Immortals vs.

The Dark
A game by The Eldritch Tomb

Written by Sasha De'ath and Tristan Jusola-Sanders

The Game
The world is fucked. Something is wrong with it, and it feels like no one's doing anything. Every day
the battle is fought and lost. Hopelessness reigns.

Fuck that. There are people in the world with fighting for, and someone needs to do the fighting. You're
an Immortal. Someone who holds back the Dark. You chose to kick ass, and now your name will live
forever (even if you won't).

Shards of every Immortal who's come before live in you. Gods try stamp them out, Demons try to tear
them down, the Man tries to hold them back, and the Dark is desperate to feast on them. Immortals
can't be held back. Immortals can't be stopped. The Dark can't stop us all.

Every conflict builds, every threat is faced, and every day is a new fight. Sometimes you win,
sometimes you lose, sometimes the difference is razor thin. No matter what, an Immortal does one
thing: Gets back up. And if you don't? You make sure nobody forgets where you fell.

Kick some ass. Save the world. Die Immortal.

The Rules
You are an Immortal. Choose a name and your mightiest Deed. Describe your Immortal. Take a
Conflict die in a color, pattern, or symbol you'll recognize (we recommend Red, Black, or fire-
patterned).

All dice, including the Conflict die, are six-sided.

Conflict is inevitable. Your Conflict is your drive to change the world, and the consequences thereof. It
starts at 1.

When you suffer as a result of your heroism, roll your Conflict die. If you get higher than your
Conflict, add 1 to your Conflict and work out the consequences with your GM. (This is called a
Conflict Roll.)

Conflict represents something different per point. Write it down when you gain one. It can be an injury,
a loss of civilian life, a villainous escape, etc., as long as it negatively affects your Immortal's life.

Resist the Dark. When you go against the will of the Dark, roll:
• One die if it is physically possible for your Immortal to do (your “Immortal Die”.)
• One die if it falls within the purview of your Immortal's mightiest Deed (your “Deed Die”.)
• Your Conflict die, if you will push yourself or risk something to succeed.

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If your Conflict die rolls higher than any other die, make a Conflict Roll as above.

Your highest die result shows how much you've succeeded at defying the darkness. One a 1, you
succeed only by a stroke of tremendous luck, but the cost is dire. The GM gains 1 Doom.

On a 2-3, you succeed at the bare minimum; you find a way forward, but that's all. On a 4, you
accomplish the task in a way that would impress any hero.

On a 5, you accomplish your task heroically, plus gain something more and gain 1 Triumph. For
example, you might quell the breaking of a dam by directing it into a burning field.

On a 6, you gain all the benefits of 5, but the winds of fortune betray you. Even in your Triumph
something goes wrong, and you must make a Conflict Roll.

Here is an example in the style of a traditional fantasy adventure. You're attempting to stem a horde of
undead soldiers at the walls of Fort Dortner. On a 1, you manage to seal the gates, but the dead still
wait – and what's more, they bring a terrible siege weapon to bear. Make a Conflict Roll as the door
begins smashing down in record time. The GM gains 1 Doom.

On a 2-3, you manage to seal the gates without the dead having a weapon prepared. This buys you
time, but not security. On a 4, you pull the gates up and reinforce them swiftly, stationing strong men
and buying preparation for when the dead inevitably arrive.

On a 5, you secure the gate in record time and position men at the ready. What's more, a priest from the
village says he has a group of worthy bishops who can bless the waters of the moat, boiling any
walking dead who stray into them. You gain 1 Triumph.

On a 6, the gates are secured and sealed, men are positioned, and the moat is blessed. You gain 1
Triumph. However, the dead work in subtler ways than this – they've stationed a vampire somewhere in
the fortress. Whether in secret or with an open show of power, the vampire begins killing, exploiting
your oversight. Make a Conflict roll as the creature strikes again.

Your talents are many. Whenever you do something besides endless battle, roll dice as before. If your
Conflict Die rolls higher than any other die, make a Conflict Roll.

