HLD-Playtest 4.1

v4.
1
PLAYTEST
ANDREAS
WALTERS
Alexander Petty (Order #32804208)

Credits
Lead Desgin
Andreas Walters
DEsign
Contributions
Kyle Carty, Banana Chan,
Edited By (still editing)
Scott Vandervalk, Carol Darnell,
Nina Sulcova
Art by
Eka Pramudita Muharram
Nightmargin
Published by
Metal Weave Games
www.metalweavegames.com
Consultants
Accessibility
Special Thanks Jacob Wood
Alx Preston, Ben McFarland, Kyle
Carty, Megan Tolentino,
Mysty Vander
Legal
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER: THE TABLETOP ROLE PLAYING GAME and it's content are ©2019 Metal Weave Games.
Artwork in this project is copyright by Metal Weave Games INC & Heart Machine LLC.
©2013 Heart Machine LLC.,
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER and it's logo are trademarks of Heart Machine LLC.
All This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
prohibited without the express written permission of Metal Weave Games. This product is a work of fiction. For more information visit us at,
2. Drifter Playtest
http://www.hld-rpg.com
Alexander Petty (Order #32804208)

Navigation
PATCH NOTES DISCIPLINES
GETTING STARTED EQUIPMENT
MECHANICS OVERVIEW ADVANCEMENT
CHARACTER CREATION WOE (BURDENS & BOONS)
SPECIES COMBAT
TRAITS COMBAT ACTIONS
KNACKS NARRATOR
CLASSES CONSEQUENCES
WARRIOR MONTAGES
WIELDER ADVERSITIES
VERSIFIER
DELVER
Open for Pre-Orders

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 3.
Patch Notes v 4.1
Alright, first update since Adam Koebel’s video on the playtest! (if you haven’t seen it check it out, here)!
Most of the updates here come from my observations of him going through the playtest, in addition, this is
the first time we’re detailing out Woe and Corruption mechanics (something that we’ve talked about quite a
bit). Can’t wait to see your feedback, and thank you for the support! Also, Backerkit is open for pre-orders if
you missed the campaign, can check that out here.
Looking forward: Talents and Equipment expansion (including a look at Wielder abilities, I have a few ideas
for revising wield machines), and finally, still looking at the trailblazer (5th potential class).
• Mechanics Introduction: Woe
• Although this mechanic has been on the character sheet and mentioned in the prior playtest, we just didn’t
have a solid write-out of the mechanics until this point. The intention for Woe is that it should work like
a stress-clock, but not be debilitating. As you acquire more traits (positive or negative) from being tested,
your ability to succeed gets slightly harder.
• Woe functions like a clock (or dial) and in most cases you’ll be taking woe from failing social encoun-
ters, or even dealing with stressful situations.
• When the clock fills up, you become tested, depending on your result you will either gain a Burden or
a Boon. These persist for a time until you can resolve them.
• Mechanics Introduction: Corruption
• Much like woe, we had this mechanic in concept for awhile and just didn’t put words to it yet, until now.
Corruption is a slow burn mechanic that represents the drifter’s sickness. There will be various points
where they will interact with corrupted areas and take on a point of corruption.
• Corruption will be gained from exploring, interacting, or fighting corrupted objects, locations and
creatures. Players can also take on corruption with two special actions.
• Players are intended to gain corruption slowly, as when they reach the last stage of corruption, the
player can plan their last moment or eulogy.
• The only thing that currently removes corruption from your drifter is some discoveries.
4.
Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest
• Advancements: Provided a few advancement options for your characters, namely the tiered ‘paths.’ In to
one minor general advancement change.
• General advancements (1-health) and (1-energy) are now merged and are now, it’s gain 2 points to
distribute across the two as you see fit. From feedback it felt that 1 health or energy was a bit weak
compared to the other avaliable options, so this modification both simplifies and expands it in a good way.
• Presenting Tiered Advancemnt paths. When you hit tiered advancmenets (single diamonds) you will
now have a choice of options. This will allow you pick from several options. Epxlorer is the simplest
one, allowing you to pick from Ability Scores, Boost or Health/Energy increases. From there Hero and
Paragon, provide you with choices that will give you a perk and unlock talents and abilities that you can
select in your future advancments. When you hit the next tier, you are free to select a new path that
will unlock more options (we may come up with a major upgrade to the path, but that will be later down
the road)
• Intervention Points: Made a minor change where narrator awarded intervention points are now able to be
awarded by a table consensus.
• This was a suggestion that came from Adam’s stream. Personally, I struggle with giving players opportunities
to abuse open ended mechanics like this, but he provides a very good point, given the tone we are trying to build
for players around the game.
• Talents Choices/Selection: Clarified language on starting abilities, increased starting talents and added
dashes to talent options.
• In prior versions, it was muddled whether you would get all talents for the class or just a limited number. We’re,
firming this up and making the selection limited, in addition to adding class-uses of dashes, by doing this we’re
increasing the number of talents each class gets. Last Second and Quick Dash are being added to the combat
actions list, as everyone gets them.
• Other Changes
• Removed consequences from the Heal action. (narrator can still inject a intervention)
• When at 0 hp, removed references to Death’s Door, and replaced with Corruption’s Not Today.

Introduction
Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate across a USING THIS PLAYTEST
torn and sundered landscape. Venturing outside the
sanctuary reveals a savage land, steeped in ancient This is a playtest document not a complete game.
lore, blood of the unlucky, and treasures of old. Elements of this game are still in development and
Around every corner lurks danger, from the vicious open to change based on your feedback!
and warped creatures that will feast on your f lesh, to Once the playtest concludes we will replace the
the hidden hazards that will crush the frail bodies of playtest with Drifter: Basic Rules and make it acces-
the unwary. You are a drifter. One who ventures into sible for everyone who would like to jump in and play.
the ancient ruins collecting forgotten knowledge, lost Thank you for checking out the Drifter Playtest.
technologies, and broken histories. And I hope you enjoy your adventures into the great
Hy per Light Drifter: The Roleplay ing Game unknown.
(also referred to as Drifter), is both based-on and If you want to provide feedback, please feel free to
inspired-by the popular award-winning video game, join our Discord, or check out the Drifter website and
Hyper Light Drifter, created by Heart Machine. Being participate on the forums.
most famously remembered by it’s beautiful 16-bit ~ ANDREAS
visuals, it’s open-ended storytelling, and rewarding-
to-master combat.
In this game, instead of donning the cape of the lone
drifter, you will get to create your own characters and
explore your own stories. These stories will be told by
you and your friends at the table.
Within these pages we will provide you with the
rules and ideas that will help you create your own
drifters, the mechanics to get started, and ideas to
bring out this beautiful and evocative world.
6.
We really appreciate that you’re looking to take GAME ROLES
Drifter for a spin and have a good time with your There are two types of roles for those playing tabletop
friends. Many of you may be unfamiliar with tabletop RPGs: the narrator and the characters. Both work
role-playing games or even the “Hyper Light Drifter” together to create a dynamic and interesting story
game. Never fear, we want to make sure that everyone together.
is well-prepared and on the same page when you One member of the group is the narrator. If you
embark on your journey into the unknown. are the narrator, you are responsible for describing
the environment and deciding the consequences to
WHAT IS A the players’ actions. You provide the framework of the
TABLETOP RPG? story, creating a canvas that unfolds for you and your
friends. You roleplay the unique and diverse cast of
Tabletop role-playing games are cooperative story- characters and locations, whilst making decisions for
telling games where you and your friends get together the actions of various adversaries against whom your
to tell an interesting story. Unlike video games, you friend’s characters will be fighting. In most tabletop
are free to interact and explore the world as you see RPGs, this role is also known as the gamemaster.
fit, no invisible walls will hold you back. In many Everyone else in the group takes on the role of
tabletop RPGs including Drifter, dice are commonly a character. Like in a video game, you create and
used to determine the outcome of an action which control a unique individual in the world of “Hyper
would yield an unknown or interesting result. This Light Drifter.” This character is yours to control and
could be trying to sneak past a group of blade- customize as you see fit, from how you appear, iden-
bots, convincing a sanctuary guard to let you by, or tify, talk, act and react to things in the world.
attacking your enemies. Otherwise, you have the
creative freedom to tell any kind of story, fight any
adversary, or explore in any direction you see fit. You
are constrained only by your imagination.

You get to interact w ith the world, charac- to as the Librarians, excelled in numerous advanced
ters and creatures the narrator puts before you. techologies. Today, we’d recognize these as space
In other tabletop RPGs, this is known as a Player travel, genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence
Character, or PC. and advanced robotics, technologies we would see in a
Be sure to not always leave the role of narrator to science-fiction fantasy. For reasons unknown, a great
a single person, it’s important to switch things up conf lict took place and nearly brough the entire world
every once in a while. Take the initiative and become to destruction.
a narrator yourself! It will help you see the game from It is up to you what you discover outside the walls
different perspectives and make you a better player of the sanctuaries. In the Lorebook, we will provide
and narrator. maps and locations that you can use as you see fit.
But these are only ideas for you to make the world of
THE WORLD OF DRIFTER Drifter your own.
The world of Drifter is a broken, post-apocalyptic one. WHAT YOU NEED

Composed of anthropomorphic characters featuring
otterfolk, birdfolk, racoonfolk and blues to name a Before you start a game of Drifter, or any other
few, you namely live an uneasy life of subsistence. tabletop RPG. You should gather the tools, resources,
The majority of dwellers reside in sanctuaries, small and friends necessary to play.
towns and safe-havens dotted across the torn land-
scape, mostly isolated from eachother. A GROUP OF FRIENDS
Outside of the relative safety of the sanctuaries lies You’ll need at least one other person to play Drifter;
a vast unknown world, the scars of the past only just this is a cooperative storytelling game and thus you’ll
beginning to heal. You are a drifter, one who chooses need someone else to bounce ideas off and to interact
to leave the relative safety of the sanctuaries to seek with. We recommend trying to get a group of three
out useful knowledge, answers, and technologies. to five to form your gaming group, though there is no
What is known about the past was that nearly 100 ‘standard’ number of players to play tabletop RPGs. If
years ago, the last civilization, sometimes referred you’re curious about playing solo, we will be working
8.
on a Drifter: Single-Player mode of the game that you If your group lives near each other, it’s common
can enjoy. This will be released after we publish the to meet up at one of the group members’ residences.
core game. However, if where you live isn’t a good or safe place to
play, you can always meet up at other locations. We’ve
TIME AND PLACE seen groups be highly creative regarding where they
Every time your gaming group gathers to play, we call play, from coffee shops, local game stores, the park,
that a session (but you can call them whatever you’d to private rooms in the library. If your group is sepa-
like). Typically sessions last anywhere between 3 to rated or meeting locally isn’t possible, online play is
5 hours, this may vary depending on the availability totally an option as well.
and playing preferences of your group.

With online play, you utilize your webcams and DICE TO ROLL WITH
microphones and an interface of sorts to facilitate Dice come in various shapes and sizes and it’s easy to
your game. Many will use Google Hangouts, Discord, get overwhelmed with how many dice there are. In
and/or Skype. Setting up a conference call, so that Drifter, we only use a 20-sided die, this is commonly
you can see everyone around the virtual table. Then referred to as a “d20” with the number distinguishing
you can utilize virtual tabletop setups, such as Roll20, how many faces the die has.
Fantasy Grounds, or Astral to provide visual tools We recommend everyone have their own die,
such as dice rollers, interactive maps, and character however it’s not necessary, especially when just
tools to run the game. Its also important to note that starting out. Whenever your character needs to
some of these programs have video and audio confer- perform a skill or action, you’ll be asked to roll a d20.
ence features. In most games, the higher the result the better, and
If your group can’t find a time to meet, have no you’ll have a few ways to modify your roll.
matching schedules or are in wildly different time
zones, a great option to play would be play-by-post: a CHARACTER SHEETS
fully text-based solution. There are several programs Each player will have their own character sheet and
such as: RPGCrossing, MythWeavers, GamersPlane, use it to record everything about your drifter. This
and RPOL.net. We’ve even heard groups use Discord will include their character name, background, traits,
as a central text-based system. How it works is much gear, abilities, ingredients, and other things that may
like a forum; the players make rolls and declara- be tracked over the course of a campaign.
tions, then after a set period, the narrator makes a Character sheets are available on our website
post, reacting to the events and continuing the story. (https://www.hld-rpg.com/), but sometimes a sheet of
It’s important to maintain a consistent schedule in paper and pencil is all you’ve got. Some people prefer
checking and updating, otherwise it’s easy to forget using a computer (be it an app or spreadsheet) to track
and have the group fall apart. all the information. We don’t have a bias one way or
another as both are perfectly good options.
10.
TOKENS SESSION ZERO
There are a few things that you need to keep track of
in Drifter, including Health, Intervention Points, and Before everyone can start preparing to embark on a
your Energy Pool. Although you don’t need a token for grand adventure, it is essential for the whole party to
everything, we highly recommend having something be on the same page about the rules and etiquette of
physical to track Energy and Intervention Points playing Drifter. This is done to ensure that everyone
as these see frequent adjustments as you play. This knows what kind of experience to expect, and what
makes bookkeeping easier and helps to improve the the campaign will and won’t explore.
f low as you play. Welcome to “Session Zero”, the calm before the
For tracking your Energy Pool, we like to use glass storm, the opportunity to create your characters, ask
or plastic beads. For Intervention Points, we prefer to questions about the game, and agree on the shape,
use coins. If you don’t have these specific objects, you style, and tone that everyone would like the campaign
can substitute and use nearly anything, from pieces of to have. No matter whether you’re going into Session
paper, keys, pins, and even small treats (just be sure Zero as an experienced player or a complete novice,
you don’t eat them all). it is always recommended to go over the basic rules
when you’re joining a new adventure.
NOTE PAPER Below are a few discussion points that may be
Sometimes you need to draw a map, take notes, sketch brought up.
a creature, illustrate a puzzle, or catalog the adven-
tures of the party. It’s always helpful to have some GAME STYLE & SETTING
paper handy. As presentation tools, some narrators What kind of game are you going to play? What do you
prefer to use graph paper, or whiteboards. These or your character want to achieve in this game? Here
are great tools for drawing up the combat board or are a few topics that are good to keep in mind to steer
showing relative environmental distances (and white- the conversation.
boards being easy to erase is also handy).

