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CHTHONIAN HIGHWAYS A Post-Apocalyptic Roleplaying Game of Road Warriors and Ancient Horrors
ALPHA PLAYTEST KIT Version 0.4.2b IRONSPINE in association with MYRRYSMIEHET presents an IRONCORE ENGINE roleplaying game Game Design by MISKA FREDMAN, JUKKA SORSA and VILLE TAKANEN Art by HANS ZENJUGA Introductory Story by KEN MARTIN Proofreading and Editing by KEN MARTIN and
CHRISTOPHER STRATTON SMITH Layout by MISKA FREDMAN and VILLE TAKANEN PLAYTESTING BY Rami Sihvo, Teemu Pennanen, Mattis, Tuukka, Suzu, Susanna, Akusti. Jouko Salminen,
Atte Yliverronen, Meri, Jaakko Mansikka-Aho, Samuli Ahokas, Antti Isosomppi, Jouko Salminen, Nestori Lehtonen and Tony Kihlberg SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Johnny Blaze and Juha Sihvonen
Ironcore Engine is a tabletop roleplaying game system developed by Miska Fredman, Jukka Sorsa, Ville Takanen and Hans Zenjuga. Ironcore Engine logo is a trademark of Ironcore Creative. Chthonian Highways game text and Ironcore Engine by Miska Fredman, Jukka Sorsa, Ville Takanen, Hans Zenjuga is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-sa/4.0/. We ask you to use full name of the work (“Chthonian Highways”) and link “www. ironspine.com/ch” when crediting the derivate works. All illustrations are copyright of Hans Zenjuga – © Hans Zenjuga 2015. All rights reserved
Ironspine and Ironspine logo are trademarks of Ironcore Creative. Myrrysmiehet logo is a trademark of Myrrysmiehet Ltd.
Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................ 5 THE WORLD.............................................................. 8 RULES...................................................................... 12 ROAD WARRIORS...................................................... 20 JUNK........................................................................ 29 VEHICLES................................................................. 37 COMBAT................................................................... 40 WHEELS.................................................................... 48 FEAR & MADNESS...................................................... 55 THE RIG RAID............................................................ 59
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LONGSHOT BY KEN MARTIN Wasteland – the whole world was a wasteland. If you didn’t see it every day and every night, then you dreamed it. Strange places I’d never been to and even stranger creatures. Nightmares.
“Mikal? What’s up?” Jona asked me again. I could tell he was sensing something, that somehow he could feel it in his head. That was his job. There was another sound in the back compartment. Someone else moving, shifting around. Probably Kim getting her blades together, because she knew me – knew I was about to do something no one ever did. No one stops in the middle of the blacktop at night under a baleful moon – not if they weren’t looking for trouble.
It was night, and we were making the run down to Crossroads for supplies. Mostly medicine for the sick kids on the farms around Jasper. I was driving down the highway on Dead Man’s Stretch, the highway that runs twenty clicks long, straight as an arrow, through marsh and salt-flats.
As my boots crunched under the rubble strewn around the road, I tapped my right thigh for the reassuring and familiar shape of my sawn-off shotgun. I needed Kim and Jona right now, and all the guts we had.
We did the run at night – my choice as driver. I didn’t want to see the horrors of the Stretch, the things that crawl out of the bog and rake their talons across the blacktop, calling to each other. I never wondered where they came from or why they crawled out onto the road. It didn’t bother me what their story was, or if they even had a story. Didn’t bother me until tonight. Lately, I was dreaming too much about the horrors. Nightmares.
I reached the back of the vehicle and flung open the rear doors. Jona had vomited, the smell of it almost welcome in this cursed place. With his special gift, I expected that. I just wished it wasn’t always in my truck. He bailed out and collapsed on the road, a mess of rags and old army fatigues, and Kim came after him with her blades. She handled them with all the finesse of a dancer and the fury of a banshee. And I caught a clever smile on her face that told me everything: we were about to play a dangerous game.
The ‘75 Rapier screamed its angry eight-cylinder snarl at the night, its lights flashed with bugs as they were caught in the beams that cut through the black ink. But now something pulled at my mind, my thoughts drifted, and I wanted to know what was out there. Even though it wanted to ride on like those horses from the old days, before the Reckoning, I pulled the pickup to a stop. Shifting down through the gears, it eventually surrendered with a whine and a shudder. I heard a voice from the back.
I kicked Jona in the leg. “Get some fuel”. And when he looked at me in the ghostly darkness and the dimmest grey moonlight like I was a crazy man, I instructed, “Half a gallon should do it”. He got up to find a fuel can. Kim was already scoping the fog that came up out of the marsh, her keen eyes searching for horrors.
“Hey! What’s going on?” It was Jona, nervous, of course. He always was. I unlatched my driver’s door, heavy and squealing on hinges, and planted my boots on the tar. I smelled the dank, choking stink of the marsh out in the night. I could feel its dead-cold fingers clawing at me through my leathers.
In minutes we were ready. Jona with his special brain and the rifle, Kim with her stealth and blades, and me, Mikal – I had the shotgun with the arc light taped to the barrel. Oh, and on my belt I kept a stupid hunting knife that didn’t seem right, but was my only memory of the days before the Reckoning.
Nothing yet.
“Let’s go”.
Maybe they still need to wake up? Maybe they’re right there, beyond my senses, waiting in the slowly churning, freezing fog. Do they come for something? Or someone?
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INTRODUCTION ABOUT THIS PLAYTEST KIT This is not the complete book. This Alpha playtest kit (v.0.4.2b) has the prototype core rules for
Ironcore Engine and some rules designed specifically for this game. Please take into consideration that the rules are a work in progress. They are only partially proofread and they certainly have some mistakes here and there. Some parts of the book are still missing and being developed. All feedback is welcome and appreciated. Please visit www.ironspine.com/ch for more information.
WELCOME TO CHTHONIAN HIGHWAYS Chthonian Highways is a post-apocalyptic action and horror roleplaying game set in a world where nightmarish creatures have ravaged the Earth and otherworldly landscapes have merged with ours. Strange, dreadful beings prowl in the shadows, and dangerous alien flora is taking over the green forests and grasslands. The few remnants of civilization are held together by the chthonian highways – a web of roads that are still traversable by ground vehicles. The characters are dauntless road warriors who roam the cursed highways in their souped-up cars and motorcycles for as long as there is gasoline to keep the engines roaring.
BASIC CONCEPTS Chthonian Highways is a roleplaying game where players take the roles of protagonist characters. Each player has narrative control over their own player character and can contribute to other characters’ or the game’s narrative with their own actions. In Chthonian Highways, all player characters are Road Warriors; brave men and women who roam the dangerous chthonian highways and wastelands. The gamemaster (GM) is a one of the players who has the role of the director, referee and storyteller of the game. The GM has narrative control over the game’s setting and the non-player characters, and has final say on how rules work. A Non-Player Character (NPC) is a character or creature controlled by the GM.
POWERED BY IRONCORE ENGINE Chthonian Highways is created as a ready-to-play demo and playtest kit of Ironcore Engine. Ironcore Engine is a roleplaying game system designed to support action and adventure themed roleplaying. It combines well-tested ‘old school’ conflict resolution with more story-driven game mechanics. Chthonian Highways is our first public release with this system. This edition of Chthonian Highways has been created for public play-test of both, the Chthonian Highways concept, and the Ironcore Engine. Read more about the Ironcore Engine at www.ironspine.com
Skills measure a character’s level of learning and experience, and have levels ranging from 0 to 10 and sometimes higher. An Ability describes one of a character’s inner resources such as willpower, endurance, focus
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Introduction and resourcefulness. Abilities are used to measure the character’s general vitality and well-being, and to push Skill Checks beyond the character’s comfort zone.
ABOUT THE DICE Chthonian Highways uses different dice for various rolls and checks. Some rolls need more than one die, so it’s a good idea to have at least two of each die type, but at least four or five twenty-sided dice.
Characters use Skill Checks that are dice rolls made to see if a character succeeds or fails in a task. A Skill Check is made by rolling a 20-sided die and adding modifiers to the result, and if this total is equal to or more than the task’s Challenge Level, the action succeeds. The Challenge Level (CL) is a target number that determines the difficulty of a task. The default CL of 15 can be modified, according to the task’s difficulty.
Dice rolls use special formulas to indicate what dice are rolled and if something is added or subtracted from the result. Let’s take a quick run-through: µµ 2d6+2: Firstly, you have the number of dice rolled (2), then the die type (d6) and finally any modifiers added or subtracted from the total of the dice rolls. µµ d100: Roll two different colored ten-sided dice, one color for the tens digit and one for the ones digits. If you roll from the tens die a 3 and from the ones die a 4, that would be 34. If your result was 0 and 5, that would be 5. Double zeroes is a hundred. µµ d%: This is treated otherwise as d100, but d% is used to resolve percentile chances. For example, if an event has a 30% chance to happen, you would need to roll 30 or lower with a d100 for it to occur. µµ +1D / -1D: Add (+1D) a die of the same type to a roll or remove (-1D) a die from a roll. For example, if you get +1D modifier to a 2d6 roll, it becomes 3d6. If the amount of dice drops to zero or below, roll two dice of that type and pick the lowest result. For example: a character gets a -1D penalty from a Handicap to their Skill Check. This leaves the character with 0d20 and the player rolls two twenty-sided dice and picks the lowest result to calculate the result.
Characters can Push their Abilities and gain extra dice for the Skill Check. Pushing will cause Strain on the exerted Ability and lower it temporarily. When you roll more than one die in a Skill Check, you roll all the dice at the same time and pick the highest result. When characters exert themselves and act according to their motives and weaknessess, they gain Velocity points that are an abstract measure of a character’s involvement in the action and narrative of the game. The more the character is involved in the situation, the greater thing can happen. Edge and Handicap represent special circumstances affecting a character’s actions. Edge will add a die to the Skill Check. Conversely, a Handicap subtracts a die from a Skill Check. If the amount of Skill Check dice drops to zero or below, roll two dice and pick the lowest result. Characters grow and develop by accumulating experience during the game. Experience points (XP) are used to develop character skills and abilities.
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Introduction IN-GAME TIME UNITS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The time is measured in the game in abstract units. Shortest time unit is a turn, which comprises of a few seconds of intense action, and the longest time unit is a season, that can encompass a whole story arc and perhaps months, or even years, of in-game time.
Here are some, but certainly not all, of the works of art and fiction, or communities and people, that have inspired us while working on this game thus far: Mad Max movies, H.P. Lovecraft, Stealing Cthulhu by Graham Walmsley, The Book of Eli, Moebius, Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Twitter, The Mist by Stephen King, Role Playing Game Designers G+ Community, Roolipelaajien Suomi FB Group, The Colony, The Walking Dead (comics and series), Judge Dredd, Maze Runner, Tremors, The Road, I Am Legend, Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Stalker RPG, yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com, Imperial Assault, Mutant RPG, The Cypher System, Fate Core, Acthung Cthulhu, E.N.O.C. ,
Turn: A turn is a measure of time during which a char-
acter can act. This is usually a few seconds. Round: During one round all characters in a scene can act in their turn. Once all characters have acted, a new round begins. A round can be anything from a few seconds to a few minutes.
Scene: A scene is something where one or more char-
acters are involved in the same events in the same surroundings. A scene is not necessarily location based, because for instance a car chase can be one scene where the location changes all the time, but the participating characters remain the same. A fight, a pursuit or searching an abandoned house can all be scenes.
We would especially like to thank Ropecon and Tracon roleplaying conventions for their continuing support for indie game designers, publishers and role playing game players.
Chapter: A chapter is a series of interconnected scenes
that form a whole. Usually the action ceases and the characters have an opportunity to recover or for some downtime between Chapters.
Episode (or Session): An episode comprises of one or
more chapters that together have a clear beginning and end. Usually an episode is the same length as a game session.
Season: As with tv series, a season consists of multiple episodes that together form a larger, more dramatic story arc. A season usually translates into a few weeks or months of in-game time.
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The World WHAT WE KNOW OF THE PAST What we know now as the Reckoning started roughly twenty years ago. First there were massive earthquakes like none we had ever seen before. The quakes were followed by tsunamis and the thick fog that rolled in from the sea. Millions of people were killed and lost in these natural disasters. At least we thought they were natural until the great sinkholes appeared and many cities collapsed into the deep chasms on the ground. Dense, foul-smelling steam poured out of these holes and people reported that they saw horrific creatures climbing out of the thick mist. Many people began to behave strangely and the cities erupted into chaos. People attacked each other and authorities reported men and women walking into the sinkholes. These poor people disappeared deep underground and were never seen again.
Some people banded together, and eventually established small survivor communes and fortified cities. Most of these communities secluded themselves from the outside world, but some of them sought out other settlements to trade or find allies. Air travel became impossible when our skies were filled with strange beasts that could rip airplanes into pieces in seconds and the acid rain and thick radiation
Many of the world’s nations were already at the brink of collapse, and their armed forces were deployed to these hotspots to help those people in distress. Alien creatures with incomprehensible anatomies, giant worms and gargantuan creatures with claws and tentacles wreaked havoc all around the world. We tried to fight the monsters with the weapons we had, but there were just too many of the creatures. Our weapons could do nothing to the largest of these monstrosities. After losing one city after another our governments saw nuclear weapons as humanity’s last resort. This seemed to fend off some of the creatures – for a while – but the world already lay in ruins. Modern society as we knew it was shattered, with cities in ruins with billions killed or mysteriously lost. There was not enough food or fresh water for most of us. Radiation, nuclear fallout, famine and disease killed people like flies. Desperation turned people against each other. Looting, killing and more horrendous things than you can imagine were commonplace. You could almost feel those creatures taking pleasure from all of the pain and suffering.
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The World
WHAT WE KNOW OF THE PRESENT
clouds could corrode air turbines in days. It became obvious that the only way to safely move between the strongholds were along the highways and roads connecting these towns and cities. But this was not without risk either. Bandits, cannibals and terrifying monsters were a threat for every traveler in the wastelands. And the many kinds of creatures were not the only danger. Dust storms, spore clouds, acid rains, and electric storms were new natural dangers travelers had to watch for and avoid when on the road.
The Earth that we once knew was changed forever. It’s not just the earthquakes, tsunamis or the strange climate. It’s like Earth has merged with some alien world or worlds. Some buildings, roads and terrain features still remained, but the world around us has changed. Mountains have appeared from nowhere, and there was news about a new continent in the Atlantic ocean right before the television and radio news broadcasts went silent.
Against all odds , humanity still stands in these settlements. Most are barely surviving, but some are even thriving.
Strange and dangerous new flora and fauna is taking over old nature and the climate is different. It is said that North-America and Europe are dry wastelands, except for the shorelines that are now moist
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The World swamplands with constant rain. Northern Africa is being overrun by a lush jungle with giant fungi, man-eating plants and enormous insects. The coastal cities are lost underwater probably because the polar ice caps have melted.
Cultist often use clothing to hide their appearances from others, and it is claimed that most of the cultist children would be mutants. These cults live mostly secluded from the other settlements, but occasionally their spies are found amidst our normal settlements and communities.
Even the sky is not what it used to be. Blue sky is but a dream from the past that is harder to remember each day. When the sky is not covered in thick fog, you might catch a glimpse of the moon and the stars in the sky tinged with red or blue.
Cannibal Clans Cannibals are a very serious and real threat in the wastelands. Vegetation and game animals are getting more scarce year by year and most of the new strange plants and wildlife have proven inedible for most. This famine has forced some desperate people to rely on human flesh for their sustenance. Over time these groups have grown into clans with their own moral codes. Most of the cannibal clans share a hunter mentality with a strict honor code. Cannibals see themselves as a higher human race and the rest of the surviving humanity as little more than animals.
Dreaming After the Reckoning many people have dreamt more vivid dreams. Sometimes these dreams feel like they were real and the same events keep re-occurring each night. Some people say someone – or something – is calling to them in their dreams and that they feel compelled to follow the calling. Following the dreams has lead to terrible tragedies and miraculous blessings. Some people have sacrificed their loved ones to the voices calling to them in their dreams. Others have found cures for pestilence or found hidden weapon caches to fight off the marauders.
Bandits Gangs and Marauder Tribes Between the communities holding to the old moral standards and the cannibals and cultists lie the various bandit gangs and marauder tribes. Bandits are often small groups of plundering and thieving highwaymen and outlaws living outside the strongholds. They are a threat, but not as potent as the marauder tribes, which are communities by themselves, but are instead a threat to self-sustenance and peaceful trade.
