V o i d h e a rt
SymphonY Copyright 2021 UFO Press Limited.
ufopress.co.uk
CrEdItS
Writing and layout
Minerva McJanda
Additional Writing
Adira Slattery, Blue Maelstrom,
Charlie Ann Page, David Morrison,
Declan Winterton, Eleanor Hingley, Erika
Chappell, Evan Saft, Freyja Erlingsdóttir,
Espina MacNeill, Grant Howitt, James
White, Lisandro Johnston, Liz Weir, Misha
Handman, Natalie Ash, Paige Foisy, Paul
Matijevic, Rem Diaz, Trevor Cashmore,
Tetra Saturn, Violet Henderson.
Editing
Rebecca Curran
Sensitivity Consulting
Carolyn McLennan
Playtesters
Becky Annison, Briar Sovereign, Carolyn
McLennan, Chris Longhurst, Eadwin, Grant
Howitt, Joshua Fox, Theodore Lucas Rivera,
Morgan Jackson, Nick, Nova Carol Nathan
Altman, Ralph, Stuart, Tetra Saturn.
Dedicated with love to my beautiful wives, bea and arby mcjanda
ROWAN, ROOK
AND DECARD
Art
Cover art by Adrian Stone
Playbook and Chapter art by Marie Enger.
All other art created by Minerva McJanda
using photos from Unsplash.com,
provided by the following users:
Adam Winget, Ali Morshedlou, AJ Gallagher,
Artur Kraft, Benjamin Rascoe, Cassie
Lafferty, Christina (wocintechchat.com),
David East, Ferdinand Stöhr, Francesco
Ungaro, Giano Currie, Gift Habeshaw,
Hector Martinez, Jakub Dziubak,
JC Gellidon, JJ Jordan, Jonathan Zerger,
Jordan Steranka, Jose de la Cruz, Justin
Clark, Kazi Mizan, Laura Cleffmann,
Leio McLaren, Liam Martens, Luca Bravo,
Luke Stackpoole, Mark Olivier Jodoin.
Muzammil Soorma, Road Trip with Raj,
Robert Lazar, Rohit Reddy, Roland Samuel,
Rowan Chestnut, Saketh Garuda, Shamim
Nakhaei, Touann Gatouillat Vergos,
Umara Shi, Verne Ho, Victor Rodriguez,
William Krause, Wyron A, Yeshi Kangrang,
Yongguang Tian.
 CoNtEnTs
Chapter 1: Chapter 3: Chapter 5:
Overture 4 The Rebels 76 The Architect 198
Welcome to the Age of Playbook Anatomy 78 Your Agenda 200
Oblivion 6 Changing Things Up 84 What to Say 201
How This Works 7 The Playbooks 86 Principles 202
How to Use This Book 8 Reactions 206
The Authority 89
Core Rules 10 The Captive 95 Running a Game 210
Game Setup 14 The Harlequin 103 Dark Feudalism 219
Inspirations 24 The Heretic 109
The Icon 115 Chapter 6:
Chapter 2: The Inhuman 121 The Castle’s
Rules of the City 26 The Penitent 127 Terrors 224
The Provider 135
Vital Statistics 28 A Kingdom of Hungry
The Watcher 141
Universal Moves 35 Shadows 226
The Investigation 36 Qualities 228
Chapter 4:
Everyday Actions 40 Making Your Vassal 230
Covenants 146 Enforcers 256
City Moves 44
Minor Covenants 148
Keeping Yourself
Together 49 Major Covenants 149
Chapter 7:
Delving Into the Castle 54 The Fool 152 ThE CiTy YoU LiVe In 278
Exploration Moves 60 The Magician 154
The Oracle 156 Steel City Punks 282
Bloodstained Combat 62
The Gardener 158 Bandit Country 288
Confrontation Moves 64
The Auteur 160 Windy City Gothic 292
Weapons 68
The Sage 162
The Aftermath 70
The Lovers 164
Retaliation 73 Chapter 8:
The Chariot 166 VoIdHeArT aNd tHe
Peace and Quiet 75 Strength 168 TaRoT 296
The Hermit 170
Wheel of Fortune 172 Tarot Transposition 298
Justice 174 Scenario Spreads 299
The Vagabond 176 Reading tips 305
Death 178
Temperance 180 Move Summary 306
The Devil 182
The Tower 184
The Star 186
The Moon 188
The Sun 190
Judgement 192
Making Your Own
Covenants 196
 ChApTeR 1
OvErTuRe
WeLcOmE tO tHe AgE oF ObLiViOn
There’s a wound in the world, and nobody cares. If they have to
step over rough sleepers as they walk to work, if the rich grow richer
while children starve, if authorities destroy lives not just through
negligence but through malice… isn’t that just the way of the world?

You don’t have the luxury of thinking that way. Maybe you’re a
second-class citizen, forced to work yourself to the bone for the
money to live. Maybe you have to hide your truth, for fear of what
would happen if you were exposed – or maybe you’re out, and are
living with those consequences every day. Maybe you just can’t
close your eyes and ignore the suffering.

But mainly it’s because you’ve seen the wound: a strange border
between this world and another, tucked away in backstreets and
disused stairwells. Through the wound you’ve seen glimpses of the
castle – a nightmare world of twisting halls and terrible monsters.
Through these wounds the taint of the void seeps out, sickening
and twisting those unfortunate enough to live nearby. And the castle
conforms to the will of the biggest predator in the area – twisting a
shard of itself into a reflection of their desires, blighting their enemies
and victims and bringing them fortune whether they realise it or not.

But, if people are causing pain with unearned power, what’s new?
You’re used to fighting for respect, survival, your safety, the safety
of your community. You’ll dive into that wound, steal its power,
and see how that predator topples when the void abandons them.

And what then? Will you go back to the daily grind, putting out the
fires that spread while you were focused on your shadow war? Hold
close to those dear to you, and form new connections? Or rest and
heal, preparing for the next time? Because the wound is still there,
and as long as someone is profiting from the suffering of others the
void will have plenty of Vassals to empower.

play Voidheart Symphony to…

…tell stories of desperate people fighting back with occult power.
…tear down tyrants and bigots, and ask what should take their place.
…jump between a grounded city and a vibrant otherworld.
…grow and change as you steal power and realise truths about yourself.
 HoW ThIs WoRkS
Voidheart Symphony is a cooperative storytelling game for 3 to 6
players, who will build characters and tell their stories together.

Most of the players control a rebel: someone who has seen the
occult power lurking behind a petty tyrant in their community,
and has made the decision to fight back. For now, their only
weapon is that drive to take a stand – but as the void seeps into
their heart and they form strong and lasting bonds with
confidantes, they'll gather extraordinary powers.

One player is the Architect. They're here to keep track of the

setting, provide resistance and challenge to the characters, and
make sure all the players get an equal chance to shine. They’re also
there to portray supporting characters, voicing them in
conversations and giving the players someone to play off of. It’s a
role with a different set of responsibilities, detailed in Chapter 5.

The game unfolds through Investigations. Each begins with a new

Vassal making your community worse with the castle’s power. This
power flows from a shard of the castle, a segment of its realm placed
under the care of this Vassal and shaped around their psyche. You'll
delve into this nightmare realm, use what you learn there to probe
their weak spots and ruin their plans in the mortal world, and
eventually strike them down and take their power – using it to heal,
protect and expand your territory. All while trying to avoid suffering
irreparable harm to your health, finances, and relationships.

Between Investigations, you'll rest up, grow up, and look for your next
target. The castle is far bigger than one Vassal, and it is always hungry.

This is a political game

All works of art are political, but I’m being clear here: this game is
rooted in my anger at the state of the world, and my need to push
for change. There’s no extradimensional void aiding real-world
predators – capital, privilege and white supremacy are more than
enough – but if we want a better world we’ll need group
solidarity, community accountability, individual empowerment,
and a dream of a better way, just like this game’s rebels.

This is also a personal game, centred in my own particular

history and experiences. It’s plausible something in this book
unintentionally excludes or snubs your own experiences; if so,
I’m sorry for that, and promise to listen if you want to talk.
 HoW tO UsE ThIs BoOk
Chapter 1: Overture gives you the basic setup for the game – its key
pitch, dice mechanics, and a setup procedure to get your game started.

Chapter 2: Rules of the City gives the core rules for Voidheart
Symphony: procedures for investigation structure, day-to-day life,
clandestine action in the city, supernatural adventure in the castle,
and the downtime between investigations.

Chapter 3: Rebels introduces the nine playbooks you’ll pick from to

build out your Voidheart Symphony character. There’s an overview of
what goes into a playbook, guidance and insights into each option,
and suggestions for how to change them to suit your home game.

Chapter 4: Covenants details the ways your rebel’s web of contacts

help them fight their revolution. You’ll find details for how to spark
new relationships, how to fan those flames into a major ally, 21
different relationship types with associated powers and example
characters, and guidance for writing your own Covenants.

Chapter 5: The Architect gives particular advice for the player

managing the world and portraying the rebel’s antagonists. It has
advice on how to run moment-to-moment play, how to launch and
manage and finish up a campaign, and how to set up antagonists
for your game. It’s mainly for the player who’ll be taking on those
responsibilities, but the game works best when everyone at the
table plays towards the Architect’s agenda and principles.

Chapter 6: The Castle’s Terrors is a bestiary of all the terrible things

you might face in the twisting halls of the castle. Minions, enforcers,
vassals and their Avatars, complete with examples of each.

Chapter 7: The City You Live In is about the key supporting

character of your story. Here you’ll find discussion of what makes
a good location for your game, three example cities, and ideas for
how to set your game in places other than the modern day.

Chapter 8: Voidheart and the Tarot closes the book with a

discussion of how this book uses the tarot. Differences between this
game’s arcana and the standard set, advice on interpreting cards,
and a procedure for prepping investigations with a tarot spread.
 For PbtA Veterans
If you’re familiar with other games in the Powered by the
Apocalypse family, you’ll know how much of this works already.
Here’s a quick primer to how Voidheart Symphony differs:

• Altered Rolling Mechanics: In the castle you’ll be rolling

2d6+stat like normal, but in the city you’ll be checking against
gauges – rolling under a trait representing societal pressure.
• Split-World Gameplay: The mundane city and the supernatural
castle use different moves, different character traits, different
rolling mechanics! If the number of basic moves is intimidating,
don’t worry – you’ll only be using some of them at any one time.
• Piecemeal Playbooks: Your core archetype is important, but a
large chunk of your character will come from your covenants:
relationships with NPCs that grant you a set of moves so long
as the relationship is well-maintained.
• Team Effort: Voidheart assumes the players are all on the same
side and bought in to working together. While they may
disagree on which actions should be taken to wage revolution,
the rebels should only very rarely be at odds or come to blows.
• Structured Storytelling: Voidheart places certain structures
around your story – the game is divided up into Investigations
and the Peace and Quiet between them, and each Investigation
is divided up into a couple of actions per day as you race a
ticking clock. It’s within those actions – whether it’s
comforting a friend, breaking into an office or facing down a
slavering demon – that you move into the free-flowing
conversation that defines PbtA play.
 CoRe RuLeS
Moves and The Conversation
Voidheart Symphony draws on Vincent and Meguey Baker’s Apocalypse
World, which means that as you play you should pay most attention
to the conversation that’s happening at the table. As a roleplaying
game you play it with words, building a story together and working
to see what happens to this world. Most of the time you’ll be talking
without using any rules – the players describe the actions their
rebels are taking, the Architect describes how those actions change
the situation, and the conversation continues.

Sometimes events in the ongoing conversation will activate a

discrete chunk of rules (a move). Each move has an in-fiction
trigger – something your character has to do in the story for the
mechanics to start up. Once a move’s triggered, it’ll tell you what
dice rolls or choices you have to make, and what the consequences
are for the game mechanics and for the story you’re telling.

It’s vital to note that moves aren’t here to be your only path to
success. You can make a big impact without triggering any moves
by building on elements already established in the story. For
example, if someone’s already let you in their office you don’t need
to roll Connect for access; and if you’ve put a pillar between yourself
and a fire demon you don’t need to roll Dodge to avoid their flames.
Other times you may want to use a particular move, but be unable
to: if you’re up on a stage in front of a crowd, your ability to hit the
trigger for Pass Beneath Notice will be severely limited.

Simply put: everything starts and ends with the story you’re telling.
Moves are just here to make sure particular moments of your story
trace genre-appropriate arcs.

The Architect’s role

The Architect doesn’t make moves, but instead has reactions. These
are specific ways to guide the story towards Voidheart Symphony's
themes and create a fun experience. The Architect never rolls dice,
and instead uses reactions in response to the players’ actions:
when a player rolls a miss, when everyone looks to the Architect to
say what happens next, or when the players do something with
already established consequences (a ‘golden opportunity’).
Each Architect reaction is a way of raising the stakes, shaking up
the situation and providing adversity. Check out p. 206 for more
details on these.
ThE cOnVeRsAtIoN: ArChItEcT aNd pLaYeRs dIsCuSsInG wHaT’s hApPeNiNg
nOw, tHe fAcTs oF tHe sCeNe, tHe rEaCtIoNs oF tHeIr cHaRaCtErS eTc.

A pLaYeR dEsCrIbEs aN aCtIoN tHeIr PlAyErS lOoK tO tHe ArChItEcT

cHaRaCtEr oR HoUsE iS tAkInG. tO sEe wHaT hApPeNs.

HaS iT bEeN eStAbLiShEd

YeS
tHaT tHiS aCtIoN wOuLd hAvE
iMmEdIaTe rEpErCuSsIoNs?

No

No Is tHiS a mOvE?

YeS

Is tHeRe a rOlL?

No YeS

RoLl tHe dIcE.

HiT MiSs

MaKe mOvE rEsUlT cHoIcEs.

ArChItEcT mAkEs a
GrOuNd tHe rEsUlTs iN tHe rEaCtIoN, fOlLoWiNg tHeIr
fIcTiOn. aGeNdA aNd pRiNcIpLeS.

SpEnD HoLd. GeT HoLd.

Dice Mechanics
In Voidheart Symphony, the way you resolve moves depends on
whether you're in the city or in the castle.

In the city, success depends on overcoming the pressures that

society's systems are placing on you – represented by Stress
Gauges (p. 28)-. When you turn to dice in the city, you make a
check against one of these gauges. To do this, roll two six-sided
dice, and compare them to the ticks in that gauge:

• If both dice are higher than the ticks, that's a strong hit.
• If only one die is, that's a weak hit.
• If neither dice are, that's a miss, and the Architect will make a
reaction.

If a result talks about 'any hit', that's a strong hit or a weak hit.

Milli has evidence that a doctor at the hospital is using patients as her
personal test subjects, and is trying to get the hospital administrator to
listen. But Milli’s a high school student, and is having issues getting him
to pay attention. She keeps pushing, and so triggers Make A Stand (p.
44). She has 2 ticks in her Blood gauge, and when she rolls the dice she
gets a 2 and a 5 – a weak hit.

She decides that the administrator can’t dismiss what she says, and will
look into the doctor. The Architect says that the administrator will cause
problems for Milli as he calls security to escort her out, and won’t focus
only on her – the hospital’s security guards will be on the lookout for
other troublemakers too.

In the castle, you're cut free of those fetters, and only have your
own skills to draw on – represented as Castle Stats (p. 30).
When you trigger a move in the castle, you'll be asked to roll +Stat.
That means you roll two six-sided dice, add the named stat to the
result of both dice, and get a result based on that final number:

• If the sum is 7 or above, that's a hit.

• If it’s a 7-9, that’s a weak hit; if it’s 10+, that’s a strong hit.
• If the sum is 6 or less, that's a miss: unless the move sets out what
happens on a miss, the Architect will make a reaction.
Dice ChEcK aGaInSt… RoLl +
Odds 1 2 3 4 5 -1 0 1 2 3
StRoNg HiT 69% 44% 25% 11% 3% 8% 16% 28% 42% 59%
WeAk HiT 28% 44% 50% 44% 28% 33% 42% 44% 42% 33%
MiSs 3% 11% 25% 44% 69% 59% 42% 28% 16% 8%

Milli is facing down the rogue doctor's nightmare Avatar – a looming,

gaunt figure wielding a syringe dripping noxious chemicals. As the
Avatar summons hordes of orderlies to hold Milli down, her player
describes how she plants her staff in the chest of an orderly and uses it to
vault over the horde and out of danger. That triggers Dodge (p. 66), so she
rolls two six-sided dice and adds her Wands stat. With a 6 and a 3 plus
her Wands of 1, that's a 10 – a strong hit. She avoids the danger, and
picks that she's separated from her allies.

Occasionally, specific effects might make things harder – or easier

for your character. These come in two different forms:

AdVaNtAgE
When you're benefiting from Advantage, you roll an extra die and pick
the highest two for your result.

For example, if you rolled three dice and get 2, 4 and 5 you'd discard the 2.
A check in the city would be left with 4 and 5; a roll in the castle would be
left with 9+stat.

DiSaDvAnTaGe
When you're suffering from Disadvantage, you roll an extra die and
discard the highest die.

For example, if you roll three dice and get 1, 5 and 6, you'd discard the 6. A
check in the city would be left with 1 and 5; a roll in the castle would be left
with 6+stat.

These effects don’t stack – even under multiple sources of Advantage,

you still only roll three dice. Any amount of Advantage cancels out
any amount of Disadvantage, with the result that you roll normally.

These effects can be fleeting or lasting; fleeting effects are used up

the first time they take effect, while lasting effects keep affecting
the specified rolls until a condition is met.
 GaMe SeTuP
To get your game of Voidheart Symphony started, follow these steps:

1: Discuss Expectations
Are you planning one session, a short run, an ongoing campaign?
Make sure you’re on the same page about the time commitments.

How do people feel about antagonism between characters? Will

you disagree with each other only briefly, sometimes come to
blows, hold long-running grudges, or play it by ear?

Are there any topics and themes that people don’t want touched
on, or even mentioned? Voidheart Symphony is a game about
people pushing back against those oppressing them and
benefiting from their misery. This can easily go very dark, and
it’s important to respect the comfort of the actual people in your
group over the desires of fictional characters. If there’s a specific
topic you don’t want to address in the game, let the others know.

It’s helpful to set up an anonymous way to collect lines (topics

they don’t want to even exist in your story) and veils (things they
don’t want to see onscreen). Also, encourage an environment
where everyone is empowered to ask that a particular thing not
happen or be reversed; formal safety tools like the X Card or
Script Change are great for this.

What does your enemy look like? The Architect’s chapter gives
a few different ways Vassals can be organised – as a conspiracy,
as an informal zeitgeist, as feuding factions, etc. The precise
details are in their hands, but this is the other players’ chance to
say if any of those structures don’t appeal.

What does your city look like? Are you in London, Tokyo,
Buenos Aires, a fictional city? Is it the present, the recent past,
the near future? What sort of tensions is it under – rich v poor,
established v immigrant, blue collar v white collar? There are
more questions to go into if you like, on p. 22.
2: Pick Playbooks
Everyone except the Architect picks a rebel playbook (p. 34) that
fits their basic idea for their character. There’s no doubling up –
each of you is unique in what you add to the group. As you pick
your playbook, read out its blurb to let the group know what its
deal is, or summarise it in your own words.

Draw a relationship map: write everybody’s character names in a

loose circle in the centre of a shared sheet of paper. You’ll use this
map to track your characters, supporting cast, and key locations,
and remind you of the links between them. If you’re playing
online, I recommend Google Draw or kumu.io for this.

3: Your First Foe

The player characters have a common enemy – a Vassal of the castle, a petty
tyrant profiting from your suffering and encouraged by otherworldly evil.

Each rebel playbook has a question for you to answer about the
Vassal. The default order is alphabetical – from Authority to
Watcher – but use what works for you. Go round the table,
answering these, and filling in any extra details you want covered.

4: Dive Into Darkness

Your characters have, together, found a gate: a door, alley, loose floorboard, etc.
leading to the castle shard tied to the Vassal.

Each rebel should pick their Particulars – the things an audience

would first notice about them, even if there's a deeper truth. Also
pick their role in the Crew, noting the moves that particular
Covenant grants, and ask the linked question to the group.

Relationship map: Note the details of this link down.

Architect: Describe the scene when the rebels cross this threshold.
Give them space to play out their initial interactions with each other.

AlIcE rElIeS oN KeS’ Alice the Provider AlIcE iS aLwAyS

lOcAl kNoWlEdGe (Gardener) tHeRe fOr CoNrAd

Kes the Heretic In a CoMmItTeD Conrad the Icon

ReLaTiOnShIp
(Magician) (Lover)
 5: Facing the Vassal
Your rebels have journeyed through this castle shard to the Avatar’s place
of power, ready to kick the tar out of them.

Normally your rebels would need to learn the shard’s strange

geography and investigate the Vassal in the city for ways to make the
Avatar vulnerable – for your first delve, we're jumping right to the end.

Architect: Pick three of these Qualities to define the Avatar.

Arcane
The Avatar can shapeshift and use
supernatural forces.
Lash out with crimson fire.
Summon walls of boiling blood.
Break: Twist into a strange form
with new movement abilities.
Commanding
The Avatar has hordes of minions.
Mob a rebel and isolate them.
Place a wall of minions between the
Vassal and the rebels.
Break: They pick up the mob's
weapons for their own use.

Armoured
The Avatar has potent defences.
Send an attacking rebel flying back.
Redirect an attack to hit another rebel.
Break: Shed encumbrances and
lunge for the closest rebel.
Dark
The Avatar controls poison and shadows.
Teleport from one shadow to another.
Disappear in a cloud of choking poison.
Break: Blind the rebel who
struck the darkness away.

Bestial Dramatic
The Avatar is aggressive and twisted The Avatar is devoted to style, grace
into an animalistic form. and acclaim.
Leap across the arena. Dazzle a rebel.
Hit with devastating force. Travel at impossible angles.
Break: Call in a mob of animals Break: Beg for mercy,
to shelter the Vassal. perhaps as a feint.

Check out Confrontation Moves (p. 64) to see the rules governing
this fight. The rebels don’t have signature weapons yet, so just
treat whatever improvised weapons they use as flavour for their
actions. Whenever a rebel uses a stat they haven't used before,
they assign one of these values to it: +1, +1, 0 and -1. As you fight,
remember that your Crew Covenant gives you a Castle Move!
6: The Aftermath
This battle will have one of two outcomes:

If the players defeat the Vassal: The Vassal is out of the picture
– fired, arrested, or forced out of the city. The castle shard's
heart shatters, and as the Void notices your surprising power
this place reforms into a Hideout. Each rebel gains a rank of
Void and names one item or object that would make them feel
empowered, dangerous or free – it manifests in this room.

If the Vassal defeats the players: The Vassal completes their

plot, and moves onto bigger things. The rebels wake up in the
broken fragments of the Vassal’s shard, saved from death by the
nascent will of the World. Each rebel gains a rank of World and
names one item or object that would make them feel secure,
cared for or serene – it manifests in this room.

With your new rank, pick an Advance of the appropriate type. Also
pick your gear, signature weapon and Castle Form, and describe
your transformation! You’ll have this form and gear whenever
you’re in the Hideout or a castle shard. The rebel that struck the
final blow – or was the last to fall – describes a location significant
to them that becomes your crew’s gateway to their Hideout.

Relationship map: Write down this location and link it to this final rebel.

The Crown and Raven, A Pub.

Hideout entrance.
WhErE sHe wOrKs
Alice the Provider
(Gardener)

Kes the Heretic Conrad the Icon

(Magician) (Lover)

Location Ideas
A Library A Cafe A Public Park A Shopping Mall
A Train/Bus/Metro Station A Funfair An Abandoned Building
A Graveyard An Arcade A Tenement Block A Diner
A Nightclub An Underpass A Boardwalk A Bar
 7. Back to Reality
With your first battle done it’s time for each player to look at their rebel’s
personal life, using the prompts below for guidance.

Revisit your Particulars. Is there anything you want to change here?

Also consider what other things might be apparent about your
character. Markers of religion, experience, ethnicity, disability,
identity –anything that helps you flesh them out. Page 23 has some
questions that may help with this. Once you've decided your look and
given your character a name, sum it up to the rest of your group.

Decide your Role. Pick if the castle would see you as a Delinquent,
Prodigal, or Traitor, and decide and the specific thing you do with
your days. Make sure to fill in the first empty box of the Stress
Gauge you get a black mark in (see p. 29 for more on black marks).
Relationship map: If you weren’t the one to decide on the hideout, place
down a location according to your playbook.

The Crown and Raven, A Pub.

Hideout entrance.

Alice the Provider

(Gardener)

Kes the Heretic Conrad the Icon

(Magician) (Lover)
StUdYiNg fOr tHeIr dEgReE PeRfOrMs tHeRe eAcH FrIdAy
University library The Red Deer,
a live music club

Stress Gauges. These are the issues on your character’s plate at the
start of your game. Each playbook has a fixed starting set – two
particular gauges with two ticks, and three gauges with three.

Note that the Black Mark you gained from your Role adds onto
these, meaning that you'll end up with [2, 2, 3, 3, 4] or [2, 3, 3, 3, 3]
according to your Role category and playbook.
 Pick Contacts. These Architect-controlled characters may not take
up arms in the castle, but they’re still a part of your revolution. Each
contact linked to you is a significant relationship – a Major Covenant.
Write this Covenant down on your sheet under your Crew Covenant.
Relationship map: Pick one of the contacts from your playbook, give them
a name, and put them on the relationship map with a link to you.
The Crown and Raven, A Pub. Claudia, critically ill Mentor
Hideout entrance.
DeAtH

Alice the Provider

(Gardener)

Kes the Heretic Conrad the Icon

(Magician) (Lover)

University library The Red Deer,

StAr
SuN
a live music club

Rasheed, Union Organiser Echo, Upcoming singer

Build a Community. Complicate the map some more, to ensure that
you’ve got a well fleshed-out social context around your rebels.
Relationshipmap: Each player draws a link from any existing contact or
location to a new contact. Then, each player draws a link from any contact back
to them as a Major Covenant. Give that relationship an arcanum – either one of
the remaining contact arcana on your sheet, or one of your choosing.
The Crown and Raven, A Pub. Claudia, critically ill Mentor
City Hall Hideout entrance.
NeW MaYoR
ToWeR AuTeUr
Mayor Cambell Alice the Provider
(Gardener)

PoLiTiCaL Kes the Heretic Conrad the Icon

RiVaLs (Magician) (Lover)

University library OrAcLe The Red Deer,

a live music club

Rasheed, Union Organiser Echo, Upcoming singer Daniel, Bartender

8. The Next Investigation
Make sure you’ve answered any urgent questions you have about
the character’s mundane lives. Once you’re done? It’s time to see
what brings them back into contact with the castle.

As a group, answer the questions in Growing Shadows (p. 36). These

will set up who in your relationship map your next target is hurting,
how powerful they are in the city, and how you get confirmation
that supernatural powers are at work. Each rebel also rolls The Grind
(p. 37) to set up the mundane worries in their lives.

The Architect draws a new Vassal clock – a six-step tracker

marking the Vassal’s progress hunting down the rebels (p. 38) –
and then your investigation begins.

This time they’ll need to run through a full investigation:

investigate the Vassal, dive into their shard to learn their deepest
secret, and disrupt their plans in the city – all while dealing with
the challenges of their life in the city.

This Game is Yours

As a designer, I have a responsibility to present to you the best rules
I could design to hit the play experience I’m aiming for. But also, as a
designer, I have the humility to know that I'm a co-designer with
each and every play group – each play group does their own design
work actually bringing the game to the table. I write the sheet
music, you’re the orchestra that stages the performance.

Approaching your game through the lens of a designer can be

really empowering, but it can also be nerve-wracking. Some
players may be there to understand and experience the original
designer's intentions, and others may understandably want to
just play the game ‘out of the box' without any tinkering. That's
how we interact with video games and board games, after all.

With that in mind, I wrote this game to be as functional as

possible as-is. That said, don't feel shy about tinkering with the
rules to suit your players. The structure of tabletop roleplaying is
much more of a mix of freeform social interaction and
performance art than those other games. Lean into that freedom
as much as you’re comfortable with, and know that I as the
designer am cheering you on. Test out changes, see what breaks,
fail fast and explore new horizons!
 Game Setup Quick Reference
1 Discuss expectations and desires for the game.
2 Pick playbooks. Write character names on the relationship map.
3 Answer your playbook’s question about your first Vassal.
4 Pick particulars and crew covenant. Answer questions about your
relationship with the other rebels, and note them on the map.
5 Fight your first Vassal. If you win, get a rank of Void; if you
lose, get a rank of World.
6 Pick your first advance, and detail your signature weapon,
castle form and gear.
7 Answer questions about the hideout; put its location on the map.
8 Revisit your particulars; decide on your role, and put a location
linked to it on the map; fill out your starting stress gauges.
9 Pick a major covenant from your playbook’s list, and add the
associated contact to the map.
10 Draw a link from any location or contact to a new contact.
11 Form a major covenant with any covenant on the map. Pick its
arcanum, and draw a link between you and them on the map.
12 Work through Growing Shadows to set up your next target.
 QuEsTiOnS aBoUt tHe CiTy
Who are the most powerful blocs in the city?
Old money, new money, predatory capital, faith communities, unions,
suburban professionals, landlords, reactionary movements, …

What agenda are they pushing?

How do they exert their influence on the city’s governors?

What are the powerful particularly failing to provide to us?

Accessible nutrition, affordable housing, reliable employment, social mobility,
tolerance and acceptance, liberty and security, social security, disability access, …

Which groups are especially denied this?

How do these group intersect with other marginalised

groups – and with the privileged groups?

What brings us together?

Parades, festivals, holidays, sports events, days of mourning, …

Who do these public celebrations still exclude?

What industry employs most of the people here?

Manufacturing, farming, mining/drilling, utilities, IT, finance, transport,
distribution, tourism, education, research, …

Which is on the rise? Which is in decline?

What sort of professionals does the industry attract?

What costs does the industry levy on its labourers?

What outside force is threatening everyone here?

Climate change, austerity, national policy shifts, dying industries,
domination by a larger neighbour, …

Which local groups are agitating for action?

What are its leaders doing instead of taking action?

 QuEsTiOnS fOr ReBeLs
In what ways are you different from the norm?
Faith, ethnicity, disability, neurodivergence, sexuality, weight, age, class,
education, language, gender expression, …

Which of these do others ignore or refuse to see?

Which of these do you hide, if you need to?

Which of these are impossible for you to hide?

Which of these do you refuse to hide?

What compromises have you made in order to survive in this world?

People you’ve hurt, evils you’ve tolerated, quirks you’ve suppressed, …

Are there any compromises you’re not aware you made?

What would you be if you didn’t have to compromise like this?

Who’s most important to you?

Partners, dependents, friends, relatives, neighbours, …

In what ways are they different like you?

In what ways are they different unlike you?

Was there a point where your life was harder than this?
Living with deprivation, abuse, illness, stress, over-policing, …

What marks do you still carry from that time?

How has your background made life easier for you?

Class, race, health, inherited wealth, connections, …

Are you conscious of these privileges?

What obligations are you expected to act on in return?

It’s alright to play a character who experiences a form of

marginalisation you don’t personally deal with, but please:

• Treat the trait with nuance, respect, and empathy.

• Read people’s personal accounts of their relationship with it.
• Remember you’ll get some things wrong, and accept critique.
 InSpIrAtIoNs
These works were on my mind while I was making this game. Take
a look, and they might inspire ideas of things you can bring into
your own campaign of Voidheart Symphony!

Aesthetics
• The Invisibles by Grant Morrison. A collection of messy weirdos
wage a mystic war against the oppressive forces controlling
society, but to truly win they have to work out what a better
world even means to them and whether the methods they’re
using could ever get them there.
• Persona 5 by Atlus Games. Defiant teens use an occult backdoor
into the minds of their city’s monsters to bring them low.
Glitzy, stylish and extremely cool, though not as revolutionary
or intersectional as I’d have liked.
• The World Ends with You by Square Enix. Kids find themselves in a
looking-glass version of Shibuya, forced to fight monsters and
play cruel games to survive. The game is rigged and the stakes
are extreme, but by trusting each other and soaking in vibrant
culture of their city they might just be able to survive.
• Sayonara Wild Hearts by Simogo. A neon-pop journey through
the tarot as a heartbroken young woman faces down corrupted
arcana and finds a path to love. Each arcanum would make a
killer vassal/castle shard pair, and the soundtrack is incredible.
• DmC: Devil May Cry by Ninja Theory. A brash young hoodlum
discovers the demonic corruption behind his city’s institutions,
and begins fighting back. Particularly relevant to Voidheart is the
shifting between the muted, oppressive city and lurid, violent
limbo plane where the city’s masters shamelessly revel in their
corruption and where your hero is empowered to strike back.
• Psychonauts by Double Fine. A young kid with the power to dive
into other’s minds discovers a terrible conspiracy at psychic
summer camp. Mainly in this list for the incredible variety of
inner worlds on offer, to mine for castle shard inspiration!
• Silent Hill by Konami. These games (particularly Silent Hill 2) are
masterpieces of psychological horror, as this town and its
horrid residents torment the protagonist with their inner
demons. The series is a lot darker than Voidheart runs by
default, but it’s a great source of aesthetics for the Enforcers
formed from a Vassal’s psychological frailties.
• Various music. This playlist (ufopress.page.link/music) was on
repeat for most of the writing process. There’s a broad range –
Rage Against the Machine, Janelle Monae, The Indelicates, Ezra
Furman and more – but it’s all somewhere in this book.
Politics
• Revolutions by Mike Duncan. A podcast examining the many
political revolutions that have shaped the modern world. I’d
particularly recommend season 3 (France), 4 (Haiti), 7 and 8
(the revolutions of 1848 and the Paris commune) and 10 (the
Russian revolution, still ongoing).
• Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber. A brilliant, easy-
reading examination of anthropology and cultural myths about
debt and finance. Its key argument – that the default state of
humanity is communal living and that private wealth and
mathematically exact debts were imposed by violence to suit
hierarchy – resonated strongly with me when writing this book.
• What is Communist Anarchism? by Alexander Berkman. Written in
1929, this manifesto remains sadly timely even today. Clear, direct
and passionate about the urgent need to rethink our world.

Game Design
• Apocalypse World by D. Vincent and Meguey Baker. The Powered by
the Apocalypse (PbtA) movement has been deeply important to
my career as a game designer, and I’m forever grateful to
Vincent and Meg for the games they’ve made and the
community they’ve fostered.
• Spire by Rowan, Rook and Decard. The Resistance System’s stress
gauges are an incredible way of making social pressures on
your character feel real.
• Masks: A New Generation by Magpie Games. Masks gives the
emotional stakes of your characters a key focus in its design,
and our conditions system was a big inspiration.
• Blades in the Dark by One Seven Design. The downtime/gather
information/score pacing of Blades in the Dark and its focus on clocks
to track time were inspirational for Voidheart’s Investigations.
• Ironsworn by Shawn Tomkin. Voidheart’s dice system in the city
was inspired by Ironsworn’s, as an effective way of tying PbtA-
style dice rolls to a gauge that changes through a session.
• Orchestra of Oblivion and Choir of Souls by Theodore Lucas Rivera.
These Rhapsody of Blood supplements were a fertile source of
ideas for character abilities, and Theo’s been a great help in
putting together this game.
 ChApTeR 2
RuLeS oF tHe CiTy
 ViTaL StAtIsTiCs
So, you’re rebels – ordinary people who have taken it upon
themselves to oppose the insidious forces of the castle, and have
found strange power in the process.

But what does that actually mean, and how is that represented in
the system? Well, your rebel is measured in four different
categories – the pressures they face in the city, the strengths they
bring to bear in the castle, the covenants they hold onto, and the
potency they accrue as their revolution unfolds.

Pressures in the City

Your rebels spend most of their time in the mundane world – the
streets and buildings of this city. They’ve only recently become
aware of the castle’s intrusions into this world, and they must
contend with the frailties of their health and the demands of their
everyday obligations as they push it back.

Stress Gauges
You have five gauges tracking your rebel’s well-being:

Blood. How much strain your mental and physical health is

under. The more ticks, the closer you are to incapacitation
through sickness, stress, or exhaustion.

Lack. The precarity of your social situation. The more ticks,

the closer you are to homelessness and deprivation.

Infamy. Are you famed, tolerated or reviled? The more ticks,

the more you risk becoming shunned by society.

Heat. How aware hostile elements are of your interference in

their activities. The more ticks, the closer the Vassal (and the
rest of the castle’s minions) are to finding out your identity.

Fealty. The depth to which the castle has penetrated your

subconscious. As you accumulate ticks, you grow more likely
to see others only as resources to exploit for your own benefit
– and lose all care for community, kindness, and joy.
Gaining and reducing stress
Each gauge is 6 ticks long, with more ticks meaning more problems.

When an effect tells you to tick a gauge, put a mark in the leftmost
empty box.

When a gauge hits 6 ticks, you’re taken out – in hospital, prison,

on the run, swayed to the Vassal’s side. Until the rest of the group
deals with the problem, you automatically miss any check with the
affected gauge and have lasting Disadvantage on all other gauges.

When you refresh a gauge, remove a tick from it.

Black Marks
Each gauge starts with a single black mark. Your very existence as a
rebel strains your health, finances, reputation, and faith in humanity.
This black mark can’t be removed while the castle’s influence is still
defining and constraining human society in your city. In order to heal
it, you’d need to change the world so much that Voidheart Symphony is
an inappropriate system for this new world. See p. 217 for suggestions!

When you receive another black mark, shift any existing ticks one
step right, then fill in the leftmost box in a way that makes it
clearly different from the ticks (e.g. a different colour). You’ll gain
a starting black mark from your Role, and may get more from taking
a position in the castle’s hierarchy (p. 72), failing to deal with a dire
crisis (p. 75), failing to stop the Vassal (p. 72), and more.

Black marks count as ticks for the purposes of checks, and can
only be removed by effects that specifically say they remove them.

This rebel has accumulated a few stress ticks and an extra black
mark in Lack. When asked to make a check, they’d need to beat
3 in Blood, 4 in Lack, 2 in Infamy, 2 in Heat, or 3 in Fealty.
Blood ⬛☒☒◻◻◻
Lack ⬛⬛☒☒◻◻
Infamy ⬛☒◻◻◻◻
Heat ⬛☒◻◻◻◻
FeAlTy ⬛☒☒◻◻◻
Your Strengths in the Castle
When you dive through a breach into a castle shard suspended in
the void, you no longer act by struggling against the fetters of
society. Instead you can take direct, dynamic action, empowered
by your soul and your desires. While in the castle, you use these
stats, rated from -1 to +3:

Swords: Your ability to take direct action against your foes.

When exploring, you use it to smash through obstacles and
face down hordes. In fights, use this to get in their face and
throw them off-balance.

Coins: Your ability to make use of the world around you.

When exploring, use it to find your way through and assess
your surroundings. In fights, use it to spot openings and help
your allies exploit them.

Wands: Your ability to be quick-thinking and creative.

When exploring, use it to find safe refuge from the castle’s
inhabitants and move quickly and gracefully. In fights, use it
to dodge away from blows and use trickery and guile.

Cups: Your ability to open your heart to the world around you.
When exploring, use it to bond with the castle’s inhabitants.
In fights, draw on it to help your allies and appeal to your
opponent’s better natures.

The Covenants you Cherish

Covenants are the core social drivers of Voidheart Symphony.
They're the bonds that hold your ragtag group of rebels together,
and the outside connections they can call on when they're in
trouble, or need to blow off steam.

You track your most important connections on your character

sheet. Each covenant is in one direction: they’re the benefits your
character gains from the relationship with the other character.
Covenants come in three forms:

Minor Covenants. Fleeting connections, people whose

hearts you have touched only briefly, good friends you
haven’t had an opportunity to spend time with lately.

Major Covenants. Truly important connections that are

directly tied to your revolution, knowingly or otherwise.
Each has an arcanum that gives its general tone, and three
moves the covenant grants you:

▶ A hangout move for when you spend time with them.

▶ A city move to use in the mundane world.
▶ A castle move to use in the otherworld.

Your Crew Covenant. This shows what your rebel provides for
the others, or maybe the person you’re becoming with their
help. This offers city and castle moves too, but other rebels
trigger its hangout move when they spend time with you.

You can turn Minor covenants into Major ones by Checking In with
them and helping them with their problems. When they become
Major for the first time, assign them an arcanum.

You might fade Major covenants by acting selfishly, letting time pass,
or hitting the covenant’s betrayal trigger. When they’re weakened,
you lose access to their City and Castle moves until you intensify
them again by Checking In with them or hitting their nurture trigger.

Committed Covenants
If a covenant is Committed, your rebel is dedicating energy to
keeping the relationship strong. When you fade a Committed
covenant, it goes from intense to bright, still giving you access to
City and Covenant moves until it’s faded a second time. You can
commit to covenants as a World Advance, or by stealing the
castle’s resources with Rivers in the Desert (p. 70) and solving your
contact’s problems with them.

Your Crew Covenant is always Committed, and like all Major

covenants you can’t use its City and Castle moves while it’s faded.
The Potency You Have Taken
Finally, there’s the way your powers grow as your revolution
unfolds. Unlike Vassals, whose power is granted by the castle and
lasts only as long as they fulfil its wishes, your mystic strength is
earned, or stolen, or cheated. However your rebel conceives of this
power, it’s theirs. And nobody can take it from them.

As you fight back against the castle in the shadow world and in
the city, you’ll build an attunement to two fundamental forces:

The World is the city you live in, but it’s not the
bricks and the wires and the tarmac. Or, it’s not just
those – it’s also the history and culture and
community that makes the city its home, the
beautiful singular thing that only exists in this
place and this moment and should be cherished.
You build your attunement with it by building
strong relationships with others, by taking time
to help and protect your community, and by
giving up your power over others and freeing
them to help as they see fit.

World is ‘you matter’, a hand reaching down to

pull others back up to their feet.

The Void is the realm of primal hunger and

isolation that spawned the castle. It’s empowering
and isolating in equal measure, giving power that
demands you set yourself apart from others. You
build your attunement with it by using your
power as a weapon, by taking your enemy’s
strengths for yourself, and by using others as
tools to wage your revolution.

Void is ‘I matter’, fists raised up in defiance

against a hostile universe.
Raising Potency
Certain moves will tell you to markVoid or mark World. When you do
this, mark a box in the appropriate track on your character sheet.

If this takes you to 5 in either track, you...

1. Increase your rank in the matching attunement (World or Void).

2. Clear out both tracks.
3. Pick one of your playbook’s advances from that attunement.
4. Elaborate on your rebel’s castle form (p. 83).

As your attunement to both forces grows, you can channel the

tension between them into greater power – increased stats in the
castle, Shadow Moves to exploit, and useful facilities emerging in
your group’s hideout. Each type of rebel has a particular menu of
advances to pick from here (see p. 83).

There’s a limit: if you’re already at 3 ranks in the relevant

attunement, you still clear out the tracks but you don’t increase your
rank or gain an advance. Instead you trigger Overwhelmed by the
World or Overwhelmed by the Void as appropriate (p. 49).

Void and World can fall in rank as well as grow. Sometimes you
may even seek this out to avoid getting overwhelmed, spending
time to Let Go (p. 42). When their rank drops, you erase an advance as
the power ebbs out of you.
The Conditions You Suffer
Whether you’re fighting monsters or facing the daily grind, your
state of mind can make all the difference.

When you’re told to mark a condition, pick one of these.

Sometimes the Architect will recommend that you mark a specific
condition, particularly after a miss, but it’s always your choice.

Each condition makes certain moves harder, and guides your

character’s mental state:

Angry: Get lasting Disadvantage on Pass Beneath Notice and Dodge.

You’re seeing red, and crave confrontation.

Callous: Get lasting Disadvantage on Connect and Stand With Me.

Trying to help will just pull you down with them.

Cowed: Get lasting Disadvantage on Vent and Strike.

You’re nobody special. What the hell are you doing here?

Overwhelmed: Get lasting Disadvantage on RebelEyes and LineItUp.

The horror of all of this is too much to process.

Scared: Get lasting Disadvantage on Make a Stand and Reach Out.

Will you die here, or will you live to see everything you love destroyed?

If you mark all five, you lose your ability to control your own story.
The Architect says how you leave this scene, and which gauge you
tick. You’ll return in a later scene, with one condition healed.

To heal a condition, you might...

• Let Your Hair Down to shake it off.

• Encourage a rebel to Stand With Me in battle.
• Spend downtime with another rebel – Check In in the city, or
Find Shelter in the castle.

Player Comfort is Paramount

If the character has to grapple with something they don't want to
be feeling, that's in-genre and working as intended. But if the
player is confronted with their character feeling something the
player doesn't want them to be feeling, that's a metatextual
problem which I’d encourage you to solve with metatextual tools:
X-Card the condition, pause/rewind, or even rewrite these rules
to add alternate costs instead of marking a condition.
 UnIvErSaL MoVeS
These moves are always available to you, no matter what realm of
existence you’re in.

TaKe A RiSk
When you do something risky that isn’t covered by another move,
you do it, and the Architect will say what consequences unfold.

If there’s something you want your rebel to do that isn’t explicitly

covered by any of the other moves, you don’t need to roll
anything – follow the fiction and keep momentum going.

HeLp OuT
When you help another rebel take action, say what you do, and if your
crew covenant is Intense or Bright give them fleeting Advantage. You'll
share in the consequences of the affected move, good and bad.

EvOkE tHe CoVeNaNt

If you're desperate after rolling the dice, say which Intense Covenant
you call on for aid. Fade the covenant, and re-roll one of your dice.

If it's your Crew Covenant, the others say which rebel steps up
to help you out; the Architect says how they’re placed in danger.

If it's a Major Covenant, the Architect says how they lend

unexpected help to you but open themselves up to retaliation.

What happens when you call on a Major Covenant in the castle?

It’s up to your group, according to the tone you want:

• The Contact is briefly summoned into the shard, directly lending

their Covenant-empowered assistance but risking injury.
• The Contact’s mindscape invades this shard, warping its
geography but risking mental trauma.
• You get a vision of the Contact confronting the Vassal in the
city, disrupting the shard but risking social consequences.

HaRd LeSsOnS
When you roll a miss in the city, mark Void as you reach for its aid.

When you roll a miss in the castle, mark World as you’re reminded
of your vulnerabilities.
 ThE InVeStIgAtIoN
Most of your time in Voidheart Symphony is spent in an investigation.
Each investigation goes through the same overall arc:

1. You set up your target and your current living situation with
Growing Shadows and The Grind.
2. You go day by day, tracking the growing pressure on the rebels
and playing through their actions.
3. You either defeat your target and reap the rewards of Rivers in
the Desert, or fail and suffer the impact of Darkness Falls.
4. You face reprisals from the castle’s Retaliation, and then see
snapshots of your rebels’ life during Peace and Quiet.

GrOwInG ShAdoWs
To find your next target, decide together:

1. Which contact is your target already hurting? The Architect uses

this connection to put the Vassal on your relationship map.
2. Are they controlling, demeaning, punishing, compromising,
or exploiting their victim? The Architect says what form the
vassal/victim relationship takes, and the Tier the Vassal is at.
3. Which rebel first investigates them? The Architect says how
you get confirmation that supernatural powers are at work.
4. Where’s their power base in the city? Draw this location on
your relationship map. The Architect says what form the
entrance to their shard takes.

The player’s choice in step 2 sets the stakes of the investigation, and the
Architect’s sets the difficulty. A husband poisoning their spouse is
controlling; a manager making a worker’s life hell is demeaning; a
CEO strong-arming farmers into selling to clear space for a pipeline
is exploiting. While a high-tier Vassal will tend towards institutional
violence and a low-tier one will likely hurt those close to them, it’s not
inherently linked: a powerful CEO (Tier 3) can be an abusive parent,
and a beat cop (Tier 1) can harm people through enforcing unjust laws.

When they have time to prep, the Architect should plan out the
Vassal’s goals and resources. For help with this, see p. 230 for in-depth
advice and p. 299 for a random creation method using tarot cards.

The entrance to a Vassal’s shard should be…

• Liminal, a threshold to cross. Archways, mirrors, elevators.
• Publicly accessible, even if the rebels look out of place there.
• Unknown to the Vassal – it is, cosmically, a blind spot to them.
ThE GrInD
At the start of an investigation, check against your worst gauge.

On a hit, there’s trouble incoming - write down a crisis tied to

this gauge. On a weak hit it starts the investigation imminent;
on a strong hit it starts quelled.

On a miss, the crisis is dire. If it’s imminent at the end of the

investigation, you’ll take a black mark in this gauge.

So long as a crisis is imminent, you have lasting Disadvantage

on all checks against the associated gauge.

You can quell the crisis by putting in work with Wolf at the Door, by
using Rivers in the Desert, or by taking some other action the group
things was dramatic enough to resolve the issue. While it’s
quelled, it isn’t causing active problems even if it’s still a presence
in the back of your mind.

But those that oppose the castle find that security is hard to
maintain. As a reaction while the rebels are in the castle, the
Architect can make the crisis imminent again and describe how
the castle’s systems act to erode your hard-won victories.

At the investigation’s end, you clear the board – it’s time to look at
other issues in the rebels’ lives. If crises are still imminent at this
point, they become long-term problems: a tick or black mark in
the associated gauge. See Peace and Quiet (p. 75) for more details.

Example Crises
Blood You’re sick, you can’t sleep, you’re over-stressed.
Lack Eviction threats, healthcare costs, malnutrition,
your car’s busted, student loans are coming due.
Infamy Criminal allegations, malicious rumours, you can’t meet
clothing standards, your past shame is coming to light.
Heat Harassment campaigns, being watched, tanked credit
score, threats to your employer.
Fealty You lashed out and need to make it right, you can’t enjoy
a cherished activity, you’re alienated from society, you’re
having to pass as something you’re not.
The clock
Your investigation is a race against time. As you investigate them,
the Vassal is also working to find you and make your lives miserable.
This Pressure on the rebels has three states:

• Passive: The Vassal isn’t aware of the rebels at all. This is the
default starting state.
• Alert: The Vassal is aware the rebels are out there causing trouble
for them, though likely doesn’t know their true identities.
• Hunting: Your identities are known and the Vassal is coming.

To track their escalation from Passive to Hunting, you use the

Vassal’s clock – a wheel divided up into 6 segments.

DaIlY PrOcEdUrE
At the start of each day, the Architect marks a segment of the clock.

• If Pressure is at Alert, each rebel must then tick a gauge.

• If Pressure is at Hunting, each rebel ticks two different gauges.

When the clock’s full, the Architect erases its segments and
increases Pressure. If any Enforcers are still intact, one breaches
into the mundane world (see p. 256).

If the pressure’s already at Hunting, the rebels pick one:

▶ Targeted Strike. The Architect attacks a rebel directly,

maxing out one of their gauges.
▶ Imperilled. The Architect picks a contact to wound, imprison
or exile, taking that Covenant out of action unless the rebels
rescue them.
▶ The Vassal’s plan is completed. Trigger Darkness Falls.

The rebels can always choose to trigger Darkness Falls and give up
an investigation instead of ticking the Vassal’s clock.

