HLD-Playtest 5.0

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Credits
Lead Designer Published by
Andreas Walters
Game Design
Banana Chan,
Metal Weave
Amr Ammourazz,
Games
Kyle Carty
Special Thanks
Layout Alx Preston, Ben McFarland,
Andreas Walters
Megan Tolentino, Mysty Vander
Editors Consultants
Scott Vandervalk
Jacob Wood (Accessibility)
Carol Darnell
Daniel Kwan (Culture)
Nina Sulcova
Leona Maple Consulting (Sensitivity)
Artists
Eka Pramudita Muharram Legal
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER: TABLETOP ROLE PLAYING GAME and it's content
are ©2019 Metal Weave Games. Artwork in this project is copyright by Metal
Nightmargin Weave Games INC & Heart Machine LLC. ©2013 Heart Machine LLC.,
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER and it's logo are trademarks of Heart Machine LLC.
Koit Paales
All This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States
of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork
contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Metal
Weave Games. This product is a work of fiction.
2.
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DISCOVER AND EXPLORE A BROKEN WORLD

Navigation
6-7 38-49
PATCH NOTES CHARACTER CREATION
The latest updates to drifter's core r ules and Now that your friends are assembled, lets create our
systems, all thanks to your feedback! characters and weave their backstories together.
8-15 50-55
WHAT IS THIS GAME? CLASSES
New to tabletop roleplaying games or Hyper Light What is your drifter's unique skills and specializa-
Drifter? No sweat, we'll introduce you to the game. tions? Do they revel in combat, or something else?
16-21 56-87
GETTING STARTED TALENTS
What do you need to play, what story do you want What unique abilities can your drifter perform. Try
to tell, and how will jobs at the table be distributed? to be adaptable and be ready for anything.
22-29 88-99
AS A DRIFTER EQUIPMENT
How do you play as drifter in this ruined world and What gear does your drifter carry? Are they utility
what mechanics will you engage with? based? or do they carry a big weapon or shield?
30-37 100-119
AS A NARRATOR ADVENTURING
A role that can be shared by all. You collaborate Contains all the additional mechanics you need to
4.
with your friends, deciding what happens next. know as a player and will interact with frequently.
120-127 140-145
NARRATOR PHASE:
Everything you need to know, when guiding adven- DOWNTIME
tures in Drifter and putting together a story. Sometimes, you'll need to rest and take a break. Heal
yourself, swap abilities or craft something useful.
128-133 146-155
PHASE: PHASE:
TRAVEL COMBAT
When you set out on an adventure, Travel is how When avoidance is no longer an option, draw your
the group goes from one location to another. blade and your blaster either to defend or to protect.
134-139
PHASE: 156-163
EXPLORATION PHASE:
Once your reach your location, it's time to explore CREATURES/CHARACTERS
and delve into the darkness and unknown. What might you encounter on your travels?
Got Feedback?
Open for Pre-Orders

Patch Notes v 5.0
I just want to say thank you so much for all the support! This will the last major-major update to the core
rules, as we want to start building out the abilities and options in the corebook (and thusly any further
chagnes should be quite minor). This document will now be re-branded to the basic-rules rather than
the playtest. Also now they the core is there we can actually start editing this behemoth of a document.
Again if you're interested in seeing further updates to the game, i urge you to pre-order on backerkit (here),
and if you have feedback, I am very active on discord.
Also as final note, following this will be the character sheet and tools updates (as you'll need tiles to delve
and combat with).
• BIG CHANGE “Ability Slots”

• Biggest change in this update, is our core change to the abilities and ability system.
• Abilities have been re-organized by Discipline
• All characters now have 4 ability slots, 1 passive slot and 1 dash slot.
• Each class is specialized in a discipline (warrior-combat, versifier-social, wayfinder-explora-
tion, delver-survival)
• You can only slot 2 abilities from each discipline, unless its from your specialized discipline (to
which you can slot as many as you'd like)
• Character sheet has been updated to accommodated the new ability slots and reorganized
everything.
6.
• Changes to Disciplines
• Instead of calling the lower threshold Judgment, we're going to be using Temperance instead.
This is because its easier to describe the mechanism as Meet-or-Beat. With this, you'd need to get
the lower number or above to get a Temperance result, which is functionally the same as we had
it before.
• In addition, when setting your character's Discipline scores (Fortune, and now, Temperance),
you can use your points to change both values. This will allow players to go for a more 'safe' char-
acter style (investing in temperance), or a 'crit' style build, focusing on Fortune results.
• Combat Changes
• Movement in combat is limited to edge travel, however, some dash abilities will be able to ignore
this restriction. (considering making it all dash abilities)
• Altered the consequence system, to provide points to the adversaries, this allows them exchange
them for movement and attacks.
• BIG CHANGE, introducing Phases
• We built out Combat, Travel and Downtime, but never really got to Delve, we're happy to announce
that solution has been fully implemented, and now we've provided.
• Introducing Delve, a dynamic way to generate dungeons, tile designs are still in the works, but I
think you'll have a lot of fun with these.
• Introduced Narrator Section
• Theres a lot to go in with running the game, so we've introduced a narrator section, we know its a
bit rough aruond the edges, and we'll be improving it as we go, esp as we develop out the core book.
Especially as we move towards GMless play.
• Art Incomming
• Now that everyhting is pretty much laid out in a way we're quite happy with, in the coming updates
you'll get to see a lot of art come in, not sure how we'll phase it, but right now the book might
seeem a bit empty or have placeholders, these will all be addressed with updates (then we'll print
this thing)

What is this Game ?
Drifter is part of a family of games called tabletop roleplaying games. In these games, you and your friends
come together to tell a shared story. Much like a video game, you will start by creating your characters,
but you're no longer constrained to graphics on screen. You can decide what your character looks like, how
they identify, act, and interact with the world around them. Together, you will form an adventuring party
of companions where you and your friends will explore the vast world of Hyper Light Drifter, connecting
communities, overcoming challenges, and uncovering the past. But what story do you want to tell?
There are a few ways to play drifter, but all will follow similar rules in how they're played. We'll go over
them as we get into running the game (ch x).
m ing ing
C oon
o m
C oon
o
S S
Co-Op Guided Single
M u lt i - p l a y e r Adventure Player Mode
Each player will have their own Instead of controlling a character, Play by yourself or on stream,
character and collaborate with one or more players will serve as taking upon the mantle of the
the other players to drive the the narrator, dynamically leading lone drifter. Be sure to record
story and create the challenges the story and bringing the world your story and leave it behind for
you will overcome. to life. other drifters to find.

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY
Like all games, there are a few things you need to play. If you're not in person, or require digital tools,
you'll find links on our website https://hld-rpg.com.
d cs
i DICE hh CHARACTER SHEET
C Much like a board game, actions of chance and ae This will contain everything you need to know
E re
uncertainty are determined by the roll of the about your drifter. It's stats, skills, talents,
t
dice. In Drifter we use a twenty-sided dice, weapons, inventory, and abilities. You will
also known as a d20. be referencing and editing this sheet a lot so
We recommend all players have their own keep it safe. We have printer friendly char-
dice but it's not a requirement if you're just acter sheets as well as interactive ones on the
starting out. website for you to download.
T GA
O TOKENS AI GAME AIDS
K There are a few things on your character sheet MD To help facilitate and run the game, there are
E ES
that you need to track and we highly recom- a number of game aids that will help bring out
N
S mend having something physical to keep track the best of your Drifter experience. We've done
of them. If you don't have tokens, they can be our best to make them available in a variety of
anything, from pieces of paper, keys, pins, and print and digital mediums so that you can use
even small treats ( just don’t eat them all). them in a way that best suits your group.
10.
WHERE TO PLAY?
Tabletop games are social games and can take place anywhere,
online or in-person. This f lexibility allows you to gather and
enjoy Drifter anywhere!
ONLINE PLAY
There are many reasons why we might not be able to meet up
with our friends in-person, but that does not stop you from
being able to play with them.
The tabletop industry has f lourished with broad variety of
online tools to help facilitate your game. We've put together
a whole host of resources on our website (www.hld-rpg.com,
coming soon check the metalweave.games/drifter in teh mean-
time) that you can use to get your game up and online.
LIVE PLAY
If your friends and family live nearby, meeting up in person is
fantastic. However, if where you live isn’t a good or safe
place to play you can always meet up at other locations.
Places such as coffee shops, local game stores, the
park, or private rooms in the library are good places
to start, but anywhere where everyone's comfortable
and able to play is a good start, be creative!

THE WORLD OF DRIFTER
Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate across a torn and
sundered landscape. Venturing outside the sanctuary reveals
a savage land, steeped in ancient lore, blood of the unlucky,
and treasures of old. Around every corner can lurk danger,
from the vicious and warped creatures that will feast on your
f lesh, to the hidden hazards that will crush the frail bodies
of the unwary.
You are a drifter. One who ventures into the ancient ruins
collecting forgotten knowledge, lost technologies, and broken
histories.
12.
The world of Drifter is a broken, post-apocalyptic one.
Composed of people with anthropomorphic or technological
features, including otterfolk, felifolk, frogfolk, and more.
You namely live an uneasy life of subsistence and the
majority of dwellers reside in sanctuaries. These are small
towns and safe-havens dotted across the torn landscape,
mostly isolated from each-other.
Outside of the relative safety of the sanctuaries lies a vast
unknown world, the scars of the past only just beginning to
heal. You are a drifter, one who chooses to leave the rela-
tive safety of the sanctuaries to seek out useful knowledge,
answers, and technologies.
What is known about the past was that nearly 100 years ago,
the last civilization, sometimes referred to as the Librarians,
excelled in numerous advanced technologies. Today, we’d
recognize these as space travel, genetic manipulation, arti-
ficial intelligence and advanced robotics, technologies we
would see in a science-fiction fantasy. For reasons unknown,
a great conf lict took place and nearly brought the entire
world to destruction.
It is up to you what you discover outside the walls of the
sanctuaries. In the Lorebook, we will provide maps and loca-
tions that you can use as you see fit. But these are only ideas
for you to make the world of Drifter your own.
14.
DISCOVER AND EXPLORE
Features There are many secrets to this realm;
discovering and understanding remnant
of technology, finding another sanctuary, to

discovering a quiet serene view. Through
Drifter
all the bloodshed and death, there are still nice things
to experience in this world.
TRAVERSE AND SURVIVE DEFEND AND PROTECT

Sanctuaries are mostly isolated, with only The world is a dangerous place, and many
a few being connected to other nearby things lurk, deep in the wilderness and
sanctuaries and homesteads. Drifters in the ruins. Your skill in battle will be
ma ke excel lent way f inders a nd ca n the difference between life and death.
connect these distant communities. Perhaps there is a Although fighting may be inevitable, but it doesn't
chance, if the world can be made safe again. have to always be the solution to every problem.
CONNECT AND REBUILD REBUILD AND EXPERIMENT

From sanctuary residents, elders, intelli- Amidst the ruins of civilization, there
gent creatures, sentient AI’s, to friendly is lots of technology that remains func-
travelers and bandits, there is a colorful tional and usable, most are just afraid to
array of characters for your drifters to try. Although it’s purpose and function
interact with. Some may have best intentions and may be unknown, these engines and materials can
others with malicious ends. It will be up to you to forge be utilized in creative and unique ways, causing vast
your own alliances and find a new path, for better, or destruction to helping rebuild civilization. The choice
for worse. is yours to make.

Getting
Started
GROUND RULES
Before we start to embark on our adventure, it is essential for everyone to be on the same page about the
social rules and etiquette of play. This way everyone knows what kind of experience they're going to have. In
other games, this is known as a Session 0, but to get started here are a few things to discuss to get you started:
T ONE AND CONT ENT HOUSE RULES

The mechanics help facilitate your interactions Sometimes, you want to let loose and experi-
with the game world. These mechanics are open ment with the mechanics of Drifter. Be it testing
allowing them to accommodated any style of play out a class you made, limiting or adding character
and any type of story that you and your friends options, new rules or mechanics or even utilizing
want to tell together. third party content—all of these adjustments to the
Discuss stories and ideas that you want to explore, rules of Drifter are considered House Rules, and just
as well as topics or content that should be off-limits. about every group develops their own preferences.
X- C A R D T ABLE MANNERS
The X-Card is a special card that should be used When you gather, be it online or in-person, you
whenever any player at the table (narrator or player) should hash out expectations
feels uncomfortable with the situation at hand. It’s but theres a lot to cover, from when and where
a simple index card with an “X” written on one you're meeting, backup locations, playing without
side, placed in the middle of the table. When you a member, paying or bringing food, and food at the
tap or pick up the card, its a signal to everyone that game table, laptop and cellphone use at the table, is
they are uncomfortable with the current state of alcohol or smoking allowed at the table?
events and should skip or move on, immediately and
without question.

SETUP
1. Decide which player(s) will be the Narrator. They will decide
the difficulty of actions and what happens next. This role is
commonly run by one person but can also be a shared role.
2. Give all the other players a character sheet and quickly go

through the mechanics and character creation chapters.
3. Have a Session 0 to establish rules of the table and the connec-

tions between your characters. If you're picking up from a past
session, have someone do give a recap to remind everyone what
happened last session.
4. Setup and/or distribute any physical or digital items that you

may have for the session. This can include props, character and
adversary minis, markers for intervention points, and tokens
for health and energy. We recommend to try and at least track
intervention points and energy.
5. Set the scene, whats going on . If you're picking up from a prior

session, start from there
6. Have fun! As much as a collaborative experience this is, the goal

is to have a good time and be engaged with your friends.
18.
TABLE ROLES
And optionally, there are other roles that can be given to players at the
table. These are non-narrator roles, so they can go to anyone would enjoy
having this role.
• Archivist: You take note of and record the stories as they are
told. You take notes of things to remember, the people you find
interesting and the places you've been. You could even record
a summary of the party's session so everyone knows where to
pick up on.
• Librarian: You seek answered left unanswered. You are commonly

left in charge with the rulebooks. When a rules question needs to
be answered or clarified, you will seek out that answer to the best
of your ability.
• Quartermaster: Give this player the Wielder's Journal. They will

track what loot the players find, their supplemental resources
(components, ingredients, and bits) and track any base building
and upgrade progress players make.

GAME PHASES
As you explore and adventure you and your friends will be fighting, delving, traveling, talking, and more.
To help facilitate these activities, we've broken them out into four phases.
As you and your group adventure, you will naturally cycle through these phases, moving between them
as necessary and at all times roleplaying. We'll go more in depth on each phase later in this book.
TRAVEL PHASE DOWNTIME PHASE

All adventures begin with travel. Here you will use Whenever you take time for yourself, be it resting,
the world map to determine where you're going and swapping out abilities, crafting, advancing, or
what happens along the way. setting up camp for the night
20.
EXPLORATION PHASE COMBAT PHASE
From exploring ruins or to delving deep inside the Whether its being proactive or there are no other
facilities, you will be faced with puzzles, adver- options left, we need to fight for our lives and for
saries, traps, and more. the survival of the things we love.

As a Drifter
Throughout the course of the game will be described various scenarios, characters, locations, and events.
As a character, it's your job to react and interact with them as your drifter would in this world. These inter-
actions are known as roleplay, and when an uncertain outcome is introduced, the narrator will decide on
whether a roll, esource, or both are necessary.
While roleplaying your drifter there are a few things to keep in mind:
IF YOU DON'T KNOW, ASK!

Sometimes before we act or make a decision, you
may want a little bit more context or information.
If you come across a situation where you are unsure
of something, ask!
If your question is about something that is
unknown in the world, you can collaborate with the
narrator to decide.
WHAT DO YOU DO?

When there is something you want your char-
acter to do, describe it to the group. This can be
in as much or as little detail as you want. Ranging
from describing preparation you make for a climb
to simply just describing the outcome of the action
you want to achieve, like getting to the top of the
machine. Depending on the perceived outcome of
that action, the narrator may ask you to spend a
resource and/or make roll.

MAKING AN ACTION
When there is something that you want your drifter to where that action requires skill or effort to pull off.
The narrator will provide you with an option in how you want to proceed, this may require you to expend a
resource, make a roll, or both. In most cases, your characters are expected to succeed in their pursuits, but
what is uncertain is the amount of complications, setbacks, or challenges that will emerge from that action.
Spend a resource.
Used to overcome challenges that require effort to achieve but is overall low risk.
Actions could include: forcing open a ruined door, crossing a rushing river.
Resource cost will typically be 1-2 energy, but could also leverage other character resources.
Roll the dice.

Used when the outcome of an action is uncertain or if an interesting complication
can introduced as an outcome to the action. This is used for a majority of skill rolls
that aren't tied to a character talent.
Actions could include: calming a beast, sneaking past cultists, and convincing a
sanctuary hunter to help you.
Spend a resource and roll the dice.

