▪ -1 – An obstacle (such as an enemy) being prepared.
WELCOME TO THE MULTIVERSE! Core Resolution System
Over two millennia ago, the shimmers opened the multi-
verse.
Shimmers offer a (relatively) safe way to travel between
worlds and different locales. This has created a unique
political and economic situation, bringing forth the
Commonality, a collection of worlds and locales with
like-minded political and economic policies that pool to-
gether military and policing resources.
While the Commonality dominates the multiverse, some
would challenge it, particularly the Commanlity’s mod-
ern, anti-magic mindsets. The Commonality has ushered
in a new era of Consensus, a violent series of wars, hop-
ing to wipe out any resistance or threat to the Common-
ality’s varied economies and political systems.
One group has threatened an all-out war against the
Commonality: They are known as the Faceless, and they
espouse traditionalism and magic over modern technol-
ogy and modernity.
As the battle lines are being drawn between traditional-
ists and the Commonality, a vast, unnamed host has be-
gun waging a war of subjugation and annihilation among
the periphery worlds and locales of the multiverse.
It is in this chaos, that players are struggling to survive,
make a living, make a name for themselves, or find the
peace they desire.
PLAYING THE GAME
To begin playing Wanderer, players need to have hand-
fuls of six-sided dice known as Fudge/Fate dice. Regular
six-sided dice will do as well. One player will serve as the
group’s referee (REF), and the rest of the players at the
table play and function as the Player Characters (PCs),
who serve as the game story’s main protagonists.
Throughout the game, players, acting and playing as
PCs, will narrate their actions, while the REF narrates
the events of the world around them, the consequences
of their actions, and the interactions of Non-Player
Characters (NPCs) toward the PCs and their actions or
inactions.
When actions have consequences that are uncertain, in-
teresting, and impactful, the REF will call for a resolu-
tion. This means players will need to roll on behalf of
their PCs, to see what happens, and the REF will judge
and narrate the results accordingly.
The REF will roll on behalf of the forces, NPCs, and situ-
ations and obstacles using a dice pool comprised of six-
sided Fudge/Fate dice. Players will use a dice pool com-
prised of Attributes, Skill or Magic, specializations,
equipment/artifact bonuses, and any relevant modi-
fiers (i.e., additional dice). A referee’s dice pool results
are known as the challenge, and a player’s dice pool re-
sults, when rolled, are known as the effort exerted by a
player’s character.
When the dice roll -, this is seen as a failure. A 0 is
seen as a null, which does not affect the roll. A + counts
as a success. Please Note: If you’re using standard six-
sided dice, you will need to make a mental note of the
following: 1–2 (-), 3–4 (0), and 5–6 (+).
Whichever side rolls the most successes, overcomes the
other side. If it is the referee, the obstacle, whatever it
may be, has caused the player to stumble. If the player
has the most successes, they have overcome the obstacle,
and the REF will judge and narrate the results. If the re-
sults are a tie, the REF, with plenty of player input from
the table, will decide what happens next.
Remember: Story comes first when refereeing. This
means doing what serves the story (overall) best. Don’t
be afraid to collaborate here either.
A Note on Modifiers
Modifiers can be either negative or positive. What does
this mean? A player’s dice pool may see an increase in
the number of dice (i.e., a positive modifier), allowing
them to roll more dice, achieving success easier. Or they
might see their dice pool shrink (i.e., a negative modi-
fier). Below, you will find some examples of positive and
negative modifiers found within Wanderers.
▪ +1 – For superior equipment being used.
▪ -1 – For obsolete equipment being used.
▪ +1 – For a unique solution presented by the player.
▪ +1 – Contextual advantage
▪ -1 – Contextual disadvantage
Challenges don’t usually receive additional modifiers, as
their dice pools are their difficulty level, and these can be
modded as needed. Modifiers help or hinder players, cre-
ating advantages and disadvantages, which, in turn, en-
courage player craftiness.
