By the bile and vile

darkness in my
blood, by the demons
of hell and the fallen
brood, I summon
forth from the fetid
bowels of creation
the Servant of Filth
and the Fetid Veil
Author Unknown, Prayer to the Demons Vepar and Focalor
 Credits
Designer

Andy Lever

Additional Writing and Development

Abbadon
Amelia Fey Parsons Blood Tides
Brian Wilcox
David Woods
Deni Obid
What is Abbadon: Blood Tides?
Editing and Proofreading
Abbadon: Blood Tides is a quick start guide that serves as an intro-
Derek Mayfield duction to the full version of Abbadon: The Thirteen Seals.
Artwork and Layout
The Quick start is designed for 3-5 players, including a Game Mas-
Andy Lever ter (known as Weavers) who controls the adventure and NPC ac-
tions.
Map Design

Derek Mayfield
The game uses a full standard 54-card deck, including two jokers,
to determine the outcome of certain actions by characters. Rules for
combat, sample characters and short introduction adventure are all
included within this booklet.
Play Testers

Al Harron, Artemis, Brian Wilcox, Deni Obid, Kieran McFadyen, Jak True, Matthew Taylor, Please note that the Quick start is being released before the Core
Pint of Cthulhu Matt, Roddy McCahon, Ross McCabe, Shawn Nease, Book and the rules may change a little before that final release.

Published by
What You’ll Need?
Lost Haven Games
To play with the quick start you'll need a single deck of playing
cards, printouts of the character sheets provided within (you can
Legal also write down this information on some spare paper), and pencils
for taking notes or recording information during combat.
Abbadon the Thirteen Seals and Lost Haven Games Logos are copyright of Lost Haven Games
2022.
All Abbadon system text is copyright Lost Haven Games.
Any unauthorised use of copyrighted material is illegal. Any trademarked names are used in
Before Starting!
a fictional manner; no infringement is intended.
It is recommended that before running the adventure provided
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with actual people and events, past or present, is
purely coincidental and unintentional except for those people and events described in an within the Weaver should read this document to make sure they
historical context. have a clear understanding of the rules within to aid the players
during the adventure.

4 5

How to play
Whenever a player character (PC) chooses to make an action, the
Fate Weaver (FW or Weaver) will deal out several cards based on the
actions the PC intends to take. By default, players are given a min-
imum 2 cards - even when unskilled - and are required to make the
Target Number (TN) of 13 for that action to succeed. Skill Ranks,
Attribute milestones and combat positions can all adjust this TN up
and down.
Players gain additional cards based on their rank in the archetypal
skills, their attributes or based on the equipment they are using
and their chosen combat position as well as other factors.
Numbered Cards - The numerical cards simply represent the num-
ber they show and are added together to make the target of 13.
Face Cards - These have a numerical value: 11 for Jacks, 12 for
Queens, and 13 for Kings. This means that regardless of the situ-
ation, Kings always succeed. Playing 2 Queens, Jacks or a combina-
tion of the two also counts as a success meaning that if a Queen
and Jack of the same suit are played you get higher degrees of suc-
cess, as explained in the Card Suit paragraph below.
Card Suits - Each Archetype has an associated suit. Playing all cards
of a matching suit results in a Critical, or Suit Success. In combat,
a Suit Success generally means more damage. In a social situation,
however, this could mean that the PC is capable of extracting more
information. When concerning a puzzle, a Suit Success might glean
some insight into how they might solve it.
As part of a suit hand, face cards also provide additional bonuses.
These will be detailed fully in the skill description, but some ex-
amples include: additional damage, hitting extra targets, overcom-
ing armour or damage resistance, etc.
Jokers - can be played in a hand, and the player may choose for it
to take the place of any other card. There is a downside to this, as
6 7
the Weaver keeps the joker card, instead of reshuffling it into the
deck. The Weaver may then replace any card played at a later point
with the Joker, where its value is zero – usually with catastrophic
results for the PCs.
Excess cards - sometimes a Player might get lucky and may be able
to play multiple 13s. They can do this to amplify the skill they are
attempting to use: perhaps they launch two fireballs instead of one
or mightily cleave through one enemy and into another. Sometimes
you may have cards left over that cannot form the TN you’re look-
ing for, these cards are discarded at the end of your turn.
Pushing Fate - sometimes a hero gets desperate, and takes risks. If
a player finds themselves in a situation where they desperately
want to succeed, they can push fate. The Weaver plays a card for
them face up. If the card played brings the players' total to exactly
13, treat the result as though it was played with a matching suit. If
it does form a matching suit for the Archetype, then the abilities'
effects are tripled. Exceeding or failing to reach 13, however, has
dire consequences for the player's character. In a twist of fate, the
hero leaves themselves open, and the target of their action has an
opportunity to swiftly and brutally react.
Examples of the drawbacks of pushing fate include an enemy get-
ting to strike you for free dealing damage as if you’d failed a reac-
tion test, inflicting a condition on you, doing increased damage if
fate is pushed on a reaction test, extending the duration of a con-
dition, reducing your Armour Rating or Elemental Resist.
All cards are taken back once actions have been resolved, or at the
end of a combat round. The Weaver then reshuffles the deck ready
for future actions.
If the deck is ever exhausted before the round is over take all played
and discarded cards and reshuffle to continue play.