Mutations We live in an age of transition. There are people who still remember the old world, but there is also a younger generation who has never seen that world. Some of them were simply too young to remember anything from before the time of Reckoning, and many have been born into this strange new world. Some of the children of the new generation have mutated with bulging eyes, webbed feet and hands, tentacles in place of limbs or insect-like wings on their backs.
Marauders are known for their cruelty and often whole communities are slaughtered by the marauder war parties. Some marauder tribes will spare some men, women and children and use them either as slaves or integrate them into their own tribe to grow their numbers.
Monsters
Cults
There are monsters out there. Most of them seem to shun daylight and are more active by night. Some of the monsters let their servants to do their bidding, but then there are the monstrosities that act on their own. It is known that some of these beings can take human shape or possess minds and use people like foul puppeteers.
Some of the survivors have started to worship these monstrous beings as their gods, praying for fortune and salvation from these terrible beasts. People have surrendered their lives in servitude to these monsters in return for prosperity and protection.
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The World At the time of the Reckoning there were numerous sightings of gigantic monsters destroying and devastating whole cities. But not so many anymore. Instead there are more smaller creatures roaming the wastelands and stalking humans in the night. Some of these creatures seem to be mutated animals and plants, but many are clearly not from this world.
Often the towns and citadels are run like small city states, ruled by a single sovereign or a council of privileged representatives. While many of the settlements have some level of self-sufficiency out of necessity, trade is very common between the towns and citadels. Material goods are not the only commodity; marriages are arranged and skilled workers and craftsmen are also a valuable asset for many towns and citadels.
Scavs
Chthonian Highways
Besides the bloodthirsty marauders, deranged cultists and degenerate cannibals, the harsh wastelands are also home to Scavs. Scavs are nomadic survivors, who move from settlement to settlement trading and scavenging valuables from the wastelands. Occasionally the Scavs might trade weird otherworldly artifacts or rare electronics and spare parts.
The earthquakes and the sinkholes of the Reckoning shattered most of the old roads and highways, but some were spared. The highways that are still good are used to transport people and goods through the wastelands between the settlements. While the cannibals and bandits often lie in wait along the roads, the roads are still safer and faster to travel than the badlands that are filled with unknown threats and abominable monstrosities.
Towns and Citadels It’s really hard to say how many of us are alive at the moment, since most of the people live scattered around the wastelands surviving in small wandering bands. Still there are a few settlements here and there offering shelter for the people living in them. Most of the settlements are small villages and towns of a few dozen or hundred inhabitants, but the biggest ones, often called citadels, can have several thousand inhabitants.
The Road Warriors and Convoys Road Warriors are brave men and women who are willing to risk their lives on the chthonian highways for a cause or for worldly riches. Some road warriors are more like mercenaries or wasteland paladins on a quest, while others are more like travelling merchants or messengers trying to keep up people’s hopes.
Practically all settlements are either surrounded by protective walls and moats or are built in underground shelters or complexes, like metro tunnels and sewers. Even hiding in this way is not always enough to protect the settlements from monster or marauder attacks. Madness, greed and desperation still turn people against each other and most settlements have severe punishments for theft and murder. Many strongholds resort to capital punishment or exile into the wastelands.
Because death is always lurking on the chthonian highways, road warriors tend to form groups called convoys. The road warrior convoys are tightly knit groups with people, who are willing to give their lives for each other. Only by trusting your convoy, you can survive another day on the chthonian highways.
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Rules When the outcome of a character’s actions is uncertain – or a character acts against another character – a skill is used and a die roll is made to resolve the situation. These rolls are called skill checks. Ironcore Engine uses twenty-sided dice to resolve all skill checks. result. This allows the heroes, or certain villains, to turn the tide at a critical moment, assuming your abilities are not completely exhausted.
SKILL CHECKS When a Skill Check is called for, roll a d20 and add the relevant skill’s level and any other modifiers affecting your character to calculate the Skill Check result. If the result is equal or over the Challenge Level (CL), you score a Success and the action produces the expected outcome.
Roll an additional d20 per point of Strain taken to a relevant Ability and pick the highest die. An Ability can be pushed by up to three points per round.
Example: Jona tries to run to a truck before it gets away. The GM states that this is an Athletics check against CL15. The player wants to ensure succes and that the character gets on that truck, and decides to push with three dice. Athletics is a Body-related skill, so Body is strained by three points and the player rolls a total of four Skill Check dice (1 base die and 3 push dice). The dice rolls result in 15, 13, 7, 2. The highest result is 15, and that alone is enough to meet the Challenge Level. Jona catches the truck just in time, but he is out of breath and his legs are burning from the sudden dash.
Challenge Level represents either the difficulty of the task or opposition from another character. When acting against the environment, the Challenge Level is 15 by default. If characters are acting against each other, use the opposing character’s Skill Check result as the Challenge Level. Skill Check = d20 + Skill Level + Modifiers vs Challenge Level If the result is equal or higher than the Challenge Level, the action succeeds. Challenge level is determined by the difficulty of the task or the opposing character’s Skill Check result.
Torque (20s) and Trouble (1s)
Pushing
If you roll a natural 20 from any Skill Check die, you gain a Torque for every 20 scored in a Skill Check. Each Torque counts as two Successes AND allows to make a free Push in addition to the dice already rolled for the Skill Check OR recover from a point of Strain; even from a Damaged or Stressed Ability, but not from an Exhausted Ability.
In important or risky situations characters can exert their inner resources and Push an Ability to its limits. When making a Skill Check, you can always choose to Push the action by taking a point of Strain (see Strain, pg. 16) to an Ability. Each point of Strain taken lowers the pushed Ability’s value temporarily by one.
When any of the Skill Check dice turns up with a result of 1, you have triggered a Trouble (See Trouble, pg. 18) and gain a point of Velocity for every 1 that was rolled.
Pushing allows you to roll up to three additional Skill Check dice, one die for each point of Strain taken for the Push, and add the highest Skill Check die result to your skill level when calculating your Skill Check
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Rules It is up to GM’s discretion if some tasks should have even higher or lower Challenge Levels, but generally they are very rare or extreme situations that are not explicitly covered by these rules.
CHALLENGE LEVELS Challenge Level is based on difficulty of the task or opposition from another character. If a character is acting against the environment the CL is a fixed number based on the difficulty. If there’s another character acting against the character, the CL is based on the opposing character’s relevant Skill. Opposed actions are situations when a character is resisting another character’s actions. Opposed actions can be either active or passive
Active Opposition When opposition is active, the characters are both aware of each other’s actions and actively working against each other. Do a Skill Check for all the characters taking part in the situation and compare their Skill Check results. The character with the highest result succeeds in their actions. In case of tied results, the character resisting another character wins the challenge. If both character are considered actors instead of opponents, then the character with the most Successes wins. If the Successes are tied, then compare the Skills. If the skills are tied, then both characters succeed partially or fail, depending on the situation.
“Fail Forward” A good GM uses any failed Skill Checks as a means to drive the game forward. A failed roll could cause an additional delay or obstacle, but it should not stop a character’s progress completely. You can even allow the characters to succeed, but with a cost of lost resources or additional complications.
Passive Opposition Passive opposition is used when a character is acting against another character, but the target of the action is not aware of the situation. In these cases the opposing character does not make a Skill Check roll, but calculates a Passive Skill by adding 10 to their Skill level and modifiers.
Unopposed Actions Unopposed actions are usually done against the environment. These actions are something that depend on the acting character’s skills and abilities alone. Unopposed actions have three levels of difficulty based roughly on the needed specialization and how demanding the task is in general. The levels of difficulty are: Easy, Normal and Hard.
If the passive Skill is affected by an Edge add 5 to the result, if it’s affected by a Handicap, subtract 5 from it. Passive Skill = 10 + Skill level + modifiers
Easy (CL 10): Easy tasks are something that an unskilled
Passive Skill with an Edge = 15 + Skill level + modifiers
person could do and succeed maybe half of the time. These are mostly routine tasks for characters with a professional level of competence in the used skill.
Passive Skill with a Handicap = 5 + Skill level + modifiers
Normal (CL 15): Normal tasks are the most common
Example: Kim is sneaking past a creature eating its prey. The GM states that the creature has a handicap to its skill score because it concentrates on eating and doesn’t care much about its surroundings at the moment. This gives the creature a passive skill score of 12 (10 + Perception 7, - 5 from handicap). The player makes the roll against CL 12 and hopes for the best…
actions when acting under stress. Normal difficulty usually involves risk and unpredictability to a level that an experienced character can manage with a fair chance.
Hard (CL 20): Hard tasks are actions that are very demanding. They require a lot of expertise and are quite difficult even for experienced characters. Usually good tools and preparation is needed to succeed in Hard tasks with fair odds.
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Rules EDGE AND HANDICAP
speeding things up
Edge and Handicap are used if the odds are clearly in the character’s favor – or against the character. An Edge represents a special advantage or benefit the character has in the situation, or a task that is easier than usually, while a Handicap means that the character has a serious disadvantage, or the task is clearly more difficult than usually.
The Edges and Handicaps listed in the rules for different situations can be regarded as guidelines. You can keep track of all the Edges and Handicaps affecting a situation at any given moment, but this can often be time consuming and impede the immersion in the game. There’s nothing wrong with keeping track of Edges and Handicaps, but if you want to speed things up, the GM can just quickly evaluate the different factors affecting the situation and decide if the Skill Check has an Edge or a Handicap affecting it.
When an Edge or a Handicap affects a Skill Check, add a die in case of an Edge, and remove a die in case of a Handicap. If the number of dice goes to zero or below, roll two dice, but use the lowest die result.
Edges: An Edge represents conditions or things that
provide the character with a clear advantage in a situation. This could mean that the character has an element of surprise, perfect conditions or right tools for the job, or a special talent for handling such situations.
Example: There are three circumstances giving an Edge and one giving a Handicap for the character. even one of the Edges is enough to grant an Edge in the situation, but the Handicap cancels it out, leaving the character with no dice modifiers to the Skill Check.
Handicaps: When a Handicap is affecting a situation-
the character’s control over their actions is somehow limited or impaired. This might be a result of an injury, missing tools, poor conditions or just lack of expertise. If there are multiple Edges or Handicaps in effect only one is ever taken into account. In other words, if a character has three circumstances granting an Edge, they still count as one, and therefore, regardless of the amount of Edges and Handicaps the character has, if both Edge and Handicap are applicable, they cancel each other out.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL MODIFIERS Another way to modify the odds of a Skill Check is to apply modifiers. Whereas the Edges and Handicaps are more extensive and severe modifiers to Skill Checks, circumstantial modifiers are smaller and more detailed modifiers that are often related to specific traits, actions or items used in the situation.
Edge = +1D to Skill Check. Handicap = -1D to Skill Check.
Most circumstantial modifiers range from +/-1 to +/-3. Modifiers from different sources stack and can accumulate to greater modifiers, but modifiers from multiple same or very similar sources do not stack.
Edges and Handicaps cancel each other out. Only one Edge or Handicap is in effect at a time.
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Rules VELOCITY
Maintaining Velocity
Velocity points represent the dramatic tension rising and the energy building up as the characters push their abilities and involve themselves in the game narrative and action. The more a character puts themselves on the line, the more likely they are to gain Velocity.
If any of the gained Velocity points are not used, they are stored on the character sheet’s Velocity track. A character can have up to (10 - Madness) Velocity points at once. If a character has full reserve of Velocity points and one or more points of Madness is gained, the excess Velocity points are lost.
Gaining Velocity
Using Velocity
µµ Extra successes from Skill Check dice. Every Skill Check die after the first one that scores a Success, grants the character a point of velocity. µµ Each result of 1 from any Skill Check die grants a point of Velocity; This will also result in a Trouble. µµ Accepting a Trouble introduced into game by the GM or any of the players. µµ Involve your character in a situation that relates to their Drive (once per scene). µµ Voluntarily give in to your character’s Vice (once per scene).
Characters can spend their Velocity points to do great feats of vigor and will. Velocity points can be used for feats at any time when ever the character is conscious and active. Feat Grit Fatal hit Haste
Effect Add +5 to any Skill Check result Increase the damage of a hit by one die. Receive an additional Action once per round. Overtake Increase your current Initiative score by 5. Prepare Gain an Edge to your next action or grant an Edge for a friendly character within close range. Harass Inflict a Handicap to a hostile character’s next Action within Close range. Increased Add a level of quality, duration, range, speed or style to the action, or halve the Effect amount of resources or time used.
Losing Velocity When the action ceases or there is significant downtime and the characters have a chance to recover from Strain, all unused Velocity points are transferred into Experience points; one Velocity point for one Experience point.
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Rules STRAIN
TAKING STRAIN When a character suffers Strain the affected Ability or Abilities are lowered by the amount of Strain suffered.
When a character suffers fatigue, physical trauma or mental shock, one of the Abilities is reduced by the amount of Strain suffered.
Excessive Strain will lead to Exhaustion regardless of its source. When an Ability is reduced to zero by Strain of any kind, it becomes Exhausted. Exhausted abilities cannot be pushed, and recovering from exhaustion takes longer than recovering from Strain (see Recovering from Strain, pg. 17).
Strain is divided into three different types depending on their source and severity: Fatigue, Stress and Damage. Damaged and Stressed Abilities have other gameplay effects. For instance, first aid can be used to remove Strain from a Damaged Ability, but not from Fatigued or Stressed.
If an Ability is Exhausted from taking damage or stress, the character might also get an Injury or a Disorder.
Fatigue is something that strains the character, but will not cause acute physical or mental trauma. All Strain that is not classified as Damage or Stress is considered as Fatigue. Characters suffer Fatigue when they Push their Abilities, go for extended periods without rest or sleep, or otherwise drain their health and well-being. Fatigue is usually targeted at certain Abilities, but if the target Ability is Exhausted, the Strain will drain the Abilities from Body to Psyche, like Damage.
Effects of Exhaustion Exhaustion can have effects on a character’s ability to function. An Exhausted Ability cannot be pushed until it is recovered back to unexhausted status, but when more than one Ability has become Exhausted, this will have more serious gameplay consequences. µµ The character is able to function normally with one Exhausted Ability. µµ If the character has two Exhausted Abilities, the character loses one of its Actions. µµ When three Abilities are Exhausted, the character is incapacitated and fall unconscious unless a successful Willpower check (CL 15) is made. A character that is incapacitated (or unconscious) cannot Push or otherwise voluntarily cause Fatigue on themselves. µµ When all four Abilities are Exhausted, the character is dying and will die if not restored to at least one Ability point within the next 1d10 minutes.
Damage is physical trauma impairing the character’s
performance. Damage is inflicted on the Character’s Body Ability. When Body is exhausted, damage will start draining Precision, Wits and Psyche, in that order. Damaging hits that Exhaust two or more Abilities at once, will cause an Injury. When an Ability is Strained by Damage, mark it with letter “D” to note that the Ability is Damaged.
Stress is mental shock and trauma that strains the
character’s self-control and ability to think clearly. Stress is inflicted on the Psyche Ability first. When Psyche is Exhausted, the Stress will start to strain Wits, Precision and Body. Stress effects that cause two or more Abilities to Exhaust at the same time, will cause a Disorder. When an Ability is Strained by Stress mark it with letter “S” to note that the Ability is Stressed.
Resuscitation: A dying Character needs to be resusci-
tated by another character with a Medical Skill Check against CL15. If the dying character is successfully resuscitated, the character will be stabilized, and one Ability chosen by the character’s player recovers from the Exhaustion.
When an Ability is fully recovered, remove all the letter markings from it.
Damage → Body ← → Precision ← → Wits ← → Psyche ← Stress
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Rules RECOVERING FROM STRAIN
Exhausted Abilities: Recovering from Exhaustion takes
at least six hours of relaxing sleep. A Character must first recover from Exhaustion before recovering any Strain in that Ability. When the Exhausted state is removed, the Ability is restored to one point. Up to two Exhausted Abilities can be restored in 24 hours.
Characters can recover from Strain fairly quickly, but recovering from Damage, Stress or Exhaustion takes much longer. When the character rests to recover from Damage, Stress or Exhaustion, all of the unused Velocity is transferred into Experience points.
