CC Quick Start Guide LIGHT 0623

A MODIPHIUS
PUBLICATION
Quickstart
Guide
QUICKSTART
GUIDE
CREDITS
COHORS CTHULHU CREATED Editing Interior Artwork Artists Project Management
BY CHRIS BIRCH Christine Crabb Anatole Arakelian, Chris Shepperson, James Barry
Lead Design Adrian Sanchez, Björn Barends,
Graphic Design Danny Spitz, Edouard Groult, Production Management
Nathan Dowdell Mark Raynor Peter Grochulski
Justin Usher, Thibault Ollier,
Other Design/Development Art Direction Glynn Seal Technical Assistance
Matt Goetz Ricardo Amato John Houlihan, Nick Brown,
Proofreading
Writing Allan Smith
Logo Design Erin Willard
Douglas Seacat, Matt Goetz Chris Webb
COMPANY
Modiphius Entertainment
Chief Creative Officer Senior 3D Designers Scheduling and Design Assistant Tool Makers
Chris Birch Joana Abbott, Justin Talsma Luke Gill, David Hextall
Domingo Díaz Fermín, Customer Service and
Chief Operations Officer Chris ‘Chrispy’ Peacey 2d20 Developer
Rita Birch Nathan Dowdell Accounts Manager
Senior 3D Plastics Designer Lloyd Gyan
Managing Director Colin Grayson RPG Design Assistants
Cameron Dicks Andy Douthwaite, Jess Gibbs Events Manager
3D Designers Gregoire Boisbelaud
Head of Brand Ben de Bosdari, Sean Bullough Senior Project Manager Community Manager
Samantha Webb Gavin Dady April Hill
Lead Graphic Designer
Head of Development Michal E. Cross Project Managers Translations and Publishing Manager
Sophie Williams Daniel Lade, Ben Maunder, Matt Timm
Graphic Designers Haralampos Tsakiris
Head of Creative Services Stephanie Toro, Chris Webb, Distribution and
Jon Webb Mark Whittington, Leigh Woosey Operations Manager Key Accounts Manager
John Wilson Gary Moore
Creative Coordinator Audio and Video Producer
Kieran Street Factory Manager Sales Account Manager
Steve Daldry Matt Vann-Hinton
Martin Jones
Financial Controller Editor
Luc Woolfenden Senior Production Operatives Marketing Manager
Bryce Johnston Ben O’Brien
Drew Cox, Warwick Voyzey
Logistics and Production Manager Development Coordinator
Peter Grochulski Lead Production Operative Marketing Coordinator
Jason Enos Shaun Hocking
Anthony Morris
Art Directors Games Designer Brand Manager
Rocío Martín Pérez, Ariel Orea James Hewitt Production Operatives Chris Shepperson
Thomas Bull, Rebecca Cartwright,
Studio Coordinator Developers Louis Hartley-Edwards, Jake Pink, Customer Support Representative
Rocío Martín Pérez Jono Green, Ethan Heywood Jake Skinner-Guy, Miles Turner Chris Dann
Photographer QA Testers Assembly Team Webstore Manager
Fátima Martín Pérez Samantha Laydon, Nathan Perry Elaine Elizabeth Hughes, Apinya Ramakomud
Lead 3D Designer Nichola Jones Bookkeeper
Community and Design Assistant Valya Mkrtchyan
Jonny La Trobe-Lewis Dominic Westerland
Playtesters
Ross Thurston III, Daniel Atson, Thomas Brandick, Will Mcshire, Grace Cripps, Brad Bell, Fen Baker, Stefan-Matthias Aust,
Florian Hollauer, Joerg Sterner, Carlos “Malky” Cabrero, Kazemi, Tack, Jeffrey Weist, Bri Mears, Christian Douven, Paul Kießhauer,
Astrid Knobling-Sterner, Nacho “Iggy” Buey, Liam McCormack, Philip Schadegg, David McNair, Wendy McNair,
Eva Karl-Rueckert, Ricardo “Dacosta” Sanz, Diego Felipe, Patrick, Atli, Lee Parker, Garrett Crowe, Mari Kozlowski,
Roland Steiner, Cameron Stall, Raquel “Raky” Miguel, Dave Sanderson, Graeme McIntosh, Ryan Walsh, Artimus Killian,
David Almgren, Mario Nordqvist, Raúl “Tanke” Turón, Oliver Mayes, Dave Hancock, Mark Ferguson, Eben Tuff,
Thomas Karlsson, Peter Karlsson, Pilar “Becaria Miskatonic” Paz, Mathew Bryan, Tegan Mannino, Alasdair Price, Karl Rodriguez,
Ryan Gale, Michael John Lusty Smith, Lorena Claveria, Ana Garcia, Wes Odom, Chris Fougere, Amy Lee Rodriguez, Arlen Walker,
Joseph Gagnon, Stephen Mask, Juan Carlos Barreno, Anita Fougere, Anthony Giberson, Darren Green, Joe Arnaud, Seiji Kato,
Björn Sonerud, Marc-André Durand, Germán Cantabrana, Trevor Giberson, Junior Blais, Heather Carolan, Paul Carolan,
Frédéric Lauzon, Benoit Gervais, Leonardo Overleo Paixao, Benjamin Chee, Helena Chee, Marc Brown, Liam Carolan,
Eric Knowles, Alasdair Price, Jose Tzmisce Luis, Daniel Danzin Murta, Tyrone Callaghan-Jones, Steve Bond, Bobby Molloy, John Cross, Sean Ahern,
Eben Tuff, Merk, William C Bargo Jr, Rafael Kender Navarro, Ralph Plowman, Niall Boyd, Paul McDonough, Dave Walker,
Lynette Bargo, Will Norman Bargo, Luciano Souza, Frederico Albano, Liam Boyd, Alex Tokarczyk, Lars Adrian Sztucki, Chris F. Willoughby.
Laura McLanster, Andrew Yildirim, Thomas Henschel, Roger Ellingham, Hermes, Jens, Daniel, Markus, Matthias,
Jasmine Yildirim, Noah Smithieer, Iain Bell, Jen Parr, Amy Williams, Daniel Atson, Ingolf Schäfer,
Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. Cohors Cthulhu and all characters, underlying game systems and
39 Harwood Rd, mechanics are copyright works © 2023 of Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
All rights reserved. “Cohors Cthulhu”™, “Modiphius”®, “2d20”™ and the
London SW6 4QP, United Kingdom Cohors Cthulhu and Modiphius logos are trade marks or registered
info@modiphius.com www.modiphius.net trade marks of Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
Modiphius Entertainment
Product Number: MUH0860101 Any trademarked names are used in a fictional manner; no infringement
ISBN: 978-1-80281-098-1 is intended. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with actual people
and events, past or present, is purely coincidental and unintentional
All Rights Reserved, except the Modiphius Logo except for those people and events described in an historical context.
which is Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. Any unauthorised use of copyrighted material is illegal.
2
QUICKSTART
RULES
Welcome to Cohors Cthulhu!.............................. 4

FActions of the Hidden Wars................................ 6
Quickstart Rules........................................................... 10
Before You Start...........................................................................11
Characters..................................................................................... 12
Skill Tests........................................................................................ 13
Momentum...................................................................................... 17
Action and Conflict.............................................................. 20
Attacks, Damage and Injuries............................................ 23
Magic................................................................................................. 28
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Welcome to Cohors Cthulhu!
WELCOME TO
COHORS CTHULHU!
Prepare to delve into a roleplaying game of cosmic horror and epic adventure set within the hidden wars fought in the shadows of the
Roman Empire and its surroundings. Most players are probably familiar with other roleplaying games, but if you are not, have no fear.
The Cohors Cthulhu Roleplaying Game is designed to be an easy entry point and can be played and run by those who have limited or no
experience with these sorts of games.
At its heart, a roleplaying game is a cooperative storytelling characters called player characters (PCs, sometimes also referred
experience between (usually) one person who is presenting to as heroes). Cohors Cthulhu lives in the world of Against the Gods
the story and arbitrating gameplay, called the gamemaster, or Themselves, like other 2d20 System titles including Achtung! Cthulhu.
GM, and one or more (ideally three to four) other people, the Players of Achtung! Cthulhu will notice many similarities between
players, who participate in the story by taking control of various these two titles, but there are also some significant differences.
4
What Is Cohors Cthulhu?
Chapter 1 - Welcome to Cohors Cthulhu!

Where once mighty legions marched and valiant tribes fought, where legends walked the lands and terrors prowled the vast forests, where ancient secrets
unlocked immense power and inhuman gods threatened chaos and destruction…
Cohors Cthulhu is a setting for Lovecraftian horror placed against a Other entities prowl the shadows. Ancient, godlike beings
backdrop of epic heroism, intrigue, and strife during the height of slumber beneath the oceans and in lost ruins, sending dreams
the early Roman Empire. to their cults; Deep Ones demand sacrifices from coastal villages
and conduct raids along the waterways. Mi-Go, dangerous
Amid a war-torn and fractious world in which Roman legionaries visitors from other stars, have sent expeditions into the
bent on conquest face off against barbarian warriors protecting mountains to plunder Earth’s resources and perform horrific
their tribes, players take on the roles of diverse heroes from experiments on its peoples. Nightmarish creatures and ancient
regions across the empire: Germania, Gaul, Britannia, Aegyptus, beings of incalculable power stalk the periphery of civilization,
Assyria, Greece, Hispania, and even eternal Rome itself. Arising seeking living things upon which to feast… or worse.
from a wide array of backgrounds, they battle baleful horrors
facing all of humanity. Whether the fight was forced on them or There is a reason why humanity is coveted by entities that can
they chose this path, it requires putting aside allegiances and swallow entire stars: their limitless potential threatens even the
prejudices, and making friends of former enemies. gods. It falls to the heroes to achieve that potential: by plundering
forgotten ruins, seeking out strange allies, entering into dubious
This fight also requires confronting peril to gather remnants pacts, and exploring untamed forests where malign cultists
of forgotten magic, most often preserved by priests of prowl—all to empower themselves against the Mythos. They may
jealous and competing gods. But fickle as humanity’s gods find weapons such as Atlantean relics, become transformed by
may be, they are sometimes the only recourse against those Hyperborean armories, or earn the blessings of more benevolent
from beyond the stars. Nyarlathotep, the God of a Thousand gods. Ordinary mortals can aspire to rise as demigods and make
Forms, has unleashed myriad schemes to subvert once- a stand against the impending cataclysm. It remains to be seen if
sacred cults across Rome, Germania, and beyond. In the they can surmount these heights, or if they will instead fall to the
shadows lurk powerful, corrupted survivors of Atlantis, malevolent forces seeking to corrupt their aspirations.
their minds twisted by Sarthothus, the Shattered God,
whose alien intellect has infected the Atlantean relics upon The stories of this era will take their place among humanity’s
which the Atlanteans’ power relies. most epic tales. What part will your heroes play in them?
Quickstart and Adventure

Included in this Quickstart package is a brief introduction to the setting and a condensed version of the Cohors Cthulhu Roleplaying Game
rules. The condensed rules are intended to facilitate playing the included Rude Awakening adventure (page 32) with its six pregenerated
characters (page 66), even if you have never played Cohors Cthulhu or other 2d20 System games before. This Quickstart does not include
details on character creation or more advanced aspects of the game explored in the Cohors Cthulhu Player’s Guide, Gamemaster’s Guide,
and additional supplements. Certain elements have been simplified or abridged compared to the full game.
Find out more about the Cohors Cthulhu universe at www.cohorscthulhu.com
5
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 - Factions of the Hidden Wars
FACTIONS OF THE
HIDDEN WARS
Several major secret players dominate the strange and unnatural conflicts taking place in Cohors Cthulhu. Each of these groups has very
different goals, agendas, and methods.
Humanity
The various nations and communities of humanity together comprise the least cohesive faction, but an important one, as people
invariably get caught up in the machinations of greater powers. Humanity’s major groups are factions in their own right, such as the
Roman Empire, the many Germanic and Celtic tribes, Aegyptus, Parthia, Numidia, and other nations on Rome’s periphery. These groups
are embroiled in various conflicts, some orchestrated to advance the schemes of more nefarious powers.
Some humans are unwitting pawns wielded by more powerful Others seek deeper answers. Some wield occult knowledge as
beings, either recruited unknowingly or enticed by temptations Mystics, gaining powers mortals cannot ordinarily control. Many
or promises. Others enter these conflicts of their own initiative, of those who acquire such knowledge bind themselves in pacts to
having some degree of exposure to and knowledge of the the Elder Gods, powerful ancient beings who may take the guise
hidden world, perhaps having glimpsed aspects of the conflict of more familiar divinities.
between ancient gods. Those who take an active role in these
battles have formed a number of secret societies.
The Temperari (“The Tempered”)

Among the most formidable agents in the Hidden Wars are those people who have been chosen by the immortal Hyperborean named
Maeren. She is an enigmatic power in her own right: an eternal warrior who fights a truly cosmic conflict against the fathomless power
of the Outer Gods. She has existed longer than humanity itself and may endure when the last of its cities are reduced to shadow and
ash. She witnessed the destruction of Hyperborea across hundreds of worlds, and as such now possesses a ruthless resolve to avenge her
people. She hopes to forge human civilization into a weapon toward that end. Her greatest assets are the Temperari, originally ordinary
humans she has tempered to fight supernatural horrors.
Maeren can be ruthless and cruel, quite willing to accept Maeren relies on her Temperari to extend her will and advance
tremendous losses, though her overall aim is to preserve life her agendas in the world. She possesses a wealth of esoteric lore
and order. Humanity is a means to an end, and individual lives and has access to relics and artifacts that can bestow tremendous
matter little to her. Few of those who serve her know her well, capabilities on her chosen heroes, though at a price. She tests the
only benefiting from her insight, guidance, and the unusual gifts abilities of those she intends to recruit before bestowing such
she provides to arm them against enemies no mortals could gifts, and to those who earn her trust she assigns vital missions.
otherwise hope to oppose. She once took on the guise of Athena
to arm heroes of ancient Greece, a task she has resumed amid the
Hidden Wars around Rome.
6
The Fingers Dawn
Chapter 2
of
The Fingers of Dawn is a secretive and influential cabal that seeks to elevate its own heroes. This group is headquartered in Rome but
has branches across the empire, including ones in certain frontier towns. Like the Temperari, this faction actively seeks skilled and
exceptional individuals to recruit as agents. It has the means to unlock their potential and to arm them to survive battles against their
rivals or Mythos threats. Under the guise of a cult serving Aurora, the Goddess of Dawn, this group has largely benevolent goals.
The members of the Fingers of Dawn are aware of Mythos threats outsiders as muscle or informants. But they place a particular
in the Hidden Wars and actively oppose them, seeing themselves priority on recruiting Atlantean descendants. They believe it
as protectors of humanity. They are willing to work with and is vital to collect information about occult matters, especially
recruit agents of any background or faith and often employ Mythos threats.
7
Mythos Cults
On the opposite side of the Hidden Wars are the Outer Gods. These vast, void-born beings of fathomless power dwell beyond the reach of
Earth, but even their slumbering echoes are enough to stir discord and delusion among humankind.
Cults devoted to the Outer Gods and the lesser Great Old CULT OF MORMO
Ones are proxies through which the Outer Gods keep a hand The insidious Cult of Mormo infests northern Germania but has
in the Hidden Wars. The Outer Gods consider many of their offshoots and tendrils in multiple other regions. It is perhaps
worshippers beneath their notice, sacrificing and slaying the most active and aggressive of Mythos cults active in the
them as readily as they do their adversaries. Yet the leaders of Cohors era. It has entered into significant alliances with other
such cults may be mentally subverted by or receive indirect powerful and dangerous entities and represents one of the most
mystical guidance from their horrific patrons, or voluntarily immediate and pressing threats to both unaligned Germanic
enter into binding pacts with them, becoming transformed and tribes and Rome itself.
empowered to fulfill their plans. Even without such “blessings,”
the people enticed to join these cults actively seek to awaken, Mormo is a corruptive and otherworldly fertility god, one whose
appease, or gain the approval of their patrons. cults have attacked and subsumed more traditional fertility
religions across the ancient world. In addition to Mormo, this god
Not all of these cults are composed of human members. Deep is known by names and epithets including Black Goat of the Woods
Ones, who worship Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, emerge with a Thousand Young, All-Mother, Mighty Mother, and Lord of the
from the sea to do the bidding of their progenitors. The Deep Woods. Mormo often allies with Nyarlathotep, and their influence
Ones oppose the efforts of the Atlanteans. Other strange beings, has considerable overlap.
like the Mi-Go, may have their own reasons for worshipping
various Mythos powers.
Atlantean Remnants
Atlantis thrived thousands of years before the founding of Rome, exerting a widespread if now largely forgotten influence on the
world. Its shadow is felt in the legacy of its descendants and a rare few long-lived survivors who witnessed its fall firsthand. Atlantis
was corrupted from within, its leaders infected by an insidious force inhabiting their relics of power. This resulted in a civil war that
obliterated their entire island. A small number of Atlanteans survived to flee, taking with them what they could.
A handful managed to extend their lives through occult means Not every descendant of Atlantis is so powerful or immortal.
to achieve near immortality, accruing considerable power. A far greater number live as regular people, ignorant of their
Over thousands of years, most of these longest-lived Atlanteans ancestry. Some possess genetic markers enabling them to wield
became corrupted; very few remain whose minds are free of Atlantean relics and unlock their full capabilities. The majority
the insidious whispers of the Outer Gods. Not all of the most are oblivious to the Hidden Wars but are valuable to those who
powerful corrupted Atlanteans are original survivors, however. know their potential.
Some are descendants who have stumbled upon or inherited
their forebears’ relics. Wearing identities that are convenient to
their current circumstances and goals—sometimes the guises
of great heroes, other times those of gods—they have wormed
their way into various societies, orchestrating myriad plots from
behind the scenes.
8
9
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules
QUICKSTART RULES
Joining the Hidden Wars
Late in the second century CE (AD), the frontier areas of Germania on the fringes of Roman control have become a fulcrum of violence
between various supernatural forces and those they target or who are brave enough to stand against them. Heroes rise from all cultures
and walks of life, having witnessed things better left unseen or motivated by the loss of loved ones or friends to fight these living
nightmares. Given the scope of the threat, strange alliances between such heroes are a matter of necessity, as old prejudices and feuds
must be put aside to defend humanity. Secretive groups such as the Temperari and Fingers of Dawn seek such heroes and recruit them,
while other clusters of heroes band together as a result of circumstance or shared enemies.
Among the most pressing threats on the wild frontier is a of the shattered Outer God Sarthothus, urging him to ever-
recent alliance between the sinister Cult of Mormo and a more-violent excesses. Even apart from these foes, the fringes
berserker chief named Herjan. The Cult of Mormo, a far-flung of Germania and Rome are subject to other unnatural perils,
Mythos faith with sects across the ancient world, serves an such as Mi-Go resource harvesters, cults devoted to malevolent
Outer God who adopts the guises of local fertility gods. In slumbering gods, and intrusions from the Dreamlands.
truth, she is a mother of monsters. Herjan is a particularly
brutal and long-lived descendant of Atlantis who was born It falls to those with the knowledge and courage to confront such
among the Germanic tribes, has risen to dominate many horrors to preserve some semblance of security and rationality for
subordinate chiefs, and believes himself to be a living avatar of everyone else. Epic threats create equally epic stories.
Wodan. His mind has been invaded by the intrusive whispers
10
Before You Start

Before you begin to read though this Quickstart and play the Cohors Cthulhu Roleplaying Game, it’s a good idea to check that you have the
following materials:
i
Twenty-sided dice, also known i
Six-sided dice, or d6s, can be used instead of Challenge Dice.
as d20s, are used for resolving Consult the Challenge Dice Result table, for each six-sided die
skill tests. You will usually roll face’s equivalent Challenge Die result.
two twenty-sided dice, or 2d20,
but as many as 5d20 can be i
Tokens for keeping track of Momentum and Threat (covered
rolled at once. later). You will need six tokens for Momentum and a dozen
for Threat; it helps if they are two different colors.
i
Challenge Dice are special
six-sided dice primarily used i
Paper, pens, and pencils for making notes and drawing maps.
for inflicting points of stress
and damage effects [ ].
You’ll need at least six for your
CHALLENGE DICE
players to share. Challenge
Dice are denoted in the text If you don’t have special Challenge Dice available, you
by the symbol . Each can use normal six-sided dice instead; treat any roll of a 3 or 4
Challenge Die has four as blank, and any roll of a 5 or a 6 as an effect [ ].
possible roll results:
CHALLENGE DICE RESULT
• A blank side, indicating a score of 0 D6 ROLL CHALLENGE DICE ROLL RESULT
1 [ ] 1
• One gladius [ ], indicating a score of 1
2 [ ] 2
• Two gladii [ ], indicating a score of 2 3 – 0
4 – 0
• An effect [ ], indicating a score of 1 plus a damage effect 5 1, plus damage effect
[ ]
(see Damage Effects, page 26)
6 [ ] 1, plus damage effect
[ ] and 0 (blank) each appear twice on a Challenge Die.
What Is the 2d20 System?

The 2d20 System is designed to create dramatic and narrative action from a roll of two twenty-sided dice, or 2d20. Players aim to roll
under a target number on each of the dice to score successes. If the number of successes meets or exceeds the difficulty of the task they
are attempting, they accomplish the task. Successes in excess of the difficulty create Momentum. The player making the roll can use this
Momentum to carry out cinematic actions or gain benefits, and other players can use it to gain additional d20s for their own rolls.
Players also have the option to purchase additional d20s for their rolls by giving the gamemaster Threat points, but this comes
at a risk. Threat represents everything that can go wrong in an adventure. It is a resource the gamemaster can use to make the
characters’ lives interesting if they push their luck!
11
Characters
Each player character in Cohors Cthulhu is defined by six attributes, which embody the character’s physical and mental abilities,
and twelve skills, which define their expertise in certain fields. Each player character also has two or more focuses, which give them
specialization within a skill.
ATTRIBUTES Fighting covers a character’s ability to fight and defend themself

Agility is a mixture of speed, balance, and muscle memory, and it against attacks, incorporating a combination of learned
is responsible for a character’s movement and dexterity. An agile techniques, physical conditioning, and instinct.
character is quick, moving with certainty and precision.
Medicine is a character’s ability to diagnose and treat maladies
Brawn represents a character’s physical fitness and endurance. such as injuries and diseases.
Coordination is a measure of a character’s fine motor skills, Observation incorporates a character’s awareness and their
accuracy, and sense of timing. ability to glean information from their surroundings.
Gravitas, in larger amounts, makes characters good orators and Persuasion represents a character’s ability to influence others
ideal leaders, ones who easily command authority and respect or through a mixture of speech and body language.
persuade with a few well-chosen words.
Resilience encompasses a character’s ability to resist and recover
Insight represents a character’s perception, instincts, and ability from physical and mental debilities including injury, pain,
to comprehend the world around them. fatigue, and mental distress.
Reason encompasses the ability to apply logic, intellect, and Stealth covers a character’s ability to conceal themself, move
learned facts to a situation. unseen and unheard, blend into a crowd, and hide objects on
their person.
Will reflects a character’s sense of self, mental strength, and
self-discipline. Survival encompasses a character’s knowledge of how to live
and operate in the wilderness without the comforts offered by
SKILLS civilization.
Academia covers a character’s education and accumulated

Tactics deals with a character’s ability to perceive and evaluate a
knowledge, as well as their ability to research unfamiliar subjects.
combat situation and devise an appropriate plan.
Athletics measures a character’s physical conditioning and

athletic ability. It also represents their attempts to move FOCUSES
with haste. Focuses allow a character to demonstrate greater specialization
within a skill, giving them the kind of advanced training that comes
Crafting incorporates a character’s familiarity with techniques from deeper study and practical experience. If a focus is applicable
to fabricate goods, as well as their ability to research and develop to a task the character is trying to accomplish, it increases their
new designs. chance to critically succeed on the relevant skill test.
Engineering encompasses a character’s technical and mechanical

expertise, with an emphasis on practical applications.
12
Skill Tests

Whenever a character attempts to complete an activity for which the outcome is in doubt, or for which failure would be interesting, they
perform a skill test.
MAKING A SKILL TEST 4. Each die that rolls equal to or less than the target
number scores a single success.
A skill test involves a single attribute and skill, as well as a focus
if one is applicable, and is made by rolling two or more d20s.
• If the character has a focus that applies, each die that
rolls equal to or less than their ranks in the skill used is a
1. The gamemaster chooses which attribute and skill are
critical success, generating two successes instead of one.
appropriate for the test, sometimes in conjunction with
or after a negotiation with a player. They also determine
• If the character does not have a focus that applies, each die
whether the character has any applicable focuses. Add
that rolls a 1 is a critical success, generating two successes
together the attribute and skill chosen: this is the target
instead of one.
number for each d20.
• Each die that rolls a 20 causes a complication (see

