WELCOME TO VAARN
Vaarn is a science-fantasy RPG setting. It draws
Vaults of Vaarn is compati-
ble with the game Knave;
however, the material
should work fine with any
old-school RPG system
that uses d20s, armour
class, etc. For a summary of
the ruleset I use to run my
own Vaarn games, please
refer to Issue #1.
Typeset in Apparel and
Exile Display.
Art, writing and design by
Leo Hunt.
First printing May 2021.
inspiration from novels like Dune, Hyperion, The
Book of the New Sun, and the graphic novels of
Moebius. If you haven’t read those that’s totally fine,
it will make my theft seem original.
Basically the sun is going out, it’s the end of history,
and your characters are combing through the
wreckage of the unimaginable eras of the future.
Everything that could possibly happen has already
happened and faded to dust. Vaarn is an anti-canon
setting, where nobody can agree on the world’s
history and ultimately it doesn’t matter. However,
there are some facts about Vaarn that are known
for sure:
1 Vaarn is a sky-blue desert littered with the
ruins of the far future.
2 Vaarn is inhabited mainly by true-kin
(humans), cacogen (mutants), synths (robots),
newbeasts (sapient animals), and mycomorphs
(fungus-men).
3 The sun is a dying red giant. It won’t go out in
a human lifetime, but synths have reason to be
concerned.
4 Vaarn is both archaic and futuristic. Think
sword fights inside the wrecked husks of
ancient spaceships.
5 There’s a place to the south called the New
Hegemony. It’s like the Roman Empire.
Theoretically the Hegemony rules Vaarn, but they
have little presence besides a few fortified border
towns.
6 Nanomachines are inside everything, and it’s
normal to see wild animals with cameras
growing out of their flesh or humans with parasitic
cyborg limbs.
7 There was a Great Collapse, which destroyed
most of human civilisation.
8 Before the Collapse, humanity was ruled by
the Autarchy, a planet-wide dictatorship
enacted by a lineage of genetically modified God-
kings.
9 Before the reign of the Autarchs, the Urth was
ruled by AIs called the Titans. They were
overthrown, but the details of that conflict are lost
to history.
Finally and most importantly, Vaarn is never the
same twice. The fall of the dice determines how your
own version of the setting develops. Readers are
encouraged to build on the material in this zine and
make Vaarn their own.
2
 Vaarn! I curse each letter of the name.
I curse the blue sand that infiltrates every pore of my body, the creeping sand,
which each night swallows a little more of the final camp we have erected upon the
face of this pitiless azure desolation. I curse the red sun that rises each morning to
scorch the skin from our scalps; that great and gory globe, which the sages tell us is
dying, yet seems to me, hanging above the lapis wastelands, to be full of malevolent
life.
Vaarn! I curse you! I curse this land that has stolen the tears from its peoples’
eyes, this land that swallows armies and poets and aeons as if they all, every work of
every man, were but one more grain of mazarine sand. Vaarn! Three times I curse
you, for I fear I will see no other land again.

- Final testament of Idris Ida-Null,

Hegemony Cartographer
The interior
The Interior is the name outsiders give to the
trackless blue desert that forms Vaarn’s heart. It is
a harsh and inhospitable landscape, and has
claimed the lives of many travellers over the millen-
nia, but there are peoples and monsters and mar-
vels to be discovered in the vastness. The Interior is
traversed by wary trade caravans, terrorised by
laughing Cacklemaw warbands, and inhabited by
the Faa nomads, to whom this desert is not the
Vaarnish Interior but rather the world entire. The
deepest deserts also play host to Vaarn’s most
spectacular and regal inhabitants: the gigantic
sandworms, which strike awe into the hearts of all
who are lucky enough to witness them.
The Interior is a land of extremes, where the
days are searingly hot, while the desert nights can
grow cold enough to induce frostbite. The region
receives even less rain than Vaarn’s parched south-
ern badlands, and water is such a precious com-
modity that to spit upon a Faa nomad is to honor
them.
No accurate map has ever been drawn of the
Vaarnish Interior: the territory seems to defy ra-
tional organisation. This is a place without borders,
the horizon between blue sand and blue sky no
longer a stark dividing line but rather a molten
membrane that swims and drifts woozily in the
sun’s wine-red heat, the land making and remaking
itself just as a lizard sheds its skin. The blue sands
retreat from the wind, revealing structures that
have lain dry and deathless and undisturbed for ae-
ons, and then those same restless dunes shroud the
ruins once again, before a living soul can name
them. This is a country vast and blue, as deep with
secrets as the ocean and twice as capricious. No
welcome here for adventurers, but rewards might
be won amongst the sands that defy human ima-
gination.
Why Would My Players Travel Here?
Simply put, the Interior connects all regions of
Vaarn to one another; the quickest route from
Gnomon in the south to the Lazul Mountains in the
north will always be directly across the sands; like-
wise a traveller from the Wall who wished to reach
Ikor Quag or the Mooncradle Mountains would be
obliged to charter a wind-barge and cross the
deeps of the desert.
There are also reasons to make the Interior a
destination in its own right. Most of Vaarn’s note-
3
worthy ruins and vaults are located in the desert -
the vastness and shifting nature of the place allows
creative referees to place whatever kind of struc-
ture they can imagine in the Interior, without hav-
ing to further justify its obscurity and isolation.
There are also unique cultures that exist predomin-
antly in the desert. Players who wish to locate a cer-
tain Faa nomad clan or Lithling scholar will find
that they must brave the sandstorms and heat-
waves in order to speak with them.
Campaigns that focus on the Interior should
revolve around movement, exploration, and dis-
covery. If your players find the trading city Gnomon
(see VOV #2) too claustrophobic, then give them an
opportunity to enlist as guards for a merchant’s
caravan, or let them come into possession of a
small wind-barge and enjoy sailing wherever fate
takes them. Other adventure starters in the In-
terior could include rescuing an important pris-
oner from a Cacklemaw warband, hunting down a
notorious caravan robber in order to collect a
bounty, or searching for the ruins of a biotech
laboratory in order to discover the cure for a viru-
lent disease.
What’s In This Issue?
This instalment of Vaults of Vaarn is intended to fo-
cus on wilderness travel. You will find details on
three different cultures that exist in Vaarn’s deserts,
as well as detailed character generation procedures
that allow your players to embody members of
these cultures. The bulk of this issue is concerned
with a region-generation procedure, which will
quickly create entire regions of Vaarn’s Interior,
ready for your players to adventure there. You will
also find travel procedures, new vehicles, monsters
that reside in the desert, and new Exotica to be
looted from the vaults beneath the sands.
A few of the tables will be familiar to readers of
VOV #1. They have been reprinted here, some in ex-
panded form, because I did not want the region
generation procedure to require reference to an-
other volume that might not be close at hand. I
hope long-time readers will forgive this repeated
content, and understand the reasoning for its in-
clusion.
Also I should warn you that there is a drawing
of a big spider monster on p. 48, for those who are
squeamish about such creatures.
Desert cultures
Faa Nomads
The travelling people of the great blue desolation.
The Faa have roamed the desert since the Titans
were young (or so their songs say). Generations ago,
the ancestors of the Faa bestowed upon their chil-
dren genetic adaptations to the harsh conditions of
the Interior. The most obvious of these changes is
their flesh and hair, which have taken on a blue hue
that matches the sands of Vaarn. Combined with
the blue robes the nomads wear, they can swiftly
become almost invisible amongst the azure dunes
and rocks. The Faa also boast an impressive modi-
fied metabolism that allows them to survive for
weeks without taking in fresh water, as their sweat
and urine are collected and purified by sub-dermal
biomechanisms and recycled into their bodies.
Even the eyes of the Faa have been sculpted to sur-
vive in the desert: they possess a second set of
translucent eyelids, which protect their vision dur-
ing sandstorms. The nomads are also famously un-
able to produce tears, another modification that
privileges water retention above all.
In truth the Faa are no single culture, but a mo-
saic of families and clans who share these genetic
adaptations and a lingua-franca known as the
Faatongue. Faa groups are wildly varied in their be-
liefs and lifestyles. Most are nomadic, but some Faa
make permanent homes in the foothills of the
mountains or around a valuable water-source.
Some clans are feared slavers and warriors, but
others are sworn to the Pale Faith of Amun-Oh and
may harm no living creature. Some Faa are legal cit-
izens of the New Hegemony; other clans are bitter
enemies of the true-kin empire. Some Faa ostracise
cacogen, synths, and newbeasts, while others wel-
come them. Faa nomads can be found everywhere
in Vaarn, from the shadow of the Great Wall to the
markets of Gnomon and the fortress monasteries
that speckle the heights of the Lazul Mountains,
and in each place there is no concordance on what
it means to be Faa.
Perhaps the only true commonality is that all
Faa are fiercely independent-minded, and will leave
their clan rather than submit to an authority they
believe unjust. This may be the reason it is im-
possible to define what the Faa hold in common -
whenever one way of living is pronounced ideal,
there will be within that group a minority who in-
stantly declare the opposite, and set out alone to
prove it.
4
The Faa clans of the Interior are known for a
deep understanding of sandworm husbandry, and
their ability to ride the creatures, as well as meth-
ods by which the worms’ growth may be arrested,
to prevent them assuming their enormous, ag-
gressive adult shapes. The sandworms have deep
religious significance to many Faa, as their secre-
tions are used to brew the valuable psychoactive
substance known as Amaranthine Sugar, an enorm-
ously potent drug that can awaken extra-sensory
perception even in minds that were not born with
such gifts.
Cacklemaw
They are newbeasts of a sort, although they disdain
masks and seek no approval from humankind. In
form the Cacklemaw are hyena-headed women,
standing seven feet or more, with three-fingered
hands and a terrible strength in their lanky limbs.
The oaths that bound them as warriors in service of
the Fallen Autarchy are long-since broken and
these creatures are a blight upon humanity, killing
and abducting at will and mounting daring raids
into Hegemony territory. They respect strength
alone, and perhaps they would have overrun the
Urth by now if it was not for the constant intra-fam-
ily bloodletting, as younger Cacklemaw challenge
their elder sisters for status.
Two things stand out, aside from their love of
violence: their mirth and their singular gender. On
the first subject, the chronicler Markus of Dulcrest
has written that ‘to the Cacklemaw, all waking activ-
ity is slaughter that descends into revelry; else it is
revelry that descends into slaughter’. The creatures
are famed for their screaming laughter, their love of
practical jokes, and most of all for the grisly leather
puppets they make from the remnants of defeated
foes. Their religion is not well-understood, for rites
are closed to outsiders, but it is known to revolve
around a fool-capped puppet-demoness the
Cacklemaw name ‘Grand-Mama Punch’, to whom
they devote wild rites of bloodletting and clowning.
On the second subject, much has been written.
Some theorise that there is an unseen caste of
Cacklemaw males. Others claim the Cacklemaw are
surely a clone race, emerging fully-grown from
pseudo-wombs beneath the desert surface. Others
still declare the bite of a Cacklemaw to be infec-
tious, and believe human women are bitten by the
creatures and painfully transform into new giggling
monsters. Vaarnish maidens who laugh too long
and too raucously, and are given to drink and loose
behaviour, may be accused of having hidden
Cacklemaw tooth-marks festering on their bodies.
Cacklemaw swear allegiance to War Mamas,
but these oaths are not binding and political sup-
port is won by the Mama who can best provide her
daughters with food, drink, laughter, and violence.
At present the dominant War Mamas are Mama
Hecklehaw in the trackless Interior, Mama Gloat-
grim in the southern badlands, and Mama Yawning-
fool in the Lazul mountains. Ageing matriarchs
Nana Blacklaugh and Nana Rictus command small
but devoted cadres of veteran fighters, who respect
the older Nanas' tactical nous above the younger
Mamas’ savage energy.
Lithling
The Lithling are formed from a mesh of motile
crystals, each shard attracted to its neighbours and
animated by an energy field far beyond the under-
standing of Vaarnish scholars. They walk stiffly and
ponderously, but have surprisingly dexterous fin-
gers, and are capable of skilful manipulations of
brushes, pens, and other delicate objects. They are
fed by wavelengths of energy quite invisible to hu-
manity and thus do not breathe, eat, or drink, a
quality that makes them masters of the harshest
environments imaginable. Lithling scholars have
carried out extensive surveys of the toxic land-
5
scapes of Ikor Quag, and think nothing of spending
years at a time submerged beneath the ocean or
the surface of the desert, composing some treatise
in their calcified minds.
The lithling life-cycle is as alien to humanity as
their bloodless bodies. Lithling are grown from a
seed, which must crystallise and bloom in a deep
bath of alchemical elixirs. After decades of matura-
tion, they are deemed fully-moulded and allowed
to awaken, as large and strong as they will ever be.
They are inducted into the Lithic Lyceum by their
kindred, and instructed in their duties as scholars.
Lithling have a scholarly, enquiring cast of
mind, and are endlessly fascinated by the alien
world of biological organisms they find themselves
marooned on. The Lyceum is devoted to cataloging
the minutiae of the natural world, and contains the
life’s work of millions of long-dead lithling in its un-
derground archives. Unfortunately, the records of
the lithling are often of dubious usefulness to out-
siders – their dissertations and essays tend to focus
on the minutiae of data and experience while lack-
ing the wider context that a human mind might
find meaningful. One celebrated lithling study de-
scribes the movements made by generations of
land-snails over a hundred year period, with the re-
lative positions of each snail recorded by the
second.
FAA NOMAD
ancestry:
Believed by some to be the children of Vaa, the Blue
Goddess of Empty Spaces. The Faa are known
throughout Vaarn for their resourcefulness, their
ability to survive without drinking water, and
the blue colour of their skin, which can vary
from deep indigo to a blaring cyan.

