CHTHONIAN

HIGHWAYS
A Post-Apocalyptic Roleplaying Game of Road Warriors and Ancient Horrors
Version 0.3 Ironcore Engine Alpha One

IRONSPINE in association with MYRRYSMIEHET presents an IRONCORE ENGINE roleplaying game

Game Design by MISKA FREDMAN, JUKKA SORSA and VILLE TAKANEN Art by HANS ZENJUGA
Introductory Story by KEN MARTIN Proofreading and Editing by KEN MARTIN and

CHRISTOPHER STRATTON SMITH Layout by MISKA FREDMAN and VILLE TAKANEN

PLAYTESTING BY Rami Sihvo, Teemu Pennanen, Mattis, Tuukka, Suzu, Susanna, Akusti. Jouko Salminen,

Atte Yliverronen, Meri, Jaakko Mansikka-Aho, Samuli Ahokas, Antti Isosomppi, Jouko Salminen, Nestori Lehtonen

Ironcore Engine is a tabletop roleplaying game system developed by Miska Fredman, Jukka Sorsa, Ville Takanen and Hans Zenjuga.
Ironcore Engine logo is a trademark of Ironcore Creative.
Chthonian Highways game text and Ironcore Engine by Miska Fredman, Jukka Sorsa, Ville Takanen,
Hans Zenjuga is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-sa/4.0/. We ask you to use full name of the work (Chthonian Highways) and link www.
ironspine.com/ch when crediting the derivate works.
All illustrations are copyright of Hans Zenjuga Hans Zenjuga 2015. All rights reserved

Ironspine and Ironspine logo are trademarks of Ironcore Creative. Myrrysmiehet logo is a trademark of Myrrysmiehet Ltd.

Contents
Introduction....................................................................................5
The World.........................................................................................7
Rules..................................................................................................11
Road Warriors................................................................................18
Junk....................................................................................................26
Vehicles............................................................................................34
Combat.............................................................................................37
Wheels...............................................................................................45
Fear & Madness.............................................................................52
The Rig Raid....................................................................................56

LONGSHOT BY KEN MARTIN

Wasteland the whole world was a wasteland. If
you didnt see it every day and every night, then you
dreamed it. Strange places Id never been to and even
stranger creatures. Nightmares.

Mikal? Whats up? Jona asked me again. I could tell

he was sensing something, that somehow he could feel
it in his head. That was his job.
There was another sound in the back compartment.
Someone else moving, shifting around. Probably Kim
getting her blades together, because she knew me
knew I was about to do something no one ever did.
No one stops in the middle of the blacktop at night
under a baleful moon not if they werent looking for
trouble.

It was night, and we were making the run down to

Crossroads for supplies. Mostly medicine for the sick
kids on the farms around Jasper. I was driving down
the highway on Dead Mans Stretch, the highway that
runs twenty clicks long, straight as an arrow, through
marsh and salt-flats.

As my boots crunched under the rubble strewn around

the road, I tapped my right thigh for the reassuring
and familiar shape of my sawn-off shotgun. I needed
Kim and Jona right now, and all the guts we had.

We did the run at night my choice as driver. I didnt

want to see the horrors of the Stretch, the things that
crawl out of the bog and rake their talons across the
blacktop, calling to each other. I never wondered
where they came from or why they crawled out onto
the road. It didnt bother me what their story was, or if
they even had a story. Didnt bother me until tonight.
Lately, I was dreaming too much about the horrors.
Nightmares.

I reached the back of the vehicle and flung open the

rear doors. Jona had vomited, the smell of it almost
welcome in this cursed place. With his special gift,
I expected that. I just wished it wasnt always in my
truck. He bailed out and collapsed on the road, a mess
of rags and old army fatigues, and Kim came after him
with her blades. She handled them with all the finesse
of a dancer and the fury of a banshee. And I caught a
clever smile on her face that told me everything: we
were about to play a dangerous game.

The 75 Rapier screamed its angry eight-cylinder snarl

at the night, its lights flashed with bugs as they were
caught in the beams that cut through the black ink.
But now something pulled at my mind, my thoughts
drifted, and I wanted to know what was out there.
Even though it wanted to ride on like those horses
from the old days, before the Reckoning, I pulled the
pickup to a stop. Shifting down through the gears, it
eventually surrendered with a whine and a shudder. I
heard a voice from the back.

I kicked Jona in the leg. Get some fuel. And when he

looked at me in the ghostly darkness and the dimmest
grey moonlight like I was a crazy man, I instructed,
Half a gallon should do it. He got up to find a fuel
can. Kim was already scoping the fog that came up out
of the marsh, her keen eyes searching for horrors.

Hey! Whats going on? It was Jona, nervous, of

course. He always was. I unlatched my drivers door,
heavy and squealing on hinges, and planted my boots
on the tar. I smelled the dank, choking stink of the
marsh out in the night. I could feel its dead-cold
fingers clawing at me through my leathers.

In minutes we were ready. Jona with his special brain

and the rifle, Kim with her stealth and blades, and me,
Mikal I had the shotgun with the arc light taped to
the barrel. Oh, and on my belt I kept a stupid hunting
knife that didnt seem right, but was my only memory
of the days before the Reckoning.

Nothing yet.

Lets go.

Maybe they still need to wake up? Maybe theyre

right there, beyond my senses, waiting in the slowly
churning, freezing fog. Do they come for something?
Or someone?

INTRODUCTION
WELCOME TO CHTHONIAN HIGHWAYS
Chthonian Highways is set in a world where nightmarish creatures have ravaged the Earth and otherworldly
landscapes have merged with ours. Strange, dreadful
beings prowl in the shadows, and dangerous alien
flora is taking over the green forests and grasslands.
The few remnants of civilization are held together
by the chthonian highways a web of roads that are
still traversable by ground vehicles. The characters are
dauntless road warriors who roam the cursed highways in their souped-up cars and motorcycles for as
long as there is gasoline to keep the engines roaring.

KEY CONCEPTS
Chthonian Highways is a roleplaying game where
players take the roles of protagonist characters. Each
player has narrative control over his or her own player
character and can contribute to other characters or the
games narrative with their own actions. In Chthonian
Highways, all player characters are Road Warriors;
brave men and women who roam the dangerous
chthonian highways and wastelands. The gamemaster
(GM) is a one of the players who has the role of the
director, referee and storyteller of the game. The GM
has narrative control over the games setting and the
non-player characters, and has final say on how rules
work. A Non-Player Character (NPC) is a character
or creature controlled by the GM.

POWERED BY IRONCORE ENGINE

Chthonian Highways is created as a ready-to-play
demo and playtest kit of Ironcore Engine. Ironcore
Engine combines well-tested old school conflict resolution with more story-driven game mechanics called
Push, Strain, and Velocity.
Read more about the Ironcore Engine at
www.ironspine.com

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE PRONOUNS

Skills measure a characters level of learning and experience, and have levels ranging from 0 to 10 and sometimes higher. An Ability describes one of a characters
inner resources such as willpower, endurance, focus
and resourcefulness. Abilities are used to measure the
characters general vitality and well-being, and to make
Skill Checks for their actions.

We recognise that players of Chthonian Highways and

characters within the game may be female or male. In
this document we have used the masculine he/him/
his in cases where it is necessary or unavoidable to
use gender pronouns. However, this does not mean
that the text refers to males exclusively. The uses of
male pronouns are interchangeable with the female
wherever possible.

Characters use Skill Checks that are dice rolls made

to see if a character succeeds or fails in a task. A Skill
Check is made by rolling a 20-sided die and adding
modifiers to the result, and if this total is equal to or
more than the tasks Challenge Level, the action succeeds. The Challenge Level (CL) is a target number

Introduction
Round: During one round all characters in a scene can
act in their turn. Once all characters have acted, a new
round begins. A round can be anything from a few
seconds to a few minutes.

that determines the difficulty of a task. The default CL

of 15 can be modified, according to the tasks difficulty.
Edge and Handicap represent special circumstances
affecting a characters actions. Edge will let a player roll
an additional 20-sided die during a Skill Check and
take the highest result. Conversely, a Handicap adds a
die to a Skill Check and forces the player to drop the
highest result.

Scene: A scene is something where one or more char-

acters are involved in the same events in the same surroundings. A scene is not necessarily location based,
because for instance a car chase can be one scene
where the location changes all the time, but the participating characters remain the same. A fight, a pursuit
or searching an abandoned house can all be scenes.

Characters grow and develop by accumulating experience during the game. Experience points (XP) are
used to develop character skills and abilities.

Chapter: A chapter is a series of interconnected scenes

that form a whole. Usually the action ceases and the

characters have an opportunity to recover or for some
downtime between Chapters.

ABOUT THE DICE

Chthonian Highways uses different dice for various
rolls and checks. Some rolls need more than one die,
so its a good idea to have at least two of each die type,
but at least four or five twenty-sided dice.

Episode (or Session): An episode comprises of one or

Dice rolls use special formulas to indicate what dice

are rolled and if something is added or subtracted
from the result. Lets take a quick run-through:

Season: As with tv series, a season consists of multiple

more chapters that together have a clear beginning and

end. Usually an episode is the same length as a game
session.
episodes that together form a larger, more dramatic
story arc. A season usually translates into a few weeks
or months of in-game time.

2d6+2: Firstly, you have the number of dice

rolled (2), then the die type (d6) and finally any
modifiers added or subtracted from the total of
the dice rolls.
d100: Roll two different colored ten-sided dice,
one color for the tens digit and one for the ones
digits. If you roll from the tens die a 3 and from
the ones die a 4, that would be 34. If your result
was 0 and 5, that would be 5. Double zeroes is a
hundred.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Here are some, but certainly not all, of the works of
art and fiction, or communities and people, that have
inspired us while working on this game:
Mad Max movies, H.P. Lovecraft, Stealing Cthulhu by
Graham Walmsley, The Book of Eli, Moebius, Hellboy,
B.P.R.D., Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Twitter, The
Mist by Stephen King, Role Playing Game Designers
G+ Community, Roolipelaajien Suomi FB Group,
The Colony, The Walking Dead (comics and series),
Judge Dredd, Maze Runner, Tremors, The Road, I Am
Legend, Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Stalker RPG, yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com

IN-GAME TIME UNITS

The time is measured in the game in abstract units.
Shortest time unit is a turn, which comprises of a few
seconds of intense action, and the longest time unit
is a season, that can encompass a whole story arc and
perhaps months, or even years, of in-game time.

We would especially like to thank Ropecon and

Tracon roleplaying conventions for their continuing
support for indie game designers, publishers and role
playing game players.

Turn: A turn is a measure of time during which a character can act. This is usually a few seconds.

The World
WHAT WE KNOW OF THE PAST
What we know now as the Reckoning started roughly
twenty years ago. First there were massive earthquakes
like none we had ever seen before. The quakes were
followed by tsunamis and the thick fog that rolled in
from the sea. Millions of people were killed and lost in
these natural disasters. At least we thought they were
natural until the great sinkholes appeared and many
cities collapsed into the deep chasms on the ground.
Dense, foul-smelling steam poured out of these holes
and people reported that they saw horrific creatures
climbing out of the thick mist. Many people began
to behave strangely and the cities erupted into chaos.
People attacked each other and authorities reported
men and women walking into the sinkholes. These
poor people disappeared deep underground and were
never seen again.

Some people banded together, and eventually established small survivor communes and fortified cities.
Most of these communities secluded themselves from
the outside world, but some of them sought out other
settlements to trade or find allies.
Air travel became impossible when our skies were
filled with strange beasts that could rip airplanes into
pieces in seconds and the acid rain and thick radiation

Many of the worlds nations were already at the brink

of collapse, and their armed forces were deployed to
these hotspots to help those people in distress. Alien
creatures with incomprehensible anatomies, giant
worms and gargantuan creatures with claws and tentacles wreaked havoc all around the world. We tried to
fight the monsters with the weapons we had, but there
were just too many of the creatures. Our weapons
could do nothing to the largest of these monstrosities.
After losing one city after another our governments
saw nuclear weapons as humanitys last resort. This
seemed to fend off some of the creatures for a while
but the world already lay in ruins.
Modern society as we knew it was shattered, with cities
in ruins with billions killed or mysteriously lost. There
was not enough food or fresh water for most of us.
Radiation, nuclear fallout, famine and disease killed
people like flies. Desperation turned people against
each other. Looting, killing and more horrendous
things than you can imagine were commonplace. You
could almost feel those creatures taking pleasure from
all of the pain and suffering.

The World

WHAT WE KNOW OF THE PRESENT

clouds could corrode air turbines in days. It became

obvious that the only way to safely move between
the strongholds were along the highways and roads
connecting these towns and cities. But this was not
without risk either. Bandits, cannibals and terrifying
monsters were a threat for every traveler in the wastelands. And the many kinds of creatures were not the
only danger. Dust storms, spore clouds, acid rains, and
electric storms were new natural dangers travelers had
to watch for and avoid when on the road.

The Earth that we once knew was changed forever.

Its not just the earthquakes, tsunamis or the strange
climate. Its like Earth has merged with some alien
world or worlds. Some buildings, roads and terrain
features still remained, but the world around us has
changed. Mountains have appeared from nowhere,
and there was news about a new continent in the
Atlantic ocean right before the television and radio
news broadcasts went silent.

Against all odds , humanity still stands in these settlements. Most are barely surviving, but some are even
thriving.

Strange and dangerous new flora and fauna is taking

over old nature and the climate is different. It is
said that North-America and Europe are dry wastelands, except for the shorelines that are now moist

The World
swamplands with constant rain. Northern Africa
is being overrun by a lush jungle with giant fungi,
man-eating plants and enormous insects. The coastal
cities are lost underwater probably because the polar
ice caps have melted.

Cultist often use clothing to hide their appearances

from others, and it is claimed that most of the cultist
children would be mutants. These cults live mostly
secluded from the other settlements, but occasionally
their spies are found amidst our normal settlements
and communities.

Even the sky is not what it used to be. Blue sky is but a
dream from the past that is harder to remember each
day. When the sky is not covered in thick fog, you
might catch a glimpse of the moon and the stars in the
sky tinged with red or blue.

Cannibal Clans
Cannibals are a very serious and real threat in the
wastelands. Vegetation and game animals are getting
more scarce year by year and most of the new strange
plants and wildlife have proven inedible for most. This
famine has forced some desperate people to rely on
human flesh for their sustenance. Over time these
groups have grown into clans with their own moral
codes. Most of the cannibal clans share a hunter
mentality with a strict honor code. Cannibals see
themselves as a higher human race and the rest of the
surviving humanity as little more than animals.

Dreaming
After the Reckoning many people have dreamt more
vivid dreams. Sometimes these dreams feel like they
were real and the same events keep re-occurring each
night.
Some people say someone or something is calling
to them in their dreams and that they feel compelled
to follow the calling. Following the dreams has lead
to terrible tragedies and miraculous blessings. Some
people have sacrificed their loved ones to the voices
calling to them in their dreams. Others have found
cures for pestilence or found hidden weapon caches
to fight off the marauders.

Bandits Gangs and Marauder Tribes

Between the communities holding to the old moral
standards and the cannibals and cultists lie the various
bandit gangs and marauder tribes. Bandits are often
small groups of plundering and thieving highwaymen
and outlaws living outside the strongholds. They are
a threat, but not as potent as the marauder tribes,
which are communities by themselves, but are instead
a threat to self-sustenance and peaceful trade.

Mutations
We live in an age of transition. There are people
who still remember the old world, but there is also a
younger generation who has never seen that world.
Some of them were simply too young to remember
anything from before the time of Reckoning, and many
have been born into this strange new world. Some of
the children of the new generation have mutated with
bulging eyes, webbed feet and hands, tentacles in place
of limbs or insect-like wings on their backs.