2. The gamemaster sets the test’s difficulty. This is
Complications, page 15).
normally between 0 and 5, with 0 representing easy tasks
and 5 the most difficult ones. Most common tests have a
5. If the number of successes scored equals or exceeds
difficulty of 1. The difficulty is the number of successes the
the test’s difficulty, then the character passes the test.
player must roll on their d20s to pass the test.
If the number of successes is less than the test’s difficulty,
then the test fails. Each success in excess of the difficulty
3. The player rolls their dice pool. The player starts with
generates 1 point of Momentum (see Momentum, page 17).
two d20s, and they may choose to purchase up to three
additional d20s by spending Momentum or adding to the
6. The gamemaster describes the outcome. If the character
GM’s Threat pool (see Improving the Odds, page 16). Once
passes the test, their player may spend Momentum to
they have purchased additional dice, if any, they roll the
improve the result further. After this, the effects of any
entire dice pool.
complications are applied.
“Amalthea, you came, thank the gods. Can you help him?” The blacksmith looked pensive.
“I will try.” She ignored the man’s convulsions to seek the cause of his torment. Only a bite from the most
venomous snakes of her homeland could trigger something like this, and that was near impossible in these climes.
Sweat sprayed from his brow and his eyes rolled back into his head. He howled, teeth gnashing, as she drew closer.
“You two, sit on his chest and legs. Penrod, hold his head. Beware his teeth, he will bite you if he can. You would
not want that.” She reached into her bag.
The two burly assistants subdued Ekkehard under their combined weight and as the blacksmith Penrod grasped his
temples, the hunter howled again. In a trice, Amalthea had emptied the vial down his throat and clamped his jaw
shut with strong, skillful fingers. A few moments and his struggles began to subside and he became quiescent.
Efficiently, she cut away the fabric of Ekkehard’s shirt and then disposed of the cloth. There was nothing obvious
on chest or arms, so they rolled him over. There, between the backbone and the kidneys, she found what she had
sought and dreaded.
His flesh was torn, rent, raised in a foul blue-black welt with ragged necrotic edges. As she peered closer she could
see the telltale spines, embedded like teeth in his flesh. Tendrils of blackness crept gossamer-like along his veins.
It was a miracle he was not dead already, or had not begun the transformation, but he was a strong man, and his
body was fighting back. There was hope yet.
13
OPPOSED TESTS TRUTHS
At times, a character attempts to beat an opponent. These A truth is a single word or short phrase that describes a significant
situations call for an opposed test. On an opposed test, an fact or aspect about its subject. Truths define what is and what
active character attempts to perform an action, while a isn’t possible, and whether skill tests are easier or harder to pass. If
reactive character tries to resist them. Both characters usually a truth stops being important, or ceases to be true, it is no longer
attempt a skill test with a base difficulty of 1. The outcome of a truth. Truths come in a variety of types, such as personal truths,
the opposed test depends on each character’s results. location truths, and scene truths.
i Active Character Passes, Reactive Character Fails: The active In rules terms, if the truth applies to an action, it does one of
character achieves their goal, and their test is successful. the following:
i Active Character Fails, Reactive Character Passes: The i

The truth makes the action easier, reducing the difficulty of
active character fails to achieve their goal, and the reactive the skill test by 1.
character achieves theirs (of resisting the active character).
Some opposed tests have a specific additional benefit for the i
The truth makes the action more difficult, increasing the
reactive character’s test. difficulty of the skill test by +1.
i Both Characters Fail: The active character fails to achieve i

The truth makes an action possible or impossible.
their goal, and the reactive character gains no additional
benefit. If a truth should have a particularly intense effect, the
gamemaster can add a number after the name of the truth,
i Both Characters Pass: Compare the total Momentum increasing the modifier of the difficulty of affected skill tests. For
generated on each character’s skill test. The character with the example, the Smoke truth could be made more intense by calling
higher Momentum wins and achieves their goal, but they lose it Smoke 2, increasing the difficulty to see through the smoke by
1 Momentum for each Momentum their opponent scored. The +2 rather than by +1.
loser then loses all the Momentum they generated, and they
cannot spend any. In the case of a tie, the active character wins
SECRET TRUTHS
but loses all the Momentum they generated.
Some characters have a secret truth. A secret truth is something
about the character that is not yet known and can be revealed
during the game. At first, this truth is the I Have a Secret truth.
Difficulty Zero Tests
Like any other truth, I Have a Secret can modify the difficulty of
If a skill test has a difficulty of 0, it does not require a dice a task or make a task possible or impossible. Unlike other truths,
roll: it automatically succeeds with no risk of complications. I Have a Secret can be used to modify any task. After a player uses
However, because no roll is made, it cannot generate it, they replace I Have a Secret with a new truth that reflects how
Momentum—even bonus Momentum from talents, and even they used it. That new truth becomes a personal truth for their
for particularly advantageous situations—and the player character from that point on.
cannot spend any Momentum on the test’s outcome, either.
For example, a player can use I Have a Secret to modify the
At the gamemaster’s discretion, a player can roll the dice difficulty of a Gravitas + Persuasion test needed to convince a
on a test with a difficulty of 0 and can generate Momentum troublesome Roman blockade to let their character pass. They
as usual. Because zero successes are required, every success declare that their new secret truth is Legionary Deserter: the
generates Momentum. However, this comes with the character’s military past lets them drop the name of a significant
normal risk of complications. This sort of difficulty-0 test Roman commander in the region, making it easier to convince
can be useful if it’s important to determine how successful the legionaries to let them through.
a character is but there’s no real chance of failure.
14
COMPLICATIONS SUCCESS AT A COST

Sometimes unforeseen problems crop up or there are Some skill tests can’t really be failed outright; rather, it’s uncertain
inescapable consequences for acting. These come in the form of whether the test can be completed without problems. In this type
complications: truths that have a uniquely negative impact on of situation, the gamemaster may allow a character to succeed at
the characters they affect. Complications make skill tests harder a cost. With this option, a failed roll still means they pass the skill
or impossible after they are introduced. test, but they also suffer one automatic complication in addition
to any that occur because of the dice roll results.
Complications arise in various ways, including the following:
Although the failed test produces a successful outcome, the
i Rolling a 20: On a skill test, each d20 that rolls 20 causes a player cannot spend Momentum to further improve its outcome.
complication. The complication takes effect after the test Momentum can only be spent on a skill test if it was successful
is resolved. due to the dice roll.
i Gamemaster Introduction: The GM can introduce a

SKILL TEST DIFFICULTY
complication by spending 2 Threat.
When the gamemaster calls for a skill test, they set a difficulty,
normally between 0 and 5. Most skill tests have a base difficulty
i Succeeding at a Cost: The GM may allow a character to turn a
of 1. Routine or straightforward tests might have a base difficulty
failed skill test into a successful one in exchange for taking on
of 0, while more challenging tests have higher difficulties. After
a complication.
setting the base difficulty, the gamemaster considers whether any
additional factors affecting the current scene or character should
COMPLICATION RANGES influence the difficulty, and they adjust the difficulty accordingly.
Some skill tests might not be more difficult but are riskier or
more uncertain than normal. With this in mind, the gamemaster
might increase a skill test’s complication range, making it EXAMPLE DIFFICULTIES
more likely to generate complications. A skill test normally has DIFFICULTY EXAMPLE
a complication range of 1, meaning that the character suffers
0 Researching a widely known subject
a complication for each d20 that rolls a 20. Increasing the
complication range by +1 means that a complication occurs 1 Overcoming a simple lock
for each d20 that rolls a 19 or 20. The complication range can be
Hitting a target with a ranged attack
increased by up to 4: in other words, a complication range rarely if 2
in poor light
ever exceeds 5 (a roll of 16 to 20).
Disguising yourself in the

3
COMPLICATION TABLE middle of a crowd
COMPLICATION COMPLICATIONS OCCUR 4 Deciphering an unknown language

RANGE ON A ROLL OF…
Retaining your rationality as your stare
1 20 5
into the face of an Elder God!
2 19-20
3 18-20
4 17-20
5 16-20
15
IMPROVING THE ODDS i Fortune: Players may spend a single Fortune point (see
Fortune, page 18) before making a skill test to set one d20 in the
Cohors Cthulhu provides players with several ways to improve
dice pool to an automatic result of 1, generating two successes
their chances of success by obtaining additional d20s to roll on a
automatically before they roll the rest of the
skill test:
dice pool.
i Assistance: One or more players can assist on the skill

i Talents: Some talents can grant bonus d20s in specific
test. Each player attempting to assist rolls 1d20, using a
circumstances, but this depends on context, and those d20s
target number of their character’s own attribute + skill
do count toward the maximum number of d20s that can be
combination. They add any successes they score to the skill
rolled for a skill test.
test’s successes, providing the player making the test scores at
least one success. Assisting players never roll more than 1d20.
The gamemaster has fewer options for buying bonus d20s for
non-player characters. They may spend Threat to add dice to a
i Momentum: Players may spend Momentum to buy up to
non-player character’s skill test. The first d20 costs 1 Threat, the
three additional d20s. The first d20 costs 1 Momentum, the
second costs 2, and the third costs 3. Non-player characters do not
second costs 2, and the third costs 3.
have Fortune.
i Threat: Players may add to the GM’s Threat pool to buy up to

three additional dice. The first d20 adds 1 Threat, the second
adds 2, and the third adds 3.
16
Momentum

Each success above and beyond the difficulty of a skill test becomes 1 point of Momentum, which the player may use immediately or save
in a group Momentum pool for later use by any player. Momentum is a valuable pooled resource that allows characters to improve upon
their successes or gain additional benefits.
The players’ Momentum pool cannot contain more than 6 BONUS MOMENTUM
Momentum at any time. Some situations, items, and talents grant a character bonus
Momentum. This is added to the amount of Momentum
At the end of each scene, the GM removes 1 point of generated by a successful skill test. Sometimes a rule specifies that
Momentum from the players’ Momentum pool. bonus Momentum can only be used in a specific way, such as to
buy dice or obtain information.
Bonus Momentum cannot be saved to a Momentum pool: if it is

not used when it is generated, it is lost forever.
Common Uses for Momentum

Players can spend Momentum on the following Momentum options.
i Buy d20s: Before rolling for a skill test (but after the at least one turn of their own. Both player characters and
gamemaster sets its difficulty), a player may buy up to three non-player characters may use Keep the Initiative (NPCs
more d20s for their dice pool. The cost increases for each spend 2 Threat instead of 2 Momentum to do so).
die purchased: the first d20 costs 1 Momentum, the second
costs 2 Momentum, and the third costs 3 Momentum. No i Obtain Information: A player may ask the gamemaster
more than 5d20s can be rolled on a skill test. a single question about the scene per Momentum spent.
The GM must answer truthfully but doesn’t have to give
i Confidence: Each Momentum you spend on this option complete information, and the question must be related to
after you pass a skill test adds +1 to your character’s Morale a skill test the player just passed.
resistance until the start of their next turn. You may spend
a maximum of 3 Momentum on this option, for a total of +3 i Reduce Time: A player can spend Momentum to reduce
Morale resistance. the time it takes their character to complete the activity
represented by a skill test they just passed. The reduction
i Create a Truth: A player can spend 2 Momentum to in time is determined by the gamemaster, and the player
establish a new truth in the scene (see Truths, page 14) can vary the amount of Momentum they spend, depending
or to change or remove a truth currently in play. The on how quickly they want their character to complete the
truth created must relate to a skill test they just passed, skill test.
and it must be something that would result from their
character’s actions.
i Keep the Initiative: After taking a turn, instead of handing

the action to the opposing side, a player may choose to use
Keep the Initiative by spending 2 Momentum and then
handing the action to another character on their own side.
Once one side has opted to Keep the Initiative, nobody on
that side may do so again until the opposition has taken
17
THREAT i Truths: The gamemaster may change or create a truth by
spending 2 Threat. This truth must work naturally with some

As players generate and spend Momentum, the gamemaster
aspect of the current situation.
generates their own currency, called Threat. The GM spends
Threat to alter scenes, empower non-player characters,
i Reinforcements: The gamemaster may summon additional
and generally make things more challenging, perilous, or
NPCs during a scene. Trooper NPCs cost 1 Threat each, while
unpredictable for the player characters. Players can also add to the
Toughened NPCs cost 2 each.
GM’s Threat pool instead of spending Momentum.
i Environmental Effects and Narrative Changes: The

The GM typically begins each adventure with 2 Threat for each
gamemaster may trigger or cause a problem with the scene or
player character present at the start of the session. They gain
environment by spending 1 or more Threat, depending on the
Threat for their Threat pool in the following ways:
severity of the problem.
i Threatening Circumstances: The environment or

circumstances of a new scene may be perilous enough
to warrant adding 1 or 2 Threat to the GM’s Threat pool
automatically. Some important NPCs may generate Threat
for the pool simply by arriving in a scene, in response to
changes in the situation, or by taking certain actions, such
as raising an alarm. Sometimes, the environment adds to
the GM’s Threat pool, such as when animals stampede or a
burning building collapses.
i Non-Player Character Momentum: An NPC with unspent

Momentum from a skill test cannot save it like a player
character can: NPCs don’t have a group Momentum pool.
Instead, an NPC may add to the GM’s Threat pool, contributing
1 Threat for every Momentum they have remaining.
i Complications: When a player character suffers 1 or more

complications on a skill test, they can choose to avoid them by
adding 2 Threat to the GM’s Threat pool.
FORTUNE
Characters can use Fortune to pull off extraordinary actions,
i Momentum Spends: Players can pay for Momentum options
perform exciting stunts, succeed on one-in-a-million tasks, or gain
by adding Threat to the GM’s Threat pool instead of by
an edge during life-or-death situations.
spending Momentum.
Each player character begins an adventure with 1 Fortune point,

The gamemaster can spend Threat in a number of ways. Here are
which refreshes at the beginning of each subsequent adventure.
some common examples:
This is called a refreshing Fortune point. Over the course of a
character’s career, they will have opportunities to gain additional
i NPC Momentum: NPCs can spend Threat from the GM’s Threat
Fortune points that refresh in this manner. In addition, during
pool instead of Momentum to purchase Momentum options.
an adventure, characters may gain Fortune points that do not
refresh, called nonrefreshing Fortune points. A player character
i NPC Threat Spends: If a player character’s action or choice
cannot have more than 5 Fortune points at any one time, and
would normally add points to the GM’s Threat pool, then
any excess points they receive are discarded. At the end of each
when an NPC performs that same action or makes that same
adventure, characters lose any Fortune points they haven’t spent,
choice, the GM must spend an equivalent amount of Threat.
but they receive their refreshing Fortune points again at the start
of the next adventure.
i NPC Complications: If an NPC suffers a complication, the
gamemaster may buy off (remove) that complication by
Each player may spend only 1 Fortune point per scene.
spending 2 Threat.
18
Here are some common ways players can benefit when spending action during the same turn. Outside of an action scene,

Fortune: after they perform a skill test or other significant action, they
may spend a Fortune point to perform another skill test or
i Critical Success: A player may spend a Fortune point before significant action immediately, before anyone else has an
making a skill test to set a single d20 in their dice pool to an opportunity to respond to the first one.
automatic result of 1 (generating two successes automatically).
They must select this option before they roll any dice on the i Avoid Defeat: A character may spend a Fortune point when
skill test, and they must roll the remaining dice in the pool. they are defeated (see Injuries, page 24) to return from
defeat immediately or at some point later in that scene.
i Re-Roll: A player may spend a Fortune point to re-roll
any number of dice in their character’s dice pool (d20s or i Make It Happen: A player may spend a Fortune point to
Challenge Dice ). They may select this option after they immediately introduce a new truth to the scene. The truth
have rolled the dice. could be something that no one in the scene has noticed yet,
or it could be a piece of equipment the character thought they
i Additional Major Action: In an action scene, after a didn’t have, but actually do! The Make It Happen option may
character has resolved a major action, they may spend a be used before rolling for a skill test.
Fortune point to immediately take an additional major
19
Action Conflict
and
Action scenes in Cohors Cthulhu embrace its mythic, legendary nature. Whether a hero is chasing adversaries through the wilderness,
clashing with another champion, or going toe-to-toe with the might of a Mythos menace, they require quick decision-making skills and
razor-sharp reflexes.
ZONES AND DISTANCES The gamemaster chooses a single character to start the action
To visualize an action scene, it’s important to keep track of the scene. This is usually a player character unless there is a good
locations of participating characters. Tracking a character can reason for an NPC to start first.
simply be a matter of description—an enemy might be “on the
watchtower” or “standing at the gate.” The gamemaster might also The order of play alternates between PCs and NPCs until everyone
use a map or sketch to depict various areas within a scene, using has had a turn. The side whose turn it is chooses which of their
pencil or miniatures to indicate characters’ positions. characters acts on that turn.
The use of zones can help further delineate distances without Once all characters on both sides have taken a turn, the PCs’
making a group track everything to the precise inch. In combat, group Momentum pool loses 1 Momentum. The action passes to
movement and distance ranges are measured using the following a character on whichever side did not take the last turn, and the
zone categories—one state and four ranges: whole process begins again for the next round.
i Reach: A state of Reach means an object or creature is within

ACTIONS IN COMBAT
arm’s length or melee weapon range of a character. Reach isn’t
On each of their turns, a character can take a single major action
a specific range, but rather a state a character can enter when
and a single minor action.
they move. When they move into or within a zone, they can
move into or out of Reach of an object or character. To make a
melee attack, a character must be within Reach of their target. Minor Actions
Being within Reach of an enemy increases the difficulty of any A character can take one minor action on their turn. Once per
skill test that isn’t a melee or mental attack by +2. turn, they can spend 1 Momentum to take one additional minor
action that turn. Each type of minor action can be taken only once
i Close: An object or character is at Close range from a per turn.
character if it is in the same zone they are. Close range is a
distance of 0 zones. i Aim: The player can re-roll 1d20 when their character makes
an attack this turn.
i Medium: An object or character is at Medium range from
a character if it is in an adjacent zone. Medium range is a i Draw Item: The character picks up an item within Reach, or
distance of 1 zone. draws forth an item or weapon they are carrying. If the item
doesn’t require a skill test to use, they can use it immediately
i Long: An object or character is at Long range from a character without spending an additional major or minor action.
if it is 2 zones away. Long range is a distance of 2 zones.
i Movement: The character moves to any point within Medium
i Extreme: An object or character is at Extreme range from range, and they can stand or drop prone as part of this
a character if it is beyond Long range. Extreme range is a movement. They can’t take this minor action if they have
distance of 3 or more zones. taken the Rush major action (see Major Actions) or if they are
within Reach of an enemy.
ROUNDS AND TURNS

i Prepare: The character takes a second to set up a major action.
An action scene is a sequence divided into rounds and turns.
Some major actions, such as spellcasting, require this minor
During a round, each character takes a single turn.
action before they can be taken.
20
then play proceeds normally. If the triggering event does not
Major Actions

occur before their next turn, the action is lost. They can still
Characters can take one major action each turn. Once per
take minor actions during their turn as usual.
action scene, they can spend 1 Fortune point to take a second
major action.
i Rush: The character sprints as fast as they can, making an
Agility + Athletics test with a difficulty of 2, to move anywhere
i Assist: The character assists another character with a skill
within Long range. They can’t take this action if they’ve already
test during their turn. The assisting character can take this
taken the Movement minor action. Location truths may
action before or after their own turn, but this is still the only
increase the difficulty of this skill test, and this skill test always
major action they may take during the current round. The
allows success at a cost (see Success at a Cost, page 15).
player rolls 1d20, using a target number of their character’s
own attribute + skill combination. They add any successes
i Skill Test: The player makes a skill test, at the discretion of
they score to the assisted character’s successes, providing that
the gamemaster.
character scores at least one success. Assisting players never
roll more than 1d20.
i Stabilize: If a character is dying (see Injuries, page 24), then
another character can provide medical attention by making
i Attack: The character attacks an enemy or object (see Attacks,
a Coordination + Medicine test with a difficulty of 2. If the
Damage, and Injuries, page 23).
test is successful, the dying character’s condition stabilizes—
they are no longer at immediate risk of dying, but they
i Cast a Spell: Spellcasters can use a major action to cast a spell,
remain defeated.
which includes making the spell’s skill test (if any), but they
must have taken the Prepare minor action beforehand.
i Catch Breath: The character takes a moment, and their player

removes stress from the stress track on their character sheet or
Dual Wielding in
removes a damage effect the character is suffering. Taking this Cohors Cthulhu
action requires a Will + Resilience test with a difficulty of 2.
Success either removes stress equal to the character’s ranks in
The Dual Wielding major action allows your character to
Resilience (plus 1 stress per Momentum spent) or removes an
spend Momentum to make two attacks in one turn while
ongoing effect, such as the Persistent damage effect.
wielding two melee weapons (see Major Actions). If the Dual
Wielding action is not used, wielding two melee weapons
i Create Truth: The player alters the circumstances of the
at once does not add to the number of attacks but instead
battle to give their side an advantage or to hinder the enemy.
gives your character the choice of using either weapon while
This action requires a skill test with a difficulty of 2, using an
attacking. For each attack your character makes, you can
attribute + skill appropriate to the way the player intends to
choose which weapon they use and then apply the Reach,
alter the scene. If the skill test is successful, the player creates
stress, damage effects, and weapon qualities of that weapon.
a new truth, changes an existing one, or removes a truth from
(See also Reach, Guard, and Attacking, page 25). For these
the scene.
reasons, it can be advantageous to wield two weapons that
have different features.
i Dual Wielding: A character who has already made a melee
attack on their turn may spend 1 Momentum to make a
second melee attack that turn using their other hand and with
another weapon. The difficulty of the second attack increases
by +1. If the second weapon was not already drawn, they still
need to spend a minor action to draw it.
i Pass: The character chooses not to or cannot take a major action.
i Ready: The player chooses another major action for their

character to take as a reaction to a specified event. When the
trigger event occurs, they temporarily interrupt the current
character’s turn to resolve their readied major action, and
21
REACTIONS i Brace: When the character is targeted by a melee attack but
before the dice pool is rolled, they ready their shield or set
In addition to taking a major and minor action during their turn,
themself to receive the charge. They use their reaction to
a character may be able to respond to other characters’ actions
add +1 to the difficulty of the attacker’s first melee attack
outside of their turn. A character may attempt one reaction each
and to gain +1 Morale resistance (see Resistance, page 26)
round, as long as it is not during their turn. Reactions each have
until the start of their next turn. When a character Braces,
a specific circumstance or condition that triggers their use. One
they cannot move out of their current zone until the start
reaction is available to all characters, and characters may gain
of their next turn.
other reactions from talents or other special abilities:
CONFLICT MOMENTUM SPENDS

In addition to the Momentum options described in Common Uses for Momentum (page 17), the following are available in combat:
ACTION SCENE MOMENTUM OPTIONS

OPTION COST EFFECT
Each Momentum spent adds +1 to the attack’s damage , before the player rolls their attack’s
Bonus Damage 1
. A maximum of 3 Momentum may be spent on this option, for a total of +3 .
The character gains bonus d20s on their next skill test. The first die costs 1 Momentum, the second
Buy d20s 1, 2, or 3
costs 2 Momentum, and the third costs 3 Momentum.
Each Momentum spent adds +1 to the character’s Morale resistance until the end of the scene. A
Confidence 1 maximum of 3 Momentum may be spent on this option, for a total of +3 Morale resistance. (See
Resistance, page 26.)
The player may establish a new truth in the scene (see Truths, page 14) or change or remove a truth
Create a Truth 2 currently in play. The truth created must relate to the skill test they just passed, and it must be
something that would result from the character’s actions.
After taking a turn in an action scene, instead of handing the action to the opposing side, you
may choose to use Keep the Initiative by spending 2 Momentum and then handing the action
Keep the to another character on your own side. Once one side has opted to Keep the Initiative, nobody
2
Initiative on that side may do so again until the opposition has taken at least one turn of their own. Both
player characters and non-player characters may use Keep the Initiative (NPCs spend 2 Threat
instead of 2 Momentum to do so).
Minor Action 1 The character may take one additional minor action this turn.
The player may ask the gamemaster a single question about the scene per Momentum spent.
Obtain
1 The GM must answer truthfully but doesn’t have to give complete information, and the question
Information
must be related to a skill test the player just passed.
An additional target within Reach of the primary target is also affected by the attack, suffering
Secondary Target 2
the full results of the attack.
22
Attacks, Damage, and Injuries

This section covers how physical and mental attacks are resolved, how damage is inflicted on characters, how injuries impair characters,
and how characters recover from damage and injuries.
ATTACKS AND DAMAGE choose to inflict damage on the character; alternatively,

they may move to any point within Close range.
An attack is any action made with the intention of harming
another character, NPC, or creature, or of inflicting stress upon
• Ranged: Make a Coordination + Fighting test. The test
an object.
has a base difficulty of 2 if the character is at their weapon’s
range from the target. If the target is closer or farther away
Three forms of attack are available to characters: physical attacks,
than the weapon’s range, the difficulty increases.
mental attacks, and spells. Physical attacks are further divided
into melee attacks and ranged attacks.
• Mental: NPCs with the Fearsome X special rule make
a Will + Persuasion or Will + Survival test with a
Other than spellcasters, most player characters cannot inflict
difficulty of 1. Mental attacks are used to threaten and
mental damage. However, fearsome NPCs (NPCs with the
intimidate opponents.
Fearsome X special rule), can inflict mental damage through a
mental attack or even through their presence alone.
3. Inflict Damage: If the character wins the opposed test for a
physical attack or passes their skill test for a ranged or
Spells are discussed separately in Magic, page 28.
mental attack, then the attack inflicts damage (stress and
damage effects).
MAKING A PHYSICAL OR
MENTAL ATTACK • Roll Challenge Dice : Roll the number of indicated
Physical and mental attacks proceed according to the following by the weapon or attack on the character sheet or NPC
steps: profile. Total the number of gladii [ ] and effects [ ]
rolled. This is the amount of stress dealt.
1. Declare the Attack: Choose a target to which the character has
line of sight. Choose a weapon to use if the attack is physical, • Determine Resistance: The target totals the relevant
or choose a mental attack to use if the attack is mental. resistance they have: Armor resistance + Cover resistance for
physical attacks, or Courage resistance + Morale resistance
• To make a melee attack, the character must be within Reach for mental attacks (see Resistance, page 26). They reduce the
of the target. amount of stress they receive by that amount. Resistances
appear on the character sheet or NPC profile.
• To make a ranged attack, the character must have line of
sight to the target. • Inflict Stress: If the target is a PC, the target adds any
remaining stress to the stress track on their character sheet
• To make a mental attack, the target must be aware of the (a row of initially empty boxes labeled Stress). If the target
character and must be within Medium range of them. is an NPC, the GM keeps track of how much stress that
NPC has accrued. The number after the label Stress in an
2. Make a Skill Test: Make a skill test with an attribute, skill, NPC profile is that NPC’s maximum stress. After the target
and difficulty determined by the type of attack. Further records their stress, they check to see if they have sustained
adjustments to difficulty may be made at the gamemaster’s any injuries (see Injuries, page 24).
discretion.
• Inflict Effects: Effect [ ] results rolled also trigger any
• Melee: Make an Agility + Fighting test with a difficulty of damage effects noted as part of the damage for the weapon
1, opposed by the target’s own Agility + Fighting test, also or attack used (see Damage Effects, page 26).
difficulty 1. If the target wins the opposed test, they may
23
REMOVING STRESS Once a character has sustained 3 injuries, in any combination,
they are defeated and can no longer act in the scene.

