Grant Howitt and Chris Taylor

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By Grant Howitt and Chris Taylor, 2016

Cover and internal art: Adrian Stone

Layout and design: Alina Sandu
Proofreading and copy editing: Harry Goldstone
Producer: Mary Hamilton
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 Contents
Welcome to Unbound 5 Gamesmaster 78
The Core Mechanic 8 Twists by Core 80
Running the Game 87
Cores 14
Devout 15 Adversaries 108
Magi 17 The Giant of Moorfell Peaks 113
Outlaw 19 The Demon Prince and his Harem 115
Pactbound 21 The Thin Street Arsonist, Gang Leader 119
Warrior 23 The Great Khan 122
Wild 25 The Twice-Born Queen 126
The Dragon 132
Roles 26
Modern Adversaries 134
The Brawler 27
Narrative Enemies 136
The Deadeye 29
The Protector 31 Appendix 1: Optional Rules 138
The Striker 33 Appendix 2: More Touchstone Tables 140
The Warden 35 Credits 151
Traits 36 Character Sheet 156
Aura 37
Index 158
Companion 39
Captain 41
Dirty Fighter 43
Fire 45
Mighty 47
Rage 49
Shadows 51
Spirit 53
Transform 55
The Unnatural 57
Character Details 58
Playing the Game 62
Dramatic Scenes 63
Battle Scenes 67
Scars, and Going out of Action 76

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 WELCOME TO UNBOUND
Welcome to Unbound. With this book, you and your
friends can spin infinite stories in numberless worlds.
Do you want to steal the still-beating heart of the
city from corrupt magi governors and use it to summon
griffons? Do you want to strap into a supercharged police
mech suit and fight crime on the dark streets of London
2074? To drive back the encroaching tide of extra-
dimensional invaders with nothing but homemade guns
and unstable explosives? To lead armies of disciplined
troops into battle, marching across the nuclear-scarred
wastelands of tomorrow?
Unbound can let you do all of that and more.
Unbound is a game of pulp action and rapidly-changing
worlds, with tactical combat sitting alongside storygame
worldbuilding. In it, you’ll uncover secrets of a world
of your own creation by playing multiple groups of
characters, changing every five or six games, to build a full
saga.
THE SETTING
Unbound has no default setting - you and the other
players will make your own setting during character
creation and play, and we’ll guide you through every step
of the process.
THE GENRE
The genre of Unbound is action - the player characters
are competent and willing to do what it takes to achieve
their aims, and “what it takes” often refers to combat of
some kind. Every character in Unbound is, by default, able
to hold their own in a proper fight, and can be expected
to have a few as the game progresses. (Or, alternatively, if
they can’t hold their own in a fight, they’ll have access to
allies who can - armies, gangs, protector drones and so on.)
HOW DO I PLAY UNBOUND?
In some ways, Unbound is a lot like other roleplaying
games. If you’ve never played one before, here’s how it’s
done: one player - called the Gamesmaster - creates a
fictitious world in their imagination, and the the other
players - generally just called the “players” - take on the
roles of characters in the world. The gamesmaster’s job is
to make the world challenging and exciting to explore, and
the players’ job is to steer their characters through said
world and have as much fun as possible.
Much of the time, when a player describes their
character making an action, the GM can say if it works. But
if it’s interesting to see whether or not they succeed, the
GM calls for some kind of check - often this is the result of
a die roll, with bonuses or penalties to the roll dependent
on the character’s abilities. If the result is high enough, the
action succeeds. If it’s too low, the action fails.
Unbound uses normal playing cards to resolve
challenges - both parties involved draw a card, and the
higher card wins (in practice it’s a little more complex than
that, but at the heart of it, that’s what’s going on - there
are more detailed rules for battle scenes and dramatic
scenes later in the book).
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 Unbound is different from many other roleplaying
games in that the players and the GM work together to
build the world at the start of the game and explore it
together as a group, with the GM reacting to the players’
actions as they perform them. Also, unlike other games
where you might play the same characters for many
sessions and take them from obscurity to legend, in
Unbound each group of characters is only supposed to
hang around for four to six four-hour-long sessions - or an
adventure, to use our word for it.
The base unit of Unbound is the adventure, a story
about the player characters. What’s the most important
thing happening right now? What are the characters trying
to achieve? What challenges and threats await them?
You’ll find out through play.
Once you feel the characters have achieved their aims,
move on to the next adventure in the same world. What
questions have been raised during play? What other parts
of the world are you looking to explore, what characters do
you wish to play? Pick a different core and make some new
characters.
Lots of adventures together is called a saga. With this
model you can quickly generate a world, figure out what
the characters want, see if they get it and repeat until the
players and GM have worked together to build something
incredible.
WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY UNBOUND?
Every player - including the GM - will need their own
pack of playing cards - just normal ones will do, with 2
Jokers (GM, take your Jokers out and put them to one side
- you don’t need them). We don’t recommend that you use
fancy ones, because you’ll be scribbling on them as your
character grows and changes. You’ll need pens that can
write on playing cards, too. Players - your deck of cards is
referred as your character deck. GMs, your deck of cards
is called your GM deck.
You’ll also need some paper to make notes (we like
using A3 sheets, because there’s lots of room) and either a
set of printed character sheets or some paper for players to
note down their character abilities.
CONVENTIONS IN THE TEXT
We assume that you’re using a standard pack of playing
cards with 2 Jokers. Aces are low. We will refer to specific
cards and suits using the following notation: the numerical
value of the card followed by an icon representing the suit.
So the four of diamonds becomes 4 , the Jack of Clubs is
J and so on.
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We refer to characters played by the players as
“player characters” or, sometimes, just “characters”.
Hostile characters controlled by the GM are known as
“adversaries”, and non-hostile characters are known as
“NPCs” or “non-player characters.”
We’ve done our best to keep things even with regard to
gender; with male, female and non-binary genders being
represented throughout the book.
WHAT DOES BEING A PLAYER INVOLVE?
As a player, you’ll create a character to take part in
an action-packed story - during the adventure, you’ll play
as them, and act using them as your avatar in the world.
A big part of making a character is applying your own
descriptions for your role and trait abilities, so get creative!
(Your character gets their own deck of cards, too. This
will last them until the end of the adventure.)
When you play, it’s up to you to craft stories with
the other players and the gamesmaster, so make sure that
you put your character forward into challenging situations
to see what happens. (Even if your character wouldn’t want
to run into danger, as players it’s exciting to tackle difficult
problems - and as an audience, it’s fun to watch it happen.
So find a reason to get involved!)
You’re also there to make everyone else look
good. Don’t worry about being the coolest, the smartest,
or the most inventive player at the table; worry about
helping everyone else be that. When you make other
players, and their characters, look good and give them fun
opportunities to play with, you generate a good session
for everyone. (And if you’re worried about feeling left out?
Don’t worry, everyone else is working to make you look
good, too.)
But you’ll also be responsible, in no small part, for
creating the world that you and the other characters
inhabit. During the first session of each adventure, you,
the GM, and the other players will answer questions that
shape the world around you. There’s no default setting
for Unbound, and that can be challenging at first for
some players, but making a world together - and then
exploring it, and probably blowing parts of it up - can be
really satisfying. When you answer questions about the
adventure, try not to say no to things - instead of thinking
why your character wouldn’t do a thing because it seems
out-of-character, try wrapping your head around what sort
of extraordinary circumstances would get them to do such
a thing!
WHAT DOES BEING A GAMESMASTER INVOLVE?
The gamesmaster, or “GM” for short, is in charge of
running the game. You’re in control of everything that
isn’t a player character - so that’s all the other characters
in the world, the terrain, the environment, and the pace
of the story. You’re also probably in charge of hosting
the game, deciding when it begins and ends, and when to
move from one adventure to another - or to a new Saga
altogether.
During the first session of an adventure, the GM is in
charge of leading the group in creating the world. Ask
the questions given in the core (which is a background and
motivation that all the player characters share) and keep
asking questions related to the group’s answers until you
feel like you’ve worked out a stable platform to build the
world from. Write everything down, in note form, on a big
piece of paper. When players answer the questions from
their trait, do the same. Make suggestions to players that
connect parts of the world together.
During play, it’s your job to find adventure and
challenge in everything the players do. A common
belief among gamesmasters is that they have to spend
ages preparing a branching plotline for players to
experience, but this can be frustrating when the players
make unexpected decisions and throw the game “off
course”. Instead of writing yourself into a corner, react to
the decisions that players make, and draw from the world
you’ve all created to make each scene exciting.
Part of finding adventure is running battle scenes,
which you’ll do plenty of. Before a battle starts, it’s up
to you to pick out a selection of adversaries for the
characters to tackle. There’s a guide to doing this in the
adversaries section, page 106.
Although every player is responsible for every other
player having a good time, you’re the authority on
that. It’s your job to make sure that people understand the
rules, are comfortable with (and even excited about!) the
plots and characters, and are generally having fun together
as a group.

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 THE CORE MECHANIC
If a character is attempting to perform an action
(hitting an adversary in a battle scene, climbing a
building, picking a lock, dodging incoming fire) then
their player plays a card from the top of their deck.
The GM does the same, drawing from their own deck,
and the person with the higher result gets what they
want out of the exchange. Card values are ranked from
Ace to King, with Ace being low and King high.

Jess’ character is attempting to scale a wall without SHUFFLING

being seen by some nearby guards. She draws a card
- 10 . The GM draws an opposing card. She draws
5 , which is lower than the 10 , so Jess’ character
manages to ascend unseen.
On a draw, player characters always win. If two player
characters are competing against each other, re-draw on a
draw.
If a character has an appropriate proficiency, they treat
some low-value cards as 10 which gives them an edge.
Proficiencies are represented with A, 2, 3, etc - this treats
any card of that value or lower as a 10.
Players shuffle their character deck at the
following times:
ĐĐ Before each dramatic or battle scene
ĐĐ Immediately after healing from their discards
Players shuffle their discard pile immediately
before they heal.
GMs shuffle their deck before each dramatic or battle
scene. When all their cards are in their discard pile, they
shuffle it and it becomes their deck. During a scene, GMs
shouldn’t shuffle their deck unless their discard pile is full.

A player whose character has STRIKE proficiency 2

plays an Ace on a STRIKE action. They treat that card
as though it was a 10 of the same suit.
This is also true of adversaries - almost every adversary
has a proficiency rating that covers all of their actions
(some adversaries don’t have proficiency ratings, because
they’re simply not very good at fighting).
For most actions in battle scenes, if a player plays a
FACE card, their character gets access to a boost - some
special trick or bonus defined by their role.
JOKERS
If a Joker is played as part of an action, it opens up the
possibility of great success or crippling failure. In a battle
scene, the player who drew the Joker chooses which of
their actions to play it on, and then draws another card on
top of it. If a Joker is drawn as a DEFENCE action, simply
draw another card on top of it (remember: GMs don’t use
Jokers, only players).
If a face card or a story card is played on a Joker, it
triggers a boost as usual. If the Joker is a story card itself, it
triggers two positive effects on a success and two negative
effects on a failure

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CRITICAL SUCCESSES IN BATTLE
When a player draws a Joker and the subsequent action
succeeds, fate has smiled upon them. The player should
choose one of the following benefits and explain how it
happens:
ĐĐ Gain the benefits of a boost on the action
ĐĐ Recharge a limited power
ĐĐ Immediately take a mook-level character within
range of the character out of action
CRITICAL FAILURES IN BATTLE
When a player draws a Joker and the subsequent action
fails, circumstances have conspired to really mess their
character up. Describe a negative effect on the character,
often due to outside influence from an unexpected source,
and choose one of the following effects:
ĐĐ The character is reduced to 0 stamina
ĐĐ The player must choose an ally in their or a
connected area; that character makes only one
action on their next turn
ĐĐ Place one mook-level character on the battlefield; it
may act as normal next round
DRAMATIC SCENES
In a dramatic scene - that’s any scene without a battle
map - players only draw one card at a time, so there’s
no need to choose which action to apply the Joker to. A
dramatic scene requires a number of successes before a
number of failures to resolve one way or the other, and
jokers increase the number of successes or failures possible
from a single action. The player who drew the Joker
introduces a new element to the scene, and their successes
or failures from the action are doubled.
Ten-Thousand Knees, the legendary orc drunken boxer,
is in a dramatic scene where she is trying to reclaim a
sacred text from the merchants who stole it from her
temple. Her player describes Ten-Thousand sneaking
through the tunnels underneath the merchants’
warehouse to reach the scroll, but then draws a Joker.
“Ah,” says the player. “Okay: I look up through the
grate and see that the merchant’s brattish son Horatio
is reading our scroll - and it looks like he’s absorbing
its power! I’ll have to move fast.”
The player draws again to resolve the action and
gets 7 of hearts. The GM draws a five of diamonds,
so Ten-thousand has succeeded in sneaking into the
warehouse - and with that joker, it counts as two
successes towards completing the scene. “Horatio can’t
handle the power of the scroll, it seems,” says the GM,
“and upon speaking the first of the koans of drunken
wisdom is blown back through the doors of the
warehouse with an almighty flash of light! This should
provide Ten-thousand with the distraction she needs
to get in there.”
If a story card is played on a Joker and the player
fails, they may redraw a card to replace their story card
(they can only do this once per Joker played), but it is still
treated as being played on top of the Joker. If the Joker
drawn is a story card itself, the scene now hinges entirely
on the card; on a success, the players win the scene. On a
failure, they fail.
POWERS
A character’s core, role and trait give them access to
special abilities called powers. Powers allow a character to
perform unique actions in battle scenes, and come in one
of three types:
Always-on powers trigger whenever your character
satisfies the conditions (inflict a wound, are in the same
area as an ally who is hit, etc). Some of them are only
usable once per round.
Boost powers give your character an alternative boost
to use on a certain action, or all actions.
Limited powers are usable once, then unusable until
you meet the conditions required to use them again.
When you make an action in combat (including DEFENCE
actions), if the value of the card played on the action is
lower than the recharge value of the power, you may
recharge that power. Declare that you are recharging at
the time of the action. You may only recharge one power
per card.
You cannot recharge a power on the same turn that you
use it unless expressly stated in the power’s description.
You can use multiple powers as part of the same action.
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SAGA CREATION CHECKLIST
When you start a new adventure in a new saga, go
through the following steps in order (we’ve ordered the
book in the same pattern). There might be a few phrases
in here that you don’t understand yet - don’t worry. We’ll
explain everything in detail in the relevant chapters.
You can take as long as you want to build the world and
your characters; some groups prefer to rattle through the
process in 10 minutes and get playing right away, and some
like to spend a whole evening slowly building a detailed
world to explore. Work out what’s right for your group.
Once you’ve played your first adventure in the saga,
you can skip step one and go straight on to step two, if
you’d like.

ONE. Pick base setting and tone. As a group, select a rough base setting for your saga to
take place in by drawing touchstones to spark your imaginations. Depending on which set of
touchstones (or which sets of touchstones) you use, you can make almost any kind of setting
you desire.

TWO. Pick core. Create core foundation. Answer all core questions as a group, and note down
your core’s RECOVER power.
Every player character will share the same core; it defines what the game’s going to be
about, what sort of adversaries and challenges the characters will face, who the characters
are, and what sort of victories they’ll strive to achieve.

THREE. Each player picks a role for their character, and one power from that role.
Answer the questions from the role.
A character’s role determines what they do in the party; whether they’re a front-line
combatant, a spry ranged fighter, a tactician and motivator, or something entirely different.

FOUR. Each player picks a trait for their character, and one power from that trait.
A character’s trait helps describe their existing abilities and gives them access to
special powers.

FIVE. Each player creates a foundation for their character, and the group works
together to create a second foundation for each character. Check your core foundation
and modify it if necessary.

SIX. Each player creates a fate for their character, and the group creates a fate for each
character. Work together to make interesting fates that will challenge your characters and
put them in difficult situations.

SEVEN. The GM picks a twist, and creates one fate and two factions to start play. Twists
are dirty tricks that the GM uses to level the playing field in battle scenes. Factions are groups
of NPCs that can help or hinder the player characters.

EIGHT. Each player draws for a scar, as detailed in the permanent injury rules on page 76,
redrawing aces.

NINE. Finishing touches. The players and GM describe and name their characters, if they’ve
not done so already. Talk about how their traits manifest, and their relationship to the other
characters.

TEN. Play the game! You’ll discover the rest of the world by getting into it and exploring,
so start playing.

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INTRODUCING NEW PLAYERS
As Unbound relies on the whole player group to create
the setting, it can feel difficult to introduce new players
into an ongoing saga or adventure - the existing players
have narrative authority over the environment, and they
might feel like they’re intruding. Here’s how to rectify
that:
When the player makes their character, determine
their character’s link to (at least) one existing player
character, and have them create a story card that describes
what they learned or experienced through that link.
Have the group connect their character to an existing
faction, and explain how they’ve come to blows with, or
helped out, that faction in the past.
Finally, have them answer two of the following
questions:
Why are you risking your life to help
these people?
Why are you the only person that can help?
What do the other characters suspect about
the world that simply isn’t true?
Who’s the real threat?
Why are you late to the party?
What’s the name of your contact in one
of the existing factions?
SETTING
Before you start making characters, or the world in
which your saga is going to take place, you’ll need to
decide on a setting as a group. Talk about what sort of
stories you’re interested in telling, what sort of characters
you want to create, and what sort of world you want to
explore.
It’s hard to make up a setting from nothing at all, so
here are a few basic building blocks that you can start
from. After you’ve taken your building blocks, your core
will add a slant on what sort of stories you’ll tell, but we’ve
also provided a table of keywords to help you make your
setting unique.
FANTASY. In days of old, knights roam the land, wizards
concoct magical spells, and mighty beasts prowl across the
wilderness. Strange creatures - dwarves, elves, orcs - share
the world with men, and the world is one of adventure,
with vast riches from forgotten kingdoms to be found on
the edge of civilisation. This is, in many ways, the “default”
setting for Unbound, because it’s one of our favourites.
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I ALREADY KNOW WHAT THE SETTING IS!
We’ve written Unbound with the intention
that when everyone sits down to play at the
first session, no-one knows what the setting
is going to look like, and everyone is willing
to be surprised along the way by exploring it
together. But - if you want to, you can use the
system to explore an existing universe. If you
want to play superheroes from your favourite
comics, or gear up for a dark future where
there is only war, or get involved in father-son
disputes in a galaxy far, far away, or to learn
and build upon an original setting of your own
creation - go for it.
SCI-FI. What will the future be like? Our heroes set foot on
alien worlds, battle in zero-gravity, broker peace treaties
between galactic empires (or break them), dual-wield ray
guns and count extra-terrestrials, sentient gases, advanced
robots and manifested AIs amongst their allies. Sci-fi also
includes, usefully, Cyberpunk and Post-Apocalypse, which
are perennially popular settings for roleplaying games.
URBAN HORROR. It’s a dark world out there. Supernatural
forces lie beneath the surface of the city; werewolves hunt
in an abandoned shopping mall, vampires drain kids dry
in nightclub bathrooms, the sewers are filled with razor-
toothed ghouls and that old guy on the street corner is a
wizard with power beyond your wildest dreams. Whether
the player characters are hunting down the creatures
of the night, or teaming up with them to carve out their
niche, it’s going to be a wild ride.
PULP. Derring-do! Biplanes! Nazis! Lost civilisations!
Danger! Thrilling tales abound as bold adventurers set out
to defend, or possibly take over, the world! Daring train
robberies - scandalous romances - mobsters with hearts of
gold - an ape with the brain of a MAN - tracking the two-
gun terror through the rainy streets of Chinatown - snake-
worshippers - the whole shebang, baby!
SUPERHEROES. For whatever reason, some folk have
superpowers - flight, incredible speed and strength,
teleportation, control over the elements, mind-control, etc
- and the player characters are amongst them (or maybe
they don’t have powers, but they have the means to fight
those who do). Will they use their powers for good or evil?
Will they fight over a city block, a country, or the world?
VARIATIONS
TONE
You can change up a lot by deciding on what kind
of theme your saga is going to have with regards to the
base setting. If you decide that the tone of your Fantasy
saga is going to be light and upbeat, then it could move
to Saturday-morning-TV-heroics; of wicked villains who
kidnap but never kill their targets, and are always foiled;
of dragons with problems to solve, rather than to be killed
outright.
If you make it darker and more serious, though, then
maybe that villain kills people outright - people that
the players care about. Maybe the dragon is a criminal
mastermind with a web of informants and lackeys,
bringing them gold to heap on their hoard. Maybe our
heroes aren’t bold and brave adventuring knights, but
demobbed soldiers looking to deal with the fallout of the
kind of war that’s fought by normal people but won by the
almighty magic of wizards.
Or you could make it hopeful; ships that fly on the
winds of magic through the sky, lost civilisations ready to
be explored, player characters as adventurers, sages, bards,
animated statues and talking owls; limitless sources of
power, noble sacrifice, and save-the-world scenarios.
Or make it hopeless, if that’s your thing; civilisation is
overrun, the mad gods and bestial forces of the underworld
won the war, and the player characters scratch out a
desperate existence in the ruins of a lost dwarven city,
fighting for food, fuel and means to survive while they
evade patrolling orcs and ravenous tentacled beasts.
Not every game is going to sustain the same tone all
the way through - there’ll be sad moments in lighthearted
campaigns, levity in grim and grimy hopeless ones, and so
on. But getting the overall theme in everyone’s minds right
from the start will help you all work together.
TOUCHSTONES
Below is a table of 52 different phrases that we thought
would be useful to help generate an original world. When
we play Unbound, we tell each player to draw a card
and tell us what word (or “touchstone”) they get, then
brainstorm a setting from the results together. You can
do the same, or you can use them to flavour a base setting
you’ve all agreed on, or you can each draw four and “pitch”
your world to each other, or the GM draws three lots of
four and the players decide which lot they’re interested in
exploring.
There are several more lists of touchstones by a variety
of authors in Appendix 2 on page 140.

A Zeppelins Androids Sorcery Narcotics

2 Vampires Virtual A Lost Civilisation Vehicles

3 Demons Aliens Jungles Transhuman

4 Corporations Apocalypse Politics Frontier

5 Dictatorship Heavy Armour Shanty Towns Omens

6 No More Magic Music Pirates Trade

7 Dragons Doors Flooding The Dead

8 Stone Werewolves Guns Walls

9 Ocean Crime Prison War

10 Plants Wizards Beasts Exoskeletons

J Ice Hybrids Shadows Bugs

Q Fire Nanotech Revolution Dust

K Disease Sky Holy Light

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14
Cores
CORES
Your character’s core determines who they are and
what they’re doing. Every character in the adventure will
choose the same core.
You’ll see that there are five or so questions per core -
you, and the other players, will answer these questions to
help determine the world, your allies and adversaries, and
the sort of adventures you’ll embark on. Don’t feel limited
by these questions, or that you have to rush through them
to get on with the game - take as long as you want, and
create more questions, if it helps you get a handle on the
world.
Create a group foundation once you’ve answered
the questions. The group foundation is a shared history
between all the characters that they can draw on in
dramatic scenes. You’ll get a chance to modify your group
foundation later on.
Each core has a list of sample foundations to act as
inspiration for your core and character foundations. There
is more information on foundations on page 58, but for now,
foundations are descriptions of your characters’ abilities
and history that help them succeed in dramatic scenes.
Every core has a RECOVER power that your character
gains at the start of play.
Whatever core, role and trait you choose, your
characters will be capable fighters - that’s just how
Unbound works. So if you want to play a librarian, for
example, make sure it’s a Librarian who can throw a
punch or two.

DEVOUT
DEVOUT adventures are about the player characters -
paladins, clerics, pilgrims, zealots, agents and priests
- bringing light to dark places because of a strong,
unifying belief in what’s right. Members of a devout
adventure might all follow one god, worship the same
pantheon, be part of a multi-faith team, or just devoted
to noble ideals, but they’re all in broad agreement that
their actions must be right and just.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer the following
questions about the world:
The Ladies of the Chapel Perilous; Dark-Elf Sun-
Worshippers; The Boston Saints; The Heimdallr Private What is sacred to us?
Detective Agency; The Knights of Hammersmith and What evil are we trying to stop?
City; Skull-covered Baroque Space Fascists; Missionary
What will happen if we fail?
Librarians for the God of Knowledge; Cultists of a Tentacled
Doomsday God; Grandfather Passed, but he still talks to us. Where can we find unexpected allies?
What has challenged our faith in the past?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS:
The Only Honest Cop in this Dirty Town; Disgraced
Purgemaster General; Hand of God Assault Squad Leader; POWER OF THE RIGHTEOUS:
Idealistic Freedom Fighter; Monk of the Iron Scales;
[Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER
Starbound Missionary for the Almighty Dollar; Clueless
action, instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 15 and
Leader of a Doomsday Cult; a Fallen Angel, wanted for
either: heal all other allies in your area for 3, or PUSH all
crimes in heaven; Pacifist Cleric, possessed by an Avenging
adversaries in your area.
Spirit.

EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER:

What do I believe in? (You can answer the same as

another player, if you’d like; this is encouraged but not
required. It can be a higher power, a noble ideal, or a
philosophical concept.)

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Cores

MAGI
MAGI are members of a magical tradition (or
traditions) that are on a quest for information, people
of note, and items of power - wizards, sorcerers,
swordmages, teachers, researchers, explorers,
interdimensional consultants, and so on. They’ll
travel far and wide to uncover lost secrets, because
knowledge is power and keeping it in the right hands
is of paramount importance. If they happen to attain
some glory along the way, so much the better.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer the following
questions about the world:
Post-Graduate Students on a Field Trip; Apprentices of
old Oximalfucious; The Great Dragon’s Brood; Endlessly What (or who) are we searching for?
Resurrected Minions; Familiar Worker’s Union; Blazing Where do we reckon it’s hidden?
Battle-Wizards; Full-tilt Urban Adepts; Sword-bound
Who would rather we didn’t get our hands on
Spirits of the Ancients; The Council of the Wyrmwood Star;
Augmented Xenobiologists; Mystical Wayfinders for Hire. it?
What happens if we don’t get control of it?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS: Where is the first stop on our journey?
Unpaid Part-time Intern Sorcerer; Occluded Acquisitions
Consultant at the Guild of Relics; Exile from the
Brotherhood of Masks; Two-fisted, eight-fingered LAST CHANCE ARCANA:
Archeologist; Jolly Old Dwarven Runesmith; A floating
Collection of Spheres that whisper dark truths; Discount [Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER action,
Demonologist; the Crystal Shard in my head lets me see the instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 8+ the value of
future, honest; I am a Crystal Shard, and I’m stuck in some the card used and either: gain 2 temporary stamina or
chump’s head who thinks I let him see the future; Sole make an immediate attack action.
Survivor of the Dewey-decimal purges.

EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER:

What is my magical tradition? (You can answer

the same as another player, if you’d like; this is
encouraged but not required.)
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Cores

OUTLAW
OUTLAWS aren’t bad people, necessarily, but they
end up on the wrong side of the authorities - they’re
thieves, killers, bandits, morally grey professionals,
dealers and heretics. Outlaw adventures are about
breaking the law, for good or bad reasons, and dealing
with the fallout.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer the following
questions about the world:
Roving Jetcycle Gang; The Murkways Thieves’ Guild;
Explosive-collared Supervillains; No Grave Could Hold What’s the name of our city, and
Us Down, and Now we want Revenge; Undercover Cops; what’s weird about it?
This Is Our One Last Job; The Order of the Gilded Pocket;
What do we want, and what happens
Survivors of a Shattered Cult; Hang On, is Anyone here NOT
an Agent Provocateur; The Kingpin’s Chosen Henchmen. if we don’t get it?
Who’s in charge of the law round these parts?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS: Who’s the one person we can trust?
Defector from the unsuccessful Half-Orc Navy; Smuggler Who are we looking to screw over?
with a hundred bounties on her head; Owner and
Bartender at The Four Dragons Dancing; The Best-looking
Gunslinger in all of Time and Space; Escaped AI in a stolen DESPERATE MEASURES:
vat-grown body; Vampire Hunter in a corrupted city;
Average Conman, Brilliant Killer; Drone-piloting Hacker [Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER action,
Wunderkind; Fox-blood Trickster. instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 15 and either:
make an immediate escape move, or make the area you
EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER: are currently occupying Dangerous 2 until the end of the
battle.
What is my crime?

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Cores

PACTBOUND
PACTBOUND characters are agents of something
greater than themselves - witches, warlocks,
summoners, elemental-blooded, faesworn, demonic
brokers, angel-touched, and so on - and they’re
on a quest for personal gain. They’re already used
to brokering deals for power, and they’ve banded
together to take on a difficult challenge.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer one of the
following questions about the world:
The Dead God’s Hand; A Ritual Went Wrong; There’s
an Angel tied up in our Basement; A Family of Witches; What is the greatest source of pacts in the
Backwoods swamp cultists; Arsenic and Oldlace, Demonic world?
Attorneys; Soul-bound to The Anima Corporation;
What’s the other big one?
Implanted with Alien Technology; Echoes of a Time-Sultan;
Deluded Pre-teens bound to an Environmental Protector What happens if we break our pacts?
Spirit. Who stands against us?
What did we lose to make our pacts?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS:
Silver-tongued Voice of the Void; Bound to the Ship’s AI,
sworn to defend it; Infernal Realtor; Smart-mouthed Cat LIFE-STEALING HEX:
of a Teenaged Witch; Kissed by a Fae Usurper; the blood
transfusion came with Demonic Obligations; Lady Luck’s [Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER action,
53rd husband; Part-Time Gangster, Part-Time Guardian instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 15 and use your
Angel; 23,000-year-old Identity Thief. RECOVER card to make an immediate attack action. If you
hit, heal equal to the suit damage of the card.
EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER:

What have I made a pact with? (You can answer

the same as another player, if you’d like; this is
encouraged but not required.)

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Cores

WARRIOR
WARRIOR adventures are about war; armies are
marching against each other, and our player
characters - soldiers, city guard, mercenaries,
heavily-armed explorers, commandos - are
instrumental in winning or losing the fight.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer the following
questions about the world:
The Screamin’ 33rd; First Assault Recon, Dodayavin Rift;
Queen’s Eternal Guard; Dishonourable Discharges All Who are we fighting?
Round; The Eighth Street Razors; The Half-Elf Liberation Who are our allies?
Front; Hellguard; Last Defenders of Titan; Nordic Bearmen
Where is most of the combat taking place?
on Leave; Occult Task Force; Itinerant Fey Knights.
What’s the name of our commander?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS: What do we stand to lose if we’re defeated?
Wide-eyed farm girl; 2nd-best sniper in the Emperor’s
Guard; Sole Survivor of the battle of Dodoyavin Rift;
Wealthiest (and only) Mercenary in all of Nova Despera; NEVER BACK DOWN:
Chief Scale-Borer of the 33rd Dragon Hunters; Suspiciously
Easy-Going Drill Sergeant; The Biggest Woman, carrying [Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER action,
the Biggest Gun; Demo-man with half a face remaining; instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 15 and either:
3rd-generation Army Brat with a cocky smile. make an immediate attack action, or heal an ally in your
area 6.
EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER:

What is the name of our group? (Or regiment, unit,

squad, gang, etc.) All characters should be part of the
same, or allied, groups.

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Cores

WILD
WILD adventures are about something unnatural
encroaching into the wilderness. Characters - wild folk,
faerie emissaries, shapeshifters, rangers, barbarians,
awakened animals, and more besides - fight on
the side of nature against the invaders, whether
they’re an invading army, an expanding city state,
interdimensional invaders, or meddling pilgrims.
SAMPLE CORE FOUNDATIONS: The GM and each player should answer one of the
following questions about the world:
The Summer Court Bailiffs; The roving tribe of Hellvast
Peak; Last of the Wise Women; Poseidon’s Chosen; The What is powerful about the wild?
Parliament of Bears; Children of the Earth-Mother; Why are we the ones to protect it?
Werewolf Motorcycle Gang; Half-ghost Guardians of the
What is the most unnatural thing near here?
Deadlands; Lost Swamp Coven; 1920’s Bridgeless Troll
Drifters. What’s the biggest city near here?
Who would love to see our home destroyed?
SAMPLE CHARACTER FOUNDATIONS:
A Wolf, avenging her fallen Ranger; Librarbarian, Screamer
of the Tomes; I spent my Gap Year as a Tree, darling; FORCE OF NATURE:
Emissary of the Nightmarish Autumn Court; Guardian of
[Recharge: End of scene] When you make a RECOVER action,
the Last Seed; Water-Scryer in the Bleached Wastes; The
instead of normal stamina recovery, heal 15. Until the end
Prince of Bees; Wind-kin exiled for loving an Earthblood;
of your next turn, either: deal +1 damage with all attacks,
Fae-bound, mind-warped Knight of the Flowers; Recently
or take -1 damage from all attacks.
Uncalcified Troll Soothsayer, a thousand years out of date.

EVERY PLAYER MUST ANSWER:

What part of the wild am I most closely

bound to?
25
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Roles
ROLES
Your role is what you do in battle - think of it like a
character class from a traditional RPG. When you pick your
role, choose one ability from the list at the bottom of each
to represent your particular style.

THE BRAWLER
You’re tough, and you excel at close-range combat.
You’re good at giving out punishment and absorbing
attacks that would take down weaker members of
your team.
Answer the following questions:
What do you use to take out your adversaries?
How do you avoid damage?
Where did you learn to fight like this?
SAMPLE CONCEPTS:
WARRIOR Bravura Battle Captain; Regimental Boxing
Champion; Armoured Assault Drone
OUTLAW Moustachioed Swashbuckler; Champion
Dog-fighter; Drugged-up Cyber-Ronin
DEVOUT Idealistic Private Investigator; Sanctified
Murderer; Bound Penitent
WILD Chosen of the Storm; Six Wolves; Gorilla
Guerrilla
MAGI Oily Muscle-mage; Shapeshifting Alchemist;
Requisitioned Lab Experiment
PACTBOUND Fire-breathing Dragonblood; Blood-Spirit
Channeler; Avatar of Carnage
PROFICIENCIES: STRIKE: 2 DEFENCE: 2
STAMINA: 6
BOOSTS
MOVE Tear it up: All adversaries in your starting
and target area take 1 damage.
SHOOT Get in there: Make an immediate escape move
towards your target.
STRIKE Make it hurt: You inflict +2 damage.
RECOVER Keep going: If you inflict damage before the
end of your next turn, gain 2 temporary
Stamina.
DEFENCE Surprise attack: If the attacker misses with
their attack, inflict damage against them as
dictated by the card’s suit.
In addition, choose one:
I LIKE THOSE ODDS:
[Always on] When you are surrounded - when there are
more adversaries than allies in your area - your STRIKE
proficiency is 3.
Advanced: If there are three or more adversaries in your
area, inflict +1 damage.
SHOCK AND AWE:
[Always on] Once per turn, when you inflict a wound, all
other adversaries in the same area take 2 damage. If there
are no adversaries in your area, PULL 1 adversary within 1
area into your area.
Advanced: When you use Shock and Awe, you gain 2
temporary stamina.
BRING IT ON:
[Always on] When you use a RED card to make a STRIKE
action, inflict +1 damage. When you use a RED FACE card to
make a STRIKE action, inflict +2 damage in addition to the
effects of the boost.
Advanced: [Always on] When you have 0 stamina, you no
longer take damage from using RED cards to make STRIKE
actions, and RED FACE cards inflict +3 damage instead of +2.
BLOOD IN THE EYES:
[Limited 2] When you inflict damage on an adversary,
declare you are using this power. That adversary
takes BLEED 2, and until they remove the BLEED, their
PROFICIENCY is 0.
Advanced: Until the target of this power removes the
BLEED, they inflict -1 damage to a minimum of 0.

