Wretched New Flesh Quickstart

QUICKSTART
Miguel Ribeiro
Markus Vall (Order #35552345)

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6
7
By default, characters are expected
Introduction to be ZoneSec operatives or
executives for Takeda Technologies,
but other roles such as Avalidad’s
celebrities, fiscal royalty and seedy
"Listen to my last words anywhere. underbelly, are obviously possible,
Listen to my last words any world. depending on the type of scenario
Listen all you boards, syndicates you are planning.
and governments of the Earth. And
you powers behind what filth
consummated in what lavatory to Though the scenario deals with
take what is not yours. To sell the technological achievements in
ground from unborn feet forever." genetics, biotechnology, cybernetics
William S. Burroughs, Nova Express and augmented reality, the author
doesn't keep up with science and
technology and will be happy to
Wretched New Flesh - Postcards stay as ignorant as he is.
from Avalidad is a near-future sci-fi/
horror game inspired by William S.
Burroughs, David Cronenberg, This is mainly a surreal and body
William Gibson, and Clive Barker. horror scenario set in the future,
The story is centred on Takeda but definitely not hard sci-fi.
Technologies, a Japanese corporation
conducting research in genetics, Most of the technological
cybernetics, augmented and virtual breakthroughs made by Takeda
reality, and biotechnology. Technologies and its parent
company, Kobayashi Corporation,
They had a significant breakthrough, were not accomplished because of
sometime before the beginning of regular scientific research but
the story, by dealing with through dealings with demonic
supernatural entities, whose leading entities for which time and space
representative in our world lives in can be bent.
disguise as a human millionaire.
Not that they can travel through
Hideo Kobayashi, head of a vast time and space quite at will – they
economic empire, furnished Takeda aren't that powerful – but they can,
with future tech for reverse sometimes, access parallel
engineering in exchange for control universes.
over their business and the products
of their research. It was from one of our own
possible futures the prototypes
Though Takeda accepted the deal – available for researchers were
and sold his soul to the "Devil" in taken.
the process – he has managed to
conceal some of the more ambitious I am not delving into techno-
projects from Kobayashi. At least babble in Postcards from Avalidad.
until the story starts. How this future technology works
will remain mostly unexplained.
This darkly surreal tech-noir game
setting combines cyber, bio and psi The most important things here are
punk to create a Burroughsian the relationships between
nightmare world of decadence, drugs, characters and all the intrigue that
Libertarianism, violence, glamour ensues. The technical aspects can,
and oppression. and will, be overlooked.
8
Why it’s Wretched should be Wretched New Flesh takes place in
obvious: this is another Wretched an undetermined time, about thirty
game. The New Flesh is as reference years in the future. It is influenced by
to David Cronenberg’s Videodrome William S. Burroughs' works such as
and to biotechnology, which is Naked Lunch, the Nova Trilogy (The
becoming common in this setting. Soft Machine, Nova Express and
It’s also an ambiguous title, which The Ticket that Exploded), William
fits the ambiance of this Burroughs- Gibson's Sprawl and Bridge trilogies,
inspired setting of Avalidad. most of David Cronenberg's films,
and Clive Barker's Hellbound Heart
and The Scarlet Gospels. There are
some references to other authors,
such as Paul Auster and Kurt
. Vonnegut, but they weren't major
sources of inspiration.
Do you need this if you already own
the Postmortem Studios version of Some of the influences are definitely
Postcards from Avalidad? Probably cyberpunk, others are pre-cyberpunk,
not. Here’s what changes: but since the nightmarish gadgets
you find depicted in Cronenberg's
• The rules, of course. The original movies or described in Burroughs'
Postmortem Studios’ Postcards books are definitely techno-organic,
from Avalidad included stats for cyber isn't the best way to describe
Actual Fucking Monsters and them at all; they all have a
*Punk, while Wretched New biotechnological feel. The genre we
Flesh is a Wretched game, hence are talking about here is future-noir.
it has its own old-school
mechanics, compatible with the Tech-noir (or future-noir) is
previous games. intertwined with cyberpunk since the
film noir aesthetic was present in the
• There were also additions to the early development of the second
setting: it presents you with an genre. Blade Runner immediately
expanded chronology of events, comes to mind, even if the movie
a city guide that aims to add itself can hardly be considered
more flavour to the City’s cyberpunk – Gibson's Neuromancer,
description (it also adds a few which solidified the genre, wasn't
new locations and characters, a even published at the time.
larger equipment list, details
about other corporations of note You can go as far as the 1960s and
besides Takeda Technologies and 1970s looking for sci-fi movies that
the Kobayashi Corp, information used noir themes and visual
about the fambling city of atmosphere – Alphaville (1965) and
Lisbon (described in the All Soylent Green (1973) among them.
Bets are Off sourcebook), some In the 1980s and 1990s, more films
more character stats, and a were bringing noir tropes into
random table that uses a deck of different subgenres: The Terminator
regular cards or a Tarot to (1984), Brazil (1985), The City of
determine events and Lost Children (1995), Johnny
encounters with non-player Mnemonic (1995), Strange Days
characters. (1995), Dark City (1998),
9
Nirvana (1997), Gattaca (1997). The There's an obvious exception:
tendency did not die then, but this Avalidad, the place where the
scenario's influences come from narrative unravels, where a lot of
earlier examples, more than from strange, wonderful and horrifying
Altered Carbon or any other modern things are happening.
TV shows or movies.
In this fictional account, biotech and

cybertech aren't everyday things like
they would most likely be in other Avalidad, previously known as
science fiction role-playing scenarios. Interzone or just Zone, is a large
district built inside Tangiers,
Hisashi Takeda, CEO of Takeda Morocco. Later it vastly outgrew the
Technologies, struck a deal with city's own borders under the
Hideo Kobayashi and obtained a few influence of the Kobayashi
future technology prototypes, reverse Corporation.
engineered and tested in secret labs.
There's no strict relation to the
Most people have no idea about Tangiers International Zone, which
what's happening, and most of those existed between 1926 and 1956. The
who are in the know are Takeda or new city first took its name because
Kobayashi's employees. construction started immediately
after the joint administration of the
Beyond that, science and technology territory was extinguished.
haven't made that much more
progress globally than they did in the Later, the City was "rebranded" as
present. The few things that changed Avalidad, the word the Berbers
will be further addressed in this text used when speaking about that
(hint: there are no flying cars). "strange city" that grew inside
Tangier.
10
In this alternate reality, instead of What most people do not know is
reintegrating the International Zone that behind Avalidad, there was one
territory (formerly administered by man or, at least, something that looks
France, Spain, the United Kingdom, like a man: Hideo Kobayashi. Sure,
Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, other corporations from the world
Sweden, and the United States) back are represented in Avalidad, but the
into Tangiers, the Moroccan state city is Kobayashi's company town,
made a deal with an international and Avalidad is what gives Postcards
conglomerate of several corporations a definite future-noir feel.
interested in investing in northern
Africa. There are several reasons this place
can be perceived as otherworldly.
The futuristic metropolis was built in First and foremost, Interzone, as it
the late 1950s, early 1960s and, was known before, doesn't exist
accordingly, divided into subzones, anymore and never existed in the
managed by different companies. A way here described. The game master
libertarian, laissez-faire paradise for can feel free to populate it with
exploitation and experimentation. whomever and whatever he finds
useful, ideally without breaking the
Of course, everybody knew their suspension of disbelief.
objective was to use cheap labour,
avoid taxes and, primarily, to be able Avalidad is a futuristic city built in
to do research without interference northern Africa, so it can be as
from outside agencies. dystopian or utopian as you want it
to be. Quite a lot of money was
Ethically and legally, many invested in its construction; there are
challenges were surmounted by large high-tech facilities everywhere, and
sums of money supplied to the right most corporate employees are well-
people, in the right places, working paid foreigners. But what about
for the right institutions. the locals?
11
Those who do the cleaning and Soon, some of them became mere
maintenance, the ones who are husks of what they were before and
responsible for menial jobs. They joined the miserable locals in a joint
could undoubtedly live outside the dystopia.
City but, for security reasons,
whoever signs to work with an Remember that Avalidad owes its
Avalidad corporation is prohibited ambiance to the works of William S.
from leaving without authorization. Burroughs, so the bizarre is to be
This doesn't apply to everybody. The expected around every corner.
player characters will, most likely, be
allowed to leave the City as Kobayashi and the other corps
frequently as they wish. Regardless, maintain strict control around all of
the lowlifes live in slums, on the their facilities and buildings, and
outskirts, which can be as degraded there's also ZoneSec, a unified
as the game master wishes them to security force in charge of enforcing
be. the norms in the whole City and
working as secret state police. Even
The City was built recently – as far as so, security officers only act if it
cities go – and though there was an benefits the companies. Drug
enormous investment, the trafficking, prostitution and other
contractors cut corners to speed up petty crimes that do not endanger
the construction. business are all given a free pass, or
exploited. Even theft can be ignored
No matter that Avalidad has existed by security, depending on who stole
for little more than one hundred what from who.
years, the places which aren't
constantly maintained quickly turned Finally, most corporations are
into decayed, brutalist, urban researching high-tech, so any kind of
environments. That's how you can prototype and new gadgets are
explain why parts of the City, such as available there before they appear
the Underworld, are in a shambles in anywhere else. By default this setting
such a capitalist paradise. takes place 30 years in the future but,
even you decide to place in a nearer
In the decades after the City was date, it can feel much more
erected, even some well-paid technologically advanced than it
foreigners fell through the cracks. should be.
They work in high-stress jobs, living
in an almost lawless town, where Avalidad is also where the
they can consume every illicit prototypes are being reverse-
substance and indulge in any engineered – some of the results find
depraved desire imaginable. their way outside corporate facilities.
12
So, while reading this game, every
time something reminds you of
In our own world, the writer and William S. Burroughs, it was probably
Beat Generation personality William inspired by him or his work, but the
S. Burroughs migrated to Tangiers in influence ran both ways in this
1954. Under the influence of different alternate reality.
drugs, he stayed there four years and
wrote several texts, among them
what would become his most known
work, Naked Lunch.
Postcards takes place in an alternate Like many punk-suffixed games of

history, in which the writer partly yesteryear, Wretched New Flesh
based his fiction on the strange allows you to play corporate suits or
experiences he had in the early years law-enforcement agents. Actually, by
of Avalidad's existence. default, that’s what characters are
expected to be. I am, after all, a
The city was still in transition “fascist” game designer, right?
between what it was in reality, a joint
administered international territory, Well, no, not really. It’s just a matter
and what it is in this setting, a of personal preference: I don’t enjoy
corporate-owned Moroccan city, street-level campaigns where
where bizarre connections between characters are snotty kids with an
science and the occult have been attitude.
established for quite a long time.
It’s laughable that the snowflake
The fact that William S. Burroughs generations are trying to revive the
inhabited and wrote about Avalidad “cyberpunk” game as an actual “stick
(while it was still named Interzone) it to The Man” experience.
during his career most certainly
affected what happened in the Someone should warn them that the
fictional city. After all, we owe punk attitude was never about being
several gadgets and concepts to the young cosmopolitan bourgeois
imagination of science fiction writers, rebels funded by their parental
without whose creativity, many allowance and supported by
technological breakthroughs might governments, corporations and
ever have happened. social/ traditional media.
13
Well, Wretched New Flesh is NOT By making use of augmented reality
cyberpunk, we called it future-noir, glasses or contact lenses and earbuds,
but it’s more akin to a genre that Gamepod creates the perfect illusion
doesn’t even exist: this is of a realistic environment where
Burroughspunk. As previously anything can happen.
mentioned, the whole setting is a
William S. Burroughs homage, seen It has been used chiefly for games
through the lenses of David and other augmented reality
Cronenberg’s work. And though experiences, like travelling without
Burroughs was an important leaving your own home, though it can
representative of the Beat also be used for educational or
Generation, an influential figure for training purposes. The commercial
hippies, the godfather of Punk and version is a biotechnological device
recognized as an inspiration by with the external look of a regular
Seattle Grunge, he was also a console but with a soft, fleshy touch.
serious-looking old man in a suit
with a gun fetish. Is this supposed to Most people in Avalidad know that
make sense? Hell, no! the Gamepod is closer to an animal
than to a machine, but it was
marketed as a regular console to
avoid reminding consumers that it is,
in fact, a living thing.
What is so different about Avalidad
then? Quite a lot, even if most of it In Avalidad, a different version of the
isn't universally known. For instance, Gamepod is widely available, and it
recently, BurroughsTech, a Takeda has been exported to other countries
subsidiary, has marketed a too. It is more bio-organic in design,
revolutionary entertainment system slightly disgusting to look at, and
called Gamepod, which is basically much more effective than the
an advanced gaming console. commercial one.
14
Among other reasons for its greater The enhancement drugs and some
effectiveness, the bio-Gamepod, of the biotechnological
known as Neuropod, is connected to augmentations would likely also be
the user through a port located in the available without supernatural
spine. The enhanced version of the technology smuggling.
Gamepod is also used for
entertainment, gaming and Meanwhile, decades of
education, but other possible experimentation in genetics and
functions are being investigated, such biotechnology have given rise to a
as replicating the voyage through mutated colony that lives on the
planes of existence that some of fringes of society. Even though big
Kobayashi's allied demons – known corporations deal with their
as Machinatores – can do. Naturally, mistakes in a "clean" way (by
travelling into the Beyond and other eliminating most of their failures),
nether realms is being attempted in the smaller ones and the
secret. Underworld's black labs have less
rigorous procedures.
The biocomputer is another of those
devices that lead a double existence, The darkest places in the
inside and outside Avalidad. There Underworld's districts, abandoned
are commercial products being sold, warehouses, derelict buildings and
unrefined kinds of biological sewers, house hundreds, perhaps
computer, still equivalent to or even thousands, of mutated beings. Quite
behind the top electronic versions a lot of those were once regular
available in the market, but the humans, but now it's almost
restricted prototype is far superior to impossible to tell them apart.
its inorganic rivals.
There are multiple other examples in

other areas, from experimental
software to enhancement drugs, There are plans to expand the
through biotech and cyber setting. Actually, the first version of
augmentations. Postcards from Avalidad, published
by Postmortem Studios, has already
The reasons behind this are not only an expansion, All Bets Are Off, set
to avoid hypothetically unsafe in Lisbon (Portugal) in the near
products from becoming widely future. Portugal's capital is a new
available but also to conceal their entry in the infamous list of
origin. Some of the items are the gambling and vice cities of the
result of highly unethical research. world, such as Las Vegas, Atlantic
Others were reverse-engineered City, Macao, Monaco and Singapore.
from future tech smuggled into our
reality by supernatural creatures Besides the author being
known as Machinatores, demonic Portuguese, there are historical
creatures, able to slip through connections with Morocco that
breaches in time and space. determined the choice of Portugal as
the first expansion. During the
Other avant-garde machinery would Portuguese colonial expansion, after
probably exist without Machinatore's taking Ceuta, Tangier became a
interference, such as Orgone significant goal; the conquest was
Accumulators, Dreamachines, attempted several times in the
AugSets and Instranslators. mid-15th century until, in 1471, the
city was finally occupied.
15
In the 17th century, it passed onto
Spanish control, along with every
other Portuguese colony, as part of
an Iberian Union, and it was later
offered to the British crown.
Unlike the main setting, where

cybertech is frowned upon, in
Portugal, it's pretty standard, and
biotech is the kind of augmentation
that's rarely seen. A European
economic crisis badly affected the
southernmost countries during the
past decade and held back
technological development. Things
such as biotech augmentations,
commonplace in other parts of the
world, are out of bounds for most
Portuguese residents: the very rich
can get them, but the upper classes
are the only likely to have access to
cutting-edge technology.
Affordability isn't the only thing