At the start of a scene, a character removes all the stress they’ve
accumulated, assuming they’ve had a few hours to stop and rest
in order to catch their breath, steady their nerves, and prepare for
i
If a defeated character has more physical injuries than
mental ones, they are also dying. At the end of each of a
further challenges.
dying character’s turns, their player rolls 1 . If the player
rolls an effect [ ], the character dies from their injuries.
INJURIES
A character sustains an injury if one or more of the following i
If a defeated character has more mental injuries than physical
occur: ones, they are also irrational.
i
The character suffers 5 or more stress from a single attack after If a dying or irrational character suffers another physical or
reduction for resistance. mental injury, they are no longer playable.
i
The character’s stress track becomes filled.
i
The character already had a full stress track and suffers
further stress.
If two or more of these circumstances occur at the same time, the

character may sustain multiple injuries.
Each injury a character sustains increases the complication range

of their skill tests by +1 until the injury is treated (see Complication
Ranges, page 15).
Each injury is a truth that impairs a character, making relevant

activities and skill tests more difficult or impossible, at the GM’s
discretion. Its name should reflect the type of damage that caused
FATIGUE
it. Damage from physical attacks results in physical injuries like
Some events, damage effects, and environmental effects influence
lacerations, broken bones, or burns. Damage from mental attacks
a character’s ability to act.
results in mental injuries: severe emotions like fear, panic, or
anxiety. Whether an injury resulted from a physical or mental
A player character’s maximum stress is the number of boxes in
attack should be noted after the injury’s name: (P) for physical
their stress track on their character sheet. An NPC’s is the number
injuries, and (M) for mental injuries.
that appears after the label Stress in their NPC profile.
With appropriate time and rest, characters can attempt to

When a character suffers fatigue, it temporarily reduces their
treat an injury with a difficulty 2 skill test. Physical injuries are
maximum stress by 1 for each point of fatigue suffered. If their
treated with Coordination + Medicine, while mental injuries
maximum stress is reduced to 0, any further fatigue means the
are treated with Insight + Medicine. Success means that a single
character falls unconscious—this is the same as being defeated. If
injury of the chosen type is treated, plus 1 additional injury per 2
the character suffers any more fatigue while unconscious, they die.
Momentum spent. Once treated, the injury is changed, renamed
to reflect the treatment provided (for example, from Broken Leg
A character can remove fatigue with a Brawn + Resilience or Will
to Leg in a Splint).
+ Resilience test with a difficulty of 1, once they have removed
themself from the cause of the fatigue. Success removes 1 point of
Removing an injury entirely takes time and rest. How much time
fatigue, plus 1 more for each point of Momentum spent.
and rest it requires is left to the GM’s discretion, but in general, 1
injury is removed at the start of each new adventure.
24
REACH AND GUARD REACH, GUARD, AND

The ebb and flow of melee combat is shaped by the combatants ATTACKING
and the weapons they use. Different weapons are suited to Each melee weapon has a Reach rating, typically from 1 to 3, with
different situations: a fight plays out differently if the combatants higher ratings representing longer weapons.
are using daggers than if they’re using spears.
When a character makes a melee attack, check to see whether
GUARD their target has Guard.
A character is said to have Guard if they are aware of their attacker

and are able to defend themself. They must also be standing or
i
If the target has Guard, the difficulty of the attack increases
by +1 if the target’s weapon has a longer Reach than the
crouching.
character’s.
A character loses Guard if they are knocked prone, become

stunned, are unaware of their attacker, or are incapable of
i
If the attack succeeds and the target has Guard, the character
may spend 2 Momentum after the attack to force the target to
defending themself. A character may also lose Guard because of
lose Guard.
a complication or if their attacker spends Momentum to remove
their target’s Guard.
i
If the target does not have Guard and the character’s weapon
has a shorter Reach than the target’s, then the attack requires
If a character starts their turn without Guard, they can gain
a standard skill test instead of an opposed test: the target does
Guard as a free action if they have no enemies within Reach. (A
not get to roll to defend themself.
free action is a very short action that does not involve a skill test
and does not count as a minor or major action. Characters may
If a character is wielding two weapons at once (one in each hand),
perform as many free actions in a turn as the GM allows.) If the
the weapon used to determine which combatant has longer
character has enemies within Reach, they can gain Guard as a
Reach must also be used to determine damage if they win the
minor action instead.
opposed test.
Surprise Attack
The element of surprise is a powerful advantage in a fight. If

a character’s target is unaware of them before they attack, or
if the target doesn’t consider the character a threat, then the
target does not have Guard. An attack against an unaware or
unsuspecting foe is a surprise attack. A successful surprise
attack gains the Intense damage effect. If the attacker’s
weapon is already Intense, the attack inflicts +2 instead.
The sound of an attack alerts nearby enemies unless the
attacker is using a weapon with the Subtle weapon quality, in
which case only the enemy attacked is alerted.
Cohors Cthulhu has a strong focus on melee combat. That’s
not to say ranged combat options don’t exist—bows,
javelins, pila, and ballistae all see use on the battlefield—but
melee combat in Cohors Cthulhu incorporates relevant
concepts from other 2d20 System games. Melee weapons
have Reach, for instance, and Guard is an important aspect
of melee combat. Reach and Guard are incorporated to
ensure that melee combat options are as robust as possible
and to allow for a complexity of choices similar to the
complexity available in Achtung! Cthulhu.
25
RESISTANCE DAMAGE EFFECTS
Resistance comes in two forms: persistent and conditional. Armor Rolling an effect [ ] on a Challenge Die, or a 5 or 6 on a
and Courage resistance are persistent in that they are worn by or conventional die (see Challenge Dice Result table, page 11), deals
innate to a character, while Cover and Morale resistance come an additional 1 stress and triggers all the damage effects of the
from sources external to the character. Resistance reduces the relevant weapon or attack.
points of stress a character receives from an attack.
On a character sheet or NPC profile, each weapon or attack lists its
i
Against physical attacks, a character gets persistent resist- damage effects (if any) at the end of its entry. The damage effects
ance from Armor and conditional resistance from Cover. available in Cohors Cthulhu are summarized here. Some of the
Armor is either worn, like a legionary’s lorica segmentata, damage effect names are followed by an X, which is replaced by a
or is natural, like a Deep One’s toughened skin. Cover comes number, depending on the weapon or attack.
from terrain or obstacles, like a sturdy earthworks emplace-
ment or a brick wall. i Area: The attack hits one additional target within Close range
of its initial target for every effect [ ] rolled. Secondary
i
Against mental attacks, a character applies resistance from targets suffer the attack’s full effects.
Courage and Morale. Courage represents a character’s confi-
dence and discipline, while Morale is the certainty that comes i Drain: The target suffers 1 fatigue for each effect [ ] rolled.
from being inspired or encouraged by others.
i Intense: If the attack inflicts an injury and an effect [ ] is
rolled, the attack inflicts an additional injury.
i Knockdown: The attack causes the target to stumble or fall. If

the number of effects [ ] rolled equals or exceeds the target’s
Athletics skill, the target is knocked prone.
i Persistent X: The attack has a lingering effect. If the attack

generates one or more effect [ ] results, the target rolls X
at the start of their turn for a number of rounds equal
For example, the legionary Anais has 3 Armor
to the number of effect [ ] results. They suffer the stress
resistance from their lorica segmentata armor and 1
generated by these rolls. These rolls do not trigger additional
from their Brawn. They take cover behind some rubble,
damage effects. If the target is an object instead of a being, the
which provides 1 Cover resistance, for a total of 5
Persistent X effect begins immediately.
resistance. When they are attacked and dealt 6 stress,
Anais reduces that stress by 5, taking only 1 stress from
i Piercing X: The attack ignores X resistance for each effect
the physical attack.
[ ] rolled.
Similarly, Anais is a courageous individual, with a Courage

i Snare: The attack can entangle and bind the target. The
resistance of 3. On the eve of battle, their centurion offers
target cannot take any actions other than to try to break free.
a rousing speech to encourage the cohort, which the GM
Breaking free requires a Brawn + Athletics or Agility + Stealth
determines offers a Morale resistance of 1. When they are
test with a difficulty equal to the number of effects [ ] rolled.
assailed by a mental attack that deals 6 stress, Anais reduces
that stress by 4, taking only 2 stress from the attack.
i Stun: The attack leaves the target temporarily unable to act. If
the number of effects [ ] rolled equals or exceeds the target’s
Resilience skill, the target may not take any actions during
their next turn.
Characters do not start with any conditional resistance.

i Vicious: The attack is especially potent. For each effect [ ]
Cover and Morale typically come from circumstances—
rolled, add +1 to the total stress inflicted.
locations and actions—rather than being part of a character
or on their person.
26
WEAPON QUALITIES i Parrying: When the weapon’s wielder makes an opposed test
when targeted by a melee attack, they may re-roll a single d20
The following weapon qualities alter the way a weapon
on their test. This does not stack if the character has multiple
functions: some alter it in positive ways, others by applying
Parrying weapons.
restrictions or limitations.
i Reliable: You may ignore the first complication rolled using

i Accurate: If you take the Aim minor action before attacking
this weapon in an action scene.
with this weapon, the weapon gains the Intense damage effect
for that attack.
i Reload: This weapon requires an intense process to reload
or rearm it before attacking. After an attack is made with this
i Debilitating: The difficulty of any skill test to treat the
weapon, it must be reloaded, requiring a major action.
physical injuries caused by this weapon increases by +1.
i Shield X: When targeted by a melee attack, a character with

i Heavy: Attacks with this weapon increase in difficulty by +1
a shield treats their Reach as X, rather than as the shield’s
unless the wielder has a Brawn of 10 or higher.
normal Reach. In addition, while the character has Guard,
they gain +X Cover resistance.
i Hidden: When this weapon is hidden, people who are simply
looking at the character carrying it cannot detect it. Skill tests
i Subtle: Attacks with this weapon are difficult to hear,
to search for this weapon increase in difficulty by +1.
requiring an Insight + Observation test with a difficulty of 2
to notice. The GM may adjust this difficulty based on distance
i Inaccurate: You cannot benefit from the Aim minor action
and ambient noise.
when using this weapon.
i Unreliable: Attacks with this weapon increase the test’s

i Indirect: This weapon is not designed for direct fire, instead
complication range by +1.
dropping its payload upon enemies over great distances.
Attacks with the weapon increase in difficulty by +1, but they
do not require line of sight.
27
Magic
Magic in Cohors Cthulhu is the practice of Mystics, such as certain scholars, priests, and seekers of forbidden knowledge. It can also be
used by especially gifted individuals who can shape and harness arcane forces that are sometimes far beyond their comprehension or,
indeed, control.
The practice of magic is divided into two disciplines. The first is POWER
battlefield magic, shorter-term enchantments of instant effect All spellcasters have a power rating — often simply called power—
and brief duration—spells, curses, hexes, charms, and blessings— which is a crucial element of unleashing spells, performing
which are used primarily in combat and out in the field, away rituals, and turning words and actions into meaningful outcomes.
from the controlled conditions necessary for lengthier rites. This power rating appears on a spellcaster’s character sheet or
NPC profile. It indicates the number of Challenge Dice rolled
The second discipline, ritualistic magic, is longer in form, more when the character casts a spell or performs part of a ritual.
complicated, and more intricate; it is also immensely more
powerful. This is the magic that characters use to communicate
with, and summon, supernatural alien beings and malevolent
forces previously unknown to this world; to travel between the
planes of existence; or to effect permanent and lasting change on
the mortal plane.
LEARNING MAGIC
A character can learn magic in three ways, two of which are
available in these Quickstart Rules.
TRADITIONAL
A traditional spellcaster has spent much of their life learning a
magical tradition — the Runic and Oracular magical traditions
are two examples. Magical traditions, also called occult traditions,
PREPARING BATTLEFIELD
are passed down through the generations and take many years of
SPELLS
study to master.
To cast a spell, a spellcaster must first prepare their mantle with
the spells they wish to bind to it. A mantle is a significant item
Traditional spellcasters use Insight to cast spells and perform
such as a wand, staff, or runestone that a spellcaster uses to “store”
rituals, and most have the Mystic archetype. They may use spells
bound spells. This allows them to unleash the power of those
only from their own magical tradition, and they begin with three
spells quickly and without elaborate rituals.
spells from the spellbook of that tradition.
A spellcaster can bind a number of spells to their mantle equal

RESEARCH to their power rating. Preparing these spells requires a skill
A research spellcaster has studied forbidden tomes, occult lore, test with a difficulty of 0, and it takes a number of minutes
and fragments of precious knowledge to piece together their equal to the combined difficulty of the spells being prepared.
understanding of the mystical. They can learn any spell but are The attribute and skill used to bind a spell varies: traditional
often led to malign powers. spellcasters use Insight + Survival, and research spellcasters use
Reason + Academia. Once the spells are bound, a spellcaster’s
Research spellcasters use Reason to cast spells and mantle contains the chosen spells until the spellcaster sleeps or
perform rituals, and most have the Mystic archetype. is otherwise rendered unconscious. Bound spells do not miscast
They may use spells from the spellbooks of any magical (see Miscast Spells and Rituals, page ) if the spellcaster becomes
tradition (usually found during adventures), and they unconscious.
begin with two spells.
28
CASTING A BATTLEFIELD All battlefield spells have a cost when cast. This cost takes the

MAGIC SPELL form of mental damage inflicted on the spellcaster. The stress
dealt to the spellcaster as a result is reduced by their Courage
During an action scene, a spellcaster may attempt to cast any
resistance + Morale resistance, as usual. This cost is applied after
of the spells in their mantle. They cannot attempt to cast more
the spellcaster resolves the skill test to cast the spell, and it applies
than one spell per turn. To cast a spell, the spellcaster must use
regardless of whether the casting is successful.
the Prepare minor action and then the Cast a Spell major action.
Unless otherwise specified, each spell requires a skill test that is
part of its Cast a Spell major action.
The attribute used for the skill test to cast a spell depends on
the type of spellcaster the character is: traditional spellcasters
use Insight, and research spellcasters use Reason. The skill a
spellcaster uses to cast a spell and the difficulty of the skill test
they make to cast it are detailed in the spell’s profile.
The ritual would be exacting, dangerous, a threat to her familiar’s life, perhaps even to her own. It was an undertaking
which placed both body and soul in jeopardy.
Candles were lit, cleansing herbs and incense burned, and a smoky pall hung over the dimly-lit room. She began
to focus, clearing her mind, preparing her body for the ordeal ahead. Now she took her staff and called softly.
“Ophidia, Ophidio, come, it is time.”
A lithe, sinuous form detached itself from the shadows, entwining itself around the base of the wood. It curled
its way up the haft like a wisp of smoke. The Greeks knew this as the Asklepion, or staff of Aesculapius, but this
was no mere divining rod. it was a living thing, a caduceus, a form of sympathetic magic far older than even the
Greeks guessed, a power which was ancient long before Atlantis fell.
Sweat ran a river down her back, the veins on her arms and neck like cords as she struggled to bend the ritual to
her will. Ekkehard was fighting hard too, restraints digging into his flesh. He had near bitten through the strap
in his contortions.
Ophidio-Ophidia laboured intensely, drawing out the venom drop by drop, their cojoined body filtering and
purifying, healing the flesh, bolstering the ka. Yet the poison was foul, spiteful, resisting even this most potent
of rituals, infecting his spirit as well as body. Despite their combined efforts, it still coursed through him and he
was growing weaker, losing the will to resist.
Now was the time. Carefully she took the mushroom’s gills from the pan and delicately placed them in a clean
linen cloth. Ekkehard spasmed, his body growing taut, as if his bones would thrust themselves out of his skin, and
as he shook, she took the bag and squeezed, letting the spores flow through the cloth and into the open wound.
She held her breath, willing the balm to do its work before his spark of life was extinguished, but for long moments
nothing happened. The fungal oil seemed to dissipate, the poison flaring again. Then slowly, its hold began to
weaken. inch by inch the veins cleared, the skin lightened, the fungus’s essence working with Ophidio-Ophidia,
purging, healing, chasing the shadow away.
She slumped, leaning heavily on the caduceus, feeling as feeble as an old crone, weary beyond words, weary beyond
imagining. She looked to Ekkehard and saw his flesh return to a healthy white-pink, knitting and renewing itself
around a newly formed and quite livid scar. Ophidio-Ophidia detached themselves from the caduceus and curled
around her neck, hissing softly, a song of renewal and hope, whispering the eternal charm of the healer.
29
SPELL AND RITUAL DAMAGE RESISTING MAGIC
Not all spells and rituals deal damage to their target (though Although magic is a potent and dangerous force, it is not
most deal damage to their spellcaster). Of those that do deal all-powerful. Sometimes, a spellcaster must overcome their target’s
damage to their target, some deal physical damage, inflicting innate willpower and ego to ensure that a spell takes effect.
stress that is reduced by Armor and Cover resistance, and some
deal mental damage, inflicting stress that is reduced by Courage In other words, certain spells give their targets the chance to
and Morale resistance. The type of damage a spell or ritual inflicts is resist. The skill test to cast such a spell is an opposed test. The
specified in its spell effect or ritual outcome description, respectively. caster uses their spellcasting attribute and the spell’s skill. The
resisting target uses the attribute and skill specified in the spell’s
If a character successfully casts a spell or ritual that deals damage Difficulty section. Both tests use the spell’s difficulty. See Opposed
, resolve the damage using these steps: Tests, page 14, for more information.
1. Roll Challenge Dice: Roll the number of indicated by the

MISCAST SPELLS AND
spell effect or outcome description: usually a number of
equal to the character’s power rating plus some additional
RITUALS
Due to the power a spellcaster or ritualist wields, even the
specified by the spell effect. Total the results rolled. Remember
slightest break in their concentration can cause their magic to
to add +1 for each effect [ ] result. This is the amount of
spiral out of control.
stress the spell deals to the target.
As on any other skill test, a roll of 20 on a skill test to cast a spell

2. Determine Resistance: The target totals their relevant
or perform a ritual causes a complication. However, a spell or
resistance: Armor resistance + Cover resistance for physical
ritual’s complication range increases as its difficulty increases,
damage, or Courage resistance + Morale resistance for
as specified in the Spell and Ritual Complication Ranges table.
mental damage, as specified by the spell effect or outcome
Whether or not a spell or ritual is successful, if it generates a
description. The target reduces the amount of stress they
complication, it is called a miscast.
receive by that amount.
3. Inflict Stress: The target marks off any remaining stress on

SPELL AND RITUAL COMPLICATION RANGES
their stress track and checks to see if they have sustained any
SPELL OR SPELL RITUAL
injuries (see Injuries, page 24).
RITUAL COMPLICATION COMPLICATION
DIFFICULTY RANGE RANGE
4. Inflict Effects: Effect [ ] results rolled also trigger any damage
1 20 19-20
effects included in the spell effect or outcome description.
2 19-20 18-20
MOMENTUM SPENDS
IN MAGIC 3 18-20 17-20
Skilled practitioners of magic wield their spells with deftness
and precision, leveraging their skill and knowledge to achieve 4 17-20 16-20
heightened results. Some spell descriptions specify ways to use
Momentum generated during casting. In addition, spellcasters 5+ 16-20 15-20
can spend Momentum on the following spell-related options:
i Cost Resistance: For each Momentum spent, gain +1 Morale

Complications caused by a miscast spell or ritual are much more
resistance against the spell’s cost (the mental damage it
unpredictable and devastating than those from other tests. The
inflicts on the caster).
gamemaster is encouraged to apply devious invention when
adjudicating the results of a complication caused by miscasting.
i Bonus Damage: For each Momentum spent, add +1 to the
If the spell is successfully cast or the ritual successfully performed,
damage the spell inflicts on its targets.
its spell effect or ritual outcome still occurs: complications cannot
turn success into failure, and any miscasts can only produce
i Duration Increase: For 2 Momentum, double the duration of
additional or unintentional consequences.
any spell with a duration that isn’t “instant.”
30
ADVENTURE -
RUDE AWAKENING
Introduction.................................................................31
Synopsis.............................................................................. 32
Scene one: The Survivors........................................34
Scene Two: Exploring the Village..................... 39
Scene Three: Gislin’s Farmstead........................... 52
Scene Four: Master of Dreams............................. 58
31
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - Rude Awakening (Adventure)
RUDE AWAKENING
Introduction
This Quickstart Adventure for Cohors Cthulhu begins in media res. The group has just endured an unexpected attack upon the caravan
it joined on the way to the frontier town of Laurium. The player characters discover that they are (nearly) the only survivors, and in the
aftermath, they have a chance to investigate the sinister mystery behind the random assault.
If you are planning to serve as your group’s gamemaster,

you should know the background before launching into the Mature Themes
first scene: be sure to give the entire adventure a quick read
through before you run it for the first time. The synopsis below
This adventure for Cohors Cthulhu incorporates mature
summarizes the adventure and the events leading up to it. Rules
themes including cannibalism, human sacrifice, murders
are introduced throughout the adventure and are clearly marked
of children and adults, decaying human and animal
with page references.
bodies, harm to animals, corrupt religious cults, mind
control (including potential mind control of a player
Rude Awakening is intended for starting player characters (PCs)
character), and severe injury, not to mention horrifying
whose players are learning the rules of the game. It includes
eldritch entities! If you are the gamemaster, before you
six pregenerated PCs starting on page 66, one for each of the
run adventures using these guidelines, please apprise
archetypes in Cohors Cthulhu. The players can utilize these
your players of these themes and discuss using a system in
characters or ones of their own creation using the character
which they can comfortably air any concerns they might
creation rules in the Cohors Cthulhu Player’s Guide. This adventure
have or request that certain content be skipped. To avoid
assumes only minimal previous contact between these characters;
presenting themes as spoilers, a good strategy is to offer a
it can be played with PCs who were previously strangers or ones
longer list of potential themes, only some of which appear
who know one another better.
in the adventure or campaign.
Note: The frontier town of Laurium used in Cohors Cthulhu

To facilitate such discussions, you may wish to pick up the
is an entirely fictional place. It is not based on any historical
TTRPG Safety Toolkit, compiled by Lauren Bryant-Monk and
towns of the same name, nor does it share a location with one.
Kienna Shaw, and Monte Cook Games’ Consent in Gaming,
by Sean K. Reynolds and Shanna Germain. Both are free
------------ Gamemaster Only! ------------ and easy to find online.
If you are playing a player character in this adventure, read
no further to avoid spoilers! Instead, see Pregenerated Player
Characters, page 66.
32
Synopsis