GAMEPLAY BALANCE remove the energ y cost of abilities completely.
Does the game involve social problem-solving, polit- Everything is fair game, provided all members of
ical maneuvering, exploration, hack-and-slash action, the group are aware of the changes, and most impor-
high intrigue, or a resource-intensive survival in an tantly, agree with them.
unforgiving environment? Will you be dealing with Here are some general house rules that we’ve seen
lightning-fast action, bleak horror, or is it going to be used in other tabletop RPGs that you may be able to
about interpersonal drama? There are countless ways utilize, but do what works for you and your group.
to play Drifter, though it’s important that you and
your party know what kind of setting to expect. SENSITIVE TOPICS
If the group has trouble figuring out a balance It is easy for oppression to take root when the world
between all these options, here is a way to come to an is in ruin. Although it might make for an interesting
agreement: mark a triangle, each point representing story moment, many people have experienced actual
either Social, Combat, or Exploration. Everyone may oppression and abuse in the real world and may not
explain where their preferred balance lies, and this, have any interest in reliving it at the table. You may
in turn, helps the Narrator understand the wants of not perceive this as an issue, personally, but keep in
the players, giving them the ability to build a story mind that not everyone goes through life the same
everyone can enjoy. way as you did. Take care to respect the wishes of
others. Be mindful, ask the group what they want and
HOUSE RULES don’t want the campaign to touch upon. Such topics
Sometimes, you want to let loose and experiment with could include sex, intimacy and sexuality, physical/
the mechanics of Drifter. Be it testing out a class you mental disability, harassment, as well as abuse in its
made up, limiting or adding character options, or even various forms, just to name a few.
utilizing third party content—all of these adjustments One way to go about checking what content is okay
to the rules of Drifter are considered House Rules, and or not with your group is to have each player define
just about every group has their own version of them. their Lines and Veils. A line is a literal “hard line,”
House Rules may affect the core rules to differing meaning that it is not okay for a particular topic or
degrees. You can change the way death works or action to emerge during gameplay. One of your friends
12.
may not wish to engage with any content revolving table. These are entirely up to you and the people
around claustrophobia; this means, as a fellow player you are playing with, and while the Core Rulebook
or narrator, its best to not include such descriptions does not dictate table manners, here are a few topics
or depictions during the session. Full stop. A veil is which you should keep in mind while the campaign
something that can be mentioned or glossed over, is being set up.
but the player prefers that the group does not go into
detail on such topics. One common veil, for example, SESSION ATTENDANCE
is sex and sexual encounters. Between characters is When and where will sessions take place? How will
okay, but the scene might “fade to black” after indi- the time and location be decided? What happens
cating that such a thing is taking place. when people are either late or do not show up? What
will be done in case a member of the group needs
THE X-CARD to leave early? How does that affect their character
The X-Card is a special card that should be used within the story, and does the Narrator continue the
whenever any player at the table (narrator or player) session at all?
feels uncomfortable with the situation at hand. It’s a
simple index card with an “X” written on one side, ELECTRONICS
placed in the middle of the table. When you tap or Are cellphones, tablets, and/or laptops allowed at the
pick up the card, its a signal to everyone that they table? What happens if those become a distraction
are uncomfortable with the current state of events from the game?
and should skip or move on, immediately and without
question. In case you are confused as to why someone FOOD & BEVERAGES
else used the X-Card, it is recommended to bring it up Are food and drink allowed at the table? When
privately after the session. ordering food, who pays, and how will repay-
ment work? What happens if a rulebook is sullied
TABLE MANNERS or damaged? May rulebooks only be touched with
Once everyone knows what kind of adventure to washed hands?
expect, the group should agree upon the rules of the

ALCOHOL axe-wielding Warriors falling over themselves to be
Is alcohol tolerated at the table, and if so, to what the most grumpy of the bunch. Consider what might
degree? Does the group appoint a supplier, or does distinguish those two characters, be it either through
each player bring their own? Is excessive drinking their equipment, their past, alignment, behavior, or
an issue? What will be done in case a player gets out fighting style. Do not be afraid to get creative
of hand?
FORMING THE PARTY
OTHER SUBSTANCES In Drifter, your character joins up with those of
Is smoking (cigarettes, other substances) allowed at your friends to form a party, embarking on a mutual
the table? If yes, may people only smoke outside? journey, perhaps with a common goal, even. There are
plenty of different ways to bring the party together.
CREATING THE PARTY Whether you establish that the party members
Now that the ground rules are all established, now is already knew each other before the story started, or
the time for you and your friends to create the party. the Narrator manages to herd you all together during
the first gameplay session…that is entirely up to your
CREATE CHARACTERS preference. Communicate with the narrator, let them
When you go through the process of creating your know what suits you best.
character for an adventure, make sure to chat amongst
other group members. Discuss what ideas you have,
and how they might fit into the world of “Hyper Light
Drifter.” A varied selection of classes within one
group is not necessary for survival. The game gives
you plenty of room to allow for more than one person
to run a certain class.
What is more important is to find or establish a
niche within your party. The group dynamic might
not be as interesting with the same two hardened
14.
CHARACTER BONDS CHARACTER ASPIRATIONS
Characters may have interlinked backstories between Think about what motivates your character. What
them, making them more than mere strangers. Again, goals are they trying to achieve? Is it something
there are many options to enact that idea. Are the that would benefit the whole group, or is it more of a
characters related to one another? Have they had a personal objective? Make sure to consider the drive
run-in with each other in the past, maybe even gone behind your character’s actions. Give them hopes and
on an adventure of their own? Whatever the case, dreams, let them enact revenge for past wrongs, or
make sure that any type of aggression between two have them find meaning within the group they end
characters is kept to a civil level, as it tends to be up travelling with.
more detrimental than beneficial to the overall mood
of the group. Make sure that whatever conf lict they
have does not impede their ability to cooperate during
the campaign.

G e t t i n g
S t a r t e d
16.
Before you can embark on your journey, you first need THRESHOLDS
to understand the rules that will allow you to explore Once you’ve rolled, you then compare your results
the world, solve problems, fight enemies, and interact against two thresholds which determines the outcome
with the various characters of the world. of your action. If you don’t like the outcome that will
We’ll start with the character basics. Later in this occur with your roll result you can boost your roll.
book, we’ll cover narrator mechanics that will help
you run a game of Drifter. Knowing these funda- BOOST SCORES
mental rules will help you understand what governs Your character has two boost scores, covering phys-
the actions of your character, and to a degree, control ical and mental actions respectively, Grit and Nerve.
the outcome of those actions. Before we dive right in, If you don’t like your roll result you can spend energy
there are three specific mechanics you will need to be to boost your roll. Your boost score will tell you how
familiar with before we get started: your Energy Pool, much each point of energy you spend, will increase
Boost Scores, and Thresholds. your roll result. Typically spending as much energy
to boost the result to the next threshold.
ENERGY POOL
Your Energy Pool is a reservoir of points that you will DISCIPLINES
spend to perform actions and boost your roll result. Although there are multiple outcomes to an action,
If you perform multiple actions on the same turn, your ability to succeed will be determined by your
the energy cost of those actions will slowly increase. Discipline score. This is a stat on your character
Try not to spend it all at once, otherwise you will run sheet that encompasses a number of skills. When
into Energy Debt. There are various ways to recover you roll, your threshold for success (Fortune) will be
energy, through actions, consumables, resting, and determined by this stat. This means, the lower your
when the narrator changes the scene. discipline score is, the more likely you will achieve a
full-success of that action. There are 5 disciplines and
they are as follows: Survival, Exploration, Combat,
Social and Manipulate.

DICE, ROLLING If you are in combat, you can choose to act more
AND ACTION! than once in a round. If you choose to take more
than one action in the same round, each subsequent
Throughout the course of the game, the narrator will action after the first will cost an increasing +1 energy,
describe numerous locations, challenges, environ- applied only to actions with an energy cost.
ments, characters and creatures. It is up to you in Later, as you advance your character, you will gain
choosing how to act or react to them. What makes points to put in your ability scores. These will help
tabletop RPGs unique is that, unlike video games, you you reduce energy cost of your actions, but can only
are free to contribute ideas and attempt anything. be applied once per round.
When there is something that you want your char-
acter to say or do, describe it to the narrator and MAKING A ROLL
the group. This can be a description of the action, Now that you spent your the prerequisite resource
or even just the outcome you’re looking to achieve. (if any), it’s now time to roll your d20. The number
If this action requires skill or effort to pull off, or that appears at the top of the dice will be your roll
if the outcome can lead to an interesting result, the result. This number will help inform the outcome of
narrator may ask you spend some energy to make the your action.
effect simply happen, and/or make a roll to see what
the outcome brings. OUTCOMES
For actions that don’t require rolls, once you described
ACTION COST the action the table and the narrator can build upon
Many actions and abilities will have a resource it, having the world react-to and respond to the action
cost of some sort, ty pically 1 - 2 energ y. You you have described. Everyone at the table is free to
will spend the requisite cost of that action prior suggest outcomes, however the final decision on the
to making your roll. The cost of an action will outcome is determined by the narrator .
be marked directly under the ability’s descrip-
tion, for instance (+1 energ y), (dash), or (woe).
18.
If you rolled, there are there are three potential CONSEQUENCES
outcomes to your actions: Fortune (a full-success), If you roll a Judgment or Temperance, things might
Temperance (mixed-outcome), and Judgment (a not go according to plan and you will suffer a
negative outcome). If your roll result is greater than Consequence. These can take the form of a variety
your Discipline rating, you will score a Fortune result. of negative effects, setbacks, damage or scene compli-
If your result is below a 9, a Judgement, and the values cations that add wrinkles to the story at hand.
in-between, Temperance. Remember, if you are not Consequences typically take the form of health and
happy with the outcome that you rolled, you can woe damage, but they are not limited to them and
spend energy to Boost your roll. can be more dramatic, causing unexpected events
or outcomes. For instance, as a merchant who tells
BOOSTING a partial truth or a dirk calling for reinforcements.
As previously mentioned, if rolled a terrible result The severity of these consequences is determined by
and you want to succeed, you can choose to spend the target’s Adversity Level. Abilities that suffer
energy to improve that result, this is called Boosting consequences will be marked by this ◈ symbol.
your roll. Some abilities will modify severity of the conse-
Every action you perform is associated with a skill, quence. For instance, Temperance results will always
an ability score, and a boost score. There are two boost suffer a lower consequence than the Judgment result.
scores. Grit, covering physical actions and, Nerve, Likewise, a risky manuever may result in a greater
covering mental actions. For each point of energy you consequence than standard. Modifications to the
spend, you increase your result by your boost score. adversity level will be marked as (◈ - x), where “x ” is
the modification to the Adversity Level.
For Instance:
If you rolled a 5 for a physical action and your Grit The narrator will always be the one to decide
score is 2. This means you need to spend 2 points what the consequence is however, anyone is free to
of energy to bring the roll up to a Temperance contribute what they think may be a fitting outcome.
result [5 + (2x2)]. You wanted to reach a Fortune
result and your discipline score was 16, you would
then need to spend 6 points of energy [5 + (2x6)].

Failing Forward: Exploration
Skills for exploring and traversing.
Its important to always frame a consequence as
“failing forward.” A player may achieve or fail Survival
their intended action but the key step is to state Skills for camping, navigating and surviving.
what happens afterwards.
Combat
Skills for engaging and defending while fighting.
INT ERVENT ION POINT S
Social
If you really don’t like your roll or it costs too much Skills for interacting with char-
energy, you can spend an Intervention Point bump acters and creatures.
your result up to the next threshold. Manipulate

Skills for using remnant technology.
Intervention points are a communal resouce, that
can be gained by rolling a 1 or 20, downgrading
your roll, or as a community reward. In addition to When you create your character, you’ll be able to set
rerolling, they can also be used to activate a special the scores for each Discipline. When you roll to deter-
class abilites. mine the effect of an action, you will need to meet
or beat your Discipline score to get a Fortune result
THINGS TO DO (full-success).
In the world of Drifter there are many different kinds DISCOVER

of stories you can tell, allowing you and your friends AND (EXPLORE)
to interact with the world in unique, interesting, and There are many secrets to this realm; discovering
creative ways. In Drifter, we provide you five disci- and understanding remanent technology, finding
plines that should encapsulate the different kinds of another sanctuary, to discovering a quiet serene view.
skills that you may be using. Through all the bloodshed and death, there are still
nice things to experience in this world.
20.
TRAVERSE REBUILD
AND (SURVIVE) AND (MANIPULATE)
Sanctuaries are mostly isolated, with only a few being Amidst the ruins of civilization, there is lots of tech-
connected to other nearby sanctuaries and home- nology that remains functional and usable, most are
steads. Drifters make excellent wayfinders and can just afraid to try. Althrough it’s purpose and function
connect these distant communities. Perhaps there is may be unknown, these engines and materials can
a chance, if the world can be made safe again. be utilized in creative and unique ways, causing vast
destruction to helping rebuild civilization. The choice
DEFEND is yours to make.
AND (COMBAT)
The world is a dangerous place, and many things lurk, THINGS TO
deef in the wilderness and in the ruins. Your skill in KEEP TRACK OF
battle will be the difference between life and death.
although fighting may be inevitable, but it dosen’t As you explore, there are a variety of different things
have to always be the solution to every problem. about your drifter you need to keep track of.
COMMUNICATE HEALTH
AND (SOCIALIZE) Much like a video game, your health is an abstract
From sanctuary residents, elders, intelligent crea- representation of your ability to sustain wounds and
tures, sentient AI’s, to friendly travelers and bandits, injury. If you run out of health, you can take on a
there is a colorful array of characters for your drifters point of corruption to prevent yourself from dying
to interact with. Some may have best intentions and (See Corruption’s Not Today ability for more info).
others with malicious ends. It will be up to you to
forge your own alliances and find a new path, for
better, or for worse.