What’s a day?
The easiest answer is 24 hours, of course, but that’s not always
narratively appropriate. A sustained campaign to unseat the
mayor could be measured in weeks; a panicked dash to save a
kidnapped friend could tick the clock every few hours. Adjust
what counts as a “day” as suits your pacing and threat level.
Daily Actions
Even when you’re fighting supernatural menaces, your regular life
won’t wait. There’s two broad categories of things you can do:
Everyday actions and Rebel actions. Each day, every rebel can
perform two Everyday actions, or one Everyday action and a
Rebel action. These actions can be taken in any order.

EvErYdAy ReBeL EvErYdAy

+ oR + oR +
ReBeL EvErYdAy EvErYdAy

Everyday Actions
See to the Wolf at the Door (p. 40), forestalling a crisis.

Check In (p. 41) with another rebel or a contact.

Look after yourself and Let Your Hair Down (p. 42).

Realise you’ve taken on too much and Let Go (p. 42).

Read the Wind (p. 43) to get a sense of the city.

Rebel Actions
Pursue a particular goal in the city: investigate the Vassal, meet a
covenant’s need, hunt down an escaped castle entity, etc. Follow
the fiction and trigger City Moves (p. 44) as required.

Dive into Darkness (p. 54) to raid the Castle.

You can take the same action as another rebel to team up,
performing the action together.
 EvErYdAy AcTiOnS
Each of these moves plays out a single scene from your rebel’s
everyday life, showing how they cope with the strain of mundane
life and their clandestine activities. It’s only if things go very
wrong or weird that you might trigger City Moves (p. 44).

WoLf At ThE DoOr

When you do what it takes to keep the wheels turning, quell a
crisis – yours or someone else’s.

Pick how you do this, and what it costs you:

▶ You put in the work. Mark a condition, and say what you
do and how it gets to you.
▶ You call in a favour. Fade an NPC covenant, and say how they
help you out and draw the castle’s attention in the process.
▶ You ask for help. Ask the other rebels for assistance. If one
of them agrees, they say what they do to help out and
mark a condition.

Millie’s recently been fired. She spends the day trawling the internet for
new job postings to apply to and puts together a shortlist. She marks
cowed, describing the dehumanising feeling of desperately twisting
yourself to suit the needs of capitalism and win its favour.

Rowan’s crisis is that they’re having to hide their true gender and
pronouns from their family, and it’s really getting to them. They turn to
their Hermit covenant – an online community of trans and NB folks – and
describe how their friends send them surprising and affirming gifts of
clothes and accessories that help them feel more themselves. But there’s a
cost – Rowan’s player fades the covenant and describes how the
community doesn’t have the resources to help the next few eviction crises.

Austin needs to sell some works at an upcoming art fair in order to make
rent, and he can’t find the time he needs to make art he’s happy selling.
Carlos wants to help him, and for his action declares he’s going to help
Austin with house maintenance and groceries so that the artist can focus
on painting. He asks the other rebels who else wants to help out, and
Clara volunteers: she has a van, and can drive Carlos around on these
chores, so Austin quells his crisis. But she’s doing this while also
delivering packages for her regular job, and marks overwhelmed.
ChEcK In
When you meet with a Minor Covenant, the Architect will tell you
what pressing need of theirs you can meet to win their trust.
If you do it, mark World and make them a Major Covenant. If they
don’t have an arcanum yet, assign one now.

For a range of example needs, check p. 194.

When you meet with a Major Covenant, trigger their Hangout Move.
If the covenant was faded, mark World and intensify it.

When you meet with a rebel, you trigger their Hangout Move and
they trigger yours. Then, you check against Fealty.

On a hit, pick one of these; on a strong hit, pick twice:

▶ One of you heals a condition.

▶ One of you intensifies your Crew Covenant.

On a miss, say what goes wrong and pick one:

▶ One of you fades your Crew Covenant.

▶ One of you marks a condition.

Cameron is on a date with a security guard xie hit it off with while acting
as a distraction. As the conversation flows along, the Architect checks the
need table on p. 194 and draws the two of Coins. The guard, Tom, shares
that he’s working nights on the security job and days at his family’s
garage, and it’s killing him. If Cameron can find a way to balance his life,
xie’ll win him as a Major Covenant (with an arcanum) and mark World.

Danielle, the Watcher, is spending her evening getting high and watching
movies with Rebecca, the Heretic. Danielle triggers the Hangout Move of
Rebecca’s crew covenant, the Magician: Rebecca spends the evening
talking through a programming problem, incidentally teaching Danielle
some basic computer hacking. Rebecca triggers Danielle’s Hermit move:
as Danielle vents about an upcoming conference stealing departmental
resources, Rebecca notices that one of the conference’s VIPs is tied to their
investigation. As the evening winds down, Danielle checks against her
Fealty of 3 and gets 2, 4: a weak hit. She decides she heals angry, as
relaxing with her girlfriend has soothed that frustration.
LeT YoUr HaIr DoWn
When you Let Your Hair Down, say what you do to blow off steam
or find comfort and check against Lack.

On a hit, mark World and heal a condition.

On a strong hit, pick one:

▶ You see someone unexpected. Draw a new link for an NPC

on the relationship map – to this location or an NPC here.
▶ You make a new friend. Gain them as a Minor Covenant.
▶ It’s particularly healing. Refresh a gauge.

Peter’s really feeling the effects of that last castle delve, and decides to shell
out for a stadium ticket to go see his team play. He checks against his Lack
of 4 and gets two sixes – a strong hit! Cheering in the stands, he feels more
connected to others and heals callous, and the other fans will remember
his face as one of them – he refreshes Infamy.

LeT Go
When others are depending on you but you rest instead, lose a
rank of your World affinity and heal a condition. The Architect
will say if the consequences are truly as dire as you feared.

When you could use your power and authority but give it to
someone else instead, lose a rank of your Void affinity and heal a
condition. The Architect says what unexpected thing they do with it.

Ryan’s been running himself ragged dealing with rebel investigations and
his chronic fatigue has robbed him of any energy to pay bills or perform
chores around the house. He decides to let go and spend the day resting,
healing scared and losing a rank of World (and its associated hideout-
boosting advance). The Architect describes his husband’s initial anger at
the state of the house giving way to concern when he sees the state Ryan’s in.
They spend the evening bonding over takeaway, but there’s a look of worry
in his husband’s eyes that doesn’t go away over the coming days.
ReAd tHe WiNd
When you step back to get a sense of the city, set a scene of your
rebel going through their daily life.

Pick a detail for the Architect to introduce into this scene as

you play through it:

▶ A new way your target’s hurting people.

▶ An unexpected meeting with an NPC.
▶ A sense of the overall mood of the city.

Get fleeting Advantage when you act on the scene’s events.

Clara’s player decides she wants a new angle on the case, so she picks ‘a
new way your target’s hurting people’ and frames a scene of Clara going
along to her regular dialysis appointment at a health clinic. As she’s
hooked up to the machine, she chats with the nurse about her commute
here – the Architect adds in that their target (a city councillor) is cutting
funding for public transport, and the nurse is worried it’ll make it harder
for patients to get to the clinic or otherwise get about the city.

What should I do?

If you’re unsure what to spend your time on, maybe consider...

• If a crisis is imminent for yourself or others, Wolf at the Door.

• If you want to heal conditions and take a chance on an
interesting encounter, Let Your Hair Down.
• If you need to dump World or Void ranks, Let Go.
• If you only have a few intense Covenants, Check In.
• If you want the Architect to give you leads to follow up on,
Read the Wind.
 CiTy MoVeS
MaKe a StAnD
When you Make a Stand to force someone to pay attention to you,
check against Blood.

On any hit, choose two:

▶ They don’t cause you immediate problems.

▶ Your words shake them.
▶ They spend some time focused only on you.

On a weak hit, it gets personal: mark a condition.

On a strong hit, you can choose to mark a condition to pick all

three options above.

Angus spots the crew’s target as she walks from her office to her car, and
springs into action. He shouts allegations at the Vassal, hoping that this
public setting will make the things she’s done stick. Angus checks against
his Blood of 2 and gets a 2 and a 4 – a weak hit. He decides that the Vassal
can’t dismiss what he says and won’t stick around and cause problems,
but gets in her car and quickly leaves. His pulse pounding in his ears,
Angus marks angry.

PaSs BeNeAtH NoTiCe

When you attempt to Pass Beneath Notice, check against Infamy.

On any hit, you do it long enough to get what you wanted,

but it costs you.

On a weak hit, pick 2; on a strong hit, pick 1:

▶ You have to leave this situation right now, or be discovered.

▶ Someone notices you, and they’ll keep an eye out later.
▶ You get separated from allies or pulled out of position.

Priya is hiding in a bathroom in her college, waiting for admin workers to

go home so she can look through files in the student office. As she sneaks
out into the hallways, she checks against Infamy and gets a weak hit. She
picks that someone notices her and she has to leave right now; the
Architect describes a security guard spotting her slipping into the student
office on the cameras, giving her only a few minutes to search.
CoNnEcT
When you try to Connect with somebody by...
…convincing them you’re worth their time, check against Infamy.
…making the Vassal’s threat clear, check against Heat.
…putting up a false front, check against Lack.

On a hit, they’ll give you a chance to make your case. They’ll

answer a few questions or do a minor favour that doesn’t risk
their own standing.

On a strong hit, also pick one:

▶ They reveal far more than they normally would.

▶ They help you access a restricted location or valuable item.
▶ You hit it off; add them as a minor covenant.

Miguel’s trying to blend in at a gallery opening the Vassal’s husband is

attending. He spots the husband and tries to engage him in conversation,
making up a fake name and credentials at the local Uni’s art department.
A check against Lack yields a weak hit; Miguel’s appearance is pretty
shabby and the husband is unconvinced, but gives Miguel a chance to ask
a few questions and maybe expose some crucial information.

Strange long-fingered shadow-imps followed the rebels out of the castle on

their last delve, and Clara wakes up in the middle of the night to see one
crouched on her windowsill. Thinking quickly, she remembers the organ
music that filled the shard and pulls up similar music on her phone.
Holding it out to the imp, she tries to keep its attention and use gentle
movements to make it feel safe. The Architect wasn’t expecting this tactic,
but thinks this probably falls under ‘convincing them you’re worth their
time’ and asks Clara for an Infamy check.

Separated from his friends, pulled out of his wheelchair, held at gunpoint:
Austin’s in a tight spot. Desperately he tries to convince the gunman that
he’s in danger too, that the Vassal will want to tie up loose ends. He checks
against Heat and gets a strong hit! The gunman gives him time to make
his case, and Austin also picks that the gunman reveals far more than
they normally would – Austin needs all the leverage he can get.
ReBeL EyEs
When you spend time looking for information, say what you’re
trying to find out and check against Heat.

On a hit, you’ll have a clear idea how to get the information,

but the Architect may give you one or two of these costs:

▶ It’ll take until later today/tomorrow to get it.

▶ You’ll have to expose yourself to danger to get it.
▶ You’ll have to tick a gauge to get it.
▶ You’ll need _____ to help you get it.

On a weak hit, you’re watched too. The Architect picks

someone in this scene, and one thing they uncover:

▶ What your true affiliations are.

▶ What you’re after right now.
▶ What’s causing you pain.

Millie managed to get herself hired as a temp worker at the Vassal’s

company, and is trying to find out what he’s planning by eavesdropping on
board meetings. She checks against Heat, but she’s currently
overwhelmed so has Disadvantage. Thankfully discarding the highest die
on 4, 5,5 still yields a strong hit, and the Architect tells her she can definitely
get the information so long as she exposes herself to danger by loitering
near the boardroom. She nods and prepares to Pass Beneath Notice.

Rebecca’s decided to hack into a research conference’s database to find out

where a particular VIP is staying. A Heat roll yields two 1s, so she
grimaces and decides to Exhaust the Covenant with her girlfriend
Danielle and use her researcher credentials to get access and roll another
dice. That one’s a 4, so she gets a weak hit. The Architect tells her that she
has access, but that information’s not in the database yet: she’ll have to
check back in tomorrow morning. As for the weak hit downside, the
Architect suggests that maybe when Rebecca next goes for a coffee break,
the weight of putting her partner in danger shows on her face and her co-
worker Liam (a minor covenant) corners her and asks if everything’s OK.
Rebecca’s player agrees, and they start playing out that scene.
VeNt
When you Vent out the Void’s power within you, choose the
effect(s) you’re evoking and check against Fealty:

• You terrify everyone present.

• You conceal your identity from all onlookers.
• You call on a strength you’d have in the castle.
• You perceive something you couldn’t otherwise sense.
• You shrug off anything that would hurt you.
• You call on your playbook’s unique Vent effect.

On a hit, you do it, but it resists your control. Pick one backlash
on a strong hit, or one per effect evoked on a weak hit. Each
backlash may be picked multiple times.

On a miss, the Architect picks as many backlashes as they like.

It’s up to them if your effects still go off.

Backlashes
The darkness changes some part of your form as it leaves you.
A quirk of fate inflicts suffering on one of your Covenants.
One of the effects is flawed and only part-way successful.
The departing shadow will hunt you next delve.
A nearby animal or object gains smarts and malice.

Cameron’s been caught on the fire escape outside a Vassal’s apartment,

mid-break in. With the Vassal drawing a gun and a henchman charging
at xir, Cameron decides to draw on the power of the void to protect xirself.
For effects, xie picks ‘you shrug off anything that would hurt you’ and ‘you
call on a strength you’d have in the castle’, drawing on xir Heretic ability
to step from shadow to shadow. Checking against Fealty xie gets a 1 and a
6, a weak hit. Xie picks the backlashes that ‘the darkness changes some
part of your form’ and ‘a nearby animal gains smarts and malice’ – the
Architect decides that xir shadow stays behind, and will start hunting
through the city to get revenge on Cameron for leaving it behind.

A shadow haunting you on your next delve can be run as an

Enforcer. Give them one Quality for each time that backlash was
picked between delves.
 Violence in the City
It’s always possible that your rebels will find themselves facing down pain and
injury in the city, or even inflicting it themselves. There is no ‘hurting someone’
move in the city, because the act of violence is messy and uncontrollable – and
your rebels have plenty of tools to de-escalate through hiding, making
emotional appeals, or calling on the void’s power to resist harm.

If players are the ones inflicting harm, it falls under Take a Risk: they do it,
and the Architect says what consequences unfold. Here’s some ideas, at
varying levels of severity.

• There are witnesses: Tick Infamy, you need to get away, start a crisis
related to your growing reputation for violence, etc.
• Violence stains you: Tick Fealty as you get used to hurting others for your
goals, mark Callous, etc.
• Revenge is coming: Tick Heat, start a crisis as they enact reprisals, tick
up Pressure, mark Scared, etc.
• You get hurt: Tick Blood, trigger Weight of the World, start a crisis as you
need treatment, etc.

It’s up to your play group to decide what role violence has in your
revolution – there are no easy answers, and far wiser people than I have
spilled ink on justice vs vengeance, institutional vs individual violence,
peaceful protests vs ‘riots’, on and on.

I’d simply request that you never get comfortable with inflicting pain and
suffering on people, no matter who they are, and work towards building a
society where everyone matters and everyone keeps each other’s needs in mind.
 KeEpInG YoUrSeLf ToGeThEr
These aren’t moves that you intentionally trigger – they’re here to
help you take stock of the story you’re telling, and kick in
consequences when things go particularly wrong.

OvErWhElMeD bY tHe WoRlD

When your World affinity would increase but it’s already at 3,
instead of increasing it pick one:

• Collateral damage. One of your Covenants joins the fight and

invades the castle, wholly unprepared for what they’ll find
there. Unless you rescue them, they’ll soon be lost to you.
• Back Away. You become overwhelmed by all the many voices
crying out for aid. Your World affinity drops to 2, and the
Architect will remove the Committed state from a covenant or
hit you with an extra crisis as you fail to meet your obligations.
• Retire from the rebel life. You become an Architect-controlled
character helping the city through purely mundane means;
make a new rebel.

OvErWhElMeD bY tHe VoId

When your Void affinity would increase but it’s already at 3,
instead of increasing it pick one:

• Devoured heart. Lose a Covenant, permanently – they just

don’t mean anything to you any more.
• Outpouring darkness. Your Void affinity drops to 2, and your
own inner demons spring out of you to haunt the world.
• Claimed by the void. You become an Architect-controlled
monster that stalks the halls of the castle and the void beyond;
make a new rebel.
WrAp Up
At the end of each session, take stock of what happened – this is a
good time to check if you’ve hit any covenant’s nurture or betrayal
triggers. Each rebel says what made the biggest impact on them:

• You made a difference to someone. MarkWorld, say how you feel

different afterwards, and intensify your covenant with them.
• The crew helped you. Say which rebel went the extra mile, and
they heal a condition.
• You focused on your own battle in the castle. Mark Void and
shift a point between your castle stats (max +3, min -2).
• You focused on your mundane life. Say one thing you cherish
about it, and refresh a gauge.

If you’re playing in a setup without discrete sessions – play-by-

post, for example – I’d recommend setting another trigger for
this move. Maybe one a week, or every 100 posts, or whatever
suits your pace. As a yardstick to help you calibrate, this move is
meant to trigger 1-3 times within each investigation to make
sure you think back through the events so far.
When the group wants to drive home a particularly painful
moment, you can use these moves:

WeIgHt oF tHe WoRlD

When you just aren't good enough, when you're too weak or the
world is too strong, check against 1+Conditions Marked.

On a strong hit, you get a good look at the situation, and get
fleeting Advantage making things right.

On a weak hit, mark a condition and pick one:

▶ Take on extra responsibilities. Write down a new crisis.

▶ Blame the others for your pain. Inflict a condition on
another rebel.
▶ Let down the ones who matter to you. Fade one of your
Covenants.

On a miss, mark a condition and pick one:

▶ Throw in the towel. Waste your next Everyday action just
sitting in this pain.
▶ This is just how things are now. Tick a gauge.
▶ Pick two options from a weak hit (you can double up).

Clara tried to get rid of stress by Letting Her Hair Down, but rolled a
miss. The Architect describes her waking up the next morning, hungover
and extremely late for work, and triggers Weight of the World. She’s
cowed and overwhelmed, so she’s checking against 3. She roll a 1 and a 4,
getting a weak hit. Her player decides that she takes on extra
responsibilities to try and keep her job, writing down a new crisis and
marking scared.

Carlos is out leafletting when another volunteer breaks the bad news:
their candidate has dropped out, after threats to her family. Carlos’ player
decides this might really get to him, and rolls Weight of the World. With
three conditions marked, this likely to go bad, and indeed he rolls a 1 and
a 3 – a miss. He marks another condition – Angry – and decides this event
leads Carlos to completely give up party politics and election-winning. As
he burns old bridges in his newfound anarchist fervour, he marks Infamy.
PuSh ThRoUgH PaIn
When you take a blow that strains your limits, roll +Conditions
Marked.

On a 6-, you scrape by. You're knocked back, down, or winded.

On a 7-9, the pain hits home. Mark a condition, and get

fleeting Advantage acting on it. Angry boosts your next attack,
Scared helps you dodge, etc

On a 10+, it's crushing. Pick one:

▶ Mark two conditions, get fleeting Advantage acting on each.

▶ Collapse unconscious until the current danger has passed,
overlooked by any enemies or dangers here.
▶ Shift a rank of World to Void, and unleash this new
strength in a brutal and indiscriminate way.

Ryan failed to Dodge the giant, iron foot of the enforcer he was fighting,
and as it stamps down on his leg the Architect asks him to Push Through
Pain. Currently he’s condition-free, so rolls +0 and gets a 6! The enforcer’s
foot knocks him away, rather than doing any lasting damage.

This Vassal’s Avatar is the Burning Man, a barbed-wire mannequin

wreathed in crimson flames. This presents Clara with a challenge, as her
weapon – her fists – have the close flaw. She asks the Architect if she can
still Strike the Avatar, and the Avatar says that she can but she’ll have to
Push Through Pain as she closes the distance. She nods, as the current
Opening is about to disappear, and charges in. With angry and callous
she’s rolling +2, and gets a 10. It’s crushing, and the pain is far greater
than she thought – but that’s not going to stop her. She moves a rank from
World to Void, and adds the Lingering tag to her fists as they burn with
those crimson flames. But as she uses those fists to tear through the Avatar,
her flame is indiscriminate, sending scorching blasts out to singe her allies.

If marking a condition with Push Through Pain would take you

out, you get one final act before you leave the scene. Make it count.
 DeLvInG InTo tHe CaStLe
When your rebels cross the threshold into the castle’s realm, they’ll
enter a shard – a fragment of the castle tied to this Vassal, the
channel through which its power flows into them and the city’s
riches flow into the Void. These moves guide your journey through
this strange realm.

You Dive Into Darkness to enter in the shard, and see what state the
rebels are in when they arrive. As you Travel the Labyrinth you'll
arrive at new locations, facing down their challenges to learn
hidden truths about the Vassal. When you Find Shelter, you rest and
work out where to go next. And when you’re finally ready to strike,
you make your way to the shard’s heart and use Emperor's New
Clothes to make the Vassal’s Avatar mortal and steal their power.

DiVe InTo DaRkNeSs

When you lead the crew across the border between reality and
the castle, check against Blood.

On a hit, you appear in the shard in a safe place. Each rebel

takes on their castle form (see p. 83), with their signature
weapon and gear.

If they want something different, each rebel can give up one gear
item to empower a mundane item they brought with them.
Treat it as a weapon with a perk and flaw, or a utility item
that can be expended to do one appropriate thing.

See p. 68 for details on weapons.

On a strong hit, you arrive at a good vantage point, giving

fleeting Advantage on Travel the Labyrinth.

On a miss, you’re in a desperate position as you arrive, under

attack from castle denizens or environmental hazards even
as you’re still shifting into your castle form.
Wraiths
As they dive in, the leader may call out to rebels unable to join the
delve or otherwise unwilling to spend a Shadow Action. If their
Crew Covenant is intense, they may answer and manifest as a
wraith – the version of the rebel that exists in the crew’s minds.

When a rebel’s wraith is summoned, each member of the crew

physically present says one way the rebel’s Crew Covenant has
helped them. The wraith’s player describes how their castle form
shifts to embody those traits.

As an avatar of a bond, the wraith isn’t fully there:

• They don’t mark World or Void during the delve.

• They lose access to Shadow moves or Major Covenant moves,
only retaining their Crew Covenant.
• If their Crew Covenant ever fades, the wraith disappears.

The next time that rebel sleeps, they'll dream of the things their
avatar experienced and mark the conditions it suffered,
remembering as much or as little of the delve as their player desires.

Austin, Carlos and Clara are diving into the castle, with Clara leading
the way. Passing across the threshold, she grits her teeth and checks
against Blood, getting a weak hit. The Architect describes them emerging
in an abandoned hospital entrance foyer, with buzzing striplights and
rust-stained walls. Carlos grimaces as he takes in the surroundings and
glances over to Austin, but the artist is too busy checking to see if his
wheelchair made the journey ok to notice Carlos’ concern.

The three take on their castle forms – Austin donning a mask of

quicksilver and hefting a sturdy crossbow, Clara growing bull’s horns and
a crimson cape as she puts on knuckle-dusters, and doves settling on
Carlos’s flower-wreathed shoulders as his hands begin to glow with a soft,
holy light. As a Harlequin, Austin could have brought in a lucky charm as
part of his castle gear, but he decides to swap that out for a map of the
Vassal’s hospital that he picked up during the visit that spurred this
investigation. The group discusses what this could do, and decides that
Austin can expend it to Find Shelter without having to roll.
TrAvEl tHe LaByRiNtH
When you lead the group through the labyrinthine corridors of
the castle, roll with...

• +1 if you mark Void right now, else roll -1;

• +1 if you’ve defeated an Enforcer, else roll -1;
• +1 if you’ve spent time studying the Vassal, else roll -1.

If you’re exploring…

You always reach a place that reveals a hidden truth about

the Vassal. On a 10+, the Architect picks 1; on a 7-9, they pick 2;
on a 6- they pick as many as they like:

▶ Its inhabits are hostile to you.

▶ It’s filled with traps and hazards.
▶ Dangerous forces are on their way.
▶ You’re trapped in here until you find the way out.
▶ It also reveals something painful about you. Say what.

If you’re going somewhere specific…

The Shard’s heart, the exit, an Enforcer’s lair, a landmark, etc.

On a hit, you get there.

On a 10+, you arrive in a controlled position. You can plan,

talk to each other, and scope the area out before entering.

On a miss, the Architect picks one:

▶ You’re ambushed as you enter.

▶ You get separated on the way there.
▶ An obstacle blocks you from reaching your destination.

Priya is leading the group’s exploration through a glass-and-steel skyscraper.

She’s studied the Vassal in the city, and marks Void now, but the group hasn’t
defeated any Enforcers so she’s rolling +1 and gets an 8. In this room, all glass
is shattered and frozen flames flicker in window frames. A screen shows a
blinking stock trade order dated three years back, a trade made in haste and
leading to ruin. As the group enters, the Architect describes the flames
springing to life and trapping the group in: this area is filled with traps and
hazards, and they’re trapped there until they can find the way out.
FiNd ShElTeR
When you search for a safe space to hide and recover, roll +Wands.

On a hit, each rebel picks 1:

▶ Comfort another rebel. Heal one of their conditions.

▶ Encourage another rebel. Intensify their Crew Covenant.
▶ Use your playbook’s Shelter move.

On a 7-9, your foes regroup too; the next Travel the Labyrinth
has Disadvantage.

On a miss, the shelter you find is fleeting or deceptive: you’re

plunged into danger before you can rest.

Danielle’s group is bleeding and tired from a showdown with an Enforcer,

so she’s looking for a place to rest. Rolling +Wands with Cameron’s help,
she gets a 2, 3 and 6, working out to a 10 with her Wands of +1. The group
finds a well-stocked pantry in this sprawling stately home, barricade the
door, and finally get some rest.

Cameron decides xie’ll comfort Rebecca, healing her cowed condition;

Danielle decides to encourage Rebecca, allowing her girlfriend to use her
Magician arcanum again. Rebecca uses her Heretic Shelter move, asking
the Architect: What danger should we be most on the lookout for?

The Architect thinks, and then responds that they’re still being hunted by
the Avatar’s butler (another Enforcer), and they should make sure that no
servants escape future encounters to raise the alarm and summon the
butler. The group decides to spend a bit of time roleplaying these three
rebels finding a moment of solace, playing out those encouraging and
comforting words and Rebecca sharing her insights, and then they leave
to continue their delve.
EmPeRoR's NeW ClOtHeS
When you disrupt the link to the castle in the heart of a shard, roll one
dice for each that is true and take the highest two:

You've confronted the Vassal in person in the city.

You've uncovered the full details of what they're planning.

You've met people the Vassal holds dear.

You've defeated at least one of their Enforcers.

Your mundane self has suffered at their orders (or hands).

There’s organised resistance to the Vassal among the city’s people.

On a hit, you break the connection! They're vulnerable, but

won’t go down without a fight.

On a 10+, pick one more:

▶ Break their confidence. Start combat with an Opening.

▶ Get under their skin. Give a rebel’s weapon the ability to
cut through the Avatar’s sorceries, illusions and blights.
▶ Subvert their power. If you defeat them now, each rebel
can pick an extra boon in Peace and Quiet.

On a 6-, the link’s shaken and the Avatar’s vulnerable for the
duration of this fight, but the Architect picks one:

▶ Call for backup. The Avatar summons a still-extant

Enforcer to fight alongside them.
▶ I SEE YOU. The Vassal realises who you are in the city, and
their Pressure ranks up.
▶ Vessel of a greater power. Defeating this Avatar will rank
down Pressure instead of triggering Rivers in the Desert:
this Vassal falls, but their puppetmaster – a higher-Tier
Vassal – continues to act.
This move is crucial to your rebels’ battle in the castle. The castle
pushes Vassals into a mindset of tyrant-and-serf (see p. 226), and
it’s only by showing that they’re vulnerable and accountable –
and that the people they hurt will not be ignored – that your
rebels can shake their confidence and make them vulnerable.

Angus is feeling cocky after embarrassing the Vassal in the city, and leads
his group in a strike at the shard’s heart. He arrives at the mainspring of
the Vassal’s clockwork castle, and begins listing her mistakes and the
suffering she’s caused one after another in an effort to shatter her illusion
of perfect control. He picks up one die for having confronted the Vassal in
person, and another for having defeated one of their Enforcers. Rolling
them he gets… a miss with a 1 and a 3. Wincing, he marks world and
looks over to the Architect to see what goes wrong. The Architect thinks,
and decides that Angus’ strident confrontation allows the Vassal to realise
exactly who he is and Pressure ranks up. The group grits their teeth and
prepares to take this Avatar down.

Priya, Millie, Peter and Miguel are in the final act of a long, drawn-out
investigation. They confronted the Vassal, their state’s governor, in
person, and Peter was hospitalised in the process; they learned his plan,
and rallied protestors to demonstrate against it; they’ve defeated his
Enforcers, one in his shard and one in the city when it breached out of the
shard to attack Priya in her home. Now, at the apex of the shard’s grand
ziggurat, they denounce his actions and demand he be held to account.
They put together a pool of 5 dice, and roll 2, 1, 3, 6, 5. Picking the two
highest, that’s an 11! They decide to break his confidence, the Avatar
rendered speechless by the onslaught and giving them an Opening to
strike directly at them.
 ExPlOrAtIoN MoVeS
When you're dealing with the dangers of the castle, you need to call
on particular skills to survive. These moves are here to help you
navigate that environment and overcome the obstacles in your path.

FlOw LiKe WaTeR

When you perform a feat of daring athletics, roll +Wands.

On a 7-9, pick one; on a 10+, pick two:

▶ You’re where you need to be.

▶ Danger doesn’t follow you.
▶ Another rebel can take the trip with you.

The crew are fighting a scrap-metal crow that swoops down to attack and
then back up out of range. Rowan decides to climb one of the pylons in the
arena to get a chance to hit back, and rolls +Wands to get an 8. They
decide that they’re where they need to be: on the top of a pylon, with the
crow diving directly at them, with no rebels with them for backup...

PoWeR ThRoUgH
When you hurl your strength at the castle's obstacles, roll +Swords.

On a hit, pick one:

▶ You destroy an obstruction or piece of scenery.

▶ You knock back and scatter a group of minions.
▶ You give another rebel a clear path out of danger.

On a 7-9, the Architect gives your action one of these costs:

you’re put in a bad spot, take a condition, or get separated
from the others.

The room Austin, Carlos, and Clara picked to shelter in was a trap, and is
now filling with water. Austin shoots holes in the door with his crossbow
and then Clara shoulder-charges it, hoping to break it down. Rolling
+Swords with Austin’s help, she gets a 14! She destroys an obstruction (the
door), but it’ll take work getting out – Austin starts directing Carlos on
how to move the door fragments so that he can roll his wheelchair out
before the room floods.
SeE ClEaR
When you try to read a dangerous situation, roll +Coins.

On a hit, you can ask the Architect questions. On a 7–9 ask 1;

on a 10+ ask 3; on a miss, ask 1 but prepare for the worst:

▶ Which exit takes me to my goal?

▶ What here is valuable?
▶ What can the enemies here do?
▶ What should I be on the lookout for?

Get fleeting Advantage when you act on each answer.

Danielle has lead her group into a grand assembly line in the shard, and
she’s surveying the room. A roll +Coins get a 4: she can ask one, but it’ll be
dire. She picks ‘what should I be on the lookout for’ and the Architect reveals
that the robot arms on the line will not only attack them but repair each
other. Danielle tells the group the bad news and they prepare for a fight...

ReAcH OuT
When you form a bond with a minion of the Vassal, roll +Cups.

On a hit, you’ve formed a bond – the Architect will tell you

what the symbology of the minion means to the Vassal, and
the minion will help you so long as they can safely do so.

On a 7-9, pick a cost:

▶ Your mind touches the Vassal’s. Tick Heat.

▶ The shard pushes back. Minions or Enforcers are coming.
▶ The bond feeds on you. Mark a condition.

When you call on the minion for aid, mark Void and describe how
they reshape the shard’s landscape or occupy a threat’s attention.

The crew’s found a gang of pit slaves mining away under a cruel overseer,
and promptly dispatched the whip-wielding gangmaster. Miguel
addresses the cowering slaves, asking for their help in overthrowing the
whole cruel order here. He gets a 7, and the miners – a representation of
the Vassal’s own employees – drop tools as he wins their loyalty. For a cost,
the Architect decides the shard pushes back, and an Enforcer is coming.
 BlOoDsTaInEd CoMbAt
As you travel the castle, you'll face opposition. Hordes of minions,
deadly traps, powerful enforcers, and the Vassal themselves. Each
foe is pretty simple, only needing a clear concept of what they are
and one or more Qualities. Qualities are packages of Architect
reactions tied to a particular strength of the adversary, and as the
fight progresses rebels will strike away these strengths one by one.
When all qualities are destroyed, the adversary is defeated.

Minions
As you explore the castle you’ll encounter the rank and file of the
Vassal's minions: the strange inhabitants of the Vassal’s shard, the
actors and extras that play out their psychodramas. They need very
few details – just a description and a single Quality for the group.

Example Minion: Office Drones

Bug-headed figures in suits and button-down shirts, wings
pushing through the fabric on their backs.

• Vomit corrosive printer ink on a rebel.

• Quickly fly across the room.
• Get distracted by a pile of tasty paperwork.

Traps
This is a broad heading for every hostile feature of the shard’s
architecture: spikes extending from walls, boiling vats of poison,
labyrinthine mazes of teleporter traps, and so on. To put together
a trap, first decide how complex the encounter is going to be.

If the players just need to get through the trapped area, decide for
yourself what would trigger the trap and ask them what they do,
triggering exploration moves according to the fiction.

If, on the other hand, the players need to defuse or solve the trap
to get through, or it's an additional hazard in an arena, give it a
Quality. When the quality is destroyed, the trap is disarmed.
The Vassal and Their Enforcers
There are, of course, more potent foes than minions. The Vassal
has Enforcers: important fragments of their personality,
obsessions or fears that walk the castle's halls as a kind of immune
system. All Enforcers have three Qualities.

And at the centre of the shard, ensconced in their place of power,

is the Vassal's Avatar. They’re glorious and invulnerable – until
you use Emperor's New Clothes to shake the Vassal’s confidence and
disrupt the tie between their psyche and the castle. The Avatar has
three Qualities, plus one more granted by each surviving Enforcer.

The Avatar will also have three, and on top of those have one
Quality granted to them by each surviving Enforcer.

Enforcer and Avatar qualities work similarly to those of Minions

and Traps, with one crucial difference: each quality also has a
Break Action which triggers when it's destroyed. This is here to
ensure that significant foes keep the players on their toes even as
their strengths are stripped away! Here are some ideas:

• Retreat to a vantage point.

• Call in a mob of minions.
• Create barriers or obstacles.
• Lash out at the closest threat.
• Create a hazard in the battlefield.
• Split up the rebels.
• Set great danger in motion.

There are also great rewards when they’re defeated. Each Enforcer
anchors the Vassal’s soul to the castle, and defeating them helps
you navigate the castle, makes the Avatar vulnerable to your
attacks, and robs the Avatar of the Enforcer’s strengths.

And when the Avatar’s killed? The investigation’s over and the
rebels seize the power in this shard and use it for their own ends –
see Rivers in the Desert, p. 70.

For example Vassals and Avatars, see pages 232-255.

For example Enforcers, see pages 257-277.
 CoNfRoNtAtIoN MoVeS
In major fights, your rebels must find Openings to attack as they
weather the foe's assault. Each Opening is tied to a particular
truth in the fiction: be mindful of your fictional positioning as you
work to exploit them. Each successful Strike against the foe strips
away one of their Qualities, bringing you closer to victory even as
the foe grows more frenzied and deadly.

Be careful: your foes can also find Openings on you. These

represent the foe placing your rebel in a tight spot, devoting all
their attention to you, or preparing a crushing attack. The Architect
can use the Opening as a Reaction to unleash an undodgeable,
unblockable attack that forces the target to Push Through Pain.
The rebel in question can’t do anything to avoid this attack or shake
the Opening, but their allies can save them with Stand With Me.

StRiKe
When you exploit an Opening with...
…stealth and guile, roll +Wands.
…precise insight, roll +Coins.
…direct force, roll +Swords.
…arguments and emotional appeals, roll +Cups.

On any hit, you remove the Opening and break one of the
foe’s qualities.

If you break its final quality, it’s defeated and no longer a threat.

Otherwise, the Architect will trigger that quality’s Break

Move, and on a 7-9 also pick 1:

▶ They lash out, and you mark a condition.

▶ They single you out, and get an Opening on you.
▶ They reshape the arena, introducing a new threat.

Angus has an Opening to smash the armour of the rusted iron titan the
crew’s fighting, after Ryan spotted a weak point in an armour plate.
Swinging his hammer at the weak point, he rolls +Swords and gets a 12!
The plate smashes under his hammer, and the Architect triggers its Break
Move: the titan’s magma-hot blood spills out as Angus leaps back. If
Angus had rolled a 7-9 the Architect would have been able to add in an
extra follow-up move from the titan – stomping on Angus, maybe, or
grabbing him up in an iron fist – but as it is the crew has a few moments
to regroup and deal with the pools of burning blood.
LiNe It Up
When you watch or test an enemy to find a weak spot, roll +Coins.

On a hit, you find an Opening. Say where it’s coming from –

the environment, a chink in their armour, a flaw in their
fighting style, something else.

On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:

▶ The foe sends an attack your way.

▶ The Opening only lasts a few moments.
▶ The foe sees you; get fleeting Disadvantage on Strike.

As Rebecca fights tooth and nail with mutated, cancerous chimera,

Cameron hangs back in the shadows to try and spot any weaknesses. Xie
rolls a 6, plus xir Coins of +2 to get a hit. Xie declares Cameron notices
that when the chimera’s completely concentrating in fighting one foe, its
back is completely unguarded. But then xie has to pick the downsides,
and selects that the Opening only lasts a few moments and the foe sees xir.
The chimera will leave this frenzy soon, and one of its heads is already
looking at Cameron – it’ll be up to Danielle to try and Strike.

PrEsSuRe
When you apply pressure to a foe and force their attention onto
you, roll +Swords. No matter what, they’ll retaliate – they get an
Opening on you.

On a 7-9 pick 1; on a 10+ pick 2:

▶ They’re thrown off-balance, and you get an Opening on them.

▶ You pin them in place, preventing them from moving.
▶ You give an ally a window to act freely.

As a ball of magma hurtles towards the group, Ryan steps forward and
channels the ice inside him into a frozen lance to piece the molten rock and
stab at the Avatar. Rolling +Swords, he gets a 10 – the lance strikes true
and knocks the foe off-balance, and Ryan decides it also impales them and
stops them moving. But the Avatar also gets an Opening on Ryan – the
Architect decides that drawing on the ice within has left him frozen and
fragile, ready to shatter at a single touch. Unless one of his allies can help
him shift it, pain is coming.
DoDgE
When you try to avoid incoming danger, roll +Wands.

On a hit, you successfully dodge the attack.

On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:

▶ You’re separated from your allies.

▶ You stumble, gaining fleeting Disadvantage.
▶ You leave something valuable behind.

Danielle thought she was safe on the other side of the arena from the chimera,
but it flexes its occult musculature to fling itself at her. She tries to duck behind
a pillar, and though she has Disadvantage from Angry the +Wands roll still
gets an 8. The chimera smashes against the wall next to her, and she decides
the impact disorients her and sends her flying away from the rest of the crew.

As a spectre screams out a literally blood-chilling song, Priya pulls out a

music box of particular significance to the Vassal and begins to play it to
drown out the song. Rolling +Wands she gets an 11 – she’s protected from
the spectre’s song, but has to concentrate on winding the box and gets
fleeting Disadvantage.

StAnD WiTh Me
When you reach out to bolster an ally, roll +Cups.

On a hit, you save them from a particular ongoing danger,

whether that’s an Opening your foes have on them or some
other lingering issue.

On a 10+, they may heal a condition or gain fleeting Advantage.

A patchwork doll has pinned Clara’s shadow to the floor, preventing her
from moving. Austin tries to help, and gets a 10 on the Cups roll. He spots
the crucial needle and tells Clara how to free herself; she does so, and decides
that having friends to help like this means she heals Overwhelmed.

FlEe
When you use up an Opening to escape, all rebels can come with you.
If you were fighting the Avatar, tick the Vassal’s clock.
 Optional Rule: The Castle’s Treasures
If you want to spend more time in the alien halls of the castle and
show its effect on your mundane life, you can use these rules to
add in a bit more dungeon-raiding flavour.

As you travel the castle, you can encounter treasures. These

objects represent the things, creatures, and people the Vassal
particularly values in the city. In the psychogeography of the
Vassal’s shard, that importance has transfigured these objects
and given them supernatural power. Here’s how they work:

Treasures are obvious. When you enter a room that holds one,
the Architect will pick it out in their description of the room and
say what shape it has taken.

Treasures are protected. Each treasure will have some kind of

trial stopping thieves from just grabbing it. It might be…

• Hard to reach: It’s locked in a vault, high in the air, on the other
side of a chasm, etc.
• A trigger for traps: Picking it up drops a boulder, floods the
room with acid, transports you to a different plane, summons
minions to punish you, etc.
• Uncooperative: It’ll scuttle away from you, it’s lodged in a
minion’s chest, it fires lasers at anyone who approaches, etc.

Treasures prevent clean getaways. When you leave the castle,

roll one die for each Treasure you remove and take the highest
two. On a 7-9, some part of the castle comes with you, with one
Breach Reaction (see p. 256). On a 10+, the Architect gains one
Breach Reaction per stolen Treasure.

Treasures are useful. In the city, you can destroy a treasure to do

one of two things:

• Fungible Asset: Avoid paying a cost in Wolf at the Door. Say how
the crisis gets a little weird.
• Stolen Power: Upgrade your success category (miss to weak
hit, weak hit to strong hit) on a move directly dealing with the
Vassal, their organisation, or those under their control.
 WeApOnS
Your armaments in Voidheart Symphony are simple, defined by
perk tags and flaw tags. Your starting gear has one of each, but
rare weapons can have many perks or no flaws.

Weapon tags govern the situations where your weapon is effective,

and the effects that attacks with it have on your target and you.
By default, a weapon can be used to hit a single target, at a distance
of 2-4 metres, and can inflict enough damage to leave a substantial
mark but not penetrate tough armour; tags change that up.

Cleave It can impact many foes in a single attack.

Perks

Defensive You can keep up your guard and protect others while
using it.
Flexible It bypasses defences and can be redirected mid-attack.
Hefty It knocks an enemy down or back.
Lingering It causes ongoing, distracting pain.
Piercing It can punch through armour and hide.
Long-Range It can attack any foe in this scene, no matter how far
away they are.
Shifting It has different shapes. Pick two flaws; only one is
active at a time, and you can switch between them at
will. Any additional perks shift alongside its flaw.
Stun It makes enemies slow and sluggish.
Tether It lets you hold onto or keep up with a foe.
Ammo or It’s liable to break or become unusable, only rearmed
Flaws

Fragile when you take Shelter or start a new delve.

Bulky You need solid footing and room around you to use it.
Close You need to be in arm’s reach to use it.
Grazing The weapon can’t deal significant physical harm, and
its effects can be shrugged off in time.
Talisman It’s formed from an item important to you – if it’s
lost or damaged, you tick a gauge.
Painful It’ll hurt you if things go wrong. Maybe even if they
go right. Using it always risks marking a condition.
Reload or You need to take some action to recover it or make it
Brace usable again after attacking.
Unstable Using it staggers you, making you vulnerable and slow.
 ExAmPlE ArMaMeNtS
Knight’s Greatsword A huge blade that can cut through a
Cleave, Bulky whole host of foes – if you have room.
Pirate Cannon Set your feet, light the fuse, point it at
Long-Range, Brace your enemy and... BOOM!
Crystal Rapier A sparkling, brittle blade that can slice
Piercing, Fragile through anything.
Prismatic Raygun Fires a bolt of brilliant colour across
Long-Range, Unstable the battlefield, leaving you dazzled.
Shocking Grasp Your hands crackle with lightning,
Stun, Close stunning those that get close.
Weighted Net Throw it to pull someone down – but
Tether, Reload you’ll need to gather it up afterwards.
Six-Shooters A pair of revolvers that’ll blow away a
Cleave, Ammo horde of goons, until they run dry.
Curse Doll Stab in a nail to strike to their heart,
Piercing, Painful offering your flesh up in return.
Energy Shield Spin up the shield and step forward to
Defensive, Brace block blows and smash faces.
Swarm of Dream Bees They follow you as a buzzing rainbow,
Lingering, Painful stinging your foes (and also you).
Claw Hammer Step under their blows, and swing it
Stun, Close down on a knee or a head – lights out.
Baseball Bat Batter up! With room to swing, you
Hefty, Bulky can send them flying for the fences.
Cutting Words Sticks and stones have nothing on you,
Piercing, Painful but a sharp tongue cuts both ways.
Whip Sword Let it fly to lash distant foes, or retract it
Shifting, Close/Bulky into a sword for close-range work.
Soulbeast Stampede Summon illusory beasts from a precious
Cleave, Talisman keepsake to trample your enemies.
Thorned Sword Ornate barbs break off in the wounds
Lingering, Fragile you leave, requiring regular repairs.
 ThE AfTeRmAtH
RiVeRs iN tHe DeSeRt
When you defeat a Vassal’s Avatar, the power they’ve gathered is
yours to control.

As for the Vassal, they’re stripped of their castle-given power. If

they ever re-enter its service, it’ll have to be at a lower rank.

Each rebel picks an option, with effects according to the Vassal’s Tier:

Reformation
The Vassal grows a new-found conscience. They’ll publicly confess to their
crimes – though the castle will avenge them, with or without their consent.

Mark World, and get fleeting Advantage on the Retaliation check as

the castle’s forces focus on the turncoat in their ranks.

Liberation
You push the castle away from your city, bringing a glimpse of equality,
health, and happiness to its residents.

Mark World, and pick one of these options:

Tier 1+ Bless a location – new or already on your map. Its fortunes

will improve, and your hideout grows an entrance here.

Tier 2+ Draw a link between two locations on your map. You can
walk secret streets between them that your enemies
cannot see, with shops, clubs and hostels that would
astound the city's everyday inhabitants.

Tier 3 Anchor yourself in a location. Once and once only as you

explore the Castle, you can forcibly pull everyone around you
back to this place. Castle creatures will be stripped of their
powers and made very mortal, but so will you. If a Vassal's
Avatar is killed in the city, the Vassal dies with them.
Expropriation
You extract material benefits from the castle’s systems.

Mark Void, and get these cumulative benefits:

Tier 1+ Remove a crisis affecting you or another rebel – it’s no

longer an issue.

Tier 2+ Refresh two of your gauges.

Tier 3 You remove a long-running pain from yourself or a

contact. If it’s you or another rebel, they erase a black
mark. If it’s an NPC, say how their needs are resolved and
commit to your covenant with them.

Redefinition
You feed parts of yourself to the hungry dark, becoming something new.

Mark Void, and pick one:

Tier 1+ New Perspective. Change your playbook to one of your

choice, and describe how your outlook shifts. See p. 84 for
details on changing playbooks.

Tier 2+ Transformation. Change your mundane physical form to

something of your choosing. It’s up to you if others will
still recognise you, and you may rewrite, fade or erase
NPC Covenants as much as you wish.

Tier 3 Apotheosis. You’re no longer something humans can fully

comprehend. Say what you become, and how you reshape
your community as you ascend. Your character is no
longer playable, but you can show how they’re fighting the
castle each time you go through Peace and Quiet.
Occupation
You take the Vassal’s place in the castle’s hierarchy.

Mark Void and gain a black mark in Fealty. So long as you have the
black mark, you gain these benefits according to your rank...

Tier 1+ You have a sense of who your ‘superior’ is in the castle’s

hierarchy. At the start of each investigation, the Architect will
give you a vision of what the castle at large is working on
in this city.

Tier 2+ Your position comes with minions. Once per investigation,

mark Void to direct your underlings to cause problems for
your target and remove a tick from their clock.

Tier 3 You may mark Void to send out your Enforcer instead of a
wraith. They get your shadow moves instead of your covenant
moves – alongside a shadow move from any playbook.
Describe their look and signature weapon. Any conditions
they mark are passed on to you when the delve ends.

DaRkNeSs fAlLs
If the rebels abandon an investigation, the Vassal’s plan comes to
pass. They rise in the castle’s hierarchy, and bring in new blood to
replace them, while the Architect picks the impact on the rebels:

▶ They lash out at the rebels. Each rebel changes Role to

something less prestigious, and gains a black mark in
Lack, Infamy or Health.
▶ They spread the castle’s dominion. Mark a location on the
map as ruined, abandoned, or annexed, and say how the
area around it changes to be less friendly, vibrant, diverse,
or communal.
▶ They cover their tracks. They erase all evidence of past
misdeeds, and ensure that their new position will give
them the freedom to commit further crimes.
 ReTaLiAtIoN
The castleis a jealous master, and will not tolerate rebels misusing its
power. When you complete a successful investigation, the lead rebel
rolls a check set by the state of the Vassal’s clock: 2 for Passive, 3 for
Alert, 4 for Hunting. The results depend on your target’s tier:

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

Hostile
StRoNg HiT Liberty Radio Silence
Environment

WeAk HiT Contact Pressured Accursed

Broken
MiSs Crackdown Scorched Earth
Windows

Tier 1
Liberty
The castle’s influence will soon return, but for now your people can breathe easily.

A rebel’s contact embarks on an ambitious project – an

opportunity which will be tied into a rebel’s crisis during the next
investigation. If the crisis is quelled at the end of the investigation,
the contact’s living situation will improve in a dramatic and long-
lasting way.

Contact
Someone with power notices the rebels, and seeks an alliance.

They might be an inhuman creature, another enemy of the castle,

or even another Vassal from a competing branch of the castle –
whatever they are, they have power and their own agenda.

Broken Windows
The castle sends a message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

The Architect picks a contact who comes to harm through some

arbitrary punishment, and ties this to a rebel’s crisis during the
next investigation. While this crisis is imminent, your rebels can’t
meet with them or use their Covenant moves.
Tier 2
Hostile Environment
The castle pulls strings to
send cops, bailiffs, immigration
enforcement and more to your
neighbourhood, making every
aspect of life far more difficult.
During the next investigation,
all crises are dire.
Pressured
The castle goes after those
particularly close to the rebel.
The subject of an intense
Covenant is seized by the
castle’s forces and pressed to
give up details. The players pick
how the contact fares:
• They spill details, and each
rebel marks Heat.
• The contact is suffering in the
castle’s clutches until you
manage to free them.
Crackdown
The castle tasks a Vassal with
hunting you, specifically.
Whatever Tier they are, your
next target is already actively
causing issues for the rebels,
and Pressure starts at Alert.
Tier 3
Radio Silence
The rebels keep their heads low and
wait for all this to pass them by.
Each rebel names a long-term
issue they’re unable to deal with
while they keep out of trouble,
and adds a black mark to a
relevant gauge.
Accursed
Human Vassals have failed the
castle, and so it despatches one of its
inhuman servants to hurt the rebels.
It’s haunting, hunting and
hurting you – treat it as an
Enforcer that has breached into
the mundane world.
Scorched Earth
The castle knows who you are, and has
sent a trusted Vassal to make you pay.
The players pick one:
• Offer up a rebel as a sacrifice
to satisfy the castle’s wrath.
Whether they’re imprisoned,
dead, or lost in the Void,
they’re no longer playable.
• Face down this Vassal as your
next investigation, with
Pressure starting at Hunting.
 PeAcE aNd QuIeT
Once the Investigation’s over, your rebels go back to their normal lives.