Marauders are known for their cruelty and often whole

communities are slaughtered by the marauder war
parties. Some marauder tribes will spare some men,
women and children and use them either as slaves
or integrate them into their own tribe to grow their
numbers.

Monsters

Cults

There are monsters out there. Most of them seem to

shun daylight and are more active by night. Some of
the monsters let their servants to do their bidding,
but then there are the monstrosities that act on their
own. It is known that some of these beings can take
human shape or possess minds and use people like
foul puppeteers.

Some of the survivors have started to worship these

monstrous beings as their gods, praying for fortune
and salvation from these terrible beasts. People have
surrendered their lives in servitude to these monsters
in return for prosperity and protection.

The World
At the time of the Reckoning there were numerous
sightings of gigantic monsters destroying and devastating whole cities. But not so many anymore. Instead
there are more smaller creatures roaming the wastelands and stalking humans in the night. Some of these
creatures seem to be mutated animals and plants, but
many are clearly not from this world.

Often the towns and citadels are run like small city
states, ruled by a single sovereign or a council of privileged representatives. While many of the settlements
have some level of self-sufficiency out of necessity,
trade is very common between the towns and citadels.
Material goods are not the only commodity; marriages
are arranged and skilled workers and craftsmen are
also a valuable asset for many towns and citadels.

Scavs

Chthonian Highways

Besides the bloodthirsty marauders, deranged cultists

and degenerate cannibals, the harsh wastelands are
also home to Scavs. Scavs are nomadic survivors, who
move from settlement to settlement trading and scavenging valuables from the wastelands. Occasionally
the Scavs might trade weird otherworldly artifacts or
rare electronics and spare parts.

The earthquakes and the sinkholes of the Reckoning

shattered most of the old roads and highways, but
some were spared. The highways that are still good are
used to transport people and goods through the wastelands between the settlements. While the cannibals
and bandits often lie in wait along the roads, the roads
are still safer and faster to travel than the badlands
that are filled with unknown threats and abominable
monstrosities.

Towns and Citadels

Its really hard to say how many of us are alive at the
moment, since most of the people live scattered around
the wastelands surviving in small wandering bands.
Still there are a few settlements here and there offering
shelter for the people living in them. Most of the settlements are small villages and towns of a few dozen or
hundred inhabitants, but the biggest ones, often called
citadels, can have several thousand inhabitants.

The Road Warriors and Convoys

Road Warriors are brave men and women who are
willing to risk their lives on the chthonian highways
for a cause or for worldly riches. Some road warriors
are more like mercenaries or wasteland paladins on a
quest, while others are more like travelling merchants
or messengers trying to keep up peoples hopes.

Practically all settlements are either surrounded

by protective walls and moats or are built in underground shelters or complexes, like metro tunnels and
sewers. Even hiding in this way is not always enough
to protect the settlements from monster or marauder
attacks. Madness, greed and desperation still turn
people against each other and most settlements have
severe punishments for theft and murder. Many
strongholds resort to capital punishment or exile into
the wastelands.

Because death is always lurking on the chthonian

highways, road warriors tend to form groups called
convoys. The road warrior convoys are tightly knit
groups with people, who are willing to give their lives
for each other. Only by trusting your convoy, you can
survive another day on the chthonian highways.

10

Rules
When the outcome of a characters actions is uncertain or a character acts against
another character a skill is used and a die roll is made to resolve the situation. These rolls
are called skill checks. Ironcore Engine uses twenty-sided dice to resolve all skill checks.

SKILL CHECKS

Setting the Challenge Level

When a Skill Check is called for, roll a d20 and add the
relevant skills level and any other modifiers affecting
your character to calculate the Skill Check result. If
the result is equal or over the Challenge Level (CL), the
action succeeds.

Challenge Level represents either the difficulty of the

task or opposition from another character. When
acting against the environment, the Challenge Level
is 15 by default. Certain conditions can raise or lower
the Challenge Level by 5.
To determine the Challenge Level you need to answer
one question: Is the task particularly easy or difficult
to accomplish?

Roll d20 + Skill Level + Modifiers vs Challenge Level

Automatic Successes

Easy (CL 10) actions are something that someone with little or no practice can succeed in with
a fair chance - perhaps around half of the tries.
Normal (CL 15) tasks are the most common
skill checks. They are some what challenging and
usually require training and expertise to succeed
with a fair chance.
Difficult (CL 20) actions are something that
even professionals struggle with unless they have
excellent conditions and equipment at hand.
People with no training will almost certainly not
succeed.

If, for any reason, the CL is equal to the characters

relevant Skill level, the action succeeds automatically,
and no roll is needed.
Also, if the character has enough time and all the
necessary resources and equipment to make multiple
attempts or failing in the action does not have any
significant consequences, the action succeeds automatically, provided that the characters Skill Level + 15
is equal or over the tasks Challenge Level.

Fail Forward

Edge and Handicap

A good GM uses any failed Skill Checks as a means to

drive the game forward. A failed roll could cause an
additional delay or obstacle, but it should not stop a
characters progress completely. You can even allow the
characters to succeed, but with a cost of lost resources
or additional complications.

Edge and Handicap are used if the odds are clearly on

the characters side or against the character. An Edge
represents a special advantage or benefit the character
has in the situation, while a Handicap means that the
character has a serious disadvantage, or something is
clearly making things more difficult in the situation.

11

Rules
If both Edge and Handicap are applicable, they
cancel each other out. If there are multiple Edges
or Handicaps in effect, only one is ever taken into
account. There cannot be multiple edges or handicaps
affecting the situation.

Example: Kim is sneaking past a creature eating

its prey. The GM states that the creature has a
handicap to its skill score because it concentrates
on eating and doesnt care much about its surroundings at the moment. This gives the creature a
passive skill score of 12 (10 + Perception 7, - 5 from
handicap). The player makes the roll against CL 12
and hopes for the best

Edge: Roll an additional d20 and drop the lowest

die.
Handicap: Roll an additional d20 and drop the
highest die.

Cooperation
When two or more characters act together towards a
common goal, they are Cooperating. When the characters are cooperating one of them will take the lead,
usually the character with the highest skill. The leading
character will make a Skill Check, receiving a free push
die from each other character helping out. If desired,
all the players can roll their own dice and add them to
the result pool.

Example: There are three circumstances giving an

Edge and one giving a Handicap for the character.
The Handicap cancels out one of the Edges, but
the character is still left with two Edges. The player
makes a skill check with an Edge.

Resisted Actions

The characters participating in the cooperation can

push normally, but no more than five dice are rolled
in any circumstance.

When two characters are opposing each other, the

character whose turn it is makes a Skill Check against
the other characters Skill Check or the passive skill
score.

PUSHING

Usually resisting another characters action against you

is considered a Reaction. If a Reaction or Action is not
allowed for the target of the action the target is not
aware of the situation for example then the passive
skill score is used.

Pushing allows the characters to increase their chances

to succeed in their efforts by straining their inner
resources. When making a Skill Check, you can always
choose to push the action by taking a point of Fatigue
to an Ability.

Passive Skill Score

Pushing allows you to roll up to three additional Skill

Check dice, one for each point of Strain taken, and add
the highest die result to your skill level when calculating your Skill Check total. This allows the heroes, or
certain villains, to turn the tide at a critical moment,
assuming your abilities are not completely exhausted.

Sometimes you dont roll when making a Skill Check,

but instead use 10 + the relevant Skill level as your
passive skill score. Passive skill use does not require
Actions or Reactions to be used and therefore they
cannot be pushed either; they would not be passive
otherwise.

Roll an additional d20 per point of Fatigue taken to a

If a character has an Edge in the situation, a +5 bonus

is added to the passive skill score, and in the case
where a Handicap is affecting a character, a -5 penalty
is subtracted from the passive skill value.

relevant Ability and pick the highest die.

An Ability can be pushed by up to three points per round.

With an edge: 15 + Skill

Normal circumstances: 10 + Skill
With a handicap: 5 + Skill

12

Rules
Example: Jona tries to run to a truck before it gets
away. The GM states that this is an Athletics check
against CL15. The player wants to make sure he
succeeds and that the character gets on that truck,
and decides to push with three dice. Athletics is
a Body-related skill, so Body is fatigued by three
points and the player rolls a total of four Skill
Check dice (1 base die and 3 push dice). The dice
rolls result in 15, 13, 7, 2. The highest result is 15,
and that alone is enough to meet the Challenge
Level. Jona catches the truck just in time, but he
is out of breath and his legs are burning from the
sudden dash.

VELOCITY
Velocity points represent the dramatic tension rising
and the energy building up as the characters push their
abilities and follow their instincts. A character gains
Velocity from extraordinary successes and failures and
by bringing personality and flaws into play.

Gaining Velocity Points

Each result of 20 from any Skill Check die
grants a point of Velocity
Each result of 1 from any skill check die grants
a point of Velocity;This will also result in a
Trouble
Accepting a Trouble introduced into game by
the GM
Stunts can be swapped for Velocity points
Involve your character in a situation that relates
to his Drive (once per scene)
Voluntarily give in to your characters Vice (once
per scene)

STUNTS
When your Skill Checks result is 5 or more greater
than the Challenge Level, you gain a Stunt effect for
every five points the Challenge Level is exceeded by.
Stunts can be used in various ways to increase the
effectiveness of the characters actions. It depends
completely on the situation whether Stunts are useful
or even possible.

Using Velocity

Quality: You will perform the task faster with

better quality or with style, impressing others
watching you. The effects of added quality can
vary depending on the task and situation, but
typically this should give the character some
kind of advantage or save resources.
Special Actions: Perform a Combat Stunt (p. 42)
Reposition: Add 5 points to your current Initiative score
Prepare: Gain an Edge for the next action or
reaction or give another character within close
range an Edge to his next Action or Reaction
Harass: Force your target within close range to
suffer a Handicap to its next action
Gain Velocity: Use a Stunt to gain a point of
Velocity.

By expending Velocity the players can make their

characters do great feats or amazing stunts. Velocity
points can be used at any time when ever the character
is conscious and active.
Re-roll: Re-roll any number of Skill Check or
damage dice
Boost: Add 1d10 to any Skill Check result
Second Wind: Use an Action and recover d6
points of Strain or an Exhaustion once per a
scene.
Haste: Receive an additional Action or Reaction
after your normal Action or a Reaction once per
turn.

Losing the Velocity

When the action ceases or there is significant downtime and the characters have a chance to recover from
Strain, all unused Velocity points are transferred
into Experience points; one Velocity point for one
Experience point.

13

Rules
lead to Exhaustion, but this can have other gameplay
effects. For instance, first aid can be used to remove
Strain from a Damaged Ability, but not from Fatigued
or Stressed. When the Ability is fully recovered,
remove all the letter markings from it.

STRAIN
When a character suffers fatigue, physical trauma or
mental shock, one of the Abilities is reduced by the
amount of Strain suffered.

Exhausted Abilities

Strain is divided into three different types: Fatigue,

Damage and Stress.

When an Ability is reduced to zero by Strain of any

kind, it becomes Exhausted. Exhausted abilities cannot
be pushed, and recovering from exhaustion takes
longer than recovering from Strain (see Recovering
from Strain and Exhaustion below).

Fatigue is something that strains the character, but

will not cause wounds. Characters suffer strain from

fatigue when they push their Abilities or otherwise
drain their inner resources. A character that is incapacitated (three exhausted Abilities) cannot voluntarily cause Fatigue on himself.

If an Ability is Exhausted from taking damage or stress,

the character might also get an Injury or a Disorder.

Damage is physical trauma impairing the characters

performance. Damage is inflicted on the Characters

Body Ability. When Body is exhausted, damage will
start draining Precision, Wits and Psyche, in that
order.

Effects of Exhaustion
Exhaustion can have effects on a characters ability
to function. Normally, an Exhausted Ability cannot
be pushed until it is recovered back to unexhausted
status, but when more than one Ability has become
Exhausted, this will have more serious gameplay
consequences.

Stress is mental shock and trauma that strains the

characters self-control and ability to think clearly.

Stress is inflicted on the Psyche Ability first. When
Psyche is Exhausted, the Stress will start to strain
Wits, Precision and Body.

The character is able to function normally with

one Exhausted Ability.
If the character has two Exhausted Abilities, only
an Action or Reaction can be made instead of
both.
When three Abilities are Exhausted, the character is incapacitated and probably unconscious.
When all four Abilities are Exhausted, the character is dying and he will die if he is not restored
to at least one Ability point within the next 1d10
minutes.

Taking Strain
A character takes Strain from Damage, Fatigue and
Stress. They all reduce the Ability score temporarily
and are handled as Strain in the game mechanics. To
track how the character is Strained, a simple method
is used:
When an Ability is Strained by Damage mark it
with letter D.
When an Ability is Strained by Fatigue mark it
with letter F.
When an Ability is Strained by Stress mark it
with letter S.
All cases are treated as strained Abilities and can

Resuscitation: A dying Character needs to be resusci-

tated by another character with a Medical Skill Check

against CL15. If the dying character is successfully
resuscitated, he will be stabilized, and one Ability
chosen by the characters player recovers from the
Exhaustion.

Damage Body Precision Wits Psyche Stress

14

Rules
When the character rests to recover from Strain or
Exhaustion, all of the unused Velocity is transferred
into Experience points.

Recovering from Strain and Exhaustion

Characters can recover from Strain fairly quickly, but
recovering from Exhaustion takes much longer. It
takes two hours of non-strenuous rest to recover from
1d6 points of Strain, but at least six hours of relaxing
sleep to remove the Exhausted state from an ability or
recover 4d6 points of Strain if none of the Abilities are
Exhausted. When the Exhausted state is removed, the
Ability is restored to one point.

Healing Effects: If a character is healed by some method,

Strain can be removed from any applicable Abilities in

any order the player wants. Recovery from Exhaustion
requires 4 points worth of healing to remove the
Exhaustion from an Ability before it can be healed
further.

Second Wind: A character can spend a point of Velocity

A Character must first recover from Exhaustion before

recovering any Strain in that Ability. A character can
recover up to 6d6 points of Strain or two Exhausted
Abilities per day.

and use an action to recover from Exhaustion or

remove 1d6 points of Strain once per scene.

15

Rules
TROUBLES
Troubles are distractions, problems or difficulties that arise from the situation and complicate things further, even
if the character manages to achieve the objective. Troubles arise in two ways:
Natural 1: When the player rolls a natural 1 on any of the Skill Check dice after resolving the Edge or Handicap affecting the roll. You will never suffer more than one trouble from one Action, even if you rolled multiple ones.
Intervention: The GM or any of the players suggests a specific trouble that might be a consequence of the
characters actions or just the result of bad luck. If the player accepts the trouble, one point of Velocity is
added for the Character suffering or accepting the Trouble.
This list of Troubles is not an exhaustive list and the GM can freely modify the existing results or come up with their
own that better fits the situation. Choose or roll d10 for a Trouble from the choices below:

d10

Trouble

Description

Lose contact

Radio contact is lost, the group is divided or otherwise communication with

two parties is cut off.

Distraction

Character suffers a handicap to his next action.

You dropped it!

You drop an item of equipment or a weapon you were holding.

Fatigue

Due to an unexpected injury, doubt or confusion the character suffers an extra

point of Fatigue to an Ability determined by the GM.

Out of ammo/juice/fuel You run out of ammunition, fuel or power, and a piece of equipment or a
vehicle ceases to function until it is reloaded, refuelled or its power source is
otherwise replenished.

Malfunction

A piece of equipment or a vehicle malfunctions or your weapon is jammed. You

need to fix it before you can use it again.

Fumble

The character fumbles and exposes himself to an attack of opportunity OR

loses 5 points from his Initiative if there are no Attacks of Opportunity.

Knocked down

The character falls over and must use a Trifle to stand up. Take note that you
can still react normally to any other characters or groups actions.

Pinned!

You are stuck somewhere. Your movement is restricted, and it takes an action
to free yourself. You cannot move, and all your actions are at Handicap.