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Roles
THE DEADEYE
You’re a master of ranged combat; accurate and
deadly, with a focus on speed and mobility.
Answer the following questions:
What do you use to take out your adversaries?
How do you avoid damage?
Where did you learn to fight like this?
SAMPLE CONCEPTS:
WARRIOR Peasant Crossbowman; Zero-G Railgunner;
Mounted Zen Archer
OUTLAW 3 Times City Darts Champion; Avatar of the
.45; Duke Smashing, Space Pirate at Law
DEVOUT Wandering Executioner; Guardian Angel
with a beanbag shotgun; Voodoo Priestess
WILD Elven Hawkmistress; A Vengeful King of
Wasps; Postapocalyptic Bullet-Farmer
MAGI Inventor of the Hex-Cannon; Magic Missile
Enthusiast; Portal-hacking Arcanotechnician
PACTBOUND My Gun Speaks To Me; Bearer of the Bow of
Heaven; Hex-tongued Witch
PROFICIENCIES: SHOOT: 3, MOVE: 3
STAMINA: 4
BOOSTS:
MOVE Dive for cover: Regain 2 stamina.
SHOOT Make it count: If your attack is successful, it
inflicts a wound.
STRIKE Slip away: Make an immediate escape move
after this action is triggered.
RECOVER Reload: Your SHOOT proficiency is 4 until the
end of your next turn.
DEFENCE Go to ground: You cannot be targeted with
SHOOT actions until the start of your next
turn.
In addition, choose one:
RUNNING BATTLE:
[Limited 4] During your turn, make an escape MOVE or
RECOVER as a free action.
Advanced: As above, but you may escape MOVE or
RECOVER at the start of any character’s turn as an
interrupt, not just your own.
BOOM:
[Limited 3] When you SHOOT, you also attack all other
adversaries in your target’s area - if you hit these
secondary targets, you inflict half damage.
Advanced: When you use BOOM, all adversaries in the
target area may not make MOVE actions until the end of
your next turn. Escape moves function as normal.
OVERWATCH:
[Limited 2] [Interrupt] When an adversary hits an ally in
an area you can reach with a SHOOT action, make an
immediate SHOOT action against that adversary. If you hit,
your ally takes half damage from the attack. If you wound,
your ally takes no damage from the attack. If you miss,
your ally gains 1 temporary stamina.
Advanced: As above, but your ally takes no damage from
the attack if you hit. If you miss, your ally takes half
damage but gains no temporary stamina.
EXTREME RANGE:
[Limited special] When you SHOOT, you may attack a target
up to 4 areas away. This power recharges when you make a
MOVE or RECOVER action, and you may recharge it on the
turn you use it.
Advanced: When you attack a character that is 3 or more
areas away from you, inflict +1 damage.
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Roles

THE PROTECTOR
You support your allies in combat, keeping them safe
from harm.

Answer the following questions: In addition, choose one of the following:

What do you use to take out your adversaries?
How do you avoid damage?
How do you help your allies?
Where did you learn to fight like this?
SAMPLE CONCEPTS:
WARRIOR Blood-soaked Medic; Tough-love
Staff Sergeant; A Swarm of Adaptive
Nanomachines
OUTLAW Back-alley Sawbones; Washed-up Monk;
Opportunistic Stim Dealer
DEVOUT Bearer of the Grail; Frontier Preacher;
Psychic Surgeon
WILD Horizon-walking Spirit Shaman;
Broodmother; Guardian of the Spring of
Eternal Life
MAGI Headstrong Expedition Leader; Divine Magic
Hijacker; Angel Summoner
PACTBOUND Touched by the Spring Fey; Moon-blood
Martial Artist; Morrígan Medic
PROFICIENCIES: DEFENCE: 2, and
STRIKE: 2 or SHOOT:2, choose at character creation
STAMINA: 5
BOOSTS:
MOVE Keep your head down: Gain +2 temporary
stamina.
SHOOT Covering fire: An ally in the target area gains
+2 temporary stamina.
STRIKE Get back: You or an ally in your area gains +2
temporary stamina.
RECOVER Inspire: All allies in your area heal 2.
DEFENCE Distract: Attacks against the adversary until
the start of your next turn inflict +1 damage.
ON YOUR FEET:
[Always on] You may nominate a target other than yourself
for RECOVER actions. When you do so, the target heals the
damage from their discard pile, rather than replenishing it
from their character deck.
Advanced: When you use this power, black cards restore
+1 stamina.
MARTYR:
[Always on] When an ally in your area takes a wound, you
may take half the damage (rounding up) yourself. Any
other effects are still applied to the original target.
Advanced: If the attacking adversary is within 2 areas,
they take damage equal to half of their initial wound value.
WE STAND TOGETHER:
[Limited 2] As a USE action, deal a stack of 4 cards in the
centre of the table; when you or an ally in your or an
adjacent area takes damage, treat this stack as though it
was temporary stamina.
Advanced: As a USE action, add 1 card to the WE STAND
TOGETHER stack.
COMBAT MEDIC:
[Limited 2] Make a USE action to heal 10 on an ally in your
area.
Advanced: You may heal yourself or an additional ally 5
when you use COMBAT MEDIC.
GUARDIAN ANGEL:
[Limited 3] When you make a SHOOT or STRIKE action, an
ally in the target area gains 2 temporary stamina. Unlike
other sources of temporary stamina, this stacks with any
existing temporary stamina that the target possesses.
Once per round, if an ally within 2 areas of you has no
temporary stamina at the end of their turn, make an
immediate SHOOT or STRIKE action against an adversary in
their area.

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Roles
THE STRIKER
You hit hard and fast. You’re not the toughest around,
but you make up for it with with unparalleled mobility
and the fact that dead enemies can’t fight back.
Answer the following questions:
What do you use to take out your adversaries?
How do you avoid damage?
Where did you learn to fight like this?
SAMPLE CONCEPTS:
WARRIOR Cut-throat Scout; Jetpacked Bounty Hunter;
Wiry Shotgunner
OUTLAW Seditionist Assassin; The Terror of Space
Station X-63; Thief Without A Heart of Gold
DEVOUT Chief of the Assault Exorcism Brigade; God’s
Left Hand; Kung-Fu Cop
WILD Bloodthirsty Fey Hedonist; Druid
Legbreaker; A Swarm of Intelligent Snakes
MAGI Swashbuckling Exchange Student;
Competitive Wizardball Captain; Master of
Curses
PACTBOUND Our Lady of Ravens; Shadow-bound
Terrorist; Dead-eyed Company Cyborg
PROFICIENCIES: STRIKE: 3 MOVE: 3
STAMINA: 4
BOOSTS:
MOVE Dash: Move an additional area at the end of
your turn.
SHOOT Suppressing fire: PUSH or PULL the target 1
area.
STRIKE Hit the weak point: If your attack is successful,
it inflicts a wound.
RECOVER Go to ground: If there is another friendly
character in your area, adversary attacks
must include them until the start of your
next turn.
DEFENCE Counter: Your STRIKE proficiency against
your attacker is 4 until the end of your next
turn.
In addition, choose one:
MOBILE ASSAULT:
[Limited 3] At any point during your turn, make an
immediate escape MOVE and gain 2 temporary stamina.
Advanced: When you use this power, all adversaries in
your starting area take 2 damage.
STAY DOWN:
[Limited 2] When you inflict a wound, declare you are using
this power. The adversary you wounded makes 1 fewer
action on its next turn. Troop-level adversaries under the
effect of this power may not act on their next turn.
Advanced: Adversaries affected by the power lose 2
actions on their next turn.
MOMENTUM:
[Always on] At the end of your turn, gain temporary
stamina equal to the number of wounds you inflicted that
turn.
Advanced: [Always on] When you inflict damage, inflict
extra damage equal to your temporary stamina.
DUEL:
[Limited 3] When you STRIKE a target, and you and the
target are the only characters in your area, if your attack is
successful, it inflicts a wound.
Advanced: When you use DUEL, gain 2 temporary stamina.
SMOKE BOMB:
[Limited A] At the end of your turn, declare you’re using
this power on the area you are occupying. Until the end of
your next turn:
That area is Challenging
Adversaries may not SHOOT into or
through the area
Adversaries cannot use their proficiencies
while in the area
Advanced: SMOKE BOMB now affects the area you are
occupying and one connected area.
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Roles

THE WARDEN
You specialise in taking hits and walking away from
dangerous situations intact.

Answer the following questions: In addition, choose one:

What do you use to take out your adversaries?
IRON CONSTITUTION:
How do you avoid damage?
[Always on] When you take a wound, you may gain up to 3
Where did you learn to fight like this? temporary stamina.
SAMPLE CONCEPTS: Advanced: As above, and all allies in your area gain 1
temporary stamina.
WARRIOR Shield Maiden; Masochistic Captain; AEGIS
Operator, Bulwark Division
CENTRE OF ATTENTION:
OUTLAW Stone-jawed Boxer; Disgraced City Guard;
[Limited 3] After you make a MOVE or RECOVER action, pull
Spaceport Mafia Enforcer
every target within 1 area 1 area towards you and inflict 1
DEVOUT Temple Guardian; Sin-eating Flagellant; The damage to each target.
Mother of Lost Children
Advanced: As above, but you may choose to PUSH or PULL
WILD Mountain-born Stonespeaker; the targets.
Environmental Martyr; A Bear
GET DOWN!:
MAGI Necromancer, Followed by a Skeleton
Legion; Headmaster on a Field Trip; [Limited 4] When an ally in your or an adjacent area takes
Unflappable Swordmage damage, you take the damage instead. If the ally is in an
adjacent area, MOVE to their area as an immediate action
PACTBOUND Served my tour of duty in Hell; Fleshcrafting before taking the damage.
Witch; Demonic Golem
Advanced: As above, but the damage is halved.
PROFICIENCIES: DEFENCE: 3, and
STRIKE 2 or SHOOT 2, choose at character creation MARKED:
[Limited Special] When you hit with a STRIKE or SHOOT
DEFENCE: 3 action, use this power. The target deals half basic damage
when it makes STRIKE or SHOOT actions that do not
STAMINA: 7 include you as a target until you take a wound. When you
BOOSTS: take a wound, this power recharges.

MOVE Get moving: One ally within 2 areas may make Advanced: When you use MARKED, gain 2 temporary
an immediate escape move. stamina.

SHOOT Come here: Pull the target one area
towards you.
STRIKE Face me: Until the start of your next turn,
your target’s attacks must include you.
RECOVER You’re trapped in here with me: All adversaries
in your area take 1 damage.
LINE IN THE SAND:
[Limited A] When you make a RECOVER action, mark the
area you are occupying. In that area, you and your allies
gain +1 stamina on RECOVER actions and inflict +1 damage
on STRIKE or SHOOT attacks. When you are no longer in
this area or take a wound, this power ends.

DEFENCE Call that a hit?: Until the start of your next Advanced: The area you occupy during LINE IN THE SAND
turn, when you take damage, take 1 less becomes DAMAGING: 2 to adversaries.
damage to a minimum of 1.

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Traits
TRAITS
Your trait is your character’s personal style. Traits are
what separate you from anyone else who fills your role.
Do you throw fireballs or have a colossal greataxe? Do you
have an alien entity living in your head?
When you pick your trait, choose one ability from
the list beneath it.
Don’t feel like you only need to use your trait when
you’re activating the power - it can inform everything you
do, if you want it to. So though you really let rip with your
AURA
You project an aura of some kind from your body,
either figuratively (using your commanding presence,
advanced tactics, or bravura) or in real terms (using
magic, psionics or technology).
Auras are activated as a free action at the start of your
turn. Auras have end conditions: if these are met, the
effects of the aura immediately end. You can also choose
to voluntarily end an aura at the start of your turn, if you
wish.
If you are taken out of action, the effects of your aura
immediately cease.
Answer one of the following:
What allows you to project this aura?
Who is scared of what you can do?
AURA OF THE BULWARK:
[Limited 3] You protect your friends from incoming fire. SHOOT
actions that enter your area inflict half damage. End: You
use a MOVE action, or are PUSHED or PULLED out of your
area.
Advanced: Choose one connection attached to your
current area. Until this power ends, adversaries may not
make SHOOT actions using this connection.
You protected someone not too long ago and
earned an unexpected ally - who?
AURA OF HEALING:
[Limited 3] Your very presence binds wounds. When a player
character starts their turn in your area, they regain 1
stamina. End: You, or an ally in your area, do not lose
stamina before the start of your next turn.
Fire trait when you use your Fireburst power, maybe all of
your attacks are wreathed in flame, or maybe you attack
with a perpetually red-hot fireplace poker you stole from
the Devil.
Maybe your SHOOT actions are, instead of a shortbow,
your trusty wolf Companion slipping through cover and
biting your adversaries. Maybe your Heavy Weapon is
actually your mighty fists, scarred and calloused from
years of martial training. The fiction is up to you.
Advanced: Once per round, after an ally in your area takes
a wound, they may restore their stamina from their discard
pile.
Who’s the one person you wish you hadn’t
helped with this power?
AURA OF PAIN:
[Limited 3] Around you, people get hurt. Take 2 damage from
your character deck at the end of each turn. The area you
occupy becomes Damaging 1. End: You choose not to take
the damage AURA OF PAIN deals to you.
Advanced: You may extend the effects of AURA OF PAIN to
all areas connected to your current area, but must discard
4 cards per turn to do so.
Your aura has some weird side-effects. What
are they?
AURA OF WRATH:
[Limited 3] You inspire your allies in battle. All allies in your
area inflict +1 damage with their SHOOT and STRIKE
actions. End: You take a wound.
Advanced: When AURA OF WRATH ends, you or one ally
in your area may make an immediate SHOOT or STRIKE
action.
When you use your aura, situations can get
out of hand. What’s the most recent example
of this happening?
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Traits

COMPANION
You go into battle with a powerful ally. Who, or what,
is your ally? Are they a savage beast, a bound demon,
a devoted ward, a scrappy sidekick, a mechanical
construct, a curiously well-trained swarm of bees - or
something else entirely? Where did you learn to fight
so closely with a companion?

Deal 6 cards to make a COMPANION deck at the LOOK OUT, SIR!:

start of a battle.
Answer one of the following questions:
Is it common to have a companion such as
yours, and why?
Who would rather you didn’t have a
relationship with your ally?
[Always on] Your ally stands between you and your enemies.
When you take damage, you may discard cards from your
COMPANION deck as though it was your stamina.
Advanced: Your companion deck is now 9 cards.
Why does your ally protect you with
such zeal?

COMBINED ASSAULT: WE FIGHT AS ONE:

[Always on] You and your companion team up when the going
gets tough. When you hit with a SHOOT or STRIKE action,
you may draw a card from your COMPANION deck and add
damage, derived from its suit, to your attack. In addition,
if the card is BLACK, you may use it face-up as temporary
stamina.
: +1, : +2, : +3, : +4 damage.
Advanced: No matter the colour of the card, gain it as
temporary stamina.
Who has your ally attacked that you didn’t
want them to?
[Limited 4] You and your companion move with perfect
synchronicity. When you make a SHOOT or STRIKE action,
and your target successfully defends, you may make an
additional SHOOT or STRIKE action against the same target
using a card drawn from your COMPANION deck.
Advanced: The SHOOT or STRIKE action from your
COMPANION deck now affects the original target and an
additional adversary within range.
Who else has your companion helped in
the past?
39
40
Traits

CAPTAIN
You lead from the front. You might lead a military
unit, a research expedition, a cabal of witches and
summoners, or a very active thieves’ guild: the
organisation doesn’t matter, but the fact that you’re
taking point does.

Answer one: KEEP MOVING:

Where did you learn to command
people like this?
When did your commands get you
into trouble?
NOT ON MY WATCH:
[Limited A] You shut down adversary tactics before they become
a problem. When an adversary within 2 areas uses a boost or
makes a special action when they receive a wound, cancel
that boost or action as an immediate interrupt - it simply
doesn’t happen. The adversary may not use the ability
again until they inflict a wound.
Advanced: The power becomes [Limited 2].
Who is the most important person you’ve
infuriated with this ability?
STAY THERE:
[Limited 4] You keep your enemy right where you want them.
When an adversary attempts to move out of your area, use
this power. They take 4 damage and may not move until
the start of their next turn.
Advanced: You may use this power when an adversary
enters or leaves your area.
What enemy got away, and still have
a vendetta?
[Limited 3] You lead the charge. Or, some days, the tactical
withdrawal. When you make a MOVE or RECOVER action,
all allies within two areas may make an immediate escape
MOVE or RECOVER action.
Advanced: When you use KEEP MOVING, all allies on the
battlefield are affected, not just those within 2 areas.
You retreated, once, and you lost something.
What was it?
STAND FAST:
[Boost] You maneuver your ally into a strong defensive position.
Gain the following BOOST on SHOOT or STRIKE actions: one
ally in the target area gains 2 temporary stamina.
Advanced: You gain the following BOOST on MOVE and
RECOVER actions: one ally in your area gains 2 temporary
stamina.
Who do you hope you’ll never have to
protect like this?
41
42
Traits
DIRTY FIGHTER
Fighting fair is for chumps. You’re a master of the
hidden razor, the backstab, the kick to the balls, the
salt-in-the-eyes, the twelve-mates-hiding-with-clubs-
down-an-alley. You’ve been kicked out of more bars
than most people have had hot dinners.
Answer one:
Who carries the most impressive scar that
you’ve inflicted?
What’s the one situation you can’t fight your
way out of?
DANGEROUS GROUND:
[Limited 3] You make things difficult for your adversaries - traps,
caltrops, fire, poison gas, all the old standards. At the beginning
of your turn, use this power on the area you are currently
occupying to make it Damaging 1 for your adversaries. If
you use this power more than once on the same area, it
stacks, to a maximum of Damaging 4.
Advanced: The first time you use this power on an area, it
becomes Damaging 2.
This power stacks with LET IT BURN.
What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve
ever destroyed?
You’ll note that DANGEROUS GROUND is
the only power that explicitly stacks with
another power, namely LET IT BURN, which is
in the next trait. We chose to make it explicit
because to do otherwise seemed petty.
GANG UP:
[Always on] You hold him, I’ll work the body. When you make
a STRIKE action when another ally is in your area, gain +1
damage.
Advanced: Once per round, when you miss with a STRIKE
action, an ally in your area may make an immediate STRIKE
action.
What was the name of your old gang, and
where are they now?
FEIGN INNOCENCE:
[Limited 2] You make yourself appear harmless, luring your
adversaries into a false sense of security. Make a contested USE
action against an adversary in your or an adjacent area.
They may not attack you until the end of your next turn,
though effects directed against all targets in an area may
still hurt you.
Advanced: You may make the USE action as an interrupt.
Who never believed you were harmless, and
never will?
TAKE ADVANTAGE:
[Always on] Put them on the back foot, and keep up the pressure.
When you inflict a wound on a target, attacks against that
target inflict +1 damage until the end of your next turn.
Advanced:Until the end of your next turn, if the target
misses with a SHOOT or STRIKE action, they take 2 damage.
What’s your signature move, the one that
people mutter fearfully about when someone
spills your drink?
43
44
Traits

FIRE
You control and command fire. Do you use innate
ability, magical items, weird science, cunning alchemy,
or have you made a pact with some unearthly
creature? What attracted you to fire? What’s your
favourite thing to burn? Do you enjoy using your
power, or is it more of a curse?

Answer one of the following: LET IT BURN:

Where did you learn to control fire like this?
Who is scared of what you can do?
FIREBURST:
[Limited 2] You hurl an explosive blast at your enemies. When
you SHOOT or STRIKE an adversary, declare you’re using
this power. If you hit, all other adversaries in the target’s
area take damage according to the suit.
Advanced: When you inflict damage with FIREBURST,
inflict a minimum of 3 damage.
Who have you harmed with your explosive
powers?
[Always On] Taking advantage of your success in battle, you
immediately set the building on fire. Once per turn, when
you inflict a wound, the area you are occupying, or your
target’s area, becomes Damaging 1 for your adversaries.
If you use this power more than once on the same area, it
stacks, to a maximum of Damaging 4.
Advanced: When you make an area Damaging, all
connections to that area are Challenging for your
adversaries.
This power stacks with DANGEROUS GROUND.
What’s the place you regret burning down the
most?

BLAZING BLADE:
[Boost] Your weapons smoulder and burn with fiery power. Gain
the following boost on SHOOT or STRIKE actions: inflict
BLEED 3.
Advanced: [Always on] If an adversary makes a SHOOT or
STRIKE action against you with a RED card, they take 1
damage.
Who taught you how to fight like this?
PHOENIX:
[Always on] You summon fiery power when things look to be at
their worst. When you take a wound, inflict 2 damage to all
adversaries in your area and regain 2 stamina.
Advanced: When you use PHOENIX, you may make an
immediate escape move to any area within 2 areas of your
current position.
How are you bound so closely with fire?
45
46
Traits

MIGHTY
You are the bearer of a mighty weapon - it might
be specially-crafted, it could be magical, it could be
legendary, or it might just be enormous. It could even
be your fists, if you’re trained in the right martial arts,
or just big enough and mean enough to do what it
takes. What kind of weapon and fighting style do you
use, and why?

Answer one of the following: Advanced: Once per battle scene, ignore all the effects of a
Who taught you how to fight like this? wound inflicted on you or an ally in your area.
Who thinks that you’re all power and no One time, you protected someone with this -
control? and you wish you hadn’t. Who was it?

SMASHING BLOW: KICK IN THE DOOR:

[Always on] Your attacks throw adversaries off-balance and tear
shields asunder. When you wound an adversary, the next
time they would use a BOOST, treat it as a normal attack.
Advanced: When you wound an adversary, choose
either the power above or: your target may not use their
proficiency value until the end of your next turn.
You’ve hurt someone superior to you with this
ability - who?
COLLATERAL DAMAGE:
[Boost] You have a reputation for causing more than your
fair share of havoc. Gain the following boost on SHOOT or
STRIKE actions: your attack targets another adversary in
the same area. All allies in the target area take 1 damage.
Advanced: You may target an additional adversary when
you use COLLATERAL DAMAGE, for three targets total.
You’ve hurt someone you didn’t mean to with
this ability - who?
WALL OF STEEL:
[Boost] You have mastered the element of surprise, and also
the element of kicking. Gain the following boost on MOVE
actions: the next STRIKE you make before the end of your
next turn does double damage.
Advanced: Gain the following power: [Limited 2] You
create a connection between two areas; you can use this
to replace a Challenging or Dangerous connection with an
Open one. (Depending on how far away the areas are, you’d
better come up with a good reason as to how you find a
suitable door to kick in.)
Which is the bar you most regret getting
kicked out of?
KNOCKBACK:
[Always on] You really send ‘em flying. When you inflict a
wound, you may PUSH the target 1 area. If you inflict a
wound with a STRIKE action, you may also move into the
target’s new area as a free action.
Advanced: If your target enters an area occupied by
another adversary after the PUSH, inflict 2 damage to each
adversary and, if you wish, PUSH the other adversary 1
area.

[Limited 4] Your fighting style focuses on self-preservation, but

What’s the biggest opponent you’ve
you’re not above defending others. Either: gain 2 temporary taken down?
stamina at the beginning of your turn, or reduce the
damage of an attack on an ally in your area by 2 as an
immediate interrupt.

47
48
Traits

RAGE
When you fight, you fight angry, and you channel that
rage into devastating attacks and displays of martial
power. What powers your rage - is it martial skill,
revolutionary zeal, bestial power, a bond to an animal
spirit, experimental drugs, or a cocktail of black magic
and nightmare science?

Answer one: DRINK THEIR FEAR:

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?
Who is most scared of you?
CORNERED BEAST:
[Always on] Stabbing you in the chest was their first mistake.
Once per turn, when you take a wound, inflict 4 damage on
an adversary in your area.
Advanced: The first time you are taken out of action in a
battle, heal 10 and make an immediate SHOOT or STRIKE
action.
When was the first time you realised that you
could strike back?
RECKLESS:
[Limited 3] You take risks that others are too smart to even
consider. When you make a SHOOT or STRIKE action, before
the GM draws to defend, take a face-down card from your
stamina (or temporary stamina) and use either card to
resolve the action then discard both.
Advanced: Once per round, when you gain temporary
stamina, immediately flip the card(s). If any of them are
BLACK, make an immediate SHOOT or STRIKE action.
Discard the cards.
What’s the most trouble you’ve ever been in?
[Boost] Sometimes, the best defence is cracking a man’s head off
a table. Gain the following boost on STRIKE actions: restore
stamina as though you used the card to RECOVER.
Advanced: When you use DRINK THEIR FEAR, refill your
stamina.
What’ the one kill you can’t shake from
your mind?
BERZERKER:
[Limited A] You are the embodiment of fury. At the start of
your turn, you may activate this power. Until you next take
a wound, you:
ĐĐ May not use RECOVER or USE actions
ĐĐ Suffer BLEED 2 (that you may not shake off; when
the power ends, it ends)
ĐĐ You inflict +1 basic damage with STRIKE actions
ĐĐ Your STRIKE proficiency is 5
Advanced: The first time you take a wound while using
BERZERKER, you may choose not to end the power but
suffer BLEED 4 instead of BLEED 2 every round. Subsequent
wounds will end the power as normal.
What lets you enter this volatile state?

49
50
Traits

SHADOWS
You use darkness and misdirection to your advantage,
hiding from your adversaries and striking at them
from corners they thought safe. Maybe you use
magical means; maybe you’re just well-trained in the
art of stealth.

Answer one of the following: IN THE DARK:

Where did you learn to fight like this?
Why do you fear the light?
AMBUSH:
[Limited 2] You’re waiting for them. As a USE action, disappear
from the battlefield until the start of your next turn. At the
start of your next turn, return to the area you left; the first
time you make a SHOOT or STRIKE attack in your turn, you
inflict a wound if your attack is successful.
Advanced: If you miss with the SHOOT or STRIKE action,
inflict damage as dictated by the card’s suit.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve seen
while in hiding?
CLOAK OF SHADOWS:
[Limited 3] You duck into the shadows, using stealth and
misdirection to defend yourself. As a USE action, gain 3
temporary stamina.
Advanced: You start each battle with 3 temporary
stamina.
Who have you humiliated with this ability?
[Limited A] You grab your target and pull them into the shadows.
When you hit an adversary with a STRIKE attack, you and
your target are removed from the battlefield and into your
own separate area - The Shadows. Neither you nor your
target may leave this area until the power ends. You may
only attack each other using STRIKE actions during this
time, and your adversary may not use their proficiencies.
Your target can remove this effect in the same way as a
BLEED, and you can choose to end it at the start of any of
your turns.
Advanced: The Shadows is now Damaging 2 to adversaries.
What’s the longest you’ve spent in the
shadows, and why?
Narrative note: Your target should be small enough to
manhandle into a separate space. We’re not saying that you can’t
use this power on a giant, but that you better have a really good
explanation of how you pull it off.
EXTRACTION:
[Limited 2] You step into the shadows and sneak away. When
you MOVE, escape MOVE to any area on the battlefield.
Advanced: At the end of a turn when you use
EXTRACTION, use it again as an immediate action.
What’s the most dangerous place you’ve
ever snuck into?

51
52
Traits

SPIRIT
You’re connected to the spirit world. You know the
rituals and rites to contact the dead and have them do
your bidding; and you know the costs, too.

Powers from this trait have two modes: standard and
augmented. When you augment a power, draw a card and
consult the table below to see what supernatural fallout
occurs. If you get a result you have already had in a battle,
draw again. Once all results have been used, reset the
count.
All Spirit powers have a special recharge condition - you
regain access to them when you take a wound. If you suffer
a wound as part of using a Spirit power (for example,
you trigger Hungry Ghosts and can’t soak the damage
with your stamina), this counts as a wound for recharge
purposes.
Hungry Ghosts. You and all creatures in your
area take 2 damage.
Pox. You suffer BLEED 3.
Chill Wind. You and creatures in your area
cannot make a MOVE action before the start of
your next turn.
Spectral Barrier. The area you are in is now
Challenging 2 to all creatures until the end of
the battle.
Augment: As above, plus the first time you hit with a
SHOOT or STRIKE action before the end of your turn, you
cause a wound instead of inflicting normal damage.
Advanced: Until the end of your next turn, any damage to
your stamina is halved (rounding up).
What does it feel like when you become
ethereal?
SPIRIT STORM:
[Recharge: You take a wound] You rip open the wall between
worlds to let hungry entities claw at your adversaries’ minds.
Trigger this power as a USE action on your turn.
Standard: All adversaries in your area take 2 damage.
Augmented: All adversaries in your and adjacent areas take
2 damage.
Advanced: When you take a wound to recharge the power,
you may immediately activate it as a free action. You may
not use this power more than once in a single turn.
Why are your spirits so hungry?

Answer one:
WISDOM OF THE ELDERS:
Who’s the one spirit you wish would
[Recharge: You take a wound] Ancient spirits whisper advice,
leave you alone? encouragement and guidance to you.
Who keeps pestering you to contact the
Standard: Use at the start of your turn. Draw three cards,
other world? play two on your actions, and discard all of them.
Augment: As Standard, but draw five cards.
SPECTRAL FORM: Advanced: When you use WISDOM OF THE ELDERS, make
an immediate RECOVER action.
[Recharge: You take a wound] You shift your body into a semi-
corporeal state to avoid harm or slip past adversary defences. Who is the wisest spirit that accompanies you?
Standard: Activate this power at the start of your turn.
When you STRIKE or SHOOT a target, or are attacked by an
adversary, they lose their proficiency until the end of your
next turn.

53
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Traits

TRANSFORM
You have the ability to transform into something
other than your standard form. This could be a natural
creature, like a wolf or bear; a supernatural entity, like
an angel or ghoul; a mechanical construct, like a mech
suit or a golem; or whatever else you can imagine - a
legendary ancestor, a swarm of spiders, your own
ghost, and so on. When you transform, you become
unpredictable, and you can’t sustain it for very long,
but the rewards are great.

Answer one of the following: POWERS

Who hates what you can do, and how are they
going to try and stop you?
Is your form of shifting common in the world,
or rare? Why?
You can enter your alternate form as a USE action as you
focus yourself. When you take a wound for the first time
in a battle, though, you immediately transform into your
alternate form. While in your alternate form, you gain
access to all the powers you have chosen as part of this
trait.
You can return to your original form on your turn with a
USE action. When you go out of action, you return to your
original form.
DRAWBACKS
Being in a transformed state makes you hard to predict.
At the end of each turn while you are transformed, draw a
card and consult the table below.
Out of control: Suffer BLEED 1.
ARMOUR:
Your alternate form has strong armour and countermeasures.
When transformed, increase your stamina by 3. On the
turn you transform, regain 3 stamina. When you transform
back into your normal form, shuffle any excess stamina
into your character deck.
Advanced: For the purposes of surrounding adversaries,
you count as 3 player characters.
What’s the one thing your armour can’t
protect you from?
COMBAT:
Your alternate form boasts impressive close-range weapons and
agility. When transformed, your STRIKE actions inflict +2
damage.
Advanced: While in COMBAT form, you may make a free
MOVE action at the start of your turn.

Lash out: All allies in your area take 1 damage. If you

are bleeding, they take 2 damage.
Enervate: Take 2 damage. If you are bleeding, take 4
damage.
Chaos: GM chooses: PUSH an ally in your area 1, or
PULL an adversary 1. If you are bleeding, GM may
choose twice.
Who helped you to gain control over your
alternate form?
SUPERWEAPON:
Your alternate form brings with it a mighty long-range weapon.
When transformed, your SHOOT actions inflict +2 damage.
Advanced: When transformed, your area becomes
Challenging 2 to adversaries.
What’s the most dangerous prey you’ve taken
down with your weapon?
55
56
Traits
THE UNNATURAL
There is something inside you; something grim and
monstrous and other, something hideous and alien,
something that guides your hand and whispers in your
ear when you sleep. Maybe you asked it inside, maybe
you didn’t, but it’s here now, and you’ll never be the
same again.
Answer one:
What other realm is your power from?
Who wants to see you killed and burned for
harbouring it?
WRITHING TENTACLES:
[Limited A] Under your skin, a knot of tentacles squirm and
writhe, begging for an escape. Make a USE action to activate
this power. All adversaries in areas connected to yours
must defend as though you attacked them; if they fail, they
take 3 damage. In addition, draw a card and consult the
following table:
RED Pay the price: Discard X from your character
deck where X is the number of adversaries you
attacked.
BLACK Feed: Heal X, where X is the number of adversaries
you attacked.
BOOST Die, here, with me: All adversaries hit are
PULLED into your area.
Advanced: Adversaries in your area, as well as in
connected areas, are targeted by the power.
In addition, when you die (you take a scar and draw an Ace
or an already scarred card), any character in your area,
friendly or adversary, is immediately taken out of action as
you devolve into a mess of grasping limbs.
You can hide your tentacles, but not all of the
time. What’s the most trouble they’ve gotten
you into, before now?
THROUGH HELL AND BACK:
[Always On] Your blood smokes like brimstone and your skin
cracks as you open a door to Somewhere Else. When you make
a MOVE action, take 2 damage and enter any area on the
battlefield.
Advanced: Any allies in your starting area may join you on
your trip through hell, moving to the same area you do, at
cost to you of 1 damage per additional character moved.
In addition, the first time you die (you take a scar and draw
an Ace or an already scarred card), you do not die. You
escape to Somewhere Else at the last second (any port in a
storm) and spend the rest of the scene desperately clinging
to life. You emerge at the end of the scene, although how
long you spent down there in relative terms - and what
happened - is between you and GM.
One time, you didn’t come back for weeks.
What did you see?
THE PARASITIC:
[Always on] There is something strange and alien curled around
your heart. Once per round, when you take a wound, look at
the last card discarded.
RED Your caustic blood sprays out: Make an immediate
STRIKE action.
BLACK Void shift: Push the adversary that wounded you
back 1 area.
BOOST Something holds your wound shut from the inside:
Regain 4 stamina.
Advanced: When you discard cards from taking a wound,
discard 2 fewer cards than the amount stated, to a
minimum of 1.
In addition, the first time you die (you take a scar and
draw an Ace or an already scarred card), you do not die.
Whatever great and terrible thing lived inside you takes
over your body; you pupate, forming a horrendous cocoon,
at the end of the scene a new, taller, better you steps out
from a hole in your distended chest cavity. Get ready to do
some explaining.
Who convinced you that taking this thing
inside yourself was a good idea?
57
 CHARACTER DETAILS
In this chapter you’ll flesh out your characters and
cement their place in the world. Foundations will help
you work out where your character comes from; fates
will determine where they’re going; stories act as a
record of your achievements and allow you to advance
your character as they grow in power.

