and freedom to install yourself as a new Lord of Hell?

Tormented is a Gothic Horror roleplaying game inspired by Dante’s The

Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost. It is intended to be a storytelling
game in which a group of friends come together to tell stories of loss,
revenge, guilt, repentance and redemption

All you need besides this book is a handful of 6-sided dice, some friends
and a dark imagination.