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This book is the work of Juan Manuel Avila and

was produced by Runica Publishing in 2020.
It is licensed under a Creative Commons
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Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................... 3
The crew ..................................... 5
The ship ..................................... 9
The Arctic ..................................... 11
Game mechanics ..................................... 15
Play structure ..................................... 21
Downtime ..................................... 25
The long game ..................................... 29
Homecoming ..................................... 33
Game example ..................................... 35
Appendices ..................................... 37
Index ..................................... 45
Introduction
The Regency era. Humanity at its finest.
For the first time in History London is home to a
million souls who rise up every day to turn the
gears of the great orderly and progressive
machine that is our Empire.
Few are the places that still remain untamed.
And among those few places, one of the most
dangerous is the cold, impenetrable Arctic Sea.
The best navigators in history have searched for
a northern passage to join the Atlantic and the
Pacific. Many of them never returned home.
You should have been the last in this line of
pioneers, with a discovery that would have
brought light to these uncivilized lands.
But things went wrong.
You are going to embody members of a failed
expedition across the frozen waters of the Arctic
Ocean fighting to survive.
A few weeks ago, the fury of the elements left
you stranded between sheets of ice. Summer has
been very short this year, and it is clear that you
do not have enough time to free the ship and
repair it to return home.
You must go through the harshest fall and winter
of your lives, waiting for warmer days. But
neither the ship nor you are prepared to spend
months isolated in the most remote part of the
world.
You have neither the food nor the proper
equipment. You only have yourself.
Will this be enough?
The crew
It takes someone special to set sail for the
unknown. Brave officers in search of recognition,
tough sailors earning wages they cannot get in
the city, dedicated scientists willing to give it all
for knowledge, former criminals looking for a
fresh start.
You are all part of a 100 men crew on the look for
the Northern Passage. Every soul on board has
dreams, expectations, and fears. Pick a crew
member sheet and let's find out yours.

Rank
Define your rank, indicating your specialization.
You may think of things like: "Chief engineer",
"Seaman apprentice", "Chief cook", “Sergeant
marine”, “The ship's surgeon".
None of you can be the Captain.
Talents
Each crew member will excel in one particular
aspect. This may be an area of knowledge, a type
of task, or even a personal hobby.
● Amateur boxer.
● Fervent believer.
● War veteran.
● Whale hunter.
● Or create your own talent.

Recipient
Each crew member must specify to whom she
will write letters that expects to mail as soon as
she arrives at a civilization outpost.
Feel free to chat about who these characters are,
and why they are so important
Skills
With your crew member’s concept in mind,
distribute six points among the three skills. None
can be lower than one.
Over the course of the game these scores may
drop momentarily. Keep track of both your
current and total skill scores on your sheet.
Brawn
This skill represents your character's brute
strength, stamina, agility, and grace.
Wits
Your innate cunning, perception, and academic
knowledge are represented in this skill.
Etiquette
This represents your ability to relate to others,
either to appease their spirits or to exalt them.
Hope
Over the sessions you may earn hope points.
People are capable of doing the unimaginable
when they have hope in their hearts. This value
symbolizes that extraordinary strength.
You start with 0 points, but you will later earn
them by holding your ground against all odds.

Characteristics
As the game progresses, we will discover
characteristics of your crew member that even
you did not know. You will write them down in
this part of the crew member sheet.

Assets
Finally, in your free time you will be able to make
tools, or even friendships with other crew
members that you can invoke to your aid.
The ship
The ship is your shelter, your silo, your
workshop. It also is the only chance you have of
ever leaving this barren land.
Together, you are tasked with its maintenance,
storage and defence from the many threats that
lurk in the whispers of the arctic wind.
You use ship points to represent the resources
that you have managed to preserve so far,
assigning them to the special rooms: the bunks,
the galley, the library and the works room.
You start with 5 points in the bunks, and
distribute 5 more among the other rooms.
The higher the score in the room, the better
equipped it will be with items that you can use in
case you need them.
These scores will vary during game sessions.
Bunks
Narrow berthing compartments were sailors rest.
This value represents the beds, but also the
sailors themselves, their health and moral.