The Germanic village of Lupford has languished in obscurity and slow decline for decades, being just far enough from the main roads to
make trade with its neighbors difficult. Its people receive little benefit from Roman patrols and do not fall under the protection of the
more militant bands of the nearest active Germanic tribes. In theory, Lupford is within a region claimed by Rome and controlled by its
legions, so it could petition for support from the garrison at Laurium if threatened. However, in truth, it is isolated and would be unlikely
to receive aid in time for it to matter. It has its own armed warriors willing to protect its people’s homes. They are mistrustful of strangers,
regardless of whether they be Germanic, Roman, or other.
This isolation is not entirely natural. Near to the village is a well envious of his elder’s position and desired that power for
that is a site of ancient tragedy and fell deeds where the walls of himself. Despising what he saw as Gislin’s weakness, Ingolf
reality have rubbed thin. The Dreamlands are closer to Lupford performed a forbidden ritual, attracting the attention of
than most are aware, and because of that it is a place where Laogoth-Ur. Ingolf gave this being a portal into the world
nightmares fester. People who were not born here find this place through the body and mind of Gislin, condemning his brother
unsettling and do not feel inclined to stay. to an unending nightmare. Gislin has become a puppet, used as
a figurehead for a debauched cult that serves Ingolf’s ambitions.
A farmstead built near the ancient well has long been held by Ingolf’s actions have upset the old balance, and druden have
one of Lupford’s wealthiest families, inheritors of unnatural begun to proliferate in the village. The Dreamlands press ever
fortune built on betrayal and bloodshed. Many generations closer, casting a dark shadow over Lupford and its inhabitants as
ago, the family entered into an unholy pact with a being named druden seek more victims and new ways to feast.
Laogoth-Ur, binding themselves to creatures of nightmare they
could summon in exchange for providing access to victims. Some Ingolf’s rationality has begun to slip, and he has created a cult
Germanic Mystics know these creatures as druden, wild spirits with himself at its head. He has encouraged his followers to
born from the oily seas of the Dreamlands near the shores of summon additional druden, which they no longer control.
Oriab, each hungry to feast on the fears of mortals. These ghostly Ingolf ignores and is indifferent to the harm he has unleashed.
apparitions can possess those who are sleeping and control
them, their victims watching their deeds in a nightmare that The people of Lupford do not understand what has been
does not end when they wake. Previous heads of the family made happening and think themselves accursed, a fear that seems
use of bonded druden to gain power by threatening enemies or justified. Sometimes the destructive impulses awakened by
eliminating rivals, ensuring their supremacy in the village. the druden spread like a disease from one person to the next,
amassing a dangerous mob. One such mob is responsible for the
The family’s current heir, Gislin, was born with potent mystical violence at the outset of this adventure.
potential but found this ancestral pact abhorrent. He intended
to defy his obligations and break the chain. Unfortunately, You begin this adventure with 2 points of Threat for each
he revealed his plans to his younger brother, Ingolf, who was player.
“ The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to

escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
— Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor 161–180 AD)
33
Scene One: The Survivors
A Chaotic Tumult
When everyone is ready, read the following aloud, paraphrasing as needed:
A short time ago, you joined a small caravan for a journey to the town of Laurium, having heard these frontier roads to be
perilous and seeing the benefit of mutual protection. Other than your group, the caravan included two wagons laden with an
assortment of tradable provisions owned by a trio of merchants, each escorted by hired guards. The caravan was led by a Roman
named Caius Vagennius Velus, who took on the role of caravan master.
After a damp morning with a light rain, the spring day had warmed up and become an almost enjoyable afternoon as you
traveled along the rutted road until, on entering a denser stretch of woods, everything around you became a frenzied tumult.
There had been no warning of an imminent attack, no shouted demands by what you had assumed must be bandits—just
incoherent screams and roars as the caravan was beset. A dozen enraged people spilled from the shadows, weapons in hand,
their eyes wild and bloodshot as they lashed out at anyone they could reach. The drivers of the two wagons were pulled down
and brutally clubbed even as the few mercenaries protecting the merchants drew their weapons and joined the melee.
It was settled in a quick flurry of hacking blows, grunts of pain, and bodies falling to the muddied soil. You are among the few
survivors. You can hear hasty footfalls as most of the surviving attackers flee between the trees as suddenly as they first arrived.
You and the other survivors are scattered in disarray across a wide area around the wagons, both of which have been damaged
in the fight, with wheels shattered. The mules that had pulled them are either slain or have run off in panic, leaving their
burdens behind. The bodies of many of your former traveling companions and several of the attackers are bleeding out on the
ground everywhere you look.
You did not have time to take concerted action during the battle; each of you responded according to your instincts and nature, some
of you drawing weapons to fight, others seeking cover or trying to withdraw to relative safety. Several of you suffered minor scrapes
and bruises in the clash.
As you take stock, you realize that one desperate melee is still underway. Caius Vagennius Velus, the caravan master, is locked in
a deadly clinch with a burly man in a stained tunic. A bloodied, short blade is in the attacker’s right hand, which Caius has seized
to try to keep the weapon away from himself. You can see a deep rent in the caravan master’s side, his tunic now sopped with an
alarming amount of blood. He has already been stabbed at least once, and his strength is waning.
Talk to each player about their positions relative to the wagons tests by +1 (at your discretion) until they are treated (see Injuries,
and one another, what they would have tried to do during the page 24, and Complication Ranges, page 15).
fight, and their current conditions. Since there is immediate
peril, the characters won’t have the chance to talk yet; however,
as the players figure out the PCs’ positions, you can encourage
Scene Objectives
each to describe their character to the other players.
The objectives for this scene are:
Half or more of the PCs, including any whose player says they
would have actively engaged the attackers, will have acquired i
Save the life of the caravan master.
the personal truth Scrapes and Bruises (see Truths, page 14). This
represents painful and distracting but superficial trauma. If you i
Gather clues regarding the unexpected attackers.
want to be more colorful, assign PCs specific affected body parts as
an added parenthetical, such as (Head Gash), (Bruised Arm), or i
Discern the direction from which the attackers
(Glancing Shoulder Blow). As with regular injuries, these truths originated, and give chase.
can increase the complication range of an affected character’s skill
34
Seeing Caravan Master Caius locked in a life-and-death struggle It’s worth noting that everyone in the scene can be considered
with the last remaining attacker triggers an immediate abridged to be in the same zone with regard to distances (see Zones and
action scene in which the PCs have a chance to intervene. The Distances, page 20). This means that each PC can quickly move to
scene is split into rounds and turns (see Rounds and Turns, page within Reach of the attacker even if they started farther away than
20). Each round, every character in the scene takes a turn. On their the other PCs.
turn, a character may perform a major action and a minor action
(see Actions in Combat, page 20). PCs and NPCs alternate until Use the Dream-Frenzied Villager profile, page 37, for the attacker,
everyone has taken a turn, and then a new round begins. who (if he is not immediately incapacitated) can further injure
the caravan master after the first PC’s turn, cutting him with his
In this case, select a PC to go first, preferably the one closest knife. (Note that Caius does not have an NPC profile, so handle the
to the two struggling NPCs. Alternatively, you could ask the effects of attacks upon him narratively during this scene.) If you
players what their characters are going to do and allow the did not spend 2 Threat to create the Held Hostage truth earlier,
first who expresses a desire to act to go first, regardless of you could do so now, describing the villager trying to move the
their proximity. Some PCs may have ranged weapons they caravan master into harm’s way. After the villager strikes, each of
could fire, though doing so would put the caravan master the remaining PCs can take their turn—followed by the start of
in peril if they miss. You may spend 2 Threat to create the the next round and the first PC’s second turn—before the villager
Held Hostage truth for the scene to increase the difficulty gets another chance to deal further damage. This is a good time to
of any action against the caravan master’s attacker by +1 (see explain the use of Momentum, if the players have accumulated
Threat, page 18). any (see Momentum, page 17).
35
Who Lives and Who Dies Who Are the Attackers?
Since the villager is greatly outnumbered by the PCs, he is likely This last attacker, should his life be saved, is not in any
to be quickly dispatched, though Caius, the caravan master, had condition for an extended conversation, but he is able
already suffered serious injuries and is in bad shape regardless. answer a few brief questions. You can encourage players to
His exact state can vary depending on the difficulty the PCs have make tests using Gravitas + Persuasion or other relevant
in neutralizing the villager; if the villager manages to act twice, skills to help them become familiar with those types of
Caius should be very close to death, and he should not survive a tests, though these should be easy (with a difficulty of 0;
third strike. see Difficulty Zero Tests, page 14), as the villager is not being
intentionally evasive. If a PC is suspicious and wants to
If Caius receives a fatal blow, he lives just long enough to mumble determine whether the villager is lying or being deceptive,
a few last words to the nearest PC between bouts of coughing up the PC’s player can make an Insight + Persuasion test with
blood—“Village of Lupford… Get help…”—and he points north. a difficulty of 1; if they succeed on the test, they learn he
seems sincere.
Even if Caius does not immediately expire, he is still dying (see
Injuries, page 24) and needs to be stabilized (see Major Actions, i
The attacker is a Germanic villager and farmer named
page 21). One or more PCs may want to tend to his wounds. A Walthram, who has lived in the village of Lupford his entire
character who has the Medicine skill with a Field Treatment life and has served in its militia.
or Surgery focus can attempt to provide medical attention by
making a Coordination + Medicine test with a difficulty of 2 if i
Walthram has no memory of the attack or any idea why it
Caius took a single strike after the scene began, or a difficulty happened. He has no animosity toward the caravan master or
of 3 if he took two. One additional player could attempt to anyone else present.
assist (see Improving the Odds, page 16), rolling 1d20 with a
target number of their own PC’s Coordination + Medicine. i
If Walthram catches sight of the bodies of any of his fellow
If they succeed, they give the character they are assisting one attackers, he seems shocked and dismayed, identifying
success, provided that character scores at least one success them as other civilians from Lupford. Among the slain are
themself. Assisting players never roll more than 1d20. several farmers, a cobbler, the young adult offspring of a
local cattleman, and a blacksmith’s apprentice.
If the test to provide medical attention succeeds, Caius
becomes stabilized: he is no longer at immediate risk of dying, After answering a few questions, Walthram—who sees the bodies
but he remains defeated (see Injuries, page 24) and must be now if he didn’t earlier—is overcome with shock and grief. He
helped to do anything, including walking elsewhere. Describe mumbles, “It’s that damned curse…” before passing out from
his wounds as still being quite bad and at risk of opening stress and blood loss. He does not rouse again until after he is
again. He needs to be taken somewhere warm, dry, and returned to the village.
indoors, and to be further tended. Even a knowledgeable PC
with the proper equipment, such as medicus’s tools, can only Even if Walthram perishes of his injuries before the PCs
do so much while out in the open. learn his identity, they have a chance to inspect the fallen
and can learn several facts in the process. Encourage the
Having been stabilized, Caius is able to speak a little more, though players to make use of appropriate tests to examine their
it is still a strain. He mentions that the PCs might be able to find surroundings, such as an Insight + Observation or Reason
some help at the nearby village of Lupford. He can guide them in + Observation test with a difficulty of 1, though it is not
the right direction, though the PCs might find other reasons to difficult to gain the following information. This is a good
head toward Lupford if they investigate their surroundings. time to inform players that they can spend Momentum on
the Momentum option Obtain Information (see Common
Unless the PCs decide to prevent it, the villager who attacked the Uses for Momentum, page 17).
caravan master perishes of his own injuries shortly after being
defeated. The difficulty of the test to stabilize him starts at 3 and i
The slain attackers, eight in number, are a mix of genders, and
increases if he does not receive swift intervention. There is no they do not appear to be attired like Germanic warriors ready
need to suggest that the PCs try to save his life, but you should for battle. They are wearing the typical clothes one would
give them the opportunity to do so if they decide to attempt it on expect to see on Germanic villagers.
their own initiative.
36
i
The weapons the attackers employed are an assortment of or Reason + Academia test with a difficulty of 3. PCs with a

readily available farm and household implements. Only a few Religion focus have a better chance than usual to earn critical
attackers wielded weapons of war. The items they brandished successes on this test (see number 4a in Making a Skill Test,
included knives more for eating or cooking, simple page 13). Note that this is a good test on which to encourage
improvised clubs and staves, hoes, scythes, and the like. assistance from other players (see Improving the Odds, page
16). Passing this test indicates that the primary occultist feels
i
Any PC with the Germanic Tribe personal truth realizes that certain that a potent supernatural influence was involved in
the attackers’ behavior reminded them of what they’ve heard the attack and that the villagers were not acting of their
or seen of tribal berserkers, though none of the attackers own volition.
seem otherwise likely to be actual berserkers, at least based
on their appearances. Characters can attempt to find the attackers’ trail via an
Insight + Survival test with a difficulty of 2 (the Tracking focus
If PCs express curiosity regarding the unusual nature of the applies); passing the test leads them to a hunting trail to the
attackers, encourage any Mystic, Sage, or other character village of Lupford.
with an interest in the occult to make an Insight + Academia
Dream-Frenzied Villager Skills and Focuses

Athletics 2, Fighting 2 (Melee Weapons), Observation 1
Trooper NPC (Instincts), Resilience 3, Stealth 1, Survival 1
A typical villager in a Germanic tribe has some familiarity
with weapons and, at least in their youth, served their tribe as Stress 6 Injuries 1
a warrior. Some villagers are battle-hardened fighters. These
Armor 1 Courage 1
warriors most commonly use the framaea, the spear of the
Germanic tribes. Some may have kept their weapons even after
turning to farming or other tasks, while others may rely on Weapon (one of the following)
improvised weapons if threatened. Dagger: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 3 Piercing 1, Hidden,
Subtle
A dream-frenzied villager has been compelled into a violent
Improvised Weapon: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 3 ,
state by a drude invading their nightmares. They do not
Unreliable
perceive reality but instead see phantom images from dreams,
which can include enemies from their past or imagined threats Spear: (Melee Weapons), Reach 3, 5 Piercing 1
to their family. When entering battle, they do so with feverish
determination and can push their body beyond normal limits. Escalation Options
If they become injured to the point of incapacitation or bound War Axe: (Melee Weapons), Reach 2, 5 Vicious; spend 1
so they cannot move or fight, they return to a normal state of Threat to allow all dream-frenzied villagers to wield a war axe
mind, left with only hazy, dreamlike memories of what might during the current scene
have brought them to their current circumstance.
Special Rules
Truth Hit and Run: After a dream-frenzied villager makes a
i
Nightmare-Deluded Warrior successful surprise attack (see Surprise Attack, page 25), they
may spend 1 Threat to move within Close range of their target
from that attack. The dream-frenzied villager may do this even
Attributes if they moved this turn.
Agility 8 Gravitas 6
Brawn 9 Insight 7
Coordination 8 Reason 9
Will 7
37
The Mess Left Behind Going off the Rails
As they prepare to leave the attack site, PCs may express concerns
about leaving behind dead bodies or about the safety of the
Player characters can be unpredictable and obstinate.
broken wagons’ contents. Some may wish to “check the bodies for
Even if you make numerous hints regarding Lupford,
valuables” (loot), which is a viable choice. If the PCs linger to assist
they might decide to avoid the village, particularly
any wounded or to secure the trade goods, Caius (if he survived)
if they were unable or unwilling to stabilize Caravan
urges them to hurry, insisting he will worry about the wagons
Master Caius. If they insist on proceeding to Laurium
later. The sundries in the wagons are bulky, heavy, and not worth
instead, there are other ways to steer them back. In
much in quantities that would be easy to carry on foot.
Laurium, you could have a significant NPC approach
them: Legate Argus Attia Druses, who oversees
Each of the three slain merchants has a pouch hidden on their
Laurium’s Roman garrison, or Penrod, a prominent
person. Each pouch contains a modest volume of coinage
blacksmith with strong connections to the local
worth approximately 100 denarii (1 or 2 aurei along with
Germanic community, could ask them to check into
dozens of denarii and sesterces). The bodyguards each have a
rumors of troubling occurrences in the isolated village
dozen denarii in coins on their person, along with weapons
of Lupford. By this point, the village is in even worse
and a few other bits of personal gear. Caius complains about
shape. More people have died, the cult has grown
looting if he witnesses it, but he is in no condition to stop the
stronger, and Gislin has succumbed even more deeply
PCs. The slain villagers are not carrying much of value.
to his possession by Laogoth-Ur. An elder, Miltrude, has
barricaded herself in her hall, but if the PCs convince
If Caius, Walthram, or both accompany the PCs to Lupford, the
her they are trying to help, they can persuade her to
PCs must assist or carry them due to their injuries.
open it up and can proceed with the adventure as
before, albeit in an even tenser atmosphere.
Remember to remove 1 point of Momentum from the players’
Momentum pool as the scene ends.
38
Scene Two: Exploring the Village

The large wooden hall at the village center has high sloped walls
Scene Objectives and is fronted by a pair of stout oak doors. An older woman tends
to a pair of elderly goats as the PCs approach but then stops her
The objectives for this scene are: work to rest, perching on a wooden stool. She greets the PCs with
wary deliberation.
i
Talk to some of the locals to find out what has been
going on. This woman is Miltrude, a revered matriarch in Lupford. She is
Lupford’s main contact for outsiders pursuing trade with the locals,
i
Learn about the dangerous cult lurking within the village, and she serves as a spokesperson and intermediary for residents
as well as the location of its leader. seeking to earn a few coins from excess produce or crafted goods.
Her hall serves as the village’s primary meeting place.
i
Survive any hostile encounters provoked by the druden.
Miltrude’s reaction to the PC depends on whether they saved the
life of Walthram, the man who attacked the caravan master. If he
is in their care, though wounded, she is thankful and receptive,
expressing concern for his condition before opening the doors
WELCOME TO LUPFORD! and inviting the group within.
Usually at the start of a new scene, characters can remove stress
they accumulated in the previous one (see Removing Stress, page The matriarch reacts more coolly if the PCs are alone or only the
24). This can be skipped to maintain tension, and it does not injured Caius accompanies them. Assuming he is with the PCs,
eliminate the Scrapes and Bruises truth. after a moment, she recognizes Caius, having traded with him
before. If any PC is inclined to try to improve her attitude, this
After you have resolved the previous scene, read the following gives the players an opportunity to make a Persuasion-based
aloud: test (the test’s attribute could be Gravitas, Insight, Reason, or
Will, depending on how the players describe their interaction),
though this conversation could also be handled by roleplaying.
I t’s close to nightfall before you reach the village. The narrow
trail cutting through the forest, hemmed in with dark
pines, opens onto the outskirts of a Germanic settlement,
Failing this test is not critical, but it leaves Miltrude in an
unpleasant and irritable mood. Regardless, she reluctantly offers
the PCs a place inside her hall, where any wounded with them
its thatched huts and buildings built close together within can be settled and made more comfortable.
the long shadows of the surrounding forest. In cleared
areas stand small and squalid farms, no bigger than can The hall proves to be a combination of living and meeting
feed a single family, many looking overgrown and poorly space. It contains a long table; a low, banked fire; a variety of
tended. Scrawny cattle and goats peer at you balefully before implements and tools for cooking, butchering, and skinning;
lowering their heads to chew on the sparse vegetation. The and unkempt nests of bedding and rough blankets in the far
huts on the periphery are dark and quiet. corners. The shadowed interior is thick with a variety of smells,
as some of her domesticated cattle are kept here at night or
A few sullen workers are tilling the fields, struggling with when the weather takes a turn.
heavy plows, while others are lugging bulging sacks into
barns or onto rickety wagons, almost deliberate in ignoring
their surroundings.
It is difficult to gauge the number of villagers who live in this

place, though you can see the roof of a larger structure at
what seems to be the village center.
39
Miltrude offers the group meager food and drink, then This is what Miltrude can tell the PCs:
assists in clearing a safe and dry place for tending to the

wounded. PCs with the Medicine skill may wish to take i
Miltrude offers the PCs shelter if they wish to stay for the
some time to assist the wounded and ensure they are no night, to give the injured some time to mend. (See the
longer in peril, but the Coordination + Medicine tests to do Sleepwalker encounter, page 47, if they decide to rest.) You may
so have a difficulty of 0 (see Difficulty Zero Tests, page 14), so opt to require this rest to remove the Scrapes and Bruises
rolls are not required. This is a good time for the PCs to tend truth.
to their own scrapes (see Removing Stress and Injuries, pages
24 and 24). If they think to do so, they can also remove the i
While she is sympathetic to Caius’s injuries, Miltrude can’t
Scrapes and Bruises truth by spending 2 Momentum each resist grousing about how the man has been avoiding
or taking the Create Truth major action (see Common Uses for Lupford of late, since it’s been more than half a year since he
Momentum and Major Actions, pages 17 and 21). Alternatively, brought any trade her way. “Too good for this village, or maybe
you can opt to allow recovery only if they accept Miltrude’s our coin leaves a stain in his palms,” she says. She seems a little
hospitality and sleep for the night first, which initiates the smug about his having need of their help now.
Sleepwalker encounter (page 47).
i
If the PCs rescued Walthram, Miltrude can tell them where he
Any PC checking their surroundings more deliberately lives: at a small hut a short walk from their current location
can make an Insight + Observation test with a difficulty in the village center. She may also indicate he has been having
of 1 to notice a small rustic shrine at one side of the hall, some family trouble. She thinks his spouse left with their
where several candles are burning. The shrine comprises children. (Since Walthram remains unconscious, he does not
a trio of indistinct figurines and a small platter holding join them if they go.)
meager offerings of dried flowers, a few coins, and a lock of
hair. Passing a Reason + Academia test with a difficulty of i
Miltrude is superstitious, fearful of angering the gods and
2 (the Religion focus applies) lets a PC presume this might believing the town is cursed. She fears that discussing details
represent the Norns or some similar triple goddess, but the about the town’s troubles might draw the gods’ attention,
figurines are too simple and crude for the PC to be certain. which she has labored to avoid. Bad things have happened to
those who have complained.
Miltrude is not particularly forthcoming regarding circumstances
in Lupford, at least initially. It requires some engagement before i
An unusual number of strange deaths have occurred recently,
she warms up, and she is still not prone to gossip. many the result of angry encounters between villagers. Other
villagers have simply disappeared. As far as Miltrude can tell,
Depending on how comfortable the players are with most of these events have happened at night, but not all.
conversing as their characters, they can discover most of
the information Miltrude can convey through roleplaying, i
If pressed, Miltrude suggests talking to the farrier, Alafrid, who
with few or no tests required. However, PCs with social had some recent trouble that might be connected (see The
skills or talents may want the chance to employ them. Farrier, page 42).
Conversation can be facilitated with tests such as Gravitas
+ Persuasion, with Charm as an applicable focus. Miltrude
is more receptive to straightforward and direct approaches,
and she warms more easily to those of Germanic origin, for
whom the test has a difficulty of 1. Raise the difficulty to 2
for non-Germanic characters, and to 3 if they employ overly
erudite or convoluted speech.
40
mention having heard similar information from Farrier
Miltrude and the Cult
Alafrid, she agrees with his assessment of Gislin, but not of
Miltrude knows more than she is willing to talk about initially, as
Ingolf, whom she favors.) The change in Gislin’s demeanor was
she believes the cult that meets at the farmstead outside of town
very recent, within the last few months, but Miltrude suspects
is somehow responsible for the village’s woes. She holds Gislin,
he was feigning kindness for years while making more
the farmstead’s inheritor, responsible but does not bring him up
insidious plans in secret.
unless the PCs find out about him elsewhere and return to ask
questions. When the PCs have learned enough from talking to
other villagers to ask about him by name (see Interacting with the
i
Gislin’s ancestors are said to have consorted with unnatural
spirits and from them learned to invoke curses and perform
Locals, page 42), she reluctantly admits he is likely connected to
other unsavory magic.
the town’s curse and gives the PCs directions to his farmstead.
Once on the topic, she asks the PCs to help and implies that
solving the town’s problems may require finding a permanent
i
Regarding Ingolf, Gislin’s younger brother, she says he was
the smarter one in the family but was always quiet and shy.
solution to Gislin. If the PCs set out to investigate him, she
He seemed more interested in religion than anything else,
closes and bars her door after they leave to protect herself from
and he used to ask her questions about the gods. She hasn’t
retaliation.
seen him in months. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone was
murdered by his own kin.”
Once the PCs ask about Gislin or his cult, Miltrude can offer the
following additional information:
i
Gislin has attracted a significant number of followers, and this
group has become more cultlike with each passing day.
i
Gislin’s family has been living in the region for many
generations, and each heir has seemed crueler and more
vindictive than the last. She had thought Gislin himself
i
Miltrude is increasingly certain that Gislin’s cult is behind the
curse afflicting the town, but she does not know how they are
might be different, as he used to be a friendly soul when he
managing this.
was younger, but “clearly, I was wrong,” she says. (If the PCs
41
INTERACTING WITH THE LOCALS
The people of Lupford are suspicious of outsiders even in the best The Farrier (B)
of circumstances, and recent deaths and acts of random violence Not far down the main path from Miltrude’s hall is a small abode
have made them even more insular than usual. Most think of stocked with the necessary implements for shoeing horses.
themselves as accursed by the gods and undergoing punishment Alafrid, the village farrier, can be found here wrestling with the
for the transgressions of their ancestors. foot of an older mare. Though he’s only in his early forties, he
looks haggard and put-upon. Like other villagers, he is initially
Many villagers have lost friends or family members. Given all wary of the PCs, but if they describe the attack to him, he may
that has happened, they are less easily shocked by tales of strange become more vocal. He knows something strange is afoot.
doings and react with almost stoic disregard to news of the
recent carnage. Many are listless and absent-minded, having been His dialog can be handled with roleplaying, or the PCs can
plagued by too many sleepless nights, haunted by nightmares, attempt a Gravitas + Persuasion test with a difficulty of 3 to
and weighed down by the unnatural pall that lingers over the get him to open up. The most pertinent tale he can relate hints
village. Their placid lack of alarm is connected to how closely this at some guilt about a violent act, resulting in some reticence.
area has drifted to the Dreamlands. In some ways, daily life has
become a nightmare. “So you’ve heard of the nightmares plaguing our village? I wish
i
I could say differently, but they’re all true. Not a fortnight ago I
The PCs have some leeway in interacting with the locals. dreamt of… some violence happening to my apprentice while
Encounters here are flexible and can be handled in any order we were working. I awoke to the sound of my terrified horses
or even avoided if the PCs are eager to press on and head to and found myself standing in my own shop, with no memory
Gislin’s farmstead. In terms of pacing, after they have one or two of how I got there. There were spatters of blood on the bench
conversations, the tension should be ramped up (see Hostile Village and things knocked over. Deither was nowhere to be found.
Encounters, page 45). A special hostile encounter can occur if the I don’t know exactly what happened, but I fear he came to
PCs decide to accept Miltrude’s hospitality and rest for the night some harm. I hope he left of his own accord, but I worry maybe
(see Sleepwalker, page 47). the nightmare was true.” He shakes his head and says, “Poor
Deither. He was a good lad. Besides the occasional dropped tool
or crookedly hammered nail, he was a fine apprentice.”
42
i
In relating his dream, Alafrid is leaving out some details,
Heilwig’s House (F)

reluctant to make himself look deranged. The truth is that he
This small and run-down hut at the edge of the town is a bit
saw himself doing violence to his apprentice, and his real fear
isolated from the rest of the village. The PCs’ investigation of it
is that he may have done so while asleep. He won’t admit to
provides an opportunity to increase the atmospheric tension;
this initially.
there isn’t really anything dangerous here, but the PCs don’t know
that. The surrounding forest presses in, and the hut is draped in
i
Alafrid insists he’s not the only one who’s had strange dreams
shadows, scurrying and chittering sounds emanating from within.
and awoken to evidence of violence. He asks the PCs to
describe the people who attacked them, and he confirms
As they brave the entrance, the PCs are assaulted by the smells of
their identities as Lupford inhabitants. Alafrid suggests that
decay and death, and they soon find the body of an older woman,
several of those people were outspoken critics of a wealthy
presumably Heilwig. She has been dead for several days, attracting
local family currently led by a man named Gislin. “Bad things
the attention of hungry rats and insects. Clearly she can’t have
happen to those that speak ill of him or his kin,” he says.
been responsible for the local violence as the farrier suggested,
given that she herself is a victim.
i
Alafrid’s apprentice, Deither, had gotten in some sort of
argument with one of Gislin’s cronies shortly before Alafrid’s
An investigation of the hut’s interior reveals various items
terrifying dream. The altercation was with one of a group of
associated with the herbalist trade, including plants hung up
“bootlickers” who have been living in Gislin’s farmhouse at
to dry and a variety of clay jars filled with noxious liquids and
the edge of the village.
dubious powders.
i
If asked about Gislin, Alafrid becomes wistful. “You know, I
always liked him when he was younger. Didn’t seem like the
rest of his family. Responsible and thoughtful. More cheerful
than his brother, Ingolf. But I guess you can’t tell how people
will turn out. That family has never honored the gods. Said to
dabble in hexes and fell magic.”
i
If the topic of magic, curses, or Mystics is discussed, Alafrid
snaps his fingers at a sudden thought and says, “You know,
there’s another suspicious person around here, one I’ve
wondered might be connected to all this. Named Heilwig.
Older woman, lives by herself on the edge of town, claims to
be a seer, brews up smelly concoctions. Some people go to her
If a PC isn’t squeamish and wants to investigate Heilwig’s body
to have fortunes read.”
more closely, passing a Reason + Medicine test with a difficulty of
1 means they determine she met a violent end, perhaps strangled.
Walthram’s House (C) Anyone who carefully checks the hut can make an Insight +
The PCs are unlikely to have any reason to inspect this hut unless Observation test with a difficulty of 2; success means they learn
they rescued Walthram during the initial attack and Miltrude some interesting things:
told them where he lives. His place is in disarray: clothing and
tools lie scattered about, along with the remnants of unfinished i
The shutters on one window have been broken off, and some
meals left out to spoil. A small adjoining plot of farmland looks of the nearby items seem in disarray, so perhaps an intruder
poorly tended, and a quick inspection reveals what appears to be came through the window.
three recently dug and filled graves. They contain the bodies of
Walthram’s wife and children, each slain with a bladed weapon. i
Near Heilwig’s body, scratched into the surface of a table
where she clearly used to grind herbs using a mortar and
After they find the graves, the PCs hear cawing from above. pestle, are the shapes of three Germanic runes.
Watching them from atop Walthram’s house is a strangely bloated
crow, its eyes possessing an unnerving alertness. But if they seek i
A small stash of coins, shells, polished stones, and minor
to do anything to it, it flaps off out of sight and disappears. baubles—perhaps received in trade for her work—lies tucked
behind several pots on a shelf above her table.
43
Mystics of the Runic tradition immediately recognize the runes
Too Scared to Sleep
as Othala, Berkana, and Eihwaz. Other occultists might identify

