BY M I K E Y H A M M

credits
W R I T I N G & L AYO U T INTERIOR ART SPECIAL THANKS
Mikey Hamm Galen Pejeau (50, 51, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, Steph, Billie, & Wally
64, 65, 68, 113, 149, 150, 151) #hack_talk_yogurt
Sex on a Pizza (18, 28, 91, 114, 120, 121, Null Range
C O N S U LTAT I O N 122, 130, 131, 146, 157) Quantum Kickflip
Cass Rea, Emily Devereux, Susanna Wong (9, 41, 43, Mum, Dad, Krist, Nath,
Ema Acosta, Eskur (Michael K. 45, 47, 49, 71) Ash, Jesse, Samson, Linus,
Fitzgerald), Paul Blinov, and the fine Scott A. Ford (4, 36, 76, 77, 134) Shep, Maggie, Iggy,
folks at Rowan, Rook & Decard Halie Finney (35) Gram, Grampa, & Mama
Rupam Grimoeuvre (81) Intrigue Con
Taylor Reese (124) Pe Metawe Games
COPY EDITING Mike Perschon (127) The Town of Three Hills
Ryan A. Markle Mikey Hamm (129) The Tegler Skatepark
Anthony, Deborah, & David
Tyler, Natalie, Joleen, Vin,
PROOFREADING C OV E R A R T Christina, Ben, Dacy, & Gunnar
Michael Elliot, Eskur, Michael Sex on a Pizza John Harper, Avery Alder,
Pelletier, Jeff Nelson, Grady Jaynes, Jason Morningstar,
Eric Brunsell, Joe Amon, River Ray, Grant Howitt, Chris Taylor,
MintRabbit, Ev, Kris, Victor Lane, ADDITIONAL WRITING Robin Laws, & Ken Hite
Michael Carens-Nedelsky, Laena, Robyn Slack, Michael Elliott, and and, of course,
and Kathy Hamm, my mom. many guests (credited later on). My Sweet, Sweet Backers

Slugblaster Copyright © 2022 Mikey Hamm. All rights reserved. Version 1.1. This work is based on Blades
in the Dark (found at http://www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One Seven Design, developed and
authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
 contents
T H I S I S S LU G B L A S T E R 4 T H E F R E A K I N G M U LT I V E R S E 76
1 What This Game Is and How to Play It
3 Your World, Other Worlds, And Everything
Living In Both
Introduction 6
What Is Slugblasting? 10 Your World 78
How to Play 12 Null & Hillview 78
Overview, Structure, Advice 12 Bonus Hometowns 82
Do Stuff 16 Other Worlds 88
Take Slams 18 Making Portals 89
Look Cool 20 The Map 92
Downtime Beats 22 The Worlds 94
Opportunities & Challenges 24 Bonus Worlds 106
Run Ideas 26 Monsters 110
Epilogue 28 Factions 118
Demo 30 NPCs 133

B E I N G T E E N AG E R S 36 RUN THE GAME 134

2 Making Your Characters, Making a Crew,
4 How to be The Slugmaster
and Making It Big
What a GM Does 136
Make Yourself 38 Setup 138
The Grit 40 Pacing 140
The Guts 42 Tone 142
The Smarts 44 Decisions 145
The Heart 46 Danger 146
The Chill 48 Scenes 148
Signature Devices 50 Chase Demo 154
Gear 60 Change the Game 156
Make Your Crew 70 Example Playsheets 160
Fame 74 Index 162
W H AT I S S LU G B L A S T E R ?
It’s puberty and laser beams, bug guts and
punk music. It’s skateboards and texting and
fights with your parents. It’s alien worlds
with your dumbest friends, it’s being in your
bedroom completely alone. It’s yesterday’s
colours, today’s feelings, tomorrow’s day-
dreams, and slang from five decades.

A dog-eared copy of
Slugblaster Magazine. What
started as a hand-stapled
zine named after a silly
inside joke eventually led
to a new teen phenomenon.

You’ll need to learn to

get eye-slime stains out.
Slugblasters do a lot of
laundry.

Sneakerheads are clamuoring

for these special edition
Riftninja Indigos.

The multiverse wasn’t ready

for the ketchup-flavoured
potato chips dominating
the snack aisles of Null’s
northern prairies.
 -
-
W H AT T H I S G A M E I S
A N D H O W T O P L AY I T
intro- Welcome
In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by
wheat and canola, is the small town of

duc-
Hillview.

It doesn’t have a mall. It doesn’t have a

movie theatre. It doesn’t have a Turbo
Taco or a music venue or a liquor store
your aunt doesn’t work at.

tion
What it has is a gas station, a curling rink,
fourteen churches, a privately funded
particle energy physics lab that employs
half the town, and some of the thinnest
spacetime fabric on the planet. Thin
enough for a growing,
underground culture Based on the name
of bored teenagers of a DIY magazine
to slip into the vibrant
started by some of
the original members
planescape of exotic of the scene.
worlds just beyond.

They call it slugblasting. It’s dangerous.

It’s stupid. It’s got parent groups in a
panic.

This is Slugblaster, a And it’s the coolest thing ever.

tabletop roleplaying game So solder up your raygun, print some

hazwear in your dad’s garage, grab

about teenagehood, giant your hoverboard, and watch out for

metaterrestrials as you try to make a

bugs, circuit-bent rayguns, name for yourself in the highly competi-

tive, punk-rock world of interdimensional

hoverboard tricks, and action sports.

This is Slugblaster, a tabletop roleplaying

trying to be cool. game about teenagehood, giant bugs,
circuit-bent rayguns, hoverboard tricks,
and trying to be cool.

6

Who are you?
A sassy rich kid with a pair of modified time-skipping
Scram Cat® sneakers? A curious nerd with a custom
3D-printed gravity beam? A chill loser with a lovable
robot sidekick? An ultra-dimensional princess with a
hoverboard made from pure light?
In Slugblaster, you and your friends mix and match
personalties, signature devices, and other details to
each create your own teenage character, then form a
crew with its own hangout spot, personal brand, and
web of unique interpersonal dynamics. You and Sara are
cousins. Sara and Kiara met in preschool, Kiara is the
only one who knows Kevin’s biggest secret, and Kevin
and you will never forget the hilarious and traumatizing
time those bullies trapped you both inside the school
dumpster with an angry magpie.
What Do You Do?
Blow off school and sesh the abandoned waterpark in
Empyrean. Get the Miper sponsorship by speed-running
Prismatia. Salvage power crystals from moss-covered
decommissioned giga-mechs in The Golden Jungle. Go
viral by venturing into Quahalia without a logic binder.
Sneak into the hottest party in Operaeblum.
Just make sure you get home before the demiplane
melts, or the bloodwhip swarm sucks your marrow out,
or Rescue scoops you up and hauls you
back to the decontamination facility, or
Ah, Rescue
that android mercenary gets revenge for agents, the
that thing Curtis drew on its head with mall cops of
paint marker. the multiverse.
Or, you know, before your mom finds out and sends you
away to some kind of camp for troubled youths.
Introduction
The system
The rules system for Slugblaster is based on Blades in
the Dark, a game by John Harper. John’s rules are great
for player-driven sandbox campaigns, free-form cinemat-
ic action scenes, stories about crews in over their heads,
and improvised gameplay with lots of collaboration.
And like a good slugblaster would, I’ve made some
mods! I’ve stripped things out, bolted stuff on, and tuned
everything to support stories about adventure-seeking
teenagers, as well as:
● Looking cool and doing tricks! Popping your gum in
slow-mo while you do a 1080 over jets of slime.
● Gear-hacking, component-collecting, and special
items with physics-insulting powers full of colour
and creative possibility.
● Fame and popularity! Get fans, earn sponsorships,
wear a t-shirt with your face on it.
●
●
More teamwork (but also more drama).
Really fun chases!
● Touching narrative downtime arcs, where you buy
scene prompts with points you earn during your
adventures.
● Dramatic, push-your-luck, third-act disasters!
● Satisfying campaign epilogues.
N E W TO S LU G B L A S T E R ?
Players familiar with Blades in the Dark and/or
Dungeons & Dragons can check page 163 for a
quick guide to adjusting to Slugblaster.
And hey! If you’ve never played a roleplaying
game before, read through the demo on page
30, or even better, check out the Quantum
Kickflip podcast to listen to a group of cool, funny
people play an entire Slugblaster campaign!
7
 W H E N D O E S I T TA K E P L AC E ?
Anywhen and nowhen. Slugblaster draws inspira-
tion from many eras.
From the ‘70s, before I was born, when surf rats
in Dogtown created skateboarding as we know it
with nothing but boredom and empty pools.
From the early ‘90s, when I was just a little kid,
and teenagers felt like gods of MTV cool, No
Fear, and untied shoelaces.
From the early ‘00s, when I was a teenager my-
self, drawing on my backpack and throwing my
skateboard dramatically after a breakup.
From the late ‘00s, when I was a youth worker
at a skatepark, checking myspace in my fullzip
hoody, and kicking out kids barely younger than
me for smoking weed in the bathroom.
From right now, as I near middle-age with kids
of my own, and teenagers once again seem so
much cooler than me, serving bussin baggyfit
looks and bending politics to their will.
And of course, from an array of futures— distant
and near, optimistic and cautionary, possible and
completely absurd.
You should do the same. Draw on the eras that
inspire your table. If you were teens in the ‘80s,
plug 8-tracks into your rayguns! If you were teens
in 2010, bring back Vine and shutter shades!
Do what makes you feel like a kid, even if you
still are one.
8
You Might like This
Game if You Like...
● Stuff about young adventure-seekers like Big Hero
6, The Iron Giant, Stranger Things, Paper Girls, and
the Spider-Verse movies.
● Weird stuff like Everything Everywhere All At Once,
The Midnight Gospel, Saga, Black Science, Infinity
Train, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
● Funny stuff like Futurama, Adventure Time, Douglas
Adams, and Neal Stephenson.
● Coming-of-age movies like Eighth Grade, The Edge
of Seventeen, and A Goofy Movie.
● Stuff about skateboarding like Skate Kitchen, Betty,
Mid90s, or Lords of Dogtown.
● DIY culture like BEND: A Circuit Bending
Documentary or youtube videos of actual kids mak-
ing actual lasers in their actual bedrooms.
● Saturday morning programming like Ben 10,
Earthworm Jim, Cyberchase, Power Rangers, or
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (any version, but the
2018 series is especially Slugblastery).
● Anime like SK8 the Infinity, FLCL, Eizouken,
Sarazanmai, and Paprika.
● Video games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Jet Set
Radio Future, OlliOlli World, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk,
DokeV, Eastward, and Commander Keen.
● The hoverboarding scene in Back to the Future II or
the way the bug aliens exploded into slime in Men in
Black. Remember how cool that was?
● And real actual science stuff like the deep sea
episodes of Planet Earth and Michio Kaku’s Parallel
Worlds and Physics of the Impossible.
 Introduction

See new dimensions,

bend your mind, explore
Get a crush, ask someone strange realities, seek
out, fall in love, have your answers, find questions.
heart broken, write a series
of rap verses about how you
feel.

Travel the
multiverse, smell
new smells, meet
interesting people,
watch your best
friend serenade
you with emo raps
over a very hard-
to-watch live
stream.
Hey, look! It’s
the name of
the game!

Shake the scene. Crash parties. Get

famous. Spray paint your name on
an interdimensional train.

9
 but what is
slugblasting?
An action sport!
Slugblasting is first and foremost an action sport—the
metadimensional mutant lovechild of skateboarding,
motocross, freerunning, urban adventuring, and any-
thing else where you go fast and get hurt a lot.
Just as surfers learn to read the swell of a wave, and
skateboarders learn to see the potential in every con-
crete ledge, slugblasters (aka “sluggers”) learn to read
the ripples in the spacetime field and see the potential
in the entire multiversal landscape.
An artform!
Slugblasters are the kind of kids who build nuclear re-
actors in their garage. They circuit-bend ray guns they
ordered off the dark web. They hook hoverboards up
to guitar pedals. They love the smell of solder, the feel-
ing of things clicking together like lego blocks. They
are thrift-hounds, scouring the web for unique parts
and lovingly building their collections piece by piece.
Slugblasters take pride in their gear. The way they
piece things together (their “setup”) is a part of their
identity, aesthetic, and personality. It’s also a constant
work in progress. They are always changing things,
re-calibrating, pushing the boundaries, and making
new discoveries.
10
an Identity!
Identity is important for teenagers. When they become
a slugblaster, they are at once part of something, and
distinctly individual. What you wear, how you ride, what
you drink, the kind of powercell you use—it all matters.
One weird thing about teenagers is that they care what
others think of them! As alien as that concept might
seem to adults (who go through each day completely
unconcerned that their neighbour Pat thinks the mulch
in their flowerbed is too dark), peer approval has been
shown to be the driving factor for dangerous teen
behaviour through the decades. Social media just
amplifies it. Slugblasters are always live, streaming
action cam footage of their runs to audiences across
the multiverse, going to greater and greater lengths to
increase their following and get noticed by sponsors.
Like skateboarding or
graffiti, slugblasting is
considered by some
to be political by its
a mo vem ent !
very nature. As long as
there are groups trying to stop slugblasting, control
slugblasting, or profit off of slugblasting, the very act
of slugblasting becomes a form of resistance, an act of
rebellion against the powers-that-be, the conventions
of mainstream culture, and the cozy, inertia-stricken
suburbians complicit in the injustices of the multiverse.
As long as sluggers are being hauled away to decon-
tamination facilities, as long as sponsors’ parent-cor-
porations are over-mining kramshon in Prismatia and
stealing patents from fourteen-year-old “contest win-
ners,” and as long as the scene is filled with gatekeep-
ing d-bags who call you posers, there will be young
people getting on their boards in defiance.

a mo ral pan ic!
Like most teen pastimes, from roleplaying games,
to skateboarding, to drinking beer in the woods,
slugblasting isn’t accepted by mainstream grown-up
society. At best, it’s viewed as a strange and silly fad, at
worst it’s viewed as illegal, immoral, and deadly.
Everyone has their own reasons to hate it. Scientists
think it’s undermining research, parent groups think
the portal radiation is rewiring their children’s brains,
church groups think these kids are visiting hell, and
environmental groups are concerned about invasive
meta-dimensional species.
There is, of course, some sense to all these arguments.
Slugblasting is dangerous. There is literally a lake of
fire in Calorium. But they don’t see how important it
is to you. They don’t understand what slugblasting
means. How could they? They’ve never experienced it.
Slugblasting is your life, not theirs.
Money has been part big bus ines s!
of the sport since the
early days, before there was
even the term for it, before the college-aged founders
of Scram Cat Surf Co. worked all night to fill orders for
their new Nth gear hoverboards.
By the end of that first historic summer, slugshops
were bubbling up everywhere. Then the big corpo-
rations waded in to sop them up and wring out new
revenue streams, flooding the market with new slug-
blasting products and injecting some serious money
into the hobby with huge sponsorship deals. For a lot
of kids, slugblasting wasn’t just a way out of this uni-
verse anymore—it was a way out of the trailer park.
Introduction
a thr ill !
One of the reasons
adults don’t understand
slugblasting is that their brains aren’t wired for risk the
way teenage brains are. Teenagers embrace uncertain-
ty. Adults try to minimize it.
Interestingly, teenagers are also more likely than both
young children and adults to grow from hardships and
traumatic experiences. Getting swallowed whole by a
giant psionic eel builds character, ya know? And that’s
good, because no matter how careful you are, how
much hazwear you own, pain is going to be part of the
hobby. For some, it’s the price of admission. For others,
it’s part of the draw.
Slugblasters take a lot of pride in their slams. They
zoom in on the blood, compile the footage into slam
reels, and wearing their casts like badges of honour.
Skate or die, girl.
Skateboarders have
a fee lin g.
been trying to describe
the feeling since the
beginning. The sound of the
wheels on cement. The flow-state. The wind in your
face. The feeling of pumping down a transition or land-
ing bolts on a new trick.
Slugblasters have an even harder time. How do you
describe the way a hoverboard carves the spacetime
slush? How do you describe the new colour you saw in
Quahalia, or the way the meadows of Empyrean smell
during a planar eclipse? How do you describe the feel-
ing of being somewhere no one else has, and doing
something no one else has done?
11
 How to
Play
(The basic rules
of the game)
Slugblaster is played
around a table with a few
friends. You use dice, this
book, and the power of
your imaginations to tell a
radical story together over
a couple hours, and then
continue that story the
next time you play.
12
Overview
You’ll sit down with 2–4 friends, this book, some pen-
cils, some basic six-sided dice, and a few sheets you
print off slugblaster.com. You can see an example of
these playsheets on page 160.
One of you is the game moderator (GM). You’ll set
up the game (page 138), then help the others make
player characters (PCs) and form a crew (chapter 2).
Then you’re ready for your first episode!
Each episode has two phases: the run (page 26),
and then downtime (page 22). One episode takes
about 2–4 hours, and a full season can contain
around 5–10 episodes.
Runs are the action part. Laser fights and hoverboard
chases and wild parties. Every run has a goal, plus
some obstacles the GM puts in your way. To over-
come obstacles, you make action rolls (page 16)
and the results will determine if you succeed or fail,
and also if problems (page 18) arise. You collect
trouble points (page 19) as you try to survive and
style points (page 20) when you do tricks and
other cool things.
During downtime, you take turns spending trouble
and style points on beats (page 22). Beats are
events and moments that fuel the story, prompt
freeform roleplaying scenes, grow your characters,
earn you doom and legacy (pages 19 and 20)
and get your crew closer to its ultimate goal—
becoming legendary slugblasters!
At the end of the entire season, use the epilogue
rules (page 28) to wrap everything up, and find out
how the legacy and doom you collected impact your
character’s future.
 How to Play

THE RUN!
Action! Adventure! Hijinks!
● Do things with action rolls (pg 16)
● Survive problems and accumulate
slams and trouble (pg 18–19)
● Earn style by doing tricks (pg 21)
REFRESH DISASTER??
● Refill boost/kick (pg 17)
● GM collects bite (pg 137) Each player makes a
disaster roll to see if
they marked too much
trouble (pg 19)
●
episode
takes 2–4 hours to play
● 5–10 episodes in a full season
PICK A RUN CLEAN-UP
Decide what your crew should do
for the next run (pg 26) ● Collect style bonuses (pg 27)
● What’s your goal? ● Clear slams
● What’s the prize? ● Shift factions (page 118)
● What’s the obstacle?

DOWNTIME!
School! Chores! Feelings!
● Free-form, scene-based roleplaying
● Spend style and trouble on beats (pg 22)
which help grow your character, set up
scenes, and trigger events (pg 24-25)

13
 Tips for Players!
There’s no right way to play Slugblaster, but you’ll have
the best, most right experience if you adhere unflinch-
ingly to these sacred tenets I wrote on my phone in a
Tim Horton’s parking lot while covered in pastry flakes.
S H OW S O M E G R I T A N D. . .
● Be Ambitious. You drive the action. So find some-
thing you want, and go get it. Break a record. Make
a video. DM a sponsor rep. Start beef as a publicity
stunt. Throw a huge party.
● Take It On The Chin. You’re going to fail a lot, and
you’re going to roll 4s and 5s more than anything
else. That’s still success. You’re still killin’ it, girl. Pain
is part of the hobby, and slams decorate the path-
way to fame.
Drive your
character like a
B E G U T S Y A N D. . . stolen hovercar!
● Make a Mess. Rack up that trouble, collect that
doom, take big swings and cause some drama. It’s
the only way to reach your highest heights, and it’s
where the fun stuff is.
● Show it Off. Make any world more spectacular just
by showing up. Roleplay with confidence. Do that
voice you’ve been practicing in the shower. They’ll
love it, dude.
The opening scene
of Deadpool is a
F L E X T H O S E S M A R T S A N D. . . masterclass.
● Get Creative. Describe your tricks like a movie di-
rector. Create a slow-motion diorama of fun details,
with mint-green sparks spraying from your board as
you wink at the camera or flip-off a deathbot.
● Be Curious. Ask questions. Turn over rocks. Touch
that ominous glowing thing. Dive into the world. Do
some research by watching snowboarding tricks on
youtube and reading about M-theory on wikipedia.
14
F O L LOW YO U R H E A R T A N D. . .
● Care About Your Character. Remember what it was
like to be a teenager, and embrace your younger
self with both humour and love. Yes, you were em-
barrassing and a know-it-all and had a unibrow and
yellow teeth. But you were also sensitive and kind
and would talk with your mom about the mysteries
of the universe for hours at the kitchen table.
● Love Your Crew. Give them nicknames. Design a
logo. Get hyped when your teammates succeed,
because it’s also your success.
Don’t worry. The rules
give you lots of power to
J U S T C H I L L A X A N D. . . handle danger!
● Be Flexible. Hold things lightly. Go with the flow.
Don’t plan. Jump in and figure it out when you get
there. Embrace the chaos. Say “yes and,” and when
you can’t, at least say “no but.”
● Listen. When you’re not in the spotlight, remember
to enjoy the show, and not just plan your next sen-
tence. Your friends are being hilarious and awesome
right now. Savour the moment. It’s all we ever have.
A N D A LWAYS R E M E M B E R TO. . .
● Cheese It! The best sessions end in a chase.
Embrace it! Scram at every opportunity. It’s not
failing, it’s a tactic. You’re in control. Lead that mon-
ster through a gauntlet. This is the game. If you’re
getting chased by mutating mallcops and not sure if
you’re going to make it to the portal before the lava
wave hits you, you’re playing Slugblaster.
 Do stuff Success! You do it!

Doing Stuff Mixed success. You

This is an action game. It’s about blasting huge monsters
into slime with colourful laser beams and kickflipping
over quantum centipedes.
You make an action roll anytime you try to melt an
android with your maser, hoverboard away from a logic
storm, rummage through your knapsack for a spare
battery, sneak out of your room without your dad seeing
you, or do anything else where the outcome is uncertain
and failure could be interesting.
AC T I O N R O L L S
1. Say what you’re trying to do and then roll a
six-sided die (1d6).
2. If you get a 6, you succeed. If you get a 4 or 5,
you succeed but there’s a problem. If you get a
1–3, you fail, and there’s a problem.
3. Describe your success (or failure). The GM
describes the impact, as well as any problems,
based on what makes sense in the situation.
do it, but there’s a
or problem.
Failure. You don’t
do it, and there’s a
or or problem.
H OW M U C H D O YO U AC C O M P L I S H ?
Your plasma wave hits, but how much damage does it
do? You smooth talk the sponsor rep, but how much info
does she give you? The impact of your action is deter-
mined by the GM, based on pacing, tone, and common
sense (page 145).
The GM might set up a progress track (page 141) for
tasks that are too complex, difficult, or interesting for
one single action. With each success, you get closer to
your goal, based on how impactful your action was.

Tracking a
complex hacking
I D E A S F O R AC T I O N S Opening Cracking Access task.
access panel... firewall... granted!
● blast something ● remember a crucial
● sneak or hide fact you may have
● run away or race learned in school H OW B A D A R E T H E P R O B L E M S ?
● climb a tree ● pull an item you In the same way, the GM also determines how bad any
● hack a battledrone could reasonably problems you roll are. Those problems are going to be
● sound convincing have packed out of worse (page 147) if you try something extra dangerous
● look for something your backpack like doing a trick (page 21) or trying to go toe-to-toe
with a monster you should be fleeing from.

16

Doing stuff better
Slugblasters are scrappy, resourceful, and impossibly
lucky. They get in over their heads again and again, but
when they need to pull through, they usually find a way.
● Boost and kick are points you spend for one-time
bonuses to action rolls. You can find them on your
sheets (see attitude, pages 40–48 and turbo,
page 50). The crew sheet also has some, which
are shared by everyone (see hype, page 70).
● You can only use dare once per action roll, but
there’s no limit to how much unspent boost or kick
you can use. Dole them out carefully throughout a
run or blow them all on a single epic action. Stack,
mix and match, and go nuts.
● When you make an action roll with multiple dice,
you take the highest result, ignoring the rest.
● Boost and kick are spent before the action is rolled.
● Your spent points refresh at the start of each run.
BOOST
Mark a boost for +1d6 to an action roll.
KICK
Mark a kick to increase the potential impact of an
action roll. That kick remains spent even if the action
fails. No risk, no reward, hotshot.
DA R E
You can... If you...
● get +1d6 to an ● let the GM gain 1 bite,
action roll, ● let the GM introduce an
● get +1 kick to an extra problem, suggested
action roll, or by you, or
● clear 1 trouble ● mark 1 trouble.
DO S TU F F
When you get to roll
extra dice, you take
the highest result.
W H AT K I C K C A N D O
● Mark more of a progress track or shoot down
more laserflies!
● Damage a monster with an otherwise ineffec-
tive attack. Punch that giant crab right in the
nerve sac.
● Get more style points when landing a trick (1
style per kick).
● Gain some side benefit, or do a couple things
at the same time.
● And more! If it’s too much to ask from a
normal action, add some kick and ask again.
T E A M WO R K & S H A R I N G
Teamwork is simple, flexible, and encouraged. As
long as you can describe and justify it (for exam-
ple, by being nearby) you are free to:
● Use boost, kick, or dares to improve a team-
mate’s action roll. How do you help?
● Freely take (or nope) slams for each other.
How do you step in?
● Share or trade components with teammates.
● Donate style to the crew or a specific team-
mate. How do you give props, share the
credit, redirect praise, gas them up, etc.?
You can’t share trouble. That’s yours to deal with.
17
 take slams
Problems
The airlock starts closing. You bail and break your col-
larbone. A metasaur starts chewing on your boyfriend’s
stupid head. Slugblasting is a great way to avoid the
problems at home, but a terrible way to avoid problems
in general. You’re in for a world of hurt, a multiverse of
hot neon tribulation. Isn’t that exciting!

● When you roll a problem, the GM either introduces

a snag or hits you with a slam.
S N AG S
Snags are twists and turns that make the situation more
dangerous or complicated. An alarm goes off, the build-
ing starts collapsing, your ex shows up to the party, a
monster grows a second head, etc.
SLAMS
Slams are lingering problems that directly affect your
body, mind, spirit, or gear. Things like bruised, exhaust-
ed, freaking out, humiliated, glitching device, etc.
● If you get slammed, write it in one of the slam boxes
on your sheet. If you’re slammed and all the boxes
are already full, disaster strikes! See next page.
● Slams clear at the end of the run, during clean-up.
● Some situational slams may clear sooner, if it makes
sense. For example, if you took time to wash off in a
[probably snake infested] river, you could clear that
slimed slam you got trying to hug a snail.
● Slams don’t give penalties, but the GM might adjust
the impact of your actions where it makes sense.
Noping
There are endless possible ways to die, especially when
you think it’s fun to sneak into other universes and
rollerblade with monsters, but your story takes place in
one of the few realities where you won’t. In Slugblaster,
you control when and if your character gets hurt. So if
the GM tells you that you break
your leg, or get cut in half by a Only slams. You can’t Nope
negaray, you can just say no. snags, unless you use the
alternate rule on page 157.
NOPE!
If you don’t want to take a slam, say “nope!” and
describe the cool thing your character does to avoid
it instead. Then mark 2 trouble.
N O P I N G F O R WA R D S !
For players with improv experience, noping can
feel like blocking fun moments. The trick is to
practice additive noping. What cool thing does
your character do just in time? What do we learn
about them from how they avoid slams?

18

Trouble
While you and your friends were laser-surfing through
life sucking on redbull popsicles, your homework was
piling up, your dad was worried sick, and your luck was
running out. In Slugblaster, you can never escape your
troubles, but you can swap and defer them.
● You mark trouble points throughout the run as you
take dares, nope slams, etc.
● If you mark your eighth trouble box, disaster strikes!
● Trouble can be cleared by spending it on beats
during downtime.
Disaster
Everyone’s luck runs out eventually. Too many sketchy
landings. Too many close calls with close monsters. Too
much horseplay and too little respect for the rules of
physics and probability.
● The GM asks each player to make a disaster roll
near the end of the run (often on the way home).
● Disaster may also automatically strike in special
situations, like if you mark all your trouble or take
too many slams.
DISASTER ROLLS
Roll 1d6 per empty trouble box on your sheet. Take
the highest result.
6 Easy street. Avoid disaster and
mark 1 style.
4/5 Close call! Avoid disaster but
mark 1 trouble.
1–3 Disaster strikes! Something re-
ally bad happens (page 147).
Mark doom.
TA K E S L A M S
Doom
Doom represents the scars and debts of this insane
hobby. The bridges you’ve burned, the lies you’ve told,
the dimensional horrors you can’t unsee, the hearing
loss from that time with the matter-collapser. The things
that follow you into adulthood.
● Disaster and certain downtime beats can give you
doom. Write it on your sheet. Be descriptive.
● Doom can also be cleared with certain beats, or by
going on a run specifically for that purpose.
● Your doom helps determine your epilogue.
Fractures
Once you’re an adult you’ll get along with everyone
and never be sad, but until then you have to deal with
drama. The fame, adrenaline, and relentless tentacles of
slugblasting can strain friendships and tear apart even
the tightest crews.
● Certain downtime beats and challenges can cause
the crew to take or clear fractures. Write them on
the crew sheet, in a fracture box. Be descriptive.
● If your crew takes a fracture when all fracture boxes
are full, you break up. Everyone marks 1 doom and
one or more PCs must leave the crew.
● Reconciliation requires a significant sacrifice, such
as one member clearing some legacy or marking
doom.
19
 look cool
Style
As you may suspect from a game with locations shaped
conveniently like skateparks and no mechanical penalty
for not wearing your helmet, Slugblaster is not just about
what you do, it’s about how. It’s kickflipping over that
quantum centipede, and taking a selfie while you do it.
● You earn style by doing tricks, using certain traits
(page 38), and from style bonuses (pages 27,
40–48, and 70).
● You can spend style on beats (page 22) that earn
you legacy, unlock new traits, etc.
● Crew style is a single amount that can be split
amongst you, or go towards buying things like fame.
Fame
Your crew’s ultimate goal is to be famous slugblasters.
To make it. To go pro. You may discover new universes,
rescue endangered metaterrestrials from an invasive
species, bring down a corrupt research group and forge
friendships that last a lifetime, but if you don’t make the
cover of Slugblaster Magazine, what’s the point?
● Fame measures how successful and well-known
your crew is. See page 75.
● Your crew advances in fame by unlocking a new tier
with style points. There are six tiers, and each tier
has a different cost, as well as new perk options.
● Anyone can choose to contribute style to the crew.
This represents being a team player, repping your
squad, and redirecting praise toward your friends
instead of just taking it for yourself.
20
Legacy
Legacy represents the lasting accomplishments, rela-
tionships, trophies, and memories from your slugblasting
days. The fame and clout that follow you out of high
school and the things you’ll cherish long into life, when
you’re in your late twenties driving past the skatepark in
your Honda Fit.
● You get legacy from certain downtime beats and
crew perks (page 75).
● Legacy may be lost due to disaster, or sacrificed to
mend a fractured crew.
● The amount of legacy you collect helps determine
your epilogue.
“ B U T M Y C H A R AC T E R I S A N E R D ”
Style points are not just for pretty people in
trendy sunglasses.
Everyone has something that matters to them,
and every subculture has something they think is
cool. Skateboarding legend Rodney Mullen is a
huge nerd. He isn’t known for his fashion sense
or charisma, he’s known for inventing nearly
every skateboarding trick there is.
Beyond that, style points represent more than
just superficial flash and popularity. They repre-
sent confidence, self-actualization, and personal
achievement. Being cool is about embracing life
and being completely yourself.

Doing a trick is similar to
taking a desperate action in
Tricks Blades in the Dark.
Slugblasting, by nature, is about doing unnecessary
things that are unnecessarily risky. Just for the lols,
just for the likes, just to make your friends flip out, and
just to see if you can. Although you can get style a few
ways, tricks are really the backbone of Slugblaster’s
style economy.
● These rules are for big, risky, attention-grabbing
tricks. You don’t need to roll to practice a kickflip in
the safety of your driveway.
● You can spend kick to increase the amount of style
you get from a successful trick. Each kick spent
awards +1 style, if the trick lands. Turn that board-
slide into a switch-boardslide-bigspin-out.
● Slugblaster tricks are usually combined with another
action, but you use the same rules for doing isolat-
ed tricks too.
DO A TRICK
Add a trick, a flourish, or some extra show to any
action by saying “check it” before your roll. Any
problems rolled are worse, but if you succeed you
also mark 1 style.
“ B U T N O O N E WA S WAT C H I N G ”
There doesn’t need to be an audience. Even a
single gobsmacked witness can start a myth, and
sluggers are constantly live-streaming, recording,
and getting footie for their next edit.
Besides, as mentioned, style is just as much
about self-confidence as it is buzz. Anyone who
survives a trip through a gravity worm’s digestive
system is going to walk a little taller after.
LOO K COOL
B OA R D T R I C K I D E A S
● Rotations. 180s, 360s, backflips, wildcats,
mistys, mctwists, underflips, half-cabs, cork-
screws, and other tricks where you rotate in
the air before landing.
● Flip Tricks. Kickflips, heelflips, caspers,
hardflips, treflips, shove-its, impossibles, and
anything else where the board itself flips or
rotates before you land back on it.
● Board Grabs. Tail grabs, nose grabs, melons,
indys, mutes, methods, chicken salads, and
anything where you reach down and grab a
part of your board with your hand while in
the air, often paired with a rotation.
● Rail Tricks. Boardslides, nosegrinds, 50-50s,
crooks, feebles, lipslides and other tricks
where your board makes direct contact with
a rail or ledge as you slide along it.
● And much more!
OT H E R T R I C K I D E A S
Tricks aren’t just for hoverboarding! You can use
this rule to add a flourish to all sorts of actions.
The only limit is your imagination.
● Take a selfie while running from a pack of
mathpanthers.
● Take a rad photo of a metasaur’s teeth, or
your friends skating a gnarly rail
● Tag a wall with some next-level graffiti.
● Slap your crew’s sticker on a Rescue agent’s
helmet as you sneak past him.
● Deliver a sick burn, or spit the illest punchline
of the whole rap battle.
● Hold your laser pistol sideways.
● Make a wisecrack before punching a robot.
● Land in a three-point superhero stance.
21

beats
Sure, Slugblaster is mostly about hoverboarding away
from monsters, but it’s also about doing chores and
waiting for your jeans to finish drying. The downtime
phase lets you explore some of that thrilling mundanity
as you take turns describing and roleplaying a few mo-
ments that take place back in Hillview in the week or so
after your run, often prompted by beats.
● Beats are moments you can purchase with your
trouble and style to fuel the story, advance your
character, and prompt roleplaying scenes.
● The cost listed with each beat is the amount of style
or trouble you clear to buy it.
● You can always purchase trouble-cost beats even if
you can’t afford them. Your funeral, friendo.
● Trait and arc beats are one-time buys. Arc beats
must also be bought in descending order, and only
once per downtime. These limits don’t apply to any
other beats. Buy six In the Labs at once for all I care.
F R E E F O R M R O L E P L AY I N G
During the freeform roleplaying of the downtime
phase, you become the director of your own
scenes. Forget the dice and just tell us a story.
The GM and other players are there to assist you.
Tell them your vision and ask them for ideas.
Answer their questions. Cast them as NPCs and
perform the scene like actors in a movie. If per-
formance isn’t your thing, go the other way and
describe the scene like a writer would, adding
details and showing us what the characters’ are
thinking and feeling.
22
Each personality
has a custom trait
Trait beats beat too! See pages
41-49.
Cartwheeling through unstable portals
into cuckoo-banana-land with your friends may not be
the most efficient path to college admission, but it cer-
tainly teaches you a lot about who you are!
● Origin Story (3 style). A flashback that shows a
defining moment from your past. +1 trait.
● Sharpened (4 style). A teammate inspires you or
shows you something about yourself. +1 trait.
family arc
Slugblasting is not exactly embraced by society. As
with underage drinking, rap music, or eating tide pods,
opinions can vary wildly—the moral panic of the century,
a thorny societal issue, or just kids being kids. But even
if your family is completely checked out or astoundingly
permissive, there’s always some way to get in trouble.
● Trouble at Home (2 trouble). Your family disap-
proves. How? Why? Do you care? +1 slam (distract-
ed, worried, etc.) and pick a teammate who notices.
● Final Warning (3 trouble). An argument, punish-
ment, or ultimatum. What do they want? What do
you? What don’t they understand? What don’t you?
+1 doom.
● Last Straw (4 trouble). Nuclear war, scorched-earth,
and words you both regret. +1 slam (grounded, lost
device, etc.) and +1 doom. What’s the crew think?
● Redemption (4 style). Who makes the first move
toward forgiveness? What’s changed? How will you
treat each other differently now? −2 doom, +1 legacy
or trait.

