i

Minerva
McJanda
i
 Design, Writing, Layout
Minerva McJanda

Art
Tithi Luadthong

Playtesters
Chris Longhurst, Laurence Phillips, Briar Chappell

© 2018 UFO Press. All rights reserved.

1
 The ground shook with
the sound of the titans’
approach.
As their heads crested
the horizon, I recognised
their vanguard: Xeni,
avatar of oceans, surging
and Encrusted with Coral.
I forced myself to stop
a muttered prayer to the
titans - they had betrayed
the faith of my mothers.
Instead, I activated my
mech’s systems and began
charging weapons. Today,
gods would fall.

2
The Bigger They Are...
Welcome to Harder They Fall, a game of final battles for the fate
of the world.

To play this game you’ll need:

>> A set of dominoes (double-sixes). You should have 28 in total.

>> A few friends.
>> Some paper and pencils.
>> A few hours of free time.

Together you’ll tell the story of a climactic battle between titanic

foes. You’ll decide what sparked the conflict, where the battle’s
happening, and the weapons, motivations and doubts that define
each fighter.
Then you’ll play out the battle, setting up chains of dominoes
that grow as your fighter gathers momentum and topple as titanic
blows shake the battlefield.
As you place dominoes down you’ll make statements about your
fighter’s impact on the world, their growing doubts, their fraying
connection with their allies and growing alliance with their
enemies.
When all the dominoes are toppled and peace falls over the
battlefield, will you be left standing victorious? Will it have been
worth it?

3
 Getting started
Divide into two sides, balanced or not as you wish.
Decide what the rough shape of the conflict is:

>> Invaders versus resistance?

>> Titans versus upstart gods?
>> Two nations at war?
>> An empire versus a ragtag uprising?
>> Something else?
Decide where the combatant’s power comes from:

>> Advanced technology.

>> Inborn abilities.
>> The life force of the earth.
>> Arcane knowledge.
>> The worship of their followers.
>> Something else.
The two sides of the conflict can have a different power source, if
you wish.

4
Making your combatant
Concept
Maybe you’re colossi whose footsteps shake the world, or an
ordinary shepherd empowered by the gods with cosmic might.
Maybe you’re the product of advanced technology with whirring
servos and a mechanical frame bristling with ammunition, or
you’re a genetic mutant with flight and laser eyes and weirder
skills besides. Decide what kind of being you are and where your
power flows from, and write that down.

Strengths
Decide on your three strengths - the tools you use to fight.
Examples: laser eyes, cold fusion reactor, the blessing of Ares,
cybernetic arms, the necromantic amulet of Anubis.

Oaths
Why must you fight? Write the three promises you made to your
friends, your mentor, your people, your god.
Examples: I fight for my people’s liberty. I fight to make my mother
proud. I fight to avenge my brother. I fight for my own glory.

Doubts
Why do you wish you didn’t need to fight? What specifically is
it about your opponent that makes your heart cry out for peace?
Write down one doubt.
Example: I was trained by them. I worship one of them. I cannot
believe this one can be defeated. I believe there is still good in them.

5
 Example Combatant: ABraxas
Fionn Walker is tearing down everything she built.
In another life, she was a neuroscientist building bio-mechanical
neural interfaces for prosthetics. Day by day, that decayed into
pioneering the first mecha designs, into tearing apart stolen
prototypes with expert knowledge of their limitations. And now,
mere months from the culmination of her life’s work, she’s turning
her back on it all.
Her old partners roll through the streets in their towering
machines, carving up the city into domains and demanding
worship. With only the support of a scattered resistance and the
stolen final prototype “Abraxas” hidden in a monorail maintenance
bay, she’s running out of time to make her move: once they roll out
mass production of these machines, no one will ever be able to stop
what she set in motion.

