Follow Me Down

Ashcan Edition

by Joie Martin

©Drowning Moon Studios

2021
 Drowning Moon Studios would like to thank: Mark Diaz Truman,
Marissa Kelly, Brendan Conway, Meguey Baker, Kate Bullock,
Camdon Wright, Avonelle Wing and the Double Exposure playtesting
community for their support and help in making this game a reality.

Copyright © 2021 Drowning Moon Studios.

All rights reserved.
For additional information, or to request the use of this text for educational
purposes,
please contact the publisher at
info@drowningmoonstudios.com
or via the contact form on our website at
http://www.drowningmoonstudios.com.
Writing, game design, layout and graphic design by Joie Martin
Vector Images Provided by Pixabay, Rawpixel and the Smithsonian Institute under
a CC-BY license
The title type used in this book is Megrim; the body types are Gadugi and
Harrington
Manufactured in the United States of America.
First printing edition 2021.
 Contents

Introduction 7
Powered by the Apocalypse 8
Stats 8
Moves 9
Orpheus Moves 9
Eurydice Moves 10
The Dice Mechanic 10
An Example of A Basic Roll 10
Forward, Ongoing & Dramatic Hold 11
Harm & the Psyche Spindle 12
Healing Harm 12
Keepsakes 13

How to Play 14
Materials 14
The Characters of Orpheus & Eurydice 15
Making The Characters Your Own & Queering This Game 15
Building An Underworld 16
Paradigm Table 17

Portraying the Fates 18

Principles for Play 19
Soft Moves 20
Hard Moves 20
The Golden Rule 21
Theme & Encounter Tables 21
Basic Encounter Table 22
Theme Table 22
Knowing When to Progress to the Next Book 23

The Tale of Orpheus & Eurydice 25

Books of the Dead 26

Book I - Orpheus at the River of Souls 27
The River of Souls Encounter Table 28
The Geography of the River of Souls 28
The Crossroads 28
The Riverbank 29
The Gates 30
Denizens of the River of Souls 30
 Book II - Eurydice in the Unquiet Meadows 33
The Unquiet Meadows Encounter Table 34
The Geography of the Unquiet Meadows 34
The Denizens of the Unquiet Meadows 34

Book III - Orpheus in the Great Storm 37

The Great Storm Encounter Table 38
The Geography of the Great Storm 38
The Tempest-Tossed Stair 38
The Midnight Beach 39
The Kraken’s Lair 39
The Cape of Unrest 39
Denizens of the Great Storm 40

Book IV - Eurydice in the Chasm of Titans 42

The Chasm of Titans Encounter Table 42
The Geography of the Chasm of Titans 42
The Tunnels of Suffering 42
The Titan’s Cavern 43
The Pit of Imprisonment 44
Denizens of the Chasm of Titans 44

The Gauntlet of Hope & Regret 47

Determining Memories & Using Keepsakes 47
Playing Through the Gauntlet 47
Choices & Endings 48
Ending A 48
Ending B 48
Ending C 48
Denouement 49
Follow Me Down is a single-session tabletop roleplaying game for two players,
inspired by the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the mythology of the Greek
Underworld. It is a story of love and loss that has been told many times and in
many different ways. To countless generations, the characters of Orpheus and
Eurydice represent the distance we are willing to go for love and the reminder that,
no matter how devoted we are, love can only carry us so far.

This game is dedicated to anyone who has ever followed someone through hell,
armed with nothing more than hope and a song.

Follow Me Down begins with a Prelude, is composed of eight Books of the Dead,
where the characters journey through different parts of the Underworld in search
of each other, proceeds through an endgame section called the Gauntlet of Hope
and Regret, and concludes with a Denouement. It is designed to be GMless, with
each player portraying two roles during the course of the game. In each Book of
the Dead, one player takes on the role of the Fates, in what would normally be the
GM role, while the other player plays the character of Orpheus or Eurydice.

The player that portrays Orpheus in Book I portrays the Fates in Book II, while the
player who portrayed the Fates in Book I plays Eurydice in Book II. They continue
trading off until they reach the end of the game. Then, during a final challenge called
the Gauntlet of Hope and Regret, both players make choices as their characters
to determine how the story ends. The game concludes with a final scene between
Orpheus and Eurydice, called a Denouement, that encompasses the overall tone
and themes of the characters’ journey together.

As you’ve probably noticed, Follow Me Down is a very specifically structured game.

This ashcan does not contain all eight Books of the Dead, or the Gauntlet of Hope
and Regret in its entirety. Instead, it contains four Books (two each for Orpheus
and Eurydice) and a modified version of the Gauntlet. It is our intention to provide
a sample game that spans only a few hours of play, so that we may introduce you
to the world of Follow Me Down, and perhaps entice you to uncover more of your
character’s story in the full version.

Thank you for playing, and we hope you enjoy the journey.
Powered by the Apocalypse
We have chosen to use the Powered by the Apocalypse rules engine (henceforth
referred to as “PbtA”) for Follow Me Down because it is a precise, versatile system
that is easy to adapt for a variety of settings. It is also a system that can be easily
understood by novice and veteran players alike, and has just enough elasticity to
keep gameplay dynamic.

There are three main components that make up the basic PbtA system: Stats,
Moves and the Dice Mechanic. We have also chosen to include a few additional
PbtA mechanics, such as the Forward, Ongoing and Hold rules, added an original
damage system called the Psyche Spindle, and special items called Keepsakes,
which can help Orpheus and Eurydice along their journey. There are also Theme
and Encounter Tables to make playing the Fates easier, and tools to help you and
your partner build your own version of the Underworld.

Stats
In Follow Me Down there are four Stats: Pneuma, Philosophy, Passion and
Pathos: Stats are combined with Moves when a character wants to take action. The
higher or lower the Stat, the more likely the character is to get a hit or miss on their
roll when they make their Moves.

• Pneuma is used for charisma

and persuasion, attempts
at manipulation, personal
magnetism, charm and deceit.
• Philosophy is used for tactics,
discovery, critical thinking,
perception, investigation and
feats of intelligence.
• Passion is for moments of
intensity, including violence and
desire, tests of willpower and
aggression, physicality, devotion
and endurance.
• Pathos is for empathy and
compassion, gaining insight
into others’ motivations and
connecting with others on an
emotional level.

Moves
While many PbtA games have something called “Basic Moves,” Follow Me Down
does not. Orpheus and Eurydice’s Moves are listed separately with each character’s
Playbook. With a few exceptions, these Moves are unique, reflecting the difference
in personality between the characters and how they approach their journey. The
list of Moves possessed by each character is as follows:
Orpheus Moves

When you Charm a Denizen of the Underworld into giving you information, roll
with Pneuma. On a hit, they reveal something crucial about their nature or desires
that gets you the information you’re seeking. On a 10+, pick 1. On a 7-9, pick one
and the Fates will also pick one:
• They reveal an unfortunate truth about the traditions of the Underworld
• They become unhealthily fixated on you or your quest
• The information they give you is muddled by rumor or hearsay

When you Prove Your Love by taking a perilous but necessary risk, roll with
Passion. On a 10+, you do it; describe a positive memory of your love that spurs
you on to success. On a 7-9, you hesitate or stumble; describe a time your flaws led
to strife with your partner, and the Fates will tell you what it costs you to continue
your journey.

When you Beg for Help from a denizen of the Underworld, roll with Pathos. On a
7-9 they demand a favor in return for their aid. On a 10+ choose one:
• They show you a path forward
• They defend you against Harm
• They offer to perform a service

When you Recklessly Flee from a dangerous or uncomfortable situation, roll with
Philosophy. On a 10+, you escape to safety, but become hopelessly lost in the
process. The Fates will tell you what is necessary to regain your path. On a 7-9
you manage to get away, only to be confronted with an equally perilous threat or
obstacle.

When you Lash Out in Contempt, roll with Passion. On a hit, you do Harm. On a
7-9 choose one:
• You reveal a weakness about yourself
• You harm an innocent bystander
• You lose or damage a Keepsake

When you Stir the Heart to conjure a powerful emotion in a Denizen through
song or poetry, roll with Pathos. On a 7-9, your voice captivates them, offering you
an opportunity. On a 10+, they are truly affected; tell the Fates how it moves them.

Eurydice Moves

When you Show Tenderness to a troubled soul, roll with Pathos. On a hit, ask
two; on a 7-9, they either grow angry at your intrusion or take advantage of your
tenderness, their choice:
• What is the cause of their distress?
• What do they desire, fear or regret?
• What is the thing they most cherish?
• How can I convince them to X?
When you Prove Your Love by taking a perilous but necessary risk, roll with
Passion. On a 10+, you do it; describe a positive memory of your love that spurs
you to success. On a 7-9, you hesitate or stumble; describe a time your flaws led
to strife with your partner, and the Fates will tell you what it costs you to continue
your journey.

When you Don Your Shroud to escape a dangerous or uncomfortable situation,

roll with Philosophy. On a hit, you blend in with the souls of the dead, unnoticed by
unfriendly denizens of the Underworld. On a 7-9, your transition to an incorporeal
form causes you to drop a Keepsake you’re carrying, or take -1 Ongoing until you
drop the shroud, your choice.