Angst arc
These years can be rough. Your mom’s always on your
case, your body is changing, and metaterrestrials keep
dissolving your molecules! Eventually the stress is too
much for even the chillest of bruhs.
Whether it’s heartbreak, adolescent insecurity (adults
never feel insecure, obv), or the existential dread that
comes from glimpsing the infinity of the multiverse, it’s
going to be hard on you and those around you.
● Angst (2 trouble). You’ve got issues. Do we know
why? How do they show? +1 slam (angry, jealous,
depressed, etc.) and pick a teammate who notices.
● Struggling (3 trouble). Your issues get worse. You
act out, project, or try to solve the problem the
wrong way. +1 doom.
● Darkness (4 trouble). You are not okay. Your issues
hurt your own crew. How? What did you say? What
did you do? What did you not do? +1 fracture.
● Catharsis (4 style). Who helps you? What do you
understand now that you didn’t before? What will
you change? −1 doom, −1 fracture, +1 legacy or trait.
WHEN THINGS GET REAL
Angst and family beats can be fun, tropey, and
even therapeutic, but they can also get heavy.
Remember to be chill and check in with each oth-
er. I also recommend using Script Change (page
138) for this same reason. A lot of people have
had tough teenagehoods and may not want to re-
visit that all right now, especially while you crack
jokes with your mouth full of chips, Cody.
B E A TS
And me having a
mid-life crisis since
CREW beats the age of 24.
In the end, Slugblaster is about friendship. Your crew is
going to have a lot of ups and downs on your road to
stardom. What will hold you together through it all?
● Opportunity (2 style). Something great happens to
the crew. Roll an opportunity (page 24).
● Challenge (5 trouble). Something not-so-great hap-
pens to the crew. Roll a challenge (page 25).
● Fight (5 trouble). An argument, betrayal, or broken
bond. How does each participant feel threatened
by this issue? Hear everything as an attack, speak in
accusations, and focus on winning. +1 fracture.
● Make Up (5 style). An apology, kind gesture, or re-
grown bond. A conversation where you really listen,
address those core concerns, and tell the others
how you feel, not how they are wrong. −1 fracture.
other beats
So much to do, so little spacetime. You’ll find more beats
below, as well as in signatures (page 50), the map
(page 89), and each personality (pages 41–49).
● Being Good (1 style). Chores, homework, Bible
study, showing up for your shift on time. You know,
actually trying. Clear 2 trouble.
● You Earned It (5 style). A trophy, a trick named
after you, a scholarship, a moment you’ll cherish
forever. +1 legacy.
● Take an L (5 trouble). You suffer a loss, burn a
bridge, gain a debt, or set off a looming threat. Does
the crew know? +1 doom.
23
 Players roll 1d6 and, optionally, add...
● +1 if friendly or better with five or more factions
● +1 if allied with one or more factions
● +1 for being Up & Comers tier or higher
● +1 for being Rising Stars tier or higher
Hot Spot. A random world pays out +5 crew
1 style this run. Can you even get there? There
just has to be a way, right?
Solo Offer. A faction wants to partner with one
2 of you. Reject it and displease them. Accept for
legacy or 3 components, but also 1 fracture.
Contest. A video jam, live tournament, hack-a-
3 thon, or other exclusive contest. +1 bite, but a
chance at a mega prize.
Collab. You get invited by another crew on a
4 sick run with a mega prize, plus a chance to
impress their fans and associates.
Rager. You are invited to a festival, secret club,
5 or some other exclusive party with extra fea-
tures and prizes.
Live and Direct. A special run with a high
viewership, a packed crowd, or a hapless crew
6 or
of eager documentarians. +3 bite, but all tricks
earn +1 style.
Dream Run. A chance to be first at a new spot,
7 sneak in somewhere legendary, or go on some
other run with a mega prize.
One Shot. A pivotal run with a huge mega prize
8 or
that changes everything, but also +5 bite.
Big in Japan. You’ve become surprisingly pop-
9+
ular (+3) with an unexpected crowd. Why?
24
Opportunities
Irony, Maybe? Against all odds, Hillview has briefly
or become a hot spot, with teenage pilgrims from all over
gasping in mild interest.
Tide Pods. An online trend beckons all youth. Earn a
or mega run bonus, but only if you post before the trend
sours and you lose style instead. Start a danger track.
Name-Dropped. Someone important talks about you.
or +5 crew style. It doesn’t mean they like you, but it
does mean they know you exist.
Team-Up. A mutually beneficial opportunity arises for
or you and a rival or enemy. Is this the beginning of an
uneasy truce? Or a mutually-toxic frenemyship?
Who You Know. Someone offers to introduce you to
or an important friend. Get mega favour with a faction,
but only if you don’t mess it up.
Viral. Gain 1d6 crew style, then, if you want, keep
rolling. If you ever roll a 6, you bust and cause a
backlash, displeasing three factions and gaining only
5 crew style instead.
Swag. A sponsor gifts you with samples, testers, and
or
other freebies. +3 components each.
VIP Access. A faction shows you a secret two-way
gate between any two worlds. What’s the catch?
Planar Eclipse. A once in a lifetime dimensional
or phenomenon gives you brief access to somewhere
normally inaccessible.

challenges
Faction Churn. A faction realigns, rebrands,
1 reforms, or changes significantly. How does this
change your relationship with them?
Bias of the Week. One of you has emerged as
2 the fan favourite. Be humble for 1 style, or bask
in your spotlight for 5 style and a fracture.
Misunderstood. Your crew’s brand or reputa-
3 tion is questioned. How did this happen? How
can you set the record straight?
Threats. A faction jumps you, brings you in for
4 questioning, etc. You each take a slam (shook,
tired, etc.) which can be noped individually.
Called Out. A faction publicly challenges you to
5 a +3 bite run. Accept or displease two crowds.
Being boring is even worse than being cowards.
Impostors. Alternate yous show up, trying to
sleep in your beds and eat your sugarpops.
6 or
They think you’re the impostors. Are you? How
would you know for sure?
Snitches. An authority talks with your families
7 about your behaviour, auto-triggering every-
one’s next Family beat (but not Redemption).
Ghosted. A faction suddenly turns on you. Wtf,
8 or
dude? What’s going on?
Hunted. Someone or something is after you. +3
9+ bite and no prize this run. Just escape, survive,
and live to stream another day.
E V E NTS
GM rolls 1d6 and, optionally, adds...
● +1 if rivals or worse with five or more factions
● +1 if enemies with one or more factions
● +1 for being Up & Comers tier or higher
● +1 for being Rising Stars tier or higher
Planar Tectonics. Two worlds switch places on the
or map. Do we know why? Is this an omen? How does
this seismic event change the political landscape?
Hush-Hush. An enemy of another faction makes you
or a tantalizing offer. Taking it would be a betrayal, but
only if they find out.
Cooperation. A faction asks a difficult, risky, or social-
or ly awkward favour. Accept or displease them. ::gri-
mace emoji::
In the Middle. Some of your fans cause trouble, two
or allies start fighting, your sponsor makes a terrible PR
move, etc. Do you get involved?
Rumours. Someone is trying to turn you against each
or other. Each player invents a thing they’ve heard about
a teammate. Take a fracture until you can sort it all out.
Climate Change. One of your crew’s brands is falling
out of fashion, offering no style bonus for the next 1–3
runs (determined secretly by the GM). Rebrand, hold
out, or try to fight the shifting tides.
Invasion. Something followed you home. Do nothing
or and displease Rescue or Doorways, or try to fix it and
risk incriminating yourself even more.
Skate Stoppers. An authority starts shutting down
thin-zones.
Smear Tactics. Someone tries to ruin your reputation.
or Take −1 with three neutral, unfriendly, or unstable fac-
tions. Two friendly or tight factions turn unstable.
25
 This is called a d66
table. and you use
them by rolling 2d6

runs
and using one as the
first digit, and the Find a real deece spot to film a new hover-
11
other as the second. boarding video.

Liberate some gear from Rescue’s infamous

12
confiscation lockers.
● Each run should have a goal, a prize for reaching
that goal, and at least one starting obstacle (page Nosegrind reality. Boardslide a dreamscape. Let
146) you need to overcome. 13
yourselves peel back then surf that bomb home.
● You can try for multiple prizes or some kind of extra
big mega prize (double a normal prize or so). These Break into the offices of Slugblaster Magazine
runs should then be harder, with more starting ob- 14
and get your tape onto the editor’s desk.
stacles or extra bite for the GM (page 137).
● Use the run and prize ideas included here, check FUST is throwing a big hoverboarding demo.
out the featured locations for each world (pages 15
Get in that half-pipe and steal the show.
94–104), or come up with something yourself!
Hack the Doorways website and upload your
16
own PSA.
P L AY E R - D R I V E N
Download Infinite Pizza’s app and do deliveries
Slugblaster is a sandbox-style, player-driven 21
for store credit at FUST. Thirty minutes or less!
game. The GM doesn’t need to plot out a story-
line or cook up a series of missions for the PCs. Scram Cat is sponsoring a big all-night hack-
22
a-thon. Should be poppin’.
Instead, the GM describes the world like a play-
ground, and the players swarm in and climb on Hack Miper’s lightning fast delivery drones
stuff with their sticky popsicle fingers, driven by 23 and follow them around like a bunch of porch
their characters’ goals and what looks shiny. They pirates.
create the storyline. They think up the missions.
The GM just offers a bit of guidance, a few obsta- Slip into the airducts of reality and explore some
cles, and a lot of consequences. 24 dimensional infrastructure before The Arborists
kick you out.
If the players decide they want to find power
crystals, the GM suggests where they could look. Patch the frayed math around heavily-used
If they decide to throw a party, the GM thinks 25 portal-zones to keep younger sluggers and
up some snags. If they tick off a faction, the GM local wildlife safe.
makes sure that faction plots revenge.
Open a portal right in the middle of a big
As John Harper says in Blades in the Dark, 26
Doorways meeting.
“Action, reaction, and consequences will drive
everything.” 31 Throw a surprise party for someone!

26
 RUN S

A skater term for hitching a ride by

holding onto a car’s bumper.

Skitch behind the Miper train and give those Break some kids out of Rescue’s infamous
32 53
commuters something to talk about. decontamination centre.

Salvage components from the giant mecha Disrupt Hardecker mining operations in
33 54
sleeping under the moss in the Golden Jungle. Prismatia.

Tag or poster a string of worlds before getting Vandalize and/or correct a hard-to-reach
34 55
caught. Better go fast! billboard.

Figure out what’s haunting Thennis Spar and See how long you can stay out before you peel
35 56
how to fix it. back. Document the entire experiment.

Create a never-ending party via an ill-conceived Mess with those jerks poaching endangered
36 61
time-loop experiment. metaterrestrial species a couple worlds over.

A big client needs something delivered yester- Sneak in somewhere and make it better in a
41 62
day. Like, actually. Can you figure that out? funny way.

Some kid just took a brutal bail. Can you get Sneak into the club. Maybe your sister would
42 63
them to the hospital before they peel back? lend you her ID.

Top the leaderboards for the famous Wilkie’s Get your hands on some tickets to Multipalooza
43 64
Speed Run™. or another big festival.

Publicly challenge another crew to a race or a A team survived in Quahalia for 4.2 seconds
44 65
game of SLUG. without their logic binders. Can you do better?

Get a selfie with an Empyrean zone pony, the
45 Calorium phase dragon, your alternate self, or
some other elusive entity.
There’s a huge party tonight on the other side
46 of the multiverse, and it’s your job to bring the
drinks.
Deliver an ominous package for Shimmer. How
51 bad could it be? Definitely not a human foot or
something, right?
52 Bring some newbs on their very first run.
66 Pull a hilarious interdimensional prank.
PRIZE IDEAS
● Amp. Getting to a dope spot where tricks
earn +1 style.
● Bonus. 3–5 crew style for accomplishing a
specific goal.
● Stuff. Components or gear.
● Favour. Impressing a specific faction.
● Access. Unlocking a specific portal-zone, or
triggering a specific opportunity.

27
 epilogue
● First, decide how much time the epilogue covers.
C R E W E P I LO G U E
Finally, what happens to the crew? This thing you
were part of that’s bigger than yourselves, bigger
than any one member. Answer as a group:
The GM has final say. A year works well, but it could
even follow your characters into adulthood. ● What is that one epic story everyone tells
● Then, each player rolls 1d6 per 2 doom to determine about you? The Guts has final say.
their epilogue’s low point and 1d6 per 2 legacy to ● What is that one perfect memory none of you
determine their epilogue’s high point. will ever forget? The Chill has final say.
● Now, using those prompts, describe what happens ● What did the crew contribute to the sport of
to you in a montage. End on a high point. This is slugblasting? The Smarts has final say.
Slugblaster, not Sadblaster. ● Does the crew stay together? Break up?
Live on with new members? What part of the
crew’s legacy endures the longest? The Grit
LOW P O I N T
has final say.
● Do any of you still hang out? If not, when was
A lasting injury. A broken dream. A future you the last time you were all together? Did you
6 can’t escape. Sent to juvie. A lost friendship. know it was the last time?
Something that haunts you. The Heart has final say.

A long road. A setback. Stuck in a rut. Grounded

4–5
for a year. Difficult changes. Something ending. Jet Collective will be
around long after its
An mild embarrassment. An amusing predica- original members have
1–3
ment. A looming threat. A nagging loose end. become cheugy adults
with life insurance and
costco cards.
HIGH POINT

Living the dream. Popularity. Money. Lasting

6 friendships. Or just complete happiness doing
what you love. You get what you wanted most.

A new friend. An old friend. Reconnecting.

4–5
Progress. Rebuilding. Keeping at it.

A glimmer of hope. An open door. A memory

1–3 you’ll always cherish. Something that can’t be
taken from you.

28
 demo
what playing an episode
of Slugblaster looks like.
Four friends sit around a table
with dice, pencils, print-outs, and
snacks. Three of them have made
characters together, the fourth has
taken the role of Game Moderator
(GM). We join them part-way
through their first run.
GM: Okay, you’ve found your way
into the abandoned mall buried
under the dunes! You’re on the
second floor. There are toppled
over vending machines and a
big mall map pedestal with “The
Wicks” graffitied over it.
Rani: Do we see the candy
Runs
store we heard about? (pg 26)
That’s our goal.
Doug: Weird alternate-universe
candy! I want it. I want it so badly.
GM: You see it! An old Wilkie’s
sign, flickering at the end of the
dusty, dark corridor. But between
you and the sign is the gap you
heard about. A big section that’s
collapsed down onto the first floor.
Rani: Can we ollie it? Obstacles
(pg 146)
GM: Not without some
kind of ramp. It’s just too big.
30
A condensed example of
Joshy: I bet we can make one out
of that mall map and a toppled
vending machine.
Rani: Fire.
Doug: You’re so smart, Joshy.
GM: Love it. The vending machine
is heavy but you work together
and push it over. The map is bolted
to the floor though.
Doug: If only we had lasers.
Rani: Exactly what I was thinking.
Do I need to roll to cut this thing
free with my photon pistol?
GM: Hmm. I think this is still mun-
dane enough to not need a roll.
Rani: Okay! I take out my raygun,
cut the map off the pedestal and
then we haul it over to the vending
machine and set up a nice little
kicker. Joshy, you wanna do the
honours?
Joshy: Yikes, me? Alright, I grab
my board and try to jump this gap!
GM: This definitely warrants an
action roll! Lots that can go wrong.
Joshy: Don’t remind me!
Rani: I take out my phone to film it.
Joshy: Woo boy. Okay.
Joshy rolls one
Action rolls
die and gets a 6! (pg 16)
Everyone at the table
cheers and high-fives.
Good job, Joshy.
GM: You succeed! The ramp holds,
you get a ton of air and stomp the
landing on the other side.
Rani: ME NEXT. I’m on my board
and heading for the ramp. And I
want to do a trick!
Tricks
GM: Nice! Okay, so
(pg 21)
if you succeed you
also earn style, but if you roll a
problem, it’s worse. Tricks are
dangerous!
Rani: Right! Okay I want Boost
to make sure I land it, so I (pg 17)
boost my roll with attitude.
I’m gutsy and I think that
would help here!
Doug: You know how to commit!
Rani: Totes! Okay so two dice...
check it!
Rani rolls her two dice and gets
a 3 and a 6. Luckily for her, the
highest roll is all that matters.

Rani: A six! Let’s GO.
GM: Nice! Describe your success!
Rani: I launch off the kicker, do a
board grab, and keep my phone
pointed right at me recording as I
do it. Maybe give a little wink.
Doug: Tiiiight.
GM: Very cool. Mark your style!
Rani takes her pencil and ticks a
style box on her sheet.
Doug: My turn. I gotta one-up you
now. Check it. 360 stalefish, son!
GM: Remember, tricks are danger-
ous. If you roll badly then—
Doug: I rolled a 1. LOL.
GM: Well you fall for sure and land
hard down on the first floor. Take a
slam. Bruised.
Slams
Doug writes “bruised” on
(pg 18)
his sheet under the slams section.
GM: But also, since you were
trying a trick, there’s more. You’ve
fallen into a puddle of slime with
clusters of big gelatinous orbs in
it.
Doug: Don’t worry, my buds!
I landed on some weird eggs,
should be all good!
Joshy: I am not thrilled by this.
GM: Nor should you be, Joshua,
because crawling from the dark-
ness is a garbage-truck sized
mutant cockroach! You remember
that thing from Men in Black?
Yeah, like that!
Joshy: SHOOT IT! I SHOOT IT
WITH RAYGUN.
Rani: Yeah I pull out my photon
pistol for sure. Still filming with the
other hand, of course.
GM: You kids with your cellular
telephones. Okay, this thing is
tough, so it’s gonna take
more than one action to
Tracks
fully deal with. (page 141)
GM sets up a 5 mark
progress track, labeled
“Kill Cockroach.”
GM: There. We’ll use that to track
how hurt this thing is. Fill the track
and bug goes bye-bye.
Rani: Great. I got a 6! Pew pew.
GM marks the track
once.
Joshy: And I blast it with
my reality cannon! I use
turbo to boost my roll and... yeah I
add 1 kick, too. That hurts it more
right?
Kick
(pg 17)
EXAMPLE OF PLAY
GM: If you succeed, yep.
Joshy: Great. I flick this thing into
overdrive and squeeze the trigger.
And I rolled a.... 5.
GM: A mixed success!
Your reality beam cooks
a huge section of this
sucker. (Marks track two
more times.) But there’s
also a problem! It looks directly at
you with its compound eyes and
screams boiling acid at your face.
Joshy: NOPE!
GM: Don’t want acid on your face?
Joshy: Nope nope nope.
GM: Boiling acid face?
Joshy: Nope, no thanks.
GM: Suit yourself! Mark
2 trouble instead, and
Noping
(pg 18)
tell us how you
avoided it.
Joshy: Are there soda machines
on this side too? I dive behind one
of those.
GM: Love it. The acid bubbles on
the tile and melts the plastic of the
machine instead of that face of
yours you value so much. Doug?
Doug: I throw my board at it!
31
 GM: Your board? Why? Where’s
your raygun??
Doug: My board is my signature!
I want to be able to use turbo to
boost my roll or whatever!
GM: Okayyyy... well your board
doesn’t have the density pedal
mod or anything yet, so it’s not
really an effective weapon against
giant monsters. You can tell it
would just bounce off this thing’s
exoskeleton.
impact
Doug: I’m still gonna. (pg 16)
GM: Excuse me?
Doug: I’m still gonna. I’m gonna
get really close to this thing and
whip the board at a squishy spot.
I use a dare to take an extra
problem for some kick.
Dares
GM: Ahhh okay. Yes, that
(pg 17)
makes sense. And yep, that kick
will make this otherwise very inef-
fective action have more impact.
Doug: Okay so I use two boost
from my kinetic deck’s turbo, plus
the kick from that d-diggity dare...
Joshy: Can I help him out too? I
want to give him another kick. I’m
The Smarts, so I think I’ve read
about cockroaches in science
class. I yell down,
“Go for the eyes!” Sharing
(pg 17)
32
GM: Outstanding. So a boost from
turbo, a kick from your dare that
gives this impact, and a kick from
Joshy that gives it extra impact.
Let’s see how—
Doug: And I’m going to do a trick.
GM: What.
kinetic deck
(pg 58)
Doug: My board has
that boomerang thingy...
Joshy: Proximity Lock.
Doug: Yeah that. So I want to
Captain America this bug. Catch
the board in my hand afterward
while looking up at Rani’s camera
all like “I’m a wittle wascal.”
GM: Please don’t make that voice
but wow okay, so that’s an auto-
matic problem from the dare, and
then worse problems if you roll
badly. Are you sure y—
Doug rolls more 6s than
the GM has ever seen.
Joshy: YES DOUG.
The whole group starts highfiving
and chanting Doug’s name while
he beatboxes and marks 1 style.
GM: You hit the cockroach’s eye,
overloading a nerve cluster and
making it explode in a shower of...
are you listening to me?
DOUG DOUG DOUG DOUG...
GM: AHEM! In a SHOWER of
VISCOUS BILE, some of which hits
you because of your dare, slam-
ming you with terrible chemical
burns and—
Doug: I nope those burns, baby!
GM: Okay, mark your trouble and—
DOUG: WE’RE GOING TO LIVE
FOREVER!
Everyone eventually calms down
and continues to play. The crew
makes it to the Wilkie’s store,
loads up on old candy, takes pho-
tos in front of the mascot, gets at-
tacked by a swarm of eye tendrils,
then heads toward the exit.
GM: Waiting on the other side of
the portal is a squad of Rescue
agents, trying to ambush you.
We’ll do our disaster rolls now, to
see if all that trouble you’ve been
collecting comes back to bite you.
Rani: Hoo boy. Disaster
(pg 19)
GM: Everyone roll
1d6 for each empty trouble box
you have.
Joshy rolls 4d6 and his highest is
a 5. Rani rolls 3d6 and her highest
is a 3. Doug rolls 1d6 and gets a 6,
obviously.

GM: (Rubs temples) How... are you
so lucky?
Doug doesn’t answer, distracted
by finding twenty dollars in his
pocket.
GM: Well, Doug is fine. In fact,
he somehow manages to mark 1
style. Go figure. Joshy, you had a
close call.
Joshy: Yeah I mark 1 trouble right?
One of the Rescue agents grabs
my jacket but I wriggle out.
GM: Love it. Great idea. But Rani.
Rani: I know, I know.
Disaster Ideas
GM: You rolled a (pg 147)
disaster. You’re
getting rescued, sis. They grab
you and haul you in for decontam-
ination, questioning, all that. Mark
doom. It should be some kind
of long-term consequence. Any
ideas?
Rani: Let me think. Oh, how about
“permanent record”?
GM: Ha! Yeah that’s great.
Rani writes “permanent record”
on her sheet, in the doom sec-
tion. That doom will stay with her
the entire campaign,
and contribute to her
epilogue. Doom
(pg 19)
GM: Okay and with that, the run is
over!
Doug: We did it!
Rani: Yeah besides that last part
we rocked that run pretty hard.
GM: You sure did! Okay,
Structure
pg 13
let’s do the clean-up
phase. You accomplished your
goal of exploring the candy store,
so your crew gets a 5-style bonus
as the prize. And you also get your
individual style bonuses, too, if
you think you earned them.
Joshy: I had that idea The Smarts’
for the ramp, I think style bonus
that gets me mine. pg 44
GM: Yep, I agree. And your crew’s
brand is Ultranauts and you ex-
plored something so you get +3
more. You want to split that up?
Doug: Nah, let’s bank it.
Joshy and Rani agree. They add
3 style, along with the 6 from
their prize, to their crew’s fame
track. Enough for them to go from
Nobodies to Up & Comers!
GM: Oh and clear your slams,
everyone.
Joshy: So many slams. I should
get a prize for all the eye tendrils I
had to deal with.
E xamp l e o f P l a y
GM: Well Joshua, sometimes get-
ting engulfed in eye tendrils is just
for fun.
Rani: What about that “super
scraped” slam I got?
GM: Just clear the “super” part.
Rani: So I go into the
next run with “scraped”? Super Slams
pg 147
GM: Yep. Takes time to heal. Oh
and I’ll adjust factions now, too.
Rescue definitely likes you less.
You are −2 with them. Rivals.
Doug: And I think The Freaks like
us more. We said they like gross
things and it was pretty gross
when Joshy’s face went into the—
GM: Yep, we all remember. Joshy
you okay, btw? You’ve been pretty
quiet since, uh, since that thing
The Freaks liked.
Joshy: (Far-off look) ...I’m fine.
GM: Great. Well, next up is down-
time! You can buy beats and tell us
what you do the rest of the week.
Rani: I wanna spend some style.
I’m going to buy the Swagger beat
from my personality
sheet. This is how I The Guts
picture it. (pg 42)
GM: Yeah set the scene.
33

Rani: It’s me getting released from
Rescue. Slow-motion walk out,
chewing gum, rocking a shaved
head from the decontamination.
GM: Nearby kids staring in through
the chain link fence.
Joshy: I can totally hear “Bad
Reputation” playing for this scene.
Rani: Absolutely.
Doug: And you give them the fin-
ger as you leave!
Rani: Haha! Nah, something more
subtle. I know, I take a selfie with
the guards. I caption it “new look.”
Doug: Yeah! With a filter that
gives them hilarious mustaches or
something.
Rani: Hahaha! Yes!
Rani wraps the scene up, clears
the 3 style and unlocks a new trait
for her character, as directed by
the Swagger beat.
GM: Great! Who else?
Joshy: Can I do a couple things? In
the Lab and Trouble at Home?
GM: No limit! You can combine
them into one scene even. Maybe
your parents confront you while
you’re working on your gear.
34
In The Lab
pg 51
Joshy: Exactly! (Joshy rolls
1d6 to see what In the Lab
gets him.) Okay! So I’m in my
bedroom soldering together a new
coil for my reality cannon. That’s
when my dad comes in. Rani do
you want to play my dad for this
scene?
Rani: Oh sure! What’s he like?
Joshy: Not sure yet... sorta
non-confrontational and quiet?
Like I think he comes in and just
sits on my bed for a while before
I have to be like “Um, everything
okay, Dad?”
Rani: Ha! Yep. Then he’s like “So
your mom wanted me to ask about
some... internet video she saw on
her work computer?”
Joshy: “Oh, that...”
Rani: “Joshy, this slugblasting
stuff. Your mom... It doesn’t look
safe.”
Joshy: “Dad, it’s fine. It’s just like,
goofing around.”
Rani: “Just do me a favour and try
to tone it down, okay? No more
videos. They worry your mom too
much.”
Joshy: “But I... Okay. Sorry, Dad.”
GM: Great scene.
Doug: Yeah your dad seems like a
sweet guy trying his best.
Joshy writes “Guilty” in his slam
box, and also marks the “Trouble
at Home” beat to show he’s pur-
chased it. He clears 2 trouble.
GM: Okay, Doug, what about you?
Doug: Well buds, I got a lot of
trouble. I spend some time Being
Good. Babysitting all my little
brothers and sisters and stuff. But
that only clears 2. I was thinking of
buying us a challenge, if Rani and
Joshy are cool with it.
Rani: Bring it on, challenges look
fun honestly.
Joshy: I’m nervous. But it would be
nice to clear some more trouble.
GM: Challenge it is!
The crew clears a combined total
of 5 trouble, and the GM rolls on
the challenge table. He gets a 3
and chooses Cooperation, already
scheming about what that could
mean for the crew next time they
get together to play...
Our heroes’ adventures
continue on page 154!
 Drink
what
scares
you.
Taurine? More like Snore-ine!
Those other drinks play it safe.
We play it loud. So quench your
thirst and drown out the doubt.
Don’t think—PANIC!

causes
anxiety
T E E N AG E L I F E I S H A R D .
You have to balance still being a kid, with
almost being an adult, with building robots
alone in a shed. There’s never enough time
to do it all. If only you had a suspiciously
metallic duplicate of yourself to help you
with chores, listen to your problems, stroke
your hair and take you to prom!

Maybe they’re just mad that

your room is messy and didn’t
even SEE the viral video of
you getting swallowed whole by
a toad the size of a garden
shed.

As much as you try

to leave your problems
at home and the
tentacles in Desnine,
both just seem to
follow you wherever
you go.
Not so chill now, huh
buddy?

Careful, your Wilkie’s

Radblaster® is falling
out of your Voidwear
backpack!
being
Teen-
agers
MAKING YOUR CHARACTER,
M A K I N G YO U R C R E W,
AND MAKING IT BIG.
 Make 1 pick your
Personality

your-
Your personality defines your strengths, atti-
tude, and approach. There are five to choose
from: The Grit, The Guts, The Smarts, The Heart,
and The Chill, detailed on the following pages.

self
Your personality isn’t about what you can do,
it’s about how. All slugblasters can shred, shoot,
party, and rework a fusion array. The Smarts will
just do it differently than The Guts would.

● Your Look. Look details describe how you

dress and present yourself physically. Pick

(character ●
as many as you like.

Your Family. Who you live with, the ones

creation) concerned about when you get home at
night. Pick two details that describe them.

● Your Bond. Pick one bond you have with

This is a story about another character.

Your Vibe. Mannerisms and quirks specific

teenagers. Not kids, not
adults, but that time in
between, when anything
feels possible, everything
●
to your personality, listed on the following
pages. Pick as many as you like.
● Your Traits. Traits are special powers based
on your personality, listed on the following
pages. Pick one to start with. You unlock
more with trait beats. One of your traits can
be from another personality. See Personal

feels important, and Growth on page 160 for an example.

nothing feels quite right. ● Your Gear. You start with your phone,
raygun, hoverboard, and one special per-
sonality item. Choose two more pieces of
gear to start with from page 64.

38
 Cha r a c t e r C r ea t i o n

LO O K FA M I LY
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 d6 1–3 4–6
1 minimal technical oversized fitted all black pastel 1 rich boring
2 neon muted vintage flashy polished provocative 2 poor religious
3 relaxed cutesy trashy chic androgynous brand-new 3 supportive big
4 classic sporty piercings chains second-hand handmade 4 unstable small
5 ballcap braces nail polish jewelry shoelace belt light makeup 5 strict sheltered
6 full beat glasses bandanna dyed hair lots of hair shaved head 6 relaxed ultraterrestrial

BOND
1 childhood friends
2 mutual goals
3 well-kept secret
4 natural chemistry
5 relatives
6 shared hardships
By combining different items, you can Where from?
craft specific aesthetics. For example, Your family doesn’t Check pages 95,
a grunge look could be built by selecting ​ need to be nuclear. You 99, and 102 for
muted, relaxed, second-hand,​etc. might live with an uncle, ideas.
a host family, or in a
group home.
To make a nice web, each player
can pick the PC of the player on
their right.

pick your
2 Signature
Your signature is a special piece of gear Name
you customize, cherish, and continue to
modify. It’s part of what makes you spe-
cial, and is probably your go-to method
3 yourself
of solving problems. What do your parents call you?
What do you call yourself? What
You can add more ● Its Looks. What does your signature have your jackass friends called
mods throughout the look like? More on page 50. you ever since you sneezed while
game. See page 51. ● Its Mods. Mods are special powers drinking strawberry milk three
for your signature. Pick one starting years ago? Don’t worry, Bubbles,
mod that costs 2 components. it’s because they love you.

39
 THE AT T I T U D E

GRIT
Describe how your grit helps your
action, then boost or kick as need-
ed. Also, refill 1 attitude whenever
you fail any action. When the
going gets tough, ya know?

TRAITS
You have focus, patience, and resilience. You’ve spent hours ● Patient. When you reveal how
practicing the same hoverboard trick over and over until it’s you’ve been waiting to act, get +1d6
perfect, and your gear is organized, well-maintained, and or +1 kick on your action.
as durable as you are. You don’t expect things to be easy.
Sometimes the only way is the hard way, and when everyone ● Sacrifice Your Body. Take a slam
else has gone home, you’re just getting started. (exhausted, strained, etc.) to get
+2d6 to your action. This slam can’t
Play as The Grit if you want to take lots of slams, have lots of be noped or avoided in any way. You
boost, be the dependable one in the crew, and solve prob- gotta actually take it, kid.
lems with precision, hard work, and dedication.
● Diligent. You can reroll In the Lab.
Rocky Balboa (Rocky), Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation), Also clear +1 trouble when Being
John McClane (Die Hard), Judy Hopps (Zootopia), Dave (Kick- Good once per downtime.
Ass), Eleven (Stranger Things), Mei Ling (Turning Red), and
Stevie (Mid90s) all have a lot of grit. ● Walk It Off. You gain 1 extra slam
box. Mark 1 style every time you take
a slam.
EXTRA GEAR You start with this.
◯ Something Everyone Else Forgot ● Skill. You’ve spent hours and hours
◯ Backup Portaling Device practicing ______________. If this
You can pick this one in
place of another piece of would help you with an action, you
gear. can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3
STYLE BONUS result into a 4/5 result.
Get +1 style after runs where you show
toughness or focus. Fill in the blank with something
like: flip tricks, writing code,
self-defence, going unnoticed, etc.

40
 The G r i t

T R A I T B E AT Cut your Inertia-Core

own hair. Slugger.
● Grinding (2 style). A scene where
you work hard, prep carefully, wait
patiently, fall and get back up, etc.
+1 trait. Got punched by a
robot. LOL
so valid. Hardecker® haz
GRIT ARC vest, reclaimed
● A Goal (1 style). A montage where peelback kit, first
you work towards a goal. Practicing
aid kit, matches,
water purification
an impossible trick in the driveway, tablets...
building something no one believes
in, saving change in a jar, etc. +1 slam
(tired, blistered, etc.)

● Setbacks (2 style). The work gets

harder, progress slows, and now it’s
raining. Your goal feels farther away
than when you started, but you keep
at it. +1 slam. What’s the crew think? Whole crew signed
the cast.
● Quitting (4 trouble). The moment
you finally give up. Why? What broke
you? Who have you let down, be-
sides yourself? +1 doom, +1 fracture. From that
month trying to
learn frontsides.
● Perseverance (3 style). You get back
up and keep going. You always do.
Who believed in you? −1 doom, −1
fracture, +2 legacy, +1 trait.

VIBES Secondhand
duraweave pants
1 one song on repeat with a well-voided
2 never smile warranty. Signature
3 your drink matches your shoes kinetic
4 sleep when you’re dead deck.
5 adult-in-residence
6 overachiever

41
 THE AT T I T U D E

GUTS
Describe how your guts help your
action, then boost or kick as need-
ed. Also, refill 1 attitude whenever
you attempt a trick, even if you
fail. Feel the rush?

TRAITS
You’ve got confidence, boldness, sass, and chutzpah. You bet ● Show Off. You get +1d6 when you
on yourself, challenge convention, throw caution to the wind, do a trick. You just can’t help it, the
and go for broke. Your hoverboard tricks are fast, big, and un- spotlight loves you.
necessarily dangerous. Your hacks are suped-up, overclocked,
and absolutely a fire hazard. Hey, if you’re too scared of doing ● Snake. If there is any question about
something wrong, you’ll never do anything great, right? who goes first, it’s you.

Play as The Guts if you want to take lots of big risks, do lots of ● Double Dare. Instead of taking a
tricks, play the loose cannon, and solve problems by making dare, you can mark 2 trouble for
big moves and generally being God’s gift to slugblasting. +2d6 or +2 kick to an action roll.

Han Solo (Star Wars), San (Princess Mononoke), Marty McFly ● Walking Disaster. You don’t just flirt
(Back to the Future), Tony Stark (The Avengers), GoGo (Big with disaster, you’re dating it. You
Hero 6), Rainbow Dash (MLP: FIM), Raphael (TMNT), and Korra get +1d6 on disaster rolls, and can
(The Legend of Korra) all have a lot of guts. choose to take a disaster for a willing
teammate. If you do, mark 2 style.

EXTRA GEAR ● Raw Talent. You’ve always just been

◯ Something You’re Not Supposed to Have amazing at ____________. If this
◯ A Portable Speaker would help you with an action, you
can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3
result into a 4/5 result.
STYLE BONUS
Get +1 style after runs where you show Fill in the blank with
boldness or risk-taking. something like: math, going
fast, getting your way,
first person shooters, etc.

42
 The G u t s

T R A I T B E AT Ablatine helmet your Highly

dad made you promise caffeinated.
● Swagger (2 style). A scene where you to wear.
trash talk a rival, break your own record,
comment on your own videos, show up
late, or just live life fast and loud. +1 trait.

GUTS ARC
● Spotlight (3 style). You get scouted by
a sponsor, become the fan favourite, or
get singled out for some kind of reward
or accolade. You aren’t humble about it. Signature
+1 legacy, +1 fracture.
gravity beam
(glove con).
● Star Power (2 style). More attention, Great hair.
more offers. It’s going to your head.
How do you treat your entourage crew?
+1 legacy, +1 fracture.

● Going Solo (4 trouble). You have a big

fight with your crew, choosing yourself
over them. It eats at you. +1 fracture. +1
doom. +1 slam (guilt, anger, etc.)
Mathpanther bite.
● The I in Team (1 style). You turn down
a huge offer, set the record straight, or
show up just in time to help, sacrificing
your own legacy for the crew. −1 legacy,
−1 doom, −2 fractures, +7 style for your
crew, and +1 trait.
Fresh stick and Poke
your mom doesn’t
VIBES know about.
1 queen
2 hot mess
3 highly-caffeinated
4 wear your own merch
Complimentary Wilkie’s
5 infected nipple ring swag for being
6 shades indoors amazing.

43
 THE AT T I T U D E
Describe how your smarts help

Smarts
your action, then boost or kick
as needed. If you fail, refill any
attitude you just spent. You learn
from failure.

It’s not about intelligence. It’s about curiosity, love-of-learning, TRAITS

a fascination with the world and how it works, and a willing- ● Lateral Thinking. When you try a
ness to think about things from different angles. Your hover- trick with a creative approach, mark 1
board tricks are creative and outside-the-box, your hacks are style even on failed roll.
experimental and complex, and everything around you is a
problem to be solved. ● Technobabble. Twice per run, ex-
plain something technical with jargon
Play as The Smarts if you want to explore and contribute to or a fun metaphor for 1 style and +1d6
the setting, ask lots of questions, give lots of answers, mess to a roll.
around with a bunch of device mods, and solve problems in
clever, creative ways. ● Power User. Gain a secondary
signature of your choosing. It shares
Hiro (Big Hero 6), Gadget (Rescue Rangers), Princess the turbo pool of your primary one
Bubblegum (Adventure Time), Violet (A Series of Unfortunate and has space for one mod (sold
Events), Nell (The Diamond Age), Donatello (TMNT) and skate- seperately).
boarding legend Rodney Mullen all have a lot of smarts.
● Actually Reads the Manual. You can
break mods down into components
EXTRA GEAR and install new mods on the fly. It
◯ A Work-In-Progress takes either an action roll or a few
◯ A Vital Screenshot or Image File minutes.

● Know-How. You know everything

STYLE BONUS about ____________. If this would
+1 style after runs where you show Fill in the blank with help you with an action, you can
curiosity or creativity. something like: your enemies, mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1–3 re-
hoverboard physics, fashion, sult into a 4/5 result.
xenobiology, social media,
lasers, etc.
44
 The S ma r t s

Signature
T R A I T B E AT hyperoptics. Pencil above ear.
● Research (2 style). A scene of you
exploring, reading, analyzing a video,
being creative, trying something new,
planning portal routes, etc. +1 trait.

Hacking gauntlet
SMARTS ARC Portaling device you made from
● Inspiration (1 style). A big idea strikes found in a DARA a kit.
you, gnawing at your mind and flooding equipment locker, just
you with adrenaline. Do we know what
like, sitting there.
it is yet? You drop everything to go work
on it. Pick a teammate who was there.

● Results (2 style). The idea shows

promise. Is it some kind of device, a new
trick, a portaling breakthrough, or what? Spacetime
+1 legacy. Pick a teammate who is there ampimeter.
when you test it. Circuit-bent
photon pistol.
● Unintended Consequences (4 trouble).
The idea goes haywire, dominoes terri-
bly, or gets into the wrong hands. What’s
the crew think? +1 doom or +1 fracture.

● Full Realization (3 style). And just like

that, it snaps together. Who or what Particle bond
helped you see the missing piece? bike shorts.
−1 doom or −1 fracture, +1 legacy,
+1 trait. Took a shinner trying
a [theoretically
impossible] primo
VIBES trick.
1 lost in thought
2 homeschool chic
3 dad cuts your hair
4 pencil above ear
5 just learned what avant-garde is
6 wall of text

45
 The
heart
AT T I T U D E
Describe how your heart helps
your action, then boost or kick as
needed. Also, anytime you (or a
teammate you’re helping) succeed
on any action, refill 1 attitude.