FOUNDATIONS in a couple of facts about the world (there is - or was - a

Every character has to come from somewhere.
Foundations tell us what the character has done in the
past, and how it informs their abilities in play - specifically,
in dramatic scenes. You can only use foundations in
dramatic scenes - and only use proficiencies in battle
scenes.
Players create their own foundations at character
creation. The group creates a core foundation that every
player shares when they pick the core. Every player
creates one foundation for their own character, and the
group as a whole creates them a second.
A foundation can be a job, an exploit, an event, a
profession or an achievement that helped shape the
character. A good foundation has a broad variety of
applications in play and helps define the world around the
character. For example, “Archer” doesn’t give the player
a lot of options, nor does it say much about the setting.
“Champion Archer in the Duchess’ Hunting Retinue” has
a much broader array of actions that it could help with
(hunting, tracking, talking to nobles, survival, knowledge
of the natural world, shooting a bow) and also throws
Duchess, and she used to go hunting, or still does).
Alex is playing in a sci-fi adventure - their character
is Gelt Dimespinner, a devilishly pretty gunslinger for
hire with a pair of dubiously legal laser pistols. Alex
says that Gelt’s first background is “Sexiest Pistolero
in the New West,” which covers all sort of seduction,
shooting, and knowledge of grimy bars on the wrong
side of spaceports. The other players want to give Gelt
an unusual past, though, so together they brainstorm
a second foundation: “Excommunicated from the
Temple of the Endless Sun.” (What is the Endless Sun?
No-one knows. We’ll find out in play.)
When you use a foundation in a dramatic scene,
you treat any cards of 2 or lower as though they had a
value of 10.
Later, the players are in a dramatic scene. Gelt is
pinned down in a corridor under heavy adversary fire
during an exfiltration. Alex says that the corridor has
heavy blackout shutters on either side, and priests of
the Endless Sun know how to disable those to let the
light of Creation into the dark places of the universe by
chanting activation mantras. Alex draws a card - 2 NOTHING IS SET IN STONE
- but because this is one of Gelt’s foundations, it counts If your core foundation doesn’t fit the
as 10 . Alex describes Gelt slipping on a pair of group so well any more, change it so it does fit.
ultradark goggles as the shutters come down and Character and world creation is going to throw
blinding, unfiltered sunlight floods the corridor, giving up some surprises, so try to roll with them
and adapt rather than rigidly sticking to your
everyone a chance to flee. original concept.
ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR FOUNDATIONS
Skills: Players define skills that will solve problems in
the world - words like Cut, Run, Heal, Evade, Scare, and so
on. Each player (and the GM) creates 2 skills and adds them
to a central list. Players then choose 3 skills from this list
for their character. As above, actions in dramatic scenes
that use a skill treat cards of a value of 2 or lower as though
they had a value of 10.

59
FATES, STORIES AND EXPERIENCE
Characters gain experience and new abilities by playing
through directed scenes - called fates - that players have
created before the session starts.
WHY DIRECTED SCENES?
We wanted to reward people for two
things - firstly, for pushing the story forward,
which they do by playing out scenes that
they’ve created themselves, and secondly, for
performing for the other players, which they
do when they play out scenes that the group
has created for them.
AT CHARACTER GENERATION
When you make a character, you get to pick a fate for
your character. Here are some sample fates:
ĐĐ I get into trouble with my ex-husband
ĐĐ The arch-deacon approaches me with a difficult
mission
ĐĐ I am captured, and must try to escape
ĐĐ I uncover a hidden door
ĐĐ I talk my way out of trouble
ĐĐ I briefly travel faster than the speed of light
ĐĐ I secure the team some alien guns for the raid
Every fate revolves around something that’s going to
happen to the character in the near future. When you make
fates, make them as a group, so you can try to make sure
that it fits the tone of your adventure and the scale of the
rest of the players. Don’t try to work in your long-term
goals, otherwise you’ll never advance your character.
Choose a fate you’re excited about. It doesn’t have to
be positive, and indeed most of the ones above aren’t - it’s
interesting when bad things happen, after all. You’re free
to pick a positive one, but the GM is responsible for finding
the adventure in what you do, and placing challenges and
drama in your path.
60
You can control any part of the world with fates aside
from other player characters - and even then, if you want
to involve them, you can do so with their approval. For
example: “Salamander Rex [another player character]
hauls me out of danger” is fine, so long as you get the
approval of Salamander’s player. But even without other
player characters, you have control over the environment,
of NPCs, over surprise illnesses and random events. Don’t
just think in terms of your character’s goals - think what
would be exciting to see happen to them within the
context of the world.
Every player at the table has veto over everyone else if
the fate doesn’t fit with the tone of the game or if it makes
them uncomfortable. The gamesmaster is the ultimate
arbitrator of this.
Once you’ve created your own fates, the group creates
fates for each other. Working together, go around the table
and work out a fate that you’d like to see each character go
through. Maybe there’s a bit of their backstory you’d like
to explore, or a twist you want to put on their character,
or an NPC you’d like them to meet, or a particularly sticky
situation you’d like to see them struggle through.
I DON’T LIKE THE FATE THE OTHER
PLAYERS GAVE ME!
On one hand, the other players might have
given you a scene that you feel especially
uncomfortable with - maybe they’re asking
you to roleplay out something that you
don’t want to do. In this case, explain that
you’d rather not do that, and work out an
alternative.
On the other hand, you might feel like a
scene just doesn’t fit the character that you’ve
been trying to build, or that they wouldn’t do
such a thing because it goes against their best
interests. Even though these things might
be true, the other players have chosen the
scene because they’re interested in seeing
your character develop in a certain way, and
that’s great. If you can’t think of a reason
why your character would take part in a
particular scene, ask the other players for
input in framing. Your character could be
duped into taking part, convinced by an ally,
make a mistake, or choose poorly under stress.
Characters don’t grow by only doing what they
want, and what’s best, all the time.
RESOLVING FATES AND CREATING STORY CARDS When an echo card is played in combat, the GM should
devote some description to the element on the card - if it
At the end of a scene where a fate plays out, that fate is
relates to the scene at hand, that’s great, but if not, they
resolved. When you resolve a fate, draw a card and write
can quickly cut away to show the current state of the
a phrase on it that represents how you changed and what
element, then cut back to the current scene. If the GM adds
you learned - this is now a story card.
some description with regards to the element, after they
When you play a story card as part of an action, you do so, the adversary they’re currently controlling (whether
gain a BOOST as though it were a FACE card. If the story in attack or defence) may make an immediate additional
card is a FACE card, you may pick any boost you like from action.
your list and work it into a suitable explanation using the
When an echo card is played in a dramatic scene, the
GM’s guidance.
element on the card comes into play. Add a success to the
When you resolve two fates, your character advances. required number of successes to resolve the scene, and
Choose a new power from your role or trait, choose a continue.
power from a new trait entirely, or advance one of your
existing powers. A character can only have three individual DURING PLAY
powers at any one time, but when they advance, they
At the start of each session, remind other players of
can swap out an existing power for a new one. Advanced
your fates. During play, if there’s a pause in proceedings,
powers that are swapped out stay advanced if the character
push play towards one of your fates, or ask other players
later picks them up again - you don’t need to “buy” the
to play out their fates if you’re excited to see what happens
advanced version a second time.
when they do.
When a character advances, they gain two new fates -
as before, their player comes up with one, and the group DURING DEBRIEF
comes up with a second.
At the end of each game, every player discusses with
the others what happened and what their new story cards
are. Players who have resolved all of their fates should get
GAMESMASTER FATES AND new ones, as discussed above.
ECHO CARDS
The GM should create a single fate during character
creation; they and the players should work together to
come up with an interesting fate for the adventure. This
can feature an NPC, a particular location or event, or any
challenging scenario you can dream up - think of it like a
preview of the coming adventure for everyone at the table.
Every time the GM resolves a fate, one of their factions
does something. After the scene in which the fate is
resolved takes place, the GM describes the what the faction
does that changes the world in some way - they make a
move against the player characters, hire a new member,
advance their plans, recover from previous damage, or
herald the arrival of some new and terrible threat. (GM:
your factions can do something at any time, but when you
resolve a scene, they have to.)
At the end of each session, if the GM has resolved
their fate, they write down a phrase on one of their own
cards, drawn at random from their deck - this becomes an
echo card. When writing on an echo card, try to sum up
the events surrounding the fate that played out and the
aftereffects of the scene.

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 PLAYING THE GAME
When playing Unbound, play progresses in scenes.
Each scene is roughly equivalent to its counterpart in
a film or book, but there’s no set length. At the start of
each scene, characters have access to all their Limited
powers and their character deck is restored to full.
THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF SCENES:
Freeform scenes, where there is no particular challenge
or threat to overcome, and nothing is at stake. Typical
freeform scenes are: chatting at a bar, planning an assault,
travelling through safe territory, or passing the time when
waiting in hiding.
Battle scenes, where there is a fight between two parties
of roughly equal ability and something is at stake. Battle
scenes use a tactical map, a rigid turn structure, and every
character can take two actions on each of their turns.
Dramatic scenes, where the player characters must
overcome a challenge of some kind other than a fair (-ish)
fight, and there is something at stake.
STAKES
When you begin a battle or a dramatic scene, establish
the stakes before you start. This is important!
When you determine the stakes of a scene, you work
out what happens when one side wins and the other side
loses. Here are some examples:
If the player characters win, they claw their crummy
bar back from the bandits who have taken it over. If
their adversaries win, the bandits drive them off and
change the bar into a hideout for stagecoach robberies.
If the player characters win, they gain access to the
vault. If their adversaries win, the player characters
are driven out of the arcology and forced to the surface
world.
If the player characters win, they save the foppish
Prince from his captors. If their adversaries win, the
Prince dies and the player characters lose significant
favour at court.
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If the player characters win, they talk their way
through the deal without anything going wrong. If
their adversaries win, one of the parties involved
double-crosses the players.
If the player characters win, they show their
opponents that they’re a force to be reckoned with and
will be treated with respect. If their adversaries win,
the player characters will be the laughing stock of the
town.
If the player characters win, they lay the violent ghost
of this place to rest. If their adversaries win, the ghost
leaves the area but haunts them instead.
In a battle scene, once one side is taken out of action,
the fight is over and the stakes are resolved. In a dramatic
scene, once the players have succeeded or failed, the scene
is over and the stakes are resolved.
At any point during a conflict, either side can back
down. When the player characters back down from a
combat, they lose and their adversaries get what they want
- but they aren’t killed, or injured, unless that was what
was at stake, or unless they suffered scars during the scene.
When their adversaries back down, the player
characters get what they want.
You’ll find player characters will back down when a
fight looks to have gotten the better of them and they
want to survive in the long-term in exchange for a defeat
in the here and now, or if they are spectacularly failing a
dramatic scene.
Their adversaries will back down, more commonly,
when the fight has become a formality; when there’s one
or two injured goons scuffling around the battlefield and
carrying it on any longer is an exercise in maths, rather
than narrative. GMs - lead the fight like a director, not like
a warlord. Don’t be afraid to cut if the scene is running on
too long.
 When you’re setting stakes for a conflict, be wary of
including death or serious injury as part of them; very
few fights are just brawls to the death with no reason
other than violence, and - whisper it - they’re not very
interesting, anyway. Instead, think of what all characters
involved have to lose, and work around that. Here are some
examples of things to lose:
ĐĐ Property
ĐĐ Items
ĐĐ Access to an area
ĐĐ Respect
ĐĐ A love interest (or love interests)
ĐĐ An ally (because they die, or because they now
distrust them)
ĐĐ Control over a situation
Work out whether the loss is temporary or permanent.
Temporary losses can be negated in time; the characters
will need to take a different approach, or wait until the
damage done has healed, or source additional materials to
achieve their goals. Permanent losses are just that; there’s
no way around them, not unless the situation significantly
changes.
You might mix them up, too. If the characters have a
long-term goal of Gain Respect from the King and their
current goal is Rescue the Prince from Murderous Cultists,
and they fail in their quest, then while the Prince is
permanently dead they might still gain respect from the
King - they’ll just have to find some other way of doing so.

DRAMATIC SCENES
There are two kinds of structured scene in Unbound.
Battle scenes (detailed later) use a tactical map and lots
of extra rules to simulate pulp action. Dramatic scenes
cover every other kind of challenge - as a rough guide,
if you’re not using a tactical map, it’s a dramatic scene.

Some examples of dramatic scenes: talking your

way past a guard, smuggling contraband from a tightly-
controlled city state, navigating a dangerous meteor
field, bargaining with a recalcitrant AI, bartering for a
superior hat selection, fleeing an oncoming army, taking
out a handful of sentries, researching a magical spell, and
negotiating a tense drug deal.
The focus of dramatic scenes is much broader than
battle scenes, but they work in largely the same way. The
core is the same - make an action, play a card, and the GM
opposes by drawing a card from their own deck.
CAN DRAMATIC SCENES HAVE FIGHTING
IN THEM?
Yes! Dramatic scenes can cover whatever
the GM and the players want them to. If you
want to have a big centrepiece fight with
challenges, tactics and teamwork, make it a
battle scene. If you want to spend five or ten
minutes on a fight - if one side is massively
outnumbered or outclassed, say, or the
momentum of the game dictates that keeping
scenes moving would be better than slowing
down - then use a dramatic scene.

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SYSTEM
Dramatic scenes have two elements:
STAKES are what’s going to happen, broadly, after the
scene is over depending on which side comes out on top.
For example: “If we win, I develop a new invisibility potion. pair of you, so he’s going to take some convincing. This
If we fail, I develop a new invisibility poison, but have
no way of telling that until it’s too late.” There are more
details on stakes in the section above.
SUCCESSES is the number of successful actions (i.e. the
player draws higher than the GM) needed to get what
you want out of a scene. The precise nature of the actions
themselves doesn’t matter, so long as they make narrative
sense. (i.e. If the scene is “sneak into the castle” then the around here.”
characters could: sneak past patrols, steal uniforms, bluff
past guards, eliminate sentries and drug the guard dog’s
dinner - all with the same mechanics.)
A scene of average difficulty (with regards to the
setting - see the boxout below for more details) requires 3
successes to complete. An easy scene requires 1 success; a
challenging scene requires 5. A truly epic scene requires
anything from 7 to 10 successes to resolve.
When a player makes an action in a dramatic scene,
they describe what their character does to tip the situation
in their favour and then draw a card and the GM draws
to oppose them. (If their action relates to one of their
character’s foundations, a player treats any card of 2 or
lower as though it had a value of 10.) If player’s card is
equal to or higher than the GM’s card, they succeed - mark
off one of the successes on the scene. If their card is lower
than the GM’s card, they fail.
If the players fail 3 times in a dramatic scene, they
have lost.
Players can act in any order in a dramatic scene, but it’s
considered good manners to let everyone have a go before
acting again.
The GM is building a dramatic scene; Frumious Peake
is looking to get transport and supplies for a bank
raid on the dark side of the planet. While this could be
a freeform scene, the GM is interested in seeing how
Frumious can tackle a challenge, so instead they make
it a dramatic scene.
Looking at their notes, the GM sees that Frumious’
player invented a grav-racing syndicate (and he’s not
on good terms with them any more), so of course it
makes sense to have them as the only people who can
supply the goods at short notice. “What’s the name of
the boss at your old racing syndicate?” The GM asks
Frumious’ player.
64
“Tread. Tread… Nitrous?”
“I love it,” says the GM. “Okay, you know that Tread
is the only guy around here who can sort you out, but
he’s really upset about what happened between the
scene will require 5 successes to complete. We’ll start
off outside Tread’s fortress-garage in the badlands
as a couple of his guards - big guys, not many teeth
between them, even fewer eyebrows thanks to the
heat-wash off the grav-engines, poke you in the chest
and tell you you’ve got some nerve showing your face
“What did I do?” asks Frumious’ player.
“I dunno. Let’s find out.”
FICTION AND DIFFICULTY
We can’t give examples of scenes of various
difficulties because everything is relative
depending on the scale and impact of the
adventure. For example, if the adventure
focuses around war-crazed cyberbarbarians
with massive robotic legs and arms, opening
the front door to a house won’t be a problem;
you might not even describe it happening.
But if the adventure focuses around a group
of wise-cracking rats, then opening that same
door presents a monumental challenge.
STORY AND ECHO CARDS
If a player draws a story card during a dramatic scene
and the GM’s card is higher, they can describe how the
story helps them overcome the challenge at hand and draw
a second card to replace it, effectively giving them a second
chance at success.
If the GM draws an echo card during a dramatic scene
and the opposing player’s card is higher, the GM describes
how the echo has made it difficult to succeed, and the
player must draw a second card to replace it, effectively
giving them a second chance at failure.
If an echo and a story card are played on the same
action, the story card trumps the echo.
JOKERS
In dramatic scenes, Jokers introduce new elements.
When a player uses a Joker on their action, they should
work with the GM to bring a new character, location,
opportunity or item into the scene, and then draw another
card as normal. If the action succeeds, it counts as two
successes; if it fails, it counts as two failures.
Gelt Dimespinner, Roxario Blast and Frumious Peake
are trying to break into a bank vault on the dark side
of the planet as security drones patrol the area with
laser sensor arrays. The players need three successes
to win this scene.
Roxario’s player, Gareth, says that Roxario is using her
foundation of “Grew up on the streets of the Arcology
Carcosa” to sneak past the patrols by using thick
concrete pillars - like the ones in Carcosa - to conceal
her bodyheat signature. Gareth draws a card - a Joker!
He draws again on top of it, but the GM’s is higher. The
GM marks two failures (because of the Joker - normally
they’d mark one) and says that, while the pillars mask
her heat signature, the ruins are rigged with arcane-
looking scrying windows that relay her location to the
drones.
Alex says their character, Gelt, is using the foundation
of “Sexiest gunslinger in the New West” to shoot down
the drone - and all of the scrying windows! Alex draws
against the GM and wins; the GM marks a success and
describes the drone crashing into a bulkhead. Others
will come to investigate it soon.
Meanwhile, Frumious is attempting to crack open
the door. His foundations don’t really apply (he’s a
missionary and a grav-racer) so he doesn’t get to
treat any cards as higher than usual. However, his
player - Lucy - lucks out and wins the draw. The GM
marks a success and Lucy describes Frumious artlessly
spraying plastic explosive into what he reckons the
weak point of the vault door is.
Gareth takes his turn, and describes Roxario running
forward to rip the auto-laser off the drone to defend
herself as a fresh wave of adversaries comes in. The
GM asks what foundation he’s using to do so, and
Gareth explains how the Arcology Roxario grew up in
was a nightmare of twisted, repurposed machinery
from a forgotten age. The GM buys it, and lets him
use the foundation. He draws, and beats the GM, and
describes how Roxario lives up to her name and blows
away an incoming drone with a stolen weapon. The
GM marks a success, and the scene is resolved - the
players win!
Frumious and the GM describe the vault door
smashing off its hinges and clanging to the ground,
and the characters dashing in through the smoke amid
fire from the drones.
OUTCOME
If you achieve the required number of successes with
no failures, you get what you want and an unexpected
bonus. (“Yes, and.”)
If you achieve the required number of successes
with some failures, you get what you want with a slight
complication related to what happened in the scene. (“Yes,
but.”)
If you suffer 3 failures but achieve some successes,
you don’t get what you want, but you get a little benefit
regardless. (“No, but.”)
If you suffer 3 failures and achieve no successes,
you don’t get what you want and some unexpected
complication is added on top. (“No, and.”)
In the example above, the players had three successes
and one failure - “Yes, but.” The GM says that they get
the vault door open, but the chaos of the fight against
the drones has attracted even heavier security, so
getting out won’t be easy.
ALTERNATE OPTIONS
Modify failures: You can tweak the number of failures
needed to make the player characters lose a scene up or
down to make a situation safer or more dangerous. You can
also reduce a scene to one success before one failure if you
want to represent a knife-edge, all-or-nothing moment.
Apply difficulty: You can treat certain actions as more
difficult than others. When a player makes a difficult
action, if the card you draw to oppose them is 2 or lower,
treat it as though it had a value of 10.
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66
 BATTLE SCENES
Every good Saga involves combat in some way. Here’s
how to make that happen.
THE BATTLEFIELD
A battlefield is made up of areas and connections.
What an area is depends on the scale of the fight you’re
taking part in - there’s no hard-and-fast rule for the size
of ground an area represents. In a fight that takes place in
a building, each room might be an area; in a battle with a
wider scope, that focuses on an entire street, each building
might be an area; in a combat operation to take a city,
each district might be an area. The GM might even have
different scales present in the same fight - if a character
was defending her family home, say, the home itself might
be made up of six areas while the street and buildings
outside, despite being larger in square footage, might only
get one or two devoted to them.
Think of an area as a location where it is interesting
to have a fight, distinct from other nearby areas. There is
a guide to making a battle map in the GM advice section,
page 103.
When your character occupies an area, they’re not
standing still - they’re moving around inside it to respond
to threats, taking cover, and generally acting like a person
in combat would rather than standing still on a battle map.
Some areas are Challenging X to enter - they’re
locked off, hard to climb up, or dangerous terrain. When a
character enters a Challenging area, the card they assign
to their movement must beat one drawn by the GM, for
them to get through unharmed. If their card doesn’t beat
the GM’s, they can choose to either not make the move and
stay in their area, or take damage equal to the Challenging
rating of the area.
Some areas are Damaging X. When a player or
adversary starts their turn in a Damaging area, they take
damage equal to the Damaging rating of the area.
Connections are more conceptual; they don’t exist in
real terms, and it’s not possible for a character to occupy
one during their turn - they’re simply used to move from
one area to another. Connections are either Open (so they
can be freely used with a MOVE action) or Challenging in
the same way as areas, above. A route from a living room to
a kitchen would be Open, for example, but the route to that
same kitchen from the street outside would be Challenging
- there are no easy methods of access, and characters
would have to jump through a window to get in.
If both an area and the connection to it are Challenging,
use the higher of the two to determine the damage
inflicted if a character fails.
CROWDSOURCE YOUR TERRAIN
Feeling especially lazy, GM? One of our
playtesters, Ant Stiller, gave us an excellent
idea: get your players to write down two or
three ideas for areas on sticky notes, then
collect them and arrange them on a wet-erase
mat (or another piece of paper), then join
them together with connections as usual.
ADVERSARIES AND DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Some adversaries ignore unusual terrain. A fire golem
isn’t going to be bothered by wading through a pool of
lava, and a giant bat isn’t going to stumble on loose rocks
as it flies overhead. The GM is encouraged to use their best
judgement on this. Generally, if a player character creates
a Challenging or Dangerous terrain effect, it will affect the
adversaries they’re fighting.
Sometimes, though, adversaries aren’t suited to the
terrain they’re in. In Damaging terrain, they take damage
in the same way as a player. When they attempt to enter
Challenging terrain, the GM draws a card - if it’s RED, they
can enter unharmed. If it’s BLACK, they either take the
damage as they enter, or they can choose to cancel their
move action and stay where they are.
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INITIATIVE
The GM chooses which character (or adversary)
goes first in a scene, according to what makes the most
narrative sense. After that, the player who has just acted
chooses the next character (or a group of mooks of the
same type) to act, and so on, until all characters in the
battle have acted - this is a round. When the round ends -
all players and adversaries have acted - the last player to
act gets to choose the character who goes first in the new
round.
LAYING OUT YOUR CARDS
Each player should lay out their cards as shown above
at the start of a battle scene. On the top row, going from
left to right, is the discard pile, the character’s current
stamina, and their temporary stamina aligned horizontally
on the far right. Below that is the character deck.
PLAYER TURN SEQUENCE
Declare two actions - STRIKE, SHOOT, MOVE, RECOVER or
USE. Players can declare the same action twice during their
turn if they wish.
Draw two cards - Taken from the character deck.
Assign cards - Choose which card to use for which action.
Remember that the suit of the card will have different
effects during different actions.
Resolve actions - Play out the actions in any order. If the
action requires the GM to draw against the player, GM
draws and cards are compared - highest card wins. Play
out the entirety of one action, and any after-effects, before
beginning the second.
Choose the next character to act - the player chooses the
next character to act, whether an ally or an adversary.
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If a character has acted, they can’t act again
immediately afterwards, even if they were last to act
in the previous round.
We recommend using action tokens to help remember
who’s acted in a round; each character has a token, or chit,
that they throw into a cup when they’ve acted. When no-
one has any action tokens left, it’s time for a new round.
You could also experiment with an action card that you flip
over when you’ve taken your turn, or some system of jolly
little flags.
GMs DURING PLAYER TURNS
Actions the GM may have to perform during player
turns are as follows, in no particular order as they are
usually responses.
Make DEFEND actions - if the players attacked an
adversary the GM must draw a card for the adversary’s
defence, remembering to factor the adversary’s proficiency
into the result.
Resolve powers activated from players wounding an
adversary - some adversaries have reactions that happen
when they are wounded. These take effect at the end of the
current action.
Mark off damage - the players will damage the
adversaries, sometimes causing wounds. Be sure to alert
the players when a wound is dealt. Some player powers
activate when this happens and it should also be an
important part of your description during a battle.
GM TURN SEQUENCE When you play a FACE card, you gain a boost. Boosts are
determined by your role (and your chosen powers, maybe)
Declare actions - Most adversaries can make two actions but they all function in the same way - they give you a
during their turn. Legendaries can make three actions, and small reward for accomplishing a particular task with skill.
mooks are limited to one MOVE action and one SHOOT or
STRIKE action. Can players modify their actions if the situation
changes?
Draw cards - Taken from the GM’s deck.
They can’t. If a character makes two STRIKE actions,
Resolve actions - Play out the actions in any order. If
for example, and the first one kills the target, they can’t
the action requires a player to draw against the GM, both
retroactively change that second STRIKE to a different kind
draw and cards are compared - highest wins. Play out
of action. Players are free to simply not perform actions, if
the entirety of one action, and any after-effects, before
they wish, but they cannot replace them with a different
beginning the second.
action altogether.
Choose the next person to act - the GM chooses the next
character or adversary to act.

PLAYER ACTIONS DURING GM TURNS

Actions the player may have to perform during player
turns are as follows:
Draw defense cards - if an adversary attacked the
players, the targeted player must draw a card for their
defence, remembering to factor proficiency into the value if
applicable.
Resolve powers - Some player character powers trigger
during the turns of other characters. If the action is an
interrupt, it happens immediately and can affect the
current action. If not, it happens when the current action
has been resolved.
Discard damage - If stamina damage is inflicted, discard
stamina starting with temporary stamina. If wound or
BLEED damage is inflicted, discard directly from the
character deck.
TURNS
When you act, it’s your turn.
On your turn you can make two actions, chosen from
the list of five on the following page. You can make the
same action twice, if you’d like. Special abilities from
your role and trait will change the way that some of these
actions work.
Declare your action types, draw two cards, then assign
them to the actions however you want. Your card’s colour
and whether or not it is a FACE card will have an effect on
the outcome.
EVENT ORDER
Sometimes, the precise timing of actions can matter
quite a lot; if an adversary explodes when a character’s
player takes it out of action, and the character can PUSH
it when they inflict a wound with a STRIKE action, if they
take it out of action does it explode before or after they
push it?
GMs should err on the ruling that whatever’s more
interesting, most exciting, or most beneficial to the player,
happens. So in the example above, it moves before it
explodes, and not after, so the player character escapes
harm.
SURROUNDING
When one side has a greater number of characters in an
area than the other, they are surrounding the other force.
Characters who are surrounded double any damage they
take when they use a SHOOT or MOVE action.
Some abilities allow characters to make escape moves.
When you make an escape move, treat it as a normal MOVE
action, but the user cannot take any damage as a result -
just ignore it. You still draw a card to resolve the move.
When an adversary leaves an area in which they are
surrounded, they take damage equal to twice the number
of player characters in the area they are leaving.

All you need to declare is your action types, not the

specifics of those actions. You don’t need to say: “I’m
going to MOVE to this area and then SHOOT at the orc
holding the auto-crossbow,” but instead “I’m going to
MOVE and SHOOT.” You can move in any direction
and shoot at any target in range. You can even change
the order in which the actions take place, if you’d like.
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PUSHES, PULLS AND FORCED
MOVEMENT
When you PUSH an adversary, it makes an immediate
move action away from you (usually one area). When you
PULL an adversary, it makes an immediate move action
towards you. If this takes them through Challenging
STRIKE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE
terrain, they test to avoid damage as normal, but they can’t
HAND-TO-HAND
choose to avoid the damage by not entering the area.
When you attack an adversary in your
Unless otherwise stated, the target is moved one area.
area, you’re making a STRIKE action, but that
Longer pushes (which are rare) are denoted by a number
doesn’t have to represent your character going
after the word push or pull - a PUSH 2 effect moves the
toe to toe with the adversaries and putting
target twice.
up their dukes for a rumble. You can describe
the attack in any way you like; if you’re a
gunfighter, you can do room-to-room clearing
ATTACKING MORE THAN with your pistols. If you’re a battle mage,
ONE TARGET you can sling hexes and short-range magic
missiles. Anything goes.
Some powers specify that you may target more than
one adversary with a single attack. When you do so, only
draw one card to attack as normal - all adversaries targeted
draw a card in defence.

ACTION TYPES
MOVE. You move from one area of the battlefield RECOVER. You steel yourself, raise your defences,
into another. or take cover.
BLACK: Lose 1 stamina. BLACK: Recover stamina equal to the value of your suit.
RED: Lose no stamina. RED: Recover stamina equal to the value of your suit.
FACE: As colour, plus you gain a boost. FACE: Recover stamina equal to the value of your suit, plus
you gain a boost.
If a move is Challenging, your card must be higher than
the GM’s card to proceed without taking damage. A Challenging recover action is used to stop a BLEED
effect on a player character.
STRIKE. You attack an adversary in your area.
BLACK: Lose no stamina.
USE. You interact with the environment in a way not
covered by the other actions (defuse a bomb, intimidate
RED: Lose 1 stamina. an adversary, block off a doorway, put out a fire, maintain
position in a gale etc).
FACE: As colour, plus you gain a boost.
BLACK: Lose 1 stamina.
If your card is higher than the GM’s card, you hit and
inflict damage. RED: Lose no stamina.
FACE: As colour, plus you gain a boost (seeing as USE is
SHOOT. You attack an adversary up to two areas such a rare action, the boost will be determined by the GM
away from you. - there aren’t specifics like the other actions).
BLACK: Lose no stamina. If your card is higher than the GM’s, you achieve
RED: Lose 1 stamina. your aims.

FACE: As colour, plus you gain a boost.

If your card is higher than the GM’s card, you hit and
inflict damage.