Combat
Combat in Abbadon isn’t the full grid-based tactical experience you
may get with other games. While rounds follow a similar format to
most other tabletop role-playing games, players instead choose po-
sitions for their characters; the weaver then must engage each
character in a melee position with at least 1 enemy, with extra en-
emies being allowed to stay in the Distant position if they have
ranged abilities and attacks.
The positions characters may take in a combat round are outlined
below in more detail.
Combat like other TTRPGs is broken up into rounds with most par-
ticipants getting a single turn during the round. PC’s and NPC's
alike are limited to taking one action per round, however a PC with
fortunate cards may be able to take multiple actions.
On the other hand some monsters (usually Bosses or Unique mon-
sters) get multiple turns in a round making them very dangerous.
The Combat Round
Step 1 - Surprise
Combat for the Quick start is simplified so the Weaver and Players
don’t need to worry about the Surprise step.
Step 2 - Positioning
If both sides of a fight are aware of each other, or the PC’s ambush
their foes. They choose their positions and who they are engaging
with at the start of the fight before the Weaver allocates any re-
maining NPCs to either engage a PC or take up a distant position.
Aggressive: This position is for those characters who don’t fear the
front lines of demonic hordes. Player Characters who choose to be
Aggressive gain an additional card for their attacks or offensive
skills. All Aggressive Characters gain a +2 damage bonus to these
actions.
Reserved: This position is for the more contemplative and cautious
heroes. Player Characters who choose to be Reserved gain +1 card
8 9
to Reactions and skills that apply to themselves or allies. Reserved
Characters gain a +1 bonus to initiative.
Distant: This position is for those that prefer to keep their opponent
at range picking their enemies off with spells or ranged weaponry.
Player Characters who choose to be Distant gain a +1 accuracy bo-
nus for ranged attacks and skills. Distant Characters cannot be at-
tacked by most melee attacks. Note that at least one other ally
needs to be in one of the melee positions for a character to take up
a Distant position.
Step 3 - Initiative
The Players draw cards from the deck, while the GM refers to the
individual enemy groups they are using. For Players, this is one
card each. For the GM it is much less random which monsters have
set initiative scores, although these scores can be adjusted by cer-
tain conditions. Some monsters, usually bosses, have multiple ac-
tivation's in a round, giving them multiple spots on the initiative
tracker. Take note of the order, beginning with King, down to Aces.
When a Joker is drawn for initiative, that character may choose to
go at any point – even above a King.
On the rare chance that a player draws a King corresponding to
their character's associated suit, they gain a +1 card bonus for any
action that they take this round or choose to remove a single con-
dition currently affecting them.
An example of the latter would be a character who had been
knocked down in the previous round draws a King of their associ-
ated suit for the next round of combat. They choose to get rid of
the Knock Down as their character is able to swiftly get to their feet
so that they can still attack this round, instead of taking a bonus
card.
Step 4 - Actions and Damage
PCs may act once in combat, using an attack, ability, or item, as
well as move up to their movement speed. They also get to react to
some attacks, defend themselves, and even counter-attack.
† Attacks - When a PC makes an attack, you must first determ-
ine if it is melee or ranged. Melee attacks gain bonus cards
based on Strength, while Ranged attacks gain bonus cards
based on Dexterity. Some magical weapons or spell effects
may also grant an accuracy bonus. Once you figure out how
many cards are in your hand, the GM will deal out your hand.
Then, you attempt to make a 13 with the cards you were dealt.
If you can play multiple 13s, this means you can make mul-
tiple attacks.
† Weapons have a damage range based on successful at-
tacks and will be marked in order of success/suit: jack/
queen/king.
† Abilities - Work similar to attacks, however, your hand num-
ber is determined by your ability rank plus any bonuses from
gear, spell effects, or conditions. Once you know your hand
amount, the GM will deal. Then, your aim is to make 13, or
multiple 13’s (which allows you to use the ability a 2nd time,
or use any other abilities you have points in – provided the
rank is equal to or lower than the original skill, or your re-
maining cards, whichever is lower. This allows you to combine
abilities.
† The increased benefits of suits and face cards are de-
scribed in each individual ability.
† Items - Items don’t generally require a hand to be played,
however, in some circumstances, the GM may decide that it
does. Using an item can be done in place of using an attack or
ability. Using an item includes things like taking a potion
from your inventory (belts allow you to do it for free but have
limited capacity), swapping a weapon, picking something up,
etc.
† Reaction - NPC’s do not get their own hand of cards. Instead,
when they act, the PC reacts. A character's reaction hand is
based largely on equipment, abilities, and conditions. Every
consecutive time a PC is forced to react, they reduce the num-
ber of cards drawn by 1.
† Enemies still inflict damage on a success and suit suc-
cess, but that damage is reduced.
† Jacks, Queens and Kings count as counterattacks, doing
damage back to the enemy.
† NPC damage is shown as X/X/X/-X/-X/-X
† Characters with 0 reaction cards left take the highest
damage a NPC can afflict.
10
† Damage
† There are two broad damage types in Abbadon which are
detailed further into this chapter on Page XX
† Other things factor into Damage: Armour and abilities
grant Armour Rating, which reduce the amount of phys-
ical damage taken by the stated amount. Elemental res-
istance provides similar protection from elemental dam-
age.
† Some NPCs and Abilities also have, or grant resistance or
vulnerability to, certain damage types. Resistance and
Vulnerability come with a Number attached to them.
This is the additional damage taken, or damage reduced
from the source of damage. Some NPCs and abilities
even grant immunity, meaning damage is ignored en-
tirely.
Step 4 - Repeat or Resolve
At the end of a round, if there are still PCs and NPCs alive and
fighting, the Weaver should take in all of the player cards and re-
shuffle the deck. Then repeat the combat process from step 2 until
the combat is resolved one way or another.
Death, Healing and Resurrection
The world of Haven is a cruel, and at times, inhospitable place –
especially with the rising darkness. Death is a common occurrence,
and, for most, inevitable and irreversible. Death can claim a hero at
any moment if they misstep, take on too much or fate just isn’t in
their favour.
Death
Player characters die when they reach 0 HP from combat on their
next round. Traps, or other mishaps, are unfortunately the end of
them.
11
Recovering Health and Mana
Successful Adventurers are cautious and well-prepared; there are
numerous ways for characters to heal and recover their health and
mana during the course of an adventure or campaign.
† One of the most frequent ways for characters to recover is
from the adrenaline rush they receive after surviving a battle.
After a combat has finished all characters recover 25% of their
health and mana rounded up.
† Another is through resting in a safe location. Typically, this is
in a walled settlement of some kind, but may also be blessed
rooms in a dungeon, or key locations in a campaign that the
PC’s have established, been provided by an NPC. Resting in
such a location recovers a Players HP and MP entirely.
† Potions are another common form of healing, and purchasing
them from an alchemist or finding them during an adventure,
can be a life saver. The effectiveness of potions is based on the
item tier that the campaign has reached. Minor potions re-
cover 25%, Regular potions 50% and Greater potions 75% of a
characters’ maximum hit point value. Rarer than either heal-
ing or magic potions are rejuvenation potions that recover
both pools instead of only one.
† Character skills sometimes provide ways to recover HP or MP,
either for themselves, or for allies; these can be effective ways
to extend an adventure, or simply keep the party alive and
efficient in combat.
† Finally, there may be items or places found through an adven-
ture that provide some level of healing, but these are uncom-
mon and shouldn’t be relied upon.
Resurrection
Resurrection is less common in the world of Haven. Few mortals
are ever blessed with a second chance. The PC’s aren’t just any mor-
tals though, and there are ways for such individuals to cheat death.
12
However the Quickstart does not include these options as they re-
quire a substantial amount of gold or exp as well as access to a safe
haven such as a walled settlement.
Damage Types
There are multiple damage types found in Abaddon, but to simplify,
they can generally be categorised as physical or elemental damage.
Physical Damage - This is damage typically inflicted by weapons
and abilities that specifically mention it. Anything with physical
damage can be reduced by armour ratings.
Elemental Damage - This includes Magic, Fire, Cold, Electrical and
Radiant damage types, often inflicted by abilities or magic
weapons. Anything with an Elemental Damage type can be reduced
by Elemental Resistance. There are some magic affixes for items
that only give resistance to a specific elemental damage type.
Conditions
While attacking one's enemies and inflicting damage, it is import-
ant there are other things to consider that may affect the PC’s or
NPC’s. Conditions are often the result of skills or enemy abilities,
and can have a huge impact on combat.
There are a few conditions that function similarly in “game terms.”
Damage Over Time
These conditions are ones that continue to inflict damage for a
period of time, such as attacks that cause an enemy to bleed, set
them ablaze with fire, or suffer from poison or acid. For skills and
abilities, these conditions will often be worded as follows: Bleed
X(X) or Poison X(X). The number before the brackets is the amount
of damage this effect does,while the number in the bracket is the
number of turns the effect lasts. The damage inflicted by these abil-
ities always occurs at the start of the affected character's turn and
ignores damage reduction, unless a character is immune to the ef-
fect.
13
Bleed tions, and reduce their number of reactions by 1. NPCs affected by
This condition is often the result of vicious wounds, spells or abil- a stun increase the Target Range of any player attacking them by 1.
ities. Bleed counts as physical damage when factoring its damage They also take 2 additional damage from successful attacks aimed
against NPCs that are vulnerable. at them while under the effects of this condition.

Burn
This condition is often the result of flaming attacks that linger,
instead of immediately burning out. Burn counts as fire damage
when factoring its damage against NPCs that are vulnerable.
Poison
This condition is often the result of poisons, venoms, corrosive and
necrotic abilities, and magic. Poison counts as poison damage when
factoring its damage against NPCs that are vulnerable.
Regeneration
While not damage over time this condition functions similarly but
providing the character with HP each round that the condition is
active.
Stuns
These conditions stun a character, preventing them from taking ac-
tions for a set amount of time. Stunning, Knock-downs, confusion,
freezing, and even fear often affects characters in this way, al-
though this may vary slightly, depending on the type. Stuns tend
to be written as follows: Freeze (X) or Fear (X) where X is duration
of the effect. Knockdown is the exception, as it’s the most simplest
form of stun, and only ever lasts a single round.
Inhibitors
Inhibitors are conditions that inhibit a character's ability in some
way. Slowing targets, blinding them, and disrupting their coordin-
ation or capability to perform specific action conditions. Similar to
stuns, these are generally worded similarly in skills and monster
abilities, but have their own specific effects. Slow (X), Blind (X) for
example indicate the duration of the effect.
Clumsy
This condition is often the effect of specific abilities or magic.
Clumsy functions similarly to blind, with the exception that the
target can still make ranged attacks. They however suffer the same
penalty to ranged attacks and abilities as they do melee and reac-
tions.
Slow
This condition is often the result of traps, specifically targeted at-
tacks, or magic. Slow targets reduce their initiative by 2 for the dur-
ation of the condition.

Knockdown
This condition is often the result of heavy blows, wind effects, or
charges. Knockdowns knock the affected target to the ground, for-
cing them to use their action on their next turn to get back to their
feet. Attacks against Knocked down opponents adjust the TN by 1
and inflict an additional +2 damage.