Again, your highest die shows how well you do. On a 1 you barely succeed and raise Doom. On a 2-3,
you succeed competently. On a 4, you succeed heroically. On a 5, you succeed heroically and with an
added bonus plus 1 Triumph. On a 6 you succeed heroically and gain something extra, but something
goes wrong and you must make a Conflict Roll.

Here is an example in the World War 2 action pulp genre: You're investigating the murder of antifascist
partisan Violetta Antonia. On a 1, you find that the killer used a military grade rifle, but no other
information. What's more, the killer was still nearby and spotted you. The GM gains 1 Doom.

On a 2-3, you discover that the killer took her out with a long-scope rifle unique to the Germans,
meaning it was not merely a hit by the Italians. On a 4, you identify the exact kind of rifle and its serial
number, as well as the round itself, and identify them as unique to the SS Special Ops.

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On a 5 you receive all prior information, and the name of the specific manufacturer – namely an Italian
firearms smith and salesman operating in town who openly flaunts his support for the visiting Nazi
regime.

On a 6 you receive all of the above. However, the gunsmith has been tipped off and has prepared a
shotgun trap or ambush fascist thugs when the PCs arrive. Make a Conflict Roll to avoid the surprise
attack.

You will face many Challenges. The GM may decide that a situation cannot be resolved or a threat
cannot be overcome in a single roll. They will instead assign the threat a number of Challenge Dice
from 1 to 4. 1 Challenge Die means the threat is a small challenge that still must be overcome (such as
a roving band of soldiers or a weak demonic possession). 4 Challenge Dice is a complex or difficult
challenge that will push an Immortal to their limits (such as a dragon the size of a castle, or a fast-
spreading fire).

If any Challenge Dice roll higher than the highest die in your pool, your action fails. In addition, you
must make a Conflict Roll as the situation worsens.

During a Challenge, for each die you roll that is higher than the highest-rolling Challenge Die, you may
eliminate that Challenge Die until none remain, at a cost of one-for-one.

Threats do not end until all Challenge Dice are eliminated, then a final roll is required to end the threat.
A scene does not end until all PCs have eliminated all Challenges (typically 1 Challenge with 1-4 Dice
per PC).

In an example of high-powered, godlike stakes: You are battling a corrupted Odin in the very feast halls
of Valhalla. He is a 4 Challenge Die threat and none of your pool rolls higher than his Challenge dice.
He strikes you with a spear made of carved Jotunheim ice, and you must make a Conflict roll or suffer
a blow that freezes your very blood.

Conflict drives an Immortal. If you included your Conflict die in a roll and you're not happy with the
result, you may reroll all the dice once. If you didn’t include your Conflict Die, you may add it and
reroll.

Afterwards, look at the new result. As before, the highest die shows how well you do. If your Conflict
Die is higher than any other die, you must make a Conflict Roll.

In order to re-roll again, you must spend a Triumph. You cannot roll your pool more than 3 times in a
row – you can only make your initial roll, a Conflict Die re-roll, and a Triumph re-roll, no more.

Together you stand, divided you fall. To cooperate: everyone who is cooperating rolls their dice. Take
the highest die, rolled by anyone, as the result.

To compete: everyone who is competing rolls their dice. The highest die wins.

On a tie, anyone who wants to reroll may do so, providing they include their Conflict Die in the roll.

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If that doesn’t resolve the tie, then whoever has the highest Conflict wins, and if that doesn’t resolve it,
everyone rerolls.

Cooperation carries a high risk of a rolled 6, but also higher potential for a 4 or 5. This kind of high-
risk, high-reward action is good for desperate or highly destructive moves. Example: Titanios has
chosen to cooperate with Crimson Assassin for a classic “fastball special”. This move is nearly
guaranteed to wreak massive harm on the Obsidian Tyrant, but on a 6 it may send Crimson Assassin
forward with too much force. This could also damage the water tower behind the Obsidian Tyrant,
flooding the streets and causing serious damage.

You will Fight. Fights should be considered part of a Threat, but should almost never be the sole
challenge. Enemies swarming from all sides is interesting, but if it's all there is to do, the scene will
very quickly become monotonous.