ENERGY CORRUPTION
Your stamina, luck, and ability to exert yourself. With Many drifters who delve into the unknown have
your energy pool you can make outcomes more favor- been aff licted by, or succumb to Corruption. This
able to you. Run out of energy and you will run into is a condition that will continue to play a bigger and
Energy Debt and eventually fall unconscious. bigger role in your character’s career until their final
moments. Once you reach the final stage of corrup-
WOE tion, you have the ability to do a ‘last moment,’ when
As drifters traverse the darkness, fear, uncertainty, you find it appropriate, leaving your lasting mark as
stress, and bad luck build up. This is referred to as a drifter.
Woe. Much like taking Health damage in combat, you
Burn Rates:
will take on points of Woe in social and stressful situ-
As a general rule of thumb, your characters should
ations. Some abilities will allow you to take on a point be utilizing their health, energy, and dashes quite
of woe to enact a particular outcome. When you fill frequently. Perhaps less so with Intervention
your woe dial, your mettle is tested. points and Woe, but they should still come up at
least once or twice a session.
DASHES Corruption is intended to be a far slower burn,

where every second or third session a corruption
A useful piece of technology at your disposal, allowing point could be involved.
you to quickly dart around the battlefield. Your dash
module allows you to evade attacks and make super ADVANCEMENT
effective ones. Dashes refresh after every encounter
and scene (if your using dashes outside of combat). Across your endeavors and adventures, you will make
discoveries, aid sanctuaries, and make sanctuaries
INTERVENTION POINTS safe. You will recieve a currency, known as gear-
A communal resource, intervention points can be bits which you can use in sanctuaries on character
gained from community rewards or downgrading your advancements. In addition, narrators can directly
roll-result to a lower tier. They are useful for acti- grant advancements, depending on the achievements.
vating special class-features or re-rolling a bad check.
22.
Character Sheet

Characters
24.
STEPS OF
CHARACTER CREATION
The time has come to create your drifter. Whether you are coming into this process
with a unique character concept in mind, or if you’re building it as you go, follow
these steps to create your drifter.
1. HERITAGE
Pick a Species.
2. QUALITIES
Pick one from the Traits list
Pick one from the Knacks list
Pick one from the Quirks list
4. CLASS
Choose between: Warrior, Wielder, Versifier, Delver, or Trailblazer (coming soon)
5. CLASS
Pick Talents, either from your class list or the general talent list.
6. PICK EQUIPMENT
Choose a starting package or build your own
7. RATE DISCIPLINES
Each class will provide you with starting discipline values and provide you with a pool
of points to reduce as you see fit.

Species
The world of Hyper Light Drifter is a diverse one, full impressive diversity in both appearance and culture.
of sentient anthropomorphic creatures with diverse Regional differences between Birdfolk are marked
identities, cultures, and traditions. In the lorebook, by assorted colors and beak shapes, details which are
we’ll mention a few specific cultures, however each often overlooked by outsiders. To them, all Birdfolk
one is unique to their own locale. seem interchangeable.
At the end of the day, each species is made of f lesh
and blood, except the Automata, and are capable of BLUES
the same acts of kindness, compassion, and evil as Much like the Sentients, you stand out against the
anyone else. Your species choice is more of a narra- anthropomorphic denizens of the continent. Your
tive and cosmetic decision, allowing you to play and humanoid shape generates mistrust among many
portray yourself as you see fit. If there is a species not sanctuaries, and as far as you’re aware, none of them
listed that you’d like to play, check with the group and consist predominantly of Blues. It’s up to you to find
see if everyone is okay with your idea and choice. your niche in this world.
As you pick your species, think about the kind of
relationships your character has with their party and CANIFOLK
their sanctuary. Perhaps you are a the local hunter, or Canifolk like you value community and loyalty above
perhaps you were exiled. Maybe you owe one of your all else. You surround yourself with many people,
fellow drifters a favor for a past deed? Your drifter is though your trust is reserved for the selected few you
yours to f lesh out and become your own. deem worthy of it. Betrayal is not something you are
capable of when it comes to your allies. You have some
BIRDFOLK kind of age-old feud with the Felifolk, though if asked,
As a member of the Birdfolk, you choose your home in you could not explain why.
lofty heights, usually inaccessible to people of other
species. Having settled in many different climates
and locales upon the continent, your kind boasts an
26.
FELIFOLK RACCOONFOLK
Feeling safest in claustrophobic, maze-like environ- Shy and timid in the presence of new faces, raccoon-
ments, the sanctuaries of your kind can be difficult folk are a very reserved folk. With their sanctuaries
to find, though they always get the afternoon sun. hidden away, they are typically very difficult to locate
Shaped by the environments you inhabit, you are until the sun sets, of which the community comes to
nimble and cunning, with excellent ref lexes to boot. life. Your creativity and nimble hands have allowed
you and your people to make a living amidst the ruins.
FROGFOLK
Independent and preferring not to rely on commu- SENTIENTS
nities, you tend to fend for yourself unless survival Your shape is familiar, though unlike any other
or a common enemy demands otherwise. Frogfolk species, you are a machine that has been awak-
covet riparian sanctuaries, which puts your species in ened or created after the destruction. As a walking
direct competition over territory with the Otterfolk. artifact, you are a frightful sight to organic eyes, a
grim reminder of the horrors that continue to dwell
LIZARDFOLK beneath the earth.
As a Lizardfolk, you count among one of the most
resilient people inhabiting the continent. You are SQUIRRELFOLK
capable of living in almost any kind of environment, Preferring to travel among the safety of tall canopies,
from the most arid deserts to the wettest jungles. you tend to travel lightly, sacrificing carrying capacity
Your kind is practical and efficient, usually repur- to retain your mobility. Squirrefolk are friendly and
posing Librarian ruins into sanctuaries. welcoming towards visitors, finding joy in showing
off their network of tree-houses and hanging gardens.
OTTERFOLK
Like all Otterfolk, you have a natural affinity for
water. Your species excels at irrigation, usually
building sanctuaries upon ruins located near rivers
and other bodies of water.

Traits
Once you picked what species you will be, select a GROUNDED
trait to define your drifter. Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of
[Balance] by 2.
ANIMAL FRIEND
Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of First you must focus and discover your center.
[Handle Animal] by 2.
IRON STOMACH
Let me guess, you used to have one as a pet right? Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of
[Fortitude] by 2. This does not apply to Stay
DIRECTIONAL MEMORY Conscious rolls.
Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of

[Cartography] by 2. A strong stomach is a sign of strong character.
I always know which way north is. NATURAL SWIMMER

GREAT LEAPER [Swim] by 2.
[Jump] by 2. There are many overlooked treasures that lie under
the water’s surface.
I can totally make this, just watch!
NOCTURNAL
using [Awareness] to see in the dark by 2.
The darkness is not a place to be feared.
28.
PADFOOT TUMBLER
Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of Benefit: When you are falling, reduce the
[Sneak] by 2. Judgment threshold of [Ref lex] by 2.
Those who tread lightly will step into less danger Let’s just say it’s not the first time I’ve fallen out
of a tree.
POWERFUL BUILD
[Lift] by 2.
You’ve moved big things before, this should be easy.

Knacks
You haven’t always been a drifter. You had a different COOKING
life once, and there you were likely a master of that Benefits: When using the [Forage] skill to
craft. As a drifter, all knowledge is valuable and you harvest ingredients, increase the yield of your
have found ways these skills useful in your exploits. efforts by your [Nerve].
ACADEMIC As a skilled cook, you boast useful knowledge about

Benefits: You know how to read and write. various edible plants, and you know how to make the
While in a sanctuary, you can create or most of freshly killed wildlife.
recreate a number of written works equal to
your [Nerve]. CRAFTING
You are lucky to bear such a rare gift. Thanks to your Benefits: When using [Craft] to make a
upbringing or training, you count among those still specific object, reduce the number of required
able to read. Though it may not be the language of the components by your [Grit] (to a minimum
component cost of 1).
ancients you are versed in, writing is nevertheless an
immensely useful skill to have. Living in the remnants of a great civilization, your
survival depends on your ability to utilize, re-pur-
BREWER pose, and fix the ancient technology they left behind.
Benefits: When using the [Cook] skill to
produce restoratives, increase the total
amount of Energy recovered by your [Grit].
You enjoy a good drink and aren’t afraid to experi-

ment with recipes to make them. You always have a
brew on hand just waiting to be shared, but you are
also well-versed in potentially dangerous liquids.
30.
HEALING TRADING
Benefits: When using the [heal] skill, you Benefits: When using [Negotiation] to trade
can spend an ingredient to reduce the both or barter goods, a bonus to your roll equal to
success and judgment thresholds by 1. You can your [Nerve] score.
only do this as many times as your highest
boost score.
Sometimes, a silver tongue is all you need to make
The term “sanctuary” is a misnomer; no place upon scrap look like an artefact. You have a way of guessing
the continent is truly safe. When innocent people exactly what your customer wants to hear.
get caught in the crossfire of a misfortune that isn’t
their fault, someone needs to bring them back from THIEVING
the brink of death. Benefits: When attempting to steal some-
thing using Sneak, reduce your Judgment
HUNTING threshold by your [Nerve].
Benefits: Set a trap using utilizing 2 compo-

nents. For each additional component you There are gadgets and valuables someone isn’t going to
spend reduce both success and judgment miss, at least not until it’s too late already.
thresholds by 1. You can only do this as many
times as your highest boost score.
You know the rewards of patience. Building traps and

setting up ambushes is something you’re very familiar
with. When setting up a trap, at least one of your
targets will fall for it.

Quirks
Traits are a good source of inspiration when you are ARTIFICIAL OR MISSING LIMB
f leshing out your drifter, no matter whether in back- Nary a soul on this continent hasn’t lost something
story or personality. Coming up with reasons as to to the biting cruelty of the continent and its past. For
why they think and act the way they do will not only you, it was one or more of your limbs, maybe even
bring your character to life, it will also allow your your mobility altogether. Nevertheless, you have
group to get a better idea of who you are playing. learned to survive and thrive despite your disability,
These traits help inform ideas about your character, either through rigorous training, or with the help of
how they act, behave or carry themselves, ways for cybernetic enhancements. Maybe you repurposed
you to connect to your character. ancient tech to support you as you move through the
environment, or to give you an edge in battle.
ACCOMPANIED
You’re always seen with a companion by your side, BEARS HERALDRY
be it a pet, your trusty steed, or a mentor. Try as you You have a crest in your possession. It symbolizes
or others might, they will not leave your side. They something or someone meaningful to you. Whether
serve as a non-combat companion and may provide you choose to show it to the public or keep it to your-
interactions with the narrator. self is entirely between you and the story behind
the crest.
APPEARANCE
There is something that makes you stand out against DEMEANOR
the other members of the sanctuary—like a f lower In the darkest hour and most tragic of moments, yours
in a field of grass. It could be the way you dress, or is the voice that reminds others that there is always
the color you dye your hair. Scars and piercings tend hope. You never stop believing in the brighter side of
to make you memorable even to dullest of dwellers. life, and the fact that things can only go wrong for so
Maybe you carry tattoos or speak in an accent telling long. Some appreciate that mindset more than others.
of your origin.
32.
EYES SCENTED
You’re not sure why, but people like to point out what A unique smell follows you. It could be metallic,
a piercing gaze you have. Your eyes could be described organic, or something familiar to others. It could be
as having an unusual color, or a defined demeanor. pleasant or pungently unpleasant in its intensity. The
But it could also be caused by some sort of headgear use of, or even changing your scent with perfume is
that easily draws the attention of others. not something a lot of people do anymore, so you’re
bound to stand out as an exception to the norm.
GENERATIONAL
Every species has a different lifespan; thus, your age STATURE
is mostly relative to the community you are a part Does your size make you tower over others or disap-
of. While drifters cover most of the age spectrum, pear in a crowd? Does how you carry your body show
you can still stand out by being exceptionally young off to the world your confidence or your caution. Your
or old. Maybe you had to abandon your home when size, build, and stature all build into how you want
you barely hit adolescence, either for personal reasons the world to see you, whether you truly believe in
or because of circumstances outside of your control. yourself or not.
Maybe you’re a grizzled veteran, privileged to grow
old only thanks to your prowess and the decades spent STYLE
honing your survival skills. You have a style, and you stick to it. When you shop,
loot, or craft, you are always on the lookout for
MARKS certain qualities that will fit with your style. It could
Survival in this world is an accomplishment in its be about specific adornments, qualities, or colors that
own right and you pride yourself on those accomplish- catch your eye every time.
ments. You keep a record of these deeds, which could
be either how many beasts you’ve slain, how many
targets you’ve killed, or something along those lines.
You might bear these marks with pride, displaying
them upon yourself where others may notice them.

C l a s s e s
34.
In Drifter there are (currently) four classes. A class is DISCIPLINES
a Drifter’s specialization, some are Warriors, lethal The benchmark for your character’s success, each
at combat, others are Wielders, curious to learn more class will set out how you generate your Discipline
about forgotten technologies. Some are Versifiers, values. Most will provide a favored discipline,
uncovering tales of the past and bringing communi- granting points you can used to reduce as you see fit.
ties together, and others are Delvers, stealthy and
excellent scouts. CLASS FEATURES
Then there are the Trailblazers, excellent at navi- Each class gains access to two unique class features.
gating the wilds, and finding new paths. the first grants the you a special ability that requires
the use of a Intervention Points. The other, is a coop-
WHATS IN A CLASS? erative use of energy for the character. For most, it
will be the ability to spend energy to help boost an
Classes will provide you the bulk of your character ally’s result in your skill expertise.
generation options. Once you select a class you will
get the following EQUIPMENT
You have two options, you can use your starting gear-
HEALTH & ENERGY bits to purchase your starting gear. Or, you can pick
Your initial Health and Energy Pools. from the two pre-made packages.
BOOST TALENTS
Your class will determine your starting Nerve and In addition to all the things you can do as a Drifter,
Grit scores. These will try to be optimized with your you also have access to Talents. You don’t get all the
class’ most used skills. abilities, rather you can only a few, as designated by
your class.
As you advance you will have opportunities to get
more talents or switch out ones you don’t like.

