Playtest Version Appendix with styles, gambits, items, occultism, hexes and dwimmers from the Cyclopaedia included. Not all paths included. Chronicle and The Aviary included. (Improvised replacements for some components required.) Polyhedral dice required.

﴾ CREDITS ﴿ Playtesters: Simon Andreasen, Kasper Budolfsen Jensen, Thomas Coltau Bærentsen, Anders Josephsen Dissing, Ole Dines Olsen, Jacob Willadsen, Anders Petersen, Kim Bertelsen, Sidsel Rønnegaard Revsbech, Mads Stidsen. Public domain art: Friedrich August von Kaulbach, Rombaut van Troyen, Viktor Tilgner, Howard Pyle, Edwin Bashfield, Alf Wallander, Konstantin Makovsky, Jean Delville, Leonardo da Vinci. Icons: Lorc, Skoll. (Icons provided under the Creative Commons 3.0 BY.) System and game development: Per Qvarfot Jespersen, Stephan Marius Aynsley Voss. Simulations: Per Qvarfot Jespersen. Writing and Layout: Stephan Marius Aynsley Voss. Graphics and Manipulated art: Stephan Marius Aynsley Voss. Find us at: www.reigngame.eu This Guide and The Cyclopaedia uses the system Realm Engine: Infinite Gaming Nexus (R.E:I.G.N.). “Realm Engine: Infinite Gaming Nexus” is copyright 2019 by Per Qvarfot Jespersen and Stephan Marius Aynsley Voss. All rights reserved. This playtest version of the Guide and the Path Profiles may not be sold, but may be transmitted and reproduced unaltered.

When the first humans crawled out of the swamp, or whichever forsaken place they originated, they were weak-willed, primitive and violent. The great lie spread by fools too naïve to see the truth is that this has changed. It hasn’t. The human race is still unworthy of recognition as a civilized race. Using humans for labour is the only sensical option, which would, furthermore, give the pitiful creatures hope of absorbing some of our greatness to better themselves. But I doubt such a thing shall ever happen. -Fintaril, Elven Lord of Dovanestia. We all should have paid more attention when the first seasonals were born. It didn’t take long for us to realize that the physical traits of newborn human children were being determined by the seasonal changes surrounding their settlements. What we failed to realize, probably because no one would have considered it a possibility, was that this new order was a sign of the establishment of a human Demesne. Their demesnycs did not simply take advantage of the nature behind the Realms of this world, but also disturbed their structure. Whether the humans actually created a new Demesne, bound themselves to an existing one or some combination of the two, is better left for the philosophers to debate, but what is certain is that their meddling caused a fracture in our world, the consequence of which we are still dealing with. -Eida, historian of the Sini Clan.

﴾ CONTENTS ﴿

‡ I N T R O D U C T I O N ‡

† A GOOD CAUSE † DUNGEONETTE

‡ P A T H S ‡

† ADVENTURER † ARCANIST † ASSASSIN † REDEEMER † SLAYER † SUMMONER † TEMPLAR

‡ G A M E S ‡

† THE AVIARY † CHRONICLE

‡ A P P E N D I C E S ‡

† STYLING † GAMBITS † LOOT † OCCULTISM

﴾﴿ GETTING STARTED ealm Engine: Infinite Gaming Nexus is a system that can be used in various unique games. At its core lies the Cyclopaedia, a framework of rules for how to con-

trol a persona and deal with the challenges common to the various R.E:I.G.N. games. This Guide is intended as an intro-duction to the rules written in the Cyclopaedia. To get started, you should find a copy of an “Adventurer” persona profile (look next to “Path” at the top), which looks like this:

(Download copies from www.reigngame.eu.) In addition, you will need the included dice, a pencil and some paper. Begin by reading (and playing) “A Good Cause” on the next page. Make sure you only read the sections in-tended for you! Thus, if you’re sent from, say, section 1A to 1C, you should not read 1B, unless explicitly told to. Once you’ve gone through this tutorial, you can continue with the slightly more advanced intro game “Dungeonette”, which will work with any number of players. We recom-mend that at least one player has completed “A Good Cause”, so he or she can help the others through “Dungeonette”. We obviously hope you will find this Guide useful to begin with, but, in time, we expect you to move on to use the Cyclopae-dia exclusively. For now, the Guide is your friend.

Dice Terminology Before you turn the page, you should know the basic termi-nology concerning dice. We use six different types of dice, defined by their number of sides as shown here:

Four-sided die, also known as d4.

Six-sided die, also known as d6.

Eight-sided die, also known as d8.

Ten-sided die, also known as d10.

Twelve-sided die, also known as d12.

Twenty-sided die, also known as d20. The “dx” format is usually coupled with a value indicating the number of dice to be rolled. For instance, if someone asks you to roll 3d8, it means that you should roll three eight-sided dice. Note that the format doesn’t tell you how to process the results, but we usually sum the “raw” values and add them to another number called a base. Using the example from before, we could write something like 1+3d8, which would mean that you should roll three eight-sided dice, sum the results and add one. Let’s say the raw values you rolled were 3, 5 and 6, then your total result would be 1+3+5+6 = 15. Sounds easy enough, right?

R ﴾ TUTORIAL ﴿

‡‡‡ IIINNNTTTOOO TTTHHHEEE GGGAAAMMMEEE ‡‡‡

‡ A G O O D C A U S E ‡ ﴾﴿ ACT 1, SCENE 1: EVENING RUN

onight did not work out as it was supposed to. With a splash, you land in a puddle of water – at least, you hope it’s water - and take off down the moonlit alley

in front of you. Chancing a look across your shoulder at the second storey window you just dropped down from, a sliver of relief loosens the knot in your stomach, if only for a few seconds. But hoping that your pursuer has let you go would be a fatal mistake, and as you pick up your pace, anxiety grabs hold of your gut and twists. No, tonight did not go as planned, at all. You hear Mike’s voice in your head as you flee at break-neck speed. “Come on, don’t be such a drag. It’ll be fun. Nice and easy. In and out with no one noticing. And for a good cause, too. Jamie already said yes.” His smile with its missing front tooth hovers in your mind for a second, then is replaced by the mangled visage of a few minutes ago. Something rolls under your right foot and you feel your balance falter...

+ : In order to keep from falling, you must make what is called a Flow check us-ing 5+1d12+1d20. Roll a twenty-sided die and a twelve-sided die and sum the raw values, then add your Flow base which is 5. If the total is bigger than what we call the Crux of the check, which in this case is16, you succeed and must go to 1A (of this Act). Reroll if the total of the three values is equal to 16 (a so-called “deadlock”). If the sum is lower than the Crux of 16, the check fails and you should go to 1B (of this Act). 1A: You slip and stumble but manage to regain you footing, although you bang your shoulder against a beam protrud-ing from a wall. Go to 1C and suffer 1 Strain. 1B: You slip and fall, stupidly spinning yourself around in the process. Miraculously, you escape injury but only for a moment. As you clamber back to your feet, you bang your head on a beam protruding from a wall. Go to 1C and suffer 2 Strain. 1C: Find the part of your profile sheet that says Strain and write down the amount you just suffered. If you ever accumulate more Strain than the value listed as your Knell, 30, you become Helpless, which is about as fun as it sounds. You’re a clumsy fool, but since you prefer to be a living, breathing, clumsy fool, you shoot off down the alley, pay-ing more attention to any obstacles this time. Before you can get very far, a rusty gate cuts you off. You could climb it, but it’s got some nasty spikes on top, and it doesn’t look too sturdy. Sometimes violence is the best solution. It’s probably the quickest, anyway. And considering the way

Mike’s killer moved, time isn’t something you’re keen on wasting.

+ : The Crux for breaking the gate is 15 and you must make an extended Might check. Your Might is 3, so you need to roll 3+1d12+1d20. However, when a check is extended, you need to calculate by how much you beat the Crux. This number is called the Excess. If, for instance, you were to get a Might check result of 19, your Excess would be 19-15=4. In an Extended check you add the Excesses of several Might checks until you get a total of 25 or more. (Failed rolls are ignored for this particular Ex-tended check.) If you reach the required total with three or fewer checks (not counting deadlock rerolls), go to 2A. If you need four or five checks before you reach 25 go to 2B. And finally, if you need six or more Might checks, go to 2C. 2A: The gate doesn’t put up much of a fight as a few well placed kicks has it flying open. Go to 2D. 2B: You force the gate open with a series of kicks, but on the final one a jolt of pain shoots through your leg. Add 2 to your Strain, then go to 2D. 2C: The gate won’t budge to your desperate kicks, so you throw yourself at it, finally breaking it off its hinges. Un-fortunately, you go toppling down with the gate hitting the ground hard. Add 3 to your Strain, then go to 2D. 2D: You leave the broken gate behind and storm off, pretty sure you’re getting close to the main street, where you should be safe, in theory. Rounding a corner you slide to a halt as the alley ends in a brick wall. Yup, the gods defi-nitely have it in for you. But then again, they may have of-fered you a sporting chance, 'cause the wall is old and crumbled with decent-enough-looking handholds. Up you go!

+ : The Crux for climbing this wall is 17 and you must make a matchup Grit check. Your Grit is 4, so you need to roll 4+1d12+1d20. A matchup is a special kind of extended check, where, just like be-fore, you add the Excesses of several Grit checks, until you reach a total of 20. But this time, whenever a Grit check fails, you will have to calculate by how much, giving you a Gap. Say your Grit result is 11, then the Gap will be 17-11=6. In a matchup, all Gaps are added, and if your total Gap reaches 20 before your total Excess does, you will fall down, suffering 3 Strain which must be added to any you already have. Learning from your mistake, you may then climb the wall automatically (in this particular case). Go to 3A whether your total Excess reaches 20 or you succeed automatically.

T Excess Extended

Check Crux

Strain Knell

Gap Matchup

3A: Hauling yourself the rest of the way to the top, you try to stay low as you scan your surroundings. You cannot see your pursuer, but then, you didn’t see anything until a sec-ond before Mike went down. From now on we’ll use the following standard format for the challenges you are going to face:

SCAN SURROUNDINGS [single] Crux 22 Check Edge WIN: Go to 3B FAIL: Go to 3C The exclamation point means that the challenge is manda-tory. The title describes the nature of what you have to do. “single” tells you that all players doing the challenge must roll individually (which is clearly redundant in this tuto-rial). The second line is fairly self-explanatory. In this par-ticular case you must make an Edge check, which is 4+1d20+1d12. Win and Fail can be anything, but in this case tell you where to go next in the tutorial. So, if your check result is greater than the Crux of 22, you should go to 3B. Head to 3C if it’s lower. Reroll in case you hit the Crux right on the nose. 3B: Your breath catches in your throat as you see a figure moving down the alley towards you. Before full-scale panic sets in, you realize that it’s Jamie, and a flood of relief washes over you. She made it out as well. In a few moments she’s climbed the wall, and you’ve helped each other down on the other side. Go to 3F. 3C: A shadow stalks towards you from the direction you just came, and your heart stops. Your body reacts instinc-tively shifting your weight backwards. Which would be less of a problem if a stone didn’t come loose under your foot at the same time.

DON’T FALL [single] Crux 18 Check Edge WIN: Go to 3D FAIL: Go to 3E If what you get from this is to roll 4+1d20+1d12 and try to get a result that’s higher than 18, you’re absolutely right. Remember to reroll in case of a deadlock (result equal to the Crux). 3D: With an effort, you manage to stay on top of the wall. A hushed voice from the approaching figure calls your name, and you realize its Jamie. Thank goodness, she made it out alive. Nimbly, she ascends the wall, and you both climb back down on the other side. Go to 3F. 3E: For a confused second, you feel nothing, then the ground hits you in the back. Hard. A startled voice calls your name, and a few seconds later Jamie has scaled the wall and lands next to you. If your bones weren’t crying out in protest, you could have laughed with relief at seeing her. As it is, you settle for a cough and allow her to help you to your feet. You hadn’t dared hope she’d made it out after you. Add 4 to the Strain you have already gained, then go to 3F. 3F: Without wasting a breath, the two of you sprint away from the wall and down the new alley you’ve come down

into. Before you get very far, Jamie suddenly grabs your arm and pulls you to one side. “Hide in there,” she whispers, and points to what you can now see is not just a deep shadow but rather a deep door-way. Rushing to the opposite side of the alley, she ducks behind a broken cart, someone’s leaned against a wall. You can just make out her eyes in the low light, and what you see there does not bring you any comfort. She’s at least as scared as you are. Suddenly she focuses on a point above your head. Briefly catching your gaze, there’s no mistaking the warning in her eyes. Whatever’s hunting you must be on the rooftop above you.

STAY. VERY. QUIET. [joint] Crux 20 Check Aegis WIN: Go to 4A FAIL: Go to 4B As you may have noticed this check is of a different type than the ones you made be-fore, namely a joint check. Joint checks are used when success and failure affect eve-ryone in a group of personas, which, inci-dentally, we call a band. Players take turns being “play leader” of their group, having the final say on collective decisions. The leader also has a special role to play in a joint check. The way it works is that the play leader rolls the d20 part of the required check, and then everyone (including the leader) rolls their d12. By default, entities who aren’t personas don’t roll dice. But that doesn’t mean they can’t. As an instructive example, we’ll pretend that Jamie has a player who is the leader and have her roll a d20. The raw result is 10. She also adds a roll of her d12 and her Aegis base for a total result of 23, giving her an Excess of 3. Now, in a joint check, Excesses and Gaps are added and sub-tracted, respectively, and the total must be greater than 0, if the attempt is to succeed. (If it’s exactly 0, everyone re-rolls. Jamie will get the same result, if that happens.) You should now roll a d12 and add your Aegis base, which is 3 and Jamie’s Status Die roll of 10. Even if you get a Gap of 1 or 2 on your own roll, the joint check will still succeed (sending you to 4A), because the joint Excess will be 2 or 1, respectively. A Gap of 4 or more means failure, though; in which case you should go to 4B. 4A: As quiet as mice, you wait for what feels like hours, but is probably only seconds, until Jamie makes a small gesture and the two of you flee as fast as you can. Go to 4C. 4B: Jamie’s found a perfect hiding place for you, but it doesn’t matter as a cat suddenly jumps out close by, forcing an embarrassing squeal from you. Your skin goes cold as ice, but before your pursuer can fall upon you, Jamie throws something, causing a crash in the direction you came from, gaining precious seconds to evacuate your hid-ing places and race down the alley, like a devil was on your tails - which may well be the case. Go to 4C. 4C: You round a corner, and this time, instead of another obstacle, a sea of light beckons at the end of the narrow alley. You can almost feel claws tear into your back, hear fangs snap at you throat, but at least your overactive

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Leader Joint

imagination helps you run faster. And then you’re bathed in light and voices of people in a cheerful street. Even though it’s late, people seem in no hurry to get home, en-joying the first warm evening of the year. A few café guests look at you quizzically, as you burst from the alley, but they quickly lose interest, resuming their conversation. Running would only draw attention, so you do your best to appear like someone out for a stroll. “I’m sorry,” is the first thing you say, once your heart rate has slowed down a bit. “What for?” Jamie asks. “Well, for abandoning you back there. Everything got so chaotic, and I couldn’t see you...” “I know. It was crazy. Something hit me on the head, and I couldn’t focus or hear properly. Just a lot of noise and blurred images. When the world stopped spinning, I found myself under a table. Somehow, I’d managed to crawl to safety. Did you see what happened?” “To Mike?” you ask. Jamie nods, although she doesn’t have to. You can tell from the look in her eyes that’s what she means. “We’d just entered the library, when the door closed be-hind us. I got a brief look at a figure; not animal, but crouched like one, with a mouth full of fangs. I think it threw a dim runestone, 'cause suddenly the lights went low. Not low enough that I couldn’t see how it tore into Mike, though.” You shudder with revulsion at the all too fresh memory. “Just opened him up with its claws. I tried to stop it, but I was no match on my own, just a mouse fac-ing down a cat. So, when I got the chance, I broke a win-dow and escaped out into the street. I honestly didn’t think I’d get away.” “No, well, I think I can explain that. When I got out from under the table, I could hear these sort of wet, crunching sounds. It took me a second or two, but I realized it was someone eating. My vision was still swimming a bit, but I could make out Mike’s corpse and something bent over it. Then I caught sight of the broken window and just ran for it. Not particularly brave.” “Doesn’t exactly sound like you were in fighting condi-tion,” you console her. And to some extent yourself.

NOTICE ANYTHING? [single] Crux 19 Check Flow WIN: Go to 5A FAIL: Go to 5B 5A: A queer fellow is leaning against a lamp post, jet black hair slicked back. He’s wearing a red suit and a mismatch-ing cane. When he sees you noticing him, he nods, then loses himself in the crowd. Go to 5B. 5B: “Poor Mike,” Jamie says. “Never thought I’d hear you say that. But, yeah. Despite his flaws, he didn’t deserve that.” “And all for nothing too.” “Right, if only we’d found the ruddy thing. It might actually have been in that library, but we didn’t even get the chance to look around.” “You’re considering going back?” she asks.

“No way. I’m not even sure why I let Mike talk me into his stupid plan. Aside from the money we’d be paid, of course. But no, right now, I just want to make sure that thing’s off our backs.” “What do you propose?” “I say we split up. I’ll take the Duchess’ Stride, you can slip out the back of The Gilded Hound. We should be able to make sure it’s not on our tails, that way. We can meet up tomorrow at the usual place.” “Actually, how about Malorn?” “Seriously? You’re thinking about cake, right now? I thought you were on a diet.” “Well, here’s a secret, I’m a comfort eater. And after to-night, I could do with some comfort.” “Like that’s a secret. But sure, we’ll meet at Malorn’s. Say noon?” You hug briefly and wave each other a casual goodbye, like you were just two unconcerned friends calling it a night. Then you head for the Duchess’ Stride, feeling a little less safe with Jamie gone.

: This concludes the first scene of the tutorial. When-ever a scene ends, personas reduce their Strain by an amount equal to their Resilience + 1d4. You Resilience is 6, so roll a four-sided die, add the result to 6 and lower your Strain by that much. Note that it can’t go below 0. ﴾﴿ ACT 1, SCENE 2: THE STRIDE First time you used the Duchess’ Stride, you didn’t know what to expect. You still don’t, but at least you know to ex-pect the unexpected. A series of twisting tunnels, forgotten rooms and enormous caverns constitute the Stride, an ideal place to hide - and to get lost. The path you’re planning on following is well-used and relatively safe, with the signif-icant advantage of having an entrance nearby. Leaving the well-lit street with a touch of concern, you hurry past a couple of closed shops until you reach a minor square with a an old well off to one side. About as far below the opening as a grown person can reach with their feet, rungs leading down have been set into the stonework. After a quick glance around, you swing your feet over the edge of the well and drop to stand on the topmost rung. Someone un-familiar with the Stride might try to climb down the rungs, but they would only reach the water surface, unaware that at the bottom, a lock had opened when they stepped on the first rung. Knowing that the lock will only remain open for a brief while, you push off from the wall and dive towards the water below.

PERFECT FORM [single] Crux 16 Check Flow WIN: Go to 1C FAIL: Go to 1A 1A: One second you’re falling, the next you’re surrounded by water. Disoriented, you struggle to find the lever that opens the latch somewhere below.

HOLD YOUR BREATH [single] Crux 23 Check Grit WIN: Go to 1D FAIL: Go to 1B

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1B: Eventually, you are forced to resurface. The lock must have closed again by now, anyway. You locate the rungs, and start climbing, but suddenly your foot slips. Instinc-tively, you tighten your grip with your left hand to avoid falling, and swing awkwardly into the side of the well, bruising your ribs on another rung. Aching, you continue the climb until you reach the top rung. Once there, you send yourself plummeting towards the water again. Suffer 2 Strain and go to 1C. 1C: The impact hardly has time to register before your feet touch the floor of the well, where they locate and push a lever. Go to 1D. 1D: Another fall, as a latch in the floor slides back to drop you into a tunnel, whose rough walls are lit by a ghostly light. A small flock of moths flutter away from a nearby lump of glowing moss as you and a small torrent of water land with a grunt and a splash. Above your head, the latch has already shut again. You reach into a pocket and with-draw a glowstone, which you activate with a bang against a wall to produce a pleasant light, then set off down the corridor. Running isn’t advised in the Stride, and most likely the thing that was on your tail isn’t any longer. Prob-ably. Still, you keep your ears pricked for any sudden sound of falling water. Having Jamie along for added safety would have been nice but, considering where you’re going, wasn’t an option. Fortunately, she didn’t question your plan. As you move down the tunnel, it continually divides and branches off. You keep to the path you know, having no desire to risk an unknown path. Especially considering that you’re soaking wet and need to get to some dry clothes be-fore you catch cold. Halfway to your intended exit, you suddenly pick up on loud voices ahead. Approaching with care, you cover your glowstone with your hand and peek around a corner. Half-a-dozen heavily armored warriors are making their way towards your position. All as one have remarkably strong jaw-lines, and when they speak you catch a glimpse of sharp teeth. Grimjaws. Okay, so it’s not impossible they’ll smile and let you pass, just like it’s not impossible someone’s going to leave a chest of gold harps on your front door. But the first rule of the Stride is, ‘Assume hostility’. There’s only one other path to take, short of going back, and you think you remember where it leads. Five minutes later you’re looking at a dead-end. Blast. Oh well, you can always go back. The Grimjaws have probably passed by, assuming they didn’t go the same way you did. Here’s hoping. Three minutes later, you’re reassessing your assessment at a fork going left and right. Set in the wall in front of you is an image of a dove. As you recall, you should go right to return to your original path, but from an earlier expedi-tion, you remember that dove and the words of a compan-ion telling you to never turn right when facing it. The sec-ond rule of the Stride is, ‘Always heed a warning’, so heed you do and turn left. One minute later, you decide you’re glad you took the warning to heart, 'cause if the right tunnel was worse than

the left, you would have been in serious trouble going that way. Well, more serious trouble. Glowing in the air in front of your nose is a fire rune. It probably activated because you came too close. The ques-tion is whether it will deactivate or go off if you step back. Since walking forward seems like a bad idea, you throw yourself backwards and cover your face.

RESIST IMMOLATION [single] Crux 21 Check Thwart WIN: 7 Strain FAIL: 9 Strain Turns out covering your face was un-necessary, 'cause the rune doesn’t so much produce fire as make you burn. The distinction is subtle, we agree, but it’s there. Regardless, you’ve just been hit with an occult effect, which you typically use Thwart to defend against. So far, you have only made checks using Element bases from your Halo. Thwart is a battle skill, but works the same way, when you make a check. Now, whether you succeed on the check or not you’re going to suffer some strain. You’re used to that, but this time you will also suffer something called Trauma. This happens whenever you gain more damage-based strain than your Resilience, which is 6. Trauma affects your d12, which is actually called the Trauma Die, by lowering it to a d10, making it harder for you to succeed at the checks you need to make. So that sucks. And worse, Trauma is harder to get rid of than Strain. Plus, every time you suffer Trauma, your Trauma die is lowered another step, from a d10 to a d8, then a d6, on to a d4, until finally you lose your Trauma Die altogether and slip into a coma. Any more Trauma suf-fered from then on will kill you. Third rule of the Stride (and anywhere else, really), ‘Avoid Trauma’. That hurt. And still does. Nothing a tube of Ahrberg Lotion won’t take care of, but sadly you’re all out. On the plus side, you’re slightly less wet. Singed and trailing smoke, you consider whether to back-track or proceed. If you had been where you thought you were, this path ought to have been safe. Most likely, there’s more than one dove-sign, and the other tunnel was the one you should have chosen. On the other hand, that rune probably wasn’t there for no reason, and now that it’s been triggered, you could just take a peek, and see if it was pro-tecting anything interesting and valuable. As you move carefully ahead, your light soon falls upon the steps of a short flight of stairs leading up to an archway. Walking up to the opening, you risk a glance inside. A cir-cular room with no other apparent exits hold a large foun-tain in its center. Water flows down a large round jade stone into a pool ornamented with fantastical creatures of questionable heritage. You enter the room, and, as you do, notice that you were mistaken. The water does not flow down – it flows up the stone and down into a hole at its top. And then you notice something else. A small click un-der your right foot.

DODGE DARTS [single] Crux 23 Check Edge WIN: Go to 2A FAIL: Go to 2B Remember to roll a d10, not a d12. Incidentally, there’s a place on your profile sheet for noting Trauma. Use it.

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Trauma Resilience

2A: Throwing yourself to the ground, you manage to avoid several darts that come shooting towards you. One of them nicks your thigh, though. The dart causes 5 damage, but don’t note any strain just yet. Instead, go to 2C. 2B: Before you have time to react, three darts come whizz-ing through the air and bite into your flesh, causing a good deal of pain. The darts do a total of 8 damage, but don’t note any strain just yet. Go to 2C, instead. 2C: So far, the damage you have suffered has been translated directly into strain, but actually, there’s a step in between (which we’ve been handling until now). Any time you suffer damage, an amount equal to your Soak is absorbed. For you, that’s 4. So, you should now subtract 4 from the damage you just suffered and add the result to your Strain. Sometimes, you will get to subtract even more, depending on which type of armor you’re wearing (if any). In your case, a Feather Chain covers your torso. It’s a pretty light armor which cancels certain raw damage rolls. You see, whenever someone suffers damage, the amount is, in fact, rolled with dice. The type of dice depends on the damage source. Up until now, we’ve just told you the result, with-out showing you the dice, in order to keep things simple. Later on, you (or other players) will roll damage and apply armor when appropriate. But that’s a concern for a future scene. At the moment, you’ve got other things to worry about, as you will find out by going to 2D. 2D: Keeping your eyes open for any more nasty surprises, you ap-proach the mysterious fountain. After a few steps, however; you start to feel a bit woozy and soon your vision blurs. If you’d just had five beers in a row, the sen-sation would be expected. Then you realize what’s causing it. Poison. The darts must have been smeared with some kind of poison.