When you Pierce the Veil to discern what is hidden and unseen, roll with
Philosophy. On 7-9, ask one. On a 10+, ask two:
• What do I see now that the veil has been parted?
• What secrets are kept by those in this place?
• What here is lost or forgotten?
• Do see I evidence of ______?

When you Stand Up to those who would impede your progress, roll with Pneuma.
On a 10+, you demand their respect, and they defer to the authority bestowed
upon you by Queen Persephone. On a 7-9, they concede, but only if you somehow
prove you are worthy of the Queen’s gifts.

When you Weave the Strands, to manipulate the fabric of the Underworld roll with
Pathos. On a hit, choose one. On a 7-9, your manipulations also attract unwelcome
attention:
• You shape a small object
• You call forward a modest illusion
• You mend a broken thing

The Dice Mechanic

The PbtA system uses two six-sided dice (2d6) to resolve challenges when a
character uses a Stat combined with a Move. If the player rolls a 10+, that’s a hit,
and the Move will tell them how they succeeded. If they roll a 7-9, that’s still a hit,
but only a partial success; they get what they want, but it is complicated in some
way. The Move will tell them exactly how it’s complicated. If they roll a 6 or less,
that’s a miss, and the Fates will tell them what happens next.

An Example of A Basic Roll

When a character makes a Move, the player rolls the appropriate Stat + Move +
any bonuses. They determine what happens based on their level of success and
the specifics of the Move used. For example: Eurydice comes across a weeping
spirit and decides to comfort them, so the Fates ask Eurydice’s player to roll Pathos
+ Show Tenderness.
Eurydice rolls a 5, which would normally be a miss. But, because Eurydice’s Playbook
has a +2 to Pathos, the total is 7, which counts as a hit with complications. Based on
the Move, the player portraying the Fates can choose one of two things to happen
next: either the spirit becomes angry at Eurydice’s intrusion, or the spirit takes
advantage of Eurydice’s vulnerability. The player portraying the Fates describes
how the spirit stops crying, but rages at Eurydice for intruding upon a private
moment.

Forward, Ongoing & Dramatic Hold

You may see the terms Forward, Ongoing and Dramatic Hold used elsewhere
in the text. These are mostly self-explanatory concepts that describe ways positive
or negative conditions can be applied to Stats during the game. For example, you
may see something described as “+1 Forward” or “-1 Ongoing.” Here’s what each
of these mysterious terms mean:

Forward - To +/- a number Forward simply means to apply that value to your
next roll. So if you are told to “carry +1 Forward,” that means add +1 to your
Stat + dice total on your next roll. A +/- Forward is normally only given for
exceptional successes, exceptional failures, or as part of particular conditions
or abilities.

Ongoing - Ongoing is a lot like Forward, but you keep adding or subtracting
that value on each roll until a particular condition is met, or until the Fates
determines the condition is no longer dramatically appropriate. Another
example: While you are playing Orpheus, you decide to Stir the Heart by
playing music for the Queen of the Dead. You have a +2 to Pathos from your
Playbook and roll an 11, bringing your final total to 13.
 Because of your outstanding success, the Fates decide to give you a +1
Ongoing to all interactions with the Queen of the Dead until the end of the
scene.

Dramatic Hold - The way we have chosen to incorporate the Hold rule
is specific to Follow Me Down, and is intended to increase dramatic effect
during gameplay. Expressly for Follow Me Down, Hold is a way for a player
to reserve one or more of their successful rolls and apply it at a very specific
point later in the game. Because of this, we have chosen to call it Dramatic
Hold so players understand the distinction.

To use a Dramatic Hold, the player decides to set aside a success--to

“hold” the success for later, so to speak--and takes a miss at the time of
their successful roll. When a player decides to use a Dramatic Hold later in
the game, it counts as a 10+ for the purposes of that roll, and gives the player
narrative control in that moment to describe exactly how their character
overcomes the situation with aplomb.

There are some stipulations regarding how and when a Dramatic Hold can
be used, however. Only rolls that succeed with a 10+ can be reserved for
Dramatic Holds, and only one Dramatic Hold is allowed for Orpheus or
Eurydice per Book. While this may seem restrictive, it directly ties into the
limited nature of when Dramatic Holds can be applied.

Harm & the Psyche Spindle

In simplest terms, the Psyche Spindle is how you track Harm in Follow Me Down.
In the Underworld there is no distinction between psychic damage and physical
damage, so every time Orpheus or Eurydice takes physical Harm, that Harm
translates emotionally, and vice versa.

To track Harm, each character has a Psyche Spindle on their Playbook sheet with
six loops. Whenever a character takes Harm, either emotionally or physically, you
should fill in one of those loops, starting from the top and working your way to
the bottom. When you fill in a loop, look at the corresponding text to see what
effect that level of Harm has on your character’s emotional state. The more Harm
your character takes, the more emotionally distraught they will become. If they
completely fill their Psyche Spindle, that will trigger a specific scene described in
each Playbook, narrated by the Fates. It is important to note, however, that even
when all six loops of a character’s Psyche Spindle are full, Orpheus or Eurydice
cannot be killed. It is impossible to die in the Underworld because everyone who
resides there is already considered to be dead.

Healing Harm
Orpheus and Eurydice may heal Harm one loop at a time by sacrificing a memory
to the Fates. This must be a positive memory of their relationship that reminds
them of the strength of their love for one another. It should not be an event of
minor significance, but a cherished memory worthy of sacrifice. There is a limitation
on how often players can stop to heal Harm, however; Orpheus and Eurydice may
only heal two loops of Harm by sacrificing two memories per Book.

To do this, the player portraying the active character and the Fates should work
together to build the memory, then play through a short flashback scene. These
scenes not only heal Harm, but are important in establishing the nature of the
relationship between Orpheus and Eurydice, so take your time and don’t rush
through them. Once the scene has ended, the active character should continue the
journey feeling somewhat renewed, but perhaps saddened at the loss of something
precious.

Keepsakes
Keepsakes are items that hold personal emotional value to Orpheus and Eurydice,
and have a unique function in Follow Me Down. In each Book, the characters will
search for a Keepsake that reminds them of their love, or that their love has left
behind. Orpheus seeks Keepsakes that Eurydice cast off as they traveled deeper
into the Underworld, while Eurydice discovers Keepsakes that help them recall
Orpheus and their life together. Once Orpheus and Eurydice reach the Gauntlet of
Hope and Regret, the number of Keepsakes they possess directly affects the
outcome of the game.

Because Keepsakes have a specific, end-game mechanical benefit, it is not only

important that players portraying the Fates make acquiring Keepsakes a challenge,
but one that their partner can also potentially fail. It can be tempting to give a
character a Keepsake simply because you want them to succeed, or because you
wish to move on to the next Book. Take the time to consider whether the character
has actually earned the right to have a Keepsake, however, and be prepared to say
no if that answer leads to a better story.
Once it is determined which player will be portraying the Fates for Book I, they
should begin by reading the Prelude out loud. This sets the tone for Follow Me
Down, and helps familiarize the players with the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice
if it is unfamiliar to them. They should then play through Book I, with one player
portraying Orpheus and the other playing the Fates.

The player portraying the Fates should read the description included at the
beginning of the Book, but may embellish or deviate as much as they please.
The Fates should introduce interactions and challenges for Orpheus based upon
suggestions given in the Book, or choose to create encounters of their own. The
Fates may use any Encounter, Paradigm and Theme Tables provided, may build
upon the written content of the Book, or may create something completely original.

Orpheus’s experience during Book I should begin to shape the relationship

between Orpheus and Eurydice, add detail to the character’s personality, and begin
to build an interesting, collaborative narrative between the two players. At some
point during Book I, Orpheus should have the opportunity to reclaim a Keepsake
that Eurydice has left behind. Regardless whether Orpheus succeeds, the Fates will
decide when it’s time to move forward to the next Book. This entire process, as
outlined above, should serve as a template for how to proceed through each of
the other Books.

Once Orpheus has completed Book I, the player portraying Orpheus and the
player portraying the Fates switch roles. In Book II, the player who portrayed
the Fates in Book I will take on the role of Eurydice, and the player who portrayed
Orpheus will take on the role of the Fates. The players should then proceed through
Books III and IV, taking turns as each alternately portrays their character and the
Fates, until they reach the Gauntlet of Hope and Regret.

Once Eurydice completes Book IV , the players should proceed to the modified
version of the Gauntlet of Hope and Regret created for this guide, and play
through that section as described, portraying both Orpheus and Eurydice
simultaneously. They will determine the game’s ending based upon what happens
in the Gauntlet, which will then be reflected in a final scene in the Denouement.

Materials
There are a few materials necessary to play Follow Me Down aside from this book.
You will need two six-sided dice, a deck of playing cards, the Playbook sheets
for Orpheus and Eurydice included with the book, pencils and paper for making
notes, and index cards for safety tools. Adding atmospheric touches to your
playspace, such as appropriate music, lighting or decoration is encouraged, but
not required. As Follow Me Down can be an emotionally intense game, we also
recommend having things like water, tissue, comfort food, and a separate space to
take breaks from the game.

