an

D6xD6
Role-Playing Game
EXPANDED EDITION

by

Lester Smith
 Copyright © 2015 by Popcorn Press
Individual settings copyright of their respective authors identified in those chapters

D6×D6 Game Design: Lester Smith

Cover and Graphic Design: Katheryn Smith
Consulting: Jennifer Smith
Editing: Dale A. Donovan
Project Evangelist: Christopher Reed
Proofreading: Winifred Lewis
Typesetting: Ralph Faraday
Play-Testing: James R. Brooks, Aramas Brooks, Travis Clay,
Keith Darron, Katie Davis, Tammie Davis, Julian DeLaRosa, Raymond Deppen, Tim Deppen, Dale Donovan,
Danielle Donovan, Henry Dunsirn, Ralph Faraday, Marty Forbeck, Matt Forbeck, Ernie Givens, Richard Hayden,
Raymond Heatherly, Mark Hoskins, Amelia Iliff, Bob Iliff, Nick Karbasi, Nick Karbassi, Aimee Kelsey, Chase Kelsey,
Doug Kilmer, Drew Kilmer, Aaron Klein, Ted Kocot, Matthew Bryan Laube, Kevin Lemens, Andy Magnusson,
Kyle Mayhugh, Scott McClenaghan, Steven Muhow, Stephanie Newbrough, Scott Nickell, Christine Niles,
Douglas Niles, Christopher Reed, Daniel Retzloff, Candace Smith, Tim Ryan, Jennifer Smith, Karalyn Smith,
Katheryn Smith, Chris Stegner, Stephen D. Sullivan, Lora Tangman, John F. Watson, Alex Williamson, David Wolfe

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 Publication of the D6×D6™ role-playing game was made possible by these generous Kickstarter backers.
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i
 CONTENTS
Preface -1- Dark Fagara: Age of the Orc - 95 -
Introduction -3- Special Rules: Fagaran Magics - 97 -
Dice and Tasks -4- Sample Adventure: The Temple of Sir Valdar - 100 -
Dice Rolls & Focus Number -4- The World of Eolan - 101 -
Task Difficulty Levels -5- Special Rule: Dark Secret - 105 -
Dice: An Aside -6- Sample Adventure: Chemical 52 - 105 -
Character Creation -8- The World of Esfah - 107 -
Occupations -9- Special Rules: Adapting Dragon Dice - 108 -
Basic Skills - 11 - Sample Adventure: Trail of the Dragonsword - 110 -
Conflict and Damage - 13 - The World of Fear the Light - 113 -
Combat Time - 13 - Skills: Vampiric - 114 -
Round Sequence - 13 - Special Rules: Age, Abilities, & Weaknesses - 114 -
Combat Distances - 14 - Sample Adventure: Vampires on Ice - 115 -
Damage Ratings - 14 - The World of Gargoyle Knight - 119 -
Defenses - 16 - Skills: Of Gargoyles - 120 -
Optional Rules - 17 - Special Rules: Gargoyle Strengths & Weaknesses - 120 -
Rest and Healing - 18 - Sample Adventure: Blood from Stone - 121 -
Recovery Options - 18 - Ghost of a Chance - 125 -
Medical Equipment - 18 - Skills: Ghostly Powers - 125 -
Character Growth - 19 - Special Rules: Ghosts & the Real World - 126 -
Gaining & Spending Experience - 19 - Sample Adventure: The Tragic Schoolbus - 128 -
The Game Host - 20 - The World of Jessie Shimmer - 131 -
Sources of Adventure - 20 - Modern Magical Occupations, Skills, & Special Rules - 131 -
Preparing an Adventure - 20 - Sample Adventure: Dinner With Rufus - 135 -
Enemies - 22 - Khitus—The World of Dragon Kings - 137 -
Equipment & Vehicles - 28 - Special Rules: Sorcery’s Wrath, Harmonious Magic,
Running Sessions & Campaigns - 31 - Distant Gods, & Iron Virus - 138 -
Final Thoughts - 33 - Sample Adventure: The Krikis Wanderer - 141 -
Settings - 34 - The World of Peter and the Monsters - 143 -
L’Académie des Arcanes - 35 - Sample Adventure: Peter And The Scarecrows - 147 -
Special Rules: Magical Formula & Schools - 36 - The World of The Psionic Pentalogy - 149 -
The World of The Ancient - 41 - Skills: Psionic Powers - 150 -
Denizens: The Ancient & The Fallen - 42 - Special Rules:
Sample Adventure: Psionic Experience, Sensing, & Vulnerabilities - 152 -
Interview with (Another) Vampire - 45 - Sample Adventure:
The World of Athena Voltaire - 47 - Mr. X’s School for Gifted Youth - 153 -
Special Rules: MacGuffins - 49 - The World of The Seventh Crown - 155 -
Sample Adventure: The Devil’s Sea - 50 - Skills: Divine & Magical - 157 -
The Baker Street Irregulars - 53 - Special Rules: Crowns of Leadership - 157 -
Sample Adventure: Another Greek Tragedy - 56 - Sample Adventure: A Dark Ship Sails - 160 -
The World of Big Trouble in Little Canton - 59 - The World of Shotguns & Sorcery - 161 -
Special Rules: Pressure Points & Motivations - 60 - Special Rules: Spells, Races, & Magical Drugs - 162 -
Sample Adventure: It Will Never Die - 62 - Sample Adventure: The Dragon’s Claw - 166 -
Blood Type - 65 - The Empires of Steam & Rust - 167 -
Special Rules: Effects of Blood Types - 66 - Skills: Psionic & Magical - 168 -
Sample Adventure: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” - 69 - Sample Adventure: Of Rats and Rust - 171 -
The Code Breakers World - 71 - The World of The Touchstone - 173 -
Special Rules: Cyberspace Distances & Actions - 74 - Background: The Worlds & Spaces - 173 -
Sample Adventure: Into the Hornet’s Nest - 75 - Skills: Psychic Talents - 176 -
A Cowboy on Mars - 77 - Denizens: Ionoth & Others - 178 -
Earthling & Shalbatanan Occupations - 78 - The World of the Watershed - 179 -
Sample Adventure: Heroes Of Argon - 81 - Special Rules: Water, Aura, & Darkblood - 180 -
The World of Critical Dawn - 83 - Sample Adventure: Toxic Valley - 182 -
Denizens: Terran & Croatoan - 85 - The World of Zero - 185 -
Sample Adventure: A Little Bird Told Me - 87 - Skills: Psychic & Other - 186 -
The World of the Dark Angel - 89 - Equipment: Weapons of the Hive - 188 -
Special Rules: Bloodink, Flight, & Seraphic Magic - 90 - Sample Adventure: Severance Package - 190 -
Sample Adventure: The Threads of Dusk - 93 - Appendix: Bonus Characters - 191 -
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

PREFACE
The story of how the D6×D6™ role-playing
game (RPG) came to be is a series of happy
accidents.
HAPPY ACCIDENT #1 was in January of
1997, when Archangel Entertainment asked
me to work with artist Steve Stone on a role-
playing game based on his artwork. The result
was Zero, an underground, telepathic dystopia
ruled by an eternal, body-swapping queen.
(This was well before the Borg queen of Star
Trek: Next Generation, by the way.)
HAPPY ACCIDENT #2 was a challenge at
the time, by another Archangel game designer,
Tony Lee, to design an RPG with as few
attributes as possible. Tony suggested Body
and Mind. I wanted to “one-down” that and
came up with a single attribute: Focus. The
Zero RPG would be my first experiment with
that mechanic.
HAPPY ACCIDENT #3 was meeting author
Bill Bodden a few years later, and him saying
how much he had liked Zero and wished there
were a new edition. That encouragement got
me cogitating. Turns out I did. So it was time to
The thing was, I already had a different experiment with publishing a role-playing
role-playing project planned. Since about game. I wrestled with my desire to finish the
1999, I’d been working on a d13 horror d13 game, balancing it against time available,
game. (See d13rpg.com.) But with a full-time and against a desire to revisit the Focus system.
job in educational publishing, involvement in The latter was less of a commitment in pages,
the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and a so it won (for now).
family, it wasn’t easy finding time to write I stripped the game mechanics down to
something long. barest bones and began writing from ground
HAPPY ACCIDENT #4 was the opening of up, keeping things as trim as possible,
DriveThruCards.com in 2013. It allowed me to incorporating a few innovations, and making
apply a burgeoning knowledge of electronic something adaptable to any genre. In July of
publishing and print-on-demand books to 2013, I tried it out at Quincon with a setting
game design. I’d already designed rules for called “Ghost of a Chance,” and the feedback
several poker-deck games; DriveThruCards was extremely encouraging! So I began listing
allowed me to publish illustrated versions. So all the settings I’d need to create for a good
2013 became the year of Kickstarting card multi-genre book, and figuring out how to
games, promoting them online and at schedule the writing.
conventions, and discovering if a former HAPPY ACCIDENT #5 was when Doug
professional game designer still had any fans. Niles asked if Popcorn Press would like to

-1-
LESTER SMITH
publish his Watershed trilogy in ebook format.
Reading the first novel, I was so impressed
with its inventiveness that I asked Doug, “Can
I use this as a fantasy setting for the D6×D6
game?” (Why reinvent the wheel, right?) Doug
readily agreed.
With that, something clicked in my head,
and I wondered, “How many other authors
might be willing to have their worlds
represented in this project?”
I started making a list of writers whose
works I admired—authors I know, and those I
didn’t. Many of my friends had works they
were happy to have represented. That was
great!
But the real turning point was writing a
carefully crafted letter to four complete strangers:
Adrian Howell, Andrea K. Höst, Matthew Bryan
Laube, and Hanna Peach.
Howell’s Psionic Pentalogy had not only kept
me up at night reading past my bedtime, it also
filled a niche for a modern psionic setting.
Höst’s Touchstone trilogy had left me breathless
with its visualization of alien worlds and
cultures, as well as its strong characters.
Laube’s The Ancient series was such a
powerhouse of horror action that I had waited
anxiously for each new release. And Peach’s
Dark Angel series both touched a nerve in my
Biblical background and my fondness for a
good love story.
I sent off those emails and waited, hoping
against hope that one of them might say yes.
Happily, they all did! And that gave me
encouragement to contact more authors. As
the list of acceptances grew, the task became
easier. It’s one thing to say, “I’m starting a new
role-playing game,” and quite another to add,
“A couple dozen other authors are already on
board.”
HAPPY ACCIDENT #6 involved a playtest
session with Doug Niles and Steve Sullivan at
the Alliterates’ Wisconsin watering hole. (The
Alliterates is a group of authors, spawned in
the days of TSR, who meet monthly for
dinner, drinks, and discussion—originally in
-2-
Lake Geneva, now in Seattle and elsewhere as
well.) As luck would have it, in packing light
for the session, I’d forgotten to bring along the
notebook I normally used for character sheets.
The only paper I had available was Popcorn
Press business cards, so we used the back for
character stats, et voilà, the D6×D6 RPG
business-card character sheets now standard
for the game were born.
HAPPY ACCIDENT #7 was sort of an
inevitable result of #5. It was realizing what a
great cross-pollination opportunity this project
had become. Not only would it benefit from a
wealth of worlds, each bringing its own twists
and additions to the core rules, it would also
cross-promote each author’s work.
In effect, this D6×D6 RPG is not only an
opportunity for me to get involved again in
role-playing publishing, it is also a venue for
acting as the ultimate fan—pointing friends to
noteworthy novels, comics, and videos, sharing
things that bring me joy.
All of which is to say that working on this
project has been tons o’ fun! And that joy
promises to continue well into the future.
As I prepare this preface, plans are falling
into place for more settings in the coming
years, and for expanded visits to specific
settings—such as a full book devoted to
exploring the world of the Watershed trilogy,
and several other such titles. Samples of
specialty “doubledice” (a d6 inside a d6) landed
on my desk just today. Plans for mobile apps
are being worked out. A distribution deal is in
the offing. And by the time you read this, the
d6xd6.com Web site should include wording
for open licensing and for affiliate possibilities.
Thank you for helping to make this
possible. Whether by offering words of
encouragement online or at conventions over
the years, or backing one of Popcorn Press’s
Kickstarter projects, or purchasing this book,
or simply visiting our Web site, you have
played a part in bringing this game to life. And
that is much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Lester Smith

INTRODUCTION
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re
already familiar with the topic of tabletop role-
playing games. But just in case you’re not, let’s
cover a few basic ideas.
This sort of role-playing is a form of
collective storytelling. Most often, it’s a social
gathering rather than online. Each player
invents a character to portray in a fictional tale;
one player―whom we’ll call the Game
Host―portrays all the villains and extras and
adjudicates the game rules. Those rules involve
some definitions of character abilities and a way
of rolling dice to simulate the uncertainty of
characters’ success at their efforts.
Some role-playing games are massive
tomes, with countless expansions to cover all
sorts of situations, to add new character and
creature types, to define new types of
equipment or magic spells. Other games are
“rules light,” serving merely as a springboard
for the players’ imaginations.
The “Fantasy Battle” photo by Rhea C. is licensed under CC BY ND-2.0 and has been cropped for focus.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
These D6×D6™ role-playing game rules lie
somewhere in the middle. They are designed
with three purposes in mind:
 To create distinctive characters quickly;
 To provide fun, simple dice mechanics
that cover a wide range of skills and
action situations―including, if you like,
combat using miniature figures;
 To serve as the backbone for countless
adventure settings, from high fantasy to
gritty modern to other, quirky worlds.
As the author of these rules, I’ve had
considerable professional experience in game
publishing. I’ve also long been a fan of what
was once considered “small press” but has
since evolved into print-on-demand (POD)
publishing. These D6×D6 rules draw equally
on my professional experience and love of
innovation.
Welcome to the many worlds of the
D6×D6 role-playing game!
LESTER SMITH
DICE AND TASKS
Some things a character wants to do are easy:
cross a street, climb a ladder, or dial a phone
number. For these, a player simply makes a
declaration and the Game Host okays it.
Others are more difficult or uncertain: jump
from the path of an onrushing truck, climb an
icy cliff face, or crack a safe’s combination.
For these, a player must roll dice and
compare the results to the character’s abilities.
The Game Host may apply special modifiers
for more difficult tasks, time-consuming ones,
and so on. This chapter explains those rules.
DICE ROLLS
Dice rolls in this game use two standard six-
sided dice. Multiply the result of one die by the
other to generate a total between 1 and 36.
FOCUS NUMBER
Every dice roll in the game is compared to a
character’s Focus number, which is that
character’s total number of primary abilities.
(See the “Character Creation” chapter.) The
more abilities a character is familiar with, the
-4-
higher this number, which affects the
character’s chance of success at attempted
tasks. Ability rolls fall into three categories:
FOCUSED: For abilities the character is familiar
with, roll the Focus number or higher to
succeed. Exceptionally high rolls can add bonus
levels of success. (See the Conflict and Damage
chapter for examples of bonus effects.)
 0–9 points above the Focus number is
one Success Level;
 10–19 points above is two Success Levels;
 20–29 points above is three Success Levels;
 30 or more points above is four Success
Levels.
UNFOCUSED: For abilities the character is
newly learning, or which were practiced but
have grown rusty, roll less than or equal to the
Focus number to succeed. Additionally,
exceptionally low rolls can add a bonus level of
success.
 0–4 points below is one Success Level;
 5 or more points below is two Success
Levels.

UNFAMILIAR: For abilities the character never
possessed, roll less than the Focus number to
succeed. (For dramatic purposes, these D6×D6
rules allow characters to attempt skills they do not
possess, though success is much more difficult.)
ROLLING VS. OCCUPATION
A character’s occupation is a sort of “super skill”
representing a body of related knowledges and
abilities. (See the Occupations chapter for a fuller
definition.) For task rolls, occupation is treated as
a Focused ability.
ROLLING VS. A SKILL
Besides an occupation, characters each have a
list of skills to round out their abilities. (See the
Basic Skills chapter for a fuller definition.) The
exact skills available will vary from setting to
setting. For task rolls, skills fall into Focused,
Unfocused, and Unfamiliar categories, as
explained above.
REACTIVE ROLLING VS. AN ATTRIBUTE
Characters each also possess four innate
attributes that further define them: Brawn,
Grace, Will, and Wits. Each character has one
attribute treated as Focused, two as
Unfocused, and one as Unfamiliar. (See the
Character Creation chapter.) While
occupations and skills are rolled for as active
abilities, an attribute check is rolled only as a
reaction to a situation.
EXAMPLE: Spotting a trap in ancient tomb
might call for a roll versus an occupation of
Archaeologist or of Tomb Robber. Disarming
that trap might involve one of those
occupations or the Lockpicking skill. If the
trap is triggered, however, the Game Host may
allow a roll versus Grace or Wits to avoid it (or
to reduce the damage). Similarly, a Game Host
may allow a Will roll to avoid a vampire’s
mesmeric gaze, or a Brawn roll to avoid the
poisonous effects of tainted food.
TASK DIFFICULTY LEVELS
Not every task is equally easy or difficult. A
school locker is easier to break into than a
bank vault. Lifting a bookshelf off someone is
easier than doing the same with a car.
Patching a simple cut is easier than treating a
large-caliber bullet wound. To represent this
-5-
D6XD6 ™ RPG
range of difficulties, the Game Host can
declare a die penalty of 1 to 3 points before
dice are rolled.
DIFFICULTY RATINGS
DIFFICULTY MODIFIER
Average: No penalty
Difficult: 1
Formidable: 2
Impossible: 3
This penalty always applies to the higher die
result of the d6×d6 roll and applies before the
dice are multiplied. For Focused attempts, the
penalty is subtracted from the die roll; for
Unfocused and Unfamiliar attempts, it is
added.
EXAMPLES: The Game Host declares a 2-
point penalty on a Focused skill, and the d6×d6
dice results are 4 and 5. This adjusts the higher
die down to a 3, so instead of a final effect of 20
(4×5), the effect is 12 (4×3). If the penalty were
applied to an Unfocused or Unfamiliar skill, the
higher die would be adjusted upward from a 5
to a 7, for a final effect of 28 (4×7).
POST-ROLL PENALTIES
Some things―such as wounds and armor―slow
characters and make them slightly less effective.
These penalties apply to the roll result after the
dice are multiplied. (See the Conflict and
Damage chapter for details.)
EXAMPLE: A character with two levels of
damage, who achieves a Focused roll of 6×4,
would reduce the 24 result to a 22. For an
Unfocused or Unfamiliar roll of 3×2, that
character would increase the result from 6 to 8.
DRAMATIC EXERTION
At the beginning of every adventure session,
characters each receive 6 Drama Points to use for
storytelling effect. One or more of these points
can be spent on any dice roll to help with its
success. After the dice are rolled for a character’s
action and the results seen, any player may spend
up to 3 Drama Points to add or subtract from one
of the dice before they are multiplied.
LESTER SMITH
Each point spent changes the target die’s
result by one. Each player may affect only one
die, and each die can receive a maximum of 3
points.
Usually, Drama Points are spent by the
player whose character is performing the
action. However, they may be spent by another
player’s character instead, as direct assistance
or simple encouragement.
EXAMPLE: A character is trying to bulls-eye
a swamp cat from a moving sand speeder. The
character has Shooting as a Focused skill and
possesses a Focus rating of 7; the Game Host
decides the task is Formidable (a moving vehicle
and a small target) and applies a 2-point penalty.
The player rolls a 2 and a 5, and the 5 is
adjusted downward to 3, for a result of 6 (2×3).
This would barely miss, since it’s less than the
character’s Focus of 7. However, the player
really wants the character to succeed, so the
player spends one Drama Point and chooses to
apply it to the lower die, bringing that up to a 3.
With a 3×3 result, the character scores a 9, well
above the Focus rating.
MINIMUMS AND MAXIMUMS
The minimum result of d6×d6 is 0 and the
maximum is 36. (Some settings may impose a
“Special Rule” to supersede this. See the
Settings chapter.)
COOPERATIVE TASKS
Characters may wish to cooperate on a task:
lift a heavy table to barricade a door, persuade
a murder suspect to confess, lure a
gorgosaurus into a trap, etc. In game terms, the
involved players each roll for their own
character, and the Success Levels are totaled.
NOTE: If timing is an issue (as during
combat, see the Conflict and Damage chapter),
the combined action takes place at the lowest
rolled result. (“Wait. Wait. Let me get a good
grip. Okay, go!”)
EXTENDED TASKS
Some tasks, such as running a race, translating
an ancient tome, or defusing a bomb, are not
the work of an instant. In game terms, these
require an accumulation of Success Levels. The
Game Host may declare, for example, that
finishing a race requires 20 Success Levels. The
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first character to accumulate that many Success
Levels crosses the finish line first. In the case
of defusing a bomb, the Game Host might say
the character must accumulate five Success
Levels before the timer reaches zero.
UNCERTAIN TASKS
Not every situation in life has a yes/no
answer. A police officer might be trying to
discern, for instance, whether a suspect is
telling the truth. Although training and
psychology can do a lot in this regard,
sometimes a character must act without being
absolutely sure. The D6×D6 rules simulate
this by having the character’s player roll 1d6
and the Game Host roll the other 1d6 in
secret. Based on the result of the visible die,
the player has some idea of success or failure,
but is not certain of the outcome.
NOTE: In the case of Uncertain tasks,
penalties for Difficulty levels and bonuses for
Drama Points are applied to the visible die,
regardless of whether it is the high or low die.
DICE: AN ASIDE
It’s our opinion that dice ought to clack
together in your hand. This means rolling at
least two at a time (no single d20 attack rolls in
this game). Rolls should also have some
excitement, which rules out the dry, linear
nature of percentile dice.
These D6×D6 rules rely on two standard 6-
sided dice, with the result of one die multiplied
by the result of the other. This generates a
quasi-logarithmic scale from 1 to 36, as shown
in the graphics on the next page.
The Roman numerals show the number of
ways each total can be rolled of 36 possible
dice combinations. (Example: A 4 can result
from a 1×4, a 4×1, or a 2×2.)
Notice that a Focus rating of 6 to 10 is
optimal for most characters.
A 6 yields a 72% base chance of success on
a Focused ability, with three possible bonus
Success Levels (at 16, 30, and 36). It yields a
39% chance of success with Unfocused
abilities, and 28% with Unfamiliar abilities. It
allows a possible bonus Success Level for
Unfocused abilities on a roll of 1 (a roughly
3% chance).
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
D6×D6 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 2 4 6 8 10 12

3 3 6 9 12 15 18

4 4 8 12 16 20 24

5 5 10 15 20 25 30

6 6 12 18 24 30 36

A 7 yields a 61% base chance of success on
a Focused roll, with bonus Success Levels at 18
and 30. It yields a nearly 39% chance of success
on both Unfocused and Unfamiliar rolls—as
well as a bonus Success Level for Unfocused
rolls of 1 or 2 (an 8% chance).
An 8 yields the same 61% base chance of
success on a Focused roll as a 7, with bonus
Success Levels at 18 and 30. It yields a 44%
chance of success on Unfocused rolls, and an
almost 39% chance on Unfamiliar ones—as
well as a bonus Success Level on Unfocused
rolls of 3 or less (a 14% chance).
A 9 yields a roughly 56% base chance of
success on a Focused roll, with bonus Success
Levels at 20 and 30. It yields a 47% chance of
success on Unfocused rolls, and a 44% chance
on Unfamiliar ones—as well as a bonus
Success Level on Unfocused rolls of 4 or less
(a 22% chance).
The reason for 10 being the maximum
Focus rating is that it is the break-even point
for Focused and Unfocused abilities, making a
character a true jack–of–all–trades. Focused
and Unfocused rolls are even at a roughly 53%
chance of success; Unfamiliar have a 47%
chance. A 10 also provides bonus Success
Levels for Focused rolls at 20 and 30, and a
bonus Success Level on Unfocused rolls of 5
or less (a nearly 28% chance).

“Crow Peak summit. Chugach Mountains, Alaska” photo by Paxson Woelber is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited for contrast.

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LESTER SMITH

CHARACTER CREATION
To create a character for any D6×D6 setting, follow these seven steps.
1. NAME: Choose something appropriate to 6. SKILLS: Every setting chapter will list 15 to
the setting and your character conception. 20 skills that are most important to that milieu.
(Although Name is listed first, you may prefer In some cases, they are skills unique to that
to decide it last, to fit your other choices. You setting―such as the supernatural powers in
may also choose to use the name randomizer “Ghost of a Chance.” Choose up to 9 of these
at d6xd6.com/names.) skills for your character, remembering that the
2. GENDER: Choose a gender for your more you choose, the higher the character’s
character―any gender you wish. (Some settings Focus number. This has an effect on the
may even include alien genders or genderless character’s chance to succeed with any
options such as “Robot.”) particular skill, as explained in the Dice and
Tasks chapter. Also choose 3 skills from the
3. AGE: Decide on an appropriate age for your setting list or from the Basic Skills chapter as
character. In some cases, the Game Host may Unfocused abilities―things your character is
specify a particular range. Otherwise it’s learning or once knew but is currently rusty at.
entirely up to you.
7. FOCUS: Total your number of Focus skills,
4. ATTRIBUTES: Attributes serve as ratings to then add 1 point for your occupation. The
roll against when occupation and skills do not total is your character’s Focus rating. Minimum
apply. Choose one of the following to be your is 2 (your occupation and 1 skill); maximum is
character’s primary (Focused) attribute and 10 (your occupation and 9 skills).
circle it. Choose another to be your character’s
weakness (Unfamiliar) and draw a line through
it. The remaining attributes are neither strengths
nor weaknesses (Unfocused).
 BRAWN is your character’s strength and
stamina.
 GRACE is your character’s overall agility
and dexterity.
 WILL is your character’s self-control and
strength of personality.
 WITS is your character’s intelligence and
mental quickness.
5. OCCUPATION: In effect, your character’s
occupation serves as a super-skill, identifying
the field of knowledge the character is most
familiar with. Choose something appropriate
to the setting you are playing in. Your Game
Host may provide a list of possible careers to
choose from; the Game Host always has final
say as to what careers are appropriate and what
they can accomplish in the setting. (See the
Occupations chapter for more insights.)

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 D6XD6 ™ RPG

OCCUPATIONS

“All work is honorable. Always do your best, because someone is watching.” —Colin Powell

In the D6×D6 game, your character can have
any occupation you can imagine for the setting
your Game Host has chosen.
As a spur to your imagination, this chapter
describes a dozen broad categories of
occupations found in pretty much every
civilization. The specifics of what each can do
depends upon the individual, the culture, and
the level of technology.
Whether you use these general categories as
a springboard or conceive of something on
your own, your goal is to bring your character
to life and give the Game Host enough to
work with for making task decisions.
ARTISAN: An artisan is someone with a skilled
trade. That is to say, the main difference
between an artisan and a laborer (see below) is
one of formal training or apprenticeship.
Examples: Architect, Blacksmith,
Brewmaster, Carpenter, Glassblower.
COUNSELOR: Everyone needs a good listener
from time to time. The more advanced a
civilization, the more likely it is to have people
whose career is just that.
Examples: Advice Columnist, Bartender,
Geisha, Jester, Priest, Psychologist.

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LESTER SMITH
HEALER: Not all the difference between a
Stone Age shaman and a modern physician is
the tools, but equipment certainly makes a big
difference. That, and scientific knowledge.
(Better to take your chances with a 21st century
physician who has lost her medical kit than a
Stone Age shaman who has found it.)
Examples: Anesthesiologist, Chiropractor,
Dentist, Neurosurgeon, Stone Age Shaman.
LABORER: Throughout history, someone has
had to do the heavy lifting. This sort of work
requires little skill, other than perhaps a
tolerance for tedium and/or pain.
Examples: Factory Worker, Field Hand,
School Janitor, Wal*Mart Greeter.
LEADER: Whether duly elected or reigning by
terror, a leader makes the big decisions for a
civilization. Of course, as War and Peace points
out, those decisions are largely constrained by the
nature of the civilization itself.
Examples: Baronet, Chieftain, King, Mayor,
School Principal, Senator.
MERCHANT: Only the earliest, simplest
societies could survive without some form of
money. And with money comes long-distance
trade, advertising, insurance, and banking.
Further, new monetary inventions are
constantly being developed, a tribute to
humanity’s fascination with wealth.
Examples: Banker, Insurance Adjuster,
Marketing Manager, Salesperson, Store Owner.
OUTCAST: Civilization is based on order.
While some people profit from that order,
others survive by subverting it through crime.
Still others have no choice but to dwell on the
fringes as the homeless, the transient, or the
fugitive.
Examples: Beggars, Grifters, Gypsies,
Hackers, Smugglers, Thieves.
PEACEKEEPER: While leaders make the
laws, someone must enforce them. While
merchants accumulate wealth, someone must
protect it for them. These peacekeepers risk
life and limb to maintain (or restore) order.
The “offerings” photo by Istolethetv is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Examples: Armed Forces Personnel, Police
Officer, Private Detective, Spy.
PERFORMER: Without the arts, a civilization
is little more than an ant colony. Performers
offer entertainment, while also exploring and
conveying a society’s myths and mores.
Examples: Actor, Football Quarterback,
Game Designer, Musician, Painter, Puppet
Master, Sculptor.
SCHOLAR: When humankind transitioned
from a hunter/gatherer existence to an
agrarian society, one of the first benefits was
being able to maintain a class of scholar
priests. Over the centuries, secular and
religious studies separated, and countless fields
of study and research developed.
Examples: Chemistry Professor, Marxist
Literary Theorist, Necromancer, Pharmaceutical
Researcher.
SERVANT: Without butlers, cooks, drivers,
and scullery maids to take care of mundane
chores, the movers and shakers of the world
would have no time to move and shake. High
society depends upon this serving class.
Examples: Butler, Cook, Driver, Scullery Maid.
STUDENT: The occupation of young people is
learning. Sometimes this gives them ready
familiarity with obscure bits of knowledge that
most adults have forgotten―such as quadratic
equations and the diameter of Pluto―or trivia
of comic-book storylines.
Examples: Grade School, Middle School,
High School, Undergrad with a Fine Arts
Major, Tech School Student for Web Design,
Doctoral Student of Narratology in the
Kennedy Presidency.
Use one of the example occupations above or
invent your own. Consider how your character
became involved in that occupation, and what
the character likes most and least about it. The
more fully you can envision your character in
the occupation, the better you’ll be able to play
the character in the game.

BASIC SKILLS
For modern settings, the following skills will
supplement occupations to round out characters’
abilities. Other settings may use some of these
skills but not others, or add new ones.
Keep in mind that an occupation may
cover one or more of these skills without a
player specifically listing them. For example, a
race-car driver could drive an auto without
specifically owning the Vehicle: Auto skill.
Even an auto mechanic would likely know how
to drive. Similarly, a medical doctor could
perform First Aid without listing it, just as a
sniper would not need a separate Shooting
skill.
Also, players may suggest other specialized
skills to further distinguish their characters, with
the Game Host’s approval. For instance, while
one character might have an occupation of
paratrooper, another might request Skydiving as
a skill, even though it isn’t listed in this chapter.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
ATHLETICS: For purposes of these rules, this
term includes running, jumping, and feats of
balance by a physically fit person. As an
occupation, an athlete would fall under
Performer and would mean professional-level
abilities. Sample occupations include pro sports
player, body builder, Olympic decathlete,
triathlon runner, or personal trainer.
BARGAINING: From finding the best value
online to haggling in an Old World
marketplace, to negotiating contractual details,
this skill covers them all. Occupations
involving this skill include retailer, lawyer, and
arbitrator.
COMPUTERS: This is basic computer
operation, perhaps with some secrets such as
hot keys and taskbar manipulation. Computer
Programmer, Repair, and Hacker are
occupations with much deeper knowledge.
LESTER SMITH
FIRST AID: More than applying bandages, but
less than a medical occupation, the First Aid
skill is useful for treating dangerous wounds on
the job, in the woods, and in combat. Sample
occupations involving this skill include
emergency medical technician and combat
medic.
LOCKPICKING: Although not that common in
the real world, this skill shows up a lot in
fiction, making it a virtual necessity on this list.
Occupations such as locksmith and burglar
would include the ability without needing the
specific skill.
MARTIAL ARTS: Anybody can brawl. (In game
terms, use your choice of Brawn or Grace.) But
martial artists benefit from specific training in
hand-to-hand combat. Depending upon the
setting, this may mean boxing, sword fighting,
wrestling, or something different. Shooting and
throwing are separate skills, below. Sample
occupations involving this skill include Olympic
wrestler, fencer, boxer, etc.
NAVIGATION: Finding one’s way across
country using a map, a compass, the stars,
and/or basic clues of nature requires some
training. This knowledge is also part of many
outdoorsy occupations. More advanced, long-
distance navigation is part of piloting aircraft,
naval ships, starships, etc.
PERSUASION: More than natural wits, this is
the ability to lie or reason convincingly. Many
influential or nefarious occupations include the
ability as well.
PICKPOCKETING: Perhaps more common in
the real world than Lockpicking (above),
picking pockets is still a relatively rare skill. It
is, however, a part of the stage magician’s and
street thief’s repertoire.
RIDE ANIMAL: Unlike mechanical devices,
which just need basic maintenance, riding
animals have personalities and feelings. To ride
one effectively means knowing how to get
along with and care for it. Occupations that
involve this knowledge would include cowboy,
jockey, and circus trainer.
“One Giant Leap” by Charlie Marshall is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Armor and sword added in edit.
- 12 -
SECOND LANGUAGE: A character with this
skill has some fluency with the second
language but still speaks it with a noticeable
accent and has difficulty reading technical
documents. True fluency requires either that
the character grew up speaking both his or her
native language and the second one, or that the
character is a translator (Scholar) by
occupation. Note: This skill can be purchased
more than once to represent multiple
languages.
SHOOTING: This is training with a one- or
two-handed firearm; it is also part of many
occupations—often with weapons unavailable
to civilians. Occupations such as soldier, law
enforcement, and bodyguard all involve the
Shooting skill.
SNEAKING: Using cover to move and
avoiding making noise can be useful in many
situations. That is why this skill is also part of
many clandestine occupations, such as cat
burglar and ninja.
SWIMMING: At its most basic, this is a skill of
how not to drown in water, and maybe even
move across it. Depending upon the historical
setting, an occupation such as sailor might
include knowledge of swimming (though some
cultures viewed it as just delaying an inevitable
death).
THROWING: To accurately (and forcefully)
project something by hand takes much skill
and practice. Occupations with this ability
could range from baseball pitcher to ninja.
TRACKING: This is the ability to follow a
creature by the evidence it left behind. Many
occupations possess this skill, from hunter to
forest ranger to private investigator.
VEHICLE: This is the basic operating skill for
cars, motorcycles, and motorboats (each is a
separate skill, as with Second Language, above).
Stunt driving, racing, semi-truck driving,
construction equipment, aircraft piloting, and
spacecraft piloting are all occupations involving
this skill.

CONFLICT AND DAMAGE
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” —Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Sun Tzu’s advice aside, sometimes one must
accept less than the greatest victory. When
combat is inevitable in a D6×D6 adventure,
the following rules apply.
COMBAT TIME
Combat in the D6×D6 rules is designed to be
fast and furious:
 Each combat round represents 2 seconds
of real time.
 During each round, a character can
perform one action.
 Some special actions may require more
than one round to complete.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
ROUND SEQUENCE
To determine what happens when, each round
begins with declaration, followed by dice
rolling and resolution.
1. The Game Host secretly decides what
actions the enemy forces intend.
2. The Game Host asks the players one at a
time what action their character intends.
(Decisions must be made quickly. If a
player pauses too long, the Game Host
may declare, “Your character hesitates
this round and takes no action.”)
3. The players all roll their dice.
LESTER SMITH
4. The Game Host rolls all the enemy
forces’ dice together and assigns them.
5. Actions then take place, starting at 36 and
counting downward to 0.
Notice that your dice roll each turn determines
not only whether your character succeeds, but
how well, and how quickly. Successful Focused
actions tend to happen sooner than Unfocused
and Unfamiliar ones.
COMBAT DISTANCES
Concepts of distance and movement in these
D6×D6 rules are relatively simple, and are
playable either abstractly or by use of
miniatures.
RANGES
For purposes of personal combat, combat
distances fall into five ranges:
1. BRAWLING: Within 2 meters. Characters
within this range can strike one another
barehanded or with handheld weapons
such as clubs and swords. It is generally
not an effective range for throwing or
shooting. (The Game Host may make an
exception for short firearms such as
pistols and sawed-off shotguns.)
2. THROWING: Up to 20 meters away.
Characters within this range can attack
with thrown rocks, spears, shuriken,
throwing knives, throwing axes, etc. They
can also use shooting weapons or
Viewing attacks (see below).
3. SHOOTING: Up to 200 meters away.
Characters within this range can use
bows, firearms, lasers, and such, as well as
Viewing attacks (see below).
4. VIEWING: Up to 2 km distant. Specially
trained snipers with long-range rifles can
reliably hit at about 1.5 km; these rules
round up to 2 km for the sake of
convenience. Characters within this range
can also attack with magic spells or
psychic powers, if the game setting
includes those.
5. LOST: Beyond 2 km in distance, a target
is effectively out of sight. Still, a trained
forward observer within sight of the
target can call in remote fire upon it
- 14 -
(mortars, aerial bombing, etc.). The
accuracy of such attacks is limited by the
Focus of the forward observer or the
attacker, whichever is lower.
Note: For combat on US soil, in Liberia, and in
Myanmar, use yards instead of meters, and
round off 2 km to 1 mile.
MOVEMENT ACTIONS
During a round of combat, a character can
freely move up to 2 meters and still take an
action (or vice versa).
To move more than 2 meters requires a
Movement action. The player uses the
Athletics skill or an appropriate occupation.
Each level of success adds 2 meters to the
character’s movement. While a Movement
action starts at the character’s rolled number in
the round sequence, it is considered to
progress through the rest of the round. So the
Game Host will decide whether any enemies
along the way have a chance to attack the
character as planned.
ATTACK ACTIONS
Attacking an opponent is an action. To attack,
a character must be within range of the target,
as determined by the type of weapon used.
(See Weapons, below.)
Drawing a weapon is considered a free
action, as is reloading.
DAMAGE RATINGS
Human characters in these D6×D6 rules can
suffer six levels of damage: Graze, Stun, Hit,
Wound, Knockout, or Kill. Each of those
terms represents a different degree on a sliding
scale of damage.
GRAZE: This is the most basic level of
damage―a punch or kick, a bruise or abrasion.
A Grazed character suffers a 1-point penalty to
all dice rolls. (E.g. for Focused rolls, a result of
8 becomes 7; for Unfocused or Unfamiliar
rolls, an 8 becomes a 9.)
STUN: This is a more serious level of
damage―a breathtaking gut punch, a dazing
blow to the head, or even just a stinging cut. A
Stunned character suffers a 2-point penalty to
all dice rolls.

HIT: This is a solidly landed attack―a bruising
blow, a deep cut, or even a flesh wound from a
gunshot. A Hit character suffers a 3-point
penalty to all dice rolls.
WOUND: This level of damage indicates
cracked or broken bones, serious cuts or
gunshots, and so on. A Wounded character
suffers a 4-point penalty to all dice rolls.
KNOCKOUT: This level of damage renders a
character unconscious.
KILL: A character who suffers this level of
damage is unconscious and dying. Unless
treatment is given to reduce the damage, or to
at least stabilize the character, the character
will perish within roughly three to five
WEAPON DAMAGE TYPE
D6XD6 ™ RPG
minutes. (Exactly how long is the Game Host’s
call, based on the circumstances.)
ACCUMULATING DAMAGE
Damage levels in combat follow two rules:
Add and Supersede.
ADDED DAMAGE: A successful attack that
causes less than its target’s current damage
(Grazed, Stunned, Hit, etc.) increases the
target’s damage by one stage. (A Hit character
who receives a Graze is now Wounded.)
SUPERSEDED DAMAGE: A successful attack
that causes more than its target’s current
damage becomes the target’s new damage. (A
Grazed character who receives a Stun is now
Stunned.)
COMMENTS

Brawling Attacks Attack: Brawn, Grace, Martial Arts, or Combat career / Defense: Brawn, Grace, Martial Arts, or Combat career

Fist or foot Graze

Club, skillet, chair Stun

Small blade Hit

Spear Hit Requires Martial Arts skill or Combat career.

Large blade, two blades Wound Requires Martial Arts skill or Combat career.

Throwing Attacks Attack: Throwing, Martial Arts, or Combat career / Defense: Grace or Wits

Taser (no skill needed) Knockout If Kill results, a successful Brawn or Will check reduces it to Knockout.

Stone Graze

Throwing blade Hit

Spear Wound

Shooting Attacks Attack: Shooting, or Combat career / Defense: Brawn or Will

Small bow or sling Stun Unusable at Brawl range

Small pistol Stun

Bow, crossbow Hit Unusable at Brawl range

Large pistol Hit

Shotgun Stun Increase damage one level at Throw range, two levels at Brawl range

Rifle Wound 2-point attack penalty at Brawl range

Hand laser Wound

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LESTER SMITH
WEAPON TYPES
Different weapons have different default
damage ratings, as shown on the previous
table. If an attacker rolls bonus levels of
success, each bonus Success Level increases
the damage done by one step. (Note: A Kill
increases to a Kill+1, a Kill+2, and so on,
making defense more difficult.)
Some settings may provide additional
weapons or further details.
DEFENSES
To keep combat moving quickly, most D6×D6
settings treat defense as an automatic rating,
based on a character attribute or protective
clothing.
REACTIVE DEFENSE
Innate abilities and training alike help to avoid
damage or to resist its effects. In the D6×D6
game, each attack type or weapon type lists the
occupation, skill, or attributes that can defend
against it. If a target character has Focused any
of the listed defenses for that attack, the
character reduces the damage by a single step
(Graze becomes a miss, a Stun becomes a
ARMOR CATEGORY DAMAGE / DICE PENALTY
Light 1 Leather coat; small shield
Medium 2 Kevlar jacket; Roman cuirass & helmet
Heavy 3 Military ballistic vest & helmet; plate mail
- 16 -
Graze, etc.). In most settings, a character
cannot reduce damage more than one step in
this way.
PASSIVE DEFENSE
While reactive defense helps either to avoid
being hit or to withstand damage, armor helps
to either absorb or deflect damage. The armor
table below lists reduction to damage based on
the type worn. This rating is used instead of
the wearer’s reactive defense; it does not add
to it. Note also that armor imposes a slight
penalty on its wearer’s actions: Use the
character’s armor rating to adjust the calculated
result of all rolls that character makes. (E.g. A
character wearing a Kevlar jacket would
subtract 2 points from all Focus
rolls―meaning a roll of 5×6 would result in 28
instead of 30.)
DRAMATIC DEFENSE
Players may spend any number of Drama
Points to reduce an attack on their characters
on a one-to-one basis. (One Drama Point
reduces a Hit to a Stun; two reduce a Hit to a
Graze; three reduce a Hit to a miss.) Dramatic
Defense can be used in addition to Reactive or
Passive Defense.
EXAMPLES

OPTIONAL RULES
While the above rules cover most combat situations, the Game Host may include any or all of the
following rules for special situations.
SECOND WIND
Even in the heat of combat, it can help to take a
moment to catch your breath. In game terms, a
character who has not suffered a Knockout or
Kill can spend an action once per combat to
recover from damage. If either Brawn or Will is
a Focused attribute, the character recovers two
damage levels; otherwise the character recovers
one damage level.
HELD ACTIONS
Sometimes a character may want to delay
taking an action until another character has
acted. The character with the higher dice roll
determines whether his or her action occurs
immediately before or immediately after the
action of the other characters.
Example 1: The character wants to leap
onto the running board of a getaway car that is
coming for her. She holds her action until just
after the driver’s action (which is when the car
arrives at the spot desired by the driver), and
then makes the leap.
Example 2: The character is waiting for an
alien carnivore to attack her (and expose itself)
before she shoots it. She shoots just as it
reveals itself, before it attacks.
COMBINED ACTIONS
As explained in the Dice and Tasks chapter,
characters can combine their efforts on a single
task. When timing is an issue―moving a heavy
table to barricade a door, for example―the
action takes place on the lowest roll. When
timing is not an issue―holding an already
barricaded door against an onslaught of
zombies, for instance―the action is considered
to last the whole round, from 36 to 0.
MISSED ACTIONS
Sometimes players may roll successfully, only to
have their characters’ actions countered by a
faster action. (For example, a character intends
“060702-F-5964B-111” photo by The U.S. Army is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
D6XD6 ™ RPG
to punch an alien, but the creature teleports
away before the blow lands.) In such cases, the
Game Host may allow a character to choose a
different target for the same action―at one
Success Level less than the dice result. If this
reduction drops the Success Levels below one
level, that character’s action is lost.
AIMED ATTACKS
A character who spends consecutive rounds
preparing an attack may add to its effect. When
the attack occurs, if the roll is successful, each
round spent aiming adds one level to the
damage dealt. If the roll fails, however, the
rounds spent aiming are simply wasted.
EXCEPTIONAL ATTACKS
A character who achieves more than one
Success Level with an attack may choose to
split those successes among several targets
rather than apply them all on one target. (A
character using a Small Pistol with a Shooting
skill and a Focus of 5, on a roll of 25 could hit
one target for a Wound, or three targets for a
Stun each, or one target for a Hit and another
for a Stun, for example.) Note that bonus
Success Levels gained from Aimed attacks (see
above) also may be split this way.
COMBAT TEAM
Just as the Game Host rolls all dice for the
enemy forces and then chooses where to
assign them, players may pool their dice in
order to apportion them to best effect. To do
this, those players must choose as team leader
a character with tactical experience (such as a
Peacekeeper occupation; see the Occupations
chapter). That character’s player then rolls all
their dice together and assigns them to each
character for best effect.
While this strategy can be very effective,
players are never obligated to join the team or
to remain in it from turn to turn. If they do
join, however, they are obligated to use the
dice assigned to them that turn.
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LESTER SMITH
REST AND HEALING
Any good story, like any good roller coaster,
intersperses periods of high action with
recovery. The Game Host can choose from
several options for recuperation.
RECOVERY OPTIONS
ABSTRACT HEALING: Whenever characters
have at least several hours of down time between
encounters to recuperate, they heal entirely.
DRAMATIC HEALING: At the end of each
game day, each characters’ damage improves by
one level. Additionally, characters may benefit
from the optional Second Wind rule in the
Conflict and Damage chapter.
“REALISTIC” HEALING: Whenever characters
spend 24 hours resting under successful medical
care (a roll against the First Aid skill or a medical
occupation), they automatically recover from one
level of damage. Without medical care, Killed
“Pixie Dreams” photo by psyberartist is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
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characters die; others recover one level per week
of rest. Note that Killed characters cannot treat
themselves; though other damaged characters
can (with the appropriate dice penalties for their
damage levels). Note: Bonus Success Levels on a
medical-care roll speed healing to 12 hours (one
bonus Success Level), 8 hours (two bonus
Success Levels), or 6 hours (three Bonus Success
levels)―at which time a new roll can be made.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
The rules above assume appropriate medical
supplies are available.
 For poor equipment, the Game Host may
apply a penalty to dice rolls for medical care.
 For exceptional equipment, the Game
Host may apply bonus Success Levels to
successful healing rolls.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

CHARACTER GROWTH
While these D6×D6 rules were originally
designed for quick games at conventions and
other such one-shot settings, they can easily
support full-fledged campaigns.

GAINING EXPERIENCE
Gaining experience in the D6×D6 game is
simple: As mentioned in the Dice and Tasks
chapter, a character begins each session with 6
Drama Points to use during play. At the end of
each game session, each 3 unspent Drama
Points become 1 point of Experience.
Note: Up to 2 Drama Points can be carried
over to the next adventure session. This
prevents characters from losing points when
they don’t have enough to convert to
Experience. (It also means a character may
begin a session with up to 8 Drama Points—
the 6 usual plus 2 carried over.)
that skill is rolled successfully. For each
SPENDING EXPERIENCE additional +, the skill gains an additional bonus
Success Level.
A character may spend an Experience Point to
Note: Pluses remain with a skill that lapses
do any one of the following:
from Focused to Unfocused or returns to
 Change a skill from Unfamiliar to Focused. (“Rusty” doesn’t mean “novice.”
Unfocused (meaning the character is Hence the expression, “It’s like riding a bike;
beginning to train for that skill); you never really forget how.”)
 Change a skill from Unfocused to
Focused (gaining mastery―to the IMPROVING OCCUPATION
maximum of 9 Focused skills); The easiest way to improve occupational
 Change a skill from Focused to effectiveness is to become more focused—
Unfocused (letting it become rusty); changing skills from Focused to Unfocused.
 Add a + to a Focused skill, to a maximum The less time devoted to other interests, the
of 3 +s. more characters can concentrate on nuances of
Note: Any skill can receive only one their occupation.
Experience effect after each game session. (For Another, more costly but more permanent
example, a skill cannot be raised from improvement is for characters to “plus” their
Unfamiliar to Unfocused to Focused after a occupation. To accomplish this, at session’s
single session. Nor could it go from end a character may convert 6 unspent Drama
Unfocused to Focused and also gain a +.) Points to a single + on occupation. As with
plussed skills, an occupation can have a
PLUSSED SKILLS maximum of 3 plusses, and each adds a bonus
A Focused or Unfocused skill with a + gains Success Level to successful dice rolls for that
an automatic bonus Success Level whenever occupation.
“1907 Cubs World Series Championship Medal” photo by Dan Gaken is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been cropped.

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LESTER SMITH
THE GAME HOST
At its core, the Game Host’s job is largely the
same as any other host’s: to make sure guests
have the best time possible. And just as there
are certain rules and tricks for hosting a
successful party, the tips in this chapter will help
you to host a successful adventure session.
SOURCES OF ADVENTURE
Often, role-players are inspired by the plot or
setting of a novel or a movie. They want to
face a similar situation and discover how their
actions would affect events. Or they simply
want to experience the action firsthand.
This is why the D6×D6 rules represent
such a range of settings. With this set of
guidelines, players can adventure in any of
their favorite worlds of film and fiction. And
the plots in those worlds can serve as
inspiration for the Game Host.
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PREPARING AN ADVENTURE
To prepare for play, a Game Host need only
1. choose a setting;
2. decide on a plot;
3. flesh things out using the guidelines below.
I. CHOOSING A SETTING
Maybe you’ve recently read one of the books
covered in a setting chapter of the D6×D6
game, and you’d like to introduce your friends
to the concept. Maybe you’ve just finished
watching a movie that inspired an idea for a
great villain. Or maybe you just know that your
players are fans of 1930s pulp adventure. Any
one of those things can be a reason for
choosing a setting.
II. DECIDING ON A PLOT
With your main idea in mind, it’s time to lay
out a plot. Note, however, that plotting an

adventure doesn’t mean deciding ahead of time
everything that will happen. Even professional
authors say they’re often unsure how things
will turn out until their characters actually enter
a scene. That’s even more the case in a role-
playing session, where different people control
different characters.
When we talk of deciding on a plot, then,
we really mean
A. establishing a specific threat;
B. predicting how that plot would unfold if
the players’ characters never interfered;
and
C. imagining ways the heroes could become
aware of the unfolding threat. Once the
heroes begin responding to the plot, it
responds to them in turn, and we have
our adventure session!
A. ESTABLISHING THE THREAT: Whether
it’s an asteroid tumbling toward the Earth, a
dragon plundering a town, an infestation of
zombies, or a gangster demanding protection
money, the threat is the central problem to be
resolved in an adventure. Once that threat is
dealt with, the adventure is concluded
(although loose ends may lead to a new, related
threat later).
Many threats involve more than a single
enemy. For purposes of the D6×D6 rules,
enemies fall into four main categories: beasts,
minions, villains, and monsters. See the
Enemies section later in this chapter for details
of each.
B. PROJECTING EVENTS: Once you have
your threat in mind, imagine what would
happen if the heroes never became aware of it.
Sketch out a timeline. What order of actions
will the threat pursue? If the threat involves
more than one enemy, which subordinates will
be involved in each step? As people fall victim
to the threat, what actions would they or their
friends take in response? At what point might
the authorities become alerted, and how would
they respond? What about the news media?
How will the threat deal with each of these
reactions?
C. INVOLVING THE HEROES: Different
settings have different conventions for drawing
its heroes into the action. In mystery genres,
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
the heroes are often the sort who keep feelers
out for possible villainous activities. In horror
genres, someone the heroes know personally
may run afoul of the threat and either ask for
help or perish in a suspicious fashion (often
both). In fantasy settings, the heroes may be
troubleshooters or adventurers for hire. In
super-powered campaigns, a villain may
actually send a challenge (perhaps intending to
do away with the heroes).
Let the conventions of your genre be your
guide, but also consider the personalities of
your heroes, and of your players. The more
you can personalize these hooks that draw
your heroes in, the more your players will be
invested in the story, and the more satisfying
your adventure will be overall.
III. FLESHING THINGS OUT
You’ll notice that in our example adventure
synopsis for each setting chapter, we follow a
linear, three-act formula.
ACT ONE introduces the heroes to the
threat in some way, getting them involved. If
the heroes don’t already know one another,
this act also serves as an introduction that
brings the group together.
ACT TWO presents a series of escalating
problems, ratcheting up the tension while also
revealing more information the heroes may
need.
ACT THREE opens with the climactic
challenge, brings about its resolution, and
provides any rewards the heroes may have
earned. Depending on the grimness of the
setting, it may also focus on losses the heroes
have suffered.
We recommend you follow a similar
format, at least for your first few adventures.
As you gain experience, and as your players
provide more and more inventive responses,
you may become comfortable straying from
this linear plan, extemporizing your threat’s
reaction to the heroes’ actions as well. To
paraphrase German military strategist Helmuth
von Moltke, no Game Host’s plan survives
contact with the players. The foes you portray
will need to revise their plot in response to
your heroes’ actions.
Note: For mystery settings in particular, you
can make the world seem more open-ended by
LESTER SMITH
plotting out multiple threats ahead of time,
dropping clues from each, and letting your
heroes decide which clues to follow up on. As
the group theorizes what they suspect is
happening from clues they’ve gathered, they’ll
likely give you ideas you hadn’t considered
before, enriching the game even more. This
sort of approach gives the players the greatest
sense of freedom, while still allowing you to be
prepared ahead of time.
ENEMIES
As mentioned above, the D6×D6 rules
categorize the living threats heroes face as
beasts, minions, villains, or monsters. Each is
detailed here, but let’s open with a word about
impersonal natural threats.
Earlier, we mentioned the threat of an
asteroid tumbling toward Earth. Other such
threats include avalanches, volcanic eruptions,
hurricanes, outbreaks of disease, and nuclear
disasters. Any of these things can serve as the
major danger in an adventure, but without an
intelligent agency behind them, they do not
offer a satisfying threat.
Imagine, for example, that your heroes are
caught in an avalanche on a mountainside.
Assuming they survive, they may feel some sense
of accomplishment. But consider how much
deeper that feeling would be if a villain abandoned
them on that mountainside to die of exposure, or
even triggered the avalanche itself! Now not only
have they survived, they have thwarted the villain’s
plans—they have overcome!
So even in the case of an asteroid tumbling
toward Earth, give your heroes some inimical
agent to defeat, whether a treacherous
corporate CEO who provides them with
substandard equipment, or a jealous enemy
who wants them to perish in the course of
their mission. Your players will become that
much more involved in the story.
BEASTS
These are natural creatures that can pose a
danger to the heroes. To design a beast, adapt
the usual character creation rules as follows:
NAME: Unless it is someone’s pet, it’s unlikely
to have a name.
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GENDER: A beast’s gender often dictates the
creature’s behavior (for example, a female black
widow spider eats the male after mating). For
some beasts, however, gender may not be
immediately obvious to the observer.
AGE: In most cases, a beast’s age will not matter
in an adventure. If it does, use the terms Young,
Mature, or Old instead of actual years.
ATTRIBUTES: As per regular characters, circle
one attribute and cross out one, to indicate a
beast’s strongest and weakest aspects. For
some beasts, you may circle or cross out
multiple attributes.
OCCUPATION: The type of beast—snake,
polar bear, turkey buzzard—is its occupation.
It defines most of the beast’s capabilities.
SKILLS: Most of a beast’s abilities are directly
related to its nature (its “occupation”). The
skills list serves two purposes: (1) it allows you
to generate the Focus number you wish for the
creature, and (2) for trainable beasts such as
dogs, it provides a space for tricks specific to
that individual beast. Also, Unfocused skills
provide a place to give the creature deadly
attacks that succeed only occasionally.
FOCUS: Most beasts have a low Focus rating, a
2, 3, or 4. Fortunately, in combat, their attack
range is usually limited to Brawling, and most
would prefer to avoid combat completely and
escape instead.
NOTES: Beasts come in all sizes and varieties.
To adapt these rules for different types,
consider the following adjustments.
LIFE: Small, fragile creatures can survive less
harm than humans can. Some are killed with a
mere Graze result, some with Stun, and so on.
Other, larger beasts can survive more damage
than humans can. To reflect this, allow them to
accumulate two or more Graze results before
proceeding with the usual damage track.
SPEED: Some beasts are exceptionally fast. To
represent this, you might either give them more
than one action per round (with the usual two
meters of free movement each time), or add 1 to
3 points to their lower die roll each round. If you
allow more than one action in a round, roll each
action with a separate pair of dice (few
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
beasts are crafty enough to coordinate their Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
attacks for best effect). Bite, Trample; Unfocused None. Focus: 3.
TOUGHNESS: Many beasts have thick hides or Life: Graze ×5. Speed: normal. Toughness: 2.
fur to protect against injury. Consider giving Number: Typically 1 to 6.
them an armor bonus—typically without a dice
penalty. Be sure to apply this armor bonus MINIONS
before taking into account size and fragility (as These are servants or henchmen of the main
described under Life above). enemy. They come in two types: thugs and
lieutenants.
NUMBER: Some beasts are solitary; others
travel in packs. Take care to balance your THUGS
beasts’ numbers and abilities with those of These are rank-and-file enemies. Relatively
your heroes. unskilled, they rely on their numbers to create a
threat. Follow these character creation guidelines:
SAMPLE BEASTS NAME doesn’t usually matter; GENDER is
RAT: Name, Gender, and Age unimportant. whatever seems appropriate for the setting;
Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. and AGE is most often simply adult.
Skills: Focused Bite, Claw, Dig, Evade; ATTRIBUTES tend to Focus on Brawn, with
Unfocused Climb. Focus: 5. Life: Stun kills. Wits rated Unfamiliar.
Speed: 2 actions. Toughness: N/A. Number:
Typically a dozen. OCCUPATION tends to fall under Outcast,
though some may be Servants.
POISONOUS SNAKE: Name, Gender,
and Age unimportant. Attributes:
Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Bite, Flee; Unfocused
Poison (treat as Graze damage,
accumulating for two or more
rounds, depending on lethality).
Focus: 3. Life: Stun kills. Speed: 3
actions. Toughness: N/A. Number:
Typically 1.
DOG: Name, Gender, and Age—ask
owner. Attributes: Any Focused; Any
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Bite, Hold,
Track, Sneak, Run, Leap; Unfocused
any number of Tricks. Focus: 7. Life:
Dependent on breed (from Hit kills to
normal Kill). Speed: 2 actions.
Toughness: 1. Number: 1 or more; can
coordinate attacks.
TIGER: Name, Gender, and Age
unimportant. Attributes: Grace and
Brawn Focused; None Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Bite, Claw, Run;
Unfocused None. Focus: 4. Life:
normal. Speed: 2 actions. Toughness:
1. Number: Typically 1.
HIPPOPOTAMUS: Name, Gender, and
Age unimportant. Attributes: Brawn

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LESTER SMITH
SKILLS focus on noncombat abilities such as
persuade and sneak. Thugs’ combat skills are
usually Unfocused, which means that even
when they succeed, it is late in a combat round
and limited to only one or two Success Levels.
(Brawling is the exception, given their usual
Brawn Focus.)
FOCUS rating is usually 8 or 9.
EQUIPMENT generally includes small, easily
concealed weapons (things that coincidentally
do less damage). Thugs are not generally
armored. Other equipment is left to the Game
Host’s judgment, as needed.
Note 1: Dice for unsupervised thugs are
rolled all together, and the Game Host then
pairs the highest result with the lowest, next-
highest with next-lowest, and so on. This
tends to average the results, making for lots
of failed actions and few, if any, bonus
Success Levels.
Note 2: The Game Host can increase one or
more thugs’ effectiveness slightly by adding a
plus or two to a combat skill, allowing them
armor, and/or giving them a Focused combat
skill. Without someone to guide them,
however, even these are generally wasted,
given the usual dice rules for thugs.
SAMPLE THUGS
GANGBANGER: Name: Unimportant. Gender:
Dependent on the setting. Age: Young and
ignorant. Attributes: Brawn or Grace Focused;
Both Wits and Will Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
Carjack, Chug, Doin’ the Dozens, Graffiti, Roll
Joints, Shoplift, Streetwise, Swagger;
Unfocused Switchblade, Tire Iron, Zip Gun.
Focus: 9.
BLADE: Name: Unimportant. Gender:
Dependent on the setting. Age: Young.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Carjack, Chug, Graffiti, Shoplift,
Streetwise, Swagger, Switchblade; Unfocused
First Aid, Pistol, Tire Iron. Focus: 8.
BRUISER: Name: Unimportant. Gender:
Dependent on the setting. Age: Young to adult.
Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Carjack, Chug, Intimidate,
Steal, Streetwise, Tire Iron; Unfocused Drive,
First Aid, Shotgun. Focus: 7.
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GUNSEL: Name: Unimportant. Gender:
Dependent on the setting. Age: Adult to
middle aged. Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits or
Will Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Carjack,
Intimidate, Pistol, Shotgun, Sneak, Steal,
Streetwise, Torture; Unfocused Bookkeeping,
Drive, Tire Iron. Focus: 9.
LIEUTENANTS
These are a greater threat than thugs. Follow
these character creation guidelines:
NAME, GENDER, and AGE can be whatever
the Game Host wishes. While lieutenants may
not come to the heroes’ attention immediately,
they may become important during the course
of play.
ATTRIBUTES are Focused, Unfocused, and
Unfamiliar, usually following the rules for
players’ characters. The Game Host may
choose to change this for particularly
experienced lieutenants, however.
OCCUPATION tends to fall under Outcast or
Peacekeeper.
SKILLS often focus on combat specialties.
FOCUS rating is usually 6 or 7.
EQUIPMENT may be anything the Game Host
desires. Many lieutenant minions specialize in
combat weapons.
Note 1: Dice for all minions—when a
lieutenant is guiding their actions—are rolled
together and then matched as the Game
Host sees fit. Generally this means highest
dice are matched to highest and lowest to
lowest, then each pair is assigned to a foe for
best effect. Often, lieutenants will take the
best results for themselves, assign failures to
less important thugs, and reserve the lowest
results for thugs using ranged weapons from
cover. Depending on the circumstances, the
heroes may not immediately recognize which
figure is a lieutenant (especially if the thugs
have some means of secret communication:
radio headsets, hand signals, psychic
connection, etc.). Once any lieutenants are
incapacitated, however, the remaining
minions will revert to the thug dice rules
explained above.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
Note 2: The one ability separating
heroes from lieutenants is that
lieutenants have no Drama Points to
spend. With a large enough group of
thugs, however, lieutenants’ ability to
assign dice makes them formidable
opponents, especially early in a battle.
As the number of minions falls,
however, a lieutenant’s threat falters as
the dice pool reduces.

SAMPLE LIEUTENANTS
RIGHT-HAND MAN: Name: Brutus,
Igor, Jasper, Jeeves, etc. Gender:
Dependent on the villainous master.
Age: Adult to middle aged. Attributes:
Will Focused; Any other Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Fetch, Intimidate,
Sneak, Streetwise, Toady, Torture;
Unfocused Bookkeeping, Vehicle
(Auto, Boat, and/or Plane). Focus: 7.
TEAM LEADER: Name: Major,
Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant,
Corporal. Gender: Dependent on the
villainous master. Age: Adult.
Attributes: Wits Focused; No
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
Command, Explosives, Martial Arts,
Shoot, Throw; Unfocused Torture,
Vehicle (Auto, Boat, and/or Plane).
Focus: 6.

VILLAINS GENDER can be whatever the Game Host

These are human or humanoid enemies with
abilities on a level with the heroes, and a few
other advantages. Villains serve as the
motivators behind most plots the heroes will
face. A villain is created using the rules in
Chapter 4 and may well have one or more skills
normally unavailable to the setting (borrowed
from a different setting). Like the players’
characters, a villain does have Drama Points to
spend in an adventure. (See the Dice and Tasks
chapter.) A particularly dangerous villain may
even have more than 6 Drama Points. Most
villains have no combat skills, or very few.
(That’s what they employ minions for.)
NAME is often something invented by a villain
to impress or strike fear into the hearts of
victims.
chooses.
AGE can vary considerably. Some villains are
tragically young, others old and bitter; some
are unnaturally ancient. Specific years may not
matter, but the Game Host should choose an
age that somehow enhances the villain’s impact
on the story.
ATTRIBUTES for a villain often follow the
guidelines for players’ characters: Most villains
will have one attribute circled and one crossed
out, to indicate strongest and weakest ratings.
However, the Game Host may choose to
break the rules by assigning more than one
strength or weakness, or none at all.
OCCUPATION for many villains will fall under
the same sorts of categories as the heroes.
However, some may have an unusual or even

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LESTER SMITH
unique occupation such as “Sapient computer”
or “Living mummy.” The Game Host should
choose something that reflects the villain’s
relation to the threat of the adventure and that
provides that villain with any needed abilities.
SKILLS for villains may include combat-specific
abilities, but many villains prefer to let their
minions do the fighting. Even villains without
specific combat skills may have a strategic and
tactical sense allowing them to direct their
minions in combat (often part of their
occupation rather than a specific skill), though
many rely on lieutenants even for that. Give your
villain whatever skills seem appropriate, but rely
on occupation for most rolls.
FOCUS for most villains reflects a sense of
purpose bordering on mania. A rating of 2 or 3
is not unreasonable, though a Focus as high as
6 is also possible.
EQUIPMENT for many villains is specialized,
including weapons smaller and more powerful
than usual for the setting. Part of the benefit of
defeating a villain may be capturing that
equipment and pressing it into service against
later threats.
Note 1: Dice rules for villains are similar to
those for lieutenants.
Note 2: In addition to generally being able to
choose the best results from their minions’
pool of dice, villains can also use Drama Points
just as heroes can. For a particularly dangerous
villain, the Game Host may even allow two or
three times the number of Drama Points
available to a single hero, especially if that
villain does not have great numbers of
minions.
SAMPLE VILLAINS
EVIL PRIESTESS: Name: Maladonna. Gender:
Female. Age: Ancient. Attributes: Wits Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Arcane
Magic, Open Dimensional Portal, Second
Language (Atlantean), Summon Dread God;
Unfocused Athane, Javelin, Short Bow. Special
Abilities: Protective Sphere (magical armor),
Steal Life (one damage level per round),
Withering Touch (two damage levels per
round). Focus: 5.
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MONOMANIAC: Name: Marcel the Merciless.
Gender: Male. Age: Middle aged. Attributes: Wits
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
Arcane Science, Computers, Persuasion,
Second Language (French), Second Language
(Russian); Unfocused Command, Shoot,
Vehicle (any appropriate). Special Abilities:
Construct Doomsday Device, Hypnotism.
Focus: 6.
SERIAL KILLER: Name: Unknown. Gender:
Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits Focused; Any
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Set Traps,
Shooting, Throwing, Tracking; Unfocused
Explosives, History, Martial Arts, Small Talk,
Torture. Special Abilities: Signature Weapon +1
damage level. Focus: 5.
MONSTERS
These are creatures that break the natural laws
of whatever setting they occupy, presenting an
incredible danger to the heroes and their world.
NAME: A monster’s name is often given to it
by its victims as a term describing its origins,
its history, or the danger it represents.
GENDER, AGE, and ATTRIBUTES: The
concept of gender may or may not apply to a
monster. Likewise, its age may range from
eternal to mere seconds of existence. Monsters
may or may not have character attributes of
Brawn, Grace, Will, or Wits. Even those with
attributes may, like villains, have more than
one Focused. Other monsters are simply too
large or otherworldly for such attributes to
apply.
OCCUPATION: The very nature of a monster
is its occupation—elder god, dragon, kaiju,
global AI, sentient slime, etc.
SKILLS: A monster’s skills tend to be special
abilities outside the normal bonds of the
setting—Cause Madness, Gaze Of
Disintegration, Deadly Radiation, Turn
Invisible, Telepathic Control, etc. By choosing
which abilities are part of its “occupation,”
which are Focused skills, and which are
Unfocused skills, the Game Host can affect
how deadly effective an ability is. (A monster
with a fatal Unfocused skill will give heroes
something to worry about, while not ensuring
their demise.)
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
FOCUS: Monsters can have a Focus
rating ranging from a minimum of 2 to
a maximum of 10.
EQUIPMENT: Few monsters depend
on equipment of any sort. Even their
attacks and defenses tend to be an
innate part of their nature.
Note: By adjusting Focus, damage
ratings, innate protection, number of
attacks, and Drama Points, the Game
Host can create a wide range of
monsters.