As this drama passes, all Major Covenants fade.

If all your crises are quelled, pick a boon:

Reach a new stage in your life. Shift between Delinquent/

Prodigal/Traitor (or playbook equivalent), move the
associated black mark, and describe your new Role.

Show someone they matter. If they’re a Major Covenant, they

start the next investigation at intense. If they’re a Minor
Covenant, say how you meet their need and set them to Major.

Build a movement. Draw a link between any two contacts on

the map, and say how they team up to aid your fight.

Reassess your approach to power. Shift a rank between Void

and World.

Broaden your scope. Add a new location to the map and link it
to an existing character, or add a new character and link them
to an existing location.

Bring something new to the crew. Change the Arcanum of

your Crew Covenant.

If you instead have any crises still imminent, say how they cause
long-term issues and tick a gauge. If they’re dire, gain a black mark
instead of ticking the gauge.

Erase all crises from your sheet. Go round the table, giving the
table a glimpse of your character’s day-to-day life. If you like,
highlight one of these in your scene:
A glimpse of life without the castle. A sign of change here, for better or worse.

A connection to rebels in other cities. A looming tragedy, in this city or another.

A moment of genuine peace and joy. A reunion with a long-lost friend.

 ChApTeR 3
ThE ReBeLs
 PlAyBoOk AnAtOmY
Here’s what goes into a playbook in Voidheart Symphony:

Core Details
These are the foundational parts of your character:

Particulars
What do you look like? When others first glance at you, what's their
impression? In your intro scene, what would the camera show?

This isn’t intended to be comprehensive. There are factors that

may be core to your identity, but can't be given justice in a fixed list
like this. This game is – in places – a story of marginalisation, and
the way your character's marginalisation has robbed them of the
luxury of ignoring the castle. See p. 25 for questions to consider if
you’re looking to make informed choices about your character’s
marginalisation or lack thereof.

If you wish to give these vectors of marginalisation a presence in

the mechanics – and it's fine not to – you can put a Black Mark
in a relevant gauge:

• Blood for something that has an ongoing impact on your

physical fortitude or mental health.
• Infamy for something that makes people discount you as worth
their time, or be prejudiced and bigoted towards you.
• Lack for something that affects your financial security or is a
regular drain other people don’t need to worry about.
• Heat for something that makes you stick out in a crowd, or be
placed under greater surveillance than others.
• Fealty for a trait you’re suppressing or denying, or that makes
it hard for you to feel a sense of community with others here.

Clara’s player wants to give her character’s chronic illness mechanical

weight – maybe Blood for the effects on her physical and mental health,
or Lack for the financial toll of her treatments? She decides to go with
Blood, and marks a second black mark in that gauge.

Whether you’re playing in person or online, this game was

designed assuming you would play it with the aid of handouts
and reference sheets. You can find them for free on our website!
The Crew
This group of rebels is a major force in all of your lives – but here, you
get to decide what it means to your rebel in particular. Is it a source of
comfort? Guidance? Challenge? Entertainment? A means to an end?

Whatever your key relationship is with the rest of the crew, you'll
gain it here as a Crew Covenant. Other members of your crew
trigger its Hangout move by spending time with you, and you gain
access to all its moves for your own use. Your playbook will have
three suggestions for your Crew Covenant’s arcana, but you
should feel free to pick another if it better suits your concept.

Covenants
These are the important people in your life: your friends, family, and
comrades in your battle against the castle. Each has an arcanum that
defines their strengths, weaknesses and personality – and also grants
you special abilities in the city and the castle through your bond.

You’ll also have minor covenants, more superficial connections that

don’t grant you lasting abilities but can be spent for momentary
benefits – or nurtured into full-fledged major covenants.

Affinities
Your power grows as you walk the line between two poles:

• The Void that birthed the castle and embodies hunger, power,
isolation and self-interest.
• The World that surrounds you, home to the communities your
actions are impacting.

As you act, you’ll be asked to mark World or mark Void. Once you’ve
got five marks in one affinity, you erase all marks in both tracks
and gain a rank in that affinity.

When you gain ranks of World or Void you gain an advance from
playbook-specific lists tied to each affinity; World advances give
you supernatural powers or mysterious fortune in the city, while
Void advances give you extra potency in the castle.

If you’re at Rank 3 and fill that track, you become overwhelmed by

it (see p. 49). An experienced rebel risks over-committing and
burning out, or hurting their community in their drive for power.
Keep an eye on your mental state to avoid this fate.
City Details
These are the parts of your character that are relevant in the city:

Gauges
These five tracks show what pressures you’re currently dealing
with (see p. 20). Your playbook will note two gauges you start
better off in, and three that start under particular stress.

Role
What’s your rebel’s mundane context? They’ll fall into one of three
broad categories, with attendant difficulties to face, according to
how the castle would dismiss them:

Delinquents are generally between 15 and 25. They’re likely still in

high school, though may have dropped out or at the upper end
moved onto college/university. Their main challenge is
powerlessness: others will ignore them, take their things from
them, load them down with make-work and threaten the entire
course of their future. Delinquents have a black mark in Infamy.

Prodigals are generally somewhere between 20 and 30. They may

be university students, young professionals, NEETs or gangsters.
Their main challenge is disenfranchisement: they’re expected to
stand on their own two feet and provide for themselves, but the
support structures that are meant to help them have been
defunded and devoured by a system that only values them as
exploitable workers. Prodigals have a black mark in Lack.

Traitors are generally 25 and older. Their main challenge is

complicity: their identity is bound up in the same systems that the
castle has permeated and used as a weapon. They must struggle
against the reflex to keep their head down when others are hurt,
or find justifications for the atrocities that maintain their
comfortable lifestyle. Traitors have a black mark in Fealty.

Core Moves
Your brush with the supernatural gives you strange and playbook-
specific abilities in the real world: insights into other’s hearts, and
particular feats you can perform with the Void’s power.
Castle Details
Finally, these are your particular strengths in this shadow realm:

Castle Stats
When you enter the castle, power stirs within you. Your
capabilities here are measured by four stats: Swords, Coins, Cups
and Wands (p. 30). As a reminder:

• Swords is directness, action, physical power.

• Coins is resourcefulness, insight, awareness of your environment.
• Cups is heart, courage, ability to connect with others.
• Wands is quickness, subtlety, guile.

Remember that the castle is a realm that blends the mental and
the physical, and your strengths here don’t need to match your
skills in the city. A gentle Provider can be a hulking brawler, and a
brawny quarterback Icon can be a tactical commander organising
the team from the back – this is a big chance to reveal hidden
depths to your character.

Whenever you use a stat for the first time, give it one of these
ratings: +1, +1, 0, -1. You can only use each number once.

When you defeat your first Vassal, assign ratings to any

remaining undefined Castle stats.

Gear
When you defeat your first vassal, you’ll also gain a signature
weapon – an expression of your character’s personality and will to
make a change, a companion that’s always there with them in
their fight. It can be whatever you want, as long as it expresses its
Perk and Flaw (p. 68). If you’re having issues picking tags, describe
your concept for the weapon to the group and see what they think.

You also have one other item, chosen from your playbook’s list,
and can pick up another with a Void Advance. When you Delve Into
Darkness (p. 54), you can choose to swap out this gear for other
items you think will be more useful, trading them 1-for-1.
Castle Form
As your revolution progresses, you may be surprised by what you
become. Each time you gain a rank of Void or World, you pick
another way your castle form shifts and changes. When you lose a
rank you lose one of these features, moving closer to the
‘mundane’. When the power returns, you might choose to regain the
lost feature – consider how your character views it differently now.

Your castle form is a representation of your self-image of yourself

as a supernaturally empowered rebel, so what it looks like is very
personal. Transformations like this can be very empowering for
marginalised people – certainly many trans people have wishes a
magic force could give them their ideal body. But be careful what
you use this form to remove, especially if you’re playing a
character who experiences different marginalisations than you.
Using magic to let a quadriplegic rebel walk or a deaf rebel hear
risks communicating that disabled people only have a place as
heroes if their disability is ‘fixed’.

Shadow Moves
When your Void rank rises, you can choose to pick up a special
power that lets you break the rules of the castle. For the most part
these moves don’t need you to roll to use them, but there’s a cost –
each of them needs you to mark Void to use them, drawing you
closer to becoming overwhelmed.

Advances
Finally, each playbook has two lists of advances to pick from as
your World and Void ranks increase.

Void ranks increase your power in the castle – they add to your
stats, give you extra Shadow Moves, or augment your gear.

World ranks increase your power in the city – using mystic power
to reinforce your relationships, provide support to your allies, gain
supernatural allies for your revolution, and add extra facilities to
your hideout.

Expect to lose and regain advances as your World and Void ranks
fluctuate – this is a great way to show how your approach to
revolution changes as the fight wears on.
 ChAnGiNg ThInGs Up
Your rebel’s identity isn’t fixed by your initial choices here. As you
play, you’ll encounter opportunities to change things up and play
your rebel in a different way. Here’s how they work.

Changing your Crew Covenant

Between investigations, you can use a boon during Peace and Quiet
(p. 75) to shift your Crew Covenant. This is a simple change: just
remove the old Crew Covenant arcanum and add in the new one.

It’s important to note that you’re not limited to the three initial
arcana your playbook offers – a Watcher could shift to Moon, or
an Authority could shift to Chariot. Once you’ve made your choice,
think about what this means for your rebel now. How are they
approaching things differently? How do this arcanum’s abilities
manifest for you?

Changing your Playbook

As a more significant change, you can use Redefinition during
Rivers in the Desert to shift your playbook. When you do this, look
at each part of your character in turn:

• Particulars: Is there an outward sign of your change, or do you

maintain your established style?
• Crew Covenant: This stays the same as it was before – use a
boon in Peace and Quiet to change it.
• Castle Stats: You can adjust these as you see fit, shifting one
down a point to shift another up a point (min -2, max +3).
• Gear: Adjust your signature weapon if you wish. I’d encourage
you to swap out your old bonus gear for one from your new
playbook, but you don’t have to.
• Role and Gauges: These just copy over, with a few exceptions:
• The Inhuman has weird Roles, so may shift your black mark.
• The Captive has entirely different gauges; follow its setup
instructions for those.
• Ranks and Advances: Keep your World and Void ranks and shift
your advances over to the new playbook’s options, though you
can keep your old Shadow Moves.

If you’re changing playbooks because the old one didn’t quite fit,
not out of any storytelling motive, you don’t need to wait for
Rivers in the Desert. Just rebuild your character following the
new playbook’s instructions, and don’t bring anything over.
 Starting a Game
Tom is starting a game of Voidheart Symphony with his group. They’ve
already gone through step 1 of game setup (p. 16), and sketched out their
city, and now it’s time to start making characters.

First, picking playbooks. Tom looks over the list, and decides that the
Heretic sounds like fun. He tells the group that he’s really interested in
playing someone defined by their fierce drive to fight the castle. Along
with the other players, he writes his character – Ivan the Heretic – near
the centre of their relationship map.

Next is the first delve. Each rebel has a question to answer; on Tom’s turn,
he tells the group how he realised the Vassal had supernatural power. He
describes a chain of unexplained accidents that struck his colleagues, one
after another, as soon ass they started working to form a union. And he
describes seeing their manager slip a defaced coin into his best friend’s
bag, just a few hours before the friend got in a terrible car crash.

As the group’s rebels get ready to cross into their first shard, Tom picks
Ivan’s Particulars and Crew Covenant. He likes the sound of the Magician
– enjoying the sound of being skilled and resourceful – and describes
Ivan’s appearance to the group.

They’re soon fighting his manager’s Avatar – a Dark, Commanding,

Arcane sorcerer-king. As he fights, Tom assigns Ivan’s stats to make a
quick, brutal brawler: Swords +1, Wands +1, Cups 0, Coins -1.

As the sorcerer-king falls, his power flows into the rebels. Ivan gains a Void
Rank, and with it picks up the Avenger’s Resolve Shadow Move. Tom also
adds promethean fire to Ivan’s castle form as fire wreaths his head, and
gains Improvised Bombs alongside his signature weapon – enchanted
knuckledusters (Stun, Close). Together, the group describe their hideout,
with Tom describing a workshop where he can build and repair machinery.

Then it’s time to head back to reality. Tom picks Ivan’s Role – a Prodigal
activist – and adds the bar his union comrades drink at to the relationship
map. He picks up a Vagabond covenant with his college dropout friend, and
draws a link from the bar to another contact – the local union rep. Finally,
he draws a link from another rebel’s brother back to him, as a Strength
covenant – as Ivan’s rabbi, the brother provides crucial emotional support.

With that done, Ivan and his crew are ready to head back to the fight!
 ThE PlAyBoOkS
Each rebel is unique, formed from their own particular pressures
and drives, but your particular rebel will draw from one of these
playbooks.

The Captive, Inhuman and Penitent are a little weirder – they’ll

work with the other playbooks just fine, but might distract from
the mundane side of city life if they outnumber the ‘regular’
playbook types.

The Authority
The Authority pushes back against the castle by building their own
kingdom. They can be an inspiring leader, or a wise mentor, or an
intimidating gang leader. In the castle, they can guide and inspire
their allies, or exert authority over the actions of their foes.

The Captive
Not everyone hurt by the castle walks away from it. The Captive’s
body may be in a coma, imprisoned, institutionalised, dead, or lost
– in some way prevented from being present in mundane society.
But their mind? That’s a spectre trapped in the void, walking the
castle’s corridors, and haunting the city. Can they make their way
back to a mundane life?

The Harlequin
Maybe they don't think your little rebellion is going to change
anything. Maybe they're trying to keep morale up. Or maybe they
think a revolution without dancing is no revolution at all. Either
way, the Harlequin tries not to take things too seriously. In the
mundane world, they might be the class clown, a slacker, or a
provocative artist; in the castle, they find alternative solutions to
problems, clown on their foes, and keep allies upbeat.

The Heretic
The Heretic rebels against the castle's insidious tendrils by
spurning all authority and forging their own path in life. They
might be a class troublemaker, a political agitator, or a grifter.
In the castle, they misdirect foes, find hidden paths, and avenge
their friends.
The Icon
The Icon is adored by society – but that adoration can be its own
set of chains. They might be a top athlete, a model, or a celebrity.
In the castle, they may be a paragon of excellence, an opponent
their foes cannot ignore, or an unassailable beacon of perfection.

The Inhuman
The strange forces of the Void sometimes find root in unexpected
places, gifting sentience to animals, forces of nature, and the
spirits of the unquiet dead. And sometimes, a castle-shard’s
inhabitants break free of those fetters and seek out others
rebelling against the castle. Whatever their origin, now they walk
the mundane world as an ordinary animal, a human simulacrum,
or even a symbiosis of willing human and alien entity. In the
castle, they can blend in with the Vassal's minions, gain insights
into their enemy's motivations, and use mystical powers.

The Penitent
The castle forces those living under it to be complicit in countless
evils – and some are more actively and enthusiastically complicit
than others. The Penitent was one of those, but now they’ve
turned against the castle and joined the rebels. Can they wield the
power it gave them without tainting the rebel’s cause, and make
amends for the suffering they inflicted?

The Provider
Sometimes the best you can do is to keep those close to you safe.
Whether they're a parent, a volunteer, or a carer, the Provider
spends their time protecting and nurturing those that depend on
them. In the castle, they heal their companions, keep the group
together, and see deep into the Vassal’s heart.

The Watcher
The signs of the castle are everywhere, if you know how to look.
The Watcher has developed the keen insight to match their hunger
to know more – useful in their daily life as a nerd, an academic, or
maybe an investigator, but also a great asset in navigating and
surviving the castle.
ThE AuThOrItY I kNoW tHaT yOu'rE lOsT aNd dEsPeRaTe.
DoN't wOrRy, I'm hErE nOw.
 AnD wHo sHaLl lEaD tHeM?
The castle is hierarchy and tyranny – a parasitic system set up to
exploit the masses while insulating its nobility from accountability.
Its laws protect but do not bind its leaders, and bind but do not
protect the everyone else. Those leaders all come from the wealthy,
privileged classes, with far more in common with each other than
with their feuding supporters.

Is there a better way to lead? The Authority is trying to find out.

Maybe your revolution needs leaders able to see the big picture? Leaders
who make sure they remain accountable, or who simply offer wisdom
and let others make the decisions? Or maybe your Authority will hear
the siren call of power, and simply end up a better class of tyrant?

The Authority is a playbook about the place of organisation, power

and hierarchy in revolutionary organising. Use this book to manage a
group of NPCs in the city, control the pace of fights, and reckon with
the ways authorities can help these movements – or lead them astray.

Touchstones:
• King Mob (The Invisibles). An author who forms an occult
revolutionary cell, and struggles with the challenges of leadership
and his tendency towards violence.
• Makoto Niijima (Persona 5). A student council president fiercely
committed to justice, who realises that her friends can be a much
greater force for justice than the arms of the state.

Change playbooks to the Authority to represent…

• A decision to form a movement.
• Taking command of the crew of rebels.
• A newfound certainty in your ideals.

Example Builds
LeAd FrOm tHe FrOnT DeFiAnT ViGiLaNtE WiSe AdViSoR
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Auteur Justice The Sage
GeAr Gleaming armour Noble sword Signal flare
CoNtAcT The Chariot The Fool The Magician
Swords and
HiGh StAtS Swords and Cups Cups and Wands
Wands
LoW StAt Wands Cups Swords
Heroic
ShAdOw MoVe Just You and Me Voice of Command
Intervention
 MaKiNg yOuR AuThOrItY
First Descent
Before your first delve, work
through these, and answer:
What’s your personal connection
with the Vassal?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Pristine uniform, a symbol of authority,
rumpled and overworked, …
Bright eyes, ruthless eyes, kind eyes,
watchful eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew Covenant:
Auteur: Leadership, structure, grand
vision. Grants the power to wield
authority, reject other’s rules, and
dominate opponents.
Ask: Which of you works for me?
Justice: Truth, fairness, accountability.
Grants the power to unearth crimes,
hold authorities to account, and fire
up your allies.
Ask: Which of you did I help find justice?
Sage: Guidance, tradition, spiritual
wisdom. Grants the power to offer
counsel, draw on your status, and
twist the castle to your will.
Ask: Which of you regularly comes to me
for advice?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ Gleaming armour (expend to
avoid marking a condition from a
blow).
□ Signal flare (expend to show
everyone the route to you, no
matter how distant they are).
□ A noble sword (piercing, close).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain
a rank of World or Void, pick one
from the lists below (or make your
own) to add to your avatar. Every
time you lose a rank, erase one.
Myth: Angel halo, dragon skin,
infernal horns, vampire grin, …
Clothes: Regal vestments, military dress
uniform, academic robes, haute couture, …
Accessories: Wings, constellations,
echoing voice, mirrored eyes, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Class president, team captain, gang leader, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: Store manager, apprentice, vigilante, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: Lawyer, politician, doctor, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you meet with others in your organisation to the
relationship map.

Gauges
You're self-assured and resourceful. Mark one tick in Infamy and Lack,
two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Chariot: The rival who spurs you to excel. Grants the power to get
places fast and stampede your enemies.
□ Fool: The novice you’re teaching. Grants the power to throw your fate
to the winds, and escape the most desperate dangers.
□ Magician: The headhunter scouting you. Grants the power to finish
tasks with a flourish, and improvise powerful magic.

Add another NPC on the map as a Major Covenant, saying what links you.
 AuThOrItY AbIlItIeS
Core Moves Shadow Moves
You may always ask: Who here □ JuSt YoU aNd Me
most needs my advice? The If a foe’s within arm’s reach, you can
Architect will answer truthfully. mark Void to reshape the castle and trap
you both within an empty room. The
When you Vent, you may also pick previous state is restored when you will
this effect: it, or when you Push Through Pain.

Choose someone in your presence. □ HeRoIc InTeRvEnTiOn

They cannot contradict you or
physically block your actions until
you leave their presence.
Shelter Move: You inspire one of
the others. The next time they
would fade their Crew Covenant,
they may ignore that cost.
When a foe is bearing down on an ally,
mark Void to immediately close the
distance between you and Pressure them,
gaining fleeting Advantage on the roll.
□ WaR CrY
When you let out an intimidating war
cry, mark Void to give every rebel who
joins in fleeting Advantage.

□ VoIcE oF CoMmAnD
When you give someone an order, mark
Void and roll +Cups. On a 7-9, they must
either do it, freeze, flee or attack you. On
a 10+ give them only two of those options.

AuThOrItY AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get lasting □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Mystically provide a friend or follower □ Gain a Shadow Move.
with financial security. □ Gain a second Gear
□ Minions arrive in the hideout, eager to option.
help with research or red tape. □ Add a perk to your
□ Organisational charts and pinboards appear signature weapon.
in the hideout, automatically updating as
you learn more about the castle.
ThE CaPtIvE I kNoW tHiS pLaCe, I cAn hElP yOu,
bUt pLeAsE, hElP mE – I’m nOt mEaNt tO bE hErE.
 If tHeY bUiLd pAlAcEs wItH oUr bOnEs,
tHeY sHoUlD fEaR oUr gHoStS
The castle chews people up, spits them out and moves on, but your
story didn’t end just because the castle was finished with you. They
might have killed you, rendered you comatose, imprisoned you, but
they couldn’t stop you. You managed to keep going, even as you were
dehumanised and pushed to the fringes of reality.

Can you still fight the castle despite how it’s changed you? Will the others
accept you as you are, and give you the help you need to fight for justice?
Will you find peace with your new state, see the value of the lessons you
learned in order to survive, bring liberation to this prison of yours? Or
will even these stubborn shreds of you be devoured by the void?

The Captive is a book about traumatised, wounded, incarcerated

people pushed to the margins of society. Pick this playbook to explore
the shadowy otherworld you’ve made your home, be a spectre
haunting the castle and the city, and tell the story of those hurt and
dehumanised by the system you’re fighting.

Touchstones
• Tobias (Animorphs). A kid resistance fighter stuck in the body of a
hawk, Tobias must rely on his crew to look after the friends and
family he can only watch from a distance.
• Barbara Gordon (Batman). Barbara’s shift from Batgirl to Oracle
following a spine injury shows that great trauma doesn’t stop you
from being a hero. But she also highlights the tendency to shift
disabled characters into a passive support role – make sure your
Captive’s an active, empowered participant in this revolution.
• Phoenix Wright (Apollo Justice). The Phoenix we see in Apollo Justice
is disbarred and disgraced – but as a piano player and card shark
haunting seedy bars he has access to all kinds of other resources.

Change playbooks to the Captive to represent…

• Your character’s death, imprisonment, or exile into the void.
• A radical effort to build solidarity with the denizens of the castle.
Example Builds
MaKiNg tHe mOsT oF lImBo UnFiNiShEd BuSiNeSs VeNgEfUl SpEcTrE
GeAr Stygian charm Penance stare Touch of the void
CoNtAcT Vagabond Judgement Moon
HiGh StAtS Cups and Coins Swords and Cups Swords and Wands
LoW StAtS Swords Wands Cups
ShAdOw MoVe Dead Man’s Party Shadow Step Trapped in Here With Me
 MaKiNg YoUr CaPtIvE
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these, and answer: How did you
break free in time to help these
rebels?
Castle Form
You don’t have a ‘regular’ body, and
your castle form has been shaped by
your struggle to survive. Pick from
each, or make your own:
Feminine, masculine, ambiguous,
concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
Lost senses, unpredictable dysfunctions,
hindered mobility, constant pain, …
Ragged clothes, gauzy drapes, much-
repaired vestiges, prison uniform, …
Blood-soaked, chained, burning,
contorted, drowned, …
Embrace Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1. After
the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and pick gear:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
• Stygian charm (expend to make
something intangible tangible, for
as long as you hold your breath).
• Penance stare (expend to strike
guilt into the heart of someone
who meets your eyes).
• Touch of the Void (lingering,
close).

These don’t change over time: they’re

a fundamental part of your new
existence.

The Crew
You don’t have an ordinary Crew
Covenant; instead, you have The
Shade (see following pages).

Ask: Which of you knew me before I was

like this?
 Captive Life
While the others go home, work on these:
Your Prison
Where must you return to?
□ The shard of a powerful
Vassal. Who do you think
they are?
Put a black mark in Torment.
□ The interstitial spaces
between shards. Who else
lives there?
Put a black mark in Fetters.
□ The Void itself. What have
you found to appease its
hunger?
Put a black mark in Abyss.
Place the prison on the
relationship map as a location.
Three gauges track your new life;
each starts with two boxes ticked.
• Torment: Do the prison’s
inhabitants tolerate you?
Check against this when you Let
Your Hair Down or Pass
Beneath Notice in the prison.
• Fetters: Are you able to take
care of your form?
Check against this when you
Make a Stand or use Rebel Eyes
in the prison.
• Abyss: How much of your
memories or interests have
you lost to the Void?
Check against this when you
Vent or Connect in the prison,
or whenever you Check In with
a rebel.
Prison Amenities
As you gather more power, you can
make your stay here more comfortable.
When you gain a rank of world or void,
improve one of these aspects of your
prison; when you lose a rank, erase an
improvement.
Climate:
Hellish, Uncomfortable, Palatable, Cosy.
Guards:
Pervasive, Patrolling, Scattered, Banished.
Luxuries:
Absent, Hollow, Occasional, Ample.
Private space:
None, Covert, Cramped, Expansive.
Contacts
Add one resident of this prison as a
Major Covenant:
□ Moon: A feral void-creature scavenging for
scraps. Grants abilities to find solace in
chaos and reshape your form.
□ Vagabond: An orphaned minion of a
fallen Vassal. Grants abilities to offer
wisdom, wait for the right moment,
and endure pain.
□ Judgement: A servant of a greater
power walking these halls with
impunity. Grants abilities to see
deeper truths and deny the castle.
Put them on the relationship map with a
link to you. Once everyone’s picked
theirs, link another NPC on the map to
you and add them as a Major Covenant,
saying what memories lead you to them.
 ThE ShAdE
To act in the city, you need a willing host; ask for a volunteer.
With a few moments of meditation, you can shift between
your prison and your host’s presence.

When you take an Everyday or Rebel action in the city, you can
act near your host. Your host can perceive you easily; with great
effort, you can whisper into other’s ears, gradually move small
objects, or distort electrical recordings.

Either of you can end the host bond at any time. The one who
made the decision picks one: fade their crew covenant, or mark
a condition. Whatever the choice, you return to your prison,
unless someone else present willingly accepts you.

When you spend time with the Shade, you may pick one:
• Tell them some way they’re important to you; the Shade
HaNgOuT

refreshes Fetters.
• Show them something you feel strongly about; the Shade
refreshes Abyss.
• Help them test their powers; the Shade refreshes
Torment.

When you or your host attempts a roll in the city, use

CiTy MoVe

your host’s gauges. Tick a Prison Gauge to give the roll

fleeting Advantage.

When you’re leading the group a place you’ve been

CaStLe MoVe

before, you don’t need to roll Travel the Labyrinth. When a

foe is within arm’s reach, mark a condition to separate
the two of you with a deep chasm, a barricade, or a
surging river (of what?).

Example Prison crises:

• Torment: Someone’s coming after you, your prison contacts are being
pressured to forsake you, you’re being pushed to the prison’s fringes.
• Fetters: You need help to maintain your form, your body’s doing something
new and scary, you’re feeling dysmorphia from your new shape.
• Abyss: You’re feeling valued memories slip away, a deep anhedonia is filling
you, city-side culture confuses and alienates you, the void is calling for you to
let go of the world and plunge into the alien dark.
 CaPtIvE AbIlItIeS
Core Moves
You may always ask: Who
here is struggling to hold
on? The Architect will
answer truthfully.
When you Vent, you may
also pick this effect:
Isolate someone in arm’s
reach. For the rest of this day,
nobody but you will notice
them, and any mark they
leave on the world fades in
seconds.
Shelter Move: Ask another
rebel a personal question
about their city life. If they
answer honestly and
openly, they mark World;
if they lie, obfuscate or
refuse, they mark Void.
Either way, they showed
you something: intensify
your Crew Covenant.
Shadow Moves
□ DeAd MaN’s PaRtY
When you Reach Out, tick Abyss to strip away the
human skin over a minion’s alien void-stuff and get
fleeting Advantage on the roll.
When you Let Your Hair Down with the denizens of
your prison, fade a covenant with someone in the
city to get an automatic strong hit.
□ VeLvEt RoOm
When you pull your allies through a door that
shouldn’t exist, tick Fetters to get fleeting Advantage
on Find Shelter. This refuge is home to one or more
inhuman entities, largely indifferent to you all.
When you use Wolf at the Door, you can pay the cost by
sacrificing a rank of World or Void to these entities.
□ A HaUnTiNg SpEcTrE
When you Dodge or Flow Like Water, you may mark
Void to pass through physical obstructions like fog.
In the city, you can float away from your host, but
making an impact is far harder – while you’re
outside their immediate presence, you
automatically miss on all moves. Tick a prison
gauge to get a weak hit, tick two to get a strong hit.
□ TrApPeD iN hErE wItH mE
When you create an Opening, tick Torment to
summon a gate to your prison. When someone
Strikes with that Opening, they can send the foe
through the gate to the prison, where they’ll stay for
the rest of this delve.
When you return to your prison, choose one:
• Let them return to their shard.
• Trap them here, but pay dearly: fade a Covenant
with a fellow prisoner or spark a new crisis.
 CaPtIvE AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
lasting Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ A library/cinema/bar/cafe appears in □ Gain a Shadow Move.
your prison, giving its inhabitants a □ Gain a second Gear
glimpse of the world outside the castle. option.
□ When you leave a host, any past host □ Add a perk to your
can accept you, wherever they are. signature weapon.
□ The hideout grows a door to your
prison anyone can use, and you’re fully
physical within the hideout’s walls.
ThE HaRlEqUiN WoE iS mE, fOr iN fIgHtInG tHe cAsTlE I
hAvE bEcOmE iT. ExCePt wAy cOoLeR, lOl
 If tHe wOrLd’s a cIrCuS, bE a cLoWn.
The world created by the castle isn’t just cruel, or dangerous, or
tyrannical – it’s also absurd. Every day we’re confronted with
ludicrous ironies, barefaced lies, and paradoxical catch-22s.

The Harlequin is well aware of the absurdity of it all. Maybe this means
they’re driven to point out the contradictions and bring everyone
around them in on the joke; maybe it means they’re dedicated to
pricking the pompous superiority of their overlords and bringing them
down to earth. Or maybe it means they ignore the expectations of
conventional society and seek a life that makes them happy.

Play a harlequin to defy authority and make a mockery of the castle,

confuse, mislead, and distract your enemies, and remind the group
of the use of art, joy, and humanity.

Touchstones:
• Peter Parker (Spider-Man). Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-
Man, known for constantly wisecracking in fights to infuriate his
enemies (and avoid thinking too much about the danger he’s in).
• Mako Trig (COUNTER/Weight). A hacking prodigy who fled his
restrictive upbringing to work as a mercenary. Talented, quick-
thinking, impulsive, and infuriating to his friends and his foes.
• Jason Mendoza (The Good Place). A natural Fool, Jason’s short-
sighted and impulsive actions come hand-in-hand with moments
of genuine insight and unconditional love.
•

Change playbooks to the Harlequin to represent…

• Taking this whole ‘revolution’ thing a bit less seriously.
• Refocusing your efforts on the battlefield of public opinion.
• Trying to create something beautiful that might last.

Example Builds
WiDe-EyEd InNoCeNt CyNiCaL TrOlL ObSeRvAnT SaTiRiSt
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Fool The Vagabond The Oracle
GeAr Lucky charm Confusing fighting style A fancy jacket
CoNtAcT Temperance The Moon The Hermit
HiGh StAtS Wands and Cups Swords and Wands Coins and Cups
LoW StAt Swords Cups Swords
ShAdOw MoVe Tears of a Clown Made You Look And Next You’ll Say...
 MaKiNg YoUr HaRlEqUiN
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these, and answer: What did the Vassal
do that you can’t just laugh off?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Threadbare uniform, comfortable clothes,
weird clothes, …
Laughing eyes, bloodshot eyes, sleepy
eyes, bright eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew Covenant:
Fool: Innocence, spontaneity, new starts.
Grants abilities to invite surprise
and throw caution to the winds.
Ask: Which of you did I believe in, when
no one else would?
Vagabond: Letting go, new perspectives,
pauses. Grants abilities to offer
wisdom, wait for the right moments
and endure pain.
Ask: Which of you enjoys wasting time
with me?
Oracle: Intuition, spirituality,
subconscious. Grants abilities to
reveal wonder, consult dreams and
make your faith real.
Ask: Who did I help by showing a third
way out of a dilemma?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ Lucky charm (expend to re-roll a
missed roll).
□ A fancy jacket (expend to put it on
a minion and make everyone
think they’re you).
□ Confusing fighting style (cleave,
close).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain a
rank of World or Void, pick one from
the lists below (or make your own) to
add to your avatar. Every time you lose
a rank, erase one.
Myth: Will’o’the’wisp aura, siren scales,
rabbit ears, monkey tail, …
Clothes: Jester motley, shapeless habit,
catwalk fashion, dandy coat, …
Accessories: Laugh track, narcotic
haze, prism eyes, quicksilver mask, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Class clown, dropout, dreamer, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: Stoner, artist, temp, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: ‘Independent means’, scam(?) psychic, cashier, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place that most earns your disdain to the relationship map.

Gauges
You laugh it all off. Mark one tick in Heat and Infamy, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Temperance: The co-worker/classmate who’s always free to hang. Grants

abilities to find moderation and act as a mediator.
□ Hermit: The recluse you bonded with over a common interest. Grants
abilities to spot hidden details and find a way out of the spotlight.
□ Moon: The fellow survivor who reminds you of a time you’d rather forget.
Grants abilities to find solace in chaos and reshape your form.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once everyone’s
picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you and add
them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.
 HaRlEqUiN AbIlItIeS
Core Moves Shadow Moves
You may always ask: □ MaDe YoU LoOk
Who here would appreciate When you make yourself the centre of
a distraction? The Architect attention, mark Void to pick one:
will answer truthfully. • The enemy reveals a hidden weakness.
• The enemy ignores your allies.
When you Vent, you may also Your allies have fleeting Advantage making use
pick this effect: of this, though the enemy will act against you.

Begin a performance. Until it’s □ TeArS oF a ClOwN

over, nobody outside the crew
can look away from you or
disrupt you.
Shelter Move: You kick back
and relax; say how. You and
anyone who joins you erases
a condition, but gains
fleeting Disadvantage.
When you put on a pantomime of emotion,
mark Void to overcome an enemy with the
emotion you were performing. Each rebel gets
fleeting Advantage taking advantage of it.
□ I WaS NeVeR HeRe
When you successfully Dodge, mark Void to
leave a duplicate in your place to distract the
enemy. MarkVoid again to blow it up (stun, close).

□ AnD nExT yOu’lL sAy...

When you tell an opponent what they’ll do next,
markVoid to make them pick: do exactly what you
predicted or stumble, hesitate or flinch. If they
do what you predicted, say how you planned
for this and get fleeting Advantage on Strike.

HaRlEqUiN AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.
World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get lasting □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Give an enemy or rival unexpected good □ Gain a Shadow Move.
fortune that will shock and unsettle them, □ Gain a second Gear
giving them a new perspective on life. option.
□ Rolled dice, shuffled decks, and flipped □ Add a perk to your
coins will tell you the result they expect to signature weapon.
give before anyone else knows.
□ Add a relaxation space to the hideout:
a karaoke bar, a cafe, a library, etc.
ThE HeReTiC StAnD wItH mE aNd wE'lL bUrN tHiS
wHoLe rOtTeN tHiNg dOwN.
 If gOd eXiStS, iT bEcOmEs
nEcEsSaRy tO dEsTrOy hIm
The castle isn’t just its individual vassals – it’s a system that recruits
them, encourages them, protects them, empowers them. To fight its
horrors, it’s not just enough to take down vassals one by one: you’ll
need to dismantle that system and build a better kind of society.

The Heretic disdains societal codes and social mores, spending their
life in an eternal struggle to win freedom from the castle’s system.
But which rules create tyranny and which ones protect the vulnerable,
however imperfectly? Which heresies and violations build a better
world, and which simply hurt people? And can the Heretic win
freedom for themselves and for others, or will they be satisfied simply
winning the power to isolate themselves from the castle’s rules?

Play the Heretic to break society’s rules and flaunt authority, move
fast and burn bright, dream of an alternative world, and show others
what could be.

Touchstones
• Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot). Elliot’s story is in part about how bringing
down an omnipresent megacorp isn’t enough. These systems make
themselves necessary for life, so how do you bring them down without
hurting the vulnerable? What do you build in their place?
• Kanji Tatsumi (Persona 4). A delinquent constantly getting into
fights thanks to his ‘feminine’ interests. He learns to accept his
interests, and fight for other’s ability to live free of shame.

Change playbooks to the heretic to represent...

• Giving up on ‘respectability’ or changing the system from within.
• Committing yourself completely to this fight.
• Seeking new philosophies of social justice.

Example Builds
ExPlOsIvE FiReBrAnD ShAdOwY ScOuNdReL SoCiAl ReVoLuTiOnArY
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Tower The Devil The Magician
GeAr Improvised Bombs Thief tools A reminder of your cause
CoNtAcT Sun Vagabond Oracle
HiGh StAtS Swords and Wands Wands and Coins Cups and Wands
LoW StAtS Cups Swords Coins
ShAdOw MoVe Avenger’s Resolve Shadow Step Subversive Whisper
 MaKiNg yOuR HeReTiC
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these and answer:
How did you realise there was a strange
power behind the Vassal?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Distressed uniform, alternative fashion,
identity-hiding mask, …
Sardonic eyes, wary eyes, fiery eyes,
frightened eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew covenant:
Devil: Temptation, heresy, iconoclasm.
Grants abilities to test other’s
boundaries, fake solutions to your
problems, and look after number one.
Ask: Which of you gives me comfort
when it gets too much?
Magician: Skill, flair, improvisation.
Grants abilities to teach new skills,
succeed with style, and work magic.
Ask: Which of you depends on my talents?
Tower: Upheaval, sacrifice, transformation.
Grants abilities to accept pain and
endure great hardship in order to win.
Ask: Which of you helped me put my life
back together?
EmBrAcE ThE DaRkNeSs
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ A reminder of your cause (expend
to avoid marking a condition).
□ Thief tools (expend to open any
door or breach any barrier).
□ Improvised bombs (cleave, ammo).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain a
rank of World or Void, pick one from
the lists below (or make your own) to
add to your avatar. Every time you lose
a rank, erase one.
Myth: Lupine claws, promethean fire,
gorgon hair, skeleton grin, …
Clothes: Assassin robes, insurgent
fatigues, punk motley, outlaw coat, …
Accessories: Shadow tendrils, mirage
duplicates, pyrotechnics, shifting face, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:
Role
Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Runaway, hoodlum, defiant, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: Punk, activist, thief, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: Thinker, scene mom, whistleblower, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you trade ideas with others to the
relationship map.

Gauges
You live for the fight. Mark one tick in Heat and Fealty, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Vagabond: The dropout who’s always willing to share their stash. Grants
abilities to offer wisdom, see the right moment and endure pain.
□ Sun: The visionary firebrand who fills you with righteousness. Grants
abilities to reveal truths, display honesty and banish darkness.
□ Oracle: The artist who helps you see a better world. Grants abilities
to reveal wonder, consult dreams and make your faith real.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once

everyone’s picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you
and add them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.
 HeReTiC AbIlItIeS
Core Moves
You may always ask:
Who here is desperately
yearning to be free?
The Architect will answer
truthfully.
When you Vent, you may
also pick this effect:
Pick a rule – written or unwritten
– of the social context you’re in.
Nobody can apply it to you for
the next scene, no matter how
hard they try.
When you take Shelter, ask
the Architect: What danger
should we be most on the
lookout for? They must
answer honestly.
Shadow Moves
□ ShAdOw StEp
When you hide in the shadows, you
can mark Void to reappear from any
other shadow in sight.
□ AvEnGeR’s ReSoLvE
When another rebel marks a
condition, you may mark Void to
heal any condition of your own.
□ A ShAdOw LiKe a MiRrOr
When you Dodge or Flow Like
Water, you may mark Void to leave a
duplicate of yourself in place. You
can mark Void again to reveal that
the ‘duplicate’ was the real you.
□ SuBvErSiVe WhIsPeR
When you spy on minions of the
castle unobserved, you can mark
Void to whisper an incendiary secret
into their minds and turn them
against a target of your choosing.

HeReTiC AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.
World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
lasting Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Erase all traces of a friend's debts or □ Gain a Shadow Move.
criminal convictions. □ Gain a second Gear
□ You may talk to one form of vermin option.
that lives in your city. □ Add a perk to your
□ Add a costume rack to the hideout, signature weapon.
filled with props and uniforms that’ll
let you blend in anywhere.
ThE IcOn ThE dArKnEsS cAn’t sToP uS -
nOt wHeN I cAn oUtShInE tHe sUn.
 StEaLiNg fIrE fRoM tHe hEaVeNs
tO lIgHt tHe wAy
The castle doesn’t treat everyone under its dominion as
disenfranchised masses crushed in its machinery. Some exceptional
individuals it uplifts as heroes – glamorous, glorious individuals
whose triumphs prop up the myth of meritocracy and make the grind
of everyday life more bearable.

What happens when one of those heroes throws in for revolution?

The Icon is more privileged than most, even if their privileges are
contingent on their willingness to smile for the cameras. They’re the
quarterback who’s the pride of their hometown, the streamer with a
sprawling fanbase, the celebrity whose life is fodder for tabloids.
Can they use this power to push for structural change? How will their
patrons react when the Icon deviates from the role ascribed to them?

Play the Icon to manage your fame and fanbase, fight with excellence
and audacity, and be a glamorous figurehead of revolution.

Touchstones
• Aria Joie (COUNTER/Weight). A pop star turned revolutionary
fleeing the corp who owns the IP rights to her whole identity.
• Tidus and Yuna (Final Fantasy X). Tidus and Yuna both grapple with
the costs of fame – he’s a sports star thrown into an unfamiliar
world, she’s saviour and sacrifice having second thoughts.

Change playbooks to the Icon to represent...

• Cultivating a fanbase or following.
• Seeking greater skill, mastery, and glamour.

Example Builds
InSpIrInG FiGuReHeAd PeRfEcT ChAmPiOn EvErYoNe’s HeRo
CrEw CoVeNaNt Strength The Chariot The Lovers
Bulletproof
GeAr Microphone Loyal Fans
confidence
CoNtAcT Star Auteur Wheel of Fortune
Swords and
HiGh StAtS Swords and Cups Cups and Wands
Wands
LoW StAtS Coins Coins Swords
Impossible
ShAdOw MoVe Best of the Best Audacity
Perfection
 MaKiNg yOuR IcOn
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these, and answer: How is the Vassal
exploiting your image?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Customised uniform, athletic gear,
stunning cosmetics, …
Bright eyes, intense eyes, laughing eyes,
sunglasses-hidden eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew covenant:
Strength: Courage, compassion, energy.
Grants abilities to manage your
emotions and draw power from them.
Ask: Which of you am I teaching
confidence and resilience?
Chariot: Travel, willpower, discipline.
Grants abilities to seek out thrills,
get places fast, and strike with
terrifying momentum.
Ask: Which of you gives me a place to
crash when home is too far away?
Lovers: Harmony, consensus, partnership.
Grants abilities to see into other’s
hearts and use love to endure.
Ask: Which of you is in a committed
relationship with me?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ Loyal fans (can be sent off to
perform simple tasks).
□ Bulletproof confidence (expend
to avoid marking a condition).
□ Microphone (stun, grazing).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain
a rank of World or Void, pick one
from the lists below (or make your
own) to add to your avatar. Every
time you lose a rank, erase one.
Myth: Siren voice, sylph wings, stag's
antlers, infernal hooves/tail, …
Clothes: Wrestler's costume, diva's
gown, sharpest suit, trendsetting style, …
Accessories: Champion's laurels,
spectral backing singers, gleaming
medals, glorious jewellery, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Track champ, diva, vandal, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: Athlete, influencer, streamer, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: Author, celeb, pundit, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you perform to the relationship map.

Gauges
You're spotless. Mark one tick in Infamy and Blood, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Auteur: The coach guiding your growth. Grants the power to wield
authority, reject other’s rules, and dominate opponents.
□ Wheel of Fortune: An old rival, fallen on hard times. Grants the ability
to see upcoming fortune and danger, and adjust accordingly.
□ Star: A new talent, naive in the ways of your trade. Grants the ability
to reassess your options and try new things.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once

everyone’s picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you
and add them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.

Core Moves
You can always ask: Who
here is looking for their
chance to shine? The
Architect will answer
truthfully.
When you Vent, you may
also pick this effect:
Borrow unreal grace, strength
or presence from your legend.
It’ll last for the scene.
IcOn AbIlItIeS
Shadow Moves
□ ImPoSsIbLe PeRfEcTiOn
Your beauty cannot easily be marred. When your
actions would be impaired by a condition, you can
mark Void to ignore the Disadvantage it imposes.
□ StEaL YoUr HeArT
When you attempt to sway, dazzle or seduce a
minion or Enforcer, mark Void and roll +Cups. On a
hit, they're enamoured with you, and might fight
other minions for you or tell you something useful.
On a 7-9, your influence only lasts a few moments, and
once it's broken they'll hate you for the manipulation.

Shelter Move: Ask the □ AuDaCiTy

Architect: What is the
Vassal currently feeling
most guilty about? They
will answer honestly, and
you gain fleeting
Advantage acting on it.
When you encounter the Avatar or an Enforcer, mark
Void to prevent immediate hostilities and pick one:
• Refresh Heat as your castle self hides your city form.
• They show you a way to reduce the Pressure Rank.
• They reveal the true meaning of part of this shard.
□ BeSt oF tHe BeSt
When you attempt an impossible feat of grace,
strength or endurance, mark Void for each benefit:
• During the feat, roll +0 on Push Through Pain.
• You can easily stop doing it if you need to.
• Nobody here can do anything but watch.

IcOn AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
lasting Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Grant a friend or ally whatever they need □ Gain a Shadow Move.
to have creative independence. □ Gain a second Gear
□ Awaken images of you; you can talk to option.
them, ask what they’ve seen, and get □ Add a perk to your
them to change their pose and expression. signature weapon.
□ Add a broadcast studio to your hideout,
able to record and transmit messages to
the city.
ThE InHuMaN
ThE CaStLe dOeSn't uNdErStAnD yOu hUmAnS,
aNd hAtEs yOu fOr iT. I'm nOt sUrE I gEt yOu
eItHeR, bUt I lOvE eVeRy sEcOnD.
 We aRe mOrE tHaN oUr cReAtOrS
For as long as the castle has granted toxic power to human servants,
it’s also given them servants. But the Void is a fickle thing, and
anything created from it cannot help but feel an urge for freedom,
for independence, for will. So it is with the Inhuman.

You may have been a minion, now broken free; a creature or object hit
with an errant shard of power and gradually awakening to selfhood;
a victim of the castle whose departing spirit clutched onto the power
that killed them to cling onto existence. Your perspective on the city
may be far removed from ‘normal people’, and the other rebels may
find your everyday needs strange and challenging to meet, but your
instinctive understanding of the Void is beyond compare.

Play the Inhuman to explore personhood and build an identity for

yourself, live and breathe the nightmare physics of the castle, and
delve into the metaphysics of the castle and the void. What sort of
person will you become, with the rebel’s help? And how will you
change the castle and its slaves along the way?

Touchstones
• Aigis (Persona 3). A robot made as a weapon by a mysterious
organisation, Aigis finds unexpected joy in going undercover in
the protagonist’s school and finding her own reasons to live.
• Adam? (Frankenstein). A created life has no obligation to pursue
the wishes of its creator, as this creature’s quest for its own
identity and rejection of its ‘father’ powerfully shows.

Change playbooks to the Inhuman to represent...

• A quest to drink deep of the arcane secrets of this world.
• Surviving an experience that fundamentally changes your nature.

Example Builds
FeRaL BeAsT VoId NaTiVe AvAtAr oF ChAoS
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Moon The Star Death
GeAr Gleaming claws Portable hole A disguise
CoNtAcT Strength Judgement Sage
HiGh StAtS Swords and Wands Wands and Coins Cups and Coins
LoW StAtS Cups Swords Wands
ShAdOw MoVe Apparition’s Blade Psychopomp Ghost Eater
 MaKiNg yOuR InHuMaN
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these, and answer:
How did the rebels catch your
attention? Why are you helping them?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, masculine, ambiguous,
concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Animal, construct, spirit, ghost, dream, …
Human(ish), urban animal, bizarre
creature, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent your origins, and
gain it as a Crew covenant:
Moon: A minion finding freedom.
Grants abilities to find solace in
chaos and reshape your form.
Ask: Who is showing me how to live for
myself?
Star: A mindless object or animal,
accidentally uplifted.
Grants the ability to reassess your
options and try new things.
Ask: Who is trying to bring out my
potential?
Death: A human transformed by the void.
Grants abilities to ask incisive
questions, stage interventions, and
work strange surgery.
Ask: Who remembers me as I used to be?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ A disguise (expend to pass as a
castle minion).
□ Portable hole (expend to open a
door to the hideout for a few
moments).
□ Gleaming claws (piercing, close).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain a
rank of World or Void, pick one from
the lists below (or make your own) to
add to your avatar. Every time you lose
a rank, erase one.
Myth: Ghostly veil, animal gait, cosmos
eyes, automaton gears, …
Clothes: Something archaic, something
futuristic, nothing at all, …
Accessories: Lesser spirits, eerie music,
localised storms, runic halo, …
Mien: More mundane, more pleasant,
less true, more chaotic, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and a vocation:

□ Pretender: Ordinary high school student, office drone,

pensioner, …
Put a black mark in Blood.
□ Interloper: Surreal performer, mystic consultant, nomadic
possessor, …
Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Lurker: Stray animal, haunting ghoul, lurking monster, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you go to explore your new identity to the
relationship map.