The Characters of
Orpheus & Eurydice
You will notice that there is no character
creation section of this rulebook; this
is intentional. Other than filling in your
character’s pronouns and describing a
few other details on their Playbook sheet,
much of your character’s background and
their relationship to the other character
should remain loosely defined at the
beginning of the game. This is because
you and your fellow player will be building
your relationship and character histories
together as you play.

Learning who your characters are and how

they relate to one another is one of the core
concepts of Follow Me Down. While you
may have some idea of how you want to portray your Orpheus or Eurydice, allowing
the roleplaying process to shape them is a key part of the gameplay experience.
During the course of the game, you may discover things about your character, your
partner’s character, or their relationship together that is surprising or unflattering.
This is normal! Few relationships, like few individuals, are completely perfect. As
long as this is not upsetting for you or your partner, we encourage you to embrace
these flaws. Doing so will likely add a layer of complexity and enrich the story you
are building together.

Making The Characters Your Own & Queering This Game

While Orpheus and Eurydice are well-known mythological characters, this doesn’t
mean you and your partner must remain completely within the bounds of Greek
mythology while telling your story. Instead, think of these characters as templates
to project your characters’ personalities onto while exploring the Underworld and
their relationship to each other.

While Orpheus will always journey into the Underworld in pursuit of Eurydice, and
Eurydice will always attempt to follow Orpheus into the light, Orpheus and Eurydice
can be a man and woman, two women, two men, nonbinary, genderfluid, agender,
or any combination thereof.
Characters may be cis or trans. They may be any sexuality. They may practice any
relationship style. You may choose to play Orpheus and Eurydice as aromantic,
or explore the depths of platonic love. They may be brothers-in-arms, childhood
friends, siblings, or even a parent and child. There are many different types of
love, and while romantic love is often lauded as the greatest expression of that
sentiment, we don’t believe it is the only type of love that deserves to be explored.

Orpheus and Eurydice can also exist in any place in time, from mythological Greece,
to the modern day, to a far future surrounded by technology we’ve only begun to
dream of. Their relationship may have progressed to any stage before Eurydice
was sent to the Underworld. They may have children together. They may be in
the latter half of their lives and only just realized the depth of their love for one
another. They may have recently discovered the first blush of love, only to have it
cruelly snatched away. There are literally thousands of different stories you can tell
by using Orpheus and Eurydice’s journey as a framework.

During the journey through the Underworld, you and your fellow player will define
who these characters are, both to themselves and to each other, and will build their
story together, piece by piece. This is a necessary part of the experience and only
you get to decide how it should look. You and your partner will create something
that is uniquely yours, because your Orpheus and your Eurydice are unlike any
others who have ever existed before.

Building An Underworld
In this ashcan, we have included four Books from the Greek mythology-inspired
playset that is included in the core rulebook for Follow Me Down. For players
who want to completely customize their Underworld, or who aren’t interested in
playing with the included playset, we’ve also provided an Underworld Creation
System that will hopefully make this process easier. To begin, we suggest having
both players start with completed character Playbooks, a clean sheet of paper, a
few pencils, and a deck of playing cards.
The first thing to do is determine a Setting for your Underworld that both you and
your partner agree upon. This Setting doesn’t have to be meticulously detailed;
generally a broad concept summed up in a single word or phrase works best. Write
this down on your piece of paper and underline it. Then beneath it, each of you
should write two or three specific things appropriate to the setting that you’d like
to see reflected during the game. For example, if your setting is “Gothic Romance,”
you might choose things like: crumbling manors, moors, ghostly apparitions,
candlelight, creeping shadows, etc.

Once you’ve determined your setting, it’s time to figure out Paradigms for the
different areas of your Underworld. In the full game, each character must explore
four sections of the Underworld--for a total of eight Books of the Dead--before
entering the Gauntlet of Hope and Regret. In this quickstart, each character should
explore two sections for a total of four Books. To do this, split the suit of hearts
from a deck of standard playing cards and shuffle both halves separately. Draw a
single card from the hearts half of the deck for each section of your Underworld
and compare it to the Paradigm Table below.

Once you’re done, you should have four different Paradigms, corresponding to
the four different sections of your Underworld. Based on those Paradigms, flesh
out these sections with your partner so that they fit into the setting you chose. For
example: a setting based on the “Wild West,” with a Paradigm of “Desire,'' might
mean that section of the Underworld is set in a bordello. Write these details down
on your sheet of paper so you can effectively make a map of your Underworld.

At this point you can begin playing, trading off between yourself and your partner
while one of you plays the active character and the other plays the Fates. If you
want a bit more assistance with generating encounters, however, we have a few
other tables that might help in Portraying the Fates on p.18.

Paradigm Table
Value Hearts
Ace Authority
2 Avarice
3 Deception
4 Desire
5 Envy
6 Fury
7 Horror
8 Melancholy
9 Reflection
10 Regret
Jack Retribution
Queen Sacrifice
King Vanity
The Fates are at once imposing and mysterious. Known by many names in many
different cultures, the Fates are said to endlessly spin the lives of gods and mortals
alike, and have the power to conquer even death. One sister winds the thread
of life, signaling a new birth, another measures the thread, signaling the length
of one’s life and the events contained within, and the final sister cuts the thread,
signaling when a life has ended. The Fates are said to dwell in the Underworld and
rarely intervene in the lives of mortals. Orpheus and Eurydice are exceptions.

As one player travels through the Underworld as Orpheus or Eurydice, the other
will take on the role of the Fates and describe the events that are taking place
along the journey. While this may sound like a great deal of responsibility, we have
provided tools to make the process easier, including this guide, a Theme Table,
the Encounter Tables included in all playsets, and a template for you and your
partner to create your own version of the Underworld.

As the Fates, you choose how much or how little active presence they have during
the characters’ journey. The Fates may observe from afar, as is their prerogative as
goddesses of destiny, or may choose to physically manifest, to issue dire warnings
or directly intercede in events. How you wish to portray them is your choice, and
yours alone.

It is important, however, to remember two key things when playing the Fates:
• You and your partner are working collaboratively to build a narrative
• Keep the story moving until you reach the Gauntlet

Take the time to incorporate content your partner seems interested in, or that their
character has a particularly strong reaction to. For example: if Eurydice chooses to
betray a soul to escape capture, but feels guilty for putting someone else in harm’s
way, recall this at the River Lethe, and tempt Eurydice to wash those sins away. If
Orpheus slays Cerberus at the gates to the Underworld, have Persephone weep for
the lost guardian and demand Orpheus take responsibility for Cerberus’s death.

Each of you have two Books to take your partner through, filled to the brim with
unique challenges and character discoveries. Sometimes your partner is going
to make choices that land their character in hot water (perhaps even literally).
Sometimes they’ll make bad rolls simply because the dice were being unkind that
day. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions or ask for help if you or your partner feels
stuck.
Even if their character ends up in a situation that is challenging or dangerous, your
partner should always be able to move past it to continue the story. While that
doesn’t mean they should be free from consequences, it does mean you should be
smart when doling out effects. You can’t kill your partner’s character, but trapping
them somewhere with no chance of escape means they’ll never get to the next
Book. Always give them a way out, especially if it’s a way out with strings attached.

Principles for Play

As the Fates, you should never need to roll dice. Instead, it is your responsibility
to make the journey interesting. You do this in one of three ways:
• By introducing new elements and challenges for your partner to overcome
or interact with
• By interpreting how your partner rolls using the PbtA system
• By describing what happens after your partner makes a Move

To introduce new elements

and challenges for your
partner, use the Encounter
and Theme Tables, or
reference the Underworld
Building System you and
your partner used at the
beginning of the session.
Try to incorporate ideas
one or both of you have
suggested to give the
story depth. You can also
use one of the Soft Moves
below to make things
more interesting, if it feels
like a scene is beginning to
drag or has lost direction.

To interpret how your partner rolls using the PbtA system, remember that all rolls
of 6 or less constitute a miss, rolls of a 7-9 constitute a hit with complications,
and rolls of 10 or greater constitute an absolute hit.

Each roll is paired with a Move, and the Move will tell you exactly what happens on
a 7-9 or 10+. Your job as the Fates is to describe how the effects of the Move affect
the world around the character, in a way that carries the story forward, setting
them up for additional narrative or interaction.