Slugblasting is your life. You have integrity, intuition, passion, TRAITS

and empathy, and you rep your crew harder than anyone. Your ● Team Player. Mark 1 style whenever
gear is well-loved and highly personalized, and when you hov- you take (or nope) a slam for some-
erboard people can tell you’re giving it all you got and loving one else.
every single moment.
● Pep Talk. Once per run, refill 3 hype
Play as The Heart if you want to get in on the drama, lead by or clear a slam for a teammate. What
example, help others, and solve problems by working together do they need to hear the most right
and wanting it badly enough. now?

Finn (Adventure Time), Starfire (Teen Titans), Captain America ● Middle Finger.​ Once per run, auto-
(The Avengers), Ma-Ti (Captain Planet), Honey Lemon (Big matically get a 6 on any action, no
Hero 6), Will (Stranger Things) Xander (Buffy the Vampire roll required. Add up to 2 kick, baby.
Slayer) and Steven (Steven Universe) all have a lot of heart. Nothing can stand in your way.

● Intuition. You can always tell who

EXTRA GEAR likes/dislikes who, what someone
◯ Something From Someone Special really wants, and if someone’s vibes
◯ An Important Pamphlet are off.

● Passion. You care a lot about

STYLE BONUS ___________. If this would help you
+1 style after runs where you show with an action, you can mark 1 trouble
passion or empathy. to upgrade a 1−3 result into a 4/5
result.
Fill in the blank with something like:
scientific discovery, helping people,
rail tricks, photography, your friends,
fitting in, etc.
46
 The H ea r t

T R A I T B E AT
● Devotion (2 style). Look through your
crew’s photos, daydream about portals,
feel the wind in your face as you skate.
Show us what you care about, and how PAC-PAC, your
much. +1 trait. Signature robotic
companion.
HEART ARC
● Dalliance (2 style). You begin a special Impractical
relationship with a member of another
film camera.
faction, a teammate, or someone else. +1
legacy.

● Catching Feelings (1 style). The rela-

tionship blooms, but things get more
Focused on
complicated, too. What’s at stake? Which everyone’s good
teammate disapproves? +1 legacy, side.
+1 fracture.
Three-generation-old
Miper® nega ray.
● Us or Them (4 trouble). A misunder-
standing, conflict of interest, betrayal,
or messy break up hurts you and your
crew. +1 doom, −1 legacy, +1 fracture.

● Love Conquers All (3 style). You make it

right, prove your loyalty, speak truth and
do the brave thing. Your bonds are stron-
ger then ever. −1 doom, −2 fractures, +1
legacy, +1 trait.

VIBES Took one for

the team.
1 hugger
2 always shares at youth group
Stickers
3 everything’s political from youth
4 active listener convention. Shoes you
5 positive vibes only painted
6 always the youngest yourself.

47
 the AT T I T U D E

chill
Sit back, relax, and get
+1d6 to all your actions.
Things just tend to work ∞
out. (This puppy can’t be
shared with teammates. They’re
too busy to enjoy it, anyways.)

TRAITS
● Steezey. Mark 1 style anytime you roll
Chill is effortlessness, zen, and going with the flow. You do doubles. You look cool without even
stuff by feel, press buttons to see what happens, and some- knowing it.
how make even the simplest hoverboard tricks look steezey.
Maybe you’re lucky, maybe you just notice what everyone ● Umm… Guys? You accidentally
else is too busy to. notice the stuff everyone else didn’t,
like hidden panels, perfect skate
Play as The Chill if you want to crack jokes, eat some snacks, spots, looming monsters, etc.
let problems solve themselves, and not think too much.
● Button Masher. Mark 1 turbo to use
The Dude (The Big Lebowski), MJ (Spider-Man: Homecoming), a locked mod for the length of one
Indiana Jones, Priya (Turning Red), Todd (BoJack Horseman), action—or 2 turbo if the mod is from
Shaggy (Scooby-Doo), Deadpool, Wichita (Zombieland), Ilana another device. Be careful, potential
(Broad City), and Fred (Big Hero 6) all have a lot of chill. problems are worse.

● Lucky. Once per run, dumb luck

EXTRA GEAR helps you. A tree falls on a monster,
◯ Something You Found on Your Way Here lasers miss as you tie your shoes,
◯ A Pet you unknowingly give someone a
perfect gift, etc.

STYLE BONUS ● Quirk. For some weird reason, you

Get +1 style after runs where are good at ___________. If this
you show ease or flow. would help you with an action, you
can mark 1 trouble to upgrade a 1−3
Fill in the blank with something like: result into a 4/5 result.
numbers, being friends with animals,
swordfighting, riding switch, doing
things with your eyes closed, etc.

48
 The Chi l l

T R A I T B E AT Very little idea Literally Just

what’s going on. woke up ten
● Just Vibin’ (2 style). You just being you. minutes ago.
Playing video games, sleeping, eatin’
chips, chasing butterflies, whatever.
Show us how care-free you are. +1 trait.
Knock off Scram
Cat® t-shirt.
CHILL ARC Ashley.
● Caught in a Plot (1 style). You overhear
something, get mistaken for someone,
get ushered into the wrong line, etc.

● Serendipity (2 style). Your moment of

dumb luck continues to pay out, but
also gets more complex. What does the
3D-printed
arm.
crew think? +1 legacy.

● In Too Deep (4 trouble). You’re found just found this cool belt
out, painted into a corner, caught frantic- lying on the sidewalk?
ly Mrs. Doubtfiring at an event, and just
in way over your head. +1 doom. Pick a
teammate who notices.

● Somehow Works Out (3 style). And ref lattice

yet, you land on your feet, as per effing fishnets.
usual. That photo becomes a meme, the
money was still in your backpack, the
CEO liked your initiative, etc. −1 doom,
+1 legacy, +1 trait.

Signature
VIBES Riftninja
slip-ons.
1 space cadet
2 just woke up
3 laundry day
4 deadpan
5 always eating a bag of chips
6 kisses their mom on the lips and
isn’t weird about it

49
 Signatures Signature Negafriction
Sword. Check out this
glow-in-the-dark cord
wrap!
Slugblasters love their gear, and most tend to have one device they
love the most and spend the most time tinkering with. Slugblasters
call this device their ​signature​, or sometimes their “setup.” Your sig-
nature is what makes you special, and is probably your go-to method
of solving problems. You can see an example of a signature device
sheet at the end of the book (page 161).

FUNCTION
Your signature’s function simply describes what it enables you to do.
Often this will require an action roll, but not always. (As normal, the
GM should decide whether an action roll is needed, based on
how exciting and dangerous the situation is.)
Ben.
LO O K S
Each signature has a list of look options. Use those in Re-scoped an old 1st
combination with this table and your own imagina- generation Nth gear to
tion to describe your device. Is your gravity blaster make this slip rattle.
a chunky plastic cannon, a glitchy 3D-printed
powerpack, or a sleek metallic orb? Did you
make it yourself or was it a birthday pres- Getting a dope -0.02
ent from your rich uncle? Do you put stick- frictional coefficient
ers over it? What kind? (Use the sticker when at full power!
table on page 69 for ideas!)

TURBO!
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6
Describe how your signature helps
1 plastic sleek / shiny chunky / rugged
you with an action, then add dice
2 rebuilt / DIY glitchy metallic
or kick as needed.
3 borrowed / stolen dirty / worn brand-new
4 3D-printed last-generation custom paint job
5 circuit-bent cartridge-based mass-produced
6 sticker-covered reverse-wired scribbled-on

50
 S ig n a t u r es

Mods D OW N T I M E B E AT !
Listen, if you and that soldering iron behind your back In the Lab (1 style). Tinkering, de-
1 coil
are going to so flagrantly void the warranty of your new signing, crafting, shopping, etc.
2 disc
greymarket nonsense device, I can’t stop you. All I can Do any/all of the following:
do is provide you with information and support and 3 lens
pray I raised you to respect the laws of physics. ● Install mods you have the 4 gem
components for. 5 choose
● Mods expand the functions and power of your ● Uninstall mods and salvage 6 choose &
signature device. the components. roll again

● Each mod costs a certain number of components, ● Exchange three matching

detailed in its description. components for one component of your
choice.
● Roll to gain 1 random component.
COMPONENTS
Components ​are an abstract representation of the
parts you need. You can get them as a run prize, with Need to resolder these
the In the Lab beat, and from certain opportunities. loose terminals after
that thing with the
● Lenses​represent various prisms, diodes, reflec- megalodon.
tors, optic siphons, photonic reframes, etc.
DIY omega engine for
signature power armour.
● Coils represent various tubes, wiring, servos, artic-
ulators, drive trains, coherence spirals, etc.

● Discs​represent various circuit boards, processors,

chips, cards, firmware, code blocks, etc.

● ​ ems represent various fuel cells, power sources,

G
alien minerals, reality-distorting crystals, etc.

UNIVERSAL MODS
3D-printed
armature.
In addition to the mods listed in each entry, all signa-
tures also have the following mods available to them.

● Power Cell (2 gems). Turbo gains 1 kick. Basically stole this

● Stabilizer (1 coil, 1 disc). Turbo gains 1 boost. commutator from shop
● Kitbashed (varies). Purchase a mod from another class but Mr. B is chill
signature device. Way stronger stable force with it.
quotient after switching to
a torque-state system.
51
 gravity blaster
Oh, gravity. Thinks it’s so tough, but even an entire
planet’s worth can’t beat the static field generated by a
balloon rubbed on your little sister’s head. But you got-
ta love an underdog, and with enough concentrators,
exciters, and dilators you can still get this one to bark.
FUNCTION
Roll to damage things at a gauntlet, glove,
distance with a blast of crush- carbine, pistol,
ing force (or pummel stuff with cannon, visor
non-lethal grav torrents). powerpack, orb,
wand...
MODS
● Endurance Engine (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to coarsely
lift, push, and pull things at a distance, with the
accuracy and power of a tractor.
● Agility Pin (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to manipulate
things at a distance with the accuracy and power of
two human hands.
● Impulse Rig (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to launch your-
self high in the air, use your beam like a grappling
hook, or give yourself a burst of speed.
● Gravity Spasm (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to
avoid a physical slam by creating a brief, invisible
force field.
● Field Inverter (2 Coils, 1 Lens, 1 Gem). Roll to tem-
porarily modify the gravity of a room-sized or small-
er area you target with your gravity beam. Choose
whether the gravity there is increased, decreased,
reversed, pointing sideways, etc. Roll each time
you want to change it.
52
Reality Cannon
If you shine light through a kramshon crystal, you see
a brand new colour. If you fire a high-powered beam of
coherent photons through a kramshon crystal, you can
scramble reality itself. And guess what! Most things,
including monsters, are made of reality! Have fun!
FUNCTION
Roll to scramble things with a gauntlet, glove,
powerful reality beam (either carbine, pistol,
destructive and permanent, or cannon, visor,
unpleasant and temporary). powerpack, orb,
wand...
MODS
● Parameter Dial (2 Discs). Roll to temporarily shift
or calibrate minor features of a target, like colour,
texture, volume, odor, temperature, etc.
● Exponent Coil (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to temporarily
create 2d6 alternate versions of a subject or ob-
ject. They appear nearby. One is usually evil.
● Subjectivity Diode (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Create a tem-
porary illusionary reality for a specific target. The
effect happens within their senses.
● Matter Lens (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to create large
amounts of soft, amorphous matter, which coheres
into random objects and terrain with time. Specific,
complex, or immediate forms may require kick.
● Concept Inverter (2 Gems, 2 Discs). Roll to invert
a target’s adjective—something “dry” might turn
“wet,” for example. You choose. Adjectives are
relative to yourself (i.e., an elephant is “big”). As
always, substantial or dramatic results (“living” to
“dead,” etc.) may require kick or multiple rolls.

robotic companion
Loners, geniuses, and kids with too much love to give
all inevitably create signature devices capable of feel-
ing things. Is it a hovering companion drone, a lum-
bering utility mech, an inflatable personal healthcare
assistant, or something else?
FUNCTION
As smart and loyal as a dog. android,
Can follow closely, lift and carry mech, drone,
things you could, communicate quadruped, biped,
vaguely, and you can roll to have rolling, hovering,
it do simple tasks, like fetch. metal, plastic...
MODS
● Weapons (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to have your robot
attack, at a distance or in melee, lethally or non-
lethally, with weapons you’ve designed. What are
they?
● Mobility Boosters (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to have
your robot go really fast. Can carry a passenger or
two. Ditch the hoverboard and hop on.
● Heavy-Duty Servos (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to have
your robot lift or carry very heavy things, slowly
crush things in its hands, or jump great distances.
● Guardian Mode (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to
have your robot protect you or a nearby teammate
from a physical slam.
● Neural Network (4 discs). Your robot now has the
intelligence, communication skills, and common
sense of a human child, and grows smarter and
more independent each day. Mark 1 legacy. They
grow up so fast.
S ig n a t u r es
powered armour
3D-printed armour, repurposed exoskeletons, and
Slipmarket battle suits didn’t hit the scene until fairly
recently, but their modular frameworks make them per-
fect for creative slugblasters looking to do something
bespoke and original.
FUNCTION
Nope slams from falls, crushing, flashy, utilitarian,
hits, and other kinetic damage mining exo,
for only 1 trouble. Don and doff combat jacket,
fast via an automated process. skinsuit, hardsuit,
post-motocross...
MODS
● Heavy-Duty Servos (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to lift or
carry very heavy things, slowly crush things in your
hands, or jump great distances.
● Weapons System (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Roll to attack, at
a distance or in melee, lethally or non-lethally, with
either attack-speed blows or other weapons you
design. What are they?
● Mobility Boosters (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to go fast
over solid terrain, via jet propulsion, mechanized
leg engines, etc. Room for 1 passenger.
● Ablatine Plates (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Avoid one slam
from physical damage. Resets during your next In
the Lab beat. (Can’t stack with 3D-Printed Ablatine.)
● Omega Engine (2 coils, 2 gems). Mark 2 turbo.
Your armour transforms for a few minutes, getting
bigger, brighter, or cooler in some way. You get +1
kick on all related actions and can roll to create
a powerful, room-sized force field which requires
focused concentration.
53
 skipmode runners
Skip boring. Skip average. Skip to the good part
with Skipmode runners. The commercial shows a kid
fast-forwarding through his homework, but everyone
knew it was just clever marketing for a fairly average
modular shoe. Until sluggers got ahold of them...
FUNCTION
Use your powered midsoles to hi-tops, low-tops,
run, jump, and slide super fast, mids, slip-ons,
easily keeping up with your pals boots, hikers,
on hoverboards. flats, platforms,
laserblades...
MODS
● Anti-Negafriction Outsoles (1 Gem, 1 Disc). You
can run up walls, hang from ceilings, etc. Complex
or risky maneuvers may require a roll, as usual.
● Energy Tenser (1 Coil, 1 Disc). With a running start,
roll to teleport in-universe. If you can’t see your
destination, potential problems are worse.
● Temporal Scrubber (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Reveal you’ve
been fast-forwarding through most of this snooze
fest. Refill 1 hype. Mark 1 trouble and try not to
think about all you’ve missed by not being present.
Being constantly stoked is not the same as living.
● Chrono Clip (1 Disc, 1 Gem). Mark 1 turbo to avoid
a physical slam by skipping a few seconds into the
future. Others think you disappeared briefly.
● Causality Hoop (2 Gems, 1 Lens, 1 Coil). Mark 2
turbo to rewind time a few seconds and retry an ac-
tion, warn someone of a slam, change tactics, etc.
(Due to, uh, temporal rippling, game resources like
boost, trouble, etc. still stay as they are, however.)
54
riftninja sneakers
Riftninja sneakers are branded as performance-wear
for pro-level capture-the-flag athletes, hoping to
distance themselves from their core market of graffiti
artists, vandals, thieves, and kids trying to sneak out of
the house.
FUNCTION
Use astral phasing to become hi-tops, low-tops,
slightly not here, ghostly and mids, slip-ons,
ethereal, which can help you boots, hikers,
sneak around. flats, platforms,
laserblades...
MODS
● Hyperphaser (1 Lens, 1 Gem). You can roll to phase
through walls and other matter.
● Anti-Negafriction Outsoles (1 Gem, 1 Disc). You
can run up walls, hang from ceilings, etc. Complex
or risky maneuvers may require a roll, as usual.
● Powered Midsoles (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Run, jump,
and slide super fast, easily keeping up with
hoverboards.
● Reaction Switch (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo to
avoid a physical slam by turning ghostly just before
it hits.
● Plane Haunt (2 Lenses, 2 Gems). Spend 1 turbo
to create a extra version of yourself. You share
resources and can roll to swap minds. Ends after
a few hours or whenever one of you takes a slam
and disintegrates horribly (that slam lingers with
the remaining “you” as concept shock). Also, mark
1 turbo to clear 2 trouble. There was a you covering
at home this whole time.
 photonic jacket
Metamaterial clothing has been working hard to keep
kids’ atoms intact since slugblasting started, but
Miper’s Billy Blazer® and similar photonic jackets have
taken the scene by storm. Blend into the scenery, stand
out from the crowd, and stay alive more to thrive more.

FUNCTION
Display colours, patterns, and blazer, bomber,
images on the fabric’s surface. denim, leather, Cross section of jacket
Also, nope slams from lasers and hoodie, trench, sleeve demonstrating
other electromagnetic energy for coveralls, raincoat textronic interaction.
only 1 trouble. windbreaker...
Photochromatic layer can
MODS divert up to 4000 mW Worn-out
of photonic energy under ambiance panel. :(
● Flash Patterns (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to blind, daze, the right conditions.
confuse, entrance, or cause seizures in targets that
can see your jacket.

● Ambiance Panel (1 Gem, 1 Coil). Freely program

non-realistic, translucent graphics within ten feet
of you, or roll to create a more convincing illusion.
Preparation and/or image data may be required.

● Photo Bypass (1 Coil, 1 Lens). Roll to fold normal

light around you and blend in with your surround-
ings. Remember to put your hood up!

● Hardlight Upscaling (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to tem-

porarily augment your jacket with useful hardlight
ornaments such as glowing tentacles, giant polygo-
nal fists or briefly serviceable wings.

● Concept Prism (2 Lenses, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Mark 1 Still gets too hot during
turbo. You temporarily split into 3d6 colourful in- complex transforms. Need
stances of yourself. They are difficult to control, but
better heat sinks.
This new flexible display
tend to act like you would and stay nearby. layer works like octopus
skin, by using synthetic
chromatophores.
56

Negafriction Sword
Negafriction is just what it sounds like: complete non-
sense. Normally, friction converts kinetic energy into
heat, causing objects to slow down and get warmer.
But negafriction swords speed up and get cooler. Just
like you!
FUNCTION
Roll to slice, dice, chop, and ancient, futuristic,
stab things (or non-lethally modern, hardlight,
smack them with the kinetically- katana, scimitar,
charged sheath). longsword,
carbon fibre...
MODS
● Slip Rattle (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to teleport in-
universe by slicing spacetime. If you can’t see your
destination, potential problems are worse.
● Field Projector (1 Lens, 1 Coil). ​Roll to temporarily
remove the surface friction from a room-sized area
near you.
● Ref Coating (1 Lens, 1 Gem). ​Avoid slams from
lasers and other electromagnetic energy by mark-
ing 1 turbo, redirecting the attack wherever you
wish.
● Negafriction Wake (1 Disc, 1 Gem). ​Roll to boost
your speed as your sword accelerates through
matter (even air) and pulls you along.
● Subdimensional Edge (2 gems, 1 lens, 1 coil). You
can roll to temporarily slice entire dimensions off of
a target, turning a 3D object 2D, for example, or re-
moving someone from the timestream. The target
re-coheres after a minute or two. It’s not pleasant,
but mostly harmless.
S ig n a t u r es
hyperoptic visor
Why have your face glued to your phone when you can
have your phone glued to your face? Visors, goggles,
and other hands-free consoles are popular among
nerds, videographers, and anyone who needs to text
while eating a footlong sub.
FUNCTION
Use an advanced HUD to access goggles, visor,
information, capture picture and shades, glasses,
video, sends texts, play Ruby eyepiece, mask,
Rush, and do everything else helmet, contact
you could with a phone. lenses...
MODS
● Realmware Lens (1 Lens, 1 Disc). Roll to see ener-
gy fields, invisible entities, and in-depth biometrics.
Also acts as a spacetime ampimeter (page 64).
● Omniscience Aperture (1 Lens, 1 Coil). You can
see through walls, into objects, and all around you.
Also, mark 1 turbo to avoid dodgeable slams.
● Spacetime Periscope (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to press
up against the spacetime membrane and spy on a
neighbouring universe.
● Powered Crunk Filter (1 Disc, 1 Gem). Mark +1
style when you successfully use a trick to take a
dope picture or video.
● Adv. Neural Imaging (2 Lenses, 1 Coil, 1 Disc).
You can roll to see and record a subject’s active
surface thoughts. It’s obvious you’re doing it, but
adding kick allows you to do it secretly and/or
zoom into deeper thoughts and memories. Use
caution.
57
 kinetic deck
Inertial sweepers and momentum cells have been
standard in hoverboards for years, allowing higher top
speeds for classic kick-push decks. Only recently have
slugblasters discovered that a little ballast-modification
can break the laws of hoverboard physics completely.
FUNCTION
Go fast over solid terrain. Make
your board super heavy at will, Use the tables
either as an effective attack or to on pages
protect it from theft. 62–63!
MODS
● Proximity Lock (2 Discs). Your deck returns to you,
if possible. May require a roll if the path isn’t clear
or it faces resistance.
● Stasis Anchor (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Make your deck
completely immovable, floating frozen in space,
until you deactivate it.
● Density Pedal (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to increase or
decrease your own mass dramatically. Make your
body lighter than air, make your fist heavier than
uranium, and don’t let anyone push you around.
● Inertial Vortex (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Roll to subtract
momentum from a room-sized area around you,
slowing nearby enemies and objects. Alternatively,
mark 1 turbo to avoid a slam from kinetic attacks.
● Dimensional Ballast (2 Coils, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Roll
to decrease your mass drastically by temporarily
shedding some of your dimensions! Turn 2D and
hide against a wall, or briefly exist outside time! Try
adding a dimension even. Why not? You do you.
58
voidwear backpack
The back-breaking sport of shoulder-hoarding was
transformed by Miper’s iconic, ubiquitous Voidwear®
backpack, which uses [stolen] proprietary shipping
technology to allow you to carry the contents of your
bedroom in a simple 1-pocket cinch.
FUNCTION
Store any amount of objects nylon, canvas,
smaller than a person in your denim, leather,
bag’s pocket dimension. Roll to plastic, hardlight,
see if you happen to have a spe- mirage-weave,
cific everyday item in there. satchel...
MODS
● Astral Intake (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo and roll
to pull a unique, specialized, or implausible item
from the multiverse, like antitoxin, an alien lifeform,
or almost the exact keycard you need.
● Omni-Siphon (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to vent a cocktail
of energy from the multiverse. Use it as a makeshift
weapon, jump pack, or charging station.
● Chaos Vent (1 Coil, 1 Disc). Mark 1 turbo. Turn your
bag into a one-way portal to a randomly selected
world. The bag goes with you.
● Collapsible Panels (1 Coil). You can fold your bag
into itself, leaving only a single zipper tab in your
hand, which can be used to reopen the bag.
● Reversible Zipper (2 Coils, 1 Gem, 1 Disc). Roll to
turn your bag inside out. You and everyone and
everything in a room-sized area are now floating in-
side your bag, surrounded by all your junk. Outside
observers simply see a bag lying on the ground.
 S ig n a t u r es

hardlight board “ D O I H AV E S P R AY PA I N T ? ’ ’
Create a board made of solid, stable light with this Sometimes you want to know if have a certain
wrist-mounted device. Out of the box, it’s basically just item on you that isn’t covered by your gear.
a standard hoverboard you can use as a nightlight, but Often this is just for a joke, character moment, or
a good programmer can unlock its true photonic poten- aesthetic flair, and in that case the GM will prob-
tial. Hold onto your waveforms! ably say yes. If it’s an item that would change the
course of the scene or help you solve a problem,
you can just roll an action to see if you have it,
FUNCTION as long it’s plausible. (Producing unlikely items
Go fast over solid terrain on a purple city, blue requires having a voidwear backpack​with an
hoverboard made from crys- sunset, loud stars, astral intake.)
tallized light. Make your board white heat,
non-exist and re-exist at will. pink ice, teal god,
neon black...

MODS
● Photon Vent (1 Coil, 1 Gem). Roll to create trails of
Cheap mall kiosk
scratch-armour film
semi-permanent, slightly brittle hardlight behind covering the drag
you, which float in space until they fade. The Miper Spark® 6 SE lens.
hardlight generator.
● Energy Lattice (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to reform your
board into custom shapes, including tools, hand
weapons, and other useful objects of a similar size.

● Photon Exciter (1 Lens, 1 Coil). Roll to damage

things you grind, slide, ollie over, or just smack with
your board.

● Flicker Switch (1 Lens, 1 Gem). Avoid a physical

slam by marking 1 turbo. You blink out of existence
for a second. What’s it feel like?

● Matter Photonizer (2 Coils, 1 Lens, 1 Gem). Mark

2 turbo to turn yourself (and your gear) into pure
light. The rest of the world pauses. You can’t affect
the paused world, but you can observe and move
around in it. Time starts again after about an hour,
or once you’ve moved 100 total feet.
Having trouble with
Flicker switch salvaged photon vent. Too much
from a Wilkie’s arcade trail jitter. Need to try
console. realigning the baseplate.
59
 gear
While the typical Hillview adult is still dazzled by video
conferencing and unable to figure out the new remote,
sluggers tend to be avid gearheads, just by nature of
the hobby. Collecting, customizing, and configuring their
setups not only engages their adventurous minds, but
allows them to express themselves with colour options
and brand loyalty.
● A problem may result in a piece of gear breaking or
running out of battery power. These gear problems
might be recorded as slams.
● All characters start with a phone, a raygun, a hover-
board, one personality-specific item, and two pieces
of gear from page 64.
● Additional gear can be gained as a run prize or by
spending the component-cost listed in its entry.
Your phone
You kids and your phones. Whether it has a touch-
screen, stylus, keypad, or scrollwheel. Whether it reads
cartridges or minidiscs. Whether it flips open, slides
open, or stays open—you can rest assured that your
phone will always be by your side, at 5% battery, getting
one bar in The Waking Pits if you’re lucky.
Make calls, send texts, take a selfie, play Rift Zipper,
lurk a chatroom, update your MiPage, stream live to
GooTube, find components on Swapi, check your class
schedule on the school’s awful website, and scroll Dripp
until your eyeballs chap.
● Enables you to do typical smartphone things
throughout the multiverse.
● Could instead be HUD goggles, a sticker-covered
laptop, a data bracer, or some other similar device.

H OW M U C H DA M AG E
D O E S M Y G U N D O?
In Slugblaster, most gear won’t
provide bonus dice or anything,
but instead simply allow you to
do things you couldn’t normally
do, using common sense. You
can’t hack without hacking
equipment and you can’t shoot
something without a raygun, for
example. Your damage (impact)
depends on how effective the
GM thinks your action is, not the
type of gun you have. Add some
kick and let it rip, hotshot!
Miper’s Limited
Edition SpiPhone®.

60
 G ea r

Your raygun
Listen, nobody planned for teenagers to be carrying
energy weapons around just to protect themselves
from twelve-tonne arthropods. The Hardecker® D11 is
a mining tool. The Miper® Grav was designed to help
healthcare workers lift infirm patients into the bathtub.
Out of the box, a Wilkie’s® Reality Cannon isn’t much
more than an oversized laser pointer kids use to draw
on walls and make their little sisters smell like farts. But
what can you do? Teenagers are resourceful. And a
valuable target market.
● Rayguns come in a limitless variety of designs and
manufacturers, but all enable you to significantly
damage targets at a distance.
● Most models have a non-lethal setting, which feels
like a stun gun, knock-out dart, flurry of paintballs,
getting blasted with a firehose, etc.
OT H E R O P T I O N S
Hey, I get it. Vaporizing matter with a beam of
prismatic starlight just isn’t for everyone. No
problem, cross it out and write in something else!
There are many ways to protect yourself in a
hostile planescape, from powergloves to gravity
bats to plasma staffs. And of course, the iconic
nanoedge sword, which has been a fixture in the
slugblaster scene ever since some kid realized
that ray guns freeze up, monsters generally don’t,
and swords look totally rad.
If you’d prefer to abstain from violence entirely,
you can instead choose a piece of protective
gear from page 68.

R AYG U N , S T E P A
d6 1–3 4–6
1 particle maser
2 proton neutron
3 laser reality
Gravity Glove. 4 mass feedback
5 photon danger

Zerobeam. 6 gravity zero

R AYG U N , S T E P B
d6 1–3 4–6
1 ray bow
2 beam wave
3 blaster pistol
4 visor projector
Proton Neutron 5 arc cannon
Projector. Pistol.
6 wand glove

61
 G R I P C O LO U R GRIP CUT
Your board d6 1–3 4–6 d6 1–3 4–6
The Nth gear board created slugblasting as we know it. 1 classic black 1 solid
Hoverboards had been around as dorky novelty toys for
2 red yellow 2 stripe band
a few years, and Popularian teens had been sneaking
3 blue orange 3 word pattern
into other dimensions for a while using other methods,
4 purple green 4 logo messy
but the moment those two bored surf rats invented the
Nth gear, everything changed. 5 pink white 5 mosaic design
6 clear hologram 6 painted torn
This new board had something other hoverboards
didn’t. Feel. You could feel the contours of spacetime DECK GRAPHIC
under your feet, hear the board cut slush in decadent d6 1–3 4–6
ASMR waves. The world was your skatepark—rocks 1 unpainted solid colour
and rough streets paved over by smooth, undulating
2 rad design name of a sponsor
blankets of spacetime. Curbs became kickers and walls
3 cool image dope pattern
became quarter pipes. You could snowboard in summer,
4 custom paint job sticker collage
surf indoors, and skateboard on the grass.
5 signed by someone programmable display

But there was more, of course. Riders soon discovered
that with the right speed and angle they could plunge
through the thin spacetime membrane around portal-
zones. If the Nth gear hoverboard was like skateboard-
ing’s urethane wheel, then this was like the Z-boys first
skating an empty swimming pool.
6 hilarious slogan (see table on page 69)
OT H E R O P T I O N S
Slugblasting may have started with hoverboards,
but it’s grown well beyond that.

BMX bikes with adaptive hardlight wheels have

H OV E R B OA R D S 1 0 1
● Go fast over solid terrain, hovering somewhere be-
tween 3–12 inches above the ground, depending on
the foaminess of spacetime in that area.
● These hoverboards don’t use magnets or turbines.
Instead they carve and slide over the invisible drifts
of spacetime slush that cover the landscape.
● Many hoverboards have some form of propulsion, or
at least inertial-sweepers to amplify your pushes.
● You can’t fly on your hoverboard, but you can usual-
ly jump pretty high (10–15 feet) with a good run up,
and higher if you have something to use as a ramp.
● In general you can probably do whatever a fairly
good snowboarder or skateboarder could do.
become a mainstay, powered sneakers and
repurposed Hardecker® jump-packs basically
birthed a fully-formed culture of interdimensional
freerunning, and hardlight inline skates (known
commonly as laserblades, after Wilkie’s® break-
out brand) gained long-overdue respect after
Chihiro Muñoz bombed a Lazy Bunny stream with
her legendary stalefish 900.
By board or bike, by jet-chair or scooter, as long
as you have a way to go fast and make portals,
you’re a slugger. So feel free to cross out hover-
board and write in something else.

62
d6 1– street 2- mcfly 3- manta 4- bigfoot 5- oldschool 6- slush

1-2

1- penny 2- nickel 3- gert 4- bomb 5- drift 6- wave

3-4

1-2
bmx
5-6
3-4
laserblades
5-6
freerunners
 Other Gear
And of course, you have a whole bunch of other junk.
A security cluster of slugblasting gear and teenage
detritus that’s always with you, shoved into a knapsack
alongside your homework, phone charger, chocolate bar
wrapper collection, and that super cute nail polish you
stole from the drugstore.
GRAPPLING HOOK
A pistol-sized launcher that fires an anti-negafriction
dart which sticks firmly to most surfaces until switched
off. The dart is attached to a hundred feet of lightweight
carbon-fibre cable, which can be retracted via the
launcher’s micro-winch. (Costs 1 coil.)
S PAC E T I M E A M P I M E T E R
Allows you to measure spacetime thickness in your
vicinity, which can help you find thin-zones and oth-
er quantum abnormalities. Available as a standalone
device or as a smartphone dongle. Also grants +1d6 to
Portal Discovery beats. (Costs 1 disc.)
M U LT I V E R S A L M A P S
Local terrain maps for a number of worlds, overlaid and
gridded, allowing you to figure out exactly which part
of that vampire nest you’re going to portal right into.
Available in a bizarrely-folded waterproof hardcopy for
the exceptionally paranoid. (Costs 1 disc.)
SMALL DRONE
Can be controlled manually via a difficult-to-use app,
or programmed to fly in predictable patterns or keep a
subject in sight. Useful for scouting, filming stunts, carry-
ing less than a kilogram, and running out of power right
when it’s 400 feet out over a lake of acid. (Costs 1 disc.)
64
A spacetime
ampimeter, various
repair tools, and
H AC K I N G TO O L S that salvaged
May include an advanced handset or hacking
mech arm you’re
not sure what to
gauntlet, as well as an arsenal of data spikes, do with.
keyloggers, transceivers, rippers, cloners,
proxies, packet dumps, brute-force salvos, and
old-fashioned lock picks. (Costs 1 disc.)
R E PA I R TO O L S
May include soldering irons, laser torches, screwdrivers,
ratchets, tweezers, skate-tools, multimeters, oscillo-
scopes, decoiling pliers, astral bolts, duct tape, and
various spare parts needed to repair, salvage, or modify
tech away from home. (Costs 1 coil.)
PRO CAMERA GEAR
Covers a variety of DSLRs, vintage film cameras,
chest-mounted action cams, shoulder-mounted 3D
video rigs, advanced drone attachments (drone sold
separately) and anything else better or different than
your phone’s camera. (Costs 1 lens.)
 G ea r

Items in this column can be obtained

via certain perks. See page 74.
MASK
You can’t hoverboard if you can’t breathe! A slug-
blaster’s mask is as unique as their wallet or cellphone
case. They can look like bandannas, medical masks,
gasmasks, gaiters, hockey masks, Halloween masks,
and motocross helmets, all with enough nanofilters, CO₂
scrubbers, and oxygen lattice built in to keep you vap-
ing nature’s own wherever you are. (Costs 1 coil, 1 lens.)
P E E L B AC K K I T
Peelback accidents are traumatic events, even for
the pliable teenage brain, and a peelback kit (usually
consisting of a coherence rod, mouthguard, seizure and
nausea tablets, stable pattern flashcards, etc.) can make
all the difference should a friend be unlucky enough to
experience one—and you’re lucky enough to get back
to them in time. (Costs 1 disc, 1 coil.)

HAZWEAR B AC K U P P O R TA L I N G D E V I C E
The problem with portals is you might not know what’s Bad things can happen to a hoverboard. You could
on the other side. Will there be air? Will it be toxic? Will shoot it out near a bottomless pit, focus it in a fit of rage,
it be thrumming with radiation or piled on top of you for or lose it to an aggressive Rescue officer. Cautious
miles and kilometres creating a dozen atmospheres of slugblasters might like to know they have second way
organ-stomping pressure? Who knows! That’s the fun home. Covers compound-energy photospheres, spare
of it. And you can enjoy it all with the various skinsuits Nth gears, splat-hatches, etc. (Costs 1 lens.)
and motocross-inspired hazwear available for you really
serious slugblasters to decorate with cartoon characters
and spill iced coffee on. (Costs 2 coils.)
The original prototype for
LO G I C B I N D E R
the Woolner spacetime
unraveller, an advanced
Logic Binders are arcane devices that allow you to exist portaling tool.
safely in universes with different physical laws than your
own, keeping your reality intact long enough for you to
get yourself killed in a more comprehensible way. They
can look like a remote control, a piece of odd metallic
jewelry, or a glittering cloth patch sewn onto your denim
jacket. (Costs 1 disc, 1 gem.)

A D VA N C E D P O R TA L T E C H
Thin-zones without thin enough spacetime are known
as “doubles” and “triples,” and using them requires
special cutting-edge technologies such as portal drills,
slip foam, spacetime unravellers, or fancy Nth gear
upgrades. Also grants +1d6 to Portal Discovery beats.
(Costs 1 gem, 1 coil.)