SAMPLE MONSTERS
ALIEN PREDATOR: Name: N/A.
Gender: N/A. Age: N/A. Attributes:
Grace and Brawn Focused; None
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Brawling, Spelunking; Unfocused
Technology Operation. Special Abilities:
two actions per round; claws damage as
two blades; bite does Kill damage;
chitinous shell counts as Medium armor
with no dice penalty; any damage
received of Wound level or more sprays
adjacent characters with caustic blood,
causing Stun damage; can hold breath
for up to 10 minutes submerged or in
vacuum. Focus: 4.
DREAD GOD: Name: The Unspeakable.
Gender: Any. Age: Ancient. Attributes: Will
and Brawn Focused; Grace Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Dimension Walk, Dream
Speak, Time Dilation, Unravel Reality,
Vocal Possess, Vocal Smite; Unfocused
None. Special Abilities: Ethereality means only Focused (Grace also Focused in water); Wits
blessed or six-dimensional weapons can strike it, Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Bite, Claw, Spit,
and only every sixth strike affects it; Kill damage Swim, Tail Strike; Unfocused Leap, Run.
dispels it but does not destroy it; Time Dilation Special abilities: Its hide acts as Heavy armor
allows it to act 1d6 times each round (each with no dice penalty; its bite does Kill damage;
action rolled separately); its shout (Vocal Smite) its tail strike does Wound damage to all targets
causes either physical or psychic damage (at its within Throwing range; its claws can strike
choice) as if a shotgun; its whisper (Vocal twice per round and do Hit damage each time;
Possess) can control a single target within its spit can strike at Throwing range and does
Throwing range for a number of rounds equal Graze damage each round it is in contact with
to The Unspeakable’s Will successes minus the bare flesh; in water its movement rate is double
target’s Will successes. Focus: 7. normal (four meters freely per round, and an
additional four meters per Success Level on a
MUTANT CROCODILE: Name: Big Yeller. Swimming roll). Focus: 6.
Gender: Female. Age: N/A. Attributes: Brawn

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LESTER SMITH
RADIOACTIVE BLOB: Name: Tonkiki. Gender:
N/A. Age: Ancient. Attributes: Brawn Focused;
Wits Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Climb, Hide,
Slither, Strike, Track; Unfocused Telepathy
(emotion only). Focus: 6. Special Abilities: Its
radioactive nature causes automatic Graze
damage to anyone within Brawling range each
round; it can extend pseudopods to strike at
Throwing range, allowing 1d6/2 attacks per
round (each rolled separately); if it acts before a
target at Brawling range, it engulfs that target,
causing acid Hit damage in addition to the
radiation damage; it can be damaged only by
fire; a freezing environment renders it immobile
(by lowering its Focus rating one point each
round until zero, which does correspondingly
make its Focus rolls more desperately effective
each round until that point).
EXTRAS
Besides the heroes created by your players and
the enemies you invent for them, a role-playing
world is populated by secondary characters
representing the heroes’ friends and
acquaintances, and any other bystanders not
directly involved in the plot. You don’t need
stats for all these people; even those closest to
the heroes can often serve as just a name and
general description. If some extras end up
appearing in recurring roles, because the
heroes revisit them, you can generate game
stats for them later, as a TV writer might for
an unexpectedly popular secondary character
in a series.
EQUIPMENT
So far we’ve covered setting, plot, and
characters (the heroes, their enemies, and any
extras). Obviously, those characters will also
often use tools. Basic weapons are discussed in
the Conflict and Damage chapter, because so
much of fictional conflict involves combat.
You can treat other types of equipment as
either assisting in success (giving a dice bonus
on task rolls), or adding to effect (whether
treated as bonus Success Levels or a specified
result). For example, a first-aid kit might give a
character a dice bonus of 1 or 2 points when
treating an injury, or a futuristic medical bay
might add a bonus level of healing to a
doctor’s successful roll, or even allow a slain
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character to be resurrected. (“Klaatu barada
nikto.”) Your choice among those options will
be influenced by the setting, time period,
character expertise, and so on.
VEHICLES
Vehicles are a special category of equipment,
even though they’re still basically props in an
adventure. We’ll discuss them separately here,
however, for reasons of scale—specifically (1)
movement, (2) protection, and (3) armament.
We’ll also take a moment to briefly discuss
chases. (Note that some settings, in which
vehicles play a major role, may supersede these
general guidelines with more specific rules.)
MOVEMENT
The main benefit of a vehicle is speed. Even
something as slow as an ox cart lends speed
over long distances, whether in terms of
allowing a character to move more material
than by toting it one trip at a time, or by
avoiding the exhaustion of a long walk. Of
course, a skateboard, bicycle, motorcycle, or jet
pack increases that speed even more.
The main sacrifice of speed is
maneuverability. Which is to say that moving
objects don’t just have speed, they have
velocity—a vector. Changing a vector’s
direction requires energy, and the greater the
speed, the more energy required to change:
turning an ox cart is relatively simple; turning a
surface vehicle (land or sea) requires an arc;
turning a jet pack requires thrust. Mass also
plays a role, of course: turning a battleship
requires much more energy than turning a jet
ski traveling at the same speed.
As Game Host, your job will be to translate
speed in terms of combat rounds, generally
allowing a vehicle’s operator to cover more
than the standard two meters of foot travel.
Additionally, you will have to decide how
quickly a vehicle can turn.
PROTECTION
Most vehicles are more durable than the
human body (exceptions being Daedalus’
wings and early WWI planes). Unless a vehicle
encloses its occupants, however, that
protection doesn’t much matter.

Which is to say, an opponent on a motorcycle
may move faster than one on foot, but a single
attack can equally damage either. Successfully
hitting the faster target may be more difficult,
but the damage may actually be greater,
whether from the added impact of the attack
or from impact with the ground after a crash.
On the other hand, by partially enclosing its
occupants, a carriage, car, speedboat, or light
plane protects them with both (a) cover and (b)
concealment. Cover acts as armor, reducing the
damage of an attack; concealment acts as a
penalty to an attack roll, making a target more
difficult to be seen and be hit.
As Game Host, your job will be to translate
both a vehicle’s speed and protection to cover
and concealment. A fast vehicle may impose a
dice penalty on attacks by both its occupants and
any figures targeting them. It may also add a dice
penalty on incoming attacks by partially covering
its occupants, effectively making them smaller
targets. And it may additionally reduce damage of
successful attacks by acting as armor.
ARMAMENT
So far, we’ve focused on attacks using standard
weapons involving figures in vehicles or to
target vehicle occupants. The trouble is, some
vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers
(APCs) provide enough cover and
concealment to be virtually impervious to
handheld weapons. While some specialty
handheld weapons have been developed for
use against them—such as the bazooka of
WWII, or the later LAW (Light Anti-Tank
Weapon) rocket—their effectiveness is limited
partly because, while aiming, the user remains
vulnerable to weapons fire from the vehicle
itself. More typically then, anti-vehicle
weapons are mounted on other vehicles.
This is where issues of scale escalate. For
purposes of this game, combat involving vehicles
can be divided into the following scales.
PERSONAL SCALE: Most combat situations in
the game will fall into this category and can be
handled with the rules in the Conflict and
Damage chapter. Where day-to-day vehicles
are involved, the Game Host will have to
adjust attacks for speed, maneuverability,
cover, and concealment, as described above.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
COMBAT VEHICLE SCALE: This covers battle
conditions where armored ground, water, air,
or space vehicles are involved. Use the same
damage and armor rules as in the Conflict and
Damage chapter, but treat them as an order of
magnitude higher.
Combat vehicle armor is rated as None,
Light (1 point), Medium (2 points), or Heavy
(3 points). Handheld weapons that score
anything less than a Kill result against an
unarmored vehicle cause no damage to it.
Handheld weapons that score a Kill or
higher against an unarmored vehicle cause
Graze damage to it and no more. Each level
of armor above None subtracts a level of
damage from personal weapons that hit the
vehicle. (A personal weapon would need a
Kill +3 to even Graze a heavily armored
vehicle.)
Note that an anti-personnel weapon (such
as a heavy machine gun) mounted on a
vehicle is treated as a handheld weapon for
these rules.
As Graze damage accumulates against a
vehicle, the vehicle suffers the same sort of dice
penalties as described in the Conflict and
Damage chapter. The Game Host should
translate these results as damaging a tire,
breaking a tread, holing a radiator, rendering an
anti-personnel weapon useless, or damaging
vehicle crew, depending on the scene.
Combat vehicle weapons are rated as doing
Graze, Stun, Hit, Wound, Knockout, or Kill
damage against other vehicles, depending on
the size and nature of the specific weapon.
A combat vehicle weapon that hits a
character treats a Graze as a Kill. Personal
armor does not reduce this damage, and
though immediate medical treatment may save
the character’s life, the result is generally
permanent maiming. A combat vehicle weapon
that scores higher than a Graze against a
character destroys that target.
GRAND COMBAT VEHICLE SCALE: For
battleships on sea or in space, raise the damage
scale another stage. Individual characters are
incapable of damaging such vehicles, and if
weapons of such vehicles somehow target a
character, the result of a successful strike is
obliteration.
LESTER SMITH
EXAMPLE VEHICLES
TYPE ACCEL.* MANEUV. SPEED* COVER CONCEAL† ARMAMENT

Foot Athletics×2 Athletics 10 — — Personal

Beast Brawn×2 Grace 20–50 — — Personal

Wagon Brawn×1 Vehicle 10–30 0–1 0–1 Personal

Skateboard Athletics×1 Athletics 10–20 — — Personal

Bicycle Athletics×2 Athletics 30–50 — — Personal

Motorcycle Vehicle×5 Vehicle 90 — 1–2‡ Personal

Auto Vehicle×3–10 Vehicle 50–200 0–2 1–2 Personal

APC Vehicle×2–5 Vehicle 30–60 1–2 3 HMG, Lt AT

Tank Vehicle×2–4 Vehicle 25–45 2–3 3 HMG, Hvy AT

Canoe Brawn×1 Vehicle 3–5 — 1 Personal

Jet Ski Vehicle×3–5 Vehicle 50–80 — 1–2‡ Personal

Sailboat Vehicle×1–5 Vehicle 20–45 0–1 0–2 Personal

Motorboat Vehicle×2–6 Vehicle 20–60 0–2 0–2 Personal, HMG

Jet Pack Vehicle×3 Vehicle 45 — 0–1‡ Personal

Light Aircraft Vehicle×5–10 Vehicle 50–400 0–1 1–2 Personal, HMG

Fighter jet Vehicle×100–400 Vehicle 1000–4000 1–2 2–3 HMG, Missile

Starfighter Vehicle×500–4k Vehicle 50k–400k 2–3 2–3 Photon Cannon

*Meters per combat round; †Occupant protection only; ‡Against hand weapons, due to speed.

Smaller combat vehicles damage grand FOOT CHASES

combat vehicles—and are damaged by them—
using similar rules to the step up from personal
scale to combat vehicle scale.
Of course, the Game Host will also need to
portray dramatic effects such as the vacuum of
space, the impact of flying vehicles falling from
great height or at great speed, the pressure of
ocean water, and so on.
CHASE SCENES
Where vehicles are involved, chases often
ensue. Chases may also take place on foot, of
course. For chase scenes, speed and
maneuverability remain crucial concerns.
In a flat-out race over a straight distance, have
contestants make skill rolls versus Athletics.
Obviously, the character who first
accumulates enough Success Levels to cover
the distance first wins. If one character has
Brawn Focused, you might allow that
character a 1-point bonus on a die for sheer
power. Likewise, if a hero has Brawn marked
as Unfamiliar, you might impose a 1-point
penalty on a die for frailty.
When one character is chasing another over
open ground, determine how distant from each
other they are at the beginning, and again have

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each make Athletics skill rolls. The chase
continues until either the trailing character
narrows the gap to nothing or the fleeing
character gains enough distance to escape (into a
crowd, over a fence, or whatever suits the scene).
Again, Brawn might be allowed to give a 1-point
bonus or penalty to the rolls.
When one character is chasing another
through rough terrain or down crowded city
streets, where maneuverability becomes more
important, apply a bonus or penalty for Grace
instead. You might also rate each figure’s
knowledge of the specific terrain as Focused,
Unfocused, or Unfamiliar, and have them roll
versus that instead of Athletics.
VEHICLE CHASES
In a flat-out vehicle race over a straight
distance, have each operator roll against
Vehicle skill. If one vehicle is clearly more
powerful than the other, give that operator
bonus Success Levels (instead of a dice
modifier).
When one vehicle is chasing another over
open ground, determine how distant they are
from each other at the beginning, and again
have each operator make Vehicle skill rolls
(with possible bonus Success Levels for vehicle
power). The chase continues until either the
fleeing vehicle escapes somehow or one
vehicle gives up (possibly due to damage,
running out of fuel, etc.).
When one vehicle is chasing another
through terrain where maneuverability
becomes paramount, the operators still roll
against Vehicle skill, but give the more
maneuverable vehicle (if any) one or more
bonus Success Levels each time. Again, you
might also rate each figure’s knowledge of the
specific terrain as Focused, Unfocused, or
Unfamiliar, and have them roll versus that
instead of Vehicle.
RUNNING A SESSION
Most of what you’ve read so far involves
translating story into game mechanics and
translating dice rolls back into story effects.
But your most important job will be making
sure everyone has the best time possible
(yourself included). Here are a few tips for
accomplishing that.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
GIVE EVERYONE EQUAL ATTENTION
It’s a simple fact that some people are more
outgoing than others. In a role-playing session,
some people will speak more, get more excited,
and draw more attention to themselves than
other players will. That’s only natural. If you’re
not careful, however, some quieter players may
feel left out.
A great way of balancing things is to make
sure you frequently go in sequence around the
table, asking questions or inviting responses.
This is especially important during action
scenes. Start with the player immediately to
your left, then move to the next in line, and the
next, until you’ve gone all around the table.
Next time, start with the player immediately to
your right, and go one person at a time the
other way around the table. As you practice
this, it will become easier.
Note: During action scenes, where turn
sequence becomes essential, it can help to
count by tens: “Anyone in the 30s? My villain
has a 36”; followed by “Anyone in the 20s?
One enemy has a 24”; then, “Anyone in the
teens? I have a thug acting at 18, and another
at 12”; and finally, “Anyone in the tens? I have
two acting at a 4, and one at a 2.”
VALUE ROLE-PLAYING AND
STORYTELLING EQUALLY
Some people like to portray their characters
like actors on stage, taking on accents,
speaking in actual dialog, gesturing in
character, possibly even dressing the part.
That’s great. Other people prefer to describe
what their characters are doing like novelists
writing a scene, and that’s great, too.
Encourage your players to do whichever they
prefer. Again, the point is for everyone to have
a good time.
Remember, it’s a role-playing session, not a
board game. Chess is fine, with its fixed, clear-
cut rules. But no one pretends that it feels like
actually being a king, queen, knight, or such.
Children playing cops-and-robbers in the
backyard is fine, too, but no one expects a
definitive answer to the “Bang, I got you,”
“No, you missed!” debate.
A role-playing game should be neither about
arguing fine points of rules, nor about ignoring
LESTER SMITH
dice rolls. It’s about portraying a story with the
improvisational assistance of random numbers
measured against a few statistics.
For the D6×D6 rules to work best, make
sure to set Task difficulties and/or declare
your Game Host characters’ actions first, then
have the heroes declare their actions, then have
everyone roll dice, and finally, translate those
results. Stick with that procedure, and you’ll
best balance rules and story.
RUNNING A CAMPAIGN
An ongoing, episodic campaign can be an
amazing experience, cherished from session to
session and building lasting memories. To give
your campaign the best chance of success,
keep the following things in mind.
PLAN IT LIKE A WEDDING
The best wedding planners know not to put
some people together at the same table. By the
same token, not all friends get along together
equally well. A one-time party can handle pretty
much anyone, and they come and go as they
please. For a longstanding campaign, however,
you’ll need to pick and choose who to invite.
Start with just a few, and consult with them
before adding anyone else.
COMMIT TO THE GAME
Again, a one-time session is a fine thing, and
these rules handle adventures like that well.
But if you want a campaign, everyone has to
be committed to it. Find the best time and
place for everyone to meet, and stick with it.
Another way to enhance commitment to
the game is to involve the players beforehand.
Ask them for input. For example, if you want
to run a Space Opera campaign set a long time
ago in a galaxy far, far away, describe some
basics of the setting to them and ask the
players what they like about it, what they don’t
like, and what kind of heroes can they seem
themselves playing.
START EACH SESSION WITH A RECAP
Hosting a game can be a lot of work. Let
others share part of that work by having your
players give you a recap of the previous
session. Not only will this most quickly get
them involved, it also lets you know what they
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most enjoyed and best remember about the
story so far, so that you can provide more of
the same. And during their recap, their
commentary and guesswork about events may
spark ideas you hadn’t considered before. Your
plots will be the richer for it.
FOLLOW YOUR PLAYERS’ LEAD
By this, we mean adapting your game session
to the recap described above. But also
recognize that sometimes people just need to
let off some steam after a hard week of real
life. So if you have a deep mystery planned, but
your players are simply spoiling for a fight, why
not indulge them? Your planned mystery can
probably hold until the next session. Perhaps
as a result of the fight scene the heroes gain
additional clues, contacts, or insight into the
upcoming mystery.
CONSIDER AWARDING BONUS
EXPERIENCE POINTS
Some role-playing games are designed to award
specific points for monsters killed and treasure
gained. In effect, players compete with one
another for those points. Other role-playing
games leave it to the person running the game
to award points based on how impressed she or
he is with specific character actions.
The D6×D6 game is designed to make
experience a personal decision of each player,
to avoid either of those problems. Players who
use Drama Points during play gain the
immediate benefit of those points; players who
save those points for Experience later gain a
more long-term effect. Of course, the threats
presented in your adventures will have much
to say about how necessary Drama Points are
to character survival.
One option to consider is to present the
players with one or two Experience Points as a
group, and then let them decide how to award
them, based on who sacrificed the most, needs
the most help, role-played the best, or succeeded
at some daring ploy that advanced the story in an
awesome way. A good way to do this is by secret
ballot, with players each writing down names of
two people they think most deserving. As Game
Host, you can then tally those results and award
the points to the winner.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
ENJOY YOURSELF AS WELL
A role-playing game isn’t just about
the players. It’s about the Game
Host having fun, too. With
experience, you’ll gain the best
balance of mechanics and story. But
don’t be afraid to trade off Game
Host duties with someone else from
time to time. Simply playing a
character for a few sessions is a great
break from the duties of being a
Game Host.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So far, we’ve worked to prepare you
for your coming adventure. We’ve
explained how the D6×D6 game
came about; we’ve introduced you to
the basics of tabletop role-playing;
and we’ve covered the unique nature
of dice mechanics that multiply a
pair of six-sided dice, with difficulty
modifiers, Drama Points, and bonus
Success Levels. We’ve walked you
through one of the quickest, most
flexible character-generation systems
in existence, then went into a bit
more depth about occupations and
skills. We’ve explained how to
handle action and combat, how rules can take to fit countless worlds—from
characters can heal afterward, and how they horror to humor, from high fantasy to hard
can benefit from experience. We’ve advised science fiction.
you on preparing adventures, casting them, Feel free to mix, match, and adapt those
and equipping your cast, as well as running expanded rules as suits your needs. And use
extended campaigns. them as examples to build your own. We’d
Don’t think of this as an ending, however. love to see what you come up with!
Rather, this is a turning point. What follows Besides visiting the www.d6xd6.com Web
are example settings that build upon this site, you can always contact us with
foundational work, taking it in new directions. comments, suggestions, questions, and
Each shows you ways that these core rules can requests at www.popcornpress.com, where
be adapted to suit specific needs. In the next you can find the latest news about our books
four settings, you’ll find adaptations for and other projects. Or talk to us at a game
psychic skills, for horrific mutant abilities, for convention some time. We look forward to
supernatural powers, and for elemental fantasy hearing from you.
magic. Later settings and expansion books will —Lester Smith
show other twists and turns these basic

“Jump” photo by brett jordan is licensed under CC BY 2.0. “Flying Polyp” illustration by Dagonweb is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

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LESTER SMITH
SETTINGS
Setting chapters expand on the D6×D6 rules by
providing places to adventure and new twists on
the game mechanics. Many are based on
popular novels or other creative works. (Visit
d6xd6.com for an ongoing list.) Each setting
chapter follows the outline on this page.
BACKGROUND
This section summarizes the setting for those
new to it, identifying source material where
Game Hosts and players can learn more.
OCCUPATIONS
Some settings involve unique occupations
(wizard, space navigator, demigod), or twists on
them particular to the world.
SKILLS
For many settings, the default list in the Basic
Skills chapter will serve. For others, added
skills (dimensional folding, resurrection, xeno-
pharmacology) may be called for.
SPECIAL RULES
Any new rules not covered by occupation or
skills are covered in this section.
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EQUIPMENT
While the D6×D6 rules list basic modern
equipment, including combat gear, some
settings may feature more specific items.
DENIZENS
Beasts, minions, villains, monsters, and extras
needed for a setting are found in this section.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE
Most setting chapters provide a three-act plot
to help the Game Host usher players into that
world. Players should stop reading the setting
at that point, to avoid spoiling any surprises for
themselves!
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Short adventure suggestions follow the sample
adventure, to further spark the Game Host’s
imagination.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
This section presents any final words the
setting author may have for maintaining a
long-term series of adventures in the world.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

L’ACADÉMIE DES ARCANES

Lester Smith
In a world secretly threatened by fée
magic, one nation dares to guard the
doorway between realms and police
the supernatural. Do you have what
it takes to join them, as a member
of L’Académie des Arcanes?

BACKGROUND
The history of France has been long
and convoluted. Its secret history
even more so.
Stone tools found in the region
place early humans there nearly two
million years ago. Between 400,000
BC to 40,000 BC, Neanderthals
dwelt in the land. They were
followed by the ancestors of modern
humans, who left the world’s oldest
representational art, the 32,000-year-
old Chauvet cave paintings.
By 1,000 BC, Greeks, Romans,
and Carthaginians had established
colonies along the Mediterranean
coast, each leaving their influence on
the evolving French identity. By 50
BC the entire region became part of
the Roman Empire, but druid-
inspired raids by Germanic Franks
eventually broke Rome’s hold, and in the late 400s a republican democracy. What is less well known,
AD, the Frankish king Clovis I ruled most of the though hinted at in French fairy tales, is the truly
area. Frankish rule continued under the empire of inhuman nature of the old French aristocracy.
Charlemagne, from which emerged the medieval Steeped in magical forces since the Stone Age,
Kingdom of France. France had proven impossible for external
From the late 800s until the early 1800s, a empires to hold, for it contained numerous
series of monarchies and dynasties rose and fell portals to the world of the fée. The most human-
in France, as royal houses vied for control. seeming of those beings were also the most
During the last 300 years of this period, a magically powerful, ruling over the multitudinous
tortuous system of dynastic rule and favor other creatures of their realm. Through the
currying known as L’Ancien Régime brought the French portals, they came to seek mastery over
nation to the height of its power, leading to the mortal world as well.
colonization of Western Africa, much of the Fortunately for humankind, some members of
Americas, and Southeast Asia. our race were able to learn the ways of magic and
Eventually, however, a peasant revolt guided oppose the fairy lords. (Some, such as the infamous
by a few independence-minded leaders led much Morgan La Fey, even bore a bit of fée blood in their
of the aristocracy to the guillotine and established veins, from fairy ancestors who had consorted with

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LESTER SMITH
humans.) Thus began the legendary enmity between
wizards and fée folk, which culminated in the
French Revolution. During the Reign of Terror, a
convocation of wizards in Paris—scholars known
as Les Sept (The Seven)—managed to suppress fairy
magic long enough for the guillotine to do its deadly
work and largely rid the land of its alien rulers.
Their work did not go unopposed. Maximilien
Robespierre, a fée changeling, infiltrated the
Revolution and nearly succeeded in seizing
ultimate power for himself, before the guillotine
claimed his head. And his student Napoleon,
through a mix of political cunning and fée magic,
even managed to reconquer all the lands
Charlemagne had once held, then turned the
democratic revolution on its ear, crowning himself
the new Holy Roman Emperor. Even when
temporarily defeated by Britain, Prussia, and
Russia—each bolstered by wizardly machinations
of Les Sept—and banished to the isle of Elba,
Napoleon employed his magic to escape, and to
charm the very Republican soldiers set to guard
him. Les Sept were forced to act again, this time
suppressing Napoleon’s magic altogether, to
utterly defeat France’s last emperor.
With the Republic now on sounder footing, Les
Sept set about warding the Earth from further fée
incursion. Guided by their Hermetic master,
Eliphas Levi, they inscribed an enormous
pentagram of invisible ley lines across France itself,
with points near Lille, Toulon, Quimper, Saint-
Louis, and Bayone, and centered on a small castle
near La Châtre. Here, at the Château de Sarzay, they
anchored the one remaining portal of any size
between our world and the fée realm, and they
established in secret L’Acédemie des Arcanes to
forever guard it.
Not that temporary breaches between the
worlds don’t occur elsewhere on Earth. Students
from L’Acédemie des Arcanes are often called upon
to travel to remote regions of our world, to
surreptitiously hunt down magical threats that have
escaped the fée world, and to either execute them
or drag them back in cold-iron chains to the school
itself for magical deportation. That this work must
be done clandestinely makes it doubly dangerous.
OCCUPATIONS
Not all characters need be directly involved with
the academy. Those outside it can have any
imaginable modern occupation.
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Characters involved with the academy can
choose a magical profession (one of the six main
schools) or any other occupation appropriate to a
college (from administrator to security to janitor).
SKILLS
All skills from Basic Skills chapter are appropriate.
Also, characters at the academy (even those with
non-magical occupations) can learn individual
spells from any number of schools as skills.
(Characters with a magical occupation can cast
spells of their own school—and invent new
spells—without treating them as individual skills.)
As with other settings, the maximum number
of Focused skills (including spells) is nine.
Starting characters may also have up to three
Unfocused skills (including spells) as usual; and
spells, like other skills, can benefit from
Experience Points. Spells cannot be used as
Unfamiliar skills, however.
SPECIAL RULES
L’Académie des Arcanes teaches six schools of
magic—alchemy, conjuration, elementalism,
illusion, necromancy, and sorcery—each headed
by a member of Les Sept. (Those schools are
detailed below. A seventh, “master” school—
hermeticism—is also briefly described.)
Each branch of magic is an occupation with
its own approach to the arcane arts, its own
advantages, and its own limitations. Within those
parameters, a character can create any sort of
magical effect imaginable, at a cost in Success
Levels (see “The Formula” below). To reduce
this cost, each school employs its own unique
rituals and materials known as “anchors.”
THE FORMULA
Magic changes reality. The more extreme the
change, the more difficult a spell. In game terms, a
character must achieve a number of Success Levels
for a spell to succeed. (Spells may be rolled as
Extended Tasks but—except for alchemy and
hermetics—not as Cooperative Tasks. See the Dice
and Tasks chapter.) The number of Success Levels
is based on the following formula, rounding up:
SL = D × C × S × R ÷ A
Success Levels = Duration × Consequence × Size × Range ÷ Anchors
Values for the four multipliers are defined in the
following table:
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
MULTIPLIER DURATION CONSEQUENCE SIZE RANGE

1 Instant Mental Fist Touch

2 1 minute Physical Goblin Brawling
3 1 hour Graze Human Throwing
4 1 day Stun Horse Shooting
5 1 month Hit Elephant Viewing
6 1 year and a day Wound Dragon Global
7 100 years and a day Knockout Leviathan Extradimensional

Notes: Instant is either immediate or equates to one combat turn. Beast, Thug, and Lieutenant signify abilities as defined in the Game Host chapter;
Character indicates abilities equivalent to a hero or a villain; and Monster grants some preternatural ability as well. Mental can be either emotional
(affecting Will) or intellectual (affecting Wits). Physical implies a non-damaging effect such as shape-change. Dragon is the size of a small house or
sailing vessel; Leviathan is the size of a castle or large ship. Touch affects the caster or a target by touch; Brawling does not require touch. Global
involves any one spot on Earth known to the caster; Extradimensional involves a spot known to the caster anywhere in time or space.

THE SCHOOLS Sleeping: This traditional fairy tale potion puts a

ALCHEMY is the infusion of magic into potions.
(Legend has it that in ages past, an alchemical
item known as the Philosopher’s Stone could
even transform lead to gold and grant
immortality. But if that item ever existed, it does
no longer.) Potions can be used by anyone and
are frequently sold to non-alchemists. Anchors
for alchemy include ingredients (herbs and such),
equipment (cauldrons, ladles, distilling tubes), and
preparation (heating, stirring, incantations).
DIVISOR INGREDIENTS EQUIPMENT PREPARATION
1 Common Common Simple (an hour)
2 Uncommon Precious Complex (a day)
3 Rare Priceless Painstaking
(a fortnight)
Notes: Rare ingredients typically require some sort of mission to
gather, and Priceless equipment is usually locked up in the school’s
vaults or jealously guarded by the wealthy and powerful. Preparation
time (which must be undisturbed by anything but sleep) is how
often a task roll can be made to accumulate Success Levels toward
completing the spell. Alchemists can cooperate to combine their
Success Levels, but any bonus Success Levels beyond the intended
number are wasted, and a single failed roll ruins the potion.
EXAMPLE POTIONS
Healing: Healing potions come in many strengths;
this example instantly heals three levels of
damage in a human-sized imbiber.
SL2 = D1 × C5 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 2 × 2)
Charm: Often sold as a “love” potion, this simple
elixir makes a human-sized creature who imbibes
it utterly devoted to the giver for one minute.
How the user employs that time will determine
consequences after the potion wears off.
SL3 = D2 × C1 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (1 × 1 × 2)
human-sized target to sleep for 100 years and a
day—unless magically woken.
SL6 = D7 × C7 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (3 × 3 × 3)
Invulnerability: The name is a bit of an
exaggeration; this potion merely allows a human-
sized imbiber to ignore any damage less than
Wound for a full day.
SL9 = D4 × C6 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 2 × 2)
CONJURATION allows mages to summon objects
or creatures through temporary portals between our
world and the fée realm. It is sometimes
disparagingly called “demonism,” especially when
used to summon and bind genii to service, but these
fée spirits are forces of magic, not fallen angels.
Because the summoned object or creature
already exists, with its own capabilities, Consequence
is not included in conjuration calculations.
Conjuration always involves incantation,
which creates a contract between the conjurer
and the thing summoned. Anchors of this
incantation are name, purpose, and payment.
DIVISOR NAME PURPOSE PAYMENT
1 General Aid Release
2 Specific Goal Immunity
3 True Assignment Boon
Notes: General means any of a class of things, such as “tiger”; Specific
means one item in particular; True means a specific item for which the
caster knows the secret name granted by the universe. Aid means
general assistance; Goal means help to achieve an objective; Assignment
means a specific task for the thing summoned. Release means the
summoned thing returns to its origin when the spell ends; Immunity
means release and the item can never be summoned again by the
caster; Boon means release and the caster owes the summoned item a
favor (such as a new gem added to the scabbard of a summoned
sword, or a future service performed for a summoned creature).

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LESTER SMITH
EXAMPLE CONJURATIONS
Conjure Item: This spell summons for one minute,
from anywhere on Earth, any specific item designed
for one-handed use, at the cost of an owed boon.
SL1 = D2 × S1 × R6 ÷ A (2 × 2 × 3)
Summon Genius: This spell can summon a specific
creature from the fée realm, for one minute, to
perform a single task for the caster. The caster
need not know the being’s true name but can
never summon that specific creature again.
SL4 = D2 × S3 × R7 ÷ A (2 × 3 × 2)
Beckon Friend: This spell allows a one-time
summoning for an hour, from anywhere on Earth,
someone whose true name the caster knows.
SL6 = D3 × S3 × R6 ÷ A (3 × 3 × 1)
ELEMENTALISM magic focuses on the four
classical Greek elements: earth, air, fire, and
water. Each student chooses one of those
elements to be Focused; its opposite is
considered Unfamiliar (which means the
elementalist cannot cast spells of that type), and
the remaining two are treated as Unfocused.
Earth opposes air; fire opposes water.
The anchors for this school are unusual: (1)
Because its magic draws upon universal elements,
all spell costs are halved; and (2) the Size of an
effect is dependent on local quantity, so it is not
included in the equation. Size does, however, affect
the time required to cast a spell: Subtract the
caster’s Success Levels from the Size multiplier,
and consult the Duration column. Example: A caster
with 3 Success Levels would need a day (and a lake
or river) to raise a Leviathan-sized flood.
EXAMPLE ELEMENTAL SPELLS
Fist —of Stone: The caster’s hand turns to stone
(usable as a club); —of Air: The caster produces a
ball of fresh air; —of Flame: The caster produces a
ball of fire (which can strike and ignite one object
within Throwing range); —of Water: The caster
produces a double handful of fresh water.
SL1 = D1 × C2 × R1 ÷ A (2)
Meld —with Earth: The caster can pass through
solid materials at walking speed; —with Air: The
caster can travel through air in any direction, as if
swimming; —with Fire: The caster can pass
through flames unharmed; —with Water: The
caster can travel through water at walking speed
without breathing or suffering effects of pressure.
SL2 = D2 × C2 × R1 ÷ A (2)
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Shield —of Earth: The ground rises as a personal
shield, blocking sight and damage from one
direction; —of Air: A tiny whirlwind reduces the
damage of all ranged attacks against the caster by
one level per spell Success Level; —of Flame: A
circle of flame surrounds the caster, causing one
level of damage per spell Success Level to things
that touch it; —of Water: A wave strikes all within
the caster’s Brawling range, interrupting their
next action and forcing a Grace check to avoid
falling prone.
SL2 = D1 × C2 × R2 ÷ A (2)
Elemental Assistant: The caster conjures a goblin-
sized creature of earth (gnome), air (sylph), fire
(salamander), or water (undine), which serves as a
companion and aide. If conjured for a day or
longer (by increasing spell duration cost) the
being must spend 6 hours of every 24 resting
immersed in its native element.
SL3 = D3 × C2 × R1 ÷ A (2)
HERMETICISM is the highly ritualized magic by
which Les Sept can achieve miraculous effects
(such as the pentagram sealing off the fée world).
Though it is not an occupational option,
characters may learn an Actuate Hermetics spell,
allowing use of hermetic constructs—such as
communication and travel via existing ley lines.
Specific effects and Success Levels required
are left to the Game Host’s discretion on a case-
by-case basis. The Game Host is also invited to
use hermeticism as a catch-all for any sort of
magical effect needed for an adventure.
ILLUSION is the very heart of magic, its masters
argue. They believe that all of existence is merely
a well-sustained illusion, and that any being of
sufficient skill and will could create its own
reality. Fortunately for our world, illusion magic
is impermanent and often insubstantial. By
choosing the level of seeming consistency and
authenticity, illusionists can reduce the cost of
their spells.
DIVISOR CONSISTENCY AUTHENTICITY
1 Solid Detectable to all five senses
2 Grainy All but taste
3 Translucent Sight, sound, & touch
4 Transparent Sight & sound
5 Two-dimensional One sense (caster’s choice)

EXAMPLE ILLUSIONS
Passenger Parrot: This ghostly bird appears at a
specified location to deliver a spoken message,
then disappears.
SL1 = D2 × C1 × S1 × R6 ÷ A (3 × 4)
Fairy Food: More than one mortal has dined
sumptuously at a fée table, only to wake famished.
In a pinch, a serving of Fairy Food can keep a
person going; but repeated use can result in sudden
death by starvation when the spells wear off.
SL3 = D3 × C1 × S1 × R1 ÷ A (1 × 1)
Bogus Beast: This illusory guard dog appears at the
caster’s side and protects its creator for one
minute. Being illusory, it cannot be killed (though
it appears to take damage), and any damage it
inflicts disappears when the illusion ends.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused bite (base Graze damage, per the spell
formula), hold, track, sneak, run, leap; Unfocused
any number of tricks. Focus: 7. Speed: 2 actions.
SL4 = D2 × C3 × S2 × R1 ÷ A (1 × 3)
Sham Shelter: This small illusory tent offers
protection from the weather, and a bit of privacy.
SL4 = D4 × C2 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 3)
Formula for a larger, more detailed “Sham Chateau”:
SL8 = D4 × C2 × S6 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 3).
NECROMANCY is often characterized as “The
Dark Arts,” just as “goth” is often mistakenly
equated with “emo.” It is true that necromancers
commune with the dead, which many people find
distasteful. But necromancers revere the dead for
their wisdom and their otherworldly insights.
Anchors for this school involve both blood and
personal sacrifice. The divisor for blood sacrifice is
equivalent to the Size modifier from the spell formula
table. (For example, sacrificing a horse or bull would
give a divisor of 4). The divisor for a personal
sacrifice is outlined in the table below. (These
sacrifices are forever lost to the caster.)
DIVISOR PERSONAL SACRIFICE
1 A simple memory (e.g. this morning’s breakfast)
2 A vivid memory (e.g. a double rainbow)
3 An intimate memory (e.g. a first kiss)
4 A day of physical possession
EXAMPLE NECROMANCIES
Invoke Spirit: This spell raises a spirit of the dead
to counsel the necromancer for one minute.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
Normally, casters rely upon spirits they know and
trust. When information must be gained from an
unfamiliar spirit, a further sacrifice may be
negotiated.
SL1 = D2 × C1 × S1 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 1)
Astral Travel: With this spell, the caster’s
consciousness can travel the shadow realm of the
dead, to view any place on earth for one minute.
Unless the caster is intimately familiar with the
location to be viewed, a dead spirit must first be
invoked and negotiated with to act as guide.
SL3 = D2 × C1 × S1 × R6 ÷ A (2 × 2)
Summon Familiar: This spell allows the caster to
bind a spirit into a small living animal, to serve as
a personal assistant for a year and a day. Because
of their personal bond, the caster and familiar can
communicate thoughts and senses telepathically.
But if the familiar is slain, the caster suffers
Knockout damage, which can be healed only by
time—one level per month.
SL4 = D6 × C2 × S1 × R1 ÷ A (1 × 3)
Reanimate Corpse: This spell infuses a soul into a
dead body, allowing it to rise and serve the caster.
The body continues to decay, however, and once
all muscle tissue is gone, animation is no longer
possible. On the other hand, the body is
impervious to pain and suffers no dice penalties
from wounds in combat.
SL6 = D4 × C2 × S3 × R1 ÷ A (1 × 4)
SORCERY is the ability to charm living creatures,
and even to change their forms. A sorcerer may
use this shape-changing ability to transform an
enemy into a pig, or to personally change into a
hawk, a wolf, or some other shape.
For shape-changing, conservation of mass
requires sorcery to make up or aborb any
difference in Size, so this part of the magical
equation involves the difference between shapes
(to a minimum multiplier of 1). For charms, Size
is excluded from the formula.
The weakness of sorcery is that it always
requires a Will test. Charming or shape-changing
another creature involves an opposed Will test. If
the sorcerer scores higher than the victim, the
spell succeeds; a tie means the spell fails; and if
the victim scores higher, the spell affects the
caster instead. Because of this danger, the Success
Level cost of all sorcery spells is half normal.
The only anchor for sorcery spells is an item
related to the target, as shown in the table below.
LESTER SMITH
DIVISOR RELATED ITEM
1 Meeting eyes, or telepathic contact
2 Dead cells from the target (often hair)
3 A prized possession from the target
4 Living cells from the target (often blood)
EXAMPLE SORCERIES
Charm: With a touch, a gaze, and a test of Wills,
the caster gains the target’s favor (a positive
emotional reaction) for one minute.
SL1 = D2 × C1 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 1)
Shapeshift: For a day, the caster changes to any
animal—from eagle (goblin-sized) to horse—or
assumes the appearance of another person. A
hair, feather, or claw from the target is needed,
and a simple Will test.
SL2 = D4 × C2 × S1 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 2)
Transform: Using a person’s living blood, with a
touch and an opposed Will test, the caster turns
that target to a crow, a cat, or a similarly sized
animal for a year and a day.
SL3 = D6 × C2 × S2 × R1 ÷ A (2 × 4)
MAGICAL BALANCE
Magic is fluid and tends toward balance. In game
terms, if a player devises a spell that seems too
powerful, the Game Host is free to adjust its
effect or cost. In story terms, Les Sept constantly
police magic use. Anyone abusing its power will
run afoul of them and their many servants.
Conversely, if a desired effect seems too
expensive, the player and Game Host can
negotiate added restrictions to justify a lower cost.
EQUIPMENT
Any item appropriate to modern Earth or earlier
is suitable for this setting. Items from mythology
or fairy tales also can be justified under the
umbrella of hermetic magic.
DENIZENS
This list focuses on beings from French mythology.
Many creatures from other mythologies can be
imported from other D6×D6 settings.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
COVER: K8 Smith, with “Premade BG 32 a” photo by Brenda Clarke, “Vatican: Guards and Pope’s Guests” photo by
Zheng, “Love those cobble stoned streets!” photo by shankar s, and “Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) in Heron Pond
in Cache River State Natural Area” photo by Miguel Vieira, all licensed under CC BY 2.0 and edited.
BEASTS OF GÉVAUDAN are wolves large as a lion,
armored in magical boar’s hide. Attributes: Grace and
Brawn Focused; none Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
bite, claw, run; Unfocused none. Focus: 4. Life: Graze
× 3. Speed: 2 actions. Toughness: 3. Number: Typically 1.
DAMES BLANCHES are fée ladies who haunt
bridges and paths, demanding a tribute (usually a
dance or a courtly bow). They are masters of sorcery.
GARGOUILLE is a water dragon that once plagued
the river Seine, terrorizing boats and causing floods.
Attributes: Brawn and Grace Focused; Will
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused bite, claw, elementalism
(water), navigation, swimming. Special abilities: Its hide
acts as heavy vehicle armor with no dice penalty; its
bite does vehicle Kill damage; its claws strike twice
per round and do normal Kill damage; in water its
base movement rate is 8 meters. Focus: 6.
MORGAN LE FAY is the most infamous of fée,
despite her human ancestry. Like a trickster god, she
may aid heroes or hinder them. Some tales say she is
half sister to King Arthur, others his lover. A former
apprentice to Merlin, she is a master hermeticist.
OBERON is the current King of the Fairies. Rumor
has it that he is also the son of Morgan le Faye and
Julius Caesar. Oberon is unrivaled as an illusionist
and sorcerer, by which he holds his crown.
WOODWOSE are savage creatures of human shape
but bearlike size, covered with a thick pelt of hair,
who dwell in deep woods. Attributes: Brawn Focused;
Wits Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused athletics, bite
(Wound), camouflage, club (Wound), elementalism
(earth); Unfocused none. Focus: 5. Life: normal. Speed:
normal. Toughness: 1. Number: Typically 1.
ADVENTURE & CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Give any legend from anywhere in the world a
fée spin, then send the heroes to sort it out.
PALE BANYAN: A British aristocrat is wasting away
from a mysterious malady. Will the heroes discover
in time that his banyan tree transplanted from
Guam hosts a Taotao Mo’na (ancestor spirit).
THE NEW BEAST OF BRAY ROAD: Legend has
it a supernatural beast slaughters farm animals in
Southern Wisconsin. Now people are dying, too.
Has some new fée beast slain the old one?

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 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF THE ANCIENT

Matthew Bryan Laube
Every few hundred years, seven
ancient demons known as the Fallen
return to wreak havoc on the earth.
This time, they’ve woken in Newark,
New Jersey. But so has their nemesis,
the Ancient, an eccentric resurrected
demon hunter named Joseph Miller.

BACKGROUND
The Fallen have sought time and again
to enslave the world, with the help of
their offspring, the Cursed. Bent to the
Fallen’s will and twisted in body, these
once-normal humans are the basis of
legends from vampires to werewolves,
from trolls to succubi, and more. While
the Fallen live, the Cursed are bound to
them and draw power from them. But
when the Fallen are vanquished, their
offspring live on, regaining their human
will, yet retaining some small part of the
Fallen’s power. Some liberated Cursed
work against their creators’ return.
Others attempt to resurrect the Fallen
and bend them to their own will.
In each age, when the Fallen return,
so does their enemy, the Ancient.
Armed with his knowledge of these
demons, the Ancient recruits the best
human warriors—or the most readily
available—to aid in his struggle.

OCCUPATIONS With the Game Host’s approval, players

While this setting can be played in any age or
locale, the novels are set in modern New Jersey,
where any modern occupation is possible for
players’ characters. (There’s nothing saying a
short-order cook couldn’t single-handedly stop
Hell’s legions.) Still some occupations may be
better prepared than others, or more likely
drawn into the fray. Police officers and federal
agents are good candidates, as are doctors,
EMTs, and possibly “outcast” occupations such
as computer hackers.
might also choose one of the Cursed as an
“occupation,” or even possibly one of the
Fallen themselves. (See “Denizens” below.) But
be wary: With great power comes great visibility.
SKILLS
These skills supplement the Basic Skills chapter.
CHARM: Fallen and vampires can Charm
humans, and sometimes even other Cursed. A
successful Charm can make its target forget an

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LESTER SMITH
encounter, follow the charmer into battle, or
eat broccoli. Charm cannot force victims to
harm themselves or commit crimes against
their nature. Characters can resist Charm by
exceeding its Success Levels on a Will roll.
CURSE: Fallen can Curse a human, creating a
new vampire or werewolf hourly. This requires
time to take hold, so the newly Cursed have no
supernatural powers and may revolt against their
master using the “resist Charm” rules above.
Antibiotics can also counter a Curse if used
within four hours. Within the first hour, they
negate the Curse entirely; within the next three
hours, they break the Fallen’s mental control but
leave the victim physically transformed.
DEMON LORE: Even humans can be versed
in demon lore. This skill helps characters to
spot disguised Fallen and Cursed among the
general populace and gives insight into their
weaknesses. (All Fallen have this knowledge as
part of their “occupation.”)
FEED: Demons and vampires can feed on
humans to heal themselves. This is a combined
grapple and bite, rolled like a Fist attack (see
the Conflict and Damage chapter). For each
level of damage done, the attacker recovers
one level of damage.
FLIGHT: Most of the Fallen are winged in
demon form and can fly. Distance is 4 meters
per Success Level with a Brawn (straight flight)
or Grace (maneuverability) roll.
REGENERATE: A conscious Fallen or Cursed
character with this skill Focused automatically
recovers from one level of damage each round
as a free action. With the skill Unfocused, the
character can instead perform a Second Wind
action (see the Conflict and Damage chapter)
more than once each combat.
SHAPESHIFT: Werewolves and demons can
transform from human to a more powerful
combat form. Three Success Levels are
required to complete the change, during which
time the transformer can take no other action.
SIGHT: This very rare gift allows people to
track the Fallen and Cursed by the residue of
their aura. Only the Ancient and a very few old
Cursed possess the Sight.
TRANSFORM: The Fallen and vampires use
this skill for minor physical changes to pass
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unnoticed in a crowd. It is limited to changes
in hair color, eye color, and skin pigmentation,
and to 10% changes in height or weight. Each
Success Level allows one such adjustment.
SPECIAL RULES
Two special rules apply to this setting.
HOW TO KILL A MONSTER
While both the Fallen and the Cursed have
specific weaknesses, they are resistant to other
types of damage.
 Successful attacks using a Fallen’s or
vampire’s weakness gain 2 bonus Success
Levels against it; all other attacks are
reduced by 2 Success Levels.
 Successful attacks using a werewolf’s
weakness gain 1 bonus Success Level
against it; all other attacks are reduced by
1 Success Level.
PLUSSED AND MINUSED ATTRIBUTES
Each plus next to an attribute (Brawn, Grace,
Will, or Wits) shifts that attribute one step
upward from its normal rating (Unfamiliar to
Unfocused, Unfocused to Focused); each
minus shifts it one step downward instead.
Each plus on a Focused attribute adds a
Success Level to its use; any minus on an
Unfamiliar attribute subtracts a Success Level
(making success impossible).
The Game Host may also apply these
pluses or minuses to any rule for which they
seem reasonable. For example, a Wits plus
might add a level of Reactive Defense against a
Throwing attack, while a Grace minus would
subtract a level, and a Wits plus might add a
Success Level to a Bargaining skill roll.
DENIZENS
Besides normal humans, the world of The
Ancient is peopled by the following creatures.
THE ANCIENT
The Ancient is humankind’s protector and
crazy uncle. Like the Fallen, his spirit possesses
the body of another human, though never an
unwilling one. As an immortal, while he can be
slain, he is immediately reborn in another body
as long as any Fallen survive. His many useful
abilities are offset with a few limitations.

Abilities: Grace++; Will++. Focused Charm,
Demon Lore, Regenerate, Sight.
Limitations: The Ancient cannot grasp
modern technology skills. This means he
cannot operate computers or motor vehicles,
and any attacks he makes with modern
weapons are limited to Unfocused.
Mantle of the Ancient: If the Ancient is
killed, the hero physically nearest him may
assume his powers, as long as any Fallen
remain alive. This hero becomes the Ancient
and gains all his powers and limitations.
THE SEVEN FALLEN
Are they rebel angels, ancient Babylonian
spirits born to torment humankind, aliens from
another dimension? Whatever their origin, they
are bent on conquering the earth.
As with the Ancient, each of the Fallen
inhabits one body at a time. (Unlike the
Ancient, a Fallen who is slain doesn’t
immediately return.) The Fallen takes on some
of the personality, memories, and skills of the
person whose body it possesses. However, a
Fallen’s Focused skills are set by its own nature;
any skills of its host become permanently
Unfocused (though any pluses are retained).
Fallen have a weakness to fire and electricity.
LILITH: THE MOTHER OF MONSTERS
Lilith is renowned not for her might but for
her great intellect. Her plots and schemes are
legendary, and she has been responsible for
destroying many Kingdoms of Man without
revealing an inch of her scaled skin. Lilith
always takes possession of a female host.
Likes: Long walks through the graveyard,
seducing kings, scheming evil schemes.
Dislikes: Humankind, the color pink.
Demonic Appearance: Black-scaled, winged
female humanoid with a flat nose, needle-like
teeth, and long fingers. Attributes: Will++ (in
demon form); Wits++. Skills: Focused
Charm, Curse, Feed, Flight, Transform, Chill:
The queen of the Fallen can automatically
absorb the heat energy of all living beings
within Throwing range, slowing their
movement to half, and imposing a 1-point
penalty on their task rolls. As an action, she
can focus this Chill on a single target, instantly
immobilizing the victim and causing damage
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
with a base Stun rating. The target can use
Brawn or Will as a Passive Defense (see the
Conflict and Damage chapter). Focus: 7
ASMODAI: FIRE DRAGON
The king of the Fallen is known for his polite
manners and calm demeanor. Oh yes, he’ll burn
down your village and rip your arms off, but in
such a polite, proper way you might forgive
him. His control of other Fallen is mostly
through flattery, but do not mistake that for
weakness. His thirst for destruction and lust for
world domination know no equal. Asmodai
always takes possession of a male host. Likes:
Abducting virgins, fire, power, manners.
Dislikes: Rudeness, punk rock music.
Demonic Appearance: Human-sized (though
large) crimson dragon. Attributes: Will++ (in
demon form). Skill: Focused Charm, Curse,
Feed, Flight, Transform, Fire Breath: Once
every 30 rounds (one minute), Asmodai can
spit flaming saliva as a Throwing attack with a
Base damage of Wound on the first round. A
target hit by this attack automatically suffers
continued flame damage each round thereafter
at one level less. Metal armor protects on the
first round only; other armor offers continuing
protection. Focus: 7
AMON: RAGE DEMON
Amon is a force of implacable fury. Always
impatient to cause harm, Amon cannot be
trusted to do anything but fight and kill.
Darkness is Amon’s domain, and the demon
uses this to hinder its enemies. Amon will take
possession of either a male or female host,
whichever is most easily available. Likes: War,
smashing things. Dislikes: Peace, anger
management. Demonic Appearance: A
broad-chested, powerfully built, black-scaled
humanoid with a bull’s head and hooved feet.
Abilities: Brawn++ (in demon form). Skills:
Charm, Curse, Feed, Flight, Transform, Blind:
Amon can generate darkness, negating nearby
light sources and reducing vision for all humans
or Cursed in the vicinity. All attack rolls (except
Amon’s) suffer a 2-point penalty. Blind does
not work in direct daylight, however. Focus: 7
URA: PLAGUE DEMON
An artist of death, Ura likes to take its time in
cleansing the earth of the human scourge. Ura
exists to spreading disease and misery. Unlike the
LESTER SMITH
other Fallen, it has no real lust for power or blood,
viewing death as its own reward. Ura takes either
male or female form. Likes: Causing slow,
lingering death. Dislikes: Experiencing a slow
lingering death. Demonic Appearance: A filthy
humanoid figure, raggedly “cloaked” in long
greasy hair, with insect pincers in place of hands.
Abilities: Will++ (in demon form). Skills:
Charm, Curse, Feed, Flight, Transform, Disease:
Ura’s mere touch invokes sickness. A successful
Will roll by the victim limits the effect to a nasty
cold. Failing this Will roll, the victim suffers an
incapacitating disease (Game Host’s choice) that
lasts while Ura is alive and in the region. Focus: 7
ASHAKKU: MIND DEMON
Ashakku is a master manipulator who enjoys
using others to do his dirty work. Brilliant but
lazy, he avoids interacting with other Fallen
unless he can use them for some grand
scheme. He does respect Lilith though, as they
employ common techniques. Ashakku
generally takes male form. Likes: Weak-
minded fools. Dislikes: Pretty much
everything else. Demonic Appearance: A
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bloated, insectoid figure like a human-sized
tick walking upright. Abilities: Wits+++ (in
demon form). Skills: Charm, Curse, Feed,
Flight, Transform, Illusion: Ashakku can cloud
and confuse human minds. With this power,
he can hide from view or make humans “see”
things that are not there. While there is no
limit to the number of illusions he can create, a
successful Wits roll allows characters to see
through them. Focus: 7
GALLU: WIND DEMON
Though physically the smallest of the Fallen,
Gallu is by far the loudest. Her cry can
alternately lure sailors to their deaths or level a
building. Vain and cruel, Gallu longs to create
an army of worshipful Cursed. She always takes
a female host. Likes: Luring men to their death,
pop music. Dislikes: The Ancient, losing.
Demonic Appearance: A beautiful, black-
scaled woman with bat wings and long, braided
hair that moves with a sinuous will of its own.
Abilities: Grace++ (in demon form). Skills:
Charm, Curse, Feed, Flight, Transform, Scream:
This banshee cry can stun or even slay. The skill
has a base damage of Stun. Everyone in
Shooting range is affected, though a
successful Will or Brawn roll can reduce
the damage. (Armor does not protect.)
Unless Gallu’s scream is stopped, it
automatically continues, increasing one
level in intensity each round. Once it
reaches Kill, the Scream takes on
“Vehicle Weapon” scale (see the Game
Host chapter), still growing. In this way,
it can destroy even buildings of concrete
and steel. The only way to interrupt the
Scream is to damage Gallu, in which
case she cannot Scream for a number of
rounds equal to the levels of damage
suffered. Focus: 7
MARDUK, MULTI-HEADED DEMON
Marduk is a band of Demons in one
body, consisting of four serpentine
necks and heads. (As such, it can never
be played as a hero.) Physically the
mightiest of the Fallen, in demon form
it grows to the size of a two-story
house. All four heads must be Killed to
slay it, or it will regenerate even
decapitated parts. Likes/Dislikes:

None Marduk’s personalities can agree on.
Demonic Appearance: Four huge black
serpent heads and necks joined at the middle,
each serving as a limb or a head for the whole.
Abilities: Brawn++++ (in demon form).
Skills: Feed, Transform. Focus: 3
THE CURSED
The Cursed come in many shapes and sizes,
but all share some powers and weaknesses.
Those freed from the Fallen’s mastery can be
either heroes or enemies. Their original human
occupation remains their main “skill” (though
landing a job in their new form may be tough),
and they may know any typically human skills.
Each must also possess the skills listed for its
type (whether Focused or Unfocused).
VAMPIRE
These minor demons can be nearly as
dangerous as the Fallen themselves. They share
the Fallen’s strong resistance to damage other
than their weakness, have the ability to Charm,
and can Feed to instantly repair damage.
Abilities: Brawn+. Required Skills: Charm,
Feed, Transform. Weaknesses: Fire, Electricity
WEREWOLF
These powerful shape-shifters can still pass for
human (in poor lighting), although after
transforming once, they never completely regain
their original human form. They are often used
by the Fallen as foot soldiers. Abilities:
Brawn+ (Human); Brawn++ (Transformed);
Wits– (Transformed). Required Skills:
Regenerate, Transform. Weakness: Electricity
EXTRAS
Heroes may also encounter these creatures.
CURSED HUMAN
These fresh conscripts have been Cursed but
not yet transformed. (See the Curse skill
above.) They are each controlled by the
specific Fallen that Cursed them. Until their
four-hour window has closed, their abilities are
as normal humans.
DEMON BEASTS
These are Cursed animals. They bear some
resemblance to Werewolves and share their
attribute adjustments, required skills, and
weaknesses. Entirely loyal to the Fallen, they
die immediately when their creator is slain.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
ZOMBIES
Shambling corpses animated by the Fallen,
these reanimated dead are slow, weak, and
fragile, but they can be dangerous in groups.
THE INFINITUS
This powerful organization of free vampires is
working to resurrect the Fallen (to draw on
their power) and control them (to remain free
themselves). They own many large shell
companies and even government members.
THE DISCIPLES
A small group of Cursed working with the
Catholic Church, their end goals are hidden,
but they fight to keep Infinitus in check, as
well as help the Ancient against the Fallen.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
INTERVIEW WITH (ANOTHER) VAMPIRE
Following the events of Ancient Revelations, the
captured bodies of the Fallen have gone
missing. Not trusting his own government,
FBI Agent Ted Takahashi takes a band of
agents fresh out of the academy to investigate.
SCENE I: THEFT
Takahashi assembles the team at a secret
location he calls “Warehouse 14.” He explains
that the Fallen were sealed in five crates
labeled “Bright Steel” in this very building.
Last night the crates vanished, and he thinks
the Infinitus might be involved.
The heroes are to track down Abraham, a
free vampire, and ask for clues to the Infinitus’
local stronghold. Abraham is known to frequent
scenic downtown Newark, particularly the old
Stanley Theater on Orange Street. Allow the
heroes time to get acquainted, do any research
that inspires them, and formulate a plan.
SCENE II: ARSON
The heroes arrive to find the theater on fire.
Sounds of battle lead them to an alley where
Abraham is fighting two other vampires. He is too
badly wounded to defend himself further. If the
heroes rescue him, he reveals that his “playmates”
were from the Infinitus. Although he was not
aware of the crates’ theft, he does know of an
Infinitus outpost at an abandoned mall. Abraham
will not accompany the heroes, explaining he must
feed to recover from his wounds, something he
refuses to do in front of witnesses.
LESTER SMITH
SCENE III: MAYHEM AND MURDER
The mall is a massive two-story building that
has been closed down for two years. It is
currently under lease to Always Sparkle in
Sunshine Corp, because vampires have a poor
sense of humor. Although the stores are closed
and empty of product, signs remain for
“Sears”, “Macy’s”, and, of course, “Orange
Julius.” A Best Buy on one side has been
converted to a first-floor office. The entire
second floor has been converted into an open
space with clear plastic walls facing outward.
The heroes may prepare however they see
fit—sneaking, getting a warrant, or rushing in
with guns blazing. What they encounter is best
divided into “Creatures” and “Events.”
CREATURES
Three sets of three human employees patrol
the mall. They are evenly spread through the
facility, so only one team can be engaged at a
time, unless the heroes split up. The guards are
equipped with handguns, fine suits, and a
powerful dislike of federal officers.
Two vampires are in the office section doing
paperwork. Vampires love paperwork.
Six human scientists are in the old food court,
which has been converted to a lab. They have
developed a way to Curse lab animals (including
kittens and puppies leftover from a former pet
store), turning them into fluffy, super cute, flesh-
craving monsters. Because they have not devised
a way of controlling the creatures, the scientists
seem destined to become monster food. If the
heroes arrive before then, the scientists will not
resist arrest.
Dozens of demonic puppies, kitties, hamsters,
budgies, and even goldfish line the second floor
in cages. If released, these Demon Beasts will hunt
down the scientists that created them, unless
distracted by chew toys first (or anything they
perceive as chew toys). They will not attack the
heroes except to defend themselves.
EVENTS
When the heroes first enter, no alarm has been
triggered. Once they engage any group of
CREDITS
DESIGN: Matthew Bryan Laube. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Mauro Balcazar. MARDUK ILLUSTRATION: K8 Smith.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“Homs!!!” photo by Freedom House is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
- 46 -
guards, the other guards and the vampires
come running.
If the vampires are slain or the scientists are
found, someone triggers an alarm and an auto-
destruct sequence. The Orange Julius holds a
powerful bomb with a timer set for five minutes.
The heroes can learn of it from any scientist or
vampire. One minute into the countdown, the
Demon Beasts’ cages open automatically.
Examining office paperwork or questioning
scientists or vampires, the heroes learn that
Infinitus did not steal the Fallen’s remains.
Their own lab samples date back to the 1500’s.
If the building is destroyed, a search of the
wreckage reveals the remains of this demon.
If the heroes return to search the ruins of
the Stanley Theater, they find part of a single
crate with the label “Bright Steel.”
ADVENTURE SEEDS
The Pack: A motorcycle gang of werewolves
has recently been causing trouble in South
Jersey. FBI agents are called in to investigate.
A Vampire, a Werewolf, and the Ancient
Walk into a Bar: Joseph Miller and friends
investigate a series of violent murders in a
small college town. At a local bar, they find a
vampire and a werewolf waiting for them.
Spring Break from Hell: The Fallen are
back!—this time during spring break in Miami
Beach. They are raising an army of drunk
undead college students to conquer the world.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
The rise of the Fallen serves as a good
campaign start, sweeping regular humans up
into the action, perhaps even changing them.
As Fallen are defeated, the campaign can
turn to a search for any remaining demons,
bringing the heroes into contact with the free
Cursed, both good and evil.
Late in the campaign, the heroes may turn
their attention to preparing an “unwelcoming
party” for the next incursion of the Fallen.
Such a campaign can even span centuries.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
ATHENA VOLTAIRE
Steve Bryant
The Athena Voltaire graphic novel
series follows the adventures of a
globetrotting aviatrix as she takes on
Nazis, monsters, and the occult. In
this setting chapter, you’ll be able to
save the world in your own 1930s
adventures!

BACKGROUND
Earth: The mid-1930s. As tensions
among world powers escalate to the
inevitability of World War II,
another war already rages between
the forces of white and black magic.
Adolph Hitler’s belief in the
occult has led him to send his
agents—members of the Thule
Society—to every corner of the globe
in an effort to acquire mystical
artifacts that can aid him in his quest
for world domination. At the heart
of his quest is Agharta, the mythical
capitol city of the Hollow Earth,
whose twisted denizens, the Vril,
possess powers and artifacts that
blend science and the supernatural.
With the power of the Vril behind
him, Hitler would be unstoppable.
Standing against the Vril is the
Brotherhood of Shambalha, a society of
mystics sworn to prevent the power
of Agharta from being unleashed.
For unknown reasons, the
Brotherhood is prevented from
directly challenging the Vril and the forces that OCCUPATIONS
seek them. Instead, they utilize people from all Much of what distinguishes Athena Voltaire
walks of life to act in their stead. Your from other pulp adventurers is the aviatrix’s
character is one of these proxies. backstory. The daughter of a stage magician,

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LESTER SMITH
Athena picked up many valuable skills while
assisting in her family’s act, and in the circuses,
Wild West shows, and barnstorming air shows
that her family toured with. Her talents serve
her well, enabling her to get clients out of
many a precarious scenario.
This backstory also provides many of her
adventuring companions. There are still the usual
archeologists, scientists, and soldiers-of-fortune
who need air transport in and out of exotic
locales, but Athena’s history allows for a variety
of colorful traveling companions, ranging from
stage magicians, grifters, cowboys, actors, and
more. Any one of these characters could be the
lead in equally entertaining adventures—as your
own hero will demonstrate. Choose from the
following occupations for your hero.
ACTOR/ACTRESS
Don’t let the good looks fool you. Lon Chaney
was the Man of 1000 Faces, Ralph Faulkner
trained many actors in the art of
swordsmanship, and Johnny Weissmuller was a
former Olympic athlete…what hidden abilities
does your actor possess?
AVIATOR/AVIATRIX
With the advent of air travel, explorers and
treasure hunters can traverse the globe in
search of whatever MacGuffin they desire.
And a pilot that can lend a hand when it all hits
the fan is worth his weight in gold.
CAPTAIN
Sometimes the best way to get where you’re
going is by sea. The captain (or Cap’n) is to
ships and submarines what the aviator is to
planes and zeppelins.
DILETTANTE
Bruce Wayne, Lamont Cranston, Lord
Greystoke, and other pulp heroes have used
their unlimited monetary resources to right
wrongs, fight evil, or seek fortune and glory.
GOVERNMENT AGENT
From an S.I.S. agent in His Majesty’s Secret
Service to a G-Man working for J. Edgar
Hoover, the Government Agent is on the case.
GRIFTER
There’s always a scam to run, a pocket to pick,
or just a bald-faced lie to tell. The mark never
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sees it coming, either. And for grifters with
vision, running the long con or coordinating an
elaborate heist can make for a big payday.
MYSTIC/MEDIUM
From tarot reading, speaking with the dead,
seeing spirits and more, the mystic is privy to
secrets from beyond the pale. Or maybe it’s just
a grifter running an exceptionally long con. The
choice of how to play this occupation is yours.
OCCULTIST
Ancient texts in dead languages and mysterious
glyphs that guard abandoned tombs—
someone needs to translate them—not to
mention being versed in the mythologies of
multiple cultures, understanding local customs,
or just recognizing a significant artifact or two.
The occultist is just the person for the job.
PIRATE
The South China Sea is full of adventure—and
Malay Pirates rule the waters! Not every pirate
is the rape-and-pillaging type, though. Some
are simple sailors who take on an occasional
smuggling job over earning an honest buck.
POLICE OFFICER
Whether in uniform or plain clothes, they
protect and serve—even when they’re pulled
into the weird world of the supernatural.
PRIVATE DETECTIVE
From hardboiled private dicks like Sam Spade
to bantering dilettantes like Nick and Nora
Charles, it doesn’t matter—the private
detective is on the case.
SCIENTIST
Archeologists unearthing ancient civilizations,
anthropologists steeped in esoteric cultures,
physicists working to split the atom,
cryptozoologists exploring mysterious creatures,
and more—scientists peel back the veil of the
pulp universe.
SERVANT OF FAITH
Like the occultist, priests, reverends, pastors,
ministers, monks, imams, pandits, and rabbis
are a great source of esoteric knowledge,
ancient information, and even mysterious
rituals sometimes.

SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
When someone needs a hired gun, the soldier
of fortune is there. It doesn’t matter where the
training comes from—the merchant marine,
the French Foreign Legion, or even former
soldiers and government agents—what matters
is that the soldier of fortune has got your back.
STAGE MAGICIAN
From simple sleight of hand to elaborate
escapes, the stage magician always has
something up the sleeve.
WILD WEST PERFORMER
Sharpshooters, trick riders, knife throwers, or
all of the above—the Wild West performer has
seen better days before all the performing
opportunities dried up. But the vista for
adventure remains wide open.
SKILLS
All skills from the Basic Skills chapter apply.
SPECIAL RULES
Paranormal powers from other D6×D6 settings
can be imported into this setting, if desired.
MACGUFFINS
A MacGuffin (sometimes referred to as a
McGuffin or a Maguffin) is a term coined by
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
film director Alfred Hitchcock to refer to a
plot device that drives a story’s narrative. A
MacGuffin can be an object, a person, or even
a goal, and its specific nature is typically
unimportant to the overall plot. It serves the
purpose to motivate the characters to action.
THE MACGUFFIN AS AN OBJECT: Within
the context of the world of Athena Voltaire, this
is the most common use of the term. The Ark
of the Covenant, the Maltese Falcon, and the
Rocketeer’s jetpack are all examples of
MacGuffins as objects. These objects must be
found—or, at the very least, kept out of the
hands of the bad guys.
THE MACGUFFIN AS A PERSON: Sometimes,
it all comes down to a daring rescue, revenge,
or self-defense. Private Ryan in Saving Private
Ryan, or Ethan Edwards’ niece in The Searchers
are great examples of living MacGuffin rescue
stories. Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now or
Bill from Kill Bill demonstrate how the
MacGuffin can be used as a revenge motif.
Unmasking the killer in movies like Clue or
Scream show how finding a live MacGuffin is
an act of self-preservation.
THE MACGUFFIN AS A GOAL: This is
generally the loosest of the uses of MacGuffin.
Sure, getting out of French Morocco is the
LESTER SMITH
goal in Casablanca, but one could also
extrapolate “finding the Ark of the Covenant”
and “saving Private Ryan” into the MacGuffin
as a goal, rather than an object or person.
More often than not, if the word MacGuffin
is used in relation to the world of Athena Voltaire,
it will be in reference to an object or a person.
EQUIPMENT
Any equipment appropriate to a 1930s setting
is appropriate to the world of Athena Voltaire.
DENIZENS
The following creatures share the world of
Athena Voltaire with the players’ characters.
ZOMBIE
Reanimated corpses, Zombies don’t have the
power to infect humans with zombieism, but
they’re relentless combatants. Treat them as
humans with Brawn and Will Focused, Grace
and Wits Unfamiliar, no skills, a Focus number
of 8, and an immunity to the normal dice
penalties of taking damage.
NAGA
Usually enslaved by the Vril as guardians of
access points to the Hollow Earth, these
creatures are fierce warriors. A Naga is a four-
armed humanoid with the lower body of a
snake. Treat them as humans, but with two
coordinated attacks each round.
YETI
Fiercely loyal to the Brotherhood of
Shambalha, Yetis are the natural enemies of
Nagas. Treat them as humans with 1 point of
natural armor (without a dice penalty and
brawling attacks with a base damage of Stun.
WEREWOLVES
Not aligned with the Vril or the Brotherhood of
Shambalha, werewolves are primal creatures
that attack both good and evil characters. Treat
them when transformed as savage humans with
Brawn Focused, Wits Unfamiliar, a base damage
of Hit, and the ability to heal from one damage
level each round, except from silver weapons.
VAMPIRES
Like werewolves, vampires aren’t a part of the
war between the Vril and the Brotherhood of
Shambalha. Unlike werewolves, vampires
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possess the ability to reason, and they operate
only in their own interest. Treat them as
humans with all attributes Focused, a base
damage of Stun, the ability to command bats,
wolves, and even weak-willed humans. Garlic
and holy symbols repel them; holy water and
sunlight Wounds them.
SKELETON WARRIORS
These mindless drones sometimes guard ruins
or hidden Vril items. Treat them as humans
with Grace Focused, Brawn Unfamiliar, a
Focus number of 9, and immunity to the
normal dice penalties for taking damage.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE DEVIL’S SEA
In which a deadly dull job turns simply deadly.
ACT I: THE FOUR-EYED TURTLE
The heroes have been hired to escort
cryptozoologist Ivan Sanderson to an
unnamed island about 100 km south of Tokyo.
Unknown to the group, the region is
colloquially referred to as the Devil’s Sea—a
portion of the Pacific that experiences
phenomena similar to the Bermuda Triangle,
including ghost ships, USOs, lapses in time,
and electronic-equipment malfunctions. The
team’s journey and arrival are uneventful, with
no hints of strange phenomena.
Sanderson is searching for the Sacalia Bealei,
also known as Beal's Four-Eyed Turtle, a species
of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. Sacalia
Bealei doesn’t actually have four eyes; the
creature earned that nickname for the two
white spots on the back of his head.
It’s dull work, and the group will likely find
it boring. However, they were hired for a
“puddle-jumping milk run.” By comparison,
that would be an exciting adventure.
The heroes’ boredom proves short-lived as
Doctor Sanderson mysteriously disappears.
ACT II: DANGEROUS JOURNEYS
There should be tracks and other indicators
where Sanderson was taken (by a large party).
Tracking Sanderson will lead the heroes
through a series of perils:
CROCODILES: A rickety rope bridge spans a
crocodile-infested river. Heroes failing an Athletics
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
roll fall into the water and must defeat
crocodiles on their way to safety.
CAVE CREATURES: Passing a
beachside cave, the heroes encounter
1–6 Japanese Spider-Crabs. Spider-
Crabs can grow in size to 12 feet
across. Usually gentle (despite their
appearance), these Spider-Crabs attack
the characters. Possibly, something has
driven them from their habitat.
NAZI BEACHHEAD: A small party
of Nazis has established a
beachhead. The heroes must quietly
dispatch them before they can alert
their superiors. After defeating the
Nazis on the beach, the characters
discover a Chinese junk on the
horizon and a couple of speedboats
moored nearby. Night is falling.