When your partner rolls a 6 or less, that’s the time to use a Hard Move, or make
up a negative consequence of your own. Just remember that whatever you choose
can be built upon to make the story more interesting.
A few principles to keep in mind when you’re searching for ideas to keep things
moving:
• Ask provocative questions and use those answers to build the narrative
• Make the setting evocative and symbolic
• Create interesting dilemmas and conflicts
• Hold up a mirror to the character’s best and worst traits
• Test the character’s beliefs, resolve and love for their partner

Soft Moves
You have Moves you can make as the Fates, but they’re not special abilities like
those found in Orpheus and Eurydice’s Playbooks. Instead, they’re more like
interjections that help make the story more compelling. As the Fates, you should
primarily use Soft Moves when your partner looks to you to take the lead, when it
feels like things are slowing down, or when you want to introduce a new element
that will drive the story forward. Soft Moves should always do one or more of the
following things:
• Make sense given the context of what is happening
• Allow the character the opportunity to react
• Set the stage for future happenings or consequences

Some examples of Soft Moves include:

• Place an obstacle in the character’s path and see how they react
• Introduce an NPC they must interact with
• Show them a difficult choice and make them choose
• Hint at future badness
• Offer them a hard bargain
• Put someone or something in a high-stakes situation
• Deal physical or emotional Harm

Hard Moves
When your partner misses a roll, you should make a Hard Move. Hard Moves
should make sense given the context of the roll, and have direct and immediate
consequences. The difference between a Hard Move and a Soft Move is that the
character still has some control over how a Soft Move will play out. Hard Moves
happen and the character is helpless to stop them, though they may react after it
has occurred..

Some examples of Hard Moves include:

• Reveal an immediate threat
• Deal powerful physical or emotional Harm
• Take away something precious
• Show them something ugly about themselves
• Show them something ugly about themselves
• Turn their Move back on them
• Punish someone else for something they’ve done
The Golden Rule
Because physical Harm is the same as emotional Harm, because there is no danger
of character death, and because Harm is such an important part of the endgame
mechanic, it is encouraged that players portraying the Fates choose to inflict Harm
whenever they feel it is appropriate. This is the “Golden Rule:” When in doubt, do
Harm.

Theme & Encounter Tables

While there are descriptions of different parts of the Underworld in most playsets,
we have also created Theme and Encounter Tables for players portraying the Fates
who want a quick and easy reference when providing content for their partners.
The Theme Table and Basic Encounter Table can be used with the Underworld
Creation System on p.16, while playset-specific Encounter Tables are provided
at the beginning of each Book.

To use Theme and Encounter Tables, split the suit of hearts from a deck of standard
playing cards and shuffle both halves separately. Draw a card from each deck and
combine one Encounter card (hearts) with one Theme card (any other suit). Refer
to the Theme and Encounter Tables to generate encounters. Do this two to three
times per Book.

When using the Basic Encounter Table, the player portraying the Fates may also
make an additional draw from the Theme deck to determine whether the encounter
is intellectual (diamonds), diplomatic (spades) or physical (clubs) in nature.
 Basic Encounter Table
Value Hearts
Ace A lost and wandering soul
2 A scribe with unusual ink
3 Dozens of beating hearts, sealed in jars
4 A soul begging for rescue
5 The sound of a ghostly instrument
6 A silent, masked procession
7 A creature that feeds on stolen voices
8 A narrow, winding hallway filled with lost and for-
gotten things
9 A bonfire with wildly dancing revelers
10 A room filled with thousands of candles and only
one lit
Jack A sumptuous feast in a tightly locked banquet
hall
Queen Skeletal birds who sing in a cacophony of hissing
whispers
King The King or Queen of the dead

Theme Table
Value Clubs Diamonds Spades
Ace Make them earn Show them how Show them something
someone’s trust they’re a bad judge of disturbing and make
character them complicit
2 Make them the center Trap them, bind them, Shame them with
of attention when they or make them crawl to materialism or
don’t want to be reach their goal wantoness
3 Have them be Make them feel Make them doubt
rewarded, only to have helpless or small what they love
it snatched away
4 Tempt them to Show them all the Make their body rot
sacrifice their needs for ways they have and decay
the needs of others harmed others
5 Give something they Remind them of Show them what they
desperately want to their flaws and want, but cannot have
someone else imperfections
6 Make them hide Tempt them to use Give them the
something from prying someone to get what opportunity to remove
eyes they want parts of themselves
they do not like
7 Have them face a Make them beg for Trick them into
punishing test of forgiveness disbeleving their own
endurance senses
 Theme Table, cont.
8 Have them make Punish them for a Enhance a flaw to an
a split-second minor mistake or uncomfortable degree
decision with obvious percieved slight
consequences
9 Poison them, intoxicate Make them destroy Overwhelm one or all
them, or make them something important of their senses
sick with gluttony to someone else to get
what they want
10 Make them Isolate them among Show them something
responsible for others vile or dangerous and
another’s safety ask them to love it
Jack Test their values and Haunt them with Inflame their primal
convictions failures of the past instincts
Queen Make them perform Pull them under or Drown them in excess
a task over and over, drag them down
until it’s perfect
King Tempt them to Make them face or Have someone seek
harm an innocent to serve justice to use them, or make
save themselves or them feel cheap
someone they love

Knowing When to Progress to the Next Book

When playing the Fates, you should introduce two to three encounters for each
Book. During at least one of these encounters, your partner’s character should have
the opportunity to obtain
a Keepsake. As mentioned
on p.13, obtaining a
Keepsake should always
be a challenge, and may
even result in failure.
Because Keepsakes are so
important to the structure
of the game, they can
also be used to keep
track of when a character
should move forward to
the next Book. If three
encounters have occured,
and a character has had
the opportunity to obtain
a Keepsake, (regardless
of whether they have
succeeded or not) that’s
a good indication that it’s
probably time to move on.
No matter the time, no matter the place, it always begins in celebration and
always ends in tragedy. But maybe not this time….

Legend has it that Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He
was unnaturally gifted in music and poetry, and neither man, nor god, nor
beast could resist the beauty of his songs. It was said that he could captivate
the leaves on the trees, the rocks in the earth, and even call upon winds and
rivers to change their course.

Eurydice was a woman of exceptional grace and generosity who Orpheus

wooed with his song. She was beloved by all who knew her, and known for
her kind words and deeds. She was charmed by Orpheus, and the two were
soon married, the celebration culminating in a grand wedding feast.

Wine flowed, bonfires burned, and music filled the air as guests ate and
drank, sang and danced, and made merry from dusk until dawn. During the
celebration, Orpheus lost sight of his bride while she cavorted with nymphs
in a joyful dance. It was during this ecstatic revel that Eurydice trod upon
a viper and was poisoned.

It was not until the next morning that Orpheus discovered his bride was
dead. He wept bitterly for the loss of their future together, and vowed that
he would venture into the Underworld to beg Hades and Persephone, the
King and Queen of the Dead, for Eurydice’s return.

Orpheus traveled to the gates of the Underworld, and used the power of his
music and poetry to gain entry, and to charm all who dwelled there. After
overcoming many difficult challenges, he made his way to the throne room
to beg an audience with Hades and Persephone. There, he played a song so
sad and lovely he was able to bring Hades, the implacable King of the Dead,
to tears.

Moved to compassion, Hades offered Orpheus and Eurydice a deal. Eurydice

would be allowed to return to mortal realm on the following conditions:
she could follow Orpheus through the Underworld while he walked ahead,
but the two could neither speak, nor touch, and Orpheus could not look
to see if Eurydice was truly there until they had both crossed the threshold
back into the living world.

Orpheus and Eurydice agreed to Hades’s terms and began the difficult
passage out of the Underworld. It was a long and challenging journey, but
Eurydice followed Orpheus faithfully, never losing sight of her husband’s
shadowy figure, regardless of the distance between them. Orpheus ascended,
step by step out of the darkness, until the light of day blazed brightly ahead.
Yet, just as Orpheus had fully crossed into the light of the living world, he
turned to look back at his love, not realizing Eurydice had not yet crossed
the threshold, and remained shadowed in the darkness of the Underworld.

In an instant, Eurydice vanished, returning to her place among the dead,

lost to Orpheus forever. Orpheus, knowing he would never again be reunited
with Eurydice, was left to wander the world in desolation and solitude,
endlessly singing of the love he once had and lost. His story, and Eurydice’s,
has been told time and time again; of the distance some will go for love, and
how, sometimes, the distance isn’t what matters.
Morning has dawned, and with it the aftermath of the celebration. Looking
upon the colorful detritus: the garlands flapping in the breeze, the empty
bottles winking in the sun, the tumbled cups and overturned chairs, you feel
no joy. While you sang and danced, and drank, a tragedy occured. You awoke
to a world without Eurydice; the one you love is gone.

You know, deep in your soul, as sure as the sound of your own heart beating,
that this is not the end of the story. You will find the one you love, and you
will bring them home. They will live again; even the gods cannot ignore the
depth of your grief and the power of your love.

You steady yourself and you begin to walk.

The road eventually leads to the wide banks of a glassy river. The air is
deathly quiet, save for the occasional murmur from the handful of souls
milling upon its shore. They are shedding the trappings of humanity from
their bodies: eyeglasses and wedding rings, lockets and children’s toys.
Casting them among the reeds with hundreds of other trinkets that litter
the riverbank.

Once unburdened, they walk in a ghostly procession toward an ancient

wooden dock, where a single iron lantern remains forever lit. There, they
wait in hushed reverence for the lone, silent figure of the ferryman Charon
to pole his rust-colored skiff through the eerily calm waters. Upon extending
his hand, they place two coins in his palm and board his vessel. They are
then carried across the wide, dark waters of the River Styx to whatever fate
awaits them on the other side.