Modifiers should be small, too. Most modifiers will be +1
or -1. In some cases, they may be +2 or -2, but rarely out-
side of these ranges.
Luck & Chaos
When a player invokes their backgrounds, gains some
critical successes, and/or fails at something, luck, and
chaos are brought into the mix. Luck (and, its opposite,
chaos) are manipulation stats each character has at-
tached to them. Luck is used by players; whereas the REF
uses chaos to manipulate the narrative to offer potential
thorny obstacles or situations for players. Each character
starts with five (5) points of luck and 0 chaos.
Backgrounds come in three (3) varieties: minor, signifi-
cant, and foundational. Each background costs luck
points to invoke, and the number of points spent de-
pends on the background being invoked. It takes one (1)
point of luck for a minor background. Two (2) points are
needed for a significant background to be invoked, and
three (3) points for a foundational background being in-
voked by a player.
When used, luck can bring chaos.
This means that for every point of luck being spent, a
point of chaos is assigned to the player in question.
Chaos can be used by a referee to sway results.
For a REF to use chaos points, they will need to spend
one (1) more point to overturn successes, and three (3)
or more to overturn critical successes. This should be
done in full transparency and with other players in-
volved, including the player who has brought on chaos.
Also: Chaos need not be negative, as seen in the descrip-
tions above. Chaos might be positive as well, meaning
good or good things could be coming a player’s way.
Think of chaos as the unexpected.
Helping Others
When two (2) or more players choose to work together
towards a common goal, they roll their dice pools sepa-
rately, adding in their modifiers along the way. Once this
is done, the highest result is achieved. If this result is
higher than the challenge’s dice pool results, the group
succeeds.
Pushing for Success
If one or more players wish to push for success, following
a failure or draw, they can reroll their dice pool once at
the cost of one (1) point of luck. (If a group of players
does this, they each pay one (1) point of luck.) Players
immediately gain two (2) points of chaos because of
pushing for success.
Development Tokens (DEV Tokens)
The face of adversity brings growth, and players are
given Development Tokens (Dev Tokens) to help ad-
vance their characters mechanically. Players can do
some of the following with Dev Tokens:
• Increase attributes at 5 Tokens/Rank
• Increase skills/magics at 5 Tokens/Rank
• Refresh one (1) block of stress, 5 Tokens.
• Refresh all blocks of stress, 15 Tokens.
• Refresh luck, 1/5/10 Tokens.
• Clear chaos, 1/5/10 Tokens
• Convert 1 Token into 1,000 units of currency.
• Purchase +1 luck for 1 Token.
REFEREEING THE GAME
The referee (REF) is the player who helps keep order over
the happenings, in-game, and in-session while embrac-
ing the chaos of gameplay and player-player and player-
referee interactions. The REF is not there to railroad the
storylines, stunt gameplay, or block meaningful player-
player interactions.
A good REF will embrace the chaos, yes, but they will do
so using the group’s rulings and preferences, prod play-
ers into meaningful interactions, and offer up those
beautiful moments in gameplay that help create an en-
riching experience for everyone, including themselves.
The REF, like the immutable laws of physics, offers natu-
ral boundaries for acceptable play and fantastic fun to
exist. Like gravity, the referee is there not to dole out
meaningless consequences for actions or inactions, but,
rather, to make consequences matter, make them fun,
and, more importantly, make them consistent within the
confines of the game’s story, limitations, and associated
multiverse locations.
What a REF Is Not
In recent years, there has been a lot of meaningful dis-
cussion on the demands placed on referees in the tab-
letop roleplaying game hobby. To help those new refer-
ees avoid burnout or despair, this rulebook offers five (5)
pieces of advice concerning managing the different fac-
ets of any game.
Keep this in mind, though: Mileage will vary.
Referees are not grandmaster storytellers, per
se. REFs are, instead, conflict creators, meaning
they are not solely responsible for the game’s story.