MINE TOAD VENOM [scene ‡ Compromised] Crux 15 Check Grit Win -10 Fail -5 First of all, this type of challenge is called a scourge, and as you can see, has a slightly different formatting. The word “scene” tells you that you should make a Grit check now and again at the beginning of each new scene. The num-bers listed with “win” and “fail” are permanent modifica-tions to the Crux on subsequent checks. These numbers will vary for different scourges, but common to all is that the scourge disappears once the Crux reaches 0. Finally, the effect of the scourge is the other thing listed in the square brackets. In this case, you are compromised, until the Crux drops to 0. Being compromised is a condition that affects all rolls involving your Status Die, the d20, forcing you to reroll it whenever you make a check and choose the lowest of the two values. As you can see, whether you suc-ceed or fail at the Grit check, you will be compromised for

the rest of the scene, but when you need to make a check at the beginning of the next scene, you will be able to rid yourself of the venom’s debilitating effect. Note that you are not yet compromised on the initial Grit check. So, go ahead, and see how much you can lower the Crux by. There’s room on your profile for writing the name of the scourge and the value you reduce the Crux to. Feeling like a drunken sailor, you stumble the rest of the way to the fountain. Attention drawn to the upward run-ning water, you notice two faint, hand-shaped depressions on either side of the central stone. Having faced two traps to get here, backing down now seems foolish. You place your hands in the designated spots and feel a queer sensa-tion as the water touches your skin. Not the wetness you were expecting, but rather a skittering as from a flock of beetles. Beetles with sharp teeth!

ACTIVATE FOUNTAIN STONE [leader objective] Crux 14 Check Invoke WIN: Go to 3B FAIL: Go to 3A Notice how it says “leader objective” in the square brackets? This is a spe-cial challenge variant, which can be undertaken by a single persona among those present. However, if the play leader attempts the check, because it is an Objective, he or she gains 3 Reign, which can be used to gain certain ad-vantages, as you shall soon learn. Seeing as you’re the only one around, and therefore the leader, you can note 3 Reign on your profile sheet, PLUS 6 Reign which you’ve actually had since the beginning. Technically, this is an optional challenge, as indicated by the question mark, but we’re making the choice for you. Remember that you are com-promised, so roll your d20 twice and use the lowest value, then add a d10-roll and a big fat zero, which is your In-voke base. Good thing you’re not an occultist. 3A: A thousand tiny needles pierce your skin and inject you with liquid fire. You try to fight the burn, but it runs through your body, like lightning, forcing a cry from your lips. Then it’s gone. Add 3 Strain and go to 3C. 3B: The unpleasant sensation starts to intensify and bury beneath your skin, but then you somehow redirect it to flow over your body instead of through it, and soon the feeling subsides entirely. Go to 3C. 3C: You let go of the stone, and as you do, get the strangest notion that you’re… safe. Weird. Locate your Aegis on your profile. Now add 1 by writing “4” to the immediate right of “3”, underneath “EXC”. From now on, you should use 4 instead of 3 as your base, when making an Aegis check. What you just received is called an Excitation, and it will last for the rest of this tutorial. Because you gained it through magic, you also get something called Glow. Glow is like a mark many occult effects leave on you. A little Glow won’t harm you, but every time your Glow is in-creased to a value above your Shine, which is 20, you will

?

Soak Armor

Scourge Compromised

Objectives Reign

Excitation Glow

need to succeed on a Glow Burn check or suffer strain. Now, some Glow stays with you; this is called Stable Glow. At the moment, you actually have 3 Stable Glow, stemming from your Feather Chain armor, which is made from a demical alloy. Note this at the bottom left of your profile sheet. The fountain just gave you 4 Glow and adding those to your Stable Glow will land you at 7. Write this number down in the wide area to the right of the word “Glow”. After a final look at the strange fountain, you turn around to leave the room, the same way you came in, and you no-tice something you couldn’t see when entering. Next to the archway is a small alcove, with a wooden box in it. You don’t see a lock, and carefully you lift the lid, ready to dodge any flying daggers, jumping spiders or whatever else might come at you. But to your surprise nothing hap-pens, so you take a look at the contents of the box. Congratulations, you just found a level 1 Drop Zone. Drop Zones are places where you can use Reign to acquire useful items. Most items have a Loot Level, which tells you their cost and avail-ability. Specifically, the sum of Loot Levels you can acquire is equal to the level of the Drop Zone. For instance, in a level 2 Drop Zone you could get two level 1 items or one level 2 item. You could, of course, also just get one level 1 item or none at all. The cost of an item is equal to its Loot Level in Reign. Since this is a level 1 Drop Zone, you can only get a single level 1 item and it’s going to cost you 1 Reign. Normally, you get to pick what you want, but in this case, we decide that you get a remedy called Silverlight. It’s a oneshot item, usable only once, and in fact, we suggest you use it now. A small metal cylinder, a Paxton tube, lies in the box, and as you examine it, you see a familiar symbol, indicating that it’s filled with Silverlight. You press one end against your arm and a small needle springs out to inject you with the liquid contents of the container. A warm feeling spreads through your body, and suddenly you feel lighter and more awake. Some of your scrapes and cuts close up and disappear within seconds. Remove an amount of Strain equal to your Resilience (6). Since Silverlight is an demical compound, it also gives you 2 Glow, so cross out the “7” you had jotted down and write a “9” instead”. Invigorated, you leave the room and make your way back to the fork with the dove. Taking the right path this time, you walk for a while, before coming out into a wider cor-ridor, which you recognize. At last, a bit of luck. The exit you were aiming for lies only a few minutes up ahead, and you reach it without any further incidents. Which is just as well, 'cause once you ascend the ladder, you’re finally looking at, chances are you’re going to face some trouble soon enough. This concludes the second scene of the first act. You should now remove an amount of Strain equal to your Resilience plus 1d4. Also, seeing as you have accumulated some Glow, you must now roll a d4 and remove that much. Note that Stable Glow cannot be removed like this.

﴾﴿ ACT 1, SCENE 3: THE DEBT As this scene begins you need to make a scourge check to see if you can rid yourself of the effects of the mine toad venom. The Crux is 5 or 10, depending on whether you succeeded on the previous check, and the base you must use is Grit. If you lower the Crux to 0, you are cured, but if you only get it down to 5 you will still be compromised for the rest of this scene. The ladder leads to a lid, but before you open it, you knock on it three times, then wait a bit and knock again. You then climb through into a sizable courtyard, filled with exotic plants in pots ranging in size from a mouse to a small car-riage. Relief at escaping your pursuer and making it through the Stride is brief, as you look at the two men wait-ing for you. Although they are dressed in expensive, black suits, the descriptor ‘men’ somehow doesn’t quite fit. ‘Oxen’ would be better. “Hello fellas,” you say, trying not to sound too intimidated. “I’m here to see Pops.” Exchanging a quick glance, the two guards escort you to-wards the only door in the courtyard. There’s little light, so you can’t make out much of the house - or mansion, really - but you remember it as quite opulent from previous vis-its. Unlocking the door, they lead you into a sprawling hallway, through a sitting room and down a flight of stairs into an extensive wine cellar. Coming to an old door, one of your escorts knock respectfully. The door opens and you step inside, past a manservant. The room isn’t a large one, though bigger than one might expect to find in a wine cel-lar. A handful of people stand around a table where a mid-dle-aged man sits looking at what appears to be today’s newspaper. Pops. He regards you with calm, almost friendly, green eyes. “Good evening?” he asks. An innocent greeting turned on its head, masking at least one pressing question. “Ah, well,” you start timidly. “I didn’t get the necklace. There was a snag.” One eyebrow raises ominously, and you feel a cold, hard knot form in your gut. Pops may at first glance look like a meek accountant, but few illicit deeds happen in this city without his assent, and those who disappoint him rarely get the chance to do so again. Coming back empty-handed definitely counts as disappointing. Even though you may feel some satisfaction at not having had to steal from your comrades, you would much rather have compromised your integrity than be in this situation. Incidentally, do you remember seeing a man in a red suit? If you do, go to 1B, otherwise, go to 1A. 1A: Pops may accept that a single opponent got the better of your team, but he could just as well believe that you had stashed the necklace somewhere to keep it for yourself. If you want to tell the truth, go to 1C. If you wish to fabricate a lie. Go to 1D. 1B: You consider embellishing your story to hopefully make Pops more understanding. Considering that you’re still sooty around the edges, it shouldn’t be too hard. But

Drop Zone Loot Level

then you notice that one of the people at the table is the same guy you saw in the street earlier. More to the point, the guy who saw you looking all relaxed and clearly not trailing smoke. Best stick to the truth and not have him rat you out. Go to 1C. 1C: You tell Pops exactly what happened. “Well,” he begins, “I can’t say I’m too pleased. And if this hadn’t been your way out of being in my debt, I might have suspected you of keeping the necklace for yourself. As it is, I’m willing to overlook your failure, provided two things. First, you must retrieve the necklace, no later than the end of this week. Second, as a show of good faith, you will run an extra errand. “But...” the protest flies out of your mouth, before you can stop it. A dangerous glare lights in the eyes of your boss. “These are the terms,” he says. Another errand? You’ve already done more than what’s fair to work off your debt to Pops. Stuff you’re not too proud of to. Enough is enough. “And for how long can I trust these new terms? Until you see fit to change our deal, again? Did you send me and my friends on an impossible job, just so you could keep me indebted to you? Can anyone trust your promises?” Hard, cold fury rises in the eyes of your boss. Now, you’ve gone and done it. You just started a social bat-tle with Pops. We would have advised strongly against it, but there was just so much else going on. Anyway, here we are, and we’d better explain to you how it works. Go to 1E. 1D: You add in an occultist and some warriors, hoping your failure will seem more reasonable. It’s a good story, especially considering how you look the part of someone who has gotten too close to a fire wizard. Towards the end of your report, a strange man wearing a red suit and hold-ing a mismatching cane leans in to whisper Pops some-thing in the ear. Before you can finish, your boss holds up a hand. “You know”, he says, “I consider myself a reasona-ble man. Yet, for some reason, not everyone seems to agree. I wonder, for instance, why you feel the need to lie to me about being burned during the job, when my man her in-forms me that you looked just fine before entering the Stride. Perhaps, it is my fault for being too lax with my em-ployees. Fortunately,” he says with a cruel light in his eyes, “that mistake is easily corrected.” A tiny nod from Pops, and a split second later your left side and lower back explode in fiery lightning. You fall to the floor, the bite from the pain so intense you are unable to make a sound. Through a haze, you recognize the foot of one of your escorts just before it connects with your ribs. Punches and kicks assail you, and you curl into a ball of misery. When the punish-ment stops, just as abruptly as it started, you have no desire to rise. Yet two unkind hands pull you to your knees and force you to meet Pops’ hard stare. You’ve just suffered 7 Strain and also get Trauma (ignore Soak). From now on, you must therefore roll a d8 instead of a d10 (or d12) when making a check. Note this on your profile.

“Consider yourself lucky I don’t have you gutted like a pig,” Pops berates. With blood running from your nose, you look at him defi-antly. “You very nearly did, considering what you put me and my friends up against. You always talk about how you protect those working for you, but sending us on this job was bloody murder. Mike was killed by a frigging monster. And ask yourself why I would exaggerate the number of opponents, if you have such an awesome reputation of be-ing reasonable.” Pops looks like you just hit him physically. Well done. You just started a social battle against your boss. Pretty stupid, if you ask us, but you didn’t, so here we go. Check out 1E. 1E: Even criminals have honor, perverted and twisted as it may be. By trying to undermine Pops’, you stay him from having his men beat you to a bloodier pulp. Or so you hope. But that doesn’t mean he can’t retaliate and whup your ass psychologically. A battle is a back and forth thing, where you and our opponent take turns to be the aggressive part. Note that a social battle can potentially escalate to physi-cal violence, but that won’t happen in this case, because you definitely don’t want that, and, as it turns out, neither does Pops, which is your dumb luck. Now, in a social battle, you try to break your opponent with logic, taunting, threats or any other verbal strategy. To do so, you use the skills Sway and Defy. When you succeed on a Sway check, you get to make something called an Impact roll, which causes Strain to your opponent (but not Trauma). As you can see on your profile you roll two six-sided dice and add 3 to the result. But just as Soak reduces damage, Cloak is subtracted from Impact. Should you fail a Defy check yourself, your opponent rolls Impact against you. One more thing. Impact (and Damage) is of a type called Force roll, and Force dice have a special trait called Flare. A die will Flare if you roll the highest possible value, which means that you get to add the result and roll a new die of the same type (which can also Flare). Say, for instance, that you rolled 3+2d6 and got a 2 and a 6 for a total Impact of 11, but then you would also add another roll of a d6, since you got a 6. Let’s say the extra die showed a 5, then your final Impact result would be 16. But let’s dive in. Go to 2A. 2A: A (new) round begins and as a player, your turn is first in the sequence of contestants. Undermine the confidence of Pops by rolling you Status Die, the d20 and your Trauma Die, currently a d10 or a d8. If you are still compromised due to the Mine Toad Venom, you must reroll your d20 and use the lower value. Add the rolled raw values to your Sway base of 4. If your result is higher than the Crux of 24 go to 2B. Reroll a result of 24. Otherwise go to 2C. 2B: Your words hit home. Add a 2d6 roll to your Impact base of 3 and subtract Pops’ cloak, which is 6. Remember that Impact dice flare, so if you roll a 6, you should add it and then reroll the die. Write down the result as Strain for

Cloak Flare

Pops, adding it to any he may previously have gained. If Pops gets more Strain than his Knell of 36, go to 2E. Else go to 2C. 2C: Pops gets the turn and retorts with carefully chosen, sadistic words. Add a (possibly compromised) 1d20 + 1d10/1d8 roll to your Defy base of 5. If your result is higher than the Crux of 24, you shrug off his stinging words and should go back to 2A. If your result is 24, reroll. If your result is lower than 24, go to 2D. 2D: A sickening feeling rises in your gut, and you feel cold sweat all over your body. Roll 2d6, add 5 and subtract your Cloak of 4. Remember to reroll and add any 6’s. The result is the amount of Strain you get, which should be added to any Strain you may already have accumulated. If your total Strain is greater than your Knell of 30, go to 2F, otherwise go back to 2A. 2E: Pops leans back in his chair and his eye grow distant. You feel the intense discomfort of the other people in the room. Then the man in the red suit speaks. “Alright, every-one out. This meeting is adjourned.” Within seconds, the room empties, except for you, the man in red and Pops. A strange look haunts your boss’ eyes. Leaning close to him, the man in the red suit whispers something you can’t make out. Whatever he said, it seems to bring Pops back around, and he speaks to you in a low voice. “Perhaps, I was too hard. I still would like for you to run an errand the day after tomorrow, but of course you shall be handsomely compensated.” He opens a drawer in the table, pulls out two Paxton tubes and a pouch, and pushes them towards you. “Here, this is twice the normal rate. The job is simple enough. Just deliver a parcel. It’s nothing unseemly, just something too important to entrust to a carriage ser-vice, and the woman receiving it might take offence if some of my usual employees showed up on her doorstep. Will you do this?” Maybe you ought to say no, you’re certainly not in the mood to do Pops any favors. But you made your point, and the money would sure come in handy... You nod and step up to collect the pay. “The parcel will be at your door tomorrow,” Pops says. “Ian will see you out.” The man in red, Ian, gestures for you to follow him, and soon you leave the house through an impressive set of dou-ble doors. Pops house and gardens take up a sizable amount of a posh avenue, and from here it’s a bit of a walk back home, so you hail the first available hansom and enjoy a nice, quiet drive back home. Make a note on your profile that you have received a shot of Silverlight and an Ahrberg lotion. Then go to 2G. 2F: The words of Pops slither under your skin like worms, eating you up from within and leaving a hollow shell. You vaguely perceive a cruel smile on Pops face, as he realizes he’s broken you.

“Well,” he says, “enough of this foolishness. You can still be useful to me. A parcel and an address will be brought to your home in the morning. Deliver it the day after tomor-row and also get me my necklace by the end of this week, and I shall consider letting you live.” Then he speaks to the man in the red suit. “Ian, get this trash out of my sight.” You feel a rough hand on your shoulder, and a minute later, you are pushed out into the street. Through a haze, you stumble home. You lost a battle. Go to 2G to learn about the consequences. 2G: Right, we’re coming up on the end-ing of Act 1 fast, but before we get there, we’d like to mention one or two things. First, regardless of how the battle against Pops went, you should know that there are consequences of losing a battle. As you probably noticed, when your Strain goes beyond your Knell, you become Helpless. You’re somewhat aware, but unable to take any actions or to defend yourself. The condition lasts until your Strain drops to or below your Knell. Also, being beaten, whether mentally or physically, leaves an emotional mark. A part of your personality is made up of a Creed, which consists of three Axioms. By default, these Axioms are considered Virtues, but they can be twisted into Vices, which is what happens when you suffer emotional trauma. So, if you lost the battle, you should now find the place where it says “Creed”, “virtues” and “vices” in the upper left corner of your Profile. Check one of the three circles to the right of your vices, to show that a virtue has become twisted. The effect of having a twisted Axiom de-pends on the specific game you’re playing. In this tutorial, it doesn’t matter. However, should you ever need to twist an axiom, while having only vices, you will gain a scourge called Unhinged, which may lead to your persona going permanently insane. Fortunately, Axioms can be untwisted by resting. The second thing we wanted to talk about has to do with the formalities of a battle, as a normal game won’t walk you through them. What you need to know is that the traits of your opponents are usually presented like this: POPS [ ‡ 8 8 ] Crux 24 Force 5‡3 Absorb 6‡3 Knell 36 In principle, there’s no difference between your persona and the many entities you will come across. But for sim-plicity’s sake we use this extremely abbreviated form for almost everyone (and everything) you’ll meet. Take Pops, for instance. The Crux of 24 is used as the result of all checks he might need to make. When you used Sway against him, in actuality, he should have made a Defy check, trying to beat your result. Instead we just said that he got a total of 24, which then effectively became the Crux you needed to beat. The same was true when you rolled Defy. Technically, you were trying to beat a Sway check made by Pops, but again, we just said his result was 24 and called it the Crux.

Helpless Axioms

Now, the lips symbol following the first bracket, tells you that pops starts a battle using Sway on his turn. One pair of lips equals one Sway attempt! Everything after the “‡“-symbol lets you know what Pops does if the battle escalates to physical violence. But more on that later. Returning to the line below, the word Force is an umbrella term for Im-pact, Damage and Power. The number before the “‡“-sym-bol is used for social battles, whereas the one after applies to escalated battles. But wait, how did you know to add a roll of 2d6 to the base of 5? That’s beacuse the default dice used for a Force check is always 2d6. Should you need to use different dice, the appropriate number will appear next to the icon. If you look at the claw symbols, you can see an "8“, indicating that Pops uses 2d8(+3) for Damage in an escalated battle. You may have guessed it, but Absorb covers both Cloak and Soak, in that order and separated by the “‡“-symbol. Finally there’s Knell, which should be self-evident by now. Well, that was quite the mouthful, but now the Act is end-ing, and what this means for you is that you get to remove all your Strain (but no Trauma) and all Glow that isn’t Sta-ble. Also, as there is theoretically an infinite number of scenes in an Act, your scourge is going to disappear. And that’s it. ﴾﴿ ACT 2, SCENE 1: “That’s a lot of cake,” you remark as you sit down next to Jamie at one of the café Malorn’s round tables. “I was famished, and you were late.” She says apologeti-cally. “Sorry about that.” You had stayed at home until the pack-age from Pops arrived. “I overslept.” “Well, you kind of do look like you needed it. Also, don’t I remember you having eyebrows?” “Oh, ha ha. They got singed a bit, so I trimmed them.” “Rough trip through the Stride?” “You could say that. I take it you avoided any more trou-ble?” Jamie nods. “Except for an overeager hand cupping a feel at the Gilded Hound.” “Ouch, poor stupid guy.” A waiter comes by to take your order. When he has left, Jamie sighs. “What a night, huh?” “Yeah, I’m not sure I’ve really understood that Mike’s gone, yet.” “It’s definitely unreal.” She shakes her head. “And not just that he’s dead, but also... us walking away, you know. Talk about unfinished business.” “Right. About that...” You hesitate. Having Jamie along when you go back for the necklace would be nice, but why would she want to? Should you just come clean, and hope she doesn’t stab you? Before you can say anything, Jamie interrupts your thoughts. “You actually want to go back. Isn’t that suicide?” “Well, probably if I go on my own.” She considers you with appraising eyes. “You wanna get revenge?”

“Heck no. Mike knew the risk of being in our line of busi-ness. And if someone broke into my home, I wouldn’t be particularly well disposed towards them.” “So you think the loot’s worth the risk.” “That’s the thing. It is to me.” Jamie looks at you with vary eyes. “Exactly what is that sup-posed to mean?” You take a deep breath. “Okay, look. The pay Mike was gonna get us wasn’t too bad for an easy job. And as you know, we’d be returning the necklace to its rightful owner. But neither of those two things would be worth going back in.” “So what is?” You really don’t wanna tell her, but now that you are the one actively involving her, you can’t lie to her. “Giving the necklace to Pops.” “Pops?” Jamie asks, thoroughly confused. “Yeah, I’m kind of working for him.” “So what, you were gonna double cross us?” You nod, feeling ashamed. It’s not that you even know Ja-mie that well, but still... “Why tell me, then?” “Because I have a death wish?” you smile weakly. “That much is obvious.” “Look, saying that I didn’t have a choice would be lame, cause there’s always a choice. Just, my choices kind of sucked.” “I see. Well, at least you’re being honest now. And techni-cally, you never did get to the double crossing bit; so, I guess I ought to give you the benefit of the doubt. One thing I wouldn’t mind knowing is how Pops found out about the job. Did you tell him?” You shake your head. “He’s Pops. He always finds out.” Jamie takes a large bite of one of the cakes, hardly chewing before swallowing it. “Okay, I’m in. Clearly, this is im-portant to you. But you are going to owe me a big favor.” “Deal.” “We’re going tonight?” “No. I’m doing as little as possible today. I’m still sore from last night.” “Tomorrow then?” Jamie seems almost eager to redo the failed job. “Actually, I’ve got a packet I need to deliver for Pops to-morrow outside the city. Nothing crazy. A cakewalk, you might say. I suppose we could meet up after?” “Sure. Or I could come with.” “Alright. Sounds great.” Almost on cue, the waiter returns with your order, and you start planning how to avoid getting eaten. That’s it for this act. Seeing as the most strenuous thing you’ve done is stuff your face with cake, you are considered to have been resting. And that means you may restore your Trauma Die one step towards a d12 (e.g. from a d8 to a d10 or from a d10 to a d12). Isn’t that nice?