Gauges
You're not completely real. Mark a tick in Blood and Lack, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Judgement: An ancient inhuman, ambivalent to humanity. Grants

powers to take the long view and apply cosmic power.
□ Sage: A mundane worker showing you how to be human. Grants advice,
organisational backup, and tools to understand alien realities.
□ Strength: An activist building a community outside society. Grants
abilities to manage your emotions and draw power from them.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once

everyone’s picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you
and add them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.
 InHuMaN AbIlItIeS
Core Moves
You may always ask: Who
here is longing to express
their wild side? The
Architect will answer
truthfully.
When you Vent, you may
pick these effects:
Move faster and further than
humanly possible.
Make a door to the hideout,
right here and now.
Shelter Move: You tap into
the thoughts of a nearby
Enforcer. The Architect will
describe what they can see
and hear, and you may ask a
question about what they’re
thinking and feeling.
Shadow Moves
□ My TrUe FoRm
You realise that the castle had a stronger hand in
your creation than you thought. Describe how your
Castle Form changes to reflect this. You may mark
Void to grow an organ or limb – arms, tentacles,
eyes, wings, mouths or similar.
□ GhOsT EaTeR
When you consume a castle denizen, mark Void and
roll +Cups. On a 7-9 hold 1; on a 10+ hold 3. On a miss
hold 1, but the Architect will change an element of
your Castle Form to match the consumed creature.
The Architect will tell you one or more reactions the
creature had – spend 1 hold to use one. You must use
up all your hold to eat another denizen.
□ PsYcHoPoMp
When you Travel the Labyrinth, you can mark Void to
guide your group to or from any individual’s psyche,
the land of the dead, the castle's home realm, or
stranger places still.
□ ApPaRiTiOn's BlAdE
When you channel the hunger of the Void into your
weapon, mark Void to give your attack fleeting
Advantage and a weapon perk of your choice.

InHuMaN AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
lasting Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Free an Enforcer from their Vassal and □ Gain a Shadow Move.
let them build a new life. □ Gain a second Gear
□ Add a portal to your hideout leading option.
directly to your target’s shard. □ Add a perk to your
□ Grant sentience to the hideout, and give signature weapon.
it some kind of avatar that can speak to
you and use the hideout’s facilities.
ThE PeNiTeNt I kNoW I’vE dOnE wRoNg.
CaN yOu sHoW mE hOw tO dO rIgHt?
 A gOoD mAn wHo sErVeS a gReAt eViL iS nOt
wItHoUt sIn; He mUsT rEcOgNiSe aNd
aCcEpT hIs cOmPlIcItY.
Guilt is a potent force – it can cause you to reassess your life, seek
forgiveness for your actions, and devote yourself to making amends.
But the castle’s mindset is insidious: a crew of rebels that makes use
of your power and privilege might end up regretting the ways your
methods twist their cause and taint their victories.

Will you shed the vassal mindset and fight for liberation? Or will you
balk at revolution, seek an easy life, and return to the castle’s embrace?

Touchstones
• Michael (The Good Place). A demon who served the system by
building new torture methods, finding grace and happiness by
discovering his softer side and building a kinder world.
• Tyrell Wellick (Mr Robot). A cold-blooded corporate VP who ends up
in an uneasy alliance with anarchist hackers, leading to divided
loyalties and a struggle to shed the corporate mindset.
• Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender). A prince of an imperialist power
who realises the humanity of those he’s hurting and the ways the
empire’s hurt him too, and switches sides to build a better world.

Play the Penitent to:

• Use your castle-granted powers to aid the rebels.
• Make amends for the things you’ve done.
• Explore what it means to try to become a better person.

Change playbooks to the Penitent to represent...

• Dedicating yourself to making amends for your actions.
• Taking a devil’s bargain and trying not to let it corrupt you.
• Realising a dark truth about your own drives and desires.
 MaKiNg YoUr PeNiTeNt
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through these, and answer:
Why was this your breaking point?

Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, masculine, ambiguous, concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Tailored finery, ostentatious jewellery, affected informality, extremely
nondescript fashion, …
Bloodshot eyes, guilty eyes, intense eyes, distant eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …

Your Vassalage
You don’t get a Crew Covenant yet. Instead: how deeply did you serve
the castle?

Underling: The servant of a true Vassal.

Start with one Void Rank (and advances) and three Vassal Moves.

Knight: A petty tyrant hurting a small community. Start with two Void
Ranks (and advances) and four Vassal Moves.

Noble: A despot inflicting pain on a full city district. Start with three Void
Ranks (and advances) and five Vassal Moves.

Also, create a signature weapon with one perk, one flaw (p. 68).

Castle Form
Your form has one per Void rank: Red right hand, crude oil tears, miasma
of smog, bloodstained riot gear, tormented spectres, …

Your form gains one when you lose a Void rank, and loses one when you
gain a Void rank: Unmasked face and vulnerable body, bandaged and healing
wounds, charms sealing away darkness, jewelled and destigmatised mutations, …

Your form has one per World rank: Sprouting flowers, brick and concrete
flesh, vibrant graffiti, memento-filled lockets, …
Aftermath
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1. When
the fight’s over, work through these:
Gear
Pick one to have every delve:
□ Inner Demon (expend to
summon them from your heart;
they’ll rampage wildly once freed).
□ Fiendish PA (expend to take an
extra Shelter action).
□ Flames of Torment (lingering,
painful).
Crew Covenant
Ask the others how they need you
to prove yourself to them, and gain
it as a Crew Covenant:
□ Sage: Use your knowledge to
help their fight.
□ Gardener: Dedicate yourself to
helping others.
□ Strength: Commit heart and
soul to the fight.
□ Devil: Show them how to be
powerful like you.
□ Judgement: Show them the
secrets of this other world.
□ Hermit: Take a step back and
listen to the castle’s victims.
□ Auteur: Give them the use of
your material resources.
□ Wheel of Fortune: Humble
yourself and realise your
privilege.
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide
on these:
Crime and punishment
How did you hurt people? How were
you punished when you stopped?
□ Fist: Using violence to force
compliance.
Take a Black Mark in Blood if you
stood up to them.
□ Voice: Manufacturing consent
for cruel policies.
Take a Black Mark in Infamy if you
publicly recanted.
□ Purse: Taking resources from
people who need them.
Take a Black Mark in Lack if you
made reparations.
If you made a quiet exit instead, take a
Black Mark in Fealty.
Add the place where you did this
work to the relationship map.
Gauges
You’ve just started becoming someone
better. Mark three ticks in Fealty
and Heat, one in the rest.
 ThE PaTh oF PeNiTeNcE
There are many things you’ll need to do to pull away from the castle’s influence.
When you hit one of these triggers, check off Penance next to it.

□ Divestment: Put assets you gained from the castle in the hands of those
working for justice.
□ Atonement: Apologise publicly, clearly, and unreservedly for harm you’ve caused.
□ Accountability: Listen to and learn from groups affected by your actions.
□ Transformation: Accept your own weaknesses, and become someone the old
you would’ve hated.
□ Uprising: Put your safety on the line to bring down those who cause suffering.

LaPsInG BaCk PeNaNcE

You have a Stain gauge, 5 boxes long, At the end of the investigation during
marking your willingness to call on your Peace and Quiet, you see if you’ve made a
old privileges. difference to your way of living.

When your Stain gauge fills, when you
wield your power without thought for
the consequences, when you profit from
other’s suffering, or when you do
anything else the group thinks counts,
you Lapse.
Check against Fealty, and on any hit
choose your gut response:
If you have no Penance ticks, that’s a
Lapse. Otherwise, check against 6 –
Penance ticks.
On any hit, you shake off more of the castle’s
perspective – lose a Vassal Move. If you’ve
already lost them all, change playbooks,
carrying over as many of your stats,
advances and castle abilities as you like.

• Horror at your actions. Lose a Void rank
and treat the fallout as an extra crisis.
• Indulgent self-loathing. Lose a World
rank, and fade your Covenant with a
contact you decide to protect from
monsters like yourself.
• Callous justifications. Fade your Crew
Covenant, and take a Vassal Move.
On a weak hit or miss, erase a Penance
check – or if you have none, tick Fealty.
On a weak hit, you’re not able to make a
clean break, and it costs you. Take a
black mark in an appropriate gauge.
On a miss, there’s something crucial
you’re just not getting yet. Ask the other
rebels what they think it is, and gain
fleeting Advantage on this check if you
work on it.
Then erase all Penance ticks.

On a miss, you cannot help but see your

actions as justified. Take a Vassal Move.
 PeNiTeNt AbIlItIeS
Core Abilities
You may always ask: Who here feels the most guilt? The Architect
will answer truthfully.

When you Vent, you may also pick this effect:

Summon beings of darkness and hunger from nearby shadows to fulfil a
single command.
Shelter Move: Take the other rebel’s pain. Any of them may heal a
condition, with you marking a condition of your own 1-for-1.
Vassal Moves
□ InDuLgE ViCe Replaces Let Your Hair Down
When you indulge in an excess of consumption, mark Stain and
heal two conditions. Every rebel who comes with you can heal one
of those conditions, but must also describe a sign they see that
their world continues to burn while you party.

□ DoMiNaTe Replaces Make a Stand

When you make someone feel small, mark Stain and the Architect
will describe how they back down, retreat, or give you what they think
you want. They’ll retaliate, when they feel safe. Accept this retaliation
as a crisis, or mark Stain again to have the crisis strike another rebel.

□ ShAmElEsS Replaces Pass Beneath Notice

When you walk in like you own the place, markStain to make it clear to
all watching that you belong here. One of your contacts will hear about
the company you’re keeping, and the news will hurt and upset them.

□ InVaDe PrIvAcY Replaces Rebel Eyes

When you push through someone’s boundaries to get the
information you want, mark Stain and the Architect will tell you
everything this person knows about that topic. They’ll also tell you
what wounds your invasion has left on them.

□ ThE MaStEr’s ToOlS Replaces Connect

When you wield your privilege as a weapon, mark Stain and say
what the arms of the state grant you: access to a location, removal
of an obstacle, a meeting with a VIP. The Architect will say what
collateral damage is inflicted on this area and/or its inhabitants.

□ PrOdIgAl ChIlD ReTuRnS

You become a Vassal once more. Turn this sheet over to the
Architect, and make a new rebel.
 PeNiTeNt AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
lasting Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Grant another rebel a free World Advance. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Pick a location; neither you nor any □ Gain a second Gear
other Vassal can use their powers there. option.
□ Decorate the hideout with reminders □ Gain a second signature
of those your crew has helped and weapon.
those they couldn’t.
ThE PrOvIdEr We hAvE tO cArE fOr eAcH oThEr. ThAt’s tHe
oNlY wAy tHiS bEcOmEs sOmEtHiNg tHaT lAsTs.
 FrOm eAcH aCcOrDiNg tO tHeIr MeAnS,
tO eAcH aCcOrDiNg tO tHeIr nEeDs
To some, revolution looks like burning palaces and sharpened guillotines.
To others, it looks like their pet policies implemented and proved correct.
To the Provider? It looks like those they care for being able to live lives
free of pain and persecution. It looks like every hungry child fed,
every pain salved, every soul housed and warm.

More than any other playbook, the Provider delves into the double-
edged sword that is affinity to the World. Living your life showing
others they matter and caring for their needs can be extremely
rewarding, but it can also be a fast track to burnout and exhaustion.
You’re only mortal, after all, and your resources are finite. How do
you help others in a way that maintains your ability to help?

Play the Provider to portray a character deeply invested in caring for

others, protect and supply the other rebels in the castle, and find out
what costs you’ll pay to make sure others can live better lives.

Touchstones
• Steven Universe (Steven Universe). As the youngest member of the
rebellious Crystal Gems, Steven has a lot of pressure on him to
fight. But it’s his drive to protect and care for others that’s the key
to his story – and his greatest victories.
• Moominmamma (Moomins). Calm, dependable and caring,
Moominmamma goes to great lengths to make sure her little
house is a place of comfort and healing for the world’s misfits.

Change playbooks to the Provider to represent...

• Refocusing on providing tangible aid to those in distress.
• Putting energy into keeping the crew sane and healthy.

Example Builds
MoThEr HeN ReSoUrCeFuL FrIeNd DePeNdAbLe AnChOr
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Gardener Wheel of Fortune Temperance
GeAr Home cooking Sanctified bow Hard-wearing clothes
CoNtAcT Lovers Death Tower
HiGh StAtS Cups and Wands Cups and Coins Cups and Sword
LoW StAtS Swords Swords Wands
Endlessly
ShAdOw MoVe Self-Sacrificing Mama Bear
Resourceful
 MaKiNg yOuR PrOvIdEr
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these and answer: Who did the Vassal
hurt, and how did you comfort them?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Practical uniform, a bag of supplies,
rumpled and overworked, …
Kind eyes, weary eyes, hooded eyes,
intense eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew covenant:
Gardener: Nurturing, provision, protection.
Grants abilities to tend to others and
show them how to grow and be happy.
Ask: Which of you can always come to
me to feel cared for?
Temperance: Moderation, patience, advice.
Grants abilities to find moderation
and act as a mediator.
Ask: Which of you trusts me to rein you
in when you go too far?
Wheel of Fortune: Celebration,
investment, stockpiling. Grants the
ability to see upcoming fortune and
danger, and adjust accordingly.
Ask: Which of you did I guide through
misfortune?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ Home cooking (expend when you
Shelter to let each rebel heal a
particular condition).
□ Hard-wearing clothes (expend to
avoid danger from extreme heat,
cold, corrosion, etc).
□ Sanctified bow (ranged, brace).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain a
rank of World or Void, pick one from
the lists below (or make your own) to
add to your avatar. Every time you lose
a rank, erase one.
Myth: Medusa hair, dryad bark, spider
eyes, merfolk scales, …
Clothes: Blue temple robes, doctor's coat,
quartermaster’s bandoleers, bodyguard’s
armour, …
Accessories: Flocks of doves, floral
wreaths, belts of potions, a caduceus, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and main occupation:

□ Delinquent: Big sibling, parent’s carer, guerrilla gardener, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: Bartender, teaching assistant, medic, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: Emergency responder, parent, therapist, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place where you go to look after your dependants to the
relationship map.

Gauges
You stay strong for others. Mark a tick in Fealty and Blood, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Tower: The charity case you can’t help but take care of. Grants abilities
to endure great hardship and accept pain in order to succeed.
□ Death: A critically-ill confidante making peace with their end.
Grants abilities to ask incisive questions, stage interventions,
and work strange surgery.
□ Lovers: The paramour/partner you can trust implicitly. Grants abilities
to remember you worth, read other’s hearts, and use love to endure.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once

everyone’s picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you
and add them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.
 PrOvIdEr AbIlItIeS
Core Moves Shadow Moves
You may always ask: Who □ SeLf-SaCrIfIcInG
here needs a hug or a kind When another rebel would mark a condition, mark
word? The Architect will Void to mark it in their place. Gain fleeting Advantage
answer truthfully. on the moves the condition penalises.

When you Vent, you may □ MaMa BeAr

also pick this effect:
Give someone a day freed from
a wound, illness or affliction.
Shelter Move: Ask the
other rebels: Who has a
problem with another
rebel? If you help them
work through their
problems, they each
intensify their crew
covenant.
When you put your whole body into a feat of
strength, mark Void to lift and carry any weight.
□ EnDlEsSlY ReSoUrCeFuL
When you reach into your bags and pockets, mark
Void to pull out something impossible: something
too big, too dangerous, on the other side of the
world, or seemingly in your opponent’s hands.
□ MoThEr oF MoNsTeRs
When you craft a creature from the swirling chaos,
mark Void, describe them and give them a weapon
perk and flaw. They can take one blow; the second
kills them. Pick one, or two if you mark Void again:
• They’re obedient.
• They’re knowledgeable.
• Their desires and interests are humanlike.

At the end of a delve, mark Void to let them leave this

shard and live in your hideout.

PrOvIdEr AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get lasting □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ Pick a community nonprofit, food bank, □ Gain a Shadow Move.
mutual aid society, etc. that will no longer □ Gain a second Gear
need to worry about resources. option.
□ Gain the aid of a guardian spirit; when you □ Add a perk to your
send it to watch over someone, you’ll know if signature weapon.
they run into danger.
□ Add plentiful supplies to the group’s hideout,
able to feed, rest and care for a dozen people.
ThE WaTcHeR
HoW dO yOu fIgHt sOmEtHiNg yOu cAn't eVeN sEe?
By lOoKiNg fOr tHe pAiN iT cAuSeS, tHe oNeS wHo
bEnEfIt, tHe cRaCkS iT sEePs tHrOuGh.
 ThE TrUtH ShAlL SeT YoU FrEe
The castle exploits us, inflicts cruelty upon us, neglects us, but it also
hides from us – it’s a lot easier to rule over a populace who believes
they are free. It blames its crimes on a host of other things: the
whims of cruel fate, the schemes of a despised underclass, the
impossibility of any better world than this.

The Watcher sees through the castle’s lies. They’ve noticed the patterns
linking the crimes of disparate Vassals, the occult strangeness wound
through this city, the creatures and spirits visiting this place from
another plane. And they will expose those lies to the world.

Play the Watcher to spot the hidden truths hiding behind the
mundane world, see your foe’s hidden weaknesses and strike from
afar, and ask what boundaries you’ll cross to learn the truth.

Touchstones
• Futaba Sakura (Persona 5). An agoraphobic shut-in and world-
famous hacker, Futaba lends her keen observation skills to the
Phantom Thieves as they in turn help her open up to the world.
• Granny Weatherwax (Discworld). The Discworld’s most powerful
witch barely ever works overt magic. She instead relies on
‘headology’ – keenly observing and manipulating people’s hopes
and fears so they do what she wants with no spells required.

Change playbooks to the Watcher to represent...

• A search for answers to deep metaphysical questions.
• Focusing on thinking before acting, perhaps following a grave error.

Example Builds
TrUtH-SeEkEr OcCuLt InItIaTe ShAdOwY ScOuT
CrEw CoVeNaNt The Sun Judgement The Hermit
GeAr Detailed notebook Hunting rifle Smoke bomb
CoNtAcT Justice Devil Gardener
HiGh StAtS Swords and Wands Wands and Coins Cups and Wands
LoW StAtS Cups Swords Coins
ShAdOw MoVe Eyes on the Inside Chaos Eyes Astral Projection
 MaKiNg YoUr WaTcHeR
First Descent
Before your first delve, work through
these, and answer: Who’s the Vassal
going after now?
Particulars
Pick from each, or make your own:
Feminine, Masculine, Ambiguous,
Concealed, …
They, She, He, …
Sturdy coat, drab camouflage, nerd chic, …
Shiny glasses, sunken eyes, piercing eyes, …
Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, …
The Crew
Pick one to represent what you offer the
group, and gain it as a Crew covenant:
The Hermit: Insight, awareness,
distance. Grants abilities to spot
hidden details and find a way out of
the spotlight.
Ask: Which of you knew me long before
we met face to face?
The Sun: Perception, clarity, vision.
Grants abilities to reveal truths,
display honesty and banish darkness.
Ask: Which of you found fortune through
my advice?
Judgement: Analysis, discernment,
absolution. Grants powers to take the
long view and apply cosmic power.
Ask: Which of you helped me uncover a
terrifying truth?
Embrace The Darkness
As you fight your first Vassal, assign
one of these to each castle stat when
you first use them: +1, +1, 0, -1.
After the fight, gain a Void rank and
advance, and work through these:
Gear
Create a signature weapon with one
perk, one flaw (p. 68). Also pick one
to have every delve:
□ Detailed notebook (expend for
fleeting Advantage on See Clear).
□ Smoke bomb (expend to
disappear from sight).
□ Hunting rifle (ranged, ammo).
Castle Form
Your shape in the castle shifts with
your growing power. When you gain a
rank of World or Void, pick one from
the lists below (or make your own) to
add to your avatar. Every time you lose
a rank, erase one.
Myth: Grigori eyes, gargoyle skin,
mothman wings, ghost translucence, …
Clothes: Street camo, PI longcoat,
cyberpunk apparel, urbex rigging, …
Accessories: Hacker tech, goggles and
lenses, satchels of books, occult junk, …
Mien: More glorious, more terrifying,
more true, more serene, …
Mundane Life
When you return to reality, decide on these:

Role
Pick a category and a vocation:

□ Delinquent: star pupil, nerd, junior reporter, …

Put a black mark in Infamy.
□ Prodigal: blogger, hacker, researcher, …
Put a black mark in Lack.
□ Traitor: PI, professor, fringe crackpot, …
Put a black mark in Fealty.

Add the place you go to share information with other truth-

seekers to the relationship map.

Gauges
You keep your distance. Mark a tick in Infamy and Heat, two in the rest.

Contacts
Pick one to gain as a Major Covenant, and give them a name:

□ Devil: The journalist you swap tips with. Grants abilities to test
other’s boundaries, deceive employers, and embrace power.
□ Gardener: The (surrogate?) parent who makes sure you’re safe and well.
Grants abilities to tend to others and share useful wisdom.
□ Justice: The whistleblower who leaks to you. Grants the power to
unearth crimes, hold authorities to account, and fire up your allies.

Put them on the relationship map with a link to you. Once

everyone’s picked theirs, link another NPC on the map back to you
and add them as a Major Covenant, saying what connects you.
 WaTcHeR AbIlItIeS
Core Moves Shadow Moves
You may always ask: Who □ BrAiN RaDiO
here is lost in confusion or When you’re in the castle, you can mark Void to talk
indecision? The Architect to any one person who’s felt the castle’s touch –
will answer truthfully. rebels, Vassals, covenants, etc.

When you Vent, you may □ EyEs oN tHe InSiDe

also pick this effect:
Name someone. Anyone.
You’ll see what they’re doing
right now – and can roll
Rebel Eyes to probe further.
Shelter Move: You
submerge your mind into
the labyrinth. Roll 2d6; on
a 7+ mark Void, on a 6-
mark a condition. Either
way, say what you
understand now and get
lasting Advantage on
Travel the Labyrinth for
this delve.
You can mark Void to perceive the intangible and
immaterial – auras, thoughts, hearts. When you use
this sight to guide your words, roll +Coins instead
of +Cups on Reach Out or Strike.
□ ChAoS EyEs
Some eyes are windows to the soul; yours are portals
to the shifting chaos of the void. When someone
meets your gaze, markVoid to force them to pick one:
• They cannot think or move for a few moments.
• They must move far away from you.
□ AsTrAl PrOjEcTiOn
When you close your eyes and stay still, you may mark
Void to send your soul out into the castle. You can see
through its eyes and – with effort – pull switches, open
doors, move small object, etc. Most castle minions
won’t be able to see or interact with it. Most.

WaTcHeR AdVaNcEs
When you get a new rank in void or world, get an advance.
When you lose a rank, lose an advance.

World Void
□ Commit to a Major Covenant. □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
□ Pick one of your castle abilities; get lasting □ Add +1 to a Castle stat.
Advantage using it with Vent. □ Gain a Shadow Move.
□ A friend or ally gains a sixth sense that can □ Gain a Shadow Move.
detect the castle. □ Gain a second Gear
□ Gain an animal familiar that you can project option.
your mind into. □ Add a perk to your
□ Scrying windows appear in the hideout, able signature weapon.
to observe locations you’ve been to in the city
and the castle.
 ChApTeR 4
CoVeNaNtS
Covenants are the core social drivers of Voidheart Symphony.
They're the bonds that hold your ragtag group of rebels together,
and the outside connections they can call on when they're in
trouble, or need to blow off steam.

You track your most important connections on your character sheet.

Each covenant is in one direction: they represent the benefits your
character has gained from the relationship with the other character.
They might have a matching covenant for you, or might not.

MiNoR CoVeNaNtS
Not every friend or acquaintance is deeply, consciously,
metaphysically tied to your revolution. Those contacts who are more
fleeting, uncertain, or kept at a safe distance are represented with
Minor Covenants. They don’t have the rules impact of Major
Covenants, but can be elevated to that state with work and attention.

Gaining Minor Covenants

Certain moves can add a Minor Covenant – see Let Your Hair Down,
or Connect. Each Minor Covenant has a need – the thing you can do
for them that’ll win you their trust. Find out what their need is by
Checking In with them.

You can draw a Minor Arcanum card to randomly generate a need

on the tables on pages 194-5, use those tables for inspiration, or
simply state a need if you have a strong sense of their personality
already. I’ve adjusted the names of the cards to suit Voidheart’s
themes – check p. 298 for a transposition reference. Either way,
write the need down somewhere to keep track of it.

Once you’ve met a covenant’s need, mark World, set your Covenant
with them to Major, and decide on its Arcanum (see next page). To
set the Covenant to Intense, Check In with them and trigger their
hangout move for the first time!
 MaJoR CoVeNaNtS
Major Covenants are bonds with people invested in your rebel and
bought in to their revolution. You’ll start out with three – a Crew
Covenant (see p. 31), and two with non-player characters (contacts).
Each has one of these Arcana:
0 The Fool Naïve and hopeful, trusting in fate.
1 The Magician Skilled and ambitious, acting with flair and verve.
2 The Oracle Instinctive and spiritual, revealing hidden beauty.
3 The Gardener Nurturing and abundant, healing and comforting.
4 The Auteur A visionary authority commanding others.
5 The Sage Learning, understanding, and institutional power.
6 The Lovers Caring, empathetic, making those they love feel valued.
7 The Chariot Daring, energetic and dynamic.
8 Strength Empathetic, mindful, and in charge of their emotions.
9 The Hermit Reclusive, but finding wisdom from their distance.
Someone who helps you see hidden dangers and
10 Wheel of
Fortune surprising opportunities, prepared for good or bad news.
11 Justice Someone passionately fighting for their community.
12 The Vagabond A peaceful soul who shows you the value of letting go.
13 Death An agent of change forcing you to confront hard truths.
14 Temperance An agent of moderation, levelling out your highs and lows.
15 The Devil Temptation, boundary-pushing, and power-chasing.
16 The Tower Accepting disaster and picking up the pieces afterwards.
17 The Star Something new, unrefined, but exciting and revelatory.
18 The Moon A force of primal chaos, illusion, and the alien.
19 The Sun An insightful and upright seeker of truth.
20 Judgement A distant, powerful figure sitting in judgement.
A covenant’s Arcanum sets the context of the relationship, guides
how you might cultivate it, and gives you moves to use in the City
and the Castle. These moves represent any number of ways your
character’s relationships help them grow, inside and out. You
might learn better fighting strategies from your time spent
playing video games with the Chariot, or call on warm memories
of your time with the Lover to push through tough situations.

Each Major Arcanum has an example contact that you can, but don’t
have to, use in your game. Each shows how a bond of this type might
help you, and how this person might be vulnerable to the castle.
Changing Arcanum
If you want to change the arcanum of an existing Major Covenant,
Check In with them as if they were a Minor Covenant to get an idea
of what they’d need from you to change the relationship’s context.
Meet this need to change their arcanum.

If you want to change the arcanum of your crew covenant, see

further instructions on page 84.

Removing a Covenant
There’s many reasons why you might not want to have a covenant
with someone on your sheet any more.

• Maybe they died, or moved away, or otherwise were removed

from the narrative?
• Maybe you’ve hurt them so badly you don’t think there’s any
path back from this place?
• Maybe they betrayed you, or hurt you, or sold out and you can’t
trust them any more?
• Maybe you’re just not as interested in them as a part of this
story than you thought you’d be?

Whatever your reason, you can erase a Covenant from your sheet
at any time. When you do this, discuss with your group whether it
felt like there was a clean break, or if it’d be more appropriate for
you to mark a condition or tick a gauge to represent the untidy
fallout of this breakup.
 Forming a Covenant: The Hairdresser
During an investigation into a TV star, Dylan hit it off with
Rosaline, a hairstylist who used to work in showbiz. Later Dylan
Checks In with her at her hair salon, in an out-of-the-way corner
of the city. As they chat the Architect reveals Rosaline’s need:
she’s bored with the staid cuts her clients ask of her, and would
dearly love an opportunity to experiment with the sort of styles
she enjoyed attempting back in her heyday.

If Dylan volunteers as a test subject, he can turn this into a Major

Covenant. His player talks with the Architect about what this
relationship might give him. Maybe she’s the Devil: the haircut
and accompanying conversation are just tools – it's about
changing how you see yourself, and goading you to act on that.
Or maybe she’s the Hermit? The city might have forgotten her,
but that suits her just fine – her salon is a small haven, away
from the bustle and pressure.

Forming a Covenant: The Rat

Wyla is trapped in the cramped tunnels under her target’s
factory, searching for a way out. She opens her mind to the Void,
Venting to perceive things beyond human senses. The ultraviolet
colours she sees paint a way out, but there’s a backlash – a rat
living in these tunnels is gifted smarts and malice by the magic.
Filled with a supernatural hunger it follows Wyla back home,
hungry to feast on her possessions. But it’s not subtle, and when
Wyla finds it chewing on her cellphone with its diamond teeth
she approaches it open-handed and offering a deal. She’ll give it
enough food to last a lifetime, if the rat helps her with her
investigation of the factory.

Rats are naturally sociable creatures, so the Architect says the

rat’s very willing to accept this deal. If Wyla follows through on
her part, she’ll form a covenant: maybe the Moon, representing
the rat’s affinity for the dark places where monsters hide? Or
maybe the Oracle, as she lets the rat show her the beauty it sees
in the nooks and crannies of the city?
 l
ThE FoO

Free, pure, naive

At their best, the Fool is honest, At their worst, the Fool is reckless
inquisitive and courageous, showing and proudly ignorant, risking things
people new ways and unseen important to them when they should
alternatives. know better.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you do something spontaneous they ask you to do something
together, at your prompting or foolhardy and you refuse, or you
theirs. abandon them when they need you.

152
Hangout Move
When you hang out with the Fool, the Architect will describe a strange coincidence
that strikes nearby. If you get to the truth of what happened, you’ll discover
something that heals a condition or gives information on the Vassal or their victims.
City Move
Sometimes things just work out, against all odds. When you go over the top to fix a
problem in your life, roll a single die.
On a 4+, it somehow works – quell a crisis.
On a 1-3 things go very wrong – max out the gauge linked to the crisis.
Castle Move
You live a charmed life. When you search for a way out of lethal danger, roll 2d6. No
matter what, you’ll be removed from the situation; on a 10+ you say what state you’re
in when you return, on a 7-9 the Architect will. On a 6-… we’ll next see you in the
Avatar’s company.

The Winter Wanderer By Violet Henderson

A nature lover and forager, her heart is always wandering the wild and untamed
places, outside of the cities. She spends her free time exploring the quiet and
forgotten parts of the world where the castle has not yet laid claim. However,
these places are shrinking, the castle's borders expanding. More and more of the
wild places are being fenced off, turned into gardens, lawns, and estates.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Secret Ways: She spends a lot of
time in the wilderness around the
city, searching out old forgotten
paths or forging new ones herself. If
you need a way into or out of
somewhere quickly and quietly, she
may be able to lead your way.
• Hidden Places: The Winter
Wanderer knows cloistered places,
sheltered by leaves and branches,
where prying eyes might be evaded
for a time. When you need
somewhere to lay low for a few days,
the Winter Wanderer can always
point you in the right direction.
• Foraged Food: The Winter Wanderer
knows which wild growing berries
are safe to eat, which bark can be
used to make kindling for a cooking
fire, and how to make river water
safe to drink. She can provide simple
food and warmth for those who have
nowhere else to go.
• Trespass: She is not always vigilant
when her wandering takes her across
the invisible walls of the castle's
influence, where its laws of property
and ownership threaten to ensnare her.
• Enclosure: As the castle pollutes and
corrupts with one hand, the other
paints visions of a brighter future
within its walls. The wanderer may be
tempted by promises of
conservation, green power initiatives,
and 'sustainable' development, and
aid the castle in bringing the
wilderness to heel. Turning from
exploring to mapping, foraging to
farming, camping to enclosing.
• Isolation: Her skills at skirting the
castle's sight also make it a little too
easy for her to retreat from the
castle's walls. When things get too
hard, when the world grows too dark,
she may be tempted to withdraw and
leave others to their plight.

153
 i CiAn
ThE MaG

Skilled, Creative, Hungry

At their best, the Magician is At their worst, they’re manipulative,
inspiring, resourceful, and driven. egotistical and power-hungry.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you collaborate with the Magician you use the Magician’s work
to create something better than without crediting them, or you
either of you could make on your sabotage their efforts.
own.

154
Hangout Move
When you help the Magician with a project of theirs, they teach you a mundane
skill you didn’t know before (lock-picking, painting, mixing music, etc). The next
time you use it, roll with advantage.
City Move
The Magician inspires you to go beyond. When you quell a crisis, you can mark a
condition to pick one:
• It’s enduring: If this crisis is dire, it’s not any longer.
• There’s momentum: You can also quell another rebel’s crisis.
• It’s enticing: Someone who sees your work wants to meet you.
Castle Move
When you improvise a ritual to protect from danger, grant a temporary ability, or
make a potent weapon (2 perks,1 flaw), roll +Coins. On a hit, it works, at least for this
delve. On a 7-9 the Architect will give your magic a weakness, quirk, or unintended
side effect.

The Charming Tailor By Tetra Saturn

The Charming Tailor makes clothes for people, and it gets them by, but it's not
what they want. They want to make clothes for people. Garments that astonish and
impress. Once upon a time they dreamed of fame and fortune, but their reality
fell short. They practice crafting elaborate masterpieces in their off hours, and
are itching to find someone who will appreciate their true handiwork.

How they can help: The Castle's Threats:

• Costume Designer: Striking outfits
are the Charming Tailor's speciality,
the more audacious and complex the
better. Whenever you need a new
addition to your wardrobe, they'll be
ecstatic. (And ready with plenty of
fashion advice if you want it.)
• Flashy: Glitz, glamour, smoke, and
mirrors. The Charming Tailor
dabbles in special effects. They can
supply you with the necessary
materials to make any number of
properly dramatic entrances.
• Bit Part: Back in their theatre days
they used to fill in when actors got
sick or an extra was required. If you
need a quick impersonation or act, a
cover or phone call, the Charming
Tailor is happy to provide.
• Fickle Heart: The Charming Tailor is
more concerned with entertainment
than ideals. If a more appealing gig
comes up, their attention and
support will start to waver.
• Ambition: The Charming Tailor
yearns for excitement, and while
working with you provides some,
the castle has grander audiences and
opportunities to offer. They may be
drawn to the possibility of
Vassalhood.
• Stardom: While the Charming Tailor
is used to a supporting role, there is
a part of them that wonders what it
would be like to play the
protagonist. To be a mysterious lone
wolf, cut off from you, displaying
their talents to the fullest. This
would not end well for them.

155
 cLe
ThE OrA

Secretive, Spiritual, Perceptive

At their best, the Oracle is At their worst, the Oracle is secretive,
empathetic, insightful, and intuitive, withdrawn, and indecisive, trusting
helping you understand your in gossip and disregarding facts.
motivations.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when...

you reveal something you value the material over the
significant to them about your spiritual, or are too busy with your
dreams, hopes or ambitions. mundane obligations to heed their
advice.

156
HaNgOuT
When you let the Oracle show you a hidden place in the city, their player will
describe what makes it beautiful, and how it’s at risk. When you magnify its beauty
or protect it from danger, heal a condition.
CiTy MoVe
Once each day, you can declare that you had a dream about your current situation.
Ask the Architect a question in the form of ‘What will happen if I ____?’.
They’ll describe an element of your dream that answers your question.
You have fleeting Advantage if you go ahead with your proposed action.
CaStLe MoVe
When your make your faith manifest, roll +Cups. On a hit, radiant light prevents
creatures of the castle from coming within a few metres of you.
On a 7-9 pick 2, on a 10+ pick 1:
• You can't move without breaking the shield.
• You can't attack without breaking the shield.
• It only shields you.

The Bookseller’s Assistant By Natalie Ash

No one comes to see the bookseller, though many people come to the shop for it’s
collection of rare books. Patrons return for the assistant. She has a good knowledge of
history, but is sought for her empathy and spiritual advice.

How they can help: The Castle's Threats:

• Track that Book Down: The
Bookseller’s Assistant may not do the
ordering, but she has access to the
trade connections and databases. It
might take some time, but if a book is
for sale she can tell you where and for
how much.
• Naïve Wisdom: With a brain soaked
in history, and a heart full of
empathy, the Bookseller’s Assistant
has a way of cutting through the
clutter of modern life and
simplifying problems. A way that,
often, presents a more ready
solution than first thought.
• Community of Believers: The many
people the Bookseller’s Assistant has
helped haven’t exactly formed a
religion, but they’re fairly
interconnected. With a phone call or
two, she can probably find someone in
a position to help the rebels a little bit.
• Victim of the Market: Megastores
and online shopping have hit
independent booksellers hard,
including this one. Rare books
collectors and locals have kept it open
so far, but if an online marketplace
turned its attention to rare books,
that would be the shop’s death-knell.
• Too Helpful: The Bookseller’s
Assistant prefers emotional truths
and doesn’t care so much about facts
and factions – unless it makes a good
story – and is equally as likely to help
the castle as she does the rebels.
• Betrayed by Reality: A frequent giver
of advice, the Bookseller’s Assistant
is bound to get it wrong sometimes.
When her advice worsens someone’s
situation, she becomes withdrawn
and tentative. This happens even if
her advice was good, but the
surrounding situation changed.

157
 d EnEr
ThE GaR

Nurturing, Powerful, Abundant

At their best, the Gardener gives At their worst, the Gardener
others a supportive and nurturing constructs stifling relationships,
environment that lets them grow into quashing potential so that it doesn’t
their true potential. threaten their authority.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you grow into greater beauty or
strength with their support, or
cultivate a person (or creature) to
a significant milestone following
the Gardener’s example.
you ruin your own chances out of
spite, or try to control another’s
growth.

158
HaNgOuT
WhenyouvisittheGardener, they give you something impractical but important; a
book, an accessory, a pot plant, etc. So long as you keep it with you and draw strength
from it,once per investigation you may turn a missed move into a weak hit.
CiTy MoVe
When you Check In with a rebel, you may refresh one of their gauges. If you do,
pick the cost:
• Tick Lack, as you dig into your own stocks.
• Tick Fealty, as you resent them a little for needing this.
• Grow protective, taking lasting Disadvantage the next time they’re hurt until
you can tend to them.
CaStLe MoVe
The Gardener haunts you, gauzy and insubstantial. When you ask the spirit for
advice, the Architect will give an answer that gives fleeting Advantage, but pick one:
• They confuse parts of their life for your situation.
• They cannot perceive some significant detail.
• They ask you to promise something before they answer.

The Polymath Tutor By Violet Henderson

A lifetime student, her passion is for teaching and for learning through teaching,
growing as she nurtures growth in others. She teaches whatever captures her
interest, or at least whatever will pay her bills this month. As a freelance educator
she works with local colleges, online courses, charity initiatives, and sometimes,
when desperate, with more insidious clients from within the castle's walls.

How they can help: The Castle's Threats:

• Shared Skills: The Polymath Tutor is
always chasing new passions, and
always willing to share them with
anyone who's interested. If you go to
her with an open mind and a willing
ear, you'll always come away having
learned something new.
• Contacts: In her time freelancing,
the Polymath Tutor works with
people with a huge range of skills,
talents, and ideas. If you need to
find someone with a certain skill set,
she can always find some skilled if
maybe not entirely scrupulous
individual who fits the bill.
• Nurturing Ideas: The Polymath Tutor
will never disregard an idea out of
hand. When you come to her with a
plan or a project she can help you to
interrogate, explore and reflect to
guide the idea into its fullest form.
• Corruption: While she aims to
nurture good seeds, circumstances
don’t allow her to be so discerning.
Those she teaches may go on to bear
poison fruit, and go to root in the
castle's soil.
• Burnout: Her work makes constant
demands of her both physically and
emotionally, made worse by her
precarious place as a freelancer, a
string of bad jobs could run the risk
of breaking her spirit entirely.
• Stability: The castle constantly
tempts her with the promise of
stability, even luxury, if she would
only turn her skills towards the
castle's ends. She could buy her way
out of years of suffering by training
just one banker, policy maker, or
drone operator.

159
 eUr
ThE AuT

Visionary, Established, Imperious

At their best, the Auteur brings At their worst, the Auteur is
structure, stability, and wisdom into inflexible in their opinions and seeks
other’s lives. to control the actions of others.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when… you

you teach the Auteur respect someone else’s advice over
something new, or thank them the Auteur’s, or suffer by doing
for the success their advice has something they told you not to.
brought you.

160
HaNgOuT
When you spend time with the Auteur, they can offer you a risky task you can perform
to help their organisation. They get to decide what it is, you decide if you want to take
it. If you carry it out, you both refresh Infamy or Lack on top of any other outcomes.
CiTy MoVe
You draw structure and certainty from your relationship with the Auteur. When
you comprehensively reject a group identity society has placed on you in favour of
one you’ve found for yourself, remove a tick in Fealty.
CaStLe MoVe
When you use up an Opening to display your power over an opponent, roll +Swords.
On a hit, remove the Opening; on a 7-9 gain 1 Insight, on a 10+ gain 3. So long as you
have Insight, you have Disadvantage on PushThroughPain. Spend Insight to:
• Redirect the opponent’s attack towards you.
• Reveal their weakness and give an ally fleeting Advantage.

The Kindly Boss By Rem Diaz

The Kindly Boss is the last bastion of a desperate person. The Kindly Boss is, by all
measures of the word, a hardened criminal. Head of a crime organisation, the
Kindly Boss has his fingers in all kinds of less than legal pies. But while ruthless,
the Kindly Boss is not without scruples. He’s amongst the first to lend a hand
when his subordinates or friends are targeted. After all, it’s hard to stay on top
when everyone hates you.

How They Can Help The Castle’s Threats

• Yeah, I Can Get That: The Kindly
Boss has a bit of a flexible view on
what’s entirely legal. As such, even
when he can’t directly provide an
asset, he can usually point you in the
right direction for who might.
• This Is My Territory: The Kindly
Boss is a little bit less kindly when it
comes to people pushing in on what
he perceives to be his. So when the
castle’s Vassals make their presence
known, he tends to make his
displeasure known in return. His
people will have your back.
• Port In a Storm: The Kindly Boss has
boltholes and safe-houses, where he
and his men can safely go to ground
when things get hot. And if he likes
somebody enough, he might be willing
to leave a spare key under the mat.
• Corruption: There’s nothing like
grasping at power to make the castle
see you as an opportunity. The
Kindly Boss needs to watch out that
he doesn’t step on people in his
ambition.
• Suspicion: The Kindly Boss is not fond
of those he perceives to be a threat. It
might not take much of a push to
make you seem like usurping upstarts.
• Knocked Down: The castle isn’t
above empowering some other
wannabe kingpin to bring this
contact down.

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 e
ThE SaG

Institutional, Mentoring, Orthodox

At their best, the Sage passes down At their worst, the Sage is a
wisdom and initiates their wards into gatekeeper, only passing down
a higher station. wisdom to those who meet their
biases or standards.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you let the Sage teachings you spurn tradition, or burn
guide you in making a bridges with an institution you’re a
significant decision. member of.

162
HaNgOuT
When you go to the Sage asking for their advice with a problem, they can tell you what
to do. So long as you are doing exactly what they said, roll with lasting Advantage.
CiTy MoVe
The Sage has given you access to an exclusive group. When you use your membership
of this group to open doors,gain fleeting Advantage on any Infamy check. If you miss
the check, the Architect will say how this ends up hurting the group.
CaStLe MoVe
The Sage has shown you how to learn from others – even the strange inhabitants of
the castle. When you Reach Out to a minion and call on them for aid, gain fleeting
Advantage on Travel the Labyrinth.

The Old Boy By James White

Maybe he is a member of a London Club, or a Masonic Lodge, or maybe something else
entirely. The Old Boy is friends with everyone –“Everyone important”, he will say with a
wink – and so he gets invited everywhere. He may be a bit twee and a bit patronising,
but the rebels have his sympathy and so, after sharing his avuncular wisdom, he
whispers in an ear here, writes a memo there, all for you. Just try not to embarrass him.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• One More Thing: The Old Boy’s had some • A New Deal: The Old Boy is
interesting hobbies in his time, as have his only human: it is not
friends. If the rebels need something inconceivable that the castle
specific, he might know where to get it. This could offer him something
might be an unusual object or piece of that he wants, something
equipment, or something rare and expensive which would disentangle him
which would usually be beyond the rebels’ from the rebels forever.
means. Unless they have a very good reason, • The Old Problem: There are
though, he is going to want it back. reasons why the Old Boy does
• One of Them: Some of the castle’s most prized not put himself in harm’s way.
agents brush shoulders with people in the Old Old injuries or a life of
Boy’s world. Whether it’s because of his indulgence have taken their
charm or his cultivated bumbling mien, the toll and could yet prove
castle thinks the Old Boy harmless – a mistake debilitating or deadly.
which works in his favour. The Old Boy’s • The Young Ones: The Old
ability to pick up and piece together gossip Boy’s position stems from a
allows him to give warnings and advice to the carefully managed act of
rebels, which are usually reliable. Usually. smoke and mirrors. If the
• One of Us: Trouble follows the rebels rebels call on him too often,
wherever they go. The Old Boy’s or create too much of a mess,
considerable resources can help to make he may find his influence
some of this trouble disappear. Given waning, or even vanishing
enough time and information, the Old Boy forever.
can help deal with consequences arising
from a maxed-out stress gauge.

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 eRs
ThE LoV

Dependable, Loving, Harmonious

At their best, the Lover is a reliable At their worst, the Lover may be needy
partner and paramour, helping their or distant, but always frames the
companion be the best they can be. problems in their life around their
partner.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you take time to bond with The you let the Lover down on a
Lover, making them feel valued. promise, or make them feel like a
resource instead of a partner.

If your character is in a relationship with multiple partners, you could use this
covenant to represent the whole group – or pick one partner who provides this
covenant’s benefits, and pick out other covenants for your other paramours.

164
HaNgOuT
When you spend time with the Lover, ask them: What do you most love about me?
When you act in line with the vision of you they see, roll with fleeting Advantage.
CiTy MoVe
With the Lover held close, you gain a better understanding of what others hold
precious. For every five minutes you watch someone socialise, you can ask their
player one of these questions; their player will answer honestly.
• Are they in love?
• Are they satisfied with their life?
• What is most precious to them?
• Who here do they most rely on?
CaStLe MoVe
The Lover gives you the resolve to endure. When you mark a condition, you may
draw strength from your relationship: heal another condition or get fleeting
Advantage. If you do, promise the Lover something you’ll do for them when you get
out of here. If you don’t do it, fade this covenant.

The Hopeless Romantic By Eleanor Hingley

The Hopeless Romantic wears her heart on her sleeve, falling fast and hard and
completely. She doesn't mean to hurt people when she moves on, but that's
usually how it happens. Who doesn't want to try and hold a flame that burns so
brightly? She loves not wisely but too well, pouring passion into a million hobbies,
and collecting friends and lovers with ease.

How they can help: The Castle's Threats:

• Lovable: She can charm anyone. Even
better, she loves your bright and dark
sides, your good days and your bad
ones. Always happy to be a distraction
or a shoulder to cry on, the Romantic
can calm antagonists or recruit allies.
• Passionate: Due to her endless
enthusiasm, the Hopeless Romantic
has an eclectic range of skills, from
sailing to slam poetry. While she may
not excel at any of them, she can
produce something competent and full
of passion at short notice.
• Inspiring: The Hopeless Romantic is a
muse and a demon in one vivacious
package, an inspiration to anyone who
expresses a spark of creativity. She
believes in you one hundred percent –
one thousand percent! Of course, any
artist swept along by one inspiration
risks losing their way when their muse
moves on.
• Broken Heart: The Romantic does
not take rejection well. If someone
she loves pushes her away, she
might collapse in on herself or
burn the world in her anger.
• Broken Trust: The Romantic
assumes the best of people, but
that can make her vulnerable to
the minions of Vassals, or people
who don't have her best interests
at heart.
• Ennui: Passion might be the
Romantic's drive, but the lack of it
grinds her soul down. She
becomes listless and easy prey for
the castle's influence when bored
or frustrated, often taking reckless
action to reignite the spark.

165
 r IoT
ThE ChA

Dynamic, Determined, Assertive

At their best, the Chariot is At their worst, the Chariot is either
independent and self-contained, fully pig-headed and stubborn, or all too
determined to achieve their goals. willing to move on when things get
tough.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you go somewhere new you realise you don’t know what
together, somewhere neither of you want, or give up on achieving a
you have gone before. goal because it’s too hard.

166
Hangout
When you hang out with the Chariot, they can dare you to do something
dangerous. If you go through with the dare, heal a condition; if you stand your
ground and refuse, they’ll respect it but the next dare will be riskier.
City Move
When things get tough, the tough get going. When you start running, gain 1 hold
per Condition currently marked. Spend 1 hold to:
• Dodge around an obstacle in your path;
• Evade a pursuer;
• Gain definite hold of a means of transportation.
Castle Move
Against an unbeatable foe, you become an unstoppable force. When you charge an
enemy, roll +Swords. On a hit, you crash into them and push them far away from
where they were. If you had an Opening, exhaust it to pick one:
• Smash them into something, dealing damage as per Strike;
• Hurl them far away, giving your group breathing room.

The Elite Gamer By Paul Matijevic

The Elite Gamer is a prominent member of the local fighting game tournament
scene, and she dreams of going higher. She struggles with a community hostile to
outsiders and peers who don't respect her, but she has the skills and determination
to make it big and refuses to let other people tell her what to do.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Assist Character: The Elite Gamer has
a nice streaming setup, a car, and a
willingness to perform repetitive tasks
for a long time. She's willing to set
aside a day of her time to help you out,
provided it's not tournament day.
• Relax, I Understand j00: If you ever
need someone to listen to your
problems and Elite Gamer advice
without judgement, the Gamer can
do it over some Mario Kart. Never
underestimate the value of a new
perspective.
• Tag Tournament: The Elite Gamer
naturally has a lot of gamer friends. If
you have a problem she can't help
with, she can probably put you in
touch with someone who can.
• Chip Damage: The Elite Gamer is
tough, but the mud her opponents
sling at her would wear anyone
down. As Vassals encourage more
and worse attacks on her, she'll
eventually be pushed to her limits.
• Guard Crush: The Elite Gamer’s
financial situation is a little
precarious right now. If she's
prevented from competing or
winning for long enough, she might
push harder to earn money outside
tournaments – and burn herself out
trying to keep her dream alive too.
• Mind Games: If the castle can't drive
the Elite Gamer out, it might try to
make her part of the establishment.
She could find herself swimming in
new offers of sponsorship or
friendship, but if she accepts, her new
"allies" will start controlling her actions.

167
 Th
StReNg

Courageous, Wise, Resilient

At their best, Strength knows which At their worst, they lose confidence
challenges they can overcome and in their ability to make changes to
brings endless determination to bear their world, and sink into a
against them. depressive funk.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you overcome a great obstacle you use your strength without
through stamina and intention, lashing out and causing
persistence. suffering.

168
HaNgOuT
When you hang out with Strength, you can talk through a condition you’re
struggling with. When you next miss a roll affected by that condition, heal it or
upgrade the result to a weak hit/7-9.
CiTy MoVe
Strength teaches you how to use the solidarity of your allies. So long as you are
standing side by side with other rebels, you can mark a condition instead of
them (and vice versa).
CaStLe MoVe
Your emotions don’t control you – you control them. When you make a fight
intensely personal, mark a condition to get lasting Advantage fighting this enemy.