keeping those bioaugs away,
especially in Lisbon. Recently, all
biotech mind augmentations and Not just detective work, indeed, as
psionic enhancement drugs were relevant as that may be, but this is
banned: precognitives and mind- also a spy game, where covert
readers are personae non-gratae in a operatives fight each other while
gambling city. If any of the characters working for different factions.
have psionic abilities – or any
suspicious mind augmentation – The foundation of Lisbon as a noir
they'll still be allowed if their city was laid out a the beginning of
presence in Lisbon is justifiable but World War II when Portugal declared
will be under constant surveillance the so-called "equidistant neutrality".
and likely be banned from casinos At the time, the country lived under
and other gambling venues. a fascist regime led by António de
Oliveira Salazar.
The future-noir aspect of the setting
should be enhanced for this scenario. His sympathies lay with Germany,
There's enough crime, intrigue, though he was obliged to honour the
cynicism and despair in Avalidad for ancient Portuguese alliance with
it to be a noir location, but, being England, the oldest entente in the
also a Northern African city, cultural world, dating back to 1373. That was
aspects get in the way of the overall how a neutral country, located at the
smoky urban nightclub atmosphere westernmost part of a continent at
of the genre. In Lisbon, there isn't war, from whose seaports ships were
such a diverse cultural assortment, so leaving for Northern Africa and the
you can focus mainly on the darker, American continent, attracted the
smokier, inner-monologue-filled side propaganda and espionage services
of intrigue. of the major belligerent countries.
16
This historical background may seem During the following decade, Lisbon
to be of no consequence for the near- metamorphosed into a hotspot of
future setting of Postcards from casinos, hotels and nightclubs. But
Avalidad, but it is a major source of these weren't just the high-class
inspiration. venues you'd expect to find in places
like Macao, Hong Kong, Monte
In the late 21st century, Lisbon again Carlo or Singapore.
becomes a hot spot of intrigue, albeit
mostly corporate and criminal rather Since the beginning, most of Lisbon's
than political. The glamorous (and joints were targeted at a middle-class
even the not-so-stylish) casinos, audience, with a few offers intended
hotels and nightclubs should have the for the upper classes. Nowadays,
same atmosphere as they had in Lisbon is rivalling Las Vegas as the
wartime Europe of the 1940s. seediest gambling capital of the
world.
Over a couple of decades before this
setting's current time, an economic The tourists certainly aren't always
crisis weakened the European Union looking for gambling, dancing, sex
and its member states. Portugal, and drugs; Fado is still a major
among other southern European attraction. There are more Fado
countries, was most affected. Houses than gambling dens in town,
and, in any of those, the menu
At the height of the recession, Lisbon includes other offers than local
mayor Santana Lapa struck a deal gastronomy and wine: prostitutes and
with Zhao Cheng, a Chinese drugs are always available.
millionaire connected to organized
crime. Cheng promised to turn Officially, Lisbon is still part of the
Lisbon into a profitable operation by country and remains the Portuguese
making substantial gambling-related capital, but, in practice, it's almost
investments in the Portuguese capital. like a city-state.
17
The city is unofficially governed by a • At least twenty years, probably
group of crime syndicates named thirty, should have gone by
"The Five Families", as a homage to since the current time and the
the organized crime families of the scenario's timeline. Decide
Italian American Mafia. more or less temporal
displacement according to your
In Lisbon, the Italian mob isn't own needs.
present, though. A capo di tutti i capi
doesn't control the city; instead, • The technological advances
there's a committee where the most obviously exist, but they are
important organizations are more evident in Avalidad than
represented, the Council of Five. elsewhere.
They have the government • While the City is run mainly by

authorities in their pockets and can Japanese corporations, that
rule as they please in Lisbon and its doesn't mean Japan is the World
suburbs, as long as they do not Power, as would happen in a
interfere too much in state affairs. 1990s cyberpunk setting. It's just
a residual influence from their
investment in Avalidad during
the 1960s. China is a significant
power in this scenario.
As has been mentioned before, this
scenario takes place in the "near • The fact there aren’t many
future", but what does that mean? references to changes in
The official answer is: 30 years in the geopolitical alliances doesn't
future, whenever that is when you mean they didn't happen.
are reading this. The most important
thing I took from William Gibson's • There was no major war, but
Neuromancer was the vagueness of several conflicts erupted in
the background. South America, Africa and
Eastern Europe.
You know it takes place in the future,
that there's a lot of technological • Several new terrorist groups
innovation and that wars and other arose, among them the techno-
significant events happened, but the utopians Filhos de Prometeu
novel (and the following ones) never (Prometheus' Children) and the
go into much detail. eco-terrorists Guerreros de
Gaia (Gaia's Warriors).
Nevertheless, it has become a classic
that defined a whole genre. Indeed • Brazil is governed by a military
Gibson's skill as a writer explains all Junta, and there are other
that, but I still believe the way the dictatorships in Third World and
story unfolds without ever sounding developing countries.
like a Wikipedia entry helps create
the right environment. • Biocomputers are slowly
replacing the electronic
There’s a timeline provided in this versions. They are not as
book, but if you don’t want to go into powerful as quantum
that much detail right now, here’s a computers, but they have the
shorter list you can use as a guide: ability to intuit.
18
• Biotech augments already exist • Movies are nothing more than
but are restricted in most an art-house event for the
countries. nostalgic and the cinephiles.
• Cybertech was never really • On the other hand, Music is still

popular and, while it is used in a thriving business worldwide,
poorer countries or in mixing various elements from
Avalidad’s Underworld, it is different genres.
usually considered in poor taste
to exhibit that kind of • Reading books is mostly a thing
enhancement. of the past (the Great
Progressive Purge of the 20th
• There are enhancement drugs century took care of that), but
that enable precognitive or playing games is still much in
telepathic abilities in a small vogue, mainly the Gamepod,
percentage of the users. Other the future of gaming consoles.
experimental drugs are being
tested, but their results are • Sports are basically the same,
entirely optional. though in Avalidad and other
unregulated places, there are
• Most computers, either biotech brutal competitions such as
or electronic, are equipped with Deathfight, Mutant Mayhem
a primitive AI named Personal and Rollerclash.
Assistant.
• In developed countries, regular

television broadcasts were
replaced by augmented reality
TV and RealSims, virtual reality
contents that allow consumers
to have a first-person
experience (mainly soap operas
and fake-reality shows).
19
20
Now go get some equipment, and it's
Character done; time to go out there and do
some damage.
creation
"Cut word lines — Cut music lines
— Smash the control images — You're here to play bastards, aren't
Smash the control machine — Burn you? Well, you know the drill...
the books — Kill the priests — Kill! Now it’s time for some Sin!
Kill! Kill!"
William Burroughs, SINFUL WRETCHES
The Soft Machine Choose one of the Seven Deadly
Sins that best represents your
Wretched is an old-school role- character's concept. Does this mean
playing game designed to play anti- the characters are supposed to be
hero characters. Wretched New Christians?
Flesh include as characters options
corrupt ZoneSec agents, drug- Absolutely not, even though this
addicted psionics, lewd Avalidad feature may shine brightly in a
celebrities, mad scientists, brutal nunsploitation scenario. We used the
street samurai among other futuristic Deadly Sins as a reference just
anti-heroes. because they are an easy way to
convey the character concept.
By living according to sin, the
character has benefits, but there's
also a throwback for the whole
group: every time their indulgence
Roll 3d6 for each Ability: Strength, in vices - related to their primary
Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Sin only - causes trouble for the
Constitution and Charisma (consider party, the Game Master should
adding Comeliness, it fits the sleazy reward them with an extra 10 per
facet of the Wretched mechanics). cent experience points and one free
In Wretched New Flesh, character dice re-roll that can be used any
improvement is capped at the 10th time during the next game session.
level; the "wretches" can never be
truly powerful. Perhaps your Wrath will lead to
unneeded confrontations. Because
of Greed, you will steal from
perilous people, your Gluttony
might delay a timely escape or
Choose a concept for your character. disrupt a well-planned heist, and
Or don't; you can just roll up Envy will make you turn against
statistics and decide that later. Roll your own friends.
for Abilities. Choose a Class, an
Archetype and select Skills: their This will probably displease the
number is determined by Class, other players, but since all of them
Archetype and Ability modifiers. can act in the same rotten way, it
Add your free Perk, chosen from the might become a way of generating
options included in each Archetype/ multiple story seeds.
Class and decide if you want to have
more Perks, in which case you must Of course, Wretched isn't for all
balance them with Drawbacks. players...
21
LUST
Your character is a lecherous wretch
whose actions are commandeered by
WRATH unbridled desire. Such uncontrolled
Your character is given to frequent appetite will lead you to a constant
fits of anger and rage. If this means search for carnal pleasures. You may
sudden bursts of violence when be a regular fornicator or, much
provoked or long-term feuds that can worse than that, a rapist, a bestialist
take years until revenge for past or someone who is given to
wrongdoing is finally enacted is up to incestuous relations. Any of these
you. options is sure to cause you some
problems. But, meanwhile, a lot of
A little rage isn't all that bad now fun is also guaranteed.
and then, but you're destined to lose
your temper in the least appropriate ENVY
times. Use it (un)wisely and spread Your character's distinctive (sinful)
the chaos! mark is a feeling of anguish or anger
before others' possessions. These
GREED feelings generate the desire to have
Your character is obsessed with exactly what the other person has,
material possessions, money and/ or both material things and inherent
other forms of power. That qualities.
influences behaviour so that greedy
characters will go so far as to corrupt Problems are bound to happen when
others and allow themselves to be it's time to divide the plunder and
corrupted, manipulated and when other wretches boast about
deceived, or even take the lives of their success.
their rivals.
GLUTTONY
Are you letting those money- The most obvious gluttonous
grubbing partners of yours take the overindulgence is eating too much,
best of you? but your character could may have
an appetite for things other than
SLOTH food: Drug addiction and alcohol
The lazy character is averse to abuse should be included in
activities that mobilise physical or Gluttony. This might still sound like
mental effort and try to lead their a minor thing, but it depends on the
lives in ways that do not require kind of adventures awaiting you.
significant effort. How can an
adventurer be lazy? You'll have to
rely on the rest of the party to do the
heavy lifting. Those wretches
obviously deserve it!
There are six mandatory Abilities:
PRIDE Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom,
Your character is permanently Dexterity, Constitution and
apprehensive about his abilities or Charisma, and the optional
attractiveness to others. The Comeliness.
narcissist, mainly preoccupied with
futile matters, lives in self-idolatry: Usually, we find Comeliness to be
you will always demand to be the useless, but in Wretched there's a
centre of attention. You don't need place for physical beauty and sex
any magic mirror to tell you you are appeal. Each starting Ability varies
the fairest of them all! between 3 and 18.
22
CANNON FODDER MODE Ability Score/ Adjustments
This is the primary old-school role- Score Modifier
playing mode: you create a level one 3 -3
character who is more than likely to 4-5 -2
die during the first adventures. Life 6-8 -1
is tough for weakling wretches. 9-12 0
13-15 +1
On this hardcore mode, you roll 3d6, 16-17 +2
in order, for each Ability, and you 18 +3
can't choose where to place each
value. Optionally, if your lowest STRENGTH (STR)
score is below 8, the Game Master The characters' physical might
might allow you to re-roll it. affects the damage done and the
attack modifier for melee and
After rolling for abilities, you can unarmed attacks and determines
trade two points from one Ability to how good they are at lifting weights
raise one point in another. and breaking down doors or similar
actions. STR bonus or penalty is
However, no score can be lowered applied to melee and unarmed
below 9. Adjustments are only combat attack rolls and to melee,
allowed during this stage of character thrown weapons and unarmed
creation. combat damage roll.
SAFETY NET MODE INTELLIGENCE (INT)

You also start from scratch in this The Intelligence score determines
mode, but you roll 4d6 for abilities how well the characters read, write,
and ignore the die with the lowest communicate, and modifies skills
score. points' starting number for some of
the character classes. From
Repeat it six or seven times Intelligence 15 up, characters
(depending on if Comeliness is being automatically gain the skill Other
used or not) and assign the values as Languages for free.
you see fit.
INT SCORE/ LANGUAGES
VETERAN MODE
If you want to play veteran 3-5 Cannot read or write
characters, advance your newly 6-8 Can read and write
created character to the 5th or 6th simple sentences
level if the Game Master allows it. in the native language
Veteran Mode doesn't necessarily 9-12 Can write fluently
mean that life will be easy, just that in the native language
the characters aren't rookies 13-15 Fluent in the native
anymore, and the foes will also be language, learned one
experienced. other language (Other
Languages Level 1)
You still get to die, but you won't die 16-17 Fluent in the native
young! language, learned two
other languages (Other
ABILITIES Languages Level 2)
BONUS & PENALTIES 18 Fluent in the native
Your score in each Ability translates language, learned three
into a penalty or a bonus applied to other languages (Other
other scores and dice rolls. Languages Level 3)
23
WISDOM (WIS) CHARISMA (CHA)
Wisdom measures the character's Charisma modifies all social rolls,
connection to the universe and the and the character's presence and
natural world, modifies the ability to force of personality.
fight the damning effects of magic - if
you decide to include it in Wretched It also determines NPC's reactions
New Flesh - and resist fear when and determines how many retainers
encountering the paranormal, the a character may have.
supernatural and mundane carnage.
RETAINERS TABLE
DEXTERITY (DEX) CHA Retainers Morale
Dexterity's bonus or penalty 3 1 4
modifies the character's ranged 4-5 2 5
attack rolls - thrown weapons or 6-8 3 6
missile weapons - and the probability 9-12 4 7
of being hit, herein labelled Defence, 13-15 5 8
usually known as Armour Class; e.g., 16-17 6 9
a +1 will increases the Defence rate 18 7 10
in 1.
In Wretched the attack roll should be COMELINESS (COM) -