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ATTACKS ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
When a power allows you to target multiple
adversaries, only one card is drawn for the action and then
applied to each target.
Boosts from attacks may only apply to one affected
target unless a boost says otherwise.
Example turn:
Alex is playing Gelt Dimespinner, Maverick Sci-Fi
Gunfighter. Gelt is storming an adversary spellship as
it attempts to drop off a load of assassins to the royal
palace on the Prince’s half-birthday. Dimespinner’s
role is Deadeye.
Alex describes Gelt’s actions in-character. “I’m going
to draw my hekatomb arcanopistol and scramble up
to a firing position on the crow’s nest, then fire down
at the lead assassin on deck, all the while shouting
encouragement to my team and looking fantastic.
That’s a MOVE and a SHOOT action.”
Alex draws two cards - a J and a 7 , and they
can assign either of them to either action. Taking the
stamina loss to get a better chance of inflicting
damage, they assign the J to the SHOOT action and
the 7 to the MOVE action. They discard 2 stamina
- the GM describes assassins’ laser-shuriken smashing
into the solar mast, tearing off chunks of mythsteel
and the haematite binding sigils, causing Gelt to roll
into cover as they reach the crow’s nest.
The move up to the crow’s nest is Challenging, so the
GM draws a card against Alex’s - they get a 5 ,
which is lower, so Gelt doesn’t take any additional
damage. The GM then draws to defend against the
SHOOT action and gets 8 , which isn’t enough to
defend. Gelt’s shot hits home. Because Alex played a
FACE card, Alex gets a boost on the SHOOT action -
because Gelt is a Deadeye, the boost is that the
adversary takes a wound rather than normal damage
from the attack.
“Your pistol rains bolts of fire down on the lead
assassin, and their shimmering chameleon robes
ignite!” says the GM. “Alex, who’s up next?”
DAMAGE
Not every hit is going to take you down. Player
characters are smart, determined, tough, and experienced
individuals, and they know how to roll with the punches.
Their adversaries are pretty serious operators, too, who
won’t give up without a fight.
Unbound uses slightly different rules for damage and
injury for player characters and adversaries; although
they use the same terms (damage, wounds, stamina) they
interact with them a little differently. Adversaries are easy
to run and manage for the GM, but players must make
round-to-round choices about offensive and defensive
actions, otherwise they’ll go down in pretty short order.
INFLICTING DAMAGE
Adversaries inflict variable damage depending on
whether or not they used a BLACK or RED card to make
their attack, as detailed in their specific rules. Player
characters inflict variable damage depending on the suit of
the card used to make the attack:
’s inflict 1 damage
’s inflict 2
’s inflict 3
’s inflict 4
Some powers cause damage to be halved. When halving
damage, always round up. Damage can only be halved
once; you can’t half a half to make a quarter.
AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER HOW MUCH
DAMAGE EACH SUIT DOES
If you need to remember how much
damage a suit does:
have a single point at the tip (1)
have two curves on the top (2)
have three circles on them (3)
have four points (4)
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TAKING DAMAGE
Player characters and adversaries alike have a stamina
rating - how many attacks they can endure before one
breaks through their defences and does some serious
damage. When a battle scene starts, a player lays out cards
equal to their stamina as shown on page 68.
When one character inflicts damage on another, it’s
subtracted from their stamina. If the target has enough
stamina to equal the damage taken, they manage to negate
the worst of the damage. Each hit taken reduces the
character’s stamina, so multiple small attacks can wear
them down as easily as a single large one.
WOUNDS
If the character doesn’t have enough stamina to equal
incoming damage, they discard the remainder from their
character deck, and then they take a wound. Wounds
are big, serious hits that often come with special effects
attached to them - adversaries each have their own wound
descriptions, detailed in their entry in the Adversaries
chapter, pages 113-137. When a character takes a wound,
72
it’s time to get descriptive, as their adversary has finally
broken through their defences and landed a decent blow.
When a player character takes a wound, they discard
a number of cards equal to the wound value from their
character deck. If a character takes a wound from a source
without a specific description of wound damage, they
discard 6 cards. When an adversary takes a wound - as they
don’t have a character deck - they subtract 1 from their
wounds total.
Some powers - generally those used by player
characters - inflict a wound, rather than damage. If a
player character is the target of such a power, bypass
their stamina and discard the damage directly from their
character deck. If an adversary is the target of such a
power, reduce their wounds by 1 and restore their stamina
to its full value.
When a player character runs out of cards in their
character deck, they can play face-down cards from their
stamina as though it was their character deck. If, at the
start of their turn, their character deck and stamina both
hit 0 cards, they’re out of action. An adversary is taken out
of action when they lose their last wound.
Sally Nines, career criminal and current escapee, is
under fire from a SWAT trooper with an submachine
gun in the offices of a shady insurance company.
Sally has 4 stamina currently out of a maximum of 5
stamina. Her player, Michael, draws to defend against
the GM’s two attacks. Both of his cards are lower
than the GM’s cards, so Sally takes damage from both
attacks. Cross-referencing their card colour against
the adversary’s entry (the SWAT trooper, page 135) the
GM determines that the first attack inflicts 3 damage,
and the second attack inflicts 2. The GM describes the
first attack:
“Your cover is torn apart by incoming fire, sending
wood and plaster chips spraying everywhere,” says the
GM.
“Damnit! I scramble out, dashing towards fresh cover,
but…”
“There’s that second hit.”
Sally takes 2 damage, but only has 1 stamina
remaining. Her 1 stamina is removed and the
additional 1 damage is taken directly from her
character deck. The adversary’s wound result is:
Wound: Discard 5, and Flush Out. Until target leaves
their area, they may not make RECOVER actions.
“What happens?” asks the GM.
“Hm,” says Michael. “I’ve got armour on, so I reckon
that it hits me, but I’m not bleeding or anything.”
“Sure! You’ll have a hell of a bruise, and maybe a
couple of broken ribs, but your armour holds out.
Your momentum carries you forward - discard five
cards from your character deck for the wound. Also,
the special effect on this adversary’s wounds is that
you can’t make RECOVER actions until you leave the
area, so: as you dive into cover and check your torso
for holes, the thin dividing wall is smashed to bits by
heavy incoming fire. You can see the exit door, just
across from you, but right now this place is a kill-
zone.”

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TEMPORARY STAMINA
Temporary stamina represents tactical advantage,
combat tricks, canny positioning, magical defences or
emergency measures. When a player character gains
temporary stamina, they deal cards equal to the amount
of temporary stamina gained next to their normal stamina
(we recommend you deal the cards sideways to show that
they represent something different).
Temporary stamina doesn’t stack. If a character who
has temporary stamina receives additional temporary
stamina, and the new stamina received is lower than or
equal to their current value, it has no effect. If the new
value is higher, they may choose to discard their current
temporary stamina and replace it with the new value from
their character deck.
Itinerant Elven Knight Feynault has 3 temporary
stamina. An infusion of life-giving chemicals from
Feynault’s Protector friend, the Alchemist, gives her
2 temporary stamina. Unfortunately, as this is lower
than Feynault’s current total, the temporary stamina
has no effect and the effect is ignored.
Later on in the battle, Feynault has 1 temporary
stamina after taking a hit. The Alchemist offers help
again, in the form of 2 temporary stamina. Feynault
accepts it; her player discards his current temporary
stamina and deals 2 temporary stamina from her
character deck.
HEALING AND RECOVERING STAMINA
Player characters can (and should, if they want to
stay alive) restore their stamina up to their maximum by
making RECOVER actions or receiving healing. Adversaries
can’t restore their stamina in this way, and instead each
time they take a wound, they restore their stamina to full.
When a player makes a RECOVER action, they restore
stamina from their character deck equal to the value of the
suit used: 1 for , 2 for , 3 for and 4 for .
When a player character regains stamina, they draw
cards from their character deck and deal into their
stamina.
When a character is healed or heals themselves, they
shuffle their discard pile and remove cards equal to the
amount healed. These cards should first be used to refill
stamina, and any remainder should be shuffled into the
character deck.
74
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MY CHARACTER
LOSES STAMINA?
It depends on your character, and how
they react to danger. But here’s some ideas
- they parry the blow, and shock runs down
their arm; several shots punch through their
cover, forcing them to relocate; they roll out
of the way of the attack, ending up on their
hands and knees; they turn and run to evade
incoming fire; they twist their body so the
blow impacts their shoulder, not their jaw;
they blind-fire round a wall and curse as they
frantically reload.
What stamina and wounds mean
narratively is up to each player and the GM; in
one adventure, regenerating superheroes might
be able to take bullets to the chest with few
problems, but in another, streetwise urchins
might get knocked out by a backhanded swipe
from a guard. There are more details on this in
the GM section, page 90.
BLEED
BLEED damage is an ongoing effect applied to
characters that represents damage over time - bleeding,
fire, poison, acid, bugs crawling over their skin, and so on.
A character suffering a BLEED takes damage equal to the
value of the BLEED at the start of each of their turns.
Player characters suffering a BLEED discard the damage
directly from their character deck, bypassing stamina.
Adversaries take it as normal damage, subtracting from
their stamina as usual.
BLEED damage doesn’t stack. If a character under the
effect of a BLEED is the target of a new BLEED, and it’s of a
higher value than the BLEED they are currently suffering,
it replaces the old BLEED. If the new BLEED is of a lower
value, they subtract the value of the BLEED from their
character deck immediately but do not apply the new
BLEED to their character as an ongoing effect.
A player character can remove a BLEED by making a
RECOVER action on their turn and describing what they’re
doing to mitigate the damage. In addition to recovering
stamina, the GM draws against the character’s RECOVER
card - if the player’s card is higher, they can remove the
BLEED effect. Alternatively, an ally in their area may make
a USE action to remove the BLEED.
 An adversary can remove a BLEED in the same way, but
they don’t draw against the player who inflicted the BLEED
- instead, they just draw a single card in exchange for
giving up an action on their turn. If it’s RED, they remove
the bleed.
Mook-level adversaries - low level chumps who are
mainly there to make the player characters look good -
don’t take BLEED damage; instead, they take the additional
damage once when the effect is applied and then
immediately remove the BLEED.

RUNNING OUT OF CARDS AND GOING

OUT OF ACTION
When a player goes out of action, they and the GM
work together to describe how their character is taken
out of the fight - if they’re knocked out, incapacitated due
to pain, restrained or arrested, scared off, intimidated
into backing down, etc. The player shuffles their deck and
draws a card which they will then scar as they sustain
a permanent reminder of this failure - or they might be
permanently removed from the adventure. There are more
details on scars on page 76.
When an adversary goes out of action, it’s up to the
GM what fate befell them. Depending on the actions of the
players and the tone of the campaign, adversaries taken
out of action might be rendered unconscious, or driven off,
or flat-out killed, or captured and arrested, or anything
your mind can devise.

75
 SCARS, AND GOING OUT OF ACTION
You’ll receive a scar during character generation;
no-one leads a perfect life, and Unbound characters
certainly don’t. You’ll also receive a scar when you go
out of action in combat.

GAINING A SCAR
Shuffle your discard pile, then draw a card from it. This
is your scar - something has gone wrong and it’ll leave a
lasting impression. What precisely went wrong is up to you
and the GM, but here are some ideas based on the suit of
the card you drew.
Physical injury such as a broken bone, lacerated
skin, permanent limp, a missing limb
Jealousy, a new adversary, hatred, a trademark scar
Fear, humiliation, social loss, mental scars,
embarrassment, curses
Loss of an important item, sensory loss, memory
loss, skill loss

76
Write the injury on the card you drew and adjust the
value to represent your scar. For non-FACE cards, half
the numerical value of the card. For FACE cards, Jacks
become 5, Queens become 6, and Kings become 7. Even if
you half the value of a FACE card, it still counts as a FACE
card for the purposes of triggering boosts and powers.
Scars function as normal cards with two exceptions:
they cannot be used to trigger proficiencies or foundations,
and they do not allow you to recharge Limited powers.
If the card is a King, your character drags themselves to
their feet and carries on fighting. The value of the card is
still adjusted, but your character re-enters the fight - deal
27 cards from your discard into your character deck and
take a normal turn.
If the card is an Ace, you take a mortal wound, or are
permanently disabled, or suffer such a massive change of
heart, that you can no longer continue. Deal 27 cards from
your discard into your hand, as though you had drawn a
King, and take another turn, but your character will be
removed from the game at the end of this battle.
If an Ace is drawn during the scar phase of character
creation, redraw. It’s no fun to die straight out of the gate.
Draw a scar each time your character goes out of action
in a battle.
If the card already has a scar on it, your character is
removed from the story at the end of the scene as though
you drew an Ace.
If the card is a story card, scar it anyway. The value is
halved, but it still has all the normal effects of a story card.
If the card is a Joker, the next time you play it on an
action and fail, you are removed from the game at the end
of the scene as though you scarred an Ace after going out
of action. If this happens in a dramatic scene, we’re really
sorry.
Even if you’re out of action, you can be healed by others
if you need to get back in the fight. As recovered and
temporary stamina is taken from the character deck, you
can’t gain any if your character deck is zero: you need to
receive healing to re-enter the fight - a few powers, mainly
those of the Protector, offer healing.

77
 GAMESMASTER
While this chapter is intended for gamesmasters,
players can - and should - read it too. Inside are the
rules for factions and twists (the GM’s characters and
powers) but it also has a lot of guidance on how to run,
and play the game.

FACTIONS NAME: The name of the faction, and brief description

Factions are the movers and shakers of your adventure
world - they get stuff done, and generally the player
characters get in their way (or help them out, if they’re
smart). When you’re creating the world, create one faction.
Each faction has five parts:
of what they’re like.
STRENGTH: What the faction is skilled at or devoted to.
WEAKNESS: A fatal flaw that might prove the faction’s
downfall.
WANT: What the faction wants right now. This can -
and should - change from session to session.
FACE: An NPC that represents the organisation - a
leader, a contact, a specialist. Create a face
that the player characters will meet and
interact with.

78
 During world creation, create two factions. For example:
NAME: Stryx Orbital Mining Company
STRENGTH: Acquisition of resources though
staggering force
WEAKNESS: A greed that strips star systems
WANT: Those protesters to get off that moon;
it is NOT a site of “astounding natural
beauty,” it is a big pile of money floating
in space
FACE: “Col.” Drak Hacksmash, cigar aficionado
and the only person to destroy a sun
and replace it with a multi-storey car
park
NAME: The Onrushing Dark, a malevolent
intelligence at the heart of the moon
STRENGTHS: Viral possession of humanity through
memetic shadows
WEAKNESS: Sunlight and overclocked antibiotics
WANT: To infect Earth’s vat-grown flesh farms
FACE: Senator Naismith, currently possessed,
with access to high levels of government
TWISTS
Twists are one-shot powers that wrong-foot the player
characters - starvation, traps, injuries, ambushes, weird
terrain and other things that make battle scenes harder
for our heroes to handle. Immediately before every battle
scene, choose a twist to apply. Once you’ve used a twist
once in an adventure, you can’t use it again.
PREPARING FOR A GAME
If you’re the sort of GM who loves spending
time preparing for a session, you can lavish
loads of detail on your factions - they are,
after all, the closest thing you get to a player
character of your own. Pick out, or create, art
to represent the face of the organisation and
where they hang out. Have a think about what
their plans are in the near future and sketch
out some options.
We aren’t the sort of GMs who like
preparing, though. So we tend to create our
factions at the table, and ask the players for
input during the process.
79
TWISTS, BY CORE
We’ve arranged these twists by core for ease of use
and to help spark ideas, but there’s no need to stick to the
adventure core when you choose them. For example, if
you’re playing a Magi adventure in a crumbling ancient
ruin, then The Earth Cracks from the Wild list could
simulate a temple coming apart at the seams rather
than an earthquake - or, say, if you’re playing a Warrior
adventure in a contested mine, then Demonic Incursion
DEVOUT
NO SUCCOUR - The characters are hexed, poisoned
or otherwise suffering the effects of wicked magick, and they
will find no real respite until the fight is over. When a player
character regains stamina or gains temporary stamina,
they regain -1 stamina to a minimum of 1.
WEAKENED - The evil miasmas and thrice-bound curses of
this place are starting to take their toll, and the characters feel
weak - their arms are limp, their hands are shaking, and their
attacks are exhausting. SHOOT and STRIKE actions made with
a inflict 1 damage, not 4.
HUNTED - Dark figures circle like vultures, looking for an
opening to exploit. If a character is in an area with no other
player characters and they take a wound, they take +5
damage as something malevolent strikes them and retreats
into the shadows.
SWARM OF FILTH - Shadowy insects, crawling locusts
or clumps of great bloated flies bite and sting the characters,
making it hard to focus. When a character makes a SHOOT or
STRIKE action with a red card, they take 2 damage.
DESECRATED TEMPLE - A once-holy place has been
desecrated, and brings these vile creatures strength. Sanctify it.
Designate an area on the battlefield to hold the Desecrated
Temple - this area is Challenging 4 to enter. A player
character in the area can attempt to consecrate it with a
use action. If they fail they receive BLEED 6. Until it’s been
consecrated, all adversaries on the battlefield inflict +3
damage on a wound.
80
from the Devout list could represent an entrance from
which adversary warriors enter the fight. As ever, use what
you like, and reskin it to fit your game.
Also; we can’t recommend that you use twists when the
players are fighting Legendary adversaries. They’re hard
enough already!
INSIDIOUS WHISPERS - “You’re useless,” say the
dark voices in your head. “You should just lay down and die.”
Whenever a character fails a Challenging action, they take
1 damage.
ON DARK WINGS - These creatures have received
the dark blessing of flight, or unnatural speed, and are hard to
control. Adversaries take half damage from Dangerous and
Challenging areas. When they take a wound, they may
make an immediate escape move.
DEMONIC INCURSION - The land here twists as
creatures from The Other break through, all teeth and claws and
brimstone. Designate an area on the battlefield to hold the
Demonic Incursion - this area is Challenging 4 to enter. At
the beginning of each round, draw a card: on a black card,
a mook-level adversary emerges from the rift in this area.
On a red card, two mooks emerge. The rift can be closed
with two successful USE actions in the area, which will stop
the flow of adversaries.
CURSED - The characters are under the influence of
insidious magicks that turn events against them. When a player
plays a Scarred card, treat it as though it was played on top
of a Joker.
 MAGI
TELEPORT - These creatures move unlike others that
you’ve seen - blinking in and out of existence, appearing just
where you don’t want them to. Once per round, a single
adversary may make an escape move to any area on the
battlefield at the start of their turn. At your discretion,
a player may remove the TELEPORT ability from a single
adversary with an appropriate USE action.
SHIELD GENERATOR - One of these creatures is
casting a spell or powering a device that protects the others. Pick
an adversary; until they are taken out of action, all player
attacks inflict half basic damage.
A LONG WAY FROM HOME - You’ve been cut
off from supplies for so long that you’ve started to forget what a
proper meal and a good night’s sleep look like. At the beginning
of combat, each player must go through their deck and
discard until they find a diamond. Describe where they find
the strength to continue, discard the diamond, and start
the battle.
WIRED TO BLOW - Whether your enemies know it or
not, this place is going to explode unless someone does something
fast. Designate an area on the battlefield which contains
the bomb. At the start of each round, draw a card; if it’s
red, progress to stage 2. During stage 2, draw a card at the
start of each round. If it’s a FACE card, the bomb explodes
and the fight is over, with the player characters (and
maybe the adversaries) counting it as a loss. The bomb can
be defused with a USE action.
HYPNOTIC SECRETS - There is power, here, and you
grit your teeth to avoid being tempted to draw on the unearthly
energies. Every time a player character uses a BOOST, they
take 2 damage from magical feedback.
ANCIENT GUARDIANS - The guardians here
are deathless and implacable. At the start of each round,
restore every adversary character to full stamina. At
your discretion, players may remove this ability from an
adversary with a successful Challenging USE action drawn
against the adversary’s proficiency.
“THE RITUAL IS ALMOST COMPLETE!”
- They’re summoning something great and powerful. Choose
an adversary, or a group of mook-level adversaries, to be
the ritualist(s). Every round, draw a card - if it’s a red card,
the ritual moves closer to completion. Once you’ve drawn
three red cards, the ritual is complete, and one mook or
troop level adversary becomes an elite-level adversary
with full stamina and wounds. If the players take the
ritualist(s) out of action, they cannot complete the ritual.
At your discretion, player characters may counterspell
with USE actions to reduce the number of red cards in your
stack.
81
Twists by Core
OUTLAW
SCATTERED - Thanks to bad tactics or bad luck, the
characters are split up from each other. At the start of the
battle, each character discards 3. The GM places their
forces, then places the player characters wherever they
like on the battlefield.
BEATEN UP - The characters have taken a beating in
recent memory, and they’re still hurting. At the start of the
battle, each character discards 7.
DARKNESS - The battlefield is shrouded in darkness,
smog, smoke or steam, which makes ranged attacks difficult.
All SHOOT actions are limited to a range of 1 area,
unless the player characters come up with some way of
circumventing the situation (turning on the lights, setting
a target on fire before they shoot, etc).
THEY TOOK OUR WEAPONS - The characters
have been disarmed - robbed, imprisoned, caught unawares,
or bundled unarmed into some kind of fighting arena. All
SHOOT and STRIKE actions are at half damage until player
characters reclaim their weapons, which are in an area
of the battlefield that you specify. At your discretion,
characters may not SHOOT until they reclaim their
weapons.
SEVERE HANGOVER - The characters went at it
pretty hard last night, and they’re paying for it this morning.
Every time a character makes a MOVE action, they take 1
damage from their stunning headache and overpowering
nausea.
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POLICE ATTENTION - The authorities have got wind
of the characters’ plans, and show up at precisely the worst time.
Whenever the GM deems it appropriate, 4 mook-level
adversaries arrive on the scene - a squad of police officers,
looking to apprehend the characters.
PRECARIOUS BATTLEFIELD - The characters
find themselves fighting on wet rooftops, in slippery waste
channels, or through unstable catacombs. Add the following
option on a critical failure: the character is reduced to 0
stamina and can only make one action next round (as they
scramble back up).
ASSASSINS - The characters are ambushed by a gang
of hired killers, vigilantes or zealots. Before the battle, every
character should draw against the GM using a foundation
of their choice and describe how they attempt to defend
themselves against the unexpected attack; those who fail
discard 10. The assassins flee as the battle starts, but the
characters can try to track them down later.
BAD PART OF TOWN - The characters are not well-
loved in this part of the city; anyone could be a threat. Mark
three areas as Challenging 3. In addition, when a character
takes a wound they discard 2 additional cards as locals pile
on and take advantage of the situation before dispersing.
 PACTBOUND
BAN - This place is anathema to your patrons. 4 contiguous
areas on the battlefield are Challenging 2, Damaging 2.
THE STARS ARE RIGHT - The connection between
you and your patrons is stronger here, and you can exploit it if
you’re brave enough. A player may make an additional action
of any type on their turn, but take BLEED 5 after the action
is complete if they do so.
HUNGER - Your patrons cry out for sustenance. If a player
doesn’t inflict damage on their turn, they discard 2 cards
from their character deck.
PORTAL TO THE UNKNOWN - One of your allies
has abused their connection to their patron, and weird creatures
emerge from the darkness around them. Each player draws a
card at the start of the battle. The player with the lowest
card (scars break ties) has abused their powers. At the end
of each of their turns, a mook-level adversary appears in
their area. They (or an ally) can suppress this effect for one
round with a successful USE action.
MEMORY HOLE - Ever since you let a cosmic intelligence
occupy your brain, your memory has started to fail you. At the
start of the battle, discard 5 and give the top card from
your deck to the player on your left. They write a story
on the card that has recently affected your character, but
that they have no memory of. Shuffle the Memory Hole
card into your deck without looking at it. When you play
the Memory Hole card, it functions as a story card, and:
immediately gain an additional fate relating to the story.
This fate must be resolved to advance, as though it was one
of your normal fates.
INVERSION - The laws of space and time start to bend
under the weight of your patrons’ influence. GM: at the start
of round 4, tell the players the full details of this twist. At
the start of round 5, all players swap their discard pile and
their character deck.
ENCROACHING WEIRDNESS - The walls
between worlds are thin, and the Other is seeping through. Pick
two areas at the edges of the battlefield - these areas are
damaging 2. At the start of each round, every adjacent area
also becomes damaging 2 until the battlefield is completely
taken over by fae thorns, grasping tentacles, withered
hands, chattering doll heads, choking brimstone etc.
Making a successful SHOOT or STRIKE action against an
encroached area will remove this effect from the attacked
area.
INFESTATION - Your adversaries are filled with
supernatural weirdness - alien insects, demonic wisps, or other
swarms of horrors. When an non-mook adversary is taken
out of action and at least one other non-mook adversary
remains standing, it is replaced with two of the following
adversary:
Swarm of Chittering Horrors (mook)
S:1 W:1
Proficiency: None
Range: 0
Damage: Burning stings. R:1 B:1
BOOST: None
Wound: Discard 3
ENERVATED - Your patrons suck the life out of you, and
you need to claw it back out of your adversaries. At the start of
the battle, discard 20. When you inflict a wound, heal 7.
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Twists by Core

WARRIOR
SNIPERS - Unseen snipers lay down covering fire on the
battlefield and punish any character who breaks cover. Pick
three areas of the battlefield that the snipers are covering -
these areas are Challenging 4. The snipers are out of range
and well-hidden, so the characters will just have to endure
them until the fight is over.
CUT OFF THE HEAD - An important enemy is in this
group, and reinforcements fill the area until they’re taken care
of. Pick an adversary character; they’re the captain, the
leader, battle-chanter, or whatever. Until they’re taken out
of action, a mook-level adversary will enter the battlefield
at the start of each of their turns.
BOMBARDMENT - This area is under heavy artillery
fire, and massive projectiles smash down at random into the
earth, but you’ll have to try and fight your way through. At
the start of each round, the GM designates an area that’s
under fire, and draws a card face-down. One player in that
area should try to guess what suit the card is. If they guess
the right colour, they can move the bombardment to a
connected area. If they guess the correct suit, they can
place the bombardment anywhere they please. If they’re
wrong on both suit and colour, the bombardment stays
where it is. All characters (player and adversary) in an area
under bombardment take 3 damage.
WALKING WOUNDED - This war has been going
on too long, and injuries are commonplace. At the start of the
battle, each player must choose - scar a card, or discard 15
cards. If the scar would kill them, re-draw.
RUNNING DRY - The characters are running low on
ammunition. Every shot might be their last. When a player
plays a FACE card on a SHOOT action, they are out of
ammunition. Until they find some more (with a USE action
on a stockpile or dead adversary), they may not make
SHOOT actions. Even once they resupply, the effect of
RUNNING DRY persists.
ELITES - These are the big guys; the top dogs. Best be
careful. Every adversary in this encounter increases their
proficiency value by 1.
AMBUSH - The characters are caught unawares, and find it
hard to defend themselves. Every player character fills their
stamina up to half their maximum (instead of up to full),
rounding down, at the start of the battle.

TERRIFIED - Days of fighting have broken the spirit of

the characters, and every engagement could be their last. Fear
fills them. Any area occupied by an adversary becomes
Challenging 2, unless it’s already higher.

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 WILD
BITTER COLD - The cold saps your strength, and your
limbs feel leaden. At the start of the battle, discard 6. At the
end of a round when you make a STRIKE or MOVE action,
take 1 damage. Fighting in an area with a source of heat,
such as a fire, can negate this penalty - stick in a few areas
with heat sources.
SCORCHING HEAT - The land shimmers ahead of
you, and you feel the sting of heat on your skin. Pick 3 areas
of the battlefield that offer shade. Every other area of the
battlefield is Damaging 1.
HUNTERS HUNTED - Wild animals and stranger
things besides crawl out of the undergrowth, looking for prey.
At the start of each turn, draw a card. If it’s black, nothing
happens. If it’s red, deploy a mook-level adversary on
the battlefield as a ravenous beast emerges. If it’s a FACE
card, deploy a troop-level adversary on the battlefield as
a dangerous creature enters the fray, and draw no further
cards for this twist.
WILDFIRE - Something has set the trees ablaze, and the fire
is already out of control. At the start of the 3rd round, pick an
area at the edge of the battlefield - this area is now On Fire
and is Damaging 1. At the start of each round, the following
things happen to areas that are On Fire: they increase their
Damaging rating by 1 to a maximum of 4, and all adjacent
areas gain the On Fire quality at Damaging 1. A USE action
puts out the fire in an area (we recommend using stacks of
tokens to represent the fire).
INSECTS - Insects swarm over the battlefield, stinging and
biting, making it impossible to focus. Pick an area that contains
the swarm; this area is Damaging 3. At the start of each
round, move the swarm one area in any direction.

THE EARTH CRACKS - The soil and rocks beneath

your feet quake and crumble. During this battle, the GM picks
an area every turn - this area becomes Challenging. If the
GM picks the same area a second time, it collapses. When
an area collapses, all characters in the area take a wound
and are moved to a connected area. The area remains
Challenging, but characters may not end their turn in a
collapsed area.

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86
 RUNNING THE GAME
Every player in Unbound has a character; for the
players on the other side of the table, taking control of
the heroes of the story, they’re brave knights, cunning
mages, down-on-their-luck vampires or a band of
dashing and charismatic space pirates. (Or whatever
this adventure happens to be about.) Your character is
a bit different - your character is everything else in the
world, and the world itself.

You’re in charge of every non-player character - the
allies, the adversaries, love interests, rivals, recurring
foils and beloved companions. You direct the action,
cutting between and establishing scenes as you go. You
fill the world with threats, adventure and challenges for
the player characters to run headlong into and, maybe,
overcome.
But here’s where things change from most other
roleplaying games we’ve read - when we say you’re
playing a character, we mean it. When the players leave
the table between games, do they do any work? Do they
prep adventures? They don’t! They just rock up, week after
week, and improvise their way into, and out of, trouble.
That’s what you’re going to do, too. We’ve written
Unbound so the players have as much of a stake in the
world as you do, and almost as much control. You can turn
up and run a game without any prep, without trying to
box the players into pre-ordained situations, and without
getting frustrated that your players aren’t following your
plot.
In other words: this is going to be easy. And when
running a game is easy, you can focus on the fun.
LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN
In this section, we’re going to talk about how the game
works, how to squeeze the most out of the system and
why we made the design choices we made. If you’re not
planning on being a gamesmaster, feel free to read through
anyway - Unbound is a game with shared narrative
responsibility, and you’ll only benefit from learning these
tips and tricks.
Hell, even if you never run a game of Unbound (though
you should) we’ve got the combined weight of twenty-five
years spent GMing pretty much every week, and we’re
going to distill that experience down into some useful
advice, so if you’re interested in becoming a better GM -
no matter what your system is - then odds are you’ll find
something of use to you in this chapter.
THE CORE MECHANIC
The core mechanic of Unbound - each party drawing
a card, and the party with the higher card winning the
stakes of the conflict - is pretty straightforward. Your main
job as a GM is to make it exciting, and allow the players to
make it exciting too. Every time a player draws a card, the
world is changing as they exert their will on it, so - don’t
draw a card if nothing significant will change from the
outcome, and when you do draw a card, make it mean
something. Change the world around the players and let
them feel their impact.
The other job you’ve got is controlling what’s possible
in your current adventure, and how difficult things are.
There are no set difficulty values in Unbound because each
adventure is different, and while in one adventure about
deviant cyberpolice in overclocked power armour, kicking
down a front door might be of no consequence (and, no
doubt, happen several times as part of every scene), in
another adventure about - say - tiny mice trapped in a
normal-sized human house, such a monumental challenge
could form the basis of an entire session. All difficulty is
relative.
You’re in charge of the tone of the game, so if a player
attempts an action that their character simply cannot
perform, its up to you to maintain that tone by asking
them to switch out their action for a different one.

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ADVENTURE CREATION
ASK QUESTIONS
The questions outlined in the cores and traits are
designed to make the players flesh out the world and
design it as they build their characters. But they’re not in
charge of the world - that’s your job. They just get to make
the thing. You drive and steer it when they’re done, and as
they describe it, it’s your job to direct them to make a rich
and exciting world that everyone’s eager to explore.
Any time a player says something, that’s your chance
to steer the creation process by asking them a question.
So let’s say that a player establishes a Thieves’ Guild in
the adventure; you could ask the some of the following
questions:
“Are these guys with or against you?”
“Are these the sort of thieves who have a heart of gold,
or the sort of thieves who steal metaphorical hearts
of gold from poor orphans and flog them on the black
market?”
“What’s their biggest recent score?”
“What’s their calling card?”
“What have you stolen from them?”
Even better, load your question with a statement
beforehand. This lets you cut past wooly answers, and get
the chance to tell stories that you’re excited about.
“This Thieves’ Guild wants you dead - why?”
“There are loads of Thieves’ Guilds in this city - what
makes this one special?”
“The Guild recently stole the Eye of Kamoor, a valuable
diamond. Did you help them?”
“The police have started a campaign against the guild.
Why’s that?”
If you can’t think of a useful question to ask, or a
statement to preface it with, try the following template:
“Most [whatever the player came up with] round here are
[some vague descriptor] - what makes this particular one
special?”
“Most bodyguards in this part of the hive are bio-
augmented - what makes this one special?”
“Most of the trees in this forest are filled with all kinds
of life - what makes this one special?”
“Most of the rooms in this house are heavily defended -
what makes this one special?”
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This doesn’t have to stay in adventure creation alone -
you’ll be doing this all throughout every game as you and
the players build the world together as you go.
DON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
Some players are scared of putting forward ideas for
fear of looking foolish - and that’s okay, because we’re
trained by society to never put our neck out unless we’re
absolutely sure of something. But this is a safe place to play
around with ideas, so if a player gives you a weak answer
or tries to dodge a question, keep asking questions until
you get something exciting out of them. There’s a story
inside every character, and it’s your job to track it down
and make it happen.
So for example:
“What have you stolen from the thieves’ guild?”
“Nothing.”
That’s not going to make any stories happen on its own.
So follow it up:
“Great - how have they managed to scare you
into that?”
“Great - what’s the name of the person you respect in
the guild enough not to mess with them?”
“Great - everyone else has, so what marks you out
as special?”
Note that we’ve put “Great” at the start of each
sentence, up there. This is because it’s a thing we actually
say when we do this (or “cool,” or “awesome,” or “I like it,”
etc) but also because it’s a good way to give what a player
says weight.
Of course, you might just be hitting against something
that the player isn’t at all interested in, in which case
you shouldn’t push them for an answer, and work out
something else. Which brings us to…
SET LIMITS
You’re in charge of the game, so if you have a particular
vision for it, you can discuss limits with the other players
(and they can suggest them, too). If you want a gritty,
low-magic fantasy campaign, you could say - “No high
magic, no comedy characters.” If you want a sci-fi crime
caper, you could say - “Everyone’s an alien aside from one
character who’s a confused human, and everyone’s just got
out of space prison.” Maybe you want to set a saga in your
favourite fictional universe, or maybe you just want to see
what the players can do if they all play bears. Go for it!
 (The players can do this, too; but you have ultimate
authority over adventure decisions.)
You can also use this to set limits around things which
make people uncomfortable, such as “No animal cruelty”
or “No drug use in game.” Remember, you’re all there to
have fun, and if someone’s not having fun, you need to
address that.
Or maybe you’re tired of seeing certain backgrounds,
so you could say that there’s “No lone wolves,” “no they
wiped out my village,” and “no-one without at least one
personal connection a crime lord could use as leverage.”
Like asking questions, this continues beyond the
adventure creation section - you’re in charge of the tone of
the game, as we said, and that encompasses all this. (And
tones can shift, too, as you play, and as members of a group
get to know one another.)
Here’s a useful phrase to say when you want someone
to change their input: “I don’t want to tell a story about
that.” Remember - nothing is sacred, and you’re all people
having fun at a gaming session, and the story itself is
something that doesn’t really exist. Everything can be
undone, retconned and redone until the group is happy -
character motivations and actions are not the be-all and
end-all of roleplaying.
One player decides that their character, a dangerous
bounty hunter, is frustrated at an informant’s
insincerity and abuse, so they kill them. Another
player says: “I don’t want to tell a story about killing
largely innocent people. Can we change that?”
“Okay,” says the bounty hunter’s player, “but I still
want to let this guy know I mean business.”
The point of this narrative control is to allow
redefinition of details, not to pull out whole story
threads. The group takes a step back and examines
what’s happening - the bounty hunter wants to get
mean on this guy and exert dominance over him.
That’s absolutely fine.
“How about you take something from him?” says the
other player. “Like his car?” chips in a third player.
“Yeah, sure, I like that. I need a new car.” They retcon
the previous description, and instead the bounty
hunter screeches off in the guy’s souped up ‘76 Impala
as the informant chases uselessly after him on foot.
Every group is different, so it’s up to you to establish a
space where you ride the balance between telling a story
that everyone’s interested in that doesn’t upset, irritate, or
bore other people in the telling.
HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
When the game starts proper, don’t wait around for the
fun to begin. It’s tempting to spend a session establishing
events, showing the characters going about their ordinary,
day-to-day business, before inverting the status quo with
the actual exciting part of the game. So skip to it; you don’t
need to establish what “normal” is, because you just spent
a session talking it through. Find the most exciting thing
that can happen and have it happen as an opening scene.
What tensions are at work? What villains do you need to
introduce? What fates can you fulfill in the very first hour
of play? Start with momentum.
YOU’RE GOING TO LEAVE THINGS BEHIND,
AND THAT’S OKAY
One of the things we’ve done entirely on purpose with
the world and character creation is set it up so you’ll end
up with too much stuff - even if you’ve got loads of pages
of A3 covered in notes and ideas for adventure, by the end
of session three (generally) the group will have worked out
what the story’s about and where the focus lies. You’ll have
to leave stuff by the wayside - plotlines, unexplored story
threads, characters, and maybe even entire factions.
And that’s fine. Having too much is better than not
having enough. If the group is really enthusiastic about
part of the world, odds are they’ll plug it into their fates,
so they’ll steer the group towards playing through it. Also,
if you end up having to sideline something cool, you can
always come back and explore it with new characters for
your next adventure.
ABUSING TRUST
“I don’t want to tell a story about that” is a
powerful phrase. It’s a safe-word, give or take,
that establishes that the game has taken a turn
that you, or one of the players, isn’t interested
in exploring. Generally, when it happens,
it’s due to a lack of communication between
players, and if we assume that all people
are basically decent and want their gaming
companions to have fun, it’s all pretty easily
smoothed out.
However, this trust brings with it some
responsibility. If you find a player exerting
control over the narrative to favour their
character’s motivations or further their own
agendas, that’s not what it’s for; talk to them
after the game and try to get things sorted.
And if people are continually asking for
the narrative to change, maybe it’s time to
reframe the narrative entirely, or maybe they
need to find a group that they gel with.
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CHARACTER CREATION
READ THE RULES Don’t say “oh, you have to pick this power because it’s the
best one for your character,” but make suggestions for
As the GM, you have the job of teaching the other
stuff you might think is useful.
players how to play the game. Unfortunately, you’ll have
to do this while they’re all arguing over who gets to use the (And, as ever, get descriptive! Sell the powers, the roles,
book to make their character first, and explain some fairly the twists to the players as though they were investors and
complicated concepts to several people at once who are all you’ve just run out of money. Get the players excited to
interested in different parts of those concepts. play. Which brings us to…)
Take a read through the character creation section
to get an idea of what the different cores, roles and traits
do - and also what keywords and powers mean, so when a HELP THE PLAYERS MAKE UNIQUE CHARACTERS
player asks “What does [Limited 3] mean?” or “What’s an
Unbound demands a lot from the players during
escape move?” you can answer them without having to
creation - for one, there’s no setting other than what
flick through the book to do so.
they establish, and for two, the character options are
Also, if you know the rules, you can make people aware deliberately bare-bones when it comes to fluff.
of what sort of tactical impact their decisions might have
It’s up to you to help players fully realise their
when it comes to battle scenes. If a player envisages their
characters - to make exciting decisions about who their
character as a tank but picks ranged damage powers, they
character is and how they do what they do. For example:
might have a hard time playing them as they imagined.
Unbound has no rules for weapon damage, because we