﴾﴿ ACT 3, SCENE 1: A CAKEWALK Sometimes you’re an idiot. An honest to goodness moron. You may not know Jamie all that well, but you bloody well, should have wondered at her unusually forgiving behav-iour. She looks up from the gore surrounding her and a hellish gleam in her eyes sends a shiver down your spine. Blood runs down her arms to drip from her… claws. Claws you’ve seen before. And to think, the day started out so nice. You and Jamie had taken a coach into the countryside, a pleasant trip through a mixture of forest, fields and small townships. Stopping in a quaint village, you had continued on foot for half an hour along a small, winding trail, before reaching a cottage by a lakeside. An old woman had thanked you for bringing her the parcel, offered you some blackberry wine and waved you off on the way back with a kind smile. After a few minutes, Jamie had stopped you with a raised hand. Trees and heavy undergrowth cut visibility short, and you tried to make out any movement behind the curtain of greenery. Then something erupted from a large shrub and flew through the air. Beside you, Jamie went down, knocked to the ground by a writhing form. But there was no time to see what happened to her, 'cause an angry snarl caught your attention and you dodged aside as two feline shapes jumped at you. Your movement made it possible for you to see all three attackers at the same time. Hellcats. The first and, by far, the biggest one chumped down on Jamie’s left arm and the two of them were tumbling on the ground. The smaller ones were still tall enough to reach above your hip, mean-ing that their claws and fangs were proportionally un-pleasant to look at. Describing the beasts as cats were like calling a sword a needle. Their hairless, dark bodies had natural plating, their heads swept-back horns and two sets of eyes. But there was no time to contemplate what such demonseed were doing this close to civilization. Sword in hand, you faced the lethal creatures. And just like that, you found yourself in an escalated battle. By default, battles start out as social contests that can esca-late, but oftentimes a battle will just skip the catcalling and go straight to the physical violence, either because one side is unable to communicate verbally or because they don’t want to. Hellcats tend to be the quiet type, so now you get to see how fighting works. It isn’t too different from what you’ve already tried, even though this time, you are up against two opponents, and the outcome most likely deadly. The details of your foes are as follows: HELLKITTENS [ - ‡ 4 ] Crux 16 Force -‡2 Absorb 1‡3 Knell 14 In the upcoming battle, you will use Engage to attack and Guard to defend yourselves. The Hellkittens theoreti-cally do the same, only they use the listed Crux as their result every time. Note that the single “ ”-symbol tells you that the felines use En-gage against you (only) once per turn. Successful Engage calls for a Force/Damage roll from which Soak/Absorb is

subtracted. Something we haven’t talked about before is opportunities, which is what you use on your turn to do stuff. But got to 1A, and we’ll guide you through. 1A: A (new) round begins and as a player you are first in the sequence of combatants. You attack one of the smaller hellcats by rolling your Status Die (1d20) plus your Trauma Die (1d8, 1d10 or 1d12) and adding the rolled values to your Engage base of 5. If your result is higher than its Crux of 16, go to 1B. A result of exactly 16 gets you a reroll. Otherwise you miss and must go to 1C. 1B: You hit the scary creature! Add a 2d8 roll to your dam-age base of 4 and subtract the hellkitten's Soak/Absorb, which is 3. Note the result as the amount of Strain the hellkitten suffers (added to any it may already have). Re-member that any 8’s you roll will Flare and give you an extra d8. If the hellkitten suffers more than 14 Strain, it becomes Helpless and has the lost the fight. Go to 1H if both hellkittens are down. Otherwise go to 1C. 1C: You’ve now spent your primary opportunity on mak-ing an Engage check this round. You also have a secondary opportunity each round, which you can employ to use a oneshot item, if you have one. Should you wish to use an Ahrberg Lotion or a shot of Silverlight, go to 1D. Otherwise, go to 1E. 1D: Your secondary opportunity can be spent to activate a single oneshot item on your turn. Silverlight will remove an amount of Strain equal to your Resilience and give you 2 Glow. An Ahrberg Lotion does the same and also restores your Trauma Die a step towards a d12, while adding 4 Glow. Go to 1E once you’ve used an item (or not). 1E: The vicious feline gets the turn. Add a roll of your Status Die and Trauma Die to your Guard base of 4. If your result is higher than the hellkitten's Engage score of 16, you suc-cessfully defend yourself. If you’re still faced with two hellkittens, go to 1F, otherwise go back to 1A. Reroll if your result is exactly 16. If your Guard result is lower, go to 1G. 1F: The second hellkitten gets the turn. Make another Guard check, just like the one before. Note that Guard checks use free opportunities, which you don’t need to keep track of. If you Succeed, go back to 1A. If you fail go to 1G. 1G: Sharp claws bite into your skin. Make a Damage roll using 2d4 and add the beast’s Force of 2. Any 4’s you roll will flare, forcing you to add another d4. All “2’s” are ab-sorbed by your armor and can be discarded! Subtract your Soak of 4 and add the result to your Strain. If the Strain from this attack is higher than your Resilience, you get Trauma, and must reduce your Trauma Die a step, e.g. from a d12 to a d10 or from a d10 to a d8, UNLESS you’ve already suffered Trauma during this battle, in which case the goddess of rookies will protect you from any more. If you do suffer Trauma, there’s a rule called a

Opportunity Prospect

Prospect, which gives 1 Reign to the player who rolled the Damage dice. That would be you. If your total Strain exceeds your Knell, keep it at the same value as your Knell and breathe a sigh of relief as Jamie deflects the hellkitten’s paws in an amazing display of bod-yguardery. If you haven’t beaten a kitten yet, and you have only at-tempted one Guard check this turn, go to 1F. Otherwise, if you have already defeated one of your opponents, go to 1A. 1H: With a yelp the second hellkitten had collapsed and just then Jamie had bitten through the neck of the large hellcat, instantly killing it. She had pushed the carcass away and... swallowed! A long bluish tongue had licked her lips as her gaze had fastened on you. And here you stand now, frozen in place staring at each other. Even though your heart is already beating out a speedy rhythm, it manages to quicken a little bit more. “But...” you mutter vaguely. “You... How?” As your thoughts race to connect the dots, you notice that a good part of the blood covering Jamie is her own, and, for a second, her eyes lose their focus. As they do, they very briefly turn a reddish gold, then back to brown. “You’re not Jamie,” you establish. She shakes her head, a hard look in those alarming eyes. “You’re that thing who killed Mike,” you accuse. “A shapeshifter of some sort. You killed Jamie too?” She looks as though she’s going to answer your question, but then she simply turns around and runs back along the trail towards the township you were headed for. Taken aback by her sudden retreat, you need a moment to collect your wits. She’s already out of sight on the twisting track. Clearly, she was too hurt to want to fight you here and now. But she probably won’t stay that way. And even if she isn’t going to come back to kill you, she knows you’re after that necklace. If you want it, you need to get back to her house before she does, or chances are you won’t get an-other shot at retrieving it. With a dozen confused thoughts swirling in your head, you start running. That’s it for this scene. Remove 1d4 + your Resilience worth of Strain, and 1d4 non-stable Glow (if you have any). ﴾﴿ ACT 3, SCENE 2: ALLEGIANCE There’s something about climbing up to a window sill, breaking the glass and opening the latch that makes you feel even more like a thief than picking the lock of a back-door, as Mike did the last time you were here. Maybe it’s the act of breaking something that belongs to another per-son. An ethic so ingrained, that even when you’re not sure the term “person” applies to the owner, such vandalism still doesn’t sit well with you. Morals aside, you find yourself in a familiar room, the li-brary where Mike was murdered. Jamie too, most likely. You made it back here without incident, but the question is whether the shapeshifter has done the same or is still en route. Hoping for the latter, you hurry as you search for a place to hide a necklace. Really, it could be anywhere.

You’re not even certain it’s in this room. But giving up is no solution. A few minutes later, you start feeling like you’re in the wrong place and exit through one of two doors opposite the one you entered through the night be-fore last. Moving quietly down a hallway, you come to a narrow flight of stairs leading up. At the end of the stairs, a door opens to a short corridor with three new doors. Opening the first two ever so slightly, you see what looks like guest rooms. A peek behind the final door reveals a master bedroom. Not the worst place to hope to find a necklace. Entering, you scan the room, noting a king-size bed, a huge closet, a flower-painted dressing screen, a sofa with adjoining lounge table, and a number of shelves with assorted knick-knack. Then you also notice the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs behind you. Reacting on pure instinct, you dive beneath the sizable bed and hold your breath. Realizing that a better vantage point might be prudent, you try to rotate a bit without making any noise, giving you a perfect view of the thing wearing Jamie’s face now coming through the door, as well as a pair of highly unexpected and clearly filled shoes, visible below and be-hind the bottom of the dressing screen. Someone else is hiding in here!

CONTROL YOUR SURPRISE [single] Crux 19 Check Aegis WIN: Go to 1A FAIL: Go to 1B As you make this check, be sure to notice whether your Status Die and Trauma Die show the same number. If they do, you get an Excitation of +1 to your Aegis. This bonus is immediate and affects the roll. Getting +1 Excitations like this, on dou-ble values, is, in fact, quite fundamental. But all games have a (non-occult) Excitation limit, called "Tide", which has so far been 0 for this tutorial. We didn’t tell you before, but as of this scene, Tide is set at 2, meaning that you will now be able to increase any Skill or Element (but not Force) base by up to two through double value results. Note that you won’t get any Glow for this, as it is not an occult effect. 1A: The shapeshifter drops something and bends to retrieve it. Quiet as a mouse, you inch a bit further away, so she doesn’t see you under the bed. Her feet then walk over to the sofa and she lets herself drop heavily down on it, giving you a better view. “Brilliant,” she mutters to no one in particular. “What a complete and utter mess.” To your surprise, a tear runs down her cheek, drawing your attention to her neck and the necklace hanging from it. The very same necklace, you’re supposed to liberate. She’d worn it the entire time, hidden underneath her shirt. Suddenly, the thing formerly known as Jamie stiffens, then jumps to her feet. “Who the hell are you?!” she demands. Your heart sticks in your throat for a second, then you re-alize she isn’t talking to you, as the person behind the dressing screen steps forward. “Someone who’s interested in that little trinket around your neck,” a female voice answers, smooth as silk. “Well, get in line.”

!

Excitations Tide

½

“I already have, as a matter of fact. I assume you won’t hand it over freely?” “You assume correctly.” “Well, then I fear I shall have to use excessive force.” “I wouldn’t recommend it,” Jamie says with a dangerous tone to her words. “Really? I thought you enjoyed butchering people?” The sarcasm is thick in the unknown woman’s voice. “I’m sure you did. But guess what, I didn’t choose to be this.” “Well, if you’re coming down with a case of morals, then let me remind you that that necklace doesn’t belong to you. The rightful owner would like it back.” “Oh please, the rightful owner is a homicidal maniac who murdered a dozen innocents to get it in the first place. I may lose control occasionally, but at least I do everything in my power to avoid being around people when I do. And as you probably know, this necklace helps.” “Well, I’m sure the burglar hiding under the bed will be-thrilled to know that you feel bad about eating... what were their names? Mike and Jamie, right?” And just like that, your presence is revealed. Feeling aw-fully exposed, you crawl out from under the bed, trying, rather pointlessly, to be nonchalant about it. At least now you get to see the woman hiding behind the dressing screen. She’s dressed in black and, very casually, holds a stiletto dagger in her left hand. “So, you made it back before me, after all,” Jamie says, mildly surprised. Go to 1C. 1B: The surprise at learning you are not the only one sneaking about throws your focus for a second. The wrong second, unfortunately. The shapeshifter drops something and bends to retrieve it, and, in doing so, gets a view of your left hand. She bends further to see all of you. “Oh,” she says. “Umm,” you say. Well, this is awkward to the power of at least three. Not to mention that you’re in an extremely compromised situation. You should be terrified, but mostly, you feel embarrassed. Slowly, you inch out from under the bed and stand up. Jamie, or whatever you should call her, unbends but otherwise stays still. For an unbearable few seconds, neither of you speak. “So...” you finally venture. “Are you going to kill me?” The look on her face is hard to read, but there could be some disgust in there. “I don’t know,” she says. “Are you going to kill me and steal this?” She indicates the necklace that must’ve slipped out from inside her shirt as she bent down. “Well, if not,” a silken voice interrupts, “I am.” From behind the dressing screen steps a woman clad in black and hold-ing a stiletto dagger. Go to 1C. 1C: You recognize the woman as one of the people who were in the room with Pops, when you had your alterca-tion. “Are you here to help me?” you ask uncertainly.

The woman scoffs. “As if I’d stoop to help a nobody like you. I’m here to make sure Pops gets what he asked for, despite having had the bad judgement of asking you to do the job.” “And... He knows this?” “He will, when I return with the necklace. And then he will realize that I am his most trustworthy employee.” “Oddly enough,” a rough male voice says, “that’s probably about as true as it is insane.” Through the door comes the man in red, Ian, looking for all the world as though his showing up is a perfectly natural thing. “What are you doing here?” you and the woman in black ask in unison. “Three guesses,” he smiles, then answers anyway. “I wants me a necklace.” “But Pops trusts you completely,” the black-clad woman says. “You don’t have anything to prove.” “Which is fortunate, 'cause I’m keeping it for myself.” “You’ll have to pry it off my dead body,” not-Jamie says. “Gladly,” Ian answers and advances towards her. As he does, a growl starts in his throat and his fingers bend to the point of breaking, and then beyond. To everyone’s surprise, he collapses, but only for a second as his legs reshape themselves. Bouncing back up from the floor he launches himself through the air, apparently intending to land on top of his target. She, however, is too fast, moving almost in a blur, so that when he does impact, she lands a round-house kick in his now decidedly wolf-like face, sending him crashing sideways into the wall. Fascinating as it may be, you stop paying attention to them, focusing instead on the woman in black who’s moving towards you with her ridiculously pointed dagger. Apparently, Ian’s sudden at-tack has inspired her to come at you. Well, her weapon may be nasty, but yours is bigger. Drawing your sword, you hope to make her think twice. Then you notice the air around her ripple, distorting the background as though the light comes through a writhing mass of semi-transparent worms. Yikes, she’s an occultist. Better see if you can dis-tress her a little before going all-out. Before we begin, you should know about something called Gambits, which will improve your chances of surviving this debacle. A Gambit is an advantage you can activate by paying Reign. Most personas start with a Gambit called “Battle Focus”. What this partic-ular Gambit does, is make you Superior on a single battle skill check, i.e. Engage, Sway, Invoke, Guard, Defy or Thwart. Being Superior is the opposite of being Compro-mised and allows you to reroll your Status die once, select-ing the better result. You can activate Battle Focus as often as you like, though max once per check, by paying 3 Reign. (Technically it uses a Free Opportunity, of which you have an infinite number.) Note that if an opponent who doesn’t use dice becomes superior or compromised, you instead gain the opposite condition. And that’s it, you’re ready for a full-blown battle, starting with a harsh social exchange, where you’ll try to disrupt your opponent's confidence. Any minute the battle may es-calate, either through your choice or failure.

Gambit Superior

The traits of your foe are shown here: WOMAN IN BLACK [ ‡ ] Crux 20 Force 1‡3 Absorb 4‡2 Knell 22 The burning hand symbol means that she will use a form of basic occultism called vexing if the battle escalates (in addition to her stiletto, represented by the claw symbol). As always, we’ll guide you through it all. Start by going to 2A. 2A: A new round begins and you must choose whether to keep the battle verbal or escalate. If you choose physical violence, go to 2H, otherwise read on and make a Sway check. Remember that you can use Battle Focus by spend-ing 3 Reign to become Superior on this roll. If (either of) your Status Di(c)e shows the same number as your Trauma Die, add +1 to your Sway base. If you’ve al-ready added +2 to your Sway base, instead add +1 to a base of your own choosing, observing the Tide of 2. If your Sway check result is higher than the Crux of 20 go to 2B. Reroll a result of 20. Otherwise go to 2C. 2B: Your Sway check succeeded, allowing you to make an Impact roll. Subtract the black-clad woman’s Ab-sorb/Cloak of 4 to find the Strain she receives. Remember that your dice may Flare! If her total Strain exceeds her Knell of 22, go to 2G, otherwise go to 2C. 2C: Before the woman in black gets the turn, you have the option of using a oneshot item, if you have one. Go to 2E, if you wish to do so (and haven’t already this round). Then, once she gets the turn, you must make a Defy check. Re-member that you can activate Battle Focus, and keep an eye out for twin numbers giving you an Excitation of +1 to Defy. If the Defy check succeeds, go back to 2A, otherwise go to 2D. 2D: You failed your Defy check and must now roll Impact against your persona. That’s 1+2d6. Remember Flare and subtract your Cloak to find the amount of Strain you gain. If this brings your total Strain to a value above your Knell of 30, go to 2F immediately. If your Sway check (also) failed, the woman in black will escalate to physical vio-lence and you should go to 2H. Otherwise, go back to 2A. 2E: You can now use your secondary opportunity to acti-vate a oneshot item. (Actually, you can do this before you use your primary opportunity, if you prefer, but we’ve placed the option here for practical reasons.) Silverlight removes an amount of Strain equal to your Resilience and gives you 2 Glow. An Ahrberg Lotion does the same and also restores your Trauma Die a step towards a d12, while adding 4 Glow. Once you’ve used an item (or not) you should go back to 2C if you’re still battling with your tongue. If the battle has escalated, go to 2K instead. 2F: “You’re not even pathetic.” Her words echo in your mind, riding the rubble of your mental towers as they sink into ruin. You don’t even feel the absence of your sword as it clatters to the ground. For a while, time and space

becomes a loop, running through your failures over and over. At some point, you realize that through some instinc-tive sense of self-preservation, you’ve made it into the street. Dragging the mangled bits of your pride along, you make your way home and crawl under the covers, wishing you could stay there for at least a week. Of course, tomor-row you shall have to get up early and leave town, at least for a little while. You don’t now how things played out back at the shapeshifter’s home, but regardless, Pops won’t be too pleased. A spontaneous vacation seems like a smart move. You lost! It happens. But just because we’ve decided to end this tutorial here, doesn’t mean you can’t play another game. Technically, you should twist one of your virtues, by checking a circle to the right of your vices, but as the tuto-rial is done, this doesn’t really matter. Go to the epilogue. 2G: The black-clad woman get’s a frightful look in her eyes, as she realizes that she has gone against the wishes of Pops. She mutters something intelligible, then runs for the door. Coming too close to the fight between Ian and not-Jamie, she earns a blow to her shoulder, spinning her around and sending her headfirst into the ground. She doesn’t get back up. Go to 2S. 2H: Here we go. No holds barred. We won’t save your ass if this battle goes south. Get your Knightblade ready and go to 2I. 2I: A new round begins and you must make an Engage check. Don’t forget your Battle Focus Gambit, if you’ve got at least 3 Reign left. Also, Excitations still happen on double values. If your Engage check beats the Crux of 20, go to 2J. As always, a result equal to the Crux gives you a reroll. Otherwise, we’re sending you to 2K. 2J: Well done, you managed to get a few strikes in. Make a damage roll using 4+2d8, and remember that any raw 8’s will Flare. Subtract your opponent’s Absorb/Soak of 2 and add the result to her Strain. If her total Strain is above her Knell of 22, go to 2R. Otherwise, go to 2K. 2K: The black-clad woman is about to get the turn, but you still have the option of using a oneshot item, assuming you have any left and haven’t already used one. Go to 2E, if that’s what you desire. Another new and exciting possibil-ity is to tuck your tail between your legs and get the hell out of here. Run away by going to 2Q. Otherwise you must now make a Guard check. Remember Battle Focus and Ex-citations! Go to 2M if your Guard result is greater than 20. Reroll if you hit the Crux. A result lower than 20 means you should go to 2L. 2L: Your defense was less than optimal this round and you’ve taken a beating. Make a Damage roll against your persona using 3+2d6 from which you should subtract your Soak. Remember Flare on raw 6’s. Also, any raw rolls of 3

are absorbed by your featherchain! Add the final result to your Strain. If you received more Strain than your Resilience, you must lower your Trauma Die a step, due to getting Trauma, i.e. from a d12 to d10 to d8 to d6 to d4 to no die. You will also gain 1 Reign whenever you make a roll that gives an ally or yourself Trauma. If you lose your Trauma Die, go to 2O. If your total Strain exceeds your Knell, go to 2P. Otherwise, go to 2M. 2M: The black-clad woman makes a weird gesture with her left hand and suddenly you feel like cobwebs are brushing against your skin. Burning cobwebs! Make a Thwart check. Remember Battle Focus and the possibility of an Excitation. If the result is greater than the Crux of 20, you shrug off the weird sensation and can go back to 2I. Reroll a result of 20. Otherwise, go to 2N. 2N: Pain. Searing hot pain! Make a Power check using 3+2d6. This is an example of a Force check, so 6’s Flare. Subtract your Cloak and add the result to your Strain. If you received more Strain than your Resilience, you must lower your Trauma Die a step, due to getting Trauma, i.e. from a d12 to d10 to d8 to d6 to d4 to no die. You will also gain 1 Reign whenever you make a roll that gives an ally or yourself Trauma. If your Trauma Die is gone, go to 2O. If your total Strain exceeds your Knell, go to 2P. Otherwise, you’re still in the fight. Go back to 2I. 2O: You raise your sword, getting ready for a heavy strike, but before you get that far, the black-clad woman moves in close. You don’t have time to register what happens next, as the world goes black. And just like that, your adventure ends. You’ve slipped into a coma. Ordinarily, you would get a scourge that could potentially kill you, but we’re feeling generous and will just assume you succeed on the neces-sary checks. All the same, the tutorial ends here for you. Seeing as you lost a battle, you should check a vice box, if you haven’t already. Then go to the Epilogue. 2P: One false move is all it takes. Having placed your foot in an unfortunate fashion makes it impossible for you to change your momentum in time. The woman in black stabs, kicks and throws you to the floor. The good news is you fall unconscious and don’t feel a thing. You’ve lost a battle (and the game) and should check one of the boxes next to your vices, to show that a virtue has been twisted. At this point it’s a technicality, but the next step could potentially be of greater consequence. Subtract your Knell from your total Strain. Divide the result by your Resilience and round up. This is the amount of Trauma you suffer and the number of times you should lower your Trauma die. If your Trauma Die is lowered to “no die”, go to 2O, and should the die drop even further, you must go to 2V; otherwise, go read the Epilogue. 2Q: Living to live another day, beats the alternative. You’ve already fled from this room once, and practice makes

perfect. All you need to do is make a half-hearted feint, then spin around and run without stopping until you reach the next town. Maybe you can come back at some point when the dust has cleared. Just one thing. In order to actually get away, you have to spend a secondary opportunity, which you may already have blown on an item this round. Additionally, you must roll a d4 and pay that much Reign. Go back to 2K if you can’t (or won’t) use your secondary opportunity and/or pay the Reign. Seems harsh? Well, we did say we weren’t going to save your ass. If you pay the cost(s), this tutorial is pretty much done. All that’s left is to read the epilogue. 2R: The woman in black is about to use you for a pincush-ion, when she trips and loses her balance somewhat. With the hilt of your sword you make her lose the rest of her balance and further help accelerate her head towards the sofa table. She impacts and immediately flops to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Go to 2S. 2S: With the black-clad woman out of the picture, you fo-cus on the remaining two combatants. Ian has morphed into something between man and wolf. Something heavy. Not-Jamie is, well, not Jamie anymore. Her skin is a pasty yellow, her face sunken and her arms long and almost skeletal with equally long and skeletal claws at the end. And although her teeth may technically be smaller than Ian’s, no one would call them small. Both are bleeding pro-fusely. They seem to have ended in a deadlock - one might almost say embrace – brought on by mutual fatigue. And in that position, they are vulnerable. Especially to someone they seem to have forgotten all about. Taking on both is probably chewing off more than you can eat, but you could side with one and determine the outcome of the battle. Who's it gonna be? Go to 2T if you want to help not-Jamie, the shapeshifter. Go to 2U if you want to help Ian, the apparent werewolf. 2T: Charging ahead, you let your sword lead the way. A split-second before you reach your target, Ian notices you, and roars angrily. But the shapeshifter has seen you com-ing too and uses all her strength to immobilize the raging werewolf, earning her several nasty wounds. And then your sword plunges into Ian’s back. A pitiful yelp follows the werewolf as he drops to the floor where he slowly re-verts to his human form. In that form, he dies. Feeling a little dizzy, you look at not-Jamie. She's... it's stud-ying you with appraising eyes. Despite clearly being in pain, the shapeshifter manages a smile. A seriously scary smile. “I guess a thank you is in order.” “Don’t mention it?” you venture. “And where does that leave us?” “Good question,” you say. “Probationary allies?” “I suppose friends would be stretching it,” not-Jamie muses with a slightly less scary smile. “Maybe this will help, though.” She closes her eyes and her body seems to flow back into its previous shape, so that when she opens her eyes again, they’re Jamie’s. Instantly an uncertain look fills them. “Or does that only make things worse?”

Instead of answering her, you ask a question of your own. “I suppose you killed her?” “Yes. I wouldn’t be able to take her shape, if I hadn’t. Sorry. I didn’t mean to. But the three of you broke in when I was fighting my hunger, and it... Well, it’s difficult. Even with this necklace. I really am trying to control it, though. This awful thing that I am.” “I guess we’ve all done things we’re not too proud of,” you console her. “Anyway, I think I’m okay with you looking like Jamie, even though it is a bit weird. I just don’t know what to call you.” “My name,” she says with a tentative smile, “is Elsebeth”. “Okay, Elsebeth. What the hell do we do now?” Congratulations, you made it to the ending. Well, an end-ing. This earns you a(n extra) point of Insight. Go to the Epilogue to find out what that means. 2U: You rush ahead and, with a swipe of your Knightblade, cut the head clean off of the foul creature’s shoulders. It may be excessive, but you feel justified. Stumbling, Ian the werewolf almost crashes into you, ending with a claw on you shoulder. For a second, you question your decision, as he seems to consider whether to rip your head off in return for saving his life. But then his flesh ripples, and with a painful howl he changes back into his human form. Pant-ing, naked and covered in cuts, he smiles roguishly at you. “That was fun!” “I guess?” “It was! And you did good. Too bad we can’t tell Pops, huh? But I really need this necklace for myself. We’ll just have to say the ghoul had left town when you got here. Pops won’t be happy, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t take it out on you. And who knows, maybe Pops won’t be top dog for that much longer. Sure would be nice to have the upcoming boss owe you a favor, wouldn’t it?” Ian takes stock of the room and your two fallen opponents, then gestures for you to give him a hand. “Come on, let’s clean this place.” Wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into, you join him. Well done! You got yourself to one of the two successful endings of this tutorial, earning you a(n extra) point of In-sight. What’s Insight? Go to the Epilogue and find out. 2V: You’re dead and may not use this persona again, alt-hough you may choose the Adventurer path for your next persona(s). You should go read the epilogue, even though it doesn’t apply to you. ﴾﴿ EPILOGUE That’s it for your first game of R.E:I.G.N.. Granted, a tutorial like this one isn’t much of a game, but you should now have a pretty good grasp of the basics. Maybe you “won” or maybe you got your ass handed to you and don’t know how the story ended. As long as you didn’t reach “2V”, you are still alive, though. There may be some details you haven’t seen, depending on how well you did and the choices you made. Therefore, the next step should be to peruse the back of your Profile, where all the important bits are summa-rized. Then, you might want to have a look at the

Cyclopaedia (not included in this playtest document) which holds all the specifics of the rules that make up the heart of R.E:I.G.N.. Once you’re ready, you should check out the intro game “Dungeonette”, starting on the next page. “Dungeonette” is a different type of R.E:I.G.N. game, lacking the narrative touch of this tutorial. Furthermore, it was made specifically for introducing new players to the sys-tem. You may want to run through it alone before trying it with anyone else, but that’s up to you. You could also go through the tutorial again or read the parts you missed. Don’t go running off just yet, though. There’s still the mat-ter of Insight. At the top of your Profile, there’s room for noting Insight. New personas start with 0, and you receive 1 Insight for reading through this tutorial. Depending on how well you did, you may have been instructed that you would receive an extra Insight, which brings you up to 2. But what is Insight? Basically, it’s a per-manent reward your persona gets for risking life and limb. Insight has two main functions. First, it allows you to ac-quire new Gambits. As you can see on your Profile, below Insight you have some-thing called Styles. A Style is a collection of Gambits from which you may purchase new ones. Incidentally, Gambits are split into different types. Social Gambits are called Stratagems, martial ones are known as Battle Moves and finally occult Gambits are of the Archmagic type. The cost of a new Gambit is equal to the number of Gambits you have already acquired. Thus, the Battle Focus Gambit technically cost you 0 Insight when your Persona was created. The second Gambit you acquire will cost you 1 Insight, the third 2, and so on. In fact, once you’re done reading this Epilogue, you should go check out the Gambits available to you and buy yourself a second one. Before you can do that, you will need to pick your Per-sona’s Styles, a choice that’s limited by your Instrument Groups, which can be found on the back of the Profile. Note that the descriptions of the different Paths in this tutorial holds recommendations for Styles and new Gambits. The second thing you can do with Insight is design stable items, which can then be picked up by spending Reign in a Drop Zone of suitable Loot Level. In contrast to oneshots, a stable item isn’t spent, but stays with you. Usually, this is something you do at some point after having acquired some extra Gambits, but check out the Cyclopaedia for the details, if you are curious. Before we wrap things up, we just want to point out that when you start your next game, all Reign, Excitations, Strain, non-Stable Glow, Trauma and oneshot items should be deleted. The only improvements your Persona gets to keep are things paid for with Insight. We hope you’ve had fun and will continue to enjoy R.E:I.G.N. as much as we do. Thank you for playing.