ACT III: DEVIL’S SEA DWELLER

Doctor Sanderson has been taken
hostage by a Thule Society team
exploring a different cryptozoological
phenomena in the region. The Nazis
are using the Chinese junk, immune
to the mechanical failures that are
frequent in the region, for their base
of operations.
The backstory for the Nazi
mission can be revealed either by the
heroes eavesdropping when they
arrive on the junk, or piecemeal from
evidence they find lying around (papers in an photos depict a blurry, massive figure
officer’s quarters, etc.), or even through destroying a Nazi ship and terrorizing its
Sanderson himself, once he is rescued. crew. Also recovered in the wreckage,
The Nazis have been sent here because the embedded in a fragment of the ship’s hull,
Third Reich has lost four vessels in The Devil’s was a long, thick claw.
Sea (the Nazis use that term). Until recently, The Nazis are in the Devil’s Sea because
they didn’t know whether it was due to the they feel that whatever creature did that much
strange phenomena associated with the area, or damage must be utilized by the Reich.
to something else. Throughout the time the heroes are aboard
One of their reconnaissance missions the junk, they hear and feel explosions deep
found a camera, unharmed, floating among the below the surface of the water. The Nazis have
flotsam and jetsam of the last lost ship. The been dropping explosives in an effort to draw the
photographs it yielded brought them to the creature out. (As Game Host, use the explosions
unnamed island. to create a sense of dread and foreboding as the
Through Sanderson, the Nazis, or by their characters sneak around the ship.)
own discovery, the heroes see a group of The heroes—with or without Sanderson—
blurry black-and-white photographs. The are startled by a fearsome roar. Heading

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LESTER SMITH
toward the alarm, they come face to face with
the creature. It stands over the remains of two,
maybe three, Nazis—when you’re just dealing
with body parts, it’s hard to get a good count of
how many people they used to be.
The creature stands ten feet tall, with lizard-
like features, huge claws, and sharp teeth. Guns
and knives won’t harm it, but fire will drive it
away. A good explosion will either kill it or send
it back to the depths.
After defeating the monster and, presumably,
the Nazis, the heroes and Sanderson can travel
back home however they initially arrived at the
island, without any ill effects of the Devil’s Sea.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
SÉANCE: A member of the team is contacted
by an acquaintance who believes she was
scammed by a spiritualist. The team goes
undercover to investigate the charlatan and is
surprised to learn that the medium is on the
level and dealing with powerful forces. Among
the spiritualist’s possessions is a powerful
MacGuffin. The heroes must acquire it from
the spiritualist—by force, purchase, or
deceit—before a team of Thule Society Nazis
operating stateside do.
THE LOCAL WARLORD: At an oasis in Egypt,
a seemingly innocuous exchange between one
of the team and a beautiful woman raises the
ire of her husband—a local warlord.
DOUBLE-CROSS DELIVERY: The team is
hired to locate and retrieve a MacGuffin for a
Hong Kong businessman. The mission itself
goes easier than planned, but when the
characters return to Hong Kong to deliver the
object and collect their fee, they’re double-
crossed. Their client, a power broker with both
government and underworld connections, has
used his influence with local law enforcement to
turn the hero team into Public Enemy #1. Can
the characters evade mobsters and local law
enforcement long enough to clear their
names—or at least get out of Hong Kong alive?
MISTAKEN IDENTITY: An actor associate of a
member of the team is mistaken for a famous
CREDITS
DESIGN: Steve Bryant. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Steve Bryant. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
- 52 -
occultist and kidnapped by Nazi agents. The
heroes have to rescue him or her. Alternately, if
a member of the team is an actor, she or he can
be kidnapped. The player will have to vamp for
time until the team comes to the rescue.
TONG WAR: While dining in New York City’s
Chinatown, the heroes are alarmed to hear
gunfire, screams, and a battle royale coming
from the back of the restaurant. The team
reaches the kitchen in time to witness a brutal
gangland slaying as Chinese gangsters kill the
entire kitchen and wait staff—except one. A
beautiful waitress, injured in the attack, tells
the characters that an underworld Tong has
stolen an heirloom from her family and pleads
with the group to get it back. As the characters
proceed, they learn that the waitress is actually
a powerful sorcerer and the leader of a rival
Tong. And the family heirloom? A powerful
mystical artifact that the tongs have been
fighting over for a century.
MURDER MOST FOUL: One of the heroes—a
performer or aviator—is contacted by a
member of his former troupe. The members of
the troupe are being murdered one by one, and
only the character and his contact remain alive!
The heroes travel to the home of the contact,
who is murdered soon after. The murderer is
(1) a vampire who was murdered by members
of the troupe years ago, after a tryst with a
member, or (2) a Thule agent, seeking a
mystical heirloom that the contact possessed,
and later unleashes a supernatural menace the
heroes and Nazis must defeat together.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
An extended adventure, sending the heroes all
over the globe for a collection of MacGuffins
(lost volumes from the Library of Alexandria, a
mystical set of swords from the Crusades,
fragments of an ancient stone tablet, etc.) that,
when combined or collected, form a powerful
supernatural weapon. Pit the characters against
a competing team of adventurers, Nazis, Malay
pirates, and more.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS

J. Robert King, author of The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls
Adventure on the streets of old
London Town, giving aid to the
greatest detective who ever lived—
Sherlock Holmes. The master sleuth
knows the criminal mind like no
other, but he can be in only one place
at a time. That’s where you come in.
Holmes employs a ragtag group of
street urchins for a shilling a day plus
expenses, with a guinea for any who
discover a vital clue. He calls his eyes
and ears the Baker Street Irregulars.

BACKGROUND
In his memoir A Study in Scarlet, Dr.
John Watson gives the following
description of his first encounter with
the Irregulars:
“What on earth is this?” I cried,
for at this moment there came the
pattering of many steps in the hall
and on the stairs, accompanied by
audible expressions of disgust upon
the part of our landlady.
“It’s the Baker Street division of the
detective police force,” said my
companion, gravely; and as he spoke
there rushed into the room half a dozen
of the dirtiest and most ragged street
Arabs that ever I clapped eyes on.
“’Tention!” cried Holmes, in a
sharp tone, and the six dirty little
scoundrels stood in a line like so
many disreputable statuettes. “In He waved his hand, and they scampered away
future you shall send up Wiggins alone to report, downstairs like so many rats, and we heard their
and the rest of you must wait in the street. Have shrill voices next moment in the street.
you found it, Wiggins?” “There’s more work to be got out of one of
“No, sir, we hain’t,” said one of the youths. those little beggars than out of a dozen of the
“I hardly expected you would. You must keep force,” Holmes remarked. “The mere sight of an
on until you do. Here are your wages.” He official-looking person seals men’s lips. These
handed each of them a shilling. youngsters, however, go everywhere and hear
“Now, off you go, and come back with a everything. They are as sharp as needles, too; all
better report next time.” they want is organisation.”

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LESTER SMITH
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The stories of Sherlock Holmes span the 1890s
through the early 1900s. Under Queen Victoria
and King Edward, the British Empire is at the
height of its powers. The empire includes more
than 450 million people, one quarter of the Earth’s
population, with key colonies and territories in
Canada, South Africa, Iraq, India, and Australia.
Britain’s maritime dominance makes it the policing
force of the world during the Pax Britannica, and
its economic dominance makes it the richest and
most formidable nation prior to the rise of the
United States in the 20th century.
LONDON
The ancient Roman city of Londinium has
become the capital of the world, and the London
of Holmes’s time is a mixture of two millennia of
history and modern innovation. The city centers
on the Thames River, with the governmental and
banking centers on its north banks and the arts
and common districts to the south. A number of
bridges span the great river, the most famous of
which are the Tower Bridge (near the Tower of
London) and the Westminster Bridge (near the
Houses of Parliament). Numerous parks
provided green space for Londoners, among
them Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, St. James Park,
and Victoria Park.
TECHNOLOGY
The world is in the throes of a humanistic
optimism about technology and the fruits of the
Industrial Revolution, which started in the British
Midlands. Coal and steam power dominate, and
gas lamps fill the streets. Electricity is known but
not widely used. Telegraphs are commonplace.
Photography is well established, but motion
pictures come later. Automobiles are beginning
to be used in the later period, but most
transportation takes place via train, horse-drawn
carriage, boat, or foot traffic.
OCCUPATIONS
Play as Wiggins—the gawky, scarecrow leader of
band—or as any of the other rapscallions. Some
Irregulars hold honest, if menial, positions, which
not only gives them a bit of income, but also
useful abilities for their adventures, as well as a
ready excuse to be out and about in the city.
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HAWKERS
These youths sell newspapers, matches, tickets,
apples, salves, flowers, toys, watches, and other
goods gotten legally or semi-legally.
LABORERS
Whether blacking boots, washing windows,
cleaning chimneys, mucking stalls, carrying
luggage, or sweeping pavements, laborers keep
London in operation.
APPRENTICES
Some Irregulars are learning a trade, working for
blacksmiths, tanners, glassblowers, carpenters,
millers, shopkeepers, tailors, and others in the city.
ASSISTANTS
These characters aid gentlefolk with their
messages, horses, carriages, bustles, canes, picnic
baskets, and other accouterments of high society.
PERFORMERS
Some entertain the masses with juggling,
acrobatics, puppetry, ventriloquism, card tricks,
side-show acts, and innumerable other diversions.
Other Irregulars make their livings in less-than-legal ways.
THIEVES
A few pick pockets, burgle warehouses, snatch
produce, crack safes, steal horses, rob carriages,
roll drunks, and otherwise prey on the
unsuspecting.
SCAM ARTISTS
A step up from thieves, scam artists pawn
forgeries, counterfeit money, collect for false
charities, panhandle, sell false relics, tell fortunes,
run séances, and otherwise shake down people
for cash.
GAMBLERS
Whether holding craps games, handicapping
horses, running rackets, holding cockfights,
keeping betting books, or counting cards, these
youths game the system to survive.
TOUGHS
Holmes sometimes employs those who run street
gangs, work as body guards or bouncers, extort
money for protection, rough up those who don’t
pay debts, and otherwise act as muscle.

SCAMPS
Some urchins eat out of rubbish bins, sneak into
theaters, hop rails, pose as reputable citizens, and
otherwise get by without paying.
Players should feel free to adopt any of these
means of making a living or others not mentioned
here. The uniting factor for all Irregulars is that
they be minors (under the age of 18) and that they
make a hardscrabble living on the streets.
SKILLS
Baker Street Irregulars can take any of the
following from the Basic Skills chapter: Athletics,
Bargaining, First Aid, Lockpicking, Martial Arts,
Navigation, Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Ride
Animal, Second Language, Shooting, Sneaking,
Swimming, Throwing, and Tracking. Characters
may also possess the Literacy skill (reading and
writing), depending on their level of schooling.
SPECIAL RULES: MAGIC
No magic exists within the canonical stories of
Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, Holmes uses science,
reason, and rationality to put the lie to semi-
magical phenomena such as the ghostly Hound
of the Baskervilles. However, Doyle himself
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
became a committed spiritualist later in life,
conducting séances and seeking mystical answers
beyond the grave. As a result, other writers have
introduced elements of mysticism and magic into
Sherlockian adventures, much to the dismay of
purists. The Game Host can decide if such
elements are allowed in a given campaign and
adopt magic rules from other setting chapters as
appropriate.
DENIZENS: KEY CHARACTERS
As adjunct sleuths, the Baker Street Irregulars
report to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson at
their upstairs flat at 221B Baker Street. To reach
the flat, the Irregulars must inquire with Mrs.
Hudson, who lives downstairs and is landlady to
the crime-fighting pair.
MRS. HUDSON
A middle-aged woman who seeks to run a tidy
establishment, despite the odd hours, disreputable
visitors, chronic squalor, and foul-smelling
experiments of her famous tenant, Mrs. Hudson
puts up with Holmes with long-suffering grace
because she stands in awe of his abilities, he
treats her well, he pays her well, and she privately
adores him.
LESTER SMITH
SHERLOCK HOLMES
Holmes is an amateur detective who works as a
consultant for Scotland Yard. He does not charge
for his services, though he may accept rewards
offered him by grateful family members or official
agencies. In 1890, he is approximately 40 years old.
He is well-versed in many arcane areas of study, all
related to solving crimes, though he maintains
ignorance of general knowledge (such as that the
earth revolves around the sun), jealous of the
mental space such trivial matters occupy in his
mind. Holmes plays the violin well, often
improvising tunes, smokes pipes and cigars, and is
said to be addicted to cocaine.
Holmes’s methods of deduction are decades
ahead of his time:
 Analyzing footprints to determine the
height, weight, strength, and physical
condition of a perpetrator
 Performing thread analysis to link articles of
clothing to crime scenes
 Inspecting blood, mud, ash, and other trace
pieces of evidence to deduce all manner of
facts
 Disguising himself to work undercover
 Profiling criminal minds using an
encyclopedic knowledge of past crimes
DR. JOHN WATSON
Watson is a medical doctor who served in the
British Army during the Second Anglo-Afghan war.
In the Battle of Maiwand in 1880, he suffered a
bullet wound to the shoulder and subsequently
developed enteric fever, which ended his military
career. He returned to London to become a
flatmate and eventual friend of Sherlock Holmes. In
the 1890s, he is approximately 40 years old. Watson
is a surgeon, well skilled in medical arts, as well as an
accomplished brawler. Though often amazed by his
companion’s deductions, Watson is no intellectual
slouch. Nor is he a bumbling coward—but rather a
courageous, bright, and stalwart companion.
INSPECTOR LESTRADE
The most prominent Scotland Yard detective
during Holmes’s time, Lestrade is described as a
“little sallow rat-faced dark-eyed fellow” and “a
lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking.”
Lestrade’s detective work is unimaginative and
often wrong, but he readily takes credit for the
- 56 -
sleuthing that Holmes and Watson do to solve
his cases.
PROFESSOR JAMES MORIARTY
This criminal mastermind appears first in “The
Final Problem,” in which Holmes describes him
thus: “He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is
the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that
is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a
philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of
the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in
the center of its web, but that web has a thousand
radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each
of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But
his agents are numerous and splendidly organized.
Is there a crime to be done, a paper to be
abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man
to be removed—the word is passed to the
Professor, the matter is organized and carried out.
The agent may be caught. In that case money is
found for his bail or his defence. But the central
power which uses the agent is never caught—never
so much as suspected. This was the organization
which I deduced, Watson, and which I devoted my
whole energy to exposing and breaking up.”
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
ANOTHER GREEK TRAGEDY
In which our stalwart band find fakery at the
British National Gallery.
ACT I: ARTFUL DODGING
On a signal from Holmes, Wiggins gathers the
Irregulars and leads them to 221B Baker Street,
where they discover that they must stake out the
National Gallery art museum. Wiggins asks if there
has been a break-in, and Holmes replies, “No, but
there is about to be.”
That night, the Irregulars catch two thugs
breaking into the National Gallery and apprehend
them before they can steal anything. They proudly
drag the perpetrators before Holmes and Watson,
who thank them and give them each a guinea, but
tell them the crime is not done and they must
continue their vigilance. Upon returning to the
National Gallery, the Irregulars discover that a
whole room of friezes from the Parthenon has been
vandalized. They wonder how this could have
happened because the thugs hadn’t gotten into the
museum proper and the door had been secured by
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

NATIONAL GALLERY KEY

North Vestibule, Early Italian Schools:
I. Tuscan School (15th and 16th centuries). II. Sienese School, &c. III. Tuscan School. IV. Lombard School. V.
Ferrarese and Bolognese Schools. VI. Umbrian School, &c. VII. Venetian and Brescian Schools. VIII. Paduan
and Early Venetian Schools. IX. Later Venetian School. X. Flemish School. XI. Early Dutch and Flemish
Schools. XII. Dutch and Flemish Schools. XIII. Flemish School. XIV. Spanish School. XV. German Schools.
XVI. French School. XVII. French School. XVIII. British School. XIX. Old British School. XX. British School.
XXI. British School. XXII. Turner Collection.
Octagonal Hall: Miscellaneous; East Vestibule: British School; West Vestibule: Italian School.

a special unit from Scotland Yard before the
Irregulars left. A message from Holmes tells them
they must keep watch for more criminals to make a
try at the compromised door.
ACT II: FRIEZE!
The Irregulars continue to stake out the Gallery,
but the unit from Scotland Yard has the museum
locked tight. The Irregulars learn that Greek
Ambassador Apollo Gregopolis is planning a visit
the next day to survey the damage and to call for
the friezes to be returned to their rightful
owners—the Greek government. When the
Irregulars get close enough, though, they can hear
that the supposed Scotland Yard officers are
speaking to each other in Greek. One scamp sees
the false guards bringing heavy cases into the
museum. Infiltrating the museum, Irregulars see
that the cases are filled with dynamite, which the
guards are lacing throughout the stonework and
wiring to explode. The Irregulars are about to
rush off to report their findings to Holmes when
the Greek ambassador and his entourage arrive.
ACT III: FORGING AHEAD
The Irregulars must act quickly, creating diversions
to prevent Ambassador Gregopolis, his entourage,
and the international press from filling the hall.
They must also try to incapacitate the false guards,
which are a Greek terrorist cell intent on killing
everyone in the room and sparking a Greco-English
war. Only after the Irregulars foil the plot do
Holmes and Watson arrive. They are mobbed by
reporters, who assume the great detective is the one
who saved the day. He says the real praise belongs
to a group of shadowy crime fighters who must
remain anonymous. Back at 221B Baker Street,
Holmes pays the Irregulars equal shares of the
£1,000 reward the National Gallery has provided.
He then gives them their next assignment.…
ADVENTURE IDEAS
The works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle provide a
plethora of ready adventures, chiefly in the short
stories published first in The Strand Magazine and
afterward gathered in these volumes:

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LESTER SMITH
 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
 The Return of Sherlock Holmes
 His Last Bow
 The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
The four novels also provide useful material,
though their complexity and length make them
challenging to adapt for short roleplaying
sessions. These works are ideal, however, for
long, detailed campaigns. To make the adventures
work in novel format, Doyle removes Holmes
from the center of each book. If the great
detective had stayed present, he would have
solved the crimes too quickly.
Game Hosts should take a cue from this fact.
Successful adventures cannot center on Holmes
and Watson because players will have very little
meaningful contribution. Instead, Holmes and
Watson should enlist the aid of the Irregulars to
gather clues, but the players must go beyond their
initial directives to piece the clues together, solve
the crimes themselves, and present their work to
the detectives afterward.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Game Hosts can also create original adventures
by following these five steps:
1. CHOOSE A CRIME. Choose from the vast array
of offenses: murder, assassination, kidnapping,
blackmail, burglary, robbery, treason, espionage,
fraud, racketeering, smuggling, human trafficking,
terrorism, and so on.
2. DECIDE WHO COMMITTED THE ACT. Create
a single villain, a partnership, or a conspiracy, and
give each perpetrator a name, a physical
description, and a background. If you have more
than one villain, consider having the players
slowly discover that the crime was committed by
more than one person, an unfolding realization
that heightens the suspense. You might even
CREDITS
DESIGN: J. Robert King EDITING: Lester Smith & Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: K8 Smith. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“Fleet Street” photo by James Valentine, Wikimedia Commons, is in the US public domain.
“1911 Britannica - National Gallery” map, Wikimedia Commons, is in the US public domain.
- 58 -
have one of the perpetrators start as a confidante
of the players.
3. GIVE EACH PERPETRATOR A MOTIVE.
Explore why the main villain did what he or she
did, often to gain something: money, drugs,
power, position, revenge, security, fame,
conquest. Consider why other villains
contributed, often for very different reasons: fear,
loyalty, lust, delusion, or even boredom. These
motives will drive the actions of the villains and
will often cause them to work at cross purposes
as their plot unravels.
4. DECIDE HOW THE CRIME WAS
COMMITTED. Determine exact locations, times,
and methods. These details create the clues that
Irregulars will discover to solve the mystery. Also
decide what the villains did to cover up their
actions: hiding bodies, creating false clues,
establishing alibis and cover stories, creating
diversions, paying off investigators, providing
false testimony, and so on. These actions create
other clues that players must sift through to
discover the truth.
5. DECIDE WHAT PERPETRATORS WILL DO
AFTER THE CRIME. Some simply return to
their daily lives, hoping to avoid detection. More
challenging villains actively work to stymie
investigations and perhaps to kill investigators.
Obviously, the latter type of criminals make for
more exciting adventures in which players must
match wits with determined foes and must beat
them at their own game with a clock ticking all
the while.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Arthur Conan Doyle’s many Sherlock Holmes
stories can be found in the public domain at
Gutenberg.org, among other places.
For detailed street maps of 1890s London,
visit the Wikimedia Commons at Wikimedia.org.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CANTON
Jason Daniel Myers
Nothing ever happens in Ohio.
Nothing good anyway. But the big,
bad stuff? Happens. Every. Day.

BACKGROUND
Strange things skulk the city of
Canton. Ancient Snake Gods run the
strip clubs. Mouseanthropes infest
the city dump. Ghouls consume us,
and only the Amish have the faith to
fight them. As evil reaches to tear
out the heart of it all, who will stand
against the coming darkness?
You? Who are you? And how
long has it been since the veil was
torn from your eyes?
Are you SHAWNEE, remnants of
a people decimated during the
westward expansion and only now
trickling back to your homeland?
Are you one of the CHURCH
PEOPLE who spills supernatural
blood on Saturday night and teaches
Sunday school the next morning?
Do you work for the OHIO
TOURISM BUREAU, busting heads,
cleaning clocks, and sweeping the
mess under the rug to protect life,
liberty, and the tourist trade, though not the first and sometimes only to notice when the
necessarily in that order? weakest of the herd are being culled?
Are you of the Amish, the PLAIN PEOPLE, a Are you a FRINGER, a biker, a stripper, a
black hat defending the old ways with the power thief, a dealer who plays both sides, an original
of light? gangster who suddenly finds yourself up against
Are you a RECEIVER, a schizophrenic, an something bigger and badder, or an anarchist
artist, an electric kool-aid acid tester, tuned in, who’ll fight all comers no matter who, or what,
whether you want to be or not, to the ripples that they are?
predators leave in the pond of your city when Are you an ARCANE, a broker of knowledge,
they emerge to feed? a bookworm, a lawyer, a museum curator, a
Are you a SAFETY NET, a social worker, a historian, a collector of rare objects?
beat cop, a runner of late-night support meetings, Or do you suck?

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LESTER SMITH
Answer the question! Are you a SUCKER?
Because a vampire with a heart of gold has an
empty stomach, and a frog who carries a
scorpion on his back winds up dead more often
than not. So if you suck, you’d best say so right
now, so we can part ways before I’m obliged to
kill you.
Okay, then. Follow me. Let’s get into trouble.
Sincere as Death,
—Geezer Hammond
OCCUPATIONS
Choose something suited to any of the
highlighted categories in the Background section,
or any modern-era suggestions in the D6×D6
Occupations chapter.
With the exception of an employee of the
Ohio Tourism Bureau, you can invent additional
types suited to each of the categories above. For
example, a Receiver might as easily be a fortune
teller or medium. One of the Plain People, on the
other hand, is not likely to be a computer hacker.
SKILLS
Anything from the Basic Skills chapter is fair
game, though Persuasion may be of particular
interest (as explained in the Special Rules below).
Additionally the following skills apply specifically
to the world of Big Trouble in Little Canton:
COMMUNITY: Available to Shawnee, Church
People, the Plain People, and Safety Net
characters, this skill represents the ability of
people with roots and connections to draw on
those for assistance, assets, or information.
Exactly what assistance is available is up to the
Game Host, depending on the current situation,
what a player asks for, and the number of Success
Levels rolled.
COMPANY RESOURCES: Similar to the above,
but available to Ohio Tourism Bureau employees
only, this represents possible equipment,
information, and assistance at the disposal of an
agent of the OTB.
MAGNETISM: This skill is available for Suckers
only. It acts as Persuasion on people with no
supernatural blood, though each roll is treated as
if a Drama Point were spent on it.
PROTECTION: This skill is available to the Plain
People only. It may be rolled to reduce the
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damage of a Brawling range attack or mental
assault by a supernatural enemy. It can be used
for either personal defense or defense of a
companion within Brawling range, though if that
companion’s Motivations (see Special Rules) are
known to be less than honorable, skill roll drops
a category (Focused becoming Unfocused, and
Unfocused becoming Unfamiliar).
QUICKNESS: This skill, for Suckers only, allows
the character to move 10 times the normal
movement rate. The Sucker can move 20 meters
as a free action, or take a Quickness action and
move that distance plus an additional 20 meters
per Success Level rolled.
RECEIVE: This skill, for Receivers only, allows the
character to acquire an extrasensory insight. It is
not at the beck and call of the character, however.
Instead, the Game Host can call for a roll at any
time and take control of the character for a
number of rounds equal to the Success Levels
gained, using this to deliver cues that advance the
adventure. The form of guidance depends largely
upon the type of character but may include spirit
writing, sleepwalking, sudden clairvoyance, or even
(in extreme cases) astral projection.
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE: In some ways similar to
the Receive skill, Spiritual Guidance is available to
Shawnee, Church People, the Plain People, or any
character with a religious occupation. Less dramatic
than Receive, it delivers insights as gut instincts or
convictions of faith. It may also be called upon
voluntarily by the character through prayer, in
which case the Game Host makes the character’s
skill roll in secret and lies if the roll is a failure.
SPECIAL RULES
During character creation, players must
determine the following:
HOW THE VEIL WAS LIFTED FROM MY EYES:
This is a brief summation of the character’s first
encounter with the supernatural.
PRESSURE POINT: This is something for which
the character will forsake Primary, Secondary, and
Tertiary Motivations (see below). The Game Host
is invited to make judicious use of this to properly
motivate players and enhance the story.
Pressure Points could include but are not
limited to: family members, friends, job security,
and dangerous or shameful secrets.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
MOTIVATIONS: Noted in each
character’s description as PM
(Primary Motivation), SM (Secondary
Motivation), and TM (Tertiary
Motivation), these help to promote
role-playing and intra-party friction.
Motivations could include but are
not limited to protecting the
innocent, protecting one’s own,
acquiring power or money, self-
preservation, pleasure, justice, thrill-
seeking, destroying evil, or even a
specific political, religious, or
philosophical ideology.
In any given scenario, characters
will not act against their TM unless it
is overridden by their SM, will not act
against their SM unless it is
overridden by their PM, and will not
act against their PM unless their
Pressure Point is brought into play.
Ideally, the Game Host should
keep a record of each character’s
Motivations and Pressure Points, while
players will keep those things a closely
guarded secret from each other.

APPLYING MOTIVATIONS
Interest in and focus on these rules will
vary from group to group, but here are
a few suggestions for their use.
When it seems a player is ignoring an
applicable motivation (or pressure point), the
Game Host can pass notes or call for a quick
private chat. This could result in the player either
clarifying a description (from “pleasure” to “sexual
pleasure,” for example) or assuring the Game Host
that the character is merely waiting for an
opportune moment to act on the motivation.
If a player wishes to take an action the Game
Host believes is against a character’s motivations,
the character must make a successful Will roll.
The difficulty rating for this roll is Average for
TM, Difficult for SM, and Formidable for PM.
Characters who know (or correctly suspect)
another character’s motivations may gain free
Drama Points on rolls to Persuade that character:
1 point for TM, 2 for SM, and 3 for PM. Before
the roll, the player of the character affected can
appeal to the Game Host to role-play the
situation rather than leaving it to the whims of
the dice. In such cases, the character must
convince the Game Host that the Motivation is
properly satisfied.
Note: While some players might chafe at not
always having absolute control of their character,
that which is pleasant or convenient is not
necessarily interesting.
SKILL-BASED MOTIVATIONS
Characters with the following skills must take the
following as either their PM (for Focused skills)
or SM (for Unfocused skills).
COMMUNITY: “Protecting my community.”
COMPANY RESOURCES: “Preserving the
public’s ignorance of the supernatural.”
Additionally, if the character brings Company
Resources to bear on a particular supernatural
problem, “Preserving the public’s ignorance…”
becomes the character’s PM, pushing other
Motivations one tier lower, for as long as the

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LESTER SMITH
Game Host specifies (likely as long as that
particular supernatural problem could be seen as
a threat to Ohio’s tourism industry).
PROTECTION: “Protecting the innocent.”
RECEIVE: Choose either “Solving the riddle” or
“Making it stop.”
SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE: The applicable spiritual
ideology is the character’s Motivation.
HUNGER MOTIVATION
If at any point, a Sucker has 4 or fewer Drama
Points remaining, “Sating hunger” temporarily
becomes that character’s SM, pushing other
motivations one tier lower. If a Sucker has 2 or
fewer Drama Points remaining, “Sating hunger”
temporarily becomes the PM. Once fed, the hunger
is abated for the rest of the adventure session. (For
adventure sessions representing many days of
activity, the Game Host is free to apply the Hunger
Motivation rule whenever it seems appropriate—
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especially if no great action is
occurring. An idle Sucker is a hungry
Sucker.)
EQUIPMENT
In most cases, equipment described
in the D6×D6 core rules will serve.
The Game Host is welcome to
introduce other items inspired by the
Big Trouble in Little Canton fiction or
other settings. While supernatural
weapons and items do exist, they
should be used sparingly so as to not
disrupt the suspense and balance of
the game world.
DENIZENS
The background section of this
chapter and the following sample
adventure provide examples of
creatures currently infesting Canton,
Ohio. Again, the Game Host is
pointed to the Big Trouble in Little
Canton fiction for more ideas.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
IT WILL NEVER DIE
In which the characters are sent on
some rather esoteric errands.
ACT I: AN OLD DEBT
The characters all arrive at the Canton Club, each
having received a similar letter:
It was my pleasure some time ago to assist you in
extricating yourself from a particularly unfortunate
circumstance, for which I received no monetary reward.
Instead, I asked for a favor, to be repaid at a time of my
choosing. That time is now. Do as I ask, and you may
consider your debt paid. Thank you in advance for your
efforts and discretion in this matter.
Yours,
Ms. Carol Christmas, Esq.
(An illustration of Ms. Christmas, Esq. can be
found in the appendix of the D6×D6 rules.)
Meeting at the club, the characters receive
further written instruction to retrieve the
following items:

 A hand crank from the McKinley Memorial.
 A horn from the “Special Collections” area
of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 A needle from Molly Stark Hospital
They are not given any particular order in
which to accomplish these tasks.
To prepare, the Game Host is advised to do a
Web (and image) search of each location, and to
refer to them for scene setting, location building,
and logistical questions.
ACT II: RUNNING ERRANDS
Visiting the various locations on their list, the
characters encounter the following.
THE MCKINLEY MEMORIAL: Inside a central
monument is a double sarcophagus, encircled by
manicured grounds, surrounded by an extensive
cemetery. Exploration during the day reveals little,
though inside the central monument the characters
may hear strains of a dissonant melody with an
uneven cadence, as might come from a music box,
though they’ll be unable to find a source. If they
somehow manage to open the massive sarcophagi,
they’ll find them both to be empty.
Visiting after dusk requires evading or
subduing local security. Inside the chamber of the
monument at night, the characters find, sitting on
the marble floor, a young girl, operating the crank
of a large music box. Her name is Katie, she is 145
years old, and she will reveal as much if asked.
She is also a ghoul, with PM: Eat flesh and
SM: Keep toy. She’s polite, is well-spoken, and
will wait until someone is close up before trying
to eat his face off. If at any time Katie feels
threatened, she will call for Mommy, also a ghoul.
Mommy has a PM: Eat flesh and Pressure Point:
Protect child. If at any time Mommy feels threated,
she will call out “Mac!” and he will appear. He’ll also
appear if there is a noisy physical confrontation.
Mac is a ghoul with a PM: Keep it secret, an SM:
Eat flesh, and a Pressure Point: Protect family.
If there is an extended physical confrontation,
lackey ghouls will show up. The less diplomatic
the players are, the more ghouls: enough to chase
characters off the premises or eat the obstinate.
GHOULS: Gender: Any. Age: NA. Attributes: Brawn
Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Ghoul. Skills:
Focused Sneaking, Tracking; Unfocused Athletics,
Persuasion, Throwing. Special Abilities: Immune to
all damage but fire. Focus: 3.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: The
following is not to be read to the players, but to
give the Game Host the setting thumbnail.
Elvis is alive and well, and he resides at Cleveland’s
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Okay, so maybe “alive”
isn’t the proper term, but if you are there near closing, and
know someone who can direct you down a dark corridor
marked “Special Collections”, you might witness a jam
session to end all jam sessions: Morrison, Cobain, Paul
McCartney (the original one), and a host of others make
the kind of music you’d die to hear. And you probably
will. See, they like an audience, but they don’t like
publicity. Your parents and grandparents always said it
was the devil’s music. Turns out they were right.
Your Pal,
Geezer
Alan Freed is keeper of “Special Collections,”
and the characters find him nearby, holding what
resembles an ornate metal ear horn up to his ear,
listening as if he can hear the whole universe
through it. He has PM: Keep the horn. While
physically unable keep strong characters from
taking the horn, if he knows they want it, he will
pretend to consider and meantime casually ask
them if they’d like to be guided to “Special
Collections.” The characters hear strains of some
extraordinary rock music, and if they don’t take
the bait, they will have to pass a Will roll to resist.
Characters failing the roll are compelled to see
“Special Collections” regardless of group
consensus.
The rock musicians in this area have PM: No
publicity and SM: Eternal encore. Threats to the
characters can be esoteric hypnotic siren-call stuff
and/or knock-down drag-out brawls with these
infernal rock legends.
UNDEAD ROCKERS: Gender: Any. Age: NA.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Musician. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Bargaining, Martial Arts, Persuasion; Unfocused
Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Throwing. Special
Abilities: Hypnotic riff causes victims to pause for
one round per Success Level, minus Will Success
Rolls by the victim. Focus: 5.
MOLLY STARK HOSPITAL: This sanitarium, its
grounds wormed with utility and access tunnels,
has been shuttered for 20 years. There is nothing
left but abandoned equipment. And ghosts.
LESTER SMITH
Threats to characters who trespass include
local law enforcement, possible collapse of
abandoned structures, and ghosts.
Those exploring further into the sanitarium
are assaulted by vivid hallucinations of being
force-fed pills, injected with drugs, and strapped
to beds with restraints; also, of visits by creatures
so horrific as to be unidentifiable as anything in
particular, and Apocalyptic visions of the
unnatural rotting of everything they know and
everyone they love.
Cassie Armour is a wraith with PM: Revenge,
SM: Keep the needle, and TM: Communicate.
Her method of communication is entirely
through unpleasant hallucinations, however.
In life, Cassie was a Receiver, understandably
diagnosed as schizophrenic. The more she tried to
warn those around her of the unseen predatory
threats to body and soul, the more she was
considered a danger to herself and others. For most
staff members treating her, any cruelty was
unintentional, though she grew more unpredictable,
desperate and ragingly violent. There was one
however: a doctor. No, not a doctor. A thing
disguised as a doctor. He…it realized that she knew
what it was, and it took a special interest in her case,
supervising unorthodox treatments.
Any attempts to forcibly take the needle from
her unleash poltergeist and hallucinogenic assaults
which the characters will be unable to overcome.
The “doctor,” retired, is still around, and if the
characters find him and become her instrument of
revenge, she will give them the needle.
“DOCTOR”: Gender: Male. Age: Elderly. Attributes:
Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Possessed doctor. Skills: Focused Bargaining,
Persuasion, Second Language: Latin, Vehicle: Auto;
Unfocused Shooting, Sneaking, Throwing. Special
Abilities: None. Focus: 5. PM: Hide true nature. SM:
Cause pain. Notes: Has 3 Drama Points.
ACT III: RESOLUTION
When the items are returned to the Canton Club,
Ms. Christmas reveals that they are the final missing
parts of a most peculiar gramophone. It turns out
that she is in possession of “Special Collections”
CREDITS
DESIGN: Jason Daniel Myers, BigTroubleInLittleCanton.org.
DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday. COVER ILLUSTRATION: Jared Myers. OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS: Scott Myers.
- 64 -
recordings that no ordinary technology will play.
The characters risked their lives because Ms.
Christmas wanted to listen to the infernal jam
sessions without gambling her own.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
GRIST FROM THE MILLER: Elliott Miller runs a
survivors of supernatural encounters support group,
usually at the Stark County Public Library. Where
better to get the lowdown on local horrors?
TOURIST TRAPS: While in northeast Ohio, don’t
forget to visit Grimms Bridge, Canton’s Hercules
Engine Factory, and Hell Town.
MOTHER MAY I? Mother Goose Land had been
closed for years, but a community revival project
stirred up the long dormant grounds, and reality
in that area is twisting upside out and inside
down. Why did Mother Goose Land close down
in the first place; what is the nursery rhyme and
reason to the strange occurrences; who is Mother
Goose; and what does he (yes, he) want??
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Ideally, any campaign in this setting should be built
around the characters your players create, and their
Pressure Points and Motivations. Start by asking:
what the characters want, and why. Then ask what
the enemies want, and why. The answers should not
only bring characters into conflict with enemies, but
player characters into conflict with one another,
enemies into conflict with other enemies, and
characters into alliances with enemies.
Campaigns in which players occasionally work at
cross purposes are admittedly more challenging to
run and to play, but the Game Host is encouraged
to push as far into this territory as is comfortable,
using Pressure Points and Motivations to nudge
characters out of harmony and into moral
compromises, shifting loyalties, alliances of
convenience, and intra-party discord and duplicity.
Finally, as in the sample adventure, feel free to
create situations in which a straight-up fight with
enemies is a losing proposition; and which reward
a willingness to bargain, persuade, subvert, extort,
outwit, seduce, compromise, or befriend.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

BLOOD TYPE
J.A. & K8 Smith
When a biotech company’s virus
reaches the general populace,
horrific results ensue, based on each
person’s blood type. Your characters
must learn to survive their particular
blood-borne curse in this post-
Apocalyptic world.

BACKGROUND
Located in the Idaho panhandle,
Sandpoint is a small city with a big
heart. Its population, as of the 2010
census, was 7,365 souls. It lies on
the northwestern shore of Idaho’s
largest lake, the 45-mile-long Lake
Pend Oreille, and is surrounded by
the Seikirk, Cabinet, and Bitteroot
mountain ranges. It is the county
seat for Bonner County; is home to
Idaho’s only railroad stop, the
Sandpoint Amtrak Station; and is the
site of Idaho’s largest ski lodge, the
Schweitzer Mountain Resort. In
2011, Rand McNally and USA Today
named Sandpoint the nation’s “Most
Beautiful Small Town.”
Sandpoint’s economy is based on
forest products, tourism, recreation,
and light manufacturing, along with
some governmental support.
Famous businesses based in
Sandpoint include Lifehouse, a
national salad-dressing
manufacturer; Coldwater Creek, an
apparel marketer; Percussionaire, a medical contracted virus research project somehow
instrumentation business; the Pend D’Oreille breached its labs and put the city’s population at
Winery, a nationally recognized vintner; Quest risk. SMART security forces began rounding up
Aircraft, manufacturer of the Kodiak 10-seat Sandpoint’s citizens and treating them with an
turbo aircraft; and most recently, SMART antigen. Today, National Guard and Reservists
Industries (Smith Medical Advancement have arrived to help deal with the crisis. The
Research Technologies). streets are filled with armed, uniformed figures
But that’s all in the past now. Yesterday, and some lab workers in sealed biohazard suits.
SMART announced that a government- Many of your neighbors have not returned from

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LESTER SMITH
yesterday’s clinic visit. And you’re not feeling so
well yourself.
Welcome to the future, where your fate is
dictated by your blood type.
OCCUPATIONS
Characters in the Blood Type setting can be of
any modern occupation that would have them
employed in or visiting Sandpoint, Idaho.
SKILLS
The default skill list of the Basic Skills chapter
serves here.
SPECIAL RULES
Blood and flesh play critical roles in this setting.
EFFECTS OF BLOOD TYPES
Each character’s blood type determines that
character’s fate from the virus or its vaccine.
(SMART Industries is not currently
forthcoming about what exactly causes the
mutations, if they even know.) It is
recommended that players design characters
matching their own actual blood type (though
this is not a strict rule).
O– IMMUNE: Characters with the O– blood
type are immune to the virus and its vaccine. It
does not affect them in any way.
O+ PUREBLOOD: Characters with the O+
blood type suffer fatal hemorrhage if infected
with the virus or the vaccine.
A– OR B– LEECH: The virus causes characters
with an A– or B– blood type to develop
slightly sharper senses than normal humans:
add a + to their Wits attribute. Unfortunately,
the virus also gives them a blood thirst. It
burns a liter of their blood daily, which they
must replenish by drinking that amount of
untainted blood, animal or human. Unlike
Vampire characters (see below), leech
characters do not develop inhuman fangs.
AB– VAMPIRE: In characters with the AB–
blood type, the virus leads to much sharper
senses than is normal for humans, especially
their sight and hearing; add 2 +s to the Wits
attribute and a + to Grace. However, this also
makes them sensitive to sudden bright lights
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and loud noises. Their blood thirst is such that
their bodies burn a liter of blood every six
hours. Their canine teeth are noticeably long
and sharp. These characters have a bonus
ability of psychically communicating with and
calming Berserker Zombie (AB+) characters.
On a successful Focused roll, a Vampire can
connect with a single Berserker. By
concentrating on this connection (suffering a
1-point penalty to subsequent action rolls), the
Vampire can maintain this connection and
communicate one word each round. If
psychically connected to more than one
Berserker (acquiring a 1-point die penalty for
each), Vampires can project the same word to
them all. Often that word is “Calm,”
preventing the Berserkers from becoming
frenzied and attacking their own companions.
A+ OR B+ ZOMBIE: In these characters, the
virus leads to slightly sharper senses than
normal for humans, and a much higher
strength; add a + to Wits and 2 +s to Brawn.
Unfortunately, the virus also requires a
kilogram of raw, untainted meat every four
hours, or the Zombie begins to suffer damage
as the virus attacks the character’s own body.
AB+ BERSERKER: Characters with the AB+
blood type are the most tragically affected by
the virus. They must eat a kilogram of raw,
untainted meat every hour to feed the virus, or
suffer damage as it breaks down their own
tissues. As eating machines, they are much
faster and stronger than a normal human; add
2 +s to both Grace and Brawn. When they are
frenzied (see Starvation and Frenzy below),
these ratings are temporarily doubled.
HH-OH BLOOD BEAST: Because their
blood never fully developed into any of the
usual blood types, characters with the
Bombay phenotype (only 0.0004% of the
world’s population) assimilate the virus fully,
becoming a new sort of creature altogether.
Extremely cunning, intelligent, and fast
hunters, they gain 2 +s each to Grace, Wits,
and Will. Their extremely acute senses allow
them to see well in all but total darkness, to
scent their prey from a kilometer away, and to
hear at twice normal human distance. This
also means that they are very sensitive to
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
bright lights (being unable
to withstand even normal
daylight) and loud noises
(especially very sudden,
unexpected ones). Their bite
is infectious (passing the
virus on to others), and their
claws do damage like a
Small Blade. Although they
do not have to drink blood
or eat raw meat to sate their
virus, they have a definite
taste for both and will gorge
themselves on whenever at
all possible

FEEDING AND
“BURNING” BLOOD
The human stomach can
normally hold about a liter
of contents, but it can be
stretched to contain at least
four times that amount. For
purposes of these rules, a
kilo of meat and a liter of
blood are treated as roughly
the same volume.
Characters with a Brawn
Focus can hold an extra
liter in their stomachs; each
+ on Brawn also adds a liter of capacity. Will roll is rated Difficult.) A frenzied
In addition to Drama Points, infected character will attack the nearest source of
characters (any of the A, B, or AB blood or flesh—including their friends and
combinations) can “burn” the blood or meat loved ones if nothing else is available. They can
they subsist on, to add a bonus to their dice hold no more, at which point they regain
rolls. Each liter/kilo burned is treated as a volition.
Drama Point for this purpose, and the normal If infected characters cannot eat for some
Drama Point rules apply. reason, they suffer one level of damage per
Unfortunately, their preoccupation with feeding period passed until they are dead.
blood and flesh is a distraction from their (Leeches will suffer one level per day,
ability to learn and improve (as laid out in the Vampires one level every six hours, Zombies
Character Growth chapter). Each Experience one level every four hours, and Berserkers one
Point costs them 4 Drama Points instead of 3, level each hour.) If they can eat before dying,
and they must spend 8 Drama Points instead they recover this damage at the same rate,
of 6 to “plus” their occupation. burning one liter/kilo per level recovered.

STARVATION AND FRENZY PLUSSED ATTRIBUTES

As they begin to starve (once their stomachs In general, each + makes an attribute one step
are empty of the necessary blood or meat) more “Focused” than usual. For each +
virus-infected characters must pass a Will roll beyond Focused, the character gains an extra
to avoid frenzy. (For Berserker characters, this level when that attribute serves as a passive

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LESTER SMITH
defense (see Conflict and Damage chapter).
Additionally, each + beyond Focused adds an
extra level to any successful task roll for which
the Game Host agrees that attribute could
legitimately be applied.
Example: Della Marchan has the rare HH-
OH blood type, making her a Blood Beast.
Before the virus, she had Brawn Unfamiliar,
Grace Focused, Will Unfocused, and Wits
Unfocused. The virus has boosted those
attributes with 2 +s each to Grace, Wits, and
Will, making her new attribute ratings Brawn
Unfamiliar, Grace Focused++, Will
Focused+, and Wits Focused+. Against
brawling attacks, Della’s enhanced Grace
gives her three levels of passive defense.
Against throwing attacks, her Grace and Wits
combined give her five levels of passive
defense. Against shooting attacks, her Will
gives her two levels of passive defense.
Additionally, Della can apply her two Grace
pluses to skills such as Athletics, Lockpicking,
and even Martial Arts. She can apply her
single Wits plus to skill rolls such as
Navigation and Persuasion. The Game Host
might also agree to let her single Will plus
apply to Bargaining rolls.
EQUIPMENT
Besides the equipment normally available in a
modern setting, SMART Industries personnel
have access to advanced technology.
CHEMICAL SNIFFER
This kit is similar in appearance to a Geiger
counter and can track the scent trace of any
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virus-infected person as well as any
bloodhound. People with O blood types are
undetectable to it, however.
COMPUTERIZED SCOPE
This item can be mounted on any shooting
weapon, giving its user a dice bonus of 1. It
can be used even in total darkness (though its
light makes the user’s face visible to others). It
is powered by two standard AAA batteries and
has the lifespan of a standard pen light.
LASER RIFLE
This shooting weapon has a damage rating of
Kill and an integrated electronic laser-guided
targeting system giving its user a dice bonus of
2, and an effective range of 300 meters (rather
than the standard 200). It can fire 6 shots per
charge (7 with the targeting system turned off)
and can be recharged at any standard wall
outlet, at 10 minutes per shot.
NUTRIENT INJECTOR
Each of these aerosol-powered injectors
contains nutrients equivalent to two liters/kilos
of blood/meat to fend off the starvation and
frenzy effects of the virus. The injectors come
six to a pack, and each pack fits in a standard
clothing pocket.
DENIZENS
Besides facing mutated civilians like
themselves, the heroes may also encounter
trained security forces, military personnel, or
even technologically modified SMART
Industries Troops.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
CIVILIAN POLICE
OR GUARD
Name: Any. Gender: Any.
Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits
or Will Focused; Grace
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
Persuasion, Shooting,
Sneaking, Vehicle: Auto;
Unfocused Bureaucracy,
Computer, Persuasion.
Special Abilities: None. Focus:
5. Notes: Equipped with
pistol, baton, and handcuffs.

MILITARY QUARANTINE
POLICE
Name: Any. Gender: Any.
Age: Adult. Attributes:
Brawn or Will Focused;
Grace or Wits Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Athletics,
Martial Arts, Navigation,
Quarantine Protocol,
Shooting, Throwing;
Unfocused Computer, First
Aid, Vehicle: HUMVEE or APC. Special Skills: Focused Computer, First Aid, Second
Abilities: none. Focus: 7. Notes: Equipped with Language: English (native European or Asian
standard military small arms and combat language); Unfocused Martial Arts, Persuasion,
knife, personal radio, gas and smoke Sneaking. Special Abilities: None. Focus: 5. Notes:
grenades, light armor, MOPP gear (chemical Equipment may include antivirus injectors,
mask and suit). testing kit, advanced medical kit, fortified blood
packs to feed Vampires, stun gun (like a taser—
SMART TROOPER see the Conflict and Damage chapter—but
Name: N/A. Gender: Any. Age: Adult. Attributes: shooting range, or laser pistol (rarely).
Brawn Focused+; Grace Focused; Wits and
Will Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Athletics, SAMPLE ADVENTURE: “MENE,
Martial Arts, Second Language: English (native
Eastern European or Asian), Shooting,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN”
This adventure introduces players to the first
Tracking, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Computer,
days of SMART Industries’ biological-warfare
Navigation, Swimming. Special Abilities:
containment breach.
Telepathically linked, Regeneration (1 level per
Round). Focus: 9. Notes: Equipped with scoped ACT I: GENESIS
rifle or laser rifle, machete, medium or heavy Begin by asking the players to describe what
armor. Smell of chemicals and decaying flesh; their characters are each doing on day one,
dissolve to sludge when slain. when the news of the outbreak is released and
SMART SCIENTIST they receive orders to report for inoculation.
Use this as an opportunity to gather the heroes
Name: Any. Gender: Any. Age: Adult to elderly. in the face of a common threat to the public
Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. health. Adapt exact events to the heroes’

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LESTER SMITH
specific blood types, in particular sending any
O+ characters home uninjected, as healthcare
personnel let slip that previously inoculated
people of that blood type are falling seriously
ill. End the scene by describing how the heroes
with A, B, AB, or HH-OH blood types go
home feeling queasy and feverish.
ACT II: REVELATIONS
On day two, SMART Industries personnel
begin locking down the town and rounding up
its citizens for quarantine (and eventual
experimentation). Most businesses are closed
due to employees calling in sick; only a few
hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, and
such remain open with skeleton staffs.
As the heroes watch, SMART scientists and
guards work their way through the town street
by street, knocking on doors, breaking them
down if no response is forthcoming. Residents
are ushered outside, questioned, sorted into
separate groups (by blood type), and hauled
away in military-style trucks driven by National
Guard members and Reservists. Bodies of the
already dead are unceremoniously piled atop
flatbed trucks and hauled away. Most fatalities
are the elderly or otherwise frail, but some are
clearly victims of savage attacks.
Citizens who resist SMART’s personnel
are either tasered senseless, beaten into
submission, or summarily executed. This last
happens when someone with AB+ blood type
succumbs to virus-induced frenzy and
rampages, attacking people, flipping cars
single-handedly, and committing other acts of
destruction.
Give the heroes time to observe the
unraveling of their world and to come up with
a plan to avoid capture. If they hide, have them
found by one or two straggling guards, to
provide an opportunity for them to test their
CREDITS
DESIGN: J. A. Smith & K8 Smith. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
ILLUSTRATIONS: K8 Smith. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“Zombie Walk 2012 - SP” photo by Gianluca Ramalho Misiti is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
“Zombie” photo by Kevin Dooley is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
- 70 -
new-found strengths—and the accompanying
hunger. (Nothing bonds a group like fighting
off SMART’s biochemically enhanced guards,
then killing and eating a stray dog together to
fend off a virus-induced blood frenzy.)
ACT III: EXODUS
Although it is theoretically possible for the
heroes to establish a safe house someplace in
town, their best bet is to escape into the
wilderness. Someone in the group may know of
a remote cabin they can use. Provide one or two
more brushes with security forces, then run a
climactic roadblock encounter at the edge of
town before the heroes make their escape.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
RESCUE MISSION: Not everyone the heroes
know and love made it out of Sandpoint
during the initial exodus. The heroes decide to
return to rescue someone being held in the
town jail.
SUPPLY RUN: The heroes are low on
ammunition, medicine, or just their favorite
beverage and must infiltrate the town for new
stock.
EXPOSURE: An investigative reporter wants to
leak word of SMART Industries’ crimes to the
world at large. Proof is needed, however,
which means the heroes must steal
documentation from SMART’s offices and
escape with it.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
One of the best directions for a Blood Type
campaign is an ongoing struggle to rescue
Sandpoint from SMART Industries’
stranglehold and restore its former glory.
Think Resident Evil meets Red Dawn.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE CODE BREAKERS WORLD

Colin F. Barnes
Humans, transhumans, and artificial
intelligences battle for survival and
supremacy in the post-Apocalyptic
future of the Code Breakers novels.

BACKGROUND
It’s 2153, and a great cataclysm has
turned the earth into a barren
wasteland. There is only one city
remaining: City Earth, a domed
metropolis run by the supposedly
benevolent organization, the Family.
With just one million souls
remaining, all working and living in
this hyper-connected city, there is
little room for individualism. Only a
few survivors remain from the days
before the Cataclysm, and the
Family quickly quashes rumors of
anything at all existing outside the
dome.
But even inside City Earth, some
roads, alleys, and buildings remain
off the grid. It’s within these cracks
that the renegades are found;
individuals who seek to disrupt the
Family’s operations and break away
from the connected society that has
become the norm.
To make matters worse, to
maintain optimal conditions for the
city, the population is subject to a
death lottery. Citizens are each
connected to the grid by their AIA:
Artificial Intelligence Assistant—a chip embedded of your life, knowing your sacrifice will allow a
into everyone’s brains. This is the ultimate in newborn to enter the world, or disconnect
personal computing; it monitors the person’s from the grid and become an outlaw, a rogue.
health, manages their memory, provides instant Few choose the second option.
messaging, and of course, delivers the good (or The Family, from their close-earth-orbiting
bad) news on the death lottery results. space station, have developed ways of finding,
If you’re unlucky enough to “win” the D- and eradicating, those who disconnect. To
Lottery, there really are only two choices: willingly give up your life in City Earth and live
accept your fate and enjoy the last seven days in the shadows isn’t something taken lightly.

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LESTER SMITH
To disconnect, you’re not just giving up life
on the grid; you’re giving up everything it
means to be a City Earth citizen: no more
access to your friends and family; no
employment, no health care, and no essentials
such as food and water. You’re entirely reliant
on your own skills. Within the shadows, there
are rogues and outlaws who seek to find the
truth behind the Cataclysm; the truth of what’s
outside of the dome in the abandoned lands.
Rumors exist that there are indeed ways out
of the dome, but what awaits the disconnected
could be far worse than the hyperconnected
world of City Earth. Most choose the comfort
of death at the hands of the D-Lottery.
Only the bravest, the most driven, or the
insane dare to find their way out of the dome
and learn the terrible secrets that await them in
the Abandoned Lands.
OCCUPATIONS
This setting offers a number of specific
occupations to supplement the general
descriptions in the Occupations chapter. Each
can learn the special skills noted.
TECHXORCIST
In the world of Code Breakers, coding is a true
art form. In the hands of the right user, coding
can help defeat and contain both viruses and
daemons (malicious software that seeks to
invade AIAs and divert resources for its own
ulterior motives). A Techxorcist understands
computer architecture, can create defensive
and offensive software programs on the fly,
and can—given time—crack even the toughest
of firewalls.
Special Skills Options: Binary Blast, Code Safe.
BIO-ENGINEER
While techxorcists and hackers are adept with
computers and code, some people prefer the
melding of machine and flesh. Bio-engineers
augment their physical form or those of other
people with mechanical and electronic
additions. What they may lose in humanity, they
gain in added abilities and senses. Bio-engineer
characters may discover one-of-a-kind
enhancements in their adventures, but their
stock in trade involves the following skills.
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Special Skills Options: Augment, Extra-Sense.
TRANSCENDENT
These beings look like humans, sound like
humans, and act like humans, but they don’t
actually like humans. Transcendents are a
fringe science, unstable and not fully perfected.
They run on software routines instead of
human emotions and thought processes. Like
bio-engineers, what they lose in humanity, they
make up for in enhanced abilities: they can
interface with computer systems natively and
communicate directly with binary entities.
They also don’t die as such; they just get
rebooted into new Transcendent bodies.
Special Skills Options: Reboot, Enhanced
Combat.
HACKER
More generalists than the techxorcists, hackers
are rogues who make their living writing
viruses and software cracks for credits. They’re
agile and flexible, dealing in the shadows and
taking on any job available, whether that is
running illicit software, hardware, or drugs.
Hackers are quick-thinking rebels who rail
against authority and live on society’s edges.
Special Skills Options: Criminal Broker,
Code Break.
SYS ADMIN
Cemprom is the largest company in City Earth
and operates the myriad networks that keep the
city running and the one million AIAs
interconnected. Sys admins are responsible for
maintaining and fixing network and mainframe
problems. They’re highly logical and methodical,
and they excel at network defense. Sys admins
are in high demand in City Earth, and with their
Family-backed education, they benefit from a
higher status than hackers or even techxorcists.
Players who want to play a spy-like character with
the skills and attributes to infiltrate legitimate
organizations will enjoy the role of sys admin—if
they can game the system and stay hidden within
plain sight of the Family’s network.
Special Skills Options: While sys admins
have none of the special skills listed below,
they are innate masters of bureaucracy and
computer use.

SKILLS
Characters in the Code Breakers setting can
choose anything from the Basic Skills chapter.
In addition, these setting-specific skills are
designed for various occupations above.
AUGMENT
This skill allows bio-engineers to create and
install cyborg parts in living beings.
In game terms, a character with this skill
can turn another character’s Drama Points to
Experience Points and spend them during an
adventure, instead of between adventure
sessions. (See the Character Growth chapter.)
The augmenter must contribute at least one
Drama Point to the mix (and can contribute
more). This skill can also improve the boosted
ability by more than one step at once (if
enough Experience Points are available).
Augmenting a skill from Unfamiliar to
Unfocused, or from Unfocused to Focused,
requires 5 Success Levels. To “plus” a skill
requires those 5 Success Levels plus 5 times the
number of pluses that will result. (Example: Adding
a second plus to a skill requires 15 Success Levels.)
Each augmentation roll spent to
accumulate these Success Levels causes Graze
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damage to the subject. Healing skill rolls can
help to repair this damage as it is caused.
Bio-engineers can even augment themselves,
but having someone else do so is usually quicker
and less complicated (as damage penalties
impair self-augmentation rolls).
BINARY BLAST
Once connected to a computer system or
integrated chip system, techxorcists can
convert their consciousness to pure binary
form, overloading systems processors. This is
treated as an attack on the system, with a base
damage of Stun. The Game Host will decide
what defenses (if any) the system may possess.
CODE BREAK
When you need someone to break into a
computer system, and you can’t afford a
techxorcist, a hacker is the next best thing, and
in some situations is actually the better choice.
Whereas the techxorcist has brute force ability,
the hacker is wily and clever and can often find
more subtle ways to break into a system. In
effect, code breaking is similar to the
lockpicking skill, though electronically in
cyberspace instead of in physical reality.
LESTER SMITH
CODE SAFE
As destructive as techxorcists can be to systems,
they can also provide the complete opposite: the
ability to wrap code in a protective shell, keeping it
safe from malicious software. This is especially
useful if characters need to transport electronic
data and keep it hidden from hackers and sys
admins. Each Success Level gained with this skill
creates a 1-point penalty to skills intended to hack
into the protected data, or even notice its
existence. Maintaining this code shell is distracting,
however, imposing a 1-point penalty on the
techxorcist’s other activities.
CRIMINAL BROKER
Rogues are people-persons; they know the ins
and outs of negotiating with fellow rogues. This
skill operates like the basic bargaining skill, but in
more specialized circumstances. Criminal brokers
are familiar with the customs and lingo of
underground transactions and are sensitive to
nuances of new encounters. One Success Level is
all it takes to conclude a deal with this skill,
though often owing a favor in exchange. Two
Success Levels achieve a clean purchase with no
strings attached; Three Success Levels gain a
bargain price. Four Success Levels conclude the
deal and leave the seller somehow in the broker’s
debt—whether from gratitude (a new friendship)
or under duress (such as a subject of blackmail).
ENHANCED COMBAT
Because transcendents are artificial lifeforms,
they benefit from enhanced speed and
strength. Using this skill as an action, a
transcendent gains tactical insights into the
current combat situation. Each Success Level
with this skill grants the user the equivalent of
2 Drama Points, usable for that combat only.
EXTRA-SENSE
Besides boosting skills with bionic parts, bio-
engineers can create extra senses by melding
technology and flesh. These allow characters to
“see” farther along the electromagnetic spectrum,
making them especially useful for black ops. Each
of the following senses can be added separately:
infrared light, ultraviolet light, radio waves, or
magnetic fields. Each requires 10 Success Levels
to be implanted, with rolls performed at 10-
minute intervals, and each roll inflicts Graze
damage on the subject. A single failed roll during
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surgery means the subject’s body permanently
rejects this implantation (though another may be
attempted after the subject fully heals).
REBOOT
Upon suffering enough damage to reach Kill
level, transcendents can reboot their systems to
“resurrect” at Graze level. In doing so, however,
they lose some of their human subroutines and
become more machinelike. Each time a
transcendent reboots, she or he must succeed at
a Will roll to avoid spending the rest of the
combat scene as a wanton killing machine,
attacking anything that moves. Keep track of the
number of reboots on the character’s sheet. Each
becomes a penalty to the total of this Will roll.
Additionally, the player should portray the
character as progressively less emotive.
SPECIAL RULES
Conflict in the Code Breakers novels takes place
both in the physical world and in cyberspace.
In general, the rules in the Conflict and
Damage chapter apply, but at a heightened
pace, as explained below.
CYBERSPACE DISTANCES
Apply the normal ranges of Brawling,
Throwing, Shooting, Viewing, and Lost, but
without a strict scale of meters. Characters may
change distance by one band per action.
Range adds these difficulty modifiers to
skill rolls against a target in cyberspace:
Brawling 0 points; Throwing 1 point; Shooting
2 points; and Viewing 3 points. Actions other
than movement cannot be taken at Lost range.
Characters who move to Lost range remain
aware of one another during that round and
may pursue. Those who begin a round at Lost
range escape and lose this awareness.
CYBERSPACE ACTIONS
Each combat round in the physical world
comprises two actions in cyberspace. For
simplicity’s sake, have characters in cyberspace
declare and roll two actions each round.
(Movement actions are rolled only for
purposes of turn sequence, not for distance.)
EQUIPMENT
Code Breakers is a post-Apocalyptic setting where
outside of the dome most everyday items are no
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
longer available. During the
devastating Third World War and the
resulting Cataclysm that the Family
brought to the planet, almost every
square mile of the world suffered.
There are no mass-produced vehicles
or technology available outside the
dome. Even within the dome,
citizens have no real weapons—only
the City Earth security has access,
making weapons procurement a task
for outlaws and rogues.
Within the dome, however,
characters will find retail units supplying
most of common day-to-day items such
as utensils, tools, food, and clothing.
Outside the dome, in the Abandoned
Lands, there are only items that have
been salvaged by the few survivors, or
items crafted from materials found
and/or stolen from City Earth. Within
camps and towns of the Abandoned
Lands, characters will find traders and
dealers who can, for a hefty price of BINS (Binary business organizations. They rule the city in
Currency Units), supply a range of weapons the Family’s name, and hold absolute power
(energy, electronic, melee, and projectile), over the City’s networks and other resources.
computers, hack slates, and ration packs. Characters seeking to accomplish
something in the dome that falls outside their
DENIZENS assigned duties will find themselves facing off
Earth has changed considerably since the against these formidable foes.
nukes and EMPs of the Cataclysm fell. The Outside the dome, heroes will encounter a
planet is nearly barren of flora and fauna. Few range of survivors—from simple hardscrabble
animals survive in the wild beyond insects and villagers to gangsters, bandits, and military
a handful of snakes and spiders. Even in the warlords. Some may be potentially friendly;
camp towns, the only animals are a few pigs others shoot first and ask questions after. What
and cows. City Earth produces synthetic meat, all have in common is a desperate struggle to
as large-scale farming is no longer an option. stay alive in this harsh environment, under the
Adventurers will, however, encounter a watchful orbital eye of the Family’s paranoid
variety of humans, and semi-humans, both security forces. If the heroes are to endure as
inside and out of the dome. well, they must be ever vigilant and
Inside are one million souls that make up successfully barter for the basic necessities of
City Earth’s citizenship. These are cloned and food, water, and shelter.
created at the Family’s whim. Protecting the
City’s ecosystem are ruthless security forces SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
who wield stun batons (treat as tasers limited to
Brawling range—see the Conflict and Damage INTO THE HORNET’S NEST
chapter) and will not hesitate to use them on A terrible weapon lies hidden beneath the very
anyone who doesn’t obey their commands. feet of an implacable foe. Our heroes must
But worse than security guards are the sys somehow disable it to save City Earth and the
admins and board members of the various scattered towns of the Abandoned Lands.

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LESTER SMITH
ACT I: A HIDDEN DOOM
A hacker reports to the heroes that a forgotten
EMP missile of terrible power lies hidden in the
Abandoned Lands. Worse, it resides in a silo
deep beneath a bunker of Red Widows, a cult of
female “freedom fighters” sworn to rid the earth
of all cybertech, in retaliation for having lost their
fathers, sons, and husbands in the wars that led
to the Cataclysm. If the Red Widows discover
this device, they will surely launch it, utterly
destroying cyberspace, as well as rendering all
bionic implants on the planet useless.
Attacking the Red Widows directly would be
costly in lives, and it wouldn’t guarantee they’d
not find and launch the device. Infiltration
seems the only option, but only females have
any chance of doing so, and only if all bionic
enhancements are kept secret in the process.
The hacker knows someone who can
transfer the consciousness of any male party
members into female transcendent clones. So
disguised, they can join the Red Widows and
search for the secret missile silo.
ACT II: IN THE WIDOWS’ WEB
The heroes convince the Red Widows to take
them in as new recruits. In down time between
duty shifts and raids on nearby settlements, they
search the base and eventually find the silo. But
its passageways are salted with “old school”
security measures such as nerve gas, flame
throwers, laser grids, airlocks, and even spiked
pit traps, all controlled by the AI in the missile,
unconnected to any external grid.
ACT III: HELLFIRE AND DAMNATION
Just as computer experts in the group connect
with the AI and begin to disable it, the Red
Widows realize that their new recruits are
missing. They discover the hidden silo and
attack. While some heroes delay them (perhaps
pressing the silo’s own defenses into service),
others must set the missile’s nuclear payload to
meltdown or explode here underground, where
its effects will be less widespread.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Colin F. Barnes. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Colin F. Barnes. CITY EARTH ILLUSTRATION: K8 Smith.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“Dark Magic” photo by Jim Donnelly is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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With the countdown started, the heroes’
only escape option is to somehow reconnect
with earth’s cyberspace and abandon their
bodies here, to return to their own (or new
ones) awaiting them.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
SEVEN DAYS TO LIVE: The heroes find
themselves “winners” of the D-Lottery and
have just seven days to live, unless they can find
a way inside Cemprom’s inner sanctum and
hack into the mainframe. Their only other hope
is to go offline and find a way out of City Earth.
ABANDONED LANDS RUN: Somewhere in
the barren desert of the Abandoned Lands a
bunker holds a functional server from before
the Cataclysm. The heroes will have to search
for the bunker and compete with a variety of
rogues also seeking this artifact.
CRACK THE CODE: Within City Earth resides a
man known as The Wizard, a techxorcist of
unusual skill. Thus far, he has managed to evade
the Family’s attentions. Now City Earth is
under attack by a seemingly sentient virus intent
on controlling the AIA network. The one hope
of defeating this daemon is to find The Wizard
and assist him in cracking the virus before it
manages to possess all of City Earth’s citizenry.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Campaigns within the Code Breakers series may
begin inside the dome of City Earth and break
out to the wider world. Or they may begin
outside the dome, in the Abandoned Lands, as a
struggle among factions, or even an attempt to
breach or infiltrate the dome. In either case, the
Family’s facilities in near-Earth orbit may
become a target. As a third alternative, characters
might begin as members of a secret military
installation hidden within the earth, masked
somehow in orbit, or even on the moon. The
one thing connecting all these locales, of course,
is the vastness of cyberspace, where a wealth of
information resides for the taking.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

A COWBOY ON MARS
Steve Winter
When Edgar Rice Burroughs
published his first tale in 1912, Under
the Moons of Mars, the genre of scientific
planetary romance was born. Also
known as sword-and-planet tales, these
stories of swashbuckling heroes facing
outrageous danger and finding true
love on exotic, alien worlds quickly
became immensely popular. With this
setting chapter, you can find your own
adventure as A Cowboy on Mars!

BACKGROUND
In the 1860s, the American West was
still a vast wilderness, untraveled by
any but roaming natives, ranchers,
prospectors, and far-flung settlers.
The nearest town was three days
away, and the nearest law twice as far.
By the 1880s, the end of the frontier
is in sight. Steel rails cross the continent,
and more are added every year; the
bison are all but wiped out, forcing the
native tribes onto reservations; towns
pop up everywhere, and territories
clamor to become states. It’s getting so
an honest cowhand can’t find a
watering hole without having to see
some greenhorn’s chimney smoke
smudging the skyline.
But elsewhere in the Solar System, there’s a irrigated are barren. The towers of abandoned cities
place where uninhabited wilderness stretches to are crumbling to ruin, half buried under drifting
every horizon; where swords and super-science sand and strangling tendrils of kharr-weed. Few
clash on equal footing; where waning civilization travel those wastes, for fear of wild beasts and even
barely holds its own against bands of savage wilder ptoacs, the savage, six-limbed giants that
nomads; and where exceptional heroes can still wage constant war against the other races of Mars.
carve their way to eternal glory! The atmosphere has grown as thin as
We Earthlings know this planet as Mars, but civilization’s hold on survival. Only a handful of
its native inhabitants call it Shalbatana. Their cities endure, thanks to devoted soldiers and a few
civilization scaled the heights of culture and brilliant scientists who maintain the now-
science before Earthlings settled into villages, and incomprehensible engines of their ancestors. The
the great empires of Shalbatana were already greatest of these cities is Argon; it stands as a
declining when Egypt raised the first pyramids. bastion of stability amid the warring chaos of Mars.
Now Shalbatana’s globe-circling canals are dry Behind it all lurk the Naru, skillfully manipulating
for most of the year, and the immense plains they princes, savages, and scientists from the shadows.

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LESTER SMITH
Who they are and what they want is the deepest
mystery of a planet steeped in unknowns. Most
know them only as bogeymen, but the Naru are
much more, and much more dangerous, than that.
Mars exerts a powerful pull on the
imagination of Earthlings. A lucky few stumble
onto the hidden gateways between worlds, or are
lured to them by the Naru, and are inexplicably
transported to the baffling, decaying, amazing
world of Shalbatana.
EARTHLING OCCUPATIONS
These occupations assume that most players will
choose displaced Earthmen as characters. Most
of them have Martian equivalents, for those who
choose to play natives of Shalbatana instead.
Players are free to devise their own, unique
occupations or to choose one from the D6×D6
core rules, with the Game Host’s permission.
CAVALRYMAN
Your job was patrolling the vast expanse of the
West on horseback, leading a troop of cavalry
against bandits, renegade natives, or raiders from
south of the border. As an officer and a
gentleman, you are an excellent rider and
swordsman. The Martian equivalent is vaart-rider.
COWBOY
You wandered the West footloose and care-free,
working your way from ranch to ranch, calling no
place your home and no person your master. Now,
fences and fancy back-East ranch owners make life
tough. You’re an expert rider and animal handler,
and you know how to take care of yourself in the
rough. No Martian equivalent exists.
ENGINEER
Progress is inevitable, even in the Wild West.
Wherever civilization goes, it needs surveyors,
bridge-builders, architects, steam engineers, and
other specialists who understand science and
machinery. The Martian equivalent is technostician.
GUNFIGHTER
Plenty of townsfolk look down on your profession
and say you’re no better than a common killer, but
they never say it to your face. If you’ve done
things with a gun you’re not proud of, at least you
were well paid for them. The fact that you’re still
around testifies to your skill as a shootist. The
Martian equivalent is duellist.
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LAWMAN
Just a few years ago, you were the only law in this
territory. Now every town has a sheriff, a citizens’
committee, and a passel of lawyers. You’re good
with a gun and your fists, you can track as well as
any native, and you understand how outlaws
think. The Martian equivalent is enforcer.
NOBLE SAVAGE
Just a generation ago, your people were
unchallenged in the plains, mountains, or deserts
you called home. Now the wild game is gone,
roads and fences criss-cross the prairie, and more
settlers arrive every day. You’re an expert hunter
and can survive in any wilderness, but the
wilderness is disappearing. The Martian
equivalent is ptoac (one of the rare specimens
who respects and works with humans).
OUTLAW
Pickings used to be easy on the frontier, with
more banks, trains, and remote mines than there
were lawmen. Now telegraph lines and
newspapers make it almost impossible to evade
posses and keep your face off wanted posters.
The Martian equivalent is exile.
SHALBATANAN OCCUPATIONS
Besides Martian equivalents of the occupations
above, Shalbatana has two unique occupations.
Only natives of the Red Planet can choose these.
ROYALTY
Martian politics are a paradox. The great cities
practice democracy in most ways, and the voices
of citizens are always heard, yet they’re ruled by
councils of dukes, barons, and other aristocrats
who serve hereditary kings, queens, princes, and
princesses. You are such a prince or princess, not
yet ascended to power (or not first in line for the
throne). If you would rule well, you must first taste
all that Shalbatanan life and adventure has to offer.
SKY-SKIMMER PILOT
Few of Shalbatana’s scientific advances can rival the
graceful and swift sky-skimmers. Great cities of old
measured their grandeur in the size and magnificence
of their fleets, but the knowledge to build these
vessels is lost to time. Those remaining are carefully
tended by technosticians. Sky-skimmer captains and
pilots rank among a city’s most celebrated heroes.