equal to or superior to the target’s OPTIONAL
Defence. Though usually optional, we’ve
decided to add Comeliness to all
CONSTITUTION (CON) Wretched games. Sex-appeals
Health and vigour. Constitution's matters here. The bonus from
bonus or penalty determines the Comeliness is added to social rolls
character's starting Hit Points and when the NPCs interacting with the
modifies the increase of Hit Points character may find him or her
when levelling up. attractive.
24
CHARISMA, DEXTERITY,
INTELLIGENCE & WISDOM
SCORE & STARTING SKILLS
BONUS
Certain character classes grant you Character development should be
additional Skill Points based on the capped for the purposes of Wretched
Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence or New Flesh. In Wretched Bastards,
Wisdom scores. one of the previous settings for the
Wretched RPG, characters can go up
Additional points based on Charisma to the 14th level, while that cap was
can be spent only to upgrade Social lowered to 10 for the western
Skills, while bonus points derived spaghetti Wretched Country, the
from Intelligence and Wisdom are investigative horror Wretched
exclusively for Mental Skills. Époque and the Grindhouse
Finally, the bonuses related to emulator Wretchploitation. In
Dexterity grant points that can only Wretched New Flesh, we'll keep the
be used to buy or Physical Skill "official" cap at 10. The cinematic
points. aspect of the genre can be portrayed
through special abilities added to the
Score Extra Skill Points characters without the need to allow
1-11 No modifier for higher levels.
12 4 extra Skill Points
13-15 5 extra Skill Points Another novelty, introduced in the
16-17 6 extra Skill Points previous game (Wretchploitation) is
18 7 extra Skill Points the Archetype concept. In this game,
Class defines generic aspects of a
character, such as the number of
experience points required to
According to Class, Constitution and upgrade, their living standard and
chance, the starting number of Hit the skills and Hit Points gained when
Points (and how much they increase levelling up. However, below each
through levelling up) varies. Starting Class you will find Archetypes that
characters' Hit Points are rolled determine a few other elements.
according to their Class. Modify this
score conforming to Constitution Classes are: Assassin, Common
bonuses (or penalties). Citizen, Cyborg/ Transhuman,
Investigator, Man of Action,
Proselytizer, Psionic, Rogue and
CLASSES & HIT DICE Scholar, plus the optional Conjurer.
Assassin: 1d6
Common Citizen: 1d4 The supernatural and paranormal
Conjurer (optional): 1d4 are real in this game too, but the
chance of player characters being
Cyborg/ Transhuman: 1d8 able to manipulate its powers is
Investigator: 1d6 subject to Game Masters' approval.
Man of Action: 1d8
Proselytizer: 1d6 Archetypes define the character's
Free Perk and special bonuses.
Psionic (optional): 1d4 Though we present a few Archetype
Rogue: 1d6 examples, these can be tailored to
Scholar: 1d6 specific player concepts, and new
Shaman (optional): 1d4 Archetypes can be designed from
scratch.
25
EXPLAINED CLASS
& ARCHETYPE
Prime Requisite: Dexterity
Prime Requisite: The most crucial Hit Dice: d6
Ability for each Class. The Requirements: Dexterity 9
character's score for a Prime (minimum)
Requisite affects the Experience Starting Skills Bonus Determined
rewards with a bonus or a penalty by: Dexterity
Hit Dice: The type of dice you roll Living Standard: Middle Class,
for the character's Hit Points Upper Middle Class, Lower Upper
Requirements: Minimum score in a Class
paramount Ability for each Class
Starting Skills Bonus Determined HASHSHASHIN (ARCHETYPE)
by...: The Ability which determines Whatever it was you did before
your starting number of extra Skill this, you were good enough to have
Points been allowed to join the Old Man
Bonus Skill: The character's of the Mountain’s organization.
Archetype (or Class when there's no This is the most well respected
available Archetype) determines the assortment of killers for hire in the
free Skill awarded when levelling up world.
Living Standard: The character's
living standard is determined by You trained with a master who
Class helped you hone your assasssin
Choice of Free Perk: The free Perk skills and turned you into a true
every character is granted must be Hashshashin. Now you must abide
chosen from this list. by a code: Bargains and vows are
Unique Feat: Each Archetype (or not to be broken. You have many
Class when there's no available enemies, but you do not fear them,
Archetype) includes one special perk because you are among the killer
to which the character has access. elite.
26
Choice of Free Perk: Acute Sense,
Catlike Balance, Danger Sense,
Invisible, Lightning Reflexes, Night Unlike some of the previous
Vision iterations of Wretched, in Wretched
Bonus Skill: Stealth New Flesh, a Common Citizen can
Unique Feat: Invisible. The be a beginning character.
Hashshashin gets a +1 bonus to all
Hide, Sneak and Stealth rolls This is a way of introducing regular
people as characters in horror-
HIRED GUN (ARCHETYPE) themed one-shots or short
I focus on the job and keep my head scenarios, while allowing them to
down. I get in, I get out. I snipe, I further develop if they survive the
hide, I sneak. I can cut a throat ordeal. But there's not much
sooner than I look at a target. My fee evolution within this Class. From
is arranged. No room for level 1 up, players must choose one
negotiations. I get the job done. I of the other classes for their
work alone. I'm a shadow. characters. The Common Citizen
Choice of Free Perk: Ambidextrous, was first introduced as a playable
Danger Sense, Gunslinger, Invisible, class in Wretchploitation and, being
Lightning Reflexes, Night Vision Wretched New Flesh partly horror
Bonus Skill: Stealth as well, we decided to keep it that
Unique Feat: Weapons expert: way.
Identify, use and smuggle. Hired Prime Requisite: None
Guns have a +1 bonus to all attacks Hit Dice: d4
with ranged weapons and a +2 Requirements: None
bonus when trying to conceal their Level Skill Upgrade: None
weaponry. Living Standard: Any living
standard is possible, as long as the
SERIAL KILLER Game Master approves it
(ARCHETYPE)
Hiding in corners, often keeping ACCIDENTAL HERO
trophies, I've studied my craft and (ARCHETYPE)
am unsuspecting. Often leading a These characters come from all
double life, arrogant and dangerous. walks of life. They can be
Keeping newspaper snippets of my unassuming and mild-mannered or
exploits. I have a chosen method, be desperate to get involved in
chosen victims. I occasionally taunt elaborate plots of intrigue. They
the authorities, but I strike with find themselves meeting strangers
caution and plan meticulously. I am on trains and caught up in a
a creature of habit, but my ego is whirlwind of corruption.
usually my undoing.
Choice of Free Perk: Ambidextrous, While on holiday, they get handed
Eidetic Memory, Danger Sense, messages by folks dying in their
High Pain Threshold, Invisible, arms.~They can be out driving
Night Vision when they get hijacked or involved
Bonus Skill: Persuasion in a hold-up while visiting the bank.
Unique Feat: Such a nice person! They are also very likely to witness
Serial Killers are masters in a crime or be on the killer's hit list.
concealing their true identities and Choice of Free Perk: All may be
get a +2 bonus to related rolls. available if the Game Master
They may also have a small hideout approves
somewhere that no one knows Bonus Skill: None
about Unique Feat: None
27
OUTSIDER (ARCHETYPE)
The Outsider is either out of his
familiar environment or has always Your body was enhanced with
felt out of place no matter where. cybernetic or biotechnological
You could be a foreigner or parts, improving your capabilities
someone travelling from another beyond the natural range of human
part of the same country, a lonely biology. Maybe you work for a
youngster who just arrived in a corporation, perhaps you you are a
new environment, or someone who solo or you belong to a criminal
suffers from mental illness or a organization. No matter what, you
disability (e.g. blindness) and has are not one to be trifled with.
been isolated from others. Prime Requisite: Wisdom
Choice of Free Perk: All may be Hit Dice: d8
available if the Game Master Requirements: Constitution 9
approves (minimum)
Bonus Skill: None Starting Skills Bonus Determined
Unique Feat: None by: Dexterity
Living Standard: Lower Middle
POTENTIAL SUSPECT Class, Middle Class, Upper Middle
(ARCHETYPE) Class
The Potential Suspect may be an Choice of Free Perk: In this case
outcast, a formerly convicted there’s no choice, you must choose
criminal or someone who has been Cyberenhanced/ Bioaugmented
confined to a mental institution in Bonus Skill: Hacking
the past. Unique Feat: Mind over Metal/
Long Live the New Flesh: You
When a crime is committed, this never need to worry about losing
character will be high on the your sanity* when you roll a
suspect list. If there's some natural one using your implants/
connection between a potential augments. However, you still have
suspect and a murder victim, this to make a Wisdom Saving Throw
character will likely become the after getting new enhancements
prime suspect, even if innocent. installed (yet, you do it with a +3
Choice of Free Perk: All may be bonus).
available if the Game Master
approves * Commonly, players roll a Wisdom
Bonus Skill: None Saving throw every time their
Unique Feat: None characters get new implants and
whenever they roll a natural one
LIKELY VICTIM when performing an action which
(ARCHETYPE) relies mostly on the use of a
In movies this Archetype is almost cybernetic implant or
always about women, usually biotechnological augment. If the
young and beautiful; but a man player fails the Saving Throw, he
could also fit here. There are many must also roll 1d6 after that: on a 6
types of likely victims, from sweet the character gains a Drawback
and innocent teenagers to lewd that should be related to the use of
temptresses. the implant/ augment. The most
Choice of Free Perk: All may be likely Drawbacks to be gained from
available if the Game Master failing these rolls are mental ones.
approves The human mind can’t always cope
Bonus Skill: None with the changes to the body from
Unique Feat: None artificially augments.
28
HELLFIRE CLUB MEMBER
(ARCHETYPE)
Hellfire Clubs, like their 18th century
counterparts, are exclusive clubs for
The Conjurer class includes several high-society libertines. They indulge
types of magic users but no in several vices, but not just that: part
spellcasters. Only ritual magic is of the members also practice ritual
possible in Wretched New Flesh. Magick. Now, if Magick (or plain
magic) works or not, it’s the Game
Even if the GM allows this Class, Master’s choice. Even if they are
magic should still be exceedingly harmless occultist degenerates, this
rare. class could still be allowed;
Prime Requisite: Intelligence alternatively you can choose an
Hit Dice: d4 Occultist character.
Requirements: Wisdom 9 Choice of Free Perk: Allies,
(minimum) Membership, Polyglot, Retainers,
Starting Skills Bonus Determined by: Wealthy, Sexually Alluring
Intelligence Bonus Skill: Occult
Bonus Skill: Astrology, Divination or Unique Feat: Every Hellfire Club
Occult (each bonus point can be member has a temple, a secluded and
assigned to one of these skills) safe place that can be used as a
Living Standard: Middle Class, hideout. They also get a +1 bonus in
Upper Middle Class, Upper Class Research and Occult rolls
29
REPORTER (ARCHETYPE)
We could say that media has
Prime Requisite: Wisdom changed a lot in the decades that
Hit Dice: d6 separate us from the Avalidad
Requirements: Intelligence 9 setting, but actually it’s exactly the
(minimum) same: reporters aren’t out for news,
Starting Skills Bonus Determined by: but views or clicks. The one thing
Wisdom that changed: reporters aren’t
Living Standard: Lower Middle behaving like activists any longer,
Class, Middle Class, Upper Middle they are just worried about the
Class entertainment value of their work.
Still, there are some talented
OCCULTIST (ARCHETYPE) newshounds that can sell real
Perhaps through inheritance or investigative work to a substantial
simply wanting a change of pace, you audience.
find myself in a new property or Choice of Free Perk: Contacts,
uncovering a unique artefact. Maybe Immunity, Lucky, Membership,
an old book or a strange antique Polyglot, Stunt Driver
ornament. You explore, and uncover Bonus Skill: Interview
lost secrets buried in the past. Unique Feat: Nose for news. The
Dreams may haunt you. You are Reporter gets a +1 bonus to
embroiled in an elaborate, complex Investigation, Interview and
entangled web of intrigue. Streetwise rolls
Sometimes your wits and cunning are
pushed to the limit. Often
circumstances are disturbing and
beguiling. You are one of those scoundrels who
Choice of Free Perk: Allies, keep defying rules for finantial
Membership, Polyglot, Retainers, purposes or simply because
Wealthy, Sexually Alluring dangerously is only way you are able
Bonus Skill: Occult to live you own life.
Unique Feat: Occultists get a +2 Prime Requisite: Dexterity
bonus on Research and Occult rolls. Hit Dice: d6
They also have a second free Perk, Requirements: Dexterity 9
Contacts: Occultists. (minimum)
Starting Skills Bonus Determined by:
PRIVATE EYE (ARCHETYPE) Dexterity
The Postcards from Avalidad is Living Standard: Lower Class, Lower
heavily influenced by noir aesthetics, Middle Class, Middle Class
many people again dress like in the (exception for the Made Men, which
1940s or 1950s. The private eye stops at Upper Middle Class)
belongs here as a fish belongs in
water. Inner monologues are very
fashionable in Avalidad!
Choice of Free Perk: Allies, Fast
Healer, Gunslinger, High Pain
Threshold, Immunity, Lucky
Bonus Skill: Investigation
Unique Feat: Hunch. The Private
Investigator knows when things ain't
right; +1 bonus to Investigation,
Interrogation and Surprise rolls
30
FEMME FATALE Cool, I got girls and boys who can
(ARCHETYPE) take good care of you... Do you
You are a very seductive woman, want guns? Drugs? Yeah, man, I
the kind of broad that turns upside can do that.
down the lives of men who made
the wrong choice of becoming Just show me your green. No
involved with you. green, no show, you see! Do you
You are beautiful, sexy and want the word on the street? Yeah,
dangerous. There are many ways that can cost you. I got lots in my
for Femme Fatale to make a living pocket, some for sale, some I keep
in Avalidad, from corporate for special friends. Cops know me,
espionage, to the actual spy but there's always one of two I can
business, but also as call-girls or con trust.
artists.
Choice of Free Perk: There are many, many pushers and
Ambidextrous, Athletic, Fast operators in Avalidad. You could
Healer, High Pain Threshold, Sex sell drugs (legal or otherwise),
Bomb, Sexually Alluring pimping women, men or children,
Bonus Skill: Seduction bartering Black or Grey Market
Unique Feat: Honey Trap. A technology, etc.
Femme Fatale gets a +2 bonus to Choice of Free Perk: Allies,
all rolls related to persuading, Contacts, Danger Sense, Famous,
dissuading or seducing men Immunity, Iron Will
Bonus Skill: Carousing
HUSTLER (ARCHETYPE) Unique Feat: Hot dealer. The
What do you want? I can get it. Hustler can get his hands on one
Sure I can get it. Step into my illegal item every game session.
office, will you? Got the dough? They also get a +2 bonus to all
Streetwise rolls
31
NUN WITH BAD HABITS TERRORIST (ARCHETYPE)
(ARCHETYPE) There are several terrorist
This class may seem a strange choice organizations active in the world of
for this setting, but there is a planned Avalidad, though most of them do
crossover between Postcards from not advertise their work as
Avalidad and a scenario previously “terrorism”. The eco-terrorists
published by Postmortem Studios Guerreros de Gaia, the techno-
and about to be re-released as a utopian Filhos de Prometeu and the
Wretchploitation adventure: Sisters Mutant Liberation Movement are
of the Seven Sins. some of them
Choice of Free Perk: Contacts,
You’ll find a reference in this book Danger Sense, Famous, High Pain
to Soror Luxuria, former Mother Threshold, Iron Will, Membership
Superior of the Sisters of the Seven Bonus Skill: Technician
Sins that might be a hint on how to Unique Feat: Things That go Boom.
introduce Nuns with Bad Habits. Terrorist and explosives go well
Choice of Free Perk: Athletic, together. Characters in this class
Gunslinger, Immunity, Lightning have a +3 bonus to plant and defuse
Reflexes, Sex Bomb, Sexually explosives and they also take -3
Alluring points of damage when hit by
Bonus Skill: Persuasion explosive damage.
Unique Feat: No one suspects a nun.
Nuns with Bad Habits have a +2
bonus to Acting and Persuasion rolls Man of Action (Class)
MADE MAN (ARCHETYPE) Prime requisite: Strength
The Italian Mafia doesn’t have a Hit dice: d8
foothold in Avalidad, but the Requirements: Strength 9
Russian mobsters are present there (minimum)
and also in Lisbon. The Russian Starting Skills Bonus Determined by:
Serpukhovskaya Group is one of the Dexterity
major Eastern operations in both Living Standard: Lower Class, Lower
cities Middle Class, Middle Class
Choice of Free Perk: Allies,
Contacts, Iron Will, Membership, AVENGING
Retainers, Wealthy ANGEL (ARCHETYPE)
Bonus Skill: Leadership You’ ve been kicked around, but you
Unique Feat: Owed Favours. You are about to give those creeps what's
can call them in to get an extra roll coming to them. You can sneak, and
with a bonus. Every game session, you can hide. You better believe it,
the Made Men can call two favours: you can shoot right between the
each will get him a +3 bonus on a eyes. You am one bad-ass
related roll motherfucker and you trust no one.
That gives you the edge.
32
Choice of Free Perk: Ambidextrous, YAKUZA/ TRIAD MEMBER
Contacts, Danger Sense, Fast Healer, (ARCHETYPE)
Lightning Reflexes, Lucky The Matsuda and the Ishiwa-kai are
Bonus Skill: Small Arms the most important Yakuza families
Unique Feat: Raging fury. Three in Avalidad, while the 20k is among
times per game session, they can get the foremost Triad, but there are
into a rage, granting +2 bonus to all many other criminal organizations
combat-related rolls for 3 rounds operating in Avalidad (and Lisbon).
STREET SAMURAI/ RONIN Contacts, Fast Healer, Gunslinger,
(ARCHETYPE) Retainers, Stunt Driver
You honed your skills with melee Bonus Skill: Melee
weapons and firearms, and now you Unique Feat: Gun Kata. Yakuza and
hire your specialized services to the Triad footsoldiers are trained in guns
highest bidder. Maybe you have and unarmed combat, granting them
done this kind of job all your adult a +1 bonus on all combat-related
life, or perhaps you were part of a rolls, both attack and damage
criminal group.
Choice of Free Perk: Ambidextrous, WAR VETERAN (ARCHETYPE)
Athletic, Catlike Balance, Danger You have seen action, and you have
Sense, High Pain Threshold, earned your medals. You have seen
Lightning Reflexes have seen comrades fall, but you
Bonus Skill: Melee always refused to die! Trouble, like a
Unique Feat: Deadly and Versatile. bad smell, follows you. Buddies of
Street Samurai are as familiar with yours have died face first in the mud.
guns, as they are with blades and Their faces still haunt you. War is
unarmed combat. They have a +1 Hell, but you crave for the next time
bonus to all combat rolls (attack and you can serve. You are a true killing
damage) machine.
33
Check the Postcards from Avalidad
timeline for info on the latest
conflicts shaking up the world.
Choice of Free Perk: Allies, Danger
Sense, Gunslinger, High Pain
Threshold, Lucky, Night Vision
Bonus Skill: Rifle
Unique Feat: The War Veteran has
a diversified combat experience,
granting him a third action in each
combat round
ZONESEC AGENT
(ARCHETYPE)
No need to describe it here, there’s
plenty of information about them all
over this book.
Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory,
Fast Healer, Membership, Stunt
Driver
Bonus Skill: Small Arms
Unique Feat: I Am the Law: You
have access to technological gadgets
and biotech augments financed by
ZoneSec and can call for back-up
(it’s a relatively small city, so you
can expect reinforcements to show Someone whose calling is to
up in 2d6 rounds). persuade others to join his or her
faith, sect, doctrine, institution or
When purchasing technology and cause. Cult leaders, clergymen,
gear (unless the shopping list it’s activists, politicians and some big
very obviously unrelated to their shot con-men are proselytizers.
work), ZoneSec agents have a +5 Prime Requisite: Charisma
bonus to the Acquisition Roll Hit Dice: d6
Requirements: Charisma 9
ZONESEC PATROL OFFICER (minimum)
(ARCHETYPE) Starting Skills Bonus Determined by:
Same as above, even though the Wisdom
patrolling the streets of Avalidad is Living Standard: Lower Middle
the less glamorous side of ZoneSec’s Class, Middle Class, Upper Middle
job. Class
Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, CULT LEADER (ARCHETYPE)
Fast Healer, Gunslinger, Stunt I have devoted followers and hold
Driver elaborate rituals. Often I hide in
Bonus Skill: Small Arms plain sight, sometimes under the
Unique Feat: Contacts: You got guise of a legitimate religious order. I
something on many people, and you have many stories to tell and am
can tap them for info, alibis, etc. The experienced in mesmerizing
Patrol Officer receives a +1 bonus speeches. If it comes to that, I am
for all Interrogation, Investigation prepared to take my own life and will
and Streetwise rolls convince my followers to do the
same.
34
Choice of Free Perk: Iron Will, In game, player characters with
Lucky, Polyglot, Sexually Alluring, psionic capabilities are suggested and
Retainers, Wealthy expected to be PSI-induced
Bonus Skill: Charm characters who are users of PSI-
Unique Feat: Magnetic personality. active drugs. The maximum level for
The Cult Leader is very charismatic: a PSI-induced character is 8. PSI-
+1 bonus on Charm, Leadership, naturals can develop until level 10.
Persuasion and Seduce rolls
Example: Aziz Crowe has one of
those strange psychic dreams: he is
inside an oven, alongside a roasting
turkey.
The psionic class is a bit different
from the others: the class in nothing The headless turkey screams at him,
but a tag, under which there are four with an outrageous accent French
different archetypes. Rules-wise, the “Help me! You bastard!”. The dream
archetypes are what matters. lingers in his mind and once he
awakens in the morning the first thing
The Psionic character’s level reflects he does is to gaze from the window of
either a natural trait’s developed his Olympian Tower penthouse and
strength, or the trained induced focus on the memory of the turkey.
capacity of using PSI-active drugs or
augmentations. It determines psionic Unexpectedly his intuition points to
strength and sensibility. the suburbs. Precisely to Dr Bentley’s
Mansion!
• Ranges and intensity of effects.
• The amount of talents that can Psionic powers work in mysterious
be used before resting. ways, but they do open some doors...
• Resistance to Psionic stress and
trauma.
35
TELEPATH (ARCHETYPE) Bonus Skill: Navigation or
Prime Requisite: Wisdom Acrobatics
Hit dice: 1d4 Unique Feat: Enhanced
Requirements: Wisdom and Awareness: +2 to any sense-,
Constitution 9 (minimum) balance- or spatial awareness-
Starting Skills Bonus Determined based roll, also gives a +2 Defence
by: Wisdom bonus
Living Standard: Any living
standard is possible, as long as the PRECOGNITIVE
game master approves it (ARCHETYPE)
Choice of Free Perk: Allies, Prime Requisite: Intelligence
Guileful, Famous, Iron will, Hit Dice: 1d4
Membership, Polyglot, Retainers Requirements: Intelligence and
Bonus Skill: Academics or Wisdom 9 (minimum)
Persuasion Starting Skills Bonus Determined
Unique Feat: Mind palace: +2 to by: Intelligence
knowledge- and memory- based Living standard: Any living
rolls standard is possible, as long as the
game master approves it
KINESTHETE (ARCHETYPE) Choice of Free Perk: Allies,
Prime Requisite: Constitution Danger sense, Eidetic memory,
Hit Dice: 1d6 Famous, Lightning reflexes, Lucky,
Requirements: Wisdom and Membership
Constitution 9 (minimum) Bonus Skill: Research or
Starting Skills Bonus Determined Investigation
by: Dexterity Unique Feat: Intuition: +2 to
Living Standard: Any living investigative-, choice-, or reaction-
standard is possible, as long as the based rolls, also gives an A/C +2
game master approves it
Athletic, Fast Healer, Famous,
High Pain Threshold, Immunity,
Membership Professors, teachers, writers and
Bonus Skill: Technician or First other intellectuals.
Aid Prime Requisite: Intelligence
Unique Feat: Biorhythm: +2 to Hit Dice: d6
interrogation, interview, medical Requirements: Intelligence 9
and first aid related rolls (minimum)
Starting Skills Bonus Determined
TELAESTHESIAN by: Intelligence
(ARCHETYPE) Living Standard: Middle Class,
Prime Requisite: Wisdom Upper Middle Class, Upper Class
Hit Dice: 1d6 Choice of Free Perk: Allies,
Requirements: Wisdom 9 Contacts, Guileful, Iron Will,
(minimum) Polyglot, Wealthy
Starting Skills Bonus Determined Bonus Skill: Academics or Science
by: Wisdom Unique Feat: Knowledge is Power.
Living Standard: Any living Scholar characters have a +3 bonus
standard is possible, as long as the on all Research rolls and, once per
game master approves it game session, can get help from
Choice of Free Perk: Allies, Acute their fellow scholars on some
sense, Catlike balance, Famous, knowledge task, granting a +3
Invisible, Membership, Night vision bonus to a specific roll.
36
Berber Caravan, 100 km Outside Avalidad
TRAVELLER SOCIETY Unique Feat: Cultural Awareness.