90
didn’t want to limit players when they describe what they
get up to in combat. So using improvised weapons is just
as valid as using a specially-crafted sword, in mechanical
terms, and a thrown rock does as much damage as a
gunshot.
Which means, depending on your adventure - the
Deadeye could use a gun, for sure. That’s fun, and there’s a
lot to be done there. But maybe they’re a hunter character,
and they have a hawk that they’ve trained to make attacks
at range. Maybe they throw their soul forward out of their
body and attack with ghostly copies of themselves. Maybe
they spit hexes and curses that wither their foes. Maybe
they have a swarm of attack drones; maybe they summon
genies, or undead abominations.
Ask a player about their character’s weapons, their
fighting style, their armour, and how they do their job. Is
the Warden psychically shielded? Is the Brawler a shirtless
muscle mage? Is the Striker using a shotgun, rather than
a melee weapon, for her STRIKE actions? Is the Protector
actually five different nuns, working in concert around
their leader the Sister Superior?
And, of course, this extends past combat. When you
ask questions of players, weave their characters’ pasts
together, and cement them into the world. Never stop
asking questions, and never stop using the answers to
make a stronger world.
THEY KILLED MY FAMILY!
Players love it when their characters have
dead parents, siblings, children, nephews,
goldfish, etc. It’s a really easy way to establish
a dangerous, revenge-filled on-the-edge loner
renegade, but it’s also a bit rubbish when it
comes to trying to introduce NPCs because
they’re all dead. So: if a player refuses to have
living family members, adversaries, allies, or
goldfish, try to talk them out of it. And if you
can’t talk them out of it, work out who isn’t
dead, and connect them back to the character.
Or resurrect their dead nephew as a shambling
atrocity! That’ll teach ‘em.
SCENES, STORIES AND EXPERIENCE
This section is more for players than the GM, but we
stuck it in here because that’s where it made sense for it
to be.
Fates are how characters grow, change and gain
experience in Unbound - they’re the closest thing we have
to experience points. We like them, because they not only
give players a measure of control over the game’s plot (as
they’ll steer towards pre-defined scenes, which takes some
pressure off the GM) but that they allow players to perform
for each other. When the group says “I want to see your
character do X,” the player can give it their all during the
scene and not worry so much about hogging the spotlight,
because the other players have asked for the scene to
happen ahead of time.
THINK LIKE A DIRECTOR, NOT A PLAYER:
ENCOURAGE CHANGE
It’s hard, sometimes, to separate out your own
motivations from your characters, and when given the
chance to frame a scene, some players look to this as an
opportunity to let their character excel at something
they’re already good at.
We’re going to be honest: that’s kind of boring. So
when you make scenes, both for yourself and others,
think about what sort of scrapes you’d like to see the
character get into. Take a look over their backstory, as it’s
been mentioned so far, and pick out strands that interest
you. Are there conflicts that you want to see explored, or
resolved? Is there something the character is definitely
terrible at, but you want to see them try? Is there a
direction, a change, for a character, that you’re interested
in exploring?
Pitch it as a scene. Don’t be afraid to take characters
out of their comfort zone - in fact, really, you should
always look to push characters outside of their comfort
zones, because that’s what makes for a good improvised
story. When people are forced into uncomfortable
situations, they change, and change is pretty much always
more interesting than no change. (If a character hasn’t
developed in some way by the end of the scene, either
through some kind of change or the group learning
more about their backstory, then it’s probably not a very
interesting scene.)
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LINK TO EACH OTHER, AND THE WORLD
Internal conflicts are great, but you can help paint the
world by getting scenes that link to it. Has a character
mentioned an old mentor, a bitter rival, an adversary, a
lover, a romantic connection? Have they said that they
own a building, or run a gang, or manage a business?
Re-use as much as what’s already been said as possible,
and fold things back in. Work out how characters relate to
the existing structure by throwing them into scenes that
explore it.
BE OPEN-ENDED, OR NOT
There are lots of ways to frame a scene, and none of
them are the right or wrong way. You can set up the start,
such as “Your boyfriend arrives and confronts you about
your lies,” which gives us a good idea of how the scene
starts, but not how it ends. You can set up the outcome,
such as “Your bar is destroyed,” which shows us how the
scene ends, but not how it begins.
92
But, be aware: if you define both ends of a scene, you
lose out on the joy of improvisation. So “Your boyfriend
arrives, confronts you about your lies, and then destroys
your bar” is maybe less interesting to play out than the
two alternatives because the arc of the scene is already
sketched out.
LATE PLAYERS
Sometimes it’s fun - or necessary - to add in new
players to a game midway through a adventure. With
Unbound, this can be challenging, because those
players who were present from the start have a massive
investment in the setting - they made it! It can be difficult
for new players to break into that structure.
By using their fates, you can help cement them into the
game as quickly as possible - how did they meet the other
characters, and what sort of trouble have they all got into
in the past? What’s their motivation for taking part in the
overarching story? How do they prove their loyalty to the
cause, or not?
MOVING ON the adventure, and then get in serious trouble. The aim
of the scene is intact, even if the way that it was initially
We’re not all perfect, and one of the problems with
imagined has changed.
writing down scenes ahead of time and then improvising
your way through them is that situations can change fairly Lose it, get a new one. We’re not perfect, and sometimes
rapidly. Maybe you’re keen to have a scene where your things just don’t fit with the tone and aims of a game and
character is confronted by their fear of drowning, but the the characters within it as it develops. If a player really
adventure ends up taking place in the desert, or space, or isn’t excited about exploring a scene, and the rest of the
on an airship. Maybe you want to explore the tensions in table can’t think of a fun way to frame it in the game,
your home town, but the party leaves your home town there’s no shame in ditching it and replacing it with one
behind halfway through the session. that makes more sense. But - use this sparingly! There’s
a lot of fun to be had in working out why something’s
You’ve got two options, here:
happening rather than getting rid of it and trying to find
Make it fit. Relocate, reframe, adjust and mess with something fits perfectly.
the scene until it makes sense. If a player wants a scene
where they defend their family, but they end up miles
away from their family home on an adventure, get in touch
with their character via messenger or phone or letter,
explaining that their family’s under threat and see how
they deal with that. Or bring the family to them, as the
villain kidnaps them and uses them as leverage. Or have
their two daughters arrive on the scene, eager to help on

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TWISTS AND FACTIONS
TWISTS AND FACTIONS ARE YOUR CHARACTER
You know how excited some players get when they
make a character? This is an attempt to give you, GM, that
same kind of excitement when a game is happening. Try
not to think about what fits the campaign best, or to stay
limited to the core that the players have chosen; go with
the powers that put that trademark “GM glint” in your
eye when you read them. There’s no reason why your
characters can’t be just as cool as the player characters; go
wild, and get enthusiastic with it.
GET THE PLAYERS INVOLVED
To briefly flash back to the Asking Questions bit above:
that’s the time when you’ll be making your bad guys, your
antagonists, your big bad evil guys and girls, your cosmic
horrors, your tensions that pull at the loyalties of the
players. When a player mentions someone that you’re keen
to have as an antagonist, start asking questions of everyone
at the table so you sketch out the villains together.
Which means, ultimately, when the lunatic barbarian
space reavers and their packs of rabid hunting cyber-
pitbulls smash into the side of the player characters’
elegant spaceship, not only are the players excited to see
things that they’ve invented come into play, it’s also kind
of their fault.
SCARS, DAMAGE AND DEATH
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STAMINA AND WOUNDS
We wanted to move away from normal “hit point”
systems, and do something a bit more cinematic and
interesting. So, to re-iterate:
When a character loses stamina, that’s not a serious hit.
Stamina represents a character’s skill at evasion, defence,
protection and battlefield control, so if an attack only
knocks off stamina, they’ve probably parried it, or dodged
it, or rolled with it to such a degree that it isn’t a major
concern. Their cover gets torn up, and dust flies into the
air, but they’re okay for the time being.
When a character takes a wound, on the other hand
- in that they suffer damage when they have no stamina
remaining, or through the effects of a special adversary
power they take a wound automatically - then it is a
serious hit. Describe in detail what happens - is the
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character thrown to the ground, and winded? Are they
stabbed in the shoulder, or knocked about and dazed? Is
there bleeding, lost teeth, broken ribs?
Get descriptive, but remember what stamina and
wounds mean in practice - rather than in theory - differs
with every adventure, and indeed every character. Maybe
one character is a regenerating super-soldier and another
is a plucky street kid - that super-soldier can take bullets to
the chest and shrug them off, but the street kid might get
taken down with a backhand from the villain.
HOW DO I HANDLE DIFFERENT POWER
LEVELS IN THE SAME SCENE?
In a word? Narratively. There’s no weapon
damage in Unbound, and all characters
have the same amount of “hit points” (their
character deck), so when the adversaries
attack the super soldier, it’s all bullets and
regenerating limbs and buckets of gore, but
when they attack the street kid it’s near-
misses, grabs and holds, lucky escapes and
bloody noses. How you choose to describe
damage is up to you.
DEATH DOESN’T HAVE TO BE DEATH
Or, in other words - when you draw an Ace after losing
all your cards, it doesn’t mean that your character is
automatically going to die. What it means is that they’re
going to be written out of the narrative as it continues,
and that affords you a lot of room to manoeuvre. Instead of
dying, a character could:
Feel disheartened enough to quit, retire into NPChood,
get intimidated into giving up, lose their faith, get
permanently lost or captured, sustain a career-ending
injury, find love and give up adventuring, defect to the
adversary, fall off a massive cliff and out of shot, suffer
a moment of horrendous guilt and break down in
tears, go utterly insane, become controlled by a demon
parasite, be transported to an alternate dimension,
permanently transform into their druidic beast form
and never be able to return to civilised society, etc.
In fact, it’s possible to completely remove death from
your game, if that’s not a story you’re interested in telling.
Plus, characters who are out of the plot but not dead can
return in a future adventure, which is always fun. (Unless
you’re playing a superhero adventure, in which case, you
can come back from the dead as many times as you want
assuming you’re still shifting copies.)
DEALING WITH BEREAVEMENT
Death is unlikely in Unbound, but it’s always going to
come as a surprise - there’s a one-in-thirteen chance every
time a character is taken out of action that it’s going to
happen, give or take, and the more scars that a character
takes, the more likely it is that they’re going to have to
retire next time they run out of cards.
Is death permanent in your adventure? We prefer it
to be permanent in ours, otherwise “killing the villain”
doesn’t have quite the impact it often needs. But maybe
you’re playing a transhumanist adventure where the
characters are consciousnesses uploaded to cybernetic
meat-puppets; maybe everyone’s a zombie or a vampire
already, so revivification is par for the course; or maybe
it’s as simple a matter as finding 5,000gp and a suitably
high-level cleric. Or maybe, as outlined above, you’ve
just decided that death isn’t going to be a thing in your
adventure.
Generally, if you want to bring a character back from
the dead, it seems like an exciting enough thing to warrant
several dramatic scenes to do it (and maybe a battle, too).
We’ll leave it up to you to decide.
But, in most games, death will be the end. And that’s
okay; what’s important is to die well. If a death feels
arbitrary, if a character had unfinished business, if
their passing is something of a frustration rather than
completion, give them a break. Let their death mean
something; let them stay behind to hold off the horde
while the other characters escape; let them bring down
the villain; let them reveal a secret that changes the game
world.
And, of course, because this is Unbound, you can always
make the next adventure you play take place before the
current one, exploring the early lives of all the characters.
MAKING A NEW CHARACTER THAT FITS
WITH THE ADVENTURE
When a character’s written out of the story, their
player will have to make a new one; work with them to
determine who the character is and what they do. Unlike
making an adventure, though, they should try to stick as
closely to the existing background as possible to help them
gel with the ongoing storyline.
While the start of an adventure might be the perfect
time to create, say, a group of shadowy kick-ass monks
with the power to enslave and control evil ghosts, it’s a bit
much to drop it in the middle of the story - maybe even if
it’s the kind of story where, with proper planning, ghost-
wrangling kung fu masters might sit comfortably alongside
the existing narrative.
Instead, try to explore and expand upon the content
that’s already been created - you can even use existing
characters, if you’d like, by taking an NPC and giving them
player character stats. By re-incorporating stuff that’s
already been established, you lend weight to the story.
KEEP SCARS INTERESTING AND RELEVANT
Don’t let players come up with scars that are boring,
bland or ineffectual. Every time that card comes up, you
want them to be wincing and describing how their injury,
fear, loss or shame is hampering their performance - or
how they power through and succeed. For example, the
scar “Goblins ate my leg and now I have a wooden one
which goblins will hopefully not eat” - if a player uses it to
succeed against the odds on a STRIKE action, they (or you)
can describe how they falter on their damaged leg but just
so happen to come in under their opponent’s guard. If they
fail on the STRIKE action, then they have a good excuse as
to why that oversized bugbear is now about to crush their
companion into paste.
Make scars nasty. “Mild cough” is pretty dull, but “gas-
ravaged lungs” sounds awful, and helps cement the setting
and the actions of the characters in their decks. Similarly,
“in trouble” is boring, but “Sergeant Steele has it in for
me” gives the GM a recurring villain.
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STAKES
MAKE FAILURE AS INTERESTING AS VICTORY
The first few times you run scenes in Unbound, you’ll
forget to establish stakes. That’s fine - we did it too. But
they’re so, so crucial to having a fun time with the system
that we can’t stress enough how important they are.
When you set up the stakes, you step back from the
cut-and-thrust of the game for a second and talk to each
other as players. No longer bound up in trying to further
your characters’ agendas, you can look at the game as a
narrative exploration rather than a challenge.
So let’s say, for example, the player characters are
venturing into an ancient cave complex to uncover a
lost civilisation. They’re being raced by another team
of explorers, equally keen to uncover the secrets of the
caverns, and they come upon a mob of screeching, bat-like
automatons made from what seems to be living crystal. It’s
time for a battle.
The standard stakes for a battle are: “If we win, we
kick the snot out of our opponents. If we lose, they kick
the snot out of us.” Which is - let’s be honest - boring. The
players get nothing for winning other than the mechanical
satisfaction of doing so, and failing doesn’t advance the
story at all. Here are a few alternative suggestions:
“If we win, we’ll overtake the other team of explorers.
If we lose, they’ll get to the important find first.”
“If we win, we can make camp here and establish a
base. If we lose, we’ll get driven off and have to evade the
guardians for days.”
“If we win, we’ll find out something exciting about
the history of the underground network. If we lose, we’ll
trigger an ancient curse.”
“If we win, we’ll be able to repurpose the bodies of the
guardians into dangerous weapons and explosives to give
us an edge. If we lose, our rivals will ambush us and take us
captive.”
When you establish stakes, you and the players talk
about the way that the story could go - one way that’s
good for the characters, and one way that’s bad for them,
but crucially both ways are interesting for the players to
explore.
IS DEATH A GOOD STAKE?
Yes and no. It’s a great stake if you’ve built
up to it - if this is a grand battle, an epic clash,
or your characters are fighting for something
that’s so incredibly dear to them that they’re
willing to give their lives to defend it. But it
shouldn’t be your go-to stake, because if every
character dies, that’s probably the end of your
adventure. (But, then again, that depends on
your world.)
NO BATTLE OR DRAMATIC SCENE TAKES PLACE
FOR ITS OWN SAKE
Every time a card is drawn to start a scene, stakes need
to be established. If you can’t think of good stakes for both
winning and losing, skip the scene. Make it freeform; talk
through it, tell the players what happens, and move on.
This isn’t a failure on your part; there’s a whole imaginary
world to explore, and sometimes you can’t come up with
exciting contingencies for a randomly selected part of it.
The characters are sneaking into a government-
controlled base. This is the sort of thing that normally
calls for a dramatic scene… but when it comes
to stakes, you can’t come up with anything that
doesn’t sound arbitrary (“you fall down a hole!”),
uninteresting (“you spend four hours crouching in a
vent waiting for the guards to move on!”), or tedious
(“you have another battle before the proper battle
you came here for, extending this section of the game
by two hours!”), or likely to end the narrative thread
there and then (“you all get imprisoned on federal
charges and thrown in jail!”).

96
(Not that there’s anything wrong with those stakes, immediately” and your losing stake is “we get driven off
if you can sell them, and if you can help the players and have to find another way in.”
make them interesting. But for this example, let’s say Which means: you’re getting inside the temple, win or
you’re not feeling any of them right now.) lose. There’s almost no reason to have the fight; if you win,
that just skips the description of finding an alternative
You’ve got a couple of options, now: you can discuss route. There’s no teeth to the stakes, nothing really at
it with the players and see what they think might threat. So, instead, if you’ve made up your mind that the
happen if they’re found out. Maybe one of them has an heroes are going to get inside that temple no matter what,
change what’s going on inside: if they lose the fight, they
excellent idea you never even considered. still power through, but the villagers are sacrificed. If they
Or you can just say that it happens, throwing in lose the fight, they still get inside, but the head of the cult
escapes justice. If they lose the fight, they gain access, but
colour and detail as normal, describing them sneaking
word of their failure spreads and someone accuses them of
through the base, asking the players questions about being allied to the cult.
how their characters are doing it, setting the stage for
later challenges, and so on.
WHAT IF THE STAKES CHANGE?
It’s possible that, halfway through a scene, the stakes
GET MEAN
change - for whatever reason, the established ones just
Work out what’s important to the player characters and don’t make sense. It’s okay to change stakes, but be careful,
try to take it from them in the challenges they face. Does and discuss the situation with your players to get a handle
one player spend ages describing her character’s bar, all on the situation as it develops.
the patrons, the kinds of elven honeywine she serves, etc?
Put it down as a stake in a conflict.
Pride, professional reputation, the safety of friends/
family/allies, possessions, sanity - there’s a lot you can
take from the characters. The fun part, too, is that the
players want you to.
Think of it this way: when you watch a film, do you
want the characters to have an easy time of it, never get
challenged, and never face hardships? No! You want to
see them messed up - humiliated, beaten, bruised, wrong-
footed and outsmarted, because then you can cheer them
on through adversity; you can root for them. Your players
should feel the same way about their characters.
So get nasty, get creative, burn bridges. Unless you try
to destroy the world you’ve built together, the heroes are
never going to get a chance to save it.
Sometimes, it’s easy to come up with stakes for one
side of the battle, but not the other. Maybe your winning
stake is “we get access to the evil cult’s secret temple

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98
PLANNING THE ADVENTURE
...DON’T
Ever read a horror story on the internet about a group
of players “breaking” the campaign because they act in a
way that the GM couldn’t predict, and the game goes on
hiatus, or ends completely, while the GM frantically works
out what’s going to happen? You don’t want that to occur.
There are two ways you can counteract this. On one
hand, you can plan for every eventuality, expect every
move the players are going to make, and be prepared to
shuffle things behind the scenes once in a while when
the players outfox you. On the other hand, you can refuse
to plan at all - you can have ideas, sure, you can have
enthusiasms, you can be excited for things, but if you
never plan for something in particular to happen, you’ll
never be thrown off when it doesn’t.
To get all Ancient GM wisdom on you - be like a reed
in the wind: bending, unbroken. We’ve set up Unbound
so that the overarching plot of the game is determined
at the start of the adventure, and players will frame their
own scenes in an attempt to level up their characters, so
you barely have to plan at all. In fact, if you do precisely as
much prep as your players do every week - who just turn
up with smiles on their faces and look to you for adventure
- then you should be fine.
BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO…
Here are some things you can do, if you’ve got an itch
to create stuff when you’re not at the gaming table:
Source images to represent areas for battle scenes or
as inspiration in dramatic or freeform scenes, or to
represent NPCs and adversaries; write up the setting
as it is, and create updates detailing the actions of
the characters and factions at play; pick out some
collections of interesting adversaries for the players
to fight; work out your faction motivations, and how
NPCs will react to player actions.
FREEFORM SCENES
LET THEM HAPPEN
Not every scene has to have drama in it, or mechanics,
to make it interesting. Sometimes you need a scene to set
up the next one, to wrap up loose ends, or to offer players
a breather after an intense dramatic or battle scene. Good
stories have high points and low points - sometimes they
rattle along at breakneck speed, and sometimes they slow
down and examine things in detail.
Freeform scenes are a great way to establish character,
too; when we step back from dramatic scenes, we lose the
sensation that there’s a way to win and lose the stakes,
and characters can often relax and be themselves - and
even admit to foibles, play to their weaknesses, and learn
something about the way they act, too.
You’re in charge of the imaginary camera that’s filming
your imaginary story, so you need to know where to point
it. When you feel like a freeform scene has run out of
steam, move on to the next interesting thing that happens
in the world. You can skip forward in time, if you’d like, or
just interrupt the scene with a dramatic one or a battle.
FRAMING IS IMPORTANT
The scenes that players have made up for themselves,
and each other, are a great way to play into freeform
scenes because they provide structure. A freeform scene
can waver a little if there’s no end-point in sight, but if one
player has asked that their character’s scene is played out
during it, there’s something to work around.
For example: a scene where we meet a character’s
family might drag on unless you can find a way to say what
you want quickly, establish characters and move on. But if
that same series of events precedes the scene “My beloved
family is threatened,” then the whole thing becomes
charged with potential. At some point, the family is going
to come under threat, and you can lead towards it and
hint at it throughout - and cut to a new scene when the
time is right.
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CUT TO THE CHASE
Sometimes you, or one of the players, just has a great
idea for a scene, and everyone’s really excited about
watching it play out - so skip to it! If something feels like
preamble, or a formality, then reframe it as a freeform
scene and talk it through quickly. Dramatic and battle
scenes are there to lend some uncertainty to proceedings
and take the story in some exciting directions, but if you
already know what that exciting direction is, take it and
keep moving.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Dramatic and battle scenes should represent a
challenge for the player characters, so if something
wouldn’t necessarily be a challenge for them - if it’s part of
their established skill set - there’s often no point breaking
out the cards. If you’re playing a clan of ninja, for example,
sneaking into a building wouldn’t pose a problem - it can
easily be a freeform scene. If you’re playing a clan of raging
barbarians, however, that same scene would present a
massive challenge, and failure would be interesting.
DRAMATIC SCENES
FIND THE ADVENTURE
More philosophy, here: when it comes to roleplaying
games, there isn’t an adventure to find, but rather:
whatever the players do contains adventure. Don’t plan for
a certain set of events to transpire. Ask the players what
they want to do, and work out what will keep them from
doing it easily by looking at your factions, their adversaries
and allies, things that are already in motion in the world,
and work from there.
That’s not to say that you pad out the story with
redundant peril; don’t slap challenges into every scene
otherwise the players will end up exhausted.
FAIL FORWARD
When a player character fails to achieve an action -
your card is higher than theirs - think of it like a story
branch, rather than a block in the way of the narrative. If a
character tries to pick a lock and fails, don’t just have them
unable to open it, staring at a locked door - have them
discovered by a sentry, or trip an alarm, or open the door
to find a guard dog waiting for them, or trigger a trap that
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leaves them stunned and confused, or have someone open
it from inside, etc. These are competent characters - when
something goes wrong, it’s usually the result of outside
interference or unexpected problems rather than a flat
inability to perform the task at hand.
If it helps, think in cinematic terms; the focus of the
game is like a film camera, so we should strive to have
everything that it “sees” either establish character or
advance the narrative. If we can gain something from
seeing a character struggle and fail to climb a wall simply
because they’re not good enough at climbing, that’s a fine
resolution to a challenge, but if it doesn’t seem interesting,
it’s not useful to us.
HANG ON, THERE AREN’T ANY RULES FOR NPCS
ACTING
That’s right! You don’t need any. When an NPC acts in
a dramatic scene, they don’t draw cards - they just do what
you want them to do, as suggested by the tone of the game
and the scene as it progresses.
If you’re interested in seeing what happens if an NPC
succeeds or fails, roll their action into the mechanics of
the dramatic scene. For example: the players are standing
up to some bullies in their school. You describe one of
the bullies stomping forward and swinging at a player
character’s chin, and then: “What are you going to do
about that? Draw a card.”
DRAMATIC SCENES CAN HAVE FIGHTS IN, TOO
Battle scenes are the centrepiece of a game of Unbound;
dramatic scenes are everything else. But they’re designed
to show a stand-up fight that’s fairly equal on both sides
in a static locale; they can’t easily model chase scenes, for
example, or eliminating sentries, or escaping a furious
dragon, or leaping out of a building and into an attack
helicopter to kill everyone inside.
Don’t be afraid to put violence in dramatic scenes, and
indeed to stick whole fights in them; they’re a quicker, less
detailed method of storytelling than battle scenes, and
far more flexible for it. If it’s not a fair fight, or you’re not
hugely interested in running a full battle to determine the
stakes, run it as a dramatic scene.
 OPTIONAL RULE: USING BATTLE ABILITIES
IN DRAMATIC SCENES
Most of our rules focus around the nitty-
gritty of combat, so that’s what a character’s
powers and abilities focus on. We’re okay
with keeping dramatic scenes narrative-
focused with abilities happening as colour, not
mechanics. If you want to give the players a
chance to use their powers, you can use the
following rule:
A player can use every power their
character has (limited, boost or always on)
once per dramatic scene. When they do, they
should describe how that power helps their
character achieve their aims, draw two cards,
and play either then discard both.
If a player uses a power in a dramatic scene
and that power is limited, they start their next
battle with the power exhausted and must
recharge it by playing a card of a low enough
value.
Obviously, using this rule will shift the
balance in dramatic scenes towards the
players, so feel free to amp up the difficulty
level of scenes, or allow for fewer failures
before the scene is over, to balance it out.
When do I draw?
It’s hard to say precisely at what point to draw in a
dramatic scene; during battle, it’s pretty cut-and-dried,
as everything is tied to actions. Dramatic scenes are a bit
woolier, but it depends on the pace of the scene, and on
the players in your group. Quick dashes past adversary
guards could be resolved in a single exchange of sentences
followed by a draw, or long, tense conversations could
warrant a draw every three or four minutes.
In general, draw in one of two situations:
ONE. Something happens during the scene, and you’re not
sure of the outcome and want to see how success or failure
would impact the narrative of the scene.
TWO. When the scene starts to drag, make a draw to see
what happens next - and who gets the upper hand.
Involve multiple people and multiple approaches
It’s much more fun to take part in a scene than it is
to watch, so find a way for lots of players to be involved.
Maybe they’re all threatened by the same situation, or
maybe they can all help to solve it. Cut back and forth
between locations, too - maybe two characters are trying
to hold off waves of adversaries, and a third is racing to
help them. You could make it two simultaneous scenes, if
you like, but if you’re smart with the stakes you can roll a
lot of different actions into resolving the same conflict.
Similarly, encourage players to find a way to contribute
to scenes rather than finding reasons why their characters
wouldn’t take part - there can be physical, mental and
social solutions to most problems. Which brings us to our
next point...
Keep the situation fluid
Describing the same problem over and over is boring,
especially if you’ve set yourself up for a long scene, so keep
changing the problems the characters face. If they’re in a
chase and they’re simply running as fast as they can down
open streets, give them a locked door to overcome, or an
armed guard to outwit, or a busy marketplace to navigate.
If they’re struggling to keep a ship afloat by bailing out
water, have some cowardly crew attempt to flee and leave
them to a watery grave, or describe sharks swimming in
through the breach in the hull.
Not only is this more interesting, but it gives different
players a chance to chip in and take part in the scene.
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 BATTLE SCENES
COMBAT AS CENTREPIECE, NOT A PUNISHMENT
We think you should have one battle per session. We
think that battle scenes are loads of fun, and shouldn’t be
rushed through. We think that players and GM alike should
be excited to throw down, and no-one should ever groan
when the subject of combat comes up.
When it comes to a battle, make it a great one. Put
important stuff at stake. Throw dangerous adversaries at
the characters and dare them to come out intact.
Remember: if it’s not a fair fight, it’s a dramatic scene
(or maybe even a freeform scene). If it’s a fair fight, it’s a
battle.

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DRAWING A BATTLE MAP, MAKING AREAS
INTERESTING
“Map” is the wrong word, really, because it implies
scale, but it’s the one we’re using. Here’s how we do it:
The above picture shows a battle map of an underground fighting ring. The solid
lines represent normal connections, and the dashed lines are Challenging.
First, think about the scale of the conflict; is this a
down-and-dirty brawl in a bar? Does it take place over
miles and miles of ruined cityscape? Your scale is limited
only by your adventure - and even then, only by the nature
of the fight itself. When your warrior adventure moves up
from clandestine operations to leading an army into an
occupied orc fort, the mechanics are the same - it’s just the
set-dressing that changes.
Then, get a big piece of paper and write down all the
places you’re interested in seeing the characters fight over.
If you want to make a list first so you can arrange them in
spatial terms later on, that’s fine, but we just lay them out
as areas straight away.
Not all areas have to be equal in relative size. If you’re
interested in fighting over a particular house, then that
house could be broken up into six areas (front door,
kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, stairs, garden),
and the areas outside, while larger in square footage, don’t
interest you as much so there are only three (street, corner
shop, the house next door).
Think in terms of set-dressing and props. What can
you use to add weight to descriptions? What’s in the
background of the shot? What can you throw the player
characters through? If there’s nothing interesting in your
area, get rid of it, or put something interesting in it. Don’t
worry about “filler” areas that bridge the gap between
two other areas - like a corridor between two offices, for
example. That’s what connections are for.
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 One important piece of advice: don’t call two areas BE HONEST, BE TRANSPARENT
the same thing. If you have four areas with “warehouse”
It’s not worth keeping secrets from your players. Make
written on them to represent the fact that the warehouse
it clear how much stamina and how many wounds the
is the biggest thing in the area, all those areas are going
adversaries have remaining, and explain clearly what’s
to blur into one. Break it down into “warehouse floor”
happening as the fight progresses. Having everyone on the
and “gantries” and “maze of crates” and “forklift truck.”
same page means the players trust you more, and when the
There’s no mechanical change, but it makes the scene a lot
players trust you, they can relax and enjoy the challenge
more evocative and engaging.
rather than trying to second-guess you.
Next, once you’ve got your areas written down, it’s
time to think about connections. What areas can you
reach from each area? Is the route between them open, or
WOUNDS AS DRAMA
Challenging? It’s better to have too many areas than too
few, in our experience. Unbound doesn’t do mid-range damage. We have low
damage (which is soaked by stamina) and we have high
damage (which are wounds), because we figured those are
more interesting than mid-range damage, but it requires a
DEPLOYMENT
bit of work on your part.
Put the player characters and any adversaries on the
When a wound happens - on a player character or
map wherever you feel they’d be in accordance with the
adversary - then something changes in the scene. It doesn’t
fiction, and get playing.
have to be huge, or have any mechanical impact past the
normal rules for the wound, but the scene has to react.

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 Maybe the wounded character falls to the floor,
winded; maybe they’re forced to change cover, driven
back by overwhelming fire; maybe they cough up some
blood and spit out a threat; maybe they take on a cowardly
demeanour; maybe you’ve just upset them, and now
they’re getting ready to do some harm; maybe they run out
of ammo for a weapon and draw another one, or are forced
to reload; maybe they yell for reinforcements; etc.
Think of wounds as beats in the scene, where something
interesting happens.

“WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE?”

When your players make actions in combat, ask them
what their attacks look like. When they take an adversary
out of action, ask what they’ve done to remove them from
a fight. When they take a wound, ask them what’s put
them down. Especially if you have some weird characters
knocking around, asking players what the “camera” would
see in combat can keep the description flowing nicely.

KNOW WHEN TO THROW IN THE TOWEL

Odds are, GM, you’re going to lose most of the battles
you fight, and that’s fine. But where players are generally
fine with fighting until they’re all bloody pulp on the
pavement, you don’t have quite as much riding on each
fight (because, you see, you have infinite power). Because
of that, most every fight in Unbound - aside from those
against Legendary adversaries, probably - will end not
when every adversary is out of action, as is traditional in
most games, but when you decide the fight is only really
going to go one way.
When there are only one or two adversaries left on the
battlefield, or you feel like the fight has served its purpose
and is no longer dramatic or entertaining, throw in the
towel. The players win, and no-one’s sat staring at a slowly
dwindling fight waiting to get to the exciting part of the
game. Work with the players to throw together a quick
freeform scene describing how the battle ends, and
move on.
Importantly, the more you do this, the more you
remind the players that battle scenes (and dramatic ones,
too) are about stakes, not the mechanics of winning and
losing for their own sake.