If you want a scene in which the focus is exclusively fighting rather than juggling other threats, rate
larger threats such as champions or bosses at 3 or 4 Challenge Dice. 1 or 2 Challenge Dice can
represent either a group of unskilled opponents or trained-but-fragile minions, or they can represent a
single particularly tough soldier or warrior.

Conflict drives you. Conflict is a dire source of misery and pain for most Immortals. However,
Conflict cannot be avoided – it must always be faced head on. When your Conflict reaches 5, your life
is at a critical stage. You may begin reducing your Conflict by doing work for the community –
rebuilding efforts, planting gardens, saving kittens from trees, and generally working on outreach.

When you do something selfless and heroic, roll your Conflict Die. If you get less than your current
Conflict, decrease your Conflict by 1.

If one of your listed Conflicts is, instead, a critical injury, you may decrease it by having a heart-to-
heart moment with a teammate while healing, or otherwise express doubt or vulnerability for your
Immortal. Then, roll your Conflict Die, aiming to get less than your current Conflict score as normal.

You may continue reducing Conflict in this way when your Conflict drops below 5, restarting the
process when it reaches 1 again.

All Immortals have a Breaking Point. When your Conflict reaches 6, you reach your Breaking Point.
This is a horrific moment in the hero's life that will tear them down in ways that any hero would
struggle to recover from.

When you reach your Breaking Point, you may choose to retire your character permanently (via death,
a turn to villainy, literal actual retirement, etc.), or else have them break down. They are out of the fight
until next scene, at which point their Conflict reduces to 5.

When you choose to keep your character and reduce their Conflict from 5 to 6, you also raise their
permanent minimum Conflict by 1. This means the first time it happens they may never fall below
Conflict 2, the second time they'll never fall below Conflict 3, etc.

Each time you raise your permanent minimum Conflict, name the permanent consequence that your

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Immortal now suffers from. Write it on your character sheet somewhere, along with its score (2, 3, 4,
and/or 5).

If an Immortal ever reaches a permanent minimum Conflict of 5 and raises their Conflict to 6, the GM
chooses what happens to them, and are encouraged to make it hurt.

Conflict reduces through Atonement. Your Conflict rises as a result of your failures, and permanent
Conflict is often the result of dramatic failure. You may reduce your permanent Conflict (to a minimum
of 1) through Atonement.

When you Atone, you put your character sheet away and create a new one. You play as this new
Immortal for a number of sessions equal to the number you want to reduce your permanent Conflict by
(1-4 sessions depending on current minimum). During this time, your Immortal is gone from the story
and settling their own affairs.

Before each session, describe briefly how your Immortal is resolving their permanent conflict. Then
continue playing with the new Immortal.

When your previous Immortal returns, you may choose to either permanently retire their replacement
or place them in a stable of characters, where they can be used as replacement Immortals at any time by
anyone.

You will Triumph as you face the world's Doom. At the beginning of each session, roll a d6 for the
Immortals and a d6 for the GM. The Immortals receive that many Triumph, while the GM receives that
many Doom. Triumph is used communally by all PCs, while the GM alone can use Doom.

Triumph can be spent by Immortals, one-for-one, to:

• Remove a Challenge die without rolling.
• Reduce your Conflict score (but not permanent Conflict).
• Reveal that you have something necessary for the adventure's success at the moment you need
it.
• Any other effect agreed upon by both Players and GM.

Doom can be spent by the GM, one-for-one, to:

• Add a Challenge Die to a Threat (max. 4).
• Force an Immortal to take a Conflict roll.
• Reveal a complication, negative association, or other dramatic event that could stymie an
adventure or complicate the Immortal's life.
• Any other effect agreed upon by both Players and GM.

When a GM spends Doom or an Immortal spends Triumph, it is given to the other party. Doom
becomes Triumph and Triumph becomes Doom whenever spent. GMs can also award Immortals with
Triumph for good roleplaying or clever thinking, while Immortals can award the GM with Doom as
thanks for particularly interesting challenges or events. These Triumph and Doom are added fresh
(consider tracking it with tokens, coins, identically-colored dice, etc.)

