PASSING THE

BLOWTORCH

You were the apprentice of The Wrench, the one who kept
things running around here. Now they’re gone.
They did so much for this station, and now it’s all down to
you. It’s not just the maintenance of life support systems
either—they were a pillar of the community. Those are some
big shoes to fill, and while you’re the best one to fill them
that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.
Can you make your way through your first few weeks
without screwing up? Probably not. But you’re going to try.

YOUR TOOLBOX
To play you’ll need:
a standard deck of cards with the jokers removed,
ten tokens placed in a central pile,
three twenty-sided dice in different colours, and
a six-sided die
You’ll also need some way to log your thoughts and answers as you play.
This could be a written journal, an audio log, a video recording, etc—
whatever you’re most comfortable with.
These components can be physical or digital.
 WRENCHLESS AND ALONE
Tomorrow is the first day you’ll make the rounds alone. Record your
first log, answering these two questions:
What was the last thing The Wrench said to you?
What three Tools did they leave you with?
an actual wrench, an arc welder, a half-finished book, etc

Assign each of your Tools to one of your twenty-sided dice. They

represent equipment that you’ll use to solve problems.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Every day you’ll be resolving Tasks represented by cards.
Roll a six-sided die and deal that many cards face down.
When you’re ready to resolve a Task, flip it over and find it’s entry in the
subsequent pages. Each entry will have a situation, some questions and
potentially some actions.
When you’ve resolved all your Tasks for the day, record a log.
Consider the events of the day and what you’ve learned.

RISKY BUSINESS
Tasks may also ask you to Take a Risk. This means you’re doing
something that might fail dramatically. You’ll roll your Tools, hoping to
overcome Fate—a target that steadily gets tougher as you play.
When you Take a Risk, you first add one Fate. Then, roll all of your
Tools. If all of the dice are lower than your current Fate, you fail and
the game ends. Otherwise, you overcome the challenge and continue
resolving tasks. If you’ve lost all your Tools, you automatically fail.

TOKEN GESTURES
Sometimes Tasks will allow you to gain a Token. These are an abstract
resource that represent the support of the station community.
If you gain ten Tokens through play, the game ends.
 ♠ SPADES: MAINTENANCE
Spades represent the station’s life support systems.
water, gravity, air, doors, etc.

A♠ You spend a week working overtime to install failsafes and calibrate sensors across the station.
Hopefully they’ll give you a bit of breathing room. The next time you Take a Risk, you automatically
succeed. You should still mark Fate.

K♠ A prominent figure on the station has been causing issues for a large number of residents by
drawing too much energy from the grid. What are they doing? How do they react when you cut them off?
Do not discard this card. Place it where you can see it. If this is the fourth King you’ve resolved, you’ve
pissed off too many important people. They move to try and replace you. The game ends.

Q♠ You find a nest of insectoids feasting away on the ventilation reserve batteries. Burrowed within is
their Queen, plump and cerulean. How do you deal with them? What happens to the Queen? Take a Risk.

J♠ Someone is playing tricks on you, causing no end of little annoyances. Which of their pranks pushed
you over the edge? How do you try to catch them? How will you deal with them if you succeed? Take a Risk.

10♠ Following reports of an earthy taste in the drinking water, you discover a colony of fist-sized
anemones floating in the hydro tanks. Glowing faintly, you suspect they will need to be removed sooner
rather than later. Take a Risk as you dive into the murky water.

9♠ A large and rather territorial bird-like creature has been roosting in the thermal core, and it’s making
a real mess of the ducting. How do you prepare yourself to remove the creature? Take a Risk.

8♠ Something has been overloading your radio transmitters, and you suspect it might be Strand-
related. Who do you seek out to give you guidance? What do they ask for in return? Take a Risk.

7♠ A group of bleary residents swarm you during your rounds. The fire alarms in their block keep going
off, all through the day and night, and they want you to figure out why. Take a Risk.

6♠ It’s time to change the seals on the oxygen scrubbers. That means three full days of tedious,
repetitive work—two hundred seals in total. How do you keep your mind occupied in the mire of monotony?

5♠ Wild, viridian overgrowth has filled one of the main causeways on the station. Each day it’s cut
back, but every night it regrows stronger. Dense, bulbous buds threaten to bloom at any moment as you
descend into the access tunnels to determine what is causing this unnatural development. Take a Risk.

4♠ A wide-eyed resident keeps bringing you stories of someone talking to them through the walls, of
hearing half-whispered messages and seeing ghostly afterimages in the depths of night. Do you fend off
their requests for help, or carry out an investigation. If you look, do you find anything?

3♠ The heating system in one of the growing chambers failed overnight. As you survey the frost-
ravaged shoots, the sullen gardener refuses to look at you. What was growing? How do we make do?