Healing Effects: If a character is healed by some method,
Recovery from Fatigue: A character will recover from all
Strain can be removed from any applicable Abilities in any order the player wants. Recovery from Exhaustion requires 4 points worth of healing to remove the Exhaustion from an Ability before it can be healed further.
Fatigue at the end of a scene, provided that the character has an opportunity to catch a breath and rest safely for a few minutes.
Damaged and Stressed Abilities: It takes two hours of non-strenuous rest to recover from 1d6 points of Strain from a Damaged or Stressed Ability. Up to 6d6 points of Strain can be recovered this way in 24 hours.
Second Wind: A character can spend two Actions to
recover a point of Strain from an undamaged and unstressed Ability.
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Rules TROUBLES Troubles are distractions, problems or difficulties that arise from the situation and complicate things further, even if the character manages to achieve the objective. Troubles arise in two ways: µµ Natural 1s: When the player rolls a natural 1 on any of the Skill Check dice. You will never suffer more than one trouble from one Action, even if you rolled multiple ones. µµ Intervention: The GM or any of the players suggests a specific trouble that might be a consequence of the character’s actions, related to their Vice, Disorders or Traits, or just be a result of bad luck. If the player accepts the trouble, one point of Velocity is added for the Character suffering or accepting the Trouble. This list of Troubles is not an exhaustive list and the GM can freely modify the existing results or come up with their own that better fits the situation. Choose or roll d10 for a Trouble from the choices below: d10
Trouble
Description
1
Lose contact
Radio contact is lost, the group is divided or otherwise communication with two parties is cut off.
2
Distraction
The character suffers a handicap to their next action.
3
You dropped it!
You drop an item of equipment or a weapon you were holding.
4
Fatigue
Due to an unexpected injury, doubt or confusion the character suffers an extra point of Strain to an Ability determined by the GM.
5
Out of ammo/juice/fuel You run out of ammunition, fuel or power, and a piece of equipment or a vehicle ceases to function until it is reloaded, refuelled or its power source is otherwise replenished.
6
Malfunction
A piece of equipment or a vehicle malfunctions or your weapon is jammed. You need to fix it before you can use it again.
7
Fumble
The character fumbles and exposes himself to an Opportunity Action OR loses 5 points from their Initiative if there are no Opportunity Actions.
8
Knocked down
The character falls over and must use an Action to stand up. Take note that you can still react normally to any other character’s or group’s actions.
9
Pinned!
You are stuck somewhere. Your movement is restricted, and it takes an action to free yourself. You cannot move, and all your actions are at Handicap.
10
Intercepted
An obstacle is in your way. It might be a dead-end, a hostile intervention or some other nasty surprise making your life more difficult. You might be able to avoid the obstacle... or not.
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Road Warriors In the classic works of the post apocalypse genre, the player characters are known as road warriors. All the player characters represent this archetype in their own way, and all of them have their individual strengths and weaknesses that are indicated by the character’s Abilities, Skills and other personal traits.
ABILITIES Precision (PR)
Characters have four Ability Scores ranging from 1 to 20 for humans. Most Ability Scores lie somewhere between 3 and 5, but talented and experienced characters can have Ability Scores above 10. Each of the Abilities represents different facets of your character’s physical and mental capabilities and inner resources.
Dexterity, aim, flexibility and speed. µµ Damaged by unbalancing blows, sheer pain or drugs affecting your fine motor skills. µµ Fatigued by prolonged concentration on tasks requiring fine manipulation or accuracy and having to hastily do precise movements.
When making Skill Checks, your character can push with a related ability and increase the chance of success. Pushing also means that your character is acting at the limits of their capabilities. Value 0 1–3 4–6 7–9 10 – 12 13 – 15 16+
Wits (WI) Logical thinking, concentration, awareness, perception, memory and common sense.
Description Feeble Weak Mediocre Good Excellent Outstanding Legendary
µµ Damaged by drugs and effects fogging the mind, distractions or sensory overload. µµ Fatigued by mental tasks requiring prolonged concentration, by sleep deprivation and by simply “running out of ideas”.
Psyche (PS) You character’s empathy, intuition, bearing, presence and willpower.
Body (BD)
µµ Damaged by shocking events, social attacks, fear and doubt. µµ Fatigued by resisting temptations, dealing with distressed or panicked people and having to maintain composure or authority under stress.
Physical fitness, constitution and resilience. µµ Damaged by physical trauma. µµ Fatigued when exerting your strength or endurance, and when resisting physical pain.
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Road Warriors SKILLS
Insight (Psyche): A character’s ability to use instincts,
intuition and empathy to notice subtle details in people or one’s surroundings. While Perception is more about the use of senses and memory, Insight relies more on gut feeling and empathy.
Skills begin at level 0 and the maximum level for humans is 10. With a skill of 4 or higher the character is qualified to practice an occupation. Skills above 9 are very rare, legendary even.
Medicine (Wits): Training in the treatment of different
Each of the skills is connected to one of the character’s Abilities. The connected Ability indicates which Ability is used for Pushing a skill check. Level
Description
Example
0 1–3 4 – 6
Unskilled Novice Competent
7 – 9
Expert
10
Master
Inexperienced Knows the basics, amateur Knows enough to use the skill professionally Experienced professional with years of experience Exceptionally talented genius or a living legend
injuries and diseases. Medicine also includes the use of medical equipment and knowledge of various pharmaceuticals and natural medicines.
Mythos (Psyche): A character’s instinctive understand-
ing of the weird phenomena and creatures that have taken over the Earth.
Perception (Wits): Ability to perceive one’s surroundings by using all five senses and to remember those details.
Repair (Wits): The character’s ability to repair and construct mechanical and electronic machinery and devices.
Science (Wits): Education and experience in sciences
Skill Descriptions
and mathematics.
Athletics (Body): Athletics encompasses a wide range
Shooting (Precision): Shooting, ranged combat and heavy weapons skill used primarily for Skill checks during combat.
of different physical activities from swimming to climbing, and from running to gymnastics. Athletics also improves your character’s mobility and ability to avoid attacks in combat or other dangerous situations.
Stealth (Precision): Ability to move unnoticed or stay hidden in different environments. Stealth also includes covering tracks.
Dexterity (Precision): Readiness, grace and skill to
perform tasks requiring deft hands or great nimbleness. Dexterity can be used for example to pick pockets or to forge documents.
Strength (Body): The character’s physical power and ability to lift, push, hold or move heavy objects.
Driving (Precision): Ability to drive and pilot various
Survival (Body): Ability to find shelter and sustenance
land, water or air vehicles.
by various means. Survival also includes the character’s knowledge of nature and ability to track game and to avoid dangers in the wilderness or in other unforgiving environments.
Fighting (Body): Unarmed fighting, martial arts and melee weapon skill used primarily for Skill checks during melee combat.
Willpower (Psyche): Willpower is the measure of the
Influence (Psyche): Ability to affect others in social
character’s self-control and discipline. It is the ability to resist impulses and fear and stay calm and under control in chaotic or frightening situations.
dealings. Depending on the situation this can mean negotiation, bartering, bluffing or deceit.
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Road Warriors a single game session. The Experience Points can be spent to raise character Abilities or Skills or to gain other benefits, see Using Experience Points below for details.
EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP) Experience points or XP represent the learning and development of a character. Experience points are gained by overcoming problems and reaching short and long-term goals, and can be traded for character benefits.
Using Experience Points Experience points can be used to improve a character’s Abilities and Skills and heal from severe traumas – it takes time and effort to overcome horror or injury.
Gaining Experience Each time characters succeed in their efforts or overcome an obstacle they may gain Experience Dice. At the end of an episode or a game session the player rolls a number of ten-sided dice equal to the collected Experience Dice and the total of the dice is the amount of Experience Points the character gets. The amount of Experience Dice can vary depending on the game session’s length and the nature of the character’s achievements.
Advancement Increase Skill level Increase Ability score Remove a point of Madness Recover from a mental disorder or persistent injury Naming a new vehicle (Drivers only) Learning to use an artifact
In the list below there are some guidelines for rewarding Experience dice for different achievements. You can grant the Experience dice for the players after each scene or game session, whichever feels more suitable. Characters should usually earn from 3 to 6 Experience Dice – or around 15 to 30 Experience Points – from
XP Reward 1d10 1d10 2d10 2d10 3d10 3d10 Velocity
XP Cost New Level × 10 XP New Level × 20 XP 10 XP 20 XP 30 XP Artifact’s Obscurity
Achievement Resolve a minor problem or survive a fight scene without any Damage. Reach a short-term goal: complete a mission or a minor personal agenda. Survive a life-threatening situation or a fight scene where you suffered an injury. Achieve something significant that supports your character’s Drive or Vice. Survive a life-threatening encounter or survive a fight where you almost died or your friend died. Reach a long-term goal: complete a campaign or a personal quest. Gain a point of XP per each unused Velocity point.
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CREATING A ROAD WARRIOR THE MAIN CAST In Chthonian Highways the players take the role of road warriors. Brave men and women who have proven their mettle by defying the dangers of the wasteland. They might not be heroes in tradional sense, but they sure are the stars and the main cast of the game. The game is about these people who have decided for a reason or another, to put their lives at risk and expose their body and soul to all the horrors beyond their home settlement’s gates. When you create your character, try to think of why they have chosen this way of life. Some of the character’s traits, like Drive and Vice, will help you to flesh out these details, but your character is much more than just the words and numbers on paper. You don’t have to have your character’s history thought out when you start creating your own road warrior. You can come up with explanations for their Role, or different Ability and Skill values as you go. If your Soldier character has a Science skill of 5, they must have an interesting story behind that unusual field of expertise. These little details are the things, that make your character feel more real. Enough talk. Let’s get down to business!
1) DETERMINE ABILITIES Start by determining the Abilities for you character. It is recommended that all of the characters in the same convoy are created by using the same method. µµ Points-based: Distribute 28 points between the four Abilities µµ Random: roll 2d6 five times and drop the lowest total. Then distribute the remaining four results to the Abilities in any order you like. µµ Hardcore: Roll 2d6 for each Ability in order: Body, Precision, Wits and Psyche.
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Road Warriors 2) CHOOSE A TRAIT Each character has a Trait representing their special talent, personality or perhaps something of their background. Traits are mostly beneficial, but they also have a downside. The skill modifiers from the Traits are added to relevant Skill Checks as circumstantial modifiers. They are not counted as Skill levels and do not affect any of the derived attributes. The modifiers are applied only if the Trait’s impact in the situation can be justified. For example, a Bulky character will not benefit from the Strength bonus, if they cannot use their body mass to their benefit. You can choose or roll one Trait from the table below, or come up with one of your own. You can also change the names of the listed Traits to better fit your character. 1d20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Trait Weird Slick Bulky Short Vigilant Educated Curious Cowardly Stubborn Nimble Fingers Furious Empathic Quiet Dauntless Caretaker Quick Charismatic Cold-blooded Grease Monkey Gearhead
Skill Modifiers +2 Mythos, -2 Influence +2 Influence, -2 Willpower +2 Strength, -2 Athletics +2 Stealth, -2 Strength +2 Perception, -2 Insight +2 Science, -2 Mythos +2 Perception, -2 Willpower +2 Survival, -2 Willpower +2 Willpower, -2 Perception +2 Dexterity, -2 Fighting +2 Fighting, -2 Stealth +2 Insight, -2 Shooting +2 Stealth, -2 Influence +2 Willpower, -2 Insight +2 Medicine, -2 Repair +2 Athletics, -2 Perception +2 Influence, -2 Stealth +2 Shooting, -2 Insight +2 Repair, -2 Medicine +2 Driving, -2 Survival
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Pregenerated Characters Instead of creating your own character you can choose to use one of the pregenerated road warriors. You can choose from six different characters, each representing one of the Roles. These ready-to-play characters are presented as empty slates with all the essential characteristics and equipment. Just add a name and a description for your character and you are ready to go.
Road Warriors 3) CHOOSE A ROLE Choose a Role for your character. There are six different Roles and each one has a perk that will make them standout from the crowd. Choose or roll a d6 to determine your character’s Role.
1) The Doc
4) The Mechanic
You know how to heal and hurt people. You receive +1 bonus to your melee damage and healing effects. You can also choose a specialization related to Medicine or Science skills. Some examples of possible specializations: biology, chemistry, mathematics, genetics, etc. When making a Skill Check that is related to your specialization, you gain an Edge.
You are the convoy’s engineer extraordinaire. You know how to put together mechanical devices and equipment and how to strip them down. You gain an Edge when fixing or sabotaging machinery. You can also temporarily jury-rig broken equipment without using spare parts, but this lasts only until the end of the chapter.
µµ Skills: Medicine +2, Science +1 µµ Starting Gear: A respirator and a field laboratory OR a field medical kit and six first aid kits. µµ Barter Bitz: 3d10 x 10 bitz
µµ Skills: Repair +2, Perception +1 µµ Starting Gear: A wrench or a crowbar and a tool box OR a jack. µµ Barter Bitz: 2d10 x 10 bitz
2) The Driver
5) The Muscle
You are good with cars and other vehicles, especially your own named ride. You gain an Edge when performing vehicle maneuvers or repairs with a Handicap to your named vehicle. Also, when you name a vehicle you can raise one of its Specs by one (Hull, Steering or Engine). It costs 30 XP to name a new vehicle. You can have only one named vehicle at a time.
You are a living weapon well-tried in hand-to-hand combat and close quarters fighting. Your unarmed damage is 1d6 instead of 1d4 and you gain a +1 Damage Bonus to all your attacks performed up to Reach range. Also, you don’t suffer a Handicap when fighting bare handed against an armed opponent. That just pisses you off!
µµ Skills: Driving +2, Repair +1 µµ Starting Gear: Dust goggles and a padded leather armor OR a wristbow and 10 bolts for it. µµ Barter Bitz: 2d8 x 10 bitz
µµ Skills: Fighting +2, Strength +1 µµ Starting Gear: A leather jacket and a sword OR a blunderbuss with 5 rounds. µµ Barter Bitz: 2d6 x 10 bitz
3) The Ghost
6) The Soldier
You are the convoy’s uncanny sneaker and scout. You gain an Edge when sneaking or shadowing someone if they don’t know to expect you. Also, when making a surprise attack, you receive a +1D to your damage on top of your usual Edge.
Your have been tempered in the turmoil of many battlefields. You know how to take out a target from a distance with guns, bows or throwing weapons. You can take an Aim with a ranged weapon as a Trifle instead of an Action and you gain an Edge when rolling for initiative.
µµ Skills: Stealth +2, Perception +1 µµ Starting Gear: a knife and a ghillie-suit OR a crossbow or a bow and 10 bolts or arrows for it. µµ Barter Bitz: 3d6 x 10 bitz
µµ Skills: Shooting +2, Athletics +1 µµ Starting Gear: A knife and a double-crossbow with 10 bolts OR a pistol with 10 rounds. µµ Barter Bitz: 2d4 x 10 bitz
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Road Warriors 4) CHOOSE A DRIVE Drive represents your character’s motive, passion or reason to live to fight another day in a world of despair, chaos and hopelessness. Whenever your character’s Drive relates to their situation you gain a point of Velocity once per scene. Choose a Drive or roll a d10 from the table below.
1d10 1
Drive Vengeance
2
Survival
3 4
Honor Redemption
5
Hope
6 7
Love Curiosity
8
Madness
9 10
Destiny Power
Description They took something away from you, and now you want to get back at them – with interest. Choose a target for your revenge. Some might call you a coward, but most of them are not alive to tell that anymore. You have decided to stay alive, no matter what it costs. Likely you have already paid a terrible price for being still alive. The strong need to protect the weak in this broken world. It on your honor to do so. The things you have done do not let you rest. Not until you have paid for them ten thousand times over. You know the world can be saved. If you do your part in the Plan other can find the hope again too. Someone dear to you is lost, and you need to find them. You will find them. No matter how broken the world has gone, its mysteries intrigue you and you want to understand them. For most nothing makes sense anymore, but you are just starting to see things more clearly. Engulfing your mind in the incomprehensible will be your salvation. You know there is something great reserved for you, it’s your destiny. Your character is driven with the desire to seize the powers of the mythos and rule the mortal.