This brief encounter can happen at any point while the PCs are
them with a Reason + Academia test with a difficulty of 1 (the
crossing the village, possibly soon after leaving Miltrude’s hall.
Religion focus applies). The configuration has no inherent mystical
It is best used as a nudge for characters if they opted not to rest
significance, but these runes have the following loose associations:
for the evening, as it provides an investigative incentive. This
encounter can be skipped if the PCs have already rested or plan
1. Othala: Home (associated with ancestry, heritage,
to rest, which triggers the Sleepwalker encounter (page 47). To
and inheritance)
begin, read or paraphrase the following aloud:
2. Berkana: Birch (associated with renewal, rebirth,
A
and new beginnings)
s you round one of the nearby huts, you come upon
a pair of villagers. One of them looks disheveled and
3. Eihwaz: Yew (associated with death, transformation, and
nervous, his eyes bloodshot and his lower lids dark and
sometimes higher understanding)
swollen. The other is a woman with a hand on his arm; she
looks as though she’s trying to calm him down and perhaps
It’s unlikely the PCs will get much use out of the runes. Heilwig
guide him back toward his home.
scratched them into the table while mulling over the curse
afflicting the town. She had begun to suspect that something
“You need to sleep, Atesso!” she says. “You’re run ragged and
supernatural and wrong involving the brothers was occurring
making no sense!”
at the Gislin estate.
Atesso pulls away. “No! I’m not sleeping! That’s when they
Other Kin of the Slain come for you! Every dream I’ve had lately, he’s there. Waiting.
The PCs may run into other locals connected to the caravan’s If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay awake as well.
attackers, such as the village smith, a woman named Sigune, Now leave me be!” He shakes off her hand and storms off.
whose apprentice was among the fallen. The slain attackers’ kin
and coworkers are mournful but not particularly shocked to The woman notices your group, frowns, and sets off at a fast
learn of what happened, and they do not confront the PCs with pace, headed in a different direction.
hostility. They suggest that their loved ones were not prone to
violence, but that perhaps “the frenzy” had taken them.
Like everyone in town, Heilwig had not been sleeping well. This was particularly frustrating as, prior to the pall
falling over Lupford, she had considered dreams her ally, seeking within them hints and answers to the problems
brought to her by townsfolk seeking her aid. She sat awake at her desk for long hours, brooding and pondering the
town’s curse, gripping an awl in a trembling hand and scraping the desk’s surface in her frustration. The runes
she scrawled came to her unbidden, and with them thoughts of Gislin, Ingolf, and their entire accursed bloodline.
They were at the root of this, she felt certain.
Sighing defeat at last, she stood from her chair with a groan and made her way to the bed, extinguishing her candle.
She would search in dreams again. See if she could find any ally there. Exhausted as she was, she fell asleep at once,
plunging deeply into a welcoming oblivion. She did not stir as something landed on her windowsill: a birdlike
creature, which scraped at the shutters with peculiar strength and then hopped through the opening. Its dark eyes
were fixated on the sleeping woman. Then its form shifted and changed, becoming almost human. Pale hands reached
for her wrinkled throat.
44
The woman is named Perra, and both she and Atesso are local
HOSTILE VILLAGE

farmers and old friends. Neither is inclined to speak with
ENCOUNTERS
strangers—if the PCs confront them, they ask to be left alone.
These optional simple encounters in Lupford can be used
Atesso panics and runs off, babbling fearful curses, if any PC
to break up the investigation, increasing the tension and
insists on trying to stop him. Perra might be convinced to engage
providing a bit of action. Depending on the pacing of PC
in a short conversation if players roleplay convincingly or pass
actions, it might be best to wait until Scene Three before
a Gravitas + Persuasion test (the Charm focus applies) with a
allowing them to fight a drude. Each of these hostile
difficulty of 4, but she does not have much to say even then.
encounters has a Threat cost to initiate, indicated in
parentheses. You can spend more Threat during the encounter
If persuaded, Perra admits she is worried about Atesso, who
to add reinforcements (see Threat, page 18), though for pacing
has appeared increasingly irrational after refusing to sleep,
reasons, it’s better to keep these fights small.
complaining of recurring nightmares. She thinks he’s become
unhinged, like some others in town clearly have, but she has no
idea why this has been happening. Cultist Attack (3 Threat)
One basic hostile encounter that can happen at any time is for the
PCs to stumble upon a confrontation between three of Gislin’s
cultists and one of the villagers. The conflict could be a matter
of simple extortion or a result of some preexisting grudge or
perceived slight. (Use the Cultist Protector profile, page 46, for
the cultists. Villagers can be treated narratively, as they don’t
engage in combat in this scene.)
This encounter also works well combined with the Furtive

Survivors encounter. Cultists who have heard of the PCs’ arrival
have started investigating why they are in Lupford by talking
to villagers, including a surviving attacker from the caravan
ambush. The cultists are either trying to intimidate the survivor
into going with them or are in the process of capturing the
survivor and dragging them back to Gislin’s farmstead so Gislin
can question them.
Furtive Survivors Depending on how the PCs handle the situation, they may be
Not every participant in the caravan ambush was killed; a few able to cow or scare off the cultists without fighting. These cultists
came to their senses shortly after the initial attack and fled home. report back to their headquarters with information about the
These include the farmers Alwine and Reimar and a cattleman’s PCs, but it takes some time for the cult to decide what to do
apprentice named Gunthard. The PCs might encounter them about the group. Ingolf will prefer to strike at them indirectly, via
when they investigate the village. druden and intermediaries, until they come knocking. Cultists
encountered subsequently might recognize the PCs.
Survivors display evidence of having been in a recent scuffle:
they have torn clothing as well as scrapes and bruises similar If combat is engaged, then when the three cultists see they are
to those of several PCs. If PCs confront them, they start in outnumbered, two of them attempt to flee to get reinforcements
recognition and stammer apologies but then try to end the and report on the PCs. It is up to the PCs whether to try to stop
conversation. If PCs question them more closely, they insist them. If the PCs succeed in defeating the cultists, they can
they have no idea what happened or why. Each had thought contact Miltrude to ask her to detain them or deal with their
they were in a nightmare and had expected to wake in their own bodies. She is not happy about this, but she calls upon several
bed, but instead found themself amid the carnage and then fled loyal farmers for assistance. She also immediately insists that the
back to Lupford. If pressed about their recollections of the night PCs handle Gislin as soon as possible to prevent retaliation. This
before the attack, they may remember a scuttling noise and the prompts Miltrude to provide more information on the cult if
feeling of a presence in the room as they drifted off to sleep. she hasn’t already.
45
Cultist Protector Skills and Focuses

Academia 1, Fighting 3 (Melee Weapons), Observation 2,
Trooper NPC Resilience 2, Survival 1, Tactics 1 (Infantry)
A protector is a fanatical and somewhat desperate warrior who
would gladly give their life to protect their beloved leader. Stress 7 Injuries 1
They may wear ceremonial armor, which is light and flexible
Armor 2 Courage 0
but provides some degree of protection, and they wield an
assortment of hand weapons, depending on their background.
Weapons and Armor
Note that not all cultists are equally fanatical, and some may be Dagger: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 4 Piercing 1, Hidden,
fearless only when in the presence of their cult leader. Subtle
Improvised Weapon: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 3 ,

Truths Unreliable
i
Unwavering Believer
Spear: (Melee Weapons), Reach 3, 6 Piercing 1
i
Fanatically Protective of the Cult Leader
Small Shield: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 2 Stun, Shield 2
Attributes Special Rules

Agility 9 Gravitas 8 Immune to Fear (conditional): The cultist protector is
Brawn 10 Insight 7 incapable of feeling fear. They cannot be intimidated or
Coordination 9 Reason 7 threatened, and they do not suffer mental injuries. (This special
Will 8 rule does not need to apply to every cultist. For some, it can
apply only when they are directly protecting the cult leader or
the leader’s compound.)
Resilient: The cultist protector is especially hardy and difficult

to harm. Whenever they are dealt an injury, roll 1 . On an
effect [ ], they do not receive that injury.
Forewarned Is Forearmed
Cultists encountering the PCs and returning to Gislin’s
farmstead to report on them is not necessarily a huge obstacle,
just a complication. Ingolf is not entirely rational and is both
preoccupied with his occult rites and overconfident in his
power over the village. He does not expect a few meddling
outsiders to be much of a threat. Nevertheless, this affects the
behavior of the other cultists. The truth Wary Cultists is in
effect for the rest of the adventure, reducing the Threat cost of
adding reinforcements when the PCs fight the cultists by 1 (see
Threat, page 18). It can have other consequences as well, such as
increasing the likelihood of inconvenient sentries or patrols
showing up. If this truth is active and the PCs do not quickly
decide to move on the farmstead, the cultists could send people
to harass additional villagers, including possibly Miltrude (who
bars her door but is besieged).
46
While the PCs slept, a drude entered a nearby hut and entered
Random Violence (2 Threat)

the dreams of one of Miltrude’s neighbors, whom the drude
In this scenario, the PCs come upon a villager under attack by
is now controlling. The drude plans to send the neighbor into
another villager controlled by a drude, similar to the attack on
the hall to cause chaos. The exact goals of this entity depend on
the caravan (use the Dream-Frenzied Villager profile, page 37).
how you want to provoke the PCs. The drude might intend to
The PCs can intercede just as they may have done to save the
slay one of the injured NPCs, to kill Miltrude, or to attack one
caravan master, and they may be in a better position to subdue the
of the PCs while they are sleeping. Use the Dream-Frenzied
attacker now without causing them harm. If they succeed, they
Berserker profile (page 48) for the attacker, making them a
can speak to the attacker, who has now come to their senses. The
more formidable adversary than the caravan attackers were.
attacker can express having had previous antagonistic encounters
This drude has unlocked an even more fearsome mental state
with Gislin or his followers. For instance, they may have refused to
within an ordinary farmer, pushing them to greater strength
surrender payments or provide services to Gislin.
and prowess than they normally possess. The farmer wields a
sickle and an oversized butchering knife instead of a spear or
Sleepwalker (3 Threat) war axe.
This encounter takes place if the PCs have decided to rest in the
village for the night, accepting Miltrude’s offer of hospitality. One of the PCs, chosen by the GM, awakens at the sound of
the door opening and sees a villager furtively enter. They must
Read or paraphrase the following aloud: decide how to respond and whether to awaken the rest of the
PCs. As soon as combat begins, the other PCs awaken regardless.
T
When Miltrude rouses, she recognizes the attacker as a man
he hall has enough room for each of you to claim your
named Wieland and pleads with the PCs not to kill him. If the
own space to sleep in, though there is not enough
PCs endeavor to comply, their attacks result in only superficial
bedding for everyone, and most of you must suffice with
injuries. If Wieland’s stress track fills and he is struck again, he
curling up on the straw-covered floor of pounded earth. It is
returns to his senses and stops attacking the PCs. Like previous
at least warm in here, sheltered from the rising winds you
attackers, he has little memory of what has occurred. He knows
hear shrieking outside.
only that he fell into a deep slumber and experienced a nightmare
in which Miltrude’s home had been occupied by fiends, whom he
Despite the less-than-ideal accommodations, you fall asleep
felt driven to destroy.
with ease, plunging quickly into a series of strangely vivid but
troubling dreams. In one of these, you relive the earlier attack
If the PCs rush to Wieland’s hut after he returns to his senses,
on the wagon trail, but this time you find yourself moving too
they have the chance to spot a furtive creature that looks
slowly to block blows, while your own fingers feel numb and
like a slightly misshapen squirrel. It darts through a hole
clumsy, dropping weapons while your legs give out beneath you.
gnawed in the wall and flees. This is the transformed drude
that invaded Wieland’s dreams. Ordinarily, the drude would
After this familiar scene, the dream changes tenor as the trapped vanish too quickly for the PCs to catch them and would head
mind of Gislin intrudes upon the PCs’ sleep, having been drawn to back to Gislin’s farmstead. However, if a quick-thinking PC
new dreamers in the vicinity. It is a brief but unsettling intrusion. acts decisively, you could allow the PC to prevent the drude’s
escape, in which case the drude takes on a vaguely human
Read or paraphrase the following aloud: guise and fights (see Drude profile, page 49). Once the drude
is defeated, characters with a Religion focus or a Germanic
J ust as you are reliving the moment of your failure, the

dream’s atmosphere shifts, its sounds becoming muted as
a mist rises up around you. An unfamiliar figure stumbles into
background can make a Reason + Academia test with a
difficulty of 2 (the Religion focus applies) to recognize the
creature as a drude; folklore describes druden as spirits or
view, looking dazed and confused. A cloud of dark, smokelike goblins who induce nightmares and prey on the terrified
vapors surrounds and follows him, like a living thing. He is a minds of affected beings as they sleep.
tall Germanic man wearing a fine tunic, his shoulders draped
with a fur coat, his black hair unkempt. A port-wine birthmark After the encounter, if any PCs ask Miltrude or others about a
covers the left side of his face. His eyes widen as he nears you, person with a port-wine facial birthmark, they learn that this
and he stretches a hand in your direction. “Help me… I’m matches descriptions of Gislin. If the PCs tell Miltrude that he
lost… Where are we? Please…” he mumbles. The darkness appeared to them in dreams, she is spooked and says a prayer,
following him swallows him, and the dream ends. suggesting that the PCs do the same.
47
Dream-Frenzied Skills and Focuses

Berserker Athletics 3, Fighting 3 (Melee Weapons, Unarmed), Observation
2, Resilience 4 (Fortitude), Stealth 2, Survival 3 (Woodcraft)
Toughened NPC
Like other villagers affected by druden, this individual has Stress 8 Injuries 2
been inspired to violence by invasive nightmares. However,
Armor 2 Courage 3
this warrior is even more formidable and dangerous, having
been driven into a particularly powerful berserk mental state.
Weapon
The drude has loaned some of their power to this warrior to let
Sickle or Dagger: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 4 Piercing 1,
them fight with even greater zeal and strength, becoming nearly
Hidden, Subtle
fearless and ready to embrace death. This is, again, a temporary
state. Upon becoming incapacitated for several minutes after
Special Rules
having been fully subdued, the victim of this intrusion awakens
Dual Fighter: When the dream-frenzied berserker makes an
and returns to normal.
attack with either sickle or dagger, they may spend 1 Threat
to make a second attack with the other weapon as part of the
Truth same action.
i
Nightmare-Deluded Battle Fanatic
Menacing: The dream-frenzied berserker is dangerous, posing
a problem for those in their presence. When this NPC enters a
Attributes scene, they immediately generate 1 Threat for the GM’s Threat
Agility 10 Gravitas 6 pool, even if they are an ally of the PCs.
Brawn 11 Insight 6
Coordination 9 Reason 6 Naked and Unafraid: The dream-frenzied berserker goes into
Will 11 battle without armor and with minimal clothing to show their
fearlessness and rattle their opponents’ morale. They add +1
Courage resistance (included above) and can use their Courage
to defend against both physical and mental stress.
48
Drude Skills and Focuses
Fighting 1, Observation 3 (Instincts), Persuasion 2, Resilience 1,
Trooper NPC Stealth 2, Survival 1 (Tracking)
Druden are a particularly evil and malicious form of spirit
that can lurk within nightmares and mold them, making Stress 6 Injuries 1
them exceptionally terrifying. Germanic folktales describe
Armor 0 Courage 1
druden as shapeshifting goblins from the underworld who
feed on fear and delight in nothing more than causing
torment. They take on the shape of an animal or person,
Weapons and Attacks
infiltrate a home under cover of darkness, and metamorphose
Drudenfuss: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 4 Intense, Stun
into their true form. Then, they perch by the bedside or upon
the chest of a sleeper, invading their dreams and transforming Glimpse of Nightmares: (Mental Attack), Close range, 3
them into nightmares. Once they know their victim’s fears, Piercing 2
they can take limited control of their body—especially if their
target is an innocent who has not engaged in violence or Special Rules
war—and use it to commit seemingly random acts of simple Fearsome 2: The drude inspires fear. They can make mental
violence. When retreating after their foul deeds, or when attacks with +2 bonus damage and the Piercing 2 damage
lurking in search of new prey, they prefer to assume an animal effect (included above). In addition, the first time a character
or human shape. sees the drude, they must immediately pass a Will + Resilience
test with a difficulty of 2 or suffer mental damage as if from that
More knowledgeable Mystics know that druden are connected mental attack.
to the Dreamlands and are spawned by elder powers who draw
strength from the sort of deep dread found only in nightmares. Feed upon Fear: Whenever a character within Medium range
Where druden work their mischief, the boundary between the of a drude suffers a mental injury, they generate 2 Threat for the
waking and sleeping worlds becomes thin. GM’s Threat pool.
The true appearance of a drude is that of a spectral and Shapeshifter: By spending 3 Threat, a drude can assume the
disquieting humanoid whose body seems spun of spiderwebs form of a common animal or human. Noticing something
that gleam in the moonlight. Their faceless head features a single is unnatural or wrong with the drude’s disguise requires
dark, reflective orb where their eyes should be. More often they passing an Insight + Observation test with a difficulty of 4. If
are seen in animal form, though there is always something a character who succeeds has encountered druden before in
slightly misshapen or peculiar about their appearance, if similar forms, they can recognize the drude’s nature. Druden
examined closely. usually revert to their true form to attack.
Sleep of Reason: If the target of a drude’s mental attack is

Truth
sleeping, the drude gains +2 automatic successes on their
i
Shapeshifting Dream Demon
attack roll.
Attributes Sleepwalker: A drude can possess the body of an innocent NPC

Agility 8 Gravitas 10 target while they are asleep by spending 3 Threat. The drude
gains a narrow type of control over the body of the target, who
Brawn 6 Insight 8
experiences the drude’s actions as a nightmare. If the victim of a
drude’s Sleepwalker special rule is defeated, the drude appears
Will 9 in an empty space anywhere within Close range of the target.
49
Living the Nightmare
The Sleepwalker encounter could be made more frightening and compelling if one of the PCs becomes the sleepwalker instead of
a village neighbor. It is not ordinarily possible for a drude to take control of a PC during their sleep, but with the affected player’s
permission, this can be ignored for this scene. See Limitations on GM Control over Player Characters for related rules. This alteration is
only recommended if you are an experienced GM and believe the players are comfortable with intragroup conflict.
If you plan to do this, be sure to speak to the selected player before the game to ask if they would be willing to play this out when the
time comes. You can discuss the scene in general terms, indicating it will include an attack on other PCs while the player’s character
is sleepwalking. In their nightmare, they will not see the other PCs but will instead see them as some other dangerous threat. Suggest
how the character should behave and establish the conditions in which they will revert to normal. If the player isn’t comfortable
with this, use the suggested NPC instead.
After the fight, allow the affected PC to quickly remove any stress gained during the encounter before continuing with the
adventure. In this version of the encounter, the other PCs may have the chance to see a transformed drude in the hall where they
have been sleeping, in the guise of a bird or rodent; the drude attempts to flee by flying or scurrying away as soon as the PC breaks
from the nightmare.
Limitations on GM Control over Player Characters
Certain spells and supernatural abilities let the GM take control of a PC for a duration during which they do the bidding of an
adversary instead of determining their own actions. This does not give the GM carte blanche over the PC’s actions. Loss of control
over one’s person can be an intensely difficult subject for players who have endured similar loss of control in the real world; take
care to ensure that the player of a targeted PC is comfortable with the areas of control one of these powers has before using it
on that PC. In particular, the target of such powers cannot be compelled to take any action that would be immediately harmful
to them or that involves any sexual element, even mild flirtation. Most commonly, such powers should be utilized for narrow,
specific actions, such as attacking a nearby ally or otherwise hindering the PC group in the context of a battle.
At some point, the PCs will have heard enough to determine Berserkers, pages 37 and 48) instead of additional cultists
that Gislin’s farmstead is at the center of these strange (Cultist Protectors, page 46). If the PCs approach Gislin’s
doings, and they might be aware a cult has sprung up and is farmstead during the day instead of the night, you can increase
in possession of the place. If a character has been particularly the difficulty of Stealth-based tests and the number of active
diligent in taking care of wounded NPCs or has shown cultists outside the farmstead.
particular concern for other involuntary victims of the druden,
award them a Fortune point. Remember to remove 1 point of Momentum from the players’
Momentum pool (if it has any) as the scene ends. Tell your
The PCs need to determine how they intend to approach players that the next scene has started and they may remove
Gislin’s farmstead and discuss any precautions they wish any stress their characters have accumulated.
to take. If it is still the same day they arrived in Lupford,
night should be falling soon (if it hasn’t already), which can
facilitate a stealthy approach. However, this could also make
it more likely that druden are already at work haunting the
dreams of sleepers. This allows you to spend Threat to bring
in reinforcements (see Threat, page 18) that are possessed
villagers (Dream-Frenzied Villagers and Dream-Frenzied
50
51
Scene Three: Gislin’s Farmstead (D)
Chapter 4 - Rude Awakening
Before getting into the scene, it is time to introduce some extra

Scene Objectives game mechanics. Explain to your players that a scene can also
have truths, just like a character can. Truths that apply to a
scene can be a help or a hindrance.
The objectives for this scene are:
A light rain will have started as the PCs head toward Gislin’s
i
Gain entry to the manor.
farmstead, making the atmosphere drearier and slightly impairing
visibility. This Light Rain truth may not affect their actions much
i
Enter the cellars leading to the tunnels below the
if the PCs approach under cover of darkness at night, but during
farmstead.
the day, it increases the difficulty of Insight + Observation and
Reason + Observation tests by +1 while they are outside. The
Scene Truth muddy conditions also make it easier for both PCs and their
adversaries to track targets, reducing the difficulty of related
Insight + Survival tests by 1 (the Tracking focus applies). The Light
This scene has the following truth:
Rain truth could also come into play in other ways, such as by
creating slippery conditions for attempts to climb trees or walls.
i
Light Rain
Additionally, the PCs might find creative ways to use this truth to
their advantage. For further information, see Truths, page 14.
52
HOME IS WHERE THE to use. You can use complications to make the tests more