ABILITY BREAKDOWN Skill: This is the associated skill that the talent is
Abilities and talents may take many forms, but their utilizing, this will help you know which Discipline
formats will all be reasonably the same. This will help you are rolling against. To see the skill list see the
you understand what goes into an ability. Disciplines | Skills chapter for the table and related
associations.
Ability Name
(C ost | Skill | R ange) DESCRIPTION
Effect:
A brief description of how the ability might look, in
Fortune:
case you want to describe your character’s actions in
Temperance (◈ -1 ):
more detail.
Judgment (◈ ):
EFFECT
ABILITY NAME Some actions will just state the outcome, though
The name of the Ability or Talent. most you will find broken out into the three thresh-
olds, Fortune, Temperance, and Judgement.
(COST | SKILL | RANGE) If the resulting threshold will suffer a consequence,
Cost: the resource cost of the talent, which can be it will be marked by this (◈) symbol. In addition, if
• Energy: This will be the most common form of there is an adjustment to the Adversity level, it will
energy cost you will see. It will be commonly be marked accordingly, such as (◈ -1 ) or (◈ -2 ).
written as “+x energy.”
• Dash: Will utilize one of your dash charges. As
written, a Dash will always refer to using one
dash charge.
• Woe: A point of insecurity, stress, or bad luck,
with these abilities you take Woe damage (filling
in your woe clock)
36.
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Warrior
12 10
Grit [ 2 ] Nerve [ 1 ]
Dashes
Features Talents
Tactician Impale (Dash)

Grant yourself or allies the ability
to make the first move in combat. Take a Hit (Dash )
Cleave (+2 Energy)
Stronger
Together Multi-Shot (+2 Energy)
You can lend your strength to Fighting Style (Passive)
help your allies.
Strategic Positioning
Warrior’s (+1 Energy)
Training
Pick three talents. Warriors Aura (+1 Woe)
Select a Kit from the options below:

Bulwark Brute
1x Light weapon 2x Light weapons
1x Light shield 1x Heavy weapon
1x Light armor
38.
You’re a good ally to have in a fight and you know how CLASS FEATURES
to use weapons and defend yourself. As a warrior gain the following class features.
CLASS ATTRIBUTES TACTICIAN

As a warrior you begin with 12 Health and an Energy The battlefield is all about picking the right moment.
Pool of 10. Your boost scores provide you with a Grit Spend an Intervention Point to create the opportune
of 2 and a Nerve of 1. moment to strike. Before the start of combat or the
start of a round, you can spend a intervention point
DISCIPLINES as a reaction. Then, pick two characters, and tempo-
All your disciplines start at 18, with Combat starting rarily move their initiative order to the top of the list
at 15. You have 5 points to reduce your disciplines as for the round. Players will suffer no consequences from
you see fit. the first action they perform.
EQUIPMENT STRONGER TOGETHER

Select a kit from the following options, or select your You can lend your strength to help your allies over-
own equipment with 5 bits, your starting gear must come a task. If an ally is using a skill from the C ombat
include a weapon. D iscipline , you can spend your energy to boost your
ally’s roll.
BULWARK
One light-melee or ranged-weapon of your choice, WARRIOR TALENTS
light armor, and a light shield. Powered by energy, woe, and dash charges, your
talents allow you to interact with the world in various
BRUTE ways. Feel free to pick from your class list (below) or
Two light or ranged weapons of your choice, and a from the general talent list (on page xx).
heavy weapon of your choice.

DASH TALENTS COMBAT TALENTS
I mpale Cleave
+ 1 ENERGY + DASH | ACTION | FIGHT +2 ENERGY | FIGHT | RANGE 0 Strategic Positioning
+1 ENERGY | FIGHT | RANGE 0
Move one tile, then make a [Fight] Make a single attack, dealing damage to
You put yourself in a position to strike,
attack against one target. every enemy in your tile.
either by helping an ally to safety or
Fortune: Deal 2[w] damage. Fortune: Deal [w]+[Vigor or Agility] putting yourself into the path of danger.
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal [w] + to each enemy in your tile.
Fortune: Deal [w] damage, you and
1 damage. Temperance: [◈ ] Deal [w] damage to
one ally can move a tile at no addi-
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 2 damage two enemies in your tile.
tional cost.
Judgment: [◈+ 1] Deal 1 damage to two
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal [w] damage
enemies in your tile.
Take a Hit and either you or an ally can
DASH | REACTION | DEFEND
move a tile.
Prior to an ally taking damage, you can Multi-Shot Judgment: [◈ ] You or your ally can
+2 ENERGY | AIM | RANGE +
Move one tile and roll a [Defend] save. move one tile.
Make one attack roll against the highest
Fortune: Block all damage
Deal damage to damage between two
Temperance: [◈ ] Block [Shield + 2] PASSIVE TALENTS
targets.
Judgment: [◈ ] Block [Shield]
◈ The consequence for this ability is Fortune: Distribute 2[w] between
F ighting Style
the amount of damage ally was about two targets, damage can all go to the PASSIVE
to take. same target if you so choose.
At the beginning of a scene or combat
Temperance: [◈+ 1] Distribute [w] + 1
encounter, take on a fighting style.
damage between two targets.
Judgment: [◈ ] Distribute 2 damage as Power: +1 to base weapon damage.
you see fit. Resilience: +2 to [Defense] rolls.
Focus: + 2 to [Fight] and [Aim] rolls.
40.
WOE TALENTS
Warrior’s Aura
-1 WOE | PASSIVE
As a seasoned warrior you can leverage

your experience to get the upper hand
in certain social situations. After you
roll, you can take on a point of Woe to
use your [Grit] score instead of your
[Nerve] score.
Authority (Influence): One who

shows confidence in their actions and
takes the lead.
Capability (Lead): One who can
work well with others and coordinate
effectively.
Cultured (Perform): One who appre-
ciates the nuances of tradition.
Honor (Empathy): One who is trust-
worthy and can keep their word.
Ruthlessness (Intimidate): One who
is willing to use their power to get
what they want.

Wielder
10 12
Dashes
Features Talents
Awaken the
Barrier Projection (dash)
Ancients
Bring to life an ancient machine Kinetic Shockwave (dash)
to assist you with a brief but
great task.
Hex Burst (+2 energy)
Tech Savant Lance (+2 energy)
You can lend your knowledge to
help your allies. Unstable Blade (+1 energy)
Wielders Central Console (passive)

Experiments
Pick four talents. Intimidating Power (1 woe)

C aution 1x Wield machines
1x Light weapon
1x Wield machines 1x Explosive
1x Light shield
2x Light weapons
H avoc
42.
The past is a mystery and you are determined to CLASS FEATURES
uncover the secrets of the past. Through experimen-
tation, you have gained knowledge and adapted tools AWAKEN THE ANCIENTS
to serve your needs. Utilizing your knowledge of past technologies,
you bring to life an ancient machine. Spend an
CLASS ATTRIBUTES Intervention Point and awaken a dormant machine
As a wielder you begin with 10 Health and an Energy that will provide one service for you and your party.
Pool of 12. Your boost scores provide you with a Grit Upon completion of the service, it will either run out
of 1 and a Nerve of 2. of energy, deactivate or continuing to move about the
world on its own, impartial to you and your mission.
DISCIPLINES If the you intend to use the service for combat, the
All your disciplines start at 18, with Manipulate wielder gains access to the following ability that they
starting at 15. You have 5 points to reduce your disci- can use up to three times.
plines as you see fit.
Awakened A ssault
EQUIPMENT +0 ENERGY | ACTION | RANGED +2
Select a kit from the following options, or select your You direct, or cause a ancient machine to attack the target of
own equipment with 5 bits, your starting gear must your choice target.
include a weapon. Fortune: Deal 2 damage to two targets.
Temperance: Deal 2 damage to one target.
CAUTION Judgment: Deal 1 damage to one target.
Wield machines, a light shield and two light weapons.
The type of services that a player can request can
be quite diverse. Work with your narrator to help
HAVOC shape your idea or desired outcome to best fit the
context and scenario.
Wield machines, an explosive, and a light weapon.

TECH SAVANT ENERGY TALENTS
You can lend your knowledge of technolog y to
help your allies overcome a task. If an ally is Hex Burst
+2 ENERGY | WIELD | RANGE +
using a skill from the M a nipul ate D iscipline , you
Unleash an explosion to all enemies in the tile.
can spend your energy to boost your ally’s roll.
In addition, your Manipulate Discipline starts at 15. Fortune: Deal [w]+[Insight] damage to all enemies in
the tile.
Temperance: [◈ ] Deal [w] damage to all enemies in tile.
WIELDER TALENTS Judgment: [◈+ 1] Deal 1 damage to all enemies in tile.
Powered by energy, woe, and dash charges, your
talents allow you to interact with the world in various Consequence recommendation: One or more allies
in the tile must make a [Ref lex] save to evade
ways. Feel free to pick from your class list (below) or damage, (Fortune: no damage, Temperance: 1 damage;
Judgment: 2-3 damage)
from the general talent list (on page xx).
DASH TALENTS P ush

+1 ENERGY | WIELD | RANGE 0
Barrier P rojection You create a small blast which pushes your enemies back.
DASH | REACTION | RANGE 0
Fortune: Push any number of targets in your tile up to a
As a reaction, block all consequence damage against you or
maximum of 1 + [Insight] tiles.
your allies in your tile. Once the barrier absorbs 6 + [insight]
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Push 2 targets into a neighboring tile.
damage, it dissipates.
Judgment: [◈ ] Push 1 target into a neighboring tile.
K inetic Shockwave
DASH | ACTION | MANEUVER
Move one tile then, roll a [maneuver] check against a target

within one tile.
Fortune: Deal 4 + [Insight] damage.

Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal 1 + [Insight] damage.
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage.
44.
L ance WOE TALENTS
+2 ENERGY | WIELD | RANGE +
Create a lance of hard light which you blast into your enemies.
Intimidating Power
This attack can hit two targets in two neighboring tiles. +1 WOE | INTIMIDATE
Fortune: Deal [w]+[Grit] damage to the first target and [w] There are many people who do not fully understand the power
damage to the second. that the ancients have left behind. You can leverage their fears
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal 1 damage to all enemies in tile. by making a display of power. Take on a point of Woe to intim-
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage to one enemy. idate your audience.
If your audience is difficult to intimidate, gain +3 to your roll.

Unstable Blade
+1 ENERGY | FIGHT | RANGE 0
For the next two attacks, deal bonus damage equal to your
[Agility or Vigor].
PASSIVE TALENTS
Central Console
PASSIVE
After studying a Librarian device you can discern the general

direction of the control mechanism. It may be out of the way,
inaccessible, unpowered, or any other set of complications, but
at least knowing its general direction is a start.

Versifier
9 12
Dashes
Features Talents
Gale Dash (dash)
Storyteller
Mirror Image (dash)
Recall or discover interesting
i n for m at ion b y a s k i n g t he Behind You! (+2 energy)
narrator a question.
Blunder (+2 energy)
Socialite Connection (passive)
You can lend your charisma to help
your allies. Lead the Attack (+2 energy)
Pidgin (passive)
Well Traveled
Encouragement (passive)
Pick four talents.
Feint (+1 energy)

C aretaker Guardian
1x Light weapon 1x Light weapons
2x Stimpacks 1x Light shield
1x Stimpack
46.
You are gifted with a silver tongue, seeking to unearth CLASS FEATURES
stories of a time long gone.
STORYTELLER
CLASS ATTRIBUTES People give up information far more willingly than
As a versifier you begin with 9 Health and an Energy most would assume, and you know just how to coax it
Pool of 12. Your boost scores provide you with a Grit out of them. You are a collector of lore, legends, and
of 1 and a Nerve of 2. gossip alike. If someone is looking for information,
chances are you already have it.
DISCIPLINES Spend an Intervention Point to ask the Narrator one
All your disciplines start at 18, with Social starting question, and they will answer truthfully. Remember
at 15. You have 5 points to reduce your disciplines as that the information you request should be relevant
you see fit. to your current situation. Questions could include the
following: (q)
EQUIPMENT - Do threats that lurk in a certain location?
Select a kit from the following options, or select your
- What is the reputation of a certain tribe that
own equipment with 5 bits, your starting gear must makes their home in this region?
include a weapon.
- You’ve spoken to the survivor of an ambush that
lives in the last sanctuary you visited. What did
CARETAKER he say about it?
One light weapon and two stimpacks.
SOCIALITE
GUARDIAN You can lend your charisma to help your allies over-
One light weapon, a light shield, and a stimpack. come a task. If someone is using a skill check from
the S oci al D iscipline , you can spend Energy Points
to boost their roll.

VERSIFIER TALENTS COMBAT TALENTS
Powered by energy, woe, and dash charges, your
talents allow you to interact with the world in various Behind You!
+2 ENERGY | ACTION | AWARENESS | RANGE 2
ways. Feel free to pick from your class list (below) or
Your keen eye spies an incoming threat before it’s too late,
shouting a warning to your allies.
DASH TALENTS Fortune: Pick two allies. The next time they take damage,
reduce the amount by your [Presence] score. In addition,
the affected allies may choose to move one tile.
Gale Dash
DASH | ACTION Temperance: Pick two allies. The next time they take
damage, reduce the amount by 2 points. In addition, the
Move up to two tiles, the enemies in final destination are
affected allies may choose to move a tile.
pushed to a neighboring tile of your choosing taking 2 +
Judgment: Pick one ally, the next time they take damage,
[Agility] damage.
reduce the amount by 2 points.
M irror I mage
DASH | ACTION
Blunder
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | INFLUENCE | RANGE 1
As you zip across the battlefield, you leave numerous projec-
tions of your likeness in your wake, confusing any enemies You call attention to yourself by causing a ruckus, throwing
that target you. Move up to two tiles and ignore the next two insults, and distracting enemies from their assault.
Consequences your character would suffer.
Fortune: Deal [w] damage to one enemy. For the next two
rolls against it, reduce all thresholds by [Nerve]+1.
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal [w] damage to one enemy. For the
next roll against it, reduce the threshold for a Fortune by 1.
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage to the enemy.
48.
Lead the Attack Connection
+2 ENERGY | ACTION | LEAD | RANGE 0 PASSIVE | INFLUENCE
You rally your allies with an infallible call, directing a coordi- When entering a new town you either know someone or can
nated charge against the enemy. find someone that can help you. Make an [Inf luence] and the
results are as follows:
Fortune: Deal [w] damage. Two allies gain +2 to their roll
and +2 damage to their next attack. Fortune: You know or find someone that can provide the
Temperance: [◈ ] Two allies gain +1 to their roll and +1 information or services that you are seeking.
damage to their next attack. Temperance: (+1 w o e) You find someone, but there’s a catch
Judgment: [◈+ 1] One ally gains +1 to their roll and +1 or some other form of complication.
damage to their next attack. Judgment: (+1 w o e) You are unable to find someone, or, if
the Narrator is up for it, you find something you weren’t
looking for.
F eint
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | INFLUENCE | RANGE 0
Trick your target into leaving themselves open for an attack. WOE TALENTS
Fortune: Deal [w] + [Presence] damage.
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal [w] damage.
Encouragement
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage. +1 WOE | REACTION
You know exactly what will inspire your allies, encouraging

PASSIVE TALENTS them to work and fight even harder. Take on a point of woe
and all allies can re-roll one check until the end of the scene.
This ability is a reaction, so a versifier could

P idgin invoke this ability after an ally made a bad roll.
PASSIVE
Wherever you go, you are able to pick up a handful of foreign

words. Even if you attempt to communicate with someone who
doesn’t share the same tongue as you. You are able to exchange
basic ideas and information with them.