65

H A R D E C K E R ® S LU D G E F L A R E S
Over 600 cubic feet and 4.5 eventual tons of patented
Solidifying Liquid Ultra-Dense Grappling Expansion
packed into an 8-inch, 14-ounce baton, originally de-
signed for various mining applications. Crack the stick,
stand back, and watch a shipping container worth of
sticky hi-viz foam gush out. Pack of two. (Costs 1 coil.)
MASER GRENADES
Great for swarms of bloodwhips, better for swarms of
popcorn, maser grenades explode into hot fields of
microwave radiation that cook anything inside. And
hey, contrary to popular belief, microwave radiation is
non-ionizing, meaning it won’t cause cancer, only blister-
ing, deadly burns! Pack of two. (Costs 1 gem.)
THE FUST® MIX
A quantum compact disc full of songs curated by FUST
music snobs. From remixes and covers of familiar hits,
to originals that were never released in this dimension,
you’ll always have the right song for any occasion.
(Costs 1 disc.)
W I L K I E ’ S ® G R AV I T Y S T I C K E R S
These collectors items were printed as entrance swag
for an infamous Wilkie’s-sponsored zero-g rave. Few
remain. The graviton-rich adhesive in each palm-sized
holographic sticker nullifies 500 lbs of weight from what-
ever it’s slapped on. Pack of three. (Costs 1 gem.)
F U S T ® S TA S I S S T I C K E R S
Originally made to quality-seal pizza boxes, these stasis
stickers use tachyonic positrons (aka pause-itrons) to
slow entropy in any < 300 lb object they’re stuck to.
Pizzas stay hot, gelato stays frozen, people stay young
and utterly unconscious. Pack of three. (Costs 1 lens.)
66
Use the mop
attachment for a
nice controllable drip.
HARDLIGHT MARKER
This thick, chisel-tip pen lays down a stream of solidified
photons. Pop the cap, select the colour with a clicky
twist ring, then draw with hardlight paint that floats im-
movably in empty space and is about as strong as tem-
pered glass. Useful for prototyping, temporary repairs,
and innovative graffiti writing. (Costs 1 lens, 1 coil.)
SMART CORD™
One of FUST’s most popular products. This cordial cord
is one hundred feet of dynamic nylon rope, woven with
neural strings. Does rope stuff autonomously like tying
knots, affixing to high places, etc. Give it simple voice
commands and it does the rest. Warning: screams if you
cut it. (Costs 1 coil, 1 disc.)
B E A M F I LT E R
A beam filter attaches to your raygun, allowing you to
not only adjust the energy type, but also dramatically
reskin the way it looks. Change the colour, sculpt the
texture, make it look like a stream of glitched-out neon
birds, whatever. (Costs 1 disc, 1 lens.)
PA N I C E N E R GY ® F U E L- L I N E
A 42 oz plastic cup of energy that never ends! PANIC
claims the quantum lens in the cup jacks straight into
their experimental R&D department, full of new flavours.
But many suspect it actually syncs with the spill trough
of the nearest PANIC soda fountain. (Costs 1 lens.)
AU G B A N D
This headband (also available as a ballcap) projects fun
photo filters onto your face. Express yourself with silly
dog ears, make your skin look as smooth as single-use
plastic, or attempt to pass yourself off as an entirely
different, better person. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)
 PA R T I C L E B O N D T I G H T S
A bit too cold out for a dress? A bit too hot out for pants?
A bit too monstery out in general? Wiggle your stems
into these classic nanomaterial everydays, and go live
your best life, ya know? Nope scrapes, bites, and other
lacerations for only 1 trouble. (Costs 1 lens, 1 coil.)
K N O C K- O F F S C R A M C AT ® T E E
If you look close it says “Scram Rat,” but that won’t stop
this shirt from deflecting lasers just as well as the real
thing for half the cost. Okay, almost as well as the real
thing. Fine, 50% as well. I guess you get what you pay
for, and you paid to get hit by twice as many lasers. You
do you, man. Nope slams from lasers and other electro-
magnetic energy for only 1 trouble. (Costs 2 gems.)
pronounced
AW F B R AC E L E T “off bracelet”
An Anti-Wet Field generator uses diamagnetics to repel
water, something found plentifully in most living things.
Keep slugs off your back, keep mud out of your eyes,
and get a little personal space. Nope slime, tentacles,
and mouths for only 1 trouble. (Costs 2 coils.)
Particle bond
spandex.
68
3 D - P R I N T E D A B L AT I N E
The multi-layered carbon compounds in Ablatine are
engineered to crumple, vaporize, melt, fragment, and
shatter instead of the wearer’s precious, changing body.
Avoid one slam from physical damage for free. Resets
during your next In the Lab beat. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)
M I P E R ® E S C A P E B AG
This single-use emergency device is a big hit with
parents. When you would be seriously injured, this
backpack instead expands and encloses you in an em-
barrassingly massive sphere of cushioning material and
stable quarks that deposit you back in Null unharmed.
(Costs 1 coil, 1 disc.)
D U R AW E AV E JAC K E T
Your Duraweave jacket has a lifetime warranty for stan-
dard wear and tear, but literally nothing you’re doing in
it qualifies as standard so don’t get ahead of yourself.
Nope bruising, bludgeoning, and crushing for only 1
trouble. (Costs 1 disc, 1 coil.)
L I N K PATC H D U O
Sew one onto your jacket and give the other to a friend.
Arcane energy entangles your quanta, allowing you to
swap places within the same universe and communicate
telepathically (emoji only). If one of you peels back, the
other does too, and removing either patch hurts you
both. Set of two. (Costs 1 coil, 1 disc, 1 gem.)
S L A M PATC H
This iron-on patch absorbs a set amount of most types
of energy, including kinetic energy. Avoid one slam from
physical damage for free. Once used, the patch fades to
greyscale, functionally inert but now valuable as a form
of street cred. (Costs 1 lens, 1 disc.)
 G ea r

Stickers, Pins, The amazing Cya Bear courtesy

patches, etc.
S LO G A N
Stickers, pins, patches, and other
expressive wearables are essential
among teenage slugblasters, who
use them to articulate their iden-
tity, align themselves tribally, and
demonstrate credibility and status.
● Use these tables for ideas and
inspiration!
● Where do you put it? What
does it say about you? How do
you feel about that?
ORIGIN
1 you bought it
2 someone gave it to you
3 you stole it
4 you made it yourself
5 you got it for free as swag
6 something else
FORM
1 sticker
2 iron-on patch
3 button / enamel pin
4 t-shirt / sweatshirt / hat
5 phone case
6 hoverboard deck graphic
Albert Einstein with his tongue out
11
doing the hang loose sign
“Skate and/or Die” w/ an image of
12
a dead cartoon cat in a box
“Bohrder” w/ a picture of Niels
13
Bohr on a hoverboard
14 “Slugblasting is Not a Crime’’
15 “Crush the Waveform’’
“Dream On’’ w/ map of Quahalia
16 that displays the viewer’s last
dream or nightmare
21
“Focus’’ w/ a picture of a broken
hoverboard
“Tough to Peel’’ w/ the image of a
22
navel orange
23 “Just Violating Physics Byeeeee’’
Allie Gater doing a kickflip in a
24
wedding dress
25 “Own the Zone”
“ALT’’ w/ image of a holographic
26 face that changes slightly each
time it’s viewed
“McTriple’’ in reference to the
31 high-difficulty portal-zones called
triples among slugblasters
“Maxed Out” w/ a portrait of Max
32 Planck firing lightning bolts from
his mouth
33 “Not From Around Here’’
“Lawbreaker’’ w/ image of Newton
34 getting a hoverboard broken over
his head
35 “Popularia or Bust”
A caffeinated scratch and sniff
36 PANIC Energy® drink can. The fla-
vour rotates daily. See page 130.
of beloved ultra-backer Travis
Michael DeVoll.
Cya Bear, lovable hoverboarding
41
kawaii icon
A Miper® sticker defaced with
42
sharpie
“Don’t Even Think About It” over
43
an infinity symbol
44 “Troubled Youth”
45 “No Points for Style’’
A pinup whose face shifts to look
46 just like the mom of whoever
views it
51
A pinup of Lazy Bunny’s mascot
Wift Wabbit wearing a gold chain
Stephen Hawking wearing shades
52
giving the middle finger
53 “Keep Slugblasting Weird”
“BRANE-IAC’’ w/ a portrait of
54
Edward Witten
55 “Secret Scooter Kid”
“Always Streaming” with a num-
56 ber that reflects current viewer-
ship of whatever account you link
A salt shaker, traditionally
61 considered to be good luck in
slugblaster culture
Two tattooed fists with enough
62 knuckles to spell out the entire
Woolner Unraveller Theorem
63 “Real Spacetime Has Curves”
“Coexist” w/ a picture of multiple
64 slightly different versions of the
same person
65 “Board to Death”
“Light Eater” w/ image of a salad
(the sticker’s glittery surface
66
works as a solar panel to slowly
charge whatever it’s applied to)

69
 Make 1 brand
Whether it’s how you consciously present your-

your
selves, or just how people think of you, your
brand can help set you apart. Pick two.
The Guts has final say.

● Shredders. +3 crew style after

You can wait to
pick until after
runs where you race, chase, or your first run.

crew
land x-treme tricks. You also get a
● Hackers. +3 crew style after runs chance to rebrand
where you salvage parts or mess when you become
with tech.
Up & Comers.
● Good Kids. +3 crew style after
runs where you help others or take
a stand.

(crew creation) ●

●
Punks. +3 crew style after runs where you
leave your mark or make a statement.
Partiers. +3 crew style after runs where you
throw a party or have a good time.
● Weirdos. +3 crew style after runs where you
take an unconventional approach.
● Couriers. +3 crew style after runs where you

But this isn’t the story ●

of some assorted kids
with rayguns. It’s the ●
deliver something.
Ultranauts. +3 crew style after runs where
you find a new world or deal with dimension-
al weirdness.
Underdogs. +3 crew style after runs where
you get in over your heads.

story of a crew. A crew

of best friends, starting HYPE!
A shared resource. Do it for the crew and

as slugblasting nobodies boost or kick as needed! Some perks can

unlock more.

and becoming legends.

70
 C r ew C r ea t i o n

2 Hangout 5 The Map

Sorry kids, you can’t always be in another reality. So The multiverse is a tapestry of worlds connected by a
where do you hang out when you’re not? Pick two. The maze of portals—s­cene secrets exchanged by word of
Chill has final say. mouth and posted in online forums like cheat codes.
You’ve pooled your knowledge to sketch out some start-
ing routes. Each of you draws a one-way portal between
d6 1–3 4–6 two neighbouring worlds. The Smarts draws two.
1 the gas station The Video Hut
2 Burger Man the hoverboard park I suggest making
3 a classroom the school cafeteria sure you have a
4 Make-Out Park an abandoned building
route back home,
too.
5 someone’s garage a church basement
6 detention somewhere else

3 starting perk
Your crew is just forming, but you’re not full newbs.
You’ve read the magazines, tagged along with the older
kids, and have some hand-me-down gear. Pick either
Masks or Advanced Portal Tech. The Grit has final say.

4 Factions
You’re new on the scene, but you do have a few bud-
ding friendships and rivalries.

● The GM picks a faction already in your way (−1).

● The Grit picks a faction that trusts them (+1).
● The Guts picks a faction they’ve already somehow
annoyed (−1 or −2, you choose).
● The Smarts picks a faction they’ve studied (+1).
● The Heart picks a faction that a friend or family
member is part of (+1 or −1, you choose).
● The Chill picks a faction they know from being in
the right place at the right time (+1).
● The GM picks any faction they want (−1 or +1).

71
 6 name your crew CREW NAME IDEAS
11 includes a number 2dope, Sip 63
12 includes a colour Purple Boyz, Yellowtime
The hardest step. Relax. Use these tables for ideas, and
13 an entire sentence Have Fun or Die Trying
take a run or two to decide if needed. But remember, if
14 celebrity spoonerism Hony Tawk
you don’t name yourself, the community eventually will.
15 celebrity pun Rodney Nullin’
And it won’t be great. The Heart has final say.
16 has “The” at the front The Moment, The Grips
21 “Hillview’s _____” Hillview’s Worst
C O LO U R S 22 adjective adjectives Wet Reds
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 23 anagram of your initials MORPHS
1 black white grey 24 a line from a movie or book All-Powerful & All-Stupid
2 red yellow blue 25 swap S for Z, Ex for X, etc. The X-Truzz
3 orange green purple 26 includes suffix 5 House, Portal Girls
4 pink violet teal 31 word with vowels removed MLTVRS
5 turquoise indigo magenta 32 word spelled wrong Phreak Owt
6 brown rainbow clear 33 word repetition Slugs Slugs Slugs
34 based on hangout spot Hut Rats, Cafeteria
35 onomatopoeia Bamf Springs, SPLAT!
LETTERS & NUMBERS 36 a little alliteration Grom Grinders
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 41 rad assonance Chill Billions
1 A B C D E F 42 nonsense word Grankle, Smatchy, Flur
2 G H I J K L 43 portmanteau Loverboarders
3 M N O P Q R 44 super short IV, SK8, !!!
4 S T U V W X 45 inside joke you never explain Yogurt, Ritz Made Sick
5 Y Z 1 2 3 4 46 a single concrete noun Milk, Gravel, Light
6 5 6 7 8 9 0 51 a single abstract noun Exposure, Calculus
52 based on last emojis you sent Real Cool Heartbreak
53 based on the snacks here Nacho Universe
SUFFIXES 54 noun & noun Scab & Solder
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 55 acronym you figure out later DOPE, BIP
1 crew collective disaster 56 acronym that includes an x SMX, LXNX
2 gang posse project 61 a verb The Shredding, Nullify!
3 squad army/mafia experience 62 random wikipedia topic Wisconsin, K-Theory
4 team house society 63 clandestine religious reference Nothin’ New
5 boarders locals underground 64 needless abbreviations The Huv Bs
6 boys/girls/kids monsters slugblasting, inc. 65 first pet + mom’s maiden name Punky Cunningham
66 rhyme time Drip & Rip

72
 -
­ ----
-----
-----
-----
-----
-----
-----

Sermon N
“Let the s otes
ea resoun
the world, d , and every
and all wh thing in it
o live in it ,
” - Psalm
98:7 Grace Fe
llowshi
Church
 Aren’t you those kids
fame from that video? LOL
that was sick!
What’s good, dawgz.
Hear about that rail
As you play, you and your teammates can spend style to
work your way from Tier 0 Nobodies all the way to Tier 5 burn over in Priz?
Legends. Each tier comes with some immediate benefits
and also unlocks new perks you can purchase.

Burn bright, my babies.

1 W E L L- E S TA B L I S H E D
(7 style). The scene knows you
2
NOBODIES 0
You’ve been casually slugblasting
UP & COMERS
(5 style). You have people’s
attention, and now they’ll decide
if they care.
now. You’ve earned your right to
be here.

● +1 and −1 with two neutral

a little while. You know how to
hoverboard, you know how to get
into a couple worlds, but no one
knows who you are.
PERKS
PERKS
● Masks (2 style). Colourful
nanomaterial air filters. Survive
in Haz 1 worlds. Page 65.
● Advanced Portal Tech (2
style). Portal through thicker
zones. Page 65.
Who are you? Sure,
whatever. Just stay
out of our way, groms.
74
factions.
● +1 to opportunities. ● Gain 1 free two-way portal.
● +1 to challenges.
● Rebrand, if needed.
PERKS
● Logic Binders (3 style).
Protect your math and survive
● Hazwear (2 style). Hazwear Haz 3 worlds. Page 65.
suits in a variety of styles.
Survive Haz 2 worlds. Page ● Small-Press Merch (4 style).
65. T-shirts, stickers, pins, patches,
etc. +1 hype.
● Sticker Spotted (4 style). Your
crew’s name in a lasting loca- ● Improved Hangout (4 style).
tion. +1 legacy each. Move in to an off-world skate
shop, pizza place, test lab, etc.
● Protective Fans (5 style).
Loyal clapback artists and ● Diehard Fans (5 style.) Fans
lookouts. Reroll challenges. that will wear your merch in
the casket. +1 legacy each.
● Blurb (5 style). A pass-
ing mention in Slugblaster
Magazine. +1 with two
factions.
 FAME

Think they’ll show? I heard y’all are blowing

up! Don’t forget us when
Not much of a party you’re famous, girl.
if they don’t!
4 LEGENDS
5
(11 Style). You did it. You’re slug-

M A J O R P L AY E R S
3
(9 Style). You get name-dropped
R I S I N G S TA R S
(9 Style). Buzz and excitement
surround you. Everyone is watch-
ing closely.
blasting icons and the scene will
never forget you. Even your mom’s
friend Deborah knows you’re
famous for “hockey or rapping
routinely and everyone has an or something” and no one can
opinion on you. ● +1 to opportunities. say you didn’t do something with
● +1 to challenges. your lives not that you were trying
● Four factions move further ● +1 hype. prove that, right?)
from neutral.
● Gain a third brand.
PERKS
● Quantum Hangout (5 style).
PERKS An upgraded hangout spot in Did you hear they
● Name on a Shoe (5 style). your own private demiplane. met DJ Dollarz?
A custom shoe, hoverboard
deck, etc. +1 hype. ● Image Rights (5 style). Your
own action figures, video Sellouts.
● Eponymous (5 style). A route, game skins, etc. +1 legacy each.
spot, trick, etc. named after
the crew. +1 legacy each. ● Screaming Fans (5 style.) A OMG we go to school
● Article (5 style). An article in
teeming hoard of groupies and
stans. +1 hype.
with, like, celebrities.
Slugblaster Magazine, etc. +1
with two factions. ● Cover Story (5 style.)
Featured in Slugblaster Pfft. They aren’t
● Tastemaker Fans (5 style.)
Influencers, industry peeps,
Magazine. +1 legacy each. even that good.
etc. +2 style per run.
Did you hear my son is
famous? Yep, he’s on the
I liked their internet and everything!
early stuff.
75
UH OH.
Teenagers aren’t allowed anywhere, huh?
They’re kicked from playgrounds and driven
from corner stores with ultrasonics. Parents
nag them to leave the house, then wonder
where they were. But out there, beyond a
curtain of spacetime, is a place you and your
friends can just exist without it being called
loitering. Where a Kid Can Be A Kid™, as long
as A Kid Isn’t Eaten By Monsters™.
YOUR WORLD, OTHER WORLDS, AND
E V E R Y T H I N G T H AT L I V E S I N B O T H
your
world
(where you live)
The multiverse is an infinite
tapestry of worlds in every
possible combination. And
even though so many of
these worlds feature twelve-
colour rainbows and edible
starlight, you had to be born
here. In Null. The Plane of
Teenage Boredom.
78
Null
The Universe of Null is fantastically
boring—a desaturated, bland world of
tax returns and life insurance, vanilla ice
cream and talk radio.
A world of beige lawns, brownish snow
and a dozen shades of taupe plastic
siding. A world of two-hour Sunday after-
noon drives to your great aunt’s house,
with nothing to do but eat stale mints out
of a garage-sale candy dish.
A world so unspectacular that the neigh-
bouring universes almost missed it,
mistaking it for part of the ocean of dead
dimensional nothingness it borders, and
only making contact recently.
A world of big flat patches of grassland
called (get this) The Great Plains, where
a lonely sun and a single moon made of
grey rock move predictably through a big
empty sky. Where you can drive for hours
without needing to touch the steering
wheel.
And somewhere near the forgotten top of
that unremarkable prairie, in the middle
of nowhere, hundreds of kilometres from
some unimportant city, is a little town
called Hillview.
Despite what you’d think, it’s not
called Hillview because it sits atop
a hill providing stunning vistas. It’s
called Hillview because you can see a
hill from there.
 YOUR W ORLD

Hillview T H E R E A L H I L LV I E W
Hillview was founded by pleasant, easily impressed Hillview is based on my own small hometown of
farmers, who were seduced by the loam and spent the Three Hills, Alberta.
next hundred years growing wheat, pumping oil, and
rolling out fresh preachers from its seminary school. I loved growing up in Three Hills, but I knew oth-
ers who didn’t feel that way at all. Kids who felt
Things changed more recently, when DARA surveyors isolated, trapped, unaccepted, and bored out of
discovered that Hillview’s remarkably thin spacetime their minds. Kids who couldn’t wait to leave, and
fabric and distance from important population centres would have done anything to escape into cooler
would make it the perfect location for a big, expensive, dimensions. I tried to channel that while creating
potentially volatile particle physics lab. this exaggeratedly boring version of the little
town I love so much.
But despite the population bump, Hillview is still a town
of just a few thousand, where you can walk from one But Hillview isn’t the only place in Null with thin-
end to the other in twenty minutes and be offered a zones and bored teenagers. Check out page
ride by passing neighbours three times along the way. 82 for some alternate hometowns by guest
Where the summer evenings are long and cool, and writers, based on places from their childhoods!
you can ride your bike until 11 pm before the streetlights
even come on. Where the houses are modest and well-
priced and there’s lots of good jobs.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
A friendly town where you can put down roots and raise ● multiple neighbours ● chainlink fence
a family, which is, of course, exactly what 16-year-olds offer you a ride ● a soccer field during
care about most. ● Doorways protest practice
● one of your parents ● a sofa being loaded
shows up or calls you into a moving truck
TECH LEVEL ● someone from your ● packed playground
It took decades for the invention of the internet mom’s book club ● the trailer park, an old
to change the average person’s life in a tangible ● your narc little brother trampoline
way, to go from research paper to specialized ● off-duty teacher ● two freaks smoking in
technology to novelty item to something your ● on-duty RCMP officer Make-Out Park
mom uses to buy paper towel. In the same way, ● another crew visits ● drainage ditch
Null is in the uneven nascent stages of a new and it’s so humiliating ● your dad leaving his
era, where it’s perfectly normal for slugblasters ● your crush is here job at the gravel yard
to own hoverboards and pocket-sized atom ● unannounced DARA ● school bus full of
smashers, but also perfectly normal for the rest Rescue division train- wide-eyed normies
of Hillview to drive diesel pickup trucks, cook ing exercise ● Cst. Plett’s patrol car
hashbrown casseroles in crock pots, and not be ● invasive species from
too sure about this whole multiverse thing. another world
The GM can use
these lists to create exciting
scenes and chases in Hillview.
79
 1. Grain Elevators. Towering wooden relics, where
wheat was siloed then loaded it into train cars
through long, tempting chutes.
2. Gravel Yard. Large sloping heaps of aggregate,
well-secured by a broken chainlink fence.
3. Hillview Aquatic Centre. This indoor pool is the
epicentre of Hillview’s nightlife. Family swim ends
at 7 pm. Closed semi-annually to be drained and
cleaned.
4. Hillview Rinks. Hockey and curling. Off-season
they become showfloors for the weekend farmer’s
market and an annual multiversal trade fair.
The Wilkie’s
booth gives
5. Water Tower. Hillview’s most cherished free samples!
vestigial monument, lit up each Christmas,
climbed by bored teenagers each April, and used
by local sluggers as a meta-navigational landmark.
6. Mission Bible Institute. A small, diverse college
developing the latest in youth pastor technology.
7. Hoverboard Park. In the dead of winter, dedicated
skaters settle for wooden ramps in an old MBI gym-
nasium that is a few degrees warmer than outside.
Skating is paused at 7 pm for a five-minute Godtalk.
8. Gas Top. A default muster point for Hillview’s
teens. Get a slush, get some potato wedges, flip
through an issue of Slugblaster Magazine without
buying it, try to buy vape with your sister’s ID.
9. Big Sub. Hillview’s first real fast-food chain, just like
the ones in the city! Under construction.
10. Police Station. While most dimensional matters
are handled by DARA, general community safety is
still handled by this small local RCMP detachment.
80
11. Burger Man. Hard ice cream, mushroom burgers, a
table of retirees reading Coffee News Bulletin.
12. The Video Hut. This cultural hub rents movies,
game consoles, and well-used slugblasting gear.
Have it back by 5 pm the next day, and don’t forget
to rewind the amp-coils!
13. The Food Cellar. This local grocery monopoly
employs most of Hillview’s teenage workforce,
who spend eternal 4-hour shifts stocking shelves,
dreaming about portals, and flirting during close.
14. Hillside Lanes. The glow-bowl night at this 5-pin
bowling alley is the closest Hillview gets to a Invented
club scene. Bring a date, crash a youth
in Canada!
group, get a slice of Hawaiian pizza. Weird, right?
15. McLeod’s Hardware. The sporting goods aisle is
the only place in town to buy a hoverboard.
16. Grace Fellowship Church. The largest of Hillview’s
fourteen churches, and the birthplace of both
Doorways and its young, hip offshoot, Wayz.
17. Hillview School. Draw Punnett squares, read
Othello, build a plasmic lens in DARA’s youth sci-
ence outreach program, sit through Ms. Theissan’s
anti-slugblasting assembly. No skating in the halls!
18. DARA Research Facility. See page 125.
19. Hillview Health Centre. Your local slam shop. This
small hospital has good pie, a friendly maintenance
man, and at least one slugblaster waiting in the ER.
20. Dump. This landfill collects Hillview’s trash in large,
sloping pits, along with unshredded documents,
old computers, and strange scrap from DARA’s lab.
Lindsay Reimer found a brand new MZ5 in there!
 bonus hometowns
Oakmont Park
By Jeremy J. Harper, inspired by Black urban neigh-
borhoods that are full of love but deprived of oppor-
tunities—places like Germantown in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
People who don’t live here don’t get it, but you know
all about life in Oakmont Park. About pick-up games,
Rita’s water ice, and the smell of your auntie’s per-
fume. About row houses, family cookouts, and so much
music. But you also know about your cousin upstate
who was denied parole, and teachers that don’t look
like or care about you. About impossible situations and
desperate choices. About vigils. And marches. And
wishing you could find the answer to help your com-
munity get free.
But what if the answer isn’t here to be found? What
if it’s out there? And you gotta free yourself to find it?
Well, then it’s time to lace up your antigravity J’s, hop
on your hoverboard, and crash through the hyperspace
barrier.
F E AT U R E S Will one day inspire the
“sandwich theory” of
● BJ’s Steaks. One of the best multiversal structure.
jawns for cheesesteaks.
● Dilapidated public housing projects.
● Kingsley Park. The playground’s a mess, but the
basketball court is still much loved.
● The neighborhood gang that offers more protec-
tion than the police ever have.
● The Oakmont Park Jail. Full of poor folks with mi-
nor charges who can’t afford bail.
82
Oceano
By Kristin Devine, inspired by the coastal and agri-
cultural city of Oxnard, California and its surrounding
cities Ventura, Camarillo and Santa Paula.
Oceano is a flat, coastal town nestled between several
larger, and better-known coastal cities. It is home to
one outdoor mall, a downtown that nobody under the
age of 50 visits, and the annual Strawberry Harvest.
If you want to see a new movie or go shopping for
clothes even remotely in fashion you have to drive two
towns over and cross the hill. Weekends in Oceano are
spent cruising down 5th Ave. and Spartan, hanging out
at the mini golf course, or enjoying long days at the
beach, if the local surfers allow you to.
Oceano is pretty quiet, with an undercurrent of sad-
ness. There are not many well-paying jobs and its
crime rates are much higher than its surrounding cities.
Folks tend to either surrender to living here for their
whole lives or they start planning their escape minutes
after graduation from high school.
F E AT U R E S
● The city college (“Go Armadillos!”) that hosts the
town’s largest event each year, the Strawberry
Harvest.
● Angelo’s Taco Stand.
● Lucy’s Go-Kart Racing and Mini-Golf.
● Silver Line Beach, which is home to many local
pods of surfers.
● Oceano Harbor Village that tries its hardest not to
call itself part of Oceano.
 YOUR W ORLD

Kingsport greatwood
By Michael Pelletier, inspired by cities such as By Cass Rea, inspired by formative years in the sprawl-
Baltimore (Maryland), Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), ing, doomed glory that is Sugarland, Texas.
Portland (Maine), and Lowell (Massachusetts)
Several tedious hours of traffic outside the city, some-
Once a booming industry town, Kingsport remains only one thought it would be a good idea to turn a swampy
as a relic, overshadowed by more contemporary cities floodplain into a suburb. Welcome to Greatwood.
and reduced to a footnote in history.
Spoiler: the woods aren’t great. Deforested years ago,
Few of those who are born in Kingsport get a real young monoculture groves surround newly construct-
chance to escape. Entire generations have never set ed, cul-de-sac-laden neighborhoods. Ever-watchful
foot outside the city limits. Some are content with that, neighbors occupy spacious McMansions bordering an
or at least have convinced themselves that they are. overwatered 18-hole golf course. Ample parking and
mosquitoes await! Most adults are stuck in an endless
It’s as if downtown’s brick buildings hide a gravity commute to city jobs, the rest employed by the Rolling
anchor, keeping everyone close, or pulling them back Hills Sugar Factory, which does not appear to actually
after short stints in other cities. But you think that if produce sugar. Greatwood has every fast food chain
you can just go fast enough, go far enough, maybe there is, neatly contained within the greasy food court
you can really break free and find a place where things of a mall with perpetually broken air conditioning.
happen, instead of one where things once Allegedly, a kid once got eaten by a meta-gator trying
happened. Haunted? Or to ride the storm sewer drains, but if true that would be
fluctuating by far the most interesting thing to ever happen here.
portal-zone?
F E AT U R E S
● The crumbling Kingsmouth Lighthouse. F E AT U R E S
● The Owl Diner. ‘50s style, known for milkshakes ● An overzealous golf course security guard.
and breakfast sandwiches. ● Older kids sneaking onto the 13th hole at night.
● The musty Kingsport Library. ● The sugar factory silo’s pipe network hums slightly.
● The decrepit Kingsport State Mental Hospital. ● Fracking burn-off flickers just outside of town.
● King’s Chapel, an ancient burial site. ● Goth kids attempting a spell in the woods.
● Country club members appalled by fresh graffiti.
d6 Old Industry Worst Thing Best Thing ● Wanna-bes trying to skate the storm drains.
1 fishing gangs art scene
● That huge raccoon who can get into any dumpster.
● Your friend Luke just spilled his slurpee AGAIN.
2 shipping drugs food
● A lonely kid in the shade of a highway overpass.
3 textiles unemployment good schools
● Fiercely competitive church groups in the park.
4 coal/pyrite organized crime music scene
● Sweaty kids stuck on a school bus for hours.
5 quarry weather museums ● The never-finished neighborhood across the river.
6 papermaking gentrification national park ● that one smoggy but beautiful view of the city

83
 Greektown
For beloved Ultrabacker Shepherd
Cameron, inspired by his neigh-
bourhood in Toronto, Ontario.
Greektown’s teens hoverboard
all year round. Feet frozen in
their salt-stained skate shoes as
they launch off windrows left by
snowplows. Dodging potholes
and spraying old traction gravel
when the snow melts. Kickflipping
over construction barriers until the
snow returns two months later.
The good portal-zones in other
neighbourhoods are always too
crowded, but there are some
spots here only the locals know,
up on the top of the music hall and
old Greek restaurant-turned-phar-
macies-turned-cupcake-shops.
like “ketchup chip”
F E AT U R E S and “clean laundry.”
● Suckers Candy Co., a trusted
hangout and the only place in
the city that carries the weird-
er flavours of Pix Soda.
● The Big Slope. A huge hill
crowded with festival goers in
the summer and nine-year-old
tobogganers in the winter.
● A nasty twelve-kink rail at the
park with a higher body count
than texting while driving.
● Pottery Road, where
hill-bombers sacrifice their
lives for SPEED.
84
Todos os Santos
By Wendi Y., inspired by the city of
Salvador, Brazil.
First thing to know is that it’s TOO.
DAMN. HOT. HERE. Some kids are
privileged enough to have ACs,
but not you. If you wanna cool off
you can go to the beach or go to
the mall. Not much else to do here,
I’m afraid. Especially if you live on
the outskirts two buses away from
anywhere. Sure, it’s beautiful, but
that just means there’s loads of
tourists all year round. And have I
said that it’s hot here?
F E AT U R E S
● The beaches. If you like
surfing, welcome home. All
the good ones overflow with
sunscreen-smeared tourists.
● The Black Lake neighborhood,
where youth of all ages go to
dance and get wasted.
● The Old Town. The city’s colo-
nial past shows itself in large
baroque mansions. Parents
say it’s dangerous after dark.
That’s exactly why it’s got the
best parties.
● The Woman in Purple wanders
the streets, a violet ghost with
a hidden face. They say she’s
been here since the 19th cen-
tury. They say she’s grieving.
They say you should never
look under her veil.
Medina
By Ashley Moni, inspired by Dubai
and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab
Emirates.
A blinding blue cloudless sky,
punctuated by too many industrial
cranes. A world-famous tourist
town, apparently fun enough for
adults that they travel here from
all over the globe. But fun is for
rich foreign tourists, not kids from
migrant families like you.
Your parents don’t believe in giv-
ing you any money, but that’s okay
cause there’s nothing to spend it
on and no way to get anywhere
without public transit. So you loiter
in the stairwells of the fifteen-story
apartment building you and your
friends live in, or bike up and down
the multi-level parking lots until
the watchman chases you out.
F E AT U R E S
● The mosque nobody’s man-
aged to spot but everyone can
hear during its loudspeaker
prayer calls.
● The local sandlot where work-
ers keep building and tearing
down foundations on alternat-
ing weeks.
● The roadside shawarma joint
a few blocks behind your
building, in the territory of the
scary kids.

Northwood
By Laurie O’Connel, inspired by rural England and the
brilliant girls who grow up there.
The town has one bus in and out every day. The adults
don’t seem to mind, but you’ve always felt trapped
here, the city with its shopping centres and cafes
seeming less accessible every year. The skate park is
dominated by the lads—the older boys who know ev-
ery trick and always have the newest gear. Your group
hangs out elsewhere: in the playground, the chalk pits
outside town and, best of all, the well. Most days, you
don’t even care that you feel unwelcome in the skate
park, because the old cycle tunnel at the town’s edge
is where you get into alternate dimensions,
and the guys don’t know what they’re AKA when
missing. Calorium’s sun
finally dies.
F E AT U R E S
● Northwood Grammar (where students wear blazers
and have nicer stuff) and Northwood Secondary
(the school everyone else goes to).
● The Rec. A football pitch that’s mostly mud. A crick-
et square ruthlessly defended by the oldies. A tiny
skate park in the corner.
● The Cycle Tunnel. An old tunnel on the edge of
town, containing a massive graffiti mural of Shrek;
your path to somewhere else.
● The Lads. The older kids hanging around the skate
park. They don’t bully you, exactly, but they ignore
you in ways that make you feel self-conscious, and
you don’t feel comfortable with them.
● The Extras. That’s you: the queer kids, the mis-
fits, and the girls. You have to share your older
brothers’ boards between you. But you’ve found
freedom in fleeing to different dimensions—places
you can be yourselves, experience new things, and
escape the judgment of your peers.
YOUR W ORLD
Walkergate
By Daniel Charlton, inspired by the greatest place on
Earth. Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Proper geet big blocks of flats and council houses like.
Walkergate doesn’t have much going for it. Most of
the high street is boarded up but there’s a few charity
shops, a Pound-Savers and a chippy. The adults think
all the place has going for it is the handful of pubs, but
you know differently.
The tarmac paths are smooth as butter to skate on and
the scrapheap your dad got that new car door from is
full of all kinds of rubbish to tinker with. The green belt
between estates is a wondrous place. Not just because
you can escape your parents and explore abandoned
quarries, but because it’s packed with thin-zones. Just
get back in time for tea, otherwise you’re grounded
until hell freezes over.
F E AT U R E S
● Gradual sloping concrete staircases between a
block of two giant flats. Gazza got a great video of
him grinding the handrail here!
● If they didn’t want you to skate about the metro,
why did they make the floor so smooth? What you
mean it’s dangerous playing near the track? You’ll
move before the metro comes.
● The guard dog at the scrap heap looks like he’d rip
your face off but he’s super friendly. Remember the
time he pulled you around on your board?
● Drinking spot in the trees full of empties. What’s
9% mean and what makes this brew so “special”?
● Dirt bike race track you use with your push bikes. It
has the sickest jumps and hills!
● Random police sirens. Ha, they’re coming for you.
No they’re not! What are the other kids pretending
you’ve done?
85
 Fort George
By Thomas Manuel, based on the
city of Chennai, India.
A city can have more than 5 mil-
lion people and still be as silent as
a room after someone accidentally
lets one rip.
It’s hot here for nine months of
the year—so hot that sometimes
it feels like you’re an ant and the
gods have a magnifying glass and
a mean sense of humor. Around
lunch, the streets are deserted ex-
cept for those forced by their jobs
to trudge along. Everyone else is
indoors or huddling under whatev-
er shade they can find.
That’s the
But in the morning and funny thing
the evening? You can about home,
almost start to like isn’t it?
the place.
F E AT U R E S
● A beach where people hide
behind umbrellas when they
kiss
● A temple or mosque or church
around every corner
● One million apartments that
are under construction
● Cars and buses that don’t
follow traffic rules
● A river so muddy that the
dead bodies sometimes get
stuck
● A landfill
86
Baranek
By River Ray, based on a small
town in Poland’s Silesia region,
some distance away from the city
of Katowice.
Surrounded by farmland and
nestled between larger towns in
southern Poland, Baranek isn’t
an ideal place to grow up. And al-
though Poland is behind on some
slugblasting trends, even here
you’ll find bored kids with home-
made hoverboards and no sense
of self-preservation who are ready
to go portaling.
F E AT U R E S
● The Kill-Hills. Located on the
outskirts of town, these hills
are way too steep to safe-
ly skate or sled down from
(giving them the infamous
nickname), but they might just
be the best spot for a portal to
show up.
● The Palace. Located in the
park across the street from the
church, this old German palace
has since been turned into a
cultural center (as if you would
go there for that).
● The Kilns. Kids in Baranek
have few interesting hangout
options, and these old lime
kilns by the railway are often
where they butt up against
one another.
Kada Kada
By Jordan ‘Skelpie’ Clarke, and
based on Marla (South Australia),
and Alice Springs (Northern
Territory).
When the hot winds rise, dust
covers the outback town like a red
sheet. The locals spend their lives
sweating indoors and swearing at
the local wildlife. Everyone’s given
up on getting rid of the shell-back
lizards, which outnumber even the
flies. A couple dollars can be made
clipping the ticks off cattle, a few
more for shoveling crud.
You’ve got your teachers giving
lessons over the radio, so even
when you’re sick, you’re still
expected to attend class. Though
some kids realize teachers can’t
keep an eye on you (especially if
you bribe your younger brother to
act like you for a bit).
F E AT U R E S
● The Geology Museum, now
with a new particulate matter
display.
● Old Barry Wexter, who sells
roadkill puppets.
● The Red Mule, a spittoon sa-
loon (no children allowed).
● Woop Woop, out past the dirt
roads, where you can surf
on red dunes and find rare
thin-zones
other
worlds
(where you go
to have fun)
But just beyond the veil,
a few quanta to the left,
awaits your escape. Worlds
of fun and adventure.
Worlds of wonder and
treasure. Worlds of death
and madness and for some
reason all the bugs are the
size of garbage trucks?
88
infinite worlds
The multiverse is an infinite mosaic of
worlds, every combination of particle
in every different arrangement in every
stage of motion in every possible se-
quence. Everything, even the absurd and
unlikely, is happening somewhere. There
is no way to know it all, do it all, be the
best, or be unique. There are endless
worlds in the midst of tragic destruction
and endless worlds of unimaginable
utopia all at once and there is nothing
you can do to change that, even though
multiple yous have tried.
So why bother taking out the garbage?
Because even though there are endless
other worlds where you’ve already taken
out the garbage, never take out the
garbage, and die on the way to take out
the garbage, the fact is if you don’t take
out your garbage right here, in this world,
right this second mister, you’re going to
be grounded. So how do you want to
spend your Saturday?
Contemplating infinity can be humbling,
mentally stimulating, spiritually enrich-
ing, and perhaps even calming, but you
can’t think about everything everywhere
all at once, like, all the time. It causes
nosebleeds. In order to avoid sliding into
existential madness, slugblasters focus
on the “local multiverse”—twelve or so
nearby worlds clustered together like a
small planar continent, surrounded by a
desert of dead universes and a sea of
quantum noise.