Stun
This condition is often the result of heavy blows, sudden shocks
and magic. Stuns prevent an affected character from taking any ac-

14 15
Example Combat
The party encounters some undead, but unable to catch them by
surprise, the players initiate combat without any advantages. The
player party consists of the Elementalist Kai Oceanchild, Faithful
Esraa Nightseeker, the Hexxing Sephtis the Ghoul, and the Stalker
Ginsetsu.
Step 2. Esraa chooses to take an aggressive position to try and cut
the abominations down fast, while both Kai and Sephtis take a more
reserved approach. Ginsetsu favouring the use of a bow takes a
Distant position. The Weaver then decides that one Zombie will
engage each of the players in melee (Esraa, Kai and Sephtis) and
that the Putrefied will take up a distant position to harass the
characters. They’re eady to move onto Step 3, Initiative.
The undead have static initiative being 2 all round, with the
zombies engaged with Kai and Sephtis increasing theirs to 3 due to
the Reserved bonus. The Players draw cards to determine their
initiative. Esraa draws a 10, both Kai and Sephtis draw 4’s but get
to treat them as 5’s due to Reserved, and Ginsetsu draws an Ace
putting him at the bottom of Initiative. Ready to move Step 4.
Esraa’s looks at their skills and decides now isn’t the right time and
opts to attack with their arming sword two handed instead. Two
handed grants no accuracy benefit but being Aggressive does, Esraa
draws 3 cards. They draw a Jack, Ace and a Three not enough to hit
Target Number (TN) 13.
Sephtis and Kai decide Sephtis should go next. He chooses Raise
Skeleton. Having 2 ranks allows him to summon 2 skeletons, he
raises one near Esraa, and thus Aggressive, and the other next to
himself in Reserved. The Skeletons cannot act until their initiative
which is 2. Raise Skeleton is an Effect only skill which allows for
Sephtis to also attack with his dagger. The dagger has Accuracy (1)
allowing him to draw 1 extra card and also Adjustable (1) allowing
him to adjust the TN by 1 degree, from 12 to 14 instead of just 13.
He Draws 3 cards, a 10 of Diamonds, 2 of Spades and a 5 of Hearts.
Success! He can make a 12 with the 10 and 2, they only count a
regular success and the cards played match his suit (Spades.)
Daggers do 1 damage on a success, the zombies Armour Rating (AR)
is 1 so it takes no damage.
Now Kai’s turn, he uses Creeping Cold on himself, inflicting 2 cold
damage (based on his rank) to enemies engaged with him (the
Zombie), and giving him 1 point of cold resistance for 3 rounds.
Creeping Cold is also an Effect only skill and so Kai strikes with his
staff, Accuracy (1). He draws 3 cards, but requires a TN 13. He draws
an 8, 5 and 10. The 5 and 8 are enough to meet the TN and hit the
16
Zombie, the Club on a regular success (not Diamonds) does 3
damage reduced by 1 by the AR of the Zombie. Total between his
magic and attack Kai is able to inflict 4 damage on the Zombie.
Nextthe undead. The Zombies in Reserved against Kai and Sephtis
get to act. Kai lacks a shield but being in Reserved still gets to draw
3 cards with a TN 13. He gets enough for a regular success a 7, 4 and
2 not matching his suit (Diamonds.) Instead of taking the full brunt
of the Zombies attack which would be 6 physical damage it is
reduced to 4 instead. Normally Kai’s AR would reduce this but the
Zombies have Sundering (1) allowing them to ignore 1 point of AR.
Sephtis is also lucky drawing 4 cards due to his position and his
buckler, he can make the 13 and takes the same amount of damage
as Kai although with a bigger health pool.
The Putrefied then acts, choosing to spit its bile at Esraa and one
adjacent target which would be Sephtis’ Skeleton. Esraa lacks both
a shield and the caution of Reserved and only gets 2 cards. They fail
to meet TN12 and takes the full brunt of the Poison damage, losing
5 HP and also gaining Poison 1(3) this means that they’ll take 1
damage at the start of their turn for the next 3 turns. Esraa has no
Elemental Resistance (ER) to reduce the Poison damage but they’re
not worried. Sephtis Skeleton also takes all 5 poison damage leaving
it with 1 HP.
The last Zombie then acts, choosing to strike the Esraa. Since Esraa
has already been forced to react this round, they lose one of their
reaction cards.They draw a single card, a 9 of hearts, not enough.
The Zombie hits them for 6 damage, but Esraa’s AR is 2 normally
but reduced to 1 by the Sundering. It still mitigates the damage a
to 5. Resulting in Esraa losing 10 health in total this round.
The Skeletons now act, they don’t require card hands instead freely
inflicting damage. each of them striking a zombie for 3 damage
once the zombies AR has been factored in.
Finally Ginsetsu gets to act. He acknowledges the threat of the
Putrefied and uses his skill Chosen Prey to mark them increasing
any physical damage he inflicts for 3 rounds by 2. He then attacks.
He only draws 2 cards but the Distant position allows him to adjust
his attack TN by 1 degree. He draws a Jack and an Ace unfortunately
not Clubs but enough for that regular Success. The shortbow
normally inflicts 3 damage but with the Putrefied being his Chosen
Prey. It’s increased to 5. Unfortunately the Putrefied’s a bit tougher
than the Zombies with AR 2. Still 3 damage is better than 1.
Time for a new round, cards are collected by the weaver, the deck
is reshuffled and we start on Step 2 - Position
17
 TheCharacters
There are four archetypes to pick from in the grim world of Ab-
badon, each with their own unique skills and each associated with
a particular suit within the deck of cards. The quickstart guide
provides 2 pregenerated examples of each of these for the players
to choose from. Each pregenerated character here has been assigned
15 exp which is 5 more than a starting character normally gains.
It is recommended that the group be composed of one of each ar-
chetype, however multiple of a single archetype can be played but
with decreased chances of higher degrees of success.
The Elementalist - these powerful spellcasters have learned to
harness the raw power of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Element-
alists create blazing infernos, summon crushing waves, heal with
the powers of regrowth, or conjure a brilliant lightning storm to
slay those that stand in their way.
The Faithful - these holy warriors are absolute in their belief
and devotion. That devotion is answered in their prayer – it
strengthens their shield, steadies their sword against the darkness,
and allows them to wield light itself to aid them or as a weapon.
The Hexxing - these sinister spellcasters practise dark arts.
They commune and command the dead through necromancy,
hex and curse their foes, shed their blood to wreak devastation
upon their enemies and even manipulate the very threads of fate
itself.
The Stalker - these men and women specialise in hunting mon-
sters as prey, whether their quarry are beasts, undead, or
demons. They do this through the use of traps, mastery of the bow
or crossbow, tapping into their own inner beasts and demons and a
nigh-supernatural command of the shadows.
The characters themselves have 4 attributes, in the full version of
the game these attributes reach certain milestones at rank 8 and 10
such as bonus cards, adjusted TN or bonus damage, mana regen and
elemental resistance. None of the pregenerated characters hit these
milestones.
18
The characters also have a small selection of skills chosen from 2
out of 4 of the archetype skill trees, each character section details
what these skills do, the position they can be used, their rank, mana
cost, and target. Skills that only apply an effect instead of requiring
a hand can be used in conjunction with a basic attack.
Traits
In a out of combat situation where a character's trait would be
beneficial they may adjust the TN of any required attribute tests by
1 or if the trait is role played well and continues the plot the GM
should feel free to maybe make an NPC for pliable or provide the
character with some additional information or something similar
Reading Equipment
Damage is broken up into Success, Suit, Jack, Queen, King for the
different degrees of damage. Accuracy indicates the number of
bonus cards provided on attacks with the weapon, Size indicates the
space taken up in your inventory if not equipped. Traits indicate
any special traits a weapon may have such as being Two handed or
having special effects such as Knockdown.
Shields have Reaction which indicates the number of bonus cards
they gain when defending themselves.
Armour has Armour Rating which is the amount of physical
damage reduced from wearing this armour, Body and Head gear
stack. Armour also has Elemental Resistance which functions
similarly but against elemental damage types.
19
 omens began to occur Adara was well on her path to controlling not
Adara one, but two elements, the elements of Fire and Air.

Hearing the tales of woe and suffering, she hastily left the walled
Flamesorrow
The Elementalist
school of the Khemenu and boarded a ship in harbour heading
north where the rumours first began to spread from…

Attributes
Adara showed from a young age that
she was gifted, unfortunately the Khe-
menu, the order of Elementalists in the Vitality: 5 Dexterity: 3 Strength: 2 Wisdom: 6
lands of Abdju, didn’t discover her
power until it was too late. At the age HP: 10 MP: 24
of five she lost control of her
elemental power and burned Traits: Insightful, Scholarly
her family home to the ground
killing her parents and sib-
lings in the blaze. It wasn’t Equipment:
until the news of the girl's
poor fortune spread a few Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
weeks later that the wo- Leather 1/2/3/4/5 +0 1 Adjustable (1)
man who would become Whip Knockdown
her mentor arrived at the (King)
orphanage.
Name Reaction Size Traits
Adara took the name Buckler +1 2
Flamesorrow to reflect
upon her tragic past,
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
the desire to control
Rating Resist
her power pushed
her to excel Robes 1 1 3
above many
of the other Name Effect
students of Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
the Khe- Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP
menu. By
the time
Skills
t h e
Flickering Flame Pyromancy Rank 2
dark
One of the first spells those who practise pyromancy learn. Even the
brightest of blazes begins as nothing more than a brilliant spark.