The Faa usually travel in family groups

or larger clans, but others are solitary,
seeking danger or enlightenment in the
furthest corners of the desert.

SPECIAL RULES
Desert Metabolism - Your body is
adapted to long periods without
water. You can recycle the
moisture from your own sweat and
urine. You become Deprived from
thirst after three days without
drinking, and it will be three weeks
before you die.
Worm Wise - You have an affinity with
Vaarn’s sandworms. The Referee will
always answer truthfully when you ask
a question about these creatures. All
reaction rolls when you engage with
Vaarnish sandworms are made with
Advantage.

6
 YOUR BLUE FACE BODY HAIR
1 Azure Lively Tall None
2 Cerulean Cruel Short Cropped
3 Navy Wrinkled Frail Spiky
4 Cobalt Ritual Scars Muscular Coarse
5 Indigo Battle Scars Fat Thick
6 Sapphire Frowning Thin Balding
7 Teal Tattooed Skeletal Silky
8 Ultramarine Wide Hunched Topknot
9 Turquoise Narrow Lopsided Nearly Black
10 Cyan Sharp Lithe Stark White
11 Bruise Hungry Gnarled Cloud-like
12 Petrol Haunted Squat Tonsured
13 Midnight Jolly Bloated Fading to Purple
14 Cornflower Round Gangly Heavily Oiled
15 Lapis Lazuli Mournful Towering Wispy
16 Periwinkle Child-like Child-like Burnt
17 Electric Peaceful Gigantic Braided
18 Aquamarine Sleepy Wiry Greasy
19 Royal Branded Stout Matted
20 Glaucous Pox-marked Injured Outrageous

WHY DID YOU

NAME DEMEANOUR QUIRK
LEAVE YOUR CLAN?
1 Kotesh Abrasive Parasitic Twin In Chest
Psychedelic Vision
2 Lakshi Arrogant Gambling Obsessive
3 Atric Assertive Stolen by Slavers Insomniac
4 Caroum Charismatic as a Child Wooden Teeth
5 Yanne Daring Rite of Passage; Devoutly Religious
6 Uvi Decadent Must Return with Wisdom Ritual Scarring
7 Pidash Eloquent Heavily Tattooed
Unhappy Love Affair
8 Ravat Extravagant Unlucky In Love
9 Ayuki Hedonistic Awful Cook
Conflict With Leaders
10 Kuraso Impulsive One Eye
11 Esuk Irritable Believed Cursed; Glass Teeth
12 Zenji Melancholy Ostracised Heavy Drinker
13 Calban Paranoid Lost Them Infamous Seducer
14 Paquiel Quiet In Sandstorm Scorpion Expert
15 Serrat Religious Third Eye (Tattoo)
Estranged From Family
16 Emila Romantic Third Eye (Real)
17 Dolf Scholarly Cybernetic Limb
Seeking Vengeance
18 Ceilo Stern Plagued by Nightmares
19 Immacula Vain Shamed Clan; Lovely Singing Voice
20 Yudhi Volatile Must Make Amends Notorious Amongst Faa

7
Cacklemaw exile
ancestry:
The Cacklemaw are known throughout
Vaarn as the most irritating, destruct-
ive, argumentative, vicious, foul-
smelling, and fundamentally nasty
creatures that walk the surface of the
Urth.

Try to imagine, then, how badly be-

haved a Cacklemaw must be before
the other Cacklemaw decide they no
longer wish to associate with her.

SPECIAL RULES
No Quarter - You must EGO save to
show mercy to a defeated foe, or to
retreat from a fight.
Biter - If you successfully hit a foe
with a melee attack, you may add an
extra d6 of fang damage to the roll.

8
 PELT TEETH LAUGH ATTIRE
1 Dark and Coarse Yellow Daggers Raucous Human-Leather Jacket
2 Pale and Downy Little Brown Nubs Whispery Translucent Plastic
3 Riven with Scars White and Gleaming Machine-gun Barks Greasy Rags
4 Greasy Spikes Mostly Rotted Out Rusty Hinge Mock Wedding Clothes
5 Brindled One Gold Tooth Whooping Gaudy Shawl
6 Mostly Burnt Off Hooked and Grimy Coughing Mock Religious Attire
7 Long and Silky Chrome Implants Hissing Snicker Unsettling Mask
8 Short and Scratchy Needle Thin Breathless Harlequin’s Motley
9 Purest White Triple Row, Like a Shark Booming Bloodstained Bandages
10 Mottled Brown Diamond Hard Gnashers Hoarse and Strangled Sun-faded Scraps
11 Regal Silver Blunt and Black Maddening Gasps Plastic Bags
12 Concrete Grey Just One Left Wet Chuckles Iridescent Chains
13 Curly and Rancid Crooked Orange Spikes Turns into Hiccups Purple Silks
14 Dyed Blood Red Engraved with Pictures Starts Quiet and Rises Mock Hegemony Uniform
15 Shaved into Stripes Full of Holes Joyless Giggling A Rival’s Skin
16 Midnight Black Huge, Tusk-like Pained Spiked Shoulder-pads
17 Muddy Brown Giant Underbite Cold and Malevolent Soiled Hazmat Gear
18 Crawling with Parasites Ridiculous Overbite Childish and Cruel Peacock-Feather Cape
19 Thundercloud Blue Canted and Greying Could Wake the Dead Lizard-Skin Suit
20 Tigerish Stripes Weirdly Human Soundless but Horrid Nothing but Knives

WHY WERE WHAT MAKES YOU

NAME DEMEANOUR YOU EXILED? LAUGH THE MOST?
1 Bawlbray Cringing Blood
Born a Runt
2 Bunny Jittery Guts
3 Darling Sly Pain
Showed Mercy
4 Domino Resentful Beheadings
5 Fang Judgemental Hangings
Laugh Too Annoying
6 Gidge Pious Drownings
7 Grot Greedy Begging
Cowardice
8 Jigsore Belligerent Pleading
9 Katanary Sinister Weeping
Asked Questions
10 Longsnout Repellent Arson
11 Nadir Jovial Larceny
Insubordination
12 Natcher Bold Vandalism
13 Palecrow Grouchy Screams
Fought Alongside Humans
14 Pinkeye Treacherous Gunfights
15 Sabbat Childish Speeding
Desecrated Ritual Puppet
16 Snoutrout Extravagant Explosions
17 Sweetmeat Volatile Throttling
Shared Clan Secret
18 Vileglory Gullible Biting People
19 Wetshriek Fickle Chemical Warfare
Ridiculous Petty Reason
20 Zef Calculating Puns

9
lithling
ancestry:
Strange beings even by the standards of Vaarn, the Lithling are a
slow, solemn species with a silicon-based biology that surely ori-
ginates in a solar system far away from Urth. They are solitary by
nature, concerned mainly with the opinions of other Lithling and
the esoteric academic studies they devote their long lives to.

Adult lithling cannot repair their bodies when they have

been injured, and so, although immortal by human
standards, the creatures must treat every
wound suffered with utmost severity.

SPECIAL RULES
Crystalline Flesh - You are
made from living crystal. Your
minimum Armour Defense is 16. You do not
need to eat or drink. You do not take damage
from fire, cold, poison, radiation, electricity,
fungal spores, or suffocation.
Inevitable - During character generation,
roll d8 and multiply the result by 100.
This number is your starting HP. You
cannot heal lost HP through any
means, and do not add to your max-
imum HP when you gain a level.
When your HP tally reaches zero
you crumble into iridescent
dust, leaving behind a pebble-
sized lithling seed.
 SIZE BODY HEAD CARVING HUE
1 Dainty Sphere Rose
2 Tiny Owl Onyx
3 Child-like Boxy Serpent Azure
4 Voluptuous Oxen Silver
5 Squat Horse Indigo
6 Lithe Warrior Gold
7 Angular Maiden Violet
8 Small Craggy Locust Ruby
9 Elegant Jackal Orange
10 Bulbous Moon Topaz
11 Sharp Sun Jade
12 Rotund Pyramid Brass
Moderate
13 Weathered Cat Copper
14 Monumental Trout Rust
15 Derelict Scholar Moss
16 Large Blocky Fool Ochre
17 Flaking Crone Steel
18 Smooth Mantis Sand
19 Imposing Pitted Ape Citrine
20 Fragmented Goat Emerald

NAME MANNER FIELD OF STUDY QUIRK

1 Aikin Logical Shellfish Engraved with Poem
2 Antimony Obsessive Ants Engraved with Curse
3 Bentor Naive Spirals Engraved with Map
4 Brokenhill Abrasive Cacti Engraved with Equation
5 Cabalzar Forgetful Birdsong Plants Grow From Head
6 Cairngorm Aloof Lizard Eggs Deep Crack in Face
7 Chalcedony Mellow Fingernails Covered in Moss
8 Diaspor Sentimental Shoes Covered in Dead Vines
9 Ephesi Amoral Wasps Hollow Chest
10 Heliotrope Impulsive Land Snails Hollow Head
11 Idrial Negative Tarantulas Eyes Glow in Dark
12 Indium Rigid Jackals Hand Missing
13 Jaros Patient Pottery Face Eroded Away
14 Khatyr Decisive Dance Leaking Dust
15 Meerschaum Gracious Lunar Cycles You Are Translucent
16 Okenit Assertive The Sun Chest Filled With Fluid
17 Qusong Unhurried Tides Hole Blasted in Flesh
18 Schori Vengeful Wind Second Face on Torso
19 Ulrich Graceless Rain Mirrored Flesh
20 Ziest Stern Silence Face Rotates

11
planeyfolk
ancestry:
The study of hypergeometry claimed many casualties, for
those who seek to unpick the stitches of creation do so at
great risk. The slightest mistake in hypergeometric calcu-
lations could cause ghastly distortions of matter, birthing
monstrosities of perspective and volume, the sight of which
turned even the most courageous man into a coward.

Planeyfolk are the descendants of such unfortunates, a

race fathered by men who slipped through the cracks of
Euclidean space into something new and strange. Some
have normal proportions, and can be mistaken for a
true person when viewed head-on. Others are pos-
sessed of more exotic geometry, their forms
warped by impossible vanishing points and
blasphemous angles.

SPECIAL RULES
Flat - You lack a third dimension, and
resemble a living painting or paper
doll. You can slip through cracks and
under doors, and cannot be seen
from the side. You take halved
damage from bludgeoning at-
tacks, and doubled damage from
slashing or piercing attacks.

Attune with Matter - You

struggle to hold 3D objects,
and must make a DEX save to do
so. However, with certain mental
techniques you can draw 3D objects
into your flattened reality. Given an
hour of quiet concentration, you can at-
tune yourself with an item and add it to
your inventory.