Insight Reset

“Dungeonette” allows you to introduce R.E:I.G.N. to new players. You should have played through the tutorial “A Good Cause” first. Consider trying out “Dungeonette” on your own, before introducing other players to the game, depending on how comfortable you feel with it. ﴾﴿ PREPARATIONS DISTRIBUTING FOES Players always face as equal a number of foes as possible. When a persona has bested all his assigned opponents, he may help out an ally, redistributing that ally's foes as evenly as possible between the two personas (only). FOE ABILITIES You will probably encounter some opponents with differ-ent abilities from what we used in the tutorial. Some have a variant of the social (lip) symbol, as described on the back of the profile. Note that Numb foes ( ) are incapable of using social skills and start battles escalated. An entity’s title can be followed by a number, called Cor-pus, which is a measure of its size, and defaults to 0. Other possibilities are: X: A letter following a battle icon (such as a claw) indicates that this particular attack comes with a special feature, de-tailed farther below in the entity’s description. : A cobweb is used for an ability that may apply when the entity is on the defense (i.e. when you use an aggressive battle skill against it). : A flag denotes a trait that activates when appropriate. ﴾﴿ BEFORE PLAYING Read the following aloud to all new players: “In REIGN you control a persona, who can gain new abili-ties by playing through various games and earning Insight. Depending on your choice of persona path, the games will be more or less complex.” † Choose persona path. (“Adventurer” is recommended.) † Add 1 Insight to all personas (except occultists). † Name personas.

“The persona profile sheet has some numbers and some abilities, primarily used for resolving conflicts and over-coming obstacles in the games. Games have unique rules, but the rules listed in the Cyclopaedia remain the same. Flip your profile sheet for a very brief summary.” † Add 6 Reign. † Add Stable armor glow. (Reduce elements if necessary.)

The game we’re about to play is called “Dungeonette” and is cooperative, meaning we help each other, winning or losing together as a band of companions. We need to clear a number of rooms and corridors, overcoming obstacles and monsters, before finally challenging a boss. ﴾﴿ DURING PLAY Start by saying: “First Act, Scene one. I’m Play Leader.” Introduce rules as they are needed. (Note which rules are scenario-specific.) Make sure to remember the following: EXCITATIONS First time someone gets an excitation, mention that all Ex-citations are removed at the end of the game. Also say that Force checks don’t cause Excitations. Note that Excitations happen whenever the Status Die and Trauma Die show the same raw value, regardless of whether rerolls are involved. On joint checks, everyone can get an Excitation if their Trauma Die shows the same value as the Leader's Status Die. BATTLE Read this the first time a battle is about to start: “A battle begins with the contestants trying to distress, har-ass, threaten and otherwise verbally assault each other. At some point, the battle may escalate to full-blown violence. Just because one persona’s battle escalates, doesn’t mean the battles of other personas follow suit, however.” FLARE Point out that all three types of Force rolls can cause Flares. ARMOR Keep an eye out for whether armor applies. LOSERS If all band members become Helpless during a battle, they lose, but may continue the game. ﴾﴿ AFTER PLAYING First of all, forgive yourself for the mistakes you made. Then, explain Styles and how they relate to Gambits. If players want to continue with their personas, do this: † Choose styles as allowed by instruments (e.g. weapons). † Buy a new Gambit if persona gained sufficient Insight.

Ask if they want to play “Dungeonette” again or try out “The Aviary” or even “Chronicle”.

﴾ INTRO GAME ﴿

‡ D U N G E O N E T T E ‡ A small corner of the sprawling complex known as the Manifold, the rooms and corridors of the Dungeonette are close to the surface, far from the twisted heart of the deep darkness and the powerful beings that dwell within it. Still, that does not mean you should feel safe. ﴾﴿ GAMEPLAY Go through (at least) 4 corridors and 3 rooms in any order you like, with minimum 1 corridor between rooms. The final room can only be chosen when all 4 corridors have been completed and contains one boss per persona. The leader rolls a d4 to determine corridor event, then chooses one of three options, depending on whether the situation should be handled individually by the personas (single), collectively (joint) or by the leader only (leader objective). The corridor is completed regardless of failures. LEADERS & SCENES The most experienced player starts as leader. The leader chooses whether the band will traverse a corridor or a room. After a room is cleared the scene ends and the personas reduce their strain and glow. The next player to the left then becomes the new leader. TIDE Tide is 3, limiting Excitations for Skills and Elements to 3. GAME OVER Instead of traversing a corridor or room, the leader can opt to stop the adventure. Each player gains 1 Insight for completing minimum 4 corridors, 2 rooms and facing off against a boss, whether they win or lose (unless they flee). RUNNING AWAY When fleeing a battle, you do not get a completed room. Leadership is transferred to the next in line. REWARD TOKENS When completing rooms and corridors, the players receive Reward Tokens to be saved until the ending or spent when desired. Note your reward tokens on a piece of paper.

Cost: 1. Reroll a Corridor check.

Cost: 1 per Loot Level, max LL3. See Drop Zone Items.

A soothing light from a pool of water shines like a benediction. As long as it does, evil is kept at bay. Cost: 3. End this act and spend the next act resting. Everyone must agree to pay the cost. Remove all strain and Glow. Also, increase your Trauma Die a step.

﴾﴿ ROOMS The leader randomly determines an entity type for the room from among the ones that haven’t yet been bested (reset when you run out). Each player must then battle the number of entities listed, starting out with social checks which may escalate. If the entities are defeated, each player receives a reward token. If not (i.e. the players lose or flee), the room is not considered completed.

4 Reign for clearing a room.

DIRE BEAST [ ‡ ] Black, hairless mix between bat and cat which talks, barely. Crux 20 Force 0 ‡ 1 Absorb 2 ‡ 1 Knell 15

LYCANTHROPIC RUFFIAN [ ‡ 8 ] Wolf-like nightmare on two legs with far too long claws. Crux 18 Force - ‡ 3 Absorb 3 ‡ 4 Knell 22 REVITALIZE 3: Entity removes 3 strain each new round.

VENERABLE GOBLIN SHAMAN [ ‡ 10 ] Warped and twisted inside, as well as out. Crux 22 Force 1 ‡ 3 Absorb 2 ‡ 0 Knell 16

TWO ETHEREAL DEEP FAE -2 [ ‡ A ] Oddly translucent, near-human, possibly beautiful, all evil. Crux 16 Force 3 ‡ 1 Absorb 4 ‡ 1 Knell 14 A CONCEALMENT: Compromises Engage, Guard and phys-ical Element checks made against the fae.

‡ DROP ZONE ITEMS ‡

Pay LL worth of Reign to acquire. Glow is gained upon use. BREW Glow 1 LL1 ‡ Buffer 4: Removes 4 from Damage once. SILVERLIGHT Glow 2 LL1 ‡ Remove Resilience Strain. AHRBERG LOTION Glow 4 LL2 ‡ As Silverlight + restore Trauma Die a step. DRAGON SCALE MASK Glow 4 LL3 ‡ Engage+1d6 for a scene. FALLEN ANGEL MASK Glow 4 LL3 ‡ Sway+1d6 for a scene.

MAP SCRAP

DROP ZONE

POOL OF RADIANCE

1

2

3

4

﴾﴿ CORRIDORS LOW RISK [single 1d8 strain regardless of result]

Crux 16 Check varies WIN: Reward token. MEDIUM RISK [joint]

Crux 19 Check varies WIN: Reward token for everyone. FAIL: Leader (only) rolls on the Awful table.

HIGH RISK [leader objective] Crux 22 Check varies WIN: Reward token. FAIL: Roll on the Bad table.

EVIL LIVING HALLWAY Run through Single Check: Grit Sneak past Joint Check: Aegis Clear hallway Leader Check: Might

VICIOUS ARCHITECTURAL TRAP Avoid trap Single Check: Flow Spring it Joint Check: Aegis Disarm trap Leader Check: Edge

MAGIC PUZZLE STATUE Ignore it Single Check: Thwart Smash it Joint Check: Might Solve it Leader Check: Edge

LURKING DARKNESS Dodge shadows Single Check: Flow Stick together Joint Check: Grit Enter the dark Leader Check: Thwart

‡ BAD STUFF ‡

POISONED Suffer 1d12 strain (no flare, no absorb).

COMPROMISED You are compromised on the next 3 checks.

TRAUMATIZED Gain one strain more than your Resilience and consequently lower your trauma die a step.

PENALTY Lose a Reward Token. ‡ AWFUL STUFF ‡

LOST You need to clear one more room before getting an Insight reward.

CURSED Lose 1 Excitation of your choice.

PATH BLOCKED This corridor is not completed. Furthermore, you must complete an additional corridor to get an Insight reward.

ALARM On the first round (only) of the next battle, you lose your primary opportunity (and so cannot use Sway or Engage).

﴾﴿ BOSS ROOM The entrance to the final room is through a huge mirror that only reflects your shadow. Passing through the surface of the mirror, your worth is tested one element at a time. During this test and the following boss battle you can spend a Reward token to add 1d4 to any check or Impact Roll after rolling the dice (once per check). Each player rolls a d4 to see which boss they must face in battle, in order to win the game.

MIRROR OF DARKNESS [single extended 0] Crux 20 Check Aegis|Edge|Flow|Grit|Might WIN: Add a total of +3 to your choice of skill/element bases. FAIL: Lose a reward token.

SHADOW-TOUCHED [ ‡ 8 8 ] Purged of any trace of humanity with eyes of shadowfire. Crux 21 Force 2 ‡ 3 Absorb 2 ‡ 5 Knell 26

NETHERVOID GIANT 3 [ ‡ 10 ] Whispers of regret fill the air around this fiendish hulk. Crux 20 Force 4 ‡ 5 Absorb 6 ‡ 7 Knell 42

CORRUPTED JASMINE NAGA [ ‡ 8 8 ] Serpentine limbs make it seem more snake than human. Crux 22 Force 6 ‡ 3 Absorb 5 ‡ 3 Knell 20 FIRST STRIKE: Uses Engage & Invoke before player.

ALIEN HALF-BORN [ ‡ 12EVEN / 12

ODD ] Ripples run beneath the skin as its body shifts and reforms. Crux 23 Force 3 ‡ 2 Absorb 6 ‡ 10 Knell 15

?

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1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

!

1

2

3

4

﴾﴿ WHICH PATH? For your first persona, we recommend the Adventurer, or one of the paths listed as Regular in the Paths table.

Suggested Gambits Each path comes with a list of suggested Gambits. The list is sorted (from top to bottom) in recommended sequence of acquisition. For occultists, suggested hexes are included in the same list, even though they are not actually Gambits. Note that players are not bound by these suggestions. (They are, of course, limited by their styles regarding which Gambits may be acquired). The Method, Aspect and Weapons entries list the social, oc-cult, and martial instrument groups, respectively. If the As-pect entry says “Occultism”, it means you don’t have an oc-cult instrument group and thus won’t be able to use Archmagic (or Hexes and Dwimmers). An instrument group allows you to select a style which in turn opens for access to a selection of Gambits, to be pur-chased with Insight. See Appendix 2 of the Cyclopaedia as well as the Signature Styles & Gambit Access table for a quick overview. Styles & Gambits can be found in the Ap-pendixes of this Playtest version of the Guide. Starting Gear All weapons listed are demical versions, and will thus be capable of harming Impervious entities. Gifts and Glitches Most paths have one or more Gifts and/or Glitches, giving them certain benefits or drawbacks, respectively. Some are passive and have already been worked into your persona, while others need active monitoring and strategic deci-sion-making.

Perturbation or Creation At some point, you'll probably want to try your hand at tai-loring a unique path for a persona. If that task seems a little daunting, you can start out by tweaking one of the existing paths, by changing some of the styles, ranks, Gifts, Glitches, weapons and various personality traits. See the Cyclopae-dia for details.

Red paths are not included in this playtest version.

﴾ CHOICES, CHOICES ﴿

‡ P A T H S ‡ Title Difficulty Adventurer Easy Arcanist Advanced Assassin Regular Gunslinger Advanced Nightrunner Regular Ranger Advanced Redeemer Advanced Slayer Regular Summoner Advanced Templar Regular

ome day, you're gonna make it big. Nothing wrong with farming, but you've got bigger plans. You go by many names, hero, thief, spelunker and gallivanter.

Only you realize that you are all of these and more. So much more. Your potential is limitless, and you will travel where ever you have to, in order to realize that potential. No quest is too big. No treasure is too big. The world's your oyster, and you'll have the pearl to go. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE ADVENTURER

Strategy If killing and maiming is what’s required, then killing and maiming is what you’ll do. But you’re equally capable of dodging trouble and negotiating the seas of social niceties (and not-so-niceties). You can do anything, be anything; except a hex-user. - STYLES - Adventurers typically go for the social style Witty and the martial style Balance. - ITEMS - If it's more protection you're looking for, consider an arbal coat or a mithril chainshirt. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Classicist: Cloak, Defy, Impact, Knell and Sway +1.

‡ ADVENTURER TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

Kiss the Lightning (Aegis & Edge).

Farming (Flow & Grit).

Ambition, Courage & Tolerance.

Classicist.

None.

3 4 5 4 3

5 4 0

4 5 3

Knightblade | 4+2d8

Command | 3+2d6

Occultism | 0+2d6

4 4 | Feather Chain

30 20

6 Blade Feather Chain: Remove a single raw result of 3 on Damage rolls made against you. Adds 3 Glow.

S ﴾ ADVENTURER ﴿

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S ‡ Title Type Flurry Move Rustic Accent Stratagem Heroic Defence Move Unnerve Stratagem Lone Wolf Move Power Pose Stratagem Disengage Move Speed Talking Stratagem Coup de Grâce Move Winning Smile Stratagem

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

here are witches, sorcerers, conjurers, magicians, and then there's you. Magic isn't just a gimmick or some quick and dirty route to fame and glory. No, magic is

art. To truly grasp the nature of magic, one must study it exclusively, and, as with any other artform, invest oneself in it. The artist becomes part of her creation. Oh, and there's this great advantage you hold over other artists. No critics. At least, none that cannot be blasted with a fireball. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE ARCANIST

Strategy Your hexes come from the aspect of Arcana. Use that staff of yours to crack open some skulls when the Glow gets too hot. Remember that you can use your ranged hexes and surges against opponents assigned to other personas. - STYLES - A proper wizard obviously has the Enigmatic social style and the occult style Weaving. - ITEMS - It's slightly embarrassing, being an occultist and having to rely on remedies for healing. Of course, you probably could learn a healing spell if you wanted to. It's just that there are far more interesting things one can do with magic. A dim runestone, now that's a perfectly respectable one-shot item. Ever heard of a spell vault seal? Such a nifty little accessory. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Mystic: Thwart & Power +1. Shine +2. Occult Nexus: Remove 2d4 Glow at the end of a scene. Vexer: Surges use 2d6 for Damage and only give 1 Glow. - TOME DOMAINS - You start with an Ice Storm hex which gives you the Dis-tortion Domain.

‡ ARCANIST TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

Ancient Spark (Edge & Grit).

Medicine (Aegis & Might).

Objectivity, Perseverance & Wisdom.

Mystic | Occult Nexus | Vexer.

None.

4 5 2 4 4

0 4 6

3 3 4

Battlestaff | 2d6

Persuasion | 3+2d6

Arcana | 5+2d6 (surges) / 5+2d10 (hexes)

4 3 | No armor

27 22

5 None

T ﴾ ARCANIST ﴿

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S & H E X E S ‡ Title Type Expand Archmagic Dispel Hex Hypnotic Modulation Stratagem Shield Hex Expedite Archmagic Royal Arrogance Stratagem Cobweb Hex Merge Archmagic Hesitation Stratagem Incarnation Hex

knife in the dark, or perhaps more accurately, a knife in the throat, is how you sum up an assassin. Of course, the one who will be doing the actual sum-

ming is going to be an assassin, once he has fulfilled his contract and provided proof of your death. And as for that knife-in-the-dark idiom; really, it's getting a bit worn. An assassin is so much more. For instance, piano wire around the neck, or a nudge in the back at the top of a flight of stairs. At the end of the day, an assassin may be the last thing you'll ever get to experience, and as such they pro-vide a unique and individually tailored end to a, hopefully, long and wonderful life. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE ASSASSIN

Strategy You've no problem carrying multiple contracts, so why not two weapons? With the dual wielder Gift, an assassin makes two Engage checks on a primary opportunity, though each attack is penalized by -2 (included in the listed Engage score). The engage checks may be against dif-ferent targets. Furthermore, your Stryker allows you to shoot at targets from a distance. - STYLES - The Smoke martial style and the Candid social style go very well with professional killing. - ITEMS - What these killers crave the most, is the ability to inflict more damage. An Elven ribbon for your blade, perhaps? The Darken runestone makes you even harder to detect. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Dual & Offhand Wielder: Use Engage twice on a primary opportunity. Engage is permanently penalized by -2. Rebel: Remove all raw results equal to half the highest pos-sible value on Impact rolls made against you.

‡ ASSASSIN TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

The Silence of Rats (Flow & Grit).

Crime (Aegis & Edge).

Awareness, Esthetics & Temperance.

Dual Wielder | Offhand Wielder | Rebel

None.

4 6 4 4 1

5 3 0

5 3 2

Knightblade | 1+2d8

Persuasion | 2+2d6

Occultism | 0+2d6

3 4 | Boiler Husk

30 20

6 Blade Boiler Husk: Remove a single raw result of 2 on Damage rolls made against you. Adds 2 Glow.

A ﴾ ASSASSIN ﴿

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S ‡ Title Type Defensive Roll Move Speed Talking Stratagem Neck-tie Move Unnerve Stratagem Whirlwind Move Violent Threat Stratagem Reversal Move Haughty Demeanour Stratagem Opportunist Move Righteous Zeal Stratagem Sunder Move

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

he world is full of sin and must be cleansed. You, whose faith is stronger than steel, have a holy mission to act. Through your hand, your deity smites the

wicked. Forgiveness is a possibility, but execution works every time. After all, the dead cannot sin. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE REDEEMER

Strategy Redeemers are capable of handling almost any situation, having no qualms about wading into the thick of battle. Their healing and protective powers from the Temple as-pect are especially welcome amongst their allies, who sometimes find the zealous redeemers themselves less ap-petizing. - STYLES - You don’t beat about the bush when you can cleave the tree and so should take the Dramatic social style. In combat, your faith will protect you, and the Tank martial style is excellent for punishing the wicked. The occult style Weav-ing supplements your faith well. - ITEMS - Both reaver and chaos ribbons add an extra punch to any righteous smiting and are all-time favorites among re-deemers. To many redeemers, dusts and masks smack a bit too much of sin. Shells, on the other hand, allow for some serious mass-smiting, and are basically divine retribution in an easy-to-carry package. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Anchor: Subtract a total of 1 Glow from your Stable items. Adrenaline Rush: Use a d12 for Trauma Die, regardless of the amount of Trauma you have suffered. Activate once per scene for a round. Bloodlust: The first time you beat an opponenet in escalated battle during a scene, you become superior on your next Engage check. Diehard: You have a d2 as an extra Trauma Die. Use a d6 with 1, 2, 3 counting as 1 and 4, 5, 6, counting as 2. Warmagic Synergy: Whenever you gain an Engage Excita-tion, you also gain an Invoke Excitation, and vice versa. - FAITH DOMAINS - You start with a Retributive Shield hex which gives you the Blessings Domain.

‡ REDEEMER TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

The Scorching Dark (Aegis & Grit).

Religion (Flow & Might),

Faith, Innocence & Loyalty.

Anchor | Adrenaline Rush | Bloodlust |

Diehard | Warmagic Synergy

None.

4 2 5 4 3

5 3 5

4 2 3

Grim Mace | 5+2d8

Seduction | 3+2d6

Temple | 5+2d4 (surges) / 5+2d10 (hexes)

4 4 | Marrow Hull

30 20

5 Maul Marrow Hull: Remove a single raw result of 2 on Damage rolls made against you. Adds 2 Glow.

T ﴾ REDEEMER ﴿

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS

GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S ‡ Title Type Expedite Archmagic Power Pose Stratagem Lift Curse Hex Sunder Move Smite Hex Swipe Move Expand Archmagic Sublime Body Language Stratagem Breath of Life Dwimmer Heroic Defense Move Move

he hunt is great, but the kill is better. As a slayer, you live to end the wretched existence of abominations everywhere. There's probably a type of monster you

prefer butchering, but far be it from you to discriminate. All are equally worthy of your blade. Now where did that dragon get to? ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE SLAYER

Strategy Slayers are heavy hitters, due to having the Massive Expert Gift. They're also fairly massive themselves, having Corpus 1, which makes certain martial moves more useful and adds 1 to Soak (already included in the listed score). - STYLES - Can there be any doubt? Your martial style is Rage. As for social, your style of choice is Candid - anything else would be a waste, really. - ITEMS - Why only do a lot of damage, when you can inflict insane amounts? Slayers tend to go for weapon ribbons that in-crease their already frightening martial destruction. A flame ribbon always looks nice. Less reckless slayers (as close to an oxymoron a slayer can get without trying to kill it) sometimes go for a mithril chainshirt. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Hulk: You have a Corpus of 1. Massive Expert: Bigger weapon, more damage. No shield. Overkill: Save an unrolled Flare die for later this battle and for a similar Force roll, though max one saved die per roll. Shake it Off: Cancel up to 5 damage once per scene.

‡ SLAYER TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

Wildfrost (Edge & Flow).

Heavy Labor (Grit & Might).

Courage, Generosity & Perseverance.

Hulk | Massive Expert | Overkill | Shake it Off

None.

3 4 3 5 4

5 2 0

4 3 2

Massive Bloodaxe | 5+2d10

Intimidate | 2+2d6

Occultism | 0+2d6

3 5 | Feather Chain

30 20

7 Cleaver Feather Chain: Remove a single raw result of 3 on Damage rolls made against you. Adds 3 Glow.

T ﴾ SLAYER ﴿

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S ‡ Title Type Swipe Move Stubborn Air Stratagem Sunder Move Hesitation Stratagem Attack Routine Move Unnerve Stratagem Power Block Move Honest Expression Stratagem Double Trouble Move Violent Threat Stratagem Sunder Move

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS

GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

t's all about power, and you've got the most. Should an-yone have more than you, that's an easily remedied de-ficiency. Others may point at you and utter such boring

words as "defiled" and "wicked", but, really, you're not that bad a person. In fact, you've got some very healthy values. At least, you don't run around murdering innocents, just because they have the wrong set of ears or proclivities, or whatever's in fashion among the "better-than-thous" these days. Oh, and that thing with the run-amock demon? That was totally an accident. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE SUMMONER

Strategy Summoners get their hexes from the aspect of the Demon. They’re not crazy about close combat, but their daggers al-ways seem to sink in deep. - STYLES - You like your hide where it is, so Smoke is a good way for you to go when it comes to martial styles. Socially you probably have the Enigmatic style. On the occult side of things, you use the Channelling style. - STABLE ITEMS - Suffering from relatively low absorption scores, sum-mon-ers tend to go for items that make it less likely for them to be hit, such as an arbal coat, or, alternatively, a sunstone ring to lessen the severity of an injury. And those deli-ciously demonic masks can be rather tempting to any re-spectable(?) summoner. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Battlemage: You can use both Invoke and Engage (once each) on a primary opportunity. The two skills are perma-nently penalized by -2 (already included). Hexpert: You are superior on checks made to learn hexes and dwimmers. Occult Nexus: Remove 2d4 Glow at the end of a scene. Warmagic Synergy: Whenever you gain an Engage Excita-tion, you also gain an Invoke Excitation, and vice versa. - DEMON DOMAINS - You start with the Shadow Ravens hex which gives you the Familiar Domain.

‡ SUMMONER TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

To Bind Midnight (Grit & Might).

Intrigue (Edge & Might).

Ambition, Liberty & Tolerance.

Battlemage | Hexpert | Occult Nexus | War-magic Synergy.

None.

2 4 3 4 6

3 3 3

4 3 3

Stinger | 7+2d6

Seduction | 3+2d6

Demon | 7+2d4 (surges) / 7+2d10 (hexes)

3 2 | No armor

27 20

5 Dagger

I ﴾ SUMMONER ﴿

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS

GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S & H E X E S ‡ Title Type Fork Archmagic Mask of the Demon Hex Opportunist Move Contradictory Gestures Stratagem Overload Archmagic Mirror Flutter Hex Whirlwind Attack Move Hypnotic Modulation Stratagem Dodge Move Demonic Infusion Hex

vil abounds. Fortunately, so does goodness. Your job is to back the latter and eradicate those refusing to re-form. You represent an organization with at least par-

tially religious affiliations, even though this may not be your greatest focus. But just because you're right, doesn't mean the end justifies the means. Good must triumph, but not by turning evil in the process. ﴾﴿ PATH OF THE TEMPLAR

Strategy Templars are only moderately hard hitters, but can take a lot of punishment, due in part to their Shield Expert Gift. Many templars decide to pick up a better armor after a while, making them even harder to hurt. - STYLES - You often navigate difficult social situations successfully due to the Subtle Style. In combat you like being in Balance, as well, having the martial style of the same name. - ITEMS - With their high Shine, many templars hope to one day un-dertake a quest for a holy weapon, though some settle for less exotic variants. - GIFTS & GLITCHES - Anchor: Subtract 2 from your total Stable Glow. Blessed: Remove a single uneven die on a Power roll made against you. Fortify Spirit: Superior on checks against Creeping Doom. Shield Basher & Expert: Move 2 ranks from Engage to Guard or from Guard to Engage at the start of your turn. The transfer lasts for the rest of the round.

‡ TEMPLAR TEMPLATE ‡

Unblooded | No special abilities.

Hidden Dawn (Aegis & Edge).

Service (Flow & Grit),

Honor, Humility & Justice.

Anchor x2 | Blessed | Fortify Spirit | Shield Basher | Shield Expert

None.