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Road Warriors 5) CHOOSE A VICE Vice is your character’s dark side. The secret passion, craving or flaw that helps to endure when the Drive is not enough. When there’s a chance that your Vice might cause trouble you can gain a Velocity point by giving in to your Vice. If you want to fight your Vice, you can do it by making a Willpower check against CL (10 + Madness). In either case, if your Vice comes into play, it usually causes a Handicap to all related Skill Checks for the rest of the scene. Choose a Vice or roll a d10 from the table below. 1d10 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10
Vice Distrustful
Description It is hard for you to trust others, especially strangers. This can make negotiations, bartering and cooperation difficult for you. Addiction Choose a substance you are addicted to. You have an addiction that is very hard to resist and given a chance you will indulge yourself with whatever your addiction is without caring much about others or if it’s a proper time for that. Compulsion You have an activity or manner that you do compulsively. It might be something slightly disturbing or mostly harmless – mostly. Greed You desire material possessions and wealth. Lending or giving your own supplies, food or water is very difficult for you. You are also easy to buy or bribe. Pride It is very hard for you to concede or admit that you are wrong. To put it short, you are a very bad loser. Vanity In a world of dirt, decay and deformities small things like jewelry, make-up or smooth skin bring you joy and self-worth. People call you shallow and vain, because of your groomed looks, but you don’t mind as long as your hairdo is all right and your face remains unscarred. Wrath It does not take much to anger you. And when you become angry, things have a tendency to break and people get hurt. Gluttony You love to eat and drink and whenever there’s food or drink available you tend to binge. This makes you very poor at rationing food and water. Martyr You have a tendency to willfully seek out suffering and persecution to prove your sense of duty or loyalty to the others. Usually it’s okay to put others’ needs and safety before yours, but sometimes it is a deathwish. Envious You have trouble tolerating people who are wealthier or better than you in any imaginable way. Envy can be a dangerous emotion, because it can rouse irresistible need to steal or damage another’s possessions or harm them to make them look weaker or less capable than you.
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Road Warriors 6) SKILLS
Quick Skills
Divide 20 points between all the skills. One point buys one level to any of the Skills. You can add up to 4 levels to any one skill during the character creation. In practice this means that the skills you receive from your character’s Role skills can be as high as level 6, while all the other skills have a maximum level of 4. The skills can be increased later with Experience Points all the way to level 10.
Add the following levels between the skills and you are done: 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1,
7) DAMAGE BONUS (DB) A character’s mass and strength will add to the damage roll in melee. Damage Bonus is calculated by dividing the Strength skill’s level by three (round down).
Skill List
Strength 0–2 3–5 6–8 9+
Athletics (Body) Dexterity (Precision) Driving (Precision) Fighting (Body) Influence (Psyche)
Damage Bonus +0 +1 +2 +3
8) GET GEARED UP
Insight (Psyche) Medicine (Wits)
All characters have their basic clothing and personal items. They also have food and water for 1d6 days.
Mythos (Psyche)
You have some starting gear and barter bitz based on your character’s Role, and in addition to this each character gets 750 bitz to spend on their own or the convoy’s shared vehicles and their customizations.
Perception (Wits) Repair (Wits) Science (Wits) Shooting (Precision)
9) CHARACTER DETAILS
Stealth (Precision)
Write down your character’s name and something about their appearance.
Strength (Body)
Give your character a name that reflects or emphasizes their personality and strengths.
Survival (Body) Willpower (Psyche)
Try to make the character’s appearance interesting; focus on details and what makes your character stand out from everyone else, or how their different traits are reflected on their looks.
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JUNK BARTERING
Weapon Traits µµ Area Effect X m: Area effect weapons cause full damage for the primary target and all other characters within the radius in meters takes half of the Damage. Targets at ground zero take full damage. µµ Automatic (SFX): Automatic weapons are Quick and capable of Automatic fire. µµ Blunt: Blunt weapons cannot be used for cutting. They have Damage Reduction against Hard armors. µµ Difficult: These weapons are particularly difficult to handle and will cause a Trouble with a Skill Check die result of 1 and 2, unless the users relevant Skill level is 5 or more. µµ Entangle (SFX): Instead of damaging the target, the target can be Grabbed, Knocked down or Disarmed with a SFX. µµ Heavy: This weapon is heavy and requires at least Strength 5 or all attacks with the weapon are made with a Handicap. µµ Impact (SFX): Impact weapons have a potential to cause a powerful concussive hit. The target can be Knocked down with one SFX and Knocked out with two SFX. µµ Long: Long weapons are melee weapons that can be used to attack up to Reach range, but they suffer a Handicap when fighting in confined spaces. µµ Long Reload: This weapon takes two Actions to reload instead of one. µµ Loud: This weapon makes a loud noise and could attract attention. µµ Pierce (SFX): The target’s Armor can be lowered by 2 points per SFX. µµ Pistol: Pistol weapons are one-handed firearms that can be fired in melee without a Handicap. µµ Quick: Quick weapons can attack twice per round. µµ Range: This is the optimal range of the weapon. It is either Immediate, Reach, Close, Long or Extreme. µµ Rending: Rending weapons have Damage Boost.
Commerce in Chthonian Highways is based on bartering between individuals or professional traders. There is no real currency, but many people carry small trinkets and novelty items with them for bartering known as Barter Bits (bitz); an abstract currency to measure the values of different pieces of equipment.
WEAPONS Practically everyone in the world of Chthonian Highways wields some kind of weapon. Melee weapons and various bow and harpoon weapons are much more common than firearms, which are becoming more scarce as they malfunction or are lost and their ammunition becomes harder to acquire. All weapons have the following attributes: Damage, Weapon Traits and Cost. In addition to these the ranged weapons have a Range and Ammo. µµ Damage: The amount of Damage the weapon causes on a successful hit. µµ Weapon Traits: Weapon traits represent the special qualities of different weapons. µµ Cost: Weapon’s cost in barter bitz. µµ Range: The weapon’s effective range. µµ Ammo: This is how many rounds the weapon’s cylinder, clip or internal magazine holds. When the weapon runs out of ammunition, the weapon must be reloaded before it can be fired again.
Special Effects (SFX) Some Weapon Traits, or other qualities, can cause additional Special Effects (SFX). A can activate a Special Effect, when a damage die turns out with the highest possible result – e.g. six on d6, eight on d8, and so on. The traits that benefit from Special Effects are noted in the Weapon Traits below. Some of the Special Effects refer to Combat Stunts (See Combat Stunts, pg. 45)
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Junk µµ Scatter: Scatter weapons shoot multiple projectiles instead of one solid bullet. Scatter weapons gain Damage Boost up to Reach range, but have a Damage Reduction beyond their effective range. µµ Single Use: This weapon can be used once and then it is useless beyond repair. µµ Stun: The weapon deals Fatigue instead of Damage, and does not cause any Strain after three exhausted Abilities.
µµ Thrown (Range): These weapons can be thrown. The effective range is noted in parenthesis and the maximum range is one range step over the optimal range – a knife with optimal Reach range could be thrown up to Close range with a Handicap. µµ Two-handed: The weapon requires two hands. A character with Strength 7 or more can use the weapon in one hand with a Handicap.
MELEE WEAPONS Melee weapons are weapons used in close combat. When rolling for Damage, add the character’s Damage Bonus to the Damage roll result. Weapon Brass knuckles
Damage Unarmed + 1
Weapon Traits Quick
Cost 10
Club / Pipe / Wrench
1d6
Blunt, Impact
5
Knife Machete / Hand Axe Sledgehammer Sword
1d6 1d8 1d8 1d10
Quick, Throw (Reach) Pierce Blunt, Heavy, Impact, Two-Handed +1 Damage if used as a two-handed weapon
15 50 60 150
Heavy axe Huge blade
1d12 2d6
Heavy, Pierce, Two-handed Heavy, Impact Two-handed
250 350
Spiked Club / Crowbar Staff Chain Chainsaw Spear Boom spear Whip
1d8+1 1d6 1d6 2d8 1d8 2d8 1d4
Impact, Blunt, Pierce Impact, Long, Quick Blunt, Difficult, Entangle, Long Difficult, Heavy, Loud, Rending, Two-Handed Long, Thrown (Close) Impact, Loud, Single Use, Long, Thrown (Reach) Difficult, Entangle, Long
20 15 10 750 30 100 25
30
Junk RANGED WEAPONS Ranged weapons use various projectiles to hit targets at distance. Ranged weapons can be used only for ranged attacks.
Thrown and Bow Weapons Thrown weapons are weapons that are balanced for throwing and bow weapons use a bowstring or similar elastic band or string to power the projectiles. Weapon Bola Shuriken Blade-arang Slingshot Bow Crossbow Double crossbow Wristbow
Skill Dexterity Dexterity Dexterity Shooting Shooting Shooting Shooting Shooting
Damage 1d4 1d6 1d8 1d6 2d8 2d8 2d8 1d8
Range Close Reach Close Close Close Long Close Reach
Weapon Traits Entangle, Blunt Quick Blunt Pierce Pierce, Long Reload Pierce, Quick, Long Reload Pierce, Long Reload, Pistol
Ammo 1 1 1 2 1
Cost 20 5 15 25 120 180 240 70
Firearms Firearms are weapons that use cartridges loaded with propellant and projectile as ammunition. All firearms are Loud and usually quite rare which makes them naturally hard to find, but also quite expensive. Weapon Zip gun Pistol Heavy pistol Magnum pistol Shotgun Sawed-off shotgun Blunderbuss Scrap rifle Rifle Assault rifle Submachine gun Sniper rifle Heavy sniper rifle
Damage 1d10 2d6 2d6+1 2d6+2 2d8 2d8 2d6 1d12 2d8+1 2d8 2d6 2d8+2 4d8
Range Close Close Close Close Close Reach Reach Long Long Long Close Long Long
Weapon Traits Pistol Pistol, Quick Pistol, Quick Pistol, Impact Scatter, Long Reload Pistol, Scatter Scatter, Long Reload Long Reload Quick Automatic Automatic, Pistol Pierce Impact, Pierce, Heavy, Long Reaload
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Ammo 1 6 or 20 6 or 9 5 5 2 1 1 5 30 30 6 10
Cost 80 200 300 500 850 500 150 250 1000 1800 1500 2200 4400
Junk Heavy Weapons All Heavy weapons have the Heavy and Two-handed Traits and they are Difficult as well, unless they are mounted. Weapon Machine gun
Damage 3d6
Range Traits Long Automatic, Long Reload, Loud
Ammo 100
Cost 2500
Harpoon launcher
2d10
Close
Long Reload (Per harpoon), Pierce
4
3000
Rocket launcher
4d10
Long
Area Effect 10 m, Impact, Long Reload, Loud
1
5000
Flamer
1 – 5d6
Reach Uses one ammo per a die of Damage in an attack. Continuous Damage (Fire), Long Reload, Rending
30
2000
Explosives Explosives are weapons or devices that cause damage over a large area. All explosives have the Area Effect and Single Use Traits. Explosive Molotov cocktail Hand grenade Flashbang Dynamite Plastic explosive
Damage 3d6 3d10 1d10 4d10 5d10
AoE 2m 10 m 5m 15 m 20 m
Traits Continuous Damage (Fire) Impact, Loud Impact, Stu, Loud Impact, Loud Impact, Loud
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Cost 20 150 50 200 400
Junk PERSONAL ARMOR Personal armor is a whole of protective clothing and equipment put together to absorb or deflect slashing, bludgeoning and penetrating attacks. Most of the protective gear people use in the world of Chthonian Highways is made out of various pieces of clothing and scavenged protective materials. Actual military grade body armors of the Old World are very rare and expensive.
Armor Traits µµ Light: Light armor does not hinder movement in normal circumstances or cause significant burden. µµ Hard: Hard armor can drop the Damage to zero. µµ Heavy: You cannot Dodge while wearing heavy armor, and you suffer a Handicap for all Skill Checks requiring stealthiness, agility or flexibility – including Initiative checks. In addition to restricted movement, you cannot recover from Fatigue by resting when wearing heavy armor.
Protective Gear Armor Leather jacket Padded leather Plastic plate Chain shirt Kevlar vest Tire armor Chest plate Tac suit (Tactical body armor) Wargear (Heavy military armor) Light helmet or mask Military Helmet Padded gloves and boots Riot shield Door shield
Armor Value 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 +1 Armor +2 Armor +1 Defense +1 Defense +2 Defense
Coverage Torso Torso Torso Torso Torso Torso Torso Torso, Arms, Legs Torso, Arms, Legs Head Head Arms, Legs Front Front
Traits Light Light Hard Light Light Heavy Hard, Heavy Hard, Heavy Hard, Heavy Light Hard Light Hard Hard, Heavy
Cost 50 75 150 250 650 200 2000 3000 4500 25 80 10 100 250
CONSUMABLES Consumable Water Food Gasoline Booze Batteries, small Batteries, large Car battery
Description For one person For one person Fuel for combustion engines, very flammable Good for relaxing and anesthesia, flammable For small electronic devices For large electronic devices For vehicles
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Cost 2 per day 3 per day 5 per gallon 5 per bottle 10 100 200
Junk AMMO Firearms use cartridges that have a bullet and propellant substance packed in a metallic case. Most of the cartridges that are found and traded are still leftovers from the Old World military depots and weapon caches. It is also possible to reload the cartridges for half the cost with Repair AND Shooting skill of 4 or more, and a set precision tools. Projectiles used by bows, crossbows and slingshots are fairly easy to produce from scavenged materials, and therefore commonly available. Ammunition Pistol caliber rounds Rifle caliber rounds Armor piercing Hollow-point Arrow, bolt or ball bearing Rocket
Description For pistols and submachine guns For rifles and heavy firearms Halve Armor, round down; Damage Reduction against unarmored targets Damage Boost against unarmored targets For bows, crossbows, slingshots and such weapons Rocket launcher ammunition
Cost 3 5 ×5 ×2 1 500
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Medical Equipment Adrenalin injection Anesthetic Blood transfusion equipment
Defibrillator Field laboratory Field medical kit
Field surgery kit First Aid Kit Microscope Rubbing Alcohol Sedatives Stimulants
Description Heals 1d8 any Strain immediately once per day. Single use. Anesthetic drug. Performing major medical operations, such as surgeries, without anesthesia must be done with a Handicap, unless the patient succeeds in a Willpower check vs CL 20. If a character has suffered an Injury, you can transfer up to d4 points from your Body to the injured character. Characters need to have compatible blood types: roll d20, on a result of 5+ both characters are compatible, otherwise the operation will be fatal for the receiver Provides an Edge when resuscitating a dying character (4 Exhausted Abilities). Large battery. Necessary equipment to test, measure and produce various chemicals and to analyze biological samples Includes the medical instruments and supplies for demanding medical emergencies. Can administer first aid and heal 1d6+1 Strain (CL 10) or an Exhaustion (CL15) from a Damaged Ability with a successful Medicine check. Supplies for 5 uses. Set of surgical instruments and supplies. Provides an Edge when performing surgical operations. Single use first aid kit, heals 1d4 Strain from a Damaged Ability with a succesful Medicine check (CL10). Allows you to see microscopic details. Good for disinfecting. Also for anesthesia, if applied properly. Remove 1d6 points of Strain from a Stressed Ability Remove 1d6 points of Strain from a Fatigued Ability
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Cost 80 per dose 50 per dose 50
600 350 200, refill supplies 15 350 25 500 10 per bottle 10 per dose 10 per dose
Junk ELECTRONIC GEAR Electronics require batteries to work. Each time you use an electronic device for the first time in a scene, roll d10. If you rolled a 1, the battery is running out and the battery will run out by the end of the scene. When the battery has run out, the device will not work until the battery is replaced. When you buy electronic gear, it comes with batteries. Electronics
Description
Cost
Calculator Camera Engine-generator Geiger counter Infrared scope Laptop Memory card Military radio Night vision goggles Radio Solar panel and recharger
Solar battery Small Battery, 1000 pictures Loud, produces electricity for a small house Small Battery, Detects radiation at Close range Small Battery, Can detect heat sources Large Battery Can be used with cameras and computers Large Battery, Range 10 km Small Battery, Can see in dark Small Battery, Radio receiver Can charge batteries, small batteries require 1d4 hours of daylight to recharge and large batteries 1d8 hours. Small Battery, Two-way radio, Long Range Small Battery, 3 hours of video
150 450 5000 350 1500 4000 80 5000 2000 200 2500
Walkie-talkie Video camera
35
400 3000
Junk MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Equipment Binoculars Bipod mount Camo cloak Climbing gear Dust goggles Electronics tools Fire extinquisher Flashlight Gag muzzle Gas mask Ghillie suit Handcuffs Jack Jack, Heavy Laser pointer Lighter Mirror Precision tools Respirator Rifle Scope Rope Rubber patch kit Shackles Silencer Spray Paint Tire sealant Tool box Watch
Description Can see up to Long range without Handicap. Can shoot Heavy weapons without a Handicap when braced. Edge for hiding and Defense when not moving and at Long range or further away. Anchor pins, carabiners, a climbing pick, chalk, climbing shoes and such equipment. Provides an Edge for climbing. Protects eyes from dust and wind Tools for repairing electronics and to measure electric currents. Puts out small fires immediately. Single use. Kinetic battery Prevents talking or biting. A mask worn over the whole face. A gas mask’s powerful air filters protect from smoke, gases and other airborne contaminants. Edge for hiding and Defense when not moving, and at Close range or further away. Armor 4, Durability 3 Can lift a car or a bike. Can lift a Heavy vehicle. +2 to hit up to Close range. Small Battery. Refillable lighter Fragile Basic tools needed to repair fine mechanical devices, such as clocks or firearms, and to reload gun cartridges or to manufacture forgeries. An air-filtering device worn over the mouth and nose to prevent the inhalation of dust, pollen or other small particles. Increase the weapon’s range by one step Light-weight durable rope. It takes 4 points of Damage to cut a rope under tension (Armor 10 vs Blunt weapons or attacks) Seals small holes and tears in rubber materials, single use Armor 6, Durability 6 Removes the “Loud” Trait from a firearm. Damage Reduction to all attacks beyond Reach range. Different colors. Painting a bike takes one can, normal vehicle five and a heavy vehicle ten cans. A can of sealant mass that will patch and fill the tire in a few minutes. The seal lasts for (1d6 x 10) km before breaking again Basic mechanics tools for fixing mechanical machinery. A wristwatch with a spring mechanism or a solar cell.