CULT IS challenging or to introduce new issues. For instance, one of
the characters might gain the Twisted Ankle truth, increasing
When everyone is ready, read the following aloud, paraphrasing
the difficulty of all their Athletics-based tests by +1 for the
as needed:
remainder of the scene.
F ollowing the directions you’ve received, you find

your way to the outskirts of the village, past several
overgrown fields and through a denser section of trees,
As the PCs get close to either building, they run the risk of
encountering the second patrol, which was not obvious during
their approach. Have one of the players make an Insight +
finally arriving at a large farming estate. A wide barn and a Observation test with a difficulty of 3 (this difficulty is the same
sizable manor dominate this plot of land. The manor, built night and day, because light rain and darkness present similar
of thick timbers and with a heavy thatched roof, is quite a obstacles). On a success, the PCs spot the patrol first, see it is
bit more impressive than the huts of the village, though its headed their way, and can move to take up ambush positions or
walls are overgrown with knotted vines, and it bears all the hide before they are discovered. A nearby empty farm wagon and
hallmarks of being in disrepair. stacked bales of hay can facilitate this. The PCs are likely to want
to fight, but if they wish to be entirely stealthy, they may do so by
Watching from the cover of the trees, you see a trio of hooded passing an Agility + Stealth test with a base difficulty of 2 at night,
figures walking the perimeter, perhaps patrolling against or 3 during the day.
intruders such as yourselves.
If the PCs fail to spot the patrol, the situation is reversed,
with the cultists taking up ambush positions (use the Cultist
The PCs can take any of a variety of approaches in investigating Protector profile, page 46). You can spend 2 Threat to have
the farmstead and confronting the cultists gathered here. They a couple of druden in the form of disheveled owls join in
will likely endeavor to be stealthy and should be rewarded for the attack (use the Drude profile, page 49) — they have been
trying to isolate and dismantle the outer patrols or to avoid perching on the barn roof—though you may want to save
them entirely. Noisy actions, or complications or failures Threat for the final scene.
when making Agility + Stealth tests, can result in the arrival
of reinforcements or the alerting of other nearby foes. The PCs If one group is ambushing the other, this requires an opposed
see one patrol initially, but two are making the rounds outside. test (see Opposed Tests, page 14). One of the ambushing characters
If the PCs approach in the daytime, they might see increased makes an Agility + Stealth test, assisted by the rest of the allied
traffic, such as additional cultists working outside the farmstead characters and opposed by the ambush targets’ Insight +
or villagers whom the cult’s leaders have summoned (but who Observation. Both tests are difficulty 1 (though the rain may
may not be in league with the cult). increase the difficulty for Observation). If the ambushing group
succeeds, they get the first attack; otherwise, one of their targets
Most of the remaining cultists are inside the manor house, goes first. If the PCs have accumulated Momentum, this might
though a few may be in the barn tending to the livestock or be a good time to prompt them to create a truth for 2 points of
butchering one of the animals. If the PCs approach at night, Momentum (see Common Uses for Momentum, page 17) to facilitate
there might be only a single cultist in the barn, but this is a place their success. An example truth might be Quiet Takedown,
favored by stray druden who are not currently causing havoc, making the fight less likely to draw additional attention, perhaps
so a couple could be here, either transformed as animals or in a due to nearby intervening objects and especially loud rain.
more imp-like shape. Approaching the manor directly from the
front is the most dangerous way to proceed: the main chambers Defeated cultists can be stowed under the wagon or dragged
are where the largest group of cultists has gathered. Going to the into the barn if the players don’t want to leave them lying in
barn first provides some cover and may allow the PCs to find an the open. Describe a heightened urgency after combat has
easier entrance to the tunnels below the farmstead, where the been engaged, as the PCs know they have an increased chance
real threat is lurking. of discovery.
Approaching the barn or manor without being spotted

requires passing an Agility + Stealth test with a base difficulty
of 2 at night, or 3 during the day. The players can choose the
PCs’ marching order and should be encouraged to plan for
stealthier characters to go first to build Momentum for others
53
THE BARN Any of the animals here could be shapechanged druden, though
most should be what they seem. Other druden can descend from
Read the following aloud, paraphrasing as needed:
the loft (initially in the shape of crows) or enter from outside.
If you use this as a meaningful attack instead of a jump scare,
S
deploy as many attacking druden as there are PCs. They are not
everal domesticated animals populate this barn,
especially concerned about self-preservation; they will re-form in
including a half-dozen cattle, four pigs, and seven goats,
the Dreamlands if dispatched.
penned in different areas. The pens also contain a variety
of implements for feeding and caring for these creatures, as
If the PCs have already engaged in several fights or faced druden,
well as some rusted farming tools, including an old plow
you can omit this combat. While they are frightening, regular
gathering dust near the door. A nearby ladder leads up to a
druden are most dangerous when harnessing the nightmares
small loft for the dry storage of hay.
of sleepers and are less formidable in direct combat. It might be
enough tension to have the PCs sneak up on and subdue one or two
Your eye is drawn to a bloodstained section, with a low
cultists who are feeding the animals or readying one for butchering.
table set aside for butchery against the far wall. The unused
remains of a recent carcass are piled in the corner, gathering
a swarm of flies. The smell of animals and manure mixes The Loft
with the distinct tang of spilled blood. Looking at the animals If a PC decides to investigate the loft, they may learn some crucial
here, you get a strange feeling that something isn’t entirely clues. At first glance, it seems nothing is amiss: just piles of hay and
right about them. They stand still and glassy-eyed, making bird droppings. Climbing all the way up to look around gives a PC the
fewer noises than you would expect, staring at you listlessly. chance to hear a muffled sob and find an emaciated figure curled up
in a ball, huddled in the far corner and half covered in hay.
This is Eckbert, a servant, who has become a favored feast for

The barn is a relatively quiet and seemingly safe space; the PCs
the druden who haunt the farmstead. They seem to particularly
can use it to take a breather and discuss progress or plans before
savor his nightmares and fear and accordingly have not sought
proceeding to the adjoining manor. That said, one or two junior
to kill him, though his mind has been shredded to the point that
cultists (use the Cultist Protector profile, page 46) are sometimes
he can no longer carry on a coherent conversation. His clothes
here, assigned to tend to the animals. The barn is also frequented
are tattered, and he has not eaten in days, though rain dripping
by some stray druden, who may adopt the guises of animals in a
through the leaky roof has given him enough water to stay alive.
process of mimicry.
If addressed by the PCs, Eckbert does not look at them directly or

Druden lurk in the vicinity of the farmstead because the rites
answer questions but instead emits a series of babbling phrases.
Ingolf has conducted attract them. The cultists feed the druden
Afterward or if they question him too directly, Eckbert becomes
with their own thoughts and fears, as well as encouraging them
silent and unresponsive, curling back up in a ball while weeping
to feast on the nightmares of other villagers. Amid this unusual
gently. He only returns to himself after Ingolf and Gislin have
environment and in proximity to a place where the Dreamlands
been confronted and if the druden are banished.
impinge on reality, the druden’s behavior is not always typical:
they are more proactive than usual in inciting chaos, so they can
Things Eckbert might say include the following:
feed on the dread and fear it provokes.
If the PCs have not directly encountered any druden yet, this
i
Occasional meaningless and fearful babbling: “No!” “I can’t
sleep, but I must.” “Am I awake?” “Stay back! I know what you are.”
may be a good time to reveal them (use the Drude profile, page
“The crows, it’s the crows. They watch me. They peck at my dreams.”
49). The attack should be staged to heighten the disquiet of
“It is so cold there, along the shores of the black lake.”
what might be a PC’s first direct brush with overtly supernatural
creatures. If the PCs split up to investigate parts of the barn or
are distracted by subduing a cultist here, druden can attack one
i
Showing Eckbert kindness and giving him something to eat
allows him to calm down briefly and prompts additional
who is isolated, preferably starting with a non-combat-oriented
phrases, though he still does not answer questions directly
character. As an added “trap,” a drude could urge a slumbering
and seems not to hear the PCs. It is as though he is having a
and dreaming animal to strike with horns or hooves during the
conversation with himself. “It is the brothers who spawn these
druden attack, perhaps blindsiding their target. This takes the
nightmares.” “Two brothers born in the wrong order. An invitation for
form of a situational truth, Frenzied Animals, which increases
jealousy and betrayal.” “Gislin is gone, though his body walks. I have
test difficulties during the fight.
54
seen him in my nightmares, lost like I am.” “If freed, maybe he would Intruders coming through the main entrance must talk

end this. Though he is not strong enough. A gentle soul.” “Imprisoned quickly and convincingly to avoid immediate attack. Any
inside your own mind. How terrible…” violence here produces sufficient noise to draw additional
cultists who are sleeping or praying in the adjoining bunk
chambers. On being beset by numerous adversaries, the PCs
The Shortcut
may decide to flee, which should be possible. The cultists do
Any PC who takes a closer look at the butchery area in the barn
not give chase, though Romilda soon organizes a posse to
can attempt an Insight + Observation test with a difficulty of 1
ensure the PCs leave the village and that any who helped them
to notice that there is wooden flooring in this section of the barn.
are punished. After retreating, PCs might be able to stealthily
Walking into this area while focusing on the floor instead of the
return, but they find the farmstead in a greater state of
piles of fleshy refuse allows a PC to notice a trapdoor under a bench
alertness (see Forewarned Is Forearmed, page 46).
in front of the butchering table. This is a shortcut into the tunnels.
Traveling through the tunnels lets the PCs reach Scene Four without
Most cultists use the Cultist Protector profile (page 46). Use the
interacting with the main group of cultists occupying the manor.
Dream-Frenzied Berserker profile (page 48) for Romilda, but
note that she is not deluded, so the “normal” she returns to if
THE MANOR defeated or subdued is no different than her current behavior.
The manor is a dangerous place, as often more than a dozen
cultists occupy its interior, which has been largely converted This area is noisy with the talking and muttering of the cultists,
into a combined barracks and crude shrine. It is larger and more their voices often raised in argument. Many are inebriated or
expansive than the village’s buildings, its design unlike those of affected by various types of mind-altering incense and tinctures
most Germanic village structures. Once a mead hall, it has been that facilitate especially vivid dreams. They are unlikely to hear
expanded and divided into a few simple rooms. If the PCs are the sounds of smaller clashes outside the building or even in the
endeavoring to be sneaky, they should know better than to use adjoining kitchen, if kept brief.
the main entrance, though it’s possible they may choose it if they
plan to try to talk their way into a meeting with Gislin. The more
covert back entrance leads into the manor’s crude kitchen area,
and it is here that stairs descend into a cellar that connects with
the tunnels below the farmstead.
Can we talk our way
through this?
Main Hall and Entrance Convincing Romilda that the PCs should receive an audience
The front entrance leads directly into the largest room, an open with Gislin requires impressive roleplaying, passing a
feasting hall dominated by a long, thick table atop which is a Gravitas + Persuasion test with a difficulty of 4, or both.
chaotic mess of plates, poorly cooked food, knives, lit candles, and Increase the difficulty to 5 if the PCs have already fought and
half-filled flagons. Its stained walls feature a chaotic array of strange killed cultists or if the Wary Cultists truth is active. Romilda
sigils and graffiti, little of it comprehensible. This is something of is not supposed to take outsiders into the lower tunnels, but
a dark and twisted mirror to Miltrude’s rustic hall. It is essentially on a success she is sufficiently befuddled (perhaps due in part
impossible to enter stealthily through the main door. to having had too much to drink) to take them down below.
Multiple cultists are always present here: as many as eight in the This is one way to accelerate the adventure, jumping straight
day or half that at night, engaged variously in eating, drinking, to Scene Four. It results in a brief conversation with the
talking, praying, or serving as an audience for the extortion or possessed Gislin, who is arrogant, condescending, and
questioning of villagers who have been dragged here. Ordinarily threatening. Ingolf is enraged at the intrusion and soon
the possessed Gislin would supervise such audiences, but at the interrupts the conversation, launching an attack. Romilda
moment he is with Ingolf in the tunnels below, where a ritual joins the fray, but the PCs get to avoid facing the manor’s
is underway. The brothers have been scarce for days, leaving other cultists.
the cult to Ingolf’s primary lieutenant, who handles extorting
villagers in his stead. This is a heavyset and powerfully built On a failed test, Romilda refuses the PCs’ request and
woman named Romilda, whom the other cultists fear and threatens them with violence if they do not leave at once.
obey. She is fanatically loyal to Ingolf, having been raised as a They can either fight the cultists in the main hall or withdraw
bodyguard for his family. At his direction, she helped subdue and choose another course of action.
Gislin for the rite that resulted in Gislin’s current predicament.
55
Sleeping Areas
Adjoining the main hall are a couple of filthy darker chambers,

What kind of cult is this?
each fitted with a haphazard array of bunks and slung hammocks
and used by the cultists as something of a barracks. These rooms The nature of the cult and its beliefs and practices do not
are redolent with the odor of unwashed people but also the sharp make much sense to outsiders. Its routines are still in flux,
scent of peculiar types of incense burned by the cultists to assist largely dictated by the arbitrary whims of self-styled Dream
them in falling into dream-filled slumber. Master Ingolf and Gislin, the Vessel of Laogoth-Ur. Cult
members’ prayers invoke the names of obscure Greek gods
The cultists have various sleep and activity schedules; at any given such as Hypnos, the god of sleep; Nyx, the god of night; and
hour, some are awake and others asleep, as sleep is considered a Erebus, the god of darkness (whose Roman counterparts
part of their worship. Most cultists have few personal belongings are Somnus, Nox, and Scotus). Their use of such prayers is
other than their clothes and simple weapons employed to defend haphazard and bears little resemblance to any established
their leader or threaten the villagers who are not cult members. cults of these gods. The religion practiced by the cult borrows
Most of the cultists are Lupford villagers: some are from families from a variety of poorly understood occult scraps passed
that have long served Gislin’s line; others once served as warriors down in this family over several generations.
in the village’s small militia. Most have undergone personality
changes due to exposure to the cult’s peculiar rites, swearing
dream pacts with druden, and the corruptive influence of the
Back Entrance, Kitchen, and Cellar
Dreamlands steeping this place.
At the rear of the manor is a smaller door intended to facilitate
access to the kitchen. While small and relatively innocuous, it is
Cultists sleeping in the side chambers are difficult to rouse but
not hidden and can be easily seen by anyone making a circuit of
respond to calls by Romilda. PCs who sneak into these rooms
the manor.
may have the chance to observe them in their sleeping state,
with druden perched in animal form above them or floating
Filthy and crude, the kitchen has a sizable hearth and multiple
as peculiar spectral beings above their heads, engaged in
counter and table surfaces. An array of platters, cooking
vampiric reverie.
implements, and food-related supplies hang from hooks on the
walls. After cuts of meat are butchered in the barn, they are brought
The number of cultists in these chambers is flexible and up
here to be cooked or slung up to drain and dry or be smoked. The
to your needs. These are convenient places from which to
kitchen connects to the main hall, through a short pantry.
summon reinforcements.
If the manor ever boasted skilled and diligent servants to attend

Note that these sleeping chambers used to be part of the family
to kitchen matters, those days are past. The cult occasionally
quarters and included rooms for Gislin and Ingolf. A portion of
forces cowed villagers to assist in some of these tasks, which they
the western chamber is separated off by a partition and is now
perform reluctantly and under duress. Such an extorted servant
inhabited by Romilda. Stowed away beneath Romilda’s bedding
can be present if you want to give the PCs a chance to interact
is an unusual charm on a tarnished silver chain. Inscribed on
with a friendlier face. Any villager forced to work in this kitchen
one side of the charm is an image that might be a simple flower
owes the cult no loyalty but is afraid of their wrath. If approached
next to a river or stream. The back features a peculiar variety of
kindly, they may answer a few questions, disclosing that Gislin
scrambled Greek letters.
and Ingolf are likely in the tunnels past the cellar. The cellar is
accessed from the kitchen via a steep flight of steps dug into the
A PC with the Religion focus may attempt a Reason + Academia
soil and reinforced with stone.
test (the Religion focus applies) with a difficulty of 3; success lets
them determine that this appears to be an item connected to
The kitchen may contain one or two cultists, either scrounging for
Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. Once per adventure, the character
food or making demands of any servant here. If the PCs are careful
in possession of the charm can invoke it the same way they would
and act fast, they can enter from the back door and move on
use a Fortune point. Additionally, the bearer of this item gains
these cultists before being noticed, likely making quick work of
+1 Courage resistance and +1 Armor resistance when fighting
them without alerting anyone in the rooms beyond. If you want
against Gislin and his allies in Scene Four. Do not inform the
to have both a cowed villager and a cultist here, their postures
player of this last benefit until that fight is joined, at which point
and conversation make their respective positions obvious, as the
their character feels the urge to draw forth this amulet and sees it
cultist is making demands and threats, and the villager servant is
vibrate and glow with an unusual luster.
trying to appease them.
56
If the PCs descend the stairs to the cellar, read or paraphrase the Each PC suffers 2[CD] mental damage from a mental attack. This

following aloud: is not particularly serious, as stress heals at the end of the scene,
but it could be a problem if anyone is already close to filling their
A
stress track. This damage is intended primarily to give the players
lit torch gutters by a thick door at the bottom of the
a sense of foreboding and urgency. They have entered an area rife
steps. The door opens onto a musty cellar, which is dimly
with dangerous supernatural energies, affected by the rites Ingolf
illuminated by a lit brazier set into the far wall. Adjacent
and the possessed Gislin have been performing.
to the brazier is a crude opening into a shadowy tunnel.
The cellar’s poor condition reflects that of the manor, and
Allow a character with a Religion focus to attempt an Insight +
it appears to have been rarely used for its original purpose.
Academia test with a difficulty of 2 (the Religion focus applies).
You see broken casks that may once have held wine or other
On a success, they sense that some significant supernatural event
liquids, and a couple of sacks of mealy lumps that might have
is happening nearby, possibly an unholy ritual that has reached a
been potatoes.
key threshold.
Your eye is drawn back to the tunnel, and you feel

The PCs can seize either or both light sources to facilitate walking
a deep chill as if a winter night’s wind has caught
into the darker tunnels that begin opposite the cellar entrance
you. Your breath catches in your throat, and a slight
from the kitchen.
dizziness makes you waver on your feet. Something
feels wrong about the air here, and you have the
Remember to remove 1 point of Momentum from the players’
sensation of tasting ash. You blink, and spots dance
Momentum pool as the scene ends. Tell your players that the
upon your eyelids. For a moment you feel drowsy and
next scene has started and they may remove any stress their
tired, as if you are about to fall asleep on your feet. In
characters have accumulated as they brace themselves for the
another moment, the sensation goes away.
pivotal confrontation.
57
Scene Four: Master Dreams
of
There are no hostile encounters in the tunnels, but you
Scene Objectives can increase the tension with jump scares or descriptive
embellishments reinforcing the foreboding and unnatural
The objectives for this scene are: atmosphere of this place. As the PCs enter one portion of
the tunnel, their torch might gutter low, its flames changing
i
Get to the ritual chamber. to a green hue just as a swarm of large insects scurries
before them, disappearing into holes along the wall. Several
i
Interfere with the ritual before it is completed. PCs might experience audible or visual hallucinations,
such as a whispered voice speaking an unknown tongue in
i
Make a choice about what to do with the brothers. their ear, only for the listener to turn and see no one there.
Or their own long shadows cast by the torch might seem to
shift and change into something monstrous before their
ENTERING THE NIGHTMARE eyes. The tunnel might seem to stretch to infinity such that
their walking has taken them nowhere. Another PC might
The tunnels below the farmstead are not extensive;
feel an itching sensation and think the skin on their left
regardless of which entrance the PCs use, the passages
arm and hand has become scaled, but when they scratch at
descend with just a couple twists and turns to a central
it, realize their skin is normal. Aspects of nightmares have
chamber, where the brothers are engaged in a baleful ritual.
begun to encroach on reality here. Suggest to the PCs that it
From this main chamber, tunnels connect to the cellar in
is hard not to wonder whether they are awake or asleep.
the manor; to a ladder that leads up to a trapdoor in the
barn (which is time consuming and noisy to open from
Soon they reach the thick door to the ritual chamber, and
below, if the PCs did not come from that direction, as it has
they hear muffled, rhythmic chanting beyond. The air has
a heavy bench sitting on top of it); and, starting at the other
grown noticeably colder, the PCs’ breath forming a visible
side of the ritual chamber, to a natural cave opening onto
mist. The door’s surface feels slick with some thin, slimy layer.
the bank of a dried-up stream closer to the village. The rock
It is stuck fast and initially resists opening. It is not locked
walls of this place and the odd turns and bends suggest
but is imperfectly built; the strange temperatures provoked
some portions of the tunnels may have been natural, though
by rituals here have warped the wood, so it rests askew on
clear evidence of tool marks indicates where they were
its hinges. Passing a simple Brawn + Athletics test with a
expanded and where effort was made to smooth the path
difficulty of 1 suffices to force it, though this requires enough
and buttress the ceiling. Unless the PCs bring a light, the
effort that the person performing the test stumbles into the
tunnels are pitch dark until they near the ritual chamber,
room as the door flies open, making their entrance obvious.
which is closed behind a thick door but emits light from a
crack beneath.
Ingolf crept through the tunnels below their home, a route well familiar despite having been forbidden. His brother
avoided this place, eschewed just as he had his birthright, but he was still careful. He was about to commit an act his
forebears would have deemed sacrilege. He imagined their spirits around him, balefully watching on, disapproving.
He reached the chamber of the buried well and, with effort, pushed aside the thick wooden planks laid across its
yawning opening. He set his candles in place around its perimeter and began to speak profane prayers while he sliced
open his palm and let drops of his blood fall within. “Laogoth-Ur, I call to you, in Oriab across the waters. Come
to me, your true inheritor. I would bargain with you.”
58
THE RITUAL CHAMBER If the PCs witnessed Gislin manifesting in their dreams while

they rested in the village, they recognize the man with the
Read or paraphrase the following aloud:
birthmark as the confused intruder, though his demeanor is
very different now.
Y ou barge into a large open chamber that is loosely

hexagonal. The air is even colder than it was just
outside, causing you all to shiver. Broad pillars placed in a
The battlefield encompasses four zones: the outer portion of the
ritual chamber where the pillars are set and the cultists were
kneeling, the inner area with the well and the two brothers, the
rough ring support a domed ceiling above. At the room’s
tunnel and door from which the PCs arrived, and a similar tunnel
center is an ancient, open stone well. The chamber is lit
through an open doorway on the opposite side (this eventually
by flickering torches set into the pillars and around the
leads to the cave exit nearer the village, which the PCs did not
perimeter. Decorating the black-tiled floor is a chaotic pattern
know about). Anyone hiding behind a pillar gains +2 Cover
of loops, whorls, angled lines, and unfamiliar iconography
resistance (see Resistance, page 26).
marked in ash-white paint.
The cult forces here comprise the following:

The figures at the center draw your attention. Five hooded
cultists surround the well, kneeling between the columns
i Gislin, the elder brother, who is currently possessed by
with arms raised and heads bowed, chanting in low tones, as
Laogoth-Ur, a Mythos entity who draws strength from
if to themselves. They are not in sync and are not all saying
nightmares and is revered by druden (use the Dream-
the same words, making it difficult to discern them. There
Frenzied Berserker profile, page 48, for Gislin).
is something strange about the way their shadows move
behind and below them. Standing on either side of the well
i Ingolf (page 61), the younger brother, who has been
and facing each other are two men of middling years, who
supernaturally empowered by Laogoth-Ur.
look very similar, like brothers. Each is naked to the waist,
revealing a chest and back covered with tattoos and ritual
i 5 cultist protectors (page 46), who are currently entranced
scars, and each has a short blade slung from their trouser belt.
and controlled by druden.
The younger-looking one holds a clay urn upon which he is

i Up to 5 druden (page 49), who appear as gossamer echoes
scrawling markings using a chunk of black charcoal. The
glimmering in the shadows behind the cultists. They
older is leaning forward, his hands resting on the edge of
adopt more monstrous guises when a cultist is slain,
the open well and peering down into its depths while he
taking their place.
intones his own words. A port-wine birthmark covers the
left side of his face. The tone of his voice unnerves you—it
The ritual appears to be led by Gislin but is in truth orchestrated
sounds as though he is much closer to you than he is—and
by Ingolf, who bargained with Laogoth-Ur, a powerful entity of
his eyes gleam in his shadowed face with an ominous
the Dreamlands who forged a dynastic pact with this family’s
inner light. His hands are bloodied, and though the well
ancestors generations ago. Laogoth-Ur was willing to renegotiate
obscures the view, you think several unmoving bodies may
terms because Gislin had intended to break the deal and sever ties.
be slumped at his feet.
Now Ingolf seeks to replace his brother and take on the mantle of
patriarch, gaining the power to control druden and cast spells.
Your entrance was loud enough to be heard above the
chanting. The five cultists between the pillars do not react, but
Lacking any innate power of his own, Ingolf agreed to betray his
the two men near the well turn to you. The older one’s face
brother to help bring Laogoth-Ur into the world, not knowing
contorts with anger, and he says, “I will not be interrupted.
the destruction this would unleash. This plan has necessitated
Deal with them!”
that the entity possess the body of Gislin, besieging his mind
with nightmares, in order to harness his mystical power. While
He waves his right hand in a sweeping gesture, and the
possessed, Gislin has helped summon druden and thereby
cultists by the pillars leap to their feet in eerie synchronicity,
strengthened this area’s connection to the Dreamlands.
their movements erratic and slightly unnatural. The pair
at the center return their attention to the well and the urn,
The ritual is nearly complete, requiring only a couple more
intoning an incantation with renewed vigor.
actions from the brothers, which Ingolf hopes to accomplish
while the puppeteered cultists delay the PCs.
59
As this battle is engaged, you can put to use any Threat you You can also use Threat to perform other actions during this
have pooled. You can use Threat in the same way players use scene, such as summoning reinforcements (see Threat, page 18):
Momentum (see Momentum, page 17). The following may be
particularly useful: i
2 Threat summons three more cultist protectors or druden
as Trooper NPC reinforcements (normally, 1 Threat summons
i
2 Threat lets you Keep the Initiative, allowing an NPC to act one Trooper NPC; this scenario increases that ratio slightly).
immediately after another one does. They enter through the doorway behind the brothers. (See the
Cultist Protector and Drude profiles, pages 46 and 49.)
i
1 Threat generates a truth that is beneficial to the cultists, such
as a swirling cloud of Strange Mist that obscures Ingolf or
Gislin, increasing the difficulty of all ranged attacks directed
at them by +1.
60
Ingolf, the Dream Master Detestable Sleep: Will + Persuasion, difficulty 2, cost 5
Drain and each effect [ ] rolled on the cost generates 1 Threat
Toughened NPC
Ingolf was once nothing more than the jealous younger son of Duration: Instant
a particularly fortunate Germanic family in Lupford, but as a
youth he discovered the occult traditions of his ancestors and Spell Effect: Control spell. A single creature within Medium
aspired to gain this power for himself. Despite his efforts, the range takes power +1 mental damage with the Persistent
mystic arts eluded him. He eventually learned that initiation 5 damage effect. If the target would otherwise suffer 1 or more
into his family traditions would only be bestowed upon the heir injuries from this spell—either from its initial damage or from
to the line, his brother Gislin, who then had the gall to refuse the Persistent damage—they instead fall into an immediate and
this gift. Ingolf did not accept his destiny and went to great deep slumber (they do not suffer any injuries); on the target’s
lengths to contact the source of his family’s power, a creature next turn, the spellcaster spawns a drude (page 49) in the same
of nightmares named Laogoth-Ur. Ingolf hatched a selfish zone as the target.
scheme to take his brother’s place, offering his mind, body, and
soul to Laogoth-Ur. At the time of the events described herein, Momentum
Ingolf has yet to complete the rites to fully awaken his stolen iFor 2 Momentum, both the initial damage and the
Persistent damage gain the Piercing 1 effect.
power, but he has been augmented beyond his previous limits,
iFor every 2 Momentum spent, the spell affects one
becoming a dangerous adversary and formidable sorcerer. additional target.
Truths Polymorphic Spawn: Will + Resilience, difficulty 3, cost 5

i
Degenerate Sorcerous Fiend
Drain
i
Foul Servant of Ancient Powers
Duration: Until the end of the current scene