21
Position: Any
Target: Self or allie
MP Cost: 2 (self) 4 (allies)
Kai
Effect: Flickering Flame conjures a small ball of fire that inflicts 1
+ Rank Fire damage to enemies who are engaged in melee with the
Oceanchild
The Elementalist
target. This Effect lasts for 3 rounds. It also grants Fire Resistance
equal to Rank. At Rank 3 the Effect can be applied to a additional
target and will do 3 times the damage on the final round. At Rank Kai was always destined to become the
5 it increases the duration to 5 rounds still inflicting 3 times dam- shaman of their tribe; their mother
age on round 3 but 5 times the damage on round 5. and father had both been skilled in
their mastery of the elements and Kai
Gust Aeromancy Rank:1 displayed such talents as a child. To
the surprise of their parents they
Many who study Aeromancy learn to conjure a strong gust of wind manifested control over the ele-
that can knock back an enemy, sometimes multiple, and deliver ment of earth using it to heal
enough force to feel like a hard punch. the other children during play
and even animals that were
Position: Any hurt.
Target: Single
MP Cost: 3 Kai’s affinity for earth
however couldn’t stop the
Success: The creature hit by the gust can either be knocked back to slaughter that befell their
distant or knocked down.. and also takes 3 physical damage. village, and barely managed
to escape, only for the mani-
Suit: Increase the damage to 4 + rank physical damage. festation of some water
skills to slow their foes
Jack: Knock back or knockdown an additional adjacent enemy to the did they manage to get
original target. to a small fishing boat
and set adrift find-
Queen: The gust is so strong that it also inflicts Stun (2) on the ing themselves
enemy. being hauled
onto a mer-
King: As per Jack and queen but also strikes a 3rd adjacent enemy chant vessel
or increases the damage to 6 + rank if there are no adjacent en-
emies.

22
heading to the city of Stoneshore a long ways away from his home- Effect: Creeping Cold makes the air around the target go bitterly
land… cold inflicting 1 + Rank Cold damage to enemies who are engaged
in melee with the target. This Effect lasts for 3 rounds. It also
Attributes grants Cold Resistance equal to Rank. At Rank 3 the Effect can be
applied to a additional target and will do 2 times the damage on the
final round but inflicting the Slow Condition on all enemies effect.
Vitality: 6 Dexterity: 3 Strength: 2 Wisdom: 5 At Rank 5 it increases the duration to 5 rounds still inflicting 2
times damage on round 3 but 5 times the damage on round 5.
HP: 12 MP: 20
Regenerative Growth Terramancy Rank: 2
Traits: Water Lover, Patient
The Elementalist learns to harness the power of earth and its ability
to grow and mend itself with time.
Equipment: Position: Distant or Reserved.
Target: One Target
Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits MP Cost: 4
Gnarled 2/4/6/8/10 +1 3 Two Handed
Staff Success: You channel the power of the earth into the target they
Regenerate Rank HP per round for 3 rounds Regeneration X (3) X
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits equal rank.
Rating Resist
Robes 1 1 3 Suit: The healing potential is stronger healing 2 + Rank per round

Jack: The duration is extended to 5 rounds

Name Effect
Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP Queen: The healing power of the earth can be spread to an addi-
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP tional target.

Skills King: The power of earth also helps regenerate a target's mana per
round equal to rank.
Creeping Cold Aquamancy Rank: 1

The first spell any aquamancer is taught is how to manipulate the

moisture in the air around them, making it denser and colder. This
ambient moisture becomes so cold that it injures and even saps
some of the strength from their enemies as they shake.

Position: All
Target: Self or Ally
MP Cost: 2 or (4)

24 25
 creatures more dangerous and twisted than the last. By the time
Esraa they arrived at the port to get passage north to Stoneshore they
were one of a handful of pilgrims left…

Nightseeker
The Faithful
Attributes

Vitality: 6 Dexterity: 2 Strength: 4 Wisdom: 4

Esraa was raised amongst the faithful
in the southlands and was trained rig- HP: 24 MP: 8
orously in martial combat from a
young age. They were regularly taught Trait: Caring, Cautious
that sacrifice to protect others was
the ultimate sacrifice, one that
would guarantee a blessed af- Equipment:
terlife in the light of the dual
deities. Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
Arming 3/4/6/7/9 +1/+0 3 Adaptable (1 or
When they were old Sword 2 handed)
enough they chose to walk 4/6/8/10/12
the path of a pilgrim to
put their martial skills to Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
use to protect those less Rating Resist
capable on the long road to Leather 2 0 3
the High Temple of Light in Armour
Stoneshore.
Name Effect
These skills came to
Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
use much sooner than
they expected. Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP
Their party of
pilgrims was Skills
set upon
near daily, Disciple’s Might Martyrdom Rank: 1
first by
bandits, The Martyr learns to channel their pain into power, allowing them
but then to inflict more damage as they take more wounds.
b y Position: Aggressive
Target: Self (Only one Martyr Ability active at a time)
MP Cost: 2

Effect: For every 4 HP you are missing, increase your physical dam-
age by 1. At Rank 3 gain Shattering 2, At Rank 5 you inflict 5 dam-

27
age (factor any shattering in) even on a failed attack. The effects
end immediately when you are willingly healed or choose to switch
to another Martyrdom ability.
Kanithar
Oath of Vengeance Paragon Rank: 2
Sunbringer
The Faithful
The faithful swear an oath to strike down those who bring them
harm. Finding that the conviction of their oath is enough to drive
a blade or spear deeper and swing a club or axe with more force Kanithar joined the priesthood as a
piercing or breaking armour. young man. The son of a noble, he
showed more interest in the Faith of
Position: Any the Light and praise to the Dual Deities
Target: Single that even though he stood to inherit
MP Cost: 3 his family's wealth, he instead
pleaded to join the faithful in-
Effect: You gain Shattering equal to your Rank for a duration equal stead. After much berating from
to your Rank + 1 on your next attack. At Rank 3 the effect lasts for his father he was allowed to do
3 rounds at Rank 5 regain HP equal to your rank if you slay an as he wished, providing he
enemy with whom you have sworn Oath of Vengeance against, this abandoned the family
doesn’t count as wilfully healing for Martyrdom abilities. name.

Kanithar impressed the

high priests by being able
to memorise liturgy, always
eager to pay homage to the
gods of light, lend an ear to
the congregation and aid
others where he could.
When the rumours
started to arrive
about demons
walking the
world, of
ravenous
beasts at-
tacking
i n n o -
cents,
a n d

28
even corruption within smaller branches of the faith itself Kanithar Effect: At Rank 1 you can illuminate a friend of foe. Attacks against
due to his youth was chosen to take word to the High Temple in illuminated foes gain Accuracy 1 for 1+Rank turns, Allies may Ad-
Stoneshore… just TN vs Fear by 1. At Rank 3 Illuminations spells deal extra dam-
age or heal extra hp per rank. At Rank 5 increase the accuracy bonus
Attributes and TN against Fear by 2 and the extra damage or healing increases
to Rank x2.
Vitality: 5 Dexterity: 2 Strength: 4 Wisdom: 5 Purifying Light Illumination Rank: 1
The Light can be used to lift the maladies of one's allies and even
HP: 20 MP: 10 themselves, draining out harmful poisons, removing curses, shak-
ing off the effects of stuns, and undoing some of the resultant
Traits: Zealous, Nobility harm.

Equipment: Position: Reserved.

Target: Single
Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits MP Cost: 3
Short Spear 2/3/5/6/8 +1 2
Success: Remove 1 Condition from yourself or an adjacent ally.
Name Reaction Size Traits
Suit: Recover HP equal to Rank.
Buckler +1 2
Jack: Can cast on multiple allies equal to Rank.
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
Rating Resist Queen: Remove multiple status effects equal to Rank.
Leather 2 0 3
Armour King: Increase Healing to 3 x Rank.