SKILLS
The standard skills from the D6×D6 core rules
are perfectly suited to use on Shalbatana, with the
few modifications listed here.
COMPUTER
This skill is available only to Martians and is not
part of any occupation. It applies to radium-
powered calculating engines that fill entire
buildings. Each city has one such engine, to
operate the city’s complex infrastructure and to aid
military and civil planning. Not even the highest
tiers of the Logarithmic Order entirely understand
the innards of the calculating engines, so operating
one is part art, part science, and part religion.
DIPLOMACY
Diplomacy is an important art on Shalbatana,
where caste-conscious nobles and proud warriors
are quick to take offense and where honor is
defended with the sword and the pistol. The
Diplomacy skill has more to do with
understanding and observing the minute
complexities of social interaction between castes
and species than with communication between
nations—but it covers that, too.
FAST DRAW
This is is a limited but potentially lifesaving skill.
A character with this skill doubles his or her
attack roll on the first round of a fight to
determine when she or he attacks. This bonus
affects only when the attack occurs; the original
roll is used for every other purpose.
SCIENCE
In this setting, the Science skill is a catch-all for
advanced learning in math, science, repair, and
engineering. This skill comes automatically with
the engineer and technostician occupations.
Other characters who want to do more than basic
arithmetic or be able to operate and repair
machines that are more complex and less familiar
than a revolver should take the skill.
SECOND LANGUAGE
This skill is crucial to Earthlings newly arrived on
Mars. Fortunately, Shalbatanan languages are more
logical and intuitive than their Earth counterparts.
Most Earthlings can pick up the rudiments of
Shalbatanan after a few days of immersion. This
basic understanding ranks as an Unfamiliar skill. It
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lets characters understand most of what’s said to
them and to speak simple, two- to four-word
sentences. Partial fluency can be attained with a
week’s practice; at that point, it can be considered
an Unfocused skill. A character who’s fluent
(Focused skill) in one Martian language is
conversant (Unfocused) in all of them, because
they all spring from a common root.
SPECIAL RULES
While Earth and Shalbatana have similarities, the
differences are what make the transition
interesting—and jarring.
GATES BETWEEN WORLDS
No Earthling can travel between Earth and Mars
at will. The trip is made via ancient gates
constructed by the Naru eons ago. No more than
a dozen of these gates exist on Earth, and they’re
hidden in remote caves, steep-sided canyons,
waterfalls, and mountaintops. For unknown
reasons, the American West has more of them
than anywhere else in the world.
Only a few people can pass through a gateway
at a time, and gates cycle open and shut at
random. Whatever a character is wearing or
carrying comes through the portal, too. For
example, a cowboy who lucked onto a big-
enough portal could ride his horse through.
The Naru remember the locations of most
(but not all) portals and have the power to
activate or deactivate them at a touch.
LOWER GRAVITY
Thanks to the planet’s lower gravity, Earthlings
acclimated to Mars gain a bonus Success Level on
all rolls related to running, leaping, or lifting.
Unfortunately, this does not apply to
Earthlings freshly arrived on Shalbatana, who must
adapt to the strange conditions of their new home.
A newly arrived Earthling makes all physical rolls
as Unfocused. This penalty disappears when the
character manages to score two Success Levels
with the particular skill or ability.
For example, although a newly arrived
cavalryman might be an expert swordsman on Earth,
his first attacks in the thin air and unfamiliar gravity
of Mars are Unfocused. Chances are, when he first
squares off against a murderous ptoac, his first lunge
is clumsy and wide, a clean miss. Let’s say a lucky
second attack produces two successes and wipes out
LESTER SMITH
the new-arrival penalty for swordfighting. The
snickering ptoac is in for a big surprise!
This penalty provides comic relief, but more
importantly, it places Earthlings at a disadvantage in
their first encounters with native Martians, making
them easier to capture. In traditional sword-and-
planet stories, most new arrivals from Earth spend
their first nights in captivity. Don’t be shy about
sticking with a classic. The penalty isn’t meant to
burden players with an agonizing adaptation process.
After they’ve spent a few days on Shalbatana, it’s fine
to reduce the requirement to a single Success Level
or just rescind it across the board.
EQUIPMENT
Fading super-science is everywhere on Shalbatana.
Still, much of what heroes encounter day-to-day
will be exotic in shape but familiar in use.
WEAPONS
All weapons listed in the Conflict and Damage
chapter are available, but perhaps in different form.
SMALL AND LARGE BLADES are ubiquitous.
Most Martians use them skillfully.
TASERS (called stingers) and SHOTGUNS (called
belchers) are used only by the Naru and by
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villainous henchmen. No person of quality would
wield such dishonorable weapons.
BOWS are a curiosity. Even the most savage ptoacs
are armed with captured isotope pistols and rifles.
PISTOLS and RIFLES are common, but they are
longer and heavier than Earth weapons. Martian
guns fire bullets made from unstable barium
isotopes at muzzle velocities unimaginable on
Earth. Six-shooters and lever-action rifles brought
from Earth function normally on Mars, but the only
way to get ammo for them is to find a technostician
who’ll manufacture it by hand. Earth weapons also
draw attention because of their strange appearance
and primitive operating principles.
HAND LASERS (Θ-rays, or theta-ray guns) are
used only by the Naru and by major scientific
villains. They won’t operate for anyone else.
SKY-SKIMMERS
These graceful, flying boats operate on combat-
vehicle scale. A standard sky-skimmer is 100 feet
long and 30 feet wide; mounts one to six isotope
cannons that inflict Hits on combat vehicles; has
armor value 1; and carries a flight crew of 12 plus 20
marines. Other characteristics are identical to a
motorboat (albeit one with radium-powered engines).

Sky-skimmers come in many sizes and designs,
and each city has its favored model. They can’t be
built shorter than 20 feet or longer than 300 feet.
DENIZENS
Shalbatana is home to several intelligent species.
HUMANS
No more than a handful of Earthlings are ever on
Shalbatana at one time. Most Martians have never
seen one. They usually assume a human is just a
strange-looking Martian from a distant city.
MARTIANS
The most numerous are the city Martians, who
closely resemble humans, aside from their wide
range of skin tones. Coloration indicates a
Martian’s home city; those from Argon are gray-
blue. Bright coloration indicates a person of high
caste or nobility, while pale skin indicates a lower
caste. Every Martian noble has the Swordfighting
and Shooting skill, and most middle-class Martians
have the Martial Arts skill. Otherwise, they’re
identical to humans in the D6×D6 core rules.
PTOACS
A ptoac is a nine-foot-tall, four-armed, locust-like
berserker. They wander the wastelands in tribes
of 20 to 200 warriors, sheltering in ancient cities
and launching deadly raids against each other and
isolated cities.
Name: Thrakk, Brillg, Tars, Jattra, etc. Gender and
Age unimportant. Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits
Unfamiliar. Occupation: Ptoac. Skills: Focused Martial
Arts, Riding, Shooting, Survival; Unfocused Berserk
Rage. Focus: 5. Special Abilities: 2 attacks per turn with
swords and daggers, or 4 when berserk. Gear: Isotope
rifle, 2 large swords, daggers, lance, rhunog.
NARU
The Naru use alien technology to give themselves
whatever appearance they choose. Their true
shape resembles a multi-hued, crablike braincase
suspended beneath six triple-jointed legs, with
two spindly arms. Although their powers arise
solely from super-science, they can create effects
identical to psionic abilities from any D6×D6
settings of the Game Host’s choosing.
Name, Gender, and Age unfathomable. Attributes:
Wits and Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Villainous Manipulator. Skills: Focused Disguise,
Persuasion, Super-science; Unfocused Shooting.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
Focus: 4. Gear: Stinger or Θ-ray, other miraculous
devices needed to further the plot.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Besides the intelligent races described above,
Shalbatana is also home to many exotic animals
and one particularly dangerous type of plant life.
RHUNOG are lumbering, six-legged beasts of
burden, capable of surprising bursts of speed.
Name, Gender, and Age unimportant. Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused Trample; Unfocused Charge. Focus: 2.
Life: Graze ×5. Speed: Normal. Toughness: 2.
Number: Typically a dozen.
QUADOW are huge, featherless flying lizards,
sometimes trained as mounts. Name, Gender, and
Age unimportant. Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Claw, Climb, Swoop;
Unfocused Snatch in Flight. Focus: 4. Life: Graze ×2.
Speed: 2 actions. Toughness: N/A. Number: Typically 6.
STROTHYL are catlike hunters of the wastelands,
as large as ponies. Name, Gender, and Age
unimportant. Attributes: Grace Focused; Will
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Bite, Claw, Hide, Leap;
Unfocused None. Focus: 5. Life: Graze ×2. Speed: 2
actions. Toughness: N/A. Number: Typically a pair.
VAART are quick, two-legged creatures favored as
mounts. Name, Gender, and Age unimportant.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused Bite, Charge, Dodge, Leap; Unfocused
Arrive When Needed. Focus: 5. Life: Stun kills.
Speed: N/A. Toughness: N/A. Number: Any.
KHARR-WEED is a strangling vine that thrives in
ruins and oases. Name, Gender, and Age
unimportant. Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn,
Will, and Wits Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Grab,
Sneaking; Unfocused Pickpocketing, Strangle.
Focus: 3. Life: Wound kills. Speed: Normal.
Toughness: N/A. Number: 1 to 6.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
HEROES OF ARGON
The adventure begins with characters passing
through a gateway to Mars. If your heroes will
willingly step into the unknown, it can be a
shimmering portal in some remote locale. If
they’re cautious types, make it a plain cave
entrance or a crumbling doorway in an abandoned
adobe mission, with no other visible sign.
LESTER SMITH
ACT I: A HIGHER PLAIN
The heroes experience a few moments of
disorientation after passing through the gate, then
find themselves on an unfamiliar, arid plain.
Before they get their bearings, they’re attacked by
a pack of howling strothyls. A nearby structure
offers the likeliest defense; they can fight off the
creatures from there with minimal casualties.
The “structure” is actually a crashed sky-
skimmer. Inside are the corpses of several blue-
skinned people in strange uniforms; all have died
from large-caliber gunshot wounds.
Unidentifiable tracks lead away from the flyer
(ptoacs riding rhunogs) and across a rocky ridge
about four miles away. From the ridge, a ruined
city can be seen; the tracks lead to it.
ACT II: BY LIGHT OF SILVERY MOONS
A ptoac clan is encamped in the ruins (6 warriors,
14 noncombatants, 15 rhunogs). The ptoacs have
three blue-skinned prisoners. They don’t keep
careful watch, but the prisoners are always
guarded by at least one warrior or noncombatant.
If the heroes sneak in, release the prisoners,
and sneak out again at night, they could reach the
downed sky-skimmer by dawn.
If the heroes approach the camp openly,
they’ll be attacked and captured if possible.
Prisoners are tormented for a while, then
ransomed back to Argon.
If the heroes attack the camp or are noticed as
intruders, the ptoacs respond quickly. They’re
excellent tacticians.
The city is large and mazelike. The heroes and
any rescued prisoners can hide in the city for 24
hours before ptoacs track them down. They’ll
have no food and only what water they steal from
the ptoacs or find in sheltered cisterns.
ACT III: NOBLE ARGON
The prisoners are two high-ranking officers and a
noble technostician of Argon named Ruta Rau.
They were repairing a pump that feeds an
aqueduct to Argon when ptoacs crept up and
attacked. At least one of the prisoners should be
a potential love interest for one of the heroes.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Steve Winter. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday. COVER DESIGN & FOOD FIGHT: K8 Smith, with “Sky & Moons” by Tony Hayes,
“White Desert, Egypt” photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg, “Martian City” by Herminio Nieves, “Cowboy” photo by
Moyan Brenn, and “Dead Cowboy” photo by Joseph Novak, all licensed under CC BY 2.0 and edited.
- 82 -
Rau can finish repairs to the pump in about
four hours with everyone’s help. After that, the
officers need another two hours to get the sky-
skimmer airborn again. The ptoacs launch attacks
three times during this period.
Back in Argon, the characters are hailed as
heroes if they bring Ruta Rau home safely and
helped repair the pump.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Sabotage: Agents of the Naru intend to sabotage
Argon’s calculating engine. The heroes are
enlisted to protect the vital machine and track
down the conspirators.
The Prophet: The normally feuding tribes of
ptoacs are forming alliances under the influence
of a mysterious prophet. United, they’d become
far more dangerous. The “prophet” is a fellow
Earthling—a villainous Prussian officer who
intends to rule Shalbatana.
It’s a Trap!: The heroes are enlisted to
accompany a mission delivering a vital repair part
to the allied city of Astatine. It’s a trap, of course;
the rulers of Astatine hope to capture an
Argonian sky-skimmer and sell it to a rival city.
The Leviathan: Cult activity is spreading
through the lowest castes in Argon. There’s talk
of awakening Yautorr, a legendary leviathan that
resides deep inside Shalbatana. The heroes must
go undercover to defuse the threat.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Sword-and-planet stories are easy to find in free
online libraries and used bookstores. A typical
tale is chock-full of inspiration for adventures.
Most of them follow the same plot: a hero’s
friends, loved one, or city are threatened; in the
course of saving the day, the hero discovers
something amazing about his or her new home,
reveals that villainy runs deeper than anyone
imagined, uncovers lost secrets of science, proves
that civilization is stronger than savagery, and
falls hopelessly in love. Stick close to that formula
and you can’t go wrong.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF CRITICAL DAWN

Colin F. Barnes & Darren Wearmouth
An archaeological discovery at the lost
colony of Roanoke awakens an alien
race long buried and hidden since the
dawn of time. As the invaders set about
enslaving and even harvesting humans
while terraforming the planet, some
people collude with the aliens, while
others fight a desperate resistance.

BACKGROUND
Forty years after the Croatoan
invasion, the Earth has changed.
Human civilization has been
destroyed, wiped out in mere hours
by superior alien technology. Of
those people who survived, most are
now raised as food or laborers for
the Croatoans. Some have joined
forces with the aliens, as overseers
of their farms. A few others, too
young to remember the invasion
itself, have been duped into serving
as technicians inside alien harvesting
machines. And a very, very few exist
outside Croatoan control as
survivalists or guerrilla fighters.
The Earth itself is being
terraformed to suit the aliens. A brief
ice age killed off much of the planet’s
native flora and fauna, to make way
for the “root.” This plant is the heart
of Croatoan existence. It is a food, an
energy source, and—depending on its
preparation—a medicine or a
recreational drug. The root is so
potent that humans who ingest it gain enhanced
strength and stave off the effects of aging. OCCUPATIONS
But there’s a price to pay. The root is taking Occupations in this setting are limited. With the
over the environment. It chokes out natural wildlife natural ecosystem’s survival threatened and alien
and turns rivers and ponds to sludge. It is even domination nearly complete, there isn’t any call for
casting an orange haze throughout the planet’s artists, newscasters, scholars, or other present-day
atmosphere, slowly turning the air itself vocations. Instead players should either choose
unbreathable to native species. Humankind will from the setting-specific occupations listed below,
have to somehow defeat the Croatoans—and or suggest to the Game Host new ones in keeping
soon—if they’re to save the planet, and themselves. with the setting.

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LESTER SMITH
GUERILLA FIGHTER
Guerrilla fighters are humans who survived the initial
Croatoan invasion and somehow managed to carve
out an existence outside Croatoan control. Now, they
have chosen to go on the offensive. With improvised
explosives and other traps, they cripple the harvesting
machines, slowing root harvesting. They stalk and
assassinate alien hunters and engineers who dare to
walk the Earth as if it were their own. Guerrillas live
to fight, hoping to one day restore humankind as the
rightful rulers of Earth. They can use nearly any
weapon they find, have learned to craft their own,
and know how to create and set explosives. They are
not above using the alien root for enhanced strength,
speed, and stamina, though this can lead to reckless
behavior in battle.
HARVESTER
A harvester is a person bred and trained for one
reason only—to harvest the Earth for root. Born
under the direction of the Croatoans, but having
since escaped their role within the great
harvesting machines, Harvester characters are
adept at machine operation, teamwork,
concentration, and self-discipline. They are hardy,
intelligent individuals who can turn their hands to
problems easily and have a natural affinity with
driving and operating Croatoan machinery.
SCIENTIST
The Critical Dawn setting has many roles for scientists.
Some are those who either chose or were forced to
work for the Croatoans. These are anthropologists,
microbiologists, and figures of authority from all
fields of science. Others managed to escape the
Croatoans and are now protected by guerillas or
survivalists. They work to build better weapons and
to research the alien technology in order to find
weaknesses. Scientists use their knowledge and quick
wits to aid in humanity’s struggle.
SURVIVALIST
Not everyone was enslaved in the alien’s new world
order. Some who lived on the fringes of civilization
survived the war and the Croatoan-induced ice age.
These survivalists now specialize in hunting,
tracking, and killing Croatoans. They’re resourceful,
using their skills of foraging and crafting to find
items left behind and make useful weapons, tools,
and shelter. Survivalists can branch into weapons
use, food preparation, and hunting and tracking.
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OTHER OCCUPATIONS
Other roles players might explore as occupations
include engineers, farmers, gang leaders, healers,
mechanics, priests, and scholars.
SKILLS
Besides those listed in the Basic Skills chapter,
characters may know the following skills.
ALIEN MACHINERY
Characters with this skill are familiar enough with
Croatoan symbols and equipment to operate their
machines. This includes vehicls as well as lab
equipment. Harvester characters and scientists
have this ability as part of their occupation.
FORAGING
Knowing how to find food in the wild, especially in
an environment ever more tainted by the Croatoan
root, is an important survival skill. Survivalists have
this knowledge as part of their occupation.
IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVES
Characters with this skill can concoct a wide range of
explosives from “household chemicals” when those
can be found. Such characters can also salvage and
repair old police and military explosives (flash-bang
grenades, C4, etc.). Guerrilla fighter characters have
this ability as part of their occupation.
SNIPING
This skill is more than just the ability to shoot. It
includes knowledge of how and where to lie in wait
for prey (native or alien), how to account for wind
and for projectile behavior, how to salvage and repair
firearms from the past, and even how to adapt
weapons to a variety of scavenged ammunition.
To use the Sniping skill, a character must also
possess the Shooting skill. The lower of the two skill
ratings is used for all Sniping rolls.
When not in combat, a sniper can use any
shooting weapon at twice normal Shooting range;
with a high-powered firearm and scope, the character
can shoot even to the limits of Viewing range.
SPECIAL RULES
Although Croatoan technology outstrips human
science, allowing the aliens to hibernate
underground for millennia, emerging to conquer the
planet in mere hours, there is nothing preternatural
about the creatures or their machines. Their

civilization is simply more advanced and unified
than ours, their vehicles and weaponry more
powerful, durable, and swift. Consequently, no
special rules are needed for this setting. Game
Hosts can extrapolate Croatoan gear from the basic
rules, with bonuses to damage, protection, and
speed. The one exception involves use of the alien
root, as explained under Equipment, below.
EQUIPMENT
Most items available to characters in the Critical Dawn
setting are leftovers from early 21st century human
civilization. Unfortunately, much of it is broken or
deteriorated, and energy is a problem for electrical
items and equipment that requires fuel. In the ruins
of major cities, a very few well-hidden facilities nurse
electrical generators with dwindling stocks of
petroleum fuel. Some especially well-shielded
nuclear-powered shelters may even yet exist. As long
as such locations keep to themselves, the Croatoans
are not much concerned. If one does come to the
aliens’ attention, their mothership will drop a few
advanced bunker-busting bombs to deal with it.
BASIC EQUIPMENT
Given this situation, characters will have access to
basic hand tools and improvised melee weapons.
Firearms are also fairly common—from private
stocks, police weapon lockers, and the ruins of
military posts—though ammunition is scarcer.
The Croatoan-established farms—where
turncoat humans raise other people as cattle and
slaves for the aliens, and where alien root
harvesters are based—are equipped with a mix of
human and alien gear, including computers,
firearms, farm machinery, clothes, food and
water, and preserved books, videos, and games
for the entertainment of the human overseers.
CROATOAN EQUIPMENT
During the course of an adventure, heroes may
also defeat individual Croatoans and acquire their
gear. Examples include hoverbikes (effectively
antigravity motorcycles), energy pistols, and (in the
possession of specialized hunter Croatoans) energy
grenades, energy rifles, and electronically enhanced
armor. (Croatoan body armor follows the basic
armor rules, but with one point less of a penalty to
the wearer, and adding a one-point Task Difficulty
to Throwing and Shooting attacks against the
wearer, due to its electronic camouflage.)
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
THE ROOT
Characters have easy access to the Croatoan root.
Ingesting it daily staves off the effects of aging (which
is how many survivalists and guerilla fighters have
endured the decades since the alien invasion).
Dosing an ill or wounded victim with root adds a
1-point die bonus to healing rolls.
Consuming root just before combat makes the
user more alert. After rolling the dice for any action,
the player may adjust either die up or down one
point. This imposes a strain on the body, however,
inflicting a Graze wound each time (which can be
healed only by rest). To flee combat while under the
influence of the root, the character must succeed at a
Difficult roll against the Will attribute. (This roll
cannot be modified, other than by Drama Points.)
DENIZENS
Earth’s inhabitants, post invasion, include some
native wildlife, humans from before the ice age
and after, and various types of Croatoans.
NATIVE LIFE
Earth has suffered terribly at the hands of the
Croatoans, making native wildlife scarce. Still, the
wilderness harbors native birds, rabbits, foxes,
hares, coyotes, deer, boar, and some freshwater
and saltwater fish. Insects and arachnids have
fared better, especially poisonous varieties.
HUMAN BEINGS
In terms of other people, dotted around the
world in small pockets are groups of fellow
survivors. These have a range of motivations,
some friendly towards outsiders, others
immediately hostile as they seek to protect what
little sanctuary that they’ve found for themselves.
Humans bred by the aliens are clones created
after the ice age, and thus have little knowledge
of what the world was like before the invasion.
CROATOANS
While all Croatoans have bulbous eyes and
leathery gray skin, they vary greatly in size and
attributes, to suit various different roles.
OPERATORS: These small (human child sized)
aliens are bred to operate harvesters, shuttles, and
loaders. They are weak and short-lived but work
tirelessly. They aren’t outwardly aggressive and
would rather avoid conflict wherever possible.
These are the drone workers of Croatoan society.
LESTER SMITH
Name: Unpronounceable. Gender: NA. Age:
Adult. Attributes: Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Computers, Navigation, Vehicle
(harvester, hoverbike, shuttle, or loader); Unfocused
Athletics, First Aid, Second Language (something
human), Sneaking. Focus: 4. Notes: Attacks against
these fragile Croatoans do an extra level of damage.
ENGINEERS: Slightly larger than operators,
engineers specialize in testing soil for root
placement, as well as working on changing
Earth’s atmosphere to better suit the aliens.
Although they’re not strong in combat, they will
defend themselves and will report any free
human activity to their superiors. They’re capable
of using firearms but aren’t usually armed, as
soldiers often accompany them.
Name: Unpronounceable. Gender: NA. Age:
Adult. Attributes: Wits Focused; Will or Brawn
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Computers,
Lockpicking; Unfocused Martial Arts, Throwing,
Vehicle (loader). Focus: 3. Notes: Can press their
tools into service as a small blade or a taser.
SOLDIERS: These are standard Croatoan
“grunts.” Standing taller and broader than the
average human, Croatoan soldiers aren’t blessed
with a lot of brainpower. Their job is to serve and
protect their alien brethren. They’re armored and
proficient in use with both melee and ballistic
weapons. They rarely fight alone, preferring to
operate in squads of three or more.
- 86 -
Name: Unpronounceable. Gender: NA. Age: Adult.
Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused Athletics, Martial Arts, Shooting; Unfocused
First Aid (Croatoan), Sneaking, Throwing. Focus: 3.
Notes: Light Croatoan armor (see Equipment, above)
and energy rifle (with a base damage of Knockout).
OVERSEER: These are the real bad guys, large
turtle-like aliens who rarely visit the surface. They
prefer to stay within their secure mothership,
hovering above the Earth’s surface. They run the
show; managing teams of engineers and soldiers
remotely. They’re large and physically powerful,
and unless their heads are removed from their
bodies (no easy feat), they’re essentially immortal.
(No game stats are provided, as these Croatoans
merely command, never take direct action.)
HUNTERS: These lone wolf Croatoans exist solely
to hunt humans. (Think Predator.) They are big and
fast, can move stealthily, and have more weapons
than Rambo. If you spot one, it’s time to run.
Name: Unpronounceable. Gender: NA. Age:
Adult. Attributes: Brawn Focused; None Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Athletics, Martial Arts, Navigation,
Shooting, Sneaking, Sniping, Throwing, Tracking,
Vehicle (hoverbike); Unfocused Computers, First
Aid (Croatoan), Vehicle (shuttle). Focus: 10. Notes:
Heavy Croatoan armor (see Equipment, above),
energy grenades (Kill damage at Brawling range,
Knockout at Throwing range), energy sniper rifle
(base Knockout damage).

SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME
In which the heroes go to hell and back just to
listen in on a conversation.
ACT I: SPARROW
While foraging for food near a Croatoan farm, the
heroes come across a well-fed young woman in a
spotless white lab coat, waiting nervously in the
woods. Checking the area, the heroes determine
that she is alone, apparently waiting for them.
When approached, she introduces herself as
Krissy Demick, a scientist working at the farm as
part of a team devoted to genetically modifying
human “cattle” to survive higher concentrations
of Croatoan atmosphere. Having overheard
reports of human raiders in the area (the heroes),
she has decided to defect and aid their cause.
Before leaving the facility, however, she wants to
plant a bugging device in the communication
computer the farm manager uses daily to report to
the Croatoan mothership. For that purpose, she
needs a specially prepared circuit board. She can’t
steal it from farm supplies, which are carefully
monitored. So she needs the heroes to acquire one
elsewhere and deliver it to her.
Questioned closely, she reveals that the farm
manager—a human named Rodolfo Jasperse—has
been pressing her for sexual favors, and has
threatened to trump up spying charges if she doesn’t
comply. If convicted, she would be butchered as
meat for the Croatoans. So she has decided to
actually become a spy and help the resistance. The
heroes should be able to learn a lot by eavesdropping
on Jasperse’ reports, and if it ends up with him being
butchered instead, so much the better.
ACT II: BAD EGGS
The circuit board Dr. Demick needs is unusual
enough that the heroes will have to make a trip to
the ruins of a city to find one. It also requires
specialized modification—she provides them
with a schematic, but they may have to search out
an electronics specialist to do the work.
Meanwhile, she is prepared to return to the farm,
to stall the manager’s advances (or even submit
to them), while the heroes retrieve the item.
This part of the adventure begins with several
days of travel through wilderness, during which
the group may encounter traps set by other bands
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
of survivors, scattered Croatoan patrols, and even
severe storms that force the heroes to hole up for
awhile. The point is to convey the inexorable
passing of time as Dr. Demick suffers an
unknown fate back at the farm.
When the heroes at last reach the city ruins,
they find them occupied by vicious gangs of
humans led by brutal warlords. Depending on the
abilities and personalities of the heroes, the group
may resort to infiltration, bribery, or even trial by
combat to acquire the item they have come for.
This part of the adventure can be a great
opportunity to establish contacts that the group
may find of use later in a campaign.
With the circuit board in hand, the heroes
face a return trip similar to their earlier trek
through the wilderness. Again, several days pass
before they return to the vicinity of the farm.
ACT III: NIGHTINGALES
Upon returning to the locale of the farm, the heroes
may wait for Dr. Demick to contact them. It proves
to be a fruitless passage of time. The doctor does
not come. If the group scouts closer to the farm,
they eventually see her now disheveled and haggard
form pass from a trailer (the manager’s home and
office) to a Quonset hut (the lab) each morning and
trudge back each evening.
To rescue the doctor, the heroes must stage a raid
on the farm. It is staffed by the manager, a number
of human farmhands equal to the heroes, three
human scientists (including Dr. Demick), a pair of
Croatoan operators, one Croatoan engineer, and a
number of Croatoan soldiers equal to the heroes.
The Croatoan soldiers gather wherever they
perceive the greatest threat. (Clever heroes can create
a diversion with pyrotechnics or explosives to draw
them away from the actual attack.) The Croatoan
operators and engineers will follow the soldiers to
watch, while staying behind cover for safety.
The manager has no control over the
Croatoans. But he will take the human farmhands
as a personal bodyguard to investigate the
trouble, leaving the scientists to guard the lab.
At first opportunity, Dr. Demick will break away
to seek out the heroes. Though she has been
physically and emotionally abused during their
absence, she refuses to leave until the circuit board
has been installed. If necessary, she will even sacrifice
her life as a diversion, to keep the manager from his
trailer while someone installs the bugging device.
LESTER SMITH
Assuming they are careful not to be spotted,
the heroes can plant the circuit board and escape
in the confusion. What they learn from
eavesdropping on the manager’s communications
is left to the Game Host’s discretion, but they will
at least hear several days of his pleading and
toadying to his alien overlords, in an effort to
save himself from the slaughterhouse.
DR. KRISSY DEMICK. Gender: Female. Age: Adult.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Biologist. Skills: Focused Persuasion,
Second Language (French); Unfocused Alien
Machinery, Computers, First Aid, Shooting,
Sneaking. Focus: 3.
RODOLFO JASPERSE. Gender: Male. Age: Middle
aged. Attributes: Wits Focused; Grace Unfamilar.
Occupation: Farm Manager. Skills: Focused Bargaining,
Lockpicking, Persuasion, Shooting, Sneaking;
Unfocused Alien Machinery, Computers, Throwing,
Tracking, Vehicle (Auto). Focus: 6. Notes: Owns a
large pistol (Magnum .44) from before the invasion
and has a large stockpile of ammunition in his trailer.
FARMHANDS. Gender: Any. Age: Adult. Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamilar. Occupation:
Farmhand. Skills: Focused Athletics, Foraging,
Swimming, Vehicle (Tractor); Unfocused First
Aid, Navigation, Shooting. Focus: 5. Notes: Each
carries a small blade (pocketknife) and a small
pistol (revolver) with exactly five bullets.
SCIENTISTS. Gender: Male. Age: Middle aged.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Grace Unfocused.
Occupation: Biologist or Chemist. Skills: Focused
First Aid, Improvised Explosives, Persuasion,
Second Language (German or Latin), Vehicle
(Auto); Unfocused Alien Machinery, Computers,
Foraging, Navigation, Shooting. Focus: 6. Notes:
Each has been temporarily issued a small pistol
(revolver) with exactly five bullets.
ADVENTURE SEEDS &
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
In the Critical Dawn setting, our Earth is at the cusp
of irreversible climate change designed to make it a
CREDITS
DESIGN: Colin F. Barnes. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Colin F. Barnes. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
SKY BIKE: K8 Smith, with “Sechura Desert” photo by A. Duarte, “Panorama de Playa de Tijuana” photo by gakusei 88,
and “Cassytha Foliformis” & “Cassytha Filiformis” photos by David Eickhoff, all licensed under CC BY 2.0 and edited.
- 88 -
new home for the Croatoans, while allowing humans
to survive as a slave race. Adventures in this setting
are driven by a tension between short-term and long-
term survival and freedom.
In the shortest term, characters must hunt,
scavenge, and raid simply to maintain their existence.
The Game Host can set adventures in the ruins of
human cities and in wilderness areas, encountering
wildlife, pockets of other human survivors, and even
some paramilitary remnants.
As their own survival becomes more secure,
heroes may turn toward harassing Croatoan
operations designed to increase root planting, or
toward raiding Croatoan farms to gain equipment
and free human “cattle.” This strategy can swell the
numbers of guerillas, but it also increases demands
for supplies.
This will also bring the heroes ever more to the
attention of the Croatoan overlords, who will send
soldiers and hunters to deal with them. During this
part of a campaign, a succession of ever more
capable Croatoans will seek them out. Human
traitors may arise as well, bought with promises of
safety, status, or even “immortality.” As the heroes
rack up Croatoan kills and capture Croatoan arms,
their own ability to strike back against the aliens will
improve.
A campaign can continue indefinitely this way,
maintaining something of a stalemate between the
heroes and the invaders. The only permanent
solution, however, is destruction for one side or the
other. Specifically, the heroes will need to destroy the
Croatoan mothership to secure humankind’s future.
Nuclear missiles launched during the early hours of
the war were insufficient for the task. The heroes will
have to somehow infiltrate the mothership itself with
a weapon capable of destroying the aliens.
Even accomplishing this leaves the problem of
rooting out alien encampments on the planet and
restoring (as much as possible) the original climate.
Given that the Croatoans managed to hide
belowground for millennia before emerging, an
ongoing campaign to eradicate them could take
much time. In the end, however, the heroes will be
remembered forever as the saviors of humankind.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF THE DARK ANGEL

Hanna Peach
In the Dark Angel urban fantasy
series, young seraphim fight a secret
war on Earth at the command of
elder archangels against the denizens
of Hell. With strength, speed, combat
training, and the elemental blood
magic tattooed on their bodies, they
face demonic blades forged from
meteorites and hellish magic. With
this setting chapter, you can find your
own destiny in this ancient struggle as
angel, demon, or human.

BACKGROUND
Two thousand years ago, the gates
between Earth, Heaven, and Hell were
locked. Earthbound with no way
home, angels built hidden cities across
the globe, where they still live today,
ruled by elders in a class-based society.
Rogues, angels who’ve been cast
out or who have defected from the
seraphim cities, have formed small
Sanctuaries, democratic communities
located around the globe. The elder-
ruled and these rogues do not
normally mix, apart from at illicit
night races testing their powers of
flight and survival.
But they aren’t the only inhuman
beings roaming Earth: demons enter
by possessing mortals’ bodies.
With swords and magic, these
sides battle for the souls of humankind in this blood in their veins. (See the Special Rules.) This
Dark Angel setting. But bear in mind…not all is, in effect, their occupation.
angels are “good,” and not all demons are “bad.” WARRIORS are fighters by occupation, masters
of hand-to-hand and blade combat.
OCCUPATIONS NOTE: All angel characters—castus and warrior
Are you angel, demon, or human? If angel, are you alike—are able to use the magic of bloodink
castus—born with a single innate magic ability— tattoos. (See the Special Rules.)
or warrior—born without innate magic but fierce DEMONS tend to hold criminal or black-market
in battle. occupations. They cannot use bloodink magic.
CASTUS characters each possess a single magical HUMAN characters can have any modern
ability that is as much a part of them as the very occupation. They cannot use bloodink magic.

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LESTER SMITH
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, Bargaining, First
Aid, Lockpicking, Navigation, Persuasion,
Pickpocketing, and Tracking apply. In addition,
characters may learn the following skills.
BLOCK MIND MAGIC: Those with this skill can
block or reduce the effects of DreamWalker and
MemorySong magics used against them.
RIDDLE: Seraphim have a fondness for riddles and
puzzles, and they often work them into both
instructional tales and magical wards. Consequently,
characters with this skill have an advantage at
angelic gatherings as well as when facing many types
of angelic security measures.
SPECIAL RULES
Angels and demons in this setting possess certain
special abilities, as well as special vulnerabilities.
BLOODINK
A very few angels have the inherent ability to
convert angel blood to an ink that retains its
magical nature. Any angel bearing a tattoo of this
bloodink can utilize its magic—although doing so
consumes the ink (causing the tattoo to disappear).
Each bloodink tattoo is enough for four
Success Levels with that magic, as detailed under
each magic type below. (A character who
achieves multiple Success Levels on a roll can
decide whether to use them all at once or choose
a lesser effect to conserve the ink.)
While demons and humans cannot use
bloodink, some trade it on the black market for
other items or for information.
NOTE: Warrior angels start the game with two
bloodink tattoos of their choosing. Any other
bloodink must be either given by command of an
angel elder, bought from an authorized store in an
angel city, acquired on the black market, or stolen.
FLIGHT
All angels can fly, although they do not actually
possess wings. Castus fly at twice human
movement rating (see the Conflict and Damage
chapter); warrior angels at three times human
movement.
Although many demons are winged in their
natural state in Hell, only those with
AirWhisperer magic can fly while possessing a
human body on Earth.
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MAGIC ABILITIES
Both castus and demons possess one innate
magical skill listed below. Demons also possess
DeathTouch magic, the ability to draw life force
from a person by direct touch.
Note that magic use is taxing: each roll for an
innate magical ability automatically inflicts Graze
damage on the user. Bloodink use and
DeathTouch are exceptions to this rule.
Also note that unlike skills, these magical
abilities cannot be used at Unfamiliar rank.
AIRWHISPERER allows a character to manipulate
the atmosphere. Once Success Level generates
enough wind to cushion a fall; two Success Levels
can lift the user off the ground at normal human
movement speed; three Success Levels can carry
the user to Throwing range; and four Success
Levels can whisk the user at hurricane speed to
Shooting range. (See Combat Distances in the
Conflict and Damage chapter.) Other effects of
this wind are left to the player and the Game Host
to decide, given the specific circumstances.
Characters can also use this magic as a sensory
ability, detecting shapes within ten meters per
Success Level rolled, even around corners.
ALCHEMY is the ability to able to turn items with
simple molecular structures into other simple
substances (such as iron into gold, or water into
wine). Each Success Level converts one kilogram
or liter of material. By combining rolls
successively or working together, one or more
alchemists can convert an impressive amount of
material (changing a large bronze statue to lighter
aluminum, for example).
ANIMALE allows its user to to communicate with
animals and includes the ability to call upon the
assistance of animals nearby. Each Animale
character has a particular affinity with one genus
of animal. Any task roll involving that genus
gains an extra Success Level (meaning that even a
failed roll becomes a minimal success).
DEATHTOUCH is the demonic ability to drain
life by touch of skin to skin. Each Success Level
inflicts one level of damage on the victim and
reduces the demon’s current damage by one level.
DREAMWALKER is the ability to induce sleep by
touch and to intrude upon dreams. One Success
Level puts the target to sleep. Each added
Success Level allows the user to gain one

secret from the dreamer’s subconscious or to
implant one strong impression. The exact secret
gained, or the exact effect of the impression
implanted, is left to the Game Host’s discretion.
EARTHSIFTER is a magical affinity for rock and
soil. It allows the user, through physical contact,
to sense other creatures in contact with the earth,
even in complete darkness and through solid
stone. The range for this sense is based upon the
Success Levels achieved, from Brawling, to
Throwing, Shooting, or Viewing. (See the
Conflict and Damage chapter.)
Characters with this ability can also use it to
shift the ground, opening cracks and creating
holes. A single Success Level can open a grave-
sized hole in soft earth or shift a human-sized
boulder. Two or more Success Levels can be
translated to the equivalent order of magnitude
on the Richter scale. The effect is centered on the
user, and the range is Brawling by default. To
extend this, divide the Success Levels by the
range band to calculate order of magnitude.
Example: Four Success Levels reaching to
Throwing range would be a Richter magnitude of 2.
EarthSifter characters can combine rolls
successively or work together to extend Success
Levels for devastating, wide-ranging effects.
However, not only is this fatiguing, it also puts
them at the hazardous epicenter, and it
potentially exposes the supernatural war.
FIRETWIRLER characters can manipulate flame.
They can touch it without being burned, summon
it from thin air, and even use it as a Throwing
attack. A single Success Level allows them to
instantly summon a handful of fire, which they
can maintain by concentration (imposing a 1-
point Task Difficulty penalty on all other rolls—
such as Throwing).
As a Throwing attack, this flame does damage
as a Throwing Blade (see the Conflict and Damage
chapter), with two added benefits: (1) the damage
level is boosted both by the Success Level of the
FireTwirler roll and the Success Level of the
Throwing roll; and (2) the flame continues
burning, automatically adding Graze damage every
round until it burns out. The number of rounds it
burns equals the number of Success Levels of the
FireTwirler and Throwing rolls combined.
Other effects of FireTwirler magic are left to
the player and Game Host to negotiate, but
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
common uses are to make a flame leap up, to
snuff a small fire, or to ignite flammable materials.
GIFTKEEPER is the rarest of all magics. Its user
may “drain” another character’s magic (within five
meters distance) or even “borrow” and use that
magic. The number of Success Levels rolled with
GiftKeeper magic is the number of times the
borrowed magic can be used in the current scene.
Note: To reflect the rarity and power of the
GiftKeeper ability, any character with this magic
receives only 3 Drama Points at the beginning of
an adventure session, instead of the usual 6.
MEMORYSONG is the ability to add, alter, or
remove memories by direct touch. This magic is
often used to wipe a memory from the mind of a
mortal who has witnessed a supernatural activity.
Each Success Level rolled allows a single
scene to be removed from memory or added.
The result is most effective when a memory is
removed and replaced (requiring two Success
Levels). Additional Success Levels increase the
task difficulty of attempts by other magic or by
psychiatry to recover a stolen memory or
determine the falsehood of an implanted one.
MIRAGEWEAVER allows its users to create a false
image, even invisibility, around themselves. This
mirage lasts for as long as the caster concentrates
on it. In the case of seeming invisiblility, the thing
hidden must remain motionless. Each Success
Level gained allows an extra mirage to be created
or an extra figure to be hidden within Brawling
range. If someone touches the mirage or a hidden
figure, the magic is dispelled.
WATERBEARER characters have an affinity for
water, allowing them to sense the general size,
shape, and depth of a body of water, and even
detect objects floating upon it or within its depths.
A single Success Level provides this information
within Throwing range; each additional Success
Level increases the range by one band, to a
maximum of 20 kilometers. The number of
objects detected is five times the Success Level
rolled, with largest objects detected first.
WaterBearer magic also allows characters to
move and breathe as freely and quickly in water
as they can by foot or when flying.
Characters with this ability can also shape water
as if handling snow, to juggle balls of water, create
temporary sculptures, and so on. This shape
remains for as long as they concentrate upon it.
LESTER SMITH
Finally, this ability allows its user to draw
water from the very air, generating one liter per
Success Level. The Game Host may alter this
amount based on environmental circumstances.
SERAPHIC HEALING
All angelic characters have an innate regenerative
power. In game terms, while most characters in this
setting use the Dramatic Healing rates explained in
the Rest and Healing chapter, angels recover one
level per minute of rest instead of one level per day.
THE TABOO
Whether due to the forbiddance of the powers
that be, or simply the resistance of the mortal
mind, any obvious supernatural power use in the
presence of normal humans is automatically
reduced by one Success Level.
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EQUIPMENT
While human characters may use any
modern equipment, angels and
demons default to blades for combat:
swords, daggers, and even shuriken.
BLACK STONE WEAPONS: Damage
done by weapons forged from an
otherworldly material called Black
Stone voids the Seraphic Healing
ability. This metal fell to Earth in ages
past and was crafted into a few
famous statues and monuments,
where it remains hidden in plain view.
Only a few demons know of this
deadly material’s existence—for now.
MAGIC-INFUSED BLADES: Some
rare blades are enchanted with magic.
For example, a shuriken might be
infused with DreamWalker magic to
deliver both a Hit level of damage
and put the victim to sleep. Creating
such a blade requires the cooperation
of both a character possessing
Alchemy magic and a character with
the magic to be infused. Bloodink
will not serve for this purpose.
Enchanting a blade requires a full
day of concentrated work by both
characters, followed by a single skill
roll by each. The least successful roll
determines the number of Success
Levels of magic infused in the
weapon. These Success Levels can then be spent
in a way similar to those of a bloodink tattoo.
DENIZENS
The supernatural war of the Dark Angel setting
takes place in the modern world, primarily in
cities. Besides angels, demons, and common
mortals, two other types of people bear
mentioning, as well as a few special locales.
THE OSTRACIZED
The supernatural war touches the lives of people
other than those directly involved.
STREET PIRATES are mortals who have learned
of the supernatural war, and who live off the grid
of human civilization. They dwell in a network of
sewers under every major city and are adept at

urban survival skills. Under the right
circumstances, these people may assist players’
characters, but they’ll always want something of
value in return. Using supernatural powers in
their presence does not invoke the Taboo,
though seraphim elders still forbid it.
HALF’IES is a slang term for people of mixed
blood, whether human-angel, human-demon, or
(worse) angel-demon hybrids. These people are
extremely rare, not only because such couplings
are forbidden, but also because conception
occurs only if the parents are truly in love.
UNIQUE LOCALES
The settings described here serve as examples for
others to be invented by the players or Game Host.
ARADALE is a rogue Sanctuary within an old
mental asylum in Germany—complete with secret
dungeons, barred windows, and old torture rooms.
CASTLE SPERANZA is another rogue Sanctuary,
hidden in an abandoned Scottish castle. With its
winding corridors, secret passageways, and more
rooms than you can count (some not of this world),
visitors must be careful to avoid becoming lost.
MICHAELEA is an elder-ruled city nestled on the
side of a mountain in a remote forest of the Czech
Republic. Its buildings are constructed within the
very branches of the largest, oldest trees.
PURGATORY is a supernatural bar and pleasure
house, with doors opening from both Hell and
Earth (from any Number 13 address of any city
street). Those who visit can exit only through the
door they entered, preventing the establishment’s
use as a portal between planes. A protective charm
prevents any violence within Purgatory, which
makes this a perfect neutral meeting ground.
URIELOS is another elder-ruled city, this one
clinging to the jagged coast of Italy, with buildings
dug into the rock, to help weather storms.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE THREADS OF DUSK
In which a band of heroes must infiltrate a
chamber under Urielos to gain a poison antidote.
ACT I: A POISONING
A friend of the heroes has been stabbed with a
knife dipped in an obscure demonic poison. He
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
now lies in a coma and is slowly slipping away.
Our heroes must find an antidote!
A bit of investigation and negotiation reveals
that instructions for concocting one are contained
in the Threads of Dusk, an ancient scroll hidden
away in a chamber deep under Urielos.
For this adventure, the characters should not be
angelic residents of Urielos. Rogue angels and
demons are good choices, though citizens of
Urielos could be appropriate if “tainted” by a secret
friendship with outsiders. The point is that warriors
protecting Urielos will attack the group on sight.
Whether thanks to rogues who have defected
from Urielos, or from some other inside
information (perhaps someone who wants
something else brought back from inside the
walls), the heroes can learn the layout of the city.
Urielos itself is guarded by warrior angels. The
surrounding land is monitored by EarthSifters
and Animales, the coastal approaches by
WaterBearers and AirWhisperers. The heroes are
also told that the chamber’s entrance is sealed by
a puzzle requiring Alchemy to solve.
Give the group time to connect, gather this
information, sort out plans, and collect any items
required to execute their mission.
ACT II: INFILTRATING URIELOS
Getting to the library itself involves three stages.
THE BORDERS: If approaching by sea, the heroes
will face WaterBearer and AirWhisperer guards—a
totlal of one guard per hero. If approaching by
land, they will face a like number of EarthSifter
and Animale guards. The heroes must either
disable or sneak past these angels.
THE STREETS: Once inside the city, the heroes
must avoid detection to reach the library.
Depending upon their success at sneaking and
navigating the city streets, the Game Host should
have one or more pairs of warrior angels pass
from time to time. The heroes must either
overcome them quickly and quietly, or evade
them by hiding. One option is to slip into a
nearby castus residence until the guards pass. If
the owner discovers the heroes, they may have a
quick fight on their hands; the Game Host can
decide appropriate abilities for the resident. After
this encounter, the path to the library is clear.
THE LIBRARY: The heroes must choose who
among them will pick the library lock. That hero
LESTER SMITH
must accumulate six Lockpicking Success Levels
to open it. Each round, the Game Host should roll
a die; if the result is less than the number of
rounds currently spent, the group is spotted by a
pair of patrolling warriors. After six total rolls, of
course, another pair automatically arrives each
round, so it is in the heroes’ best interests to get
the door open quickly. If necessary, they can then
bar it from the inside to delay further attacks.
ACT III: THE THREADS OF DUSK
Inside, the heroes face three challenges.
THE ALCHEMIST’S PUZZLE: This puzzle is
carved into the chamber door. To solve it, our
heroes must achieve four Alchemy Success Levels
in a single round. If relying on bloodink, they may
well run out before accomplishing this, in which
case they’ll be forced to flee and return later with
more (perhaps stolen from a nearby shop).
During this attempt to solve the puzzle, the
Game Host can again use the roll of a single die
each round to add the threat of guards discovering
the group (or breaking the barred library door, if
the heroes were already discovered).
Once the puzzle is solved, the portal opens to
reveal a dark tunnel into the bedrock of the city.
RIDDLE ME THIS: Inside the tunnel, the group
is faced with a series of riddles, one per hero. Any
characters who fail at their riddle temporarily lose
either Flight (if an angel) or DeathTouch (if a
demon) until they leave the library.
THE ICE DEMON: The tunnel opens into an icy
cavern, icicles protruding from the ceiling and
floors. This chamber is prison to enormous ice
demon, trapped on Earth when the gates of
Heaven and Hell closed, and forced to stand guard
for his hated seraphim enemies. He stands four
meters tall and is nearly as broad, his heavily
muscled body covered with glittering spikes of ice.
If the heroes battle this demon, he proves to
be a formidable foe. (See his description below.)
If they instead negotiate, he agrees to let them
search the Threads of Dusk for their antidote, if
they agree to free him to return to Hell.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Hanna Peach. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday. COVER ILLUSTRATION: Hanna Peach.
ALLEY ANGEL: K8 Smith, with “Where is Batman?” by Miguel Ángel Arroyo Ortega, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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To guarantee their word, the heroes must
each give him a single drop of their blood, which
he freezes on his tongue. If they betray him, he
can use this link to freeze their hearts at any
distance, slaying them.
ICE DEMON: Name: Unknown. Gender: Male. Age:
Eternal. Attributes: Brawn and Grace Focused;
Wits Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Persuasion, Second Language: Seraphic, Throwing,
Tracking; Unfocused Martial Arts. Special Abilities:
Combat Demon (his Brawling range attacks can
use either Brawn or Martial Arts, declared after his
roll—which means he always succeeds);
Exceptional Strength (all his attacks do an extra
level of damage); IceMaster (treat as FireTwirler,
but with Ice instead of Fire and no concentration
penalty); Frost Armor (three levels of protection
with no penalty). Focus: 6.
EPILOGUE
Once our heroes have their antidote recipe,
escaping the city is little trouble. They will not be
pursued beyond its walls.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
SHOPPING TRIP: Acquiring the ingredients
needed for the antidote can be its own adventure.
Examples might include the heart of a ghost
orchid found only in the remote Scottish
Highlands, the canine tooth of a snow leopard,
and the song of a demon-angel hybrid.
HEART OF ICE: Arranging the ice demon’s
release is another adventure, with its own time
pressures. Once the archangels of Urielos discover
his treachery, they are sure to destroy him, and
before that happens he vows to take his revenge
on the heroes. Through his link with their blood,
he whispers this message in their nightly dreams.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
As the ideas above show, finding information to
survive or prevail in the endless supernatural war,
or protecting a loved one, give ample material for
an ongoing Dark Angel campaign.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

DARK FAGARA: AGE OF THE ORC

John F. Watson
The world of Fagara has fallen to the
orcs and their kindred. Humankind
has been driven underground or into
the wastelands. Elves and dwarves
have been hunted to near extinction.
Some few dwarves, elves, and humans
are kept as slaves of the Orcish
Empire. It is a dark age. Will you face
it as conqueror or conquered?

BACKGROUND
Fagara was once a beautiful and lush
world. Dwarves, elves, humans, and
many other races dwelt peacefully
and separately on the surface, while
the orcs—all but forgotten
undergound—awaited their chance,
building massive armies. When at
last they struck, civilizations were
leveled in hours.
Surviving dwarves, elves, and
humans formed an alliance and
counterattacked in Fagara’s northern
mountains. Despite their best efforts,
the orcish war machine ground on.
Captives of any real threat were slain,
and the rest were enslaved. The
world had fallen to the orcs.
Over a thousand years have passed
since the orcs seized control, and the
world itself has changed. Clouds
obscure the sun, allowing little light to
fall. Many say this is a boon granted to
the orcs by their god, Nexus.
Whatever the reason, even nature has had to adapt THE LAND
to survive. Trees are now tall and spare, reaching up Fagara’s geography is dominated by a massive
to the weak sunlight that filters through the clouds. continent called Rilar, surrounded by many
Most other vegetation is thin and gray. Furred smaller islands. Rilar’s landscape is very diverse,
creatures are uncommon, replaced by enormous descending from the great Northern Mountains
insects and poisonous reptiles. through desert foothills into the central lowlands
While remnants of ancient architecture and ending in the rocky reaches of the Southern
remain, it is fronted or surmounted by cruder, Jut. Both the northern and southern stretches of
sturdier orcish structures. Where once grace and Rilar are cold, each being within about five
beauty flourished, ugliness and savagery abide. hundred kilometers of the polar caps.

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LESTER SMITH
Orcs rule Fagara, with many of the traditionally
uncommon races walking the world freely. It is not
unusual for an adventurer to see ogres, goblins, or
other savage races while traveling the Chiefdoms.
While dwarves, elves and humans still exist, the
majority of them are now slaves. A small group of
them (descendents of the Alliance) remains free in
the inhospitable Northern Mountains. They call
themselves the Sword of Ventrus.
Life for a slave to the orcs is harsh and short,
filled with manual labor—blacksmithing, mining,
plowing, and soldiering. Even the soldiers remain
slaves, serving violent masters.
Not that members of the Sword of Ventrus
have an easier life than their enslaved brethren.
The Northern Mountains are nearly the most
hostile environment on Fagara. It is impossible to
grow crops there; the native vegetation is
inedible; and game is rare. For sheer survival,
raiding parties must make guerrilla strikes on the
orcish lands below. Often these raiders never
return. As a result, it’s not uncommon for people
here to simply die of starvation. The Sword of
Ventrus has never been over five hundred strong.
The rest of Fagara is divided into seven orcish
chiefdoms. A Grand Chief (a title taken by the
strongest) rules over each chiefdom. Below the
Grand Chief are as many as twenty warchiefs, with
several lesser chiefs reporting to each. This makes
up the hierarchy of each chiefdom. Like the Grand
Chief, the title of warchief is seized by power,
though these lesser leaders change more frequently.
THE SEVEN CHIEFDOMS
Each orcish chiefdom occupies a different
portion of Fagara.
STONE BONE: The Stone Bone lands are in the
cold North. These orcs often fight the Resistance.
TWO-DEATHS: The Two-Deaths are led by an
orcish witch who is also a high priest of Nexus.
Surrounded by the other chiefdoms, these orcs
claim the central lands of Rilar.
DARK HOWLER: On the eastern border of the
Two-Deaths, the Dark Howler Chiefdom spans
to the eastern shores of Rilar.
BENT TUSKS: Like the northern chiefdom, the
Bent Tusks live in cold lands, but they call the
South their home.
DEMON EATERS: These orcs earned their name
by being known as the fiercest warriors on Fagara.
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The chiefdom extends from the western border of
the Two-Deaths to the western shores of Rilar.
AXE SHAKER: Led by an ogre, this chiefdom lies
in the southeastern corner of Rilar, between the
Dark Howler and Bent Tusks chiefdoms.
SKULL BREAKERS: The Skull Breakers Chiefdom
is actually the grouping of islands off of the coast
of Rilar. These orcs are expert sailors and fishers.
OCCUPATIONS
The most common occupations in Dark Fagara
include archer, alchemist, assassin, berserker,
gladiator, hunter, priest, raider, sailor, scout,
warrior, witch, and wizard. Other occupations are
possible with the approval of the Game Host.
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, the following are
available in this setting: Athletics, Bargaining,
First Aid, Lockpicking, Martial Arts, Navigation,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Ride Animal, Second
Language, Shooting, Sneaking, Swimming,
Throwing, and Tracking.
Note: All characters must speak Orcish. Orcs do
so natively. Others must choose Second Language:
Orcish as an Unfocused skill at minimum.
In addition, characters may choose any of the
following skills: Alertness, Frenzy, Intimidation,
and Magic (Ancient, Blood Alchemy, Savage, or
Spiritual—each a separate skill).
ALERTNESS
This skill allows characters to sense hidden danger.
When they would normally lose a turn from
surprise (as in an ambush), they may roll this skill
instead and choose an action when their number
comes up. Their Alertness roll serves as the roll for
that action, though the skill must match the
Alertness level (Focused or Unfocused). Assassins,
hunters, raiders, and scouts may use their
occupation instead of Alertness.
FRENZY
This skill can be used once per combat to reduce
dice penaties from damage (as well as from armor
worn). Each Success Level negates two points of
penalty for the duration of the combat, whether
damage is suffered before or after this roll.
Frenzied characters cannot leave combat until no
enemies remain. Berserkers may roll using their
occupation instead of this skill.

INTIMIDATION
While the Bargaining skill is useful for purchasing
or trading, and Persuasion is appropriate for
diplomacy or negotiation, the Intimidation skill
simply cows its target into submission.
Unfortunately, the effects last only as long as the
target remains fearful, and betrayal is not an
uncommon result once the threat is out of sight.
MAGIC
Four categories of magic exist: Ancient, Blood
Alchemy, Savage, and Spiritual. See the Special
Rules for an explanation of how to use each skill.
SPECIAL RULES
To cast spells, characters must have a Magic skill.
 Characters with a magical occupation such
as alchemist, priest, witch, or wizard can
possess Magic skills at Focused or
Unfocused level.
 Those with other occupations can never
raise their Magic skills beyond Unfocused.
 Magic cannot be used as an Unfamiliar skill.
Simple spells, such as creating a potion to cure
an upset stomach, lighting a candle, or blessing
water, require no roll and automatically succeed.
To cast a more difficult spell, the magic user
must achieve a number of Success Levels equal to
the spell level (shown in parentheses after the
spell name). A caster may accumulate these by
multiple rolls, but if any roll fails, the spell fails
and all accumulated Success Levels are lost. A
spell occurs immediately on the roll that achieves
or exceeds its cost; it cannot be delayed to add
more Success Levels. Because Fagaran magic is
solitary, casters cannot cooperate on a spell.
Sample spells are listed below, but many more
wait to be discovered on Fagara.
ANCIENT MAGIC
Ancient magic is used exclusively by those slaves
or Sword of Ventrus warriors who recall the old
spells of dwarves, elves, and humans.
ARCANE BALL (1): This globe of arcane energy
deals Hit damage to one target within Throwing
range. Extra Success Levels increase the damage.
BARRIER (1): This spell creates a protective glow
around caster that acts as Light armor, with no dice
penalty. It lasts for an entire combat scene. Extra
Success Levels increase the degree of protection.
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PUSH OR PULL (1): This spell moves an object
within sight, and weighing no more than 15 kg,
up to 10 meters horizontally per Success Level.
FLIGHT (2): The caster can fly up to two meters
per round in any direction, for as long as
concentration is maintained (which allows no
other action). Extra Success Levels may either
multiply the distance or move additional people,
as the caster wishes.
HALT (2): The target is stopped in its tracks for
one round (though it may take other actions).
Extra Success Levels increase the duration.
SPEAK (2): The caster can understand and
fluently speak any foreign language for a number
of minutes equal to the actual dice roll.
THUNDER (3): This explosion of sound deals
Wound damage to all within Throwing range of
the caster (who typically casts a Barrier spell first
for self protection). Extra Success Levels increase
the damage.
TRAVEL (3): The caster instantly moves up to
200 meters. Each extra Success Level can
transport an extra person.
SECOND SELF (4): This spell creates a mirror
image of one enemy of the caster’s choice, with
all that enemy’s combat abilities, to fight as the
caster’s champion. This being exists until
defeated or no enemies remain. If cast in a single
round by spell users working together, each
bonus Success Level creates an extra champion.
WALL (4): The caster creates an impervious
magic wall up to 20 meters tall and wide that lasts
for one entire round. Each extra Success Level
adds one round to the duration.
ARCANE STORM (5): This summons a cyclone of
magical energy that deals Wound damage to all
within Shooting range of the caster. Those within
Brawling range are in the calm eye of the storm.
The storm lasts for one round. Each bonus
Success Level increases its damage by one step.
Armor and such protects from this effect.
BLOOD ALCHEMY
This skill of concocting magical potions was
devised by goblin mages. Making a potion requires
a day per spell level, at the end of which time the
mage adds each day’s Success Levels together to
determine the potion’s strength. Anyone can use a
potion, but potions go stale after about a week.
LESTER SMITH
TONIC (1): This potion removes any negative
status effects from its drinker. Each bonus Success
Level makes an extra dose.
BEAST EYES (1): The drinker of this potion can
see in darkness up to 20 meters. Each extra
Success Level adds another 20 meters.
POISON (1): The drinker instantly suffers Hit
damage. Each extra Success Level adds another
round of damage.
BLOOD MEAL (1): The drinker doesn't need
food or water for one day per Success Level.
FIRE BREATH (2): The drinker exhales flame
that deals Hit damage to one target within
Throwing range. Each extra Success Level
continues the fire breath an additional round.
BALM (2): This potion instantly heals one level
of damage, even if the victim was recently killed
(within the past minute). Each extra Success
Level heals an extra level of damage, and multiple
Balm potions can be used on the same person.
BRUTAL BLADE (2): This potion enchants a
non-magical weapon, increasing its damage rating
one level for two combat rounds. Each extra
Success Level increases the duration one round.
BRUTE (3): The drinker’s bare-handed attacks
gain two levels of damage for one turn. Each extra
Success Level increases the duration one turn.
QUICK (3): The drinker may take two actions
during the next turn; the player declares both at
once, rolls dice for each, and matches those dice as
she or he wishes. Each extra Success Level in the
potion extends the effects by one turn.
IRON SKIN (4): The drinker gains three levels of
protection from damage for two turns. Each extra
Success Level extends the duration one turn.
ACID (4): This spell creates two separate potions
that when combined can eat through almost any
substance. In combat terms, the compound deals
Wound damage. Each extra Success Level
increases the damage by one level.
BLOOD ELIXIR (5): This potion is like a super
version of Balm, plus a blessing. It heals all
damage, even if the victim was recently killed
(within the past hour) and grants the user a Drama
Point for his or her next action. Each extra
Success Level adds an additional Drama Point.
SAVAGE MAGIC
This magic is favored by orc shamans.
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TOUGHNESS (1): The caster’s skin acts as Light
armor, with no dice penalty, for the entire
combat scene. Each extra Success Level increases
the protection one step.
STRENGTH (1): The caster’s Brawn becomes
Focused for one day.
HURL (1): The caster can mentally throw an
object of up to 100 kg up to 10 meters. Each
extra Success Level doubles the range. (Though
useful for moving obstacles, this spell is too
imprecise for attacking.)
SHOUT (2): The caster utters a thunderous
shout, and all in Shooting range must succeed at a
Will roll or lose their next action.
LEAP (2): The caster can leap up to 10 meters
per Success Level in any direction.
CLAWS (2): The caster sprouts claws that do
damage as a Small Blade for one turn. Each extra
Success Level increases the damage level or the
duration—caster’s choice.
SLAM (3): The caster strikes the ground, and all
in contact with it within Brawling range suffer
Stun damage. Armor does not protect against this
effect. Each extra Success Level increases the
damage by one level.
RUN (3): The caster triples his movement for
two turns. Extra Success Levels increase the
duration by one turn.
BEAST FORM (4): For the next four turns, the
caster turns into a massive beast, with Brawn and
Grace Focused and Will and Wits Unfocused,
gains a tough hide like Medium armor with no
dice penalty, and can make unarmed attacks with
a Hit damage rating. Each added Success Level
increases the duration by one turn.
SMASH (4): This spell acts like Slam (above), but
affects all within Throwing range.
BONE HORDE (5): The caster summons foes
she or he has slain in combat. Each Success Level
brings five skeletons to fight for the caster.
(Attributes: Grace Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused Martial Arts, Throwing. Focus: 3. Notes:
Small Blade or Spear and Light armor.)
SPIRITUAL MAGIC
This magic taps into the power of the caster’s
favored deity to achieve blessings or curses.
HEAL (1): Each Success Level instantly heals one
level of damage. The victim must still be living.

PEACE (1): This spell makes a hostile target feel
favorable to the caster for the current encounter.
INSPIRE (1): This spell gives the target a bonus
Drama Point on his or her next action. Each extra
Success Level increases the duration by one action.
DIVINE KNOWLEDGE (2): This spell adds one
plus to one skill for one action. Each added
Success Level grants another plus.
DIVINE PROTECTOR (2): This spell summons a
supernatural servant for one turn. The spell is
often used in combat. Each extra Success Level
increases the duration by one turn. (Attributes: All
Focused. Skills: Focused Athletics, Magic:
Spiritual, Martial Arts, Second Language: Any,
Shooting, Throwing. Focus: 6. Notes: Spear, Large
Bow, and Medium armor, with no dice penalty.)
CURSE THE FAITHLESS (2): This spell can
target anyone within Viewing range. It gives that
target a one-point task penalty on all rolls for one
turn. Each extra Success Level increases the
duration by one turn.
REGENERATE (3): The target regrows a lost limb.
Extra Success Levels offer no added effect.
WEATHER (3): This spell changes the current
weather to whatever the caster wishes for one day.
HEALING AURA (4): This spell acts as a Heal
spell (see above) but affects all within Throwing
range of the caster. Note that its basic healing
rating is four levels, plus one per extra Success
Level. Additionally, it can even heal those
recently killed (within the past minute).
DESTINY (4): This spell grants an automatic
Drama Point to the next action of each person
within Brawling range of the caster. Each extra
Success Level grants the targets an added Drama
Point to that action.
VIVIFY (5): This spell completely heals one recently
dead creature—killed within one day. Each bonus
Success Level extends that time by a day.
EQUIPMENT
Equipment on the world of Dark Fagara is
medieval at best, though generally rough (in
keeping with orcish temperament). A few ancient
works of elven or dwarven design remain, prized
as spoils of war more than for intrinsic beauty.
Some few ancient magical items also turn up on
occasion, though these are quickly claimed by local
chieftains. (Abilities are left to the Game Host’s
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discretion.) Heroes who find such things must
surrender them or defend them with their lives.
DENIZENS
Fagara is home to the following races and deities.
THE RACES
ORCS: The brutal orcs are fascinated with war.
Their Brawn gives two levels of Passive Defense
if Focused, one if Unfocused. (See the Conflict
and Damage chapter.)
HALF-ORCS: These bastard offspring of orcs
and their slaves have the freedom of their orcish
parent but can also master Ancient Magic.
GOBLINS: These creatures have advanced more
than most after the great war. Masters of Blood
Alchemy, they gain a bonus Success Level using it.
OGRES: Large and powerful, ogres are brutes.
They often hire out as mercenaries, but some
have risen to positions of power in the
chiefdoms. Their toughness reduces the damage
of attacks against them by one level, but their
large size makes them easier to hit (lending
attackers a three-point bonus to dice totals).
DWARVES: The Dwarves have fared the best of
the slave races. Tough and resilient, they secretly
maintain their racial tongue and clan ties despite
orcish law to the contrary. Their toughness is
similar to an ogre’s (see above).
ELVES: Having been hunted to near extinction,
elves are now prized slaves, a shame their elders
call “The Burden.” They are generally used for
servitude in a master’s house rather than for
heavy labor. Those who know Ancient Magic
gain a bonus Success Level when using it.
HUMANS: Of all the slave races, humans have
been the most brutalized. Few have any memory
of their native tongues or cultures. Less durable
than dwarves, less exotic than elves, and less long-
lived than either, most are used as pack animals. A
few are trained as foot soldiers or gladiators.
OTHER RACES: Other slave races sometimes
found on Fagara include angel-blooded, gnomes,
and halflings. Among the conquerors are some
few bugbears, demon-blooded, and hobgoblins.
THE DEITIES
NEXUS: Nexus, God of Magic, is now the most
powerful deity on Fagara. There are many rumors
LESTER SMITH
about his origin. The orcs worship him as the
highest of their gods.
CERNUNNOS: Once a god of nature and
balance, Cernunnos has been corrupted into a
god of wastelands and death.
GRUG-GRUG: Former leader of the orcish
pantheon, Grug-Grug is a god of battle, strength,
and order through tyranny.
MORGAN-UR: This lesser goddess of chaos and
war still has a strong following among the orcs.
She is at odds with Grug-Grug.
VENTRUS: Once the most powerful deity on
Fagara, Ventrus represents justice and valor—
ideals now nearly extinct. He is worshipped only
in secret, by slaves, and by the Sword of Ventrus.
SAPPHIRA ARK: Formerly an elven goddess of
healing, Sapphira Ark has been claimed by all
who practice Spiritual Magic.
MINOR DEITIES: Nearly forgotten, these
include Burb Steelhands (God of Smiths), Jackal
(God of Trickery), Neros (God of Undeath),
Sheriss (Goddess of Rivers), Trax Von (God of
Travelers), and Whisper (Goddess of Lies).
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE TEMPLE OF SIR VALDAR
In which an ancient shrine to Ventrus is unearthed.
ACT I: EARTHQUAKE
A literally earth-shaking battle in the Bent Tusks
Chiefdom has breached a buried temple to
Ventrus. Seeking treasures, a large group of orcs
and slaves was dispatched to loot it. Days later, a
lone human survivor emerged, utterly insane.
Word has spread, and the heroes travel to try
their luck. For orcs, looting a temple to Ventrus
will bring glory. For Sword of Ventrus guerillas, it
could mean an edge in their fight for freedom.
ACT II: DESCENT INTO MADNESS
Within the outer halls of the temple, the heroes
encounter other parties of tomb robbers who do
not hesitate to attack, regardless of race.
Descending into the catacombs, the heroes also
face many traps, mostly mechanical, but a few
CREDITS
DESIGN: John F. Watson. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
COVER: K8 Smith, with “Hafod Estate Cave” by Jonny White, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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magical. (The Game Host should devise
encounters and traps that test the party’s abilities
without exhausting their resources.)
ACT III: SELF REFLECTION
The heroes’ descent culminates in a chamber
containing a single item, an enormous silver
mirror framed in gold and gems, and decorated
with an inscription in a forgotten human tongue.
(Sword of Ventrus characters may be able to read
the words “Self Reflection Is the Secret to
Success.”) As the party examines it, their mirror
images step out and attack.
These guardians match the heroes’ abilities in
every way. Each time the players declare their
actions, the Game Host should have their mirror
images choose something similar, though dice rolls
will determine the exact order of actions as usual.
Any damage done to the mirror images affects the
heroes instead, and vice versa. The only way to
best the guardians is to offer no resistance,
allowing their own attacks to defeat them.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
THE ENEMY WITHIN: The great Warchief
Hurg Dwarfeater has been assassinated. His
followers have evidence that the Resistance has
somehow infiltrated the city. You must root them
out and destroy them.
THE SEVEN DEFENDERS: A Two-Deaths farm
town on the Demon Eaters border hasn’t sent its
taxed goods in two months. Investigating, you
find it has suffered raids by Demon Eaters
bandits. You’ve arrived just in time for another.
A DISGUISED FOE: A Skull Breakers island is
home to a new cult, and the local chief seems
helpless. When your band of slave warriors is
sent to deal with it, you find a new priesthood of
Sapphira Ark. Will you destroy the priests or
break join their cause?
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Rulers quickly rise and fall on Fagara. Characters
with bold hearts can earn glory and elevate their
status, becoming heroes of renown, or even
seizing a chieftainship of their own.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF EOLAN

Jason Huls
Explore the ancient ruins of Eolan,
search for lost technology, and test
your mettle in this deadly far-future
setting!