As conflict creators, they collaborate with players
and dice to fashion the story. Players offer referees
fodder with the help of their actions, inactions, and
their terrible dice rolls. The dice themselves offer an
additional layer of randomness, which is an objec-
tive-like and often hard-cutting examination of in-
game failure, success, and complication.
Referees do not need to comply with all player
demands and wishes. REFs have the final say on
where things are and where something might be
heading. A REF is not a magic genie, who grants all
wishes to the loudest of players. They are more like
the monkey’s paw—so be careful what you wish for
here, players.
Referees have the final say when it comes to the
rules (and the group’s rulings). This must happen,
or games would easily devolve into chaos, or worse.
The group must be comfortable with, and must trust
in, their REF, who is not an enemy, but, rather, a fel-
low player they must trust in, in hopes of keeping
the game moving along and maintaining an inter-
esting experience for all involved.
Referees are not the enemy. Don’t take it person-
ally if their dice rolls spell doom for your favorite
character. Trust they will make the game worthwhile
for all. Referees have a tough job, too, so don’t be
mean or demeaning toward your referee. Offer to
help, offer up cool ideas, negotiate with them, and
try to make the game enjoyable by being construc-
tive and friendly toward your referee.
Referees are not God or God-like, despite their
actions indicating otherwise. They’re very human,
mortal creatures even with thoughts, feelings,
dreams, nightmares, and boring day jobs. As such,
remember they are bound to make mistakes, have
bad days, and have little inspiration for a night’s
game session. Do your best, as a fellow player, to
help when you can. Offer up some ideas. Offer en-
couragement. Be supportive. Consider rattling off a
cheesy joke or two to break the in-session tensions.
Challenges
The referee (REF) is responsible for creating conflict and
throwing obstacles in the path of players: These are col-
lectively known as challenges. Challenges are rated be-
tween two (2) and can go beyond twelve (12). The chal-
lenge’s rating determines the number of dice that will be
in the referee’s dice pool, rolling against a player (or
more) in-game.
The stress level of every challenge is equal to the num-
ber of dice in its pool. For example, a challenge rated at
three (3) has three dice at its disposal along with three
points of stress. Challenges only possess one (1) track of
stress, unlike players’ characters, who have three (3)
tracks of stress at their disposal. More on stress below.
Stress is eroded through the success and application of
equipment or artifact effect (or damage). Some weapons
might deal one (1) or more points of damage to the
stress of a given challenge. Alternatively, a challenge
might be overcome with an artifact or piece of equip-
ment’s effect, which is applied against it when success-
ful—such as a crowbar’s effect against (say) a tricky old-
school safe. When stress hits zero, the challenge is dead
or overcome, depending on the context.
Challenges, whatever they may be, can be made more
difficult or less difficult, depending on the context. An
enemy opponent might become deadlier if provoked into
lethal combat or backed into a corner. A high-tech secu-
rity system might become harder to crack open if players
trigger certain anti-theft protocols.
Each challenge is comprised of four (4) elements: Dice
Pool, Stress, Clocks, and Layers. Dice Pools represents,
in part, the difficulty a challenge presents. Stress repre-
sents a challenge’s score that must be eroded for it to be
overcome. Additionally, Clocks represent the amount of
time one must defeat the challenge before it triggers
some event (such as a security system alerting the au-
thorities in (say) three attempts). Layers are used to add
additional difficulty as well, but making the challenge
harder to defeat, trickier, and deadlier. A wounded en-
emy might seem defeated, but they prop themselves up
and call upon (say) their minions or some dog-machine-
thing that wants to tear apart and eat human flesh.
Challenges also have two (or more) descriptors attached
to make for an easier time describing them and showing
what they are to players. Challenges also have damage
and/or effects they deal against opponents. These are
applied if NPCs are successful in opposing PCs.
Challenges might have certain negative modifiers that
affect their dice pool. A creature afraid of water or a be-
ing that cannot survive daylight might see a negative
modifier applied to their dice pools. Positive modifiers,
offering advantage, might be applied as well, depending
on the context.