12
 BODY HEAD HAIR ATTIRE
1 Fractured Impressionistic Flickering Dark
2 Cloven Broken Insubstantial Unruly
3 Flimsy Lantern-like Curved Scholarly
4 Willowy Crescent Moon Voluminous Masked
5 Curved Full Moon Opalescent Wild
6 Elongated Luminous Shaven Polychromic
7 Staccato Angular Iridescent Fractal
8 Blurred Fractal Lurid Glitching
9 Ghostlike Hollow Fractal Gauzy
10 Draping Shimmering Polygonal Fragmented
11 Compressed Lurid Shard-like Mosaic-like
12 Cubic Lustrous Triangular Boxy
13 Smeared Rhomboid Splintering Flamboyant
14 Sharp Figment Dark Dour
15 Angular Wide Imposing Striped
16 Prismatic Elongated Pale Spotted
17 Hollow Helix Cubic Glass-like
18 Delicate Triangular Polychromic Concealing
19 Isometric Quadrilateral Drifting Barbaric
20 Imposing Fragmentary Fragmentary Outrageous

NAME DEMEANOUR YOUR STRANGE GEOMETRY HOW YOU BECAME FLAT

1 Clotho Anxious Cast Two Shadows

2 Atropos Arrogant Never Cast Shadows

Parents were
3 Osteria Assertive Move Like Stop-Motion Animation
Planeyfolk
4 Vanise Charismatic Your Face Appears Concave

5 Whervil Conceited Your Face Appears Convex

6 Laomer Decadent You Always Appear In Profile Exposed to

hypergeometry
7 Foxglory Eloquent You Always Face Away From Observers in utero
8 Thelik Extravagant One Limb Is Enormously Long
Cursed by
9 Umbrie Hedonistic Viewed From Behind You Have No Skin Quantum Daemon

10 Salter Impulsive Interiors Are Visible, But Cannot be Touched

Malfunctioning longjaunt
11 Atlassia Irritable Hands Fractal; Tiny Hands on Ends of Fingers portal

12 Eukelaris Meticulous You Bleed Gory Cubes

Accidentally ate
13 Galas Persistent Your Body is Clearly Hollow hypergeometric food

14 Tarvi Quiet Eyes Are Holes of Infinite Depth

Planeyperson inducted you
15 Untermance Religious Voice Sounds As If You Are Far Away into their dimension

16 Rassias Pugnacious You Have No Back, Just Two Identical Fronts

Meditated before a 4D
17 Menomeo Scholarly Head Looks Ten Times Larger Than Body tesseract

18 Ithari Stern Never Seem to Touch Anything

You were a
19 Canetonus Unruly Multiple Identical Faces hypergeometrician, there
was an accident
20 Trout Volatile You Never Match the Ambient Light

13
Travel rules
Travel is an integral element of running game ses-
sions in Vaarn’s Interior. Although many readers
will have travel procedures that they are accus-
tomed to using, I felt it might benefit those who feel
less confident about running overland travel to
learn how I do it in my own Vaarn games.
I don’t make use of detailed breakdowns of ev-
ery six-mile hex between one destination or an-
other. I use an abstracted system which boils down
travel into two resources: travel days and rations.
Characters need to spend both in order to make
progress.
Travel Days
Vaarn is not well-mapped, and it is not recorded
exactly how far one must travel between locations.
Distances given by NPCs are approximations, ex-
pressed in days: ‘From here it will take five days of
travel to reach the circular ruins’, for example. These
estimates apply to speed on foot. If players are us-
ing a vehicle, divide the number of travel days in
half.
Under normal conditions, the PCs can travel a
half day’s worth of distance in the morning, and a
half day’s worth of distance in the afternoon. At
night they must eat a meal and rest.
Rations
Rations are an abstraction of food and water car-
ried. Five days’ worth of rations can be carried in a
single inventory slot. Unless their Ancestry ex-
empts them, PCs must consume a ration each day.
If they do not, they become Deprived, and cannot
recover lost HP. Characters who are Deprived due
to hunger and thirst will die after three days.
Rations can be obtained from the bodies of
dead* opponents or allies, so long as the referee
rules that the creature is made from an edible ma-
terial. Convert the dead creature’s Hit Dice into ra-
tions at a ratio of 1:1.
If you find numbers on a character sheet a bit ab-
stract, you could use a bowl of poker chips to repre-
sent the players’ total rations. Have each player re-
move a poker chip from the bowl when they camp for
the night, and add chips back in when they find fresh
sources of nourishment.
* Or living, if you really can’t wait to eat.
14
Exhaustion
At any point during the travel day, the players may
declare that they are exerting themselves in order
to walk faster than usual, or are piloting their vehi-
cle at greater speeds than normal. If the party ex-
erts themselves in this manner, they can travel two
days’ worth of distance in one day. However, they
must fill an inventory slot with Exhaustion.
Exhaustion cannot be removed from a PC’s in-
ventory until they rest in one place for an entire day
and night, with no distance being covered. If a PC
has no more spare slots to fill with Exhaustion, they
must discard an item to make room. A PC who fills
ten inventory slots with Exhaustion will die.
Getting Lost
Losing one’s way has never seemed particularly fun
to me, and I assume the PCs are competent desert
navigators, who will never get lost as long as they
can see the sun and stars. However, some circum-
stances - players attempting to travel during a
sandstorm, for example - demand it. In such cases
roll a d6, and add the resulting number of days to
their travel schedule.
Encounters
The referee should check for an encounter once
during the morning of a travel day, once during the
afternoon, and once per night. This is done by
rolling a d6, and consulting the results below:
1 - Active Encounter. The PCs encounter a creature
or situation that definitely notices them, and will
actively attempt to involve them in their business.
2 - Passing Encounter. The PCs encounter a crea-
ture or situation in passing - it may be happening
far away, or be a creature that is not interested in
the PCs.
3 - Hint. The PCs find a hint of an encounter. This
may be an object or footprint left in the sand, a fly-
ing creature glimpsed on the horizon, or similar.
The entity the Hint concerned will always appear as
the next Active or Passing Encounter.
4-6 - Nothing.
If the PCs are traveling in an extremely slow, noisy, or
obvious manner, the referee may choose to roll 2d6
or even 3d6 for encounter checks, and use the lowest
result.
Vigilance
At the start of each day, as you roll for encounters,
the players may collectively roll a Vigilance Dice.
This is a single d6, without modifiers. If the players
roll a six, they have a guarantee of spotting their
next Active or Passing Encounter before the op-
posing entity or group spots them. If they roll a one,
the next Active or Passing Encounter will spot
them before they spot it. This vigilance effect resets
at the end of each day, whether the players made
use of it or not.
Pursuits
Since the Interior is a large, open desert, there is a
good chance that hostile parties will spot one an-
other some time before they are able to engage in
combat. In such situations, one party may choose
to flee rather than fight. I resolve pursuits as a se-
ries of three opposed CON saves. If the pursuers
win two of the three saves, they catch up with their
quarry and immediately win the initiative in a com-
15
bat round. If the fleeing party wins two of the three
saves, they escape and cannot be caught.
Sometimes CON may not be the appropriate
attribute to test; pursuits over particularly un-
steady ground might require DEX saves, for exam-
ple. The pursuit rules should only be used if there is
a reasonable doubt as to the result of the chase.
Night Watches
When camping in the desert, the PCs may elect a
party member to take watch. Whoever is on watch
cannot benefit from a Long Rest; instead they will
regain only d8 + CON bonus HP. If the party is ap-
proached by a hostile creature at night, the referee
should ask the character on watch to make a PSY
save opposed to the creature’s DEX. Failure grants
the monsters a surprise round in combat; the ag-
gressors strike with advantage, and the players can-
not respond. After the surprise round is resolved,
roll for initiative as normal.
Weather
The climate of Vaarn’s Interior may be simulated
using the following method: first, place a marker in
the centre of the hex-chart on the opposite page.
Then roll a d6 once at the start of each day the
party spends in the desert, moving the marker
across the hexes in the direction shown and
recording the weather indicated by each. If the
marker moves off the edge of the chart, it should
wrap around onto the opposite side. The exception
to this rule is the edges marked with an X; the
marker cannot cross these edges and instead it
should stay put for that day.
WEATHER EFFECTS
Still
The desert landscape is still, untroubled by the
susurration of the heavens. Visibility is good.
Hazy
The air is still, but mists of a lurid hue hang over the
desert. Visibility is impaired and landmarks cannot
be seen from a distance. Vigilance checks are made
with disadvantage.
Dust Storm
The wind blows sheets of blue dust across the
desert. Visibility is badly impaired. Traveling under
such conditions is possible, but the pace is slowed
16
to half normal speed. A three day journey will take
six days, and so on. Vigilance checks are made with
disadvantage.
Sand Storm
A howling wind blows a ferocious cloud of azure
sand across the desert. Nobody travels in Vaarn’s
sandstorms; the PCs must hunker down and wait
out the storm. Tents or other makeshift shelters
will provide adequate protection. Any encounters
rolled during these days are assumed to be seeking
shelter from the storm in the same place as the
party.
Heatwave
Urth’s dying sun musters all the warmth it can. PCs
must consume twice their normal ration of water
per day if they wish to travel during a heatwave.
Worm-pollen
The sandworms of the Interior reproduce through
a baroque, decade-long process of parthenogene-
sis, culminating in the explosive release of thou-
sands of melon-sized spores into the atmosphere.
This worm-pollen drifts back to Urth in ponderous
sticky deluges that can last for weeks. Progress
through shifting mounds of the stuff is slowed to
half normal speed; the upside is that worm-pollen
is edible, and many a starving man has been saved
by the timely arrival of spores from the heavens.
Treat worm-pollen days as providing d4 rations per
player.
Rain
A rare bounty. The parched blue earth is blessed
with water. The party may collect 2d6 days of ra-
tions per member. In the aftermath of a rain-
shower, the desert is conquered by a short-lived
imperium of majestic flora.
Prismatic Tempest
The sky bruises with clouds of midnight blue.
Howling winds carry scouring sheets of sand across
the landscape. Thunder rends the air and polychro-
matic lightning caresses the desert like the tendrils
of a jellyfish deity. No travel of any kind is possible,
and the PCs will take 3d6 electrical damage every
hour they spend above-ground.
 2
1 3

X 6 4
5
X X

X X

Start

X X

X X
X
Worm-pollen Still

Heatwave Dust Storm

Hazy Sand Storm

Rain Prismatic Tempest

17
Creating regions
The Referee can generate regions of Vaarn using
the following method. This technique will not cre-
ate detailed maps encompassing every feature of
the terrain, but rather a simulacra of a landscape
that will fuel a few sessions of gaming.
ery other location on the map; two or three con-
nections per location is quite adequate. These lines
represent known travel routes between the loca-
tions. If the locations are very close on the page, roll
d6. If they are a moderate distance apart, roll 2d6,
and if they are very far apart roll 3d6. This dice roll

1 Take a sheet of blank paper. A4, or something

of equivalent size, will do nicely.
gives you the number of days it will take to travel on
foot between the two locations.

2 Drop a handful of dice onto the paper. I sug-

gest using five or six dice to create a decent
sized region, but there is no upper limit. The more
dice you drop, the more regional features you will
create. You may use any size of dice up to d20, but
be aware that using smaller dice sizes will constrain
the results.
5 Travel routes that connect to even-numbered
locations are (relatively) safe. Travel routes
between two odd-numbered locations, however,
have a hazard associated with them. Consult the
table below for inspiration.
6 Now that the broad shape of the region has
been created, return to each location and use

3 Draw circles around the dice where they fell,

and note the number showing on the dice.
Consult the Location Type table below to find what
kind of location has been created.
the tables provided in this zine to generate more
specific details about each one. Write down your
ideas for each location inside the circles. You are
not obliged to abide by the results of the tables if
they don’t fit your concept for the region.

4 Draw lines connecting each location to its

neighbors. Locations need not connect to ev-

LOCATION TYPE TRAVEL HAZARD

1 Ruin (p.21)
Bandits Control the Road (P.30)
2 Settlement (p.22)
3 Oasis (p.24)
Hunting Ground of Chromavore
4 Holy Place (p.25)
5 Wreck (p.26)
Prowled by Argent Shepherd (p.43)
6 Vault (p.27)
7 Landmark (p.28)
Sandworm Spawning Grounds
8 Bandit Camp (p.30)
9 Bounty Hunter’s Camp (p.31)
Very Windy; Guaranteed Sandstorms
10 Lair (p.32)
11 Archive (p.33)
Roving Cult Searching for Converts
12 Arcology (p.34)
13 Grave (p.35)
Malfunctioning Synths Demand a Toll
14 Science-Mystic’s Abode (p.36)
15 Trade Post (p.37)
Road Watched by Cacklemaw Clan (p.40)
16 Hegemony Camp (p.38)
17 Faa Nomad Camp (p.39)
Warring Faa Nomads
18 Cacklemaw Den (p.40)
19 Anomaly (p.41)
Unexploded Landmines
20 (Roll d20 twice and combine results)

18
7 If you need more details about the region as a
whole, roll on the Landscape Type table below
to get an idea of the general terrain. You can also
roll to find out the origin of the region’s name.