Name Effect Prayer of Hope Liturgy Rank: 1

Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
The Faithful pray to give allies hope in their quest against the de-
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP mon hordes, hope can act as an armour in the eyes of the faithful
allowing those who find it to push past pain and suffering.
Skills
Position: Aggressive or Reserved
Guiding Light Illumination Rank: 1 Target: 1 Per Rank
MP Cost: 2 +2 Per additional Target
The Faithful can conjure the light of the sun or the moon to help
them or their allies strike down their enemies – even bolstering the Effect: Those allies affected by the prayer may reduce physical or
effects of other Illumination spells. elemental damage by an amount equal to the Rank for a Single
Round. At Rank 3 increase the duration to 3 rounds, at Rank 5 in-
Position: Distant or Reserved. crease the duration to 5 rounds.
Target: Single Target
MP Cost: 3

30 31
 was wrong in the world, that a darkness was rising somewhere.
Miriam Through the dreams Miriam could hear the Moirai calling and knew
she must seek the source of such darkness before it becomes too
much…
Bloodtears
The Hexxing
Attributes

Miriam was raised by her mother and Vitality: 5 Dexterity: 2 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 6
sisters all of whom had reputations as
seers, oracles, witches and worse by the HP: 15 MP: 18
nearby villagers. It seemed that the
Moirai had similar plans in store for Traits: Witch, Foresight
her.

Her mother often complimen- Equipment:

ted her foresight and ability to
read the eddies and omens Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
around her, and when she Sickle 2/3/5/6/8 +1 2 Bleed 1(3) (King)
came of age she was initi-
ated into the Sisterhood
of the Fates where she Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
was taught not only to tap Rating Resist
into the very threads of fate Robes 1 1 3
but the practice of Sanguin-
ary, blood rites, or blood sor- Name Effect
cery in the words of the Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
common people.
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP
Miriam however
began to have Skills
nightmares
long before Thin Blood Sanguinary Rank: 1
others star-
ted to see Many who practise Sanguinary Magic wield knives, sickles, and
the signs scythes. By shedding their blood and combining it with magic, their
t h a t sanguine blades make the vitae of those they strike run quick and
some- thin.
thing
Position: Any
Target: A Weapon
MP Cost: 3 HP 1

33
Effect: At rank 1 double the weapons base damage ratings, inflict
Bleed 2 (3). At Rank 3 increase Bleed to 3 (5). At Rank 5 add rank to
the weapons damage.
Sephtis
Cast the Bones Moirai Rank: 2

Some Hexxing learn to manipulate the very threads of Fate through

their magic to better their chances.
The Ghoul
The Hexxing

Position: Any Sephtis was born to a nomadic family

Target: Special can be activated along with another skill or action. in the lands of Abdju. A life that was
Cost: 5 MP plus 2 for each additional card you redraw. dangerous even before the world star-
ted to shift. His family would often
Effect: You may discard a number of cards from your hand equal to journey through the vast ex-
your rank and redraw the same amount of cards. panse of desert subsiding on
their supplies and the sparse
oases that they encountered.

His family's caravan was

attacked by the ravenous
monsters that haunt the
desert sands and lurk
within the tombs. He did
what any child would do and
hid. He witnessed the
slaughter, in fact it still
haunts his dreams, but
he survived. The beasts
left, he used what was
left of the supplies
and after that
survived on
what he
could until
an old

34
man wandering the desert alone found him and took him under his
wing.

He was initiated into the Order of Anubi. This order is given many Skills
names by those who don’t know any better but primarily are Necro-
mancer, Ghoul or Revenant. If only they knew the latter two were Raise Skeleton Necromancy Rank: 2
much worse. The Order themselves see themselves as the bringers
of balance and guardians of the dead even if that sometimes means A signature spell of those that practise necromancy. Raising the
using the dead as tools. Such tools Sephtis has been told are needed bones of the dead as mindless servants. These undead minions are
further in the world now as death may be coming for all… often frail, but dangerous in large numbers.

Position: Any
Attributes Target: None
MP Cost: 5
Vitality: 5 Dexterity: 2 Strength: 4 Wisdom: 5
Effect: At Rank 1 Summon a number of Skeletons equal to Rank. At
HP: 15 MP: 15 Rank 3 increase Skeleton HP 6+Rank and Damage to 3+Rank. At
Rank 5 Skeletons gain Elemental Resist and Armour Rating 3.

Traits: Tough, Occultist Skeletons have 4+ Rank HP each and inflict 2+Rank damage. The
Skeletons, all on initiative 2, do not attempt to protect themselves
so always receive damage as if they’d failed a reaction test, and can
Equipment:
only strike in melee but automatically hit for their damage. They
remain until they are destroyed. The Hexxing can only have a num-
Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
ber of skeletons under their control equal to their rank +1
Dagger 1/2/3/4/5 +1 1 Adjustable (1)
Frailty Hexes Rank: 1
Name Reaction Size Traits
Buckler +1 2 The first true hex that many hexxing learn is how to make their
enemies more prone to blade or spell as well as weakening them.
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
Position: Any
Rating Resist
Target: Single Target
Robes 1 1 3 MP Cost: 4

Name Effect Effect: At rank 1 reduce enemies AR and ER by an amount equal to

Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP Rank against all attacks for 3 rounds. At Rank 3 Reduce the enemies
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP damage rating by 3. At Rank 5 spread the effect to 3 targets.

36 37
 the city of Stoneshore was looking for capable warriors to aid with
Devana the problems that they were having outside of the city with
Caprinae that they would be leaving down river by boat in a few
days. Devana packed up her weapons and bid her father farewell. It
Jasenka
The Stalker
was time for her to venture further afield…

Attributes
Vitality: 3 Dexterity: 7 Strength: 2 Wisdom: 4
Devana grew up in the far north, in
lands as dangerous as they are beauti- HP: 9 MP: 12
ful. Many things lurk within the
mountain passes and pine forests,
many things that would kill without Traits: Eager, Tracker
hesitation.
Equipment:
For Devana her father taught
her that it was to hunt or be Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
hunted and taught her the
tools of his trade from a Hand 1/2/4/5/7 +1 2 Two Handed
Crossbows
young age. She could out-
shoot many youths many
moons her senior as a Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
child, and while other Rating Resist
children played games with Leather 2 0 3
marbles she actually put Armour
them to use during the
hunting trips with her Name Effect
father. Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP
Devana heard
word in the
Skills
village one
day from
Aimed Shot Sniper Rank: 1
a group
o f
Patience is the first skill of the Sniper. It takes time to line up the
armed
perfect shot even when there are hordes of demons baying for your
horse-
blood.
m e n
that
Position: Distant
Target: Single
MP Cost: 2

39
Effect: Reduce the value of your initiative card by one per rank in
Aimed Shot (The initiative card cannot go lower than 0). This value
can be used to adjust TN of your follow up attack by the same
Ginsetsu
The Stalker
amount. This TN adjustment can exceed the normal limit of five.

Weak Point Sniper Rank: 1 Ginsetsu is the only name he goes by

and he doesn’t talk much about his life
Spotting your target's weak point and exploiting it is a skill most before becoming a wanderer. What is
hunters learn, to more efficiently slay their quarry. noticeable about the man is the num-
ber of claw and bite marks that marr
Position: Distant his skin and the way that he studies
Target: Single you when you first meet him, like a
MP Cost: Increase Aimed Shot Cost by 2 predator sizing up a rival or worse
prey.
Effect: This ability is paired with Aimed Shot, allowing the Stalker
to do increased damage per rank and multiplied by suit and face What can be said about Ginsetsu
bonus’, as normal weapon damage. The damage increase is rank is that he’s fast to react when
times 2. it’s needed, able to notch an
arrow and loose faster than
Ball Bearings Trapper Rank: 1 most, and able to avoid
blows that one would ex-
The alternative to caltrops are round ball bearings, which keep your pect to strike. And with
opponents off balance, knocking them to the floor for allies to fin- that bow he has no mercy
ish them in melee. on those who cross his path
whether it’s a beast, bandit
or worse, and those things
Position: Unique (set up before combat begins) grow more regular by the
Target: All enemies in 1 position. day.
MP Cost: 3
Ginsetsu however
Success: Enemies gain Slow (3) holds a secret
that he has
Suit Success: Enemies begin combat Knocked Down as well as Slow something
(3) gnawing
away in-
Jack Success: All Enemies take damage equal to your rank at the side of
start of combat. This is physical damage. him and
that he
Queen Success: All Enemies take rank x 2 damage at the start of wishes
combat. This is physical damage.

King Success: As per Queen success, all enemies also gain Clumsy
(3).