Challenge Rating Examples
Very Close
Normal Challenge: 2 Dice/Stress, No Layers/Clocks
Difficulty Challenge: 4 Dice/Stress, No Layers/Clocks
Hard Challenge: 6 Dice/Stress (Layer 1); 4 Dice/Stress
(Layer 2)
Sample Challenges
Street Fighter (2): Fast, Deadly. No Clocks/Layers.
Damage: 3 Stress (hands), 4-5 Stress (knives). Effect:
Non-Lethal Knockdown Power (Stuns Opponent for Two
(2) Turns).
Coalition Marine (4): Quick to Fight, Sharpshooter.
Clock 3, No Layers. Damage: 5+ Stress (rifle). Effect:
Non-Lethal Knockdown Power (Stuns Opponent for Two
(2) Turns).
Dog-Machine-Thing (3): Pointy Teeth, Mean Bite. No
Clocks/Layers. Damage: 4+ Stress (Pointy Teeth).
Rogue Post-Human Intelligence (8): Immortal, Very
Strong. Weaknesses: Electricity/Water (-2 Die), Daylight
(Loses 1/2 Dice Pool). Damage: 5–10+ Stress (Vampiric
Life Drain). Effect: Destroys/Damages Highly Sophisti-
cated Electronics within Very Close (VC), Close Ranges.
Old Bridge Over Chasm (4): Swinging Rope, Loose.
Clock 2 (Before Falling Apart).
Corpo Network Security (6): AI Overwatch, Firewall
Hidden Trap (2): Concealed Tripwire, Explosive. Dam-
age: 3+ Stress (Explosion, Shrapnel). Effect: Deafens the
Person who Triggers it.
Rioting Crowds (7): Mobs for miles, Random Stam-
pedes. Damage: 5+ (Stampede).
Distances (Ranges)
Every distance used in Wanderer comes down to one (1)
of five (5) increments: Very Close, Close, Nearby, Dis-
tant, Faraway. Each increment is associated with a nu-
meric range (see below).
Close Nearby Distant Faraway
0–10ft 10–50ft 50–100ft 100–750ft 750ft–30+ mi
Two (2) Actions, One (1) Turn
Each player is allotted two (2) actions per turn. Actions
are those moments when a character is doing something
of consequence in-game. There are a variety of actions
available to players, meaning players have a considerable
amount of wiggle room in which to get their character to
do something of importance in-game.
To keep players from bogging down gameplay, referees
are encouraged to use analog or digital timers to keep
the flow of the game at an optimum pace. Players can
take additional actions if they take on two (2) or more
stress per additional action taken.
Distance & Actions
Travel, over a given distance, uses up one of the two ac-
tions afforded to each player. A player might move Very
Close, Close, or Nearby, only expending one (1) action.
Anything over Nearby distances means a character ex-
pends two (2) actions. Anything exceeding the Distant
increment, 100–750ft, costs at least two turns’ worth of
actions, or four (4) actions total, or more, depending on
the referee and the group’s overall discretion here.
Travel, Rest, & Stress
Characters who travel faraway (FA) distances will need to
take a long rest afterward. Failure to do so will mean
they need to take two (2) or more stress (discussed be-
low). Stress can be eliminated with proper rest.
Three (3) Stress Tracks
Tracking stress for player characters is a bit different
than what is often seen when dealing with challenges
facing PCs. For PCs, there are three (3) tracks for stress,
connecting to the three (3) core attributes–i.e., Mind,
Body, and Soul (more on these attributes later). Each
track of stress has ten (10) slots that start empty. As a
player character takes on physical, mental, or social
(Soul) trauma, consequences begin to emerge. Conse-
quences are minor with the first three stress slots filled
in any of the stress tracks. However, as stress accumu-
lates beyond three (3), the consequences become more
severe. These consequences should be determined by the
entire group, with the REF having the final say after eve-
ryone has contributed to the conversation.