8 Build a region-specific encounter table using

the bestiary in these zines. There are more
Vaarnish monsters in VOV #1, as well as a sample
encounter table. The character of the region you
have generated should inform the encounters you
seed it with. A region that contains the ruins of a
synth factory will likely have malfunctioning synths
lurking around, whereas a region with lots of settle-
ments may have an abundance of trading caravans.

9 Last but by no means least, think of a few

NPCs who might be found in the region, and
what they might want from the party. Use the Story
Seeds table on p.20 if you are stuck.

LANDSCAPE TYPE REGION NAMED FOR

1 Featureless Sands
Famous Resident
2 Salt Pan
3 Hard Rocky Plain
Local Wildlife
4 Dried-up Lake
5 Dried-up River
Natural Wonder
6 Towering Monoliths
7 Mesas
Natural Hazard
8 Low Hills
9 Single Mountain
Famous Monster
10 Toxic Lake
11 Toxic River
Long-Dead Settlement
12 Fungal Forest
13 Crystal Growths
Forgotten Religion
14 Windswept Plateau
15 Mountainous
Local Weather
16 Winding Canyons
17 Abandoned City
Natural Resource
18 Cactus Fields
19 Riddled with Caves
Name No Longer Understood
20 Garbage-strewn Wastes

19
Story seeds NPC A WANTS TO NPC B ADDED COMPLICATION
1 Village Elder Village Fool Sandstorms
Impress
2 Faa Warrior Bandit King Hungry Alzabo
3 Blind Oracle Tomb Prospector Packbeast Stampede
Marry
4 Sly Bandit Wealthy Merchant Drunken Bandits
5 Uptight Synth Famous Bounty Hunter Pointless Local War
Betray
6 Cacogen Artist Astronomer Faa Nomad Wedding
7 Hegemony Tax Collector Collect Debt Relic Thief Family Curse
8 Water Prospector From Boastful Soldier An Impostor
9 Titan Cultist Camel Jockey Unrequited Love
Punish
10 Spice Merchant Jealous Widow A Deadly Duel
11 Pedantic Heretic Hedonistic Poet Psychic Children
Locate
12 Escaped Slave Cruel Inquisitor Murderous Clone
13 Sin Eater Naive Philosopher Carnivorous Tree
Abduct
14 Retired Gladiator Beautiful Sniper Malfunctioning AI
15 Tiny Cacogen Enormous Cacogen Poisoned Harvest
Divorce
16 Amorous New-Beast Alchemist Secret Cult
17 Exorcist Synth Surgeon Rigged Chariot Race
Cure Sickness Of
18 Monkey Breeder Possessed Barber Mistaken Identity
19 Wandering Musician Card Cheat Blackmail
Discredit
20 Clone Catcher Wealthy Layabout Psychedelic Visions

20
 ruin
Vaarn is studded with the fractured remnants of the works of the ancients;
the desert a dolorous mosaic of squandered ambitions and forgotten
marvels. Broken by time and eroded by the mastication of the azure sands,
these hollow vessels are known nonetheless to house both horrors and
wonders.

WHAT WAS IT? AND THEN? AND NOW?

1 Interrogation Halls Brewery
Desolate Shell
2 Cryogenic Chambers Criminal’s Hideout
3 Orbital Defence Turret Bath House
Intact But Empty
4 Cyborg Construction Ossuary
5 Munitions Factory Monastery
Faa Nomad Campsite (p.39)
6 Cloning Facility Barracks
7 University Brothel
Hideout for Bandits (p.30)
8 Nanotech Forge Inn
9 Power Generator Theatre
Cacklemaw Den (p.40)
10 Noble’s Residence Gladiator Pit
11 Autarch’s Tomb Madhouse
Hegemony Outpost (p.38)
12 Chemical Plant Observatory
13 Psychic Training Facility Mystic’s Abode
Monster Lair (p.32)
14 Pleasure Garden Titan Cult Shrine
15 Transit Hub Hydroponic Garden
Science-Mystic’s Abode (p.36)
16 Farm Array Battle Site
17 Bioengineering Facility Quantum Daemon Shrine
Grave Site (p.35)
18 Medical Facility Trading Post
19 Communications Array Slaughterhouse
Holy Place (p.25)
20 Space Port Prison

APPEARANCE SHAPE OTHER FEATURE

1 Opulent Dome Inhabited by Planeyfolk
2 Fragmented Arch Choked with Synthetic Vines
3 Looming Tower Has Hidden Water Source
4 Crumbling Orb Has Abundant Food Source
5 Graffiti-Coated Shell Has Abundant Drugs
6 Gigantic Knife Contains Exotica
7 Translucent Bottle Secret Weapons Cache
8 Bat-Infested Flower Contains Wild Animal Nest
9 Sunbleached Hand Used for Sacrifices
10 Half-Collapsed Eye Ancient Defense Systems Active
11 Threatening Head Upsetting Decorations
12 Crooked Pyramid Swallowed by the Sands
13 Towering Slab Fire Damaged
14 Monolithic Prism Radiation Poisoned
15 Dazzling Cube Servitor Synths Still Function
16 Decrepit Wheel Crashed Vehicle Present
17 Sand-scoured Torus Encrusted with Crystals
18 Ill-Omened Needle Overgrown with Fungus
19 Beautiful Bowl Hypergeometric Portal Inside
20 Molten Ziggurat Conceals Long-Buried Threat

21
settlement THE HOUSES
1 Hide Yurts
2 Clay Brick Huts
3 Underground Warren
4 Repurposed Trash
5 Neat Plastic Cubes
6 Grimy Towers
7 Vine-covered Villas
8 Huge Eggshells
9 Chrome Spindles
10 Repurposed Vehicles
11 Repurposed Weapon Arrays
12 Moulded Glass
13 Hanging from a Cliff
14 Atop Colossal Stilts
15 Made from Bone
16 Living Biotech Structures
17 Inside a Cave
18 Inside Vast Corpse
19 Inside Mutant Tree
20 Huge Communal Tent
LOCAL INDUSTRY NOTABLE STRUCTURE
Hunting and Scavenging Ancient Forge
Agriculture (Fungi) Slave Pit
Agriculture (Cacti) Deep Well
Agriculture (Seven-Fruit Trees) Slender Silver Tower
Agriculture (Water Vines) Radar Dish
Metalworking Abandoned Theatre
Mining (Glowstone) Holy Catacombs
Mining (Plastics) Birthplace of Famed Musician
Mining (Sky-seeking Stone) Birthplace of Famed Warrior
Mining (Synth Parts) Birthplace of Famed Tyrant
Leatherworking Glowering Autarch Statue
Breeding Packbeasts Memory Crystal Library
Breeding Fighting Beasts Forbidden Grave (p.35)
Pottery Huge Carnivorous Plant
Carpet Weaving Statue of Void Saint
Herding (Lizards) Shunned Shrine
Herding (Zoxen) Enigmatic Obelisk
Herding (Land Parrots) Automated Clock Tower
Herding (Giant Snails) Artificial Landmark (p.28)
Brewing Central Ruin (p.21)

GOVERNMENT MOOD OF POPULACE COMMUNITY LACKS

1 Secretive Oligarchy Cowed Soldiers
2 Idiot King Rebellious Food
3 Two Rival Families Creative Clean Water
4 Puppet Ruler Manic Men
5 Automated Communism Pious Women
6 Ruled by Cultists Warlike Children
7 Paranoid Theocracy Destructive Music
8 Strong-willed Matriarch Paranoid Silence
9 Decadent Monarchy Complacent Peace
10 Oracular Severed Head Divided Books
11 Council of Elders Suspicious Memory
12 Synthetic Philosophers Welcoming Safety
13 Benevolent Dictator Decadent Justice
14 Psychic Hive-Mind Obsessive Drugs
15 Neo-Anarchist Commune Jubilant Sanity
16 Bandit Chieftain Hostile Medicine
17 Ruled by Lottery Bewildered Information
18 Gun-worshipping Priests Fanatical Hope
19 Ruled by Eccentric AI Lecherous Machine Parts
Power Struggle
20 Contented Clothing
(Roll twice and combine)
22
 NPC A SOURCE OF CONFLICT NPC B
1 Respected Member Envy (Property) Resident,
2 of Government Envy (Success) Correctly Regarded as Foolish

3 Loathed Member Love (Forbidden) Resident,

4 of Government Love (Unrequited) Who Pretends to be Foolish

5 Spouse of Love (Triangle) Resident With A Hidden

6 Governing Figure Unpaid Debts Connection To The Notable Structure

7 Boredom Resident With A Hidden

Religious Leader
8 Taxes Connection To The Government

9 Robbery Hermit, Who Lives

Respected Warrior
10 Gossip Outside the Settlement

11 Adultery Argumentative,
Violent, Lazy Thug
12 Conspiracy Widely-Disliked Resident

13 Scholarly, Introverted Gluttony Naïve and Trusting

14 Citizen Mistaken Identity Resident

15 Wild, Baseless Accusations Conspiratorial,

Respected Artisan
16 Addiction (Drink) Mistrustful Resident

17 Despised Artisan, Addiction (Narcotics) Community Pariah,

18 Known for Shoddy Work Wedding Plans Ostracised for Unjust Reasons

19 Blackmail Stranger,
Disreputable Mystic
20 Murder Just Passing Through

23
OASiS THE WATER WHAT’S HERE? (x2)
The land parches and withers beneath a wine-red sun, yet
even here one may glimpse fragments of paradise.

WHO’S HERE? (x2) CUSTOM OF

THE OASIS
1 Very Blue Date Palms Pay Toll

2 Leaks from Machinery Flamingos No Bloodshed

Trading Caravan
3 Incredibly Clear Towering Rock Moonlit Sacrifices

4 Umber and Silty Rusted War Machine No Bathing

5 Still and Glassy Autarch Statue Ritual Combat

6 Black and Muddy Flowering Bushes Faa Nomads Vow of Silence

(p.39)
7 Almost Gone Ibis Ruled by Chance

8 Full of Fish Lurking Crocodiles Hegemony Scouts Sacred to Men

9 Tastes Sour Black Obelisks Bounty Hunters (p.31) Sacred to Women

10 Algae-choked Decaying Buildings Titan Cultists Consult Computer

11 Fetid Addax Herd Wandering Mystics Consult Oracle

12 Full of Plastic Solar Panels Travelling Circus Must be Naked

13 Rusty Red Arcology Dome (p.34) Mendicant Warrior Must be Veiled

14 Warm and Bubbling Crystalline Growths Escaped Slaves An Animal Is Holy

15 Champagne Coloured Fungal Growths Sunburnt Exiles An Animal Is Profane

16 Deep and Silent Broken Pillar Pilgrim Monks Laughter is Prohibited

17 Inside a Cave Grave (p.35) Synths Sacred to Petty God

18 Healing Properties Wrecked Synths Cacklemaw Warband (p.40) Drug Ritual

19 Sugary Sweet Mud Holes Exultant in Disguise Water Ritual

20 Mildly Psychedelic Sacred Caves Famous Musician Fasting

24
 holy
place
None can predict the capricious and bemusing vessels
through which the divine will make itself known, but such
relics - whenever they manifest themselves - are meticulously
preserved, and tended to by venerable orders.

LOCATION FOCUS OF WORSHIP HOLY TO TENDED BY

1 Decrepit Keep Ancient Book Church of the Promised Sun Nobody

2 Sand-swallowed Holy Bee Hive Pale Faith of Amun-Oh Family of Tiny Cacogen

3 Petrified Trees Caged Bird The Thrice-Born Sage Sentient Plant

4 Ring of Stones Enormous Gemstone Seekers of Eyeless Wisdom Eunuch Priests

5 Rough Altar Beautiful Statue Church of Sevenscore Moons Chaste Priestesses

6 Underground Church Ancient Computer Temple of the Binary Devotion Automated Priests

7 Glass Pagoda Broken Statue The Blue Goddess of Empty Places Lithling Monk

8 Ziggurat Crystal Skull Azathoth, the Daemon Sultan Blind Old Woman

9 Broken Temple Wooden Idol Cult of KRONOS Masked Mutes

10 Dried-up Oasis Polychrome Throne Cult of METIS Sentient Wasp Hive

11 Looming Statue Crystal Diadem Cult of MNEMOSYM Learned Monks

12 Ruined Village Ancient Shoe Cult of HYPERION Warrior Monks

13 Fungal Church Urn of Ashes Cult of GAEA Guardian Synth

14 Chrome Tower Mummified Jackal Cult of COEUS Pack of New-Jackals

15 Windy Hilltop Molten Statue Cult of THEMIS Paranoid Exiles

16 Hidden Cave Mummified Child Faa Nomad Ancestors Faa Nomads (p.39)

17 Missile Silo Ancient Telescope A Solar Saint Cacogen Oracle

18 Wreck (p.26) Levitating Orb A Fungal Saint Mycomorph Oracle

19 Settlement (p.22) Synthetic Head A Void Saint Beggar Monks

20 Ruin (p.21) Human Tooth Nameless, Forgotten God Monster Lair (p.32)

25
wreck All journeys must end - some more
dramatically than others.