A combination of the above, where an action requires effort and its outcome can
result in a complication. Here, you will pay the cost of the action, then roll to see
the degree of consequence. This is the method used for a majority of abilities.
Actions could include: Climbing a dangerous cliff, or throwing a grenade.
24.
SPENDING RESOURCES
So what kind of resources are you expending? There are three resources that you can spend to perform
actions in the world of drifter, each are used to create different outcomes.
ENERGY POOL WOE

Just like your stamina bar in-game, your energy Representing the fear, uncertainty, stress, and bad
pool is a resource that you will spend to perform luck. You can take on points of woe for social and
actions and use to improve your roll result (known stressful situations. Some abilities will allow you to
as boosting your roll). But try not to spend all your take on a point of woe to enact a particular outcome.
energy at once, otherwise you will risk falling When you fill up on woe, your are Tested and based
unconscious. You'll need to manage how much you on the result, take on a boon or burden.
choose to expend energy, but you'll also have ways
to recover it as well through actions, consumables,
and resting.
DASHES
A useful piece of technolog y at your disposal,
allowing you to quickly dart around the battlefield.
Your dash module allows you to evade attacks and
make super effective ones. Dashes refresh after
every phase.

DISCIPLINES & THRESHOLDS
Every skill and action that you make in Drifter will always roll up into one of five disciplines:
Combat Exploration
Fighting and maneuvering. Traversal and movement.
Social Survival
Conversations and connections. Camping and preparation.
Manipulate
Working with technology.
Each discipline has two values, Fortune (higher) and Temperance (lower), these are what we call thresh-
olds and will help you determine the three potential outcomes of your roll. You'll set them when you create
your character.
• Meet or beat your Fortune value, and you will achieve a Fortune result, leading to a success or
exemplary result at no consequence.
• Meet or beat your Temperance value, and you will succeed at your action, with a minor consequence.
• That leaves the third possible outcome, whether you fail to meet or beat your Temperance value.
This is known as a Judgment result, where you will succeed in your action, but a full-consequence
will be administered by the narrator.
26.
LAST CHANCE
If you don't like your roll or the outcome it will
bring, you have a few more options before you
commit to the consequence.
You can choose to spend an intervention point or,
your can boost your roll.
BOOST YOUR ROLL INT ERVENT ION POINT

On your cha rac ter sheet you w i l l have t wo Intervention points are a communal resource, that
boost scores, your class w ill determine their can be used to activate a special abilities but can
starting value: also be used to mitigate a bad roll.
• Grit: For physical actions. When applying a intervention point to a roll, you
• Nerve: For mental actions move your roll result up to the next threshold.
This score will tell you how much each point of • From Judgment to Temperance, or
energy you spend boosting, will increase your roll • From Temperance to Fortune
result.
For example: You're making an attack, For example: You're making an attack
your Grit is 2, and you rolled a 6, which and rolled a 6, which would result in
would give you a Judgment result. In a Judgment result. You can spend a
this example, let 's say Temper ance Intervention Point to move the result up
score is 12, meaning you need to meet or to the Temperance threshold.
beat to get a Temperance result.
In t his scenar io, you would need to

spend at least 3 points of energy.
(3 energy x 2 boost) = 6 boost total

6 base roll + 6 boost total = 12

THE OUTCOME The severity of these consequences is determined
Once you've come to a final result (or after you spent by the target’s Consequence Level (CL). Abilities
a few resources) you will land in one of your three that suffer consequences will be marked by this ◈
thresholds, Fortune, Temperance, or Judgment. symbol, and some abilities will modify severity
With a Fortune result, you have more-than of the consequence. For instance, Temperance
succeeded in your action, achieving the outcome results will always suffer a lower consequence than
you desired with no consequence to bear. it's Judgment result. Likewise, a risky ability may
With a Temperance or Judgment result, you modify the consequence to be greater than stan-
still succeed however, things might not go according dard. Modifications to the adversity level will be
to plan and the narrator will apply a Consequence. marked as (◈ - x), where “x ” is the modification
These can take the form of a variety of negative to the Consequence Level. As a baseline, we use
effects, setbacks, damage or scene complications Temperance (◈ - 2), and Judgment (◈ ).
that add wrinkles to the story at hand. The narrator will always be the one to decide
Consequences typically take the form of health what the consequence is however, anyone is free
and woe damage, but they are not limited to them to contribute what they think may be a fitting
and can be more dramatic, causing unexpected outcome.
events or outcomes. For instance, as a merchant Failing Forward:
who tells a partial truth or a dirk calling for
Its important to always frame a conse-
reinforcements. quence as “failing forward.” A player
may achieve or fail their intended action
but the key step is to state what happens
afterwards.
28.
SUFFERING
CONSEQUENCES
A consequence can vary based on the context of the
action. Ranging from making enemy moves, dealing
damage, but can also result in unexpected develop-
ments or changes, such as the presence of a puzzle
or trap, an alarm that gets triggers, or a favor owed
to an NPC before they agree to help you.
Consequences don't have to be issued to the player
who triggers them. Rather, the narrator is free to
issue a consequence that best fits the scene and the
events at hand, usually in an effort to deepen the
story or increase dramatic tension.
As a core rule of thumb, each CL is equivalent
1 health damage. So a CL 6, can be equivalent to
6 health damage (which, in this case is about half
your health, which is a dire consequence). Thusly,
any other consequences of that CL would be of an
equivalent severity.
The narrator should always provide you with the
CL of an action before you roll.

As a narrator
The narrator is the shepherd of the group. As players NARRATOR ROLES:
are roleplaying, acting, and reacting as their drifter The Battlemaster: You are responsible for
characters would. The narrator is the one who will the combat phase. Tracking initiative,
decide what happens next. This means you serve deciding the actions of enemies, and the
as both adversary and ally to the players. You will consequences beset upon the party.
facilitate the action, react to their player's deci-
sions, and make judgment calls when necessary. The Trailblazer: You are responsible for the
It can be a lot all at once, so we've broken every- exploration phase. You will be in charge
thing out into a few game phases so that it's easier leading montages, rolling tile features, and
to see how these phases individually work, and how tracking the party's position on the map.
they f low between them. As one gets more familiar
with being a narrator, these transitions will become The Excavator: You are responsible for all
nearly seamless. of the exploration that occurs in ruins.
Setting traps, puzzles, and encounters for
WHO PLAYS THE NARRATOR? the party to interact with.
The most popular game mode is the Guided
Adventure style, where a single player forgoes The Keeper: You are responsible for all
having a drifter, and takes on all the narrator roles. of the sanctuaries the drifters discover.
But this does not have to be the case with you and Providing merchants and quest opportu-
your friends. nities for the players.
Feel free to experiment, spreading out the
narrator roles or even alternating in any manner The Actor: You are responsible for the
that you choose. This can be from splitting or alter- unique characters the party must interact
nating roles at the table, to even alternating by with, embodying their motives and acting
session or adventure. The main goal is to ensure on their goa ls. This role can be split
that everyone is having a good time and having fun. between narrators by character.

WHEN IS A ROLL NEEDED?
As your friends roleplay their drifters, they will
describing both their words and their actions.
Depending on the action, you will need
to decide whether the player will need to
spend a resource and/or make a roll:
ONLY RESOURCE COST

The action may require effort, but the potential
consequence or drawback of 'failure' is not needed
for this action. This is commonly used as a poten-
tial point for player creativity to overcome obstacles
rather than brute forcing a solution.
ONLY ROLL
For non-abilities, this will be the most common. In
addition, if you don't know which to use, this will
be the safest option.
ONLY PLAYERS ROLL
RESOURCE AND ROLL It's important to note that only the players who
This is common for abilities and montages as their control drifters will make rolls. This is because the
scope and outcomes are defined. Nevertheless, if players have a variety of resources that they can use
a player wants to create an outcome that requires to mitigate the outcome. When it comes to combat,
both effort and can yield an interesting failure/ players will roll for their attacks, and will then roll
consequence. Have the player spend a resource and for their defense, but we'll go over that more in the
make a roll. combat section.
32.
CONSEQUENCE LEVELS
For any action that the player needs to make a roll, you the narrator, will need to provide the them with the
Consequence Level for that roll. This establishes to the player the worst potential outcome that can happen
(as the Judgment result).
As a baseline, we use 1 health damage per CL (so a CL 5 would be equivalent to 5 health damage), but it's
important to remember that consequences be more than just damage. Other consequences can include every-
thing from bad weather, summoning allies, slip-ups, mistakes, NPCs lying, or even providing bad or leading
information. The consequence should be relevant and related to the action that was rolled.
As a general rule of thumb, Consequence Levels 3-4 will likely be your bread and butter, CL 1-2 will repre-
sent non-dangerous tasks, and CL 4+ will represent grave threats and challenges. As the session and the story
progress, you'll distribute difficulty much like the plot arch of a story of video game. But of course, if the
party dives into something bigger or more dangerous, don't be afraid to introduce those challenges.
EXAMPLE CONSEQUENCE
BASELINE CLIMBING A CLIFF

• CL 1 - 1 damage. • CL 1 - You take the hard way up, taking 2 energy damage.
• CL 2 - 2 damage. • CL 2 - While climbing, 1 component slips out from your pack.
• CL 3 - 3 damage. • CL 3 - The rope breaks, ally climb checks require +1 energy.
• CL 4 - 4 damage. • CL 4 - A rock-slide falls from above, everyone take 2 health damage.
• CL 5 - 5 damage. • CL 5 - While climbing you discover a manticores nest, what happens next?

PHASES
From the fast-paced skirmishes, the restful sanctu- As you play, you will transition between all of these
aries, the beautiful vistas, and the dangerous ruins. phases, but at all times you and the players will be
Your party will encounter all of these challenges. roleplaying.
Depending on your group's preferences you might For instance while exploring (explore) you may
focus on some more than others, but you will likely run into some dirks (combat). After which, the
use all of them more than once each session. party chooses to rest (downtime), which may lead
To accommodate the diversity of activities, into a midnight ambush (combat) or even a travel
we've broken out Drifter into 4 distinct mechan- montage. The drifters, then return to the sanctuary
ical phases: (downtime), where they receive more details about
• Combat (where all the fighting happens) their quest, only to then, set out again (travel).
• Travel (overworld map traversal)
• Downtime (resting, crafting, sanctuary)
• Exploring (exploring ruins)
34.
PHASE: COMBAT PHASE: DOWNTIME
When the action breaks out and swords cross, we Any time the party rests or goes to a sanctuary the
begin the combat phase. Using the Combat Board, players can engage in downtime activities. You will
players and adversaries will be placed onto the set the number of downtime points the players get to
combat board and take turns attacking. There are spend and they can spend it on anything they like,
two things that make combat quite unique: crafting, self-care, ability swaps, preparing, ect. Its
important to remember that during downtime the
1. Players can perform as many actions they'd players are free to engage in social activities.
like, after the first action each subsequent
action will cost an increasing +1 energy. This
applies to all actions and abilities.
2. A majority of enemy actions will happen
as part of the player's consequences. These
triggered consequences becomes an action
economy for you to use against the players.
This action is used after the effect of the
player's ability.

PHASE: TRAVEL
As they say, the journey is just as important as the
destination. We encourage you to leverage the world
map, which is broken out into numerous hexes. As
the party moves from one location to the next, you
have a few options, and you can mix and match
between them.
1. The Montage: Go around the table, each

player will declare a skill and roll, depending
on the outcome you'll collaborate and build a
narrative as you move from hex to hex on the
map. Typically every two rounds around the
table will represent one hex traveled.
2. Hex Crawl: This is more akin to how tradi-
tional hex-crawls work. Each hex the party
travels to can have an assortment of events,
encounters discoveries, or interactions that
can occur (or be rolled). Some of these events
are planned while others are the result of the
dice, but woven into the current narrative.
3. Unstr uctured Roleplay: As t he name
implies, there is no structure. Let the players
traverse, explore, and interact with the envi-
ronment as they see fit. If you had plans for
specific interactions you can still fit them in.
36.
PHASE: EXPLORE
Once you've reached your destination, its time to
explore. This could be seeking answers in ancient
facilities, searching for forgotten secrets, or over-
coming the encroaching darkness. It's also important
to remember that everyone can contribute ideas for
what the group encounters. There are a few ways in
how your group can explore:
1. Delvers Deck: Draw a card, and lay it on the

table, this will provide you with a prompt,
which can include ideas for combat, puzzles,
challenges, discoveries, and opportunities
for the party to interact with. As the group
explores they will place more cards down,
connecting and building out the area.
2. Planned Exploration: Perhaps you have a
special piece or several rooms planned out
for the players to experience. This is totally
fine, and you would roleplay as normal. Just
be sure to find ways where the other players
can contribute their ideas.
3. Unstructured Roleplay: Much like Travel,
you or the players are not constrained, and
can roleplay and interact as they see fit.

Character Creation
Welcome drifters, now that you have a sense of how CLASS
the game is going to play, lets talk about creating Each class have their own unique f lavor and talents,
your character and understanding your char- they also will provide guidance on your starting
acter sheet. stats, and starting equipment.
You might have a specific idea of who this char- Your class w ill also provide you w ith your
acters is, or you might have no idea and will use Specialized Discipline, will provide you an advantage
character creation as an exploratory process, to feel in slotting abilities from that discipline.
out who your drifter will be.
No matter which method you end up doing, we DISTRIBUTE THRESHOLDS
recommend that you discuss and collaborate your Every discipline has two values, Fortune and
character ideas with the group. This way, you can Temperance, which you need to meet or beat to
build off of each other's ideas, build connections, get that result. As a base, your Fortune thresholds
and ensure that your character is unique in their will all start at 18 and your Temperance thresh-
own way. olds will start at 12. Then you have 8 points to
There are three 'parts' to creating your character distirbute and reduce across your discipline as you
and they are as follows: see fit. Remember the lower the number, the easier
it is to obtain.
IDENTITY And finally, your Specialized Discipline, will
Here you're coming up with the identity and f lavor reduce both it's thresholds by 2.
of your drifter. Ranging from your name, species,
trait, knack, and quirk. Sometimes players will PICK TALENTS
come to this section last once they have the rest of Pick 6 talents and put them in your Ability List, and
their character figured out. if possible, slot them in your Ability Bar.

READING YOUR CHARACTER SHEET
1. CHARACT ER IDENT IT Y 6 . W O E & C O N DI T I O N S
Who is your drifter? Here you will find and record Representing stress, bad luck, and composure, Woe
their name, pronouns, description, and mission. is a meter and when filled up, you become 'tested'
and take on a boon or burden.
2. CHARACT ER FEAT URES
What mechanically defines your character options/ 7. EQUIPMENT
choices: your class, it's specialized discipline, All of the items and gear that you may find and bring
your trait, and your knack. on your travels. This includes Bits, Ingredients,
and Components.
3. RESOURCE FOUNDAT ION
Your core resources, Health and Energy. Your 8. ADVANCEMENT
boost scores allow you to spend energy to inf lu- By spending bits you can purchase advancements,
ence your rolls. allowing you buy stat increases and new abilities.
4 . DI S C I P L I N E T H R E S H O L D S 9. ABILIT Y BAR
Every roll you make will use one of the six disci- You cannot leverage every ability in your arsenal.
plines. Each discipline, has two thresholds which You're constrained to having 6 abilities, and you're
will determine your action's outcome. free to swap them during the downtime phase.
5. DASHES 10. CORRUPT ION

Your dash module allows you to evade damage and The deeper drifters explore the more they begin
perform special maneuvers. You start with a max become exposed to corruption. This is a slow gain,
of two dash charges. When you change phase, you but when you reach max corruption, the time comes
recover one dash charge. When existing downtime, to make a fitting ending. for your drifte
you will always start with max charges.

10
1 2 3 4

Affinity
The world of Drifter is a diverse one, full characters with diverse identities, aspects, cultures, colors, and
traditions. In this world, it's expected that your drifter will be, equally, as diverse. Every character in the
world has an affinity towards a creature, sometimes these aspects are displayed more prominently in some
characters than others, and it's up to you how they tie into your character's identity.
Avian Affinity Canine Affinity Feline Affinity

42.
Frog Affinity Lizard Affinity
Otter Affinity Racoon Affinity Robotic Affinity

Traits
What is it about your culture, upbringing, or unique experience that provides you with this unique trait.
ANIMAL FRIEND INTERNAL COMPASS GREAT LEAPER

Benefit: Reduce the Benefit: Reduce the Benefit: Reduce the
Judgment threshold of Judgment threshold of Judgment threshold
[Handle Animal] by 2. [Cartography] by 2. of [Jump] by 2.
44.
SURE FOOTED IRON STOMACH NATURAL SWIMMER
Judgment threshold Judgment threshold of Judgment threshold
of [Balance] by 2. [Fortitude] by 2. This of [Swim] by 2.
does not apply to Stay
Conscious rolls.
NOCTURNAL SOFT STEP POWERFUL BUILD

Judgment threshold of Judgment threshold Judgment threshold
using [Awareness] to of [Sneak] by 2. of [Lift] by 2.
see in the dark by 2.