BACKGROUND
Eolan is a dying world. Ancient wars
blistered the ecosystem. Who fought
them and why are two of the many
questions lost in the cinders of time.
Vast ruins stand like gravestones in
the desolate landscape, a reminder
that Eolan once enjoyed a more
prosperous age.
Nok Tiris (knock-teer-iss) is one of
the last known points of civilization.
It is a city of triage and repurposing,
a wheel of timeworn factories and
urban sprawl. Citizenship carries the
promise of protection and
opportunity, though most struggle to
meet their basic needs. Citizens are
microchipped and categorized. Every
facet of life is regulated…for the
good of the city. Nok Tiris can
survive only through loyalty and
cooperation. Most understand and
happily comply. Those who do not
are swiftly reeducated.
Bio-engineered humanoid drones
are created by the thousands to keep the city The Temple of Nok Tiris rises from the center
running. Born to serve, they are assigned both of the city like a dark stalagmite. It is a marvel of
the most important jobs and those unsuitable for architecture soaring thousands of feet into the air.
human citizens. Drones live in massive Its off-shooting spires are larger than most other
dormitories, hibernate in pods, and consume buildings. The Temple is by far the oldest structure
bland nutrient paste. They do not question in Nok Tiris. A half-inquisitor, half-mad scientist
authority. order called the Templars have made their home
In the wasteland, scavenger tribes battle over among the twisting corridors and sweeping
the city’s scraps. The Outlanders are acquainted archways. They ruthlessly enforce the law and
with violence and starvation early in life. Those experiment with ancient technology.
who survive grow into dangerous warriors. They Above it all, an unseen collective known as
hunt the burned lands for anything of trade value, the Consortium rules Nok Tiris from the
and a good citizen wants nothing to do with shadows. Its members speak only to the High
those born on the wrong side of the wall. Templar Council. Little else is known about these

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LESTER SMITH
enigmatic rulers. Citizens are taught to love the
Nok Tiris sigil as the face of the Consortium. It is
the protector, the parent, and the soul of Nok
Tiris. It is light and reason, the dispenser of truth.
They say the Consortium sees all, but a few
are willing to put that saying to the test. Pockets
of free thinkers gather in basements and back
alleys. They argue that the current system is
unsustainable, that the abuse of resources will
end life on Eolan. They say fault lies with the
Temple. Those who dare to whisper such heresy
must be very careful.
Eolan is in a dark age. It needs heroes to bring
it into the light. Do you dare to become one?
SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT EOLAN
Bear these facts in mind as you explore Eolan.
1. THE CLIMATE IS BRUTAL. Walking the streets
of Nok Tiris at midday is like strolling through an
oven. The climate is characterized by searing,
throat-cracking heat. Midday temperatures can
soar to 50˚ C (120˚ F). Night averages 25˚ C (75˚
F). Late shifts are coveted, especially for those
who work outside. While great effort goes toward
cooling the Temple and the privileged Inner
Wheel district, the shoddier districts are often left
to roast when the climate control fails. Nok Tiris
receives only six inches of precipitation annually,
and when it rains, the city goes to great lengths to
collect as much as possible. Underground
moisture farms and massive recycling operations
supply most of the city’s water. In short, Nok Tiris
is a desert flower struggling to bloom in a furnace.
2. NOK TIRIS SUPPORTS AROUND 2 MILLION
HUMANS, DRONES, AND BOTS. The city is
divided into many districts and is ringed by a great
wall 200 feet high. A vast, deep canyon called the
Rift borders the city to the east. Nok Tiris is the
whole world for its citizens. Most live their entire
lives without ever venturing beyond the wall.
Human citizens are the most plentiful. Adults are
assigned an occupation based on their aptitudes,
and only through hard work can they repay the
Consortium for its kindness and protection.
While humans may be the Consortium’s
children, drones are the most trusted with
positions regarding information and security.
This is because their loyalty is hardwired. These
beings are manufactured by a secret process to fill
gaps in society. They stand watch along the wall
and between districts, repair data systems, and do
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anything else that is required. Specialized enforcer
drones stamp out dissident activity. These
chipped-up gladiators are trained in all manner of
combat. No human has ever singlehandedly
defeated an enforcer in battle.
With a few exceptions, the bots that exist are
mostly in disrepair. They are holdovers from a
different time. Bots are viewed as tools, and
during the great wars much of the knowledge
needed to build and maintain them was lost.
3. A RIGID, TOTALITARIAN POWER STRUCTURE
MAINTAINS ORDER. “The Consortium sees all” is a
mantra people truly believe. The Consortium
presides over Nok Tiris with godlike status.
Citizens and drones take part in daily devotionals
meant to reinforce the core concept of obedience.
By all accounts, the Consortium has been in power
for generations, causing some to privately wonder
who or what it is. No one dares ask aloud.
The Temple’s Templars have a wide array of
responsibilities, ranging from law enforcement to
spiritual guidance. In legal matters they are judge,
jury, and executioner. Mostly executioner. A sly
and deadly lot, in deep parts of the Temple, they
experiment with nanotechnology, altering their
minds and bodies during strange rituals. In game
terms, Templar powers resemble psychic abilities.
4. SURVIVAL IS THE MOTIVATING PRINCIPLE
OF SOCIETY. Nok Tiris’s religious and political
ideology is based on survival. Food shortages and
dwindling natural resources make the struggle for
existence a never-ending chore. That is why the
Temple insists everything must be regulated and
everyone must remain loyal. A single selfish
citizen could upset the balance.
5. EOLAN IS A WORLD OF UNEVEN
TECHNOLOGIES. In Nok Tiris one finds everything
from a patchy, augmented-reality version of the
Internet called the Infogrid to stone tools, airships to
pack animals, energy weapons to crude shivs.
Salvagers embark on expeditions to far-off ruins and
occasionally discover artifacts. These are confiscated
by the Temple. High technology of the past is
shunned by most citizens. They believe it to be the
reason the planet was scorched, a view reinforced by
the powers that be. One of the Templar’s most
guarded secrets is the nanotechnology used to alter
and imbue themselves with powers.
6. MOST HISTORY HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN OR
ERASED. Citizens are encouraged to focus on the

present and the quality of their work. They have a
vague idea that thousands of years ago humans
traveled among the stars, and that Eolan was not
humanity’s first home. However, these legends
always end in undefined doom and suffering.
Two distinct historical records exist regarding
the planet. The first belongs to the citizens. It is a
carefully constructed narrative called the Origin, a
story meant to answer basic questions of life in a
brief, sanitized way. This propaganda serves as a
foundation for “right thought.” It is a recipe of
half-truths, misinformation, and outright lies.
The second account is an ongoing mission of
historical archaeology dedicated to uncovering the
truth behind humankind’s arrival on Eolan. A
special Templar sect guides this research, and all
discoveries filter up to the High Council. Most
Templars know more than the average citizen,
but not even they have a full grasp of human
history on the planet. If a truly accurate record
exists, it is hidden with the Consortium.
7. OTHER CITIES EXIST ON EOLAN. However,
they are outside the scope of life for citizens of
Nok Tiris. The distance is simply too great.
Caravans have made the arduous journey to sell
exotic wares in the market district, but those
visits are rare. These foreigners are heavily
scrutinized, and the Templars generally judge
them to be distasteful characters. Caravans have
become less frequent over the past few years,
leaving some merchants in Nok Tiris to wonder
if the outside world is drying up around them.
OCCUPATIONS
All citizens must have an occupation that serves
Nok Tiris. In some cases a career may reflect
what a character’s life has become but not
necessarily what he or she does for the city.
Below are 10 common categories players may
choose from. There are no combat-based
occupations, because teaching citizens to use
weaponry is strictly forbidden. Careers other than
these are possible with Game Host approval.
FUNCTIONARY: This class fits most citizens in
Nok Tiris. Humans are often forced into
physical-labor positions since drones have taken
over most management roles. Functionary
examples include moisture farmer, miner,
fireman, and construction worker. Players may
find hidden benefits depending on the actual job
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they choose. For example, moisture farmers
always know where to find water, which is the
most valuable resource on Eolan.
GEAR DOC: Nok Tiris always has something in
need of repair. Gear Docs are engineers and
technicians. They may be called upon to retro-
engineer found tech, fix a medical device, or plan
the demolition of slums. Gear Docs can also be
vehicle mechanics or weapon smiths. Others may
fix robots or dream of building a better airship.
This is a class of makers, with access to a wide
array of tools.
HEALER: Healers in Nok Tiris come in a
number of forms. Doctors work at Io Tower, the
major medical center in the immaculate Inner
Wheel District. They are also stationed in satellite
hospitals throughout the city. A healer might be a
paramedic, rushing to the scene of an accident in
a hover vehicle. Some healers specialize in drone
repair, since their biology is very similar to
humans. This class is dedicated to providing care
and a better quality of life for others.
INFORMATIONIST: This class has knowledge at its
fingertips. Mountains of information move across
the Infogrid every second. Someone has to make
sure it serves Nok Tiris properly. Informationists
often work closely with Central, the city’s mother-
brain A.I. They might be part of the Task Function,
assigning lifelong careers to children. They may
distribute propaganda, revise history, or control the
flow of water. Many city functions depend on the
work of Informationists. This occupation has access
to personal files, maps and databases, and even few
restricted databases. Not that anyone would look.
That would be wrong.…
MERCHANT: The Market District is the one
place where rules can be bent; as long as they are
not broken, the Templars are tolerant. Merchants
know how to keep them happy. This is a class of
deal makers, shop owners, and fixers that know
how to get things for people. They enjoy a taste
of power that is unfamiliar and a bit frightening
to the other classes.
PILOT: Pilots can fly a variety of craft, from
blimp-like airships to advanced vertical take-off
and landing (VTOL) vessels. Some fly paramedic
hoverships, some transport cargo from one district
to another, and others join Temple-funded
salvager crews and explore the skies over the
wasteland. Above the daily hustle and Infogrid
LESTER SMITH
chatter, pilots enjoy a unique view. It’s quieter in
the sky, and that gives a person time to think.…
ROGUE: No matter how rigidly controlled a
society, some people will always operate outside the
rules. By choice or necessity, they routinely commit
acts that could land them in the Temple. Consider
the woman who steals food for her family because
she can’t afford to buy it, or the local thief who
started small and learned how the streets work.
Most rogues are from the poorest districts and are
already wanted for some crime. Citizenship is
supposed to guarantee survival; rogues are just
determined not to slip through the cracks.
SALVAGER: This rare class of wanderers see more
than the average citizen ever will. Most citizens are
terrified at the idea of this job. Salvagers risk their
lives to map out and plunder the wasteland on
behalf of the Temple. Crews are typically sent over
the wall in airships. It is beyond dangerous, but
despite the savage tribes and horrors lurking in the
deep, salvagers find a sere beauty in the wasteland.
This occupation tends to have a disturbing sense
of adventure, and the Templars are determined to
put it to good use.
SCIENTIST: Scientists are constantly busy with
new projects assigned by the Temple. Sometimes
a poor, frightened scientist is sent out to identify
ruins. Others work on new water-purification
techniques, new drone development, or radiation
resistance drugs. Scientists are heavily scrutinized
due to their knowledge and often serve under a
drone. Recently, research assignments have
grown stranger. Some involve living creatures.
Scientists record data and report it to the Temple
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for consideration. They are not authorized to
implement or share their findings.
TEMPLE HENCHMAN: It is said that the Temple
has eyes and ears everywhere. Temple henchmen
are those organs. Dedicated to ensuring Nok Tiris
doesn’t come apart at the seams, some patrol the
districts like unarmed police, alerting the Templars
when they spot possible criminal activity (or
maybe someone who just looks suspicious).
Others receive special assignments and work
undercover to ferret out dissidents. While this
gains such characters boons from the Temple, it
often causes moral dilemmas, and for this reason
Temple henchmen tend to have short careers.
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, these apply
without adaptation: Athletics, Bargaining, First
Aid, Lockpicking, Navigation, Persuasion,
Pickpocketing, Second Language, Shooting,
Sneaking, Swimming, Tracking, and Vehicle.
ALTERED SKILLS
A few basic skills are modified for this setting.
Combat skills (Martial Arts, Shooting, and
Throwing) are generally forbidden, so players
must determine where their characters learned
these, and how they acquired any weapons.
Computers involves both basic operation and
familiarity with the Infogrid, Nok Tiris’s
augmented-reality internet. Systems knowledge
and programming are usually reserved for drones.
Ride Animal is the ability to command and care
for Eolan’s reptilian and insectoid pack animals.

ADDED SKILLS
The following skills supplement Eolan occupations.
Artistry: You sing, act, dance, etc. to entertain or
educate. The Temple frowns upon frivolous arts, so
you must be careful where and how you perform.
Bureaucracy: This familiarity with the shifting
political structure and red tape of Nok Tiris also
covers knowledge of different city agencies and law.
Craft: Building and repairing anything from
simple machines to homemade weapons. In a city
of finite resources, it pays to be a builder.
Lore: The body of knowledge about Eolan is ever
changing. Some have a deeper understanding of
history and how things are connected.
Science: This understanding of basic principles
of physical and life sciences could help a
character to purify water or build a bomb.
Streetwise: The skill to acquire goods, services, and
information from the streets of Nok Tiris requires a
finger on the pulse of the Outer Wheel districts.
Subterfuge: Bluffing, concealment, evasion, and
all manner of deceit can sometimes achieve a goal.
Survival: The ability to hunt, trap, and build fires
relates mostly to the wasteland, but characters
may find uses for it in the city as well.
SPECIAL RULE: DARK SECRET
Every citizen has a little (or big) something that
could result in trouble with the Temple if it came
to light. Roll 2d6 on the following table, or
choose one, or make up your own.
2. MURDERER. You killed someone and got
away with it. Was the death accidental?
3. BOOKWORM. You can read. How? Who
taught you?
4. HOARDER. You have a small stockpile of
food and water. Maybe it’s just for you or
other people in your district.
5. PROTECTOR. You have a hidden weapon.
Why would you need such a thing?
6. TECHIE. Somehow you stumbled across a
piece of tech. You don’t know what it does
but you haven’t reported it.
7. SYMPATHIZER. You have an outlander
friend. How could you befriend a savage?
8. WANDERER. For some reason you briefly
left the city and didn’t get caught.
9. LOVER. You have an unsanctioned romance
with another citizen, or an outlander.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
10. CLERICAL ERROR. You were somehow
assigned the wrong occupation. It’s better
than what you trained for, so you kept quiet.
11. HISTORIAN. You have a grasp of Eolan’s
actual history, and you’ve written it down.
12. REBEL. You are a new member of an
underground sect.
EQUIPMENT & DENIZENS
See the Background, Occupations, and Skills
sections for insights into Eolan gear and creatures.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
CHEMICAL 52
In which loyal citizens receive an unwelcome fate.
ACT I: ROOM 4707
Lodging for most people in Nok Tiris is assigned
on a random, rotating basis, sometimes weekly,
sometimes daily. The characters find themselves
assigned to room 4707, on the 47th floor of a 60-
story dormitory in one of the city’s poorest
districts. It is little more than four concrete walls
with dirty bunks, dented personal lockers, and a
two-way infoscreen. They arrive after a grueling
day’s work and a tasteless dinner in the common
room. There is one more bunk than characters,
and a corresponding locker, sealed.
The group has a brief time to get to know one
another before the evening prayer of allegiance to
Nok Tiris interrupts from speakers across the city.
After that, a final occupant enters their quarters—
a sickly, elderly man with a satchel over his
shoulder. Though his clothes are tattered, his
overall good hygiene may tip off the group that
he’s not all he seems. Then, ripping the wiring
from the infoscreen, he says that if they want to
survive the next 12 hours, they must listen to him.
He introduces himself as Tannor Galven, a
chemist from the Inner Wheel. Formerly a designer
of food preservatives, he was recently promoted
against his will to chemical weapons. Now he is
dying and wants to do one last good deed. He
explains that a Templar named Ushod supervised
his latest project—Chemical 52, an agent found
deep in the wasteland. It is a mutagen, possibly
responsible for the horrors roaming outside the city.
Tannor has learned how to control it, and Ushod
insists on beginning human trials. The characters
have been chosen as expendables.
LESTER SMITH
Tannor wants to help. He snuck Chemical 52 to a
merchant named Ablek in Market District. The
group must retrieve it and take it to Rust Ward, a
neighborhood of ancient, abandoned factories. There
they will meet Jesanta, a friend prepared to dispose of
it. Tannor is too ill for the mission. In fact he never
intends to leave the room. Security is on its way to
collect Tannor and the characters, and he plans to set
off a bomb hidden in his locker, providing a
distraction for the group’s escape, and taking the
secrets of Chemical 52 to his death.
As a reward for their efforts, Jesanta will
reboot the group’s ID chips, giving them new
identities. In the meantime, Tannor has cobbled
together an ID scrambler that will make them
untraceable until dawn. As he works, building
alarms go off—security drones are on the way.
Tannor hands the group a hand-drawn map and
activates the timer of the locker bomb.
Possible escape routes include taking an
elevator—or shaft—to ground level and dodging
through the streets, or escaping to a connected
building via the sky bridges found every 10 levels,
and from there fleeing on foot or boarding a train.
The Game Host should keep the party paranoid,
pointing out more security drones, suspicious-
looking people, nearby vid screens, and surveillance
bots, as they move toward Market District.
ACT II: MARKET DISTRICT
Market District never sleeps. It is run on a barter
system, since Nok Tiris has no currency. If the party
keeps a low profile, they reach Ablek’s shop without
incident. This merchant is doing well: goods and
trinkets cover his walls. He recognizes the group
instantly but seems nervous, moves slowly, and asks
lots of questions. When pressed, he leads the party to
the basement. In the corner is a safe with no obvious
lock or handle. Characters may recognize this as an
electronic safe secured through the Infogrid.
The door opens upstairs, and Ablek draws a
plasma pistol (Hand Laser) on the group. He says
Tannor was a fool, and that Chemical 52 should be
in the hands of those with the wisdom to control
it—the Templars. As he speaks, two thugs in his
employ come downstairs wielding clubs. The party
must defeat Ablek’s thugs and open the safe. They
can either hack it via the Infogrid or force Ablek to
CREDITS
DESIGN: Jason Huls. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe. SUNSET ILLUSTRATION: Christian Hecker. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
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open it. Inside is a heavy security case containing
Chemical 52. The electronic lock cannot be opened
without the tools of a very sophisticated workshop.
As the party leaves, a black Templar dirigible
arrives at the end of the block, dropping patrol
drones down rappelling lines. From the other end
strides a figure in dark nanoarmor and bearing an
enormous energy sword: an enforcer drone. It is
time to flee! Behind, the group hears the sudden
pulse of plasma rifles, the throbbing of the energy
sword, and citizens screaming in terror and pain.
ACT III: RUST WARD
Rust Ward is a maze of abandoned factories,
some unused for centuries. Even with Tannor’s
map, it isn’t easy for the group to find their
destination. Patrol drones, the Templar ship, and
the enforcer are all combing the area, so the
characters will need to move stealthily.
The meeting place is in a centuries-old system
of towers. Many of their walls are gone, exposing a
rusted skeletal structure of beams and catwalks.
The map says Jesanta is on level 26. Arriving there,
the group first notes a small scout ship, parked just
inside a collapsed wall that offers a breathtaking
view of Nok Tiris. Jesanta emerges from the
shadows with a rifle trained on the party. Her
many tribal tattoos reveal her to be an outlander.
Jesanta is all business. She plans to deliver
Chemical 52 to a renegade scientist in the
wasteland who will dispose of it. Taking the case,
she tells the group one problem remains: she has
one less ID profile than there are characters.
Unfortunately, if even one member is captured,
the Templars can sift that person’s thoughts and
learn everything that has transpired. Jesanta
leaves the group to come up with their own
solution. With dawn approaching, time is short.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
REEDUCATION: As members of a rebel group,
the heroes must kidnap a drone for reprogramming.
DEADLY SALVAGE: The group is assigned to a
salvage mission—at a site even Outlanders avoid.
JUST THE FACTS: Templars round up the group
for questioning about a missing friend, accused of
an unlikely crime. Can they find and warn him?
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF ESFAH

Dragon Dice
In 1995, TSR’s Dragon Dice game won
the Origins Award for Best Fantasy
or Science-Fiction Board Game. I’m
pleased to have been lead designer on
that project. What’s more, when
Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR
and decided to cease its publication, a
group of fans formed SFR, Inc. to
purchase the rights and keep it in
print. They’ve done a marvelous job
polishing and expanding it ever since.
With this chapter, you can
adventure in Dragon Dice’s world of
Esfah, using actual dice from the
collectible battle game!
—Lester Smith

BACKGROUND
Esfah is a young world, seething with
the raw magical elements of Earth,
Air, Fire, and Water. It is also a
world at war, long waged between
the elder races of Coral Elves and
Dwarves on the side of the goddess
Nature, and the upstart races of
Goblins and Fire Elves on the side
of the Death god. Caught in the
middle, though generally fighting for
the good, are the Amazons. The terrible (street thief or burglar), healer (magical or
Undead have also risen, along with new races surgeon), spy, and traveling musician. Any
created by Nature and Death in this struggle number of other vocations are also possible—see
for supremacy. It is into this contentious time the D6×D6 Occupations chapter for inspiration.
that your character has been born.
(More details about Esfah and its creatures SKILLS
can easily be found online to expand upon this From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics,
setting. Visit d6xd6.com/DragonDice, where Bargaining, First Aid, Lockpicking, Martial
you’ll find links to each of the races in this Arts, Navigation, Persuasion, Pickpocketing,
chapter.) Ride Animal, Shooting, Sneaking, Swimming,
Throwing, and Tracking apply. Three other
OCCUPATIONS skills receive special treatment in this setting.
Common occupations for adventurers in this LANGUAGES: Each race on Esfah has its own
world include soldier (foot or cavalry), archer, native language; there is no “common tongue.”
mage (battle or scholar), hunter or tracker, ruffian Characters may learn the languages of other races.

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LESTER SMITH
Each magical element also has its own
language. Consequently, most races can speak
three tongues—their native one and (even if
haltingly) those of their two racial elements.
LITERACY: The ability to read is not
widespread. Only characters with a scholarly
occupation or with the Literacy or Magic skill
can read and write the languages they know.
MAGIC: Like Language, this skill can be taken
more than once. Each time a hero chooses this
skill, that character selects one of the five
elements—Earth, Air, Fire, Water, or Death.
Characters must choose an element that
matches their racial abilities.
When successfully casting magic in terrain
with a preponderance of the matching element,
characters other than Amazons gain an extra
Success Level.
Characters with a Focused skill in only one
element may use their other racial element as
Unfocused magic.
Characters with no magic skill may use
their racial elements as Unfamiliar magic.
Amazons with Focused or Unfocused
magic can speak the language of that element.
SPECIAL RULES
The following rules translate Dragon Dice
creatures and dice into D6×D6 terms.
DICE AND FOCUS NUMBER
Although this setting can be played with
standard six-sided dice, it is best represented
with a d8 terrain die and a d4 rare magic item
from the Dragon Dice battle game. (Treat the
special symbol on the magic-item die as a “4.”)
This gives a range of 1–32 instead of the
standard 1–36, so characters have a maximum
Focus rating of 8 instead of 10. Choose up to 7
Focus skills during character creation instead
of the usual 9.
CREATURES AND DRAGON DICE RARITY
Most dice in the Dragon Dice game fall into
Common, Uncommon, and Rare categories,
with increasing toughness and abilities. For
D6×D6 purposes, the Game Host can rate
Common creatures as thugs, Uncommon as
lieutenants, and Rare as villains (see the
D6×D6 Game Host chapter), reducing Focus
number one point for the d4×d8 option.
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Players can use dice rarity as an indication of
their characters’ Occupation +s: Common 0;
Uncommon 1; and Rare 2. (Players should start
with Common dice and promote to Uncommon
and Rare as their characters improve.)
The Game Host and players alike should
use the Dragon Dice symbols on a creature’s
dice as a guide to its skills.
Optional: A creature’s die (and any item dice
the creature carries) can be rolled with the d8
and d4, and applicable symbols added to the
result after multiplication (even beyond the
usual minimum of 1 and maximum of 32).
Example: A roll of 3 footprints would add to an
Athletics roll of 4×6 for a result of 27.
MINIMUMS AND MAXIMUMS
Unlike in the standard D6xD6 game rules, dice
rolls have no minimum or maximum, and
Success Levels can progress beyond three. This
allows high-level spells to be generated more
quickly. (See Spellcasting below.)
CHARACTER RACES
The following Dragon Dice races are usual for
D6×D6 heroes. Note that characters from the
long-lived Coral Elf and Dwarf races may list
age as “Young,” “Mature,” or “Ancient” rather
than a specific number.
AMAZONS: Human warriors, primarily though
not exclusively female, capable of learning any
magical element, though without a terrain
bonus.
CORAL ELVES: One of two original races of
Esfah, masters of Air and Water magic. Most
at home in coastal lands.
DWARVES: One of two original races of
Esfah, masters of Earth and Fire magic. Most
at home in volcanic mountain ranges.
FERAL: Brought to life by Nature to help
battle the Undead, these half-beast peoples
come in all types and are aligned with Air and
Earth magic. They are most at home in
highland forests. Some can fly, some swim,
some burrow, depending on their animal type.
Some have a thick hide equivalent to light
armor (with no penalty). Most have claws
equivalent to a Small Blade. Exact effects are
left to the Game Host and the player.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
TREEFOLK: Brought to life by
Nature to help battle the Undead,
Treefolk are a conjoined pairing of
tree and water spirits. Aligned to
Earth and Water magic, they are
most at home in wet forest lands.
Their barklike skin is equivalent to
light armor (with no penalty). Their
limbs hit like clubs. Treefolk with the
Throwing skill have a relatively
endless supply of “throwing blades”
(twigs or thorns) and can use their
own branches as “spears.” Those
with the Shooting skill carry bows
made of branches and vines and can
use their own branches as a relatively
endless ammunition supply.

SPELLCASTING
Simple elemental spells—digging a
small hole, summoning a cooling
breeze, creating a candle flame,
freshening a canteen, killing a
weed—can be accomplished with a
single Success Level. Such things add
flavor and move a story along.
More powerful magic that causes
or cures damage can be adapted
from the battlefield spell lists of the
Dragon Dice game:
 Treat the listed spell point cost
as a number of Success Levels
that must be achieved.
 Characters may spend multiple
turns generating Success Levels to cast a on it. This applies a 1-point penalty per
spell; they may also decide at any point to spell to other rolls by that character (see the
release Success Levels currently generated D6×D6 Dice and Tasks chapter).
to cast a lower-cost spell.  Instead of affecting a “target terrain,” spells
Example: A Feral mage might intend to affect a single target figure.
cast the Dragon Dice spell “Lightning  Each extra Success Level can either extend
Strike,” gain four Success Levels on the the spell to an adjacent target figure or
roll, and either hold those for the next increase the damage by one level.
turn—hoping to roll at least two more—or  Spells that hinder a target’s rolls apply as a
release them immediately as a “Wind penalty after dice are multiplied.
Walk” spell.
 Spells that cause damage have a base rating
 Characters can cooperate to cast spells, of Hit. (See the D6×D6 Conflict and
adding their Success Levels together for Damage chapter.)
release at the time of the lowest roll.
 Spells that add protection add a base armor
 Once cast, a spell effect can be maintained rating of one level. (See the D6×D6
indefinitely if one of its casters concentrates Conflict and Damage chapter.)

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LESTER SMITH
 Spells that “return a unit from DUA” heal
all of a target’s damage.
Note: Remember that in this world, a
summoned dragon is uncontrolled and will
attack whatever draws its attention—usually
the largest creature first.
EQUIPMENT
Any items appropriate to a high-fantasy world
are thematically appropriate to the Dragon Dice
setting. In particular, the Game Host is
encouraged to use magic items represented by
dice in the Dragon Dice game as inspiration.
DENIZENS
The following creatures share the world of
Esfah but are not typical players’ characters.
HUMANOID RACES
With the exception of the Eldarim, the
humanoid races listed below were raised by
Death in mockery of Nature’s children.
ELDARIM: Rare heroes with a mastery of
dragons, the Eldarim lead solitary lives away
from other creatures. Like dragons, most are
aligned with different magical elements. The
most powerful of all are the Dragonlords,
masters of all elements.
FIREWALKERS: Drawn to Esfah by the chaos
of battle, these elemental creatures fight on any
side for the sheer joy of it. They have an
affinity for Air and Fire magic.
FROSTWINGS: Created by the god of Death,
these creatures proved uncommitted to the
war. Frostwings have some affinity for Air and
Death magic but gain no terrain bonus for
either. They are most at home in icy realms.
GOBLINS: The first race Death raised to fight
the ancient Coral Elves and the Dwarves,
Goblins have an affinity for Death and Earth
magic and prefer swampy terrains.
LAVA ELVES: Following the Goblins, Death
created Lava Elves as a mockery of the noble
Coral Elves. They have an affinity for Death
and Fire magic and dwell within the hearts of
volcanic highlands, in direct competition with
the Dwarves.
SCALDERS: Twisted by Death from their fey folk
origins, Scalders eventually threw off Death’s reins
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and became their own masters. They have an
affinity for both Fire and Water magic and make
their homes in outlands with hot springs.
SWAMPSTALKERS: A mutated race of serpent
creatures, Swampstalkers are aligned with
Death and Water magic, though they no longer
serve the god of Death. They are most at
home in swamplands.
UNDEAD: Raised from the slain warriors of
other races and pressed into Death’s service,
the Undead have an affinity for Death magic,
and they have no homeland other than the
corpse-strewn battlefields of the world.
MONSTERS
Esfah is home to countless monstrous beings.
DRAGONS: These elemental creatures are
summoned up from the terrain of battle sites
as a desperate measure against an enemy, after
which they rampage about. (For an example
dragon, see the sample adventure.)
OTHER MONSTERS: Each race has a subset
of “monsters” sometimes pressed into service,
from the Leviathan of the Coral Elves to
Minor Death of the Undead. The Game Host
is invited to adapt the abilities of those specific
dice to these role-play rules.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
TRAIL OF THE DRAGONSWORD
In which our heroes, resting from war, must
make a treacherous journey to deliver an evil
artifact into the safekeeping of a Coral Elf
monastery.
ACT I: A BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Following the Battle of Wolverton, the
Dwarven king Boralan set aside the highland
valley of Benéfictoram as a refuge for veterans
of all Nature-allied races. The valley shelters
ample woodland and pasture for any who
would choose to make a home here. It is now
dotted with hamlets, small farms, smithies, and
breweries. The players’ characters are either
residents of or visitors to this valley. Let the
players explain their heroes’ presence and
establish who knows whom.
The adventure begins with the most solitary
hero. One day, from a clear blue sky, a blinding
flash of light and deafening clap of thunder drop
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
a torn and bloodied Dragonlord at the
hero’s feet. Clutching an ebony black
sword longer than he is tall, the
Dragonlord whispers, “Deliver this to
the Monastery of Èlasmiél,” and,
“Beware Maladruke!” then dies.
Coral Elves or scholars may
recognize the victim as a Dragonlord.
They may also know that Èlasmiél
is a Coral Elf city on the eastern coast,
three days distant by hard journey
down a Dwarven road and through a
Swampstalker-infested fen.
The sword is crafted of elemental
Death and withers whatever it
touches. It is too large and heavy for
most humanoids to lift alone. The
heroes must devise a plan for
handling it.
Maladruke is a death dragon from
whom the sword was stolen. (See his
description below.) Its power calls to
him.
Give the heroes time to connect
with one another and sort out plans.

ACT II: A PERILOUS PATH

Along the route to Èlasmiél, the
heroes will encounter a series of
challenges.
GOBLIN AMBUSH: The heroes pass
the entrance of a Dwarven mine in
which a group of Goblins lies in
ambush (a number equal to the
heroes). These thugs (see the D6×D6
Game Host chapter) have no leader;
they attack with thrown stones.
Heroes failing a Wits roll are caught by Wraiths, and Zombies, led by a single Ghast.
surprise. After the battle, three slain Dwarven They outnumber the heroes by 50% and can
miners are found in the mine. see in the dark. They may lure the heroes to a
HALLS OF THE DEAD: Nearing the cavern littered with the bones, where the
mountain’s foot, the heroes discover a Ghast’s Death magic is enhanced. Once the
Dwarven town at another mining site. The Ghast is defeated, the rest flee.
inhabitants all lie dead in the street —torn and FEN OF THE SWAMPSTALKERS: This mine
withered—slaughtered by Maladruke. Cautious connects with a series of caverns, where a
heroes may pass the town without being stream leads out of the mountain into a fen.
noticed. Otherwise, Maladruke attacks from (The original mountain trail also leads to this
the sky. Escape into the mine is an option, but bog.) A muddy path winds between quagmires,
eventually the heroes will be shadowed and pools of brackish water, thickets of tall grasses,
attacked by a band of Undead—Skeletons, and stands of tangleroot trees. Along the way a

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LESTER SMITH
a tribe of Swampstalkers in service to
Maladruke lies in ambush. Bog Runners,
Sprayers, Strikers, and Warmongers, led by a
Swamp Wizard, outnumber the heroes two-to-
one. The Swamp Wizard hides and guides their
attack in their hissing tongue (the foliage and
mists making him Impossible to spot). If
pressed, he will cast Reanimate Dead to bring a
buried Swamp Giant to life.
This series of events should leave the
heroes worn and depleted.
ACT III. THE MONASTERY OF ÈLASMIÉL
Leaving the fens, the heroes spy the seaside city
of Èlasmiél. Coral Elf Horsemen, Knights, and
Eagle Knights patrol the area. As the heroes
proceed, Maladruke attacks. Their only hope is
to make a dash for the city while a dozen Coral
Elves swarm the dragon. Reaching the city gates
requires 20 movement Success Levels (per hero)
before the dragon slays the Coral Elf patrol.
After a round of facing the dragon’s four
brawling attacks, the patrol falls back to use
ranged weapons and magic, so Maladruke can
attack only one defender per round. Some
heroes might either help the Coral Elves or cast
spells to speed the sword bearers along.
The Game Host can narrate Maladruke’s
battle with the Coral Elves without detailed
statistics for those defenders. Each Knockout
or Kill the dragon scores drives one Coral Elf
Eagle Knight from the sky or destroys a Coral
Elf defender on the ground. Attacks with
lesser damage simply rain debris across the
sands. Coral Elf attacks against the dragon
have little chance of penetrating his armor, but
their harassment keeps him occupied.
Once the sword is inside the city, the
dragon flies back to the Swampstalkers’ fen
with a cry of frustrated rage. The heroes are
celebrated for delivering the sword and offered
a place to stay until the dragon can be dealt
with more permanently.
MALADRUKE THE DEATH DRAGON:
Maladruke is a monster (see the D6×D6 Game
Host chapter), with a Focus of 2. His
CREDITS
DRAGON DICE™ game copyright SFR, Inc. Used by permission. SETTING DESIGN: Lester Smith.
EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. ILLUSTRATIONS: Jeremy McHugh. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
- 112 -
“occupation” is Death Dragon, giving Death
magic with four pluses, and Death Breath,
which does Kill damage to a single figure at
Shooting range. His movement rating is 10
meters per round by air or on foot. His size
makes Throwing range Brawling range for him.
His Focused skill is Martial Arts, with up to
four attacks per round; his paws do Hit damage,
his tail Knockout, and his jaws Wound. His
Unfocused skills are Tracking (up to Viewing
range), and Coral Elf and Dwarf languages.
He has four levels of natural armor with no
dice penalties. He can spend 13 Drama Points
per session, though only one Experience Point
per session. His death sword doubles his magic
Success Levels and has a damage rating of Kill
plus two.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
THE DEATH FROM WITHIN: Some evil has
infiltrated the city, bringing death to its leaders’
bedchambers night after night. Our heroes
must find this assassin and bring the terror to
an end.
THE SORROW OF HIGH GUARD PASS: Local
Dwarven law states that upon a regent’s
demise, his or her tomb must be forsaken for a
year, allowing the spirit privacy to enter the
afterlife. When Queen Neda dies inspecting
High Guard Pass, this leaves a border open to
Lava Elf invasion. The heroes must negotiate
this delicate situation.
FURY OF THE FROSTWINGS: Normally
insular, the Frostwings of the Northern
Reaches have been striking into peaceful
Amazon farmlands. Can the heroes discover
what has them at arms before the Amazons
retaliate in all-out war?
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
In a world so much at war, the heroes can serve
as emissaries, ambassadors, spies, and assassins,
shaping Esfah’s history. As their skills and
reputation grow, they may eventually be invited
to study the ways of the Eldarim.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF FEAR THE LIGHT

William Massa
Who murdered Dracula?
Over the centuries, many have
tried to kill the Count. All have
failed. Until now…

BACKGROUND
In the novel Fear the Light, the
vampire spawn of Dracula gather at
their master's estate to solve the
mystery of his murder. But as a new
day dawns, a voice cries out and
another creature of the night is slain.
Trapped, the sun burning bright
outside, these apex predators realize
they have met their match—a
diabolical killer who plans on picking
them off one by one. As their
numbers dwindle, a dark suspicion
grows—could the killer be hiding in
plain sight?
Vampires do not play well
together at the best of times, and
with their personal survival at stake
and a possible traitor in their midst,
alliances form and break with each
new attack.
This is the basic premise of the
Fear the Light novel and a common
idea of adventures set in this world.
Take vampire mythology and give it a
new spin—making the monsters the
victims, the hunters the hunted.

OCCUPATIONS As former humans, then, characters in this

In the world of Fear the Light, vampires follow the
classic tradition of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
That is to say, all players’ characters were human
once, but they have become blood-thirsty
monsters as a result of being chosen and turned by
an existing vampire. By default, it is assumed that
they were cursed this way by Dracula himself. For
only a powerful will and an ancient thirst for
companionship can allow a vampire to bring its
victim back to life—or more accurately, unlife.
setting can have had any occupation suited to the
time period of their creation. For Dracula’s
offspring, this means any year from the 16th to
20th centuries. Players are welcome to choose
earlier time periods by inventing a different
“sire,” or later times as the offspring of Dracula’s
own children. (See the Fear the Light novel for
examples.)
The human occupation chosen will dictate a
character’s understanding of the living world, and

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LESTER SMITH
much of that vampire’s ability to interact with the
world. It may also determine what wealth and
other resources the character may have
accumulated, if any.
The time period in which a vampire was
created also determines its fashion sense and
manner of speech. While all vampires can mimic
the styles of the times in which they currently
reside, they are also creatures of habit, and in
private revert to their original patterns of speech
and behavior.
SKILLS
Vampires can possess any of the skills in the
Basic Skills chapter that suit their original time
period. While they can learn new human skills at
Unfocused level, they cannot Focus any they did
not know in life. They can, however, learn and
master the following supernatural skills with age.
(Note: These skills cannot be used if Unfamiliar.)
BAT FORM: A vampire of at least four centuries in
age can learn to shape-shift into a large bat. The
number of Success Levels rolled determines the
number of hours the shape can be retained.
COMMAND ANIMALS: A vampire of at least two
centuries in age can learn to telepathically control
rats, bats, and even wolves. The number of
creatures controlled is roughly equal in mass to
the vampire itself. By controlling an alpha wolf,
the vampire can lead the rest of the pack as well.
COMMAND ELEMENTS: A vampire of at least
six centuries in age can affect the classic elements
of earth, air, fire, and water, causing local earth
tremors, summoning windstorms and lightning,
creating or snuffing torch-sized flames, or
causing storms. Exact effects are left to the Game
Host’s discretion, based on local conditions and
number of Success Levels rolled.
MESMERIZE: Even newly created vampires can learn
to hypnotize their victims by simple eye contact.
Compare the vampire’s Success Levels with this
skill equal to the victim’s Success Levels with a
Will roll: If the Will results are higher, the victim
avoids being controlled; if tied, the victim is
paralyzed; if the Mesmerize results are higher, the
vampire can control the victim’s actions for a
number of rounds equal to the difference in
Success Levels.
MIST FORM: A vampire of at least five centuries in
age can learn to dissolve its body into mist and
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drift slowly in any direction, even through narrow
crevices. The number of Success Levels rolled
determines the number of minutes the vampire
can retain this shape.
REGENERATION: This is a required skill for all
vampires. With it, even newly created vampires can
heal themselves by drinking human blood. Each
liter consumed heals one level of damage, and a
vampire may drink one liter per round per
Success Level rolled with this skill. (An adult
human possesses roughly five liters of blood and
is in danger of death after losing just two liters.)
TELEPATHY: A vampire of at least one century in
age can transmit thoughts at any distance to a
person from whom it has drunk blood. The
number of words communicated is equal to the
number of Success Levels rolled with this skill.
WOLF FORM: A vampire of at least three centuries
in age can learn to shape-shift into wolf form.
The number of Success Levels rolled determines
the number of hours the vampire can retain the
shape.
SPECIAL RULES
Vampires in this setting are also subject to the
following benefits and detriments.
AGE: Whatever the physical age of the person
when slain and resurrected as a vampire, that
remains the character’s seeming age for the rest of
its existence. Some vampires are cursed to spend
eternity as mere children, while others are wrinkled
and spotted with age.
Either of these can create psychological issues
that affect the way a vampire is treated by
others—or wants to be treated. A very young
person that has become a vampire might be
treated like a child by “adult” vampires, even
though that child could be centuries older. Or a
young-looking vampire might insist on being
coddled like a child. Similarly, an elderly-looking
vampire might demand respect for his apparent
age, despite being a relatively new vampire. These
habits of life are ingrained in the vampire.
Note: Whatever a vampire’s apparent mortal
age, all possess an adult human’s physical and
mental abilities during daytime hours, and
superhuman levels of those abilities during
nighttime hours. At night, a vampire gains a 1-
point bonus to all Focused dice roll totals for each
century of age—to a maximum of 30 points.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
ANTI-PHOTOGENIC: For reasons
that defy logic and physics, the faces
of vampires appear as a blur in
mirrors or photographs.
BLOOD BOOST: Vampires may
enhance their abilities by spending
human blood they have consumed.
Each liter spent acts as a Drama Point.
BLOOD CAPACITY: Fully fed, a
vampire can possess a maximum of
six liters of blood.
BLOOD THIRST: For each four
hours of wakefulness, a vampire’s
body uses one liter of blood simply to
survive. Sleeping uses blood at half
this rate, which is one reason
vampires sleep through the daylight
hours (lethargy being the other). For
each hour a vampire spends empty of
blood, it suffers one level of damage;
at Knockout level, it enters a state of
suspended animation.
Note: While a vampire can survive
on animal blood, only human blood
applies for the Regeneration skill and
for Blood Boost effects.
ENHANCED SENSES: The classic
five senses of sight, hearing, scent,
taste, and touch are heightened for vampires. EQUIPMENT
Vampires may make a Focused roll against any to Equipment in a Fear the Light adventure is limited
pick out local details a normal human might miss. only by the era and the characters’ resources.
Each Success Level provides one such sensory
detail, decided by the Game Host. DENIZENS
VULNERABILITIES: All vampires are allergic to While the Fear the Light setting assumes only
garlic. While in its presence, they suffer a 1-point vampires and humans as characters, other
difficulty modifier to all tasks. supernatural creatures can be imported from
A stake through the heart paralyzes a vampire. other settings. (In particular, see the “World of
Each round of physical contact with a holy Gargoyle Knight” setting.)
item or of exposure to sunlight causes one level
of damage per century of a vampire’s age. Unlike SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
other injury (see the Conflict and Damage
chapter), the vampire accumulates the full VAMPIRES ON ICE
amount each round—meaning a 200-year-old In which a group of vampires, strangers to one
vampire would be Stunned on round one, another, share a murderous ski holiday.
Wounded on round two, and Killed on round
three. Vampires younger than a century merely ACT I: A LAST RESORT
accumulate a 1-point difficulty modifier each This adventure is intended for a group of vampires
round as a burning sensation. who have never met, and who find themselves

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LESTER SMITH
together under mysterious circumstances. It can,
however, be played with a group that has
previously encountered one another, or even one
that has banded together for some reason.
Open the adventure by inviting your players
to describe why their characters have decided to
visit a remote ski lodge. (“We plan to slaughter
everyone 30 Days of Night style” is not option;
that would be a different adventure.) You can
place this resort anywhere you wish in the
world, or even let the players suggest locations,
as long as it is more than a single night’s walk
from the nearest urban center. (The vampires
should not be able to simply leave once the
trouble begins.)
Invite the players to describe their arrival at
the resort—including any special care they take to
avoid sunlight. Unless they are new vampires,
arriving at night will likely be a requirement,
though other options are possible: such as being
delivered directly to their rooms as luggage. Ask
them to indicate any special accommodations
they may have worked out with the resort staff
while making reservations. Vampires tend to have
better financial resources than the living, whether
through long years of investment, or from simply
being able to rob their victims and escape.
As Game Host, your main goal during this act
is to get the players so involved in describing
their characters’ choices and activities that they
never question why they’ve taken a ski holiday in
the first place. Let them interact with the night
staff, mingle with those guests who stay up late,
and experience the beauty of the chill, moonlit,
snow-covered slopes and trees among which the
resort is located.
Note: You might consider running this act for
each player individually, perhaps by phone or
Internet chat, especially if their characters have
not met. Then, when everyone is gathered for
your usual session, start with act 2, and have the
characters meet as they investigate.
ACT II: WAKE-UP CALL
Retiring to their rooms for their first day of sleep,
most of the characters suffer unusual nightmares,
full of bloodshed, fire, and destruction. When the
characters wake at sundown, they smell the
residue of smoke and blood, as well as the scent
of fresh snow, and they each find that their room
has no electrical power or heat.
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Investigating, they discover that the resort has
suffered some sort of attack. The building has
many broken windows and doors, as well as some
fire damage. Wind and snow from a growing
blizzard invade through these breaches. The
resort is dark and without electrical power, and
the phones are all dead—as is the security system,
including security cameras in the lobby, offices,
and hallways.
Worse, the entire staff has been slaughtered,
their torn and bloody bodies lying all about.
(Inspection reveals teeth and claw marks, likely
the work of one or more vampires.)
Nearly all the guests remain alive, having been
out and about on the slopes during the day. With
night and the growing blizzard driving them
indoors, most are now in an utter panic. One or
two brave souls might step forward to offer
platitudes about staying calm and making survival
plans, but not even they have any real ideas
beyond boarding up the broken windows,
building a fire in the lobby fireplace for heat, and
waiting out the storm.
If the characters venture out into the blizzard,
they discover that the generator shack has been
utterly destroyed, its timbers now a pile of
glowing embers in which the blackened remains
of the generator can be seen. The garage has also
been attacked—though not burned. While its fuel
pump remains intact, its few cars, solitary bus,
and even snowmobiles are all disabled, their wires
and hoses slashed.
The resort’s basement does hold a decades-
old backup generator, though it is not connected
to the power system. An old short-wave radio
can also be found, though it will require power
(and knowledge) to operate. Plenty of food,
drink, and blankets are available.
ACT III: CHECK-OUT TIME
Assuming the vampires get the generator
running—likely through the agency of a more
modern human—the short-wave radio can be
used to contact authorities. After questioning the
radio operator for details about the attack, these
authorities tell everyone to sit tight, stay together,
and wait out the storm, when emergency services
can arrive.
Power also means the security cameras come
back online. If anyone checks the footage from
the time of the attack, they see the staff members
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
being slaughtered by figures moving
inhumanly fast, although the faces of
the attackers are strangely blurred.
The characters will recognize
themselves as these attackers by their
clothing, general physique, and
movement. At that moment, a
previously unrecognized fog will lift
from their minds: While they do not
remember the attacks themselves, all
the vampires suddenly realize that the
very idea to visit this resort was an
external compulsion. Something very
ancient and powerful has been
playing with their minds.
With a last telepathically
whispered chuckle, it leaves them. In
the distance, the sirens of police and
emergency vehicles can be heard
approaching. The final curtain is
falling on this particular play. How
the characters prepare for the arrival
of the authorities, and what they do
with their new knowledge, can open
the door to an entire campaign.

ADVENTURE SEEDS
URBAN JUNGLE FIGHTER:
Vampires are being hunted and slain
in an urban environment, and the
characters must band together to
track the killer. This scenario could play like a
mashup of the movies Se7en and Blade. The killer
who targets vampires one by one, employing
high-tech booby-traps. In addition to facing
physical dangers, the characters must play
detective to learn what is motivating the killer. Is
this a disgruntled vampire, some sort of vampire
half-breed, or just a group of exceptionally
dedicated hunters (perhaps descendants of the
legendary Van Helsing)?
MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN: In this
scenario inspired by Fritz Lang’s classic film M,
an ancient vampire (Dracula perhaps) has gone
mad and is ramping up his kills in London to
such a degree that the authorities might learn of
the existence of vampires. It’s up to the players’
characters to stop this ancient vampire before
their ability to operate within the shadows is
fully compromised.
THE FUGITIVES: The notion that Dracula has
returned could be flipped on its head. Maybe
Dracula survived an assassination attempt and is
now hunting all his offspring (and other
vampires) as a mass retaliation. The characters
will have to work together to survive Dracula’s
armies of monsters and servants while tracking
the true assassin and clearing their names.
BLACK LAB: The characters awaken and discover
that they are captives in a high-tech installation.
Breaking out, they come to realize that their
escape was engineered. Someone is testing their
abilities and studying their fight for survival.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES: A group of human
vampire aficionados has retrieved Dracula’s
remains, in hopes of resurrecting him and being
rewarded with eternal life. But Dracula’s
offspring refuse to see him used this way (partly
because they never want the old bastard to

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return). This adventure could be played as either
vampires trying to retrieve the body or humans
trying to survive the assault, and it could play out
something like the movie Assault on Precinct 13.
BLOOD WAR: Waking from a long slumber into
the future, the vampire characters find
themselves no longer the stuff of myths, but
instead the last surviving bloodsuckers hunted by
humans armed with futuristic tech. To save
themselves, and the vampire race, they must wage
a guerilla war against their human oppressors.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
While the murder of Dracula can be a strong
introduction to the setting and serve as a solid
reason to gather vampires in one location,
nothing says Dracula has to be part of the mix,
nor does every adventure have to take place in a
single location (although a contained
environment does pump up the tension and
suspense). The key component is to create a
scenario where vampires find themselves out of
their element and now must fend for their
immortal lives.
To further this goal, the Game Host should
consider three main elements.
1. THE MYSTERY
Danger is part of a vampire’s existence, and
nothing says danger like a threat from the
unknown. The Game Host should decide on a
mysterious figure who wishes one or more of the
characters harm, prepare the primary threat, and
put the plan into motion. (The Game Host might
even recruit one of the players as the secret
mastermind behind it all.)
2. THE CHALLENGES
As soon as our vampires arrive at the location,
they begin to encounter both challenges and
corresponding clues. The location can be designed
in the fashion of a classic fantasy dungeon, stocked
with enemies and traps, but with hints to the
primary threat instead of gold as rewards.
CREDITS
DESIGN: William Massa. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday. COVER ILLUSTRATION: William Massa, Keri Knutson, & Jun Ares; Vampire image © 2013
under license of istockphoto; Cross image © 2013 under license of 123rf and Sergii Denysov.
VAMPIRE PORTRAITS: K8 Smith; with edits of “The Golden Cowboy” by Luke Hayfield & “Main St., Calico,
before the fire of 1883” by Orange County Archives, both licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Example threats include the burning sun
outside, assaults by vampire hunters armed with
holy items and automatic weapons, swinging
blade traps or acid sprays, rooms with barely
shaded windows set to spill sunlight into the
room, and more. The key is to keep the vampires
on their toes at all times, always watching for the
next trap to spring.
3. THE TICKING CLOCK
It is important to keep the players conscious of
the passage of time. As vampires, their
characters are weaker during the daylight hours,
and—unless very young—unable to venture
outside. Survival until the comparative safety of
nightfall becomes a main goal.
And while young vampires might be tempted
to abandon their elders to their fate, all it takes is
a few well-placed snipers to remind them of their
own vulnerability. That, and any threat of
retaliation or offer of favors that the elder
vampires might promise should the characters
survive.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The setting of the novel includes a sprawling yet
isolated property peopled with distrustful
“frenemies” and salted with clues, puzzles, and
booby traps. The Game Host can adapt this
formula in many different ways, as shown in the
sample adventure and adventure seeds above.
In addition, the Game Host might consider
the following contained settings for adventures.
 Abandoned amusement park or fun house
 Cruise ship
 Deserted island
 High tech home/smart house
 Sealed bio-dome
Finally, variety can be achieved by modifying the
geography and weather (such as locating a castle
high in the mountains during a terrible storm, or
setting an underground laboratory deep within a
jungle).
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF GARGOYLE KNIGHT

William Massa
In the novel Gargoyle Knight, a Celtic
king awakens from fifteen centuries
as a stone gargoyle to find modern
New York threatened by an ancient
evil. Human by day and gargoyle by
night, he must again hunt the evil
druid who brought this curse upon
him, to save the world from demonic
enslavement. This chapter lets you
join that battle as a half-gargoyle
protector or a modern-day defender.

BACKGROUND
IRELAND, A.D. 500. The peace is
maintained across the kingdom of
Kirkland by an elite band of warriors
led by Prince Artan. When Artan’s evil
brother, the warrior-druid Cael,
murders the king, the kingdom is
plunged into civil war. Artan’s warriors
prevail over Cael’s insurgency, and the
warrior-druid is banished from the
kingdom. Humiliated, he makes a pact
with the one-eyed demon Balor, ruler of
the Otherworld. Balor gives Cael his
eye, a ruby of incredible magical power.
With the Eye of Balor, Cael creates an
army of Fomor, winged humanoids of
solid stone. He then allows himself to
be bitten by one of the monsters and
transforms into a hybrid creature, half
man, half Fomor: a gargoyle.
Artan and his warriors face this evil
horde on the battlefield but are unable to prevail both Cael’s army and Artan’s knights turn to
against them. Defeat seems inevitable unless Artan stone statues.
and his men can shatter the Eye of Balor with the Fifteen hundred years later, the two halves of
magical Blade of Kings. To get close enough to the Eye of Balor are reunited, awakening both
Cael to complete his mission, Artan and his knights forces in their scattered locations across the
are forced to make a terrible sacrifice—they drink globe. The struggle resumes, as Balor prepares to
gargoyle blood, and through this essence of Balor conquer the world.
become winged monsters themselves. By day they
are men, but by night they transform into gargoyles. OCCUPATIONS
In this form, the brave knights shatter the Eye Characters in this setting can be either
of Balor. But victory comes at a cruel price, as reawakened gargoyle knights or modern people

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LESTER SMITH
who join the struggle against Cael and his Fomor
servants, for if Cael manages to return the Eye to
his demonic lord Balor, a Celtic Hell will be
unleashed upon the modern age.
Human characters can have any occupation,
though police and emergency personnel are most
likely to find themselves responding to Fomor
attacks, and archaeologists may be drawn into the
action due to their knowledge of history, ancient
languages, and artifacts.
During daylight hours, Artan’s knights have
an occupation of warrior or something similar;
the exact term is left to each player and the Game
Host. At night, their occupation becomes
gargoyle, with abilities described under Special
Rules below.
SKILLS
Modern human characters can possess any of the
skills listed in the Basic Skills chapter. It may be
helpful if one or more possess Second Language:
Gaelic, to allow speech with the awakened
gargoyle knights.
Characters who are gargoyle knights may
know any of the following skills: Athletics,
Bargaining, First Aid (an ancient version
involving binding wounds and using medicinal
herbs), Lockpicking, Martial Arts, Navigation,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Ride Animal, Second
Language: something suitably ancient, Shooting
(bow), Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing, Tracking.
They may also possess one modern language as
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an Unfocused skill, something they absorbed in
their stony sleep as modern civilization grew up
around them.
GARGOYLE SKILLS
Gargoyle skills include Enhanced Strength,
Flight, and Heightened Senses. By default, these
are treated as Unfocused skills, but players may
choose to Focus one or more (either during
character creation or through experience) to
heighten their effectiveness. (See the Character
Creation and the Character Growth chapters.)
ENHANCED STRENGTH: The blood of Balor
increases a gargoyle knight’s strength
tremendously. In game terms, a normal human
can easily lift 20 kg (about 40 lbs), plus 20 kg per
Success Level with a Brawn roll, for a maximum
of about 100 kg (roughly 200 lbs). Gargoyle
knights in human form can lift twice the amount
of a normal human, and in gargoyle form they
raise this to 10 times the amount.
This vigor also adds to the damage they do
attacking with fist, foot, or blunt objects. If this
skill is Focused, in human form they add one
level of damage to successful attacks of this sort;
in gargoyle form they add three levels. If the skill
is Unfocused, they receive no damage bonus in
human form, and the gargoyle bonus is reduced
to two levels.
FLIGHT: All gargoyle knights sprout wings after
dark and can fly. Standard speed is three meters
per round as a free movement. Each Success
Level on a Flight skill roll adds another three
meters to this movement.
HEIGHTENED SENSES: In gargoyle form,
Artan’s knights are able to see into the infrared
spectrum. This gives them the ability to see, track
prey, and do battle in the dark. Humans and
other mammals are very easy to see this way up
to Shooting range. The gargoyle knights
themselves radiate much less body heat and are
viewable this way only as far as Throwing range.
Gargoyle form also grants the knights roughly
twice human hearing, giving them a 1-point bonus
on any listening rolls the Game Host calls for.
SPECIAL RULES
Artan’s gargoyle knights have one additional
special ability, and two special restrictions, due to
the blood of Balor in their veins.

GARGOYLE TOUGHNESS
In gargoyle form, the stony skin of Artan’s
knights acts as Heavy armor; in human form,
they retain some of this protection, equivalent to
Light armor. This toughness also includes the
matching armor penalties to dice totals. (See the
Conflict and Damage chapter.)
BALOR’S COMMAND
The very demon blood that gives the gargoyle
knights their powers also binds them to the
demon Balor. Through it, he calls to them, ever
seeking to bend them to his will.
Each night, when a gargoyle knight
transforms, that character must succeed at a Will
roll to avoid succumbing to the blood’s demonic
nature. (Characters may spend their own Drama
Points on this roll, to the usual maximum of 3,
but they may not receive Drama Points from
other heroes for assistance.) Failing this roll, the
character falls under Balor’s command for the
night and is used to search for the Eye. At dawn,
the character returns to consciousness with no
memory of what transpired through the evening.
Because of this danger, gargoyle knights tend
to find solitary spots to undergo this nightly
transformation, in order to avoid injuring or
killing the very people they seek to protect.
CURSE OF STONE
Becoming a gargoyle knight is a personal
sacrifice. When the Eye of Balor is whole, you are
dedicated to finding and shattering it. When it is
shattered, your spirit is imprisoned within a body
turned to unliving stone. This leaves no time for
love, friends, family, or the other pleasures of
human existence. A gargoyle knight is an eternal
protector, subject to the whims of fate and the
endless lust of Balor to rule the mortal world.
EQUIPMENT
Any modern equipment described in the D6×D6
rules is appropriate for this setting. However,
gargoyle knights themselves have no working
knowledge of modern technology such as
electrical devices, gas-powered (or even steam-
powered) vehicles, or gunpowder weapons. In
gargoyle form they don’t have much use for
equipment anyway.
While the setting also allows for mystical
items—such as Balor’s Eye—each is a unique
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
object with its own inherent properties, to be
determined by the Game Host. Objects like these
can serve as hooks for individual adventures. Any
that survive to fall into the heroes’ hands should
be low powered or of limited uses, not the sort of
things to change the shape of human history.
DENIZENS
The modern world of Garygoyle Knight is peopled
primarily by human beings.
The demon Balor serves as an example of an
otherworldly, supernatural creature seeking to
invade our dimension. While other such beings
may well exist, they do not freely walk our world.
While the Fomor and the gargoyle knights
permanently reside in our world, they are
inanimate stone statuary most of the time, only
dimly aware of the passage of time around them.
Their existence does, however, hint at the
possibility of other supernatural creatures, from
vampires (as in “The World of Fear the Light”) to
werewolves, mummies, ghosts, fae folk, and
more. The Game Host may import any of these
from other D6xD6 setting chapters, or invent
new ones, and use their supernatural presence as
a trigger to awaken the gargoyle knights and
possibly the Fomor.
Of course, during their adventures, the heroes
might well encounter hazardous natural animals, or
supernaturally enhanced ones.
NOTE: Fomor have all the gargoyle skills and
abilities of Artan’s knights, but they never shift to
human form. Fomor always Focus Brawn.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
BLOOD FROM STONE
The German village of Kirschdorf is a pretty little
hamlet with a quaint history. In the village square
stand two stone statues: one a short, balding man
with a mad grin, the other a gargoyle looming just
behind, as if prepared to pounce on him.
Legend has it that the man was an alchemist
and warlock who was sentenced to be burned for
his crimes. According to the tale, as he was taken
to the stake, he swallowed a potion from a tiny
vial hidden in a hem of his clothing, and as the
flames rose around him, he turned to stone.
Awestruck and fearful, the village elders left
him standing in the square from that day forward,
LESTER SMITH
though they also imported a gargoyle with
supposed magical properties to stand guard over
him. And so the two have remained for hundreds
of years, while the town has bustled around them.
ACT I: AWAKENING
This adventure assumes that heroes are either
present-day villagers of Kirschdorf, tourists
visiting the town, scholars come to study the
statues, or possibly even a gargoyle knight—the
very one “standing guard” over the alchemist.
The heroes do not have to know one another.
The adventure begins with the heroes
gathering early in the morning to view the statues
for their own individual reasons, before the town
awakens and its streets become crowded.
When the heroes reach the square, they
discover that the alchemist statue has gone missing
in the night. Only the gargoyle statue remains,
seeming to glare at the empty space before it.
Then, as the heroes watch, the gargoyle statue
begins to move and shift, turning to human form
in the growing light of day.
This gargoyle knight has only a dim, dream-
like sense of what has transpired over the
centuries spent standing here. The character has
absorbed a smattering of modern German in that
time (treat this as a free Unfocused Second
Language), but speaks nothing else but ancient
Gaelic, so unless all the heroes speak German,
someone will have to translate for the group.
(Take a moment to work out how everyone
communicates. This helps to bond the heroes
and adds some flavor to play.)
The gargoyle knight vaguely recalls the
alchemist leaving during night. The alchemist
seemed to simply shake off his immobility, take a
few moments to breathe in the night air, and then
walk away. With the alchemist’s awakening, the
gargoyle knight began to feel the first tingling of
returning consciousness. The warming light of a
new day completed the transformation.
ACT II: VENGEANCE
True to the legend, the alchemist escaped
execution by swallowing an elixir. This potion
was concocted from the blood of a Fomor,
turning the alchemist to immobile stone. Now its
effects have finally worn off, having lasted much
longer than he expected, and he is free to walk
the earth again.
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During the hours since his awakening, the
alchemist has quietly fled to a cave in the woods,
its entrance cleverly hidden from discovery all
these centuries. He paused only to murder a local
farm family and rob their house for supplies. He
spared one teenaged boy, whom he abducted for
use in his alchemical pursuits.
The alchemist intends to wreak vengeance
upon the entire village for his centuries-old death
sentence. To accomplish this, he will use a few
remaining drops of Fomor blood hidden in his
cave to transform the abducted boy into a
gargoyle, then milk that creature’s blood for yet
more potions.
With these, he plans to make more gargoyle
servants of the young and helpless, then turn his
gargoyles loose on the town one night, when his
forces are large enough.
The alchemist goes about this slowly and
cautiously, but because he has no knowledge of
modern telecommunications, he doesn’t
realizehow quickly the news of the attacks spread.
He is completely unaware of the use of television,
radio, or the Internet, for example. And his
understanding of modern transportation is also
limited only to the few vehicles he sees on the
road at night whenever he conducts a raid.
During this act of the adventure, the
alchemist and his growing band of servants
attack one remote home every other evening,
abducting one person each time and murdering
the rest. He spends the nights between attacks
converting each new abductee to another
gargoyle slave.
The heroes learn of each attack in news
reports the day after. Any investigation they
undertake will have to avoid suspicion from
local authorities, who quickly become desperate
to make an arrest. If the heroes come to the
authorities’ attention, they will he held for
questioning (which could be awkward if one of
them transforms to a gargoyle each evening).
ACT III: MASSACRE
The adventure can come to a head in one of
three ways: (1) If the heroes concentrate on
watching for new nightly attacks, they may be
able to interrupt the alchemist during one of
them; (2) if they manage to track him to his lair, a
battle will take place there; or (3) if they are unable

to locate him, he will eventually attack the village
itself once he believes his army is large enough.
In either of the former cases, by defeating the
alchemist and his gargoyles, the heroes will be
able to prevent the supernatural from becoming
public knowledge.
In the third case, however, the village will
suffer terrible damage in a pitched battle between
an army of gargoyles on one side, and modern
police and military equipment on the other.
Unprepared for such modern firepower, the
alchemist is doomed to fail.
He does, however, have another stone potion
prepared. So the town may regain its famed
alchemist statue in the end—if it doesn’t end up
confiscated by the government for study.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
MADNESS UNLEASHED: A thief breaks into a
museum where a gargoyle statue is held and
somehow becomes infected with the gargoyle
blood. He soon begins to transform at night and
stalk the city on a winged crime spree. Mad with
the power of Balor’s blood, he grows ever more
violent. As the body count rises, and some few
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
survivors become gargoyles themselves, it’s up to
a few cops and archeologists to track the winged
killer and put a stop to his rampage.
GARGOYLE SLAYER: A wealthy big-game hunter
has discovered the secret of the Fomor and has
managed to bring one to life on a remote island,
to hunt it for sport. However, the thing quickly
overcame its captors and broke loose. It is
headed back to Ireland to unearth many of its
long-buried brethren, and is leaving a path of
destruction along the way. The heroes must
intercept it and keep it from raising an
uncontrolled Fomor army.
BLACK OPS: A government-sponsored scientist
is intent on studying and replicating the powers
of the gargoyle knights. His team has managed to
locate one and has strongarmed an archaeologist
or occult historian into bringing the thing to life,
deep in an underground lab. The players take the
roles of the captive gargoyle knight and a few
government defectors who believe this
experimentation is inhumane. To escape, they
will have to find their way out of this secure
facility while fighting off a team of power-suited
soldiers capable of flight.
LESTER SMITH
POISONED: This adventure seed can introduce
the Gargoyle Knight theme into any other modern
setting. A villain discovers how to awaken and
enslave a Fomor, and uses the creature to attack
the heroes. One or more of the characters are
bitten and infected with the gargoyle curse.
While holding at bay the call of the blood (see
Balor’s Command under the Special Rules), the
heroes must track down the villain and discover
how to put the Fomor back to sleep and reverse
their own curse—if that is even possible.
THE CURE: This adventure is intended for a
group of modern characters. While preventing
Cael from resurrecting Balor, one of the gargoyle
knights fell in love with a modern human. Just
before the Curse of Stone claimed King Artan
once again, he specifically sanctioned this
“retirement,” if the knight’s new friends can find
a cure rumored to be inscribed in the stone of a
forgotten Incan temple. The group must
somehow maintain a low profile while
investigating its location, traveling there with the
stone statue of their friend, and unlocking the
secret of the cure.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
CAEL REBORN: Tormented by his demonic
master, the spirit of the druid Cael constantly
seeks ways to return to earth and restore the Eye
of Balor. This can be a recurring reason for
adventures in this setting, taking place at different
locales around the globe.
Cael’s spirit might even find ways to travel
through time and attack at different points in
history, causing one or more gargoyle knights to
wake once in modern days, then centuries earlier
in ancient Rome or China, then again centuries
later on a Martian colony, and so on. Wherever
their stone forms might be transported for
display can serve as a setting for Cael’s return.
CREDITS
DESIGN: William Massa. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: William Massa & Jun Ares, istockphoto by gettyimages.
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS: K8 Smith, edited from “Nights Gargoyle” by Mark Bennett and
“IMG_4743” by Brian Jeffery Beggerly, both licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Cael’s means of returning can also vary. The
restoration of the Eye of Balor reanimates his
stone body, but that doesn’t have to be his only
access to the mortal realm. His powerful mind
might also possess the body of a scholar studying
Celtic artifacts, for example. This would leave
him physically more vulnerable than usual, but
also more difficult to locate, until the heroes
discover his new identity.
As an alternative, Cael could reincarnate in the
body of some offspring he spawned during one
of his sojourns on earth. This offspring could
possess some of the gargoyle abilities of his—or
her—father, at the Game Host’s discretion.
ARMAGEDDON ARRIVES: While the default
story of this setting involves a recurring plot for
supernatural conquest, mostly behind the scenes
of modern life, one campaign possibility is all-out
supernatural war, involving more than one
inhuman faction.
Vampires and their offspring, for example, are
unlikely to welcome the demon Balor as earth’s
new master; they like the world and their role in it
as things are. In a post-Apocalyptic age falling
under the command of Balor, his Fomor
servants, his half-human druid commander Cael,
and possibly some minor demons working with
them, human military forces and gargoyle knights
could find vampires fighting on their side—
whether openly or behind the scenes.
ALIEN INVADERS: This twist on the
Armageddon idea sees the gargoyle knights
awakened as humanity’s last line of defense
against the threat of invasion from another
planet. (Think Gargoyle Knight meets War of the
Worlds.) Whether reanimated in a desperate occult
ritual, through some military experiment, or even
by the alliens’ own super-science, the gargoyle
knights could face the invaders in the alien
environment of their own vessels.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

GHOST OF A CHANCE
Lester Smith
Adventure as the spirits of
people who have died before
their appointed time.

BACKGROUND
Ghost stories and supernatural
tales have long been with us, but
the late 1800s and early 1900s
saw a rise of spiritualism in the
Western hemisphere, perhaps as
a reaction to the mechanistic
advances of the Industrial Age.
Mediums, spirit boards,
divination through Tarot cards,
and ectoplasm became
household terms. Many of the
wealthy, powerful, and famous—
from Arthur Conan Doyle to
Nancy Reagan—became
obsessed with a “spirit world”
that surrounds and permeates
our own.
The Ghost of a Chance
setting plays on those beliefs,
reflecting popular fiction and
film from Carnaki the Ghost
Finder (contemporary with
Sherlock Holmes), to
Ghostbusters, to The Sixth Sense
(and many, many others*).
While the Ghost of a Chance setting is SKILLS
written with a serious tone, you can easily Besides those listed in Basic Skills chapter, ghosts
enough play it for comedy instead. The setting may choose from the following supernatural
also assumes a relatively modern time period, skills. The numbers after each skill indicate
from the Victorian era to 21st century, but effects of varying Success Levels on a d6×d6 roll.
stories in other ages are also possible. An ANIMATE DEAD
adventure might even include ghosts from This power is a sort of “puppetry” with
different time periods. corpses. 1. Animate your own corpse; 2.
Animate someone else’s corpse; 3. Animate a
OCCUPATIONS number of corpses equal to your Success
In this setting, occupation is whatever the Levels; 4. Animate the remains of any formerly
character was employed as before death. living creature (including fossilized bones).

