Black What ties and complications do you
bring with you on your journey?
Sand
Black Dunes. Forlorn Past. Vagrant Songs
The World
➔ Choose a sad slow song. Close your eyes.
➔ Listen. Imagine a World of Black Sand.
➔ Add a small settlement, outpost or inhabited
Ruin somewhere in the center of the Map. You
will start from here, wandering the black dunes.
➔ Everyone adds a detail, or two. Draw each detail
on a sheet of paper. Continue till you have at
least 6 details. If you like, draw more, but leave
blank spots for exploration. Name each of them.
➔ Give the 3 locations closest to the starting hub a
danger and a ressource. Write it down on the
Map. If you like, do so for 1-2 more locations.
➔ Connect these with the hub by drawing lines
between them and the hub. These are Paths.
➔ Give the starting hub 4 ressources and 2
scarcities, write them down.
➔ Give the World a name together.
Creating a Character
➔ Choose a name, age & Pronouns.
➔ You are Vagrant, a wanderer of the Dunes.
➔
There are 4 Attributes, defining who you are:
FORCE: Strength, Violence, Resilience, Health
➔ PROWESS: Dexterity, Speed, Stealth, Reflexes
➔ INSIGHT: Reason, Lore, Perception, Aim
➔ RESOLVE: Valor, Charm, Connect, Attune
You start with 1 in each of them
You explore the World for different reasons.
Choose a reply for each question and note down
the results for your Character.
What are the defining Laws you follow?
➔ You abide by the Law of Power, believing that
only the strong can survive. To protect, to claim
or to dominate. Take +1 Force and -1 Insight
➔ You follow the Law of Art, where beauty and skill
are prized above all else. To create, to perform
or to seduce. Take +1 Prowess and -1 Resolve
➔ You follow the Law of Lore, where knowledge
and understanding are key. To learn, to teach or
to discover. Take +1 Insight and -1 Force
➔ You follow the Law of Virtue, where honor and
morality guide your actions. To defend, to
inspire or to redeem. Take +1 Resolve and -1
Prowess
What is your main goal?
➔ To survive, no matter the cost.
Take +1 Force
➔ To prove yourself, to become the greatest.
Take +1 Prowess
➔ To uncover the secrets of the World.
Take +1 Insight
➔ To make a difference, to leave a legacy.
Take +1 Resolve
What is your worst fear?
➔ To perish in obscurity, to fade into the void of
time. Take -1 Resolve
➔ To lose control, to descend into madness.
Take -1 Insight
➔ To be weak, to be vulnerable to the dangers of
the world. Take -1 Force
➔ To be shunned, to be deemed unworthy by those
around you. Take -1 Prowess
Everyone is answering one entry from both of the
following question lists :
ALLIES
➔ Who do you hold dear,and how far would you go
to keep them safe?
➔ Who is providing you with aid, and why?
➔ Who do you seek to impress, and what do you
hope to gain from it?
➔ Who do you depend on, and how do you
maintain that reliance?
➔ Who do you owe your loyalty to, and why?
➔ Who is your ally, and how do they support you?
FOES
➔ Who is opposed to you, and what do they want?
➔ Who do you owe a terrible debt to, and how do
you plan to repay it?
➔ Who do you fear, and what are they capable of?
➔ Who holds power over you, and how do you
handle their control?
➔ Who is your enemy, and why do they seek to
harm you?
➔ Who do you hold responsible for past wrongs,
and how do you plan to seek revenge?
Use your answers to add locations, NPCs, and
plot threads to the Map.
Rules of Play
These are the core mechanics of the game.
Action Roll
Roll a number of d6 dice equal to your attribute
score and choose the highest result:
66+: If you roll several 6s, it's a critical success
and someone else suffers a complication.
6: You accomplish the task as intended.
5: You accomplish the task, but a small
complication arises and the result is reduced or
delayed.
4: You barely manage to accomplish the task, but
the result is significantly diminished and you
suffer a heavy consequence.