A local multiverse
There are four worlds in this cluster with known hu-
man populations. Operaeblum, Popularia, and Thennis
Spar started an interdimensional relationship decades
ago, establishing trade, diplomacy, immigration, and
extra-planar development. Hardecker sends mining ves-
sels from Operaeblum to Prismatia through huge Planck-
energy burn-gates. Miper is constructing a trillion-dollar
multiversal train across the planar continent. The monks
and spiritualists from Thennis Spar claim to have been
traveling the multiverse for eons, and arcane relics
scattered across the planescape suggest they may not
have been the only ones. Null was, of course, late to this
whole party, its leaders completely overwhelmed by the
knowledge of interdimensional travel. Null’s teenagers,
however, figured it out pretty quickly.
Tearing Spacetime
Spacetime permeates every world and keeps it from
doing illogical things, like sloshing into neighbouring
universes. A field of math covering everything, thicker
in some places, thinner in others. Piling up in drifts like
snow. Collecting in pools like slush. Flowing in undulat-
ing waves and able to boil and froth.
Nth gear hoverboards are designed to ride these
curves, and innovative slugblasters have learned to
plunge through spacetime like a jet ski breaking the sur-
face tension of the water, exiting this world and leaving
a portal behind them.
● Most spacetime portals are temporary, usually last-
ing no longer than a few seconds before they cool,
shrink, and smooth back over.
● Creating a portal generally requires three things: an
action roll, a hoverboard or backup portal device,
and something called a thin-zone.
O t he r W o r l d s
thin-Zones
You can’t make a portal just anywhere. You need a spot
where the spacetime is thin enough. These thin-zones
(sometimes called portal-zones) are scattered across the
multiverse and hidden throughout town, each linked to a
specific neighbouring world. There’s a zone to Vastiche
in the park. Operaeblum has a mid-air outie at the end of
The Dropline. And you heard Sita fell out of The Golden
Jungle right in Ryan Paulson’s bedroom.
Some thin-zones are undiscovered, hidden, secret,
guarded, buried or blocked in some way. A spacetime
ampimeter can measure nearby spacetime, and experi-
enced hoverboarders say they can feel out spacetime
density by the way it affects their ride. Unlocking one of
these valuable spots might be a run itself. And of course,
some thin-zones are just not as thin as they should be.
These are what sluggers call “doubles” and “triples,” and
require special tech or skill to use.
D OW N T I M E B E AT !
Portal Discovery (2 style). Exploring, eaves-
dropping, crunching data, scouring old message
boards, etc.
Pick a world (A) that borders another (B) and roll
1d6 to see what kind of portal-zone you learn
about.
1 one-way to A 1 ...tricky to locate
2 one-way to B 2 ...a faction secret
3 one-way to A but it’s... 3 ...blocked or guarded
4 one-way to B but it’s... 4 ...very dangerous
5 two-way 5 ...only open sporadically
6 two-way but it’s... 6 ...too thick for basic tech
89
 one-way gates planar Hopscotch
Most of the portals you create in these thin-zones are You can’t reach every universe from yours, just the uni-
one-way. Yes, you can go to Vastiche from the park, but verses that border yours, dimensionally speaking. You
you need to find another way back once you’re there—a might travel through a few worlds to get to your final
specific portal-zone that goes to Null. destination, and then a few more to get home. To get
from Thennis Spar to Popularia, you’ll cut through The
One-way portals are gnarly. When you create one, you Waking Pits, zagging from thin-zone to thin-zone.
see nothing but a perfect, vantablack hole in space. No
sound, light, or matter can come back through from the Sometimes these zones are close together, and your
portal’s destination. If you put your hand in, you can’t stay in a connecting world is very brief (kids say there’s
pull it back out. You can’t even feel it, because your a shortcut through Desnine short enough to swim
brain can’t receive signals from your fingertips. Step without an oxygen mask). Other times you’ll find your-
through quickly so you don’t black out! self skating a kilometre through the jungle pursued by
mathpanthers just to get to your next thin-zone.
Once you’re through, that same portal looks very differ-
ent, like an open window into the world you just left, but A lot of slugblasters find all the 5-dimensional logistics
a window you can’t re-enter. Your hand passes through and dynamic route-planning their favourite part of the
it like it’s a hologram, a mirage of home. sport. You’ll often hear sluggers discussing paths and
routes in impenetrable jargon and slang, geeking out
about the kid from Thennis who did a 5-burn P2Q slide
cycle in under 3 minutes.
S O M E S LU G G E R S L A N G
● Peel. Short for “peel back.”
● Rip, Dip, Burn-Through, etc. Various terms
for creating and/or entering portals.
Fruits and vegetables are often used to describe
how prone to peelback a person is. As a result,
● Doubles/Triples. Areas where spacetime is slugblasting aesthetic has become increasingly
too thick to portal through by normal means. produce-based.
● Faithy. A run to a world you don’t have a
known way home from.
● Skating. Hold-over term for hoverboarding.
● Line. A skateboard term for a consecutive
trick path, now also used to describe a route
through multiple worlds.
● Grom. A young, annoying rookie slugblaster.
● Banana. Someone who peels back easily.
● Lime. Someone who doesn’t.
● Ripe. The haggard, unsettled feeling you get
when you’re close to peeling back.

90

Hostile environments
Because of quantum waveform probability echoing,
the topography of some worlds may seem familiar, but
almost everything else is likely way different.
Sure, it might have a field and a sky, just like Hillview
does, but here it’s a field of black glass and pink flame,
with a white sky so hot your bodily fluids expand quicker
than your skin. It may even be so different that your at-
oms separate, or a third of your dimensions blink out, or
your existence itself becomes utter nonsense under the
alien quantum laws of this new hellscape you decided to
pop your head into just for the lols.
These worlds come in a variety of hospitalities and may
require you to have masks (for toxic atmospheres or
deficient oxygen levels), hazwear suits (for extreme tem-
peratures, pressures, and radiation), or logic binders (for
worlds with different physical laws than your own).
O t he r W o r l d s
Peelback
Just as spacetime tends to sew itself back up, the
cosmic immune systems of these other worlds tend to
spit out foreign objects. If you go too far or stay out too
long eventually you’re forced back to your homeworld
through a traumatic process called “peeling back.”
On the one hand, this means that it’s unlikely you’re
ever stuck anywhere forever. On the other hand, peeling
back is so unbearably intense that many teenagers hang
up their boards after experiencing it. Without special
equipment, adults rarely survive at all.
Much is still unknown about peelback. Why does stress
seem to trigger it? Why does it only seem to affect life,
and not that keychain from Popularia? Why did Nicole’s
brother get flung into the astral plane for three weeks
and why can he read minds now?
91
 ? ?

you are
here
CALORIUM

OPER- NULL
? AEBLUM VASTICHE

EMPYR
EAN

POP
UL AR PRISMATIA THE
IA future THENNIS GOLDEN
m-train SPAR JUNGLE
THE W
? AKING
PITS ?

? (This surrounding
QUA DESNINE
blank space is a HA
sea of Noise. Check LIA
page 106.)

M A P T H E M U LT I V E R S E wtf
Theories come and go, but the
current general consensus is that (you can use a
the multiverse ripples out forever 3 little number
Draw arrows to label portal
in type 15 pentagonal tiling. between worlds complications
to mark a portal two-way one-way you’ve rolled )
92
 Pronounced

Vastiche
“Vas-TEESH.”
Chemical war badlands. Crumbling parkades, faded
billboards, and an abandoned megamall almost entire-
ly covered over with dunes of pink sand.
Greenish clouds smear Vastiche’s pale yellow sky. The
landscape is dry and jagged, the air smells like chlo-
rine and tastes like artificial sweetener—a byproduct of
some sort of chemical weapon used during whatever
global conflict turned this once-placid suburb into a
wasteland of concrete and exposed rebar. Nothing
grows here but roachweed and no one lives here
except the packs of tumorous coyotes that scrap and
cackle in the ravines.
Yeah, Vastiche sucks. But it’s easy to get to, relatively
chill, and adults have virtually zero commercial interest
in it—so it’s a good casual spot for when you can’t get
to someplace better, and for slugblasters who are still
getting a feel for the sport. Sure, it may be the bunny
hill, but it still has enough skate spots, blank walls,
military-grade salvage, and buried mysteries to make
for a fun weeknight.
Indicates
hazard level.
HAZ
F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Overpass. A river of abandoned cars rust
bumper to bumper on a mile of elevated freeway.
The windshields, on-ramps, and medians are fun
to skate and underneath you’ll find shade, graffiti,
empty cans, and hundreds of thrumming egg sacs.
● Rainbow Tank. Between the bombed-out remains
of two big-box stores is a pockmarked graveyard
of military vehicles, including a large battle tank
covered in years of spraypaint and railwax.
● The Secret Megamall. The dunes occasionally drift
enough to expose an entrance to this legendary
spot. There’s a food court, a mini-golf course, ex-
travagant water features hiding entire ecosystems
under a layer of thick chemical algae, and even
some alternate-reality stores and snack machines
that haven’t been picked over yet.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● a rival crew shows up ● maze of hoodoos
with the same idea ● collapsing billboards
● a category 5 caustic ● active minefield
storm brewing in the ● ragged canyon
distance ● piece of old on-ramp
a squadron of well- huge cement pipe
● ●

1 armed salvage crabs ● craters and gravel

B R I N G YO U R M A S K ● a dreadfly
Whatever happened here, it left the air not ● Rescue does a routine
great, although toxicity levels vary day to day. mop up
Most times a breath mask is enough, but caustic ● the mall is already
storms can blow in too, wreaking havoc on your swarming with other
eyes, skin, and the jacket you borrowed from slugblasters
your older sister without asking. Occasionally, the ● your way home is
air clears up enough for you to ditch the mask en- obscured by shifting
tirely. On these rare nights Vastiche is alive with dunes
the sounds of partying teens. For inside the
megamall
● waves of sandy dunes
● crumbling parkcades
● broken, crisscrossing
escalators
● waterfall of pink sand
coming down through
a broken skylight
● food court labyrinth
● second level collaps-
ing onto first
● mini-golf course

94
 O t he r W o r l d s

Thennis Spar F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Arborist Temple. Like everything in Thennis Spar,
this sacred site is both impossibly ancient and un-
believably futuristic. Word is that the Arborists are
A bustling, exotic utopian city. Locals trade olives and hoarding some serious tech in their inner sanctum
spices in the forum, discuss the multiverse in ancient (not to mention all the secrets of the multiverse).
temples, and try to ignore all the ghosts.
● The Forum. You can find just about anything here if
Visiting Thennis Spar for the first time feels like travel- you know where to look, including strange delica-
ing to the ancient past and the distant future all at the cies, impossible wonders, and all the components
same time. In the crowded marketplace, you’re as likely and gear a crew could ask for. The question is:
to find a cart full of fresh produce as you are a cache what do you have to trade?
of salvaged alien tech. An ancient obelisk hewn from
the living rock towers overhead, and at its pinnacle, a ● The Catacombs. In a city full of ancient architec-
hardportal from Prismatia bathes the entire city in con- ture, the catacombs pre-date almost everything
tinuous golden-hour light. else by centuries. Secrets hide inside these wind-
ing tunnels, but who knows what else is waiting for
Since most worlds are nothing but abandoned ruins you in the darkness. Finding your way in is difficult,
and untamed wilderness, coming here often introduces finding your way out is even worse.
Null’s sluggers to broader multiversal culture. This city
can open up a lot of figurative doors and literal portals
for a crew looking to make their name—just don’t get PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
on the Arborists’ bad side! ● stern Arborist guards ● a grove of olives
Active ● ghost attention ● a balcony overlooking
civilization.
CIV ● huge negawraith the bustling market
● briefly crossing into a ● a cart of colourful
RESIDENTS conjoined negaverse powders in your path
Soft, warm skin the colour of various metals, from ● scheming rival crew ● a narrow alley
pale zinc, to patinated copper, to the blackest ● too many people are ● a labyrinth of apart-
titanium. Their tunics and scarves are made from watching you ments and insulae
the latest meta-materials, their togas and shawls ● Shimmer mercs ● a vine-covered wall
from the wool of well-cared-for lambs. ● a city-wide ceremony ● an ampitheatre
starts, with intricate ● a wedding at an ex-
They work with joy, trade without greed, and customs you’re ex- pensive villa
uphold simple laws with justice and mercy. Their pected to know ● a back way into the
scientists pray, their priests study, they write ● you accidentally break Arborists’ gardens
new songs each day. They are kind, humble, or defile something ● the serene waters of
good-humoured, and haunted by the ghosts of ● a summoned soliton the public baths
their ancestors. ● the way out is slowly ● a risky jump to the
sealing off aqueduct

95
 the golden F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Praetorians. No one knows how many of these
huge bipedal battlecraft hide beneath the foliage,

Jungle rusting away, just like no one knows who built them
or why. The one thing that’s certain is they’re full of
valuable components, if only you could get inside.

The ruins of an advanced civilization, grown over by ● The Clearing. This large break in the canopy is
dense, sparkling rainforest. Decommissioned gundam littered with highly-skateable and lichen-crusted
sleep under blankets of moss. wreckage—tempting, taunting, and utterly exposed
to the watchful gaze of flying predators.
For slugblasters, the Golden Jungle has always been
a hotspot, in more ways than one. Hoverboarders are ● The Chasm. An enormous scar across the land-
drawn to the dense foliage, geographical anomalies, scape. Nothing grows along the scorched, crum-
and crumbling remnants of ancient architecture, which bling cliffsides, and few know what’s at the bottom
all add up to a sort of natural skatepark that is unri- other than a thick layer of ominous fog. Some say it
valed in the local multiverse. holds the answer to what happened here. Everyone
says it’s way too wide to jump across on a hover-
There’s also the inherent mystery of the ruins them- board, but you can’t help but wonder...
selves, and the secrets lurking within the mecha,
waiting for someone brave (or stupid) enough to come
and claim them. Sure, the shadows beneath the jungle PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
canopy hide creatures too vicious and terrible to even ● portaling in over croc- ● rotting rope bridge
imagine, but what’s a slugger run without a little mortal odile infested waters ● giant robotic head
terror? ● you draw the atten- sticking out of the
tion of mathpanthers ground
● giant slugs ● deep, muddy river
● oh no quicksand ● huge tree, huge roots
A WORLD WITHOUT NIGHT ● ancient, mossy robots ● mag-train hanging
Don’t let the name fool you—the foliage in the ● giant robot hand gets from tangled vines
Golden Jungle isn’t actually golden, though you’ll activated ● rusted silo on its side
find just about every other imaginable colour ● you’re being watched ● mating ground for
(and a few unimaginable ones as well). No, this ● accidental fire many exotic birds
plane draws its moniker from the plethora of bril- ● two authorities having ● a very dark canopy
liant suns that shine constantly in the sky above. a secret meeting ● large termite mounds
There is no night in the Golden Jungle, and the ● these are not vines ● temple ruins
constant daylight combined with the moist, mug- ● rival crew followed ● wide chasm
gy air creates rapid, uncontrollable growth in the you here ● mecha skeletons
local flora. ● your way out is in covered in webs and
metasaur territory black foliage

96
 O t he r W o r l d s

Pronounced “DEZ-neen,”
from a Thennis Spartian word

Desnine
meaning “Swim Forever.”
An infinite ocean, with water where outer space should
be. The serpentine glass corridors of an abandoned
observation centre twist around a small coral moon.
F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Observation Centre. Miles of pristine glass corri-
dors that twist in every direction. Flickering emer-
gency lights illuminate steep drops, tight corners,
and occasional full loops. A great place to score
primo footage or find abandoned gear, but watch
for cracked glass and flooded chambers.

Desnine wasn’t always a popular destination for ● Ethan’s Reef. A coral moon home to hundreds of
slugblasters—after all, nobody likes playing the water metaterrestrial species and some very mysterious
levels, right? Even with breathing masks, it makes for alien wreckage. Named after that kid who went
a dangerous run. Glowing coral and bioluminescent missing here. What was he looking for anyway?
manta rays cast just enough ethereal light to find your
way, but massive shapes drift through the inky black- ● The Bub. This huge air pocket collects interesting
ness beyond, and they look hungry. flotsam from surrounding waters—things washed
off sluggers and things from leagues away. Plus a
Despite all that, the discovery of the abandoned few years ago a crew of shredders hauled a janky
observation centre (and all that beautiful, immensely old grav unit in here that can be set to make the
skateable glass) has redefined Desnine as a risk worth inside surface fully skateable.
taking for a lot of crews. Just make sure your gear is
waterproof first.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● flooding hallways ● coral archways
HAZ ● giant psionic squid ● a smack of jellyfish
1 ● mask failure ● a powerful gyre
W E I R D G R AV I T Y ● a freaking megalodon ● a gauntlet of giant,
The gravitational pull of an infinite tonnage of ● your stream is weirdly predatory anemones
seawater on one side is opposed by the gravi- hemorrhaging viewers ● the carcass of a large
tational pull of an infinite tonnage of seawater ● the water is changing animal covered in
on the other side, meaning the effective gravity temperature/viscosity scavengers
everywhere in Desnine is about zero (except the ● some kids are trapped ● unlocked hatch
artificially generated 1g in the observatory). inside an air pocket ● tight corner, full loop
● shady experiments ● a jumble of computer
No pressure changes, no diver’s sickness, air ● so many crabs stuff blocking the hall
bubbles undulate in one place forever, things ● reality-bent whirlpool ● cracked glass
within those bubbles are similarly weightless, sucking you into, like, ● segment where the
and heavily used portal-zones have accumulated Quahalia? artificial gravity has
large pockets of leaked extra-dimensional atmo- gone out
sphere over the years. For inside the ● tunnel heads into the
observatory. darkness of the coral

97
 Pronounced
“priz-MAT-ee-ah.”

Prismatia F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Hardecker Mining Facility. Hardecker has been
mining kramshon and farming polystellar energy
here for years— junking up the place with chutes,
The plane of light. No sky, no ground, no up, no down. struts, conveyors, and an entire workforce of dis-
Pink clouds and giant crystal asteroids refract rays gruntled, virus-riddled mining bots.
from a pantheon of distant psionic stars.
● The Miper Train. Miper believes their trillion dollar
Prismatia was the place of first contact between local multiversal train network will bring the multiverse
multiversal civilizations, and has remained a vital way- closer together and usher in a new era of peace
point during the decades of trade, cultural exchange, and (for them) prosperity. Right now it’s just a tan-
immigration, and adolescent truancy that followed. talizing, half-finished network of hardlight tubes.
Whoever you are and wherever you’re going, you’re
probably cutting through Prismatia. ● The Wanda Curve. An ancient, large-diameter ring
of solid glass, thrumming with odd wavelengths of
It has something for everyone. Abundant nonrenew- energy. Scientists and historians speculate on its
ables for hungry corporations. Alien ruins for hungry origin and purpose, but most slugblasters just want
academics. A psionic cacophony for spiritual pilgrims to know if they can skate all the way around the
and college-aged psychonauts. A drillable spacetime inner edge first try.
field for ambitious transit barons. Stunning views for
wealthy tourists.
PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
And for young hoverboarders, an ever-shifting airscape ● portaling right into ● two crystal asteroids
of ramps, rails, and mind-blowing gaps, all in a slurry of a hazardous field of colliding
rolling spacetime and wonky gravity. mining debris ● a length of discarded
● stomach churn- Miper trainway
ing planetesimal ● Hardecker mining
M YS T E R I O U S P H YS I C S hopscotch drones calving an
Prismatia’s gravity (or, more likely, some kind of ● pteranodons opalescent mountain
static-field equivalent) works a bit differently. ● giant glasshoppers ● an oscillating orb of
Relatively small objects like asteroids or a large with laser eyes sparkling fluid
piece of debris each have their own 0.6 g gravity ● a psionic storm ● a drifting chunk from
well, but this well quickly weakens and disap- crashing into the a wayward alien idol
pears even a few metres out. thoughtscape ● one and a half floors
● an exit in constant of a ruined skycastle
This means you can stand, walk, and skate motion ● a giant rotating disc
normally on something the size of a shipping ● an exit deep inside with a small hole in
container, but can also break back out into zero-g the tangled frame- the centre
space with nothing more than a solid jump. work of a half-built ● a migrating flock of
shipping station metaterrestrial birds

98
Yep, just like
Mario Galaxy!
 O t he r W o r l d s
Pronounced
“op-er-AY-blum.”

Operaeblum
Three warring corporate megatowers, connected with
twisting pedways and skytrains. Raves, androids, mir-
ror shades. You get it.
F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● Matte Static. The hottest club in the multiverse.
Models push illegal flavours of PANIC Energy®,
sponsor reps cut deals in the VIP, pros skate the
portal-connected halfpipe, and every time the beat
drops the dance floor is blasted with a flurry of
caffeinated party snow. Must be legal drinking age.

The multiversal conglomerates that own this triad of ● The Drop Line. This famous skate route starts off
towering arcologies have been locked in war ever since the M-train platform, snakes across a tangle of
an infamous three-way IP dispute involving animated skyways, past the giant party windows of Matte
unicorns. Resulting sanctions and blockades have Static, and ends with a faith-testing air drop into a
turned a dense network of closed tubes and bridges supposed portal near the Hardecker mining floors.
between the towers into bustling neutral territory,
where kiosks clutter walkways and restaurants serve ● Wilkie’s Candy Lab®. A grueling funzone, where
street food out of permanently docked tramcars. indentured employees must eat only candy, shoot
each other with foam darts, and party joylessly in
The din of rain and sub-woofer bass is punctuated 16-hour shifts as they roll out the newest in toys,
by whoops from club-goers and the routine sounds games, candy, and slugblaster tech.
of somebody committing a crime within earshot.
Operaeblum never sleeps—an eternal dusk-hour
insomnia of sodium lights and flashing billboards, wet PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
pavement and aluminum. Workers file into tubes, fat ● portaling into the mid- ● dance floor of a club
cats dine in leisure gondolas, and gangs on sport bikes dle of a gang war filled with freaks
race down ribbon roads of grav-fixed asphalt. ● android bouncers ● maze of dark hallways
● pickpockets snatch ● passing skytrain
CIV something and take ● kids playing ball hock-
off running ey in empty pedways
RESIDENTS ● homicidal funbots ● crowded skybridge
Operaeblans have pastel hair and washed-out breakout from the ● paramilitary blockade
complexions. They wear latex and holograms and candy lab ● flickering hardlight
company-issued plastic one-suits. Cyberware is ● caught in proxy war crosswalk
all but compulsory. Content is drip-fed directly ● crucial infrastructure ● illegal street race on
to the amygdala to free up the frontal lobe for begins to break apart vertical roadways
emails and deciding which company-issued ● something bad falls ● very narrow beams
nightspot you hit with your company-issued from a thousand ● tangle of personal
friends tonight. Work hard, party hard, outsource floors above transport tubes
sleep to a neuro-linked surrogate floating in a ● mysterious hacker ● departing party tram
napping tank on the tenement floors. calls you with danger- packed with sloppy
ous directions conscripts

99
 calorium Pronounced
“cah-LOR-ee-um.”
F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
The plane of fire. Strange airships float on updrafts,
flocks of flamingos gather in the boiling soda lakes, a
phase dragon naps in a steaming caldera.
The dying, late-stage sun of this world decided it would
spend its last billion years boiling oceans, turning the
beaches to glass, and filling the sky entirely. Whatever
civilization used to be here has either fled or fried, and
little remains aside from ash-white foundations sur-
rounded by moats of hot neon lava.
Despite some economic potential, most view Calorium
as just a big hot logistics problem, routing nightmare,
and barrier to further interdimensional exploration.
● The Gliders. Dozens of glimmering foil air vessels
circle lazily with no visible purpose or pilots, stuck
in a powerful thermal column. Winged creatures
roost, silhouetted against the oppressive white sky.
● Soda Lake. A natural skatepark of partially cooled
lava formations forms the shoreline of these scald-
ing alkaline waters. An audience of metaterrestrial
flamingos watches closely. The deep part of the
lake hides strange ruins beneath its roiling surface.
● The Ziggurat. This black zirconium structure shim-
mers in the heat, its origin unclear, its contents a
mystery, and its architecture a dope array of skate-
able ledges, hubbas, and banks. Cursed markings
herald the coming Omni-Sorcerer.

But to a slugblaster, nothing is more metal. PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS

● hazwear failure
HAZ ● portal rupture
2 ● a planar volcano
P O R TA L R U P T U R E venting pure molten
The intense heat of this plentiful armaggedon mathematics from
would be a steady source of clean energy, if not a subdimensional
for the huge interdimensional power conduits mantle
required to pipe it back home. Many believe the ● jet black metasaurs
problem can be solved, but impatient develop- ● the phase dragon flies
ers have already eroded Calorium’s spacetime in eldritch patterns
fabric enough that accidental, spontaneous, and ● soliton of pure fire
difficult-to-close portals in and out form regularly, ● aggressive thermo-
causing fires in neighbouring worlds. farm defence bots
● centipede with a
reflective carapace
moving like mercury
HAZWEAR NEEDED ● android ravagers
Yeah, dude. It’s like a billion freaking degrees made of hot chrome
here. ● your way out heats to
volatile levels
● a ramp of cooling rock
● a surprising series of
cliché geysers
● drifts of hot salt
● small islands across
the soda lake
● a parade of flamingos
● the bleached ruins of
cinderblock structures
● half-open hatch to a
burned-out bunker
● a slope of black glass
● a twisting lava tube
● onyx slabs jutting
from the ground
● dragging chains of
low-flying gliders
● sagging metal girders
placed across rivers
of lava

100
 O t he r W o r l d s

the waking F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Doom Slalom. Starts on the hilltop ruins of a
flickering castle, winds its way through the breed-

pits Pronounced “AHHHHHH!

AHHHH!! MAKE IT STOP!!”
ing grounds and hunting territories of multiple
predatory ecologies, ends in a flagstone megaramp
over The Trench. Welcome to Hardmode.

Cold, dark Hell. A frozen landscape of crumbling cas-
tles and graveyards, lit entirely by lightning strikes and
phosphorescent invertebrates.
Ages ago the sky was blacked out and this place was
plunged into frigid darkness. Mammalian life went
extinct and everything else evolved to be chitinous
and skittering, with antifreeze in its’ blood, surviving
entirely through chemosynthesis or by sucking the
soft stuff from the convenient hazwear packaging of
wayward teenagers.
● The Trench. The abyss of this abyssal plane. A
deeper descent into alien madness—where logic
unravels and nightmares wake and slabs of rotting
masonry from collapsing bridges hang suspended
in the tattered spacetime.
● The Steeple. A massive cathedral surrounded by
acres of cemetery. Eerie frequencies thrum from
within. A power source? Sub-woofers? The warped
anti-hymns of a hive of metaterrestrial vampires?

The Waking Pits is slugblasting’s Mount Everest. Few PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS

spots are more dangerous (which has some intrinsic ● swarm of starving
value) but the toppled turrets and snaking ramparts of phosphorescent bugs
this long-abandoned gothic-modernist civilization are ● lightning blizzard
a hoverboarder’s dream, even if every other unholy ● wraiths
molecule of this place is a total nightmare. ● bad cell reception
● something hidden in
HAZ CIV? the moathouse
2 ● vicious scavengers
RESIDENTS??? ● you find some other
Every kid knows there are vampires in The kids but something
Waking Pits, but few agree on what they actual- seems...off
ly are, since no image has ever made it online. ● you break through the
Some say they’re highly-evolved bats, mutant ice into a tomb/nest
mosquito men, or an alien race of hemophagous ● bone-white spiders
xenomorphs. Others say they’re a secretive ● chaotic evil soliton
gang of gothy, grey-skinned runaways from formed from black ice
Operaeblum. And a few vehemently maintain that and castle pieces
they are immortal ultrafiends, worshiping at the ● your way out requires
Cathedral to Super Satan. a freefall into the
trench
● a falling tower
● drifts of hard dry snow
● series of powerful
lightning strikes
● frosted castle ruins
● a healthy patch of
tubular plant-animals
feeding off a vent
● a giant white crab
walking over you
● a frozen orchard
● porcelain dolls falling
from the sky like rain
● a rotting barn filled
with cracked mirrors
● crumbling ramparts
● treacherous field of
crooked tombstones
● a half-lowered
drawbridge

101
 Pronounced
“pop-you-LAIR-ee-ah.”

POPULARIA F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Beach. Swim, surf, and party among the hot-
test people in the multiverse, or skate the famous
boardwalk. Sure, there’s a Miper® store there now,
The Place To Be. Artists, influencers, and models pop- but also FUST, Infinite Pizza, and Scram Cat’s first
ulate the cafes, clubs, pizza joints and skateshops of mythic storefront, where slugblasting was born.
this hopping beachside campus.
● Popularia U. Sure, you probably didn’t
If Null is at one end of some sort of interdimensional travel across 3–6 hostile planes of reality
coolness spectrum, Popularia is at the other. It’s where to slip into a class on Quantum Scattering
It still has
its hand-
slugblasting first started, back when overclocking a Theory or Relative Multiversal Ethics, but painted sign!
hoverboard’s Nth gear to burn through the fabric of the campus’s skate spots, lab tech, and
reality itself sounded like a bunch of science fiction elite dorm parties may interest you.
nonsense.
● Downtown. Go shopping, skate the M-train station,
Boring just doesn’t exist in Popularia. There’s always a sneak into Miper’s corporate hq, or search for the
killer party in the dorms, or a secret show in a disused elusive loft offices of Slugblaster Magazine.
Miper warehouse, or an underground tournament on
the beach at midnight. You just have to know the right
people to get in (or know how to not get caught). PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● no one else is dressed ● snaking boardwalk
This is the big pond, fishies. Where you go to prove like you here ● hotties by a pool
yourself, make connections, and go viral. It’s also ● you can hear a party ● skaters seshing the
where about a million crews have burned out, broken but can’t find it famous 12-stair hubba
up, and quit the scene forever. But that’s not gonna ● a rival spreading lies ● lit beachside rap show
happen to you… right? ● peelback countdown ● active movie shoot
● it came from the sea ● the buzzing line out-
● Miper security drones side a sneaker store
CIV
● Old Guard is watching ● philosophy students
RESIDENTS you, evaluating tripping balls
Popularians are beautiful, well-dressed people ● people smirking and ● someone amazing-
with brightly-coloured skin and hair. Youth in hap- you don’t know why ly extra taking their
py, closed friend-groups rule over beaches, pizza ● someone hands you metasaur for a walk
shops, and campuses, while Popularia’s adults the mic ● ​Wilkie’s promo taping
relax poolside in stunning villas, greenlight billion ● maniacal soliton crys- with another crew and
dollar movies, curate art galleries, and design the tallizes at a concert a bunch of models
future with fellow members of the intelligentsia, ● trouble at the foam ● the legendary banks
sipping beverages that will be trendy in Hillview party down to the beach
two decades from now. ● packed crowd won’t ● perfect reef break
let you through coming in

102
 O t he r W o r l d s

Pronounced
“em-PEER-ee-en.”

EMPYREAN F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Meadow. Bushes hang with a dozen variet-
ies of berry and meadow seals sleep among the
wildflowers in adorable fuzzy piles. Odd ampimeter
Untouched paradise. Winged deer drink from streams readings birth speculation of secret portal-zones,
and wild pastel horses gallop over rolling hills of velvet arcane forces, and higher-dimensional beings.
grass. Be careful if you eat the berries.
● Eternal Pastures. Soft, grassy hills home to herds
Acres of wild prairie grow on a wide loop of penrose of giant bison and teams of playful mustangs. A
ribbon, where you can hoverboard downhill forever rainbow of new colours arcs across an open sky
and cool crystal streams cascade off the edge into the scattered with dancing flocks of winged deer.
turquoise lake below/above. Where time moves at a
different pace. Where a day spent here is only an hour ● Allie’s TurboSplash Waterpark™. An abandoned
at home and an eternity spent here wouldn’t be nearly Wilkie’s project, now sunbleached and overgrown
long enough. with prairie grass. Empty pools, weird exhibits, and
a half-finished network of colourful waterslides
In our infinite multiverse, is there more good than bad? await hoverboarders lucky enough to be here.
More heavens than hells? Does the question even
make sense outside the caged perspective of our
four-dimensional minds? This is what slugblasters ask PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
each other during sleepovers, lying on the grass under ● horse wants to race ● a series of large hills
a dazzling mural of stars, the beauty of Empyrean softly ● poachers ● a stream of cool water
whispering the answer. ● Calorium flooding in ● a stampede of horses
through frayed portal ● migrating bison
HAZ ● lost track of time ● waterfall
3 ● failing logic binders ● tall, numbing grass
LO G I C B I N D E R S N E E D E D ● v. happy, v. sleepy ● a tangled thicket
The strange laws of this paradise protect it from ● rare time inversion ● beautiful, tranquilizing
exploitation. Many governments and corpora- ● stampede of large, field of flowers
tions have tried to establish a foothold here and non-violent creatures ● potential shortcut the “rainbow
eventually retreat. Without a logic binder, one ● animal adopts you ● bees road” move
can barely glimpse the light of Empyrean before ● mischievous critter ● an adorable animal
peeling back, unsure if what they experienced steals something vital the size of a house
was even real or not. Even with a logic binder, ● curfew approaching blocking your path
your trip is always shorter than you’d like, al- ● why aren’t your ● cute animals sleeping
though secret slugblaster lore says that the better phones working? on large, pretty rocks
you behave here, the longer it lets you stay. So ● you’ve been duped ● missing ribbon slice
respect the wildlife, pick up your pop cans, take ● Your way out requires creates a huge gap
only photographs and leave only grind marks. you to leave and you ● a deep coulee
don’t wanna ● a dense stand of pine

103
 Pronounced
“Qua-HAY-lee-ah.”

QUAHALIA F E AT U R E D LO C AT I O N S
● The Orthoplex. Impossible shapes overlap, reflect,
and reform in this kaleidoscopic 5D playground.
Strange control panels on hard-to-reach platforms
Pandemonium glitching. Staircases snake up to float- can tweak mathematical parameters, unfurl new
ing consoles while snakes staircase down to sinking spacial dimensions, and create new worlds.
palaces. Hold onto your atoms.
● The Archives. The flooding halls of an infinite
Slugblasters are actually lucky to have so many rela- library, where time flows strangely—slowing and
tively sensical universes nearby, considering the vast reversing, swirling forever in whirlpools, stagnating
majority of the infinite multiverse is a tessellating sea of in hidden alcoves, and escaping down seductive
quantum noise—illogical combinations of mathematical side passages into alternate timelines.
babble. Quahalia is a stepping stone to that particular
brand of fun, an eroding peninsula of quasi-substance ● The Neb. Memories, secrets, dreams, and fears
stretching into The Noise (page 106). tumble in this psychic nebula like traincars in a
tornado. A shuffling obstacle course made from
It’s a place many slugblasters find themselves. A place movie sets from your life, asteroid-sized person-
for thrill-seekers, those who seek answers, those who al possessions, dioramas of thought, and garish
seek a new perspective, those who took an ill-advised floats from the parade of you.
shortcut, and those who just really want to nosegrind a
dreamscape or meet a version of themselves from the
future and maybe kiss them. What? Why is that weird? PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
You’re weird shut up. ● swarm of omnimouths ● stairs to nowhere
● you are all one being, ● a garden of forking
HAZ thoughts colliding, paths
3 each controlling a ● a turnstile of deep
LO G I C B I N D E R S N E E D E D different limb questions
Without a good logic binder, the boundaries be- ● construct of darken- ● a corridor you create
tween you and Quahalia start to melt away. Your ing numbers with thought
body flickers through higher-dimensional geo- ● meta-structural failure ● a one-inch hole you
metric forms, your perspective warps and frac- ● carnivorous terrain can fit through
tures, your neurons fire in reverse order as cause ● part of who you are ● your bedroom door
and effect rework their long-standing contract. If takes off running ● take a moment to fall
you’re lucky, you’ll peel back in a few seconds, ● foes made from your forever
although it may not feel that short to you. For as internal contradictions ● the skatepark of your
you know, eternity is not more and more years, ● red-hot logic binders own body
but rather a single moment subdivided infinitely. ● you think you’re back ● a halfpipe, a 3/2 pipe
What final, frozen thought keeps you company, home but you’re not ● the terrain of dreams
washed smooth by lapping waves of forever? ● the way out is deeper ● a room from your
into The Noise nightmares

104
 O t he r W o r l d s

RUINS TWIST
Make A world 11 airport 11 The air here is toxic/hallucinogenic/caffeinated.
12 amusement park 12 The terrain is constantly moving.
Use these tips & tables to create
13 battleship 13 Everything is on fire. It doesn’t burn, just looks rad.
your own worlds!
14 casino 14 An active battlefield, apocalypse, or celebration.
15 construction 15 You can’t be hurt here.
● Is it a known place? How do
16 craters 16 Gravity is weaker.
people talk about it?
● A good Slugblaster world 21 cruise liner 21 Gravity pulls from different points.

has things to hoverboard on, 22 department store 22 Your tech struggles, lags, routinely dies.
things to discover, and things 23 greenhouses 23 Your tech gains power at a dangerous rate.
that can go wrong. 24 hospital 24 Every smell reminds you of a specific moment.
● Write a quick list of potential 25 hotel 25 You’re like ghosts haunting this place.
problems and some fun chase 26 huge statues 26 An enthusiastic audience you can hear but not see.
checkpoints. 31 landfill 31 Something draws you to the centre.
● Let the crew name it for you, if 32 marina 32 As you move further in, things lose detail.
you haven’t already! 33 military vehicles 33 Structured like a ring, sphere, ribbon, box, etc.
34 movie studio 34 Exists on or inside a colossal being.
35 multiplex 35 Exists inside a snow globe, terrarium, or diorama.
C O LO U R S ( R O L L T W I C E )
36 museum 36 A familiar bedroom, but you’re an inch tall.
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 41 parade floats 41 Universe is 2D, like a sidescroller.
1 red orange teal 42 pizza arcade 42 Like your world, but if you’d made different choices.
2 yellow green magenta 43 playground 43 Like your world, but in the past.
3 blue purple lime 44 powerplant 44 Like your world, but in the future.
4 pink lilac peach 45 prison 45 Time moves slowly/backwards, but not for you.
5 black white grey 46 rail yard 46 A day here is a minute at home.
6 brown clear wtf? 51 receiver dishes 51 Time can be controlled through intense willpower.
52 reservoir 52 Time loop!
53 school 53 Dreamworld logic.
LANDSCAPE
54 shipping yard 54 All your thoughts happen out loud.
d6 1–3 4–6 55 skyscrapers 55 Terrain reflects your mood.
1 grasslands forest 56 solar farm 56 Formed from the contents of your phones/pockets.
2 jungle tundra 61 spacecraft 61 Formed from your collective id.
3 mountain desert 62 stadium 62 This is the inner landscape of someone you know.
4 badlands swamp 63 suburb 63 This is all a simulation. (What’s new, amiright?)
5 aquatic space 64 subway system 64 What constitutes a swear varies moment to moment.
6 urban combine two 65 warehouse 65 Single episode genre-swap.
66 zoo 66 You’re in a musical and only one of you knows this
isn’t normal.