The waters of the river are as smooth as a polished stone and there is
something unnerving about looking into them too long. Deep within, you see
occasional flashes of wisp-pale movement; the curl of a finger, the gleam of
an eye. The other souls avoid looking at the river too. Their gaze is focused
the distant horizon of the other bank, where the shadowy gates to the
Underworld await them.
 The River of Souls Encounter Table
Value Hearts
Ace Wandering souls awaiting passage
2 A golden tree filled with the spirits of false dreams
3 A rolling meadow that is home to mythical beasts
4 Cast-off objects on the banks of the River Styx
5 A tent-city full of the souls of the Unburied Dead
6 Butterflies with messages for the dead
7 Charon, the boatman on the River Styx
8 Drowned Souls that drag the unwary into the
river
9 A lost child searching for their mother
10 Small gods of concepts like Hunger, Anxiety and
Fear
Jack A silent graveyard with a freshly dug grave
Queen A soul that refuses to enter the Underworld
King An intelligent, faithful dog that may have one
head, or three

The Geography of the River of Souls

The River of Souls begins with the road to the Underworld, and is the path Orpheus
must walk before reaching the Gates to enter the kingdom of the dead. Time is
somewhat distorted on this road, and events that occur can have a hallucinogenic
quality as the mind prepares itself for death. Anxiety, Grief, Need, Anger and other
concepts may be personified in this space. There may be clusters of other souls
walking the same road, that Orpheus has the opportunity to meet, or there may be
a lone soul walking toward their destiny.

Take your time with this part of the journey; the choice to walk into hell is not one
to be taken lightly. There are reasons Orpheus has decided to leave behind mortal
life and risk it all to bring Eurydice back from the Underworld. This is when you
should begin to explore those reasons and start building the story of their lives
together.

The Crossroads
Eventually, Orpheus will come to a crossroads with a large golden tree at the fork.
Hanging from the tree are sweet-smelling, strangely-shaped fruits that, when
eaten, ensnare travelers with untrue visions. Spirits of false dreams called Oneiroi
dwell in the boughs, tempting travelers to try the fruit, and the base of the tree is
surrounded by those who remain suspended in a fruit-induced sleep. If Orpheus is
clever, bringing a bough or a piece of fruit from the tree could be substituted for
Charon’s fare, though Orpheus must outsmart the spirits to attain one.
Beyond the tree, both roads eventually lead to the entrance to the Underworld,
but one road is potentially more perilous. The left side leads through a vast stretch
of meadow populated with mythological “beasts,” while the other leads to what is
effectively a tent city, populated with the Unburied Dead. It is up to the Fates to
determine which of these two options is more dangerous.

The Riverbank
The River Styx, known as the River of Souls, is the first river all souls must cross
when entering the Underworld. The river’s banks are littered with detritus cast
off by souls freeing themselves from their mortal fetters, before climbing aboard
Charon’s boat to be ferried to the other side. These newly unburdened souls
continue, in a near-silent procession, to Charon’s docks, where they wait patiently
for the ferryman to return.

Charon is one of several recognizable psychopomps who dwell in the Underworld,

and is likely the most famous. It is customary to give the ferryman two coins, placed
upon the eyes of the dead during burial, as the fee to pay for passage across
the river. Occasionally, Charon will accept other items of particular importance,
depending upon how greatly the soul measures their worth.

The river Styx itself is preternaturally smooth, and the area surrounding it is eerily
quiet. The only sounds that can be heard are the faint murmuring of the souls
congregating at the docks and the occasional splash of Charon’s pole as his boat
moves through the water. Charon himself does not speak, only gestures, doing his
job in tireless silence.

Those who gain passage on Charon’s boat are encouraged to keep their eyes
straight ahead, and not gaze too deeply into the river’s depths. It is rumored the
River Styx is full of souls who couldn’t pay Charon’s fee and attempted to swim
across the river. These rule-breakers were immediately sucked under, and now
remain forever trapped beneath the water’s glassy surface. Look too long and you
could meet the eyes of one of these unfortunate souls and become transfixed,
compelled to hurl yourself overboard and join them in their sunken confinement
Either way, the river takes its toll.

The Gates
On the opposite bank lies the Gates to the Underworld. They are massive, corroded
bronze monstrosities, carved with thousands of tiny figures of men and beasts
caught in unending struggle. The shadows are longer on this side of the river, and
the world seems to exist in a state of perpetual twilight.

To the foolish, the Gates to the Underworld appear to be unguarded. If one who is
not meant to enter gets too close, however, a huge brindle mastiff, with sagging
jowls and molten yellow eyes, will lumber out of the shadows and lie down in front
of the gates. At times, when the shadows fall over him just right, he appears to
have one or two additional heads that vanish when one looks directly at him.

Denizens of the River of Souls

Wandering Souls - The recently dead, travelers on the road to the Underworld.
They may be individuals who can be helpful or antagonistic (Orpheus is still
alive, after all), or may teach something valuable. The souls may be any age
and from any walk of life, each one a unique individual.

Small Gods - Personifications of concepts such as Anxiety, Grief, Need,

Pain, Disease, Old Age, Fear, Hunger, War, Discord, and Guilt. Their leader
is Thanatos, the personification of Death, his position always overshadowed
by Hades who is King of the Underworld. As personifications, they can be
somewhat one-dimensional, and tend to be largely motivated by their
individual concepts. This can make them sometimes exceedingly easy, or
exceedingly difficult to manipulate, depending on the circumstances.

The Oneiroi - Spirits of false dreams who cling to the branches of the golden
tree at the crossroads, and entice passers-by to taste the fruit. The base of the
tree is littered with souls, lolling in a dazed stupor, fruit-drunk on their dream
visions. The Oneiori are small, wisp-thin, with nearly invisible, translucent
wings. They can easily camouflage themselves among the branches and move
flicker-fast. There are almost as many of them as there are leaves on the tree,
so attempting a physical confrontation would be rather like fighting a swarm
of wasps.

The Unburied Dead - Poor souls that were never properly buried, thus do
not have the coin to be ferried across the river to the Underworld. There are
dozens of them, milling and miserable, on the right fork of the road past the
tree. Their personalities and desires are as complex as the Wandering Souls.
Some of them have been there so long,
however, they are becoming desperate and
will do nearly anything to be admitted to the
Underworld.

“Beasts” of Legend - Down the left fork,

opposite the Unburied Dead, is a meadow
where one or more “beasts” of legend lay.
Legendary “beasts” are not admitted to the
Underworld, regardless of their sentience or
level of intelligence, something a few of them
are more than rightfully bitter about. Upon
death, this meadow is where they are forced
to remain. It is up to the Fates which “beast,”
or “beasts,” are there, and their particular
attitude toward Orpheus. Some suggestions
for “beasts” to include are:

• Minotaur - a physically powerful

being with the body of a man and
the head of the bull
• Sphynx - a being with the face of a woman and the body of a lion
who delights in telling riddles
• Gorgons - beings with the bodies of snakes and the heads and
torsos of women, with snakes for hair, whose gaze can turn those
who look at them to stone
• Hydra - a creature with the body of a lizard and many snake-like
heads; when one is cut off, two more grow in its place
• Harpies - beings with the heads and torsos of women, with the
wings and hindquarters of vultures
• Chimera - a fire-breathing creature with the body of a lion, head of
a goat, and a tail with a snake’s head
• Nemean Lion - a huge lion with an impenetrable
hide
• Gryphon - a creature with the head and wings of
an eagle, and the hindquarters of a lion

Souls Awaiting Passage - These are souls who have

cast off their earthly belongings and are awaiting
Charon’s retun at the docks. Much like all souls along
the road, they are individuals and all have different
stories, though most of them are fairly calm and
soft-spoken. There is a sense of peace among these
souls that differs from those in the camp near the
crossroads. Most, if not all, have the coins to pay
Charon’s toll.
Charon - The ferryman of legend, Charon is likely the most famous
psychopomp of the underworld. Charon’s appearance varies, depending
upon who is looking at him. Some see a tall, robed figure with a skeletal face
and burning eyes, while others see a kindly, weather-worn sailor, and still
others see a winged, taloned creature, with great curling horns. Whatever his
appearance, two things about Charon remain constant: he requires a toll to
cross the River Styx, and he does not speak.

The Drowned - Souls who refused to pay Charon’s toll and attempted to
swim across the River Styx, they are trapped beneath the surface of the river
and gaze out at those who pass by them in vengeful wrath. These souls have
little power unless they are capable of transfixing another soul with their gaze.
Then they can compel that soul to climb into the water to join them. Once
within the water, the Drowned and the river will do their best to pull their
victim down, trapping them beneath the surface forever.

Cerberus - A huge, golden-eyed, molossus mastiff with a brindle coat and

sagging jowls, Cerberus sometimes appears to have one head, and sometimes
appears to have three. It’s almost like an optical illusion; if you look directly at
him, you can’t see it, but out of the corner of your eye, it’s always there. The
Guardian of the Gates to the Underworld, he takes his job seriously and won’t
allow anyone but the dead to enter the Underworld unless they can convince
him otherwise.
You awaken to find
yourself in a twilit
meadow, alone among a
sea of white asphodel.
Mist billows around
your bare feet and
blankets the ground
as far as you can see.
In the blue half-light,
shadowy figures of
other souls move, as if in
pantomime. If you strain,
you can barely hear
their voices; snatches
of one-sided, nonsense
conversations. Small
white lights--are they
fireflies?--dance and
flicker in the distance.
The air is heavy with the
perfumed scent of flowers.