40
to seek out the cause of the growing darkness in the world before At Rank 3 this ability allows you to gain a bonus card from drawing
the darkness devours him… a Queen of Clubs for initiative. At Rank 5 it grants a bonus card for
drawing a Jack of Clubs.
Attributes
Chosen Prey Lycanthropy Rank: 1
Vitality: 3 Dexterity: 7 Strength: 2 Wisdom: 4 The inner beast eyes up its foes for signs of weakness and goes for
the weakest or biggest threat first with brutal efficiency.
HP: 9 MP: 12
Position: Any
Trait: Acute Hearing, Menacing Target: One enemy type
MP Cost: 4

Equipment: Effect: This ability increases the damage of your basic attacks by
rank x2 and the damage of any damage ability equal to the rank
Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits against enemies of the chosen type for 3 rounds. At Rank 3 reduce
Shortbow 3/5/7/9/11 +0 3 Two Handed the enemies AR and ER by 2. At Rank 5 increase the duration to 5
rounds.
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits
Stillness Umbramancy Rank: 1
Rating Resist
Leather 2 0 3 The first skill in the art of Umbramancy is stillness. Standing still
Armour allows the practitioner and their shadow to begin to blur and blend
into the surroundings, making them difficult to hit with ranged
Name Effect attacks and difficult to see when hiding.
Minor Life Potion Heals 25% (round up) HP
Minor Magic Potion Heals 25% (round up) MP Position: Out of Combat, Distant
Target: Self (Reaction)
Skills MP Cost: 3+1 per additional card redrawn

Enhanced Senses Lycanthropy Rank: 1 Effect: The Stalker may choose to discard and redraw up to a num-
ber of cards equal to their rank in Stillness on defence checks vs
The inner beast inside you always puts you on high alert. Your re- ranged attacks or stealth checks provided that they haven’t moved.
actions are enhanced as a result meaning that you’re likely to react
more swiftly than others to threat.

Position: Any
Target: Self
MP Cost: 1 + 1 per additional bonus to initiative
Effect: You can activate this ability during an initiative draw and
increase your initiative result by an amount equal to your rank,
each additional +1 above the initial plus 1 costs more MP.

42 43
 6

44 45
 Fate Weavers
5
Section
If you plan on playing this quickstart instead of running it
please stop reading here! What comes after this point is for
the Weavers eyes only. So to avoid spoiling the adventure for
yourself you have been warned!

The following section contains the outline for the adventure with
some descriptions to set the scene and introduce the adventure
and end it. This also contains stat blocks for monsters with
descriptions of their abilities, traps that may be encountered,
NPC’s and Treasures that the party can find using a stripped down
2 version of the loot tables found in the Abbadon core book.

The adventure for the most part is a dungeon crawl and would be
considered a short dungeon. It has been generated initially using
the Dungeon generation tools from Abaddon's core book and then
elaborated on and had some flavour sprinkles throughout to fit
the narrative the adventure contains.
Please not that the following is roughly drafted to allow GM’s
some flexibility.
Let us begin shall we…

46 47

Blood Tides
Locations
1. The Cove: This is the opening of the adventure, where the party
wakes up after having a misfortune voyage. The Cove is the
adventures first combat encounter and first time dealing with
treasure.
2. The Joining Cavern: This Cavern is the central point of the cave
system connecting both seeming entrances into the caves. It also
contains a hidden secret. The Sound of Ominous chanting can also
be heard from here.
3. The Inscriptions: This chamber has a bloodied figure bearing
blasphemous inscriptions carved into his body. A clue to what’s
going on here if it can be deciphered
4. The Flooded Cavern: This chamber has someone calling for help,
the Merchant Balion, as well as a cavern flooding posing danger to
the merchant and the characters if they dally too long.
5. A Hidden Chamber: hidden behind moss and stone from the
Joining Cavern. This chamber contains a statue of the Gods of Light
that still emanates healing energy.
6. The Ritual Chamber: The Chanting comes from this room a swell
as an eerie blue glow. Within lies a sinister cult paying homage to
black stone obelisk inscribed in hellish runes.
Scene 1 - The Cove
Read Aloud
You all come to, to the sound of crashing waves and the feel of
heavy rain landing on you feeling like someone is banging a drum
against your head. The last thing any of you can remember is the
sea seemingly turning red as blood and the lightning storm over
head that thrashed and struck the ship before it eventually
succumbed to the storm and the cold water swallowed you whole.
48
As your vision starts to drift into focus you can see figures
shambling in a daze and others still sprawled out on the beach. It
doesn't take you long to realise that the shambling figures can’t
possibly be alive as the flesh sloughs off their skin in wet strips.
The others still sprawled seem to realise this at the same time, you
realise these people are the only survivors of the storm and the
others are mindless shambling dead.
It doesn’t take long before the dead realise that there are some still
living amongst them…
The players are those sprawled across the beach while the
shambling dead are what’s left of the crew and they come in the
form of Zombies and Putrefied, dangerous mindless undead. The
regular zombies should look like most of the crew mates while the
putrefied are the shambling remnants of the Captain.
For balancing the encounter should consist of 1 Zombie for each
player over 1 and 1 Putrefied (Champion).
Once the fight is over
With the last of the cursed crew hopefully put to rest you notice the
body of the first mate also seems to have dropped a pouch of coins
and upon scanning the rest of beach that a chest was washed up
still be intact with the lid slightly ajar and not far a Round Shield
that seems to be mostly in one piece bobs against the waves. At the
end of the Cove you can see the entrance of what seems to be a cave
system.
The coin pouch contains 50 coins, while the floating Round Shield
functions very much as a round shield should an upgrade to anyone
with a buckler. Note that the players will also recover 25% (Rounded
up) HP and MP after the fight, this happens after every combat.
Use the following Tables to determine what treasure comes from
the captain and the Chest. The Champion Putrified will drop 1
magic item and one regular item. If a Joker is drawn let the players
choose their items here.
The Chest on the other hand only contains a single item unless a
joker is drawn in this case draw 2 cards. In the rare instance a 2nd
joker is drawn then the players get all the possible items from the
chest.
To determine what item is found the Weaver draws a card for each
49
possible item and compares the suit to the tables bellow. This
simplified from the full rules of the game which have different
items and magical affixes assigned to each card in the deck.
The Chest
Item
Studded Leather (Sockets 1)
400 Coins + 1 Rough Azurite
Woven Belt
Arming Sword (Sockets 1)
The Captain
Item
Magic: Robe of the Gryphon (+2
Mana Regen, Sockets 1) Non
Magic: Robe (Sockets 1)
Magic: Woven Belt of Warding
(+2 Elemental Resist). Non
Magic: Bloodstone + 100 coins
Magic: Leather Hood of the
Troll (+2 Health Regen) Non
Magic: Leather Hood
Magic: Shortbow of the
Ambusher (+1 TN Adjustment
when attacking enemies with
lower Initiative) Non Magic:
Shortbow (Sockets 1)
faint cries for help coming from another (too Scene 3 and 4)
The twisting tunnels finally open into a larger cavern one that you
can’t help but feel lies at the heart of the cavern system with many
Suit branching tunnels connecting in and out of it. From one of these
Heart tunnels you can hear the ominous chanting growing louder starting
to echo around the cavern walls. From another the distant calls of
Diamond a man pleading for help…
Spade
Club
After reading this also ask for a Wisdom test, for all of the
characters this will be a simple 2 card check with a TN of 13. If
anyone is successful.
Point out a patch of moss and lichen that seems unusual as it
Suit shows signs of life here nothing else has. If they investigate it
Heart closer read the following.
Diamond You run your hand across the moss and lichen and can feel that it’s
hollow and covering something. The lichen breaks apart beneath
your fingers revealing a warm golden light from within a hidden
Spade chamber…
Club If they fail ask then which direction they wish to go.
Scene 3 - The Inscriptions

From this Scene Players can transition to Scene 2 or 4, feel free to
describe how dark and dingy the tunnels are, that the smell of
blood is strong here, that they can vaguely hear ominous chanting
if moving to Scene 2 and that can faintly hear someone call for help
to Scene 4.
Scene 2 - The Joining Chamber
This chamber is in the centre of the cave system. The Heart of the
Dungeon. It’s here that the quick start tests Wisdom to spot the
hidden secret of the room. It’s also here that the party can hear
both the chanting coming from one direction (too Scene 6) and the
The cavern is small but is grim in what it contains.
The smell of blood is strong in this room and you can see what
seems to be a human figure hanging limp from manacles that have
been hammered into the cavern wall. The figure shows no signs of
life or movement, and judging from the amount of blood it’s
unlikely he’s alive.
If the players choose to look closer then describe the following to
them.
The figure was a man once, but his features have been marred with
blades and his bare chest has inscriptions carved deep into it. The
blood from the inscriptions make it hard to read.