105
ADVERSARIES
SELECTING THE ADVERSARIES
Here’s a rough guide to selecting your adversaries for
a battle scene. Take the number of sessions that you’ve
played in this adventure so far, and add 5 per player
character in the battle - this is your points total. Spend
your points on adversaries as follows:
ĐĐ 1 Legendary 24pts
ĐĐ 1 Elite 7pts
ĐĐ 1 Troop 3pts
ĐĐ 1 Mook 2pts
If you’re after a more dangerous, deadly campaign with
the constant threat of failure and death, reduce these costs
by 1 or 2. If you want a more forgiving campaign where
player characters win pretty much every fight they’re in,
increase these costs by 1 or 2.
If you want to fight a Legendary adversary, they’re
already statted so they’re a fight all on their own - they
don’t need anything alongside them to be a threat. With
three players, you will find that Legendary fights are
almost insurmountably difficult; we’ve put a suggestion in
each Legendary’s entry which modifies them for taking on
3 characters.
RESKIN, RESKIN, RESKIN
We named the adversaries in this book, and gave
them character traits and powers that match their titles,
because honestly it’s really boring to stat up fifty unique
but utterly generic adversaries for the players to duff up.
So our orcs are proud and warlike and tough and nasty and
straightforward, and our gangers are tricky and sneaky,
and our undead kick out horrendous amounts of damage
with some clever ways around it, and so on. We did this to
keep ourselves sane and to make the chapter interesting
to read.
However, do not use the descriptions that we have given you.
Make your own. We can’t predict what your world is going
to look like, and honestly if our characters fitted perfectly
into them, we’d be very surprised.
106
Take a look at the adversaries and their powers and
change the descriptions; change their weapons, their
attacks, their implied mannerisms. For example, if a
ganger-themed adversary summons thugs to the field,
then with a quick reskin they could be:
A druid, summoning beasts or shambling mounds
of ambulant vegetation; a military leader, pulling in
reinforcements; a death mage, gathering enslaved
ghosts; a mad scientist, animating robots in her secret
lair; a time-traveller, dropping in versions of herself
from other timelines; a mind-control supervillain,
dominating bystanders; an engineer, deploying
automated defences; etc.
DEFINE YOUR OWN POWER LEVEL
When you reskin a monster, you determine the “power
level” for the game. We’ve written the adversaries to
match a “standard” roleplaying game, where powerful,
human-sized player characters take on an adversary force
of equal, or slightly greater, number.
But if your adventure is about over-zealous police
in mech units carrying weaponry that can level a small
building, a single human adversary with normal weapons
isn’t going to - in the fiction, in the world of the game -
scare them all that much. So you reskin the “guy with a
gun” mook to be “a car full of armed men,” and you reskin
the “sniper” troop to be “power-armoured criminal with a
anti-tank rocket launcher,” and things start to make sense.
If you’re not sure what kind of threats the characters
can engage, ask the players.
GIVE EVERYTHING A DEFINING FEATURE
Generic adversaries are boring. Describing an adversary
as “an orc” is about as exciting as asking your players to
go and duff up a training dummy; although there’s some
shared experience to draw on there (in that most everyone
playing a roleplaying game knows probably what an orc
looks like), multiple adversaries run together into a single,
undefined mass.
 Therefore: give every single adversary, and every group
of mook-level adversaries, a defining feature. It doesn’t
have to be a full backstory, and it won’t change their rules
at all, but by sticking a short phrase next to each adversary
you can easily liven up a fight.
That orc from before? Maybe he’s got clumps of matted
red hair. Maybe she’s a trainee fire mage, and lights her
axes aflame when battle is joined. Maybe they’re obsessed
with death and have armour made of tied-together bones.
Maybe he’s got blood around his mouth, or she’s wearing
a grey cloak, or they’re carrying a bag of loot from the
building they’ve just sacked. When you affix a detail to an
adversary, you build the world around them.
Oh, and give them names, too, if they’d have them -
that way they can yell orders to each other and ask for
help. And relationships to each other, if you’d like! But
that’s quite a lot of work. But to go from “orc” to “Fenrik,
wears slate armour, has a crush on the half-blood sergeant”
isn’t a lot of work, and can make for some fun encounters.
MAKE EVERY ELITE SOMEONE THE PLAYERS
WOULDN’T MIND SEEING AGAIN
It’s fun to hate people, especially reprehensible jerks,
and as a GM, it’s your job to play the heel and make villains
the players are going to be excited to meet over and over.
Think of your favourite film or TV show - which bad guys
make you jeer and boo (internally or externally) and which
are you bored of, and just can’t wait for the heroes to
defeat so they can get on to the next part of the plot?
“Play the heel” is a phrase taken from professional
wrestling, by the way - in every match, there’s a bad guy
called a “heel.” Their job is to get the audience riled up
and spoiling for a fight, and they generally do it by being
over-the-top, ostentatiously evil. They’ll take the time
to say how awful the place the match is taking place is,
and how all the fans who came to watch them are idiots.
They’ll badmouth their opponent, saying how terrible they
are at fighting. They’ll do their best to state the opposite
of everything the audience is thinking with as much
conviction as possible.
Be that wrestler. Speak from a position of power - from
a throne, from behind a wall of armed guards, from the
head table at a banquet - and say how great you are, how
you’re going to win, and how futile the efforts of the player
characters will be.
At this point, invariably, some player will interrupt you
and start combat. If you feel you’ve had a chance to ham
up the villain enough, let it slide. But if you want to say a
few more things, don’t be afraid to say something like “I’m
just establishing this scene, you can launch into a brawl in
a second.”
Of course, when adversaries run out of wounds, they
don’t automatically die; instead, they’re taken out of
action. So if you want to have a long-running, recurring
adversary (and they’re fun, you should) then feel free to
have them escape at the last minute. In fact, say up-front
to the players that you’re planning on having them survive
the fight, so it doesn’t come as a nasty surprise.
LEGENDARIES AND DIFFICULTY
Certain adversaries, and especially legendaries,
are far more complicated to run as a GM than others.
Be aware that the Giant of Moorfell peaks is a very
damaging adversary but is very simple to run and for
players to fight against; the Twice-born queen, however,
is challenging and requires some forethought as to the
layout of the battlefield before the combat. Where the
Giant is a big stompy monster that has to be surrounded
to fight effectively, the Queen does all sorts of nonsense
with summoning monsters, healing, transporting player
characters to nightmare otherworlds, and the whole
“coming back to life after you kill her” thing.
As ever, knowledge is power. When preparing to use a
legendary, foreshadow its abilities or minions that crop up
during a fight - throw them into scenes beforehand to give
the players an idea how to counter them, or have NPCs or
research warn the characters of the threat. Knowing that,
for example, locking down the Dragon to a single location
and that removing its capability for flight will change the
battle is crucial - it’s not necessarily for the better, but
it certainly changes things, and turns the Dragon from
a mobile ranged skirmisher into a cross between a meat
grinder and a blowtorch. Many of the adversaries in the
same hierarchy as a legendary share minor versions of the
abilities possessed by adversaries further up the ranks.
Use this to your advantage and make it look like you did a
lot more planning than you actually did by teaching your
players how to defeat a legendary before they ever meet
them.
107
 ADVERSARIES
The world you create in Unbound is not a safe one.
Lurking behind every corner, behind every wicked
scheme and twisted plot, massing on the horizon
and undermining the defences of the heroes, the
adversaries provide challenge and danger to the player
characters.

When in battle, each adversary uses the rules presented
for them below.
There are four tiers of adversary:
Mooks. The lowest of the low; chumps, disposable rank
and file, who only fight well as a group. Mooks only get
one MOVE and one attack - SHOOT or STRIKE - action per
turn. Mooks don’t take BLEED damage, because they’re
too unimportant to worry about tracking it - instead, they
simply take the damage once when the BLEED is inflicted.
Mooks of the same type all act on the same turn in battle,
taking two actions each.
Troops. Seasoned operatives who can hold their own in
combat, or lead a group of lesser warriors into battle. Two
actions of their choice per turn.
Elite. Adversaries so powerful that they probably have a
name and history whispered in taverns for miles around.
Two actions of their choice per turn.
Legendaries. The movers and shakers of the world; big,
dangerous, powerful adversaries. Three actions of their
choice per turn.

108
HOW ADVERSARIES DIFFER FROM
PLAYER CHARACTERS
Here’s a quick run-down of the rules for adversaries
that differ from player characters:
Because adversaries don’t have a character deck,
they have a set number of wounds. When they run out of
wounds, they’re out of action.
Adversaries can take more than one wound on a turn -
player characters max out at one. REMEMBER - RESKIN!

Some adversaries can summon or “spawn” other
adversaries onto the battlefield. When this happens, a
summoned adversary is placed on the battlefield when
created, but is not able to make actions until the start of
the following round.
Adversaries can’t recover their stamina the way that
players characters can, but whenever an adversary loses a
wound, they recharge their stamina to its full value. This
recharge happens as the damage is subtracted, so a big
enough attack on a weak enough adversary could inflict as
many as 2 or 3 wounds in a single action - their stamina is
recharged and eroded multiple times over the course of an
attack.
Adversaries don’t take damage as part of making
actions like player characters do, such as when a character
takes 1 damage for playing a RED card on a SHOOT action
(the player characters are enough of a threat already).
As such, adversaries don’t need to play cards on MOVE
actions.
We’ve said it before in the GM section, but
it bears repeating here - reskin your bad guys!
We’ve used the fiction around the following
entries to act as shorthand for you to get a
handle on what they can do, and also for the
sake of our own sanities (as fifty adversaries
without any kind of fluff around them would
be as dull to write as it is to read). When you
read over the adversaries here, make sure you
do so with a mind to your adventure - and
your saga - and how you can rewrite their
descriptions to fit in.

109
BUILDING A FIGHT
(We’ve reprinted the points values for building a fight
from the GM chapter here for ease of reference.) Take the
number of sessions that you’ve played in this adventure
so far, and add 5 per player character in the battle - this
is your points total. Spend your points on adversaries as
follows:
ĐĐ 1 Legendary 24pts
ĐĐ 1 Elite 7pts
ĐĐ 1 Troop 3pts
ĐĐ 1 Mook 2pts
SAMPLE COMBATS: To give you an idea of what makes an
interesting fight, we’ve put together a couple of groups of
adversaries. These assume that the game has four players
and is in its first session. We’ve re-skinned the monsters
for three different genres, too - sci-fi, wild west, and
modern urban horror to show you how it’s done.
ĐĐ 2x elite (2 Giants, page 113
ĐĐ 3 x mook (3 Wildman Ogre-Kin, page 113)
The Giants are big, lumbering guys with lots of damage
up close, and the Ogre-Kin are weak but long-ranged.
Sci-fi: 2 Stryx Orbital Mining Corporation Mech suits and 3
hovering DrillDrones™
Wild West: The Pigswiller Brothers, Biggest Brawlers in
Town, and 3 of their drunk hangers-on from the bar
Modern Horror: Two drugged-up werewolves from a rival
estate and their devoted harem of girlfriends, spoiling for
a fight
110
ĐĐ Elite (Reaper, page 129)
ĐĐ 2 x troop (2 Potshots, page 121)
ĐĐ 4 mooks (4 Angry Mobs, page 134)
The Reaper deals horrendous amounts of damage on
a wound and teleports away when hurt; the potshots
are unreliable ranged characters; the angry mobs are
groups of unskilled combatants pressed into service.
Sci-fi: A twisted binding of shadows and meat with a dark
intelligence, 2 mind-controlled peacekeeper snipers,
4 groups of shambling, half-born vat-grown abominations
Wild West: Preacher Forsyth Who Lost Himself Praying
To Inverted Crosses, 2 guns-for-hire paid for out of church
coffers, the mad-eyed congregation
Modern Horror: The Grim Reaper (in a sharp suit, with a
pocket razor), The Lovers (recently escaped from separate
prisons, and hearing the same voices) and the Victims of
the Lovers who follow them around as ghosts
The tactics for these two fights are quite different, and
depend on the powers and roles that your players have
chosen, but as a rough guide: in the first fight, the mooks
can operate at range in relative safety if the players focus
on the elites, so it might be a good idea to send someone
along to deal with them while someone else focuses on the
big guys. In the second fight, the Reaper turns out such
heinous amounts of damage on a wound that it’s too risky
to leave it alive for any longer than is strictly necessary, so
deal with it first.
ENEMY STATS
PROFICIENCY is a catch-all for how good an adversary
is at what they do. Whenever a player character would
use a specific proficiency (such as MOVE or SHOOT), an
adversary uses their singular proficiency value to resolve
the action.
DAMAGE is how much damage the adversary inflicts on a
successful hit, determined by the colour of the card used to
make the attack. When an adversary inflicts more damage
than a character has stamina remaining, they inflict a
wound, and the character discards directly from their
character deck. The amount discarded and any special
effects are listed after the Wound entry under Damage.
BOOST is the BOOST that the adversary gets when they
play a FACE card on an attack action. Adversaries don’t get
DEFENCE, MOVE or RECOVER boosts like player characters
do.
RANGE is the range of the adversary in areas. An adversary
with a range of 1 can affect players 1 area away, an
adversary with a range of 0 can only affect players in their
own area, etc.
STAMINA (S) is the amount of starting stamina the
adversary possesses. When they take damage, subtract it
from their stamina. If they can’t absorb the damage with
their stamina, they take a wound.
WOUNDS (W) is the number of times an adversary can
be wounded before it’s taken out of action and removed
from the battle. Some adversaries have special effects
that trigger when they lose a wound. When an adversary
loses their last wound, it doesn’t trigger any special effects
unless stated in the description. Instead, they’re taken out
of action.
SPECIAL RULES are unusual rules that the adversary
follows - maybe it can’t be surrounded, or it inflicts
extra damage against lone targets. For example, many
adversaries respond violently to taking a wound by making
a player discard some cards or by triggering a special
effect.

111
112
 Hurl rocks: When the giant is not surrounded, it makes a
THE GIANT OF MOORFELL free SHOOT action at the end of its turn against two foes
within range 2.
PEAKS - LEGENDARY Massive feet: When the giant MOVES, it deals 2 damage to all
ĐĐ S:5 W:8 adversaries in its target area.
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 4
ĐĐ RANGE: 1 Rockfall: When the giant takes a wound, pick an area on the
battlefield; that area is Challenging 2.
Damage: Mighty fists. RED (R):3 Black (B):4
Quake: the third, fifth and seventh time the giant takes
BOOST: Thrown. Giant PUSHES target 3 areas and inflicts a a wound, choose a random direction. All adversaries are
wound. pushed 2 in that direction.
Wound: Discard 12, and the Giant deals 4 damage to all
other characters in your area.

GIANT - ELITE
ĐĐ S:5 W:5 Hurl rocks: When the giant is not surrounded, it makes
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 a free SHOOT action at the end of its turn against a foe
ĐĐ RANGE: 1 within range 2.
Damage: Ripped-up trees and boulders. R:2 B:3 Smash: When you lose your 2nd and 4th wound, pick an
area adjacent to the Giant; all targets in that area take 3
BOOST: Thrown: Giant PUSHES target 1 area and inflicts
damage.
a wound.
Wound: Discard 9, and the Giant deals 3 damage to all
other characters in your area.

MOUNTAIN OGRE - TROOP

ĐĐ S:5 W:2 Grab and run: When the ogre takes a wound, PUSH an
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 adversary 2 areas and follow.
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Stolen greatclub. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Thrown: Giant PUSHES target 1 area.
Wound: Discard 7, the ogre deals 2 damage to all other
characters in your area.

WILDMAN OGRE-KIN - MOOK

ĐĐ S:5 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: Hurled stones, heavy spears. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Ancestral rage: All adversaries in the Ogre-Kin’s
area take 2 damage.
Wound: Discard 5.

113
114
THE DEMON PRINCE AND HIS HAREM - LEGENDARY
ĐĐ S:3 W:12 When the Prince takes a wound, choose from one of the
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 4 list below. These powers are Limited Special, and they (all)
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 recharge when each power has been used once.
Damage: Hellish whip. Basic: R:3 B:4, Teleport to any area on the battlefield.
BOOST: on SHOOT, he pulls you into his area. On STRIKE, Summon an Incubus in any area on the battlefield.
half damage to all other player characters in target’s area.
Summon a Hellknight in his area.
Wound: Discard 1, BLEED 7
Summon 4 Pyroclast Whelps on the edge of the
battlefield.
Everyone within 2 areas of the Prince takes BLEED 2.

INCUBUS - MOOK
ĐĐ S:6 W:2 When the Incubus takes a wound, his glamour drops
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 and he becomes hideously ugly and bestial. He may not
ĐĐ RANGE: 3 SHOOT, but all damage he inflicts is doubled.
Damage: Maddening visions. R:2 B:3
BOOST: SHOOT: Come.Target is pulled 2 towards Incubus
STRIKE: Drained. Target takes BLEED 2
Wound: Discard 5, and target may not make attacks
against the Incubus until Incubus is at 1 wound.

HELLKNIGHT - MOOK
ĐĐ S:15 W:1 Demonic Sentinel: When the Prince takes basic damage, if a
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 Hellknight is in his area, the Hellknight may take half of
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 it. When the Prince takes a wound, if a Hellknight is in his
area, the Hellknight may take the wound instead.
Damage: Ornate but sturdy sword and shield. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Guardian: Make an immediate escape move
towards the Prince. If you are already in the Prince’s area,
make an immediate free STRIKE action.
Wound: Discard 4, and push target one area.

PYROCLAST WHELP - MOOK

ĐĐ S:3 W:1 Living Bomb: When the whelp enters an area occupied by a
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE player character, it explodes. All characters (friend or foe)
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 in the area suffer a wound.
Damage: N/A When the whelp is killed, it explodes at the end of the
current turn.
Wound: Discard 5

115
MARQUIS OF HELL - ELITE
ĐĐ S:3 W:9 When the Marquis takes a wound, choose from one of
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 the list below. These powers are Limited Special, and they
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 (all) recharge when each power has been used once.
Damage: Demonic sword-cane. R:2 B:3 Teleport to any area on the battlefield.
BOOST: He runs you through, and another player character Summon 1 Needle Terror in an adjacent area.
in the same area takes equal damage.
Summon 2 Pyroclast Whelps (see Demon Prince) on the
Wound: BLEED 4, activate a power below: edge of the battlefield.
Everyone within 1 area takes BLEED 2.

NEEDLE TERROR
ĐĐ S:4 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: Coughs up a hail of rusted spikes. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Torrent of nails: Target is pushed 2.
Wound: BLEED 2 and target may not move until they lose
the bleed.

116
INFERNAL SIGNIFER - TROOP
ĐĐ S:4 W:3 When the Infernal Signifier takes a wound, choose from
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 one of the list below. These powers are Limited Special, and
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 they (all) recharge when each power has been used once.
Damage: Banner of Hell. R:1 B:2 Make an escape move and summon a Fallen Legionnaire
in the area you occupied.
BOOST: Summon a Fallen Legionnaire in the target’s area.
Summon a Fallen Legionnaire in your or an adjacent
Wound: Discard 5
area.
When the last Infernal Signifer dies, so do all Fallen
Legionnaires.

FALLEN LEGIONNAIRE
ĐĐ S:2 W:1 Phalanx: When you attempt to leave an area occupied
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE by Fallen Legionnaires, the area you enter counts as
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 Challenging X, where X is equal to the number of Fallen
Legionnaires in your current area.
Damage: Archaic military gear. R:1 B:1
BOOST: The Banner Flares: All attacks from Fallen
Legionnaires inflict +1 damage until the end of your next
turn. This effect is cumulative.
Wound: Discard 4

COURTIER OF THE NINTH CIRCLE - MOOK

ĐĐ S:5 W:1 The Deadly Dance: When a Courtier dies, all other Courtiers
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE within 2 areas may make an immediate move.
ĐĐ RANGE: 2
Damage: Over-designed pistols and swords R:1 B:1
BOOST: Weak spot. +2 damage.
Wound: Discard 6, PUSH target 1 and make an immediate
move action.

117
118
THE THIN STREET ARSONIST,
GANG LEADER - LEGENDARY
THE ARSONIST AND THEIR CREW
ĐĐ S:4 W:7 Pound the alarm: When the arsonist takes a wound, summon
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 2 Firebombers to an area on the edge of the battlefield.
ĐĐ RANGE: 2
Go to ground: When the arsonist loses their 2nd and 4th
Damage: Firebombs, black-market guns, hit squads of masked wounds, they may move to any area on the battlefield.
goons. R:2 B:3
Fire follows close: When the arsonist leaves an area it
BOOST: Burn it up!: BLEED 5 becomes Damaging 1 to adversaries; this stacks every
time they leave the area and with the Firebomber boost
Wound: Discard 10, and target is PUSHED 1.
Molotovs.

FIREBOMBER - MOOK
ĐĐ S:3 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: Burning brands and flaming bottles. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Molotovs - Area is now on fire, and becomes
Damaging 1 to adversaries; this stacks every time you
trigger the boost and with Fire Follows Close.
Wound: Discard 3

ELITE - CRUSHER
ĐĐ S:6 W:5 Headlong charge: When Crusher misses with an attack, the
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 target may choose to move Crusher to an adjacent area.
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Smash through walls: When Crusher moves through a
Damage: Meaty fists or a big club. Basic R:2 B:3 Challenging connection, it takes 3 damage and the
connection becomes Open.
BOOST: Stunning Blow: If target takes damage, they may
only make 1 action next round. Get off!: When Crusher takes a wound from a STRIKE action,
Crusher may PUSH the attacker 1.
Wound: Discard 6, and BLEED 3 until you are no longer
occupying the same area as Crusher. Outta my way!: When Crusher takes a wound from a SHOOT
action, Crusher moves 1 towards the attacker.

119
ELITE - THE MASKED TERROR
ĐĐ S:4 W:4 Surprise Entrance: At the start of the battle, do not deploy
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 The Masked Terror. When a troop or mook-level adversary
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 dies, replace it with The Masked Terror at full stamina and
wounds and inflict 4 damage to all player characters in
Damage: Crossbow, hit squads, traps and dirty tricks.
the area.
Basic R:1 B:2
Many hands: When The Masked Terror takes a wound
BOOST: We Are Many: Place a Masked Acolyte on the
perform one of the following special actions:
battlefield.
Place a Masked Acolyte on the battlefield
Wound: Discard 4, and BLEED 3
Remove a Masked Acolyte and place The Masked Terror in
the area they were occupying.
Just you and me, sweetheart: When a player character and
the The Masked Terror are alone in an area, The Masked
Terror inflicts double damage (but not double BLEED).

MASKED ACOLYTE - MOOK

ĐĐ S:3 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: Crossbows, thrown knives, razor blades Basic R:1 B:1
BOOST: Critical strike: 5 damage
Wound: Discard 6, and Masked Acolyte PUSHES target 1
towards The Masked Terror and follows.

120
LEGBREAKER - TROOP
ĐĐ S:5 W:2
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Hammer. Basic R:1 B:3
BOOST: Mob Rule: RED damage inflicted by Legbreakers
increases by 1 to a maximum of 3.
Wound: Discard 6, and BLEED 3. Target may not make
MOVE actions until they remove the BLEED.

POTSHOT - TROOP
ĐĐ S:4 W:2 Bad up close: The Potshot does not gain the benefits of its
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE attack boost on STRIKE actions.
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Hold ‘em off: Any area occupied by a Potshot is Challenging
Damage: Homemade rifles, stolen crossbows. Basic R:1 B:2 X, where X is the number of Potshots in the area.
BOOST: Lucky shot: Inflict a wound.
Wound: Discard 8

GANGER - MOOK
ĐĐ S:4 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 1 (KNIVES, CLUBS, JUNK)
Damage: Basic R:1 B:2
BOOST: Gang up: +1 damage for every other friendly
character in the area.
Wound: Discard 5

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THE GREAT KHAN - LEGENDARY
ĐĐ S:6 W:6 Punish Weakness: If you miss The Great Khan with a STRIKE
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 4 action, take 1 damage.
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
No Such Thing As Victory: When you fight The Great Khan,
Damage: R:2 B:3 choose two elements that are at stake. If you lose, you lose
both. If you win, you get to win one - choose which. Treat
BOOST: You are a fragile thing: 8 damage.
the other as though you lost the fight.
Wound: Discard 1, and scar the card you discard from your
Honour Guard: The Great Khan is never found without
character deck. The first time you scar an Ace as a result of
the Honour Guard, who are detailed below. Deploy them
this power, it has no effect. After that, you’re dead if you
alongside the Great Khan in battle.
do it again.
Long Live The Khan: When The Great Khan is taken out of
action, all Honour Guard inflict +1 damage.
When the Great Khan takes a wound, choose from one
of the list below. These powers are Limited Special, and
they (all) recharge when each power has been used once.
One Honour Guard takes an immediate turn out of
order.
All player characters take 2 damage.
Until the Great Khan takes another wound, players may
not use RECOVER actions.

THE GREAT KHAN’S HONOUR GUARD

DRAGON LORD
ĐĐ S:6 W:4
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Huge dragon-tooth hammer. R:1 B:4
BOOST: The Dragon Roars: All targets in area take 3 damage.
Wound: Discard 3. All other player characters in target
area take 3 damage.

122
THUNDER-BLOOD
ĐĐ S:4 W:5
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: Creaking greatbow. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Lightning strike: Make an additional attack against
another player character in the target’s area. If this attack
is successful, repeat against another target until you fail or
run out of targets.
Wound: 6 damage, and all player characters in the target’s
area, aside from the target, take 2 damage and are PUSHED
two areas.

THE UNKILLABLE
ĐĐ S:15 W:3 Rip and tear: If The Unkillable hits with two or more attacks
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 on a single target in a single round, the target takes 8
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 damage.
Damage: A pair of brutal axes. R:1 B:2 Not Yet: The first time The Unkillable is taken out of action,
they return to play at the start of their next turn with one
BOOST: Frenzy: Make an additional STRIKE action.
wound. Also, if the Unkillable is out of action when the
Wound: Discard 5 Great Khan loses its final wound, they return to play on
their next turn as above.
Seriously, Unkillable, We Mean It: When the Unkillable is
taken out of action, they do not die unless the players go
through some massively complicated rigmarole, probably
for an entire session, to make sure that they’re dead. Every
fight The Unkillable survives increases its Proficiency by 1.

123
BERSERKER - ELITE
ĐĐ S:5 W:4 Fury: When the Berserker inflicts damage, their base
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 damage increases by 1 to a maximum of 4. This effect is
ĐĐ RANGE: 1 cumulative.
Damage: A pair of meat-hooks on heavy chains. R:1 B:1, Hooked chain: When the Berserker makes a ranged attack it
Special, see below inflicts half damage but PULLS the target 1.
BOOST: Frenzy: Make another STRIKE action. Unstoppable: When an adversary attempts to PUSH or
PULL the Berserker, the Berserker may ignore the forced
Wound: Discard 5 and if there is a mook-level adversary in
movement if they take 2 damage instead.
the Berserker’s area, the Berserker inflicts 8 damage on a
wound instead of 5, and immediately takes the mook out of
action.

BATTLE CAPTAIN - ELITE

ĐĐ S:4 W:4 When the Battle Captain takes or inflicts a wound,
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 choose from one of the list below. These powers are
ĐĐ RANGE: 1 Limited Special, and they (all) recharge when each power
has been used once.
Damage: Brutal sword and sturdy shield. R:2 B:3
One ally takes an immediate action.
BOOST: Disarmed: Target may not use proficiencies until
the end of the Battle Captain’s next turn. All adversaries within 2 areas take 2 damage.
Wound: Discard 5 and activate a special ability from the Deploy 2 Grunts on the battlefield
list below.

GRUNT - MOOK
ĐĐ S:5 W:1 BOOST: Mob Up: A Grunt in an adjacent area may make an
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE immediate move into the Grunt’s area.
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Wound: Discard 4, and deploy another Orc Grunt on the
Damage: Cleavers, axes, swords and clubs. R:1 B:2 battlefield.

WARRIOR - TROOP
ĐĐ S:7 W:2 Gang up: When the Warrior is in an area where they
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE surround the adversary, they inflict +1 damage.
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: Jagged spears and javelins. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Throw spear: Make an additional SHOOT action
immediately.
Wound: Discard 7

124
HUNTER - TROOP
ĐĐ S:5 W:3 Reload:The Hunter must make a USE action to reload their
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 crossbow after firing.
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Unwieldy: The Hunter deals 1 damage and may not use their
Damage: Dangerous, over-wound crossbow. R:1 B:3 BOOST when making STRIKE actions.
BOOST: Deadeye: +3 damage.
Wound: Discard 2,you may not restore stamina or receive
healing until you or another character makes an opposed
USE action to pull out the bolt.

DREGS - MOOKS
ĐĐ S:4 W:1 Backstabbing: At the start of each round, draw a card. If it
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE is a FACE card, one Dreg has attempted an escape. Remove
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 one random Dreg, and if they share their area with non-
mook adversaries from this hierarchy, an adversary in
Damage: Sharp bits of metal, heavy manacles, bricks and
their area takes a wound.
discarded orc weapons. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Name and a Backstory: Name the Dreg and give it a
defining feature, and pick from the following: +1 Damage,
+1 Wound, or Remove from the Battlefield and Make A
Recurring Character
Wound: Discard 2 for each Dreg in the area.

SCALEBEAST - MOOK
ĐĐ S:5 W:1 If the Scalebeast is taken out of action, the BLEED ends.
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE If you make an escape move, the BLEED ends.
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Teeth and claws. R:1 B:1
BOOST: Maul 3
Wound: Discard 3, and BLEED 1. Until you remove the
BLEED (and the scalebeast):
The Scalebeast may not make actions, but will follow if you
make a MOVE action.
Attacks made by other adversaries against you are at
proficiency 2 unless their proficiency is higher.

125
THE TWICE-BORN QUEEN - LEGENDARY
The Queen has passed through the veil of death and
emerged triumphant. Fighting her in her lair isn’t the
best idea, but she’s not about to leave any time soon.
ĐĐ S:5 W:8
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: Flesh-warping spells and a cursed sceptre. R:3 B:4
BOOST: Curse of Ages: BLEED 2.
Wound: Discard 6, and all Lost Souls on the battlefield
immediately move 1 towards the Queen.
PHYLACTERY - SPECIAL
A bejewelled draconic skull that houses the soul of a
discorporated Necromancer.
ĐĐ S:4 W:2
CURSE: Whoever destroys the Phylactery is cursed. They
accrue an immediate permanent scar (redraw Aces).
126
When the Twice-Born Queen takes a wound, choose
from one of the list below. These powers are Limited
Special, and they (all) recharge when each power has been
used once.
Your Own Personal Hel: The character that wounded
her is transported to an area off-battlefield where
they fight a Hel Wraith (see stats below). The player
character may not return to the battlefield until they
fulfill conditions outlined in the Spectre’s entry. Only
one player character may fight the Wraith at any one
time.
Arcane Geometry: All characters in the Queen’s area are
removed and replaced in any area she desires.
Sunder Veil: Increase wound damage by 2.
Deathless Servitors: Place 3 Undead Knights in the
Queen’s area.
The March Of Lost Souls: At the start of each of the Queen’s
turns, deploy a Lost Soul on a random edge of the
battlefield at the start of the Queen’s turn. When a Lost
Soul enters the same area as the Queen, or she enters the
same area as a Lost Soul, she heals 1 wound.
Activate Phylactery: When the Queen loses her last wound,
remove her from the battlefield. The player characters
have two rounds to destroy her phylactery; if they don’t
manage it, deploy her in the same area as the Phylactery
with 2 wounds. This process will repeat until the players
destroy the Phylactery.
LOST SOUL - MOOK
ĐĐ S:2 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Spectral claws. R:1 B:1
Wound: No effect, but Lost Soul makes an immediate
MOVE action towards the Twice-Born Queen.
BOOST: None

UNDEAD KNIGHT - TROOP

ĐĐ S:5 W:2
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Ancient shield and sword. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Make an immediate escape move towards the
Twice-Born Queen. If you are already in the Queen’s area,
make an immediate free STRIKE action.
Wound: Discard 4, and Soul Beacon: Place a Lost Soul on a
random edge of the battlefield.

HEL WRAITH - ELITE

ĐĐ S:3 W:6 Come back to us: When you inflict a wound on the Hel
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 Wraith, make a Challenging USE action. If you succeed,
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 return to the battlefield in the area from which you left.
Damage: Rime-touched teeth and nails. R:1 B:3 Extra-dimensional: You don’t need to take the Hel Wraith
out of action to win the battle.
BOOST: +2 Damage
Feedback: If you take the Hel Wraith out of action, The
Wound: Discard 10, and return the target to the battlefield
Twice-Born Queen takes a wound, and you may return to
in the area from which they left.
the battlefield in any area immediately.

127
128
REAPER - ELITE
ĐĐ S:5 W:5 More sand for your hourglass: When you inflict a wound on
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 Reaper after it has wounded you, heal 20.
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Spirit step: When Reaper takes a wound, make an immediate
Damage: Obsidian scythe. R:2 B:4 escape move to any area on the battlefield.
BOOST: Scythe sweep: Attack all targets in Reaper’s area.
Wound: Discard 25.

NECROMANCER - ELITE
ĐĐ S:4 W:5 Rise, My Minion!: When a troop- or mook-category adversary
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 2 is taken out of action within 2 areas of the Necromancer,
ĐĐ RANGE: 2 draw a card.
Damage: A cavalcade of hissing curses and a chattering skull- RED: Bah! The Necromancer tries, and fails, to reanimate
staff. R:1 B:3 the corpse into a minion.
BOOST: Enervate: BLEED 3, and until you remove the BLEED, BLACK: Again! Place a Fresh Minion in the corpse’s area.
your attacks inflict half damage.
FACE: Dance! The corpse lashes out. An adversary in the
Wound: Discard 13. corpse’s area takes 3 damage.

FRESH MINION - MOOK

ĐĐ S:4 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Whatever it was holding just before it died. R:1 B:1
BOOST: Claw and bite: +2 damage.
Wound: Discard 6

ARMOURED SKELETON - TROOP

ĐĐ S:15 W:2
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: Mighty gauntlets and screeching platemail. R:1 B:3
BOOST: Boneshaker: +5 damage, and Armoured Skeleton
takes 5 damage.
Wound: Discard 4, and the Armoured Skeleton’s area
becomes Challenging 3 until the start of its next turn.