10

Intercepted

An obstacle is in your way. It might be a dead-end, a hostile intervention or

some other nasty surprise making your life more difficult. You might be able to
avoid the obstacle... or not.

16

Road Warriors
In the classic works of the post apocalypse genre, the player characters are known as road
warriors. All the player characters represent this archetype in their own way, and all of
them have their individual strengths and weaknesses that are indicated by the characters
Abilities, Skills and other personal traits.

ABILITIES
Precision (P)

Characters have four Ability Scores ranging from 1

to 20 for humans. Most Ability Scores lie somewhere
between 3 and 5, but talented and experienced characters can have Ability Scores above 10. Each of the
Abilities represents different facets of your characters
physical and mental capabilities and inner resources.

Dexterity, aim, flexibility and speed.

Damaged by unbalancing blows, sheer pain or
drugs affecting your fine motor skills.
Fatigued by prolonged concentration on tasks
requiring fine manipulation or accuracy and
having to hastily do precise movements.

When making Skill Checks, your character can push

with a related ability and increase the chance of
success. Pushing also means that your character is
acting at the limits of his capabilities.
Value
0
13
46
79
10 12
13 15
16+

Wits (W)
Logical thinking, concentration, awareness, perception, memory and common sense.

Description
Feeble
Weak
Mediocre
Good
Excellent
Outstanding
Legendary

Damaged by drugs and effects fogging the mind,

distractions or sensory overload.
Fatigued by mental tasks requiring prolonged
concentration, by sleep deprivation and by simply running out of ideas.

Psyche (P)
You characters empathy, intuition, bearing, presence
and willpower

Body (B)

Damaged by shocking events, social attacks, fear

and doubt
Fatigued by resisting temptations, dealing with
distressed or panicked people and having to
maintain composure or authority under stress.

Physical fitness, constitution and resilience.

Damaged by physical trauma.
Fatigued when exerting your strength or endurance, and when resisting physical pain.

18

Road Warriors
SKILLS

Insight (Psyche): A characters ability to use instincts,

intuition and empathy to notice subtle details in people

or ones surroundings. While Perception is more about
the use of senses and memory, Insight relies more on
gut feeling.

Skills begin at level 0 and the maximum level for

humans is 10. With a skill of 4 or higher the character
is qualified to practice an occupation. Skills above 9
are very rare, legendary even.

Medicine (Wits): Training in the treatment of different

Each of the skills is connected to one of the characters Abilities. The connected Ability indicates which
Ability is used for Pushing a skill check.
Level

Description

Example

0
13
4 6

Unskilled
Novice
Competent

7 9

Expert

10

Master

Inexperienced
Knows the basics, amateur
Knows enough to use the
skill professionally
Experienced professional
with years of experience
Exceptionally talented
genius or a living legend

injuries and diseases. Medicine also includes the use of

medical equipment and knowledge of various pharmaceuticals and natural medicines.

Mythos (Psyche): A characters instinctive understand-

ing of the weird phenomena and creatures that have

taken over the Earth.

Perception (Wits): Ability to perceive ones surroundings by using all five senses and to remember those
details.

Repair (Wits): The characters ability to repair and

construct mechanical and electronic machinery and
devices.

Science (Wits): Education and experience in sciences

and mathematics.

Skill Descriptions

Shooting (Precision): Shooting, ranged combat and

heavy weapons skill used primarily for Skill checks
during combat.

Athletics (Body): Athletics encompasses a wide range

of different physical activities from swimming to

climbing, and from running to gymnastics. Athletics
also improves your characters mobility and ability to
avoid attacks in combat or other dangerous situations.

Stealth (Precision): Ability to move unnoticed or stay

hidden in different environments. Stealth also includes
covering tracks.

Dexterity (Precision): Readiness, grace and skill to

perform tasks requiring deft hands or great nimbleness. Dexterity can be used for example to pick pockets
or to forge documents.

Strength (Body): The characters physical power and

Driving (Precision): Ability to drive and pilot various

by various means. Survival also includes the characters knowledge of nature and ability to track game and
to avoid dangers in the wilderness or in other unforgiving environments.

ability to lift, push, hold or move heavy objects.

Survival (Body): Ability to find shelter and sustenance

land, water or air vehicles.

Fighting (Body): Unarmed fighting, martial arts and

melee weapon skill used primarily for Skill checks
during melee combat.

Willpower (Psyche): Willpower is the measure of the

characters self-control and discipline. It is the ability

to resist impulses and fear and stay calm and under
control in chaotic or frightening situations.

Influence (Psyche): Ability to affect others in social

dealings. Depending on the situation this can mean

negotiation, bluffing or deceit.

19

Road Warriors
a single game session. The Experience Points can be
spent to raise character Abilities or Skills or to gain
other benefits, see Using Experience Points below for
details.

EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP)

Experience points or XP represent the learning and
development of a character. Experience points are
gained by overcoming problems and reaching short
and long-term goals, and can be traded for character
benefits.

Using Experience Points

Experience points can be used to improve a characters
Abilities and Skills and heal from severe traumas it
takes time and effort to overcome horror or injury.

Gaining Experience
Each time characters succeed in their efforts or overcome an obstacle they may gain Experience Dice. At
the end of an episode or a game session the player
rolls a number of ten-sided dice equal to the collected
Experience Dice and the total of the dice is the amount
of Experience Points the character gets. The amount
of Experience Dice can vary depending on the game
sessions length and the nature of the characters
achievements.

Advancement
Increase Skill level
Increase Ability score
Remove a point of
Madness
Recover from a mental
disorder or persistent
injury
Naming a new vehicle
(Drivers only)
Learning to use an artifact

In the list below there are some guidelines for rewarding Experience dice for different achievements. You
can grant the Experience dice for the players after each
scene or game session, whichever feels more suitable.
Characters should usually earn from 3 to 6 Experience
Dice or around 15 to 30 Experience Points from

XP Reward
1d10
1d10
2d10
2d10
3d10
3d10
Velocity

XP Cost
New Level x 10 XP
Nex Level x 20 XP
10 XP
20 XP
30 XP
Varies

Achievement
Resolve a minor problem or survive a fight scene without any Damage.
Reach a short-term goal: complete a mission or a minor personal agenda.
Survive a life-threatening situation or a fight scene where you suffered an injury.
Achieve something significant that supports your characters Drive or Vice.
Survive a life-threatening encounter or survive a fight where you almost died or your friend died.
Reach a long-term goal: complete a campaign or a personal quest.
Gain a point of XP per each unused Velocity point.

20

CREATING A ROAD WARRIOR

THE MAIN CAST
In Chthonian Highways the players take the role of road
warriors. Brave men and women who have proven
their mettle by defying the dangers of the wasteland.
They might not be heroes in tradional sense, but they
sure are the stars and the main cast of the game.
The game is about these people who have decided
for a reason or another, to put their lives at risk and
expose their body and soul to all the horrors beyond
their home settlements gates. When you create your
character, try to think of why he or she has chosen this
way of life. Some of the characters traits, like Drive
and Vice, will help you to flesh out these details, but
your character is much more than just the words and
numbers on paper.
You dont have to have your characters history thought
out when you start creating your own road warrior.
You can come up with explanations for his or her Role,
or different Ability and Skill values as you go. If your
Soldier character has a Science skill of 5, he or she
must have an interesting story behind that unusual
field of expertise. These little details are the things, that
make your character feel more real.
Enough talk. Lets get down to business!

1) DETERMINE ABILITIES
Start by determining the Abilities for you character. It
is recommended that all of the characters in the same
convoy are created by using the same method.
Points-based: Distribute 28 points between the
four Abilities
Random: roll 2d6 five times and drop the lowest
total. Then distribute the remaining four results
to the Abilities in any order you like.
Hardcore: Roll 2d6 for each Ability in order:
Body, Precision, Wits and Psyche.

21

Road Warriors
2) CHOOSE A ROLE
Choose a Role for your character. There are six different Roles and each one has a perk that will make them standout
from the crowd. Choose or roll a d6 to determine your characters Role.

1) The Doc

4) The Mechanic

You know how to heal and hurt people. You receive +1

bonus to your melee damage and healing effects. You
can also choose a specialization related to Medicine
or Science skills. Some examples of possible specializations: biology, chemistry, mathematics, genetics, etc.
When making a Skill Check that is related to your
specialization, you gain an Edge.

You are the convoys engineer extraordinaire. You

know how to put together mechanical devices and
equipment and how to strip them down. You gain an
Edge when fixing or sabotaging machinery. You can
also temporarily jury-rig broken equipment without
using spare parts, but this lasts only until the end of
the chapter.

Skills: Medicine +2, Science +1

Starting Gear: A respirator and a field laboratory OR a field medical kit and six first aid kits.
Barter Bitz: 3d10 x 10 bitz

Skills: Repair +2, Perception +1

Starting Gear: A wrench or a crowbar and a tool
box OR a jack.
Barter Bitz: 2d10 x 10 bitz

2) The Driver

5) The Muscle

You are good with cars and other vehicles, especially

your own named ride. You gain an Edge when driving
or repairing your personal vehicle, and when you
name your vehicle you can raise one of its Specs by one
(Hull, Steering or Engine). It costs 30 XP to name a
new vehicle, you can have on named vehicle at a time.

You are a living weapon well-tried in hand-to-hand

combat and close quarters fighting. Your unarmed
damage is 1d6 instead of 1d4 and you gain a +1
Damage Bonus to all your attacks performed up to
Reach range. Also, you dont suffer a Handicap when
fighting bare handed against an armed opponent. That
just pisses you off!

Skills: Driving +2, Repair +1

Starting Gear: Dust goggles and a padded
leather armor OR a wristbow and 10 bolts for it.
Barter Bitz: 2d8 x 10 bitz

Skills: Fighting +2, Strength +1

Starting Gear: A leather jacket and a sword OR
a blunderbuss with 5 rounds.
Barter Bitz: 2d6 x 10 bitz

3) The Ghost

6) The Soldier

You are the convoys uncanny sneaker and scout. You

gain an Edge when sneaking or shadowing someone if
they dont know to expect you. Also, when making a
surprise attack, you receive a +1D to your damage on
top of your usual Edge.

Your have been tempered in the turmoil of many battlefields. You know how to take out a target from a distance with guns, bows or throwing weapons. You can
take an Aim with a ranged weapon as a Trifle instead
of an Action and you gain an Edge when rolling for
initiative.

Skills: Stealth +2, Perception +1

Starting Gear: a knife and a ghillie-suit OR a
crossbow or a bow and 10 bolts or arrows for it.
Barter Bitz: 3d6 x 10 bitz

Skills: Shooting +2, Athletics +1

Starting Gear: A knife and a double-crossbow
with 10 bolts OR a pistol with 10 rounds.
Barter Bitz: 2d4 x 10 bitz

22

Road Warriors
3) CHOOSE A DRIVE
Drive represents your characters motive, passion or reason to live to fight another day in a world of despair, chaos
and hopelessness. Whenever your characters Drive relates to their situation you gain a point of Velocity once per
scene.
Choose a Drive or roll a d10 from the table below.

1d10
1

Drive
Vengeance

Survival

3
4

Honor
Redemption

Hope

6
7

Love
Curiosity

Madness

9
10

Destiny
Power

Description
They took something away from you, and now you want to get back at them with
interest.
Some might call you a coward, but most of them are not alive to tell that anymore.
You have decided to stay alive, no matter what it costs. Likely you have already paid a
terrible price for being still alive.
The strong need to protect the weak in this broken world. It on your honor to do so.
The things you have done do not let you rest. Not until you have paid for them ten
thousand times over.
You know the world can be saved. If you do your part in the Plan other can find the
hope again too.
Someone dear to you is lost, and you need to find them. You will find them.
No matter how broken the world has gone, its mysteries intrigue you and you want to
understand them..
For most nothing makes sense anymore, but you are just starting to see things more
clearly. Engulfing your mind in the incomprehensible will be your salvation.
You know there is something great reserved for you, its your destiny.
Your character is driven with the desire to seize the powers of the mythos and rule the
mortal.

23

Road Warriors
4) CHOOSE A VICE

Pregenerated Characters

Vice is your characters dark side. The secret passion,

craving or flaw that helps to endure when the Drive
is not enough. When theres a chance that your Vice
might cause trouble you can gain a Velocity point by
giving in to your Vice. If you want to fight your Vice,
you can do it by making a Willpower check against 10
+ Madness.

Instead of creating your own character you

can choose to use one of the pregenerated road
warriors. You can choose from six different
characters, each representing one of the Roles.
These ready-to-play characters are presented
as empty slates with all the essential characteristics and equipment. Just add a name and
a description for your character and you are
ready to go.

In either case, if your Vice comes into play, it usually

causes a Handicap to all related Skill Checks for the
rest of the scene.
Choose a Vice or roll a d10 from the table below.

1d10
1
2
3
4
5
6

7
8
9
10

Vice
Distrustful

Description
It is hard for you to trust others, especially strangers. This can make negotiations, bartering and cooperation difficult for you.
Addiction
Choose a substance you are addicted to. You have an addiction that is very hard to resist
and given a chance you will indulge yourself with whatever your addiction is without
caring much about others or if its a proper time for that.
Compulsion You have an activity or manner that you do compulsively. It might be something slightly
disturbing or mostly harmless mostly.
Greed
You desire material possessions and wealth. Lending or giving your own supplies, food
or water is very difficult for you. You are also easy to buy or bribe.
Pride
It is very hard for you to concede or admit that you are wrong. To put it short, you are a
very bad loser.
Vanity
In a world of dirt, decay and deformities small things like jewelry, make-up or smooth
skin bring you joy and self-worth. People call you shallow and vain, because of your
groomed looks, but you dont mind as long as your hairdo is all right and your face
remains unscarred.
Wrath
It does not take much to anger you. And when you become angry, things have a tendency to break and people get hurt.
Gluttony
You love to eat and drink and whenever theres food or drink available you tend to binge.
This makes you very poor at rationing food and water.
Martyr
You have a tendency to willfully seek out suffering and persecution to prove your sense
of duty or loyalty to the others. Usually its okay to put others needs and safety before
yours, but sometimes it is a deathwish.
Envious
You have trouble tolerating people who are wealthier or better than you in any imaginable way. Envy can be a dangerous emotion, because it can rouse irresistible need to steal
or damage anothers possessions or harm them to make them look weaker or less capable than you.

24

Road Warriors
5) SKILLS

Quick Skills

Divide 20 points between all the skills. One point buys

one level to any of the Skills. You can add up to 4 levels
to any one skill during the character creation. In practice this means that the skills you receive from your
characters Role skills can be as high as level 6, while all
the other skills have a maximum level of 4. The skills
can be increased later with Experience Points all the
way to level 10.

Add the following levels between the skills and you are
done: 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1,

6) DAMAGE BONUS (DB)

Characters mass and strength will add to the damage
roll in melee. Damage Bonus is calculated by dividing
the Strength skills level by three (round down).
Strength
02
35
68
9+

Skill List
Athletics (Body)
Dexterity (Precision)

Damage Bonus
+0
+1
+2
+3

Driving (Precision)
Fighting (Body)

7) GET GEARED UP

Influence (Psyche)

All characters have their basic clothing and personal

items and food and water for two days.

Insight (Psyche)

You have some starting gear and barter bitz based

on your characters Role, and in addition to this each
character gets 750 bitz to spend on their own or the
convoys shared vehicles and their customizations.

Medicine (Wits)
Mythos (Psyche)
Perception (Wits)
Repair (Wits)

8) CHARACTER DETAILS

Science (Wits)

Write down your characters name and something

about his or her appearance.

Shooting (Precision)
Stealth (Precision)

Give your character a name that reflects or emphasizes

his or her personality and strengths.

Strength (Body)

Try to make the characters appearance interesting

and focus on details and what makes your character
stand out from everyone else, or how your characters
different traits are reflected on his or her looks.