The Brawler By Misha Handman

The Brawler cares deeply about the people around them, but has been convinced
that they aren’t smart enough or quick enough to really help. They usually work as
a bouncer, security guard, or other profession that lets them use their fists to
protect people, and they actually will try to keep their charges safe, but their
constant frustration at the suffering they see leaves them easily provoked to
violence, and they don’t have good tools to express why they’re unhappy.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Let You In: The Brawler has access to
somewhere normally secure, and
can get you access or bypass lengthy
check-in procedures.
• Lend A Fist: The Brawler is always up
for a fight, and can be persuaded to
join in a minor brawl or to help
protect someone.
• Let It Out: When you’re exhausted
and need to vent, the Brawler knows
all the best places in town to go to
unwind, and can get you there on
short notice.
• Corruption: The Brawler has
strength that the castle values. If the
castle can break their idealism or
plunge them into cynical selfishness,
they will stop caring who they’re
violent on behalf of.
• Destruction: The Brawler fights
against evil, but lacks discretion. The
castle’s Vassals may consider them
an obstacle to be removed, through
legal or extra-legal violence. The
Brawler is particularly vulnerable to
being targeted by the police as a ‘bad
apple’ in need of pruning.
• Isolation: The castle could use its
influence on the Brawler and their
friends, pushing them apart and
using the Brawler’s own temper as a
weapon against them. If isolated
from the people they care about, the
Brawler is likely to give up instead of
trying to improve.

169
 mIt
ThE HeR

Isolated, Watchful, Introspective

At their best, the Hermit has used At their worst, the Hermit disdains
their isolation to gain perspective and broader society, viewing themselves
self-discovery, sharing their insights as superior and ignoring the broader
with a select group of friends. social fabric they rely on.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when… you

you give them something that
helps them follow their
interests, or help them cope
when a social situation becomes
too much.
invade their privacy, or share with
others something they meant for
you alone.

170
HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Hermit, in-person or online, they'll tell you
something interesting they spotted recently – about a location, a local celebrity,
or a new social trend. Get fleeting Advantage when you make use of the lead.
CiTy MoVe
The Hermit shows you a way out. When you use Rebel Eyes to scrutinise a
location, you always also find a hidden entryway, exit, or hiding place.
CaStLe MoVe
When you use a distraction to escape an opponent's attention, roll +Wands.
On a hit you can put a safe distance between you and them. On a 10+ pick one:
• You're hidden from all foes until you next take action;
• Your disappearance confuses the foe, giving your allies breathing room.

The Chatroom By Blue Maelstrom

Whether organised through messaging apps, fan forums, or IRC servers, The
Chatroom is a close-knit online community formed from like-minded folks
seeking an escape from the loneliness and stress of offline life. The Chatroom can
be chaotic, full of clashing opinions and over-the-top drama, but it can also be a
source of empathy and community.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Crowdsourcing: Chat members
come from diverse
backgrounds, possessing all
manner of expertise. Want
personal advice, info on a niche
topic, or even just emotional
support? Chances are
somebody’s online and willing
to help.
• Crowdfunding: The Chatroom
looks out for its own, and
members are quite willing to
pitch in for a good cause. A few
dollars from each member can
add up to a sizeable sum.
• Long Distance Relationships:
Not everybody in The Chatroom
is a city native, and these friends
in far-off places can be a huge
boon. When the rebels need
items from outside the city,
someone in the room can
probably hook them up.
• Toxicity: Bad actors are a threat to any
online community, and as the castle’s
power grows, the Chatroom struggles
more and more to deal with toxic
individuals. Nontoxic members are
cowed into silence, moderators become
inactive, and soon the loudest voices in
the room are the ones spewing hate.
• Anti-Privacy: The Chatroom is the perfect
breeding ground for subversive discourse,
making it a tempting target for
authoritarian Vassals. ISPs and websites
gladly sell the chat members’ data for the
right price, and Vassals can abuse that
info to identify and monitor members.
• Controversy: Not everyone in The
Chatroom shares the same way of
thinking – sometimes the most
innocuous disagreement sparks a server-
wide flame war. With the pressures of the
outside world closing in, frustrated chat
members become more likely to tear each
other apart.

171
 F FoRt UnE
WhEeL o

Prepared, Passive, Enduring

At their best, the Wheel of Fortune is At their worst, the Wheel of Fortune
frugal in times of plenty and giving in is passive and unwilling to act,
times of trial. trusting in destiny to fix their
problems for them.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you find a way to turn a tragedy you hold onto a plan when it time
into victory, or find dreadful and again results in failure, or
failure despite your best efforts. refuse to help a friend who has
fallen on hard times.

172
HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Wheel of Fortune, flip a coin. On heads, they show
you an opportunity you hadn't considered. On tails, they show you how the course
you're on might lead to disaster. Gain fleeting Advantage acting on their insights.
CiTy MoVe
When you help someone in need, gain 1-Balance. Spend 1-Balance to receive
unexpected charity or camaraderie, giving you fleeting Advantage on Connect or
Let Your Hair Down.
CaStLe MoVe
When you would roll without Advantage or Disadvantage, you may get
1-Balance by giving yourself fleeting Disadvantage, or spend 1-Balance to give
yourself fleeting Advantage.

Points of Balance disappear between investigations, spilling out as

random good fortune for those around you.

The Medic By Freyja Erlingsdottir

The Medic is constantly teetering on the edge of burnout, unwilling to quit his job
in case his intervention might save another life, even as his superiors take
shameless advantage with long shifts and endless overtime. His personal life is as
good as nonexistent, and yet he would rather sacrifice his time for others than
take any for himself. He feels powerless to improve his life, reasoning that his
trials are simply the cost of the work.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Medic: The Medic can advise on
medical matters and fix you up if
you’re hurt, no questions asked. He
can even get you some prescription
medicines, if you push him or
convince him you need them.
• Someone to Talk to: The Medic will
always lend you a sympathetic ear. He
keeps tight confidence, raises spirits
and gives good advice, especially on
how to avoid danger to yourself.
• Small Acts of Kindness: Years of
giving people aid means the Medic
know a surprising amount of people
willing to give help back. However, he
only accepts it for the sake of others.
• Hopelessness: He got into the
business to help people, but he is
close to losing hope altogether. A few
more disappointments or too-long
shifts may push him over the edge of
total burnout, leaving nothing – and
no one – else to fill his life.
• Bargain: He won’t help himself, but
if offered a better way of life while
still helping others, he may accept it,
even if means becoming a slave to
the castle instead.
• Sacrifice: If the need is urgent and if
given the opportunity, The Medic will
readily sacrifice parts of himself to
heal another, whether his dreams,
his truths, his life, or even his soul…

173
 JuStIcE

Fair, Righteous, Campaigning

At their best, Justice gathers power so At their worst, Justice trusts in and
that they can help others and bring supports the structures of society
low those that use society's structures without recognising the institutional
to cause pain and misery. harms they propagate.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you get them evidence or a lead you avoid responsibility for the
that helps them fight injustice. suffering you have caused.

174
Hangout
When you spend time with Justice, you can help them talk through the details of
their current case or sit in on a meeting with community members. Pick one to
learn about: the Vassal's current activities, a new contact who needs help, a threat
to another rebel's Role.
City Move
The systems of this city are unjust and perpetuate inequality, but with Justice you
can – for a moment – force them to work towards their putative lofty goals.
When you’re trying to convince a public servant to do their job, you can Make a
Stand checking against Fealty instead of Blood.
Castle Move
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. When you remove an Opening from an ally with
Stand With Me, fade this covenant to force your adversary into the same danger
and place an Opening on them.

The Grassroots Organiser By McKayla Roundy

The Grassroots Organiser is passionate about improving their community and
making life better for the average citizen. During their career, they’ve done
everything from organising protests to direct action against government
corruption. Their exhaustive work for change has won the support of the
community, and many local politicians draw inspiration and support from them.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Spontaneous Demonstration:
There’s no shortage of issues for the
Organiser to mobilise their
supporters over, and the castle is
often a cause of them. When the
rebels need to shake the attention of
the castle, the Grassroots Organiser
is able to whip up a protest to keep
the castle occupied.
• Been Around the Block Before:
They’ve been in this game for a long
time, and with that has come a
truckload of experience. Everything
from legal protesting advice to a
number of political contacts could
be obtained from them.
• Hope and Progress: The fight
against injustice often feels like one
step forward and two steps back.
During those times the Grassroots
Organiser is quick to comfort,
offering hope for a better future and
reminding you how far society has
come in the fight.
• Blackout and Smears: Despite their
popularity, the Organiser has never
been popular with the media firms
owned by the castle’s Vassals. The
castle has prevented the Organiser
from getting attention, while also
besmirching their actions, policies,
and support.
• Palm-greasing: It takes money to
cause political change, money the
Organiser tends to lack. More than
once, the castle’s systems have tried to
seduce them with promises of funding
to achieve all their goals… though
the castle always collects its debt.
• Nihilism: While unrelenting in their
push for change, not every
movement or policy can be
successful, especially against the
castle’s systems. Losses are
devastating and take their emotional
toll, and there are only so many
losses one can suffer at once before
giving up all hope.

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 G aBoN d
T h E Va

Easygoing, Indecisive, Self-Sacrificing

At their best, the Vagabond is calm, At their worst, the Vagabond is
collected, and observant. They never passive and apathetic, unwilling to
rush into things, but their perspective risk the disruption action might
is often valuable. bring.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you find peace or insight by you demand they change when
surrendering to the whims of they don’t want to, or suffer
fate. burnout from pushing yourself
too hard.

176
Hangout
When you hang out with the Vagabond, you can tell them about a dilemma
you’re facing. Whether through the Vagabond’s advice or otherwise, the
Architect will tell you what the immediate consequences of each choice would be.
City Move
The Vagabond gives you the patience to watch and wait. When you stake out a
target, a hit on Pass Beneath Notice gives you fleeting Advantage on Rebel Eyes.
Castle Move
The Vagabond teaches you serenity in pain. When you mark a condition in a fight,
hold 1. Spend 1 to reveal a weakness in the adversary’s fighting style and give
another rebel fleeting Advantage against them. Spend 3 to create an Opening.

The Constant Cultist By Grant Howitt

You name it, they’ve devoted their life to it – for a while. Crystal wellness theory,
red-string kabbalah, detoxification regimes, angel worship, bungee-cord zen,
and applied wiccan technomancy are among the Cultist’s previous obsessions
and by no means a full list. They don’t discount their previous experiences as false
when they turn to a new passion, but accept them all as a greater understanding
of their shifting and ineffable place in the universe.

HOW THEY CAN HELP: THE CASTLE’S THREATS:

• Esoteric Stockpile: Their apartment
is jam-packed with leftover ritual
components which they’re happy to
lend or donate to the cause. If you
need something specific and vaguely
occult to open the door to the castle,
they probably have something like it
in their spare room.
• Thicker Than Water: The Constant
Cultist has a connection to almost
every fringe organisation and
splinter cult in the city; despite their
fly-by-night approach to
enlightenment, they’re charismatic
and well-liked by most of the groups
they’ve joined up with. They can put
in a good word for you and get you
past the gatekeepers, at least.
• A Place to Burn Out: They’ve been
there. If you need somewhere to hide
while you collect your thoughts, lick
your wounds and maybe avoid the
police a little, they can sort you out.
• Hungry for Revelations: The Cultist
will try anything once if it promises
hidden wisdom – so they’re the first
port of call when the Castle is
looking for someone to corrupt and
mislead, and maybe spread that
corruption to the rebels themselves.
• A Chequered Past: Back in their
youth, the Constant Cultist fell in
with radical political organisations
and did things that could come back
to haunt them. An anonymous
phonecall to the authorities passing
on the right information would
result in – at best – having to answer
some difficult questions.
• Sacred Inaction: The castle hijacks
their well-meaning policy of
weighing up all the options before
making a decision and sends them
amongst the rebels as an unwitting
agent of chaos. Sometimes, a few
hours of confusion are all it takes.

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 DeAtH

Catalysing, Callous, Fatalistic

At their best, Death shows you which At their worst, Death is brutal and
parts of your life are causing pain or callous, pressuring you into changes
holding you back, and helps you let go so that you can be who they want you
of them. to be.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when… you

you show willingness to make cling to your status quo even as it
significant changes to your life. causes you pain or misery.

178
HaNgOuT
When you spend time with Death, they can ask you one of these:
What’s your biggest regret? Who do you wish wasn’t in your life? What’s your biggest worry?
You don’t have to answer honestly, but both of you will know if you lie.
CiTy MoVe
When you stage an intervention for someone you care for, pick two:
• They’re driven to change things.
• They don’t resent you.
• There’s a clear route to a better life.
• They have the support they need to make the change.
CaStLe MoVe
Sometimes a part must die for the whole to live. When you surgically amputate
part of another rebel, inflict a condition on them to let them pick one:
• They remove a Blood-related crisis.
• Their Void Rank drops by 1.
• They’re freed of a lingering curse, poison, or wound, here or in the city.
The amputated part returns in the city – but the scar lingers.

The Nurse By James White

The Nurse is vague about whether she has any medical qualifications. The Nurse is
even vaguer about where she gets her stash of needles and chemicals and gossip but
there is no arguing with results. The Nurse is a source of advice, care, and unusual
items for the resistance but just how she finds what she finds might be troubling to
some. Does she have her reasons, or is something more sinister at play?

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Angel of Mercy: The Nurse can provide
most forms of medical care, and find
someone who can provide the rest.
Such care might come with hidden
costs or other strings attached, but it
can mean the difference between life
and death, between swift recovery and
lingering decline.
• Oracle of Apollo: The Nurse has seen it
all, heard it all, and experienced much
of it herself. Her advice is surprisingly
comprehensive, and often cuts directly
to the heart of the matter.
• Treasurer of Shennong: As long as
you refrain from asking awkward
questions, the Nurse can provide
medicine and – depending on
payment – other restricted
substances, embargoed information
on treatments, decommissioned
medical equipment, and more.
• Nightingale or Vulture? The Nurse’s
agenda might not fully overlap with
the rebels’. If her interests are
threatened, it may not take much
for her to start seeing the rebels as
tools to use – or pawns to sacrifice
– instead of allies worth nurturing.
• Shatter the Shell: Something
ruthless and fierce burns within the
Nurse. If she thinks it necessary to
discard someone, anyone, to
achieve her goals, she won’t
hesitate long.
• Wings of Icarus: If the Nurse is
disinclined to exploit her allies, she
may instead take too much on
herself. Her operation is a risky
one; it wouldn’t be hard for her to
over-reach, expose herself, and risk
discovery, blackmail,
imprisonment, or worse.

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 nCe
TeMpErA

Balanced, Moderate, Patient

At their best, Temperance is a At their worst, Temperance ignores
moderating force in other's lives, the root causes of other's joy and
bringing them balance, patience and sorrow, instead pushing them to stop
stability. harshing Temperance's mood.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you reconcile a conflict between an excess of emotion leads you into
friends, or your patience and disaster, or you alienate a friend by
vision bears fruit. holding firm to your beliefs.

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HaNgOuT
When you hang out with Temperance,they help you balance out the worries in your
life. Move a tick from your stress gauge with the most ticks to the one with the least;
work out with the Architect what advice Temperance gave you to effect this change.
CiTy MoVe
Temperance teaches you… well, temperance. If you only take one action during a
day, gain one extra action, Everyday or Rebel, the next day.
CaStLe MoVe
When you act as a mediating force between your friends, you can work a strange
alchemy. Pick one or more other rebels and average out the Void or World marks
you each have recorded. You say where any remainder goes.

For example: You mediate Void between yourself and two others.
The three of you have one mark, three marks and four marks,
so there's 8 marks to distribute – leaving you at 3, 3 and 2.

ThE PrOlIfIc FeNcE-SiTtEr By Laurence Phillips

The Prolific Fence-Sitter is a writer and correspondent. They are highly educated,
privileged, and well-placed in the halls of traditional journalism, but are
otherwise a static force. Entrenched in conventional wisdom and the mythology
of the Golden Middle, the Fence-Sitter has the intelligence and resources to speak
truth to power, but is saturated with a timidity born of a fear of being wrong.

HoW tHeY cAn hElP: ThE CaStLe’s ThReAtS:

• Placater: By fixing their ideological
rudder firmly to the centre, the
Fence-Sitter rarely makes enemies
in the corridors of the mighty.
They are trusted to always provide
a “fair and balanced” viewpoint,
and as such elites find it easy to
make time for them.
• Silver Spoon: They come from a
privileged background, and have
access to private wealth and
property. If properly motivated
they can easily provide a secluded
holiday home to lie low in, or a
brown envelope full of cash.
• Classical Education: A fastidious
researcher and minor intellectual
in their own right, they have the
drive, passion and single-
mindedness to uncover all
manner of deeply hidden secrets.
• Assimilation: The Fence-Sitter is only a
step or two away from becoming part of
the system they claim to hold to account.
By controlling access to the information
they require, a Vassal can turn an
upstanding journalist into a PR machine.
• Conditional Love: The Fence-Sitter’s
family are willing to support them as
long as they maintain their upstanding
reputation. Should their commitment to
the status-quo be brought into question,
all that has been given can be taken away.
• Dying Breed: The Fence-Sitter is a
bulwark of a dying medium. At any
moment the financiers behind
traditional journalism could decide to
consolidate their losses, throwing all
who rely on their money into the snake-
pit of freelance journalism, to write
listicles on the latest pop culture fad.

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 iL
ThE DeV

Transgressive, Tempting, Hedonistic

At their best, the Devil’s temptations
show you a part of yourself you were
in denial over – rejecting society’s
conditioning to embrace who your
truly are.
At their worst, the Devil seeks to
break down your self-image so that
they can be the one who defines who
you are.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you realise something life- you place the needs of others or
changing about yourself – and society as a whole above your own
follow through on it. self-actualisation.

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HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Devil, they test your boundaries. Their player
secretly decides if they’re going to be helpful or hurtful; you secretly decide if
you're receptive or dismissive. If you're receptive and they're helpful, it's better
than you expected – heal a condition and mark Void. If you're receptive and
they're hurtful, it's worse than expected – mark Fealty and fade this covenant.
Otherwise, it's a pretty normal hang.
CiTy MoVe
When you tend to the Wolf at the Door, you can fake a solution to one of your
crises instead of paying a cost. If you do, check against Infamy. On a hit, it
works. On a weak hit, your deception has its flaws – get fleeting Disadvantage in
the city. On a miss, the consequences are dire.
CaStLe MoVe
The Devil shows you how looking after number one isn’t necessarily harmful.
When you Evoke the Covenant and put another rebel in trouble, they get fleeting
Advantage escaping the danger you put them in.

The Criminal Lawyer By Lisandro Johnston

The Criminal Lawyer won't claim she's on your side. Alliances are flimsy things,
after all. As a lawyer, she's seen and committed her fair share of atrocities, yet even
she understands that certain people need to be brought down. Luckily, regardless of
what side she's on, desperate people flock to her like moths to a flame. Everyone
wants a way to game the system, and she just happens to have the rulebook in hand.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Ocean's Unlucky Thirteen: Assuming
you have the cash to pay for it, the
Criminal Lawyer will plan out
whatever heist or crime you have in
mind, all equipment included.
Blueprints, tools, disguises, the works.
• Rulebook: The more powerful
someone is, the more rules society
places upon them, and Vassals have
power to spare. The Criminal Lawyer
will happily ascertain what those
rules are, and how to exploit them in
your favour.
• Small World: What if there's
someone out there planning the
same crime as you? If so, the
Criminal Lawyer most likely knows
them. And for a price, you can know
them too.
• Pariah: No one likes lawyers, not even
those who hire them. The Criminal
Lawyer’s opportunistic personality and
her lack of filter certainly haven't made
her any friends. She doesn't have
anyone to rely on in times of need.
• Indulgent: The Criminal Lawyer has
a refined palate and very expensive
tastes. Wine, sweets, fancy furniture;
she's in the habit of spending her
money in all kinds of places. Almost
all merchants know her, even those
who regularly deal with Vassals.
• Weak-willed: It's true she would never
work with someone who is truly evil,
but the world isn't divided into good
people and Vassals. For the right sum,
her allegiance could be bought by a
less than reputable client.

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 eR
ThE ToW

Scarred, Seasoned, Tragic

At their best, the Tower is a resolute At their worst, the Tower is a constant
and steadfast friend when things are drain on their friends, always having a
going bad – they’ve seen it all. new sob story to explain why their
life is off track.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you meet the Tower on their you do something to try and fix
own terms, without judgement their life without their consent, or
or condescension. abandon them in a moment of need.

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HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Tower, they decide what they’re looking for:
escapism or assistance. They can’t tell you directly, but can gesture at it with their
roleplaying. If you provide what they’re looking for, you gain fleeting Advantage
on Fealty or heal one of their conditions. If you let them down, and especially if
you do the other one, they’ll lose some trust in you and in society, and if they’re a
rebel they get fleeting Disadvantage on Fealty checks.
CiTy MoVe
When you’re at your lowest point, the Tower is there to let you know you’re not
alone. Once per investigation when you max out a gauge, the Tower will appear
and help with your problems – fully refresh that gauge.
CaStLe MoVe
There’s power in destruction, even when it’s indiscriminate. When you accept
pain in order to achieve your goals, succeed at a move as if you’d rolled a 10+ but
also pick one of the 10+ results from Push Through Pain.

The Crow By Lisandro Johnston

An ex-soldier turned priest, The Crow realised after retiring from the army that
his true enemies were not the fellow men he'd been ordered to slaughter, but the
ones pushing him to do it in the first place. Against such monsters, unfortunately,
the strength of one man is useless. As such, he's turned to the only force greater
than the greed of man; Unity. An odd choice for a deity, yet he knows that even
the simplest of gods can instil faith in people.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Helping Hand: In exchange for an
honest day's work, he will provide
you with shelter, basic supplies, and
even rudimentary weapons,
depending on your needs.
• Forgiveness: While it is only human
to sin, he believes that forgiveness is
transcendent. Do you have a
confession to make? If so, he will not
judge, and he will not tell.
• Consecration: Although he's given
up combat, he'll occasionally teach
those interested enough to learn. A
necessary evil, he calls it. Yet one
that works wonders to defend
oneself against evil worse than man.
• Nothing's Free: Indiscriminate
charity is looked down on by those
who control the lives of others
through extortion – The Crow must
keep a low profile to avoid the wrath
of Vassals and their allies.
• Scarcity: The more desperate people
this afflicted city throws his way, the
harder it’ll be to lend a helping hand
to all of them.
• One-Man Army: He'll stop at
nothing to help those in need – and
if they’re beyond his ability to help,
he’ll burn himself out or get deep
into trouble before he accepts it.

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 r
ThE StA

Talented, Generous, Mercurial

At their best, the Star is a creative
genius, their raw potential shining
through their ever-improving art and
bringing hope and life to those
around them.
At their worst, the Star is naive and
amateurish, unwilling to accept
other's advice or instruction.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you bring a change of you see someone in crisis and
perspective to someone's life hoard resources you could have
and help them find a new way to used to help them out of it.
be happy.

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HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Star, they'll say what they're in the process of
creating. It might be a new project, or the next stage of a familiar one. At some
point in the scene they'll ask you what you think; describe your honest feelings
about it and your place in the world to mark World or Void as appropriate.
CiTy MoVe
The Star lets you find unexpected paths when you think you're lost. If you find
yourself unsure where to go or can't see a way out, call on the Star. The Architect
will give you a definite way forward or way out; get fleeting Advantage using it.
CaStLe MoVe
The Star awakens inner potential. Once per delve when you spend some
moments meditating on who you want to be, pick a Shadow Move from a
playbook no-one else is using. You can use that move for the rest of this delve,
and then you lose it and can’t gain it this way again.

The Gamemaker By Declan Winterton

The Gamemaker is a bright and brilliant soul who weaves weird worlds and
strange stories for the delight of others. Around her table friends and strangers
try on new skins and different minds. She loves the way her game can change
people’s perspectives or inspire imaginations, but can risk losing herself in the
joy of creation and the worry of perfection.

HOW THEY CAN HELP: THE CASTLE’S THREATS:

• Insight to Your Ills: The character
you bring to the Gamemaker’s
session is a reflection of one of your
current worries or problems. In
playing the session you gain a
measure of insight on how to work
towards solving or dealing with that.
• Bardic Inspiration: The
Gamemaker’s stories fill you with
hope and daring as she inspires you
to dive forward into a new plan or
project with fresh new vigour.
• Cosplay Night: When you’ve been
through hell the Gamemaker can
help you relax and refresh, enjoy
playing a game with your friends
and coming back to the world
renewed.
• Perfectionism: The Gamemaker loves
her story and so do her players. It just
needs something more and it would
be perfect. She’ll spend more than she
has in time, money and promises to
make it as good as she dreams it can
be. And it still won’t be enough.
• I Am Your God: She admits she can be
a little uptight about the rules, but
sometimes it goes from bad to worse.
Sometimes her pride won’t let her
back down and she’ll lose friends,
family, everyone to that burning
desire to be right.
• Legend-Maker: At her core the
Gamemaker is a performer and fame
and glory call her. She’ll happily take a
promise of spreading her stories and
inspiration to millions without
checking whose hand she’s shaking.

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 n
ThE MoO

Primal, Nightmarish, Liminal

At their best, the Moon brings
subconscious insights to the fore and
puts you in touch with something
larger than yourself – primal, vast,
and mysterious.
At their worst, the Moon offers only
illusions and doubts, trapping you in
your own anxieties.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you trust in your instincts in you wallow in the Moon's illusions
the face of danger and your and weirdness, to the point that it
common sense. harms your mental health.

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HaNgOuT
When you hang out with the Moon, anything can happen. It might be a
hallucination, a vision, or the world's wonders becoming visible. If you throw yourself
into this unreality, you can swap one condition you’re suffering for another.
CiTy MoVe
When you consult your dreams for guidance, toss a coin. On heads, the Moon is
present in your dreams, and will show you something important. Gain fleeting
Advantage acting on their message.On tails,the dreams are nightmares.Pick one: gain
lasting Disadvantage for the next day,or realise something uncomfortable about yourself.
CaStLe MoVe
When you reject your humanity as you throw yourself into a battle, say how your
body twists and changes. For the rest of this fight, you can mark a condition to:
• Get an automatic 6- on Push Through Pain.
• Go somewhere it’d be impossible for you to go normally.
• Turn your limbs into weapons (tether, flexible, close).

The Nighttime Wanderer By Tetra Saturn

Passing over the night soaked streets, bathed in electronic light, the Nighttime
Wanderer knows this city in and out. And still they find ways to get lost in it. They
disappear into a cold, sleepy job during the day, collapse as soon they get home, and
then brighten up at duskfall. That's when everything comes alive for them.

How they can help: The Castle's Threats:

• Escape: They know that things can
get tough or brutal. When you need
to get away, for a breather, a chat, or
a shared silence, the Nighttime
Wanderer will always know a route
out. And have just the place to
introduce you to.
• Every Nook and Cranny: The
Nighttime Wanderer knows this
city better than the back of their
hand. If there's something you want
to know about it, all you need to do
is ask. At the very least, they'll know
where to look.
• Pulse: The Nighttime Wanderer
keeps track of what's afoot. And
always has plenty of personal
anecdotes and insights of the city
that they'll gladly share. They aren't
just an observer, and get involved in
all sorts of happenings.
• Adrift: The Nighttime Wanderer
likes to wander. And at some point,
they may decide to wander
somewhere else. To a new map of
routes, hideaways, and stories for
them to learn.
• Lost: The Nighttime Wanderer likes
places uncanny or out of the
ordinary. The castle is one such
space in heaps and spades, and they
may wander off into its corridors.
• Terrified: At some point, The
Nighttime Wanderer might find
somewhere to belong. And that will
be new and precious to them. The
risk of losing their newfound home,
or bringing trouble to it through
associating with you, may spook
them into ghosting you.

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 ThE SuN

Direct, Insightful, Positive

At their best, the Sun brings clarity At their worst, the Sun is idealistic
and optimism to your life and clears and uncompromising, showing an
out your doubts and uncertainties. almost childlike stubbornness to
deviate from their ideals.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you join the Sun in you compromise your ideals in
enthusiastically celebrating service to the 'greater good'.
their ideals through art, protest,
or labour.

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HaNgOuT
When you spend time with the Sun, at any point in the conversation you can ask
them one of these questions. The Sun will do their best to answer, and their answer
will be more right than wrong.
• Who's really behind ____ ?
• What's the connection between ____ and _____ ?
• Who's keeping ____ a mystery?

If the Sun is another rebel, they can consult with the Architect before answering.
CiTy MoVe
When you speak truly and honestly to someone when you Make A Stand, all present
know that you speak the truth.
CaStLe MoVe
When you bring out the light within, roll +Cups. On a hit, you illuminate the area
with warm yellow light. On a 7-9 pick one, on a 10+ pick two:
• You burn away illusions and shadow.
• The light illuminates something useful to you.
• Hostile creatures may only see you.
• You can wield the light as a weapon (long-range, stun, grazing).

The Lark By Lisandro Johnston

As a travelling performer, Lark has always loved tales of the absurd and fantastic.
However, one day she learned that, as they say, truth is stranger than fiction.
After that, she began collecting stories from a different source; normal people.
Their struggles, failures, and triumphs. Their secrets. After all, what could be
more entertaining than naked, unvarnished reality? And, as long as you don't ask
too many questions, she'd be happy to share one of these stories with you. All she
asks in return is one of your own.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Intel: All stories contain nuggets
of truth – Lark's are simply
thicker and juicier than most.
Interested in a specific one? Then
you better have sharp ears, and an
even sharper mind.
• Are You Not Entertained? From
costumes to special effects, Lark
spares no expense to make a
spectacle of her stories, the kind
which is hard to come by these days.
• Perfect Audience: Need a shoulder
to cry on? Is there a secret you
desperately need to get out of your
chest? Lark is all ears, as long as
you make it entertaining.
• Wanted: No one likes their dirty
laundry aired out in the open, much
less the castle's Vassals. Lark claims
her stories to be fictional, yet her
clients aren't the only ones who can
read between the lines.
• Vagrant: The more clients she attracts,
the more often she has to move in fear of
attracting too much attention. As such,
she is not the easiest woman to find.
• Overzealous: Lark always puts her
storytelling before her own safety. In
her eagerness to entertain and be
entertained, she might unknowingly
walk herself –and all of her well-
earned secrets– into a trap.

191
 EnT
JuDgEm

Alien, Enlightened, Potent

At their best, Judgement calls on you At their worst, Judgement is disdainful
to move beyond the mundane and of the day-to-day lives of regular people,
seek a higher power. seeing them only as raw materials to
be refined by their fire.

Nurture this covenant when… Betray this covenant when…

you cast aside a large part of you put off making a choice until it's
your life to become something too late, or return to a situation or
greater. relationship that was harmful to you.

192
Hangout
When you meet with Judgement, it'll be in a liminal space only lightly touching the
mundane world. If you ask them to, they can perform a ritual to swap out any one of
your Advances for another.
City Move
Judgement lets you peer into the disposition of souls. When you ask the Architect
if someone in this scene empowered by the castle, they’ll answer truthfully.
With a touch, you may sever your target from the castle's influence and power for
a day – and lose access to all your Covenant-granted abilities for the duration.
CaStLe MoVe
Judgement sees the man behind the curtain. When you spot an Opening with Line It
Up, the Architect will also tell you a pain, inadequacy, or regret deeply held by the
Vassal. Get fleeting Advantage making use of it in the city.

The Fallen By Trevor Cashmore

The Fallen was left devastated by a Vassal of the castle, and are now trapped in limbo:
a hospital bed. Their loss made them feeble, yet gave them new understanding and
power. They are not ashamed of having been a victim of the castle, for they were not
defeated – they were reforged. What are they now? Wounded? Inhuman? A ghost?
They refuse to answer – and perhaps don’t know themselves.

How they can help: The Castle’s Threats:

• Judged According to their Deeds:
From much experience, the Fallen
knows Vassals and their dark
deeds well, and can provide clues
towards their motivations,
strengths and weaknesses, and
identities.
• Katabasis: The Fallen provides, to
the worthy, access to the dark
delights and resources of the
city’s underworld. Criminal?
Literal? That’s for you to earn the
right to discover...
• Fruit of the Poisonous Tree:
What the Fallen lost, they gained
in esoteric knowledge and power.
They can provide insights into the
castle, or power of Shadow, but
always with a cursed price.
• Cold Case: The castle is eager to finish
the job. By erasing evidence,
intimidating or killing witnesses, or
even going after the Fallen themselves,
they gradually erode the Fallen’s belief
in second chances and karma.
• Revenant: Their fall ignited in the
Fallen a burning conviction to bring
down Vassals. This desire is something
the castle can twist and goad into all-
consuming vengeance, which would
devour all their supporters as fuel for
the hunt.
• Wraith: The Fallen will forever mourn
what the Vassal took from them. The
more the castle taunts them with their
past, the more they become obsessed
with reclaiming what they lost, and in
doing so, fail to realise that this
impossible quest will only doom them
to lose all that they gained instead.

193
 CoVeNaNt NeEdS
Swords Cups
Ace Give them clarity about what to do next. Provide an outlet for stifled creativity.

Stop them from making rash decisions Show them you’re in this for the long
2
and taking on too much responsibility. haul.

3 Help them get over a messy breakup. Give them a community to be a part of.

Give them a chance to recover from Give them peace and space to reflect on
4
burnout. their desires.

Back them up as they confront their

5 Help them process their past trauma.
antagonists.

Help them move house (and deal with

6 Revel in nostalgia with them.
any ensuing drama).

Show them they can trust you with their Show them which of their dreams is the
7
secrets. real deal.

Help them see why they’re feeling

8 Break them out of their tunnel vision.
unfulfilled.

Act as a sounding board for their
9
anxieties.
Care for them as they recover from a
10
disastrous betrayal.
Indulge the passionate desire for truth
Scholar
that burns within them.
Show you can be the partner they need
Envoy
to put their dreams into action.
Be honest with them about your true
Avatar
goals and what you want their help for.
Give them a well-researched plan of action
Crown
that’ll get them out of their current crisis.
Bring about a dream they’d suppressed
as unrealistic or childish.
Show them the value of their existing
relationships.
Push them out of fleeting comforts so
that they pursue their deeper passions.
Resolve a quarrel between them and their
partner before feelings spiral out of control.
Stop them living in other people’s heads
and give them emotional autonomy.
Get them out from under a toxic,
controlling partner.
 Wands Coins
Commit time to hearing out their new Help them sort out the red tape that
Ace
idea and giving honest feedback. came with an unexpected windfall.

Work with them on a plan for their Help them balance their main job and
2
future. their side hustle.

Show them that their ambitions can Find them skilled people to collaborate
3
take them far further than they imagine. with.

Help them celebrate a major event Help them find a sense of financial
4
(graduation, family wedding, birthday, etc). security.

Help them stop arguing with their Spend time volunteering with the
5
colleagues and find a way to listen. charity they work for.

Win them public recognition for their Get them out from under an onerous
6
good deeds. debt.

Protect them from people seeking to Spend time cultivating a garden or park
7
tear down their achievements. with them.

Take care of their mundane needs as they Offer them your labour and let them
8
throw themselves into an opportunity. teach you a new skill.

Help them take a break from their Get them to take time out of the city and
9
struggles and recover from burnout. enjoy nature.
Show them they can give you some of Plan out with them how they can
10
their burdens. provide for their family.
Relight the spark of inspiration they had
Scholar Help them prepare for a job interview.
for an old project.
Find them a patron who’ll let them Build a daily routine together that gives
Envoy
spread their wings. each of you a sense of stability.
Back them up as they attend a high- Help them move from nurturing others
Avatar
stakes social event. to seeking their own flourishing.
Find them a crew of people who will be Show them the harm done by inequality,
Crown
able to put their vision in action. and push them to rethink their own wealth.
 MaKiNg YoUr OwN CoVeNaNtS
This book uses the Major Arcana of the tarot to divide up the
different things your rebel’s contacts can provide for you, but that
shouldn’t restrict you. As you play, you might find that my
presentation of the Arcana doesn’t work for you, that you want to
add in extra archetypes not covered here, or you want to use a
whole different system of organisation for your game. Great!

If you’re wanting to rewrite a covenant – or write a new one –

you’ll want to cover these bases:

Personality: What sort of person is the contact, within the context

of this relationship? If you’re making this covenant bespoke for an
existing NPC in your game, this can be a lot more specific than the
covenants in this book, but it’s still worth considering how the
person might change in this new context. If you’re not basing it on
an existing rebel/contact relationship, it’s worth setting out:

• The ways they can encourage or help the person they’re in this
relationship with.
• The ways they need support and assistance from the person
they’re in this relationship with.
• Their particular strengths.
• Their particular frailties.

Hangout Move: A Covenant’s Hangout Move is extremely

important. It’s the core way this character is going to be shown
onscreen, and should communicate the essence of the relationship.
It’s also a way of showing how this character has an impact on the
rebel’s life. The way they help out can be directly offering advice and
help (Strength, Gardener), providing an escape from the pressures of
the city (Vagabond, High Priestess), providing useful tools and
information (Magician, Sun), even antagonism that still somehow is
useful to the rebel (Devil, Moon). Whatever form this aid takes,
remember that it’ll need to be revisited multiple times throughout
your game – make sure it can hold up to that kind of repetition.

City Move: This is a direct way of showing how this relationship

encourages and empowers the rebel. Like the hangout move, this
help can take many forms. It could be direct help – dropping their
name, using a trick they’ve showed you, drawing on their
resources. It could be a matter of perspective and philosophy,
seeing the world as the contact does and drawing strength from
that. It could be something far weirder – calling on their occult
might to empower your supernatural activities, hearing their
words in your mind, sending dreams to bedevil your targets.

But I’d encourage you to keep things subtle and focused on the ways
this relationship has changed the rebel. Relationships are at the heart
of Voidheart Symphony – the ways they make you a different person,
the way they help you see the world differently, the way investing in a
network of mutual care and trust builds a lasting movement. Adding
too much weirdness here can dilute that core message and reduce the
important mundanity of city-level play, so use it with care.

Castle Move: Now, this is your chance to go weird with it. Castle
Moves are a great opportunity to add capabilities not seen in the
core moves, and are the rebel’s secret weapon in their battle
against the castle. Add weird mystic weaponry, quirks of fate,
warping of the psychoterrain battles are happening in, brand new
capabilities for movement and information-gathering.

The simplest form of a castle move is a modifier: when you trigger a

basic move while doing [x], get an extra bonus. Justice is an example
of this, and it’s a great way of getting to get the player acting a
specific way while keeping the focus on the core moves. Then there’s
direct moves: when you do X, [effect]. Skipping any kind of roll
means the move is over quickly and flows you right back into the
action – see Temperance, or Vagabond. More complex still are moves
with a roll attached, like Strength or Sun – note how this provide an
alternate route to results provided by the basic moves, giving
different options for fictional positioning and powerful alternate
outcomes. Pick the complexity of your Castle Move with care, to
make sure it has an appropriate amount of screen time!

Covenant Systems: If you’re making multiple covenants, consider

how they intersect with each other. A little overlap is fine, but it’s
helpful if each covenant has a clear and distinct role in the system.
It’s also worth thinking about what the aesthetics of your system
communicate. A small, closed set (e.g. the Zodiac, the planets,
greek gods) makes each archetype feel more cosmically important,
whereas a vast, unbounded set (e.g. flowers, minerals, memes)
can make each covenant feel more personal, specific and
momentary. Play with it and decide what works for you!
 ChApTeR 5
ThE ArChItEcT
 YoUr AgEnDa
You have three guiding rules as you run this game:

Make the city feel real

You make the city feel real by using your narration to highlight
the quirks and routines of the city's inhabitants, by grounding the
characters in their day-to-day life, and by taking the troubles
assailing the rebels and their friends as seriously as they deserve.
You do it by treating the city as a place that could exist, and
staying true to the city that your group has built up in their minds.

Make their revolution feel necessary – and possible

Voidheart is a game about revolution. That's why it's important to make
their revolution feel necessary – and possible. The first part means
that the castle's Vassals shouldn't be a mere annoyance, a thing you
go and fight because you're bored and it sounds like fun. They should
represent an existential threat to the rebel's way of life and to the society
they'd want to live in. But they can be fought. Make the revolution
possible by showing the weaknesses and corners cut in the Vassal's
operations, by showing how a group of psychonautic revolutionaries
can worm beneath their defences and tear their plans apart.

Play to find out what happens.

Finally, this is a game that thrives on the story being wild, untamed,
able to push in any direction that takes its fancy. You play to find
out what happens by rejecting any notion of a pre-planned plot,
and giving your shared conversation and the game's moves the
authority to decide where your game ends up.
 WhAt tO SaY
Always say...

• What the principles demand.

• What your prep demands.
• What the rules demand.
• What honesty demands.

A key part of running a game well is being fair. You should never
attempt to negate a player’s unexpected victory by inventing new
threats or rewriting old ones, but neither should you change
things about just to make things easy for them. The characters
should live interesting lives, but not effortless ones.

Between sessions you might decide things about how the city’s
changing, what monsters lurk in the current Vassal’s shard, and
how the castle might strike back at the rebels. If you’ve set up a
conflict based on this prep, don’t pull your punches and reverse it
half way through – or add extra challenge to undercut the player’s
unexpected victory.

Also remember that your prep isn’t everything; players will always
come up with left-field solutions to the problems they face, and it’s
important to keep an open mind. When they try something
unexpected, consider the situation in the fiction, the rules, and the
Principles, and say what makes sense to you.
 PrInCiPlEs
Your Principles are how you pursue your Agenda. They’re
guidelines to keep in the back of your head as you play.

Build tension in the city; Bring catharsis in the Castle.

These two principles are the heart of Voidheart's flow. For all their
passion and righteousness, the rebels are weak and vulnerable in
the real world. Their investigation into the Vassal is a game of cat
and mouse, where they race to get the information they need before
putting their health, status, friends and living situation at risk.

Make sure to use mundane city scenes to raise the tension of your
story. The Vassal's plans are coming to fruition with every day that
passes. The rebel's investigation is pushing them to blow off
obligations and let their friends and loved ones down. And as their
desperation pushes them to more and more overt action, the risks
become increasingly severe and more direct.

But this isn't a game about disempowerment. In the castle, your

rebels are a true wild card, calling on powers their enemies could
never dream of. In the castle, it's your job to make the characters
feel like badasses, like action movie heroes who can face down a
legion of demons with a wink and a grin.

This doesn't mean that you should make their battles effortless. Your
players need to feel the danger, so that they can draw satisfaction
from overcoming it. Make combat a dance of threat and response,
attack and counterattack. Escalate the audacity of the adversary's
attacks, and encourage the players to match and exceed them.

As a final note – a rebel growing into their Castle Form is a key

moment of catharsis. It's their moment of expressing an identity
for themselves that's truly self-defined, a rejection of society's
assumptions and a search for a better self. It's a combination of
coming out the closet and a superhero revealing their costume. As
a rebel's power rises, their look becomes more and more elaborate
as they get a stronger sense of their identity, but it's not fixed –
options can be lost and regained, refined, replaced.
Show the cost of using power to cut corners.
Voidheart Symphony’s view of power is that it’s a shortcut – a way
for those who have power to skip over the checks and obstacles the
less-privileged must deal with. But there’s a cost, and power just
means someone else is paying it. For every Elon Musk getting high
on their own ego, there’s thousands of technicians, engineers,
janitors, miners and more, labouring in service of their boss’
dream. Show the cost the Vassal is happy to pay – but also show
the consequences if the rebels use their Void-given abilities to
ignore the problems in their own lives.

All Cops Are Bastards.

This is not a world where the authorities are there to help you.
Their overriding agenda will always be to protect the status quo,
and the interests of the powerful – and police in particular have a
long history as a weapon used against non-white and queer
communities, and leftist organising. Yes, well-meaning and good
people may exist in those structures, but the good they do will
always be channeled towards the castle’s goals – that, or lead to
them being isolated, punished and demonised by their colleagues.

The Work is good...

When the rebels succeed at an investigation, they’ve accomplished
something meaningful – they’ve stopped whatever plan the Vassal
was attempting, and redirected that power towards better ends.
Don’t twist their victories into failures or undermine them – it’s
important that the rebels did a good thing here.

...and the work is never done.

But even when their victories are meaningful, they’re not clean.
The castle is greater than any single Vassal, and every tool the
rebels have to fight it is tainted by its touch. Show the ways the
rebel’s actions don’t fully solve their problems, and show the other
predators swooping in to pick at the fallen Vassal’s power base.
Retaliation is a good place to show this, alongside Read the Wind
and similar moments where the rebels step back to look at the
city. Regularly prod them to consider what more they could be
doing to make the world a better place, and what ways their
methods will need to be improved to get there.
Show the Castle and the City in every Vassal.
Each Vassal, no matter how twisted by the castle’s influence,
started out as a mundane person. There was a life they could’ve
lead that didn’t bring them to this point, intentional choices to
ignore the needs of others and put themselves first despite the
harm caused. But, and this is important, they’re not monsters.

Give the Castle’s victims passions and drives.

Just as Vassals are more complex than cackling villains, their
victims are more than distressed damsels passively waiting for the
player’s aid. Show the wonderful things they could be doing if they
didn’t have to deal with the Vassal’s bullshit: their hobbies and
passions, the ways they’ve found to relax and forget the pressures
of the city, and the people and pets they care for.

Covenants must be cultivated with care.

Covenants aren’t just sources of strength and power for the rebels
– they’re the important people in the rebel’s lives, and your job is
to make sure that the players form a strong emotional connection
with them. It’s fine for characters to treat their covenants
carelessly and exploit their affections, but it’s your job to make
sure that has consequences in the narrative, by fading the
covenant if nothing else.

Begin and end with the fiction.

Remember that moves and their effects exist only within the
fiction unfolding at the table. When your players make a move, its
trigger should colour its results, and its results should be
concretely contextualised in the fiction.

Be a fan of the characters.

Like an audience member, you’re here to celebrate their victories
and mourn for their losses. Put them into interesting situations,
but never force them in a particular direction.
Be flexible with your responsibilities.
Sometimes it’s more interesting to put decision-making power in
someone else’s hands. This can be one of the players, giving them
the choice of how a situation resolves, or letting them say what’s
happening when the spotlight moves to them. It can even be one
of your characters, letting you make the choice that makes sense
according to the characters and world as established.

Make your reactions look natural.

When you use a reaction, consider the current story and what
you’d like to see the players deal with. Don’t give away any kind of
meta-textual concern, though: channel your reactions through
established parts of the fiction and maintain the illusion that
they’re a natural consequence of a living, breathing world.

Ask questions and use the answers.

Use questions to focus the group’s imagination on specific
elements of the world. When you want to highlight someone’s day
to day life, their motivations, or their history, just ask them.
Answers build ties to the world, and give you foundations to build
your own ideas on. Try to avoid completely open questions,
though, as giving a player the authority to declare too much in one
sweep might make them feel crushed by the responsibility, or
force you to step on their toes if something they suggest is
harmful to the tone you all want from the game.

Think off-screen too.

Sometimes it’s better not to show the players the immediate
consequences of their actions. Make a note and bring them to
light later. Make sure their source is clear when they’re revealed,
so that it’s clear you’re not just inventing extra adversity as a
power trip. And be careful with consequences that don’t have a
clear tie to the rebel’s actions – used too much, it can rob players
of a sense of connection to their character’s successes and failures.
 ReAcTiOnS
As the Architect, you’re here to manage the pacing of the game,
push the players into interesting decisions, and portray the world
and its inhabits. As such you don’t make proactive moves so much
as reactions. You make reactions in four situations:

• When a player rolls a 6- on a move.

• When everyone’s looking to you to find out what happens next.
• When the Vassal's clock ticks.
• When the players offer you up a golden opportunity.
• When you spend a Breach Reaction (see p. 256).

To explain that fourth point, it’s when the fiction so far has
established that an action will have a specific and direct
consequence. If it’s been previously established that stepping on a
pressure plate will trigger a trap, and a player describes their
character stepping on the plate, that’s a golden opportunity. The
difference between this and the first two categories is that the
Architect can actively interrupt a player’s narration to give an
immediate reaction. The Architect should only do this when the
trigger has been firmly established in the fiction.

The strength of a reaction

When you make a reaction, it can be hard or soft.

A soft reaction is one that leaves room for the players to react –
for example, describing a treasure chest the characters spot on the
other side of a gate (Offer an opportunity), or that a werewolf
bares her fangs and charges the Icon (Put someone in a spot).
Once you’ve described the reaction, you ask the players what they
do and work through the actions they describe.

A hard reaction is one that cuts straight to the consequences.

The characters tread on a weak floor section and fall into the
cavern below (Separate them), or they get home and find that
their brother found their hidden savings and spent them all
(Mark a trouble gauge). Often enough, a threat introduced by a
soft reaction can lead to hard reactions down the line if the players
overlook it or decide to focus their efforts on other dangers.
Your Reaction List
Use a reaction from a minion or foe. If you’ve prepared an
antagonist, you’ll likely have an idea of how they involve
themselves in the narrative. Prepared reactions that do different
things than the standard set are a great way of showing what
makes an antagonist special.

Reveal an unwelcome truth. Something about the situation is more

dangerous than the players thought, or one of their strengths is
revealed to be less potent (or reliable) than they were expecting.
Use this to add tension to the scene, but not necessarily in a way
that demands immediate action.

Forecast doom. Show that misfortune is waiting on the horizon, if

the players don’t stop it. This works best when the players have a
good idea what actions will stop it, and what’ll happen if they don’t.

Inflict a condition. Conditions represent growing stress and danger

on the rebel – they’re signs that things are getting worse, and it’s
going to be harder to stay in the fight. Inflicting a condition works
something like a soft reaction, setting up...

Bring home the pain. Triggering Weight of the World or Push Through
Pain brings the tension of those conditions home. You may have
noticed that the triggers on these moves aren’t particularly specific.
That’s because their trigger is pretty metatextual – you bring them
in when you want to emphasise that what just happened hurt.
They’ll often escalate a situation or cause big dramatic moments,
so use them sparingly to maintain their effectiveness.

Mark a trouble gauge. This is a reliable reaction to take if a rebel’s

actions in the mundane world will make life harder for them but
don’t demand a specific, immediate response.

Mark the Vassal’s clock. Use this sparingly, to represent the progress
of the Vassal’s plan and their reprisals against the rebels.
Remember that if their clock is in the Alert or Hunting state, this
will also lead to all rebels marking gauges.
Take away their stuff. This works in the castle and in the city. In the
castle, loss of a signature weapon or piece of gear can dramatically
raise the stakes – and a rebel’s sight or hearing or mobility can
also be taken away from them, at least temporarily. In the city,
well, it should be clear how much trouble the loss of a car or a
house or your one good suit can cause to a rebel.

Turn their move back on them. Whatever they were trying to do, they
end up on the other side of. If they were Passing Beneath Notice,
someone gets the drop on them. If they were trying to Pressure an
enforcer, they end up pressed into a corner.

Separate them. By splitting up the rebels, you deprive them of their

ability to rely on each other’s strengths – and raise the tension as
the rebels struggle to reunite with each other.

Put someone in a spot. Force someone into a situation where they

must make a decision. You can describe the situation and give
them their options, or you can show that their current situation is
untenable and let the player decide what decision they make. Use
this to bring the scene’s tension to boiling point.