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Immortals vs. The Dark is about winning no matter the cost. That means you will win, but it will
cost you. Don't resist the urge to use the Conflict Die, and don't feel intimidated by Conflict Rolls.
They will make your Immortal's life worse, but your game much more exciting.

These rules leave questions unanswered. If you run into any ambiguities, you may either contact the
authors or decide among your group. Either way, decide with your group, make reasonable
assumptions, and post your findings on the internet. We can be contacted @TheEldritchTomb on many
social media websites.

OPTIONS
Immortals can push possibility. When considering “What is humanly possible for your Immortal to
do?”, discuss with your group what, exactly, your average immortal can achieve. For a high-powered
superheroic game, we suggest a baseline of “The absolute maximum of mundane human ability”. For a
pulpy game of action in the 20th century, we suggest a baseline of “Action movie heroism”, able to
shrug off minor injuries (including “non-lethal” gunshot wounds). There are many possibilities, but
Immortals can almost always do more than any average human.

The Mighty Deeds of the Immortals are many. Consider things an Immortal's mightiest Deed could
describe. It could describe them as a siegebreaker or a tactical genius, but it could also describe the
mightiest spell they know, a special power no one else has, or even a strange title or reputation.
Alternatively, you could replace the Mighty Deed completely, turning it into the origin of their powers,
a legendary weapon, or even a specific discrete ability or power.

Doom is given, not taken. Instead of the GM having their own stock of Doom, they can instead offer
the PCs Triumph from an unlimited stock in exchange for a typical act of Doom-infused wickedness.

Doom suffuses the world. In this rules variant, only the PCs roll for Triumph, while the GM has no
Doom to start. However, every time the heroes spend Triumph, the GM keeps their Doom persistently
between sessions. In addition to this, Doom also builds by 1 whenever an Immortal fails a Conflict
Roll. However, it also reduces by 1 whenever an Immortal reduces their Conflict.

Using these rules, the world slowly grows worse as Doom builds. At 0-2 Doom, the world is on the
precipice – evil lurks, but there is time to combat it. At 3-6 Doom, the world darkens. Evil marches
openly in the streets and the Immortals are constantly beset by peril. At 7-9 Doom, hope seems lost.
Evil must be combated or everyone alive now will know regret. At 10+ Doom, the Dark is winning.
They march in force, blanketing the world in masses of teeming evil. Fight or die.

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Dark Worlds: 3 Campaign Settings for Immortals vs. The Dark

HELLWORLD
Devils wear suits. Heroes wear black.
Touchstones: Brütal Legend (video game, 2009), The Wicker Man (film, 1973), The Witcher
(franchise), The Number Of the Beast (Iron Maiden album, 1982)
High Concept: In a distant century on Earth, human greed, corruption, and consumption rent a hole in
the ethereal veil. Demons poured into the world, drawn to the worst mankind had to offer, and
accelerated its end with the mankind's rulers at their backs. Thousands of years later, man's
achievements are ruins grown over with plants. Circles of stones glow in the moonlight, and strange
and terrible things lurk just beyond brick-walled cities and terrified villages. Immortals represent older
powers than those that ruined the world, ancient gods and alien forces, patrons from beyond knowing.
They protect the world, but can their powers protect them?
Striking Images: A village at the base of a mountain carved with a bleeding Infernal pentagram. Men
with glowing goat skulls for heads trail colorful flame behind them as they ride past on motorcycles.
For a thousand miles around, a constantly-burning wicker man can be seen on the horizon. In a city run
by demons, souls are traded in a tower constantly where a hideous bird shrieks numbers indicating their
value.