You’re so tired. Surely now you can rest? Just as you’re about to slip back into
a lovely dream, you hear a voice in the back of your mind. It is a voice that
reminds you of the trilling of birds, the buzzing of bees; a voice that possesses
all the sweetness of springtime. It is a voice once powerful and familiar.

“Look there,” says Lady Persephone, Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Dead, as
if she alone were guiding your eyes, “and remember.”

Up ahead, you see Orpheus’s retreating back as it vanishes into the mist.

“Wait,” you think. “No… wait.”

And you follow.

 The Unquiet Meadows Encounter Table
Value Hearts
Ace The scent of asphodel that causes a soul to
enter a fugue state and relive memories
2 Sibyl, the oracle, here to relay the messages of
the dead to the living
3 A half-forgotten house in the mist
4 Confused, half-awake souls who can only speak
nonsense words
5 A path with a mind of its own
6 A shepherd of the dead
7 Wil o’ wisp-like creatures who lead travelers
astray
8 A thicket of brambles that only part when
watered with blood
9 A mysterious person gathering asphodel
10 A soul involved in an intimate conversation with
no one else there
Jack A soul involved in a moment of strife with no
one else there
Queen The remains of a celebration in the mist
King Agamemnon, king and war hero who sacrificed
his daughter as the gods demanded and regrets
it still

The Geography of the Unquiet Meadows

A vast and misty, darkened meadow dotted with glassy, white asphodel flowers.
Here, the Gray-Faced Souls of the dead, who were neither exceptionally heroic
nor exceptionally evil in life, reenact scenes from their lives with invisible partners.
Occasionally the Fates will choose to be kind, granting a soul the gift of a new life
allowing the soul to be completely reborn as someone new.

Though there are paths through the Unquiet Meadows, finding one’s way out is
difficult without assistance. The Meadows are designed to be directionless, timeless,
and intentionally disorienting. The mists occlude the few landmarks that might
exist, roads and byways possess the ability to change direction, and wil o’ wisp-like
creatures lead the unwary traveler astray. The scent of asphodel is sickly sweet and
overpowering, and breathing it in can cause souls to fall into a fugue-state, where
they will forget certain aspects of their lives and become fixated on others.

Unlike other parts of the Underworld, there are no distinct landmarks in the Unquiet
Meadows. The landscape is mutable and constantly changing. Occasionally, objects
or locations, full or partially realized from the souls who dwell there’s memories,
will manifest in the mist, an empty, ghostly echo of what they looked like when the
soul was alive.

The primary focus for Eurydice in this Book should be remembering who they were
before they came to the Underworld, and escaping the fugue-state the asphodel
induces. If they’re unable to resist the asphodel, using the fugue state to create
memories of their life with Orpheus can be very beneficial to the story you’re
creating.

Keep in mind that, thanks to Persephone’s gift, Eurydice can always find Orpheus,
even if they become separated, or Eurydice is temporarily lost in the Underworld.
Similarly, thanks to Hades’s stipulations, Eurydice and Orpheus can neither speak
nor touch, even if Orpheus appears to be in danger. Feel free to play with these
specifics during the course of Eurydice’s journey.

The Denizens of the Unquiet Meadows

Gray-Faced Souls - The majority of the denizens of the Unquiet Meadows

are made up of souls like Eurydice, who were neither exceptionally heroic, nor
exceptionally evil in life. They go about their business in the mist; endlessly
replaying portions of their lives with people who aren’t there. They are largely
unaware of the other souls around them, but intruding upon their space, or
jostling them can snap them out of their reverie for a few moments. When
awakened, they may be disoriented, distraught, or angry, depending on the
individual.

Agamemnon - A king of Mycenae, Agamemnon commanded the forces

against Troy when his brother’s wife, Helen, was taken by the Trojan king.
Upon returning, Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemenestra, who
had been having an affair with his cousin. Clytemenestra was angry because
Agamemnon had deceived her, asking her to send their daughter, Iphigenia,
to be married to Achilies. Instead, Agamemnon sacrificed her to Artemis
because he had previously offended the goddess, and she refused to allow
his ships to sail to Troy. Instead of being slain, Artemis took Iphigenia as her
handmaiden and Agamemnon’s passage was successful. He wavers between
regret for sacrificing his daughter, and attempting to justify his actions.

Somnambulist Souls - There are an unlucky few souls in the Unquiet

Meadows who have an exceptionally strong will, or are unable to be
completely overpowered by the scent of asphodel. Sometimes these souls
partially awaken in a state of confusion and wander the Meadows in a
somnambulist state, unable to tell what is real and what is illusion. When they
speak, their words are pure gibberish, something that frustrates them to no
end. Eventually, the Shepherd of the Dead will collect them and return them
to a more placid condition, but until that happens they will frequently attempt
to find a way out of the Unquiet Meadows or approach other souls for help.
Sibyl - An oracle also known to be a bridge between the living and the dead,
“sibyls” are actually a long line of priestesses who have taken a single name.
This particular Sybil is here in the Meadows to speak to the dead for those
who have visited her temple in the living realm.

The Shepherd of the Dead - Appearing as if they stepped out of a pastoral

painting, the Shepherd of the Dead is literally that; a humanesque figure
with a shepherd’s crook who tends to the souls in the Meadows in the same
way a shepherd would tend their flock. A fairly mysterious psychopomp, the
Shepherd keeps the souls of the Unquiet Meadows safe and in their place
until it is time for their rebirth.

Wil o’ Wisps - Small, firefly-like creatures that can be either helpful or harmful,
depending upon their whim. Much of the time they lead travelers astray, or at
least right back where they started from. Occasionally, however, they’ve been
known to guide souls toward things they truly need to see.
You emerge atop a rocky cliff, its surface slick with rainwater. Lightning
cracks the sky as above you a titanic worm roils in storm-dark clouds, its
acidic excretions mixing with the freezing rain to pelt down upon a violent
sea. Carrion crows the size of a large man circle overhead, their calls
echoing off the rock like mocking laughter. A crumbling stone stair, lashed
by waves, descends to a black sand beach below.

Upon the beach a nightmare battle endlessly rages. Naked souls tear at one
another with tooth and nail, oblivious to the world surrounding them. A
short distance away, others dangle in cramped cages at the edge of the sea,
pleading for release as they are endlessly battered by rain, wind and waves. A
few paces beyond that looms the ghostly form of a broken ship, beached upon
a muddy shore. Stooped figures crawl and claw at the muck surrounding it,
while something huge and old lurks deep within the shattered hull, watching
with a calculating, otherworldly eye.

In the distance you

see a jagged mountain
range, peaks topped
with snow, high above
a frozen harbor and
a dense pine forest.
The wind is relentless,
howling with the
sound of inhuman
voices, hurling acidic
rain and razor sharp
ice that raises welts
upon your skin. You
look for shelter, but
none can be found.
You know the only
thing to do now is to
press on….
 The Great Storm Encounter Table
Value Hearts
Ace A kraken who shelters in the hull of a beached
ship
2 Freezing acid rain excreted from a great worm,
thrashing in the clouds
3 A great mud pit where souls dig for things they
can’t obtain
4 Ascalaphus, owl familiar of Hades and
Persephone
5 A broken, rocky stair thrashed by a violent sea
6 A black sand beach where violent souls fight an
endless war armed only with hands and teeth
7 A howling whirlpool filled with dangerous
chunks of ice
8 Giant, intelligent carrion crows who carry the
dead to their rightful places
9 Caverns of jagged ice and stone
10 Souls who refused to give harbour, imprisoned
in dangling cages, lashed by the wind and sea
Jack A wind with razor-sharp sleet, resulting in
thousands of tiny cuts
Queen Souls with their eyes frozen shut so they cannot
weep
King A frozen inlet with false images of loved ones
trapped beneath ice

The Geography of the Great Storm

Upon entering the Gates, new souls to the Underworld find themselves upon
a rocky cliff overlooking a turbulent sea. A freezling, acid rain pours down, the
excretions of a giant worm, endlessly roiling in the stormclouds above. Between
cracks of lightning, huge carrion crows circle overhead. These crows often act as
psychopomps, carrying souls to various parts of the Underworld in their taloned
claws, where the souls are destined to remain according to their deeds in life.
Living beings such as Orpheus must make their own way, however, without the
benefit of a guide.

The Tempest-Tossed Stair

Along the cliff wall is a set of broken and jagged stairs, lashed by brutal waves that
lead down to a black sand beach. Descending the stair is necessary to proceed into
the Underworld, though the way is slippery and treacherous. Large chunks of the
stair have crumbled into the sea, and the waves batter against the cliff face with a
brutal relentlessness. Making the journey even more perilous is the icy wind, which
whips so violently that it is easy to lose one’s footing and tumble to the beach
below, or hurls razor-sharp frozen rain against unprotected skin, leaving thousands
of tiny cuts.
The Midnight Beach
The stair descends to the
black sand beach where
hundreds of souls who
revelled in violence in life
now remain embroiled
in endless war. They are
stripped naked, and armed
with only hands and teeth,
yet fight viciously against
one another even though
no one will ever win. Just
past them, a few yards out
to sea, souls who refused
to provide safe harbor to
the vulnerable dangle in
cages, forever tossed by
the merciless wind and
waves. They cry out for aid
that will never come.