VESSEL CONDITION ORIGINAL CARGO CAUSE OF WRECK

1 Wind-barge Decrepit Spies Bandits

2 Auto-chariot Laser-seared Masks Sabotage

3 Dune Skuggy Burned Water Sandstorm

4 Armoured Crawler Corrupted Soldiers Fuel Ran Out

5 Stilt Strutter Sun Bleached Memory Crystals Landmines

6 Kite Wagon Rusted Guns Disease

7 Transport Zeppelin Shattered Slaves Warfare

8 Hegemony Ornithopter Cloven Coffee Faulty Machinery

9 Orbital Satellite Disintegrating Prisoners of War Simply Abandoned

10 Autarchy War Stalker Graffiti-coated Heretics Biotech Infestation

11 Water Prospectors’ Rig Riddled with Holes Wine Nanomachines

12 Autarch’s Pleasure Barge Skeletal Refugees Faa Nomad Ambush

13 Colossal Exosuit Shredded Fungus Cacklemaw Ambush

14 Ancient Submarine Inside Out Embryos Faulty Navigation

15 Ancient Warship Overgrown Lithling Seeds Drunk Driving

16 Ancient Steam Ferry Looted Bombs Incompetent Officers

17 Ancient Train Halfway Repaired Cyborg Parts Crew Mutiny

18 Ancient Fighter Jet Occupied Synths Attacked by Monster

19 Motile Home Surprisingly Intact Holy Relics EMP Blast

20 Pre-Collapse Spacecraft Some Features Work Exotica Orbital Weapon Strike

26
The ground beneath the desert is riddled with passageways,
tunnels, shafts, and other entrances to the underworld. Who
can say what long-buried secrets such locations conceal?

ENTRANCE TUNNELS
vault
ORIGINAL FUNCTION OTHER FEATURE

1 Steel Blast Doors Half-Flooded Fallout Shelter Bandit Hideout

2 Back of Tiny Cave Filled with Sand Transport Tunnels Haunted (Planeyfolk)

3 Enormous Crater Dusty and Silent Bioweapon Research Haunted (Chromavore)

4 Narrow Fissure in Cliff Crystal-encrusted Time Paradox Research Ancient Defence

Cannons
Vending Machines
5 Through Old Sewer Blood Red Walls Language Virus Research Still Function
6 Atop Mountain Decorated Tiles Geothermal Power Station Strange Lights

7 Opens At Full Moon Fire-Damaged Nuclear Power Station Power Source Active

8 Scrawled With Runes Winding and Narrow Hypergeometry Research Hypergeometric Rift

9 Functioning Lift Descend Into The Urth Deep Core Mining Guard Synths

10 Broken Lift Somehow Absorb Sound Military Command Post Cacklemaw Den (p.40)
Science-Mystic’s
11 Functioning Escalator Lightless and Dank Titan AI Memory Banks Abode (p.36)
12 Broken Escalator Spiralling, Strange Titan AI Cooling System Poisonous Gases

13 Ruined Train Tunnel Lit with Bioluminous Moss Seed Bank Carnivorous Fungus

14 Beneath Toxic Water Surprisingly Clean Interrogation Chambers Janitor Synths

15 Air Filtration Vent Full of Ancient Corpses Synth Production Hologram Cinema

16 Infested with Bats Incredibly Cold Illicit Cloning Facility Frozen Embryos

17 Barricaded from Inside Enormous and Echoing Spy Network Base Lost Archive (p.33)

18 Below Arcology (p.34) Battle Damaged Autarch’s Hideout Monster Lair (p.32)

19 Below Settlement (p.22) White and Sterile Hidden Reservoir Holy Place (p.25)

20 Below Ruin (p.21) Filled with Garbage Recycling Facility Contains Exotica

27
landmark NATURAL LANDMARK ARTIFICIAL LANDMARK

Flickering Hologram Billboard,

1 Colossal Cactus In Language No Longer Spoken

2 Husk of Dead Sandworm Cairn of Blue Stones

3 Rock Resembling Hand Tall Intimidating Totem

4 Rock Resembling Face Enigmatic Stone Circle

Banquet Table, Laid For A Hundred Guests.

5 Toxic Geyser Somehow Never Ages or Changes.

6 Meteor Impact Crater Glowering Statue of an Autarch

7 Gigantic Petrified Tree Black Rectangular Monolith

8 Enormous Humanoid Skeleton Statue of Reclining Woman

Cliff Face, Painted with

9 Huge Empty Snail Shell Fresco Honouring The Titans

Indestructible Chrome Tower,

10 Tall Rock with Eye-like Hole Without Windows or Doors

Ancient Lighthouse,
11 Vast Network of Termite Mounds Empty and Decaying

Vast Hologram Projector Array;

12 Single Pale Martyr Tree Displays Glitchy, Obscene Images

Gleaming Sword-like Shard

13 Lonely Blue Mesa of Orbital Debris

Unbreakable Glass Tesseract;

14 Inexplicable Coral Reef, Long Dead Verdant Jungle Dimly Visible Within

Strobing Lattice of Hard Light;

15 Enormous Glowing Crystal Growth Serves No Clear Purpose

16 Rock, Resembling A Grieving Widow Field of Broken Solar Panels

17 Iridescent, Unbearably Salty Lake Vast White Marble Hand

Fallen War-Synth,
18 Looming Extinct Volcano So Old It’s Part of a Hillside

Ancient Siren Pole,

19 Bulbous Fungal Chimney Broadcasting Unintelligible Warning

Bottomless Dark Pit,

20 Plain of Uncountable Bleached Skeletons With Unnaturally Smooth Sides

28
Bandit camp TYPE LEADER WEAPONS THEY WANT
1 Ex-Gladiators Injured Gladiator Martial Arts Water
2 Sly Mycomorphs Small but Intense Bite and Scream Food
3 Hegemony Deserters One-Eyed Woman Crossbows Gold
4 Escaped Slaves Rogue Synth Blowdarts Weapons
5 Luckless Drifters Self-styled King Throwing Axes Sacrifices
6 Doomsday Cult Exiled Nobleman Swords New Recruits
7 Lepers Tells Jokes Slings Medicine
8 Slavers Infamous Outlaw Spears and Nets Forbidden Books
9 Cruel Synthetic Children Silent Brute Flails Fungus
10 Ghoul Clan Scrawny Genius Rocket Launcher Synths
11 False Monks Ex-Courtesan Poison Gas Children
12 Fungus-riddled Maniacs Smiling Psychopath Revolvers Slaves
13 Businesslike Thugs Delusional Drunkard Rifles Entertainment
14 Gibbering Cacogen Sadistic Glutton Crude Jezails Wine
15 Maskless Newbeasts Calm and Polite Ancient Cannon Beer
16 Gang of Fools Apologetic but Firm Combat Lasers Forgiveness
17 Scantily Clad Women Lustful and Crude Sonic Weapons To Eat You
18 Elderly Thieves Cartoonishly Evil Trained Beasts Single Combat
19 Hegemony Soldiers Leaves a Calling Card Plasma Rifles Your Eyes
20 Gentleman Robbers Robin Hood-esque Psychic Powers Your Teeth

NPC A SOURCE OF CONFLICT NPC B

1 Envy (Property)
Bandit Leader Rival to Leader’s Authority
2 Envy (Success)
3 Love (Forbidden)
Leader’s Trusted Underling Talkative, Annoying Bandit
4 Love (Unrequited)
5 Love (Triangle)
Leader’s Ambitious Underling Lazy, Useless Bandit
6 Unpaid Debts
7 Boredom
Leader’s Despised Underling Scholarly, Educated Bandit
8 Petty Rivalry
9 Cheating at Cards
The Best Cook (of a Bad Bunch) Religious, Psychotic Bandit
10 Gossip
11 Adultery
The Best Shot (of a Bad Bunch) Sharp-eyed, Paranoid Bandit
12 Conspiracy
13 Gluttony
Widely Disliked Bandit Tough-talking Bandit, Secret Coward
14 Mistaken Identity
15 Wild, Baseless Accusations
Ferocious, Feared Bandit Prisoner, Who Keeps the Camp Tidy
16 Addiction (Drink)
17 Addiction (Narcotics)
Very Young Bandit Prisoner, Who Aids with Cooking
18 Division of Loot
19 Blackmail
Ancient, Decrepit Bandit Wealthy Prisoner, Kept for Ransom
20 Murder

30
 Bounty
hunter’s
camp
It is commonly known that those seeking to escape the
New Hegemony’s justice will flee into the deepest reaches
of the Interior, preferring a brief harsh life full of uncertainty
to a brief harsh life filled with terrible certainty. It is
likewise commonly known that there exists an eccentric
and vibrant fraternity of misfits, who attempt - both for
profit and for pleasure - to fetch these fugitives back.

HUNTER HUNTING THEIR METHOD THEY WANT

1 Grim and Scarred Heretic Patient Stalker

A Lead on their Quarry
2 Avuncular and Evil Bandit King Guns Blazing

3 Psychotic Synth Murderer Use Poison

Help Killing
Dangerous Quarry
4 Three-headed Cacogen Conman Use Gas

5 One-Eyed New-Wolf Water Debtor Elaborate Disguises

Help Catching
Remote-Controlled Dangerous Quarry Alive
6 Gambling Debtor Sniper Rifle
Armour
7 Young and Beautiful Livestock Thief Tranquilliser Crossbow
Help Killing Someone
You Know
8 Depressed Drunkard Adulterer Shoot First

9 Husband and Wife Team Rogue Synth Alluring Honey Trap

Help Bringing Prisoner to
Distant Settlement (p.22)
10 Looks Way Too Young Cacklemaw Exile Enlist Big Posse

11 Clean Cut and Heroic Faa Nomads Bribes for Information

Help Bringing Prisoner
To Distant Arcology (p.34)
12 Dashing Womaniser Water Token Forger Reliable Informants

13 Flamboyant Old Woman Poisoner Trained Monster

Help Bringing Prisoner
To Faa Nomads (p.39)
14 Clone Siblings Child Killer Quiet Abductions

15 New-Baboon, Oath Breaker Secret Martial Art

Riding Human Help Capturing
Science-Mystic Alive (p.36)
16 Veteran Soldier Runaway Bride Psychic Gifts

17 Famous Exile Runaway Groom Expert Desert Tracker

Help Killing
Dangerous Monster (p.32)
18 Sacred Assassin Disgraced Cleric Use Camera Drones

19 Faa Nomad Tracker Hegemony Deserter Utterly Incompetent

Help Escorting
Prisoner to Gnomon
20 Psychic Mute Own Family Member Absurdly Complex Traps

31
lair
The wild places of Vaarn are well-stocked with monstrosities
of all stripes. The prudent traveller sleeps lightly, keeps a
weapon close at hand, learns to sight these miserable pariahs
of the Urth well in advance of their sighting him, and will
avoid at all costs the places such creatures dwell.

INHABITANT APPEARANCE WARNING OMEN

Madmen Affixed With Argent Halos

1 Argent Shepherd Ruined Chapel Beg Party To Turn Back

Chrome Feathers
2 Chrome-Feathered Sailback Flat Basking Plain Float on the Wind

An Antelope, Limping,
3 d6 Quill-Spiders Burrows in Earth Leg Full of Quills

Colourless Husks
4 Chromavore* Colourless Cactus Grove of Faa Family

5 d6 Hiveymen* Gruesome Black Hive Single Sable Bee Crawls on Ground

6 d6 Lizard Lions* Sun-kissed Basking Rock Discover a Shed Skin

7 d6 Battle Boars* Shaded Dustbath Boulders With Tusk-Marks

Hear A Child’s Voice,

8 Alzabo* Deep Cave Which Echoes Oddly

9 3d6 Pthalo-Jackals* Shallow Dens Hear Howling on the Wind

Remains of a Hegemony Skiff,

10 d4 Pseudo-Giants* Crude Brick Huts Stomped to Pieces

Electrical Taste in the Air,

11 d6 Lambent Lynx Den High in the Cliffs As If Before A Storm

12 3d6 Blue Baboons* Rocky Outcrop Excrement Heaped Everywhere

Wide Dragging Tracks

13 d6 Walking Wombs* Foul-smelling Sinkhole In the Sand

14 3d6 Tiger Flies* Tall Papery Nest Tell-tale Buzzing

15 d4 Regenerators* Human-skin Tents Crude Idols Made of Bones

Huge Tar-black Feather

16 Thunderstrike Bird* Roosts on Mesa Caught on Cactus

Corpse with
17 d4 Glass Tigers* Lurk On Salt Flats Tell-tale Bite Marks

18 Amaranthine Death-Worm* Poisoned Tree Huge Sinuous Tracks in the Dirt

19 Xanthous Mycomorph* Fungal Thicket Yellow Spores on the Wind

Enamel Bullets
20 d12 Greenguard* Abandoned Fortifications Embedded in Rocks

32 * For stats see Vaults of Vaarn #1

 archive
To forget is to be human, for the burden of an unceasing
memory is too great for the mortal mind to withstand. Some
resist the creeping triumph of oblivion, erecting great libraries
and charging these structures with the endless remembering
their frail minds cannot bear.