MEMBER (ARCHETYPE) Your knowledge and interpersonal
You are a member of an skills help you overcome cultural
international club of modern differences. You have a +2 bonus to
explorers that has one of its most social skills when dealing with people
important meeting places in from other countries or cultures
Avalidad, near the tomb of Ibn
Batutta, a medieval Muslim scholar
and traveller. Most of the
members are just that, common
explorers, but some have
dared to tread in the
Beyond. Traveller
Society members who
engage in this kind of
exploration are
usually interested in
accessing time-
travelling portals,
but exploring the
nether realm itself
is also a (very
dangerous)
possibility.
Choice of Free
Perk: Allies,
Contacts, Famous,
Membership,
Polyglot, Wealthy
Bonus Skill: Other
Languages
37
Character Class Tables
ASSASSIN CLASS
Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

1 0 1d6 +1 2*
2 1,900 +1d6 - +1
3 3,800 +1d6 - +1
4 7,600 +1d6 +1 +1
5 15,200 +1d6 - +1
6 31,200 +1d6 - +1
7 62,400 +1d6 +1 +1
8 124,800 +1d6 - +1
9 249,600 +1d6 - +1
10 369,600 +1d6 +1 +1
* Modified by Dexterity score

CYBORG/ TRANSHUMAN CLASS

1 0 1d8 +1 2*
2 2,100 +1d8 - +1
3 4,200 +1d8 - +1
4 8,400 +1d8 +1 +1
5 16,800 +1d8 - +1
6 33,600 +1d8 +1 +1
7 67,200 +1d8 - +1
8 134,400 +1d8 +1 +1
9 268,800 +1d8 - +1
10 537,600 +1d8 - +1

CONJURER CLASS (OPTIONAL)
Level XP Hit Points Max. Rit./ Lvl. Bonus Skill Skills

1 0 1d4 1 +1 2*
2 2,200 +1d4 1 - +1
3 4,400 +1d4 2 +1 +1
4 8,800 +1d4 2 - +1
5 17,600 +1d4 3 +1 +1
6 35,200 +1d4 3 - +1
7 70,400 +1d4 4 +1 +1
8 132,000 +1d4 5 - +1
9 282,000 +1d4 5 - +1
10 432,000 +1d4 6 - +1
* Modified by Intelligence score

NOTE: The level of rituals per character level table for the Conjurer is the
same as the Shaman’s
38
RITUALS PER LEVEL
Character Level Number Rituals/ Level

1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 - - - - -
2 2 - - - - -
3 2 1 - - - -
4 2 2 - - - -
5 2 2 1 - - -
6 2 2 2 - - -
7 3 2 2 1 - -
8 3 3 2 1 1 -
9 3 3 3 2 1 -
10 3 3 3 3 1 1
INVESTIGATOR CLASS

1 0 1d6+2 +1 3*
2 1,500 +1d6 - +3
3 3,000 +1d6 - +2
4 6,000 +1d6 +1 +2
5 12,000 +1d6 - +2
6 24,000 +1d6 - +2
7 48,000 +1d6 +1 +2
8 96,000 +1d6 - +2
9 192,000 +1d6 - +2
10 288,000 +1d6 +1 +2
*Modified by Wisdom score
ROGUE CLASS

1 0 1d6+2 +1 4*
2 1,500 +1d6 - +3
3 3,000 +1d6 - +2
4 6,000 +1d6 +1 +2
5 12,000 +1d6 - +2
6 24,000 +1d6 - +2
7 48,000 +1d6 +1 +2
8 96,000 +1d6 - +2
9 192,000 +1d6 - +2
10 288,000 +1d6 +1 +2
39
MAN OF ACTION CLASS

1 0 1d8 +1 2*
2 2,000 +1d8 - +1
3 4,000 +1d8 - +1
4 8,000 +1d8 +1 +1
5 16,000 +1d8 - +1
6 32,000 +1d8 - +1
7 64,000 +1d8 - +1
8 128,000 +1d8 +1 +1
9 256,000 +1d8 - +1
10 384,000 +1d8 +1 +1
* Modified by Strength score
PROSELYTIZER CLASS

1 0 1d4+1 +1 3*
2 2,500 +1d4+1 - +2
3 5,000 +1d4+1 +1 +2
4 10,000 +1d4+1 - +2
5 20,000 +1d4+1 +1 +2
6 40,000 +1d4+1 - +2
7 80,000 +1d4+1 +1 +2
8 160,000 +1d4+1 - +2
9 320,000 +1d4+1 - +2
10 440,000 +1d4+1 +1 +2
* Modified by Charisma score
PSIONIC CLASS
Level XP Hit Points Max Lvl. Talent Bonus Skill Skills
1 0 1dn* 2 / 1 ** +1 3***
2 2,200 +1dn 2/1 - +1
3 4,400 +1dn 2/1 +1 +1
4 8,800 +1dn 3/2 - +1
5 17,600 +1dn 3/2 +1 +1
6 35,200 +1dn 4/2 - +1
7 70,400 +1dn 4/2 +1 +1
8 132,000 +1dn 5/3 - +1
9 282,000 +1dn 5/3 - +1
10 432,000 +1dn 5/3 - +1
* n = Hit Dice according to archetype

** Primary trait talents / secondary trait talents
*** Modified by extra skill Ability corresponding to Archetype
40
PSIONIC TALENTS PER LEVEL
Char. Lvl. Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

1 1 1 - - -
2 2 1 - - -
3 2 2 - - -
4 2 2 1 - -
5 2 2 2 - -
6 3 2 2 1 -
7 3 2 2 2 -
8 3 2 2 2 1
9 3 3 2 2 2
10 4 3 3 2 2
SCHOLAR CLASS

1 0 1d6 +1 4*
2 1,250 +1d4 - +3
3 2,500 +1d4 - +2
4 5,000 +1d4 +1 +2
5 10,000 +1d4 - +2
6 20,000 +1d4 - +2
7 40,000 +1d4 - +2
8 80,000 +1d4 - +2
9 160,000 +1d4 - +2
10 260,000 +1d4 +1 +2
* Modified by Intelligence score
41
• Catlike Balance: +4 bonus to
Acrobatics
Defence, usually named Armour
Class, determines how difficult it is to • Commanding Presence: +2 to
hit a character and its value Persuasion rolls
combines any bonus from wearing
actual armour with Dexterity • Company Support: +5 bonus to
modifiers, and also cover modifiers Acquisition rolls.
during combat.
• Contacts: A network of contacts
The attacker has to roll equal to or in one specific sphere
above the Defence value.
Unarmoured characters have a base • Cyberenhanced/ Bioagumented:
Defence of 10 - which is the 5 minor cybernetic implants/
equivalent to a Simple DC task - four minor augments or one
adjusted by any Dexterity modifiers. major cyberenhancement or
Sets of armour replace base Defence, bioaugment
while shields, helmets and Dexterity
modifiers add to it (or subtract, in • Danger Sense: +3 bonus to
case of a low Dexterity). Surprise rolls
• Eidetic Memory: +2 bonus to

recall memories
Perks are beneficial traits that give
characters bonuses to rolls or other • Famous: +2 to bonus to social
advantages, while Drawbacks include rolls when dealing with fans
penalties and other disadvantages.
At character creation each • Fast Healer: Heals twice as fast
Archetype includes a selection of
perks, from which the players can • Ghost: -3 bonus to rolls for
choose one for free. More can be tracking you down
added, but they have to be balanced
by also choosing one Drawback for • Grease Monkey: You come up
each new Perk. with crazy custom vehicles
• Gunslinger: Always wins

Initiative in gunfights
PERKS: • Guileful: +2 bonus to
Carousing, Charm and
• Acute Sense: +3 perception- Persuasion
related rolls
• High Pain Threshold: Reduced
• Allies: A small group of friends/ penalties for physical pain, +2
associates bonus to resist torture
• Ambidextrous: Negates off-hand • Immunity: Immune to a toxin
use penalties
• Invisible: +2 bonus to Hide,
• Athletic: +2 bonus for athletic Sneak and Stealth
activities
42
• Iron Will: +2 bonus to resist • Bipolar disorder: -2 penalty to
Intimidation, Persuasion and all rolls when under stress
Seduction
• Catatonia: Wisdom Saving
• Lightning Reflexes: +2 bonus to Throw every game session; a
Initiative failure means 1d6 hours
catatonia
• Lucky: You lucky bastard!
• Delusion: -1 penalty to all social
• Membership: The character rolls
belongs to an institution or
organization • Dependent: One or more
people depend on the character
• Night Vision: Negates darkness
penalties • Dirty Little Secret: Skeleton in
the closet
• Polyglot: Fluent in five
languages or more • Enemy: A group or a powerful
individual pursues the character
• Retainers: Doubles the number
of Retainers • Flashbacks: Every natural 1
triggers the flashbacks
• Scavenger: +3 bonus when
trying to find useful items • Hallucinations: Every natural 1
among junk triggers hallucinations
• Sex Bomb: Extreme sexual skills • Homicidal mania: The character

allow you to extract information is a dangerous nutcase
and gain favour
• Impaired Sense: -3 to some
• Stunt Driver: +3 bonus to all perception-related rolls
drive-related tasks
• Infamous: -3 to some social
• Sexually Alluring: +3 to seduce rolls
others
• Masochist: Loves to be
• Wealthy: Has more money than spanked, -2 penalties to some
most social rolls
DRAWBACKS • Nightmares: Daily Constitution

Saving Throw, on a failure it
• Addiction: Wisdom Saving was a bad night, -2 to all
Throw (each session) to avoid physical rolls
consuming drugs
• Obsessive-Compulsive
• Anxiety disorder: -2 when stress Disorder: -1 penalty to all social
kicks in rolls
• Bad Luck: You poor wretch! • Out of Shape: -2 to all

physically demanding tasks
43
• Paranoia: -1 penalty to all social Circumstances like combat and the
rolls amount of weight the character is
carrying change the speed rate.
• Phobia: -1 to -2 penalty when
facing fears VEHICLES IN GAME
• Poor: Pretty much a destitute Treat vehicle combat the same way
as you would regular combat.
• Reckless: Wisdom Saving Throw Manoeuvrability should be added (or
to avoid brash actions subtracted) from every roll when
driving or piloting a vehicle.
• Sadist: Torture is kind of a hobby
When a vehicle suffers damage,
• Slow Healer: Twice as long to characters inside will take half that
heal damage, unless the vehicle has some
protection for passengers (in that
case subtract it from the amount of
• Slow Reflexes: -2 penalty to damage dealt).
Initiative
TERRAIN EFFECTS
• Weak-willed: -2 penalty to all
willpower-related rolls
• Road/ trail: Normal
• Ugly: -2 penalty to all social rolls,
Comeliness can't go over 3 • Forest, tundra, hills, mud: 1/2
normal
• Desert, jungle, swamp,

mountains: 1/3 normal
The average speed for an

unencumbered character moving at a
cautious pace is 35 meters per 5-
second round.
ENCUMBRANCE & TRAVELLING
Encumbrance Normal Speed Combat Speed Running

(meters/ turn) (meters/ round) (meters/ round)
Unencumbered* 35 12 35
Light encumbrance** 30 10 30
Average Encumbrance*** 20 5 20
Heavy encumbrance**** 10 3 10
Extreme encumbrance***** 5 2 5
* From nothing carried to 20 kg

** From 20,1 kg to 35 kg
*** From 35,1 kg 55 kg
**** From 55,1 kg to 72 kg
***** From 72,1 kg to 100 kg
44
Ride her!

45
Idoru
GROUND VEHICLES
Car Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Martinelli Scorpio
Luxury sports 7 +3 380 25+
Trevisan Spider
Luxury sports 7 +2 350 25+
Nakajima Hurricane
Sports car 7 +3 320 25
Seward Sedans Maxime

Sedan 9 +1 300 20
Thompson Spirit
Town car 7 +1 200 20
Hauser Motors Roadster

SUV 10 0 280 15/ 20
Matsui Rover
Pickup 8 -1 180 15
Houser Motors Forza

Truck 12 -2 180 20
Nakajima Temptation
Compact car 6 +1 160 10
Seward Sherazade
Trevisan Galaxy
Bike Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Nakajima Idoru
Road bike 4 +2 300 15
Hauser Motors Tourer

Road bike 5 +2 320 15
Martinelli Quest
Road bike 4 +2 350 15/ 20
Harlan-Jameson Chopper
Cruiser 5 0 250 20
Matsui Dakar
Off-road bike 5 +2 190 15
Matsui Dirtside
Motocross 5 +2 200 15
46
SEWARD SEDANS
47
AIRCRAFT:
Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Nakajima Airbus
Helicopter 20 0 320 25+
Matsui Airlift
Light
Helicopter 20 +1 350 25+
Alamut Z-10
Military
Helicopter 35 +1 320 -
Houser Sovereign
Light Plane 15 0 400 25+
Martinelli Monarch
Jet Plane 23 +2 1,200 30+
Houser 320
Large jet 40 +1 950 -
WATERCRAFT
Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Jet Ski 4 +1 100 15
Speedboat 6 0 150 15
Yacht 30 -1 30 20/ 25
THIS IS A HAUSER MOTORS TOURER ROAD BIKE
WOULD YOU LIKE