Attributes
Agility 8 Gravitas 6 Spell Effect: Manifestation spell. Choose a zone within Medium
Brawn 12 Insight 12 range. A formless creature of black, oily fluid appears in that
Coordination 9 Reason 9 zone. Enemies in that zone at the start of their turn must make
Will 12 a Will + Resilience test with a difficulty of 2; failure means they

suffer 4 physical damage with the Snare damage effect.
Skills and Focuses A character who is defeated by stress caused by the formless
Academia 3 (Religion), Fighting 1, Persuasion 2 (Intimidation), spawn causes the spawn to split, creating a copy of itself in
Resilience 3 (Discipline), Survival 2 another zone within Close range.
Power: 5
Momentum
iFor 2 Momentum, increase the difficulty of all tests to resist
Stress 15 Injuries 2 the spell’s effects.
Armor 3 Courage 3 iFor 1 Momentum, increase the damage the spell inflicts by
+1 per Momentum spent.
Weapons and Armor i
For 2 Momentum, add the Piercing 1 damage effect.
Ritual Dagger: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 5 Piercing 1,

Twisted Dreams: Will + Academia; difficulty 2; cost 4
Debilitating, Hidden, Subtle
Drain, Piercing 1
Special Rules
Duration: Instant
Menacing: Ingolf’s mere presence is an ill omen. When he first
appears in a scene, he generates 1 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool.
Spell Effect: Attack spell. All enemies within Close range suffer
power +1 mental damage with the Piercing 1 and Vicious
Spells and Rituals
damage effects.
Ingolf is a spellcaster who uses Will to cast spells. He knows the
following spells from the spellbook of the Sleeper of N’kai.
Momentum
iFor 2 Momentum, add the Persistent 4 damage effect; the
Persistent damage also has the Stun damage effect.
61
THE FINAL Meanwhile, Ingolf is finishing preparing the urn for the last
CONFRONTATION stage of the ritual. He intends to pour the blood of his slain
brother into the urn, tip his body into the well, and then
Mystic characters who pass an Insight + Observation test with a
drink the blood to inherit Gislin’s legacy. Ingolf finishes
difficulty of 3 (the Instincts focus applies) observe wispy tendrils
preparing the urn in two rounds, during which he uses his
of mystical energy leading out of the well to both Gislin and
minor action to move to an area with cover. He attempts to
Ingolf. (Later, when Laogoth-Ur rises from the well, the tendrils
shield the urn from any attacks.
can be seen to connect that entity to the brothers.)
If Ingolf is interfered with or thinks the PCs are getting the

Ingolf does not care if lesser cultists die, and if things have
upper hand, he changes his tactics. He begs for his life and
progressed far enough, he doesn’t care if Gislin dies, either.
tries to gain the PCs’ sympathy, pinning the blame on Gislin.
Indeed, even had the PCs not intervened, Ingolf intended to
“This won’t end until you kill him! He brought the monster!
offer up his brother as the rite’s final sacrifice, causing Gislin’s
I was forced to help him! We can still stop this, if you let me
power and title to pass to him while also facilitating Laogoth-
help you!” After this declaration, he draws his blade and
Ur’s passage into the world. This means that slaying Gislin after
attacks his own brother alongside them, to prove he is on
the critical steps are completed advances Ingolf’s plans, even if
their side.
the PCs are the ones who slay him.
The PCs may believe him, particularly if they found no

In the initial round of the fight, Gislin uses his major action
earlier clues regarding Ingolf’s duplicity. However, they
to intone mystical words while he lifts one of the unconscious
have one more chance to thwart the ritual even if Gislin is
people at his feet, cuts their throat, and throws them into the
defeated. Upon defeat, for a moment, Gislin temporarily
well. This and earlier sleeping sacrifices are empowering the
breaks free of the possession. His eyes stop glowing and
Nightmare Thief, Laogoth-Ur, preparing the entity to rise from
his expression softens, as though he feels regret. A Mystic
the well. At the GM’s discretion, Gislin takes additional turns to
or character with the Religion focus who passes an Insight
throw in one or two more bodies, then joins the attack on the
+ Academia test with a difficulty of 2 (the Religion focus
PCs. The PCs may come up with a way to prevent Gislin from
applies) realizes that Gislin was being controlled by an
taking these actions, but it only delays things, and he can take
entity akin to the druden but has now come to his senses.
the body of a cultist who has just fallen in combat and hurl that
into the well instead.
Gislin croaks out, “At last, the nightmare ends… I am free.” He
looks at his brother, his eyes widening, then says to the PCs,
When Gislin sends the first body into the well, read or
“Destroy the urn, quickly…” Then his wounds overcome him,
paraphrase the following aloud:
and he perishes.
Y ou hear the sickening crunch of a body impacting

somewhere far below, echoing in the well, followed
almost at once by a howling noise rising its depths. A
Ingolf insists it is Laogoth-Ur speaking, trying to fool them,
and that he must use the urn to banish the druden. He
attempts to collect his brother’s blood in the urn even if the
cloud of swirling darkness rises like smoke from the PCs take up their weapons against him.
well’s yawning mouth before gathering into a vaguely
humanoid form that hovers there, its interior gleaming If the PCs have been having too easy a time of things and
with points of light that look like stars. Brighter whorls manage to eliminate the cultists and deal with Gislin
of vivid colors swirl where its eyes should be, and it seems relatively quickly, feel free to unleash the full power of
to glare into the room while its clawed hands grasp and Laogoth-Ur upon them. Ordinarily during the clash, this
clutch at the air. This terrifying apparition seems unable entity remains only partially manifested, being more of a
to move from the well—for now—but it watches the looming threat than a tangible adversary. But their profile
conflict with hungry intensity. The chamber around you is provided (see Laogoth-Ur) and they could fully emerge
starts to change in eerie ways with the manifestation of from the well and join the battle.
this entity: the walls begin to drip with liquid, and moss
grows along the stones as you watch. Shadows flicker
around you, and you hear strange scurrying creatures,
half-glimpsing them in your peripheral vision. You feel
reality slipping into nightmare.
62
Laogoth-Ur Weapons and Armor
Drudenfuss: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 5 Intense, Stun
Toughened NPC
Glimpse of Nightmares: (Mental Attack), Close range, 6
Laogoth-Ur is an ancient spirit who escaped from the dreams
Piercing 3
of a long-extinct species circling a star far from Earth. They are
a parasitic entity that feasts on nightmares and are particularly
Special Rules
nourished by fear, panic, and despair. One of the eldest
Fearsome 3: Laogoth-Ur inspires fear. They can make mental
inhabitants of the Oily Sea and known to haunt the shores of
attacks with +3 bonus damage and the Piercing 3 damage
Oriab, Laogoth-Ur is credited as the parent of all druden. This
effect (included above). In addition, the first time a character
entity should have expired long ago but survives by sealing
sees Laogoth-Ur, the character must immediately pass a Will +
pacts with greedy occultists who are heedless of the harm
Resilience test with a difficulty of 3 or suffer mental damage as if
their schemes inflict. These arrangements are self-consuming,
from that mental attack.
as Laogoth-Ur eventually banishes the soul of each such
supplicant to the Dreamlands, devours their mind, and then Feed upon Fear: Whenever a character within Medium range of
possesses the hollowed-out body in order to walk among their Laogoth-Ur suffers a mental injury, they generate 2 Threat for the
adoring cultists. Wherever Laogoth-Ur enters the waking world, GM’s Threat pool.
they bring druden and other nightmare creatures.
Shapeshifter: By spending 3 Threat, Laogoth-Ur can assume
the form of a common animal or human. Noticing something
Truths
is unnatural or wrong with Laogoth-Ur’s disguise requires
i
Inhabitant of the Oily Sea
passing an Insight + Observation test with a difficulty of 4. If a
i
Shapeshifting Dream Demon
character who succeeds has encountered druden or Laogoth-Ur
Attributes before in similar forms, they can recognize Laogoth-Ur’s nature.
Agility 9 Gravitas 10 Laogoth-Ur usually reverts to their true form to attack.
Brawn 8 Insight 9 Sleep of Reason: If the target of Laogoth-Ur’s mental attacks

Coordination 7 Reason 11 is sleeping, Laogoth-Ur gains 2 automatic successes on their
Will 10 attack roll.
Sleepwalker: Laogoth-Ur can possess the body of an innocent

Skills and Focuses
NPC target while they are asleep by spending 3 Threat. Laogoth-Ur
Fighting 1, Observation 3 (Instincts), Persuasion 4 (Deception),
controls the body of the target, who experiences Laogoth-Ur’s
Resilience 2, Stealth 2, Survival 4 (Tracking)
actions as a nightmare. If the victim of Laogoth-Ur’s Sleepwalker
Power: 4 special rule is defeated, Laogoth-Ur appears in their true form in
an empty space anywhere within Close range of the target.
Stress 12 Injuries 3
Armor 1 Courage 2 continued next page…
“ Best not to rely on miracles. The gods’ve got their hands full
and smile on those who look to their own. But sometimes, if I
ask nicely, I can borrow a bit of their power.”
– Egino, Who Sees the Hidden - Germanic Priest of Tiwaz
63
Spells and Rituals Momentum

Laogoth-Ur is a spellcaster who uses Will to cast spells. They know i
For 2 Momentum, increase the difficulty of all tests to resist
the following spells from the spellbook of the Sleeper of N’kai. the spell’s effects.
i
For 1 Momentum, increase the damage the spell inflicts by
Detestable Sleep: Will + Persuasion, difficulty 2, cost 5 +1 per Momentum spent.
Drain and each effect [ ] rolled on the cost generates 1 Threat i
For 2 Momentum, add the Piercing 1 damage effect.
Duration: Instant Twisted Dreams: Will + Academia; difficulty 2; cost 4

Drain, Piercing 1
Spell Effect: Control spell. A single creature within Medium
range takes power +1 mental damage with the Persistent Duration: Instant
5 damage effect. If the target would otherwise suffer 1 or more
injuries from this spell—either from its initial damage or from Spell Effect: Attack spell. All enemies within Close range suffer
the Persistent damage—they instead fall into an immediate and power +1 mental damage with the Piercing 1 and Vicious
deep slumber (they do not suffer any injuries); on the target’s damage effects.
next turn, the spellcaster spawns a drude (page 49) in the same
zone as the target. Momentum
i
For 2 Momentum, add the Persistent 4 damage effect; the
Momentum Persistent damage also has the Stun damage effect.
i
For 2 Momentum, both the initial damage and the
Persistent damage gain the Piercing 1 effect.
i
For every 2 Momentum spent, the spell affects one
additional target.
Polymorphic Spawn: Will + Resilience, difficulty 3, cost 5

Drain
Duration: Until the end of the current scene
Spell Effect: Manifestation spell. Choose a zone within Medium

range. A formless creature of black, oily fluid appears in that
zone. Enemies in that zone at the start of their turn must make
a Will + Resilience test with a difficulty of 2; failure means they
suffer 4 physical damage with the Snare damage effect.
A character who is defeated by stress caused by the formless
spawn causes the spawn to split, creating a copy of itself in
another zone within Close range.
64
CONCLUSION Allow any occultists or Mystics in the PC group to grasp that Gislin

is attempting to banish the entity, and allow them to join in and
The clash has three primary potential outcomes, depending on
assist. This can be kept purely roleplayed, or you can allow them
the actions of the PCs.
to make Reason + Academia tests (the Religion focus applies)
to assist with their successes (see Improving the Odds, page 16). At
If the ritual is successful… this point, this is primarily for flavor, as they’ve done the hard
The ritual is successfully completed if Gislin is slain and Ingolf can work and should not fail, but you can alter your description of
collect his blood and drink from the urn. If this happens, read or the banishment depending on the number of successes, allowing
paraphrase the following aloud: the PCs to feel the impact of their own incantations striking
Laogoth-Ur like physical blows.
T he dark figure hovering above the well howls in triumph

and sweeps into the room, surrounding Ingolf and
raising him into the air as he begins his apotheosis. Swirling
Once Laogoth-Ur is banished, any remaining druden scatter into
the shadows and disappear. The banishing has an immediate
effect on any remaining cultists as well: they lose their will to fight
darkness with lights like stars surrounds him, and a wave and become cowed and frightened, seeking to flee and hide.
of cold air knocks you back. The ground trembles underfoot,
and your eyes water as strange phantom sensations assault If Gislin dies and Ingolf is defeated…
your perceptions. A couple of you attempt to bring your
A similar but more tragic outcome is possible if the PCs kill Gislin
weapons to bear on the entity or Ingolf, but your attacks
but subsequently defeat Ingolf and destroy the urn before he can use
are swept aside as if by an invisible hand. Fearing for the
it to ingest his brother’s blood. This gives the PCs a chance to banish
integrity of your minds, you are forced to flee out the tunnel
Laogoth-Ur. If you wish to give them one final challenge, require
exit, dreading what you have brought into the world, praying
the PCs’ Mystic or occultist to make a Reason + Academia test with
to your gods. It might be the case that someone else knows a
a difficulty of 3 (the Religion focus applies), allowing other PCs to
way to fight them, but for now, it is clear the day is lost.
assist. As this is the final roll of the scenario, encourage the PCs to
spend any Momentum they have. If the test is successful, the entity
is banished as described earlier. If, despite all this, the PCs fail this
If Gislin lives and Ingolf is defeated… test, describe Laogoth-Ur recoiling before their prayers, but speeding
The best-case scenario occurs if the PCs determine that Ingolf is away out the exit tunnel and into the world, not as fully empowered
the real problem and Gislin is another victim. Ingolf’s death while as it would have been, but still a potential peril for others.
Gislin is still alive sufficiently enrages and distracts Laogoth-Ur
for the entity to lose control of Gislin, allowing Gislin to act.
AFTERMATH
Working with any Mystic or occult-oriented character among the
If the PCs saved Gislin, they can converse with him while walking
PCs, Gislin begins to pray in an effort to banish the shadowy entity
out the exit tunnel to hear his side of the story. He explains what
back to the place they came from. After allowing a brief roleplayed
happened between him and his brother after he refused the
exchange with Gislin, read or paraphrase the following aloud:
unholy legacy of his ancestors.
G islin shakes his head, and the ominous glowing of his

eyes fades as his expression becomes less fearsome, more
human. He addresses those of you nearest him, saying, “I’m free
Otherwise, if Gislin is dead, allow the PCs to find an assortment
of disorganized writings on benches and shelves along the
periphery of the ritual chamber, including scraps of occult
from the nightmare, but I don’t know for how long. Laogoth-Ur materials from various sources on nightmares and dreams. The
will seize my mind again if we let him. Help me send him back!” writings include journal notes from both Gislin and Ingolf that
can let them put the pieces together.
Gislin kneels on the floor, spreads his arms, and begins to
speak prayerful words, invoking the names of the great You can conclude the adventure here. If the PCs defeated Ingolf,
gods Wodan and Frigg—but also, strangely, gods of other they are subsequently met by Miltrude, who congratulates and
pantheons, such as Hypnos, Morpheus, Somnus, and Janos. thanks them. The village has endured a lot and will take time to
His words cause the swirling, dark entity above the well to recover, but the nightmare has ended, thanks to the PCs. Lupford’s
pulse and quiver, and the entity unleashes a furious wail as villagers will remain thankful to them, and some could be used as
their form begins to unravel. future contacts. For now, the PCs are likely eager to continue on to
Laurium, where more adventure awaits.
65
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 - Pregenerated Characters
PREGENERATED
PLAYER CHARACTERS
Egino, Who Sees the as an elder of his tribe and has been involved in a number
Hidden (he) of important meetings regarding its well-being. Recent
years have been difficult for his people, as their villages
Germanic Priest of Tiwaz (Mystic) have been afflicted with some sort of curse, which Egino has
Born of the Bructeri tribe, Egino is a true holy man who been desperate but so far unable to solve. He suspects some
reveres many Germanic gods but is especially devoted to nefarious cult might be behind this misfortune.
Tiwaz, known to some as Tyr. Egino is an older man, in his
late fifties, and has served his people for his entire life, being Though he might have been more physically formidable in his
descended from a noted lineage famed for its memorable youth, Egino has since become a somewhat frail older man,
Mystics, including Egino’s father. Egino has been recognized one who is not particularly well suited for battle or strife.
Nevertheless, he has true mystical power achieved through
prayers to his gods and the power of runecraft. Exhibiting a
noble demeanor and being both well-spoken and persuasive,
Egino has been able to solve most of the challenges facing him
with the help of his quick wit and silver tongue. Versed in some
of the healing arts, he has spent time easing the suffering of
others, earning him more friends than enemies. He has come
to the Laurium region hoping to find allies and information
that might prevent the doom of his people.
Truths
i
Germanic Tribe (Bructeri)
i
Child of Greatness
i
Tribal Elder (Politician)
i
I Have a Secret
Attributes
Brawn 6 Insight 10
Will 11
Skills and Focuses

Academia 4 (Religion), Fighting 1, Medicine 2 (Field
Treatment), Observation 2, Persuasion 5 (Charm, Invocation),
Resilience 2 (Fortitude), Stealth 1, Tactics 1
Languages: Germanic, Celtic, Latin (just enough to get by)
66
Background: Politician

Stress 16
Personal Agenda: Claim Vengeance for a Wrongdoing.
Someone has wronged you or someone you care about. You
Injuries 3
won’t rest until they meet justice.
Armor 1 Courage 2
Characteristic: Child of Greatness. Growing up in the
shadow of a significant forebear—a tribal champion—has put
Caste: Noble
pressure on you to excel in order to meet your family’s lofty
Resources: 2 expectations.
Talents
Cool under Pressure (Medicine): When the situation gets tough, you take a deep breath and get the job done. When you make
a Medicine-based test, you may spend a Fortune point to automatically pass that skill test, but you generate no Momentum.
Envy and Attention: You hold considerable status in society, and while that comes with numerous benefits, it can cause
challenges and complications to arise as well. You cannot move around unnoticed easily, and those who wish to see your
downfall or to usurp your position conspire against you. The GM begins each adventure with +2 additional Threat to represent
these potential problems. This talent cannot be retrained unless you lose your position as a member of the Noble caste.
Gods Guide You: Witnessing the actions of fate and the gods in everything, you can guide the hands of your comrades
toward the ordained order. You are a spellcaster (see Magic, page 28). Additionally, once per round as a reaction, you can
generate 2 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool to assist an ally when that ally takes an Attack major action or makes a Reason +
Academia test.
Silver Tongued: You’re blessed with a silver tongue, allowing you to influence people to adopt your views quickly and
effectively. When you attempt to sway someone to your way of thinking or haggle over the price of an item, you reduce the
difficulty of your Persuasion-based test by 1.
Unyielding: You are made of sterner stuff than most. You increase your maximum stress by +3 (included above).
power, a spell, the evil eye, or a mental attack from a

Weapons and Armor
Mythos being or other supernatural creature. The amulet
Dagger: (Melee Weapons), 2 Piercing 1, Hidden, Subtle
prevents the negative repercussions of the power, spell, or
War Axe: (Melee Weapons), 4 Vicious effect. The player then rolls 1 . If the result is an effect
[ ], the amulet remains effective and can be used again;
Leather Armor: +1 Armor resistance (included above)
otherwise, it is rendered useless and must be replaced. This
amulet also serves as a good-luck charm. Once per adven-
Other Equipment
ture, you can invoke the good-luck charm the same way you
i
Traveling Clothes
would use a Fortune point.
i
Ritual Vestments
i
Special: At the beginning of every adventure, you gain +2
i
Ritual Tools (skill kit): A kit of basic ritual tools contains
requisition points for your group to spend on equipment.
an athame (ritual blade), incense, oil lamp, parchment
Note: Requisitioning is not covered in the Quickstart Rules
paper, and ink. It includes the basic needs for any occultist
and Adventure.
who wishes to perform a ritual. This kit has enough
supplies to provide 3 bonus Momentum for buying d20s.
i
Amulet of Tiwaz: This heirloom once belonged to your
ancestor, a famous tribal champion thought to be favored
of Tiwaz. A character wearing an amulet may spend a
Fortune point when they are targeted by a supernatural
67
Spells
Power Rating: 4 Spellcasting Type and Tradition: Traditional, Runic

Spellcasting Attribute: Insight
Bounty of Baldr
This powerful Runic shield is associated with Algiz, the rune of protection, and draws on the power of Baldr, most beloved of all
the Æsir. The rune seems to cloak its targets in mystical armor, giving them immunity from most harm: accurate shots narrowly
miss their mark, damage dissipates, and the efficacy of malign forces greatly diminishes under this rune’s protective influence.
Skill: Resilience Spell Effect: Ward spell. While this spell remains in effect, any
attacks against the spellcaster or any of the spellcaster’s allies
Difficulty: 2
within Close range of the caster increase in difficulty by +2.
Cost: 3 Drain
Momentum
Duration: A number of rounds equal to the spellcaster’s
power rating
i
All affected characters gain +X Cover resistance, where X is
the amount of Momentum spent.
Curse of Loki
The prince of tricksters is an appropriate patron for the spellseer. The spellseer draws upon Nauthiz, the rune of shadow, to sow
confusion and dread in an enemy’s ranks. Any enemy unit, character, or creature afflicted by the Curse of Loki is plagued by terrifying
visions of giants and monsters, of fell creatures and foul entities from the icy wastes, sent to bewilder, mislead, and demoralize them.
Skill: Persuasion Flawed: A flawed version of this spell affects all creatures
within range, not just all enemies. Note: flawed spells are not
Difficulty: 2
covered in the Quickstart Rules and Adventure.
Cost: 5 Drain; in addition, each damage effect [ ] rolled
Momentum
on the cost generates 1 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool
i
For 2 Momentum, add the Persistent 6 damage effect to the
Duration: Instant damage.
Spell Effect: Attack spell. The spellcaster inflicts power +2

mental damage with the Stun damage effect on all enemies
i
For 2 Momentum, add the Snare damage effect to the damage.
within Close range.
Ravens of Wodan
Weaving the symbol of the rune Ansuz, the spellseer invokes the powers of the Allfather: Wodan, the hanged god, lord of battle,
and consort of Frigg, who sends his twin ravens, Huginn and Muninn, to fortify his allies with the spirit of the brave warriors
battling eternally in Valhalla. Allies who channel the Ravens of Wodan become resistant to fear and terror. They fight with
greater determination, vigor, and valor, performing heroic deeds upon the battlefield.
Skill: Academia Momentum
Difficulty: 2
i
For 2 Momentum, each affected allied target inflicts +2
damage on all melee attacks they make.
Cost: 4 Drain, Piercing 1
Duration: A number of rounds equal to the spellcaster’s

i
For 3 Momentum each, the spellcaster may give one or more
affected allies +1 additional nonrefreshing Fortune point
power rating
each, which is lost at the end of the spell’s duration if it has
Spell Effect: Ward spell. While the spell remains in effect, the not been used.
spellcaster and all of the spellcaster’s allies within Close range
receive additional Morale resistance equal to the spellcaster’s
power rating.
68
Akusaa (she) Akusaa is polite and well-spoken, though prone to conversing

a touch too formally and made uncomfortable by some of the
rugged and unfamiliar habits of those living in the frontier
Aegyptus Scholar and Occultist (Sage)
region. She prefers to adopt an androgynous appearance and
A highly knowledgeable linguist and occultist originally
feels uneasy when people focus on her femininity.
from Aegyptus, Akusaa is a woman in her early thirties who
left that area under some duress. She was accused of stealing
She has had some small brushes with the supernatural,
sacred tomes, a crime she did not actually commit, and is
particularly in her dreams, which have taken her to strange
now an outcast from her homeland. She supports herself by
and vividly inexplicable places. She is convinced the gods are
taking work as a translator but is more interested in seeking
active participants in mortal affairs, not always to mortals’
out lore regarding Germanic mysticism in the frontier
benefit. She finds conflict distasteful and seeks others to help
region, which is what has brought her to the Laurium area.
her defend herself against threats that may arise in the course
She is on the hunt for mystically potent relics to investigate
of her pursuits.
a theory she has on the ways the gods empower and guide
favored mortals.
Truths
i
Aegyptus
i
Dreamwalker
i
Seeking the Lost
i
Student of the Occult
i
I Have a Secret
Attributes
Brawn 6 Insight 11
Will 10
Skills and Focuses

Academia 4 (History, Linguistics, Religion), Crafting 2,
Engineering 2, Medicine 2, Observation 3 (Sight), Persuasion
2, Resilience 1, Tactics 1
Languages: Coptic, Aramaic, Celtic, Germanic, Greek,

Latin, Punic
Stress 11
Injuries 3
Armor 0 Courage 2
Caste: Outcast
Resources: 0
Background: Scholar
Personal Agenda: Acquire an Object. An important item or relic

has gone missing in the wilderness, and you aim to locate it.
Characteristic: Dreamwalker. Sleep is a mere gateway, and

even as a child you wandered the Dreamlands.
69
Talents
Applied Knowledge: The knowledge you have accumulated gives you bursts of insight to deal with unexpected challenges.
Once per scene, you may use Academia in place of another skill when you make a skill test, and you count as having an
appropriate focus for that test.
Fade Away: Once per scene as a minor action, you can generate 2 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool to slip from sight. If you do
so, you cannot be the target of an attack (other than attacks with the Area damage effect) until the start of your next turn.
If you are behind heavy cover (such as a large tree trunk or short stone wall) when you use this talent, you do not need to
generate Threat.
Foreboding Survival: Every so often, it feels like you narrowly avoid disaster thanks to an unknown guiding hand. How you
avoid these fates is unknown, but bad luck seems to befall those around you. Once per session when you are dealt an injury,
you may generate 3 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool in order to avoid suffering that injury. At the GM’s discretion, you may
receive opportunities to avoid other misfortune as well in exchange for generating 3 Threat.
Vero Nihil Verius: You have a keen eye that can spot the truth of a matter. Whenever you make a skill test to detect danger
or hidden enemies, reduce the difficulty by 1.
Writ in Stone: Your homeland is known for its long history, some of which is etched into stone on the faces of ancient walls.
When you make an Academia-based test to recall a bit of relevant history or lore, you can re-roll any dice that fail to produce
a success.
Weapons
Cudgel: (Melee Weapons), Reach 2, 3 Stun
Sling: (Thrown Weapons), Medium range, 5