A consequence, as discussed above, is a direct result of
taking on stress to one or more of the stress tracks con-
nected to the three (3) core attributes: Mind, Body, and
Soul. For example, being hit with a powerful non-lethal
weapon might deal four (4) stress, offering a conse-
quence of deafness for X amount of time in-game.
Consequences can be taken to avoid trauma to any of the
three (3) stress tracks discussed above. Avoiding con-
flicts, however this might play out, means a player char-
acter will suffer from some kind of contextual disad-
vantage in the future. The group decides how this will
play out and for how long. A player might avoid a fight
between their PC and a powerful NPC, who punches
them in the nose as a result. The consequence of avoid-
ing this fight is a busted-up nose, and it might have cer-
tain impacts later in the game.
Alternatively, avoiding a conflict might incur points in
chaos, meaning the player will be put at a disadvantage
or be surprised later.
In the future, players who have incurred the conse-
quences described above will be able to wipe them away
by resting for a time or by confronting those they’ve
avoided coming into conflict with earlier. Doing so al-
lows players to develop their characters and earn much-
needed Dev Tokens. With time, a consequence could help
a player build their character and even build new back-
grounds that can be invoked in future game sessions for
special advantages.
Minor stress (anything three (3) or under) can be re-
duced completely with several short resting periods or
one long resting period. Additionally, mental and physi-
cal traumas can be wiped away by seeking proper medi-
cal assistance. Social traumas take time, but they can be
wiped away with long rests.
Any stress over four (4) points is considered problem-
atic, as your character is inching closer to the end of the
track. These types of traumas require long rest and spe-
cial assistance from NPCs or fellow PCs to tend to the
traumas in question. Anything six (6) and above incurs
permanent or lasting damage in terms of mental and
physical trauma. Social trauma, connected to the Soul
attribute, could mean the character is being ostracized,
attacked socially, or turned into a pariah. Whenever a
character hits ten (10) in any stress track, the character
is no longer playable and has become lost due to their
traumas.
BACKGROUNDS & INVOKING BACKGROUNDS
Backgrounds can be invoked at any time, with input on
relevance and effect from a player’s referee and fellow
players. The cost of invoking a background is dependent
on the background’s potency, and all backgrounds are in-
voked by spending luck points.
A minor background can be invoked for one (1) luck.
A significant background can be invoked for two (2).
A foundational background can be invoked for three (3).
What is the benefit of an invoked background? As a
player, you can add one, two, or three dice to your dice
pool (minor is 1, significant is 2, and foundational is 3).
Or you can request a bonus other than additional dice
from your referee, with input from your fellow players.
Remember: When luck is used, chaos isn’t far behind.
CHARACTER CREATION
Give them a name, a concept, and some backgrounds
Assign attribute scores (Mind, Body, Soul)
Establish skills and magical abilities
Determine starting equipment, wealth, supplies
Name, Concept, Backgrounds
Who is your character? What defines them, and what do
they do? This should determine all of these in a small
phrase.
NAME & CONCEPT EXAMPLES
“Dr. Kreannix is a sought-after engineer, who has been
made a refugee.”
“Pterolna is a traditional magic user, who is in hiding
from the Commnality’s scrutiny.”
“Brother ’Ephaestus hopes to find peace on a remote
world known for its tea farms.”
BACKGROUNDS
Backgrounds are the things that have contributed to the
fashioning of your character’s standing, belief system,
and essence of who they are. The several types of back-
grounds are discussed below. Backgrounds can be in-
voked to increase one’s chances of success, among other
things.
To develop a player character’s backgrounds, a player
will need to flesh out their concept (examples above)
into around a fifty-word description (example below).
Dr. Kreannix is a refugee from the Commonality Wars.
She wants to be a farmer and retire, but her expertise in
engineering has made her a commodity worth seeking.
She speaks a half-dozen languages, is a quick study,
and is very adaptive when life demands it. Believes in
the power of technological progress.
From the description written above, we will need to pro-
duce six (6) backgrounds, with three (3) being minor, two
(2) being significant, and one (1) being foundational.