129
130
BALEFUL CULTIST - TROOP
ĐĐ S:4 W:3 Not a fighter: The cultist does not get its BOOST on STRIKE
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: ACE actions.
ĐĐ RANGE: 2
Damage: Sacrificial knife and wicked hexes. R:1 B:2
BOOST: Grasping claws: BLEED 1, and target may not MOVE
until BLEED ends.
Wound: Discard 5, and a mook within 2 areas may make an
immediate action.

SHAMBLING HORDE - MOOK

ĐĐ S:10 W:1 (SPECIAL) No wounds: You cannot inflict a wound on a Shambling
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE Horde by any means other than exhausting its stamina -
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 if you inflict a wound through a boost or power, treat it
as the card value instead (narratively, every one or two
Damage: Necrotic claws. R:1 B:1
stamina removed represents a downed foe).
BOOST: Many hands: Make an additional STRIKE action.
Legion: The above stat block represents a small group of
Wound: Discard 5. reanimated corpses. The Shambling Horde cannot be
surrounded, and any player characters who share an area
with it are treated as surrounded.

DECREPIT SERVITOR - MOOK

ĐĐ S:4 W:1
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: A heavy serving tray and half a silver dinner service.
R:1 B:1
BOOST: All yours, sir: An adversary within 1 area may make
an immediate attack against the target.
Wound: Discard 6

131
THE DRAGON - LEGENDARY
The Dragon has two forms - it starts off normal but, ENRAGED
if its wings are destroyed, it crash-lands and becomes Mad: The Dragon’s stamina score drops to 5.
enraged. Inform the players that the wings can be Range: 0
attacked as a separate entity when the fight begins.
ĐĐ S:6 W:10 Damage: Fuming maw and volatile breath. R:2 B:4
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 BOOST: Rip and Tear: If the Dragon hits, BLEED 4.
Huge: The area The Dragon occupies and all connected Wound: Discard 9 , and lower total stamina by 1 until the
areas are Challenging. end of the battle. This effect stacks.
Canny: The Dragon will fold early if it believes it cannot
win a fight, and return and do something awful later on
At the start of the Dragon’s turn, select one of the
- generally involving a dramatic scene of some kind and
following powers:
huge loss of life. The players must work to trap the dragon
somehow in order to permanently take it out of action or Inhale: PULL every character within 2 areas 1 area.
simply roll with the fact that, while they get what they
Charge up: All normal attacks the Dragon performs
want out of the battle, their village will be burnt to a crisp.
next turn inflict 5 damage. Next turn, the Dragon may
not select a power (tell the players you are using this
power).
NORMAL
Smoke: SHOOT actions against the dragon lose
Flying: At the start of each of the Dragon’s turns, make an proficiency.
immediate escape move action if you wish.
Elemental aura: All characters in the Dragon’s area
Range: 1 discard 4 cards from their character deck.
Damage: Enormous claws and sharp teeth. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Dragon Breath: Attack an additional character
either in your target’s area, or a connected area.
Wound: Discard 6, and lower total stamina by 1 until the
end of the battle. This effect stacks.

At the start of the Dragon’s turn, select one of the

following powers:
Volley: The Dragon’s range is increased to 3 until the
end of its turn.
Swoop: Any characters in an area the Dragon enters
this turn take 2 damage. Characters can only take this
damage once a turn.
Grab: Select a character in the Dragon’s area. When the
Dragon MOVES, this turn this character moves with
them.
Evade: Make an ESCAPE move to any area on the
battlefield.

132
WINGS
ĐĐ S:4 W:4
The Wings may not make actions, but they can be
targeted - they occupy the same area as the dragon and
cannot be pushed or pulled out of its area. If the Wings
are taken out of action, the dragon becomes Enraged (see
below).
When the Wings take a wound, you must choose one
of the following effects. You may not use the same effect
more than once in a battle scene.
Fall Back: 1 damage to all player characters in the
Dragon’s area, and it must make an immediate escape
MOVE.
Thrash: All player characters in the Dragon’s area take 1
damage and are PUSHED 1.
Crash Land: One character in the Dragon’s area takes 5
damage.
Defensive Wall: Until the end of the Dragon’s next turn,
if a player character takes damage from entering the
Dragon’s Challenging areas, that damage is doubled.

133
MODERN

HITMAN - ELITE
ĐĐ S:5 W:4 Hard to pin down: When a character misses the Hitman with
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 an attack, the Hitman may make an immediate escape
ĐĐ RANGE: 4 move.
Damage: Paired 45s. R:3 B:4
BOOST: Crack shot: No damage, but Hitman inflicts a
wound.
Wound: Discard 12

SWAT CAPTAIN - ELITE

ĐĐ S:4 W:4 Flak Vest: The SWAT Captain takes half damage from SHOOT
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3 actions.
ĐĐ RANGE: 2
Damage: Submachine Gun. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Small Unit Tactics: A SWAT Trooper within two
areas may make an immediate action.
Wound: Discard 7, and each time the SWAT Captain
wounds a target, increase their wound damage against that
target by 4.

SWAT TROOPER - TROOP

ĐĐ S:4 W:3 Flak Vest: SWAT troopers take half damage from SHOOT
actions.
ĐĐ Proficiency: 2
ĐĐ Range: 2
Damage: Submachine Gun.R:2 B:3
BOOST: Suppressive Fire: Choose: PUSH target 1, or all areas
are Challenging 4 to your target until the start of your next
turn.
Wound: Discard 5, and until target leaves their area, they
may not make RECOVER actions.

134
ARMED AND DANGEROUS - TROOP
He’s got a gun, a bare minimum of training, and a
desire to look like a big guy in front of his mates.
ĐĐ S:4 W:2
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE
ĐĐ RANGE: 2
Damage: The biggest gun he could afford. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Empty the magazine: Make an additional SHOOT
action immediately. Next turn must be spent reloading, so
he can’t make attack actions.
Wound: BLEED 5

ANGRY MOB - MOOK

ĐĐ S:10 W:1 (SPECIAL) No wounds: You cannot inflict a wound on an angry mob
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: NONE by any means other than exhausting its stamina - if you
ĐĐ RANGE: 0 inflict a wound through a boost or power, treat it as the
card value instead (narratively, every one or two stamina
Damage: Torn-off chair legs and pocket-knives. R:1 B:1
removed represents a downed foe).
BOOST: Lobbed Bottle: Make an immediate SHOOT action.
Mob rule: The above stat block represents a small group of
Wound: Discard 5. angry citizens. The Angry Mob cannot be surrounded, and
any player characters who share an area with it are treated
as surrounded.

135
NARRATIVE ENEMIES
These adversaries are not necessarily part of a larger
theme or tied to a core like the preceding adversaries.
They are for the GM to drop in and re-skin as they see
fit to provide a very different form of challenge to the
players.

THE BRASH MILITARY CAPTAIN - ELITE

ĐĐ S:4 W:5
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3
ĐĐ RANGE: 1
Damage: Mighty sabre and mighty cigar. R:2 B:3
BOOST: Mighty blow: +2 damage.
Wound: Discard 5, and activate a special ability from the
list below. These powers are Limited Special, and they (all)
recharge when each power has been used once.
Mighty command: One ally takes an immediate action.
Mighty kick: One target in The Brash Military Captain’s area
is PUSHED 2.
Mighty poor tactics: Pick a player; they may move one troop
or mook-level adversary 2 areas.
Mighty mighty: Increase all damage dealt by one. Stacks (like
bricks would, in a house).
Mighty Fine Smile: If The Brash Military Captain takes a
character out of action, and the target does not die, The
Brash Military Captain becomes either Your Rival or Your
Romantic Interest the next time you meet them.

YOUR ROMANTIC INTEREST - ELITE

This is a Romantic Interest in a Mr and Mrs Smith
way; you fight them, at least initially, thanks to
whatever circumstances have pushed you together. If
the tension between romance and violence is resolved,
they either become a helpful NPC (if they chose
romance) or a different adversary altogether (if they
chose violence) to represent their change of heart.
ĐĐ S:5 W:4
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: Something dangerous. R:2 B:4
BOOST: Get Your Coat, You’re Pulled: Target is PULLED one
area.
Wound: Discard 6, and Moment of Genuine Sexual Tension:
Until the end of Your Romantic Interest’s next turn,
the target and Your Romantic Interest are in a special
off-battlefield area unique to themselves that no other
characters may access, where you exchange attacks, witty
comebacks and perhaps fluids.
When Your Romantic Interest takes a wound, choose
from one of the list below. These powers are Limited
Special, and they (all) recharge when each power has been
used once.
Shot through the heart: Attacking target takes BLEED 6.
And you’re to blame: Any adversary within 2 areas may
make an immediate move towards the target.
You give love a bad name: 10 damage, and you pick up an
embarrassing nickname from Your Romantic Interest
that sticks, no matter how hard you try to get rid of it.
YOUR Romantic Interest: Pick a player character at the start
of the battle; this is Your Romantic Interest’s romantic
interest. Against all other characters, Your Romantic
Interest takes half damage and deals half damage.
Not like this: Your romantic interest cannot die from taking
damage, only as a result of you losing a battle or dramatic
scene, but they can be taken out of action as normal.
You just keep me hangin’ on: If you are taken out of action
by Your Romantic Interest and they are, indeed, your
romantic interest, you cannot die as a result - re-draw
Aces.

136
YOUR RIVAL - ELITE
We get a bit tricky with the language in this one,
referring to Your Rival and Your Rival’s rival, who is
a player character, and honestly it’s kind of hard to
understand first time through but we hope you’ll stick
with it for the fact that this is the only RPG adversary,
as far as we know, who uses Just A Minute as a special
attack.
ĐĐ S:5 W:4
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 4
ĐĐ RANGE: 3
Damage: A nicer version of their rival’s weapon. Determined
by suit, as though they were a player character.
BOOST: Inflict a wound.
Wound: Discard 12.
THE RAVENING HOUND - ELITE
The Ravening Hound is a shadow of the future,
hunting backwards through time to avenge the actions
of those not yet born. It is a many-eyed, skinless
hunting dog the size of a doberman with a long,
slavering maw full of shark-like teeth; it appears from
nowhere, and can hide in your memories to attack
when you least expect it.
ĐĐ S:4 W:6
ĐĐ PROFICIENCY: 3
ĐĐ RANGE: 0
Damage: Fractal Maw. R:1 B:3 Face: Blink Strike: The attack
also affects an adversary within 2 areas, who should draw
to defend as normal.
Wound: Discard 6, and BLEED 2. Each time a character
attempts to remove the BLEED and fails, its damage
increases by 1.
Your Rival: Pick a player character at the start of the battle;
this is Your Rival’s rival. Against all other characters, Your
Rival takes half damage and deals half damage.
This is our final battle: Your Rival cannot die unless their
rival puts their own life at stake when the battle begins;
otherwise, they always manage to escape at the last
moment.
When Your Rival inflicts a wound on their rival, choose
from one of the list below. These powers are Limited
Special, and they (all) recharge when each power has been
used once.
This is personal business: PUSH all characters in the area
who are not Your Rival’s rival 1.
Lasting wound: Your Rival’s rival must immediately scar
a card. Re-draw Aces.
I am not left-handed: Increase Your Rival’s damage by 1.
Long, drawn-out monologue: Instead of attacking next
turn, Your Rival must gloat and boast about how much
better they are than you for a full minute without
hesitation, repetition or deviation. If they hesitate,
repeat themselves or deviate from the topic, Your
Rival’s rival takes control of the speech and must refute
Your Rival’s claims. If Your Rival is talking at the end
of the minute, gain a new Twist and apply the effects
immediately. If Your Rival’s rival is talking at the end of
the minute, they gain 3 temporary stamina.
Hunter: The first time The Ravening Hound inflicts a
wound, the character that they wounded becomes the
Hunted. The Ravening Hound deals +1 damage against the
Hunted. This persists for the rest of the saga.
Desperate: If The Ravening Hound is not in the same area as
the Hunted at the end of its turn, it suffers 2 damage and
immediately moves one area towards the Hunted.
Reposition: When The Ravening Hound takes a wound, it
inflicts 2 damage to the character that wounded it, and
may relocate to any area on the battlefield.
No Escape: If The Ravening Hound takes a character out
of action, the GM may choose to immediately take The
Ravening Hound out of action too. In addition to their
normal scar for going out of action, the character then
scars a card with “The Ravening Hound” (redraw Aces); if
they play this card during their turn in any future battle
scenes, The Ravening Hound immediately appears in their
area with 3 wounds.
137
 APPENDIX 1: OPTIONAL RULES
If you want to modify your game of Unbound, we’ve
had some ideas about ways you might do that.
ALTERNATIVES TO MARKING CARDS
If you want to play Unbound with your absolute best
deck of playing cards, or you don’t want to buy a new deck
of cards for each character every time you start a new
adventure, we’ve developed some other options for you.
NO-MARK MECHANICS: Modify the way you pick up
stories, scars and echoes.
Scars: When you would scar a card, draw to determine
what it is as normal, then note down the scar on your sheet
along with the card you drew. The first time you draw a
card matching that number in a scene, treat that card as
though it was the scarred card. If you “scar” the same card
twice, your character is removed from the game as normal.
Stories: Instead of gaining a story card each time you
resolve a fate, gain one every time you advance. Draw as
normal but note down the story on your sheet along with
the card you drew. The first time you draw a card matching
that number in a scene, treat that card as though it was the
story card. (If you have the same number for a story AND
a scar, look at the colour of the first card that matches it.
If it’s RED, treat it as a scar. If it’s BLACK, treat it as a story.
Use whichever result you didn’t use the first time the
second time you draw the matching number, regardless of
colour.)
138
Echoes: Instead of marking cards with echoes, use
Jokers - put them back into the GM’s deck. Write down
the echoes in your notes. When the GM plays a Joker, they
draw an additional card and treat it as though it were any
of their echoes.
DECK PROTECTORS: These are a cheap, reuseable way of
circumventing the issue; you can sheathe your cards in
clear plastic (they come in packs of sixty for about £2) and
slip a piece of paper inside denoting a scar, echo or story
card.
AN ARDUOUS METHOD INVOLVING NOTES AND A
SPREADSHEET: Look, we’d never do this, but if you want
to cross-reference a spreadsheet with every card you draw,
and note down every modified card on said spreadsheet,
that is a thing you can do.
LINKING ADVENTURES WITHIN A SAGA
As you play through your saga, you might want to link
the adventures mechanically as well as in the fiction. Here
are some ideas:
SHARED HISTORIES: Each player character starts play
with an additional story and an additional scar relating to
the previous adventure - either something that happened focus on one group of characters for a long period of time
in the past, or hinting at something that will happen in the - months of play, or upwards of eight sessions - then here
future. The GM begins play with an echo card, marked to are some options:
show to effect of the previous adventure on the current
GROUP FATES: Players have three fates instead of two,
one.
and the third is a group fate determined by the GM that
GROUP FOUNDATIONS: The core foundation of the group relates to the adventure. This should operate on a longer
must relate to the effects of the previous adventure in timescale than normal player fates and revolve around
some way. major story beats. Once a player has resolved all three
fates, their character may advance as normal.
PERMANENT ADVANCEMENT: Technology, magic or
tactics have improved over time. Choose one power per POWER UP: After every six games, each character unlocks
player - this power begins play at Advanced level. If you another power slot to be used as normal.
use permanent advancement, the GM gains an additional
STAMINA BOOST: After every eight games, each character
point per player to spend when creating combats.
adds 1 to their stamina rating.
GUEST STARS: Once per adventure, a player can use a
GET PROFICIENT: After every ten games, increase one
previous character instead of their current one (assuming,
proficiency or foundation your character has by one point,
chronologically, such a thing is possible within the fiction
or gain a new proficiency or foundation. No proficiency or
of the adventure). If they do this, the character should pick
foundation may be higher than 4.
up new fates, one new story, and one new scar to represent
what they’ve been up to since the previous adventure
ended.

LONG-TERM ADVENTURES
Unbound is designed to run a series of small, linked
adventures within the same world. But if you want to

139
APPENDIX 2: MORE TOUCHSTONE TABLES
We asked some of our friends and games design heroes
to write up some touchstones for use in your games
of Unbound. If you fancy changing things up a little,
consider using these instead of the default one on
page 13 - or a mix of both.

CARA ELLISON’S CYBERPUNK NOIR DATASLUGS

Cara wrote us two sets of touchstones - one of
cyberpunky noir-themed concepts, and one that’s more
snatches of conversation or motivations for characters:

A Fractals In The Sky Communitek Revolt Biosculpted Enforcers Internet Relay Mule

2 Wake Up By A Loading Go Mirrorshades On Unreal Heist Jack-In Fault

Error This Shit

3 Six Day Cyberspace Inducing A Netrip Too Much Case Bling Trans-Grid
Withdrawal Assassination

4 Phreaker Junkies Post-Industrial SmartDrug Kingpin One Large And The

Frontier Foundation SprawlQueen

5 The Roundheels Hack Teledildonics Virus An Ode To The Dames Of The Net
Wirehackers

6 Splash Four On Grid Hyperlight Avatars Busting An ICE Rush The Beautiful Boy
Of The Mayonaka
Security Corp

7 Toasternet Grrls Hail Mary Runs At Drag Heels For An Frags Tattooed On
Sundown R&D Rig Walls

8 The Diagnostic Remote Server Pinball Noise On The Line Counterfeit

Indicates You... Are It Multipasses

9 Post-Modem Corp Flunkies At The Supermodernist Head Thread Paste Bomber

Flophouse Gate Doctors On Deck

10 Run Six Firewalls A Server Room To Die Crimson All Over The The Roughhouse
Before Breakfast For Motherboard Nexus

J Fingers So Hot They Hack Me Hot Pants The Big Cybersleep Goddamn Bugs
Burn Keyboards

Q Config To Ghost Matrix Geishas To Jam Biochip Hack Network A List Of Handles
With

K Fencing Offworld Augmented Joyboy Reconfig Some Ronin Get An Output,Use

Punk Him For Wetwork

140
 A Only these wires are Way too young to take Change disks, change Braids thick in the
left down a whole system disks hand

2 He has too much meat We’re only close in There’s no such thing I can tell by syntax
for meatspace virtual reality as one that’s offline when she’s nearby

3 Put screenlight No, no, only a couple I don’t wanna go to He gave us the mother
through me, then of seconds until we jail for this lode and peaced out
make him

4 It’s like hallucinating Minimum likelihood There’s a thin line Wearing a heart on a
holograms between hacked and sleeve like old times
reconfigured

5 If my heart explodes, Neutralized by her She slipped through a Fused together in

come pick up the tone million worlds passion and hatred
mess

6 They’ll never load it Playing well with Something more We short circuit the
up again others awful than even I whole thing
could write

7 I’d run passwords in A hackscript so messy This manifesto is a All we do is look slick
hell with you it’s indecipherable weapon all day

8 We are the children of Close all backdoors All our enemies have Eyes too dark to flash
that last LED too much power

9 It hurts to avoid him We look fit to corrupt Make a copy in case We’re too close to get
and I prefer it data and we’ll tear I’m plugged in exotic now
holes in cyberspace

10 This is the last sprawl More memory than Go down and run the Like fencing on a
in infinity God line skyscraper

J Thirty-seven years You were the only Only a dermed-up Eyes so glazed I can
ago, a nexus was person I met that I booster would come trace circuits in them
busted for this same liked down here
thing

Q I loved him like that It’s too much machine By the time it An incredible IQ used
rig for him launches we’ll be long only for high scores
gone

K Her heart is blacker Faster than the Like neural pathways You can’t close a
than the pinprick in refresh rate carrying dopamine contract without her
my eyes

141
FROG CROAKLEY’S SPACE ODDITIES
Frog has delved deep into the sweltering morass that is
his brain and dredged up 52 individual nuggets of strange,
for which you should be thankful:

A “Deadliest Catch” in a A beast that excretes A vast ceramic fist Aliens that breath
nebula gold carbonated syrup

2 An egg whisk Award ceremony for Bellowing Blaggards Biomech mausoleum

warlords

3 Bodybuilders with fish Botched AI sacrifice Building dyson Cantankerous wooden

heads spheres by hand cyborg

4 CARBARIANS AT THE Casino planet Celebrity executioner Comet racing

GATES

5 Culinary craze: alien Eternal bar brawl Eusocial skeletons Fight in a can
turds

6 God’s Crisps Her Majesty’s Sixth Hermit with a pet Inbred command
Ghost Roarers hyperslug caste

7 Infantry war as art Interstellar battering Living in an alien Massive baroque

ram landfill starship zoo

8 Meat Monks Medieval Space Mercenaries with Muscly dracula

Elevator lobster grafts

9 Neon deserts Notorious worm Oceans of piss Only cabbages remain

salesman

10 Psychedelic Religion based on Robot prison asteroid Savages maintaining

technoberserker Battletoads huge, ancient tanks
knees-up

J Sentient ammunition Space is screaming The Admiral IS the The brute’s flute
flagship

Q The Court of King The Gorillionaire The last dinosaur on The Revered Coin
Prawn Mars

K The Seven Songs of The tax moon Valley of the Chimps Village in a war
Crime machine’s ruins

142
NAOMI ALDERMAN’S JEWISH TCHOTCHKES
Naomi Alderman is fascinated by Jewish culture, and
we felt it too difficult to stop her from writing that into her
touchstones because she is a formidable woman. If you’re
playing a game of Unbound and find yourself thinking:
“Hey, this is great, but it could do with being 25% more
Jewish,” do we have the charts for you:

A cakes shaped like ears Blood flowers a hut with leaves for
a roof

2 fancy dress costumes Frogs a mountain visits from seven

ghosts on seven
consecutive nights

3 a beauty parade Lice the very Word of God fruit

4 you can’t tell anyone Wild animals a man with a shining a significant plant
who your parents face
were

5 a much-married king Cattle plague cheesecake watered-down soup

6 a plot to bring down boils everyone you know a small jar of olive oil
the empire

7 gifts to the poor hail a golden statue gold coins

8 the king’s favourite locusts rumblings among the doughnuts

horse people

9 a golden scepter three days of utter forced synaesthesia the birthday of trees
darkness

10 a gallows death of all the sending spies into the Insecure attachment
firstborn sons (except new land
one)

J an enormous banquet leaving in a hurry giants Stand-up comedy

Q an evil Grand Vizier the parting of the sea the desert Anxiety attacks

K “you were given this crackers an unmarked grave Psychotherapy

power to use at this
precise moment”

143
SEAN SMITH’S HORROR NOIR KEEPSAKES
Sean likes two things - hard boiled detective fiction
and creeping insectoid horror. If you like those two things,
or you want to add a bit of weirdness to an otherwise
mundane game, here you go:

A cyanide pillbug slowly spinning a web rosepetal old the perfect shed skin
of lies fashioned of a young man

2 encoded in a like a moth to an old the patient face kisses with an

burlesque number flame behind the mirror irregularly ridged
tongue

3 stifled by a mouthless royal jelly amnesty honey on the make like a cocoon
yawn doorknob and split

4 a little fire cleans us rolled-up newsflash a keening hulk in the frontpage slander
of these deeds harbour

5 worm in the apple cavity warrant birth control that perpetual itch
deception

6 hitting the pre-dawn barbed tail that cab walking on viscous burned coffee, bitter
streets eggshells as beesting

7 chitin-crack of closing hive of reporters pesticide martini REDACTED

handcuff

8 facial infestation swarmblood maternity ward lifting a leaf from the

simulacrum bouncer legislator’s book

9 like a fly on the wall the beat of dusty when the moth goes owl-eyed whorl on the
wings downwind back to bed wharf-end wood

10 “We’ll always have firefly flashes at the twelve-bar bluebottles papertrail waspnest
Paris sights.” fashion shoot

J maggot in the ashtray non-sequential flecks in stagnant ice- hide and seek by
banknotes wrapped cubes dockyard sluice
in silk

Q slender-fine legs her children clustered mantis spines beneath incubating warmth of
longer than my round mother’s her skin the human womb
laundry list corpse

K holding the secret for the empty-briefcase the ageless hypnotist deafening drone of
too long ruse plying last season’s the DA’s denial
show

144
JAKE TUCKER’S MILITARY BULLET POINTS
Jake asked us if we wanted any touchstones doing, and
we happened to know that his obsession with Rainbow
Six could be used to our benefit. If you want to add a
smattering of modern combat to any game, draw a couple
of results on this table:

A Coup Prototypes The Nuke Chain of Command

2 Rogue State Training Exercise Private Military Corp Black Ops

3 Counter-Terrorism The Traitor The Jungle The Desert

4 Corporations Commander in Chief Politics Secret War

5 Dictatorship Weapon of Mass Airborne New Recruits

Destruction

6 Organised Crime No More Oil Piracy Arms Deals

7 Family Cease-Fire Freedom Airborne

8 Armoured Cavalry Intelligence Gathering A Fragile Alliance Prisoners

9 Undercover Revolution Hunter-Killers Betrayal

10 Electromagnetic Pulse Multi-national task Communists Rapid Deployment

(EMP) force

J Drone Strike The Marksman Survivors The Defector

Q The City Conscription Duty Honour

K The Virus Double Agents Close Protection Hearts and Minds

Detail

145
JASON MORNINGSTAR’S REVENGE TRAGEDIES
If you want to get your Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy
on, or if you need to draw up some doomed characters and
schemes to fill out the ranks of an organisation, look no
further:

A A vengeful ghost Broken heart A dead messenger A heart, still beating

2 Doomed lovers Forgiveness denied Sadistic punishment A powerful old fool

3 Frantic, rutting An unpaid debt Mutilation Guilt and shame

congress

4 Disaster and Arrogant pride Suspicion and An unholy alliance

heartbreak paranoia

5 Sudden death A lecherous brute A Terrible truth Raving madness

6 Profound shame Vast wealth in shaky A hapless witness A traitor

hands

7 A scheming wanton Mistaken Identity A dreadful curse An innocent beauty

8 A confession under The return of one Helpless tears An arranged marriage

torture thought dead

9 Prophecy fulfilled Misdirected revenge Self-murder Unbridled debauchery

10 Poison The one good person Blasphemy Impotent justice

J Filth and corruption The Devil, Prince of A Thyestean banquet Degeneration

Lies

Q A hideous bloodbath Disguise A useful idiot A clever forgery

K A spiteful rumor Unknowing incest A Bastard Evil secrets, buried

forever

146
MERRITT KOPAS’ MORRISSEEDS
All of these touchstones are, in fact, snippets of
Morrissey lyrics. So that’s a thing:

A The devil will find We cannot cling to the This town has dragged Everything depends
work for idle hands old dreams anymore you down upon how near you
to do stand to me

2 Heaven knows we’ll The rain falls hard on A river the colour of The streets are
soon be dust a humdrum town lead crammed with things
eager to be held

3 There is a light and it The dream is gone but Belligerent ghouls run Under the iron bridge
never goes out the baby is real the schools we kissed

4 A dreaded sunny day Good times for a The queen is dead Love, peace and
change harmony

5 The plans of a future The last night of the Panic on the streets Most people keep
war fair their brains between
their legs

6 It just wasn’t like the Golden lights The hills are alive The romance of crime
old days anymore displaying your name

7 A hillside desolate We have something All men have secrets People survive
they’ll never have without feelings or
blood

8 The ghost and the A mystical time zone Ceiling shadows Love is just a
storm outside shimmy by miserable lie

9 A sullen misty moor The Holy Name Nature must still find Educated criminals
Church a way work within the law

10 The depths of the Home of the brash, Combating ignorance, Under slate grey
criminal world outrageous and free dust and disease Victorian skies

J The cold, small streets An ancient ocean The seaside town that Mother Nature makes
that trap them wide, wild, lost, they forgot to bomb their bed
uncrossed

Q Some bad people on The ladder’s a planet One November Warm lights from the
the rise spawned a monster grand houses

K The wind blows bits of The voices of the real Day or night, there is It begins in the heart
your life away no difference

147
GAV THORPE’S FANTASY HEARTBREAKERS
You like swords? You like sorcery? Well friend, you
came to the right place:

A A Melancholy Fog The Spire of Heaven The Gods Wage War A Cloak of Visibility

2 The Pharaoh’s Legions Roaming Lych Mobs The Tombstone Sacred Goats
Rebel Riddles

3 Autonomous Chariots Autonomous Chariots One Nation Under The Great Fires
Gold Return

4 The Working Dead The Pen is Holier than Sail the Skylanes Free Speech for Sale
the Sword

5 Jackal-headed Negotiable Time Flow Mechanical Serpents The Personification of

Minions Ambivalence

6 Pirate-hunting across Dogs without Noses The Moonlight Burns A Desperate Deity
the Dunes

7 All is Twinned The Eight-limbed King The Cursed Bones Dice are Divine

8 Finding the Lost Two-way Murals Where did all the A Plague of
Tribes Gnomes go? Splinterbone

9 The Lady that Casts The Prophecy Never Make a Wish What Lies beyond the
her Shadow on the Enforcers Starsea?
Inside

10 Rising Waters Corsairs of Oblivion Justice Incarnate The Bell Tolls for Thee

J The Infant Lottery Ride the Winds Venture into No- Crocodile Royalty
God’s- Land

Q The Gate that Never Streets Paved with Howler Monkey The Tree Uprising
Opens Gold Temple

K Time Mercenaries Coal-fired Demons Joy Leeches and A World Reborn…

Despair Butterflies Again and Again

148
MEG JAYANTH’S LUCKY DIP
Meg’s touchstones do not have a theme. Some of them are quotes; others
are fantasy twists and one suit focuses around her game 80 Days. Anyway:

A “No woman has ever written wretched treasures kidnapping nuns the madwoman in the
enough” - bell hooks attic

2 “Those who sailed at dawn curses for beginners the mecha- the mecha-mermaids
but will never return” - mermaids of of atlantis
Roger McGough atlantis

3 “This is what the worship snake person witches a kiss lit by the three sisters, each
of death looks like” - bell aurora borealis more ruthless than
hooks the last

4 “Scissors for clipping wings” the ghost-girl gang that moustache- the djinn rebellion
- Nandini Dhar hangs round the corner- combs
shop

5 “Words that do not describe banshee choir automaton with uh, I think our spirit
my mother” - Nandini a soul animals banged last
Dhar night

6 “I spent seventeen months the snake gods are afraid love on the trans- nouveau-riche
waiting in prison queues” - of rain siberian express alchemists throw a
Anna Akhmatova party

7 “No king was born here” - none of the sorcerers submersible smug polyamorous
Melanie Silgardo believe in climate-change trains dragons

8 “We’re short on sacred the wizards of wall street arctic whale- the eternal general
rivers here” - Eunice hunt never sleeps alone
D’Souza

9 “You will hear thunder the orcs don’t make you mozart was an all the music is turned
and remember me” - Anna their king artificer to disco
Akhmatova

10 “The mirage in the mirror” - Competing to become automaton opera emojis come to
Tulsidas the elf- queen’s favourite grotesque and
violinist terrifying life

J “I’m a cutthroat boy, you’re the pyramids are time- the copper- chimaera coffee-shop
an empty grave” - Cadence machines balloon airships
Weapon of east africa

Q “You can be the king but immortality is actually an indispensable after the war, the
watch the queen conquer” - pretty great valet refugees sought
Nicki Minaj shelter in human
lands

K “My heart so burns I can wizard prison close shaves it is the fashion to
smell its roasting” - Jami woo your lover with
limericks