The Kraken’s Lair

Further down the beach is
an overturned ship, half sunken, its broken hull sticking out of the water. Souls
obsessed with material wealth dig fruitlessly in the muck at the water’s edge,
coating themselves in filth, seeking treasures they can never find. Inside the ship
lives a monstrous creature, who only makes its presence known when one of the
souls ventures too close to the opening in the ship’s shattered hull. It does not
emerge completely, but makes its presence known through its numerous tentacles
and single burning eye.

The Cape of Unrest

A frozen inlet with chunks of ice that slowly break away and are dragged out to
sea, this area seems innocuous at first, compared to the other parts of the Great
Storm. It is quieter here, and the rainfall is gentler, though the wind takes on an
almost speech-like quality that often sounds like sobbing. There is a snow-covered
pine forest surrounding the inlet, where souls whose eyes are frozen shut wander
and lament, and a series of frozen caverns with sharp and jagged rocks further into
the mountains.

If someone ventures close to the inlet’s shores, the howling wind will begin to
mimic the voice of someone they know, and an image of that person will appear,
trapped beneath the ice. This is an attempt to lure the soul onto the frozen harbor
so that the ice may crack and they will be pulled out to sea. Once at the mercy
of the waters, they are eventually sucked into a great whirlpool less than a mile
offshore. What lies at the bottom of that whirlpool is anyone’s guess.
Denizens of the Great Storm
Carrion Crows - The size of large condors and twice as intelligent as regular
crows, these creatures act as another line of defense against those who
have managed to slip past the external guardians of the gates. They also
serve as psychopomps for souls who need to be carried to other parts of the
Underworld. While they can communicate, and can potentially be bargained
with, it’s important that they shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity to skip
portions of Orpheus’s journey. A carrion crow will only take someone where
they need to go, not necessarily where they want to go.

Ascalaphus - The former tender of the orchard where Persephone ate the
pomegranate seeds that bound her to Hades, Ascalaphus was trapped under
a stone by Demeter, then released and transformed into an owl by Hades. He
now serves Hades and Persephone as something similar to a messenger and
familiar. He is here in this part of the Underworld to keep an eye on Orpheus’s
progress.

Warlike Souls - The souls on the black sand beach are those who revelled
in violence during their mortal lives. They have been sentenced to battle
endlessly, armed only with tooth and nail, wearing nothing but their skin. For
the most part, they are largely preoccupied fighting one another, but should
someone new stumble onto their battlefield, they are considered fair game.
Souls Refused Harbor - These souls refused others safe harbor while they
were alive and now spend their time in the underworld a few paces from that
same safety. They are contorted in cramped cages dangling from the roiling
worm that thrashes in the stormclouds, endlessly battered by sea, wind, and
rain. They are a pitiful sight, constantly crying out for release.

Souls Obsessed With Materiality - Unbothered by the grime they’re coated

in, these souls dig into the muck surrounding the Kraken’s beached ship
in frantic pursuit of objects that do not exist. Obsessed with hoarding and
gathering wealth in life to the detriment of all else, they cannot let go of that
urge, even in death. Trying to convince them that there is no treasure to be
found is almost impossible, as is making them notice the filth they’re covered
in from their pursuit of the unobtainable.

The Kraken - A nearly

incomprehensible
tentacled monstrosity,
this massive creature has
made its home in the
remains of a beached
ship, surrounded by souls
who dig for impossible
treasure. It is rarely visible
unless a soul attempts
to enter its lair or passes
a bit too close to the
opening in the ship’s hull.
Only then does it make its
presence and displeasure
known.

Souls Who Cannot

Weep - Souls who wander
the snowy pine forest
near the frozen harbor.
They had no empathy for
others during their mortal
lives. Now their eyes have
been frozen shut, so they
are unable to weep for
themselves in death. They
initially appear harmless,
but are more than a
little ruthless, especially
if someone gets in their
way.
 You enter a tunnel, dark and
narrow. You have to turn
sideways to pass through
openings almost too small for
your body. The walls are slick
and warm, and almost seem to
inhale and exhale. You crawl
on your hands and knees until
you force yourself through an
opening barely large enough for
your shoulders and emerge into
a darkness so complete that you
struggle to find any source of
light. As you strain to see, you
notice the ground beneath you
is damp and sticky, and the air is
heavy with an earthy, metallic
tang.

As your eyes begin to adjust, you realize you are standing in an immense
cavern. Below, an impossibly vast chasm yawns like a bottomless void. If you
squint, you can make out several rough-hewn, dizzying staircases clinging
to the walls, from which other tunnels spread like a series of dark veins.
High above, the twisted roots of a massive tree hang like gnarled talons. A
colossal giant, with fifty heads and one hundred hands, dangles, viciously
impailed. He hangs suspended in eternal agony as his blood slowly gathers
to drip into the pit below.

Peering over the edge of the chasm, the metallic scent grows even stronger,
taking on a foul, pungent air. You peer into the darkness and can barely
make out the sprawling shapes of other titanic figures at the bottom. They
are restrained in all manner of configurations, some misshapen or afflicted
in ways your mind can barely comprehend. Swarming around them, in the
bloody effluence that has congealed at the bottom of the pit, are numerous
feeding parasites, their flesh a sickly grub-white in the near oppressive
darkness.
 The Chasm of Titans Encounter Table
Value Hearts
Ace The giant titan Briareus impaled on the roots of
an enormous tree
2 A claustrophobic maze of fleshy tunnels
3 Sisyphus, sentenced to constantly push a
boulder uphill
4 A narrow path on the side of a steep cavern wall
5 Antaeus, beaten in wrestling by Hercules when
lifted from the earth, seeking a rematch
6 Tantalus, sentenced to stand in a pool where the
water recedes when he’s thirsty, beneath a tree
where the fruit is always out of reach
7 Ixion, bound to a fiery wheel for murdering his
father-in-law
8 Sharp, slippery rocks covered with blood and
offal from Briareus’s wounds
9 Huge maggots feasting on blood
10 The Danaides, a group of women sentenced to
carry water in sieves for murdering the men they
were forced to marry
Jack A river of boiling blood
Queen Prometheus, who stole fire and gave it to man,
chained to a rock while his regenerating liver is
eaten by an eagle
King Cronus, titan father of Zeus who ate his children,
his stomach distended with boulders

The Geography of the Chasm of Titans

Tartarus is where the most wicked souls are sent to be punished in the Underworld.
Many of the Titans were confined to Tartarus after waging war on the gods and
remain there, locked in eternal torment. It is a place of oppression and misery,
with tortures uniquely crafted for each soul that suffers there. Tartarus is dark,
oppressive, bloody, and difficult to traverse. It is designed to be a prison with few
guards--an oubliette where souls are locked away in misery to be forgotten.

The Tunnels of Suffering

Tartarus most often resembles a series of extremely dark, fleshy caverns, connected
via a series of narrow tunnels. The walls and ceiling are lined with bone-like
protusions, and the floor is soft and slick. The metallic scent of blood lingers in
the air, and the far off screams and moans of souls in agony echo through the
caverns. It is one of the few parts of the Underworld that seems “underground,”
and the darkness is oppressive. Parts of Tartarus seem extremely claustrophobic,
while other areas seem unnervingly vast. Most imprisoned souls occupy their own
cavern or tunnel, especially designed for their own particular form of punishment.
The Titan’s Cavern
The entrance to Tartarus is a towering cavern where the Hecatoncheire Briareus
remains bound, suspended from the ceiling, impaled upon the roots of a giant
tree. Beneath that is a massive chasm where the Titans of legend lie imprisoned at
the bottom. A non-euclidian nightmare of staircases spiral down the chasm’s walls,
leading to tunnels that snake out in all directions. These tunnels connect to a vast
network of smaller caverns where other souls are confined, locked in their personal
torments. The only way to pass through Tartarus is to take the staircases through
the maze of tunnels, until one eventually emerges at the bottom.

The Pit of Imprisonment

At the very bottom of the pit, the remaining Titans lie in various states of
imprisonment, surrounded by the bloody offal that has fallen from their impaled
brother above, fed upon by massive parasites drawn by the scent of blood. Most
famous among these are Cronus, father of the gods, whose belly has been filled
with boulders for the crime of consuming his children, and Prometheus, forever
chained to a rock with an eagle eating his liver for stealing fire as a gift to mortals.