Strengths:
Knowledge. Shortcuts, power station locations, access codes that
haven’t been revoked, knowing the limits of her own designs.
Chains. Easy to buy or steal in bulk. Slinging shackles at enemies
weighs them down and restrains them for a brutal assault of fists.
Crest of the Storm Empress. A mech-sized blade. Once an
ornate baskethilt rapier of golden steel awarded for her service,
now battered and repaired a thousand times, spikes welded to the
guard as makeshift brass knuckles.

Oaths:
“I fight to protect the innocent.”
“I fight to cleanse my legacy.”
“I fight to inspire hope.”

Doubts:
“They were the closest thing I had to family. Even if I win, I’ll be
alone.”

6
7
 Making the Battlefield
Get a standard piece of paper - A4 or Letter. Go round the table,
and on your turn mark down one of the following:

>> A thriving settlement.

>> A site of natural beauty.
>> A hostile army.
>> A potential hazard (volcano, dam, etc).
>> A fortification or safe place.
Keep going round until you’re happy with the map.
As you draw yours, briefly describe it and say why that feature lead
to the battle occurring here.
Put all the dominoes on the table around the map, face-down,
and mix them up. This is the draw pile. Also set out space for a
discard pile.
Finally, everyone draws a domino and places it upright anywhere
on the map, with its pip side facing their foes. This is your
combatant’s starting position.
As you gather power and advance, you’ll place more dominoes in
front or behind of this one - those are your chain.

8
The Battle Begins
The person whose domino is highest goes first.
Combat Summary
On your turn, decide to Raise the Stakes or Knock Them Down.
Raise the Stakes:
1. Get a domino from the draw pile and count its pips.
2. Decide if you’re using it on yourself to Channel Power or
Advance, or on a foe to Give Ground.
3. Work through that action’s effects depending on the domino’s
pips. Low-value dominoes used on Channel Power or Advance
cause bad things for your combatant; Giving Ground saves you
those effects, but strengthens your opponent.
4. Pass over to one of your opponents, determined by the action
you chose.
Knock Them Down:
1. Flick over the domino at the rear of your chain.
2. Choose attack effects depending on how many dominoes fall.
3. For each chain you entirely knocked down, choose one
domino and stand it up to start their new chain. Clear out all
remaining fallen dominoes.
4. Pass over to the opponent with most Strengths.

Ending the Battle

Either of these conditions ends the battle:
>> One side has no remaining Strengths.
>> There are no dominoes remaining in the draw pile.
Hindrances
>> If all your Strengths are destroyed, you are out of the battle.
Say if you survive.
>> If all your Oaths are forsaken, you can’t Channel Power.
>> If you have 3 or more Doubts and Give Ground, you change sides.
Turn 3 Doubts into new Oaths; turn 1 Oath into a new Doubt.
>> You can (always) Advance.
9
 Raise the Stakes

10
Get a domino from the draw pile, and decide what you’re doing
with it: channel power, advance, or give ground.

Channel Power
Put the domino at the back of your chain. Describe how you draw
on one of your non-forsaken Oaths to gain more power. Then,
depending on the sum of pips on the domino, ask an opponent
one:

0-5:
>> As I absorb power, something goes wrong. Why can’t I channel
power on my next turn?

>> As I greedily absorb power, some of yours is taken in too. What

Doubt does the foreign power plant in me?

6-8:
>> As I take in power, the excess pours into my surroundings.
What destruction is caused around me? Sketch it on the map.

>> As I focus inwards, I’m unable to stop you picking off someone
crucial to my side. What?

9-12:
>> As the power pours into me it feels good and right. Which of my
compromised Oaths do I restore?

>> You can feel power pouring off me in waves. Are you terrified or
enraptured?

Then pass over to an opponent of your choice.

11
 Advance
Put the domino at the front of your chain. Describe how you move
through the battlefield. Is it cautious, bold, stealthy, stumbling,
implacable? Depending on the sum of pips on the domino, ask an
opponent one:

0-5:
>> As I charge forwards, what trap or hazard do I heedlessly fall
prey to? Discard any domino from my chain.