Knack
You haven’t always been a drifter. You had a different life once, and there you were likely a master of that
craft. As a drifter, all knowledge is valuable and you have found ways these skills useful in your exploits.
As a base, pick an uncommon skill
ACADEMIC BREWER CHEF

Benefits: You know how Benefits: When using the Benefits: When using the
to read and write. While [Cook] skill to produce [Forage] skill to harvest
in a sanctuary, you can restoratives, increase the ingredients, increase
create or recreate a number total amount of Energy the yield of your efforts
of written works equal recovered by your 1 + [Grit]. by your 1 + [Nerve].
to your 1 + [Nerve].
46.
CRAFTER HEALER HUNTER
Benefits: When using Benefits: When using the Benefits: Set a trap using
[Craft] to make a [Heal] skill, you can spend utilizing 2 components.
specific object, reduce an ingredient to reduce the For each additional compo-
the number of required both success and judgment nent you spend reduce
components by your 1 thresholds by 1. This can both success and judg-
+ [Grit] (to a minimum be done after you roll, but ment thresholds by 1.
component cost of 1). before you spend energy.
PLACEHUNTER PLACEHUNTER PLACEHUNTER

Benefits: PLACEHOLDER Benefits: PLACEHOLDER Benefits: PLACEHOLDER

Quirks
What is it about your character that isn't mechanical, but unique? This can go in the description section of
your character sheet, or something you can just keep in mind about your drifter. Here are a few ideas to get
you started:
ACCOMPANIED MANNERISM PROSTHETIC

A person or companion is with Perhaps it's a motion of habit, A device that is now a part
you at all times. They might even a catch phase, or a saying from
travel with you on your journeys. this region.
48.
TROPHIES SCENTED STYLE
Markers of something you want A strong unique scent follows you. Something about your clothing is
to remember. Are they trophies, Could it be from the machines you unique and memorable. is it the
memories, or pride? work on, to mask your own scent, colors, fabric,
or your own creation?
PLACEHOLDER PLACEHOLDER PLACEHOLDER

SOMETHING TH AT IS SOMETHING TH AT IS SOMETHING TH AT IS
PLACEHOLDER, PLACEHOLDER PLACEHOLDER

Class
A class, broadly defines your drifter and associates SPECIALIZED DISCIPLINE
them with a unique specialization. There are five Each class is closely associated with a discipline,
unique classes in drifter: representing their skill, experience, or training.
• Warrior (combat) There is no restriction for how many abilities you
• Wielder (manipulate) can slot from your specialized discipline. In addi-
• Versifier (social) tion, if an ally is making a roll using your specialized
• Delver (survival) discipline, you can aid them spending your energy
• Trailblazer (exploration) to help boost their roll.
These classes will provide you the bulk of your Also, your speicalized discipline will provide a
character generation options. reduction when setting your discipline thresholds.
HEALTH & ENERGY EQUIPMENT

Your starting Health score and Energy Pool. To start off, we provide you with two equipment
kits to pick from. Or you can take 5 bits and spend
BOOST SCORES them on equipment as you see fit.
Your starting Boost scores (Grit and Nerve). These
scores are used for boosting your rolls.
CLASS SPECIAL
Each class gains access to an ability unique to their
class. They provide a significant advantage however,
they require the use of an Intervention Point.
50.
Specialized
Discipline
Combat
W A R R I O R
H e a lt h Energy
12 10
Grit 2 1 Nerve
Tactician Fighter
The battlef ield is a ll about You are specialized in combat.
pick ing t he r ig ht moment. You can slot as many abilities
Before the start of combat or from the Combat talent list as
the start of a round, you can you see fit.
spend a intervention point as a
reaction. Then, pick two char-
Stronger
acters, and temporarily move
Together
their initiative order to the
top of the list for the round. If an ally is using the C ombat
Players will suffer no conse- D i s c i pl i n e , you can spend
quences from the first action your energy and your boost
they perform. score to help improve your
ally’s roll.
Equipment
BULWARK BRUTE
One light-melee or ranged- Two light or ranged weapons
weapon of your choice, light of your choice, and a heav y
armor, and a light shield. weapon of your choice.

Specialized
Discipline
Versifier
Social
Health Energy
9 12
Grit 2 1 Nerve
Storyteller Socialite
You are a collector of lore, legends, You are specialized in social.
and gossip alike. If someone is You can slot as many abilities
looking for information, chances from the Social talent list as
are you have probably a lready you see fit.
heard of it somewhere.
Spend an Intervention Point to
ask the Narrator one question,
and they will answer truthfully. Socialite
Remember that the information
If an ally is using the S oci al
you request should be relevant
to your current situation. After D i s c i pl i n e , you can spend
the narrator answers, you and your energy and your boost
the party can come with how you score to help improve your
obtained that information. ally’s roll.
Equipment
CARETAKER GUARDIAN
One lig ht weapon and t wo O ne l ig ht weapon , a l ig ht
stimpacks. shield, and a stimpack.
52.
Specialized
Discipline
Manipulate
W i e l d e r
H e a lt h Energy
10 12
Grit 1 2 Nerve
Awaken the
Ancients Technologist
Utilizing your knowledge of past You are specialized in manip-
technolog ies, you bring to life ulate. You can slot as many
an ancient machine. Spend an abilities from the Manipulate
Intervention Point and awaken talent list as you see fit.
a dor ma nt mach i ne t hat w i l l
provide one service for you and
your party. Upon completion of
the service, it will either run out Tech Savant
of energy, deactivate or continuing
I f a n a l l y i s u s i n g t he
to move about the world on its
own, impartial to you and your
M a n ipu l ate Disciplin e,
mission. If used in combat, it has you can spend your energy
10 hp, and can make lance (costing and your boost score to help
1 energy) attacks on your turn. improve your ally’s roll.
Equipment
CAUTION HAVOC
Wield machines, a light shield Wield machines, an explosive,
and two light weapons. and a light weapon.

Specialized
Discipline
Wayfinder
Exploration
H e a lt h Energy
1 2
Grit 2 1 Nerve
The
Safer Path Explorer
At any point when traveling You are specialized in explo-
overland or in a montage, you ration. You can slot as many
can spend an Inter vention abilities from the Exploration
Point to g rant ever yone at talent list as you see fit.
the table, the ability to re-roll
one skill check, keeping the
highest result.
Pathfinder
In add it ion, t he Adversit y
L evel for t h is mont age is I f a n a l ly i s u s i n g t he
reduced by 1. Ex plor at ion Dis ci pli n e ,
you can spend your energy
and your boost score to help
improve your ally’s roll.
Equipment
CAUTION CAUTION
Wield machines, a light shield Wield machines, a light shield
and two light weapons. and two light weapons.
54.
Specialized
Discipline
Survival
D e l v e r
H e a lt h Energy
10 8
Grit x x Nerve
Versatile
explorer Survivalist
There a re bot h clever a nd Yo u a r e s p e c i a l i z e d i n
strong delvers, you can pick sur v iva l. You ca n slot as
which of your boost scores m a ny abi l it ies f rom t he
start at 1 and 2. Survival talent list as you
see fit.
Safe Respite
As long as you are outside of
combat or immediate danger, Naturalist
you can spend an intervention I f a n a l ly i s u s i n g t he
point to provide the party with S u rv i va l D i s c i p l i n e , you
3 downtime slots. can spend your energy and
Th i s c a n b e adde d to a n
you r boost score to help
existing downtime session, or
improve your ally’s roll.
to create one.
Equipment
SURVIVOR GUARDIAN
Two light weapons and your Two light weapons, a light
choice of either a stimpack or shield, and an explosive.
light armor.

Talents
Special abilities, that allow you to bring extra visual, allowing you to prepare for the challenges that lie
interactive, and tactical ways to connect with the ahead. These acquired abilities will be listed in
world of drifter. your Ability Bar, and you can swap your abilities by
When you create your drifter, you star t by utilizing the downtime activity (swap ability).
choosing 6 talents, which you place in both your When slotting abilities into your Ability Bar, you
Ability Bar and in your Talent List. will find that every talent is tied to a discpline.
Your Ability Bar, serves as a loadout of skills, tech- This is becaue you can only slot 2 talents from each
niques, and equipment you are prepared to perform. discipline, unless it is your Specialized Disicpline, as
There are three types of Talents that you can slot determined by your class. There is no limit to how
into your ability bar, Dash, General and Passive. many Talents you can slot from your specialized
As you advance, you will gain more talents, disicpline.
providing you with more choices and opportunities,
DASH GENERAL GENERAL PASSIVE

TALENT TALENT 1 TALENT 2 TALENT
GENERAL GENERAL
TALENT 3 TALENT 4
56.
READING A TALENT
Abilities and talents may take many forms, but their formats will all be reasonably consistent
Name RANGE
RESOURCE COST | SPECIAL | RANGE DISCIPLINE
What can be targeted with this ability. This is
Descriptive Text usually in reference to the combat board.
Effect: The outcome of the action. If a roll is needed, - Close: being in your tile,
then thresholds are provided below. - Ranged: using a weapon's defined range,
Fortune: Fortune effect - Ranged x: the number of tiles from your position,
Temperance: Temperance effect [ ◈- 2] - Versatile: can be either melee or ranged.
Judgment: Judgment effect [ ◈ c o n s e q u e n c e]
EFFECT
DI S C I P L I N E Some actions will just work after you spend the
This is the associated discipline that the talent is resource cost. But in most cases, you' ll need to
utilizing. When rolling, you will use this Discipline's make a roll and compare against your disciplines,
thresholds to determine your roll's outcome. then follow the restulting effect as written. Some
thresholds will trigger a consequences which will
SPECIAL be marked by [ ◈ ] . Depending on the threshold the
This includes special modifers to abilities, most consequnce will be modified as indicated by [ ◈ - X] .
commonly Reaction, which can used on a trigger.
DAMAGE
RESOURCE COST Many abilities that you will hve will deal damage
This will be the resource cost that you will spend based on the weapon you are using, for example
before rolling/activating the effect. These will typi- 2[w]+1. Here the weapon damage is multipled. and
cally be powered by energy, but can also include modifers are added. It's important to note that only
woe or dash charges. the weapon damage is ever multiplied.

Combat
Talents
GENERAL TALENTS
Talent Name Cost Base Effect
Careful Aim + 1 energy On your next ranged attack, gain a bonus to attack and damage.
Cleave + 2 energy Deal damage to all enemies in your tile.
Gain a passive aura of initiative, and allow
Commander 1 woe
all allies to move allies a tile.
Confidence 1 woe Move a Social skill to your Combat Discipline.
Full Defense + 1 energy Gain a pool of points to negate consequences to yourself or allies.
Impair + 2 energy Deal damage, and reduce the target's Consequence Level.
Multi Shot + 2 energy Distribute damage to multiple enemies with a ranged attack.
Riposte + 1 energy When taking damage, activate to make an attack.
Strategic Positioning + 1 energy Move yourself or an ally, and make an attack.
58.
PASSIVE TALENTS
Passive Talent Type Base Effect
Brute Force Passive Ignore armor and clear obstacles with ease.
Defender Passive Increase your shield defense.
Lone Wolf Passive Gain a bonus to attack and defense when away from allies.
Opportunity Striker Passive If an adversary is hindered, deal extra damage.
DASH TALENTS
Dashing Strike 1 dash Move multiple tiles and deal damage to enemies.
Impale 2 dash Move two tiles and deal lots of damage to a single target.

GENERAL | COMBAT TALENTS
Careful Aim Cleave
+ 1 ENERGY | RANGED COMBAT COMBAT
+ 2 ENERGY | CLOSE
Breathe, taking a moment to aim and make the next Fighting with great prowess, you make your way across
shot count. the battlefield engaging all enemies around you.
Effect: On your next ranged attack roll add +3 to Effect: Deal damage to all enemies in your tile.
the result. Fortune: Deal 1[w]+1 damage
Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage [ ◈ - 1]
Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage [ ◈+ 1]
Commander Confidence
COMBAT
+ 1 WOE | REACTION | CLOSE COMBAT
+ 1 WOE
With your leadership and prowess, you bring the best You can lead and inf luence social situations leveraging
out your allies around you. your experience as a warrior.
Passive: At the start of combat, grant yourself and all Effect: Move one skill from the social discipline to
allies in your tile +2 to their initiative roll. the combat discipline. This effect lasts until your next
Effect: Take on a point of woe, all allies can move downtime.
one tile.
60.
Full Defense Impair
COMBAT
+ 1 ENERGY | CLOSE COMBAT
+ 2 ENERGY | CLOSE
Assume a defensive stance to block or parry incoming You find and strike a vulnerable spot, giving your
attacks, shielding you and your allies from harm. allies the opportunity to make their move.
Effect: Gain a pool of points that you can use to negate Effect: Deal damage to target and reduce their adver-
consequences to you and your allies, as long as they are sity level until your next turn.
in your tile. Fortune: 1[w]+1 damage, -3 CL
Fortune: 3+[shield] points. Temperance: 1[w] damage, -2 CL [◈ - 2]
Temperance: 2+[shield] points. [ ◈ - 3] Judgment: 1[w] damage, -2 CL [◈ ]
Judgment: 2+[shield] points. [ ◈ - 1]
Multi-Shot Riposte
COMBAT
+ 2 ENERGY | RANGED COMBAT
+ 1 ENERGY | REACTION | CLOSE
With careful aim and precision, you fire multiple shots at When an enemy makes an attack, you find an opening.
your adversaries. Effect: Once per round, if you take damage from an
Effect: Distribute damage to enemies in range. enemy you can spend 1 energy to make free Strike (see
Fortune: Distribute 1[w]+1 damage page xx) against that target or a target in range. If any
Temperance: Distribute 1[w] damage [ ◈ - 1] consequence is triggered by this attack, reduce the
Judgment: Distribute 1[w] damage [ ◈+ 1] final Adversity Level by 1.

PASSIVE | COMBAT TALENTS
Brute Force Defender
PASSIVE COMBAT PASSIVE COMBAT
Sometimes the most direct route just needs to be You are skilled at leading a defensive line.
smashed down. Passive: Increase your shield bonus by +1.
Passive: You can easily dismantle obstacles in your way.
Effect: If an enemy has armor, your attacks ignore it.
Lone Wolf Opportunity Striker

PASSIVE COMBAT PASSIVE COMBAT
Some bat t les requ ire t he r ig ht approach to be An unexpected attack is sometimes all you need to gain
victorious. the upper hand.
Passive: When you are in a tile with no allies present, Passive: When an ally uses a CL denial ability (such as
gain +1 to defense rolls and once per round +1 damage taunt or root), any attack you make against them will
to an attack. deal 1[w] extra damage.
62.
DASH | COMBAT TALENTS
Dashing Strike Impale
COMBAT
2 DASH | VERSATILE COMBAT
1 DASH | FIGHT
Dive into the fray striking numerous adversaries in With great speed you dash, lunging your weapon into
a f lash. the heart of your enemy.
Effect: Move a number of tiles equal to 1 + [Agility], Effect: Move one tile and deal 1[w] to a target. If there
each tile you move onto for this action, deal 1[w] to an are other adversaries in that tile, deal 2 damage to one
enemy in that tile. of them.
Take a Hit
COMBAT
1 DASH | REACTION
You see the action unfold before your eyes, and while
predicting the trajectory, you move to intercept.
Effect: Prior to an ally taking damage, you can move
one tile and take the damage intended for them, reduce
the damage by 3 + [Vigor] + [Shield].

Social
Talents
GENERAL TALENTS
Coordinate Attack + 2 energy After attacking, an ally gains a bonus against the same target.
Double Up 1 woe Attack an enemy, allowing an ally to deal extra damage.
Relieve 1 woe Resolve or suppress an ally's burden.
Helpful Connection 1 woe You heard-of or know someone in this sanctuary.
Incite Action + 2 energy Present an opportunity for an ally to attack.
Inspire + 2 energy Grant allies free energy and reduce temperance thresholds.
Taunt + 2 energy Gain a pool of points to decide the actions of adversaries.
Useful Advice 1 woe Move a Survival skill to your Social Discipline.
64.
PASSIVE TALENTS
Multicultural Passive Better understand cultures.
Persona Passive Create an alternative name/identity for your group.
Pidgin Passive Communicate ideas with those who don't share your language.
Opportunity Striker Passive If an adversary is hindered, deal extra damage.
DASH TALENTS
Armistice 1 dash Have a social interaction, before combat breaks out.
Recall 1 dash Before making a social roll, reduce your thresholds by 2.