5 3 2 5 3

4 3 0

4 3 0

Knightblade | 3+2d8

Command | 3+2d6

Occultism | 0+2d6

4 7 | Marrow Hull

30 20

7 Blade Marrow Hull: Remove a single raw result of 2 on Damage rolls made against you. Adds 2 Glow.

E ﴾ TEMPLAR ﴿

‡ S U G G E S T E D G A M B I T S ‡ Title Type Vengeful Stance Move Hesitation Stratagem Sentinel Stance Move Perfect Diction Stratagem Charge Move Honest Expression Stratagem Lone Wolf Move Potent Vibe Stratagem Martyr Stance Move Sublime Body Language Stratagem Sunder Move

Background

BLOOD CORE CRAFT CREED Modifications

GIFTS

GLITCHES Halo Elements

AEGIS EDGE FLOW GRIT MIGHT

Skills

ENGAGE

SWAY

INVOKE GUARD

DEFY

THWART

Instruments | Force

WEAPON METHOD ASPECT

Endurance | Armor Type

CLOAK SOAK KNELL SHINE

RESILIENCE WEAPONS

This page is only for the playtest version of the Guide. AUTONOMOUS VS. DIRECTED Some R.E:I.G.N. games require one or more players to con-trol the game and make decisions for non-persona entities. These are called directed games. Those that require no su-pervision are called autonomous, like the tutorial or the in-tro game you may have just tried. This playtest guide in-cludes two more games, The Aviary and Chronicle. The former is autonomous and strategic, wheras the latter is a directed and deeply narrative game, where you create a story as you play. ﴾﴿ AVIARY NOTES

COMPONENT REPLACEMENTS Number tokens can be replaced with ordinary playing cards. (Zero can, for instance, be indicated with a “10”.) Element tokens can also be replaced by playing cards, us-ing the sequence on the Profile as the values for each Ele-ment. Gems can be replaced with any small objects that work as playing stones, including actual stones. Alternatively, you can write down the number of gems available in a given situation. Tide can be written down (and/or represented with playing cards), rather than indicated by a cone on the track board. Silver harps (coins) are indicated with a “¢” and can be written down or indicated with tokens of some sort. OPPONENTS - FLIGHT -

: Some entities are capable of flight, as indicated by a winged claw symbol following their Knell score. This is usually of little consequence to you. - EVEN/ODD -

EVEN / ODD: You may come up against entities with an even/odd battle symbol notation. This refers to the raw value of your Status Die. If it’s even, the attack is with En-gage, meaning the check you’re making is a Guard check. If the raw result of the Status Die is odd it’s a Thwart check instead as your opponent uses Invoke. - SCOURGES - Below are descriptions of scourges used in The Aviary. A

or means occult or psychotropic, respectively .

WYVERN POISON [round ‡ 4/3/2/1 Strain] Crux ∞ Check none Win N/A Fail 0 At the beginning of the next round, you will suffer 4 Strain (no absorb). Next round, you get 3 Strain. The third round after being poisoned, you must add 2 Strain, then 1 Strain. The scourge is officially gone on the fifth round.

CREEPING DOOM [round ‡ =“Petrification”] Crux 10+XS Check Might Win -4 Fail +4 Each round you must make a Might check. The starting Crux is determined by adding 10 to the Excess of a Power roll. Subsequently, the Crux will change by the +/-4 de-pending on whether you succeed or fail on the Might check. The skull means that once the Crux is greater than your Knell, your persona becomes unplayable (in this case by being turned to stone), and you must make a new one.

BLOOD TEARS [round ‡ Gap Strain on fail (no absorb)] Crux 20 Check Aegis Win 0 Fail 0 Each round you must make an Aegis check, until you’ve defeated the Blood Mist. On a failure, you gain Strain equal to the Gap of your Aegis check. Do not subtract any absorb value.

MALEDICTION [scene ‡ 2d4 Glow on fail] Crux 23+Tide Check Aegis Win -XS Fail +1 Should your Aegis check fail, the Crux is increased by one and you suffer 2d4 Glow. In case of a win, the Crux is de-creased by the Excess of the Aegis check. As with Creeping Doom, the skull means that your persona becomes unplay-able if the Crux is increased above your Knell. - CHALLENGES - The Aviary uses a lot of challenges, but one in particular warrants a comment.

HAGGLE [single Cloak 3] Crux 18+Tide Check Sway WIN: Reduce cost to 4¢ x LL, or 3¢ x LL if Impact XS>10. FAIL: Buy a rabbit’s foot for 1¢+1/Tide, or less if broke. “Cloak 3” indicates that if the Sway check succeeds, you will need to make an Impact roll and subtract 3. If the re-sult is positive you get a rebate, and if you can get an Im-pact Excess higher than 10, you will get a further rebate. ﴾﴿ CHRONICLE NOTES

COMPONENT REPLACEMENTS Just as for Chronicle, number tokens and gems are easily replaceable. OPPONENTS As you will see, there are no premade entities for Chronicle. That’s because Plotters should make their own when needed. You can of course be inspired by those found in Dungeonette and The Aviary. SHEETS You will need some paper to keep track of the plot and all the details.

﴾ SAMPLE GAMES ﴿

?

‡ T H E A V I A R Y ‡ Named for its crossing arcs, from which massive rune-stones hang suspended by strong chains, the Aviary is the renowned arena of the proud city Harvest, where champi-ons rise and fall in gory battles against horrid monsters and other gladiators. Become popular to earn money - needed to pay for fighting in the arena. Insight is gained by building up your persona until you can take down one of the stronger opponents. ﴾﴿ GAMEPLAY

COMPONENTS 10 gems per player and two cones. Blue number tokens, one of each 1-7. 5 Element tokens, one of each. A Track Board. GAME START

2. Tide starts at 2. Place a cone on the track board.

5¢. All personas start with 5 silver harps. TIME & RESTING During an act, players take part in one or more fights in the arena, with each fight lasting a scene. Before the fight, there will be time to use a secondary and a primary oppor-tunity. Once a scene has ended, players can choose be-tween starting a new one or ending the act (thus starting a new act and a new day). Personas can choose to rest at the start of a new act. ARENA BATTLES - BEAST CLASS - Opponents are rated according to beast class (BC) as either Rookie, Seasoned, Pro, Veteran or Champion, in that order. At the beginning of a new scene, the leader selects a num-ber of foes and desired BS(s). The only rule is that every new battle must be (theoretically) tougher than the previ-ous, either by having one or more extra foes added or the Beast Class of a at least one foe increased. If the highest BC is increased, you may reduce the no. of opponents to one. The actual entities to be fought are determined with a die roll just before you enter the arena. - TIDAL RISE - When personas win a battle against a new BC, Tide is in-creased by 1, though max once per act. REGISTRATION FEE All personas must pay 5¢ at the end of every act to keep their place in the Aviary. Failure to meet the fee, means you are out of the game. If you’ve won a fight during the pre-vious act, you may rest once without paying.

POPULARITY You’ll want to be popular with the crowds of spectators lining the sides of the arena. But the opinion of fans can be fickle, and staying popular is hard work. - POPULARITY POOL - At the start of the game personas have popularity 0. When a new scene begins, each persona moves half her popular-ity gems (round up) to a popularity pool, from which they will be able to gain popularity during the upcoming battle. Also, lost popularity is placed in the pool. - NEW POPULARITY - In addition to this, one popularity gem per persona is taken from outside the game and added to the pool. - POPULARITY GAIN - During an arena battle, a player will try to get as many popularity gems as she can. Take a gem every time you gain popularity, as long there are any left. - RUNNING AWAY - Personas who run away lose 2 popularity gems to the pool. - SHOWING OFF - As long as the popularity pool holds at least 3 gems per persona, you may try to Show Off when using either En-gage or Invoke, once per round. This will compromise your battle skill check but can award you popularity. The ele-ment used is determined by drawing an element token be-fore deciding whether to Show Off. A secondary oppor-tunity is used. All checks must succeed. - UNCLAIMED POPULARITY - At the end of an arena battle, all unclaimed gems in the pool are removed from the game. - POPULARITY & WINNINGS - After a battle, surviving personas each get a cash prize of a number of silver harps (¢) equal to their Popularity. Prizes are deposited in an individual account for each gladiator, accessible from the Gift Shop. This means that you cannot give other personas financial help. Transferring items re-quires a payment of Reign equal to Loot Level. GAME OVER Players can withdraw their personas from the game at the end of an act. When the game is done, any sur-viving players gain an amount of Insight based on the Tide they man-aged to achieve.

TIDE

MONEY

‡ I N S I G H T R E W A R D S ‡ Tide Insight 3 0 4 0 5 1 6 3 7 5

﴾﴿ ACTIONS Every act, you may choose 3 different actions of the ones listed below, though max one per scene/battle.

MIN POP 0 The Aviary can always use an extra hand, feeding the beasts, cleaning the pens, selling tickets, etc. This option will earn you 2 silver harps.

MIN POP 0 Do absolutely nothing and feel better. Remove 1d4 Strain.

MIN POP 0 Do good deeds to gain 1 popularity.

MIN POP 0 You get a Stroll Event from next page. Not available in this playtest version.

MIN POP 0 The Gift Shop offers a wide range of gladiator essentials at 5¢ per LL. Max LL is equal to Tide-2. A stable item must be designed (with Insight) before it can be pur-chased, which still requires money. Note that the money is drawn from your personal account, so you cannot shop using somebody else’s money.

HAGGLE [single Cloak 3] CRUX 18+Tide CHECK Sway WIN: Reduce cost to 4¢ x LL, or 3¢ x LL if Impact XS>10. FAIL: Buy a rabbit’s foot for 1¢+1/Tide, or less if broke.

MIN POP 1

BURGLARY [single exclusive] CRUX 18+Tide CHECK Edge WIN: Earn 10¢. FAIL: Lose next action, -1 popularity.

ROBBERY [single exclusive] CRUX 15+Tide CHECK Might WIN: Earn 8 ¢. FAIL: Lose next two actions, -2 popularity.

SPECIAL FAVOR [single exclusive] CRUX 11+ Tide CHECK Sway WIN: Earn 2¢ per popularity, twist an element.

DEALINGS BEHIND THE PENS [single exclusive] CRUX 13+ Tide CHECK Flow WIN: Earn 5¢. FAIL: Pay fine of 3¢.

HOODOO LOAN SHARK [single exclusive] CRUX 8+ Tide CHECK Defy WIN: Loan 10¢. Pay back at Act end or gain Malediction.

MALEDICTION [scene ‡ 2d4 Stable Glow] CRUX 23+ Tide CHECK Aegis WIN -XS FAIL +1

MIN POP 2

BOAST [single] CRUX 18+Tide CHECK Sway WIN: Add 1d4 popularity to pool for the next battle. FAIL: Lose 1 popularity.

MIN POP 2 Gambling costs 2 silver harps.

† Roll 3d6. † Call either “matched” or “unmatched”. † Roll an extra 2d6. † Reroll one die, if you like.

Matched: You get 2 silver harps per die result of which there is more than one. Reduce the winnings by 1 silver harp per die result that occurs only once. 6’s double the ¢ in both cases! Unmatched: You get 1 silver harp per die result that occurs only once. Triple the prize if you get 2-3-4-5-6.

MIN POP 3

ON THE HOUSE [single exclusive] CRUX 18+Tide CHECK Grit WIN: Remove all Strain. FAIL: Lower Trauma Die.

ON YOU [single exclusive -2¢] Crux 16+Tide CHECK Sway WIN: Untwist an axiom. FAIL: Lose an extra 2¢.

MIN POP 3 Visit the shrine and hope to get some healing.

ACTIVATE [single] CRUX 16+Tide CHECK Invoke WIN: Remove 1 Trauma. Choose to Resist or Endure.

RESIST [single] CRUX 16+Tide CHECK Thwart FAIL: 1d10 Glow.

ENDURE [single] CRUX 16+Tide CHECK Grit FAIL: 1d10 Strain.

MIN POP 6+ Enter your name in the Hall of Monthly Fame to be ensured a minimum popularity of 1 for the rest of the game. Every subsequent time you take this action, the min-imum is increased by 1, though it can go no higher than five less than your current popularity. If adding popularity to the pool would bring you below your minimum, you just don’t add any (more).

Work

Rest

Community Service

Go For a Stroll

Gift Shop

?

Shady Dealings

?

?

?

?

?

Interview

?

Gambling

Smiley’s Bar

?

?

Runestone

?

!

!

Hall of Fame

﴾﴿ STRUCTURE

SCENE OVERVIEW 1. Choose beast class(es) and no. foes. 2. Move half your popularity (round up) to the pool. 3. Add 1 popularity gem to the pool per persona. 4. Make an Arena Event roll. 5. Invoke a hex or use an item. 6. Beast type roll. 7. FIGHT! 8. Collect winnings: 1¢ per popularity. 9. Increase Tide if BC was new. 10. Gain Reign equal to Tide. 11. Spend an Action, if you like. (Max 3 per Act.) 12. Remove 1d4 Glow and [Resilience] Strain. 13. Remember to pay the participant fee of 5¢ per per-

sona when the act ends, unless you choose PVP.

﴾﴿ ARENA EVENTS Draw a blue number token. Reshuffle when all have been used. Use the arena event “Shut Gates” for PVP.

GUEST STAR COMMENTATOR The crowd is on fire! Add 3 popularity counters to the pool for each band member and take 2 popularity counters every time you would normally gain one during the up-coming battle.

GLADIATOR’S CHOICE Choose which opponent type(s) to fight. The leader has fi-nal say.

FISTICUFFS You all start the battle without any weapons, but can spend a primary opportunity to retrieve them. When fighting un-armed, damage dice are reduced to 2d4. Add 2 to the pop-ularity pool per persona.

SHUT GATES Fleeing is not possible during this scene, not even through magical means. Add 1 to the popularity pool per persona.

ROYAL VISIT Aristocrats like gore and suspense as much as anyone else. Difference is, they’re willing to pay a little extra. For every time a persona’s Trauma Die drops a step, he or she will receive an extra 7¢ if the band wins the battle. Also, a free LL4 one-shot item for anyone who inflicts at least 20 strain in one go. Max 1 per persona.

EVIL ARENA The runestones of the Aviary seem to have it in for you. All personas must make a Thwart check at the start of the bat-tle (Crux 16+Tide) or gain 2+2d6 strain (Cloak). Add 1 popularity per persona to the pool.

﴾﴿ PERSONA VS. PERSONA

Solo players cannot use this option! Instead of paying the entry fee at the end of an act, you may choose to go up against your band during the first scene of the following act. All steps of the scene are performed as normal and all personas, including you, must fight a num-ber of arena beasts. The difference is that the battle contin-ues until either you or your band members have been de-feated. Once you’ve chosen this option, other band mem-bers may do the same, but that doesn’t mean you become allied (for this battle). Following a PVP battle, you rejoin your band. You shouldn’t expect the warmest of welcomes.

﴾﴿ PROSPECTS

REIGN GLADIATOR

Winning a battle awards each persona Reign equal to Tide. YOU MADE IT THIS FAR

Get 5 Reign at the end of each act where you did battle. ﴾﴿ POPULARITY

GAINING POPULARITY

SHOW-OFF [single compromise skill, sec. opp.] CRUX foe crux CHECK random Element WIN: +1 pop. - GORE FEST – Gain popularity when rolling a raw result higher than 20 on a Damage or Power check. Impact adds 1 popularity to the pool instead. - MAD GLADIATOR SKILLS – Gain popularity when rolling a raw result higher than 25 on a skill or element check. Sway & Engage add 1 popular-ity to the pool instead. - VICTORY – Get Popularity equal to 1 + Trauma gained if battle is won. ﴾﴿ THE PIT

Once per battle, a single persona may enter the pit upon defeating all assigned foes. Assign new foes after activation.

ENTER THE PIT [single primary opportunity] CRUX 20+Tide CHECK Thwart FAIL: 2d10 Strain. On the following round, the runestone in the Pit can be activated by the persona.

ACTIVATE HELLSTONE [single secondary opp.] CRUX 14+Tide CHECK Invoke WIN: 2d10 Strain to all combatants outside the Pit.

1

2

3

4

5

6

?

?

?

﴾﴿ AVIARY BEASTS - 1 Choose opponents randomly. All foes with equal BC will be of the same type. If you get an opponent type that you also fought against the previous battle, determine a new type.

ETHEREAL TRACELING -1 [ ‡ A

1d12EVEN / 1d12

ODD] Little more than a pale smear in the air, it can still sting. Crux 17 Force - ‡ 2 Absorb 3 ‡ 4 Knell 16 HOVER: Compromises Engage. A INCORPOREAL: Targets use Cloak. Use weapon to harm.

CORPSE-TEARER CUB-2 [ ‡ ] Do not pet, or the last hyena-like laugh will be on you. Crux 19 Force - ‡ 2 Absorb 1 ‡ 2 Knell 18

SHADOW ROGUE [ ‡ A ] Now you see him. Now you don’t. Ouch! Crux 18 Force 3 ‡ 1 Absorb 4 ‡ 2 Knell 16 ABACKSTAB: If you get a Gap greater than 5 on your Guard check, the Shadow Rogue will deal an extra 2d6 damage.

UNTRAINED WIZARD [ ‡ 8 ] The pointy hat may look silly, but he is deadly serious. Crux 17 Force 3 ‡ 5 Absorb 3 ‡ 1 Knell 15

UMBRA MUCKLING [ ‡ ] Cute in the same way as a jelly-fish but more mobile. Crux 18 Force - ‡ 1 Absorb 3 ‡ 2 Knell 35 IMPERVIOUS: Requires weapon if you want to harm it.

GLADIATOR UPSTART [ ‡ A A ] Flashy and sure of herself. Crux 17 Force 4 ‡ 2 Absorb 2 ‡ 2 Knell 17 AOVERCONFIDENCE: If you get a raw value on your Status Die from 15 to 20 on a Guard check, you may make a free En-gage check against the Gladiator Upstart.

DAREDEVIL MYRMIDON [ ‡ A8 ]

Not reckless per se; rather, an avant-garde fighter. Crux 19 Force 2 ‡ 5 Absorb 2 ‡ 3 Knell 20 ARISK-TAKER: A Status Die value of 16-20 on your Guard, means the Daredevil is compromised until her next turn. FIRST STRIKE: Gets the turn before the band.

WILLOW SNIPE-1 [ ‡ A0 ]

Slouching with ochre exoskeleton, claws and two feelers. Crux 18 Force - ‡ 1 Absorb 4 ‡ 4 Knell 21 AWHIPLASH: A willow snipe's second attack (with one of its two antennae) does no damage, but incurs strong nausea and dizziness, leaving the victim compromised until the end of her turn.

TOAD FAE-1 [ ‡ 8 ] Lower class fairy with wide face, though not really toady. Crux 18 Force 1 ‡ 2 Absorb 4 ‡ 1 Knell 18 CELERITY: Entity gets extra Invoke/Guard of first to fail.

ASH WHISPER [ ‡ 8 ] Hateful eyes of fire glow in a face of cracked coal. Crux 19 Force - ‡ 3 Absorb 3 ‡ 2 Knell 23 GHOST STATE: Compromise Engage and reduce this en-tity’s Damage dice by one, from the first time it is hurt. INCORPOREAL: Targets use Cloak once Whisper is hurt. IMPERVIOUS: Requires weapon if you want to harm it.

VENGEFUL BARBARIAN [ ‡ A8 ]

Tough enough without being pissed off. Crux 17 Force 2 ‡ 4 Absorb 4 ‡ 2 Knell 19 ARAGE: A barbarian deals an extra 1d8 damage on a hit, as-suming you’ve caused him strain previously.

BLUE-BLACK HORNGUARD-1 [ ‡ ] Characteristic horns crown this fiend’s malicious visage. Crux 19 Force 2 ‡ 3 Absorb 3 ‡ 2 Knell 16

Rookie – BC 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

Seasoned

1

2

3

4

5

6

VERVE SKIMMER [ ‡ 8 A8]

Harsh beauty and eyes with a glow that’s beyond feverish. Crux 20 Force 3 ‡ 1 Absorb 4 ‡ 3 Knell 23 ASKIMMING: If the target suffers Strain equal to twice its Grit or more, add 2 to the Skimmer’s Force until the act ends.

BLOOD SPIKE-4 [ ‡ ] Pet-size dragon, one-size breath weapon. Wyvern type. Crux 19 Force - ‡ 1 Absorb 5 ‡ 4 Knell 19 BREATH WEAPON 1: Fire damage 1+2d12. Explosion that targets one persona per round as a secondary opportunity.

YOUNG HELLCAT2 [ ‡ 8 ] Sleek and swift. Dark and deadly. Not even fully grown. Crux 20 Force 3 Absorb 5 Knell 24

SKINWALKER GHOUL [ ‡ ] Pray it doesn’t look like anyone you know. Crux 21 Force 4 ‡ 3 Absorb 3 ‡ 2 Knell 22 REVITALIZE 6: Entity removes 6 strain each new round. DIMINISH: Compromises foes’ Invoke & Thwart checks.

Final version of Aviary will contain some 20 foes extra.

DEATHSTING WYVERN4 [ ‡ 8 A8 ]

Brownish yellow dragon with sword-like tail spike. Crux 22 Force - ‡ 2 Absorb 4 ‡ 6 Knell 32 ASPIKED TAIL: Any Strain will result in Wyvern Poison.

Wyvern Poison [round ‡ 4/3/2/1 Strain] Crux ∞ Check none Win N/A Fail 0

GORGON [ ‡ A ] Hair twists and twirls like a nest of snakes when excited. Crux 23 Force 5 ‡ 4 Absorb 7 ‡ 6 Knell 30 APETRIFYING GAZE: A raw Status Die result of 5 or less on a Guard check causes a Creeping Doom with Power 5+2d10. Fighting with closed eyes makes you compromised and carries a 50% risk of failure on all Engage checks.

Creeping Doom [round ‡ =“Petrification”] Crux 10+XS Check Might Win -4 Fail +4

MANNEQUIN FAUX [ ‡ 8 ] Too-perfect, hairless skin witness of artificial creation. Crux 21 Force 4 ‡ 4 Absorb 6 ‡ 4 Knell 30 CELERITY: Entity gets extra Engage/Guard of first to fail. REVITALIZE 3: Entity removes 3 strain each new round.

BLOOD MIST [ ‡ A8 ]

You can almost make out a person within the fog. Crux 25 Force - ‡ 6 Absorb 10 ‡ 9 Knell 40 A INCORPOREAL: Targets use Cloak. Use weapon to harm. ACRIMSON DEATH: A Thwart check is required if victim suf-fers Strain. Contract Blood Tears if Power XS > 0.

BLOOD TEARS [round ‡ Gap Strain on fail (no absorb)] Crux 20 Check Aegis Win 0 Fail 0

SWAROGI [ ‡ 8 A8]

A beautiful fae mask hides a hideous face. Crux 26 Force 8 ‡ 6 Absorb 7 ‡ 8 Knell 35 ADREAM-LIKE REALITY: Target loses next primary opportunity if Strain suffered is equal to or higher than its Grit.

Pro

1

2

3

4

Veteran

1

2

3

Champion

1

2

‡ C H R O N I C L E ‡ ﴾﴿ OVERVIEW

THE PLOTTERS A game can have one or more plotters, whose job is to cre-ate the backdrop of the story, by framing scenes and incor-porating player input and actions regarding tasks. Further-more, plotters define obstructions, add challenges, set Cruxes, define entity traits and sprinkle with hints and drop zones. It is not the job of the plotter to create an entire story; rather, they create Storyline sketches and everyone plays the game to see how the story unfolds. - ONE SCENE AT A TIME - Plotters take turns to control scenes, which usually last around 15-45 minutes. If a player feels that a plotter should relinquish control of a scene, she can call a vote by vetoing the plotters right to continue. An act is ended when a plotter deems her scene to be the final one, but, of course, this can be vetoed. The next plotter in line is whoever wants to be. In case of multiple candidates, the one who has plotted the least times during the current session is se-lected, unless this is the most recent plotter, and any draws are resolved by a random die roll. - REWARD - When a plotter is done with a scene, she awards herself an amount of Reign. The award should be based on whether the plotter constructed a well-balanced scene (entertain-ing and genre-appropriate story, reasonable challenges and drop zones, didn't favor own persona, etc.). Typical awards are around 2-3 reign, going down to 0 and as high as up to 10 (in extremely rare cases). This can be vetoed. - PERSONALESS MASTERS - We assume that plotters control personas too, but if a player would rather focus solely on plotting, this is indeed possible. Ordinarily, the decisions of such a plot master cannot be vetoed. - MEANWHILE: SCENE BRANCHING - Players may split off from the current scene, in order to create their own scene. This new scene can have a new narrator, which will allow it to be played out simultane-ously with the original scene. Once the scene is over, they may return to the scene they branched off of, assuming it is still running, join up with the other players in a new scene, or start another scene of their own. In case of time issues, i.e. one scene is markedly shorter in-game than an-other, but the other scene is played through faster in real time, the plotter will add an explanation of why the in-game quicker group is delayed and don’t make it back until the slower scene is done. This should also work for when players want to split up on a somewhat more (semi-)permanent base, for instance such as when disagreeing on a course of action.

STORYLINES Each plotter creates at least one storyline, which consists of a single Theme, one or more Factions and an Outline. Note that plotters create their own (very) rough sketches of the plot independent of one another. They then play off of each others’ ideas as the story develops. Conflicts between plot points should therefore be expected, but aren’t cause for concern as the plotters simply change their plots to en-compass and fit the revealed story. This also means that even if a game only has a single plotter, individual subplots may conflict at first, with the plotter settling on the “true” plot(s) as the story unfolds. - THEME - The Theme is a short (if possible) description of what’s go-ing on and of what’s at stake. - FACTIONS - A faction can be an actual organization, a single entity or even an abstract (for instance, “time”). Each faction is (a more or less obvious) part of a plot line. For all factions pick one of the three Positions listed below. Also decide on what drives the faction towards its goals and what those are. Opposing Position: Factions working against the band. Supporting Position: Factions interested in furthering the objectives of the band. Undecided Position: Factions neutral with regards to the interests of the band. Complicated Position: The alignment of the interests of various factions and daemons with those of the players will likely vary from case to case and may even change throughout the game. Thus a church who supports the band in eradicating a den of vampires, may also work to-wards building a case of devil worship against the band’s wizard. Also factions may enter or disappear from the game as the story unfolds. - OUTLINE - Challenges: What are the obvious challenges for the band? Outcome: As of right now, where could this storyline go? Resolution: What would finish this storyline? THE STARS The main focus of the stories are the personas who have objectives they want to achieve. It is the job of the players to maneuvre their personas into position to fulfill their ob-jectives, or sometimes to change them, as, for instance, in case of failure. - KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE - All players have at least one objective, which they can de-fine or change freely at any point. An objective is usually related to the current story but doesn’t have to be. When players achieve or change an objective, they will likely earn Insight. Once a scene has ended, all players have the option of putting an objective up for a reward if they feel there was some sort of development that makes it necessary to either update or remove the objective (possibly in favor of a new one). Everyone then votes on the amount of In-sight they think the player should gain.

THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET COMPLICATED Anyone can introduce a wrinkle in the story by telling someone to complicate things in a manner befitting their persona. Complications must create significant trouble for the persona (and other band members) and award her player with a black gem. Creed is often the most obvious trait to use for complicating things, but you should only base a wrinkle on a vice if the axiom is twisted and vice versa on a virtue if it is not. Other traits that can be used for complications are Core, Scourges, Associations, Moti-vations, unstable hexes or dwimmmers, cursed or broken gear. Always consider the theme and genre when creating a complication. A player is free to ignore a call for a com-plication. Every player has a special obligation to ensure that the player on their left is not overlooked with regards to com-plications. - AXIOM TWISTING - Axioms are twisted through horror in order to avoid be-coming unhinged. Once an entity has twisted all axioms, no more protection against horror can be gained. Untwist-ing an axiom requires that it be used for a complication, without you getting a black gem (or you should pay a black gem and make an appropriate halo element check). NO, I DON’T THINK SO / NOT ON MY WATCH Anyone can veto anything, calling for a vote on Cruxes (too high/low), complications (not complicated enough) or re-wards (too big/small). If the veto is successful, the player who called it may take a black gem from the one who ini-tiated the vetoed action or decision. If this isn’t possible, the one who vetoed still gains a black gem, but the other player must take a symbol token, which counts as a negative black gem. If the veto isn’t successful and fails to change any-thing, the vetoing player removes one of her black gems from the game (or takes a symbol token). Only by taking a complication can a player get rid of a symbol token, and until this happens, she must refrain from doing anything that could potentially be vetoed, including plotting. Once a vote has been cast, the game is defined by it. This means that there can be no arguing about whether or not the outcome is right for the situation. The vote defines the situation and if a player disagrees with the decision, it’s simply because that player didn’t have all the information regarding the situation, even though she may have thought she did. - CRUXES, REWARDS & VALUES IN GENERAL - Each player secretly indicates a value with two blue tokens. (Alternatively, you can use two d10’s or write it down). If you feel the original value was reasonable, just indicate that value, rather than changing it some minor amount. All players then roll a die and whoever rolls the highest, is the one whose suggested value is used. If the two votes that are the farthest apart deviate by more than 3, each of the responsible players get a number of red tokens equal to the difference. A player is exempt from this sanction, if her vote is less than 3 from the one that won. In case of a draw, decide randomly who loses.

Every time you vote, you may remove a red token for every point of difference between your vote and the one farthest from the one that won. - WHAT SAY YOU, AYE OR NAY? - All players choose a blue token showing a 0 or a 1, with 0 indicating you do not agree with the veto, and 1 that you do. The majority wins and everyone who voted against the winning vote gains a number of red tokens equal to the difference in “aye” and “nay” votes. In case of a tie, deter-mine randomly which side wins and a player who gets a red token. When on the winning side of a vote, you may remove a number of red tokens equal to the difference in “aye” and “nay” votes. - RED TOKENS - If you win a vote but have one or more red tokens, the vote is recast (after players have adjusted their number of red tokens). When too many players have red tokens, you should revote until at least two are capable of winning. If no one gains any red tokens following a vote, all players may remove all red tokens. CRAFT CHECKS Personas can attempt any action players can think of. If the action isn't covered by one of their skills, they make a check based on a halo element determined by the current plotter. The Crux should be based on the persona's craft and how likely it seems for this persona to be able to perform the intended task, when in top-notch condition. - …MASTER OF NONE - For games with craft checks, Cruxes will be higher, if you have more than one craft, unless your crafts overlap re-garding a given challenge. This is also relevant for per-sonas who are specialized within their craft. If you have Heavy Labor you can be all round proficient in everything from building walls to forging iron. However, if you are a smith you are going to be way better at crafting swords than you are at building houses. BLACK GEMS Black gems have multiple uses, but cannot be employed as long as you have any red tokens. - STORY LOCK - Lock a story element pertaining to your persona in order to protect it from harm. Works instantly and for the rest of the act. If a composite story element is protected, individual parts may be harmed, but overall, the element must persist relatively unaffected. - REROLL - After having made a dice roll, spend a black gem to reroll any number of dice on a check that can somehow be asso-ciated with one of your objectives. Dice that have already flared cannot be rerolled. The gem is only spent if the roll results in an Excess of at least 1. - PLOTTING - Gain 15 seconds of plotting time to be used for something related to one of your objectives. Note that this can be ve-toed, in which case them gem isn’t spend (but can be taken by the vetoer).

WHITE GEMS Everyone starts each game session with a white gem. - REIGN - Spend a white gem to give 5 Reign to another player (or plotter) who acted well. INSIGHT REWARDS At the end of a session. Everyone votes on Insight for acting, playing and ideas. When voting on Insight, an award of the average amount voted is given. Anyone deviating by more than 1 from the average gets a lock on an amount of Insight (as when Insight has been used as catalyst), and a number of red tokens, equal to the difference between her vote and the average. Insight awards typically lie around 2 per hour of play. RITUALISTIC OCCULTISM Occultists can design their own rituals with unique effects, by using special components, in particular longer casting times up to a scene or an act even. Due to this, an active ritual can affect a battle, but cannot be started during one. The plotter determines which effects are possible, deter-mines any necessary Cruxes and the amount of Glow gained. The plotter should consider the aspect domains as-sociated with the occultist's available hexes and dwimmers, as well as any special preparations made. For instance, a particular ritual might have an outrageously high Crux, unless the band obtains an old magical tome. SESSION OVERVIEW Session Start † Continue game or go through Setup. † Everyone gets a white gem. Scene Start † Choose next plotter. † Plotter sets the scene and everyone (re)acts. † Plotter deems whether checks are necessary. † Create complications to get black gems. † Veto and call a vote to steal a black gem. † Complete objectives to get Insight. † Give white gem to worthy player. Scene End † Quicken: Remove 1d4 Glow and 1d4+[Resilience] Strain. † Plotter decides whether act ends. † Plotter gains Reign. † Players may gain Insight for objectives. Act End † Revitalize: Remove all Glow and Strain. Session End † Vote on Insight rewards for everyone. ﴾﴿ SETUP

GENRE & PROSPECTS Everyone decides on the genres the story should incorpo-rate, by choosing conditions for gaining Reign. The only limit is your imagination. We recommend somewhere

around five conditions, with an average of 2 Reign per condition. Don’t be afraid to adjust conditions during play. Whenever you feel you have fulfilled one of the conditions and should earn Reign, just say so, but remember that a Reign award can be vetoed. - PROGRESS - These awards are given for progress made by the personas. Reign could be awarded when you reach new places, deal with puzzles or uncover clues. - CONSEQUENCES - Reign can be given when something bad happens. For in-stance, many games give Reign when a persona’s Trauma Die drops a step or she falls unconscious. The compensa-tion is usually given to the player responsible for rolling the involved Force dice. - REACTIONS - You can shape the tone of the game a lot by using condi-tions based on player reactions, such as expressions of amusement, disbelief or anxiety. BRAINSTORM This is an optional step where everyone work together to create story background, by using one of the methods de-scribed here. - RUMOR HAS IT - The personas sit down and share rumors. The first player says (in persona) “I heard that…” Then the next player can choose one of the following strat-egies: † Expand on the rumor with something like “I heard that

the reason was...” or “And as if that wasn’t enough...”. † Contradict the rumor: “Actually, I heard it was...” (You

can contradict a contradiction.) † One-up the rumor: “I’ve got a better one...”

Continue until everyone has told three rumors. - COLOR ME INTRIGUED - Start with a color. The next player then writes down an emotion which may or may not be associated with the color. Players then take turns to write down a word that pops into their heads, writing those associated with the emotion next to it, and everything else next to the color. Once all players have written 5 words each, they proceed to create sentences (in turn) using up to three of the words at a time, until all the words have been used (at least) once each. CONFLICT CREATION This is an optional step where everyone fleshes out the backdrop for a conflict on which the story they are about to play will be based. The players take turns writing sen-tences of max 10 words, containing new and/or already known information. New information can correct sen-tences given by other players (only one sentence at a time), but cannot change something factual that the players know to be true. Players get 100 words between them for Conflict Origins and 300 for Conflict Development. - CONFLICT ORIGINS - What is the conflict about and what started it? Was the conflict religious, historical, political, sociological or

personal. Did the conflict concern items, persons, areas, re-sources, worldviews or rituals? - CONFLICT DEVELOPMENT - What happened then? Did the conflict expand and did any other parties get dragged in? What repercussions did the conflict have? Was the conflict resolved and how? Are these the remains of a conflict, a new conflict or an open one? Is this a new development or a repetition of events? Is the current conflict local or global and does it concern only part or all of the conflict? SETTING CREATION This is another optional step where everyone takes a clue from the Conflict Creation process to determine the setting details, and then expand upon them. - BLUEPRINT - Are we dealing with a single site (such as a manor) or a multi-site layout (for instance, several cities). Are we inside and/or outside? In the wild or in civilization? Which sites are important and useful for setting up scenes. - ATMOSPHERE - What’s the climate like? Any unusual flora and fauna or interesting geological features? - ENTITIES - Who and how many interesting entities are known to begin with? Are these entities connected with one another? - OBJECTS - Are there any known and interesting or important objects or constructions? - OTHER - Anything else, for instance setting appropriate music/sfx? SCENE FRAMING The plotter creates a loose frame that can easily accommo-date new information, consisting of a locale and chal-lenges. If the plotter has time to write notes for the frame, she can do that; otherwise, she should simply keep the be-low questions in mind. And remember, nothing is carved in stone, until it has happened – sometimes not even then. - LOCALE - Where are the personas and what time of day is it? Who’s around? Which sounds can be heard (includes talking and music)? What’s seems to be going on and what’s really go-ing on? - CHALLENGES - How does this scene challenge the band? What does the band have to gain? How does the band want the entire conflict to resolve? What are the consequences if the band fails? PERSONA INVOLVEMENT Players either create or reuse an old persona. Depending on how much they know, they define their involvement. - CONFLICT INVOLVEMENT - What’s your connection to the conflict? Have you been in-volved in this conflict before? What do the other personas know of your involvement? Who’s your current employer or sponsor with regards to this conflict? (This can be your-self.) How do you want the conflict to resolve and what do

you have to gain? (Consider your Creed.) What happens if the conflict does not resolve according to your wishes? - OBJECTIVES - Your goals overall and for this game. Note that these can change. Consider the Reign conditions you have decided on when phrasing your objectives. Furthermore, an objec-tive should be a double-edged sword, so that it can be used to create complications, while at the same time allowing you to exploit it with black gems and resolve it for Insight. - MOTIVATION - Personal motivation can be anything you want it to be. Just answer the question “Why are you involved and what are you hoping to get out of the situation?” Several independ-ent answers are possible.. - ASSOCIATION - Must include at least two subjects, which must be you or someone/something special to you, another band member and an elucidation. STRUCTURE Depending on preference and group stability, you can choose between different story structures. - CONCLUDED EPISODIC - Each session is a closed story. Good for highly unstable gaming groups and in between or pre-story arc playing. Useful for playing forth a new story arc. Changing genres from session to session is fairly common. Players are usu-ally reset after each episode, meaning that there's relatively little progression. You could use the following template for a 2 hour game: 10 minutes for Setup, 15 minutes for opening act, 15 minutes for investigation act, 15 minutes for conflict act, 45 minutes for deep story act, 15 minutes for resolution, and 5 minutes for cooldown. If the band doesn’t find out what’s going on, they will ei-ther be in great trouble when they get to the final conflict (resolution), or they won’t be able to have any impact on it. - CAMPAIGN ARC - Each session is part of a larger story arc (a campaign), and does not need an ending. Changing genres from session to session is possible but un-common. Players are not (usually) reset from session to ses-sion. - EPISODIC ARC - Great for unstable groups wanting an actual story arc. Each session is a closed story, but with elements pertaining to a story arc that spans many episodes. Players may or may not be reset from session to session. - EPISODIC CAMPAIGN - Several unrelated story arcs played after another (or, the-oretically, simultaneously). Players are usually reset be-tween story arcs. - CHRONICLE - Several related episodic or campaign arcs played after an-other. Players may or may not be reset between story arcs.

tyles are collections of Gambits, which you gain access to as your persona develops. Note that a style doesn’t allow you to actually use any of its associated Gambits.

Rather, having a style allows you to buy access to its Gam-bits, by assigning Insight, which will then make them avail-able for actual use.

ACQUISITION When purchasing an instrument group, you may choose one compatible style, thereby gaining the option of buying the associated Gambits shown in the “Signature Styles & Gambit Access” table. ﴾﴿ MARTIAL STYLES

To move perfectly, you must first stand absolutely still. Requires 3 Edge ranks. Bastard, Blade, Cleaver, Massive, Maul or Pole.

Always keep the momentum going and never hesitate.

No shield, LL 2+ armor or massive wielders. Re-quires 3 Flow ranks.

Bastard, Blade, Cleaver, Dagger, Maul or Pole.

Your weapon is an extension of the anger inside you.

No offhand wielders. Requires 3 Might ranks. Bastard, Blade, Cleaver, Massive, Maul or Pole.

The insubstantial cannot be harmed, but can still choke.

No shield, LL 2+ armor, offhand or massive. Re-quires 3 Aegis ranks.

Arc, Blade, Dagger or Trigger.

You are the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

No offhand wielders. Requires 3 Grit ranks. Bastard, Blade, Cleaver, Massive or Maul.

﴾﴿ SOCIAL STYLES

You’re just telling it like it is.

Command, Intimidation or Persuasion.

What’s life without a little drama?

Command, Intimidation or Seduction.

To understand a mystery is to...

Persuasion or Seduction.

Why throw a wrench in the machinery? A bolt will do.

Command, Intimidation or Persuasion.

Those who take humour lightly miss the gravity.

Persuasion or Seduction.

﴾﴿ OCCULT STYLES

Magic happens in the link between magefire and hex. Essence or Spirit.

You beat the rhythm to which magefire dances.

All traditions.

Hexes are complex tapestries, and you are the loom.

Faith or Tome.

S ﴾ APPENDIX: STYLING ﴿

BALANCE

BANS GROUPS

ENERGY

BANS

GROUPS

RAGE

BANS GROUPS

SMOKE

BANS

GROUPS

TANK

BANS GROUPS

CANDID

GROUPS

DRAMATIC

GROUPS

ENIGMATIC

GROUPS

SUBTLE

GROUPS

WITTY

GROUPS

CHANNELLING

GROUPS

MODULATION

GROUPS

WEAVING

GROUPS

‡ S I G N A T U R E S T Y L E S & G A M B I T A C C E S S ‡

Moves Balance Energy Rage Smoke Tank Stratagems Candid Drama Enigma Subtle Witty Attack Routine Bolster Berserk Contradictory Gest. Charge Crazy Eyes Coup de Grâce Flowery Speech Defensive Roll Haughty Demeanor Disengage Hesitation Dodge Honest Expression Double Troubl. Hypnotic Modulati. Flurry Inspire Ghoststep Lead Heroic Defense Perfect Diction Jump Up Pitiful Posture Leap Attack Potent Vibe Living Weapo. Power Pose Lone Wolf Puppy Eyes Martyr Stance Righteous Zeal Neck-tie Royal Arrogance Opportunist Rustic Accent Power Attack Speed Talking Power Block Stubborn Air Reversal Sublime Body Lang. Sentinel Stance Subliminal Comm. Slam Unnerve Slippery Walk Away Sunder Winning Smile Swipe Violent Threat Teamwork Trample Trip Vengeful Stan. Whirlwind Archmagic Channelling Modulation Weaving Archmagic Channelling Modulation Weaving Contact Force of Will Disrupt Fork Divide Merge Expand Recycle Expedite Soulguard Flash Transfer Focus Overload

﴾﴿ GAMBITS A Gambit is a special ability normally used in conjunction with a skill check. Different kinds exist, e. g. battle moves, boons and archmagic. Most Gambits are grouped into dis-tinct categories, called styles. Gambits are bought perma-nently with Insight awarded at the end of a game. Personas are assumed to use all sorts of crazy tricks in battle, but Reign allows the player to shape the game world and decide exactly what her persona can do at a particular point.

ACQUISITION Adding a new Gambit to a persona requires an amount of Insight equal to the number of already owned Gambits. This means that a persona’s first Gambit is free, the second costs 1 Insight, the third 2 Insight, and so on. Players can freely choose among Gambits from their chosen styles. ACTIVATION Using a Gambit will cost you some of your Reign, regardless of whether or not the attempted action succeeds. Some Gambits are occult in nature and also give you Glow when activated. Note that a Gambit must be used with an instru-ment belonging to a group from a compatible style. OPPORTUNITIES Some Gambits are of the response type, as indicated by an "r" () next to their activation costs. These Gambits only re-quire free opportunities and can thus be used at any time, though only a single Gambit may be activated per check. All other Gambits require secondary opportunities. TIMING A Gambit is employed before the modified check is made, unless its description says something different. DURATION Default duration is until the end of the round. MULTIPLE CHECKS If a persona is allowed multiple checks on a primary oppor-tunity (because of, say, the Dual Wielder Gift), a Gambit will only modify one of the checks. The persona still gets to make the other check as she normally would. JOINT CHECKS By default, Gambits can be used with joint checks, but any penalties imposed by a Gambit must have relevancy in the situation or it cannot be activated. Exceptions are noted in the descriptions. When a player gets an extra roll, is com-promised or becomes superior, she must use her own Status Die for that roll (only).

PROSPECTS By default, you get 6 Reign at the beginning of a new game. Additional Reign is gained during play as detailed by vari-ous prospects. Unless otherwise mentioned, the prospects listed here are always available. When a prospect is acti-vated due to a force roll made by a player against another player’s persona, the Reign goes to the one who rolled the dice. - PAIN BY PROXY - 1 Reign every time a persona’s strain die drops a step. - BITING THE DUST - 4 Reign when a persona becomes unplayable. STARTING GAMBIT All personas start with the Battle Focus gambit, though if they prefer, they may choose a different one.

3 Reign ‡ Gain superiority on any battle skill check.

MIRRORED CHECKS - PLAYTEST NOTE Sometimes, the crux of a check is equal to an opposing en-tity’s score in the same trait. When this is the case, we say the check is mirrored. Thus if, a persona needs to make, say, a mirrored Edge challenge roll, it means that the Crux is equal to an opposing entity's Edge result.

﴾ APPENDIX: GAMBITS ﴿

BATTLE FOCUS

﴾﴿ STRATAGEMS Stratagems are social Gambits. You must have an appropri-ate style in order to buy a Stratagem.

2 Reign per ally ‡ Use a Sway check to counter the effect of a psychotropic scourge in allies. The Crux is given by: 5 + Tide + the strength of the scourge, and success results in the persona(s) being allowed to make a Flow check versus the same Crux, in order to remove the scourge.

1 Reign ‡ Opponent is compromised on Defy towards you. Your Impact is reduced to base+2d4.

1 Reign ‡ +1d6 to Sway. If your Sway Excess is less than 5, your Impact dice are reduced by one die.

1 Reign ‡ Use before Sway check to reroll a single Impact Die.

4 Reign ‡ Double your Impact result (after Cloak has been subtracted). Use before Sway check.

1 Reign ‡ Immediately before an opponent would have you make a Guard or Thwart check, make a Sway check (vs. Defy), and if successful, that opponent is compromised on Engage and Invoke towards you, until you damage him. You can only make a particular entity hesitate once per battle and only if unharmed by you.

2 Reign ‡ A raw 18+ on Defy allows you to make a free Sway check against your opponent.

1 Reign ‡ +1d8 to a single Defy check. If your Defy check fails, your opponent gets an extra d4 Impact die.

1 Reign per ally ‡ If you harm an enemy, make a Sway roll (no Crux) and calculate the result. Targeted allies gain a Buffer 5, lasting up to the end of the battle or until assigned an opponent who has a Crux (or gets a check result) that's higher than the Inspire Sway result.

1 Reign per ally ‡ Make a Sway check and calculate the re-sult. Targeted allies gain superiority on all checks, lasting until the beginning of your next turn. Superiority only works against Cruxes and opponents whose skill check re-sults are equal to or lower than the result of your Sway check. Targets can only be lead by one entity at a time and cannot lead you back.

2 Reign ‡ Your Impact dice flare on 5 and 6. Use before rolling Impact.

2 Reign ‡ If your opponent gives you strain in a social bat-tle, immediately make a free, compromised Sway check (vs. Defy) in return. If successful, your opponent gains half the amount of strain you got (no absorb).

3 Reign ‡ In addition to a Defy check, you may make a check using a particular element in response to a Sway at-tempt and use the better of the two results. The element available for this Gambit depends on your social method. Aegis for intimidation, Edge for seduction, Flow for persua-sion and Might work for command.

1 Reign ‡ Cloak+1d4 against a single Impact check. Use this Gambit before Impact is rolled.

2 Reign ‡ If you have more strain than your opponent, you get +1d8 to Sway. Use before rolling Sway.

2 Reign ‡ Make a Grit check in addition to a Defy check and use the better against a Sway attempt.

2 Reign ‡ Use a d12 Trauma Die for your Sway check, re-gardless of how much your Trauma Die has been lowered.

3 Reign ‡ Ignore an amount of your opponent's Cloak equal to the Excess of your Sway check.

3 Reign ‡ Make an extra Sway attempt, in addition to the one you gain from your primary opportunity. The extra check is compromised.

1 Reign ‡ Make a superior Defy check. If you fail, your opponent gets Impact +1d6.

3 Reign ‡ Impact+1d6. Even if your Sway attempt fails with a Gap of 10 or less, your opponent still gets 1d6 strain (flares - ignore Cloak in this case) up to a maximum equal to your opponent’s Knell. Use before rolling Sway.

7 Reign ‡ If you succeed on a compromised Sway attempt this round, you win the battle at the end of the fourth round from now, assuming you haven’t lost by then. Use this Gam-bit before rolling for Sway.

2 Reign ‡ Immediately before making an Engage or Invoke check, use Sway to make target opponent compromised on

BOLSTER

CONTRADICTORY GESTURES

CRAZY EYES

FLOWERY SPEECH

HAUGHTY DEMEANOR

HESITATION

HONEST EXPRESSION

HYPNOTIC MODULATION

INSPIRE

LEAD

PERFECT DICTION

PITIFUL POSTURE

POTENT VIBE

POWER POSE

PUPPY EYES

RIGHTEOUS ZEAL

ROYAL ARROGANCE

RUSTIC ACCENT

SPEED TALKING

STUBBORN AIR

SUBLIME BODY LANGUAGE

SUBLIMINAL COMMUNICATION

UNNERVE

Guard and Thwart towards you until he damages you. You can only unnerve a particular entity once per battle, and only those who have not yet harmed you.

4 Reign ‡ Leave the battle without consequences if you manage to get a Defy Excess of 10 or better. Use after rolling Defy.

4 Reign ‡ Activate when someone tries to Sway you, before rolling Defy. Your Defy roll is compromised, but, if success-ful, you will get to make an Impact check against your op-ponent.

6 Reign ‡ Add +2d6 (flare) to Impact. In case of Sway failure, the battle immediately escalates and your opponent gets a free Engage or Invoke check against you.

WALK AWAY

WINNING SMILE

VIOLENT THREAT

﴾﴿ ARCHMAGIC Archmagic Gambits are used in conjunction with hexes or surges. A persona must have an appropriate style in order to acquire and employ archmagic.

1 Reign ‡ Increase Power by +1d10 of a ranged offensive hex or a surge that targets only a single creature. Requires that the occultist first succeeds on a non-damaging un-armed Engage check in close combat. Should the Engage check fail, Power dice will be reduced by a single die.

1 Reign ‡ When you successfully Thwart another oc-cultist's hex or surge, force your opponent to make a new Invoke check. If you successfully thwart the second check, as well, your opponent suffers 1d8 Strain (flare, no Cloak). However, if your opponent is successful, you must make an Invoke check with a Crux equal to your opponent’s Thwart result or suffer 1d8 Strain yourself.

1 Reign ‡ Use two surges against the same or two different targets, with only a single primary opportunity. Both Invoke checks are compromised and your Power dice are reduced by one die.

3 Reign per extra target ‡ When using a hex with target of “assign” or “burst”, you can affect extra entities in addition to the default target. If the hex requires an Invoke check, the occultist must make one against each entity. All of the Invoke checks are compromised. A single entity can only be targeted once. Hexes that cause Glow to the occultist do so once per target.

4 Reign ‡ Use a hex that only targets yourself or an ally as a free opportunity.

2 Reign ‡ Instead of causing strain with a surge, a successful Invoke check will transfer 3 points of Glow from you to the target and cause her to start Shining. If the target’s Glow is below her Shine, use a Crux of 20 for the Aegis check.

1 Reign ‡ Add 1d6 to an Invoke attempt with a surge or a hex. Power dice won’t flare as usual.

1 Reign ‡ Add 1d8 to a Thwart check. If you fail, suffer 1d6 (extra) strain (flare, no absorbtion of the extra strain).

3 Reign ‡ You may activate a hex twice on this turn, against the same or a different target (choose before rolling). Only works with hexes that have a “single” target. The second

Invoke check is compromised. Both instances of the hex cause Glow.

3 Reign ‡ Activate two different hexes at the same time against the same target(s). Any invoke checks are compro-mised. Glow accumulates for both.

2 Reign ‡ Add 1d8 to a power roll. Suffer 1d4 strain (flare, no absorb). Only works with surges and hexes that have in-stant duration.