Galley
The place where food and drink are stored and
later cooked.

Library
A room with shelves in where naval route maps,
medical handbooks, law tomes, a wildlife
encyclopedia and scientific apparatus are kept.

Works
A work room, packed with tools, climbing
equipment, and a locked cabinet with
gunpowder and weapons.
The Arctic
In each play session one of you will put your
character aside. Maybe she is too tired, or busy
doing some work.
Instead of playing your character, you will have
to embody the Arctic, in all its unfathomable and
stark dimensions. You will accompany the other
players, but from another point of view. You will
present situations loaded with a threat, for which
they will have to find a solution.
Decide among yourselves who will be the Arctic
player in the way that you consider most
appropriate.
The Arctic player has three fundamental tasks: to
embody the Arctic threats; to test the crew’s
hope; and to play to find out what happens.
Embodying the Arctic threats
You breathe life into everything other than the
players' crew. This means putting yourself in the
shoes of everyone and everything that surrounds
them: that sailor who has been talking to himself
for a few days, the pack of wolves howling closer
and closer, that mysterious disease that has been
spreading among crew members.
At the beginning of the session you choose a
threat from the Arctic sheet and state how
dangerous it is.
Cautionary threats requiere 2 advances per
player, including you, to be solved.
Alarming threats requiere 3 advances per player.
And dire threats requiere 4 advances per player.
Use tokens to keep track of this advances.
Testing the crew’s hope
When you present a grim situation to someone,
ask her to grab 1 to 5 dice to make a despair roll. 1
die for minor altercations. 3 when facing a wolf
pack. 5 if an avalanche has buried her.
Start the session with small rolls, increasing the
pressure and the number of dice towards the end.
Judge how fast and how far to push them.
After a player rolls the dice she keeps the lowest,
and consults the despair chart.

Despair chart
6. Hopeful. You stoically earn a hope point.
5. Bold. You absorb the impact.
4. Troubled. 1 die penalty to your next skill roll.
3. Disturbed. You lose a point from a skill.
2. Battered. You lose 2 points from a skill (or one
of two different skills)
1. Lost: You lose all hope points and a number of
skill points equal to the dice you have just rolled.
Playing to find out what happens
Your task is to set the scenes, present threats and
push the players' crew members to despair. But
remember: you are playing together. You will be
their opposition, not their enemy.
Don't feel solely responsible for weaving a deep
story. You are just one more cog in the machine.
You don't need to plan a huge story. What's
more, you must not do it.
You will start by presenting a threat, but it will
be the players who will define the solutions as
they make their rolls. You have to listen to their
ideas, and you can also propose yours. Ask
questions and build on their answers.
No one knows what mysteries dwell in the snows
of the Arctic or in the cold hearts of men.
Together we will explore them and we may be
surprised by our findings.
Game mechanics
Crew member’s players: when you take any
action towards the resolution of the threat
presented by the Arctic player, you must make a
skill roll to find out how well you did.
Grab a number of dice equal to the current score
of the skill that best relates to the task performed
and roll them. If your crew member’s rank,
talent, characteristics or assets are involved,
you add 1 die for each one that applies.
After rolling the dice, keep the highest, and
consult the skill roll chart on your sheet.
If you have a good result, you have the authority
to describe what happens. This means that you
can shape the solution to the threat. Perhaps you
will find a clue, or you access the means to face
the threat that stalks you.
Skill roll chart
6. Outstanding. Describe what happens and earn
two advances.
5. Good. Describe what happens and earn an
advance.
4. Acceptable. Describe what happens, with a
minor negative effect.
3. Regular. The Arctic player decides your fate,
but you can suggest a minor positive effect.
2. Bad. The Arctic player decides your fate, but
you can suggest a suitable negative result.
1. Terrible. The Arctic player can get ruthless and
put you in a really tough situation.

You will need to collect a number of advances to

solve the threat presented by the Arctic player at
the beginning of the session.
Dealing with despair
Isolation, hunger and fatigue can take their toll,
and this exhaustion will be represented in the
game by despair rolls, which as a result may
momentarily decrease some skill scores.
You may later recover them, but for now you will
have to deal with despair.