Inaccurate, Subtle
Stun,
“I am fluent in numerous tongues,
Other Equipment
and my dreams take me to places
i
Plain Traveling Clothes
i
Suit of Fine Clothing (stowed)
more bizarre and unsettling than
i
Personal Library: Choice tomes and reference materials. you can fathom. Yet I find myself
i
Pet Mouse: A small gray mouse named Ruhig, often hidden
in Akusaa’s clothing. lacking the words to describe the
i
Writing Materials and Tools: Includes vellum or papyrus
scrolls and books. horror I feel at your eating habits.”
i
Stylus and Wax Tablet: To make quick, impermanent
notes, writers often employ a bronze stylus with a point on – Akusaa - Aegyptus Scholar and Occultist
one end and a flat spade on the other, scribing into sheets
of wax contained in a wooden or metal box. When a record
is no longer needed, they use the stylus’s spade to wipe out
the markings.
70
Cossus Atrius Thamugadus Cossus is young but has seen some real action and has

(he) participated in some difficult battles, including one in which
his squad was nearly entirely wiped out by Germanic rebels.
The circumstances were such that he cannot blame the
North African Legionary
rebels for wanting to defend their territory, and the officer
(Soldier, Legionary Specialization)
in charge made several blunders that led to the conflict, but
Cossus, a soldier in his twenties, is a Roman citizen and
nonetheless he is wary around more militant locals. He has a
legionary, though he is originally from northern Africa and
friendly demeanor and feels it is his job as a soldier to defend
descends from ancestors who fought on the side of Carthage in
those who cannot protect themselves. He has sought to avoid
the Punic Wars. He knows of these legends and enjoys speaking
involvement in any punitive actions taken by his legion
of the military exploits of his ancestors, but he is nonetheless a
against ordinary civilians.
proud Roman, seeing his service with the I Minerva Legion along
the frontier as fostering the extension of a great civilization. He
is technically attached to one of the barracks closer to Bonna, Truths
but his superiors gave him leave to attend to personal matters. i
Roman Citizen
He has been seeking information regarding his brother, a fellow i
Campaign Veteran
soldier who was posted to the garrison in Laurium but has gone i
Sole Survivor
missing under suspicious circumstances. i
I Have a Secret
Attributes
Brawn 11 Insight 10
Will 8
Skills and Focuses

Athletics 3, Fighting 3 (Melee Weapons, Thrown Weapons),
Observation 1, Resilience 4 (Discipline, Fortitude), Survival 4,
Tactics 2
Languages: Latin, Greek (simple conversations), Punic
Stress 15
Injuries 4
Armor 5 Courage 0
Caste: Plebian
Resources: 2
Background: Campaign Veteran
Personal Agenda: Protect the Innocent. You use your strength

to protect those who need it. When you perform actions to
protect those who cannot defend themselves, you can re-roll
1d20 on opposed tests for which you are the reactive character.
Characteristic: Sole Survivor. You didn’t get a good look at who—

or what—slaughtered nearly every living thing in the settlement,
but for reasons you can’t fathom, you alone were spared.
71
Talents
Alea Lacta Est (“The die is cast”): Once per scene when an NPC suffers a complication, you can use this talent to increase the
Threat cost to cancel the complication to 4 Threat.
Iron Hide: You possess great fortitude and can bear horrible injuries without showing it. For the purpose of increasing your
complication range, you ignore the first injury suffered. In addition, you are defeated after suffering 4 injuries instead of 3.
Legionary Training: You may re-roll one d20 on any Fighting-based test you make with a spear, gladius, or pilum, though
the second result stands.
Skin of Your Teeth: You have a knack for (just barely) avoiding the worst injuries. Once per scene, you may spend a Fortune
point when you are dealt an injury, in order to avoid suffering that injury.
Weapons and Armor Other Equipment

Gladius: (Melee Weapons), Reach 2, 6 Piercing 1, Parrying i
Hooded Cloak: In addition to providing warmth and
protection from the elements, this cloak has a deep hood
Pilum (3): (Thrown Weapons), Close range, 6 Piercing
that can help conceal a person’s identity. This cloak was
1, Special: On an effect [ ] result, after damage is dealt, the
looted on campaign and has become a favored and treas-
pilum is rendered unusable and if the target is carrying a
ured item. It also serves as a good-luck charm. Once per
shield, the pilum has embedded in the shield and lowers the
adventure, you can invoke the good-luck charm the same
shield’s Cover resistance by 1
way you would use a Fortune point.
Large Shield: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 5 Stun, Shield 3 i
Soldier’s Kit (skill kit): Contains spare clothing, food
rations, a small spade and cooking vessel, and supplies for
Lorica Segmentata: +3 Armor resistance (included above),
making camp. This kit contains enough supplies to provide
Uncomfortable
3 bonus Momentum for buying d20s.
“Don’t think of me as a soldier right now. Feels good to answer to no one

but myself, at least until I return. But let’s try to avoid any run-ins with
centurions or tribunes, if we can manage?”
– Cossus Atrius Thamugadus - North African Legionary
72
Gerfrid (she) While she does not like to talk about it, Gerfrid has been

exposed to horrors in her life, having once been among a
group that was set upon by cultists of Mormo. She bears a
Germanic Archer (Scout)
sigil on her skin that she’s never been able to remove, as a
Gerfrid is a young Germanic warrior but has never felt
legacy of that encounter. She saw things that proved the
especially attached to the Cherusci tribe to which she was
world is a strange and sometimes cruel place, and she knows
born, living more the life of a nomad or, more recently, as a
that true evil lurks in the deepest woods. This has led her to
mercenary. Trained in the warrior tradition, she was quite
be aloof and distant with her peers, though those who earn
willing and able to take up arms alongside her people,
her friendship find her a steadfast ally.
though she has always felt more at home wielding the bow.
She delights in stalking and hunting amid the forests of the
frontier region, a skill that has also been useful to those who Truths
have employed her for her skill as a Scout. She finds Romans a i
Germanic Tribe
bit rude and condescending but is willing to take their coin, i
Nomad
as it spends as readily as any other. i
Touched by Shadow
i
I Have a Secret
Attributes
Brawn 8 Insight 11
Will 8
Skills and Focuses

Athletics 2 (Climbing), Fighting 3 (Archery), Observation 5,
Resilience 2, Stealth 3 (Escape Artistry), Survival 3 (Hunting,
Woodcraft)
Languages: Germanic, Latin (conversational), Greek
Stress 10
Injuries 3
Armor 2 Courage 6
Caste: Freedman
Resources: 2
Background: Nomadic
Personal Agenda: Hunt a Great Beast. You seek an unusual or

legendary beast in the region that would confer high status
upon anyone who successfully hunted it.
Characteristic: Touched by Shadow. You have had an

encounter with a power that hides in darkness—one not of
this world—and it has left a literal mark on you.
73
Talents
Eye for Weakness: You are able to spot vulnerabilities in your quarry’s defenses, natural or otherwise. When you spend
Momentum to Obtain Information (ask the GM a question; see Common Uses for Momentum, page 17) in order to study a
creature or enemy, until the end of the scene, your attacks targeting that creature gain the Piercing 1 damage effect or deal
+1 if your weapon already has the Piercing effect.
Keen Eyed: Your eyesight is as sharp as an eagle’s. The increased difficulty of Perception checks for zones beyond Close is
reduced by 1, and you can increase the effective range of your ranged weapons by one zone, to a maximum of Extreme range.
Numb to the Horrors: For some reason, blood, death, and violence don’t affect you mentally. You increase your Courage
resistance by +6, but you cannot add any other source of Courage resistance. You may re-roll 1d20 on any skill test to
determine whether you gain a mental scar. Note: Mental scars are not covered in the Quickstart Rules. However, others find
your distant manner off-putting, increasing the complication range of all Persuasion-based tests you make by +1.
Woodwise: When you are in the woodlands of Germania, the number of successes required for any test you make to find
food or shelter, to navigate, or to travel in the forest is reduced by 1. This can even reduce tests to a difficulty of 0, usually an
automatic success.

Spear: (Melee Weapons), Reach 3, 4 Piercing 1 i
Warm Woolen Cloak: In addition to providing warmth
and protection from the elements, this cloak has a deep
Bow: (Archery), Medium range, 5 Piercing 1, Reliable, Subtle
hood that can help conceal a person’s identity.
Mail: +2 Armor resistance (included above), Uncomfortable i
Survival Kit (skill kit): A survival kit contains materials for
starting fires, like a tinderbox with flint and steel; a warm
blanket or furs; and preserved food ideal for wilderness
travel. It also includes enough rope, pitons, and canvas
to erect a one-person shelter. This kit comes with enough
supplies to provide 3 bonus Momentum for buying d20s.
“ There’s far worse than beasts in these deep forests.

Best not to stray too far from the path without my
guidance. And if you see me run, follow.”
– Gerfrid - Germanic Archer
74
Herodion (he) quite willing to take advantage of situations to ensure his

survival. He is skilled with a blade and prepared to use it,
though he prefers to talk his way out of trouble.
Greek Courier (Schemer)
Herodion is a Greek man in his early thirties who has led an
Key to turning his fortunes around in Colonia was garnering
interesting but sometimes difficult life, having overcome
the attention of a secret patron who spotted his potential
a number of obstacles through his intelligence and
and recruited him to join a branch of the Fingers of Dawn. He
determination. In his youth, he survived as an orphaned
is still a junior and largely uninformed member of this cult,
urchin in the streets and was later enslaved, but he was
but he is ready to answer the call when its people reach out to
eventually able to purchase his freedom. His memories of his
him. He is also eager to acquire any information that might be
family are hazy, but he has held onto one of being told his
of use to them, in order to improve his standing. Many of his
ancestors once lived in Atlantis, before it fell.
courier jobs are connected to this group, including a recent
task to bring important missives to the town of Laurium.
As a youth, he received enough education to prove his worth
as a favored servant during his enslavement to a wealthy
Roman family in Colonia. He attained a ready mastery of Truths
letters and numbers, eventually securing a position as a clerk. i
Greek
Since acquiring his freedom, he has more often worked as a i
Atlantean Ancestry
courier and messenger. He is pragmatic and morally flexible, i
Former Servant
i
I Have a Secret
Attributes
Brawn 9 Insight 8
Will 8
Skills and Focuses

Academia 2 (Finance), Athletics 2, Fighting 2, Observation 4
(Hearing), Persuasion 3, (Deception, Negotiation), Resilience
2, Stealth 3 (Sneak)
Languages: Greek, Latin (conversational)
Stress 11
Injuries 3
Armor 1 Courage 0
Caste: Plebian
Resources: 2
Background: Urchin
Personal Agenda: Uncover Secrets. You set out to learn the

secrets of everyone you encounter.
Characteristic: Atlantean Ancestry. Your lineage traces back

to the civilization of Atlantis, giving you certain exceptional
insights and abilities. You might receive visions or experience
inexplicable phenomena related to your Atlantean ties.
75
Talents
Bizarre Insight: Your mind often shows you glimpses of things you couldn’t otherwise know. Once per scene, you may
generate 1 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool to Obtain Information (ask the GM a question; see Common Uses for Momentum,
page 17) without succeeding on a skill test.
Et Tu?: You know the best method of attack is with an open hand in front and a dagger clenched behind your back. When
you have made a successful Persuasion-based skill test to influence or deceive an enemy during a scene, if you make a
successful surprise attack against them (see Surprise Attack, page 25), you may roll +1 on that attack for every effect
[ ]; effects [ ] rolled on these additional dice do not themselves produce additional .
Practiced Listener: Your homeland is rife with the great thinkers of the age, each with their own unique perspective on truth.
Hearing their words in the streets of Greece and at the forum has given you a keen mind for insight. When performing an
Insight-based test to determine the honesty of someone speaking, you may re-roll each d20 that fails to result in a success.
Suspicious: You are suspicious of everything and everyone. You treat every suspicious character (or suspect thicket of
brambles) like they might be a threat to your life. In the first round of combat, any hostile character who targets you with an
attack before your turn increases the difficulty of their action by +1.
Weapons
Dagger: (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 3 Piercing 1, Hidden,
Subtle
Sword: (Melee Weapons), Reach 2, 5 , Parrying

“It’s always nice to have
Other Equipment friends in high places, even
i
Plain Traveling Clothes
i
Suit of Fine Clothing
if you have to purchase them
i
Personal Library of Choice Reference Materials
i
Satchel Containing Papers Including Identification for with your pride. Favors are
i
Checkpoints
Papyrus Scroll (skill kit): Covering a range of material, the best form of currency, but
scrolls can be found on nearly any subject from the history
of the empire to the philosophical theories of an obscure deceit is not far behind.”
thinker. This papyrus scroll contains enough knowledge to
provide 3 bonus Momentum for buying d20s. – Herodion - Greek Courier
i
Lucky Charm: This family heirloom is a small, egg-shaped
ovoid of strange metal thought to have been blessed by
Tyche. Once per adventure, you can invoke this good-luck
charm the same way you would use a Fortune point.
76
Verodu (they, she, he) but Verodu is happy in their own skin, and feels no particular

pressure to conform to any one gender. They often change
their presentation based on how they wish to be perceived.
Gaulish Smuggler and Bandit
For a great deal of Verodu’s life as a nonviolent criminal, being
(Scoundrel)
seen as a woman was difficult, so Verodu became comfortable
Now in their late twenties, Verodu has never thought of
at feigning being a man, including adopting facial makeup
themself as a criminal, but crime has nonetheless often been
to compensate for a lack of mustache or beard, which is
their only means of survival. Originally from one of the tribes of
otherwise seen as a mark of maturity among male Gauls.
Gaul, Verodu has proven to be a capable smuggler, mercenary,
and occasional bandit along the rivers of the Germanic frontier.
They lived in Bonna for a time but recently decided to seek Truths
better fortunes in Laurium, where their unique skills might i
Gaul
be of use. Verodu knows their way around boats and feels as i
Born of the Waters
comfortable on the deck of a riverboat as they are walking a i
Smuggler
forest path. They are quite willing to fight to protect what they i
I Have a Secret
have earned, and they aren’t above fighting dirty.
Verodu was raised as a girl but is adaptable, viewing

Attributes
themself as neither man nor woman. This has offered some
complications in the patriarchal societies Verodu moves in, Brawn 11 Insight 11
Will 7
Skills and Focuses

Athletics 3 (Lifting), Fighting 2 (Melee Weapons), Observation
3, Persuasion 2, Resilience 1, Stealth 4 (Concealment, Lock
Picking), Survival 2
Languages: Celtic (Gaulish), Germanic (rudimentary), Greek

(conversational), Latin (few phrases)
Stress 12
Injuries 3
Armor 4 Courage 1
Caste: Outcast
Resources: 0
Background: Criminal
Personal Agenda: Accumulate Wealth. Everyone needs

money. You just need it more than most. When you make
a skill test to acquire wealth through treachery, stealth, or
deception, you may re-roll a single d20 on the test.
Characteristic: Born of the Waters. In eons past, your family

consorted with pestilent beings who dwelled beneath the
waves and foam. Though this corruption has waned, you can
still feel it within you, an echo of Paleogene antiquity that
calls to you when you sleep.
77
Talents
Call of the Reef: Your strange inheritance lets you move within the water as though born to it. You reduce the difficulty of
Athletics-based tests to swim by 1, to a minimum of 0. Additionally, you can stay underwater for prolonged periods of time,
up to ten minutes, without suffering any adverse effects.
Cunning Fighter: When you fight, you use every dirty trick at your disposal, from throwing sand in your opponent’s eyes
to kicking them in the mentula. When an enemy attempts a melee attack against you and fails to inflict any stress, they
lose their Guard (see Reach and Guard, page 25) on your next attack against them. If your next attack targeting that enemy is
successful, the attack inflicts a number of extra equal to your Athletics skill.
Fade Away: Once per scene as a minor action, you can generate 2 Threat for the GM’s Threat pool in order to slip from sight.
You cannot be the target of an attack (other than attacks with the Area damage effect) until the start of your next turn. If you
are in heavy cover (such as a large tree trunk or short stone wall) when you use this talent, you do not need to generate Threat.
Low Profile: When you gain Cover resistance, increase the total resistance gained by +1.
Undergoing All Dangers: Some claim that the people of Gaul burn down their own homes prior to migration to destroy
any hope of returning home, compelling them to face every hardship. You begin the game with +1 Courage resistance
(included above).

Daggers (2): (Melee Weapons), Reach 1, 4 Piercing 1, i
Scoundrel’s Tools (skill kit): A bag of scoundrel’s tools
Hidden, Subtle contains lock picks, chisels, a short crowbar and hammer,
coal dust, and oils and lubricants to assist in breaking into
Spatha: (Melee Weapons), Reach 2, 7 Piercing 1
and entering a secure location. This kit comes with enough
Spear (gaff hook): (Melee Weapons), Reach 3, 6 supplies to provide 3 bonus Momentum for buying d20s.
Piercing 1 i
Bronze Relic: You possess a peculiar family relic made of
patinated bronze that seems to writhe and twist in an effort
Plumbata (3): (Thrown Weapons), Close range,
to escape the gaze of an observer. There is some strange
4 Piercing 1
power in it you have yet to discover.
Mail Armor: +2 Armor resistance (included above),
Uncomfortable
“I go where the waters and laden purses take me. They are
the current that keeps this vessel afloat. Besides, in my
trade, it’s a good idea to keep moving.”
– Verodu - Gaulish Smuggler and Bandit
78
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Quick Reference

TESTS: QUICK REFERENCE
MAKING A SKILL TEST (page 13) • Obtain Information: Ask the GM a single question related to the
1. GM chooses an appropriate attribute + skill for target number. skill test the character just passed.
2. GM sets a difficulty between 0 and 5. • Reduce Time: Reduce the time to complete the activity the test
3. Player rolls dice pool (2d20 + up to three additional d20s represents by an amount determined by the GM.
bought by spending Momentum or adding to GM Threat pool; Actions in Combat (page 20)
see Improving the Odds, page 16).
• Minor: Aim, Draw Item, Movement, Prepare
4. Each die that rolls equal to or less than the target number
• Major: Assist, Attack, Cast a Spell, Catch Breath, Create Truth, Pass,
scores a single success.
Ready, Rush, Skill Test, Stabilize
5. With an applicable focus, each die rolling equal to or less than
the skill used scores two successes. Making a Physical or Mental Attack (page 23)
• Without an applicable focus, each die that rolls a 1 scores 1. Declare the Attack: Choose target and weapon.
two successes. 2. Make a Skill Test:
• Each die that rolls a 20 causes a complication (see Complications, • Melee: Attacker and target make an opposed Agility + Fighting
page 15). test with a difficulty of 1. If target wins, they inflict damage or
6. If successes scored equal or exceed the test’s difficulty, the move within Close range.
character passes the test. Each success in excess of difficulty • Ranged: Coordination + Fighting test with a difficulty of 2 at
generates 1 Momentum. weapon’s range.
7. GM describes outcome. Player may spend Momentum to improve • Mental: NPCs with Fearsome X make a Will + Persuasion or Will
a successful test further. Results of complications are applied. + Survival test with a difficulty of 1.
Improving the Odds (page 16) 3. Inflict Damage:
• Assistance: One or more players roll a single d20 each, using a • Roll Challenge Dice indicated by weapon or attack. Number
target number of their own attribute + skill. Each success is added of gladii [ ] + effects [ ] rolled = stress dealt.
to the main skill test’s successes, provided that test scores at least • Determine Resistance: Total Armor + Cover resistance for
one success. physical attacks, or Courage + Morale resistance for mental
• Momentum: Players may buy up to three additional d20s. The first attacks. Reduce stress received by that amount.
costs 1 Momentum, the second 2, the third 3. • Inflict Stress: Add remaining stress to target’s stress track and
• Threat: Players add to the GM’s Threat pool to buy up to three check for injuries (see Injuries, page 24).
additional d20s. The first d20 adds 1 Threat, the second 2, the third 3. • Inflict Effects: Effect [ ] results rolled trigger weapon or
• Fortune: Players spend a Fortune point to set 1d20 to a 1 instead of attack’s damage effects (see Damage Effects, page 26).
rolling it, generating two automatic successes.
• Talents: Some talents grant bonus d20s in specific circumstances. Injuries (page 24)
These still count toward the d20 purchase maximum. A character sustains an injury if :
• They suffer 5 or more stress from a single attack after reduction
Opposed Tests (page 14) for resistance.
Each of the two players makes a skill test with a base difficulty of 1. • Their stress track becomes filled.
• They have a full stress track and suffer further stress.
• Active Character Succeeds, Reactive Character Fails: Only the
active character achieves their goal. If two or more of these circumstances occur at the same time, they
• Active Character Fails, Reactive Character Succeeds: Only the may sustain multiple injuries.
reactive character achieves their goal (of resisting the active
character). Some tests have an additional benefit for this character. Conflict Momentum Spends (page 22)
• Both Characters Fail: The active character fails, and the reactive
In addition to Common Uses for Momentum the following are
character gains no additional benefit.
• Both Characters Succeed: The skill test with the higher available in combat:
Momentum wins. That character achieves their goal but loses 1 • Bonus Damage: Each Momentum spent adds +1 to attack’s
Momentum for each Momentum their opponent scored. Loser damage before player rolls . Maximum of +3 .
cannot spend Momentum. In a tie, active character wins but loses • Confidence: Each Momentum spent adds +1 Morale resistance until
all Momentum generated. start of character’s next turn. Maximum of +3.
• Minor Action: For 1 Momentum, character may take one additional
Common Uses for Momentum (page 17) minor action during their turn.
• Buy d20s: Before a skill test, buy bonus d20s for that test. The first • Secondary Target: For 2 Momentum, an additional target within
d20 costs 1 Momentum, the second 2, the third 3. Reach of primary target is also affected by attack, suffering its
• Create a Truth: For 2 Momentum, establish, create, or remove a full effects.
truth. The truth must relate to the skill test the character just passed.
79
®
For the full

Cohors Cthulhu range visit:
www.modiphius.net
or
www.modiphius.us
or visit your friendly
local game store
CLASSIC PULP WW2 OCCULT ADVENTURE
SCAN ME
4 major book releases per year
A fresh mission release every month
New digital map pack support
PUNCH NAZIS, FIGHT CTHULHU!

®
Raise a Gladius
Against the Gods!
Cohors Cthulhu is a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian cosmic
horror set against a backdrop of epic heroism, intrigue, and strife
during the height of the Roman Empire. This Quickstart Guide
has everything you need to plunge into this world and experience
its struggles firsthand, featuring an abridged summary of its
2d20 System rules and six pre-generated PC characters ready to
experience the included adventure.
Far from the Eternal City, deep in the forests of a hostile frontier, unravel
the mystery of a village overcome by nightmares its people are forced to
reenact on the waking world. Without the support of a Roman column,
cast into a strange land, will you survive with your sanity intact? Only
those with strength, cunning, and ambition dare enter the woods to
confront this... Rude Awakening.
An 80 page introduction to Cohors Cthulhu including:

• 6 page setting primer
• 17 page Quickstart rules
• 33 page Adventure
• 6 Pre-generated characters
MODIPHIUS.NET

CC Quick Start Guide LIGHT 0623

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

CC Quick Start Guide LIGHT 0623

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A MODIPHIUS

Welcome to Cohors Cthulhu!.............................. 4

Action and Conflict.............................................................. 20

Attacks, Damage and Injuries............................................ 23

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Cohors Cthulhu!

Quickstart and Adventure

Find out more about the Cohors Cthulhu universe at www.cohorscthulhu.com

The Temperari (“The Tempered”)

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

• Two gladii [ ], indicating a score of 2 3 – 0

[ ] and 0 (blank) each appear twice on a Challenge Die.

What Is the 2d20 System?

ATTRIBUTES Fighting covers a character’s ability to fight and defend themself

Academia covers a character’s education and accumulated

Athletics measures a character’s physical conditioning and

Engineering encompasses a character’s technical and mechanical

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

• Each die that rolls a 20 causes a complication (see

i Active Character Fails, Reactive Character Passes: The i

i Both Characters Fail: The active character fails to achieve i

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

i Gamemaster Introduction: The GM can introduce a

Disguising yourself in the

COMPLICATION COMPLICATIONS OCCUR 4 Deciphering an unknown language

i Assistance: One or more players can assist on the skill

i Threat: Players may add to the GM’s Threat pool to buy up to

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

Bonus Momentum cannot be saved to a Momentum pool: if it is

Common Uses for Momentum

i Keep the Initiative: After taking a turn, instead of handing

spending 2 Threat. This truth must work naturally with some

i Environmental Effects and Narrative Changes: The

i Threatening Circumstances: The environment or

i Non-Player Character Momentum: An NPC with unspent

i Complications: When a player character suffers 1 or more

Each player character begins an adventure with 1 Fortune point,

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

i Reach: A state of Reach means an object or creature is within

ROUNDS AND TURNS

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

i Catch Breath: The character takes a moment, and their player

i Pass: The character chooses not to or cannot take a major action.

i Ready: The player chooses another major action for their

CONFLICT MOMENTUM SPENDS

ACTION SCENE MOMENTUM OPTIONS

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

ATTACKS AND DAMAGE choose to inflict damage on the character; alternatively,

they are defeated and can no longer act in the scene.

If two or more of these circumstances occur at the same time, the

Each injury a character sustains increases the complication range

Each injury is a truth that impairs a character, making relevant

With appropriate time and rest, characters can attempt to

Chapter 3 - Quickstart Rules

GUARD their target has Guard.

A character is said to have Guard if they are aware of their attacker

A character loses Guard if they are knocked prone, become

The element of surprise is a powerful advantage in a fight. If

i Knockdown: The attack causes the target to stumble or fall. If

i Persistent X: The attack has a lingering effect. If the attack

Similarly, Anais is a courageous individual, with a Courage

Characters do not start with any conditional resistance.

i Reliable: You may ignore the first complication rolled using

i Shield X: When targeted by a melee attack, a character with

i Unreliable: Attacks with this weapon increase the test’s

Will 12 a Will + Resilience test with a difficulty of 2; failure means they

Brawn 8 Insight 9 Sleep of Reason: If the target of Laogoth-Ur’s mental attacks

Will 10 attack roll.