Immortals: The Immortals of Hellworld have traded their future for the safety of the world, and they
hope to overthrow the forces of the Dark so that their pacts may no longer be binding. The whispers of
the old world can be heard all around; voices of awakened gods and beings who've watched our world
since time immemorial. Clad in leather and lace, Hellworld Immortals look like witches, warlocks,
vagabonds, and villains. However, they serve a noble purpose and their strange powers are an alliance,
not enslavement.
Immortal Possibilities: The Immortals of Hellworld can weave magic with ease, survive punishing
injuries from medieval weapons, and stoically resist the call of the Dark and the temptation to bargain
with dark powers. Their Deeds are like the heroes of ancient myths.
Immortal Deeds: The Deeds of the Immortals of Hellworld are drawn from pacts and alliances with
benevolent, but strange and perhaps frightening gods from ancient times in man's history. Although
demons rule now, the gods of this world still whisper. They gift those who listen with sorcerous power,
remarkable weapons, or strange new forms.

The Dark: The demons of Hellworld have lurked in mankind's shadow since time began. Countless
men throughout history tried to warn us of their coming, but their message was always corrupted, co-
opted by power and – whether their meant it or not – used as fuel for the worst of humanity's impulses.
When love for one's fellow man and hope for the future all died out, they were swift to breach into our
world. Now they rule a medieval world while dressed in the finery of the age that birthed them – the
21st century.
The Forces of Evil: Freakish owl-man sorcerers in flowing leather overcoats. Groups of demonic
children, hungry for blood and desperate for cruel entertainment. The walking dead; endless, tireless.
Pretender Dukes and Counts to the throne of Hell, meticulously scheming new and more painful ways
to increase the value of souls.
Doom: As Doom increases in Hellworld, so too do open displays of power from the Dark. When it
begins, the horrors of the woods are whispers and terrors, glimpsed but able to be fought back. But
soon attacks become more frequent, demons more visible. Vile rituals are performed with increasing
frequency, followed by daring raids on human settlements. When it's too late to drive the Dark back,

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magical sites will become weapons of war, laser focused on crushing humanity's last vestiges of
resistance and will. All the while, any news received from the demons will be thanks and
congratulations to their victims for their work for the economy, good news about the increasing value
of souls, assurances that everything is just fine...

Example Immortals:
Name: Alricus Marsh (they/them)
Deed: Wields the Sword of the Deep Ones, a long-slain empire favored by the ocean god Cthulhu.

Name: Holga Talonborn (she/her)

Deed: Favored by the dead god Odin and blessed with second sight.

Name: Lucrezia Dee (she/her)

Deed: A witch in service to the Goddess of the Earth, who grant her the power of wood and stone.

Name: Captain Niveah (she/her)

Deed: Captain of the dead crew of the Apothis, servant of the dead god Anubis.

Example Threats:
A flaming deer skeleton, its burning sockets filled with hate.
Challenge Dice: 1

Beelzebub's Axeman, demon executioner.

Challenge Dice: 2

A possessed homunculus, seven feet tall, filled with the dead and set alight.
Challenge Dice: 3

King Paimon, Servant of Lucifer. Clad in Hugo Boss.

Challenge Dice: 4

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FEAR IN THE CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD
There are places in the city that never see the sun.
Touchstones: Repo Man (film, 1984), Return of the Living Dead (film, 1985), The Wolf Among Us
(video game, 2014), Wall Street (film, 1987), Killers (Iron Maiden album, 1981)
High Concept: Every city has them; places too run down to go. Places filled with too many stories, too
many fears. Places that never see the sun. Every city has them, and that is where the Immortals live.
But the world was never safe for Immortals, and now things grow darker still. Humanity's overlords
demand infinite expansion, and infinite expansion means moving into these quiet places. Displacing
graveyards to build malls. Tearing down tenements to build condos. Ruining sacred marks and graffiti
sigils with eye-searing murals approved by corporate buyers. The Dark moves into the city now. It
knows what you are and where you come from, and all it wants is your death. It wants all freaks out of
the city. Send the Dark on their way and show them that no one gets out of here alive.
Striking Images: A group of cops beat a homeless man on the street, not caring as his zombie form
comes apart with each kick. A group of skeletal gangsters in leather jackets waiting on a street corner,
eyes wary. A vampire den expecting a fight at Waffle House, 3:00 AM sharp. 24-hour night stops
crewed by beasts and faeries.