Hope points
Sometimes, you need to be in the dark to catch
the faint rays of hope. That is why exceptionally
despair rolls can result in a boost of spirit. When
this rare event occurs, you earn hope points.
When you have hope points, you automatically
subtract that many dice from despair rolls.
You can also spend hope points to add an extra
die to skill rolls for each point spent.
Hope points cannot exceed the bunks score.
Using ship points
The ship has scarce and valuable resources,
represented by the ship's room scores.
You boost skill rolls by consuming these points,
earning an extra die for each point spent.
To do this state what you take from the room,
and how this will help her. You may describe how
your crew member goes to the room and takes
what she needs, or you can simply state that she
took it earlier, in a sort of flashback.
The works room boost brawn rolls, and the
library helps wit rolls. Food stored in the galley
helps both your muscles and your brain, and can
be used to bride everyone, so you may spend
galley points for any skill roll.
Finally, spending bunk points means sacrificing
part of the crew, their health or confidence
forever to boost any skill roll.
Writing home
It is in the moments of greatest despair that the
memory of these bonds you defined as your
recipient will come to your aid.
Once per scene you may pause the action and
declare that you will write a letter. When you do,
everybody depicts your crew member later
recounting to her recipient what happened.
As a result, you can announce that certain things
will happen, and these things will indeed
happen, without having to make a skill roll for
it.
You can also describe how another crew member
acts exceptionally. The other player writes a new
characteristic related to that action on her sheet.
And lastly, you can take a little flashback and
declare something you previously did and can
now benefit from.
These are the guidelines for letter writing:
● Talk to others with the sobriety and formality
that your recipient deserves.
● Letters should always add; never negate or
detract from what has been stated before.
● Only one player can write a letter per scene.
● Each player can only give and receive one
characteristic per session.

Death in the Arctic

In the Arctic, death is a silent, ever-present
companion. But perhaps, at the end of a long
spiral of despair, some welcome her gratefully.
The fact is that if a crew member loses all her
skill and hope points her life will come to an end.
As long as there is at least 1 bunk point, players
whose crew members have died can fill a new
crew member sheet and keep playing.
Play structure
All sessions in this game match a common
pattern, setting a rhythm for its participants.
Details will vary from session to session and
group to group. But the recognizable parts of
every Stranded session are:
1. Presentation. A new threat is introduced.
2. Preparation. Crew members do some research
and equip themselves.
3. All hands on deck!. The crew faces the threat.
4. Resolution. The threat is overcome, or the
consequences suffered.
5. Downtime. Crew members carry out a set of
activities.
1. Presentation
At the beginning of the session, the Arctic player
chooses a threat from the Arctic sheet or maybe
she comes up with something of her own.
She describes the ominous facts presented to the
crew, and she indicates how many advances it will
take to overcome the threat.

2. Preparations
Each crew member gets a scene and a due skill
roll to tell how she prepares to face the threat.
You can research zoology books to see what
kinds of animals have those tracks, or convince
the captain to let you take one of the sleds to
investigate the strange lights to the north.
Skill rolls made here can already generate
advances. But you might also find yourself
making some despair rolls as you stick your
noses where you should not.
3. All hands on deck!
Once you have a general idea of what the nature
of the threat is, the crew must get down to work.
A series of scenes will take place, in which you
will actively try to move towards overcoming the
threat. Try to position yourself fictionally so that
your best skills, talents, characteristics, and
assets in your crew member’s actions.
Probably some of your skill values already have
some loss, and it will only get worse. Expect
severe despair rolls in this phase, so it may be
time for you to use some ship points.
When it's your turn to describe what happens as
a result of a successful roll of the dice, bring the
crew closer to solving the problem. But keep in
mind that you won’t be able to claim victory
until you reach the number of advances indicated
at the beginning of the session.
4. Resolution
As soon as you reach the amount of advances
needed, you may describe how you find the
solution or avoid the danger. You might like to
keep the narrative and skill rolls going, but you
will not receive any more advance for doing so.
The crew can also stop before overcoming the
threat and accept the consequences. There are
places you should not go. That's fine. But if this
happens, you will keep only half of the advances
earned so far, and you will have to abandon,
sacrifice or somehow lose a part of the crew,
which will reduce bunk's score by 1.