Delver
10 12
Grit [ ] Nerve [ ]
Dashes
Features Talents
Dashing Strike (dash)
Safe Respite
Find a safe place to rest and heal Temporal Tear (dash)
Experienced Bleed (+2 energy)

Survivor
Lend your survival expertise Trapmaker (+2 energy)
to your allies, keeping them
from harm.
Sneak Attack (passive)
Survival
Instincts Careful Aim (+2 energy)
Pick three talents.
Survival Instinct (passive)

Survivor Skirmisher
2x Light weapons 2x Light weapons
1x Stimpack 1x Light Shield
or light armor 1x Explosive
50.
An expert at surviving and exploring the deep under- EXPERIENCED SURVIVOR
ground facilities. You are versed in keeping yourself and your allies
alive. If anyone in the group is performing a task from
CLASS ATTRIBUTES the Survival D iscipline , you can lend your expertise
As a versifier you begin with 10 Health and an Energy to help your ally overcome the task. When assisting
Pool of 12. Your boost scores are f lexible, and you can the ally, you can spend your energy to boost your
assign the values [2] and [1] into your Grit and Nerve ally’s roll.
as you see fit.
EQUIPMENT
DISCIPLINES Select a kit from the following options, or select your
All your disciplines start at 18, with Survival starting own equipment with 5 bits, your starting gear must
at 15. You have 5 points to reduce your disciplines as include a weapon.
you see fit.
SURVIVOR
CLASS FEATURES Two light weapons and your choice of either a stim-
pack or light armor.
SAFE RESPITE
When making camp or taking a long rest, you can GUARDIAN
you spend an Intervention Point to find a safe place. Two light weapons a light shield, and an explosive.
During this rest, you are safe from unexpected
encounters and each ally recovers 3 energy, and either VERSIFIER TALENTS
2 health or 1 woe. Any energy that you recover above Powered by energy, woe, and dash charges, your
your maximum, you get to keep as temporary energy talents allow you to interact with the world in various
points, lasting until the next scene. ways. Feel free to pick from your class list (below) or

DASH TALENTS COMBAT TALENTS
Dashing Strike Bleed

DASH | ACTION | FIGHT OR AIM +2 ENERGY | ACTION | FIGHT | RANGE 0
Make a [Fight] attack, and see below for the rest of the effects You find a sensitive spot where you can bleed your target.
of your attack.
Fortune: Deal [w] and cause your target to bleed [Insight]
Fortune: Move up to two tiles, dealing [w] + [Agility] damage every round until they take action to stop it.
damage to a number of enemies equal to your [Vigor]. Temperance: [◈ - 1] Cause your target to bleed [Insight]
Temperance: Move up to one tile, dealing [w] damage to a damage for two rounds.
number of enemies equal to your [Agility]. Judgment: [◈ ] Cause your target to bleed 2 damage for
Judgment: Move up to one tile and deal 1 damage to a number two rounds.
of enemies equal to your [Agility].
T rapmaker
3 COMPONENTS | ACTION | INFLUENCE
T emporal T ear
DASH | ACTION
Given enough time, you can create a dastardly trap that may
Using your dash module, you can create a temporary temporal entangle or injure your enemies.
rift, giving you precious seconds to turn the tide. Spending this
Fortune: Your trap deals [w] + [Nerve] damage, in addition
allows you to move one tile and reduce the cost of your next
pick an effect from the following options, they will last for
action by 2.
2 rounds:
Target is restrained unable to move.
Target is knocked unconscious unless attacked.
Target is poisoned; target takes [Nerve] damage.
Target is blinded; Judgment Consequences are reduced to
Temperance effects.
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Your trap deals [w] damage, addition-
ally, pick an effect from the previous options. It will last
1 round.
Judgment: [◈ ] Your plan either does not bear fruit, or your
trap is discovered, alerting the enemy of your presence.
They may wait, attack, or escape.
52.
Sneak Attack
+2 ENERGY | ACTION | SNEAK | RANGE 0)
The best fights are won when you already have the upper-hand.
Slipping out of view, you emerge behind your target dealing a
powerful blow.
Fortune: Deal [w] + 2[Agility] damage to your target.

Temperance: [◈ ] Deal [w] + [Agility] damage to your target.
Judgment: [◈+ 1] Deal 1 + [Agility] damage to your target.
Careful A im
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | AIM
You take a moment to will make this next shot count. Gain +3
to your next ranged attack roll.
WOE TALENTS
Survival Instinct
+1 WOE | PASSIVE | MONTAGE
You’ve seen a lot of dangerous things and can identify dangerous

situations before the party stumbles into them. During a
montage, if a an ally is using a Exploration skill, you can spend
take on a point of woe to let them a reroll.

Trailblazr
10 12
Grit [ ] Nerve [ ]
Dashes
Features Talents
Safe Respite
Find a safe place to rest and heal
Experienced
Survivor
Lend your survival expertise
to your allies, keeping them
from harm.
Survival
Instincts
Pick three talents.

Survivor Skirmisher
2x Light weapons 2x Light weapons
1x Stimpack 1x Light Shield
or light armor 1x Explosive
54.
In Development

Disciplines
Skills represent a competence or knowledge in some- SKILL DESCRIPTIONS
thing, and how well you might perform in a certain
area. There are 30 different skills in Drifter which are Listed below is every skill and its intended use.
separated into 5 Disciplines. Whenever you want to Each skill is also grouped with their corresponding
execute an action, you spend the requisite energy cost Discipline as well as ability score (which can be used
before rolling the dice. The result of your throw is to reduce the cost of performing that action). In some
then compared against your Discipline’s rating. This instances, you might use a different ability score for a
will tell you the outcome of the action you took. skill than is intended, for example, using [Agility] over
[Intuition] to search a room when you’re in a hurry.
RATE DISCIPLINES
Each class has their own favored disciplines, however
in most cases your disciplines will at 18. You have 6
points that you can distribute as you see fit, reducing
the Discipline rating, representing your character’s
skill in that area. Your final scores for each disci-
pline represent the final number you need to reach to
achieve a Fortune result for skills under that category.
56.
Disciplines
EXPLORAT ION SKILLS SOCIAL SKILLS
Skills used to explore or traverse the environment. Skills that will be used for most interacting with char-
Awareness -Noticing unusual things around you acters and creatures.
Balance – Remaining steady and positioned.
Climb – Scaling and traversing various surfaces. Empathy – Determining the emotional state of the
Jump – Propelling yourself over obstacles and chasms. target character or creature.
Lift – Pushing and lifting heavy objects. Handle Animal – Familiarity with taming, rearing
Reflex – Reacting to and dodging.
and riding various creatures.
Sneak – Moving silently and unnoticed.
Swim – Maneuver in water and bodies of liquid. Influence – Changing someone’s behavior to do what
you want them to.
SURVIVAL SKILLS
Intimidate – Getting others to do what you want them
Skills used for camping, navigating and surviving
outside the sanctuary. to through use fear and threats.
Cartography – Drawing and reading maps. Lead – Rallying or encouraging a group of individuals
Cook – Preparing various ingredients to make a meal. to take certain actions.
Craft – Creating objects in a given art or trade. Negotiate – Getting the best agreement, price or terms.
Forage – Finding food, water, and shelter.
Perform – Carrying out a memorable or distracting
Fortitude – Resistance to various kinds of pain and
punishment. performance.
Heal – Treating injuries, poison and disease. Resolve – The willpower or ability to push through
Nature – Understanding the natural world and exhaustion or pain and resisting fear.
predicting the weather.
Track – Following and identifying tracks.
COMBAT SKILLS MANIPULAT E SKILLS
Skills that are likely to be used for fighting. Skills that will be used for using remanent technology.
Access – Activate or deactivate facility functions.
Aim – Using ranged and projectile weapons and objects Repurpose – Your ability to use Librarian tech-
against a target. nology in an unintended way.
Defend – Defending yourself from attacks. Salvage – Harvest components which can be useful
Fight – Fighting in close quarters combat, utilizing for crafting or building.
anything from weapons, fists and claws Wield – Utilizing ancient weapons and wield
Maneuver – Moving effetely across the battlefield machines to devastate your enemies.

ACCESS observed actions, underestimate counts.
M anipulat e | I nt uit ion
Activate or deactivate facility functions. BALANCE
E xplorat ion | A gilit y
Common Uses: Activate or deactivate nopfa-
Remaining upright and steady so that you don’t fall.
cility functions, pull schematics, turning on lights,
Common Uses: Act normal against strong winds,
opening or closing blast doors, disarming alarms, or
cross a narrow/unstable bridge, not dropping an
redirecting f lammable gas.
object, not getting pushed over.
Common Consequences: Activating an alarm,
Common Consequences: Dropping an object,
causing an explosion, destroying the interface.
falling down, stepping in a trap, stepping on a weak
AIM part of the f loor.
C ombat | A gilit y
Using ranged and projectile weapons and objects CART OGRAPHY
S urvival | I nsight
against a target.
Drawing and reading maps.
Common Uses: Throwing an object, attempting to
Common Uses: Creating a map, reading a map,
hit an object at range, shooting an enemy.
deducing the location of a place, finding where you
Common Consequences: Missing the target,
are, not getting lost.
hitting an ally, breaking the target object, getting
Common Consequences: Getting lost, finding the
attacked.
wrong location, going down the more dangerous
AWARENESS path, encountering problems on the chosen path,
E xplorat ion | I nsight creating an unusable map.
Noticing unusual things and details around you,
searching for clues and odd behavior. CLIMB
E xplorat ion | V igor
Common Uses: Searching for an item, making an
Scaling and traversing various surfaces.
observation off in the distance, making an observa-
Common Uses: traversing up or down a steep or
tion or noticing small details.
vertical surface, utilizing ropes.
Common Consequences: Not finding what you’re
Common Consequences: Slipping down, unable
looking for, finding the wrong thing, misjudging
58.
to climb the surface, falling down, breaking the enemy’s attack.
climbing path, causing a landslide, causing an ally Common Consequences: Unable to stop the attack
to fall. from hitting you, losing a an exchange with an
enemy, getting feinted our outmaneuvered.
COOK
S urvival | I nsight EMPAT HY
P r e p a r i n g v a r i o u s i n g r e d i e n t s t o m a ke S ocial | P resence
a meal. Determining the emotional state of the target char-
Common Uses: Meals while camping, hosting acter or creature.
feasts, creating restorative foods, impressing others Common Uses: Perceive the current goals or imme-
with food. diate needs of a target, find reason to connect with
Common Consequences: Undercooked food, or help someone.
untreated ingredients, burnt, poor taste, wrong Common Consequences: Misunderstand the char-
creature component, bad cuts of meat, wrong herbs. acter/creature. Invoke a reaction from the target,
create misunderstanding.
CRAFT
S urvival | I nsight FIGHT
Creating objects in a given art or trade. C ombat | V igor
Common Uses: Making weapon augmentations, Fighting in close quarters combat, utilizing anything
protective items, and useful tools. from weapons, fists, and claws.
Common Consequences: Taking longer to make, Common Uses: Attacking an enemy, winning a
items breaking while being used, effects of created duel, wrestling or grappling.
items are minimized, has an unintended effect. Common Consequences: Getting hit, missing a
block, getting outskilled.
DEFEND
C ombat | V igor FORAGE
Defending yourself from attacks. S urvival | I nsight
Common Uses: Block ing incoming at tacks, Finding food, water, and shelter.
protecting someone else, parrying or dodging an Common Uses: Finding a safe place to rest, hunting

or foraging for food, locating water, savaging for or uncooperative. Creature runs off, attacks, or
natural resources. damages items.
Com mon Consequences: Cont a m i nated or
HEAL
dangerous food, you enter someone else’s hunting S urvival | I nsight
grounds, you find something else’s shelter, get the Treating injuries, poison, and disease.
attention of a creature/group. Common Uses: Treat injuries, disease, poisons, or
other ailments.
FORT IT UDE
S urvival | V igor Common Consequences: Injury is outside of your
The capacity to resist physical punishment, from skill or experience, you make the injury worse,
the likes of poisons or pain. problem spreads, new complication is presented.
Common Uses: Resisting poison, alcohol, disease
INFLUENCE
or contamination, holding breath, getting pushed, S ocial | P resence
enduring pressure, staying conscious. Changing someone’s behavior to do what you want
Common Consequences: You take a dosage higher them to.
than expected, you get sick/infected, you lose Common Uses: Persuade or convince someone to
footing or on an unstable surface, you’re caught off do or provide something beneficial.
guard or out of position/footing. Common Consequences: Person is not willing to
help out, complicates or makes the situation more
HANDLE ANIMAL
S ocial | P resence difficult, person wants to help but is not actually
Familiarity with taming, rearing, and riding various the right person for the job.
creatures.
INT IMIDAT E
Common Uses: Keep a creature at bay, utilize docile S ocial | P resence
pack-animals, tame beasts, understand a creature’s Getting others to do what you want them to through
needs, steer a mount. use fear and threats.
Common Consequences: Creature panics, gets Common Uses: Scare, threaten, appear menacing
spooked, angry, irritated, or otherwise unresponsive or provide the threat of danger or power.
60.
Common Consequences: Situation escalates, target LIFT
E xplorat ion | V igor
becomes more hostile or calls your bluff refusing to
Pushing and lifting heavy objects.
interact with you.
Common Uses: Open blast doors, lift and move
JUMP heavy or large objects, throw large objects.
E xplorat ion | V igor Common Consequences: Object is heavier than
Propelling yourself over obstacles and chasms.
anticipated, object begins to move unexpectedly, is
Common Uses: Vaulting over objects, traversing
attached to or triggers something.
over gaps.
Common Consequences: Bad jump takeoff, slip- MANEUVER
C ombat | A gilit y
pery or difficult jump landing, objects in the way
Moving effectively across the battlefield, engaging
of trajecotry, over-jumped, or didn’t jump quite
and disengaging.
far enough.
Common Uses: Moving around the combat board,
LEAD safely retreating, or maneuvering around a target or
S ocial | P resence the battlefield.
Rallying or encouraging a group of individuals to
C om mon C on s e q ue nce s: Move me nt ge t s
take certain actions.
prevented, your charge is slowed down, your enemy
Common Uses: Inspire allies, reunite locals to a
blocks your path.
cause, organize a group.
Common Consequences: People are not confi- NAT URE
S urvival | I nsight
dent in your cause or ability to lead, someone has
Understanding the natural world and predicting the
a percieved better idea, someone is voicing discon-
weather.
tent bringing morale down, someone is challenging
Common Uses: Read t he weat her, identif y
your authority.
dangerous plants and ecologies, understanding
natural processes.
Common Consequences: Wrongly identify or
misjudge the cycle, creature, natural process, or