Survival (Body)
Willpower (Psyche)

25

JUNK
Weapon Traits

BARTERING

Area Effect X m: Area effect weapons cause

full damage for the primary target and all other
characters within the radius in meters takes half
of the Damage. Targets at ground zero take full
damage.
Automatic (SFX): Automatic weapons are Quick
and capable of Automatic fire.
Blunt: Blunt weapons cannot be used for cutting. They have Damage Handicap against Hard
armors, but Damage Edge against Light armors.
Difficult: These weapons are particularly difficult to handle and will cause a Trouble with a die
result of 1 and 2, unless the users relevant Skill
level is 5 or more.
Entangle (SFX): Instead of damaging the target,
the target can be Grabbed, Knocked down or
Disarmed with a SFX.
Heavy: This weapon is heavy and requires at
least Strength 5 or all attacks with the weapon
are made with a Handicap.
Impact (SFX): Impact weapons have a potential to cause a powerful concussive hit. The
target can be Knocked down with one SFX and
Knocked out with two SFX.
Long: Long weapons are melee weapons that can
be used to attack up to Reach range, but they suffer a Handicap if fighting in confined spaces.
Long Reload: This weapon takes an Action to
reload instead of a Trifle.
Loud: This weapon makes a loud noise and
could attract attention.
Pierce (SFX): The targets Armor can be lowered
by 2 points with one SFX.
Pistol: Pistol weapons are one-handed firearms
that can be fired in melee without a Handicap.
Quick: A character wielding a Quick weapon
can attack the same target with an Edge if he
uses his Reaction in addition to the Action.
Quick firing consumes two rounds of ammo.
Range: This is the optimal range of the weapon.
It is either Immediate, Reach, Close, Long or
Extreme.

Commerce in Chthonian Highways is based on bartering between individuals or professional traders. There
is no real currency, but many people carry small trinkets and novelty items with them for bartering known
as Barter Bits (bitz); an abstract currency to measure
the values of different pieces of equipment.

WEAPONS
Practically everyone in the world of Chthonian
Highways wields some kind of weapon. Melee
weapons and various bow and harpoon weapons are
much more common than firearms, which are becoming more scarce as they malfunction or are lost and
their ammunition becomes harder to acquire.
All weapons have the following attributes: Damage,
Weapon Traits and Cost. In addition to these the
ranged weapons have a Range and Ammo.
Damage: The amount of Damage the weapon
causes on a successful hit.
Weapon Traits: Weapon traits represent the
special qualities of different weapons.
Cost: Weapons cost in barter bitz.
Range: The weapons effective range.
Ammo: This is how many rounds the weapons
cylinder, clip or internal magazine holds. When
the weapon runs out of ammunition, the weapon
must be reloaded before it can be fired again.

Special Effects (SFX)

Some Weapon Traits, or other qualities, can cause
additional Special Effects (SFX), if one or more of the
damage dice turns out with the highest possible result
e.g. six on d6, eight on d8, and so on. The traits that
benefit from Special Effects are noted in the Weapon
Traits below. Some of the Special Effects refer to
Combat Stunt. These can be found on page 42.

26

Junk
Rending: Rending weapons have Damage Edge.
Scatter: Scatter weapons shoot multiple projectiles instead of one solid bullet. Scatter weapons
gain Damage Edge up to Reach range, but have a
Damage Handicap beyond their effective range.
Single Use: This weapon can be used once and
then it is useless beyond repair.
Stun: The weapon deals Fatigue instead of Damage, and does not cause any Strain after three
exhausted Abilities.

Thrown (Range): These weapons can be thrown.

The effective range is noted in parenthesis and
the maximum range is one range step over the
optimal range a knife with optimal Reach
range could be thrown up to Close range with a
Handicap.
Two-handed: The weapon requires two hands.
A character with Strength 7 or more can use the
weapon in one hand with a Handicap.

MELEE WEAPONS
Melee weapons are weapons used in close combat. When rolling for Damage, add the characters Damage Bonus
to the Damage roll result.
Weapon
Brass knuckles

Damage
Unarmed + 1

Weapon Traits
Quick

Cost
10

Club / Pipe / Wrench

1d6

Blunt, Impact

Knife
Machete / Hand Axe
Sledgehammer
Sword

1d6
1d8
1d8
1d10

Quick, Throw (Reach)

Pierce
Blunt, Heavy, Impact, Two-Handed
+1 Damage if used as a two-handed weapon

15
50
60
150

Heavy axe
Huge blade

1d12
2d6

Heavy, Pierce, Two-handed

Heavy, Impact Two-handed

250
350

Spiked Club / Crowbar

Staff
Chain
Chainsaw
Spear
Boom spear
Whip

1d8+1
1d6
1d6
2d8
1d8
2d8
1d4

Impact, Blunt, Pierce

Impact, Long, Quick
Blunt, Difficult, Entangle, Long
Difficult, Heavy, Loud, Rending, Two-Handed
Long, Thrown (Close)
Impact, Loud, Single Use, Long, Thrown (Reach)
Difficult, Entangle, Long

20
15
10
750
30
100
25

27

Junk
RANGED WEAPONS
Ranged weapons use various projectiles to hit targets at distance. Ranged weapons can be used only for ranged
attacks.

Thrown and Bow Weapons

Thrown weapons are weapons that are balanced for throwing and bow weapons use a bowstring or similar elastic
band or string to power the projectiles.
Weapon
Bola
Shuriken
Blade-arang
Slingshot
Bow
Crossbow
Double crossbow
Wristbow

Skill
Dexterity
Dexterity
Dexterity
Shooting
Shooting
Shooting
Shooting
Shooting

Damage
1d4
1d6
1d8
1d6
2d6
2d8
2d8
2d4

Range
Close
Reach
Close
Close
Close
Long
Close
Reach

Weapon Traits
Entangle, Blunt
Quick
Blunt
Pierce
Pierce, Long Reload
Pierce, Quick, Long Reload
Pierce, Long Reload, Pistol

Ammo
1
1
1
2
1

Cost
20
5
15
25
120
180
240
70

Firearms
Firearms are weapons that use cartridges loaded with propellant and projectile as ammunition. All firearms are
Loud and usually quite rare which makes them naturally hard to find, but also quite expensive.
Weapon
Zip gun
Pistol
Heavy pistol
Magnum pistol
Shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
Blunderbuss
Scrap rifle
Rifle
Assault rifle
Submachine gun
Sniper rifle
Heavy sniper rifle

Damage
1d10
2d6
2d6+1
2d6+2
2d8
2d8
2d6
1d12
2d8+1
2d8
2d6
2d8+2
4d8

Range
Close
Close
Close
Close
Close
Reach
Reach
Long
Long
Long
Close
Long
Long

Weapon Traits
Pistol
Pistol, Quick
Pistol, Quick
Pistol, Impact
Scatter, Long Reload
Pistol, Scatter
Scatter, Long Reload
Long Reload
Quick
Automatic
Automatic, Pistol
Pierce
Impact, Pierce, Heavy, Long Reaload

28

Ammo
1
6 or 20
6 or 9
5
5
2
1
1
5
30
30
6
10

Cost
80
200
300
500
850
500
150
250
1000
1800
1500
2200
4400

Junk
Heavy Weapons
All Heavy weapons have the Heavy and Two-handed Traits and they are Difficult as well, unless they are mounted.
Weapon
Machine gun

Damage
3d6

Range Traits
Long Automatic, Long Reload

Ammo
100

Cost
2500

Harpoon launcher

2d10

Close

Long Reload (Per harpoon), Pierce

3000

Rocket launcher

4d10

Long

Area Effect 10 m, Impact, Long Reload, Loud

5000

Flamer

1 5d6

Reach Uses one ammo per a die of Damage in an

attack. Continuous Damage (Fire), Long Reload,
Rending

30

2000

Explosives
Explosives are weapons or devices that cause damage over a large area. All explosives have the Area Effect and Single
Use Traits.
Explosive
Molotov cocktail
Hand grenade
Flashbang
Dynamite
Plastic explosive

Damage
3d6
3d10
1d10
4d10
5d10

AoE
2m
10 m
5m
15 m
20 m

Traits
Continuous Damage (Fire)
Impact
Impact, Stun
Impact
Impact

29

Cost
20
150
50
200
400

Junk
PERSONAL ARMOR
Personal armor is a whole of protective clothing and equipment put together to absorb or deflect slashing, bludgeoning and penetrating attacks. Most of the protective gear people use in the world of Chthonian Highways is made
out of various pieces of clothing and scavenged protective materials. Actual military grade body armors of the Old
World are very rare and expensive.

Armor Traits
Concealable: This armor can be concealed under other clothing with ease. To notice the armor you must
make a successful Perception check against CL 15
Light: Light armor does not hinder movement in normal circumstances or cause significant burden.
Hard: Hard armor can drop the Damage to zero.
Heavy: You cannot Dodge while wearing heavy armor, and you suffer a Handicap for all Skill Checks requiring stealthiness, agility or flexibility inclluding Initiative checks. In addition to restricted movement,
you cannot recover from Fatigue by resting when wearing heavy armor. It is just too encumbering to relax
sufficiently.

Protective Gear
Armor
Leather jacket
Padded leather
Plastic plate
Chain shirt
Kevlar vest
Tire armor
Full plate
Tac suit (Tactical body armor)
Wargear (Heavy military armor)
Helmet
Shield
Riot shield

Armor Value
1
2
3
3
4
4
5
7
9
+1 Armor
+1 Defense
+2 Defense

Coverage
Torso
Torso
Torso
Torso
Torso
Torso
Full body
Torso
Full body
Head
Front
Front

Traits
Light
Light
Hard
Concealable, Light
Concealable, Light
Heavy
Hard, Heavy
Hard, Heavy
Hard, Heavy
Hard
Hard
Hard

Cost
50
75
150
250
650
200
2000
3000
4500
100
250

CONSUMABLES
Consumable
Water
Food
Gasoline
Booze
Batteries, small
Batteries, large
Car battery

Description
For one person
For one person
Fuel for combustion engines, very flammable
Good for relaxing and anesthesia, flammable
For small electronic devices
For large electronic devices
For vehicles

30

Cost
2 per day
1 per day
3 per gallon
3 per bottle
10
100
200

Junk
AMMO
Firearms use cartridges that have a bullet and propellant substance packed in a metallic case. Most of the cartridges
that are found and traded are still leftovers from the Old World military depots and weapon caches. It is also possible
to reload the cartridges for half the cost with Repair AND Shooting skill of 4 or more, and a set precision tools.
Projectiles used by bows, crossbows and slingshots are fairly easy to produce from scavenged materials, and therefore commonly available.
Ammunition
Regular
Armor Piercing
Hollow-point
Arrow, Bolt or Ball bearing
Rocket

Description
For firearms
Halve Armor, round down; Damage Handicap against unarmored targets
Damage Edge against unarmored targets
For bows, crossbows, slingshots and such weapons
Rocket launcher ammunition

Cost
5
25
10
1
500

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
Medical Equipment
Adrenalin injection
Anesthetic
Blood transfusion equipment

Defibrillator
Field laboratory
Field medical kit

Field surgery kit

First Aid Kit
Microscope
Rubbing Alcohol
Sedatives
Stimulants

Description
Heals 1d8 any Strain immediately once per day. Single use.
Anesthetic drug. Performing major medical operations, such
as surgeries, without anesthesia must be done with a Handicap,
unless the patient succeeds in a Willpower check vs CL 20.
If a character has suffered an Injury, you can transfer up to d4
points from your Body to the injured character. Characters need
to have compatible blood types: roll d20, on a result of 5+ both
characters are compatible, otherwise the operation will be fatal
for the receiver
Provides an Edge when resuscitating a dying character
(4 Exhausted Abilities). Large battery.
Necessary equipment to test, measure and produce various
chemicals and to analyze biological samples
Includes the medical instruments and supplies for demanding
medical emergencies. Can administer first aid and heal 1d6+1
Strain (CL 10) or an Exhaustion (CL15) from a Damaged Ability with a successful Medicine check. Each use requires a First
aid kit.
Set of surgical instruments and supplies. Provides an Edge when
performing surgical operations.
Single use first aid kit, heals 1d4 Strain from a Damaged Ability
with a succesful Medicine check (CL10).
Allows to see microscopic details
Good for disinfecting. Also for anesthesia, if applied properly.
Remove 1d6 points of Strain from a Stressed Ability
Remove 1d6 points of Strain from a Fatigued Ability

31

Cost
80
50 per dose
50

600
350
200

350
25
500
10 per bottle
10 per dose
10 per dose

Junk
ELECTRONIC GEAR
Electronics require batteries to work. Each time you use an electronic device for the first time in a scene, roll d10. If
you rolled a 1, the battery is running out and the battery will run out by the end of the scene. When the battery has
run out, the device will not work until the battery is replaced. When you buy electronic gear, it comes with batteries.
Electronics

Description

Cost

Calculator
Camera
Engine-generator
Geiger counter
Infrared scope
Laptop
Memory card
Military radio
Night vision goggles
Radio
Solar panel and recharger

Solar battery
Small Battery, 1000 pictures
Loud, produces electricity for a small house
Small Battery, Detects radiation at Close range
Small Battery, Can detect heat sources
Large Battery
Can be used with cameras and computers
Large Battery, Range 10 km
Small Battery, Can see in dark
Small Battery, Radio receiver
Can charge batteries, small batteries require 1d4 hours of daylight to
recharge and large batteries 1d8 hours.
Small Battery, Two-way radio, Long Range
Small Battery, 3 hours of video

150
450
5000
350
1500
4000
80
5000
2000
200
2500

Walkie-talkie
Video camera

32

400
3000

Junk
MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT
Equipment
Binoculars
Bipod mount
Camo cloak
Climbing gear
Dust goggles
Electronics tools
Fire extinquisher
Flashlight
Gag muzzle
Gas mask
Ghillie suit
Handcuffs
Jack
Jack, Heavy
Laser pointer
Lighter
Mirror
Padded gloves
Precision tools
Respirator
Rifle Scope
Rope
Rubber patch kit
Shackles
Spray Paint
Tire sealant
Tool box
Watch

Description
Can see up to Long range without Handicap
Can shoot Heavy weapons without a Handicap when braced
Edge for hiding when at Long distance
Anchor pins, carabiners, a climbing pick, chalk, climbing shoes
and such equipment. Provides an Edge for climbing.
Protects eyes from dust and wind
Tools for repairing electronics and to measure electric currents.
Puts out small fires immediately. Single use
Kinetic battery
Prevents talking or biting
A mask worn over the whole face. Gas masks powerful air filters
protect from smoke, gases and other airborne contaminants.
Edge for hiding when at Close distance
Armor 4, Durability 3
Can lift a car or a bike
Can lift a Heavy vehicle
Aiming becomes a Trifle at Close range or closer, Small Battery
Refillable lighter
Fragile
Protects hands from scrathes and bruises
Basic tools needed to repair fine mechanical devices, such as
clocks or firearms, and to reload gun cartridges or to manufacture
forgeries.
An air-filtering device worn over the mouth and nose to prevent
the inhalation of dust, pollen or other small particles.
Increase the weapons range by one step
Light-weight durable rope. It takes 4 points of Damage to cut a
rope under tension (Armor 10 vs Blunt weapons or attacks)
Seals small holes and tears in rubber materials, single use
Armor 6, Durability 6
Different colors. Painting a bike takes one can, normal vehicle five
and a heavy vehicle ten cans.
A can of sealant mass that will patch and fill the tire in a few minutes. The seal lasts for (1d6 x 10) km before breaking again
Basic mechanics tools for fixing mechanical machinery.
A wristwatch with a spring mechanism or a solar cell.