Denizens of the Chasm of Titans

Penitent Mortals - There are numerous figures from Greek mythology
imprisoned in Tartarus, forced to do penance for some perceived wickedness
while they were alive. Here a few of the souls that can be found here:

• Sisyphus - A Corinthian King,

Sisyphus was known for his
conniving and deceitful nature.
He was sentenced to continually
strain to roll a boulder uphill for
eternity, only to lose his grasp and
have it roll down again a moment
before it reaches the top.
• Tantalus - Tantalus was known
to have desecrated the gods’
rules of hospitality not once, but
twice. First, when invited to Zeus’s
table at Olympus, he acted rudely,
and stole ambrosia and nectar to
bring back to mortals, as well as
exposed secrets of the gods. Next,
when inviting the gods to eat at
his own table, he butchered and
cooked his son, serving him as the
main course. The gods were so
disgusted, they sentenced him to
 imprisonment in Tartarus, where he remains confined to a pool of
water beneath a fruit tree. The water always recedes before he is able
to take a drink, and the fruit always remains just out of reach, so he is
tormented by hunger and thirst forever.
• Ixion - A former king of Lapiths, Ixion could not pay his wife’s dowry,
so his father-in-law stole several horses from his stables. Ixion was
so enraged, he shoved his father-in-law into a hearth, killing him.
He should have been punished as a kinslayer, but Zeus took pity on
him and invited him to Olympus. There, Ixion acted obscenely toward
Hera, who was not pleased with Ixion’s poor behavior. Second chance
expended, Zeus sent Ixion to Tartarus, where he was bound to a fiery
wheel for eternity.
• Danaides - The fifty daughters of Danaus, they were set to marry
the fifty sons of Aegyptus, who swore protection upon Danaus’s
lands if they did so. Danaus did not wish his daughters to marry,
and demanded they kill their husbands on their wedding night. All
but one, Hypermnestra, did so (she did not because her husband,
Lycenaeus, respected her wish to remain a virgin after the marriage).
For the crime of murder, the remaining forty-nine Danaides were
sentenced to Tartarus, their task to completely fill a vessel by carrying
water in sieves for eternity.
• Antaeus - A demigod, the son of Poseidon and Gaea, Anteus was
renowned for his skill at wrestling, remaining unbeatable as long as
his feet remained in contact with the earth. He killed a number of
opponents, using their skulls to build a temple to his father before
being bested by the hero Hercules. Hercules defeated him by lifting
him from the ground and crushing him while he was held aloft.
Antaeus now wanders Tartarus in iron boots, eternally fused to his
skin so that his feet will never again reach the ground.
Titans - The Titans imprisoned in Tartarus are, without a doubt, the
Underworld’s most famous residents. They are ridiculously powerful
and impossibly dangerous, so we recommend they mostly be used as
environmental elements, as opposed to direct opponents. Cronus is likely
the most famous of the first generation, though there several of the second
generation such as Prometheus or Briareus, who are also well-known:
• Cronus - The leader and most powerful of the Titans, Cronus
overthrew his father, Uranus, to become ruler of the universe. Fearing
that he would come to a similar fate, he swallowed his children as
infants, so that they could not overthrow him. Their mother, Rhea,
tricked him into swallowing a stone instead of his youngest son,
Zeus, and sent the child away to be brought up in secret. Zeus grew
to maturity and led a revolution against his father and the rest of
the Titans, eventually winning the war and imprisoning them all in
Tartarus.
• Prometheus - Though Prometheus originally sided with Zeus during
the war between the gods and Titans, he was known as a champion
of men. He stole fire from the gods and brought it to mortals, hiding
it in a hollow fennel stalk. Zeus punished him by having him bound
to a rock, and summoned an eagle to eat his liver each day. Because
Prometheus was a Titan, his liver would regrow each night, making
the cycle of torture endless. He was eventually rescued by Hercules,
but met the same fate in Tartarus when he was imprisoned there
after his death.
• Briareus - Impaled upon the roots of a massive tree at the very
top of the cavern, the fifty-headed, hundred-armed giant Briareus
writhes in eternal suffering, while his blood drips down into the
cavern below. Sentenced to Tartarus for angering Poseidon, his
father-in-law, by allying against him in matters of war.
The Gauntlet of Hope and Regret determines the final outcome of the game and
the state of Orpheus and Eurydice’s relationship as they reach the threshold of the
Underworld. As the two of them travel through the final passage toward the living
world, moments from their lives are replayed as if in warning. If these moments are
largely positive, they may give the couple the hope they need to continue, if they
are negative, however....

Determining Memories & Using Keepsakes

During The Gauntlet of Hope and Regret, players take turns describing short
memories that occurred over the course of their relationship. To determine
whether these memories are positive or negative, they should first look to see how
much Harm each of their characters has based on their Psyche Spindle. The number
of Harm is directly proportional to the number of negative memories their
character experiences in the Gauntlet. So, if Orpheus had 3 Harm remaining when
he entered the Gauntlet, he’d have 3 negative memories and 1 positive memory.

However, if either character has Keepsakes, they may use each Keepsake to heal 1
Harm and replace a negative memory with a positive one related to that Keepsake.
Thus, if Orpheus has 3 Harm and 2 Keepsakes, he can enter the Gauntlet with only
1 negative memory and 3 positive memories.

Playing Through the Gauntlet

Once it has been determined how many positive and negative memories the
characters have, both players should join hands (if they are comfortable doing so),
look into each other’s eyes, and describe each positive or negative memory starting
with the phrase, “Love, do you remember when…” The other player should
acknowledge by responding with, “I do remember...” and their own additions to
the memory, though they cannot change a negative memory to a positive one and
vice versa. For example, a negative memory could sound something like:

“Love, do you remember when we had that argument on the way to my

parents’ house? You left me on the side of the road and I had to find my own
way home.”

“I do remember. I was angry that you snapped at me for running late. I realize
now I overreacted. I should have never left you there.”
Choices & Endings
After the characters have completed the Gauntlet of Hope and Regret, Orpheus
stands on the threshold of the Underworld, one foot in the land of the living and
one in the land of the dead, ready to step into the light of day. Here is how to
determine what happens next.

The players should total up their positive memories from the Gauntlet. If there
are 2 or less positive memories between both players, ending A occurs. If there are
5 or more positive memories between both players, ending B occurs. If there are
3 - 4 positive memories, ending C occurs.

Remember, Gauntlet memories are directly related to the amount of Harm each
character has remaining on their Psyche Spindle at the end of the game. If Eurydice
has 1 Harm and Orpheus has 2 Harm, that means they should have 3 positive
memories during the Gauntlet and should choose ending C.

Ending A
Orpheus steps into the light, releasing a long-held breath. The journey was long
and fraught with peril, but they have finally made it. Orpheus turns to see the face
of the one they love, not realizing that Eurydice has not yet crossed the threshold
into the living world. A gasp escapes Eurydice’s lips and suddenly they are gone,
their form melting away like mist, forever lost to the darkness of the Underworld.

Ending B
Orpheus steps into blinding brightness. They take two quick steps away from the
entrance to the Underworld, being careful to not look back. They are holding their
breath, desperate with hope. Then they feel someone take their hand and turn to
see Eurydice’s smiling face. The two stand together, blinking in the light of a new
day.

Ending C
If you have achieved this ending, you have a choice to make. Each player should
take a slip of paper and, while keeping your answer hidden from your partner, write
down one of the following options:

If you played Orpheus you may choose to...

1. Look back
2. Not look back

If you played Eurydice you may choose to...

1. Follow Orpheus into the light
2. Not follow Orpheus into the light

Once you have made your choice, fold your slip of paper in half and pass it to your
partner. They should open it, read it, and then the two of you should consult the
following list to see what happens:
 If Orpheus does not look back and Eurydice follows them into the light,
they are reunited in the mortal realm and live out the rest of their lives
together. When they die, they are reunited in the Underworld.

If Orpheus looks back and Eurydice follows them into the light, Eurydice
vanishes into the Underworld. However, the Fates take pity on them and give
Eurydice a chance to be reborn as a new soul, to begin a different life as
someone new. Orpheus wanders the living world, alone and desolate. They
never see each other again.

If Orpheus does not look back and Eurydice does not follow them into
the light, Eurydice vanishes and returns to the Underworld, and is granted a
place of honor for those who have made heroic sacrifices or taken difficult
journeys. Orpheus leads a deeply fulfilling life without Eurydice, but they may
be reunited after Orpheus’s death in Elysium.

If Orpheus looks back and Eurydice does not follow them into the light,
Eurydice vanishes and returns to the Underworld, taking their place in the
Unquiet Meadows. Orpheus lives a life of desolate wandering, their path to
the Underworld forever barred. The two never see each other again.

Denouement
Finally, a lone scene acting as a Denouement for the characters, should occur once
an ending has been determined. This scene should be reflective of the overall tone
of the game as well as the ending determined by the Gauntlet. For example, if the
characters had a difficult emotional journey, but eventually achieved the largely
positive Ending A, the scene may be hopeful but bittersweet.

This scene doesn’t need

to be set immediately
after the journey Orpheus
and Eurydice have taken,
it can be a memory from
an earlier point in their
relationship, or reflective
of a conversation they wish
could happen, but did not,
due to their separation.

Also remember that this

will be the last time you
play these characters
together. Try to make it a
scene to remember, one
that is both reflective of
who they are as characters
and to each other.