Immortals: Creatures of the night, lurking in plain sight. Zombies, vampires, ghosts, things that haunt
the darkness and are called monsters. They protect themselves and their communities from conformity
and the corrosive grasp of humanity. Anything mankind thinks of as fiction lurks within the dark places
of cities, calling themselves Immortals because only Man can kill them.
Immortal Possibilities: Most Immortals have a baseline of immunity to disease, fatigue, and other
frailties of the human body. Other than that, their power is decided by their Deeds. For this one, it may
be smart to discuss the upper and lower limits of your individual Deed.
Immortal Deeds: What kind of a monster are you? A legendary Vampire can turn into a bat or cross a
football field in seconds, while a deadly Werewolf can transform into a hulking beast capable of lifting
cars. Ghosts pass through walls and terrify men, while Zombies simply cannot be put down.

The Dark: Human capital seeks to snuff out the “least beautiful” places in the city. They deploy police
hangmen, snooty officials, and private monster hunters. They quietly bring war between the gangs and
challenge those who rule the night to come out and die in the sun. Man is the real monster here, worse
than the beasts who are made to do their bidding.
The Forces of Evil: Human gangsters and militiamen, paid to enter your territory and do harm.
Sneering policemen, searching for any excuse to bring the hammer down. Corporate lawyers, backed
by private military bodyguards. Turncoat gangs of Immortals falsely promised salvation.
Doom: At first the Dark only pokes at the outskirts of your territory, sending in police cars to see how
far they can drive undisturbed or else putting up signs marking buildings as off-limits and condemned.
Next, they raise the heat – patrols become more frequent, witnesses to Immortals more common.
Humans become a much more common sight, eager to check out the new part of town as old places are
torn down and commercial places are put up. For greed, gain, or survival, more Immortals begin to turn
on the city, joining the Dark. The powers that be might want to avoid riots, but they're already
preparing to put them down. Soon the quiet places are fewer and fewer, the safe places dying a slow
death by gentrification.

Example Immortals:
Name: Burt (he/him)
Deed: A wisecracking Zombie con man.

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Name: Vanessa Afton (she/her)
Deed: A were-rabbit vigilante with an impressive collection of knives.

Name: Jennifer Lee (she/her)

Deed: A vampire from Hong Kong turned rebel leader in America.

Name: Tyree Shadowhurst (they/them)

Deed: A generous Seelie fae lawyer who frequently works pro bono.

Example Threats:
A squad of human cops, fingers stained with coffee and crumbs.
Challenge Dice: 1

The Skulls, a rowdy undead biker gang with shitty opinions about race.
Challenge Dice: 2

A fully armed riot team, anxious to cause trouble.

Challenge Dice: 3

A corporate funded hit squad, complete with chained feral werewolf.

Challenge Dice: 4

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AMERICAN RUIN: THE DUST OF 2008
The future is now, old man.
Touchstones: Somewhere In Time (Iron Maiden album, 1986), Trilogy (Carpenter Brut album, 2015),
Hardware (1990 film), Dredd (2012 film), Samurai Jack (2001-2004 television series),
High Concept: America is an irradiated wasteland. The rest of the world, a neon blight. Oceans
shimmer with oil and toxic chemicals, glowing orange, or green, or purple at night. When the bombs
went off in 2001 AD, only the corporate world was strong enough to survive. Now there are no
countries, no fifty states, no brave new world. Only corporate cities ruled by the decadent whims of the
surviving elite. From the West Coast CyberShelf to the East Coast Propagandopoli there are two
choices: Work for the company, or die on your feet. Despite oppression and manufactured terror,
resistance is not dead. Revolution is not hopeless. The elites who rule the American Ruin only fear one
thing: Violence from the people they push down. The bombs made them hole up, every man for
themselves, abandoning even tools like law and order. Now, more than ever, they fear how much
influence they could lose. Rebellions rise, carve their names into corporate monoliths, and either free
their city or die another day – Immortal to the end.
Striking Images: A burnt-out, grey-and-purple landscape dotted with neon fires from distant cities.
Shiny white-and-chrome technology from The Orchard, constantly demanding a new source of credits.
The streets-spanning racetracks of Wolfistherzen City, vacuum sealed turbocars roaring by at bone-
cracking speed. The one-stop-shopping nightmare city of The Wal, empty except for generations of
scattered human survivors and their AI Associate overlords.