TO KNOW MORE?
yes
48
ZONEzEC
49
• Smokescreen: By deploying the
smokescreen, any pursuers have
• Armoured: Adds Defence to a to do a Driving skill with a -2
vehicle, from +2 to +8. penalty. Acquisition DC 10
Acquisition DC 15
• Spikes: When spikes are
• Bulletproof Glass: Adds +2 deployed, pursuing drivers must
Defence to the vehicle. pass a Dexterity Saving Throw or
Acquisition DC lose control of the vehicle.
Acquisition DC 10
• Communications equipment:
The vehicle is equipped with full • Turbo Boost: Adds +50% to top
suite gear. Acquisition DC 10 speed for 1d6 rounds.
Acquisition DC 15
• Death Proof: The vehicle is
equipped with passenger safety
gear, allowing for crazy stunts to
be performed with minimal risk. When characters face a potential
This adds 1d6 protection threat against which no skill can be
subtracted from damage to the rolled, such as having been poisoned,
driver and all passengers. suffering from a disease or resisting
Acquisition DC 20 special attacks, Saving Throws are the
way to handle it.
• Ejecting Seat: The driver’s seat
ejects, launching the character The target number for these rolls is
out of the vehicle. An Acrobatics determined by an Ability score. The
roll should be made to land player should roll for the Ability
safely after being ejected. more closely related to the current
Acquisition DC 15 menace, e.g. Constitution should be
rolled to resist the effects of poison,
• Mounted Blades: Blades can be drugs, alcohol, disease and infection,
deployed from the sides of the Wisdom against magical attacks, to
vehicle. Acquisition DC 10 avoid going insane when performing
a ritual (if you are using the optional
• Mounted Guns: A machine gun, rules for magic) or to resist fear
flame-thrower, grenade launcher when encountering the supernatural
or other heavy weapon is or paranormal, and Dexterity to
attached to the vehicle. avoid an unnoticed trap. Saving
Acquisition DC 10 Throws are made by rolling equal to
or less than the governing Ability.
• Oil Slick: When deployed, the oil
slick causes pursuers to do a Non-sapient and low intelligence
Driving skill roll at a -3 penalty beings have different ways of rolling
to maintain control of the Saving Throws: as a rule of thumb,
vehicle. The car can have several the Game Master should use 10 as a
oils deposits. Acquisition DC 10 target number. If you feel some
creatures should do better or worse
• Security gear: Attempts to steal in a particular Saving Throw, just
the vehicle are at a -2 penalty. change their odds (replace 10 with
Acquisition DC 15 their Hit Dice or Morale score is
another option).
50
In this game, players do not If you followed our advice about
determine their characters’ starting playing veteran characters in
money but their social standing: high Wretched New Flesh, ageing might
upper class, upper class, upper- become a factor, even in a short-term
middle-class, middle class, lower- campaign. You may even start with
middle-class, lower class and ageing modifiers already in place. Of
destitute. Each Character Class has course in this game there are ways to
three possible socio-economic avoid ageing effects.
statuses: roll 2d6 (modified by
Intelligence and Charisma) to AGEING MODIFIERS
determine to which does your
character belong: Maximum age: 80
2-4 Lowest >40 years: -2 to all physical rolls, -1 to
all mental rolls
5-10 Middle
(cumulative penalty for every decade
11+ Highest above 50)
51
1d4 Hit Points to a wounded
Skills character (once per day). Using a
First Aid Kit or having access to
medical facilities grants a +2 bonus
to First Aid. Being assisted by
biotech can raise that bonus up to +3.
ACADEMICS*
Academic expertise in several fields GAMBLING
of knowledge, like History, Law or The character is proficient in several
Literature. Natural Sciences are games of chance, such as cards and
covered by the Science skill. The dice games.
character can be specialised in just
one field, and get a +3 bonus to HACKING
Academics rolls about one subject You are trained and experienced in
only, or have an overall knowledge. gaining unauthorized access to
digital devices and networks.
ASTROLOGY*
By studying astrological planets' INVESTIGATION
movement and relative positions, the Examining a crime scene, searching
character can attempt to gain for clues and adding them together
information about people and events. to find a solution to a mystery.
BREWING LEADERSHIP
The character is trained in several Military or otherwise, successful
techniques for preparing beers and Leadership rolls increase allies'
ales. Morale by +1.
COMPUTERS MEDICINE*
This skill covers programming and The character can diagnose and treat
the use of complex hardware. There’s multiple diseases and injuries. A
no need to roll for Computers when successful Medicine roll will restore
trying to accomplish the most basic 1d6 Hit Points to a wounded
tasks. character (once per day). Using a
First Aid Kit grants a +2 bonus to
DIVINATION* Medicine, and having access to
The character is practised in medical facilities adds a +3 bonus.
supernatural means or the The bonus can go up to +4 in a high-
interpretation of omens to obtain tech hospital.
knowledge of the future or the
unknown. Cybertech implanting and biotech
augmenting are covered by two
ENGINEERING specialized uses of the Medicine skill
The character has learned to plan (specialization means a +2 bonus on
and design structures like houses, those rolls and a -2 penalty on all
fortifications and bridges. other Medicine rolls).
FIRST AID NAVIGATION

The character can stabilise and care
for an injured or ill individual. The capability to accurately establish
where you are at any given time and
A successful First Aid roll can restore plan and follow routes.
54
OCCULT* Indo-European language family:
Theoretical - or even practical - Branches: Albanian; Anatolian;
knowledge of the esoteric sciences. Armenian; Balto-Slavic; Celtic;
Daco-Thracian; Germanic; Hellenic;
“Mr Crowe, you work for ZoneSec Illyrian; Indo-Iranian; Italic
right? Maybe I have something (including Romance languages:
interesting to tell you.” The eccentric Ibero-Romance: Portuguese,
Briton Sir Nigel Smythe goes on Galician, Asturleonese/Mirandese,
telling a tale of supernatural beings Spanish, Aragonese, Ladino (Judaeo-
working secretly behind the Spanish); Occitano-Romance:
corporations façade. He claims there Catalan/Valencian, Occitan (lenga
are demons at work in Avalidad, d'oc), Gascon; Gallo-Romance:
Kobayashi probably being one of French/Oïl languages, Franco-
them, and that the most astonishing Provençal (Arpitan); Rhaeto-
technological breakthroughs are due Romance: Romansh, Ladin, Friulian;
to them. Aziz is incredulous.” Gallo-Italic: Piedmontese, Ligurian,
Lombard, Emilian, Romagnol; Italo-
OTHER LANGUAGES Dalmatian: Italian, Tuscan,
Fluency in languages other than the Romanesco, Corsican, Sassarese,
character's native tongue. High Sicilian, Neapolitan, Dalmatian
Intelligence scores are rewarded with (extinct in 1898), Venetian
this skill for free. Language Family (classification disputed), Istriot;
Sardinian; Eastern Romance
(Optional): If the players have to (Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-
travel around the world, or they Romanian, Istro- Romanian);
study esoteric sciences, or even if Tocharian; Phrygian.
they are professors or researchers,
learning just one language per level Kra–Dai language family: Branches:
may feel a bit restrictive. Optionally, Kra; Kam–Sui; Lakkia; Biao; Be; Tai;
the characters can be allowed to be Hlai.
fluent in a whole branch of a
language family: Niger-Congo language family:
Branches: Dogon; Mande; Ijoid;
Afroasiatic language family: Lafofa; Kru; Siamou; Atlantic–
Branches: Berber; Chadic; Cushitic; Congo.
Egyptian; Semitic; Omotic.
Nilo-Saharan language family:
Austroasiatic language family: Branches: Berta; Bʼaga; Fur; Kadu;
Branches: Munda; Khasi–Palaungic; Koman; Kuliak; Kunama; Maban;
Khmuic; Mang; Pakanic; Vietic; Saharan; Songhay; Central Sudanic;
Katuic; Bahnaric; Khmer; Pearic; Eastern Sudanic; Mimi-D.
Monic; Aslian; Nicobarese.
Oto-Manguean language family:
Austronesian language family: Branches: Oto-Pamean: Chinantecan;
Branches: Rukai; Tsouic; Puyuma; Tlapanecan; Manguean; Popolocan;
Northwest Formosan; Western Plains; Zapotecan; Amuzgo; Mixtecan.
Atayalic; East Formosan; Bunun;
Paiwan; Malayo-Polynesian. Sino-Tibetan language family: Most
common branches: Sinitic (Chinese);
Dravidian language family: Branches: Lolo-Burmese; Tibetic; Karenic;
Northern; Central; South-Central; Bodo–Garo; Kuki-Chin; Meitei;
Southern. Tamangic; BaiJingpho–Luish.
55
Trans-New Guinea language family:
Branches: Berau Gulf; Sumeri; Irian
Highlands; Asmat–Mombum;
Kayagar–Kolopom; Central West ACROBATICS
New Guinea; Oksapmin; Bosavi; With this skill, the character can
Duna–Pogaya; Anim; Abom; perform complex feats of agility. An
Morobe; Southeast Papuan. Acrobatics roll should be used to
reduce damage from falls (a success
halves the damage).
Tupian language family: Branches:
Tupi–Guarani; Arikem; Awetï; Mawé;
Mondé; Mundurukú; Puruborá– ARCHERY
Ramarama; Tuparí; Yurúna. The ability to shoot with arrows
using a long or a short bow.
RESEARCH
Searching for relevant information Roll Skill Level+Dexterity
through a library or any other kind bonus+situational modifiers.
of data compilation.
ART
SCIENCE* Creating works of art. The skill can
The character is knowledgeable be bought separately for different
about natural sciences: Biology, artistic pursuits (e.g. visual arts,
Botany, Chemistry, Geology, sculpture, literature) to get a +2
Genetics, Physics, Mathematics, bonus on rolls.
Zoology, etc.
ATHLETICS
The character can be specialised in This skill covers actions like running,
just one field, and get a +2 bonus to jumping or climbing.
just one of the natural sciences, or
have an overall knowledge. AUTO WEAPONS
The ability to shoot automatic fire
SHIPBUILDING weaponry. Every time a character
How to design and construct large decides to fire a burst, no matter the
water vessels. weapon used, roll Auto Weapons.
SURVIVAL BRAWLING
The character can remain alive in a The character is experienced in
wilderness environment by finding fistfights and can grapple, kick and
edibles, potable water and a safe throw opponents.
shelter.
Brawling is resolved by rolling Skill
TECHNICIAN Level+Strength bonus+situational
This is a general skill. The player may modifiers.
opt to specialize and get +2 bonus on
those rolls, in detriment of general DRIVING
knowledge Avionics, Cybernetics, The ability to operate a car or other
Electronics and Mechanics are some automotive vehicle.
examples. Having all the right tools
for the jobs might warrant a +1/ +3 LOCKPICK
bonus to this skill. Opening locks, either mechanical or
not. Having a burglary tool kit grants
TRACKING a +2 bonus to Lockpick rolls.
How to follow a trail.
56
MARTIAL ARTS* Roundhouse Kick: Has the same
The character has training in some effect and downside as Aerial Kicks.
formal hand-to-hand combat
technique. Martial Arts is resolved by Overhand Punch: A strong punch
rolling Skill Level+Dexterity bonus that deals 1d4+Strength bonus in
+situational modifiers. Special damage.
Manoeuvres: The Martial Arts skill
prepares the character for unique Throat Punch: It deals average
kinds of unarmed attacks. Here are a unarmed combat damage, but the
few examples: opponent must pass a Constitution
Saving Throw or be thrown off-
Aerial Kick: A spectacular flying kick balance and lose all the actions for
that deals 1d6+Strength bonus in the round.
damage and +2 Stun bonus. The
downside is that it exposes the MELEE
character a little too much. If the The ability to use swords, daggers,
opponent is still up, the next attack clubs, axes, polearms and other hand-
against the martial artist will be to-hand weapons. Melee is resolved
made at a +2 bonus. by rolling Skill Level+Strength
bonus+situational modifiers.
Dim Mak, the Touch of Death: A
deadly manoeuvre only experienced PILOT*
martial artists should try. The attack The character can manoeuvre a
is made at a -4 penalty, but it deals plane or helicopter. The character
1d8+Strength modifier in damage, gets a +2 bonus to roll by choosing
plus a +2 Stun bonus. just one option.
Elbow Strike: A vicious and painful PLAY INSTRUMENT
strike that delivers 1d4+Strength The character can play an instrument
modifier damage to the opponent. and other similar ones.
Leg Sweep: This low attack deals QUICKDRAW
common unarmed combat damage, Quickdraw is slightly different from
but the opponent has to roll a the others skills: you usually
Dexterity Saving Throw or be thrown shouldn't roll it, but add the
to the ground, losing the following character's skill level to ranged
action to get up. combat Initiative rolls.
Neck chokehold: Positioning behind RIDING
the opponent, the attacker wraps an The character is experienced in using
arm around the target's neck, locking horses or other animals as a means of
him or her in a hold. The manoeuvre transport.
is made at a -2 penalty, but it grants a
+3 bonus in subsequent opposed
rolls to maintain the hold. RIFLES
The character is proficient in firing
rifles and shotguns.
It also allows the martial artist to
asphyxiate the opponent, draining
1d4 Hit Points per round while the SAILING
lock is kept. Several other The character knows how to pilot a
chokeholds are possible, such as the watercraft and can read maps and
Doji-me, with the same effects. plan a course, etc.
57
SLEIGHT OF HAND DISGUISE
The ability to perform conjuring tricks Using make-up, clothing, wigs, fake
or to pick pockets. beards and other implements, the
character can give him or herself (or
SMALL ARMS even another person) a different
The skill used to shoot pistols and appearance.
crossbows. Small Arms is resolved by
rolling Skill Level+Dexterity INTERROGATION
bonus+situational modifiers. Using intimidation techniques and
even torture, the character can obtain
STEALTH information from someone.
To follow someone else - or move
around a guarded area or similar INTERVIEW
situation - without being noticed. To obtain information more
pleasantly and discreetly than with
SWIMMING Interrogation.
The ability not to drown in adverse
circumstances, i.e. you don't have to INTIMIDATION
roll for Swimming in calm waters. The capacity to scare the hell out of
other people, even without saying a
word.
PERSUASION
ACTING The power to convince others to
The ability to take on roles of fictional change their minds.
characters can also be used to
impersonate real people. Combine with SEDUCTION
the Disguise skill for a better effect. Using charm and sexual allure to
entice someone.
ANIMAL TRAINING
The ability to raise and train a specific SINGING
kind of animal. It should be bought The ability to sing in a way others
separately for multiple species. may want to listen to.
CAROUSING STREETWISE
The capacity to drink large amounts of The character knows how to talk,
alcohol (and/ or drugs) and still react and manoeuvre in a dangerous
manage to stay up whole nights urban environment.
partying and gambling, while keeping
sober enough to accomplish something TEACHING
worthwhile. The bonus you get from The ability to instruct others. Useful
the skill is also added to Carousing if you want to teach skills to other
Activity rolls during downtime characters.
(Carousing activities generate plot
hooks and advantages - or
complication - for player characters). * Skills marked with an asterisk
allow trained use only
CHARM
The innate quality of attracting or Many skills allow for specialized
fascinating others effortlessly. Doesn't uses: for most, add a +2 bonus to the
differ much from Seduction, but Charm specialization and a -2 penalty to
is almost like a passive ability. every other roll.
58
Perks and ACUTE SENSE
Drawbacks One or more of the character's
senses are sharper than ordinary,
providing +3 bonuses on all
perception rolls related to that sense.
Suburbs of Avalidad, Mediouna the Acute Sense must be bought
upper-class suburb: in one of the separately for hearing, sight, smell/
most luxurious mansions, a taste and touch.
magnificent party is going
on, chez Dr Bentley. There’s a party
every other night, but this is the first ALLIES
time someone literally partied to There are people willing to help the
death. characters, perhaps even risking life
and limb.
Natasha’s (ZoneSec director’s
Personal Assistant) voice rouses Aziz This Perk works on two different
in the middle of the night: “Urgent levels, power and commitment: you
call from Dr Bentley”. On the other can have common folk, able to
end a frantic Dr Bentley shouts. provide minor assistance but always
“Aziz, this a serious matter, they’ve on your side (you may ask for their
hurt Veronica (pauses)… I also have help once every game session), or
two dead bodies laying on the floor. influential friends, which can use
Come here as soon as possible. That their vast influence on behalf of the
means NOW!” player characters, but only do it
occasionally (once every 5/ 6 game
sessions). Mistreating allies or
Perks are beneficial traits that give demanding too much from them can
bonuses or other advantages, while strain the relationship. If the
Drawbacks include penalties to rolls character demands too much from
and other disadvantages. allies, they will desert him or her.
At character creation players should AMBIDEXTROUS
pick one free Perk; more can be Off-hand use (combat or non-
added, but they have to be balanced combat) penalties are negated by
by choosing one Drawback for each being ambidextrous. The character
new Perk. can even shoot two weapons
simultaneous, though that will
Neither Perks nor Drawbacks are deplete the two actions available per
permanent. Ill-advised actions or round (and add a -2 penalty if
unfortunate events may determine shooting at different targets).
the loss of Perks, and hard work,
training, therapy, surgery, cybernetic/ When facing two cyberenhanced
biotech enhancement or plain luck punks, high on drugs, and with
can overcome Drawbacks. weapons drawn, Agent Borges decides
to shoot both foes. She's
By encountering the supernatural or ambidextrous, so there's no off-hand
the horrifying and using magic, penalty, and she can use up the two
characters may be given certain actions right away. Agent Borges is
mental Drawbacks by the Game skilled in Small Arms; she quickly
Master due to shock or meddling shoots both targets, even if the roll is
with unknown forces. made at a -2 penalty.
59
ATHLETIC Whenever you need to expend
The character is strong and fit. This money in work-related situations
advantage grants a +2 bonus to all (how far you can stretch that concept
skills rolls related to sports and other is up to you and your Game Master)
athletic activities. you get a +5 bonus to Acquisition
rolls.
CATLIKE BALANCE
This character is capable of incredible CONTACTS
acrobatic feats such as leaping from The character has a network of
one vehicle to another, jumping to a contacts (inside a specific area) from
rope ladder, clinging to a lifting whom support can be asked. The
helicopter, doing backflips on a contact network has much more
tightrope or jumping from a second- members than what is provided by
floor window to a horse's back. the Allies perk, but these individuals
will never put their lives, reputations
This perk grants a +4 bonus to all or jobs at stake for the character.
Acrobatics rolls.
As with Allies, if the character abuses
COMMANDING PRESENCE relationships, he may lose the perk.
An almost superhuman ability to Contacts can be bought multiple
appear powerful and confident and times for different networks.
inspire trust in everyone around.
Commanding presence gives CYBERENHANCED/
characters a +3 bonus on all BIOAGUMENTED
persuasion rolls. Perhaps you worked for a
corporation or ZoneSec, or you were
COMPANY SUPPORT a member of a crime family, or even
You have financial backup from your had some savings which you invested
employers. in cyberenhancements or biotech
augments.
60
You can have either 5 minor FAST HEALER
cybernetic implants/ four minor The character heals twice as fast as
augments or one major usual: if he or she has any Hit Points
cyberenhancement or bioaugment. left recovers 2d6 lost points after a
Retractable claws or cybernetic eyes night of sleep or a full day's rest.
are examples of minor implants, When reduced to zero or less HP, 2
while armoured skin and enhanced Hit Points are recovered per day the
reflexes are major ones. character remains at rest.
DANGER SENSE GHOST