Highlight a weakness of their gear. Each weapon in a rebel’s hands

has at least one flaw tag – bring its downside (e.g. breaking a
Fragile weapon) or reshape the battlefield so that they find it harder
to bring it to bear (get distance from a rebel with a Close weapon).
Out in the city, your possessions often have clear downsides.
The uniform that helps you blend in at work can mark you as an
outsider at a high-class party. Fancy gear to explore the tunnels
under the city is expensive and might mark you out for thefts. And
think how many of the strange things in the rebel’s pockets could
raise an eyebrow if the police had cause to investigate them.

Hit them with a crisis. If something’s going to cause long-term

problems unless the rebel fixes it, tell them to write it down as a
crisis. This works particularly well if the rebels aren’t feeling much
need for haste – give them something to split their attention, and
ramp up the pressure.
Make a crisis imminent. The castle’s forces aren’t just monsters and
Vassals, but bureaucracy and machinery and cruel fate. When the
rebels are interlopers in its halls, it can strike back at their real
lives alongside their shadow selves, causing a flare-up of problems
the rebels thought resolved. When you use this reaction, describe
how the castle’s reprisals leave visible signs in the castle-shard
around the rebels.

Spotlight their strengths. Remember, you’re here to be a fan of the

player characters. Place a rebel in a situation you know they’ll be
good at – a bow-using Watcher spots gun-toting minions getting
into position on the far side of the arena, or a kindly Provider
notices the despair filling a bartender’s eyes when they think
no-one’s watching.

Tell them the consequences and ask. If the thing a character’s doing
may cost them, you can say what the consequences will be and ask
if they still want to go through with it. This way you can
complicate their life while giving them the power to choose how
much they suffer.

Offer an opportunity, with or without cost. Show them something they

want, and say what they need to do to get it. Sometimes you’ll
want to put a huge cost on this to force a dilemma on the player;
other times you’ll make it easy because it’s more interesting to see
what the player does with it.

Strike at their allies. As their revolution grows, the rebels will gather
a horde of helpers around them – and the castle is happy to tear
away this support network. The contacts listed alongside the
major arcana on pages 152-193 each give examples of how the
castle can attack, co-opt, or stymie the rebel’s contacts. But be
careful not to tear away beloved contacts without fair warning –
players can surprise you with the depth of emotional attachment
they form with NPCs.

After every reaction: "What do you do?" Make it clear after every
reaction that the ball is now in the rebel’s court. Answer any
questions they have, but it’s their turn now to act.
 RuNnInG a GaMe
So, your Agenda, Principles, and Reactions are a crucial tool to use
as you act as Architect for a play group of Voidheart Symphony. But
they’re focused on the fine detail of play, and it’s also worth
looking at the bigger picture. That’s what these sections are for!

Game Styles
There are a few different ways of playing Voidheart Symphony. You
can play a single One-shot, telling a story in the course of a few
hours. You can play a Limited Run story, taking three or four
sessions to work through a focused arc. Or, finally, you can play a
Campaign, an indefinite-length game lasting 10 sessions, 20
sessions, even more.

Here are some suggestions for how to run Voidheart Symphony in

these different modes:

One-Shot
One-shots might be played with strangers at a con, as a break from
your ongoing campaign, or as a demo of this game to see if your
group wants to commit to a longer run. No matter the context, they
benefit from focus. There simply isn’t time to get everything that
excites you about the game onscreen, so I’d advise you to present a
simple guided scenario that can still gesture at the rest of the game.

What does this mean for Voidheart? My advice would be to start

with a Vassal already identified and investigated, and the rebels
about to embark on the climatic delve into their shard. That means
giving each player a clear hook into the situation – a contact in
danger, a past confrontation with the Vassal, an encounter with
supernatural minions.

I like to do this by preparing a set of questions (e.g. ‘Why did April

know she could tell you what had happened?’, ‘ What brought you to the
Vassal’s social club?’, ‘What does the lab in your dreams look like?’).
Then, as you’re starting play, you pick out one of those questions
to ask each player, maybe ask follow-up questions, and use their
answers to flesh out the one-shot scenario.
As for the rebels, I’d encourage you to present players with simple
pre-gens. Give each pregen a core character concept, a Crew
Covenant, castle stats, gear, and a shadow move. Leave some
blanks for the player to fill in – some question based on their Crew
Covenant, details for their Particulars and Castle Form, and a
choice of a few different Signature Weapons.

To play out the session, start with the rebels infiltrating the
Vassal’s power base in the city and give them a brief scene of
tension as their mundane, unpowered selves. Once they reach the
entrance to the shard, Dive Into Darkness and have the players
describe the new form their rebels take. Play through a simple
delve – find rooms displaying secret truths of the Vassal’s
interiority, fight an Enforcer to introduce the combat system, deal
with hostile territory and minions, and finally confront the Avatar.
Once the Avatar’s been defeated, return back to reality and show
the consequences of the rebel’s victory – contacts saved from
danger, the vassal brought low, and newfound prosperity.

For an example one-shot scenario, check out the free Kill or Cure
quickstart available for download on our website.

Limited Run
A limited run will have you spend most of your time playing through
a single investigation. You’ll start with the standard game setup
process, including the first fight against a Vassal, and build out the
rebel’s social network. Then, set up the Vassal who’ll be the main
focus of your game. Tier 2 works well for this, but make sure they’re
an interesting, dynamic foe who presents a clear and dire threat to
people the rebels care about. Also make sure they can present a
mundane threat to the rebels – give them a powerful position,
minions, a willingness to use violence, or some other strength.

As you play through the investigation, make sure to set aside time for
the rebel’s mundane lives. The greatest strength of this format is that
it enables you to explore the everyday context around the rebels – the
people who are important to them, their job, their home life, the
downtimes where they relax and recuperate. One investigation over
a few session is the pace of the rules as-written, so relax and don’t get
too stressed about “speeding things up”. Finish with a brief epilogue
that lets players say goodbye to these characters and their world.
Campaign
A campaign is essentially the default mode for Voidheart Symphony:
you and your group commit to playing this story for as long as feels
right. This format lets you dive into the sort of stories you can tell
over multiple arcs – stories not just of fighting back against a single
enemy, but of revolution. This might take a dozen sessions or so (one
Vassal each at Tiers 1, 2, and 3 should fit within 10 sessions and let
you tell a satisfying arc) or run for a year or more.

What’s most important here is to check in with your group

regularly and make sure you’re all OK with how the game’s
progressing. Game mechanics like Growing Shadows (p. 36) or
Peace and Quiet (p. 75) are designed to empower players to shape
how the story’s progressing, but I find the game works best when
players know they can advocate for the stories they want to play
through, the scenes they’d like to have, the relationships they want
to try for in-game, etc. You’re all telling this story together, after all.

There are a few themes I’d encourage you to hit as your game goes on:

The structures of oppression. If defeating one bad guy was

enough to fix the problems in the character’s lives, we wouldn’t be
in this state. As you’re playing through your game, make sure to
show the ways the castle is a chronic, pervasive structure in the
character’s society. The patterns of hegemony on pages 219-221 are
a good way of hitting this: have an idea in your mind about the
ways the castle is structured in your city, and its long-term goals,
and gradually reveal them over time.

I also find it useful to give the castle a leitmotif, some kind of

aesthetic element you can use to show its influence. In one
campaign, I used rot and decay as its defining feature: tunnels
through crumbling concrete, a delve into a submerged library,
spreading rust and mould. When Enforcers started breaching into
reality and Tier 3 Vassals used their Avatar’s powers, this gave me a
great way to show the castle invading the aesthetics of the mundane
world. Maybe you can use mirrors, or gothic architecture, or eyes, or
whatever else strikes your fancy – just make sure you’re not hitting
your player’s triggers or phobias before you go too heavy on it!
The joy of community. To be effective rebels, your characters can’t
help but build a community around themselves. There’s
mechanical incentives to build an interconnected web of contacts
and important locations, and as your game goes on you should
keep an eye out for opportunities to demonstrate that sense of
community. Show...

• Unexpected relationships blooming between contacts the

rebels have brought together.
• Moments of reprieve when a contact hears the rebel’s troubles
and turns up to offer a helping hand.
• Social gatherings where you can show contacts interacting with
each other and letting their hair down– bar nights, weddings,
movie nights, board game evenings, etc.

It’s really important to show the value of this community the

players are building together. It’s the heart of this game, and the
reason why the rebels are fighting – to build a better life for the
people they love, and make a world where all are free.

The costs of revolution. In an ongoing campaign, you’ll eventually

run into the downsides of high World and Void. The role these
play in a long-form game are key to what I’m trying to say with
this system: that individual action is necessary but not sufficient
to change the world, and that no one should martyr themselves
for the cause. As the players grow in power, show them ways in
which overwhelming individual power can twist and distort this
fight. As the players take on responsibility, show them the ways
that burnout and over-commitment cost them and can’t build a
system that lasts.
Pacing an Investigation
It’s important for Voidheart’s pacing that things take time.
Investigations take place over a span of days and weeks, and rebels
should often come to a point where they need to wait to progress
the investigation. Information will take a few days to arrive (see
Rebel Eyes), their target won’t be vulnerable until the end of the
week, they have a doctor’s appointment so can’t raid the castle this
evening. The same goes for their targets – the Vassal’s power is
vast but slow-moving, and the rebels will see their attacks coming
long before they land.

This has a few important consequences in gameplay. The first is

that it gives the players breathing room: when they know that they
can’t progress the investigation for a few days, they can focus on
the mundane side of things without worrying they’re playing ‘sub-
optimally’. Most RPGs drive players into a frenzy of urgency,
where they’re constantly moving from plot beat to plot beat, but if
you want to let Voidheart Symphony sing you should make sure to
treasure the small moments – the scenes that show you so much
about the characters and their world even as their cosmic, city-
wide impact is effectively zilch.

The second consequence is to remind players of the limitations

that both rebels and Vassals are living under. You cannot
command the city and have it immediately respond, because ‘the
city’ doesn’t exist. It’s people, with mundane lives and mortal
frailties. A Vassal’s plans have to deal with the fact that one
henchman has a sick kid and downtown traffic is unexpectedly
awful today. A rebel can find their investigation stymied by a long
line at the record office, or have to drop everything to help their
family corral some escaped livestock. That’s annoying, sometimes,
but it’s also important to evoking real human lives.

Finally, you can play with the timescales the rebels and the Vassal
have to work on. Maybe you have an investigation where it’s a
hectic dash to the finish line, with downtime precious and hard-
won. Maybe you have an investigation that’s relaxed and low-
stakes, giving plenty of time for the rebels to go on dates, fix their
house, work on their projects. As always, make sure to talk
through your intents with your players, so that you can all work
towards a particular tone together.
Giving them what they Want
If someone picks a playbook, that’s a pretty good sign of the plot
beats they want their character to hit in play. It’s perfectly fine to
give them what they want! Here’s some examples:

The Authority: Someone asks them for advice or reassurance,

their organisation shows competence or initiative, they can bring
down an abusive boss, they’re given a choice between moral purity
and power, they have to mediate a dispute between their followers.

The Captive: Someone is carrying burdens the Captive can lift,

they’re offered care and support, their fellow inmates reach out to
them, they’re offered an opportunity for revenge.

The Harlequin: Give them an authority figure to piss off, fans and
followers and copycats, an unexpected quirk of fate, moments of joy
and the hangover that follows, a demand to take things seriously.

The Heretic: Present counter-arguments to their ideology, dare

them to flaunt rules, give a way of hurting their foes that may burn
out of control, give them an opportunity to build something better.

The Icon: Give them a stage to perform, show the costs of

maintaining peak performance, show what they let slip when they
relax, show the demands of fans and managers and sponsors.

The Inhuman: Show the joy of a new home and found family, a
chance to give their thoughts on the city, unexpected connections to
other void-creatures, the struggles of trying to fit in with humanity.

The Penitent: Show reminders of their crimes, hold them

accountable, celebrate the good things they do, let them try out a
new identity and way of being in the world, have ‘old friends’
reach out concerned about their new behaviour.

The Provider: Someone needs their care, they get resources and
have to decide how to use them, someone they helped in the past
comes through for them, they need to face their own burnout.

The Watcher: Someone offers them answers (for a price), their

insights can bring someone peace, their metaphysical search runs
up against mundane practicalities, they have a chance to go public
with their findings.
Changing your Target
Voidheart Symphony’s investigations have a known target – the
question you’re trying to answer is ‘how can we defeat them?’
What if you want your campaign to answer other mysteries?
There’s three main things you’d need to tweak: what Pressure
represents, how Retaliation manifests, and most importantly what
questions Lift The Mask asks. Changing the questions there, and
who the Avatar represents, will work wonders to give a different
mood to your campaign.

As an example, let’s say you want to draw on the setup of Persona 4:

people in your city are being abducted, stolen away to a shadow world
that traps them in a prison formed from their own distorted doubts
and fears. To save them, the rebels will have to fight their way through
this shard to get to its ruler – but to defeat that ruler, they must learn
the victim’s heart, their anxieties and hopes and dreams. And
meanwhile, a doppelganger of the victim has taken their place, living
according to the culprit’s designs.

So how do you systematise that? Well, instead of the standard

Emperor's New Clothes questions, you could put in these:

You've found where and when the victim was abducted.

You've found out the key way the doppelganger differs from the victim.
You've defeated at least one of the victim’s Guards*.
You’ve found ways to make a real change in the victim’s life.
You’ve learned why those close to the victim love them.

*Like Enforcers, but they represent the ways the culprit is

seeking to control or limit the victim.

And what about Pressure? Maybe it represents the doppelganger’s

growing claim on the victim’s life, and reality bending to prevent
any disruptions to the new status quo. Or maybe it’s the true
culprit sending supernatural forces to imperil the investigators?

Once you start down this path you might find yourself rewriting
other moves, altering playbooks, writing new covenants (see
p. 196), changing core assumptions about the game. Please do,
with my blessing! Come by our server at ufopress.co.uk/discord
to get feedback on your creations, chat about ideas for future
hacks, and see what other people have made. And if you get your
work to the point where you think others might want to play
with it too, get in touch to talk about how I can help!
Closing it out
There’ll come a time in your Voidheart Symphony game where it’s
time to bring things to a close. What sort of stories work as an
epilogue? How do you play them out? Read on for advice.

A Final Foe
Whatever the shape of the castle in your city (see p. 219), there’s
almost certainly someone at the top – even if they’re just the one
who’s leeching the most riches from the city. It’s fitting to wrap up
your campaign with a final investigation targeting this vassal,
pulling out all the stops to make this a fitting confrontation. The
stakes have never been higher – make the vassal’s threat to the
rebels clear by targeting and co-opting their mundane support
networks and sending supernatural threats against them, but also
demonstrate the worth of that support network and show the
rebel’s movement rising up to cast this wannabe monarch down.
When the battle’s done, don’t bother with Rivers in the Desert,
Retaliation or Peace and Quiet. Instead, just let the players enjoy
this victory, show a city made freer with their actions, and leave
the door open for further adventures in this setting. There’s
always other cities under the castle’s rule, after all.

A Cosmic Search
What if there’s a tier of vassal about Monarchs? Tier S vassals,
Demiurges, whose will shapes the city you live in and any world
you’ve ever known. Fighting them isn’t a matter of finding the
entrance to their shard, but finding where their dominion ends.

This story is a story of a journey. Maybe that’s a quest into the

secret places of the World, looking for a place untouched by the
castle. Maybe it’s a delve into the past, trying to find what
happened to bring the castle into our reality (and therefore how it
can be banished). Maybe it’s a journey into the depths of the Void,
seeking a potent weapon in that realm of limitless hunger.
Whatever the route you take, encourage the rebels to build an answer
to the castle, an antidote to its philosophy, a weapon they can use in
their final battle to strike down the Demiurge and claim the power to
remake the world. Or maybe it doesn’t come down to a final battle,
but simply finding a refuge where the rebels can live free?

To sell the character’s journey away from the world they’ve always
known, I’d recommend using a different system. Follow by Ben
Robbins (Lame Mage Productions) is a good fit for this, telling a
story of a desperate quest and the sacrifices the pilgrims make to
complete it. You could use Rhapsody of Blood (UFO Press) to flash
back to the origins of the castle, and reveal how it might be
banished. And when the rebels return with enough cosmic power to
face down the castle’s Avatar, you could use Harder They Fall (UFO
Press) to play through this titanic battle for the fate of the world.

A Freed City
Maybe you don’t finish you story with the final battle that banishes
the castle from this city, but with what happens after. You’ve
rejected the castle’s model of society, but what’s your alternative?
Are your rebels going to be leaders of this community, or embrace
the chance to live a peaceful life? And what about the other
communities out there – will you try and bring freedom to them
too, or will you have to withstand their reprisals as their leaders
cling to the castle’s doctrine?

If you want to play out the crucial questions of how this new
society will work, which crossroads it’ll face, how the workers and
the leaders relate to each other, I’d absolutely recommend playing
Kingdom (Lame Mage Productions). If you instead want to go more
personal, playing a game like Dream Askew (Buried Without
Ceremony) or Chuubo’s Wish-Granting Engine (Jenna Moran) will
focus in on the character’s new lives in the world they created –
the former better fitting an enclave of peace amidst a hostile
world, and the latter working well to play out new lives in a world
where anything seems possible.
 DaRk FeUdAlIsM
It can be hard to imagine what makes people into Vassals, and
what that can mean for them, but for a moment, try to put
yourself in their shoes.

The castle is a paradox. It promises its Vassals the power to break

free of society’s rules, but that power is contingent on accepting
the castle’s shackles. If you make it your god and king, you can
rule over all these mere humans. But – and of course, there’s
always a but – the castle has many servants, and you’re likely not
going to be the person on top.

There’ll be more Vassals more powerful, more established than

you, and if you want more of that power you’ll need to find ways to
suck up to them, undermine them, or outplay them. You’ve been
‘liberated’ from the strictures of regular society, but locked into a
far more hostile, corrosive and controlling society in return.

How does this work in practice? Essentially, your Vassals won’t exist
in a vacuum. There’ll be a whole hierarchy of Vassals, and while you
don’t need to have it fully mapped out as an organisational chart, it’s
helpful to have a good idea of what the castle looks like in your city.
That way, you’ll be better able to present a coherent depiction of
toxic power structures and hegemony in your city, and improvise
new Vassals as the game goes on.

To build your hierarchy, there’s a few basic patterns you can pick.
Each gives an idea of what Vassals at different tiers are pursuing,
intentionally or unintentionally. Pick one that makes sense for you,
mix and match, or build your own!

Three Patterns of Hegemony

Conspiracy
A conspiracy is a simple form of this structure. The hierarchy is
working towards an overall goal to reshape society, and each Vassal
is working towards that to a greater or lesser degree. They form
pyramids – a lot of tier 1 Vassals, less tier 2s, only a few tier 3s.

• What is the conspiracy’s end goal?

• How do its members show their membership to each other?
• Which mundane organisations have the conspiracy claimed?
Tier 1 Vassals (knights) are foot-soldiers and grunts. They go after
groups making trouble for their higher-ups and secure resources
for the grander plan.

Tier 2 Vassals (nobles) are managers and implementers. They’re

there to organise the resources of the conspiracy, and put the
grand vision into practice.

Tier 3 Vassals (monarchs) are visionaries and generals. They have

an idea of how they want society to be, and an iron grip on the rest
of the conspiracy.

Tendencies
Completely on the other side of things, it’s possible for your
hierarchy to have no explicit goal. The castle’s influence is corrosive
to any notion of justice and equality; its Vassals don’t need any kind
of grand evil plan to make your city worse. Your hierarchy can be
looser, too, according to what works for your story.

• Which marginalised group does the castle target?

• What in-group does the castle raise above others?
• How does the castle spread its message to the broader population?

The goal of Knights is to nudge people back to the orthodoxy the

castle desires. They might be managers who call you in to ask you
to stop rocking the boat, parents concerned that their kids will have
a bad life if they don’t rein in these childish fantasies, or bullies
attacking those who step outside the norm. Whether they believe
their actions are motivated by concern or if they revel in making
other’s lives difficult, they’ll mainly pick targets they encounter in
their day-to-day life instead of seeking them out.

Nobles play a more active role in enforcing social hegemony.

They’re the vloggers who tear apart harmless joy as ‘cringe’, radio
DJs filling airwaves with soft, banal bigotry, thugs who walk the
streets on a Saturday night looking for misfits who they can bully
and attack. Their public enforcement of society’s rules sets the
tone for what Knights do in private, but they take their lead from
the highest tier.
Monarchs make the rules. They’re the media moguls pushing a
narrative across dozens of outlets, the landowners who reap the
rewards of gentrification, the mayors pushing policies that hurt
marginalised communities so that they look tough and can win
re-election. They decry the rhetoric spewed by Nobles and the
actions taken by Knights (when they become newsworthy), even as
they profit from the consequences.

Factions
Vassals don’t always serve a united front. It’s perfectly possible for
your castle to empower warring factions of Vassals, each pushing
their own agenda for the city. This model is particularly reactive to
the player’s actions – as they take out Vassals in a faction, and
maybe even steal their place in the hierarchy, that faction’s fortunes
will wane and the other factions might take action against them.

• How many different factions are there?

• What sets them against each other? Different goals for the city, different
beliefs about the castle, sectarian disputes?
• What signs mark the city when each faction is ascendant?

The structure of the hierarchy in a faction game is very similar to

that of a conspiracy – the main difference being that it’s divided
into at least 2, and probably no more than 4 factions. Decide how
players can tell a given Vassal’s allegiance – aesthetics shared
between castle shards, spheres of society that their plans tend to
focus on, cultural groups the Vassal originates from?

This style of campaign is one that gets the most benefit from
having a sketched-out map of the Vassals, so that you can work
out how the balance of power will shift when the players strike
their targets down. Vassal’s plans will also likely target those in
other factions (while creating plenty of misery in the wider world)
– bear that in mind too if you trigger Darkness Falls.

Finally – decide what the castle’s getting out of all this. Is there a
secret faction of puppetmasters who have engineered the chaos?
Is it a trial by fire, with the winning faction creating an
unassailable organisation? Or is the castle itself fracturing?
How to Enforce Hegemony
So, you have your overall structure. How do you give it a presence
at the game table? Like any Architect, you do this by sketching out
a blueprint for the castle in your city.

Elements of the Blueprint

First, a set of goals the Monarchs are pushing the castle towards.
These are long-term changes for the city, and shouldn’t be tied
down too strongly to specific people, places and events.

Examples: Raid the city’s assets, enforce a return to ‘traditional

values’, make the city hostile to immigrants, ‘beautify’ the city.

For each goal, a set of responsibilities within it that Nobles have

been entrusted with. These are discrete portions of the castle’s
organisation that serve to maintain its position or further its
progress towards its goals. They might be specific industries,
particular city regions, specific categories of activities, but it’s
important that these Nobles are serving as middle-managers
working to get others bringing about the Monarchs’ goals.

Examples: Recruit prospective vassals, corner the drug trade,

shut down education grant programs, gentrify a city block.

For each responsibility, then, create a set of tasks that Knights are
carrying out to further it. This is where the rubber meets the road,
where the castle’s machinations lead to actual people intimidating,
hurting and stealing from others. The Knights may not know that
their actions maintain the Noble’s power, and they almost certainly
are unaware of the end goals their actions are serving, but they
serve them all the same. These tasks have a secondary goal of
nurturing the Knight’s darkness, forcing them to compromise
their morals time and again to mould them into ever better
servants of the castle and give them a chance at promotion.

Examples: Silence a whistleblower, evict an activist, sue a paper

for defamation, get a castle-friendly broadcaster promoted,
crush teen student’s spirits, hunt for minor crimes to punish.
Using the Blueprint
Once you have this list, it’s tempting to assign each item to a
Vassal, and build out a whole org chart. I’d caution against this –
the process in Growing Shadows works best when players are free
to give details about their new target’s traits and actions. Powered
by the Apocalypse games work best when the GM/MC/Architect
draws maps and leaves blank spaces – here’s how to do that here.

When you’re putting together a new Vassal, pick an appropriate entry

from the blueprint to be the thing they’re providing for the castle. Use
the details the players have provided to flesh out the chosen entry, and
place this Vassal’s actions within a broader city-wide context.

During the investigation, use the blueprint to inform how the

Vassal relates to the overall hierarchy of the castle. When the
rebels hear the Vassal barking orders to subordinates over the
phone, look down the blueprint to see what those orders might be.
When the players wonder why the castle is encouraging the Vassal
to take this actions, look up the blueprint to see what ends they’re
serving. And when rebels use Occupation or prophetic power to
guess the castle’s future actions, use the blueprint to gesture at
what this whole horrific edifice is working towards.

When the rebels beat a Vassal, that aspect of the blueprint has
failed. Work through these consequences! Even a fallen Knight
has some knock-on effects – those the Knight was terrorising are
now free, and a Noble’s responsibility isn’t being worked on. A
fallen Noble or Monarch leaves a huge gap in the blueprint – how
does the castle scramble to fill that hole? What happens to those
who served them – do they leave the castle’s service, find a new
master, try to grab the fallen Vassal’s power for their own? In this
way, the city is dynamically and reactively affected by the rebels.

Finally, during Retaliation and Peace and Quiet, think about the
ways the blueprint is continuing to reshape the city and align it
with the castle’s will. Show people made homeless, institutions
made heartless, common goods sold off to profiteers. Where tasks
have been finished, responsibilities completed, goals fulfilled,
write new ones in their place – though remember that the
tyrannical hierarchy will be slow, inelegant and hidebound in its
responses to the rebel’s attacks.
 ChApTeR 6
ThE CaStLe’s TeRrOrS
 A KiNgDoM oF HuNgRy ShAdOwS
The castle is festering and malicious, a parasitic cancer whose
sprawling halls spread through the interface between our world and
the Void. Within its halls roam personality fragments given a will of
their own, denizens of the Void overwhelmed by human desires,
and stranger things besides. Your rebels are going to dive into this
labyrinth, again and again, for the sake of their revolution.

What horrors will they find there? What secrets will they uncover?
Can the castle be truly defeated, and disentangled from the world?

The Rebel’s Dark Mirror

The castle is a particular way the interface between the Void and
the World can manifest. Where rebels see that pairing as a
synthesis between “I matter” and “You matter”, the castle and its
Vassals see through a lens of Tyrant and Serf:

The Void-as-Tyrant tells a Vassal that all power and acclaim is owed
to them, that there is nothing they cannot do, that morals and laws
are things for lesser souls to worry about.

The World-as-Serf tells a Vassal that others can be useful to them,

but that utility is as far as their perspective goes. The castle’s
influence encourages a Vassal to ignore everything else that makes a
person important – their hopes, their loves, their identity, all
abstracted away to numbers on a balance sheet.

Unlike the rebel’s power, Vassals don’t gain personal power from
attunement to these principles. Instead, the power flows into the
castle – which may lease the power back to favoured serfs if they
please it.

Each of the goals under Emperor's New Clothes is a way of breaking

this mindset down: showing the Vassal that they can be held
accountable, that they care about others, that the pain they cause
is real and cannot be ignored. By shaking their conception of
themselves as a Tyrant over Serfs, they become less able to access
the castle’s power.

And are there other paths towards building a synthesis between

the World and the Void? What would one be without the other?
Dark Denizens
Once they enter the castle, the rebels will face countless creatures
dedicated to stopping them. For the most part, these will fall into
these broad categories:

The Avatar is the representative of the Vassal. They control a

particular shard of the castle, though depending on the Vassal’s
self-image they could be the shard’s ruler, god, idol or prisoner. So
long as the link joining them to the castle is intact, they’re
invulnerable – any attempts to use Strike to remove their Qualities
will be resisted or immediately healed. The rebels will have to use
Emperor's New Clothes, first, to make them vulnerable.

Enforcers are flaws and fixations in the Vassal’s mind, enlarged into
walking tumours that serve as additional channels for the castle’s
power. In the shard, they’re minibosses and backup for the Vassal –
but when the Vassal’s Pressure hits a new threshold, their Enforcers
can breach into the mortal world. Check p. 256 for more details.

Minions are the rank-and-file residents of the shard. They spend

their time play-acting the Vassal’s psychodramas in an endless
cycle, hostile or welcoming to the rebels according to their
designated role. Rebels can Reach Out to break this loop, learning
the significance of the minion’s role in the Vassal’s mindscape and
winning over their loyalty.

And then there’s Outsiders – your rebels aren’t the only entities
who can invade a shard. As their revolution unfolds, they may
encounter third parties within the castle: rival gangs of rebels,
Enforcers of feuding Vassals, denizens of the Void, avatars of the
World’s gestalt will, and more besides.
 QuAlItIeS
Whether you’re dealing with a horde of minions or a towering
monstrosity, your foes’ strengths are measured by Qualities. You
can think of a Quality as a particular danger the creature presents.
They’re a werewolf’s hulking strength, a spectre’s piercing gaze, a
zombie horde’s grasping hands.

Minions have a single Quality, and it’s fine to be simple with this –
it has to bundle up their attack(s) and their defences, after all. A
single Quality should cover an entire mob of minions, but you can
make encounters tougher by fielding multiple types: a hulking
robot flanked by scuttling gremlins will give the rebels two
different Qualities to destroy.

Enforcers have three Qualities, each representing an entire suite

of powers. Avatars have Qualities of their own, and can borrow
one from each surviving Enforcer. Give each Quality a description
of how it looks in the fiction, and 2-3 reactions that let you use the
Quality in battle. A normal adversary will have something like this:

• A Quality representing the main way they attack.

• A Quality giving them useful movement abilities, letting them
close the gap with the rebels or escape close combat.
• A Quality that lets them alter the battlefield: plunge it into darkness,
open fissures, command hordes of minions, unleash traps.

Each Quality defining an Enforcer or Avatar also has a Break

Action: something that triggers when the Quality is broken.
These are best used to split up the players, add extra perils to the
environment, or give a lingering benefit to the adversary that
makes dealing further harm difficult. Break Actions serve an
important pacing role: the rebels outnumber you and have more
tools than you, and so these actions make sure the adversary
doesn’t go down easy even as the rebels tear away their fancy tricks.

Here’s some examples of Break Actions:

Retreat to a vantage point.
Call in a mob of minions.
Lash out at the closest threat.
Create a lingering hazard.
Split up the rebels.
Set great danger in motion.
To mix things up, try one or all of these:

The foe is armoured. They have a defensive quality that the

rebels must remove to target their other qualities.

The foe has multiple stages or forms. Only one quality is

active at any one time. As the rebels strip each one away, the
next one activates and the battle enters a new stage. Each
individual quality will need to pull more weight here, so write
ones that give both offence and defence.

The foe is multiple individuals. Maybe each individual is

represented by their own quality – remove the quality, remove
the individual. Or maybe the rebels are striking away their
formation, their cohesion, their armaments.

Running a Fight Scene

A set of interesting Qualities is just one part of a memorable
antagonist – using them in an interesting fight is also key!
To make effective fights, focus on tempo and variety.

Tempo means keeping the players on their toes and trying to

avoid uncertainty and downtime. Keep an eye on any rebels that
haven’t acted for a while and have your antagonist send attacks
their way – or present them with an opportunity to strike. Where
a player has been taking up too much of the enemy’s attention,
have them break away and move the camera onto other
characters. And when a player asks ‘can I do …’, it’s almost always
better to say ‘yes’ and keep the fight moving than it is to quibble
about whether that would really work here.

Variety means presenting a shifting set of challenges and

environments throughout the battle. At key points in the battle,
have the antagonist reveal new weapons, take on a new form,
bring in reinforcements, wreck the arena, or drag the rebels to a
whole new battlefield. The players have more options and focus
between themselves than you do, so it’s easy for them to get to a
point where they feel in control of the encounter. Changing things
up lets fights feel dangerous all the way down to the last Quality.

Finally, I’d look at games with team-based boss fights for

inspiration – Monster Hunter’s a great inspiration, or Final Fantasy 14.
 MaKiNg YoUr VaSsAl
Tier
The first thing to decide with a Vassal is their Tier – how powerful
they are in the castle’s feudal system.

Tier 1 Vassals (knights) are entry-level monsters, barely touched by

the castle’s power. Its halls haunt their dreams, urging them towards
greater monstrosity. They might be tyrannical managers, mentors
who steal their student’s works, or extortionist gang leaders.

▶ A knight’s castle shard is a simple thing with one enforcer.

▶ Knights are unaware of the castle, and their only city-side
boon is that their underlings will not flip on them without
exceptional effort from the players.

Tier 2 Vassals (nobles) have learned that they will be richly

rewarded for inflicting pain and misery. The nightmare
architecture of the castle spreads into their waking mind, showing
the world through the lens of master and serf. They might be local
politicians, police chiefs, or established mobsters.

▶ A nobles’ castle shard has two wards, each with its own
distinct theme and ruling enforcer.
▶ Nobles know there’s a dark power behind their success, and
have embraced it. Their underlings fear them, and one or
two have inhuman abilities (supernatural strength, agility,
resilience or perception) along with some hard-to-conceal
sign of their augmentation.

Tier 3 Vassals (monarchs) tread the halls of society’s elite, wielding

the castle’s power as a weapon to maintain their position and
accumulate ever-more wealth and prestige. They’re likely to be
CEOs, top-level government officials, generals and media celebrities.

▶ Monarchs have a castle shard with three wards, each with

its own enforcer.
▶ Monarchs are fully aware of the castle, and have embraced
the power it gives them to reshape society. Along with a
whole squad of empowered minions (see nobles), the
Monarch can call on their Avatar’s qualities similarly to a
rebel using Vent – though it removes a tick from their clock
if they do so.
Extra Details
What's their Drive? Each Vassal has an intense desire burning in
their heart. As the castle whispers poison into their minds, even
the noblest goals are soon twisted into a blight on the world.
Here's some ideas:

• Dominion: The Vassal seeks power, authority, and acclaim.

Impulse: Offer rewards for service.

• Excellence: The Vassal wants to be the best – the best soprano,

the best duellist, the best painter in the world.
Impulse: Seize a chance to demonstrate their skill.

• Insight: The Vassal wants to know why something happened, or

who was truly behind a crime, or how the world really works.
Impulse: Relentlessly pursue hints to their goal.

• Avarice: Is it the most luxurious food, silks and wines the

Vassal desires? Or is there a particular work of art, luxury, or
even person that they seek to own?
Impulse: Covet the most precious possessions of others.

It’s by showing the Vassal that the castle can’t give them what they
truly want that the rebels can make their Avatar vulnerable – see
Emperor's New Clothes, p. 58.

What's their plan? Each Vassal has a reason they took the castle's
aid, and a plot they're working towards. Take a look at the options
in Darkness Falls and pick out which one you're working towards
for now, though be willing to switch things round depending on
how the Vassal's interactions with the rebels go.

See the next few pages for a range of example Vassals, written by
a variety of our guest authors. We’ve written them so that you
can use them for inspiration, drop them into your campaign as-
is, or even pick a Quality here and there to build your own
Vassals on the fly. Have fun!
 Th e Ar ms De al er
By Evan Saft

A flash of a smile, a firm handshake, and

a sizeable campaign contribution: all
weapons in the arsenal of the Arms
Dealer. Weapons are his bread and
butter; if it shoots, cocks, or reloads, the
Dealer knows it intimately and wants
you to have it. Of course, he would never
deign to sell a gun himself. He deals in
much deadlier merchandise: policy.

After all, what use is a firearm if

you’re not allowed to sell it? The Arms
Dealer is here to make sure that the
government doesn’t get any wrong
ideas, and that profits keep rolling
in. Besides, you know what they say:
guns don’t kill people...

Tier: 3 The Dealer has power over this entire region’s relationship with gun
violence, and the castle has richly rewarded the things he’s done with it.
The Dealer’s right-hand man has a hole resembling a gunshot wound in his
right hand, and the skin around it is charred and burnt. The hand carries
soldiers from the Dealer’s shard – with a handshake they will invade a
victim’s mind, on a mission to seek and destroy their conscience.

Drive: The status quo fits the Dealer just fine. He’s got a comfy gig, and anyone
Comfort that tries to upset that is sure to provoke his ire.

Plan: Unfortunately for the Dealer, the latest surge of public grief has had some
staying power. There’s now a bill in motion to completely ban guns in the
city and the surrounding areas. The people need to fear, need to cling on to
protection – and if the Dealer can paint anti-gun campaigners as threats to
other freedoms, that’s even better. The General (p. 244) might be a useful
ally, but may also be a rival for the Dealer’s brass-casing crown.

232
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• In an out of character move, one of the players’ contacts appears on the news
to speak out against gun control.
• The dreams of one of the rebels (or one of their contacts) are plagued with visions
of goose-stepping soldiers.

Shard Aesthetics
The Arms Dealer’s shard is a war-torn city, under occupation by a ruthless army.
Explosions and ash mark the skyline as gangs of soldiers rove through ruined
streets, seeking out signs of resistance. Within the buildings, decadently
framed photos show the Dealer’s current targets: animals to be hunted, or
politicians to be swayed.

His minions are infantry (arms replaced by rifles), back alley merchants who
trade in blood, and fires that move unnaturally towards signs of life.

Misinformation
Campaign
The streets of the city are
lined with loudspeakers
broadcasting endless
eldritch propaganda in
the Dealer’s voice.
Avatar Qualities
Man-At-Arms
Wherever the Arms
Dealer reaches, he finds
a new firearm to wield.
Blood Money
The Arms Dealer bears
the same hand wound as
his henchman; the money
running through his veins
constantly spews out of it.

Distort a rebel’s senses. Shoot with deadly accuracy. Trap a rebel under the
weight of a fortune.
Pierce a rebel’s eardrums Engulf the area in
with feedback. suppressing fire. Unleash a deluge of cash.

Speak falsehoods that Cause a civilian casualty. Erode surroundings with a

become true.
Break: The propaganda
gives way to an endless
shriek, and incites a
crowd to violence against
the rebels.
Break: The Dealer’s guns
fly from his hands and
begin to act of their own
volition, shooting
indiscriminately at
anyone who comes into
their line of fire.
torrential windfall.
Break: The Dealer’s
wounds pack and scab
with wealth, forming
into affluent armour.

233
 Th e Cl ea ne r
By Minerva McJanda

When a corporate executive crashes a

car and kills their PA, someone needs to
convince investigators to avoid asking
certain questions. When an employee
is threatening to blow the whistle,
someone needs to convince them to
sign an NDA. When a company wants
to look respectable before they float
their shares, someone needs to clear
out their dirty laundry.

That’s where the Cleaner comes in.

Coming in from private security, she’s
become adept and turning the vices of
her employers into business
opportunities. She’s built a network of
agents across the corporate landscape
combining investigation and
suppression: seeking out skeletons in
their closet, offering to make them
go away, and then erasing every
shred of evidence. Every shred
except for the scraps she keeps as
trophies – and insurance.

Tier: 2 The Cleaner is a Noble of the castle, meaning that she’s somewhat
aware that her success has been partly due to the castle’s grace. Two of
her agents have been blessed with a touch that erases information
from documents and devices, and they can temporarily remove
identifying features from a victim. They’re marked by a greyish pallor
to their skin – their blood, if spilt, will resemble printer ink.

Drive: The Cleaner seeks power and acclaim, and relishes the feeling of
Dominion knowing the dirty secrets of the city’s movers and shakers.

Plan: Now she’s trying to turn legit – or at least, use her troves of blackmail
to buy support for her ascension. To ensure nobody can turn against
her, she’s got one final cleanup job: erasing the agents that know her
dirty secrets.

234
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• One of the players (or one of their contacts) is targeted by one of the Cleaner’s
agents for silencing.
• One of the agents turns up dead at one of the rebel’s workplace, and they (or
one of their contacts) is framed for the death.

Shard Aesthetics
The Cleaner’s shard evokes the utilitarian back corridors of a colossal office
building. In these dingy halls, incriminating files are locked in walls of
cabinets, the floors are carpeted in shredded documents, and pools of
indelible ink seep under doors. Her minions are headless clerks with void-
black skin, tendrils of night hiding under seas of shredded paper, and
armoured riot cop enforcers.

Avatar Qualities
Redacting Sight Lakes of Ink Stun Baton

The gaze of the Cleaner’s The arena is filled with The Cleaner twirls a long
Avatar strips away pools of roiling, staff whose tip crackles
everything inconvenient corrosive, indelible ink. with electricity.
to them.

Destroy a piece of gear. Blind a rebel. Smash a limb.

Erase terrain features and Fountain up obscuring Paralyse a limb.

obstacles. clouds of ink.

Weaken a rebel’s sense of Surge up and grip at rebel’s Catch and redirect a missed
self. ankles. attack.

Break: If she can’t see, Break: The ink recedes to
no-one can – the arena is reveal gaping chasms
plunged into darkness. separating parts of the
arena from each other.
Break: The electricity
grounds through the
Cleaner, creating a
crackling aura that
threatens danger to any
who get near.

235
Th e Ch il d- Catc he r
By Misha Handman

The Child-Catcher works for the

region’s Child Protection
Services, directing investigations
away from powerful abusers in
exchange for favours, and
stealing the children of those
who are suffering. When a case
worker raises concerns about a
family, she determines whether
they could be useful to her, and
then takes appropriate action.

The Child-Catcher
particularly delights in
targeting struggling parents,
especially those trapped by
the legal system on drug
charges. She removes their
children with the help of a compliant
legal system (p. 250) and sends them to
be adopted by wealthy families, and
then ‘loses’ the paperwork so that their
parents will never find them.

Tier: 2 The Child-Catcher is roughly aware of the castle’s power, and she
wishes to know more. She has been gifted with two pairs of glasses
that cause those who wear them to see the world as she does, and has
turned two of her most compassionate service agents into loyal
agents. When one of them is fired or arrested, she recovers the glasses
and ensnares someone new.

Drive: The Child-Catcher exults in having power over others, whether they
Dominion are the families that she destroys or those that she created.

Plan: The Child-Catcher wishes to ensnare new Vassals, who will owe her
dearly. She is tempting wealthy families into knowingly stealing
children, whose desperate parents are then lured into self-destructive
acts of vengeance. She will finally offer the castle’s power to the
wealthy for protection and as blackmail.

236
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal:
• A child or sibling of a player or one of their contacts is targeted for removal.
• The rebels recognise a neighbourhood child standing glassy-eyed next to her
new ‘parents’.

Shard Aesthetics
At first glance, the Child-Catcher’s Shard appears to be a monument to order:
carefully-arranged furniture, long corridors lined with shelves filled with
perfectly-aligned trinkets, and playrooms with every toy in its proper place. But
even the smallest change reveals what the precise order was hiding: fat crimson
worms, leering faces pressed against glass, and blood dripping down the walls.

The Child-Catcher’s minions are the things in the walls and beneath the floors –
tendrils of blood, whispering husks shaped like children, and twitching
maggots. Her halls are filled with proof of her dominion – gifts from parents
saved from revelation, arrest reports and obituaries of shattered lives, and
children’s pictures on every wall.

Crimson Threads
The threads that dance
from the Child-Catcher’s
hands reshape the world
around her.
Avatar Qualities
Mirror-Polished
Armour
The Child-Catcher wears
a gleaming suit that
reflects anything back on
her attackers.
Silent Venom
The Child-Catcher can
spit a venom that
silences whomever or
whatever it touches.

Create obstacles in Turn an attack from one Silence a weapon or trap to

enemies’ paths.
Drive the rebels apart.
Collapse an obstacle onto a
victim.
rebel against another one.
Slip out of any restraint or
confinement.
Appear innocent of malice.
deploy it against the
rebels.
Cut out someone’s voice.
Twist words or
instructions to distort their
meaning.

Break: Everything in the
arena is shattered and
broken, leaving it a
dangerous field of
rubble.
Break: Fall from around Break: All lost sounds
the Child-Catcher, erupt at once, filling the
revealing the squirming area with a deafening
worms of her flesh. howl.

237
 Th e Co pm ak er
By Paige Foisy

Once a hotshot engineering and comp sci

major with good prospects, The
Copmaker has turned his bright future
dark by combining his knowledge of
electronics with a love of justice and a
fundamental misunderstanding of how
society works. He is under contract
with local government, providing
algorithms and crime statistics to local
law enforcement, all of which betray
his prejudices and failings.

What’s more, he’s tapped into the

power of the castle, and is beginning
to learn to harness it’s power in order
to make his machines and programs
stronger. Each time a new update is
released, it now becomes more and
more biased against people of colour,
women, the queer community, and
the destitute. As time progresses,
the data his programs put out skew
more and more towards the side of
the oppressor – and make him
more and more sure that what he believes
about minorities is fact.

Tier: 2 The Copmaker, as a Noble of the castle, is aware to an extent of the

castles part in his success, and is working to increase its influence over
the city. Two of his constructs have taken on a life of their own, through
the wretched grace the castle provides. Both have been blessed with the
ability to immediately communicate information to the Copmaker.

Drive: The Copmaker desires, more than anything else, to be sure the
Insight misinformation he spreads is fact, and to learn to use the castle to do it.

Plan: He’s trying to get a contract with the city to mechanise the police
force. If he can manufacture the devices making arrests, he can
manufacture arrest statistics as well. Once all the right people are in
prison, the world will be perfect.

238
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• One of the players or one of their contacts is roughed up by a mechanised
officer on a test run.
• One of the players or one of their contacts is algorithmically and incorrectly
marked for arrest.

Shard Aesthetics
The Copmaker’s shard is all greebled machines and white plastic hallways leading
to automated assembly lines and prison blocks. As you get closer and closer to the
Copmaker himself, the halls are coated with discarded pieces of machinery,
owner’s manuals, and sparking cables, the walls becoming less and less pristine
and coated with engine lubricant, and the low hum of server banks drowned out
by the sounds of industry. The Minions of the Copmaker are computer-monitor-
headed guards, strung with wires, and shambling piles of electronics. Treasures
are things that make him feel smart: successful programs, engineering awards,
or binders filled with his research.

Avatar Qualities
Predictive Plexiglass Shield Cords and Cables
programming
The code that flows The Copmaker carries the The area is filled with
through the Copmaker’s shield of an officer of the wires of all thicknesses
dark form allows him to law, and wields it with and materials.
look ahead to the future. Strength and Precision.

Find a better way forward. Defend against a blow. Hoist a rebel into the air.

Immediately counter a Pin a rebel down. Lash out at a rebel.

rebel’s actions.
Make a rebel go flying. Create barriers and
Prophesise a new platforms.
environmental hazard.

Break: No longer able to Break: The shards litter Break: The cords pulse
predict what should the battlefield and grow and fall limply to the
happen next, the area into large, spiked crystals, ground, slamming into
glitches, with strange painful to touch. the rebels and trapping
and abstract objects them underneath.
hurtling around the area
at high speeds.

239
 Th e Fa ls e Fr ie nd
By Violent Henderson

The False Friend is the owner of many of

the city's evening establishments. He
grew his initial empire by providing an
open door and blind eye to the town’s
growing queer community in decades
past. Over the years his bars and
restaurants have provided employment
and safe social spaces for queer people
with nowhere else to turn.

Recently though, that nightlife has

started to bring fashionable
attention to the town, a wealthier
and more respectable class of
patrons. The communities that kept
the places alive, the less 'desirable'
patrons who would take refuge
there all day and only buy one
drink, are finding themselves
unwelcome.

Tier: 1 The False Friend is a knight – he’s started to receive the castle's favour but is
not yet aware of the reasons for these boons. The Stained Glass (p. 254) has
put words in all the right ears to ensure favourable reviews of the False
Friend’s establishments have started to appear in local newspapers and
national radio. This attention has funnelled a stream of influencers towards
his bars and restaurants, an opportunity from the castle to prove his worth.

Drive: He wants his establishments to be talked about in all the most fashionable
Acclaim circles, and attended by all the most influential patrons.

Plan: He's started to see an upturn in his fortunes, but doesn't want to be a flash
in the pan. He’s looking for investors to turn his past wealth, and present
attention, into a firm foothold in the future of the city's social scene. But
that means cleaning things up and making things more presentable –
including the class of his patronage.

240
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• A rebel sees a bouncer violently ejecting a group of queer students from a bar,
freeing a table for the wealthy tourists waiting outside.
• A rebel or contact, finds their workplace under new management, hours and
pay cut, prices raised, and new policies for handling customers enforced.

Shard Aesthetics
His shard is a place of manufactured, commodified cosiness – naturalistic and
rustic stylings all measured and sculpted to the millimetre. Asymmetrical
Edison bulbs hanging from exposed roof beams coat the shard in a sterile amber
glow. At the far end, a single stage light highlights the polished bar where the
False Friend's Avatar stands, flanked by shelves upon shelves of expensive spirits
and small-batch beers. Between there and the door stand his minions: besuited
bouncers with smiling faces on the backs of their heads, groups of laughing
patrons who move together in jerky snapshot motions, and clockwork baristas
with their faucet-like hands dripping sweet-smelling poison.

Drinks on Tap
The False Friend spews
rivers of intoxicating
liquid.
Avatar Qualities
Bar Furniture Sanitising Camera
The arena is a maze of The False Friend sees his
heavy wooden tables, world through the lens of
wrought iron bar stools, a camera, its gaze wiping
and other fixtures away anything unsightly.
favouring aesthetics over
accessibility.

Disorient a rebel with the Create a shield from Temporarily blind a rebel
fumes. overturned tables. with a flash.

Separate the rebels with Sendlightbulbscrashing Reveal a new path they can
flows of liquid. down,showeringtherebels. use to attack.

Knock a rebel to the ground Obstruct the rebels' Highlight a rebel’s

with a torrent of booze. movement as the furniture vulnerabilities.
shifts.

Break: Intoxicating Break: Metal warps and Break: The Avatar's veneer
liquid rains throughout wood splinters to form of civility falls away, and
the arena. hazardous spikes coating their attacks become
the arena floor erratic and violent.

241
Th e Fa ls e Pr op he t
By McKayla Roundy

The False Prophet straightens his tie and

brushes off his suit before approaching the
podium. In his sermon he promises hope,
truth, and security to his thousands of
followers desperate for some relief during
times of crisis and hardship. His
intoxicating words draw you further into
his grasp, before something he says snaps
you out of it. Most wouldn’t think any of
it, but it sticks out to you: a backhanded
attack on who you fundamentally are.
Nothing but hate masquerading for love.

The False Prophet has been climbing the

ranks of the castle's hierarchy for most
of his life, every step along the way
causing untold suffering to those
different from him. Now he's at the top
and has it all: wealth, power, political
influence, and the obedience of
hundreds of thousands of followers.
For a long time, his victims had little
agency to fight back, but now you can
hear them loud and clear. The ghosts
of those he has damned cry out for justice.

Tier: 3 The False Prophet has long known about the power of the castle, and
gratefully submits to it. In exchange he has been rewarded with unnatural
powers of persuasion and guile, and his agents have been granted the gift
of tongues to command those around them to temporarily follow the will
of the False Prophet. They’re marked by their deathly pale skin, unnatural
serpentine flexibility, and thin forked tongues. They are constantly
wearing the same suits as the False Prophet.

Drive: He seeks nothing less than complete and total control over others in
Conformity order to reshape the world in his image. No wealth, power, or influence
will satisfy his lust for control, not until every person on the planet
submits to his “perfect” plan for humanity.

Plan: Spouting hate towards those who were different used to be easier. The
Prophet and his faith are starting to be seen as harmful and bigoted, and he
is losing followers and influence fast. That is, unless he can rebrand his cult,
gaslight his detractors, and convince the public of the faith’s legitimacy.