33

Cost
500
50
30
75
15
200
100
100
30
120
80
25
75
150
600
60
30
10
100
40
300
3/m
25
50
30
80
50
250

Vehicles
There is a myriad different vehicles used on the chthonian highways, each and everyone
of them unique in their own way. Practically every vehicle has some customizations and
idiosyncratic fixes made to them over the past twenty years or so.

Its likely that because of this it has become a custom to

name all the vehicles and customize their appearance
to reflect their name. For example a pursuit car named
Tiger Shark could have a paint job with tiger stripes
and pieces of metal resembling sharks teeth could be
welded on the front of the car.

SHINY SNOWFLAKES
Every vehicle that is still moving on the chthonian
highways is more or less unique. Practically every
vehicle has gone through some repairs, modifications
and customizations, that gives the one-of-a-kind feel
for every single vehicle out there.

The players name their characters vehicles before

starting to play, unless there is a good reason for not
naming the vehicle. Driver charcters will not get the
advantage from their Roles special ability before the
vehicle they are driving, is named.

Year by year there are fewer functional vehicles on the

road and because of that the drivers and mechanics
value their rides more than ever.

34

Junk
Vehicle Traits
4WD: Four-Wheel drive vehicles have two or more axles providing power to four wheel ends. This makes
them better on soft ground and at pulling other vehicles. 4WD vehicles gain an Edge to checks that are
related to tire grip or pulling other vehicles.
Bike: Bikes are light vehicles and only half or the Armor value protect the passengers. Bikes can sideswipe
only other Bikes and have a Handicap for Remain Under Control checks. On the other hand the lighter
frame has its benefits Bikes gain an Edge for the following Vehicle Maneuvers: Jump, Evade, Bootlegger
Turn, Hard Turn, Precision Driving and Boost.
Enclosed: The driver and the passengers are well protected inside the vehicle and are very difficult to hit.
Attacks at the passengers are done with a Handicap AND require a Stunt. This also reduces the drivers visibility and makes attacking from the vehicle more difficult. All vehicle maneuvers and attacks from the vehicle
are done with a Handicap.
Heavy: Heavy vehicles have a very large and heavy chassis. The large size and mass makes the vehicle excellent at ramming, but very poor to handle. Add an additional die to Collision Damage, but a Handicap for
Bootlegger Turn, Hard Turn, Boost, Precision Driving and Evasion Maneuvers. Heavy vehicles cannot do
Jump maneuvers.
High-rider: Its more difficult to shoot the passengers, unless the attacker is travelling on a high-rider as well
or standing on a vehicle.
Off-road: Off-road vehicles travel off-road at normal speed and can move on rough terrain at half speed.
Open-topped: Passengers gain only half of the vehicles armor (round down).

VEHICLES
The vehicles listed here are some samples of possible vehicle types used in Chthonian Highways. Practically every
vehicle is unique so these are more like default values or starting points for vehicles.
Vehicle

Hull

Steering

Engine

AV

Fuel

PAX

Vehicle Traits

Enduro bike
Cruiser bike
Trike
Quad
Sandbug
Warbug
Rover
Pick-up
Pursuit car
Scav bus
Monster truck
Truck
Ram tractor
Rig
War rig
Tank

5
6
7
6
8
9
11
10
9
13
12
14
12
16
18
20

6
5
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2

5
6
5
4
5
5
4
4
5
3
5
4
2
3
4
2

3*
4*
4*
4*
5*
5
5
5
5
7
5
6
5
7
8
20

1/3
1/5
2 / 12
1/4
2 / 12
2 / 12
3 / 20
4 /24
3 / 18
3 / 30
4 / 24
6 / 24
10 / 40
5 / 35
8/ 32
120 / 500

2
2
3
2
3
2
5
3
4
10
6
6
2
6
10
5 (2)

Bike, Off-road
Bike
Open-topped
Open-topped, Off-road
Open-topped, Off-road
Off-road

(Burn/Cap.)

500
750
600
900
900
1100
1300
Off-road
1400
4WD
2000
4WD, Off-road
3000
4WD, Off-road, High rider 1900
4WD, High rider, Heavy
8000
Heavy, Off-road
4000
Heavy, High rider
20000
Heavy, High rider
50000
4WD, Off-road, Heavy
500000

*) Bikes and open-topped vehicles offer only half of the armor (round down) for the passengers.

35

Cost

Junk
VEHICLE CUSTOMIZATIONS
Here are some of the common customizations made for the vehicles. This is not a complete list and you can come
up with you own customizations by using this list as a guideline. Use common sense when figuring out how many
customizations fit a vehicle, or if a customization can be made multiple times or at all.
Customization
Booby Trap
Buzzsaw
Deathproofing

Description
3d10 Damage, Area of Effect 10 m, Impact
3d8 Damage when Sideswiping
A seat belt, safety harness or an airbag. -2D Collision Damage. Not for
Bikes
Dead Mans Handle
Vehicle stops safely after a round if the driver is not conscious.
Extra Armor
+2 Armor OR make an open-topped vehicle into regular vehicle OR
make a regular vehicle into Enclosed vehicle.
Extra Fuel Tank
Increase Fuel Capacity by 10, Not for Bikes
Fix-rigging
Edge for repairs when cruising, Heavy vehicles only
Heavy Plating
Upgrade to Extra Armor; +2 Armor, -1 Engine
Hidden Blade
Concealed knife (1d6, Quick), its a Trifle to draw the knife.
Hidden Compartment Can fit a person. Not for Bikes.
Hidden Holster
Fits a pistol and one clip of ammo
Hidden Locker
Can fit a small bag
Holding Cell
Change passenger seats to holding cell (min. 2)
Improved Steering
A bucket seat, racing wheel or power steering. +1 Steering
Kill Switch
The vehicle will not start without a correct switch sequence.
Loudspeaker
Loud, uses the vehicles battery.
Nitro Tank
Increases Engines push limit to 3
Plow
+1D Ramming Damage and -2D to own vehicle. Heavy vehicles only.
Ramming Spikes
Collision Damage becomes Rending, when ramming. Not for Bikes
Riding bars
Fits 2 additional passenger, gives an Edge for Boarding attempts.
Secondary Engine
If Engine Breaks, the secondary Engine will kick in. Secondary Engine
works as Engine 2. Heavy vehicles only.
Shackles
CL 20 to pick, Durability 6, Armor 6
Spikes
Handicap for those who try to board the vehicle
Swing Pole
Board another vehicle from Close range. Not for Bikes.

Cost
300
700*
250 per seat

Side Blades
Tire Shields
Towing Hook
Turbo Engine
Weapon Mount
Winch

200*
180*
20
500*
100
200

Collision Damage becomes Rending when Sideswiping, Not for Bikes.

Increase armor by 4 against Sideswipes. Not for Bikes.
Not for Bikes
The vehicles engine is fitted with a turbocharger. +1 Engine
Attached weapons can be fired without a Handicap. Not for Bikes.
Uses the vehicles engine. Not for Bikes.

*) Double the Cost for Heavy vehicles

36

200
300*
120
400
700*
25
250
15
50
200
200*
150
600
600
600
100*
150*
50% of the
vehicles cost.
50
200*
400

Combat
Living in the post-apocalyptic world of the chthonian highways is harsh, merciless and
dangerous. When you set on a journey through the wastelands, you are lucky if you dont
have to fight or flee for your life. Youre even luckier if you make it unscathed and alive to
your destination.
Ranges

SETTING THE STAGE

Ranges are handled with abstract measures instead

of absolute distances. There are five different range
categories.

Before starting a combat or any other action scene, all

characters and NPCs are divided into groups or independent characters. Usually NPCs with similar statistics are handled as groups, and named and unique
characters, such as the player characters or important
NPCs, are handled as independent characters.

Immediate (0 2 m): The area around a character of roughly a few steps in radius. This is the
typical melee range.
Reach (up to 5 m): A bit further away than just a
quick lunge or a few short steps. Optimal range
for light thrown weapons such as shurikens or
throwing knives or melee weapons with the
Reach trait.
Close (up to 20 m): Optimal range for pistols,
shotguns, burst fire weapons, bows and heavier
thrown weapons like spears or boomerangs.
Long (up to 100 m): Optimal range for most
rifles.
Extreme (over 100 m): Optimal range for scoped
hunting and sniper rifles. Practical range for
most long range rifles is around one kilometer.

All characters in a group act at the same time and

perform their actions. Independent characters each
have their own initiative values and actions.

Environment and Circumstances

When setting the stage for a combat scene, it is also
important to determine any special terrain or other
features that are obvious for all. These features can
create special conditions that might give the characters
Edges or Handicaps or result in other gameplay effects.

Zones

INITIATIVE

If the combat area is particularly large or includes

significantly different smaller areas, it is a good idea
to divide the area into smaller zones. Each zone is
usually up to 20 meters in diameter, that is equivalent to Close range. And of course a zone can be 5
or even 100 meters in diameter if a smaller or bigger
scale is needed.

To determine the order in which all groups and

independent characters can act, all participants in an
encounter make a Perception check at the beginning
of the scene to determine the initiative value for each
group and character. The Initiative roll can be Pushed
with Wits as any Perception Skill Check.

As an example, in a house, each room can be a zone,

and in a ruined city block, each street can be a separate
zone.

The groups and characters will start acting from the

highest to the lowest result. After rolling the initiative,
it can be modified later with Stunts and Troubles.

37

Combat
Examples of Reactions:

ACTING IN COMBAT

Parry: Roll d20 + Fighting to avoid a melee

attack
Dodge: Roll d20 + Athletics to avoid any attack
On Guard: If you were guarding and a target
moves into your line of sight and range, take a
free shot or strike before the opponent acts
Opportunity Action: See below

During each characters turn, they can perform a

Trifle, an Action and a Reaction.

Trifles
Trifles are quick and easy actions that do not require
much concentration. Trifles should never require Skill
Checks. Examples of Trifles:

When a character reacts to defend, he rolls a Skill

Check instead of using the passive skill and the Skill
Check can be pushed further with a related Ability.
If the Skill Check is higher than the passive Defense
value, it is used as the Defense value instead against
the incoming attacks.

Walk: Move up to 5 meters (Within Reach

range)
Quick Reload: Reload a clip-fed, bolt, pump or
lever-action firearm or a bow weapon
Communicate: Give or receive an order, ask a
simple question, or make a gesture
Draw: a holstered or sheathed weapon
Drop or pick up: an item

Opportunity Actions
Opportunity Actions (OA) are situations that allow a
character to perform an Action as a Reaction. These
situations can arise during an action due to Troubles
or actions that other characters take.

Actions
Actions require most of the characters concentration
and effort to perform. Performing an action always
ends the characters turn, and only Reactions are
allowed after this. Examples of Actions:

Fumbling (Trouble): A fumbling opponent is

open to actions of opportunity
Retreat: An enemy that retreats from melee,
with out Disengaging first, is open to Opportunity Actions.
Overwatch: When a character is guarding all
targets moving into line of sight and within
the weapons range, they can be attacked as a
Reaction
Close movement: An opponent moving past
you within your melee weapons range can be
attacked as a Reaction, even if the character was
not on guard.

Dash: Move up to 20 meters (Within Close

range)
Charge: Move straight without obstacles up to
Reach range and attack with an Edge
Attack: Make a melee or ranged attack
Guard: Attack as a reaction if an enemy moves
into line of sight and range after your turn
Aim: Gives an Edge to your next shot or strike
Long Reload: Reload a weapon with Long
Reload trait
Disengage: You spend your action to disengage
safe from the fight.
Switch: weapons or equipment

MAKING ATTACKS
If a your character tries to do something that another
character tries to avoid or resist, you are making an
attack. Attacks are resolved as Skill Checks using
Fighting for melee attacks, Shooting for ranged attacks,
Athletics for thrown weapons and Dexterity for small
thrown weapons. The Skill Checks result is compared
to the targets Defense and if the result is equal to or
higher than Defense, the attack hits. Otherwise, the
attack fails.

Reactions
Reactions are quick reflexive actions that are often
instinctive and triggered by another action. In combat,
reactions can be taken only against opponents that you
are facing and whose actions you are aware of.

38

Combat
Melee Attacks

All ranged weapons, except Pistols, suffer a Handicap

if used in melee for shooting. Thrown or bow weapons
cannot be used in melee

Melee attacks are attacks made unarmed or with a

melee weapon. Melee attacks can be made at targets
at Immediate range or up to Reach range with very
long weapons like spears or polearms. Melee attacks
use always the Fighting skill.

Touch Attacks
Touch attacks are made when a character touches
another and do not require a solid impact or penetrating hit on the target; a light touch is enough. Touch
attacks are always made with an Edge.

Unarmed melee attacks are made with a handicap

against hard armor and armed opponents. Unarmed
attacks cause 1d4 points of damage.

Some ranged attacks can be counted as Touch Attacks

as well, especially if the attack just needs to hit or
glance the target and not cause any damage.

Ranged Attacks
Ranged attacks are attacks that are made with firearms,
bows, thrown weapons or any other weapons that can
harm a target at distance. The used skill depends on
the used weapon:
Skill
Shooting
Dexterity
Athletics

Shooting into Melee

If a ranged attack is attempted at a target that is
engaged in melee, the attack is made with a Handicap.
If the attack would already suffer a Handicap, a Stunt
is required to hit the target.

Weapon or Attack Type

Firearms, bows, crossbows and
slingshots
Small thrown weapons (shurikens,
knives, bolas and boomerangs) and
slings
Large thrown weapons (spears and
heavy thrown objects)

Two-Weapon Fighting
A character can attack with two one-handed Quick
weapons, if both an Action and a Reaction are used to
perform the attack. This can be practical if the player
wants to, for example, kick another foe in Immediate
range and shoot another one at Close range.

All ranged weapons are effective up to their optimal

range and beyond that all attacks are made with a
Handicap.

Alternatively, or if both weapons are not Quick, the

player can choose which weapon is used to make an
attack.

Weapons gain an Edge if the Target is one range category closer than its optimal range. For example, a rifle
that has Long optimal range would gain an Edge when
shooting at targets that are at Close range.

Attacks with the weaker hand are done with a

Handicap. In practice the player states which weapon
is in the characters weaker hand.

Range
The target is one step Closer than the optimal range
The target is one or more steps Further than the optimal range
Shoot a firearm in In Melee or Immediate range

39

Effect on Attack
Edge
Handicap
Handicap

Combat
Cover and Visibility

DEFENSE

If at least half of your target is obscured or in cover,

or the target is prone, you will suffer a handicap to all
attacks against this target.

When in combat, it is assumed that all characters are

trying to avoid getting hit by using cover or trying to
position themselves so that they can avoid harm to the
best of their ability. All attacks are made against the
characters Defense value, unless the character uses
a Reaction to Parry or Dodge an incoming attack.
Defense value is equal to 10 + Athletics + other possible modifiers.

If you cannot see your target, you can still attack, but
hit only if you spend a Stunt to hit your target. In addition to this, your target gains an Edge for all attack and
defense checks made against you.

Small and Large targets

There might still be occasions when you or your

target are being surprised or are totally unaware of the
incoming attack, or you use all your own Action to
avoid getting hit, not just try to stay out of harms way,
while doing something else at the same time. These
circumstances affect your Defense or the attackers
Skill Check as described below.

Small targets (smaller than a domestic dog) are harder

to hit and gain a +5 bonus to their Defense.
However, targets that are twice the size of a man or
larger, like cars or large animals including horses are
easier to hit. These targets have a -5 penalty to their
Defense.

Parrying and Dodging

Small targets Defense = 15 + Athletics

Large targets Defense = 5 + Athletics

By using a Reaction, a character can try to Parry or

Dodge an incoming attack after the attack roll is made.
A characters Parry or Dodge action affects all attacks
from one source or opponent. If your Parry or Dodge
result is equal to or higher than the attackers result,
your character manages to avoid attacks at the last
moment.