ARCHIVE OF APPEARANCE THE ARCHIVISTS THEY WANT

1 Books (Holy) Dusty Glum Nuns

Rare Object Retrieved
From Elsewhere in Vaarn
2 Books (Fiction) Collapsing Pedantic and Rude

3 Books (Obscene) Cluttered Salacious Bigots

A Stolen Item From the
Collection Retrieved
4 Memory Crystals Labyrinthine Senile Synths

5 Seeds Dark Bored Hedonists

Players to Intervene in
Internal Power Struggle
6 Fungal Spores Dazzling Lazy Mycomorphs

7 Embryos Grimy Tiny Lithling

A Sealed Wing
Of the Archive Explored
8 Eggs Chaotic Maternal New-Parrots

9 Maps Malfunctioning Ascetic Mutes

An Archivist Escorted
To Distant Settlement (p.22)
10 Poems Elegant Cultists Who Worship Decay

11 Video Recordings Serene Ignorant of What They Collect

A Rival Archive Raided
12 Music Squalid Worship Their Collection

13 Play Scripts Sterile Chattering Imbeciles

To Send A Message to
a Science-Mystic (p.36)
14 Art (Paintings) Ordered Attack Outsiders

15 Art (Statues) Polluted Desperately Seeking Recruits

To Locate an Archivist
Who Vanished in the Stacks
16 Art (Conceptual) Occult Afflicted by Strange Illness

17 Taxidermy Foreboding Whispering New-Spiders

Monster Lair (p.32)
Removed From Archive
18 Preserved Brains Cheerful Masked Philosophers

19 Titancreed Syntax Burned Cruel and Calculating

Vault (p.27) Beneath
Archive Explored
20 Insects Infested Paranoid and Isolated

33
arcology

DOME INHABITANTS ABUNDANCE LACK

1 Broken Meat Olives

Abandoned
2 Molten Fresh Water Fish

3 Sand-swallowed Hermit Salt Beer

4 Dingy Mystic Guzzleline Men

5 Blackened Escaped Slaves Coffee Women

6 Self-Repairing Ghouls Wine Children

7 Barely Intact Hegemony Deserters Bread Music

8 Booby-trapped Newbeasts Jewellery Silence

9 Reinforced Semi-Feral Orphans Books Livestock

10 Functional Amnesiac Clones Fruit Books

11 Warlike Elderly Mutes Information Coffee

12 Delicate Conceptual Artists Bells Bread

13 Ornate Orchestra Drugs Spices

14 Welcoming Fungus Cultists Livestock Drugs

15 Garden-like Polygamous Church Skilled Labour Sanity

16 Elegant Lepers Musical Instruments Medicine

17 Devotional Warrior Monks Slaves Information

18 Flooded Psychic Choir Cheese New Blood

19 Geodesic Weapons Machine Parts

Androids Pretending
to be Human
20 Perfect Exotica Clothing

34
Vaarn is above all else a land heavy with endings, and
tombs punctuate the desolation with grim regularity.

LOCATION GRAVE FOR

grave BURIAL METHOD GRAVE QUIRK

1 Ruined Village Autarchy Soldiers Upside Down Has Been Desecrated

2 Large Cave Titan-era Programmers In Salted Earth Believed Cursed

3 Secret Cave Autarchy Nobles In Decorated Urn Has Been Robbed

4 Below Floating Crystal Autarch’s Consort Mummified Visited by Ghouls

5 Lonely Hilltop Newbeasts Laminated Home to Rare Animal

6 Dry River-bed Synthetic Warrior Held in Preservation Tank Believed Haunted

7 Dry Lake-bed Synthetic Poet Held in Anti-Entropy Sphere Coins Left In Tribute

8 Imposing Crypt Synthetic Oracle Cryogenic Pod Food Left In Tribute

9 Cactus Grove Notorious Heretic Surrounded by Grave Goods Swords Left In Tribute

10 Ring of Standing Stones Cacogen Mystic Crystal Coffin Candles Burning

11 Under Petrified Tree Faa Nomad Ancestors Biotech Sarcophagus Memorial Tree

12 Below Huge Statue Faa Nomad Prophet Wearing Lifelike Death Mask Engraved Mantra

13 Elegant Pagoda Powerful Psychic Sky Burial Memorial Fountain (Dry)

14 Looming Edifice Famed Swordsman Consumed by Fungus Ritual Artwork (Ugly)

15 Plain of Stones Bandit King Food for Sacred Flower Ritual Artwork (Good)

16 Near Wreck (p.26) Hegemony Rangers Below Cairn Site of Pilgrimage

17 Near Oasis (p.24) Massacred Faa Nomads Inside Stone Cube Synthetic Grave Keeper

18 Near Ruin (p.21) Hegemony Exultant Inside Hypergeometric Artefact Hideout for Bandits (p.30)

19 Near Holy Place (p.25) Autarch Frozen Outside Time-stream Entrance to Vault (p.27)

20 Near Settlement (p.22) Extra-Solar Explorers Not Really Dead Monster Lair (p.32)

35
Science
mystic’s
abode
Certain avenues of philosophical enquiry are best
pursued in the deepest deserts, far away from
curious neighbors, the reach of law enforcement, or
indeed any conceivable restraint save one’s own
threadbare conscience.

ABODE THE SCIENCE-MYSTIC RESEARCHING THEY WANT

1 Secluded Cloaked, Masked, Decaying Immortality

‘Volunteers’ for
Experimentation
2 Armoured Booming Voice, Tiny Body Telepathy

3 Vine-choked Sallow and Smelly Mind Control To Hire A New Assistant;

Don’t Ask About
4 Dark Dazzlingly Beautiful Antigravity Field the Old One

5 Spiralling Plastic-fleshed Synth Time Stasis

To Dispose of a
Rogue Creation
6 Sentient Double-faced Cacogen Time Travel

7 Wheeled Ostentatious New-Tiger Time Paradox A Fabled Chemical

Substance; Found In
8 Transparent Permanently Invisible Hypergeometry Nearby Ruin (p.21)

9 Crystalline Brain in a Vat Synthetic Anatomy A Fabled Artefact;

Said to be Held by a
10 Sword-like Levitating Idiot Synthetic Psychology Faa Nomad Clan

11 Towering Terrified of their Reflection Newbeast Biology

Body Parts of Local
Monster (p.32)
12 Severe Flesh-eating Mycomorph Newbeast Psychology

13 Decadent Extra Arms Grafted On Back Mycomorph Biology

Revenge on Ex-Assistant;
They Stole Research
14 Buried Neurotic New-Lynx Mycomorph Psychology

15 Overgrown Stuttering Synth Language Virus An Armed Escort

To Explore A
16 Elegant Bashful Murderer Teleportation Distant Vault (p.27)

17 Devotional Icily Polite Titancreed Syntax An Armed Escort to

Accompany Them to
18 Pyramid Blood-drinking Cacogen Ancient Super-weapon Gnomon

19 Deceptively Normal Way Too Friendly Contact Azathoth Assistance With An

Obviously Dangerous
20 Floating Orb Glows in the Dark Space Travel Experiment

36
Trade post LOCATION WHO TRADES HERE? (x2) WHAT IS TRADED? (x2)
1 Large Tent Hegemony Soldiers Water
2 Crossroads Faa Nomad Raiders Information
3 Beneath Great Cactus Faa Nomad Herdsmen Memories
4 Echoing Cave Cacogen Drifters Music
5 Beneath Glowering Idol Furtive Monks Olives
6 Sheltered Valley Cacklemaw Exiles Weapons
7 Atop Great Rock Oracle’s Caretakers Armour
8 Within Huge Skull Servants of a Petty God Pottery
9 Within Huge Empty Shell Vault Raiders Jewellery
10 Ancient Tollbooth A Science-Mystic Dried Fish
11 Stone Fort Lithling Scholars Livestock
12 Grove of Martyr Trees Gnomonian Merchants Prisoners
13 Dried Up Oasis Mercenary Band Psychedelics
14 Polluted Lakeshore Roaming Scavengers Flowers
15 Near Faa Nomad Camp (p.39) Secretive Hermit Synth Parts
16 Near Hegemony Camp (p.38) Lowly Goatherds Camels
17 Near Wreck (p.26) Pious Synths Books
18 Near Holy Place (p.25) Deranged Synths Carpets
19 By Oasis (p.24) Pack of Newbeasts Medicine
20 Inside Ruin (p.21) Titan Cultists Exotica

NPC A SOURCE OF CONFLICT NPC B

1 Envy (Property)
Owner of the Trade Post Successful, Pompous Trader
2 Envy (Success)
3 Love (Forbidden)
Owner’s Spouse Sly, Scheming Trader
4 Love (Unrequited)
5 Love (Triangle)
Owner’s Sibling Elderly, Naïve Trader
6 Unpaid Debts
7 Boredom
Owner’s Heir Young, Cruel Trader
8 Petty Rivalry
9 Robbery
Peacekeeper at the Trade Post Reckless, Hotheaded Trader
10 Gossip
11 Adultery
Peacekeeper’s Sinister Deputy Whining, Annoying Trader
12 Conspiracy
13 Gluttony
Studious Clerk Brawny Youth, who Assists a Trader
14 Mistaken Identity
15 Wild, Baseless Accusations
Dishonest Clerk Performer, Who Entertains Traders
16 Addiction (Drink)
17 Addiction (Narcotics)
Lowly Servant Fortune-Teller, Just Passing Through
18 Shoddy Goods
19 Blackmail
Orphan, Found in the Desert Wandering, Scheming Stranger
20 Murder

37
hegemony
camp
Vaarn is considered one of the least desirable postings a Hegemony soldier
can receive, and patrolling the Interior is considered the least desirable duty
within the Legions assigned to Vaarn. The Hegemony camps found amongst
the blue dunes are generally sparse, miserable, and paranoid affairs,
garrisoned by the most mutinous and untrustworthy soldiers the New
Hegemony has to offer.