2♠ You released the wrong valve. Pressurised, fetid water blasts into your chamber and soon you’re
waist deep in sewage. You’ve gotten through worse days, but this is pretty bad. Take a Risk.
 ♣ CLUBS: WORKSHOP
Clubs represent the communal repair shop you help to run.
tinkering, teaching, coffee, etc

A♣ Someone important comes to your workshop during community hours with a precious item in a
state of serious disrepair. What is it, and how do you fix it for them? The next time you draw a King from
any suit, you can ignore it and reshuffle it into the deck.

K♣ With your help, the workshop is starting to turn into a real force for change on the station. People
use it daily to work on their projects, turning useless junk into working tools & appliances. Gain a Token.
However, it’s starting to hit the bottom line of the vendors who sell new equipment on the station—to
them you’re a menace to the economy. Which vendor is most openly hostile towards you?
Do not discard this card. Place it where you can see it. If this is the fourth King you’ve resolved, you’ve
pissed off too many important people. They move to try and replace you. The game ends.

Q♣ Someone brings you an uncanny piece of ancient technology that they came across while
wandering the station’s depths. Why can’t you resist tinkering with it? Take a Risk. What do you discover?

J♣ Two brothers have been working on a project together. What are they building? A disagreement
between them turns violent, and soon there’s a full-scale brawl in your workshop. What started the
argument? If you intervene, Take a Risk. If you don’t, one of your Tools is damaged in the fray. It’ll take
some time to repair: the next time you Take a Risk, roll one fewer dice.

10♣ Something that was readily available until recent events is now hard to come by. What is it? How
are you and the other workshop members working to create an alternative?

9♣ Local gang members have started using your workshop to repairs their weapons and illicit tools.
How do you feel about this? If you try and kick them out, Take a Risk.
8♣ A few of the regulars have started running a tabletop roleplaying campaign in the workshop, after
hours. You’ve privately made a character for the game, but you’re hesistant to actually ask to join in. Why?

7♣ Fire! A botched repair has ignited, and you’re alerted that the workshop is ablaze. If you had
precautions for this, why did they fail? What is so precious that you brave the flames to retrive it? Take a Risk.
6♣ One of the most frequent visitors to the workshop is an artist who uses found materials to build
kinetic sculptures. Do you find their work beautiful, unsettling, or both? Have you ever made art of your own?
5♣ A little stall has set up outside the workshop, serving hot drinks and pastries. What does the stall
look like? What’s your regular order? Why does the barista make you so nervous?
4♣ Someone has been breaking in and using your workshop at night. How do you discover this? They
seem very skilled, but their behaviour is clearly suspicious. If you plan to confront them, Take a Risk
then gain a Token. Who are they? How do they promise to help you in exchange for a key?

3♣ The workshop is bustling. What are the three most common items people bring into the workshop?
Which objects are you always excited to help out with, and which do you find frustrating or anxiety-inducing?

2♣ A relationship that started between a couple of workshop members has blossomed into a charming
romance. What did they first bond over? Have you ever been in love?
 ♥ HEARTS: COMMUNITY
Hearts represent the people of the station.
friends, lovers, rivals, etc

A♥ Every day is a struggle, but you’re finally starting to feel accepted by the people who live here.
From now, at the end of each day roll a six-sided die. On a 6, gain a Token as you’re recognised as
someone of value to the community. Who did you convince?

K♥ While carrying out a routine repair, you discover something comprimising about a station official.
Worse, they know you know. What did you find out? How do you know you’ve been noticed?
Do not discard this card. Place it where you can see it. If this is the fourth King you’ve resolved, you’ve
pissed off too many important people. They move to try and replace you. The game ends.

Q♥ A pillar of the community asks to borrow one of your tools. Who are they? Why do they need it?
You’re pretty sure they’ll give it back, but in the meantime it’s going to leave you a little exposed...
If you lend it to them, gain a Token. The next two times you Take a Risk, roll one fewer dice.
How does your reputation with their supporters change with your decision?

J♥ You have unwittingly become a party to an underhanded ploy by a minor criminal. By the time you
realise what’s happening, you’re already embroiled. Where are you? How will you get out of it? Take a risk.

10♥ A stranger approaches you, looking nervous. They’ve broken their partner’s most treasured item,
and they ask if you’ll fix it for them in secret. What is it? If you help, Take a Risk then gain a Token.

9♥ It’s not all airlocks & nutrient paste. You’ve actually been building something fun with a starship
pilot that docks here every few weeks. What are you building? What are your hopes for the project?

8♥ You’ve formed a kind of bond with a little creature that follows you around during your duties.
What kind of animal is it? What does it eat? Where does it sleep?

7♥ The cooker at your favourite eatery has finally given up, and the chef has asked you to help build a
replacement. What’s your usual order here? What unusual parts do you salvage to replace the cooker?