incoming weather. getting out of the way.
Common Consequences: Falling, getting hit by
NEGOT IAT E
S ocial | P resence falling objects, unable to dodge, dodging but falling
Getting the best agreement, price, or terms. into something else.
Common Uses: Ma ke a successf ul trade or
REPURPOSE
exchange, find a good deal, ensure safe passage. M anipulat e | I nsight
Common Consequences: Person is not willing to Your ability to use Librarian technology in an unin-
make a deal, the only deal that is on offer is costly, tended way.
person requires a favor, information gets given to an Common Uses: Using an engine to destroy a wall,
unsavory group. a lift to hold a door shut, a drill to break a barrier.
Common Consequences: The manipulated object
PERFORM
S ocial | P resence backfires, explodes, electrical feeback, or reacts in
Ca r r y i ng out a memor able or d ist r ac t i ng unintended ways.
performance.
R E S O LV E
Common Uses: Entertain a group, distract someone, S ocial | I nsight
provide cheer or entertainment, impress or inspire, The willpower or ability to push through exhaus-
create a work of art. tion or pain and resisting fear and intimidation.
Common Consequences: Lyrics, jokes, tricks, or Common Uses: Ignore distractions, staying focused,
references make no sense or are not entertaining remaining conscious.
to the onlooker, instrument isn’t hitting the right Common Consequences: Getting distracted, losing
notes, stories are lost on the listener, someone is focus, getting intimidated, lured into a trap.
being distracting to the performance.
REFLEX
E xplorat ion | A gilit y
Reacting to and dodging attacks as well as hazards.
Common Uses: Avoiding objects, falling safely,
62.
S A LV A G E T RACK
M anipulat e | V aries S urvival | I nsight
From the remnant technology, harvest components Following and identifying tracks.
which can be useful for building or crafting. Common Uses: What left the tracks, how recently
Common Uses: Finding components in dead autom- did they pass through, what is the state of the target,
atons or ruined machines. how many creatures ran through.
Common Consequences: Getting shocked, causing Common Consequences: Follow the wrong tracks,
an explosion, damaging potentially good compo- lose the trail, misread the tracks, weather compli-
nents, feedback reaction. cates tracking.
SNEAK WIELD
E xplorat ion | A gilit y M anipulat e | I nsight
Moving silently and being unnoticed. Effectively use wield machines and hard light
Common Uses: Move around or up to a target unno- weapons.
ticed. Hiding or concealing characters or objects. Common Uses: using wield machines, using other
Common Consequences: Generate interest but ancient weapons.
not yet noticed, lose your cover, target finds or gets Common Consequences: Feedback, misf ire,
distracted by something you left behind, get caught. energy short, energy leak, unexpected reaction,
explosion, sputters or f lickers,
SWIM
S urvival | V igor
Maneuver through water and other bodies of liquid.
Common Uses: Swimming, holding breath,
Common Consequences: Struggle to make it
across, waves or other water features, dangerous
creatures.

Equipment
CURRENCY ARMOR
In a ruined world, survival is the highest priority
on anyone’s mind. The value of established curren- You will encounter three types of armor in this
cies and credits has been wiped out long ago by the world: Light, Medium, and Heavy. By far the most
great calamity that befell the land, giving rise to a common among drifters, Light armor can be cobbled
completely new form of currency. together from many kinds of scavenged materials and
“Bits”, as they are called by drifters, are small does not require advanced skills to craft. Medium
interlocking power cells that are used to power most and Heavy armor is much more scarce, it can only
devices and hyper light machines. Pieces of them can be found in long-forgotten corners of the world, or
be found throughout the world, discovering treasures, constructed by an expert craftsman.
accomplishing tasks or defeating adversaries and • Armor: Reduce incoming damage by this value.
challenges. They are used as a currency that serves
as both money and experience points. When you rest • Agility: Actions that use Agility will cost extra
at a sanctuary, you will be able to spend your bits for energy to perform.
on equipment, upgrades or character advancements.
You can combine 4 pieces to make a bit, and you can • Thresholds: Increase Full Success threshold for
combine 4 bits to make a core (which can be used for Exploration skills.
crafting).
64.
Item Cost Effect
Light Armor 3 bits Armor 1.
Medium Armor 5 bits Armor 2, Agility +1 energy, thresholds +2.
Heavy Armor 6 bits Armor 3, Agility +2 energy, thresholds +4.
Light Shield 1 bit +1 Shield Defense,

Heavy Shield 2 bits +2 Shield Defense, +1 energy to attack
Light Melee Weapon 1 bit 3 damage, one-handed

Heavy Melee Weapon 3 bits 4 damage, two-handed, +1 energy to use
Light Ranged Weapon 1 bits 2 damage, range +1, one-handed

Heavy Ranged Weapon 3 bits 3 damage, range +2, two-handed, +1 energy to use
Wield Machines 2 bits 2 damage, range +1, special
Explosive 2 bits 1/scene; 3 damage, range +1

Stimpack 3 bits 1/scene; restore 2 health or 2 energy
Module Expansion 6 bits +1 dash per encounter

LIGHT ARMOR LIGHT SHIELD
Cost: 3 bits Cost: 1 bit
Armor: 1 Shield Defense: +1
M E DI U M A R M O R HEAVY SHIELD
Cost: 5 bits Cost: 2 bits
Armor: 2 Shield Defense: +2
Agility: +1 Energy Cost of Attacks: +1
Thresholds: +2
HEAVY ARMOR WEAPONS

Cost: 6 bits
Armor: 3 When exploring the far-f lung corners of the conti-
Agility: +2 nent, you must trust your weapon to protect you
Thresholds: +4 against the creatures that lurk outside the relative
safety of a sanctuary. You will find three different
SHIELDS ty pes of weapons: Unarmed, One-Handed, and
Two-Handed.
Built from scraps of ancient materials—or perhaps • Cost: If you were to purchase a new weapon
an emitter repurposed to provide protection—shields of equal power, how many bits would it cost to
are useful tools when you choose to fight defensively. acquire?
There are two types of shields, each adhering to a
different ability score when using with it. Shields also • Range: What is the range of your attack? Range
provide a bonus to the defend skill, whilst simultane- 0 means that you can only attack enemies in
ously adding value to some of your abilities. your tile. Range +1 means you can attack enemies
Shield Defense: Bonus granted to your [Ref lex] and one tile away.
[Defense] rolls.
66.
• Damage: The amount of damage dealt per MELEE WEAPONS
attack, this is typically recognized as [w] damage Light Melee Weapons
in abilities. Cost: 3 bits
Range: 0
• Additional Energy Cost: Does attacking with Damage: 2 damage
this weapon cost additional energy? All weapons that you can wield in one hand, such as
power gauntlets, axes, whips and swords.
Note (Dual Wielding): You may choose to wield a Heavy Melee Weapons
weapon in both hands, doing so increases the energy Cost: 4 bits
cost and weapon damage by 1. Range: 0
Damage: 4 damage
UNARMED & IMPROVISED WEAPONS Additional Energy Cost: +1
Cost: 0 bits Weapons that require two hands to wield. These
Range: 0 can be giant hammers, polearms, war axes, and
Damage: Light (1), Heavy (2). big swords.
There are times where you will need to resort to
fighting with your claws, teeth and fists or anything RANGED WEAPONS
you can get your hands on. Light Ranged Weapons
Cost: 1 bits
Range: +1
Damage: 2 damage
Slings, blasters and pistols that are light in weight
and power. They are relatively easy to conceal,
allowing you to pull them out at a moment’s notice.

Heavy Ranged Weapons SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Cost: 3 bits
Range: +1 Explosive
Damage: 3 damage Cost: 2 bits
Additional Energy Cost: +1 Use: 1/scene
Larger blasters that require two hands and boast Effect: 3 damage
some impressive firepower. They pack quite a punch, A small, durable device that can release a powerful
so be careful where you point them. explosion, though it needs time to become charged
Wield Machines up. With this equipment, you gain the following
Cost: 2 bits ability that can be used once per scene.
Range: +1
Damage: 2 damage Explosive
Special: Overcharge +1 ENERGY | ACTION | AIM | RANGE 1
Small devices that allow you to create and manip- Throw your explosive into the fray, damaging enemies.
ulate Hyper Light into great destruction. Wielders Fortune: Deal 3 damage to all enemies in the tile
are most proficient with these, though other drifters Temperance: Deal 2 damage to all enemies in the tile
have been known to fall back on Wield Machines in Judgment: Deal 1 damage; Consequence (I).
a pinch as well.
Overcharge: Before you roll an attack, you can Stimpack
increase the damage output of your Wield Machines. Cost: 3 bits
For each extra point you want to increase your Use: 1/scene
damage, you must pay an additional 2 energy. This Effect: Restore 2 health or 2 energy.
cost is added to your base ability cost, though you A vital device that injects a fast-healing agent into
may reduce the cost depending on your relevant your body, providing a brief boost of life that can
ability score. make all the difference in a bad situation.
68.
Use R estorative
(+0 ENERGY | ACTION | HEAL | RANGE 0)
Apply a stimpack, medication, or consume a restorative to

restore your energy and/or health.
Module Expansion
Cost: 6 bits
Effect: Increase the number of dashes you have by 1.
Dash modules are tricky devices to work with
and improve. This enhancement provides enough
regulated energy for you to safely perform an addi-
tional dash.

Ingredients
Harvestable organics, ranging from creature compo- Create Energy Snacks
nents (f luits, tissues, f lesh, and bones) to plant matter (3 INGREDIENTS | COOK )
(from roots, leaves, fruits, mosses, mushrooms, to Fortune: Create 3 consumables that you can distribute to
other unusual or unique organics). Collected by using your allies. When consumed, each recovers either 2 health
[Forage], [Nature], and ocassionally [Awareness], these or 3 energy.
ingredients can be utilized in [Cooking] to create short Temperance: Create 2 consumables that you can distribute
term consumable restoratives, or as part of applying to your allies. When consumed, each recovers either 1
the [Heal] skill. health or 2 energy.
Judgment: Create 2 consumables that recovers 1 energy, and
COOKING one will have actions cost +1 energy for two rounds.
Whether you’re preparing a fine meal to impress
Note for Narrators: Assuming t hat players
the respected members of a sanctuary, cooking up a are not abusing t he existing systems, you
well-earned meal after a great hunt, or scavenging could waive the need for tracking ingredi-
ents. That said, to prevent potential abuses
for scraps to just stay alive, the cooking skill is there
with the [Heal] skill, we recommend that char-
for you. acters can only benefit from [Heal] a number
When you want cook, you must declare what you of times per scene equal to their Grit score.
want to make, and spend the requisite ingredients.
A lso, it’s worth pointing out that we’re not
intending t he ing redients to be used as a
rationing-survival system (though you could very
much tweak the system to do such).
70.
HEALING
Ingredients can be used to apply the heal skill.
Heal
(+1 ENERGY & 2 INGREDIENTS | HEAL | RANGE 0)
Take a moment to apply aid to yourself or your allies.

Fortune: Pick one of the options below: you may distribute
the Energy and/or Health between yourself and one other
ally in your tile.
Heal 3 Health
Heal 5 Energy
Heal 2 Health and 3 Energy
Temperance: Pick one of the options below: you may
distribute the Energy and/or Health between either your-
self or one other ally in your tile.
Heal 2 Health
Heal 3 Energy
Judgment: Either you or an ally in your tile, heal 1 energy.
◈ Recommended Interventions: Attack other

allies on the battlefield, or add a complication to
the scene.

Components
COMPONENTS Deflector
While adventuring amidst the ruins, useful pieces (4 COMPONENTS | CRAFT)
of technology can be found which can be repurposed A small device that projects energy, intercepting incoming
into something useful for the drifters. Typically attacks for a brief time. Note: to be used requires you must
acquired using the the [Salvage] (Wielder-only skill), “Activate Simple Item,” you can only have one active at a time.
[Awareness], or [Forage] skills. Fortune: Intercepts 3 damage (health or energy) before
The exact nature of each component you collect being destroyed
does not need to be directly correlated or specified. Temperance: Intercepts 2 damage (health or energy) before
When you spend components it could instead relate being destroyed.
to a rare piece of technology, represent a complex Judgment: Intercepts 1 damage (health or energy) before
process, crafting methodology, or other abstraction falling apart.
as fits the use/scene.
We’ll be adding more cooking and crafting recipes as
we move along the playtest.
Enhance Weapon
(2 COMPONENTS | DOWNTIME | CRAFT )
Fortune: For the next three attacks, increase your total

damage by +2.
Temperance: Pick one of the options below: you may : For
the next two attacks, inrease your damage by +1
Judgment: For the next two attacks, deal +1 damage for the
first, and -1 damage on the second.
72.
Advancement
When you return to the relative safety of a sanc- You r adva ncement t rack has t wo t y pes of
tuary, you are able to spend your bits on upgrades advancements, General Advancements and Tiered
and advancements. Advancements.
By looking at your Advancement Track, you will find General Advancements are composed of 4 advance-
that there are two types of advancements, those that ments, and Tiered are a single advacement. You will
are single diamonds (Tiered Advancements) and those progress through the advancement board from left
composed of 4 diamonds (General Advancements). to right, filling in the dimonds as you purchase your
Each diamond costs 4 bits to advancements.
When you purchase an Advancement you will be Spending 4 bits allows you to pick an advancement
purchasing your advancements from left to right, so from the list provided below. Once you settle on one
your first advancement will be the Explorer advance- of them, look to the XP section of your character
ment. Then your next 4 Advancements will be General sheet and fill out one diamond on the left, continuing
Advancements, and so on. towards the right with each new advancement. Bits
◊ Tiered Advancement - Explorer may also be spent on special equipment, though this
◊ General Advancements (4) doesn’t count towards your XP progression.
◊ Tiered Advancement - Hero
◊ General Advancements (4) GENERAL ADVANCEMENTS
◊ Tiered Advancement - Paragon • Distribute two points across your Health and or
◊ General Advancements (4) Energy pool as you see fit.
◊ Tiered Advancement - Legend • Add a new Talent from either class or general list.
• Reduce one of your Discipline Thresholds by 1.
74.
TIERED ADVANCEMENTS EXPLORER
As your drifter advances, you will start to specialize You have just begun your journey, and still have
in one way or another. This takes the form of Tiered much to travel. The world is bigger than it seemed,
Advancements, as you acquire one you (picking from and despite the clarity you have found, there are only
the list below), you gain it’s benefits. In addition, more questions that need to be answered.
your path tiered advancements will provide you new When you gain the explorer tier, pick one of the
advancements that you can pick in addition to your paths below and gain it’s benefits.
existing options.
Advent urer
Benefits: Gain 2 points to distribute across your four
ability scores as you see fit.
Pat hfinder
Benefits: Gain 1 point to put in either of your
boost scores.
Journeymen
Benefits: Gain 3 Health and 3 Energy.