5. Downtime
With the gathered advances, you will be able to
perform a number of downtime actions, such as
going hunting for food, making a sled, or even
working on repairing the ship. You will read
about this in the next section.
Downtime
If there's one thing this stranded crew has, it's
time. But idleness is a dangerous adviser,
whispering despair and death into men’s hearts.
So it's important for you to make the most of the
uncertain lapse of tranquility. There are three
things you can do in your downtime: compose
yourself, gather resources and build and asset.
To do this you have the advances achieved in the
previous part of the session. Distribute them
among yourselves with due politeness, and spend
them at the rate of one die per advances.
Take turns and establish brief narratives
describing what your characters are doing, and
then roll and keep the best result to see how well
you did. You may spend all your advances in one
roll, or divide them over several different rolls.
Compose yourself
You can spend some time healing the wounds of
the flesh and soul, whether it be in the hands of a
good night's sleep, reading the Holy Scriptures
or smoking and talking with the other officers.
Describe which activity your crew member will
do and which skill it will be associated with.
Points earned can never exceed the skill's total
score.

Gather resources
You may also want to gather some resources that
translate into new ship points. Take notes on
weather phenomena to expand your library.
Build a sled and store it at the works room. Or go
caribou hunting to replenish the galley.
Describe which activity your crew member will
do and which room it will be associated with.
Build an asset
An asset is anything your crew member can use
to help her perform some tasks. A hunting bow
made from hardened wood, a sled dog trained to
track prey, or even a friendship with one of the
marines guarding the ship are all assets.
If you want to build an asset, tell it to the Arctic
player, and she will say how many points from
downtime rolls it will require. Assets with very
specific uses, such as a bear trap, require 1 point.
Broader ones, such as the first mate's confidence
may cost up to 3 points.
Write down the name of the asset you are
building and keep track of how many points you
need to acquire it.
Describe which activity your crew member will
do and which asset will be associated with.
Downtime chart
6. Miraculous. You earn 2 points.
5. Prosperous. You earn 1 point.
4. Prosperous. You earn 1 point.
3. Futile. You do not earn or lose points.
2. Problems. You lose a point.
1. Calamity! You lose all current points.
Roll one die per advance spent and keep the
highest result. You may apply neither ranks,
talents, characteristics nor assets to this roll.
In a campaign, your die pool may reduced due to
season penalties. You cannot roll 0 dice.
You don't necessarily have to spend all of your
advances. But if at the end of the downtime there
are advances left, they can only be used again in
the next downtime.
Game example
Let's look at a game example, with Kate as the
Arctic player, Ariel as Sir James, and John as
Reverend Owen.
Arctic: The bear's bloody tracks get into the ice
maze, losing track of it. What will you do?
Sir James: Well, Reverend, it looks like we will
have to hurry if we want Cabin Jenkins back.
Rev. Owen: Oh good Lord, guides us through this
icy labyrinth. I'd like to take care of this, is that
okay with you, Sir James?
Sir James: Do go ahead, please. When men’s
anger is not enough, God’s mercy is necessary.
Rev. Owen: Okay. Kate, I'd like to try climbing
the ice and finding the trail.
Arctic: Very well, you try, but the intense cold
passes through your clothes and hinders your
walk. Let's make a despair roll of two dice.
Rev. Owen: Let's see... A 3 and a 2. I keep the
minor, right? Oh no, two skill points lost. I'll
subtract one from brawn and etiquette. I lose a
bit of my strenght and my temper as I climb.
Arctic: Perfect. Now that you're in the ice maze,
how are you going to find the trail?
Rev. Owen: I think I'll use my Wits to spot tracks.
I will also spend a library point: let's say I took a
spyglass before leaving. Will my fervent believer
talent help me focus? Great! So I have two dice
for my wits skill, one for the library, and one for
my talent... Two 2s, a 3 and a 5, which is the
higher. I earn an advances and I can tell what
happens, right?
Arctic: That is correct, Reverend.
Rev. Owen: Let's say I see some spots on the ice,
and as we follow them we discover large stains of
blood. The trail ends at a large cave carved out of
the ice, with seal skeletons at the entrance.
Game safety
You don't need to be an expert in 19th century
customs, or have a deep understanding of marine
terms, or know everything about Arctic
exploration to play Stranded. These are all very
interesting subjects indeed, which can add a
great flavor to your gaming experience. But let
all gatekeeping behind.
Remember: Stranded is a game, and you don't
have to suffer the injustices of the past. In no
way can historical accuracy be an excuse to
segregate, humiliate or hurt a player.
Are you a woman in man's clothing? Is your
captain anything other than someone raised in
British society? Go ahead, it's your game.
Have a great time together.
Media
Books Movies & Series
The Lost Arctic The Terror (2018).
Voyagers, by Charles Podcasts
Dickens.
Curiously Polar, ep.
The Golden Book of 29: Race to the North
the Dutch Navigators, Pole.
by Hendrick Willem
Van Loon. Explorers Podcast.
The Lost Franklin
The Worst Journey in Expedition episodes.
the World, by Apsley
Cherry-Garrard. Time to Eat the Dogs,
ep. 5: The Mystery of
Songs the Franklin
Piano Sonata No. 17, Expedition.
by Ludwig van
Beethoven.
The Wolf, by Eddie
Vedder.
Roll three dice, choose a threat from 3. Signs of other
this chart and cross it out. humans
If you roll a crossed-out number, How will we
choose the closest one. relate to them?
4. Rumors of 5. Someone 6. Our prey are
mutiny disappears migrating
How will we Where did Where will we
pacify the crew? she go? find food?
7. We run out 9. Something 8. Accident
of coal went missing while scouting
Where will we Who stole it? How will we
get fuel? reach the ship?
10. Scouts in 11. Extreme 12. Bad canned
trouble cold wave food
How will we How will Where will we
help them? we bear it? find food?
13. A storm is 14. A disease 15. A predator
coming spreads prowls
How will How will How will
we bear it? we cure it? we hunt it?
17. The ship 17. Heresy lurks 18. Distant
catches fire men’s hearts strange lights
How will we put How will we What is their
it out? purge it? source?