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LESTER SMITH
APPEAR
Become visible in a reflective surface or a
flame for 1. one second; 2. ten seconds; 3.
one minute; 4. ten minutes.
DECAY
Cause organic material to rot at your touch.
1. spoil food; 2. mildew and weaken objects
of wood; 3. drain life (Graze damage); rot
living flesh (Stun damage).
DEMATERIALIZE
Allows a ghost to pass through a physical
object, or makes a physical object partially
ectoplasmic, allowing it to be manipulated by
ghosts. 1. one kilo; 2. 10 kilos; 3. 100 kilos; 4.
1,000 kilos.
DREAM WALK
Enter the dream of a sleeping person for 1. one
second; 2. ten seconds; 3. one minute; 4. one
hour.
GLOOM
Create local darkness. 1. dim a room; 2. make a
room pitch black; 3. summon clouds; 4. cause
a thunderstorm.
HALLUCINATE
Make a conscious person see a vision 1. an instant;
2. one second; 3. ten seconds; 4. one minute.
KNOCK
Create an audible sound. 1. a tap; 2. a short
series of thumps; 3. a loud banging; 4. a wall-
rattling boom.
LEVITATE
Cause an object to rise vertically as if lifted.
1. a few centimeters; 2. a meter; 3. a few
meters; 4. violently up to ten meters.
MANIPULATE
Interact with electrical or mechanical objects
for one round per Success Level. 1. drain the
energy from electrical devices in a room; 2.
manipulate an electrical or mechanical speaker;
3. manipulate the sound and image of a TV,
computer screen, or camera; 4. possess and
operate a mechanical device.
POSSESS
Enter and control a living creature for one
night. 1. a small animal; 2. a medium animal; 3. a
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large animal; 4. a human being. (A person may
make a Will roll to shake off possession when in
danger or coerced to commit an evil act.)
PUSH
Cause an object to move horizontally as if
carried. 1. a few centimeters; 2. a meter; 3. a
few meters; 4. as a thrown object.
SPEAK TO LIVING
Whisper one audible word per Success Level.
STENCH
Create an odor 1. of sour milk; 2. of rotten eggs;
3. of vomit or feces; 4. of days-old corpses.
WAIL
Cause an indistinct sound of 1. moaning; 2. quiet
weeping; 3. loud sobbing; 4. shrieking laughter.
WILL-O-WISPS
Create light and heat. 1. of a firefly; 2. of a
flickering candle; 3. of a torch; 4. of a bonfire.
WRITE
Scrawl a number of letters equal to your dice
roll. 1. on steamed or frosty glass; 2. in
vaporous ectoplasm; 3. in dripping blood; 4.
scratched as if with a knife. (Level 4 can cause
Graze damage against living creatures.)
SPECIAL RULES
Ghostly existence has different conditions and
challenges from those experienced by living
souls.
CAUSE OF DEATH
As part of character creation, players should
each declare how their character died. Ghosts
tend to display the wounds of their death in
the afterlife. Additionally, cause of death will
often give the Game Host ways for involving
the characters in an adventure.
GHOSTS AND REALITY
Ghosts’ ectoplasmic bodies are unable to
directly affect the material world. The material
world, on the other hand is all too solid for
ghosts. Other than by use of the Dematerialize
skill, ghosts cannot manipulate physical objects
nor walk through walls. Ghosts struck by
physical objects do take damage.
The merest touch of daylight evaporates
ghosts until night returns. For this reason,
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
most Ghost of a Chance
adventures begin at sunset and
end (or are suspended) at sunrise.
Typically, wherever a ghost
appears at the very beginning of
an adventure is where that ghost
reappears each night at sundown.
Ghosts can work around this
restriction by either possessing a
physical creature during the day
or by hiding within a light-proof
object or space.

GHOSTLY MOVEMENT
Although ghosts can walk (or
glide) similar to their living pace,
they can also instantaneously
appear at any spot they can
clearly see. (So while they may
not be able to open a door to
leave a house, they can easily exit
at any uncovered window.) In
some cases, the Game Host may
allow characters to roll for
success passing through a
translucent barrier, or even
appear at a spot they can clearly
envision in their mind’s eye (a
very familiar room, for example).

GHOSTLY COMMUNICATION world, and haunting (intentional or not) of the

Unlike the living, ghosts do not speak via
sound waves and language. Instead, they
communicate thought to thought. While this
allows ghosts of any time or culture to easily
“talk” with one another, it raises difficulty
communicating with mortals. Simply put,
ghosts do not remember living languages. Only
by use of the Speak to Living or the Write
skills can they gropingly communicate a few
words or letters of mortal language. The
Dream Walk skill allows a ghost to
communicate thought-to-thought with a living
being, though how well that message may be
recalled when the living recipient awakens is
uncertain. More often, what remains in the
living brain is an image, a mood, or a desire.
THE GHOSTLY REALM
While most Ghost of a Chance adventures
involve ghostly interactions with the physical
living, the afterlife is also host to many terrible
supernatural creatures of mythology and
imagination. Often an adventure will involve
averting a supernatural threat to the living
world (as in the example adventure, below).
EQUIPMENT
Equipment isn’t of much use in the afterlife.
That having been said, ghosts tend to appear in
the clothes they died in and possess
ectoplasmic replicas of items precious to them
in life. To affect the real world, however,
ghosts must find a way to make do with items
in their current environment.
DENIZENS
Much of the enjoyment of playing dead
people is in haunting the living, especially the
guilty. For this reason, most Ghost of a
Chance adventures take place in the material

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LESTER SMITH
world, where living creatures of all types can
be found.
The players’ characters are not the only
supernatural beings haunting this world,
however. Other ghosts may be encountered, as
well as any sort of creature of legend. The
heroes may also find themselves facing higher
powers—both angels and demons. Beings such
as these straddle the boundary between the
natural and supernatural worlds, making them
less vulnerable to ghostly powers.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE TRAGIC SCHOOLBUS
This adventure is intended for six souls who
have died tragically on the same night at
different spots around the US. Their deaths are
spaced an hour apart, from midnight to 6 a.m.:
the first in New Orleans, LA; the second in
Thompson’s Harbor State Park, MI; the third
in Shamrock, TX; the fourth in Lexington,
NC; the fifth in Watertown, SD; and the sixth
again in New Orleans. Together, these
locations form an inverted pentagram on the
US map, with each point roughly 666 miles
from the St. Louis Arch at the center.
During character creation, as your players
each describe their heroes’ lives, pair them to
these locales as seems fitting. For instance a
lumberjack might best fit the Michigan locale, a
musician New Orleans, and so on. If your
group has fewer than five characters, you can fill
in the missing slots with helpless Game Host-
run “extras.” If your group has more six players,
the bonus deaths can take place all together at 6
a.m. in St. Louis, as tourists if nothing else.
Let all the players invent their heroes’ cause
of death, as usual, but as you listen, consider
ways in which another person might have
contrived those deaths. With this accomplished,
you are ready to start the adventure.
ACT I: ANOTHER ONE RIDES THE BUS
Begin with the player of the first New
Orleans victim. Describe each character’s
moment of death as the player presented it,
but work in a shadowy figure who shows up
at the final moment with an athane (a ritual
dagger), dips it in the hero’s blood, and traces
it onto a map.
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Then tell the player, “Your vision fades to
black, and you dream you are on a school bus,
during the day, with a rowdy group of middle
schoolers. The bus stops, and the driver says,
‘Everyone needs to settle down before I can
open the door.’ Through the right-side
windows, you see the St. Louis arch. Suddenly,
the bus lurches from an impact on its left,
throwing children violently from their seats!
You hear screaming, and the dream fades. You
wake up after dark, in an empty school bus,
with the distant chiming of a clock counting
midnight.”
Allow the player a little time to react,
explore, and ask questions. This is a great
opportunity to introduce a new player to the
game by letting the character discover
firsthand that ghosts cannot affect the bus
itself (can’t budge doors, windows, or even the
radio mike), but that staring outside and
wishing to be there means instant transport.
Before the other players have time to grow
bored, though, say, “The clock strikes one,”
and turn to the second player. Describe that
character’s death, the mysterious figure using
the athane to inscribe the hero’s blood on a
map, and the same dream. This time, however,
it lasts a few seconds longer, allowing the
character to turn and discover that a fuel truck
has collided with the bus. Fuel is spilling
everywhere, and the truck driver looks
stunned. He pulls out a cigarette…and the
dream fades. The character joins the first on a
bus, at night, as a distant clock chimes “One.”
Introduce each character this way, at “Two,”
“Three,” and so on, allowing them some time to
introduce themselves and explore a bit before
each new ghost arrives. With each new ghost,
the dream runs a few seconds longer:
 At “Two,” the truck driver lights a match;
 At “Three” his eyes grow vacant, and he
tosses the match out his window;
 At “Four” the spilled fuel erupts in flames;
 At “Five” flame envelopes the bus, and
the children begin to burn;
 At “Six” their flaming souls fill the space
beneath the archway, creating a portal
through which demons begin to enter the
living world.

ACT II: MISSOURI LOVES COMPANY
With that nightmare hanging over them, the
heroes have roughly an hour before sunup to
begin searching for answers. Some of this
information may have been discovered during
Act I, if any of the heroes specifically sought it
out. Sunup interrupts their investigation, of
course, but sundown will find them all
reappearing on the bus, with a full night to
explore further.
Exploring the bus itself, the characters may
notice that it is the same as in their dream—
same bus number (13), same license plate, and
so on—though completely undamaged. If the
dream is of a real event, obviously that event
has not yet happened.
In a metal emergency medical kit under the
driver’s seat is a copy of the map pictured
above (though without the numbers in black).
Players may recognize the points of the
pentagram as matching the locales of their
characters’ deaths.
The bus is parked in a lot with many others.
All bear Missouri license plates.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
At one end of the lot is a one-story building
that serves as the bus company’s office. At the
other end of the lot is a garage capable of
holding two buses for repair, with all the
appropriate tools. One bus sits inside, hood
open, its engine partially disassembled, with
parts carefully arranged on drop cloths on the
cement around it.
Exploring the office building reveals a wall
calendar with a Friday circled and marked
“Gosling Middle School Field Trip, Arch, Bus
13.” If the heroes find this calendar on the first
night of the adventure, the Thursday before
the field trip remains uncrossed. On the
second night of their appearance, that
Thursday is crossed off as well.
If the heroes explore further afield, they
find themselves wandering the streets of Creve
Coeur, MO, a St. Louis suburb of roughly
18,000 people, with many mid- to late-20th
century homes. Most businesses are closed
during the night while ghosts are up and about.
By this point, the heroes will likely have
figured out that their deaths were sacrifices
LESTER SMITH
leading up to the larger sacrifice of a busload
of middle schoolers. To stop the latter event,
they will need to ensure that this particular bus
does not make that trip. Most likely they will
come up with plenty of ideas for preventing it.
ACT III: LAST STOP
Assuming the heroes stopped the field trip
from happening, they will have prevented the
St. Louis Arch from becoming a 63-story-tall
gateway to Hell. Not everyone is happy about
that, of course.
At sundown on the Friday night of the
thwarted field trip, the heroes find themselves
again on the bus. But this time they have
company. The figure with the athane and map
stands outside the bus, chanting a ceremony.
He has marked the windows and doors with
the characters’ blood, preventing them from
exiting by “normal” ghostly movement. After
the heroes appear, he begins spraying the bus
with fuel from the bus company’s pump,
intending to set it alight and offer their spirits
as an appeasement to his hellish masters. The
heroes will have to use their ghostly powers to
best effect—and quickly—to defeat him, or
find themselves on a bus ride to Hell!
THE CONDUCTOR: Name: N/A. Gender: Male.
Age: Adult. Attributes: Will Focused; Grace
Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused Gloom, Open
Dimensional Portal (Ritual), Possess, Second
Language (Hellish), Summon Ghosts;
Unfocused Athane, Vehicle: Bus, Computer.
Special Abilities: Protective Sphere (magical light
armor); Teleport (2 meters). Focus: 5.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan. ILLUSTRATIONS: K8 Smith.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“Hammond's Map of the US” photo by Sue Clark is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
“martyrdom of saint cecilia” photo by Xuan Che is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and has been edited.
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ADVENTURE SEEDS
WILL TO LIVE: One of the heroes was
murdered before signing a new will. Who was
behind the murder, and can the spirit sign post
mortem?
DEATH HOUSE: The heroes find themselves
bound to their own decaying bodies. Can they
break the curse before being “buried undead”
forever?
ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN: One of the
heroes has died at home, in a remote locale,
with only a beloved pet. Can the ghosts find
the dog a new home, before it dies of grief (or
eats its former master)?
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Although the sample adventure provides a
unified reason behind the heroes’ deaths, this
needn’t always be the case. Adventures can
spawn from investigating each character’s
death as a separate mystery, or from resolving
unfinished business with a loved one.
*ADDITIONAL INSPIRATION
Other recommendations include The Uninvited
(1944), Carnival of Souls (1962), The Changeling
(1980), Beetlejuice (1988), The Lady in White
(1988), Ghost (1990), The Frighteners (1996), Stir of
Echoes (1999), The Others (2001), Death of a Ghost
Hunter (2007), Haunter (2013), and R.I.P.D
(2013), among others. Also check out the
“Haunted Attic,” home of the Lost Souls RPG.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF JESSIE SHIMMER

Lucy A. Snyder
In Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, Switchblade
Goddess, and Devils’ Field, author Lucy
A. Snyder presents the perilous
adventures of witch-in-training Jessie
Shimmer, who travels to hell and
back to rescue her lover and mentor,
Cooper Marron—while facing
demons and vengeful deities alike.

BACKGROUND
Sorceress Jessie Shimmer lives on a
modern Earth in which magic is
hidden just below the surface of
everyday society. Beings known as the
Virtus Regnum enforce ancient laws
that keep Talents—the world’s
sorcerers, witches, and wizards—from
taking over the mundane world.
Meanwhile, Talents (under the
guidance of their local Governing
Circles) quietly protect humanity from
the things that go bump in the night.
Jessie’s world is filled with secret
portals to pocket dimensions, most
of those being hells created by devils
such as Goads (see Denizens below),
but some the work of demigods and
other dark entities who walk the
Earth and look upon humanity as
mainly a delicious snack food.

OCCUPATIONS
Characters—whether they are
Talents, familiars, mundane citizens,
demihumans, or magical creatures—
all have an occupation, legal or
illegal. Mundane (non-magical)
characters can be anything you’d find in the world exists in parallel to the human/Talent
modern world (see the Occupations chapter). world, and fae mostly stick to their own realm.
If others need to operate in the human world Talents have their own neighborhoods, bars,
to survive, they’ll work a job in which they can restaurants, and shops that are enchanted to
best pass as human, or they’ll work in a make them invisible or repellent to mundanes.
demimonde in which their nonhuman natures Some Talents refuse to go out in mundane
either don’t matter or are esteemed. The fairy human society at all, but others (particularly

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LESTER SMITH
beginners from mundane families) lead double
lives, working a job for money while studying or
practicing magic at night. Some talents have
familiars; a familiar could potentially be a player’s
character (see Special Rules below). Some types
of magic to choose from include the following:
ALCHEMY: This magical science focuses on
transmuting substances from one element into
another. Many alchemists also study mundane
chemistry and physics.
AMOROMANCY: Also known as “passion weavers,”
practitioners of this magic take energy from a person
engaged in something that she or he truly loves—
dancing, singing, art, sex, music, etc.—and redirect
that energy into a spell. The type of spell depends on
how much energy the amoromancer can absorb and
his or her skill in using the energy. This art is a kissing
cousin to ubiquemancy, and some amoromancers
use ubiquemancy and vice versa. Amoromancers
who mainly use sexual energy are known as
erotomancers.
NECROMANCY*: In polite society, death magic
practitioners typically identify themselves as
sorcerers and sorceresses, since necromancers are
outlawed by the Virtus Regnum. Not for the faint
of heart or the strong of morals.
SANTERIA*: This Afro-Catholic magic system is
based on invoking the assistance of saints such as
Santa Muerte, the saint of death.
SORCERY*: This is a darker, more morally
questionable (though not illegal) brand of
thaumaturgy (see below). Beware the sorcerer’s
refrigerator: that’s not rice in the takeout container!
THAUMATURGY: This is traditional magic based
on memorized spells, use of magical items,
potion brewing, etc. Most Talents who identify as
wizards are thaumaturges.
UBIQUEMANCY: Sometimes dismissed as
“Babblers” by Talents unfamiliar or secretly
envious of the art, ubiquemancers find the
magic in everyday objects and mundane
substances and invoke it through a spur-of-the-
moment chant in a lost or primal language.
There is no spell memorization; this art relies on
instinct, improvisation, and imagination to focus
ambient magical energies. A truly talented
ubiquemancer could use a feather to cast a spell
for flight, or a thread from a frayed cuff to cast
a magical binding incantation.
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VODUN*: This is traditional Afro-Carribean
magic based on invoking the assistance of loas
and other spirits.
WITCHCRAFT*: This traditional folk magic
focuses on creating potions and charms with
magic herbs and other natural ingredients, and on
invoking the assistance of spirits. Many healers
practice white witchcraft, following the motto:
“Do what thou wilt, and harm none.” But the
motto of dark witches and warlocks is more
simply: “Do what thou wilt.”
*The Virtus Regnum and most local Governing Circles
take a dim view of any magical craft that veers into
outright necromancy. (See Special Rules below.)
SKILLS
All characters in this setting can choose from the
default skill list in the Basic Skills chapter. Talents
can also choose from the following magical skills,
tuned to whichever magical system they study
(see Occupations above). To be used, however,
these skills must be ranked as either Focused or
Unfocused. None can be used if ranked
Unfamiliar. Note also that familiars can also
know these skills so as to telepathically assist their
masters in using them.
ANIMAL CONTROL: Now that you’ve
summoned all those cats, you might as well make
them weed your garden.
ARCANA: “Why, I believe those are the
handprints of a coin goblin, Malargentus dammit,
and this explains why money keeps jamming in
the soda machine downstairs.…”
DIMENSIONAL ARCHITECTURE: The craft of
making something much bigger on the inside.
DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL: Clever wizards can find
secret portals to cross vast distances in an instant.
Even cleverer wizards know how to make them.
DIVINATION: This is magic for people who
enjoy spoilers.
ENCHANTMENT: This is the craft of imbuing
objects with special properties. Make that Hitachi
wand extra-magical!
FIRE CONTROL: Who needs a light? Who needs
a fireball?
HEALING: With potions, poultices, and prayers,
a basic healer can set a broken arm, but a master
can cure someone suffering from lycanthropy.

ICE CONTROL: Ice-producing wizards are popular
at every cocktail party.
ILLUSION: That fire-breathing dragon isn’t real,
but the screaming townsfolk don’t know that!
MAGICAL LANGUAGE: Taking Latin in high
school was way more useful that you ever
imagined!
PLANT CONTROL: Weed killer is for mundanes.
So is fertilizer.
POTION BREWING: The craft of brewing
potions and liquors imbued with magical
properties. Note: Love Potion #9 is illegal in
many places.
RESURRECTION: You missed Grandma so
much that you brought her back to life. Now
you’re a fugitive from the Virtus Regnum, and
Grandma has a taste for human blood.…
SUMMONING: A high-level summoning could
bring a Virtus; a low-level summoning might
bring the neighborhood cats.
TELEPATHY: Texting is for mundanes.
TRANSMUTATION: Turn lead into gold, wood
into steel, tree leaves into paper money.
Unfortunately, unless you’re a master, the effects
are temporary.… (For permanent transformation,
see an alchemist.)
WEATHER CONTROL: Rain, rain, go away!
ZOMBIFICATION: Morals, schmorals, who
doesn’t want to raise an undead army?
SPECIAL RULES
Given how deeply magic permeates the world of
Jessie Shimmer, and how widely it is adapted on
the spot to particular needs, a list of specific
spells and effects cannot do the setting justice.
Instead, players should suggest magical effects
characters wish to accomplish, based on their
choice of occupation, skills, and current desire.
The Game Host should then decide task
difficulty, Success Levels needed, and actual
effect. In other words, magic in this setting
should be role-played more than “gamed.” Let
the descriptions in this chapter and the events in
the novels spur your magical creativity.
With that in mind, here are further details about
familiars, ubiquimancers, and forbidden magic.
FAMILIARS
Some familiars are simply animals who bond with
a witch or wizard and can serve as his or her eyes
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and ears. Other familiars are Talents whose
spirits have been bound to animal bodies as
punishment for some infraction, and who serve
their sentences as magical servants. While laws
ensure humane treatment of these servants, some
Talents object to such slavery and refuse to take
familiars. Other Talents take familiars not
realizing what (or who) they might be getting.
Talented familiars have limited magical abilities
while bound to their animal bodies, but they have
full access to their own memories, and they can
provide magical instruction and advice to the
Talent they’re serving. The Game Host can use a
familiar to offer tips to players who need a little
nudge to get on the right path.
Familiars communicate with their masters via
telepathy, which works best in line of sight. Talents
and familiars who have been together at least a year
can communicate at longer distances (a mile per
year of association), even out of line of sight.
Any animal of reasonable size can serve as a
familiar, but the most common are cats, dogs,
birds of prey, rats, ferrets, snakes, parrots, rabbits,
bears, wolves, etc. Players whose characters have a
familiar must discuss with the Game Host what
form it possesses, how it is cared for, and generally
how it suits the character’s lifestyle—especially in
an urban setting. Familiars can fight or flee using
the physical abilities of their animal form.
UBIQUEMANCERS
Because ubiquemancy does not involve formal
spell memorization, ubiquemancers are limited
mostly by their ability to control magic in general
and their own imaginations. That said, the more
often a ubiquemancer succeeds at a particular
magical task, the better she or he gets at it.
Complexity and power matter: It’s easier to create
a spark than a massive fireball, or to paralyze a
cockroach instead of a huge dragon.
FORBIDDEN MAGIC
Though Talents are forbidden from revealing magic
to the public at large; some Talents are hired to
discreetly perform beneficial magic for mundanes.
Wealthy persons or communities in the know may
secretly employ Talents to bring rain for crops, to
heal an otherwise incurable disease, and so on, and
local Governing Circles tend to turn a blind eye to
this. If a spell goes awry, special agents are deployed
to repair the damage, wipe the memories of
mundane witnesses, and arrest the perpetrator.
LESTER SMITH
Talents are also forbidden from creating items
that would wreak havoc in mundane communities,
such as brewing and selling love potions at the local
high school, using divination to win in casinos or
the stock market, spending illusory money in shops,
using invisibility to shoplift, etc.
Because most towns have a magical Governing
Circle, rebellious wizards and witches prefer to live
out in the woods beyond their reach. However,
even backwoods witches are subject to Virtus
Regnum oversight.
The Regnum gets involved when magical
mayhem threatens a large mundane population.
They also always investigate any case of grand
necromancy. While resurrecting or zombifying
animals is frowned upon, it would not attract the
attention of the Regnum unless a sorcerer, say,
zombified an entire wolf pack and used it to
terrorize the locals. But resurrecting or zombifying
humans always counts as grand necromancy.
Similarly, while a spell requiring the sacrifice
of a single bird would be seen as distasteful,
stealing and slaughtering pets for magic would
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certainly violate local governing circle
laws, and intentionally sacrificing a
child would bring the Virtus Regnum
to execute the necromancer.
All forbidden magic runs the risk
of detection. This risk increases with
the severity of the infraction, as
decided by the Game Host.
EQUIPMENT
Any items appropriate to the modern
world are appropriate, as are any
imaginable magical items, as long as
these aren’t used around mundanes.
DENIZENS
While dealing with the schemes of
other Talents, characters may run
afoul of the following beings.
GOAD: Trans-dimensional, pain-
devouring devils, each goad weaves a
private hell in a pocket dimension to
capture souls and torment them for
sustenance. Goads set invisible portals
to snare the unwary. In appearance,
they are huge formless masses with
hearts of burning magma.
GOVERNING CIRCLE: Membership in some
Governing Circles is through democratic election.
In others, it’s an inherited role, and members are
treated as nobility. In all circles, members tend to
come from the most powerful families.
GOVERNING CIRCLE AGENTS: These Talents
are equivalent to plain-clothes police or sheriff’s
deputies, though tasked with enforcing local magical
laws. Some agents are helpful; others are bullies.
VIRTUS: Virtii are powerful trans-dimensional
beings devoted to the Virtus Regnum. Some
Talents liken them to angels, but the Virtii are
merely concerned with rules and order and have
little interest in protecting humanity. A Virtus
generally appears as a huge, floating orrery of
crystalline eyes orbiting a glowing magma heart.
Virtii can cast spells, but they generally attack with
plasma pseudopods that whip out from their heart
at great speed; a touch of one could instantly
vaporize an object as large as an automobile. Virtii
can also glow bright as a sun, blinding anyone in
the vicinity. They can create their own portals at

will, frequently causing storms as they tear open
holes in the sky to converge on a fugitive. Squaring
off against a Virtus is pretty much guaranteed
suicide; fleeing one is merely a temporary stay of
execution; and even attempting to reason with one
is difficult, like debating shades of morality with a
holy computer.
VIRTUS REGNUM AGENTS: These human
Talents work for the Regnum and are the
equivalent of federal agents in Jessie Shimmer’s
world. They’re authorized to kill any Talent they
believe is threatening a mundane population.
WUTGANGER: A Wutganger is a spirit of
mindless pain, rage, and hate. Each is created
when a strong Talented soul has been tormented
so terribly and for so long in a hell that it breaks.
To escape utter destruction, the sane, rational
part of the soul divests all its capacity for evil and
destruction into a lesser fragment. This fragment
becomes a Wutganger. If it escapes from its hell
into the real world, it can cause tremendous
damage, projecting violent hate into the minds of
all creatures in its vicinity.
Battling a Wutganger is not a simple matter of
physical or magical prowess. Usually the best that
can be hoped for is to escape its hell if facing it
there, or to trick it into returning if encountered
in our world. Some few very brave Talents have,
however, destroyed a Wutganger by confronting
it with the memory of its own creation, while
avoiding succumbing to its madness themselves.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
DINNER WITH RUFUS
On a mission to the South, the heroes tangle with
an undead preacher and his zombie clan.
ACT I: TRAVELING SOUTH
The bad news is a werewolf bit one of the heroes!
Come the next full moon, the curse will take
hold. The good news is they know a Vodun
priestess who can cure the bite before then:
Madame Devereaux. So they road trip to her
magnolia-shaded ranch house on the bayou.
She says that for the ritual, she’ll needs her
statuette of Marinette, the patron loa of shape-
shifters, but she lent it to Boudreaux Metier a few
months ago, when a wererat bit one of his coon
hounds. She hasn’t heard from him since. With
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directions to his house out in the swampy pines,
the group is on its way.
If the characters use a GPS, it ends their path
about a mile before Boudreaux’s house. They’ll
have to park and walk, using their own skills to
find it. Once they’re close, the scent of carrion
leads them the rest of the way.
Crossing the low rock wall that marks
Boudreaux’s property line (about a quarter mile
from the house), Talents or familiars might notice
(on a Difficult Will roll) that a magic-damping field
prevents spell use, though enchanted items work
just fine. Portable phones don’t work either. Inside
this border, the air is hushed and smells strongly of
rot. If characters search for traps, they find nothing.
Finally a run-down two-story house with
double wraparound porches dripping with
Spanish moss comes into view. As they approach,
a tall man in a tattered dress shirt and tactical
pants emerges and waits for them. He appears
unarmed. Coming closer, the group finds that he
his hair is a filthy, gray-streaked blond mane, his
long beard is turning to dreadlocks, and beneath
it they spot a stained clerical collar. He doesn’t
seem to have showered in months.
Brother Hiram identifies himself and demands
their purpose on the property. If they ask after
Boudreaux, he says the man is busy. If they mention
Madame Devereaux, he spits “That Hoodoo
witch?” and accuses the group of witchcraft.
ACT II: MUD WRESTLING
Suddenly, there’s an ominous rustling of leaves, and
zombies—three per hero—emerge from hiding
places in the ground. Brother Hiram orders them to
“Grab them witches and get ’em down!” and the
zombies obey. Small familiars will flee into the
woods—“Goin’ for help, boss!”—while larger ones
stay and fight. (See the stats for Brother Hiram and
the zombies at adventure’s end.)
The zombies wrestle the heroes to the ground
and disarm them. To simulate this tussle, allow
the players to each make their choice of a Brawn
or Grace roll for their character. Meanwhile, the
Game Host should make a group Brawn roll for
the zombies—plus a Will roll for Brother
Hiram—pair those dice for best effect, and then
distribute three zombies to each character. Any
hero who acts before all three zombies attacking
him or her, and who also scores more Success
Levels than those three zombies do together, is
LESTER SMITH
free to flee. Otherwise the hero is subdued. Any
free heroes who choose to stay and help their
friends must go through the process again, this
time facing not only their three attackers but also
any zombies who failed their own previous roll.
Chances are there won’t be a third round.
Characters who flee can hide out of sight in
the brush, awaiting a chance to help.
Captured characters are dragged to a nearby
shed, and their arms are tied to heavy wooden
crosspieces about six feet long. They are then
forced to their feet and down a muddy path to a
nearby lake. (Captured familiars are left tied up in
the shed, where they remain in telepathic contact
with their masters.) Near the shore, the group
passes through a gate in Boudreax’s property-line
wall (which they may realize means outside the
spell-damping field).
At the lakeside, the heroes are hoisted onto
posts adorned with hooks for the wooden
crosspieces, where their feet dangling inches
above the water. Then Brother Hiram rings a big
brass bell and hollers, “Rufus! Suppertime, boy!”
ACT III: RUFUS
A low grinding across the water. It sounds like a
huge crypt slab being dragged across the hollow
marble floor of a mausoleum. The captives smell
the sharp rankness of reptile, and what seems an
enormous half-submerged tree trunk drifts toward
them on the water. It soon reveals itself to be a
monstrously huge gator, easily twenty feet long,
with a maw of jagged teeth the size of steak knives.
From its milky eyes and tattered hide, the heroes
realize that this gator has been zombiefied.
At this point, the werewolf-bitten hero’s
adrenaline kicks in, starting the curse early! The
transformation tears through the ropes binding the
hero. Startled, Brother Hiram runs away, with his
zombies lurching after, leaving the heroes to Rufus.
Rufus is tough to beat (see below), but he won’t
leave the lake, and he stays only as long as there’s
“easy meat” hanging from a post. With one
character already free (the werewolf) to keep him
occupied, and spells available again, that shouldn’t
be for long. Once Rufus leaves, the werewolf
CREDITS
DESIGN: Lucy A. Snyder. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Dan Dos Santos. NECROMANCER ILLUSTRATION: K8 Smith.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
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regains his or her senses and transforms back.
Returning to Boudreax’s house, the group
discovers that Brother Hiram and his zombies are
nowhere around. They find the statuette in an attic
room, along with some other items of potential
use (at the Game Host’s discretion).
BROTHER HIRAM: Gender: Male. Age: 40s.
Attributes: Will Focused; Grace Unfamilar.
Occupation: Necromancer. Skills: Focused Animal
Control, Persuasion, Resurrection, Sneaking,
Summoning, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Arcana,
Potion Brewing, Telepathy (with undead). Special
Abilities: Undead, can’t be killed by anything short
of decapitation or total incineration. Focus: 7.
ZOMBIES: Gender: Any. Age: Any. Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Zombie. Skills: Focused Athletics, Sneaking;
Unfocused Throwing, Tracking. Special Abilities:
Destroyed only by decapitation, incineration, or
dismemberment. Focus: 3. Notes: Dismembered
parts remain animated for an hour.
RUFUS: Gender: NA. Age: NA. Attributes: Brawn
Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Undead Gator.
Skills: Focused Swimming; Unfocused Sneaking.
Special Abilities: Destroyed only by decapitation,
incineration, or dismemberment. Jaws do Wound
damage; tail does Hit damage. Focus: 2. Notes:
Dismembered parts remain animated for an hour.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
GET FLUFFY: Bessie Sagecroft’s beloved dragon
Fluffy has gone missing. Your source says that
cultists downtown have captured and plan to
sacrifice the dragon.
DEVILS’ FOOD CAKE: People keep disappearing
near the 4th Street Bridge. Turns out an
enormous Goad has laid a trap there. Find the
entrance and defeat the Goad in its hell.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
In a world of gods, monsters, magic and mayhem,
the possibilities for campaigns are endless. Take a
look at the various Jessie Shimmer novels for
plenty of campaign and adventure ideas.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

KHITUS—THE WORLD OF
DRAGON KINGS
Timothy Brown
In 2013, I decided to take a variety of
fantasy role-playing concepts that had
been floating around in my head and
commit them to paper. With the help
of Kickstarter, Dragon Kings was born.
Khitus is a game world in its infancy,
adapted here to D6×D6 RPG rules.
—Timothy Brown

BACKGROUND
Khitus is a world in steep decline,
where once-magnificent nations are
now blown over with the dust of a
dying landscape. The beneficent
Dragon Kings once watched over
them all as caretakers of a glorious
and prosperous age, but these
magical creatures have inexplicably
vanished, allowing men’s darker
natures to emerge as wars, plunder,
and despotism. Krikis insects and
Cold Skin lizards are ascendant,
newly awakened to intelligence,
demanding their place on the world
stage. Interlopers from without,
terrible Dragon King Pretenders,
oversee the wanton plunder of
Khitus from their Black Fortress.
Your characters are the new heroes
that the world so desperately needs. Dragon Kings or for the ancient animalistic
gods as new deities); or apostle (psionic and
OCCUPATIONS mundane followers of the Prophet). Any
Common occupations for adventurers in this number of other vocations are also possible—
world include soldier (foot or either thakal or see the Occupations chapter for inspiration.
swafa cavalry), usually as part of a city or
caravan guard; mage (each belonging to a SKILLS
magic college with its unique methodology for From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics,
mitigating magic’s ire); hunter or tracker, Bargaining, First Aid, Lockpicking, Martial
traveling entertainer (nyutu jugglers); priest Arts, Navigation, Persuasion, Pickpocketing,
(advocating either for the return of the absent Ride Animal, Shooting, Sneaking, Swimming,

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LESTER SMITH
Throwing, and Tracking apply. Four other
skills receive special treatment in this setting.
LANGUAGES
Human languages on Khitus are divided by
tribal groups, and each principal non-human
race has its own language. There is no
“common tongue.”
 Human Attan Group: Attan-Prajal-Chindi
 SPECIAL RULES
 Human Makad Group: Makad-Nordran
 Pachyesh Group: Pachyesh-Watish
 Independent Languages: Penaian,
Oritahl (Cold Skin), Krikish (Insect)
LITERACY
The ability to read is not widespread. Only
characters with a scholarly occupation or with
the Literacy or Magic skill can read and write
the languages they know.
MAGIC
Although full spell lists are beyond the scope
of this chapter, any level-based fantasy magic
system can be imported into this setting by
using the following guidelines:
 treating spell level as required Success
Levels to cast the spell;
 converting any spell duration to two-
second combat rounds;
 compare any spell damage effects to the
default weapon ratings in the Conflict and
Damage chapter.
Magic on Khitus does not want to be
disturbed, however. Unmitigated, it unleashes
its wrath against an offending wizard, his loved
ones, or his community (making sorcery the
“orphan’s trade,” as no one wishes to be
associated with a wizard). That wrath takes the
form of sickness and pain, plague and famine,
and all manner of misfortunes.
PSIONICS
The “magic that is not magic” is a forgotten art
on Khitus, only recently reawakened by the
mysterious Prophet, a desert wanderer
delivering two things: a message of universal
brotherhood and love, and an awakening of
dormant psionic ability in some people in his
presence. Those who are awakened slowly
discover the untapped powers of their own
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minds for the manipulation of the material
world and the minds and attitudes of others,
making them ideal apostles for the Prophet to
further wander the world spreading his
message of peace in otherwise troubled times.
Psionic skills and effects can be imported
from other D6×D6 setting chapters.
Magical backlash, the intervention of gods, and
a mysterious “iron virus” all play a role in life
on Khitus.
SORCERY’S WRATH
Each time a wizard casts a high-level spell, he
must roll for its basic success. Any spell failure
brings on Sorcery’s Wrath, directed against the
caster, his loved ones, or his community.
Afflictions may be personal or regionalized.
Roll d6×d6 and consult the following list:
1–3: Physical Irritation
4–5: Pain
6, 8: Non-debilitating Sickness
9: Sores and Lesions
10: Phobias or Hallucinations
12: Depression or Nightmares
15: Rage
16, 18: Forgetfulness
24: Physically Wretched
25: Stressed
30: Infestations
36: Aging
Regional afflictions occur over a wide area (in a
radius of a mile or more). Their effects are
beyond the scope of game mechanics and are
better served through role-playing.
MANIPULATING THE WRATH: A wizard who
has prepared for it may try to redirect the
Sorcery’s Wrath to another individual. The
individual must be someone within the
wizard’s circle of personal relationships
(whether it’s a true relationship or not).
Manipulating Sorcery’s Wrath is not without
risk, however, as a failed attempt often
redoubles its effects against the caster. To
change the focus of Sorcery’s Wrath, the
wizard must succeed at a Will roll. Failure
means both the wizard and a target chosen by
the Game Host suffer from a misfortune.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
MISFORTUNES: Regardless of the
target, the result of intentionally
redirecting Sorcery’s Wrath
produces one of the misfortunes
listed above. These are best handled
through role-playing and Game
Host discretion. Misfortunes are
subtle and occur at random and
inexplicable times, leaving the
wizard to contemplate if it was
Sorcery’s Wrath or just bad luck.

HARMONIOUS MAGIC
Magical spells are enhanced by
musical contributions from nearby
chanters, singers, and musicians.
The quality of that performance
directly contributes to the success
of the spell and enhances its effect
and duration. Should a ritual fail, all
participants, including the lead
caster suffer from Sorcery’s Wrath.

DISTANT GODS
The ancient animalistic gods seek
new power upon Khitus through
new clergy. Those clergy can ask for
sorcerous power from their deity,
but in a time of crisis that
connection may be unavailable. Roll
1d6; on a 1 or 2 the god is too
distant to be reached and the magic
is not delivered, but on a 6 the deity
delivers far more power than is
requested, overpowering the spell in
a manner determined by the player and Game Once the taint has spread, the item starts to
Host, based upon the situation. deteriorate. Each day, the item loses 1d6% of
metallic rigidity until it reaches zero, at which
IRON VIRUS point it is utterly useless.
This affliction affects only iron and steel
objects. Any time an iron or steel item comes EQUIPMENT
within 10 feet of another item infested with the Any items appropriate to a pulp fantasy world
Iron Virus, there is a chance of the infestation are appropriate to the Dragon Kings setting. Iron
spreading to the untainted object. Roll and steel items are rare and valuable, owing to
1d6x1d6; on a result of 30 or 36 the untainted the Iron Virus. Water and food are especially
object contracts the virus. If an item comes scarce in the desert regions.
into physical contact with an afflicted object
(such as when an untainted shield blocks a DENIZENS
tainted sword in combat), the chance increases The following creatures share the world of
to a result of 12 or higher. Khitus but are not typical players’ characters.

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LESTER SMITH
HUMAN FACTIONS
Each faction is unique in character,
membership, and details, but on the surface
each can be generalized as follows:
Bev al-Khim: Mysterious pale-skinned agents
and brokers
Boneshards: Deadly assassins scarred by
hidden weapons
Dramidge: A magic college of isolated
wizards devoted to dragons
Gare Attessa: The omnipresent Chroniclers,
royal advisers and watchers
Kuad Ahir: The Awakened, followers of the
Prophet
Merchants: From peddlers to caravan
masters, the world’s traders
Nyutu: The All-Seeing, transient entertainers
with unique mental powers
Qath Manhir: Equivocally honorable brigands
and enforcers
Raetann: Bureaucratic Water Guild, emergent
challengers to power
Rakar: A magic college, the Cozeners, keepers
of slave decoys
Shadazim: Right Minders, new clergy of the
ancient gods
Trakeen: The Faithful, worshipers of the
departed Dragon Kings
Yenfansa: Feared and little-understood
Devil’s Children, the White Eyes
RACES & TRIBES
While there are many unique details and facts
about each race, here are the common
stereotypes associated with each race or tribe.
Attites: Human negotiators and peacemakers
Chindi: Human matriarchal traders and
warriors on the fringes of the known world
Cold Skins/Oritahl: Lizard men of the
swamps with growing awareness
Krikis: Bug men that hoard bright lode
Makadan: Human warrior culture and source
of many Khitan mercenaries
Nordor: Human barbarian stone carvers from
the frigid north
Pachyaur: Elephantaurs of the equator
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Penmai: Daring acrobatic humanoids with
prehensile tails
Prajalu: Short, stocky humans feared as
poison makers and child stealers
Watu: Slaver elephantaurs
BESTIARY
Heroes may also encounter these creatures.
Azurat (Blue Watcher): Tiny aquatic mind
benders prized by wizards
Daragkon (Khitan Dragon): The wild
counterparts of the long-departed Dragon
Kings, including Daragk’gael (Wind Dragons),
Daragk’huck (Coal Dragons), Daragk’ralsh
(Mud Dragons), Daragk’reg (Rock Dragons),
and Daragk’ulnar (Bone Dragons)
Elephant & Colossadant: Beasts of burden
for the Pachyaur and humans alike
Fullet (Water Runner): Small desert lizards
hunted for their water
Huckratha (Coal Crab): Wasteland terrors
bearing infectious toxins
Jaladam: Demonic soldiers from a long-
forgotten war
Kardillo: Ravenous predators
Lu’urat (Ghost Snake): Domesticated
dungeon lurkers
Manju: Large meaty rodents
Maradoch: Pestilence-bearing pack dwellers
of the Whitebone Wastes
Matakata: Massive dragon turtles
Masachnat (Hypno-Spider): Dreaded
bewilderers
Peer’urat (Screaming Cobra): Deafening
serpents
Regelth (Stone Worm) & Regelthex
(Greater Stone Worm): Unchallenged rulers
of the deep sands
Sanid: Avian partners of the Penmai peoples
Swafa: Swift, two-legged lizard mounts
Tabahk (Thorn Lizard): Cunning savannah
lizards
Thakal: The common Khitan beast of burden
Uludur: Prized water-purifying creatures
Ulweppa (Blood Crawler): Blood-seeking
desert serpents
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
Urshev: Furry northland beasts
Xursha (Constrictor): Man-
crushing snakes
Yethawar (Sonic Beetle): Tone-
generating beetles prized by wizards
Yulugh: Community devastating
burrowers

SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE KRIKIS WANDERER
The distant Hivelands spawn
uncounted Krikis warriors, insect-
men who have waged wars against
human cities and armies in the
distant north. They are frightening
and mysterious, the stuff of fables
and children’s stories; few in the
southern regions of the Old
Kingdoms have ever seen one.
Unknown to most, the Krikis
homelands contain a vast store of
Ganshyer, an otherworldly metal
immune to the dreaded Iron Virus
plaguing the tools and arsenals of
humans everywhere. A chance
encounter with a wandering Krikis
puts the characters into a situation
where they must face their fears,
prejudices, and greed.

ACT I: A PERILOUS JOURNEY

The characters begin as mercenary hirelings on a
caravan making its way across the southern
deserts between the crumbling cities of Teleris
and Syradar along the edge of the Nuth Desert.
The ragged, creaking wagons, the half-starved
thakal beasts that pull them, and the meager
cargo of rotting vegetables and hemp are owned
by one Drezh Nacka, a caravan master down to
his last coins, on the edge of financial ruin. All
he’s paying is rations and a promised share of the
profits at Syradar, still many days distant. A
handful of starving bandits and desert beasts have
challenged the caravan’s progress; a few such
encounters start the adventure on the open desert.
One evening a carapaced, spear-bearing
warrior presents itself, adorned in colorful
ribbons, dragging a tarped sledge with its
belongings. “Krikis!” one grizzled caravan
guard announces. In halting human tongue, the
insect man offers to trade for food, water, and
joint passage through the desert. Drezh Nacka
agrees readily, a treacherous gleam in his eyes.
ACT II: BARTER ‘NEATH THE STARS
The Krikis will not enter the caravan or its
camp, but tosses out his tarp upon the ground
outside it and squats nearby; Drezh brings the
characters along to barter there. Language is a
barrier. The Krikis gets across its name (which
is almost impossible to pronounce, so Drezh
call him “Two Clicks”), that it means no harm,
and that it wants to trade. The Krikis puts
forth a handful of gemstones and bits of metal,
trinkets of carved wooden jewelry, and a near
empty water skin that it keeps pointing to. The
characters can engage in barter, but Drezh

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LESTER SMITH
holds back on trading any water, despite the
insect’s clear desire to obtain some.
Eventually, the Krikis draws forth a jagged
chunk of black metal that catches Drezh’s
interest. Characters with desert knowledge
identify it as Ganshyer, and this piece is worth
a fortune. Drezh offers very little for it though,
and Two Clicks refuses to give it up so
cheaply. The transaction concludes with an
exchange of trinkets only, and the Krikis
departs into the dark desert. The characters
may wish to track it or trade separately.
ACT III: RULES OF THE KNIFE
Drezh returns to his caravan’s camp and
assembles his guards to pursue the Krikis into
the desert to kill it and take the valuable chunk
of raw Ganshyer. There are three other guards
besides the heroes. If the characters refuse to
participate, they can remain behind; Drezh and
the others never return from their venture into
the desert. If the characters accompany the
caravan master, they eventually track Two
Clicks to where it waits in a prepared position,
easily defended. Should they help the Krikis
escape from Drezh, it is grateful and rewards
them with a smaller piece of Ganshyer.
The Krikis is a worthy fighter, fully the equal
of a trained human warrior. It can leap, cricket-
like, high into the air, over the heads of
opponents to attack again quickly from behind. It
has picked a position near soft sands and jagged
boulders that are difficult to maneuver around.
Two Clicks is a “bright-minded” Krikis eager
to learn about the human southlands. It is a
potent ally and companion that would willingly
travel with the characters. It is an oddity in the
region of the Old Kingdoms. Ultimately, it will
learn more of the human language, of human
ways and customs, and return to its Hivelands to
share that with its brethren.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
New Followers for the Panther God:
Shadazim of Jaythe, the ancient panther god,
finds it easy to gather followers. In these
CREDITS
DESIGN: Timothy B. Brown. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Brom, Thomas Denmark, & Thomas M. Baxa.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
- 142 -
desperate times, the rabble seek guidance and
assurance of a better future. In fact, it becomes
far easier to gather followers than it is to feed
or keep them. The Shadazim must prove he
speaks for Jaythe by feeding and sheltering his
believers and further by direct demonstrations
of godly power, which are often easier said
than done.
A Transaction of the Pale: On Khitus, a
character may become a captive for any
number of reasons—captured during a
marauder raid, sold off by a desperate family,
betrayed by a rival and imprisoned. The Bev al-
Khim, pale-skinned brokers in league with the
equatorial Dragon King Pretenders, trade in
both goods and flesh. They purchase the
characters in the southlands and move them in
caravans to the northeast, where they find
ready markets among the elephantine
Pachyaur, especially their Watu people. The
heroes must escape or suffer months or years
beneath the yokes of inhuman taskmasters.
Imposter: While the characters are guiding an
apostle of the mysterious Prophet across the
New Dune Wasteland, he is killed by a savage
huckratha lurking among the dunes. But at their
destination, one of the heroes is quickly
mistaken for the apostle, greeted as a friend, and
taken into a prince’s confidence. Confessing
may cost them their lives, but continuing the
charade may be just as dangerous, as the
apostle’s psionic powers were part and parcel to
his making the trip in the first place.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
The many Khitan tribes, factions, and races vie
for control of a world of dwindling resources.
Wherever they touch upon one another,
conflict follows. Trust does not come easy in
these days when each group seeks to fill the
power vacuum. Characters may ally themselves
with one group entirely, ultimately pitting
themselves against all others in the long-term
struggle to dominate the world.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
PETER AND THE MONSTERS
Darren Pillsbury
The Peter and the Monsters novels tell of
the many spooky adventures of young
Peter Normal. Like many stories for
young people, they are equally fun for
adults—and in this case, a great setting
for role-playing, too!

BACKGROUND
When ten-year-old Peter Normal
moved into his grandfather’s creepy
old mansion, bad, baaaad things
started to happen. His family is
under a centuries-old curse that
attracts supernatural creatures and
evil forces. Peter and his friends Dill
and Gwen, with the guidance of
Grandfather, must continually battle
these threats that pop up in their
sleepy little town of Duskerville.

OCCUPATIONS
A good way to role-play in the Peter and
the Monsters setting is to choose one of
the main characters from the novels.
(See the Denizens section below.) If
you prefer to create your own
character, choose an occupation that
fits the setting: a student (Peter’s
classmate), a teacher, a school janitor,
or perhaps a tutor at the library or a
part-time employee at a local shop. It’s
important to choose something
without much responsibility, partly
because that’s scarier, but also to allow
enough free time to investigate the odd Ride Animal, Shooting (slingshot, BB gun, or maybe
goings on surrounding Peter and his family. a hunting rifle), Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing
(rocks, soda bottles, etc.), and Tracking. Languages
SKILLS can include introductory French, German, or
From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics, First Aid, Spanish, and perhaps a bit of Latin or something
Lockpicking, Martial Arts, Navigation, Persuasion, else related to the supernatural and occult studies.

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LESTER SMITH
SPECIAL RULES
If the Game Host allows magic or psychic
powers for a character with supernatural
knowledge, these can be imported from other
D6×D6 settings. They should be limited to a
single ability per character, however. The curse
on Peter’s family is such that anyone who relies
too heavily on the supernatural in this setting
inevitably becomes a threat to the town of
Duskerville instead of its salvation.
EQUIPMENT
For the heroes, any items appropriate to the real
world are fine—with Game Host approval (no
high explosives or automatic weapons, please).
The characters will also encounter many items
of paranormal fantasy—for instance, one novel tells
of a mirror used by the Carnival of Evil, which
could suck out children’s souls and store them in a
hall of mirrors, allowing the villains to live virtually
forever by absorbing their victims’ life energies.
Obviously, it is the heroes’ job to destroy such
things (maybe after turning them on their owners).
DENIZENS
Creatures in this setting can be categorized as main
characters, secondary characters, and monsters.
MAIN CHARACTERS
As mentioned above, players may assume the role
of one of these main characters, or they may
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create their own. If playing these main characters,
it is recommended that players swap roles from
adventure to adventure.
PETER NORMAL: Gender: Male. Age: 10.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Student. Skills: Focused Athletics, First
Aid, Martial Arts (ninja skills; see Notes), Sneaking,
Swimming, Throwing; Unfocused Navigation,
Shooting (BB gun), Tracking. Special Abilities:
Blessing bestowed by the Winnapotakan Indian
tribe upon his ancestors, diminishing bodily harm
(counts as Light armor with no dice penalty), and
allowing him to change any die’s result to a 6 once
per game session. Focus: 7. Notes: Peter learned his
ninja skills from Master Hiraki (see below),
including mastery of the hanbo (a three-foot staff)
and the bokken (a wooden training sword).
DILL BODINSKY: Gender: Male. Age: 10. Attributes:
Wits Focused; Will Unfocused. Occupation: Student.
Skills: Focused Athletics, Bargaining, Lockpicking,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Sneaking, Swimming,
Throwing; Unfocused Computers, First Aid,
Vehicle: Auto. Special Abilities: Turns into a
werewolf on the three nights of the full moon each
month—which changes his Focused Attribute to
Brawn, increases his hand attack damage by one
level, gives him protection as Light armor (with no
dice penalty). He automatically heals one damage
level per turn, even in human form. Dill has an
enchanted locket with a moon rock that also
allows him to change at will; “Aperio” opens the
locket, and “Claudo” closes it. Focus: 9. Notes:
Peter’s friend and next-door neighbor, Dill is a
laid-back scamp whose curiosity often gets him,
and Peter, into trouble.
GWENDOLYN “GWEN” WAINWRIGHT: Gender:
Female. Age: 10. Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn
Unfocused. Occupation: Student. Skills: Focused
Athletics, First Aid, Persuasion, Shooting,
Tracking; Unfocused Computers, Martial Arts,
Navigation. Special Abilities: Marksmanship, giving
her an extra Success Level on all Shooting rolls.
Focus: 6. Notes: Despite the supernatural threats
against him, this young Goth girl has become
Peter’s fast friend.
SEAMUS FLANNAGAN: Gender: Male. Age: 70s.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Grace Unfocused.
Occupation: Occult scholar. Skills: Focused
Bargaining, First Aid, Navigation, Shooting
(shotgun), Tracking, Vehicle: Auto (pickup

truck); Unfocused Lockpicking, Martial Arts,
Persuasion, Sneaking. Special Abilities: Master of
languages (including Latin, ancient Greek, ancient
Hebrew, Native American Winnapatokan, and at
least a dozen more); Millionaire (but his money is
cursed and can be spent safely only to defeat and
cover up supernatural outbreaks). Focus: 7. Notes:
Peter’s cranky, secretive grandfather.
PETER’S DOPPELGANGER, A.K.A. DARK PETER:
Stats: Identical to Peter’s. Notes: This character
started off as a villainous incarnation of Peter’s dark
side. He has since become a mischievous ally. Dark
Peter resides in “The Dark Place,” a normally
repressed part of Peter’s psyche, but he can be
summoned at will. He knows everything Peter
knows, can read his thoughts, and can see and hear
what Peter does. Any damage inflicted on Dark
Peter is felt by Peter, and vice versa. If one were to
die, so would the other.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS
The Game Host can use these characters to lend
the heroes a hand, or to complicate things,
whenever an adventure merits it.
MELISSA NORMAL: Gender: Female. Age: 30s.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamilar.
Occupation: Charterton University legal assistant;
Peter’s mom. Skills: Focused Bargaining,
Computers, First Aid, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused
Athletics, Navigation, Persuasion. Special Abilities:
None. Focus: 5. Notes: Peter’s mom knows nothing
about the supernatural legacy of her ancestors. She
has moved with Peter and his sister from California
to her father’s house out of financial desperation.
BETH NORMAL: Gender: Female. Age: 3. Attributes:
Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Toddler. Skills: Focused Persuasion, Sneaking;
Unfocused Athletics, Bargaining, Lockpicking.
Special Abilities: None. Focus: 4. Notes: Peter’s sister
is frozen at age 3, mentally and physically, by an
unintended trip to Fairieland, when she was
swapped for a changeling.
HIRAKI: Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Will
Focused; None Unfamiliar. Occupation: Ninja
Master. Skills: Athletics, First Aid, Lockpicking,
Martial Arts, Second Language: English (native
Japanese), Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing,
Tracking; Unfocused Bargaining, Navigation,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Shooting. Special
Abilities: Precise strike, giving two bonus Success
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
Levels on all attacks. Focus: 10. Notes: Peter’s ninja
mentor generally refuses to engage in battle,
insisting Peter must best his enemies on his own.
SHERIFF GUNDERSON: Gender: Male. Age: 60s.
Attributes: Will Focused; Grace Unfamilar.
Occupation: Sheriff. Skills: Focused Navigation,
Persuasion, Ride Animal: Horse, Shooting,
Swimming, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Athletics,
Bargaining, Computers, Throwing, Tracking.
Special Abilities: None. Focus: 7. Notes: Gunderson
is an affable, reasonable man dedicated to
maintaining Duskerville’s peaceful nature.
DEPUTY JENKINS: Gender: Male. Age: 30s.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Will Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Deputy. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Martial Arts, Shooting, Swimming, Vehicle: Auto;
Unfocused Computers, First Aid, Sneaking.
Special Abilities: None. Focus: 6. Notes: Jenkins is an
impetuous and hot-tempered jerk with a power
complex who often makes Peter’s life miserable.
WINNAPOTAKANS: Gender: Any. Age: Any.
Attributes: Varied. Occupation: Varied. Skills: Any.
Special Abilities: None. Focus: Varied. Notes: The
original inhabitants of the Duskerville region, they
cursed Peter’s ancestor, Amos Flannagan, for a
massacre in the 18th century. Now his descendents
are a magnet for supernatural threats.
YANAWA AND THE ELVES: Gender: Any. Age:
NA. Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Elf. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Persuasuion, Shooting, Sneaking, Swimming,
Throwing, Tracking; Unfocused Bargaining, First
LESTER SMITH
Aid, Navigation. Special Abilities: Yanawa, the chief,
can generate shocking magical bolts. Focus: 8.
Notes: These small, green creatures with yellow
eyes and large, pointed ears live in Fairieland,
where they are allies of Peter. Their language is
similar to Winnapotakan. Other Fairieland races
include brownies (troublemakers, but with healing
properties in their saliva), trolls (which are also
shapeshifters), gnomes, pixies, and changelings.
VILLAINS
Given the sheer number of Peter and the Monsters
novels, it isn’t possible to list here every villain
Peter and his friends have faced. The following
have been chosen as some of the most unusual.
Though many of them died in the novels, there is
no reason they can’t be resurrected for a game.
CHANGELING: Stats: See Beth Normal, above.
Notes: This troll baby from Fairieland was swapped
for Beth Normal for a time. While not truly evil, it
is certainly troublesome. It can shapeshift into
anything the size of a toddler. It has claws and
fangs and moves with speed and agility of a small
dog, though even on walls and ceilings. The touch
of iron or steel causes it pain.
GINGERBREAD MEN: Gender: NA. Age: NA.
Attributes: Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Gingerbread man. Skills: Focused
Athletics, Martial Arts, Sneaking; Unfocused
Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Throwing, Tracking.
Special Abilities: Groupthink lets them use the
Combat Team rule (see the Conflict and Damage
chapter). Focus: 4. Notes: Created by a spell from a
black-magic book, they are six inches tall and have
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hooks and pins baked into their hands. Given a
well-stocked kitchen, they are capable of making
more of their kind. Their small size makes them
weak and fragile (Stun damage kills them), but they
are also quick and quiet.
KINDERMORD: Gender: NA. Age: NA. Attributes:
Will Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Monster. Skills: Focused Athletics, Martial Arts,
Sneaking, Swimming, Tracking; Unfocused
Navigation, Throwing. Special Abilities: Create fog.
Bark-like skin, giving it Medium armor (including
the normal dice penalty). Focus: 6. Notes: A living
wooden monster, about 10 feet tall, the
kindermord is vaguely human shaped, though
headless, with spindly limbs, and with mouths in
the palms of its hands. It appears in a mist of fog
and abducts children. The mouths continually
recite Goethe’s poem “Der Erlkonig.”
MAGICAL MONKEYS: Gender: Any. Age: NA.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Pest. Skills: Focused Athletics,
Pickpocketing, Sneaking, Throwing; Unfocused
Lockpicking, Swimming, Tracking. Special Abilities:
None. Focus: 5. Notes: Summoned out of an
enchanted top hat, which holds about 5,000 of
them in some astral plane, these capuchin
monkeys are controlled by anyone with the right
music. If killed, they disappear in a puff of
smoke, returning to their magical dimension.
SWAMP MONSTER: Gender: Any. Age: NA.
Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamilar.
Occupation: Amphibious monster. Skills: Focused
Athletics, Navigation, Sneaking, Swimming;
Unfocused None. Special Abilities: Its skin acts as
Light armor (with no dice penalty), and its size
allows it to suffer Graze three times before
accumulating further damage. Focus: 5. Notes: This
20-foot long, amphibious monster has red eyes that
poke out of water when it stalks prey and a frog-like
tongue that stretches 30 feet, ending in poisonous
barbs that cause unconsciousness. A small scratch
can put an adult human out for two to three hours.
It stores its victims in lairs beneath lake banks.
THE TODENHORNS: A.k.a. the Dead Men.
Gender: NA. Age: NA. Attributes: Brawn and Grace
Focused; None Unfamiliar. Occupation: Undead
monster. Skills: Focused Athletics, Sneaking;
Unfocused Lockpicking, Martial Arts, Navigation.
Special Abilities: See Notes. Focus: 3. Notes: The first
monsters Peter ever encountered, the todenhorns
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
are dead bodies burned to a crisp, making them so
lightweight that they can easily climb walls. Most
conventional weapons do not affect them, simply
leaving more holes in their already dead bodies.
Only crushing or dismemberment destroys them.

SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
PETER AND THE SCARECROWS
This adventure is written with Peter, Dill, and
Gwen in mind, though players are welcome to
substitute their own characters.
ACT I: THE FIRST ENCOUNTER
While visiting a local cornfield maze on a school
trip near Halloween, Peter’s class is split into
small groups and challenged to find their way
through. The first group to find their way out will
get extra credit on their report cards.
No sooner do Peter, Dill, and Gwen separate
fragile, and it can’t decide on a single hero to attack,
from the others than something begins stealthily
so they should be able to overcome it without much
following them through the corn. Suddenly a
trouble. (See the scarecrow description at the end of
scarecrow leaps out at them and attacks! Without
this adventure.)
weapons (this is a school trip after all), they are
Following up the lead to the thrift shop, the
forced to flee, and with quick running and clever
group learns from its proprietor that Fallon (Peter’s
navigation, they escape the maze. Naturally, no
evil step-great-uncle, who owns Hidden Books, a
adults believe their story.
used bookshop with a secret black-magic section)
The next day, however, a townsperson is found
has been buying ragged old clothes lately.
strangled in the maze, with bunches of straw and
When the heroes try to get information from
rags of rotten cloth around the body.
Fallon, he denies knowing anything. As the group
Deputy Jenkins investigates, questioning all
leaves Hidden Books, however, a classmate who
the children who went on the class trip. Of
lives on a farm near the corn maze stops them to
course, when he gets to the Peter and friends, he
say he’s been seeing weird lights from a
gives them a hard time. If they tell him the truth
neighboring farm at night. “It’s the Curwen place,”
about the scarecrow attack, he accuses them of
he says. Before he can tell them more, though, his
lying to make his job more difficult. On the other
mother calls him to her car, saying they have more
hand, if they don’t tell him everything, he senses
errands to run and no time to dawdle.
they are holding something back, and he
If the heroes visit the Curwen farm, they find
threatens to get even with them somehow.
that old man Curwen seems quite insane. He
Eventually, the children are released with a
quotes passages of creepy poetry, telling the
stern warning to keep away from the corn maze
group that it was written by H. P. Lovecraft, a
and to mind their own business.
“visionary writer” who knew lots and lots about
ACT II: THE MYSTERY Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth and other
Doing some sleuthing, Peter, Dill, and Gwen find Great Old Ones.
that the rags and straw were never collected for Then he shows them some canning jars full of
evidence. When they inspect the rags, they glowing goop, and says it’s the souls of people
discover a tag from a thrift store in town. who tried to rob him. He tells the group that if
At just this moment, the scarecrow attacks again, they don’t get off his property right now, he’ll
but its legs are in tatters (that’s where the rags are add their souls to his collection. He says he has
from) so it propels itself on its arms, dragging its business to prepare for this evening and can’t
lower body, strewing more straw behind. The thing is afford to waste any more time on them.

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LESTER SMITH
If the group is foolish enough to attack him, he
hollers for help, and a farmhand with a shotgun
comes to defend him. Curwen grabs a rusty old
saber from the mantle and waves it at them. If
necessary, the Game Host should remind the
players that the heroes are children, and that facing
two armed adults is not only suicide, but also not
the way Peter, Dill, and Gwen would act.
Returning home, if Peter and crew ask
Grandfather about H. P. Lovecraft, he tells them
the man knew too much about the occult and
should have kept his mouth shut. But he agrees
that something fishy seems to be going on. He
warns the children to stay out of it, though.
ACT III: THE CONFRONTATION
That night, when Peter, Gwen, and Dill sneak to
the farm, they don’t notice Grandfather following
them. Arriving, they find a strange mist and
flickering green lights filling the corn maze. An
eerie murmur can be heard, almost like someone
talking and gargling at the same time.
Following the sound, they discover Old Man
Curwen and his field hand conducting a ritual
inside a circle of scarecrows on poles. As the
children approach, the scarecrows all come to life
and bow down before the farmer. Continuing his
chant, Old Man Curwen suddenly points to his
field hand, and the scarecrows attack the man.
They drag him, screaming, into the corn, where
his cries abruptly cease.
As the scarecrows return, Grandfather’s voice
is suddenly heard, chanting in that same gargling
language. A few of the scarecrows begin attacking
the others, obviously now under his command.
The farmer chants louder, and while some of the
scarecrows continue to fight, others begin
searching through the corn for this intruder.
Peter and his friends have not yet been
discovered, and the players can use this in many
ways to tip the balance of the battle. They might
ambush and attack individual scarecrows to even
the odds, lead a group of them away from
Grandfather to buy him more time, ambush them
in a barn, put farm machinery to work, or even
set fire to the cornfield. In the last case, the
CREDITS
DESIGN: Darren Pillsbury. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Darren Pillsbury. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
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heroes should have to defend themselves against
at least one burning scarecrow, though taking
refuge in a nearby pond can solve that problem.
When all the scarecrows are destroyed, Peter
and his friends discover that Old Man Curwen
managed to escape in the confusion. His glowing
canning jars are missing too. For his own part,
Grandfather refuses to talk about the evening.
As an epilogue, Peter might discover the
glowing canning jars stored in Grandfather’s
cellar. There might even be an extra one.…
SCARECROWS: Gender: NA. Age: NA. Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Scarecrow. Skills: Focused Sneaking, Tracking;
Unfocused Athletics, Throwing. Special Abilities:
Lack of nerves means no dice penalties from
damage. Focus: 4. Notes: Individually, scarecrows
are too lightweight to be much of a threat to
adults. In groups, though, they can swarm and
suffocate or strangle a victim.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
MURDERMAIDS: A murder victim’s remains are
discovered on the beach. It turns out that a
family of grotesque cannibals live in a cave by the
sea on Grandfather’s property.
TOOTH UNFAIRIES: A kid from school tells
about a rogue tooth fairy that knocked out both
his front teeth. Peter and company discover that
the boy’s house is infested with mean little flying
psychopaths escaped from Fairieworld.
YOMI-NO-KUNI: On a flight to Japan for more
ninja training, Peter and friends are attacked by
evil ninjas disguised as passengers. The plane
crashes in Yomi-no-Kuni, the Japanese land of
the dead, where the group must face myhological
monsters and escape an undead samurai.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Endless adventures are possible in this setting, with
monsters from countless cultures. See the novels
for further examples, and for details about
Duskerville, Grandfather’s mysterious mansion, the
nearby Shadow Hills Asylum for the Criminally
Insane, Fairieland, Mirrorworld, and more.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
THE PSIONIC PENTALOGY
Adrian Howell
In the Psionic Pentalogy, an adolescent
boy begins to discover his fledgling
telekinetic powers, and finds himself
thrust unexpectedly into a hidden
psychic war.

BACKGROUND
On present-day Earth, a centuries-
old war is being waged between
secret paranormal societies. The
largest of these psionic factions is
the Angels, who seek to bring order
to the world of humans by taking
control. But they are kept in check
by the second largest faction, the
Guardians, who believe in keeping
the world of psionics and humans
apart. Other, smaller factions
struggle to survive and remain
neutral even as a paramilitary force
known as the Wolves hunts down
psionics for use in medical
experimentation, while a cult
religion, the God-slayers, believing
psionics to be demons in human
form, seeks to exterminate them.

OCCUPATIONS
Whether human or psionic, characters
can have any occupation available in
the modern world. Additionally, each
psionic faction has its fighter class.
The Guardians have their Knights,
which are divided into Lancer
Knights who fight other psionic
factions and Raven Knights who specialize in soldiers who work for the government, and the
combating human threats. The Angels’ psionic God-slayers who, though not as well-trained, use
fighters are known as Seraphim. On the human modern weapons and suicidal determination to rid
side are the Wolves, a small band of special-ops the world of “lesser gods.”

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LESTER SMITH
SKILLS
All skills from the Basic Skills chapter apply, and
will be important for both psionic and non-
psionic occupations. In addition, several psionic
powers and two non-psionic skills may be
selected, as detailed below.
Psionic powers fall into three basic categories:
Destroyer, Controller, and Independent. A player
may choose up to five powers during character
creation, dividing them as desired between
Focused and Unfocused. Once Focused, a power
cannot become Unfocused, though Unfocused
powers can later be promoted to Focused with
experience. Unlike other skills, Unfamiliar psionic
powers cannot be used and cannot be learned by
experience.
Note that although psionics usually don’t gain
their powers until they are 18 years old, their
powers are predetermined at birth. As such, one
might allow chance to dictate a character’s
powers. (A good way is to write each on a card,
shuffle, and draw 1–5 at random.)
For more about psionic experience, see the
Special Rules section of this chapter.
DESTROYER POWERS
PYROID (PYROKINESIST): Pyroids can create
and throw fireballs or shoot jets of flame at their
targets. (Treat as a Throwing Blade.) They can also
rapidly increase the burn-rate of an existing fire.
SPARK (ELECTROKINESIST): Sparks can create
or manipulate electricity. Some can only drive
current through direct contact, while others can
throw thunderbolts from their hands. (Treat as a
Throwing Blade.) Powerful sparks can cause
static-electric surges in a target object (or person)
at Throwing range.
TELEKINETIC (TELEKINESIST): Telekinetics
can move or levitate matter, but target objects
should be fairly close and small enough to
physically lift. Powerful telekinetics can, by
levitating themselves, fly for short distances.
Telekinetics can also shoot their energy in the
form of “blasts,” hitting objects beyond their
usual telekinetic range with enough force to cause
significant damage. (Treat as a Small Pistol.)
CONTROLLER POWERS
BERSERKER: When hit by a berserker mind
blast, the victim suffers a sharp, incapacitating
headache, followed by uncontrollable rage,
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causing the person to “go berserk.” Many do not
survive this power’s effect, not caring what
injuries they suffer during the rage.
DELVER: Delvers can read a subject’s current
thoughts (not to be confused with memories).
Delving can be done at Throwing range, but line
of sight is required.
DREAMWEAVER: This is the ability to create and
overwrite a person’s dreams. Dreamweavers can
work only with people who are asleep, but can
lock onto a person’s mind and feed dreams and
nightmares from many kilometers away.
MIND-WRITER: By touch, mind-writers can
implant, alter, or delete memories of up to two
weeks old. In doing so, they can glimpse a
subject’s memories but cannot accurately read
them. Also, they cannot read current thoughts.
PEACEMAKER: This is the ability to negate a
subject’s emotions, making the person highly
susceptible to suggestion. Powerful peacemakers
can counter the second effect of the berserker
power. Peacemakers usually require direct eye
contact with their targets.
PUPPETEER: By temporarily taking control of a
person’s body, puppeteers can turn friend into
foe. Many puppeteers can work their powers
from a distance of 50 meters or more.
INDEPENDENT POWERS
AQUARIAN: Aquarians (a.k.a. “Fish”) can breathe
underwater, and many can use their power without
much concentration and stay submerged indefinitely.
FINDER: This ability provides a sense of
distance, direction, and strength of others’
psionic powers. Many finders can locate
individual powers at distances exceeding 1,000
kilometers. However, this range is greatly reduced
when the target is in motion, underground, or
drained (see Metal Draining under Special Rules).
GRAVITON: This is the ability to increase
gravitational pull, thereby adding weight. (Each
Succcess Level boosts gravity’s effect by 50 percent.)
Unlike light-foots, many gravitons can use their
power on other objects, but line of sight is necessary.
HEALER: This ability accelerates recovery from
cuts, bruises, and burns. Healers need to be very
close to their subjects to use their powers, and
they cannot cure diseases. Nor can they heal
themselves (see Metal Draining in the Special
Rules below).