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Cost 500 50 30 75 15 200 100 100 30 120 80 25 75 150 600 60 30 100 40 300 3/m 25 50 200 30 80 50 250
Vehicles There is a myriad different vehicles used on the chthonian highways, each and everyone of them unique in their own way. Practically every vehicle has some customizations and idiosyncratic fixes made to them over the past twenty years or so.
It’s likely that because of this it has become a custom to name all the vehicles and customize their appearance to reflect their name. For example a pursuit car named “Tiger Shark” could have a paint job with tiger stripes and pieces of metal resembling shark’s teeth could be welded on the front of the car.
SHINY SNOWFLAKES Every vehicle that is still moving on the chthonian highways is more or less unique. Practically every vehicle has gone through some repairs, modifications and customizations, that gives the one-of-a-kind feel for every single vehicle out there.
The players should name their characters’ vehicles before starting to play, unless there is a good reason for not naming the vehicle. Driver charcters will not get the advantage from their Role’s special ability before the vehicle they are driving, is named.
Year by year there are fewer functional vehicles on the road and because of that the drivers and mechanics value their rides more than ever.
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Junk Vehicle Traits µµ 4WD: Four-Wheel drive vehicles have two or more axles providing power to four wheel ends. This makes them better on soft ground and at pulling other vehicles. 4WD vehicles gain an Edge to checks that are related to tire grip or pulling other vehicles. µµ Bike: Bikes are light vehicles and only half or the Armor value protect the passengers. Bikes can sideswipe only other Bikes and have a Handicap for Remain Under Control checks. On the other hand the lighter frame has its benefits – Bikes gain an Edge for the following Vehicle Maneuvers: Jump, Bootlegger Turn, Hard Turn, Precision Driving and Boost. Bikes can also add the Driver’s Driving skill level to their Defense. µµ Enclosed: The driver and the passengers are well protected inside the vehicle and are very difficult to hit. Attacks at the passengers are done with a Handicap AND require Velocity. This also reduces the driver’s visibility and makes attacking from the vehicle more difficult. All vehicle maneuvers and attacks from the vehicle are done with a Handicap. µµ Heavy: Heavy vehicles have a very large and heavy chassis. The large size and mass makes the vehicle excellent at ramming, but very poor to handle. Add an additional die to Collision Damage, but a Handicap for Bootlegger Turn, Hard Turn, Boost, Precision Driving and Evasion Maneuvers. Heavy vehicles cannot do Jump maneuvers. µµ High-rider: It’s more difficult to shoot the passengers, unless the attacker is travelling on a high-rider as well or standing on a vehicle. µµ Off-road: Off-road vehicles travel off-road at normal speed and can move on rough terrain at half speed. µµ Open-topped: Passengers gain only half of the vehicle’s armor (round down).
VEHICLES The vehicles listed here are some samples of possible vehicle types used in Chthonian Highways. Practically every vehicle is unique so these are more like default values or starting points for vehicles. Vehicle
Hull
Steering
Engine
AV
Fuel
PAX
Vehicle Traits
Cost
Enduro bike Cruiser bike Trike Quad Sandbug Warbug Rover Pick-up Pursuit car Scav bus Monster truck Truck Ram tractor Rig War rig Tank
5 6 7 6 8 9 11 10 9 13 12 14 12 16 18 20
6 5 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2
5 6 5 4 5 5 4 4 5 3 5 4 2 3 4 2
3* 4* 4* 4* 5* 5 5 5 5 7 5 6 5 7 8 20
1/3 1/5 2 / 12 1/4 2 / 12 2 / 12 3 / 20 4 /24 3 / 18 3 / 30 4 / 24 6 / 24 10 / 40 5 / 35 8/ 32 120 / 500
2 2 3 2 3 2 5 3 4 10 6 6 2 6 10 5 (2)
Bike, Off-road Bike Open-topped Open-topped, Off-road Open-topped, Off-road Off-road Off-road Off-road, 4WD 4WD 4WD, Off-road 4WD, Off-road, High rider 4WD, High rider, Heavy Heavy, Off-road Heavy, High rider Heavy, High rider 4WD, Off-road, Heavy
500 750 600 900 900 1100 1300 1600 2000 3000 1900 8000 4000 20000 50000 500000
(Burn/Cap.)
*) Bikes and open-topped vehicles offer only half of the armor (round down) for the passengers.
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Junk VEHICLE CUSTOMIZATIONS Here are some of the common customizations made for the vehicles. This is not a complete list and you can come up with your own customizations by using this list as a guideline. Use common sense when figuring out how many customizations fit a vehicle, or if a customization can be made multiple times or at all. Customization Booby Trap Buzzsaw Deathproofing
Description 3d10 Damage, Area of Effect 10 m, Impact 3d8 Damage when Sideswiping A seat belt, safety harness or an airbag. -2D Collision Damage. Not for Bikes Dead Man’s Handle Vehicle stops safely after a round if the driver is not conscious. Extra Armor +2 Armor OR make an open-topped vehicle into regular vehicle OR make a regular vehicle into Enclosed vehicle. Extra Fuel Tank Increase Fuel Capacity by 10, Not for Bikes Fix-rigging Edge for repairs when cruising, Heavy vehicles only Heavy Plating Upgrade to Extra Armor; +2 Armor, -1 Engine Hidden Blade Concealed knife (1d6, Quick), it’s a Trifle to draw the knife. Hidden Compartment Can fit a person. Not for Bikes. Hidden Holster Fits a pistol and one clip of ammo Hidden Locker Can fit a small bag Holding Cell Change passenger seats to holding cell (min. 2) Improved Steering A bucket seat, racing wheel or power steering. +1 Steering Kill Switch The vehicle will not start without a correct switch sequence. Loudspeaker Loud, uses the vehicle’s battery. Nitro Tank Increases Engine’s push limit to 3 Plow +1D Ramming Damage and -2D to own vehicle. Heavy vehicles only. Ramming Spikes Collision Damage becomes Rending when ramming. Not for Bikes Riding bars Fits 2 additional passenger, gives an Edge for Boarding attempts. Secondary Engine If Engine Breaks, the secondary Engine will kick in. Secondary Engine works as Engine 2. Heavy vehicles only. Shackles CL 20 to pick, Durability 6, Armor 6 Spikes Handicap for those who try to board the vehicle Swing Pole Board another vehicle from Close range. Not for Bikes.
Cost 300 700* 250 per seat
Side Blades Tire Shields
200* 180*
Towing Hook Turbo Engine Weapon Mount Winch
Collision Damage becomes Rending when Sideswiping, Not for Bikes. Increase armor by 4 against sideswipes and attacks directed at the tires. Not for Bikes. Not for Bikes The vehicle’s engine is fitted with a turbocharger. +1 Engine Attached weapons can be fired without a Handicap. Not for Bikes. Uses the vehicle’s engine. Not for Bikes.
*) Double the Cost for Heavy vehicles
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200 300* 120 400 700* 25 250 15 50 200 200* 150 600 600 600 100* 150* 50% of the vehicle’s cost. 50 200* 400
20 500* 100 200
Combat Living in the post-apocalyptic world of the chthonian highways is harsh, merciless and dangerous. When you set on a journey through the wastelands, you are lucky if you don’t have to fight or flee for your life. You’re even luckier if you make it unscathed and alive to your destination. Ranges
SETTING THE STAGE
Ranges are handled with abstract measures instead of absolute distances. There are five different range categories.
Before starting a combat or any other action scene, all characters and NPCs are divided into groups or independent characters. Usually NPCs with similar statistics are handled as groups, and named and unique characters, such as the player characters or important NPCs, are handled as independent characters.
µµ Immediate (0 – 2 m): The area around a character of roughly a few steps in radius. This is the typical melee range. µµ Reach (up to 5 m): A bit further away than just a quick lunge or a few short steps. Optimal range for light thrown weapons such as shurikens or throwing knives or melee weapons with the Long trait. µµ Close (up to 20 m): Optimal range for pistols, shotguns, burst fire weapons, bows and heavier thrown weapons like spears or boomerangs. µµ Long (up to 100 m): Optimal range for most rifles. µµ Extreme (over 100 m): Optimal range for scoped hunting and sniper rifles. Practical range for most long range rifles is around one kilometer.
All characters in a group act at the same time and perform their actions. Independent characters each have their own initiative values and actions.
Environment and Circumstances When setting the stage for a combat scene, it is also important to determine any special terrain or other features that are obvious for all. These features can create special conditions that might give the characters Edges or Handicaps or result in other gameplay effects.
Zones
INITIATIVE
If the combat area is particularly large or includes significantly different smaller areas, it is a good idea to divide the area into smaller zones. Each zone is usually up to 20 meters in diameter, that is equivalent to Close range. And of course a zone can be 5 or even 100 meters in diameter if a smaller or bigger scale is needed.
To determine the order in which all groups and independent characters can act, all participants in an encounter make a Perception check at the beginning of the scene to determine the initiative value for each group and character. The Initiative roll can be Pushed with Wits as any Perception Skill Check.
For example, in a house, each room can be a zone, and in a ruined city block, each street can be a separate zone.
The groups and characters will start acting from the highest to the lowest result. After rolling the initiative, it can be modified later with Velocity and Troubles.
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Combat ACTING IN ACTION SCENES
Reactions
Action scenes such as a combat, a chase or an escape from a collapsing building are measured in rounds. A round can be anything from a few seconds to a minute or so, depending on the situation and pace of the action. In combat each round represents a few seconds of action, but in a car chase one round can be even up to one minute.
Reactions are quick reflexive actions that are often instinctive and triggered by another action. In combat, reactions can be taken only against opponents that you are facing and whose actions you are aware of. It takes an Action to perform a Reaction. Examples of Reactions: µµ Parry: Roll d20 + Fighting to avoid a melee attack. µµ Dodge: Roll d20 + Athletics to avoid any attack. µµ On Guard: If you were guarding and a target moves into your line of sight and range, take a free shot or strike before the opponent acts. µµ Opportunity Action: See below.
During a round each character can perform two Actions. Actions can be performed in a character’s turn or used as Reactions at any point of a round.
Short Actions (1 Action) Short actions are quick and easy actions that take one Action to perform. Short actions are the most common actions in combat. Examples of short actions:
When a character reacts to defend, the player rolls a Skill Check instead of using the passive skill and the Skill Check can be pushed further with a related Ability. If the Skill Check is higher than the passive Defense value, it is used as the Defense value instead against the incoming attacks.
µµ Short Move: Move up to 5 meters (Within Reach range). µµ Reload: Reload a clip-fed, bolt, pump or lever-action firearm or a bow weapon. µµ Communicate: Give or receive an order, ask a simple question, or make a gesture. µµ Draw: a holstered or sheathed weapon. µµ Drop: or pick up an item. µµ Switch: weapons or equipment. µµ Disengage: You spend your action to disengage safe from the fight. µµ Attack: Make a melee or ranged attack. µµ Guard: Attack as a reaction if an enemy moves into line of sight and range after your turn. µµ Aim: Gives an Edge to your next shot or strike.
Opportunity Actions Opportunity Actions (OA) are situations that allow a character to perform an Action as a Reaction. These situations can arise during an action due to Troubles or actions that other characters take. µµ Fumbling (Trouble): A fumbling opponent is open to actions of opportunity. µµ Retreat: An enemy that retreats from melee, with out Disengaging first, is open to Opportunity Actions. µµ Overwatch: When a character is guarding all targets moving into line of sight and within the weapon’s range, they can be attacked as a Reaction. µµ Close movement: An opponent moving past you within your melee weapons range can be attacked as a Reaction, even if the character was not on guard.
Long Actions (2 Actions) Long actions require most of the character’s concentration and effort to perform. Performing a long action takes two Actions. Examples of Long actions: µµ Dash: Move up to 20 meters in straight line (Within Close range). µµ Charge: Move straight without obstacles up to Reach range and attack with an Edge. µµ Long Reload: Reload a weapon with Long Reload trait. µµ Long Burst: Make a long burst attack with an automatic weapon.
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Combat MAKING ATTACKS
All ranged weapons are effective up to their optimal range and beyond that all attacks are made with a Handicap.
If your character tries to do something that another character tries to avoid or resist, you are making an attack. Attacks are resolved as Skill Checks using Fighting for melee attacks, Shooting for ranged attacks, Athletics for thrown weapons and Dexterity for small thrown weapons. The Skill Check’s result is compared to the target’s Defense and if the result is equal to or higher than Defense, the attack hits. Otherwise, the attack fails.
All ranged weapons, except Pistols, suffer a Handicap if used in melee for shooting. Thrown or bow weapons cannot be used in melee.
Touch Attacks Touch attacks are made when a character touches another and do not require a solid impact or penetrating hit on the target; a light touch is enough. Touch attacks are always made with an Edge.
Melee Attacks Melee attacks are attacks made unarmed or with a melee weapon. Melee attacks can be made at targets at Immediate range or up to Reach range with very long weapons like spears or polearms. Melee attacks use always the Fighting skill.
Some ranged attacks can be counted as Touch Attacks as well, especially if the attack just needs to hit or glance the target and not cause any damage.
Shooting into Melee
Unarmed melee attacks are made with a handicap against hard armor and armed opponents. Unarmed attacks cause 1d4 points of damage.
If a ranged attack is attempted at a target that is engaged in melee, the attack is made with a Handicap. If the attack would already suffer a Handicap, a point of Velocity is required to hit the target.
Ranged Attacks Ranged attacks are attacks that are made with firearms, bows, thrown weapons or any other weapons that can harm a target at distance. The used skill depends on the used weapon: Skill Shooting Dexterity Athletics
Two-Weapon Fighting A character can attack with two one-handed Quick weapons, if both an Action and a Reaction are used to perform the attack. This can be practical if the player wants to, for example, kick another foe in Immediate range and shoot another one at Close range.
Weapon or Attack Type Firearms, bows, crossbows and slingshots Small thrown weapons (shurikens, knives, bolas and boomerangs) and slings Large thrown weapons (spears and heavy thrown objects)
Alternatively, or if both weapons are not Quick, the player can choose which weapon is used to make an attack. Attacks with the weaker hand are done with a Handicap. In practice the player states which weapon is in the character’s weaker hand.
Range The target is within the optimal range The target is beyond the optimal range Shoot a firearm in In Melee or Immediate range (does not apply to pistols)
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Effect on Attack No Effect Handicap Handicap
Combat Cover and Visibility
DEFENSE
If at least half of your target is obscured or in cover, or the target is prone, you will suffer a handicap to all attacks against this target.