GENERAL | SOCIAL TALENTS
Coordinate Attack Double Up
+ 2 ENERGY | VERSATILE SOCIAL + 2 ENERGY | VERSATILE SOCIAL
You rally your allies with an infallible call, directing With your leadership, you devise a plan to take down
a coordinated charge against the enemy. your enemy.
Effect: Target an enemy, before the start of your next Effect: Deal damage to an enemy, if the next ally
turn, each ally who attacks this target, gains a one attacks the same target they deal extra damage.
time bonus to their attack rolls and damage. Fortune: Deal 1[w] damage, ally +1[w]
Fortune: +2 attack, +2 damage. Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage, ally +1 [◈ - 2]
Temperance: +2 attack, +1 damage. [◈ - 2] Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage, ally +1 [◈ ]
Judgment: +1 attack, +1 damage. [◈ ]
Relieve
+ 1 WOE SOCIAL Helpful Friendly
+ 1 WOE SOCIAL
Sometimes a kind heart and support are needed to
move forward and push through. Whether entering a sanctuary or out in the wilder-
Passive: When using the [Empathy] skill, reduce your ness, you can run upon a friendly face, someone you've
Fortune threshold by 3. know of have heard of, or just a stranger who's more
Activate: If this ability can resolve a burden it does than willing to lend a hand.
so. Otherwise, it will negate the negative effects of Effect: Upon activation, you and the narrator can
that burden until the next scene. collaborate on a helpful NPC that you can run into.
66.
Incite Action Inspire
+ 2 ENERGY| RANGE 1 SOCIAL + 1 WOE | RANGE 1 SOCIAL
You see an opportunity and call upon your ally to take With a grandiose speech, a short quip, a joke, or even
advantage of it. a small bet, you inspire your allies for greater action.
Effect: An ally in range delivers an attack for you Effect: Each a l ly in ra nge rega ins 2 points of
using their weapon damage. energy and for the rest of this encounter reduce all
Fortune: Deal 1[w]+1 damage Temperance thresholds by 2.
Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage [ ◈ - 2]
Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage [ ◈ - 1]
TAUNT
+2 ENERGY | RANGE 1 SOCIAL
Through force of character, personality or power, you

coax or intimidate an enemy to attack or retreat.
Effect: Gain a pool of points which you can exchange
to deny or decide the actions of your enemies, making Useful Advice
1 WOE SOCIAL
them move, or absorbing attacks/effects. If the crea-
ture has a discipline modifier, add that cost for each Your determination allows you to exert yourself in
point spent. ways you thought you never could.
Fortune: Manipulate 5 points of CL. Effect: You can move one skill from the Survival
Temperance: Manipulate 3 points of CL. [◈ - 2] Discipline to the Social Discipline. This effect lasts
Judgment: Manipulate 3 points of CL. [◈ ] until your next downtime.

PASSIVE | SOCIAL TALENTS
Multicultural Persona
PASSIVE SOCIAL PASSIVE SOCIAL
Unlike many, you've spent time w ith numerous Sometimes a slight change in voice, appearance and/or
cultures and people, and can pick up on cultures and name is all thats needed.
Passive: While in a sanctuary you can quickly under- Passive: Create an alternative name/identity for your
stand and identify cultures and traditions. group, you will not be recognized unless you do some-
Passive: When entering a sanctuary, you can pick thing that would otherwise reveal your true selves.
one of the amenities that are available for you and
your allies.
Pidgin
PASSIVE SOCIAL
Wherever you go, you are able to pick up a handful of

foreign words and phrases and put them to use.
Passive: A fter a shor t duration, you can easily
exchange basic ideas with someone who doesn't speak
the same tongue as you.
68.
DASH | SOCIAL TALENTS
Recall Armistice
1 DASH SOCIAL 2 DASHES SOCIAL
There is important information that would be useful Not all interactions and encounters need to end in
to use. bloodshed.
Effect: Before you make a roll that uses the Social Effect: Before you transition into a combat encounter,
Discipline, you can spend a dash to reduce both thresh- you can spend 2 dashes to try and avoid it. Have
olds by 2. This does not apply to rolls that use a talent. someone roll a Exploration or Social skill, using the
encounter's CL, to roleplay how the encounter was
avoided. If any consequences are triggered, they will
not incite a combat encounter.
This cannot be used on Bosses.
Burnout (1): For the next phase, do not recover dashes.

Manipulate
Talents
GENERAL TALENTS
Def lective Shield + 2 energy Create a ward that blocks and ref lects consequences.
Hex Burst + 2 energy Create a blast that deals damage to enemies in the tile
Intimidating Power 1 woe Use your knowledge of technology to intimidate your audience.
Lance + 2 energy Deal damage in subsequent tiles
Push + 2 energy Move everyone out of a tile.
Unstable Blade 2 woe Make your weapon deal more damage.
Useful Prototype 1 woe Move a Exploration skill to your Manipulate Discipline.
Vacuum + 2 energy Move adversaries into a tile.
70.
PASSIVE TALENTS
Burning Passive Apply the burning condition and clear obstacles
Teleporter Passive Use and easily find teleporters with ease.
DASH TALENTS
Analyscan 1 Dash Pick a target and view their codex entry.
Barrier Projection 1 Dash Block incoming consequences to you and your allies.
Mirror Image 1 Dash Dash a tile and leave a hologram to manipulate enemies.

GENERAL | MANIPULATE TALENTS
Deflective Shield Hex Burst
+ 2 ENERGY | WIELD MANIPULATE + 2 ENERGY | WIELD | RANGE 1 MANIPULATE
Create or activate a ward of energy that def lects and Unleash a devastating explosion of Hyper Light.
ref lects damage to your attacker. Effect: Deal damage to everyone in the target tile.
Effect: Gain a pool of points that you can use to negate Fortune: Deal 1[w]+1 damage.
consequences directed at you, in addition you deal that Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage. [ ◈ - 1]
consequence level worth damage back at the target. Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage. [ ◈+ 1]
Fortune: 3+[shield] points.
Temperance: 2+[shield] points [ ◈ - 3]
Judgment: 2+[shield] points [ ◈ - 1]
Lance
Intimidating Power + 2 ENERGY | WIELD | RANGE 1 MANIPULATE
+ 1 WOE MANIPULATE
Shaping a spear of hyper light, you fire it at your
There are many people who do not fully understand adversaries, piercing all in it's path.
the power that the ancients have left behind. Effect: From your tile, fire a lance that travels in a
Passive: Move the intimidate skill to the Manipulate straight line, dealing damage to all enemies in it's path.
Discipline. Note: This deals no damage to enemies in your tile, only
Effect: Make a display of power that intimidates or those who are in consecutive tiles.
strikes fear into your audience. If the adversary has a Fortune: Deal 1[w]+1 damage
social modifier, you must pay additional woe equal to Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage [◈ - 1]
that modifer. Judgment: Deal 1[w] damage [◈ ]
72.
Push Unstable Blade
+ 2 ENERGY | RANGE 2 MANIPULATE + 2 WOE MANIPULATE
Leveraging your blast, you send a shockwave that You overcharge or increase the output of your weapon.
pushes your adversaries of your space. Effect: For this round and the next, all attacks cost +1
Effect: Push all adversaries out of your tile. energy and deal +1 bonus damage.
Fortune:
◈
Temperance: [ - 2]
Judgment: [ ◈]
Vacuum
+ 2 ENERGY | RANGE 1 MANIPULATE
Create a negative force that pulls in or pushes your

Useful Prototype adversaries into a tile.
+ 1 WOE MANIPULATE
Effect: Pick a tile in range, your result will tell how
Your determination allows you to exert yourself in many adversaries from surrounding tiles can be
ways you thought you never could. fulled in.
Effect: Move one skill from the Exploration Discipline Fortune: Pull 3 adversaries
to the Manipulate Discipline. This effect lasts until Temperance: Pull 2 adversaries [◈ - 1]
the next downtime phase. Judgment: Pull 2 adversaries [◈ ]

PASSIVE | MANIPULATE TALENTS
Ignite Teleport
PASSIVE MANIPULATE PASSIVE MANIPULATE
You seem to have a knack for setting things on fire. You have figured out how to utilizes a series of tech-
Passive: Subsequent attacks against the same target nologies allowing you and your party to travel vast
can set them on fire distances.
Activate: Burning is a viable way of moving things Passive: When coming upon a teleporter, you can use
forward, make a roll against your survival discipline it with ease. Though you still cannot determine your
to determine the outcome. destination.
Fortune: Intended Outcome Active: During a delve, you can take on 3 points of woe
Temperance: Success at Consequence [ ◈- 2] to place a teleporter tile into the delve.
Judgment: Unintended Consequence [ ◈]
74.
DASH | MANIPULATE TALENTS
Analyscan Barrier Projection
1 DASH MANIPULATE 2 DASH | REACTION | CLOSE MANIPULATE
You glimpse seconds into the future giving you insight With a wave of energy, you raise a great barrier that
on your enemy's next move. blocks and absorbs incoming attacks.
Effect: Pick any target, the narrator will show the Effect: Raise a barrier that can absorb consequences
your target's codex entry. If used in combat, consider triggered by you and your allies, you can absorb up to
this ability to have Range 1. This can only be used on a total number of consequences equal to 4 + [Insight].
characters and creatures.
Mirror Image
1 DASH MANIPULATE
Zipping across the battlefield, you leave a holographic

traces of yourself confusing your enemies.
Effect: Move one tile leaving in your place a hologram
that you use to manipulate your adversaries. Gain
a taunt pool of 3 + [Insight], which you can spend to
absorb damage, or move adversaries to your holo-
gram's tile.

Exploration
Talents
GENERAL TALENTS
Talent Cost Base Effect
Commune 1 woe Discover a pain of this land.
Fall Back + 1 energy Not retreat penalty and allow allies to fall back to your tile.
Light Bridge 2 components Create a bridge of light that allows for traversal.
Night Sight 1 component Use a component to see in the dark
Scout Ahead 1 downtime Scout out difficulty and events in the hexes to come.
Spot Weakness 1 woe Identify a weak point for you and your allies to exploit
Warp Terrain 1 component Make tiles more difficult to move through
Wilderness Warrior 1 woe Move a Combat skill to your Exploration Discipline.
76.
PASSIVE TALENTS
Passive Talents Cost Base Effect
Defensive Movement Passive When you move a tile, gain a temporary protection pool.
Sneak Attack Passive Deal more damage if your target is rooted or taunted.
The Safer Path Passive In the Overworld, for each hex grant up to two rerolls.
Evasion Passive When you take damage, you can spend energy to move a tile.
DASH TALENTS
Dash Talents Cost Base Effect
Alternate Route 2 dash While exploring, discover a passage linking two areas.
Gale Dash 1 dash Create a blast that pushes everyone to one side of it.
Platformer 2 dash While Traveling, allies can roll twice taking the better result.
Hidden Tile 1 dash Create a new tile on the combat board.

GENERAL | EXPLORATION TALENTS
Commune Fall Back
EXPLORATION
+ 1 WOE EXPLORATION
+ 2 ENERGY | RANGE 1
You have a way to connect with the land and get a There are times when retreat is the best option.
sense of events that have passed. Passive: Allies can retreat from any tile.
Effect: Ask the narrator to provide some history that Effect: All allies in range can choose to move into
you can glean from this land, a story, a tragedy, a hint your tile. You and any ally who moves gains +1 to their
at this land's pain. next roll.
Light Bridge
EXPLORATION
2 COMPONENTS
You can use components to create a path. Night Sight

EXPLORATION
1 COMPONENT
Passive: Cross a distance using components.
Passive: Once per montage, in lieu of your roll, you From enhancements, useful tech, to organic remedies,
can spend components to create a light bridge. you can enhance your vision.
Effect: As an action, you can connect two tiles on the Effect: Grant yourself or an ally to see in darkness.
board that have no connecting edge. Ignoring any penalties.
78.
Scout Ahead Spot Weakness
EXPLORATION
1 DOWNTIME + 1 WOE | RANGE 1 EXPLORATION
While everyone is resting, you get a look at whats to With keen perception, you can spot a weaknesses in
come ahead. your opponent and call it out to your allies.
Passive: Ga i n a +2 bonu s to a l l [Aw a reness] Effect: Identify a weak spot on a target in range. You
skill checks. and your allies can attack or use abilities against this
Effect: When traveling on the overworld, pick three weakness. Doing so increases both thresholds by 2, but
hexes extending out from your position. Uncover an deals +3 damage. This effect lasts until the end of the
[event] for each hex, and it's Adversity Level. encounter.
Warp Terrain
1 COMPONENT | RANGE 1 EXPLORATION
Sometimes manipulating the battlefield is needed for Wilderness Warrior

EXPLORATION
+ 1 WOE
victory.
Effect: Pick a number tiles, adversaries will have to You have found ways to leverage your movement and
spend +1 CL to move through them. knowledge of the environment to aid you in combat.
Fortune: Pick 2 tiles, Effect: Spend a point of woe to move a Combat skill
Temperance: Pick 1 tiles, [ ◈ - 2] to your Exploration Discipline. This effect lasts until
Judgment: Pick 1 tiles, [ ◈ - 1] your next downtime activity.

PASSIVE | EXPLORATION TALENTS
Defensive Movement Evasion
PASSIVE EXPLORATION EXPLORATION
PASSIVE
You are adept at movement, footwork, and using the You have become accustomed to getting out of the way
environment to protect yourself when you advance. before it's too late.
Passive: On your turn, for each tile you move gain 1 Passive: If you take damage as a reaction you can
protection (see page 94), this can stack with itself, and spend one point of energy to move a tile.
disappears at the end of your turn, after consequences
are resolved.
Sneak Attack
EXPLORATION
PASSIVE
An unexpected attack is sometimes all you need to gain

the upper hand. The Safer Path
EXPLORATION
PASSIVE
Passive: When rolling a [Stealth] skill check, your
Fortune threshold by 2. You can lead the way, ensuring that your companions
Effec t: W hen a n enemy is taunted, rooted, or get through unscathed.
unaware of your location (ie a sneak attack), deal Passive: In the Overworld, for each hex grant up to
+1[w] extra damage. two re-rolls.
80.
DASH | EXPLORATION TALENTS
Alternate Route Gale Dash
SURVIVAL
2 DASH 1 DASH | ACTION EXPLORATION
Instead of engaging directly, you find an alternate path You overclock your dash module to create a powerful
to avoid this fight. wind pushing all adversaries aside.
Effect: While exploring, create a path that connects Effect: From your tile, draw a line across the combat
one card to another nearby. board that pushes everyone to one side of the blast.
This does not affect things or creatures that are
considered anchored down.
Platformer
EXPLORATION
2 DASHES Hidden Tile
EXPLORATION
1 DASH
Each step can be precarious, and so you rely a little
more on your dash module to get you there safely. You spot a clue, and dash off the ledge to find your-
Effect: While in the Travel phase, you can spend a self standing on an invisible tile, shimmering under
dash to grant you and your allies, the ability to roll your feet.
twice and take the higher result on one of their rolls Effect: Use a dash to create a new tile off of the combat
during this phase. board. All allies and adversaries can now use this tile.

Survival
Talents
GENERAL TALENTS
Talent Cost Base Effect
Adrenaline Rush + 2 energy For a limited time, roll twice and take the higher result.
Alarm 1 component Create a space that will alert you when trespassed
Behind you! 1 woe Reduce the consequence level an ally is about to suffer.
Entanglement + 2 energy Create a trap that roots adversaries.
Healing Remedy 2 ingredients Craft a cure to various ailments.
Resurgence special Exchange health for energy.
Secret Recipe 2 ingredients Your cooking is both delicious and restorative.
Warm Hospitality 1 ingredient Use an ingredient in a social context
Quiet Steps 1 woe While exploring, avoid potential encounters.
82.
PASSIVE TALENTS
Passive Talents Cost Base Effect
Beast Friend Passive Beasts are friendly to you and you can feed them ingredients.
Hunter's Journal Passive Learn about the creatures you encounter.
Resourceful Passive Spend components instead of energy.
DASH TALENTS
Dash Talents Cost Base Effect
Discover Cache 1 Dash Create a space that will alert you when trespassed
First Strike 1 Dash Start anywhere on the combat board with a damage bonus.
Hyperbolic Time Saver 2 Dashes During Downtime, gain two extra downtime slots.
Signal 2 Dashes Broadcast a simple message to a recipient.