6♥ You bump into someone you’ve not seen for a long time. You agree to grab drinks after you’re done
with your rounds. Why did they leave, and why return now? How do they see you differently?

5♥ People keep coming to you with faulty equipment, and it all leads back to the same vendor. You
decide to confront them. Where do they hawk their wares? How do they react to your intrusion? Take a Risk.

4♥ You keep catching the same group of rowdy kids playing dangerous games in the maintenance
tunnels. What peril are they oblivious to? How do they remind you of yourself? Can you get them to stop?

3♥ A pair of star-crossed lovers are hiding out in the warm, damp crawlspace beneath the water
filtration units. Who are they hiding from? How do they react to you? Do you make them leave?

2♥ During routine maintenance you end up stuck in a confined space with someone for half an hour or
so; a lift, an airlock etc. Who are they? They are not a fan of confined spaces. How do you keep them calm?
 ♦ DIAMONDS: LEGACY
Diamonds represent the aftermath of your mentor’s exit.
lessons, echoes, consequences, etc

A♦ You’re struck by what a solitary figure your mentor was. Set apart from their community, it’s no
wonder they found life so burdensome. You resolve to open your heart. If you’ve started rolling a dice at
the end of each day (A♥), you can now gain a Token on a result of 5 or 6.

K♦ Someone with a major grudge against your mentor has shifted their ire to you. What important
resource do they control? Why did they hate your mentor so intensely? How are you no different, in their eyes?
Do not discard this card. Place it where you can see it. If this is the fourth King you’ve resolved, you’ve
pissed off too many important people. They move to try and replace you. The game ends.

Q♦ Someone your mentor cared for deeply, whether they knew it or not, is in danger. Who are they,
and how are they connected to the Wrench? How are they imperilled? Whether you also care for them or out
of lingering obligation, you feel you have to help. Take a Risk as you rush to save them.

J♦ The Wrench did so much, it was perhaps only a matter of time until you were caught out by
something they forgot to mention. What routine task have you been unwittingly neglecting? What
calamitous event transpires as a result? Take a Risk as you try to fix this mess.

10♦ Your mentor had a lengthy backlog of tasks that you’ve been steadily working through in their
absence. One of them, though, you’ve been avoiding. Why? Take a Risk as you finally attempt it.

9♦ Someone comes to collect on a debt owed by your mentor. Why did the Wrench owe them a favour?
What do they want you to do for them now? If you agree, Take a Risk and gain a Token.

8♦ You find an old note from your mentor on some dusty equipment, scrawled in irritation. What was
your most exasperating habit, in their eyes? Did they get you to stop? Since they’ve gone have you started again?

7♦ Your work takes you past the spot where you and your mentor first met. How has it changed since
then? What was the first thing they said to you? What made you want to know more about them?

6♦ Faced with a surprisingly tricky malfunction, you think back to your training with the Wrench.
What lesson comes to mind as you survey the problem? Take a Risk as you attempt to put it into practice.

5♦ You start most days in the same day—procedure helps keep everything moving smoothly. How did
your time with the Wrench shape your morning routine? What indulgence do you still allow yourself?

4♦ The machine you’re working on is the first one the Wrench ever let you repair on your own. What
error do you notice in your past work? Why didn’t they point it out at the time? Take a Risk as you fix it now.

3♦ Last time it broke, you and your mentor fixed this machine together. How did it feel to work as peers?
What made the two of you laugh as you worked? Take a Risk as you try to fix it on your own, this time.

2♦ The machine you’re repairing on is the last one the Wrench worked on. What error do you notice in
their work? At that time, did you know they would be gone soon? Did they? Take a Risk as you quietly work.
 GAME END
Resolve one of the following conclusions depending on how your game
ended, then record one final log.

ACCEPTANCE: TEN TOKENS

You are considered by most as part of the community.
People begin openly referring to you as The Wrench.
How does it feel to be accepted?
Do you find your responsibility a burden or an anchor?
How will your Wrench be different from the last?

VEXATION: FOUR KINGS

A cabal of influential figures, displeased by your
meddling, move to replace you.
If you have six or more tokens, the community springs to your
defence—you might not be the Wrench yet, but you’re one of them.
What becomes of those who moved against you?
Otherwise, you are manoeuvred out of your role.
Do you leverage your skills into a new career?

DISASTER: FAILED A RISK

Whatever you were attempting went bad, really bad.
How did it go so wrong?
Are you physically harmed, burned out, rejected, or worse?
What happens to your logs?
If you have seven or more tokens,
the people of the station will remember you fondly.
Otherwise, you are swiftly forgotten as the station moves on.
This work is based on The Wretched (found at http://loottheroom.itch.io/wretched),
product of Chris Bissette and Loot The Room, and licensed for our use under the
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).