When in combat, it is assumed that all characters are trying to avoid getting hit by using cover or trying to position themselves so that they can avoid harm to the best of their ability. All attacks are made against the character’s Defense value, unless the character uses a Reaction to Parry or Dodge an incoming attack. Defense value is equal to 10 + Athletics + other possible modifiers.
If you cannot see your target, you can still attack, but hit only if you spend one Velocity to hit your target. In addition to this, your target gains an Edge for all attack and defense checks made against you.
Small and Large targets
There might still be occasions when you or your target are being surprised or are totally unaware of the incoming attack, or you use all your own Action to avoid getting hit, not just try to stay out of harm’s way, while doing something else at the same time. These circumstances affect your Defense or the attacker’s Skill Check as described below.
Targets smaller than a domestic dog are harder to hit and gain a +5 bonus to their Defense. However, targets that are very large, like trucks or huge animals, easier to hit. These targets have a -5 penalty to their Defense.
Parrying and Dodging
µµ Small target’s Defense = 15 + Athletics µµ Large target’s Defense = 5 + Athletics
By using a Reaction, a character can try to Parry or Dodge an incoming attack after the attack roll is made. A character’s Parry or Dodge action affects all attacks from one source or opponent. If your Parry or Dodge result is equal to or higher than the attacker’s result, your character manages to avoid attacks at the last moment.
DISENGAGING If a character turns and retreats from a fight without any preparation or covering fire, all opponents that can attack the retreating character at that moment, can make a free attack at the character.
A character can Parry only in melee, unless stated otherwise in these rules. Parrying is made with a handicap if your character is not armed, but the opponent is.
A character can take a Disengage action to retreat safely from a fight. Disengage action is a normal attack with an Edge and on a successful attack, instead of dealing damage or other effects to the target, the character can retreat instead without provoking free attacks at him – even if the opponent was on guard.
Dodge can be used to avoid melee and ranged attacks. When avoiding ranged attacks, this usually means taking cover, and if your character is in the open, you take a Handicap. µµ Parrying = Target rolls d20 + Fighting µµ Dodging = Target rolls d20 + Athletics Situation Target stationary and unaware Target surprised
Effect Halve the Target’s Defense (round down) for ranged attacks, Melee attacks hit automatically. Attacker gains an Edge
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Combat DAMAGE
Reduction adds a die to the Damage roll, but the highest result is dropped from the total.
If an attack hits, it usually causes damage. Each weapon or attack has Damage dice value and a hit causes damage equal to the damage roll’s result plus any modifiers.
ARMOR Armor is worn to protect from injury, and it comes in many sizes and shapes. Armor reduces incoming damage by its value to a minimum of 1 Damage point, unless the armor is Hard, in which case it can reduce the Damage to zero.
Bonus Damage Dice Velocity or other circumstances can add dice to Damage. In these cases, the added dice are always of the same type as the weapon or attack damage dice. For example: if the damage is 2d6, +1D damage will add one d6 to damage.
Armor doesn’t offer any protection against Fatigue or Stress. Armor works only against attacks that it can absorb or deflect. As an example Armor does not protect from drowning or poisons.
Fatal Hits
Against Area Effect weapons (e.g. explosions, fire, falling damage) Armor’s value is halved and rounded down.
Spend a point of Velocity to make a fatal hit and cause +1D damage. This might mean a joint in the opponent’s armor, vital organs, arteries or nerve clusters depending on the situation and the opponent.
INJURIES
Damage Boost and Reduction
If a character suffers so much Damage that it Exhausts two Abilities with one hit, the character is seriously injured. Roll d10 and reference the result from the table below to see how the character is affected. An Injury takes 2d4 weeks to heal with normal rest and the recovery time is halved if treated by someone with a Medicine skill of 5 or more.
Some special weapons or attacks can have a Damage Boost or Damage Reduction. If the attack has a Damage Boost, you roll an extra die and drop the lowest die from the total. Damage 1d10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Injury Broken arm Broken leg Lost hearing on one side Broken bones Broken jaw Internal bleeding Punctured lung
8 9
Lost eye Severed artery
10
Major head trauma
Effect Arm is useless (1d10: 1-5 = secondary, 6-10 = primary) You can only crawl without support Handicap to hearing Perception Handicap to Defense and all Body skills Difficulty with speech, 1n4 lost teeth Suffer 1 damage per hour for 1d12 hours Handicap to all actions, suffer 1 Damage every hour until treated, Medicine (CL15) Handicap to shooting and sight Perception Suffer 1 Damage at the start of each round until you are treated, Medicine (CL 20) Unconscious and dead unless treated within 1d6 hours, Medicine (CL 20)
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Combat COMBAT STUNTS Combat Stunts are special maneuvers that the character do in combat. Most Combat Stunts require a Fighting or Shooting Skill Check against the opponent’s Defense with a Handicap. Some Combat Stunts might have additional effects if Ability points are spent for the maneuver. Spending Ability points causes Strain on the Ability in the same way as Pushing. Example: Mikal tries to knock out a guard. A knockout is made with a Handicap. Mikal has the element of surprise on his side and he gains an Edge to his attack roll; the Handicap and Edge cancel each other out. Mikal’s Fighting is 4, and he gets a 5 from the die. His result of 9 against the opponent’s Defense of 12 is not enough to knock the opponent out. The player decides to use a point of Velocity and add 5 to the result. The Velocity boost brings the total to 14, which is enough to hit the opponent and Mikal spends a point from Body to knock out the opponent. Combat Stunt Modifiers Maneuver Description Grab No You grab your opponent. You need at least one hand to grab your opponent and this makes it possible to continue with other maneuvers like Hold or Throw. When you have grabbed your opponent, you have an Edge to all further Combat Stunts. Hold No After a successful Grab maneuver you take a firm hold or a joint lock on your opponent and they are unable to move or act unless they break free. This requires a successful Strength or Fighting Skill Check against your Strength or Fighting Skill. Throw No After a successful Grab maneuver you can knock down your opponent by throwing them on the ground and deal 1d6 points of damage. A point of Body can be used to throw your opponent 1d4 meters away from you to any direction. Called Shots Handicap Called shots are attacks that are targeted against a specific body part or a precise hit location to bypass armor or cause a specific injury. Called shots can be made against objects as well. Targetting objects that are smaller than a basketball require a called shot and objects that are roughly the size of a cigarette pack or smaller require a Called Shot and a point of Precision to be spent. Knockdown Handicap Force your opponent to fall to the ground. It will take an Action for the opponent to get back to their feet. A knocked down character has to take all attacks with a Handicap and all opponents within Reach range gain an Edge to all attacks against the character. Disarm Handicap Force your opponent to drop a weapon or an object they are holding. By spending a point of Precision, you can grab the weapon or the object for yourself from your opponent if you are within Immediate range from your opponent. Push No Move your opponent 1d4 meters directly away from you. If you spend a point of Body you can determine the direction of movement. Knockout Handicap You stun your enemy so that they become disoriented and need 1d6 rounds to recover from the stunning blow. If you spend a point of Body, your opponent is knocked unconscious for the rest of the scene. A stunned or unconscious opponent is stationary and cannot take any Actions or Reactions until recovered.
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Combat be continuous. Take aside the dice that came up with a top result and roll those dice for damage again at the beginning of each round before any of the characters act. Remove dice from the continuous damage pool if the die comes up as 1.
AUTOMATIC FIRE Some firearms are capable of automatic fire. When firing automatically, you spend 15 rounds of ammo for a short burst or 30 rounds for a long burst. A short burst adds one die to your attack attack Skill Check, and a long burst adds two dice.
Example: Titus throws a molotov at an abominable creature and rolls for damage. He rolls 3d6 and gets a three and double sixes! The creature is set on fire and both dice are rolled again at the beginning of the next turn. This time the dice come up as 1 and 5. Six points of damage, but one of the damage dice is removed and next time only one die is rolled for continuous damage.
Additional Successes from automatic fire can produce additional hits instead of Velocity. Additional hits can target the same target or other targets within Reach range from the originating target. Additional hits do not need a separate to hit roll, but they can be dodged with a successful Dodge against CL 15. The damage is rolled separately for each extra hit. In addition to automatic bursts, automatic weapons can fire 3-round bursts with a single pull of a trigger. This uses 3 rounds of ammo, but you gain a +2 modifier to hit or a damage boost against a single target that is within the optimal range. Short burst can not cause additional hits.
POISON
CONTINUOUS DAMAGE
To resist a poison, roll a Strength Skill Check against the poison’s Potency. If the Check is successful, only mild effects are suffered. If the Check fails, the poison takes full effect on the character.
Poisons – or medical drugs – can have various effects and an effort can be made to resist them. This does not actually represent neutralizing the poison, but resisting its effects.
Fire, poisons and acid, for example, can cause continuous damage over a number of turns: fire can burn until its fuel is exhausted, poisons will stay within the victim’s system for minutes, and acid will eat through substances over time. When rolling for the damage in the first round, if any of the damage dice produce a Special Effect (SFX), the damage effect will
All drugs take effect immediately, regardless of how they are administered, unless stated otherwise in the poison’s description. Poisoned blades or projectiles have enough poison for one hit.
Poison Tear Gas
Potency Mild Effect 15 Handicap to all actions for 1d6 turns Tranquilizing drug 15 1d6 Fatigue to Wits Mild venom 10 1d4 Damage Deadly venom 20 2d6 Damage Paralyzing poison 20 1d6 Fatigue to Precision Nightmare hallucinogenic 20 1d6 Stress
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Full Effect Unable to act voluntarily for 1d6 turns Unconscious for 1d4 hours 2d4 Damage 4d6 Damage Paralyzed for 2d10 minutes 3d6 Stress
Combat FALLING DAMAGE
Choose a primary target and make an attack with an Edge. If the target is hit, the target takes an extra die of damage and other targets within the radius take the normal damage.
If a character falls down to ground, they suffer Falling Damage from the impact. As a rule of thumb a character suffers d6 points of Damage for every starting three meters (or floors) fallen, up to 10 dice at maximum.
Explosive Damage
µµ Prepared jump: If the character jumps voluntarily, an Athletics check against CL 10 can be made to reduce the damage by two dice + a die per Velocity spent. µµ Water: When falling on water, add a die for every ten meters fallen, instead of three. µµ Soft ground: If the surface, the character falls on, is particularly soft or elastic, reduce the Damage by two dice. µµ Rough surface: If the surface is uneven, hard or sharp, like edged rocks for example, add two dice to the damage.
If a target is hit by an explosive projectile, like a rocket or grenade, or is in contact with an explosive when it detonates, the target will receive the full potential damage. To give an example, a creature hit with a rocket launcher would suffer 40 points of damage instead, making a damage roll with 4d10. Double the damage if the explosion happens inside the target. This could happen for example if a grenade is thrown inside a vehicle or into a creature’s gaping maw. Other targets that are within the area of effect, but are not directly, hit suffer the normal rolled damage. Roll once for all similar targets and separately for all unique targets, such as player characters.
HIT LOCATIONS By default all hits are treated equally regardless of the hit location. If the situation calls for it, or you want to add an extra level of detail – and complexity – to your fights, you can roll a d10 to determine the hit location.
Hit Deviation if an area effect weapon misses its target, you can roll for deviation and see where the hit lands in case some other targets might still be within the area of effect.
Injuries: If a hit causes an Injury choose or re-roll until you get a result that matches with the hit location.
Roll a d8 for the direction and another die roll or deviation range. To determine the deviation range in meters, roll d4 for Reach range or closer, d6 for Close, d8 for Long and d10 for Extreme range.
Head and Neck hits: Hits to the head or the neck cause an extra die of Damage. 1d10 1 2 3 4–8 9 10
Hit Location Head (or neck) Right arm Left arm Torso Right leg Left leg
1 8
2 Roll
7
AREA EFFECTS
4
6
Area effect weapons affect all targets within their area of effect radius. Usually these are explosives, but can be flammable or gas weapons as well.
5
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3
1d8
WHEELS VEHICLE SPECS
OTHER FEATURES
Vehicles are described by Specs that represent their performance and durability. When driving a vehicle, a character can use the vehicle’s Specs OR the relevant Ability to Push Skill Checks. For instance, if a character is trying to do a bootlegger turn, they could use the vehicle’s Steering instead of their Precision. A vehicle’s Specs can be pushed by one point per round.
While the Specs descibing the vehicle’s performance, each vehicle has additional features like Fuel consumption, Armor and Passenger capacity.
Fuel (B/C): Each Vehicle has two Fuel values: Burn and Capacity. The Burn represents the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers and the Capacity is the fuel capacity in U.S. gallons (3.785 liters).
When the character pushes with one of the Specs, the Specs are strained, exactly like when pushing with an Ability. The strain on Specs represents the wear and tear on machinery as the character revs the vehicle. Restoring a Spec requires maintenance and adjustments, and when one of the Specs gets exhausted, it becomes broken until the vehicle is repaired.
Fuel can also be burned voluntarily to give an Edge when trying to move or maneuver fast, such as in a high-speed car chase, for instance. One point of Fuel can be burned this way once per scene.
Armor Value (AV): A vehicle’s Armor value represents how much it offers protection for the vehicle and its passengers. Motorcycles and open-topped vehicles obviously offer less protection than vehicles with enclosed cabins, and the Armor value affecting the passengers is halved (round down) and shown in parenthesis after the actual Armor value.
Use a vehicle Spec OR Ability for Pushing A Spec can be Pushed by one point per Action.
Hull (HU)
As with regular armor, a vehicle’s armor reduces the damage inflicted on the vehicle or its passengers. A vehicle’s Armor always counts as Hard armor.
Robustness, build and integrity of the vehicle chassis. Hull is used when ramming or using the vehicle’s mass or build.
Passengers (PAX): The number of passengers the
vehicle can fit comfortably is given as a number value under the Passengers feature, and the crew needed to operate the vehicle is given in parenthesis, if more than one person is required to operate the vehicle. For example, a vehicle with a Passengers stat of “5 (2)” would fit five passengers in total and two of them are needed to operate the vehicle.
Steering (ST) Steering and handling of the vehicle are pushed with the Steering. The Spec is used for evasion and special maneuvers.
Engine (EN) Acceleration and speed of the vehicle are governed by the Engine. This Spec is used in pursuit and when trying to max the speed of the vehicle.
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Wheels VEHICLE ACTIONS
Each round, the drivers make opposing Driving checks Pushed with Engine. The highest result gets to decide if the distance between the vehicles is increased or decreased by one step, in addition to being increased or decreased by one step per Velocity spent. For example, if the vehicles started the pursuit at distance 3 and the driver chasing the other vehicle won the Driving check and speds one Velocity, they could decrease the range down to one.
Vehicular combat is handled much like regular combat with a few exceptions. There are rounds and turns as usual, and initiative is rolled when necessary. The biggest difference is how movement is tracked. In a typical situation, all the vehicles are moving and usually in the same general direction, unless the action takes place around a location, building or stationary object. These situations are handled a bit differently and explained below in Vehicle Movement.
When the distance drops to zero, the vehicles’ movement should change to being grid-based. If the distance grows to six or more, the other vehicle manages to escape, at least for now.
The Grid
VEHICLE MOVEMENT
The grid is an abstract map used for measuring movement and distances between vehicles. When vehicular combat begins, draw a grid of suitable size, or use squared paper to track the vehicle movement. Each grid square roughly represents a 20 by 20 meter area.
Pursuit When a pursuit begins, set a number that represents the distance between the vehicles. Usually three is a good number to start with.
If you are in the same grid square with another vehicle, it is considered that you are right next to it or up to
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Wheels Off-road: Most vehicles are designed for travel on roads
Reach range away from it. Vehicles in adjacent grid spaces are within Close range from each other, or up to 20 meters apart. Up to three vehicles can be in the same grid space at the same time.
or other relatively flat terrain. Normal vehicles cannot travel off-road at High Speed and suffer a Handicap for Vehicle Maneuvers.
Rough terrain: Rough terrain is very uneven terrain that
Movement and Speed
is impossible to traverse with normal vehicles. Vehicles designed for off-road terrain can move through rough terrain at half speed and suffer a Handicap to all Vehicle Maneuvers.
In Combat or similar situations, vehicles have different movement speeds. These rules do not measure the absolute speeds of the vehicles, but their relative movement and speed instead. The vehicle moves in the initiative turn of the driver or when the driver makes a maneuver as a Reaction.