GENERAL | SURVIVAL TALENTS
Adrenaline Rush Alarm
SURVIVAL
+ 0 ENERGY SURVIVAL
1 COMPONENT
When the action gets chaotic, you take a deep breath Always good to protect your camp from unwanted visi-
and focus. tors and cover your blindspots when exploring.
Effect: For all actions taken on this and the next turn, Passive: While camping you cannot be ambushed.
roll twice and take the higher result. Effect: Set an area with a trigger, when something trig-
gers it you will be notified.
Ambush
SURVIVAL
1 WOE
Early positioning is sometimes all that's necessary to Behind You!

SURVIVAL
+1 WOE | RANGE 2
resolve an encounter quickly.
Effect: When combat starts, you can start on any tile. Your keen eye spots an incoming threat. You shout a
In addition, your first attack will deal +3 damage to warning to your allies before it’s too late.
your first target. Effect: Before an ally triggers a consequence, you
Special: You can extend this ability to your allies, take can take on a point of woe to reduce the Adversity
an additional point of woe for each conferred ally. Level by 2.
84.
Entanglement Healing Remedy
SURVIVAL
+ 2 ENERGY| RANGE 1 SURVIVAL
2 INGREDIENTS
Leveraging the environment, you create, or set up an Your knowledge of herbs and ailments allow you craft
entangling trap for your opponents to fall in to. useful remedies to cure and heal peoples maladies.
Effect: Pick a tile to trap, if an adversary enters this Effect: During a downtime slot, you can spend 2 ingre-
tile, they become rooted and cannot move until they dients to craft an ointment that can cure the following
spend 2 AL to unbind themselves. ailments/status effects: Sickened Diseased, Exhausted,
Fortune: Traps 3 enemies Poisoned.
Temperance: Traps 2 enemies [ ◈ - 2] Note: If the ailment is beyond your skill or requires a
Judgment: Traps 2 enemies [ ◈ - 1] special ingredient, you are aware of it.
Resurgence
MIGHT | FORTITUDE 2 HEALTH SURVIVAL
You may be tired or exhausted, but through sheer

power and focus you push on.
Passive: You can exchange your health for energy.
Each point of health spent grants you 2 energy.
Effect: You can take on a point of woe and allow an
ally to exchange their health for energy.

PASSIVE | SURVIVAL TALENTS
Beast Friend Hunter's Journal
SURVIVAL
PASSIVE SURVIVAL
PASSIVE
Creatures find you tr ustwor thy, and sometimes The world is filled with dangerous creatures, and you
likable. do your best to learn everything you can from them.
Passive: You can use your Survival Discipline instead Passive: When you encounter or observe a creature,
of your Social discipline when using [Handle Animal]. pick a category of knowledge and learn it's secrets.
Effect: If you use a ingredient, in conjunction with Categories: Stats (health, disciplines), Attacks (attacks
the [Handle Animal] skill, reduce your Temperance and abilities, inc special), & Lore ( behavior and
threshold by 3. strategy)
Resourceful
SURVIVAL
PASSIVE
Between jury-rigging, manipulation and some unex-

pected reactions, you can make some interesting
things happen.
Passive: For downtime activities, reduce the number
of components needed per phase (if any) by 1 (to a
minimum of one).
Active: If there is an exploration action that only
requires an energy cost (and no roll) you can spend
ingredients in it's stead.
86.
DASH | SURVIVAL TALENTS
Discover Cache First Strike
2 DASH SURVIVAL 1 DASH SURVIVAL
You get to a hard to reach location, and find an unex- Early positioning is sometimes all that's necessary to
pected stash of untouched resources. resolve an encounter quickly.
Effect: During the Exploration phase, discover a small Effect: When combat starts, you can spend a dash
cache of resources that you will find useful on your to start on any tile. Your first attack will also deal
travels. Add a total of four resources (ingredients and/ +1[w] damage.
or components) to your inventory.
Hyperbolic Time Saver Signal

2 DASHES SURVIVAL SURVIVAL
2 DASH
You find a quiet place to work undisturbed, and A f lare in the sky, a big explosion, some smoke trail,
quickly, leveraging your dashes to make your work or a moonlit howl. The message is sent, now if they'll
go faster. just make it in time.
Effect: While in downtime, spend two dashes to give Effect: Create a signal which can be seen by your
yourself 2 extra downtime slots. intended recipient, in addition, the recipient will
Bu r nout (2): For t he nex t 2 ph a ses, do not understand the general message of your signal.
recover dashes. Burnout (1): For the next phase, do not recover dashes.

Equipment
You live in the remains of what was once an TRADE & CURRENCY
advanced civilization. Technology from the past
remains abundant, but functionality, power, and Although connection between a few sanctuaries is
purpose remain unknown. just getting established, many take part in trade and
As you explore you will find many relics from other forms of exchange and deeds of trust.
the past. Some will help you to blast through walls
while others will help you rebuild and reconnect GEARBITS
communities. As you explore and adventure you will slowly
discover and be rewarded with bits (b). These are
LIFE AND TECHNOLOGY small power-cells that are used to operate a variety
of technological items. Four bits are combined into a
Most of the residents in drifter live a fairly simple gearbit (gb), which can be used for trading, crafting,
life, typically living in the general safety of a and purchasing character advancements.
sanctuary. Day-to-day life mostly focuses on food
security, construction, and defense (with a healthy INGREDIENTS
dose of leisure and crafting). There are exceptions Organic material ranging from creature compo-
for those that have discovered and applied technol- nents to plant matter, can all be used for cooking,
ogies to make life safer or easier. medicine, trade, and even fashioning limited items.
It 's impor tant to remember, t hat a lt hough
rem na nt technolog y is ex t remely adva nced, COMPONENTS
understanding of these technologies has all but Pieces of technology that have been discovered to
disappeared. This has resulted in a number of varied be useful in some way or function. With these you
reactions to being presented with such technology, can create simple devices, improving your gear, to
ranging from curiosity, superstition, fear and awe. building facilities in a sanctuary.

ASSETS
On your travels, you will be uncover, trade, or have ASSET TRAITS
manufactured items that will provide your drifter • Cost: About how much the asset would be to
with new options and oppertunities. These items obtain. It's important to note that
are quite reliable, and thusly called assets. • Use: How often can this asset be used? This
These assets will provide you with an special ranges as once-usable during a specific phase,
ability that you can utilize reliably, typically once or once rest, meaning that you recover your
per phase or per downtime. ability to use it, after downtime.
As you explore and advance, you'll be able to • Effect: What the asset does.
upgrade your assets, improving their effectiveness • Asset Special: The ability that the asset
and utility. provides.
90.
EQUIPMENT | ASSETS
Item Cost Use Asset Special Effect
Explosive 2 gb 1/Combat Throw Explosive Deal 3 damage to a tile
Stimpack 3 gb 1/Rest Stimpack Boost Heal 2 health or energy
4 gb 1/Rest Cloak of Blades Reduce the cost of

Blue Cloak
[Strike] by 1 energy.
4 gb 1/Rest Mantle of Swiftness Reduce the cost of
White Cloak
[assets] by 1 energy.
Yellow Sprite 6 gb 1/Travel Hidden Path Travel 1 hex

Ochre Sprite 6 gb 1/Rest Power Surge Gain 4 temporary Energy.
Module Expansion 6 gb N/A N/A

Secret Key N/A 1/Exploration Discover Secret Discover a secret room.

Throw Explosive Stimpack Boost
+1 ENERGY | RANGE 1 ASSET +0 ENERGY | CLOSE ASSET
Throw your explosive into the fray, damaging enemies. Apply a stimpack, medication, or consume a restor-
Effect: Pick a tile in range and deal damage to all ative to restore your energy and/or health.
enemies in the tile. Effect: Pick yourself or an ally within range and
Fortune: Deal 3 damage restore 2 health and 2 energy.
Temperance: Deal 2 damage [ ◈ - 2]
Judgment: Deal 2 damage [ ◈]
Cloak of Blades Mantle of Swiftness

BLUE CLOAK ASSET WHITE CLOAK ASSET
This cloak f lows naturally allowing you to move This cloak is light, and has convenient pockets and
quickly blending movement and attack into one blur. sections to store equipment.
Effect: Once activated, reduce the total energy cost Effect: Once activated, reduce the total energy cost
of the [strike] attack by 1. This effect lasts until the of your assets by 1. This effect lasts until the end of
end of the phase. the phase.
92.
Hidden Path Power Surge
YELLOW SPRITE ASSET OCHRE SPRITE ASSET
This sprite provides you with a visual layout of This sprite has the ability to channel generated energy
the land. into its user.
Effect: When in the Travel phase, move through one Effect: Activate to gain 4 temporary energy. This can
hex for free, no montage rounds are necessary for exceed your normal maximum energy and is used first.
this hex.
Discover Secret
SECRET KEY ASSET
Keys can provide you with access

Effect: Once per session, you can make a roll

ARMOR SHIELDS
Built from scraps of ancient materials—or perhaps
Taken from the bodies of the fallen, discovered an emitter re-purposed to provide extra defense—
inside broken ruins, or fashioned from remnant shields are key to any defensive drifter.
materials or creatures, armor provides a layer of Much like armor, shields will provide you with
safety for your drifter. defense that you can use to block damage, as well as
Armor at its base will provide you a number of a bonus that grants you bonuses to defense.
points that refresh after every downtime phase.
These points can be used to reduce damage taken
in a particular phase.
As you explore and advance, you'll be able to
upgrade your armor, adding more points or even SHIELD TRAITS
being able to re-distribute them to best fit the chal- • Protection: Much like armor, shields also
lenges that lie ahead. provide you with a pool of points that can be
used to absorb damage directed to you in the
Combat Phase. These points stack with the
pool granted by wearing armor.
ARMOR TRAITS • Shield Bonus: This is a f lat bonus granted
• Protection: Gain a pool of points which by your shield. Whenever the narrator asks
can be used to absorb damage taken in the you to make a roll as a save or reaction, and
Combat phase. This pool refreshes upon you shield can be used in meaningfully in
leaving the Downtime phase. this scenario, you can apply this bonus to
• Resistance: Gain a pool of points which your roll. In addition, some abilities will use
can be used to absorb damage taken during this bonus as part of their calculations, they
the Exploration and Travel phase. This pool will be marked as [shield] to indicate where
refreshes upon leaving the Downtime phase. the bonus should be used.
94.
EQUIPMENT | ARMOR
Item Cost Effect
Protective Armor 3 gb Protection 3
Resistant Armor 3 gb Resistance 3
Versatile Armor 4 gb Protection 1, Resistance 2
Buckler 2 gb Shield +1
Shield 5 gb Protection 1, Shield +2

WEAPON TRAITS
WEAPONS • Cost: How many bits does it cost to acquire
When exploring the far-f lung corners of the conti- this weapon?
nent, and problems cannot be solved with thought • Ef fec t: How muc h d a m age does t h is
and cleverness, a weapon may be necessary to weapon deal.
defend yourself against the warped creatures and • Range: In regards to the combat board, what
automations that scattered across the land. is the range of the weapon.
Many drifters will tend to specialize, picking a • Close: Can be used against any adversary
single favorite weapon. In time, you'll likely pick up located in the same tile you are.
one of two when the task requires a specific tool for • Ranged: This weapon can be used against
the job. It's also important to note, that a target a number away from your loca-
You will find three different types of weapons: tion. For Example, a Range 1 weapon
Melee, for fighting in close quarters. Ranged, for would mean you can hit a target one tile
attacking adversaries across tiles and distances. And away from your position.
finally, Wield Machines, allowing you to manipu- • Weapon Special: Each weapon provides a
late and shape Hyper Light to devastating effect. unique special ability, allows you to use that
Each weapon has their own base attack, Strike, weapon in special or unique ways. These
Blast, and Energy Burst (see combat actions in abilities can be activated either when using
the Phase: Combat, chapter). And, Aside form the the weapon or activating an talent that uses
restriction of range, these weapons can take any the weapon to deliver that attack.
form that you want them to.
96.
EQUIPMENT | WEAPONS
Item Cost Effect Range Weapon Special
Unarmed Strike N/A 1 Damage Close Stunning Strike
Improvised Weapon N/A 1 Damage Close Weapon at Hand
One-Handed Weapon 3 gb 2 Damage Close Swift Strike
Two-Handed Weapon 4 gb 3 Damage Close Mighty Strike
One Hand Ranged 1 gb 2 Damage Range 1

Two Handed Ranged 3 gb 3 Damage Range 2
Amped Wield Machine 2 gb 2 Damage Range 1 Overcharge

Modded Wield Machine 2 gb 2 Damage Range 1 Range Modification
Tuned Wield Machine 2 gb 2 Damage Range 1 Precision Tuning

WEAPON SPECIALS
Mighty Blow Overcharge

2-HANDED WEAPON WEAPON WEAPON
+ 2 ENERGY| RANGE 1
By taking advantage of leverage, you lean into a Tweak the output to deliver a more powerful blast.
heavy attack. Passive: Before making an attack, you can spend 2
Passive: Before making an attack, you can increase components to increase the damage of this attack by 2.
both thresholds by 3, increasing your damage by 2.
Precision Tuning
WEAPON
TUNED WIELD MACHINES
Some things require perfect alignment to be the most

effective. Range Modification
WEAPON
MODDED WIELD MACHINES
Passive: Before making an attack, you can spend
1 component to give you a +4 bonus to your attack. Sometimes range is more important than damage.
After resolving this action, increase your Manipulate Passive: Take on two points of woe, to extend the
Fortune discipline by 3, tis penalty lasts until the range of a manipulate/wield attack by 1, this lasts
next downtime phase. until the end of the phase.
98.
Stunning Strike Swift Strike
UNARMED WEAPON ONE-HANDED WEAPON WEAPON
You deliver a powerful blow, capable of knocking out With finesse you maneuver your weapon for a quick
your adversary. second attack.
Passive: After getting a Fortune result with an Passive: After making an attack or using a talent with
unarmed attack, you can spend double the target's this weapon, you can make a followup strike attack,
Adversity Level in energy to knockout the target. costing +0 energy.
Weapon at Hand
IMPROVISED WEAPON
Everything's a weapon if you're clever.

Passive: Any time you are wielding a improvised
weapon, you can choose to have the weapon break and
be unusable to block 2 points of damage directed at you.

Adventuring

Now that you have your drifters assembled and
properly equipped, its time to embark on your
journey.
But that brings the first major question, what are
you and the group looking to accomplish?
Adventure can come in many shapes and forms.

is it about saving the countryside from ravaging
beasts? Is it about discovering your characters
purpose or past? or is it about a personal mission
of connecting communities and making the world
a safter place.

Disciplines
For every action that you want to take, be it
climbing, defending, or even trying to tame a
beast, you'll be using a skill thats linked to one of
your five disciplines: Combat, Social, Exploration,
Manipulation, or Survival.
Simply put, skills are actions or tasks that your
drifter can perform. Now, because the extent of
your actions are only limited by your imagination,
we can't cover every possible action with a single
list. So it's important to realize that the following
list of skills and disciplines are abstracted and
focused in a manner that we think best fits the tone
and play-style we expect with Drifter. If you feel
like a skill is missing, discuss with the narrator and
group and determine what discipline it would best
fit into given the action's context.
102.
EXPLORATION
Your ability to maneuver and traverse the environment.
AWARENESS LIFT
Noticing unusual things around you. Pushing and lifting heavy objects.
BALANCE REFLEX
Remaining steady and positioned. Reacting to and dodging.
CLIMB SWIM
Scaling and traversing various surfaces. Maneuver in water and bodies of liquid.
CART OGRAPHY T RACK

Drawing and reading maps. Following and identifying tracks.
JUMP
Propelling yourself over obstacles and chasms.

SURVIVAL SKILLS
Skills used for camping, navigating and surviving outside the sanctuary.
COOK HEAL
Preparing various ingredients to make a meal. Treating injuries, poison and disease.
CRAFT NAT URE

Creating objects in a given art or trade. Understanding the natural world and predicting the
weather.
FORAGE
Finding food, water, and shelter. SNEAK
Moving silently and unnoticed.
FORT IT UDE
Resistance to various kinds of pain and punishment.
104.
COMBAT SKILLS
Skills that are likely to be used for fighting.
AIM FIGHT
Using ranged and projectile weapons and objects Fig hting in close qua r ters combat, uti lizing
against a target. anything from weapons, fists and claws
DEFEND MANEUVER
Defending yourself from attacks. Moving effetely across the battlefield

SOCIAL SKILLS
Skills that will be used for most interacting with characters and creatures.
EMPAT HY LEAD
Determining the emotional state of the target char- Rallying or encouraging a group of individuals to
acter or creature. take certain actions.
HANDLE ANIMAL NEGOT IAT E

Familiarity with taming, rearing and riding various Getting the best agreement, price or terms.
creatures.
PERFORM
INFLUENCE C a r r y i n g o ut a me mor a ble or d i s t r a c t i n g
Changing someone’s behavior to do what you want performance.
them to.
R E S O LV E
INT IMIDAT E The willpower or ability to push through exhaus-
Getting others to do what you want them to through tion or pain and resisting fear.
use fear and threats.
106.
MANIPULATE SKILLS
Skills that will be used for using remanent technology.
ACCESS S A LV A G E
Activate or deactivate facility functions. Har vest components which can be useful for
crafting or building.
REPURPOSE
Your ability to use Librarian technology in an unin- WIELD
tended way. Utilizing ancient weapons and wield machines to
devastate your enemies.