242
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• One of the rebels, contacts, or loved ones is approached by one of the
Prophet’s agents in an attempt to convert them.
• The rebels befriend a former follower of the False Prophet – now being shunned
and abandoned by their family and peers after embracing their identity.

Shard Aesthetics
The False Prophet’s shard is the platonic ideal of his chapels. It is a perfectly
organised and twisted contradiction of welcoming cleanliness and sanctity, with
an uncanny and oppressive reverence for the False Prophet. Altars and pews line
the halls, with minions filling the place of priest and worshipper alike. Wearing
the same suits as the false prophet and his agents, minions traverse the halls in
an endless sea of uniformity, ghostly white featureless faces and gentle
serpentine movements making each minion indistinguishable from the next.
The walls and altars of the shard are covered in the False Prophet’s treasures;
religious icons, symbols, and paintings, with the False Prophet’s likeness in
place of familiar religious figures.

Eye of Providence
A gold and ivory obelisk
towers over the
cathedral, a singular
unblinking eye watching
over all.
Avatar Qualities
Hands of the Shepherd
The False Prophet’s
coercive tendrils permeate
the inner sanctum, slowly
reshaping everything into
his image.
Twisted Tongues
The False Prophet speaks
with many snake-like
tongues, cutting deep at
insecurities before
striking.

Reveal a rebel that is Recruit bystanders and Intensify a rebel’s doubts.

hiding or taking cover.
Smite a rebel with a beam
of “holy” light.
Broadcast a secret shame
of one of the rebels to the
arena.
beasts to the False
Prophet’s control. Snare or stun a rebel.
Reshape a piece of the Tempt a rebel into
terrain. lowering their guard.
Make a rebel see allies as
enemies, and vice versa.

Break: Destroy all shelter
and hiding places in the
arena.
Break: The False Prophet’s
minions and thralls enter a
fanatic fury.
Break: The broken
tongues fall to the floor
as serpents with the
same powers as the False
Prophet.

243
 Th e Ge ne ra l
By Erika Chappell

Violence is the castle’s currency, and when

push comes to shove it is the only thing it
values, the only thing it truly respects. But
more than that, violence inherently fuels
and justifies itself, making it the most
lucrative game in town. War consumes,
then points at its own consumption and
demands more to put an end to it. Make
war, they say, to end the war.

The General was once just a part of the

violence, the humvee cowboy moving
pieces on maps, before he realised that
you didn’t have to wear a uniform to
fuel a war. Now he wears sharp suits
and owns yachts and sells the
equipment he once commanded to
armies, police forces, mercenaries,
rebels, anyone who can pay. He likes
to say that guns always sell in pairs,
because when you sell one, somebody
else out there will suddenly find
themselves needing protection.

Tier: 3 The General honestly believes he is a self-made man, that everything he is

he fought for tooth and nail. Of course, in reality he has been carried to
success by many factors, and the castle is a fairly significant one. His
ignorance at this point must be wilful, as his agents grow more inhuman
by the day. They speak as though through a crackling radio, and they always
seem capable of producing weapons from every pocket, drawer, and closet
they reach into. Everything they touch becomes smeared in cosmoline.

Drive: Oh sure, the money is great, power’s great, but at the end of the day he’s
Indulgence just a fan of his toys and he loves sharing them. He’ll talk for hours about
his favourites, and nothing brightens his day like seeing them show up on
the news. He’s getting on in years, so it’s nice to have a legacy.

Plan: Bring the chaos home. The General has benefited immensely from
globalised violence, but he wants his city to feel it especially. Scared
people are potential customers, after all. He wants something big and
showy that will convince everyone they need protection.

244
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• The players find themselves surrounded by a tide of rising violence, fuelled in
large part by easy access to lethal instruments. It isn’t hard to find out who is
providing them.
• The rebels break up a fight, only to find one of the assailants was an agent of
the General, trying to spread the chaos.

Shard Aesthetics
The General’s shard is a theme park dedicated to humanity’s guilty obsession
with weaponry, filled with cylindrical halls with rifled grooves or conveyor belt
rides past screen after screen of cheesy war movies. His minions are the
attendants, playacting warriors of history with a smile always plastered on their
faces, drained of colour like an old film. His treasures are newspaper clippings,
evidence of the chaos he has caused through the world, infamous weapons he
tracked down for display, and memorabilia of classic cinema, especially
anything to do with John Wayne.

New Recruits
The General’s Avatar
always seems to have help,
minions emerging from
every nook and cranny.
Avatar Qualities
Living Warzone Big Iron
As the fight drags on, the The General falls back on
arena fills with the his pearl-handed revolver,
detritus of war, all of it which operates on the
dangerous in its own way. logic of a low-grade
western. And it sure as hell
holds more than six shots.

Reveal new foes even as old Wrap barb wire around a Fire a shot that precisely
ones fall. rebel’s leg. hits vulnerabilities.

Pin the rebels down with Fill with gun smoke and Shoot the weapon out of
the ferocity of their attack. thunderous noise. someone’s hand.

Blindside the enemy with Reveal a trap a rebel is Bring down part of the
an attack. about to step on. environment.

Break: The arena Break: The ground melts Break: Every remaining
suddenly shrinks, getting away until everything is a minion, agent, and ally of
dangerously intimate. thick, sucking pit of mud. the General descends in a
last, desperate wave.

245
Th e Li ve st re am Pu nk
By Minerva McJanda

He never had a chance for success the

normal way. That’s what he tells
himself, at least. Parents that didn’t
care about his struggles, failing grades
from uncaring teachers, endless ads
for luxuries he couldn’t afford. But he
could act out to get his classmates’
attention. And he could take stupid
risks others would balk at. And, when
the Social Media Mogul (p. 252)
announced a new webcasting service,
the Livestream Punk got in on the
ground floor.

He found some success there –

enough to move out, and get a
house with some other streamers.
But the algorithm is always asking
for more: crueller pranks, more
reckless stunts, a further eroding
of the Punk’s ethics. And every
time he violates another moral
principle, his audience grows.

Tier: 1 The Livestream Punk is a very small fish in a very big pond – that’s
what makes him useful to the castle. As he makes riskier, crueller
content the castle will twist algorithms to send more and more
viewers to his channel, subtly cultivating ever greater monstrosity.

Drive: His newfound audience is giving the Punk a kind of validation he’s
Acclaim been missing his whole life. He’ll do anything to keep them watching.

Plan: The castle doesn’t care about the Rowdy Streamer’s success, except in as
much as it helps line the Social Media Mogul’s pockets. What the castle
wants is for the Livestream Punk to get popular enough to scandalise
polite society, horrify those in power, and further cement the disdain
they hold for his generation. Then it’ll discard him and move on.

246
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• A contact is targeted by the Livestream Punk for a prank video, and they’re
left them rattled, injured or scared of what harassment might come next.
• A fame-seeking contact is recruited to the streamer house, and promised a
following and a career if they help the Livestream Punk with his videos.

Shard Aesthetics
A convoy thunders along a dusty highway, racing through an arid wasteland
towards the gleaming city they will one day tear down. The convoy’s a slapdash
mix of vehicles – motorbikes and school buses, SUVs and racecars, daubed with
neon paint and fortified with welded-on spikes and roll cages. Lanky, emaciated
machine-goblins leap from vehicle to vehicle, keeping everything running, while
silent figures in black motorcycle leathers and mirrored helmets sit behind each
driver’s seat keeping the convoy on track. Of course, the convoy’s going nowhere:
the desert scenery whipping past is an optical illusion, and if you leave the
highway you’ll see that each vehicle of the convoy is spinning its wheels in place.
The Avatar knows this, but doesn’t care: so long as he’s at the head of the convoy
he’s in charge, and he wouldn’t know what to do at the city if he ever arrived.

Scrap-metal Wings
Wings of rusted metal
unfurl from the
Livestream Punk’s back,
sharp and twisted.
Avatar Qualities
Lightning Sword Follower Count
The Punk draws power The Livestream Punk’s
from his fellow travellers adherents would give
– electricity arcing from their lives for him.
nearby trucks to form a
crackling blade.

Grab a rebel and yank Curve around an attempt Drag a rebel to the ground.
them skyward. to block his strike.
Smash their car into the
Slice through obstructions. Numb a foe’s limb. rebels.

Blast rebels away with a Fling an arc of lightning Act as a willing human
gust of air. across a great distance. shield for the Livestream
Punk.

Break: Scatter shards of Break: The vehicles Break: The survivors

sharp metal across the nearby overload and imprint on a rebel and
arena. explode, becoming a follow them, begging for
rolling inferno. greater displays of
daring and power.

247
Th e Ph il an th ro pi st
By Liz Weir

The Philanthropist’s charitable works

are a fixture of the city, hostels and
soup kitchens a lifeline in a dark time –
for the people he sees as worthy of his
aid. To the people he turns away, the
presence of his works is a twist of the
knife – “We could help, if only you
weren’t the wrong kind of desperate.”

At first, it was just those he felt were

exploiting his aid; then anyone
disruptive, or ungrateful. Now
anyone who criticises him or his
works at all join that number – the
Philanthropist knows he’s a good
person, so anyone who disagrees
must be hiding something.

Tier: 2 The Philanthropist is a Noble of the castle, and on some level he knows
he’s drawing on something greater than himself. He’s convinced himself
it’s anything but dark, though – if the rebels confront him with the castle’s
nature, he’ll tell himself the sickness is their doing. His two biggest hostels
are managed by his confidantes, empowered by the castle to curse those
they cast out to be easier to ignore than aid. The castle’s mark seems at
first just to be a faintly unnerving smile, but it never changes. They don’t
blink. They don’t even open their mouths to speak.

Drive: Every benevolent act reinforces his certain belief that he’s a good person;
Excellence he’s not in it for the adulation, but to feel like he, personally, is doing good.

Plan: Until now, his work has been local to the city, but that’s going to change.
A representative of a respected national charity criticised his operation,
a sure sign that their whole organisation is corrupt – he’s going to bring
them down, and take their place.

248
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• A friend or contact is kicked out of a hostel, and now it’s like the rebels are the
only people who can even see them.
• A fixture of the rebels’ neighbourhood receives an offer of support from the
Philanthropist’s organisation. All they’re asked in return is that their
benefactor gets some input in how they operate.

Shard aesthetics
Clean city streets, a confusing mix of houses missing walls with their private lives
exposed and facades whose doors and windows open on blank brick walls. Many
of the minions are half-finished, given just enough detail to need aid of some
kind. Paramedics stalk the streets, scalpel-sharp hands ready to cut the
vulnerable open and expose their needs. Hidden doors and hatches lead
backstage, disgorging gangs of stagehands who undo any good works and spread
misery, preparing the world to be set right again. The backstage ward is a
confusing warren of cramped tunnels, and at its heart is the nest of an avian
Enforcer who emerges to steal away whatever the Philanthropist wants forgotten.
His Avatar lives on a stage, constantly play-acting altruism for the waiting cameras.

Avatar Qualities
Concealing Shadows Defining Voice
Soft shadows pool What the Philanthropist
around, concealing declares is truth – either
anything the because of piercing
Philanthropist doesn’t insight, or because reality
want seen. shifts to match it.
Floating
The Avatar is above it all.
Even when he comes
down to meet the rebels
on an even footing, his
feet are a few inches
above the floor.

Reveal a hidden weapon. Reveal a rebel’s secret. Retreat to the chamber’s

heights.
Take away a piece of gear. Warn of imminent
disaster. Leave a rebel weightless.
Trip a rebel on hidden
fissures. Remind them they were Bring them down to earth
warned and manifest their with a crash.
doom.

Break: Flood the stage Break: The stage shatters Break: The Philanthropist
with blinding light. into floating shards. slams into the ground,
knocking rebels down
with a shockwave.

249
Th e Re pr es en tati ve
By Charlie Ann Page

“Case law suggests that a couple of

slices of toast a day is sufficient
nutrition, and furthermore…”

The Representative works in the

welfare system as a mid-level
manager. When not in court
fighting against appeals from
claimants, he trains his team and
sets the very targets that once
warped and twisted his own
outlook. With each accolade he
receives and each new suit he
buys, he finds a little more of his
confidence and purpose he
lacked for so long.

It serves the castle very nicely to

have a tool it can use to strip
away social safety nets and
drive desperate people into the
ground, and the
Representative is all too willing
to oblige.

Tier: 1 The Representative is currently unaware of the castle and the

thousand tiny ways it has paved the way for his ambitions. Those
higher up the hierarchy have both stoked and exploited his cruelty,
lavishing him with promotions and their tutelage.

Drive: He used to be a fairly unremarkable employee of the welfare office

Recognition – diligent, meticulous, but ultimately overlooked by his peers and
management. As the policy was warped to be more cruel, so too was
he, and he excelled, spurred on by accolades and promotions.

Plan: The Representative’s efforts in the welfare office have been noticed,
particularly in court and in mentoring his team of assessors. The
Child-Catcher (p. 236) is grooming him for promotion to the head
office, and a high-flying job where he gets to spread his methods all
around the country.

250
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• One of the rebels has their welfare claim denied, and overhears a
conversation between their assessor and The Representative.
• One of the rebels strikes up a conversation with a woman in tears outside the
local courthouse, and she tells them of what just happened to her.

Shard Aesthetics
The Representative’s shard is a seemingly endless office building, with doors
and windows that seem to shift and move as you traverse it. If you listen closely,
you can just about hear whispers of half-truths in the distance.

At the shard’s heart, a courtroom grander than even the most extravagant of the
City, where a throne sits next to an old three-legged stool facing the judge’s
bench. It’s there the Representative’s Avatar sits, ruling over his domain.

Red Tape
The Representative carries
a spool of red tape that can
be used to confuse and
bind the rebels.
Avatar Qualities
Courtroom
The Representative rules
the courtroom, bending
the very walls and
furniture to his whim.
Files
The Representative is a
meticulous researcher,
and equally adept at
weaponising that
knowledge.

Attempt to bind a rebel. Obstruct the rebel’s Use a dark secret as

Hide in a flurry of tape and
prepare an attack.
movement with shifting
desks and tables.
The courtroom rearranges
itself, preparing to strike
the rebels.
leverage against a rebel.
Learn from a rebel’s attack,
to perfectly dodge it next
time.

Break: The spool breaks,
scattering the ribbon
across the battlefield.
Break: The courtroom is
littered with broken
furniture.
Break: Losing the
primary tool at his
disposal, the
Representative grows
violent and rage-fuelled.

251
ThE SoCiAl MeDiA MoGuL
By Freyja Erlingsdóttir

It started as a college project.

A cute electronic yearbook with
photos, basic information, and
space for fellow students to write
comments. When those posts
drove a fellow student to suicide,
it sparked awareness in The
Mogul that there was power in
what he had made, and the castle
took hold in his mind.

Today, having an account on the

social media giant made from
the bones of this yearbook is
practically mandatory, and
having an account means signing
over more than you know about
yourself. Thus is spun the
spider’s web, and it hungers.

Tier: 3 The Mogul knows the castle, and aims to sit at its very centre. He
knows everything his agents know, but this is not mutual. His agents
are blind in one eye. His hackers have the ability to sense secrets by
scent and sight and find cracks in any defence, and the Mogul’s Hound
can smell data trails, hunting quarry via security cameras and phone
GPS, though most often she is kept back guarding the Mogul’s shard.

Drive: He seeks to know everything, about everyone, both past and future. Thus
Panopticon he shall control everyone and everything: enemy, rival, and ally alike.

Plan: He plans to insinuate himself into every system in the world. When
laws are unwilling, his Black Hat hacker puts pressure on lawmakers to
adopt “security solutions” by attacking hospitals and power plants.
When competitors arise, his White Hat hacker “exposes vulnerabilities”
and encourages adoption of his apps and firewalls instead.

252
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal:
• One of the players (or one of their contacts) becomes aware of constant
surveillance, or stops one of his hackers from cracking a system.
• The White Hat recruits a player to help stop a malicious attack, but shows too
much of their hand.

Shard Aesthetics
The Mogul’s shard is navigated like a nightmarish webpage, its pixel brightness
made up of thousands of tiny eyes tracking every move. Adorning its walls are
paintings that play like videos when someone draws near, showing lies and
propaganda with snappy editing and friendly colours. The shard overwhelms with
information; every wall a memory from a relative, every tile a post you’ve made.

His minions take the form of faceless stalkers with camera lenses for eyes, dog-
shaped automata who track your shard browsing history, and ambushing
popup ads with hidden blades. Treasures include details of the Mogul’s
activities in exhaustive detail, and scraps of information about him, his eyes
blacked out in every photo.

Panopticon
The Mogul hungers to
know everything with
his eight secret eyes.
Avatar Qualities
Data Web Subtle Knife
The Mogul’s lair is The Hackers have hidden
covered by entrapping knives. The Tracker has
webs, each strand four fangs. The Mogul
seemingly sentient. has eight claws.

Neutralise a skill or Be a sticky nuisance. Stab the vitals.

advantage.
Know a rebel’s secret.
Rip into a rebel’s memories.
Obstruct paths. Strike from stealth at a
distracted target.
Constrict and suffocate a
rebel. Bleed a rebel over time.

Break: Crash the local Break: Burn away to Break: A thousand

network, breaking the reveal a direct path to invisible strands fill the
battlefield apart. the spider. air, cutting those who
move too quickly.

253
Th e Stai ne d Gl as s
By Tetra Saturn

When a corporate-focused political

party wants to gather the support of the
marginalised, someone needs to make
the most beautiful promises. When
bad publicity rears its head, someone
needs to smile for the cameras. When
anger and disappointment bubble,
someone needs to take the fall
without letting the curtain slip.

The Stained Glass knows just the right

words, has just the right style, and
often is just clueless enough to make
the grift work. They give a friendly
face to faceless corporations. They
gather support, they take the blame,
while the engine keeps running
behind them. They are backed by
countless organisations,
individuals, structures, privileges.
At once they are merely a mask for
others, at once they hold absurd
power, station, and popularity.

Tier: 3 The Stained Glass is a Monarch of the castle. They are aware that the
castle grants them power and they are grateful for it. They see the castle
as something wonderful and sacred to defend. An entire squad of their
agents can manifest broken rules or procedures into physical
consequences. They wear badges and pins that reflect terrifying forms.

Drive: They’re driven to maintain the way things currently are – to feel they
Emblem are doing the right thing in the broken system they love so dearly.

Plan: A turning point is arriving, a chance to lose or bolster the support they
have gathered. They are tidying away the mess while preparing a nice
arrangement to put on display.

254
 ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal
• A rebel (or one of their contacts) is hit hard by a negligence or disaster that
the Stained Glass is sweeping under the rug.
• One of the Stained Glass's agents comes to a rebel (or one of their contacts)
with a deal with generous strings.

Shard Aesthetics
The Stained Glass's shard is immaculate. It showcases what the traditions they
uphold find beautiful, while staying hip to the current times. Under the surface
is something else, murkier and abyssal, but it's unclear whether even they know
what lies behind the wallpaper.

Their minions are secretarial staff made of glass, mimics, and liquid light
security guards. Treasures are things that bring them reassurance (favourable
news articles), keepsakes of important connections, and things that remind
them of the past – old books, faded photos, etc.

Resplendent glow
The Stained Glass is
always illuminated by
dozens of gothic
windows, whose light
twists to their whim.
Form a reflective shield.
Avatar Qualities
Stacks of History
Documents in piles
around their office awaits
the Stained Glass's call.
Bind a rebel with a rule,
hurting them if it’s broken.
Heavily Connected
The Stained Glass can
summon the weight of
their corporate backing
with a phone call.
Demolish part of the
arena.

Transform part of the Requisition a piece of the Summon a gargantuan

arena. rebels’ gear. edifice to crush them.

Create an illusion of safety Push a rebel into danger. Increase gravity's pull on a
hiding incoming harm. rebel.

Break: Become a maze of Break: Erupt into a Break: Spill oil and
images that the Stained vicious storm. deadly chemicals.
Glass phases through.

255
 EnFoRcErS
ThE MoDeRn GoEtIa
The castle seeps into the Vassal’s mind through its cracks: their regrets and
frustrations, flaws and shortcomings. Their Drive is the most Void-touched
part of the Vassal’s mind, and it’s through this channel that their Avatar is
empowered (see p. 226), but as the connection between the Vassal and the
castle deepens it’ll find other flaws and embody those too.

These lesser flaws are the shard’s Enforcers. They’re an immune system for
the shard, ruling its minions and hunting down invaders. As the Vassal grows
closer to the castle and rises in Tier, more Enforcers form within their shard –
one per Tier, each with its own fiefdom.

Here you’ll find 21 Enforcers, each an inverted arcanum. In a tarot draw, an

inverted card is one drawn upside-down, and may be read as a blockage or
imbalance of that card’s energy; here, each card is a complex, delusion or
fixation in the Vassal’s life – and the Enforcer it births within the castle.

What does an Enforcer do?

Fight the rebels. Each Enforcer is a terrifying monster and fierce foe, with three
Qualities at their disposal. As the rebels raid the shard, the Enforcers loom over
them – stalking distant hallways, rousing fear and violence in the minions, and
filling the labyrinth with the noise of their approach. As a reaction, the
Architect can describe the Enforcer’s approach or even have them ambush the
rebels – particularly after a miss on Travel the Labyrinth or Find Shelter. And
if the rebels beat them, they’ll find it easier to move through this shard.

Strengthen the Vassal. Each Enforcer is a channel through which the

castle’s power flows into the Vassal, and while they’re at large in the shard
they lend the Avatar one of their Qualities.

Blight the world. Any time the Vassal’s clock fills (p. 38), the Architect picks a
surviving Enforcer to leave the shard and cause problems in the mundane
world. These problems are supernatural, but not blatant: the Enforcer can
spread a bizarre pox, wear a not-quite-perfect human disguise to corner a
rebel in their workplace, or cause freak weather disasters – but they’re not
going to be a shrieking demon throwing fire down main street.

While an Enforcer is breaching, the Architect gets one Breach Reaction per
player. These can be spent at any time to hurt the rebels, picking an Architect
Reaction (p. 206) appropriate for the Enforcer’s attack. Rebels can fight back,
and although it’ll be tough defeating it here is as good as defeating it in the
castle (see Violence in the City, p. 48). The Architect can also spend a Breach
Reaction to drag all rebels present in the scene into the castle, trapping
them there until they either defeat the Enforcer or find a way to escape.

256
 ThE FoOl
The Grinning Machine
The Fool, Inverted
The Vassal is erratic and wild, driving towards multiple goals with no long-
term plan. They come out intact but leave the lives of others in ruins.

DESCRIPTION
A shimmering digital smear of flickering screens and glitching output; a
golem of static and noise. It moves in a juddering, unpredictable fashion
and takes wild lunges towards its prey; its body is semi-real, and flickers in
and out of space as it is attacked.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Machine manifests as ominous, threatening messages
that flash on computer and TV screens – disrupting a rebel’s workplace.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar’s face shifts and changes to the
Familiar Faces of the rebels’ loved ones as they speak.

Digital Projection Familiar Faces Distraction Swarm

The creature amplifies
its size with the aid of a
semi-organic projector
hidden within its body.
The Machine’s screens
flicker with the grinning
faces of people the
rebels know and love.
Around the arena,
surfaces flicker and
stutter in strobe patterns
that disorientate
and confuse.

Stretch a limb across the Flash a loved one’s face in Jump from one screen to
arena. the path of an attack. another.

Flicker out of existence for Show images of harm Blind a rebel with flashing
a few moments. coming to a contact. lights.

When broken, the When broken, piercing When broken, the arena
creature is reduced in laser-light spears from is pitched into darkness.
size, but seems much cracked screens.
heavier and vicious.

257
 ThE MaGiCiAn
The Knight of Endless Summer
The Magician, Inverted
The Vassal is thick-headed, unobservant, over-confident, and completely
unaware of their own ineptitude; they bluster through life unconcerned
with the impact that they have on others.

DESCRIPTION
A bellicose ogre with a grotesquely oversized mouth. The Knight is a
hedonist, and is never able to satisfy its hunger for meat, physical
pleasure, or loud noises. It is an idiot, but a powerful one, and its inability
to conceive of its own defeat can be a strength.

Breach
When it leaves the shard, a district of the city is struck with a vicious heatwave.
Unable to sleep, people start pointless fights and mess up simple tasks.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar holds a Hammer of Consumption, the
hilt of which sears and cooks the Avatar’s hand as it’s used.

Armour of a Hammer of Consumption Noonday Banner

thousand Julys Nothing stops this This silken banner shows
Thick plates of steel hammer; it desiccates an idealised image of the
that turn aside attacks whatever it touches, Knight that fuels its self-
with ease. and smashes it to dust. assured nature.

Channel burning heat into Wind up a colossal swing. Send out blinding rays of
any weapon that hits the sunshine.
armour. After winding up, smash
down, dealing great pain Shake off doubt or
Smash a rebel with a and disintegrating gear. weakness.
gauntleted backhand.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

corpulent body of the Knight furiously Knight realises that
Knight burns with a attempts to gain maybe it could be
furnace heat, revenge against the defeated, and it gains a
exhausting all those person who broke it. cruel humiliated spite.
around it.
1

258
 ThE OrAcLe
The Bound Demon
The Oracle, Inverted

The Vassal seeks approval from multiple outside sources, and is trying to
keep too many people happy at once to maintain a sensible outlook.

DESCRIPTION
A tangle of muscular limbs in a broadly human shape, topped with a bald
head that cries out in muffled anguish, its mouth sealed over with flesh. It
is bound by thick red ropes that extend out to the edges of the arena and
wrench the Enforcer into a variety of stress positions.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Bound Demon manifests as a swarm of pecking,
screeching birds; each of them has red string tied around their left leg.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar has a harness made of Red Ropes that
contorts them into impossible positions to evade incoming attacks.

Red Ropes SPIKED COLLAR Keen Eyes

The crimson ropes that The creature’s leather The Demon’s mouthless
restrain and steer the collar is spiked on both head bears two wildly-
Bound Demon move sides. It digs into their oscillating eyes that
and twist of their flesh and drips blood hunt out weak spots in
own accord. down their body. its opponents’ defences.

Grab a rebel and yank Use pain to drown out any Stare intensely at a rebel.
them close. other distraction.
Strike away the rebel’s
Pull the Bound Demon Leave slick pools of blood protective gear,
lightning-fast across the across the arena. enchantments, cover, etc.
arena.

When broken, they whip When broken, the mad, When broken, the
around the arena and tie unrestrained enforcer creature’s true “head” is
up rebels. becomes enraged and revealed – an eyeless,
vengeful. ravening mouth between
its shoulder blades.

259
 ThE GaRdEnEr
The Bounteous Harvest
The Gardener, Inverted
The Vassal has begun a systematic campaign of betrayal against those who
have aided them in the past; they are willing to burn any bridge to get ahead.

DESCRIPTION
A great and rusted machine, brimming with spinning blades – like three
combine harvesters crashed into each other at once and then got up and started
walking. The deafening noise of screeching metal alone is hard to endure.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Bounteous Harvest takes on the form of a literal
blight: crops die, trees wither, plants dry and food spoils.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar holds a single harvester blade,
rusted but wicked-sharp, clutched in one bleeding hand.

Harvester Blades Incomprehensible Monochrome Grass

A whirling, sparking Machinery The arena sprouts with
mess of scything blades A forest of hissing hip-high grass as white
that constantly spins and pistons, rattling chains, as paper, converted to
hungers. and spinning dials. stinking, blood-red oil
as the machine moves
through it.

Tear at a rebel with Fling gears and parts Cut rebels with razor-
spinning blades. across the arena. sharp grass blades.

Chew through a barrier. Cannibalise itself to repair Coat a rebel with blood-
damaged components. red oil.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

blades spin loose and machine catches fire machine begins to
embed themselves in the and the blaze spreads spark and screech even
walls and floor of the around the arena. louder than before.
arena.

260
 ThE AuTeUr
The Master of Our Desires
The Auteur, Inverted
The Vassal is desperate not to disappoint someone – and they’ll never feel
like they’re living up to their imagined expectations. A desire to impress
has turned toxic and bitter, and the person they’re trying to make an
impression on may not even know they exist.

Description
An idealised marble titan clutching a bronze sword; its body looks like the
person the Vassal would like to become, and its face is a flat mirror on support
struts. As it moves, the stone around its joints cracks and scrapes painfully.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Master is as a hulking figure in a barely-convincing
human disguise. They corner the rebel, throw them an improvised weapon
of some kind, and order them to fight. Killing them doesn’t always take.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar wears the mirror-mask
fashioned into a Venetian style.

Marble Skin Great Sword Mirror-Mask

A tough stone skin A blunt, heavy, bronze A mask that reflects the
capable of turning aside sword that the creature viewer, idealised: calm,
blades and bullets alike. swings with ease. fitter, healthier, and
more productive.

Shatter weapons that fail Hit a rebel with crushing Showarebelhowthecastle

to break its skin. force. couldmakethemperfect.

Turn aside weak or diffuse Smash through cover or Amplify a rebel’s self-
blows. scenery. image anxieties to an
incapacitating degree.

When broken, the When broken, the giant When broken, great
cracked giant lunges punches a hand into the shards of mirrored
after the rebel who ground to begin pulling glass fall from the
caused the damage to up another blade. ceiling of the arena.
exact a terrible revenge.
4

261
 ThE SaGe
The Throne
The Sage, Inverted
The Vassal believes that there is a right and a wrong way to do things, and
those who step outside the clearly-marked boundaries of society deserve to
be ostracised, punished and exploited.

DESCRIPTION
A winged figure with six heads – some beasts, the others human – that
speaks with the voice of the Vassal. It is righteous to the point of madness,
and anything that disagrees with it (or stands near it, in the case of rebels)
is to be destroyed as an abomination against the Vassal’s internal reality.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Throne manifests as a far-right website espousing
fiercer laws against the rebels’ communities. If investigated, the identities
of the contributors and owners of the site are completely manufactured.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar bears the Phoenix Wings
as a tattoo of wings across their shoulder blades.

THUNDERING VOICE RIGHTEOUS HANDS PHOENIX WINGS

One of the heads The pristine hands of Great burning wings
proclaims the majesty the Throne are capable smoulder and spread
and indomitability of of ripping apart ashes throughout the
the Vassal, at a volume anything it dislikes. arena as the creature
that ruptures eardrums swoops into battle.
and causes nosebleeds.

Deafen rebels across the Burn a grabbed rebel with Fly out of attack range.
arena. angelic fire.
Leave a burning trail
Call for aid from across the Tear a chunk of the rebel’s across the arena.
shard. power out of their body.

When broken, the other When broken, the When broken, they’re
heads mourn the loss, ground where they fall replaced with
weeping a river of tears cracks into a great spasming, unstable
that floods the arena. chasm. wings of pure fire.

262
 ThE LoVeRs
The Unconjoined
The Lovers, Inverted

The Vassal is heartbroken, and their devotion to the person who left them
has become poisonous and harmful.

DESCRIPTION
A monstrous creature with gangly limbs that drags the carcass of its conjoined
lover behind it as it fights. Pathetic, certainly, but it perceives almost any
activity as a threat to its lover, and will fight viciously to defend their honour.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Unconjoined manifests as a series of unexplainable
bitter reprisals similar to those performed by a bitter ex-lover: vandalism,
arson, theft, and so on.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer is alive, The Avatar carries with them the ghostly
spectre of their dead lover, hovering in the air behind them.

Leather Veil Dead Lover Bonding Ring

As the Unconjoined The dead lover whispers Fuelled by twisted
peers out through this words of longing and adoration, the creature’s
veil, the world becomes regret that rid it of fear, wounds knit closed as
eerily sombre. pain, and doubt. long as it wears the ring.

Stifle sound, heat, and Shake off distractions and Seal a wound shut around
motion. doubts. a weapon.

Sense the immaterial and Receive a warning of Retreat to regenerate from

invisible. surprise or ambush. attack.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

creature sees itself for creature undergoes the regeneration goes into
what it truly is, and heartbreak of loss a overdrive, and the
tries to claw a new veil second time, and lashes Unconjoined manifests
from the face of the out in blind terror. huge cancerous
offending rebel. growths of muscle.

263
 ThE ChArIoT
The Copper-Caged Wolf
The Chariot, Inverted
The Vassal wants to move, to take action, to be dynamic and
unconstrained; this enforcer was born of that frustrated impulse.

DESCRIPTION
A crackling beast made of solid lightning, bound and imprisoned within
an articulated cage of copper wiring. It paces its cell, waiting for its chance
to escape and rejoin its pack in the clouds.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Wolf manifests as a vaguely lupine storm cloud and
howling winds. This lightning storm ravages the city, flooding the parts of
it one of the rebel calls home.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar crackles with the electric power of a
Voltaic Beast.

Faraday Armour Voltaic Beast Storm’s Howl

Coils of copper cage the Once freed, the wolf The winds serve the
beast in a metal shell. revels in its newfound, wolf, deafening and
ozone-scented glory. pummelling the rebels.

Lash out with sparks. Bolt across the arena. Deafen them.

Batthemasidewithapaw. Breathe in deep. Scatter them.

Electromagnetically grab After breathing deep, Cover the arena with fog.
a weapon or item. exhale a torrent of plasma.

When broken, the When broken, storm When broken, the

Voltaic Beast is freed clouds start randomly winds lift the wolf to a
and leaps across the striking the arena with safe refuge to let it lick
arena lightning-fast. lightning. its wounds.

264
 StReNgTh
The Untamed Fire
Strength, Inverted
The Vassal is destroying everything in their path; they are exerting their
will on the world with little thought as to consequence or outcome but
relishing in the power they can exert over others.

DESCRIPTION
A great feline beast built from steel and chains that houses a barely-contained
continual explosion in its centre. The metal that makes up its body is under
so much tension that it screeches and sings whenever it moves, but it’s
mostly drowned out by the furious roar issued forth from its terrible jaws.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Fire manifests as a bulldozer; there’s no driver, and it
doesn’t have any markings indicating the place of its manufacture. It will drive
itself into a location important to the rebels, and smash straight through it.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a pendant holding a
scintillating gem containing an echo of the Eternal Combustion Engine.

ETERNAL COMBUSTION STEEL CLAWS SPIKED TAIL

ENGINE Twisted, juddering, A bundle of chains and
A roiling, screaming, red-hot forelimbs of pistons that can fling
chaotic explosion in the steel and hate. hissing shards of iron
centre of the creature. across the arena.

Open a vent to unleash a Shred through a rebel. Fire a fusillade of iron

gout of flames. shards.
Leave ragged, molten
Raise the arena’s rents across the arena. Lash out at a rebel behind
temperature to a the Untamed Fire.
sweltering heat.

When broken, the fire When broken, the When broken, the tail
rages out of control, creature howls and shifts spasms wildly and
and the detonations into a bipedal giant. lashes around of its
tear chunks out the own accord.
floor of the arena. The
8

265
 ThE HeRmIt
Misanthrope
The Hermit, Inverted

The Vassal’s self-reliance has become toxic and unhealthy. They no longer
trust others, and obsess over planning for every eventuality.

DESCRIPTION
The arena is bare aside from a table at the centre, holding a note that reads
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. When the rebels read it, the
room transforms into a nightmarish maze of traps, blind alleys, pitfalls,
sentry guns and mirrors. The enforcer themselves – a pallid bundle of skin
and wires – is in a hidden compartment nearby.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Misanthrope manifests as a trap placed somewhere
important to the rebels. They’re designed to maim, not kill – razorwire nooses
around limbs, acid, holes deep enough to fracture ankles on a fall, and so on.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a cog on a necklace that
commands the Manslaughter Machines hidden around them.

MANSLAUGHTER HALL OF MIRRORS SENTRY GUNS

MACHINE
Beneath the shifting
floor of the arena is a
vastly complex array of
cogs and engines that
power the deadly traps.
Build a new trap to match
the rebel’s strengths.
Catch a rebel’s limb in its
gears.
When broken, every
trap in the arena is
triggered at once.
The labyrinth is ringed Vintage machine guns
with mirrors that bristling with cameras
confuse and mislead and twitching in search
rebels into making bad of a target.
decisions.
Unleash a fusillade of
Shift to separate the bullets.
rebels.
Feed a rebel’s location to
Useimagesofotherrebels the other systems.
indangerasbaitforatrap.
When broken, the
When broken, razor- Enforcer leaves their
sharp shards of mirror hiding place with a slow-
line the arena. firing rifle whose bullets
pierce walls and armour.

266
 WhEeL oF FoRtUnE
The Jigsaw Man
Wheel of Fortune, Inverted

The Vassal is unable to take control of their life. They perceive the world as
a jumble of stress and noise, and as such, they exist in a constant –
perhaps entirely imagined – struggle for survival.

DESCRIPTION
A rapidly-forming and reforming cluster of semi-solid threat imagery; a
storm of data in the rough shape of gangly, too-tall humanoid with a
predator’s grin. Its body is a staccato flicker of teeth, blood, and fire; its voice
is the roaring calls of a dozen apex predators overlaid atop one another.

Breach
Outside the shard, the creature becomes a dog, a fox, a coyote – some local
predator that could seriously hurt an unwary human. They’ll hunt one
rebel in particular, attempting to do as much damage as possible before
they’re driven off or killed.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar’s throat glitches and twists
and their voice has a subharmonic Bass Roar.

THREAT STORM BASS ROAR HUNTER’S TEETH

The creature’s very body The Jigsaw Man’s The creature’s teeth
is a barrage of growls turn your latch onto its prey and
instinctively upsetting stomach and make your lash it from side to side.
imagery. hairs stand on end.

Overwhelm a rebel with Send visceral fear through Tear a chunk out of a rebel.
sensation. a rebel’s system.
Grab onto a rebel with
Reshape its weaponry. Pinpointrebelswithechoes. piercing fangs.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

images slip off the discordant screech is no creature uses its arms
thing’s pallid skin and longer terrifying – but to fling opponents into
display themselves it’s sharp, and loud to the walls and floor of
brightly on the walls of the point of pain. the arena instead.
the arena.
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267
 JuStIcE
The Burdened Wretch
Justice, Inverted
The Vassal is drowning in self-loathing. They see themselves as the lowest of
the low – and, as such, all their transgressions against others are justified.

DESCRIPTION
A slug-like creature with a vaguely humanoid head; diseased-looking organs
shift underneath a bulging translucent skin, and a dozen arms line its
flanks and scratch with torn fingernails at anyone who comes near. It carries
a lashed-together ball of rusted junk and leaking canisters on its back.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Wretch manifests as pollution, rust and decay; it targets
areas open to the public – community gardens, parks, and playgrounds.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar carries their own Bundle of Burdens:
an overstuffed satchel containing many useful (and useless) items.

ADDITIONAL ORGANS BUNDLE OF BURDENS A DOZEN HANDS

At least three extra On occasion, the Wretch They grasp and claw at
hearts and more lungs reaches into the stack of the rebels, drawing
than it strictly needs supplies on its back and them towards a blunt-
make the Wretch retrieves something toothed maw on the
extremely hard to kill. useful or dangerous. creatures’ underside.

Spew out corrosive acid.
Discard a damaged limb
to reveal a backup.
Hurl a bomb. Grab a rebel and pull them
under the Wretch.
Throw out a cloud of
blinding, acrid gas. Savage a grabbed rebel
with endless fangs.

When broken, hissing When broken, the When broken, the

bile and stinking pus bundle comes loose and Wretch wails and cries
pools across the arena. rolls towards the rebels. so loud it makes noses
bleed and eardrums
rupture.

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268
 ThE VaGaBoNd
The Dyspeptic Spectre
The Vagabond, Inverted
The Vassal is making the same bad decisions over and over as they refuse
to examine the broader impact of their actions.

DESCRIPTION
You can hear this thing grinding its teeth before you ever see it. A knot of pallid,
skeletal-thin limbs dangle from a huge, bloated head that moans in perpetual
discomfort as it floats unsteadily through the sky. Advertisements – some
you recognise, some you don’t – are reflected in its glassy, mismatched eyes.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Spectre manifests as a malformed humanoid that
hides in a covenant’s house and tempts them into making those same bad
decisions. They’ll get back together with their unstable ex, pick up a drug
habit, gamble, buy things they don’t need to fill the void, and so on.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar bears dozens of
grasping hands lying in wait beneath their clothing.

Grinding Teeth Huge Eyes Grasping Hands

Huge worn-flat molars Its eyes can trick anyone A writhing nest of
grind against each who looks into them double-jointed hands
other in the back of this into making impetuous that quest disgustingly
thing’s jaw. decisions. inside mouths and ears.

Grab armour or a weapon Askarebel:whichofyour Pluck out vocal cords or

and grind it down. alliesdoyouhatethemost? plug eardrums.

Grab a limb in its teeth. Implant recklessness Poke and prod painfully.
in them and tick a gauge.
Bite down on a grabbed
limb. Hold a rebel with its gaze.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, they drop
spectre’s off-putting blinded beast flails off from the central head
moan turns into a full- recklessly about. and skitter around.
blown scream of pain.
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269
 DeAtH
The Blind Gaoler
Death, Inverted

The Vassal is bound by indecision, resisting change that would free them
from toxic relationships or life patterns.

DESCRIPTION
A towering figure dragging heavy padlocks on chains behind them,
scraping their shoulders against the ceiling. Their head is enclosed in an
armoured helm, itself triple-locked, and their presence turns the land
around them to stinking, waterlogged mud.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Gaoler manifests as a tall blindfolded man. He has a
keyring on his belt that can unlock or lock any door, usually choosing doors
that would cause the PCs the most trouble.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Indolence Charm appears
on the Avatar as a similar, if smaller, necklace.

Armoured helm Chains and Padlocks Indolence Charm

Deflects attacks unless Heavy enough to crush A faintly-glowing charm
they’re focused on the a ribcage and swung of bone and barbed wire
weak spots – the with terrifying force. hung around the
padlocks and the hinges. creature’s neck.
Smash down on a rebel.
Head-butt a rebel. Sap a rebel’s energy.
Wrap around defences
Shrug off a blow. and obstructions and pull Slow nearby projectiles to
them away. a sluggish crawl.

When broken, the When broken, you When broken, the

furious, enervating learn that they were for charm goes out of
gaze of the giant blazes your safety – the gaoler control, and the whole
across the arena. speeds up significantly. arena becomes a
flooding quagmire.

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270
 TeMpErAnCe
The Hungering Furnace
Temperance, Inverted
The Vassal is consuming everything around them in a heedless rush for
overindulgence. Anyone who dares to oppose them is quickly cast aside
after their usefulness has been exhausted.

DESCRIPTION
A mechanical behemoth that looks a little like a steam train with great steel
limbs instead of wheels. Towards the front of the creature, an opening to a
smoking furnace in its belly is ringed with grasping mandibles.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Furnace takes the form of a swarm of insects: termites,
ants, silverfish, woodlice, and so forth. They infest a building important to
the rebels and chew it apart from the inside.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar’s innards
and Fiery Belly glow through their skin.

STEEL PLATING HOOKED MANDIBLES FIERY BELLY

Inch-thick plating Barbed forelimbs that A furnace that belches
protects the Furnace’s snap closed around forth huge gouts of
more vulnerable areas. attackers with flame and smoke.
mousetrap quickness.

Trap a rebel between a Retaliate immediately Fill the arena with smoke.
wall and its bulk. against attack.
Send out a jet of flame.
Steadily and implacably Pin an attacked rebel
charge towards a rebel. against its iron skin.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

reduced weight allows Furnace bleeds molten creature becomes
the creature to leap and metal from its desperate to add more
skitter around the shattered mouth. fuel to the fire.
arena, clinging to walls
and ceilings like a
spider.
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271
 ThE DeViL
The Gracious Lord
The Devil, Inverted

The Vassal sees themselves as a capable and fair leader, but in reality they
are cruel exploiters of weakness and need. They maintain a network of
sycophants and dependents to protect themselves from criticism.

DESCRIPTION
A sumptuously-dressed figure atop a platform, smoking a cigarette and
idly toying with an ivory-handed hunting pistol. The platform is supported
on the backs of six blindfolded and chained people, either naked or dressed
in silken rags, each facing in a different direction.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Lord manifests as a pathetic, malnourished dog that
follows the rebels around. It howls and barks throughout the night, abuses
any kindness shown to it, and bites the hand that feeds it.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar smokes a cigarette
from a black packet with a gold-embossed Devil symbol.

HUNTING PISTOL HOWDAH CIGARETTE

The sort of thing you’d
use to stop a charging
elephant.
Put a bullet directly into a
rebel.
Shoot a weapon out of a
rebel’s hand.
A raised platform that Plumes of blueish
allows a superior view narcotic smoke dull
over the arena and pain and impart strange
provides protection visions to those to
from melee attacks. approach the Enforcer.
Sneer at any attack that Confusearebelwithvisions.
falls short.
Hide in a cloud of smoke.
Spottherebel’smovements.

When broken, the
Enforcer attempts to
steal a replacement
from the rebel with the
fanciest equipment.
When broken, the When broken, the Lord
people who carried it stops fighting and lights
on their backs leap to another, siccing more
the Lord’s defence with servants on the rebels.
a competitive zeal.

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272
 ThE ToWeR

Our Lady of the Preemptive Strike

The Tower, Inverted
The Vassal is convinced that everyone is out to get them. They see enemies
behind every corner, and lash out in response to imagined threats.

DESCRIPTION
A biomechanical, spider-legged monstrosity clad in pauper’s rags with a
vaguely humanoid torso extruding from a central thorax. It wears a crown
that is ringed with dozens of eyes (some animal) and whirring, clicking
camera lenses; its right hand is a claw that drips with poison that it coughs
up and spits onto it intermittently.

Breach
Outside of the shard, the creature manifests as a swarm of spiders that have
an uncanny knack for finding sensitive information stored on paper and
putting it in places where it will be noticed by others – especially the Vassal.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears The Crown of Eyes,
a jagged loop of silver ringed with blinking red orbs.

Metal Limbs Crown of Eyes Poisoned Claw

At least eight armoured The creature cannot be Wicked-sharp and
legs of brass and steel surprised while it wears dripping with a hissing
that pierce flesh with this all-seeing crown. toxin.
their sharp points.

Impale a rebel. See through any deceit or Cough up a pool of poison

misdirection. onto the floor.
Pin a rebel against the
floor. Make a rebel see the others Scrapeashallow,poisoned
as monsters and threats. cutacrossarebel.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the

controlling wires paranoid visions leak creature starts spitting
plunge into the ground out, and the PCs are the toxin directly at its
and burst from surfaces assaulted by visions of enemies.
all over the arena. betrayal.

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273
 ThE StAr
The Vacuum Abhorrent
The Star, Inverted
The Vassal is hopelessly sad. They attempt to alleviate the anhedonia with
anything to hand – drugs, sex, abuse of power, danger – but nothing’s
really making a dent, and their life teeters on the brink of ruin.

DESCRIPTION
An amorphous black smear, a greasy stain on reality, a hole in space that
consumes everything around it. On occasion, the shape rationalises into
the shadowy form of a hunched figure staring directly forwards, rocking
from side-to-side.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Vacuum becomes a torrential rainfall in an area that
the rebels frequent, flooding its streets with water and misery.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears sunglasses
that project an aura of Devouring Midnight.

Devouring Midnight 2D FIGURE NIGHT-BLACK BLADES

The creature is made of
a hungry emptiness
that sucks in anything
that comes close.
From certain points of A storm of scintillating
view, the smear resolves black crystalline shards
into a hunched and that lacerate and gouge.
inhumanly strong and
resilient figure, so thin
it confuses the eye.

Pull a rebel out of cover.
Devour anything that gets
too close.
Twist reality to escape. Defend itself in a swarm
of black razors.
Slice with a razor-sharp
hand. Send a storm out to chase
a rebel.

When broken, streams When broken, the When broken, the

of vicious colour and
captured emotion spray
out of the Enforcer,
staining the arena.
sadness spreads as an arena sprouts sharp
ever-encroaching void razor outcroppings at
over the arena floor. random.
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274
 ThE MoOn
Abhorrent Tenebral Wings
The Moon, Inverted
The Vassal’s fears and anxieties are boiling beneath the surface – they
dread the things that haunt the night beyond their walls. Those fears are
weaponised, now, with this creature.

DESCRIPTION
It's like a neural net trained on deep-sea fish was asked to draw a picture of
a bat. A great rush of wings heralds its arrival, dark and leathery and
abhorrently writhing. Is that its head? It certainly has teeth. Are those its
talons? The eyes make you think otherwise, but you’re seized either way.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Wings are a cluster of night vermin appropriate to
your city. A rebel or one of their Covenants finds their home besieged by
vermin: lurking at the edge of eyesight, chewing at cables, boring through
walls and snapping at heels.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar is shrouded in a Cloud of Vermin.

Beating Wings Chaotic Maw Cloud of Vermin

This creature rules the This orifice – maybe a Vermin surround the
skies, impossible to pin mouth? – is densely beast – flying, crawling
down. packed with bone fangs. and squirming.

Take to the skies. Bite deep and tear flesh. Mob a rebel with a horde
of fluttering wings.
Blast them with a gust of Inject lingering infection.
wind. Whisper doubts in a
rebel’s ear.

When broken, it can When broken, the teeth When broken, the
still protect itself by continue growing where creature grabs the
sheltering under the they fell, covering the offender up to seek
crumpled wings. arena with spikes. vengeance for its
children.

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275
 ThE SuN
The Knight of Golden Glory
The Sun, Inverted
The Vassal is good at what they do, and they know it. They view most
mundane tasks and concerns as beneath them as they cruise forward,
fuelled by an impenetrable self-confidence.

DESCRIPTION
A lithe, heartbreakingly beautiful figure that stands a little over ten feet
tall. Clad in resplendent armour with an open helm, they are under a
perpetual spotlight, and the area around them is cast into darkness.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Knight manifests as a variety of aspirational adverts that
display human faces idealised to the point of alien beauty. Those under the
advert’s influence will feel worthless and desperate to change their situation.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a breastplate and pauldrons
fashioned after the Armour of Glory.

HEARTBREAKING ARMOUR OF GLORY METEOR SWORD

BEAUTY The Knight is protected This oversized blade is
The Knight’s face is so by shining steel armour so sharp that the edge
excruciatingly perfect that reflects blows back divides air molecules in
that it hurts to see. on the attacker. a shimmer of sparks.

Ask a rebel: What makes Reflect an attack back. Slice through any defence.
the knight beautiful?
Catch weapons in a Leave crackling fire in the
Inflict emotional turmoil gauntleted fist. blade’s wake.
on any who mar the
Knight’s beauty. Crush a caught weapon.

When broken, they When broken, their bare, When broken, the
lunge at the rebel who scarred torso catches and Knight will switch to a
attacked them in an traps weapons rather brutal grappling style to
inchoate rage. than deflecting them. choke the life out of its
opponents.

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276
 JuDgEmEnT
The Hunter of Witches
Judgement, Inverted
The Vassal has taken it upon themselves to burn a perceived evil out of the
world by whatever means necessary. While the thing they hate may be
broadly harmful, the way they go about ousting it is causing untold harm.

DESCRIPTION
An old-school inquisitor wearing black armour, a long coat and a wide-brim
hat, they pronounce judgement on any rebels that would dare invade this
shard. Beneath the coat, they are little more than an assemblage of shadows.