Note: Backgrounds here might be culture, work-related,
education-based, socially constructed, and more. Don’t
let the concept get in your way here!
With help from your referee and fellow players, you
might produce the following:
x3) Minor Backgrounds: Speaks half-dozen languages,
Adaptive, Always Needed
x2) Significant Backgrounds: Engineer, Refugee
x1) Foundational Background: Power of Progress
BACKGROUNDS EXPLORED
Ancestry. These background elements relate to the
things you’ve inherited from your character’s family
members, guardians, kin, who play a vital role in your
character’s life. For example, your character’s adopted
grandfather had a knack for repairing all things mechan-
ical, and your character has inherited this.
Beliefs. These background elements relate to how you
make value and moral judgments, among other things.
You’ve honed these through experience, upbringing, and
moments of crisis and calm. Your character might be a
hardened veteran, but she still believes people are inher-
ently good, given the right conditions.
Culture. These elements are inherited or adopted from
the group(s) you belong to, identify with, and are associ-
ated with by others. Your character might come from a
culture of being nomadic, moving from one place to the
next, safety, adventure, and/or scratch that itch some of
us must see unfamiliar places and experience new
things.
Language(s). These are elements that you’ve learned
through teaching, formal and informal, and socialization
with others. For example, your character might be bilin-
gual. They speak fluently in Ani, they write and read in
Duak, and they can understand and use (say) a form of
sign language.
Personal History. These elements comprise past experi-
ences that have made your character who he is. Personal
histories include events, training, education, trauma, ex-
citing moments, beautiful moments. For example, your
character might be a former schoolteacher, trained and
educated to teach engineering. He might also be some-
one who suffered serious trauma during the war, having
spent much of it in an illegal detention center due to his
educational and training background.
Social Class. These elements comprise your character’s
standing, economically, socially, and politically, within
the larger societies in which your character lives. Your
character might be an exile returning home to reclaim
the family’s fortunes, back when the family made bil-
lions selling tractors and other construction equipment.
ATTRIBUTES & ATTRIBUTE SCORES
Each character in Wanderer has three (3) core attrib-
utes. These attributes are Mind, Body, and Soul (de-
scribed below).
Players, at the beginning of character creation, receive
twenty-five (25) Development Tokens to build out their
attribute scores. All attribute scores, for beginning-level
player characters, start at zero (0). It costs five (5) Dev
Tokens for every rank added to a given attribute. So, if
you want to move your attribute up from 0 to 5, you will
spend 25 Development Tokens doing so. Most attributes
will not go beyond 10 to 15. In some rare cases, they
might reach 20.
Mind is a character’s ability to think, reason, synthesize,
and grow intellectually. A character’s ability to resist
mental stress in the forms of illusions, deceits, and at-
tempts to break one’s will.
Body is a measure of a character’s physical prowess and
dexterity. Body is a measure of one’s ability to take phys-
ical stress as well.
Soul is a measure of a character’s humanity (or some-
thing better) and ability to navigate the social-emotional
and cultural world(s) around them. Also said to be the
cornerstone of magical abilities in the multiverse.
PURCHASING SKILLS & MAGICAL ABILITIES
Characters have skills (and, potentially, magical abilities)
they can purchase. At the start of character creation,
players have 60 Dev Tokens to purchase an array of skills
and/or magical abilities for their character. Skills cost 5
Dev Tokens per rank. Magical abilities cost ten (10 De-
velopment Tokens each, initially, and they don’t have
traditional ranks per se (more below). All skills start at
zero (0), meaning they offer players no advantage when
it comes to using them in-game, at least initially.
SKILLS LIST
The following list offers a concise offering of skills used
by characters in this ultra-lite ruleset. In future rulesets
of Wanderer, the skill list will be fleshed out to offer
more variety and granularity for all players.
Academics: Mundane, everyday human knowledge and
education, including history, sciences, and medicine.
Arts: The knowledge of and ability to make art, appraise
it, and/or move (or manipulate) individuals using it.
Athletics: A measurement of physical potential.