Consequences
As a default Drifter assumes your characters FAILING FORWARD
are fully capable and will likely succeed in their Although we expect that our drifter's will ulti-
endeavors. The important question that follows is, mately succeed, it doesn't mean they can't fail. Did
at what cost? your character not make the jump across the chasm?
A consequence is only triggered on a Temperance Or fail to climb the cliff? Or unlock the door?
and Judgment result, this is marked on your abil- The most important thing is that we want to keep
ities with this, [ ◈ ] symbol, which represents the things moving forward. So failure isn't off the table,
worst outcome of the action, the Consequence it's that failure should open a new window of direc-
Level (CL). Many abilities will modify the conse- tion and opportunity.
quence level, but as a rule of thumb, Temperance For instance, in the example of failing to jump
results will always be a lower level than Judgment across the chasm, perhaps you make it but your
results (usually 2). And Judgment consequences are pack falls. Or, perhaps you fall down, take some
usually unmodified, representing the worst possible damage and rouse some hungry carnivores. An in
outcome. the example of failing to unlock the door, what if
As only drifters can make rolls, consequences are it only partially opens allowing some to squeeze
an important narrative tool, allowing the narrator through, or what if by messing with the mechanism
to react and add complexity or tension to the events you set off a system alarm.
that are unfolding.
108.
CONSEQUENCE BASELINES
It’s important to remember that consequences can be more than just health or energy damage. They can
encompass an entire variety of complications and setbacks. Below you will find a few of our baselines, but
in each phase we'll go more in-depth and provide specific examples that are more related to their contexts.
CL I. LESSER CONSEQUENCE CL VI. CHALLENGING CONSEQUENCE

Baseline: 1 health or woe damage. Baseline: 6 health or woe damage.
CL II. MINOR CONSEQUENCE CL VII. HEROIC CONSEQUENCE

Baseline: 2 health damage or woe. Baseline: 7 health damage or woe.
CL III. NORMAL CONSEQUENCE CL VIII. EPIC CONSEQUENCE

LEVEL IV. DEMANDING CONSEQUENCE LEVEL IX. LEGENDARY CONSEQUENCE

LEVEL V. FORMIDABLE CONSEQUENCE LEVEL X. IMPOSSIBLE CONSEQUENCE


Woe
Where health represents your ability to keep Tested
SPECIAL SPECIAL
moving on physically. Your woe represents your
drifters luck and mental well-being. At times the whole world can seem dark and out to
Woe can come from various sources, from nega- get you.
tive action outcomes, encountering something Effect: Clear your woe meter, and make a roll using
horrific or unworldly, social situations, and even your Woe Disciplines.
actively by activating some talents. Fortune: Pick a Boon
When you fill up on woe, you become tested, and Temperance: Pick a Burden, Discipline Mod +2
must roll a against your Woe thresholds. The result Judgment: Pick a Burden, Discipline Mod +4
of this check determines whether you take on a boon Note: If you spend energy to boost this roll, once
or a burden. the roll is resolved, increase both woe thresholds by
When you create your character, your woe meter two, and for each point of energy spent, gain that
starts empty, and it's thresholds are set at Fortune many points in woe.
(17), and Temperance (14).
TESTED BOONS & BURDENS

Once your woe meter fills up, you can reset the Upon being Tested there are two types of aspects
meter and make a roll against your Woe thresholds. your character can gain, either a Boon, or a Burden.
You can spend energy to boost this roll, however These represent how characters can internalize,
doing so increases both thresholds by 2, and with handle, and overcome their troubles.
each point of energy spent you add an equal number
of woe points to your new woe meter.
Where your roll results lands will determine how
you proceed.
110.
RESOLUTIONS
BURDENS Resolutions are meant to be f lexible, but encourage
These are aspects when our fears and uncertainties roleplaying and character development. You're
get the better of us. If your result is a Judgment or expected to have a burden over the course of an
Temperance you’ll create a burden for your char- adventure, but of course there are some that can
acter to bear. last longer or shorter.
• Indulging in a vice at a sanctuary (spend 2 bits)
CREATING A BURDEN • Resting at a discovery
A burden has three components: • Undoing a past wrong (or making a right)
• Discipline Modifier: Pick a discipline, any • Act with new conviction/motivation
time you use it, increase both thresholds by • Spending time (specific downtime activity)
your threshold result (+2 for Temperance, and
+4 for Judgment)
• Blocked Skill: Pick a skill thats not from the
discipline selected above. You are unable to use EXAMPLE
this skill until you resolve this burden. BURDENS
• Resolution: What action is needed to resolve • Lost - Track | Survival
this burden. It should be something that is • Directionless - Cartography | Survival
fitting to your character and the events at hand. • Insecure - Influence | Social
• Tasteless - Cook | Survival
If you have multiple burdens, their effects will • Creative Block - Craft | Survival
stack, so it's best to try and resolve them when • Indifferent - Negotiate | Social
you can. • Irritable - Empathy | Social
• Exhausted - Jump | Exploration
• Anxious - Perform | Social
• Timid - Lead | Social

BOONS ACTIVATING A BOON
When you get a boon, you don't have to activate it
When you’ve rolled a Fortune, you’ve conquered right away. Rather, you can use it when you feel like
your fears, uneasiness, insecurities, or bad luck. its necessary. When using a boon, you must declare
Boons ref lect your ability to overcome, and thusly that you're activating it, and how that inspiration
provide benefits to those who do. manifests for your character narratively.
These are designed a little more rigidly than
burdens, as t heir mechanica l effect is more
immediate.
READING A BOON
A boon has two components:
Effect: Boons have effects that benefit either you
or your allies. This can manifest as you see fit, from
inspiration, grit, determination, or something else.
Duration: How long does the effect last, typi-
cally depending on the scale of the buff they will
either last until the end of the scene, or until your
next rest.
112.
BOONS LIST
Heightened Senses
Effect: Increase your [Insight] by one.
Duration: Until the end of the Scene
Confident
Effect: Reduce a total of three points of Woe between you
and your allies.
Duration: Immediate
Inspirational
Effect: Reduce the thresholds of all your allies’ next
rolls by 2.
Duration: Immediate
Second Wind
Effect: Regain all your energy and distribute 4 points of
energy between your allies.
Duration: Immediate

Corruption
One reason many do not leave the safety of the
sanctuaries is to protect themselves from corrup-
tion. A sort of disease eventually aff lict all drifters
and eventually consumes them.
As you advance in corruption you will fill out
each diamond, progressing from left to right. You
may take on a point of corruption from exploring
the depths of an ancient facility, or make a [forti-
tude] save against corruption when fighting with
particular creatures or interacting with specific
objects.
As you advance in corruption, you may begin
to show symptoms narratively, but this does not
impact your ability to function mechanically.
114.
TAKING ON CORRUPTION
There are a few things that players can do to take on
points of corruption.
Not Today
If you are reduced below 0 hit points, you fall unconscious
and take a point of Corruption and Woe.
You can choose to take on two points of corruption if you
want to regain all your energy and continue fighting.
Judgment’s Bargain
If there is an outcome that you really want to achieve,
the narrator (if they so choose) can offer you a bargain.
Typically 1-2 points of corruption for the desired effect.
DRIFTER'S EPILOGUE
When you reach maximum corruption, it is time for
your character to find their final moment(s). Create
an epilogue or decide what you want your drifter's last
moments to be and share it with the narrator/group.
Sometimes you might want to time this moment with
the end of the session, or after this epilogue, allow the
player to pick up a new character (perhaps embody an
NPC) or allow them to help out the role of the narrator.

Intervention Points
The recommended amount of Intervention Points
is equal to the number of people partaking in the
adventure.
POINTS AT THE TABLE:

Using physical objects like tokens or coins to repre-
sent the group’s available Intervention Points is
advised in order to keep everyone aware of their
availability.
116.
GAINING AND USING
INTERVENTION POINTS
U s e - U pg r a d e a R e s u lt Gain - Downgrading a R e s u lt
Likely the most common use of Intervention Points. Players may choose to downgrade the outcome
When you are unhappy with a roll result, you of a roll (Fortune -> Temperance, or Temperance ->
may spend a point to move your roll result up one Judgment) in order to add a point to the Intervention
threshold. Point pool.
U s e - C l ass A b i l i t y G a i n - C r i t i ca l R o l l
Each class has their own unique way to spend If a player rolls a natural 1 or 20 and they keep the
Intervention Points. result, an Intervention Point is added to the pool.
Delvers: Creates a safe space to rest, recov-
ering extra Energy and Health. Gain - Narrator Interventions
Warriors: Allow some characters to gain the When the Narrator raises the stakes during a scene
first strike in combat. or battle, it’s called an Intervention. When an
Wielders: Activate a dormant machine to Intervention is invoked, a point is added to the pool.
provide a simple service.
Versifiers: Recalls useful information about G a i n - C o mm u n i t y R e c o g n i t i o n
an area or person. If a player makes a important decision, memorable
action, or does something of great significance at
the table or in the story. Someone at the table can
nominate that player for community recognition. If
all players at the tablet agree, then add a interven-
tion point to the pool.

Advancement
When you return to the relative safety of a sanc- REALIZING ADVANCEMENTS
tuary, you are able to spend your bits on upgrades Its important to remember that these advancements
and advancements. don't have to be the result of physical purchases.
There are two types of advancements, those Rather, they can be representative of training,
that are single diamonds (Tiered Advancements) upgrades, realizations, surgery, equipment, or any
and those grouped together in sets of 4 (General other form that you thing fits with your charac-
Advancements). And you will fill in the diamonds ters story.
from left to right. Starting with the Explorer Tier
advancement, and then followed by 4 general APTITUDES
advancements. As you advance, you will be to put points into your
Each advancement costs 4 gearbits to purchase. four aptitudes: vigor, agility, insight and presence.
These resembles your ability to perform actions
◊ Tiered Advancement - Explorer more consistently and efficiently. When you create
◊ General Advancements (4) your drifter they will all start at 0 (or simply leave
◊ Tiered Advancement - Hero them empty).
◊ General Advancements (4) Mechanically, for each 'round' that you want to
◊ Tiered Advancement - Paragon act, your aptitudes provide you free points of energy
◊ General Advancements (4) on actions where you can apply that aptitude.
◊ Tiered Advancement - Legend
118.
TIERED ADVANCEMENTS GENERAL ADVANCEMENTS
As you advance you will start to build out and Resembling your increased experience, skill and
specialize your drifter's build. These come in the power. For each advancement you can pick one of
form of Tiered Advancements, which will provide the list below. If you want you can take the same
your drifter with new ability options and mechanics advancement multiple times.
to interact with.
• Add a new talent to your talent list.
EXPLORER • Increase both your Health and Energy by 1.
Pick one of the two paths • Reduce two thresholds by 1 (these can from
When you gain the explorer tier, pick one of the any of the disciplines, including your Woe
paths below and gain it’s benefits. threshold).
Adventurer
Benefits: Gain 2 points to distribute into your
aptitudes.
Pathfinder
Benefits: Gain 1 point to put in either of your
boost scores.
OTHER ADVANCEMENTS
We've limited the number of options you can see
for the basic rules, if you're interested check out the
corebook for expanded options.

Narrator
At it's core you are a facilitator, taking the ideas of GAME FLOW
the party and providing responses to their actions. As narrator you are the facilitator, and with it we
You push the story in a direction, and adapt the try to provide you with as many tools as possible to
story to fit whats going on. make your job easier.
The role of the narrator is commonly a misun- Narratively, you want to point the party in a
derstood and nebulous role, where its the job of this specific direction. Give them a quest, a goal or a
individual to come up with complete stories and mission (there are tables later). And from there, you
fully acted out characters. And sure, you can do all want to respond to everyone's actions. Typically,
of these things, but at a minimum its not what is you will want the party to take turns on what or
necessary to have fun and enjoy Drifter. who they interact with, and will often split between
In the following pages, we'll go over the methods individual curiosities and a 'group effort'.
and tools to help people play the role of narrator. Mechanically, you will decide whether an action
requires a roll, it's consequence level, and if trig-
WHO PLAYS THE NARRATOR? gered, make the final call on happens with that
Anyone can be the narrator, and we encourage consequence, with an eye to failing forward. As the
everyone to try being the narrator. Not only will party wants to continue their adventure, you will
this make you a better player, but it will let you see prompt the change of game phases.
the other side of gameplay.
Typically in a group one person, usually the
person who first reads the rules, becomes the
narrator for the group. But you don't have to be
stuck with this role forever. We know you want to
make your own drifter and take part in the story.
This is why it 's impor tant to rotate, be it
campaigns, adventures, sessions, or even phases, to
ensure that everyone gets to enjoy the game.

E x amp l e A d v e n t u r e
CONNECTING THE PHASES Unstructured Roleplay
When you first start out with drifter it might While in a sanctuary the party gets
seem a bit odd that these phases seem so seperate, their first quest (or a lead towards
Sanctuary their goal).
this separation is primarily done to help facilitate
learning the mechanically separate phases of the Tr a v e l
The party sets out, and with poor
game. As you get more comfortable, you will find it rolls, encounter a inhospitable land-
easier to jump between phases. Travel scape and terrible weather.
The idea is that the transition from one phase to
Downtime
another will be quite seamless, as the reason you're Only a few tiles in, the party decides
changing phases is due to a story need. Delving and Downtime to break for camp and recover.
run into enemies, break out the combat board and Delve
begin the Combat Phase. Traveling and discover a Nearby camp, one of the players
dungeon, start the Delve Phase. At any point the discover a facility entrance, and
the group is curious, choosing to
party needs to rest (outside of combat), players Delve explore it.
enter the Downtime Phase. And at all points the
players will be roleplaying, so if there is a moment Combat
During this exploration the group
where players are not directly interacting with the Combat runs into some bladebot guardians.
mechanics at hand, that is ok as so long as the group
Delve
is engaged. Once dispatched, t hey continue
their exploration to find a few key
components which will be useful
Delve back at the sanctuary.
Tr a v e l
Once dispatched, t hey continue
exploring and heading towards their
Travel target location,
..and the story goes on.
122.
UNSTRUCTURED ROLEPLAY
Functioning as both a unconventional phase and the
glue that happens during each phase, unstructured
roleplay is what really brings all of the elements and
phases of drifter together.
For instance, when the party travels to a sanc-
tuary, they enter downtime, but at the same time,
they will want to talk to the merchant and the sanc-
tuary leader to get information about the town, the
area and their quest. This movement and conversa-
tion would be covered under unstructured roleplay.
Another example, when the party is delving
into a facility, every tile they interact with as the
describes the room, functions under unstructured
roleplay.
Unstructured roleplay is what allows players
to interact with, converse, and explore the details
of the world. And consequently, somethings they
poke back.
The Travel and Combat phases are the most rigid
of the phases, as Travel is primarily lodged with the
montage, and any social interaction that happens in
combat is typically from an action and a subsequent
roll. Everything else, can leverage this free-from
roleplay opportunity.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
There are times when the party will encounter
characters and will want to interact and talk
with them. This leads off into more unstructured
Roleplay territory, but this will definitely happen.
Typically this will happen during the exploration
or the downtime phases of the game, when there are
characters to be interacted with. Also, you should
totally allow for table banter between your friends,
characters, as well as conversations with NPCs who
are traveling with the group.
When creating a character, answer the following
questions:
• Are they from the sanctuary the party grav-
eled from?
• Does their goals conf lict or intersect with
the party?
• Has the party done anything to threaten or
contribute towards those goals?
its important to remember that, not every char-

acter the party comes across is going to have all
the answers, be a threat, or be useful. They can be
interesting characters doing their own thing, and
part of it will lean on the party being interested in
exploring or partnering with this character.
124.
CREATING AN ADVENTURE
FD

USING CORRUPTION
Corruption is a representation of the Drifter’s sickness in the Hyper Light Drifter video-game, where over-
time the main character is visibly, slowly dying to a unknown condition and is both driven and haunted by it.
In the tabletop rpg, corruption can function as an important pacing tool. However, on the f lip-side this
could also be a very natural approach to having players make meaningful sendoffs of their drifters and
remembering their past deeds.
If it leads to the end of a campaign, thats all in the natsural course of things.
Another thing to think about is whether the party will have a shared corruption track or have indi-
vidual ones.
126.
GIVING OUT CORRUPTION
There are multiple ways that you can give out
corruption to your players. It’s important to try
and distance out instances of corruption. Although
many of the examples could be stacked multiple
times in an venture, its not the intent to have them
all applied at once. Pick the one that best fits how
the party
EXPLORAT ION
Corruption gained while exploring will likely not
allow a save.
• Venturing inside a corrupted location.
• Resting inside a corrupted location.
• Reaching a particular depth in a corrupted
location.
COMBAT
• Fighting a corrupted creature (save)
• C o r r u p t e d c r e a t u r e u s e s a s p e c i a l
attack (save)
MANIPULAT E
• Inter facing or manipu lating cor r upted
tech. (save)

Phase
Travel
As you and your companions set out to explore MONTAGES
t he world, you w ill travel across vast land- When traversing tiles, we use montages to facil-
scapes and environments. Along your travels you itate tile travel. But they're f lexible that they can
may encounter ruined facilities, the corpses of be used to represent nearly any kind of f luid event
great titans, hidden secrets, small communities, that doesn't need to be bogged down by the action
and more! economy or action specifics.
To start, the narrator will announce the begin-
HEX MAP ning of a montage. They will then describe any
The overworld of Drifter is set up as a hex-crawl. necessary details that the players need to know,
This is a popular term that ascribes to utilizing a such as what the objective is, env ironmental
map with a hexagonal-grid overlay. factors, duration, and skill limitations (if any). The
Typically each hex represents two rounds of a narrator will also include the Consequence Level
montage, or when exploring a table can be rolled of the montage, the number of rounds, and the base
to see if there are unique features which the party energy cost.
can use in their montage, or take time to transition The party will then go round the table and
to the exploration phase, and dive into that tile. declare what skill they want to use, pay the energy
If you don’t have a map or hex-grid available, cost (if any), and roll.
that’s totally fine, you can just use approxima- From the result, the narrator and player work
tion for tile distances and leveage the tables as you together to determine the outcome of the roll,
see fit. applying consequences, if any. Repeat this process
until everyone has rolled and one phase will have
been completed.
We typically recommend two rounds per hex.
This way everyone contributes more than once and
provides ample opportunities for collaboration.