>> As bloodlust fills me, what nobler emotion does it crowd out?
Choose one of my Oaths, and mark it as forsaken.

6-8:
>> What is destroyed in my wake? Pick a feature anywhere along
my chain and describe how it is lost forever.

>> As I move out of cover, you identify - or create - a weak point

you can exploit to your advantage. What is it?

9-12:
>> As I charge forward you fall back to maintain distance - move
a domino from the front to the rear of your chain. What’s
precarious about your new position?

>> You’re so focused on me it gives one of my allies an opening.

Who? They act next.

If you’re the only fighter on your team, you act next instead

If you gave an ally an opening, they act next. Else, pass over to the
opponent furthest away from you.

12
Give Ground
Put the domino at the rear of an opponent’s chain. Pick a Doubt,
and based on it ask the opponent one of these questions:

>> I extend out a means for us to talk a short while.

What do you say to me?

>> You recognise my doubts and manipulate them.

Do I fall for your ploy?

>> I remember a time you showed me mercy.

What stayed your hand then?

>> I remember a time when we were friends or more.

What tore us apart?

>> I see in you something worth worshipping.

What is the noblest part of your nature?

>> I see in you something terrifying.

What greater force acts through you?

>> You are near some place dear to me.

Do you move to destroy it, or to defend it?

>> I harry you with minor attacks.

How do you show they are not enough?

Then pass over to the opponent with the shortest chain.

Where can I put a domino? FRONT

don’t face
When you put a domino at the front of a chain, back
it must be possible for the chain’s frontmost
domino to hit it. It can face in a direction up to
Out of Out of
900 different from the frontmost domino.
bounds bounds
When you put a domino at the rear of a chain,
it must face towards the chain’s rearmost
domino and be able to hit it. Rear
Face the next tile

13
 Knock Them Down

14
The way you use this gathered power is very simple: push the
domino at the rear of your chain so that it tips over.

>> If only your chain is knocked over: you strike from a

distance. Pick which opponent you target.

>> If your chain knocks over any of an opponent’s chain:

you connect physically with them. That’s the opponent your
attacks target.

>> If your chain knocks over any of an ally’s chain: you

work together, combining your momentum. When you make
statements about your strike’s result, you can decide which of
you makes each statement.

Count the number of fallen dominoes. For each of the below

categories you meet or exceed, pick one statement to make and
apply its effects.

What if someone accidentally knocks over dominoes?

The battle has caused a grand natural (or unnatural) disaster. Return fallen
dominoes to the draw pool - everyone whose chain was reduced as a result makes a
statement about how this world will be worse off if their opponents win.

15
 2-3 fallen:
>> I throw you off-balance - I discard any domino from your
chain.

>> I move like lightning - I set up my new chain anywhere on the

map.

4-5 fallen:
>> I strip away your weapons - I strike out one of your Strengths.
>> I am filled with defiance - I remove one of my Doubts.

6-7 fallen:
>> I inflict grievous harm - I strike out one of your Strengths.
>> I do something you swore to stop - I mark one of your Oaths as
forsaken.

8+ fallen:
>> I use more power than I can safely hold - I strike out one of my
Strengths.

>> The devastation I cause strikes fear in my heart - I gain a

Doubt.

For every player whose chain is entirely fallen: you stand up any
one of them where it fell as the start of their new chain, and
discard the rest. Do not return them to the draw pool.

Then pass to the opponent with the most intact Strengths.

16
Ending
If one side is completely eliminated, skip straight to the
epilogue.
When the draw pool is exhausted of dominoes, the game
enters sudden death. Everyone gets one final chance to Knock
Them Down, from shortest chain to longest. Then enter the
epilogue.

Epilogue
Go round the table one last time.
On your turn, pose a question about the conflict’s outcome,
focusing on your character, the subject of one of their oaths, or a
location on the map.
As a group, discuss possible answers. Those combatants still
standing at the end vote on which answer is true.