2 Reign ‡ Activate a hex without gaining Glow. Increase a possible Invoke Crux by the Glow value of the hex. If no invoke check is required, the hex suffers a 5% chance of failure per point of Glow.

1 Reign ‡ Make a Thwart check for someone else (after that entity failed its own Thwart attempt). If your Thwart check fails, you suffer the effects yourself. A persona can only use Soulguard once per round, and only one Soulguard is allowed per hex.

1 Reign ‡ Affect someone else with a hex that would nor-mally only affect you.

CONTACT

DISRUPT

DIVIDE

EXPAND

EXPEDITE

FLASH

FOCUS

FORCE OF WILL

FORK

MERGE

OVERLOAD

RECYCLE

SOULGUARD

TRANSFER

﴾﴿ BATTLE MOVES Battle moves are special maneuvers used during martial battles. You must have an appropriate style in order to buy a battle move.

1 Reign ‡ +1d8 to Engage. Guard and Thwart are compro-mised until your next turn. Only works in close combat.

7 Reign ‡ Unbreakable - reductions of your Trauma Die are ignored and postponed until the end of the battle. Engage & Damage+1d6. Compromised on Guard towards everyone for the rest of the battle. Fight in close combat until all ene-mies are gone (or your strain exceeds your Knell). The ef-fects last for the entire battle, during which the berserker cannot use any more secondary opportunities or employ any one-shot items, hexes or ranged attacks.

2 Reign ‡ +1d6 to Engage, +1d6 to Damage, compromised on Guard until your next turn. Only usable during the first round of battle or when redistributing after having had no enemies (left).

5 Reign ‡ This Gambit only works against someone you have already hurt during this battle. +1d8 to Engage and damage.

1 Reign ‡ When you fail a Guard check against a non-ranged Engage attempt, make a Flow check with Crux equal to the Engage result (or your foe's Crux). Reduce damage suffered by the Flow Excess. On a Flow Gap greater than 5, you fall prone. Use after damage has been determined.

4 Reign ‡ After having used your primary opportunity to make a regular Engage check, you must make a Flow check with the same Crux. If successful, your opponent will no longer be assigned to you (or anyone else), and thus can only use ranged attacks for the remainder of this round. At the beginning of the next round the entity is reassigned to you or someone else as normal. Does not work when prone.

3 Reign ‡ Use when hit (after having failed a Guard check, but before damage) to make a Flow roll with the same Crux. Success means you avoid being hit.

2 Reign ‡ Activate after an Engage check to make another, compromised Engage check against the same enemy, if you got a raw 18 or higher on the Status die.

3 Reign ‡ Make an extra, compromised Engage check in close combat, in addition to the one you gain from your pri-mary opportunity. Both attacks can be directed at the same

opponent or towards different targets (choose after having made the first Engage check).

2 Reign ‡ You move to stand behind an opponent in close combat, effectively making him compromised on Guard. You may use Aegis in place of Engage. Obviously does not work when prone.

2 Reign ‡ +1d8 to a Guard check in close combat.

1 Reign ‡ Use a free action to stand up from prone, if you can make a successful Flow check with a Crux equal to 13+Tide.

1 Reign ‡ +2d4 to damage, compromised on Engage. After making an Engage check, make a mirrored Flow check with the loser falling prone. Only entities with legs risk falling prone, and those who have more than two legs make the Flow check with superiority. Works only in close combat. Not usable if already prone.

4 Reign ‡ Use one opponent to damage another in close combat. Make two mirrored Might checks, one against each of your two targets. If you win a single Might check, each of the two entities suffer Might +2d4 damage, and one of them falls prone. If you win both checks, they suffer Might +2d6 and both of them fall prone. If you fail both Might checks, you are compromised on Guard until your next turn. Note that this move consumes your primary, as well as your secondary opportunity this round.

1 Reign per foe beyond the first ‡ When you are outnum-bered in close combat, a single Engage or Guard check au-tomatically succeeds on raw Status die values up to and in-cluding the number of hostile combatants assigned to you, excluding 1. Thus, if you fight three creatures and you get a raw Status die roll of 2 or 3, you can activate Lone Wolf to hit or defend successfully.

3 Reign ‡ Automatically fail a Guard check in close com-bat, in order to get a free Engage check with +2d4 against your foe.

2 Reign ‡ You jump on to your opponent and attack at ex-tremely close range. Make a Flow check with Crux equal to your opponent’s Guard result and add the Flow Excess to your Engage check, as well as to the subsequent Damage roll, if you hit (ignore gap). Usable only against creatures of equal or greater corpus in close combat.

ATTACK ROUTINE

BERSERK

CHARGE

COUP DE GRÂCE

DEFENSIVE ROLL

DISENGAGE

DODGE

DOUBLE TROUBLE

FLURRY

GHOSTSTEP

HEROIC DEFENSE

JUMP UP

LEAP ATTACK

LIVING WEAPON

LONE WOLF

MARTYR STANCE

NECK-TIE

3 Reign ‡ Make a free Engage check against an opponent assigned to you in close combat when he becomes compro-mised on Guard (against anyone) or falls prone. Does not work when prone yourself.

1 Reign ‡ Damage+1d4. Use before rolling for Engage. Not usable when prone.

1 Reign ‡ Soak+1d4. Use before rolling for Guard. Not us-able when prone.

3 Reign ‡ A raw 18 or higher on Guard allows you to make a free Engage check against your attacker in close combat.

1 Reign ‡ If you hit your foe in close combat, his next Engage check this round (against you) is made compromised. If not, you are compromised on Guard (towards that same foe), unless you make an Edge check with Crux equal to your opponent’s Guard result. Sentinel Stance cannot be used when prone.

2 Reign ‡ If you hit an opponent with an Engage check in close combat this round, and regardless of whether the damage is soaked, you may make a mirrored Might check to knock your opponent prone and cause 2d6 damage. Only works against entities with Cor pus equal to or lower than yours. Not usable when prone.

2 Reign ‡ Forfeiting your primary opportunity this round, will allow you to make a superior Aegis check in place of every Guard check. Success means you avoid being hit. Does not work when prone.

2 Reign ‡ Use before rolling Engage to get Damage+1d10. You are compromised on Guard against the entity targeted by Sunder. Sunder cannot be used when prone.

4 Reign per extra attack ‡ Attack up to three entities once each, in close combat. If a creature survives your attack, the Engage roll against the next creature is compromised. A variant of Swipe is called Skewer and favors the spear (does not require extra move). Consumes your primary and sec-ondary opportunities.

2 Reign ‡ Use this move to give someone else engaged with the same opponent(s) as you +1d4 to Engage and Guard in close combat.

1 Reign ‡ Win a mirrored Might check in close combat to deal your Might+Corpus+1d8 damage (Soak applies) to a

prone opponent who has corpus equal to or lower than yours. You obviously have to be engaged in close combat with said opponent, but may use your primary opportunity against a different entity.

1 Reign ‡ Following a successful Guard, you can make a mirrored Edge check to make your opponent fall prone and suffer Might+1d6 damage.

2 Reign ‡ Delay your primary opportunity until after your foe has attacked you in close combat, and potentially dam-aged you, in order to make an extra Engage check in addi-tion to the one you normally get. Not usable when prone.

3 Reign per extra attack ‡ Make up to four extra Engage checks in close combat, in addition to the one you gain from your primary opportunity. All attacks you make are com-promised and must be directed at different opponents.

OPPORTUNIST

POWER ATTACK

POWER BLOCK

REVERSAL

SENTINEL STANCE

SLAM

SLIPPERY

SUNDER

SWIPE

TEAMWORK

TRAMPLE

TRIP

VENGEFUL STANCE

WHIRLWIND

his is why we do it.

ONESHOT ITEMS Remedies, dusts, shells, runestones, scrolls, masks and tears are only good for a single use and ordinarily come in small, metal cylinders, called Paxton tubes, that fit in special belts for easy storage (and access). Using a oneshot item requires a secondary opportunity. Effects and Glow are applied im-mediately upon activation, unless otherwise mentioned. DROP ZONES Regular, non-demical weapons and armor plus lootable oneshot items (marked with Loot Level - LL) can be ac-quired by spending Reign when in a drop zone. These sometimes occur around recently slain entities and in des-ignated areas. A drop zone is defined by a Drop Level, which is the highest sum of levels of items that can be gained there. The cost for an item is simply equal to its loot level (in Reign). “Dropped” items are not necessarily located on the entity associated with a drop zone, but are often stored nearby. It is ordinarily assumed that the entity will not have access to the loot, and a persona does not risk it being used by the opponent in battle. If you gift an item bought with Reign to someone else, that persona must pay for it, as though it had been gained in a drop zone, giving the appropriate amount of Reign to you. This can result in a debt, to be payed as soon as possible. - DESIGNER GEAR - All stable items, i.e. accessories, apparel, armor, exotic ar-mor, grafts and ribbons, must be designed by a player be-fore they can be acquired in a drop zone. Designing an item (even one that's already been designed by someone else) requires 2 Insight per loot level. If a persona loses an item, Insight that went into its design can still be reas-signed. Note that since a persona’s starting armor is free, no Insight can be reassigned (but Insight can be invested). If a player wishes to reassign Insight locked in an item be-longing to her persona, other players may acquire the item in question by spending the appropriate amount of Insight. No drop zone is required for such an exchange. The majority of all players who team up with (or against) one another, must approve of all designed items owned by their personas. Items are subject to redesign demands at any point in between acts (or games). EXCLUSIVITY Generally speaking, a persona cannot benefit from two identical special items simultaneously, excepting weapons.

﴾﴿ ACCESSORIES Though often of diminutive size and little obvious worth, accessories can be highly useful.

Glow 2 LL3 ‡ A simple necklace with a removable pen-dant, which absorbs all Glow you rid yourself at the end of scenes and acts. If the pendant is thrown at another entity (a secondary opportunity), make an Invoke vs. Thwart check, with the entity suffering strain determined by a Power roll using 2d8 (no base), up to a maximum equal to the stored Glow. Once removed, the pendant must be used immediately and will grow back at the end of the scene, starting the next scene with no stored Glow.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Grit+1. Knell+3 (the score, not ranks). The shard is activated when it pierces the skin of a creature. It will quickly burrow through the flesh and find it's way to the heart, at which point the Grit-bonus is applied. Once inserted, the shard remains in place until the creature dies.

Glow 16 Spray 3 Damage 2d6 ranged LL5 ‡ Demical machinegun. Requires a primary opportunity, two hands and the trigger group to use. Playtest version note: Spray works like Explosion, except that it is not possible for the wielder to target herself.

Glow 3 LL4 ‡ Pay for the activation of a hex to have its effect stored in the spell vault at the start of an act. (The glow will be temporary and disappear as normal, even though the hex is stored in the seal. Glow gained by a target is applied when the hex is eventually used.) Using a pri-mary opportunity, the hex may be unleashed a single time without the cost having to be paid again. The persona who releases the hex makes any Invoke (plus other relevant) check(s), and may apply Gambits. The vault can only hold one (use of a) hex at a time. A seal is typically placed in a piece of jewelry, but may also be inserted into armor or a weapon. A persona cannot benefit from multiple spell vaults. In games where personas are reset at the beginning, the seal starts out empty.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Power+2 when using hexes.

T ﴾ APPENDIX: LOOT ﴿

CRIMSON NECKLACE

HEARTSTONE SHARD

MORNINGSTAR STRYKER

SPELL VAULT SEAL

WILLOW WAND

﴾﴿ APPAREL Items you can wear.

Glow 9 LL5 ‡ Aegis+2. Resilience+1. Available in overcoat, cloak and duster style.

Glow 9 LL5 ‡ Engage+1 with bows. Also Cloak & Soak +1.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Buffer 5 once per scene.

﴾﴿ ARMOR Armor allows you to remove a die from a Damage roll made against you, dependending on the raw values rolled. Removing a die in this manner cannot stop it from flaring. When armor reduces your elements, you choose how to distribute the points to be subtracted. The materials used for armor are created through the ap-plication of demical compounds to one of two materials. The pelt from a wolfdog can be soaked in shadowsap and arratine, turning it into light, sleek and hard arbal, which carries a faint trace of the fur in its texture. A pigment is usually added to get a particular color. If arbal is subjected to the demical compound necrodew, it becomes soft, while retaining some of the durability of the harder version. For metal armor, iron, copper and palladium is mixed with shadowsap, creating an extremely light alloy called esil-ium, which is verdigris in color. The metal is usually painted with demical pigment, afterwards. In order to keep Glow from armor below a safety limit, the demical compound bleach is applied, but this has the un-fortunate side-effect of suppressing part of the wearer’s Halo. Of course, the alternative would be to risk attracting the demical wraith Grunge.

Glow 1 Elements-0 Soak+0 LL 1 ‡ Soft arbal coat. Re-move a single Damage die showing 1. It used to be that the wolves were the only thing protecting our human settlements. Even though their blood has been diluted, their tempers tamed, they still guard our homes. And in death, their pelts protect our bodies.

Glow 2 Elements-0 Soak+0 LL 1 ‡ Single arbal plates. Remove a single Damage die showing 2.

Glow 3 Elements-0 Soak+0 LL 1 ‡ Short-sleeved mail shirt. Remove a single Damage die showing 3.

Glow 2 Elements-1 Soak+1 LL 1 ‡ Riveted esilium plates inside wolfskin. Remove one Damage die showing 2.

Glow 3 Elements-1 Soak+1 LL 2 ‡ Overlapping esil-ium scales. Remove a single Damage die showing 1 or 3.

Glow 2 Elements-2 Soak+1 LL 2 ‡ Mail of interlocking rings. Remove a single Damage die showing 1 or 5.

Glow 3 Elements-1 Soak+0 LL 2 ‡ Single esilium plates. Remove a single Damage die showing 2 or 5.

Glow 1 Elements-3 Soak+1 LL 3 ‡ Rage suit worn on wolfskin. Remove one Damage die showing 1, 2 or 5.

Glow 1 Elements-3 Soak+1 LL 3 ‡ Rage suit worn on gore ward. Remove one Damage die showing 3 or 5.

Glow 2 Elements-4 Soak+2 LL 4 ‡ Interlocking esilium plates. Remove a single Damage die showing 1, 3 or 5.

﴾﴿ DUST Dusts are sprinkled and have scene duration, unless other-wise noted. Offensive dust incurs Glow while carried.

Glow 2 LL1 ‡ Damage+1d6, Temporary Buffer 10. Compromised on Guard. No Sway or ranged attacks.

Glow 4 LL2 ‡ Ignore concealment of any concealed enti-ties. Become Unhinged.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Keep on going until your strain hits twice your Knell. You still gain Trauma for every Resilience Strain above your Knell.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ CONCEALMENT: Become superior on Engage, Guard and physical Element checks made against other entities. Force checks only use one of the two normal dice.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ Ignore the compromising effect of being Unhinged. Cloak & Soak -2 (minimum 0).

CLOAK OF THE NIGHT

SEEKER BRACERS

SUNSTONE RING

WOLFSKIN

BOILER HUSK

FEATHER CHAIN

MARROW HULL

BATTLESCALE

GORE WARD

RAGE SUIT

SHATTER GUARD

STORM PLATE

WAR PANZER

DEVIL'S DUST

FAIRY DUST

MARTYR MAKER

SPECTRALITY

STRATUM

﴾﴿ EXOTIC ARMOR All armor listed below has the same properties as regular demical armor, meaning that wearers can still swim and sneak.

Glow 1 Elements-1 Knell-1 Soak+0 LL 3 ‡ Demically treated, soft leather from rare and powerful magical beasts. An arbal coat allows you to remove a single Damage die showing 1 or half the highest possible value. Available in overcoat, cloak and duster style.

Glow 3 Elements-4 Knell-1 Soak+2 LL5 ‡ Dragon scale on dragon hide. Remove a single uneven Damage die.

Glow 9 Elements-2 Knell-1 Soak+1 LL5 ‡ Cloak+1, Resilience+1. Usually black, metallic or white, with possi-ble color tinting, this armor fuses (temporarily) with the wearer's skin and links with her mind, changing somewhat in shape and structure to reflect the bond. Remove a single Damage die showing 2 or 5.

Glow 5 Elements-4 Knell-2 Soak+2 LL5 ‡ The name glass suit is due to a slight touch of translucency in the ar-mor plates, which is linked to the ability of the armor to somewhat block occult effects. Remove a single Damage or Power die showing 1, 3 or 5.

Glow 6 Elements-0 Knell-1 Soak+0 LL4 ‡ Unusually strong for its lightness. Remove a single Damage die show-ing 1 or the second highest possible value.

﴾﴿ GRAFTS Spare parts and body upgrades almost resemble the real thing, only with a smoother texture and a tint more akin to wood. A persona may have as many grafts as the player desires, but can only gain new ones in between games, by spending Insight as though in a Drop Zone. Grafts cause glow and are considered stable items. All grafts come with the scourge Graft Delirium, which is triggered if Glow exceeds Shine, unless a Malediction scourge is already in effect.

GRAFT DELIRIUM [Glow>Shine ‡ Malediction on fail] Crux 10+total Graft LL Check Aegis Win - Fail -

MALEDICTION [scene ‡ 2d4 Glow on fail] Crux 23+Tide Check Aegis Win -XS Fail +1

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ A set of horns add +2 to cloak.

Glow 7 LL4 ‡ One eye. MAGE SIGHT: Ignore Concealment and Flicker. The extra chance of missing an entity with Displacement or Invisibility does not apply.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ Regular graft of a major limb. Resilience+1, Knell+3.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ Skin graft. Soak+1. Grit+1.

Glow 4 LL4 ‡ Organ graft. Remove an extra 1d4 glow per scene.

Glow 2 LL5 ‡ Spinal graft. This graft raises the persona's Shine by 7. Unfortunately, it affects the nervous system negatively, meaning that escalated strain gain is doubled (after Soak has been applied).

ARBAL COAT, MILITARY GRADE

DRAGON SCALES

FUSION PLATE

GLASS SUIT

MITHRIL CHAINSHIRT

DEMON GRAFT

HUNTER'S GRAFT

IVY GRAFT

LIZARD GRAFT

MAGE GRAFT

MIRROR GRAFT

MOON IVY GRAFTS The parasitic plant moon ivy is the base for mak-ing all types of replacement parts for people. A special drug allows the plant to bond with flesh and to take the shape and functionality of which-ever body part is missing. Once fully grown, a demical compound is applied to arrest further de-velopment. Introducing tissue from certain enti-ties gives the ivy special traits.

﴾﴿ MASKS Masks are little beads you touch to your forehead causing them to spread out across your face and solidify. Once their power has been spent, they crack and shatter, leaving nothing but dust behind. The appearance of a mask is gen-erally tied to the wearer, with variations based on mask type. Masks are said to be the scattered remains of diabol-ical beings. Indeed, the use of a mask will twist an axiom, lending some credence to the myth. The effect of a mask lasts an entire scene.

Glow 6 LL3 ‡ Revitalize 5. Remove 5 Strain each round on your turn.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ Unbreakable. As long as this mask is active, you roll a d12 for your Trauma Die (but must still record Trauma). Reduce the Trauma Die to its actual level once the effect stops.

Glow 4 LL3 ‡ Engage+1d6.

Glow 4 LL3 ‡ Sway+1d6.

Glow 4 LL3 ‡ Invoke+1d6.

﴾﴿ REMEDIES This group consists of potions and lotions. Potions are by default imbibed, but some need to be injected with a sy-ringe. The needle is usually built into a standard cylinder and allows for the payload to be delivered simply by press-ing the container into the skin.

Glow 4 LL2 ‡ Applied to an area with high blood flow, or alternatively ingested, this lotion can cure all kinds of strain if used within 48 hours. Remove Resilience strain and restore the Trauma Die one step. Side-effects such as insanity or petrification are not cured.

Glow 1 LL1 ‡ See in complete darkness.

Glow 5 LL3 ‡ Havok's antidote must be injected into a vein to work, and instantly cures all poisons, including any new ones introduced into the persona's system during the current round. It does not cure any strain already suffered due to poison, nor does it prevent further harm from poi-soning that occurs on subsequent rounds.

Glow 7 LL4 ‡ Shot that cures all infections.

Glow 2 LL1 ‡ Injected, a shot of Silverlight will allow you to remove an amount of strain equal to your Resilience.

Glow 1 LL1 ‡ BUFFER 4: Removes up to a total of 4 from damage from any number of sources when imbibed.

﴾﴿ RIBBONS Ribbons can be used as binding for weapon hilts, or they may hang loose. The ribbons listed below are available for any type of melee weapon, unless a specific weapon type is mentioned.

Glow 9 LL5 ‡ Fire damage+3.

Glow 3 LL4 ‡ Assuming wielder lands an attack where both the Status and the Trauma Die show the same num-ber, the entity hit suffers an extra 1d8 damage and must make a Might check (Crux 25) or be knocked down.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Blood Axe. Damage+2.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Moonblade. Damage+1, Cloak+1.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Cold damage+2.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Rift Bow. Any arrow fired from a bow with this ribbon will get Damage+2.

Glow 18 LL6 ‡ Thwart+2, Damage+2, Cloak+2. Benefits require the social method Command and an untwisted Grit-based axiom.

Glow 12 LL5 ‡ Distortion damage+4.

Glow 3 LL3 ‡ Electric damage+1.

Glow 6 LL4 ‡ Battlestaff. Thwart+2.

BLACK SUN

DEMON FANG

DRAGON RULER

FALLEN ANGEL

UNSEELIE FAE

AHRBERG LOTION

NUNDAE POTION

HAVOK'S ANTIDOTE

OMNICILLIN

SILVERLIGHT

BREW

BLAZE

CHAOS

DWARVEN

ELVEN

FROSTBITE

GALE

HOLY

REAVER

SHOCK

DISRUPTION

﴾﴿ RUNESTONES Despite the name, runestones are usually made from metal engraved with runes and stored in Paxton tubes. Slamming a runestone into a surface activates it, and can be done only once. Runestones cause Glow while carried.

Glow 6 LL3 ‡ Create a border around yourself which nothing can cross for the rest of the round or until you've had your next turn (choose what's best for you). During this time, no attacks (including occult ones) can reach you, and you are prevented from making any form of attacks yourself. Non-occult Sway attempts still work across the border.

Glow 7 LL3 ‡ Light seems to want to avoid you, and stealth Cruxes are reduced by 5 for checks pertaining to sneaking past guards while remaining visually undetected. Alternatively, the rune can be used to dim all light sources in a small area, though this will be noticed by any sentries currently on watch. The effect lasts for a scene, either way.

Glow 2 LL2 ‡ Reduce your Glow by 10 until the end of the scene, at which point you must add the removed 10 to your Glow again, though not until you have removed the usual amount. If your Glow is higher than your Shine when the effect wears off, you must obviously make a Glow contest check.

Glow 3 LL3 ‡ Activate before resting and decay as much of an excitated skill as you like. Restore the Trauma Die an additional step per point removed. The skill obviously can-not be lowered past its non-excitated value.

Glow 9 LL4 ‡ All entities in the area (including yourself) suffer 1d4 strain at the end of each round (no absorption!) for 2d4 rounds.

Glow 9 LL4 ‡ A retribution rune deals X+1d10 damage to target entity. No Invoke/Thwart check is required, and the Power base, X, is equal to the power result of a hex or a surge employed against you during this round or the pre-vious one, assuming you use the runestone against the en-tity who targeted you with said hex.

﴾﴿ SCROLLS Scrolls that require a target can be used on anyone within visual range.

LL4 ‡ Remove a supernatural scourge.

LL5 ‡ Buy a (permanent) Gambit for the price of 20 Reign.

LL5 ‡ All Strain, Trauma and Glow suffered by everyone in the battle so far is removed. Spent Reign is restored. Dead creatures are revived and effects of occultism, oneshots, scourges and entity abilities are cancelled.

LL5 ‡ Immediately upon death, come back to life once with half your Knell worth of strain and a Trauma Die at d8. Remove any scourges or occult effects that would cause the persona to automatically die again. This scroll can be used prior to death with a duration of a game.

LL2 ‡ Reroll an Event roll. Cannot change an Event that isn’t rolled randomly.

﴾﴿ SHELLS Shells incur Glow as long as they are carried. Furthermore, shells have their Glow increased by an amount equal to the total Loot Level of all nearby shells. This increase isn’t com-pletely instantaneous. An entity will thus have time to get rid of a shell before the Glow goes bananas. Note that Might does not add to shell damage.

Glow 20+ Havoc 21 Damage 2d10 LL4 ‡ Targets must make Might checks (Crux 30) or be knocked to the ground.

Glow 24+ Havoc 51 Damage 5d12 LL5 ‡

Glow 18+ Havoc 21 Damage 4d12 LL4 ‡

Glow 6+ Havoc 6 Damage 2d12 LL2 ‡

Glow 12+ Havoc 12 Damage 3d12 LL3 ‡

BORDER

DARKEN

DIM

MEND

RAVAGE

RETRIBUTION

ANNULMENT

EXCELLENCE

RESET

RESURRECTION

UNDOING

BLITZ

DEVIL

DRAGON

GOBLIN

OGRE

﴾﴿ TATTOOS Tattoos are permanent. They are typically gained from ex-posure to powerful magic. All tattoos are unique designs, but those of the same tribe have style attributes in common. A persona cannot gain a new tattoo, if he already has one, and any Event responsible should instead affect another persona (determined randomly), if possible. If a persona is unwillingly exposed to a source that would cause him to gain a tattoo, he may choose to make a Thwart check vs. an Invoke Crux of 13+Tide. Tattoos can be dis-pelled, although doing so is extremely difficult (Crux 30+Tide).

Glow 2 ‡ Edge+1

Glow 2 ‡ Flow+1

Glow 2 ‡ Cloak+1

Glow 2 ‡ Grit+1

Glow 2 ‡ Might+1

Glow 2 ‡ Soak+1

Glow 2 ‡ Aegis+1

﴾﴿ TEARS Tears are small gem-like objects that turn liquid and are absorbed by the user when their powers are activated. When a persona finds a tear, the type is usually determined randomly. Tears are said to be the shattered remains of di-vine beings, which may explain their side-effect of un-twisting an axiom when activated. Most tears have dura-tion of a game or until exhausted.