How many advances will it take to solve this?

Reference Sheet
Play structure
1. Presentation. A new threat is introduced.
2. Preparation. The crew members investigate
and equip themselves.
3. All hands on deck. The crew face the threat.
4. Resolution. The threat is overcome, or the
consequences suffered.
5. Downtime. The crew members carry out a
set of activities.
Despair
When you face a grim situation, the Arctic
player will ask you to roll 1 to 5 dice and keep
the lowest.
6. Hopeful. You stoically earn a hope point.
5. Bold. You absorb the impact.
4. Troubled. 1 die penalty to your next skill
roll.
3. Disturbed. You lose a point from a skill.
2. Battered. You lose 2 points from a skill (or
one of two different skills)
1. Lost: You lose all hope points and a number of
skill points equal to the dice you have just
rolled.
Skill roll
Roll the current score of the skill that best suits.
If your crew member’s rank, talent,
characteristics or assets are involved, you add 1
die for each one that applies.
6. Outstanding. Describe what happens and
earn two advance.
5. Good. Describe what happens and earn an
advance.
4. Acceptable. Describe what happens, with a
minor negative effect.
3. Regular. The Arctic player decides your fate,
but you can suggest a minor positive effect.
2. Bad. The Arctic player decides your fate, but
you can suggest a suitable negative result.
1. Terrible. The Arctic player can get ruthless
and put you in a really tough situation.
Downtime
Roll one die per advance spent and keep the
highest result. You may apply neither ranks,
talents, characteristics nor assets to this roll.
6. Miraculous. You earn 2 points.
5. Prosperous. You earn 1 point.
4. Prosperous. You earn 1 point.
3. Futile. You do not earn or lose points.
2. Problems. You lose a point.
1. Calamity! You lose all current points.