HEX EVENTS ECOSYSTEM FEATURE
Depending on how the group is traveling, you have Something that is unique about the environment
a few ways to interact with the map. or ecosystem. Perhaps its something natural, like
If you're only using montage to get from point A an atoll, or basalt pillars, or perhaps its unique like
to point B, hex events can provide you inspiration crystals formed from a past struggle.
to help guide the montage.
If you're using a montage to get to each hex, you RUINS OF THE PAST
can provide players the opportunity to change the What facilities may draw the interest of players, is
phase and further explore the feature that is in it an overgrown sanctuary, lost to a recent alterca-
the hex. tion? Or, is there a ruined facility, above the ground,
Unless the narrator has planned events ahead of below the ground, or hidden away from sight. Inside
time, or decided what specific instance may be on may hold answers, secrets, or opportunities.
a hex, they're assumed to be unknown, that is until
you roll and see what it is. CHARACTERS & CREATURES
In addition, some character abilities may reveal What characters or creatures you might run into
or be able to re-roll features on nearby hexes. on your journey? A wounded beast? A merchant
When entering a hex, roll using the below list, traveling through? A secluded researcher? Not
then use that as inspiration on where to take everything has to be an encounter, or demand your
the party. direct involvement. Sometimes benign interactions
can be wholesome in their own way.
1d20 Result
1 - 7 Ecosystem Feature DISCOVERY
8 - 14 Ruins of the Past There are some things that are special and worth
15 - 18 Characters and Creatures appreciating, these are discoveries. Quiet vistas, or
19-20 Discovery unmovable wonders. Spending time at these discov-
eries offer unique benefits and opportunities.
130.
EXAMPLES
Here are a few examples of skills being used for montages, some potential consequences based on their
context. As a player, you're free to try and apply any skill that can be utilized on this adventure. As a
narrator, its your job to come up with how these skills link together to provide a travel story, or provide
some drama from their consequence.
CRAFT
Use: While we camp for a night on our journey, I
want to [Craft] some tools to assist us.
Consequence: You build some rough levitators, they
should be able to do the job. But while using
them, one of them malfunctions requiring you S A LV A G E
to make two more to get everyone to safety. Use: I would love to come across some technology
and parts that we could [Salvage] and utilize.
REFLEX Maybe we'll make something with them later.
Use: I want to use [Ref lex] to try and avoid some Consequence: As you travel, you come across what
traps or environmental dangers as we travel seems to be a robotic graveyard of sorts, maybe
Consequence: The party comes across a section of the a great battle happened at one point. As you
crystal forest where shards litter the ground. work to collect components, one of the auto-
You navigate carefully but accidentally get mations awakens and targets you, or perhaps
damaged by the forceful explosion release you get hit with a unstable energy discharge,
of energy. your choice.

EXAMPLE MONTAGE
To demonstrate: The party needs to travel to the mountains to investigate why
the water has stopped f lowing. The narrator decides to start a montage to
get the players to the base of the mountain, not using a map. The narrator
describes that each action will cost 2 energy and the Adversity Level is 2, with
both Judgment and Temperance results impacting the entire party.
Player 1 starts. To start off the journey right, they use [Nature] to forecast
favorable weather in order to avoid running into any storms. Player 1 pays
the two Energy to execute the action and rolls, a 2, getting a Judgment result.
Player 1, decides against boosting or spending an intervention point to boost
their result to a Temperance. All players take 1 Health and 1 Energy damage.
The narrator explains that Player 1’s character attempts to read the weather,
making a prediction that will likely affect the party later during the journey.
Player 2 starts and picks [Fight]. They describe that perhaps because the
incorrect weather prediction, it forced the group to seek shelter in a ruined
facility, that was already occupied. This which is where Player 2’s [Fight] action
comes into play. Player 2 has a Vigor of 1, which reducing the energy cost to 1,
they pay one energy and roll. They roll a Fortune result!
132.
The narrator chimes in, recapping the events that have taken place thus far.
“You all start off on your journey, following a path along a river which Player
1 predicted to be optimal for avoiding a nasty storm. Lo and behold, the unfa-
vorable weather welcomed you with open arms, and you must seek shelter if
you want to wait out the storm. You are lucky to find an old facility along the
river, a structure that seems safe enough to hide in. You make camp, keeping
watch, though you find yourself as trespassers within the home of a group
of ogres. They are drawn up by the smell of your cooking. You fight them off
successfully, but what would you like to do? Kill all of them? Kill just enough
to scare the remaining Ogres back into the depths of the facility?
Player 2 decides on the latter, thinking the group could come back later.
The narrator agrees, informing the players that they slew a couple of mutated
ogres, forcing them into a retreat into the darkness. Then, Player 3 is asked
to continue the story.
This goes on until every player has their turn twice. Then, the group
will arrive at their destination.

Phase
Exploration

Now that the party has arrived at their destination, SETTING UP A DELVE
or somewhere interesting, its time let the drifters There are many unknowns to this world, and at any
discover and explore. point there is a something that the party wants to
This is the most free-form of the phases, as it's explore.
intended to be a creative exchange between the These rules are set up specifically for exploring
players and narrator. As the narrator, you will facilities.
provide the outline and foundation for the drifters
to interact with. The players, with a mission or goal
in hand, will poke and prod using their skills and Core Location
abilities to get to their goal. 1d20 Result
Along the way, you will likely swap between role- 1 - 12 Under Ground
playing, Combat, and short Downtime phases (for 13 - 18 Above Ground
resting). 19 - 20 Flying
Sometimes as a narrator, you might have a
specific idea of what kind of facility, challenges, and
discoveries the party might make. Then there will Facility Features
be times where you might struggle to come up with 1d20 Result
ideas. In the next pages, we've the Delve Deck, our 1 Cloaking
method for creating and setting up a delve, and we 2 - 3 Lasers
hope that you can use it as a tool and as a guide. If 4 - 4 Exo-suits
you're playing co-op or solo, you'll use the genera- 5 - 10 Robotics
tors to help generate these facilities for you. 11 - 16 Genetic Modification
17 - 18 Cybernetics
19 - 19 Spacecraft
Its imprortant to restate that the Explore Phase is for 20 Hyper Light
any sort of free-form roleplay exploration.

DELVE DECK
Now that we've got an idea of what the facility's
purpose was or may have been, lets hop on in and
start exploring.
First, place down the entrance tile, this is where
the party begins their delve. Then from the top
of the deck place up to three cards face-down,
connecting to the entrance tile's pathways. When
the party wants to move into and explore a tile, they
will f lip it over, revealing what the party encoun-
ters, be it a moment for environmental storytelling,
a fight for your life, or something else. At this point
the narrator and group can describe the area they
discover, collaborate on challenges, and interact as
they see fit.
Any time you f lip over a card revealing it's
contents, you are free to draw and place new cards
onto the map. You're free to add cards to areas
you've already explored, though try to narrate why
this new path has emerged. Perhaps it was an upper
level you overlooked, or perhaps it was a new path
revealed after a switch was activated.
136.
DUNGEON LENGTH CARD TYPES
The length of the delve will be determined by how Now that you have an understanding of how to put
many cards are in the deck. Short dungeons will be together a delve, lets go over the various cards.
4-6 cards, medium 7-12, and longer dungeons (some-
times known as dungeon crawls) can go much longer.
DECK METHODS
Depending on your groups preferences, or if you just
want to change things up. The group or the narrator
have a few options in how they mix-up their delve. PATHS
But first you should determine your dungeon length Every card will be equipped three or more paths,
and curate which cards you want to be part of these are opportunities to connect with other
the delve. card rooms.
• Deck Stacking: If you want a roughly guided
experience, you decide the order of the cards,
determining which the players will interact
🔒 🔑
with in what order, but there is still a slight
variability to when they enter that room.
• Deck Shuff ling: After you've curated deck,
you can shuff le the deck and have the players LOCKS AND KEYS
draw from it. This is the most random and Some cards are equipped with the 🔒 (locks) symbol,
can offer some unique challenges. means that you cannot visit this area until you
• Controlled Deck: The same as Deck Shuff ling, acquire a key from a card with the 🔑 (keys) symbol.
but you take a few key cards, like Boss and Narratively, this means you need to do something
discovery, and place them near the end of the or acquire something from a key room, to be able to
shuff led deck. travel to a lock tile.

FACILITY FEATURES DISCOVERY
Based on the facility that you decided or rolled, go Something amazing that cannot be moved. Perhaps
in depth about this room. Perhaps it's an experi- it's a beautiful vista, or an amazing technology.
ment room, or a manufacturing arm of the facility. Once the players activate or figure out how to use
it (if necessary) it can give them a slight advantage.
PUZZLES
Something needs to be done in this room in order A QUIET PLACE
to progress to the next rooms. This could be a trap, There are spaces that can be calm and serene.
blocking the way, a skill challenge to overcome a Perhaps its a hideaway room, or an area that was
platforming section, or a literal puzzle to be solved. left relatively untouched by the collapse. There is
a moment of peace here. If the group wants to they
DANGER can spend 1 downtime slot here.
Peril lurks in this room, it can be hidden or overt. Its
important to note, it doesn't have to be a creature, A SAD PLACE
NPC or adversary, rather it can be a an environ- A n ex tension of facilit y feat ures, somet hing
mental danger as well (like a f loor cave-in). happened here, perhaps recently or long ago, and
the remnants of the struggle are here. Perhaps its
MINIBOSS + BOSS a holo of a betrayal, or maybe the remains of a last
In this room is a challenge, and you must overcome struggle.
it to move on. Although it's expected that the main
route to victory is in combat, that doesn't have to TELEPORTER
be the case. Much like the game teleporters and secret rooms
allow you to start new branches off of the main tree.
These can be special hidden areas, side-zones, or
even alternate paths that connect later.
138.
EXAMPLE DELVE
Start
Facility
🔑
Puzzle
Feature
Danger MiniBoss
Puzzle LURKER
🔑 🔒
Q uiet MiniBoss
B
🔒
oss
Place ARTILLERY
BRUTE

Phase
Downtime
Adequate rest and preparation are crucial to your If the party wants to spend more time working on
survival as an explorer. In Drifter, we call this downtime projects than the narrator allotted, they
Downtime, where you can choose to rest and mend can. But doing so will advance the state of events
your body, cook up meals and snacks, craft tools in the world, for every slot added the narrator can
and upgrades, and mentally prepare yourself for the increase the Adversity Level of the challenges that
challenge that lies ahead. lie ahead.
When the party arrives at a familiar sanctuary,
or chooses to break camp and rest, the narrator will PARTIAL WORK
provide the characters with a number of Downtime If a downtime activity requires multiple slots,
Slots. Players are free to spend these slots as they but the full-time is not currently available to them.
see fit with various preparation actions, some A character, can choose to do partial work.
taking more slots than others. Below are a number For instance if a Def lector requires 2 downtime
of durations slots, the drifter could build one of the course of two
campfire evenings.
Downtime
Duration Slots
1 hour | A moment of respite 1 Slot
2-4 hours | Campfire Evening 3 Slots
6- 8 hours | One Day of Work 5 Slots

DOWNTIME ACTIONS
PERSONAL CARE
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
Encourage
1 DOWNTIME SLOT
Grant your ally a +2 bonus that they can apply to

one roll.
If the ally you are encouraging has a burden that can be Take in the View
1 DOWNTIME SLOT | DISCOVERY REQUIRED
resolved by this activity, resolve it.
You seclude yourself to the side, overlooking the view.
Support Ally Recover 2 energy and 2 woe.
2 DOWNTIME SLOTS
If you have a burden that can be resolved by this activity,
Pick an ally, the next time you spend energy to assist resolve it.
them with an action, get one free energy point. You
must spend energy for this free point to count. Feast
4 INGREDIENTS | 2 DOWNTIME SLOTS
If the ally you are encouraging has a burden that can be
resolved by this activity, resolve it. Create a large or fancy meal for your party. Everyone
recover 2 points of Health and 4 Energy.
Reflect If you have a burden that can be resolved by this activity,
2 DOWNTIME SLOTS
resolve it.
There is always room for improvement. Pick an action
or skill you failed at, the next time you perform Preparation
1 DOWNTIME SLOT
that action, you can choose to upgrade it to the next
threshold as if you had spent an intervention point. Swap out one of your abilities, the first time you use a
You can only do this once. newly slotted ability, gain +1 to your roll.
142.
COMPONENT INGREDIENT
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
Enhance Weapon Create Restorative Snacks

2 COMPONENTS | 1 DOWNTIME SLOT 3 INGREDIENTS | 1 DOWNTIME SLOT
Through clever, resourceful, or practiced methods, Create 2 consumables that you can distribute
you increase the effectiveness of your or an ally’s between yourself and your allies.
weapon. When consumed, each snack recovers either 2 health
Increase the damage of that weapon by one. or 3 energy.
This effect lasts until your next downtime rest.
Deflector Tend to Wounds

4 COMPONENTS | 2 DOWNTIME SLOTS | CRAFT 1 DOWNTIME SLOT
A small device that projects energ y, intercepting Take a moment to apply aid to yourself or your allies.
incoming attacks for a brief time. You can activate this You can distribute either 2 points of health or 3 points
device as part of the “Activate Simple Item” action. of energy between yourself and/or one other ally
When activated, the def lector, at the users’ choosing, For every two ingredients you spend, increase the
will intercept one consequence affecting them. amount of health or energy recovered by one.
If the def lector is not destroyed before your next
downtime, it will break down, allowing you to recover
component.