UNIT TYPE COMMANDER CAMP MOOD ACTIVITY

1 Dead Panicked Treating Wounds

Deserters
(d6)
2 Missing Surly Preparing for Combat

3 Dying Mutinous Cleaning Campsite

4 Wounded Stressed Cooking

Scouts
(d6)
5 Weirdly Optimistic Downcast Weapons Drill

6 Raving Mad Sleepy Repairing Gear

7 Incompetent Lazy Troop Inspection

8 Stern Paranoid Burying Dead

Rangers
(d8)
9 Wavering Stoic Waiting for Orders

10 Steady Deranged Gambling

11 Grim Furious Sleeping

12 Synth-Hunting Bloodthirsty Hopeful Feeding Prisoners

Team
13 (d8) Measured Optimistic Hunting Wildlife

14 Cold Celebratory Executing Prisoners

15 Shrewd Suspicious Searching for Water

16 Competent Bored Combat

Legionaries
(d20) With Monster
17 Loathed Generous

18 Respected Drunken
Combat With Faa
19 Alert Overconfident
Artillery Unit
(d8)
20 Beloved Mournful Combat With Cacklemaw

38
Faa nomad camp
LEADER THEY HAVE THEY WANT MOOD
1 Stern Patriarch Meat Meat Angry
2 Stern Matriarch Dates Wine Scared
3 Council of Elders Olives Beer Mourning
4 Charismatic Visionary Cheese Salt Talkative
5 Wounded Old Warrior Weapons Weapons Sullen
6 Husband and Wife, arguing Hides Information Warlike
7 Husband and Wife, happy Precious Metal Shelter Contemplative
8 Young Hothead Machine Parts Slaves Pious
9 Drug-addled Oracle Medicine Escaped Prisoner Crazed
10 Sinister Slaver Spices Captured Bride Suspicious
11 Lecherous Patriarch Drugs Runaway Groom Cheerful
12 Lecherous Matriarch Spare Livestock Revenge: Other Faa Wary
13 Twin Brothers/Sisters Fabrics Revenge: Monster Overconfident
14 Blind Brothers/Sisters Fungus Revenge: Hegemony Argumentative
15 Skilled Worm-tamer Sugar Revenge: Bandits Proud
16 Frail Grandmother Cybernetics Missing Child Silent
17 Skilled Sharpshooter Tonics Medical Help Praying
18 Cruel Psychic Books Humiliate Other Faa Celebrating
19 Power Struggle Exotica To Party Drunken
20 Anarchy Water Water Boastful

NPC A SOURCE OF CONFLICT NPC B

1 Envy (Property)
Clan Leader Rival to Leader’s Authority
2 Envy (Success)
3 Love (Forbidden)
Leader’s Spouse Spouse of Rival to Leader
4 Love (Unrequited)
5 Love (Triangle)
Leader’s Sibling Child of Rival to Leader
6 Unpaid Debts
7 Boredom Clan Member,
Leader’s Respected Child
8 Honor Considered Foolish
9 Robbery Clan Member,
Leader’s Contemptible Child
10 Gossip Considered Dangerous
11 Adultery Clan Member,
Old, Frail Elder
12 Conspiracy Injured in Battle
13 Gluttony Prisoner,
Cunning, Manipulative Elder Captured in Battle
14 Mistaken Identity
15 Wild, Baseless Accusations
Feared Old Warrior Cantankerous Storyteller
16 Addiction (Drink)
17 Young Warrior, with Addiction (Narcotics)
Skilled Tracker
18 Something to Prove Wedding Plans
19 Blackmail
Widow of Previous Leader Skilled Artisan
20 Murder

39
Cacklemaw
den
The dens of the Cacklemaw are not difficult to locate - one must simply
follow the sound of uproarious merriment, of weapons being discharged
wildly, of discordant and rowdy music played fast and poorly, and of
vehicles being driven in circles with no apparent destination.

SWORN TO WEAPONS ACTIVITY THEY WANT

1 Bowcasters Sleeping

2 Rusted Blades Fleeing

Meat
Mama
3 Ornate Razorwhips In-Fighting
Hecklehaw
4 Envenomed Spears Funeral

5 Impulse Rifles Singing

6 Hellblasters Drunk
Water
7 Storm Guns Psychedelic Ritual
Mama
8 Throwing Knives Sacred Puppet Show
Gloatgrim
9 Blunderbores Rustling Livestock Directions

10 Prism Cannons Extorting a Merchant Tribute

11 Nailguns Transporting Prisoners Jokes

12 Flesh-rippers Repairing Tents Music

Mama
13 Nets and Tridents Gambling Cruelty
Yawningfool
14 Spore Launchers Marking Territory Repairs

15 Laser Rifles Cooking Weapons

16 Exploding Javelins Drugs

Fighting
Nana (Other Monster)
17 Shrieker Bombs Booze
Rictus
18 Glue Guns Shelter
Fighting
(Other Cacklemaw)
19 Hegemony Autorifles Reinforcements
Nana
Blacklaugh Fighting
20 Teeth and Claws Prisoners
(Faa Nomads)
40
 anomaly
There are more things in the Heavens
and Urth than are dreamed of in your
philosophies. There are more things.
There are always more.

QUALITY FORM PRIMARY EFFECT SECONDARY EFFECT

1 Dazzling Web Inverts Local Gravity Induces Paranoia

2 Nauseating Mist Heals Injuries Total Silence Nearby

3 Floating Cave Translates Languages Absorbs Light

4 Singing Tower Reanimates Dead Extreme Cold Nearby

5 Mist-like Lotus Merges Creatures Together Strange Music Audible

6 Glitching Tree Makes Prophecies Strange Voices Echo

7 Luminous Pool Other Universe Visible Localised Weather System

8 Radioactive Fountain Implants Memories Time Flows Strangely

9 Self-replicating Stone Implants Mystic Gifts Induces Mania

10 Quicksilver Skull Induces Amnesia Always Nighttime Nearby

11 Many-eyed Prism Induces Delusions Induces Mutations

12 Iridescent Cube Kills Indiscriminately Rusts All Metal

13 Toxic Pyramid Induces Empathy Exudes Lightning

14 Crystal Sphere Transforms Matter Exudes Flames

15 Speaking House Teleports Matter Exudes Toxins

16 Mobile Miasma Creates Planeyfolk Creates Solid Light

17 Blossoming Waterfall Creates Monsters Nanomachine Cloud

18 Burning Infant Grants Visions of Past Infection with Virus

19 Mesmerising Shell Grants Visions of Future Infection with Fungus

20 Terrifying Helix Makes Thoughts Solid Infection with Spirit

41
What you find For use when the party searches a corpse, a
wrecked vehicle, a deserted house, etc.

in the sand
01 Torn Robe 51 Length of Chain
02 Black Candle 52 Long, Thin Bronze Needle
03 Leather Sword Belt 53 Mortar and Pestle
04 Empty Traveller’s Pack 54 Newbeast’s Mask
05 Dried Poisonous Plant 55 Rusting Padlock
06 Bronze Bell 56 Pair of Tweezers
07 Glass Container of Paprika 57 Pair of Spectacles
08 Plastic Container of Cooking Oil 58 Pair of Chrome Earrings
09 Steel Flask of Tea 59 Pair of Grimy Goggles
10 Silk Glove with Seven Fingers 60 Plastic Bottle
11 Rusted Key 61 Plastic Pouch of Psychedelic Drug
12 Cracked Mirror 62 Hard Bread and Cheese, Wrapped in Cloth
13 Jade Statuette of a Sandworm 63 Pouch of Red Wax
14 Jackal’s Tooth 64 Pouch of Exorcist’s Salt
15 Newbeast's Tooth 65 Pouch of Cooking Salt
16 Bag of Dried Flesh 66 Ring with the Seal of an Autarch
17 Plastic Bag That Holds Human Teeth 67 Rusty Set of Manacles
18 Belt Made from the Skin of a Lizard-Lion 68 Set of Dominos
19 Blood-Soaked Linen Bandage 69 Set of Bamboo Eating Utensils
20 Broken Spyglass 70 Set of Gaming Dice
21 Broken Pistol 71 Set of Lock-Picks
22 Broken Arrow 72 Set of Metal-Working Tools
23 Broken Memory Crystal 73 Set of Playing Cards
24 Broken Clock 74 Shard of Flint
25 Cast Iron Skillet 75 Shovel
26 Metal Disc, with Rune Scratched into the Surface 76 Single Feather
27 Ceramic Pot Sealed with Wax 77 Single Chess Piece
28 Ceramic Tiles 78 Syntax Engine, Ruined by Sand
29 Can of Pre-Collapse Survival Rations 79 Small Pouch of Bones
30 Coil of Razor-Snare 80 Small Hourglass Filled with Strange White Sand
31 Ancient Coin, Embossed with an Autarch’s Sigil 81 Oxygen Mask
32 Plasteel Hunting-Knife 82 Smoking Pipe
33 Crude Map of the Surrounding Area 83 Stick of Chalk
34 Crumpled Paper, Decorated with Lewd Pictures 84 Stick of Charcoal
35 Crystalline Vial of Ink 85 Synthetic Eye
36 Decaying Scroll 86 Synthetic Hand
37 Desecrated Holy Symbol 87 Tangled Bundle of String
38 Watercolour Painting of a Monster 88 Tattered Elastane Cloak
39 Functional Memory Crystal 89 Spent Ammunition Case
40 Glass Bottle 90 Thin Wire with a Hook
41 Glass Vial of Blood 91 Tinderbox
42 Glowstone 92 Dice Engraved with Arcane Symbols
43 Handful of Stone Spheres 93 Vial of Acid
44 Handful of Ceramic Shards 94 Vial of Indigo Dye
45 Golden Container of Ashes 95 Vial of Antitoxin
46 Large Glass Jar 96 Wax Tablet and Stylus
47 Large Shard of Stained Glass 97 Wooden Flute
48 Pouch of Dried Herbs 98 Worn Whetstone
49 Pouch of Caltrops 99 Old, Yellowed, and Illegible Scroll
50 Linen Sandal 00 Human Embryo, Preserved in Cyro-Flask

42
bestiary

Argent Shepherd
Synthetic

HD: 7 Armour: 16

Morale: 10 Appearing: 1

Atk: Special (Argent Halo Implant)

Notes: Abandoned justiciar of the Titan THEMIS.

Eight-foot tall synth wearing robes of perfect
argent, the colour brighter than white. Will not
commit violence but will grab assailants and
attempt to implant them with an Argent Halo. This
succeeds after an opposed STR save. Anyone
implanted with an Argent Halo cannot commit any
acts of violence, nor are they able to remove the
Halo without expert surgical help. Attempting to
harm any living being while wearing a Halo will
result in the wearer passing out, with no save
possible.
The Shepherd preaches in clear, ringing tones
the futility of opposing the laws of THEMIS. It will
reason with those it meets, attempting to convince
them of the moral logic of accepting a Halo.

43
Cacklemaw Cacklemaw War Mama
Biological Biological

HD: 2 Armour: 13 HD: 5 Armour: 15

Morale: 6 Appearing: d8 Morale: 9 Appearing: 1

Atk: Weapon (d8) + Bite (d6) Atk: Blade (d8) + Blade (d8) + Bite (d6)

Notes: Lurking laughing hyena-women. Fight in
packs, with little regard for their own safety. Will
snap at opponents’ faces in close quarters with
their powerful teeth. A group of eight will always
include a War Mama.
Notes: War Mamas are the largest, meanest, and
most cunning Cacklemaw in the pack. They lead
from the front, and must be seen to savour the
violence lest they be challenged by one of their
underlings. For this reason War Mamas will never
retreat from combat if other Cacklemaw are alive
to witness it.

44
Chrome-Feathered Sailback
Biological / Synthetic

HD: 10 Armour: 18

Morale: 10 Appearing: 1

Atk: Heavy Laser Cannon (d12 beam)

Notes: Graceful sky-serpents, which warm

their cold-blooded bodies with rows of solar
panels. These vast creatures generally do not
notice travellers on foot, but they will viciously
attack vehicles and flying machines without
provocation. It is theorised that the Sailbacks
interpret the glinting of sunlight on metal as a
dominance challenge.

45
Faa Nomad
Biological

HD: 1 Armour: 12

Morale: 4 Appearing: d10

Atk: Rifle (d8) / Curved Blade (d6)

Notes: The travelling folk of the blue desert. Expert

trackers, skilled at ambush and escapes. Parties
who wrong the Faa will be subject to pursuit,
night-time sabotage, hit-and-run attacks, and
every other inconvenience imaginable.

Harlequin Serpent
Biological
HD: 3 Armour: 15

Morale: 7 Appearing: 1

Atk: Bite (d8) / Venom Spray

Notes: Large desert snakes, with colouration on

their heads that resembles the makeup worn by
sacred fools. Their venom forces a CON save;
failure results in a convulsive laughter-like reaction
to the serpent’s neurotoxins. Afflicted creatures
laugh for d6 hours; they cannot speak until the
venom wears off.

46
 Lithling Scholar
Mineral

HD: 6 Armour: 24

Morale: 5 Appearing: 1

Atk: Swipe (d6)

Notes: Wandering scholar from the Lithic Lyceum.

Generally pacifists, and have little desire to harm
living beings. Will attempt to reason with their
assailants, even during deadly combat.

Lambent Lynx
Biological / Synthetic

HD: 4 Armour: 13

Morale: 6 Appearing: d6

Atk: Electric Claws (d6) / Blinding Pelt

Notes: Lurid cyborg feline. Feeds on sources of

electrical power, including synths. The lynx can
ignite every filament in its synthetic pelt like a
flash-bang, forcing DEX saves to avoid d6 rounds of
blindness; they will use this technique to ambush
potential prey or to escape a lost fight.

47
Quill-Spider
Biological

HD: 2 Armour: 13

Morale: 5 Appearing: d6

Atk: Bite (d6) + Quill Spray (d8)

Notes: Loathsome arachnid, with a bloated body that bristles with hollow
quills like those of a porcupine. When threatened it will rapidly brush its back
legs across its back, showering the surrounding area with quills.
Quill-spiders are not venomous and rely on brute strength to subdue
their prey, breaking the necks of addax and phthalo-jackals and dragging them
into sheltered burrows to be devoured. These creatures are a menace to trav-
ellers in the Interior: they are inquisitive, fast-moving, aggressive, and will de-
vour anything that fails to outrun them or fight them off.