1-3: You fail and are hit by a heavy consequence.
Resistance
Choose 1 Attribute to roll to escape the danger.
Describe how. Take the highest dice and subtract
it from 7. You gain as much Stress to escape the
Danger just in time or mitigate the impact of the
danger.
omen
Roll a d6 each day: 6 gain 3 omen, 5 gain 2 omen,
4 gain 1 omen, 1-3 gain no omen. Omen reset
each day. Spend them to add +1 die to your action
rolls per omen spent at once.
Harm
3 Harm Levels: Bruised, Injured, Wounded than
Dying. Dying needs help after the scene or Death.
Stress
Stress builds up until you reach a total of 25, at
which point you are irrevocably lost. When you
gain Stress, roll a d20 and if the result is lower
than your Stress, look up the matching result of
the roll on the Fallout Table.
Downtime
You gain 2 Downtime Actions between missions
Heal: Roll 1 d6 to heal. 66+ heal 3, 6 heal 2, 4-5
heal 1, and 1-3 heal no Harm.
Recover (Stress): Roll 1d6 and reduce your stress
by that result.
Explore: Choose an action to roll and draw a new
detail on the map: 66+ detail with ressource, 6+
with ressource and danger, 4-5 with danger, 1-3
failing exploration gain 1 harm.
Commune: The hub gains a benefit from your
actions. Helping, building something, security.
Downtimes: 4 Ressource, 3 Building, 2 Detail
Work on a Project: Advance a personal project.
Downtime needed: Complex 3, Basic 2, Easy 1
Fallout Table
1. Hyperfocus: Gain +1d6 for the next scene
2. Unease: Gain +1 Stress
3. Shaken: Gain -1d6 for rolls in the next scene
4. Anxious: Gain 2 Stress
5. Jumpy: Failed rolls give 1 stress for a scene
6. Nightmares: you gain 2 less from Recovery
7. Nervous: Gain 1 Stress, others gain 2 Stress
8. Fear: Gain +3 Stress
9. Overwhelmed: -1 d6 for the next scene
10. Phobia: Gain a Phobia onwards
11. Aggression: Attack the next available target
12. Paranoid: You gain a Paranoia Condition
13. Broken: Critical rolls are all failed rolls.
14. Hallucinations: You receive disturbing visions
15. Falling apart: Resistance rolls all gain -1d6
16. Terror: Gain +5 Stress
17.
18.
Catatonic: Unable to act on the next 5 scenes
Break Down: Screaming and crying +5 Stress
19. Collapse: Heart attack, you are dying
20. Lost: You are lost forever
Missions
Roll 1d6 for each table and combine:
Mission
1. Gathering information about a path or location
2. Protect the Hub against dangers of the Dunes
3. Defeat raiders or other threatening groups
4. Acquiring an item, information or resource
5. Rescue, protect or help someone in danger
6. Hunt and defeat a Beast of the Dunes
The Twist
1. An Opponent is unexpectedly involved
2. There are others involved claiming the goal
3. An unknown Beast of the Dunes is on the loose
4. A natural hazard occurs, adding danger
5. Discovery of something unexpected/dangerous
6. They suffer a setback or loss that hinders them
Continued Play
To continue playing and exploring the world of the
Black Sands and the fate of your characters in
further adventures, follow these rules:
Each character starts at level 1. If a character has
participated in as many sessions as their current
level, they gain a level and can increase an
attribute by +1, up to a maximum of 4 in each
attribute.
As a group, add an unexplored detail to the map
whenever at least one character gains a new level.
This will help to further develop the world and the
stories of your characters.
Credits
Art, Layout & Writing: Jack Arcanum
Publishing: Arcanum RPG Studio
The rules of this game are based on the rules from
Blades in the Dark, by John Harper. This Game is
also heavily inspired by the game Golden Sea
from Grant Howitt, Liminal Horror by Goblin
Archive & Mothership by Tuesday Knight Games