The character is capable of You have invested time and money
anticipating dangerous situations in erasing all traces of your existence
before they happen. It can have a from data banks and social media.
paranormal, supernatural or Whenever someone tries to track you
mundane explanation. This perk down or get info about you, they get
grants a +3 bonus to all Surprise a -3 bonus to their investigation-
rolls. related rolls.
EIDETIC MEMORY Agent O’Malley tries to find the

The character has the uncanny ability bombing suspect by hacking the street
to vividly recall an image he was cameras around the area. But there’s a
exposed to, no matter how briefly. weird pattern of equipment getting
shut down. He ends up losing the trail.
Whenever trying to recall a memory, Later, O’Malley dives into the web
the character has a +2 bonus. It can looking for info on the unsub. Again
also be used for the character to nothing. No digital trails left behind…
recall any relevant information the
player has forgotten. GUNSLINGER
Characters with this perk don't need
FAMOUS to roll for Initiative in ranged
The character is well known either combat. They always win. If there's
because of notable achievements or more than one Gunslinger in combat,
for some pedestrian reason, such as the winner is the one with the highest
having been in a reality show or Dexterity (if it's still a draw, roll for
being a pop singer. Initiative to end the tie).
This grants a +2 bonus to all social GUILEFUL

tasks (and +3 to persuasion or The character has clever ways to
seduction rolls) when interacting achieve his or her aims by using
with fans. Nevertheless, it can also deceitful methods and treachery. +2
mean trouble when trying to go bonus to Carousing, Charm and
unnoticed. Persuasion.
Agents Borges, O’Malley and Gibson HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD

have been assigned to a security The character has a remarkable
detail at the Blue Parrot, to protect resistance to pain and torture. All
singer Malena. The team sets up a penalties related to physical pain
surveillance perimeter outside the bar. (e.g. the optional Critical Hit rules)
On the night of the concert, the Blue are reduced by -1. When trying to
Parrot is at its maximum capacity, resist torture, the character applies a
everybody wants to see Malena. +2 bonus to all related rolls.
61
IMMUNITY ZoneSec, the Chinese’s Organization,
The character is immune to the the Traveller Society or the Hellfire
effects of one substance, like Club are possible memberships.
alcoholic beverages, a specific drug
(such as cannabis) or a kind of NIGHT VISION
poison (like cyanide). The substance This advantage negates penalties to
to which the character is immune rolls from low light and total
causes a mild effect (or no effect at darkness.
all).
POLYGLOT
INVISIBLE The polyglot is fluent in five
A character with this perk is quiet as languages and can communicate in
a cat, able to move unnoticed: +2 ten more idioms.
bonus to Hide, Sneak and Stealth.
RETAINERS
IRON WILL This perk doubles the number of
The character is exceptionally retainers allowed for the character's
determined, gaining a +2 bonus to Charisma score.
resist Intimidation, Persuasion or
Seduction attempts. SCAVENGER
You have an uncanny ability to go
LIGHTNING REFLEXES through heaps of (apparent) trash to
The character is almost find valuable discarded odds and
preternaturally fast and gains a +2 ends. You have a +3 bonus to all
bonus to all Initiative rolls. search-related rolls when trying to
find useful items among junk.
LUCKY
Whether it means something You can use this to find parts you
(destiny, karma, etc.), or just out of need or just to make some easy cash.
chance, the character is more
fortunate than most others. If SEX BOMB
something terrible happens to the For a Sex Bomb, the Kama-Sutra is
party, the Lucky one should be just child's play. This character's
excluded from dire consequences, sexual performance is a true
and if rewards are awarded, he or she accomplishment.
should be the first to benefit from
them.
Confidence in these abilities should
grant +1 to +3 bonuses when rolling
MEMBERSHIP for Seduction and Charm.
This character belongs to some kind
of group, organisation or institution,
which grants him or her a series of The performance itself has a few
benefits, even though it may be effects: the character can extract
accompanied by some duties. This information or obtain favours (after
Perk works on two levels: the sex, roll with a +2 bonus on the
importance of the organisation and specific skill).
the character's relevance within it.
The character could be a significant STUNT DRIVER
figure in a local club, an insignificant The Stunt Driver was born behind
member of an international the wheel; there's little he can't do
operation, or somewhere in the with a vehicle. Add a +3 bonus to all
middle. drive-related rolls.
62
X LAZARUS CLINICS
yes
SEXUALLY ALLURING Every time the character goes on an

Beauty is measured by Comeliness, adventure, the player must roll a
but you don't have to be gorgeous to Wisdom Saving Throw. On a failure,
be Sexually Alluring. A character the character must consume drugs or
with this Perk arouses sexual desire be subjected to a penalty to physical
in others. Any attempt to seduce a or mental rolls according to his or
non-player character who could be her chosen drug.
attracted to you is made at a +3
bonus. The Blue Parrot is once again filled to
the brim. Malena sings, accompanied
WEALTHY by Doyle on the piano. The singer
This character is substantially attracts a different crowd: tonight the
wealthier than others from the same Parrot is full of young people.
background or profession. This
fabulous wealth may have resulted One group seems particularly excited
from an inheritance, investments, and, suddenly, there’s is a commotion
pure luck or other reasons. Wealthy on their corner of the room. Doyle,
adds a +5 bonus to all Acquisition who had left the stage some minutes
rolls. before to greet Aziz and Isabella
Nakatomi, quickly jumps up to see
what the hell is happening in his bar.
A young Asian kid has collapsed on
the floor. Nakatomi examines him.
ADDICTION He’s gone and it was clearly an
Trying to overcome intense stress or overdose.
shocking experiences, the character
develops a dependency on a Michel Doyle is beside himself: people
substance - usually alcohol, don´t normally OD at the Parrot, it’s
recreational or prescription drugs - just not that kind of bar! He pushes
which must be consumed regularly; the punk’s friends around and they
avoiding said substance will have confess he took a new drug: Dark
physical and/ or mental Dancer, the hot fashionable narcotic
repercussions. on the streets of Avalidad..
63
ANXIETY DISORDER DELUSION
The character finds refuge from the
Characters suffering from anxiety world's harshness, turning to
disorder suffer a persistent feeling of unshakable beliefs in something that
dread, which can interfere with daily isn't true. Some of these delusions
life. The Game Master should aren't bizarre and are related to real-
penalise the character with -2 to all world situations, like being followed
rolls in situations where the or being a victim of a conspiracy.
character's anxiety kicks in. Disillusioned characters will not
change their mind even if furnished
BAD LUCK with undeniable proof of falseness.
The character is less fortunate than The character gets a permanent -1
others, whether there's some penalty to all social rolls.
supernatural or paranormal Common types of delusional
explanation or just by chance. disorder:
Every time something terrible is • Erotomanic: a character who

about to happen to the party and suffers from this type of
chance will determine the outcome, delusional disorder believes that
the unlucky should always suffer. If another person, usually someone
rewards are awarded, he or she will important or famous, is in love
be the last to benefit from them. with him or her.
BIPOLAR DISORDER • Grandiose: a character who

This mental disorder causes shifts in suffers from this delusional
mood and concentration, which leave disorder has an inflated sense of
the character unbalanced, swinging self-worth.
between feelings of depression and
mania. • Jealous: a character who suffers
from this type of delusional
When under stress, the character disorder obsesses about his or
suffers repercussions: -2 penalty to all her spouse or partner being
rolls. unfaithful.
CATATONIA • Persecutory: a character who

The character will withdraw from suffers from this type of
reality during prolonged periods, delusional disorder believes
being virtually paralysed and ignoring someone is spying on him or
what goes on in the world. In some planning to harm him.
cases, it may be possible to help the
character snap out of that state; • Somatic: a character who suffers
otherwise, constant care will be from this type of delusional
needed. disorder believes that he or she
has some kind of medical
When the character gets the condition.
condition, he or she will spend 1d6
hours in a catatonic state. Every game DEPENDENT
session, the player must roll a
Wisdom Saving Throw. On a failure The character has someone (or
on that roll (and every time a natural several people) who relies on his or
one is rolled), the character will go her support, either financial or
into a catatonic state for 1d6 hours. another kind of assistance.
64
No direct penalties, but the Game HOMICIDAL MANIA
Master should use the dependent The character is stricken by an
when creating complications for the almost uncontrollable murderous
character. desire, which leads to thoughts about
homicide, possibly even detailed
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET plans to execute the act. The
The character hides something that character is then plunged into a
might get him or her in trouble if it is homicidal state, which may
made public. be related to sociopathic or
psychopathic tendencies. While some
The outcome of this secret being penalties can be applied, the effects
revealed must be something more of homicidal mania must be role-
than a mere embarrassment; at the played.
very least legal complications, but it
could go up to a life (or death) IMPAIRED SENSE
sentence. This drawback contrasts with the
Acute Sense Perk: one or more of
ENEMY the characters' senses are duller than
A group of people or one powerful they should be. All perception-
individual is actively pursuing the related skills that rely on that
character. There are three particular sense are penalised by -3.
possibilities for this Drawback: the Impaired Sense is purchased
foe is less powerful than the separately for hearing, sight, smell/
character but shows up a lot, the taste and touch.
enemy is equal to the character and
appears regularly, or the enemy is INFAMOUS
much more powerful than the The character has done something
character but only tries to harm the (or has been framed for it) that
protagonist occasionally. earned him or her a bad reputation.
Whatever it is, all social rolls that rely
FLASHBACKS on trust will be penalised by -3, as
The character suffers a post- most people expect the worst from
traumatic flashback that takes him or that character. Occasionally, this
her back to the moment when the drawback has a positive outcome, by
derangement was added. Every time scaring away potential foes.
the character rolls a natural one (on
any roll), he or she may be troubled MASOCHIST
by flashbacks, at Game Master's Masochists derive sexual gratification
discretion. from their own pain or humiliation.
The character will practice self-
HALLUCINATIONS mutilation and may be prone to be
The character suffers from sensory spanked by sexual partners. The GM
experiences which appear natural but should apply -2 social penalties when
are a product of a weakened mind. applicable.
The hallucinations are probably
related to a traumatic event NIGHTMARES
experienced by the character in the These aren't the usual bad dreams
past, and they can strike at any time. everyone has once in a while. The
Every time the character rolls a nightmares occur frequently, likely
natural one (on any roll), he or she every night, and are particularly
may be troubled by hallucinations, at horrendous, probably connected to a
Game Master's discretion. terrifying event that triggered them.
65
Roll a Constitution Saving Throw PARANOIA
every morning. On a failure, the The paranoid character believes
character will get a -2 penalty to all "they" are out to get him/ her. The
physical rolls for that day due to character receives a permanent -1
exhaustion. penalty to all social rolls.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PHOBIA
DISORDER The character harbours an irrational
When suffering from OCD, the fear of something. Phobias are
person has uncontrollable and permanent, and they imply a -1 to -3
reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) penalty to all rolls (except those
and/or behaviours (compulsions) related to escape) when dealing with
that are repeated repeatedly. the source of fear.
Common examples of compulsive • Acrophobia (fear of heights)

behaviour are: constantly washing
hands, hoarding useless items, • Arachnophobia (fear of spiders)
compulsively eating, gambling or
stealing without the need for it. • Autophobia (fear of being alone)
The character gets a permanent -1 • Claustrophobia (fear of confined
penalty to all social rolls. spaces)
OUT OF SHAPE • Hematophobia (fear of blood)
The character is obese, extremely
thin and frail, or easily tires.
• Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes)
Any kind of action that requires
physical exertion, from running to • Hydrophobia (fear of water)
engaging in combat, will be penalised
by -2. • Agoraphobia (fear of situations
in which escape is intricate)
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66
POOR
The character earns much
less than what he or she
should, according to
background and professions,
or else has debts to pay that
syphon all money out of the
bank account.
Rules-wise, the character is

almost destitute. After
paying bills and buying the
bare essentials, nothing is
left. Poor characters have a
-3 penalty to all Acquisition
rolls.
RECKLESS
A Reckless character is
immensely brash and never
thinks about consequences.
Whenever the player wants
the character to fight the
urge to do something
dangerous out of cockiness,
a Wisdom Saving Throw must be SLOW REFLEXES
rolled. The character has less motor
coordination and is slower to react
than most people. That gets him or
SADIST her a -2 penalty to all Initiative rolls.
A psychosexual disorder in which
sexual gratification is obtained by
engaging in sadistic actions. WEAK-WILLED
Any attempt to influence, intimidate
or scare a Weak-willed character is
A sadist usually starts by torturing easier:
animals before turning to human
victims for torture and/ or murder.
all willpower-related rolls are made
at a -2 penalty, including all Wisdom
The actual consequences will vary Saving Throws to control fear or
according to what the characters do dealing with magic (tapping into the
in-game, but it is bound to get them dark powers of the Beyond is not
in trouble with the law. for the feeble-minded).
SLOW HEALER UGLY
Slow Healer doubles the time it takes The character is particularly
for Natural Healing. A character with unattractive and gets a -2 penalty in
any HP left recovers 1d6 lost points all social rolls when dealing with
after two nights of sleep or a few individuals of the opposite sex or
days of resting. gay people of the same sex.
Seduction rolls may have an
Characters reduced to zero or less increased penalty at the Game
HP recover 1 Hit Point every two Master's discretion. Also, can't have
days of rest. Comeliness above 3.
67
LOCATION: MUTANT TOWN
WARNING!
WARNING!
WARNING!
68
XP FOR KILLING THINGS
experience Hit Dice/ Lvl XP Award
0 5
Being in adventures is rewarded with 1 15
experience points. These are used to 2 25
level up the character, bringing on 3 50
improvements, according to each 4 125
class, that include rolling for more 5 225
Hit Points, gaining new skills and 6 350
other traits. Some of the ways 7 450
characters earn experience are 8 650
similar to every other old-school 9 1000
game, but a few are exclusive to 10 1250
Wretched, a system that rewards anti- 11+ +250 per level
heroic actions, greed, selfishness and
salacity.
[Even though character level is
capped at level 10, that doesn’t
You should decide with your players necessarily apply to NPCs]
beforehand if acting in ways that
harm the other player characters
counts for earning experience points THOU SHALT STEAL
or if only NPCs should be the targets In Wretched, plundering treasure
of their malice. whose owner has been dead for a
long time or whose identity is
unknown doesn't count as far as
experience awards are concerned.
First of all, there aren't necessarily If the party has taken their loot from
only ten. We already covered mortal an identifiable victim, divide the
sins, so let's not take the religious amount stolen (in dollars) by 100 and
metaphors that far. These are a few share the resulting number, in
guidelines on rewarding the experience points, among the party
characters for their selfish, violent members. If the characters have
and lecherous actions during each stolen from a major NPC, either
adventure. friend or foe, award them with an
extra 100 XP each.
You can use only some of the ones
mentioned here or add others. THOU SHALT COVET
However, rewarding wretchedness is, THY NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE
obviously, mandatory in this game. If the character has seduced
someone beautiful: 50 XP. On the
HONOUR NO ONE other hand, if the character seduced
If the character acted selfishly: 50 XP or had sex with a hideous person
(Comeliness below 6, if you are using
that optional Ability) to achieve
THOU SHALT KILL some purpose: 50 XP.
Killing for rewards is nothing new for
a role-playing game character. The
Murder Hobo trope exists for a THOU SHALT LOVE THYSELF
reason, after all. The experience
awarded for killing enemies, as usual, If the character ostentatiously acts
depends on those foes' Hit Dice or narcissistically and indulges in his or
level. her vices: 50 XP.
69
THOU SHALT LIVE TO TELL Prime Requisite Score & Experience
THE TALE Bonus/ Penalty
Surviving an adventure deserves a 3-5 -20%
reward: 100 experience points, if the 6-8 -10%
result was positive, but only 50 if 10-12 No adjustment
the Game Master determines the 13-15 +10%
party failed their primary goal. 16-18 +20%
If the character's accomplishments

were beyond a simple triumph, they
should be awarded extra
experience, up to 500 bonus points By rewarding "bad things," players
each. may forget about the plot and
concentrate on just playing their
THOU SHALT PLAY THY characters as wretched creatures. Is
ROLE that bad, though?
If the player excelled in
interpreting the character: 100 XP. We don't think so, but if you want to
have some control over it, using law
THOU SHALT BE DEVIOUS enforcement pressure might do the
& UNTRUSTWORTHY trick.
If the character betrayed a major
NPC, either friend or foe: 50 XP. The Wanted Levels could be
attached to Experience Levels but
must vary according to the
If the characters avoided harm by characters' actions.
lying, cheating or fast-talking their
way out of danger: 50 XP. Level 1 - A clean slate, unless the
character's background says
THOU SHALT TAINT otherwise.
THY NEIGHBOURS
If the character corrupts someone Level 2 - Some people have noticed
(in any sense of the word "corrupt", the characters' behaviour in the town
from bribing usually honest officials or city where they usually dwell (in
to deflowering a young maiden): 50 this case the City is, very likely,
XP. Avalidad). Perhaps they are barred
from entering some shops or
THOU SHALT CONQUER Districts (the City of Glass will be
If the character accomplishes a quickly out of limits for trouble
personal objective: 50 XP. makers).
Level 3 - The party is well known

around the village, town or city, and
they are not welcomed by most
Each class has a Prime Requisite, households and businessmen.
the most essential Ability for that Perhaps they are not welcome even
type of character. in the Crépuscule Districl
The score each character has for a Level 4 - The party is likely despised
Prime Requisite affects the in a city, and their infamous exploits
Experience rewards: have reached neighbouring places.
70
Level 5 - The characters are well- Level 9 - The party's infamy is
known for their roguish ways in an known throughout the whole
expanding area that may already continent. Everywhere they go,
include several villages, towns or people have heard about their
cities. They are probably barred from notorious wrongdoings.
entering some of those places. At this
moment it will be hard for the Somehow, the characters are still
characters to move except in the managing to annoy more and more
underworld areas. people. Agartha should be an
adequate last place of refuge.
Level 6 - More than just being well
known, the party members are hated Level 10 - Not just only known, the
around the region and will be characters are feared or distrusted in
immediately jailed or attacked when all of the civilized world. They are
entering some cities. From now on it wanted dead or alive in all places.
will be almos impossible to move
freely outside places such as Mutant They can't go anywhere without
Town and Agartha. disguising themselves or risk being
killed.
Level 7 - The party's infamy has
reached the farthest corners of a Even Agartha is dangerous for the
nation, and rumours about them characters at the moment. Maybe
reached neighbouring countries. they got on Mayor Pigaface’e wrong
Morocco isn’t a well-policed state, side or else outside forces are
but the cops will not go easy on the threatening to in there.
characters.
Perhaps it's time to roll up new
Level 8 - The characters are now characters...
infamous in several countries.
71
72
REACTION TABLE, ROLL 2D6
Combat 2-3 Hostile
4-6 Aggressive
“After a shooting spree, they always 7-9 Cautious
want to take the guns away from the 10-11 Indifferent
people who didn't do it. I sure as 12 Friendly
hell wouldn't want to live in a
society where the only people
allowed guns are the police and the
military.”
William S. Burroughs
Each side rolls 1d6 and adds the
highest Dexterity bonus in the group;
It's time for a bit of the old ultra- the winning side goes first.
violence. Encounters may or may not Otherwise, Initiative can be rolled
end in actual combat, but they should individually for each character
always be tense moments. involved in combat.
Usually, an encounter starts by The second option makes more sense
determining if someone was if the characters aren't close together
surprised - unless the parties were and fighting as a group. In case of a
obviously aware of each other before tie, the side with the highest
- after which reactions are resolved. Dexterity should go first. The
If it's a hostile encounter, Initiative is Initiative can be rolled once for the
then rolled, and combat starts next. whole combat or repeated each
round (5 seconds).
INITIATIVE BONUS TABLE