Slippery: Slippery terrain is dangerous to travel through
at high speeds. All Vehicle Maneuvers are done at a Handicap, and all die results of 1 lead to losing control, after which the driver must make a Remain Under Control check immediately. This is an additional effect on top of the normal Trouble you suffer from rolling ones, and does not count as a Trouble.
µµ Cruise (Trifle): Move one square in any direction, straight or diagonally. µµ High Speed (Action): Move up to two squares. Moving forward or backwards is unrestricted, but the vehicle can move only one square to either side. µµ Maneuver (Action): Perform a maneuver and move accordingly. µµ Stationary (Free): No movement, cannot perform vehicle maneuvers, halve Defense value. µµ Fast Vehicle: The vehicle with the highest Engine value, gain an additional square of movement. If there are multiple vehicles with the same Engine value, they all gain the bonus. µµ Chase: When the majority of vehicles are moving into the same general direction, the vehicles are giving Chase, and the vehicle movement is reduced by 1 square.
Soft ground: Soft ground is squashy or soft terrain like sand, mud, snow or swamp. Vehicles traveling on soft ground have a chance to become bogged. All Vehicle Maneuvers are done at a Handicap and all dice results of 1 can lead to the vehicle getting stuck. The driver must immediately make a Remain Under Control check or the vehicle gets stuck. This is an additional effect on top of the normal Trouble you suffer from rolling ones and does not count as a Trouble.
Mixed Movement If vehicles and people or monsters move in the grid, consider each grid being a 20 x 20 meter area. It takes an action to move to any of the adjacent grid spaces or a trifle to move within the same area.
Moving in Reverse Vehicles can move in reverse, but only in Cruise Speed, and the driver suffers a Handicap to all Driving checks.
Terrain Mostly the driving conditions on the chthonian highways are decent. The road is fairly flat and unobstructed. But it would be a miracle, if a trip would not include an occasional detour through the badlands, or a road with shattered asphalt or scattered junk and rubble.
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Wheels Vehicle Maneuvers All vehicle maneuvers are either Actions or Reactions and require a Driving check against the given Challenge level. Each maneuver is associated with one of the vehicle’s Specs for Pushing the Skill Checks. Maneuver Boost
CL 10
Hard Turn
15
Bootlegger turn
20
Cut-Off
Defense
Jump
15 short, 20 long
Precision Driving
15
Remain Under Control 10 Ram
Defense
Sideswipe
Defense
Evade
Special
Push Description EN Move an additional square + one square per Velocity spent as in High Speed movement. ST Do a sudden 90 degree turn. Move one square forward and up to two squares to either side. ST Do a 180 degree turn without slowing down or stopping. You can switch to reverse immediately after a Bootlegger turn, or move up to two squares to the opposite direction. ST Move in front of another vehicle in the same square with you and block its movement. The other vehicle’s driver must immediately make an Evade check as a Reaction to avoid crashing into the blocking vehicle. If the evasive maneuver is successful, the vehicles do not collide, but the blocked vehicle must stop, unless the Driver spends a point of Precision. EN Short jump allows the vehicle to move one grid square forward over a gap or an obstacle, provided that there is a proper platform available. Long jump moves two grid squares forward. Heavy vehicles cannot jump. The Jump maneuver is done with a Handicap at Cruise speed, but normally at High speed. ST All kinds of maneuvers requiring great precision are done as Precision Driving checks. Examples of Precision Driving include such feats as driving through very narrow passages, driving on two wheels or drifting. ST Whenever the driver makes quick corrections to the vehicle’s course or tries to regain control of the vehicle, a Remain Under Control check is made. This is done as a Reaction. HU Ram the vehicle at another vehicle, character or creature. Make a Driving check against the target’s Defense. Ramming can be Dodged or Evaded but not Parried. See Collisions & Crashes below for details as to when a target is hit. Ramming attack suffer a Handicap against characters. HU Hit another vehicle from the side and try to damage it and push it off the road. Make a Driving check against the target vehicle, and if the check is successful, the target vehicle’s driver must immediately make a Remain Under Control check against the attackers Skill Check result, or lose control of the vehicle. Bikes will always fall over if control is lost. ST Evasive maneuvers can be made as a Reaction to avoid the vehicle being hit or crashed. If the Evasion check result is equal to or higher than the CL or the opposing result, the driver manages to avoid the threat.
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Wheels
Boarding
CHASE COMBAT
Jumping or climbing from a vehicle to another is called Boarding. Boarding can be made within Reach range and the two vehicles need to be in the same grid square. Boarding from Immediate range requires an Athletics check against DL 10 and from Reach range against DL 15. If the vehicle happens to have something that can be firmly grabbed, the check can be made with an Edge.
Vehicle Defense Vehicles are relatively big and therefore quite easy to hit, even if they are travelling fast. Vehicles have a Defense value of 10, except for Heavy vehicles, which are very easy to hit and have Defense of 5. Bikes can add the Driver’s Driving Skill level to the vehicle’s Defense. Driver’s can make Evade maneuvers to avoid hits by taking a Reaction.
Boarding can be avoided by making an Evade maneuver. If the Evade check result is higher than the boarding character’s Athletics check result, the boarding fails, and the boarding action is aborted at the last second.
Attacking from a Vehicle
Targetting Vehicle Parts and Passengers
Attacking with a ranged weapon from a fast moving vehicle is not easy business. The ride in the middle of a chase can be quite rough, and the vehicle’s driver might have to make unexpected moves just when you are pulling the trigger. All ranged attacks from a vehicle moving in High Speed are made with a Handicap.
The vehicles motor or wheels can be targetted with a Called Shot. Attacks directed at the vehicles engine or such parts cause Damage directly to the Engine Spec. Respectively, attacks directed at the wheels or similar parts of the vehicle, cause Damage directly to the Steering.
Mounted Weapons: Mounted heavy weapons are more stable, and do not have the Difficult Trait. Regular mounted weapons become easier to handle and aiming becomes a short action.
If the attacker tries to hit the passengers directly, bypassing the vehicle’s armor, the attack requires a Called Shot. Enclosed vehicles and High-Riders need a Called Shot with a Handicap to directly hit a passenger.
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Wheels µµ Exhausted Steering: When the Steering is exhausted, all Skill Checks related to controlling the vehicle are done with a Handicap. µµ Exhausted Engine: When the Engine is broken, all Skill Checks related to speed, acceleration or the engine’s torque are done with a Handicap.
COLLISIONS & CRASHES Collision Damage for the vehicle and the passengers is 2d10 for Cruise speed. Passengers and the vahicle are protected by the vehicle’s Armor. Modifiers High speed Head-on Collision Heavy vehicle Ramming from the rear or Sideswiping Deathproofing customization
Collision Damage +1D +1D +1D against lighter vehicles, +2D against Bikes -1D
Maintenance & Repair
-2D
Patching: Quick patching can be done with a successful
A Strained engine can be fixed with proper maintenance: cooling down the engine, tightening loose bolts and cleaning the engine parts, for example. Maintenance requires about two hours and removes 1d6 points of Strain from any Spec that is not broken. A vehicle can be maintained up to twice a day. Repair or Driving Skill Check against CL 15. A successful patching removes 1d6 points of strain. Patching takes an Action to perform.
DAMAGING VEHICLES
Repairs: Broken Specs need to be repaired before they can be maintained. Repairs take about 8 man-hours and require spare parts worth 1d100 bitz
When a vehicle is shot, beaten or crashed, the Damage goes to Hull first, then to Steering and finally to Engine.
Wrecked Vehicles
Breaking down
If all of the Vehicle’s Specs are broken, the vehicle is wrecked, and beyond repair. The vehicle might be good for spare parts, but there’s no point trying to fix that piece of junk anymore.
When a vehicle stat is reduced to zero, it is Broken. There are no side-effects to Hull being Broken, except for the banged up metal, lost bumpers and broken lights, but when the Steering or Engine are Exhausted the vehicle’s performance will suffer. If both the Steering and Engine are Exhausted, the vehicle becomes non-operational until fixed.
A wrecked vehicle is worth 2d20 x 10 bitz in spare parts. Salvaging all the useful parts from a wrecked vehicle takes roughly 15 minutes per 10 bitz of salvage. Add an extra die to the salvage roll for Heavy vehicles, and subtract a die for Bikes. Example: Characters find a wrecked motorcycle in the desert and decide to take it into parts. One die is subtracted from the salvage roll, and a single d10 comes up as 7. That means the salvage is worth 70 bitz, and it would take at least an hour and 45 minutes to take the parts out of the wreck.
Damage → Hull → Wheel → Engine
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Wheels Critical Damage If two Specs are broken from a single hit, the vehicle suffers critical damage. Roll from the table below to see what happens. 1d10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Critical Damage Engine failure
Effect The vehicle’s engine suddenly shuts down, and restarting takes an Action and requires Driving Skill Check against CL10. Window broken Gain Handicap on high speed maneuvers and pursuit when driving without goggles. Tire shredded Gain Handicap on all maneuvers Steering Jammed! Something is wrong with the vehicle’s steering and the vehicle cannot move sideways more than one square per turn. Door lost The Vehicle’s armor on the door’s side is halved. Fuel Leak Lose 1 fuel per turn until the leak is fixed with a successful Repair check vs CL 10. Engine in flames The engine is in flames and the vehicle’s Engine and its passengers will take 1d6 points of Damage (Armor is halved) at the beginning of each round until the fire is extinguished or it goes out as per the Continuous Damage rules. No Brakes! The vehicle cannot slow down. The vehicle can be brought to halt with a successfull Remain Under Control maneuver. Collateral Damage The attack hits the driver for half the damage (after Armor is resolved). KABOOM! The vehicle explodes spectacularly, and bits and pieces of burning metal scatter around. The vehicle is immediately wrecked and beyond repair, and all passengers take 5d10 points of damage, along with everyone within five meters taking 1d10 points of damage.
Losing Control What happens when the driver is suddenly dead (or passes out). Roll once per round at the beginning of the driver’s turn to see what happens. Feel free to adapt the results to fit the situation better. 1d6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Effect Pedal to themetal! The gas pedal is stuck and the vehicle moves forward at High Speed for the next round. Sudden stop. The vehicle stops after moving to squares forward. Vehicle turns sharply. Vehicles in the same square have to evade (CL 10) or suffer 1d10 Collision Damage. Vehicle spins out of control. The vehicle goes into an uncontrollable spin and might crash into adjacent vehicles or objects in the same grid square (roll a Driving Skill Check against CL 10 or get hit). Bikes fall over and the passengers take Collision Damage. Vehicle rolls over. The vehicle flips on its side or roof. Vehicle and Passengers take 2d10 points of Collision Damage. Vehicle continues to move forward at Cruise Speed.
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FEAR & MADNESS The horrible monsters that crawled into our world from beneath the earth and depths of the oceans are not only dreadful in their appearance, many of these creatures defy rational thinking and the laws of physics as we know them. Their eldricht presence is disturbing on an instinctual level, invoking fear and distress in the most primal and ancient parts of human brain and consciousness. Madness restricts the amount of Velocity points a character can have stored. A character cannot have more than (10 - Madness) points of Velocity. Any Velocity points exceeding this limit are lost.
MADNESS Madness measures your character’s mental stability and corruption of the mind. In the world of eldritch horror and weird phenomena, Madness is more than just a flaw. When you detach your mind from rational thinking and the constraints of mundane senses, you expose your mind to the true, chaotic nature of reality and can perceive things that a sane person’s consciousnesses cannot comprehend. This distorted insight allows insane people to understand the alien scriptures, rites and devices the horrors have brought to our world with them.
Impulses Madness weakens the character’s impulse control, and resisting Vices and Disorders becomes more and more difficult as sanity seeps away from the character. Resisting impulses caused by a Vice, a disorder or other sources like telepathic suggestions is a Willpower check vs 10 + Madness.
Madness ranges from 0 to 10, where 10 is totally insane and completely detached from the rational thinking. A character with a Madness of 10 is overpowered by the voices calling in the dreams, and therefore cannot be played anymore as a player character.
Stress Resilience Madness acts like Armor, but for Stress. Each point of Madness reduces Strain suffered from Stress by one point, to a minimum of 1 point.
Losing it
Understanding the Incomprehensible
Each time a character gains a Disorder, they also gain a point of Madness and an additional point each time a natural 1 is rolled as a Sanity Check result. As the Madness score rises, the character will gradually start losing their contact with reality and starts to dream more frequent and vivid dreams with recurring settings, characters and events. Usually, these dreams wake a strong urge in the character to seek the source of the dreams either consciously or unconsciously. This can be presented as Compulsion disorder, for example.
Becoming insane sets the character free from the prison of rational thinking and inspires him to understand the strange artifacts and writings of the otherworldly beings that have taken over our world. When making a Mythos Skill Check to understand something strange, you can add your Madness rating to the Skill Check. You can also subtract the Madness score from the Experience point cost of learning to use mythos artefacts, symbols or rites.
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Fear & Madness SANITY CHECKS
If the Sanity check is successful, the character retains self-control and all is well. If the Sanity check is failed, the character suffers Stress based on the Intensity of the situation and a point of Madness, if the Skill Check die result was a 1.
Sanity Checks are made to test if the character is overpowered by fear or confusion and loses rational thinking and self-control.
Sanity Check = d20 + Willpower + Madness
A Sanity Check is a Willpower Skill Check, except that the character can add Madness to their Willpower skill’s level when making the check. The circumstances can provide an Edge or Handicap for the Sanity check. If the character is in an oppressive environment or is helpless, the character gains a Handicap to the Sanity check. If the character feels that they are safe and protected or in company of more than two friends, they will gain an Edge to the Sanity check.
Oppressive environment or being helpless (restrained, paralyzed, etc) = Handicap to the Sanity check Feeling secure or having more than two friends around = Edge to the Sanity check Natural 1 from a Sanity Check causes a point of Madness.
A Sanity check is made immediately when a character realizes or comes into contact with something deeply disturbing or terrifying.
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Fear & Madness FEAR RATING AND INTENSITY Fear Ratings determine the Challenge Level for the Sanity checks, while Stress Intensity is the amount of Stress suffered from a failed Sanity check. The examples below should be considered more like guidelines because every situation and character is unique and should be considered separately.
Fear Rating Situation Being attacked by mutated animals or witnessing the deaths of multiple people Witnessing torture or being attacked by mutated humans Witnessing the murder of a close friend, being attacked by aberrant creatures or suffering from serious personal loss or torture Witnessing cannibalism or paranormal activity, or being injured by an aberrant creature Being attacked by paranormal or alien entities, or being cannibalized Reality shattering terror, being torn between dimensions and space-time
Fear Rating 6 9 12 15 18 21
Stress Intensity The more personal and immediate the disturbing experience is, the more intense it will be. If the Fear Rating represents how difficult the experience is to handle, Intensity measures the magnitude of its effect on the character’s mind. Intensity Psychically violated, parasitic invasion, “body horror” in general, all senses affected Assaulted, Immediate range, all senses affected Within Reach range, one or two sense affected Within Close range, one sense affected Within Long range, obscured sensation with a single sense Not in immediate vicinity, seen or heard on a recording.
Stress 1d20 1d12 1d10 1d8 1d6 1d4
Example: Jona falls down into a cave and is separated from the other members of the convoy. His only light source in the darkness is his lighter, which allows just enough light to show that the cave floor is filled with bloated and decapitated corpses. The stench of the rotted remains is overwhelming. The GM calls for a Sanity check with a Fear Rating of 9, but with a Handicap because Jona is alone in the darkness without any knowledge of his whereabouts or what might have decapitated the corpses. Jona’s Willpower is 3 and his Madness is also 3. The player decides not to push because the check is fairly easy and points might be needed later. The player rolls two dice because of the Handicap and gets 12 and 1. The Handicap drops the highest result leaving Jona with the 1 and a check result of 7 (die 1 + Willpower 3 + Madness 3). Jona fails the Sanity Check. As Jona is practically treading on corpses, the GM states that he is in immediate contact with them, but not under assault and therefore suffers 1d10 points of Stress and a point of Madness from the die result of 1. Jona Suffers 4 points of Stress draining his Psyche down to 2. He certainly is scared and on the brink of a panic attack, but still manages to keep calm.