HIDER: This is the ability to conceal one’s psionic
power from detection by psionic findersHiders
can hide their own powers and the powers of
psionics in their immediate vicinity, or they can
create house-sized hiding fields that remain
stationary over chosen areas. Powerful hiders can
lend other psionics personal hiding protection,
allowing them to travel undetected for several
days, even away from the hider’s vicinity.
LIGHT-FOOT: With this ability, psionics can
counter gravitational pull, thereby reducing their
own weight. (Each Success Level reduces the pull
of gravity by 20 percent.) Some light-foots can
jump over houses and even walk on water.
PHANTOM: Phantoms can turn their own bodies
and anything they are touching (within reasonable
size) invisible for several hours at a time. However,
any sudden movement, collision, or impact can
instantly remove the cloak. Phantoms rarely cloak
their own eyes, because light must hit their retinas
for them to see.
SHAPE-SHIFTER: Shape-shifters can temporarily
assume the physical form of other people. They
cannot shift into animals or inanimate objects,
and must work within approximately 10% of
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
total body mass, meaning that an adult cannot
shift into the form of a child.
TELEPATH: Telepaths can speak into people’s
minds at distances of up to a kilometer. Some can
target only one mind at a time. Others can speak to
groups. Telepathy can travel through walls, but
more concentration is needed and range is reduced.
TELEPORTER: Teleporters can instantaneously
move through space, traveling up to 30 meters in
a single jump. Powerful teleporters can jump
through solid objects, but line of sight is usually
required in order to avoid messy accidents.
WINDMASTER: Windmasters can control air
movement to create small tornados, suck the air
out of a victim’s lungs, or even tear apart trees
and houses. (Exact effects are left to the Game
Host’s discretion, based on Success Levels.)
NON-PSIONIC SKILLS
MENTAL BLOCKING: This ability reduces the
effects of controller powers or blocks them
completely. When controllers try to use their
powers on people with mental blocking training,
the character with the highest Success Levels
wins; a tie means the struggle continues.
LESTER SMITH
INTERROGATION TACTICS: In short, this is the
use of torture, which is commonly employed by
most factions when extracting information from
captives. Torture is an effective method of reducing
Mental Blocking ability, making it easier for psionic
interrogators to delve a subject’s thoughts.
SPECIAL RULES
PSIONIC EXPERIENCE: Unlike other skills,
Unfocused psionic powers may gain pluses. The
cost is 3 Drama Points per plus, and more than
one may be gained at a time.
Other types of psionic experience can be more
costly. To move an Unfocused skill to Focused, or
to plus a Focused skill, costs 3 Drama Points plus
the number of plusses on the skill.
Example 1: Moving Healer+ from Unfocused
to Focused costs 4 Drama Points.
Example 2: Adding a plus to Focused
Spark++ costs 5 Drama Points.
PASSIVE FINDING: All psionics have some
ability to sense the distance and strength of some
powers in their immediate vicinity. Unlike
finders, however, they cannot accurately tell
direction, and can sense only powers similar to
their own. Thus, destroyers can sense only other
destroyers, controllers only other controllers, and
independent powers only the exact same power.
METAL DRAINING: Being surrounded by metal
can noticeably weaken psionic powers, and direct
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contact with a metal object can negate the powers
completely. If psionics are injured, even the iron in
their own blood, once outside and touching their
skin, can significantly weaken their powers. As such,
healers cannot heal their own open wounds, and in
psionic combat, whoever bleeds first usually loses.
AUGMENTATION AND POWER BALANCE: All
forms of psionic power can temporarily augment
physical strength, but psionics must learn “power
balance” so that their muscles aren’t overly
dependent on their powers. Some psionics with poor
power balance, when drained by metal, become
physically weakened to the point that they can’t even
walk. Proficiency level in power balance should be
part of any psionic character’s background.
DANGERS OF MIND CONTROL: While
peacemaking and dreamweaving are mostly
harmless, mind-writing, delving, and puppeteering
run a small risk of permanent damage to the
target’s brain, while berserking is particularly
hazardous. These risks are much higher when
controller powers are used on children and senior
citizens, and attempting to block psionic control
also is more dangerous than accepting it.
EQUIPMENT
Most modern-day equipment can be used in this
setting, but certain technologies are absent,
namely Kevlar armor, projectile Taser weapons,
smartphones, and high-speed Internet. Wolves

have access to high-level military tech, while
God-slayers are armed with civilian variants.
Even psionic fighters often rely on a combination
of their powers and modern weapons, as firearms
are just as effective in combat as psionic powers.
DENIZENS
The only races in this world are humans and
psionics. And though psionics do engage in
criminal activities just as much as humans, there
are no outright “bad guy groups” in the inter-
faction conflict: each side believes that it is
fighting for the greater good.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
MR. X’S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED YOUTH
This adventure assumes that the players’ characters
are either unaware of the secret psionic war or are
a small group currently trying to quietly exist “off
the radar” in a small town. They can be of any
faction, as long as their current goal is to remain
unnoticed by other factions in the war.
ACT I: TALENT SCOUTS
While out and about buying groceries, banking, or
otherwise taking care of the business of maintaining
a seemingly normal existence, the characters learn
of a talent contest scheduled to be held in town
next week. Rather than a public show, this will be a
private review by representatives of an anonymous
benefactor who seeks to provide the best and
brightest youths with scholarships to various
universities and arts schools.
The town is abuzz with excitement, as parents
and children alike discuss how best to prepare.
Local politicians and civic organizations take the
opportunity to promote the community by giving
interviews with regional news agencies.
The characters find themselves questioned by
friendly townspeople about any special talents
their own young relatives and friends might have.
In all, it is an uncomfortable time for anyone
hoping to remain inconspicuous.
If they investigate this mysterious benefactor,
the characters learn that he is well hidden from
discovery, though the schools mentioned report
having received scholarships in his name.
Pressing further invites questions in return,
concerning what the characters’ interest is in this
information and how they intend to use it.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
During the course of the next week, as the
talent scouting takes place, those tested remain
surprisingly close-mouthed about the process,
citing non-disclosure forms and not wanting to
spoil their chances for a scholarship. Through
careful questioning, the characters can learn,
however, that the competition involves not just
talent demonstrations, but also thorough medical
examinations, and even neurological scans during
yoga and Zen meditation.
ACT II: WAITING BY THE PHONE
With the testing ended, the townsfolk await news
of the results. Weeks pass with no news, a
month, and then another. Local authorities are
unable to contact testing representatives to learn
anything. It seems as if the benefactor’s
organization has simply disappeared from the
face of the earth.
The townsfolk go through the classic five
stages of grieving: First denying any problem (with
patience, news will come); then angrily denouncing
the secretive person who raised their children’s
hopes only to dash them so cruelly; then
bargaining for alternative sources of funding, and
offering tax breaks to any businesses that might
help; then slipping into a general depression that
such an opportunity has come and gone; and
finally accepting the situation and moving on as if
it had never happened.
If possible, the Game Host should provide
this act as background to a series of other
adventures, allowing the town’s grieving to play
out over time, and stretching out the heroes’
discomfort about it.
ACT III: OPERATION PIED PIPER
Finally, however, when the townsfolk come to
accept their situation and let their guard down, a
military-style nighttime raid befalls the town. The
raiders attack homes and steal children, leaving
any defenders wounded or dead.
Depending on their reaction, the characters
may take part in the town’s defense, though doing
so could betray whatever powers or training they
may have been hiding. During this action, they
might also kill or capture one or more of the
invaders, and learn from them exactly what faction
in the psionic war is behind the attack.
As Game Host, you can choose to reveal the
attackers as either the characters’ worst enemies,
LESTER SMITH
or as a well-funded group that is sympathetic to
the characters’ goals. What the characters decide to
do next—remain in town as its secret defenders,
follow the invaders and lead a retaliatory or rescue
operation, or follow them and ask to join forces—
is ultimately your players’ decision.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
A GUARDIAN MISSION: A small-town psionic
settlement belonging to the Guardian faction
sends a distress call to their ruling Council,
stating that they are being attacked by unknown
forces. When reinforcements are sent, they find
that the settlement leader has gone missing along
with his entire family, but no one in the
settlement can seem to remember the attack
itself. By order of the New Haven Council of the
Guardians, a team of psionic investigators must
find out what happened here and try to save the
kidnapped family.
AN ANGEL MISSION: One Angel settlement has
grown in population to the point that the
leadership has decided to split it into two in order
to keep the size small enough not to attract
unwanted attention from Wolves and other
aggressors. Thus, half of the psionic families here
will move to another town and set up a new
settlement there. A team of Angels, including
civilians and Seraphim, are tasked with choosing
the new location and organizing the exodus. But
this must be done stealthily, avoiding prying eyes
and interference from the Guardians and other
factions. Failure could jeopardize the lives of
more than fifty Angel families.
A WOLF MISSION: A psionic serial killer,
formerly a member of the Meridian faction, is on
the loose in the city, and the body count is rising.
A team of Wolves is sent to the Dog’s Gate, a
neutral-ground bar and restaurant where they
hope to speak with Meridian representatives and
gain information about their target. When they
arrive, they discover that both the Guardians and
the Angels have also begun investigations into
this serial killing. As long as the killer is stopped,
CREDITS
DESIGN: Adrian Howell. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER: Pintado. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“SHATTER” & “SPARK” ILLOS: K8 Smith, edited from “Sad Girl Looks Through Broken Windows Glass” by
Steven Depolo, “IMG_11815_Shuishalian” by Mark Kao, & “Floater” by linspiration777, all licensed under CC BY 2.0.
- 154 -
it doesn’t matter who gets to him first, but the
real problem is what happens if all three teams
arrive at the same time.
A GOD-SLAYER MISSION: An anonymous tip has
put the God-slayers in a position where they might
be able to take out an entire psionic gathering due
to take place in a week’s time at a secluded
location in the city. But can this tip be trusted?
The lesser gods are tricky and without morals, so
the Slayer team must first carefully confirm the
validity of their information or risk walking into an
ambush. But time is of the essence, and even if the
tip can be trusted, it will still take a concentrated
effort to vanquish this gathering of evil.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Campaigns in the Psionic Pentalogy setting can be
about conquest, about maintaining the status quo,
or about vengeance.
ANGEL-BASED CAMPAIGNS in particular tend
to be about defeating or absorbing other psionic
groups, conquering the world, and establishing a
psionic mastery of the world for the good of all
humankind.
WOLF-BASED CAMPAIGNS have a similar theme,
with the primary goal of capturing psionics and
delivering them to research facilities, in order to
learn to either emulate or neutralize their powers.
GUARDIAN-BASED CAMPAIGNS tend to be
about preserving individual freedoms, which
means maintaining the status quo.
GOD-SLAYER CAMPAIGNS are focused on
destroying all psionics as blasphemous affronts to
the true faith (whatever brand of faith that may
be for the particular God-slayer group).
INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGNS may have a
primary purpose of simply remaining free, with a
secondary purpose of avenging the capture,
torture, or the death of loved ones.
FINAL COMMENTS
Any of these campaigns can shift focus, of
course, as characters grow and develop new
perspectives about their psionic-war-torn world.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
THE SEVENTH CROWN
Bryan Steele
The high-fantasy setting of The
Seventh Crown places your heroes in a
time of epic change, in a world
defined not by borders or territories,
but by the ironclad control of a few
magical crowns.

BACKGROUND
Seventh Crown takes place on the highly
magical continent of Kanis, a
fantastical place that was once home
to the Audaran Dynasty, a powerful
dwarven empire. This alliance of
dwarves, gnomes, elves, halflings, and
men was shattered by an invasion of
an ogre armada magically controlled
and unified by a devilish ogre mage
named Mael. Mael, the Allslord King
of Ogres, turned ten thousand chaotic
monsters into a fighting army through
the use of his magical helm—the
Dominion Cowl. With its power,
Mael landed a hundred mighty
warships upon Kanis’s shores and
directed them in a year-long assault
on the Audaran Dynasty.
The onslaught the ogres brought
upon Kanis forced the dynasty’s
dwarven king, Ghufor IX, to spend
nearly all the royal treasury hiring the king and shattered the Dominion Cowl into seven
mighty silver dragon Xantemax and his brethren pieces, sundering his army of ogres, orcs, and
from the southern islands. These scaly mercenaries goblins back into their normal anarchy. The Ogre
did their best to help stem the tide of ogres from War ended, but the Audaran Dynasty was
the West, but the Ogre War would eventually wounded deeply, and it fell into chaos. This power
claim the lives of tens of thousands—including the vacuum would never be repaired, due to the
dwarven king and Xantemax before it came to an discovery of the Dominion Cowl’s still-powerful
end at the walls of Diamor, the capital. broken pieces.
At that battle, when things looked bleakest, The six pieces of Mael’s artifact were
divine influence aimed a lucky ballista bolt into the discovered to have a power to influence their
Allslord’s magical helm. The impact killed the ogre bearer’s own race, akin to the command the

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LESTER SMITH
Allslord had over his ogre army. The six golden
chunks found at Diamor were forged into the six
known Crowns of Leadership, ensuring that Kanis
would never again see a single governing peace.
The bearer of each Crown forms a magical bond
with every being that shares his or her racial
lineage, creating six kingdoms defined not by
borders, territory, or religion. These six Crowns
are what binds a kingdom together under the will
of the rulers, but the power struggles between
them can change with an action as simple as one
race losing its Crown to another. One kingdom
loses its cohesion and collective will…and another
rises up and is formed. The six Crowns of
Leadership, the laws and edicts of their bearers,
and the eternal search for the mythic seventh
Crown are what drive the people of Kanis.
Will you serve your own ruler willingly, or fight
against the influence of the Crowns?
THE KANISI PANTHEON
The primary gods and goddesses of Kanis claim
worshippers with a multitude of lifestyles, which
further shapes the world.
CASTIONNE: Goddess of protection, defense,
and shield of the hearth; also Rhyfaa’s god-wife.
FOESLEN: God of thieves, muggers, and
cutthroats.
LATTOX: Storm god, master of weather and
watchman of sailing vessels.
NULAN: Goddess of knowledge and learning;
the “grandmother of magic.”
RHYFAA: Powerful god of vengeance, justice,
and righteous war; also Castionne’s god-husband.
THE SHADES: Demonic entities worshipped by
a secret cult.
THORNRELL: Treelike god of growth, life, and
healing.
WILD ONES: Nature spirits universally
worshipped by the fey and druids.
WRAX: Orcish god of war, chaos, and bloodshed.
ZOH’L: Goddess of Death; the gatekeeper to the
afterlife.
OCCUPATIONS
While the Occupations chapter covers many of
the common folk in Seventh Crown, adventurers
may find the following options of more interest.
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ARCANIST: Magic is both strong and prevalent in
Kanis, and many folk can wield the aether of
arcane magic. Whether learned through studious
tutoring, born from a mystical heritage, or
infused with powers from otherworldly masters,
many partake of magic. Examples: Cultist
Sorcerer, Draconic Magi, Halfling Culinary
Caster, University Wizard.
CLERGY: The many gods of Kanis are a strong
influence upon the land. Their many servants
live throughout society, doing their holy (or
unholy) works for the populace in a variety of
ways based on the teachings of their faiths.
Examples: Rhyfaan Crusaders, Nulani Learners,
Wraxan Berserkers, Black Path Cultists, Final
Rest Paladins.
SOLDIER: The conflicts of Kanis are so
widespread and random that those of the martial
persuasion are a necessity. Training to cross
blades for glory, loyalty, and coin, countless
Kanisi are ready to do battle for their community,
allies, or Crown. Examples: Merchant Marine
Corsairs, Dwarven Mountain Guard, Soldiers of
the Road, Dragonborn Pirates, Mercenaries.
URBANITE: Many of Kanis’s cities are massive
structures surviving from the Dynastic Age,
putting thousands of peoples in urban settings.
Life moves at an increased pace inside their walls,
and many opportunities exist for those willing to
pursue a living there. Examples: Street Thieves,
Bards, Con Artistes, Smugglers.
WILDER: Much of Kanis remains untamed
wilderness, and a large number of its inhabitants
make their livings amongst the predators, prey,
and monsters left unchecked in the world. They
help make the journeys between populated areas
survivable—or perhaps more dangerous.
Examples: Northland Barbarians, Wild Druids,
Farsteader Rangers, Frontiersmen.
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics, Bargaining,
First Aid, Lockpicking, Martial Arts, Navigation,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Ride Animal, Second
Language, Shooting, Sneaking, Swimming,
Throwing, and Tracking are suitable. Heroes in the
Seventh Crown setting may also choose from the
following list.

ARCANA: There is much beyond the scope and
understanding of the common mind, but some
have learned these facets. This skill includes the
identification of monstrous beings, of magic in
use, and of potential otherworldly entities.
DIVINE BLESSINGS: The gods of Kanis work
minor miracles through the hands of their clergy
and devout followers. These blessings vary from
god to god, and include magical healing,
protection and divination spells, and other rituals.
How these skills work through their servants is
primarily dependent on the deity in question.
DIVINE WRATHS: Just as the Kanisi gods bring
aid and guidance to the world through their
faithful, they also can call down ferocious fury
with which their followers can smite their foes.
Columns of fire, lightning from the heavens, and
life-stealing nimbuses of dark energy are some of
the terrible powers they can funnel through their
priests and paladins.
DRACONIC GIFT: The dragons of Kanis
primarily live on the southern islands, but they
have been intermingling with the Kanisi for eons.
This has left many marks of the draconic on
some sorcerers and, of course, an entire species:
the dragonborn. This skill covers the use of gifts
from that bloodline; especially calling up gouts of
flame, acid, or freezing cold from within their
scaly gullets.
FEY MAGIC: Ancient magics of nature and the
wild, the otherworldly fey granted mortal beings
many magical spells and incantations. Shaping
living wood, calling up elemental servants, and
controlling animal life are just some of the
common uses.
ILLUSIONS: A branch of magic that alters or fools
the senses, illusion is a favorite of tricksters and
cultists. From basic chicanery to the obfuscation
of sinister activities, the use of illusions is nothing
less than raw deception given form.
NECROMANCY: As long as there has been
magic, some mortals try to use it to control the
balance of life and death. Necromancy is the
magical command of death energy. Animating
dead flesh, sucking vitality from the living, or
speaking with those who have passed beyond;
these dark spells do that and much more.
RESISTANCE: The Crowns of Leadership affect
the free will and decisions of their kingdoms
from many miles away (see Special Rules below),
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but not everyone is happy about being a part of
their king or queen’s loyal following. This skill is
used to force aside the influence of the Crowns,
and is a practice of fierce personal willpower.
SHAPESHIFT: The most loyal servants of the
Wild Ones, Kanisi Druids, can assume the
physical shape of the continent’s wild animals.
This skill is not only the ability to understand and
magically take these shapes, but also the way to
use their new forms’ many gifts.
WAR WIZARDRY: Whether trained by the
University or self-taught through mystic
backgrounds, the use of magic to hurl fireballs,
conjure massive elemental warriors, and enhance
the abilities of allied soldiers is well known. Any
calling of arcane power to aid in conflict is
collectively war wizardry.
WITCHCRAFT: Summoning demons, brewing
foul tinctures, and putting horrid curses and
hexes on their foes; these are the powers that
warlocks and witches traffic in.
SPECIAL RULES
MAGIC: While a full spell list is beyond the scope
of this chapter, level-based systems can be adapted
to this setting by assigning spells to the skills
above, treating spell level as required Success
Levels, and adapting duration and effect to the
D6xD6 Conflict and Damage chapter rules.
THE CROWNS: What most sets Kanis apart from
other high-fantasy realms is the powerful
influence the Crowns of Leadership have upon
the races of the wearers. The laws, wills and
edicts made by the kings and queens are felt like
mental tugs; the closer the Crown is to the person
in question, the stronger the influence is.
The following table shows the Difficulty
Rating of Resistance skill rolls, based on how
near the commanding Crown the person is
located. (Bonuses noted for great distance are
applied to the high die before multiplying.)
DISTANCE (MILES) DIFFICULTY
200+ 2-point bonus
101–200 1-bonus
11–100 Average
1–10 Formidable
Less than 1 Impossible
LESTER SMITH
The six current bearers of the Crowns of
Leadership and a few of their normal edicts follow.
HER MAJESTY, JILLIAN MAE CATERINE,
QUEEN OF MEN
• No human-controlled territory can forbid
halfling travelers. They must be allowed to
visit freely for a period of time no shorter
than three days; beyond that time is
dependent on the local authorities.
• A host who feeds you a meal and shares his
drink in his home or business is not to be
harmed until sunrise of the following day.
• The gods are allies to mankind; no harm can
come to public shrines or temples.
VORRILAR DYSORL, ELVEN KING BENEATH
• Any elf who requests hospitality in the home
of another elf cannot be turned away; break
the hospitality given and suffer at the hands
of the homeowner.
• Elves can be slave owners, but never enslaved.
• Shed no blood during a wedding of elves.
KING RAGMORUND, LORD OF DWARVES
• Dwarves must never mistreat a gnome that
has committed no crime against them.
• No dwarf can refuse to fill the mug of a
wounded soldier, no matter the cost.
• An ogre head, still fresh with flesh, can be
traded to any dwarven merchant for its
silver weight in trade.
KING AHRGRUK MANFOE, HIGH WARLORD OF ORCS
• An honorable challenge in combat must be
accepted if made by any of orcish blood,
and denied if made by any of elven blood.
• Never accept surrender from an unwounded
foe.
• Keep the spoils from what you kill.
VENERABLE KYYLIGAR, THE DRAGON KING
• Dragon shall not kill dragon.
• A dragon’s lair is sanctuary. None may
enter, save the King, without permission.
• A dragon shall keep its promises and oaths;
the honor of all dragons is marred by the
failings of any.
MATRIARCH HHALENAE, GRANDEST OF KOBOLDS
• Dragons are the enemy and their
dragonborn servants cannot be trusted.
• Peace purchased with food or drink is peace
well purchased.
• Goblins are the enemy; do not tolerate their
presence.
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EQUIPMENT
The world of Seventh Crown setting is a high-
fantasy setting with a touch of a medieval flair.
Swords, armor, shields, and all your common
adventuring fare should be available. Magical
versions of weapons, armor, and equipment are
also common, with some enchantments being as
simple as a ring giving off light in the dark, an
edge that never dulls, or possibly a shield that
reflects spells away from it. Gunpowder has not
been invented in this world, however.
DENIZENS
A host of monsters threaten the lives of
adventurers and common folk alike on the
continent of Kanis, ranging from vicious goblins
and orcs, horrid undead abominations, and
mythic beasts such as hydras and manticores. The
wilds are filled with terrible things that spring
from myth and legend.
Humanoid races of Kanis include:
DWARVES: Proud and stout, these people recall
their days at the head of the Dynasty. A dwarf
never forgets, and always stands by his word.
ELVES: Split into two camps, the light-skinned
surface elves are devoted to magic and artistry,
while the charcoal-hued dark elves from the
Great Beneath strive to conquer the surface
world through trickery and deceit.
HALFLINGS: Nomadic folk full of life, mirth,
and adventure, they travel in family caravans that
cross the continent in search of wonder.
HUMANS: The lifeblood of labor, shipping and
commerce across all of Kanis, humans are
omnipresent, but not omnipotent.
DRAGONBORN: The ancient pawns of their
draconic forefathers, these people are often
sailors, pirates, and sellswords devoted to coin
and glory.
GNOMES: These diminutive scholars and tinkers
willingly serve the dwarves as a way to prove their
mathematic Great Equation, which will earn
them rulership of the world—eventually.
HALF-ELVES & HALF-ORCS: The interbreeding
of men with other species creates numerous
spawn that find themselves unfortunately torn
between the power of two Crowns.
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LESTER SMITH
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
A DARK SHIP SAILS
This adventure introduces heroes to several
denizens of the world of Seventh Crown.
ACT I: THE DOCKS AT NIGHT
The heroes are enjoying a night out at the pubs of
Dusk Landing, a major shipping port, when they
hear screams along the wharves. A dozen or more
shambling undead have been spotted, seemingly
searching for something out to sea and attacking
anyone in their way. After dispatching the zombies,
the heroes learn that similar events have been
happening as of late: always undead, always by the
water’s edge. They need to investigate further if the
docks of Dusk Landing will ever be safe again.
ACT II: HELPING THE WATCH
Learning of the heroes’ actions, the Magistrate’s
Watch contact the party and request that they
help patrol the area to see if they can turn up why
this keeps happening. A few street thugs and a
wharf drunk will report the following if bribed,
intimidated, or coerced: the walking dead roam all
the way to pier nine at the end and wait there
until a long, black ship crewed by dark creatures
comes and lets them board. Then the ship
departs into the night fog again, taking along with
it any living beings that the zombies can restrain.
ACT III: THE BLACK YACHT
Once they learn of the pattern of undead at pier
nine, the heroes can set an ambush for the next
group of shamblers and wait for the black ship.
This ship, a mysterious northern vessel crewed by
silent undead dragonborn and half-orc zombies,
will come to the pier to bring the undead on
board and battle the heroes if they are at the pier.
If the heroes overcome the horrible crew, who
are not intelligent but instead act out of some
kind of necromantic programming, they find a
small chest of age-tarnished Dynastic Era gold
coins: and a recent map leading to an island far
off the southwest coast that is not on any known
map. What could that possibly lead to?
CREDITS
DESIGN: Bryan Steele. EDITING: Lester Smith & Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Heath Foley. KANIS MAP: Tim Toolen.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
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ADVENTURE SEEDS
A multitude of plots, schemes, and hooks can
give a group of adventurers reason to band
together and strive for the common good.
GOBLINS SQUABBLIN’: A bitter guerrilla war
rages between the goblins of Gobtown and the
Queen of Kobolds in Derrow Fields that could
escalate at any moment.
BLACK AND BRASS: A black dragon named
Kazuluzak has taken up hidden residence in the
Spyne, and wants to find suitable, well-paid
pawns to make moves against King Kyyligar the
Brass to take his Crown.
BLADES OF VENOM: Luola, the gnomish
Smuggling Queen of XeSon, needs able bodies to
take dark, poisoned weapons to the assassins of
the human nobles of the Von Juhn Clan.
CRIMSON SWATH: A vicious crimson
dragonborn pirate captain, Sanguir Rex, is raiding
up and down the Dunwater coast, and the trading
companies need help to protect their shipments.
ORCS AND ELVES: The King of Orcs is on the
warpath, and despite all the people in his way, he
has eyes for the elven Glades.
DRAWN TO DEATH: Uncontrolled undead are
migrating southwest for some unknown reason,
and even some sentient undead claim to feel this
pull: similar to that of a Crown of Leadership.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
So much is at stake in Seventh Crown that cannot
possibly be contained in a few plotlines, and a
great deal of the moving and shaking of Kanis is
due to the six Crowns, the hundreds of
thousands of lives they control, and the potential
for finding the missing seventh Crown of
Leadership. The search for this lost piece of
legendry could be an epic campaign indeed!
For more in depth information on the
growing Seventh Crown world, head over to
facebook.com/seventhcrownrpg and join the
setting community for details!
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF
SHOTGUNS & SORCERY
Matt Forbeck
Noir sensibilities and firearms
technology meet epic fantasy in the
Shotguns & Sorcery novels and stories.
This setting chapter allows you to
visit that world as a hero of your
own design. Also be sure to check
out the full Shotguns & Sorcery role-
playing game from Outland
Entertainment.

BACKGROUND
Shotguns & Sorcery is set in Dragon
City, a grim and gritty fantasy
metropolis built on top of and inside
of a walled-off mountain and ruled
over by an ancient dragon known as
the Dragon Emperor. Legions of
zombies scratch at the stones of the
Great Circle every hour of the night,
trying to tear down the wall for their
mysterious necromantic commander,
the Ruler of the Dead.
Inside the wall, people work and
scheme to find an edge and get ahead
in the city’s dark alleys and on its
magically lit streets. Green-skinned
folk squat down in Goblintown,
stacked right up against the wall, where
they can hear the moaning of the dead
all night long. Above them, the rest of
the citizens live in neighborhoods of
their own, each stratified by their
residents’ longevity and social
standing, which makes for the kind of barriers no dwarven gangs. As long as you keep your nose
hack on an enchanted carpet can fly you past. clean and give a wide berth to the Imperial Guard,
Robbing the ruins that lay outside the Great there’s a fortune to be made in Dragon City.
Circle is illegal, but it’s also the best way for people Just hope you live long enough to enjoy it.
with questionable talents and rune-laced shotguns Note: Elements described here are set before
to keep the gold flowing. And most days it beats the events in the three Shotguns & Sorcery novels:
selling dragon essence to the addicts who use it to Hard Times in Dragon City, Bad Times in Dragon City,
fuel their magics, or hiring out as muscle for the and End Times in Dragon City.

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LESTER SMITH
OCCUPATIONS
Shotguns & Sorcery is set in a large city filled with
tens of thousands of people. Heroes can have
just about any kind of occupation they like, as
long as it fits with the setting. That said, there are
a few occupations that work best in most Shotguns
& Sorcery games.
Note that there are no religious figures in
Shotguns & Sorcery—no clerics of any kind. While
the citizens of Dragon City have their rituals, they
owe their allegiance to the Dragon Emperor
himself, whose power rivals that of any god.
ADVENTURER: Some people are either brave or
stupid enough to venture out past the Great
Circle. On a rare occasion, they have a license
from the Imperial Dragon’s Guard, but most
often they just sneak out to illegally plunder
nearby ruins or tombs, seeking riches and magics
they can claim as their own. They often band
together in groups with complementary skills and
agree to split equally any treasure found.
ARMORER: The people of Dragon City don’t
wear much armor, because bullets do a damn fine
job of poking right through most types—unless
it’s enchanted. But armor’s even less effective
against enchanted guns loaded with enchanted
ammunition. Armorers are wizards who
specialize in crafting such magical weapons.
CRIMINAL: Not everyone in Dragon City can
make an honest living. Many dwarves, for instance,
are affiliated in some way with the organized-crime
rings that run the Stronghold. The green-skinned
people who dwell in Goblintown often can’t find
legitimate work and hire out as enforcers. Still
others deal in illegal booze like dragonfire or—
worse yet—drugs like dragon essence.
GUARD: The Imperial Dragon’s Guard serves as
the city’s police force and military. Only elves are
allowed to be part of the guard proper. Other
races are permitted to join the Imperial Dragon’s
Auxiliary Guard instead and are relegated to
patrolling the parts of town lower than the
Stronghold Gates.
INVESTIGATOR: Investigators are people who
make a habit of sticking their noses in where they
don’t belong. This gets them into all sorts of
trouble, since Dragon City is a place filled with lots
of secrets folk would rather keep private. But this
nosiness also allows them to do the most good.
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WIZARD: All official wizards in Dragon City are
educated at the Academy of Arcane
Apprenticeship. Those who do well graduate and
become Academy teachers themselves. Those
who do even better make a fortune and build
their own places in the nearby Wizards Way.
SKILLS
Most skills listed in the Basic Skills chapter can be
used in Shotguns & Sorcery without alteration. The
Computers skill doesn’t exist, of course. A few
others need a bit more explanation.
LANGUAGES: The people of Dragon City all
speak a common tongue. Elves and dwarves also
speak an elder language, but almost no one uses
it, except for on formal occasions.
LITERACY: Most people in Dragon City can read
just fine—or at least enough to get by.
MAGIC: A character with an Unfocused skill in
Magic can cast cantrips (minor spells) that serve
more as effects than attacks. This includes things
like filling a cup of coffee, producing a bit of
light, or figuring out a direction.
A character with a Focused Magic skill can
cast ritual spells. These are more complex and
often take far more time, but they have far more
powerful effects.
Such characters can also cast a number of fast
spells per day, equal to 10 minus their Focus
number. (Fast spells take a single action and can be
cast in one round.) When they run out of fast spells
to cast, they must get at least six hours of sleep to
recharge their abilities. Or they can cheat and use
magical drugs. (See the Special Rules below.)
SPECIAL RULES
The following rules apply to Shotguns & Sorcery
adventures.
SPELLS
While a full spell list is beyond the scope of this
chapter, players and the Game Host can adapt
supernatural powers and abilities from other
D6×D6 settings, treating them as arcane magics.
Any level-based spell system can also be
adapted to this setting by treating spell level as
number of Success Levels needed to cast the spell,
by adjusting casting time and spell duration to
D6×D6 combat rounds, and by comparing other
effects to the core rules. The World of Esfah
setting chapter provides an example of importing

an outside spell list into this game, and it could
easily serve the Shotguns & Sorcery setting.
RACES
Each character must be of one of a number of
different fantasy races. In order of social standing
(from greatest to least), these include elves, dwarves,
gnomes, halflings, humans, orcs, and goblins.
The higher the race’s social standing, the
higher its members live on the mountain.
ELVES live in the Elven Reaches, just below the
Dragon’s Spire—the Dragon Emperor’s lair at
the mountain’s summit.
DWARVES live in the Stronghold, which goes
deep into the mountain’s roots as well.
GNOMES live in Gnometown.
HALFLINGS live in the Big Burrow.
HUMANS live Downtown (though they tend to
mix with other neighborhoods more than any
other race).
ORCS and GOBLINS live in Goblintown, right up
against the Great Circle, the massive wall that
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protects the city from the zombie hordes
roaming outside.
MAGICAL DRUGS
Drugs that enhance magical abilities are illegal
and grounds for the Imperial Dragon’s Guard to
arrest people and throw them in the Garret, an
impregnable prison high atop a secondary peak.
All sorts of these drugs exist, but the two most
famous are dragonfire and dragon essence.
DRAGONFIRE is a diluted form of dragon
essence that’s distilled into an alcoholic base.
When decanted into a glass, it glows with a blue
flame that doesn’t produce heat or burn anything.
A shot of dragonfire gives a wizard the ability to
cast another fast spell that day.
Unfortunately, to get the spell to work, you
must make a hazard roll with two dice. If you get
double 1s, the spell fails and the character loses the
ability to cast spells for the rest of the day. For
each additional shot consumed, add one to the
number of doubles that can cause a problem. For
example, after three shots, the wizard’s spell would
LESTER SMITH
fail on double 1s, 2s, or 3s. This functions all the
way up to six shots. Waiting an hour lowers this
hazard roll one step.
DRAGON ESSENCE is sheer power in powdered
form. It can be snorted or mixed into a drink or
food, but hardcore users prefer to smoke it in a
hookah. One dose of dragon essence cuts a
spell’s casting time by ninety percent. It also
makes the user useless after the spell is cast, until
getting at least six hours of rest.
EQUIPMENT
Technology in Dragon City often features a
distinct magical aspect. While society has evolved
to fit the flavor of the Roaring Twenties in the
USA, technology itself sits at late 19th-century
levels. Citizens have weapons like shotguns,
pistols, and rifles, but the power of electricity is
not well understood.
In most cases, if magic can make an acceptable
substitute, it fills a need that technology might
otherwise have managed. Enchanted glowglobes
light the streets, for instance, rather than gas lamps
or electric lights. Flying carpets take the place of
cars, and magical levitation replaces elevators.
Dragon City has a distinct lack of horses and
farm animals. Such beasts just eat too much and
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make too much of a mess, and most of them are
unsuited to the city’s streets and the unusual angles
and grades the mountain requires.
Much of the food in Dragon City is generated
via magic. Some of it comes from high-altitude
farms located outside the Great Circle, places too
remote to be bothered by the undead, but this
can’t always provide a stable supply. Other food
is imported via airship.
ENCHANTED WEAPONS: Characters may acquire
enchanted weapons during their adventures, things
like rune-covered shotguns or enchanted shells. In
general, an enchanted weapon bumps the
weapon’s regular damage up by one step.
Basic enchanted ammunition bumps the
damage up a step too. Thus a character using
enchanted ammunition in an enchanted firearm
gets an advantage of two steps up. Some special
enchanted ammunition can have a spell effect
associated with it rather than a damage bump. This
can do things like freeze a struck target or ignite it.
ARMOR: Few people in Dragon City wear armor.
Some do wear clothes enchanted for protection.
Enchantment increases an item’s armor rating
without adding to its bulk. Enchanted clothing, for
example, protects as Light armor, while an
enchanted leather coat protects as Medium armor.

Members of the Imperial Dragon’s Guard are
the exception to the no-armor rule. They often wear
some kind of obvious protection while on the job,
although this is usually in the form of enchanted
Medium armor, which protects as Heavy armor.
DENIZENS
The following notables bear mentioning.
THE DRAGON EMPEROR rules over Dragon City
with a clawed and mailed fist. He does not speak
directly to others but instead communicates via
magic with an elf known as the Voice. The Voice
remains with the Dragon Emperor at all times, and
on the rare occasion during which the ruler of
Dragon City leaves his home in the Dragon’s
Spire, the Voice rides in a basket worn around the
Dragon Emperor’s neck. The Voice wears a
flaming cloak that renders him immune to the
Dragon Emperor’s intense heat.
THE RULER OF THE DEAD has never been seen
inside Dragon City. An ancient necromancer, she
has controlled the hordes of zombies that roam
the lands outside of the Great Circle since before
the wall’s creation. Her location is a tightly held
secret, but even if someone were to learn where
she was, that person would have to battle through
thousands of undead monsters to reach her.
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THE BLACK HAND is a band of black-clad orcish
assassins employed by the Ruler of the Dead.
Though they rarely make an appearance inside the
Great Circle, they are legendary for slaughtering
any who cross their path.
ZOMBIES numbered in the tens of thousands roam
the lands outside of Dragon City, which stands as
the last known holdout of the living on the
continent. Anyone who ventures outside of the city
must deal with this ever-present threat. Despite
having been deceased for countless years, these
magically preserved horrors remain strong as ever.
MAX GIBSON washed out of wizarding and
decided to try his hand at adventuring. After
losing his best friend to the zombies, he hung it
up. These days he hires himself out as a private
investigator and does what he can to forget how
he got to this point. He lives in an apartment in
the Big Burrow, right above the Barrel Rider
restaurant, and spends most nights Downtown at
his favorite bar, the Quill.
BELLE took up adventuring with Max and the
rest of his motley crew of half-cocked heroes
through sheer boredom with her long, languid
life in the Elven Heights—much to her parents’
dismay. She’s since worked her way back into
their good graces, but only by cutting off any
LESTER SMITH
contact with her old friends. She now spends her
days trying to convince herself that she won’t
miss all those short-timers when they’re gone.
MOIRA is a Halfling who had everything she
wanted as a child—except relief from her tedium.
To cure that, she took up as an adventurer with
Max Gibson, who used to frequent her parents
restaurant, the Barrel Rider. She’s since
developed an addiction to dragon essence, which
she deals in social circles higher than her own.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
THE DRAGON’S CLAW
Welcome, heroes, to the dark side of Dragon City.
ACT I: THE RAID
The heroes are relaxing in their favorite
Downtown bar, the Quill, which is owned by ex-
adventurer Max Gibson. A runt of a goblin
named Gret approaches and offers to sell them a
magical artifact known as the Dragon’s Claw,
which is reputed to grant wishes. She would use it
herself, but she doesn’t think she’s clever enough
to manage it without horrible repercussions.
Before the heroes can respond, the Imperial
Dragon’s Guard raids the place, led by an ice-
cold elf captain named Yabair. Gret manages to
slip away by leaping out of a high window.
Questioning the heroes, the guards use a spell to
detect any illicit magic on their captives. They
discover a small black shard of something they
identify as concentrated dragon essence, perhaps
shed by the Dragon Emperor himself.
With some fast talking, the heroes can convince
the guards to let them go—after the dragon essence
is confiscated. Yabair warns them that Gret would
be better off turning herself in. The guard will treat
her better than others who might find her.
ACT II: DOWN TO GOBLINTOWN
With some poking around, the heroes discover
that Gret lives in one of the worst slums in
Goblintown. Venturing there means facing
crowded lanes full of pickpockets, thieves, and
ruffians, so the heroes will need to put on their
own best bully-boy faces to pass unmolested.
CREDITS
DESIGN: Matt Forbeck. EDITING: Lester Smith & Dale A. Donovan. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis.
LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday. NOVEL COVER DESIGN: Matt Forbeck. OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS: Jeremy Mohler.
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When they arrive to talk with Gret or collect
her, she comes racing out to beg them for help. A
gang of orcs led by a one-eyed troll is after her
treasure, and they’re intent on fighting for it. It’s
time for the heroes to show what they’re made of.
ACT III: DUST UP
No matter how the previous encounter shakes
out, Yabair shows up with a squad of guards
before things go too far sideways. The troll and
orcs do their best to escape, leaving the heroes to
deal with the guards. Fortunately, Yabair doesn’t
bear any particular ill will toward the characters.
He reveals that Gret is a con artist he’s been
after for months, and the troll and orcs are in on
the scam. Yabair used the heroes to track her for
him and flush out her compatriots. The Dragon’s
Claw itself is an utter fake. The heroes can keep
the prop claw as a memento if they want it.
If they press for some kind of reward, Yabair
rolls his eyes and tells them he might not suspect
them instantly of the next crime he hears they’ve
committed—if they’re lucky.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
THE MAP: An old adventurer offers the heroes a
map to the Tomb of Kings, a legendary place where
former rulers were buried before the zombies came.
Verifying its accuracy may prove fatal.
AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE: The heroes
come to the attention of the Brecht family, the
most notorious of the dwarven crime syndicates.
These dwarves can make powerful allies—and
even worse enemies.
LOOT DROP: The heroes stumble across a sack
of gold coins and a sack of dragon essence in an
alley full of bodies. Surely someone must be
looking for this missing loot!
CAMPAIGNS
For more information about playing in the world
of Shotguns & Sorcery, check out the tabletop role-
playing game from Outland Entertainment. With
the guidelines provided in this chapter, you can
adapt that material to the D6×D6 RPG, or use
the Cypher System in that game book.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE EMPIRES OF STEAM & RUST

Stephen D. Sullivan & Robert E. Vardeman
The world of Steam & Rust is a
steampunk fantasy setting involving
the inter-dimensional collision of a
world similar to our own at the start
of the 20th century—the world of
Steam—and a world rife with entropy
and decay—the world of Rust.
Players take the roles of
archeologists, explorers, treasure
hunters, scientist–inventors, military
men, spies, or similar adventurous
characters from the world of Steam.
(The world of Rust remains largely
unknown and unexplored at this
point.) Because the world is a very
wide place, this setting chapter
focuses on Russia.
Step into a world that smells of oil
and wood smoke, of gunpowder and
ozone, of lush forests and unspoiled
seas, of fresh–baked goods and
drying herbs. It’s a world filled with
locomotives and airships, with spies
and military conquest, with
exploration and adventure!

BACKGROUND
The year is 1915. The world is
similar to our own, but not quite the
same. Here, the Wright Brothers
never left their bicycle shop and
never flew at Kitty Hawk. There is
great talk of heavier-than-air flight,
but dirigible airships are cheap and
fast. Railways span most countries, and even Force (AEF) took northern Mexico away, but the
many continents. Automobiles crowd city streets territory has not been officially annexed to the
and venture ever farther down unpaved country United States.
roads (though the horse has not yet been entirely Africa remains a continent of poverty and is
banished to the farm). New triumphs of science largely unexplored.
and technology are revealed almost daily. This In Europe, France and England continue to
miraculous new world is powered by steam. squabble, but major war is brewing between
Russia and Prussia. Russia is governed by Czarina
THE EMPIRES OF STEAM Alexandra, advised by Rasputin. The Russian
In North America, Teddy Roosevelt is president Revolution was crushed, Kerensky exiled, and
of the United States. The American Expeditionary Lenin killed. To show Russia’s strength after Czar

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LESTER SMITH
Nicholas’ death, the country struggled to expand.
Russia has annexed all the Scandinavian countries
and is pressing downward across the Baltic,
inflaming relations with Prussia. Russia still owns
Alaska and has a colony in the Farallones, off the
coast of San Francisco.
In England, Queen Victoria is still on the
throne––and looking younger every year.
(Speculation is that this is because of something
from the World of Rust.) Albert is dead, and the
queen has taken a series of younger lovers.
In France, simmering discontent to bring back
the monarchy is rampant.
China is still under dynastic rule. In 1416,
Chinese adventurers explored the west coast of
North America but did not colonize it. Instead,
they pushed southward and established an alliance
with the the Aztec empire against the Spanish.
Chinese trade is brisk along the west coast of
South America. China has colonized Hawaii.
The eastern portion of South America is still
split between the Portuguese and the Spanish.
Japan never underwent the Meiji restoration.
The Tokugawa Shogunate still rules but has
turned isolationist. Southeast Asia remains in
constant turmoil.
Australia is something of a mystery. The
Chinese have tried to invade repeatedly and were
always turned back by unusual weaponry. Trade
missions have been similarly rebuffed.
THE EMPIRE OF RUST
The greatest threat to the Empires of Steam are
portals to the Empire of Rust. “Black holes”
appear in various sizes at various times
throughout the Steam world. Some holes are tiny
and let through nothing more than weird insects.
Others are large enough to swallow a zeppelin.
These holes inexplicably first appeared 20 years
ago and have the amazing property of providing
instant transport across the Earth: enter on one
side of a hole and exit miles away. There has been
no controlling where the holes appear or where
they lead. Some holes are obvious to the public,
being huge and near large cities, others have been
kept secret for clandestine uses by both
government and private operatives.
Over the years, this “instantaneous” transport
through the holes has slowly taken longer, as if
the fronts and backs of the holes are stretching
apart. Now, going through a hole sometimes not
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only takes a considerable time, but passengers
moving across the void report seeing things
through the dark, misty sides of the “passage”—
distant, indistinct objects. Some even report
glimpsing ruined cities filled with grim people
moving about as if preparing for war.
A super lifting gas has been siphoned off
from the interiors of some holes—dark gas to go
with the dark matter and dark energy of that
shadow world. Atmospheric testing of samples
from the world of Rust has revealed a variety of
exotic gasses, but a paucity of pure oxygen.
Exploration through the membrane to survey
the Empire of Rust is possible. Trips in the other
direction also occur, letting the dark seep into the
Steam world and corrupt both people and things.
OCCUPATIONS
Occupations in the world of Steam & Rust are
largely the same as those in the early 20th century
Earth. Common professions for players’
characters include: Archeologist, Aviator
(Zeppelin Pilot), Carnival Fortune Teller (not a
real psychic), Escape Artist, Explorer, Inventor,
Magician (stage magic), Mechanic, Medical
Doctor or Nurse, Military Service Person, Priest
or Cleric, Reporter, Paleontologist, Photographer,
Scientist of some type, Ship’s Captain, Spy or
Assassin, Thief or Burglar.
Naturally there are also artist, musicians,
laborers, cooks, and all the other types of people
that make the world go ’round.
Additionally, some characters may have mystical
or psychic powers, or even skill with magic. Such
weird talents are the exception, not the rule, and are
usually be combined with other professions—a
witch-spy, for instance. Nevertheless, some do
endeavor to make a living solely from their
paranormal gifts, though the world views such
people with skepticism, suspicion, and fear.
SKILLS
Most skills used in this setting are those common
to early 20th century Earth and can be chosen
from the Basic Skills chapter.
Additionally, the following mystical skills can
be learned as either psionic or magical abilities.
Each approach employs these skills in a slightly
different way. Both allow Success Levels to be
accumulated over multiple rolls.

ESP/MIND READING: Basic success with this
skill discerns feelings. Greater success can reveal
images, specific thoughts, and even future plans.
Note that subconscious thoughts are seldom as
specific as a diary or day planner. Usually they are
revealed as a series of images and emotions. For
example:
 One Success Level: Rasputin is angry about
something but masking it well.
 Two Success Levels: Rasputin wants to do you
harm.
 Three Success Levels: Rasputin intends to kill you.
 Four Success Levels: Rasputin plans to poison
you tonight at dinner.
PREMONITION/FORTUNE TELLING: Basic
success provides vague hints about future events.
Greater success can reveal specific images or
events in the near future; details growing vaguer
as the skill reaches farther into the future.
MESMERISM/SPELLBINDING: Basic success
allows a willing subject to be hypnotized, so that
forgotten or repressed memories can be explored.
Greater success allows persuasion of less willing
subjects, or even total command—subjecting
their will to the will of the mesmerist, as if they
were a puppet.
PSYCHOMETRY/OBJECT READING: Basic
success reveals a single, simple fact about an object
(or person) being touched. Greater success reveals
more specific and useful facts, even the current
location of a related object (or person) being
sought. Note that people who are physically
touched may resist being read. (In game terms,
they may make a Will roll and subtract any Success
Levels from Success Level rolled with this skill.)
TELEPATHY/THOUGHT PROJECTION: With
this ability, a person can send a thought to
anyone within sight, or to a known friend (or
enemy) at any distance. Each Success Level can
project up to five words.
WEIRD SCIENCE/ENCHANTMENT: Unlike the
skills above, this involves not just mental or
spiritual energy, but also assembly of oddly
charged gear or concoction of elixers and
potions. Given a well-stocked laboratory or
workshop, a character with this skill can devise
gizmos and elixers to solve an unusual problem,
cure a supernatural disease, or lend a temporary
boost to normal abilities.
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SPECIAL RULES
With the exception of the Weird
Science/Enchantment skill, using psionics or
magic expends life energy.
Psionics act quickly, allowing a skill roll every
combat round, which means it also accumulates
damage quickly. In game terms, each roll imposes
Stun damage on the user.
Magic acts more slowly, relying upon ritual to
draw life energy from those in the area. The caster
can make a skill roll once each ten minutes, and
the Stun damage for that roll can then be assigned
to anyone directly involved in the ritual (the caster,
an assistant, or even a sacrificial victim).
EQUIPMENT
Equipment in the world of Steam is similar to that
found on early 20th century Earth—though often
powered by steam. A steam rifle, for example,
functions in much the same manner—and does
the same damage—as a gunpowder rifle.
Common transportation technologies seen in
the Empires of Steam & Rust include zeppelins,
locomotives, and motorcars. Communication is
by telephone, radio, and telegraph. Media include
books, magazines, newspapers, and silent films.
DENIZENS
The following people and organizations are key
players in the Russia of Empires of Steam & Rust.
Use them to add flavor to your games, to launch
adventures, and to keep the heroes on track
(through inspiration, subtle aid, or even fear).
RUSSIAN PERSONAGES OF NOTE
CZARINA ALEXANDRA
Empress—Supreme Ruler of All Russia
Age: 43 (born 6 June 1872); Children: Olga—
Age: 20 (b. Nov. 1895); Tatiana—Age: 18 (b.
May–June 1897); Maria—Age: 16 (b. June 1899);
Anastasia—Age: 14 (b. June 1901); Alexi—Age:
Deceased at 11 of hemophilia (b. 12 Aug. 1904)
Since the death of the Czar and of her son Alexi
during conflict with the Bolsheviks, Alexandra has
become increasingly obsessed with protecting her
children—and her country. She became convinced
that her only chance to stay in power was to take
aggressive, expansionist policies toward Eastern
Europe and the Scandinavian states.
LESTER SMITH
Though powerful and charming, Alexandra
also suffers a paranoia encouraged by Rasputin,
seeing plots everywhere against her, her family,
and the state. This has led to an expansion of
security, special police, and secret service forces.
Powers & Abilities: Her Imperial Highness is
the most powerful person in Russia. She is smart
and strong willed, though she can be swayed by
her children or Rasputin.
GRIGORI RASPUTIN
Personal Advisor to the Czarina, Supreme Head
of State Security, Overseer of the Fifth Section
Age: 46 (born January 1869)
Rumors and speculation surround Rasputin,
but few know what is actually true about him. In
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the wake of Czar Nicholas’ death,
this charismatic mystic has become
the top advisor to the Czarina (and
some say her lover as well). Before
the Czar’s death, he was criticized by
many, but since the Czarina rose to
the throne, few dare oppose him.
“The Mad Monk” is in charge of
the Fifth Section (State Security), a job
that—under his watch—involves not
only spying and counterintelligence,
but also a reliance on mysticism and
magic to achieve its ends.
Powers & Abilities: Rasputin is
powerful in the mystic arts. He is a
master of Mesmerism with great
influence over the “weak minded”
(and some say, the Czarina). He
claims his powers come from God
but is also said to believe that by
giving in to sin, sin loses its power
over one’s soul. Women and alcohol
top his list of preferred vices. He is
also renowned for his constitution,
and is (perhaps) immune to poison.
CAPTAIN PAVLINA VIKTOROVNA
IVANOVA
Top Russian Agent of the Fifth
Section—Witch
Age: 31; Hair: Auburn; Eyes: Gray
Pavilna Viktorovna Ivanova is one
of the Czarina’s top agents: smart;
deadly with bare hands, blades, or
guns; and gifted in the mystic arts—
able to ensorcel an opponent or kill
with spells or potions/poisons. She is ruthless,
willing to use sex and all other means at her disposal
to accomplish her goals. Her good looks and
charisma are just two more weapons in her arsenal.
She can also see the future on some occasions,
which further increases her effectiveness. She is
totally loyal to the Czarina and Rasputin.
Powers & Abilities: Lina is an accomplished fencer
and a crack shot. She is a witch trained in Mind
Reading, Fortune Telling, Object Reading and
numerous less well-known forms of ritual magic.
She uses these powers in her investigations and to
further the causes of the state.
She carries a 7-shot Nagant service revolver
and a knife suitable for throwing.

LIEUTENANT PYOTR GREGOROV
Ivanova’s Aide/Driver
Age: 28; Hair: Brown; Eyes: Blue
Pyotr is Lina’s devoted aide and second-in-
command. He has been with her for years. He is
tall, lean, dark haired, and muscular. He is skilled
in combat and arms, but has no talent for the
mystic arts or anything beyond a usual military
toughness and efficiency. He trusts Lina
implicitly and will do anything she asks.
He carries a 7–shot Nagant service revolver
and a long–bladed knife.
RUSSIAN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
CAPTAIN FELIKS ANDREYEV
Captain of the Airship Suvalov 2, Andreyev is a
short, distinguished-looking man with close-
cropped white hair and a beard. He and Lina had
a brief, casual affair.
MAJOR GENERAL LEONID BEPOV
One of Lina’s superiors, and a top-ranking officer
in the Fifth Section, he’s officious and brusque,
but somewhat afraid of her (though he lusts after
her as well). He’s even more afraid of Rasputin.
He will gladly kick other people’s asses, though.
AIRMAN MARYA KOVROVA
Marya is a steward aboard the Suvalov 2 under
the command of Captain Andreyev.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
OF RATS AND RUST
In which the heroes become pest-control experts.
ACT I: WAREHOUSE MASSACRE
The heroes are contacted by the Fifth Section for
a special assignment. Some may already be
working spies; others may be hired on a contract
basis; and some might be offered amnesty for
previous actions by taking on this job. The Game
Host can decide how much of a scare to give the
heroes by choosing whether to deliver the
assignment through a minor official, a more
important officer such as General Bepov, super–
agent Lena Ivanova, or even Rasputin himself.
The group learns that they are to investigate
the mysterious slaughter of personnel at a storage
warehouse on the docks in Sevastopol (on the
Crimean Peninsula). Other, more experienced
agents are wrapped up in more important missions
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at the moment, leaving the investigation to this
group. Their contact intimates that if they do well,
they will be compensated accordingly.
The group is transported via train or airship to
Sevastopol, where they discover that the dockside
warehouse has been cordoned off by the police,
pending the heroes’ investigation. The police will
help as asked, short of actually entering the
warehouse; they’re afraid. Inside, the heroes find a
dozen corpses, all mangled and chewed as by
some animals—perhaps a wild dog pack. If the
heroes inspect the warehouse thoroughly, they
discover several strange, deteriorated circles the
size of trashcan lids in the walls and floors.
ACT II: RATS IN THE WALLS
During their search, the heroes are ambushed by
several giant rats—each the size of a German
Shepherd—one rat per hero. (See their stats at
the adventure’s end.)
When only one or two rats remain, they flee
through a dimensional hole that opens in a wall
or floor. This hole shuts behind them, leaving
another trashcan-lid sized circle of decay.
The rats do not travel far through these holes;
alert heroes may hear or see them just outside the
warehouse or find their tracks outside. If so, the
characters may follow them to a big cargo ship in
a remote part of the docks. If not, the characters
will have another chance tomorrow, and the day
after, and so on, when more rats attack other
warehouses in the area.
ACT III: PLAGUE SHIP
When the group finally locates the cargo ship, it
appears abandoned. Closer inspection reveals a
number of human guards—one per hero. These
guards fight to the death to prevent the group’s
entry. (See their stats at the adventure’s end.)
Inside the ship, the heroes encounter Doctor
Pinkus Villard, a Prussian agent looking to cause
chaos in Russia. If the group has been stealthy, they
will find him at work in his lab; otherwise he will be
hidden away, waiting to ambush them with more
giant rats. Dr. Villard has developed a formula for
producing these monsters, using elements drawn
from the Rust World. He does not know how they
create the black holes through which they travel,
but he does have a special “silent” whistle for
summoning them to his aid. He uses the Telepathy
skill to control them with command words (which
LESTER SMITH
means they benefit from the Combat Team rule in
the Conflict and Damage chapter).
The doctor can command up to seven rats
(his Focus number) per round as a free action.
His whistle is designed to call this number.
Unless truly desperate, he will not summon more
at once. If pressed, however, he can summon up
many more to cover his escape, but their actions
will no longer be under his control.
Rats appear the round after being summoned.
Because passing through the oxygen-depleted
Rust dimension leaves them short of breath, they
can take no action on the round they appear.
While the heroes are occupied with his rats,
Dr. Villard attempts to recover from his cabin the
materials he has gathered so far while spying in
Sevastopol. If pursued, he flees to the ship’s hold,
which is filled to the ceiling with caged giant rats.
At this point, his first priority is to set his
creations loose upon Sevastopol. Failing that, he
will try to escape himself. Failing that, he will try
to destroy the notes of his experiments.
If the heroes fail to stop the giant rats from
invading Sevastopol, they will be in big trouble
with the Fifth Section—assuming they survive
the giant rats themselves.
If they instead stop the rat plague, they will be
well rewarded—perhaps even promoted. Capturing
Villard alive, or recovering his notes, results in even
more reward. Any characters infected with the
wasting disease (see below) will be cured in the Fifth
Section’s secret hospital—though this may also
involve some uncomfortable experimentation.
GIANT RUST RAT: Name, gender, and age: NA.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Skills:
Focused Bite, Track, Sneak, Run, Leap; Unfocused
None. Focus: 6. Life: Wound kills. Speed: 2 actions.
Toughness: 1. Number: 1 or more. Special: Their bite
inflicts a supernatural wasting disease: Every 24
hours the victim must succeed at a Brawn or Will
roll or suffer a 1-point penalty to all dice rolls. This
penalty is cumulative, and when it equals the
victim’s Focus number, that character falls into a
coma. (Weird Science or Enchantment can treat this
disease per the Realistic Healing rules in the Rest
CREDITS
DESIGN: Stephen D. Sullivan. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER DESIGNS: Stephen D. Sullivan & Robert E. Vardeman.
PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
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and Healing chapter, replacing First Aid skill or
medical occupation, and treating the victim’s dice
penalty as damage level. When the penalty is
reduced to zero, the character is fully healed.)
PRUSSIAN GUARDS: Name: Choose from Ansus,
Bertulis, Cilus, Dowid, Ensil, Gils, Jowalis, Kristup,
Labrenz, Mertin, Tanius, Willus. Gender: Male. Age:
Adult. Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar.
Skills: Focused Crowbar, Gamble, Intimidate,
Pistol, Shotgun, Steal, Torture; Unfocused
Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing. Focus: 8.
DR. PINKUS VILLARD: Occupation: Scientist-Spy.
Gender: Male. Age: Middle aged. Attributes: Wits
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Skills: Focused
Persuasion, Second Language: Russian (native
German), Shooting, Sneaking, Telepathy, Weird
Science; Unfocused First Aid, Lockpicking,
Navigation, Swimming. Special abilities: Silent whistle
to summon Giant Rust Rats. Focus: 7.
ADVENTURE SEED
RUST ANARCHISTS ATTACK: A series of
bombings rocks the city. It is assumed that the
bombings are caused by the enemies of the
Russian state. Is their goal the royal family,
Rasputin, or someone else? The bombs are
powered by energy from the world of Rust and
leave decay and chaos in their wake. The heroes
must find the source and stop the bombings.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Campaigns in the Empires of Steam & Rust can
range out of Russia, across Europe and the rest
of the world. There are plenty of unknown areas
to explore. Political powers vie for supremacy all
across the globe. The heroes can take sides or get
caught between factions. They can create new
inventions and protect them from spies; rescue
kidnapped diplomats; try to assassinate prime
ministers; seek forgotten treasures; and try to
plumb the secrets of the ancients. Their
adventures could take them from pole to pole,
and from the stratosphere to the bottom of the
sea, and even into the world of Rust.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF THE TOUCHSTONE

Andrea K Höst
In the Touchstone Trilogy, a young woman
wanders through a dimensional gate
onto an alien world, where humans use
nanotech and psionics in a desperate
war threatening all of existence.

BACKGROUND
The primary threat of this setting
involves gates torn open between
dimensions, allowing creatures known
as Ionoth to attack human worlds. In
response, an alliance of planets has
been formed, training Setari (psychic
warriors) to seek a way to undo the
pressure on the dimensional walls.
Breaches and attacks have grown
ever more frequent, with no solution
in view, until young Cassandra Devlin
stumbles through a dimensional rift
from Earth and shifts the balance. For
Cassandra is a Touchstone—a rare
psychic enhancer, and something even
more—if the Setari can keep her alive
long enough to explore her abilities.
THE WORLDS
Adventures in this setting involve a
group of colonized worlds unknown
to Earth, banded together for defense
against the Ionoth.
MUINA: This original human home
world is only slightly larger than Earth,
but it has a far larger amount of habitable land, technology drew strongly on the sheer creative
with only one land-locked salt sea, few deserts, and power of the Ena.
many large freshwater lakes. Its seasonal cycle is Following the fracturing of the spaces, Muina was
similar to Earth’s, and many of the plants and flooded by Ionoth, and its people forced to flee.
animals clearly share ancestor species. They left behind in Nearspace enormous protectors,
The people of Muina—now scattered to other the ddura, but these have been unable to clear the
planets—are genetically identical to those of planet of Ionoth incursions. For this reason and
Earth and display traits suggesting they once had others, Muina has long been off limits to humans.
similar racial groups. TARE: Upon first arriving on this stormy planet,
Muina’s original ruling class, the Lantar, had a refugee Muinans were forced to live underground
clan-based political structure, each occupying a to escape the savage elements. Today, Tarens use a
different region of the planet, coming together as highly resilient “whitestone” to build durable,
necessary to make planetary-level decisions. Their mostly windowless cities on the planet’s few

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LESTER SMITH
landmasses. Taren technology long ago surpassed
Earth’s, and their nanites and interconnecting
computers ensure health and endless entertainment
for all. Living space is, however, at a premium in
this ordered meritocracy.
KOLAR: This large planet has very little axial tilt,
giving it no seasonal cycle, but instead distinct
climate zones. With the equator hot and sere, only
the regions near the poles are habitable, the poles
themselves remaining in permanent twilight.
Kolar is divided into two separate countries,
the North, a democracy, and the South, a
monarchy. Before Taren contact was made, only
the South was inhabited. The colonization and
democratization of the North occurred as a result
of leaps forward in technology, due to Taren trade.
NURI: The people of this small but pleasantly
habitable moon retain a hierarchical clan culture
similar to Muina’s. They believe that interplanetary
travel via the Ena increases the pressure that is
tearing gates into Realspace. Their technology level
is preindustrial, and they actively resist Taren
overtures, though they retain a better understanding
of ancient Muinan technology than Tarens do.
OTHER WORLDS: Numerous other worlds have
been settled by Muinan refugees. Some, such as
Channa, have recently been discovered by
Tarens, while others—like snowy Solaria—are
known only due to strays from those worlds.
THE SPACES
These worlds (and all others) exist within a larger
reality comprised of Realspace and the Ena
(containing Nearspace, Fela, and Deepspace). Setari
can walk these spaces and pilot ships bearing
passengers through them. Important features of the
spaces include pillars, the aether, gates, and rifts.
REALSPACE is “our” dimension—the physical
universe. The walls between Realspace and the
Ena are usually firmly sealed—the only exception
being planetary rifts and a very small number of
intermittent “natural” gates that seem to form
directly between planets (although these actually
skip imperceptibly through Deepspace).
THE ENA is the name for everywhere that is not
Realspace, covering several different dimensions
formed by “the stuff of the mind.” Although the
Ena can resemble Realspace, there are a number
of important differences. Temperature in the Ena
is always lower than that of the real world, and
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compliance with physical laws is sketchy at best.
The atmosphere is usually breathable, but that may
be simply because travelers through the Ena
believe they can breathe.
NEARSPACE is the area of the Ena that
immediately surrounds a living world. Like an
imperfect imprint, it reflects the adjacent
Realspace, but without its vitality. Some segments
of Nearspace fail to take on substance,
resembling a sketch that has not yet been colored
in. Observation over time, however, shows that
these incomplete sections shift about. A room
with one wall incomplete may, the next time it is
visited, have all its walls but be missing a roof.
FELA (fragments or bubbles usually simply referred
to as “spaces”) are the main source of Ionoth in the
Ena. Ranging in size from small rooms to vast
valleys or plains, these are basically free-floating
bubbles of reality. The most common theory is that
Fela slough off from Nearspace when events occur
in Realspace to capture the thoughts and feelings of
its residents: cataclysms, battles, even family
gatherings on perfect summer afternoons. It is
widely believed that the shared stories of a world
can generate Fela, creating spaces based on worlds
that never existed.
Fela can connect to one another, to
Realspace, and even to Deepspace. They either
simply thin out toward the edges, or they have
boundaries defined by physical barriers. If it’s a
space that “thins out,” you'll usually end up in
Deepspace if you keep walking toward the edges.
Fela have “persistent states.” Although alterations
can be made to a space—or its Ionoth inhabitants
may die or leave—after a period of time ranging
from days to weeks, the entire space will “reset”—all
changes wiped away and all Ionoth regenerated, with
no memory of the intervening time.
The position of Fela in the Ena is as variable as
their internal state is constant. There is always
minor movement, a slow, grand drift, and over a
period of decades positions will shift enough that
gates between Fela break and reform. In the short
term, however, the relative position of these spaces
allow the links between them to remain stable.
Exceptions are rotational spaces and unstable
spaces. Rotational spaces shift in tandem with the
rest of the wash of spaces, but they “spin” as they
do so, causing their connections to other spaces
to constantly break and realign. Unstable spaces

move ahead or even against the tide, relocating
periodically. Travel through a rotational or
unstable space is one of the most dangerous
paths a Setari can take.
DEEPSPACE is the rawest of the Ena, a pearly
white nothingness unshaped by living minds. It is
linked to Realspace via planetary rifts, and it can be
used as a quick method of interplanetary travel—if
the traveler can successfully navigate the odd
geography of the place.
THE PILLARS were constructed by the rulers of
Muina, and they partially stabilize the region of
Deepspace around a planet, making travel to
nearby planets easier. Pillars are always located in
a Fela space open to Deepspace.
The tearing of gates between Nearspace and
Realspace began after the Pillars were activated,
and it is a primary goal of the Taren and Kolaren
Setari to locate and study these Pillars.
AETHER is the concentrated substance of the
Ena, manifesting as a glowing mist. It collects
around Deepspace rifts and is “cycled” through
the Pillars and certain villages on Muina (known
as “pattern-roof” villages). The purpose of the
cycling is to further concentrate the Aether,
increasing its efficacy as a power source, and also
to imprint the Aether with a default purpose to
heal and support the people of Muina, while
killing or driving away Ionoth—particularly the
variety known as “stickies.”
During the disaster that dispersed the people of
Muina, the recognition built into refined Aether
misfunctioned and began to view the Muinans as
Ionoth invaders, attacking them on a cellular level,
causing unconsciousness after not more than five
minutes’ exposure, and death after a handful of
hours. This poses an almost insurmountable
challenge to exploration of the Pillars (particularly
as they exist only in an Aether-filled vacuum).
Each control platform at a pattern-roof village
can imprint “native” status on a person, but only
those with Ena manipulation abilities and “security
clearance” (or the ability to override a platform’s
programming) can initiate this process.
Once Aether accepts individuals as Muinan, it
attempts to heal any damage to them and drive out
invasive Ionoth. This healing is experienced as a
comfortable warmth, but overexposure leads to
unconsciousness which (due to the continual
healing stimulation) itself requires recovery sleep.
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GATES are a means of instant access between
dimensions. They are not visible in Realspace
without the Gate Sight skill, though they can be
clearly seen by anyone within the Ena.
A gate is an open door between worlds, with a
faint energy membrane, a resistance that can be
felt when it is entered. This barrier blocks passage
of insects, dust, and such—but cannot hold back,
for instance, a stream of water.
Gates between Nearspace and Realspace
generally remain in location but gradually increase
in size (or form anew) as a consequence of the
unnatural pressure on the Ena near Muina.
Gates between Fela do not usually alter, but
frequently realign as Fela shift. Gate Sight is
invaluable for estimating how long a gate will
remain aligned, and Ena Manipulation can briefly
“lock” a gate in place. The duration of the lock
depends on current pressures on the alignment.
Additionally, gates can be widened or steadied
with Ena Manipulation.
RIFTS exist around all planets. Each planet has a
single large rift into Deepspace, creating a
“Bermuda Triangle” of lost vessels. Rifts are
usually huge, large enough for multiple craft to fit
through—or a massive Ionoth.
Note: The Ena is like an Escher drawing without
the lines, with up and down and “floors” a fluid
concept, and little visual guidance as to what is
where. Only the planetary rifts are clearly visible in
the Ena, and—like a sliver of a mirror—they can
be easily missed if you are looking at them side-on.
To make navigation even more complex,
these rifts shift about as if they were the holes in
a fishing net submerged in a tide. An incautious
traveler is in danger of stumbling through the
wrong rift—or simply losing track of the right
one. Add to this the Deepspace Ionoth, and
accumulations of airless Aether, and traveling
Deepspace becomes an enormous challenge.
OCCUPATIONS
While any human occupation is technically
possible in this setting, adventures center on the
Setari. These psychics train from childhood to
enter the Ena—to investigate the Pillars and to
kill any hostile Ionoth encountered, preventing
them from invading Realspace.
On Muina, the original Setari were the
personal guards of clan rulers, chosen from those
LESTER SMITH
who had reached the pinnacle of physical and
mental training. Nuri has retained some sense of
this word; their Setari are technically the personal
army of their ruler. When Tare and Kolar formed
the defensive body KOTIS, they retained only
the sense of “elite defender.”
SKILLS
Characters with the Setari occupation are
automatically masters of martial arts and are
knowledgeable about the spaces and their features.
They may also learn psychic skills (referred to
among the Setari as “talents”) from the list below
(as well as skills from the Basic Skills chapter). Some
have a single Focused psychic talent, a few rare ones
as many as ten, though few have more than three.
IMPROVING TALENTS: The Drama Point cost
for improving a psychic talent equals the number
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of currently Focused talents +2.
(Example: A character with three
Focused talents would have to spend
5 Drama Points to boost one of
those talents with a + or to move a
new talent from Unfamiliar to
Unfocused, or from Unfocused to
Focused.) Additionally…
 once a talent is Focused, it
cannot become Unfocused; and
 unlike other skills, Unfamiliar
talents cannot be used at all.
BOOSTING TALENTS: Several factors
can temporarily increase a talent’s
power. Certain rooms can boost (or
dampen) talents, and interface gear (see
Equipment) doubles their strength.
“Ena focus” (gained by physical contact
with a Touchstone) can also double a
talent’s strength. “Ena overdrive”
(gained by physical contact with a
Touchstone fully connected to the Ena)
can triple a talent’s strength, but any
energy cost penalties listed become
actual damage levels.
ADDITIVE TALENTS: The talent
descriptions provide in italics the game
effects of Success Levels. Talents
labeled as Additive can increase their
effect by building Success Levels
round upon round. Usually this build-
up is evident (e.g. a light breeze
growing to a howling wind), but users
may choose instead to build Success Levels silently
and release them all at once.
FORMING TEAMS: When forming a Setari team, it
is crucial to include Focused Gate Sight, Path Sight,
and Ena Manipulation talents. Combat Sight is also
recommended. Other talents are chosen to focus on
combat, exploration, or a balance of those.
ELEMENTAL TALENTS
FIRE: Fire users have the greatest need for
control. Because fire spreads easily, even young
fire talents can cause considerable damage, so
early training focuses on snuffing flames. The fire
talent can reach to Throwing range with a base damage of
Graze and sets flammable items ablaze. Additive.
ICE: This talent is greatly affected by the amount
of local moisture. In a wet environment, an ice

talent has enormous strength. In a desert, while it
is still possible to form ice, more Success Levels
are needed for a lesser result. The ice talent can be
used to create structures (such as bridging a gap) or to slow
an opponent (imposing a 1-point penalty per ice Success
Level on opponent dice totals). Additive.
LIGHT: Light manifests in a form determined by
the user’s personality—either as a hand weapon
(Small Blade rating) or a projectile (Small Pistol rating).
LIGHTNING: This dramatic talent is both startling
and damaging. Success Levels determine the distance at
which lightning can strike, as well as the effect. Treat as an
attack with a base damage of Hit at Brawling range,
subtracting one Success Level for each range more distant.
SONICS: A sound talent can project a whisper to
a single target at a distance or release a deafening
blast. Rate as a Shotgun attack, though “Additive” if
held and released all at once.
WATER: This talent manipulates the surface
tension of water to shape it as desired. Water talent
can part water, create a bubble of air, or generate a
current or whirlpool. Each Success Level manipulates
one cubic meter of water. The Game Host will decide specific
effects based on the amount and the user’s intent. Additive.
WIND: This talent manipulates air to create
currents from breezes to full-blown windstorms.
Each Success Level changes local wind speed by up to 10
kph, in either a straight line or a vortex, as the user wishes.
Additive. Note: Cyclones range from 60–100 kph.
GENERATIVE TALENTS
ENA MANIPULATION: While this talent allows
the user to shape the stuff of the Ena, it is
commonly used to lock or stabilize gates. It can
also be used in minor ways in Realspace. Additive.
ILLUSION: This talent can create images of objects,
creatures, and even small environments. An illusion
of “absence” can hide the user from sight—even
Combat Sight if used without hostile intent. If a
viewer’s Wits or Combat Sight Success Levels exceed the
talent’s Success Levels, the illusion is broken. Additive.
LOCOMOTION TALENTS
LEVITATION: This talent makes an object
weightless, then controls the direction in which it
floats. The dice result times the Success Levels is the
number of kilos moved. (Example: A roll of 20 with a
Focus of 10 could move 40 kilos—20×2 Success Levels.)
SPEED: The speed talent affects both reaction
time and movement. Each Success Level adds 1 meter
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
to the user’s normal movement rate and increases dice
results for purposes of turn sequence only. At the end of
the encounter, however, the user suffers exhaustion equal to
those Success Levels. This exhaustion is treated like
“Damage” for purposes of dice penalties and healing time
but causes no actual wounds.
TELEKINESIS: Telekinetics spend their early
training picking up eggs and other fragile items;
unlike levitation, telekinesis generates an external
force on the lifted object. Use the levitation formula,
but divide by movement in meters. (Example: The roll
above could move 40 kilos 1 meter, or 20 kilos 2 meters,
or 10 kilos 4 meters, etc.) Attacks with telekinesis are
limited to small objects and do damage as a thrown stone.
TELEPORTATION: Setari with this skill can
transport instantly to any place they have seen (or
can view in a current image). This can be a
dangerous talent, as a location may have changed
since the last time it was seen. A single Success Level
transports the user; each extra Success Level includes an
extra person who is being touched.
SIGHT TALENTS
COMBAT SIGHT: This talent detects “hostile
intent” in the immediate area. It is useful for
gauging the attitudes of unknown Ionoth and for
anticipating imminent attacks. Each Success Level
provides one tactical clue from the Game Host.
GATE SIGHT: This talent is the only way to judge
the status of gates between spaces, or to see gates
from within Realspace.
PATH SIGHT: The accuracy of path sight is
affected by distance to and familiarity with the
item/object/place sought. While it is easy to trace
someone familiar who has recently passed by,
tracking a vaguely described object at great distance
is difficult. Specific task difficulty is left to the Game Host.
PLACE SIGHT: Perhaps the most complex sight,
place sight is triggered by emotional and thought
impressions left in the residual Ena of a place
(including Realspace). The user might see “joy”
as great splashes of bright color, or note curling
whirls of daydream, or feel that the ground below
has turned to a sucking mud of despair.
SIGHT SIGHT: The rarest and most elusive of
sight talents, it is a “knowing” that transcends
simple description. Its users are often driven by a
“need” to understand what they see. This talent
gives the Game Host permission, though no obligation, to
deliver any insights she or he wishes during an adventure.
LESTER SMITH
SYMBOL SIGHT: Symbol Sight is the “Google
Translate” of psychic talents, but it works best on
single symbols studied over time. Results of this
talent are left to the Game Host’s discretion.
EQUIPMENT
Standard gear for Setari on duty is as follows:
INTERFACE: Though this personal communication
device cannot reach through dimensional gates, it
allows Setari squad members to communicate—
making silent discussion and tactical arrangements
possible. It also carries an encyclopedic store of
information about the spaces, Ionoth, and other data.
NANOSUIT: A nanosuit is not only armor and
weapon, it can adopt many useful forms, from
swim fins to digging tool. Each is controlled by a
command module built into its harness. Acts as
light armor with no dice penalty, and can shape to any
handheld Brawling range weapon.
MEDICAL KIT: This emergency care kit contains
an adaptive nanite antiseptic, wound sealant
spray, and a small amount of antivenin.
BREATHERS: Small breathers are designed for
underwater work, clip the nose shut, and are held
in the mouth. A larger breather has an
expandable face mask for gaseous attacks.
WEAPONS: Kolar and Nuri only recently adopted
Taren nanosuits, so Nuran Setari commonly carry
twin blades and Kolarens other compact weapons.
DENIZENS
IONOTH: Most denizens of the Ena originate in
the Fela as memory imprints of Realspace
creatures—whether experiences or nightmares. Fela
Ionoth are generally unaware of their dream state.
They go through the motions of life, stopping
only to react to the intrusion of travelers.
DEEPSPACE IONOTH: Some Ionoth generate
spontaneously in Deepspace and prowl the Ena,
preying on other Ionoth—and any living creatures
they find. Deepspace Ionoth are usually the
pearlescent white of their native environment. The
most common are swoops (large pterodactyls) and
stilts (four-legged and tall as a five-story building,
with an undercarriage maw fringed with tentacles).
CREDITS
DESIGN: Andrea K Höst. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: Andrea K Höst. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
“STILT”: K8 Smith, from “One Day on the Organ Pipes” by Stefan Karpiniec, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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ROAMING IONOTH: While all Deepspace
Ionoth roam between spaces and, potentially,
into Nearspace and Realspace, inhabitants of Fela
spaces may also roam—whether from becoming
aware of gates, feeling some need to hunt, or
forced by events to leave their home space.
MASSIVES: Some Ionoth can be of truly
phenomenal size—as big as skyscrapers—and
actively seek living creatures to consume.
Originating in Deepspace, they wander randomly,
sometimes entering Realspace through a rift, or
through the Fela and Nearspace, if they are
physically able to pass through connecting gates.
They are often accompanied by smaller “escort”
Ionoth, most commonly swoops.
DDURA: These artificial massives were created by
Muinans to combat the disaster there. They hunt
and kill anything they identify as Ionoth.
Resembling glowing auroras, they are enormous but
travel easily through even the smallest Fela spaces.
STICKIES: The parasitic “stickies” are Ionoth
with a phasic ability allowing them to live and
grow inside living creatures, feeding off mental
energy. A person infected with a stickie will
experience general malaise and suffer increasing
mood swings, often culminating in a psychotic
break. Stickies reproduce asexually, and a single
infected person can be the source of a massive
outbreak. Excellent at shielding their presence,
stickies are rarely detectable by Sight talents,
challenging even advanced scanners. They are
usually removed using sonics, although some
other phasic Ionoth do prey on them.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
ESCAPEE: A stray from an unknown planet reports
being captured and studied by Ionoth in a lab. The
team must investigate this unusual behavior.
FIELD TRIP: While escorting trainees on their
first foray into the Ena, the team is ambushed by
warlike Ionoth. What tipped off these attackers?
GHOST FLEET: Humanoid Ionoth have begun
repairing vessels lost in the rifts to enter Realspace.
Someone must sabotage their “dry-dock.”
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF THE WATERSHED

Douglas Niles
Erected by the gods, the Watershed
divides the lands of men, magic, and
evil, protecting each from the others
and separating water from Aura
from Darkblood.
A thousand years ago, the
Sleepstealer, god of evil, invaded the
realm of men with his minions, only
to suffer defeat by combined forces
of humans and Faerine. Ever since,
servants of the Darkblood have
plotted to return.
Are you one who is destined to
stand against them?