Immortals: Punks, rebels, pariahs. People who owe money on their every cybernetic part, and are tired
of paying up. Mutants with phenomenal powers, and their less-graced bounty hunter comrades, as
skilled with a gun as they are their malformed body. Headliners, hardholders, and heretics, dedicated to
tearing down the new world order in as many moves as it takes.
Immortal Possibilities: Cyberneticization doesn't come cheap, and being a mutant doesn't come easy.
Most Immortals have something that sets them apart, even if it's an expensive piece of equipment or
simply the knowledge of the right places and the right times to be there. You aren't part of the system,
you'll never fit into the system, and as long as the system wants to put you down, you will be Immortal.
Immortal Deeds: A cybernetic rig of rocket-powered rollerskates, a bioelectricity-powered
vibrokatana, and a totally ninja underground brain upload ripped from an old game called
ULTRAKILL. Some cyborgs are as close to post-human as they can get, which is why the Dark wants
to tramp you out. There's no profit in advancing beyond pain. Mutants are a different batch – some of
them can blow up your brain like it was dynamite, or shoot lightning and fire from their hands, or even
speak the language of machines. Most, however, come with serious marks: Talking wounds or
extraneous limbs; gruesomely expanded craniums to store all that mental mass. Work together to make
a character that's as impractical as they are cool and unique.

The Dark: Corporations rule what's left of humanity. Loyalist warlords on the outside keep “peace” at
gunpoint, administering regular HydrauliFist beatdowns. Most notable threats have a dream of crushing
anyone lower than them and ruling from the top of the food chain. Even subsistence living is a threat to
their power, and they'll extend their reach as far as it will go to claim farms, whisk away laborers, and
murder anyone who speaks up against them. Everywhere you go, there's oppression waiting to be
fought.
The Forces of Evil: Corporate assassins with top-dollar implants that make them look almost human.
Military androids reprogrammed towards asset protection. WarLord Skullula, who gets a stipend for his
motorcycle gang from Wolfistherzen every time he “reclaims” a fleet of cars. The ChemDragon, a beast

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dredged from the Sea of Oil, immortal but longing for death; burning with radioactive hate.
Doom: The coming of Doom might vary from settlement to settlement, but the pattern will usually be
obvious: First they send the cops. Usually a small group, usually on motorcycles, and almost always
with a threat. A few beatings, some posted signage, the usual kind of intimidation that tells you you
aren't welcome. Then they start bringing in force. In some cities, martial law is declared. New laws are
passed, restricting former freedoms for everyone but the corporate elite. Finally, if they can't control the
problem with escalated force by the books, they send assassins, mercenaries, real heavies. They operate
outside their fake laws in a last-ditch effort to avoid open war. They don't want one...but don't think that
means they won't fight one.

Example Immortals:
Name: Lexis Doubledown (she/they)
Deeds: Shark-human-cyberdemon hybrid with an unending need for violence.

Name: Seance System (they/them)

Deeds: An AI collective sharing control over an eight-limbed gunslinger cyborg.

Name: Kujoshiro (he/him)

Deeds: Warrior of the wasteland and master of martial arts; his secret art can crush a tank with a kick.

Name: The Doom-Cultist (she/her)

Deeds: Rabid devotee of the Four Gods of the Wastes; said to channel cyberdemonic powers.

Example Threats:
Flesh-eating Wasteland Zeds, infected with manufactured viruses.
Challenge Dice: 1

Power-Armored Motorcycle Cops, either for rent or for real.

Challenge Dice: 2

Fully Borged-Out Military Surplus, ready to break bones and smash faces.
Challenge Dice: 3

Cedric Dakeman, corporate fascist with nanoreactive plate armor and 12TB of martial arts
programs in his cranium.
Challenge Dice: 4

(c) The Eldritch Tomb, 2022