DISENGAGING
If a character turns and retreats from a fight without
any preparation or covering fire, all opponents that
can attack the retreating character at that moment, can
make a free attack at the character.

A character can Parry only in melee, unless stated otherwise in these rules. Parrying is made with a handicap
if your character is not armed, but the opponent is.

A character can take a Disengage action to retreat

safely from a fight. Disengage action is a normal
attack with an Edge and on a successful attack, instead
of dealing damage or other effects to the target, the
character can retreat instead without provoking free
attacks at him even if the opponent was on guard.

Dodge can be used to avoid melee and ranged attacks.

When avoiding melee attacks, this usually means
taking cover, and if your character is in the open, you
take a Handicap. Respectively, if your character is in
terrain that offers plenty of light cover or obscures
visibility, he will gain an Edge.
Parrying = Target rolls d20 + Fighting
Dodging = Target rolls d20 + Athletics
Situation
Target stationary and unaware
Target surprised
Defensive Stance

Effect
Halve the Targets Defense (round down) for ranged attacks, Melee attacks
hit automatically.
Attacker gains an Edge
Attackers suffer a Handicap

40

Combat
DAMAGE

ARMOR

If an attack hits, it usually causes damage. Each

weapon or attack has Damage dice value and a hit
causes damage equal to the damage rolls result plus
any modifiers.

Armor is worn to protect from injury, and it comes

in many sizes and shapes. Armor reduces incoming
damage by its value to a minimum of 1 Damage point,
unless the armor is Hard, in which case it can reduce
the Damage to zero.

Bonus Damage Dice

Armor doesnt offer any protection against Fatigue or

Stress. Armor works only against attacks that it can
absorb or deflect. As an example Armor does not
protect from drowning or poisons.

Stunts or other circumstances can add dice to Damage.

In these cases, the added dice are always of the same
type as the weapon or attack damage dice. For
example: if the damage is 2d6, +1d damage will add
one d6 to damage.

Against Area Effect weapons (e.g. explosions, fire,

falling damage) Armors value is halved and rounded
down.

Damage Edge and Handicap

INJURIES

Some special weapons or attacks can have a Damage

Edge or Handicap. It works the same as with Skill
checks.

If a character suffers so much Damage that it Exhausts

two Abilities with one hit, the character is seriously
injured. Roll d10 and reference the result from the
table below to see how the character is affected. An
Injury takes 2d4 weeks to heal with normal rest and
the recovery time is halved if treated by someone with
a Medicine skill of 5 or more.

If the attack has a Damage Edge, you roll an extra

die and drop the lowest die from the total. Damage
Handicap adds a die to the Damage roll, but the
highest result is dropped from the total.

1d10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Injury
Broken arm
Broken leg
Lost hearing on one
side
Broken bones
Broken jaw
Internal bleeding
Punctured lung

8
9

Lost eye
Severed artery

10

Major head trauma

Effect
Arm is useless (1d10: 1-5 = secondary, 6-10 = primary)
You can only crawl without support
Handicap to hearing Perception
Handicap to Defense and all Body skills
Difficulty with speech, 1n4 lost teeth
Suffer 1 damage per hour for 1d12 hours
Handicap to all actions, suffer 1 Damage every hour until treated, Medicine
(CL15)
Handicap to shooting and sight Perception
Suffer 1 Damage at the start of each round until you are treated, Medicine
(CL 20)
Unconscious and dead unless treated within 1d6 hours, Medicine (CL 20)

41

Combat
COMBAT STUNTS
Combat Stunts are special maneuvers that the character can take in combat. Maneuvers can be performed by using
Stunts. Each maneuver requires a Stunt to be performed successfully. Some Combat Stunts might have additional
effects if more than one Stunt is used for the maneuver.
Example: Mikal tries to knock out a guard. A knockout requires two Stunts, so in practice this means that the
opponents Defense must be beaten by 10 or more. Mikal has the element of surprise on his side, and he gains an
Edge to his attack roll. Mikals Fighting is 4, and he gets a 16 from the dicethanks to the Edge. His result of 20
against the opponents Defense of 12 is not enough to knock the opponent out. The player decides to use a point
of Velocity and add d10 to the result. The Velocity boost adds 4 to the result, bringing the total to 24, which is
enough to knock out the opponent.
Combat Stunt
Disarm
Called Shots

Knockdown
Push
Grab
Hold

Throw
Knockout

Weak Spot

Maneuver Description
Force your opponent to drop a weapon or an object hes holding. With an extra Stunt,
you can grab the weapon or the object for yourself from your opponent if you are within
Immediate range from your opponent.
Called shots are attacks that are targeted against a specific body part or a precise hit location to bypass armor or cause a specific injury. Called shots can be made against objects
as well. Targetting objects that are smaller than a basketball require a called shot and
objects that are roughly the size of a cigarette pack or smaller require a Called Shot with a
Handicap.
Force your opponent to fall to the ground. It will take an Action for the opponent to get
back to their feet. A knocked down character has to take all attacks with a Handicap and
all opponents within Reach range gain an Edge to all attacks against the character.
Move your opponent 1d4 meters directly away from you. With an additional Stunt you
can determine the direction of movement.
You grab your opponent. You need at least one hand to grab your opponent and this
makes it possible to continue with other maneuvers like Hold or Throw. When you have
grabbed your opponent, you each have an Edge when trying to hit one another.
You take a firm hold or make a joint lock on your opponent and your opponent is unable
to move or act until he spends a Stunt or makes a successful Strength or Fighting Skill
Check against 10 + your Strength or Fighting.
After a successful Grab maneuver, you can throw your opponent on the ground and deal
1d6 points of damage. Additional Stunts can be used to throw your opponent 1d4 meters
away from you to any direction.
You stun your enemy so that he becomes disoriented and needs 1d6 rounds to recover
from the stunning blow. With an additional Stunt, your opponent is knocked unconscious for the rest of the scene. A stunned or unconscious opponent is stationary and
cannot take any Actions or Reactions until recovered.
Strike a weak spot to cause more damage. This might mean a joint in the opponents
armor, vital organs, arteries or nerve clusters. Striking a weak spot adds one die to the
damage roll per Stunt.

42

Combat
dice from the continuous damage pool if the die comes
up as 1.

AUTOMATIC FIRE
Some firearms are capable of automatic fire. When
firing automatically, you spend 15 rounds of ammo
for a short burst or 30 rounds for a long burst. A short
burst adds one die to your attack attack Skill Check,
and a long burst adds two dice.

Example: Titus throws a molotov at an abominable creature and rolls for damage. He rolls 3d6 and
gets a three and double sixes! The creature is set on
fire and both dice are rolled again at the beginning
of the next turn. This time the dice come up as 1
and 5. Six points of damage, but one of the damage
dice is removed and next time only one die is rolled
for continuous damage.

Stunts AND Special Effects (SFX) from automatic fire

can produce additional hits to the same target or other
targets within Reach range from the originating target.
In addition to automatic bursts, automatic weapons
can fire 3-round bursts with a single pull of a trigger.
This uses 3 rounds of ammo, but you gain an Edge
against a single target that is within the optimal range.

POISON
Poisons or medical drugs can have various effects
and an effort can be made to resist them. This does
not actually represent neutralizing the poison, but
resisting its effects.

CONTINUOUS DAMAGE
Fire, poisons and acid, for example, can cause continuous damage over a number of turns: fire can burn
until its fuel is exhausted, poisons will stay within the
victims system for minutes, and acid will eat through
substances over time. When rolling for the damage
in the first round, if any of the damage dice produce
a Special Effect (SFX), the damage effect will be continuous. Take aside the dice that came up with a top
result and roll for damage again at the beginning of
each round before any of the characters act. Remove

To resist a poison, roll a Strength Skill Check against

the poisons Potency. If the Check is successful, only
mild effects are suffered. A Stunt can be used to shake
off the effects completely. If the Check fails, the poison
takes full effect on the character.
All drugs take effect immediately, regardless of how
they are administered, unless stated otherwise in the
poisons description. Poisoned blades or projectiles
have enough poison for one hit.

Poison
Tear Gas

Potency Mild Effect

15
Handicap to all actions for
1d6 turns
Tranquilizing drug
15
1d6 Fatigue to Wits
Mild venom
10
1d4 Damage
Deadly venom
20
2d6 Damage
Paralyzing poison
20
1d6 Fatigue to Precision
Nightmare hallucinogenic
20
1d6 Stress

43

Full Effect
Unable to act voluntarily for 1d6 turns
Unconscious for 1d4 hours
2d4 Damage
4d6 Damage
Paralyzed for 2d10 minutes
3d6 Stress

Combat
FALLING DAMAGE

Choose a primary target and make an attack with an

Edge. If the target is hit, the target takes an extra die
of damage and other targets within the radius take the
normal damage.

If a character falls down to ground, he suffers Falling

Damage from the impact. As a rule of thumb a character suffers d6 points of Damage for every starting three
meters (or floors) fallen, up to 10 dice at maximum.

Explosive Damage

Prepared jump: If the character jumps voluntarily, he can make an Athletics check against CL
10 to reduce the damage by two dice + a die per
Stunt.
Water: When falling on water, add a die for
every ten meters fallen, instead of three.
Soft ground: If the surface, the character falls
on, is particularly soft or elastic, reduce the
Damage by two dice.
Rough surface: If the surface is uneven, hard or
sharp, like edged rocks for example, add two dice
to the damage.

If a target is hit by an explosive projectile, like a rocket

or grenade, or is in contact with an explosive when
it detonates, the target will receive the full potential
damage. To give an example, a creature hit with a
rocket launcher would suffer 40 points of damage
instead, making a damage roll with 4d10.
Double the damage if the explosion happens inside the
target. This could happen for example if a grenade is
thrown inside a vehicle or into a creatures gaping maw.
Other targets that are within the area of effect, but are
not directly, hit suffer the normal rolled damage. Roll
once for all similar targets and separately for all unique
targets, such as player characters.

HIT LOCATIONS
By default all hits are treated equally regardless of the
hit location. If the situation calls for it, or you want to
add an extra level of detail and complexity to your
fights, you can roll a d10 to determine the hit location.

Hit Deviation
if an area effect weapon misses its target, you can roll
for deviation and see where the hit lands in case some
other targets might still be within the area of effect.

Injuries: If a hit causes an Injury choose or re-roll until

you get a result that matches with the hit location.

Roll a d8 for the direction and another die roll or

deviation range. To determine the deviation range in
meters, roll d4 for Reach range or closer, d6 for Close,
d8 for Long and d10 for Extreme range.

Head and Neck hits: Hits to the head or the neck cause
an extra die of Damage.
1d10
1
2
3
48
9
10

Hit Location
Head (or neck)
Right arm
Left arm
Torso
Right leg
Left leg

1
8

2
Roll

AREA EFFECTS

Area effect weapons affect all targets within their area

of effect radius. Usually these are explosives, but can be
flammable or gas weapons as well.

44

1d8

WHEELS
VEHICLE SPECS

OTHER FEATURES

Vehicles are described by Specs that represent their

performance and durability. When driving a vehicle,
a character can use the vehicles Specs to push Skill
Checks instead of his own Abilities. For instance, if a
character is trying to do a bootlegger turn, he could
use the vehicles Steering instead of his Precision.
Vehicles Specs can be pushed by one point per round.

While the Specs descibing the vehicles performance,

each vehicle has additional features like Fuel consumption, Armor and Passenger capacity.

Fuel (B/C)
Each Vehicle has two Fuel values: Burn and Capacity.
The Burn represents the fuel consumption per 100
kilometers and the Capacity is the fuel capacity in U.S.
gallons (3,785 liters).

When the character pushes with one of the Specs, the

Specs are strained, exactly like when pushing with an
Ability. The strain on Specs represents the wear and
tear on machinery as the character revs the vehicle.
Restoring a Spec requires maintenance and adjustments, and when one of the Specs gets exhausted, it
becomes broken until the vehicle is repaired.

Fuel can also be burned voluntarily to give an Edge

when trying to move or maneuver fast, such as in a
high-speed car chase, for instance. One point of Fuel
can be burned this way once per scene.

Hull (H)

Armor Value (AV)

Robustness, build and integrity of the vehicle chassis.

Hull is used when ramming or using the vehicles mass
or build.

A vehicles Armor value represents how much it

offers protection for the vehicle and its passengers.
Motorcycles and open-topped vehicles obviously offer
less protection than vehicles with enclosed cabins, and
the Armor value affecting the passengers is halved
(round down) and shown in parenthesis after the
actual Armor value.

Steering (S)
Steering and handling of the vehicle are pushed with
the Steering. The Spec is used for evasion and special
maneuvers.

As regular armor, a vehicles armor reduces the damage

inflicted on the vehicle or its passengers. A vehicles
Armor always counts as Hard armor.

Engine (E)
Torque, acceleration and speed of the vehicle are governed by the Engine. This Spec is used in pursuit and
when trying to max the speed of the vehicle.

45

Wheels
Passengers (PAX)

VEHICLE MOVEMENT

The number of passengers the vehicle can fit comfortably is given as a number value under the Passengers
feature, and the crew needed to operate the vehicle
is given in parenthesis, if more than one person is
required to operate the vehicle. For example, a vehicle
with a Passengers stat of 5 (2) would fit five passengers in total and two of them are needed to operate
the vehicle.

Pursuit
When a pursuit begins, set a number that represents
the distance between the vehicles. Usually three is a
good number to start with.
Each round, the drivers make opposing Driving checks
Pushed with Engine. The highest result gets to decide
if the distance between the vehicles is increased or
decreased by one step, in addition to being increased
or decreased by one step per Stunt. For example, if the
vehicles started the pursuit at distance 3 and the driver
chasing the other vehicle won the Driving check with a
Stunt, he could decrease the range down to one.

VEHICLE ACTIONS
Vehicular combat is handled much like regular combat
with a few exceptions. There are rounds and turns as
usual, and initiative is rolled when necessary. The
biggest difference is how movement is tracked. In
a typical situation, all the vehicles are moving and
usually in the same general direction, unless the action
takes place around a location, building or stationary
object. These situations are handled a bit differently
and explained below in Vehicle Movement.

When the distance drops to zero, the vehicles movement should change to being grid-based. If the distance grows to six or more, the other vehicle manages
to escape, at least for now.

46

Wheels
The Grid

Terrain

The grid is an abstract map used for measuring movement and distances between vehicles. When vehicular
combat begins, draw a grid of suitable size, or use
squared paper to track the vehicle movement. Each
grid square roughly represents a 20 by 20 meter area.

Mostly the driving conditions on the chthonian

higways are decent. The road is fairly flat and unobstructed. But it would be a miracle, if a trip would not
include an occasional detour through the badlands,
or a road with shattered asphalt or scattered junk and
rubble.

If you are in the same grid square with another vehicle,

it is considered that you are right next to it or up to
Reach range away from it. Vehicles in adjacent grid
spaces are within Close range from each other,or up
to 20 meters apart. Up to three vehicles can be in the
same grid space at the same time.

Off-road: Most vehicles are designed for travel on roads

or other relatively flat terrain. Normal vehicles cannot
travel off-road at High Speed and suffer a Handicap for
Vehicle Maneuvers.

Rough terrain: Rough terrain is very uneven terrain that

is impossible to traverse with normal vehicles. Vehicles
designed for off-road terrain can move through rough
terrain at half speed and suffer a Handicap to all
Vehicle Maneuvers.

Movement and Speed

In Combat or similar situations, vehicles have different movement speeds. These rules do not measure
the absolute speeds of the vehicles, but their relative
movement and speed instead. The vehicle moves in the
initiative turn of the driver or when the driver makes a
maneuver as a Reaction.

Slippery: Slippery terrain is dangerous to travel through

at high speeds. All Vehicle Maneuvers are done at a

Handicap, and all die results of 1 lead to losing control,
after which the driver must make a Remain Under
Control check immediately. This is an additional effect
on top of the normal Trouble you suffer from rolling
ones, and does not count as a Trouble.