105
 bonus
Worlds
It’s a big multiverse out there, spanning infinitely be-
yond the twelve main worlds of this planar cluster. New
continents await discovery for those willing to voyage
into the surrounding quantum noise, and unmapped
demiplanes, pocket universes, and strange extra-
dimensional spaces can be found anywhere—just down
the street, right under your nose.
The borel Machine
For beloved ultrabacker Richard Magnelli.
An ancient computer, an omni-directional mountain
of gears and tumblers, home to an uncountable num-
ber of monkeys, who live and play in distinct troops,
joyfully pressing buttons and flipping switches for some
unknown purpose.
● A dozen twisting routes down the mountain,
between crushing gears, over strange metallic
archways, and through buzzing coils.
● Terminals spool out undecipherable text on miles of
polymer tape hanging off the mountain like vines.
● Diligent spider monkeys with one-hundred-foot arm
spans maintain the machine, effortlessly ripping
out worn gears and foreign objects then tossing
them into the depths.
106
Unlucky slugblasters have
been hurled into The
The Noise Noise during bad peelback
accidents.
By She Who Ships in Darkness
Expansive nothingness, static patterns pulsating in
the space between worlds. Shorelines—few and far
between in this expanse of white—appear as dark
smudges. Thoughts like lost emotions. Masses only
half-formed. Colors bleed into the ether the deeper you
wander, until they become one with The Noise, muted
and dispersed.
The Noise is only silent in its cacophony. The planes
rarely collide here, but occasional whispers can be
heard above the din. Blips phase in and out of ex-
istence, their flora and fauna displayed as strange
molecular patterns. The stronger ones leave echoes
of washed-out patterns that can be interacted with—
though caution is advised.
● Merchants and mercenaries called Glitches ride
●
the tides of The Noise.
The ether of The Noise has no form, but environ-
mental fluctuations called Blips often grow into
strange, unstable planes where none should exist.
● Sinusoidal oscillations produce haunting whispers
like radio waves.
● The longer you’re here, the more monochrome you
become, eventually phasing out completely.
● Ion storms are common in The Noise, shaping and
manipulating matter. These can create amplified
Blips (known as Surge Blips), shattered planes
existing only as long as the storm does. HIGHLY
DANGEROUS!
● Smudges of fringe interference briefly assemble
into flora, fauna, and otherworldly entities before
either vanishing back into The Noise or growing
into fully formed Solitons.
You can read more
about Solitons on
page 115.

SlipMarket
For beloved ultrabacker Gertrude Peters-Garcia.
Slipmarket is a hidden demiplane, a pocket of space
between universes where the laws were murky enough
that criminals and refugees and hackers could carve
out a spot hidden from arc-marshals, Arborists, and the
rest of the official local multiverse.
Buy illegal numbers, stolen demiplanes, weapons that
violate reality, and drugs that collapse your wave-
function so hard you’ll wish you were dead in more
universes than just the one you took drugs in.
To enter Slipmarket you need to have a logic binder,
and know how to set it, since the security boss repro-
grams the working physical laws of the
demiplane routinely. Remember kids: An Operaeblan
Just say “No” to matter subtraction!
named Jericho
Zebulak (pg 126).
● Booths selling goods and services that morph to
offer you your deepest desires.
● Secret Infinite Pizza location, with more scandalous
booth stickers and illegal toppings.
● Sudden shifts in the physical laws.
● Lovable con artist thinks you kids are alright.
● Incoming limited shipment of fully banned PANIC
Energy® drink flavours.
● Street toughs wonder what you’re looking at, kid.
● Cages filled with endangered species, some cute,
some deadly predators, many both.
● Tattoo parlor offering arcane customs and a large
selection of nanotech flash.
● Booth that promises to introduce you to one of
your alternates.
● Booth selling timeline modification will sell you a
combo package that comes with a memory scrub
and fifty units of chance augmentation.
● Sponsors making suspicious deals.
O t he r W o r l d s
Gameshow Archipelago
By Nathan Blades
It’s said that the very first TV game show was invented
when a young producer glimpsed this demiplane in the
middle of a coffee-induced stress attack. A scattering
of vibrantly coloured islands in a sea of neon slime.
Each island has a Host, capable of granting (what they
think are) your deepest desires; but fabulous prizes are
hard-fought...
The aesthetic of the islands have made it a popular
location for beginner slugblasters, but when you’re
wagering everything, a loss will make you more than
late for class.
● Shadowy, faceless Stagehands assist all Hosts.
● Rumour has it, collect five Megacrystals for a life-
time supply of… something?
● Lighting rigs stretch infinitely skywards, spotlight-
ing :main characters.”
● Colourful spinning platforms float between islands
● Mt Ubertrick, a steep mountain
intertwined with stripy rails. Solitons seem to
● The Lightning Round, a hurricane
collect in this place,
like water bottles in
repelled with quiz questions. a lost and found.
● Sheer Score Attack, a ball pit in a
caldera, crackling with energy.
● Ephemera Temple, an ancient fibreglass ruin
● Gross Coast, a slimy seaside resort with caves that
regularly flood.
● A swarm of purple chittering bugs. They’re deli-
cious, but they bite back just as hard.
● The Island Champ, clad in form-fitting spandex,
their gigantic foam broadsword can knock you
clean across the horizon.
● Leslie O’Smiles, the Undefeated Host.
107
 They say the demiplane of
Topiary Topiary split off from The
Golden Jungle. Maybe that’s
By Helen Gould where the way in is?
Welcome to the realm of dizzyingly high tree-tops and
gigantic vegetation. Most people like to hang out in the
upper branches, where they can see the sky and feel
the cool breezes, but others talk of the mysteries that
can be found in the darkness of the lower reaches.
This is a tangled place of greenery stretching as far as
the eye can see. The gargantuan plants of this place
include spectacularly regal trees, distressingly ambi-
tious flowers, and extensive mushroom colonies. Some
flora like to cluster together, like the fungi; others don’t
mind what company they keep. You can find the point-
ed crowns of pine trees next to Venus flytraps next to
stately orchids, all of them wrapped up in honeysuckle
and ivy. Or you can find yourself traversing across the
pale, spongy portobellos for weeks.
The seasons here are simple: it is hot and sunny, or
it is hot and stormy. There is no such thing as a light
rainfall; when the clouds appear, everyone gets under
cover or risks being washed away.
● The annual branch-surfing competition.
● A huge, temperamental bird guarding her nest.
● Natural swimming pools in the trumpet vines.
● Swarms of butterflies that briefly blot out the sun.
● A rickety lift system between the levels of foliage.
● Cobwebs spanning miles and miles of branches.
● The people who live in the giant fruits.
● Beehives full of honey (and massive bees).
● The leap of faith—a death-defying drop into a
safety net so far down you can’t see it.
● Migratory herds of large, friendly spider monkeys
● Observatory network run by nocturnal scientists
● Clouds of hallucinogenic pollen.
● A giant anaconda that lurks among the roots.
108
The void Shores
For beloved ultrabacker Charles Gillespie.
A mythical surfer’s paradise, said to be hidden on the
other end of certain magical riptides. A top secret cove
with soft white sand, perfect waves, flawless weather,
and absolutely no rocks. Where outside time pauses
and you and your friends can take as long as needed to
relax and be healed by the water.
● A driftwood board shack decorated with stickers,
half-read paperbacks, drying swimwear, and other
abandoned belongings of previous visitors
● a campfire site in the shelter of an overturned boat
● ripe tropical fruit you’ve never seen before
● it is customary to leave an offering for Chill Charlie,
the old skeletal remains of some guy who must
have been so happy here that he never left
Camp fractal
For beloved ultrabacker Jeff Nelson.
Something bad happened on the last week of summer
camp. Something so terrible it caused that horrific night
to tear from the reality stream and flutter forsaken in
tatters through the astral plane, looping endlessly.
● Attractive junior counsellors excited to meet the
new arrivals! What’s your camp name?
● Huh, no cell reception...
● Half-pipe, zipline, BMX trails, go-kart track, canoes,
water skiing, that inflatable blob thing, rope course,
archery range, workshop, horseback riding, etc.
● Gear acting glitchy, losing power
● Cabin pranks, truth or dare, late-night bonding,
memories that will last a lifetime
● Something terrible hunting you down one by one.

the land Of Forgotten
Arcade Cabs
By Nem Ginty
A pulsating purple sky, glass-shattered with teal
lightning bolts so massive they seem to cleave the sky
when they strike. A swirling vortex of black mist lanced
through with prismatic rays of TV static holds a crum-
bled, blasted moon’s corpse in locked, lazy, doomed or-
bit. Embedded in the white stone are the remains of a
forgotten era, brilliant cabinets adorned with depictions
of evil demons, mighty warriors, and sick-nasty space
cruisers dueling among the stars. Monsters claw their
way out of the blue-grey screens, starved into bestial
fury and desperate for your quarters—or your blood,
whichever is easier.
● Mazes of blinking screens
● Reality-builder drones mining cabinets for idea-fuel
● Rails made of thunder, blasting
worlds apart as they strike Universally
● A horde of killer werewolf men recognized as
from KILLER WEREWOLF MEN 3 the best in the
● A storm of tokens, gold-painted series, aside
plastic and nickel singing as it hits from maybe the
the ground
surprisingly good
KWM Warfare,
● Fused amalgams of half-dreamed the mega-popular
monsters from games cancelled be- RTS spin-off.
fore they were ever real
● Wardens, mysterious, deadly
● Rare stable ground, coated in a layer of black-pur-
ple fuzzrock, speckled with neon lightning gems
and fossilized claim tickets
● A battlefleet from the nearest realities, ready to
obliterate the world, one rock at a time
● A prize-redemption room, a bastion housing a rebel
militia, their experimental homemade teleporter
missing just one thing...
O t he r W o r l d s
ECCLESIASTICA
By Grant Howitt & Chris Taylor
An eternal church built by an interdimensional con-
glomerate of ultradeacons, uber-vicars and three
concurrent popes; packed with towering spires,
radical buttresses, tapestries you can swing from,
hologramatic messiahs and proselytizing prophets.
Watch out for the priests, though—they don’t like it
when no-good teens do sick grinds on their pews.
● Enormous alien wedding celebration complete with
hovering minicathedrals and a laser snowstorm of
confetti.
● Priests carrying tall stacks of dry religious tomes to
knock over as you skate past.
● A rotating glass skybridge that connects multiple
parts of the structure.
● Angels (six wings, too many eyes, more wheels
than you’d imagine) scud past in the sky outside
the stained-glass windows, singing praise.
● These boring old hymnals are in dire need of a
decent bassline.
● Get yourself one of those dope pope hats
● Look out! It’s the ROBOBISHOP.
● Skateboard on water and cause a minor schism.
● Help one of the outsider fringe religions get set up
in the eternal structure with a cool party.
● A bunch of steel-armoured paladins arrive and try
to kick you out.
● A rogue floating spire, normally restrained by
golden chains, detaches from its moorings and
hovers around the place.
● Legend has it that Jesus, the creator of the Christ
Air (and also the kickflip), was filmed performing
some of his coolest tricks in 1996. Only one boot-
leg copy of the video remains, and it’s stored under
lock and key in the Ivory Sanctum deep beneath
the surface of Ecclesiastica.
109
Mon- intro
Here is a selection of creatures, machines, and
otherworldly entities you may encounter out

sters
there in the multiverse.

● Each entry lists some details, behaviours,

and potential problems, including example
slams, in a somewhat logical order, with
disastrous outcomes near the bottom. GMs
should pick and choose the details that
work for that scene, and improvise their
own as well.
(Bugs, robots, ● GMs are encouraged to use these as tem-
and other lil' plates for their own creations, too. Reskin
a slug as a land squid, flesh out metasaurs

cutie pies) into different species, and use the tables

on page 117 to whip something up from
scratch.

● You can find the entries for Nexus Masters,

It’s a dangerous multiverse Rescue Agents, and Mercenaries on pages

124–126 of the Factions section.

out there, crowded with

tentacles and terminators And the Giant Robot Hands,
and all sorts of big juicy Androids, and Surviellance
Orbs on pages 114–115
things that want to eat, can be used for Authority or
Sponsor forces, too.
melt, and terrorize you,
just because you happened
to rollerskate a little too
close to their house!
110

Mathpanther
The speed and cunning of a predatory jungle cat com-
bined with the terror and immortality of predatory mathe-
matics. Mathpanthers are drawn by the scent of anoma-
lous logic, such as that given off by rifts in spacetime or
interdimensional trespassers.
● Stalks you silently.
● Chases you with power, agility, and maybe a few
short teleports here and there.
● Multiplies into a pack.
● Divides its prey.
● Continually reforms from any amount of damage
unless solved properly.
● Tears at you with claws (cut up, sliced wires, etc.)
● Pins you to the ground (pinned, frozen in fear, etc.)
● Bites your neck, reducing you to your euclidean
primitives and causing you to peel back.
Quantum Centipede
From the Latin, meaning how much one hundred foot,
the quantum centipede is a question with no safe
answer. A fractal, trypophobic mushroom trip of sharp
chitinous legs. A non-integer of spiracled body seg-
ments multiplying as you try to find the end of it. A horror
with no terminus, arcing toward you on a sine wave of
hooked claws. A total bummer.
Called ‘’the
● Weak to attacks on its rarely-seen centipede effect’’ by
rearmost body segment. psychologists. Deadass.
● Breaks your tiny little brain on
sight (freaking out , hyper-reflection, etc.)
● Blocks your escape with chittering coils of itself.
● Grabs you with sharp forcipules (grappled, cut, etc.)
● Injects you with venom (woozy, paralyzed, etc.)
● Swallows you whole and slowly digests your future,
starting with the best possible outcomes.
Monsters
Psionic Crocodile
Easily confused with psychic alligators,
these hungry, hungry reptiles infest murky
waters throughout the local multiverse,
feeding on the data-rich nerve clusters
Not to mention the
sacred telepathic
of intelligent prey and the whatever-rich gharials given free
whatevers of anything else they find. rein over many of
Thennis Spar’s
● Bursts from the water. tepidariums.
● Chases you with an honestly startling
landspeed or by weaving through the air as it swims
up through your psychic wake.
● Hacks your nervous system (paralyzed, slowed,
controlled like a meat puppet, etc.)
● Bites you (multiple punctures, grappled, dislocated
shoulder, etc.) and tries to pull you under the water.
● Feasts on your good memories (confused, sad, etc.)
● Repulsed by bad-tasting memories.
Metasaur
These large, meat-eating theropods have spread
rampantly through the local multiverse thanks to their
astounding ferocity, hyper single-generation evolution,
and complete willingness to eat anything, no matter how
much that thing screams or smells like vanilla-mango
body spray.
● Slams you with terror (panicking, etc.)
● Quickly overwhelms you unless you either flee or
stand completely motionless.
● Disgustingly mutates spines, extra legs, extra heads,
larger eyes, laser eyes, or whatever it needs.
● Adapts to once-effective attacks.
● Packmates show up to help with dinner
● Grabs you in its jaws (grappled, bitten, etc.)
● Clamps down with 35,000 newtons of bite-force
(super crushed, eaten alive, etc.)
111
 Metaterrestrial Slug
The multiverse has a slug problem. Although most
life-bearing worlds have their own native varieties, most
of the slugs you encounter are likely to have come from
a single, highly-adaptive transdimensional species even
more invasive and destructive than the teenagers run-
ning away from them!
● Chases you quickly on a negafriction slime trail.
● Pummels you with a jet of mucus from a real gross
nozzle thing (slimed, stuck, slowed, etc.)
● Why does it keep regenerating!?
● Absorbs power with its EM-siphon (flickering gear,
dead battery, etc.) and grows way bigger/faster.
● Harpoons you with its barbed radula (grappled,
scraped up, etc.)
● Retracts you slowly into its esophagus through a
wet tunnel of sharp denticles.
peeler-eyed Dreadfly
Muscus macrofractus can be found pupating in dank
spawning ponds and crawling along ceilings on three
dozen sticky tentacles. It’s a quantum being, and feeds
on mathematically-potential matter. It’s huge compound
eyes allow it to see a segment of your actuality spec-
trum—all the different versions of you possible—then
forcibly actualize and externally digest whichever one
looks tastiest.
● Rips a half-dozen alternate yous into existence (one
of which often turns out to be evil).
● Gruesomely devours one of your alternates in front
of you (actuality-shock, normal shock, etc.)
● Spews acid across the battlefield.
● Grabs you with adhesive tentacles (grappled, etc.)
● Carefully vomits digestive enzymes on your head,
melts you and sucks you through a proboscis.
112
salvage Crab
Like their smaller, cuter, exponentially-less-deadly
relative the hermit crab, this species of metadecapod
relies on an exogenous shelter system to protect its soft,
terrifying body. In the absence of giant metaterrestrial
mollusk shells, the salvage crab settles for small build-
ings and vehicles—in this case an F-14 fighter jet.
● Hits the afterburners and gives chase.
● Joined by its hotshot wingcrab to hunt in tandem
● Launches sidewinder missiles, destroying terrain,
trying to get a lock (targeted, nearly blown up, etc.)
● Brings down the big claw (grappled, crushed, etc.)
● Ejects before its shell explodes, exposing a hooked
tail—soft and vulnerable but dripping with toxic se-
cretions (bad rash, literally can’t stop puking, etc.)
● Scoops you into a mouth full of sharp, feathered
maxillipeds (horrified, chewed, etc.)
BloodWhip Swarm
Despite their cutesy name, abyssal bloodwhips are ac-
tually pretty gross. They’re like flying tapeworms. They
have a series of combination heart-stomachs, mate for
life, and can scream, usually when frightened or about
to fly in for a tasty marrow-bore. Bloodwhips subsist
primarily on marrow.
● Hard to hit with pinpoint damage, but vulnerable to
masers, explosions, fire, and other area effects.
● Envelops you in a blinding cloud of monster.
● Clogs gear up with what looks like silly string but is
actually just metres and metres of bloodwhip.
● Screams in a startling chain reaction ending with
you (freaking out, deafened, etc.)
● Works its way into your hazwear and under your
clothes looking for a nice bony drill site.
● Drinks your marrow! (fatigue, bone-holes, etc.)
3.2 What's Inside a Metaterrestrial Slug?
Metaterrestrial anatomy
can seem pretty strange
9
to us!
7
14
For this exercise, label
the diagram with the 6
9
terms you’ve learned in 8
this unit. avoid
slang, “splulsgger” 10
mouth parts
1. _______________ 4
5
buccal mass
2. _______________

cephalic tentacles
3. _______________ 3
2
1
15 11

nerve ring
4. _______________ 14
x
done button
5. _______________ the nasties X
10. _______________

mantle
6. _______________ intestine
11. _______________ 13
12

slime central X
7. _______________ ovotestis
12. _______________

stomach
8. _______________ gonopore
13. _______________
to
No adding cu
snot nozzle x
9. _______________ b-hole x
14. _______________ the curri lum ,
’ve
Nicholas. Wethis.
i5. em-siphon discussed
Sluggy Asks... Apply it!
How is this slug’s anatomy similar to In your groups, go “slug-hunting”
that of a slug you might find in your around the school! How many
garden? How is it different? kinds can you identify?

See me after class.

 From FUST’s special line
giant robot Hand of “Hover or Die” decks
featuring “all the things
Battalions of rusting warbots lie scattered across worlds, that almost killed us.”
relics of long-forgotten interdimensional conflict. Most
are dead, useful only as salvage. But some of these
machines (or pieces of them) remain active, wandering
the multiverse like autonomous ronin—broken soldiers
without a war, their purpose lost in a tangle of buggy,
half-eroded protocols.

● Stalks around like a tarantula, scanning random stuff.

● Can be hacked via a hard-to-reach panel.
● Pursues with jet boosters, curling into a collision fist.
● Fires a salvo of microrockets (battered, burned, etc.)
● Deflects attacks with unexpected forcefield.
● Grows hardlight claws and strikes (stabbed, etc.)
● Pulls you right into its palm with a tractor beam.
● Squeezes you like a lime or attempts to flee with a
hostage as part of its baffling 8-bit agenda.

Android
Androids can be found all over. From bouncers working
dance clubs in Operaeblum, to interdimensional courier
bots putting entrepreneurial slugblasters out of work, to
rogue synthroids wandering the lower planes in hunting
packs, to the malware-prone home assistants being de-
veloped by Miper. And while most androids are friendly
collaborators, this one in front of you probably isn’t.

● Kill-mode engaged! Deploys hidden arsenal.

● Pursues you relentlessly like a freaking terminator.
● Adapts to energy weapon modulation frequencies.
● Transforms into more advantageous configurations.
● Attacks with inhuman strength (bruised ribs, etc.)
and blasts from its laser eyes (lasered, etc.)
● Begins charging mega-weapon.
● Target lock acquired, prepare to be de-atomized
(targeted, laser dot on forehead, etc.)

114

Surveillance orb
This volleyball-sized hover drone observes all its sur-
roundings at once with hundreds of mechanical irises.
Why does it watch you? Who does it serve? Will you
catch it before it flies away? Probably not but you also
don’t want to just be standing here when the backup
arrives. Time to jet, buster.
● Patrols silently, stalks you from a distance.
● Catches you in the act, records everything.
● Flees trying to get in signal range.
● Nearly impossible to hit, but its avoidance chip over-
heats if strained too long.
● Intentionally winds and weaves through dangerous
areas, mocking you with sassy bleeps.
● When in range, requests backup and attempts to
upload the evidence.
● Begins self-destruct sequence.
soliton
On rare, statistically-inevitable occasions, the random
fluctuations in the infinite noise line up just right to
form powerful entities. Whether it’s a demi-god of fire,
a celestial glob of the All-Pattern, or a giant face made
of glowing thought-crystal shouting lasers at you, these
encounters leave a lasting impact. Run and/or pray.
● Fills you with wonder/dread (dazed, groveling, etc.)
● Divine boredom, eldritch instinct, or some higher
cosmic purpose dictates you must be chased, test-
ed, tormented, and/or destroyed.
● Molds reality to create a dangerous obstacle course
● Blasts you with energy beams from its mouth, or
psychic rays from its third eye (stunned, sizzled,
polymorphed, brain-slushed, etc.)
● Binds you in its Omega Chambers for inscrutable
and eternal-feeling appraisal and judgment.
Monsters
Variance wraith
When the course of reality is altered, an infinite number
of possible futures collapse into one, and sometimes,
their raw potentiality concentrates to form a Variance
Wraith. Its incorporeal form is out of phase with the fab-
ric of space and time, and its only goal is the destruction
of reality itself.
● Cannot be reasoned with or hidden from.
● Pursues you like a freight train of smoke and tar.
● Kills plants, boils water, and melts terrain with its
ghostly shrieks (terrified, reality-scrambled, etc.)
● Uh oh, your attacks go right through it.
● Grows bigger as it devours life and energy.
● Splits into two (sorry).
● Slices with spectral claws (cut, quantum injury, etc.)
● Digs its way in and takes over your body, shunting
your mind off into some kind of nethersphere.
Omnimouth horde
These ravenous, softball-sized mouths float in midair,
subtracting material from the multiverse with sickening
efficiency. Their origin is debated and their biology is un-
clear, but any matter eaten seems to disappear forever,
a source of much concern for those made of matter.
● Hibernate in formation, motionless and invisible.
● Appear one at a time all around you.
● Quickly overwhelm slow-moving or stationary tar-
gets (swarmed, trapped, fetal position, etc.)
● Hard to hit with pinpoint damage, but vulnerable to
masers, explosions, fire, and other area effects.
● Devours long tunnels through surrounding terrain,
causing landslides, cave-ins, etc.
● Chews through plastic, metal, and flesh (broken
device, covered in bite marks, bleeding, etc.)
● Organizes into MEGAMOUTH.
115
 sudsy
For beloved ultrabacker Ben Gelinas.
Pigpens beware—Sudsy is coming. Most trace this
soap monster’s origin to an industrial spill in Prismatia,
but now it wanders the planes, leaving a trail of caustic
foam, protected by a rich chemical lather, drawn to filth
and scrubbing until there’s nothing but bones.
● Rushes toward you, swelling into a furious lather
● Vulnerable to oil and large amounts of water, but
small amounts of water actually strengthen it.
● Drips through cracks, pours over barricades
● Soaks you with cleaning agent (slick, blinded,
burned, corroded gear, etc.)
● Corrals you inside expanding mounds of thick foam.
● Envelops you fully then flees someplace it can clean
that grime off your skeleton in peace.
The Peryton
For beloved ultrabacker Robert Michon
No one knows exactly what this deer-like metaterrestrial
cryptid is. Engineers say it’s a rogue AI, philosophers
say it’s the answer to the Last Question, and though
most believe it to be entirely peaceful, Terri’s cousin
Mark swears he saw it bite a guy’s arm off at a rager last
Saturday night.
● Turns translucent when spotted.
● Flees and fragments at the speed of thought.
● Cameras and recording equipment start acting up,
requiring recalibration.
● Shifts to a new world and pulls you along with strong
spacetime riptides.
● Seems to be playing with you, teasing, leading you
somewhere special.
116
mister Young
For beloved ultrabacker Jason Hall of RPGlory.
It looks like a normal teenager, but it’s actually an ancient
being nearly as old as your parents. Mister Young drifts
from world to world embedding among young people
and feeding off their energy and optimism, on a mission
to defy adulthood and grind the multiverse forever.
I swear this
● Befriends, charms, becomes part of the gang. isn’t me.
● Quietly skims teen lifeforce (tired, bitter, etc.)
● Gets you alone and transforms.
● Takes a huge bite from your youthful exuberance
(exhausted, despondent, etc.)
● Immune to physical harm, but vulnerable to being
trapped, starved, or overfed.
● Chases you on his cursed hoverboard.
● Devours you entirely (mummified, nearing forty, etc.)
The Conductor
For ultrabacker Shane O’Reilly (AKA Curtis)
A malicious soliton from The Noise, formed from the
angsty sonic-pollution left by the phone speakers and
earbuds of an entire generation. The Conductor may
manifest as a construct of pure distorted bass, a DJ on
a killing spree, an insidious virus festering in your music
library, or a garish poltergeist with a dripping baton.
● Generates hypnotic rhythms (dazed, puppeteered,
etc.) and disturbing melodies (freaked out, sad, etc.)
● Pursues and haunts you on waves of sound.
● Nearly unkillable, but vulnerable to antiphase noise-
canceling and full vacuum.
● Slams you with violent bass (bruised, headache,
internal bleeding, etc.)
● Drags you into The Noise (page 106).
 Monsters

STRONG VS... WEAK VS...

Make A Monster anything trying to breathe 11 loud sounds
1
the surrounding air
12 electricity surges
It’s Alive! Abuse your GMly powers of 2
all but one of the pcs’
13 chemical reactions
weapons
creation to create your own monsters! Use 14 strikes to a sensitive area
these tips & tables for ideas. 3 all the pcs’ weapons
15 overheating
exposure to flesh / close
4
contact / toe-to-toe fights 16 confusion
● What is its goal, drive, or directive?
5 attempts to hide or flee 21 self-destruction
● Do you want the PCs to fight it? Run
attempts to use electronics 22 loss of momentum
away from it? Befriend it? Study it? 6
or make portals in its vicinity
23 nuclear radiation
Sneak past it? Trick it? Your goal may
24 specific wavelengths of light
affect how you describe the monster.
25 magnetic forces
● Write a quick list of potential problems and slams. What terrible new
26 reality inversion
features or tactics reveal themselves? How does it attack? How does it
defend itself? Check out page 151 for ideas. 31 clever maneuvering
● Let the crew name it for you, if you haven’t already. Maybe this is the 32 its own attacks
first time this monster has been encountered by humanity! 33 certain pheromones/frequencies
34 alien atmosphere
35 disarmament
36 stunning
A DJ E C T I V E ( R O L L T W I C E )
41 threats to its nest
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 42 standing perfectly still
1 giant dripping glitching abyssal morphing camouflaged 43 deception
2 colossal hungry advanced celestial radioactive telekinetic 44 having a need met
3 towering inverted warping splitting teleporting anti-reality 45 internal lasers
4 flying unstable planar mutating babbling replicating 46 the epsilon principle
5 territorial ancient hybrid evolving screaming 5-dimensional 51 choking
6 ghostly psionic quantum vomiting unraveling multi-headed 52 complete meltdown
53 portal static
54 hardlight
NOUN
55 nth trails
d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 56 weird gravity
1 fly squid crocodile centipede android bacterium 61 mutation
2 mosquito jellyfish snake slug killbot fungus 62 water
3 moth eel shark larva drone amoeba 63 clouds of particulate
4 hornet scorpion manta ray worm cyborg parasite 64 twisting or tangling
5 cockroach crab theropod lizard mecha swarm 65 peelback
6 insectoid spider pterosaur caterpillar construct mix two 66 displays of vulnerability

117
 Fac- faction rules
There are four kinds of factions in
Slugblaster: crews, sponsors, authorities,

tions
and crowds. Each faction has things they
like and things they don’t. How you treat
them, what you post, and what they hear
about you can change how they view
you, and how they treat you back.

You can track your faction relationships

using the following symbols.
(Rival crews, corporate
sponsors, and other people +1 Friendly. Agreeable, interested,
encouraging.
that aren't you)
+2 Tight. Helpful, close, caring,
enthusiastic.

It’s a busy multiverse. +3 Ally. Ride or Die. Should

trigger a perk or event, such as
Diehard Fans, Collab, or Swag.
There are rival crews
trying to upstage you, -1 Unfriendly. Annoyed, skeptical,
or wary.

sponsors trying to sell -2 Rivals. Resentful, angry, threat-

ened, petty.

you, authorities trying -3 Enemy. Let me at ‘em. Should

to police you, and big trigger an event like Hunted or

Smear Tactics.

crowds of potential !!! Unstable. The relationship is

on the verge of changing dra-
fans watching your Feel free to make up
matically. Anything could tip it.
(Useful for betrayals, which have
every move. your own symbols, too.
Question marks, emoji,
etc. Relationships can
the potential to turn allies into
enemies quickly, for example.)
be complex!
118

CREWS
You’re not the first group of slugblasters to give them-
selves a name and matching hats, and you won’t be the
last. Many crews have come and gone, formed and re-
formed, risen to stardom, and washed up just as quickly.
● BRB. A crew of straight-laced, athletic, and super
competitive laserbladers.
● Jet Collective. A large crew of inclusive activists
with an addiction to petty drama.
● Null Range. An obnoxious, anti-authoritarian crew of
older kids from Hillview.
● Lazy Bunny. Super mainstream, super broish, super
nice live-streamers having their moment.
● The Wicks. A crew of young, rowdy, disenfranchised
up-and-comers.
Authorities
There is more to this world than slugblasting—there
are also people who want to stop slugblasting, control
slugblasting, and use slugblasters to help them commit
crimes! Authorities are the various powerful groups of
adults you have to deal with whether you want to or
not. These authorities’ motives are complex, mysterious,
and often-changing, and you tend to see different sides
of them depending on your relationship. They can be
your biggest ally or your greatest enemy, and each entry
details how.
● DARA. Big, mysterious research facility. Its Rescue
division act as Hillview’s portal cops.
● The Arborists. An ancient sect of planeswalkers
from Thennis Spar.
● Shimmer. Transversal criminal syndicate.
● Doorways. Concerned parent group from Hillview.
● The Old Guard. Promoters, magazine editors, and
retired slugblasters.
Factions
Sponsors
Getting sponsored is the nearly-multiversal goal of all
slugblasters, ever since the very first hoverboard shop
gave a free t-shirt to some kid they liked. However, a few
years ago, a candy company called Wilkie’s transformed
the scene by injecting big money into it, offering massive
rockstar sponsorship deals to promising slugblasters.
● Miper. A sleek, idealistic big-tech company.
● Hardecker. A clueless blue-collar brand that’s just
been made cool.
● Wilkie’s. Candy, toys, energy drinks, x-treme sports.
● Scram Cat. The original indie slugblasting shop, in
the process of becoming a Miper subsidiary.
● FUST. Last real indie sponsor, owned/operated by
total a-holes.
Crowds
The slugblaster scene is a 4-dimensional Venn dia-
gram of complex sub-scenes and overlapping political,
philosophical, and aesthetic in-groups. But in general,
it can be divided into five main clusters. These are your
potential fans—while your fame level determines how
well-known you are, your relationship with these various
crowds determines who actually likes you and thinks
you’re cool. Cool is relative, after all.
● The Thrashers. The partiers, hipsters, and artists.
They value authenticity, aesthetic, and attitude.
● The Heads. The nerds, athletes, and aficionados.
They value skill and innovation.
● The Mavens. The activists, punks, and die-hards.
They value community and standing for something.
● The Freaks. The ravers, crusties, and oddballs. They
value originality and expression.
● The Normies. The mainstreamers, pre-teens, and
basics. They value fun.
119
 crews “Jet” used to stand
for something, but
no one in the crew
remembers what.
Brb
The first team ever to burn through in a triple, BRB is a
crew of competitive, backpack-wearing laserbladers,
dominating leaderboards and beating every comp they
enter into submission. People joke that BRB will be the
ones to get slugblasting turned into an Olympic event.
NPCs. K-jump (girlscout, pushes herself). Whiplash
(loyal, everything’s a competition, sore loser). Bez
(noise-canceling earbuds, inventing tricks in their head).
Assets. Free gear from Scram Cat, best times on all
the top speed runs, a well-organized text file filled with
secret routes, and huge pull with The Heads.
Likes. Skill and innovation, talking shop, The Old Guard,
DARA (low-key, Rescue once legitimately saved their
lives), and Scram Cat.
Dislikes. FUST, Null Range, sloppy runs, and gimmicky
stunts.
120
Jet Collective
This diverse crew of Thennis Spartians likes to hold a
mirror up to the scene, while at the same time nurturing
it with community events, demos, and comps. They love
slugblasting and try to fight for it, but are highly sensitive
to perceived infractions. Once you’re in their bad books,
it’s hard to do anything right.
NPCs. Lyyra (outspoken, overprotective, 100% princi-
pled, 0% chill). Garek (used to be edgy and always over-
compensates for it, big into experimental orb music).
Phox (mysterious, rarely talks, but when they do it’s to
drop some knowledge).
Assets. A reluctant Miper sponsorship, venues and
event organizers on speed dial, a powerful rumor mill,
and huge pull with The Mavens.
Likes. Compassion, accessibility, inter-crew cooperation,
activism, and stunts that make a statement.
Dislikes. Gatekeeping, phonies, sellouts like Lazy
Bunny, edgelords, Hardecker, and The Normies.
S I T UAT I O N !
Jet Collective’s strong passion and principles
have started to curl back in on itself, turning what
would be normal drama between friends into
an all-out war of accusations, ultimatums, and
brinkmanship. If someone doesn’t step in, Jet
Collective could implode entirely, causing shock
waves through the scene.
The BRB mascot, Flip, doing
a double-burn in his phat
hardlight inlines.
Null Range
Diehard fans know it was originally spelled “0range,” but no one bothers with that
anymore. Null Range is known for being obnoxious and fiercely anti-establisment,
punching their own sponsor reps during parties and dressing in parodies of DARA’s
iconic orange hazwear as an f-you to the agency they’ve waged total war on.

NPCs. Curtis (foul-mouthed, douchey blazer, messed-up homelife). Delainey

(sarcastic, chewing bubble gum, constantly exasperated with Curtis). Harv (weird,
dirty). Rick (90s hacker vibes). Van (all business, speakers in helmet).

Assets. A secret portal-zone somewhere near Burger Man, a large collection

of Rescue uniforms and equipment, an inside man at DARA (Rick’s dad), fragile
FUST sponsorship, pull with The Thrashers, the blessing of The Old guard.

Likes. Jet Collective, The Old Guard, and stickin’ it to the man.

Dislikes. DARA, Doorways, The Arborists, and milquetoast dorks like BRB.

lazy bunny
The only crew to be featured on The Morning Show before Slugblaster
Magazine, this fun-loving set of good-looking goofs has become a
crossover hit, tween sensation, and many people’s first exposure to the
slugblasting movement at all. You can’t sell out if you’ve never been in!

NPCs. Paisley (cutesy, painfully basic). Bryce (infectious smile, sin-

cere, oblivious, golden retriever). Sally (simps for Paisley and Bryce).
And, of course, Dylan (“Dylllllannnn! You’re such a joker.”).

Assets. A huge streaming channel, Wilkie’s sponsorship, entou-

rage of Normies, and Wift Wabbit, their insanely popular team Special
mascot on track to be more famous than they are, pending an thanks to
animated series currently stuck in pre-production. ultra-backer
Travis Michael
Likes. BRB, being liked, having fun, and good vibes.
DeVoll for
coming up with
Wift Wabbit,
Dislikes. Jet Collective, FUST, snobs-in-general. possibly my
favourite thing in
this entire game.
121
 The Wicks
Shaking the scene and scaring parents across the mul-
tiverse, this throng of rowdy kids from Operaeblum is
making up for their inexperience with raw talent, youth-
ful energy, and a complete disregard for the way things
are usually done.
NPCs. Dogburgers (aggressive, intimidating, unhinged).
Sexxx (friendly but mischievous, has an animatronic
baby in a carrier that she’s programmed to smoke cig-
arettes). Dead Parents (shy, most talented, butt of the
joke, parents are dead).
S I T UAT I O N !
Hardecker had no idea what they were signing
up for when they sponsored The Wicks, and their
board is only now realizing what they’ve got­—the
hottest property in the slugblasting market, and
an absolute PR nightmare. The Wicks could make
life-changing money, but only if they start playing
by the rules.

Assets. VIP access to the one club in Operaeblum

they aren’t banned from, a way into Wilkie’s Candy
Lab® through maintenance tubes, the adoration of The
Freaks, a sponsorship from Hardecker, a channel of
videos that could turn your pastor grey.

Likes. Pranking/abusing their exhausted sponsor rep,

crashing parties, and not giving an eff.

Dislikes. The Old Guard, The Arborists, most Mavens

and most other crews.