The first step to resolving an
encounter is to find out if any of the Dexterity Initiative Modifier
parts were surprised, assuming that is
possible. Each side should roll 1d6, 3 -2
adjusted by modifiers if any: on a roll 4-5 -1
of 1-2, the characters are surprised by 6-8 -1
the encounter. 9-12 0
13-15 +1
If no one is surprised, proceed to the 16-17 +1
next step. If both parties were 18 +2
surprised, they all lose one round
preparing. Proceed to the next step.
If only one side was surprised, that
character/ party would be unable to
act for the next round. After the Initiative is determined,
the winning side gets to act. Every
character gets two actions per round
that can be used to attack, parry,
move, draw or switch weapons, etc.
When the Game Master is undecided If someone is firing a ranged weapon,
about the non-player characters' using a Psionic talent, using a magical
outlook on the characters, a Reaction artefact with an instant effect or
Roll is needed. casting a spell, that character's
actions are resolved first.
73
Hand-to-hand combat attacks come • Total darkness: -3
second place. Attacks are made by
rolling Skill Level+Ability Bonus (or • Partial darkness: -2
minus penalty)+other modifiers.
• Large target: +2
An unmodified 1 on an attack roll
always fails, and an unmodified 20 • Small target (small animal or a
always hits (as long as the target is in limb of a human-sized target): -2
range and not under full cover).
• Tiny target (very small animal,
After every character on the winning head, hand): -3
side has acted (assuming the winners
haven't delayed their actions), the
losing side gets to act. • Attacker exhausted: -2
If there are still two sides, determine • Using off-hand: -2

if a Morale Check is needed. Success
at a Morale check means the combat • Attacker is moving while
proceeds using the same order as shooting: -1
before (or by re-rolling Initiative).
• Target is moving: -1
• Wounded character penalties:

check Critical Hits (optional)
Attacking opponent from behind: +2
to attack (also, the target loses the
shield bonus to Defence)
74
MELEE WEAPONS TABLE
Weapon Damage Range (meters) Ammo ST

Axe 1d8 - -
Axe, Throwing 1d6 5 -
Baseball bat* (-2 to hit) 1d6 - -
Blackjack* 1d4 - -
Blow dart 1d4+poison 3 -
Bow, Compound 1d6 20 10
Bow, Long 1d6 20 10
Crossbow, Light 1d6 25 15
Crossbow, Heavy 2d4 30 15
Club 1d4 - -
Dagger 1d4 5 -
Kosh* (-2 to hit) 1d4 - -
Nightstick* (-2 to hit) 1d6 - -
Pepper spray 1d4 (for 2 rounds) 1 -
Spear 1d6 10 -
Stun Gun** Stun - 18
Sword 1d8 - -
Taser** Stun 1 18
Throwing darts (+2 to hit) 1d4 5 -
Range: The effective range of each

weapon (close range is half - or less -
Ammo Saving Throw (ST): The than effective range. Long-range is
number which you must roll equal to/ double - or more - than the effective
under at the end of combat; on a range)
failure, you’re out of ammo ROF: Rate of Fire, the number of
Damage: The amount of damage shots per round, and if the weapon is
done after a successful hit capable of shooting bursts
UNCLE BILL’S .44 REVOLVER

“CALLAHAN”
BUY NOW
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75
RANGED WEAPONS TABLE
Type Damage ROF Range Ammo ST Acq. DC

Derrick
Pistole .22 1d6-1 1 25 18 10
-Light
Pistol
Reminger
Light Sidearm 1d6-1 1 25 18 10
-Light
Pistol
Uncle Bill’s
Splatterpunk 1d6 1 30 18 10
Revolver
- Medium
Pistol
Reminger 9mm*
Semi-automatic 1d6+1 1 30 18 10
- Medium
Pistol
Reminger .45
Semi-auto 1d6+1 1 25 18 10
- Heavy
Pistol
Hauser Arms
.40 Compact
Revolver 1d6+2 1 25 18 10
- Heavy
Pistol
Uncle Bill’s
Callahan .44
Revolver
- Very Heavy 1d8+2 1 25 18 10
Pistol
Reminger . 44
Semi-auto
- Very Heavy 1d8+1 1 25 18 10
Pistol
Hauser Arms
Machine Pistol 1d6 Burst 55 18 10
- SMG
Reminger
Submachine Gun 1d6 Burst 50 18 10
- SMG
Uncle Bill’s
Shooting Artist 2d6 1 10 10 15
- Shotgun
Reminger*
Automatic Shotgun 1d6+3 1 10 15 15
- Shotgun
Hauser Arms
Gewher 1d6+2 Burst 300 15 15
-Rifle
Uncle Bill’s
Old Bull Lee 1d6+2 Burst 350 15 15
-Rifle
Reminger*
Scout
-Sniper Rifle 1d8 1 500 10 15
Hauser Arms
Marksman Rifle 1d8+2 1 500 10 15
-Sniper Rifle
Reminger
Assault
- Assault 1d6+3 Burst 350 10 15
Rifle
Hauser Arms
Battle Rifle
- Assault 1d6+3 Burst 300 10 15
Rifle
* Reminger 9mm Semi-automatic pistol is ZoneSec’s standard issue firearm; ZoneSec’s Tactical Response
teams additionally Reminger Scout sniper rifles; these can be complemented on the field with
Reminger Automatic Shotguns for heavy fire situations.
76
Typical Damage/ Ammo Capacity (Firearms):
Weapon Damage Ammo ST
Light Pistol (.22) 1d6-1 18
Medium Pistol (9mm) 1d6/ 1d6+1 18
Heavy Pistol (.40) 1d6+1/ 1d6+2 18
Very Heavy Pistol (.44 Magnum) 1d8/ 1d8+2 18
Assault Rifle (5.56) 1d6+2 10
Assault Rifle (7.62) 1d6+3 10
Shotgun 1d6+3 10
Submachine Gun 1d6 18
Typical Damage (Heavy Weapons):

Weapons Damage Ammo ST
Light Machine Gun 1d8 18
Machine Gun 1d10 18
Grenade Launcher Per grenade 10
Grenades
Type Damage Range (meters) Acqui. DC
Fragmentation 3d6+Explosive* 10 5
Flashbang** Stun 10 5
Incendiary 1d6* 10 5
Smoke*** - 10 5
SPECIAL WEAPONRY: Reminger/ Annexia Corp/ Hauser

Arms/ Skyswitch Weaponry
Reminger/ Annexia Corp/ Hauser
Arms Microwave Pistol: Damage 1d6,
Range 10, ROF 1, Ammo ST 5,
Guide Pistol (Medium Pistol): Acquisition DC 20, ignores soft
Requires Neuroport, fires gyrojet armour, disables cybernetics in the
projectiles capable of partial steering in location hit on a damage roll of 6.
flight. +2 bonus to hit, ignores 2 points
of cover, 1d6 damage, Range 25, ROF 2, Reminger/ Annexia Corp/ Hauser
Ammo ST 18, Acquisition DC 20 Arms
Reminger/ Annexia Corp/ Hauser Microwave Rifle: Damage 1d6+2,

Arms Range 15, ROF 2, Ammo ST 5,
Acquisition DC 25, ignores soft
Guide Rifle: Requires Neuroport, fires armour, disables cybernetics in the
gyrojet projectiles capable of partial location hit if either damage die rolls
steering in flight. +2 to hit, ignores 2 a 6.
points of cover, 1d8 damage, Range
300, ROF Burst, Ammo ST 15, BurroughsTech Weaponry/ Annexia
Acquisition DC 20 Corp/ Hauser Arms
BurroughsTech Bioweaponry/ Annexia Biotech Taser – Damage: 1d8, Range

Corp/ Skyswitch Weaponry 15m, ROF 2, Ammo ST 10,
Acquisition 25, regenerates charges
Web Rifle: Rifle size, but uses pistol in one hour if nutrients are available.
ranges, fires a sticky web requiring a BurroughsTech biotaser is standard
Strength SR to break free. Range: 5, issue for ZoneSec operatives and
ROF 1, Ammo ST 10, Acquisition 25 agents.
77
HAUSER ARMS MARSKSMAN BUY NOW
SNIPER RIFLE
yes
ADDITIONAL BOW RULES: CHEMICAL WEAPONS

If you roll a natural 1 when firing a & DIRTY BOMBS
bow roll 1d6:
Highly dangerous and lethal, coming
1 The bow breaks into contact will see you dead, unless
you are in fully protective PPE.
2 The string Breaks Examples: Agent Orange, anthrax,
mustard gas, napalm, thallium,
3 /4 The arrow breaks Zyklon B.
5/6 The arrow is lost As a rule of thumb, these weapons

take 1d4 rounds to melt, burn or
choke anyone in range. Radiation,
WEAPON ACCESSORIES depending on the level of exposure
can take longer, 1d4 hours, days,
Barrel launcher: Applied to a rifle, it weeks, months, or even years.
fires an explosive shell, which can be
any type of grenade.
Extended magazines: These grant a

+3 bonus to Ammo Saving Throws. RANGED COMBAT, ROLL 1D20
Flashlight: Reduces penalties to 1-3 Left Leg

attack roll from total darkness and
eliminates penalties from low-light. 4-6 Right Leg
Laser targeting: The laser’s red dot 7-13 Abdomen
improves accuracy adding +2 to
ranged attacks.
14-16 Left Arm
Sound suppressor: When applied to
some weapons reduces the sound. 17-19 Right Arm
Hearing the sound of the gun being
shot from afar requires a Wisdom 20 Head
Saving Throw.
78
Heavy kevlar
armoured body
Suit - carapaxx
by annexia
Customize & order
MELEE ROLL 1D20 SPECIAL TYPES OF ARMOUR
1 Left Leg Produced by… BurroughsTech

Weaponry/ Future Genetix/ Annexia
2 Right Leg Corp/ Hauser Arms
3-13 Abdomen Nano Bodyarmour: 16 Defence,

protection to all locations, extremely
14-16 Left Arm light, Acquisition DC 20
17-19 Right Arm Light Exoskeleton: 17 Defence,

protection to all locations; replaces
Strength with an effective value of 16,
20 Head Acquisition DC 25 [-1 penalty to all
Perception-related rolls]
COVER
Average Exoskeleton: 18 Defence,
How much Soft Hard protection to all location, replaces
Strength with an effective value of 18,
1/4 +1 Def +2 Def Acquisition DC 25. [-1 penalty to all
Perception-related rolls]
1/2 +2 Def +4 Def
Heavy Exoskeleton: 12 Protection,
3/4 +3 Def +6 Def replaces PHY with an effective value
(strength only) of 18. Availability: 5
Full +4 Def Impossible [-2 penalty to all Perception-related
rolls]
79
ARMOUR
C (COMMON)
Type Defence Acq. DC

Leather Clothing/ Heavy Cloth 12 10
Kevlar Vest: 14 10
Light Kevlar Flexible Under-armour: 10 10
Medium Kevlar Vest 15 10
Medium Kevlar Body Suit* 17 15
Heavy Kevlar Vest 16 15
Heavy Kevlar Armoured Body Suit* 18/ 19 20
Light Helmet +1 10
Heavy Helmet +2 10
Riot shield +2 10
*Charctere wearing full body suits have a -2 penalty to all Perception-related

rolls and halve the character’s movement rate. Flexible and light armour
(such as under-armour and spiderweave suits should shouldn’t penalise
the wearers.
Spiderweave armour vest/ body suit: 2 Failure: Constitution Saving

16/ 18 Defence, light weight, Throw is required, if you fail
Acquisition DC 30 you take 1d8 Damage
Chitin armour vest/ body suit: 18/ 20 3-5 Dexterity Saving Throw or
Defence, Acquisition DC 30. [-1 the gear stick breaks off in
penalty to all Perception-related rolls, your hand, perhaps a
halves movement rate] computer malfunction or a
weapons mishap
* ZoneSec’s standard issue body
armour (Nano Body Vest, 6-9 Engine cuts out
Spiderweave Vest, Spiderweave
Body Suit and Chitin Body Suit) is 10-13 You just make it. After an
produced by BurroughsTech amazing looking roll or skid,
Weaponry perhaps the motor just
sparked, or you smack the
MAD MANOEUVRE TABLE dash board with your boot
(OPTIONAL)
14-16 You're taking the corner a
When trying to emulate cinematic bit sharp or narrowly
car chase scenes you can roll on the avoided a ridge, or a barrel
following table, adding a +1 to +3 roll takes just took you out
bonus from a successful Drive roll of the way of certain doom
(the Stunt Driver Perk add +3).
17-19 A decent leap or full 360°.
Roll 1d20 You stay on track
1 Critical failure: Constitution 20 The manoeuvre pays off and