Criminal: Knowledge of and ability to bypass security
systems, pick pockets, and commit crimes.
Combat: Knowledge of and ability to use weapons, of
various kinds, to inflict damage on and/or defeat an op-
ponent.
Contacts: Knowledge of the right people and connec-
tions that can help you. Knowing how to exploit this.
Crafts: Ability to make or break machinery, build con-
traptions, and pull off MacGyver-esque feats of ingenu-
ity.
Deception: Ability to lie and cheat convincingly and
with aplomb.
Empathy: Ability to accurately judge someone’s mood
and intentions and exploit these to your advantage.
Investigate: Deliberate, careful study and puzzling out
mysteries.
Provoke: Ability to push people to act the way you want
them to. It’s coarse and manipulative, not a positive in-
teraction.
Resources: Access to material things, not just money or
direct ownership. It might reflect your ability to borrow
from friends or dip into an organization’s armory. Ability
to appraise the value of these resources and how they
might be used to your benefit.
Survival: Mental and physical fortitude, the ability to
overcome temptation and to withstand trauma. Ability
to take care of oneself and thrive in almost any environ-
ment.
Transportation: Controlling vehicles under the most
grueling circumstances, pulling wicked maneuvers, and
simply getting the most out of your ride.
A FEW NOTES ON MAGICAL ABILITIES
The following list of magical abilities offers a concise
view of what players can do in Wanderer. Players and
their referee can work together to modify this list to in-
clude more magical abilities for players to choose from.
Magical abilities can be purchased at three (3) different
rankings: A starting rank costs 10 Dev Tokens to secure,
and it provides three (3) dice to a dice pool roll. The
middle rank is six, which costs double the initial ranking
(i.e., 20 Dev Tokens) and offers five (5) dice to a player’s
dice pool. The third rank, and usually the final one, costs
30 Dev Tokens and offers eight (8) dice to a player’s dice
pool.
Failure to properly cast magic costs players. Initially, the
cost of failure might be trivial. However, as players use
and fail to succeed with more powerful magic casting,
they might risk social ridicule, death, dismemberment,
and/or damage to others near them.
MAGICAL ABILITIES LIST
Alchemy: Allows a player to turn useless junk into valu-
able items (e.g., hay into gold). Costs one (1) stress—
mental or physical—to use. Objects are permanently
changed.
Binding: Allows a player to bind two or more objects to-
gether. Lasts up to four (4) turns. Costs one (1) mental,
physical, or social (Soul) stress to use. Failure means a
character suffers two (2) stress on any of the three
tracks.
Blood Magic: A powerful magic that can slowly corrupt
players who use it. Allows a player to affect an oppo-
nent’s biology to kill, incapacitate, or manipulate. Imme-
diate effect. Costs one (1) mental stress to use. Failure
means a player loses an additional two (2) mental stress.
Channeling: Summon an otherworldly creature through
the magic you use. Costs two (2) stress, on any track. The
thing being summoned will offer a challenge rating
equivalent to the ranks of this magical ability (e.g., a
player with five (5) ranks in this magical ability can sum-
mon something with a challenge rating of 5 with 5
stress). Lasts until the summoned creature is killed or its
task has been completed.
Confusion: Create confusion among one or more indi-
viduals. The more powerful the spell, the longer this
spell lasts. Confusion can lead to violence in those indi-
viduals under its effect. Costs two (2) stress—mental, so-
cial, or physical—to use. Lasts up to four (4) turns.
Deception: Misdirect or deceive opponents using your
magical abilities. This spell costs two (2) stress—any
track—to use. Failure means a user can be exposed to at-
tack, social ridicule, and more.
Healing: Heal someone using your magical abilities. Ini-
tial ranks will help you heal one (1) to three (3) mental
or physical stress tracks. Failure means you inflict 1 to 3
damage to either mental or physical stress tracks. Costs
one (1) stress—any track. More powerful rankings will al-
low for more serious healing.