Cruise (Trifle): Move one square in any direction, straight or diagonally.

High Speed (Action): Move up to two squares.
Moving forward or backwards is unrestricted,
but the vehicle can move only one square to
either side.
Maneuver (Action): Perform a maneuver and
move accordingly.
Stationary (Free): No movement, cannot perform vehicle maneuvers, halve Defense value.
Fast Vehicle: The vehicle with the highest
Engine value, gain an additional square of movement. If there are multiple vehicles with the same
Engine value, they all gain the bonus.
Chase: When the majority of vehicles are moving into the same general direction, the vehicles
are giving Chase, and the vehicle movement is
reduced by 1 square.

Soft ground: Soft ground is squashy or soft terrain like

sand, mud, snow or swamp. Vehicles traveling on soft
ground have a chance to become bogged. All Vehicle
Maneuvers are done at a Handicap and all dice results
of 1 can lead to the vehicle getting stuck. The driver
must immediately make a Remain Under Control
check or the vehicle gets stuck. This is an additional
effect on top of the normal Trouble you suffer from
rolling ones and does not count as a Trouble.

Mixed Movement
If vehicles and people or monsters move in the grid,
consider each grid being a 20 x 20 meter area. It takes
an action to move to any of the adjacent grid spaces or
a trifle to move within the same area.

Moving in Reverse
Vehicles can move in reverse, but only in Cruise Speed,
and the driver suffers a Handicap to all Driving checks.

47

Wheels
Vehicle Maneuvers
All vehicle maneuvers are either Actions or Reactions and require a Driving check against the given Challenge level.
Each maneuver is associated with one of the vehicles Specs for Pushing the Skill Checks.
Maneuver
Boost

CL
10

Hard Turn

15

Bootlegger turn

20

Cut-Off

Defense

Jump

15 short,
20 long

Precision Driving

15

Remain Under Control 10

Ram

Defense

Sideswipe

Defense

Evade

Special

Push Description
E Move an additional square + one square per Stunt as in High Speed
movement.
S Do a sudden 90 degree turn. Move one square forward and up to
two squares to either side.
S Do a 180 degree turn without slowing down or stopping. You can
switch to reverse immediately after a Bootlegger turn, or continue to
move to the opposite direction at Cruise speed.
S Move in front of another vehicle in the same square with you and
block its movement. The other vehicles driver must immediately
make an Evade check as a Reaction to avoid crashing into the
blocking vehicle. If the Evasion check is successful, the vehicles do
not collide, but the blocked vehicle must stop, unless the Driver has
a Stunt.
E Short jump allows the vehicle to move one grid square forward over
a gap or an obstacle, provided that there is a proper platform available. Long jump moves two grid squares forward. Heavy vehicles
cannot jump. The Jump maneuver is done with a Handicap at Cruise
speed, but normally at High speed.
S All kinds of maneuvers requiring great precision are done as Precision Driving checks. Examples of Precision Driving include such
feats as driving through very narrow passages, driving on two
wheels or drifting.
S Whenever the driver makes quick corrections to the vehicles course
or tries to regain control of the vehicle, a Remain Under Control
check is made. This is done as a Reaction.
H Ram the vehicle at another vehicle, character or creature. Make a
Driving check against the targets Defense. Ramming can be Dodged
or Evaded but not Parried. See Collisions & Crashes below for
details as to when a target is hit. Ramming attack suffer a Handicap
against characters.
H Hit another vehicle from the side and try to damage it or push it off
the road or cause it to spin. Make a Driving check against the target
vehicle, and if the check is successful, the target vehicles driver must
immediately make a Remain Under Control check as a Reaction,
or lose control of the vehicle. Bikes will always fall over if control is
lost.
S Evasive maneuvers can be made as a Reaction to avoid the vehicle
being hit or crashed. If the Evasion check result is equal to or higher
than the CL or the opposing result, the driver manages to avoid the
threat.

48

Wheels

CHASE COMBAT

Boarding
Jumping or climbing from a vehicle to another is
called Boarding. Boarding can be made within Reach
range and the two vehicles need to be in the same grid
square. Boarding from Immediate range requires an
Athletics check against DL 10 and from Reach range
against DL 15. If the vehicle happens to have something that can be firmly grabbed, the check can be
made with an Edge.

Vehicle Defense
Vehicles are relatively big and therefore quite easy to
hit, even if they are travelling fast. Vehicles have a
Defense value of 10, except for Heavy vehicles, which
are very easy to hit and have Defense of 5.
Drivers can make Evade maneuvers to avoid hits by
taking a Reaction.

Boarding can be avoided by making an Evade maneuver. If the Evade check result is higher than the boarding characters Athletics check result, the boarding
fails, and the boarding action is aborted at the last
second.

Attacking from a Vehicle

Attacking with a ranged weapon from a moving vehicle
is not easy business. The ride in the middle of a chase
can be quite rough, and the vehicles driver might have
to make unexpected moves just when you are pulling
the trigger. All ranged attacks from a moving vehicle
are made with a Handicap.

Attacking Passengers
A character can target a passenger on a vehicle instead
of targeting the vehicle. In this case, the attack is
done against the passenger, and the vehicles Armor is
reduced from the Damage before resolving its effects
on the target.

Mounted Weapons
Mounted weapons are more stable, and do not suffer
the usual Handicap when attacking from a moving
vehicle.

If the attacker tries to hit the passengers directly,

bypassing the vehicles armor, the attack must be done
with a Handicap. Enclosed vehicles and High-Riders,
need a Stunt for a direct hit.

49

Wheels
COLLISIONS & CRASHES

Maintenance & Repair

Collision Damage for the vehicle and the passengers is

2d10 for Cruise speed. Passengers and the vahicle are
protected by the vehicles Armor.

A Strained engine can be fixed with proper maintenance: cooling down the engine, tightening loose
bolts and cleaning the engine parts, for example.
Maintenance requires about two hours and removes
1d6 points of Strain from any Spec that is not broken.
A vehicle can be maintained up to twice a day.

Modifiers to Collision Damage:

High speed: +1D
Head-on Collision: +1D
Heavy vehicle: +1D against lighter vehicles, +2D
against Bikes
Ramming from the rear: -1D
Deathproofing customization: -2D

Patching: Quick patching can be done with a successful

Repair or Driving Skill Check against CL 15. A successful patching removes 1d6 points of strain. Patching
takes an Action to perform.

Repairs: Broken Specs need to be repaired before they

can be maintained. Repairs take about 8 man-hours
and require spare parts worth 1d100 bitz

DAMAGING VEHICLES

Wrecked Vehicles

When a vehicle is shot, beaten or crashed, the Damage

goes to Hull first, then to Steering and finally to
Engine.

If all of the Vehicles Specs are broken, the vehicle is

wrecked, and beyond repair. The vehicle might be
good for spare parts, but theres no point trying to fix
that piece of junk anymore.

Breaking down
When a vehicle stat is reduced to zero, it is Broken.

A wrecked vehicle is worth 2d20 x 10 bitz in spare

parts. Salvaging all the useful parts from a wrecked
vehicle takes roughly 15 minutes per 10 bitz of salvage.
Add an extra die to the salvage roll for Heavy vehicles,
and subtract a die for Bikes.

There are no side-effects to Hull being Broken,

except for the banged up metal, lost bumpers and
broken lights, but when the Steering or Engine are
Exhausted the vehicles performance will suffer. If both
the Steering and Engine are Exhausted, the vehicle
becomes non-operational until fixed.

Example: Characters find a wrecked motorcycle in

the desert and decide to take it into parts. One die
is subtracted from the salvage roll, and a single d10
comes up as 7. That means the salvage is worth
70 bitz, and it would take at least an hour and 45
minutes to take the parts out of the wreck.

Exhausted Steering: When the Steering is

exhausted, all Skill Checks related to controlling
the vehicle are done with a Handicap.
Exhausted Engine: When the Engine is broken,
all Skill Checks related to speed, acceleration or
the engines torque are done with a Handicap.

Damage Hull Wheel Engine

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Wheels
Critical Damage
If two Specs are broken from a single hit, the vehicle suffers critical damage. Roll from the table below to see what
happens.
1d10
1

Critical Damage
Engine failure

Window broken

3
4

Tire shredded
Passenger Hit

5
6

Door lost
Fuel Leak

Engine in flames

Spin

9
10

Flip
Explosion!

Effect
The vehicles engine suddenly shuts down, and restarting takes an Action and
requires Driving Skill Check against CL10.
Gain Handicap on high speed maneuvers and pursuit when driving without
goggles.
Gain Handicap on all maneuvers
The attack hits a passenger for half the damage. See attacking passengers for
the action resolution.
The Vehicles armor on the doors side is halved.
Lose 1 fuel per turn until the leak is fixed with a successful Repair check vs CL
10.
The vehicle is in flames and the vehicle and its passengers will take 2d6 Damage at the beginning of each round until the fire is extinguished or it goes out
as per the Continuous Damage rules.
The vehicle goes into an uncontrollable spin and might crash into adjacent
vehicles or objects. Bikes fall over and the passengers take Collision Damage
The vehicle flips on its side or roof.
The vehicle explodes spectacularly, and bits and pieces of burning metal
scatter around. The vehicle is immediately wrecked and beyond repair, and all
passengers take 5d10 points of damage, along with everyone within five meters
taking 1d10 points of damage.

Losing Control
What happens when the driver is suddenly dead (or passes out) (d6)
1d6
1
2
3
4
5
6

Effect
Pedal to the metal! The gas pedal is stuck and the vehicle moves forward with full speed
Sudden stop. The vehicle stops after moving to squares forward.
Vehicle turns sharply. Vehicles in the same square have to evade (CL 10) or suffer 1d10 Collision
Damage.
Vehicle spins out of control. The driver must make an immediate Remain Under Control Check
or the vehicle crashes and takes Collision Damage.
Vehicle rolls over. The passengers and the vehicle take Collision Damage with an additional die.
Vehicle continues forward with decelerating speed and stops after moving 1d6 round at Cruise
Speed straight forward.

51

FEAR & MADNESS

The horrible monsters that crawled into our world from beneath the earth and depths
of the oceans are not only dreadful in their appearance, many of these creatures defy
rational thinking and the laws of physics as we know them. Their eldricht presence is disturbing on an instinctual level, invoking fear and distress in the most primal and ancient
parts of human brain and consciousness.
If the characters Madness score is three points higher
than another character with whom he is interacting, he
will suffer a Handicap for all social Skill Checks.

MADNESS
Madness measures your characters mental stability
and corruption of the mind. In the world of eldritch
horror and weird phenomena, Madness is not only a
flaw. When you detach your mind from rational thinking and the constraints of mundane senses, you expose
your mind to the true, chaotic nature of reality and
can perceive things that sane peoples consciousnesses
cannot comprehend. This distorted insight allows
insane people to understand the alien scriptures, rites
and devices the horrors have brought to our world
with them.

Impulses
Madness weakens the characters impulse control, and
resisting Vices and Disorders becomes more and more
difficult as sanity seeps away from the character.
Resisting impulses caused by a Vice, a disorder or other
sources like telepathic suggestions is a Willpower
check vs 10 + Madness.

Madness ranges from 0 to 10, where 10 is totally insane

and completely detached from the rational thinking. A
character with a Madness of 10 is overpowered by the
voices calling in the dreams, and therefore cannot be
played anymore as a player character.

Stress Resilience
Madness acts like Armor, but for Stress. Each point of
Madness reduces Strain suffered from Stress by one
point, to a minimum of 1 point.

Losing it

Understanding the Incomprehensible

Each time a character fails a Sanity Check, he also

gains a point of Madness and an additional point each
time a Disorder is gained. As the Madness score rises,
the character will gradually start losing his contact
with reality and starts to dream more frequent and
vivid dreams with recurring settings , characters and
events. Usually, these dreams wake a strong urge in
the character to seek the source of the dreams either
consciously or unconsciously. This can be presented as
Compulsion disorder, for example.

Becoming insane sets the character free from the

prison of rational thinking and inspires him to
understand the strange artifacts and writings of the
otherworldly beings that have taken over our world.
When making a Mythos Skill Check to understand
something strange, you can add your Madness rating
to the Skill Check. You can also subtract the Madness
score from the Experience point cost of learning to use
mythos artefacts, symbols or rites.

52

Fear & Madness

SANITY CHECKS

If the Sanity check is successful, the character retains

self-control and all is well. If the Sanity check is failed,
the character suffers Stress based on the Intensity of
the situation and a point of Madness.

Sanity Checks are made to test if the character is

overpowered by fear or confusion and loses rational
thinking and self-control.

Sanity Check = d20 + Willpower + Madness

Sanity check is a Willpower Skill Check, except that

the character can add Madness to their Willpower
skills level when making the check. The circumstances
can provide an Edge or Handicap for the Sanity check.
If the character is in an oppressive environment or is
helpless, he will suffer a Handicap to the Sanity check.
If the character feels that hes safe and protected or in
company of more than two friends, he will gain an
Edge to the Sanity check.

Oppressive environment or being helpless (restrained,

paralyzed, etc) = Handicap to the Sanity check
Feeling secure or having more than two friends around =
Edge to the Sanity check

A Sanity check is made immediately when a character

realizes or comes into contact with something deeply
disturbing or terrifying.

53

Fear & Madness

FEAR RATING AND INTENSITY
Fear Ratings determine the Challenge Level for the Sanity checks, while Stress Intensity is the amount of Stress
suffered from a failed Sanity check. The examples below should be considered more like guidelines because every
situation and character is unique and should be considered separately.

Fear Rating
Situation
Being attacked by mutated animals or witnessing the deaths of multiple people
Witnessing torture or being attacked by mutated humans
Witnessing the murder of a close friend, being attacked by aberrant creatures or suffering from
serious personal loss or torture
Witnessing cannibalism or paranormal activity, or being injured by an aberrant creature
Being attacked by paranormal or alien entities, or being cannibalized
Reality shattering terror, being torn between dimensions and space-time

Fear Rating
6
9
12
15
18
21

Stress Intensity
Intensity
Psychically violated, parasitic invasion, body horror in general, all senses affected
Assaulted, Immediate range, all senses affected
Within Reach range, one or two sense affected
Within Close range, one sense affected
Within Long range, obscured sensation with a single sense
Not in immediate vicinity, seen or heard on a recording.

Stress
1d20
1d12
1d10
1d8
1d6
1d4

Example: Jona falls down into a cave and is separated from the others. His only light source in the darkness is his
lighter, which allows just enough light to show that the cave floor is filled with bloated and decapitated corpses.
The stench of the rotted remains is overwhelming. The GM calls for a Sanity check with a Fear Rating of 9, but
with a Handicap because Jona is alone in the darkness without any knowledge of his whereabouts or what might
have decapitated the corpses. Jonas player fails the Sanity check. As Jona is practically treading on corpses, the
GM states that he is in immediate contact with them and suffers 1d10 points of Stress.

54

Fear & Madness

DISORDERS
If a character suffers Stress so much at once that it Exhausts two Abilities, the character suffers a Disorder. Roll d10
from the table below to see how the mental trauma affects the character.
Disorders are a damaged minds attempt to defend itself from total collapse, and affect the conscious actions of the
character. A character is able to act against a disorder to defend in combat or when trying to escape from mortal
danger. A gameplay effect of a Disorder is triggered by game events related to the Disorder, and the effect lasts for
the rest of the scene.