149
ROB HEINSOO’S LIST THAT INCLUDES “YELLING ANIMALS”
That’s the sort of thing that can really define an adventure:

A Emergency Undead Gods Musical Drugs Immortals who

Archeologists age forward and in
reverse

2 Colliding Moons Telepathic Smoke High Risk Farming Sky Trains

3 Team Spirits Unlikely Cannibals Slow Giants Gunfighters

4 Collapsing Forests Personal Flags Ghost Massacres One Ring, Ten Fingers

5 Gargoyles Alien Corporations Bonsai Humans Returning Saints

6 Burning Temples War Sports Chariots Broadcast Heroics

7 Flagrant Blossoms Kittens Rock Avatars Goggles

8 Yelling Animals City-sized Alligators Oracular Spiders Marriage of Heaven

& Hell

9 A Reluctant Dystopia The Colour of Evil Holy Assassins Personal Gravity

10 Cornucopias Ablative Armour Daily Parades Skill-based

Reincarnation

J Atypical Eruptions Monolith Chess Fortune Sellers Truthful Shadows

Q Interlocking Religions Apotheosis Quests Landladies Immortal Pets

K World Serpents Ancestral Robots Warehouse Continent Ancient Satellites

150
 THANKS TO:
PLAYTESTERS: Special thanks go to Matthew
Hawn, Steve Martin and Steven Wakeling, who were our
very first playtest group back when Unbound was called
Chronicle and a weird, different thing with a role called
the Dominator and traits like Momentum. With them, we
messed around with and refined the game into what you
hold in your hands today.
Our other playtesters are, in no particular order: Johnty
Clark, Joanna Piancastelli, Helen Gould, Edward Arthur
Croft, Paul Gregory, Rob Abrazado, Austin Cantrell, Jacob
Hochbaum, Mary Hamilton, William Blackstock, Jake
Tucker, Michelle O’Toole, Sean Smith, Jørund Kambestad
Lie, Andy North, Bill Anderson, Ben Archer, Matt Mark,
Rob, Abigail, Alex, Allie, Anthony Stiller, Dan Gatt, Scott
Grice, Dave Hayward, Dejan Mirosavljević, Ivan Preočanin,
Javorko Petričević, Dragana Vidić and Saul Alexander. If
you helped us by playtesting the game but you’re not listed
here, please get in touch - we will issue a formal public
apology and probably buy you a drink as well.
BACKERS: Here are all the people that made
publication of this game a reality. Thank you. We couldn’t
have done it without you.
Hannah, Jon Davidson, Paul Gregory, Michael Roberts,
Nathan Levine, William Blackstock, Mary ‘Brain the Size of
a Planet’ Hamilton, Rob Abrazado, Clare Jones, Tim
Maytom, Ben Pavey, John Parkinson, Ryan Hupperts, Liam
Wright, Samantha Streeter, Andrew MacLennan, Glen E.
Ivey, Matthew Cramsie, Jon Jones, Matthew Plozza,
Rachelle Shelkey, Daniel Wallace, Ben McKenzie, Joseph Le
May, Gowdy, Iralie, Zack Stone Socrates Garvey, CoolDJ, Ulf
Hillebrecht, Matthew Sutton, Conan ‘Kewlen’ French, J.M.
Sunden, Kyle Hinez, James C. Holder, Connor Burger,
Francisco Javier Ortiz Madera, Robert Duffy, Wright S.
Johnson, He-Zin Kwon, Johanne Skjerven, Aslan Silva, Sven
Berger, Fran Marrero, Robbie S., Kendrick warnat, Simon
151
Moody, FrÈdÈri ‘Volk Kommissar Friedrich’ POCHARD,
Eddy ‘DeeWolf’ Wang, Mark Edwards, Johannes Stock, Dan
Specce, Mike Shema, Donald Turner, Joviaan, Dempsey
Kern, Eric Coker, Jeramiah Lewis, Tramaine S., Giovanni
‘KidSpanner’ Medrano, Barthemely ‘Skender’ Alezandaru,
Charles Meigh, Tom Kitchin, Michael Tyrrell, Steve Martin,
Paul Cosgrove, Robin ‘Jarval’ Farndon, Botch Games
Podcast, Lindsay Mahood, Robert Whitford, WebCole, Ian
Thomas, Martin Greening, Talena Sadie, Michael Meyer,
James Turnbull, Alfie Kirk, Michael Freemantle, Syd S, Phil
Hanley, Tyler Giffin, Henning Wollny, Hannah ‘Er00’
Fordham, Andy North, Joe Barnsley, Jeff Dieterle, W. David
Pattison, Ben ‘the burner’ Turner, Thomas Latter, Dave
‘Wintergreen’ Harrison, William Scott Palmer, Joshua
Nicholson, waelcyrge, Ant Stiller, Mark Fenlon, Helen G,
John Dalton, Matt Nixon (we’re not printing your daft title,
Matt), Jorund Kambestad Lie, Blastropodcast, Gareth
McVicker, Ian, Alex Blue, ‘They’re all dead’ Dave, Chris
Lackey, Martin Tulloch, Philippe ‘Sildoenfeinî D., Robin
Bates, Benj Davis, Garret Dettmann, Owain Bennett, Eugene
Wheeler, Tania Walker, Patrick Dunn, James Pierson, Sean
M Smith, SolidMoonWolf, Stefanie Midlock Pierson,
Holmes!, TPK, Bill Anderson, Sam Sarjant, Lucille
Thompson, Andrew Bennett, Chris Forrest, Bob is Only Bob,
Andy Evans, Jamie and Jonathan Gilmour, Chris Gannon,
Piers Beckley, Douglass Barre, Chris Larrabee, Gert-Jan
Verburg, Alabaster Crippens, Konrad Zielinski, George
‘Danger’ Seed, David ‘Yoda’ Odie, Aaron Ross Powell, Dan
VK, Joel Priddy, Ian Adams, Michael Scott Mears, John M.
Portley, Ron Schleimer, xerode, Lee Tibbetts, Jayce Fryman,
Griffin D. Morgan, C. R. M. ‘Lector’, Sean T Nyhan, Aniket
Schneider, Eric Borowski, Matt Kliot, Roy Nicholas Hansen
III, M Lockwood, Giggling Tuna, Ian Porter, Adam Lyzniak,
Tom Lock, Reynolds K. Skotts, Mr. Fluffles, Dani Cohen,
Mike Houser, Alexander Cruz, Nikolas A. Martinez-Saroff,
Benjamin Schmauss, Andrew Harvey, Russell Hoyle, Peter
Cobcroft, Lee May, Dustin Headen, Drew Wendorf, Zack
Norwig, Dale Lawson, Charles Burkart, James Cruise, Jona
151
Littler, Brandon and Jessi Fraser, Jere Kasanen, Jyan
Delamotte, Christopher Vian, Dana Robert Miller, Racheet
Dave, Justin Rasmussen, Jonas Schiˆtt, Richard Gant, Dante
Warborn, Grazul, Mark Booth, Jief Roustan, Steve Dutton,
Svend Andersen, Brett Doull, Alasdair Corbett, Frank
McKinney, Colin Ward, Mark Crew, Jay, Anne Warren,
HelloSushimi, McGravin, Alex Hacker, Matt George, Walter
Robert Anfang, Clifford Herndom, Andrew Knapik, Todd
Biggs, Mirqy, Robbie Scourou, Karl Dickey, Angelus
Morningstarr, Ryan Holdbrooks, Justin White, Douglas
‘Caernkeeper’ Mota, Valis Archer, Johnathan Munroe, Hans
Ernens, Matthew Mitchell, The Goeres Family, Mark
Kuggeleijn, Kacy Howe, Adam M. Coleman, Greg Klein, Ken
Lowery, Sam Archer, Christopher Kenney, Michael James
Boyle, Boris Kipovich Karl, Alexander Harris, Laertes Ofelil,
Paul Mansfield, James Ross, Adam Michael Szymura,
Andrew Armstrong, Mark Mueller, David, Olivia G, (no
thanks needed), Jason Arthur Shuey, Chris Heilman,
Lakshman Godbole, Sean ‘Tag’ Taggart, Todd Dowling,
euansmith, Alex Young, Jack Bock, Paul Baldowski, A.
Krebs, Pablo Martìnez, Arne Handt, Peter Wright, Scott
Lien, Pete Griffith, John Cooper, Beachfox, Lincoln Dutcher,
Mikael S, spongefile, Frankie Santaella, Jason Poirier,
Randy Reitz, Zach Hamilton, T.A. Simonelli, Chris W
Mercer, Brian Fargo, Steven K. Watkins, Jon Keown, Samuel
Won, Warren Niffenegger, Lakas Parrenas Shimizu, Patrick
Mohlmann, Jesse Wilson, Michael S., Hank ‘Burger Buns’
Cappa, Adric Clifton, Kasper Melchior Christiansen, Matt
Bevilacqua, Lorenzo Gatti, James ‘Wilde’ Wardle, Paul
Cueva, Cathryn, Kyle Bode, James McGraw, Jonathan Fish,
Mark ‘Carnus’ Rajic, Oliver Peltier, G’Andy, Chris Folkard,
Amyus Bale, Phill Stewart, Colin Wadsworth, Mateo R Diaz,
Joshua Martinson, Michal Pietrek, Hermes Pinto, Alexander
Essery, David Terhune, Brett Wildblood, Steve Wright,
Anthony Blander, Conor O’ Sullivan, Johnny-Mac Willcox-
Beney, Karim Khaldy, Hannah Powell-Smith & Fay Ikin,
Colin Roscoe, Isaac aguirre, Ezekiel Terwilliger, Craig
Namvar, Angie Pettenato, Sham ‘Dantallian’ Suri, Edgar
Milly, Nathan Redla, Jake Fields, John Keehn, Phillip Bailey,
David BARTH…L…MY, Samuel Holley, Chris Jean, S.N. Brad
KI6HDB Mitchell, XDM, Nick Marchetti, Leslie
Weatherstone, Brie Sheldon, James Flannery, Madeleine
152
Fenner, Edward Prosser, Alasdair Watson, Y. K. Lee, Matt
Alexander, BJ Chamberlain, Jim Clokey, Loughlan family,
MAGICALwookiee, Christian Panzer, Weston Williams,
Dann Sullivan, Jens H., John Tudball, Eadwin Tomlinson,
Greg and Karen Taylor, Trent ‘Ax_kidson’ Boyd, Richard
Jansen-Parkes, Dylan J Malenfant, Erik Cooper-Flowers,
Leigh van der Waals, Munkey Abell, John Signorino,
CommanderStone4, Mark Morrison, Shaun Krogulski, Sam
Stafford, Vance Rawson, Dethe Elza, James Elliot, Rob
Collini, Taylor Jumara, Christian Dummermuth, Tom
Walker, Randy Mosiondz, Douglas Clements, Sammo, David
Wild, Rory Oliver, The Penn-Dierauer Children, Steven
Ritter, Joey Rodgers, Jason Sorensen, Derek Guder, Stephen
Caffrey, Timothy Payton, Hamish Cameron, Brandon E.
Gallant, Zach G, Stephen York, Maximillian Tompkins,
Bryan Van Deusen, Sebastian Schreier, Scott W Hill, Tim D.,
Daniel Bayn, Jim Blackshaw, Schubacca, Aaron Lim, Chad
Bussell, Matthew ‘Ardent’ French, Ian Herbert, Rick
Rezinas, Matthew McFarland, Tim Aidley, Federico
‘Procionegobbo’ Maiorini, Marty Chodorek, Jay Sharpe,
Brian Schoner, Justin Morgan, Sven Carpenter, Paddy
Bardic, Lex Garrett, Paul Scarrone, Kirby Young, Andrew
Keddie, Jeff Sweet, Agent Paperklip, Tyree Parkin, Liberty
O’Dell, Rui AVELINO, Tegan Turcotte, Carlos Leon Rendon,
Lee Rossi, Sam Suruda, Rick Harrelson, Bard, Stefan L., Kyle
Robidoux, Marcus K, Jim Holt, David Dunham, Shaun
Clinton, Ashley Autumn, Bethany Corcoran, Eva
Dukerschein, Josh Louie, Daniel HP Campbell, James Allen,
Nicx, Samuel Baird, Marc Cain, Greg Connolly, Jacob
Dunning, Adam Hermanowski, Aaron Merhoff, JP Bradley,
Robert Carnel, Troy ‘Wrongtown’ Hall, Clinton Hammond,
Paul of the Bankers Guild, Aaron Marks, Luke Van Amburg,
Erik Maisel, TJ Gerber, David A. Harrison, Jess Waters, Callie
Kokajko, H. R. Ragnarsson, Saulo QuiÒones, Chloe Zane-y,
Warren G, Koutabi Starfire, William Lett, Jason Prott, Adam
Bishop, Krik, Martin Orchard, Dan Connolly, Super Andrew,
Jennifer Fuss, Matt Duggan, Huxtable Whimworm, Judith
‘Xanthipe’ Owens, Richard ‘Vidiian’ Greene, VforViennetta,
Rob Nadeau, Nick Colombo, Brett Lewis, Brian Dooley, Lee
Kitchen, Kevin Greene, Zane Dempsey, LIU HONG, Chris
Kerich, Chris Weisel, Rik Geuze, Nick Hopkins, Sami
Nikander, Alexis Aurora Crew, pookie, Paul, Gary
152
Anastasio, Hana Usui, Jeremy Kear, Jedediah Callen,
Michael, Tony Perkins, Johannes Oppermann, Lisa ‘Voo’
Trott, Steffon J Baker, Al Kennedy, BHabs, Derek McElroy,
Michael Berkovich, Matthew Hayes, Grand Doom Lord Kyle,
John Steele, G&T, Otso Hannula, Stephanie Wagner, Tori
McConnell, Phil Vecchione, Michelle O’Toole, Matt
Doherty, Lulu Blue, Morgan Hazel, Dr. Enos, Jago, Yragael
Malbos, Gilles Ritzmann, Naomi Alderman, Daniel Gatt,
Quinn Wongkew, Aetherlord, Dan Pitt, Bear Weiter, Luca
Carioni, Remington Bastien, Andrew Piseck, Nathaniel,
Henrik Collin, Laura Thomas Barnhart, Harry Goldstone,
Nick Kerr, Henrik Langos, Steve Robinson, Sam King, C. J.
Puckett, Jacob Cohen, Paul Magee, Luke ‘PunQuillity’ Elias,
Zombie@Heart, Evan Williams, Lewis Shaw, Sam Lawton,
Joseph Z. Drake, Adam Ottaway, Harry John Shephard, todd
estabrook, John Taber, Miles Schmidtzau, James ‘Ginger’
Johnson, Matthew Milner, Josh Thomson, Jan Felix T.,
Keiran Sparksman, Dave Handley, Silhouette Zero Podcast,
Mischa Hiessboeck, Adam J. Steel, Pablo Sanchez Bosch,
Adrian Hon, Eric Goodman, David Wooten, James A Taylor,
Chris Datta, Tom Schilling, David Harrison, Ben Woodhead,
Jason C Singer, Peter R Brooks, Phil & Marion Anderson,
Levi Whitney, Robert Hausch, Megan Hilliard, Grant
Hohman, Lukas McNamara, Arnulphe de Lisieux, David
Bond, Frost Holliman, Arun Persaud, Adam Williams, Derek
Timm-Brock, Jared Files, Keith A. Garrett, Chris Sloan, Ben
Campion, Anil Godi, Paul Michalik, Keith E. Hartman,
Marius Latauskas, Edd Glasper, Ken Finlayson, Ray Otus,
Joanna Piancastelli, Peter Brown, David Mali, College for
Creative Studies D&D group, Graham Oinkfrog Hannah,
Randy Eveslage, Magnus Nordstrand, Simon Ward, Valcun
Zingel, Sandy Fesq, Thomas Jackson, Jack Gulick, Adam
Tolson, Dan Henley, Chris Longhurst, Dan Johnson, Steve
Hindmarsh, Dave C, Freya Whiteford, Matt Johnson, Jeff
Healy, Andy Hayler, Silje Eide, Scott Paquette, Nicholas
‘Praxidicae’ Farley, James Jakins, Michelle VanSetten,
Welis, Parker Nalchajian, Marvin ‘G.M.A.N.C.’ Langenberg,
Martin Dennis, Lim Ee-Guan, Jordan Roberts, David May,
Noah Plunkett, Joshua Ferrell, David Fernandez, Charlie
Trochlil, Roderick Stedman, Flip, Russ Cox, Phil Jendusa,
Dylan Tevardy-O’Neil, n/a, Eric Fleischer, Adam ‘Chili’
Stevens, Eric Coates, Nael, Cassiel Amador, Lucile Perkins-
Wagel, Dan Devereaux, Benjamin Gilbert, Taylor LaBresh,
Zoey Rich, Simon Allcott, Marcus ‘ bigmalenurse’ Norris,
Matthew D Dickson, Chris and Daisy Swaffer, Mike
Musteric, Mattia Repetto, alasdair kinnear, Skylar Baim,
Robert AndersÎn, Andrew ‘lord of the dance’ Hennessy,
Theodore ‘Wolfman’ Posuniak, II, Garth Westphal, JP Ruiz,
Ewen Cochran, Ryan P Evans, Laura C, Carlos Ovalle,
Michael Hoffmann, SlemHundy, Pris Nasrat, Evan Saft,
Michael Williamson, Jennifer ‘MaidOf’ Stone, Ryan
Hiltunen, Tyler Rhea, Drunken Knight, Alyssa Doss, Dylan
G.M. Schouten, Josh Starobin, Tom Van de Sande, Dave
Deacon, Stefan Wertheimer, Zersrael, Matthew Nielsen,
David Bigg, Simon G, Ryan Ramage, Keir ‘Kaffo’ Smith,
Nicholas Rogers, Lindsay Newton-Smith, Drakythe, Steven
Irwin, Paul Messenger, Michael Stanley, Sharif Abed,
Joshua Bestwick, Kyle Thompson, Geoff Doty, Ian Scott Ken,
Christopher Switzer, Jacob Bush, J. Allyn Mosley, Kenton
Schlimmer!, Ben and Imii Allen, Karl Scheer, Rik, M. Alan
Hillgrove, Pascal ‘Plageman’ Pflugfelder, Johan Jaurin, Tom
Whiteley, Jonathan Sharp, Ryan Percival, Johannes
Wohlschlegel, Aaron Pothecary, Pyro Stevie B, Kiwi
Apteryx Tokoeka, Jonathan Schaefer, Robert Cudinski,
Chris Farnell & Ella Scannell, Ryan Furtado, James
O’Donoghue, Jon Bent, Daniel Crook, frank martin,
Christian A. Nord, Matt Fennell, Boris Bernhard, Kalysto,
Sam Ehmann, Kris Weavill Ventris, John Ahlschwede,
Daniel Browning, Lillian Isabella Winters, Donald & Wendy
Welsh, Joshua R Bradbury, Jared Reece, Cybin Nelsen,
Jordan Lee MacCarthy, Victor Cervantes, Kevin Wales,
Olive Pit, Kenny ‘the Solo Roleplaying Sage’ Norris, Joel
Thurston, Will Templeton, Kelly Zimmermann, Andrea
Pecunia, Ben Henley, David Chervony, Austin Conley,
Nicholas Alaniz, Jerold H Farver Jr., Gareth Williams, Aaron
the Warmonger, Craig A. Wildey, Brian Isikoff, Alasdair
Stuart, Nathan Black, Morgan Ellis, DynamicGuy, Jeremy
Taylor, Mathieu Lapenna, Shervyn, Bronson Slebos, Eric
Azevedo, Chris Heath, Oliver Smith, Rupert Redington, Hel
Gibbons, Nick Hendriks, Jason ‘Jadasc’ Schneiderman,
MazHem, Robin David, Eric Levanduski, Alexander E
Brygider, Fin Coe, D C Hogan, Senda from She’s A Super
Geek, Hsieh, Wei-Hua, David Parrish, John M. Nolan,
Caroline T., nikobe, Brook Kill, Sam drinkwater, Bob
153
Cartwright, Alea Studios, Wyatt Marschang, Jefferson Mills,
Michael Tree, Rachel Kaplan, Erik Ingersen, Francis
‘meatwad’ Tommaso, Colin Fahrion, JBS WoodWorks,
Robert Max Freeman, Aaron McClarnon, Poh Tun Kai, Sara
‘Sad Face’ Frandsen, Sarah Kaplan, Ronnie Ball, Neal Orr,
James N Baldwin, Andrew Luczak, Mark Slattery, Jessica
Sexton, BattleBards, Luke Smith, Dan!, Nate Newlon, John
Barton, Michael ‘dmmikerpg’ Mitchell, Walter King, JOHN
ETERNAL, Rick Hull, Edgerunner, Andrew ‘Baron
Fortnightly’ James, Jean da Silva, Jack Harrison, Darren
Buckley, Nick Dao, Dingleson, Doomhamster, Camilla
Chalcraft, Erandi Huipe, Nathan B. Gilliam, Tunica Dartos,
Markku Tuovinen, Nick Irish, Keegan Leonard, Jackson
Brantley, RavenSworn, Aaron Griffin, Charles Tam, n/a,
Daniel Kraemer, Adam Matherly, Yes these are in
chronological not alphabetical order, Michael Pegg, Karen
Twelves, Harkinson, Sean Nittner, Andy L, Markus Raab,
Superfritz, Anders Lau, Tartufu, Tony Kelly, Jason ‘Vandaal’
Green, Sukelluskello, Cel Shading, Dologan, Andrew and
Kate Barton, Samuel Kim, Erik Johnson, David Homola,
Steve Beleck, Adrian De Smul, Justin Delaney, WOoDY
GamesMaster, Michael Ferdy, Josh Fox, Mark Goldrick,
Chris Edwards, Olek Giejsztowt, Thomas Sterchi, None,
Minde B, Dustin DePenning, W David MacKenzie, Nat
Benefer, Morgan Johnson, Rob Blackburn, @DAYtheELF,
Paul DeMars, Teri Williams, Ron ‘Khaalis’ Owen, JJ Maloney,
Bjorn Jagnow, Jim McClure (ThirdAct.pub), George C
Alexander, Antoine Davrou, Mark Miles, Aaron Kubicek,
Bruce Curd, Michaela M¸ller, Jesse Sierke, Eternityknot, PK
Sullivan, Florian Hollauer, Jeff Stormer, Nathan Clark,
Siobhan Morris, Chris Paladino, Patrick O’Duffy, Michael
Richards, Bella Irvine, Levi Mote, Kieran Ponnusamy,
Daniel Llausas, James Whittaker, D. Malloy, Johanna ‘Veki’
Kantanen, Charon MacDonald, Kim Shier, Jim Morin,
Robbie Wallis, Erebo PÈrez-Silva, Shane Fitzpatrick,
Michael Barnes, James, Rocket Lolly Games, Loons’n’ quines
o’ Aberdeen, Dennis Skerra, Borri Stefano, Malcolm SW
Wilson, K Davis-Owen, Puiheng Tse, Stefan Peeters, Dan
Hull, Bay Chang, Quasi, John A W Phillips, Grant Greene,
Eric Haverkamp, Dylika ManÈr, Tom Battey,
WombatDazzler, Zhakk’Harn, Ryan DowlingSoka, Sylvain
Pronovost, James Dunbier, Anthony T., Luke Wayland,
154
Christopher Steven Sims, Patrick ‘Bollywood’ Sayet, Mitch
Rabbitt, Bernie, Samuel Steinbock-Pratt, Joel Pearce, Philip
‘xipehuz’ Espi, Patrick Tasse, Michael McCann, Hershey,
Jared Espley, Linda Berryman, Rodd Closson, Jazz, Chet
Gray, Matthew Reynolds, Zoyander Street, Ambjˆrn Elder,
Adam Flynn, Reverance Pavane, evil bibu, Alex Fradera,
Conehead Krinkard, Walt Ochab, Chris McEligot, Tom
Lommel, David Morrison, Nicholas Zapetis, Will Scotland,
Emma Dinkelspiel, Ariel Samoil, Stephanie Bryant, James
Stuart, Eric Paradis, Morgan Osborn, Jim Hart, Lester Ward,
Muffinbeard, Craig Jeskey, Ferdinand Biere, Stuart Chaplin,
Aljen, Dregntael, Arraffa PiÈdiferro, Dave Agnew, Frank
Reding, Grant Chen, Katherine Ogden, Jeff Smith, Megan
‘M5’ Matta, Bill Powell, Joe Schelin, Charlotte Boucher,
Galit A., Jonathan Foster, Astor Sigma, Trip Space-Parasite,
Kevin Turner, Matthew Federico, Ben Hatton, JK Koh,
David Saggers, Fiona K.T. Howat, Owen Thompson,
Jonathan Korman, Selene Tan, Angelo Pileggi, Bernd
Preflller, Linette Voller, Thore Lim, Tim Partridge, Gabe
(shonen413), Wade Cornell, Simon Langley, Joshua
Reichler, Danny Wilson, John Karatovic, Bryant Durrell,
Manuel Silvoso, Victor H. Molina, Robert Maxwell, Jason
Steel, Nathan Pickett, Tanaka La Fontaine, Katrina
Neumann, Iain Beresford, Paul Ooshun, Nessalantha,
CP1R8, John Donahue, Peter Gates, Lissa T., You Don’t Meet
In An Inn, Steven Wakeling, Stewart Abney, Rob, Benjamin
Hinnum, Craig S, Gwathdring, Daniel Lewis, Zache, Pip
Gengenbach, Andrew ‘Aeyr’ Duryea, Jolyne Haley, Jordan
Bradley, Jams Mastodon, Helen Stirling, Jason Hardin, Scott
Anderson, Michel Laterman, Neilson, Shawn Gustafson,
Jason Childs, Craig Campbell, Bechoseveth, hfb, Vojtech
Pribyl, Hal Mangold, William Ijebor, D.J. Thompson, Gary
Burke, Tony E. Calidonna, Sam Hock, Geoffrey Rabe, Joshua
Schauer, Patrick Phelan, Andres Villaseca, Joe Lunnon,
James Gabriel, Bill Cohen, Charlie Etheridge-Nunn, Aarre
Vuorio, Ashkan Abousaeedi, Dom Ellis, Khain Ladely
(Yamigetsu), Dustin Bell, Josh l, Daniel WIlks, Will Clark,
Ben Dumont, Jim Remmes, Abel S·nchez Jacobo, Marc
Telow, Bert Isla, Tabalin Dmitry, Simon K, The Jotne, Noah
Buntain, James Dillane, Michael Mersiades, Sean Richmond,
Alison Fleming, Fred Ramsey, Daniel Scribner, John M.
Osborne, Steven D Warble, Tim McCracken, Andrew Haufe,
MarsSenex, Michael V Williams, Michael J. Miller, Dave B.,
Erik Miller, Peter ‘Wiggles’ Underwood, Thibault Montaigu-
Lancelin, Hawk Haines, Thomas G Huber Jr., PÈter TÛth,
Tomas Denemark, Jordan White, Xavier Aubuchon-
Mendoza, Zack Wenning, Noah Schoen, Nadav Ben Dov,
Alex Davis, Mark Winnington, Philippe Niederkorn, Marcus
Yonce, Lars Aennerth, Hugo Mardolcar, Ryan Smith, Ben
Collier, Caleb Penning, Clayton Culwell, Jennifer Hogs,
Allen Varney, Waseem Aftab, D. Fox, Zackery Wolfe, Hao
Zhang, Jacob Womack, Rich M., Trevor Wirgau, Rodney,
Florent Poulpy Cadio, Michael Skelton, Marcio Chammas,
Francesco ‘Frankie’ Bianco, Fabrice Breau, Silvio Herrera
Gea, H. M. ‘Dain’ Lybarger, jason e. bean, Anthony Craig
Senatore, blujoker, Arlene Medder, Anthony Cullen,
Keegan T. Smith, Richard ‘SirCrash’ Willis, Darrell
Snowball, Tracy Barnett, Steve Lord, Rolf Laun, Bryan R.
Marshall, Krumrein, Menachem Cohen, Dame and Amy,
Kristian E. Hyttel, Henrik Ljungquist, Joe Beason, Nicolai
ÿstergaard Jensen, Andrew Bailey, Mike Tucker, Chris
‘Grimtooth’ Colborn, Kevin McDonald, Adam ‘Sick Budgie’
Drew, Danny Silva, Kimberly Johnson, Christopher
Sanderson, Crystal M, Greg Field, Aaron Smithies, Maxwell
Kurtz, Toastmaster General, and Erik Schmidt.
SPECIAL THANKS:
Grant would like to thank Mary, for her endless support
and enthusiasm; his Mum and Dad, for accidentally getting
him into gaming at an early age and then honestly kind of
regretting it for the next 25 years; and Chris, for being a
fantastic games designer, a continual source of good ideas
and a wonderful friend, but not in such a way that he feels
obligated to thank him back, because that might sound
kind of hollow.
Chris would like to thank his family for keeping him
alive during the writing of Unbound, and for not being too
upset that he devoted much of his life to games. He is also
eternally grateful to the lovely people that tested the game
in their own bizarre and often unsettlingly detailed worlds.
Of course he is also contractually obligated to thank Grant
who successfully puts up with his crap on a daily basis.
IF YOU LIKED UNBOUND,
WHY NOT TRY:
Wushu, by Dan Bayn, which has fantastic freeform
combat rules and a character sheet you can fit on a
cigarette paper.
FATE, by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue, which does a
very similar job to Unbound but has actual support from a
publisher and therefore lots of great supplements.
Goblin Quest, by Grant Howitt, because he wants you to
play it and send him a picture of the goblins that you drew.
155
 Character Name:
PLAYER NAME:
1S
T
2A
Core Foundation:
FOUNDATION:
M
FOUNDATION:
3I
N
CORE: FATES:
A
4 ROLE:
TRAIT:
5 PROFICIENCIES:

7
STAMINA:

BoostS:
SHOOT:
STRIKE:
MOVE:
RECOVER:
DEFEND:

1T Powers:
E
2M RECOVERY POWER:
P RECHARGE: END OF SCENE TYPE:
EFFECT: EFFECT:
3
S
T
A
M POWER: POWER:
I TYPE: TYPE:
EFFECT: EFFECT:
N
A
 Index
A Bleed 74
A Long Way From Home 81
Action Types 70
Adventure Creation 88
Adversaries 106
Ambush 51, 84
Ancient Guardians 81
Angry Mob 135
Appendix 1: Optional Rules 138
Appendix 2: More Touchstone Tables 140
Armed And Dangerous 135
Armour (Transform) 55
Armoured skeleton 129
Assassins 82
Aura (trait) 37
Aura Of Healing 37
Aura Of Pain 37
Aura Of The Bulwark 37
Aura Of Wrath 37
B Companion (trait) 39
Bad Part Of Town 82
Baleful Cultist 131
Ban 83
Battle Scenes 67, 102
Battle Captain 124
Battlefield 67
Beaten Up 82
Berserker (Adversary) 124
Berzerker (Power) 49
Bitter Cold 85
157
Blazing Blade 45
Blood In The Eyes 27
Bombardment 84
Boom 29
BOOST 8
Brash Military Captain 136
Brawler (role) 27
Bring It On 27
Building A Fight 110
C
Captain (trait) 41
Cara Ellison’s Cyberpunk Noir Dataslugs 140
Centre Of Attention 35
Character Details 58
Cloak Of Shadows 51
Collateral Damage 47
Combat (Transform) 55
Combat Medic 31
Combined Assault 39
Cores 15
Cornered Beast 49
Courtier Of The Ninth Circle 117
Critical Failures 9
Critical Successes In Battle 9
Crusher 119
Cursed 80
Cut Off The Head 84
157
 Fireburst 45
D Force Of Nature 25
Damage 71
Foundations 58
Dangerous Ground 43
Fresh Minion 129
Darkness 82
Frog Croakley’s Space Oddities 142
Deadeye (role) 29
Decrepit servitor 131
Demon prince and his harem 115
G
GM Turn Sequence 69
Demonic Incursion 80
GMs During Player Turns 68
Desecrated Temple 80
Gaining A Scar 76
Desperate Measures 19
Gamesmaster 78
Devout (core) 15
Gang Up 43
Devout (twists) 80
Ganger 121
Difficult Terrain and Adversaries 67
Gav Thorpe’s Fantasy Heartbreakers 148
Dirty Fighter (trait) 43
Get Down! 35
Dragon 132
Giant 113
Dragon lord 122
Giant of Moorfell Peaks, The 113
Dragon wings 133
Going Out Of Action 75
Dramatic Scenes 9, 63, 100
Great Khan, The 122
Drawbacks (Transform) 55
Grunt 124
Dregs 125
Guardian Angel 31
Drink Their Fear 49
Duel 33
H
Healing And Recovering Stamina 74
E Hel Wraith 127
Elites 84
Hellknight 115
Encroaching Weirdness 83
Hitman 134
Enervated 83
Hunger 83
Event Order 69
Hunted 80
Extraction 51
Hunter (Adversary) 125
Extreme Range 29
Hunters Hunted 85
Hypnotic Secrets 81
F
Factions 78
Fallen Legionnaire 117
I
I Like Those Odds 27
Fates, Stories And Experience 60
In The Dark 51
Feign Innocence 43
Incubus 115
Fire (trait) 45
Infernal Signifer 117
Firebomber 119

158 158
Infestation 83
Initiative 68
Insects 85
Insidious Whispers 80
Introducing New Players 12
Inversion 83
Iron Constitution 35
Memory Hole 83
Merritt Kopas’ Morrisseeds 147
Mighty (trait) 47
Mobile Assault 33
Momentum 33
Mountain Ogre (adversary) 113
Multiple Targets 70, 71

J N
Jake Tucker’s Military Bullet Points 145 Naomi Alderman’s Jewish Tchotchkes 143
Jason Morningstar’s Revenge Tragedies 146 Necromancer 129
Jokers 8, 65 Needle terror 116
Never Back Down 23
K No Succour 80
Keep Moving 41 Not On My Watch 41
Kick In The Door 47
Knockback 47 O
On Dark Wings 80
L On Your Feet 31
Last Chance Arcana 17 Outlaw (core) 19
Laying Out Your Cards 68 Outlaw (twists) 82
Legbreaker 121 Overwatch 29
Let It Burn 45
Life-stealing Hex 21 P
Line In The Sand 35 Pactbound (twists) 83
Look Out, Sir! 39 Pactbound (core) 21
Lost Soul 127 Phoenix 45
Phylactery 126
M Player Actions During Gm Turns 69
MOVE 70 Player Turn Sequence 68
Magi (core) 17 Playing The Game 62
Magi (twists) 81 Police Attention 82
Marked 35 Portal To The Unknown 83
Marquis Of Hell 116 Potshot 121
Martyr 31 Power Of The Righteous 15
Masked Terror, The 120 Powers & Recharging 9
Masked acolyte 120 Precarious Battlefield 82
Meg Jayanth’s Lucky Dip 149 Protector (role) 31

159
 Pushes, Pulls And Forced Movement 70
Pyroclast whelp 116
R Stand Fast 41
RECOVER 70
Rage (trait) 49
Ravening Hound, The 137
Reaper 129
Reckless 49
Rob Heinsoo’s List That
Includes “Yelling Animals” 150
Roles 27
Running Battle 29
Running Dry 84
Running The Game 87
S Taking Damage 72
SHOOT 70
STRIKE 70
Saga Creation Checklist 11
Scalebeast 125
Scars, And Going Out Of Action 76
Scars, Damage And Death 94
Scattered 82
Scenes (types of) 62
Scorching Heat 85
Sean Smith’s Horror Noir Keepsakes 144
Severe Hangover 82
Shadows (trait) 51
Shambling Horde 131
Shield Generator 81
Shock And Awe 72
Shuffling 8
Smashing Blow 47
Smoke Bomb 33
Snipers 84
Spectral Form 53
Spirit (trait) 53
160
Spirit Storm 53
Stakes 62
Stakes 96
Stay Down 33
Stay There 41
Story And Echo Cards 64
Striker (role) 33
Superweapon (transform) 55
Surrounding 69
Swarm Of Filth 80
Swat Captain 134
Swat Trooper 134
T
Take Advantage 43
Teleport 81
Temporary Stamina 74
Terrified 84
The Core Mechanic 8
The Earth Cracks 85
The Parasitic 57
The Ritual Is Almost Complete! 81
The Stars Are Right 83
They Took Our Weapons 82
Thin Street Arsonist 119
Through Hell And Back 57
Thunder-blood 123
Touchstones 13
Traits 37
Transform (trait) 55
Turns 69
Twice-Born Queen 126
Twists 79, 80
Twists And Factions 94
Twists And Factions Are Your Character 94
U
USE 70
Undead knight 127
Unkillable, The 123
Unnatural, The (trait) 57

W
Walking Wounded 84
Wall Of Steel 47
Warden (role) 15
Warrior (adversary) 124
Warrior (core) 23
Warrior (twists) 84
We Fight As One 39
We Stand Together 31
Weakened 80
Wild (core) 25
Wild (twists) 85
Wildfire 85
Wildman Ogre-kin 113
Wired To Blow 81
Wisdom Of The Elders 53
Wounds 72
Writhing Tentacles 57

Y
Your Rival 137
Your Romantic Interest 136

161
INFINITE ADVENTURES
IN NUMBERLESS WORLDS
Unbound is a universal roleplaying game with a twist:
the players and the gamesmaster create the world, the
plot, and the adversaries during character creation.
Using a series of leading questions and a rule system that
lets players fill in the gaps with their imagination, you’ll
craft a unique setting together - and then get out there
and explore it!

Unbound supports short, linked campaigns and has

an innovative, fast-paced combat system that puts
pressure on players to make tactical decisions every
turn. To play Unbound, you’ll need a group of 3 to 6
players, a gamesmaster, and one deck of regular
playing cards per player.