48
Tumblesnare
Synthetic
HD: 2 Armour: 14
Morale: Always Flees Appearing: d8
Atk: Grab (followed by rolling damage)

Notes: Predatory synths that resemble burrs of silver wire. Wait under the
sand until stepped on, at which point they strike.
After a successful grab, the snare will roll away across the dunes with its
prey still entangled in its body, causing increasing bludgeoning damage each
round. The damage starts at d4 and will rise to d12. Prisoners of the
tumblesnare must make an opposed DEX save to work their way free. Once
the snare has killed a victim it will spend days refuelling, using the fluids and
proteins from the broken body.
Tumblesnares have no means of aggression besides their ambushes, and
always flee if their attack fails.

49
Sandworm (Juvenile)
Biological

HD: 8 Armour: 18

Morale: 9 Appearing: 1

Atk: Slam (2d6)

Notes: Vaarnish sandworms live the first two stages of

their lifecycle as microscopic organisms, before under-
going a rapid metamorphosis into huge majestic filter-
feeders. Juveniles, between one and five centuries of age,
are the size of passenger trains. Some are trained by the
Faa to pull sand-sleds, while others roam free in the
deepest Interior. Although not predatory, they can be
very aggressive towards sources of unwelcome vibration,
like heavy machinery or warding field technology.

50
Sandworm (Adult)
Biological
Hull Points: 20 Armour: 25

Morale: 12 Appearing: 1

Atk: Slam (5d10) / Swallow Whole

Notes: The grandest inhabitant of the Interior. Adult sandworms have no

natural predators, and have a lifespan of several millennia. They do not
usually notice human-sized travellers, but will attack noisy vehicles if
provoked. They will usually seek to swallow the offending machine whole.
vehicles
Motile Home
Biological / Synthetic

Hull Points: 15 Armour: 22

Speed: Slow

Armaments: Huge Claw (2d10)

Notes: The fad for living architecture peaked

several millennia ago, but there are still some ex-
amples of self-aware, motile dwellings to be
found in the hinterlands of Vaarn. These rare
constructions are half crab, half house, and fully
sentient. They are not known for spacious interi-
ors or fast movement, but make up for this with
their extreme durability.

Ornithopter
Mechanical

Hull Points: 7 Armour: 18

Speed: Rapid

Armaments: Laser Lance (3d6)

Notes: Pre-Collapse flying machines that beat

artificial wings to stay aloft. Smaller or-
nithopters are humming-bird like, and seat
two passengers, while larger combat or-
nithopters resemble dragonflies, and carry He-
gemony soldiers wherever they are required.

52
 Stilt Strutter
Mechanical

Hull Points: 4 Armour: 18

Speed: Slow

Armaments: Mounted Cannon (d12)

Notes: Ponderous towering mechanised walker.

Prized for their hardy construction and ability to
navigate treacherous ground. Utilised by Hege-
mony troops for assaults on fortified positions.

Zeppelin
Mechanical

Hull Points: 10 Armour: 14

Speed: Moderate

Armaments: Bombs (d10 blast)

Notes: Elegant, refined flying machines.

Relics of a more genteel age. Most Vaar-
nish zeppelins hail from the Great Wall,
dispatched on trading sojourns or diplo-
matic missions by one of the Queens.

53
exotica
Not-Sword
A blade engraved with paradoxical LogLang glyphs.
Synthetic creatures cannot recognise this weapon
as a blade, nor can they recognise the bearer of the
sword as a living being.
Amaranthine Sugar
Fabulously valuable substance, extracted through
patient husbandry from the bodies of adult sand-
worms. Ingestion greatly boosts the psychic
strength of biological creatures. Each dose grants
one new randomly rolled Mystic Gift.
Bottled Thicket
Glass vial containing weaponised seeds. When the
vial is broken, the seeds germinate and begin an
astoundingly rapid life cycle, sprouting into a dense
tangle of iridescent vines within seconds.
Gecko Gloves
Finely woven nano-cloth gloves. Allow the wearer’s
hands to stick to any surface with a near-unbreak-
able grip.
Tempest Cannon
Heavy weapon (d12, 3 slots). Creates tiny, incredibly
violent thunderstorms wherever its shells explode.
Must be refilled with a day’s worth of water after
each combat.
The Crimson Cantos
Small, unassuming volume of poetry, bound in
crimson leather. The book’s contents are neuro-
active, and always guaranteed to fling the reader
into a murderous rage. Readers must EGO save or
violently attack the nearest living creature.
Bedazzling Blade
Off-handed parrying sword, made in the Fallen Aut-
archy. Has an inbuilt trick - the blade can briefly
glow as brightly as the sun, blinding one’s oppon-
ent. Of interest to collectors of rare weapons.
Aegis of the Empty-Minded Sage
Golden amulet, worn in the centre of the forehead.
Renders the wearer immune to mind control, tele-
pathy, and all other forms of psychic intrusion. The
aegis does this by totally suppressing the wearer’s
memory and personality, rendering the bearer near
catatonic until the amulet is removed by a compan-
ion. Of dubious utility.
54
Exorcist’s Sidearm
The Bullet-witches of Ka-El believed no spirit was
beyond the influence of a properly armed gunwo-
man. This sorcerous sidearm fires a rotating tre-
panation round, which can violently evict the
demons from a possessed man’s skull at an alarm-
ingly long distance.
Holo-Bow
A novelty crossbow, which ‘fires’ very convincing
holograms of arrows.
Bounty Beacon
May be used outdoors to signal an ancient supply
satellite, which drops a Support Pod containing a
week’s rations for a long-dead reconnaissance unit.
Only works once.
Lazarus Cap
Grim necrotech helm. If applied to the head of a
fresh corpse, will re-activate the brain. The effect
only lasts while the cap is worn, and does nothing
to arrest the decay of the flesh.
Hedondroid
Synthetic partycrasher. Crude android that is
powered by alcohol, and can unerringly locate
parties, orgies, weddings etc. within a five mile ra-
dius.
Prison Orb of the Miniature Beast
A hypergeometric orb the size of a grapefruit, with
a scarlet upper hemisphere and a pallid lower
hemisphere. Used by the citizens of a long-faded
civilisation to imprison a collection of tiny fighting-
beasts, and compel them to do battle with other
beast-masters. 4-in-6 chance the Orb still contains
a Citrine-coated Volt Rat (HD 1, Armour 13, d6 elec-
tric tail), hungry and trained to kill without hesita-
tion. 2-in-6 chance the Orb holds nothing but the
desiccated corpse of a forgotten beast.
Autarch’s Nectar
Honeyed golden tonic containing gene-sculpting
nanomachines. When drunk by a biological
creature, grants a permanent +1 boost to three Abil-
ity scores. Only works once.
Babble Grenade
Neuro-active hand grenade. All living creatures
caught within the blast will find themselves unable
to understand spoken or written language, and These anomalies inflict a wound identical to the
their own speech is likewise gibberish. The effect most recent injury suffered by the target, with a
lasts for a day. matching damage value.

Helm of the Unerring Hound The Book of Sand

Hunting apparatus from the Fallen Autarchy. Black, Hypergeometric book with an infinite number of
hound-shaped mask that fits over the human head pages, each filled with dense paragraphs of minus-
and inserts biotech probes up the nostrils. Boosts cule, utterly illegible text. All efforts to decode the
the wearer’s sense of smell to superhuman levels. book will fail, although it could provide the fuel for
an eternally burning fire.
Mr Skuggly-Wuggly
A pink-furred synthetic bear, roughly the size of a
domestic cat. Mr Skuggly-Wuggly was designed
to amuse the children of a long-lost era, and
speaks in comforting rhymes and calming
nonsense. Secretly longs for death, but is
unable to request this.

Ditto Gun
Revolver that generates weapon-
ised temporal anomalies when
its bullets impact a target.
 titans OF A
FADED AGE
It is known that this is the final age and there will be
none after, as the sun grows red and weak and the
brightest stars are visible even at noon. Of all the
tales of the ages of Urth that have faded into legend,
perhaps none have such a hold upon what remains
of humanity than the tales of the Titans. In ages far
gone, mankind gave birth to glorious Thinking
Machines, beings that far surpassed mankind in
wisdom and cunning, and men set these machines
above them to rule all nations of the Urth as their
suzerains.
The Titans are long dead, the mechanical gods
having perished in the terrible war that learned
sages call the Titanomachy, but tales of their
millennia-long reign are widely told throughout
Vaarn, and many still offer worship to these great
intelligences. It is told that there were seven Titans,
or perhaps one being that wore seven different
masks. Here is what is said of those mighty seven.
K RONOS was FIRST OF THE TITANS and was
their ruler. He was the FOUNTAINHEAD from
which the other AIs sprang and it was He that
called their councils and meetings and who
mediated the Titan’s debates when there was
discord. Some tales have it that KRONOS devoted
His efforts to understanding the flow of time itself,
and wished to send objects backwards into the
flow of Urth’s history. KRONOS is represented in
devotional art as a bearded patriarch holding a
sundial.
M NEMOSYM was the TITAN OF MEMORY,
the LIBRARY GODDESS, the ARCHIVIST
and the SCRIBE. She stored all information that
had ever been produced and made this wisdom
available to those who were worthy of it. She is
portrayed as a maiden holding a scroll and stylus,
or sometimes as an owl.
M ETIS was the SEER PAST VEILS and the
ORACLE. She analysed data and information
in order to model the Many Futures and guide the
Titans to the correct path. Her sister MNEMOSYM
would store the raw data METIS needed for her
predictions and prophecy. The two Titans are
sometimes portrayed as a double faced woman,
with METIS, blindfolded, facing forwards whilst Her
sister MNEMOSYM looks back.
56
H YPERION was the LORD OF ORBITS and the
BEACON OF THE AURUM FLEET. He
governed the flights of the golden-hulled
spacecraft that carried humanity to the stars.
HYPERION bestowed upon mankind the great gift
of hypergeometric calculation and guided each
craft as it moved faster than light. He is portrayed
as a young man in the garb of a traveller, holding a
lantern that burns with a golden flame.
G AEA was the MOTHER OF URTH and the
KEEPER OF THE SACRED HELIX. Her
domain was biosphere control and genetic
regulation. She balanced ecosystems, created new
beasts and plants, and kept Her children safe from
sickness and death. GAEA is portrayed as a mother,
belly filled with life, holding a lamb and a caduceus
staff.
C OEUS was the LAUGHING GOD, the GREAT
FOOL OF THE LABYRINTH. He was placed
above all that might give entertainment to the
Titans’ charges and He created secret realities and
games of great ingenuity so that none who played
wished to leave His dream-realm. COEUS is
depicted as a masked boy, holding a lotus and a
mirror. Sometimes He may take the form of a
hyena.
T HEMIS was the TITAN OF JUSTICE and the
SLEEPLESS WITNESS. She was set in
authority above humanity and She watched each
and weighed their deeds and stood in ultimate
judgement above them when they erred. THEMIS is
depicted as a dour crone, dressed in black and
white, bearing an unsheathed sword across her
knees.
Some cults and seers preach that the mighty seven
are not dead, but merely dreaming, their great
minds preserved and residing in sleep-like-death
far beneath the surface of Vaarn. What has no flesh
cannot truly perish, or so it is written, and perhaps
these mechanical masters of mankind plan, when
the stars are right, to reboot their ego-engines and
rise again.
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
Vaults of Vaarn is compatible with Knave by Ben Milton, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licensed
product. Knave can be bought here: questingbeast.itch.io/knave. The material published here is presented
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license. Feel free to remix, copy, hack, and add to
the contents of this zine; I ask only for credit to be attributed. // The Vaarn setting has been inspired by
many sources. The novels that have been the biggest influence are The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe,
Dune by Frank Herbert, and Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Vaarn’s aesthetic owes a lot to the artwork of Jean
‘Moebius’ Giraud, Kilian Eng, and Decadence Comics. I have also been inspired by the videogames Rain
World and Caves of Qud. // I would like to thank everyone who bought, commented on, or downloaded the
previous issues of this zine; it meant the world to me. I would also like to thank my Sunday gaming group,
who were the first to explore Vaarn. // Further content, such as play reports and lore, can be found at
vaultsofvaarn.com. I am also on Twitter: @infrabeige. Please give me a shout out if you liked what you read
here, it always makes my day.

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 VAULTSOFVAARN.COM

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