Saving Throw is required, if you look good doing it
you fail you take 1d8
Damage
80
Agent Borges was outside a The Game Master should decide
ZoneSec’s van when she spotted three when it's time to check NPC Morale.
menacing goons coming towards her. Some examples: when the NPC is
While Borges reached inside the van first wounded during combat, when
to get her faithful Hauser Arms that character is reduced to 1/4 of
assault rifle, Jana Gibson picked up a total Hit Points or less, when half the
9mm, focusing on her psionic powers NPC party is dead or unconscious,
for tactical leverage. Meanwhile, when the use of magic calls for
rookie O’Malley decided to pop out Morale to be rolled, etc. Morale
of the sunroof and fire up his checks are resolved by the Game
Remminger sub-machine gun, just Master rolling 2d6 and comparing it
like a hero in an action vid. Despite to the NPC's Morale score. If the roll
barely knowing how to shoot, he is under the target number, the NPC
managed a clean burst that knocked keeps fighting. If the roll is over, they
down one of the thugs and kills him. run away. If there's no predefined
score, use the following table:
Armed with her Hauser rifle, Borges
efficiently dispatched the second thug NPC MORALE TABLE
with a shot to the head. Meanwhile,
Jana’s psionic senses made her aware Personality Type Morale
that a new hidden foe had joined the Coward 2
combat zone, through an open Wary 3-5
window, several floors above them. Undisciplined 6
She nervously let the others know. Detached 7
Borges focused on the third man; Average 8
although he was under cover, his arm Courageous or disciplined 9-11
was showing. All of a sudden it was Suicidal or determined 12+
turned into a bloody stump.
The player character retainer's
Every time a character is wounded - Morale score is determined by the
in combat or otherwise - he or she protagonist's Charisma, modified by
loses Hit Points (HP). the Ability bonus. It should be
checked when the character's orders
When HPs reach zero, the character unnecessarily put the retainer's life
goes unconscious and cannot act. at risk and when the NPC's Hit
There's still a chance to save the Points are down to 1/4 or less.
mortally wounded character, though:
the player is allowed a Constitution
Saving Throw to avoid character
death during the next ten minutes.
Combat in Wretched New Flesh is
If some other character manages to cinematic, so accounting for ammo
heal the fallen comrade, he or she wouldn't do. At the end of combat,
survives. A healing roll at -10 Hit just have the players roll an Ammo
Points is made at a -5 penalty. Saving Throw. If they fail, ammo is
depleted. If they pass, there are
If the character reaches -15, there's enough magazines for the next gun
no chance of healing. fight. Each weapon lists its respective
Ammo Saving Throw.
81
Successful use of the First
Aid skill restores 1d4 Hit Points
while passing a Medicine check • Reduced to zero Hit Points:
restores 1d6 lost HP. These healing Difficult (DC 20)
rolls only work once per day.
• -10 Hit Points: Very Difficult (DC
Having medicines, drugs, medical 25)
equipment, and other favourable
conditions may imply a bonus to this NATURAL HEALING
skill roll. Usually, first aid kits and A character who has any HP left
medical facilities grant bonuses to recovers 1d6 lost points after a night
First Aid and Medicine Rolls (check of sleep or a full day's rest.
skill description).
Characters reduced to zero or less
DC FOR HEALING WOUNDED HP will take longer to recover: 1 HP
CHARACTERS: is recovered per day if the character
remains at rest.
• A few hit points lost: Simple
(DC 10) ASSISTED HEALING
Recovering in a medical facility
• Half of the total Hit Points lost: doubles the character's healing rate:
Average (DC 15) 2d6 Hit Points are recovered per day
82
if the wounded character has HPs LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs:
left, or 2 Hit Points are recovered per These drugs have hallucinogenic
day if reduced to zero or fewer HPs. effects which grant some bonuses,
If the facility has access to biotech, such as +2 for artistic skills and +1
the healing rate is even higher: all for perception-related rolls. For 1d4
lost Hit Points are recovered within to 2d10 hours, depending on the
the same day if the wounded dosage. The downside includes -1
character had HPs left, or 4 Hit penalties to Intelligence, Dexterity
Points are recovered per day if the and Wisdom for 1d10/ 4d10 hours,
character was reduced to zero or depending on the dosage.
fewer HPs.
Amphetamines: These drugs give
DISEASE, POISON you increased reaction and
& OTHER HAZARDS resistance: +1 Initiative and 5
temporary Hit Points for 1d6 hours.
There are many other ways of dying When the effect wears down, the
outside of combat. Here are a few character will have a -1 penalty to
examples: Dexterity and Wisdom for 1d12
hours. Also, the extra Hit Points will
Poison: Every time a character is be gone, but they'll be subtracted
exposed to a poison, the player rolls from the normal amount. This means
a Constitution Saving Throw. If the that the character might die of shock
roll fails, the character suffers the from wounds taken while under the
effects, which vary according to the effect of amphetamines.
type of poison. Loss of Hit Points,
unconsciousness or death are the Addiction To Drugs: If characters
most common. start taking drugs too often, you may
consider Addiction. From a certain
Drugs & alcohol: The way to resist point on - the exact time depending
these toxins is the same as a poison on what drugs the characters are
Saving Throw, but the effects are taking and how often they do it -
much less aggressive. they must roll a Wisdom Saving
In small doses, they are more likely Throw with a -1 to -3 penalty. If the
to give the character Ability player fails that roll, the character
penalties (or bonuses) than a loss of gains the Addiction drawback.
Hit Points. The Carousing skill bonus
is added to the Constitution score Falling: For every 3 meters fallen,
when resisting the effects of drugs characters suffer 1d6 damage.
and alcohol.
Disease: Battling an illness is done by
EXAMPLES OF DRUGS: rolling a Constitution Saving Throw.
Cocaine/ Crack/ Stims: These drugs A mild condition usually only gives
temporarily increase mental alertness the characters temporary penalties to
and add a +2 bonus to perception- Abilities. Some severe diseases might
related rolls and Initiative. Some have a 25% chance (roll 1d100,
downsides are increased blood failure happens on a roll equal to or
pressure/ heart rate for 1d6 hours. less than the target number) of
On a botch on your Saving Throw, a killing within 1d6 days, 1d6 weeks or
stroke or brain hemorrhage may 1d6 months. Natural or magical
occur. healing can treat diseases.
83
Hunger & thirst: For each day
without food, the character must roll
a Constitution Saving Throw or MELEE ATTACK
temporarily lose one Constitution An attack made using a hand-to-
point. Recovering lost Constitution hand weapon. Strength modifier is
points takes twice as much as applied to both the attack and the
recovering from wounds. damage roll.
Going without water requires a RANGED ATTACK
Constitution Saving Throw (failure A ranged attack is made using any
means losing 1d6 Hit Points). On the kind of missile weapon, such as a
third day, no more Saving Throws are pistol, rifle, bow, crossbow, sling, etc.
made. The character just loses 6 HP The Dexterity modifier is applied to
per day until he or she dies. the attack roll. The ranged weapon
table includes the effective range of
each weapon. At close range (half of
Effective Range or less), there's a +1
bonus to attack rolls. At long range
(double Effective range), the
character suffers a -1 penalty. Attacks
done at Effective Range have no
Punching, kicking or striking a target modifier.
with a knee or elbow is resolved by
rolling 1d20+Strength AIMED SHOTS
modifier+Brawling or Martial Arts A character can spend one entire
score. It does one Hit Point round just aiming when using a
+Strength modifier damage and can ranged weapon. The next ranged
cause a Stun or Knock-out effect. attack will be made at a +3 bonus.
Stun and knock-out do not work on SHORT BURSTS & AUTO FIRE
targets much larger than the Burst attacks are made by rolling the
attacker, the undead and creatures Auto Weapons Skill, no matter which
immune to standard types of kind of weapon the character is
damage. shooting.
When hit by an unarmed strike, the Short Burst: When attacking with an
target should roll 1d20 and subtract automatic weapon, you can choose to
the Constitution score (in the case of shoot a short burst. This adds +2 to
creatures without a Constitution your attack roll and the damage done
score, it is replaced by twice their Hit to the target in case of a hit. After
Dice). shooting a short burst, roll an Ammo
Saving Throw to check if you still
If the total result is one or more, the have any rounds left in the magazine.
target becomes stunned for one
round. Full Automatic Fire: When firing a
fully automatic weapon, you add +2
While stunned, the character cannot to the attack roll and triple the
act for one round and should also damage to the target in case of a hit.
roll a Constitution Saving Throw or After shooting a full-auto burst, roll
suffer a Knock-out (KO lasts for an Ammo Saving Throw at a -3
1d20 minus CON score in rounds). penalty to check if you still have any
rounds left in the magazine.
84
Suppressive Fire: When firing a fully FIRE INTO MELEE
automatic weapon, you may choose When a character fires a ranged
to just spray an area (about 3 meters weapon against an opponent
wide) to dissuade people from involved in a close combat situation,
moving. Anyone in the area must the attack roll is made at a -3
pass a Wisdom Saving Throw to be penalty. On a failure, roll 1d6: 1-3.
able to move from cover (opponents No one is hit; 4-6 The attack hits the
may still fire back, but they will not wrong target.
be able to approach, retreat or move
position if they fail this roll). HOLD
The character forfeits his or her turn
After spraying an area with in the combat round to using that
suppressive fire, roll an Ammo action later.
Saving Throw at a -3 penalty to check
if you still have any rounds left in the MOVE
magazine. A character can move up to half his
or her movement rate in meters
CALLED SHOTS during a combat round and still
Targeting a specific body part (to make an attack.
avoid armour or shooting at some
item being carried) is done at a PARRY
penalty -2/ -3 depending on the Instead of attacking, the character
target's size. You can also use the concentrates on defending from
alternative Hit Locations table. opponents in melee or unarmed
combat. No other action is possible
COVER during that round. A Man of Action
If the character hides behind cover, gets a +4 Defence bonus and other
such as walls, doors, boulders, trees or classes a +2 Defence bonus when
any other object that can sustain parrying.
damage, he or she gets a Cover
bonus. Soft cover, which cannot USE MAGIC/ PSIONIC
deflect damage like bushes or TALENTS
curtains, offers little protection Using any kind of Psionic talent,
against attacks. magical artefact, spell or ritual.
DISARM WITHDRAWAL
The disarm manoeuvre attack roll is The character securely backs away
similar to a standard attack, but from a hand-to-hand fight. During
instead of delivering damage, the that round, no other actions are
attacker rolls 1d20, modified by his possible.
and the defender's Dexterity bonus
(or penalty). If that roll is higher than WRESTLING
the target's DEX/ STR score When trying to hold or pin down a
(whichever is the highest), he or she target, both characters roll 1d20,
will be disarmed. applying the Strength modifier and
Brawling/ Martial Arts Skill Bonus
DRAW OR SWITCH WEAPON for a contested roll. The winner
It takes one action to draw a gun, accomplishes the manoeuvre, and
unsheathe a sword or dagger or the losing side will not be able to
switch between different weapons. perform any other action other than
Picking up any other item will also trying to escape (by repeating the
take one action. previously contested roll).
85
SWORD DUEL TABLE
1. Attacker lunges, opponent

defends
PISTOL DUEL
It can be handled as any other 2. Attacker and defender both
ranged combat, but if you want to cut each other. Minor flesh
play them faster and more cinematic, wound (no damage)
have both sides roll Initiative, then
roll 1d6 plus/ minus Dexterity 3. Attacker and defender stand
modifier plus Quickdraw on the close to each other, their
following table. If the initiative roll of swords crossed. Roll 1d6: 1-3
one of the duellists doubles that that Attacker kicks or punches
of the opponent, he gets a critical hit. defender, causes 1 minor
Use the critical hits rules, or just wound (1d4 damage) 4-6
double the damage rolled on this Defender kicks attacker,
table. causes 1 minor wound (1d4
damage)
PISTOL DUEL TABLE
4. Both attacker & defender
1. … or less: misses the target Strike. Roll 1d6: 1-3 Attacker
inflicts a minor wound (1d4
2. Shoots target's hat off damage) 4-6 Defender inflicts
minor wound (1d4 damage)
3. Target grazed by a bullet, no
damage, but it draws blood 5. Defender gets wounded (roll
weapon damage)
4. Minor wound (1d4 damage)
6. Attacker gets wounded (roll
5. Minor wound (1d4 damage) weapon damage)
6. … or more: Wound (roll Critical Hits (optional)

weapon's damage)
By rolling a natural 20 or
You may allow the character who delivering an attack to a specific
lost the Initiative to roll in the Duel body part (head, hand, foot or any
Table, even if he was shot dead. other location that requires a -3
Sometimes a duel ends up with two penalty to the attack roll), the
losing sides. attacking character accomplishes a
precise blow labelled a Critical Hit
SWORD DUEL which has secondary effects
besides damage.
The sword duel is slightly different:
first roll initiative. If you win, you can When a Critical Hit is delivered,
choose to be the attacker or the the attacking part should roll on
defender. one of the following tables,
depending on the kind of damage
Both roll on the Duel Table and then done:
consult the result. The winner is the
duellist who first gets two major hits. Unarmed, blunt, blade or firearm.
86
CRITICAL HIT TABLES: -2 penalty to all actions until a
successful first aid or Medicine roll
UNARMED, ROLL 2D6
9 Limb fracture, roll Constitution
2-5 Opponent is shaken and must roll Saving Throw to avoid knock-down,
a Constitution Saving Throw. On a -2 penalty to all actions until a
failure, the target misses the successful first aid or Medicine roll
following action
10-11 Fractured skull, roll
6/7 Opponent is shaken and stunned Constitution Saving Throw to avoid
for 1 round unconsciousness, -2 penalty to all
actions until a successful first aid or
8/9 Opponent is shaken and stunned Medicine roll
for 2 rounds
12 Concussion, opponent collapses,
10/12 Opponent is knocked out (KO -2 to all actions until healed
lasts for 1d20 minus CON score in
rounds) BLADE, ROLL 2D6
BLUNT, ROLL 2D6 2 Pierced cheek, -1 penalty to the

following action. Leaves a scar
2 Cracked jaw, -1 penalty to the (permanent -1 to Comeliness)
following action
3 Abdomen gash, -2 penalty to the
3 Crackled rib, roll Constitution following action
Saving Throw to stay up (by failing,
will lose one action to get up) 4 Pierced abdomen, roll 1d6: 1-2 no
internal wounds, 3-6 internal
4 Sprained limb, -1 penalty to all rolls bleeding (lose 1 Hit Point per round)
using that limb until a successful first
aid or Medicine roll 5 Wrist, thigh or knee wound, -2 to all
actions involving that limb until a
5 Head wound, roll Constitution successful first aid or Medicine roll
Saving Throw to avoid knock-down,
-1 penalty to all actions until a 6 Stabbed through the abdomen, roll
successful first aid or Medicine roll 1d6 1-2 clean wound 3-6 organ
rupture and infection (double natural
6 Lost teeth, stunned, roll healing time)
Constitution Saving Throw to avoid
knock-down, -1 penalty to all actions 7 Stabbed through the ribs, roll 1d6:
until a successful first aid or 1-2 no internal damage 3-6 pierced
Medicine roll lung (double natural healing time)
7 Internal damage (torso), roll 8 Stabbed in the neck, loses 1 Hit

Constitution Saving Throw to avoid Point per round (bleeding)
unconsciousness, -1 penalty to all
actions until a successful first aid or 9 Slashed cheek, huge scar, lost teeth
Medicine roll (permanent -1 to Comeliness), roll
1d6: 1-2 no other damage 3-6 slashed
8 Broken ribs, roll Constitution tongue (double time for natural
Saving Throw to avoid knock-down, healing)
87
10 Pierced through the ribs, heart/ 9 Abdomen wound, roll 1d6: 1-2 no
lung damage (double natural healing internal damage, 3-6 ruptured
time), Constitution Saving Throw to internal organs (triple natural
remain conscious healing time), -2 to all actions until a
successful first aid or Medicine roll
11 Gut wound, pierced internal
organs, roll 1d6: 1-2 clean wound 3-6 10 Chest wound, lung damage,
infection (triple natural healing time) Constitution Saving Throw to keep
conscious, -2 penalty to all actions
12 Slashed throat, will bleed out in 2 until a successful first aid or
rounds without medical care (or first Medicine roll
aid)
11 Head shot, concussion and scar
FIREARM, ROLL 2D6 (permanent -1 to Comeliness), roll
Constitution Saving Throw to keep
2 Facial superficial damage, roll 1d6: conscious, -2 penalty to all actions
1-2 no scar, 3-6 scar (permanent -1 to until a successful first aid or
Comeliness) Medicine roll
3 Abdomen wound, cracked ribs, 12 Chest wound, heart or lung

Constitution Saving Throw to keep damage, will bleed out in 3 rounds, -2
conscious penalty to all actions until a first aid
or Medicine roll
4 Gutshot, roll 1d6: 1-2 clean
wound, 3-6 infection
(double natural healing
time)
5 Groin wound,
Constitution Saving Throw
or pass out due to pain
6 Torso shot, splintered ribs,

Constitution Saving Throw
to keep conscious
7 Limb wound, fractured

arm or leg, -2 penalty to all
actions using that limb until
a successful first aid or
Medicine roll
8 Shot to the head, roll 1d6:

1 no more damage, 2-6
concussion, Constitution
Saving Throw to keep
conscious, -2 penalty to all
actions for 1 turn. It might
Painaway
leave a scar (permanent -1
to Comeliness).
keeps you on your feet
88
89

Wretched New Flesh Quickstart

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Wretched New Flesh Quickstart

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QUICKSTART

Markus Vall (Order #35552345)

In this fictional account, biotech and

Postcards takes place in an alternate Like many punk-suffixed games of

There are multiple other examples in

Unlike the main setting, where

Affordability isn't the only thing

They have the government • While the City is run mainly by

• Cybertech was never really • On the other hand, Music is still

• In developed countries, regular

SAFETY NET MODE INTELLIGENCE (INT)

In Wretched the attack roll should be COMELINESS (COM) -

TRAVELLER SOCIETY Unique Feat: Cultural Awareness.

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Dexterity score

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Dexterity score

Level XP Hit Points Max. Rit./ Lvl. Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Intelligence score

Character Level Number Rituals/ Level

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

*Modified by Wisdom score

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Dexterity score

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Strength score

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Charisma score

* n = Hit Dice according to archetype

Char. Lvl. Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Level XP Hit Points Bonus Skill Skills

* Modified by Intelligence score

• Eidetic Memory: +2 bonus to

• Gunslinger: Always wins

• Sex Bomb: Extreme sexual skills • Homicidal mania: The character

DRAWBACKS • Nightmares: Daily Constitution

• Bad Luck: You poor wretch! • Out of Shape: -2 to all

• Desert, jungle, swamp,

The average speed for an

ENCUMBRANCE & TRAVELLING

Encumbrance Normal Speed Combat Speed Running

* From nothing carried to 20 kg

Markus Vall (Order #35552345)

Car Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Seward Sedans Maxime

Hauser Motors Roadster

Houser Motors Forza

Bike Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Hauser Motors Tourer

Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

Large jet 40 +1 950 -

Model Hit Dice Manoeuv. Top Speed Acq. DC

THIS IS A HAUSER MOTORS TOURER ROAD BIKE

WOULD YOU LIKE

FIRST AID NAVIGATION

DANGER SENSE GHOST

EIDETIC MEMORY Agent O’Malley tries to find the

This grants a +2 bonus to all social GUILEFUL

Agents Borges, O’Malley and Gibson HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD

SEXUALLY ALLURING Every time the character goes on an

Every time something terrible is • Erotomanic: a character who

BIPOLAR DISORDER • Grandiose: a character who

CATATONIA • Persecutory: a character who

Common examples of compulsive • Acrophobia (fear of heights)