BACKGROUND
The Watershed is the setting for
three epic novels of high fantasy: A
Breach in the Watershed; Darkenheight;
and War of Three Waters. The world is
divided by mountains into three
realms, each nourished by a different
liquid. Dalethica, home to humans,
has rivers, lakes, and precipitation of
normal, mundane water. Faerine, the
smallest realm, is where magical Aura
flows. The third land, Duloth-Trol, is
the realm of Darkblood, toxic to most,
but a necessary foundation of life for
the monsters and villainous overlords
who inhabit that black desert.

OCCUPATIONS
Adventurers’ occupations vary based on race and
realm. Since the monsters of Duloth-Trol serve
as antagonists in the setting, this list focuses on
those of Dalethica and Faerine.
DALETHICA
Occupations for humans, the residents of
Dalethica, cover the gamut found in a medieval
(nonmagical) setting. Beyond the mundane—
farmer, teamster, woodcutter, miner, fisher,
hunter, sailor, blacksmith, carpenter, mason,
actor, merchant, weaver, baker, butcher, etc.—
some apt occupations for adventurers include
soldier, archer, equestrian, scout, knight, acrobat,
assassin, mountaineer, bard, scribe, and cleric.
FAERINE
The two Faerine races best suited for adventure
are diggers and sylves. (See the Denizens section
for physical descriptions.)
DIGGERS are primarily invested in mining,
smelting and forging, stone-carving, masonry and
building, and military occupations.

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LESTER SMITH
SYLVES can be skilled carpenters, foresters,
ecologists, botanists, and architects. They can also
pursue military occupations.
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics,
Bargaining, First Aid, Lockpicking, Navigation,
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Ride Animal, Second
Language (Dalethican, Faerinish, and Dulothian)
Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing, and Tracking are
appropriate for this setting. Other skills specific
to the Watershed include the following.
COMBAT SKILLS: Other than Throwing, combat
skills in this setting are more specialized than
those in the Basic Skills chapter. Characters may
know Knifeplay, Swordplay, Archery, Polearms,
Axeplay, and Crushing Weapons.
MOUNTAINEERING: This skill covers navigating
and surviving the hazardous slopes of the snow-
covered mountains that divide the continent. A
character with this skill also knows the use and
care of mountaineering equipment such as ropes,
pitons, ice axes, and cold-weather clothing.
SAILING: In the world of the Watershed,
operating and maintaining sailing vessels along
the waterways and coastlines is a valuable skill.
Sailing also includes knowledge of navigation.
LITERACY: Dalethica and Faerine have different
languages and alphabets, so literacy in one does
not automatically translate to the other. (Creatures
of Duloth-Trol do not bother with literacy.)
SCHOLARSHIP: This skill includes a detailed
knowledge of history, and of the many nations,
cultures, and regions throughout the Watershed.
MAGIC: Some sylves, diggers, and other creatures
of Faerine can employ Aura for specific magical
effects. (See the Special Rules below.) Similarly,
some creatures of Duloth-Trol can create magical
effects with Darkblood. Humans have no magical
knowledge.
SPECIAL RULES
The three waters of the Watershed affect the very
nature of the lands in which they flow.
WATER
Water is, of course, the stuff of life to the
creatures of Dalethica. It is also a means of
transport along the region’s many rivers and
lakes, as well as along its seacoast.
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Like humans, creatures of Faerine can drink
normal water if they encounter it. However,
water is poisonous to creatures of Duloth-Trol.
Not only is its touch fatal to them, they cannot
even cross a bridge spanning normal water.
AURA
In Faerine, Aura does more than simply quench
thirst, it also nourishes and heals. If necessary, a
creature of Faerine can survive indefinitely on
nothing else. And for those with magical skill,
Aura can be used to create illusions, to scrye, and
even for transport.
HEALING: A single sip of pure Aura instantly
heals one level of damage. For game groups using
the Rest and Healing chapter’s Dramatic Healing
or “Realistic” Healing rules, drinking one’s fill
allows a character a Second Wind task roll with a
bonus modifier of 2 points.
ILLUSION: Aura magic users can shape the
moisture in the air to create mirages and disguise
terrain. The effect centers on the Aura user, and
each Success Level either expands the area (from
Brawling, to Throwing, to Shooting, to Viewing)
or adds a Task Difficulty modifier to rolls to see
through the illusion using Will or Wits. (Natives
of Faerine receive a 1-point bonus to the roll.)
SCRYING: With a pool of Aura to gaze into, a magic
user can view actions distant in time and space. A
single Success Level can reveal a current action
within the realm of Faerine. Further Success Levels
can scrye into other realms as well as into the past or
future. (In game terms, the Game Host may either
describe a scene that reveals one or more secrets to
the hero, or set a number of Success Levels needed
to gain desired knowledge. Scryers may accumulate
these Success Levels turn by turn or by working
together, but a single failed roll means the vision is
obscured and the information lost.)
TRANSPORT: By boiling Aura to vapor, Faerine
magic users can create temporary cloudships for
travel, or lift materials for towering constructions.
The speed and duration of this transport is left to
the Game Host to decide on a case by case basis.
DARKBLOOD
For creatures of Dalethica and Faerine, Darkblood
is deathly poisonous. Even a trickle of Darkblood
in a stream of normal water sickens those who
drink from it. (Aura and Darkblood explode on
contact, as explained later.)

For the monstrous creatures of Duloth-Trol,
however, Darkblood nourishes and heals. And
those properly skilled can use Darkblood to cast
lightning, to create Tarclouds for transport, and
even to transform and disguise themselves.
NOURISHMENT: The sustaining and healing
effects of Darkblood for denizens of Duloth-Trol
are identical to those of Aura for those of Faerine.
LIGHTNING: Through the Darkblood in their
veins, magic users can cast lightning from their
hands. (The damage is as for a Shotgun in the
Conflict and Damage chapter.) Each casting
weakens the magic user however, causing the
equivalent of Graze damage.
TRANSFORMATION: Magic users of sufficient
skill can use Darkblood to change their shape and
size. Initiating this change requires at least three
Success Levels in a single roll. Transforming into
a smaller creature means shedding mass—
“sweating” away Darkblood. Transforming into a
more massive creature requires absorption of an
equivalent amount of Darkblood. With this skill,
and ready Darkblood, a magic user can shrink to
as small as a toad or grow as large as a drackan,
also gaining all physical abilities of the new shape.
TRANSPORT: Like Auraclouds, Tarclouds of
Darkblood vapor can serve as airships. These
Tarclouds have the added ability of shooting
bolts of lightning that do vehicle-scale Graze
damage (see the Game Host chapter). Each bolt
fired by a Tarcloud reduces that cloud’s size and
duration (at the Game Host’s discretion).
Some few magic users can use Darkblood
pools or Tarclouds as teleportation portals. This
requires four Success Levels in a single roll, and
the distance is effectively unlimited, though the
destination must be a Darkblood pool well-
known to the magic user.
MIXED WATERS
Normal water dilutes Aura and Darkblood,
weakening their effect.
Aura and Darkblood explode on contact.
Mixing a single liter of each is equivalent to
igniting four sticks of dynamite. (Exact story
effects are left to the Game Host.)
The only place where all three waters combine
is as ice on the Glimmercrown, the very pinnacle
of the Watershed. See the novels for examples of
the magical effects possible with this mixture.
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
EQUIPMENT
Equipment in both Dalethica and Faerine is
equivalent to that of Medieval Earth. In Duluth-
Trol, it is more in keeping with Bronze Age Earth.
DENIZENS
For game purposes, the creatures of the
Watershed are divided into three main categories.
CHARACTER RACES
HUMANS inhabit a number of nations scattered
across Dalethica. Some differences in human
appearance, occupations, and language accent
depend on their region of origin.
DIGGERS are dwarves: short, stocky miners who
tend toward irascibility. The largest digger city is
Shalemont, but diggers dwell in towns and villages
throughout Faerine’s midlevel mountains and hills.
SYLVES are the elf-like antithesis of diggers: tall,
graceful, and serene, cherishing their woodlands,
pools, and gardens. Their great city is Spendorial,
on the shores of Faerine’s greatest lake. They also
have many settlements in lowlands and forests.
TWISSELS are found throughout Faerine. Small
and slight, they can fly under the power of their
butterfly-like wings. They are the finest singers in
the Watershed and can sometimes exert a nearly
hypnotic effect with the beauty of their song.
Twissels can also turn invisible, although this
requires concentration (imposing a 2-point task
penalty on all dice rolls).
GIGANTS are humanoids that attain a height of three
to four meters. Though not terribly smart (they
cannot have Wits Focused), gigants are marvelously
strong (gaining a bonus Success Level on any roll
involving Brawn). They live in clans in some of the
highest mountains of Faerine and are stubborn about
change and suspicious of all outsiders.
SARTORS are lusty, playful creatures of the
woodlands, with lower bodies and legs resembling
goats, while their upper portions are humanoid.
They can run at great speed (four meters per
round instead of the normal two), and can wield a
variety of weapons in battle, in which they prove
themselves to be savage, exultant warriors.
OTHER DALETHICAN AND FAERINE CREATURES
DRACKANS are flying serpents of Faerine who
often hibernate for decades. They prefer lives of
LESTER SMITH
solitude and isolation. Types of drackan are
differentiated by green scales and brown scales.
SNOW LIONS are great, maned cats that live in the
highest mountains near the Glimmercrown.
GUARDIANS are charged with guarding the
borders of the three realms. Two types exist:
High Guardians are intelligent humanoids
who dwell on the high ridges dividing the realms.
Larger than human, their bodies appear to be made
of gray slate. They communicate telepathically.
Deep Guardians are armored behemoths
with gaping maws and steely claws that can
excavate through the densest of rock. They live
underground and interrupt any excavations that
violate the sanctity of the Watershed.
MINIONS OF DASSADEC, THE SLEEPSTEALER
All the minions of Dassadec must regularly
consume Darkblood to survive.
KROAKS are the brawny, brutish foot soldiers of
Dassadec’s army. They possess weapons skills,
generally with blades, though some are trained as
archers, and others wield pikes and spears.
BRUTOX are bigger than kroaks and bully their
underlings mercilessly. Brutox emit sparks from their
finger talons when they are angry or suspicious. They
are prone to using crushing weapons and whips.
STALKERS are intelligent humanoids with
snakelike heads and serpentine limbs and tails.
Their bite is mildly poisonous. Stalkers can change
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shape (though not size) to disguise themselves,
and the most intelligent can learn foreign
tongues—albeit with a lisping, sibilant accent.
TERRIONS are flying creatures resembling great,
winged dinosaurs. They have sharp, rending
beaks and two sturdy hind legs tipped by
powerful talons. Terrion skin is reflective and
shimmery, making the creatures very difficult to
see from the ground below.
LORD MINIONS are the “generals” of the
Sleepstealer’s armies. Only three survive his failed
invasion from a millennium ago: Nicodareus, the
Eye of Dassadec; Phalthak, the Fang of
Dassadec; and Reaper, the Talon of Dassadec.
(See the novels for more information.)
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
TOXIC VALLEY
In which intrepid Dalethicans and Faerines unite
to locate a band of the Sleepstealer’s minions
who have been stranded far from Duloth-Trol.
ACT I: MEETING ON THE MOUNTAIN
This adventure occurs in a region of low
mountains along the border between Faerine and
Dalethica. The heroes can be humans or Faerine,
but those races begin the adventure as separate
parties, separated by a high but climbable ridge.
Each hero should select at least one combat skill
and can be girded with Light armor.

Rumors of strange incursions have driven
both groups to explore these barren hills. In
Dalethica, people have seen monstrous creatures
wandering the wilderness. In Faerine, a gigant has
been found slain, his body torn by terrible claws.
INITIAL DISCOVERY: What the heroes first
encounter depends upon their race.
Humans encounter a frail, elderly hermit who
promises, in a sibilant lisp, to lead them to bandits
who have been preying on travelers. Starting toward
the high country, he directs the characters into a
narrow ravine and an ambush. The Game Host can
allow suspicious characters to roll against Wits or
Scholarship to determine that the hermit is a stalker.
The creature will reveal its true form if attacked. In
reptilian form the stalker attempts to flee toward the
ridge crest, following the bed of the ravine if possible.
Six kroaks (three on each side) lie hidden atop
the bluffs. One kroak in each group has Throwing
skill; all have a Focus of 6. If they can spring an
ambush, they bombard the characters with rocks
and then slide down the steep slope to attack with
swords. If the heroes discover the kroaks first, these
minions will attempt to flee higher into the hills.
Faerines discover a blood trail leading upward
from the body of a slain gigant. As they proceed
higher, night falls, and they discover the body of a
second dead gigant (the source of the blood trail).
They also observe the sparking illumination of
several hulking creatures approaching from below.
This is a party of three brutox and ten kroaks.
The minions close in slowly but will attack if the
heroes don’t beat a hasty retreat toward the high
country. If the heroes try to diverge from the
ascent, they are harassed by four terrions who
attack relentlessly and quickly draw more kroaks
and brutox, forcing the heroes back into the climb.
JOINING FORCES: Once the Faerines and
humans reach the crest of the ridge, they will see
each other, and have trapped between them the
remainder of the six kroaks and one stalker that
initially encountered the humans. After this fight,
the two groups of heroes can make introductions
and share their stories.
The ridge is devoid of trees and greenery; but a
nearby glade just a little lower than the crest does
offer some shelter, and a green swath of grass
leads downward (into Faerine.) There the heroes
will find a square stone structure within the grove
of trees. This roofless building has one door, and
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one window in the opposite wall. The skeletons of
two sylvan warriors, one weaponless, the other
clutching a broken sword, lie just outside the door.
THE WELLHOUSE: Within the structure is a
small, spring-fed pool of Aura. Loose rocks are
piled in one corner of the building, and a pile of
dry wood has been stacked along one of the
walls. The rock pile conceals a keen sylvan sword
and a quiver of 10 arrows, all of exceptional
quality. Each of these weapons increases the
damage inflicted on a hit by one level—i.e. a
Graze becomes a Stun, and so forth.
Also hidden in the rock pile is an empty clay
jug. A character with Literacy skill (in Faerine)
can read the term “Auracloud” engraved on the
jar. Any sylve will also recognize a carved
hieroglyph as a symbol for “fire.”
Meanwhile, more minions close in, a brutox
leading five kroaks along the crest of the ridge
from either direction, joining the party that
chased the Faerines up to the ridge, and a similar
group coming from the Dalethica. Each group
attacks upon arrival. The Game Host should keep
the action moving, without overwhelming the
characters. If two or more monsters from one
group are slain, they will withdraw to await the
arrival of the next group of reinforcements.
The wellhouse makes a decent fortress: two
characters can use swords or axes to fight at the
doorway and the window, which is large enough
for a kroak, but not a brutox, to crawl through.
ACT II: AURAFLIGHT
The jug is enchanted, capable of generating an
Auracloud. If filled with Aura (from the spring) and
then set into a hot fire for half an hour, the Aura will
turn to steam and rise to form a small Auracloud that
grows large enough to support all the heroes. They
can climb onto the cloud from the top of the
wellhouse, or by a rope dangled from above.
When the jar is empty, the cloud drifts—but not
exactly with the wind. Instead, it moves steadily
westward, following the Watershed’s crest as the
low mountains rise to become more formidable.
Four terrions attack the characters on the cloud,
until these creatures are killed or wounded so badly
they can no longer fly.
THE VALLEY OF DARKBLOOD: The cloud
disperses after about 24 hours, sinking into a bowl-
shaped vale; characters must be lowered by rope
or jump about three meters down to the ground.
LESTER SMITH
The rocky terrain inside the bowl is slick, and
darkened as if by a spray of dirty oil. This black
coating is Darkblood—diluted enough that it is
not toxic, but it still irritates exposed skin.
One part of the valley is obscured by a grayish
mist. The valley wall does not quite surround it; on
the southern side (toward Faerine) there is a notch
in the surrounding wall so that liquid could flow
out. The notch leads to a sheer cliff dropping 50
meters to a more gradual downward slope.
Any character with mining experience will
notice partially concealed entrances to four mines in
the rocky walls near the base of the bowl, three on
the western side and one to the east. The middle
mine to the west looks to be significantly newer
than the other three. The mist comes from a spring
of Aura that trickles a short way and evaporates
from contact with the Darkblood. The spring is
located up the slope, above the western mines.
Soon, kroaks and brutox (two of each) appear
at the rim of the valley. They make their way
down the steep sides to attack. More of the
monsters, arriving in small groups, show up and
begin to make their way down. If two or more of
the minions are killed, the survivors will take
cover and wait for reinforcements.
ACT III: THE DARK POOL
This valley has been polluted by the collapse of a
Tarcloud that drifted from Duloth-Trol; all the
minions in this area are the survivors, and are
living off on the limited supply of Darkblood
they were able to channel into the new mine
when the cloud collapsed.
Each of the three old mines is now guarded by
a Deep Guardian, lurking about 30 meters in from
the entrance. The creatures remain in place, and
fight to prevent the heroes from proceeding
deeper into the mine. Each will not pursue if the
heroes withdraw. These three mines are dead ends.
Only the newest mine is not blocked by a
guardian. It extends straight into the mountain with
a slight downward incline. A channel 15 centimeters
wide runs down the middle of the floor.
About 50 meters in, the tunnel widens into a
five-meter-square room. Two kroaks and a stalker,
CREDITS
DESIGN: Douglas Niles. DEVELOPMENT: Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
COVER & ILLUSTRATION: K8 Smith. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
- 184 -
all with swords, are on sentry duty here. If they hear
the heroes coming, the kroaks will meet them with
drawn swords while the stalker runs deeper into the
mine. (The tunnel continues past the room.)
Finally the tunnel terminates in a round
chamber 20 meters across. In the center is a
circular pool of Darkblood three meters wide.
Two brutox are in the room; each has a club and
a whip. In battle, they attempt to wrap the lash
around an opponent, and drag that victim into
the toxic pool. The stalker sentry, if it survived,
will also be here to join the fight.
If a hero throws a bottle or other vial of Aura
into the pool, a sharp explosion results, Stunning
or even Wounding those creatures close by. The
only way to destroy the pool, however, is to
channel the Aura from the valley spring into the
shaft and the pool of Darkblood. A digger or
experienced miner can easily excavate this channel.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
MOUNTAIN HEIR: When a noble’s mountain-
climbing expedition in Halverica does not return
on schedule, a reward is offered for his rescue.
SERVANTS OF NIGHTMARE: Human pirates
terrorize coastal realms, hauling prisoners aboard
their ships. The raiders prove to be agents of the
Sleepstealer; the captives to be sacrificed in a
ritual that strengthens one of his elite legions.
FEVER FURY: A drackan awakens from
hibernation and drinks, discovering too late that its
rejuvenating pool has been polluted by an infusion
of Darkblood. The beast goes mad and launches
attacks against human and Faerines alike.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Besides their own political machinations and
internecine wars, Dalethica and Faerine are
continually lusted after by the Sleepstealer’s
minions, who seek a foothold through subversion,
assassination, and infiltration. Sadly, human
memory is short, and old stories quickly fade to
legend. Heroes who stumble upon a plot will be
hard pressed to convince others of the danger,
while themselves being targeted for death.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG

THE WORLD OF ZERO

Steve Stone
In 1997, Archangel Entertainment
hired me to design Zero, a role-
playing game world based on the
artwork of Steve Stone. This chapter
boils that setting down to its
essence.
—Lester Smith

BACKGROUND
It’s the best of all possible worlds.
Or so you’ve been taught. Everyone
telepathically conjoined in one
immense, contented family,
hunkered down in a world of
caverns and warrens, maintaining
centuries-old machinery to keep the
hive alive.
But you’ve always felt a niggling
sense of being different. While
everyone around you basks in “The
Equanimity,” a sea of psychic
satisfaction, complacent in their
togetherness, you’ve subconsciously
felt less-than-perfect-happiness. Your
nascent self-awareness has made you
a truly creative troubleshooter, but it
has also caused you discomfort. And
today, it’s about to get you
terminated.
Queen Zero cannot abide malcontents. She ARCHIVISTS are keepers of ancient
has already birthed and programmed your information—computer librarians, if you will.
replacement. You’ve been ejected from the With millennia of knowledge cataloged, if they
hive mind, and Human Resources is on its way do not know something, they know how to
to recycle your body. look it up. Tall and reedy, they exist on a diet
Happy birthday! And welcome to the rest designed to maintain their enormous brains.
of your short, miserable life. Archivist characters must Focus Wits.
DRONES are general-purpose workers, with
OCCUPATIONS no specialization. Highly adaptable, these
Unlike other D6×D6 game settings, the World characters treat all abilities as either Focused as
of Zero has only five occupations: Archivist, Unfocused. They have no Unfamiliar attributes
Drone, Healer, Technician, and Warrior. or skills.

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LESTER SMITH
HEALERS are the biological experts of the
hive. They are responsible for maintaining life
and health, for grafting body parts and
machinery in useful combinations, and for
recycling organic material. Soft and rotund,
they are the only reproductively fertile
members of the hive, as an emergency backup
in case of mechanized birthing facility failure.
Healer characters must Focus Will.
TECHNICIANS are the machine experts of the
hive. They are equally adept in mechanical and
electrical engineering. Small and wiry, they are
designed to fit in tight places when hard-to-
reach machinery requires repair. Technician
characters must Focus Grace.
WARRIORS are the defenders of the hive,
patrolling its outermost tunnels, where
savage, mutated animal life yet survives. Large
and bulky, they are mechanically enhanced
with grafted armor (one point of subdermal
mesh) and weaponry (see Equipment below).
Their bodies and gear require constant
maintenance by healers and technicians to
remain in fighting condition. Warrior
characters must Focus Brawn.
SKILLS
From the Basic Skills chapter, Athletics,
Computers, First Aid, Navigation, Shooting,
Sneaking, Swimming, Throwing, Tracking, and
Vehicle apply. Others are unknown to this world
(though the heroes’ explorations may later
expose them to new skills). Also, characters may
choose any of the following skills.
COMBAT PSIONICS: This is the ability to use
the combat effects of the psychic abilities listed
below. Rolls are made versus the specific
psychic ability being used.
ELECTRONICS: This skill involves building
and repairing electrical equipment. When
combined with Computers skill, it includes
programming ability.
HYDROPONICS: This is used to raise food in
this underground environment that possesses
no natural light or soil.
MECHANICS: This skill involves building and
repairing mechanical equipment—including
most weapons and ammunition.
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TELEGNOSIS: This is literally “knowledge at a
distance” whether in time or space. It is
sometimes referred to as clairvoyance, and it
ranges from a hunch at low levels to virtual
prophecy at higher levels. In game terms, each
Success Level from a Telegnosis roll gains the
character one insightful bit of information
from the Game Host, who chooses exactly
what to reveal.
COMBAT TELEGNOSIS: This gives its user
an insight into an enemy’s weaknesses. Each
Success Level with Combat Telegnosis gives
the user a 1-point bonus on attack and defense
against one specific enemy for the duration of
one battle.
TELEKINESIS: Sometimes called psychokinesis,
this is the ability to move objects by the power
of thought. Multiply the exact dice roll by the
number of Success Levels to determine the
possible combination of kilos and meters
moved in a game round.
Example: A character with Focused
Telekinesis and a Focus rating of 6, whose roll is
18, would score a 36 (18 × 2 Success Levels).
With that roll, the character could move 36 kilos
1 meter, or 1 kilo 36 meters, or 4 kilos 9 meters,
or any other combination up to 36.
COMBAT TELEKINESIS: This allows the
character to strike a target with loose objects in
the vicinity. Use the Small Pistol rating from
the Conflict and Damage chapter as a basis for
damage and range.
TELEPATHY: This is, of course, the ability to
communicate mind to mind. Because the
heroes originated in Queen Zero’s hive, they
are able to communicate by projecting
thoughts to one another. (As explained under
Special Rules, below, players must choose
Telepathy as either a Focused or Unfocused
skill for their characters.)
Eavesdropping on unprojected thoughts, on
the other hand, requires a skill roll. If the
“listener” is successful, the target is allowed a
Wits roll to recognize the intrusion. If the
target’s Success Levels equal or exceed those of
the listener, the target becomes aware of being
scanned and is allowed a Will roll to guard
thoughts from being overheard. If Success
Levels for this roll also equal or exceed the
original Telepathy roll, the thoughts are
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
guarded. (The Game Host may also
allow a character to make an
Uncertain Task roll—see the Dice
and Tasks chapter—using Will to
guard thoughts before entering a
situation.) Guarding thoughts
requires concentration, which
imposes a 1-point penalty on any
other dice rolls the target makes.
COMBAT TELEPATHY: This
involves projecting doubts or other
distracting thoughts into a target’s
mind. For each Success Level the
telepath gains, the target must
hesitate for one round and can take
no action other than attempting to
shake off the effects with a Will roll.
Each Success Level on this Will roll
reduces the number of rounds lost
by one.
TELEPORTATION: This skill is the
ability to move from one location
to another instantaneously. In the
World of Zero setting, the number
of Success Levels on a roll
determines the distance that can be
traveled, in terms of combat ranges:
1. Throwing; 2. Shooting; 3.
Viewing; 4. Lost. Teleporting
another person (or object of equivalent mass) target is allowed a Will roll to resist, and
makes the task one step more difficult. Each Success Levels are compared. If the Will
additional person teleported imposes another Success Levels are higher, the target is
step of difficulty. The teleporter must unaffected; if the Success Levels are tied,
physically touch the object to be teleported, neither character can take any other action that
and all travel together. round; if the Telergy Success Levels are higher,
Example: A character could transport itself the telergist controls the target for one round
and two additional people as a Formidable task per excess Success Level.
(see the Dice and Tasks chapter). Example: If a telergist achieves three
COMBAT TELEPORTATION: This allows a Success Levels versus a target who achieves
character to rapidly “blink” into and out of one Will Success Level, the telergist controls
existence, which makes that character more that target for two rounds. Note that a telergist
difficult to target. Each Success Level the cannot force its victim to attack itself, though
teleporting character gains on the roll adds one the victim could be forced to attack its
level of difficulty to attack rolls against it. The companions.
power requires an action to activate, however. It COMBAT TELERGY: This allows its user to
also requires concentration to maintain, which cause damage to a living target by slowing its
means the teleporter treats all other task rolls as heart and reducing blood flow to its brain.
one point more difficult than usual. Base damage for this attack is Graze, and each
Success Level increases that damage by one
TELERGY: This skill is the ability to affect
step. As an action, the victim may attempt
another person’s thoughts or emotions. The

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LESTER SMITH
a Brawn roll to resist the effect, with each
Success Level reducing the damage one step.
SPECIAL RULES
NAMES for hive members consists of an
occupation and a four-digit number: “Warrior
3414,” for example. After choosing your
character’s occupation, roll a six-sided die four
times to generate the digits.
GENDER doesn’t much matter for characters
other than Healers. Choose one if you wish, or
simply mark this spot “N/A” on the character
sheet, and remember to refer to your character
as “it.”
AGE is either Immature, Adult, or (rarely)
Elderly. Years since birth are not recorded.
LANGUAGES are unheard of (literally) in Queen
Zero’s hive. All players must choose Telepathy
for their characters as either a Focused or
Unfocused skill. Only Archivists are aware of
the existence of spoken languages as a primitive
form of communication.
EQUIPMENT
The equipment in Queen Zero’s realm is an
odd mix of the very archaic (though carefully
maintained) and high tech. Vehicles are
scarce—most travel being on foot or via the
Teleport skill—but weapons are readily
available for Warriors; and other odd devices
can be found, or looted after battles.
VEHICLES
Those few vehicles that do exist are primarily
slow, treaded trucks for hauling ore, or heavily
armored versions for troop transport. Some
few one- or two-person flying craft or
underwater vessels are sometimes seen.
WEAPONS
Queen Zero’s security forces have stockpiled
weapons from every era. Heroes might
encounter any of the weapons listed in the
Conflict and Damage chapter, as well as the
following. Note that many Warriors have had a
forearm surgically removed and a two-handed
weapon mounted in its place, in order to
operate the weapon one-handed. Some
Warriors even have both forearms replaced
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with two-handed weapons, allowing them to
attack twice per round (roll four dice and
assign two to each arm's attack). For mundane
tasks such as reloading, feeding themselves,
and so on, they either rely on Healers and
Techs or develop extraordinary Telekinesis.
BLASTER: This Large Pistol fires a particle
beam that can hit targets up to Viewing range.
Unfortunately, the beam is diffused by dust or
mist. (The Game Host will determine damage
reduction based on level of obscurity.)
FLAMER: This Throwing-range weapon can
attack two adjacent targets, with a base damage
of Hit against each on the round it strikes.
Each following round, the flame causes
automatic damage at one level less.
Example: If a Warrior wielding a flamer
strikes with two Success Levels, damage is
Wound on the first Round, Hit on the second,
Stun on the third, Graze on the fourth, and
None on the fifth, at which point the fire dies.)
NEURAL WHIP: This retractable Throwing-
range weapon does Stun damage, ignoring most
armor. As long as at least two of its metal studs
can touch bare flesh, the electrical circuit
completes. It is especially useful against naturally
armored creatures such as cave crocodiles.
POWER BLADE: Whether a chainsaw, an
electrified sword, vibro-blade, or an electrically
rigidified monofilament wire, this two-hand
weapon does Wound damage and ignores one
level of armor.
PULSE CANNON: This spinning multi-barreled
Blaster causes Kill damage on a successful
attack against living creatures. It also counts as
an anti-vehicle weapon with a Graze damage
rating. After three shots, it must be recharged
with a new battery pack.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
The heroes may come across special equipment
such as the following during their adventures.
BIOHAZARD SUIT: This bulky clothing
protects the wearer in any hazardous
environment. It acts as four levels of armor
against all but psychic damage and contains a
one-hour oxygen supply. Any physical activities
suffer a two-point difficulty modifier, however.
 D6XD6 ™ RPG
BOOSTER DRUG: An adrenaline
derivative, this injector gives the user
a 2-point bonus on all dice rolls for
15 minutes, then causes automatic
Hit damage as withdrawal.
CHAMELEON SUIT: A full-body
suit with computerized light sensors
and matching light emitters, this
clothing mimics the wearer’s
environment, giving a 3-point bonus
to Sneaking rolls. It must be
recharged after an hour of use.
IRE: This biomechanical infrared
eye, permanently implanted in an eye
socket, allows the user to see heat as
if it were visible light.

DENIZENS
Queen Zero has survived millennia
by body-swapping at least once each
generation. She keeps a specially
prepared Drone on hand at all times
in case of emergency. As psychic
mother to the hive, she can see
through anyone’s eyes and draw
upon any skill with an effective
Focus rating of 0. The chance of the
heroes meeting her in person is
virtually nil, though she might
confront them through a telergically
controlled surrogate. power’s base damage is Hit. Armor does not
protect the target, though defensive Success
CYBERKILLERS: They are Queen Zero’s Levels with Telekinesis can.
personal guard. Gender: Female. Age: Adult.
TELEPATHY—PSI BLAST: This psychic
Attributes: Will Focused; None Unfamiliar.
“shout” has a base Stun damage. Armor does
Occupation: Assassin. Skills: Focused Combat
not protect the target, though defensive
Psionics, Shooting, Sneaking, Throwing, and
Success Levels with Telepathy can.
Tracking; Unfocused all psychic skills. Focus: 6.
Notes: Cyberkillers wear form-fitting reactive TELEPORTATION–WRACK: This attack pulls
armor that provides 3 levels of protection and the target apart, doing a base damage of
acts as a Chameleon Suit. Each member also Wound. Armor does offer protection, as do
carries a Pulse Cannon. But their signature defensive Success Levels with Teleportation.
equipment is a Psi Lens helmet treating all THE FIVE and THE FORTY: They are hive
psychic skills as Focused and conferring these members of each occupation, possessing a single-
special Combat Psionics abilities: digit name (such as Drone 1 through Drone 9).
TELEKINESIS—PYROKINESIS: 1 Success Level The 1s personally attend the queen; the
causes a flammable item to smolder; 2 causes remainder serve as their agents in the hive.
them to ignite; 3 makes metal blisteringly hot; Gender: Female. Age: Adult. Attributes, Occupation,
4 causes it to melt. Against living creatures, the and Skills: Varied. Focus: Identical to name.

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LESTER SMITH
THE MULTI-DIGITS: They are hive members
of each occupation in descending order,
roughly 450 members with two-digit names,
4,500 with three-digit names, and 45,000 at the
heroes’ level. They can be of any gender and
age. In general, their Focus ratings are roughly
twice the number of digits in their names (so
most four-digit-named characters have a Focus
of about 8).
CAVE CREATURES: These are mutated
animals that survived some long-forgotten
planetary cataclysm. They survive outside the
hive, raiding it for food or from sheer rage.
Their exact natures are left to the Game Host.
SAMPLE ADVENTURE:
SEVERANCE PACKAGE
In which the heroes are evicted from the hive.
ACT I: TERMINATION
Begin by asking the players to describe what
their characters are doing on a typical day in
The Equanimity. As they become involved in
this description, interrupt them with a mental
command to report for duty at a new location.
They arrive as strangers to one another, in an
abandoned chamber none have visited before,
somewhere near the center of the hive.
Suddenly, their connection to the hive mind is
dropped, and a Warrior teleports into the room
and begins attacking. Each combat round,
another Warrior teleports in, to a maximum of
one enemy per hero. Let the heroes begin to
bond in mutual defense against this threat.
ACT II: EXIT THE BUILDING
If the heroes defeat their attackers, they hear
the approach of many more hive members in
the corridors outside. Remaining here is clearly
suicide. Or the heroes may already have
chosen to flee the arriving Warriors. In either
case, a chase scene ensues through heavily
occupied regions, punctuated with Drone
ambushes, locked bulkhead doors a Technician
must open, other obstructions an Archivist
must find a path around, and so on. Consider
CREDITS
ZERO © Steve Stone. Used by permission. SETTING TEXT © Lester Smith. EDITING: Dale A. Donovan.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Steve Stone. PROOFREADING: Winifred Lewis. LAYOUT: Ralph Faraday.
- 190 -
providing the opportunity to steal a vehicle to
ramp up the chase.
ACT III: COMPANY STORE
As the climax to this adventure, a Cyberkiller
arrives. She begins clearing a path to the
heroes by slaying anyone else in her way—
using Pyrokinesis and Wrack in a display of
wanton destruction. If the heroes somehow
defeat this Cyberkiller, more appear to take her
place. Queen Zero cannot allow independent
beings to remain within the hive.
If the heroes flee, they are pursued only to
the edges of the hive, where light and power
fall behind. The queen assumes they will perish
without further pursuit.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
MILK RUN: The heroes find themselves
running low on food, medicine, battery packs,
or ammunition. They must plot a series of
raids on the hive to resupply.
HERE THERE BE MONSTERS: Weary of an
ever-vigilant existence on the outskirts of the
hive, the heroes discover a promising new
cavern—seemingly unoccupied. To move there,
however, they must investigate why it is empty.
LIBRARY DAY: The heroes discover an
impressive piece of equipment in need of
repair (perhaps even a starship). An Archivist
recalls plans in the hive’s computer library, and
a Technician knows where parts might be
stolen or manufactured.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Surviving their forced retirement thus far, the
heroes explore ever farther afield, eventually
finding themselves on the planet’s surface. This
ravaged wasteland is home to small enclaves of
civilization, some being descendants of people
who previously escaped Queen Zero, others
descendants of forgotten nations, or even
former members of star-faring races. The
heroes may shape the destiny of this world, with
supplies taken from Queen Zero.

APPENDIX: BONUS CHARACTERS
The following characters were provided by Kickstarter backers of the D6×D6 game.
“Ms. Carol Christmas, Esq.” illustration by Lenka Šimečková for Big Trouble in Little Canton
ARNOLD ALBERT. Gender:: Male. Age: 38 Attributes: Wits Focused;
Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Marine Biologist. Skills: Focused
Computers, Navigation, Persuasion, Swimming, Tracking, Vehicle:
One-man Submersible; Unfocused Persuasion, First Aid, Second
Language: Latin. Focus: 7. Notes: Arnold works aboard a time-
traveling bioresearch flotilla capturing and cataloging prehistoric
deep-sea predators. —Jun Omachi
BANISTERMAN. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits Focused; Will
Unfamiliar. Occupation: Technician. Skills: Steady Thinker, Methodical
Worker, Vehicle: Rundown Jet Ski. Focus: 4. —Ben Sharratt
TREVOR BRADY. Gender:: Male. Age: 21 Attributes: Will Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Rigger. Skills: Focused Computers,
Reasoning, Partying, Second Language: Sarcasm; Unfocused Social
Skills, Dancing. Focus: 5. Notes: A hopeless romantic, Trevor spends
his days marveling at the small things in life. He is a fan of horror
stories. —Trevor Ray Brady
GOFFREDO DI BUGLIONE. Gender: Male. Age: 40 Attributes: Wits
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Scholar. Skills: Focused
Persuasion, Shooting, Sense Motive, Dodge, Second Language:
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
English, Magic Knowledge; Unfocused Tracking,
Ride Animal, Swimming. Focus: 7. Notes: Goffredo
lives in Itlay during the 21st century and has a great
knowledge of magic that leverages to help the
world to preserve the balance. —Francesco Ferrini
AUSK BROKEN TUSK. Gender: Male. Age: 24.
Attributes: Brawn Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Warrior. Skills: Focused Athletics, First Aid, Frenzy,
Martial Arts, Ride Animal, Tracking; Unfocused
Navigation, Sneaking, Throwing. Focus: 6. Notes:
Ausk is a fast rising young Chief on the world of
Fagara. —John F. Watson
NATHAN CAPSHAW. Gender: Male. Age: Mid 30s.
Attributes: Grace Focused; Wits Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Soldier (Monster Hunter). Skills:
Focused Athletics, Persuasion, Second Language:
Spanish, Sneaking, Tracking, Vehicle: Auto;
Unfocused Computers. Focus: 7. Notes: Capshaw
retired early from the US Army with a mental
disability because he swore he saw monsters. He
learned not to talk about them. Now he hunts
them, looking for help wherever he can find any.
—W. Schaffer Tolliver
KOA CONNELY. Gender: Female. Age: 17. Attributes:
Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Student. Skills: Arts, Music, Second Language:
French, Second Language: Russian. Focus: 5. Notes:
Avid reader and fan of the Touchstone novel series.
—Anonymous
CHGUCK. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes:
Brawn Focused, Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Outcast. Skills: Focused Luck. Focus: 2. Notes:
Bumbles his way through encounters that should
have killed him without a scratch. —Chuck Pint, for
Esfah, the World of Dragon Dice
MARQUES CEDA. Gender: Female. Age: 36. Attributes:
Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Record
Store Owner. Skills: Focused Spiritual Knowledge
(Yoruban), Spiritual Divinity (Yoruban), Mythology,
Persuasion, Martial Arts (Machete Fighting), Sneaking;
Unfocused Spiritual Knowledge (Ashanti), Computers,
Throwing. Focus: 6. Notes: Marques lives in 21st Haitian immigrant who
migrated to New Orleans. He is motivated by a thirst for power and
revenge against a family enemy who has denied his mother entry to
Orun Rere (Heaven). —Scott McClenaghan
JASPER CONROY. Gender:: Male. Age: 58. Attributes: Wits Focused;
Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Librarian. Skills: Focused Pulp
Literature, Crime Historian, Photography, Intuition, Cigar expert, ;
Unfocused Sneaking, Throwing, Bravery. Focus: 6. Notes: Jasper is a
single man in contemporary times. He fancies himself a librarian
Columbo and that any crime can be solved if enough of pieces can
be uncover. Unfortunately he rarely has the courage needed to
uncover those pieces. —David Wolfe
RACKO “THE REBORN” CYBILL. Gender:: Male Age: 33. Race:
Human Attributes: Wits Focused Brawn Unfamiliar Occupation: Battle
Control Wizard Skills: Focused: Magic (Conjunction); Magic
(Evocation); Craft (Rod and Staff); Knowledge; Ride Animal
Unfocused: Sword Fight, Tracking, Battle Control. Focus: 5 Notes:
Racko the Reborn is a mighty wizard. He was selfies and saw every
other being as mere pawns for him to use for the greatest personal
gain. However, 50 years ago he was captured by Sun Elves, locked
away in the cage, he starved himself to death, as he had long ago
LESTER SMITH
prepared a clone to serve as a new vessel for his soul, should he ever
die. However, the journey to rebirth changed the mighty wizard, and
he now strives to right the wrongs of his previous life and stand as a
vigil against darkness and corruption. —Stefan Wilken
AERIM DARKLIGHTER. Gender: Male. Age: 38. Attributes: Will
Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Tech Engineer. Skills:
Focused Martial Arts, Computers, Tracking (geocaching), Second
Language: Dutch, Vehicle: Honda Shadow; Unfocused Navigation,
Sneaking, Throwing. Focus: 9. Notes: Aerim lives in a commune
where feudal Japanese rules apply. It’s an open community, so
wondering the world is an option. a two-month visit each year is
mandatory though. —John van Schaik
AXYS DENYED. Gender: Male. Age: Adult Attributes: Wits Focused;
Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Hacker. Skills: Focused Bargaining,
Computers, Lockpicking, Persuasion, Vehicle: Motorcycle;
Unfocused Shooting, Sneaking. Focus: 6. Notes: Axys Denyed has a
penchant for vintage Ducati motorcycles and old cyberpunk pulp
novels. —J Sumner, Jr.
DICE COMMANDER PRIME. Gender: Male. Age: 40. Attributes: Will
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Scholar. Skills: Focused
Bargaining, Computers, Persuasion, Second Language: Esperanto.
Unfocused First Aid, Navigation, Sneaking. Focus: 5. —Mike DeZearn
MORGRIM DIMZAD. Gender:: Male Age: 132. Race: Dwarf
Attributes: Wits Focused Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Battlepriest
of Moradin Skills: Focused Martial Arts (Morningstar), First Aid,
Persuasion, Magic (Earth); Unfocused Lockpicking, Sneaking,
Swimming. Focus: 5. Notes: Morgrim Dimzad was a dwarf priest of
forgotten times, serving the dwarven Church of Moradin. He was
known for his courage and was always at front in the heat of
battle, wearing his full plate armour and swinging his Morningstar.
He was also very wise and was even said to know everything.
—Casper Entzelmann Christoffersen
MOOSE FARELY. Gender:: Male. Age: Adult Attributes: Wits Focused;
Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Information Broker. Skills: Focused
Computers, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Shooting, Throwing. Focus: 3.
Notes: Moose was a company commander in the US Army before
retiring. He now provides rapid-response background and research
information through the network to ghost/monster hunters.
—Norm Fenlason
TYRONE FETTERS. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Grace
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Peacekeeper. Skills: Focused
Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Sneaking, Tracking; Unfocused First Aid,
Martial Arts. Focus: 7. Notes: Tyrone had previously just worked for
whoever could pay him, getting the information or item needed, but
now he knows there’s consequences and he’s only working for the
“good guys.” —Russ Luzetski
GORKO GALGENSTRICK. Race: Dwarf. Gender: Male. Age: Adult.
Attributes: Brawn Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Thief. Skills:
Focused Melee Combat, Mountaineering, Mining, Appraisal;
Unfocused Tracking, Swimming. Focus: 7. Notes: Gorko is a rough-
and-tumble rogue torn between fascination and hate for all things
magical. He loves bashing up opposition with his two-handed
sword. —Thomas Biskup
AMANDA “RED ANGEL” GEISLER. Gender: Female. Age: 35.
Attributes: Will Focused; Brawl Unfamiliar. Occupation: First
Response Technician. Skills: Focused Athletics, Bargaining,
Computers, Lockpicking, Persuasion, Vehicle: Auto, Vehicle:
Motorcycle. Focus: 8. —Kris Herzog
MICHAEL GIBSON. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Will
Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Politician/MC. Skills:
Focused Bargaining, Persuasion, Computers, Pickpocketing,
Navigation, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Athletics, Lockpicking, Ride
Animal. Focus: 7. Notes: Michael rides the line between model citizen
and con artist, but always for his interpretation of the “greater
good.” —Michael J Gibson
ISABEL GOTHMAROTHMAGOGGOGOTH. Gender: Female. Age:
Adult. Attributes: Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Rogue
Sorceress. Skills: Focused Arcane Lore, Alchemy, Witchcraft,
- 192 -
Herbalism, Fencing, Archery, Sneaking; Unfocused Brawling, Lock-
picking, Acting. Focus: 8. Notes: Isabel has travelled across many
planes and hundreds of worlds in search of the vast wealth and the
ultimate power she craves and enthusiastically hoards. —Jeremy Kear
GROAN. Male. Age: 41 Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar.
Occupation: Hermit Sage. Skills: Focused Computers, Persuasion,
Shooting, Vehicle: Auto (20th-21st century); Unfocused Bargaining,
First Aid, Second Language: German. Focus: 5. Notes: Groan lives
atop a small mountain from where he dispenses his wisdom to those
who seek it, and sometimes to those who don't. His life is mostly
solitary since at the bottom of the mountain there are annoying
trolls. Despite this he does sometimes go out and adventure with his
friends. —Jonathan L. Wolff
MONGO HAKALA. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Strength
Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Russian Mobster. Skills:
Focused Firearms, Computers, First Aid, Martial Arts, Second
Language: Russian, Vehicle: Fusion Powered Ford Mustang;
Unfocused Navigation, Sneaking, Throwing. Focus: 7. Notes: Mongo
lives in a 22nd century Martian colony, is a “button man” for the
local Russian mob and has a secret fascination with Jane Austen
novels. —Adam W. Roy
MARV HALLOWSTONE. Gender: Male. Age: 30. Attributes: Brawn
Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Blacksmith. Skills: Focused
Martial Arts, Shooting, Throwing, Tracking, Persuasion, First Aid.
Unfocused Computers, Ride Animal, Sneaking. Focus: 7 Notes: Marv
has a large amount of rage built up and is out for revenge for the
death of his girlfriend. —Garrett Hayes
KAIRAM AHMED HAMDAN. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Former Saudi Emergency
Force official. Skills: Focused Second Language: English, Navigation,
Tracking, Dematerialize, Possession, Write, Will o’ Wisps, Dream
Walk, Appear; Unfocused Computer, Vehicle: Auto, Ride Animal.
Focus 10. Equipment: Ectoplasmic sniper rifle with night vision
scope, Technika Destroyer Black-ops suit. Notes: Born 1956, Mecca.
Joined Saudi Emergency Force, 1978. Married a colonel’s daughter,
1981. Daughter Dinazade disappeared, 2000 (18th birthday). Kairam
followed her to Dubai to a slaver, Robin, a djinn. Leading a night raid,
Kairam was ambushed and killed by a trio of ghouls. —Kairam Ahmed
Hamdan, for Ghost of a Chance
LASERACID. Gender:: Male. Age: 30 Attributes: Battle Ready;
Unmatched Wits. Occupation: Nightclub Owner. Skills: People Skills,
Computers, Katana Training, Martial Arts. Second Language:
Russian, Vehicle: Pontiac Trans-Am; Notes: Laseracid owns the most
high class chain of night clubs in the USA, loves sports cars and
swords, and is a well-known ladies man. —Dan Steinmetz
DASH HARRISON. Gender: Male. Age: 24 Attributes: Grace Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Gunslinger. Skills: Focused Shooting,
Bargaining, Persuasion; Unfocused Ride Animal, Sneaking, Second
Language: Latin. Focus: 4. Notes: Dash, with his loyal dog Sammy,
aimlessly wanders the world to become the fastest gunslinger in
history. —Lee Alley
KITHLYRAE “KIT KAT” KATCHJNE. Gender: Female. Age: Young
Adult. Attributes: Grace+ Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Spacecraft Engineer. Skills: Focused Bargaining, Computers:
Advanced Technology, Empathy: Machines, Persuasion, Second
Language: Human), Sneaking; Unfocused Lockpicking, Navigation,
Tracking. Focus: 7. Notes: Kit is a half-blood human with feline
features and a prehensile tail. She comes from a planet of non-
combative empaths. Outcast as a half-breed with a “technology
fixation,” Kit was mostly raised in a human colony. —K8 Smith
FREDDY LOE. Gender: Male. Age: 42. Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn
Unfamiliar. Occupation: Band Manager/Promoter. Skills: Focused
Bargaining, First Aid, Sneaking, Pickpocketing; Unfocused Athletics,
Ride Animal, Swimming. Focus: 5. Notes: Freddy currently manages a
Heavy Metal band by the name of WyrmTongue. —Robert W. Iliff
KIMBERLY LOKIDOTTIR. Gender: Female. Age: 41. Attributes: Wits
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Psychic Mecha Pilot. Skills:
Focused Vehicle: Mecha, Computers, Navigation, Vehicle: Starship,

Psychic Combat, Psychic Senses; Unfocused First Aid, Persuasion,
Shooting. Focus: 7. Notes: Kimmie is a 31st Century explorer. Whether
flying a starship, piloting mecha, or journeying beyond the five senses,
she lives for the experience. —Kimberly Burgess
KATHERINE MARDELL. Gender:: Female. Age: 24 (Apparently.
Actually she’s 49 but doesn’t look it). Attributes: Grace Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Vampire. Skills: Athletics, Martial Arts
(Streetfighting), Persuade (Charm), Shapeshift (Bat, Wolf), Sneaking.
Focus: 6. Katherine is a modern-day vampire, living on the fringes of
society along the south coast of England. She and a small number of
her kind survive by attempting to blend in with the human populace,
avoiding the attention of the authorities and the Church of England’s
witch hunters. Katherine still adopts the late 80s blend of Goth and
hippie style clothing she was wearing back in the late 1980s when her
human existence ended, favoring long skirts coupled with motorcycle
jackets and knee-high boots. —Mike Jarvis
MAYA MIKULSKI. Gender: Female. Age: 37. Attributes: Will Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Physician. Skills: Focused
Investigation, Martial Arts, Second Language: English, Vehicle: Car,
Magic: Restoration, Magic: Energy; Unfocused Acrobatics,
Sneaking, Magic: Movement. Focus: 7. Notes: Maya is a doctor turned
into monster hunter by a set of unforeseen events. She lives in late
20's of XXI century in alternative reality where magic is
commonplace and monsters are real danger. —Jiima Arunsone
ONO. Race: Dwarf. Gender:: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Brawn
Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Warrior. Skills: Focused Martial
Weapons, Martial Arts, Second Language: Common; Unfocused
Sneaking, Magic. Focus: 4. Notes: Ono isn’t…smart, but he is strong
and quite good at breaking things. Oddly enough, somehow he’s
learned a few simple spells along the way, they rarely work quite like
he expects however. He has little patience for long, elaborate
planning, as he is the more the “charge in and hit it with me axe”
kind of Dwarf. —Mark James Featherston
Patty Papanopolis. Gender: Female. Age: Adult. Attributes: Grace
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Children’s TV Host (Patty
Pancakes). Skills: Focused Bargaining, Lockpicking, Shooting,
Sneaking, Swimming; Unfocused Athletics, First Aid, Vehicle:
Auto. Focus: 6. Notes: Tends to take drastic action when spooked.
—Christopher Reed
GERALD ROBINSON. Gender:: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits
Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Sales. Skills: Focused
Bargaining, Computers, Persuasion, Swimming. Second Language:
Klingon, Vehicle: Auto. Focus: 7. —Gerald Robinson
RUMPUS THE MEATY. Race: Feral (wild boar) Gender: Female. Age:
82 Attributes: Brawn Focused; Wits Unfamiliar. Occupation: Warrior.
Skills: Focused Athletics, Martial Arts, Shooting, Tracking,
Throwing, Navigation; Unfocused Second Language: Undead,
Sneaking, Swimming, Magic: Earth. Focus: 7. Notes: Rumpus wears
light leather armor and wields her mother’s Spear of Spearing, which
has no special value and is just an ordinary spear…with an
extraordinary name! —Christopher Reed, for the World of Esfah
ROSBEN RUNDERBOUGH. Race: Halfling. Gender:: Male Age:
Adult. Attributes: Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Adventurer/Explorer. Skills: Focused Athletics, Literacy,
Lockpicking, Navigation, Persuasion, Pickpocketing, Sneaking,
Swimming, Tracking; Unfocused: Martial Arts (Escaping),
Shooting, Throwing Focus: 10 Notes: Jack of all trades, master of
none (or all, if you ask Rosben). Curiosity and high spirits are his
two defining traits. He is too curious to ever be afraid, finding
every new creature and new thing very fascinating. In one of his
many run-ins with magic, he was fused with a bottomless bag—a
true advantage, if you ask Rosben, as that allows him to carry a
“small” sample of the previously mentioned fascinating items with
him, without worrying about such boring issues as size and
weight. Many times has he pulled from the pocket a wondrous
item that has helped him and his companions out of peril. Quite
as often, that that peril was caused by something else from his
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D6XD6 ™ RPG
pocket. That Rosben is still alive is a wonder, but Lady Luck
seems to always smile upon him when it really counts. He has
seen the inside of a dragon and found his way out. Rosben
believes he is so blessed because of his good soul. And while he
seldom sees any problem in “borrowing” other people’s
belongings, he truly is always ready to help anyone in need
(whether they want his help or not). Rosben is always on the
move, seeking new discoveries, typically joining up with a group
of fellow travelers deep in trouble (which he may or may not have
partially caused). The only time he sits still is to write his
experiences and observations in The Big Books on Everything Worth
Knowing, by Rosben Runderbough. —Thomas Bybjerg Brock
CHRIS SAGUISAG. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wit Focused;
Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Network Systems Administrator. Skills:
Focused Bargaining, Computers, First Aid, Navigation, Persuation,
Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused Athletics, Shooting, Throwing. Focus: 7.
Notes: Chris was working in his everyday job at the Judicial Council of
California, until oneday he was swept up into a world of adventure.
—Chris “Pepsiman” Saguisag
ANTONIO SANTINO. Gender:: Male. Age: 28. Attributes: Brawn
Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Private Investigator
(Tracking). Skills: Focused Athletics, First Aid, Martial Arts,
Persuasion, Shooting, Sneaking, Vehicle: Auto; Unfocused
Bargaining, Lockpicking, Second Language: Italian. Focus: 8. Notes:
Tony is a former professional boxer who has become a PI in 1980’s
California. —Jeff Mowen
BALO SHANDOR. Gender:: Male Age: Adult Race: Human Attributes:
Brawn Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Mercenary Skills:
Focused: Athletics; Bargaining; Navigation; Shooting Unfocused:
First Aid, Tracking, Ride Animal Focus: 5 Notes: Balo’s weapon of
choice is a gargantuan two-handed hammer that seems way to large
for a human to wield. While he goes about his life selling his
services, it is not always the biggest coin that get him; rather he lets
his adventurer’s heart guide his hammer and seeks the pay that
seems the most exciting. —Frederik Kühl
SOERINTH. Gender:: Male Age: 28 Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn
Unfamiliar. Occupation: Military (munitions). Skills: Focused
Explosives, Gamer, Devil’s Own Luck, Shooting, Survivor. Notes:
Known lecher with a weakness for women. —Cody Butler
“TATTLE” TAYLOR. Gender:: Female. Age: 19. Race: Human
Attributes: Wits Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Thief. Skills:
Focused Computers, Cold-Reading, Psychology, Persuasion;
Unfocused Vehicle: Auto, Tracking, Bargaining. Focus: 5. Notes:
Taylor is a 20th century professional thief, burglar, and heist
planner. She uses her impressive talents for reading people and
figuring out their secrets to climb the ladder of the criminal
underground. —Henrik Høeg
ZEPHRAS THUNDERFIST. Gender:: Male. Race: Dwarf (Vagha). Age:
60. Attibutes: Brawn Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Warlord
(Battlefield Commander). Skills: Unarmed Combat, Athletics,
Survival, Persuasion, Toughness. —Steve Braun
CLEM VANDEL. Gender: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits Focused,
Brawn Unfamiliar Occupation: Chef. Skills: Martial Arts, Second
Language: Gaelic, Vehicle: Auto, Computers Focus: 5. Notes: Clem is
an Irish chef with an interest in the strange and unexplained who
has a knack for finding trouble. —Jeremy LaMastus
ALYNNA VERBINE. Gender: Female. Age: Appears 40-something.
Attributes: Wits Focused; Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Artisan
Inventor (makes unusual, attractive, very useful things). Skills:
Focused Bargaining, Persuasion, Tinkering, Crafting, First Aid,
Second Language: English; Unfocused Martial Arts, Vehicle: Auto,
Vehicle: Light Aircraft, Lock Picking. Focus: 7. Notes: Alynna is that
quirky aunt that everyone doesn't realize that they have, until she
just shows up for the first time. She always seems a bit
anachronistically out of sync with her time and place, arriving with a
large handbag filled with useful and attractive gimmicks, tools, toys,
and tinkered wonders. —Jennell Jaquays
LESTER SMITH
“The Pale Viscount” illustration by Lenka Šimečková
THE PALE VISCOUNT. Gender: Androgynous Age: Indeterminate
Adult Attributes: Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Keeper of
Secrets Skills: Focused Sneaking, Persuasion, Tracking, Edged Weapons;
Unfocused Appear When Needed Focus: 6. Notes: The Pale Viscount
serves one of human-beings’ basest desires: to prove one possesses
private, valuable knowledge by divulging it to another person. Clients pay
the Viscount richly to keep their secrets safe from enemies, their own
unreliable memories, and the indifference of time. Implicit in this
payment is a vow that if ever the Viscount while walking the world learns
a secret he keeps is divulged, he slays the one who uttered it, and the one
that person had it from, and so on back to the original offender.
Sometimes clients return to the Viscount to be reminded of their secrets,
which requires a second fee. The Viscount prefers shadow and silence,
speaking in a vaguely medieval Italian accent only as necessary to
complete his work. —Tim Ryan
VICTORIA VON VICKERY. Gender: Female. Age: About 30. Attributes:
Grace Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Artist. Skills: Focused
Chisel, Knife, Painting, Persuasion; Unfocused Embroidery, Equestrian,
ADDITIONAL NAMES
ANCHALUK DAVE “JUSTDAVE” MALCUM BENVENUTI,
BEASTLYPOET DUPUIS, BARBARIAN INVESTIGATOR
CHIPPYMUM JERUSALEM JONES NOHR, HEALER/THIEF
LORD DONSKI JOHNY PLASMUS MAGUS
- 194 -
Gentility. Focus: 5. Notes: Victoria is the daughter of a 16th
century artist who failed to deliver on a royal
commission and sold her into an aristocratic marriage to
avoid prison. Unlike a fairytale princess, she thoroughly
resents her fate. Using skills she learned unlawfully at her
father’s feet, she subtly ridicules polite society through
the very art they pay to possess. She takes portrait
commissions through the agency of a male apprentice
(her secret lover). He sketches each courtly model in
person, and she finishes the painting in private, relying
upon her own clandestine observation of the subject at
aristocratic fêtes. These paintings by a “secretive master”
are in such demand that subjects forgive any less-than-
flattering details as simple evidence of the painter’s
genius. Victoria employs the funds from these
commissions to hire spies, thieves, and assassins against
the aristocracy she so despises. —Jennifer Smith
“WRENCH” WALKER. Gender:: Male Age: 31 Attributes:
Wits Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Mechanic.
Skills: Focused Juggling, Boxing, Mime; Unfocused
Sneaking, Sleight-of-Hand. Focus: 4. Notes: “Wrench”
grew up in a Depression-era traveling carnival and works
a day job in an auto factory. He moonlights as a clown
whenever the circus comes to town. —John Card II
LIN WEN-WU. Gender: Male. Age: 35. Attributes: Wits
Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation: Super Spy. Skills:
Computers. Martial Arts, Persuasion. Pick Pocketing,
Sneaking, Shooting, Second Language: Italian. Focus: 8.
Notes: A Taiwanese Super-Spy warrior-poet, like Jet Li
meets Roger Moore, a HUGE Film/Anime buff (loves
Hong Kong Jet Li and Jackie Chan Films, Roger
Moore's James Bond Films and “Heartwarming
Friendship Anime like K-ON! and Angel Beats”) when not
on the mission/job. —林立人 Lin Liren
WILFRED THE WIZARD. Gender: Male. Age: Ancient.
Attributes: Will Focused; Brawn Unfamiliar. Occupation:
Illusionist+++. Skills: Focused Persuasion+++;
Unfocused Bargaining+, First Aid+, Magic: Aquatic+,
Magic: Pyrotechnics+, Navigation+, Pickpocketing+,
Ride Animal, Second Language: High Elvish++,
Shooting, Sneaking+, Swimming, Throwing+, Tracking.
Focus: 2. Notes: Wilfred began his magical studies early in
life and pursued a well-rounded adventuring career
before developing a total devotion to illusion. Beginning
with small conjurings, he proceeded to triggered images such as faces
that warn intruders away, then to fully interactive illusory companions,
and finally to seemingly solid creations lasting a century and a day.
Hiding his ancient body in a protected location, he has projected his
mind into such an illusion and wanders the world, taking on whatever
shape is needed for the task currently facing him (which obviates the
need for other skills). He has come to believe that all of existence is an
illusion dreamed into being by the gods, and that with sufficient will, a
truly inventive and dedicated person might join them. —Ralph Faraday
CENDRA XALCERC. Gender: Female. Age: Adult. Attributes: Grace
Focused; Will Unfamiliar. Occupation: Peacekeeper. Skills: Martial
Arts, Persuasion, Athletics. Focus: 4. Notes: Damage and abilities are
greater when character uses a drug; health is affected if character
does not have access to drugs. Cendra Xalcerc is a spy on an
interstellar ambassadorial hub world, working for the Qolari
Diplomatic Corps. —KS Augustin
GLEN IVEY. Gender:: Male. Age: Adult. Attributes: Wits Focused;
Grace Unfamiliar. Occupation: Engineer (any kind) —Glen Ivey
EVAN MATUA STAN
REX PETERSEN NERO STEELGRAVE
SECOND CHANCE TADK
SIR. SIROCCO TENKAR