Liquid Charisma: You’re a silver-tongued devil, whose
charisma is liquid and able to meet the demands of any
social situation. Failure to succeed means you suffer two
(2) or more social stress. Costs two (2) stress—any kind—
to use. Lasts up to four (4) turns.
Lucky: Fate, fortune, and luck are on your side. You can
refresh your luck to the original amount, and then add
two (2) points of luck to this pool. Costs three stress—
any track—to use. Failure means you have incurred the
wrath of chaos.
Necromancy: The dead are your playthings—use them
wisely. Costs three (3) stress—any track—to use. Failure
means death. Use also comes with one (1) or more points
of chaos incurred for using this spell.
Obscurity: Conceal, hide, or make something hard to
find, in one’s mind, in the environment, or anywhere, de-
pending on the context. Costs two (2) stress—any track—
to use. Failure could mean punishment, death, or even
social ridicule. Lasts up to four (4) turns.
Rage: You become enraged after casting this spell, which
offers you an additional three (3) stress damage when
engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Costs three (3) physi-
cal or mental stress to use. Failure means you lose two
(2) or more stress and incur additional damage from that
opponent you insulted before wishing to engage in com-
bat with them.
Teleport: Allows your character to move from one place
to the next. The further the distance, the longer it takes
to get there, costing actions in-game. Depending on the
distance, teleporting costs one (1) stress up to five (5) or
more. Longer distances can cause more stress for the
character. Failure means death.
STARTING GEAR, WEALTH, & SUPPLIES
Using fifteen (15) Dev Tokens, players will purchase gear,
convert some tokens to cash, and buy much-needed ad-
venturing supplies.
Gear usually gives a +1 bonus to any dice pool, meaning
every piece of gear helps offer an advantage.
Weapons, if permitted, provide anywhere from +1 to +5
bonus dice to pools.
To purchase gear with Dev Tokens, use the following for-
mula: A piece of starting gear costs Two (2) Dev Tokens
for every +1 it offers. So, a standard piece of gear costs 2
Dev Tokens, and +3 gear costs 6 Dev Tokens. Weapons
cost three (3) Dev Tokens per +1. A standard weapon of-
fers +1 for 3 Dev Tokens, and a +5, which is out of budget
for a starting character, costs 15 Dev Tokens.
Supplies cost one (1) to five (5) Dev Tokens, depending
on the context. Everyday supplies are cheap, so they cost
1 Dev Token only. Combat supplies are expensive, so
they cost 5 Dev Tokens.
Once gear and supplies are purchased, the remaining
Dev Tokens are converted into local Commonality cur-
rency: 1 Dev Token is equivalent to 1,000 units of cur-
rency. Currency is used hereafter to purchase gear and
supplies.
LEGAL & CREDITS
The Fate Core font is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with
permission. The Four Actions icons were designed by Jeremy Keller.
This ruleset is based, in part, on R.E. Davis’s [Chaos Grenade’s]
Awesome D.P.S. (Dice Pool System) v.1.0, which has been licensed,
for our purposes, under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International License. All
texts and tables pertaining to this game’s rules are also licensed un-
der the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International License. This work is also based,
in part, on the Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition,
products of Evil Hat Productions, LLC, developed, authored, and ed-
ited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin,
Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and Rob
Donoghue, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The front cover illustration is from Freepik.com, and it was licensed
for our use. The text and tables related to the rules are released un-
der the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.
 DEV TOKENS: CHARACTER NAME:

WANDERER
MIND (RANKS, NOTES): CHARACTER CONCEPT (1-SENTENCE):

BODY (RANKS, NOTES):

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION (~50 WORDS):

SOUL (RANKS, NOTES):

STRESS (MENTAL, PHYSICAL, SOCIAL + NOTES):

BACKGROUNDS (x3 Minor; x2 Significant; x1 Foundational):

SKILLS & MAGICAL ABILITIES:

GEAR, SUPPLIES, MONEY:

LUCK/CHAOS:
CHARACTER SHEET