17
 Rules Variants
#1: Removing Dominoes
If you’re playing in a place where dominoes won’t work - you’re
playing online, or there are physical accessibility concerns - use
these rules to play Harder They Fall without dominoes.

Setup changes
>> Instead of setting out 28 dominoes, instead set out 28 tokens.
These can be dice, tiddlywinks, pennies, whatever you like.
>> Each player also gets a charge token - whatever you use for this,
it should have two sides, one of which is ‘guarded’ and the
other is ‘charged’. It starts in the guarded state.
>> Instead of putting down your first domino, put down a token
to mark your starting position. Decide first player by rolling
dice, or picking the fighter most likely to start fighting.

Gameplay
>> When you take a turn, you don’t draw dominoes - instead
you pick which level of success to act at, depending on your
charged status.
>> If you’re guarded, you can:
>> Use Channel Power or Advance at the 6-8 level.
>> Use Give Ground or Channel Power/Advance at the 0-5
level, and become charged.
>> If you’re charged, you can:
>> Use Channel Power or Advance at the 9+ level and become
guarded.
>> Knock Them Down and become guarded.
>> When you would place down a domino, put down a token
instead. Same for changing domino positions. When you put a
token down, put it within a token’s width of another token.
>> When you knock them down, all tokens that can be connected
to the back of your chain in token width-sized jumps is
counted as fallen.

18
#2: Elite Combatants
If you’re running a battle that’s one combatant versus three or more
foes, the lone fighter will need some boosts. Try these out for size!

Worldshaker
When an elite combatant Raises the Stakes, they can draw
up to 3 dominoes - they must decide how many before they draw.
They pick an action for each drawn domino, but use the lowest
value among the drawn dominoes for the resolution of Advance
and Give Ground.

Deep Reserves
Elite combatants start with four Strengths. When they set up
a new chain after all their dominoes have been toppled,
they may add a new domino to its front or rear for each of their
Strengths that have been struck out.

Fierce Resolve
When an elite combatant would switch sides due to Giving
Ground with 3+ Doubts, they may instead strike out a strength
to remove all but one Doubt and say how they suffer in order to
crush the fleeting indecision.

19
 #3: Monstrous Foes
Not all foes are the sort to be defined by Oaths and Doubts. If
you’re wanting to play an inhuman, unthinking monster, use
these rules instead.

Hungers
Instead of Oaths, you have Hungers. Like Oaths, they are
the things that motivate you to fight and destroy, but they are
rooted in desires rather than obligations. Each must reflect some
essential lack within you. Here’s some examples:

>> I hunger for the flesh of the living.

>> I hunger for the spark of divinity inside my foes.
>> I hunger for revenge against those who destroyed my home.
>> I hunger for the radiation inside that power plant.
When you channel power, say how a Hunger drives you to pull
on more power.
When you would mark an Oath as forsaken, instead say how a
Hunger has been satiated or thwarted.
When you would restore a forsaken Oath, instead how the
Hunger surges to unbearable levels again.

20
Frailties
Instead of Doubts, you have Frailties. These are your glowing
weak spots, chinks in your armour, or predictable patterns of
behaviour. Here are some examples:

>> I must avoid cold things.

>> My spines must be intact to channel electricity.
>> When I roar, my mouth is vulnerable.
When you would gain a Doubt, gain a new Frailty instead.
Say if you’re revealing a previously hidden weak spot or if your
opponents have created a break in your armour.
When you Give Ground, instead of picking one of the questions,
pick a Frailty and say the suffering, frustration or shame it causes
you. Then ask an opponent what they’re doing to capitalise on
your feral flinching from the Frailty.
When you have three or more Frailties and Give Ground, you
become panicked. You must declare your action before drawing
your domino each turn. If someone Knocks them Down and
topples your chain, they can forgo all other effects to tame you,
removing the panicked condition and recruiting you to their
side; remove all Frailties, and gain a Frailty representing your
new-found loyalty.

21