50 51
Ask for another Wisdom test here the same as last time. A Suit
Success or Higher is what is needed this time and reveals that what
has been carved into the chest reads as thus.
“By the bile and vile darkness in my blood, by the demons of hell
and the fallen brood, I summon forth from the fetid bowels of
creation the Servant of Filth and the Fetid Veil”
Nothing else is to be found in this room and while the chanting
sounds more distant here the shouts for help grow louder. The only
ways in or out are towards Scene 2 or Scene 4.
Scene 4 - The Flooded Cavern.
This room contains another hurdle an environmental hazard/trap.
The room also has a friendly NPC who is willing to trade.
The sound of calls for help and the sound of rushing water come
form this chamber before you even enter it. Once you step inside
you can see that most of the room is flooded with blood red water
that seems to be pouring in from multiple holes in the ceiling. A
man dressed in what would have been fine but are now soaked and
ragged clothing spots you. “You don’t look like cultists! Maybe you
can help me across?” He calls out.
There are two traits that the party can use to resolve this Strength
or Wisdom. Strength implies something like swimming across and
helping the NPC back. Wisdom would be using some of the crates,
boulders and other things in the cavern to form a bridge. If the
players don’t suggest any of these things then it’ll be a simple 2
card TN 13 test, if the players have creative solutions feel free to
give them a bonus card, adjust the TN by 1 or both.
Once rescued the merchant thanks the the party gratefully as he
places his soaking backpack onto the floor. “I have a few things of
value I can reward you with, unfortunately not all of it, as it’s all I
have left from the wreck and I’ll need it to make some gold if I ever
reach Stoneshore.” He says looking the party over, his jowly face
quivering from cold and fear. “I’d like you to have 1 of these as a
token of my gratitude.”
The merchant will show the party a ornate dagger with a keen
looking blade that seems to glow even in the dimness of the cavern.
He also shows them a ring with hands holding a heart shaped gem,
this gem is either glowing amber, a blueish frosted crystal or a
sparking piece of amethyst depending on what elemental trait you
wish to give it. He also pulls out a decent chunk of turquoise and
52
an engraved rune stone.
The Dagger is Razor Maim (See items page XX) the Ring is Wisdom
of Frost, Flame or Shock (See items page XX), the Rune is a special
item that the merchant can use to enchant a non magical weapon
or armour. The Rune that he has is the Rune of the Bat, which
grants the weapon or armour 2 Life steal each time the character
successfully hits with a weapon attack.
Balion can be convinced to give the party two of these items if
pressured enough, such as his life being threatened or the
additional item may help keep him alive.
He’s also willing to sell some of the potions he has available to
raise a little bit of gold for when they reach Stoneshore.
With the rewards and trading being done read the following.
“I guess I should introduce myself, Balion the Merchant. If it’s
alright with you I’ll tag along at the back or middle, depending
where is the safest spot.”
If the players fail their tests they take 3 cold damage from the
damp wet chamber which continues to fill and the trapped
merchant looks defeated telling them to leave while they can!
With that allow the players to choose where to go, they can go
the back through Scene 3 to get to 2, or take the longer tunnels
straight back to Scene 2.
Scene 5 - The Hidden Chamber
If the players are lucky enough to uncover the hidden chamber
leading off from Scene 2 it provides an excellent opportunity for
them to rest and recover their full health and mana.
Describe the chamber as follows
The chamber is bathed in a golden glow that seems to put you all
at ease and you notice that your wounds begin to fade and your
energy feels restored. To your left is a ornate state that seems to
depict the dual gods of light surrounded by masonry that looks like
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it’s from an ancient time. The statue is miraculously still intact and
it is it that seems to give off the light. This cavern unlike the others
also seems to be full of plant life growing as if receiving just the The Magister is dangerous for a few reasons they are able to cast
right amount of sunlight. powerful fire attacks from a distance, heal their mortal
underlings and summon skeletons from the pool of blood every
The players regain all of their HP and MP and if they already have 3 rounds making time important.
Balion he might decide to wait here while the players investigate
deeper into the caves. The only way out is back to Scene 2. If the players failed to find the secret chamber they may be in for
a difficult and possibly futile fight here. However if they found the
chamber or even enough coin to stock up on some potions they
should be able to emerge victorious.
Scene 6 - The Ritual Chamber.
This is the final Scene of the adventure. It is another fight this time
against a Unique Enemy designed to give players and GM’s a rough If the players are Victorious describe how the pool of blood begins
idea of how Bosses function in Abbadon. to shrink and dry up revealing the skeletal remains of many long
dead victims before the ceiling begins to collapse in allowing day
Before combat begins however describe the scene. light too pour in and an include to be formed making a way out and
into the grassy hill beyond. If Balion is with them he will take a
The eerie blue light and the chanting grow more intense as you moment before telling them he can guide them from here to
venture further into the cavern. What you see before you will likely Stoneshore.
be seared into your mind for the rest of your days, regardless of
how short they may be. A tall obelisk stands at the end of a stepped
and sloped outcrop over a pool of blood. It is surrounded by blue
flame candles, and hooded figures chanting in prayer. If the players are Defeated the last of them hears the magister or
whatever cultists remain cackle in glee proclaiming that they have
A robed and hooded figure stands before then between them and more worthy victims to cast into the pit for their dark masters…
the glowing rune inscribed stone holding up a blooded dagger and
a heart taken from the chest of a young man at their feet.
“I offer this sacrifice to Vepar the Lord of Plagues and Servant of
Filth, and to Focalor the Fetid Veil and Lady of Decay!”
Their voice carries across the prayers of the others.
“By the bile and vile darkness in my blood, by the demons of hell
and the fallen brood, I summon forth from the fetid bowels of
creation the Servant of Filth and the Fetid Veil.”
They stop however peering across their congregation at you,
intruders upon this black mass. The other cultists turn suddenly
faces hooded, masked or both as they begin to rise. It seems you
have some more blood to spill before this nightmare is over…

This combat consists of a Unique Magister the boss of this quick

start and leader of the cult of disease and decay. For every 2
characters include 1 cultist and include 1 initiate for each
character.

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 throw themselves zealously into their sacrilege. To rise the ranks.

Enemies To serve. Such individuals are pitiful, yet dangerous.

Abilities
Attack - The Initiates will attack eagerly with daggers and clubs to
show their devotion to the cult and care little if they fall in
Cults of the Damned service to their dark masters.
Name Initiate Cultist Magister Bleeding 1(3)(F) - The Initiates will cause their enemies to bleed
(Unique) when they strike a vulnerable spot. Attacks from the Initiates will
cause 1 Bleed damage over 3 rounds whenever a player fails their
HP 8 12 28 reaction test.
Damage 4/2/1/-1/-2/-3 6/4/2/-1/-2/-3 7/5/3/-1/-2/-3
Cultist
Initiative 6 5 7(4) Once an initiate has proven themselves in their dark devotion,
they are fully inducted and indoctrinated members of their cult.
AR 0 1 2 Though earning their membership does not guarantee their safety,
the favour of their masters, or their place in the cult. They must
Abilities Attack Attack Attack continue to prove themselves, to sin, to harm, and spread their
Bleeding 1(3) Bleeding 1(3) Firebolt depravity like a cancer. Though it may never be enough.
(F) (F) Healer (3)
Raise Skeleton Abilities
Spiteful (2) (3) Attack - Cultists like initiates favour the use of daggers and clubs
Swift (1) to bring down their enemies.
Resistance All (2)
Bleeding 1(3)(F) - The Cultist will cause their enemies to bleed
Weakness when they strike a vulnerable spot. Attacks from the Initiates will
cause 1 Bleed damage over 3 rounds whenever a player fails their
Immunities reaction test.This damage ignores armour.

Not all men are good, but even so, some men are truly and
irredeemably vile. There are those mad and foolish individuals
that give themselves wholly to depraved demonic masters. Lurking
on the fringes of society, in dark alleys, dank cellars, and hidden
horrid sites of worship to dark powers. Sometimes willingly
servants to their unholy masters in perverted mockeries of faith,
others poor desperate fools enthralled by charismatic leaders
promising power, riches, vengeance, or any other false guarantee
that they shall be rewarded with their hearts truest desires: no
matter how depraved. These cults of horrid men hope to appease
the darkness with sacrifice, murder, desecration, and black magic.
No matter the goals, intentions, or beliefs: their souls are
damned.
Initiates
Sometimes, when at their absolute lowest, mortal men will turn to
whatever or whoever offers them a way out of their despair.
Though in truth they are often led to drown in it. In order to stay
afloat and earn the impossible favour of their evil patrons, they
Spiteful (2) - Whenever an opponent fails an attack against the
cultist the cultist is quick to react, inflicting damage in the
opening left by their opponent's blunder. This inflicts 2 damage
and ignores armour.
Cult Magister
Earn enough favour with the cult and the powers it serves, and
you might be rewarded. A boiling heat of the blood that explodes
outwards in the form of fiery death. Command of the dead,
ripping them from the grave to serve in undeath. Corruption of
the body to force wounds to scab over, bones to snap back, and
tendons to dig through wounded flesh like worms through the
earth and viscerally forcing them shut. The blood spilled by these
cultists and the darkness pooling in their shrivelled hearts is
reflected in their high status in the cult. And they command the
other, lesser damned in their perverse flocks.