Turns out
I really like
writing these.
MORE WICKS
1 Kancer 1 Earblood
2 Bong Jesus 2 Mean Fetus
3 Vomatron 3 LL Cruel J
4 Slurgasm 4 Gearl Sweatshirt
5 Autopsy F-bot 5 Satan’s Girlfriend
6 Needles 6 Lil’ Atilla

122
IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO IT.
DO IT SAFELY.

learn more at
safeslugblasting.org
 authorities
The Arborists
Arborism is an ancient religion with temples through-
out Thennis Spar, and likely beyond. They believe the
multiverse is a great tree with many forking branches,
and that they have been called to tend to it. At their
best, they are spiritually-minded thinkers and philoso-
phers, guiding interdimensional travellers with wisdom
and protecting the multiverse from destructive forces. At
worst they’re creepy cultists trying to control everything.
NPCs. Daada, the High Forester (mysterious, calculated,
smells strongly of incense and portal static). Rani, the
Sapling (young, smart, torn between her devotion to her
family and her desire to be a normal teenager).
Assets. Deciduum Temple (and all the advanced tech-
nology and multiversal secrets contained therein) and
numerous secret routes and portal-zones.
Likes. Balance, order, tradition, nature, sustainability,
and nurturing the minds of respectful young people.
Dislikes. Anything too disruptive, Doorways, invasive
species, anomalous quantum phenomena, and littering.
S I T UAT I O N !
The Arborists believe there is a disease of sorts
spreading through the limbs of the multiverse,
threating to rot the entire tree. If they can’t figure
out what’s going on, they’ll be forced to start
pruning entire branches.
124
NEXUS MASTER
For beloved ultrabacker Andrew Davison.
When the Arborists need a threat to the multi-
verse neutralized with extreme prejudice, they
send in the Nexus Master. Trained in combat
disciplines from throughout the multiverse, the
Nexus Master is a relentless opponent, as deadly
with their fists as they are with their signature
Ionic Poleaxe.
● Runs you down with arcane speed, mind-
jumps, and holy determination.
● Deflects and redirects your attack.
● Throws a variety of gravity orbs that slow,
launch, or trap you.
● Slams you with ionic poleaxe (reality dam-
age, concept rupture, etc.) or well-trained
fists (pummeled, pwned, grappled, etc.)
● Uses a quantum palm strike to peel you back
or knock you into a holding dimension.
The Arborist’s sigil, found marking
various temples, shrines, and secret
sites throughout the
local multiverse.
 Factions

Been around for years and

people still can’t agree on
how to pronounce it.
DARA R E S C U E AG E N T
DARA (Dimensional Access and Research Agency) is a Incompetent rent-a-cops, well-trained patrols, and
privately-operated, government-funded particle physics elite strike teams here to save you from fun and
lab operating in Hillview. At best they provide schol- haul you back home for processing, decontami-
arships and mentorship to young people, while their nation, treatment, and a court-ordered six-week
Rescue unit provides help to people in serious trouble. safety course.
At worst they are a shady for-profit experimentation
facility with an army of crooked spacetime cops. ● “Help has arrived. Remain calm and stay still.”
● Chases you on hoverbike or goofy upright
NPCs. Officers Koop and Penner (bumbling, easily pro- personal transport device.
voked, pants falling down when they try to run). Dr. Slate ● “Rescue Unit Bravo requesting back up!”
(ambitious, pragmatic, always using hand sanitizer). ● Immobilizes you with stun rays or jets of hard-
ening foam (numb, stuck, etc.)
Assets. A multibillion-dollar facility, impressive security, ● Freezes up portal-zones with zerobeams.
highly-trained ultranauts, two long-shuttered satellite
facilities, an underfunded Research & Innovation wing,
a floundering Youth Science program, an over-fund-
ed Rescue division, a newly-built Treatment centre, a
freshly-minted Prevention division, squads of agents in R E S E A R C H FAC I L I T Y
powered EDA suits, fleets of drones, experimental zone A world-class complex complete with staff hous-
locks, two twenty-client-capacity SAR harvesters, and a ing, food court, gym, learning centre, data suite,
storage room full of confiscated slugblasting gear. acres of lab space, and a negafriction power-
plant that provides free electricity to the easily-
Likes. New data, exciting discoveries, fostering young placated population of Hillview, which still uses a
scientists, and monitoring/controlling Null’s spacetime. fraction of the energy devoured by DARA’s huge
underground particle accelerator.
Dislikes. The Arborists, being undermined, and punk
kids bringing negative attention to extraplanar research. PROBLEMS CHECKPOINTS
● security doors ● a fenced lot filled
● guards, sentry bots with cooling coils
● oops you run into a ● reflective hallways
S I T UAT I O N ! parent or teacher ● break room
Despite growing criticism from its dwindling staff ● alarms, sweeps ● catwalks over lab
of actual researchers, the Prevention arm of ● full lockdown ● glass elevator
DARA’s notorious Rescue division is developing a ● planar assault on ● holding cells
technology that would “repair” Null’s spacetime the hardportal ● huge, underground
field, patching thin-zones and severing Null from ● elite units atom-smasher pipe
the rest of the multiverse entirely. ● reactor collapse ● shipping dock

125
 shimmer
Shimmer is a transversal underworld criminal syndicate.
At its worst it’s a hive of mercenaries, arms dealers, and
thieves. At its best it’s ​your​hive of mercenaries, arms
dealers, and thieves. Like, nobody’s all bad, right?
NPCs. A mercenary named Balaclava (gruff, sarcastic,
always gets stuck babysitting slugblasters). A Slipmarket
dealer named Galina (bug-eyed, always sweating). A
boss named Jericho Zebulak (cigars, voice to match).
Assets. A fleet of killbots, a gang of toughs, corrupt
board members, Rescue agents on the payroll, hidden
smuggling portals, illegal weapons and portaling tech,
and young sluggers unknowingly delivering contraband.
Likes. People they can use, people who keep quiet, and
scrappy kids who can break into places and might want
to make a few bucks, huh? Whatcha say?
Dislikes. Snitching, ingratitude, and disloyalty.
M E R C E N A RY
Being an interplanar mercenary isn’t easy. The
bugs are big, the pay barely covers your over-
head, your joints don’t take portal static like they
used to, and these teenage brats won’t stop
getting in your way.
● Protected by cool-looking battle armour.
● Dope hand cannon vaporizes huge chunks of
terrain and whoever doesn’t run.
● Chases quarry with sweet jetpack.
● Scans for body heat with wicked helmet.
● Unsheathes negafriction knives, visibly
weighs pros and cons of killing a minor.
126
the Old guard
A group of promoters, reviewers, burnouts, wash-ups,
and geriatric twentysomethings who were doing this
when you were in diapers. At their best, they are men-
tors, rolemodels, and sources of inspiration and wisdom.
At their worst, they are cynics, snobs, and gatekeepers.
NPCs. The editor of Slugblaster Magazine, Corey
(old/28, cranky, lives and breathes slugblasting). The
co-owner of Infinite Pizza, Marley (sarcastic, amused,
used to be a pro slugger until an injury).
Assets. Powerful influencers and bloggers, slugblasting
oral historians, a curated collection of skate shops and
pizza joints, secret portals and hoverboard spots.
Likes. Authenticity, respecting forebears, paying hom-
age to slugger history, Scram Cat, FUST, and Null Range.
Dislikes. Arrogance, anything too disruptive to slug-
blasting fundamentals, Lazy Bunny, and The Wicks.
S I T UAT I O N !
Sensing a sea change with the rise of popular
streamers like Lazy Bunny, The Old Guard is plan-
ning a battery of hot takes and think pieces that
will tear the scene in two. All must pick a side.
S I T UAT I O N !
Shimmer thrives in this era of nebulous trade
laws and spotty border control. But improved in-
frastructure and oversight threaten this wild west,
and slugblasters are fast becoming the only ones
who can still slip through the cracks.
 Factions

Doorways S I T UAT I O N !
Doorways is a parent group concerned about the negative effects of slug- Doorways is facing a cross-
blasting on Hillview’s teenage population. At its best this coalition of involved roads. Sensing defeat,
parents provides education, supervision, and safety equipment to young some members are trying to
people. At its worst it’s a mob of torch-waving soccer moms burning piles of backtrack and turn Doorways
Slugblaster Magazines and protesting near portal-zones. into a pro-slugblasting safety
awareness group, while
NPCs. Stacy’s mom, Karen (stubborn, angry, something is wrong and no one other members have only
is listening. Does “got it going on,” though, yes). Jason, the youth leader (up- become more zealously
beat, deep conviction, “no cap, my homies”). opposed to all of it, like the
growing subsect of multi-
Assets. Boxes of tracts and pamphlets, a storage room in the school gym verse deniers in the “One
holding donated peelback kits and hazwear for safe-slugblasting campaigns, Universe Society.”
highly contagious outrage, many church basements, spies undercover as the
“cool” teachers, straight-laced teen snitches, an elite neighbourhood watch.
From an infamous series of early-era
Likes. Safety, good rolemodels, and, inexplicably, Lazy Bunny, who they find
Doorways comics, which, despite many
glaring inaccuracies and out-of-context
wonderfully charming and polite, even if they can’t condone their lifestyle. Bible verses, managed to actually TEACH
a few a kids how to make portals.
Dislikes. DARA (for letting this all happen), Wilkie’s (who brazenly exploit this
fad for profit), bad attitude, uncouth behaviour, and music with too much bass.

127
 Sponsors
Scram cat
Before Scram Cat, slugblasting wasn’t much more than a
few kids sneaking into Prismatia through mining portals.
But with Scram Cat’s novelty toy, the Nth gear™ hover-
board, everything changed. (The company’s name is so
synonymous with the subculture that in some places
slugblasters are called “scram cats” instead.) No com-
pany has the history, the respect, and the authenticity
that Scram Cat has—which is exactly why Miper is set to
acquire them later this month. I’m sure it will be chill.
NPCs. Sibling co-owners Ken (naive, optimistic, com-
pletely baked) and Esther (resigned, over it, completely
baked). Miper’s on-site auditor, Imani (observant, data-
driven, this is going in her report).
Assets. The most legendary slugblasting gear available,
The Scram Cat X-Games™, a flagship store on Popularia
boardwalk, years of hard-earned brand loyalty, a name
inextricably tied to the culture, the blessing of The Old
Guard, a mountain of debt, and no other options.
Likes. Crews who just love the sport, do big tricks on
classic spots, break records, and try new things.
Dislikes. As of next month, whatever Miper doesn’t like.
Crews sponsored by Scram Cat
get a t-shirt and a 60 ft roll
of grip tape in a random colour
(see page 62).
128
S I T UAT I O N !
Miper has a vision for a more connected multi-
verse. As part of that vision, Miper has decided to
build a hugely expensive interdimensional train,
which requires them to switch to an entirely new
Q-Form, rendering all current Nth gear products
incompatible with local spacetime.
Crews sponsored by Miper get
new phones, definitely without
Miper tracking devices in them.
Some people are different. They choose excellence.
They choose precision. They choose something with
classical music and confusing shots of austere architec-
ture and European models in their advertisements. They
choose Miper®, a design-focused tech company striving
to change the world one innovation at a time.
NPCs. Celebrated visionary and CEO Tristen Voss
(passionate, arrogant, ambitious). CTO Jian-Jian Ren
(disgruntled, has given everything for this company and
for what). Unpaid intern Robin (terrified, overworked).
Assets. A partially operational interdimensional train, an
expensive R&D campus in Popularia, one endowment
away from voting majority on Popularia University’s
board, a library of patents and a piranha tank of lawyers,
market dominance in telecom and social media, the
prestigious Young Genius scholarship, and Scram Cat
(pending evaluation).
Likes. Scientific discovery, innovation, and crews with
passion and something to say, as long as it’s not some-
thing critical of Miper.
Dislikes. Irreverence, crews who don’t take this serious-
ly, Rescue, Doorways, The Arborists, and FUST.
 Factions

Crews sponsored by Hardecker get a

lifetime supply of descoring spray foam
cleaning agent! Yay!
Hardecker S I T UAT I O N !
Hardecker had no idea they were in the slugblasting Hardecker is holding their first ever slugblasting
business, but have been reluctantly pivoting ever tournament, and they clearly have no idea what
since their rugged outer-planar mining products were they’re doing, because the top prize is a ludi-
co-opted by the scene. They’ve begun tentatively mak- crous amount of money. However, it’s being
ing sponsorship deals, at least until their boardroom full protested by a group of Mavens, and Slugblaster
of beige-wearing dads try to figure out why a bunch of Magazine is covering the protest.
teenage hipsters are buying out their P400 Duraweave
Outwear Jackets and sewing decorative patches onto
them.

NPCs. Paul, head of marketing (baffled, can barely use

a computer, “what do teenagers like?”). Cheryl (intense,
pantsuit game on point, had to work twice as hard to get
here and isn’t about to let some punks ruin everything).
Flenderson, operations manager (fake smile, always
feels like he’s telling you what you want to hear).

Assets. Bizarre momentary cachet, various mining

portals, SPM Kramshon and other mining subsidiaries, Hardecker® 20gv
the Hardecker® Tools commercial line, the ill-conceived MAX-R mid-range
Hardecker® Fleek™ slugblasting line currently being
7” slackbeam, out
of the box.
focusgrouped, warehouses full of product, silos full of
unrefined kramshon, and union-busters paid under the
table.

Likes. Normies, fiscal solvency, untapped revenue

streams, doing legally fuzzy deals with Shimmer, punctu-
ality, hard work, and advertising their powered weapon
systems with slow-motion shots of sparks, sweaty brows
being wiped, objects falling into beds of gravel, and
dirty, calloused hands gripping mud-splattered heavy
duty particle rays.

Dislikes. Controversy, anything that’d make the share-

holders nervous, anything too weird, improper use of
equipment, The Arborists, and cussing.
Hardecker® 20gv
MAX-R mid-range
7” slackbeam,
after modification.
129
 Crews sponsored by Wilkie’s
get all-they-can-drink PANIC
PA N I C E N E R GY ® D R I N K F L AVO U R S
Wilkie's Energy®. Careful now.
1 Lemon Stress 1 Blackout Punch
Wilkie’s is the local multiverse’s largest confectionery
2 Peach Meltdown 2 Cold Sweat
and other foodstuffs brand. Their parent company ac-
3 Public Freakout 3 Amygdala Rap Battle
quired them in a fun, militarized takeover in an effort to
provide calories to their megatower arcology of pas- 4 Fried Melon 4 Tang-xiety

sionately indentured citizens/employees. They’ve had 5 Bloodstream Bassdrop 5 Raspberry Crash

an active presence in the slugger scene since launching 6 Nauzea 6 (K)ortisol
their youth-targeted energy drink, PANIC Energy®.

NPCS. Mr. Wilkie, founder (old, eccentric, bleached hair,

big Guy Fieri energy). Ally Gater, the cartoon face of
Wilkie’s social media accounts (trickster, quick with the
clapback, loves stirring the pot, real identity unknown).
Drew, Director of Funtimes (joyless, monotone, this is
their dream job). Kenzie, sponsor rep (life of the party,
knows every bouncer in the multiverse, exhausted,
often caught staring into the middle distance).
S I T UAT I O N !
Wilkie, the company’s elderly, thrill-seeking
founder has been missing for nearly a year. The
company has done everything it can to cover it
up, but rumors are getting out and conspiracy
theories are forming.

Assets. A loving legal death-grip on Lazy Bunny, the

annual Multipalooza festival, a growing line of slug-
blasting gear, eighty percent of the energy drink market,
a beloved internet-breaking mascot, a permanently
closed waterpark in Empyrean, a top secret research
lab in Operaeblum, a rumored storage demiplane full of
shipping container after shipping container of snacks
and toys, the PANIC Energy® street team, and an army
of glitchy funbots.

Likes. Big parties, hilarious pranks, footage with

slime, and crews that look like they are having fun.

Dislikes. Taking things too seriously, taking

things seriously at all, debbie downers, party
poopers, Doorways, and The Arborists.

Ally was first introduced with

the launch of the PANIC Energy®
breakfast cereal, Deliri-Os™
which use CRISPR technology for
serious crunch.
130
 Factions

Crews sponsored by FUST eat

free at Infinite Pizza. One
FUST topping limit.
Soon to be the only truly independent slugblasting
brand offering sponsorships, FUST is a group of diehard,
anti-establishment Old Guard jerks known for refusing
sales to moms looking for birthday presents and banning
kids from their store for not knowing what peelback is.
Their sister shop, Infinite Pizza, has been a slugblasting
hotspot for years.
S I T UAT I O N !
FUST is freaking out about the pending deal
between Scram Cat and Miper. Scram Cat may
be their bitter rival, but it’s also an OG legend! It
shouldn’t be bought by some big tech company!
It should be bought by FUST, as a hilarious flex.

NPCs. Stooch (opinionated, moody, high standards).

Mogie (jackass, prankster, “yo, does this look infected?”)
The shop dog, Mr. William Samswell aka Mr. William
Slamswell aka Slamdog Willionaire (good boy, loves
tummy rubs, wears a bandanna, trained to hoverboard).

Assets. The hottest slugblasting apparel on the market,

a notorious video channel, a single storefront despite
huge demand, Infinite Pizza, a fulfillment centre in an old
yogurt factory, a small record label, huge pull with The
Thrashers, and the blessing of The Old Guard.

Likes. Super dangerous runs, big slams, crews that

DGAF, Null Range, and The Wicks.

Dislikes. Goody-goodies, crybabies, sellouts, Read about the

Scram Cat, corporations, and all authorities co-owner, Marley,
besides The Old Guard. on page 126

INFINITE PIZZA
Every inch of every surface is covered in stickers
and paint marker. The music is loud and not par-
ticularly appropriate, and the staff has to shout
to communicate between the small, narrow front
counter and the tiny, fully exposed kitchen area.
They’ve got the best slice in the multiverse and
a total of three booths, none of which are ever
available when you walk in.
Stands for
“Follow Us to
Slam Town.”

131
 Crowds Throngs of
potential fans,
ready to hit that
like-button.
the Thrashers
The partiers, scenesters, artists, and riftrats. They think
of slugblasting as an artform and value authenticity,
aesthetics, style, and attitude.
NPCs. Travis (chill, laugher, torn flannel shirt). Lee
(cold, intelligent, handpoked tattoos she did herself). A
group of hipsters drinking something bluecollar at the
skatepark. Students exchanging zines at a community
artspace.
the Heads
The more clean-cut nerds, athletes, and aficionados who
geek out about slugblasting, think of it as a sport, and
value skill, chops, innovation, and professionalism.
NPCs. Isabel (no-nonsense, always filming, notebook
full of routes from famous crews). Matty (enthusiastic,
nerdy, backpack and huge headphones at all times). A
group of devotees in line for the newest Miper® tech.
Power users comparing builds on the r/slugblasting
message board.
S I T UAT I O N !
The scene has been arranged like this for years.
But things are changing. Power is shifting, lines
are blurring, The Thrashers like pop music now,
and there are whispers of entirely new crowds
bubbling out from the cultural ether.
132
the mavens
The activists, punks, diehards, and organizers. They
think of slugblasting as a movement and value integrity,
community, and standing for something.
NPCs. Kary (friendly, usually baked, stack of handbills
for an event she’s promoting). Adan (intense, skeptical,
bag full of spraypaint and wheatpastes). A coffee shop
full of slam poets. An ecosystem of passionate micro-
bloggers locked in eternal discourse.
the Freaks
The oddballs, goths, ravers, and neo-hippies. They
think of slugblasting as a lifestyle, and value originality,
expression, and freedom.
NPCs. Andre (wears a wizard cloak, board painted to
look like a dragon, says “m’lady”). Shen (cat-eye contact
lenses, subsists on EDM). A group of teens in clown
makeup playing with juggling sticks in the park. Seedy
chatrooms filled with memelords.
the normies
The basics and mainstreamers. Your cousin Doug. Those
kids in the hoverboard park with their dads. Their dads.
They think of slugblasting as a fun new trend and value
entertainment, accessibility, and being nice.
NPCs. Frankie (tweenage, impressionable, probably will
want you to sign a painfully new toy-aisle hoverboard).
Tad and Ajay (sweet, broish, likely to yell “do a kickflip”
at you from a car window). A group of happy, optimistic,
pumpkin-spice-scented students. A homefeed well-
stocked with selfies, brunch, and online quizzes.
 Factions

MANNER D E TA I L S
Make A person 11 patient 11 smells like food
12 enthusiastic 12 smells like smoke
Use these tables to help create interesting rivals,
13 cooperative 13 straight up smells amazing
flesh out family members, design your dream
14 buzzkill 14 clearly showered moments ago
boyfriend, whatever!
15 insightful 15 stain on shirt
16 laid back 16 great skin
21 sketchy 21 sad haircut
You can read more about what 22 calculating 22 ill-fitting top
Thennis Spartians, Operaeblans, 23 careless 23 itchy sweater
and Popularians are like on pages 24 charming 24 very loud pants
NAMES 95, 99, and 102.
25 secretive 25 conspicuously new outfit
26 annoying 26 bold hat choice
Hillview (Kids). Caleb, Ethan, Kyle, Ryan, Dave, 31 arrogant 31 punchable face
Derek, Ira, Kemal, Amir, Riya, Ashley, Jessica, Kit, 32 douchey 32 bit of a tooth situation
Jasmin, Emily, Sara, Kristy, Imani, Yu-jin, Jordan. 33 distracted 33 for real gorgeous
34 baked 34 untested skincare routine
Hillview (Adults). Mr. Garber, Mr. Sadiq, Todd, Pat,
35 anxious 35 always looks tired
Don Stoll, Lori Stoll, Jennifer, Mrs. Enns, Miss Park.
36 quiet 36 that’s a lot of hair
41 dishonest 41 tiny, tiny eyes
Thennis Spar. Otha, Saturni, Vani, Maxavi, Soma,
42 snobby 42 turtlenecked AF
Brahmia, Varunius, Numeri, Aquana, Kumaria, Pira.
43 defiant 43 complete smokeshow
Popularia. Capucine, Baptiste, Constance, Rés, 44 confident 44 blinks too much
Noemie, Meline, Maxence, Morgenne, Julienna. 45 total downer 45 talks with hands
46 nice 46 talks in staccato
Operaeblum. Grip, KT, Antioch, Plastic, Babylon, 51 whiny 51 husky voice
Nineveh, Worker 1.1.3, User j.smith786, #2ef53e. 52 brash 52 mumbler
53 moody 53 melodious
54 shady 54 practically yelling
WA N T S / N E E D S
55 suspicious 55 BIG
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 56 so extra 56 doesn’t look their age
1 money love excitement 61 obsessive 61 whoa those are some eyebrows
2 power peace justice 62 nosey 62 kinda cute tbh
3 control change freedom 63 cold 63 coming down with something
4 popularity security achievement 64 fierce 64 recently injured
5 answers fun community 65 hyper 65 carrying too much stuff
6 pleasure identity respect 66 try-hard 66 looks a lot like one of the PCs

133
 You like the look of the
Miper X, but the hoverplate
config of your old Scram Cat
custom still just feels better.

You gotta stop lending Andy

your tools.

You’ve taken this thing apart

a dozen times. Maybe you’ll
loosen the tracking on the
agility pin a bit, or see if
you can finally get that beam
filter installed.

Cya Bear pillow, your most

cherished possession

IN THE LAB
You’ve practiced your treflip, you’ve modded
your grav blaster. You’ve wrapped Ruby Rush 2
in hard mode. You’re still bored. What you need
is a challenge. Danger. The thrill that can only
come from a multiverse set to destroy you. If only
there was some god-like entity to help with that.
run
the
game
HOW TO BE THE
SLUGMASTER
what
A GM
Does
They build characters, you
build worlds. They bring
snacks, you bring pain. You
are the GM. The Slugmaster.
The only one weird enough
to read this book and
think “You know what’s
more fun than shooting
bugs? Eating children!”
136
the job
Slugblaster is a player-driven sandbox game.
The players make the story happen for them-
selves most of the time, by taking actions and
setting their own goals. This doesn’t make your
job any easier, but it does make it a bit more
straightforward, since you mostly just react to
what the players give you.
In Slugblaster, the Game Moderator (GM) has
five main jobs:
1. Setup (page 138). Session zero, starting
the game, and prepping for your first run.
2. Pacing (page 140). Jump cuts, surprises,
group rolls, and progress/danger tracks.
3. Tone (page 142). How to set the correct
tone and guard it with your life.
4. Decisions (page 145). Saying yes, say-
ing no, judging effectiveness, and player
vs player situations.
5. Danger (page 146). The most import-
ant of them all. Obstacles, snags, slams,
disasters and everything else you need to
adorn the characters with buckets of hot,
jubilant agony.
This chapter contains guidance for each of
these jobs, followed by tips and tricks for run-
ning specific kinds of scenes (page 148) as
well as non-begrudging advice on
how to change the game (page 156).
Like how to run a
chase and plan the
perfect party!

the mindset
● Be Curious. Ask them questions. Give them prob-
lems you don’t know the answer to. Ask yourself
what would logically happen next. Let everything
flow from the fiction. Play to find out what happens.
● Be Bold. Paint the multiverse with colour and slime.
Don’t be afraid to get weird. Surround them with
alien landscape and lots of things to poke and play
with. Make everything a skatepark.
● Be Passionate. Be a fan of these rascals. You aren’t
their enemy­, for you dump acid on them out of love.
And when they roll 1s, don’t make them look silly—
they aren’t incompetent, the world is dangerous.
● Be Tough. Make them work for it. If you say the slug
will eat them if it catches up, don’t flinch when it
happens. The PCs have plenty of resources for deal-
ing with danger. It’s their job to save themselves.
● Be Chill. Hold things lightly. Go with the flow. Prep
less than you think you need to. Leave blanks.
Embrace the chaos. Say “yes and...”, and when you
can’t, say “no but...” instead.
BITE
Bite is a resource the GM spends to introduce
shocks, surprises, and other challenges that
could feel unearned or unfair otherwise. Not all
tables want or need to use bite, but I find it helps
me worry less and have more fun.
During the refresh (page 13) the GM collects 1
bite per player, and gains extra bite from certain
challenges (page 25) and dares (page 17).
W ha t a G M d o es
gm actions
Here’s a list of some things you can do, to help guide
you until you get the hang of it.
AT A N Y T I M E YO U C A N . . .
● Describe their surroundings.
● Ask questions like “What do you do?” or “Who’s
closest to the river?” or “Does that make your
character mad?” or “How does the trick look?”
or “Anyone have an idea for a problem?”
● Start a looming danger track (page 141) or
establish a future obstacle.
● Cut to the action, with the characters in control.
● Call for an extra refresh (page 13) any time
during the run (helpful for longer runs!).
● Call for a group action (page 140). This can
speed up and simplify a scene.
WHEN THEY ROLL A PROBLEM...
● Hit them with a snag (page 146).
● Hit them with a slam (page 147).
● Or just gain 1 bite you can use later.
S P E N D 1 B I T E TO. . .
● Introduce a surprise problem (page 140).
● Cut to the action, with the characters in over
their heads.
● Suddenly advance a threat (and the associated
danger track)!
S P E N D 2 B I T E TO. . .
● Force an immediate, additional disaster roll on a
single PC.
● Introduce a random challenge to the crew (or
pay a little more to pick something specific).
137
 setup
Setup is not the most glamorous part of a GM’s job, and
certainly not as fun as dropping quantum fear-meteors
on screaming teenagers. But someone needs to get this
party started—and that someone is you.
before playing
“Session Zero” is the name for the stuff that happens
before the group’s first run. Making characters, getting
on the same page, and getting ready to play.
1. Print the sheets (at slugblaster.com) and put them
on your table with some dice, pencils, snacks, and
your cat who loves lying on warm paper and fancies
herself a gamer now omg what device will she pick?
2. Once everyone is done petting that chubby angel,
briefly describe what Slugblaster is, using the intro
on page 6, if helpful.
Some groups find
3. Set guides for tone and content in
it helpful to
pick crew brands
your campaign. You can use Script before making
Change and the tone questions on characters.
page 142 to help.
4. Help players create their characters (page 38).
5. Let each player describe their character, including
their bond with another character. (Don’t forget Mrs.
Whiskers and her wittle swugbwasting kitty eeeeee!)
6. Lead them through crew creation (page 70).
7. You’re now ready for Session One! Or skip this for
now and do it
after the first
run.
138
SCRIPT CHANGE
Slugblaster works great with Script Change, a
toolset by Beau Jáger Sheldon.
Slugblaster’s tone can swing wildly from table to
table, and even from scene to scene. Everyone is
going to have preferred levels of fantasy, realism,
darkness, violence, silliness, etc. Script Change
keeps the tone consistent and everyone at the
table comfortable.
Plus, Script Change’s movie-based terminology
and VCR aesthetic fits Slugblaster perfectly.
Not to mention that cool Instant Replay feature!
Show that last trick in bullet-time and describe
every metaterrestrial dove flying past in the
background.
You can download and print Script Change for
free at: briebeau.itch.io/script-change
two start options
You can start them in the action, during a run. Starting
this way is fun, saves time, strongly establishes the
structure, and gives them a chance to learn the rules im-
mediately. This is better for players who are comfortable
with game mechanics.
Alternatively, you can start in town, before the action,
opening on each character living their day-to-day lives.
This option is slower, and you’ll be surprised how long
players can happily play out mundane teenage life. It
can require savvy pacing to get them to the run, but
establishes the emotional core of the game and is a
good option for players who are more comfortable with
storytelling than game mechanics.

your first run
Runs can vary greatly in length and structure from table
to table, based on how long you have to play each time
you meet, how long you want your campaign to be,
how difficult you want the game to feel, how talkative
your group is, how goal-oriented your players are, etc.
There’s no correct length, and you will quickly get a feel
for what works for you, but you gotta start somewhere,
so here is a simple run outline to get you started.
1. Set a couple obstacles the crew knows they need to
overcome to reach their prize. Start the run near the
first obstacle, using either a quick travel montage
or a jump cut (see page 140). This first obstacle
might be exciting, but not overly dire or expansive.
2. Now ease up on the pace a bit and let them explore,
talk with NPCs, etc. They may overcome more ob-
stacles, and may even reach their goal. But then...
3. Introduce a twist or new threat that changes the
nature of the run. A monster attacks, Rescue shows
up, the universe starts collapsing, etc. New obsta-
cles and goals may emerge, and snags evolve and
intensify the situation, setting up the final set piece.
4. End with a big fight, a big chase, or something else
action-packed and dangerous. You might even call
for disaster rolls near the climax of this scene.
5. The run ends and the crew heads home, either
victorious, by the skin of their teeth, or beaten and
bruised. If you haven’t already, call for disaster rolls
as they portal home, then make your way to the
clean-up and downtime phases!
The Demo on
page 30 gives
an example of
downtime.
S E TU P
W H AT S H O U L D I P R E P ?
Slugblaster was designed as a flexible, player-
driven, open-world game. It empowers improv,
and also requires it. If you try to plan out the plot,
either you or your players will get frustrated.
Many GMs find they need to prep very little for
Slugblaster, but some feel better when they do or
even enjoy the prep itself. If that’s you...
● Problems are the bulk of your job, so make it
easier for yourself and jot some down, using
the tables on pages 148–152 or the lists
in each monster and world entry to help you.
● Prep some NPCs. Pull some from a relevant
faction, or make someone new. Think about
what they want, practice their voice, etc.
● List a few descriptive details for a couple
locations you expect them to visit, including
interactive objects or terrain.
● Write a list of names, tech jargon, and other
things you find hard to improvise.
● Read up on factions or monsters you may
use, and bookmark pages you think you’ll
need to reference, like a world you know
they want to go to next.
● Prep any music, maps, and images, you
want to use. Finding good location images
can make action scenes more tangible.
● Practice a solid opening description. It
hypes people up and starts your game off on
solid footing.
● Write down a few questions you can ask the
players to get them moving.
● Remind yourself what happened last game.
It can help to ask the best note-taker in the
group to do a recap for everyone.
139
 pacing
Players are fully capable of controlling pacing them-
selves, and also fully capable of spending an entire
session arguing about how to open a door. Historically,
it’s up to the GM to keep things moving and provide
structure to the game.
You can use your power as GM to speed up through the
boring parts and slow down on the cool stuff. Skip to
the action. Use montages. Start in the middle of a fight.
Similarly, freeze frame cool moments and take time to
savour them. Flesh them out, paint in detail. What kind
of debris is floating around? Flower petals? Sparks?
Droplets of slime? What graphic is on the bottom of that
hoverboard as it flips? What colour are the laser beams?
jump cuts
Your most powerful pacing tool is to simply cut to the
interesting part. The first time they get invited to a party
in Popularia, the fun part could be getting there, a kind
of Superbad homage. But after the first time it might
make sense to just start the run with them arriving, in the
middle of a dance battle, etc.
Similarly, while it can sometimes be fun for players to
plan a heist, it can be just as much fun to smash cut to
alarms going off, the character’s arms full of stolen com-
ponents, being chased by guard drones.
Remember, cutting to desperate situations costs bite,
and you should always focus on what your players’ are
interested in. If they seem really excited about their heist
plan, or picking out their outfits for the party,
don’t skip it. Jump to the fun, not past it. As long as
you’re having
fun, too!
140
Surprises
Surprises are big in pulpy adventures like these. I mean,
what’s the point of giant sleeping monster eyes if they
don’t slowly open behind a character mid-sentence? But
they’re also a pacing tool. If a run drags or the PCs seem
aimless, it can help if a giant horsefly grabs one and
starts trying to drink them like a juicebox.
These shocks are thrilling and fun, but can sometimes
feel unfair or unearned in roleplaying games. This is why
surprises cost bite. Containing GM power helps the run
feel concrete and winnable to the players, and frees you
up to be maniacal without worrying you’ll overstep.
Have a new threat suddenly appear, have a monster
make an extra attack in a surge of anger, or have that
approaching plasma storm build speed so the climactic
escape feels perfectly timed.
group rolls
If two or more PCs have the same immediate goal, the
GM can call for a group roll, which is just like an action
roll, except the results apply to everyone involved.
GROUP ROLLS
1. One player rolls for the group.
2. Anyone in the group can boost or kick that roll,
describing how they contribute.
3. If the roll succeeds, everyone does, but any
problems affect everyone equally.
Group rolls can dramatically speed up tedious or overly-
complex scenes, like when the entire group sneaks into
a building, or a huge, multi-layered chase sequence.
They are also mechanically powerful, so the GM decides
when to use them.
 Pacing

Tracks W H AT T R AC K S LO O K L I K E
Tracks are tools to, uh, track what is happening in the There are lots of ways to track things. Here are some
game. They are concrete visual representations of situ- different methods. Do what works best for your table!
ations that might be hard to picture otherwise. Instead
of hitpoints, a progress track may reflect how close a
monster is to death. If a storm brews on the horizon, a Three sizes of hand-
danger track reflects how close it is.
drawn “clocks,” each
shown partially filled.
Classic and simple.
S TA R T I N G A T R AC K
The first track you set in a scene is a pacing decision.
Should hacking this security door be a single moment,
or an entire scene? That determines whether they
solve the problem in a single roll, whether you set up a
You can track by
spelling a word,
like in a game of
HORSE or SKATE.
CAUGHT
progress track, and how long that track should be. Every
table is a bit different, and you’ll get a feel for it with
practice, but a 4–6 length track is often a good bet.

A D D I N G M O R E T R AC K S
xx If playing
You can use a
stack of poker
chips!

Once the pace is set, any new tracks used in that scene
can be set relative to that first pace-setting track, and
determined more by common sense. If fending off a
500-kg crocodile takes a 4-track, then fending off that
3/5 online, you
can just use
checkboxes or
points.
approaching 900-kg royal crocodile takes longer.

M A R K I N G T H E T R AC K
Tracks reflect what’s happening in the scene more than
determine it. If the fiction changes, you adjust the track
to match. Often this is when someone rolls an action,
but not always. Use common sense, but here’s a guide:
● Successful actions make 1 mark on a
progress track. More effective actions
could mark 2 or even more. BitD veterans
● Danger tracks can advance steadily
might prefer to
use the 2-mark
with time, or dramatically when there’s a system. That’s
problem or you spend bite (page 137). totally fine.
PERCEPTION CHECKS?
Sometimes you want the characters to notice
something, remember something, or receive
some other kind of information. In other games
you might ask for a perception or knowledge roll.
In Slugblaster, just either give it to them (why
waste time!) or give them a tiny thread and make
them take actions to unravel the rest. “You just
saw the bushes move. What do you do?” or “You
remember reading something about this on a
message board, but can’t remember the details.”

141
 tone
Tone is tricky in Slugblaster. The multiverse is deadly,
but the PCs don’t die. They have rayguns that could
liquify a minivan, but they don’t kill people. They back-
flip over demigods, and also cry when their dad starts
drinking again. It’s gonzo, but not silly. It’s Ninja Turtles,
but not Bugs Bunny.
Everyone at the table contributes to the tone, so each
table’s tone is going to be different. Some will end up
with Stranger Things, others Adventure Time. I go for
Into the Spider-Verse, but it’s your game and your job as
GM to set the right tone for your group, and pull things
back when they go off course. Here are some tips for
how to do that.
Do the questionnaire
Before playing, it can help to get on the same page,
tone-wise. These questions cover some key issues you
may face. Discuss them together. Answering with exam-
ples from familiar movies can help. You can reach for
Indiana Jones to express the “horrifying-but-funny” way
mercenaries might get eaten by giant slugs while the
kids hide in the bushes freaking out, for example.
It’s okay if you don’t agree, it’s okay to not know yet, and
it’s okay to adjust things later. The questions are meant
to get you thinking. It’s better to discuss this stuff now
than in the middle of an action scene. Otherwise you’re
debating eel consciousness for forty-five minutes while
Olivia is tired, Caleb’s trying to keep the scene moving,
Noah has apparently just researched eel consciousness
for a term paper, and poor Morgan just wants to know if
she can shoot this eel or not.
142
TO N E Q U E S T I O N S
● Does this look more like Stranger Things, Into
the Spider-Verse, or Adventure Time?
● Someone falls from 40 feet up, landing in
some bushes. How hurt are they?
● A kid tosses a salt packet from their lunch
box at a giant slug. Is this a cute little joke
or an effective attack? Could a monster be
defeated through the power of song?
● Do other slugblasters die? Is it urban legend
or all too real? Do you attend the funerals?
● Do adults like Rescue agents or mercenaries
get killed by the monsters? Is it played for
laughs, horror, or a bit of both?
● Is it chill to blast a human, even non-lethally?
What if they’re chasing you with a gravity
net? What if they’re trying to hurt you? Can
you knock someone out by bonking them on
the head? Are they okay after?
● Is it chill to blast a giant bug? What if it’s not
even trying to digest you? What if you’re in-
side its nest? What about a psionic alligator?
What about an octopus? What about a giant
monkey? What about that giant bug’s giant
larvae? What if the larvae are trying to digest
you? What if they’re confirmed racists?
● Is all this portal nonsense in the characters’
heads, like some big analogy for teen drug
use or the arrival of the internet in isolated
rural communities?