HERO / PARAGON Beast Mast er
You have seen the blessings and terrors of the world You have a way with creatures, in which they are
and have decided what your place or path will be in sometimes more friends than actual people are
it, or at least why you need to find it. Benefit: Once per scene, re-roll any [Handle Animal]
When gaining your hero and paragon advancement, check. In addition, gain a non-combat creature
pick from the list below. In addition, you can choose companion. Gain access to the following talents:
from the following options: • Combat Companion:
• Gain 2 points to distribute across your four ability • Companion Distraction:
scores as you see fit, or • Companion Trick:
• Gain 1 point to put in either of your boost scores.
Swordmast er
Once you’ve selected a path, you unlock the ability Increase sword damage by 1. Gain access to the
to select it’s talents as part of your talent options. following talents:
• Style Mastery:
• Sharpest Edge:
Propriet or
Increase dash distance by one tile. Gain access to the
following talents:
• Dash Deflect:
• Killing Dash:
Gunsmit h
You are able to use your components to modify and
create weapons. Gain access to the following talents:
• Improved Blast:
• Increase Range:
76.
Intervention Points
The recommended amount of Intervention Points Use - Class Abilit y
is equal to the number of people partaking in the Each class has their own unique way to spend
adventure. Intervention Points.
Delvers: Creates a safe space to rest, recovering
POINT S AT T HE T ABLE: extra Energy and Health.
Using physical objects like tokens or coins to represent Warriors: Allow some characters to gain the first
the group’s available Intervention Points is advised in strike in combat.
order to keep everyone aware of their availability. Wielders: Activate a dormant machine to provide
a simple service.
GAINING AND USING Versifiers: Recalls useful information about an
INT ERVENT ION POINT S area or person.
Use - Upgrade a R e s u lt
Likely the most common use of Intervention Points. Gain - Downgrading a R e s u lt
When you are unhappy with a roll result, you Players may choose to downgrade the outcome of a roll
may spend a point to move your roll result up one (Fortune -> Temperance, or Temperance -> Judgment) in
threshold. order to add a point to the Intervention Point pool.
Gain - Crit ical Roll

If a player rolls a natural 1 or 20 and they keep the
result, an Intervention Point is added to the pool.
78.
Gain - Narrat or Int ervent ions
When the Narrator raises the stakes during a scene
or battle, it’s called an Intervention. When an
Intervention is invoked, a point is added to the pool.
G a i n - C o mm u n i t y R e c o g n i t i o n
If a player makes a important decision, memorable
action, or does something of great significance at the
table or in the story. Someone at the table can nomi-
nate that player for community recognition. If all
players at the tablet agree, then add a intervention
point to the pool.

Woe
There are times in which all of your stresses, misfor- ACQUIRED ASPECTS
tunes and burdens come to a breaking point. As your There are two types of aspects that can come from
character is exposed to the various troubles and being Tested, Boons and Burdens. Each representing
horrors of the world, they will take on woe, slowly how people internalize, handle, and overcome their
filling their woe dial. Woe comes from various troubles.
sources, such as using woe-based talents, encountering
something horrific or unworldly, or even failing some BURDENS
social situations. These are aspects when our fears and uncertainties
Once your woe dial fills up, you immediately get the better of us. If your result is a Judgment or
become Tested. Clear your woe dial and make a Temperance you’ll pick one Burden for your character
[Resolve] save. You are allowed to spend energy to to bear. You are free to pick whichever burden you
boost your roll, however, for each point of energy think best fits your character and the events at hand.
spent you add an equal number of woe points to your Burdens read as follows:
new woe dial. The resulting threshold will determine
how you proceed. Burden Name (+ modifier)
SKILL PROHIBITION | DISCIPLINE
Fortune: Pick a Boon
Temperance: Pick a Burden, Discipline +1
SKILL PROHIBIT ION
Judgment: Pick a Burden, Discipline +2
Each burden has an associated skill that you are
Each aspect has an effect and resolution, which unable to use until the burden is resolved.
removes its effect. However, the more aspects your
character takes on, the more difficult it is to get a
Fortune result from being Tested.
80.
DI S C I P L I N E M O DI F I E R R E S O LV I N G B U R D E N S
In addition to being unable to use one skill, burdens Once you’ve acquired a burden, you can attempt to
will make all the skills in it’s discipline more diffi- resolve it. Much like knacks, pick from the list of reso-
cult to perform and succeed. Starting with a base of lutions to
2 + modifier(s), each burden you acquire will increase • Indulging in a vice at a sanctuary (spend 4 bits)
both Judgement and Fortune thresholds. Your roll • Resting at a discovery
result will determine what your modifiers will be • Undoing a past wrong
(Temperance +1, Judgment +2). If you have multiple • If another character uses the Empathy skill on the
burdens that apply to the same discipline, they will character with the Negative Condition and receives
stack. The final number, will be used to modify that Fortune or Temperance
disciplines Fortune and Judgment thresholds.
BURDENS LIST
You currently have the unresolved Directionless (
+1 ) burden. This means your Survival thresholds • Lost - Track | Survival
all increase by +3 ( 2 + 1 ). • Directionless - Cartography | Survival
If you acquired a second burden, and happened • Confused - Forage | Survival
to pick Confused ( +2 ), your Survival thresholds • Afraid - Handle Animal | Social
would increase to +5 ( 2 + 1 + 2 ).
• Insecure - Influence | Social
D ur ing your advent ures you resolve your
• Tasteless - Cook | Survival
Directionless ( +1 ) bane, leaving you with just
Confused ( +2 ) . This means your new total modi- • Creative Block - Craft | Survival
fier for Suvival is +4 ( 2+2 ). Once you remove this • Afraid - Handle Animal | Social
bane, and there are no other Survival banes, then
• Indifferent - Negotiate | Social
the penalty would fall off althogher.
• Irritable - Empathy | Social
• Exhausted - Jump | Exploration
• Anxious - Perform | Social
• Timid - Lead | Social

BOONS BOONS LIST
When you’ve rolled a fortune, you’ve conquered your
fears, uneasiness, insecurities, and bad luck. Boons Heightened Senses
ref lect your ability to overcome, and thusly provide Effect: Increase your Intellect by one.
benefits to those who do. Duration: Until the end of the Scene
These are designed a little more rigidly than burdens,

as their mechanical effect is more immediate. Confident
Effect: Boons have effects that benefit either you Effect: Reduce a total of three points of Woe between
or your allies directly. It could be through inspiration, your allies.
grit, or determination. Duration: Immediate
Duration: Typically short durations, such as until

the party returns to sanctuary, or until next rest, Courageous
until the end of the scene/dungeon, ect (since they Effect: Reduce a total of three points of Woe between
are buffs) your allies.

Duration: Immediate
Second Wind
Effect: Regain all your energy and distribute 4 points of
energy between your allies.
Duration: Immediate
82.
Corruption
One reason many do not leave the safety of the sanc- CORRUPTION TIERS
tuaries is to protect themselves from corruption. A There are 5 corruption tiers, these do nothing for
sort of sickness eventually aff lict all drifters and players, but do provide the narrator with some useful
eventually consumes them. tools to aid you in your adventures
On your character sheet you will find a corruption
track that has 12 marks broken out into various tiers. TAKING ON CORRUPTION
These tiers don’t do anything for you, the player, but There are a few things that players can do to take on
serve as benchmarks of how far along your corruption points of corruption.
is and how you may choose to have it manifest.
As you advance in corruption you will fill out each Not Today
diamond, progressing from left to right. If you are reduced below 0 hit points, you fall unconscious
You may take on a point of corruption from and take a point of Corruption and Woe.
exploring the depths of an ancient facility, or make You can choose to take on two points of corruption if you
a [fortitude] save against corruption when fighting want to regain all your energy and continue fighting.
with particular creatures or interacting with specific

objects. Judgment’s Bargain
As you advance in corruption, you may begin to If there is an outcome that you really want to achieve,
show symptoms, but this does not impact your ability the narrator (if they so choose) can offer you a bargain.
to function. Typically 1-2 points of corruption for the desired effect.
CORRUPT ION’S EPILOGUE

When you reach maximum corruption, it is time for
your character to find their final moments. Talk to
the narrator to understand
84.
CORRUPTION GIVING OUT CORRUPTION
FOR THE NARRATOR There are multiple ways that you can give out corrup-
tion to your players. It’s important to try and distance
Corruption is a representation of the Drifter’s sick- out instances of corruption. Although many of the
ness in the Hyper Light Drifter video-game, where examples could be stacked multiple times in an
over-time the main character is visibly, slowly dying venture, its not the intent to have them all applied at
to a unknown condition and is both driven and once. Pick the one that best fits how the party
haunted by it.
In the tabletop rpg, corruption can function as EXPLORAT ION
an important pacing tool. However, on the f lip-side Corruption gained while exploring will likely not
this could also be a very natural approach to having allow a save.
players make meaningful sendoffs of their drifters • Venturing inside a corrupted location.
and remembering their past deeds. • Resting inside a corrupted location.
If it leads to the end of a campaign, thats all in the • Reaching a particular depth in a corrupted location.
natsural course of things.
Another thing to think about is whether the party COMBAT
will have a shared corruption track or have indi- • Fighting a corrupted creature (save)
vidual ones. • Corrupted creature uses a special attack (save)
MANIPULAT E
• Interfacing or manipulating corrupted tech. (save)

C o m b a t
86.
The world of Drifter is not a peaceful one. If you want The grid is shaped like a diamond, divided into a
to survive, you will have to be ready to defend your- 3x3 grid. The center is known as the “heat”, which is
self. In a combat scenario, the Narrator describes the the main territory of melee fighters, while the other
opponents you are facing, and their relative positions tiles serve as the backline of the fight. Surrounding
to you. As players, you are free to use the environ- the heat are the f lanks and edges of the battlefield.
ment as well as your skills and abilities to overcome Each tile represents a short distance, meaning that
your adversaries. It’s important to note that not all multiple allies and enemies may occupy the same spot
battles can be won. Sometimes, it is smarter to retreat on the board. This bwill result in your advantage or
and live to fight another day. disadvantage, depending on your abilities and how
In the following sections, you will find information you use them.
on the combat structure of Drifter, and which rules When an encounter starts, assuming it is not a
you need to be mindful of. special setup, the party sets up on the western side
of the board, choosing their starting positions as you
STYLES OF PLAY see fit. As mentioned before, melee fighters tend to
When starting a combat encounter, there are two start in the heat tile, while ranged characters stick to
ways to engage with your enemies. Theatre of the Mind the western f lanks or edge. Once the party is all set
and the Combat Board. Choosing between the two is up, the Narrator proceeds to fill the eastern side with
entirely up to player preference; it is recommended your adversaries.
to pick the style best represents the situation at hand.
THEATRE OF THE MIND
COMBAT BOARD Instead of using a visual representation of the battle-
The more tactile approach to combat. This method field, this method allows for encounters to rely solely
allows you to easily track the relative position of both on description and narration. This method works
enemies and allies alike with the help of a handy grid. best with smaller scuff les covering no more than
two or three tiles, when speaking in terms of the
Combat Board.

88.
The best way to engage with this style is to outline
your intended actions to the Narrator, who then
decides whether or not it is possible for you perform
the action the way you intend to.
TURN ORDER
When you enter combat, when each player will get
to act, this is known as initiative or turn-order.
Right before combat begins the Narrator will ask the
players to make an initiative save, for this roll disre-
gard the thresholds. Players can roll either [Ref lex] or
[Awareness], applying boosts as they see fit. Enemies
have static values for their initiative, and enemies
of the same type usually act on the same initiative
order unless otherwise specified. Record all of the
final initiative values and order them from highest
to lowest, and let the encounter begin.

Combat Actions
When taking a turn, you are free to take as many check), observing the environment, or pulling an
actions as you see fit, however, each subsequent object out of storage to name a few. If you’re unsure,
action becomes more and more expensive to perform. just ask your narrator if a particular idea would count
• First action costs +0 energy, as an action or not.
• Second action costs +1 energy,
• Third action costs +2 energy COMBAT ACTIONS
This action cost is added to the cost of the ability or On your turn you can perform any action you see fit,
action you want to perform. from activating dash abilities, using talents, abilities
listed here, or any other ideas that you may have (just
For example: It’s your turn and you want to move
a tile and then make a basic attack your glaive. check with the narrator).
Your first action would be Reposition, as your first Just remember that that subsequent actions will
action the energy cost would be 0 + 2 = 2, this is have an increasing energy cost.
then reduced by your agility ability score. After Other abilities that you can utilize on the battle-
you move a tile, then you’d make an Strike attack,
this would cost you 1 + 2 = 3 energy, reduced by field are as follows:
your vigor ability score.
If your ability scores were (vigor: 2, Agility: 1)
you would spend a total of 1 energy for moving
(2 action - 1 Agility), and 1 energy for attacking (3
action - 2 vigor).
It’s important to note that during your turn, you

can take free actions as you see fit, as so long as they
are not extensive enough to warrant a action during
your turn. These can include: switching weapons,
talking to allies or enemies (without rolling a skill
90.
REACITON ACTIONS T hrow Explosive
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | AIM | RANGE +)
Throw your explosive into the fray, damaging enemies within

L ast Second
(DASH | REACTION) its area of effect (see special equipment).
You can use this ability to reduce damage of a single action to 0. Fortune: Deal 3 damage to all enemies in a tile
Temperance: [◈ - 1] Deal 2 damage to all enemies in a tile;
MOVE ACTIONS Consequence.

Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage; Consequence.
These are actions which allow you to reposition
yourself or gain the upper hand.
Use R estorative
+0 ENERGY | ACTION | HEAL)
Activate Simple Item Apply a stimpack, medication, or consume a restorative to

+0 ENERGY | ACTION | VARIES
restore your energy and/or health.
Activate a simple device that you are familiar with.
Quick Dash
(DASH | ACTION | MANEUVER)
Get Up
+0 ENERGY | ACTION | MANEUVER)
Move up to two tiles
Get back on your feet after being knocked down or otherwise
staggered. No roll is required unless you are prevented from
moving freely (e.g. immobilized by an enemy).
R eposition
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | MANEUVER)
Change your positioning upon the battlefield and move one

tile. No roll is required unless you are prevented from moving
freely (e.g. immobilized by an enemy).

ATTACK ACTIONS DEFENSIVE ACTIONS
Strike Buy T ime
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | FIGHT | RANGE 0 +1 ENERGY | ACTION | DEFEND | RANGE 0
Melee attack with a weapon of your choice. You level your weapon with your enemy, staring your enemy
down with an unfaltering gaze. They pause, wary of your
Fortune: Deal [w] + 2 damage.
intent, giving you a few valuable seconds to recover.
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage. Note: you could also use [Intimidate] for this ability.
Fortune: Recover 4 energy

Temperance: [◈ - 1] Recover 3 energy.
Judgment: [◈ ] Recover 1 energy.
Blast
+1 ENERGY | ACTION | AIM | RANGE +
Attack enemies far away from you. Range depends on the F ull Defense
+2 ENERGY | ACTION | DEFEND | RANGE 0
utilized weapon.
Assume a defensive stance to block or parry incoming attacks,
Fortune: Deal [w] + 2 damage.
shielding you and your allies from harm.
Judgment: [◈ ] Deal 1 damage. Gain a pool of points used to reduce Health and Energy
damage based on your roll.
Note: You can use these points to reduce conse-
quence damage.
Fortune: Gain a pool of 2[Shield Defense + 1] points you can
use for yourself or all allies regardless of tile location
Temperance: Gain a pool of [Shield Defense + 2] points you
can use on yourself or allies in your tile
Judgment: [◈ ] Gain a pool of points equal to [Shield Defense]
or 1, whichever is higher to use on yourself or allies in
your tile
92.
Heal Other Skill
+1 ENERGY & 2 INGREDIENTS | ACTION | HEAL | RANGE 0 + ~1-2 ENERGY | ACTION | RELEVANT SKILL
Take a moment to apply aid to yourself or your allies. Utilize a skill in a reasonable, yet creative way to produce
an interesting outcome.
Fortune: Pick one of the options below: you may distribute
Fortune: Desired outcome is attained.
the Energy and/or Health between yourself and one other
Temperance: [◈ - 1]: Partial success at execution, however
ally in your tile.
something goes wrong or something unexpected occurs.
Heal 3 Health
Judgment: [◈ ] The plan either starts to work or goes
Heal 5 Energy
horribly wrong.
Temperance: Pick one of the options below: you may
distribute the Energy and/or Health between either your-
self or one other ally in your tile.
Heal 2 Health
Heal 3 Energy
Judgment: Either you or an ally in your tile, heal 1 energy.

Consequences
If your roll ends in a Judgmentor Temperance, you ALTERNATIVE CONSQUENCES
will likely experience a Consequence. Instead of acting It’s important to remember that consequences can
and rolling for every single character, the Narrator be more than just health or energy damage. They can
uses consequences to portray mistakes, errors, traps, encompass an entire variety of complications and
counter-attacks, recoveries, missed opportunities, to setbacks. The role of consequences is to move the
counter-attacks. story forward by providing more tension or drama to
There are numerous levels of consequences, each the scene.
level dealing an increasing amount damage or impact
to the encounter. All enemies have a consequence
level associated with them.
If not, be sure to ask them about it before boosting
your roll or spending an Intervention Point.
It’s important to note that a Consequence does not
necessarily have to deal direct damage to a character.
Instead, it may also apply various effects, change the
state of the battlefield, summon an ally, or even force
movement.
94.
LEVEL I. LEVEL IV.
• 1 health damage • 4 health damage
• 1 energy damage • 4 energy damage
• Knock-down • Combination
• 3 health + 2 energy
LEVEL II. • 2 health + 3 energy
• 2 health damage • Knock-down + 2 health or energy damage
• 2 energy damage • Force move one tile + 2 health or 3 energy damage
• 1 health + 1 energy damage • Summon enemy (2).
• Knock-down + 1 energy damage
• Force move one tile
LEVEL III.
• 3 health damage
• 3 energy damage
• Combination
• Knock-down + 2 health or energy damage
• Force move one tile + 1 health or 2 energy damage
• Summon enemy (1).

Montages
Whenever you want to describe a series of events to
cover greater narrative ground, you may invoke a
Montage.
Montages, which can be recognized as a type of skill
challenge, can be used to represent nearly any kind of
event without getting bogged down in action or turn
specifics. Typically, montages are used for simulating
months of travel, high-action chase sequences, or any
other even that would suffer from a slower pace of
narration.
To start, the narrator will announce the beginning
of a montage. They will then describe the foal and
destination of the montage, providing the energy cost
and consequences their actions will bear.
Then, each player will declare a skill they want to
use in the scene, pay the Energy cost (if any), and
roll. Then, both narrator and player work together
to work out the result of that action, applying any
Retaliations as necessary. This goes on until each
player had their turn.
96.
To demonstrate: The party needs to travel to the mountains to investigate why the water has stopped f lowing. The
narrator decides to start a montage to get the players to the base of the mountain, stating that each action will cost
2 energy and that a Judgmentwill result in everyone losing 1 Health and 1 Energy. A Temperance result would cause
the player to lose 2 Energy, while everyone else suffers a loss of 1 Energy.
Player 1 starts. To start off the journey right, they use Nature to forecast favorable weather in order to avoid
running into any storms. Player 1 has 2 Intuition, and thus does not need to spend any Energy to execute the action.
They roll and get a Judgment, deciding against boosting their roll to a Temperance. All players take 1 Health and 1
Energy damage.
The narrator starts, explaining that Player 1’s character attempts to read the weather, making a prediction that will
likely affect the party later during the journey.
Player 2 starts, and picks Fight, perhaps because the incorrect weather prediction caused the group be forced to seek
shelter in a ruined facility. Said facility might be already occupied, which is where Player 2’s Fight action comes into
play. Player 2 has a Vigor of 1 and spends 1 Energy to execute the action. Player 2 rolls a Fortune.
The narrator chimes in, recapping the events that have taken place thus far. “You all start off on your journey,
following a path along a river which Player 1 predicted to be optimal for avoiding a nasty storm. Lo and behold, the
unfavorable weather welcomed you with open arms, and you must seek shelter if you want to wait out the storm and
live by the end of it. You are lucky to find an old dam facility along the river, a structure that seems safe enough to
hide in. You make camp, keeping watch, though you find yourself as trespassers within the home of a group of Ogres.
They are drawn up by the smell of your cooking. You fight them off successfully, but what would you like to do? Kill
all of them? Kill just enough to scare the remaining Ogres back into the depths of the facility?
Player 2 decides on the latter, thinking the group could come back later.
The narrator agrees, informing the players that they slew a couple of mutated Ogres, forcing them into a retreat into
the darkness. Then, Player 3 is asked to continue the story.
This goes on until every player has their turn twice. Then, the group will arrive at their destination.

Adversaries
98.
Outside of the relative safety of the sanctuaries lies Attacks: Since they all act on the same turn order,
a dangerous world. From the wilds to the deep facil- how many attacks do the adversity(ies) get?
ities, are stalked by numerous unknown creatures, Attacks: here is where Adversity attacks are listed,
mutated aberrations, automatons from an age long they will be listed as
past, to horrors unknown.
Attack Name (R ange | Skill)
READING AN ADVERSARY STATBLOCK.
Variants: In order to diversity combat scenarios,
ADVERSIT Y NAME you may want to change things up a little bit, this is
( A D V E R S I T Y L E V E L) where variants come in. They are typically simple,
Health: amount of health each creature has such as additional health, a special ability, or attack.
Initiative: 9+Adversity level+ Discipline (this places Feel free to mix, match or ever stack as you see fit.
the adversity in the turn order, and when they’ll act .
whether it’s a single action or the action of multiple
creatures of the same kind)
Difficulty: Discipline modifiers, for instance a
Combat +2, means that players making combat related
rolls against this adveristy, their Fortune threshold is
increased by 2.
Retaliations: Any preferred adversity effects on
Retaliation outcomes, whether they’re Judmgent or
Temperance.

DIRK (1)
Health: 6
Initiative: 10
Consequences:
Judgment: Prefers 1 health damage and/or
knock-down.
Attacks: One attack for the entire group
Swipe (R ange 0 | Defend)
Blaster (R ange 1 | Defend)

Variant s:
• Tough: 10 health
• Aggressive: If the dirk’s turn occurs when a char-
acter is knocked down, dirks make one free
attack against the downed character.
100.
BLADEBOT (2)
Health: 12
Initiative: 11
Consequences:
Ju dg m ent: P refers 1 hea lt h d a m age a nd
knock-down
Attacks: Only one bladebot makes an attack
P hase Slash (R ange 0 | Defend or R eflex)

Experimental Beam (Range 1 | Ref lex)
Variant s:
• Reinforced: 16 health
• Self Destruct: Upon the bladebots death, all char-
acters in the tile need to make a [ref lex] save or
take damage from the blast.
• Energy Shield: Reduce incomming damage by one.

WARLOCK (2) Variant s:
Health: 10 • Negate: A warlock can negate a single ener-
Disciplines: Combat +1 Social +3 gy-based attack, reducing damage in half. This
Initiative: 12 action can only be performed once.
Attacks: Each warlock on the battlefield makes an • Summon Minions: The first time the warlock
attack on their turn. takes damage, summon two lesser minions (4hp;
Judgment; 1 health, Temperance; 1 energy)
Diamond Blast (R ange +1 | R eflex)
All enemies in the target tile must roll a ref lex save.
Special Abilit ies:

Bloodied: When a warlock goes below 5 health, it will
unleash a devastating Prismatic Burst
P rismatic Burst (R ange +2 | R eflex)

Pick three tiles in range, all enemies must roll a [Ref lex] save
or take damage
Temperance: 2 health.
Judgment: 2 health + 2 energy
102.
DRIFTER (2) Variant s:
Health: 20 • Armored: Increase Combat thresholds by +2, and
Disciplines: Combat +1 reduce all incoming damage by 1.
Initiative: 11 • Wielder: gain the Lance ability.
Attacks: Drifters make one attack per 2 drifters in
the fight. L ance (R ange 2 | R eflex)
Pick two targets, within two tiles, they both must make a
Blade Slash (R ange 0 | Defense) [Ref lex] or take damage.
Temperance: 2 health Temperance: 2 damage
Judgment: 3 health Judgment: 4 damage
Blaster F ire (R ange 1 | R eflex or Defense) • Delver: gain the Wither ability.
Temperance: 2 health
Judgment: 3 health Wither (Passive)
All damage sources of health damage also deals 1 point of
Special Act ions: energy damage.
• Dash: If a drifter takes more than 6 damage, the drifter
will use their dash module to evade as much of the • Versifier: gain the Taunt ability.
attack as they can. The Dirfter moves one tile and
takes half the total damage. This ability can only be Taunt (R ange 1 | R esolve)
used once. Target one opponent to make a [Resolve] save
Temperance: 1 energy damage and increase Judgement
• Grenade: At the start of a round, a drifter may throw threshold for the encounter by 2.
a grenade, all players in the target tile must make Judgment: 1 Woe damage and increase Judgement threshold
a ref lex or take 3 health damage or 2 health and 1 for the encounter by 2.
energy damage.

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v4.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208)

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208)

Open for Pre-Orders

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 5.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 7.

The world of Drifter is a broken, post-apocalyptic one. WHAT YOU NEED

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 9.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 11.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 13.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 15.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 17.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 19.

your result up to the next threshold. Manipulate

In the world of Drifter there are many different kinds DISCOVER

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 21.

DASHES Corruption is intended to be a far slower burn,

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 23.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 25.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 27.

Benefit: Reduce the Judgment threshold of

I always know which way north is. NATURAL SWIMMER

The darkness is not a place to be feared.

You’ve moved big things before, this should be easy.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 29.

ACADEMIC As a skilled cook, you boast useful knowledge about

You enjoy a good drink and aren’t afraid to experi-

Benefits: Set a trap using utilizing 2 compo-

You know the rewards of patience. Building traps and

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 31.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 33.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 35.

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 37.

Tactician Impale (Dash)

Select a Kit from the options below:

CLASS ATTRIBUTES TACTICIAN

EQUIPMENT STRONGER TOGETHER

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 39.

As a seasoned warrior you can leverage

Authority (Influence): One who

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 41.

Wielders Central Console (passive)

Select a Kit from the options below:

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 43.

DASH TALENTS P ush

Move one tile then, roll a [maneuver] check against a target

Fortune: Deal 4 + [Insight] damage.

If your audience is difficult to intimidate, gain +3 to your roll.

After studying a Librarian device you can discern the general

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 45.

Select a Kit from the options below:

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 47.

You know exactly what will inspire your allies, encouraging

This ability is a reaction, so a versifier could

Wherever you go, you are able to pick up a handful of foreign

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 49.

Experienced Bleed (+2 energy)

Select a Kit from the options below:

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 51.

Dashing Strike Bleed

Fortune: Deal [w] + 2[Agility] damage to your target.

You’ve seen a lot of dangerous things and can identify dangerous

Alexander Petty (Order #32804208) Drifter Playtest 53.