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Abilities
Attack - The Magister is likely to fight with brutal desecrated
ritualistic weaponry, daggers, sickles, sceptres and staves.
Firebolt - The Magister can conjure hell fire or even make blood
boil inside one's body with the dark gifts they’ve been granted.
This attack is used from Distant and increases the Magisters base
attack line by +1 and changes the damage type to Fire.
Healer (3) - The Magister can use their dark gifts to keep their
underlings alive longer when a situation gets violent. The
Magister can heal a allied Cultist or Cult Initiate for 3 HP
Raise Skeleton (3) - When things get bad and most of their living
allies fall the Magister can raise and command the dead to serve
them. They may raise 1 skeleton every 3 turns.
The dead, restless in their graves, claw their way up from their
earthen cages and walk amongst the living once more. Though,
they shambles forth, mindless monstrosities of blackened bones
and rotting flesh, mocking true life with their very being. They're
existence is an insult to nature itself.
Skeletons
If at night, in darkest dungeons, bloody battlefields, and foggy
graveyards, you ever hear clawing and tapping and rattling: run.
Skeletons, bone men, rise from their graves lacking flesh or blood
or meat. Nothing but bones dusted with grave dirt and the deep
malevolence in their marrow. They have no thoughts nor creeds in
their skulls. They lack direction or purpose. Only the spread of
death. Some say they kill to repay the debt of rising once more,
playing the fools in some cruel and twisted Faustian bargain.

Swift(1) - This particular Magister is Unique, intended to show in a Attack (Melee & Ranged): The Skeletons are armed with rusted
lesser scale what a Boss in Abbadon is like, it has been given the weapons of centuries past some of these weapons are still able to
Swift Ability. This grants it a second turn during the round. cut and break, some even able to fire decaying arrows at their
Meaning the Magister acts on initiative tick 7 and 4. foes.

Zombies
The Mindless Dead Dead men, women, and children with hunger as their only drive.
These horrid things resemble humans with rotten flesh, pox
Name Skeleton Zombie Putrefied marked skin, teeth of black and yellow, and a hunger for the flesh
(Champion) of their living kin. Their hunger is unending though they are fully
unaware of their morbid fate. The only brains in their head are
HP 8 12 14 the brains stuck between their maggot covered teeth.

Attack: Zombies are mindless more sore than Skeletons not even
Damage 4/2/1/-1/-2/-3 6/4/2/-1/-2/-3 7/5/3/-1/-2/-3 able to wield weapons they claw and bite and scratch but death
Initiative 3 2 2 has given them unholy strength to tear even through armour to
get to the flesh.
AR 1 1 2
Sundering (1): Zombies are granted unholy strength able to
Abilities Attack Attack Attack puncture through armour with their teeth and fingers in
(Melee & Sundering (1) Spitting Attack desperate need to living flesh. They ignore 1 point of Armour
Ranged) (Poison, Arc 1, Rating when they attack.
Poison 1 (3)
(F)) Putrefied
Regeneration There is sickness and rot. Then there are the horrors of plague. A
(2) physician can cure a sickness or amputate before a rot can spread.
Resistance Poison (4) All (2) A plague is a death sentence that spreads like a wildfire.
Sometimes, when plague claims a victim, their putrid forms rise
Weakness Radiant (3) Radiant (3) Radiant (2) again to continue the spread. Some call them the putrefied. They
have no awareness of this mission, nor a say on their part in it.
Immunities Bleed Poison Poison Nonetheless the wander forth into the night, emaciated husks
save for bloated bellies, bile and black stinking blood dripping

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from their cracked lips and hanging jaws. They spread their filth
even from afar, spewing their plague laced saliva and grotesque
bile at their victims. Whether plague is some entity choosing
agents consumed by its suffering to aid in its work or these
horrific monstrosities are merely flukes of the natural order is
unknown. Though it hardly matters. As plague spreads its taint, it
Items
In the full game there are numerous items available to the players
that they can find or buy with increasing tiers of quality that are
would be wise to avoid the Putrified unlocked through play. Instead of providing the full list the Blood
Tide Quick start provides the stats for items that can be found or
Attack: Putrefied attack much in a similar manner to zombies bought from the Merchant Balion from his small supply.
although somewhat more aggressively. This is a physical attack.
Weapons
Spitting Attack: This ability is what makes them far more
dangerous than zombies it allows them to strike from afar with Name Damage Accuracy Size Traits
putrid bile that splash and hits multiple foes corrupting their
flesh. This attack reduces the Putrefied damages by 2, but inflicts Arming 3/4/6/7/9 +1 / +0 3 Adaptable
poison damage, and the poison condition on a failed reaction, it Sword
also hits 1 additional target. 4/6/8/10/12 Sockets (1)
Short bow 3/5/7/9/11 +0 3 Two Handed
Regeneration (2): This particular example of the Putrefied has the of the
unholy ability to regenerate. It regains 2 hp at the start of it’s Ambusher Adjustable (1) vs
turn each round. Low Initiative
Foe
Short bow 3/5/7/9/11 +0 3 Two Handed
Sockets (1)
Razor 4/5/6/7/8 +1 1 +2 Counter
Maim Attack Damage
(Dagger)

Shields

Name Reaction Size Traits

Round Shield +2 2 Sockets (2)

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Armour Gems
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits Name Size Traits
Rating Resist Rough Azurite 1 +5 MP
Robes 1 1 3 Sockets (1)
Rough Blood-stone 1 +2 Weapon Damage
Robes of 1 1 3 Sockets (1)
Rough Turquoise 1 Redraw 1 Card per turn.
the
Gryphon +2 Mana
Regen
Buying Goods
Studded 3 0 3 Socket (1)
Leather Balion has some potions that aren’t broken that he’s willing to
Armour sell. 5 of each Minor Life and Mana potions and 3 Minor
Rejuvenation potions.
Head
Name Armour Elemental Size Traits Potions
Rating Resist
Leather 2 1 3 Name Effect Size Cost
Hood Life Potion Heals 25% (round 1 25
up) HP
Leather 2 1 3 +2 Life Regen
Hood of Mana Potion Heals 25% (round 1 25
the Troll up) MP
Rejuvenation Heals 25% (round 1 50
Belt Potion up) HP & MP
Name Capacity Size Traits
Woven Belt 3 2 Item Traits
Woven Belt of 3 2 +2 Elemental Resist
Warding Adaptable - weapons with this trait can be used one or two handed
and so will often have 2 damage ranges and two accuracy ratings,
the first rating is always the weapons one handed damage and
accuracy while the 2nd is the two handed damage and accuracy.
Rings
Name Size Traits Adjustable - Weapons with this trait often have a number
following it, this is how much the TN for attacks with the weapon
Wisdom of Flame/ 1 +2 Wisdom and +1 Elemental can be adjusted by. For example Adjustable (1) weapons can adjust
Frost or Shock damage to basic attacks (Fire/ the TN by 1 degree so from 13 to 12 to 14. Sometimes this may have
Cold or Lightning) a specific situation that it applies, such as vs Lower Initiative
Targets.
Attribute Bonus - Some items add to the attributes of a character
such as the Wisdom Ring, this adds to the characters attribute
score helping reach milestones or in the case of Wisdom of Vitality
adding extra MP or HP as well.

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Counter Attack Damage - Sometimes when you get lucky
defending yourself with the use of your suits Face Cards you can
counter attack. Some items increase the amount of damage you
inflict on a counter attack.
Elemental Damage - Some items enhance your basic attacks with
Elemental damage. Essentially giving you two damage types or
more to help bypass Armour in some cases with extra damage.
Regen (Life or Mana) - Some item regenerate life or mana this
happens at the start of each of your turns.
Sockets (X) - Some items have empty sockets into which gems can
be inserted to gain the traits within the gem.
Two Handed - Two handed weapons are those that require two
hands to wield and cannot be used with a shield.
Weapon Damage - This is a damage bonus for the weapon
increasing the damage in all 5 damage ranges by the amount listed.

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