Make it Gonzo
Listen, hard science fiction is great. Paper was invented
so Neal Stephenson could use sixty pages to explain
orbital mechanics. But that’s not Slugblaster. Slugblaster
is about cool words and pretty colours. It’s about planar
eclipses and neon slime. It’s about slabs of falling crystal
landing to create a ramp at the exact moment someone
needs to 360 over a chasm filled with pink lava.
Most players are here for it, freed from the shackles of
greyscale realism, but you can set them up for success,
too. Give them big, slime-filled monsters to fight. Swap
those human guards for a battalion of androids they can
melt with glee. Build vibrant set pieces, with interesting
props and terrain to interact with. Make everything a
skate park, and turn fights into chases when possible.
They aren’t just fighting Velocitaurs, they’re fighting
them while trying to outrun a plasma storm.
Keep it Grounded
You’re bound to get too silly here and there in your
effort to be lit. When that happens, it can help to ground
things with some mundane detail and emotional truth.
Yes, they have a negaray, but what does it feel like in
their hands? How does it smell when it heats up? Yes,
slugblasters call it Popularia, but does it have another
name? What’s the economy like? What’s that Arborist’s
kitchen like? Sometimes a single drop of realism can be
all that’s needed to keep you out of rubber-chicken land.
For the same reason, you can juxtapose the bonkers
action of the run with mundane drama straight out of
any coming-of-age story. These teens might be able to
stop time and grav-jump over canyons, but their tech
won’t save them from failing their chemistry exam, or
that disappointed look from their father.
Tone
discourage murder
These kids probably shouldn’t kill people, even if they
deserve it. It introduces a level of darkness and moral
complexity this game isn’t really built for. It bums Mr.
Slugblaster out, ya know? Murder is not considered
cool in the slugblaster community, and even using a
non-lethal weapon against a Rescue agent may be seen
as extreme. Certain crowds might like it, others might
think it’s a woof, and hellfire will surely rain down in any
case. Most slugblasters tend to run from Rescue agents.
That’s just part of the sport.
The simplest and most foolproof way to handle this is to
pause and remind the players that this is not that kind
of game, remind them they have a stun setting, remind
them they can run, and maybe give them a bunch of
androids or pod-people to evaporate instead (they could
just be getting bored).
don't let them die
In the same way, these kids probably shouldn’t die. They
may take hard slams, break bones, go to the emergency
room, or have their reality mangled by a pandemonium
ray, but having to go to a teammate’s funeral would dra-
matically change the vibe of the game. Doing that once
might work for certain stories, but more than once and
you’re playing something else.
Slugblasting is obviously mind-bendingly dangerous, but
it also needs to stay fun for the game’s premise to hold.
They should always have a way of just barely avoiding
tragedy. They are the lucky ones. And if they get in a
situation that stretches plausibility too far, you have an
ejection seat—peelback. Peelback is unpredictable,
tends to happen more during times of duress, and is
still a super rough consequence, so it’s a good death
replacement in this game.
143
deeper.
BOARDING COMPS
WIDE GAMES
CONCERTS
BIBLE STUDY
TECH WORKSHOPS
WORSHIP
GIVEAWAYS
GUEST SPEAKERS

7PM ON FRIDAYS
@ GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
 De c isi o n s

decisions judging impact

The players say what they do, the dice say if they suc-
ceed, but it’s the GM who determines how much they
accomplish—how effective and impactful the action is.
Part of the GM’s job is to be a referee. Use common
sense, do what’s fair, and do what’s the most fun. As mentioned on page 141, the first thing you’re going
to consider is pacing. Do you want this task to take a
roll or two, or be the focus of an entire scene? Once the
Saying Yes pace of the scene is set, impact can be judged based on
common sense:
Guess what! You can say yes more than you think! This
game works well with bold attempts and bizarre ideas. ● Is what they are trying reasonable or clever?
They still have to roll the dice, problems can still arise, ● Did they look for ways to get some kind of edge?
and you as GM still determine how effective success is. ● Are they slammed with slimed and trying to climb a
So when in doubt, say yes and ask for a roll. cliffside or trying to wrestle with a broken arm?
● Are they using the right tool for the job?
● Can you picture this working in a movie?
Saying No ●
●
Does it fit with the established tone?
Are they adding kick? Kick can represent
You say no to protect the tone, keep scenes challenging
extraordinary moments
of skill or luck.
and honest, and maintain fairness. If someone has an
idea that’s too silly, tries to stretch plausibility to resolve
a problem too easily, or tries to bend a rule in a way that P L AY E R V S P L AY E R
replicates a teammate’s ability, you should probably say This isn’t a PVP game, but the nature of teenage
no. Otherwise, again, I suggest saying yes. drama means character vs character situations
may arise. If so, don’t use the normal rules.
Instead, ask the players to collaborate on the
W H AT P C S C A N T Y P I C A L LY D O scene without dice rolls, in a way that reveals
something interesting about both characters.
Climb a ladder? Yep, no roll needed. This requires the players to be mature and flexi-
ble, which means it might not always work. Some
Climb a ladder during an Yes, with a successful players might just agree to settle it with:
intense laser fight? action roll.
● A coin flip.
Jump over a house with Yes, with a successful ● Rock, paper, scissors.
special jumping boots? action roll. ● A “trouble bid,”​where whoever is willing to
mark the most trouble gets to resolve the
Jump over a house without No, sorry. You are, in scene their way.
special jumping boots? fact, human.

145
 danger
This is the main job. You are a consequence generator.
This is what you’ll spend the majority of your time and
mental energy doing throughout a session—just coming
up with an endless series of oopsies and ouchies for
your little scamps.
It’s the hardest part of the job, but also may be the only
truly vital part. A group of mature players can referee
themselves, and even set their own pacing and tone.
But it’s just not as satisfying to overcome an obstacle
you set for yourself. They need you to be the bad guy, to
give them what they can’t give themselves. You are their
servant, and your job is to serve them plate after plate of
trouble and snakes.
146
obstacles
Obstacles are the things on the run the characters
need to directly overcome in order to get their prize.
Unlike problems, obstacles and threats are established,
known, or foreshadowed before they are encountered,
often before the run even starts. Examples:
● The exact location of the
You might need
to explore or ask
prize is hidden or secret. around a bit.
● The path to the prize is difficult,
treacherous, blocked, or well-guarded.
● Earning the prize requires a series of difficult tasks,
surviving a dangerous situation, winning a tough
competition, etc.
● The prize must be claimed before
a threat shows up, a window
closes, or time runs out. Do your tricks before
the storm ends, Impress
a sponsor rep before
the party ends, etc.
Snags
Snags are special because they create more story—a
new obstacle, a new threat, more things going wrong,
and more fun for the players. Unlike slams, snags
don’t get ​noped​, since that would subtract upcoming
fun. Snags are great for crafting and fueling fun action
scenes and encounters. They can start the action off,
then evolve and extend it. Examples:
AKA monster
● A new, unexpected obstacle or shows up.
threat is revealed.
● A task gets more complex or difficult, with more
steps. Start or extend a progress track.
● A situation gets more dangerous. Any future prob-
lems rolled are worse.
● A big twist changes the nature of the scene and
what the characters need to do.
● An asset is lost.

Slams
Slams however, are usually one-time stings. They’re a
strong, simple option anytime, but work especially well
when a scene is ready to end and you don’t want to
extend it with another snag.
Slams often represent physical injury, but don’t forget to
also slam them with mental strain, exhaustion, emotional
wear, damage to gear, and the like.
● Banged up, bruised, sprained ankle, scratched up,
lightly roasted, slimed, exhausted.
● Stressed, upset, humiliated, distracted, confused.
● Reality damage, concept warping, unraveling logic.
● Drained powercell, glitching software, cracked
screen, broken gun.
● Pinned down, grappled, stuck,
targeted, dangling from ledge. Slams like these
ones clear when
the situation
changes.
WORSE PROBLEMS
In extra dangerous situations, like when someone does
a trick or doesn’t run from a big deadly monster, you
deliver worse problems. This might mean:
● Two standard problems.
● Everyone gets slammed.
● Someone gets super slammed.
Super slams take longer to clear. The player writes the
slam as normal, but with super (or some other intensi-
fying adverb) in front. Super bruised, super tired, hella
angry, etc. When it’s time to clear the slam, they only
clear the intensifier. Super bruised becomes bruised.
They clear the rest the next time.
Super slams require extra noping to avoid. One nope
avoids the intensifier, two nopes avoids the entire thing.
DANGER
Disasters
Whether exuberant debacle or sobering gut punch, a
disaster should always teem with future story potential.
● Other severe outcomes like challenges or super
slams can sometimes work as alternatives to doom.
● Disasters can be the direct consequences of the
current scene, or be out-of-nowhere twists.
● Let the player write their own doom or veto ideas
that don’t work for them. Don’t murder their parents
or have peelback age them forty years unless they
are into it. Be prepared to offer an alternative.
DISASTER IDEAS
Injury. You incur (or finally notice) a serious
1
injury. You need to get to a hospital.
Loss. Your signature device is lost, confiscated,
2
stolen, or seriously damaged.
Peelback Damage. Peelback pulls you home
3 violently, straining organs, altering physiology,
scrambling reality, or rattling your psyche.
Peelback Accident. Peelback tosses you into
the multiverse, swaps you with an alternate,
4
shifts your timeline, opens a portal to heck right
where your bedroom used to be, etc.
Capture. You’re nabbed by Rescue and hauled
5 in for treatment, pulled into an Arborist ques-
tion chamber, grounded until the rapture, etc.
Personal. The last text you’d ever want to
receive. You get dumped. Your mom gets a job
6
overseas. Your dad finds your secret account.
Someone leaks that one video.
147
 scenes
A psionic crocodile attack. A hoverboard race through
multiple worlds. The PANIC Energy®​beach party. No
matter what the characters get up to, you can make it
interesting, dangerous, and fun by providing compelling
details, juicy problems, and maybe a track or two.
J O U R N E YS
Sometimes a run is all about getting to a new
world. Sometimes a run starts with the characters
already there. And sometimes you want some-
thing in the middle—a quick travel montage of
how the trip to Popularia went before the rave
starts, ya know?
● Ask one player to roll for the whole group.
Everyone can boost or kick as desired.
● On a 6, it’s smooth sailing! Have each player
describe a fun moment from the trip.
● On a 4/5, they all make it but take slams
(tired, sunburnt, hungry, slimed...) or trigger a
looming threat—an authority is tailing them,
a predator followed them through the portal,
Kit’s dad needs her home by 9 pm, etc.
● On a 1–3, they don’t make it due to a big
problem (monsters, gear failure, bad info,
etc.) They might have to roll again, or the run
may just veer in a new (worse) direction.
Longer journeys could require multiple rolls, if
desired. For example, you could have them roll
once per traversed world. (Just remember that
these rolls can deplete the PCs resources.)
148
exploration
Slugblasting is often about discovery, and many runs
include lower-adrenaline scenes where the characters
spend time in a new area looking for a hidden portal,
valuable salvage, ancient mysteries, or the way through
to some legendary hoverboarding spot.
Also, in hoverboarding culture, time spent doing tricks
at a specific location is called a “sesh,” and a lot of runs
involve the characters simply trying to sesh a cool spot
before time runs out or a monster shows up. You can
use these exploration problems in those situations, too.
E X P LO R AT I O N P R O B L E M S
This is going to take longer than you thought, and
may require some extra steps, such as clearing
1
rubble or opening a hatch. Must be something
really good hidden here.
A storm brews, a monster stirs, the sun sets,
2
sirens echo in the distance. Better hurry.
Yikes. This area is a lot more dangerous than you
3
thought. Be careful, worse problems await you.
Uh oh. You’ve drawn attention, woken something
4
up, or finally noticed a looming threat.
Things aren’t what you thought. This hill is a
sleeping turtle, this cave is a mouth, these aren’t
5
actually power crystals, you’ve fallen into a trap,
or you’ve accidentally uncovered a conspiracy.
You’re starting to run out of juice (tired, hungry,
6 sore...), or you fall and take a slam (banged up,
shinner, concussed, broken gear...).
 SCENES

There are valuable

Infiltration components out there,
waiting to be carefully
A good part of slugblasting is getting into places you’re extracted. Don’t set
not supposed to. Hopping the fence into DARA’s facility, off that self-destruct!
slipping past the bouncers at Matte Static, reprogram-
ming a guardbot, hacking your mom’s email, and all that
stuff. Make these moments into meals by:

● providing objects, terrain, or other fun details for

characters to interact with.
● using progress and danger tracks.
● carefully inserting problems that increase the heat
without boiling over right away into a fight/chase.

I N F I LT R AT I O N P R O B L E M S

There are sentries, fences, firewalls, keylocks,

1 counter-hackers, or fields of motion-sensing
lasers you didn’t expect.

A guard takes a smoke break near your hiding

2 spot, a sleeping monster readjusts to block
your path, etc.
A floorboard creaks, a spotlight sweeps near-
by, the power core fluctuates, or a bead of
3
sweat threatens to land on a pressure sensi-
tive floor you’re hanging above (stressed, etc.)
An alarm rings, a twig snaps, multiple shelves
4 full of collectible handbells clatter to the floor.
The jig is up and the hunt is on.
You trap yourself in an awkward hiding spot,
5 duck into a dangerous room, trigger a booby
trap, or find something you shouldn’t have.
You start wearing out and cracking under the
6
pressure (frazzled, bleary, on the brink, etc.)
C AT A N D M O U S E
Like chases, stealth scenes can work well with
checkpoints, especially in scenes where PCs are
evading a foe who’s actively searching for them.
Run it like a slow, tense chase. Set the stakes,
danger track, and finish line, which could be as
simple as a nearby door, air duct, portal, etc.
The checkpoints might be things like a floor cov-
ered in noisy glass shards, a gap in the bushes,
or anything that is hard to cross sneakily. Like in
a chase, they still cross on a fail, but the danger
track advances as the foe hones in on them.
Additional problems can be pulled from either
the chase table or the infiltration table.

149

Chases
A Slugblaster chase isn’t about gaining a lead or plot-
ting out distances. It’s a side-scroller obstacle course
of checkpoints you run through as a tight group while a
monster breathes down your neck.
CHASE CHECKLIST
1. Get things moving. Players can be reluctant to start
fleeing, even when it’s clearly necessary. So here’s
the trick. Just say, “It starts chasing you! Where are
you headed?”
2. Set the course. Set a finish line (a thin-zone, place
of safety, etc.) and some checkpoints (try 3–5). The
amount should be known to the players, even if the
details of each checkpoint are a surprise.
3. Set the stakes. Tell them what happens if they lose.
Make it clear, severe, and something you can follow
through on (two slams, losing their prize, disaster
rolls, etc.) Set a danger track (try 3–5 marks long). If
it fills, they lose.
4. Run the chase. PCs take actions to move through
each checkpoint quickly. On a failure (1–3) they still
move through, but slowly, which marks the danger
track. Problems occur too, as normal.
FA L L I N G B E H I N D, S P L I T T I N G U P
These chases are tight. The fastest crew member
is only a short distance ahead of the slowest, so
assume the crew is sticking roughly together. If
the crew purposely splits up, the enemy picks
one character to keep chasing, leaving the others
free to hide, escape, or try something else.
150
CHASE TIPS
● The checklist is written for being chased, but works
for chasing others and racing others, too.
● Each world (pages 79, 94–104) has a list of sample
checkpoints. Good checkpoints have hazards,
choices, and/or things to interact with.
● Group actions (page 140) can work well for chases.
● By adding kick or taking extra actions, characters
can try to do other things during a chase, like slow-
ing the enemy down to clear some marks on the
danger track by shooting, creating hazards, etc.
CHASE PROBLEMS
You don’t have a clear finish line. You need to
1
find it, open it, unlock it, etc.
Your foe brings out a long range weapon, an
2
evolved speed setting, or a weird psionic ability.
The way you wanted to go is blocked. You need
3
to change course. GM adds checkpoints.
Your board’s powercell is dying, you drop some-
4
thing important, your path needs clearing, etc.
5 You get slammed by a foe, a fall, or exhaustion.
6 Watch out! A hazard up ahead slams everyone.

FIGHT PROBLEMS
fights
Fights are often a run’s main action scene, when a play-
er rolls badly and some huge insectoid bursts from its
underground chrysalis. They’ll fight, then run from it, or
fight while running from it. Slugblaster 101, right there.
● You can use multiple progress tracks with multiple
paths to victory. Do they blast it to bits, or try to
bring the cave down on it? Do they blow off the
mech’s gun first, or focus on its powercore?
● Enemies may have immunities to certain kinds of
attacks. This can make fights more interesting, as
players scramble to work the problem.
● At the start of a fight, use problems to evolve the
danger. The metasaur mutates, the microbot swarm
self-replicates into a strike force, the slug immedi-
ately swallows someone whole, etc. After that, use
problems to slam.
● You can have powerful monsters give out extra
slams, or even super slams (page 147).
● Even if you aren’t doing a proper chase, you can
make fights more exciting by having the battle move
through multiple locations, using checkpoints as
ideas for new stages in a shifting arena.
The landspeed of
a psychic alligator
should not be
underestimated.
SCENES
Didn’t even flinch! The monster has thick skin,
1 regenerative tissue, a forcefield, or something
else that makes it tougher than expected.
Oh come on! More foes join the battle, a clock
2 starts ticking, this monster starts charging a
psionic blast, or some even worse threat looms.
Hope you have backup plan! You lose your
weapon, your foe has a defence you hadn’t
3
planned for, the terrain shifts, or things are not
what they seemed.
On second thought.... The monster grows a
second head, reveals a venomous stinger, or
4 transforms into its true (and much bigger) form.
This is more dangerous than you thought, and
problems will be worse. Better run!
5 You get slammed! (Slimed, jacked up, etc.)
Splattering acid, a huge swing, an energy blast,
6
or some other area effect slams everyone here!
151
 social situations
Parties, concerts, interviews, photoshoots, high-stakes
texting, and other social situations can be valid, exciting
encounters with obstacles and danger.
Set up some progress and danger tracks. By making so-
cial goals and risks explicit, the scene comes to life and
every decision matters. You could start with an “Impress
the Sponsor” track, and then a “Sponsor Leaves Party”
track. Throw in a “Group of Mavens Get Annoyed” track
and suddenly you have the beginnings of a social mine-
field akin to reality.
And don’t forget to slam them! Slams can represent all
sorts of social and mental damage, like embarrassment,
confusion, over-caffeination, and stress. I mean, what’s
more stressful than a party?
S O C I A L S I T UAT I O N P R O B L E M S
1 Things get awkward, cold, tense, or hostile.
You need to explain yourself, prove yourself,
2 answer some tough questions, do someone a
favour, or talk to a few other people first.
Things aren’t what you thought. You’re being
3 set up, this is someone you recognize, you learn
news that changes everything, etc.
Time is running out. You’re losing their interest,
4
your wi-fi is failing, an interruption nears, etc.
You take a slam (stressed, flustered, confused,
5
embarrassed, angry, read-to-filth, etc.)
You are interrupted by something bad. A monster,
6
a Rescue force, planar unraveling, etc.
152
downtime
Many players take naturally to downtime’s freeform role-
playing scenes, but some find them intimidating and will
want a bit of help from you and the other players. You
can offer ideas and insert descriptive details, but the
best tool you have is questions.
● What beat are you buying? What’s it say? What do
you think that looks like?
● Is this a montage? What song is playing during it?
● Where do you envision this happening? Your house?
School? What’s the room look like?
● What is your character doing when the scene starts?
Who else is in this scene? Should one of us play
them? What are they like?
● How do you think that conversation goes? If we
were watching it from outside a window, what would
we see? Could we tell what was being said?
● How does your character feel? How do the others
feel? How do we know that? How do they show it?
● Should we end this scene here? Or is there more we
need to answer still?
H AV E A N N P C A S K A Q U E S T I O N
A fun way to break the ice and get players role-
playing is to just have an NPC ask a question like:
● Hi Steven, this is Lisa’s dad. She’s not an-
swering her phone. Have you seen her?
● Finally! You must be the band. Ready to rock?
● Is everything okay, sweetheart? You’ve hardly
touched your dinner.
● Hey losers. What are you doing out here?
Nothing gets a scene started like a chance to tell
a lie or trash talk some d-bag.
 SCENES

YO U H E A R D T H E R E W I L L B E . . .
Make A party The doper the
party, the 11 infinite pizza from Infinite Pizza
more details 12 bottomless drinks
From hazy summer kickbacks to pre-grad ragers, you roll! 13 go-go dancers / dance battles
from all-ages punk shows to sweet sixteens, from
14 holographic celebrity appearances
extra-planar dancehalls to epic youth nights at churches with
15 someone famous
large pizza budgets and distracted chaperones—it’s party
16 free swag!
time, party people. Use this page to bring the ruckus.
21 live music / a killer DJ

● Were the characters invited to this party? Do they know 22 karaoke / rap battle / singalong
anyone going? Can they get the location? 23 mandatory costumes / dress code
● What are the characters’ goals for this party? What is the 24 skate demos / hoverboarding competition
run prize? Do they get a style bonus just for being seen 25 trippy temporal events
there, or do they need to do something to stand out? Is 26 hackathon / gear jam
there a faction they can finally impress? 31 half-pipe / mini-ramp / rail
● What are the obstacles? What are the threats? What 32 video games / live slugblasting feeds
could go wrong? 33 a big showdown
34 physics-bending dance floor
35 clandestine make-out locations
VENUE
36 foam / confetti / body paint / fireworks / glitter
d6 1–2 3–4 5–6 41 bass that splits your waveform
1 house skate shop community hall 42 brief access to a rare euphoria orb
2 music venue pool church 43 bonfire / massive aquarium / movie
3 beachside rooftop youth centre 44 televised events / roving documentarians
4 corporate HQ bushes school gym 45 a bowl of Empyrean cauchy berries
5 dance club block abandoned building 46 swimming
6 skatepark dorm something else 51 wide games / beer pong / bring-your-own-laser tag
52 a chance for one of you to talk to a crush
53 a whole pile of hot people
GUESTS
54 high-stakes truth or dare
Mostly [A], with a smaller And at least one or two
55 an unveiling, product launch, or big announcement
amount of [B]. members of...
56 a sharing circle
1 thrashers 1 an unfriendly or worse crew 61 a raffle, awards ceremony, or special toast
2 heads 2 an unfriendly or worse sponsor 62 cute animals you can touch
3 mavens 3 an unfriendly or worse authority 63 photobooth
4 freaks 4 a neutral or better crew 64 that kid from Thennis Spar who can see the future
5 normies 5 a neutral or better sponsor 65 a rare multidimensional phenomenon
6 players choose 6 a neutral or better authority 66 a special portal, one night only

153
 demo
continue in this example
of a thrilling chase!
GM: Okay gang. Despite Doug’s
best attempts to (sigh) seduce the
metasaurs, they let out a terrible
roar and start chasing you!
Joshy: Book it!
Rani: Book it!
Doug: What they said!
GM: Great! Where to?
Joshy: There’s a thin-zone out of
here by the old temple right? Let’s
go there!
GM: Makes sense! You start book-
ing it to the temple. The metasaurs
give chase, crashing through the
jungle after you. You can feel their
breath!
Doug: Brush your teeth!
GM: I’m starting a danger
track. 6 marks long. If it
fills, the metasaurs are
going to catch you and slam you
all with bitten and trapped, and
(checks watch) yeah we’ll probably
do disaster rolls early, too, if they
catch you. Got it?
154
Our heroes’ adventures
Rani: Brutal. K, let’s rip!
GM: Great! Three checkpoints to
the temple! And our first
is... (shuffles papers, finds
the checkpoint list for the
Golden Jungle) ...the river!
#1
Deep and muddy and crowded
with sun-basking psionic croc-
odiles. How do you try to get
through here quickly?
Joshy: I’m going to jump it, if
there’s something I can use as a
ramp.
GM: Yep, there’s boulders and logs
that would make a nice kicker.
Rani: Yeah, I’m jumping it too then.
Doug: I’m going to ride on top of
the crocodiles (eats chip).
GM: Of course you are (exhales).
Okay let’s roll.
Joshy and Rani both roll using
boost. Doug and the GM decide
riding on a crocodile is a trick, and
Doug rolls his normal 2d6 from be-
ing Chill. Joshy gets a 6, Rani gets
a 4, and Doug, of course, gets a 6
too. They describe their actions.
GM: Great. You all clear this check-
point quickly. The danger track
doesn’t get marked, but of course
the metasaurs are still right on
your tail. Doug you mark style for
your... crocodile grind. Rani you
rolled a 4, so even though you
got through quickly, your landing
was hard and cracked one of your
hoverboard plates. Take a cracked
plate slam, or nope it if you want.
Rani: I’ll take it, my trouble score is
getting too high.
GM: Okay next checkpoint!
An old magnetic train suspend-
ed from a tangle of vines starts
crashing down right in your path.
Joshy: I hit my board’s jets and try
to get through in time.
Rani: And I’ll use the impulse rig
on my gravity cannon to give you
more speed! Here, take a boost.
Joshy: Nice! Thanks.
Rani: And then I’m going to also
use my gravity cannon to launch
myself over the train. And I want
to add a trick while I do it! A...
misty flip or something?
Joshy: Like this? (Shows misty flip
on youtube.)
Rani: Oh heck yeah! That’s deadly,
dude.

GM: Okay Doug, what about you?
Doug: (Staring at his own hand).
Fingers are messed up, huh?
GM: Ahem. Doug.
Doug: Oh right! I’m gonna... (Eats
chip.) ...just ride through and hope
it doesn’t hit me?
GM: You sure? Okay, well let’s roll.
Everyone rolls 1 except Doug, who
rolls two 6s.
GM: Unbelievable. Okay. Yikes.
Joshy you tried to lead them
through the wreckage but instead
got slammed by a piece of train
yourself. Take bruised. And you
tumbled off your board briefly too,
which slowed you down.
GM marks danger track.
GM: Rani your grav-
launched misty flip was looking
dope but you clipped a branch at
the apex. Take banged up, and
since your were doing a trick....
Take thrashed too, from falling
back down through a bunch of
thorny vines.
Rani: Well I gotta nope at least one
of those (marks trouble). I have
some duraweave gloves, and I
think I’m able to grab those vines
instead and slow my fall.
GM: Nice! In any case, you failed
to get through quickly, too (marks
danger track), so the metasaurs
are closing in! Better
make up some speed.
Doug: What about me?
GM says something under breath.
Doug: Huh?
GM: I said “Yay Doug!” You... glide
through the dead centre of the
giant, collapsing wreckage without
a scrape on you.
Doug: I rolled doubles too, I have
an ability that—
GM: Yep, we know. We got it. You
look super cool, okay? Take style.
Doug: And the metasaurs don’t—
GM: No they don’t advance, Doug!
They’re still just tantalizingly close
to biting your stupid neck. In fact
(spends bite), they grow some
more legs actually, and get even
faster (marks track). REALLY fast,
in fact (spends bite, marks track).
HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
TAKE THAT, DOUG!
Doug: What’s happeni—
GM: LAST CHECKPOINT, DOUG!
(Sits down, puts shirt back on,
drinks water.)
EXAMPLE OF PLAY
GM: (Steadies breath). Last
checkpoint. A rotting rope
bridge! You can see the temple
#3
right beyond it. But below it, a dark
ravine hiding unspeakable jungle
horrors beneath its canopy of
predatory leafy growth! The meta-
saurs are RIGHT behind you. Two
marks away in fact. And remem-
ber, if they catch you, they will
slam you twice and we’ll make the
disaster rolls early (looks straight
at Doug).
Rani: Well, if I get slammed twice
I’m rolling disaster anyways be-
cause my trouble scor—
GM: WONDERFUL. What do you
do?
Joshy: Maybe I could add kick to
my roll and shoot the bridge while
I go past? That would clear some
of their track.
Doug: Don’t worry, Joshy. I got
this.
Doug eats a chip, accidentally
wipes his hands on what happens
to be the GM’s tablecloth, and
picks up his dice.
Will our heroes make it
across the bridge? Will this
GM find the help he needs?
Find out next time!
155
 change Adjusting the
difficulty

the
The length of your runs, the types of
snags you introduce, and your table’s
play style can all affect the difficulty of
the game, so it may take a few runs to
find the right difficulty level for your play-
ers. For further adjustments you can:

game ●
●
●
add or subtract bite.
add or subtract hype.
adjust track lengths.

playing longer
If you want to keep playing after you’ve
become Legends, you have a few options.

A Slugblaster wouldn’t just ● New Goals. Keep playing at full pow-

er, exploring the outer multiverse and
saving up style towards a series of
settle for the basic factory custom mega-achievements.

settings of their new laser ● New Sheets. Jump a year ahead, in

shoes, would they? Nuh uh!
They’d open them up and
start ripping out wires! So
why would I expect you to
a bigger pond. You were Legends
in high school, sure, but now you’re
freshmen at Popularia University or
benchwarmers in the Wilkie’s Pro
League®. So reset the crew back to
Nobodies and start characters over
with different sheets. Teens change
and explore new parts of themselves.

play my game as intended! ● New Story. Play as your character’s

younger siblings, slugblasters in a
I’m appalled at the thought! different Null town, or a group of
Operaeblan teenagers fighting for
their lives!

156
 C H A N G E TH E G A M E

Alternate rules ● No Disaster Rolls. Disaster rolls add a push-your-

Here are some examples of untested rule tweaks that
alter the feel of the game. Use at your own risk.
● Noping Snags. Allowing snag-noping gives the PCs
more power over the situation and the players more
authorship in the story, but can more easily lead to
blocking and fun-subtraction.
● Betting Style for Big Tricks. You can let players wa-
ger style points for big tricks. If they succeed, they
double their bet. If they fail, they lose it for talking
big game then embarrassing themselves. You might
want to set a limit or things could get nuts—players
can work the odds to their favour, plus there’s The
Heart’s dreaded Middle Finger trait to consider.
luck element to marking trouble, and provide a
tense moment in the run’s final act, but they aren’t
crucial. You can remove them if you want the game
to swing less and be a bit less punishing.
● Beats During Runs. Allowing beats to be pur-
chased outside of downtime can help PCs manage
trouble during longer runs, and allows for fun mo-
ments like transdimensional phone calls from angry
parents or big arguments between teammates while
in the middle of a chase. You may want to upgrade
the slams from some beats into super slams so they
last long enough to have meaning. For example,
a PC who buys Angst near the very end of a run
shouldn’t be able to clear that slam a few moments
later.

● Flashbacks. Blades in the Dark veterans might

want flashbacks reinstated, especially if their crew is
pulling lots of heists and pranks. Allow PCs to spend
1 kick then describe and roll an action they could
have plausibly taken in past.

● Crits. You can also add critical successes back into

the game. If a player rolls two or more 6s, their ac-
tion is more effective or earns them +1 style.

● Hype Generator. To keep the good times rolling,

have successful tricks generate hype for the crew.

● Afterburner. To be nice, let them boost and/or

kick after the action roll. This can give PCs another
chance to succeed, or further amplify a success
after the fact.

● Slams Deplete You. To be mean, but also add some

verisimilitude, you can have slams also deplete
some boost or kick, to represent the wear
and tear on their body, mind, and gear. Ike Newton would be
rolling in his grave
if he saw what you’ve
done to gravity, missy.
157
 other settings
When I was ten I drew a comic called “Ray Gun Boy.”
In college I dusted off this character for a short story
exploring sci-fi wonder and mundane moments from
my childhood in playful juxtaposition. I’ve now spent
a decade steeping in this world, lovingly crafting each
dimension, each faction, my passion steady, awaiting
that rapturous day when I can share it with you.
But no, you’ve already used a razor blade to carefully
remove Chapter 3 from the book entirely, ready to run
Jet Set Radio Future or save some Tales from the Loop
campaign gone off the rails. How nice for you. And how
nice of me to allow and even encourage such disdain for
my creative labour by listing below some ideas for alter-
nate settings that require only minor cosmetic changes.
● Different Maps. Ditch the map and make the mul-
tiverse a sandwich, overlapping circles, layers of an
onion, segments of a giant ring, cars in an infinite
train, or just a different type of mosaic.
● Different Methods. Ditch the Nth gear and enter
other worlds via wardrobes and mirrors, runic graf-
fiti, vaping, strange buses at odd hours, answering
blocked numbers, putting your shoes on the wrong
feet, or any door you put your portal key into.
● Different Multiverses. Ditch the classic multiverse
and instead be teen time travellers, explore other
planets, jack into the metaverse, jump magically
into the pages of storybooks, or use shrink rays to
adventure in the horrid microspaces all around.
● No Multiverse. Ditch the multiverse entirely and
rollerblade through the streets of Tokyo-to, play
shows on Egress Station, explore the corridors of
your Martian dome city, or skate the halls of the
dystopic megamall your tribe has settled in.
158
other stories
You can go further, tossing out gear and changing signa-
tures to use Slugblaster to tell other stories about young
people trying to balance their ambitions and messy
home lives.
● Reskin Tech. Play as snotty adolescent demigods
roaming Asgard, daring young inventors in easily
scandalized steampunk London, or teenage war-
locks flying illegal brooms through Onward’s New
Mushroomton.
● Build New Signatures. Ride custom mechadragons,
play as young cowgirls on magical pastel horses, or
create signature powers to tell stories of aspiring
teen superheroes à la Ms. Marvel or Kick-Ass.
● Play in Reality. Tell realistic stories of down-and-out
skateboarders, aspiring young musicians, cutthroat
teen influencers, and emotionally unstable first-year
art students.
● Beyond! You’re in deep hack territory now, but I just
know some of you are thinking, “this is perfect for
my campaign about middle-aged spies surviving the
desert.” Who am I to stop you? Enjoy, my sweet.
M A K E YO U R OW N S I G N AT U R E S !
Making your own signatures is easy! Reskin
existing devices, rewrite flavour text, or assem-
ble something new from various mods. Create
a Quickmile BMX by rewording the Skipmode
Runners. Use the Reality Cannon as Fey Magic
and the Gravity Blaster as a Wand of the Wind
God. Reimagine the Robotic Companion as your
favourite digimon.
160
161
 index family, 38–39
family beats, 23
fractures, 19
friendly. See factions
from hype, 70
from turbo, 50
kramshon, 52, 67, 98,
129
A crew, 70–75 kitbashed. See universal

actions, 16–17
brand, 24, 70, 74–75
crew beats, 23
G mods

advancement
character (see beats)
crew style, 24, 70
crew epilogue, 28
gear, 60–68
goals, 26–27
L
crew (see fame) fame, 20, 74–75 group rolls, 140 legacy, 20, 28
signature (see mods) hangout, 71
allies. See factions
attitude, 17, 40–48
hype, 70
name table, 72
H M
perks, 71, 74–75 hacking. See infiltration mega prize, 26
B custom signatures, 158 hangout. See under crew
healing. See clean-up
mercenary, 126
mods, 51, 52–54
beats, 22
In the Lab, 51
D Hillview, 79–81
hoverboards
M-train, 27, 89, 92, 128

Portal Discovery, 89
running beats, 152
danger tracks. See
under tracks
function, 62, 89
history, 11, 62, 128
N
bite, 17, 26, 137 dare, 17 other options for, 62 Nexus Master, 124
bonds, 38–39 disaster, 19, 147 tricks, 21 noping, 18
boost, 17 doom, 19, 28 hype, 17, 70 NPC creation, 133
from attitude, 40–48 downtime, 12–13, 22 Nth gear, 128
from hype, 70
from turbo, 50
demo of, 33–34
running it, 152
I Null, 78

impact, 16, 145 O

C E infiltration, 149
Infinite Pizza, 131 obstacles, 26, 139, 146
challenges, 23, 25, 137 enemies. See factions In the Lab, 51 opportunities, 23, 24
chases, 150, 154–155 epilogue, 12, 28 overview of play, 12–13
checkpoints, 150 events, 24–25 J
by location, 79,
94–104, 125
exploration, 148
journeys, 148
P
demo of, 154–155 F parties, 152–153
in fights, 151
in infiltration, 149 fights, 151
K peelback, 65, 91, 147
perception, 141
clean-up, 13 faction, 118 kick, 17 perks, 74–75
components, 51 fame, 20, 74–75 from attitude, 40–48 personal growth, 38, 160

162
 Chases

D & D P L AY E R S !
playsheets, 160–161 slang, 90 ● This is less crunchy and more like making a
Portal Discovery, 89 snags, 18, 146 movie together. What’s fun, cool, and makes
portals, 89–91 stabilizer. See universal sense in the fictional situation determines
power cell. See universal mods what happens more than mechanics. Don’t
mods stickers table, 69 overthink it, don’t look for the grapple rules.
prize, 26–27 style, 20–21 If this was a movie, what would happen here?
problems ● No skill list, movement rates, or to-hit bonus.
slams, 18, 47
snags, 18, 146
T Any kind of action you can think of is done
with an action roll—1d6 plus 1d6 for each
worse problems, 147 teamwork. See sharing; boost you use. Roll all the dice and use the
problem ideas group actions highest roll to see how you did.
by monster, 111–116 tech level, 79 ● An action roll’s impact is like its damage, and
by scene, 148–152 thin-zones. See portals progress tracks are like a monster’s hitpoint
by world, 79, 94–104 tier. See fame bar, except there may be tracks for all sorts of
progress tracks. See tight. See factions obstacles, not just combat ones.
under tracks tracks, 16, 141 ● No formal initiative or rounds. Just take turns.
PVP, 145 danger track, 137, ● Foes don’t roll. They act when it makes sense
154–155 (or when a PC rolls a problem) and automati-
R progress track, 16,
31–32
cally hit unless the PC nopes the attack.

rebranding, 70, 74 trading components, 51

refresh, 13, 137 traits, 40–49 B L A D E S I N T H E DA R K P L AY E R S !
Rescue agent, 125 travel, 148 ● Legacy is like stash, doom is like trauma,
rivals. See factions tricks, 21 trouble is like stress, and style is like xp/coin.
runs, 13, 26–27, 139 trouble, 19 ● No action ratings. Instead roll 1d6 for any
run bonus turbo, 50 kind of action. You can add dice with boost
as a prize, 27 or dares (like pushing and devil’s bargains).
by crew brand, 70
by personality, 40–49
U ● Slams are like harm, but don’t have penalties
or levels, and they clear after each run.
ultraterrestrial people ● Resistance is called noping. You can only
S 95, 99, 101, 102
universal mods, 51 ●
nope slams, not other consequences.
Position is less emphasized, but tricks and
safety tools. See Script unfriendly. See factions other desperate actions can lead to worse
Change problems. Effect is called impact. It can be
Script Change, 22, 138
sesh. See exploration.
W ●
increased normally or by spending kick.
No load system or flashbacks. Some GM
sharing, 17 weapon damage. See moves replace engagement, and disaster
slams, 18, 147 impact and challenges replace entanglements.
super slams, 147 worse problems, 147 ● Instead of downtime activities you buy beats.

163
You are small.

You are just a handful of parameters in the infinite

universe generator. A few numbers a quintillion
decimal places down the encyclopedia wand. A
blip on the timeline, a speck of cosmic dust.

You are also big.

Your intestines are the coil-structured megacity

for trillions of bacteria. Whole dimensions are
born and collapse in the quantum foam inside you
every second. Your dad brings you up in every
conversation.

You are someone’s world.