1d10
1

Disorder
Insomnia

Uncontrollable
stutter

Target Phobia

Induced Anxiety

Selective Amnesia

Compulsion

Paranoid delusion

Factual delusion

Hallucinations

10

Illusory pain

Effect
The character has recurring nightmares, making resting harder. The nightmares
occur no matter what time of day it is and cause the character to gain only half of a
rests benefits.
The character gains an uncontrollable stutter manifesting in a social situation. This
stutter may affect speech or other forms of communication including writing or
body movements. This disorder causes a handicap whenever the character is interacting socially.
The character has a sudden phobia of snakes, insects, or some other type of creature. The phobia causes a handicap die whenever this creature is present and stops
the character from going near the creature.
The character has a fear of open spaces, people or certain situations. This anxiety
creates a handicap, but does not prevent the character from entering the situation
or place inducing the anxiety.
The character forgets something current, and will not remember any facts related
to the thing, even if reminded of the fact. Its like the thing would not exist for the
character.
The character suffers from a compulsive pattern of behaviour, such as the need to
wash his hands after a fight or to change clothes when getting out of a car. If the
compulsion is not met, the character gains a handicap until he is able to fulfill the
compulsion.
The character becomes certain that some undefinable horror is out there, and
it is actively trying to harm the character. Any accidents or portents that can be
attributed to the undefined, have to be attributed to the undefinable horrors that
scheme to destroy the world or the character themselves.
The character gains a semi-permanent delusion about a fact. The delusion may take
a form of a superstitious belief, and the character suffers when acting without a
lucky charm, for example. This delusion will only be strengthened if its questioned,
and all evidence to counter the delusions are interpreted as lies or deception.
The characters comprehension of whats really happening is starting to falter, and
he developes a recurring hallucination about, for example, people on the roadside
or children starving.
The character starts to feel phantom pain and other symptoms of an internal wound
or disease. This pain has all the symptoms of a physical wound and may even be
healed by normal means for a time. If healed physically, the disorder manifests as
another wound or disease within a week.

55

THE RIG RAID

A Ready-to-play high octane car chase adventure for 2-4 characters.

OVERVIEW

The fort houses more than a thousand citizens, and it

is the local hub for trade and oil commerce. The Sacred
Oils bazaars have everything you might need; even
occasional artifacts or working electronic devices.

The characters are hired by the head priest of the

Sacred Oil fort to stop a truck that has kidnapped
some of the patriarchs finest acolytes. When they
chase the truck, they quickly understand that they are
dealing with the servants of the Cult of Yuggoth and
the mi-go flesh husks who are taking the kidnapped
acolytes brains to the mi-go hive in the mountains up
north. The adventure is mostly full octane, high speed
car chases and vehicular combat.

How we came to this?

Sometimes starting the adventure directly from
the chase just does not feel right. A good way to
create some backstory for the game or flesh out
the characters is to play a flashback scene as a
prologue. The scenario still starts from the chase,
but the scene will be interrupted after the initial
description - to a flashback of what happened
last night as the characters were preparing for
the operation. After playing the events of previous night, you can continue to the chase scene
and do a short recap on whats happening in
the scene.

BACKSTORY
The characters are contacted by the patriarch and the
head priest of the Sacred Oil Fort to chase the cargo
truck that is transporting people kidnapped from
Sacred Oil. He offers one thousand gallons of fuel as
a reward. As usual, when the reward is this high, you
dont ask questions.
The adventure starts in medias res during the chase.
The characters can now see the rig and the vehicles
protecting it. Now it is time to put the pedal to the
metal and close the gap between them and the truck.

CULT OF YUGGOTH

The Sacred Oil Fort

The Cult of Yuggoth consists of mutants and madmen

who have been in contact with the Mi-go since the The
Reckoning. The cult has been taught by their masters
to seek salvation, which lies in the distant planet of
Yuggoth. They believe that the greatest human brains
will be taken to Yuggoth to transcend into something
as noble and perfect as the mi-go.

The Sacred Oil Fort is a citadel-sized temple in the

West Coast area near the ruins of San Francisco. There
sacred portions of Oil and Gas are given to sinners.
The temple looks like a massive oil refinery decorated
with thousands of oil lanterns and red flags dirty from
dark smoke. The citadel is surrounded by five meterhigh concrete walls covered with ornamental carvings.

56

The Rig Raid

The Yuggoth cultists wear insect-like masks made
from scrap metal and leather or pink face paint. Some
of them bear fungoid mutations on their skin.

THE ROAD
When the adventure starts, the truck is driving in an
open wasteland highway. Within a few miles, the road
descends onto a chthonian trail where it ascends back
to a highway and leads onto a bridge over a swampy
bay. After the bridge there is a chase through the ruins
and behind the ruins is the mi-go mountain hive - a
place where people fear to go.

How to play the cultists

You cant reason with the cultists. They think their
cause is nobler and greater than anything else and
impossible to explain to anyone who has not seen
the White Light and the beauty of Yuggoth in their
dreams. They dont fear death, and are especially fearless and determined when they are in the company of
mi-gos or their flesh husks.

The Wasteland Highway: It takes FOUR rounds for the

truck to reach the end of the wasteland highway.

The Chthonian Trail: A chthonian trail resembles a

The greatest honor there is for a servant of Yuggoth

is to have their brains released from their body. They
believe that showing strength of will and great loyalty
to mi-go will expedite their ascension to Yuggoth.
When proving their worth, they often chant in unison
phrases like To Yuggoth!, Salvation for my mind!
or My body is ready!

canyon or giant chute, and takes FOUR rounds to pass.

One grid square on each side of the truck is accessible
on the trail as the walls rise too steeply on each side.

The Iron Bridge: Bridge over the swamp takes FOUR

rounds to cross, and the bridge is filled with rubble and

vehicle wrecks. The bridge is old and has crumbled in
many places. Drivers must make a Precision Driving
check at the beginning of their turn as a Reaction, or
the vehicle is hit by rubble and takes 1d10 points of
Damage. On the bridge two grid squares on each side
of the truck are accessible.

Turn length
Notice that the turn length is approximately 10
seconds, but it is flexible. In general one character can do one specific action every turn. If it
fits the game let the character try it and dont
worry to much about the time limit.

The Ruins: The ruins are the last chance to stop the

truck before it reaches the mountains. It takes FOUR

rounds to go through the ruins and at the beginning of
every round roll d6. If the die roll is 4 or more, there is
a Hard turn or a short Jump all the vehicles must make
or the vehicle crashes onto a building, rubble or a car
wreck and takes normal Collision Damage.

For example, on the first turn a character might

jam his cars wheel and gas pedal with something found inside the car, on the second turn
he can climb on top of the car and on the third
turn, try to jump on a passing vehicle.

The mi-go mountain hive resembles a giant desert

ant hill approximately a hundred meters high. There
are bluish vapors rising from the hive, and it oozes
purple sludge that has turned most of its surroundings
light-purple. Every character knows that this place is
beyond their limits (but if they want to go there, you
can end this episode here, and you can continue on
with that scenario next time when you have had time
to think about what is inside the hive).

THE SETUP
Put the truck in the middle of the grid, and one sand
buggy on each side of the truck, one in front of it
and one behind it. Characters start four grid squares
behind the truck. The truck moves at a steady speed
and is always in the middle of the grid. All other vehicles move on the grid, depending on what they do.

57

The Rig Raid

SAND BUGGIES

Cultists

Cultists drive sand buggies that protect the truck.

There are four sand buggies protecting the truck, and
in each sand buggy, there are two cultists: the driver
and a passenger standing behind the driver. Each sand
buggy carries a different weapon: one has two boom
spears, another a regular spear, the third a crossbow
and the fourth has a shotgun with five rounds.

Drive: Serve the Mi-Go and prove their worth to their

masters.
Vitality: 10
Push Limit: 0
Defense: 12
Attacks: per weapon
Skills: Athletics 2, Fighting 2, Shooting, 2,
Driving 1
ff Remarks: In addition to any other weapons,
each cultist has a machete, an axe or a knife. The
trucks driver has a heavy pistol with 6 rounds.
ff
ff
ff
ff
ff

Sand buggies protect the truck, and always try to stay

between the characters vehicles and the truck. If the
characters are outnumbered, they try to ram the characters vehicles, or if there are two sand buggies they
to try to ram the vehicle from both sides. The buggy
passenger might also jump onto a vehicle and try to
burst the tires with his spear.

Loot
Each cultist has a weapon and 1d20 bitz worth of other
items.

In the beginning, the buggies are divided evenly

around the truck and drive at a steady speed.

58

The Rig Raid

TRUCK
The heavily armored truck is transporting the kidnapped victims to the mountain hive. The trucks
wheels are covered by armor plating and it has heavy
snow plow in front to ram barricades. The truck is
clumsy and mostly drives forward at a steady speed, or
tries to sideswipe the vehicles on either side of it. It has
two armored towers on top of it where cultists throw
spears onto passing vehicles (they carry two spears per
cultist). There are as many cultists on top of the truck
as there are player characters.
If the characters climb on top of the truck or the
truck stops, the driver sounds a horn and Cultist Boss
emerges from the hatch and climbs onto the roof of
the trailer. He is a big bald tattooed man holding a
chain with a chainsaw on its other end.

Cultist Boss
ff Drive: Protect the Mi-Go masters and their
valuable cargo.
ff Vitality: 15
ff Push Limit: 1
ff Defense: 10 (Armor 3)
ff Attacks: Chainsaw (Damage 2d8+2, Rending)
ff Skills: Fighting 6, Strength 7
ff Remarks: Chainsaw Master: The Cultist Boss
can throw his chainsaw up to Reach range. It
takes a Trifle to pull the chainsaw back and
catch it; Regeneration: The cultist boss can heal
1d6 Strain per turn as a Trifle.

Loot
The characters can find 2d10 x 10 bitz worth of various
scarp and small items. With a succesful Perception
check against CL 15 they can find a pistol with 2d10
rounds and knife hidden in the trucks cabin.

59

The Rig Raid

caught off guard as a pink, man-sized crustacean-like

creature emerges from inside the cylinder through a
portal that has appeared on one side.

TRAILER
Inside the trucks traile,r the characters will find a
disturbing sight (Fear Rating 9). There are twelve lifeless bodies hanging from the trailers roof from thin
transparent threads. The bodies are naked and pale.
All the bodies are shaven hairless, and they are covered
in a thin layer of slime that smells like antiseptic fluids.
The bodies seem otherwise untouched, but all of the
bodies, except one, are missing the tops of their skulls
and the brains. Closer inspection (Medicine check
against CL 10) reveals that the one body is actually
alive, but the life signs are very faint, almost like she
was hibernating.

If the characters open the cylinder before the creature

comes out of it the characters can enter the cylinder.
Otherwise they must first deal with the creature.

Cargo Pod
The cylinder is actually a hyperdimensional device that
has many times larger space inside it than it should
be. The portal on the side of the cylinder leads to a
circular laboratory illuminated by a dim light with no
apparent light source. The characters can see various
devices and machines, whose purpose is unknown,
protruding from the floor and the roof. There are
tens of smaller metal cylinders, slightly bigger than a
human head, stored in small recesses in the walls. In
the middle of the space, there are two mi-gos in the
cargo pod. One is levitating in the air, restrained with
some kind of metallic tentacles. It seems unconscious.
The other creature is facing the other way, conducting its research and manipulating one of the strange
devices. The creatures are mi-gos.

Behind the bodies, at the back of the trailer, stands a

strange cylinder made of a dark blue alien metal that
feels almost frictionless to the touch. The cylinder is
around two meters tall and maybe a meter in diameter. It has weird engravings all around its surface,
and the air around the cylinder seems to ripple for an
unknown reason. If they are examined more closely,
the engravings look like they are moving.
If the characters decide to examine the cylinder more
closely, and succeed in a Mythos + Madness check
against CL 15, they will learn just in time that the cylinder can be opened by touching a circular engraving
on its side. If the check is failed, the characters are

If the creature notices the characters, it will make a

buzzing noise and takes a few steps back. It seems to
wait for help for one round until it realizes that no help

60

The Rig Raid

is coming. After that, the mi-go attacks the characters
and keeps them away from the other mi-go and the
strange devices.

When he realizes that he is doomed to live in the

mi-go body, he wants (choose one that fits your game):
...to be killed.

Mi-Go

...to be left alone, and he wanders into the the

wasteland.

They were pinkish things about five feet long; with

crustaceous bodies bearing vast pairs of dorsal fins or
membraneous wings and several sets of articulated
limbs, and with a sort of convoluted ellipsoid, covered
with multitudes of very short antennae, where a head
would ordinarily be.... As it was, nearly all the rumours
had several points in common; averring that the creatures were a sort of huge, light-red crab with many pairs
of legs and with two great bat-like wings in the middle
of their back.

...to join the mi-go, and he heads for the mountain hive.

Loot
The characters can find various items from the cargo
pod. The cylinders in the wall recesses contain human
brains preserved in a weird glittering substance. Each
cylinder is worth 500 bitz, if sold to people with right
connections. On top of the cylinders the characters
can find a device that looks like a silver crown. This
is a dream crown, and it can be used to contact other
people, or the mi-go, through dream-like telepathy.
Last, but not least, the characters can find various
minor alien artifacts worth 2d10 x 100 bitz in total.

The Whisperer in the Darkness, H.P. Lovecraft

ff Drive: Preserve special human brains and study
them.
ff Vitality: 24
ff Push Limit: 3
ff Defense: 13 (Carapace: Armor 3)
ff Attacks: Claws 1d6 (Quick), Deathray 2d8
(Rending, Close range, clip 5)
ff Skills: Athletics 3, Fighting 3, Dexterity 6,
Medicine 12, Science 9, Perception 4, Shooting
3, Mythos 8
ff Remarks: Fly: The mi-go can fly at normal
speed, and gain an Edge for Dodging while flying; Deathray: the mi-go is armed with a device
resembling a metallic beetle. The device shoots
white beams that burn searing holes into flesh.
The device is usable by humans at cost of 1d10
XP, but instead of running out of ammunition,
the device will reload itself automatically by
dealing 1d4 points Damage (this does not apply
to mi-gos.

Dream-crown (Artifact)
When a person wears this device like a crown in his
head and closes his eyes, he starts to hear whispers
all around him. When the device is worn for the first
time the user must make a Sanity Check against Fear
Rating 15 (Intensity 1d12). Every time after wearing
the device causes 1d6 points of Stress per session.
When wearing the dream-crown, the character can
initiate a telepathic conversation with any other
person the character knows personally. The conversation happens in a dream-like illusionary environment.
Sometimes shadowy figures can be seen lurking in
the shadows. If either of the characters looks at these
figures, the mi-go will become aware of the characters
whereabouts.

Bill
The unconscious mi-go is actually a human named
Bill, whose brain is implanted into a mi-go body. Bill
awakes after the other mi-go is defeated or he is transported out of the Cargo Pod. He speaks perfect English
in a buzzing tone. He doesnt realize at first that he is in
a mi-go body, and is grateful that the characters have
come to rescue him. When he starts to realize what has
happened to him.

ff Obscurity: 15 (2d10 XP)

ff Activations: 1d20
ff Barter Value: 2000 bitz

61

The Rig Raid

EPILOGUE

Characters gain Experience according to the following

guidelines:

If the characters manage to return the one body that

was alive,named Alysa, to the Sacred Oil Fort, they
will receive their reward. Otherwise, the High Priest
refuses to pay the characters anything. If the characters return to look for any of the cultist bodies or the
truck they realize their enemy has have vanished into
thin air. There are no tracks leading anywhere or tracks
of any kind on the ground.

1d10 XP for defeating the cultists

1d10 XP for stopping the truck
1d10 XP for defeating the cultist boss
2d10 XP for defeating the mi-go
1d10 XP for saving Bill
1d10 XP for saving Alysa

62

Space Opera Role-Playing Game

Fire up your voidjammer's engines and prepare your rifter crew for adventure.
HYPERSTORM is a science fiction role-playing game about explorers and treasure hunters
who go boldly beyond the final frontier - into the Hyperstorm.

Would you like to know more?

Visit the dev diary at www.hyperstorm-rpg.com

Role-Playing Games with a Backbone Since 2006

www.ironspine.com