Glow 1 ‡ Gain 9 Reign.

Glow 1 ‡ Gain superiority on any 4 checks (decide before rolling).

Glow 1 ‡ Increase your Knell by 5.

Glow 1 ‡ Remove an extra d4 glow at the end of a scene, up to 4 times.

Glow 1 ‡ Remove an extra amount of strain eqaul to your Resilience at the end of a scene, up to 3 times.

Glow 1 ‡ Restore the Trauma Die a single step.

Glow 1 ‡ BUFFER 15: Remove up to a total of 15 from dam-age from any number of sources.

FANG TRIBE

RAIN TRIBE

SPIRIT TRIBE

STONE TRIBE

THUNDER TRIBE

WARRIOR TRIBE

WING TRIBE

AGATE

AMBER

EMERALD

LAPIS

MOONSTONE

RUBY

SAPPHIRE

ccultism is divided into different traditions, each constituted by a number of aspects, consisting of hexes and dwimmers, which in turn belong to one

of three domains.

TRADITIONS Occultist instrument groups are called traditions, and al-low personas to use hexes and dwimmers. When a persona buys an occult tradition, she is allowed to select an occult style and an aspect. She may then learn hexes from her as-pect. If the occultist desires to access hexes from other as-pects, this is indeed possible; however, at any given time she may only activate hexes and dwimmers from her se-lected aspect, and although changing selection can be done at any point, it does cause one of her axioms to twist. SURGES Also known as vexing, this option is usable by anyone with at least 2 Invoke ranks. Causing a surge gives you 2 Glow, requires a primary opportunity and an Invoke check with the target’s Thwart as Crux. (Note that we don’t usually concern ourselves with Glow for playerless entities.) POWER DICE Power dice flare and use 2d4 for surges, which cause Trauma-inducing Strain. Hexes increase the Power dice to 2d10 and have different effects. Cloak is by default sub-tracted from Power rolls, but if an Engage check is required (and Absorb is at all relevant), Soak is used instead.

﴾﴿ HEXES Hexes are concrete expressions of their aspects and require a primary opportunity to activate. Hexes used against un-willing entities require a successful Invoke check with the target’s Thwart as Crux. In order to acquire a hex, a per-sona must have access to the appropriate aspect. Note that hexes are not gambits.

COST This entry lists the amount of Glow the persona gains when invoking the hex, whether successful or not. - TARGET - If the entry contains the word “target”, the occultist does not gain any glow; rather the target does. (Note that an oc-cultist may target himself with his own hex, in which case he does indeed gain the listed amount of glow.) - UMBRA - When the word “umbra” appears, the hex Glow is multi-plied by the target persona’s current Umbra score, which is afterwards increased by 1. Umbra drops by 1 at the end of each scene and is reset to 1 at act end. DISTANCE Entry number two details the distance, i. e. how far the hex can reach. - PERSONAL - Only works on the invoker. - TOUCH - Usable on any ally. Requires a non-damaging Engage check against an unwilling target. - RANGED - Can be used against anyone. DURATION This entry holds the duration of the hex. Further details be-low. If a hex has a duration of a Round, it only works dur-ing the round it is activated. Note that a hex with a dura-tion greater than a round, and an effect which is ordinarily considered instantaneous (such as strain), applies its effect once per round on the turn of the one who activated the hex. - CONCENTRATE - The effect lasts as long as the persona concentrates by spending her secondary opportunities, leaving her com-promised on all checks not directly related to the hex.

O ﴾ APPENDIX: OCCULTISM ﴿

W HEX LAYOUT W Hex Name Cost Distance Duration Area Effect

AREA The final entry reveals which and/or how many entities are affected. - ASSIGN - The number of targets for this hex can be increased (from one) through the use of the archmagic Gambit Expand. - BURST - Same as assign, except that you may only target entities at-tacking you in close combat this round. - SINGLE - Affect a single entity. EFFECT The actual effect of the hex. May refer to a Special Trait from the Meditations chapter or describe a unique effect. - OVERLAP - In case of a conflict or when a hex with duration of a scene or longer is used multiple times against the same target, the strongest of the two effects wins out. The target (or the oc-cultist) still gets glow every time the hex is activated. ﴾﴿ DWIMMERS Dwimmers are a subtype of hexes that work continuously and cause Glow while operating.

ON/OFF Dwimmer effects are essentially permanent, though they can be turned off by spending a secondary opportunity, af-ter which the related glow will disappear according to the usual rules. Dwimmers can be (re)activated between acts. ﴾﴿ OBTAINING OCCULT KNOWLEDGE Occultists buy hexes and dwimmers with Insight the same way as they buy Gambits (though independtly of those). For instance, an occultist with no hexes or dwimmers decides to learn a hex which is free. He then chooses a dwimmer and must pay 1 Insight. Later, he acquires another hex, this time paying 2 Insight. As opposed to gambits, hexes and dwimmers need to be learned, except for those acquired at persona creation. This can be achieved in three different ways, one of which is even safe. The ingame details vary from tradition to tradi-tion, but the underlying rules are the same. In case of fail-ure, trying to relearn a failed hex or dwimmer at some later point is possible, and will not result in a worse version. Re-gardless of the number of tries, you only have to pay the Insight cost once (on the first try). The learn check has a base found by adding your Invoke ranks, Thwart ranks and the number of times you’ve

attempted to learn the particular bit of occult knowledge. The Crux depends on the method employed.

SLOW & STEADY You can try to learn a new hex or dwimmer at the end of a game (after removing all Trauma). The learn check has a Crux of 20 and, if failed, a new one can be made at the end of every subsequent game. (Note that you cannot use this method more than once, at the end of a game.) QUICK & UNCERTAIN Learning a new hex or dwimmer is also possible by spend-ing an act during a game (no rest benefit). Just as with the Slow & Steady method, this requires a learn check with Crux 20. On a failure, the hex or dwimmer is still learned; however, the player must add the learn Gap to the Glow cost. Alter-natively, a player can instead choose to suffer strain equal to the learn Gap when Invoking a hex that wasn't properly learned (Absorb does not reduce this strain). In narrative games, the current plotter has the option of coming up with an undesired side-effect when an unstable hex (or dwimmer) is used, rather than going with the default. RISKY & QUESTIONABLE The Risky and Questionable method can be used during a game, similarly to the Quick & Uncertain method; how-ever, it only requires a scene and the Crux is 15. In case of failure, the occultist suffers 10+3d10 strain (no Absorb). The fundamental issue with using the risky and question-able method is that the occultist inevitably becomes Un-hinged in the process. The details depend on the tradition in question, but always include a story element, which means that the method can only be used in narrative games. Furthermore, the current plotter may come up with a more detrimental effect, in case of failure, should she so desire.

riests who follow the tradition of faith use prayer and conviction to alter the world. Not all priests have mi-raculous powers, and not all those with miraculous

powers consider themselves priests, but all as one carry one or more holy items, such as a prayer book, a religious sym-bol, or some other significant object. A priest with access to several aspects probably has a self-constructed belief, bas-ing her faith off of several established religions.

Cost, requirement, Gifts, Glitches and Gambits removed from playtest version. PRAYER & SUPPLICATION Followers of a higher power typically learn prayers and hymns, which they often carry around in little prayer-books. When invoking a hex, a priest will recite an appro-priate passage associated with the intended effect, the words or tune serving as a focus. However, no strict re-quirements seem to exist in general regarding Faith as-pects, although members of established churches usually adhere to their own dogmatic rules. - SERVICE: SLOW & STEADY - By following the tenets of her faith, a devout priest will eventually be deemed worthy and granted new hexes. - PETITION: QUICK & UNCERTAIN - When in need, a priest may petition her deity for a new hex. Of course, putting pressure on gods is not always a good idea, especially since the priest will probably not be spiritually ready for her newfound power. - HERESY: RISKY & QUESTIONABLE - Even priests can become so desperate, they are willing to turn to other powers for assistance. But as their miracles are based on faithfulness, few actions can be more detri-mental to the orthodox. BATTLE PRAYERS A priest can spend a secondary opportunity in an escalated battle to get one of the effects listed below until the end of the battle. - I FIGHT FOR YOUR GLORY - Remove 2 Strain for every foe you beat. - I BLEED FOR YOU - Remove 2 Glow every time you suffer Trauma. - I AM BESET BY EVIL - Reduce Negative Tide effects by 2 (for you only). - I AM UNWORTHY - Physically punish yourself to activate hexes or dwimmers and gain as much (non-traumatizing) Strain as you get Glow. Used when having a Crisis of Faith (see below).

CRISIS OF FAITH Certain situations cause a priest to question her faith and her own devotion, temporarily rendering her hexes and dwimmers useless, until she spends an act doing nothing (not even resting) but rebalancing her faith. The major cause for a crisis of faith is if her band loses a battle. Fleeing is okay, though. In a narrative game, desecration or loss of a holy item can also cause a crisis of faith.

P ﴾ TRADITION OF FAITH ﴿

﴾﴿ ASPECT OF THE TEMPLE

TEMPLE DOMAINS - BLESSINGS - Armor of Faith, Beatific Blessing, Retributive Shield, Saintly Aura. - CLEANSING - Into the Light, Lift Curse, Repel Evil, Smite. - HEALING - Breath of Life, Draw Poison, Divine Booster, Heal, Resur-rect. ‡ TEMPLE DWIMMERS ‡

Glow 4 ‡ Resist [All] 1: Add 1 to Cloak and Soak.

Glow 1 ‡ Once per scene, you can use a secondary oppor-tunity to remove 1d10 strain (flare) from a single target. This is a Ranged effect and the target gains 3 Glow. ‡ TEMPLE HEXES ‡

Glow 5 target Touch Scene Assign umbra +1d4 to Guard.

Glow 6 target Touch Game Single umbra Target may add 1d6 to their next check against a non-oc-cult, non-psychotropic scourge.

Glow 12 target Touch Instant Single Remove a Poison scourge from the target, if he or she can make a Grit check with a Crux of 15+Tide. No Strain or other side-effect is removed.

Glow 8 target Touch Instant Single Remove two times Resilience Strain.

Glow 6 Ranged Concentrate Single If the Power Excess is positive, and you can succeeed on a free, superior Sway check (vs. Defy, no Impact roll), target loses any supernatural concealment and invisibility, is forced to manifest, and becomes corporeal.

Glow 4 Touch Instant Single Remove an occult scourge. Requires an Invoke check with Crux equal to the strength of the scourge + Tide. In case of failure, the priest must make a Power roll. If the Power re-sult is less than the scourge strength, the occultist herself is

affected by the same scourge (and same strength) she was attempting to remove.

Glow 9 target Touch Round Single umbra FORESIGHT: Become Superior on all checks.

Glow 6 Ranged Scene Assign If the Power Excess is greater than the target’s Cloak, you get to make a free Sway check (vs. Defy, no Impact roll). On a Sway success, the target runs away. In case fleeing is for some reason impossible, the target is considered com-promised on all checks against you. Repel Evil does not work on entities of the same kind or faith as the priest.

Glow 11 Touch Instant Single RESUSCITATE [SCENE]: Bring an entity back to life, as long as it died during this Scene or the previous (but same Act). Can also wake an entity from coma. The ressurrected entity will have Strain equal to its Knell, a d4 Trauma Die and 20 Glow. “Blood from dust, from ashes flesh.”

Glow 6 target Touch Scene Assign umbra RETRIBUTIVE BUFFER 5: Absorb 5 Damage. Absorbed Strain is inflicted on the entity responsible, if the one protected can succeed on an Invoke check (vs. Thwart).

Glow 8 Personal Scene Single umbra You make all Sway checks with superiority. Violent entities assigned to you lose that trait. In case an entity has the var-iation Violent [Extreme], it merely becomes Violent.

Glow 7 Personal Scene Single umbra Physical attacks add 1d6 to damage.

ARMOR OF FAITH

BREATH OF LIFE

BEATIFIC BLESSING

DIVINE BOOSTER

DRAW POISON

HEAL

INTO THE LIGHT

LIFT CURSE

PROPHETIC SIGHT

REPEL EVIL

RESURRECT

RETRIBUTIVE SHIELD

SAINTLY AURA

SMITE

itch! The word strikes fear into the heart of prejudiced people everywhere. But although witches are not evil by nature, folks who have

been unfortunate enough to be around an uncontrolled spirit probably don't care about such distinctions.

Cost, requirement, Gifts, Glitches and Gambits removed from playtest version. FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE Witches and warlocks delve into the nature of immortal entities, gleaning hexes through an understanding of their interconnection with the world. Many consider these pow-ers evil, while others hold a more nuanced view. - FAMILIAR: SLOW & STEADY - All witches have a familiar, a servant spirit who assists them in their workings. (Cats are always popular.) They represent a connection to the spirit world, and as a witch deepens the bond between herself and her familiar, she learns new, forbidden secrets. - DEAL: QUICK & UNCERTAIN - Taking the safe way to power can be frustrating, and so, many witches and warlocks eventually attempt a short-cut. By actually summoning a spirit into the world, it is possible to make a deal for a dark secret. These deals rarely have severe consequences, if the witch is carful, but the oc-cult knowledge gained is often incomplete. A summoning usually requires the sacrifice of an animal. - BINDING: RISKY & QUESTIONABLE - The final option available to a witch looking for more se-crets here and now, is a darker variant of the Deal. If a witch can bind a summoned spirit, she will gain the use of some of its power, represented by a hex. Aside from being dangerous for the witch, the true controversy of this method is that it requires the sacrifice of another person, which is likely to cause serious mental instability. FAMILIAR A witch's familiar is a willful animal that usually keeps it-self hidden. Familiars have the Immortal trait and so can-not be permanently harmed. If your familiar is “killed”, all spirit hex Invoke checks made to activate a hex is compro-mised until the end of the next act, when the occult pet revives fully (removing all its strain and injuries). Familiars help the witch communicate with the spirits, but are noto-riously difficult to get to perform menial tasks. A witch may use a secondary opportunity to call on her familiar to do one of the following once per Act: - DISTRACT - Make an opponent compromised on Guard this round.

- DRAW ATTACK - If your opponent would hit you with its (first) attack, your familiar is hit instead and likely killed (75% chance). - AID - Boost your Cloak by 2 this round. - TRANSFER - Transfer a scourge to your familiar if you can make a Thwart check with a Crux of 20+Tide. Keep making scourge checks if the scourge is lethal, but apply the effect to your familiar. If you familiar is still alive at the end of the Act, the scourge transfers back to you. UNDER THE INFLUENCE If the witch falls into a Coma, she will be possessed by a spirit. A spirit sets (or adds) a lower limit of 1 twisted axiom. The only way to get rid of the twist is to transfer the spirit to your familiar and kill it. DISTURBING COMPONENTS Spirit hexes require ingredients, and any respectable witch owns at least one good cauldron for cooking up eye of newt with bat wings and toad spittle, as well as a ritual dagger. When denied access to her items, a witch is compromised on In-voke for activating spirit hexes. A witch who has lost her stash needs a full act and access to a varied environment to restock. ﴾﴿ ASPECT OF THE DEMON

DEMON DOMAINS - CURSES - Compulsion, Curse of the Flesh, Curse of the Mind, Evil Eye, Plague Curse, Witch Venom. - ILLUSION - Enchanting Visage, Mask of the Demon, Mirror Flutter. - FAMILIAR - Demonic Infusion, Dire Familiar, Endless, Inviolable, Poi-sonous Familiar, Shadow Ravens. ‡ DEMON DWIMMERS ‡

Glow 2 ‡ Your familiar has an alternate Corpus -2 battle-form which it can use for a single round per act to actively partake in combat against opponents assigned to you, if the witch uses a secondary opportunity. (This counts as the one time per act you can activate your familiar.) Its Trauma Die is locked at a d12, and its stats are: Bases 4+Tide Force 5+2d6 Absorb 3 Knell 15 You decide which of your opponents attack your familiar.

W ﴾ TRADITION OF SPIRIT ﴿

DIRE FAMILIAR

Glow 4 ‡ When someone harms you with a physical weapon, you can increase your Glow by 3 to make an In-voke check (vs. Thwart) against the offending entity. If you win, the target is struck blind. BLINDNESS: The entity’s foes effectively gain Invisibility, meaning that the entity is compromised on Engage, Guard, and physical Element checks made against others. Engage checks that hit suffer a 50% chance of missing, anyway.

Glow 2 ‡ Your familiar gains Poison [Strain4]. Using your once per act activation, you can use a secondary oppor-tunity to make an Engage check with a base of 4+Tide against an opponent assigned to you. ‡ DEMON HEXES ‡

Glow 6 Ranged Instant Single If the Power Excess is greater than the target’s Cloak, the affected entity will use (the first of) its attack(s) to hurt it-self (rather than you). Roll Damage as per the target’s de-scription and subtract its Soak or Cloak as appropriate.

Glow 5 Touch Permanent Single Reanimate a fresh corpse as a zombie under your control, ready to fight foes assigned to you on the following round. SUMMON [1 1 0]: Skill, Element & Force bases plus Ab-sorb scores are equal to 1 plus 1 per 5 Invoke XS. Knell is equal to the result of a Power check and Damage dice are 2d6. The zombie is Numb and cannot interact socially. The Glow persists as long as the zombie remains animated.

Glow 9 Ranged Scene Assign If the Excess of the Power roll is at least twice the target’s Cloak, its body is twisted and crippled, making the victim compromised on all checks. In addition, the victim suffers strain equal to the Power Excess (even if below the limit), due to the excruciating pain of the transformation. Doesn’t work against entities with Incorporeal or Ghost State traits.

Glow 10 Personal Scene Single When you hit an opponent in close combat you must make an Invoke vs Thwart check. If you get a Power Excess greater than twice the target’s Cloak, he becomes Helpless. At the end of each round, you must make a new Invoke check (vs. Thwart) and get a Power Excess greater than twice the victim’s Cloak, or the effect ends (for that entity only).

Glow 3 Ranged Permanent Single If you can get a Power Excess greater than twice the tar-get’s Cloak, that entity won’t use any aggressive skills or

offensive actions against you, as long as you refrain from doing the same. Note that the victim won’t let you do any-thing he wouldn’t otherwise allow, except leaving the area (and non-aggressive actions that make it possible for you to leave the area).

Glow 15 Personal Scene Single umbra IMMORTAL [BANE] 5: If killed during this scene, you come back to life at the end of the Act, unless killed by your Bane or your familiar is also killed. The Bane is of your own choosing and can be silver, (pure) iron, fire or oak. Once chosen, the Bane is specific to the witch throughout her career. Upon resucitating, the witch will have Strain equal to her Knell, a d4 Trauma Die, Glow 20, and be Unhinged.

Glow 3 Ranged Scene Single If you can get a Power Excess greater than twice the tar-get’s Cloak, it gains 1 Strain (no absorb) every round. The effect stops when the victim’s Strain exceeds its Knell or you fall unconscious.

Glow 7 Ranged Scene Assign TERRIFYING: Use a Sway check (vs. Defy) against the target as a free part of your primary option each round. If suc-cessful, deal (Trauma-inducing) Damage with an Impact check. Subtract the target’s Cloak.

Glow 8 Personal Scene Single umbra FLICKER: Target gains superiority on Guard.

Glow 11 Ranged Scene Assign Reduce target’s absorb scores by the Power Excess (to min-imum 0). Make a new Invoke (vs. Thwart) check at the be-ginning of each round. If you fail, the absorb score is re-stored to its original value. If you succeed, make a new Power roll and use the Excess if it is better than the previ-ous one(s). As long as a single entity is affected by a Plague Curse cast by you, you get to make an Invoke check as de-scribed above against everyone else you have targeted with this hex during this scene, even if you failed a previous check.

Glow 4 Ranged Instant Assign Summon a murder of spirit ravens to torment your ene-mies, making them compromised on Guard for two rounds. The ravens cause damage, but only half the Power XS on the first round, and the other half on the second round.

Glow 6 Personal Scene Single On a successful Engage check that deals at least 1 strain, your victim is poisoned by Witch Venom.

WITCH VENOM [round ‡ 3/2/1 Strain] Crux ∞ Check none Win N/A Fail 0

INVIOLABLE

POISONOUS FAMILIAR

COMPULSION

DEMONIC INFUSION

CURSE OF THE FLESH

CURSE OF THE MIND

ENCHANTING VISAGE

ENDLESS

EVIL EYE

MASK OF THE DEMON

MIRROR FLUTTER

PLAGUE CURSE

SHADOW RAVENS

WITCH VENOM

izards following the tradition of the tome delve into old spellbooks, binding themselves to hexes and dwimmers. They are often referred to as

loremasters, and sometimes staffs or wands.

Cost, requirement, Gifts, Glitches and Gambits removed from playtest version. SPELLS & GRIMOIRES Loremasters record occult principles and their spells in a personal grimoire. Due to the mystical content, such a tome becomes magical in itself, creating an unbreakable link to its owner. - SPELL DRUDGE: SLOW & STEADY - When a wizard learns a new spell, she does so by extensive studies and careful experimentation. - SPELL MASH: QUICK & UNCERTAIN - Less patient tome occultists sometimes skip the extensive and careful part, choosing instead to combine scraps of other known spells with crazy theories and more or less informed guesswork. This method is great when in a hurry, but often has undesireable side-effects. - SPELL STEAL: RISKY & QUESTIONABLE - The final method, by which loremasters gain new knowledge, is to copy a spell directly from another wizard's grimoire into her own. Although this may seem like the simplest and most obvious way to go about obtaining new occult knowledge, the link shared by grimoire and wizard (even when the latter is deceased) makes it a problematic proposition, at best. Effectively, the loremaster needs to in-corporate a small part of an alien personality into his own - a recipe for psychological discord. FOCUS A loremaster needs a focus, which takes the shape of a bat-tlestaff or, alternatively, a wand. Without her focus, the wizard makes compromised tome hex Invoke checks. A fo-cus will break if the loremaster fails a Glow Burn check instigated by the use of a hex or dwimmer. A broken focus is automatically repaired (staff) or replaced (wand) in be-tween games. The need for a focus bans loremasters from using the Bas-tard, Dual, Massive, Offhand and Shield Wielder Gifts. Depending on your choice of focus, you can use one of the options below as a free opportunity. - FORCEFUL STAFF - Gain 10 Glow to reroll a Flare Force Die, if you use a staff. - METICULOUS WAND - Add 5 Glow to break (and thus win) an Invoke or Thwart Deadlock associated with a hex, when using a wand.

W

﴾ TRADITION OF THE TOME ﴿

﴾﴿ ASPECT OF ARCANA

ARCANA DOMAINS - DISTORTION - Dispel, Ripper Bolt, Warp. - MANIFESTATION - Cobweb, Fireball, Ice Storm, Incarnation. - POTENCY - Magus Field, Shackle, Shield. ‡ ARCANA DWIMMERS ‡

Glow 5 ‡ Add 2 to Cloak. ‡ ARCANA HEXES ‡

Glow 2 Ranged Scene Assign On a positive Power Excess, targets are caught and com-promised on their Engage, Guard and motor bases. A trapped entity can attempt to escape immediately (as a free opportunity) and may try again on each following round by spending a secondary opportunity. Escaping the cobweb requires a Might vs. Invoke check. The occultist uses a free opportunity for the Invoke check (no power roll). As he approached the cloaked figure, he felt the very air congeal. Whisper-soft strands reached for his face and his arms, grasped his legs and snaked along his back, capturing him softly with the strength of iron.

Glow 5 Ranged Instant Single Remove an occult scourge or other magical effect. Requires an Invoke check with Crux equal to the result of the Invoke check that caused the effect/scourge. If no such check was made, and no other Crux is given, use the current strength of the scourge, instead. In case of failure against a scourge, the loremaster must make a Power roll. If the Power result is less than the scourge strength, the occultist is affected by the same scourge (and strength) she was attempting to dis-pel. If the effect cannot reasonably affect the occultist, she gains Glow equal to the Power Gap. “Is that what you think?” the mage said, smiling mildly. “I daresay you are correct in your curse being a work of art. Every bit as beautiful as it is wicked. A magnificent painting.” She paused momentarily, then lifted her staff into the air. “Well, I'm the turpentine.”

Glow 2 Ranged Instant Assign Causes fire damage.

A blast sped down the hallway and fell upon the group of partygoers. Like a lion's roar, there seemed to be an underlying note just beyond hearing, an invisible threat which, but half a heartbeat later, danced a violent dance of fire and death with the doomed revelers, as it exploded into their midst.

Glow 6 Ranged Instant Assign Icy shards hurtle about and continue to burrow into the victims' flesh causing damage now and again on the round after activation (requires a new Power roll with Cloak still counting on the loremaster’s turn).

Glow 7 Ranged Scene Special Elemental entity manifests to fight enemies assigned to the wizard. Make an Invoke check with Crux 15. SUMMON [1 1 5]: Skill, Element & Force bases plus Ab-sorb scores are equal to 1 plus 1 per 5 Invoke XS. Knell is equal to the result of a Power check. Damage dice are 2d8. The entity is Numb and cannot interact socially. Of shadow and fire, of liquid ice. With claws of ire, sharpened thrice. Once on a nightmare, once on a dream. Finally, once on a silk-covered scream.

Glow 2 Ranged Instant Single Rips apart anything it hits. Beautiful as a shooting star, deadlier than a stryker bullet.

Glow 9 Ranged Concentrate Single If the occultist gets a Power Excess greater than twice the target’s Cloak, becomes helpless. Every round, the loremas-ter must make a new Power check. If the XS is too low, the hex ends. If the Power XS is greater than the victim’s Knell the effect (and the glow) becomes permanent until the loremaster decides to end the hex.

Glow 10 target Touch Scene Assign umbra BUFFER 10: Absorb 10 Damage.

Glow 3 target Touch Round Assign Umbra DISPLACEMENT: Become superior on Engage and Guard, as well as checks concerning physical interaction between you and other entities. Attacks against you furthermore have a 30% chance of failing.

MAGUS FIELD

COBWEB

DISPEL

FIREBALL

ICE STORM

INCARNATION

RIPPER BOLT

SHACKLE

SHIELD

WARP