WEAPON AUGMENTS
Some weapons are special and may have augments upon them. These are typically not available to the
players, but the narrator can make some available via exploration rewards or you can craft them as a long
term development project.
These sorts of projects are complicated and take time to develop, test and get right. These are called
Development Phases, ways to mark your progress towards getting to the final product. Each develop-
ment phase, will have a component cost, a bit cost, and downtime slot. To complete each phase, you must
pay the entire cost as well as spend the required downtime slots in one sitting. This means that phases with
a Development Phase consisting of 2 downtime slots will unlikely be performed outside of the sanctuary.
Charged Spin Attack

4 DEVELOPMENT PHASES
PHASE/1 BITS + 2 COMPONENTS & 2 DOWNTIME SLOTS
Weapon Deflect Action: You charge-up and unleashing a devastating

area effect, dealing 2[w] to all enemies in the tile.
PHASE (1 BITS + 3 COMPONENTS + 2 DOWNTIME SLOTS)
Passive: If you have cleave and spend a dash, increase
Weapon Passive: At any point you use Dash to evade cleave’s damage by 1[w] and push all enemies in your
damage, you def lect half of it onto the enemy. tile out.
144.
BASE BUILDING
DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
Safe Haven Upgrade Accommodations

5 DEVELOPMENT PHASES 3 DEVELOPMENT PHASES
PHASE (1 BITS + 2 COMPONENTS + 3 DOWNTIME SLOTS) PHASE (1 BITS + 1 COMPONENTS + 3 DOWNTIME SLOTS)
Build or establish a place of safety or refuge where When resting at this safe-haven, gain 3 points of
you can rest, gain downtime slots, recover and temporary energy that you can spend when you
prepare for your next venture. embark. This energy is used first.
Community Center Specialized Crafting Station

6 DEVELOPMENT PHASES 4 DEVELOPMENT PHASES
PHASE (1 BITS + 2 COMPONENTS + 3 DOWNTIME SLOTS) PHASE (1 BIT + 2 COMPONENTS + 3 DOWNTIME SLOTS)
REQUIRES: 2 SAFE HAVEN UPGRADES

When using the craft skill here, reduce the number
Increase the size of your safe haven by attracting of components you need by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
and bringing in new members. Introduce new NPCs.
Trading Center
PHASE (1 BITS + 2 COMPONENTS + 3 DOWNTIME SLOTS)
Occasionally a merchant arrives to sell their wares

at your location. As you explore and create safer
connections more merchants can arrive more
consistently.

Phase
Combat
The world of Drifter is not a peaceful one. If you
want to survive, you will have to be ready to
defend yourself. In a combat scenario, the Narrator
describes the opponents you are facing, and their
relative positions to you. As players, you are free to
use the environment as well as your skills and abil-
ities to overcome your adversaries. It’s important to
note that not all battles can be won. Sometimes, it
is smarter to retreat and live to fight another day.
For a majority of combat in Drifter, we will be
using the Combat Board, this is a special 3x3 battle
map, that your drifters an enemies will maneuver
about and overcome your adversaries.
MOVEMENT
STARTING POSITION Both drifters and enemies can only move across
Unless there is a unique setup, all characters will straight edges, this uses the reposition ability. This
stat in the western portion of the map, indicated by means you need to be careful about where your
the tan box, this encompasses the 4 western tiles. drifter is to ensure you don't get overwhelmed.
All adversaries will begin in any of the Eastern tiles. Movement enabled by dashes ignore this rule.
Note the center tile is shared between both, and So you can move from the Outer Edge to the
is known as the "heat." This is the most accessible Flank, but not from the Outer Edge to Heat.
tile, and where many of the melee fighters start.

TURN ORDER MULTIPLE ACTIONS
Right before combat begins the Narrator will ask You're free to take as many actions as you like,
the players to make an initiative roll, for this roll moving, attacking or even performing other actions.
disregard the thresholds. Players can roll either But with each action you perform, the energy cost
[Ref lex] or [Awareness], applying bonuses and incrementally increases.
boosts as they see fit. • First action costs +0 energy,
Adversaries have static values for their initia- • Second action costs +1 energy,
tive, and adversaries of the same type act together • Third action costs +2 energy,
on the same initiative order, unless otherwise • ect, ect.
specified. Record all of the final initiative values
and order them from highest to lowest, and let the This action cost is added to the cost of the ability
encounter begin. or action you want to perform.
For example: It’s your turn and you want

YOUR TURN to move a tile and then make a basic
When the initiative order comes to you, it’s your attack with your weapon.
drifter's turn to act. During this turn you are free Your first action would be Reposition, as
to do anything you choose. Typically this will be your first action the energy cost would
using the combat actions or your slotted abilities, be 0 + 2 = 2, this is then reduced by your
agility aptitude. After you move a tile,
but you're free to say or do anything.
then you’d make an Strike attack, this
If there is something you're unsure about, don't would cost you 1 + 2 = 3 energy, reduced
hesitate to ask, or clarify. by your vigor aptitude.
If your aptitudes were (vigor: 2, Agility:

1) you would spend a total of 1 energy
for moving (2 action - 1 Agility), and
1 energy for attacking (3 action - 2 vigor).
148.
FREE ACTIONS RETREAT
It’s important to note that during your turn, you Sometimes you w ill find the encounter over-
can take free actions as you see fit, as so long as they whelming, or personally dangerous and you may
are not extensive enough to warrant a action during opt to make a hasty retreat.
your turn. This can include: switching weapons, In order to retreat from an encounter, you must
talking to allies or enemies (without rolling a skill be on a border tile and use the retreat action. This
check), casually observing the environment, or removes you from the encounter, until everyone has
pulling an object out of storage to name a few. If retreated or the encounter is over.
you’re unsure, just ask the narrator if a particular From there, its really up to the narrator in to how
idea would count as an action or not. It never hurts to continue the following events. We would recom-
to ask and clarify. mend re-introducing the threat in other ways, such
as having the party sneak around them. But we
IMPROVISING ACTIONS recommend talking with the party, and seeing what
It's important to remember that everyone is envi- their plan/strategy is so that you can work with that
sioning the game and the world in their own heads. in mind.
As you share details and ideas, they collaboratively
add to everyone's perception of the environment. ENDING AN ENCOUNTER
If there is something you think should be there, In the traditional sense, a combat encounter would
feel free to narrate it. For instance, the narrator end when there are no more combatants on the
doesn't have to tell you there’s a glass container in field. But this doesn't always have to be the case.
the lab for you to pick it up and throw at a dirk as Adversary's can f lee, the party could convince the
an improvised weapon. adversity to stand down, or even the party could just
end combat if both sides come to a ceasefire/truce.

CONSEQUENCES
If your action does not yield a fortune result, you’re
going to likely suffer a consequence, these are indi-
cated by this [◈] symbol which will be located next
to your ability's thresholds.
Suffering a consequence t y pica lly happens
directly after you resolve you resolve each action
(as it would likely inform whether the player wants
to push their luck). Though, you can hold them
until after their turn, adding up consequences and
distributing them as you see fit.
Once triggered, a consequence can result in a
variety of outcomes including scene complica-
tions, weather impacts, direct damage and more.
Its important to note:
1) The character who triggers the consequence

does not have to be the one who 'suffers'
it. And,
2) The triggered consequence, does not have to be
a result of the player's original target.
This means that means that, you should be free to

describe the ebb and f low of events going on without
being limited to just whats going on between the
attacker and defender.
150.
ADVERSARY ACTIONS
The narrator controls all adversary actions, though as
players, you're free to suggest ideas at what they could do.
When it's the adversary's turn, they get a number of
points equal to the adversary's Consequence Level plus
any bonuses (like multiples of that adversary).
The narrator can then spend these points on actions,
such as moving, special abilities or attacking (see the
Characters & Creatures section for more details about
actions). Its also important to note that players will
have some abilities that will be able to control, remove,
or mitigate a number of these points.
When an adversary attacks a player's drifter, that
player will roll what we call a "save." Where instead
of rolling to attack, they're rolling to defend or evade
the attack. For thresholds this means if a player rolls a
Fortune result, they take no damage or negative effects
from the attack. Whereas, Temperance a diminished
outcome and Judgment, a full consequence.

COMBAT ACTIONS
When it's your turn you can perform nearly any action, activating your dash abilities, using your slotted
talents, the combat actions listed here, or any other skills and ideas that you may have ( just check with the
narrator). Only thing to remember is that with each subsequent action after the first, costs more energy.
REACTION ACTIONS
Instead of using it on an ability, you can expend a
dash charge to evade damage. Remember that you
only recover 1 dash charge when you change phase.
Last Second
DASH | REACTION
Before it's too late you activate your dash module to

take you to safety.
Effect: Before you take damage from a consequence,
you can spend a dash to take no damage, and move
one tile.
152.
MOVEMENT ACTIONS
These are actions which allow you to reposition yourself or gain the upper hand. Its important to remember
that you can only move into tiles along their edge, unless via a dash.
Reposition
+1 ENERGY
Staying in one place only makes you an easier target.

Effect: Move one tile.
Quick Dash
1 DASH
Positioning can mean all the difference in battle.

Effect: Move one tile, in any direction. With this
action you can move diagonally.
Retreat
+2 ENERGY
Positioning can mean all the difference in battle.

Effect: While at the edge of the combat board, you can
retreat, taking yourself out of the encounter.

ATTACK ACTIONS
If you're not looking to expend too much energy, these will help you get the job done.
Strike
+1 ENERGY| COMBAT | CLOSE
Sometimes a straightforward attack is all that's needed.

Effect: Deal damage to a target in range.
Fortune: Deal 1[w] damage
Temperance: Deal 1[w] damage [◈ - 2]
Judgment: Deal 1 damage [◈ ]
Blast
+1 ENERGY| COMBAT | RANGED
Down the barrel, charge, keep it steady, and fire!

Judgment: Deal 1 damage [◈ ]
Energy Burst
+1 ENERGY| MANIPULATE | RANGED
With great power, may I find purpose.

Judgment: Deal 1[w]-1 damage [◈ ]
154.
RECOVERY ACTIONS
Shake off the last attack and recover some energy, you'll need it.
Buy Time Recovery

+0 ENERGY| EXPLORATION X-1 ENERGY
You create distance between yourself and your adver- There are few advantages from being on the ground in
sar ies, prov iding yourself enoug h time to catch a fight.
your breath. Effect: Remove negative effect on your character. The
Effect: Recover energy, this can only be used once energy cost will depend on the adversity level of the
per turn. effect. Knock Down (1), taunt (2), dazed (1), rooted (2).
Fortune: Recover 6 energy
Temperance: Recover 4 energy [ ◈ - 2]
Judgment: Recover 4 energy. [ ◈ - 1]
Heal
2 INGREDIENTS | SURVIVAL | CLOSE
Long battles
Effect: Split a number of points between health and Use Restorative
+0 ENERGY
energy to yourself or an ally in your tile.
Fortune: Restore 6 points A quick moment of relief...albeit short.
Temperance: Restore 4 points [ ◈ - 2] Effect: Use a stimpack, eat a treat, or other consum-
Judgment: Restore 4 points [ ◈ - 1] able to recover health, energy, or woe.

Characters
&Creatures
Outside of the relative safety of the sanctuaries lies READING STATBLOCK
a dangerous world. Throughout your adventures For every character and creature you may interact
you'll cross paths with many characters and crea- with, they will all have a statblock which will
tures, some will be pleasant, others tense, and some provide you with direction on how to run the crea-
may result in bloodshed. ture in your game. Below is how to reach each
In the following pages, you'll discover new char- portion of their statblock, none of these are set in
acters, creatures, automations and otherworldly stone and you are free to modify or tweak anything
horrors that your drifters experience. so that it can fit the story you and your friends are
building.
Name: The name of the character or creature, this
is likely their common name, and there may
be other terms that are used to describe them
depending on where you are.
Adversity Level: Located on the opposite side of
the creature name, this is the base consequence
level of the adversary. Any action against this
adversary that triggers a consequence will be
at this level. In addition, when its this adver-
sary's turn to act, this will also serve as the
base pool of points which they can use to take
actions with. If there is a +x next to the conse-
quence level, this means you will add this value
per addition creature on the combat board. If
the character is marked + S, this means each
additional creature acts on their own initiative
(typically initiative +/- CL)

Health: The character/creature's health.
Initiative: This is the starting position of the char-
acter/creature in the turn order.
Behavior: How the character/creature behaves or
is organized.
Strategy: What actions does this character/crea-
ture prefer to take.
Goal: What outcome is this character/creature
trying to maintain.
Attacks: What actions can this character creature
take, in a majority of cases we provide them
with both a ranged and melee options. These
options leverage the consequence points that
are spent, otherwise they deal damage equal
to the creature's consequence level.
Attack Name
(RANGE | SKILL) COST
Description.
Variants: In order to diversity combat scenarios,

you may want to change things up a little bit, this is
where variants come in. They are typically simple,
such as additional health, a special ability, or attack.
Feel free to mix, match or ever stack as you see fit.

158.
CONSEQUENCE VARIANTS
During combat, characters will trigger conse-
quences, providing you with a number of points that
the narrator can use as a currency to spend. This can
be on adversary movements, player consequences,
map effects and more. And such , its important to
provide options in leveraging those various conse-
quence levels to effects.
Consequence Point (1)

• 1 health or energy damage
• Move 1 tile
Consequence Points (2)
• 1 woe point
• Knockdown
C o n s e q u e n c e P o i n t s ( 3)
• Push one tile
• Rooted (2 energy to escape)
• Summon two level (1) minions.
Consequence Points (4)
5 Consequence Points
• 1 point of corruption

DIRK (3)+1
Health: 6
Initiative: 11
Behavior: Tending to travel in small packs, it is
rumored these were once people, that have
since been warped by the past. It appears that
no humanity remains as they are quite fear-
some against all others.
Strategy: When given the opportunity dirks will
prefer to knock-down their opponent and will
prefer attacking those who are knocked down
when possible.
Goal: To survive.
Swipe
(RANGE 0 | DEFEND)
Target one enemy in your tile. Variants

• Tough: 10 health
Blaster • Aggressive: If the dirk’s turn occurs when a
(RANGE 1 | DEFEND)
character is knocked down, dirks make one
Target one enemy in range. free attack against the downed character.
• Swarm: If you have a large group of Dirks,
assign them into groups of three and treat
them as their own creature. 20 health per
group, with an adversity level of 3.
160.
BLADEBOT (4)+2
Health: 12 Crystal Slash
(RANGE 0 | DEFEND OR REFLEX)
Initiative: 12
Behavior: Robotic in instinct, scanning areas and Target one enemy in your tile.
attacking any enemies in sight.
Strategy: Bladebots are quite slow and will resort Experimental Beam
(RANGE 1 | REFLEX)
to ranged attacks when necessary, otherwise
targeting the biggest or highest power enemy Target one enemy in range.
in sight.
Goal: To defend or eliminate threats.
Variants:
• Reinforced: Give the bladebot 1 damage
reduc t ion , reduc i ng d a mage t a ken by
attack by one.
• Self Destruct: Upon the bladebots death, all
characters in the tile need to make a [ref lex]
save or take damage from the blast.
• Energy Shield: Give the bladebot a 10 point
shield that only blocks ranged attacks.

WARLOCK (4)
Health: 20 Diamond Blast
RANGE +1 | REFLEX
Disciplines: Combat +1, Social +3
Initiative: 14 All enemies in the target tile must roll a ref lex save.
Behavior: Usually grouped with minions and lesser Temperance [ - 1] : ◈
allies, they're usually out in search of tech- Judgment [ ◈]:
nology to increase their power or standing Special Abilities:
amongst their peers. Bloodied: When a warlock goes hits 5 health, it will
Strategy: They want to be as far away from the unleash a devastating Prismatic Burst
fight as possible, using their area-effecting
attacks against enemies. Prismatic Burst
(RANGE ALL | REFLEX)
Goal: The search and understanding of technology.
Pick three tiles, all enemies in the selected tiles must
roll a [Ref lex] save or take damage.
◈
Temperance [ - 1] : 3 health
Judgment [ ◈+ 1] : 5 health
Variants:
• Negate: A warlock can negate a single attack,
reducing damage in half. This action can
only be performed once.
• Summon Minions: On the warlock’s action
they can summon three lesser minions (4hp;
adversity level 2)
162.
DRIFTER (4)S Grenade (Range 2 | Reflex)
Health: 25 All enemies in the tile make a [Ref lex] save.
Disciplines: Combat +2 ◈
Temperance [ - 1] : Take 2 damage.
Initiative: 14 Judgment [ ◈+ 1] : Take 4 damage.
Behav ior: Usua lly a lone or in sma ll g roups
commonly found near ruins. Variants:
Strategy: Varies depending on their preference. • Wielder: gain the Lance ability.
Goal: Varies, though they are usually seeking or
searching for something. Lance
RANGE 2 | REFLEX
Blade Slash Pick two targets, within two tiles, they both must make
(RANGE 0 | DEFENSE)
a [Ref lex] save or take damage.
Target one enemy in your tile. Temperance [ - 1] ◈
Judgment [ ◈+ 1]
Blaster Fire • Delver: Any health damage dealt by the delver
(RANGE 1 | REFLEX OR DEFENSE)
also deals 1 point of energy damage.
Target one enemy in range. • Tank: This drifter can 'chal-
lenge' an enemy the same tile.
Special Actions:
• Dash: If a drifter takes more than 6 damage,
the drifter will use their dash module to evade
as much of the attack as they can. The drifter
moves one tile and takes half the total damage.
This ability can only be used once.
• Grenadier: On the drifter’s turn, they can make
an attack with a grenade.

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Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate across a torn and

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2. Give all the other players a character sheet and quickly go

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