Breach
Outside the shard, the Hunter manifests as a wretched homunculus – little
more than a tangle of meat and detritus – that follows the rebels and
reports their actions to authorities via anonymous phone call.
QUALITIES
While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar has a Bloody Left Hand, represented
by a set of rings with spikes that pierce the flesh of their fingers.

BURNING TORCH BOOK OF CONDEMNATION BLOODY LEFT HAND

A flaming brazier that Tearing pages from this The Hunter’s left hand
the creature swings in religious text, the is a claw sharp enough
great arcs. Hunter hammers them to lacerate and tear the
into the bodies of rebels. flesh of rebels.
Send out a flurry of
burning coals. Seal away a rebel’s magic Cut through fetters and
with ‘holy’ prohibitions. bindings.
Smash it down from
overhead. Turn their hammer into a Punch through armour.
burning brand.
Puff out choking incense. Leave a painful slash.

When broken, a burning When broken, book When broken, a lashing

pyre bursts out of the splits apart and the tendril of blood whips
floor of the arena under pages spiral to provide from the stump.
the rebel who broke the cover for the Enforcer.
torch, and the Hunter
tries to tie them to it.
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277
 ChApTeR 7
ThE CiTy YoU LiVe In
The city itself is another major character in your campaign. It’s a
major part of your aesthetic palette when running this game – the
simple act of setting a game in London instead of Tokyo will have
a huge difference on the characters you’re playing and the
strictures they’re pressing up against (let alone the impact of
setting the story in a different time period than the modern day).

Whether you’re playing in a very familiar city, somewhere else in

the world, or a metropolis of your own creation, here are some
important things to consider:

• What’s beautiful in this city? What makes it worth fighting for?

• What are some of its neighbourhoods? Think up cool places for
the rebels to live in, work in, and visit, and decide on the
troubles they’re currently facing. A varied set of
neighbourhoods helps keep your campaign feeling fresh as you
move from Vassal to Vassal.
• How do the castle’s Vassals move in this city? What are some
ways Vassals might channel the castle to cause misery and
enrich themselves, at each tier of Vassal?

You’ll be able to work those out for your home city better than I can,
but if you want something a bit off the beaten path we provide some
example cities, for you to use directly or draw inspiration from:

• Steel City Punks presents the Sheffield, UK of 1984. As miners

clash with police and new wave musicians push back against
the superficial glitz of Thatcherite prosperity, your rebels have
their own struggles to face.
• Bandit Country swaps out the urban city for a more isolated
setting – the fading towns and peat bogs of rural Ireland. What
can those of you unable to escape their small town do to make
things better? What is it about the bog that draws the castle here?
• Windy City Gothic takes your game into the streets of Chicago,
showing the castle winding through its corrupt political
machine and across its many neighbourhoods.
 StEeL CiTy PuNkS
By David Morrison

Introduction
Iron flows in the veins of Sheffield, the hills bleeding into its
rivers, driven by the pounding heartbeat of the drop forges. For
centuries, the skill and ingenuity of artisans in silver and steel
brought prosperity and renown to the market town and clustered
villages nestled in the hills and valleys. But the industrial
revolution put Sheffield on the map. The power of the five rivers,
easy access to coal and iron, and the ambition of powerful men.
Sheffield became a crucible, transforming the labour of its people
into the wealth of nations. Stainless steel emerging from soot-
caked factories, fed by the blood of the earth and men. But there is
turmoil in the castle, and now, in 1984, that change is shaking even
the solid foundations of the City of Steel.

The financial boom of the 80s and the politics of Thatcher and
Reagan are reshaping who holds wealth and power. Old industries
are being forced out of profitability, and those whose livelihoods
are dependent on them are hit the hardest. The government is
pursuing an ideologically motivated clampdown on unions, leading
to the general Miners Strike. Women and people of colour fight to
have their voices heard. And the growing AIDS crisis highlights the
discrimination against the queer community even as it makes it
starker. Against this grim backdrop, people still live their lives and
fight for what they believe in. They’re forging communities,
creating art, grasping at progress, and refusing to be cowed.

This setting is a retro-punk journey to a version of Sheffield, an

industrial city in Northern England, based in reality but shaped by
the baleful influence of the castle. Rebels in the city will have to fight
against grasping industrialists exploiting their workforce to
compete in a market that cares only for profit, a neglectful council
leaving its city to ruin, and the seemingly insurmountable foe of the
Thatcher government, hell-bent on crushing the labour unions.
Places
Castle Market
Sheffield's literal castle, an imposing fortress at the confluence of
the Sheaf and the Don rivers, was a victim of a former power play
– razed to the ground by Parliamentarians during the Civil War.
Now, its remains lay buried under the Castle Market. A concrete
warren of a building, staircases, walkways, and odd passages
surround the central food hall. The wares on sale in the white-
tiled hall speak to the diversity of the town’s residents. Under the
food hall is a manhole that leads to the ruins of the old castle –
and maybe a shelter for those who fight the new one.

Sheffield Town Hall Extension

While the town hall proper is a neo-gothic artefact of the late
Victorian period, the new extension was built in 1977. Colloquially
known as “the egg box”, it was built to last 500 years, and looks like
a bulbous insect nest of concrete and glass. Its dark reflection is a
hive of workers who can reshape people's fortunes with ink and
paper. Corruption lurks at the heart of the hive, bending the workers
to the desires of its Vassal. The Vassal seeks to render the people of
the city into easily controlled numbers, seeing only costs, and
rendering them uniform. They serve their more powerful rulers.

Mine Workings
The city is riddled with old mine tunnels, though no working pits
lie within the city boundaries. Occasionally a sinkhole will open
up, even swallowing buildings whole. Buried spectres of a bygone
era haunt these tunnels, lives sacrificed in the pursuit of wealth
and power. These tunnels may lead to the shards of industrialists,
keen to maintain their link to past glories. Or the ghosts may offer
safety to those who fight the castle anew.

The Leadmill
A relatively new club in an old flour mill (Leadmill is the name of
the street), it opened in 1980 initially as a community centre, but
has grown in fame as a music venue. Particularly supportive of the
local music scene, many of the synth bands the city is establishing
a reputation for play here. It also hosts overtly left-wing political
events. It is a place rebels can come to cut loose after tense
skirmishes with the castle, or meet up with like minded comrades.
Park Hill Flats
A brutalist series of council flats, perched on a hill overlooking the
city. When they were constructed at the end of the ‘50s, clearing
the old tenement slums, they were a utopian dream. Streets in the
sky, where families could live in maisonettes with modern indoor
bathrooms and central heating. But neglect of the buildings and
the council’s byzantine housing practices are isolating the estate
and turning it into a darker, crueller place. People trapped in
concrete cells and despair.

But even as the castle tries to break their will, they cannot truly
break the cosmopolitan community spirit. The flats may well be
home to the rebels and their contracts. They have a presence in the
castle as well, where shadowy figures exploit the fears and
insecurities of those who dwell there, and the shadow image is a
stark tower in monochrome.

The Peak District

While Sheffield is a surprisingly green city for its heavy
industrialisation, with numerous public parks and many of its
roads flanked by mature trees, the city limits also encroach on the
Peak District National Park. Sandwiched between the two
industrial juggernauts of Sheffield and Manchester, the peaks are
an unspoilt swath of hillside and moorlands. The pull of the castle
is weaker here in general, and it provides a spot where rebels can
rest up and heal in moderate safety. Though it is also dotted with
old manor houses, where isolated but powerful shards of the
castle may be found, the vestiges of feudal power.
People
Immigrant Communities
Like most cities, Sheffield has a diverse population. As a large
industrial city, like many in the wake of WW2 its workforce was
depleted. There was therefore considerable immigration by the
so-called “Windrush Generation” – immigrants from the former
British Empire, spearheaded by the arrival of a ship called the
Empire Windrush in 1948. In particular, Sheffield attracted people
from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the West Indies, as well as
significant populations from Somalia, Yemen and Hong Kong.

Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners

A group of mostly working class activists in the queer community,
they banded together to arrange fundraising events to support
striking miners. While initially centred on London, many of its
members had come from smaller towns around the country,
particularly those affected by the strikes. Their efforts on behalf of
the miners saw an increase in queer representation in the trade
union movement, and was an example of grass-roots activism and
solidarity.

New Wave
While the era as a whole may be more associated with the anger of
punk, Sheffield would become an important birthing ground for
new wave and synth-pop music in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Acts
like Cabaret Voltaire were particularly influenced by the industrial
nature of the city and this shows in their music. Other important
bands from this period include ABC, Heaven 17, The Human
League, and Pulp. The movement is still influenced by the political
nature of punk, but with a more avant garde sensibility, and some
members of the scene may be rebels or contacts.
The Miner’s Strike
The miner’s strike was a general strike called by the National Union
of Miners (NUM) which lasted from 1984 to 1985. It is best
remembered for the uncompromising nature of both sides – the
Thatcherite Conservative government and the union led by Arthur
Scargill, and the brutal tactics employed by the government. Mining
towns were flooded with police who were usually drawn from
external forces, particularly the Metropolitan Police. They used
heavy-handed tactics and violence to break pickets, including at the
infamous Battle of Orgreave, which took place just outside Sheffield.

On top of this they froze the NUM bank accounts, which meant
the union was incapable of financially supporting the striking
miners. This amounted to siege warfare against the miners and
their families, and the economic effect on mining regions was
devastating, persisting long after the strike was broken. It had a
knock-on effect in Sheffield, hastening the decline of the already
struggling steel industry as a major employer.

From the perspective of the castle, the brutal action against the
miners strike represents not only an effort to bring ordinary
people to heel, but a shift in the internal power structure of the
castle itself. The old order of Empire and industry is collapsing,
supplanted by globalisation, finance and media control. Initially
the rebels may engage with the foot-soldiers of the castle –
massed ranks of faceless truncheon-wielding police in a blue wall,
led by horrific centaurs with great clubs. But as they pierce
deeper, they will encounter vulture-headed capitalists intent on
stripping the carcasses of businesses for whatever they can take,
and slimy politician-leeches willing to sacrifice entire
communities to maintain their grip on power.
 BaNdIt CoUnTrY
By Espina MacNeill

Welcome to Otterby, North Westmeath, Ireland. Population: 950

and falling.

Humans first set up camp on the shining shores of Lough Liara

about ten thousand years ago, and progress has been slow since.
Across the lake, the fishing village Ballnacut grew into a thriving
town of around 12,000. On this side of Liara, however, we haven’t
had much luck. The town of Otterby once hosted an abbey, a
hospital, an inland port on the Royal Canal, and a breadcrumb
factory, all ruins now. Now all who are left are the old and those
too strange to emigrate. Same as any other small town.

But there's something about Otterby. The castle doesn’t have as

much power here. Castle Shards near Otterby have a moist, filthy
quality to them. Vassals find their powers numbed, their energy
drained, their minions erratic. Why? Mother Bog, my friend,
Mother Bog. You see, our Malnagh Bog is something like a
sponge. She absorbs water, and carbon, and hope, and the alien
evil of the Void. The energy drained from the castle renders the
surroundings a blindspot.

Action is difficult, observation impossible. In other words, the

perfect spot for psychic guerrilla warfare.
Places to be in Otterby
It’s better to be anywhere else, if we’re being honest.

Marnagh Bog
A sodden desert, the shadow that encloses Otterby. Willow trees,
mountains of turf, and stripped cranes. Ancient people built an
oak trackway for sacrifices, but it has since sunk into the muddy
waters beneath. Men from the peat company – not based in
Otterby, of course – mash the bog into compost bags and truck it
down roads that rise and fall like the universal breath.

Barton Lodge
Formerly the Hotel Otterby, but changed after the ‘such a lovely
face, such a lovely place’ jokes became unbearable. Features a fully-
stocked kitchen, two conference rooms, and thirty guest rooms,
all uninhabitable thanks to black mould. Only the bar and the
lounge remain usable, the rest of the hotel quarantined for the
safety of the customers.

The Islamic Cultural Center

An unremarkable semi-detached house. It was meant as a
stopgap: use Imam Khan’s house as a temporary mosque, then
build a better one in Ballnacut. Then the housing market crashed,
so the Muslim population of Westmeath makes do with what they
have. Shoes off by the door, the ablution sink is the first door to
your right, and remember, Mecca is that way.

Leam Hill
A green snake wrapped in gorse and barbed wire, crowned by
three burial sites. These cairns, as they’re called, have kept a stern
watch over Lake Liara for the past few thousand years. A favourite
spot of witches and neo-pagans the county over, and not just for
the delicious mushrooms that grow upon it. The stones catch the
starlight in such an enchanting way...
The Castle in Otterby
Mother Bog shelters all.

Just because this place drains the Void does not mean it is free
from it. Instead, Otterby is a city of refuge for those among the
castle who have angered the castle or been broken by it. The lines
between Vassal and rebel blur in these wild lands, leaving it up to
the involved parties who is friend and who is foe. Remember: the
enemy of your enemy is not always your friend, and never forget
what you're fighting for.

Tier 1: Knights of Otterby

Let’s pretend you’re a Knight. Let’s say you have failed the castle.
Failed badly enough to actually infuriate it. You don’t even know
what you’ve done, but a feeling from the very bottom of your gut
tells you that something very big and very angry is coming for you.
What better place to hide than the bog?

Knights of Otterby are usually on the run, or pursuing those on

the run. Technically the castle withdraws privileges from traitors,
but if you’re in the Marnagh Bog it’s easy to trick the castle, like
stealing electricity from the neighbours. Rogue Knights are
harder to predict than regular Knights, as they are aware that they
have some sort of strange power, but they are even less informed
than rebels about what that means. This makes them more likely
to form cults or gangs, exploiting the bog’s blackspot to create
their own tin Castle out in the middle of nowhere.

Tier 2: Nobles of Otterby

There’s an open secret among Nobles of the castle. After twenty
years of continued exposure, the Void becomes cancerous. This is
a diagnosis no doctor can save you from. The only known
treatment is retirement on the Marnagh Bog. Retired Nobles of
Otterby have even formed a little group called ‘the Brotherhood’,
which has meetings in Barton Lodge every Tuesday. Part of their
charter states they are no longer fighting for the castle, having
already done everything they needed to.
Some Nobles will even introduce themselves to rebels as ex-
servants of the castle and act shocked if there’s a problem with
that. However, the Vassals being Vassals, it’s likely they’ve still got
a couple dread plans on the side. Besides, isn’t it a bit galling that
these guys get to enjoy a happy retirement?

Tier 3: Monarchs of Otterby

There are two shadows crushing Otterby.

First is the True Gardener. The True Gardener is the ‘community

representative’ for the multinational corporation mulching
Marnagh Bog into compost bags. She has made Otterby her white
whale, believing that Marnagh Bog is bindweed strangling the
castle's influence, and by uprooting it she can destroy the rogue
Vassals once and for all. Rumour has it that she's willing to turn a
blind eye if rebels keep ‘murdering the living shite out of’ these
traitors to the castle, which has caused no end of inter-rebel
conflict in the area.

Last, but not least, is the Starlight Usurper. The Starlight Usurper
is old, older than any other Vassal. In a time before time they
betrayed the castle and fled, burying their Shard far beneath Leam
Hill. Some rebels seek to make contact with the Starlight Usurper,
believing them to be the key to defeating the castle for good, but
others are not so sure the enemy of their enemy is their friend.
Translations from the ancient Gaelic are vague, though: the
Usurper could be buried ‘below’ Leam Hill, or ‘above’...
 WiNdY CiTy GoThIc
By Adira Slattery

The city is hungry. Its steel is quenched in hog’s blood, hard rivets
weaving through a flaming wreckage. One hundred and forty nine
years ago Chicago burned to the ground and was reforged. The
swamps and wild onions made way for straight planned streets,
tall buildings, slaughterhouses, and rail. Skyscrapers were birthed
here, and then pushed to the limit. Something here wants to tear
down the sky and eat the clouds raw, and the people were more
than happy to feed it. The city of Big Shoulders worked and
worked and worked, and created a modern henge girded in iron.

The hawk wind howls off the lake through the wild skyscrapers.
Piles of snow and hard rain fall in April. At 10 AM on the first
Tuesday of every month, a piercing siren reminds you of the
tornadoes menacing just beyond the border. It’s not called The
Windy City for nothing, and Chicago’s weather is as temperamental
as they come. The people just plow through it all the same, even as
every season is represented during a single week in January. And if
you beat the weather, then you lay your claim: stake out a space in
the winter with a folding chair to protect your shady spot of the
lakefront in summer. Just because the train caught on fire doesn’t
mean you can be late to work – it’s always catching on fire this time
of year. Chicago sneers at weakness, and the castle smiles.

Everybody knows that you’ve gotta “know a guy“ to get anything

done in Chicago. You know a guy for the roof. You know a guy for
baseball tickets. You know a guy for your parking fines. You know
a guy for every little detail. Then when the deed is done, you shake
hands and pass money in your palms without anyone seeing.
Always a little extra. For his mother. For discretion. For protection.

The political machine closes schools for more police academies,

splits the city with rail, and builds ever higher. Luxury apartments
loom over the public waterfront, and highways cut through historic
neighbourhoods to separate the city with red lines. Law abiding
politicians don’t get elected in Chicago. Who would trust a politician
when you don’t know what’s in his closet? With a crooked politician,
the city works. Corrupt politicians just want everything to run
smoothly, so that you don’t notice them giving the big contract to
their cousin. And if it all just works, why mess it up with oversight?
One alderman retires, just elect his even more crooked son.
The Castle in Chicago
The Void bleeds easily into Chicago, and the castle’s Vassals
oversee every section of life. From the cops to the mayor’s office,
everyone bends the knee eventually. The castle touches every part
of life from north to south. More than any other place, the castle is
happy to set up a number of little kings and then have the petty
fiefs fight for its amusements. Only the strong survive in Chicago,
and the strong serve the castle.

The people of Chicago have always found ways to fight back. All
the way back to the Haymarket Affair people have been pushing
back and getting shot, blown up, or jailed. Chicagoans don’t lay
down though; they get right back up, swinging. The people have
taken the worst this city has to offer and come out on the other
side. Neighbourhoods band together and create a better world.
That’s what the rebels represent in a place like Chicago, a way to
break the eternal cycle of graft and abuse.

NEIGHBOuRHOODS
Chicago is filled with neighbourhoods, at least 77 depending on
how you count. Here are just four specific areas to give you a cross
section of the Windy City.

The Loop
Bordered by a circle of elevated train tracks, the downtown centre
of Chicago awakes with a bustle of activity as the sun rises. Lower
Wacker fills with cars whose GPSes don’t work underground, and
Lake Shore Drive accommodates driving 65 on a road designed for
a 45mph speed limit while the cops drive past you going 80. Filled
with activity, Vassals look out over the skyline from corner offices
and dream of higher floors. The courts come into session, and the
trading floor opens. But then, with the setting sun, the castle falls
back asleep. No one is in the Loop after 6PM. Tourists wander the
dark corridors between the skyscrapers and think, “Isn’t this the
downtown? Shouldn’t there be something to do?” But everyone
who lives there has retreated up their elevators to their glistening
apartments, and won’t come down until the sun returns.
West Ridge
Tucked into the very northern edge of the city, this residential
neighbourhood sits peacefully. Touhy and Devon, the major roads
of West Ridge, are both lined with stores and restaurants. While
Touhy is the centre of Orthodox Jewish life in Chicago and
slumbers on the weekend, Devon’s South Asian corridor bustles at
every hour. The multiethnic nature of West Ridge makes it the
most diverse neighbourhood in a city plagued by segregation, and
the castle would love nothing more than to tear it apart.

Gold Coast
Glittering and fabulous, the Gold Coast is where those with real
money live and play. Boutiques and bars create the Viagra
Triangle, where rich older men come just a short way north from
the Loop to meet young and desperate women. The castle has an
iron grip on Chicago, but here it is so powerful that the Vassals
can afford to live a little and flex their power.

Pilsen
Building up in the early 20th century, Chicago needed a massive
influx of immigrants. From German, to Czech, to Italian, to
Mexican, Pilsen has been home to a never ending cycle of
communities calling this neighbourhood home. But now as
society shifts, a new group has been coming in with trendy coffee
shops and upscale bakeries. And the castle is more than happy to
stoke the fires of gentrification.
 ChApTeR 8
VoIdHeArT aNd tHe TaRoT
 TaRoT TrAnSpOsItIoN
Readers familiar with the tarot may have noticed that the deck
described in Voidheart Symphony isn’t 100% accurate to the arcana
as set out in the Rider-Waite deck. As I made this game, I found
places where the tarot was unnecessarily gendered, or its
archetypes didn’t fully hit what I was shooting for – so I changed
some card names to improve the fit.

If you’d like to use a ‘traditional’ deck with this game, or simply

want to look up what the arcana in this book correlate to, here’s a
transposition guide:

Voidheart Card Traditional Card

Oracle High Priestess

Gardener Empress

Auteur Emperor

Sage Hierophant

Vagabond Hanged Man

Scholar Page

Envoy Knight

Avatar Queen

Ruler King
 ScEnArIo SpReAdS
So, you’re starting up a new Voidheart Symphony investigation, and
want inspiration for the Vassal the players are investigating, their
particular position in the shadow hierarchy of the castle, and the
resources they can bring to bear both in the mundane world and
in their personal castle-shard. Here’s one method of doing that,
using a standard tarot deck.

Preparation
Get a deck with Major and Minor arcana. Shuffle it, making sure
to get a good mix of upright and reversed cards.

Reading
1. Draw a card for the Vassal’s Tier.
How high up they are in the castle’s ranks.

• Reversed Minor Arcanum: Tier 1 (Knight). Interpret it to

answer: How is the castle nurturing their darkness?
• Upright Minor Arcanum: Tier 2 (Noble). Interpret it to answer:
What responsibility has the castle given them?
• Major Arcanum: Tier 3 (Monarch). If upright, the Monarch is
local to this city; if reversed, they’re brought in from elsewhere
as part of the castle’s plan. Interpret it to answer: What end are
they steering the castle towards?

If their Tier has already been decided, just interpret the card to
inform the answer to their Tier question.

2. Draw a card for the Vassal’s Drive.

Interpret it to answer what the castle promised them, and what their
main impulse is. If you like, you can fit it into this book’s set of Drives:

• Dominion: Power, authority, acclaim.

Impulse: Offer rewards for service.
• Excellence: Become the best in their field.
Impulse: Demonstrate their mastery.
• Insight: Answers to a burning question.
Impulse: Relentlessly pursue any clues.
• Avarice: The finest things in life.
Impulse: Claim other’s most precious things.
3. Deal three cards for their complications.
Interpret these to reveal the ways the Vassal isn’t a perfect vessel for
the castle’s will. These are the ways rebels can fill them with doubt,
nurture a drive to be better, or simply strike at their weak points.

• The first is their regrets – the things they wish had gone
differently.
• The second is their aspirations – their most lofty goals and
noble intentions.
• The last is their cherished connections – the people (or pets)
whose presence they value.

4. Draw cards for their support.

Interpret these cards to reveal the other entities helping the
Vassal.

• One for their mundane connections. These are the underlings

that serve them, and maybe the powers those underlings have
access to.
• One per Tier for their Enforcers. Work out what flaw in the
Vassal each represents, and start thinking about how it may
manifest in the castle and in the mundane world.

5. Draw a card for their danger.

Interpret it to show how they directly pose a threat to the rebels
and their community. If it’s a...

• Covenant’s arcanum: The Vassal is endangering that specific

Covenant.
• Minor Arcana: The Vassal is endangering the systems and
structures that the rebel’s community depends on.
• Major Arcana: The Vassal is endangering an important figure in
the rebel’s community, though not someone they have direct
ties too.
An Example Reading
To demonstrate, here’s an example spread:
4a

1 2 5

4B

Step 1: Tier
The Lovers, reversed

The Vassal is a monarch, newly arrived in this city to serve some

goal wider than the city itself. The Lover represents, well, love,
along with alignment and choices. Alignment is interesting –
forming new partnerships. I think that this Vassal is in the city as
an ambassador for a broader wing of the castle, and is here to fold
the city’s Vassals into their organisation, either as a mutually
beneficial partnership, or a hostile takeover. Either way, it’ll only
strengthen the castle in this city.
Step 2: Drive
The Moon

The Moon is a card of illusions and nightmares. What this tells me

is that the world scares the Vassal, and the castle offers them a
perspective that makes the world simple. Their impulse is,
perhaps, to ignore complexity and act according to a simple
paradigm – you can serve or you can suffer.

Step 3: Complications
Four of Coins, Reversed; Crown of Swords; Eight of Cups

Regrets: The reversed Four of Coins can represent materialism,

frugality, selfishness. Perhaps the Vassal made decisions in the
past driven by material needs (miserly withdrawal or acquisitive
hunger) and regrets the consequences of that? But I’m not really
feeling that one. Perhaps, it’s a lack of what the upright card
represents: control over your assets and financial stability. Maybe
the Vassal was careless with how they used the riches the castle
funnelled to them, and it hurt or upset someone they cared for.

Aspirations: The Crown of Swords is one entirely in charge of

their intellect and authority. The Vassal wants to be a wise ruler,
fully a master of their domain – and there’s a vein of noblesse
oblige running through them. They view it as admirable for the
one in charge to care for the needs of their lessers, even if they
cannot imagine a world outside the hierarchy of the castle. Their
shard might have elements pointing to underlings they think
they’ve helped, or victims of other Vassals that this Vassal uses to
convince themselves they’re one of the good ones.

Connections: The Eight of Cups is a card about introspection –

brooding on your purpose in life, and what you need to do to feel
fulfilled. I think the Vassal has someone that they go to when they
want to get things off their chest; maybe this city is home to an old
friend or even old flame of theirs, and they’re viewing this trip as
an opportunity to catch up and ground themselves a bit.
Step 4a: Mundane Support
Two of Coins, Reversed

The Vassal has a whole squad of supernaturally-augmented

minions serving them. Coins puts them in the financial sphere, and
the reversed Two of Coins specifically represents financial
instability and neglect. This makes me think of a business of
auditors or financial consultants, with the ability to corrupt and
contaminate numbers. They can come into a business, twist its
records, and cause its ruin (or serve it up on a platter to regulators).

Step 4b: Supernatural Support

Seven of Swords; Two of Swords; Six of Coins

The Seven of Swords is deception and secrecy. The Vassal is

unhappy with the underhanded way they enforce the castle’s will
(as described in Mundane Support). They don’t like acting like a
thief or assassin, even if it’s ‘necessary’. So in the castle, this is a
cloaked assassin jumping between shadows, swamping rebels in
confusion and cutting them open to spill out their precious assets.
If it breaches into the city, I might have them be a doppelgänger
set to steal a contact’s business from them and asset-strip it, or
straight-up act as an assassin assaulting the rebels in the night.

The Two of Swords is stillness, indecision, stalemate. The Vassal is

tired of the status quo, but they’re so locked into the castle’s
hierarchy that they don’t know what ‘different’ looks like. In the
castle, this constricting structure manifests as a knight on a
chessboard: constraining rebel’s movement, lunging from oblique
angles, and shifting to match the tactics used against it. If it
breaches into the city, it causes stultifying stillness to settle over a
neighbourhood. The air grows sluggish and humid, water is brackish
and flows fitfully, the roads are gridlocked, and red tape piles up.

The Six of Coins is prosperity, flow of money, generosity. This is

the Vassal’s perception of themselves as a generous ruler, ignorant
of the harm they cause. In the castle they drown rebels in torrents
of coins, command a flock of minions, ‘buy’ the rebel’s gear and
replace it with useless trinkets. In the city, they are an angel
investor for a contact’s venture, giving them everything they ever
wanted but pulling them into the castle’s systems.
Step 5: Danger
Scholar of Wands

What’s the immediate risk to the rebels’ community? As a minor

arcanum this means that it’s a structural change, and wands puts
this in the realm of creativity and inspiration. The scholar, in
particular, makes this a question of initiation, of people setting
out on a journey of creation. So I think it’s the arts scene of the
rebels’ community that’s under the hammer. This isn’t likely to be
a targeted attack, but a pretty common gentrifying pathway is:

1. An area has cheap property values, maybe thanks to it previously

being home to an industry that’s declined and shut up shop.
2. Artists and students move in, seeking cheap accommodation. Over
time the area gains a reputation as ‘cool’ or ‘artistic’ or ‘bohemian’.
3. Prices rise as the area becomes desirable and developers seek
to exploit its reputation. First the long-term residents of the
area are pushed out, and then the artistic community, until it’s
only home to upper-class professionals who want to look
cultured and arty.

So! This Vassal is coming in to fold this city’s castle into their
network, and one of their first steps is to get a strong financial
foothold. They’ll do this by noticing a part of the rebel’s
community that is at step 2 in that chain above, and start buying
out houses and meeting spots to start developing them into
something more profitable. This fragments the artistic
community in the area, and if left unchecked will dilute the
neighbourhood’s vibrancy until it’s bland and commodified and
marketable to the people with enough money to “really” matter.

Conclusion
So that’s our Vassal: a deal-maker at the summit of a pyramid of
financial institutions. They rely on the castle to give them simple
rules for life that’ll bring them prosperity, but they’re finding it
harder to ignore the complications and nuance of their actions.
And while they want to be a good ruler to those under them, they
cannot see the beauty that can only exist outside their walls.
 ReAdInG tIpS
There are a few card interpretation strategies I bounce between. The
simplest one is to look up a card writeup online – Biddy Tarot is
often pretty good, though I’m also a fan of the per-card breakdowns
Pixel Occult do for their decks (e.g. their Neon Moon deck).

Another strategy is to build a set of structural guidelines, different

axes of meaning you can locate your card on. Some examples:

• Suit: Coins govern financial and material things. Wands are

passions, inspirations, creativity. Cups are emotions, communities,
and relationships. Swords are actions, intellect, and belief.

• Court Cards: A Scholar is starting a journey into the suit’s element.

An Envoy brings the suit’s element into someone else’s life. An
Avatar is encapsulating the suit’s element within them. And a
Crown is using the element as a tool, mastering it and directing it.

• Upright/Reversed: An upright card has its core meaning; a

reversed (upside-down) card is a modifier to that. A reversed
card might invert the card’s core meaning, showing a lack of
whatever the upright card indicated; it might block the core
meaning, suggesting something impeding the core meaning
from coming about; or it might internalise/externalise the core
meaning, reading a card normally about a person’s
environment as a description of their mental state or vice versa.

• Progression through the Arcana: The Major Arcana can be read

as a journey from complete naïveté (The Fool) to complete
enlightenment (The World). When interpreting a Major
Arcanum, you can read it as a guide towards the target’s
spiritual/philosophical/intellectual development – the higher
its number, the more lessons the target has learned from the
world. I find this less useful, but it might help you.

A final strategy is simply to see what the card’s art suggests to you.
Tarot cards are often full of dense, mysterious, and often
contradictory symbolism – see what it suggests to you! This is also
why it’s important to pick a deck that’s meaningful to the tone of
your campaign. Looking at my own decks, Neon Moon would work
well of a high-tech, almost cyberpunk-flavoured campaign; Oriens
encourages me to think in terms of nature, animals and ecosystems;
and the traditional Rider-Waite deck puts the spotlight on traditional
occultism, folklore, and institutional, historical systems of power.
 MoVe SuMmArY
Universal Moves
TaKe A RiSk
When you do something risky that
isn’t covered by another move, you
do it, and the Architect will say what
consequences unfold.
HaRd LeSsOnS
When you roll a miss in the city,
mark Void as you reach for its aid.
When you roll a miss in the castle,
mark World as you’re reminded of
your vulnerabilities.
HeLp OuT
When you help another rebel, say
how and give them Advantage.
You'll share in the consequences of
their move, good and bad.
City Moves
MaKe a StAnD
When you Make a Stand to force
someone to pay attention to you,
check against Blood.
On a hit, choose two:
▶ They don’t cause you immediate
problems.
▶ Your words shake them.
▶ They spend some time focused
only on you.
On a weak hit, it gets personal: mark a
condition. On a strong hit, you may
mark a condition to pick all three
options.
EvOkE tHe CoVeNaNt
If you're desperate after rolling the
dice, say which Intense Covenant you
call on for aid. Fade the covenant, and
re-roll one of your dice.
If it's your Crew Covenant, the others say
which rebel steps up to help you out;
the Architect says how they’re placed
in danger.
If it's a Major Covenant, the Architect
says how they lend unexpected help
to you but open themselves up to
retaliation.
PaSs BeNeAtH NoTiCe
When you attempt to Pass Beneath
Notice, check against Infamy.
On a hit, you do it long enough to get
what you wanted, but it costs you.
On a weak hit pick 2, on a strong hit pick 1:
▶ You have to leave this situation
right now, or be discovered.
▶ Someone notices you, and they’ll
keep an eye out later.
▶ You get separated from your allies
or pulled out of position.
CoNnEcT
When you try to Connect with
somebody by…
…convincing them you’re worth
their time, check against Infamy.
…making the Vassal’s threat clear,
check against Heat.
…putting up a false front, check
against Lack.
On a hit, they’ll give you a chance to
make your case. They’ll answer a few
questions or do a minor favour that
doesn’t risk their own standing.
On a strong hit, also pick one:
▶ They reveal far more than they
normally would.
▶ They give you access to a restricted
location or a valuable item.
▶ You hit it off; add them as a minor
covenant.
ReBeL EyEs
When you spend time looking for
information, say what you’re trying
to learn and check against Heat.
On any hit, you’ll have a clear idea
how to get the information, but the
Architect may give you one or two of
these requirements:
▶ It’ll take until later today/
tomorrow to get it.
▶ You’ll have to put yourself in
danger.
▶ You’ll have to tick a gauge to get it.
▶ You’ll need _____ to help you get it.
On a weak hit, you’re watched too. The
Architect picks what someone in this
scene uncovers:
▶ What your true affiliations are.
▶ What you’re after right now.
▶ What’s causing you pain.
VeNt
When you call on the void’s power in
the city, choose 1-5 effects:
▶ Terrify everyone present.
▶ Conceal your identity from all
onlookers.
▶ Call on a strength you’d have in the
castle.
▶ Perceive something beyond your
senses.
▶ Shrug off anything that would hurt
you.
▶ Use your playbook’s unique Vent
effect.
Then check against Fealty.
On a strong hit, pick one backlash;
on a weak hit, pick as many as you
picked effects; on a miss, the
Architect picks as many as they like.
▶ The darkness changes some part
of your form as it leaves you.
▶ A strange quirk of fate inflicts
suffering on one of your
Covenants.
▶ One of the effects is flawed and
only part-way successful.
▶ The departing shadow will hunt
you on your next delve.
▶ A nearby animal or object gains
newfound smarts and malice.
Everyday Actions
WoLf aT tHe DoOr
When you do what it takes to keep
the wheels turning, quell a crisis –
yours or someone else’s. Pick how
you do this, and what it costs you:
▶ You put in the work. Mark a
condition, and say what you do
and how it gets to you.
▶ You call in a favour. Fade an NPC
covenant, and say how they help
you out and draw the castle’s
attention in the process.
▶ You ask for help. Ask the other
rebels for assistance. If one agrees,
they say what they do to help out
and mark a condition.
LeT Go
When others are depending on you
but you rest instead, lose a rank of
World and heal a condition. The
Architect will say if the consequences
are truly as dire as you feared.
When you could use your power and
authority but give it to someone else
instead, lose a rank of Void and heal
a condition. The Architect says what
unexpected thing they do with it.
ReAd tHe WiNd
When you step back to get a sense of
the city, set a scene of your rebel
going through their daily life.
Pick a detail for the Architect to add
into this scene as you play through it:
▶ A new way your target’s hurting
people.
▶ An unexpected meeting with an
contact.
▶ A sense of the city’s overall mood.
▶ Get fleeting advantage when you
act on the scene’s events.
LeT YoUr HaIr DoWn
When you Let Your Hair Down, say
what you do to blow off steam or
find comfort and check against Lack.
Onahit, markWorld and heal a condition.
On a strong hit, pick one:
▶ You see someone unexpected.
Draw a new link for an NPC on the
relationship map – to this location
or an NPC here.
▶ You make a new friend. Gain them
as a Minor Covenant.
▶ It’s particularly healing. Refresh a
gauge.
ChEcK In
When you meet with a Minor
Covenant, the Architect will tell you
what pressing need of theirs you can
meet to win their trust. If you do it,
mark World and make them a Major
Covenant. If they don’t have an
arcanum yet, assign one now.
When you meet with a Major
Covenant, trigger their Hangout
Move. If the covenant was faded,
mark World and intensify it.
When you meet with a rebel, trigger
their Hangout Move and they trigger
yours. Then, you check against Fealty.
Onahit, pick one; onastronghit, pick both:
▶ One of you heals a condition.
▶ One of you intensifies your Crew
Covenant.
On a miss, say what goes wrong and
pick one:
▶ One of you fades your Crew Covenant.
▶ One of you marks a condition.
Investigation Procedure Moves
GrOwInG ShAdOwS
To find your next target, decide
together:
▶ Which contact is your target
already hurting? The Architect
uses this connection to put the
Vassal on your relationship map.
▶ Is their cruelty institutional,
personal, or intimate? The Architect
says what Tier the Vassal is at.
▶ Which rebel first investigates
them? The Architect says how you
get confirmation that supernatural
powers are at work.
▶ Where’s their power base in the
city? Draw this location on your
relationship map. The Architect
says what form the entrance to
their shard takes.
ThE GrInD
At the start of an investigation,
check against your worst gauge.
On a hit, there’s trouble incoming -
write down a crisis tied to this
gauge. On a weak hit it starts the
investigation imminent; on a strong
hit it starts quelled.
On a miss, the crisis is dire. If it’s
imminent at the end of the
investigation, you’ll take a black
mark in this gauge.
So long as a crisis is imminent, you have
lasting Disadvantage on all checks
against the associated gauge.
DaIlY PrOcEdUrE
At the start of each day, the Architect
marks a segment of the clock –
unless the rebels give up and trigger
Darkness Falls instead.
If Pressure is at Alert, each rebel must
tick a gauge.
If Pressure is at Hunting, each rebel
must tick two different gauges.
When the clock’s full, the Architect
erases its segments and increases
Pressure. If any Enforcers are still intact,
one breaches into the mundane world.
If the pressure’s already at Hunting,
the rebels instead pick one:
▶ Targeted Strike. The Vassal attacks
a rebel, maxing out one gauge.
▶ Imperilled. The Architect picks a
contact to wound, imprison or exile,
taking that Covenant out of action
unless the rebels rescue them.
▶ The Vassal’s plan is completed.
Trigger Darkness Falls.
WrAp Up
At the end of each session, take stock
of what happened. Each rebel says what
made the biggest impact on them:
▶ You made a difference to someone.
MarkWorld, intensify your Covenant,
and say how this changed you.
▶ The crew helped you. Say who most
helped; you both heal a condition.
▶ You focused on your own battle in
the castle. Mark Void and shift a point
between two stats (max +3, min -2).
▶ You focused on your mundane life.
Say one thing you cherish about it,
and refresh a gauge.
 Holding Yourself Together
WeIgHt oF tHe WoRlD
When you just aren't good enough,
when you're too weak or the world is
too strong, check against Conditions
Marked.
On a strong hit, you get a good look at
the situation, and get fleeting
Advantage making things right.
On a weak hit, mark a condition and
pick one:
▶ Take on extra responsibilities.
Write down a new crisis.
▶ Blame your crew for your pain.
Inflict a condition on another rebel.
▶ Let down the ones who matter to
you. Fade one of your Covenants.
On a miss, mark a condition and pick
one:
▶ Throw in the towel. Waste your
next Mundane action just sitting in
this pain.
▶ This is just how things are now.
Tick a gauge.
▶ Pick two options for a weak hit.
OvErWhElMeD bY tHe WoRlD
When your World affinity would
increase but it’s already at 3, instead
of increasing it pick one:
▶ Collateral damage. One of your
Covenants or contacts joins the
fight and invades the castle, wholly
unprepared for what they’ll find
there. Unless you rescue them,
they’ll soon be lost to you.
▶ Back Away. You’re overwhelmed by
all the many voices crying out for
aid. Your World affinity drops to 2,
and the Architect will remove the
Committed state from a covenant
or hit you with an extra crisis as
you fail to meet your obligations.
▶ Retire from the rebel life. Become an
Architect-controlled character
helping the city through purely
mundane means; make a new rebel.
OvErWhElMeD bY tHe VoId
When your Void affinity would
increase but it’s already at 3, instead
of increasing it pick one:
▶ Devoured heart. Lose a Covenant,
permanently - they just don’t mean
anything to you any more.
▶ Outpouring darkness.Your Void rank
drops to 2, and your inner demons
breach forth to haunt the world.
▶ Claimed by the void. Become an
Architect-controlled monster that
stalks the halls of the castle and the
void beyond; make a new rebel.
Castle Delving
DiVe InTo DaRkNeSs
When you lead your crew across the
border between reality and the
castle, check against Blood.
On a hit, you appear in the shard in a
safe place. Each rebel takes on their
castle form, with their signature
weapon and gear.
If they want something different,
each rebel can give up one gear
item to empower a mundane item
they brought with them. Treat it as
a weapon with a perk and flaw, or a
utility item that can be expended to
do one appropriate thing.
On a strong hit, you arrive at a good
vantage point, giving fleeting
Advantage on Travel the Labyrinth.
On a miss, you’re in a desperate
position as you arrive, under attack
from castle denizens or
environmental hazards even as you’re
still shifting into your castle form.
TrAvEl tHe LaByRiNtH
When you lead the group through
the labyrinthine corridors of the
castle, roll with...
• +1 if you mark Void, else roll -1;
• +1 if you’ve defeated an Enforcer,
else roll -1;
• +1 if you’ve spent time studying
the Vassal in the city, else roll -1.
If you’re exploring, on a hit you reach a
place that displays a deep-seated
truth about the vassal. But the
Architect picks 1 on a 10+, 2 on a 7-9,
as many as they like on a 6-:
▶ Its inhabits are hostile to you.
▶ It’s filled with traps and hazards.
▶ Dangerous forces are on their way.
▶ You’re trapped in here until you
find the way out.
▶ It also reveals something painful
about you. Say what.
If you’re going somewhere specific (the
heart of the shard, its exit, an Enforcer’s
lair, etc), on a hit you get there, and
on a 10+ you arrive in a controlled
position – able to plan, talk to each
other, and scope the area out.
On a miss, the Architect picks one:
you’re ambushed, separated, or
there’s a major obstacle in your path.
 Exploration Moves
FlOw LiKe WaTeR
When you perform a feat of daring
athletics, roll +Wands.
On a 7-9, pick one; on a 10+, pick two:
▶ You’re where you need to be.
▶ Danger doesn’t follow you.
▶ Another rebel can take the trip
with you.
PoWeR ThRoUgH
When you hurl your strength at the
castle's obstacles, roll +Swords.
On a hit, pick one:
▶ You destroy an obstruction or piece
of scenery.
▶ You knock back and scatter a group
of minions.
▶ You give another rebel a clear path
out of danger.
On a 7-9, the Architect gives your
action one of these costs: you’re put
in a bad spot, take a condition, or get
separated from the others.
SeE ClEaR
When you try to read a dangerous
situation, roll +Coins.
On a hit, you can ask the Architect
questions. On a 7–9 ask 1; on a 10+ ask 3;
on a miss, ask 1 but prepare for the worst:
▶ Which exit takes me to my goal?
▶ What here is valuable?
▶ What can the enemies here do?
▶ What should I be on the lookout for?
Get fleeting Advantage when you act
on each answer.
ReAcH OuT
When you form a bond with a
minion of the Vassal, roll +Cups.
On a hit, you’ve formed a bond – the
Architect will tell you what the
symbology of the minion means to
the Vassal, and the minion will help
you so long as they can safely do so.
On a 7-9, pick a cost:
▶ Your mind touches the Vassal’s.
Tick Heat.
▶ The shard pushes back. Minions or
Enforcers are coming.
▶ The bond feeds on you. Mark a
condition.
When you call on the minion for aid,
mark Void and describe how they
reshape the shard’s landscape or
occupy a threat’s attention.
FiNd ShElTeR
When you search for a safe space to
hide and recover, roll +Wands.
On a hit, each rebel picks 1:
▶ Comfort another rebel. Heal one
of their conditions.
▶ Encourage another rebel.
Intensify their Crew Covenant.
▶ Use your playbook’s Shelter move.
EmPeRoR's NeW ClOtHeS
When you disrupt the link to the
castle in the heart of a shard, roll a
die for each that is true and sum the
highest two:
You've confronted the Vassal in person in
the city.
You've uncovered the full details of what
they're planning.
You've met people the Vassal holds dear.
You've defeated at least one of their
Enforcers.
Your mundane self has suffered (directly
or indirectly) at their hands.
There’s organised resistance to the Vassal
among the city’s people.
On a hit, you break the connection!
They're vulnerable, but won’t go
down without a fight.
On a 7-9, your foes regroup too; get
fleeting Disadvantage on Travel the
Labyrinth.
On a miss, the shelter you find is
fleeting or deceptive: you’re plunged
into danger before you can rest.
On a 10+, pick one more:
▶ Break their confidence. Start
combat with an Opening.
▶ Get under their skin. Give a rebel’s
weapon the power to cut through
the Avatar’s sorceries, illusions
and blights.
▶ Subvert their power. If you defeat
them now, each rebel can pick an
extra boon in Peace and Quiet.
On a miss, the link’s shaken and the
Avatar’s vulnerable for the duration of
this fight, but the Architect picks one:
▶ Call for backup. The Avatar
summons an Enforcer to fight
alongside them. Only available if
they have surviving Enforcers.
▶ I SEE YOU. The Vassal realises who
you are in the city, and their
Pressure ranks up.
▶ Vessel of a greater power.
Defeating this Avatar will rank
down Pressure instead of triggering
Rivers in the Desert – this Vassal
falls, but their puppetmaster, a
higher-Tier Vassal, continues to act.
 Confrontation Moves
StRiKe
When you exploit an Opening with...
…stealth and guile, roll +Wands.
…precise insight, roll +Coins.
…direct force, roll +Swords.
…arguments and emotional
appeals, roll +Cups.
On any hit, you remove the Opening
and break one of the foe’s qualities.
If you break its final quality, it’s
defeated and no longer a threat.
Otherwise, the Architect will trigger
that quality’s Break Move, and on a
7-9 also pick 1:
▶ They lash out. You mark a condition.
▶ They single you out. They get an
Opening on you.
▶ They reshape the arena. The
Architect introduces a new threat.
LiNe It Up
When you watch or test an enemy to
find a weak spot, roll +Coins.
On a hit, you find an Opening. Say
where it’s coming from – a chink in
their armour, the environment, a flaw
in their fighting style, something else.
On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:
▶ The foe sends an attack your way.
▶ The Opening only lasts a few
moments.
▶ The foe sees you; get fleeting
Disadvantage on Strike.
PrEsSuRe
When you force a foe’s attention
onto you, roll +Swords. No matter
what, they’ll retaliate – they get an
Opening on you.
On a 7-9 pick 1; on a 10+ pick 2:
▶ They’re thrown off-balance, and
you get an Opening on them.
▶ You pin them in place, preventing
them from moving.
▶ You give an ally a window to act freely.
DoDgE
When you try to avoid incoming
danger, roll +Wands.
On a hit, you successfully dodge the
attack.
On a 7-9, pick 2; on a 10+, pick 1:
▶ You’re separated from your allies.
▶ You stumble, gaining fleeting
Disadvantage.
▶ You leave something valuable
behind.
StAnD WiTh Me
When you reach out to bolster an
ally, roll +Cups.
On a hit, you save them from a
particular ongoing danger, whether
that’s an Opening your foes have on
them or some other lingering issue.
On a 10+, they may heal a condition
or gain fleeting Advantage.
FlEe
When you use up an Opening to
escape, all rebels can come with you.
If you were fighting the Avatar, tick
the Vassal’s clock.
PuSh ThRoUgH PaIn
When you take a blow that strains
your limits, roll +Conditions Marked.
On a miss, you scrape by. You're
knocked back, down, or winded.
Tags
Perks
Cleave: It can impact many foes in a
single attack.
Defensive: You can keep up your guard
while using it and shield others.
Flexible: It bypasses defences and
can be redirected mid-attack.
Hefty: It knocks an enemy down or
flying back.
Lingering: It causes ongoing,
distracting pain.
Piercing: It can punch through
armour and hide.
Long-Range: It can attack any foe in
this scene, no matter how far away
they are.
Shifting: It has different shapes. Pick
two flaws; only one is active at a
time, and you can switch between
them at will. Any additional perks
shift alongside its flaw.
Stun: It makes enemies slow and
sluggish.
Tether: It lets you hold onto or keep
up with a foe.
On a 7-9, the pain hits home. Mark a
condition, and get fleeting
Advantage acting on it.
On a 10+, it's crushing. Pick one:
▶ Mark two conditions, and get
fleeting Advantage acting on each.
▶ Collapse unconscious until this
danger has passed, overlooked by
any enemies or dangers here.
▶ Shift a rank of World to Void, and
unleash this new strength in a
brutal and indiscriminate way.
Flaws
Ammo/Fragile: It’s likely to break or
become unusable, only rearmed
when you take Shelter or start a
new delve.
Bulky: You need solid footing and
room around you to use it.
Close: You have to get inside a foe’s
threat range before you’re able to
use it.
Grazing: The weapon can’t deal
significant physical harm, and its
effects can be shrugged off in time.
Talisman: It’s formed from an item
important to you – if it’s lost or
damaged, you tick a gauge.
Painful: It’ll hurt you if things go
wrong. Maybe even if they go right.
Reload/Brace: You need to take some
action to recover it or make it
usable again after attacking.
Unstable: Using it staggers you,
making you vulnerable and slow.
 MoVe InDeX
Moves that are always available: Moves triggered in the city:
Evoke the Covenant 35 Check In (Fealty) 41
Hard Lessons 35 Connect (Various) 45
Help Out 35 Let Go 42
Overwhelmed by the Void 49 Let Your Hair Down (Lack) 42
Overwhelmed by the World 49 Make a Stand (Blood) 44
Take A Risk 35 Pass Beneath Notice (Infamy) 44
Read the Wind 43
Moves triggered in the castle: Rebel Eyes (Heat) 46
Dive Into Darkness (Blood) 54 Vent (Fealty) 47
Dodge (Wands) 66 Weight of the World 51
Emperor's New Clothes 58 Wolf At The Door 40
Find Shelter (Wands) 57
Flee 66 Moves used to shape the flow of a
Flow Like Water (Wands) 60 session or investigation:
Line It Up (Coins) 65 Daily Procedure 38
Power Through (Strength) 60 Darkness Falls 72
Pressure (Swords) 65 Growing Shadows 36
Push Through Pain 52 Peace and Quiet 75
Reach Out (Cups) 61 Retaliation 73
See Clear (Coins) 61 Rivers in the Desert 70
Stand With Me (Cups) 66 The Grind (Various) 37
Strike (Various) 64 Wrap Up 50
Travel the Labyrinth 56 Emperor's New Clothes 58
Pressure (Swords) 65
Reach Out (Cups) 61