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Fear & Madness DISORDERS If a character suffers Stress so much at once that it Exhausts two Abilities, the character suffers a Disorder. Roll d10 from the table below to see how the mental trauma affects the character. Disorders are a damaged mind’s attempt to defend itself from total collapse, and affect the conscious actions of the character. A character is able to “act against” a disorder to defend in combat or when trying to escape from mortal danger. A gameplay effect of a Disorder is triggered by game events related to the Disorder, and the effect lasts for the rest of the scene.
1d10 1
Disorder Insomnia
2
Uncontrollable stutter
3
Target Phobia
4
Induced Anxiety
5
Selective Amnesia
6
Compulsion
7
Paranoid delusion
8
Factual delusion
9
Hallucinations
10
Illusory pain
Effect The character has recurring nightmares, making resting harder. The nightmares occur no matter what time of day it is and cause the character to gain only half of a rest’s benefits. The character gains an uncontrollable stutter manifesting in a social situation. This stutter may affect speech or other forms of communication including writing or body movements. This disorder causes a handicap whenever the character is interacting socially. The character has a sudden phobia of snakes, insects, or some other type of creature. The phobia causes a handicap die whenever this creature is present and stops the character from going near the creature. The character has a fear of open spaces, people or certain situations. This anxiety creates a handicap, but does not prevent the character from entering the situation or place inducing the anxiety. The character forgets something current, and will not remember any facts related to the thing, even if reminded of the fact. It’s like the thing would not exist for the character. The character suffers from a compulsive pattern of behaviour, such as the need to wash their hands after a fight or to change clothes when getting out of a car. If the compulsion is not met, the character gains a handicap until compulsion is followed. The character becomes certain that some undefinable horror is out there, and it is actively trying to harm the character. Any accidents or portents that can be attributed to the undefined, have to be attributed to the undefinable horrors that scheme to destroy the world or the character themself. The character gains a semi-permanent delusion about a fact. The delusion may take a form of a superstitious belief, and the character suffers when acting without a lucky charm, for example. This delusion will only be strengthened if it’s questioned, and all evidence to counter the delusions are interpreted as lies or deception. The character’s comprehension of what’s really happening is starting to falter, and the character developes a recurring hallucination about, for example, people on the roadside or children starving. The character starts to feel phantom pain and other symptoms of an internal wound or disease. This pain has all the symptoms of a physical wound and may even be “healed” by normal means for a time. If healed physically, the disorder manifests as another wound or disease within a week.
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THE RIG RAID A Ready-to-play high octane car chase adventure for 2-4 characters.
OVERVIEW
The fort houses more than a thousand citizens, and it is the local hub for trade and oil commerce. The Sacred Oil’s bazaars have everything you might need; even occasional artifacts or working electronic devices.
The characters are hired by the head priest of the Sacred Oil fort to stop a truck that has kidnapped some of the patriarch’s finest acolytes. When they chase the truck, they quickly understand that they are dealing with the servants of the Cult of Yuggoth and the mi-go flesh husks who are taking the kidnapped acolytes’ brains to the mi-go hive in the mountains up north. The adventure is mostly full octane, high speed car chases and vehicular combat.
How we came to this? Sometimes starting the adventure directly from the chase just does not feel right. A good way to create some backstory for the game or flesh out the characters is to play a flashback scene as a prologue. The scenario still starts from the chase, but the scene will be interrupted after the initial description - to a flashback of what happened last night as the characters were preparing for the operation. After playing the events of previous night, you can continue to the chase scene and do a short recap on what’s happening in the scene.
BACKSTORY The characters are contacted by, Father Octanius, the patriarch and the head priest of the Sacred Oil Fort to chase the cargo truck that is transporting people kidnapped from Sacred Oil. He offers one thousand gallons of fuel as a reward. As usual, when the reward is this high, you don’t ask questions. The adventure starts in medias res during the chase. The characters can now see the rig and the vehicles protecting it. Now it is time to put the pedal to the metal and close the gap between them and the truck.
CULT OF YUGGOTH
The Sacred Oil Fort
The Cult of Yuggoth consists of mutants and madmen who have been in contact with the Mi-go since the The Reckoning. The cult has been taught by their masters to seek salvation, which lies in the distant planet of Yuggoth. They believe that the greatest human brains will be taken to Yuggoth to transcend into something as noble and perfect as the mi-go.
The Sacred Oil Fort is a citadel-sized temple in the West Coast area near the ruins of San Francisco. There sacred portions of Oil and Gas are given to sinners. The temple looks like a massive oil refinery decorated with thousands of oil lanterns and red flags dirty from dark smoke. The citadel is surrounded by five meterhigh concrete walls covered with ornamental carvings.
The Yuggoth cultists wear insect-like masks made
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The Rig Raid from scrap metal and leather or pink face paint. Some of them bear fungoid mutations on their skin.
THE ROAD
How to play the cultists
When the adventure starts, the truck is driving in an open wasteland highway. Within a few miles, the road descends onto a chthonian trail where it ascends back to a highway and leads into ruins. After the ruins there is a chase through an old bridge, and behind the bridge there lies the mi-go mountain hive - a place where people fear to go.
You can’t reason with the cultists. They think their cause is nobler and greater than anything else and impossible to explain to anyone who has not seen the White Light and the beauty of Yuggoth in their dreams. They don’t fear death, and are especially fearless and determined when they are in the company of mi-gos or their flesh husks.
The Wasteland Highway: It takes four rounds for the truck to reach the end of the wasteland highway.
The greatest honor there is for a servant of Yuggoth is to have their brains released from their body. They believe that showing strength of will and great loyalty to mi-go will expedite their ascension to Yuggoth. When proving their worth, they often chant in unison phrases like “To Yuggoth!”, “ Salvation for my mind!” or “My body is ready!”
The Chthonian Trail: A chthonian trail resembles a
canyon or giant chute, and takes four rounds to pass. One grid square on each side of the truck is accessible on the trail as the walls rise too steeply on each side.
The Ruins: It takes four rounds to go through the ruins
and at the beginning of every round roll d6. If the die roll is 4 or more, there is a Hard turn or a short Jump all the vehicles must make or the vehicle crashes onto a building, rubble or a car wreck and takes normal Collision Damage.
Turn length
The Iron Bridge: The Bridge over the dried bay takes four rounds to cross, before the chase is cut by a heavily fortified gate that is manned by armed cultists. Going throught the gate would be a suicide. The bridge is filled with rubble and vehicle wrecks. Driver’s must make a Precision Driving check at the beginning of their turn or the vehicle is hit by rubble and takes 1d10 points of Damage. On the bridge two grid squares on each side of the truck are accessible.
Notice that the turn length is approximately 10 seconds, but it is flexible. In general one character can do one specific action every turn. If it fits the game let the character try it and don’t worry to much about the time limit. For example, on the first turn a character might jam his car’s wheel and gas pedal with something found inside the car, on the second turn he can climb on top of the car and on the third turn, try to jump on a passing vehicle.
The Gate: The way throught the bridge is cut by a heavy
iron gate manned by cultist warriors. Beyond the gate lies the cultist lands and the dreaded mountain hive. They open the gate for the truck and its escort vehicles, but will fight any chasers with crossbows, guns and molotovs. Going even close to the gate is a certain suicide. There are enough men to fight of a small warband.
THE SETUP Put the truck in the middle of the grid, and one sand buggy on each side of the truck, one in front of it and one behind it. Characters start four grid squares behind the truck. The truck moves at a steady speed and is always in the middle of the grid. All other vehicles move on the grid, depending on what they do.
The Mountains: The mi-go mountain hive resembles a giant desert ant hill approximately a hundred meters high. There are bluish vapors rising from the hive, and it oozes purple sludge that has turned most of its surroundings light-purple. Every character knows that this place is beyond their limits (but if they want to
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The Rig Raid
go there, you can end this episode here, and you can continue on with that scenario next time when you have had time to think about how the characters can get to the hive and what is in there).
In the beginning, the buggies are divided evenly around the truck and drive at a steady speed.
Cultists ff Drive: Serve the Mi-Go and prove their worth to their masters. ff Vitality: 10 ff Push Limit: 0 ff Defense: 12 ff Attacks: per weapon ff Skills: Athletics 2, Fighting 2, Shooting, 2, Driving 1 ff Remarks: In addition to any other weapons, each cultist has a machete, an axe or a knife. The truck’s driver has a heavy pistol with 6 rounds.
SAND BUGGIES Cultists drive sand buggies that protect the truck. There are four sand buggies protecting the truck, and in each sand buggy, there are two cultists: the driver and a passenger standing behind the driver. Each sand buggy carries a different weapon: one has two boom spears, another a regular spear, the third a crossbow and the fourth has a shotgun with five rounds. Sand buggies protect the truck, and always try to stay between the characters’ vehicles and the truck. If the characters are outnumbered, they try to ram the characters’ vehicles, or if there are two sand buggies they to try to ram the vehicle from both sides. The buggy passenger might also jump onto a vehicle and try to burst the tires with their spear.
Loot Each cultist has a weapon and 1d20 bitz worth of other items.
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The Rig Raid TRUCK The heavily armored truck is transporting the kidnapped victims to the mountain hive. The truck’s wheels are covered by armor plating and it has heavy snow plow in front to ram barricades. The truck is clumsy and mostly drives forward at a steady speed, or tries to sideswipe the vehicles on either side of it. It has two armored towers on top of it where cultists throw spears onto passing vehicles (they carry two spears per cultist). There are as many cultists on top of the truck as there are player characters. If the characters climb on top of the truck or the truck stops, the driver sounds a horn and Cultist Boss emerges from the hatch and climbs onto the roof of the trailer. He is a big bald tattooed man holding a chain with a chainsaw on its other end.
Cultist Boss ff Drive: Protect the Mi-Go masters and their valuable cargo. ff Vitality: 15 ff Push Limit: 1 ff Defense: 10 (Armor 3) ff Attacks: Chainsaw (Damage 2d8+2, Rending) ff Skills: Fighting 6, Strength 7 ff Remarks: Chainsaw Master: The Cultist Boss can throw his chainsaw up to Reach range. It takes a Trifle to pull the chainsaw back and catch it; Regeneration: The cultist boss can heal 1d6 Strain per turn as a Trifle.
Loot The characters can find 2d10 x 10 bitz worth of various scarp and small items. With a succesful Perception check against CL 15 they can find a pistol with 2d10 rounds and knife hidden in the truck’s cabin.
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The Rig Raid
caught off guard as a pink, man-sized crustacean-like creature emerges from inside the cylinder through a portal that has appeared on one side.
TRAILER Inside the truck’s trailer the characters will find a disturbing sight (Fear Rating 9). There are twelve lifeless bodies hanging from the trailer’s roof from thin transparent threads. The bodies are naked and pale. All the bodies are shaven hairless, and they are covered in a thin layer of slime that smells like antiseptic fluids. The bodies seem otherwise untouched, but all of the bodies, except one, are missing the tops of their skulls and the brains. Closer inspection (Medicine check against CL 10) reveals that the one body is actually alive, but the life signs are very faint, almost like she was hibernating.
If the characters open the cylinder before the creature comes out of it the characters can enter the cylinder. Otherwise they must first deal with the creature.
Cargo Pod The cylinder is actually a hyperdimensional device that has many times larger space inside it than it should be. The portal on the side of the cylinder leads to a circular laboratory illuminated by a dim light with no apparent light source. The characters can see various devices and machines, whose purpose is unknown, protruding from the floor and the roof. There are tens of smaller metal cylinders, slightly bigger than a human head, stored in small recesses in the walls. In the middle of the space, there are two mi-gos in the cargo pod. One is levitating in the air, restrained with some kind of metallic tentacles. It seems unconscious. The other creature is facing the other way, conducting its research and manipulating one of the strange devices. The creatures are mi-gos.
Behind the bodies, at the back of the trailer, stands a strange cylinder made of a dark blue alien metal that feels almost frictionless to the touch. The cylinder is around two meters tall and maybe a meter in diameter. It has weird engravings all around its surface, and the air around the cylinder seems to ripple for an unknown reason. If they are examined more closely, the engravings look like they are moving. If the characters decide to examine the cylinder more closely, and succeed in a Mythos + Madness check against CL 15, they will learn just in time that the cylinder can be opened by touching a circular engraving on its side. If the check is failed, the character’s are
If the creature notices the characters, it will make a buzzing noise and takes a few steps back. It seems to wait for help for one round until it realizes that no help
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The Rig Raid is coming. After that, the mi-go attacks the character’s and keeps them away from the other mi-go and the strange devices.
When he realizes that he is doomed to live in the mi-go body, he wants (choose one that fits your game): ...to be killed.
Mi-Go
...to be left alone, and he wanders into the the wasteland.
“They were pinkish things about five feet long; with crustaceous bodies bearing vast pairs of dorsal fins or membraneous wings and several sets of articulated limbs, and with a sort of convoluted ellipsoid, covered with multitudes of very short antennae, where a head would ordinarily be.... As it was, nearly all the rumours had several points in common; averring that the creatures were a sort of huge, light-red crab with many pairs of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle of their back.”
...to join the mi-go, and he heads for the mountain hive.
Loot The characters can find various items from the cargo pod. The cylinders in the wall recesses contain human brains preserved in a weird glittering substance. Each cylinder is worth 500 bitz, if sold to people with right connections. On top of the cylinders the characters can find a device that looks like a silver crown. This is a dream-crown, and it can be used to contact other people, or mi-go, through dream-like telepathy. Last, but not least, the characters can find various minor alien artifacts worth 2d6 x 100 bitz in total.
– The Whisperer in the Darkness, H.P. Lovecraft ff Drive: Preserve special human brains and study them. ff Vitality: 24 ff Push Limit: 3 ff Defense: 13 (Carapace: Armor 3) ff Attacks: Claws 1d6 (Quick), Deathray 2d8 (Rending, Close range, clip 5) ff Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Dexterity 6, Medicine 12, Science 9, Perception 4, Shooting 3, Mythos 8 ff Remarks: Fly: The mi-go can fly at normal speed, and gain an Edge for Dodging while flying; Deathray: the mi-go is armed with a device resembling a metallic beetle. The device shoots white beams that burn searing holes into flesh. The device is usable by humans at cost of 1d10 XP, but instead of running out of ammunition, the device will reload itself automatically by dealing 1d4 points Damage (this does not apply to mi-gos.
Dream-crown (Artifact) When a person wears this device like a crown in their head and closes their eyes, he starts to hear whispers all around him. When the device is worn for the first time the user must make a Sanity Check against Fear Rating 15 (Intensity 1d12). Every time after the first time wearing the device causes 1d6 points of Stress. When wearing the dream-crown, the character can initiate a telepathic conversation with any other person the character knows personally. The conversation happens in a dream-like illusionary environment. Sometimes shadowy figures can be seen lurking in the shadows. If either of the characters looks at these figures, the mi-go will become aware of the characters’ whereabouts.
Bill The unconscious mi-go is actually a human named Bill, whose brain is implanted into a mi-go body. Bill awakes after the other mi-go is defeated or he is transported out of the Cargo Pod. He speaks perfect English in a buzzing tone. He doesn’t realize at first that he is in a mi-go body, and is grateful that the characters have come to rescue him. When he starts to realize what has happened to him.
ff Obscurity: 15 (2d10 XP) ff Activations: 1d20 ff Barter Value: 2000 bitz
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The Rig Raid EPILOGUE If the characters manage to return the one body that was alive, named Alysa, to the Sacred Oil Fort, they will receive their reward. Otherwise, the High Priest refuses to pay the character’s anything. If the characters return to look for any of the cultist bodies or the truck they realize their enemy has have vanished into thin air. There are no tracks leading anywhere or tracks of any kind on the ground. Characters gain Experience according to the following guidelines: µµ 1d10 XP for defeating the cultists µµ 1d10 XP for stopping the truck µµ 1d10 XP for defeating the cultist boss µµ 2d10 XP for defeating the mi-go µµ 1d10 XP for saving Bill µµ 1d10 XP for saving Alysa
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Space Opera Role-Playing Game
Fire up your voidjammer's engines and prepare your rifter crew for adventure. HYPERSTORM is a science fiction role-playing game about explorers and treasure hunters who go boldly beyond the final frontier - into the Hyperstorm.
Would you like to know more? Visit the dev diary at www.hyperstorm-rpg.com
Role-Playing Games with a Backbone Since 2006
www.ironspine.com
